✔ COCA-COLA 2020 - FROM CREATIVE TO CONTENT

Coca-Cola here defines their strategic road map moving forwards.  This a response to the widespread recognition in the industry that "the legacy models are all broken" and "the traditional solutions are all becoming less and less effective."

What's Coke’s ‘Content 2020’ goal?  Double their current sales by creating ideas so contagious they cannot be controlled. The types of content that will be developed?  Serial Storytelling, Multi-faceted Storytelling, Spreadable Storytelling, Immersion and discovery Storytelling, and Engagement Storytelling. (A clearer explanation of these content types is available in the videos).

(Part 1)

How will they achieve this?  Coca-Cola intends on developing a conversation model that extends brand stories.  The brand stories are intended to create ‘liquid’ and ‘linked’ ideas that provoke conversations (which the brand can act and react upon). The company also has identified that they intend on integrating technologists into the core creative teams and further developing direct relationships with Technology companies.  

(Part 2)

What's clear is that people and organizations are reordering their priorities and causing global change across a range of interconnected spaces from honesty and fair employment to communal, social and environmental responsibility. 

Coca-Cola has always been at the forefront of innovation and storytelling. In these video’s Jonathan Mildenhall, VP, Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence explains how Coke will leverage the opportunities in the new media landscape and transform one-way storytelling into dynamic storytelling (hoping to add real value and significance to peoples lives.)  

One (of many) elements we also believe 100% is the need to optimize efforts such that "every contact point with a customer should tell an emotional story".  Kudos to Coca-Cola for establishing a new participatory global brand framework and giving its constituents a voice.   We’re confident this positioning will serve you well.

♔ Read this or Die - A Field Guide to Participatory Media

Landscape Reality

There are clearly too many products and services today.   There are too many features in each product, too many media messages, and too many elements per page.  Not to mention—too many competing channels and too many entities vying for our attention. The marketing challenge however is that consumers are so inundated with information that they actually end up no longer valuing simple goods or services.   The resulting “Feature Clutter” only adds to consumer paralysis, as our capacity as humans to digest this information hasn’t evolved at all.  Today’s range of choices may so confuse a buyer that they’ll put up with the old model rather than decide which is the best of the products advertised. What becomes evident is that the newest barriers to competition are the mental walls that customers erect. The modern consumer does not like to be sold— they like to buy (and tend to purchase in groups). For the first time in history, the most powerful barriers to competition are not controlled by companies, but by consumers.  

Opportunity

Consumers aren’t seeking features and benefits so much as tribal identity, asking themselves, “If I buy this product what will that make me?”   Today, it’s ALL about the user experience, value-proposition and the subsequent exchange—and consumers are evolving to platforms that feel more like a conversation, (and less like a sales pitch.)  They’re also listening more to their friends, in a return to the word-of-mouth culture that existed before mass communications.  That’s the simple beauty of Social Media—as it acts as an enabler and facilitator of this exchange and importantly evolves your communication from a (one-way) monologue to a (two-way) participatory experience.

Why Social Media

It’s not enough to simply differentiate today—brands must radically differentiate, as just keeping up with the competition isn’t enough.  In our opinion, Social Media is the silver bullet.  It’s about recognizing, accounting for, and tapping into the fact that, as your potential consumer makes a purchasing (or engagement) decision—they are being influenced by different circles of people through conversations with them, both online and off.  Consumer conversations about brands, products and services are increasingly woven into the interactions of social networks as a means to connect with others, and these conversations have great influence even though people aren’t consciously asking about brand opinions. Furthermore, consumers do not always realize how much influencing they are doing and how much they are being influenced when they have conversations about brands across social platforms. 

Social media, collaboration and networking certainly seem to be all the rage these days, but many people still do not understand what all the fuss is about. From the outside looking in, it would seem that online social networking is all about spending a lot of time doing nothing.  But once you understand that a social network is as much of a place or social construct, as it is an activity, all of that begins to change.   For many people, Social Networks are their home (or “hub”) online; a small piece of the web that they can call their own.  Social media is media disseminated through social interaction online.  Users gravitate towards it extends a platform that allows people to both express their individuality and meet people with similar interests. This structure typically includes profiles, friends, blog posts, widgets, and usually something unique to that particular social networking website—such as the ability to 'poke' people on Facebook or “High Five” on Hi5.  People and organizations accordingly are reordering their priorities and causing global change across a range of interconnected spaces.

Most companies are seeing Social Media as an imperative today simply because search ranking, indexing, and monetization are now directly tied to end-user experience and interaction.  To this end, our ultimate goal is to ensure a framework is in place to turn the world of social media into a strong asset and powerful tool to grow and extend your business.  If the past decade was all about the power of linking and integrating web pages and data, today it's all about power of linking and integrating people.

Facebook

With 650+ million users globally (and millions more being added each week) Facebook is dominating the web in unparalleled ways. Yet, even as the social network has steadily grown over its short but remarkable history, many brands have remained on the sidelines of the social media revolution.

Facebook was the most visited site on the web for the week ending on March 13, 2010, surpassing even Google in weeklong stats for the first time in history, according to Hitwise. The shift in user habits and audience targeting is palpable and it provides marketers, brand managers, issue advocates, and political campaigns today with an age old choice: Adapt and change or face irrelevance and extinction.  The story is clear: Change happens. To survive it, you must anticipate it; and to be successful, you must embrace it.

           

Just as intelligent companies adapted their marketing and communications models for the advent of Google over the last decade, dominance has forced another “change or become extinct” moment.  To thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace, corporate communicators must understand that the shift now underway is just as powerful as the one that transformed Google into the modern Yellow Pages and turned a Silicon Valley start-up into a $200 billion everyday necessity.  Far too many executives unfortunately still see Facebook as a vast, uncontrollable outpost and not for corporate reputation management, crisis response, and brand bulletproofing.

But the numbers don’t lie. Almost half-a-billion users each spend an average of nearly 6 hours per month on the site –- inhabiting networks that are largely free of corporate messaging, spam, and expensive advertising. This ought to make at least a few corporate titans rethink that next $1 million Super Bowl ad buy (even if Google did buy its first in 2010).  One must 'fish where the fish' are and a branded Facebook Page should be a staple online marketing decision for most consumer brands today for all of the following reasons:

· No media spend necessary (unless you invest in social ads across Facebook)
· Access to near real-time analytics and demographics (Facebook Insights)
· Direct engagement with your consumers via Walls, Discussion Posts and commenting
· Targeted updates to Fans (age, gender and region)
· The ability to listen to your community – recommendations, complaints, suggestions, user experiences
· A place to replicate existing content (RSS feeds, photos, videos)
· A signpost to your official web presence (and conversion tool to migrate people to something actionable/ transactional.)

The Evolution the Search Algorithm

The reality is that your existing website would have likely served its purpose in the Web 1.0 world (some time ago).   These were the days of the website as a “destination” and typically evidenced similar information found in a traditional brochure.  At that time, the way that search engines found and indexed websites was based on simple organic listings.  More specifically, if you had advertised offline to drive people to your website, or alternatively people “knew” who they were looking for (i.e. searched specifically for “your brand”) they would have likely found your listing.    

Also, in those days, if someone was searching online for a specific “topic” and selected your brand's link, Google for example, would heighten/strengthen the link or association between the search terms “topic” and “your brand”.  Naturally over a period of time, if your brands link is more relevant then others competing organically for the same search terms, you could potentially have a top Search ranking.  Adding ad banners, SEO, or keyword purchases at this time also greatly assisted in driving traffic at this time.

The Web 2.0. world was still in the “destination” web mindset.  Added integration with databases extended users more relevant online experiences that were “in context”.  This was the age of (1:1) personalization of web content.   To be a “known” or “recognized” user typically required signing up - and the goal of websites at that time was to aggregate “Registered” or “known” users (in order to be able to continue the dialogue and relationship beyond one visit.)  Search Engines also started indexing Web2.0 platforms differently - extending added value and ranking for personalization and depth of experience.   Adding ad banners, SEO, or keyword purchases at this time also greatly assisted in driving traffic to the destination.

In today’s Web 3.0 world, the Internet is becoming more democratic.  Meaning, rather then having to view what large corporations jam down our throats, user’s decide what’s of interest and popular by their usage and sharing of web content. Just think of TV; NBC, ABC, CBS etc. ALL have paid programming they air daily, whether you like the specific programming or not.  This model is quickly being replaced by YouTube (Vimeo, HULU and numerous other online “channels”) make this traditional model obsolete - as users today can watch what they want, when they want, where they want.   Not only that, if they like something, it can easily be shared with friends.   The 1:1 model has turned into All:All.

All this activity creates a hierarchy of what’s most popular and the content that is the most popular receives top listing, not the paid content from Coca-Cola.  This is specifically why companies are creating and seeding web-only content that is significantly different then traditional media.  What’s clear is that today the consumer is in the driving seat.  Web 1.0 websites are not even on the radar, specifically because the content is not participatory.   In truth, even if you spent $50,000 on SEO and Keywords, the shear volume of interconnected activity generated by modern Web3.0 sites (tied to social media) dwarfs Web1.0 (brochure-ware) sites.

Therefore, our proposal is to develop a digital ecosystem that allows one single point of update and easy management.   A platform whereby any content, whether your own or user-generated is integrated and shared with all other digital properties, giving a natural (associated) lift to all properties.  Google also updated their algorithm to take “social connectivity” into consideration, thus again favoring our Synced-Model as each and every engagement is literally amplified exponentially (and indexed accordingly).

Marketing in the Social Age

Connecting the dots will require new ways of working. And marketing’s close link with consumers will require it to lead these new ways of interacting and communicating, pushing process innovation to other parts of the organization all in an effort to serve customers better. In the end, the upheaval will be worth it. There are numerous advantages to changing to consistently deliver value to consumers.

What follows are four attractive benefits, each of which sets the stage for innovation:

1. More successful products and services

Consumers are often left out of product development, and today 80% of new products fail. But once connected, companies will be able to iterate the process of bringing a product or service to market, which will improve success rates. Marketing leaders will tap quick wins like delivering consumer service insights and online feedback to the product teams to gain support. Then they will push to make communication with consumer groups the central element to new product development processes, connecting innovation to end buyers. 

2. Stronger Brand

Consistent support of consumers around their life cycles and tighter integration of intangible and tangible value will result in stronger brands. More brands will become lifestyle choices as marketers approach their consumer groups with adapted offerings, service platforms, and branded content. Brands will mean more to the consumer groups who adopt them, resulting in stronger ties and loyalty. That means there will be higher expectations of brands too. But a brand shouldn’t let increased strength go to its head. The consumer and their needs must always lead.  

3. More loyal Customers

Connecting the dots will create enterprises that are more attuned to and focused on servicing consumers. Data will allow marketers to better understand consumers and hone offerings. This will in turn lead to greater customer satisfaction and create a virtuous circle of feedback and growth in loyalty. Growth will come through three opportunities: 1) building share within consumer groups; 2) increasing the share of customer spending; and 3) selling higher value products and services.  Participation is the new Loyalty.

4. Better allocation of all Resources

The core premise of connecting the dots is alignment of both objectives and resources — i.e., investment levels and staffing — for the common goal of delighting specific consumers —, which means companies, will progressively waste less. How? First, the contradictions and inconsistencies resulting from today’s operational silos will gradually dwindle. For example, the leaky bucket syndrome of acquiring new customers to replace those leaving due to discontent will slow, reducing acquisition costs.  Secondly, marketers will shift investment from mass acquisition campaigns — half wasted in the famous words of John Wanamaker — to more managed models, taking advantage of the targeting available with integrated media platforms. The bottom line will improve as marketers focus their media efforts with properties that speak specifically to each consumer group and push media companies to align.

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Need some help crafting a Social Media framework for your brand?  Contact info@goodbuzz.ca

"The Next Level" – Nike Football's Branded Utility

While Nike had been gaining traction in soccer for years, it had been losing traction with advanced players, who tended to gravitate toward rivals such as Adidas as they moved into more-serious competition. The 2008 European Championships presented just the opportunity to change this perception.  Note:  This campaign is a few years old now, but would work as well today as the day it was launched.  Great ideas are great ideas.  Period.

What resulted was the kind of campaign (by 72andSunny) that proved that it doesn't take a big footprint to do great work that delivers results.  Moreover, this is also exactly what we mean when we talk about branded content and utility - brands creating something that is participatory and useful/valuable to their customers.

The centerpiece of the program was a striking, fast-paced two-minute film directed by Guy Richie, which shows one athlete's first-person view of taking his game to a higher and higher level (first person POV complete with pre-match vomiting and requests for autographs).

Taking the self improvement theme further, an online "boot camp" based on Nike's site provided video-based advanced training and skills regiments. The short film by Guy Ritchie featured superstars such as Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo showing off dazzling skills, but positioned in the context of all the training it takes to get to the next level.

RESULTS
The effort drove 50 million unique visitors to Nike's site in six months, a total that doesn't include external websites such as YouTube, where one posting of Ritchie's film has drawn more than 4.2 million views. Print and outdoor executions focused on specific elite skills, and challenged readers as to whether they had them while also prominently referring them to the Nikefootball.com website.

Lufthansa's Social 'Reindeer Game' Christmas Promotion

This year’s reindeer pre-Christmas promotion on has been designed in 11 languages for 68 markets.  

Lufthansa developed an addictive Farm Town-like strategic-oriented game where users help Santa find enough reindeers.   Once found however they need to be fed and cared for or else they wither (hence farm town).  

A happiness-index always shows the reindeers‘ shape.  There are different actions to keep the reindeers in good shape such as feeding with fir cones, i.e. using special items on the website that are linked to Lufthansa newsletter and Lufthansa WorldShop. 

First prize is an intercontinental flight for 2 people. Apart from that the game offers various prize levels, so that as many as possible participants win an attractive prize.


This annual promotion is hugely successful, increases newsletter subscriptions as well as amplifies and activates Lufthansa‘s social networks.   Accompanying media includes Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.   Impressive work all around.  What do you think?  

Wired Shopping - Amplified Retail 3.0

While people may have become used to searching for reviews, comparisons and the best prices online,  in many cases solitary shopping and virtual interaction with products isn't enough to help customers figure out what they want.  People still want the retail experience for a number of reasons.  

People like to get out, pick up and examine products, try on things, ask questions, and talk to people who know something. However, they don't want to lose the pressure-free experience that comes from figuring it out on their own online - even though good service is paramount to them.
Simply put, people go back to the stores where they get the best service.   


Experiences therefore need to combine the tactile interaction of retail 3.0 with the power of knowledgeable, courteous sales reps.  Today’s retail 3.0 innovations therefore should look to amplify shopping beyond the check-in - and answer some fundamental customer needs on-premise. For example:

How do I find things?  - In larger stores or venues, customers can often have difficulty finding what they what. From this simple observation came the idea to use GPS or mapping. Some of the mobile location mapping in places like the American Museum of Natural History in New Yorkgives us clues into the way we can guide people through large spaces. Visitors to the museum can download on their mobile device an application that guides them through the massive halls and gives information on all the exhibits. (See: www.meridian-apps.com for more info.)


Is this product any good? - Online customer reviews have become a key part of shopping. Bringing dynamic user reviews and product ratings into a store is a good way to build loyalty. US beauty chain Sephora incorporated the use of customer reviews in-store when they introduced a mobile application that lets customers compare products and reviews as they shop. Customers can browse products by SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), category, or keyword - or refer to the bestselling items when making their purchasing decisions.


What's on sale? - Some retailers have responded to advances in location-aware applications that can provide specific promotions and product messages to customers while they're in or near the store. These messages are delivered over SMS, QR codes or Bluetooth, or through custom mobile applications. Several retailers, including Best Buy, have started usingShopkick to provide customers with special promotions and discounts for 'checking in' through a mobile app at their retail locations.


Am I having a good time? - The most effective experiences in retail environments are the ones that draw people in and keep them coming back. The interactive photo booth and style finder at the American Eagle Outfitters children's store, 77kids, allow kids to see themselves in a digital mirror, take a picture, make designs on it, print it, share it with their friends, and then take it home. The kids can also leave a copy of the picture in the store if they want to become part of the growing tapestry of customers there. And if the kids have a good time, the chances are their parents' shopping experiences will be better too.


How does the store know who I am? - One important online convenience is customisation and personalisation - the online brand remembers who you are and what you bought. With RFID and interaction with mobile devices, we can bring the same experience into the store and incorporate functionality that tracks past store visits and purchases. For example, if someone bought a pair of jeans the last time he was in the store, on a return visit the store might suggest a shirt to go with those jeans. An early trial of this idea was installed at the Galeria Kaufhof in Essen Germany - RFID was enabled on one floor to give customers product recommendations. The additional use of this installation is to capture and analyze data of products customers have tried, but did not purchase.


Can I get some help? - The best way to give the customer a good in-store service is to improve the social interaction between customers and staff. Very often customers do their research online and know more than the reps about products; or they may be sceptical of a sales rep's expertise. If a customer is in a clothing store and the rep knows that a specific celebrity wore a particular item in a movie or at the Oscars, that could be the difference between making the sale and losing it. By using simple SMS messages or interactive product comparison tools, brands can provide sales reps with insights or the most up-to-date information about products or today's promotions. Giving customers the kind of information they can't get with their own research improves the overall relationship with the rep and the brand.


How do I get out quickly? - Getting customers out of the store quickly and giving them a good point-of-sale experience are the best ways to lure them back. Several retailers are starting to use the iPod touch Linēa-pro handheld checkout device. This seems to be the first of many consumer mobile devices converted into sales rep check-out tools. These devices make it possible for sales reps and customers to have a simple social interaction that makes check-out lines less daunting and sometimes eliminates them altogether.


How did everything work out? - One of the goals for retailers should be to extend their brands beyond the store and reconnect with customers post sale. After in-store purchases, many retailers now send follow-up emails thanking customers for their business and requesting that they rate their purchases. This allows brands to become part of an ongoing dialogue with customers and to make changes to the products they stock. Retailers can use customer comments to change, remove, or add products. For instance, after receiving customer feedback stating that numerous packages were difficult to open, Amazon launched a campaign called 'frustration-free packaging', placing the onus on product manufacturers to develop simpler packaging options for customers.


Most of theses examples are basic (on-premise) customer relationship-building ideas, often forgotten with the flood of new technologies on the market. New technology can be an excellent tool to help customers, staff, and brands interact better, but it's only when we continue to ask the basic questions that we actually improve the experience.


Have tips to share?  We'd love to hear them.

Project Titan and Facebook Webmail

With more than 500 million users, Facebook today is already the world’s most popular search, social, photo, and event product - and soon will be the most popular local deals product as well.  (Sorry FourSquare).

And just when you thought it was safe (Google), Facebook are launching Project Titan on Monday— a robust, integrated web-based email client with personal @facebook.com email addresses for users. Facebook’s webmail client will naturally integrate content from each offering (i.e. Places, Search, Photos, Events, et al) in a seamless fashion. Logic would suggest that, as Facebook knows who your friends are already (interaction activity levels) and how closely you’re connected to them - prioritizing email based on social relevance should be a natural transition and more fluid user experience.

Next for Facebook?   More social commerce and extending a group-purchasing model. (Sorry Groupon).  We ultimately believe Facebook has been championed because users simply do not want to visit multiple websites to engage multiple disparate communities, content and/or log-in’s.  It's inconvenient and inefficient.  Users want one place where all other content is intelligently served to them as they determine.  We believe Facebook is that place today.  Maybe we've had too much of the Kool-Aid? 

What do you think?

Social Media Case Studies [Aug-GB_V4.0]

VISA's making shopping more social with a plug-in called Rightcliq that lets people receive shopping advice from friends via Facebook and email. - Visa

TOYOTA is encouraging people to share their personal stories about their vehicles on Facebook with their "Auto-Biography" campaign. - ClickZ

ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS has opened up Rogers Community Forums, a place to find help with technical issues, ask and respond to questions, and discuss the company's products and services with others. - RedBoard

In a new partnership with FOURSQUARE, PIZZA HUT announced that it will be rewarding devoted customers who have earned the title of "Mayor." They’ll receive a free order of breadsticks with their pizza. - Fast Company

DELL's Tag Team app on Facebook is taking social shopping to a new level by letting people find products through user-generated tag clouds and make purchase decisions based on customer reviews. - Context Optional

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, ZAPPOS, and BEST BUY are among several brands mentioned in Valeria Maltoni's blog post about top customer service accounts on Twitter. - Conversation Agent

By listening and engaging in real conversation about a taboo subject, KIMBERLY-CLARK'S social media campaign for Kotex created a safe place for women and girls to go for support. - FASTForward Blog

Dave Schoonover, KIA's national manager of CRM and digital marketing, discusses the strategy behind their "Who's Next" YouTube contest. - MediaPost

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Goodbuzz Inc. is a Toronto-based Digital Agency that creates social media campaigns that entice consumers to play, create, and share brand experiences. This is accomplished by focusing on developing "branded utility" - moving away from interruptive 'push' models towards more meaningful ways of connecting. From simple metrics to actionable insights that enable data-driven marketing decisions - Goodbuzz links social media efforts to business outcomes. Visit Goodbuzz or join us on Facebook. Any / all product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged.

A concert in the palm of your hand - Blink-182’s Tour kicks off in a bag of Doritos

That’s the gimmick behind a new online promotion from Doritos that centers on an “augmented reality” performance by the California band “Blink-182” which broke up in 2005. A special symbol printed on limited-edition packages of Doritos Late Night chips, will serve as a virtual “ticket” to the show. To unlock the online video, fans visit the Doritos Late Night website, flash the Augmented Reality (AR) marker at their webcams and watch as a stage literally appears to pop out of the package of snacks.


By blending 3-D, video, webcams and interactive AR elements, the 3-D image of Blink-182’s taped performance can also be manipulated by moving and shaking the bag. Like holding a hologram in your hand - this participatory experience lets viewers zoom in and interact with the performance. After the song finishes, fans even get a chance to bring the band back for an encore. The more noise you make, the faster they’ll come back out. Genius. To further integrate and amplify, after the virtual two-song show, viewers can also enter a contest to win tickets to a real world Blink-182 concert.


As a part of the integrated promotion, Blink-182 also seeded the content; tweeting about a “mystery video” that showed a little of the green-screen shoot for the Doritos promotion.


The Evolution of Celebrity Endorsement
Companies have a long history of enlisting famous faces to push products, but as brands fight for attention in an increasingly saturated media market, advertising campaigns often turn to the Internet and the latest emerging technologies in an attempt to generate interest.

Rapper Big Boi of hip-hop duo Outkast also performs a song using the same Augmented Reality (AR) technology as part of the Doritos campaign. Recent improvements to 3-D video and Adobe Flash make this kind of interactive web content possible today. Moreover, the songs will be viewable by anybody with a broadband connection, a webcam, a reasonably new computer and one of the AR markers.


Check out the Video of how Doritos did it? (Well Proto and Mekanism for the puppet masters at Goodby).


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Goodbuzz creates social media campaigns that entice consumers to play, create, and share brand experiences. We focus on developing "branded utility" - moving away from interruptive 'push' models towards more meaningful ways of connecting. From simple metrics to actionable insights that enable data-driven marketing decisions - Goodbuzz links social media efforts to business outcomes. Visit Goodbuzz Inc.

Social Truth and Authenticity? When a product or brand's promise seems too good to be true

In the age of Photoshop, subtle imperfections seem to be lessened.  Our skin is fresh and blemish-free, our jawbones chiseled, cheekbones defined, and teeth shining bright. Even that last ten pounds around the waist evaporates with the swipe of a mouse!

Whether the mop that promises to make floors look ‘new’ with just one pass, or any number of products that claim and reinforce ‘perfection’ messaging - it’s the scenarios Martin Lindstrom identifies where, there’s “not even a hint of a single red spot, a stubborn stain, or a bedraggled mother”.  This is really the story of the past fifty years of advertising.  An industry developing messages that implied, portrayed, and promoted ‘perfect’ brands in ‘perfect’ environments.   Let’s face it - nobody likes canned laughter.

Did you ever wonder how consumers interpret these messages?  The simple answer is pooly.  Consumers are a lot savvier than most advertisers give them credit for.  According to test subjects monitored using fMRI, messages portraying perfection were not seen as trustworthy.  This is because consumers don’t ‘mirror’ themselves against such images, nor are they inspirational motivators.   

All attempts at portraying some otherworldly perfection seem to actually generate feelings of enormous distaste (and in some cases even horror) in the minds of consumers.  People related best to are those who we perceived shared our weaknesses - those who mirror, or at least seem capable of mirroring, the mistakes we tend to make. 

From the Simple Life to the Hills to YouTube, reality programming dominates our modern landscape.  Fueled by our desire for authenticity, Life has become the ultimate reality show.  More and more advertisers are beginning to recognize that consumers enjoy watching, and empathizing with, people just like them.  Why?  Simply because ads and commercials created by everyday people tend not to feature models, but rather normal looking people who resemble us.  It allows us to connect and identify with them more easily.  Moreover, average looking people seem more inviting, as if welcoming us to the brand. Real people suggest any authentic back-story.  

The one thing we know today?  If a brand’s claims seem too good to be true - they probably are.  What do you think?
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Goodbuzz creates social media campaigns that entice consumers to play, create, and share brand experiences. We focus on developing "branded utility" - moving away from interruptive 'push' models towards more meaningful ways of connecting.  From simple metrics to actionable insights that enable data-driven marketing decisions - Goodbuzz links social media efforts to business outcomes.  Visit Goodbuzz Inc.