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Updates from April, 2009

  • Men’s Wearhouse Crowned Prom King

    WOMMA Editor 12:43 pm on April 30, 2009 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!

    While Men’s Wearhouse may have launched its virtual prom only a few weeks ago, it appears that the mini-site has already worked wonders for the company’s program called ‘Prom Representative,’ a traditionally offline brand. The program works like this: The retailer gives teen prom reps who sign up at the site an identification number and then offers a 10 percent discount for every referral that produces a tuxedo rental. If the reps bring in 10 referrals, they get a free rental. The referral customers themselves get $20 off of their rental if they provide their prom rep’s ID number. To date, the site has resulted in a 689 percent week-over week improvement compared to 2008 for registered prom rep sign ups.

    The full story at BrandWeek:
    http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i7def68b2d246e0d22d9fe993a982787a

     

  • WOM Worthy Member News

    WOMMA Editor 12:43 pm on April 30, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!

    Please join us in welcoming our newest members:
    National Association of Realtors
    Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals
    McDonald’s
    National University System
    MeHype.com
    House Party and Werther’s Original partner to bring consumers back-to-basics. Werther’s Original and House Party, a leading consumer activation and experiential marketing company, will partner to coordinate more than 1,000 at-home “Comfort Club” parties across the country to build awareness about Werther’s Original Caramel Chocolate. House Party’s word-of-mouth marketing platform specializes in engaging thousands of qualified consumer advocates to host in-home parties where a brand or product is at the center of the party.
    If parfait ain’t your thing, how about cheesecake? The Cheesecake Factory invites guests to share their special moments with family and friends - every single day. The Cheesecake Factory has announced the start of its “Share Your Celebration” Sweepstakes. Guests are encouraged to upload a photo coupled with their reason for celebrating. All photos will post to The Cheesecake Factory’s Celebration Gallery and participants will be instantly entered for the chance to win a four-day trip for four to Celebration, Florida. The sweepstakes runs through June 30, 2009.
    The WOMMA interactive job board is coming. The job board will include online job postings, a resume database, featured jobs, featured employers, and more. Stay tuned — additional details to come next week.
    ACTION: Sign up to serve on WOMMA’s Ethics Task Forces
    One of WOMMA’s foundational beliefs is that effective word of mouth marketing has to be ethical word of mouth marketing. Therefore, to continue to develop new tools and update existing tools our members can use, WOMMA has created four new volunteer opportunities focusing on ethical guidance and best practices.
    Task Force to develop best practices for teaser campaigns and “hoax” videos.
    Task Force to develop best practices for ethical use of emerging technologies
    Task Force to develop Employee Training and Testing for Ethical WOM
    Task Force to update current Ethics Toolkit
    If you are interested in volunteering for any of these short-term projects and you’re a WOMMA member, please email Kristen Smith at Kristen@womma.org for more

     

  • The Health Benefits of Mayo

    WOMMA Editor 12:43 pm on April 30, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!

    Corporations across the country, from Starbucks to Dell, are using social media to reach customers. But hospitals have always been conservative in marketing to patients. And the Mayo Clinic, more than 100 years old, may be the most conservative of all. Lee Aase, Mayo’s manager for syndication and social media, has emerged as a rock star in a space where social media and health care marketing overlap.

    The full story at Star Tribune:
    http://www.startribune.com/business/43644522.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUss

     

  • NOAA Makes Waves with Virtual Tsunami

    WOMMA Editor 12:43 pm on April 30, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!

    By incorporating Second Life into their multi-media communication and educational programs including inworld events and a vast array of immersive simulations and 3D exhibits, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has found meaningful and profound ways to reach new audiences—in the virtual world and in the physical one. According to Eric Hackathorn, NOAA’s Virtual Worlds Program Manager, “You can read about a tsunami in a textbook or you can experience one in a virtual world. I (Eric) believe that the virtual experience has a greater impact.”

    The full story at Sluniverse:
    http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/news-feeds/28750-second-life-blog-case-study.html

     

  • Brand Builders of Tomorrow Need to Focus on Today

    WOMMA Editor 12:42 pm on April 30, 2009 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!

    Dave Knox, a Brand Manager at a major CPG company, feels that it is tough to be a Brand Manager these days. After all, people looked to brands that delivered functional benefits like “better tasting” or “longer lasting.” They heard about those brands through a handful of media vehicles like TV, magazines, radio and billboards. Those days are gone. What people want out of a brand has changed dramatically over the past several years. While functional benefits still play an extremely important role, consumers want a brand to stand for something more than just “best tasting.”

    The full story at Hard Knox Life:
    http://www.hardknoxlife.com/2009/04/29/a-brand-managers-call-for-change/

     

  • Status Plug Ad Network Straddles A Risky Line

    WOMMA Editor 3:10 pm on April 29, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags:

    Thanks to theKbuzz for a great piece on Status Plug, an “ad network for Facebook,” which is, incidentally, not affiliated in any way or endorsed by Facebook. That’s a good foreshadowing to the whole tale, truly.
    We’ll let theKbuzz explain:
    The basic premise is that advertisers pay Status Plug to distribute ads through its network of Facebook Public Profiles, and shares the revenue with the admins of those Public Profiles. Ads then get served up to fans of those public profiles in the form of status updates - ie “video, audio, images, text and links”.
    The problem with this, as you may already be sensing, is that Status Plug is toeing some major unethical lines. As theKbuzz points out,
    6 of the 9 Pages currently listed on their Page directory are American cities, and unofficial Pages. The other 3 are also unofficial Pages. These unofficial Facebook Pages definitely violate Facebook’s Terms of Service…. So advertisers in effect are paying for entrance onto unofficial pages posing as official ones, that could be taken down at any point.
    Moreover, if Status Plug advertisers do not disclose that the updates provided on the Facebook Pages are paid sponsor messages, then Status Plug and its clients are violating WOMMA’s ethics code (http://womma.org/ethicscode).
    We encourage you to read theKbuzz’s full post, linked below.

    The full story at Buzz Marketing Daily:
    http://www.buzzmarketingdaily.com/2009/04/status-plug-ad-network-for-facebook.html

     

  • DIY #1: Integrate Your Customers Into the Message

    WOMMA Editor 3:10 pm on April 29, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags:

    One great way to get your customers spreading WOM is to integrate your customers into the message itself.
    Take for example this personalized video produced by WOMMA member Vanksen USA for Lifelock, an identity theft protector product. (http://www.culture-buzz.com/blog/The-Apprentice-LifeLock-Puts-You-On-Screen-2136.html). The video allows a person to enter in their own name or their friends name, and integrate them into the story-line of the video. You have probably seen similar videos, such as the ballot-themed personalized videos that circulated leading up to Election Day.
    That being said, we’re not necessarily advocating shelling out dollars for personalized videos, though if you can afford it many of the videos are pretty darn entertaining and go viral.
    But, perhaps personalized stickers with customers’ names? Or member pins, or customer faces integrated into flash videos? Something to grab your customers attention by utilizing your customers themselves.

    The full story at Culture-Buzz:
    http://www.culture-buzz.com/blog/The-Apprentice-LifeLock-Puts-You-On-Screen-2136.html

     

  • DIY #2: Exclusive Offers

    WOMMA Editor 3:10 pm on April 29, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags:

    We’d be remiss if we only offered you one path to success. There’s more than one to skin a cat, they always say, horrifically.
    Well, let’s say that you can’t offer your customers integration into the marketing scheme, that our DIY #1 for today is just off limits, infeasible, or unlikely.
    We have a second idea for you then: how about exclusive coupons?
    We’ll even give you an easy way to do it, with Fans Only, an app “which allows a brand to provide a coupon/offer that only their Fans can access.”

    The full story at the link below.

    The full story at All Business:
    http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-advertising/12305222-1.html

     

  • Why MySpace Should Buy Twitter

    WOMMA Editor 3:10 pm on April 29, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags:

    In this editorial from Larry Weintraub, CEO of WOMMA member Fanscape, we hear why even though Twitter may be on an upward charge, and MySpace on the downward one, MySpace should buy Twitter. In fact, we hear why those separate paths necessitate MySpace’s purchase of Twitter.
    Says Weintraub, “If anyone should have Twitter, it should be MySpace. In a MySpace/Twitter world, you can now embed a song in your tweet. The user can choose to listen or not. And if they love what they hear, the song title links back to that song on MySpace Music…Wouldn’t all tweets be so much sweeter with a song? Wouldn’t everyone like to accent their status with a tune? We’d not only know what you are doing, but what you are feeling, too!”
    But, assuming this was a viable plan for MySpace, what would be a good price? Weintraub dabbles in some numbers, but there is no real conclusion as to a price. Competition would be too fierce, he posits. Would you buy Twitter if you were MySpace?

    The full story at iMedia Connection:
    http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/22799.asp

     

  • Three Day Lifespan for a Retailer Means WOM is Key

    WOMMA Editor 3:10 pm on April 29, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags:

    Here’s the pitch: a major retailer is going to open a store in the heart of the shopping district in a major American city. And, it’s only going to keep that store open for three days.
    Off that beat, you’ve got to admit its at least a bit intriguing. Target Corporation is coming to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and opening, for only three days, a temporary shop called Bullseye Bazaar. Kraft Foods and Motorola have operated similar stores in the past, and Target opened up one of its pop-up stores in 2002 on a boat off of Manhattan.
    The opening for Bullseye Bazaar will be May 9, so it will be interesting in the upcoming weeks to see how Target disseminates its message around Chicagoland. One thing is for sure, with only three days of openings, “traditional advertising” techniques will take too long to take hold.
    Think about how one hears about most amazing specials that seem to be ending right away: a friend, a colleague, an insistent child or in-law. If Target and Bullseye Bazaar can tap into the WOM stream, they can tap into three day success.

    The full story at Chicago Tribune:
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-target-michigan-avenue-chicago-april,0,7087590.story

     

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