Innovative Ad Campaign

Coca Cola's  "Share a Coke" campaign has been one of the most successful and innovative ads that I can recall. The Share a Coke campaign was started when the company realized that they needed to appeal to a younger market. So, they decided to swap their Coke logo with today's popular names, and boy did it work!

It wasn't long before the Share a Coke campaign went viral and was visible in just about every social media outlet imaginable. There were commercials, standard billboards, digital billboards, kiosks, radio ads and even the media took notice and caught the Share a Coke buzz. There has also been apparel branded after this campaign.

By swapping out their logos and adding a personal touch to their cans and bottles, Coke took not only their existing market segment by storm, but also reached a totally new market segment that they would may not have otherwise been able to reach. 

Initially, it was 150 popular Australian names that were chosen to be placed on Coke cans and bottles. Australian names were chosen because according to a survey conducted by Coke, half of Australia's teen and young adult population had never tasted a Coke. This was their opportunity, as Coke stated to reconnect with Australia. Coke's marketing campaign proved to be brilliantly successful! Shortly thereafter Coca Cola received tons of request to add more names to their cans and bottles. The company turned to social media once more to have people vote on 50 additional names that would later appear on Coke cans, bottles and apparel.

Due to this widely successful campaign, Coca Cola experienced an 870% increase in Facebook traffic alone! According to Coca Cola's stats, there was also a 12,020,000 earned media impressions, 76,000 virtual Coke cans were shared, 378,000 custom Coke cans were printed, 5% more people were drinking Coke and within 3 months the young adult consumption increased by 7% and the list goes on.

I was so enthused by Coke's ad campaign, that I even purchased a custom Coke to share!

Trello Technology

A technology that I decided to share is called Trello; Trello is a project management application that covers multiple facets. It is a tool that can be utilized on a small scale by the average consumer to create a basic grocery list among other things. The amazing part is Trello can also be used in more of a sophisticated manner by enabling colleagues to stay on track when working collaboratively to complete a project. Best of all, Trello is compatible with multiple devices and is considered to be user friendly because of it's easy to understand three-tier information system of Boards, Lists and Cards. 


The Trello board is a list of lists, filled with cards, thats used by you and your team. In terms of the boards, they are very much similar to the ones found on Pinterest, except they are exclusive only to those that you invite. Trello does not only work in real-time, but is also touted as being "real-fast". Because of this feature, if you are a member of a particular board, whenever changes are made or added, you will be notified immediately.  The notifications come via the Trello platform, but also a host of other systems chosen by the user and if multiple devices are chosen, they will all stay in sync.

The number of users that can contribute to one board is unlimited. Assignments can also be delegated via a Trello board. Trello allows it's users to communicate by adding notes, files, checklists, due dates and even emojis! On a side note, I really like the fact that one can give their boards themed backgrounds in various shades and colors. It is wonderful how something this small can break down the monotony of printed words on a plain white background. Trello has a basic level which is free, however like many other applications, users have the ability to upgrade to Trello Gold or Trello Business Class for a nominal monthly fee.

Girl Scout Cookie Finder Twitter App Campaign

Lately, with it being Girl Scouts season, I have been trying to figure out where I can find boxes of cookies to purchase. I went on Google one day and searched "how to find Girl Scout cookies near me" and discovered that there is a mobile app called Girl Scout Cookie Finder that features all of the cookies and gives the time, date, and location of all cookie booth sales in the country. Since Girl Scout cookies only go on sale once a year for a short period of time, this app allows customers to never miss an opportunity to purchase their favorite cookies and also improves sales for Girl Scouts.

This app is available for iOS and Android powered phones and is free to use. Girl Scouts used Twitter to market their Cookie Finder app by posting a tweet about their delicious cookies with a direct link to download the app (example shown below). In their post, they used the Twitter "App Card" which basically gives viewers a visual of what the app looks like and what they can do on it. The "App Card" also allows people to directly access the app right from the tweet itself. The goal of their campaign was to drive app downloads and increase sales since customers were able to locate where to purchase cookies.

According to the information in Google Play (where you download Android phone apps), the Android version of Girl Scout Cookie Finder has been downloaded 100,000-500,00 times. I could not find information regarding amount of downloads for the iOS app, but I'm assuming it is around the same, if not greater, amount of downloads. It was also found that, due to the Twitter campaign, there was 19,500+ downloads of the app directly from the twitter "App Card."

MOBILE iOS APP

MOBILE ANDROID APP 

New Technology - Smart Grid for Smart LED Streetlights

ComEd had developed a smart streetlight program using LED technology for greater energy efficiency and visibility. The wireless smart meter is a two-way communication handled remotely for monitoring and controlling the streetlights. Smart LED streetlights combine high efficiency LED luminaires with wireless communication capabilities, potentially offering significant benefits to both utilities and their customers that elect to use them. 

The pilot was deployed in Maywood back in  2015. ComEd offered a program to all municipalities to install Smart LED streetlights for better understanding of the Smart Grid technology, reduction of there streetlight operating cost, improvement of the lamp outage detection, feature functionality such as: dimming, flashing and billing based on metered usage.

The Smart- Ready LED streetlights are bright white lights that enhance safety and security that have opened the door to more benefits on ComEd's smart grid wireless network. The technology allows notifications to be sent to ComEd for repair of a lamp at the specific location. Now, with having this technology the repair time is shorten and a crew is dispatched immediately with the proper materials for maintenance.

By having the smart grid technology has also give communities the ability to install water metering technology that would assist in monitoring of water usage rates on an on-demand basis, money-saving and environmental benefits.

Innovative AD campaign.

There are dozens of ad campaigns out there that grab my attention, however, most of the time I find that the ads are not clever enough to grab and keep my interest.  I have found that the best ad campaigns come in the form of product placement.  Have you ever been watching your favorite television show or music video and all of a sudden you see a Wheat Thins box or Ciroc vodka, this is product placement at its finest.  A company that is notorious for taking advantage of product placement is Pepsi and Coco-Cola, Pepsi Cola has long since used celebrity endorsements to push their products.  Some of these placements are more noticeable such as when you saw Britney Spears pop out of a Pepsi truck and perform.  Other placements are a little more subtle so you may miss them, which in my personal opinion makes them all the more brilliant. For example in the hit tv show Friends, there is a scene where Ross is having a heated conversation with his sister whilst holding a Coca-Cola can, here are some more examples that you might have missed:

The idea behind product placement according to Priceonomics analysis is that it's easier to sell a viewer on the value of a product if they're emotionally invested in the storyline in which it's presented, rather than a viewer who's watching an ad totally out of context.  I find that this sort of advertisement works a little better on persuading my interest, I'm one of those naturally skeptical people and I instantly shut down my receptors when I hear a sales pitch.  However, if you can find away to grab my interest without me being consciously aware then you've got yourself a sale.

Best use of technology - Nowait Mobile App

Imagine you were watching TV all comfortable at home and you got really hungry, so you decided to go out to dinner. All you kept thinking about on your drive to the restaurant was what you were going to eat so that once you sat down you could order right away. You finally arrive at the restaurant, all excited to finally eat, and you find out that there is an hour wait. You're extremely bummed because, had you known there was a wait, you could have stayed home on the couch for awhile longer and watched TV while you waited, but there was no way for you to know until you got to the restaurant. 

Well, now there is! The new mobile app, "Nowait," provides individuals with the most current wait times of local restaurants and allows them to join the wait list through their mobile phone, in the comfort of their own home (or wherever else they may be)! The Nowait mobile app was founded by Robb Myer and created by a technology company called Nowait Inc.

The Nowait app began as a text message waitlist system and has developed to bring solutions to restaurant management and has saved the valuable time of millions of users. This app is available for iOS and Android mobile phones and recently partnered with Yelp to connect consumers to Nowait's restaurant partners. 

Restaurants who partner with the Nowait app are offered: waitlist and reservation management, seating availability on the Nowait Guest app and Yelp, smart quoting, custom floor map and server sections, private verified guest feedback, and an online analytics suite. Individuals who download and use the Nowait app are able to discover new restaurants and decide where they want to eat from a selection of thousands of restaurants, join the waitlist from their phone, get notified when their table is ready, and rate their experience after dining. This is truly an amazing use of technology and helps both restaurant guests and restaurant management through the use of a mobile phone web application. 

Visit nowait.com for more information

Best Use of Existing Technology - Recently - Brittany Fanale

We all take photos constantly with our phones. They have replaced the traditional camera that we used to carry around to snap photographs. As technology for cameras have evolved, our methods of viewing photos have also changed. Originally photos had to be printed to be enjoyed, there was no scrolling through a digital photo album or sharing photographs instantly via media messaging.

Recently is an app downloaded directly to your phone and, uses the existing technology of the printing press combined this with your digital photograph library within your phone. It takes fifty photos from the past month and creates a high end quality magazine of your photographs. You are able to manipulate which photographs you want included as well as the layout of each page allowing you to highlight experiences and memories month to month in your life.

This app bridges the gap between taking photographs and printing photographs. We all have hundreds of not yet printed photographs we would like to keep and share with others but find it hard to do when you are scrolling endlessly looking for that one photograph. Now you can capture and share the moments monthly in a convenient way. The app also allows you to order duplicate copies to share with others and keeps a history of all your past orders in case a copy is lost and needs to be replaced. This is the best use of the original technology of the printing press pairing it with the digital photo technology on our mobile devices.

Successful Use of Social Media - America's Got Talent

America’s Got Talent: Seeking Input from Viewers

https://twitter.com/nbcagt

Early summer is one of my favorite times of the year when it comes to television entertainment.  Many shows go into reruns.  Therefore, there are many available spots to be filled.  This is the time when the broadcasting networks debut all the premieres their fun summer-time “reality” and competition shows.  One of my favorite examples of this type of show is America’s Got Talent.  It is such a fun show and worth tuning in as it is guaranteed that there will be something on it for anyone and everyone.

America’s Got Talent is a variety show where contestants demonstrate a talent they have (whether the talent be singing, dancing, extreme sports, the sky is the limit).  After weeks of judging and the judges choosing potential talent, the acts begin performing for the public.  It is at that time when the show becomes interactive using social media.  People use Twitter to cast their vote as to which act should move onto the next round.  There are several occasions when the voting on Twitter is being performed live on the show.  It is so exciting to be able to see the results being calculated in real time.  The show’s judges also use Twitter to “live Tweet” during the show.  This gives the people watching on TV at home the opportunity to get involved with the show and even interact with the judges.

I find America’s Got Talent to be a very successful example of how social media can be used in marketing.  The excitement of this show depends on how well they can engage the audience.  It is appealing to think that anyone can be involved with the production of a show being made on the other side of the country in real time without even being there.

Application of New Technology - OpenTable

OpenTable: Marketing to Millenials

https://www.opentable.com

How many times have you been out with friends on a Saturday evening and your tummy is rumbling? There are restaurants all over, but it’s primetime for hitting them up. You know what that means…. A 45-minute wait to get a table, but we all have that one friend… That friend who refuses to wait for a table. As hungry as you all are, you just leave in hopes of finding a spot with less of a wait or no wait at all!  Sounds like it’s going to be McDonald’s again tonight… Not if OpenTable can help you!

Description.  OpenTable is a service that allows users to enhance their dining experience by helping them locate new restaurant choices in the area.  It also increases the convenience of going out to eat by allowing the user to make reservations and cancel them if necessary.  OpenTable also has a rewards system that reservation-makers to earn points towards discounting their next visit to the restaurant.  The application also provides reservation-makers with the opportunity to view the menu of the restaurant they are going to.  All these features add up for a pleasant, and smooth-running outing.  OpenTable is available for online use and both iPhone and Android playforms.

Marketing Potential.  This app and organization does an excellent job of marketing.  As Kerpen mentions in chapter two of his text, it is important for a company to understand the needs of their target audience.  OpenTable’s target audience is probably 20 to 35-year-old population as this is the millennial generation and this group is notoriously known for their technology use, impatience, and the careful watching out for “freebies.” This application and service works towards directly catering to these consumers (Kerpen, 34).

References

Kerpen, D. (2015) Likeable social media: How to delight your customers, create and irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and more (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: McGraw Hill.  

Intro to New Technology - Todoist - Brittany Fanale

Todoist is an incredible app that allows you to easily create, modify, and sync a to do list viturally through multiple devices. The problem I have like many others is you physically write down a to do list and have to carry it with you 24/7 or you loose it. It does not allow for easy updating unless you scribble on it. Breaking free from paper lists will allow you to have your to do list with you on your mobile device and any computer you sync to. 

You can access tasks everywhere with apps and extensions or 10+ platforms, your tasks are always there: on mobile devices, web browsers, inboxes, and more.

Collaborate on unlimited shared tasks with anyone – colleagues, family, friends – and collaborate in real-time on shared projects and goals.

Your tasks are a big part of your life. Stay motivated and organized with Todoist’s intuitive and beautiful to do list.

Best Use of Existing Technology - ComEd

When you mention the utility name of ComEd people would immediately say "I hate them!", "customer service is horrible", "there slow in restoring our lights." and I can continue with more complaints I've heard from people.  After many years of backlash due to the poor infrastructure ComEd made changes and listened to there customers.

In 2012, ComEd launched an interactive online outage map and a new mobile app for smart phones. The map allow customers to see the area effected by an outrages as well an estimate of restoration times. In turn, the app allows you to manage your account and report outages. ComEd also utilize Facebook to inform the customers of weather conditions, company events and safety tips.

There are programs such as ComEd Energy Efficiency that provides you with ways to save money which includes, assessments of your home, in- store discounts on Energy Star products, appliance rebates, and recycling of your old fridge or freezer. 

We receive the quarter newsletter, and there are many accolades from customers that have thanked ComEd  by posting how appreciative they've been to witness all the enhancements the company has made. The major improvement was customer service and the change was so impactful because we listened.

Best Use of Existing Technology - Erin Cline

The existing technology of streaming services is something we see all over our culture in 2017. You can stream movies, television, concerts, and live events using all kinds of streaming technologies. There are specialty streaming services that focus on increasingly large numbers of what would have been considered niche audiences in years past. Do you like Criterion Collection movies? Did you know there's a streaming site for that? (FilmStruck) Do you like video games? Did you know that there is a streaming service for that? (Twitch)

The specific streaming service I would like to bring to attention, I feel, exemplifies this idea of niche audience streaming to a tee - FloSlam. FloSlam is a prowrestling streaming service that pools streams and iPPVs (internet exclusive pay-per-views) into one place and makes it all accessible for a monthly price of $20, or a one time payment for one year of $150. Why does this exist? Are there really that many people watching prowrestling? In a word, yes. The dominant prowrestling company, WWE, developed a streaming service (The WWENetwork) which has climbed to well over 1 million subscribers, and other, smaller wrestling companies have realized that the best way to get people to watch your product is to put it on the internet. People can't know about your company if they never hear about it, and people don't talk unless they can see your product. FloSlam takes many of these smaller companies and pools them into one place, making their products maximally accessible to far larger audiences.

By utilizing this kind of streaming service, independent wrestling companies are dramatically increasing their viewership. This increases ticket sales and leads to being able to book bigger names, which also increases ticket sales. Instead of putting their backs up and trying to pretend that other companies do not exist (as was the case for decades in prowrestling), the companies that are participating in this streaming service are finding that it's easier to challenge the giant of WWE if you bring eyes that are already looking for alternative prowrestling entertainment into a common place. If you like ProWrestlingGorilla, maybe you'll like House of Hardcore. Or, perhaps, if you're there to watch AAW you'll find yourself clicking into Shimmer or Shine - bringing in new audiences and building larger followings for companies that have been looked over or seen as inaccessible in the past.

Intro to New Technology - Erin Cline

One of the most exciting forms of new technology is the rapid growth we are seeing in the self driving/automated car field. Self driving cars is an idea that has existed in our science-fiction visions of the future for decades, and there have been enormous leaps and bounds made in developing and rolling out this technology. While the technology is not yet perfect, the testing being done on these automated automobiles has proven that the days of driver driven cars is limited.

By introducing driver-less automated cars into our society we are going to see a radical change in the way that businesses are run. One of the largest employment providers in the United States are those employing long distance truck drivers. These people literally keep our economy running. There are hundreds of thousands of delivers made to businesses for every kind of conceivable reason - food, clothing, furniture, cars, all of these things require long distance trucking in order to keep the (metaphorical) wheels of these businesses moving. With the introduction of automated cars this will rapidly wipe out hundreds of thousands of jobs currently filled with humans; why pay someone who has to rest and eat and sleep when you can just set a course for the destination and run your trucks 24 hours a day?

Another field which will be heavily impacted by the introduction of self-driving cars will be the private transportation industry. We have already seen how companies like Uber are aggressively moving to replace their human drivers with self-driving cars, working every day to improve their technology to eventually phase out the human element. This will start to bleed into taxi cab companies as well. It would be unsurprising if in the next decade we look around and see that most of the cars on our roads will be driving unassisted, piloted by computers.

Innovative technique: Alexis Casares

Web 2.0 technologies, such as Facebook and Twitter, have made it faster and easier for businesses and organizations to reach their target audience thus reaching their marketing goal faster than ever before. It is amazing how one post to social media can start a movement. These movements, in most cases, can even begin with consumers. Consumers with a passion for a charity, business, and/or product can quickly spread their ideas through their network of followers. This was the case when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made a huge impact in the amount our donations to the ALS Association.

The Ice Bucket Challenge originated as a way to motivate people into donating to different organizations. It began to spread rapidly among Facebook friends, but it was not until it reached Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS, that it became such a grand movement for the ALS Association. Pete Frates had a massive network of supporters that helped spread the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge into such a successful movement.

In this case, the organization did not start the movement, but it incorporated the movement into its marketing to spread the word further. This in innovative marketing. The marketing department of the ALS association had nothing to do with the original idea behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, but they quickly saw it was becoming a success and started to ride the wave.

Imagine what types of marketing movements can be created if a business or organization just seeds the right people into creating positive social media posts. Or even better, if a business is in tune with what consumers are saying about their products and incorporate it into their marketing campaign. This type of consumer created marketing can be more powerful than any marketing a business can create because it comes from the end users. When a consumer is considering purchasing a product they look at product reviews to see if the product is a right fit for them. If consumers see social media posts created by other consumers these messages instantly hold more credibility than anything a business can say. 

Best Use of Existing Technology - Amazon

For quite some time, we’ve had the luxury of being able to buy or rent movies, books & music from a number of different websites.  This has made things incredibly convenient for us but with so many options to choose from it can be daunting at times.  There is also the issue of many of these things being segmented between different sites and services.  One of biggest companies to offer a great solution for this problem was Amazon.

Amazon was well known for being a great place to order almost anything you needed online and have it delivered directly to your home.  They also made a great name for themselves by offers free two day shipping through their site.  Amazon was able to up the ante with the services they offer and become the best deal in tech.

Amazon started to offer much more bang for the buck with their Amazon prime service.  They offered free 2 day shipping for products shipped through them but they also offered many more services.  Customers that sign up for Prime have access to free music, movies and books.  The subscription services if a fantastic value for customer and combines the ability of customer still being able to order products online and have access to the huge library of online content. 

Best Use of Existing Technology - L'Oreal

Everyone is familiar with L’Oreal Paris’ long-running slogan: “Because You’re Worth It”. Recently, L’Oreal launched a new campaign that ties closely with the slogan and coined it #WorthSaying, a hashtag that is meant to inspire women to talk about things that are important to them. This hashtag is found not only on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram but also in TV commercials, digital video and banner ads, and magazines. The quick commercial showcases beautiful, strong women as part of a campaign that aims to empower women.

The brand sponsored the 2016 Golden Globes and the campaign aimed to highlight the shift in beauty and conversations that occur on the red-carpet. Through this campaign, L’Oreal wants to remind women of their intrinsic worth. According to the brand’s research, most women agree that motivating language provides them with a stronger sense of confidence and self-worth. Celebrity spokeswomen-Julianne Moore, Freida Pinto, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez are even promoting the campaign through their social media sites. Jennifer Lopez even posted a quote saying “Every girl deserves to have her voice heard” on Instagram with the hashtag. Involving celebrity spokespeople, especially young, spunky women is often an effective way of reaching out to the targeted audience.

In regards to this campaign, I think it successfully gets women thinking about what is important to them. It is not just about being beautiful on the outside but moreso about the beautiful things going on in a woman’s brain. L’Oreal does a great job in reminding women of their worth and that their thoughts and ideas matter in this world. If I already used L’Oreal makeup, I would definitely continue using it thanks to the campaign. However, I would not consider switching over to the brand because I don’t think the campaign goes quite far enough. To make the campaign stronger, the brand can create a TV commercial longer than 16 seconds and highlight what it means to be a woman in 2017, perhaps with career-oriented business women, mothers, teachers, etc. in banners, ads, Instagram posts, Twitter posts, etc. As a woman, I would like to see other women to whom I can relate, not just celebrities who walk down the red carpet. I also have not seen the hashtag being used frequently in social media or TV commercials and therefore, more emphasis is needed to really push the campaign forward. Therefore, L’Oreal takes an already existing technology- the hashtag-and has revolutionized its purpose to empower women across the world.