Let’s talk SELFIES

Selfies are all up in the news these days. I came across two topics that I want to talk about: 1) how marketers are stalking your selfies and 2) how Samsung plans to find its next selfie moment. Remember the epic selfie from the Oscars? Ya, that was Samsung.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal talks about how some new startups are using your selfies to give brands information and targeting opportunities. I’m assuming y’all know that if you have a public profile on Insta, anyone can view your pictures, selfies included. Well, now companies are stalking your selfies and re-purposing these images for big-brand advertisers. One example is Ditto Labs, which uses its software to scan for brands showing up in selfies. For example, if you’re holding a Coca-Cola can in a photo, Ditto can find this photo and send targeted ads your way. Other companies like Piquora store these images to show marketers what is trending in popularity. Pretty cool and creepy, right? Well there are some pretty blurred lines in terms of the privacy issues that are coming up as a result.

Ok so now that we’ve gone over the creepiness of selfies, let’s talk about something more fun! I bet many of you have seen the selfie below where Samsung planned a Samsung-shot selfie of host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Meryl Streep…along with a few other beauties:

This selfie got so much buzz, and many people (including a bunch of CBSers) replicated this selfie after it was posted. Samsung didn’t expect so much success, but when it saw just how big the buzz was, the brand donated $3 million split between DeGeneres' two selected nonprofits: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Humane Society. This highlights Samsung’s agility and the importance of brands being able to think and react quickly. Apparently only Ellen and Meryl were supposed to be in the selfie – but sometimes things go better than planned! A recent AdWeek article talks about how Samsung is constantly monitoring opportunities like this. Samsung’s Director of Media & Partnerships says: “The goal hopefully should be that you’re looking for another fun, additive, organic and authentic moment for the brand you’re partnering with and yourself. So in that, there’s no time for sleep.”