Is your business using social media? Make sure it’s cashing out.

Have a social media strategy? Or thinking about implementing one? Either way, I’d highly recommend reading this interesting article in this month’s Fast Company magazine about how the execution of social media strategy and tactics could be positively and/or negatively impacting your brand.

Using data and findings provided by a Vivaldi-Lightspeed Research study, the article discusses how important brand metrics such as advocacy and trust can be impacted by the brand or company’s social media activities. Companies profiled are Dunkin Donuts vs. Starbucks (I found this interesting), Gillette, and Burger King vs. Wendy’s.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/145/next-tech-five-steps-to-social-currency.html

True Back to Your Plan

Tiger & Earl: Polarizing and Successful Advertising

The latest Nike television ad featuring Tiger woods and the dubbed voice of his late father, Earl, has sparked quite a hubbub across the media and the Internet. In listening and reading the feedback, the comments run the gambit from “genius” and “moving” to “tasteless” and “cheap”.

No matter what side of the spectrum your opinion falls, it’s fair to say that the ad is polarizing. The motives behind the ad aren’t clear, and this blog is not intended to critique Nike or the Woods camp’s motives. Rather, I’d like to acknowledge that Nike was successful with this ad. I’m not saying that Nike succeeded at making us change our opinion of Tiger Woods, but Nike did succeed at grabbing our attention. They achieved this by stimulating strong emotion, both highly positive and highly negative emotion. According to basic advertising principles, media ads are successful when they trigger strong human emotion on both ends of the spectrum. This emotion generally sparks awareness, buzz and conversation, making the product more memorable.

What’s your opinion? Whether you love it or hate it, you won’t forget it.

Cool Stuff: Sleepbox

Air travel can be exhausting. It can be especially exhausting when your flight gets delayed. And even worse if your flight gets canceled until the next day and you’re far from home. Well, folks, you can finally rest easy…there’s a solution called the Sleepbox.

The Sleepbox is a cool device that can be installed in public places. And yes, it’s what it claims to be — a box you can sleep in. Don’t worry, it’s not a cardboard box. It’s actually a mobile box that contains a bed with a change of linens, an alarm, lights and even a place to store your luggage.

Check it out at  http://www.likecool.com/Sleepbox–Design–Gear.html