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All Posts Tagged Tag: ‘UGC’

Home / Tag: UGC

9 brands taking Pinterest by storm 0

Unless
you live under a rock, you’ve already heard something about Pinterest, the
remarkable social community built around virtual bulletin boards of photos,
videos, and content that members find online. Perhaps the most fascinating
thing about Pinterest is that its growth hasn’t been driven by Millennials or
Techies or any of the usual suspects. Nielsen reports that 23.7M U.S. uniques
visited Pinterest in February, more than double the traffic
from just two months earlier. Further, Nielsen reports that more than 70
percent of the uniques are women, and that the highest penetration is among women
age 25 to 34.
With
all that traffic and passion, it’s natural that brands are jumping on the
bandwagon in some interesting ways. The key to Pinterest is to communicate the brand’s
broadest essence and mission. It is about a lifestyle and a universal promise.
It’s not a place to shill but rather to celebrate, share, and educate with
people on both an emotional and rational level.
Here
are nine examples of brands pinning their way to success.
1.              
Nordstrom

For a retailer like  , where the brand is about more than the sum of its racks, Pinterest offers a
tableau to mix signature goods with occasions, lifestyle topics, and style
lessons that are both entertaining and gorgeous. This is a fairly selly
Pinterest experience, but it “works” in that it feels more “experiential”
than “online store.”
2.              
Michael’s Craft Stores

I learned about  the  from a crafty friend who positively oozed appreciation for the brand’s
presence. Crafters love new ideas, and they like showing off the beautiful
things they make. Michael’s has created a brand experience that leverages that
combination of voyeur and exhibitionist in every crafter, showcasing amazing
creations from across the web organized by season, craft, color, occasion, and
more. And what do you know, you can recreate most of the examples with stuff
from…Michael’s!
3.              
Middle Sister Wines



It’s anything but always “Marsha Marsha Marsha”
with the Pinterest presence from this enchanting emergent 

brand. No Jan Brady
defeatism here. Rather,
 gives us an incredible exploration of the “sisters” themselves, their
lives, their loves, and their distinct flavors of philosophy light.
 It’s an enchanting
branding concept, and Pinterest expression.

4.              
The Today Show


Pinterest feels almost tailor made for a media brand with an
incredibly broad and eclectic range of topics.  presence features like “Anchor Antics” are juxtaposed with style,
health, and food in a strong visual expression of the program. And it’s
defintiely not all straight up show content, as features like Hoda’s “Favorite
Things” broaden the essence of this quintessential lifestyle brand. Strong
followings for many of the content types attest to broad appeal and careful curation.
Good art direction too!
5.              
AMD


All
things geek is the Pinterest theme for the world’s other processor
maker. From product information to geekchic fashion and an homage to the mouse,   sets the standard for informing and entertaining techies “in the know.”
This is probably a great way of connecting with the sort of people who can see
beyond the Intel Inside marketing juggernaut and recognize the excellence of its
products.
6.              
Kodak


It’s
a bit of a no-brainer for a photography company to be on Pinterest, right? But
I really like what they have done. First, the page is tied to a person,   chief
blogger. Second, this incredible collection of photos old and new connects the
viewer to the heritage of the brand as well as its new products. It’s more about
the result than the means, which is quintessential Kodak brand.
7.              
Lilly
Pulitzer


I
can’t quite put my finger on why I like ‘s presence so much. Perhaps it’s because it seems to
capture the essence of carefree leisure, which is the root of the mark. I also
like the feature “Lilly makes me feel…” — a UGC effort in which
customers describe their feelings for the brand and what it brings out in them.
They also have a nice set of historical photos of Lily through the years. From
Jackie O. to Lilly herself — it is prep heaven. Stay on this page too long and
you’ll catch “locust valley lockjaw” — although you will enjoy the
affliction big-time.
8.              
Savannah
College of Art and Design


You
might not find this one on your own, so I included “‘s” to
provide a great example of how a brand can create a rich expression by
showcasing its people. No surprise, it has a ton of style. The college also has
a novel way of showcasing alumni achievements through photography. That
particular set of pictures did a nice job of creating community, pride, and
recruiting appeal.
9.              
Chronicle
Books
 occupies a bold and bright niche in the world of book publishing, and that
character comes through in a big way on its Pinterest presence. With a very
light touch on the product shilling, this presence captures the topics,
targets, and themes of its titles. And it defines a sense of “fraternity
of readers” that as a reader I found inviting and inclusive. Oh yeah, and
it’s all tied to the products in imaginative ways!

Posted on: 04-24-2012
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

UGC Is All Grown Up! (Mediapost 6.15.11) 0

User Generated Content gets a bad wrap.  At its inception online, UGC was immediately categorized as low-quality video content and brands were a bit hesitant to dive in and sponsor them (at the time, rightfully so), but in the last 3-4 years the hesitation has subsided and marketers are truly on board.  UGC is growing up!

There are two influencing factors that weigh into this maturation of the vehicle.  First off, the content itself has actually become quite good!  It boggles my mind when I watch these videos just how much free time people have!!  There are “haul” videos on YouTube where girls show the deals they get when they go shopping and these videos get over 1mm views each (JuicyStar07 is the leader, by far).    There are lots of news and pop culture video recaps, like the ones from the Smoshpit (routinely more than 200k views per edition).  There are music videos, guitar lessons, and of course skateboard videos (both with real people as well as dogs riding skateboards – I guess not everything has grown up).   Publishers like Lonely Planet make scores of videos and post them on YouTube.  A good portion of these videos get more viewers in a month than some daytime and cable TV shows do, so you can’t possibly say the quality isn’t there.  The quality is at least as good as, if not better than, One Life To Live.

The second fact is that with the sheer volume of content and visitors we’re seeing the best content curate to the top.  The cream has risen and the best videos are the ones being seen by millions of people.   Some stats say that as much as 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, which means that there’s a lot to choose from, but if you scour and browse through YouTube you see the “best of the best” rising to the top.  What other people are watching is what will come up on a cursory review.   There are cooking shows as well as do-it-yourself videos as well as “scripted content” that rival what you see on Comcast.

If you chat with the younger generation of kids ages 12-18, you’ll find that many of these kids watch YouTube as TV, rather than watching mainstream television shows.  There are lots of people with significant followings on YouTube, and YouTube has made it very profitable for these young folks to make videos.  It’s proven to be such a strong opportunity that we have semi-professional and professional avenues for creating video content that is exclusively launched on YouTube.  YouTube has become a primary channel more so than many cable networks!

If you dive into the numbers you see something else interesting.  For the week ending June 5, 2011 the top performing shows on TV were the NBA Finals, The Voice and America’s Got Talent.   These shows garnered audience between 8.5mm and 5.6mm viewers in the 18-49 year old demographic.   YouTube garners approximately 15.4MM viewers between 18-49 years old in a week.  Some shows are getting 1mm views in a week.  To generate reach on the both avenues is actually similar, with YouTube potentially winning in terms of total reach.  To build frequency on those programs you would have to spend more money on TV than on YouTube because the CPM is higher.  What’s even more interesting is that the top shows on TV are sports and reality programming, which one could argue is no better than any of the UGC content you would find on YouTube, so in an apples to apples comparison I think the opportunity would be higher on YouTube than on traditional TV.

The industry itself recognizes this as many television sets are becoming equipped for YouTube and other web access.  The programming options are getting larger, the reach is getting larger and the content is getting better.  User generated content has matured, and marketers are paying attention!

How are you and your brands using UGC to reach your audience?  Share with us on the Spin Board!

Posted on: 08-2-2011
Posted in: treffiletti.com

13 startups that wowed us 0

I think we can all agree that the world needs another startup competition. There are, by my count, just 37 currently, and 38 is clearly the magic number. With that in mind, I offer this short list of companies that appear to have the stuff to move the needle for marketers.

Mobile

offers a unique premise on the mobile experience for sporting events. Fans in the stands can check out more than a dozen up-close video streams of the game action on their smartphones. In addition, they can access a treasure trove of information about teams and players. They offer nifty integrated mobile marketing experiences encompassing video, display, LBS, sponsored content, and more. Very cool — even if they are Penguin fans.

is a combination location-based casual game AR experience that has to be seen to be believed. Imagine consumers interacting with your brand in real-world environments using their smartphones. With MotiveCast, users interact in engaging and attractive gaming experiences that blur the line between real and virtual — no need to imagine anymore.

Social

is a fan amplification service that identifies your superfans and asks them to help you out by publishing reviews and spreading the word about your brand. You’re not paying them to do it — they do it because they have demonstrated real affinity for your brand.

enables you to offer virtual badges when consumers take desired actions on your site. For example, when a consumer writes a review of a book you are selling, he is rewarded with a badge. I love the concept of recognizing your loyal site visitors!

Targeting

I also love , which incorporates a new data set into the ad targeting sphere — it analyzes the content you cut and paste from web pages. Apparently it’s the most common way that we socialize content to one another, and it reveals a whole bunch of about who we are and what we care about. Fresh content-rich data set — the taste your whole family will love!

lets consumers upload special online deals and discounts onto their credit cards. When they check out using that card, their accounts are credited with the savings.

Shopper Marketing

enables consumers to pay for products using their smartphones — without going to the check-out. It also distributes offers and product information for consumers who want to learn more and save.

offers an in-store smartphone-based service that provides “turn by turn” directions to get people from where they are standing to any item they covet. NearBuy can get a person to within 4 feet of any item in addition to featuring a way for stores to offer information to consumers when they have questions.

Video

offers a way to make your brand videos interactive by asking consumers to answer questions about your messages as they play. Think transformation. Your videos go from ad to game and from interruption to activity.

identifies people who are interested in watching your video marketing messages and rewards them when they do so. Instead of interrupting users as they try to watch content, this service goes deep with the people that care about your brand and category.

Wild cards

makes it easier for brands and pubs to manage the process of soliciting, accepting, managing, and publishing content. Instead of an endless tide of emails, content solicitors get a simple, clean, feature-rich collaboration platform. Use it for sweeps, articles, contests, UGC videos, etc.

is a crowd-sourced SEM solution for small and medium-sized businesses that leverages the knowledge of multiple search experts through a CPA model. A brand posts a CPA offer, and Trada community members hit the search engines, developing search programs that they hope yield a nice spread between their costs and the bounty.

In the “I don’t get it but I am watching” category, is a standout. It’s a service that enables consumers to save and refer back to banner ads. I don’t fathom why a consumer would want to save a banner, but I’ve been wrong before, and these folks have the resources to make a go of it if there is a “there” there.

Small business drives innovation in every business, and digital marketing is no exception. I think these companies have the stuff to make them worth a look.

Thanks to iMedia Connection for publishing this first!

Posted on: 08-2-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

Start-Up Watch COD: Mamalode knows Mom Jeans (and Everything Mom) Are Cool 0

Companies take many different roads in their journeys to success. We imagine that the path from idea in a garage to IPO is a smooth set of steps from Angel Funding to A, then B, and then filing. But the more I dig into the histories of start-ups the more I am convinced that every company has its own unique story.

And here’s a really interesting one. , a start-up based in Missoula, MT, is a combined online/offline publication geared to meeting the needs of today’s Mom. The key to Mamalode, it appears, is the idea that it offers a unique form of respect and admiration for the power and wonder of Motherhood.

Mamalode began as a local print publication geared to serving the needs of the local Missoula community. But clearly their content and editorial voice are quite powerful; they soon had paid subscribers in 45 states and several countries around the world.

And how is that editorial voice different? Well, a lot of ways. First, there is a decidedly first person emphasis – one of Moms talking to other Moms about the everyday events in their lives in a style that oozes empathy and alliance. While the writing is often excellent, and professionally driven, its subject matter is right down in there washing out the sippy cups. Further, reader voices aren’t simply given a forum, they are celebrated and highlighted in major ways across the site.

Often in marketing there seems to be a conventional wisdom that the way to connect with Moms is to milquetoast the content, video kids making chaos in a kitchen, and have pictures of frazzled Moms trying to cope.

It’s fundamentally condescension to the people who, more than any other group, control the purse strings of society. And far from being dowdy marms that ubercool adbiz types prefer to look at with either disdain or pity, they are among the strongest, most progressive thinkers and consumers.

I’ve spent many years targeting Moms in my advertising career, and the lessons I have learned boil down to four things:

Moms control pretty much every purchase in a household. Maybe not motor oil brand choice. But other than that…

Even more than information, Moms seek connection – to one another, to their families, and to things and ideas that make life better.

Moms prefer real. Not stereotyped idyllic imagery, and not stereotyped over the top

Mama Chaos. They want to understand how something fits into their routines and makes being a Mom more rewarding.

Moms WANT TO KNOW ABOUT PRODUCTS that can help them. They don’t view marketer messages as an intrusion if they deliver real information and value.

Founder Elke Govertsen is clearly a driving force behind the unique perspective and very rich editorial style of this pub. Here’s how she describes the business imperative of talking to Moms in a way that is meaningful.

When you look at the online presence, the first thing you may notice is that it ISN’T packed with 23 ways to… stories, or how to. They’ve wisely realized that there are more than enough sources for that from the legacy Mommy sites. Not to say that you don’t learn things on the site. For indeed it is impossible not to. But it’s the way you learn – as if you were having a conversation with a real person and sharing give and take, that makes the site so rich and compelling.

From a marketing perspective, the company really embraces marketers, partly out of pragmatism but also because connecting Moms with products that make life better is a key part of their offering. I’d liken it to Oprah’s Favorite Things, in that the team clearly understands that Moms are perfectly happy to learn about and use products that address real needs. That product based solutions aren’t disdained but rather welcomes with open arms.

The Mamalode infrastructure is designed to serve multiple communities, enabling a combination of both regionally driven and national content. Hey, I know that there are lots of local pubs out there, but I wanted to intro you to this property because I really think they are on to something. With an editorial voice that offers lower costs through a combination of professional and UGC content, their more affordable way to do local, and the really compelling and addictive voice of the site, I expect that they will create a significant national media presence – perhaps market by market? – in the months and years ahead. And it didn’t get its start at Stanford, or through an A round. But rather through a belief in celebrating the most important people in our families – and our economy.

Thanks to ad:tech for publishing this first.

Posted on: 08-2-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

Start-Up Watch COD: Compass Labs uses real-time social comments to pinpoint user interests and deliver targeted ads 0

How do data companies and targeting engines determine your interests? Most of them use cookies to determine the sorts of content you’re consuming and the sites you’re visiting. It’s been proven effective, But if we get real for a minute, we need to admit to ourselves that Display response rates tend to be so microscopic that even small improvements in targeting make a difference. I’m not diminishing the power of BT to improve results but rather pointing out that the standard approaches and algorithms needn’t be perfect to have an impact.

But what if we could be CERTAIN about what a consumer was interested in. More specifically, interested in buying?

is an interesting new company that thinks it has a way to do just that. Rather than inferring user passions and needs, it analyzes what people actually tell the world they are interested in through their social media activity.

Put it this way: Would you rather put a Cadillac banner up in front of:

A consumer that has visited a lot of luxury auto content?
Someone who just typed “I am interested in buying a Cadillac” in their Twitter status?
Of course it’s not quite as simple as that; based on what I read from my friends and connections, comments are rarely THAT obvious. But the basic principle behind Compass Labs is that more effective targeting is possible when we interpret people’s comments than when we read the tea leaves of their Internet travels.

Theirs is a real-time ad targeting and serving platform that puts ads into social environments precisely when users identify their interests. These ads appear in Facebook, Twitter, social media apps, and thousands of community posting boards across the web. In total, the company says it can reach 200,000,000 web users in any given month with highly targeted messages that offer stronger response and conversion rates.

Publicly available social media information enables Compass Labs to offer a broad range of targeting options, including users’ current interests, lifestyles, purchase intent, demographics, location and other factors.

Here’s their pitch vid from last year’s Under the Radar:

As is often the case with advanced targeting, the benefits to DR marketers are obvious. But brand-side advertisers can also benefit by impacting brand perceptions among people who in earlier stages of the buying funnel.

Flipping the coin over for a sec, there are some significant benefits to the pub side as well. Obviously Facebook and Twitter benefit from more ads, and higher value impressions. But for pubs that offer forums, this stream of advertising revenue can be almost 100% incremental because it has traditionally been so hard to convince advertisers to place messages in UGC environments. Advertisers tend to fear the unknown, and forums may as well be renamed “Unknown Zone” as far as content goes.

With this new dimension of precision targeting, millions more page views can get monetized – and at strong rates.

I haven’t worked on any programs using them, but I think the concept is rather compelling, and warrants a serious look from DR and Brand advertisers.

Thanks to ad:tech for publishing this first.

Posted on: 05-28-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

COD: Tecca and the New Way to Sell 0

Thanks to for publishing this first.

Big box retail has brought consumer benefits, but there have also been costs. No, I am not going to get all Mary Harris “Mother” Jones on you, though if you asked me to lunch I certainly could. Rather, I am going to come at this from a different perspective: How difficult it can be to make a good decision on purchases, particularly electronic purchases when you’re standing in a warehouse-sized store and the electronics clerk is outside having a smoke.

Because let’s face it, if you go to a big electronics retailer, the “help” you get is pretty spotty. All the happy well informed employee TV ads don’t make up for the time when you have $2000 in your pocket for some washer dryer set, and the employee (when you find one) only knows which is the LG and which the Vizio. I can read logos, what I want is some insight on the strengths and weaknesses of each.

is a relatively new website designed to create a community expressly for sharing opinions about electronics. Best Buy funded it through its Fuse Capital venture. The site has massive amounts of information on electronics, from product specifications, to news, to reviews from multiple sources, to UGC reviews. Here’s the intro flick:

Tecca also incorporates extensive pricing information from Best Buy (natch) and a multitude of other retailers. Listings arrange prices in ascending order, so the cheapest retailer wins top billing. Now, Best Buy is the national electronics big box left standing so naturally they win their share of these arrangements. But the site does not always list Best Buy first.

You use Tecca through iPhone, Android, or iPad apps, or online. But obviously, this is primarily a mobile play because that’s where most people are deciding what to choose.

I did see Kmart on a pricing listing once, but even by typing in eight models that I pulled off either Target and/or Wal-Mart sites, I never got either company in the price comparison results. I don’t know whether those two retailers aren’t participating by their choice or by Tecca’s. Or if indeed this was a fluke of the database. But given that Target and Wal-Mart have more limited selections, they wouldn’t end up in most searches anyway.

Why should you care about this if you aren’t in the electronics biz? I think the emergence of Tecca reflects a new reality in the way business needs to act in order to make a sale. In a world where consumers don’t or cannot trust retailers to provide unbiased perspective on products, they need resources that they can consult that are credible. I don’t doubt that having reviews available on product pages is beneficial, but if you’re the suspicious sort, as am I, there is often the sense that a richer story is available in an editorially driven community.

So for the rest of this, I am going to assume that Tecca and Best Buy understand that an effort to systematically exclude a competitor would quickly be discerned, and that the traffic would disappear. I was impressed by both the breadth and depth of info available on the site, and the free flowing community discussions. There are other shopping and electronics recommendation communities out there, including many NOT funded by retailers, but Tecca really does offer a strong content platform.

When I buy electronics, I usually print out Consumer Reports reviews. And then I take them into a store and find that all the model numbers have changed. So having a community that includes items currently available has benefits.

Assuming Tecca IS offering a level playing field for other terrestrial retailers, having this sort of resource offsite offers a powerful way to help consumers make decisions. When you are Best Buy, your biggest competitor may be indecision.

I am not for a moment suggesting that there aren’t other places or other, possibly better content destinations out there. But having access to Tecca in iPhone and Android apps makes it beyond easy to use. Assuming they aren’t Best Warping the data, it’ll be very interesting to see how it does.

Posted on: 03-21-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

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