RICK MATHIESON: GENWOW.COM

Interview: Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman, BabyCenter - Pt 3: How Agencies Can Conquer Social

In part three, Sharkey shares her views on what ad agencies need to do to stay on top of digital in general, social media in particular - and how BabyCenter delivers the gamut for its agency and brand clients.

Listen: Interview with Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman of Baby Center: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 3

(Approx. 5:32)

Also hear:

Part One: On how BabyCenter leverages the power of social networks to tap into the tribe of motherhood

Part Two: On Johnson & Johnson's strategy for using BabyCenter to connect with moms

 

Interview: Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman of BabyCenter (Pt 2)

Many people don't realize that BabyCenter - the hugely popular social network for mothers - is owned by Johnson & Johnson, which acquired the site from eToys in 2001. That makes BabyCenter the only major social network owned by a consumer goods company.

In part two of my interview with BabyCenter Chairwoman Tina Sharkey, I ask her about how Johnson & Johnson makes use of BabyCenter to connect with its target consumers - and how its business model works given it (wisely) accepts advertising from other marketers, even competitors in its categories.

Listen to Tina Sharkey: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 2

(Approx 3:48)

Interview: Tina Sharkey, CEO of BabyCenter - On The Care & Feeding of Social Networks

BabyCenter, the phenomenally successful online community that reaches 78 percent of all online women who are pregnant or mothers of children under 24 months old, has become a soc-net cause celebré America's moms.

In fact, more moms visit BabyCenter in the US than there are babies born in the US in a year.

In part one of this exclusive interview with BabyCenter Chairwoman Tina Sharkey, portions of which are featured in my book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, I get the inside scoop on how BabyCenter has connects with moms through blogs, forums and branded content - as well as an interesting mobile app called "Booty Call."

Tina Sharkey: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 1

(Approx 6:17)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Talking Branded Games at DemandCon San Francisco

I'm starting to get amped about speaking at DemandCon San Francisco on April 16 - and this time I'm bringing along friend and client Rick Wootten, senior director of online marketing at Seagate Technologies.

The two of us will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the blockbuster results we achieved on a branded game we developed when he held a similiar role at SonicWALL.

Wootten and I did a similiar presentation at BMA SF last year. And now we're super-sizing it for DemandCon to bring you a crash course on how branded games can:

• Supercharge integrated communications programs

• Dramatically boost interaction times with prospects

• Amplify your social and mobile initiatives to move beyond mere "presence" to true engagement like never before

Make no mistake: You can score some very serious business with branded fun and games - and we're going to show you how.

See you there!

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

BWM Projection Mapping Racing Game (Video)

 

The Ultimate Driving Machine recently used projection mapping to launch a social racing game designed to promote the new 1 series automobile in South Africa.

Players driving via a Galaxy tablet, and thier scores are posted on a real-time Facebook leaderboard and shared with friends. The best drivers in each location the game was hosted won prizes.

As Digital Buzz points out, game play looks a little clunky, and the race track could have been a bit more exciting.

But what's your view? A cool new way to get people revved up? Or just so much crash and burn?

Read all about the initiative, here.

 

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

Dove Photoshop Action 'Beautify' Secretly Reverts Images, Makes Models Look More 'Real'

 

Don't look now, but Dove may be undoing all your Photoshop work.

As part of its long-running "Campaign for Real Beauty," the brand has launched a nicely-subversive new branded Photoshop action that secretly reverts your images back to their original state.

Which means all the baggy eyes, moles and muffin tops you spent so long "airbrushing" away suddenly reappear, returning your models to their true selves – wrinkles and all. (Designers, don't worry: It's easily undone.)

"Don't manipulate our perceptions of real beauty," admonishes an advertisement for the effort (from Ogilvy Toronto) which is aimed at "shaming the body-shamers," as Co.Create recently put it. 

In my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, I take an in-depth look at this venerable campaign and its history of innovative marketing initiatives, digital and otherwise. It isn't every day, after all, that you see massive global campaigns aimed at seamlessly pitching Dove products like Firming Cream and Exfoliating Body Wash - while promoting healthy body image and encouraging girls and women to eschew beauty industry stereotypes.

Among my favorites: Times Square billboards that let passersby vote on whether a model is "fat or fabulous," "wrinkled or wonderful," and "oversized or outstanding" via mobile voting. And, more recently, an initiative that enabled women to switch out Facebook ads that are downers (beauty ads that feature negative or unrealistic visuals) with uplifting ads that encourage women to define their own ideal of beauty.

It was all enough to see the campaign become the first ever to win both the TV and cyber Grand Prix Awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

(You can listen to my interview with Unilever's then-SVP of Global Media, Laura Klauberg - about the astonishing results the campaign has been generating, and how digital in general, and social media, online video and mobile, in particular, have reshaped the way Unilever markets its personal care brands – here)

Until now, the campaign has been aimed squarely at end-users who must embrace or reject harmful beauty stereotypes. I believe this is the first element to target those who craft images that can warp our perceptions of beauty. The action was surreptitiously placed on design tool sites as a free download, without mention of its true purpose. Which could be a little cruel. But for many, the turnabout may be very fair play, indeed.

Read more about the "Beautify" action, here.

 

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

Forget Glasses: Google + Adidas = Talking Shoes (Video)

 

Now here are some kicks that make a statement.

Lots of them, in fact.

Google and Adidas teamed up to develop the "Talking Shoe," which made it's debut at SXSW this week.

According to reports, these shoes were made for talking - and that's just what they do,  tracking your speed and performance - and proffering its share of smack talk or props depending on how you're doing. It even syncs with your mobile phone to provide words of encouragement, advice and more. All of which is sharable on our soc nets, of course.

Don't go bugging Zappos just yet - the shoes aren't for sale. It's all part of Google's "Art, Copy & Code Initiative (the whole Project Re:Brief thing). But the tech could go open source, so you never know.

Get the full scoop, here.

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

Audi Quattro (Mobile, Social & Oh-So-Miniature) Experience (Video)

 

Talk about driving ambition.

You have to love this interactive display, which enables passersby to race one of three finely detailed miniature Audis using a iPad to demonstrate just how well Audi hugs the road (positioning undercut, unfortunately, by its share of wipeouts) - and memorialized by Facebook shares of personal video.

As Adverblog points out, the fun is in the details: Pay special attention to the miniature roadside billboard that reads "BMWho?"

Get the full scoop (including a great 15-minute making-of documentary), here.

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

First Ever Zombie Attack on Twitter: A 'Walking Dead' Case Study (Video)

 

Who says zombies don't have social lives?

Adweek has this great case study on how French televison network NT1 used social to promote the premiere of "Walking Dead" in a tough market for crazy-ass TV shows (video above).

The effort, from an agency called Darewin, involved a #WalkingDeadNT1 hashtag that people were advised against using. To which thousands promptly did just that, subsequently finding themslves attacked by zombies via Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

According to Adweek, this er, viral campaign infected 30,000 users in under two weeks, with 550,000 exposures tallied.

Then again, are tweets like "Aaaargh" any more brain dead than most of the other posts you read these days?

But what's your view: Is this one lively campaign - or is it DOA?

Read more here.

 

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes

Bringing Tasty Back: Oreo Scores Another Slam Dunk With Social Media

First there was that tweet during the Super Bowl - "You can still dunk in the dark."

Then, during last night's Grammys, Oreo scores again with a visual tweet about Justin Timberlake's "return" to pop music.

(I hadn't realized he'd left; then again, during the time he was bringing "sexy back," I hadn't realized it had gone anywhere, either).

As PR Newser puts forth, it's unclear if this visual was crafted on the fly - Timberlake was wearing a bow tie - but either way, Oreo has done it again.

Get the milky scoop, here.

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen in on iTunes