A'rrr You A Pirate?

A year ago I wrote about how research is generally flawed. I think this latest attempt to curb pirating is a good example of an outcome based on such research...

One third of Australians are accidental pirates. Wait, what!?

Upon questioning that incredible stat, I was pointed to this research from which the campaign is based.

This research would indicate 53% of Australians are pirates but roughly 60% of those do not consider themselves pirates (34% of all Australians in total). Fair enough.

But to say this 34% of people accidental pirates is a big stretch. They're not accidentally breaking the law without realising it, they just don't think they're pirates. That's a big difference, and not a conclusion I'd jump to to base a campaign around.

My second issue is how I image this research was conducted...

QUESTION ONE
Have you ever downloaded a song illegally, burnt a DVD from the video store etc.?

YES or NO

QUESTION TWO
Do you consider yourself a pirate?

YES or NO

Let's assume I tick Yes to the first box. Now here's just a few things that run through my head for the second question...

1) How do you define "pirate"?
2) No, I only watch movies I download, not sell them onto people.
3) Yes, but everyone's a pirate these days, only losers watch shows on television.
4) No, pirating is naughty and I'm not a bad person.
5) Okay I know I'm a bad person, but I don't want to admit that to this survey.
6) No, it's not my fault, it's the industry's fault, right?
7) SHIT, THE FEDS MIGHT BE WATCHING THIS, OF COURSE NOT!
8) I bet if I tick No I can collect my money for doing this survey sooner anyway.

And then I'm just simply meant to tick a Yes or a No box?

People know what they're doing is wrong. And your survey, and your campaign, isn't enough to convince me the concept of accidental piracy is anything but ridiculous and a waste of money.

Go back to guilting me. I've stopped downloading Australian content because of it. Although that may be because Australia doesn't produce much worth downloading.

Also, what's with the dude playing different characters? So don't get that.

End rant.

It's Just Beer

Good old Carlton Draught have a new ad...

And a bloke by the name of Simon Canning from The Australian rips it a new one here, somewhat justifiably so. He says that slow motion isn't an idea. Fair call. Although some would argue that the parody is the idea. I dunno.

Sometimes I think we think too much about it all. For the right brand and the right audience, sometimes all you need is a piece of content that people like to align with a brand. Your average bloke is going to like this ad for an average beer.

Consumers are idiots. Keep it simple. Sometimes, it's what they want.

The Quickest Way To Grow Your Fan Page

In one day, a Facebook page of ours went from 11 fans to 3,440.

How did we do it?

Well it's another benefit you have access to if you're willing to spend some money that earns you a relationship with the Facebook team.

From there, all you need is an existing fan created page. Unless it's already being well managed (see how Soap approached the Bubble O'Bill page) a dead community on an inactive page is a waste. As it stands, these fan create pages are technically not allowed and are a breach of copyright/trademark/legal stuff.

Facebook will delete the page and migrate the fans across to yours.

You can expect a small drop off from fans who haven't heard from the page in potentially years, but also a fantastic response from a now ignited community who have been otherwise dead.

And that's the quickest way to grow your fan page.