Social Media Wars

Facebook has launched a new addition to their website that allows them to directly compete with rival social media network Twitter. The new addition to the site allows users to search status updates using keywords. This update follows Facebook's recent changes to their privacy settings and their push for a more public site encouraging its users to make their profiles available to 'everyone'. I tested out the new search function with some current events as my keywords and found that it was not too dissimilar from using the same function on Twitter. In terms of marketing this is a great move as marketers around the world can search their products and brands to get up-to-date feedback. For example I used the search function to see what people are saying about Coke and this is what I came up with;

... is enjoying rum and diet coke, listening to salsa and feeling grateful about my life and everyone who has shared in it!!! : )

... I ♥ Diet Coke

... Is at an old soda shop about to try a pineapple Coke

I spent about 5 mins trawling through status updates and could not find one negative point made about the Coke brand. So not only can Coke's marketing team see what their customers are saying about their products, getting real time feedback, people are talking about their products! Now that's some positive word of mouth action!

The only drawback I see here for Facebook is that Twitter users are more expressive in terms of opinions than Facebook users are in their status updates.

So for now Facebook can attempt to rival Twitter in terms of social media marketing but how much can they really compete?

i want to live here

my blog is in a recession

times are tough.

last year of uni = massive workload

current economic environment = i better not be late to work if i want to keep my job

due to these unavoidable, and arguably poor excuses, i have been neglecting my blog for far too long.

i read somewhere recently that even though it takes time to sit down and write a blog, its time well spent when you can expand your ideas and have people listen to your opinion.

it's character building! so I'm back, watch this space...

Ultimate WOM

Getting people to talk about your brand isn't necessarily hard, but getting them to say something positive is. 

We all know that when everything is going right no one has anything to say but when something goes wrong, everyone has an opinion. 

Old school word of mouth marketing (WOMM) entailed a consumer telling their friends about a product, positive or not. The growth of the internet as a media tool has elevated WOMM to include blogs, viral and social media. 

Viral marketing is a method of marketing that relies on consumers passing on information to others. When done properly, viral marketing can mean a marketer has access to media outlets for their brand that may otherwise not be reached. 

A great example I came across of viral marketing is a video for American street clothing company Ecko. The video shows two people breaking into an airfield and spraying the words 'still free' onto air-force one, the presidents plane. 

This video was seeded on several websites and was soon spread all over the web, blowing up on social media websites and news websites all over the world. 

The success of the viral marketing campaign was phenomenal, giving the clothing brand much street cred as people thought the video was the real deal. 

Despite the success of the campaign, its worth is debatable. Ecko CEO Mark Ecko said himself that making the video, which included hiring a plane and painting it to look like air-force one, was very expensive. 

So what seemed like a cool stunt that attracted mass amount of attention was in fact a very expensive advertising campaign. 

What is so cool about viral marketing is that you can reach consumers with entertaining content and before they realize it is an ad they have watched it 10 times and emailed it to everyone in their contact list, thats the kind of exposure that marketers dream of. 

You can check out the Ecko viral marketing ad here.

re-branding

Many organisations try to re-brand their products in an attempt to reach new markets or to steer away from a bad image.
The latest re-branding that has gotten marketing bloggers buzzing is the new look Pepsi. Pepsi has opted for a more simplified logo and minimilistic packaging.

The brand’s blue and red globe trademark will become a series of “smiles,” with the central white band arcing at different angles depending on the product. Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max will use all lower-case fonts for name brands. source.

What initially confused me about this rebranding is the choice to change the logos for each of the products in the product line. Why would such an iconic brand decide to reinvent themselves?

It seems this dramatic move may be a result of the lagging drinks sales in the US and the surging US dollar. Pepsi announced that it will cut 3300 jobs and close six plants to deal with the stress of the economic crisis.

Pepsi's renewed focus on carbonated soft drinks, despite previously trying to move into different markets, is a response to the consistent declines in sales volume in the US.

Only time will tell whether this rebranding will be successful but critics have been quick to judge naming the new look Pepsi as 'a whale with a really bad nosebleed' and 'a bad accident in Illustrator'

what does your brand smell like?

Brand awareness, brand recall and brand recognition...
All examples of what an advertising campaigns hopes to achieve. Most advertising campaigns are not shout outs to consumers saying 'buy my product! buy my product!' they are generally shout outs saying 'remember me! remember me!’ When you go to the supermarket to buy, for example, batteries, you are most likely to buy based on brand and price. Consumers generally have an idea of what brands they would purchase before they buy which means that they associate certain brands with certain products.

A communications company in Japan has launched a new advertising campaign featuring billboards...that smell.
An internet connection allows sounds and images to be displayed on the billboards along with smells that are relevant to the advertisement currently displayed.

Research shows that apart from sounds and images, smells are a great way of increasing brand awareness and recall.

This sort of advertising might work in Japan but it would have to be a pretty subtle, realistic smell to work in many other countries!

The most exciting part of this new type of advertising is the technological advances and innovation which is always fun to hear about. Only time will tell if the smelly signs will stick!

your name in lights

Each time Target opens a new store in the US they have a fireworks show in the carpark where customers are given Holospex custom glasses that when worn, turn the lights into Target logos.

Holospex is an American company that custom makes these glasses for any occasion, be it a product launch or just a standard fireworks show with a twist. Im really excited about this product!

Maybe the technology is simple but its the innovative idea that I think is amazing. This technology could be used not just in fireworks shows as they work with normal lights aswell.

A friend told me that she has some Hello Kitty ones that when wearing in a car makes it look like hundreds of Hello Kitty's are flying towards her due to the car lights!

I think its a great marketing opportunity for many organisations and should be utilised more!

visit the holospex website to learn more.

innovation

Shower Suit

A Japanese researcher working for Australian Wool Innovation has created a suit that can be worn in the shower and will drip dry within 3 hours, with no need for ironing.
Combining three technologies the suit is made with minimal lining which helps it dry quicker, perfect for busy people!
The specially designed garments can also be placed on a hanger that can be placed in the shower for 3 - 4 minutes to remove common water based stains.
This technology is awesome, making it easy for business people who travel often or who have long working hours.
An example of a wacky Japanese invention that just may take off.

anything can happen and probably will

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend and we started talking about politics, well I did. I asked my friend what he thought about Barack Obama and his reply was short

Friend: "Who is that? Is he an actor?"

Me: "Uhh no, he’s the Democratic nominee in the US 2008 presidential campaign"

Friend: "Oh, so why do I care? I don’t care about US politics"

I got to thinking about a few things, 1. Im pretty sure said friend doesn’t care about ANY form of politics, and 2. Why do I care?

I care because I know our countries relationship with the US has an affect on our other international relations. I care because the US has the world’s largest economy and that changes in the US economy inflict changes in ours. Finally I care about the US election as I feel it’s important to remain informed on world issues.

Im not an expert, I don’t know everything and I don’t concede to knowing everything. I know enough to know that it’s fine that I care and it’s probably fine that my friend doesn’t.

In the same way that a company should be socially responsible I believe as a citizen of the world it is socially irresponsible not to be aware of world issues. I wonder if my friend’s conscience tells him the same thing.

Recently John McCain (the republican presidential candidate) nominated Alaskan Sarah Palin as his vice. Palin's name has not been spared from headlines across the world and rumour and scandal is rife.

Many people are asking why McCain would select a vice who:

• Admits to smoking pot

• Has strong anti-abortion views, and a pregnant teen daughter to prove it

• Has previously appointed a known sexual-harassment offender to office then had to fire him

• Sounds totally clueless talking about Iraq or foreign policy; and,

• Wants to teach Creationism in schools

That sounds like a nightmare to me, but, it’s not my country. I am not electing anyone to represent my country here so technically my point of view doesn’t count. I am not a citizen of the United States of America and perhaps I need the perspective of a citizen.

In response to an online article titled 'Character v celebrity' on The Australian website that served as a 'bold and fearless prediction for the US presidential election' New York resident Sam said "The media elite from whom you learn about the U.S. don't really understand much of the country beyond D.C., NYC and L.A. Yes, Palin does reflect Americans well. A large majority of Americans believe in the right to own firearms and millions do own them (and hunt). A large majority of Americans believe that abortion should be significantly restricted." [source]

What seems so wrong to me (legalized ownership of firearms and illegal abortion) are not so wrong to millions of people living in the US. Scary.

When it comes around to the end of the 2008 US election and the new President is announced, ill be watching.

Will you?

unusual consumer behaviour

Why is it there is always money for that new jacket or those must have shoes but never enough to buy groceries or go to the gym?

Consumer behaviour is a really interesting topic which has been intensively studied around the world for hundreds of years. Whilst reading recently I came across an idea that was based around the idea that middle class people purchase certain products to be perceived as upper class where as upper class people purchase the same product based on pure convenience and practicality.

In Australia we are lucky as social class barriers are often blurred as we have many overlapping lifestyle and demographic variables between classes. For example at a football match, a loved Australian pastime, you will be able to find a selection of upper, middle and lower-class citizens sitting together for the same purpose.

It got me thinking, when I find money in my already tight budget to buy a new pair of jeans is this because I want to be perceived as of a higher class? What are my motivations behind switching meals for clothing?

I’m not alone on this either, I have many friends in similar situations who manage to splurge on designer clothing and I have no idea how they do it!

I suppose us students can all be poor together, eat cheap meals and consume cheap drinks but at least we all look good in our new jeans, flash jackets and expensive haircuts...