Weekly Wrap Up #14
From playoff games heard around the social media sphere – to a Today Show 60 Year anchor reunion – we’ve had a week of media highlights to remember. 2012 has already brought interest to a number of new tech tools, networking sites, and articles worth checking out. Explore some of the links below, and continue your new year with some online inspiration!
Real World Search Engine by Dodge
Recently, some people at the agency came across an innovative, fun, and engaging campaign. I was immediately captivated not even knowing much or having experience with the brand. Cutting through the clutter to reach consumers is always a tough job for ad agencies. I thought I would take time to highlight one campaign that successfully did this.
Dodge developed a bold campaign to promote the new Journey by hiding three of them across the US and making fans of the Dodge brand search for them. You find one, you keep one! The company put out a serious of TV spots for each of the three locations. In these commercials, the promotion of the new Journey was the focus. However, there were hidden clues in every frame as to the location of the vehicles. The campaign started on September 12th and ran through September 27th.
As soon as I heard about this campaign, I wanted to get involved. Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt when a free car is up for grabs? My boss and I were immediately engaged and waiting for the release of the first video. We tried searching for the hidden clues in the commercials that were posted on Dodge’s YouTube channel. Too bad we didn’t get to the car first. I would have greatly enjoyed having a brand new car!
Take a look at the campaign for yourself. Its unique approach really got people to interact with their brand. I think it is safe to say their campaign was successful in increasing brand awareness. After all, it worked on me and I have never owned a Dodge car.
The Ag Angle – #AgChat
Agriculture is much more than just sows, cows and plows; it encompasses all components of the food, fuel, fiber and feed industries. The AgChat Foundation, who introduced us to the term agvocate (agriculture advocate), works to connect farmers and ranchers with consumers through various social media platforms. It’s an exciting chance for the advertising and public relations industries to be at the forefront of this agvocacy movement.
To see some of the results social media has had on the agriculture industry, you can watch this AgChat YouTube video.
@AgChat is a moderated Twitter conversation that takes place every Tuesday night from 8-10 p.m. EDT. The discussions allow participants to voice their viewpoints and ideas on hot topics within the agriculture industry. Chats begin with 15 minutes of introductions and networking followed by questions agvocates have submitted to the moderator throughout the previous week. The last five minutes are reserved for pitching new ideas for the next #agchat conversation and promoting your own agvocacy efforts.
Recent #AgChat topics include:
- Parenting on the farm
- Harvest
- Farm disaster preparedness
- Mobile devices
- Family and business relationships
If this sounds like something you may be interested in check out the AgChat Foundation’s website and follow @AgChat on Twitter to join in the weekly conversations!
Check back soon for more ag and social media news!
Social Media Addict: A Quick Laugh
I have become rather DVR-dependant in the past year or so, avoiding live television as much as possible. The upside: missing commercials. However, in my line of work and professional interests, it can also be the downside. While most of the time I am fast forwarding through sleep-inducing ads encouraging me to call this law firm or buy that new skin product, there are those few times that I unknowingly miss ad-savvy campaigns disguised as entertainment rather than a typical snore-fest commercial spot. Luckily, I stumbled upon this little piece of laughter while fast forwarding through the commercial break during my nightly television fix. More »
Earthquakes, Revolutions and Social Media
In a world where social media is becoming second nature, it makes sense that sites we use to keep up with friends and family prove useful for organization and support in a time of crisis.
After the most recent earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office launched an English-language twitter account (@JPN_PMO) to update the world about the earthquake and its horrifying aftermath. The account duplicates the Japanese-language disaster information account (@Kantei_Saigai) but is translated into English. In only eight hours, the account had close to 9,000 followers.
Social media was also recently used to inspire organization in countries experiencing political turmoil. Throughout the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, activists turned to social media to organize protests, and many credit social media for the success of the revolution. According to an article on Miller-McCune.com, a protester in Cairo commented on the phenomenon stating, “We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world”.
By providing new ways to communicate, social media has changed our approach to civic action in a dramatic way and its role will continue to increase as future events occur.
Practice, Practice & Perfect: The elevator pitch
Ah, the art of pitching – something businesses and individuals all look to perfect. Whether you are trying to sell a product, service or yourself, a good pitch is one of the keys to success. Getting your pitch down to an efficient science however, can be challenging. It can’t be too long, but at the same time needs to include all the important details. These details include who you are or what your service is and most importantly, why the person you are pitching should care.
When it comes to perfecting pitches, the elevator is more than just a means of transportation; it is an ideal place to practice. Why? Because you do not have a lot of time to sell your pitch and there is nothing to focus on but the person you are pitching.
TechCrunch decided to have a little fun with the elevator pitch and launched a TechCrunch video project – The Elevator Pitch. More »
#NewTwitter: "A new bird, a new experience"
As usual, I woke up this morning and turned on my computer to send out the first tweet of the day to my followers. With the curser blinking and ready, I wondered what was taking me so long to tweet. Suddenly, I realized that everything was different.
Just a few days ago, Twitter launched the new Twitter.com. If you haven’t seen the switch yet, here are four reasons you should get excited: More »
Saving seconds with Google Instant
When it comes to Google, it seems good things really do come in threes.
A few weeks ago, Google gave Gmail users the ability to make calls from their e-mail, last week, Google launched the Gmail Priority Inbox, and this week Google enhances its search abilities with Google Instant. More »
More Growth in Social Media
Over the past several years, the use of social media has grown exponentially and new statistics reveal that growth continues. According to a new research study, “Internet and Social Media Insights”, conducted by The Nielson Company, 75 percent of households engage in social networking. During the month of May, these users spent 6 hours and 13 minutes on social media sites throughout the month, almost double the average amount of time recorded last year (3 hours and 31 minutes). More »
YouTube Now on TV?
If you’re a YouTube junkie like I am, you’ll be pleased to know that YouTube is now expanding its reach and allowing users to watch their favorite videos on their televisions. Yesterday, YouTube announced the launch of YouTube Leanback, a program that plays high-definition videos formatted specifically for your television set.
