Category Archives: Social Promotions
January 14, 2013
HBO’s “Girls” Dominates Multi-Platform Social Promotion
The polarizing hit TV-show Girls returned on Sunday for its sophomore season, and the HBO team was adamant that you (and everyone else with an internet connection) would be aware. The show’s been a hot topic among entertainment critics and bloggers (both those who love it and hate it), and HBO’s lead-up to this much-anticipated season used that energy to its advantage by going social. Very, very social.
The show, written by and starring twenty-something girls, certainly isn’t solely for that demographic, but many were surprised just how many older viewers the show’s first season scored. In fact, the median age of Girls viewers is 43. And the largest demo group who watch? Males over 50. So it’s no big shock that there was a different approach this season, one that focused heavily on a variety of social platforms in the months leading to the season’s kick-off, in aims to gain those non-traditional HBO viewers.
Posted in Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged Girls, HBO, marketing for a social world
January 3, 2013
Retailers Gamify Holiday Promotions
All signs suggest that gamification, the act of leveraging game mechanics and psychological motivations to engage audiences, is here to stay. Gartner Research recently released a study predicting that by 2015, 40 percent of Global 1000 corporations will use the process as the “primary mechanism to transform primary business opportunities.”
With Facebook still acting as a critical and central hub for social media marketing, brands are using the platform to implement gamification and drive results. Rue La La, Dunkin’ Donuts and Best Buy are a few of those brands doing it successfully.
Posted in Retail & Consumer, Social Promotions
Tagged Best Buy, Dunkin Donuts, marketing for a social world, Media Logic, Rue La La
December 5, 2012
Is Your Bank’s Facebook Promotion Legal?
Umpqua’s “The Joy of Giving” social promotion lets fans play Santa by trying to win money for their favorite charities. The campaign connects the bank with generosity, an important counter-tactic to the sometimes “bad” news in the media about financial institutions. In addition, and perhaps most importantly for a bank that aims to help locally with the needs in each of its markets, the promotion supports organizations identified as deserving by customers in Umpqua Bank communities.
It’s terrific that Umpqua is giving so generously and allowing its fans to have a voice about who receives its donations. Unfortunately, not all good ideas comply with Facebook’s promotion guidelines. By prompting fans to comment as a way of entering their charity to win a prize,Umpqua violates the rules. We doubt, of course, that Facebook would play Scrooge and target this promotion for removal as it has others, but be careful as you plan 2013 promotions.
What’s the #1 best practice for running Facebook promotions? Make sure they’re compliant! Facebook is very specific about what you can and cannot do whenever you have a prize and plan on picking a winner. We decoded Facebook’s guidelines in detail here, but we thought it may be time for a quick refresher:
Posted in Financial services, Social Promotions
November 27, 2012
The Human Impact of Social Marketing
Now, that was a social promotion.
Amidst all the Liking, sharing and other metrics now readily available, it’s easy to forget the very real, very emotional connection created by a successful social promotion. This impact was on full display, however, at the recent Ultimate Game Changer Awards Dinner.
The event was the culmination of the Ultimate Game Changer social promotion we developed and executed for MVP Health Care – a “post-and-vote” contest that asked people to nominate individuals who make their respective communities better or healthier.
The contest took place across a broad swath of the health insurer’s footprint, spanning New York State and Vermont. By the time it was over, more than 150 people were nominated and over 40,000 votes were cast. For a first-time promotion running just a few weeks in a regional market, these are excellent returns. But the true impact of this effort goes beyond the numbers.
Posted in Health & Science Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged marketing for a social world, Media Logic, MVP
November 16, 2012
5 Social Marketing Mistakes to Avoid Around the Holidays
Nearly every year the holidays sneak up on us. Before we know it, radio stations are playing their renditions of classic holiday tunes, and stores are sold out of the gift of the year. As important as it is to snag this year’s equivalent to “Tickle Me Elmo,” it’s imperative for marketers to be prepared for the very social holiday season.
Some marketers may think social marketing requires less planning and preparation than traditional marketing because of its real time nature, but this logic is flawed. Platforms that have the potential to reach, persuade and engage millions of people on a daily basis cannot be a marketing afterthought … especially around such a consumer-focused season.
Here are five mistakes that, with a little planning, social marketers can avoid during the holidays:
Posted in Retail & Consumer, Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged marketing for a social world
October 11, 2012
5 Tactics Retailers Used to Amp Up Social Engagement This Week
“A picture is worth 1,000 words,” but how many comments, likes and shares does it get you? If your brand is sharing photos in the most engaging ways, then that value is high. However, just like with traditional marketing, social stream photo sharing does not call upon a single, one-size-fits-all approach. This week, the top ranking brands on Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) used a variety of photo-sharing strategies to engage with fans.
Tactic: Product Promotion
When it comes to promoting new products, some brands do it in a really stylish and eye-catching way. With the amount of activity on consumers’ Facebook newsfeeds, it’s difficult — but important — to get those fans to pause for a moment to check out those products. Breitling earned the top spot on the RSJI’s Big Movers This Week by doing just that. But Breitiling wasn’t the only brand to score big through tasteful product showcasing. Retailers White House | Black Market and Blue Nile also succeeded utilizing the tactic this week!
September 27, 2012
Battle of Engagement: Quirky Photos vs. Political Passions
For retailers, fan engagement is a key social metric. But which engages fans more: political controversy or goofy photos? Big movers on this week’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) experienced heightened social participation as a result of both. However, the former narrowly edged out the competition to take the top spot this week. Was the attention wanted? Not necessarily.
Controversy struck Hobby Lobby, and as a result, it had the biggest spike on this week’s RSJI. Recently, the brand filed a lawsuit against the Supreme Court-upheld Affordable Care Act, stating it violated the religious beliefs of the company’s owners. The decision, aimed at the Act’s provisions for contraceptive coverage, sparked a firestorm on the brand’s Facebook page. Both the support and the opposition came out strong to voice their opinions on the social platform. We’ve seen companies’ political choices result in Facebook eruptions before …
Posted in Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged marketing for a social world, Retail Social Juice Index
September 20, 2012
Photo Tactics for Increased Social Engagement: Tim Tebow, iPhone 5 & more
Every week, we take a look at the Retail Social Juice Index’s (RSJI) top moving brands of the week and share how these retailers connect with their fan base. All five brands that earned spots on the Big Movers This Week utilized photos and calls-to-action, though each did so differently. Here are the specific strategies these brands relied on to top the Index …
Posted in Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged marketing for a social world, Retail Social Juice Index
September 14, 2012
Retailers, Here’s Proof Social Engagement Drives Q4 Sales
When Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index was still in its infancy, we used it to predict big 2011 holiday sales for 10 brands. The question retailers always ask of marketers is, Can social media engagement track to sales? We’re happy to answer, Yes. High social engagement, as we measure it with the RSJI, does seem to correlate with increased sales.
And here’s more good news: There’s still time to plan your Q4 social content.
The brands we identified back in December 2011 – Yankee Candle, American Girl, Ann Taylor, LUSH Cosmetics, Lakeside Collection, Pandora, ShutterFly, ThinkGeek, LeapFrog and Bath & Body Works – remained at or near the top of the RSJI leading up to and through the 2011 holiday season. Each, in fact, averaged an engagement score of 150 or more (a rare honor) in the three weeks leading up to our prediction. This remarkably high – and consistent – engagement represents the kind of sustained customer enthusiasm we believed would result in revenue.
Public financial data is available for eight out of the 10 brands (LUSH Cosmetics and Lakeside Collection are private companies and do not publish financials). Of these eight, all but two – Pandora and Ann Taylor — showed an increase in comparable store sales (or in total sales, when comp numbers are not applicable) for the final quarter of 2011, which, of course, includes the holiday selling period. And despite a decrease in comparable store sales, Pandora still reported a 12.4% increase in North American revenue for 2011.
In addition to the brands on our list performing well in their year-over-year figures, we also saw this group realize growth in company stock prices …
September 14, 2012
Controversy Pushes Toys “R” Us to Top of the RSJI
Two brands proved that the green plus signs and red minus signs are not always so straight forward on our Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI). Heightened engagement doesn’t necessarily equal positive engagement, and slow days on social platforms are not the end of the world!
Toys “R” Us took the top spot on the RSJI and confirmed that not all major spikes are a good thing. The brand earned one of the biggest score increases since the Index’s inception when its score rose from 48 to 1176! But, just like we’ve seen in the past as other brands have skyrocketed up the Index, Toys “R” Us’ move to the top of the RSJI was laced with controversy.
Posted in Social Marketing, Social Promotions
Tagged marketing for a social world, Retail Social Juice Index
