On Thursday, Facebook announced their new platform which allows Facebook users (Facebookers?) to add third party applications (widgets) into their profiles. Anything from music, video, audio, games and even Word documents if they so wish. (See Drew’s post about the Twitter integration.) This is a great move for both Facebook and brands in my opinion. And, if the brands do it right, it may give something of value to the increasingly growing (particularly in the UK) Facebook community.
First brand to join the party is energy drink, Red Bull, with its (membership required) Red Bull Roshambull widget which is effectively a game you play with other members. From the widget page: “RoShamBull is the Red Bull version of Rock Paper Scissors (commonly referred to as RoShamBo). It has a long and complicated history of which no one really seems to know all the details. It originated in Japan or Scandinavia or near Portugal or maybe in Africa sometime BC or AD… see what we mean?”
The basic concept is simple:
* Create a game that allows you to challenge other members.
* Add Red Bull branding.
* Watch it spread virally.
I installed it but didn’t use it so uninstalled pretty much straight after so can’t comment on how fun or boring it actually is. At the time of writing it’s had 5,431 downloads which isn’t a massive amount. Particularly compared with the iLike widget (allows you to add music, gig dates etc) which has had nearly 170,000. There’s also a widget which allows you to add YouTube videos.
This is certainly an interesting situation given that Facebook’s prior marketing methods were more advertising-based. My question from a PR point of view is this: Do PR agencies have the technical skills to create these branded widgets or will the work be passed on to the (possibly) more capable digital agencies?
Stephen is a communications consultant based out of the UK. You can connect with him on Twitter or check out his LinkedIn profile. | Email Stephen
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Walker Hamilton
As the owner/operator of a development shop, I can tell you that the large PR can’t handle this stuff, but know that it needs to be there. The small ones can’t handle this stuff and aren’t even aware of how to sell it.
We have done work for Fathom, O+M, IMC, and numerous small agencies based in Chicago.
They bring us on to do the production. And then we skedaddle. Smaller agencies bring us in to make a “website” and we try to educate them on interactive features, and other aspects of the work we do, as well as offering feature ideas for the current project, then hopefully, they can go re-sell (or sell) the project to the client as we envisioned it.
Generally, the small agency’s clients are requesting a website or other web tech purely because they know there’s a need. They generally start with no end-goals of the deliverable. We try to get to a stated goal before moving forward.
A stated goal helps us deliver the project. Period. A stated goal helps us limit the scope too. As a development firm, we are all too concerned with scope creep. “They” come in the middle and ask to add something in, we ask “How does this help us meet the goal of this project?”
Walker Hamilton
p.s.
This is why we’ll start seeing more places like Barbarian Group cropping up…
ChrisB
It would be nice if the Red Bull app was actually weorking on Monday after the launch. Let me guess, too many people are trying to use it at once?
Web Satan
Wonderful upload.
Online disaster
Tom Himpe
does anybody know which agency is behind the red bull facebook application?
Brandon Curtis
Tom, Archrival (out of lincoln nebraska) created the application. http://www.archrival.com
They also did Red Bull U, Red Bull’s Facebook sponsored group.