tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87334468526857715132024-03-13T08:45:17.077-07:00Confessions of a Wannabe iProKristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-89217172813436738722009-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:002009-04-12T20:16:21.217-07:00For The Sake Of Consistency......I have decided to further analyze the appealing nature and trend of "sample sale" online fashion retail companies, a la the previously discussed Gilt Groupe, as well as many other websites that have followed suit; namely, RueLaLa.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://talkingshopping.com/talking/2009/03/26/TS0326RuelalaLogo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 300px;" src="http://talkingshopping.com/talking/2009/03/26/TS0326RuelalaLogo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">New slogan: "At least thanks to Ruelala you won't be this deep in debt"...? Work in progress.<br /><br /></div>RueLala has the same structure as Gilt.com in that it is a subscription-based, high-end fashion retail company that provides customers with a selection of a few designer's collections at a staggering discount (50% or more) for a brief amount of time (no more than three days). RueLala uses fixed, promotional pricing for the merchandise sold through their website; they mark their merchandise at a price that could not be found at the designer's sale rack, but limit the offer for a short period of time, as a means to create incentive within the members to invest in the product before the opportunity is lost. Also, the amount of inventory is limited, and many experienced RueLala members know that products sell out way before the sale has ended. By limiting the amount of merchandise as well as the amount of time that the fixed promotionally discounted prices are available, RueLala is creating a limited supply, high-demand environment which increases the likelihood of consumers purchasing the product.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://shoppingnotes.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/rll1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 664px; height: 484px;" src="http://shoppingnotes.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/rll1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Designer sunglasses+over 50% off+only one pair left= MUST. BUY. NOW.<br /></div><br />Considering that this company is considerably green in the online retail industry, actual figures are not readily accessible. Regardless, its pricing plan seems to be effective in that there has been lots of consumer response, whether it be through blogs, the increasing amount of membership, and the attention of the media. They are, in a sense, doing designers and their clients a favor by taking unprofitable merchandise of their hands for a small price and then marking it at a price that is profitable for them, and incredibly appealing to consumers. That way, everybody wins. Considering the success of this business model and the increasing amount of companies utilizing it, I'm sure that RueLala won't be shutting down anytime soon. What I am curious about, however, is how the saturation of this type of online business will effect companies such as Gilt and RueLala's profits in the long term. It will be interesting to see if there is room in the webisphere for all of them, or will they have to stomp each other down with their 70% markoff Christian Louboutin heels. Only time will tell...Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-9344008713101378312009-04-02T21:43:00.000-07:002009-04-02T22:28:08.848-07:00I Love Pandora.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/yoitskrispy/pandora.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 628px; height: 679px;" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/yoitskrispy/pandora.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />One website that I swear by that is responsible for a good percentage of my music collection is Pandora.com. Pandora.com is a pureplay website that acts as an online radio station, however it is very different in an important way. With Pandora, the user types in a favorite music artist or song, and creates a "station" consisting of songs similar to and based around aspects of the user's entry. Pandora utilizes the technology known as the Music Genome Project, which is explained by Pandora as:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"the most sophisticated taxonomy of musical information ever collected. It represents over eight years of analysis by our trained team of musicologists, and spans everything from this past Tuesday's new releases all the way back to the Renaissance and Classical music. </span> <p style="font-style: italic;">Each song in the Music Genome Project is analyzed using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics by a trained music analyst. These attributes capture not only the musical identity of a song, but also the many significant qualities that are relevant to understanding the musical preferences of listeners. The typical music analyst working on the Music Genome Project has a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, has passed through a selective screening process and has completed intensive training in the Music Genome's rigorous and precise methodology. To qualify for the work, analysts must have a firm grounding in music theory, including familiarity with a wide range of styles and sounds. All analysis is done on location."</p> This technology is incredible in its accuracy and its ability to span the breadth of genres and artist repertiore. I am a big fan of obscure music and artists, and somehow no matter how "hole-in-the-wall" my entry is, they always find a way to find related work that I have never heard of.<br />Moreover, if there is a song that a user doesn't like, one can press the thumbs-down, "I don't like this" button and the playlist will move forward to the next song. Due to copyright and licensing laws, however, the user can only skip approximately three songs within an hour. But, one can get around this by creating another channel based on another favorite song or artist. And, one can create an unlimited amount of music channels. Amazing.<br /><br />Also, if you like a song or an artist, they will save it on the playlist to be played repeatedly. There is also a menu under the song that is playing with a plethora of options: "don't play this song for a month," "why was this song selected?", "Move song to another location,"Bookmark the song/artist, and "Buy song from iTunes/Amazon CD/Amazon mp3."<br /><br />As if that's not enough, since the last time I have visited the site (which has been no longer than three days), there are options to alter the channel, such as "add variety" by adding another favorite song/artist to further narrow down the song selection pool, "find other fans of this song/artist," or "share this station with a friend."<br /><br />It is obvious that Pandora is at the forefront of online music technology and continue to maintain their reputation. I will remain to be a loyal and consistently intrigued customer.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-46558780853056709302009-03-19T11:55:00.000-07:002009-03-19T13:10:42.631-07:00This Website Has Me Feelin' Less Gilt-y About My Addiction<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/stylewatch/blog/080204/gilt_500x375.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/stylewatch/blog/080204/gilt_500x375.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I wish I could quit you.<br /></div><br />Two years ago, I was invited by my fellow fashion devotee to a website that further fuels the shopping addict inside of me. Gilt.com is a pure play retail website that sells high-end designer clothing and luxury labels at “sample sale” prices (up to 70% of retail price). The site is invite-only; current members invite friends by sending them e-vites with a link to Gilt.com to activate their membership. Members receive emails every Monday summarizing the sales that will occur throughout the week, and what dates and times they will be commencing. The company works with over 200 women’s, men’s, children’s and home brands and labels, and each day features a couple brands’ merchandise for sale for a limited time of 36 hours, or occasionally, until the merchandise runs out. Members are able to purchase up to 10 items at a time, and returns are given store credit, much like any other store’s policies, and if you ship it outside of New York State there is no sales tax! I digress on the minute details of Gilt.com that make me all warm and fuzzy inside, but anyway...<br /><br />The formal business name of the company is Gilt Groupe, which was founded by college friends Alexis Maybank, whose past accomplishments include serving as General Manager and business Development Director for AOL's ecommerce businesses, and also was one of the driving forces behing eBay’s expansion; and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, who has worked for multiple luxury brands including Bulgari and Louis Vuitton. Based in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, Gilt Groupe, with the help of venture capitalist firm Matrix Partners, launched Gilt.com in 2007, and has had and continues to see a steady increase in membership and publicity since its inception.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ruelala_gilt_visitors.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 466px; height: 193px;" src="http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ruelala_gilt_visitors.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ignore the blue line: Ruelala.com is another luxury discount retail website that is on the rise--but that is neither here nor there.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Gilt Groupe has capitalized on a concept that is somewhat lacking in the webosphere; luxury and designer companies have steered away from selling merchandise online due to the possibility of destroying the quintessential allure of luxury goods; exclusivity. However, by not utilizing the online market, luxury brands were missing a grand opportunity to rid them of their less successful merchandise inventory. As told to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0225/070.html">Forbes.com</a>, Maybank explains, “Existing online channels weren't protective of the fashion and luxury brands, resulting in a bit of a heartburn for those companies.”<br /><br />Gilt.com strategically accomplished this uncharted e-territory by using business models that maintain the prestige of the brands while allowing consumers to purchase luxury items at sample sale prices. Gilt.com uses both subscription and virtual merchant business models. Through using the subscription business model, more particularly invitation-only, allows the website to have exclusivity by using established members to recruit people whom they think will appreciate the website. Therefore, the membership community itself expands the consumer base with people fitting the target demographic the company looks to reach, meanwhile spreading word-of-mouth through the “right crowds” about the website and increasing people’s desire to become a part of it.<br /><br />Gilt Groupe’s use of the virtual merchant model is also quite strategic and plays upon the company’s strengths; the established reputations of the people that make up Gilt Groupe make for a prime breeding ground of building strong, loyal relationships with luxury companies and designers and they’re willingness to sell their inventory directly to Gilt Groupe without revenue sharing that would be present in an affiliate model. Gilt Groupe has also defeated the notion that with online retailing comes the death of luxury boutiques. Retail anaylist Marshal Cohen reassures that “ten years ago they said the Internet would replace traditional brick-and-mortar. It didn't quite turn out that way, and both have learned to coexist.” It hasn’t fazed designers and companies to want to do business with Gilt Groupe; co-founder Wilkis Wilson admits that “I have so many brands banging down our door that I have to say no.”<br /><br />In terms of measuring Gilt Groupe's performance, there are two very vital elements that create Gilt Groupe's success; membership rate, and the amount of revenue. When looking at the unique visitors chart shown above, it seems as if although Gilt.com membership is increasing, other similar websites to jump on the bandwagon are seeing higher numbers. This is where I see the whole "luxury" marketing and business tactics as a hinderance to success in numbers; the whole idea of exclusivity through their lack of use of traditional advertising and focusing more on word-of-Chanel lip gloss shelacked mouth may be a cause in their lagging behind their competitors in terms of accumulating memberships. However, the amount of revenue that the company is accumulating from retail is the true telling of the success of the actual purpose of the website: selling goods. Window shopping doesn't count in the real world, where it's "all about the Benjamins."<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.xanga.com/VYXTORYA/benjamins%20001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 554px; height: 415px;" src="http://i.xanga.com/VYXTORYA/benjamins%20001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>=more Benjamins than I will be making as a college graduate next year.<br /></div></div>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-86308016555440587352009-02-25T13:08:00.000-08:002009-02-26T11:23:26.691-08:00Holy Illusions of Privilege!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SabsARFBzCI/AAAAAAAAAEc/5aeB3kTbIQw/s1600-h/MGMT-001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 414px; height: 248px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SabsARFBzCI/AAAAAAAAAEc/5aeB3kTbIQw/s320/MGMT-001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307188700231355426" border="0" /></a>"Not cool, France. Not cool."<br /></div><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br />While updating and educating myself on who is stealing what from whom these days, I found out that even national governments cannot even get away with misusing and violating us lowly common folk’s creative materia</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">l. Last week, Brooklyn-based indie rock band </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.myspace.com/mgmt">MGMT</a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> decided to take legal action against the French political party Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, or UMP, claiming copyright infringement.</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> <br /><br />Allegedly, the French equivalent to the U.S.’s Republican Party has been using the song “Kids,”a popular song off of MGMT’s most recent album, during their campaign without permission. The current president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, represents the UMP party, and condoned the usage of the song during party meetings including its national congress in January, during a field trip by</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> the President himself, and in two official political videos on the </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.u-m-p.org/site/index.php">UMP website.</a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> The UMP holds the majority of seats in the French government, not to mention the presidency as well. What is most ironic about this case is that the UMP is known for its strict views on filesharing and is at the forefront for prohibiting the infringement of creative copyright. Considering their stance on this public issue, it came as a shock to the MGMT camp that although the UMP’s public relations representative willingly admitted to using the song without permission, they stated that it was “unintentional” and offered the band nominal damages of one euro. MGMT’s camp rejected this ludicrous offer, and the band’s lawyer, Isabelle Wekstein, expressed their disgust to </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gzkU9ZNxOkvS5DwCW-NtooBOIFHA">American Free Press</a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">: "This offer is disrespectful of the rights of artists an</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">d authors. It is insulting...we are dealing with acts of counterfeiting, an infringement of intellectual property."</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> <br /><br />Also, in the most unfortunate of timing, the UMP has planned to present an anti-filesharing bill to tighten the laws regarding the usage of peer-to-peer software, among other things, to the national assembly in early March. Wekstein addressed this irony to French newspaper Le Monde: "It seems that those who led the charge against internet users are not the most respectful of copyright." Interesting.</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> What does the center-right-winged party have to say for itself? The General Secretary of the UMP, Xavier Bertrand, has issued a response to MGMT’s charges, saying "The UMP is very respectful of copyright. Compensation has to be expected... and we are presently looking at whether the band was f</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">airly compensated." What Bertrand is referring to is the review of the band’s relationship with </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.sacem.fr/portailSacem/jsp/ep/channelView.do?channelId=-536882205&channelPage=ACTION%3BBVCONTENT%3B0%3B%2Fep%2FprogramView.do&pageTypeId=536886881">SACEM</a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">, which is a French creative rights agency, its main purpose being "to collect payments of authors’ rights and redistribute them to the original authors and composers and the publishers." The notion is that the usage of the song was arranged with SACEM, and MGMT is to be awarded their royalties through the organization itself. Wekstein does recognize that </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">the UMP paid the standard fee of 53 euros to the organization, however, she stated that the payment does not cover the continual use of the song in multiple situations and multiple channels following the initial use of the song. Ergo, the MGMT camp will continue pursuing the case.</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> <br /><br />Taking a step back and looking at this situation from a legal and ethical standpoint, whether the content is digital or not, MGMT’s material is not an invention nor is it a term or image that represents the band for </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">marketing purposes, but is an issue of creative expression. Therefore, MGMT’s songs could not be patented nor trademarked, but are copyrighted. Under copyright law established by the Copyright Act of 1976, sound recordings are considered a form of expression and therefore obtain protection of copyright legislation. Also, materials of creative expression do not necessarily have to be officially registered in order for them to be protected under copyright laws. Once the creative material is finished, the creators become the owners of the material, and therefore obtain the rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, and create derivate versions of the material. Other parties even have to receive permission from the owner of the creative material in order to “remix” (to take the essence of the material and alter it to create another product) the original work.<br /><br />The defense that a party can utilize to justify the usage another’s creative material is fair use. If the case is settled out of court, the French government will have to prove that the use of MGMT’s song, “Kids,” was within the boundaries of fair use. </span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> Fair use constitutes using creative materials for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Also, there are many factors that considered when determining fair use defense; the purpose of use (whether it is for commercial gain or non-profit), the nature of the copyrighted work (whether it is factual or fiction), the amount of the copyrighted work that is used (whether it is partial or whole), and the effect on the owner’s market share (whether or not it has caused the owners to lose revenue).<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> The UMP party could make the weak argument in court that they didn’t technically use the song for commercial gain (although it is noted that the song is one of the most popular songs amongst the young adult population, which may give them a non-monetary gain of reputation amongst that particular market) and that it hasn’t been proven that it has caused MGMT to lose any revenue. However, the fact that they used the song for a purpose that can’t be categorized under the bases of fair use, let alone that they used the song in its entirety multiple times without paying the amount deserved to owners of the material, could be enough to make their argument moot. Regardless of the case’s outcome (which, in my opinion, seems like it will end in favor of the MGMT camp), the UMP is dug itself into an embarrassing public relations ditch, has done more harm than good in its efforts to attract the young adult’s favor, and has damaged the party’s reputation and whatever image of honor and legitimacy that they have.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SabpuaCe5BI/AAAAAAAAAEE/6wXmUE5aWYo/s1600-h/images.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 156px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SabpuaCe5BI/AAAAAAAAAEE/6wXmUE5aWYo/s320/images.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307186194375697426" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Guess you’re not that cool with the “Kids,” Sarkozy.</span><br /></div>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-75801841716047026522009-01-30T04:44:00.000-08:002009-01-30T04:50:51.790-08:00Plus, Mongolian Shoe BBQ sounds like it tastes better.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SYL3oxzAJtI/AAAAAAAAADM/cHdMg4uw4M4/s1600-h/2465904373_c4aa37f581.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SYL3oxzAJtI/AAAAAAAAADM/cHdMg4uw4M4/s320/2465904373_c4aa37f581.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297068391675209426" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After wasting countless amounts of hours using NikeID as a means of entertainment (and sadly, procrastination), I now have to look at one of my used-to-be favorite things to do online in a completely different way; not as a consumer, but as a marketing whiz. I used to mess around with NikeID all the time in its first stages, although I will admit that I have never visited Puma’s Mongolian Shoe BBQ website. However, once I heard the name for the site, it definitely intrigued me and got me interested to see what the website was all about. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>From a marketing perspective, naming Puma’s custom shoe brand <a href="https://www.puma.com/secure/mbbq/pindex.jsp?ip=US">Mongolian Shoe BBQ</a> was definitely an interesting marketing tactic; it’s a unique name that doesn’t have any relation to or any resemblance of any other brand name in the market and therefore establishes themselves as something unique, different, and edgy. Not only does the brand name contribute a differentiating quality to the brand, it also is a brand name that is very difficult to forget when a consumer hears it for the first time, therefore upping the likelihood for good brand recall amongst potential customers. Puma also made the interesting decision to almost completely disassociate their customized shoe brand from that of the parent company; the brand image and marketing approaches do not resemble that of the parent company’s in the least besides the products having the same logo and brand name on the actual products themselves. Also, the company’s brand image and marketing tactics are more abstract, alternative, and modern in terms of its artistic approach, which is good in that it is progressive and keeping up with the trends of not only their target market of young adults, but also keeping up with the trends of online businesses and their websites as well. Their adoption of the Mongolian BBQ as their identity seems to carry over a little too strong however; the presence of the concept seems to cloud the actual purpose of the website as marketing, which is to educate the consumer about the products and not to confuse them to actually believe that it is a website for a Mongolian BBQ restaurant. However, for those that are keen enough to get over that millisecond of confusion, I think that Puma’s approach to their customized shoe sub-brand is quite fresh, progressive, and most importantly (in my opinion), quite creative.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Nike, on the other hand, incorporates their own company identity into their customized shoe brand, <a href="http://nikeid.nike.com/nikeid/index.jhtml?cp=USNS_KW_0611081618&country;nisessionid=W4WI2ZHUVANLQCQFTBFCF3Y?_requestid=8167945&ef_id=1778:3:s_614da13d71f1e525cfa024fd2621ad17_3221147042_nike.id:--LunUGvMUIAADpTavkAAAAR:20090130120358">NikeID</a>. NikeID incorporates a very similar brand image, website design, and marketing as the parent company. This could be a beneficial move for Nike in that the company is very widely known and has a strong, stable reputation that has been successful throughout its lifetime; everything that has Nike’s swoop stamp on it, or is even associated with the brand (i.e. Nike and Apple’s partnership in the Nike+ product line) seems to be an immediate success. Also, NikeID’s marketing and brand image concepts, like that of its parent company, are a little more mainstream and more appealing to the general population than Mongolian Shoe BBQ’s abstract, unique brand image; the look is sleek and seemingly simple, which may seem more approachable to consumers. Also, Nike creates products for almost any type of lifestyle and interest; they have established a reputation of providing shoes for almost every type of consumer need when it comes to athletic wear, whereas Puma is seen as being in the niche of European fashion footwear, or specializing in soccer and tennis shoes. By Nike using the strategy of branding their customized shoe line as a branch of their own existing brand, they are simultaneously attaching the company’s established reputation as well as its brand image. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In terms of the actual experience of both of the companies’ online shoe customization companies, they both offer the same service in that any person can go onto the website, freely design the shoe of their choice through a step-by-step process, and purchase them to be sent to wherever the customer chooses. However, there are differences in the products, the price, and the design of the customization process that causes the customer’s experience to be different on one site than the other. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mongolian Shoe BBQ’s website starts off with a Flash intro that may be confusing, but it then goes on to the actual website where the customer is shown the options available to him or her, and is guided through the step-by-step process of customizing one’s own shoe. Simple windows are displayed with basic questions and with simple ways to answer them. For example, the first window that pops up to customize a shoe displays the three models of shoe the customer has to choose from in a blank, almost blueprint format, and the customer clicks a check in the box of the shoe of their choice. A downside that consumers might find in Mongolian Shoe BBQ is that they only have three shoe canvasses to choose from, however I believe that all three shoe canvasses have something for any consumer and are equally as stylish, therefore I do not have a problem with the amount of choices available. In the customization process, the actions and options are all displayed and marked accordingly, allowing for little to no confusion as to where to go to do any sort of customization. There are displays of the views the consumer can have by simply clicking on the display of the view of their choice, and there are always written messages to consumers alerting them about which step of the process they are in and what will be coming next. In terms of customization options, Puma has many different types of materials and patterns that are unique to its brand and the market itself. Once a customer is done, there are multiple options displayed at the bottom of the page; a customer can either create an account on the website (which is an easy, two-step, email and password system), save his or her design and move on to the next one, buy the customized shoe in an actual Puma store, add to an online “shopping cart” and make another, or buy the shoe immediately. Quite importantly, the graphics of the products are animated, however they look incredibly realistic so that the consumer has a better sense of how the actual product will turn out. Mongolian Shoe BBQ’s most expensive shoe is $130 and the cheapest $100, and are delivered within 5-7 weeks. I believe that for the amount of customization a customer is able to do with the products, that the price and delivery timeframe are quite reasonable. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Nike has a similar process in that it is step-by-step starting from the customer choosing the model and ending with a customized model of it, however, their website and the actual technology involved in it isn’t necessarily more advanced than that of Mongolian Shoe BBQ’s, it is just laid out in a more complicated way. Since my days of playing around the NikeID website, I have returned to find it quite cluttered and dysfunctional. The amount of choices available to the consumer is overwhelming, and are displayed in funky, crazy, customized colors instead of canvasses, which I believe is distracting from the shoe’s design. Once a customer has chosen their shoe model, they are taken to a customization page with overly simplistic buttons that have no indicators of which button means what and where to go to next. After stumbling around to find out how to customize, it only goes on to more complicated and hard-to navigate steps. NikeID also doesn’t display the shoe model prices upfront, which may be disconcerting to a price-sensitive customer who has no idea how much their design would cost if they decided to make one in the first place. I, for one, could not even customize one because whenever I chose a model, a window would pop up saying that the product was unavailable and would direct me to a page where ALL available products were displayed--mens, womens, kids, and apparel--which all ended up “not being available as well. NikeID also takes much more time to upload onto every page and to do anything for that matter, and customers may have to stop and reload to get to some pages. All in all, I feel that considering Nike’s reputation, NikeID’s clumsy layout and customer experience does not represent the company well. </span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In summary, I believe that the analogy of Mongolian Shoe BBQ as Facebook and NikeID as MySpace is quite fitting. Mongolian Shoe BBQ, like Facebook, might not necessarily be the first of its kind in online shoe customization, however, seems to have created the more modern and effective way of developing their product. NikeID, like Myspace, may have been the first of its kind, but has gone overboard with the amount available to the customer and isn’t laid out in a customer-friendly way, almost as if they have lost control of their own product. I am actually very pleased with my experience on Mongolian Shoe BBQ’s website, and plan on purchasing my customized model of shoe, when I have enough expendable income that is...</span></p><div><br /></div></div><p></p>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-59824626303851500312008-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:43.967-08:00My New Job Is Kinda Awesome<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SENSEjJUasI/AAAAAAAAAB4/1GEWTUzy-Fk/s1600-h/The+REWIND+front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SENSEjJUasI/AAAAAAAAAB4/1GEWTUzy-Fk/s320/The+REWIND+front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207095832277707458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SENSEzJUatI/AAAAAAAAACA/HBB8jlylnnw/s1600-h/The+REWIND+back.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SENSEzJUatI/AAAAAAAAACA/HBB8jlylnnw/s320/The+REWIND+back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207095836572674770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, I'm doing an internship with Rockit Ranch Productions this summer, and I figured since I already started a blog, I'd start journaling about it. Don't worry RRP, I will remain loyal to my disclosure contract.<br /><br />So anyway, here's some information on this new event that I've been personally working on. It's kind of a big deal.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The A-Team of The Underground, the same people who created some of Chicago's favorite venues like Le Passage, The Dragon Room, and Rockit Bar & Grill, are creating another movement that is bound to be huge. Premiering Thursday, June 12th, is The Rewind at The Underground. Every Thursday from 9PM to 4AM, The Underground will represent all things old school for our generation; everything you love from the 80's and 90's. That's all I can say for now, so come check it out and see for yourself. Who doesn't like to kick it old school every once and a while?<br /><br />Again, here are the details:<br />The Rewind premieres June 12th @ The Underground<br />Located at 56 W. Illinois, between Clark and Dearborn<br />Every Thursday 9PM-4AM<br /><br />See you there!</p>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-38560996584038150992008-05-07T20:04:00.000-07:002008-05-07T20:08:26.120-07:00Oh, and one more thing...We made a Chuao Wiki page! There's more to come!<br /><br />visit the page <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuao_Chocolatier">here</a>, I'm sure there will be more information to come as the company gets bigger and more successful!Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-57156035412029472452008-05-06T20:00:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:44.151-08:00This one's for you, Kim GregsonHiya Kim, just in case you didn't see, there were blog posts based in April that I didn't get credit for because of the same problem as the rest of them-- in the middle of working my internet cut off and then wouldnt let me sign back in again. It's the one about SunChips and the one about new laws for viral marketing in the April section that looked empty.<br /><br />Besides that, I've enjoyed your class alot, and I know everything that I learned will be VERY valuable in my hopes to have a career in buzz, viral, guerilla, and all things cool--marketing. Hope you're looking forward to the Chuao presentation, bring your appetite!<br /><br />GO CHUAO!!!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SCEeQuB_j1I/AAAAAAAAABw/-UwpfZL9P70/s1600-h/chuao.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SCEeQuB_j1I/AAAAAAAAABw/-UwpfZL9P70/s320/chuao.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197468717545394002" border="0" /></a>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-44424840673682450252008-05-04T14:06:00.001-07:002008-05-04T17:59:49.812-07:00A Semester's Reflections...When I learned about my mandatory assignment of venturing out into the blogosphere to report on viral marketing, it was very intimidating because I didn't have any experience nor much knowledge of both blogging and viral marketing. But what I learned from this assignment is that both of these things are becoming increasingly important and influential in our culture and society.<br /><br />I had just become familiar with the growing activity of blogging and gaining an understanding of its increasing influence on society. Elements of legitimate cultural reference such as TV, news, talk shows, magazines, etc. have been using bloggers as reference as well. This is when I realized that with the impact of the internet growing in our society, elements available via the internet would be increasingly influential as well.<br /><br />This revelation was very inspirational to me, and I look at this phenomenon quite optimistically; by people recognizing and acknowledging "bloggers" opinions, they are simultaneously recognizing the opinions of the general public; the "average Joes and Janes"-- their opinions and thoughts are being broadcast to whoever comes across or searches for it, and by publicizing it on the World Wide Web, makes their opinion visible and recognized by everyone: newscasters, Steve Colbert, and plain Joes and Janes everywhere.<br /><br />So although I was apprehensive at first to take the plunge into the very open, publicized world of blogging, this realization gave me another optimistic outlook about it; that my opinion could be heard and recognized by either classmates or respectable people in the very industries that I hold to a high regard and hope to be a part of. Enter my blog topic: buzz and viral marketing, two very important modes of advertising not only in the wonderful world of marketing, but to myself as well. I hope to make a career in attracting people to products, services, and/or establishments in unconventional ways that blow their minds. Viral and buzz marketing are two great ways to do that. <br /><br />In researching current happenings in the buzz and viral marketing industry, I came across patterns, concepts, and themes that contributed to a so-called "how-to" manual of viral marketing that has been developing in my brain. The most evident form of viral marketing is the utilization of the web video, whose popularity can be credited to the web phenomenon YouTube. Many of my blog entries had to do with viral campaigns that predominantly consisted of webisodes or short web clips- like online TV advertisements- such as the <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/05/airline-has-eureka-moment.html">AirTran campaign</a> (my favorite concept), the tourism company webvideo advertising, the Tassimo webisodes, and another type of video viral advertising that is a trend in its own right; viral campaigns for movies.<br /><br />Within the timespan that I've been writing this blog I have covered two viral and buzz movie campaigns, the <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/03/dark-knight-buzz-marketing-campaign.html">Dark Knight</a> and the <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-sony-movie-continuing-viral-cinema.html">Quarantine</a> campaigns, which are among many others that have happened within the year. This new trend typically utilizes YouTube to post realistic videos relative to the plot of an upcoming movie (ones like the pioneering Cloverfield videos), and ties in movie characters and their own storylines through creating blogs and websites for the characters and/or elements of the movie plot.<br /><br />Although this approach is incredibly creative and interactive, I wonder whether progressive audience research methods could measure the amount of effectiveness and whether it decreases with the amount of movies that decide to copycat this type of viral advertising. If the opportunity just so presents itself in a job or internship I have in the future, I can utilize the knowledge that I attained throughout this course to find different modes of assessing the effectiveness and creating different types of viral advertising that may have the same effect on the target audience of these videos, but in a different way so as to not be repetitive and therefore receive negative reaction to the campaign.<br /><br />One tactic of viral and buzz advertising that seems to be prevalent and successful is to keep the viewer guessing or moving along to find more. These movie campaigns always have a sense of mystery about them that makes viewers want to see other clips, visit other websites, and read blogs pertaining to the movie in order to find out more bits and pieces about the plot and to be immersed in the experience. Even a simple reference to a home website in a viral video or interesting banner will impact website traffic, which is the tactic used by <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/03/pepsis-new-product-and-new-marketing.html">Pepsi's Tava,</a> AirTran, Tassimo, and even <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/02/viral-marketing-is-getting-political.html">Hillary Clinton</a>!<br /><br />The last and my personal favorite and most important trend in viral and buzz marketing is humor. As referenced in fellow IMCer, and buzz and viral marketing blogger (with whom I share the same name) <a href="http://kgerringer1.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=21">Kristen</a><a href="http://kgerringer1.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=21">'s blog,</a> 88% of content that people send or pass on to others is of humorous nature. People are impressed and seem to warm up to stereotypically stoic businesses who have the capability of entertaining and getting a genuine laugh out of consumers. My personal theory is that these companies seem more personable, and especially when used in a viral campaign on a medium as personal and accessible as the Internet, they gain an affinity with the public that is otherwise virtually impossible to attain.<br /><br />All of the trends that I have picked up in my time assessing the viral and buzz industry can almost make it seem like viral and buzz marketing is a trend within itself. The content is always up-to-pace, never dated, yet is so expendable when it comes to the next hot viral campaign. But what people, especially those in the marketing industry, must know is that the internet is not a trend, and it is here to stay. When covering the <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/03/our-country-is-in-recession-but-world.html">success of the online advertising</a> regardless of an economic decline and <a href="http://krupert1.blogspot.com/2008/02/its-true-chatter-does-matter.html">the success of viral marketing</a>, I realized that this is a piece of knowledge that I will carry on and utilize in my career in the marketing industry. What this blog and this class taught me is that the internet is the future. Technology is the future. Creativity and progression is the future. And I look at the industry and my contribution to it with these things in mind.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-84486549197701931072008-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:002008-05-01T19:47:07.322-07:00Seems as if traveling is this week’s theme…<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Thursday, April 17th- last post of last week, blogger wouldn’t let me sign on. <sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I discovered another article written about the travel industry incorporating viral marketing into their advertising plans. Using the popularity of YouTube as inspiration, <a href="http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92410&Itemid=28">PR-USA.net</a> reported that tourism companies are incorporating viral videos into their websites in order for customers to better visualize the experience that their company’s services will provide them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Apparently, this movement is incredibly successful. A 2007 </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Hotelmarketing.com report stated that a nationwide survey by Taylor Nelson Sofres found that over 75% of respondents said online video was as good as television for learning about advertisers, and more than 60% respondents said they had taken some action after watching a viral video ad. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">There have been many success stores, one being from Sarah Robinson from a tourism company in Andalucia, Spain: "My conversion rate went over 20% today, I am so pleased. Having a short video on our website has enabled us to get a message to our audience that sound and pictures can do better than text on a page.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Word-of-mouth has traditionally been the most effective mode of promotions for tourism companies; people tell others about their experiences, which encourages others to want to have the same experience. These videos are projected to be just as effective, but they are more expensive due to hiring a production company and the costs that ensue. However, a </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Sydney-based video production company called Authentic Holiday Films provides a “shoot-your-own-holiday manual” and they<span style=""> </span>take care of the editing and post-production processes, which reduces the cost dramatically.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This is something, I hate to admit, that I’ve never thought of, but I wish I did. I know that while in Spain planning my weekend trips, these videos would have definitely strayed me away from decided to go to Lisbon, Portugal, during rain season, instead of Valencia, Spain. Oh well, maybe others will avoid my mistakes thanks to this new trend!</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-82599446358699656782008-05-01T19:39:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:44.586-08:00An airline has a Eureka! Moment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBqAJOB_jyI/AAAAAAAAABc/a4TjdCzB484/s1600-h/AirTranL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBqAJOB_jyI/AAAAAAAAABc/a4TjdCzB484/s320/AirTranL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195606015998922530" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:10;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Wednesday, April 16<sup>th- </sup>again, my computer would not let me sign into blogger.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Ever since I have been doomed to delayed flights, lost baggage, and being treated like an incompetent child (aka FWC- flying while collegiate), I’ve always wondered—how come nobody cares about us?! The huge population of flyers who pay full price when they can’t afford it to run around to connecting flights just to go home to spend Easter weekend with the family?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As reported by <a href="http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/creative/news/e3id751287ff1c2313ed26d9f1e64f380ae?imw=Y">Adweek</a>, AirTran finally realized my dear market segment and has created a campaign dedicated solely to collegiate-aged folk- the “Fly free til you’re 23” campaign. The campaign started the week of April 9<sup>th</sup>; the company will release one 30-second and two 15-second viral videos featuring senior citizens posing as 23-and-under kids using fake ID’s and disguises in order to qualify for their new sweepstakes; a chance to win two round trips per calendar quarter until the winner turns 23. At the end of the viral videos, watchers are led to airtranu.com to register for AirTran's frequent flyer program, A+ Rewards. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The videos will be released on websites such as <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/">collegehumor.com</a> and <a href="http://espn.go.com/">ESPN.com</a>, and has been featured in college town theatres and print promotions have been placed in college campus newspapers. The campaign is also in partnership with NBC on Campus, a concept incorporating NBC and University Network, which is a digital out-of-home company that broadcasts programming to 283 screens on 181 campuses. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >People such as Henry Harteveldt, an airline and travel analyst at Forrester Research, are singing their praises about AirTran’s strategic approach; “Going after younger travelers is a smart approach, since most of them haven't formed brand loyalty yet” he says, "the promotion requires everyone to join AirTran's rewards program and it's a good way to build loyalty with customers.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">The promotion ends June 9</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;">, so to all my fellow college students out there, get on </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://airtranu.com/airtran_u.aspx">airtranu.com</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> and sign up! I did!</span> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-9093995488987714912008-05-01T19:31:00.001-07:002008-12-11T17:16:44.797-08:00New Sony Movie continuing viral cinema marketing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBp-VOB_jxI/AAAAAAAAABU/AXgCCskvsjM/s1600-h/images_screen_captures_S2E01_Hatch_Quarantine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBp-VOB_jxI/AAAAAAAAABU/AXgCCskvsjM/s320/images_screen_captures_S2E01_Hatch_Quarantine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195604023134097170" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Meant for Friday, April 11<sup>th</sup>- computer wouldn’t let me sign on<o:p></o:p></span> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >I guess I’m not the best YouTuber, because I just found out on the <a href="http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/04/next-big-viral.html">Wired blog network</a> that there was a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxzrPHaWda8">40-second clip posted on YouTube</a> in March of pure mayhem outside of an apartment building, sniper rifles and all. It was posted by “EricsVideoBlog” and he asks that people subscribe to his account in order to find out what happened in this clip which he mysteriously got his hands on…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >…Turns out its just another viral hoax done by the people who seem to be doing it best these days- <span style=""> </span>movie studios! It turns out that it was a viral marketing tactic created for Sony Pictures new film, Quarantine, which is set out for release all the way in October. The clip received at least a million views the weekend it surfaced, and at least 400 comments about the clip itself. They released the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxzrPHaWda8">full trailer </a>yesterday, and along with the first clip, have at least 2 million views. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Since the release of the first clip, “Eric” has created around 30 video entries asking people to theorize what happened in the clip. He has also referred to a new character in this viral marketing “story,” which has joined the investigation and spills about it in his <a href="http://lastpalmtree.blogspot.com/">“blog.”</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These kinds of movie campaigns are very creative, and would seem to attract that same kind of people who are into alternative lives such as Second Life, since they are simulating an occurrence and getting the public involved with the story. My only wonder is; is this gonna get old? Are these campaigns going to turn off cynics such as I to going to see a movie that tries to trick people into getting wrapped up in it? Guess we’ll have to see what other movies and movie studios jump on this bandwagon.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:10;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-68285982354258348022008-04-12T13:03:00.000-07:002008-05-01T19:31:06.558-07:00Buzz marketers take note: laws are changing the biz in the UK<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >According to <a href="http://www.culture-buzz.com/blog/IPA-warning-buzz-marketing-techniques-illegal-UK-1603.html">vanksenculturebuzz</a>'s blog section (cool website, check it out), on April 2nd, the British Institute of Practitioners in Advertising released a warning that will affect all buzz and viral marketing practitioners and internet advertising as a whole. The organization has launched a warning regarding the guidelines prohibiting unethical practices of viral marketing, buzz marketing, and word-of-mouth. Considering the rapid growth of these modes of promotion and advertising, this is a very well-needed and necessary step.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >These guidelines will be featured in the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="">Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations</span></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > that will be effective starting <strong><span style="">May 26, 2008, which already requires that any commercial message must be identified as such so as to not be deceiving to the public. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="">The following practices will be dubbed as illegal:<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >-</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Seeding positive messages about a brand in a blog without making it clear that the message has been created by, or on behalf of the brand.<br /><span style="">-</span>Using “buzz marketing” specialists to communicate with potential consumers in social situations without disclosing that they are acting as brand ambassadors.<br />-Seeding viral ads on the internet in a manner that implies you are a simple member of the public. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Punishments are to be in the form of heavy fines and possibly even prison sentences. So, if you have an online company or utilize any online advertisements or promotions for your products, whether it be an ad for a corporation or promoting your own album or clothing line, take note of these new laws, or else there is a big price to pay. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >I hope that people agree with these laws, because we are all consumers, and nobody ever likes being duped. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.ipa.co.uk/documents/Buzz_marketing_BRIEFING_DOC.pdf">Click here</a> for the rest of the </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >British Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s summary of this movement.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:10;" ></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:10;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-6206691571385442282008-04-04T09:53:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:44.959-08:00SunChips going green?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBo4TOB_jwI/AAAAAAAAABM/YNkqc5ruyGA/s1600-h/sunchips.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/SBo4TOB_jwI/AAAAAAAAABM/YNkqc5ruyGA/s320/sunchips.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195527022960414466" border="0" /></a><br />Looks like SunChips is sticking true to its name; according to <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/04-03-2008/0004785814&EDATE=THU+Apr+3+2008+07:00+AM">prnewswire.com</a>, FritoLay, the own of SunChips, will now be making their popular multigrain snacks (my favorite is Harvest Cheddar, mm), with the help of solar energy. SunChips will commence their eco-friendly production on April 21st, but until then, they have created a coinciding eco-campaign in order to promote SunChips going green.<br /><br />I personally think this ad campaign is genius. They are using a new slogan, "Live Brightly," which, according to prnewswire, <span style="font-family:monospace;"></span>is meant to focus on "the simple yet powerful idea<span style="font-family:monospace;"> </span>that small steps can add up to have a positive impact on your life as a<span style="font-family:monospace;"> </span>whole." Not to mention it goes quite well with the solar energy campaign; bright, solar energy, sun, SunChips, get it? I do, and I like it a lot.<br /><br />So as a part of their new advertising campaign, they are utilizing, yes, online advertising, along with TV and print. On Earth Day, they will debut the very first solar-powered newspaper ad, along with a solar-powered billboard in the company's hometown of Modesto, California. Although this has not alot to do with viral marketing, talk about creating a buzz: eco-friendly advertising, wow, look where we're headed. I'm sure SunChips will get mouths flapping about how they created the first solar-powered newspaper ad and billboards.<br /><br />In terms of online and viral advertising, they have created a new website, <a href="http://sunchips.com/index.shtml">sunchips.com</a>, which features tons of information on solar energy and ways and small steps for people to do to live a cleaner, greener lifestyle. It also has a link to add on a <a href="http://sunchips.com/widgets.shtml">SunChips Get Green Facebook</a> application, which is an amazing idea due to Facebook's popularity and its keen ability to drop advertisements into a website with very high visibility.<br /><br />Visit the website, check it out. Two progessive movements combine: viral and buzz marketing, and going green. I like the sound of that.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-9168635642616733632008-04-03T20:41:00.000-07:002008-04-03T21:43:59.522-07:00Even being "green" is going viral<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to <a href="http://www.pr-inside.com/alternativeenergy-com-launches-comedy-series-r514709.htm">PR-inside.com</a>, an alternative energy company appropriately named <a href="http://alternativeenergy.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">alternativeenergy</span>.com</a>, has hired viral marketing company <a href="http://www.youcastcorp.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">YouCast</span> </a>to further develop the company's viral marketing efforts and ideas to promote their company and its causes.<br /><br />On April 1st, the company has announced that it has developed its own comedy web series hosted by Chuck Roy, a "Last Comic Standing" semi-finalist, that uses humor to address the need for alternative energy sources. There will be three episodes per week that will be featured on the company's website.<br /><br />Along with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">webisode</span> series, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">YouCast</span> will promote <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">alternateenergy</span>.<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">com's</span> News, "Green collar jobs," Products, Social Networking and the new Comedy and Education features. The viral promotion campaign will start with music artists Right On Dynamite, Hung, The Knees, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Fewn</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Vonesper</span> along with pin-up girl Jennifer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Korbin</span> plugging the company on their own Web sites. Jonathan Cohen, founder of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">YouCast</span>, explains that "the opportunity to inject the online community with a positive message in a fun, engaging way is the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">YouCast</span> approach and we're elated to spearhead the effort with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">AE</span>.com."<br /><br />CEO of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">alternativeenergy</span>.com Doug Schiller is equally as enthused about the partnership and the adoption of a viral marketing strategy in stating "with our comedy series, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">YouCast's</span> marketing to musician and celebrity sites and an amazing new education section, we are well positioned to become the leading Alternative Energy web portal," This is just the beginning. We will soon introduce even more content."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"></p>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-4151182398962352722008-03-29T17:32:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:45.086-08:00The Dark Knight buzz marketing campaign version 2.0<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R_Oy7Raz0KI/AAAAAAAAABE/_WRHK6O3_0o/s1600-h/harveymktg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R_Oy7Raz0KI/AAAAAAAAABE/_WRHK6O3_0o/s320/harveymktg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184684327391449250" border="0" /></a><br />Although I briefly discussed The Dark Knight buzz campaign earlier on this month, I didn't go into great detail about how meticulous not only the buzz campaigning is for this movie, but how extensive the viral marketing is as well. The second phase of The Dark Knight buzz and viral campaigns are now in action, and there are many different elements that are involved:<br /><br />There are several websites dedicated to the characters of the movies and the ongoing theme of main character Harvey Dent's campaign for district attorney of Gotham City, such as <a href="http://ibelieveinharveydent.com/">ibelieveinharveydent.com</a>. There is also an online newspaper created as a part of the viral campaign, <a href="http://thegothamtimes.com/">TheGothamTimes.com</a>, that features stories about Harvey Dent's campaign as well as other hints about the movie's storyline. An extension of these viral publications that was unexpected are Web sites dedicated to other stories from The Gotham Times, such as <a href="http://danaworthington.com/">DanaWorthington.com</a> and <a href="http://www.citizensforbatman.org/">CitizensforBatman.org</a>(for more websites based on articles from The Dark Knight's viral newspaper TheGothamTimes.com, <a href="http://www.superheroflix.com/news/05/27605.php">click here</a>).<br /><br />Not only are there websites dedicated to Harvey Dent, but there is also a Web site for The Joker (from other Batman movie fame) as a viral marketing tactic. The Dark Knight followers can not only be followers of the Harvey Dent campaign, but can also team with the Joker, starting by visiting his website, <a href="http://www.whysoserious.com/">WhySoSerious.com</a> . In order to become one of the Joker's "henchmen" there are games to be played on the website, and now that the campaign is in it's second phase, it has expanded past the internet and has gone where not many, if any, viral and buzz campaigns have gone before: text messaging.<br /><br />Fans can email recruiting@rent-a-clown.com to begin getting texts from "the Joker himself" with obscure hints about how to get deeper within this buzz and viral marketing campaign. According to Superheroflix.com, the first texts went like this:<br /><br /><div class="quoted">"Hey clown! Long time, no crime spree! Well, put on your floppy shoes and answer this question: are you ready to get to work? (ReplyY/N)"</div><br /><br />Fans that responded to the Joker with a 'Y' will get the following message:<br /><br /><div class="quoted">"Glad to see you're still alive and kicking. I'll be in touch before Poisson d'Avril.</div><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>It was projected that the Joker's "henchmen" would receive another text around April Fool's Day.<br /><br />This viral and buzz campaign is absolutely incredible. The amount of creativity in order to create a campaign that is so cunning and cutting-edge is unseen in other circumstances. The Dark Knight movie campaign, I predict, will go down in history as the most extensive and progressive marketing campaign to date, and has certainly raised the bar for all buzz and viral marketing campaigns to come. The tactics and tools they created to get fans so deeply involved in the movies promotion creates an even greater amount of anticipation than could be expected using any other marketing campaign. I can't wait to see the outcome in the fan's reception and the box office numbers to see if this genius campaign really pulled it off as greatly as I expect.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-38669954376559217492008-03-28T16:01:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:45.387-08:00The First Ever Official Viral Film Festival<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-2KYhaz0JI/AAAAAAAAAA8/OTb4WizrrOk/s1600-h/viralfilm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-2KYhaz0JI/AAAAAAAAAA8/OTb4WizrrOk/s320/viralfilm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182950900065620114" border="0" /></a><br />As posted on the <a href="http://www.vbma.net/">Viral and Buzz Marketing Association website</a> on March 12, The first ever Viral Film Festival will be happening April 28th as a part of the BEFLIM The Underground Film Festival in New York City. It will take place at the Dolby Screening Room located at 1350 Avenue of the Americas. The event is produced in partnership with <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/us">dailymotion.com</a>, a video-sharing website. This will be the 5th annual Underground Film Festival to date. The deadline to submit video entries was March 22nd, but I have some projections and hopes for what this festival should bring to the table...<br /><br />This film festival could provide so many opportunities for the marketing industry. People in the marketing industry should attend this festival in order to observe trends in viral video production and themes. People interested in video production and marketing, I hope, made submissions to this festival to get their name out into the industry to catch the interest of marketing companies and advertising boutiques who are looking to get an edge on the viral marketing strategy.<br /><br />My last inquiry about this film festival is...WHY WASN'T THERE ANY VIRAL MARKETING FOR THE VIRAL MARKETING FILM FESTIVAL???<br /><br />I suppose that because it is the event's first year, that some flexibility will be made-- maybe they didn't have the budget? maybe they didn't have the staff? But i believe that if there was more marketing efforts, especially in the realm of which the festival is honoring, it would be much more well-known and the pop culture circuits would take a liking to this new celebration of art.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"></span>Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-61326470857110678122008-03-23T11:40:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:45.696-08:00My hometown shuts down successful viral marketing campaign? I'm ashamed.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-anvRaz0II/AAAAAAAAAA0/YIz_zXFgzUw/s1600-h/harveydent3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-anvRaz0II/AAAAAAAAAA0/YIz_zXFgzUw/s320/harveydent3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181012851907874946" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, so I know I haven't said too much about the viral and buzz marketing campaign for the movie, The Dark Knight, solely because it is so complex that I have yet to get the whole grasp on it. According to the <a href="http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/1687/exclusive-chicago-police-break-up-harvey-dent-viral-marketing-campaign-for-the-dark-knight">article </a>from <a href="http://hollywoodchicago.com/">hollywoodchicago.com</a>, the main character of the movie, Harvey Dent, runs for district attorney for Gotham City, which is the central concept of the campaign. The buzz marketing campaign is designed like a political campaign, with the tagline "I believe in Harvey Dent." Fans of the yet-to-be released movie act as participants in the buzz campaign by setting up "campaign stations" in cities all over the US. There is a campaign bus called the "Dentmobile" that brings the campaign to each city.<br /><br />On March 12, when the campaign stopped in my lovely hometown of Chicago, there was what I would like to call an "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Fiasco"-- yup, the cops broke up the promotional campaign. The campaign, was planned to run from 8 to 10 a.m., but the Chicago police broke it up within three minutes flat. Talk about a buzzkill.<br /><br />To check out more photos from the campaign, check them out <a href="http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/1687/exclusive-chicago-police-break-up-harvey-dent-viral-marketing-campaign-for-the-dark-knight">here</a>.<br /><br />To find out if the Dentmobile and the Harvey Dent campaign will be around your neck of the woods, check out the campaign site <a href="http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/ontheroad.aspx">here</a>.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-88083454028017828482008-03-21T17:40:00.000-07:002008-12-11T17:16:46.146-08:00Pepsi's new product and new marketing plan--excited about both<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-Wx3Baz0HI/AAAAAAAAAAs/f9zOTKuemuE/s1600-h/tava.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R-Wx3Baz0HI/AAAAAAAAAAs/f9zOTKuemuE/s320/tava.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180742505191428210" border="0" /></a><br />According to a UTalk Marketing's <a href="http://www.utalkmarketing.com/pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4727&Title=Buzz_Marketing_used_by_Pepsi_for_new_launch">March 14 article,</a> Pepsi will be releasing a new no-calorie, caffine-free carbonated fruit-flavored soft drink called Tava. Pepsi is targeting women ages 35-49, but is going through an untraditional route, especially for this demographic; they're using viral and buzz marketing to reach this target audience, which will be an interesting approach of which I'm excited to see the results of.<br /><br />They are using viral campaign techniques such as creating its own website, <a href="http://tava.com/">tava.com,</a> and creating banner ads. What I believe to be Pepsi's most clever tactic is sending out samples to employees of companies that are considered opinion influencers such as Google, MTV, and Apple. They are also utilizing buzz marketing by giving out samples at hip festivals and entertainments and through some businesses on the trendy Lower East Side of Manhattan.<br /><br />Frank Cooper, vice president for flavored carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America, justifies his decision to use these up-and-coming marketing techniques for this particular demographic by stating although this isn't the typical tech-savvy market segment, "There’s a group in that category that’s ‘reborn digital.’ They’ve lived through the change and learned to adapt to it... this consumer spends significant time online, although what they do may differ from the younger consumer. They’re not I.M.-ing their friends; they’re looking at e-mail or looking up information about travel, music, food.”<br /><br />Looks like Pepsi knows what it's doing, and I predict successful results.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-50074224962046937722008-03-05T13:41:00.000-08:002008-03-05T14:37:59.077-08:00Alert: Viral Marketing Trend WatchWhile searching through blogs to find new sources, I came across <a href="http://www.virtualmarketingblog.com/index.php/20080305/2008-marketing-trends/">Nial <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">McFadyen's</span></a> post on <a href="http://www.virtualmarketingblog.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">virtualmarketingblog</span>.com</a>. Today's post was about five different marketing trends of viral marketing that McFadyen has observed and predicted will come to a front this year.<br /><br />McFadyen's first prediction is that branded games will become the most as the most effective technique in social network advertising. It may be that the rest of the public is more in touch with the online gaming industry (I think of it as one less procrastination tool for me), but I don't think I will be one to jump on this bandwagon. Yes, I believe that it will become more popular and effective with a particular demographic, but out of the web- savvy population, I'm not sure they'll be reaching many 20-something females. But who knows, maybe a company will find some way to strike our fancy, I'm not one to underestimate.<br /><br />McFadyen also predicts that internet will be integrated with other modes of media such as TV and game consoles (in which the Web has already been integrated), and electronics and other devices will be designed to accomodate to this integration. Word on the street is that many said products are in development, and as long as they're marketed well, I have no doubt that this prediction will be verified.<br /><br />Third prediction: Kid’s toy manufacturers will incorporate the internet with their toy concepts, following the success of <a href="http://www.webkinz.com/" target="blank">Webkinz</a>. I will admit, my siblings love Webkinz, and when kids love something, they can't get enough of it. Remember Tomagotchi's and GigaPets? Word to my Webkinz team in Park: take this trend into consideration, how is Webkinz going to deal with the competition?<br /><br />According to McFadyen, "the improvement in targeted and local search will increase the number of small businesses that advertise online. This increase in advertising will slowly spread beyond text based search advertising and into social network advertising as well as online advertising networks that can deliver results." I, for one, agree that this trend is already in movement. My friend works for a local search engine in Chicago called <a href="http://www.getfave.com/chicago/index">Fave</a>, and it hasn't stopped growing, and is actually the fastest growing search engine in the Chicago area. There's all sorts of local advertisements and information, and seeing that this site is becoming incredibly popular, I have no doubt that search engines for other areas would as well.<br /><br />The last prediction is that small business will increasingly start creating low budget marketing initiatives based on free internet services like blogs or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> pages. It's becoming an increasingly popular alternative because businesses don't have to spend the cost of website design and hosting. Also, free online video sites like <a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube</a> will continue to be used as an alternative to TV advertising, and in my opinion, commericials will become even more popular in searching since there is more flexibility for content and creativity on these sites.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-46324131284891694212008-03-04T14:48:00.000-08:002008-03-05T13:40:49.959-08:00Our country is in recession, but the World Wide Web is still boomingAs reported in <a href="http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/online-marketer.html">this article</a> written in <a href="http://www.wired.com/">Wired</a>'s blog site by Betsy Schiffman, it turns out that while the rest of America's economy is nearly in recession (see <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/gc06/idUKN0362496820080303">this article</a> that Wired references for further information on our economy's demise), online marketing companies report absolutely no effect on the sales of online advertising space. In fact, according to Jon Kelley, president of online advertising and marketing firm Sure Hits, "The trend of online advertising growth is stronger than economic recessionary trends." Nice, this is what I like to hear. According to CEO of Sharpe Partners Kathy Sharpe, the industry has been growing at 25% for the last five or six years.<br /><br />Wired spoke to numerous online marketers at last weeks Search Marketing Expo, and they were hard-pressed to find people who were in disagreement with Kelley and Sharpe. Rich Kahn, CEO of search engine and ad platform eZanga, bragged that he has even doubled his sales force as of this month due to increase in demand for online and viral advertising.<br /><br />The cause of this constant increase is the fact that businesses realize, in increasing numbers, that viral and online marketing can't be beat in cost-efficiency and its effectiveness in ignition of word-of-mouth. T. David Akindele, senior sales executive at Pop Labs, embellishes by stating "The internet is one of the most effective way to reach a ready-to-buy customer, with the exception of word-of-mouth. Advertisers need to be online."<br /><br />So it looks as if people are getting the hint. The internet is the medium with the most potential for development and the most amount of flexibility and creativity in marketing techniques. Can't wait to hear more about some really viral and buzz marketing campaigns coming up soon.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-84160092079629906672008-02-23T12:30:00.000-08:002008-02-23T13:01:36.167-08:00SlipStream shows us how it's doneOn February 22nd, in a press release shown on <a href="http://www.prleap.com/pr/114288/">PRLEAP.com</a>, Slipstream Video, a company specializing in online videos as marketing tools, announced their launch of an interactive video streaming website, <a href="http://www.slipstreamvideo.com/">www.slipstreamvideo.com</a>. The website exhibits how adding video to a website or in representation of a company or brand can significantly increase product sales.<br /><br />The new site focuses on the skills that SlipStream has developed in order to successfully reach a client's target demographic, provoke interest, and influence a consumer's purchase decision; something that many companies, being in-house or boutique, have yet to accomplish. What's great about SlipStream and their concept of an how-we-do-it website, if you will, is that it doesn't hide their expertise like a secret weapon, but makes the information available to other businesses to use as a tool in improving and updating their marketing techniques.<br /><br />Not only does the website provide how-tos to online marketing, it also reveals elements of SlipStream's very own internet marketing strategy, which employs social networking, mobile technology, search engine optimization, "e-blasts," blogs, and viral marketing. This incredible online marketing resource of strategies is accessible to any company, and business transactions can be done through email.<br /><br />Of the many new elements of the website, a"Customized Solutions" video has been uploaded which showcases SlipStream's ability to design, update, and improve websites and provide e-commerce and search engine optimization strategy. There is also a gallery of SlipStream's previous work to see the product of their skill.<br /><br />I think it is very important for this company to be in the Rolodex of any business, small or large, because of their knowledge of the transition in the involvement of technology in marketing. And if a business can't afford to hire an out-of house firm, to at least take some tips from these guys; thanks to their new website, information on this new marketing tool is readily available.<br /><br />To learn more about SlipStream video, go to <a href="http://www.slipstreamvideo.com/">www.slipstreamvideo.com</a><br /><br />To learn more about the release of their new website, <a href="http://www.prleap.com/pr/114288/">click here</a> for the entire press release.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-42088355182736074442008-02-20T14:03:00.000-08:002008-12-11T17:16:46.400-08:00Coffee + Internet= my typical day... and a new ad campaign!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7yxbRcgiAI/AAAAAAAAAAk/YSGd8avFiqI/s1600-h/tassimo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7yxbRcgiAI/AAAAAAAAAAk/YSGd8avFiqI/s320/tassimo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169201554412046338" border="0" /></a><br />Earlier today, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3id5388aa9b5187ee7fa0df4230e987fca">The Hollywood Reporter</a>, well, reported, that Kraft and Ogilvy & Mather;s branded entertainment group are teaming up to create a viral marketing campaign of a series of webisodes circled around the Tassimo, a hot beverage maker, which is a sub-brand of the Kraft family. This is Kraft's first webisode marketing campaign ever. They have hired writer/producer Jim Biederman, whose previous acclaimed work includes The Kids in the Hall" and "The Whitest Kids U Know."<br /><br />The webisode series is titled "Who Hired Bob?" which is set in an office and centered around the misadventures of the main character, obviously named Bob who is fanatically obsessed with the office's Tassimo machine. Currently there are already two webisodes released, which have three acts per webisode, that can be seen on WhoHiredBob.com. Each act has two possible endings, so the viewer can select the fate of Bob after each act. There's also a contest where people can send in their own versions of Bob-like situations and the winner will be have the next "Bob-isode."<br /><br />Concerning Kraft's marketing strategy, Joseph Frydl, the director of Ogilvy's branded content and entertainment group, states "Creating original, entertaining content gives Tassimo both cultural currency and permission for further conversations with consumers." I couldn't agree more. Coffee and office life are two symbols in American culture, and to pair those two elements of our pop culture into a progressive and influential cultural icon of the internet is a recipe for popularity and buzz.<br /><br />Frydl expects that the webisodes well receive 70 million hits or acknowledgments over the span of a month, and I wouldn't disagree with it!Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-35671066425312062692008-02-16T15:11:00.000-08:002008-12-11T17:16:46.739-08:00Viral marketing is getting political<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7eMqxcgh_I/AAAAAAAAAAc/AYDCbdMEefw/s1600-h/cintonspoof.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7eMqxcgh_I/AAAAAAAAAAc/AYDCbdMEefw/s320/cintonspoof.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167753763886237682" border="0" /></a><br />Apparently viral marketing has a new use that is as strategic as the people who thought of it: viral marketing is now being used as a modern, effective edge for political campaigns. The Boston Globe caught up on this new trend, and by writing <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/09/web_only_campaign_advertisements_flood_presidential_race/">an article</a> about it, is really expanding this phenomenon and making viral marketing a more public and mainstream element of our culture.<br /><br />Campaigns are taking advantage of what the Globe calls "the first-<span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span class="SS_L3"><span class="verdana">ever broadband-fed presidential race" in a variety of ways. In a more forward, gung-ho competitive approach, </span></span></span>Republican Mitt Romney's campaign released a video directed towards competitor John McCain dubbed <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=zaTvBxQj8YM">"The Democrat's Favorite Republican"</a> that highlights certain criticisms and damaging footage about McCain's agenda and beliefs. On a lighter note, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton created her own web videos, including a <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=shKJk3Rph0E">spoof</a> on the Soprano's finale in which she "reveals" her winning campaign song. What's great about presidential candidates and their campaign creating their own videos featuring themselves is that it is a great humanizing quality; their videos are on YouTube next to kid's dance recitals and teenage pranks.<br /><br />The beauty of releasing this type of video on the web is that there is no time limit (compared to the TV limit of 1 minute), there is no restrictions for content, giving the campaigns more leway and enter a level of riskiness that campaigns haven't had before. The biggest upside to viral video? It's free. <span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span class="SS_L3"><span class="verdana"><br /></span></span></span><br />Whether or not the videos persuade voters to lean one way or another, one thing is for sure: they are undeniably visible. The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that almost a quarter of the US population has seen a campaign-related video online. That quarter of the population consists of about 41% of people under 30 and 20% of people 30 or older. Considering that these age groups, particularly the under 30 demographic, is more politically-conscious and influential in the election than ever before, these numbers are <span style="font-style: italic;">incredibly</span> significant.Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733446852685771513.post-4382378624234415212008-02-14T09:39:00.000-08:002008-12-11T17:16:46.866-08:00Google is fueling the creative fire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7YtExcgh-I/AAAAAAAAAAU/BaAD7Dbtf0E/s1600-h/adwords.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fIvDJ1mL5GU/R7YtExcgh-I/AAAAAAAAAAU/BaAD7Dbtf0E/s320/adwords.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167367182469859298" border="0" /></a><br />Google has created an awesome contribution to the advancement of buzz and viral marketing-- the company developed <a href="http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/index.html">The Google Online Marketing Challenge</a>. It is a contest, which is open to any student in any part of the world, to participate in creating an online marketing campaign for a local business, and the winning ad team will receive a trip to the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA, with a 7-night stay at a 5-star hotel in San Francisco. Question to Park administrators: how did all of these people in the world (look at this <a href="http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/index.html">Google Map</a> to see 'em) know about this, but we didn't!??!?!?<br /><br />So anyway, the contest works like this: student teams from academic institutions (who must register for the contest prior to students being able to participate) are given $200 US dollars worth of free online advertisting with <a href="http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/adwords.html">Google AdWords</a>. AdWords (see right) are links to a company in a column on a Google search result page labeled Sponsored Links. These AdWords pop up when a person types in a word (which to advertisers, is a want or need) that coincides with the company's product or service.<br /><br />Students use this $200 to work with their local business of choice (which must be under 100 employees and has a website BUT does not use AdWords) and create their own AdWords account within a competition time span of three weeks. The team must submit a competition report before the competition begins, and one after the three week campaign has ended. The teams can compete in any three week period between February 10th and May 24th of this years. The campaigns are judged by an <a href="http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/panel.html">international smorgasbord</a> of professionals and the winners will be announced this June.<br /><br />Google explains this opportunity and challenge to interested students as "great opportunity for you to gain practical, real world online marketing experience and gain valuable skills that potential employers are looking for. And for all of those loyal to the mom-and-pop stores, "It's also a great way to help local businesses and your community by supporting them with your online marketing knowledge."<br /><br />As a person who's enthusiastic about both causes, I give Google serious kudos for seeing the potential in the intellect and talent of the upcoming generation, promoting the increasingly important mode of viral marketing, and supporting small business. That said, when can Ithaca sign up? Guess we'll have to wait for next year...Kristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04668686621107096677noreply@blogger.com1