Category Archives: News

Our weekly Social Media update!

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Valentine’s Day is coming up and all we can think about is what the best hashtag for the consumer-centric “holiday” could be to put in our tweets. Seriously. We’re going with #VDay2011!

  • Did you know Lady Gaga has 27.7 million Facebook fans? We didn’t either. But Virgin Mobile noticed and wants to guide

    Image from Mashable

    some of her fans to their Facebook page. Currently with 40,000 “liking” their page, Virgin Mobile hopes to reach 1 million bythe end of the year with a tie-in with Lady Gaga. Starting next week, Virgin Mobil will be launching a contest to find 10 official bloggers for new dates in Lady Gaga’s “Monster Ball” tour. “To enter, bloggers are encouraged to send a short video to Virgin Mobile Live’s Facebook page displaying their ‘best work.’” The public will vote via Facebook. In order to submit, people must like the page. Although, it’s unclear what exactly what they win. We’ll find out on Monday.

  • Tumblr is becoming the go-to platform for fashion brands. Kate Spade launched katespadeny.tumblr.com Thursday morning.  They believe that Tumblr allows them to engage with their fans on a more visual level. The Tumblr blog is highly interactive and frequently responds to and reblogs users’ questions and content. Fashion-related Tumblr blogs are reblogged on a much greater scale than general Tumblr posts. Other notable brands using Tumblr are Oscar de la Renta,Alexander McQueen, ModCloth, Ann Taylor, and many other brands. We love Tumblr!

    Image from TechLeash

  • To compete with the launch of Verizon’s iPhone, T-Mobile is offering all the phones in its inventory for free with a new

    Image from Mashable

    two-yearcontract on Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12. This promo ties in with their Valentine’s Day promotion. These phones include high-end smartphones (some retailing at $499!!). To get a choice of any phone, you must visit a T-Mobile store.Online, you have a limited selection to choose from. So what’s it going to be? A free phone from T-Mobile, one of theweaker services, or Verizon’s iPhone 4 which will probably be outdated in a few months?

  • Itching to create your own mobile app but don’t have the skills? ShoutEm has developed a product that allows you to effortlessly create an iPhone app (RSS feed, event listings, video, audio podcasts, radio streaming, locations, and microblogging). It’s simple and any modules can be rearranged however way you want. You can test it on your iPhone. You can also brand the app! Imagine the possibilities. To create your mobile app, you must pay a monthly fee starting from $29.90/month for the Basic plan: 1000 installs and lacks some advanced features.
  • Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. People are scrambling through search engines to find the best wedding ideas. Well Google responded and created a dedicated site where consumers can create a wedding website, edit photos, and plan their wedding using wedding-specific templates in Google Sites, Google Docs, and Picnik. Teaming up with wedding planner Michelle Rago, Google is hosting a wedding sweepstakes offering a prize of $25,000 and the chance to get Rago to help plan your wedding. Are you going to enlist Google to plan your wedding?
  • iAds are becoming more and more popular. Axe created a slightly controversial iAd called “Swipe an Angel.” The ad allows users manipulate female angels from the ads by making them spin and when the iPhone is shaken, shed their feathers. The link above provides a video. Here’s the original TV ad:

Hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day or Single Awareness Day! Look out for all the “I Hate Valentine’s Day” campaigns around Facebook and Twitter!

This Week’s Social Media Updates

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Just a few updates from this week!

  • After articles highlighting Taco Bell’s mysterious meat went live, Taco Bell fans were livid by the news and online to voice their opinions. Though the product contains 88% beef, the company lists their beef as “seasoned beef,” making the other 12% questionable ingredients. In an effort to quell the Taco Bell media crisis, the PR team at Taco Bell has gone to the web, replying  via Twitter, Facebook, and even creating a YouTube video featuring the CEO of the company.
  • Wondering what that TV show is that’s on right now? Now you can find out with a touch of a button. The IntoNow app, available on Apple products, “listens” to what you’re watching on TV or the Internet. In just a few seconds, the app identifies if the content is airing live or if it’s a rebroadcast or a syndicate. It also provides show info and access to IMDb, iTunes, and Netflix. Think Shazam for TV. Never be left out of the dark again…
  • Unless you’ve been alone in a cave for the past week, you’ll be fully aware of what has been happening in Egypt. Just as a recap, in efforts to calm down the anti-government protests, the Egyptian government has shut off access to various social media sites and to the Internet. To help Egyptians out, Google, Twitter, and SayNow have teamed up to allow people to access Twitter via voicemail. With three numbers to call, users can call in and their voicemail will post a link on their Twitter page. As of now, minimal Internet access has been granted, yet social media sites such as Facebook.com and Twitter.com are still inaccessible.
  • Did you pick up (or scroll through) the new iPad publication, The Daily on Wednesday? After eagerly waiting for the online publication, Rupert Murdoch announced The Daily’s release, with a bet that consumers are willing to pay for news via the Internet. Readers will pay 99 cents a week for the app that offers general news, entertainment, gossip, and sports. Will you pay for The Daily?
  • It looks like consumer-generated content is gaining popularity. Coca-Cola revealed 15 finalists in its Brand App Challenge, which asked developers to create mobile apps for Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, and Diet Coke. A winner for each brand will be announced on February 14-17 in Barcelona at the GSMA Mobile World Congress and given a $10,000 prize. Though ads have been created by customers before, the idea of making apps is a new marketing concept.
  • Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the toy company Mattel Inc., launched a digital marketing campaign featuring the most famous couple, Barbie and Ken. Here’s some back story: Back on Valentine’s Day 2004, Barbie and Ken broke up and led separate (toy) lives. This Valentine’s Day, Mattel hopes to help Ken win over Barbie with the help of consumer participation. On BarbieandKen.com, users can vote whether Barbie should “take Ken back” or not. A web series for the search of the “Genuine Ken” is another component in this campaign. They really do think of everything, don’t they?
  • Never fear, Thunder Snow 2011 survivors, according to Punxsutawney Phil, we will have our long-awaited spring soon enough. His rival, Staten Island Chuck, agrees.

With the Super Bowl coming up, our minds are whirling with ideas for social media campaigns. We leave you with Volkswagen’s Super Bowl XLV ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0. Enjoy!