There’s been a lot of talk about the power of moms in social media. A recent study by the NPD Group helps to quantify the power of the moms and how they influence and impact retail purchases – and now there’s a new innovation that may take it to the next level.
As a modern marketer, I have been aware of and following QR codes for a couple of years – I was interested when Esquire did an entire issue earlier this year featuring QR codes – one feature with 30 “must have” items for every man included QR codes that would take you to styling tips for that item and where to buy them. Interesting, but not particularly compelling to me – a woman who has given up on styling her husband. QR codes popped up occasionally on movie posters, in hipster magazines and in handful of other pubs. I read articles about their functionality and their failures and occasionally pondered for which of my clients QR codes might work. But that was as far as it went. Until pennant fever overwhelmed me.
Haul videos - by teens, for teens.
Learn how some major retailers are tapping into this teen trend to influence shopping behaviors and drive back-to-school spending.
Earlier this month, Fox announced the first-ever “Pimp My App” contest, challenging app developers to "the coolest, groundbreaking, mind-bending app for the Fox hit show "Fringe" and pocket a cool 10 large along the way". While user-generated content (UGC) and consumer-generated advertising (CGA) is nothing new, application development is. It’s the first “you do it for us” application developer contest that pays above-and-beyond the exposure the end product may deliver and the only one to be promoted on a broad scale.
Togetherville is a new online social network aimed at kids aged 6 to 10. The basic premise is that kids, with their parents’ help, can set up their own online neighborhood with friends and relatives and develop “a whole new set of skills to become responsible digital citizens.” Kids can post their own status from a pre-approved list created by the makers of Togetherville, buy digital gifts for their friends at the kid-friendly price of 25-50 cents, and use various online apps to create art, play games, watch videos, and send messages to their friends. Mom and dad can see everything that happens, and as members of their child’s community even have the dubious pleasure of tapping into the Hanna Montana and Justin Beiber videos, movie clips and other sponsored video content found throughout the site. It was the buzz in the agency last week, as various people weighed in on its value to parents, kids and marketers (eek!). The big question was this: Do kids really need a training ground for social networking?
Moms online are a growing force and dominant presence… Take a look at the surprising facts behind the most influential buying group in America.
Employees are actively participating in social media TODAY, regardless of their employer’s presence in that world. In those spaces they may already be actively discussing work or business topics or representing their company in the social media space simply by virtue of their employment. With all that in mind, every company needs to have in place social media policies that govern what’s acceptable in that space – and make that policy clear and available to employees.