The Essential Orange

Luggage reimagined - leveraging your core competency to grow

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 15:36:00 +0000

At the core of the global brand Bugaboo's DNA is mobility. This Netherlands based company redefined the baby stroller in the mid-nineties enabling Moms and Dads to easily maneuver urban streetscapes. It opened up a whole new experience for baby who could now accompany a parent on jogging routes and be easily bused around in cars, into restaurants and onto planes.

And speaking of planes, the Dutch designers have applied their core competency towards creating luggage. What makes their concept unique is that the suitcase is designed to be pushed, which totally makes sense. Pulling luggage, especially when it's heavy is a drag, literally. With the brand's solid reputation and earned trust in its mobility solution, this brand extension is a great example of leveraging a core competency to innovate and grow.

Flashmobs - they're fun, they're surprising and in this case, very moving.

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Spain's Banco Sabadell created this viral hit in May to celebrate 130 years in business and as a way to pay homage to their community. Don't be surprised if it brings a tear to your eye or a chill down your spine - it's that moving. The video production shows a 100 person flashmob comprised of members from the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, the Lieder, Amics de l'Òpera and Coral Belles Arts choirs. Already it has over 2 million views.

While T-Mobile has certainly dominated the flashmob as brand building and advertising medium, as this video shows, there's still lots of room for other brands to engage a wide range audience in fun and delightful ways.

Arsenal players perform to Swan Lake in Citroen TV spot

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:05:00 +0000

What do Arsenal (UK Soccer Team) and the The English National Ballet have in common? Not much, most would say, except some fancy footwork. These icons of Sport and Culture have been cleverly put together in a campaign to promote the new Citroen DS 5 called "Refined Redefined".

The ad is certain to draw lots of viewers on YouTube and positive word of mouth. The ad's originality and humour will no doubt have a positive impact on the Citroen brand. Because of the respectful yet comical way in which all the players are cast - the Arsenal team members, the dancers and the car, its likely that the ad will have a halo effect on all brands. Even Tchaikovsky Swan Lake was redefined in a refined sort of way.

Nokia is back!

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Over the weekend, Nokia launched its latest smartphone into North America - the Lumia 900.

Here are some of the best features that consumers will love:

Nice sleek contemporary design. Great colour selection.
Big screen - (4.3 inches) that is glare resistant
Great camera: 8 megapixels, large aperture (F2.2), wide-angle focal length (28 mm), and optics from German lens specialist Carl Ziess
Front-facing camera for videoconferencing/skyping
Long lasting battery 1830-mAh delivers 7 hours talk-time and lots of power for XBox or other online games
Super-fast - runs on AT&T's super-fast LTE network
Windows 7 - with built-in Microsoft Office Mobile and People Hub - a feature that amalgamates all your contacts' info - phone, email and social media on one page allowing you to view live updates and easily reach out to friends on your preferred platform.
Oh - and did I mention the great price? Starting at $49,99 on Amazon

The phone is getting very positive reviews which is big news for both companies. This could help bump Windows' share of the U.S. phone market which was only 3.9% as of February, according to ComScore. By comparison, Apple's iPhone held 30.2% of the market, while phones that run Android held a collective share of 50.1%.

This smartphone also has the potential to put the Nokia brand back on the map and top of mind with consumers in North America. While Nokia is still the dominant mobile phone leader in the world, its difficult to find a Nokia phone in any carrier's phone store in the United States. Nokia was always a revered brand known for innovation and style - remember the 90's Nokia model that fit beautifully into the palm of your hand? Nice to see that with the Lumia 900 Nokia is back in the game.

Remember this puppy?

Let's see how Nokia and AT&T are supporting the launch. It's a nice combination of PR, Events, guerrilla/experiential marketing and traditional advertising.

On Friday, there was an impressive well attended event at Times Square featuring a live performance by Nicki Minaj, a spectacular lightshow with CGI dancers on massive LED displays and coordinated effects on surrounding video boards.

Of course a video was made and as of today has almost half a million views.

The Lumia 900 ad campaign officially started on Sunday night with a 60-second TV spot starring Saturday Night Live alum Chris Parnell. The ad lays down the gauntlet to established competitors iPhone and Android. The ad calls out the inferiority of all smartphones currently on the market by calling users "beta testers" implying a still yet to be perfected product. "If you used a smartphone in the past five years, you were a secret product tester in the greatest social experiment ever undertaken,” the actor says before revealing the Lumia 900 as the result of that experiment.

Take a look at the ad here:

The spot will air over the next two months as will a handful of other 30-second spots focused on product features such as hardware design, the phone’s camera and Windows Phone’s live tiles user interface. Nokia is also placing ads on bus shelters in key AT&T markets such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Los Angeles.

In addition, there were Nokia and Windows Phone “Free Time Machine” events in several locations to showcase the benefits of smartphones. By participating, people could win a myriad of fun prizes including access to Kourtney Kardashian's hair stylist, makeup artist, car service, and a personal shopper to her own shopping boutique as a prize. If you couldn't attend the event, you could go online and win prizes (sans Kourtney's prize).

With all this activity, it looks like Nokia's Lumia 900 is off to a strong start. The phone is trending as the #1 and #2 best seller on Amazon.

So how to maintain sales momentum? According to Forrester Analyst Sarah Rotman Epps, there's a couple things Nokia needs to do right to ensure its long term success.

Pay off the channel. Make sure that the AT&T salespeople are supporting the launch and are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Windows. If not, the launch could definitely fall flat. Training (and follow-up) of AT&T staff is paramount. Do I also hear secret shoppers?? When I visited my local AT&T the sales person was 100% behind the phone and did a great job selling it. He's already had the phone for 2 weeks to play with. Smart.
Target the right customer. Nokia’s product marketing is targeted at the vast number of consumers who don’t yet have smartphones. At an affordable entry price this sounds like a great idea. However, are these folks ready to fork out plus or minus $100 a month for a data plan? And...if they are looking for a smartphone, would they be more conservative in their choice and go for an Apple or Google operating system (like their friends). We are not necessarily talking about early adopters here. Why not go after some low hanging fruit? Nokia could easily target Blackberry users who are either becoming disillusioned or getting antsy for something new. RIM has admitted that the next gen won't be out for some time soon. These folks already pay for a monthly plan so no shock to the wallet. According to Epps, that's about a 8.2% share worldwide. I say ripe for the picking.

Nike Catch the Flash - multi-channel promo

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:50:00 +0000

Can you imagine running through the streets of Vienna at night, running past the Opera House, the Hofburg and through the Museumsquartier, all in the hopes of winning a 10,000 Euro platinum bar?

Sounds like fun.

Nike set up a multi-channel contest to promote the new Vapor Flash Jacket not only creating awareness of the jacket but doing it in a way that that showcased the jacket's unique features and benefits - the jacket is fully reflective making the wearer completely visible in the dark, thereby providing greater safety at night.

To promote the Vapor Flash Jacket's launch the German agency Jung von Matt created the “Catch the Flash” contest using both offline and online components. The idea was that 50 athletes dressed in the Vapor Flash Jackets would be running around the streets of Vienna. Contest participants would chase these runners and "flash them" - take a picture with a flash camera which would reveal the number on the runner's jacket. The person (or team) that had photographed the most numbers shot would win 10,000 Euros.

The online component had two parts. You could track your progress as a team using an app. Or you could also play the game online using a virtual runner since the 50 flashrunners' GPS data was uploaded real time.

Nice way to engage fans both online and offline in a way that reinforced the brand's image as an innovator and generated awareness about the jacket's core benefit. The contest was promoted in-store, through social media and through a radio co-promotion.

Mobile Geo-targetting

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:33:00 +0000

You're excited because you just launched a killer app and thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded it. You realize that these downloads are from your biggest brand fans but what's your plan to keep people engaged? Did you know that most people stop using an app after a month or so?

To combat this inertia, Urban Airship developed a push notification system with the ability to deliver rich media content and allow in app purchasing and subscriptions. Until now, this was a great but rather blunt instrument. Today Urban Airship announced the launch of "Segments", an enhanced geo-targeting add-on to their existing push notification system. This service allows you to slice and dice audiences by location, time context and preferences to improve the relevancy of messages and offers.

So let's walk through a couple examples. Let's say you are a grocery chain and just received a huge shipment of ripe organic mangoes at a certain location, you could send out a geo-targeted notification including a coupon to drive traffic and purchase.

Or perhaps you are a coffee chain and have just opened a new store. You could geo-target your users with a special offer to create awareness and traffic to your new location.

According to Scott Kveton, CEO and co-founder, he doesn't yet have data on the effectiveness of the Segment service. But Kveton said customers using push notifications are seeing a 540 percent increase in daily app opens and a 30 percent increase in social sharing.

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Are you "Cat People"?

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:55:00 +0000

When you walk into a pet store, why does the cat area seem like an afterthought compared to the huge selection of doggy toys, beds and foods? And why is the stereo-type of a cat person so different from that of a dog person? Just mention "cat lady" and we easily imagine a crazy woman draped in an old housecoat living with 20 or more cats. Are cat people somehow maligned?

In a feel-good spot, Purina is uniting cat people together by turning the cat lady stereo-type on its head through a collection of testimonials by men, women and children declaring "I'm a cat person" and why.

....Because she makes me laugh even when I feel like crying
Because he doesn't care if I'm having a bad hair day
Because it's nice to have someone around who's smarter than me
Because of the way he sleeps on my head.....

The ad was launched on the Country Music Awards on Sunday and invited viewers to tweet their reason for being a cat person using the #catperson hashtag. The tweets were streamed live on two billboards in Times Square and the brand has been sending TwitPics of many of the Times Square tweets to the people who wrote them.

It's a simple and clever way to build an emotional connection to the Purina brand and create a community among cat people.

Old Spice - The Man Your Man could smell like has left the Stage

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:57:00 +0000

It's true. Isaiah Mustafa is off to his next gig. The iconic hunk synonymous with Old Spice has left the brand. In his wake is a case study of how a partnership between a traditional CPG company (P&G), a brilliant creative team (W&K) and a talented actor (Isaiah Mustafa) revitalized a 71 year old brand.

Overnight the brand became a viral hit, making it the darling of the media and a commercial success. Previously known as "the deodorant my grandfather used", the relaunching of the brand was achieved by an overhaul of the brand strategy and the courage to break new ground. The team kept true to the brand’s core values - genuine, honest, sincere, authentic and masculine but re-staged them in a way that was relevant to a much younger audience.

They ditched the whistling sailor and girl in every port but kept the rugged, sexy guy and the jingle. What was brilliant about the new campaign was the way it appealed to women as much as it did to men (I want my man to look and smell like Mustafa). And with the clever use of humour, the character was aspirational and accessible to a target group looking for heroes and ways to build self-confidence.

A well executed marketing strategy was also key to the brand’s success – from the launch of the “The man your man could smell like” ad at Superbowl to the real time social media tactics that kept the brand top of mind and engaged with a wide consumer and media base.

So who will replace Mustafa? A familiar face from the big hair and diso days – Fabio. The casting for Mustafa’s successor must have been a nightmare – the same nightmare the producers of the James Bond movies must have gone through in replacing the iconic Sean Connery. Yet the Bond franchise, through some trial and error, has successfully built its fan base and stayed relevant.

It will be interesting to see if Fabio will resonate (or not) with the Old Spice fan base.
What do you think?

Starbucks Evolution from a U.S. to Global Company

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Normally I focus my articles on marketing ideas and case studies but today's post is a little different. I'm a big fan of Starbucks, not only because it's such an iconic and successful brand but because I have a personal interest (ok, I did spend 12+ years of my life contributing to its success around the world in various brand & marketing leadership roles). Oh and I do have a little stock - full disclosure :)

So what are they up to and why am I excited?

Starbucks announced a number of strategic changes this week that will continue to position the company for strong growth. All of these, in my opinion, are really smart changes.

The most important change is in the underpinnings of the company– a leadership restructuring that signals the move from Starbucks operating as a U.S. company doing business internationally, to Starbucks becoming a truly global company. This is good news for the brand and business.

The company will be divided into 3 regions – The Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific/China. This is a big shift from the prior model which was split in two - a U.S. Division and the rest of the world under SCI (Starbucks Coffee International) . Leading each of the new divisions are familiar faces:

The Americas: Cliff Burrows (President U.S. and former President UK - a dynamic operations leader, motivating leader and storyteller)
EMEA: Michelle Gass (President Seattle's Best and former head of marketing/category as well as global strategy - super smart, long time trusted leader and confidante of H. Schultz who grew up in Starbucks - also has an engineering background and P&G pedigree)
APAC: John Culver (President SCI, former head of Food Service - smart business leader, highly personable and great team leader)

These changes will help Starbucks build global consistency while balancing local relevance. The new structure will also bring more focus and improve the leadership's ability to leverage regional opportunities.

In addition, the structural changes include additional responsibilities for Annie Young-Scrivner, CMO. She has a CPG background (PepsiCo) and loads of international experience and while fairly new to Starbucks ( Sept 2009) has made impact. Annie will now take on the leadership of Tazo Tea. Since Starbucks acquired Tazo in 1999, this little gem of a brand has been under-leveraged so it will be interesting to see what innovation comes out of the tea business with Annie at the helm.

The other change is the addition of Seattle's Best Coffee to Jeff Hansberry's portfolio which currently includes CPG and Food Service. While I don't know much about Jeff, I hear positive things from ex-colleagues who work in his group. He's also a relative newcomer to Starbucks joining the company in June 2010.

All in all, smart and strategic changes that will see the continued success of Starbucks, a brand that is barely tapping it's opportunitites in the rest of the world.

I'm excited! What are your thoughts?

5 case studies that show how to drive traffic and sales from your Facebook Fan base

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Last week I featured a post from Wildfire's blog with tips on how to create great ads on Facebook. This week I'm featuring five case studies that Wildfire has put together on how to leverage your Facebook Fan base to drive traffic and sales using Wildfire's platform.

Tip #1: Turn your coupons into a game!
Online ‘private’ retailer Hautelook ran a coupon campaign with us but instead of just offering up a coupon they made it much more fun by creating an ‘instant win’ coupon game. After becoming a fan of the Hautelook Facebook Fan Page entrants were presented with a coupon but the value of each coupon was a surprise and ranged from 10% to 20%, and some had free shipping. The results were great! Not only did Hautelook generate thousands of new fans they also generated tens of thousands of sales in just one day. In fact, they generated a return on investment of more than 5x and over 20% of purchasers were first time Hautelook customers. ThePost Options great thing about this campaign is that it turned something standard like a coupon into something fun and exciting like a game.

Tip #2: Drive People into your Store via a Giveaway
Giveaways are a great way to engage people and generate word of mouth, but by offering a giveaway that must be picked up in store it can also be a great way to drive purchases. Digital Surgeons, a digital marketing agency, used Wildfire to run a giveaway for their client Edible Arrangements. After becoming a Facebook Fan of Edible Arrangements entrants received a voucher for free chocolate dipped strawberries. But to redeem the coupon fans had to visit an Edible Arrangements store – thus providing a fantastic opportunity for local Edible Arrangements franchisees to promote their store to a slew of new customers. This campaign was a wild success for Edible Arrangements – not only did it generate 170,000 new fans but it also resulted in a double-digit increase in sales from the year prior.

Tip #3: Drive visitors to your online store via a creative sweepstakes
Zappos ran a unique sweepstakes with Wildfire where they promised users the chance to win a $500 voucher for use at Zappos, but only after entrants visited the online store and put together a list of the items that they would purchase with the winning money, if it were theirs. This was a powerful way to encourage thousands of people to not only visit the Zappos site but to also create a list of their favorite items on Zappos, which, in turn, encouraged many consumers to buy.

Tip #4: Create lucky coupons to draw users into your store
Jamba Juice launched a campaign called “Feel Good Bucks” that used Wildfire’s unique coupon code generation functionality in a very interesting way. They gave out ‘lucky’ coupons via our Facebook Connect Product and Facebook Fan Page Product that could be redeemed at Jamba Juice stores. When consumers redeemed the coupons they either received $1 off their purchase or they had the opportunity to win one of many thousands of instant prizes, including cash prizes of $10,000! To make Jamba’s campaign even more fun and social, they combined it with Wildfire’s Virtual Gifting solution so users could send Jamba Bucks to their friends in the form of fun, Jamba-branded virtual gifts like smoothies, bucks, and cartoons. By combining the utility of a coupon with the anticipation of an instant win and the social channels of Facebook, Jamba was able to generate huge interest in their campaign and drive tens of thousands of consumers to purchase at their stores.

Tip #5: Use a sweepstakes to drive people to your coupon
In celebration of its one millionth Facebook Fan, Duck Tape launched a Wildfire sweepstakes, giving 100 lucky winners a Duck Tape prize package. But to sweeten the deal for every entrant in the sweepstakes, they also put up a coupon for $1 off a roll of Duck Tape, which was available for claim to anybody completing their submission into the sweepstakes. Sweepstakes are not only a great way to encourage users to interact with your fanpage and website but they’re also a powerful way to drive people to your coupon or online shopping cart so it’s certainly worth considering the combination of a sweepstakes with a coupon.

18 Super Easy & Effective Tips on using Facebook ads to grow your fan base

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:05:00 +0000

My thanks to Wildfire, the Palo Alto based social media platform company. This blog post was SO good and comprehensive, I thought I would share. As always, test a whole collection of ads, use different images, different copy, different headlines—then within one day or so, see which ones are winners. Pause all the ones that are stagnant and put the budget back into the winners.

Unless you have a large existing fan base or newsletter base, the best way to grow your fans is via Facebook Ads coupled with a promotion (e.g. contest or coupon). In fact, the #1 way that Facebook users find out about fan pages is via Facebook advertising so it is extremely important to your overall social media success that you know how to run Facebook ads effectively. Simple things like the image you choose or the title you use can make the difference between success and failure when it comes to advertising. We’ve compiled a list of practical, easy-to-implement and highly effective tips to help you maximize the performance of your Facebook ads.

What Images Should You Use?

Tip #1: Ads with people, and especially close ups of faces and eyes tend to get a higher click through rate. In other words, give your ad a human touch!

Tip #2: However, don’t use an image of a person if this doesn’t fit with what you’re promoting – ads with an image that’s relevant to your advertisement tend to be most successful.

Tip #3: It’s best to upload horizontal (landscape) images to ensure you’re maximizing the space available, which is 110×80 pixels

Tip #4: Include branding in your image. Only a tiny percentage of people exposed to your ad will actually click on it but lots will see it so it’s important that you maximize your branding. The great thing is that you can opt to ‘pay-per-click’ for your Facebook advertising so if someone learns about your brand by looking at your ad but doesn’t click, you just got brand exposure for free!

Tip #5: Scale your image as large as possible. Meaning, zoom into your image so that it extends as close to the edge on all 4 sides as possible without losing the sharpness of the image. For example, an image that contains one close up of a face will be more appealing than one that contains full body shots of multiple people, all of whom will appear so small in the photo that you wont be able to see any details.

Tip #6: Another trick you can try after your image has been created is take a large step away from your monitor and see if you can still make out what the image is from far away—if you can’t tell, the image isn’t as clear as it could be for a good ad.

Tip #7: Eliminate unnecessary surroundings around your main image, either by giving it a transparent background or a white one. You don’t want to distract people from what you want them to notice.

Tip #8: Use colors in your image that contrast with Facebook’s shades of blue— they command more attention and stand out from the rest of the website.

Tip #9: Be creative! You want your ad to stand out from the millions of other ads your audience is exposed to every day.

What Title Should You Use?

Tip #10: Ask questions. People who read questions to themselves are often sub-consciously answering them also. If your question is compelling enough, they will want to click through to see the answer.

Tip #11: Limit titles to one line.

Tip #12: Try titles that will elicit some kind of reaction from your audience, like making them laugh.

What Text Body Should I Use?

Tip #13: Be clear with your message – what are you offering and why should a user care?

Tip #14: Give a compelling reason to click: access to promotions (deals, coupons, sweepstakes, contests, giveaways) is the number one reason people become fans.

Tip #15: If you’re targeting users based on certain “Likes & Interests” or demographic information, tie that information into your copy. For example, an ad targeting users living in Palo Alto, CA, can fare better if the words “Palo Alto” or “Bay Area” were in the copy, making the ad appear more relevant to the viewer seeing it.

Tip #16: Ask people to like your brand— telling your audience exactly what you want them to do is a surprisingly effective methods of getting users to do what you requested. For example, “Fall is here and so is our seasonal pumpkin cupcake. Click ‘like’ if you think this sounds delicious!”

Tip #17: Don’t forget a call-to-action! Try messages like “Click here!” or “Enter now!” to let users know exactly what they’re supposed to do within the interaction.

Tip #18: Try not to sound like a large corporation in your body message. Speak to your audience like people.

How a 404 error can actually build your brand (and keep customers)

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:37:00 +0000

How often has this happened to you? You are trying to get some needed information on a website and whammo.....401 Error NOT FOUND pops up to your dismay.

Getting a 404 error (server not found) on a website or while trying to subscribe to an online newsletter can be a frustrating experience for the end user and leave a poor impression of your business. 400 or 500 errors are caused by broken links when a page is moved or deleted.

OK - stuff happens and you don't usually catch a broken link until it's brought to your attention. In the meantime, you have spent time and resources to drive people to your website and you are frustrating and potentially losing these visitors.

So what to do? Having a great 404 error page is as important as creating great content and can engage visitors while redirecting folks back to your homepage. It's a good way to create a second chance and reinforce your brand voice.

Here are some great examples of messages to get your inspired. Feel free to share your favorites!

CSS Tricks

Renkoo

Soocial

Acorn Creative

Foursquare sampling idea - Bow Wow

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:48:00 +0000

Here's a fun use of Foursquare that was used by a petfood manufacturer in Germany. The billboard becomes the destination where dog owners can "check in" and receive a free sample. What I like about this idea is that it's highly targeted - reaching early adopters/experimenters- creating brand buzz and trial for a new dog food. What makes this dogfood unique is a key ingredient - 5% of the mixture is pomegranate.

The only drawback - the sanitation issue. I would have preferred packaged samples.
(just saying....) bow wow

How the Tablet is changing the online Shopping Experience

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:23:00 +0000

I’m often told by folks that once they buy a tablet, they give up their laptop. While less than 4.5% of all computers shipped in 2010 were in the tablet format, Morgan Stanley predict that number to increase to 20% in the next two years.

This is great news for retailers who are jumping on iPad and other tablets to create new retail interfaces that provide an enhanced shopping experience compared to your typical e-commerce site. These new apps are more lifestyle oriented, and offer a curated selection of the top featured items or selections around certain themes – just like a magazine or catalogue.

With a quick swipe of the finger, it’s easy to drag an image and drop it into a cart. Image and video quality are often superior to a phone or computer. These apps are much more about presentation and visual merchandising and the “less is more” approach means that the consumer is not overwhelmed with selection.

At Net-a-Porter, the online designer fashion retailer, currently, about 15 percent of their shoppers buy from the iPad app.

“The iPad app is really our magazine app,” said Alison Loehnis, vice president of sales and marketing for Net-a-Porter. Its app was introduced last summer, and has been downloaded 120,000 times.

“Our site was founded on the desire to create a fashion magazine that you can shop from, and this whole notion of literally being able to move things around on the page and slide things into a shopping basket and touch things with your fingers the way you would do in a magazine is really a dream come true,” Ms. Loehnis said.

At Gilt, the innovative flash sale site featured here, the iPad app “truly is sort of an entertainment source during the member’s downtime” said the company’s chief product officer, Stefan Pepe.

Gilt’s sales start at a specific time with a limited amount of merchandise, and so its Web site and iPhone app are geared toward quick shopping. Although Gilt members shop flash sales on the iPad app, they can also use it to look at clothes as they would in a fashion magazine — a different experience. Shoppers can zoom in on the images closely enough to see the stitching on a shoulder seam or the lace fringe on the bottom of a skirt, for instance, and can drag items to their shopping carts without leaving the page.

TheFind does the comparison shopping for you online. Once you select a style/colour, it gives you alternative. In TheFind’s tablet app, a shopper can see the typical catalog-style shots, like of a living room filled with Crate & Barrel furniture, or can view individual photographs and descriptions of each item in the shot, like the pillows or lamps.

Mr. Kumar of TheFind said the app was a reaction, in part, to the overwhelming shopping options available online. “If I said, let’s show you every possible shoe on the planet, you’d be exhausted,” Mr. Kumar said. “A lot of these retailers use the catalog to tell people what they have: its things they’ve curated and picked.”

Share your favorite tablet apps or join me in tablet envy :)

Integrated marketing campaigns - 14 tips on using QR codes

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Ever pass one of these codes on the street or in a magazine and wonder what it's all about? These are QR codes, a 2D barcode that can be a powerful and innovative tool in your integrated marketing campaign mix.

Here are the top 14 tips from interactive expert Angie Scottmuller who runs a strategic consultancy Interactive Artisan, that specializes in leveraging emerging technologies to improve user engagement, optimize conversion, and continually enhance the customer experience

1. A QR Code is a 2D Barcode

QR codes are an encoded barcode image resembling a square-like maze. Unlike a 1-dimensional UPC code, a 2-dimensional barcode stores data in both directions and can be scanned vertically or horizontally to be decoded.

2. 2D Barcodes Can Store a Variety of Data

A traditional 1D barcode (UPC/EAN) stores up to 30 numbers, while a 2D barcode (QR) can store up to 7,089 numbers. The additional storage capacity accommodates a variety of data beyond numbers:

Text
Hyperlink
Telephone number (Phone call)
SMS/MMS message
Email (Send message)
Contact entry (vCard or meCard)
Calendar entry (vCalendar)

Storing a hyperlink presents a myriad of possibilities beyond just loading a web page -- play a video, download a mobile app, check-in on Foursquare, update a Twitter status, "Like" a Facebook page, display map directions, and more.

3. Read/Decode a 2D Barcode by Scanning it With a Smartphone

(A 2D barcode reader app is required to decode the encoded data.)

4. 2D Barcodes Can be Placed in and on Nearly Any Location

Once the barcode image is created, it can be printed on nearly any surface and location -- newspapers, TV ads, billboards, temporary tattoos, product packaging, clothing labels, cake frosting, and more. This enables you to drive traffic, interaction, and conversion from anywhere. 2D barcodes excel at bringing non-digital media to life.

Note: Use caution placing barcodes online. They should always enhance the user experience. If a user could click a hyperlink, don't make them scan a code to complete the same task.

Bear in mind the location must be easily scannable. Plastic frames and packaging can reflect light. Lighting can cast shadows, and hillsides and subways can kill Wi-Fi access. Consider all contextual factors that could impact the scanning experience.

5. Mobile Barcode Scanning is on the Rise

2D barcode scanning outnumbered 1D (UPC) scans in Q1 2011.
- ScanLife's Q1 2011 Trend Report
Mobile barcode scanning grew 1,600 percent in the year 2010.
- ScanLife's 2010 Trend Report (PDF)
QR barcode scanning was up 1,200 percent in the second half of 2010.
- Mobio's Naked Facts Report
22 percent of the Fortune 50 have already used mobile barcodes.
- Burson-Marsteller Report

QR codes can be used for nearly any function (logistics, advertising, customer service, etc.) for B2B and B2C across a variety of industries:

Best Buy uses QR codes on in-store price tags for quick access to online reviews.
Golf Digest uses Microsoft Tag in their magazine to accompany tips with interactive video.
Real estate agents use 2D barcodes on "for sale" signs providing prospective buyers access to virtual tours.
Libraries are using QR codes to facilitate learning via interactive scavenger hunts.

6. QR Isn't the Only Type of 2D Barcode

The most popular 2D barcode formats are QR code, DataMatrix, ScanLife EZcode, and Microsoft Tag (Tag).

There are several key differences in these code formats. ScanLife EZcode and Microsoft Tag are proprietary formats only decodable by their tools, while QR and DataMatrix formats are open standard. (Additional format differences can be addressed in another blog post.)

A Google Trends analysis of these 2D barcodes shows "QR code" dominates by far from a search popularity perspective. QR has become a common term used to reference a 2D barcode (2D code, mobile tag, mobile barcode, etc.) even when codes are technically a different format. Even @MicrosoftTag uses the #QRcode hashtag on Twitter.

7. Tools to Generate and Read 2D Barcodes are Free

Tools are available for all major mobile phone handsets. To run a 2D barcode campaign you'll need to following:

2D barcode generator (Website service)
2D barcode reader (Mobile app)
[Optional” 2D barcode management/tracking tool (Website service)

Generators:

Different generators have varying features. Choose a generator based on the options for:

Code Format (i.e. QR, EZcode, Tag, etc.)
Stored Data (i.e. hyperlink, meCard, SMS, etc.)
Output (i.e. color, size, download file type, etc.)

QRstuff.com is a comprehensive QR generator providing a variety of stored content, color, size, and output options. ScanLife's generator creates their proprietary EZcode as well as QR and DataMatrix formats. Microsoft Tag only generates Tag.

Note: To generate a code on the ScanLife or Microsoft Tag sites, you'll first need to create an account. (Tag requires providing personal info like birth date, gender, etc.)

Readers:

Microsoft Tag and ScanLife EZcode can only be decoded by their respective reader apps. Because of the open standard for QR codes, dozens of reader apps are available. (DataMatrix is usually supported on most QR readers.) Some mobile handsets come with a reader app pre-installed.

The following 2D barcode reader apps work on the majority of phones/handsets.

Reader App	Code Formats	Download Link (from your mobile phone)
RedLaser	QR, UPC/EAN	redlaser.com
BeeTagg Reader	QR, DataMatrix, BeeTagg	get.beetagg.com
AT&T Code Scanner	QR, DataMatrix, UPC/EAN	scan.mobi
ScanLife	EZcode, QR, DataMatrix, UPC/EAN	getscanlife.com
Microsoft Tag	Tag	gettag.mobi

RedLaser and AT&T Code Scanner also have geolocation features for local price comparison shopping.

8. Management Tools are Available to Track Scanning Analytics

URL-shortener and web analytics for 2D barcodes storing URL hyperlinks are a great start. For comprehensive scan tracking, you'll need to use a barcode generator tool that includes tracking analytics. (These tools are not independent.) Some management tools will merely track the number of scans while others provide detailed metrics like demographics, repeat scans, geolocation, and more. Collected analytics depends on the reader app used for scanning, so data results may vary.

Management tools are relatively inexpensive and sometimes free. Paid plans typically have a free trial with fees based on the number of scans.

2D Barcode Management & Tracking Tools:

Microsoft Tag (Tag)
ScanLife (EZcode, QR, DataMatrix, UPC)
Tappinn (QR, UPC)
Paperlinks (QR)
QReateBUZZ (QR)
BeQRious (QR)
SPARQCode (QR)
QReate and Track (QR)

9. 2D Barcode Content Should Provide Special Value for the Customer

It's work to scan a barcode, so users have higher expectations as to what content they will find. Reward the user with discounts, exclusive content, or useful tips relevant to the code's context. Consider scenarios that leverage smartphone features (email, SMS, phone call, video, map, apps, etc.) to save the user time.

For example, including a QR code on a business card that links to a meCard would be a lot easier than the user manually entering the contact record. In contrast, a QR code that links to a website homepage adds limited value.

Note: If you link to a web page, make sure that it's mobile-friendly.

10. Small or Complex QR Codes Can't be Scanned by Smartphones With Lesser Quality Cameras

Complex 2D barcodes (a lot going on, not very dense) are more challenging and time consuming to scan. In the case of QR codes, more stored content forces a larger code size. In general, it's best to minimize data stored in 2D barcodes. Always use a URL-shortener to shrink hyperlinks. (Add analytics tracking parameters before shortening the link.)

Warning: Small, complex QR codes are the biggest mistake currently being made by marketers. (Microsoft Tag and EZcode formats generally don't have this issue.) Smartphone cameras with resolution less than 4-megapixels can't scan a QR code smaller than about 1"x1". Moreover, without the auto-focus (AF) camera feature, a complex QR code will have the same scanning issue, even if the code is larger. The iPhone 3GS and Blackberry are popular handset examples that lack both of these camera features. Unscannable codes kill and delay the adoption rate for 2D barcode campaigns.

Tip: Always provide a back-up (i.e. hyperlink, SMS text message, etc.) option for users to retrieve info within the code. A back-up enables non-smartphone users to also participate.

11. Consumers Need Guidance to Scan 2D Barcodes

The variety of code types, readers, and different terminology is confusing to consumers. Nielsen Company estimates that only 40 percent of U.S. mobile devices are smartphones as of Q1 2011, growing to almost 50 percent by Q3 2011. That means there are a lot of smartphone rookies that barely know how to use their phone, much less distinguish differences in mobile barcode formats and reader apps. As long as 2D barcodes are a novelty concept, always include a brief step-by-step guide with the context of your code.

Logical steps:

Get the reader app
Scan the code with your mobile device
(Action that happens upon scanning)

Tip: For the reader app download, include a URL link or SMS shortcut to expedite the process. This step is imperative when using proprietary Microsoft Tag or ScanLife EZcode formats since only one reader is capable of scanning their codes.

Steps two and three can be combined as a call-to-action. Example: "Scan to ____." (... watch a video, download our app, call customer support, etc.)

12. 2D Barcodes can be Customized Artistically

QR codes include an Error Correction Level (ECL) that enables "damaged" codes to still be scanned. The error level tolerance (set by the code generator) can be as high as 30%. As a result, creative license can be used to create designer QR codes from a variety of colors or materials (i.e. jelly beans, sand castles, product packaging, etc.) as long as there is adequate contrast to read the code.

When it comes to advanced QR code graphic design, it's harder than it looks. If you want to get fancy, I recommend connecting with QR art experts at QRarts.com or Delivr.com.

Microsoft Tag also allows for artistic codes. Their custom tag tool allows users to generate art from codes or even overlay codes on top of photographs.

Tip: Some artistic design is fun and good to see; however, don't go overboard. As long as 2D barcodes are novelty, it's important that users easily recognize a scannable code from a distance.

13. Testing Scannability is Imperative.

Before you mass print or distribute barcodes be sure to test for scannability. Testing factors:

Smartphone cameras (resolution/auto-focus)
Reader apps
Scan context (i.e. lighting, shadows, surfaces)
Scan distance
Scan timing

14. Seek Expertise to Ensure Successful Campaigns

To ensure campaign success, consider consulting with a mobile barcode marketing expert, especially if it's your first time running a mobile barcode campaign. Technology, trends, and tools in this arena are rapidly changing. A few hours of expert consulting can bring your team up to speed, help optimize campaigns for success, and avoid unnecessary embarrassment for poor implementation.

Expertise goes beyond consultants: Talk to your web analytics guru and learn all you can about the mobile users currently accessing your website. Seek out mobile marketing industry statistics regarding popular devices and demographics to appropriately target your audience. (Compete, ScanLife, and eMarketer provide regular useful reports.) Follow the #QRcode Twitter hashtag or subscribe to "QR Code News & Mobile Trends" (Paper.li) for the latest news and case studies.

Finally, you can download Angie's QR Code Best Practices Checklist & Campaign Worksheet to help plan and manage your campaigns.

To Deal or not to Deal - are local Daily Deal sites right for your brand?

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Ever wondered if it made sense to add Groupon or Living Social to your marketing mix? Daily deals are great way to leverage two current trends, hyper-localism and budget consciousness. Many companies have participated in these deals, from Gap and Nordstrom Rack to your local restaurant or gym. How do you decide if it's for your brand? Well, like any marketing/media vehicle, there are a number of questions you can ask. Here are a couple simple ones:

Does this vehicle help me meet my marketing goals?
How targeted is it?
Is the vehicle/environment consistent with my brand?
What deal should I offer?
What's the ROI?
Timing?
Which Daily Deal platform to select?

Here's some food for thought.

Marketing Goals
- Daily deals are a great way to build awareness, drive traffic and trial - especially helpful if you have low awareness and penetration into your key demographic.

How targeted is it?
- Because only people who are interested buy, it is highly targeted. This is a great way to introduce your products or services to new users since it's low risk for them. You might be subsidizing some of your current customers, but chances are, you'll also be able to bring back lapsed or occasional users are well. And since it's a social tool, your fans can share with the deals with their friends and bring in new users.

Is it a good brand fit?
- The great news for marketers, especially those who shy away from coupons, is that Groupon and Living Social and some of the newer sites including Rue La La (upscale deals including luxury brands such as Cartier and Hermes), Tippr and even Facebook are a great milieu for most brands. They are relevant, social, and hip.

What deal should I offer?
- It depends on your target audience and marketing goals. Among adults online who visit Coupons/Rewards websites, nearly half are interested in gardening, while roughly one-third are interested in home repair/renovation, religious involvement and landscaping. Other standouts include knitting/sewing (Coupons/Rewards site visitors are 19% more likely than the average adult Internet user to be interested) and gourmet cooking (18% more likely). (Source: Nielsen)

What's the ROI
- Most offers are around 50% off or more off the regular price. The daily deal platform normally takes 50% of the deal. That leaves you with a slim 25% margin. The best way to look at the ROI is to compare the cost per conversion versus other vehicles you use to see if it makes sense.

Timing
- Make sure you have your operational house in order. You don't want to invite new guests and have them be disappointed by out-of-stocks, customer service, cleanliness or other issues.
- If there's seasonality inherent in your business, you should also take that into consideration

Which daily deal platform to select?
- Here's some great info from Nielsen comparing the Living Social to Groupon profiles.

Visitors to Groupon and Living Social are similar in that nearly two-thirds are female and more likely than the average U.S. Internet user to be affluent. Living Social’s visitors trend slightly more affluent and more educated than Groupon’s with 46 percent having a Bachelor’s or Post-Graduate degree, compared to 39 percent for Groupon (the national average for Internet users is 25%). Visitors to Living Social are also 49 percent more likely than the average American online to make $150,000 or more, while Groupon’s visitors are 30 percent more likely.

Although the audiences to both sites share a similar gender and socioeconomic split, there are notable differences in the age and geographic location of their U.S. visitors. Groupon has a higher concentration of visitors aged 35-64 (57 percent compared to 51 percent for Living Social), with the Internet average being 48 percent. Living Social has a higher concentration of younger visitors with 21-34 year olds making up 33 percent of their audience compared to 25 percent for Groupon and 21 percent across the entire web.

While both sites offer deals in many cities across the country, Groupon is most likely to have visitors from the Northeast while Living Social has a high concentration of visitors in the South and Pacific regions.

Hopefully, this gives you some food for thought before you decide to plunge into the world of daily deals.

Have you tried any of these platforms? If so, share your story or advice!

A novel approach - pop up bookstore

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:24:00 +0000

On the ground floor of a townhouse at 547 Hudson Street, in Manhattan's West Village , there is a book store that only sells one book: Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days With the Phoenix Mars Mission.

Imagine, walking into a bookstore and seeing over 3000 copies of one book. You'd either find it really humourous and want to purchase the book or for the more curmudgeon types, be really annoyed. The idea was the brainchild of the 32 year-old first time author Andrew Kessler from Brooklyn, New York who wrote Martian Summer. Looking for an idea that would generate publicity about the book on a small budget, Kessler tapped friends and colleagues until he found a generous landlord who was willing to support the arts. Normally rents in this area go for over $1000 a square foot.

While pop-up stores aren't new, this is a fun spin that's helped raise the author's profile and generate some sales. The store is open for just a month (April 12- May 15) and to date Andrew has sold over 500 copies.

Any fun pop-up store experiences you can share?

Guerrilla-style campaigns - Inspiration #1

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Let me inspire you!

There are so many great examples of how brand managers around the world are experimenting with different media and venues to build brand awareness, drive revenue and traffic. Many of these campaigns use social media, making it interactive with users who then take the idea viral by involving friends on social networks.

I'll post the top ten campaigns that I've found. Some of these require big budgets, but others are very guerrilla and are more an investment of time and creativity.

For many of you who stay up to date on the latest in digital marketing some of these campaigns will likely be familiar. For others, I'm hoping this will be a discovery.
And please, feel free to add your comments or share your favourite campaigns so I can feature them!

Enjoy!

Volkswagen - The Fun Theory, Stockholm Sweden

The Objective:

Get more people to drive environmentally friendly cars by making it fun

Establish Volkswagon as an environmentally responsible leader in car manufacturing

Create awareness and interest in Volkswagen's "BlueAction Technology" which reduces environmental impact without compromising the car's performance.

The Insight:

It's easier to change behavior if you make it fun

The Idea:

The idea was to "test" the Fun Theory - that you could change human behavior by making things fun, by creating three experiments, “The Piano Stairs,” “World’s Deepest Bin,” and “The Bottle Bank Arcade.” All three experiments were filmed and released on YouTube; you could also go to funtheory.com to learn more about BlueMotion Technologies.

Volkswagen also launched The Fun Theory Award, which allowed people to compete with their own ideas. Submissions were judged on how the idea could in a fun way change people's behavior and make a positive impact.

The Results:

“The Fun Theory” became a global topic, with articles appearing in all the major Swedish newspapers and other major media outlets throughout the world. It became the most viral campaign in the world with over 20 million views on YouTube, 115,000 sharings on Facebook, over 20,000 Tweets, and 33,000 blogs have written about it worldwide. The Fun Theory website received over 1.7 million visitors, 10,000 fans on Facebook, and 10,000 subscribers on YouTube. The Fun Theory contest received 700 user-generated initiatives from 35 different countries.

As a result, Volkswagen has become the most popular eco car in Sweden, selling 4% more green cars than they sold the year before, and exceeded their sales target by 50%.

The Work:

Bottle Bank Arcade

Piano Stairs

The World's Deepest Bin

The Fun Theory Award Winner - The Speed Camera Lottery

How Converse is succeeding in Social Media by being relevant, useful and making a human connection

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Sun, 08 May 2011 16:36:00 +0000

It’s Prom season. The stretch limos were out last night. One stopped outside our restaurant and unloaded maybe ten young women, slightly tottering on unfamiliar heels, expectant fresh faces adorned with brightly coloured eyes and lips. Following closely behind were teenage boys decked in tuxes. I noticed that one lad in particular had matched his tux with a pair of Converse sneakers. Very fun – made me think of John Lennon and the other music icons that embraced this brand helping give it its cult status. The humble canvas sneaker that says you’re a touch subversive, a little bit hip and a tad different from everyone else in a non-elitist way.

Converse continues to nurture its connection with the indie/alternative music scene with their very talented and innovative CMO Geoff Cottrill at the helm. (I worked with Geoff when he led the Starbucks Entertainment group – he ran around in, guess what, a pair of Converse). The brand was bought by Nike in 2003 for $350 million, a time when the brand had lost its way in the 80’s and 90’s and held less than 3% of the market. Today its sales are well over $2 billion and the brand has over 16 million Facebook fans. (In comparison, Nike has 7 million fans and Pepsi less than 4 million). All this on a pretty slim marketing budget, according to Geoff.

Geoff attributes the more recent success of the brand to staying authentic to its roots and by leveraging social media to cultivate the passion of its fan base – tapping into the imagination of the brand’s core customer base, turning them into brand evangelists. He does this by enabling the brand to be relevant and generous, a zeitgeist if you will, “a curator of sorts for new music, art and fun”. They've become a real distribution platform to help indie musicians get their music out, through ongoing initiatives including “Converse Rubber Tracks” - a new state-of-the-art recording studio launching this summer in Brooklyn where artists can record at no cost. These types of gems make new music a real discovery for the Converse customer and build huge brand affinity in the Indie/Alt music world.

So getting back to the Prom. One of the fun things that Converse does is trend topics on the internet and build conversations around them. A timely theme they picked up on was “How to ask for a date to the Prom”. They created a video/promo around this question “The Ask-Er-Out-Er” and asked folks in their Facebook community to list three things that they liked or had in common with their dream date. They picked a couple posts and created personalized videos meant to help that person ask the guy or girl for a date to the prom. You can check it out here.

A great example of why the Converse brand is so successful in nurturing its following. While you can buy Ready to Wear or create your own Converse Prom sneakers, the “Ask-Er-Outer-Er” was more about building an emotional connection with teens rather than selling stuff. I love this quote from Geoff from an interview on Mashable about the opportunity for brands to act more like human beings in order to make a real connection.

Social media itself is a lot of hype, except for the potential for companies to act more like human beings and be forced into thinking about marketing and message control in a different (or now obsolete) way. But social media has the potential to mature into a powerful hybrid of traditional marketing techniques and community engagement, especially if that community becomes your brand advocates. Which is why we focus on a couple of core marketing truths via social –- be relevant, make a connection, be useful, etc.

So what stories can you tell about you and your pair of sneakers?

Social Dining - two new reasons why you never have to eat alone

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Social dining is a new innovation in social networking– it takes online relationships offline, over a meal. I love this idea. It’s a great way to meet new people if you’ve moved to a new city or simply wish to expand your social or professional network. It’s also a fun way to try new restaurants.

Here are two different models on the cutting edge

Grubwithus: Launched in 2010, the core philosophy at Grubwithus is that Social Dining can build friendships over great meals. Think OpenTable meets Groupon, but instead of booking your own table, you're booking an individual seat at a table with other social diners at a fixed price & menu. You'll eat good food, meet new friends, and instantly know more people. Grubwithus was started in Chicago by two post-college friends who have tried their hand at various start-ups.

Today it was announced in Tech Crunch that a group of prominent early-stage investors have decided they’d love to back Grubwithus. The service, which launched out of Y Combinator last year, has just raised a $1.6 million round. Who’s at the funding table? Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, NEA, SV Angel, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, Vivi Nevo, Yuri Milner, Felix Shpilman, Maynard Webb, Matt Cutts, Elad Gil, Paul Buchheit, Alexis Ohanian, Start Fund, and Y Combinator.

Grubwithus is currently operating in Chicago, New York, San Fran, D.C. and L.A.

The other Social Dining site is called Let’sLunch which was launched in January of this year. Its focus is much more about social business networking versus making friends and acquaintances. They have a built-in rating system for who you are as a key influencer based on peer ratings. As users improve their level, they gain more access to more connected people and opportunities. You pick the time and restaurant so it’s much more about the forming business connections (think match.com for business networking) than about enjoying a meal or making friends.

Have you tried any of these social dining sites? Are you game?

If you’re in Seattle you register here to be notified when Grubwithus Seattle is up and running.

How Social Media helped Starbucks rebuild trust

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:36:00 +0000

Seth Godin’s post “Seeing the truth when it might be invisible” caught my attention this morning. Its message resonated. Every day we are asked to make a leap of faith – whether it’s to believe what we hear in the news, an ad we watch or what we read online. Most people begin from a place of trust, but trust is easily broken. Can we believe everything that we read in the news or online about a company? Absolutely not. As Seth says, “it’s a skill to figure out what’s real, even when it’s invisible”.

I think the implication is an invaluable lesson for brands. Everyone has an agenda and brands can provide great acoustics for any group or person’s agenda. And while you cannot control the media, what is real, however, is the face to face customer experience – how you can impact an individual’s experience with your brand, positively or negatively.

For brands this means that all aspects of what the customer experiences needs to line up to a consistent message. For Starbucks this meant that when business softened and criticism mounted on all fronts in 2007/2008, they had to rebuild customer relationships and show the world that they did really care about things like the quality and consistency of their coffee beverages as well as the more altruistic components of their brand such as community building and caring for the environment. People were quick to call for the demise of the brand – Starbucks had become too big, they had sold out and were no longer cool.

Starbucks responded with the now famous closing of its stores for three and a half hours while it retrained every barista. That was a public throwing down of the gauntlet to critics. However, one initiative that sea-changed the customer relationship equation for Starbucks was the launch of My Starbucks Idea in March of 2008. For the first time ever, Starbucks customers had a direct pipeline into HQ and could voice in a public forum what they loved or did not, about Starbucks and submit ideas on how to improve their Starbucks Experience.

Starbucks was listening. Now Starbucks’ ubiquity became an asset as customers from around the world had an opportunity to connect with each other, spawning like-minded communities like the "free wi-fi group", the "soy group", the "comfy chair group", "bring back the x beverage group" or "frappuccino lovers". Starbucks listened and brought over 100 ideas into action.

By building out additional social media initiatives, Starbucks had direct a pipeline into their fan base. From there they could share their perspective, share their appreciation and share their view of what was real through content and dialogue. By giving customers a platform to voice their ideas and emotions about the brand and by responding in a transparent and authentic way, Starbucks was able to reignite the magic and rebuild trust.

When you mess up, act quickly & be humble

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:26:00 +0000

Today in my inbox I received an email apology from Jill Layfield, the CEO of Backcountry.com. She was apologizing because of the use of an unfortunate headline used to promote their outerwear and rainwear collection.

"Mother Nature Hates you. Deal with it"

While very fun and witty, the timing of the header could not have been worse as it coincided with the tornado disaster in Alabama and surrounding states.

As most marketers know, email campaigns and headlines are developed weeks in advance based on a promo calendar. While it was too late to catch the headline, the company acted swiftly showing their concern and apologized in a sincere and authentic way.

Based on their handling of the situation, my esteem for this company and affinity for the brand has increased. (I think I'll go like them on Facebook to show my support).

When you mess up....act quickly, be authentic and humble.

Social Media CSR - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 02:35:00 +0000

This presentation does a good job of memorializing how campaigns have been successful in driving social change.
Companies, or movements like Green Peace, have built support by leveraging available media platforms in an innovative way allowing for immediate involvement in a cause. Take a look.

Social Media CSR - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

View more presentations from Social Media Influence.

KLM - performance art creates buzz (and smiles)

noreply@blogger.com (The Essential Orange) — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:15:00 +0000

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I absolutely love guerilla marketing as a way to generate brand buzz and launch new products. Here is a new favourite from KLM to launch their new "Economy Comfort Zone" on intercontinental flights. The event takes place in Manchester Airport using the Dutch magician Ramana. Advertising that generates awareness and smiles is a powerful duo, combined with the viral effect this ad will generate, it's a very effective campaign indeed.