Foursquare Used to Steal Agency Talent

euro_foursquare.jpg

Admitting it isn't at the top of the list when it comes to digital agencies, EURO RSCG Brussels set out to change that by becoming the most visible virtual agency. How? It set out to check in on Foursquare at 42 of its rivals until it became mayor. When it did, it posted the mayorship on Facebook along with a message encouraging area creatives to join the agency to help make it better. Sadly, no word on whether or not the effort actually paid off.

more »

by Steve Hall    Aug- 8-11    
Topic: Agencies, Guerilla, Online, Social



Besting Cleavage, Cats Improve Facebook Ad Response 78 Percent

cous_cous_facebook_red_square.jpg

Last summer during Affiliate Summit in New York during a session given by Jeremy Shoemaker we learned Facebook ads that feature boobs and cleavage improve response rates by 61 percent. While we weren't at all surprised at that finding, we are very surprised at this latest Facebook ad response finding from Red Square Agency.

The agency ran several ads on Facebook touting the usual stuff agencies do. Then, as an experiment, they ran an ad that featured a cat named Cous Cous. The ad read, "This ad features a cat. It has nothing to do with Red Square Agency, but we hope you'll click on it anyway." People did. 78 percent more than they did the "regular"ads.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jul-19-11    
Topic: Agencies, Research, Social



Why Google Plus Isn't Ready For Prime Time

pink_tight_top.jpg

When we first joined Facebook like the day after it opened publicly, it was a wasteland of crickets. Well, not exactly. There were millions of college students but no one we'd ever have an interest in interacting with aside from the random ogling of some hot college chick mirror pic'ing herself or the annual onslaught of Halloween Lingerie Party pics. About a year later, the friend requests started piling in from marketing folks who were just discovering Facebook's existence. And then it was your brother and your mother and your aunt and your ex-girlfriend and that annoying kid from high school who'd plaster your Wall with inanities about the "good 'ol days."

Now, the reverse is happening with Google+. All the marketing people and social media geeks have pounced on Google+ first and the hot young college chicks (and your relatives) don't give a shit. Maybe they - and the rest of the world - will someday but for now it's just a geek fest full of geeks talking about geeky shit about which the rest of the world could care less. We say walk away for a year and come back when it's actually useful. And the hot chicks have discovered it.

by Steve Hall    Jul-15-11    
Topic: Opinion, Social



Ford Launches Action Sports Camp

ford_mustang_actprf_ns_71511_717.jpg

Ford has launched Octane Academy, a consumer-focused program aimed at a younger, the brand says "more diverse generation of action sports and race enthusiasts."

The Octane Academy will connect fans with their favorite Ford action sports driver from
Ken Block to Brian Deegan to Tanner Foust to Vaughn Gittin Jr. for the opportunity to
get behind the wheel and race a car.

Of the program, Ford Group VP said,"Today's Millennial generation is extremely influential so our job is finding new and inventive ways of communicating and connecting with them, which includes building our presence in the multibillion-dollar world of extreme sports. With an all-star lineup of drivers and vehicles, Ford is bringing fans directly into the excitement of action sports in a way only Ford can with the first-ever dedicated consumer experience for this energetic and expressive audience."

more »

by Steve Hall    Jul-15-11    
Topic: Brands, Events, Social



Panel Forgets to Discuss Topic of Panel

CANNES%20LIONS%20FLAGS%20%282%29.jpg

When I sat down to listen to MRM Worldwide's session entitled Five Technologies That Will Transform Marketing Creativity, I expected to hear just that. Instead, all I got was an endless litany of the same old marketing blather concerning how everything is changing, how agencies and marketers need to break down the walls and blow up the silos to adjust to those changes and pointless platitudes pathway we all have to take to get there.

Will.i.am rambled on semi-coherently about how he'd rather be using his phone during the session instead of a microphone because the microphone is old and doesn't let him do all the things his phone allows him to do. Driving that point home, he said, "Why are we still rockin' it like it's 1999?"

Valid point but if I wanted to watch five people on stage madly manipulating their phones instead of focusing on the task at hand, all I'd need to do is look at the people sitting next to me madly tweeting instead of actually paying attention to what was being said on stage.

Read the rest on Yahoo! Scene.

by Steve Hall    Jun-23-11    
Topic: Industry Events, Social



Facebook Offers Advertisers Word of Mouth On Steroids

facebook_cannes.jpg

Facebook Global Marketing Solutions VP Carolyn Everson took the stage in the Debussy Theater at Cannes for the last session Wednesday where she shared with delegates some of Facebook's advertising initiatives for marketers. Topping the list was Sponsored Stories, a new product which leverages the power of word of mouth by placing a Liked page in the right hand column of friend's pages.

In terms of the power of word of mouth, Everson noted research that showed 75% of new parents would rather get recommendations from friends on Facebook than anywhere else and 74% who make purchase are influenced by friends. And 68% are more likely to recommend a product if the ad is on a friend's page. Hence leveraging these recommendations are what power Facebook Sponsored Stories.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jun-22-11    
Topic: Industry Events, Social



Crowdsourcing A Speedy and Cheap Path to Creativity

DSC_0444.JPG

Aside from the fact many sessions at Cannes are simply veiled commercials for the brands and agencies that host them or an excuse to have a celebrity on the panel, Mofilm's panel, Can Crowdsourcing Build Big Brands?, offered up a semi-amusing point from Jesse Eisenberg (Celebrity. Check) who likened ad agencies to Hollywood's large, disparate and convoluted studio system and independent film making to Mofilm (celebrity endorsement?)

Nothing like slamming the infrastructure that forms the lion's share of the Cannes Lions Festival. But, hey, Eisenberg is right. The Holy Trinity of Omnicon, Publicis and WPP are big, bloated and slow moving. Which is probably why all kinds of people are all over crowdsourcing, the topic Mofilm's panel today.

Read the rest on Yahoo! Scene.

by Steve Hall    Jun-22-11    
Topic: Industry Events, Social



Cokes Urges People to Recycle With Facebook Places

recycling_king.jpg

This work from Israeli agency E-dologic for Coke is simultaneously brilliant and a sad indicator the obsession with "checking in" has gone overboard. The agency added 10,000 recycling bin locations to Facebook Places. The goal, of course, was to capitalize on people's obsession with checking in to every last known location on earth. Oh, and to leverage that obsession to get people to recycle their Coke bottles as well.

Apparently, it worked. Or at least that's what the agency's video overview of the project would have us believe.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jun-16-11    
Topic: Social



Pigs Can't Fly But They Can Dance

dancing_pig.jpg

They've always said pigs can't fly, but who knew they could dance? Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. asked its Facebook Likers to vote for which music video "moves" they wanted to see mascot Mr. Pig perform to celebrate reaching 25,000 Likers.

Choosing from Macarena, Mr. Roboto, Cha Cha Slide, Thriller, Cotton Eye Joe and Single Ladies, Single Ladies garnered the most votes and Mr. Pig took to the dance floor to show his moves. Rawle Murdy created the contest for Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co.

by Steve Hall    Jun-15-11    
Topic: Social



Brand Loyalty Programs Extended to Social Media With SocialRewards

Logo_SocialRewards_1.png

If you are a travel brand, you may want to check out SocialRewards, a new social media-based loyalty program that allows brands to award those who make mention of the brand on Twitter and Facebook. Less like a pay per tweet program and more like your typical offline loyalty program, brands award points to people based on a sliding scale.

For example, five points are earned for making a mention but up to 250 points are awarded if the mention leads to a booking at the destination. Accumulated points lead to awards such as discounts or free stays.

Using a tracking mechanism, SocialRewards charges brands ten cents per engagement which is defined as a click, retweet, reply or Like.

by Steve Hall    Jun-13-11    
Topic: Promotions, Social