By Ann Oliver, Account Director

Finding reasons to celebrate

We recently launched a new campaign for Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kits. We started the project by laying out our communication objectives, and then talked about strategies that will help us reach these goals. Sounds pretty traditional so far, right?  But connecting with moms and reaching moms during the party decoration purchasing cycle has led us to develop some very fun social media applications to integrate with our traditional programs.

Why this investment in social media now?

Is 2009 the year to risk our limited marketing funds and test the waters of social media? Our Balloon Time client has enjoyed tremendous success with their online marketing program since its inception just four short years ago. Of course over that time we’ve evolved the program and changed some of the media partners and tactics we started with. But our objective has remained consistent - connect with influencer moms. The research we’ve seen points to social media as a key connection point.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Alaina Sheer,

In a day and age when consumers are equipped with the ability to share their experience with hundreds, if not thousands and thousands of others almost instantly every brand should be focusing on every interaction with every customer.

Take this video, which has been viewed over 250,000 times, as an example.

There are several other videos on YouTube from people lucky enough to find themselves on a flight with this Southwest flight attendant. Each is taken by the passenger, posted on YouTube when they get home or as soon as they land - depending on the technology they own, and then the video’s link (URL) is shared via social networks like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, e-mail or blogs.

The message from Southwest is clear: here’s proof that we care about your experience on our airline and we have nothing to hide, so please pass it on.

The lesson to brands should be just as clear: improve your product, improve your customer experience and, above all, give your customers something worth talking about - be interesting.

You’ll find that the more unique your customer experience the more people will share your story for you.

By Alaina Sheer,

It seems every brand wants in on the social marketing party. 

This we can agree on. But how do you get in?

The big challenge and often the stalling point for many brands, and coincidentally people, is a colossal fear
of rejection. And if you’re a brand - the “imposter” - that dreaded rejection in the social media space is entirely possible and, I’ll be honest, more likely. However, just like in life, there are ways to avoid it all together and smart brands are winning in the space while others flounder, a bit clueless as to what they’re doing wrong. 

I have long equated the social marketing space, whether it be Facebook, Twitter or a blog, to a party that’s already raging - a very cool party, yes, and some are cooler than others. Regardless, you - the brand - were not technically invited to any of them. 

You may wear the trendiest outfit, planning it out ever so carefully beforehand. But no matter how hard you try, that logo tattooed across your forehead won’t go unnoticed and you end up in the corner alone, bored and perhaps asking yourself why you spent so much money on that outfit. 

I’m using the singular “you” here but in reality there are hundreds of people behind any brand. And this is where most brands hit a road block. In the social media space you have to choose one person, one human, to wear that outfit and actually walk into the party and represent the entire brand.

This person may not necessarily be from your marketing department, or from your ad agency, this person should be chosen based on their healthy understanding of the brand, commitment, passion and personal desire to communicate with others - you know the person I’m talking about - the person everyone wants to hang out with - the cool kid. 

If there are a few parties on the block - one for twenty-somethings and another for baby boomers - you may choose more than one party goer for your brand. But, whatever you do, don’t send them in empty-handed. Teach them the art of conversation, give them permission to actually act human and arm them with some irresistable party favors.

To be continued with…

Part II - The Party Favors
Part III - The Art of Conversation
Part IV  - Trusting your Social Media Ambassador

If you’re thinking I’m crazy for comparing social marketing to life, think again — social marketing is a part of life for millions of Americans and if it’s not yet, it will be. Stay tuned. 

[ photo credit: tristanbrand ]

By Ann Oliver, Account Director

What’s for dinner?

I’ve been asked this question nearly every day for the last ten years or so (prior to that, dinner was complimentery appetizers at happy hour). It’s a challenge to constantly come up with tasty, easy, and economical recipe ideas. Lucky for me I discovered AllRecipes.com about eight years ago and it’s been one of my favorite go-to sites ever since.

Before the buzz words User Generated Content, Multi-media and Online Community became ubiquitous, AllRecipes.com was organizing visitors’ favorite recipes and the community was rating and reviewing them.  Home cooks upload pictures of their delicious creations, users share ideas on how to make it better or offer compliments on the tasty results.

I was really impressed when a co-worker who knows that I am a fan of the site, mentioned a new iPhone app, Dinner Spinner, available free from the site. I do not have an iPhone or iTouch, I use the mobile version of AllRecipes when I’m remote.  But after checking out Dinner Spinner, I’m thinking I may need to make a smart-phone upgrade.  I won’t be the only one. eMarketer predicts 53% of the world’s population will have a mobile phone by 2014 - many of them will likely be smart phones capable of storing applications for everything you can imagine. Like recipes. 

Dinner Spinner, for the iPhone or iPod Touch, allows you to pick out what kind of dish you want, how much time you have and the main ingredient. What’s the “spinner” part of the Dinner Spinner app? You can randomize one of the search criteria or shake your iPhone to spin for ideas–how cool is that?

All Recipes 2008 Year End Report highlights the huge rise in home cooking. It makes sense that eating at home is a trend consistent with a down economy. Maybe a next gen feature of Dinner Spinner could be a search field for cost per serving?

Kudos to Allrecipes.com for providing on-the-go tools that help get dinner on the table and for giving me plenty of food for thought.