Social Branding News

Photo

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:01:00 +0100

Social Media Poetry

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:09:00 +0100

From .com to .brand: a New Frontier for Marketers

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:31:00 +0100

Beginning January 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (CANN) is going to begin accepting applications for a new type of domain structure, called generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). The old .com will be substitute by .brand with the brand name in the new structure being the main domain, for example we will find .coke, .disney and .gillette.

Sean MacDonald, in his article Brands: Here’s How You Can Take Advantage of ICANN’s New Top-Level Domains, presents the main benefits for marketers provided by this digital change: owning a bespoke .brand, liking product with master brand, creating a truly global platform, personalizing user pages and security benefits. Digital branding will radically change, and the ability of marketers to take advantage of this new opportunity will be crucial for differentiation.

Above you can read and/or download Sean MacDonald’s digital paper on the topic, which provides a more detailed view on the different possibilities for branding and marketers.

And we bring this entire madness to you!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:06:17 +0100

And we bring this entire madness to you!

The report has gone mobile!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:51:00 +0100

The report has gone mobile!

The Social Media Relationship Quality of Omega, Rolex and Patek Philippe

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:47:00 +0100

Check out the new look of our report!

We want to hear your opinions! Do you agree with our assessment?

Download PDF

What do you think about...?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:40:00 +0100

What do you think about...?:

Once a upon a time the fiancé secretly bought the most sparkling ring for his fiancée…Times have definitely changed! Today, in fact, even the highly intimate shopping experience of buying an engagement ring goes social and mobile.

The well-known luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co launched a rather fanciful application available for iPhone - Tiffany & Co Engagement Ring Finder - a digital initiative that is really one of a kind!

The application is simple, perfectly designed in Tiffany’s style with the unmistakable light blue. Just to highlight some features, the app allows browsing for rings by shapes, settings, metals and different designs. Once the desired ring is selected, it can be saved, shared on social media platforms and tried on a virtual hand.

It remains to be assessed to whom this app is of most interest: to women to daydream about their ring, or to men in order to make sure they are making the right choice? The question is open to readers’ opinions….

-Carlotta

What you can’t see, won’t hurt you. Or can it?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:31:00 +0100

What you can’t see, won’t hurt you. Or can it?

Social Media Marketing: What to Consider in 2012

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:45:00 +0100

With 2011 coming to an end, we would like to highlight the increasing importance of the role of social media in a brand’s marketing activities, as well suggest several aspects of related strategies which are to be taken into consideration during 2012.

The upload of our report “Social Media Relationship Quality of Omega, Rolex and Patek Philippe” occurred almost at the same time as digital marketing specialist Brian Solis published his personal assessment of the current state of social marketing. His opinions are very much in line with the conclusions that we have reached in our report. Taking his article as a starting point, there are three points in particular worth emphasizing.

The first one is the fact that the world of organizational marketing activities is split between these companies that have recognized the value of engaging on social media platforms and have therefore invested in digital marketing strategies, and those that have yet to do so. Rolex and Patek Philippe clearly belong to the second category by mostly missing out on the opportunities of the social media revolution that is happening around them.

Secondly, companies active in the digital environment should consider a significant change in perspective, in order to avoid painful failures. They need to abandon the usual top-down style of communication which merely overwhelms customers with content, some of it possibly useless, and begin taking advantage of bottom-up strategies that enhance knowledge sharing and co-creation of value with costumers. In fact, customers must be recognized as an exceptional source on which to draw valuable information and ideas.

Thirdly, customers must be treated differently depending on the social media platform. Each company, brand or organization should try to understand the communication styles of each network, as well as the approaches that are most appropriate in order to meet customers’ needs and expectations.

In conclusion, researching and benchmarking against those who have succeeded with their social media strategies (e.g. Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier, Omega and TAG Heuer, in the watch industry) would be helpful for laggard brands in order to learn how to successfully connect with their audiences.

-Vale

You can read our full report here.

The World of Social Media During 2011

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:57:17 +0100

Which is the most visited social network? How many people have Facebook accounts? How many tweets per second go on Twitter?

Check out this videoinfograph to find out what happened in 2011 within the world of social media.

Touché!

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:04:00 +0100

Touché!

What do you think about...?

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:32:00 +0100

What do you think about...?:

Do you remember the creepy Phones4U ad with the haunting little girl? If you have seen it, you would definitely remember it. Otherwise, you can check it out here. *Warning: do not click if you are all alone in the dark and have tendencies to scream hysterically.

The video is a great example of shockvertising or the deliberate use of disturbing images in order to be remembered and create word of mouth, which was the exact reaction to the advertisement. People have been stunned and some of them even traumatized. In fact, the Advertising Standards Authority, UK’s independent advertising regulator, decided to open an investigation after receiving 341 complaints from outraged viewers. It is obvious this was the company’s goal: create so much buzz that the video would go viral. With over 1,250,000 views only on their official channel they have only to gain, even if the ad gets banned from TV.

This is why it is understandable that Phones4U decided to continue with the “terrifying” campaign and launched another commercial (see above.) The new video is perhaps not as scary as the one with the disturbing little girl, but it is just as creepy and the main character now is… a zombie! Even though it is kind of a cheap trick in our opinion, the entire fiasco is still getting the job done – people are talking about it and forwarding the videos.

It is now interesting to see if Phones4U will create a third one. In case there are plans to do so, they should act quickly because the horror genre is most certainly in decline with all the dull and ridiculous love story lines that are killing the once frightening characters one by one.

-Vale

Customer Complaint Management in the Cyberspace: to Deal or not to Deal?

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:19:00 +0100

In the cyberspace, customer complaints can reach a much wider audience than expected. This is why knowing how to deal with this negative publicity is crucial for a brand that goes social. Does a brand have to respond and defend its own image? Or should it ignore these not so favorable comments?

In this article, Steve Allan highlights the main rules that a brand should follow when dealing with customer complaints in social media. Do you know how to move in the cyberspace?!

Download our report “Social Media Relationship Quality of Three Swiss Brands” and discover how Omega, Rolex and Patek Philippe manage their social media presence.

Does a well developed social media branding strategy equal...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:29:00 +0100

Does a well developed social media branding strategy equal annoying the heck out of your customers?

Top Trends of 2011: The Social Network Battle

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:47:00 +0100

The battle of the social networks is a never-ending one. However, do they all compete on the same level, or do they have an area where each one of them could be considered the best?

This article takes a look at the trends within the social media world during 2011 and identifies three categories where Facebook, Google+ and Twitter compete: identity, location and sharing. Can you guess the winner in each category?

What do you think about...?

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:40:00 +0100

What do you think about...?:

What do you think about this new application?

SocialFolders allows you to automatically share and back up your social content. This means that every single time one of your contacts on any social network shares a photo or a video, it will be automatically downloaded onto your computer. The developers say that this is a wonderful way to keep up with the updates of family members or to get “ the great party pictures that your friend has posted on Facebook,” but we feel that this might be a bit creepy. Stalkers of the world, unite! Now you have the appropriate tools.

-Batman

What Have Chevy, Pepsi, Sony and Verizon Gotten Out of 'X Factor'? A Look at Their Social-Media Lift

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:42:00 +0100

I guess it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that most of us are annoyed by The X Factor. No, I am not going to write a long and pretentious explanation about how this and other reality shows are an evidence of the decay of today’s society. It is simply annoying for no particular reason.

The fact is, however, that the show is extremely popular in every country where it is broadcasted which makes it a very valuable tool for companies and their promotional activities.

This article published on AdAge provides an undeniable evidence that the popularity of the show is transferred very successfully onto its sponsors. Just take a look at the statistics showing the amount of buzz and conversation on the official social media pages of the companies on the days that The X Factor airs.

-Batman

What do you think about...?

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:22:00 +0100

What do you think about...?:

What do you think about this Facebook page?

It is the official page of a small private American college in Lugano, Switzerland. They have attracted many “likes” - close to 2,400 - but they seem to have a problem with engaging their audience in conversation.

What do you think they are doing wrong?

Yes, we always know… For example, the reviews in the...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:32:00 +0100

Yes, we always know… For example, the reviews in the comment section by a “satisfied” customer? In fact, can you guess which comment underneath is posted by my granny?

Do you have an innovative idea regarding social media marketing...

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:43:00 +0100

Do you have an innovative idea regarding social media marketing practices? Or perhaps you created a brilliant project that you would like to share? Or you would like to prove wrong that professor who gave you a C on a great report (we have all been there…)

Send us your projects and discuss them with everyone!