Posts Tagged ‘marketing’
CES 2012: Sin City Goes Techy
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
All Las Vegas cliches aside, this show is absolutely incredible. I’ve been to CES before, but haven’t ever stepped foot on the show floor – instead being stuck in dark press briefing suites. After only a day on the floor, I can say that this is absolutely the craziest thing I have ever been a part of.
Besides the endless rows of iAccessories (seriously, if you can put it on or put your in something, it’s here), there is a lot of innovative tech at CES this year – and some of it might actually be useful.
MommyTech (FamilyTech)
Mommy bloggers changed the way the internet world looked not only from a content perspective, but from a marketing perspective as well. Now, a whole new sector of tech is aimed at providing an enriched family experience to consumers – not just moms.
From companies that are offering geo-fencing technologies for cell phones so parents can keep tabs on their teens to prenatal learning technology, it’s all here and it’s all interesting. Gamification is definitely in play as parents look to reward healthy lifestyles and development. There are pedometer-based technologies that look more like toys than a boring pedometer, which could lead to envy among some kids if their pedometer isn’t as cool as the next.
Look for influences in the MommyTech to start changing the way families not only interact with each other, but how they interact with technology. The more apt consumers are to input and share information, the more likely they are to interact with brands using new technologies.
Health + Fitness
This was probably the most-interesting part of the floor that I saw today. United Health Group, an insurance agency, had an incredible booth that not only showcased some of their technologies that are helping companies create healthier employees, but it also was just really well done. The health and tech worlds have long been friends, but up until recently that friendship was purely functional as technologies pushed forward and brought data management solutions and patient care advancements to the health field.
What United Health Group and others in the area bring to the table now is a truly enriched experience for users that puts them in control of information and support for their health needs. Throw in some game mechanics that can be shared with friends/coworkers and you’ve got a modern day recipe for healthy living.
One of the companies in this space that’s been making headlines recently is FitBit. Their pedometers which are crazy-tiny and not ugly at all are being used in offices across the U.S., but their recent product – the Aria scale is almost too pretty to keep in your bathroom. The scale, which connects wirelessly to your home network, allows consumers to track progress, share stats, and connect with friends through their online interface. When paired with FitBit’s pedometer, consumers have an integrated solution that (hopefully) leads to a healthier life.
Motorola, fresh off the heels of their acquisition by Google, launched their fitness-focused product – MOTOACTV. The watch-like device is hyper-tuned to keeping people motivated, while tracking and logging their progress. The device is the same size as a watch and comes running a variant of Android. As my colleague from IPG Media Lab said today “stuff’s going to get crazy when people start rooting these.” The possibilities are endless.
Again, this is a space where people wouldn’t have dreamed about being in 5-10 years ago. Sharing weight loss and fitness information didn’t happen – or at least not outside of Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers groups. Today friends are sharing their runs with apps like Runkeeper, tracking calories with MyFitnessPal.com, and using Nike+ like it’s no big deal. Imagine what’s next.
Up Next…
Car tech, more TVs than you can shake a stick at, social everywhere, and the weirdest things I’ve found at CES.
Disclosure: Some photos and descriptions of products may reference clients of Spring Creek Group’s parent companies, Mediabrands and IPG. These are not meant as advertisements or endorsements and no compensation has been made to this blog or the author.
Spring Creek Group Joins Mediabrands
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Spring Creek Group was founded more than five years ago, during the emergence of social media in the form we now experience today. We have evolved and expanded our services for clients as content and social networks on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others have grown dramatically. Through it all, we have maintained a steadfast focus on opportunities to improve our clients’ customer advocacy and engagement. Simply put, our mission is to help customers better connect with each other and with the brands on which they spend their time and money.
Today, we are delighted to announce a major step in our continued growth and evolution as an agency. Spring Creek Group is joining the Mediabrands digital agency division of global media and marketing company Interpublic Group! You can read a little more about our exciting news here.
Spring Creek joins innovative digital agency leaders such as Cadreon, Reprise Media, and Ansible Mobile, and we will play a key role in the newly-formed Mediabrands Audience Platform (MAP). By joining Mediabrands and the MAP initiative, we are bringing our expertise in all aspects of social media marketing strategy and programs execution to our new agency partners across Mediabrands, including leaders in media planning and management such as UM and Initiative, as well as others. In addition to the opportunities that this move creates for us to integrate our social media services more tightly with our new agency partners’ offerings; it opens many new ways for us to introduce complementary services to our existing and future clients.
As a founder of Spring Creek, I am so very excited about this announcement and this new step forward in our growth. I believe that the strategic and - as importantly for me and my team – the philosophical ‘fit’ for Spring Creek Group within Interpublic’s Mediabrands agency group is perfect. They are extremely committed to helping us maintain our vision for the future of Spring Creek, while we also build a holistic digital media marketing services model through the MAP. Above all else, Mediabrands shares a similar set of values to ours. In short, we are thrilled about what the future holds for us, as well as for all of our clients and technology and software partners.
In closing I would just like to say THANK YOU to all of those client stakeholders, partners, and many others who have been so important and valued over the past 5 years. I owe my deepest personal gratitude to each of you who have been a part of our ability to arrive at today’s news, including everyone who has been a part of our SCG team. I am most excited about the myriad new ways this move opens new opportunities for client services innovation and social media strategic leadership for our entire Spring Creek team. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us this far… let’s keep it going.
Warm regards,
Clay
The Rise (and Potential Fall?) of King James
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Unless you have been living under a rock for about the last 6 months, you have probably heard about the circus that followed Lebron James’ announcement that he would “be taking his talents to South Beach.” James announced his decision to switch from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat in a media debacle that will forever be remembered as “The Decision.” The backlash from Cleveland fans and the media were harsh. Footage of Cleveland fans burning James jerseys were shown on every news channel. Sports personalities were criticizing and judging him about the way he made his announcement, saying that he made it look like a self-indulgent spectacle that didn’t take into account the fact that Cleveland fans that have been so loyal to him for so many years. So now that James’ NBA season has started, the big question is: did he make the right decision?
From a marketing standpoint, there are many different ways to look at it. What novice NBA fans have to take into account is that today’s NBA is not what it used to be in the 80s and early-90s. Not only do players have to worry about winning, now many have to think about their “Brand.” That’s right, their Brand. And who can blame them? most of them grew up watching Michael Jordan rise from a relatively unknown in college to an NBA legend, endorsed by companies all around the world. Players were once told “Hey, if you make it big in the NBA and get some endorsements you could be a millionaire!” But now with the way players’ contract payouts are skyrocketing and endorsement deals are coming from all angles, there is no reason an NBA superstar can’t bea billionaire.
Yet even though Lebron has done nothing criminally wrong, there is arguably no one in sports (aside from maybe Tiger Woods) that has taken such a hit to their brand image. Q Scores, a company that tracks the appeal of celebrities, showed that James’ likability dropped from 4th among active athletes to 78th-, behind even Ben Roethlisberger, who was recently suspended by the NFL for inappropriate sexual conduct. While this could be looked at as bad news, some say that from a marketing and business standpoint, “The Decision” was sheer genius.
Since followers of the NBA could see James’ free agency coming a long time ago, his next destination became the “it” conversation, and has stayed that way for about the last year. There is possibly no better evidence that the Lebron James’ brand is thriving than by simply examining his presence in the social networking arena. James first opened his Twitter account two days before “The Decision,” and while not everyone is a supporter, he now has over 900,000 followers. With almost 4 million Facebook friends, there is no doubt that more and more sponsors will come running to have James be the face of their company.
Yet, some aren’t so quick to forgive. Just ask Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban what he thinks. Cuban has gone on the record to state that James orchestrated the” greatest public humiliation in the history of sports.” This coming from a guy who regularly sticks his foot in his mouth at just about any opportunity. Cuban goes on to say that leaving Cleveland, a city that molded its very identity around James, was so selfish that it could never be forgiven. Adding a monetary value to the debacle, Cuabn believes James lost over $1 billion in brand equity and maybe, more importantly, -his legacy.
It’s hard to argue with the numbers, though. The top-5 gross ticket selling games already belong to the Heat, Heat merchandise sales are already up 500% from this time last year- doesn’t hurt that you’ve also got Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh next on the roster as well. NBA fans have yet to see how his recent move will affect his legacy; but as we have seen before (i.e. Kobe Bryant) nothing shuts up naysayers like some wins… except maybe a few championships.
Going Mobile 101
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
It’s not enough to have great print or TV ads these days, hence the reason I have a job and am able to write this blog. It’s not even enough to have great print, TV, and social these days. In a time when everyone is walking around with a device in their pockets more powerful than the $4k Packard Bell (yes, you read that right) my dad brought home those many years ago, brands are scrambling to create an all-encompassing experience with users – a seamless brand agnostic of medium, screen size and location – and mobile is the last bit of that puzzle.
But, how do we go about creating a mobile strategy? What do we need to think about? Here are 10 steps to creating a mobile strategy that not only works for your brand, but that works for your customers/clients/and users.
01Know your targets
Paramount in any sort of marketing, but especially so in the world of mobile. Users are potential brand advocates and expect to be treated as such. Know the mobile habits of your targets and start there. Whether it’s online research, ethnographic research or good old fashioned observation, take the time to know your targets.
GigaOm recently posted a piece showing that Symbian users in the U.S. are 2.7 times more likely to click advertising on their mobile devices than Apple iPhone/iPod users. This simple fact not only is a bit of a blow to the recently-announced iAd platform, but it’s an important thing to think about when you’re looking at where to push your mobile ad buys.
Image courtesy of 02 Go local
While it will more-than-likely go the way of the buffalo, location based services (LBS) are an easy way for small and medium businesses to connect with regulars and create brand ambassadors through rewarding loyalty. Brands on the small-ish side have seen a great opportunity with LBS integration and promotion. Now, it’s easy to say “OMG, we should be on Foursquare because I saw all these articles and I know that’s what we need,” but truth is, it might not be. You need to first find out where your targets are and go there, not pick an LBS and hope they show up. Below are a few of my favorites:
Foursquare
Obviously this is the most widely-used location based service out there and brands are flocking to it trying to figure out exactly how they’ll use Foursquare for their brands. You couldn’t go anywhere at SXSW without hearing people talking about checking in, and this was in the town that birthed Gowalla. Brands like Tasti D-Lite, Lucky, and others are harnessing the herd power of Foursquare and quickly finding out best practices for the tool.
Download: iPhone – Android – BlackBerry
Whrrl
Seattle’s own LBS takes on the Foursquares and Gowallas of the world and does a pretty good job. Their focus on bringing connecting the virtual/mobile with the actual/physical is fairly interesting and their tips of nearby places make for a good night out. The experience is pretty fun and I feel like the tips and interactions within the actual UI are more useful than some other apps/services. Their only hurdle at this point is user base – it’s small (but growing).
Download: iPhone – Mobile Site
Gowalla
Austin’s own LBS tool found its way onto my phone when I was in town for SXSW, but I’m not going to lie, I stopped using it shortly after coming back to the PNW. It’s a fairly simple tool to use and worked well when I used it, I just don’t have that many friends using it.
Download: iPhone – Android – BlackBerry – Palm
Yelp
Probably one of the most “old school” of the LBS joints out there, Yelp is a great community filled with passionate users. If you’re able to harness the power of your loyal patrons/clients on this network, chances are you’ll do fairly well.
Download: iPhone – Android – BlackBerry – Palm
– Mobile Site
03Hedge your bets
The mobile world is still evolving (at the speed of light sometimes), so offering brand interaction points for users on multiple carriers, hardware lines, etc. means you’ll have an opportunity to grow user bases with a few options, not just one. If your user base is active in different areas of the mobile web, use testing and analytics to find the most-efficient ways of interacting with those fans and fully realize the ways they like to interact with your brand in those areas.
04Usability over message delivery
While the end game is always creating brand awareness, the mobile world isn’t one where constant bombardment with messaging is very welcome. While yes, some users expect to see a number of marketing messages a day from their mobile devices, they will respond better to great brand experiences with engaging content and excellent usability. It’s been said that content is king, and that’s definitely true in the mobile environment where you’re working with a pretty tiny space (when compared to other mediums). Bring your ‘A game’ in design and usability of your mobile properties and your users will reward you by taking that community to the next level.
05Sometimes there isn’t an app for that
Of course app developers and interactive agencies want to create a custom-built app for you – that’s their job. What most won’t tell you is that many times those applications aren’t necessarily the best way to reach your audiences, let alone keep them engaged. Bring your brand experience to their palms in all you do in the mobile space, don’t rely solely on a application.
06Actually have a strategy
I know this should’ve gone first, but I’m a big fan of keeping you on your toes. Creating a well-thought strategy for understanding and working for your communities in the mobile space means a better chance at success. Don’t build an app because it’s the hot thing to do or go around changing all your content for the mobile web until you’ve got a plan. Then, once you do…
07Let it run
The average time for a new mobile trend to catch on is between 3-6 months… and that’s talking about actual trends that have become “something.” Remember that putting your new mobile content out there doesn’t guarantee instant traction, regardless of the size of your existing social communities. Plan for success and manage for shortcomings in a time period that’s doable for your program, then take time to evaluate and move forwarded as needed.
08Extending, not creating
Ask yourself this with every piece of your mobile campaign “are we extending the brand?” If you’re not extending the brand, but trying to create something else through your mobile efforts, you’ll more-than-likely be sitting in a conference room some time down the road talking about why your mobile efforts fell flat. Using applications, mobile-driven campaigns and ongoing programs to extend existing brand image and community should be the goal.
09Keep innovating
The mobile world is like the wild wild West right now – wide open. What is hot today will be luke warm tomorrow, so keep a finger on the pulse of the mobile world. This makes sense, right? Sure, everyone wants to keep up with the mobile world so they can keep up with competitors – WRONG. Keep up with trends in use among your publics to see what’s next and move in that direction (even try to get out in front if you’ve got the resources).
10Don’t be afraid to fail
There’s nothing wrong with failing once in a while. Some of the best ideas have come after colossal failures and you can always remember that even the highest-paid major league baseball playings are getting paid millions of dollars to succeed only about 4 out of 10 times (a lot less if you’re talking about the Mariners). This rule doesn’t just pertain to mobile, but I’m willing to bet that there were a hell of a lot of failtures before there were monumental successes in the mobile world. Also, so I’m on a cool visuals kick today, check out this ode to failure at Portland-based Wieden + Kennedy.
In the end…
Mobile strategy is constantly changing and anyone tasked with running this area of ongoing marketing efforts has a heck of a job ahead of them, not to mention a lot of sleepless nights. As with any new/reimagined area of marketing and advertising, the mobile space offers near-endless opportunity heavily guarded by near-fruitless endeavors. The ability to track, know, and see what’s next is probably the best set of abilities any one person or group can have – and even these are changing.
100 Million People Taking Facebook on the Road
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
We’ve all seen the stats that texting while driving has similar effects to your vehicular dexterity as downing a case of Kokanee (a nod to our Canadian friends up the road). But maybe we’re not actually texting. Is it possible we’re all Facebooking?
A few weeks ago, Facebook announced the following:
“Today, we hit another milestone…with more than 100 million people actively using Facebook from their mobile devices every month. This usage happens on almost every carrier in the world and comes less than six months after we announced 65 million people on Facebook Mobile.”
Some marketing teams still have giant whiteboards with doodles, where they are “strategizing” a Facebook road map for the next 12 months. But, isn’t it high time marketers stop thinking about Facebook as a Web site, and instead focus on how it will follow you around everywhere you go? I agree with Mediapost’s David Berkowitz, who says the following:
“The safe bet is in time that the mobile user base will nearly mirror the overall user base, and that most of its usage will derive from mobile users. Facebook is in an especially strong position to benefit from the mobile boom, as mobile measurement firm Ground Truth noted this month that 61% of mobile Web pageviews are served by social networking sites.”
So here’s the question for the marketer who still has a 2008 Social Media Strategy in 2010: Do I need to catch up, or can I just jump ahead to mobile? Starbucks and their 5 gabillion Facebook fans may be an inspiration to Fortune 500′s across the nation, but maybe the smarter move for large laggards is to skip the whole catch-up game and join the mobile party. Meanwhile, SMBs may want to investigate hyper-local, location-based mobile social media strategies.
It won’t be about ads popping up on your mobile Facebook page, but a tighter integration with PayPal and potentially some partnerships with folks like Whrrl, Foursquare, and Gowalla, could allow you to buy a beer for your friend at a bar, while you sit in a movie theater across town. Or, you could order a Sounders jersey while your friend is at the game, and have him pick it up at the souvenir stand.
So, fear not brave marketer. If you missed the original social media wave in 2007, look at the 100 Million Facebook users on mobile devices, and realize you get a second shot at the growth curve.
SCG Out on the Town – TechFlash LIVE: Women in Tech
Monday, October 26th, 2009
A few SCG team members will be attending the first of its kind TechFlash LIVE: Women in Tech event this Wednesday evening at the W Hotel in Seattle. We’re looking forward to hearing a great line-up of panelists coming from a variety of technology fields, as well as meeting other women and leaders in the tech community.
We also can’t wait to see some of our friends and partners, including panel presenter Trish Dziko, executive director of the Technology Access Foundation – one of our key not-for-profit partners here at SCG, and several more women with whom we have worked closely in our marketing programs.
The Women in Tech initiative is something we strongly support, and we always enjoy attending local industry-related events. We hope to see you there!
For additional details visit http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/event/9691.
Facebook’s Legitimacy Problems: Are You Who We Thought You Were?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
A recent post outlined steps Facebook is taking in requiring page owners to prove their connections with the brands they represent on the ever-growing social networking site. What does this mean for agencies? What are the short-term and long-term impacts? How will this affect your brand? Let’s take a look.
Prove It
Facebook essentially is providing page owners three ways to verify that they in fact have rights to develop and maintain a brand page and they can be found here:
- Add a badge or Fan Box widget to your Website – This is simple, really and can be done by sending a bit of code to whoever is code monkeying your site. It also provides a great focal point for driving traffic to your Fan Page.
- Add an official e-mail address to your personal Facebook account that can be used to verify your affiliation with the brand (this can also be that of an authorized outside entity like PR, marketing, advertising agency, etc.) – This is easy if you’re a recognized agency, but a little harder if your roles are mostly behind the scenes.
- Add another admin who has a legit e-mail address – This is probably the easiest thing to do. Simply add your client contact to the admins of the page, giving you instant legitimacy.
The Agency
For agencies that are building and maintaining Fan Pages for brands in the Facebook environment, this could be a bit of a sticking point as they have to work out, with their client, the level of visibility they want to have as to who is actually doing the legwork. However, in most cases, a client contact is already (or should be) and admin of the page so they can not only lend their legitimate e-mail address, but also their watchful eye to the account.
The Short Term
In the short term, proving the authenticity of these pages is going to create a bit of extra work, but the short-term rewards greatly outweigh the time needed to get your stamp of approval (is there actually a stamp of approval?). Like with Twitter, brands have always been able to make a case for deleting unauthorized accounts based on copyright law, but now Facebook is taking that a step further and actually making it easier to drive out those pages which might be representing brands in a less-than-authentic fashion.
By simply claiming your brand pages and legitimizing them, you’re essentially eliminating those other pages and, in some cases, Facebook may fold those pages’ fans into your fan base, giving them a legitimate source of interaction on Facebook— and you a broader fan base— in one fell swoop.
The Long Term
Long term, this seems like a strategy by Facebook to not only cut down on clutter and misinformation within the Facebook environment, but also a move toward offering brands added benefits for operating within Facebook. Don’t be surprised if these Facebook Fan Pages start developing multiple levels of functionality and complexity based on dollars spent on Facebook Advertising and direct buys. The team at Facebook is smart enough to make a move when they see an opportunity like this.
Unanswered Questions
While this is still a new(ish) issue, Facebook needs to provide a bit more information around the topic of what this actually means for brands. Will verified pages show up higher in search results, regardless of fan base and searchability? What’s the lag time between reporting a brand page and action being taken to remove that page? What are the criteria for moving fans from a page that might not be verified to the verified Fan Page?
Hopefully we’ll have answers to those, as well as the mounting pile of questions that will undoubtedly come out of this shift.
Everybody’s Heard About the Word (of Mouth)
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009Word-of-mouth has been one of the strongest driving forces in the marketing world since- well, since there has been a marketing world. Create a happy customer or user experience and that person tells someone who tells someone else who tells their hairdresser and before you know it, your widget factory is in need of new space to keep up with the demand.
In today’s world where word-of-mouth is more often word-of-keyboard, how do we track and analyze these messages that are passed on, built up and broadcast?
Sure, you can use readily-available tools like search engines to comb the interwebs looking for mentions, tracking the story and seeing where it originated, but that takes time and time, my friends is money. That’s why, at Spring Creek Group, we work with, associate with, and generally pay attention to leading-edge companies that are solving those problems of tracking and analyzing the word of keyboard side to your online presence.
One of those groups of folks we always pay attention to are our old friends over at Meteor Solutions. Ben Straley, CEO of Meteor Solutions, was recently profiled in the Seattle Times. Here’s the nugget:
“Word-of-mouth is an organic activity. You can’t purchase it, for any price. When it occurs it can produce a fantastic boost for your brand.”
While you can’t buy word-of-mouth activity, you certainly can keep your finger on the pulse, and that’s what we do here. By keeping an eye on how a client’s messages are living on the social Web once they’ve cleared the press rooms, Spring Creek Group provides statistics and qualitative feedback that helps create and refine future marketing – ultimately, it’s money (and time) well spent.
Engagement
Monday, March 30th, 2009Our Services
Social Engagement
and Campaigns
- Experienced “Social Media Marketing Engagement Leads” team.
- Social media outreach, content syndication, and marketing campaign social graph promotion.
- Personal, direct, conversational marketing to complement your existing media buying.
- Identification and outreach to key strategic communities.
Direct customer engagement programs, branded social media communities built and managed, and custom brand marketing campaigns driven through earned media, all designed and delivered by a team of Social media channel experts – We gather your creative marketing assets to syndicate and promote them around the web transparently as representatives of your brand. We design, build, manage, and maintain branded off-site communities in strategic social media locations of high value to your business and customers – typically in sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Ning, Twitter, Hi5, and Live Spaces. We identify relevant blog posts, forum threads, and community conversations in which your brand or products feature prominently and engage consumers in ways that are always transparent and ethical, add value, solve problems, and that simply help connect people to useful information and content via personalized posts. Our Interactive Creative Content Team can plan and/or develop everything from branded backgrounds to sites and apps integrated with Facebook and other social media marketing platforms.
Strategy
Monday, March 30th, 2009Our Services
Channel Guidance
and Strategy
- Your brand’s opportunity identification: Where you could – and should – invest in a managed brand presence across the social media web.
- Collaborative strategic marketing plan development.
- Resource, budget, channel strategy, marketing plan deliverables.
- Content. Technology and editorial plan development.
Culling through the options to develop an efficient multi-channel brand marketing campaign – Now more than ever, large and small companies are forced with the decision of how to introduce Social Media into their Marketing, Customer Service or Product Development organizations. Executives face difficult questions around how to staff the team, what attributes to measure, how to provide content, who should own the responsibility and how to communicate this new philosophy to the organization. If your organization is tackling these issues, Spring Creek Group can help you with answers to these questions.
Once you are ready to implement your program, Spring Creek Group is ready to help you build a cogent and effective strategic one. The Social Media Web offers a sometimes confusing array of options, including the latest ‘white hot stars’ like Twitter and an endless ‘long tail’ of potentially valuable but difficult-to-target specialty blogs and forums. Social Media is more than just deciding when you focus your brand marketing and engagement efforts on Facebook, YouTube, or other key sites. Should you invest the time in building out your own blog or publishing comments to other blogs? How could you use Twitter for your business? We’ve developed a sophisticated social media marketing methodology that answers these questions and more. The outcome is a data-driven, strategic, and targeted social media marketing strategy custom-built for your brand and business goals.
