Jul

31

Movements: social media optional

Filed Under Branding, Engagement, Social Media | Comments

I wanted to highlight some of the things that stood out to me while reading Lessons Learned in Igniting Word of Mouth Movements, a manifesto from Brains on Fire which is a very quick and insightful read.

While I am a big fan of everything digital/social media, it was refreshing to come across something from a group of very smart marketing people which did not focus on it being the answer to everything.

redmatches

Let’s start with:

We must approach our fans—our friends—on a level that gets to the root of shared passion. It’s not about the product—it’s what the product allows your customers to do. How it enhances their lives. (pg. 4)

Identifying and getting to know your customers and why they started using your product or service should be common sense for any business. Chances are they have valuable opinions and genuinely want to see you improve, but they just didn’t want to participate in a one-way feedback method like a boring form or a survey which most people don’t believe is taken seriously anyway.

Influence can be made – passion can’t. (pg. 5)

Sure people that have built big followings online can get your message out quicker, but that won’t start a movement. It’s easy for brands to get attracted to a marketing campaign that brings them lots of short-term PR attention. That may work for certain situations, but they should always be thinking about how they can start working on something more meaningful that will bring them long-term benefits.

Although I haven’t even owned a Volkswagen in 3 years, I am still a regular visitor and actively participate in a VW community I joined over 8 years ago (even before I bought my first car). Like most of the other members, I share a passion for all cars (not just VW’s) which I why I still go back regularly. What I like about online forums is no matter how many posts or how long you’ve been a member, everyone is equally influential when they voice their opinion.

Companies are made up of people. And people are fallible. The ones that admit this win. (pg. 6)

The last time you saw a company admit to a mistake, did you think worse or better of them? My level of respect definitely goes up when I see a company is willing to admit to their mistakes and how they are actually learning from them to prevent them from happening again. A recent example of this was when Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com apologized right on the company’s forums for a mistake that affected owners of a certain book that was taken off their Kindle’s without permission. Take a look at all the positive feedback he got (even from unaffected customers).

As great as all the Twitters and Facebooks and MySpaces and blogs and message boards and digital do-dads are, they will never, ever replace the power of shaking someone’s hand, looking them in the eye, getting kindred spirits in the room (or better yet, at your brand’s Mecca), laughing together, getting a drink, sitting at the dinner table—whatever. (pg. 8)

This is an important reminder for brands and agencies to try and link their digital strategy back to the real world. If they are successful, that real life experience people will have with the brand and other passionate customers will go a long way. The same advice is true when it comes to job hunting as I was reminded after recently coming across this article in AdAge. I also agree with Dave Fleet how we sometimes become a little too obsessed with social media ROI.

Reward people with recognition. (pg. 9)

The idea here is that people would rather be recognized for being loyal and important to the brand rather than just be given material rewards. Some of my favorite brands are the ones that regularly perform small and simple customer appreciation gestures without even being asked, and not necessarily just refunds and free products. Virgin, Amazon, Apple, Zappos are just a few that have become known for this (although they certainly aren’t perfect either).

Small business entrepreneur’s seem to be the most passionate when it comes to their own company’s success and it’s not surprising that I keep reading about more CEO’s making time to interact directly with their customers – time that I’m sure they will always agree was well spent. People love recognition and that will never change.

An increase in sales is a byproduct of a movement. (pg. 9)

I am a big believer than nothing worthwhile ever comes easy and the same will always be true when thinking about a potential movement.

Also check out this review on Conversation Age. Photo credit.

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Jul

10

Drinkspiration should provide other major brands with mobilespiration

Filed Under Branding, Engagement, Marketing, Mobile | Comments

This iPhone app from Absolut is very impressive. Drinkspiration was obviously carefully planned to try and take over the already crowded category of drink recommendation apps (most of which aren’t even free). It was developed by a Swedish agency by the name of Great Works.

Before you read further, watch the demo video if you haven’t yet:

Download it here (iTunes link). I personally paid for a few similar apps a while back and have since removed them because I found them confusing and they really didn’t help me easily answer the big question, “What is a new drink I can order or make instead of the usual?” I’m pretty sure almost anybody that drinks and who isn’t a bartender has this problem.

Drinkspiration does a better job at helping you answer that question and at the same time it went above and beyond by adding several other social and location-based features which really sets it apart.

The number one complaint we’ve been seeing lately from developers is the challenge of app exposure now that it’s very crowded in every category. Until there are changes made, the most obvious answer to that question is to create something worthwhile for the user with unique features that are worth talking about. Of course that’s easier said than done.

What Drinkspiration does right…

1. Useful functionality

This app solves that common problem among drinkers in several different ways. Some features also leverage the iPhone’s built-in GPS and other available API’s. The different options that are presented allow you to get drink suggestions based on things like your location, desired taste/color of the drink, the time of day, the weather, liquor type, glass type, and even the type of bar vibe.

They also included two other unique options: see what other people are ordering in real-time across the world (I am 99% sure they got this idea from the popular Ocarina app but there is no harm in that) & recommend a drink by background volume (my favorite one that worked well when I tested it).

2. Well designed user interface

A must IMO for any iPhone app to be taken seriously.

3. Social network optimized

Linking to Twitter and Facebook worked as expected (except it got my location wrong but I don’t think that’s Absolut’s fault). One small change I would make: the Facebook status should also be updated so it says “I just had an Old Vic” like it does on Twitter or else your friends will be probably be confused.

I do like how they link all updates to absolutdrinks.com, the online version of the app where you can search, browse, and find more tips on how to mix the drinks.

If only they would have figured out a way to hook up with the already popular Foursquare app, that would have put the app over the top.

4. Good app name

Drinking + finding the inspiration to try something new = Drinkspiration.

5. Free download

There might be a few other exceptions but for the most part, people won’t bother paying for a clearly branded app. One of the exceptions might be paying for subscription based apps from magazines or newspapers that will have frequently updated content (and most likely replace a paper subscription).

Other Thoughts

Some of the early reviews for Drinkspiration on iTunes aren’t so great but it looks like they are mainly from people who are pointing out some of the bugs that Absolut will likely fix with future versions. I did notice it crashed on me a few times but that’s usually the case with a lot of the new and complex apps I try these days. Besides the iTunes store, the mentions on Twitter for Drinkspiration have been very good.

I imagine that Absolut will create the same app for Android, Palm and maybe even BlackBerry sometime in the near future (Update: already plans to release an Android version as this article points out). They created an app that people will likely show off to friends at the bar which will lead to more downloads. There is a huge opportunity for a major beer company to create something similar for the beer category. I’m also wondering since Bluetooth enabled accessories will be a huge part of the iPhone market very soon if it would be possible for Absolut to develop an iPhone breathalyzer which would allow you to blow into it and display your blood alcohol level within the app.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other recent examples of branded apps which you thought were well-done. Some others that come to mind right now are Dunkin Donut’s Dunkin Run, Oakley’s Surf Report, Charmin’s sponsored SitorSquat and Kraft’s iFood.

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