Archive of the 'User-Generated Content' Category

Jones Soda

Sometimes you just have to float an interesting idea out there and worry later about whether it’s good for the bottom line.

That’s the thinking behind a new Web site for Jones Soda, the alt-beverage company that has made its reputation on pure cane sugar, offbeat flavors like Blue Bubble Gum and Fufu Berry, and a staunch nonconformism. more

Most advertisers interested in running mobile campaigns are caught up in wondering when the channel will break big: amass large audiences for mobile Web or mobile video, build the interconnections to launch nationwide campaigns easily, and rack up a large base of users willing to accept ads and promotions on their phones.

By contrast, Web startup 8coupons.com is content to keep things small and localized—at least for now. The site launched last year as a way to bring the promotional possibilities of Web 2.0 and mobile marketing to the boutiques, bodegas and one-store businesses in Manhattan’s Soho and East Village neighborhoods. more

Game maker Nintendo could possibly be sitting on the biggest buzz marketing hit since Diet Coke met Mentos. But as of now, the company is denying that it’s Nintendo’s underwear-clad sitter we’re looking at. more

Know what a “splash stick” is? If not, chances are good you will soon.

Literally, it’s a small wand of molded green plastic with a cap at one end. The stick fits into the slit opening of a plastic coffee lid, seals it and lets you walk down the street without fear of the telltale signs of the morning commuter: those splashed little droplets of coffee on shirt, skirt or pants.

Figuratively, splash sticks may be the future of Starbucks, a multi-billion-dollar brand that’s looking to reconnect with its customers. more

Scion, Toyota’s youth-oriented brand within a brand, does marketing differently, to say the least. The car maker has opted for the road less traveled in most of its online promotion, favoring independent film and music festivals, presence in virtual worlds, and hip-hop-flavored video as ways to promote its vehicles. more

While models for marketing on social networks are still evolving, some brands are starting to view those online communities as an integral part of their advertising. That was the takeaway of a well-attended panel discussion on “Social Network Marketing: Exploring the Value Proposition” at ad:tech San Francisco 2008. more

If you’re still sweating midnight tonight as the deadline for filing your 2007 tax forms, this story may come a bit late. But tax preparer H&R Block has over the last two years amassed an impressive array of social media-based marketing, all designed to become top of mind with tortured souls wrestling with their 1040s.

Block’s social initiatives are designed to reinforce two brand messages, according to Paula Drum, the company’s vice president of marketing for digital tax solutions: to reinforce the company’s overall expertise, and to announce its specific Web-based competence. more

Qtopia

Quicken Loans may be known as the nation’s largest home mortgage lender, but last month the Livonia MI-based financial services company stretched its town-building muscles, constructing a library, newsstand, café, shopping mall and sports arena. All online and all virtual, of course—but still, a big game-changing step toward constructing community around a finance brand.

Qtopia is designed to provide current Quicken customers with an engaging way to access financial planning tools and content, get tips and assistance in selling or renovating their homes, connect with both Quicken agents and with each other for money advice, and oh yes, enter some instant-win and weekly sweepstakes drawings. more

In many of the areas of promotion the Internet has given rise to, being around for ten years qualifies you as a pioneer. If that‘s true, then Streetwise Concepts and & Culture is practically the Lewis and Clark of social marketing, mapping out the territory for those who came after.

The Los Angeles-based agency got its start more than 10 years ago when now-CEO David Benveniste hired on to promote and manage a new band, System of a Down. Realizing that their label in 1998, Columbia, wasn’t planning to support the band’s first album with as much marketing or airplay as he thought advisable, Benveniste logged onto that new Internet thing. He began visiting chat rooms where young people got together to talk about music and asking members what bands they listened to. more

Pepsi is one of the world’s most widely recognized global brands. Now it’s linking to one of the world’s favorite sports with a social network that lets members find out which of five major soccer stars most closely fit their personality type.

The site, www.pepsiyouniverse.com, is built on a networking platform from London-based Imagini Holdings, and one of its most interesting features is that it asks registered members to categorize themselves using pictures rather than text descriptions. Visitors answer questions such as “What do you like best about soccer?” by choosing one of 12 photos that show teammates working together, fans rooting in the stands, some tricky ball handling, and so on. more