Because of my interview with TBC London’s CEO Jon Burkhart, last week, this week I was given the opportunity to throw orange stress balls at him and other industry experts, at his “BALLSY Quarterly Event”. So what did I do? I went of course!
Pelting industry experts wasn’t the sole purpose of the event, although it was fun!
Also Read: Use Videos For Reach And Images For Engagement On Facebook
The main idea was to find out about “BALLSY” content created by advertising agencies and individuals all over the world, from Jon’s interactive presentation at the event. His main point?
[quote]…To eradicate the marketing world of thoughtless product-focused content that doesn’t care at all about what the people want.[/quote]
In other words, it’s time for social media and other forms of digital marketing to “stop spamming & start balling!” The focus needs to shift from brand to consumer, in order for social media, and other advertising, to be successful.
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The consumer wants to engage with you – not be spammed by you, or your ego. It all boils down to being able to engage your customers, keeping it personal and entertaining them without all that “me me me”. It needs to be all about THEM!
So What Exactly Went Down?
Jon kicked off the event with a bit about what he does – that’s… what he does when he’s not getting pelted with balls at the speaking events he hosts. The intro was followed by an interactive industry BEST & WORST session, looking at the best and worst content created by brands as well as the best and worst social media interactions EVER. Some were funny, and some were just downright WRONG!
Examples ranged from Spaghetti O’s Pearl Harbor “Uh Oh” , to Germany’s World Cup Smash ad, or ASDA’s English flag fail, and to many many others. The screen was lit up by a showcase of viral content at its finest (some better than others), which provoked a lot of ball-throwing. See, throwing a ball at the screen was a form of voting at the event… For those of us in the front, ducking was advised, as the votes came flying into the screen.
And guess what! BALLSY is an acronym. BALLSY content needs to be…
The evening ended with several content and social media strategists breaking down what being BALLSY really means to them, both in their personal and professional lives. Speakers included:
- – Louisa Heinrich, Founder of Superhuman Unlimited in Berlin, Germany
- – The Client Relationship Director at The Wandering Bear, Kulsoom Kausher
- – Adah Parris, Goldsmiths Lecturer of Social Media for artists, artistic institutions and cultural entrepreneurs
- – Dan Kirby, the CEO and Co-Founder of Tech Department London
- – Social Media Hell raiser and Viral Expert, John Mortor
- – Marketing and Innovation director at We are Social, Tom Ollerton
- – Simon White, the Founder at Formation London
So, what we want to know is:
Do You have what it takes to create successful, viral, non-spammy, BALLER content?!
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
Follow @wersm
If you missed the last event, there’s more where that came from! The event is quarterly! So stay tuned, by following Jon Burkhart & TBC on Twitter. Of course we will also let you know when the time comes!