Why did iiNET sponsor the NBL?

One of the most exciting things I heard this year was that iiNET would be sponsoring the National Basketball League! It was the meeting of two up and coming success stories in one agreement and I could see the massive potential for both sides.

For the NBL iiNET is fun-loving company that has grown from a WA start up in a garage and understands the challenges of being in a changing market, just like the NBL. They are more daring than traditional sponsors which means that the NBL is more likely to have more leeway with innovation and experimentation which will be good for the game.

For iiNET There is no doubt in most people's minds that basketball is a grassroots sport which has a very strong passionate group of followers. There are probably much more kids playing basketball than there are playing AFL. For iiNET to get in early in joining the NBL, they can get a good deal for sponsorship and also generate some goodwill for the company amongst the many basketball fans in Australia. Also, as a result of the NBL wanting to expand its brand, iiNET will naturally benefit from this expansion and receive valuable mindshare in the Australian public as basketball grows.

I was very interested to read on the iiNET blog today about why iiNET sponsored the NBL and many of their thoughts I completely agree with. Much can be gained from this partnership and I only wish I could have a part in it :)

Chinese Twitter Weibo Sells 1,000 N8s in one event

In China, Twitter is banned but to say therefore that microblogging does not exist would be incorrect. Nokia recently held an online "press conference" on Weibo with over 400,000 participants. News sources say, through that event, Nokia was able to sell 1,000 N8 phones showing the immense potential that engaging in social media strategically could  be achieved. 

 "Micro-bloggers could wear a 3D eyepiece to watch Nokia's online 3D promotion video and interact with the company through its micro blog on Sina Weibo, China's largest micro-blogging website."

Nokia has been leading the multinationals in Social Media strategy employing 1000 Heads in London  to keep their social reputation in check and following the launch of the N8, a plethora of fans have started blogs and openly endorsed the N8 in spite of mainstream media's critical look at the flagship phone. 

On the flipside, managing a crisis on social media has also been proven lately, with Qantas officially joining the Twitterverse with their @qantas_airways Twitter account to counter the negative press and talk on social media regarding their mechanical problems.  

But joining twitter does not mean you have the street cred to start your own # hashtag for example. Social media is a very quick way to grow but it can also be a very quick way to die.

Not good strategy - WA Businesses Socially Inept

I came across this article in the WA Business News which suggested that WA businesses have not embraced the power of social media. Coming from WA, I see this as a little disappointing as my perception had always been that WA businesses are more technologically adventurous, seeing as Perth is the most isolated city in the world geographically. Social media is definitely a frontier to be crossed if businesses in WA want to get ahead of the game and Twitter is one of the first places to start.

WA businesses online but not tweeting
28-September-10 by Kym Fuhrmann

Western Australian businesses are the most likely in the country to have a website but many WA small businesses are choosing not to use social media, according to two new surveys.

The latest MYOB Business Monitor found 40 per cent of WA businesses were likely to have a website, higher than the national average of 35 per cent.

The survey found 25 per cent of Western Australian businesses are also likely to use their website for e-commerce.

But a separate poll by the Small Business Development Corporation found only a third of the state's small businesses are using social media.

SBDC Acting Managing Director, Jacky Finlayson said the Ready Response social media poll found 65 per cent of small business operators did not use the medium to promote their business.

"When used correctly, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media tools can be of enormous assistance to small business operators with limited capital to spend on advertising and promotion," Ms Finlayson said.

The MYBO survey found only 18 per cent of businesses used social media.

Tim Reed, MYOB CEO, said, "Social media has received a lot of hype in Australia over the last 12 months so it's quite interesting to see such a low adoption of these online platforms by Australian businesses."

"Rather than being well established, the results indicate that online marketing is only just emerging in Australia."

"Despite the current low adoption rates of social media and websites, it's inevitable that the use of online platforms will increase rapidly in Australia as business owners see global competitors using these forums to lure local sales offshore," Mr Reed said.

According to the SBDC of those WA businesses using social media, 89 per cent were using Facebook, 68 per cent were using LinkedIn and 52 per cent were using Twitter.

Johnnie Walker as Proud of Product Placement as Gecko of Greed

Last night, we went to see the movie Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps and we were greeted by an advertisement that ran nearly 7 minutes long, entitled "The man who walked around the world". It was the Johnnie Walker advertisement, where Scottish actor from Trainspotting, Robert Carlyle, narrates a story about how the Johnnie Walker brand came to be. It may be because I have not been going to the movies all that often but I was surprised at how long the ad was, much longer than the usual 30 second or 1 minute ads.

It wasn't until part way through the movie, everyone laughed when we saw Jake Moore hand the Chinese contingent a bottle of... you guessed it.. Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It seemed to be redefining the meaning of product placement. It seemed just placing the product in the movie was not bold enough, that now you also should consider having a 7 minute advertisement preceding the movie as well. I thought it was good strategy anyway because I walked away with a clear memory of that moment in the movie where entertainment was hijacked by advertising. Borders book stores also featured as product placements in Wall Street.