Griffin's FAIL Maker Shows Corporations How iPhone Apps Should Be Done
New platforms bring new opportunities for marketers. The iPhone is one of the platforms currently most talked about in marketing brainstorms around the world. Apple with its application store has made it easy for individuals and companies to develop and distribute mobile applications. Over 1 billion applications have already been downloaded on iPhones and iPod touch devices.
As with any other platform that begins to reach critical mass, companies are trying to determine what type of mobile application will help their customers or help them market and reach potential customers. Let’s look at an example of a company who has recently done this successfully.
Griffin’s FAIL Maker
griffin fail maker
At first glance many people probably thought Griffin was crazy for developing this “silly” application. These are the same people who don’t read the FAIL Blog. The FAIL Blog is a successful Internet meme that showcases funny picture with brief captions that include the word “FAIL” with the intent to make the image even funner. As one of the blogs long at the top of my must read list the FAIL blog offers a great get away with some really funny images. Being a FAIL blog fan I instantly downloaded the FAIL Maker app and had no clue it was developed by Griffin.
The application lets you ad caption to photos taken with or stored on your iPhone and then easily submit them to FAIL Blog. It is a simple app that works well and supports an existing community of users. FAIL Maker has quickly become one of the most popular iPhone applications.
Why did Griffin’s app succeed when so many other applications go unnoticed?
- It already had a community of users before it was developed (ie. FAIL blog readers)
- It was free
- It is simple to use and gives users the power over their images
- It is funny
- It encouraged people to share with each other thus promoting the application in the process
What does Griffin get for developing Fail Maker?
- In application ads that promote Griffin’s other iPhone applications (some of them paid) resulting in direct ROI from paid app downloads
- Griffin makes iPhone and ipod accessories so FAIL Maker builds its brand with potential customers
- Because of the platform users are already potential customers for Griffin products and can learn about them through in app ads
Developing on Apple’s mobile platform isn’t right for everyone, but Griffin shows that it can be successful and deliver ROI if your plan and application serves your customer community.
KFC vs El Pollo Loco – Chicken Fighting
Kentucky Fried Chicken gave away tremendous amounts of their new grilled chicken earlier last week – actually running out – through coupons on Oprah’s website, which received a ton of media attention (and at least 15 friends/co-workers discussed, emailed, posted on facebook, etc).
What I hadn’t heard about until today was a very similar offer from El Pollo Loco which ran in April, and is running again on Mother’s Day, giving away a meal. El Pollo Loco didn’t have Oprah behind them promoting their offer, and doesn’t have near as many locations as KFC, so it has not received the same amount of attention. They’re taking a light-hearted stab at KFC for copying them, and accusing KFC of not loving their moms.
Youtube video accusing KFC of not loving their moms:
So, if you live near El Pollo Loco (we don’t here in Raleigh), hopefully you treated your mom to a free meal.
Don't Forget to Wash Your Hands
In order to stay healthy, its very important to wash your hands. That’s the message Georgia-Pacific Professional is sharing.
Today, the beginnings of an integrated campaign launched in USA Today with the tagline “It’s The New Chicken Soup”. Check out the ad below, Healthy Solutions web site and press release for information about proper hand washing techniques. Oh, and Mo is, of course, there to help.
International PR Example: Can you read this?
HM&P’s PR team goes to the ends of the world to meet the needs of its clients. Recently, the team has been charged with disseminating information
throughout the AP region in Chinese, Korean and Japanese languages. By collaborating with the brand’s global team our team helps to get it done! Here’s just one example:
http://www.fi.co.kr/main/view.asp?SectionStr=Sojae&idx=27630&NewsDate=2009-0
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New Metrics For Facebook Brand Pages
When the term “social media marketing” is mentioned many minds go directly to Facebook. With more than 200 million members Facebook is the iconic social networking brand and thus the focus of many advertising and marketing efforts. Recently they announced changes to their user dashboard, which displays stats for owners of Facebook brand/fan pages.
Some of these new features include:
- Graphs showing different types of fan interactions with the Page over time.
- Count of active fans this week, with full age/sex/location breakdown.
- A new count of total interactions this week, broken down by type.
- Post quality rating, from 1 to 5 stars.
- Graphs for Interactions, Interactions per Post, Post Quality, Stream CTR, Posts, Page views, Media Consumption, Review
All of these improvements provide valuable information for brand marketers, however the feature with the most potential value is post quality ratings. Facebook is about effective content marketing and community building for brands. To make improvements to content a company must know if the content is strong or weak. This type of reporting helps to show trends for the type of information your community/customers are most interested in which can help determine the future direction of both online and offline marketing efforts.
IAB posts Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions
The IAB has posted a document specifiying standard definitions for Social Media Metrics. From their page:
This document specifies standard definitions for Social Media Metrics. With the rapid growth seen in the Social Media space in recent years, many publishers and vendors are offering supplemental performance metrics to their clients as additional ways of gauging ad effectiveness. This document defines these supplemental metrics in more detail in an effort to stimulate growth by making the reporting of metrics for agencies and advertisers across multiple media partners more consistent. The IAB hopes that all players in the Social Media space will coalesce around these metrics to encourage growth through consistency.
Social media speaks to a new way of understanding how individual users are interacting with branded content via online publishers, social networks, blogs, and applications. Before the proliferation of social media, the primary way for users to receive advertiser information was one-way. Social Media has changed the paradigm of how people consume online media.
The most profound difference is that Social Media has added a participatory element where an individual not only receives information but has the ability to take part in the creation and distribution of content. Furthermore, social media tools have enabled a dialogue and discovery around this content. It is the combination of these unique and appealing aspects that defines the true value of social media.
Value is derived not only from the primary distribution of branded content but also the additional interactions that result as users share, participate with, and propagate advertising content. In the end, social media adds another layer of value through its ability to engage users and create additional reach.
The current Social Media landscape can be broken into three distinct categories:
* Social Media Sites
* Blogs
* Widgets & Social Media ApplicationsThis document first defines each of the categories, and then defines the supplemental metrics specific to each.
Cordura photography used in ARCHIVE
For those of you that worked on this campaign with me you should be very excited to know that the visual of the ice beard hiker that was shot for the Cordura brand campaign is in this month’s issue of Archive as an Advertisement for Tim Tadder, the photographer.
I’m very proud he decided to represent himself with this photo in such a prestigious magazine.
We are going to be entering those ads by May 13 and hope they get in as well.
Need something to do? Think about roller derby.
Few people know this, but roller derby is making a comeback and Raleigh is lucky enough to have one of the top leagues in the nation.
The Carolina Rollergirls came in #6 nationally in 2008 and are currently #4 in the Eastern Division according the WFTDA (World Flat Track Derby Association) standings.
Some of the older people reading this will say “Oh, I remember that.”, but this is not the hokey, fake-wrestling (don’t get offended wrestling fans) type of roller derby from the 60s and 70s. This is pure sport. It is fast, it is powerful and it is extremely fun to watch.
Below are a few photos from local bouts (I am one of the volunteer photographers for the league).
If you are interested in seeing more of my photos check out my Derby Collection on Flickr.
If you are interested in learning more about your local league check out: http://www.carolinarollergirls.com.
Next bout
Carolina All-Stars vs. Charm City All-Stars
Carolina Bootleggers vs. Female Trouble
May 16th at Dorton Arena (map)
Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
1st Game: 5:15pm | 2nd Game: 6:30pm
Tickets art $10 in advance $14 day of. Kids 6-12 are only $5.
NCPRSA: Two Silver InSpire Awards
Howard, Merrell & Partners received two Awards of Excellence from the Silver InSpire Awards hosted by the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America (NCPRSA). Project Gecko presented by ZillaTM won in the Events and Observances category while the CORDURA® Baselayer brand t-shirt launch won in the Integrated Communications category.
The NCPRSA Silver InSpire Awards annually recognize public relations projects that have met the highest standards of performance in the profession. Entries are required to prove that a campaign addresses a contemporary issue with skill, creativity and resourcefulness. The HM&P projects, Zilla’s Project Gecko and CORDURA® Baselayer brand t-shirt launch, met these requirements – and more.
“We have great clients who allow the agency to create unique projects, and this award is proof of that. Our clients are pleased with the strategic and creative approaches we’ve taken and the results we garnered. And, we are thrilled to be acknowledged and awarded by our industry peers,” said Howard, Merrell & Partners Senior Vice President of Public Relations Stephanie Styons.
ZillaTM challenged Howard, Merrell & Partners with the task of developing a program to increase awareness about reptile keeping and the Zilla brand. Thus, Project Gecko was born – a nationwide, educational contest in which students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to name a new species of gecko. Project Gecko involved the development of teacher activity packets containing educational tools, media outreach, public relations support and event management.
CORDURA® brand looked to Howard, Merrell & Partners to develop and execute an integrated communications launch for the CORDURA® Baselayer brand t-shirt. The shirt’s primary benefit lies in its next-to-skin performance properties when exposed to heat in flash fire situations such as improvised explosive devices – making the CORDURA® Baselayer a true innovation for today’s warfighter. The launch engaged parties such as Ranger Joe’s, a store that is a military icon in the Fort Benning community, and The Wounded Warrior Project, a program that provides services to severely injured service members between active duty and transitioning to civilian life. The integrated campaign included media relations coordination, public relations support, event management, an award-winning microsite (www.defendyourbase.com), hang tags, point-of-purchase display racks and in-store banners.
Hey Jude — A Unique Rendition
Not quite the Beatles, but a cute rendition of Hey Jude. Enjoy!
