SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V41.0]

TOYOTA is teaming up with Salesforce.com to launch Toyota Friend -- a Twitter-esque private social network for Toyota drivers - The Next Web 

The HOME DEPOT has named 25 social media store associates to help manage the How-To Community, be the store's online voice in social media, and improve overall customer service - Ad Age

CISCO SYSTEMS' share how they actively listen and continuously engage with the social customer - Vimeo 

Hot Wheels 'Custom Motors Cup Challenge' on YouTube - with over 1,146,138 games played to date, it’s hard to argue this isn't a great example of digital brand engagement – Video 

The Future of Mobile - Devices are greater than App’s - an exert from Scott Jenson’s “The Coming Zombie Apocalypse”, Design Mind, May 2011 – Article 

Oldie but Goodie - we were recently reminded of an FWA SOTD (that was way ahead of it’s time). If you’ve never seen, we thought you might enjoy the Secret Location– website 

VISA is offering a new Facebook application called Memory Mapper for travelers to chronicle and share their memories with friends online - Finextra

Burger King's 'Status Trader' Social Promotion - if there were a Rube Goldberg Award for campaign mechanics – this would definitely be a top contender – Video 

Friskies® iPad Games for Cats.  Whether you just adore cats (or of the belief that cat ownership is admitting that somewhere in your house is a box of crap) – this is definitely interesting – Video.  Also, one of our readers sent us this link of the app being used - Video 

PERSUASION Profiling - Facebook Ad Profiling Technique - While the following synopsis is intended to identify a new (online) ad-profiling technique, we find it equally relevant for Facebook adverts – Article 

GNC is offering daily deals on their Facebook page that allow fans to purchase products directly from their news feed - Facebook 

SNEAKERPEDIA by Footlocker (by SapientNitro) aims to drive authenticity and unite the world's most ardent sneaker fanatics (and their collections) into one gloriously comprehensive community – Overview 

How do your social media costs compare? Here’s a handy infographic on “The Real Cost Of Social Media” – View

Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Disney, Discovery Communications, Warner Bros, and more are all building commerce around their Facebook community - ClickZ 

USA Network is launching a real-time discussion experience called Chatter where viewers can connect with each other -- and in some cases, actors and producers from the show -- while the show is airing. - Lost Remote 

Treat-Rewarding Recycling Bins - Even though recycling has become a mainstream practice now, there is still much to be done, and designer YunJin Chang is offering a tasty incentive with his newest invention – Article 

As a part of their "Long Live Imagination" campaign, Canon is encouraging fans to submit photographs to their YouTube channel for a chance to become the inspiration for a short film directed by Ron Howard -  MediaPost 

Lithium's awards for big brands' best social media efforts included HP, Research in Motion, The Home Depot, Lenovo, AT&T, and more - Lithosphere 

Honda is hosting a songwriting competition on Facebook asking fans to both submit and vote for original songs inspired by the new Honda Civic -Facebook 

Heineken Star Player App takes live events to a whole new level. Anticipate the outcome of live match moments to score points. Top right or over the bar? Into the wall or the back of the net?  You decide in real-time – Overview 

NOTE: For more articles and posts from the last week please visit us on Twitter at both @goodbuzz and @disruptbureau.  Also, if you have info, articles, case studies or other examples of participatory marketing bliss - please feel free to either post via Facebook or send via e-mail and we’ll take care of it for you.

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Persuasion Profiling - Ad Profiling Technique

While the following synopsis is intended to identify a new (online) ad-profiling technique, we find it equally relevant for Facebook adverts. Note: Parts of Eli “Mind Reading” article are used below.  The article was published by WIRED Magazine in May 2011.

 Today, most recommendation and targeting systems focus on the products: Commerce sites analyze our consumption patterns and use that info to figure out that, say, viewers of Iron Man also watch The Dark Knight. But new work by Maurits Kaptein and Dean Eckles, doctoral students in communications at Stanford University, suggests there’s another factor that can be brought into play. Retailers could not only personalize which products are shown, they could personalize the way they’re pitched, too.

Kaptein and Eckles set up an experimental online bookstore and encouraged customers to browse the titles and mark a few for purchase. By alternating the types of pitches—Appeal to Authority (e.g. “Malcolm Gladwell says you’ll like this”), Social Proof (e.g. “All your friends on Facebook are buying this book”), and the like—Kaptein and Eckles could track which mode of argument was most persuasive for each person.

Some book buyers felt comforted by the fact that an expert reviewer vouched for their intended product. Others preferred to go with the most popular title or a money-saving deal. Some people succumbed to what Eckles calls “high need for cognition” arguments—smart, subtle points that require some thinking to get (“The Hunger Games is the Inferno of children’s literature”). Still others responded best to being hit over the head with a simple message (“The Hunger Games is a fun, fast read!”). And certain pitches backfire: While some people rush for a deal, others think discounts mean the merchandise is subpar. By eliminating persuasion styles that didn’t work on a particular individual, Kaptein and Eckles were able to increase the effectiveness of a recommendation by 30 to 40 percent.

Most significantly, they found that people respond to the same type of argument in multiple domains. In other words, if you figure out how to sell someone books, you can use the same technique to sell them clothes. And if that finding holds, your persuasion profile will have a pretty substantial financial value. Once a company like Amazon has determined your profile by suggesting products in a variety of ways over time and seeing how you respond, there’s no reason it couldn’t then sell that information to other companies. In other words, if you respond a few times to a “50 percent off in the next 10 minutes!” deal, you could find yourself surfing a web filled with blaring red headlines and countdown clocks.

There’s plenty of good that could emerge from persuasion profiling. Eckles points to DirectLife as an example, a wearable coaching device by Philips that uses human coaches to figure out which arguments get a particular individual to eat more healthfully and exercise more regularly. But DirectLife also highlights one of the core challenges of persuasion profiling: It works best when it’s invisible to the user. It’s just not the same to hear an automated coach saying, “You’re doing a great job! I’m telling you that because you respond well to positive feedback!”

While DirectLife aims to improve your health, most companies that buy and sell your persuasion profile may not have your well being at heart. Consider what could happen if they knew that certain customers buy things compulsively when they’re stressed or feeling bad about themselves. (“Our analysis of your Facebook photos says you’re overweight and ugly. Buy our makeup.”) If persuasion profiling makes it possible for a coaching device to shout “You can do it” to people who like positive reinforcement, in theory it could also enable politicians to make personalized appeals based on each voter’s particular fears. If your persuasion profile shows that you’re a sucker for social pressure, Joe Candidate could target you with ads saying that your friends will be told whether or not you voted. Persuasion profiling potentially offers quick, easily transferable, targeted access to your personal psychological weak spots.

So how can we protect ourselves from this insidious analysis? The first line of defense is to know that persuasion profiling is on the way, keep an eye out for it, and view marketing arguments with the skepticism they deserve. Otherwise, if you’re not careful and GlennBeck.com finds out you’re moved by “Act now!” exhortations, your preparations for the apocalypse could be interrupted by alerts from the Post Office that first-class stamps will soon cost $79 each and warnings that the grocery store is almost out of bottled water. Forever.

Original Article in Wired