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Category : MAKING A RUCKUS

HomePosts in MAKING A RUCKUS (Page 9)

This week’s ruckus makers (April 27 – May 1)

This week’s ruckus makers (April 27 – May 1)

Check out our round up of all the great campaigns, links and notable reads this week.

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  • Despite a myriad of new offerings such as built-in video and quote capabilities, Twitter’s first-quarter results are largely underwhelming. It remains to be seen, but for now, marketers do nto seem high on the platform.
  • Thinking about getting ads for mobile platforms? Shorter ads is the better approach you need to take. 
  • Data is still a very distant concept for all but those who specialize in it, but its application is limitless. Learn how companies are using data in Nepal to help with Earthquake relief. 
  • Companies are making an increased push towards Facebook video and Uproxx is one of them. 

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  • For a change, let’s talk about something we didn’t like and should never be repeated again. The Houston Rockets’ social media manager was in the media for all the wrong reason this week. Here’s why. 
  • We already discussed the pitfalls of live tweeting and “muscling in” on social events for the sake of brand promotion. Did any of these NFL Draft tweets even come close to being successful?
  • Using YouTube influencers is not new, but it should still be fun for the person doing the video as well as the audience:

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This week’s ruckus makers (May 4 – 8)

This week’s ruckus makers (May 4 – 8)

Check out our round up of all the great campaigns, links and notable reads this week.

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  • Snapchat continues to expand its suite of features and social capabilities. You can now share Discover features with your friends. 

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  • Technology offers us new creative opportunities. This company got creative about specially reserved parking spots. 
  • Walgreens is moving forward with combining in-store and mobile experiences. 
  • Audi wants to tackle a serious social issue in it’s new series of ads, but is this the best way to approach this?

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ruckus launches Seventh Generation and Polysporin®

This spring we’ve been very busy launching social strategies for Seventh Generation and Polysporin® – both focused on reaching the Canadian mom on social media.

With Seventh Generation, ruckus has been helping to craft a uniquely Canadian story for the eco-friendly brand, managing both their Twitter and Facebook accounts and building relationships with Canadian influencers and stakeholders. 

For Polysporin, ruckus launched a new Facebook page for the brand earlier this year with the objective of growing their Quebec audience and creating engaging content for the Quebec market. 

Keep an eye out for even more new and exciting projects and campaigns as we move through 2015.

Posted by
Serge Leshchuk
on 04/06/2015

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Case Study: Social Amplification – MGD SoundClash

This summer we helped MGD create authentic content and cater to a community that was quick to shy away from any content that is overly commercial or branded.

After a dramatic brand relaunch in Canada, and reconnecting with its global roots to EDM (Electronic Dance Music) Miller Genuine Draft was looking to solidify their connection to the scene. With the launch of their global DJ competition – SoundClash – in Canada, MGD was hoping to create more awareness with the DJ community and strengthen their place as the premium beer for nightlife.

Our focus was on creating content that not only promoted the brand but felt authentic to a community that would quickly shy away from overly commercial or branded efforts. Our challenge was doubled with the strict guidelines and restrictions around marketing alcohol.

We worked closely with MGD partners (INK Entertainment and EDM Canada) to develop engaging content both leading up to the event and on-site activations. We featured DJ submissions across our channels in an effort to shine a spotlight on up-and-comers and generate competition within their community.  We also engaged with influencers in the scene to add authenticity to the competition. We also chronicled the competition by serving up a ton of real-time content and profiles of the winners.

With a simple straightforward approach of including the community and supporting the scene with rich, engaging and authentic content we were able to make 2015’s SoundClash a huge success.

Results:

on 18/09/2015

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Should you promote that customer or influencer tweet?

As the industry and marketers lean into more word-of-mouth marketing, it’s important to understand the risks as well as the opportunities on leveraging social media testimonials for marketing.

As the industry and marketers lean into more word-of-mouth marketing, it’s important to understand the risks as well as the opportunities on leveraging social media testimonials for marketing. Yes – customers are already sharing their own experiences and opinions publicly, but when a brand elevates one of these experiences and puts a marketing budget behind it, it can open the brand and the customer up to further criticism.

Can it be done well? Yes, but it’s a delicate dance. Telus recently launched their Expect More campaign – which I think was well-packaged as it highlighted a few positive experiences while also admitting that they want to continue to improve. For our work on Polysporin, we’ve been highlighting customer reviews in posts and continue to drive our fans to leave their own reviews.

If you’re looking to promote a tweet from a customer or influencer, consider the following elements first:

Permission for use with context: Always ask for permission before posting and make sure the customer understands how you will be leveraging their post and the resulting impact. For example, Head and Shoulders promoted a tweet from a customer who had a great experience with their product – however she later denied they had permission; mostly because she didn’t understand that is was be shared to hundreds of people and that these people could directly engage with her about her experience.

Awareness of source: Customers are more likely to take action or trust a recommendation from someone they know, or think they know.Consider leveraging a tweet (with permission) from celebrities, television hosts or bloggers as they’re frequently sharing their opinions. For Polysporin’s #SavetheShoes campaign, we did this by whitelisting a tweet from Bell’s TV show “The Social”, to drive awareness of their new Blister Treatment product.

Experience claims: Ensure that the tweet or message that you’re promoting provides an attainable product experience for most customers. Many customers are skeptical of brands and ads, promoting unrealistic expectations.

All in all, different industries and verticals have a variety of audiences that will respond differently. Keeping your industry in mind along with these tips, and using your social media judgement, you’ll be able to share some great experiences with your fans.

Posted by
Katie Boland
on 02/07/2015

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WTR – what the ruckus on Periscope

Find out what the ruckus is with Periscope and how live streaming can help your brand communicate with customers.

With Meerkat taking off early in 2015, Twitter quickly stepped in, purchasing Periscope in March, days after its launch on the iPhone. What are some inherent benefits of live streaming? How can your brand make your customers feel “in the moment” using Periscope? Why is this new video app is nothing like Snapchat, Vine or Instagram? Find out below:

Posted by
Katie Boland
on 09/09/2015

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Truth in Content Matters. When in doubt, disclose!

Do you take all of the recommendations for granted? How close do you look at the source before accepting their words at face value? Here is why it’s important to always disclose your sources and clients.

Have you ever trusted a recommendation or an opinion of a friend only to find out later that they were offered an incentive or they were paid to provide that reco? It can leave you feeling exploited and stupid. Over the last few years social media has played a role of uncovering these individuals, bloggers or brands and their bad choices. Many of which could have been forgiven if they just were open about their biases. Don’t be a brand that misleads consumers and doesn’t follow these unspoken guidelines. 

In the U.S., however, it’s not unspoken. It’s the law. Advocating for consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), regulates and fines marketers when they do not adhere to their regulations. Since 2010, the FTC has been on the forefront of misleading social media advertising and endorsements and has held many brands accountable for their deceptive behaviour. For example, the FTC recently fined Cole Haan for a Pinterest contest they hosted which required consumers to create their own pin boards of Cole Haan products with the hashtag “#WanderingSole”. The FTC argued that the pins were incentivized by the opportunity to win a prize and it wasn’t clear to the average Pinterest user that this content was being shared for a chance to win a prize.

But what about Canada? Right now we don’t have an equivalent to the FTC. The closest organization might be the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which is a self-regulated organization.  The most relevant policy they have is the clause of authenticity and disclosure that states “no advertisement shall be presented in a format or style that conceals its commercial intent.” Because of this lack of a Canadian legal direction, many Canadian brands and lawyers don’t adhere to the FTC’s guidelines.

Whether you’re working contest for your Facebook page or writing your own cooking blog, it’s just as important to disclose any bias or payment you might have received. And if you’re not willing to disclose or admit the relationship, you might be crossing a line.

When creating content as a brand or with a partner, consider the following:

Influencers:

  • If a product or service is provided, or an exchange of payment is made, ensure that that relationship is disclosed. If the influencer is tweeting about your brand have them use the hashtag #sponsored or #ad. If they’re creating a video to promote your brand, ensure that disclosure is provided within the video as well as the video description.

Contests:

  • If you’re asking a consumer to create and share their own content in exchange for an entry for a contest, be sure that content is tagged with a #Contest hashtag. To ensure that the consumer uses this hashtag it’s best to include it the full hashtag. For example with Polysporin, we hosted a contest where we encouraged users to share a picture of their most painful shoes and tag it with the hashtag #SavetheShoesContest.

Character Limits:

  • Just because Twitter has a 140 character limit does not mean you can’t disclose. In these situations #ad is the easiest and shortest option. 

Employees/Clients:

  • Encouraging your employees to share great news, or sharing great news about a client is a great way to spread awareness among an engaged audience. Before you do so, inquire if your company has a social media policy – how much are you allowed to share as a company? Is there a process that you need to follow beforehand?
  • If you’re allowed to speak publicly on social media about your company’s products or services, ensure that you’re disclosing the relationship within your social profile, but also the individual post or tweet.  

All in all, Canadians aren’t regulated in the same way as the U.S., however by following these guidelines, you might be able to build a stronger and more trusting relationship with your consumers, and maybe even avoid a social media shaming from any missteps.

Posted by
Katie Boland
on 18/09/2015

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Reboot the way you conduct business

“Technology has removed technology from technology.” Mitch Joel

Last week, my University of Toronto #digitaledu colleague Donna Papacosta hosted Six Pixels of Separation and Ctrl Alt Delete author Mitch Joel for a chat about technology’s ubiquity evolving consumer behaviour, which ultimately shapes the way we should do business.

Joel first focused on three key areas that he called “Three Little Pigs”:

  1. To transform – to happen internally within organizations, not externally

  2. To innovate – examples include success factors for today’s apps: image-based, highly mobile, highly social

  3. To transact – shift to sharing and impermanence with consumers paying for sharing instead of owning (Airbnb, Netflix, Breather, iTunes and JustPark also Snapchat as an impermanent social platform)

Joel went on to say that he thinks that instead of talking about the “next digital consumer,” we’ll be talking about the “quantified consumer.” (Fitbit, Nest and Starbucks)

He said that while a few years ago we may have wondered why our fridges should be connected to the internet, whereas now many individuals are saying “why not?”

He also offered the following four areas all organizations should be considering in their transformations:

  1. Think content distribution over content now

  2. Think new revenue models over campaigns

  3. Think one screen over which screen (the one a respective user is watching is always most important)

  4. Think about making an impression over impressions

More highlights from the evening (via Donna Papacosta)

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Should your brand be on Snapchat?

The answer is a resounding… it depends.

Like with any other social media platform, or any other element in your marketing mix, it’s important to understand the platform before making the decision to join a platform or now.

Let’s avoid general “advice” and instead review the basics of Snapchat so you have a few things to think about when deciding if Snapchat is the right choice for your brand or not.

Since its release in 2011, Snapchat has been heavily dismissed by marketers, being referred to as an “app for tweens”. The marketing potential of Snapchat wasn’t seriously considered.

Today, Snapchat is not only continuing to thrive, but it’s also become a strong contender in the social media landscape. With over 100 million daily active users, Snapchat now has over 8 billion video views each day. This last stat positions Snapchat aggressively against Facebook’s video viewership, which achieved 8 billion daily video views in November 2015.

But isn’t Snapchat still just for tweens?

Actually, not really. Although there is a large user base in the 13-17-year-old segment, over 50% of Snapchat users are over 25 years old. DJ Khaled, Snapchat’s breakout star, is 40 years old.

Snapchat’s user base is more widespread than naysayers will have you believe. Consider the customer segment you are attempting to target with your marketing efforts and if they overlap with Snapchat’s actively engaged audience.

Isn’t Snapchat just 10-second videos that disappear after 24 hours?

Yes, it’s true that Snapchat videos can only be a maximum of 10-seconds, however, you can post multiple photos + images. Users spend on average 30 minutes per day on Snapchat, making it one of the most engaged platforms available.

Generating between 3-6 million views per snap, DJ Khaled’s Snapchat story has more viewers than the #1 most-watched TV show, Big Bang Theory (average of 3.3M viewers).

Snapchat has more than proven that its staying power and ability to effectively engage users on a regular basis. Still… this doesn’t mean that you should or shouldn’t add Snapchat to your marketing mix. But look at the stats, review your brand’s strategic objectives, and explore Snapchat for yourself. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.

As with other social media platforms, deciding to invest resources in Snapchat should be dependant on your content strategy, target demographics, and a host of other factors – and not anecdotal rhetoric about the platform. But you know that.

In the words of Snapchat’s biggest star, you smart.

If you are on Snapchat, make sure to add ruckus digital

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