desktopan UPFRONT MEDIA publication

ISSUE 21 May 2011

In this issue:

10 Proven Strategies for Greater 2

Likeability on Facebook

How to Use Geolocation in Your 4

Marketing Initiatives

As social media moves towards 6

gamification, how can brands benefit?
   
7 Videos Showing Innovative Uses Of 8
QR Codes In Marketing

Random facts, humor 9

more...

10 Proven Strategies for Greater
Likeability on Facebook
May 10, 2011 from Mashable
We all intuitively know what likeability means. We have
friends who are easygoing, good listeners and there when
we need them. But what does it mean for a brand to be like-
able online?
Now more than ever, when a “Like” is arguably more impor-
tant than a “link,” brands must demonstrate core values of re-
sponsiveness, transparency and likeability across Facebook
and other social networks.
Listen to your customers and prospects. Deliver value, ex-
citement and surprise. And most importantly, truly engage
your customers and help them spread the word. Here are 10
universal laws for brand likeability in social media.
1. Never Stop Listening
The number one benefit of a brand’s involvement in social
media is the ability to listen to conversation about its brand,
competitors and target audience’s wants and needs.
“ Listening is 50% of communication.”
Just as nobody wants to be out on a date with someone who
isn’t a good listener, consumer don’t want to feel ignored by
brands on social networks.
For a good case study on how listening in social media has
impacted millions of dollars worth of sales, check out IBM’s
Listening for Leads program.
2. Leverage Facebook’s EdgeRank Formula
EdgeRank, Facebook’s algorithm for determining what ap-
pears at the top of people’s News Feeds, might be the single
most important online innovation of our time.
EdgeRank uses multiple factors to determine what’s relevant
and appealing to users. So unlike email, through which we
receive a constant barrage of pushed messages all day, ev-
ery day, Facebook updates surface to the top of our feeds
based on how likeable and relevant the updates are.
At any given time, as a brand, you’re competing with all of
your fans’ friends and other brand pages for attention. This
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is a great thing for consumers because it means they’re not
spammed with irrelevant, sales-heavy messaging.
But it’s also a challenge to marketers. You’ll want to use
photos and videos, keep the text short and drive as many
Likes and comments as possible.
3. Improvise Your Engagement
There is a difference between talking at people and engag-
ing with them. I often use the analogy of a Broadway show
versus an improv show. TV advertising is like a Broadway
show — a one-way communication in which a huge produc-
tion and great creative can make a strong impact.
Social media marketing is more like improv comedy — a
back-and-forth between performers and audience, different
every time yet totally effective at a fraction of the cost, when
done right.
One brand that does an excellent job of engaging in social
media is Zappos. Zappos goes back and forth with cus-
tomers on Twitter and Facebook, discussing its product —
shoes — or anything else customers want to talk about.
4. Respond Quickly to Negative Comments
Customers have taken to social networks to share their frus-
trations. Unlike 10 years ago, when you could get away with
putting people on hold for an hour or responding to letters
on your own schedule, negative sentiment can spread light-
ning-fast on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The faster you
can respond, the better.
The best practice is to respond publicly, indicating that
you’re addressing the issue through a private message. The
customer will feel that he or she is heard, and most impor-
tant to your brand, the public sees that you care and are
responsive.
“I’m sorry” are the two most powerful words
for brands in social media.
5. Respond to Positive Comments, Too
Many brands are not yet leveraging this opportunity, but
UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 2
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your positive comments on Facebook and Twitter are likely
from your biggest brand advocates, capable of spreading
your messages far and wide and defending you against nay-
sayers at no cost.
If you owned a retail store and a customer walked up to you
and said, “I just love all your products and have been shop-
ping here for years,” would you ignore them? Don’t ignore
them on Facebook either.
“Thank you” are the other two most powerful
words for brands in social media.
6. Be Authentic and Transparent
Take a guess at what actor has the most likes on Facebook.
Is it the most famous, most talented or best-looking actor?
With more than 21 million fans, Vin Diesel is the most-liked
actor on Facebook, probably because he’s the most au-
thentic. He shares pictures of his family, videos and inner
thoughts. Brands can learn from Vin: Share insights from
real people, behind-the-scenes footage, and your brand’s
personality.
Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 Billion
7. Provide Value (for Free!)
Brands that provide real value to consumers will see long-
term dividends, build trust and credibility, and grow conta-
gious excitement. While 10% off is not value (it’s marketing),
50% off is value. Free is value.
Business-to-business brands can give away white papers,
share articles or do free webinars. Business-to-consumer
brands can give away products or deep-discounts, hold con-
tests and share entertaining content.
Extra Gum gave away a pack to every fan on Facebook —
now that’s value.
8. Share and Inspire Stories
Stories bring brands to life in a way that nothing else can.
Stories can be about the founding of the company, an em-
ployee who has overcome struggle, or a customer experi-
ence with your product.
In order for brands to tell a story at scale, they used to have
to buy a 30-second TV commercial. Today, you can tell a
story through tweets, photos and Facebook groups.
Check out this Facebook group, inspired by a local Mc-
Donald’s employee in Chandler, Arizona. More than 1,000
people sing Mary’s praises and organically spread the word
about McDonald’s.
9. Consistently Deliver Surprise and Delight
This is a marketing principle more than a social media prin-
ciple. When brands surprise and delight on social networks,
it’s public and part of an ecosystem where things can spread
very quickly.
When Cumberland Farms’ Chill Zone Facebook Page had
30,000 fans, they announced that if the page topped 75,000
fans, they’d give away a free Chill Zone to everyone on the
Page. A few weeks later, without any advertising, the page
was at 100,000 fans.
10. Don’t Sell
Just make it easy and compelling for customers to buy. While
it’s essential for brands to create likeable, engaging commu-
nities on social networks, every CMO needs to move the
sales needle. But there’s a huge difference between using
social networks to aggressively sell versus making it easy
for consumers to buy.
Flash sales provide urgency and excitement on social net-
works. One way to make it easy is in-Facebook commerce.
Ultimately, the most important rule for brands to remember
is the Golden Rule:
Take off your marketing cap and
put on your consumer cap — would you
click Like or RT?
UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 3

How to Use Geolocation in Your
Marketing Initiatives
Apr 14, 2011 from SocialMedia Examiner
2011 has been hailed as the “year of
geolocation.” Alas, so was 2010. As was
2009 and 2008. Yet geolocation services like Foursquare
and Gowalla continue to seek mainstream audiences with
limited success.
Most smartphone users have never used a geolocation app.
What’s holding them back? And how should marketers ap-
proach these emerging technologies?
The Value of Geolocation
It’s easy to see why marketers would be interested in geolo-
cation: You can effectively target customers at the most
important point in the consideration cycle – standing
right in front of you.
Digital marketing has historically been tasked with either an
awareness/brand-building role, or – more frequently – a di-
rect response role, driving customers right into the ecom-
merce funnel.
But we know that social media breaks down that wall be-
tween brand-building and purchase behavior. We’ve seen
marketers effectively drive sales through social media en-
gagement – Starbucks is one brand that’s done a great job
on that front.
For consumers though, the benefits of geolocation are not
clear. A study on consumer geolocation adoption shows
when people have smartphones (and know about geoloca-
tion services), more than 30% say that privacy concerns
prevent them from sharing their location on digital devices.
So, how do we effectively use location for marketing pur-
poses?
Build Geolocation Into Your Social Strategy
Sharing location is a high-trust activity. To overcome con-
sumer concerns about privacy, marketers can use the
brand’s authority. In fact, brand trust is the only way geolo-
cation technologies will move into the mainstream.
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Nike’s running community, Nike+, is a great example of
this. Nike uses geolocation to share successful runs easily
across Facebook and Twitter. Runners share their achieve-
ments with their friends and build new relationships as part
of the Nike+ community. In both cases, the benefit of track-
ing your athletic performance and achievements provide
a clear reason to share personal information with Nike.
Yelp also builds geolocation successfully on top of a social
media strategy. By allowing reviewers to check in to restau-
rants, users can later be reminded to review the restaurant
and build their reputation as an authoritative foodie. That
reputation is worth giving up some privacy for.
Don’t worry about getting your casual customers to check
in. Instead, incentivize your most loyal brand advocates
– your existing social media followers. Your customers will
let you know how much they trust your brand based on their
check-in behavior. And you can tell how vocal and influential
a customer is when she raises her hand with a check-in.
Reward and reinforce that behavior.
How to build geolocation into your social strategy:
a Tell your social networks that checking in is impor-
tant to you. Make sure you remind your fans and follow-
ers to check in, especially for important or large events.
a Encourage cross-promotion from location services
to social networks. Offer rewards for Foursquare check-
ins – but only if the person is also a Facebook fan. De-
liver rewards through Facebook to assure compliance.
a Use geographic information from social networks
to drive location-based participation. Social networks
like Facebook have city/state data on users – so use that
for targeted messaging to drive in-store experiences.
Go Beyond Coupons to Real Rewards for Checking In
The good news is that there are ways to get customers to
use geolocation services. The bad news is that the low-
hanging fruit is not motivating customers right now.
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Why consumers use geolocation apps:
a Coupons: The most common geolocation marketing ap-
proach is a discount for checking in. McDonald’s tested
this out last fall, and increased check-ins by 33% in one
day. But this is exactly the wrong strategy.
Because these are already loyal fans, you don’t need to
discount and give away margin. In fact, only 7% of users
in the White Horse survey said they use geolocation for
coupons.
a Badges and passport stamps: These are also not a
motivating factor – though they can be a nice surprise.
4% indicated that this was a motivation for checking in.
Games are fun when they’re well-designed (just look
at the staying power of chess and Monopoly, even with
advanced videogame consoles) – but when games are
badly designed, they’re pretty boring. And right now,
achievement badges in geolocation services are just not
that interesting or meaningful.
a Social Engagement: By far, the most important motiva-
tion for consumers is the social component of location.
41% said the reason they checked in was to “connect
with people I know or could meet” and another 21% said
Articles published on the weekend are shared most
they were trying to “find a place liked by people they trust.”
Marketers must create rewards and reinforcements that
yield richer social connections with their customers. By
putting customers in touch with each other, the brand cre-
ates a meaningful and engaged community around a shared
idea. That’s a win for everyone.
Taplister does a great job of this by connecting beer aficio-
nados with geolocation information about where their fa-
vorite pours are on tap. Taplister successfully builds on the
beer lover’s desire to taste, compare and discuss beers with
others interested in the topic. Alcohol has helped form new
friendships for thousands of years – this just streamlines an
activity that’s already important to many people.
Coke Zero’s TRON LiveCycle app also uses technology to
build new social connections. This real-world game al-
lows users to compete against other players in a live-action
version of a TRON competition. The gaming elements pro-
vide a compelling experience to challenge existing friends
or meet new ones.
How to go beyond coupons to encourage check-ins:
aCreate a branded app or layer: your brand’s fans have
something important in common – you! Help them meet
each other by having your own geolocation experience.
aUse badges to drive new behaviors: Giving someone a
free coffee after they already bought nine is incentivizing
something they would have done anyway. Instead, use
achievement badges to push someone to do something
they would not have otherwise done – like recommend
your business to a friend.
Test Now to Be Ready for the Early Majority
At least 40 million people have checked in using a geolo-
cation service (more than 30 million of those on Facebook
Places alone). That’s enough to know the location will be
an important component of marketing strategies. But it’s
early enough for you to run a small pilot to determine
what works without risking any brand equity. The knowl-
edge you accrue now will be invaluable when checking in
via Facebook Places becomes just as common as sharing a
photo on Facebook.
In the next 18 months, your customers will be checking in to
the places they care about. What are you doing now to be
ready?
UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 5

As social media moves towards gamification,
how can brands benefit?
May 12, 2011 from Simply Zesty
T here’s been increasing talk on the social media cir-
cuit lately – amongst bloggers, journalists and speakers
– around the concept of ‘gamification’. Put simply, gamifi-
cation for brands is developing rewards/points based plat-
forms to engage and interact with consumers.
We’ve seen many jump into this space lately, with the most
recent notable example being Empire Avenue. They’ve
managed to stir the social media crowd into a frenzy by
developing a game that lets you trade in people as if they
were stocks and shares. Scott Monty offers a great analy-
sis of how Empire Avenue is growing within the gamification
space.
This is clearly a growing trend within social media, as con-
sumers increasingly look for new ways to spend their time
online and get more out of their experience both with social
platforms and the brands they interact with on there.
The idea of introducing gaming into your social media pres-
ence might not seem like a natural fit, but be sure that this
concept is going to grow massively over the next 6 months.
And the smart brands are getting in on the act now…
Bringing gaming into the real world
A big consideration for
brands of course, is wheth-
er their customers will want
to see them on these gam-
ing platforms, if by defini-
tion they’re a place to relax
and play against friends.
This depends largely on
what you’re offering your
consumers within this space.
I think it is going to be difficult for brands to interact in social
games purely for the gaming aspect alone. People have one
thing in mind when they interact with customers online. They
want discounts or ,even better, free stuff. Where brands are
uniquely positioned, is in their ability to turn the gaming con-
cept into a real life concept.
Points can mean prizes, or contribute towards money off
products and services. In this way, brands can take gamifi-
cation and make it mean something to consumers.
What brands need to bear in mind however, is that this con-
cept of gamification is still relatively new. There will likely be
a lot of mistakes made, as brands risk taking their consum-
ers on long and unnecessary journeys to build up points,
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distracting from the main purpose of giving them what they
actually want.
There’s also a decision to be made by brands : do you go
to where the eyeballs are and invest in a branded section
within an existing gaming platform (i.e. Foursquare), or do
you try and stake your claim in this space by developing
your own gaming platform to engage with consumers?
At the early stages, I believe the real benefit is in finding how
you can engage with your customers through an existing
social game. This is how brands made Facebook work for
them. Though many tried to develop their own social net-
works, many of these failed with the winner clearly emerging
in the form of Facebook Pages.
The answer is simple –
find where the customers are
and follow them.
The question of quite how you do this is another issue alto-
gether.
Gamification in action – Lady Gaga
A great example of a
brand/celebrity using
gamification is Lady
Gaga’s recent joint ven-
ture to launch an album
through Farmville.
To announce her new
album, ‘Born This Way’, Farmville have created a special
themed level of the game : Gagaville. The level is due to
launch on 17th May and will run for a 9 day limited period.
The branding exercise includes the usual Gaga-themed
madness such as sheeps on motorbikes, leather and glitter,
as well as added extras such as the ability to listen to new
tracks. This will also expand out of the special level itself,
with branded virtual goods being available in other areas of
the game – through Rewardville for example.
But far from being just a quirky way to launch her album, this
is very much a money-making exercise for both. Incentives
have been added such as a free download link for the album
in return for purchasing cards within the game.
UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 6
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This is an excellent example for many brands to follow, and comments for example (i.e. points for being first, or the fre-
of course it’s not the first time that Farmville have experi- quency of comments), what are your users actually getting
mented with bringing brands into their social space, as their out of it that will keep them coming back?
launch of the McDonalds farm last year demonstrates.

Branded goods in Empire Avenue

In his recent coverage of a gamification roundtable, Jeremi-
ah Owyang shared with users the first example of a branded
virtual product in Empire Avenue : The Altimeter.

The benefit of this is directly tied to the gaming concept itself

; far more than being just a badge of honour or a mark of
reputation, the Altimeter increases your net wealth by 50.00
per day (provided you’ve been active in Empire Avenue for
the previous 7 days) The biggest risk in gamification is that brands rush towards
it because it’s the next new thing, without considering how it
There are over 90 million tweets per day on Twitter with millions of comments, complaints and recommendation about brands

can enhance the experience and not hinder it.

Think of the social toolbars that suddenly popped up on

every site, distracting from the actual content because you
were being pushed to bookmark it on 50+ different social
networks.

Brands that want to get involved with gamification need to

This is an interesting case for brands to follow, as it shows
how quickly the Empire Avenue game is developing to ac-
commodate brands. Clearly, this was part of the strategy
from the start, shown through the very nature of the game
being in stocks and shares, but also the fact that they have
been so accommodating to brands by allowing you to create
company profiles that fit so neatly alongside the individuals
in there.
think how it fits with their overall marketing strategy and isn’t
just thrown in as an add-on, in much the same way as social
media was when it first emerged as a viable way of market-
ing for companies.
Gaming should be a focus of your existing social media
strategy, as you find ways to make it a relevant and mean-
ingful experience for users. Smart brands will also be looking
ahead to upcoming trends, to see how gamification could fit
and enhance these.

Empire Avenue are bringing together consumers, brands
and gaming in quite a new and innovative way that could see
many brands jumping into this arena. Though the idea of a
branded exercise in Farmville will seem attractive for many
brands, this isn’t readily accessible and is currently a huge
investment for brands to undertake.
Mobile for example is only going to get bigger and bigger as
smartphone penetration increases and this is a natural fit for
a gaming strategy. As I covered in a previous post however,
gaming through location based services alone won’t quite
cut it with your users.

An activity like this through Empire Avenue, or even setting

up a company profile and growing this organically is a good
way for brands to experiment with gaming, provided you’re
hitting the right target audience within there.

Open source gamification for brands

If you want to start experimenting with gamification, a good
place to look is UserInfuser, released by Cloud Captive. It
is designed more as a solution for companies with smaller
budgets, that wouldn’t be able to heavily invest in branded
goods or levels within existing gaming platforms. Function-
ality offered includes points, badges, live notifications and
leaderboards : There needs to be a clear consideration and mechanic to
turn these gaming aspects into tangible benefits for your
When using something like UserInfuser of course, you need consumers. This is what will keep them engaged with you
to look at carefully at why you’re implementing it on your site. and encourage them to share with friends, giving you a
If you wanted to introduce a gaming aspect around leaving strong gaming strategy.

UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 7

 UPFRONT MEDIA

7 Videos Showing Innovative Uses Of

QR Codes In Marketing
May 8, 2011 from Simply Zesty

QR codes may or may not be here to stay but there is no doubt that they are starting to pop up more and more in marketing
campaigns and as a functional link between the online and offline worlds. It’s surprising how quick QR codes have been em-
braced and even though you need a smart phone to read them there is evidence that the consumer is getting more familiar
with them and embracing the technology.

With brands and businesses seeking to engage with consumers who are walking around with smartphones making purchas-
ing decisions I wanted to pick some of the best uses of QR codes in marketing campaigns. Lauren wrote about QR codes in
general a while back but here is my list of 7 superbly innovative QR code campaigns…

Hyundai Advert Tissot Hot Models

This video has been seriously quickened up but you can Well if you are having trou-
see just how much ble getting people to scan
time and effort they your QR codes what better
went to to create this way to get the code no-
QR code made out of ticed than by sticking it on
lots of little bricks with a good looking model! The
the end result being technique seems to have
something that you worked for Swiss watch
would of course scan. maker Tissot who used it
at the Moto GP.

We’re a Favorite Place on Google AXA makes tv ad you can step into
Even the world’s biggest Axa have been quick to embrace technology and the online world
search engine and technol- in general especially for
ogy leader Google is get- the banking sector and this
ting in on the act aiming to TV advert actually allowed
drive people from the real you to scan a QR code and
world to their customers step in to the advert your-
places. It’s smart marketing self and engage with the
by Google because it helps advert in a whole new way.
them and their customers.

Volkswagen: Print Ad Test Drive

Volkswagen have had a couple of great campaigns in this
space and this QR code
in a print magazine
brought the whole ad-
vert to life and allowed
you to experience what
it was like being in the
car.
KLM Queen’s Day Viral
The Dutch airline have em-
braced social media in a
big way and this little video
shows how they allowed
fans to check in to their
flight in Holland recently
by scanning a code on the
floor.

Lupe Fiasco’s LASERS invades Union Square

The music industry is a cut throat business where launching an album is a
big deal so when Lupe Fiasco wanted to create some buzz around his latest
album it was broadcast on to a huge wall where users could download it for
free for a limited time.

UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 8

A
Humor INTERESTING TO KNOW
Ben & Jerry’s Donates Your Spare
Twitter Characters to a Good Cause
May 6, 2011 from Mashable

Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s is ask-

ing users to donate their spare Twitter char-
acters in honor of World Fair Trade Day on
May 14.

Earlier this week, Ben & Jerry’s launched a

Twitter application that squeezes a message
and link about World Fair Trade Day in the
leftover characters of one’s tweets — i.e., if
your tweet is 30 characters, the remaining
110 will contain a message about World Fair
Ford’s 2011 Explorer launch on Facebook generated a 200% greater return than a Super Bowl ad

Trade Day and a link to more information, like

so:
Mar 28, 2011 from DigitalBuzz

Budweiser “Poolball” Experiential Campaign

May 4, 2011 from DigitalBuzz
I’ve got a few friends who’d do kill to get a game of this… Budweiser “Poolball”
is a concept created by our friends at Ogilvy Agrentina, combining the things
guys like most, football, beer and a night on the town with their mates, into an
oversized game of pool, played with mini soccer balls.
For users, it’s a simple way to spread aware-
ness about a worthy cause, and a clever mar-
keting tactic on Ben & Jerry’s end.

The experiential campaign was launched at an event for 600 people, who
played in teams of two, on a pool table over 7 metres long, complete with a built
in fridge full of Budweiser, of course!

The entire event was

broadcast live on Fox
Sports and ESPN to UPFRONT MEDIA
huge success, and UPFRONT MEDIA
the inside word is that 31A Kreta Ayer Road, Singapore 088998
pubs across Buenos Trunkline: 6225 7655
Aires in Argentina, are
scrambling to replicate Thorsten Nolte, CEO
“Poolball” due to an Samir Ahmed, Philippines Country Head
overwhelming demand
from the people! Love Visit us at www.UPFRONTMEDIA.asia
it! What do you think?
New national sport? UPFRONT MEDIA | PAGE 9