Booze Brand TuB Gin Takes to VIne For Content Series

tub_gin.png

Philadelphia-based Red Tettemer + Partners teamed with filmmaker and "Vine star" (is there such a thing yet?) to create 10 Vines to highlight Tub Gin. The first three Vines, The Concoction, Drinkin's Gin and Shootin' Stuff and TuB Gin Mambo can be seen by following @tubGin on Twitter or below. Though with just 277 followers (278 now that we followed them), not many people are going to see this.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jun- 5-13    
Topic: Social



Carl's Jr. Courts Disgruntled McDonald's Customers With Burger Offer

any_puzder.png

In reaction to social media outrage over McDonald's discontinuing its Angus Third Pounder burger line, Carl's Jr and Hardee's CEO Andy Puzder offered his sympathy to McDonald's customers in an open letter that ran in USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. Coming to the aid of disgruntled and distraught McDonald's diners, Puzder is offering people a $1 off coupon for Carl's Jr.'s and Hardee's' 100% Black Angus Six Dollar Burger. The coupon can be downloaded at ReclaimYourAngus.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jun- 4-13    
Topic: Brands, Social



How to Ensure Your Sponsored Content Adheres to Google's Guidelines

Native_Advertising.jpg

If you're a marketer placing sponsored content (also known as native advertising) with a publisher -- or a publisher accepting sponsored content -- there are a few things you should know about how Google News, and Google in general, views this particular form of content.

In a recent blog post, Google Senior Director of News and Social Products Richard Gingras wrote:

"Credibility and trust are longstanding journalistic values, and ones which we all regard as crucial attributes of a great news site. It's difficult to be trusted when one is being paid by the subject of an article, or selling or monetizing links within an article. Google News is not a marketing service, and we consider articles that employ these types of promotional tactics to be in violation of our quality guidelines ... if we learn of promotional content mixed with news content, we may exclude your entire publication from Google News."

Hmm...

more »

by Steve Hall    Jun- 1-13    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Online, Policy, Social



Tumblr Brings In-Stream Ads to Dashboard With Ford, Denny's And More

dennys-post-small.gif

Following its recent acquisition by Yahoo for $1.1 billion and the introduction of in-stream ads on mobile, Tumblr has launched in-stream sponsored posts that will appear on user's dashboard stream, previously occupied only by content from those they follow.

Inaugural advertisers include Denny's Viacom, Ford, Universal Pictures, Capital One, AT$T and Purina. Yahoo will likely put the full force of its sales team behind this new channel so it won't be long before Tumblr sees a dramatic increase in revenue. Reportedly, Tumblr generated $13 million an ad revenue last year.

by Steve Hall    May-31-13    
Topic: Social



Twitter Launches 'Lead Generation Card,' Brings Landing Page to Stream

twitter-lead-gen1.png

Today, Twitter has added the Lead Generation Card to its stable of Twitter Cards, a format that brings a rich media experience to the stream. The Lead Generation Card allows for the creation of an in-stream landing page on which the user, with one click and without having to leave Twitter, can request more information from the marketer.

When the user clicks, their name, email and Twitter handle are sent to the marketer who can then add that information into their marketing automation process for further nurturing.

The Lead Generation Card reveals itself in an expanded Tweet where the marketer can provide an image, text and call-to-action that exceed the usual 140 character limit. Any tweet can contain a Lead Generation Card and it can also be turned into a promoted tweet.

The offering is currently being tested with a few brands including New Relic (@newrelic), Full Sail (@fullsail) and Priceline (@priceline). The offering will first roll out to Twitter's managed clients and then to its self serve ad platform.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-22-13    
Topic: Social



Nutella Has Brain Fart, Sends Cease And Desist to Biggest Fan

nutella_large.jpg

You would think that after all these years of highly publicized social media screw ups and popular SXSW panels that highlight such screw ups, brands would finally get the message; Don't be a jackass and alienate your biggest fans.

Sadly, it seems there will always be an idiot in the mix. This time it's Italy-based Ferrero SpA, parent company to Nutella, a hazelnut spread loved by many The brand sent a cease and desist to Sara Rosso, founder of World Nutella Day, a 7-year-old event and organization that is all about the love of Nutella.

Rosso launched World Nutella Day in 2007 to "celebrate Italy's edible treasure with online and offline tributes." The event's Facebook page has 40,000 likes.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-21-13    
Topic: Brands, Policy, Social, Worst



How to Play Tennis Using Twitter

BNP%20Paribas-We%20Are%20Tennis.jpeg

Perhaps taking a page out of Philadelphia ad agency Neiman's playbook, We Are Social Paris has created a "Tweet and Shoot" campaign for financial services firm BNP Paribas. The campaign is tied to the French Open and number one French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tweet and Shoot will a use a Twitter-controlled robot that launches tennis balls at him live on a court.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-16-13    
Topic: Social



Infographic Explores How Organizations Structure Social Media Teams

social_media_teams_small.png

Web application and design company Go-Gulf has created an infographic which summarizes data from Ragan Communications on how organizations structure their social media teams. Sadly, it seems, social media is not yet seen as an integral component of an organization with 65% of companies reporting social media tasks being performed on top of current job responsibilities and 25% rely on interns to help with aspects of social media.

While 22% of companies plan to hire staff to handle social media, 78% do not. And of those companies that are hiring, 47% prefer 1-3 years of experience. As many companies haven't yet fully embraced social media and those that have do not appear to be giving much priority to it, it's not surprising just 5% of companies report being highly satisfied with their social media efforts.

In terms of social media success metrics, 86% of companies still measure ROI based on followers and likes. More encouraging, 40% base success on new leads and 31% attribute success based on sales.

Check out the infographic below for more details on how organizations are structuring social media teams

more »

by Steve Hall    May-15-13    
Topic: Research, Social



Campaign Skewers Abercrombie & Fitch, Urges Donation of Clothing to Homeless

abercrombie_donate_homeless.png

As you may have hard, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries doesn't like un-cool, un-popular and, based upon the sizes they carry (or don't carry), people with larger frames. Well, at least women with larger frames as the store does not carry XL or XXL sizes or pants over size 10. Reportedly, the brand evens burns damaged clothing rather than donating it to charity.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-15-13    
Topic: Social



Infographic Explains How Social Media Lost Its Way

socialmedia_hubspot_infographic_thumb.png

On the heels of its Social Inbox announcement, HubSpot has published an infographic that takes a look at how social media has changed in the short time it's been with us. It's all part of the inbound marketing company's push to make social personal again and, of course, that's exactly what its Social Inbox offering aims to do.

Filled with facts and figures, the infographic details the changes (and changing stats) of social media over the years from the early days when it was just a bunch of friends interacting online to businness' adoption to business' misuse and, ideally, back again.

more »

by Steve Hall    May- 9-13    
Topic: Social