Saturday, 25 February 2012

♔ Using Social Media To Drive Your Brands Top-line


Clearly the social media space has inherent potential risks, and seemingly endless potential rewards. Equally clear is that achieving success is not as simple as most people originally assumed. Brands must provide audiences today with compelling reasons to interact with their company and each other.  What many social media strategists miss however is the need to link their efforts to their client’s actual business objectives.

Now don’t get us wrong, we love new trends and technology, however what is ultimately required to ensure return on investment is a shift in perspective.  Aligning marketing activities with your brands core business objectives may mean forgoing a flashy cross-channel marketing initiative and focusing on initiatives that increase customer demand, sales, prospects, conversions and market share - - so step away from the Pinterest for a second. ;)

There is a fundamental difference between planning how a brand talks to customers (traditional brand planning) and how a brand earns the right to participate with customers (social brand planning). When we develop and deliver an overarching social strategy and implementation roadmap, our goal is to fulfill the company’s overall brand, marketing, and business strategies.

It may be easier to simply look at the role your brand plays.  Instead of thinking of it as a communications tool only, recast it as a management tool, as well; instead of thinking of yourself as the CMO, act like the CBO with responsibility for the brand’s implementation across the organization.  Instead of looking only at marketing metrics as the measure of success, consider employee engagement and culture strength.  Instead of thinking of brand as a psychological heuristic, reconsider it as a tangible asset whose growth in value can be financially measured, and can add strength to the balance sheet.

What do we know?  Having designed and deployed well over 100 Facebook experiences, pages, applications, tabs, connect integrations, and games - Goodbuzz has a rich portfolio of experience creating social applications and experiences across all major social media platforms. Our programs amplify, extend, and enhance the core conversations your company is having with your customer base, achieving engagement with unprecedented reach and scale.  Beyond Facebook, we have significant experience with mobile applications, socially connected microsites and websites, and inherently social “real world” events.

We have been fortunate enough to deliver social solutions, drive social brand engagement, and deliver meaningful social insights for the world’s largest companies and most valuable brands.  What can we do for you?  Contact Goodbuzz today to get started.

Friday, 24 February 2012

♔ Social Media Case Studies (GB_V.71)


Ford promoted their new Fiesta vehicle on Instagram with a seven week contest that highlighted the car's new, high-tech features -  Simply Zesty

Hotels.com has created a new Facebook application that encourages collaborative online bookings with friends from all over the world -  Facebook

Mitsubishi "Live Drive" - The World's First Online Test Drive. 180 worked with B-Reel and robotics expert Dr. James Brighton to create the system of onboard video cameras, user interface, GPS mapping and the servo-motors necessary to translate the user's computer controls to an on-track driving experience – Video


For the release of their new Twisted Metal game, PlayStation created a live social installation that allowed fans to digitally fire a machine gun at a set full of explosives through Facebook and Twitter - Goodbuzz

Samsung is launching the U.S. Olympic Genome Project -- a multiplatform social media campaign that will let Facebook users discover and share how they are connected to athletes competing on the U.S. team -  MediaPost

How the U.S. Army is differentiating between social media platforms and finding success on Pinterest -  The Atlantic Wire

One day U.K. rocker Tim Burgess (frontman of the Charlatans) jokingly tweeted that he would love to have his own cereal called "Totes Amazeballs," which apparently happens to be slang for "Totally Amazing." Kellogg's got word and now the cereal is actually in limited production – Article

The Increasing Value of Augmented Reality (AR) for brands – Article

Burberry knows that if the brand is to remain relevant it needs to leverage emerging technology and culture (and not simply rest on what may have worked years ago.) After the success of last season's 'Tweetwalk' in which key looks were shared via Twitter, this year the fashion brand shared animated GIFs of pre-show activities with Twitter followers before the show (which took place yesterday) – More

Plan UK, a charity that helps young girls in developing countries, is running an interactive outdoor campaign that contains content only women can view. The bus shelter ad uses facial recognition software with an HD camera to determine whether a man or woman is standing in front of the screen (claims the technology is 90% accurate), and shows different content accordingly. Men are denied the choice to view the full 40-second ad in order to highlight the fact that women and girls across the world are denied choices and opportunities on a daily basis due to poverty and discrimination.  (See picture below)

Hostess is helping fans celebrate a personal win by creating personalized "Snackisode" videos on Facebook for them to share with friends -  Trend Hunter

The Ultimate Guide To Pinterest - Everything you wanted to know about Pinterest including how the idea came about, What’s the big deal?, Stats, facts and demographics, and getting started – SlideShare

Infographic: Did you ever wonder what Facebook might look like in 2025? – Overview

Brands Face Stream Fatigue as Consumers Look Beyond Gimmicks in Social Networks – Brian Solis

How to Remove Your Google Search History (Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect) -  Goodbuzz   

Here’s the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) 2012 Report (formerly the Digital Marketing Outlook) – Report

Pharma brands Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb are experimenting with social games and YouTube videos as a way to benefit patients while still adhering to the FDA's social media guidelines -  ClickZ

Mattel's Barbie brand has launched BarbieWow.com -- an online fashion destination where fans can share their experiences styling and trying on the doll's digital wardrobe. The site also encourages fans to post their own inspired fashion designs to Polyvore and Pinterest - The New York Times









NOTE:  FOR MORE ARTICLES AND POSTS FROM THE LAST WEEK PLEASE VISIT US ON TWITTER @GOODBUZZ.  IF YOU HAVE INFO, ARTICLES, CASE STUDIES, OR OTHER EXAMPLES OF (TTL) 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. ;) PLEASE IDENTIFY IF YOU FIND A DEAD LINK (AS THEY WERE ALL LIVE AT THE TIME OF THIS POSTING)


 

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

How to Remove Your Google Search History (Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect)


On March 1st, Google will implement its new, unified privacy policy, which will affect data that Google has collected on you prior to March 1st, 2012 (as well as data it collects on you in the future.) Our thanks to the EFF for sharing this.

Until now, your Google Web History (all Google searches and sites visited) has been cordoned off from Google's other products.  This protection was especially important because search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, including facts about your location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health concerns, and much more.

Therefore, if you want to keep Google from combining your Web History with the data they have gathered about you in all their other products, such as YouTube or Google Plus - you may want to remove all items from your Web History and stop your Web History from being recorded in the future.

Here's how you can do that:

1.) Sign into your Google account.
3.) Click "remove all Web History."
4.) Click "ok."
Note: Removing your Web History also pauses it.  Web History will remain off until you enable it again.  If you have several Google accounts, you will need to do this for each of them.










Friday, 17 February 2012

♔ Social Media Case Studies (GB_V.70)


Coca-Cola is hosting a "Hangout" on Google+ streamed from their Archives storage space for fans to ask questions and meet with others who love the brand -  Coca-Cola Conversations
 
The ‘If you like Latvia, Latvia likes you’ Facebook Promotion (by Leo Burnett Riga) allows users to bake actual bread. For every Facebook ‘Like’ button clicked on the Latvia page, a wooden log branded with the Like symbol will be tossed into a real Latvian bread oven – Facebook

Trendhunter's ‘Top 20 Trends in 2012’ further evidences the marriage between analog and digital, brand minimalism, Goodvertising, and Augmented Reality -  YouTube
 
A top priority for brands in 2012, Content Marketing’ encompasses new techniques and methods of sharing information, creating brand awareness, new customers and building loyalty. It starts by asking the question – how can your brand evidence itself as a thought-leader? Check out this great infographic of tactics employed – Infographic
 
The U.S. Navy is engaging with their main influencers -- mothers -- through an online private social community that connects moms of children who are considering joining the service with moms of active-duty sailors -  Ad Age

Domino's is attempting to harness the power of their community with their new idea-sourcing Facebook app called the "Think Oven." Fans can participate by supporting already-mentioned projects or by submitting their innovative ideas -  Creativity
 
Content Strategy – Content is the new brand currency.  So what’s your strategy?  Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to engage current and potential consumer bases – Article
 
Mobile 'Gamification' + Reward platform 'Kiip' (founded by fellow-Canadian Brian Wong) extends real rewards for virtual achievements by delivering a value exchange through promotions and target users through game genre, demographics and location – Overview
 
Having 47,713,372 fans on Facebook apparently didn’t satisfy her appetite for personal validation. That’s right - singer, songwriter, pioneer in meat-based attire, general curiosity, and now social-media upstart Lady Gaga has launched a new (currently invitation-only) social-media site called www.LittleMonsters.com (which incidentally looks and functions exactly like Pinterest) - Website
 
The Modern World of Online Dating - If you watch shows like 'Californication‘ or ‘Sex and the City’ for example, characters seem to find sexual partners wherever they turn - from a bar, to a cemetery, to the DMV. That (apparently) was so 2011. Today, there's an array of digital tools and devices to help find love in places just as unlikely –Report
 
Farmers Insurance discuss their people-based (not product-based) Facebook engagement strategy -  DMNews

'Barskolan Bootcamp's' Facebook App - Presumably the more social you are, the better a candidate you'd make (for a job as a bartender.) Therefore, the 'Bootcamp' Facebook app (by Rodolfo) created a social game that gave users points for different types of social engagement - Overview
 
Gap is plunging into social media with Styld.by, a new digital catalog (compiled by AKQA) that sees it collaborate with six influential fashion and lifestyle blogs. The site lets bloggers from sites such as Fabsugar, Refinery29 and Lookbook.nu style key pieces from Gap's Spring 2012 collection in their own way. Every image is designed to be bookmarked, collected and shared through sites such as Pinterest and Facebook, while you can click on the 'looks' to go through to Gap's own website and buy the items – Website
 
'Shoot My Truck' - The latest 'Twisted Metal' Campaign - Who doesn’t want to shoot an ice cream truck with an M249-SAW machine gun!? The campaign (by Deutsch LA + Stink Digital) allows Gamers to register - either via Facebook or Twitter - for the chance to fire the gun for 30 seconds each over the course of two days - www.shootmytruck.com
 
Lexus Launches 'TORI 500' Swimsuit Model Campaign - The Lexus GS campaign called 'TORI 500' involves a racetrack shaped as the body of SI Model, Tori Praver, one of the models featured in the swimsuit issue. The overarching theme of the campaign is that the GS can handle all kinds of curves – Website
 
In honor of reaching one million fans on Facebook, Cadbury celebrated their community by building an enormous chocolate "like" button, sharing a video of how it was done, and choosing one lucky super fan to place the final piece of chocolate on the structure -  Digital Buzz Blog

Listen to music while you wait for the bus (courtesy of your car insurance company.) Located in Sydney, Australia, the interactive bus shelter stereo actually works, with the help of consumers' mobile phones. People use a QR code or URL where they can first ‘Like’ the NRMA Facebook page, then pick a tune to play through the shelter's speakers instantaneously as they wait - Picture Below.
Intel has been recognized as one of the top 10 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company for their enhanced use social media to engage with fans -  Fast Company
 
Ford Fiesta's 'Fiestagram' Photo Campaign - Ford gave weekly prizes to the best photos and will feature them in real-life galleries and live digital billboards across Europe. The final prize was a new Ford Fiesta. Simple on-brand message and well executed mechanics. A pretty simple, but smart (and well integrated) social campaign (by Blue Hive) to promote the car's features – Video
 
Here’s a good report on game changers by Wolff Olins on ‘FIVE BEHAVIORS THAT ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS’ -http://gamechangers.wolffolins.com/
 
The Fujitsu 'Profile Pitch' LinkedIn Campaign pits you (and your CV) against the world (allowing you to aggregate a series of scores based off your qualifications, network and experience.) Team up with your contacts for a team challenge and see how you stack up. Nice use of the LinkedIn API and kudos for trying something different – Website
 
Kraft Foods is creating personalized Valentine's Day videos and dontating 100 boxes of Macaroni & Cheese for every tweet they receive with hashtag #VoiceofLove -  Brandchannel

DeVry University shares how they created a community of encouragement with the help of their most inspiring students and alumni -  Vimeo
 
Here’s a solid campaign piece (by McCann Erickson, Helsinki) for Finland’s HIV Foundation/AIDS Council that uses Facebook ‘Places’ nomenclature to cleverly illustrate their point. Notice the text at bottom say’s “Bill Johnson and 19 others were here” “Adrian Bruce and 26 other were here” and “Jane Williams and 34 others were here” respectively. What do you think? See below or visit Website

How to measure social media success - Too many businesses have approached social ROI backwards. Instead of doing the calculations before taking action, many businesses spend time or money to get Facebook or Twitter presence and then look at metrics after the fact. – Globe-Mail

 
Seattle's Best Coffee has launched a new Facebook contest that lets their fans create their own custom drinks for a chance to win coffee and a future spot on the menu -  PSFK

Nissan is giving their Facebook fans a voice in the building of their new sports car. The car's design will be crowd-sourced through fans' comments, likes, and wall posts -  Social Media Influence









NOTE:  FOR MORE ARTICLES AND POSTS FROM THE LAST WEEK PLEASE VISIT US ON TWITTER @GOODBUZZ.  IF YOU HAVE INFO, ARTICLES, CASE STUDIES, OR OTHER EXAMPLES OF (TTL) 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. ;) PLEASE IDENTIFY IF YOU FIND A DEAD LINK (AS THEY WERE ALL LIVE AT THE TIME OF THIS POSTING)
 

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

'Shoot My Truck' - The latest 'Twisted Metal' Campaign


Who doesn’t want to shoot an ice cream truck with an M249-SAW machine gun!?  Admittedly this is not a synopsis that we ever expected to be writing, but it is precisely what Sony PlayStation has set up in the Nevada desert to celebrate the re-launch of the Twisted Metal gaming franchise. 



The new game (which refreshingly drops any clichéd, colon-ridden titles) is promising to set things right and launches, perhaps ironically, on Valentine's Day. The campaign began with a viral call to arms hosted on a dedicated website, shootmytruck.com, as well as on the PlayStation YouTube channel. It stars game director and self-confessed 'alleged psychopath' David Jaffe, who explains how he's 'here to tell you about the epic return of gaming's most sick, depraved franchise. It's Twisted fucking Metal on the PlayStation 3'.  

Gamers were able to register - either via Facebook or Twitter - for the chance to fire the gun for 30 seconds each over the course of two days. For a grand finale, three lucky, trigger-happy participants will be given an extended 90 seconds to finish off Sweet Tooth's ride, eventually blowing it to smithereens in front of a global audience tuning in via a live video feed.

With more excessively potty-mouthed prose, he proceeds to explain the simple, brutal mechanics of the campaign, which centers on a real M249-SAW machine gun mounted on a control desk in the middle of the desert. The gun is aimed at a perfect replica of the hot-rodded ice cream van belonging to game character and talisman, Sweet Tooth (whose head also happens to be a flaming skull). However, the weapon is hooked up to a remote, online interface, which means that anyone around the world with an Internet connection is capable of taking control and letting rip into the van or a selection of other unlikely targets.





Monday, 13 February 2012

♥ The Modern World of Online Dating


If you watch ‘Californication’ or ‘Sex and the City’ for example, characters seem to find sexual partners wherever they turn, from a bar to a cemetery, to the DMV.  That (apparently) was so 2011.  Today, there's an array of digital tools and devices to help find love in places just as unlikely. 

The phenomenal growth of online dating has dramatically changed our concept of finding a partner, and what was a stigma ten years ago is now a thriving business worth over $3.15 billion (USD) worldwide. It is also business-like in itself, with online daters finding increasingly methodical or niche platforms to refine the search.

It is instant and mobile too. Geo-location apps such as MeetMoi and Sonar mean daters can theoretically find a prospective partner in real-time, anywhere.

With the Wedding Crashers app this could even include the wedding of complete strangers. Inspired by the film of the same name, the app locates nearby nuptials, as well as details on dress code and guests. With weddings anecdotally being one of the top places to meet a partner, it'd be a great story for the grand-kids.

For travelers, KLM's 'meet and seat' service lets travelers add a social media profile to their check-in information, allowing other passengers on the same flight to pick a seat mate of interest. 

Meanwhile, Swedish dating site Restdejting provides a dinner date with a difference. Members find partners to dine on their shared leftovers by listing the ingredients they have and what they are missing. The users then choose a date based on how well their ingredients go together. As well as a perfect solution to dining alone (not to mention waste management), it is also an interesting way of presenting yourself. In this environment, are you what you eat?

Scouting for partners through existing groups rather than a sole-purpose group (a dating website) suggests just how sophisticated the process of online dating now is, and how it can be seamlessly integrated into existing communities. Hitch Me, for example, has combined networking with romance through the launch of a dating service specifically for Linked-In users.

As such, finding a partner shifts to the status of added benefit, rather than sole objective.  Gaming is a great platform for this. World of Warcraft is just one example where avatars can interact, and within an objective based other-world, let the players get to know each other. Games on Facebook work too. The Words With Friends game is the most recent (of many) to bring about a marriage.

Offline, how about retail space? An IKEA store in Shanghai recently experienced some trouble with a group of senior citizens who began to meet regularly at the furniture store's café for unauthorized matchmaking sessions. The opportunities in what demonstrates a high demand from a particular demographic - the fastest growing client base in the global online dating scene -  are clear.

But for anyone still thinking 'is there anybody out there?', there's an app on the way for you too. The intergalactic dating app allows you to a) search for life outside of earth and b) discover if your soul mate is, in fact, an alien.  Two birds with one stone, really.

So, (as it’s the day before Valentines), we wanted to alert you to the myriad of ways to get your shag on.   Now go forth and multiply. ;)