Social Media and Transparency in Government

It seems in most of the democratized world today, political parties are deeply entrenched national entities trying desperately to remain relevant with younger constituents.   This story is not unique to Political Parties mind you, as many organizations also need to realign themselves periodically to stay relevant.

Want to know how to engage younger constituents? Find ways of taking your perceived weaknesses and turning them into strengths.  Extend participatory channels that lead to new and deeper relationships, increased relevance, support, and donations.  Most of all extend the auspices of transparency.  What that really means in today’s government, we’re certainly not qualified to comment on.  However, what we do know is your message must seem authentic, genuine, and honest. 

Leveraging Technology

Imagine a Political Party actually being constituent-driven?  Imagine the transformational, democratizing power of opening digital channels directly to constituents? Imagine you were valued stakeholders in making better and more relevant decisions (if you so chose).

Imagine if Parties freely invited all citizens into this discussion to extend a genuine sense of “connecting” and participatory engagement?  What if a Political Party made constituents feel like it’s their system and framework to mold (for their benefit). Maybe even invited discussion and allowed all stakeholders their say.  Imagine evolving the current “issue or leader”-centric assessment of our political landscape to one of long-term philosophical beliefs?   

Has the evolution of technology and socialization finally outgrown our current political framework?

We’d love to hear what you think.  Join the conversation at http://www.goodbuzz.ca

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BMW USES MOBILE VIDEO ADVERTISING TO GENERATE TEST DRIVES

Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) ran a personalized mobile video advertising campaign to promote its X1 Series to a younger demographic in China. The BMW brand believes it empowers people to express their individuality and personality - and the carmaker wanted its X1 marketing message to do the same.  The personalized videos, or technically advertisements, were designed to have an impact so that viewers would show and share with their friends and create a viral buzz around the campaign (with the idea of BMW qualifying and sending the user a personalized holiday greeting.)

Why Mobile?  In this case, the mobile device is the primary Internet access tool in China and it is the most relevant medium for the demographic target. There are roughly 165 million high-speed, 3G mobile broadband subscribers in China and these are extremely active mobile Internet users.  In fact, 58 percent of Chinese mobile Web users post Web 2.0 content via their handsets, compared with 41 percent of those in the United States, according to Phonevalley. 

Personalizaton is key

The messages, distributed Dec. 21-24 in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, targeted individual customers with a holiday greeting that was uniquely tailored to each recipient.  For the campaign Clip in Touch, whose platform provides a means of sending advertising campaigns via MMS, enabled a targeted campaign with sight, sound and motion that BMW’s audience can personalize and make their very own.  The technology for the campaign’s targeting and personalization was provided by Israel-based, Clip in Touch.  Initial response to the campaign has been very positive, generating more test-drives in a three-day period than at any time this year. The uniqueness comes in allowing users to personalize, edit and add their own voice, video and text to any advertising campaign.

BMW GETS mobile
In Germany this past April, a BMW launched a mobile campaign specifically to sell more winter tires - and is said to have achieved a 30 percent conversion rate.  BMW Germany wanted to remind its customers that snow tires are more of a necessity, rather than a luxury, especially during the winters in Germany. The luxury carmaker targeted owners of BMWs, urging them to visit a local dealership and buy a set of tires (see story). 

BMW Z4 Roadster Launch

BMW turned to mobile to launch its new BMW Z4 Roadster as well. The German company introduced the Z4 Roadster to auto enthusiasts with a new application for the iPhone. The car was launched a few days ago at the Geneva Auto Show (see story).

The carmaker also ran a mobile campaign on the Nokia Media Network to promote some of its popular luxury vehicles to consumers in Spain (see story).

Also, BMW's mobile advertising campaign for the new BMW 1 Series Coupe resulted in a 67 percent increase in traffic to the brand's WAP site for Britain (see story).

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