USING CROWDSOURCING TO BE MORE SOCIAL

Two recent crowdsourcing initiatives have shown different ways in which businesses can become more social, opening up previously closed sides of the business to consumers. This gives them the power to influence key decisions in product development, customer service and more.

Proving that even the largest conglomerates can tap into the spirit of collaboration and transparency, Unilever has launched a new forum to gather suggestions for how it might grow its business while simultaneously reducing its environmental impact. Run in collaboration with global technology and IP marketplace, yet2.com, the Open Innovation Submission Portal provides visitors with a list of specific 'Challenges' and 'Wants'. 

These include finding new ways of preserving food naturally and bringing safe drinking water to the world's poorest people. Unilever vets submissions and the most promising partnerships pursued - be it with small technology startups or major international organizations.

Meanwhile, Chilean fashion clothing brand Ripley has taken fashion photography out of the hands of the David Baileys and Mario Testinos of the world and into the hands of the public (via MRM, Santiago). With Rompela Flash Mob, the company invited amateur and professional photographers to take pictures of the Ripley models for their new catalogue. 

Participants didn't need to have a professional camera; some of them even took their pictures with mobile phones. In order to participate, they just had to get their Photographer Pass online. On set, the brand gave them everything they needed to take the pictures: locations, eleven models, make-up artists, hairdressers, assistants and fashion producers. Ripley also gave participants tips on taking better photos on the brand's YouTube channel.

Rompela Flash(mob) - English version from MRM Santiago on Vimeo.

Participating photographers were asked to upload their photos at the campaign's website, where people could vote for their favorite ones. The three most popular photographers won a Canon SX40 camera. At the brand's Facebook page, photographers also competed for daily prizes of gifts cards valued at 50,000 Chilean pesos, exchangeable for Ripley outfits. On both the digital and the print fashion catalogues, each picture comes with the name of the person who took it and can be shared online through Facebook and Twitter.

It's great to see brands that have traditionally been comparatively closed - from the proprietary corporate infrastructures of huge conglomerates to the exclusive world of the fashion house - working in these kinds of open, collaborative ways. It makes sense to give consumers a chance to become genuinely involved in the brand's products and services, allowing them access to places previously off limits and the power to influence companies in ways they couldn't before.

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SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V75.0]

Kraft Foods' Oreo brand is celebrating its 100th birthday on Facebook and Twitter by encouraging fans to submit personal videos, pictures, stories, and short animated films capturing their own childlike moments - PR Daily

Kotex 'Womens Inspiration Day' uses Pinterest to find 50 women (in Israel) and what inspires them. From there, Kotex created individual inspiration packages using what each woman had on her Pinterest Boards, turning them into gift boxes which were ultimately pinned and blogged about - YouTube

Disney's Marvel Studios announced they will offer advance screenings around the world for "The Avengers" in cities where the movie has gained the most fans on Facebook - Boston.com

The Generous Store’s ‘Chocolates for Deeds’ Promotion - Instead of a cash register the pop-up store uses iPads where people can log in to Facebook and post their promises to the profiles of both the giver and receiver of the generous deed - YouTube

Despite the hype, Facebook's Timeline may not be the most exciting, or important change coming on March 30. Expanded advertising opportunities may unlock the greatest potential for brands to grow on Facebook - More

According to PhaseOne Communications, Starbucks, Audi, McDonald's, Red Bull, and American Express rank in the top most socially engaging brands due to their "idealized self" brand message - MediaPost

The Value of Social Loyalty (for the airline industry) - Infographic

The NHL and EA Sports are teaming up to give fans the chance to choose the next athlete for the cover of the new "NHL 13" game. Fans can then promote their top picks on Facebook and Twitter with hashtag #NHL13Cover - ESPN

The Future of Profit is Purpose - The challenge that most brands are facing today using social media is that their brands don’t stand for anything. Certainly they make something or provide a service – but they don’t stand for anything. Bottom line is that your own brand ‘movement’ needs social media, but more than that it needs a higher purpose. At its core this is our modern reality - Article

American Express is finding success in social media by getting their fans' attention and gaining their trust with three simple guidelines - Social Media Today

This AIDS campaign leverages a popular scam technique on Facebook to spread the “virus” of AIDS awareness. Brazilian radio station Mix FM posted two very sexy videos featuring a gorgeous man and a very hot girl. A lot of fans were attracted to the the videos and watched them, not being aware that the videos, without their permission, were automatically publicly posted on their Facebook timeline - YouTube

To mark their 140th anniversary, Heineken has released a limited edition bottle that was designed by winners of their global Facebook competition - Marketing Magazine

The Four Seasons hotel in Toronto has launched a memory book on Facebook for past and current guests to upload their photos and personal stories - Luxury Daily

Does your social brand need a mascot? Brand mascots are making a comeback thanks to social media as marketers redeploy old characters in new ways, create fresh ones from scratch and use digital media to spin out rich storylines not possible in the past - AdAge

IKEA: Multi-View Interactive Kitchen Stories


The Shorty Awards honored Walgreens, Volkswagen, CNN, Research In Motion, and more for the best work in social media channels, viral campaigns, websites, games, and applications - Shorty Awards

Macy's is building an interactive social community for their customers to give feedback and interact with each other online - ClickZ

MatterPort is a startling new technology that allows users to simply point a gun and create 3D maps of their surrounding environment. Imagine the possibilities for its use in special effects and even video game environments. Coming soon to a campaign near you - Vimeo

Some creative is worth posting twice. ;) We love campaigns that integrate real-world social (api) data to enhance the user experience (i.e. Intel's 'Museum of Me' and Toyota's "Your Other You"). ‘Take This Lollipop' is a PSA for internet privacy however that takes the concept to a whole new level – Take This Lollipop

Dubbed "The first campaign using Torrents" - here's a clever Blood Donation drive in Russia. The 'Torrent Your Blood' Campaign launched as a short film, complete with microsite, trailers and social media to promote and amplify. The catch? Content was only available via a torrent (just like a blood donation) – Video

Here's an interesting online promotion for HomeSense targeting women 25-54 with strong results. It was supported with both print and radio - so well integrated and the appropriate engagement tools were used (based upon the target technographic profile). What’s clear is that women specifically love to demonstrate to other women how fashionable they are and be validated for it (witness Pinterest) – Video Below.

Volkswagens Social Gamification Promotion "Hitchhike with a like" awards points and prizes for engagement and even a 2012 Beetle Trip across Europe. More - http://on.fb.me/GUSITi

This is remarkable - the 'World's First Virtual Shopping Store' opens in Korea. All the Shelves are LCD Screens and users simply choose their desired items by touching the screen. Once you've paid all items are delivered to your home – Image

Human RFID approved by US - People will obviously cite privacy issues (and rightfully so), however, can you imagine the enhanced retail experience that could be provided when dealing with a ‘known’ user? Not entirely sure whether the world’s ready for this yet – but certainly worth posting. What do you think? More on http://bit.ly/eTgFo

When it comes to life, what's the point of "business" anyways? Is there one? - http://bit.ly/HcW8mI - and what does a life worth living look like in our modern reality? A great article by Umair Haque (Director of Havas Media Labs and author of Betterness: Economics for Humans and The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business.)

Target: Young males. Product: Toyota Matrix. Forgive the age of this video, however, we've been searching for any versions of it still online (for well over a year) - as the original website (by Mekanism) was taken down when Toyota was sued for it. The site used Facebook Connect and asks a few questions to extend an immersive transmedia experience. Here’s the Case Study

"The Value of $1" project - Here's a new way of participating in a social business. Participating in “The Value of $1” project (by Projector Tokyo for Uniqlo) is as simple as purchasing an electronic study book for just one dollar. More - http://bit.ly/HlkINy

Lowe Brindfors (and B-Reel) just released the second installment of 'Magnum Pleasure Hunt', which sees its lady bonbon hunter frolicking through the streets of Soho, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro. What do you think?  Players help her collect the goodies throughout the journey, which includes everything from a Frogger-like street game and rides on scooters, surfboards and helium balloons – Website

What Does Social Media Need to Really Work? - Article

Whether a new meme or the Kony 2012 video - every week there is something new that catches everyone’s attention. Ultimately viral content needs to evoke an emotional response from a targeted audience that motivates them to share it with their social networks. Ever wonder what it takes for content to go 'viral'? – Check http://bit.ly/GZU2Vh

Pepsi Next is offering their Facebook fans an internet taste test via a personalized video from the Funny or Die improv crew -  Facebook

Dell has updated their IdeaStorm community platform to include more staff involvement, social media integration, rewards for superstar contributors, and Storm Sessions -- real-time dialogue between representatives and members about specific issues -  Forbes

P&G's Pepto-Bismol, Target, and Walgreens are using social media data to guide their marketing efforts -  Digiday

GE shares how they are embracing social media through a "stock and flow" approach on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest -  BtoB

Walmart is teaming up with General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods, and The Kellogg Company to donate more than 42 million meals to food banks around the country. Shoppers can participate by entering product codes online, sharing a hashtag on Twitter, or scanning a QR code on participating foods to generate the meals -  Walmart Community

McCormick has launched their new Pinterest page with a themed "My Look Book" feature and contest that encourages fans to create their own board of favorite recipes to share -  The New York Times

MTV's Voices hub -- an international platform that highlights positive and inspirational social content -- has added the new "I Care" button for viewers to show and share their support instead of using the traditional "like" button -  Econsultancy

London-based department store Harrods is giving fans the chance to inspire a famous window display by designing their own store window idea on a Pinterest board -  Luxury Daily

By launching their video on Sharethrough - a social video distribution platform - Puma reached more than 8,300 total social engagements and over one million views -  MediaPost

NBC Philadelphia is premiering a new show called "Life Around Home" that will choose its subject matter based on posts to its Facebook and other social media pages -  All Facebook

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