Stuart Aitken, editorial manager at the IAB, analyses what the Rage Against the Machine experience might mean for social media.
So, Rage Against the Machine beat Joe McElderry to become the UK's Christmas number one. There's been enough column inches wasted already discussing the implications of this somewhat odd development so I won't be adding my tuppence worth (read this though if you want to read something genuinely interesting about what the whole debacle might mean).
We may only understand the full implications of the event from a social media perspective in the New Year. Social media agencies across the land must be bracing themselves for the onslaught over the next few months as brands badger them to "do as Rage Against the Machine" in the same way that many begged to be shown how to use MySpace "the Arctic Monkeys way".
Interestingly, such discussions are already under way - and in some fairly unlikely places. Labourlist for example posted a story this morning entitled "This campaign can teach us something" which stated: "What we on the left should take from this campaign is that if we can reconnect and use people power through Labour Party based issues - utilising social media outlets as we did with the We Love The NHS campaign earlier this year - then anything is possible."
Yes there is a point to be made from the RATM experience about the power of social media. But brands must be wary of mindless bandwagonism.
Despite what may have happened over the last few weeks, social media campaigns still need to be approached in a strategic manner. Brands must not simply expect the medium to deliver whatever the task. The industry needs this like it needs a bullet in the head - which coincidentally was Rage Against the Machine's follow up single to Killing in the Name of - it's equally poor.
