This is an interesting survey on attitudes and behaviours with respect to social media and word of mouth, specifically those of Canadians. It takes about 10-15 minutes to fill out and as I hear any results of interest I will post them here. Just going through the survey is an education on the breadth of this emerging industry.
Some results have already been highlighted. Here are a few answers responding to the question of what are the top ways to get it wrong with word of mouth marketing.
Not creating two-way dialogue 51.2%
Lying about identity i.e. fake blogging 51.2%
Not building it over time 7.3%
Click here for the full list .
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Setting an Example Lots of Ways
IABC's Communicator lead me to the award-winning 'Lots of Ways' campaign created for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC).
Lots of Ways promoted social responsibility. To connect with its audience, the campaign created three fictional, entertaining entrepreneurs who could provide a ride home after a night on the town: Burly Joe's Piggyback rides; Wheelbarrow Wilie; and Donnie's Donkeys.
The campaign's success is in large part because of their holistic marketing approach. Multiple communication vehicles with a wide variety of brand-building elements from t-shirt give-a-ways for playing a video game (that reminds me of Frogger – a game that tells you how old I am!) to a video contest for a Sony MPEG4 Net Sharing Camcorder.
I love the idea of getting to know each character through the various online videos, blogs and jingles. The connection to these characters was then expanded using print and radio advertising, soundboards mounted in washrooms in bars and restaurants, Facebook, downloadable ring tones, business cards, etc.
Each communications vehicle kept the message consistent: There are lots of ways to get home safely, all you need is one.
Partnering with important stakeholders such as the RCMP, CAA, and the cell phone service #TAXI added an important educational element, legitimacy, and, I imagine, additional promotional avenues.
According to the IABC article, website traffic for the six-week holiday period was 75,000 hits, almost 6,000 contest entries and the distribution of 100,000 #TAXI key tags at NSLC retail stores.
I am very curious about the budget allocated for this project. While well worth it, resources need to be high when you use traditional marketing to augment a social campaign, something I am finding more and more important in getting a campaign to stand out among so many competing sites today. Congratulations Lots of Ways for your 22 awards and counting!
Lots of Ways promoted social responsibility. To connect with its audience, the campaign created three fictional, entertaining entrepreneurs who could provide a ride home after a night on the town: Burly Joe's Piggyback rides; Wheelbarrow Wilie; and Donnie's Donkeys.
The campaign's success is in large part because of their holistic marketing approach. Multiple communication vehicles with a wide variety of brand-building elements from t-shirt give-a-ways for playing a video game (that reminds me of Frogger – a game that tells you how old I am!) to a video contest for a Sony MPEG4 Net Sharing Camcorder.
I love the idea of getting to know each character through the various online videos, blogs and jingles. The connection to these characters was then expanded using print and radio advertising, soundboards mounted in washrooms in bars and restaurants, Facebook, downloadable ring tones, business cards, etc.
Each communications vehicle kept the message consistent: There are lots of ways to get home safely, all you need is one.
Partnering with important stakeholders such as the RCMP, CAA, and the cell phone service #TAXI added an important educational element, legitimacy, and, I imagine, additional promotional avenues.
According to the IABC article, website traffic for the six-week holiday period was 75,000 hits, almost 6,000 contest entries and the distribution of 100,000 #TAXI key tags at NSLC retail stores.
I am very curious about the budget allocated for this project. While well worth it, resources need to be high when you use traditional marketing to augment a social campaign, something I am finding more and more important in getting a campaign to stand out among so many competing sites today. Congratulations Lots of Ways for your 22 awards and counting!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
How would you Break the Ice?
My friend Janice Diner, a mentor in everything to do with Facebook, directed me to the following site created for Hershey's Ice Breakers products. I can't endorse the product - admittedly I have never tried one - but their Facebook group in itself is worth talking about.
- The campaign is centred around the topic of 'breaking the ice' with someone new and the prospect of finding love (or, a good date). How can anyone resist that topic?
- We can all relate to the posted advertisement about dreaming we had the courage to go up to someone and tell them how we felt....and then chickening out.
- Breaking the Ice videos is the most compelling reason people stay on their page. It's a series of interviews with young people in major Canadian cities offering their best pickup line. Each week, fans cast their votes for their favourite video/line. The brilliance, from a PR perspective, is that it is controlled. They aren't waiting for people to send in their own videos, they are doing "streeters" and posting their best ones. This feeds perfectly into another element of the site, the ability to post your best Breaking the Ice tip and get in the game...that is, presuming they missed you on the street!
- Product information is up and centre and while instinctively I would have buried it lower so not to look as promotional, they celebrate their products and its unique shape and make-up and it works.
- What perhaps fits their theme the least is a simple contest for a trip to Ibiza Spain. To enter the contest all you need to do is input some contact information, which you can do up to 5 times a day... while it may be a less connected aspect of their campaign it's likely a good way to get people to come back regularly, so more points for thinking of this too.
I'd be currious to see a case study on the campaign to see if sales went up as a result. But as awareness campaigns go, well done. Thanks Janice.
- The campaign is centred around the topic of 'breaking the ice' with someone new and the prospect of finding love (or, a good date). How can anyone resist that topic?
- We can all relate to the posted advertisement about dreaming we had the courage to go up to someone and tell them how we felt....and then chickening out.
- Breaking the Ice videos is the most compelling reason people stay on their page. It's a series of interviews with young people in major Canadian cities offering their best pickup line. Each week, fans cast their votes for their favourite video/line. The brilliance, from a PR perspective, is that it is controlled. They aren't waiting for people to send in their own videos, they are doing "streeters" and posting their best ones. This feeds perfectly into another element of the site, the ability to post your best Breaking the Ice tip and get in the game...that is, presuming they missed you on the street!
- Product information is up and centre and while instinctively I would have buried it lower so not to look as promotional, they celebrate their products and its unique shape and make-up and it works.
- What perhaps fits their theme the least is a simple contest for a trip to Ibiza Spain. To enter the contest all you need to do is input some contact information, which you can do up to 5 times a day... while it may be a less connected aspect of their campaign it's likely a good way to get people to come back regularly, so more points for thinking of this too.
I'd be currious to see a case study on the campaign to see if sales went up as a result. But as awareness campaigns go, well done. Thanks Janice.
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