Goodbuzz

Thursday, 13 December 2012

♔ SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V85]

Nike has created a Facebook app that converts Nike+ and Fuelband data into energy for your character in their new NikeFuel Missions game. - PSFK

To promote their new eyewear, TOMS is letting visitors virtually try on their sunglasses and post snapshots of themselves on Facebook. - TOMS

T-Mobile is surprising fans by touring the country with their Unlimited Cheer Team. They'll announce their locations via Foursquare and other social media channels, and the first customer to check-in will win prizes. - About Foursquare

Contagious finds and filters the most innovative exercises in branding, technology and pop culture. Once a year they wrap up all the highlights and deliver their Annual “Most Contagious” Report (www.mostcontagious.com/2012).

With the help of Jimmy Fallon, Ford is writing a Super Bowl ad for their new Lincoln Motor brand based on fans' tweets. - TechCrunch

Pernod Ricard -- parent company to brands like Kahlua, Jameson, and more -- explains why they use a social intranet to crowdsource ideas from all 18,000 of their employees. - MarketingWeek

From ‘Social TV’ to ‘Real-time Optimization’ to the ‘Emergence of Mobile Remotes’ - here are the hottest Digital and Media Trends for 2013 (compliments of Millward Brown) - Report

On #GlobalDominosDay, Domino's Facebook pages around the world offered the same pizza deal internationally for one day. - Brandchannel

Heineken is celebrating their 140th birthday by showcasing fans' Facebook wall posts on the actual wall of their Amsterdam brewery using a light show made of 5,000 Heineken bottles. - Creative Boom

There's been an explosion of collaborative consumption -- web-powered sharing of cars, apartments, skills, and more. Rachel Botsman explores the currency that makes systems like Airbnb and Taskrabbit work: trust, influence, and what she calls "reputation capital."

Petco is playing Santa this season by granting pets' holiday wishes when their owners tweet using the #DearPetco hashtag. - The Petco Scoop

In celebration of reaching 100,000 Facebook fans, Pizza Hut gave away 110 bottles of their novelty perfume, Eau de Pizza Hut. - Adweek

Puma is asking fans to take pictures of their shoes when they travel to share on Instagram, Facebook, and their website for a chance to win weekly prizes. - Puma

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Wednesday, 12 December 2012

♔ THE UNITED NATIONS, CHOLERA, AND EFFECTING GLOBAL CHANGE

Certainly we all understand that if we’re “not part of the solution, that we may be a part of the problem.” Of course we all do what we can, where we can, to elevate the status of human suffering and dignity. But do you really think that you can change the world? Or do you believe the system is just too big, and the entities just too entrenched to be changed? How much impact can you really have? A lot more then you probably think.

On Tuesday, 12 January 2010, an earthquake more powerful then an atomic bomb hit Haiti. (For a look at the state of Haiti post-earthquake click here.) The following months brought charities, NPO’s, and United Nation’s soldiers, staff, and supplies from around the world to assist in rebuilding the country.

The UN soldiers however also unwittingly brought Cholera; an infection of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The bacterium releases a toxin that causes increased release of water from cells in the intestines, which produces severe diarrhea and left untreated causes death from dehydration via severe diarrhea. Cholera occurs and spreads most readily in places with poor sanitation, crowding, war, and famine. Cholera has killed at least 7,759 people to date in Haiti since the outbreak started in October 2010.

Certainly there are many, many entities and interests involved in rebuilding Haiti and also in helping the Haitian people hold the United Nations (UN) responsible for what they had done. In this specific effort however I want to congratulate two people - Bryn Mooser and David Darg. They launched www.undeny.org and produced a documentary film called “Baseball In The Time of Cholera,” that told the UN/Cholera story (via Ryot Films) through the eyes of Haitian teenager Joseph Alvyns and his engagement with the Tabare Tigers (Haiti's first little league team started by Bryn Mooser and David Darg in Port-au-Prince.)

After a significant amount of work, exhaustive Film Festival screenings, interviews, and meetings in Washington (and around the world,) the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon finally announced today that a US$2.27 billion initiative would be established to help eradicate cholera in Haiti. Note that the UN explicitly refused to do this only a year ago.

Today (12/12/12) it was announced that bilateral and multilateral donors have additionally committed US $215 million (and the UN has committed another US$23.5 million for the initiative,) which will mostly focus on improving clean water and sanitation infrastructure in Haiti.

Ultimately the resolve and indignant spirit of two people (Bryn Mooser and David Darg) that were committed to justice and dignity for the Haitian people won the day.

So, for all those of you who think the system is simply too big to be changed. For all of you who think that you’re only one tiny voice in a vast universe. For those of you naysayers who said it could never be done - today ‘David’ beat ‘Goliath’. My sincere congratulations and respect to both Bryn Mooser and David Darg, you have elevated the human condition.

I am very, very proud to know you both.

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

♔ SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V84]

Durex is creating buzz around their #1Share1Condom World AIDS Day campaign by making a charity donation each time a person shares their message on Facebook and Twitter - Brandchannel

Dell is kicking off their #Inspire 100 campaign, where they recognize 100 influential people and share interviews with them on Facebook and Twitter - DailyFinance

T. Rowe Price is launching a Facebook app called "It's Good to Be a Scrooge!" that gives tips for saving money during the holidays - Facebook

Ralph Lauren is asking fans which vintage look they should bring back from their archives and encouraging them to share images of teddy bears wearing these looks on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest - The Daily Beast

The Coca-Cola Company, American Express, Target, and others are engaging fans by using Tumblr as a social content hub - Digiday

In The Raw's new "Au Natural" Facebook app encourages fans to share photos of their baked goods and other sweets by giving the images a "racy" edge - PSFK

Starbucks, The History Channel, Domino's, and more share case studies on how they've successfully used Foursquare to their advantage - Simply Zesty

Adidas' A Christmas Carol-themed campaign is getting customers in the holiday spirit by encouraging their participation across Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter - Popsop

Nescafe unveiled their new coffee by changing their Facebook cover photo in real time in correlation with new likes - Trend Hunter

The Campbell Soup Company is raising money on Pinterest for Feeding America by donating $1 for every pinned or repinned image of their classic green bean casserole. The result will be a "Most Colossal Casserole" board on their Kitchen Pinterest page - MediaPost

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Wednesday, 21 November 2012

♔ SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V83]

Chrysler explains how they used a storytelling video series on Facebook to get younger audiences interested in their Fiat brand - MediaPost

Amazon is teaming up with Jib-Jab to offer personalized video gift cards that customers can send to their friends via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or email - PSFK

To promote their new Cheddar Bacon Onion burger, McDonald's is adding a daily dose of bacon to their Twitter feed with graphics of bacon replacing everyday objects - The Huffington Post

Revlon describe how real-time data influences her social media strategies - Chief Marketer

Toys "R" Us has launched a news network across Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with kid "anchors" giving parents clues for what toys will be popular this holiday season - Ragan

American Airlines has upgraded their iPad app to include a trivia game that passengers can play against each other while in flight. Each week the top players will be featured on their Facebook leaderboard for a chance to win extra bonus miles - Brandchannel

Alfred Dunhill has created a stop-motion film using a Facebook photo album with 200 photos from their recent vintage-car race in Japan - Adweek

FedEx has launched an app that allows customers to select shipping recipients from their Facebook friends list and post an alert to their friends' timelines - The Next Web

Callaway is creating buzz around their new high-tech driver by slowly unveiling different features on Twitter when fans use the hashtag #LongestDriverInGolf - MyGolfSpy

Ben & Jerry's is turning their fans' Instagram pictures into ads that will be featured in their local neighborhoods - PC Mag

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Monday, 19 November 2012

♔ "PAGES FEED" IS THE NEW FACEBOOK

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Friday, 16 November 2012

♔ Effectively Engaging ‘Millennials’

Technology has allowed 'Millennials' to expect immediate and impulsive interactions with organizations. Smartphones and mobile devices are clearly making a major impact on how this generation interacts with brands and organizations and must become a critical part of engagement strategies moving forward.

Generation Y, (also known as the Millennial Generation and Echo Boomers,) are now 18 to 34-years old, and represent more than 80 million consumers potentially eligible to drive. This represents about 40 percent of the car-buying public. Traditional brand experience techniques—relying on advertising to position yourself, or scattering press releases to the wind, hoping for coverage—just don’t work with Millennials. The nearly incomprehensible glut of voices struggling to be heard makes it more difficult than ever to be noticed. Interruptive methods fall on deaf ears. Hard sells fail.

You can fix that with a little knowledge—and a ton of innovation. A brand’s ability to reach Millennials requires an understanding of the social and psychological factors that shaped the generation. Being connected to the entire world from an early age has given them an uncanny ability to ignore the noise of useless information. Technology has literally shaped their brains, and interruptions are painful: easily brushed away. Your offers are automatically irrelevant unless you prove yourself attention-worthy.

Brands are spending more on media buys but seeing less ROI. Messages just don’t cut through like they used to. Brands must develop innovative brand experiences via tools that a consumer will actually use. And they should be free. And these gifts must be optimized for the web, mobile, social media and whatever comes next.

Useful, engaging, well-designed, thought-provoking, original, integrated tools all have the potential to position your brand as knowledgeable, trustworthy and cool. These are the kinds of things that make people want to hang out with you in real life. Don’t think for a second that Millennials don’t judge your brand by the same criteria. You have to give them a better brand experience than they can get anywhere else.

Here are few tips on how to stand out:

Give them a better process, not another product. Millennials view car brands through three lenses: familiarity, quality and interactivity. A sexy new model will not guarantee success. Brands need to integrate across platforms Gen Y uses most—web, mobile apps, social media. Millennials have important lives to live, and it’s your duty to adapt.
Make sure your content has something to say and that your tools do something real. Gen Y will not be buying what you’re selling. They’ll buy what you make and what you stand for.

To be successful, brands must therefore reflect an understanding of these insights, keep clutter and messaging noise to a minimum, and never lose sight of groundbreaking design, innovation and utility. The right way to do this requires a visionary approach, along with strategies that provide users with innovative experiences across multiple platforms. Brand experiences must now demonstrate utility to consumers and integrate with their lifestyles and values.

The ultimate goal? Building meaningful relationships with consumers through useful, integrative and innovative brand experiences. Today, what’s extremely clear is that effective marketing experiences mean interaction and meaningful consumer engagement. As the complex and ever-shifting landscape of online, offline and hybrid experiences transforms users’ lives, creative advertising messages and trendy digital functionality are not enough to sustain a brand.

Consumers demand innovative, integrative tools that make their lives easier and more enjoyable. They want meaningful interactions optimized for multi-screen lifestyles. Brands must cut through the noise and offer them real utility in order to be noticed. In today’s unpredictive media environment, brand messaging alone fails.

Need some help? Give Goodbuzz a shout.

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Wednesday, 14 November 2012

♔ SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDIES [GB_V82]

Citi's branded LinkedIn community, Connect: Professional Women's Network, is showing a member engagement level of nearly three times more than the average. Moving forward, they are looking into arranging offline meet-ups for the members to share in-person -Adweek

Adobe, Forever 21, Chevrolet, and others made Simply Zesty's 50 Best Twitter Brand Profile Designs list -Simply Zesty

Kibbles 'n Bits has debuted a retro 8-bit arcade game to engage dog lovers on Facebook and in banner ads -ClickZ

IKEA has launched a new interactive holiday catalog that allows users to add products to a shopping list, recommend them on Facebook, or pin them to Pinterest -Marketing Pilgrim

The Coca-Cola Company has launched a photo-sharing app and social network called Happy Places, where users can upload, tag, and share "moments of happiness" with the community -Brandchannel

L2 has named the top 10 beauty brands according to their Digital IQ Index including Estée Lauder, Lancôme, Clinique, and more -L2

Walmart is giving their Facebook fans a chance to nominate a local nonprofit organization of their choice to win part of a $1.5 million grant as a part of their "12 Days of Giving" campaign -AllFacebook

Gap is using Postagram to let fans send their Facebook and Instagram photos as real postcards to their friends -VentureBeat

In honor of Veteran's Day, Advocate Health Care encouraged fans to upload a photo of their armed service hero with a story or a thank you note -PRWeb

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♔ Responsive Design Redux

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♔ The Mobile Revolution and Multi-Screen Convergence

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Friday, 2 November 2012

SHIFTING POWER: THE SOCIAL CUSTOMER AND BRANDS (AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU)

Fifteen years ago, if you were looking for a car, your first stop may have been the right-bottom corner of the grocery store newsstand. You’d scan Car and Driver, Luxury Auto and a slew of publications offering vehicle reviews and advice. Then you would visit dealerships with little to no information about your desired make, model or payment plan. You had no cohesive way to compare the prices and features of your final choices, or hear the opinions of current customers. After a few weeks of research, you’d make your decision, hand over the money, grab the keys and drive away.

In the age of the social customer, where the average shopper consumes 10.4 sources of information before handing over their money, this buying process has changed radically. Social media, search technology and tools for publishing content on the Web are giving brands the ability to bypass the press and bring their message directly to customers. No need for Ford to wait for the Fiesta model to be featured on the cover of Car and Driver. With more than 1 million fans on Facebook, 150,000 followers on Twitter and multiple Web properties, Ford can get the word out themselves. And thanks to communities such as AutoTrader.com, which allows customers to buy and sell their car online, buyers can now complete all of their research in one place with access to buying and selling tips, reviews, videos, photos and more. This example illustrates the fundamental power shift between brands and media and the challenge that both sides have to reach and engage with today’s social customer.

There are several reasons for this shift, the biggest one being the emergence of the Internet and technology that allow just about anyone the ability publish content that a wide audience can consume and share. In turn, social media and search technology give customers access to more information than ever, complicating the decision-making process. Instead of young women waiting for the prom edition of Seventeen magazine to come out to decide what eye shadow would match with their dress, they can search “makeup tips” on Google and call up pages of Web results. (It’s important to note that Cover Girl, an affordable cosmetic brand, ranks higher than Seventeen and Cosmopolitan — both go-to beauty magazines.)

This shift in power has enabled enterprise brands to small businesses to engage their audiences like a newspaper would — with compelling stories that address their challenges and speak to their interests. According to an annual survey report published by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, 9 in 10 organizations market with content — regardless of their industry. Brands are investing in journalist talent to ensure that they are moving in the right direction. According Hanson Dodge Creative, the top-level reporters from Business Week, PC Magazine and The Economist are filling content-production roles at IBM, AOL and JWT and other big brands. On the flipside, publishers such as Forbes have adjusted their editorial models by inviting influential executives at Fortune 500 companies, startups, and top consulting firms to contribute byline articles. In order to compete with the sheer amount of content, publishers must be producing more than ever — and they need a sizable team of quality writers with diverse perspectives to keep up.

With change comes opportunity. Red Bull is a brand that has made the most of this opportunity. The energy-drink giant launched its own media house in 2007, which ranked 29 in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2012. CEO Dietrich Mateschitz explained that its branded content (focused on extreme sports) provides customers with an “invitation to be active, performance-oriented, alert and to take challenges.” Just like its beverages — Red Bull Media House’s films, magazines, blog, newsletters and social media postings aim to help customers recognize their ultimate potential.

On the B2B side, it’s hard to differentiate IBM’s General Business division’s Midsize Insider content-marketing program from media publications focused on the needs of small to mid-sized business owners and technology professionals. Since 2010, the site has published more than 1,100 articles on virtualization, security, analytics and other relevant topics, written by 38 regular expert industry contributors. The Midsize Insider is also a member of the Google News program — which highlights breaking news from the top sources above all search results.

For publishers, in order to compete with the billions of pieces of content published daily, reach new audiences and ensure that articles are accessible across social channels, they need to expand their reach and develop content at scale. This requires more content providers and a wider range of perspectives. The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch does this through the Trading Deck, a community of money managers, brokers, analysts, financial advisers and other professionals knee deep in the trading industry. Multiple articles are published per day thanks to its growing community of expert contributors. By taking on the role of content curators and developing a system for “expert-sourcing,” the WSJ is not only a resource but also a dynamic community that readers feel compelled to go back to and participate in.

We see this movement as a chance for brands and publishers to deepen the way that they tell stories, create communities and live out the organization’s mission. What have you noticed about the changing landscape? What brands and publications do you think are leading the charge? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

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