Selfies - The Epidimic by MindShift Metrics

THE SELFIE EPIDEMIC

IN INDIA AND AROUND THE WORLD
Report
compiled
by

www.mindshiftinteractive.com

The
word
‘seﬂie’
was
included
in
the
Oxford
Dictionary
on

19th
November,
2013

Also,
was
declared
as
the
International
Word
Of
The
Year
in

2013,
from
a
list
of
over
150
million
words!

The
frequency
of
usage
of
the
word
in
the
English
language

had
increased
by
17000%
since
2012

(n.)
a
photograph
that
one

has
taken
of
oneself,

typically
with
a

smartphone
or
webcam

and
uploaded
to
a
social

media
website

REASONS FOR
CLICKING
SELFIES
Given that social media platforms are
breeding grounds for flattery and
support from friends in the form of likes
and comments, it’s no surprise that the
term gained popularity amongst various
age groups
The opinions and the decisions of the
youth are driven by what their friends
think of them. How they are perceived
and accepted is defined by the placed
they go to, the clothes they wear, and
even the lip shade for that matter.
All this gets covered through a selfie,
giving them a boost in the way they see
themselves and present themselves in
front of others. The youth develop
themselves on based on social
acceptance through likes, comments
and shares, which boosts their morale,
giving them the confidence of being
accepted

According to a 2013 survey, two-thirds
of Australian women aged 18–35 years
take selfies with the purpose of
posting it on Facebook, the leader
when it comes to the platform where
the largest number of selfies are
posted
Samsung’s poll displays that 30% of the
photos taken by people in the age of 18
to 24 years are Selfies and that
resonates louder with Instagram proudly
highlighting the existence of 35 million
selfies on the platform
Duck Selfies are claimed to perform
1122% better than regular selfies on
Instagram

• Date taken: March 3, 2014
• Occasion: Oscars
It became the most retweeted tweet ever, garnering
3.4 million retweets. It also brought about the current
trend of taking selfies in large groups, or #Ussies
• Date taken: December 10, 2013
• Occasion: Nelson Mandela memorial service
Barack Obama posed for a selfie with David Cameron
and Helle Thorning Schmidt, proving that selfies can
be taken anywhere, regardless of the place or the
occasion
• Date taken: March 19, 2014
• Occasion: Weekly general audience, Vatican
His Holiness stopped to snap a selfie with two
newlyweds. Surprisingly, it isn’t the only encounter
the Pope has had with the front camera.

Selfie as a hashtag grew more than
200% in usage since January 2013
while making way for adaptations in
the form of #selfiesunday,
#selfienation and some rather
interesting hashtags doing the
rounds like #belfie (bottom selfie),
#aftersex selfies (with people
snuggled up to their lovers) and
ofcourse the #OscarSelfie , which
brought about the trend of taking
photographs in large groups and is
also termed as #ussie

Selfies and their
relevance to brands

With selfies becoming more popular every second,
the opportunity for marketers to tap into this ever-
growing audience to get their attention has
increased greatly. The keyword here continues
towards being the essence of social media – gaining
insights about your consumers by listening to them
and decoding what they truly want, and how they
want it. This, merged with understanding mindsets
behind a selfie, and how to go about creating a
connect with your brand would ensure success to
the brand

Selfies were used as a route to inspire
through a series of videos celebrating
real beauty and showcasing how social
media helps redefine beauty. The videos
highlighted how mothers and daughters
compare their perceived flaws to
attributes others compliment them on
In India, Dove launched the #DoveSelfie
contest inviting women to take a selfie
of their best hairstyle as per the theme
of the day and post it across Facebook,
Twitter or Instagram
The video garnered a total of 9 lakh
views and helped create a mindshift
amongst each of the individuals
interviewed on how they saw
themselves

Highlighting their targeted at the
entire family, & tapping the Indian
sentiment of taking photographs
with family members, Max Bupa
encouraged Twitter audiences to
take a family selfie with their loved
ones Insurance plan
With participations from influential
tweeps, the campaign garnered a
total outreach of 244,000, driving
further awareness of the brand on
Twitter while giving it a boost 500
targeted followers within 4 days

In order to promote the brand’s latest backpack, the
campaign highlighted how everything is done backwards in
today’s times, and included the concept of reverse selfies,
where one had to show off their unique style with their backs
facing the camera either with the help of a mirror or get it
clicked by someone.

With the limitations alcohol brands have in
marketing themselves, this was an
excellent strategy towards connecting with
the youth and creating brand evangelism
Leveraging smartphone users and with the
attempt to help people take better selfies, the
contest roped in ace Fashion Photographer,
Atul Kasbekar and launched an Android & iOS
application with filters to enhance the look of
the Selfie taken, along with tips from the
photographer himself

AROUND THE WORLD
• In an effort to raise awareness of the exhibits and collections at museums around the
world, January 22, 2014 was dubbed #MuseumSelfieDay . This global initiative
generated a variety of artistic and unique images, all with the goal of encouraging
people to visit and support museums
• Star Wars launched their Instagram account in 2013 with a comical Darth Vader selfie
with the caption, ‘Another day at the office. #StarWars #DarthVader #selfies #gpom’.
In the first four hours, the account reportedly gained 30,000 followers. Till date, the
image has over 63,000 likes
• Inspired by the slefie trend, the New York Public library had installed photo booths at
its 42nd Street and mid-Manhattan locations as a way for guests to capture and share
a fun image from their visit. Visitors were encouraged to share their selfies and group
shots on their social media channels.

Apple has embarked on a mission to allow
their users to take the highest quality of
selfies from their smartphones
They have also started a new
section in the iTunes app store
dedicated to selfie sharing apps

Instagram sees a daily traffic of 7.3 Million users, and an
average of 60 Million photos uploaded daily
Being acquired by Facebook makes it more seamless and
susceptible of owning and leading the selfie domain for years
to come

THE
SELFIE
MIRROR
Digital agency iStrategyLabs came up with this social media innovation. Dubbed
‘S.E.L.F.I.E’ (The Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine), the mirror actually consists of a
Mac mini hidden behind the 2-way mirror, a web cam and LED lights embedded behind it.
Triggered by simply standing in front of the mirror and holding a smile, hidden LED’s
indicate a countdown, then simulate a ‘flash’ as your image is taken. The photo is then
automatically posted to Twitter (with a watermark/logo). How does it work? The facial
recognition software installed on the Mac works to recognize you and initiates the photo-
taking process. The built-in LED lights are designed to indicate to you when the photo will
be taken so you're ready with that gorgeous white smile.

SHOTS
OF
ME
‘Shots of me’ is social networking application, made exclusively for clicking and sharing
selfies. With ‘Shots of me’, the user must take their photos using the front-facing camera,
and just like Snapchat, you can only shoot pictures within the application; no uploading
better pictures taken earlier. But what ‘Shots of me’ doesn’t have is what actually sets it
apart: you can’t comment on the photos you see in the app.
Teen pop-star – Justin Beiber has invested $1.1 million in the social network.

Insightful Digital Outreach assures an
innovative & sustained engagement.

Selfies - The Epidimic by MindShift Metrics

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