May 16 2012

The Best of Booze Memes – LOLz!

May 16, 2012 – 8:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By, Rosalie Morton (@rosaliemo)

Meme 101

You might not think you know exactly what a meme (pron. MEEM) is… but if you’re reading this blog you do, promise. I think memes are best described through examples. So consider a few of my recent favorites:

-         Angelina Jolie’s leg from the Oscar’s

-         What my friends think I do (the PR one is priceless)

-         And of course, Tebowing

If you still want to get formal, according to Wikipedia, a meme is:

- An idea that is propagated through the World Wide Web. The idea may take the form of a hyperlink, video, picture, website, hashtag or just a word or phrase. The meme may spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, news sources, or other web-based services. An Internet meme may stay the same or may evolve over time, by chance or through commentary, imitations, parody, or by incorporating news accounts about itself.

A good meme is any marketer’s dream. It means your product or campaign goes viral (win!) and tons of people are not only looking at it, but they are:

1)    Interacting with your brand

2)    Making your brand their own

3)    And then… the clincher: they are sharing your brand with their friends.

(A bad meme could mean a crisis… but that’s a different post for another day.)

It’s textbook social media engagement, and it’s precisely why social media is more powerful than traditional media. As your customers interact with your brand, it becomes branded into their minds far deeper than it would through a TV commercial or a billboard.

Memes Behind the Bar

One thing is sure, people love their liquor, so it should come as no surprise that beverage brands and their supporters have had a LOT of fun with memes.

Here are two of my favorites:

The Most Interesting Man in the World – This is a marketer’s dream come true. The Dos Equis team created “The Most Interesting Man in the World” and not only did people love the commercial, it became a meme and went viral on its own. Kudos, Dos Equis. Kudos to you, indeed.

Most interesting man smartphoneMost interesting man G6

Bros Icing Bros - In my opinion, this is the best beverage meme to date. The game is simple. Hide a Smirnoff Ice BROS-ICING-BROS-SMIRNOFF-ICEsomewhere for your friend to stumble upon – his sock drawer or say, the shower. When he finds it, he has to get on one knee and drink it, unless he is already in possession of a Smirnoff Ice. A website developed, bros posted pictures of their best ices. The game became a meme.

Like many memes, the mystery remains… was this a PR ploy by Smirnoff, or just 23-year old Joe’s mode of procrastination. According to a Huffington Post article, Smirnoff denies everything. Support a reckless under-aged drinking game? Of course not! Regardless of their involvement, the urban legend lives on… although brosicingbros.com sadly has been taken down.

The old Smirnoff in a Burrito. Classic!

The old Smirnoff in a Burrito. Classic!

And so, this morning I leave you with the famous Hitler Meme, hijacked by winos, The Downfall of a Cult California Winery

Share your favorite beverage memes, below!

Photos from: http://knowyourmeme.com/

BrosIcingBros.com

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Rosalie | Posted in Branding, Digital Marketing, The Booze Bin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)
May 15 2012

From Driftwood to Décor: How Brand Stories Help Us Connect

May 15, 2012 – 9:47 am

By Emily Lacy (@emstheticket)

This past weekend, I visited a shop in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom neighborhood for my regular dose of neo-hippie products. College times past left their mark, and I have a shamefully soft spot for huge patterned pieces of cloth.  Furthermore, much to my parents’ confusion and dismay, no apartment for me is complete without the smell of incense smoking up the place. New apartment calls for new incense, so it was time. Little did I know, I’d also be walking away with a renewed wonder at brands and the captivating stories at their cores.

As I was picking up a familiar box of hippie sticks, something weird caught my eye. Atop a shelf, it looked like a dusty piece of driftwood that had been long forgotten. I didn’t know if I was allowed to touch it, but I did anyway, and it turned out to be a homemade incense burner. Someone had taken a piece of wood, bored two tiny holes into it, and carved their name in the bottom. I was at a loss. Was this even for sale? Did someone actually think they could put two holes in a piece of wood and garner money for it?

Yes, someone did, and his name was George.

The owners of the shop told me George spends his days down by the James River, finding and picking up objects he finds beautiful. If he sees something special in that object, thinks it might be useful to someone, might serve a purpose, he helps it along its way. This is what he loves to do.

I paid seven whole dollars for a nondescript piece of wood that day. However, looking back on the experience, it wasn’t the piece of wood I paid for, it was the story. I love that in my apartment sits a piece of wood that George noticed, picked up, and touched with his own hands. I love that he took the time to carve tiny holes in it, and that those holes now hold my incense. I love that I got a chance to help him do what he likes with his time and life. I can go find a piece of wood down by the James any day, but it won’t contain the story of George.  Herein lies the magic of brands and their unique stories.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the products of our clients and completely neglect the place where much of the true value lies: their stories. I’d have a pretty hard time meaningfully connecting with a piece of stray wood, but I can definitely connect with and get behind George and the way he makes his living.  Great brand stories impart energy to the products and services they inspire.  They forge connections where none existed previously. In this day and age, when distinction can be fleeting and consumers are practically bombarded with choice, we can use brand stories to give them something we all hunger for: meaning, and the chance to be part of a story larger than ourselves.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By elacy | Posted in Branding | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
May 14 2012

Facebook’s New “HIGHLIGHT” Feature Leaked

May 14, 2012 – 10:47 am

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

Facebook’s new “HIGHLIGHT” feature leaked in New Zealand
TechCrunch calls it “Reckless New Ads Test”

I Paid, Now You Have to Listen to Me (Courtesy: TechCrunch for title)

I Paid, Now You Have to Listen to Me (Courtesy: TechCrunch for title caption)

At the Facebook Marketing Conference in Feb, Brian Boland, Director of Product Marketing, Facebook revealed that the average news feed story from a user profile reaches just 12 percent of their friends. Business Pages meanwhile only get 16% of their fans seeing each post, which is why Facebook launched its new “Reach Generator” to help marketers buy extra distribution of their Page posts on the ads sidebar, in the web and mobile news feed, and even on the logout page.

Fan Engagement Drops Post-Timeline Launch: Ever since Facebook launched its Business Timeline pages, brands have seen a significant drop in engagement. According to Facebook analytics tool EdgeRank Checker, the switch to Facebook timeline may have very little impact, period (regardless of brand size). EdgeRank analyzed 3,500 Facebook pages, comparing brands who had made the switch to Timeline (early adopters) and those who hadn’t. The results? 41% of brands that converted to Timeline saw increased engagement and fans, while 59% of these brands saw a decrease in those metrics. The data was remarkably similar to those brands that did not convert to Timeline: 38% saw an increase in engagement and fans, while 62% saw a decrease over the same time period.

So the jury is still out on whether the new Timeline is helping brands increase fan engagement. We at CRT/tanaka, have definitely seen fan engagement take a dip for several of our consumer clients that were enjoying steady engagement with “likes” and “comments” to status updates.

facebook-highlight-status-updates1

In the meantime, as repoted by TechCrunch and first spotted by Stuff, Facebook is currently testing a new feature called “HIGHLIGHT.” Facebook might charge its members US$2 to “highlight” important posts so they are more visible on the social networking site. The feature is being trialed and was chanced across by a Facebook user in Whangarei, New Zealand who initially assumed it might be a scam. However, Facebook spokeswoman Mia Garlick confirmed it was a new “feature” it was testing. Facebook released this official statement to TechCrunch on the “highlight” feature:

“We’re constantly testing new features across the site. This particular test is simply to gauge people’s interest in this method of sharing with their friends.”

$2 to highlight your status update doesn’t seem too much BUT the bigger question is, are brands going to start spamming us with the “highlight” feature? TechCrunch calls the new feature “a reckless new ads test.” According to TechCrunch, “Highlight could show Facebook’s willingness to try more aggressive ways of making money, which should delight potential investors. But Facebook is playing with fire here. The service has always been free for users, and a pay-for-popularity feature could be a huge turn off, especially to its younger and less financially equipped users who couldn’t afford such narcissism.”  

With the pending IPO (scheduled this week) Facebook is under a lot of pressure to convince Wall Street investors about its long term revenue model and the ‘highlight’ feature seems somewhat of a gimmick to please investors.

The “highlight” feature if rolled out will reduce the general relevance of the news feed. Facebook’s news feed sorting algorithm is designed to show posts by your closest friends or that have received a lot of Likes and comments. Highlight distorts this, and will encourage news feed spamming club promoters, musicians, small businesses, or anyone else with something to gain from more clicks.

What’s your opinion on the “highlight” feature? Spammy or useful?

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
May 11 2012

Avoid Poor Rankings by Creating Valuable Content

May 11, 2012 – 10:05 am

By Jason Poulos (@TheSaganaki)

If you were to look under the hood of Google you’d be presented with an extremely complex and intricate math formula. Since it’s virtually impossible for humans to keep track of every website on the internet, Google has turned to it’s algorithm to help determine how a website ranks on their search results page.

Knowing that their formula isn’t perfect Google periodically changes these algorithms in an effort to provide searchers with the most relevant and accurate content. When this happens, it’s known as an “update,” which in turn has an impact on the search results we get. Sometimes the updates have a big impact; sometimes they’re hardly noticed but within the last year two major updates have occurred that now determine some characteristics of a “quality” website.

Google PandaThe first of these two updates occurred in February of 2011. The Panda update was designed to filter out thin, un-fit content that lacked substance. When the update first ran, some websites that had number one rankings were now shuffled to the back of Google’s index due to the website’s lack of content. The Panda update isn’t a one time update either. Google will occasionally run the update in an effort to re-sift through all of it’s content to ensure the best search results.

On April 24th of this year Google released it’s most recent change to their ranking formula. The newest update named “Penguin” targeted content that over used keywords (keyword stuffing) and sites that have “unusual linking patterns,” such as links from content with text that is completely unrelated to the actual on-page content.

How to Survive in Google’s Panda-Penguin World?

As Google keeps on throwing out more and more bumps in the road it might seem impossible to attract and maintain those #1 rankings. We have no idea what lurks in Google’s update future but one thing that will never go away is Google’s thirst for compelling content. Not only is Google thirsty for content but we can see through recent updates that the search engine seeks quality content. Focusing  on the creation of engaging content will not only attract strong rankings but good content will also avoid getting caught in an update that could potentially hurt your website’s rankings. As we look to the future, here are some timeless tips:

1.Create valuable content.

If you aren’t producing content that is entertaining, informative or educational it will be a struggle to get ranked. Excellent content will be relative to your keywords and provide enough detail to fully satisfy your readers inquiry. A good way to see if your website contains valuable content is by taking a look at your website’s social profile. When users are excited, surprised or humored by the content they interact with they react by buying, sharing, connecting or returning to the site. A site with valuable content will have lots of return visits, shares or purchases.

If you feel that your website’s content might be lacking take a look at Google’s guide for quality content.

2. Don’t try to game the system with your content.

google-algo-changeTheir are tons of ways  out there to try and trick a search engine into better rankings. The recent Penguin update tried to eliminate some common “black hat” techniques but as time goes on it’s inevitable that a new technique will show up that will “guarantee #1 rankings.” As tempting as it might be to follow the latest and greatest cheat, your site will most likely suffer down the road. From a content stand point, make sure that you aren’t over using a keyword as this will come across as keyword stuffing and you could get penalized. The copy of your website should sound natural and not like a broken record repeating the same phrase in every sentence. If you can work your keyword into your copy at least 2 or 3 times you should be in good shape. Image from Warrior Forums

3. Diversify how people reach your content.

You’re taking a risk by solely relying on organic search for traffic as a simple algorithm update can annihilate your rankings. To help avoid a situation like this, look towards other methods to market your content  as putting all of your eggs in the organic search basket could be disastrous. Beyond a well optimized site for organic search, paid search, e-mail marketing and social media marketing should fit into a your content and distribution strategy.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Poulos | Posted in Digital Marketing, Search Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
May 10 2012

5 Restaurant Food Trends from NRA

May 10, 2012 – 2:47 pm

By Jason Stemm

The annual restaurant show in Chicago offers a peak into the future if you know where to look. Smoked basmati rice, zero calorie noodles and All-Natural/Gluten-Free everything align with current trends, but where are things heading? Here are 5 areas to watch out for in 2012.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Nancy Kruse’s Menu Innovations session is not to be missed. Each year she highlights trends that are driving growth at foodservice. New menu items both limited and permanent were up significantly in 2011, and she anticipates that to continue as operators try to attract customers back from the recession dip with new and exciting offerings. Waffles, hot dogs, food trucks and authenticity were all covered with real world examples that highlight these trends in action. Even chain restaurants that can be slow to change are embracing more flexibility with menu offerings to excite customers and entice them to visit more regularly to see what is new. A look at Wendy’s Signature Sides is a prime example of this trend in action. Expect to see more as operators try to capture the increased traffic returning to restaurants.

SweetBakedPotato (Large)A Dash of Health: Better-for-you items are expanding at the show. The Wendy’s example is relevant here since one of their choices is a baked sweet potato. At the show, the popularity of the Greek yogurt category was evident, with multiple players displaying the versatility of the product. The Miracle Noodle is nothing new in Asia, and with the specter of menu labeling on the horizon it provides opportunities for restaurants to save calories in a dish. Hoping to ride the wave of waffle popularity, while delivering a better-for-you product, is Protein Fiber Cakes. They boast double the nutritional benefit of traditionally made pancakes and waffles. With breakfast on the rise, they have good momentum behind them. Kids Live Well was also widely visible with some high-profile chains joining the initiative.

Food for Everyone: Gluten free items have been growing, but now we are seeing more offerings addressing the needs of vegans and people with food allergies. No matter the diet restrictions an operator may face, the options to meet these demands are greater than ever. Daiya Foods was one of my favorites. They provide cheese that is free of dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, rice and nuts so not only are they vegan, but they can be enjoyed by those with the most restrictive of food allergies. Dessert was also on the menu with HomeFree cookies that much like the cheeses from Daiya, have been developed to be enjoyed by everyone. With the growing number of people on restrictive diets, restaurants that can cater to everyone are positioned to capture a larger share of this market. Even if just one person in the family is affected, dining decisions can impact everyone.

Updates on Wine Service: New ideas on serving and preserving wine were on display. Wine taps have been around, but with the proliferation of wine bars, it provides an easy delivery system for an extensive wine list. The imageCorkcicle offers an innovative way to keep wine cold without an ice bucket. Its sleek modern look can help distinguish an operation in an area most people wouldn’t normally consider. Another idea for wine service came from Wine Preserva, makers of Wine Shield. Their simple invention can help restaurateurs extend their wines by the glass program and introduce new wines to diners. The profitability of beverage service will continue to drive innovation.

Food 2.0: Technology innovation is taking place in both the front and back of house. New tools for ordering within and outside an operation are expanding with iPad wine menus and easy pre-ordering to reduce wait times. The recession has driven increased efficiency throughout the industry, and likely helped to accelerate adoption of this new technology. Behind the scenes, ovens that cooked faster and products that improved sanitation are meeting the needs of today’s operator.

As a whole, the show had a lot more energy than just two years ago when the industry was reeling from the economic collapse. Today they are emerging from 2 years of belt tightening to look at quality and capabilities and not just price. As the industry reemerges from the recession, expect it to be stronger than ever and lead job growth in the coming years. It is an exciting time in the restaurant industry and there was a buzz at this year’s show with enthusiasm for what is to come.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Stemm | Posted in Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
May 9 2012

Drinking Happens in Real Life

May 9, 2012 – 8:00 am

socialmedia

By Caroline Helper

Last Thursday was Languedoc Day. Just as the marketing powers-that-be have managed to successfully transform nearly every day of the calendar into a holiday celebrating certain foods and ingredients, these same days are being gobbled up by various wines and regions, too.

Many of these wine days are really only celebrated virtually – via hash tags on Facebook and Twitter. Too often they are too obviously marketing schemes aimed solely at generating impressions and playing the numbers games for clients. However, as I learned last week, these kinds of days can also offer an invaluable opportunity for education– if they’re done right.

This brings me back to last Thursday. A friend of mine who happens to be a fellow wine obsessive who loves putting parties and events together managed to convince about 20 other bloggers, wine industry professionals, and otherwise curious millenials to head up to the Upper East Side for a night of wine education and imbibing.

The occasion, we were told, was Languedoc Day and we’d be spending the night celebrating with three different wines from the region, pizza, and a promise to post using the day’s hash tag via various channels of social media (our choice of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram) over the course of the evening.

It wasn’t the first “wine day” I’d been “invited to” – my Twitter feed occasionally gets clogged up with hash-tagged tweets from fellow wine bloggers and professionals. However, it was the first wine day that I’d spent in the company of others all joined to celebrate and learn together. And learn is the key word – the idea of using these wine days as opportunities for education is part of their whole appeal.

I had a great time sipping with others while discussing the wine in person and sharing my thoughts and impressions virtually. It was fun, natural, dynamic, and exciting. The experience really encouraged me to rethink the way I’ve approached the whole idea of tweet chats and to reconsider their value.

As a millennial, I’m supposed to be a consumer who is, if not dependent on technology, at least unprecedentedly comfortable with it. However, I think that we, as marketers, sometimes underestimate the power of good old fashioned one-on-one socializing. If last week’s experience showed me anything, it was that perhaps, especially when it comes to wine, there might be more to gain by actually getting out there and drinking and engaging with one another in real life than by logging into a social network and participating via hash tags and key words.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By chelper | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
May 8 2012

B2B and Pinterest? There’s nothing to see here.

May 8, 2012 – 10:55 am
Pinterest isn't a great fit for B2B.

Pinterest isn't a great fit for B2B.

By Christian Munson and Donna Berkelhammer

It’s hard for social media advocates like us not to enthusiastically support the medium’s newest fave: Pinterest.

The virtual scrapbook is a GREAT display window for consumer companies selling food, fashion or funky fixtures.

If you’re a B2B company, however, it’s probably best to keep walking.

Admittedly, Pinterest brings some incredible stats to the table:

  • Meteoric growth
  • Incredible online referral traffic
  • SEO benefits

And, it’s really hard to argue with Google.

Search “B2B and Pinterest” and pages of posts pop up, most with compelling, reasonable ways to add Pinterest to your social media mix. Like this one.

But, in addition to requiring highly creative and visual content not easily assigned to most B2B plays, Pinterest puts two significant hurdles in the B2B path: potentially sticky legal issues and opportunity cost.

What Do You Mean I Can’t Pin That?

Copyright is a right an author of a work of art gets automatically once the work is written, typed, saved, recorded or otherwise “fixed in a tangible medium.” Works of art include blog posts, photographs, newsletters, illustrations, graphics, posters, etc.

The “copyright” is actually a bundle of rights that give the author the exclusive rights to:

  • Reproduce the copyrighted work (make copies).
  • Prepare derivative works (i.e., adapt the work).
  • Distribute copies to the public.
  • Perform certain kinds of works publicly (e.g., plays, dance routines, movies).
  • Display the copyrighted work publicly (e.g., sculptures, paintings).
  • Perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission (for sound recordings).

So, when you “pin” a photo or a product or artwork that you like, or use someone else’s graphic to decorate your site, you are actually copying someone else’s work, and potentially violating their copyright.

Just because you aren’t making money from your Pinterest site or the copied artwork does not mean you aren’t violating someone’s copyright, and doesn’t mean you couldn’t be liable for thousands of dollars in penalties (if a work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, the owner can get statutory damages as provided in the U.S. Copyright Act, currently ranging from $750 per instance of infringement to $30,000, without having to prove anything beyond impermissible copying).

So, when you “pin” something that is someone else’s work product, they may be very flattered and happy for the publicity — but you run the risk that they actively control the marketing and use of their work.  You may receive a cease and desist letter under trademark or copyright law, or a take-down notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Bars who don’t get music licenses often have this problem. So do website owners who think any image on the web is free. 

Until recently, the Pinterest terms and conditions stated that by uploading or “pinning” something to Pinterest, you gave Pinterest the rights to distribute, sublicense and sell that content. Copyright owners raised such hue and cry that the site terms now provide for a mechanism for stopping copyright infringement. If your site receives too many complaints of copyright infringement, you could lose your rights to use Pinterest. 

See What I’m Talking About?

The other hurdle, of course, is time.

Using any social media channel for effective promotion and brand engagement takes valuable time and attention.

Do you have time to learn and master yet another social media channel? Could you spend the time required for Pinterest to improve the way you use your existing channels, such as Twitter, LinkedIn or your blog?

Here’s a revolutionary thought: pass on Pinterest but revisit the definition of social.

Invite your top prospects out to dinner.

They’ll see value in your business a lot more clearly over a nice meal than they ever could over at Pinterest.

This post was co-authored by Christian Munson at CRT/tanaka and Donna Berkelhammer, an attorney with Sands Anderson. Follow them on Twitter @munson_711 and @DBerkelhammer.
Donna also blogs at NCLawlife.
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May 7 2012

Understanding Online Habits of Social Moms

May 7, 2012 – 12:19 pm

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr) 

social-mom

Sat, May 13th is Mother’s Day and several consumer brands are busy finalizing their campaigns this week to win the attention of moms  who now control $2.1 trillion in household spending (Source: Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology). Oh and new moms on an average spend more than $10,000 in the first year of their child’s life. That’s a lot of money in the hands of moms making purchasing decisions on household items, consumer electronics and automotive and social media adds an additional layer of influence on how moms shop online.

Moms are no doubt a powerful influence on what products make it from the shelf to their homes. A little bit of understanding on how moms interact online, what do they look for in terms of product promotions and what are their sought after social channels might help us fine tune our marketing efforts. The best thing about marketing to moms is that if you do it right, you could possibly have a loyal customer base. According to Maria Bailey, author of Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology, “Mothers can be exceptionally loyal customers.  90% of moms will stay with the same brand if the product meets their expectations and 92% will purchase the same products and brands for both home and office.”

SocialMom

A new study by Nielsen and NM Incite, “Women of Tomorrow” highlights the growing influence of women on purchasing decisions and their behavior on social media. This study includes insights on “social moms” (defined as females with at least one child who actively participate in social networking) and provides additional intelligence on how social moms shop online. I have tried to summarize some of the key learning from the study, I hope you find them useful:

50% of Social Moms Access Information via Mobile
The social mom is highly active in accessing social networks via mobile devices. Fifty percent of all moms actively participating in social media access platforms via mobile devices, in comparison to 39 percent of females overall, and 37 percent of the overall population in general.

Social Moms are Cost-Conscious and Like Couponing
56 percent of social moms are more likely to download coupons and tend to be cost-conscious. CPG products are the #1 reason to shop online with 86 percent more likely to shop online for cosmetics than the general public, as well as skincare products (85%), hair care goods (74%) and fragrances (68%).

Social Moms Frequently Offer Opinions on Brands:
Moms who actively participate in social media are 81 percent more likely to become a fan of or follow a brand online, 86 percent more likely to post a status update, and 84 percent more likely to comment or post content than the general population. The Nielsen study also shows that social moms definitely aren’t shy in sharing their advice and reviews of products with others. This segment is 85 percent more likely than the general population to share frequent advice about beauty and cosmetic products, 28 percent more likely to provide frequent advice about online shopping/e-commerce and 6% more likely to post a product review online.

Download the Nielsen report on “Women of Tomorrow” here.

CRT/tanaka has several food and consumer clients (BISSELL, Florida Sweet Corn, Canada Maple Syrup, Avocados from Mexico, the Blueberry Council) that specifically market to moms. We typically partner with online communities like Mom Central, BabyCenter and BlogHer that have a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities to get our message across to moms. We have seen some great results in generating awareness through product reviews, increasing online mentions for our clients via Twitter and Facebook live chats and targeted email campaigns by partnering with them.

So if you are in the business of marketing to moms, a good understanding of how they engage online and what’s their preferred mode of online communication can help us define our content strategy. Looking at the stats below, I am thinking MOBILE might be a critical component of the digital strategy to reach moms:

  • Moms spend twice the amount of time online: 66 hours per month vs. 33% for the general population
  • 80% use social media regularly vs. 55%
  • 65% own smartphones, vs. 47%
  • 23% shop via smartphone, vs. 15%
  • 8% stream video to their phones, vs. 4%

Source: 2012 American Media Mom survey released by BabyCenter.

Share any additional insights you might have on how to engage with moms online, we would love to hear from you! Happy Mother’s Day!

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
May 2 2012

Marketing 101 with Mint Juleps and the #KYDerby

May 2, 2012 – 8:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Emily Valentine (@ebvalentine)

image

This weekend, horse-lovers, sports fans and socialites around the world will gather to watch the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby. Which horse will win is anybody’s bet, but one thing is for certain – a massive number of mint juleps will be consumed.

The mint julep has been a Derby Day icon for as long as anyone can remember, and while this connection may seem natural, a quick look at the drink’s history shows how it has been folded into the Kentucky Derby brand through a series of strategic marketing moves.

Take a Hint From Your Customers

Legend holds that, in the late 1930s, Churchill Downs track managers caught some of the race’s most fashionable attendees stealing mint julep glasses from behind the bar. What happened next isn’t documented, but apparently someone was smart enough to recognize the marketing opportunity staring him in the face, and (cha-ching!) the rest is history.

In 1939, Churchill Downs began selling mint juleps in branded glasses that attendees could take home with them. And, to this day, tens of thousands of people leave the Derby each year with julep glasses as race-day souvenirs.

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Mint Julep Marketing Lesson #1: Pay attention to your customers – observing their (sometimes strange) behavior will help you understand their desires and create solutions to meet their needs.

Two Brands Are Better Than One

Fifty years later, mint julep madness was still going strong … and Churchill Downs made a move to take it to the next level. In 1987, the racetrack announced Early Times as the exclusive whisky sponsor of the Derby, and designated the brand’s pre-mixed mint julep cocktail as the official drink of the weekend.

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This win-win partnership has given both well-known Kentucky companies a chance to benefit from increased exposure, and to create co-promotions that build brand equity.

At the 2009 Derby, for example, Churchill Downs and Brown Forman (parent company to Early Times) unveiled the World’s Largest Mint Julep Glass, a piece that stood 7.5 feet tall (measured at the mint spring, of course), held 206 gallons and used an elaborate pumping system to distribute thousands of Early Times mint juleps.

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Both brands also benefit from the commemorative bottles that feature artwork depicting the Derby and are released in limited numbers each year during Derby season. This year, Early Times gave consumers a chance to become the 2012 Mint Julep Bottle Artist by submitting their artwork on the Early Times website.

Mint Julep Marketing Lesson #2: Every brand can use a good ally. Seek out strategic partners that can help you achieve your marketing goals, increase your exposure and build your credibility.

Support a Pertinent Cause

In 2006, with a growing number of businesses and consumers focused on social responsibility, Churchill Downs and Brown-Forman expanded their partnership to include a cause-marketing program that speaks to the equestrian community. This will be the seventh year Derby-goers have had the opportunity to purchase extra-premium mint juleps as a way to help horses lead happier lives. The high-dollar cocktails are made with Woodford Reserve (Early Times’ sophisticated big sis) and the finest mint and sugar, served in gold-plated cups with silver straws, and sold for $1,000-$2,000 a pop to raise funds that aid retired race horses.

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This annual fundraising drive is strategic for Churchill Downs and Woodford Reserve in several ways. It allows them to:

  • Generate good will among a key customer group (horse-lovers);
  • Mitigate potential attacks from horseracing critics and animal rights activists;
  • Create positive news coverage leading up to the Derby; and
  • Position their brands as being deeply committed to the wellbeing of racehorses

Mint Julep Marketing Lesson #3: Everyone loves a brand that gives back. Programs that give consumers a glimpse of a company’s charitable side (and align with its strategic objectives) can help build brand equity and offset potential threats. 

Surprised to discover all the marketing strategy that went into making you crave that minty bourbon drink this weekend? Or did you already know there was brilliance backing the tradition? Do tell ….

 

Photo credits: SouthernFood.com AmericanHeritage1.com, Shopping Blog, Early Times, Woodford Reserve.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Emily Valentine | Posted in Branding, Corporate Responsibility, The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
May 1 2012

For Better, For Worse – And Hopefully For Richer

May 1, 2012 – 10:33 am

By Jennifer Lucado (@Jennifer_Lucado)

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“In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Or so Tennyson memorably tells us. 

In the twenty-first century, I’d say that a young person’s fancy turns to thoughts of holy matrimony. Or at least to the number of weddings on the calendar for the next several months.

As a young person who happens to be a public relations professional, my thoughts turn broadly to relationships, and what makes them work (or not).  Being on CRT/tanaka’s Corporate Responsibility team means continually evaluating the partnership opportunities that will bring the highest ROI to our clients, whether on the corporate or the nonprofit side. Much like a good marriage, a solid partnership can last for many years and bring great rewards to both parties. With wedding season upon us, let’s take moment to think through the foundation of a strong relationship.

Chalk picCompatibility. This should be fairly obvious, but it’s surprising how many people – or companies – don’t think it through. You see some real head-scratchers. The idea of compatibility is slightly more subjective for romantic relationships, but when it comes to identifying the best partner for your business, there must be strategic brand alignment that makes sense on both sides of the aisle. How will your partner complement and enrich the emotional experience you’ve created for your stakeholders? One of my favorite examples of a perfect match is Nike and the LIVESTRONG Foundation. Nike’s mission is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world,” with a note that anyone with a body is an athlete. Both brands are centered on pushing the body to discover what it can achieve and experience life to the fullest, no matter where you are in your journey or what obstacles you may face. The fit could not be better. I love one of their current collaborations, the Nike Chalkbot, which gives Tour de France supporters the opportunity to submit messages of hope and inspiration and see them written along the course to encourage the participants.

Support of Your Goals. Let’s be honest – with romantic relationships, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun and passion. But at some point, to make things work in the long term, you have to evaluate what you want out of life. Your mom wasn’t wrong: you have to have goals. Will your relationship allow you to achieve them?

AnnInc_GreenLogoIt’s no different on the professional side. At the end of the day, everything must tie back to defined corporate objectives. ANN INC, the parent company of Ann Taylor and LOFT, is in the middle of a significant campaign to minimize environmental impacts, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent by 2015. The company has established a number of in-store/facility programs aimed at energy efficiency and waste reduction to support the campaign; a recently-announced partnership with nonprofit Good360 provides a platform for stores to donate leftover items from displays and marketing efforts through a database of more than 26,000 nonprofits. The partnership not only helps ANN INC reuse materials responsibly, it extends the company’s reach to more organizations that support women and children, aligning with the full scope of the corporate responsibility platform. Well done.

Experience. We could spend hours discussing how experience impacts a person’s relationships over the course of his or her life. It might get awkward. We’ll skip that particular line of conversation, but from a business perspective, there’s no need to hesitate. A potential partner’s previous experiences can give great insight into the value they will bring. Both parties should be able to come to the table with a solid understanding of the resources they have to offer and the resources they need. They should be prepared to discuss what has worked well in the past – and what has not. Potential challenges should be addressed up front, along with how each partner can be nimble and flexible enough to adjust as needed. And there should be processes and people in place on both sides to ensure that joint efforts are adequately supported. Is it possible that a less seasoned organization can deliver on these things? Of course. Having an experienced partner doesn’t guarantee that a relationship will be smooth sailing. It just starts you off with a more complete base of knowledge from which to draw.  

Got any words of relationship wisdom you hold particularly dear? Don’t hold back – share in a comment, Facebook post or tweet.

If you could use some (professional) relationship advice, email jlucado@crt-tanaka.com to connect with a member of CRT/tanaka’s Corporate Responsibility team.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By jlucado | Posted in Corporate Responsibility | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)