Memory-based Marketing

Memory-based Marketing

Intel’s recent social media execution, The Museum of Me, is a powerful confirmation of where social media can take advertising – toward a more personalized, rich, visual experience that turns the participant into the star of the show. Through Facebook Connect, the museum’s site pulls in a user’’ friends, photos, liked videos, and other media to create a personalized virtual museum exhibit composed of different memories gathered on Facebook.

One reason the execution resonates is due to the unique visual presentation of the media. “Social entertainment,” where consumers spend time on social networking sites entertained solely by the content posted by friends to social sites, is a powerful trend, but often the visual appeal of Facebook or Twitter lose their luster after a while, and people look to new ways to experience the content to keep it interesting. Intel’s museum definitely delivers on that note.

Another powerful implication of the Museum of Me is how eager people have been to share their personal museums with friends. Intel effectively turns each participant into the star of a well executed social media experience, and people enjoy being the center of attention.The participant, and all of the media they’ve created in the past and shared online, drive the emotional impact and shareability of the content.

Other recent trends reinforce the idea that participants can be heavily entertained by waxing nostalgic on their personal social histories. A recent Facebook app would go back and find people’s first ever Facebook posts. Other services like Memolane are making it easier for people to create interactive timelines of all of their social media activity across different services, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or others.

As consumers increasingly rely on Web services to store their memories – whether they be photos, videos, tweets, or otherwise – marketers can learn a couple of lessons. Personal photos and other media can be used in a smart way to personalize campaigns and make participants feel like they are truly in the spotlight. Marketers should also take note that a unique visualization of pre-existing content can go a long way in getting participant’s attention. In the long term, users can see their personal media histories becoming a highly engaging media channel as people reflect on their pasts. If a participant is spending a lot of time looking at photos from a vacation to Rome 10 or 20 years ago, wouldn’t a travel site love to recommend a deal to Rome? With more people storing their memories online, it will be interesting to see how brands utilize those social memories to drive more engaging campaigns.

Simeon Spearman, 06.07.2011

via moxieinteractive.com