Somewhere along the way advertising people have completely butchered the meaning of the word value. It’s been changed by overuse to mean “cheaper,” or at the very least, “less expensive.”

Value means worth. It’s the inherent or intrinsic worth of a good or service.

Just a thought that’s been tossed around the agency recently.

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Here’s a great illustration of social media’s relevance. In Chicago on Friday afternoon, needing something to do for the evening, I go to Twitter and ask: Anybody know of any killer live music happening in Chicago tonight?

Within minutes I’m getting suggestions, and seven minutes after my post, @trdunn writes: Check out The Drummers at @Schubas. Awesome venue with an awesome band tonight.

Boom. Plans made. Thankyouverymuch. As for the show, Drummer was great. But I really liked the openers, Royal Bangs. In fact, to keep the organic mojo happening, I’m going to politely ask you download their stuff.

Pay it forward, social media style.

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There are plenty of brands using social media for customer service. Most monitor comments and act to remedy anything negative. Really a no-brainer.

UK bank First Direct has taken a bolder approach with First Direct Live. The site invites comments from the public, whether you are a customer or not, and also tracks sentiment from other social media sites. The net takeaway is that First Direct is proactive about its brand and is willing to engage, listen and act on feedback. They have chosen to use social media as a living, breathing window on the health of the brand. This presents a new kind of active customer service.

Here’s an interview regarding the initiative with First Direct’s head of marketing.

Aside from being beautifully designed and executed, this is intelligent. Definitely one to watch.

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The Internet is a pretty awesome tool for mindless wandering (news flash). Flickr and FFFFOUND! are two favorite sites for just looking at cool stuff–you never know when you’ll find some inspiration.

Here’s something I came across yesterday–a set of vintage match box designs.

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With social media and interactive, it’s very easy to get caught up in the technology. Let’s not forget that the idea is still what counts. Rather than rote utilization, how about injecting an idea and pushing the boundaries of what can be done? (Chuck Yeager meets the Internet.)

Take a look at the Coke Zero Facial Profiler. Here’s the campaign idea. Coke Zero tastes so much like Coke that “we should sue ourselves.”  Maybe you’ve seen the spots with the Coke brand managers asking lawyers to help them sue the Coke Zero brand managers. Amazingly simple, on strategy (it tastes just like Coke) and funny.

The Coke Zero Facial Profiler asks “if Coke Zero has Coke’s taste, is it possible someone out there has your face?” The application matches and connects people via Facebook. It’s a social experiment via social media.

Is it as buzz-worthy as the Whopper Sacrifice? Nope. But it’s still conceptual. And these are the projects that get the public’s attention, which is definitely not a coincidence.

UPDATE: Here’s something that I cannot believe I didn’t catch. One of our copywriters pointed out that the Coke Zero Facial Profiler site uses the line Find the Other You. Well, we produced a campaign several months ago that uses a similar line. There are social media plug-ins here as well–and, the coolest feature in my opinion, is the ability to receive text updates from the other you.

How did I not notice this?

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