Standard Bank has created a social news platform for their Pro20 series. It has the works; video, photos and the ability to make comments. Check this comment:
“By including an innovative social media strategy in this year’s Standard Bank Pro20 marketing campaign we believe we’ll reach a wider audience. More importantly, social media channels like blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube mean that the supporters can actively get involved and create their own content.†– Bellinda Edge, Senior Manager, Direct and Online Marketing, Standard Bank
Looking good! It is a great step for banks to enter this field as people often become critical (or over-critical) about the implementation of social media concepts. Leaving it up to an open audience to rank and rate videos, pics and other media related artifacts can definitely win you some points with the “socialists”. The concern in South Africa is that the uptake of social networks by the mature individual (well, over 30/40’s ;- ) is still slow. They do however become great spectators while others (the younger ones) participate.
Banks like Macquarie has a different take on media where they use a controlled environment called Macquarie Digital. Well, it is different in that Standard Bank has launched their social media initiative in the context of sport. The concept of social media press releases is a recent phenomena and still needs some time to settle down and find its place in the overcrowded media landscape.
The Future of Media Report 2007 is a must-read as it provides great insights into the media landscape. Look on page 12 for some more information on the Macquarie Media business. The report also unveils that personalization is one of the major drivers of advertising value.