George Yeo on Facebook

I’ve written previously about how politicians are using new media to reach out and stay connected with the public. Local politician Mr George Yeo has been one of the ‘pioneers’ amongst his politican peers to use new media. He started with his blogging and then progressed to having a Facebook page which he updates pretty regularly. So now, you can go on and poke George Yeo. He go so popular that he exceeded the 5000-friends limit and has since started a new public facebook page to accommodate the ever-increasing number of friends and suuporters.

It seems that his use of new media has helped to make him more approachable. Just the other day, a student who was facing some Visa problems for her trip to the US emailed him, and he was able to help her sort out her mess. No doubt, this will help boost his popularity even further and will no doubt prompt others to turn to him for help. Already, many supporters are sending him messages and leaving him encouraging notes on his facebook page!

It certainly looks like Mr George Yeo has found success with new media!

Evian’s social media marketing with “Roller Babies”

A one-minute video clip by Evian has been making waves on the Internet.

How so? It’s the new Evian ad that has been launched on Youtube. Of course that in itself is not new. Nor will it always make for a successful viral marketing campaign.

Add the cutest babies doing sleek and smooth rollerblading stunts, and you have a sure winner on hand!

The cute, chubby and charismatic babies dazzle with their cool moves! The producers hired about 800 bloggers to launch the ad campaign online and this advertising campaign using social media has proven to be a great success! The ad is also one of the most watched videos on Youtube.

There’s even a video that shows the ‘making of’ the ad as well! It acts like a certain part 2 of the campaign.

There are two versions of the Evain ad: the International version that starts with Let’s observe the effect of Evian on your body and the US version that starts with How does drinking Evian make you feel? This is followed to a series of shots showing the babies breakdancing, moonwalking and all to the Rapper’s Delight.

Well, I like Evian but does anyone actually think that Evian is the elixir of youth? Do the producers think that anyone would fall for that line?

Of course not, but then, when you have such cute and bubbly babies that lift your spirits, who cares!

Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’ new media marketing

In my previous post, I wrote about how writer Stephenie Meyer, now famous and rich author of the Twilight series, uses new media to reach out to their fans and attract new readers.

She’s not alone in exploiting new media for publicity and promotion of her books. Dan Brown, in promoting his much-awaited new novel, The Lost Symbol, is also launching a new media publicity blitz! The book is the third in the series, following Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code. You can log on to the official Lost Symbol website to countdown to book launch date. You can also download a widget online!

If that’s not enough, you can follow the progress of the novel launch via Twitter and Facebook, with puzzles and secret codes and other online teasers that fans can play to further whet their appetite!

Can’t wait.