Bank Of America Tests Daily Deals

January, 2012

Bank of America has announced that it is testing a Groupon-like daily deal service for its account holders. The new “BankAmeriDeals” is currently being tested among employees and suggest deals based on your previous spending habits on your credit or debit card.  When viewing their online statement, the user can see what deals are available to them and then select which they would like to redeem.  When they purchase the deal item from a retailer with their Bank of America credit/debit card, they will pay full price and at the beginning of the next billing period the percentage off from the deal they chose will be deducted from their statement. This move shows how banks are moving towards internet banking services and embracing extra value added offers to keep consumers loyal and increase credit card spending.  For more information, see Mashable.

From the Virtual World to LEGO

January, 2012

Minecraft is a game that allows players to build anything they can imagine out of blocks that look similar to LEGOs. Players build low-resolution landscapes in the digital world, that are now coming to the physical world. LEGO is partnering with Minecraft to develop these “worlds” into toys. Any homemade platform that receives 10,000 votes from the public will be reviewed by LEGO to potentially be transformed into a toy. For more information, visit Mashable.

#McDsStories: McDonald’s Twitter Promotion

January, 2012

McDonald’s started a Twitter campaign that was supposed to ignite discussion about positive stories around McDonald’s experiences. This hashtag, #McDsStories, turned into a way for unhappy customers to display their more than unpleasant stories. Customers completely bashed McDonalds, and their social media director Rick Wion, had to change their course. To watch the video and learn more about this campaign gone wrong, visit Mashable.

Tiffany & Co. Asks “What Makes Love True” Via App

January, 2012

Tiffany & Co. is asking users to share what they find to be “true love” through their Valentine’s Day mobile application. The application shares love stories, tips on keeping a successful partnership, and a map where users can mark their initials on their favorite romantic spots. Users can also upload their own images and put a special Tiffany & Co. filter on it to make it more romanticized. The application also features a link to the Tiffany & Co. store where mobile purchases can be made. To learn more, please visit LuxuryDaily.com or the iTunes App store.

Super Bowl XLVI’s Social Media Command Center

January, 2012

For the XLVI Super Bowl, a social media command center will be set up in Indianapolis, IN. Sports strategists and analysts will man the center and monitor all communication regarding the biggest football game of the year. For football fans who tweet or post questions regarding to the actual game (including, “I can’t find parking anywhere!”), the command center will provide them with responses to make the event more enjoyable. The amount attention being paid to social media’s involvement in the event is a first, and marketers should expect to see more types of pop-ups like this happen as digital media continues to grow in importance within this generation. To learn more, please visit AllFacebook.com.

Starbucks Uses QR Codes To Poll Coffee Blends

January, 2012

A leader in leveraging digital technology, Starbucks will turn to QR codes to poll consumers on their favorite coffee blends. To encourage code captures, Starbucks delivered the code via a coupon flier. Users who scan the code can vote on their favorite blend and link to Facebook to see what others have been voting. This QR code usage is a good example of a brand providing engaging content through a mobile medium. To learn more about this promotion, please visit MobileMarketer.com.

U.S. President Obama Turns to Google+ For Q&A

January, 2012

President Barack Obama will be addressing citizens’ questions and answers via a live chat on Google+ next week. Users who want their questions addressed will have to load a video question to YouTube by January 28th. Not all videos will be chosen, but for those which he does select, the users will be invited to the “Hangout” to live chat directly with the President. For more information, please visit Gizmodo.com.

The New Citi App Shares Points on Facebook

January, 2012

The Citi Thank You Point Sharing Facebook app allows Thank You rewards members to pool their points together with their friends on Facebook and extend their reward possibilities.  The collective value can be used toward sharing a goal or reward, such as a trip or charity donation. “This new app is a first in the marketplace and a fun, flexible way to share points,” said Ralph Andretta, head of co brands and loyaltu at Citi Cards. For more information, please see promomagazine.com

GOP Candidates Utilize Mobile Ads

January, 2012

GOP presidential hopefuls are experimenting with mobile ad campaigns to target specific locations and interest groups. These ads target ZIP codes that have been determined to have a high concentration of supporters and deliver actions such as watching a video or looking up a caucus location.  Mobile ads are cheaper than display ads and have higher engagement rates. “If we don’t hit them on their phones, we’re missing a huge opportunity for people who are voters,” said Mitt Romney’s digital director, Zac Moffatt.. For more information, Please see adage.com

Facebook Looking To Exclusively Host Vevo

January, 2012

According to a CNET report Facebook is looking to exclusively host Vevo- YouTube’s top streaming channel. This adoption would put Facebook in direct competition with Google’s YouTube, and give Facebook users the ability to simultaneously listen to music, upload pictures, comment on walls and message friends. Vevo is currently the top national entertainment music web platform with projected 3.7 billion videos viewed globally each month. For more information, please see Mashable.com.

Chevrolet Creates App for Super Bowl

January 2012

Chevrolet introduces The Chevy Game Time app, leveraging the mobile space where many viewers existed during last year’s Super Bowl. The app will quiz users with trivia and poll questions on the Super Bowl game, teams and commercials. Correct answers will enter users into a drawing for thousands of prizes from Chevrolet, Bridgestone, Motorola, Papa John’s and more. Users are also assigned a “license plate” number upon download of the app. Consumers’ license plate numbers matching license plates in Chevy’s commercials will win a Chevy’s vehicle. For more information, please see AdAge.

Google Tests QR Login

January, 2012 Google is working on a solution for people to login into their Gmail more securely, while using a public computer. This week they  experimented with using a QR code. Although the test is no longer running, Google says there are more to come and users who tested reported having success. To learn more go to Mashable.com.

Sam Adams Crowdsources Brews on Facebook App

January, 2012

Beer Brand Samuel Adams has created a Facebook app called Crowd Craft Project to involve Facebook Fans in the brewing process. The beer that is created by using this app will be brewed next month and served in select bars for SXSW patrons. It will determine the beer’s color, clarity, body, hops, and malt. For more information, please see AdAge.com.

Home Depot and PayPal Test Mobile Payments

January, 2012

Home Depot and PayPal will be testing mobile payments in-store in 51 stores. Guests who will be participating in the test will be able to pay for purchases by entering in a pin on their mobile phone or by using a PayPal designated credit card. In addition to mobile payments, the company has said they may include location-based offers to help incentivize and ease the use of mobile payment. To learn more, please visit TechCrunch.com.

Twitter Users Share Displeasure with SOPA

January, 2012

Yesterday over 2.4 million tweets regarding SOPA and PIPA were share during the hours of 12 AM and 4 PM EST. Generally, most tweets were against the new bill proposed by Congress which aims to stop online piracy. If passed, the act would allow content owners to pull any information they deem infringing on foreign sites, such as Wikipedia or Google searches. To learn more about the anti-SOPA campaign on Twitter, please visit Mashable.com.

Toshiba Focuses On Customers

January, 2012

Toshiba is releasing an ultra thin new tablet based on comments from consumers on social media sites. Toshiba uses Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to listen to what consumers really want and make them happen. Mark Simmons, CEO of Toshiba America confirms this during an exclusive interview. He discusses that a lot of what consumers want is determined with surveys by current customers, but even more importantly than that, the customers true wants and needs are displayed on social media. Watch the entire interview with Mark Simmons on Mashable.

Apple Takes On Textbooks

January, 2012

Apple is expected to make an announcement with a focus on education this Thursday. A rumor claims that Apple plans to launch a “GarageBand” style software that allows anyone with an Apple device tools to create interactive textbooks. According to Steve Jobs biography, he had a much bigger idea in mind. He believed that the $8 billion a year industry was ready for a digital makeover. To learn more, visit Mashable.

Express Boosts App Downloads With QR Code

January, 2012

Express has added QR codes to store windows and clothing tags inorder to encourage downloads of the store’s app and promote their social sites to their consumers.  The QR codes placed on the windows of the New York stores and placed on tags for clothing lead to the mobile landing page where consumers can learn about and easily download the Express app for iPhone, Android, or Blackberry platforms.   Express hopes that the app downloads will lead to more memorable in store experiences as well as increase engagement with the fashion retailer’s social media sites.  For more information see Mobile Commerce Daily.

Huggies Engages With YouTube Baby Translator

January, 2012

Huggies Korea engaged new mothers over this holiday season by offerings a “Baby Babbles Translator” through YouTube.   Mothers were encouraged to upload videos of their babies babbling to the company’s Korean YouTube channel.  Huggies then selected videos to ‘translate’ and posted videos to the YouTube channel of their translating team deciphering the babblings and determining exactly what the baby was trying to say. In all Huggies created over 25 videos with their ‘translations’.  The parents of the chosen baby videos received a gift from Huggies after the holiday season. For more information, see Creativity Online.

Walgreens Targets Consumers Via Paid Social

January, 2012

Walgreens is paying Twitter and bloggers to act as crisis PR against its former benefit manager, Express Scripts.  Walgreens has been at risk of losing customers to rival pharmacies after failed negotiations this past summer.  Walgreens recently purchased the promoted tweet “@Walgreens Patients should be able to choose their pharmacy, not @ExpressScripts. Tweet using #ILoveWalgreens to show your support!”  Walgreens also enlisted Social Spark, a service that connects bloggers with paid sponsorships, in order to recruit and sponsor bloggers to defend the company and garner reader support.  This approach has elicited some negative responses online about the company’s use of purchased promoted tweets and blogger sponsorships to generate support for the company.  For more information and reactions to the campaign, please see AdvertisingAge.

Hulu Prepares to Launch Original Series Online

January, 2012

Hulu is in final preparations to launch its first original scripted series, Battleground, online next month.  The show will be available on Hulu.com to its paid ‘premium’ subscribers as well as its free service subscribers.  The show covers a fictional senate candidate in Wisconsin as he battles from third place the upcoming election. Hulu announced the plans for the original series as other online services such as Netflix, Youtube, and Yahoo have discussed or announced adding original programming to their offerings. Hulu offers subscribers the ability to watch episodes of many popular TV shows online with limited commercial interruptions. The company hopes that the addition of original web programming such as Battleground will bolster its already growing profits after the company saw 60% growth from 2010-2011. For more information see TechCrunch.

Tiffany & Co. Launches User-Curated Campaign

January 2012

Tiffany & Co. launches their user-curated campaign, encouraging photographers and consumers to upload photos to their What Makes True Love microsite. Photographers have been uploading candid photos of couples in New York and Paris. Beginning January 25, consumers are able to upload photos to Instagram, and using the hashtag #trulovepictures, have a chance to be featured on the site. The microsite also features real-life videos, stories, romantic movies and songs, and a map where consumers can pinpoint where they fell in love in New York. The campaign is complete with a Tiffany’s station on Pandora. For more information, please see Luxury Daily.

Tag Heuer Hypes “Ultimate Lap” FB Game

January, 2012

Tag Heuer announced they would introduce a gaming application on their Facebook page that allows users to experience racing with Lewis Hamilton. To promote the launch of the application (coming this January), the company released a teaser video demonstrating the lifelike experience users will be able to feel while playing the game. “Ultimate Lap is an occasion to celebrate Tag Heuer’s motoracing heritage as well as our long-lasting relationship with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, with whom we share a real passion for innovation,” said Alexandra Wolf, community manager at Tag Heuer , La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. To learn more about this new experience, please visit InTheMoment.com.

Coco Chanel Promotes “Shine” Line Via FB

January, 2012

Chanel targeted the digital space to promote the new line of Shine lipstick. Chanel developed a Facebook application photobooth where users can take a series of images, add text and share them on their walls. To tie into the lipstick line, the photobooth images are tinted with a color offered within the Shine collection. To learn more, please visit Facebook.com/Chanel.

Net-A-Porter Releases “Find Karl” App

January, 2012

Karl Lagerfield and Net-A-Porter partnered to develop a mobile application that was multi-faceted: users could play an interactive game, preview the collection, a transformational photo opportunity sweepstakes and video. The interactive “Find Karl & Win” game requires users to roll a digital marble over Karl’s faces to score points; those with the highest score are entered to win a $1,000 N-A-P gift card. Users who scan Karl icons on the company website can watch videos featuring the designer. Participants of the photo transformations, to “Karlify” themselves, are entered for a chance to win a piece from the collection. To learn more, please visit LuxuryDaily.com.

Pizza Hut Starts Facebook Contest

January, 2012

On January 1, Pizza Hut opened it’s “Top This” contest that allows fans to enter for a chance to appear in Pizza Hut’s Super Bowl ad.  Consumers can enter by creating their own version of the Pizza Hut ‘featured song’ and upload a video of it to the brand’s Facebook page.  A total of six winners will be chosen based on uniqueness and creativity in their video and song rendition.  Three of the winners will be able to appear in the Pizza Hut Super Bowl ad that will air during the pre-game of the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI. Pizza Hut also has a youtube video describing the contest that features the song that people will be creating.  Fans of the page can rate the video submissions, although fan votes will have no effect on the outcome of the winners.  The contest is open until January 15th for submissions. For more information, see The Real Time Report.

US Political Polls Have Presence on Facebook

January, 2012

Facebook and NBC News are leveraging online polls to immerse the brands within the political race. Facebook has received prominent branding within NBC’s “Meet the Press” coverage of the GOP debate. Facebook also included polls on candidate favorites in Iowa and New Hampshire, and NBC featured results of the polls within the show. Facebook users who had questions for the debaters were even allowed to send in their inquiries via a Facebook app, and watch as the debaters shared their responses live on the show. As the political races ramp up, expect to see more Facebook and social media live feedback and results. To learn more, please visit InsideFacebook.com.

Axe Launches Fragrance On Facebook

January, 2012

Axe will kick off the launch of its newest fragrance through a social short graphic novel called Anarchy: The Graphic Novel hosted on its Facebook page.  Fans will be able to help write the novel by dictating the characters’, “The Anarchy Girls”, actions. The fans interact with the novel as it unfolds to determine the outcome. Axe recruited X-Men writer for DC Comic books, Scott Lobell, to help write the new Anarchy Girls series for the Facebook launch.  The fragrance launch includes a fragrance for men and a fragrance for women.  For more information, see Mashable.

Sephora Leverages iPod for Mobile Commerce

January, 2012

Select Sephora stores are currently using iPod Touches to complete in-store sales. The use of the iPods is dedicated to alleviating long waits in check-out lines. Consumers can also receive better customer service as their sales representative who has helped them find their product can execute the check-out. To learn more about how Sephora is leveraging mobile devices for mobile commerce, please visit MobileCommerceDaily.com.

Microsoft QR Reader Now Works Universally

January, 2012

Microsoft has relaunched their QR reader to work more universally, thus alleviating the need for multiple apps for different codes. The new reader will recognize barcodes, QR codes and NFC URLs in a matter of seconds. In addition to reading a multitude of codes, the app also features an ROI mechanism to measure metrics. The app works with most smartphone platforms, including Android, iOS, Blackberry and Microsoft. Please visit PopSop.com to learn more.