Using (or overusing) product placement in the movies.

Have you seen the trailer for The Social Network, the movie about the founding of Facebook? Not only is the premise intriguing, the marketing prowess of the producers is awesome: This film is a three-hour product placement. And it made me a little nostalgic for some other product placement movies. If your favorite is missing from my top 5, please feel free to comment.

5. Demolition Man — 1993
As a movie fan I’m willing to suspend disbelief for as long as need be. So when you’re telling me a story about a cop and a criminal mastermind who are cryogenically frozen for decades only to reemerge as healthy as ever, I’ll stay with you. When you tell me that society in the future has become completely nonviolent and utopian, I’ll follow. But the second you try to sell me on the idea that this perfect, nonviolent society dines solely at Taco Bell, you have officially lost me. Read the rest of this entry »

Boosting sales via social media

Delaware-based Dogfish Head has a recipe for success both in the kettle and in the marketplace. According to Nielsen Co., the brewery spent a mere $2,000 on traditional media in 2008, and nothing in 2009. So what are they doing?

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Traditional marketing tactics may be like your old mix tapes.

It seems like only yesterday. I wanted to catch the attention of that special person and I knew the perfect way to go about doing it — the mix tape! A combination of all those songs that would tell her exactly how I felt and why she should want my company as much as I wanted hers.

Times have certainly changed. Now you wouldn’t make a mix tape, or even a mix CD. Now it’s all about the playlist.

Are business relationships really any different? Read the rest of this entry »

Learning the do's and don'ts of Twitter

I’m not going to lie. When I was asked to attend the 2010 TWTRCON Twitter for Business conference in NYC, I thought, “Seriously? A conference for Twitter?” I mean, how hard is it to string together 140 characters as an update? Why on earth is there a full conference on this stuff? What’s the big deal?

The answer is actually fairly simple: Twitter is a way to connect with people with whom you normally wouldn’t be able to connect. It’s a simultaneous content feed that allows tweeters to get new information and updates and read about what’s going on within their industry or social network. @MrShri says “Facebook is people you went to school with, Twitter is people you wished you went to school with.” It’s why so many people follow famous brands — because they can! And those brands better be on board. Read the rest of this entry »

Become involved (and strategic) with social media.

Fear is a terrible thing. Especially when it causes healthcare systems to back away from using a potentially powerful communications tool. When it comes to using social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, healthcare systems tend to fall into two categories. The first suffers from significant fear regarding negative feedback that may come from using such tools. This group also struggles with how much time it will take to make this a successful venture. The second group is “gung-ho” and jump into the pool before they check to make sure it’s been filled with water.  This group tends to throw every possible press release, article and “approved” message they can find onto their social media channels, only to realize  they’ve created a one-way conversation.

There is a better way. Read the rest of this entry »

Finding the right social media tool.

My husband is a carpenter, so he’s into tools. As a social media guru, so am I. Whenever we come up with a project, we immediately start thinking about what tools we have and what we may need to buy. We’ll scour yard sales, flea markets and the Internet to find just the right compound miter saw or three-phase plasma cutter — often to the detriment of the job itself.

Though perhaps not as exotic as a four-foot finger brake or Pittsburgh lock-seam hammer, the most exciting social media tool is video. Healthcare professionals are learning to take advantage of video along with everything else in their toolbox, as this online marketing blog explains. Surgeons have used Twitter, for example, to tweet out live procedures from the O.R. — the first being a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from someone’s kidney. Universities such as Stanford are using video on Facebook for question-and-answer sessions between professors and students. Mainstream media is now plugging into social media for obvious reasons — mainly because they know their audiences are plugged in. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Twitter dead?

Every once in a while you’ll see an article asking “Is Twitter Dead?” even suggesting that if you’ve been avoiding Twitter as part of a “non-strategy,” it may be paying off!

The problem with that perspective is that Twitter is not a strategy. It’s not even a tactic. It’s a channel!

The strategy (and ultimately your goal) is usually specific to your organization so it’s hard to discuss. But we can identify a general growing audience: people who create and consume information, wherever and whenever, with increased frequency, increased brevity and often with groups of people (as opposed to one other person). Read the rest of this entry »

Do you care to watch them...24/7?

Remember the premise of what was arguably the grandaddy of all reality TV shows? “This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World.”

New web reality series If I Can Dream (from American Idol creator Simon Fuller), which launched on Tuesday, March 2, takes that premise even further. It follows five aspiring artists live 24/7 on ificandream.com and in a weekly recap on Hulu. Read the rest of this entry »

Even Barbie uses social media.

The 50-plus doll was once limited to traditionally “feminine” career choices such as ballerina, model, teacher or nurse. As times changed and women threw off their shackles (did Barbie ever even have a bra to burn?), her options expanded: paratrooper, paleontologist, pilot and even President of the United States.

Now, for the first time ever, loyal Barbie fans were asked to help her choose her 125th career for the “I Can Be” doll series by voting on the following: architect, computer engineer, environmentalist, news anchor or surgeon. Twitter followers and fans on Facebook voted for News Anchor Barbie — she’ll be available this fall. The social media campaign was such a success that fans insisted on choosing Barbie’s 126th career, computer engineer, coming in winter. Read the rest of this entry »

My goal: be a better blogger.

So I am beginning to get it—this whole social media thing. I threatened to quit Facebook earlier this year…but didn’t. It’s still too intriguing to me. And yes, it is fun to connect with old friends and business associates…even some distant relatives have touched base.

So here is my commitment to myself and my company and many acquaintances—I will become a better (meaning simply a more involved and more active) blogger in 2010. Alright, this is my promise to all of you…I’ll start thinking about why you read blogs and what’s important to you. Why did you stop here? Curious about the agency? Our work? Our clients? Our staff? Or are you really that interested in me? I doubt that it’s all about me. My posts will be about what would interest you…not just what interests me. And hopefully that keeps you coming back to read new content.