December 20, 2007

A Report from WOMMA

By Melanie Seasons

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s Third Annual Word of Mouth Summit. Hundreds of PR agency folks, marketers, private business owners and social media professionals met in Las Vegas to discuss the state of the industry as well as what’s to come. While there were many fantastic sessions, here’s what I thought were the most important points of the conference.

• No one disputes that word of mouth is a powerful tool. All studies have been reinforcing our thoughts, suspicions and work for quite some time. In fact, according to a study by Patrick Quinn of PQ Media, WOM is moving faster than the rest of the marketing business by leaps and bounds.
• A lot of discussion was based on if WOM can be measured in a way that will sell the business to clients or brands. Most people agreed that it could be measured online, but the tools need to be perfected, or in some cases, developed. The idea of measuring word of mouth offline left most people stumped.
• The definition of “influencer” can be defined in many ways. We could be talking about a person on a message board discussing weight loss techniques, a blogger with a product review or even a waiter recommending a bottle of wine. We need to be more conscientious in how we define the term with clients by outlining exactly who they are, what we hope to get out of them and what the influencers will hope to get out of us.
• Brand fans want to be your friend, but only if they are the ones finding you. No one likes to feel as if they are prey for a campaign.
• People love products based on its company’s practices. The culture of an organization goes a long way in selling a product. (Think Google or Trader Joe’s.) As WOM advisers, it is our responsibility to tell our clients what the public really thinks of them and develop a strategy from there.
• International WOM is breaking on to the scene faster than originally anticipated. Anyone in WOM needs to be cognizant of the force of international influencers.

In my area of expertise (blog outreach) I think it’s very easy to be brainwashed into thinking that all WOM campaigns work the same way. It was refreshing to hear new ideas from talented WOM professionals.

Make sure to check out some great examples in WOM campaigns this year with the WOMMA’s Wommie Award winners.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:16 PM
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October 04, 2007

“Passionistas” are your brand’s ambassadors

By Kai Blum

Consumers passionate about a certain issue are much more likely to create content, such as blog posts, about their passions and the associated brands and products than the average consumer, according to a study by Yahoo and MediaVest, “Passionistas: The New Empowered Consumers.”

They are also more likely to search for information related to their passion: According to the study, Passionistas search online for information about their passion 184 percent more than average users and conduct more than 100 passion-related searches per year. That’s exactly why smart search engine marketing is a great way to reach people who could become passionate about your products and services.

Once they have found your brand, 53 percent of Passionistas are willing to try your products even if they had not previously considered it and 52 percent of Passionistas are more likely than typical consumers to recommend your brand to others, for example through blog posts.

Actively identifying and reaching out to Passionistas could also make a huge difference in successfully launching a new product or brand. Our New Media Outreach department has done this successfully for many brands and has developed personal relationships with many Passionistas.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:04 PM
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August 15, 2007

Change Minds in the Classroom

By Mike Schottelkotte
Guest Blogger

Just to begin I’ll introduce myself. My name is Mike Schottelkotte. I am a senior at Ohio University, studying Online Journalism. This summer I was the digital intern with MS&L.

If you ask a group of interns what they most got out of their experience I imagine you would hear, “I learned a lot about real life work.” or “I met a bunch of really great people who helped teach me, but also pushed me to work hard and succeed.” At least that’s something I think on a large scale level I would say about working for MS&L this summer.

However, I’d like to take that answer one step further. It’s not often you can come to such an innovative company that when you return to school you can begin to teach them how to do their job. Ohio University is one of the most highly regarded journalism schools in the country. Their Online Journalism sequence is highly regarded for its uniqueness and foresight to step in to an area that is taboo for many other schools. While I cherish the education I have been given, I feel at this point I can begin to start pushing the university as a whole in a 21st century direction.

When you mention the word "blog" in a journalism classroom there are a few typical responses.

1. "Blogging is the downfall of journalism, it’s not professional and the writing skills are inadequate."

2. "Blogs can not be trusted, it is unethical for a journalist to think about blogging, and it is unethical for others to trust blogs, anyone who blogs will lose credibility."

3. "Blogs are OK, I read them sometimes, but unless it’s Steve Jobs, I don’t take it seriously."

Does that seem odd to anyone else? It’s obvious that J-schools are hesitant to peak outside the box for fear of losing credibility. But when companies come to PR, advertising and marketing firms looking for the most innovative ideas, it’s obvious that the digital world needs to be taught in a different way in classrooms across the country.

Without my experience at MS&L this summer I would never have the confidence or ideas to come back to my educators and insist that they consider revising curriculum to better suit these students when they enter the real world. So let me briefly mention some of the things I will be taking with me when I leave MS&L:

• The excitement of knowing that there is a company who has the foresight and capabilities to offer their clients the best
  
• The courage and the knowledge to change minds relating to digital components when I return to school
  
• The belief in myself that I am on a solid career path with the ability to be an innovator because it’s what companies such as MS&L look for
  
• A pen and a pad of paper

There comes a point in school when you are tired of getting posed questions and no one ever having the answers. If there’s anything additional I’ve learned it’s that there are companies and agencies out there that are starting to come up with the answers. I’ll give an example. In journalism, a major question is of course, “Print readership is down everywhere, what can we do about it?” Well if you said what I’m about to say, then you’ll be kicked out of school as quickly as you can say New York Times. What if you did nothing about it? What if instead you focused all your efforts in to attracting new, young, Gen X, Gen Y readers to come to your website? What if you had all of your staff, including senior executives, writing a blog on a daily basis? Of course there are gray areas here because you flirt with professional bias, but doesn’t statistics show that this generation yearns for transparency in all their online endeavors?

Overall I just want to say I am very happy with all the experience and with all the work I’ve provided for MS&L. I look forward to seeing what is in my future and the future of this company. There are so many talented people here that it makes you better, and for that I am forever grateful.

Ed note: Mike has taken up blogging over here, where you'll find an abridged version of this post.

Posted by staff at 12:06 PM
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April 20, 2007

Seth Godin set to visit Ann Arbor

In case you haven't heard, author and entrepreneur Seth Godin will be in Ann Arbor, Mich., this May to speak about his new book, The Dip. Make sure to check out Connect in Ann Arbor for all the details, including the story of how this group was able to bring Godin to Michigan.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:18 PM
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February 23, 2007

The value of online media monitoring

By Mark Harvey

When you sell blog and or board/media monitoring, people may ask, "How bad can it be, I mean how fast can my reputation go south?"

Try seven hours.

• WCBS TV goes live a little after 6:30 a.m. with a story reported to them by passersby watching dozens of rats running through in and around a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant. Rats on air described as, "Plump, healthy-looking and oh-so-agile."
• By 7:30 a.m. or so the Consumerist, read by thousands, posts it as "Massive Pound-And-A-Half Rats Infest KFC/Taco Bell In The West Village." Seventeen members decide to comment on it. (Who knows how many click the link back to the original TV news story…)
• By 12:30 p.m., MSNBC had this story running on the front page of their site and on their TV channel making it national news.
• By 12:45 p.m., MSNBC had updated the story: "Yum Brands Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., owns the Taco Bell and KFC restaurant chains. Its shares fell in trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday.” Employees came to work at the Greenwich Village KFC/Taco Bell restaurant Friday, but no customers were allowed in as health inspectors arrived. There was no answer at the phone number displayed in neon on the store window below the words “We Deliver.”
• This also caused media outlets to rehash past Yum Brand health concerns.

The company later released a statement (about six hours too late for damage control) saying:
“This is completely unacceptable and is an absolute violation of our high standards. This restaurant has been closed and we are addressing the issue with the franchise owner. We will not allow this store to reopen until is it completely resanitized and given a clean bill of health.”

• By 1p.m. it's the top video story on CBSnews.com: “Rats Swarm KFC-Taco Bell In NY.”
  
• It's among the top stories on CNN Money.
  
• Also by 1p.m., FOX News has both a story and video under the headline, "We do Rodents Right."

If this company had media monitoring and crisis monitoring someone could have called to move media crews away from the front window or covered the front window where dozens of media outlets had set up shop filming and getting customer reaction shots. They weren't pleasant. Words like "sickened" and "disturbing" and "gross" all played out on national media with the KFC/Taco Bell logo right behind.

Seven hours is all it took...

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:53 PM
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February 14, 2007

A digital Valentine's Day

Thanks to a new online campaign by Clairol's Herbal Essences shampoo, you can send a variety of digital Valentines, all featuring a somewhat overweight Cupid, to your "special someone" today.

I first found out about this site over at YouTube after doing a search for videos tagged "Valentine." There are several videos available on the site that also double as video greeting cards, too. (Could this be the way of the future?!) Thanks to Clairol, my co-workers are being treated to a pole-dancing Cupid right about now...

The Valentine magic doesn't stop there. Over at dumpcupid.com, Valentine hopefuls can send "Magnetic Poetry" e-cards, play games and even watch Cupid make wrong love match after wrong love match.

And who knows... Perhaps after all this time spent with Cupid, you might have developed such a crush on him that you might need to add him to your MySpace friends.

Clairol hit the arrow straight on with this campaign. People will spend countless hours today looking for last-minute Valentines, after realizing they'd forgotten to pick one up at the drug store, and Clairol is there with free, clever cards that pull in all components of Cupid's online presence.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:11 PM
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January 30, 2007

Fanpop: A Social Portal...

...That Wants to Change the Way Fans Congregate

By Charlie Kondek

Fanpop is a new online community portal that combines peer-generated content with social networking capabilities. It puts, all in one place, a user's identity, interests and networking strands. When you visit a "spot" it not only shows you links and resources added by users to the spot, which you can rate, but related spots. (Example: the Bruce Lee spot also shows me the kung fu and Jean Claude Van Damme spots.)

I recently got a chance for some back and forth with Fanpop CEO Dave Lu on the site, the Fanpop entrepreneurial philosophy, and trends that will potentially shape the way people network online. Hope you find it insightful.

Kondek: Okay, so FanPop is a social portal. Tell us what a social portal is. How does it differ from other communities or user-driven content aggregators?

Lu: Fanpop is actually a network of thousands of niche social portals around all kinds of topics of interest. We call them social portals because communities of fans actually own each individual portal and interact with other fans to share and create content they find all around the web for their shared passions. We've tried to bring together a feature set for each portal that facilitates community-building like social bookmarking, aggregated news feeds, community publishing/blog forums and an underlying social network. It brings together the idea of communities like Yahoo! Groups and user-drive content aggregators like Digg and del.icio.us by integrating the experience under common interests like television shows, sports teams, hobbies, bands and more.

We believe that everyone is a fan of something and that by bringing these features together, we empower communities to grow around those shared passions. A lot of social networks are too broad and only allow individuals to connect to other individuals. Many content aggregators also cast a wide net and might not appeal to everyone. We wanted to marry those concepts together by allowing individuals to connect to other individuals around topics that actually care about.

Kondek: How's it going then? You're still in beta. When do you predict you'll have the kinks worked out? And what can you share with us about current user activity and projected user activity?

Lu: It's actually been going really well! We've been growing a lot since our launch in August and have almost 2,000 topics created by fans. Apparently there are all sorts of things that people are fans of in the long tail from rats and pigeons to pens and moleskin. I had no idea the variety of things people could be passionate about. Users continue to add new content every day and we're very happy with the current user activity. We're still in beta as we continue to build out more and more features and as we listen to our users' feedback and suggestions. Because we're a small team, we can move very quickly and we really do value what our users think. We're really excited about the next few months because I think our users are going to be pleasantly surprised with what we have in store. I predict that we'll be out of beta once we roll those features out and everything is stable.

Kondek: Okay, so I'm a new user on Fanpop (I really am, my name is Andromeda77 - 100 points if you can guess the reference). I've already added the Bruce Lee and Kung Fu "spots" to "my spots." What do I do next to maximize my Fanpop experience?

Lu: The great part about Fanpop is that unlike most social network profiles where you declare you have interests, Fanpop actually allows you to consume content about those interests. So once you've joined the Bruce Lee and Kung Fu spots, you can go and participate with other fans of Bruce Lee and Kung Fu. You can contribute articles, videos, websites and more and start discussions or even write original articles. Based on your quality of contributions, you receive a reputation in each spot and earn medals accordingly. These medals correspond to respect from peers and administrative rights for that particulat spot. You also get feeds to your profile page telling you if new links have been added or discussions have started in spots you've joined. In other words, Fanpop allows you to efficiently filter out only the content that you actually want to see rather than having to fish around for it. You essentially create a customized social content experience based on your personal interests.

Kondek: Do you foresee a Fanpop profile become part of an Internet user's "business card," so to speak? Say, a link you your ID on Digg, your Myspace and your Fanpop user-ID as your sig in e-mails and the like?

Lu: We'd love it if your Fanpop profile became part of users online identities! We think that it's a lot more interesting than what articles a person "dugg" or a boring profile page with a bunch of comments on it, because a Fanpop profile is a gateway to content that the individual is excited about. It gives a better picture of a person when I can find out more about the bands they listen to or the television shows they like rather than just read their names.

Kondek: Any partnership opportunities in the works?

Lu: We're talking to a lot of potential partners right now ranging from large media companies to small startups with really cool technologies. Our goal is to give the users the best experience possible which means great content and great features that help build great community. We hope to have some pretty cool stuff up along those lines very soon.

Kondek: I have to ask this: how best do you think marketers like myself can interact with Fanpop? Obviously, if you produce something like a TV show or a clothing line, you can join and create a "spot" to promote your material. What's the best way to do this? Where is the line drawn between joining the community and being a disruption?

Lu: That's a great question, Charlie. Anyone who is a fan of anything can create a spot around their topic of interest. We wanted to allow users the freedom to express themselves. That being said, we have a separate area for brand new spots that we call "pending spots" because we want to avoid duplication and spam. In order for a spot to be promoted to official there has to be enough demand and interest in that topic (number of fans, amount of content). Our community of fans also police the site for spam by reporting users, links, or spots that might be inappropriate.

Kondek: So, bascially, if I am a filmmaker or TV studio, I should join and participate in the various spots, and even offer Fanpop-specific content.

Lu: Exactly. That's the beauty of Fanpop compared to other social networks and content sites. We build communities around brands and interests. This means that targeting for filmmakers and TV studios can be focused on specific types of fans. For example fans of FX new show Dirt are very likely to be similar to fans of “Nip/Tuck,” or Bravo can target fans of cooking for their show “Top Chef.” Because we are designed around affinity networks, it makes it easier to figure out who is a fan of what and cater to those users tastes. Exclusives and other content would be great for anyone trying to generate some buzz.

Whew! I hope that was helpful ,Charlie! Look forward to seeing andromeda77 active on Fanpop! Oh and I think Andromeda77 a reference to the Andromeda show in the 90s starring Kevin Sorbo? Do I get my 100 points? :)

I'm afraid not, Dave. According to a friend of mine from Japan, Andromeda 77 is the planet where Ultraman comes from. (Something not mentioned in the version that was in re-runs on the U.S.)

So there you have it. Stop by and take the social portal for a spin. You can even meet me at the spot I created for PR.

Posted by staff at 05:18 PM
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January 29, 2007

What've you been reading on Shelfari?

Recently, BlogWorks joined the “bookish” social-networking craze with an account on Shelfari, an online library that joined the ranks of sites like Bibliophil and Library Thing recently.

What drove me to Shelfari, over other sites, was the design. The virtual bookshelves were very appealing and made finding titles and reviews easy. I couldn't agree more with Tech Crunch’s Michael Arrington:

“Shelfari isn’t as big as Library Thing (key Library Thing stats here), but it is a better designed site and they have a great looking widget to show off the books you own.”

I like the option to start online discussion for the books, creating a greater sense of community for cyber bookworms.

I’ve asked some of my colleagues to add some of their favorite books, both PR-related and non-work reads. I’m curious to see if any of our readers/friendly bloggers are on Shelfari and, more importantly, if they’ll have any good books to recommend.

So, having said that, add us on Shelfari. Let us know what you've been reading.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:02 PM
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December 05, 2006

Be careful at your next office party...

In case you haven't had the pleasure, and I mean that with the greatest of sarcasm, of watching the Bank of America rendition of U2's "One" to describe a bank merger, you're probably one of just a few. With more than 170,000 views so far, the video, shot by someone attending the merger celebration, has made its way around the Internet quickly. Take a look:

Advertising Age's Jonah Bloom had a great story today, worth bookmarking, on how companies can avoid embarrassing moments like this one. In a world of cell phone cameras, just about anything can make its way online. Our own Jud Branam weighs in on the subject as well.

While this stuff has always gotten out, it will happen more quickly, systematically and with greater effect. Internal rallying-cry stuff should be looked at from the standpoint: 'How will we respond when this hits YouTube?

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:41 PM
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November 28, 2006

Who cares about ethics?

By David Binkowski

I was floored when a co-worker sent me this article from MarketingVox. It talks about the Edelman/WOMMA ethics review and concludes with this:

"In the long run, does any client really care if its agency is a member of WOMMA? Of course not. Some people will see this as [Edelman's] taking the arrows for its client," Dave Taylor, founder of Intuitive Systems consultancy, is quoted as saying.

Dave Taylor — you're incorrect, my friend. The company writes the check, sure, but ultimately the consumer writes the company's check. Do they care if Edelman is a member of WOMMA per se? Maybe not. But to suggest that consumer don't care if they're lied to or not is ridiculous. And that will hurt the bottom line in the long run.

Tagged: Dave Taylor, WOMMA

Posted by staff at 03:56 PM
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November 09, 2006

Rebooting an ad campaign

According to Radar’s blog, Fresh Intelligence, Apple is ditching the “Mac Guy” from its popular “Get a Mac” campaign as the “PC Guy” was actually the preferred character, citing Justin Long’s portrayal as annoying hipster to be the cause.

Virtually everyone who watches it comes away liking the "PC guy" while wanting to push the "Mac guy" under a bus.

Slate’s Seth Stevenson has been calling Long’s character a “smug little twit” for the past few months.

As the Mac character, Justin Long (who was in the forgettable movie Dodgeball and the forgettabler TV show Ed) is just the sort of unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets hipster we've always imagined when picturing a Mac enthusiast.

PC Guy’s John Hodgman, also a correspondent on The Daily Show and This American Life, is actually a writer and editor with The New York Times Magazine. If his popularity hadn’t grown enough, Radar met up with Hodgman earlier this fall to talk to the audience-favorite computer star with an article titled, “Hodgmania!”

Surprised? You shouldn’t be if you’ve been following the lack of love for Mac Guy in the blogosphere:

• AdJab wonders if PC Guy will become a converted Mac Guy.
  
• Gizmodo features a funny cartoon comparison of the two characters, with Hodgman saying, “I’m a NY Times editor,” and Long saying, “I’m a b-list actor.”
  
• CDinFur’s graphic comparison provides a laundry-list breakdown.

The audience has spoken. And posted.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:30 PM
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October 20, 2006

Friday night in Second Life

By Chris Clonen

It is Friday once again, and after a long day at the office, I shuffle down to the Blarney Stone and swig a few cocktails while chatting up the stunning ladies who dance the night away in a little known corner Ireland. After a handful of amusing tête-à-têtes and a game of darts, I stumble from my bar stool into the lamp-lit streets of Dublin, look up at the stars and fly away to a Duran Duran concert… cause I’m hungry like a wolf.

What? You say this is not how you spend your Friday evenings? Well then you have not been living the “second” life.

For those of you who do not like Duran Duran, or have never experienced such a wild and crazy night on the town as I have just described, Second Life is a virtual online game in which you, or better said, your avatar, travels around a computer generated universe attending concerts, shopping, lounging, partying, or just plain meeting one of the million-plus residences. Think of it as a gigantic chat room, but with a few more pieces of flare.

This new media frontier is getting a lot of press lately and is boldly going where every great idea has gone before — the pocketbooks of consumers. Sporting over one million residences and approaching US$500,000 spent daily, Second Life is becoming one of the most talked about phenomena in the blogosphere. The buzz has even made its way to Harvard University, where Paul Hemp, of the Harvard Business Review, stated:

Advertising has always targeted a powerful consumer alter ego: that hip, attractive, incredibly popular person just waiting to emerge (with the help of the advertised product) from an all-too-normal self… avatars offer a window into people's hidden preferences and a means for achieving sustained consumer engagement with a brand.

Marketing firms are taking these words seriously. Some of Second Life’s newest faces include Adidas, American Apparel, Toyota, W Hotels and Sony/BMG, who just held a Ben Folds concert on its “Media Island” (which was harder get into than a Detroit Tiger’s World Series game). Reuters has even set up shop, creating their own island and very own avatar reporter.

I stopped and asked myself, “Why are these top players getting in on the action?” The answer: They see an opportunity.

Second Life is on to something. Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have found success because people like meeting new people, especially when all inhibitions and anxieties are taken away though the power of the Internet. Second Life takes this one step further. They bring you social networking without even having to be yourself. You can be anyone you want, say anything you want, go anywhere you want. You can visit Dublin on a Friday or catch Duran Duran; meet avatars that have the some interests as you without having to worry about how your hair looks, if you are too fat or too skinny, or what color your skin is.

Some argue that communities like Second Life are making the world impersonal. I think it is making it more intimate. For the corporations, it is way in which they can become more intimate with their customers. They can find out if they have a creative imagination, if they are conventional, how they like to dress, what kind of music they like, what they drink, eat, what kind of cars they like to drive.

Second Life is a goldmine for marketing and for advertising as well. While hanging out at the Blarney Stone, I received a free t-shirt that I now proudly wear promoting one of the coolest places I found in the game. Everyone asks each other where they got their clothes, shoes and jewelry. Maybe next time they will say the name of the company you represent when asked about their new clothes, or maybe they will say that the best concerts are held at your client’s concert hall, or that your client’s new automobile is the coolest thing they have ever seen. And then they will go and tell all of their friends in Second Life…and best of all, they will tell all of their friends in “real” life. Which is why Second Life can bring you the best of both worlds.

So the next time you are pitching a client, let them know about Second Life and the possibilities this new media offers. Until then, I’ll catch you at the Blarney Stone.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:15 PM
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September 29, 2006

Word of mouth and small businesses

By David Binkowski

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal put out a special section for small businesses geared toward helping them achieve success marketing themselves online. This is important stuff, and we, too have our thoughts. Unlike the WSJ web site, you don’t need a subscription to hear what my thoughts on this topic were some 5 months ago over on smallbusinesspodcast.com.

The Journal article falls short, in my opinion, by taking a narrow view of ways in which small businesses can engage in online and word of mouth marketing.

Around the time that I did my podcast, an article in a local business paper came out letting us know that we would be getting new neighbors. Salon Vox, a trendy new salon, opened its doors this week and is having their grand opening party tonight. What, you might ask, does that have to do with word of mouth marketing?

Good question, glad you asked. While Jeniffer’s salon didn’t open until September, she created a strategy for acquiring new customers and creating buzz well in advance of their doors opening. Jeniffer and her street team infiltrated the Ann Arbor Art Fair in their all-black attire, including Salon Vox tank tops and black balloons bearing the company name. They handed out fliers to interested Art Fair goers for 20 percent off their first visit and had scheduled 19 new appointments long before their storefront was even completed. Oh, and they ultimately abandoned the booth they had rented for the fair because the word of mouth on the street was a much more effective way to reach people.

While having pretty girls in tank tops didn't hurt the initiative, it's not the only tactic the salon used. Salon Vox has also been working with a MySpace page as well to acquire new customers. Over the past three months they’ve been added 429 Ann Arborites as friends (including me and my band) and extended their Grand Opening invitation to their MySpace friends (and the BlogWorks crew).

I’ll have pictures from the grand opening posted on Flickr next week. The salon is located one floor below our offices at 115 W. Liberty in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Posted by staff at 02:23 PM
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September 21, 2006

You can’t ignore message boards

By Kai Blum

I have monitored Internet message boards for almost seven years now and I’m convinced that no one should underestimate these online communities and the effect they can have on a company’s bottom line.

I have seen message boards with tens of thousands of registered members and thousands of discussion threads. Some discussions — especially those about products with quality issues — continue for months, have hundreds of posts and sometimes have been viewed more than 100,000 times. Many potential customers go to message boards to find out if there are any issues with the product that they are interested in, and they often base their purchase decision on the information and opinions they find there.

The comments made by people who already own the product have an enormous influence on purchase decisions. Any company is well advised to monitor message boards closely, since one can find valuable information there, such as praise and complaints about products and customer service, product improvement suggestions, etc., or as Mike Driehorst wrote: “Discussion boards are good for getting the pulse of a subject or industry.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Posted by staff at 10:18 AM
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August 28, 2006

My friend, the museum exhibit

Here's the scenario: You work at a museum and you've got a great new exhibit coming up, one that would most likely appeal to a younger audience than the typical show. How do you promote it? Flyers? Posters at coffee shops? Nope, you make a Myspace page for the exhibit and watch the word-of-mouth promotion begin.

The Detroit Institute of Arts recently created a page for their upcoming American Music Exhibition, a collection of photographs from renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, set to start toward the end of September.

The page has a simple layout, features photos of subjects included in the exhibit and is open to comments. A "marketing blurb" serves as the About Me section:

"We’re so excited about this, that we’ve even written a marketing blurb. Here it is: “From the pages of Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue to the galleries of the DIA come photos you can almost “hear”—American Music. Annie Leibovitz, one of America’s most famous living photographers, has immortalized some of our greatest musicians: from B. B. King, Johnny Cash and Norah Jones to Detroit legends Eminem, Aretha Franklin and the White Stripes. Neil Young said it best, 'rock-and-roll can never die.' American Music makes sure of it.”

The page is a smart move for the museum. Because the exhibit will feature a live performance every week of its run, it makes sense to add featured performers' friends as contacts for their own page. Of the 292 friends the page had as of this post, many of them are local bands, Detroit organizations and residents, all sure bets to help spread the word about the exhibit.

My only concern about this page is that the profile photos used aren't credited back to Leibovitz in the caption information. In a society where we try to strive for "fair use" and proper credit whenever possible online, it would have been nice to see everything credited back to such a well-known individual.

And in case you're wondering, the exhibit is single, a Libra, and doesn't want kids.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:04 PM
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August 16, 2006

Snakes on... the Internet!

With Snakes on a Plane set to hit theaters this weekend, Samuel L. Jackson has been making his way through the media circuit promoting the film. During his visit to the Daily Show, he explained to Jon Stewart about how Snakes filmmakers turned to the blogosphere to help build buzz about the movie.

The movie's web site reinforces the use of blogs and fan sites, featuring some of the best tribute pages right on their own homepage, such as Snakes superfan, Brian Finkelstein. His blog, Snakes On a Blog, was started as a quest to get invited to the movie's premiere. And yes, he did get invited.

"Brian, our entire team at New Line are big fans of SnakesonaBlog.com. New Line would like to formally invite you to attend the premiere screening of Snakes on a Plane on August 17th at the Mann’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles."

If you're off to see the movie this weekend, make sure to wear your favorite fan Snakes T-shirt.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:23 PM
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August 10, 2006

OK Go dances with fans to build online popularity

Just a few years back, OK Go was a band well-known in the Chicago area, but unknown to the rest of the world. Today the band has the most downloaded music video in music history, thanks to the powers of YouTube and viral promotion.

Known for their funny live performances, OK Go's video for "A Million Ways," off of 2005's "Oh No," became a hot download last summer. Thanks to YouTube, the video is once again a favorite view on the site. Since being uploaded by the band in February of this year, the video has been viewed more than 333,206 times with 104 comments left. The clip, filmed in one take in lead singer Damian Kulash's back yard for the bargain price of $4.99 (the cost of a video tape), showcases the band's love of choreographed dancing to their now-hit single. Take a look:

The buzz surrounding the video's popularity has gained recognition from tradtional and mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times and even Good Morning America. GMA just debuted their 'YouTube Video of the Week' segment this week and of course, talked about OK Go's poularity with YouTube founders by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.

Even JC Penney picked up on the band's popularity, featuring them in commercials for a new back-to-school promotion.

So, what's a band to do with all this viral buzz circulating around them? Keep it going.

The band sent out a call to fans through YouTube, "The OK Go Dances With You(Tube) Contest," for the best dead-on copy of their dance video. Participants who best resembled the band's routine in their own video would win a trip to see the quartet live in concert and, of course, come up on stage to dance with them. The call for entries was made into a YouTube clip.

So far hundreds of fans have uploaded their clips, rating each other's efforts as they anxiously await an awser from the band. One of my favorites, and apparently a lot of others, is the Hollywood and Vine rendition, where a brave foursome have beverages thrown on them as they dance through traffic.

OK Go is a great example of how viral communication can turn into a smart marketing plan. Their latest video, "Here it Goes Again," features the same low-budget choreography, this time on treadmills, and is already becoming a favorite of fans and media critics alike as it makes its way across the Internet. (They're asking fans to vote for it on VH1Top 20 by way of their blog.) This small band is now a big player in today's pop music scene, all thanks to realizing the power of word of mouth.

That and the ability to dance really, really well together.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:32 PM
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July 20, 2006

An invasion abated

By Charlie Kondek

I had an interesting experience the other day that I think is random but revealing.

I've been reading a novel — I'm not going to give the title — and I really haven't been enjoying it. In fact, I'm more than halfway through it and I've disliked it so much that for the first time in a long time I really felt like savaging it to someone. I'm not an Amazon user, but I cruised over to Amazon to check out the other reviews of this novel and contribute my own, a little surprised at myself that it would take this to actually propel me to register with Amazon and use it in this fashion. I just felt the urge to tell someone how ripped off I felt; the book was something I should have been enjoying due to the subject matter, but the prose was so flat and unmoving I couldn't enjoy myself.

When I got to Amazon, though, I was surprised at what I found. The author himself was there, warmly greeting me. In fact, he wanted me to know about his upcoming book tour, wanted me to come on down and say hello. Then I read the reviews. To a person, they were gushingly, ravingly positive — each one was five stars or four-out-of-five stars. It was an online love fest for this author and his work.

This stopped me cold. As angry as I was, I did not feel like creating an account at Amazon just to try to rain all over these people's parade or get drawn into a protracted message board melee. They can have their flat-prosed novel, I thought, and left it at that.

I'm still turning over in my head what the significance of my encounter was. It certainly illustrates how people react with products and brands online. In this case, the positive word of mouth around this particular novel was entrenched at Amazon and I didn't feel like invading it. Maybe if I had been really, REALLY mad, I would have, but in this case, I simply didn't like the book, wanted to tell someone, and shut my mouth instead.

“What can I learn from that?” I asked myself.

• First, it reinforces the idea of doing this kind of outreach, of empowering people to express themselves about the brands they like.
  
• Second, it shows that when something like a review is put online, it doesn't go away.
  
• Third, Amazon didn't come to me, I came to Amazon — I went looking for info on this book, looking with one intention, and was persuaded by its counter-message instead; that's powerful.

I'm now almost done with the book — a friend loaned it to me, and I try never to give back books unread — and what's even more unnerving is that it has gotten better, even enjoyable, and I'm not sure why that is. Is it because the action in the story has picked up? Or is it because my encounter with its followers at Amazon convinced me, even on a subconscious level, to give it another try?

Either way I think it lends credence to the kind of work we do, once again reminding us all of the sustained power of online communication and how that can benefit our clients.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 12:31 PM
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June 22, 2006

Checking in from WOMMA

By David Binkowski

I had the pleasure of hearing and meeting a personal WOM hero today. Emanuel Rosen wrote The Anatomy of Buzz, a book that I highly recommend picking up if you want to “get” word of mouth… or at least have a better understanding of this field.

Emanuel went over eight steps (with a few additional points at the end) on ways to stimulate buzz. They are:

• Improve service
• Provide unique information
• Stimulate conversations between person A and B
• Give them something to talk about
• Help people create and celebrate — Steinway pianos
• Action: concept at customer’s home
• Buzz: among invitees
• Involve / engage
• Make it easy to spread the word
• Work with hubs

I also had a chance to meet up with some peers as well. Here's a quick picture of me with Maxine Friedman (Brandivision), Robert J. Ricci (Weber Shandwick) and Robert Scoble (no introduction needed).

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 09:03 AM
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June 12, 2006

Online video creates marketing fizz sensation

Question: What do you get when you combine 101 two-liter bottles of Diet Coke, 523 Mentos candies and an online video making its way across the Internet? Answer: A publicity sensation that has everyone talking.

The “scientists” at EepyBird recently posted their “findings” on what happens when you drop a Mentos candy into a bottle of Diet Coke. Oddfellow Theater members, and “scientists” featured in the clip, Fritz Grobe (the short one, as the web site states) and Stephen Voltz (the tall one) decided to experiment with the phenomenon the bite-sized treat was known for – creating huge, but brief, fountains when dropped in soda – and taking it to the next level. The result: “It's a hysterical and spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, brought to you by the mad scientists at EepyBird.com,” the web site says.

But what’s more amazing than the mint fountain is the reaction from Mentos and Diet Coke to the popular video.

According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Mentos is thrilled by all of the publicity, while Coca-Cola is less than impressed with its beverage being used as a science experiment.

“We would hope people want to drink [Diet Coke] more than try experiments with it,” Susan McDermott, Coke spokeswoman, said to the WSJ. According to the story, Diet Coke’s sales were almost flat last year as consumers become more health conscious.

Mentos, on the other hand, is looking into somehow pairing with the Maine duo to create demonstrations of the fountain nationwide. The candy, under the ownership of Perfetti Van Melle, is known for its bizarre ads under the “Fresmaker” campaign it successfully launched in the 1990s. It’s no surprise that they’re excited by the video.

“We are tickled pink by it,” Pete Healy, vice president of marketing for the company’s U.S. division, told the WSJ.

The video and related buzz are great examples of how powerful today’s word-of-mouth advertising and Internet outlets are compared to traditional MSM tactics. By looking to incorporate the fountain idea into their current marketing efforts, Mentos will surely attract customers curious to see if they can re-create the experiment themselves.

They may not be eating (or drinking) the product, as Coke noted, but who can argue with higher sales?

To see the fountain in action, check out the video below.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:59 PM
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May 19, 2006

We are living in a virtual world…and I’m a virtual girl (guy)

By Chris Clonen

The world of marketing is about to change. Are you ready? Virtual, on-line games like Second Life and There.com have created a burgeoning, virtual universe offering “alternative lifestyles” for everyone from teenagers to your grandmother. The wish to live someone else’s life is now possible.

Corporations are thirsting for new, cutting edge ways to present their ideas and products to consumers. Everyone wants to have the next iPod or create the next Myspace. Well, the iPod is not the leading MP3 player because it is the best—it is the best because of marketing. What better way to get your product noticed than to put it in one of the coolest places on earth…the virtual world.

Here’s my experience. I decided to go to secondlife.com and create an “avatar” or visual characterization of myself. After a short tutorial and advice from one of the many Second Life helper characters, I was flying around my new reality as a suave, handsome public relations account exec looking for a few good people to pitch new ideas to. At first, Second Life reminded me of games like The Sims, World of Warcraft, and StarWars Galaxies, but it turned out to be much more. This fantasy has a close connection with reality.

I started off my free stay by visiting “Cobalt’s Corner,” a hot rod shop where I decided to take a ride in a replica of the Batmobile, when an alarm sounded and I was catapulted into the air while a message scrolled across the screen saying, “This is private property!” Next, I fulfilled a life-long dream—to join a sorority. Unfortunately, none of my fellow sisters were around to join in the celebration (and I am sure they are trying to come up with ways to expel me), but the feeling of being the first man in Sigma Theta really made my day. I then found a water park where I rode head first down a water slide, followed by shooting cannons from a pirate ship while chatting with a girl from Florida who loved pirates, and finally relaxing at the end of the day at the local mall, browsing though clothes selections, posters and furniture for a “second” home.

What really stuck out while I was perusing my virtual world was the amazingly creative landscapes and architecture, from ancient castles to post-modern dwellings (which you as a land owner can construct), to, best of all, a sea of advertisements: “Buy New Clothes;” “Rent Space Here;” “Drive a New Car;” and my favorite, “Need a New Lightsaber?” It is here that a light went off in my head. I realized that in this brave new world the possibilities are endless, especially for the advertising industry. It is this opportunity that separates Second Life from its fantasy competitors.

In Second Life and similar games, there is a direct connection with the real world. You meet real people with real needs and real wants. While walking around one of the virtual malls, I was amazed to see that you could buy basically anything. You could purchase a new shirt for your avatar using the game’s currency, or a new shirt for your real body by linking out to a commercial web site. Imagine trying on clothes at The Gap, Old Navy, or Hugo Boss from one of these virtual shops, kicking the tires of a new car at the local dealership, or even touring a new home.

This “fantasy/reality” offers the advertising world an unlimited amount of space and a wide variety of people all in one place waiting to hear about the latest innovative product. We could use the virtual world to pitch the next blogger outreach program, or put up billboards for the latest brainstorm, or better yet, create an e-commerce factory. Members can buy land, put up advertisements, chat with fellow members asking them to try out the latest in virtual designer jeans, ride around in the latest automotive innovation, or fly to the mall and purchase the latest teen craze. The sky is the limit! A virtual world with thousands of new customers is just a click away.

Corporations are already jumping on the bandwagon. Wells Fargo is preparing a virtual spot on Second Life called “Stagecoach Island” to encourage kids to become financially responsible, while rumors are floating that Microsoft owns an island in Second Life that it uses for conferences and executive “getaways.”

Imagine having virtual meetings with clients, taking away the boring conference call and adding a fun, 3-D virtual setting. Imagine reaching out to consumers from your desktop by means of a real-time video game. Imagine “commuting” to the office right from your home computer, never spending a dime on gas.

The possibilities for the industry are endless, and, best of all, fun! Thinking outside of the box has become thinking outside reality. The world of marketing is about to change. Are we ready?

Posted by staff at 01:08 PM
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May 03, 2006

Buzz Brouhaha response

By David Binkowski

PR Industry maven Paul Holmes, on his Holmes Report Blog, writes today that any PR pros upset that Bzzagent gets a disproportionate share of publicity in the area should step up to the plate and "write their own damned book." He says PR pros have done little in evangelizing, much less "getting" word of mouth (WoM). I take issue with that claim.

There are people in PR that "get it". We spend a lot of time educating our colleagues and clients about WoM, our WoM practice and how it can help their business. This is a new avenue for a lot of corporate VPs, Directors and the like, and this educating has led to a significant increase in the acceptance of WoM and the marketing mix.

Our firm has run more than 30 WoM campaigns in the past two years for 17 global and national brands. I was recently paraphrased, along with Mr. Balter, in the April issue of Inc. Magazine ("Creating Buzzzzzzz"), have done a handful of podcasts on WoM and regularly post on this blog as well as my personal blog.

Our recent PR week awards, new business wins and repeat business are the signs that we're doing a great job with WoM -- not negative PR, being the loudest mouthpiece in this field or being the first to publish. Now, to start tapping out that book...

Posted by staff at 02:07 PM
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April 07, 2006

How can a small business benefit from WOM and blogs?

By David Binkowski

I just finished doing a podcast on word of mouth marketing and blogs for Small Business Podcast, a web site that contains "Practical knowledge for entrepreneurs". The topic? "How can small businesses benefit from word of mouth marketing and blogs?" You'll have to tune in to hear the answer.

And you may not know this about me, but I'm actually a closet wannabee entrepreneur.

See, my degree is in Management with a specialization in Small Business Ventures & Entrepreneurship... so while I think about the big picture around my clients' brands, I secretly think about how a business owner can learn and adapt technology to benefit their small business. It was a lot of fun to do the podcast, I'll post a link once it's ready for consumption.

Posted by staff at 01:29 PM
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February 06, 2006

Travel industry embraces blogs; bloggers bite back

More and more tourism bureaus have gotten the message that it's a good idea to be friendly with bloggers. Some, in fact, are very friendly. Some bloggers agree with the practice and others think it's a blow to the blogosphere.

Recently, 25 bloggers who have BlogAds have been invited to Amsterdam by the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. Gridskipper has an extensive post and a roundup of others.

But bloggers, such as the Beltway Blogroll, think it's a sham:

But curiously, the bloggers just started talking about the trip yesterday -- and not all of them are doing so yet. If they really wanted to be transparent, why didn't the bloggers tell their readers about the trip when the invitation was extended?

What's more, transparency is not sufficient justification for media outlets -- and that's what blogs want the U.S. government to call them -- to accept favors from an agency with an agenda. Bloggers rightly maligned columnists Armstrong Williams and Doug Bandow for taking money from the Bush administration and Abramoff. Now some of the them are guilty of similar arrangements with the government of Netherlands, and they deserve the same scorn.

No one who makes the trip is compelled to write one word, good or bad, about Amsterdam, and maybe some bloggers will return home and say nasty things about the place. But somehow I doubt they will.

The Caribbean Tourism organization has invited bloggers, along with media, to a press conference and networking session at a March meeting in New York.

The Passenger Focus, a watchdog group in Great Britain, is looking for bloggers to write about their subway adventures, in exchange for a free rail pass for a year.

Pennsylvania, Minneapolis and Milwaukee have or plan to use bloggers to spread the word on tourism.

It's a smart move by the travel industry to embrace bloggers. Other travel companies should follow suit, or at least start by monitoring blogs, like Shel Holtz's on business travel, which pulls no punches.

We've discussed freebies for bloggers here before. The blogosphere is full of people who will disagree about free products and what degree of transparency is required -- but that's what makes it so interesting.

Posted by at 07:19 AM
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January 25, 2006

WOMBAT presentations available

By David Binkowski

WOMMA posted all of the presentations from last week's WOMBAT conference, which includes the two presentations I gave: "How to Sell WOM to Your Boss" and "How To Create Great Blogs That Get People Talking." The first takes on four major hurdles you might face when trying to convince your boss that your company should be involved in WOM. The second is a primer for companies looking to understand more about what makes a great blog.

Day 1 agenda
Day 2 agenda

Posted