Zombie Fear and Unified Communications

Everyone loves a flesh eating zombie.

They're on the big screen in horror fare like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later.  They fill comedic roles in films like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead.  And they star in cable television's hit series The Walking Dead.

Source: FilmSafari.com

Now it is the zombies turn to sink their teeth into the blogosphere.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has basked in a glow of positive press and blogger accolades for their post that playfully listed precautions each of us should take in case of a zombie apocalypse.

It was an example of what I refer to as the three Es of social media content - engage, educate and entertain.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we elected to do more than join the caravan of kudos for the CDC.  Rather, we asked an important question:  how can we leverage the buzz generated by the CDC's post to the benefit of our clients in a meaningful and relevant way?

In partnership with the federal government team at telepresence, video and voice conferencing vendor Polycom, we crafted a response to the CDC suggesting their zombie apocalypse plan wasn't quite complete.  It neglected a critical technology that would enable continuity of government and delivery of emergency services -- unified communications.

Creativity in social media can take many forms, from original commentary to parody.  It's a must to understand what content is resonating with your key stakeholders and then become part of that story.