Last month Wayne Kurtzman wrote how Pepsi decided to give the Super Bowl and its more than 100-million viewers a pass and instead set up a social media program that gives some $20-million dollars in community grants. They aren’t paying the up to $300 million per commercial, but they are – at least for now–winning the social media buzz.
Given that it’s the holiday season, it seemed all too appropriate to take a closer look at how one familiar, jolly, plump guy rose to cultural icon, and the marketing efforts that created his image. I am of course speaking of Santa Claus.
The 18-24 demographic embraces online news, with upwards of 75 percent consuming online news sources. A global study of young people by research firm Synovate, in conjunction with Microsoft, studied online habits and found that a greater percentage tracked current affairs online than use instant messaging.
Okay, so you’ve set up the social networks, now how do you attract and retain users? If the “build it and they will come” method isn’t working for you, Nathan Burke has some great tips on how to build a user base through promotions.
Christine Perkett and Fred Han offer up one of the better responses I’ve seen to Jason Calcanis’ now infamous “fire your PR firm” post (including the point that he never actually said to fire your PR firm). Also: AMC making the right move; tips for searching within Google Reader and Delicious feeds.
One of the many challenges social media companies face is reaching out beyond the computer screen and converting a digital connection to a personal one. The Plaid Nation tour, now in its second year, is an innovative method one company is using to solve the problem. Leslie Poston speaks with Plaid’s Darryl Ohrt about the tour.
Hasbro, the company responsible for Scrabble, clearly the inspiration for Scrabulous, decided to launch its own Facebook game, and filed suit against the makers of Scrabulous. The result? No more of Facebook’s top game. I’m with Hasbro.
Jen Zingsheim and I were pleased to welcome Geoff Livingston to the Media Bullseye Roundtable this week, where we cover issues ranging from a potential Congressional threat to Twitter (no, not really), to managing your personal brand while boosting your company’s profile.
In a thoughtful, excellent post, Todd Defren lays out the guidelines for hiring a social media “rock star.” That is, when you have people on your staff who are well-known within a community, what are the responsibilities of the company, and what are the responsibilities of the “personal brand”? Also: Doug Haslam’s response to Todd’s post, and social media on the international stage at the G8 and Olympics.
ICANN, the international body that regulates domain naming, announced their unanimous vote to open up restrictions on top level domains (TLDs). Starting in 2009, it will be possible to apply to have just about anything as a TLD. So what does that mean for marketers? Adele McAlear explains.
