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'5 Keys to Social Networking Success'
Online Video Advertising: Where It's Been and Where It's Going
Viral Marketing: An Overview for the (Still) Uninitiated
10 Things to Maximize Your Word of Mouth Efforts
Ray Hopewood is the latest presidential hopeful to make waves online. With the slogan "The Technology to be President" and campaign profiles on Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr, the bumbling Hopewood is spreading the message that "larger is better" and the ideal that lots of money can buy you anything ... even the presidency. Luckily for the American people, there's no real threat of Hopewood taking office. He's a fictional character created as a viral marketing initiative for software company BigFix.
A similar campaign, which featured a smarmy software salesman in place of the politician, created a big boost in website visits (400,000+) for BigFix last year. As a result, viral marketing is something the small company has come to depend upon to "cut through the clutter" in their space.
BigFix plans to continue the Hopewood spoof campaign through the 2008 elections, and is working to keep real world issues current in the campaign. Hopewood will eventually select a running mate, and BigFix indicated that, just as real presidential hopefuls face scandals along the campaign trail, so will Hopewood. Fans of the campaign, who can "friend" Hopewood on a variety of social networking sites, can also purchase campaign merchandise, including "presidential briefing" underwear and a "campaign trail thong."
Learn more (The New York Times)
Learn more (Ray Hopewood Website)
Avid fans are flexing their muscles, and smart brands are paying attention. Once again, fan effort has led to brand resuscitation. This time it's Cadbury's Wispa candy bar getting the fan mouth-to-mouth. Wispa was introduced in 1981 and disappeared from shelves in 2003, prompting more than 93 "Bring Wispa Back" Facebook groups with more than 14,000 members and similar efforts on MySpace and Bebo. They finally caught the attention of the candy maker, which is bringing back the treat.
Cadbury plans to make an initial run of 23 million bars to test the waters and see if the surge of social media interest is more than just chatter.
Beam Global Wine & Spirits doesn't just believe in word of mouth marketing, they're flying the WOM flag -- in the form of a 20-foot-long sign that reads "Building brands people want to talk about" positioned outside the Deerfield, Ill. office of CMO Rory Finlay. According to a recent article in Advertising Age, Beam Global is amping up its WOM marketing effort, and is revisiting the creative around 75% of its global brands to make them more WOM-worthy.
Part of the reason WOM is a staple for a company like Beam Global is that regulations keep distillers from participating in many of the mainstream media mainstays available to their counterparts. For Beam Global, word of mouth is an integral part of the marketing mix.
Beam Global has many memorable word of mouth efforts under its belt already, including a Maker's Mark ambassador program, a campaign for Sauza tequila in which branded couches were placed outside popular nightspots so folks waiting in line could have a seat, and a promotion for Laphroaig whiskey in which brand ambassadors were given a square foot piece of property on the island of Islay where the whiskey is made.
John Bell: WOM Insights for the PR Agency of the Future
The New Media Model: How CGM has Changed the Game
Steve Rubel: 'How to Run a Corporate Blog'
5 Ways to Find Out What Your Customers are Saying About You
A big part of making WOM work is understanding what makes your product stand out in a crowd. For the makers of Crown Royal whiskey, it's the iconic purple bags that the liquor is packaged in, a prop that is taking center stage in the company's latest, fan-centric promotion, which is called "Legends of the Purple Bag." In the past, Crown Royal loyalists have fashioned everything from sport jackets to sofa covers out of the bags. Based on this organic enthusiasm from its customers, Crown Royal has created a contest around these creations. Fans who submit photos of their purple-bag-infused wares to http://www.crownroyal.com/legendary by Dec. 31 will be entered to win a trip to Los Angeles, which includes a movie night with Hugh Hefner and a private tour of the Playboy mansion, or a New York trip, which includes a VIP trip to ESPN Zone and a tour of ESPN headquarters.
Instead of ignoring their fans, Crown Royal noticed something that its fans were already doing -- making wacky, crafty wares out of the product's packaging -- and used it to create a contest that rewards fan enthusiasm.
Leave it to bloggers. In a blogosphere where hobby bloggers, mommy bloggers, political bloggers, corporate bloggers, pet bloggers, and members of the "fat blogger" movement stand shoulder to shoulder, it's no surprise that the idea of blogger unionization should cause folks to take as many stances -- from "what's a union?" to staunchly pro- or anti-union -- as there are castes of bloggers. The biggest divide in this issues, however, comes from the collective of bloggers who argue that a union would help them receive healthcare benefits, engage in collective bargaining, and set codes of conduct -- and thereby boosting the perceived professionalism of the field -- versus the bloggers who argue that the diversity and lack of standardization within the blogosphere is what makes it so darn appealing in the first place.
Whether or not bloggers can pull together to form a unionized collective remains to be seen. In the meantime, bloggers itching to be part of a union are able to join some that are already standing -- according to MarketingVOX, the National Writers Union and the Freelancer's Union are both open to bloggers.
Learn more (The Globe and Mail)
Learn more (MarketingVOX)
If you're a Harley-Davidson fan, you probably already know about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that took place in the Black Hills of South Dakota earlier this month. The annual rally is the "Mecca" of the Harley world, where true believers come to mingle with other enthusiasts and to cozy up to the H-D brand. Of course, a yearly trip to Sturgis can't be a reality for everyone, and this year H-D worked to bridge the gap for the unlucky population of its fans unable to attend. H-D used blogs, vlogs, and a widget with real time coverage to bring the essence of the rally to its most far-flung fans.
The website http://www.Harley-Davidson.com/Sturgis, which was created for H-D by WOMMA member company WHITTMANHART Interactive, features a variety of diary-style blogs, including those by photographer Peter Reitzfeld, writer Jessica Craker, and mechanic and TV producer Steve Matt, all of whom also happen to be avid motorcycle devotees. Beyond the blogging elements, the site features an interactive map and photos and comments submitted by Sturgis attendees.
Another leg of H-D's Sturgis coverage was orchestrated using a widget with a live video feed of the event -- a whopping 10 hours of coverage each day. The widget was promoted through word of mouth and blog seeding only and was downloaded more than 3,000 times by H-D fans around the country.
Learn more (BusinessWeek)
Learn more (MediaPost)
Learn more (Sturgis Website)
Learn more (Harley-Davidson Website)
'Integrity in Marketing is Not Optional'
How to Use Incentives to Help Reward Referrals
A Lesson in Blog Marketing: Bloggers Know When You're Not Honest
How to Turn a Wimpy Website Into Viral-Bound Content
Social networking and file-sharing startup Pownce knows just how to get someone's attention: Tell them they can't have you. When Digg co-founder Kevin Rose introduced Pownce in late June, he immediately piqued techie interested by stating that the site is currently under wraps, except for those who have been invited to test it out. It only took a few days for opportunistic invitees to post their invitations for sale on eBay with prices up to $10.
The Pownce site, according to those who have had the opportunity to try it out, combines the favorite features of many popular sites in a kind of functionality mashup that has even the most skeptical users singing its praises. The site has microblogs like Twitter and Jaiku, social features like MySpace and Facebook, private messaging capabilities like Instant Messenger, and push-button file sharing abilities.
While some claim that the site's multiple functions will draw users from a slew of other applications, other worry that Pownce won't draw a big enough crowd fast enough to satisfy their social itches -- because a social network isn't viable until your friends are there, too.
Learn more (The New York Times)
Learn more (Mashable.com)
Learn more (Pownce)
Based on the success of Sports Illustrated's FanNation.com social networking site, which boasts 4 million unique users, a slew of other Time Inc. weeklies are readying the launch of their own social networking sites.
Time's FanNation.com is a place where sports fans can post rants, read the latest sports news, and engage in debates over various sports-related issues. According to Paul Fichtenbaum, managing editor at SI.com, "It's like sports talk radio online, without the commercials." He also noted that, "It's really a very engaging community," which is half the battle in getting a social network off the ground.
Time Inc. is hoping that reader-based social networking will translate into consumer engagement with some of its other publications. Thus far, Time Inc. hasn't revealed which of its weeklies are slated to get the online boost, but EVP John Squires stated that, "Every site that wants to draw repeat usage from readers has to have a social engagement technology of some sort, not just message boards."
Apparently Time Inc. understands that conversations keep consumers coming back.
Learn more (MediaWeek)
Learn more (Mashable.com)
Learn more (CMS Wire)
For its latest back-to-school campaign, HP is betting that when it comes to buying a PC, parents foot the bill, while teens heavily influence the purchase decision. It's based on this premise that HP created its "Society for Parental Mind Control" campaign, which uses funny viral videos to get teens' attention, and then gives the kids the tools they need to pass their preferences onto their unsuspecting parents.
HP enlisted an array of popular websites -- including MySpace, Facebook, MTV, MSV, Bebo, Gurl, and Flip -- to drive teens to its microsite at www.ControlTheirMinds.com. On the site, HP uses a variety of techniques to hone in on teens' inherent desire to get their parents to bend to their whims. Videos on the site depict parents caving to their kids' crazy demands, parents trying -- and failing -- to resist the mind control, and teens explaining their unique mind control methods documentary-style.
All of the features on the site culminate in a "get a computer using mind control" message that prompts teens to send an email message to their parents -- complete with relevant computer information and a well-crafted mind control plea.Learn more (ControlTheirMinds)
Learn more (AdWeek)
Learn more (Media Post)
Learn more (Adverganza Blog)
McDonald's has recently upped its word of mouth marketing efforts. The company called upon a popular consumer-generated video from YouTube to feature in a commercial spot about Chicken McNuggets and is using chatty avatars to spread the word about the Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap via email. Why all of the attention on WOM? Because it works.
When tens of thousands of viewers watched and passed along a YouTube video depicting two Chicago-based improv comics doing a beatbox/rap about Chicken McNuggets, ad agency and WOMMA member company Arnold Worldwide prompted McDonald's to pay attention. The genuine, organic, consumer-generated-video-turned-commercial recently ran on seven New York TV stations and helped generate enormous buzz and increase the sales of chicken nugget meals at the fast food chain. McDonald's is also running a similarly-conceived commercial based on a YouTube submission that featured two teens singing their orders at a McDonald's drive-through. The teens uploaded the original video to YouTube, where it generated 40,000 views and inspired the resulting commercial.
McDonald's is currently working with Oddcast to create an avatar-based viral email campaign. At www.MySnackTime.com, users enter basic information about a friend or co-worker who they want to tell about the Chipotle BBQ snack wrap. This generates an email, which leads recipients to a personalized, snack-wrap-evangelizing avatar that knows just a little too much about them. According to Oddcast, people who receive emails from friends are 60-65% more likely to open them and are 30-35% more likely to pass the email along to yet another person, making this effort one that is full of viral potential.
Learn more (Boston Globe)
Learn more (YouTube)
Learn more (Media Post)
Facebook Goes Multigenerational
Twitter Proliferation Paring Down the Blogosphere
In a move that diminishes the legal distinctions between bloggers and journalists, on Aug. 1 a congressional panel voted to protect journalists from having to reveal their confidential sources -- and specifically included professional bloggers in the measure.
While casual and hobby bloggers will not benefit from the newly revised Free Flow of Information Act, those that earn either all or part of their income from blogs will be able to enjoy the same protections as their journalist counterparts. Bloggers, many of whom consider themselves journalists whether or not they're officially recognized as such, feel that they should be entitled to the same rights and protections as reporters and applauded the measure as a step in the right direction.
As more and more people use DVRs to give T.V. commercials the cold shoulder, movie makers are scrambling for ways to recoup the lost eyeballs and attention. As a result, movie studios are stocking their marketing arsenals with more word of mouth techniques than ever, using things like viral videos, hidden websites, mystery games, and a variety of other experiential methods to get people talking well before movies are released.
The most recent example is "The Seeker: The Dark is Rising." Slated to be released in October, the film is being promoted via a game for its fans. The movie's plot is based upon the main character finding six "signs," which fans can also look for in the movie's marketing materials. If users solve the puzzle and line up the signs in a specific order on the movie's website, they will be granted access to additional content, including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.
Other examples of Hollywood WOM include J.J. Abrams' not-yet-named movie, which is set to be released Jan. 18, 2008, and has initiated a mystery that is capturing fans all around the web; "The Simpsons Movie," which pulled out all the WOM stops, from creating Kwik-E-Marts out of 7-Elevens to a Springfield hometown movie premiere challenge in which Springfields across the country competed to host the movie's premiere; and the latest Batman movie, which used a hidden image that could only be uncovered by unique users one pixel at a time to provoke a massive "tell a friend" movement.
When creating a viral marketing effort for its show "Yo Mamma," MTV wanted a viral effort that would not only stir up awareness for the show, but would also be able to stand on its own two feet. The goal, according to Gaurav Misra, VP of programming for MTV and VH1, was to create something "self-sustaining." Depending on the success of the online effort, content from the viral initiative is set to become an integral part of the T.V. show itself.
The result is an online contest called "Let's Bully." "Yo Mamma" is a reality show that features comedians who compete in trash-talk bouts. The Let's Bully contest mirrors the show's concept, allowing users to upload pictures of themselves or friends and personalize jokes that they can then send to other users.
MTV tapped social marketing agency EVB, San Francisco to head up the personalized aspects of the effort. EVB is known for producing the viral wonder "Elf Yourself" for OfficeMax, which reached more than 11 million people in November 2006. Daniel Stein and Jason Zada of EVB summarized for Adweek four of the viral marketing credos they used in creating the Let's Bully contest:
How many bloggers does it take to screw in a light bulb? While the stats on that question might not be currently available, the DIY Network recently used over 4 million blogger-generated suggestions to execute a significantly more complicated project: building a log cabin in the foothills of Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains.
Volunteer bloggers were able to vote on a variety of the cabin's features, from roof style (shingles or tin?) to kitchen cabinetry (country or stainless steel?), and to watch the building in progress. Throughout the effort, bloggers were encouraged to share their own cabin-building experiences and to add their expertise to the blog community's pot.
The result of DIY's online efforts is a new T.V. series, appropriately titled, "Blog Cabin." Now that the cabin is built, the DIY Network is going to give it away in a sweepstakes with a "once daily" entry policy that should drive even more traffic to the Blog Cabin site.
The artist currently known as Prince understands that the best way to get fans to love his music is to give them an opportunity to hear it. While other artists are guarding their musical reserves from the threat of download-hungry, music-loving pirates, on July 15, Prince attached a copy of his new album, "Planet Earth," to every issue of London's "Mail on Sunday," putting his latest release in the hands of thousands of potential fans.
Prince's "give it away" model is part of his ongoing effort to use digital media in a meaningful way to work around the big box music distributors. As early as 2001, Prince fans could subscribe to receive his music for free online. In another example, his "Musicology" album was distributed for free to everyone who purchased a ticket to see one of the live shows during the album's tour -- a move that catapulted "Musicology" to the top 10 for a number of weeks, in spite of the fact that the albums weren't technically "sold."
Several U.K. music retailers were so displeased with Prince's decision to bypass them for the "Planet Earth" release that they've opted not to sell his new album. Given that his fans are happy and have access to his music, the move probably won't keep this WOM Prince up at night.
Learn more (Reveries)
Learn more (The New York Times)
Learn more (Telegraph)
Learn more (MediaPost)
Prior to its airing on July 23, the heavily-touted CNN/YouTube Democratic debate was expected to be a softly lobbed attempt at using YouTube magic to make debates hipster-chic. The biggest complaint about the effort stemmed from the fact that CNN handpicked which questions from the pool of 3,000 submissions would be used -- instead of allowing users to vote on their favorites. CNN defended the decision, saying that the "gatekeeper" method, while not perfect, would prevent candidates from trying to stack the vote and would prevent the debate from becoming a "circus."
In spite of widespread reservations, the debate that transpired has been largely lauded as a success, primarily for its ability to bring new voices into the process. The 39 -- sometimes funny, sometimes quirky, and often touching -- video questions that CNN selected gave a "town hall" feel to the debate that served to democratize it. (Not everyone can afford a plane ticket to attend a debate and pose questions, but many can come up with the technology necessary to create and upload a video on YouTube.)
The debate marked a distinct shift in the media equation, with technology giving average citizens a very direct link to their policy makers, taking the filter of the journalist middleman out of the picture altogether in the process.
Learn more (The New York Times)
Learn more (Reuters)
Learn more (CNET News.com)
Learn more (Advertising Age)
Where do you go if you're an internet savvy professional athlete who wants to connect with fans in a real way? Simple: You go where your fans are. And if sports-infused social news site Yardbarker.com has anything to say about it, it's the place to be. John Lackey, pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, would probably agree. They are just two of the athlete bloggers who have signed on to participate in the site, write blog posts, and field questions from fans.
Yardbarker.com employs technology similar to that of Digg.com, but with a sports news focus. The site launched pre-populated with player and team names, making watchlist creation a cinch. Users can submit or vote on news, write blog posts, and send messages to one another. And while it's not a perfect web property (TechCrunch says bookmark functionality and duplication prevention would improve the site), it's a great place to be for sports fans, as well as for athletes looking for fan interaction.
Learn more (Search Marketing Gurus)
Learn more (Press Release)
Learn more (TechCrunch)
Learn more (Yardbarker.com)
Raise your hand if you like pie.
Exactly. Everybody likes pie, which is probably why BC Credit Union selected the dessert as its apology vehicle of choice when "Mummy Musings" blogger Paula wrote in to tell the company that its website generated faulty directions to several neighborhood ATMs, which frustrated the busy Mom blogger and wasted her time. A few days later, Paula received an "Acme Humble Pie," which, according to the package, includes "handpicked apology apples," is "baked full of good intentions," and weighs in at 4.5 lbs. of deliciousness. The pie came with a personalized apology note from BC Credit Union, which read:
"Thank you very much for bringing this matter to our attention. I can understand your frustration of being misdirected by us. We were unaware of any problems with the ATM mapping feature on our website, and upon receiving your email have been in contact with our technology partners to ensure that all mapping errors are corrected as quickly as possible."
A lesson in customer care from BC Credit Union: If you have to apologize to your customers, you might as well be sweet about it.
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