“Then I saw his face… now I’m a Belieber”. If The Sun’snews story, telling how 300 girls broke into ITV London’s studios to meet their idol Justin Bieber, is anything to go by then it really is that easy.
The teen throb was recording Alan Carr’s Summertime Specstacular when the diehard fans stormed past security barriers – plus our very own Daisy and Tayler.
“We suddenly saw loads of girls screaming and running up the driveway at the back of ITV studios! It was scary!” reports a bewildered Tayler. Luckily, managers closed the main studio doors before true Fandemonium – and indeed Alan’s glasses – broke loose.
If you’re questioning how a lustful group of tweenagers synchronized such an orchestrated affair, social media may provide an answer. One fan’s comment on the article reveals all:
“Us fan girls revolve our lives around Justin Drew Bieber, we may have school but everything…..EVERYTHING is about him. We have twitters dedicated to him where we spend hours tweeting him to follow us. We have tumblrs. .. thinking about someone for years then finally getting the chance to meet them is crazy! There’s nothing to describe it it’s like the best feeling in the world.”
We are doing a lot of research around fan networks at the moment – how and why followers communicate with each other over their hero and the real life outcomes of these online (and sometimes quite finely tuned) operations.
Using Twitter and Tumblr as a tool to connect with your idol can effectively bring fans together from all corners of the globe to create an unstoppable army of devotees, narrowly missed by Liberty842 during their firsthand experience of the extreme end of Beiber Fever. With Twitter pages now dedicated to meeting your icon, it surely won’t be long before a new horde of Beliebers are out in force.
Twitter also allowed us to speak directly to One Direction fans planning to come down to the Alan Carr show for the band’s first ever chat show interview. Many have stayed Chatty Man fans ever since, proving Twitter as an invaluable tool to gain and maintain new audiences.
We spotted on Twitter a more primal example of a One Direction fan’s desperate attempt to spot the teen heart throbs outside the ITV studios (note: caps and swear words mean business):
“ANYONE THAT IS AT ALAN CARR TODAY AND HAS A BLACK BERRY, I BEG OF YOU. FUCKING TAKE A PICTURE AND TWEET IT. merci.”
A nice story I came across told how almost 4,000 people used Facebook, Youtube and Twitter help a young girl suffering from cancer to meet her idol, Taylor Swift.
After Lexi Barnett was denied by record executives at a US concert to meet Taylor, a Penn State University student-run philanthropy organization – known as THON – took matters into their own hands via social media, to eventually catch the attention of a fellow student who had “meet-and-greet” passes for her next show.
Birds of a feather really do flock together – all it takes is a tweet.
Whilst we’re missing the return of Dallas in the UK (we’ll have to wait till September), we’re wondering if it’ll match up to the iconic first run?
Here are a few essentials we hope will make an appearance in some shape or form…
The Red File – JR’s file of dirty secrets (if you don’t remember it, it has it’s own Wiki entry)
Sue Ellen’s penchant for Club Sodas – will she be on the wagon this time round?
Shoulder pads – or at least some form of power dressing
Windswept barbecues – all that 80s hair spray kept every hair in place!
Fully-clothed dip in the pool. Who’ll be the first to be pushed into the Southfork swimming pool?
Clip on earrings – will Sue Ellen’s ears now be pierced?
That Barnes woman – who will be the new Ewing family nemesis?
Back in the early 1980s, a page from the Red File came into my possession. It’s posted here for the very first time. It has previously only been seen by myself and JR Ewing (and possibly his secretary, who must have typed it up).
Last Tuesday, I went to the first of Pact’s Connected UK events. We heard from Rabin Mukerjea and Andrew Hill, from Grand Central Entertainment @GrandCentralEnt; Martin Trickey @chuffty from TwoFour; Simon Harris, Executive Producer at BBCWW @SJ_Harris and Gareth Capon from BSkyB @garethcapon.
It was a fascinating peek into the crossover between TV, gaming and social content and there was quite a bit of discussion around whether TV programmes are enhanced or interrupted by second screen content and whether, with the rapid rise of content consumed via smart phones and tablets, the TV is fast becoming the second screen.
Here’s the story told in tweets from the night:
Connected UK: Content
Connected UK is a series of five events that brings together leading figures from the worlds of TV, video games, digital media and advertising. Part 1: Content
Storified by LIBERTY842 Ltd · Tue, May 22 2012 06:36:29
Very interesting – a write up of the @IPA_Updates #connecteduk event – ‘Thinking inside the box’ http://infovisionipa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/ipaconnecteduk-thinking-inside-box.htmlLizzie Smith
Talk I gave on Tuesday as part of #connecteduk love to hear feedback http://bit.ly/KSES76Simon Harris
Ditto MT @ConnectedUKLND Massive thanks to @nicolamen @garethcapon @GrandCentralEnt @Chuffty @SJ_Harris for great presentations #ConnectedUKLIBERTY842 Ltd
And it’s a wrap – to continue the conversation please use #ConnectedUK. Drinks and nibbles await…ConnectedUK
Rounding up: "Sometimes we forget about putting the consumer at the heart" – @nicolamen. Constant failing of brands IMO. #connectedukMark Hadfield
#connecteduk TwoFour Channel4 Mother & New Look #stylethenation great example of how brands and broadcasters CAN create compelling contentnatalie graeme
For content to go viral it needs authenticity #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
Your audience can smell it when you are trying to market something @chuffty says. So make it funny and don’t try to hard #connectedukTiffany St James
Lots of talk about live experiences w/ 2nd screen, but how can we use past social content as legacy data? Ppl share after too. #connectedukMark Hadfield
Heresy? Q from the floor asks if TV is the second screen – it’s what goes on in the background? #connectedukLIBERTY842 Ltd
Great point by @adamgraham: "The terminology is holding us back. For lots of people the TV is the second screen" #connectedukMark Hadfield
Q & A now with all speakers #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
#connecteduk seems to be implicit assumption that passive consumption = not ideal, and active interaction = better. I love being passive!trev
@garethcapon TV not about "i" its about "we" and "us" #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
"The conversation is transcending national barriers and it is happening in real time" #ConnectedUKSMG London
#connecteduk @garethcapon when everyone can share a moment the true fans are the ones closest to the experience but sharing it with othersnatalie graeme
#connecteduk @garethcapon the conversation around connected content is global and creative content breeds contentMike Dicks
How many times will BSkyB name drop Zeebox? #ConnectedUKMartin Delamere
@garethcapon Content is the thread that holds conversations together #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
@garethcapon It’s content people want to share. Sky invest $2bn per year on content. #connectedukThe IPA
@garethcapon EPL cornerstone of SKy’s success. Brilliant content at heart of that. #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
#connecteduk final speaker is @garethcapon from Sky on fluid live content http://pic.twitter.com/VfImekA2Simon Harris
Shouldn’t we be providing brilliant content to enhance viewers exp rather than maxing #SocialTV for advtsg asks @sj_Harris #connectedukTiffany St James
#connecteduk how about an experience that moves from device to device? – @SJ_HarrisMike Dicks
#connecteduk is transmedia transmediocre at the moment ?@SJ_HarrisMike Dicks
I like the idea of 2nd screen app (vertical or horizontal) being extra layer of relevant content. Make the TV show interactive. #connectedukMark Hadfield
#connecteduk a lot of this second screen panic is TV realising it’s now not always sole focus of attention. Radio got over this decades ago.trev
86% of respondents to Nielsen survey would second screen. I’m one of them, currently first screening during talk at #connectedukAlex Trickett
#ConnectedUK 86% of people use a 2nd screen while watching tvnicola mendelsohn
RT @ConnectedUKLND: @SJ_Harris Investing in brands such as Doctor Who to extend content to 2nd screen #ConnectedUKThe IPA
Simon Harris @SJ_Harris from BBC Worldwide Games explains BBCWW’s strategy for gamers and brands at #connectedukPact
Got to move away from tv being about overnights. Should be about more than the TX slot – so says @chuffty at #connectedukLIBERTY842 Ltd
Good point. If the TV content is aesthetically awesome (Frozen Planet) then 2nd screen is unwelcome distraction. #connectedukMark Hadfield
@Chuffty Million £ drop obviously great example of play along TV show. Antiques Roadshow 2nd screen app on the way! #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
#connecteduk Upstaged for BBC 3 was "the creme de la creme of cock ups" – @Chuffty. Ha!trev
"It’s still just tv, what’s changed is how we watch it". Good session @chuffty w irreverent look at early tech attempts#connectedukSMG London
#comeandhaveagoifyouthinkyouresmartenough – @chuffty on TV cockups. Will tv show names soon be dictated by the hashtag? #connectedukLIBERTY842 Ltd
#connecteduk @Chuffty comparing Draw Something to a game he made for Catchphrase in 2000 (say what you see)trev
"This might be the point where we get to change television" – @chuffty #connectedukMark Hadfield
You can tell @Chuffty used to commission comedy. Loving his talk at #connecteduk about future of telly using black and white slides.trev
Does your tv still have rabbit ears? #connectedukKen Mulligan
Next up @Chuffty- TwoFour’s Martin Trickey on commissing vs producing #connectedukThe IPA
Benefit of familiarity over originality. If it works, do more of it #connecteduk But surely original and intuitive is even betterAlex Trickett
"If it works do more" – but for how many iterations? Until the interest graph/ sharing starts declining? #connectedukMark Hadfield
@GrandCentralEnt Lessons learned: If it works, do more. Benefit of familiarity #connectedukConnectedUK
Talk about a prize! Winner of Nissan GT comp won pro driver contract. Importance of incentive to social content #connecteduk #socialacademyAlex Trickett
GT Academy winner came 2nd at Le Mans 24hr. Amazing PR to change perceptions of the brand to the people who matter. #connectedukMark Hadfield
Rabin Mukerjea and Andrew Hill @grandCentralEnt insights into pulling together games, social media, TV and Le Mans 24hr racing #connectedukPact
"When you dream of racing cars… you don’t think of a [my brand]." What a great problem to try and crack. #connectedukMark Hadfield
@GrandCentralEnt "Fantastic problem" at heart of all good comms ideas #connectedukConnectedUK
@nicolamen: Together we need to build better connections and skills to succeed in converged media landscape #ConnectedUKConnectedUK
#connecteduk @GrandCentralEnt are first up tonight how they got a member of the public into the Le Mans through GT PS3 http://pic.twitter.com/FNyjyfaeSimon Harris
Not an intimidating lecture hall at all 🙂 #connecteduk http://pic.twitter.com/7ZHqtn6cSimon Harris
For the last 3 years we’ve worked closely with Alan Carr, Channel 4 and Open Mike Productions to create an entertaining online experience to accompany the show as it airs. Today @chattyman has well over 200,000 followers on Twitter and an extremely lively discussion around the show.
We couldn’t have predicted the huge interest in Liberty842 after our Social Media Week talks last month. Our Talking Telly event, produced in association with Pact, led to seven new business meetings! It’ll be no surprise that we’re re-running the event on March 27th.
We joined Pact a year ago. Meeting Mike Dicks, their Senior Policy Executive, for the first time was a memorable occasion. We talked about how TV was evolving and how social media was fundamentally changing the viewer experience. We talked measurement, best practice (better practice!) and ROI. I was inspired by Mike’s knowledge, creative vision and the connections that Pact have been able to offer us.
They might not be the first place a digital company looks for support, but over the last year, Pact have been instrumental in helping us with contracts and amplifying our brand within the TV industry.
Sam got a bit of a shock yesterday morning when she woke to find she was in The Independent. Alan Carr has been voted the UK’s #2 most influential tweeter, jointly with Sarah Brown and second only to Sir Richard Branson.
Alan’s Twitter success is partly attributed to the fact that promotion of Alan’s TV show Chatty Man is ‘siphoned off to a separate Twitter account operated by a girl called Sam who “works from a cell”, according to Carr. This frees up the man himself to fill his timeline with… a Twitter output that is engaging, upbeat, funny and occasionally a bit crazy.’
@Alan Carr boasts an impressive PeerIndex of 92, Authority score of 95 and well over 2 million followers.
We always knew Alan was a natural at Twitter – the account was originally set up back in 2008 as a simple way for Alan to update his website on the move by text. His affinity with the medium has brought its own rewards. Alan’s talked about it being a great way to talk directly with his fans, and he’s also thanked his Twitter fans – from both @chattyman as well as @AlanCarr – for helping him win the National TV Award for Best Talk Show.
Here he is talking to Sam about Twitter last month – and below that, Alan spills the beans about who Sam really is…
If you’re interested in finding out more about how social media can work for you, get in touch.
It was great to see such a big turn out to our Social Media Week London events this week. A big thank you goes to our speakers, Syeda Irtizaali from Channel 4, Mark McCullum, Personal Assistant to Gok Wan, David Ellis from Station 10 and Lisa Logan and Steve Kuncewicz from Gateley LLP.
If you need any more information, or just want a chat about what we could do for you, get in touch!
Below are our presentations from both events plus Sam’s interview for Talking Telly with Alan Carr.
Talking Telly, by Tayler Cresswell
David Ellis, from Station 10, on how social media is changing the way we prove the value of TV
If you tried the lovely food, it was supplied by our sponsors, Tangerine Dream. Our Talking Telly event was also in partnership with Pact.
For three hours, we were immersed in a world of rich colour, texture and creative talent. Hockney’s latest masterpieces – on canvas, film and prints from iPad drawings – are mind blowing. The sheer scale and the amount of time and thought that has gone into creating this exhibition is inspiring. It’s not surprising that it looks likely to outsell the Monet retrospective – the RA’s most successful to date.
Of particular interest was a huge video wall with a piece staring dancers from The Royal Ballet, “improvised” by (and also staring) Wayne Sleep. He was invited by Hockney to create the piece – his brief was simply “colour”. We will be interviewing Wayne next week to find out more about his relationship with the artist and how he went about creating the work.
It was a night we will never forget – a huge gathering of stars from TV, film, fashion and the arts were there including Sirs Michael Caine, Ian McKellen and Bob Geldof, plus Bill Nighy, Tracey Emin, Zandra Rhodes, Andrew Lincoln… we were surrounded by the most creative talent in the world. What a treat. Thank you Wayne!
Tayler, Bill Nighy, Daisy and Andrew Lincoln at the Royal Academy
I had the pleasure of working with Liberty842 for the week on a work placement and I definitely learnt a lot!
On the first day, Tayler gave me an introduction to the company and took me through the ins and outs of what they do. I started looking at the incredible websites they had created and also interviews with celebrities such as Alan Carr and Lee Evans. From this I went on to create my own questions I would like to ask them in forth coming interviews. (It is very difficult trying to come up with questions that haven’t already been asked!)
Ellie on the train to Brighton – preparing questions for the Spexy Beast himself!
I also went along to a meeting at Shoreditch House with measurement specialist David Ellis from Station 10 who spoke about Google analytics and techniques to help promote brands online which I found very interesting. It’s clear he inspires many people!
I have to say my highlight of the week was going to interview and film Alan Carr at the Brighton Centre which was so much fun! He is just as lovely in real life, and even funnier! To top it off I got to watch his ‘Spexy Beast’ stand up show which had me in stitches all night.
It has been lovely working with Tayler and Daisy who made me feel very welcome the entire time and I look forward to hopefully working with them in the future! Thank you for the great experience x
We’ve got that back to school feeling (in a positive sense!) at Liberty842. Alan Carr and Lee Evans’ tours are underway, Ambridge Extra starts again on BBC Radio 4 Extra next month, we’re rooting for poor Jack and Mousey in The Archers. Alan Carr: Chatty Man is gearing up for a seventh series and Gok Wan will hit our screens with The Naked Truth and Gok’s Clothes Roadshow. And IP EXPO opens its doors next month to the tech community. We’ll be busy behind the scenes helping audiences to get involved and follow the action as it happens.
We’re also looking forward to working with the inimitable Wayne Sleep!
If you want to find out more about what we do, get in touch: hello@liberty842.com
