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In this video interview, Etsy CEO Rob Kalin describes how Etsy let it's community of users do the heavy marketing lifting for them, talking about the site and the products they sell and spreading the word to their own customers and social circles. Using traditional advertising routes didn't get results for Etsy, and Rob didn't like the way it changed the face of the company. The "real human face" route was the way Etsy chose to move forward, and it's worked for the company thus far.
This AdWeek article looks at some of the brands that are leveraging their communities of loyal customers in order to grow their brands. The article zeros in on Zappos, Craigslist, Threadless, Etsy, and Yelp, but there are tons of others who are also drinking the "let's make connections" kool-aid, and what these companies understand is that taking the time to create relationships with their consumers in an investment in their future. It's what sets them apart from the competition -- but it's something that any brand with the right mix of enthusiasm and ingenuity can pull off.
Companies are getting on board with the idea that their customers want to be heard -- and will find a way to get their opinions out there whether the company likes it or not. According to this article from The Boston Globe, more and more consumer-oriented businesses are accepting honest feedback from their customers -- allowing them to post reviews and comments that aren't always flattering -- directly on their websites. The driving idea behind this approach seems to be "they're going to say it anyway, so why not let them say it here," and is opening a previously closed line of communication between consumers and companies.
To promote its new Full Throttle Frozen Blast Slurpee during the month of May, 7-Eleven is pulling out all the stops: From piggy-backing on the mania around video game "Guitar Hero" -- which appeals to the beverage's target demographic, 18- to 34-year-old men -- to grassroots programs, dedicated street teams, and an online contest at slurpee.com where visitors can enter codes from their Slurpees for a chance to win a copy of the newest Guitar Hero game, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith." Other elements of the effort include in-store Guitar Hero promotions, where fans can line up and play the game, and 10,000 customized guitar picks, which will direct fans back to the slurpee.com web contest. An altogether WOM-worthy effort.
Dole and Jamba Juice have paired up to launch an effort that results in consumer-generated ... smoothies. The companies have created a co-branded online environment at Jambafruit.com where consumers can share and upload their own smoothie recipes. An onsite contest -- which is part of the effort -- will have one happy winner walking away with a "Healthy Escape Getaway," a prize that encapsulates the health benefits promoted by both Dole and Jamba Juice.
This article, which outlines a case study from Absolut and details the Australian launch of their Absolut Cut product -- a pre-mixed, alcoholic beverage. The campaign targeted young men -- an audience identified to be particularly influential in this category -- and hosted live events at bars in Sidney and Melbourne to garner their initial attention. At the events, Absolut also featured photo exhibits, something intended to reconfirm the company's support of the arts. Post-launch, Absolut Cut sales were 34% above target, something the company credits to word of mouth generated by these launch events.
Lego has announced plans for its branded virtual world, an effort aimed at creating a connection between online and offline branded building-block experiences. According to this article from The Washington Post, users of the online space will earn online currency by playing the game. As users play and spend time in the virtual space, they earn building materials and increase the richness of their online experience. The site also contains social elements so users can play together and communicate via an avatar -- which is crafted from Lego bricks, of course.
A blog-based anti-counterfeit campaign created by a PR class at Hunter College in New York used a fake blog and a fictional student to spread its message. The blog was seeded via "missing" posters, which led students to a blog supposedly created by a fellow student who had lost her Coach bag. According to the fictitious story line, the bag had been a gift from her boyfriend -- now stationed in Iraq. The campaign, which is sponsored by a grant from Coach, is catching a lot of heat for its lack of disclosure and transparency -- offenses which fly in the face of ethical marketing.
To brush up on your word of mouth marketing ethics, visit:
http://www.womma.org/ethics/
A new Dockers campaign is hoping to appeal to the younger crowd with a familiar "create your own commercial" lure. The campaign enjoyed a kick off on The Tonight Show -- where a skit directed viewers to the brand's dedicated microsite at www.nbc.com/dockers. Dockers is also using its own social networking platform, Mixercast, as a way to support the campaign and the CGM contest. The winning Dockers commercial will appear on The Tonight Show, which is something the brand presumes will incentivize the young, male demographic it's targeting.
A small stuffer inside a Tom's of Maine toothpaste box -- promoting the volunteer activities the company's "consumer dialog specialist" -- caught the attention of Virginia Miracle, who used the flier as a jumping off point to investigate Tom's of Maine further -- and posted what she found on her Marketing Environmentalism blog. According to Virginia, 5% of Tom's of Maine employee time is spent on volunteer activities and 10% of the company's profits are reinvested in the community. It's not just the values-based business model that is noteworthy, but the way the company is promoting these values that makes it WOM-worthy.
Saturn's recently launched online social networking site, ImSaturn, has acquired more than 1,200 in its first few weeks -- more than the company expected to attract in it's six-month projection. The company used existing fan sites and a link on its homepage to tip fans off to the site's web presence. On the site, users can read Saturn news, upload pictures and videos, chat with other ImSaturn members, and weigh in about the company's past and current marketing efforts.
According to the Associated Press, WOMMA member company Yahoo Inc. is getting some work done under its hood, the end result of which will be a more social networking touchpoints through its intricate online destination. Much of its new social capabilities will come from hosted applications -- a potential source of advertising revenue that the company is hoping to cash in on.
To bolster fan interest in some of its top series, MTV has launched several online "playgrounds," in which users create speaking avatars and use them to interact with others in the show-specific playground. MTV is also hoping that the playground visitors take their avatars with them to their other social online destinations. The avatars were created to be extremely mobile, and users can embed them into their Facebook or MySpace pages, their blogs, and other online spaces. Once embedded on the sites, the avatars can act as widgets -- spreading the word about show updates, etc.
On the Digital Podcast blog, Alex Nesbitt takes a look at Levi's Project 501, which integrated an ad spot on Bravo's Project Runway with a contest aimed at aspiring designers. The contest portion of the campaign generated more than 3,000 design submissions, 134,000 unique visitors, and 19,000 registered users. According to the case study, social media drove more than 38% of the campaign's total awareness, and directly impacted Levi's top-selling products.
Radio Disney is counting on positive word of mouth from happy users -- as well as some banner advertising on social networking giant MySpace -- to drive traffic to its website. On the website, listeners with internet-accessible mobile phones can view the last ten songs played, request songs via text message, take part in polls, and more. The website and mobile features will rely on word of mouth to drive awareness until this summer, which is when the company is considering launching a more traditional ad campaign.
Instead of ceding the online encyclopedia battle to Wikipedia entirely, Encyclopedia Britannica has begun to embrace a slew of Web 2.0 tools -- from its branded widgets and Twitter feed to its newly launched "WebShare," which is offering free access to its content (typically a $69.95 price tag) to bloggers and editors. The free content offered to bloggers has the potential to spread across the blogosphere as bloggers use -- and cite -- the content found on the Britannica site.
Johnson & Johnson invited more than fifty influential moms to a three-day conference called Camp Baby, where the company refrained from plugging its brand while it hosted its handful of all-expenses-paid moms. The moms were wined and dined and attended breakout sessions, including panels on how to get babies to sleep, nutritional tips for raising healthy families, and more. The goal of the event was to form experience-based relationships with these socially connected moms -- in the hopes that they'd take their learnings -- and their new-found brand love -- back to their social networks.
On the Digital Influence Mapping Project blog, WOMMA Board member John Bell discusses the corporate blogs of Lenovo, Wells Fargo, and Starbucks, including the purpose of the blog, who's writing it, how they measure success, and how well connected they are. The post takes a close look at how these three companies are using blogs and social media capabilities to meet their own specific needs, as well as commentary on what more they could be doing to connect with their customers.
The latest to launch a social networking site around its product, Segway's social venture -- aptly named "Segway Social" -- aims to help Segway users create a unique experience around the electric scooter. The site provides ways for users to interact, discuss the product, and even organize Segway-related group outings. The site was created after several Segway groups popped up on social networking sites because the company perceived a desire for community among its customers.
Microsoft Corp. is set to discontinue sales of its Windows XP operating system starting this June, and a group of fans that doesn't want to see the company abandon XP have taken it upon themselves to rally behind the product. From blogs to online petitions, the fans are trying to make their voices heard in an effort to keep Microsoft from retiring Windows XP -- a move that would force Windows users to opt for the Vista operating system, which the company launched in January. Whether Microsoft will heed the voices of their passionate XP fans or continue with the phase out remains to be seen -- but the fact that the users are passionate enough about the product to stage such a public outcry against its rollover is something worth noting.
On his blog, Shel Holtz points out that having a standing corporate blog to communicate with customers and build trust during good times will elevate the positive effects of communication during damage control situations. That said, sometimes a crisis-launched blog is better than no blog at all. In the face of mass cancellations and extreme consumer backlash, American Airlines, which has remained a non-participant in the social media space, created a simple Blogger.com blog, AAConversation, which it says is a forum created for listening to its customers -- a critical and positive step at a time when its customers probably have a lot to say.
Canadian mobile company Telus has created a Facebook application that has taken off. To promote their "My Faves" plan, in which customers can pick five friends regardless of their mobile carrier and get unlimited talk and text services, Telus created a My Faves Fishbowl. Users can add their favorite friends -- each of whom is represented by a different kind of fish -- to their bowls, visually demonstrating their inner circles in much the same way MySpace's top friends feature does. Thus far, the application was downloaded more than 7,500 times.
To get the word out about its crossover event "Secret Invasion," Marvel Comics is tapping a variety of social media outlets. Efforts include a fictional MySpace profile featuring video blog posts from a teenage girl whose brother is involved in events that unfold in "Secret Invasion." Thus far, the videos have generated nearly a quarter of a million views, and the profile has attracted "friends" from demographics that Marvel rarely penetrates -- specifically 18- to 22-year-old girls.
When the now-infamous Diet Coke and Mentos video clips first hit YouTube, Coke was unhappy with the unwanted, uncontrolled attention. Now, two years later, Coke has joined the viral video bandwagon, and has embraced a video from a Lyons, France-based online video user featuring shots of young men throwing bottles of Coke into a garbage can from "impossible angles." The video has garnered a following, and Coke is paying attention -- even going so far as to collaborate on a follow-up.
Jennifer Cisney, a 10-year Kodak employee, was recently named to the position of Chief Blogger. Ten percent of Fortune 500 companies have Chief Blogger positions, and Cisney is one of the few women to hold one. As Kodak's Chief Blogger, Cisney will be charged with overseeing Kodak's two blogs, "A Thousand Words" and "A Thousand Nerds," and will work to increase the company's social media presence.
In a recent ClickZ column, WOMMA Board member Pete Blackshaw took a close look at how Zappos.com is using its amazing brand of customer service to create the kind of customer loyalty and repeat purchasing patterns that legends are made of. According to Blackshaw, 75% of the company's sales come from return customers, and those customers are coming back based in large part on the company's phenomenal customer service model, as well as because of its unique corporate culture.
To celebrate its employees, McDonalds created its Voice of McDonalds, which showcases McDonalds staffers vying for a $25,000 prize in a nation-wide singing contest. The program is good for the company's word of mouth in several different ways. For one, McDonalds is able to recognize and highlight some of the individuals who make up its work force. Secondly, because the final stages of the contest are decided by online vote, the finalists have a great incentive to spread the word about the contest to family and friends in hopes of sweeping the vote.
According to this blog post from WOMMA member company Fizz, if Axl Rose/Guns N' Roses completes their long-awaited album Chinese Democracy in 2008, Dr. Pepper will give everyone in the United States a can of their soda. At a whopping 300,000,000 cans, that's a lot of carbonation -- and potentially a lot of great word of mouth. The success of this program, according to the Fizz Blog, is that Dr. Pepper is approaching its WOM efforts as a fan of Guns N' Roses instead of like a company.
McDonald's has launched an internal blog, called Station M, and is encouraging its 15,000+ eligible employees to post and discuss McDonald's-related issues on the site. The site was created in response to an evaluation process, which found blogs to be the best two-way communication platform available to the company.
American Airlines has launched a Facebook widget, dubbed the Travel Bug, which allows users to share travel tips, stories, and information with their friends. The company is hoping to leverage the information shared via the widget to gain valuable customer insights, including what kind of travel information customers are looking for regarding service and destinations -- as a way to potentially reduce spam and junk mail.
The "Sony Foam City" campaign put Sony's Handycam and Cybershot digital video recorders in the hands of more than 200 bloggers, letting them record the filming of an ad shoot in which Sony blanketed the city of Miami in foam. Sony is hoping that the bloggers -- who witnessed and videoed the production in action as it employed the world's largest foam machine to blanket Miami in two million liters of foam every minute -- will create an online buzz about the ad, as well as about the cameras, by leaking information and video about the shoot onto their blogs.
Toyota has set up a website where Scion drivers can sign up and create their individual "coat of arms," to represent their unique combination of work, hobbies, and karmic expressions. Users can choose from hundreds of icons, which were designed by professional graffiti artists, to create their unique image. Anyone can use the site for free, but for a little extra dough, Scion owners can actually download the designs they create and have them airbrushed onto their vehicles -- something Toyota anticipates Scion fans will do, as they like personalizing their cars.
Teen prom-goers can get their Facebook friends' feedback before making a prom dress purchase thanks to Sears. The company has made over 70 dresses on their Sears.com site available to forward to shoppers' friends, making the girls' shopping experience more social -- and ultimately driving traffic back to the Sears.com site.
According to the Emergence Marketing blog, consumers define your brand, true enough, but it's not true that companies have lost all control of their brands. What a brand stands for is determined by the user interface between the company and the customer -- which is influenced by a multitude of factors, including advertising, customer service, packaging, etc. It's wrong for companies to assume that they no longer control their brand's image in the mind of consumers, as it sets them up to miss important, influential opportunities.
This article from the Los Angeles Times details the unique ways that the latest Batman epic, "The Dark Knight," is being promoted. While the film has relied on some traditional advertising, much of the promotion has been conducted using viral and word of mouth marketing techniques, from strategic use of billboard graffiti and orchestrated faux political rallies to widgets and alternate reality games built around the movie and its characters. The L.A. Times calls the campaign, " one of the most interactive movie-marketing campaigns ever hatched by Hollywood." Whether the blitz leads to box office bliss remains to be seen.
Oh his blog today, Jeremiah Owyang takes a look at how Dell connected with a community of enthusiasts gathered via its Facebook group, which asked the question, "What does green mean to you?" Dell's Graffiti ReGeneration Contest, which was aimed at graffiti artists, prompted users to employ Facebook's graffiti function to create visual representations of what green means to them. The campaign garnered more than 7,300 submissions and more than one million Facebook users voted to pick the campaign's winners.
Starbucks has launched a customer hub, dubbed "My Starbucks Idea," which is an online destination where coffee-loving cronies and bitter detractors alike can share ideas, vote on user-submitted concepts, participate in discussions, praise the brand for what it's doing right, or let off some steam (pun intended). The site, which Shel Holtz points out is very similar to Dell's IdeaStorm, represents a great way for companies to establish direct, easy-to-use lines of communication with their customers.
To get the word out about the upcoming "Indiana Jones" movie release, Paramount has launched a widget and is offering the two fans who distribute the widget most widely tickets to the flick's world premiere. The winning fans will also act as red carpet correspondents at the premiere, content from which will be streamed into the widgets.
CBS recently launched a unique web network that syndicates local news content for bloggers and other social media site users to draw on. Local sites that publish the CBS news widgets and link to CBS videos and stories will be given a share of the company's advertising revenue.
According to Adrants, Tabasco, Weber Grill, Royal Oak charcoal, and Chinet tableware have teamed up with the Kansas City Barbeque Society to create the Great American BBQ Tour. The tour centers around a mobile BBQ bus -- brimming with samples and BBQ recipes -- that will hit 25 cities across the country.
To spread the word about its brand via online video promotions, Dunkin' Donuts has worked closely with WOMMA member Yahoo! to create video-based campaigns that put sports and news information front and center while still featuring the brand. Dunkin' Donuts's YouTube efforts include a CGM contest in which consumers can post videos that reflect the tagline, "America Runs on Dunkin." The company is finding unique ways to integrate their brand with content that consumers want... and that's something consumers are likely to spread the word about.
To help people search for real estate around the world, Century 21 Real Estate has launched a dedicated channel on YouTube -- the first YouTube channel held by a real estate company. The channel, which is intended for sellers, buyers, and enthusiasts, will be filled with consumer-generated content about real estate. To spread the word in line with the launch of the channel, Century 21 is hosting a national CGM contest, which it hopes will drive interest.
To get people talking about Tava -- a new, no-calorie carbonated beverage from PepsiCo -- the company is avoiding traditional T.V. ads altogether, instead opting for online ads and WOM strategies to get the word out about Tava. Aside from their online efforts, the company is using targeted product seeding to get Tava in the hands of people who are likely to talk it up, including employees at Google, Apple, and MTV.
To generate some word of mouth for the upcoming release of its next Narnia movie -- the second installment based on C.S. Lewis's seven-book series "The Chronicles of Narnia" -- HarperCollins and their agency Special Ops Media are launching a slew of social media efforts. The social media buzz frenzy will include pages on MySpace, Facebook, and a Prince Caspian widget that will stream updated information daily, as well as online contests and educational content intended to get people talking before the movie's May release.
The honesty of posts that appear on Wal-Mart's "Check Out" blog, which has been live since just before the holiday season, caught the attention of the New York Times, which noted in a recent article that posts are often critical even of products that Wal-Mart carries. The blog posts, which are written by buyers -- the company's "tastemakers" -- instead of executives, are largely unedited, and have the potential to step on the toes of both merchants and customers. But that's a risk that Wal-Mart is taking, to the credit of its authentic approach to blogging.
This video, which features an interview with Baby Einstein founder Julie Clark, was put together by Microsoft to tout the power of word of mouth marketing, especially in the context of small business marketing. According to Clark, traditional advertising -- whether in the form of a T.V. commercial or magazine ad -- is something she skips and ignores. When she's looking for something she really wants, she trusts the word of mouth from friends -- and applied that common sense philosophy to marketing her own products.
The next Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has launched the next segment in its viral-driven marketing strategy. Following on the heels of the flick's December efforts, which used online viral marketing to "reveal" the movie's trailer, the latest campaign is driving Batman fans to the "I Believe in Harvey Dent" website, where they can enter their email address to join the fight to save Gotham City and follow the fictional District Attorney candidate's campaign efforts.
HBO and YouTube have reached a deal in which YouTube will create a channel, giving users access to clips from popular HBO shows and full episodes of budding shows. Fans will now be able to legally pass along clips from some of their favorite shows, as well as watch complete episodes of new shows they might want to add to their viewing repertoire.
In order to give media and entertainment professionals a networking hub to exchange ideas, recruit, pitch, and search for jobs, Variety has launched The Biz, a private, online social network. The Biz will provide an online destination for an industry that has long relied on offline social networking.
According to the New York Times, WOMMA member company Yahoo is launching a user-driven service, called "Buzz," which will aggregate the most popular articles from the internet. While user votes will partially determine which stories are featured in the Buzz section, traffic spikes will also influence the content, and ultimately Yahoo editors will have final say regarding which stories will be featured. Instead of turning Buzz into a new destination site, Yahoo plans to feature top Buzz stories on its homepage.
United Van Lines is using its Discover America Program to educate middle school students about history and geography. The program involves "Driver Dave," who arrives via tractor trailer at middle schools, gives tours of his truck, and then talks to students about his cross-country trip, incorporating history, geography, math, and safety lessons. The program has footprints on YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook, and United Van Lines hopes to build awareness for its services via both the online and offline elements.
To promote some of the social agendas that have inspired the fashion designer, Kenneth Cole Productions has launched the Awareness Blog, which has multiple authors and is covering and weighing in on a variety of social issues. Overall, the site is a unique mix of fashion, social media, and social causes.
WOMMA member company Quicken Loans has launched its new website, Quizzle.com, as a way to build relationships with future and potential customers. The site is free for users -- with no strings attached -- and includes personal and home finance calculators, credit reports and scores, home value reports, mortgage recommendations, and more. Quicken Loans is providing all of these tools to users to build long-term relationships -- and hopefully when Quizzle users are in the market for a mortgage, Quicken Loans will be the lender they think of first.
The Baby Einstein Company is inviting moms who love its products it share their Baby Einstein stories through the website, www.BabyEinstein.com. The site, which launched on Feb. 15, invites moms to share their personal stories, submit photos of themselves with their babies, and create a mom-to-mom network around the brand. The site also provides child development education and tips, enabling moms to get the most out of their Baby Einstein products.
In a move that has caught the attention of the blogosphere, CNN fired "American Morning" producer Chez Pazienza, stating that his personal blog "violated its standards for journalists." Pazienza started his blog, Deus Ex Malcontent, in May 2006 while he was recovering from an operation to remove a brain tumor, and he speculates that it was his invitation to start blogging on The Huffington Post that elicited the attention that cost him his job.
To promote its Coke Zero brand, Coca-Cola is launching its "Ultimate Dream Job" contest and putting its brand at the center of a live-blogging event. Contestants can apply at cokezerodreamjob.com by submitting a photo and essay that shows their love of basketball. The four selected winners will go to San Antonio on Mar. 16 and live inside Coke's "CokeZeroVille" instillation, where they will watch and live-blog about all of the 2008 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship games, which will be fed into CokeZeroVille via computers and television.
All brands make mistakes; it's what they do to make right that makes the difference. When ProFlowers couldn't make a delivery on time, not only did they respond appropriately -- with a timely email that apologized, took responsibility, and offered to do whatever it takes to "make it right" -- but they turned a situation that could have ended a customer relationship into a great experience.
Nickelodeon loves it when its happy customers use its content. Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group CMO Pamela Kaufman announced at the BRITE CEO Summit last week in New York that the company's newest marketing plan involves taking steps to make their content "slippy" as a way to promote even more consumer-generated content around the brand.
Kodak Gallery, an online application from Kodak that allows users to post, view, and print their digital photos, is now letting users take their slideshows with them. Now people can create slideshows of their photos -- complete with background music -- and post them on a variety of social networking websites, including MySpace, Facebook, and Blogger.
Proctor & Gamble's talking stain Super Bowl commercial for Tide detergent has driven enormous amounts of traffic to the spot's microsite, mytalkingstain.com, where consumers can vie for prizes by submitting spoofs of the ad. So far, the site has received more than 30,000 unique visits, and more than 5,500 consumer-generated spoofs have been uploaded in response to the call for CGM ads.
Members of the None of the Above Political Action Committee have tapped restaurant chain Jack in the Box's mascot as their top choice for president, and have dedicated a website, DraftJack.com, to their efforts. While the primary directive of the site is to give people a forum to voice their opinions on the current presidential hopefuls, they tapped Jack as their representative because he's a likable "man of the people" and they feel he would certainly represent the "change" all the candidates are touting.
Two brand managers, Adam Butler and Tyler Williamson, are blogging about their brand-building efforts on behalf of 1/3 Less Fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Their blog, AdamandTyler.com, features video of their brainstorming sessions, as well as updates on their marketing campaign. While the blogging effort is generating buzz around the blogosphere, some wonder whether the blog will actually contribute to its primary goal of selling cream cheese.
When Tiffany's not only failed to deliver an engraved bracelet in time for Christmas, but inadvertently ruined the surprise by calling and telling the gift's recipient about the shipping delay, it made right by forking the jewelry over free of charge. Not only did they win a customer for life by providing excellent customer service, but the customer relayed the story to The Consumerist, where the good deed post is spreading via WOM.
To bolster it's "America Runs on Dunkin'" campaign, Dunkin' Donuts is hosting a contest where customers can submit videos in response to the question: "How do you keep American running?" The top 50 winners, selected by a panel of judges, will receive a year's worth of free coffee. The top ten winners will have their videos hosted on DunkinDonuts.com.
Sandwich rivals Subway and Quiznos are butting heads over a CGM video contest that Quiznos held in which customers were asked to depict how Quiznos is "superior" to Subway. Subway claims that some of the videos were slanderous, which begs the question: Should companies be legally responsible for the content their CGM contestants produce?
Volvo is tapping into social networks and using mobile marketing to garner the attention of younger drivers. One example of Volvo's viral-driven strategy is a game the company created to promote the Experian. The game had a "forward to a friend" button, and grabbed up a 32% click-through rate, generating buzz for the brand via online gamers and their friends.
Many of the top brands that are advertising in this year's Super Bowl have created consumer-centric contests to get people involved. KFC launched a contest where customers can upload videos of themselves doing a "chicken dance" to ShowUsYourHotWings.com, Alka-Seltzer asked customers to rewrite it's "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" jingle, and Canon invited users to submit photos from amateur football games -- just to name a few.
Passionate employees and brand fans will sometimes tattoo logos and other symbols of their brand love on their bodies. Nike even went so far as to bring some tattoo artists to their corporate campus -- where 30 employees volunteered to go under the needle. But most consumers understand that brands evolve over time and that falling out of love is always a risk with big brands. So what does it take to be a tattoo-worthy brand?
Since announcing to a blogger calling to fact-check a story last week that the company "does not participate with non-traditional media outlets," Target has been the target of a torrential blogosphere downpour. The company's insistence that they only respond to press inquiries from mainstream media has ruffled more than a few bloggers' feathers.
On the Bernaise Source, Dan Greenfield takes a closer look at some of the blogs being used by major U.S. corporations. According to his investigations, which Greenfield notes weren't entirely scientific, even the organizations that do take the time and effort to create social media touch points are often less savvy at making their blogs easily accessible to their customers.
When Kellogg Co. ended production of the Hydrox cookie in 2003 for failing to gain market share on Oreo, the company couldn't have anticipated the undying brand love of the product's fans. Hardcore Hydrox fans have come together, petitioning Kellogg to reinstate the cookie and starting websites and online groups to bolster support for their favorite snack.
The Facebook application Scrabulous, based on the Hasbro game Scrabble, has gained a dedicated web following, with 600,563 active users, so a lot of marketers are scratching their heads at the company's decision to order that the application be taken down from the site. On his blog, Fleishman-Hillard Digital Marketing Director Matt Dickman offers some suggestions about what Hasbro should have done instead.
When developing a new treat for dogs, Del Monte Foods reached out to an online community of pet owners to get their input. The resulting product, Snausages Breakfast Bites, was the culmination of feedback from the group's 400+ members. Other companies, such as Coca Cola and Walt Disney, are also creating and utilizing niche online communities.
Current TV and T-Mobile have teamed up to ask Current TV customers to create ads for the Sidekick LX cellphone. It's part of Current TV's ongoing efforts to move toward more CGM ads. Thus far the company has converted 50% of its ad inventory to consumer-created messaging, a transition that is based on research which indicated that 90% of Current TV prefer CGM ads.
Amazon's attention to customer satisfaction is one of the company's biggest claims to fame, and the major factor in its success. Going the extra mile with customers not only ensures repeat business, but gives happy customers something to talk about.
According to Media Creativity, the on-the-street consumer reactions collected by Partida Tequila for their "Tequila Confessions" campaign sound more like a PSA for drinking responsibly than a brand endorsement. What's the lesson here for word of mouth marketers?
Brands will soon have a new place to connect with consumers with the launch of MSN and WhatOnEarthIsGoingOn's online community. The community will be a platform for consumers who are interested in a variety of social issues and will be a place where brands can showcase their values to these connected users.
When writer and comedian Mark Malkoff's apartment needed to be fumigated, he approached IKEA about living in the company's Paramus, New Jersey store for a week. IKEA said yes, and now Malkoff is writing about his experience at www.marklivesinikea.com, creating tons of WOM potential for the brand.
To promote their brand just in time for one of the biggest floral extravaganzas of the year, 1-800-Flowers.com launched a "Will You Marry Me" valentine video contest on YouTube and is seeking unique proposal videos. The company also launched a Google widget to make it easy for internet users to send branded virtual bouquets to one another.
This Super Bowl season, Coors Brewing Co. is sponsoring a contest for its fans to plead their case for why they deserve to win tickets to the big game. Fans (21 years of age and over, of course) can submit their video bids to the websites coorsbeer.com and coorslight.com.
Advertising Age examines how some brands are using online communities to bolster enthusiasm for their products and services and how the dialog created by speaking to consumers via these formats is more dynamic than the one-way messaging used in traditional advertising.
World Vision launched an online video spoof with a serious message. In the video, an affluent child struggles with the decision to have either toast or cereal for breakfast as a way to promote World Vision's Alternative Gift Catalogue for the holidays. The effort, which is a first for the charity, is paired with a Facebook application that allows users to send pages from the Alternative Gift Catalogue to their friends along with a personalized message.
Dodge Caravan has just launched its first foray into Facebook with an application called "Holiday Letters" that allows users to send Mad-Libs-Style messages to their friends. The messages themselves are holiday-infused and are meant to remind people of Dodge Caravan's commitment to bring families together.
On the Get Elastic blog, they take a closer look at some of the most blogged about online retailers (according to data from Nielsen) and try to decipher how much of the chatter is related to word of mouth and how much is affected by other factors (news, scandals, etc.).
Burger King recently launched a campaign in which videos of customers "freaking out" about the supposed discontinuation of the BK Whopper can be passed along via email or embedded on blogs and web pages. The videos, which are humorous and entertaining, are part of an integrated campaign that includes word of mouth elements along with a strong web and T.V. presence.
"Chain Factor," a complex puzzle started by CBS to promote their series "Numb3rs," snagged the interest of hundreds of people all around the country last month. With both online and offline elements to keep them hunting, viewers searched adamantly for clues -- an effort that CBS claims helped drive viewership for the show.
Brand content that people choose to see (and choose to share) is infinitely more valuable than finding a better way to insert and interrupt. Joe Marchese stresses the value of merging brands into content in the latest edition of the Online Spin.
In this MarketingProfs post, Seni Thomas outlines how Starbucks could use new media -- as opposed to a few television commercials -- to up its exposure and stay authentic.
Folks aligned with Target Corp.'s "Target Rounders" evangelist group were discouraged from disclosing their affiliation with the company to people they spoke with, turning a potentially positive word of mouth effort into an example of bad WOM ethics.
For years, word of mouth marketing has been around, and skittish brand marketers have been toying with buzz-word-worthy pieces of it. But play time is over, and more and more brand marketers are fully embracing WOM and making it an integral element of their integrated marketing campaigns.
Saaga 1763, an Estonian vodka, is hosting a variety of events and tastings to get the word out about its U.S. launch -- and it's targeting bartenders and servers, who the company hopes will remind bar patrons to try Saaga.
The Boston Bruins have tapped local comedian Lenny Clarke to star as the figurehead of their viral efforts to get Bostonians to vote Bruins Players into the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. The "Vote Bruins" campaign features a slew of WOM-based efforts, including MySpace destinations, viral videos, and email tell-a-friend pushes.
Philips Electronics is taking up residence in the Mall of America parking lot and is ingratiating itself with busy holiday shoppers with the "Philips Simplicity Parking Program." The program, which was developed by Carat, involves a "cell phone valet" that allows shoppers to send a text message containing their parking information to a designated number. The drivers then receive a text message from the company with their parking details. Happy shoppers who are able to find their cars will be able to thank Philips -- perhaps with a purchase.
Cookie maker Pepperidge Farms has launched a new website, ArtoftheCookie.com, aimed at helping women amp up their social networks and connect with one another. Sally Horchow, co-author of "The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections," is the campaign's spokesperson, and the website includes video clips from a cross-country trip that features Horchow speaking with women around the country about making and maintaining friendships.
As part of Wal-mart's holiday marketing efforts, the company is using opt-in text messages to tell people about special sales and bargains. Customers who choose to receive the messages can then take advantage of the deals -- or pass information about it along to a friend just by sending a text message.
Public funeral processions and candle light vigils are being held in major cities around the country -- but don't send your condolences just yet. The effort is part of Fox's marketing for the animated series, "Family Guy," which is celebrating its 100th episode. In the episode, one of the main characters is rumored to die, which is why Fox is using public mourning to spread the word.
Procter & Gamble is using a plethora of WOM techniques to try to attract college students to its Febreze brand. The company, which admits mainstream media hits aren't as useful for the college demographic, is using Facebook, a branded website complete with contests and games, and a Febreze-branded comedy tour, to get the attention of dorm-dwellers around the country.
Instead of getting huffy when Sonic customers started posting parodies of the company's commercials on YouTube, the company posted a funny video, encouraging customers to "keep bringing it," embracing the organic enthusiasm their customers had generated.
When a death in the family stopped a Zappos customer from returning her ill-fitting shoes within the 15-day return window, not only did Zappos still accept the return, they sent her flowers. The customer blogged, and that post was picked up by tons of other bloggers and media channels, generating lots of positive word of mouth for Zappos.
The WOMMA Word