LDI Conference & Tradeshow

The below post is a review of LDI tradeshow and is for educational purposes only. I am not affiliated with the show and am reviewing for a graduate class.

The Live Design International ( LDI ) conference and tradeshow took place October 19-25, 2015 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. It draws 10,000 attendees from around the world working in theater, concerts, clubs, theme parks and church stage design and live show/broadcast. LDI is where the leaders in the industry come to find the newest techniques, trends and check out the latest and greatest equipment. LDI is not only a tradeshow with an exhibit hall, it is also an educational conference — a place to learn from the Masters; have backstage tours to night clubs and Las Vegas shows; get technical training at the LDIInstitute and even earn college credit from UF School of Theatre and Dance.

LDI does a decent job on their social media posts. However the likes, comments, and shares have very low engagement on both Twitter and Facebook. I will say, it is a bit confusing because there is a social media presence for the LDI show and a separate one for LDIOnline, the later of which has higher audience numbers and slightly larger engagement. When reviewing the LDI tradeshow feed(s), it feels that the tradeshow brand is an afterthought and more focus is given to the LDIOnline social media presence.

LDI tradeshow posts were pretty standard to all tradeshows. Facebook and Twitter both featured posts highlighting the new mobile app with links to download; new product posts (I’m assuming, this a sponsorship requirement—gear galleries are usually “pay-to-play”); registration offers for classes/backstage tours (pre-show); invitations to events during the show, including happy hours, breakfasts and awards ceremonies (pre-show and during); and video links to equipment reviews (post show). Every post  featured #LDI2015 and booth or location information if the post was highlighting new product. 

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Below are links to the LDI tradeshow social media and a breakdown of audience numbers:

Live Design Online: combo blog/online magazine
Facebook:   5,197 likes
Twitter: 3,833 followers
LinkedIn: (not updated, has a logo from 2013)
YouTube: (nothing uploaded since 2014 show)
Mobile App

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Below are links to the Live Design Magazine, which is an online resource for the conference/tradeshow and gives more in-depth industry information and news stories.

Twitter :  7,257 followers
Facebook: 9,525 likes
Pinterest : 404 followers, 2k pins
Mobile app
eNewsletters, the LDI audience can subscribe to three newsletters; Live Design Wire (publishes M,T,W,F); Gear Wire ( publishes Th); Live Design Project in Focus (Occasional publication)

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LDI Facebook by the day:
The week leading up to show LDI posted about every other day.

Here are the stats during and a week after the show:
19: 2 posts (during show)
20: 1 post (during show)
21: 0 posts (during show)
22: 1 post (during show)
23: 4 posts (during show)
24: 7 posts (during show)
25: 2 posts (during show)
26: 0 posts (after show closed)
27: 4 posts (after show closed)
28: 1 post (after show closed)
29: 1 post (after show closed)
30: 0 posts (after show closed)
31: 1 post (after show closed)

The interaction with the audience was very low for this account. The most likes I saw was 61 for the below post giving a sneak-peek of the exhibit show floor before it has been staged, with a crane and rigging in the middle. The subject of the individual posts where mainly trying to get attendees to go to the Neal Preston “In the Eye of the Rock ’N’ Roll Hurricane” Exhibit or posts about new equipment.

The LDI Facebook post with the most engagement; 61 likes, one share and one comment.

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LDI Twitter by the day:
LDI is far more active on Twitter than Facebook. The week leading up to the show, LDI posted approximately 9-15 posts per day.

Here are the stats during and a week after the show:
19: 13 posts (during show)
20: 16 posts (during show)
21: 26 posts (during show)
22: 27 posts (during show)
23: 51 posts (during show)
24: 40 posts (during show)
25: 20 posts (during show)
26: 10 posts (after show closed)
27:  1 post (after show closed)
28:  3 posts (after show closed)
29: 8 posts (after show closed)
30: 6 posts (after show closed)
31: 4 posts (after show closed)

Posts for Twitter were primarily about new equipment found on the show floor or inviting attendees to sponsors booths and parties.

LDI 2015 New Product Twitter post.

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The Neal Preston photo exhibit, “In the Eye of the Rock ’N’ Roll Hurricane” got multiple tweets and FB posts during the show and were done to garner more attendance.

Facebook post on LDI Conference and Tradeshow feed. Sadly, only one like, and no comments or shares.

 

There was a “LDI2015 Booth Crawl & Scavenger Hunt” attendees were invited to and was teased on both Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter post for the #LDI2015 Booth Crawl and Scavenger Hunt.

Finally there was an “LDI2015 Awards Ceremony” and  “New Tech Breakfasts” that were featured on both Twitter and Facebook

#LDI2015 Awards Ceremony

HASHTAGS USED
#LDI2015; #LDIAfterDark

HIGHLIGHT
LDI featured a cool video chat that lived on the LDIOnline website, and was cross-promoted on Twitter. It wasn’t necessarily an actual video chat as it was the production manager Ola Melzig taking the viewer on a virtual tour of the newest, coolest equipment he found on the show floor. The recorded video(s) from Twitter posts after the closed and were uploaded at the end of October, and are currently promoted.

Twitter post of Ola Metzig and his new product video tour.

I am assuming part of this was a sponsorship obligation. (I used to work for a tradeshow company and that was part of our standard sponsorship package.) (Add image)

WHAT’S MISSING?
Overall I think LDI does a good job on social media. I don’t think it does them justice to have two separate feeds for the LDI tradeshow and LDIOnline. I think it dilutes the audience base and social media presence. By combining the accounts, it would give the social media team more resources to concentrate on one brand and would also give the team the ability to grow the audience.

I also think that this audience is very visual and an Instagram account could benefit the media mix and be an easy way to cross promote the social media channels.

Analytics Drive Marketing Strategy

The below post is an analysis based on Facebook Insights from the XYZ Company who specializes in heating and cooling (HVAC) systems located in Western Massachusetts.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS
Although the Facebook audience is predominantly females aged 35–54 (57%), the reach is almost 50/50 female/male and more men aged 35–54 are engaged at 65%. The majority of fans are from the East Coast, primarily in Western Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. The city of Amherst, MA (1,206) has the most reach, followed by Springfield, MA (708) then Chicopee, MA (514). Which makes sense because the cities of Springfield, MA (96) Chicopee, MA (33) and Hartford, CT (31) round out the top three cities where XYZ fans are based. Finally the cities with the majority of fans engaged are from Chicopee, MA (17), Holyoke, MA (11) and West Springfield, MA (5).

WHAT IS THE XYZ COMPANY’S AUDIENCE INTERESTED IN AND WHAT ARE THEY CLICKING ON WHILE IN FACEBOOK?
During the week of 10/31/2105 to 11/06/15 there were 489 likes, up 1.2% from the prior week and the reach was 1,704 which was down 34.5% from the week prior. The Post with the most Organic/Paid reach (485), post clicks (28) and likes/comments (10) was on Sunday, November 1 at 1:36 pm. The post referenced a Fujitsu* wall mounted heat pump. Given that the temperatures in the area started to drop during this time, I would assume the audience is starting to think about winter weather and how to keep their homes and businesses warm. The second post with the highest reach (294), post clicks (22) and likes/comments (9) also referenced the Fujitsu Heat pump and was posted on Thursday, November 5 at 6:29 am.

Facebook pages likes, reach and engagement.

However, if you look at the engagement since September, posts about the New American Standard gas furnace has hands-down the highest engagement of 1.7k reach on Friday October 16, 2015 at 9:42 am.

*The Jujitsu heat pumps in reference are wall mounted, ductless heaters. Some models serve a dual purpose of heating and cooling. 

According to the data, total page likes have been growing steadily since June 2015, but, the day-to-day likes have been decreasing. Likes have been categorized as coming from “Paid” likes which correlates to ads being placed in news feeds or on the right rails. (I would assume that XYZ ran an ad campaign when temperatures started to rise, targeting audience members who needed to get air conditioning or schedule maintenance for their air conditioners.) The Organic likes seem to stay the same, with one like or below with only one spike of two likes taking place between June 15 – 20.

Where Facebook Page Likes Happen

The data says there were more “likes” when ads ran as well as a higher “reach” when there was paid media running. Organic reach was very low and has been consistently since June. There looks like there was a lull in the month of September where nothing was posted and there were no Facebook page views at all. This was mitigated by a link from Google+ which caused a spike in referral traffic the first week of October.

Traffic on Facebook is not surprisingly the highest from 6—9 pm; at 3 pm and at noon with Fridays and Sundays having the most traffic.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
After analyzing the data one key area of improvement would be on increasing SEO performance for organic searches. By optimizing keywords, tags, metadata and links, XYZ Company could increase its search results and get a higher listing in search engines.  I would also recommend XYZ to try pay-per-click sponsored ad searches to move their company to the top of search engine lists.

With an engagement audience which is primarily male, I would suggest XYZ to also try Twitter and maybe upload some quick informational videos on YouTube that can be cross-linked with Facebook and Twitter. The videos could be anything from when to clean your air filter to how to work your new digital thermostat.

XYZ could also start a blog in which helpful maintenance tips and equipment reviews are given, with links to the YouTube video mentioned earlier used to engage their audience.

Since it has been seen that engagement increases with posts that talk about heat pumps and gas furnaces from October to November, I would recommend that XYZ do a promo starting in October that would offer coupons for service or purchase. I would also recommend another campaign starting in June for an air conditioner campaign for purchase or maintenance. These promos are not only featured on Facebook, but also Twitter, the blog and via monthly e-newsletter. A referral program to engage current customers on social media and the website would increase awareness as well.

Another more traditional media recommendation would be two postcard campaigns in the Amherst, Springfield and Chicopee, MA area, one in summer highlighting air conditioner sales and service and the other in fall highlighting heating sales and service.

IN CONCLUSION
I believe XYZ Company could increase its profits on sales and service with some very targeted strategies emphasizing what their Facebook audience is already telling them. With consistent messaging across multiple IMC channels, XYZ company can build it’s fan base and in-turn grow it’s profits in a strategic way.

It’s not that kind of Dribble…

A Halloween illustration shared by a designer.

Dribble is a popular social community for designers, founded by designers Rich Thornett (software developer/product designer) and Dan Cederholm (web designer). Together the two formed Dribble as a side project but it now has now become a “hub” for designers “to show and tell, promote, discover and explore design.”

Dribble.com shots

Dribble was first conceived as an invite-only site, but now is open to all and is very easy to use. Designers from across the world take screen shots of their work and post it online. Other designers can comment, like, share or rebound (a way to interact with the designer posting work.) Members can find inspiration by browsing the work of creative teams, read the design-related blog, go to a local meetup in their area, connect with individual designers or find work by categorizing themselves as a prospect.

Individual designer’s post. The candy corn emoji is also for sale on the site.

There are all types of designers on the site from apparel designers, to web designers, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, font designers and animators that are available to engage with and bounce off ideas. Every day Dribble posts a few of its popular highlighted works that are the day’s favorites on the site.

The design team feed.

Because of its simple design and easy-to-navigate site, Dribble is a great site for designers and has even been dubbed the “Twitter of Designers” by Mashable. It is easy to connect with members, learn more about their creative process and glean knowledge from them. I see members talking through color schemes or more experienced designers giving feedback to less experienced ones across the world. The community interaction is awesome and I haven’t seen anyone give inappropriate feedback.

The Dribble Blog, Courtside.

Dribble’s dashboard makes it easy to meet the designers on the site and also connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or follow their blog(s). When you sign up, you give your account names for FB, Twitter, Instagram, and your portfolio web address and then connect with other users through your social media accounts. I think all of the major social media channels would work well with Dribble. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook are already utilized but including Vine and YouTube for some of the animations could be beneficial as well.

Designers can find meetups in their local areas to find other designers.

Since a big part of Dribble is the local meetup section of the website, proximity marketing could be helpful to facilitate the meetings. It would be a little harder because designers are providing a service and don’t have brick and mortar stores, but a Dribble app could be used to locate other designers in the area and facilitate sending messages. It could use the functionality of the 5Mile app but instead of buy/selling things you could use it to find like-minded people in a five mile radius.

http://www.wix.com/blog/2013/01/social-networks-for-designers/

http://mashable.com/2010/04/05/dribbble-twitter-for-designers/#ZMWuKDGsh8qO

WhoSay? They Say… #CelebsUnfiltered

WhoSay

A Brief History
The name WhoSay came from a domain search, meaning “authenticity” or “coming from the mouth of the person themselves, with that direct voice.” It was founded in March 2010 by the LA-based talent and sports agency, Creative Artists Agency (CCA) along with Steve Ellis an ex-rock guitarist and entrepreneur. Ellis had just sold his music licensing company Pump Audio to Getty Images when approached by CCA.

CCA and Ellis along with Amazon.com, Comcast, Greylock Partners and High Peak Ventures raised almost $20 million in funding for the company’s launch. WhoSay is currently headquartered in Manhattan with satellite offices in Venice, CA and London and employs 35 staff members.

Jimmel Fallon, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen.

What do we do?
Our social media and online branding service was created to allow actors, musicians, athletes and celebrities “to retain ownership rights” over the content posted to their accounts and maintain control over their digital presence through “copyright branding.”  We consider ourselves a “social celebrity magazine” and offer members the ability to easily upload images and post directly to WhoSay and other social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, WeChat and Tencent (China’s social networks) using the our dashboard at no charge. We liken ourselves to People magazine, who is our partner, but instead of employing writers, our content providers are our celebrity members — they post the content, not us. We aim to give fans an inside look into the lives of their favorite celebrities. In return celeb members get the truth out to the world not just on our site, but also to other popular social networks using WhoSay’s simple tools.

Anson Mount celeb feed

Our Members
Our personalities are invite-only and include over “2,000 of the world’s most captivating people—including actors, athletes, chefs, millennial influencers, and more.”

Our 4.8 million unique celebrity “super-fan” members get in-depth news first-hand from favorite “celeb personalities” they follow.

Kylie Jenner

To become a personality, you are an industry referral (usually) and must be invited. We do a simple background check and once approved,  you get free access to our services.

Our celeb-fan members can use their Twitter or Facebook account to log-in and join.

According to Quantcast.com we currently have 2.6 million uniques, 3.6 million visits, 4.8 million views with our members located mainly in the U.S. and continue to grow organically.

Kevin Bacon getting #kissedbyapit

How to Use WhoSay
Our celebrity members post pictures, videos or messages to their individual account walls and can update their other social media accounts, all from WhoSay. Members also give us behind-the-scenes information and we upload to other pages of the site.

Channing Tatum’s feed with a pic of his wife Jenna Dewan and daughter.

Fan members can follow their favorite celebrities and the “posts” are fed to the fan’s news feed much like the functionality of Facebook. They can also access additional information on the WhoSay website by surfing through our other pages listed in the top navigation.

An example of a super-fan’s feed featuring Jane Fonda.

Anyone can access WhoSay from their desktop, mobile device or through the WhoSay iPhone and Android app.

We fill the WhoSay site with additional rich content to keep our fan members engaged and information shared. Videos, top trending stories, fashion, beauty, living, #welovepets, and set the record straight are just some of the stories we share that come straight from our celebs.

From the “Set the Record Straight” page

Target Audience
People magazine is a partner to WhoSay and attracts the same target audience as those interested in celebrity news. In order to engage with this audience, we cater to predominately college educated women aged 38 and earn around $72,000 per year.

WhoSay’s target audience is the same as People magazine

WhoSay Social Media
It is easy to stay in touch with WhoSay because we are active on Twitter (79.1K followers), Facebook (267k likes), Instagram (2.7k followers), Google+ ( 261,221 followers) and Tumblr. Our feeds carry consistent content and messaging across all channels.

WhoSay Twitter

 

WhoSay Facebook

WhoSay Instagram

Our Partnerships
WhoSay makes its money through ad sales and has partnerships with companies such as Viacom, Lexus and Canon.

During the partnership with Canon, cameras were given to celebs like Kevin Bacon, Eva Longoria and Mario Batali to document their lives for the #bringit promotion. The celebs uploaded their photos to WhoSay with the #bringit caption and the content was then forwarded across platforms to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Competitors
WhoSay’s main competitor is theAudience, financed by William Morris Endeavor. However, theAudience is not a social media platform where non-celebs can join. theAudience works behind the scenes to promote celebs, athletes and movies promoted online.

Another competitor Adly works as a conduit to connect celebrities to brand endorsements.

For more information, click here for a quick Prezi.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhoSay
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2013/04/17/whosay-helps-celebrities-connect-with-fans/2089009/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/business/media/09whosay.html?_r=0
http://www.whosay.com
https://www.whosay.com/about
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/11/what-say-is-whosay/70180990/
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2014/09/09/q-a-with-whosay-celebrities-control-the-content.html
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/marketers-bet-celebrities-churn-out-branded-content-162970
http://adage.com/article/media/whosay-turns-celebrities-content-marketers-canon/294259/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-whosay-partnership-317887

This is Me.

Dear Ban.do, Can I pretty-please join your girl gang?

Why, you ask?
Well, because I believe glitter makes the world go around, bright colors are my friends, flamingos are an obsession, unicorns are my spirit animals and mermaids are my soul sisters.

Boo in her “best” ugly sweater and Maggie playing Santa-dog.

#kittens….
Who doesn’t love them? I rescue them. I know you do too. Truth being told, I love all animals and I haven’t met one I don’t like yet.

This little girl could be me from back in the day. (Except my cat Petey was a one-eyed, one-eared black rescue.) We patrolled the neighborhood on my red bike with a silver glitter banana seat with Petey in the basket and tassels flying in the wind.

I already feel like you are my BFF’s.
Your pastel hair, cute outfits and quick-wit grace the feed of my Instagram every day. Like you, I believe in empowering women. LIFT THEM UP! There are already too many people saying “you can’t” and I believe it’s my calling to say YES, YOU CAN! Be a dreamer, a tinkerer, a doer, a woman that can “make your own thunder” (as “my mom always said).

Who’s up for forging their own path?
That’s what I did. I grew up in a small southern town, famous for spring break and wet t-shirt contests. That’s not me, never was, never will be. I bucked tradition and left home as soon as I could, put myself through college, moved out west and never looked back. Some would say I’m the black sheep of the family for leaving, but I prefer to think I’m the silver glittery sheep. 

What’s in it for you?
I have a BA in Communication from the University of West Florida and have been a designer for over 20 years. I’m currently working on a Masters in Communication with emphasis in Social Media from the University of Florida. I hope to merge my design skills with digital strategy and be a “force to be reckoned with.” I believe in working hard and love a challenge. 

How about a karaoke date?
I know you ladies like karaoke nights after work. Here is my latest car-jam (please excuse the potty language).

Or maybe we just hang out for an 80’s movie night.
Breakfast Club, Goonies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles are some of my favorites, the girl gang likes rom coms just as much as I do.  I make a mean veggie GF pizza.

To give you a giggle.
I love your quirky sense of humor and I hope you like mine. One last little video I wanted to share — a moon-walking, singing pony. I can’t listen to this song anymore without seeing this #danceponydance!

So, Ban.do girl gang, let’s be friends. I’m not too proud to beg.
Please contact me here or check out my Pinterest to find out about all things me.

My Favorite Blogs.

What can I say? I can’t help it. I’m a sucker for design, home decor, fashion, food and travel. Oh Joy!, Gluten Free Girl & the Chef and Wit & Delight can keep me entertained for hours because of the fresh, original content. While Oh Joy! and Wit & Delight inspire my home’s decor and professional design with colorful, funky, indie finds and minimalist approach, Gluten Free Girl & Chef helps me eat safely even with a gluten intolerance.

Oh Joy!

Oh Joy!’s, “What’s in my bag” post.

Oh Joy!’s Joy Cho has been blogging for about 10 years. She started out as a graphic designer and was able to parlay her design skills into a highly successful, professional blog now run by a team with Joy as the leader and “face” of the brand.

Joy Cho

It is not only a blog, but also has e-commerce, which sells books inspiring others to create blogs and does freelance design for companies like Target, Land of Nod, Urban Outfitters and Solly Baby. (A personal confession, I became “mildly obsessed” with Oh Joy!’s designs while shopping at Anthropologie quite a few years ago.) As a designer myself, I appreciate the posts on design style, DIY projects, travel stories, career motivation and her take on enjoying life through the trials and tribulations of being a successful, full-time creative wife and mom. When you read her blog posts or watch videos, you feel like you are taking a journey with a friend because of her relate-able, conversational style. Original content (including pics and video) is uploaded every day on the blog and is promoted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter , YouTube and of course Pinterest which make the brand easy to find and easy to share on social media.

Joy Cho and baby Coco, who is featured in many of Oh Joy!’s posts and social media.

Oh Joy! has quite a few followers — 252K on Instagram, 13.1M on Pinterest, 66K on Facebook and 77K on Twitter which are driven back to the blog with links. Conversely, the blog has social share buttons at the end of every post. When you subscribe to the Oh Joy! blog, content is pushed directly to your inbox everyday. The blog does contain endorsed or sponsored content, but it is not blatant. (There is an asterisk or “courtesy of” in the caption to indicate paid content.) If I had to change anything about the Oh Joy! blog, I would recommend posting even more video, adding podcasts to increase readership and share-ability and “sponsored or pinned for you pins” on Pinterest.

Gluten-Free-Girl

Gluten-Free-Girl blog post encouraging readers to have gluten-free potlucks with friends

Gluten Free Girl & the Chef is also a successful, professional blog about living gluten free (GF) and is run by Shauna and Danny (the Chef) Ahern. For the few of us “blessed” with Celiac or gluten intolerance, you’ve probably heard of Gluten-Free-Girl recipe books and blog. Along with links to their books, videos, in-person baking classes and e-commerce site, Shauna posts fresh content a few times a week for those living a GF lifestyle and her husband Danny (James Beard award winner), is the chef supplying yummy recipes to make you feel like you are eating regular food.

A recipe for baked halibut with asparagus, leeks and dill by Gluten-Free-Girl

Blog readers can subscribe to weekly emails and they even have an app which helps navigate GF holiday cooking. Both Shauna (199k followers) and James (7K followers) post to Twitter, Facebook (112k likes), Instagram (21.5K followers), Pinterest (3.4k followers) and there are a few how-to videos posted on Youtube. All of the posts can be shared via social media which helps drive traffic to the website and vice versa.

Ad for Freschetta gluten free pizza on the left rail.

The site does have a prominent ad under its navigation. There are also multiple sponsors of the site, each with links to individual blog posts written about the company’s food products and link back to the company’s website. In return, the individual sponsor’s website links back to the Gluten Free Girl & the Chef which increases traffic. In my opinion, the actual content is great, but it is a little hard to follow and navigate. I would re-architect the site to make site navigation easier and highlight the great photography which would lend itself to a better design. Also, I would increase the video quality on youtube. Most people are ok with lower quality video on blogs, but personally, I like higher production value.

Wit & Delight

The Wit & Delight Blog

Finally, Wit & Delight, is a very successful, professional lifestyle blog started by Kate Arends with over 2.9 million unique followers. It is a bit of a hybrid as it’s content comes from Kate and a team of bloggers predominantly from Minneapolis or Chicago. With fresh daily content about home decor, design, beauty, fashion, lifestyle (book reviews, travel) and witty random musings, Wit & Delight has something for almost everyone and even has an e-commerce site filled with their favorite products curated from blog posts.

The specially curated e-commerce site.

I personally found the blog through a “picked for you pin” on Pinterest which has 2.9M followers, but they also have other social media channels including Twitter (11.9K followers), Instagram (204k followers), Tumblr and Facebook (8k likes) which all tease content from the blog and link back for more in-depth information. Wit and Delight has also designed home goods for Target which helped them increase their blog and social media following. There are no ads on the site but there are sponsored/endorsed products for posts and they do sponsored contests with give-aways.

Sponsored Skin Care Giveaway on Wit & Delight.

I don’t think Wit & Delight lacks any content, but I would like to see a regular podcast so commuters can listen without having to go online. This would still drive traffic to the site while allowing more users to access the content. I would also like to see more behind-the-scenes video as well. To me, the sideways left side navigation is not intuitive, so I would re-architect that to top navigation.

Links:

http://ohjoy.blogs.com

https://glutenfreegirl.com/

http://witanddelight.com/

A Perfect Mix of Push & Pull

Target is a master of consumer engagement through utilizing push and pull techniques. Although Target does have multiple campaigns running simultaneously to influence specific audiences, every media channel both on and offline are cohesive in creative and when seen together fit within the over-arching brand strategy seamlessly. In-store promotions have the same brand personality as ads, direct mail, weekly deals, website, Cartwheel App, A Bullseye View blog, digital ads and etc.

Target outdoor billboards.

A Bullseye View, Target’s blog.

Cartwheel App navigation and virtual map.

Weekly mailer featuring “It’s a Plaid, Plaid World” Campaign.

Target’s offline push advertising consists of TV commercials, direct mailers, print ads, in-store signage (including floor decals, window clings, in-store displays and digital hyper-walls) all aimed at influencing the consumer to purchase. All of their traditional media pushes consumers online to the website, Cartwheel app or in-store to purchase or to retrieve special offers. They also offer in-store service pushes like the Beauty Concierge and Baby Advisor services where knowledge staff members help customers with buying decisions.

“It’s a Plaid, Plaid World” in-store display.

Target In-store digital hyperwall with product display which features sales of the week.

Weekly mailer with QR Code linking to website.

A new print push technique Target debuted uses Shazam to add augmented reality to print ads running in Vogue magazine. By scanning the page with the Shazam app, pull strategies launch on your iPad or smart phone such as behind the scenes video, photos, special click to buy deals and blog posts. This particular campaign featured Target fashion highlighting New York Fashion Week (#NYFW) and was even meshed with the “It’s a Plaid, Plaid, World” campaign. (The #NYFW and “It’s a Plaid, Plaid World campaigns were also featured on Target’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram accounts.)

A behind the scenes look atTarget’s “It’s a Plaid, Plaid World” and #NYFW on Vogue.com.

When you hover over the Vogue print ads with your phone or iPad, video pops up to augment the content. Here are some examples:

 

The company uses online push advertising with the Cartwheel app, e-newsletters and Target account email e-blasts and CSR pop up windows to name a few.

Pop-up customer service help

An online Push marketing custom skyline banner at top pops up on pages.

“A Bullseye View” blog email newsletter signup, as well as social media links.

Online push, Cartwheel custom email.

Cartwheel push message sent to users smart phone.

For Target’s pull marketing, they add to the consumer experience with fresh content of the A BullsEye View blog, user product reviews, Behind the Pin video DIY help guides, custom shopping lists, Blog e-newsletter, behind the scenes YouTube video, look books. Their social media channels include links as well to improve the user experience and share-ability.

Online pull content, “A Bullseye View” blog post related to #NYFW and “Vogue.”

As seen on Target’s Twitter feed. #NYFW party on Periscope again featuring #NYFW and “It’s a Plaid, Plaid World” campaigns.

Instagram post, “It’s a Plaid, Plaid World.”

Throughout Target’s website and Cartwheel mobile app are opportunities to not only follow the company’s social media channels, but also share to your own social media accounts.

Links to social media which run at footer of every page or along the sides.

In my opinion, Target does a pretty great job of utilizing many push/pull techniques in their touch points. Frankly, I’m surprised how well they do considering how many touch points and services the have. But Target’s goal of increasing the shopping experience is hard to miss. One recommendation would be for users to add images and video along with the online reviews, but that would entail extra monitoring by Target and could have potential problems. Amazon uses a similar technique in their customer review sections and has increased the online shopping experience. Another pull strategy could be to allow online groups, again like Amazon does, so you can connect to other consumers with the same hobbies and shopping likes.

In September 2015 Target launched LA25. A pilot program where they are building test stores to launch new programs, services and digital products to increase the consumers shopping experiences with the end goal to increase sales. Maybe after Target does some more in-store and digital testing we will see even more improvements for the consumer while increasing profits.

Source links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/business/media/with-visual-recognition-vogue-ads-link-to-target-products.html?_r=0

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/shazam-digital-recognition-new-target-ads/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/business/target-q1-earnings.html?action=click&contentCollection=Media&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

http://www.vogue.com/TargetStyleMarketing/target_desktop/index.php

https://corporate.target.com/article/2015/08/plaid-fall-look-book

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/06/adam-lippes-is-the-latest-target-collaborator.html

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/08/targets-fall-collaboration-is-full-of-plaid.html#

https://corporate.target.com/Carousels/2015/08/Plaid-Lookbook

https://corporate.target.com/article/2015/09/la25-announcement

My Favorite Brand

I don’t even need to tell you the name. You instantly recognize the brand identity — the red bullseye logo. Whether you call it by the proper name Target or by my favorite knick-names, “Tar-jay” or “Red Circle Boutique,” you know as soon as you enter the store where you are and what to expect from your shopping experience.

You know that you went in for toilet paper, but you will walk out with other things you didn’t know you needed. There are even popular videos and memes about the “Target phenomenon.”

Every touchpoint inside the store from uniforms, shopping carts and signage; to social media channels; to traditional print ads, TV commercials and billboards — the brand personality of Target resonates with acute clarity and synergy. Its voice is funny, a little quirky, modern, bright & cheery and always helpful —this is reflected with great ubiquity in any thing you see and hear about Target online and off. 

There are Target customer advocates from all walks of life, rich and poor, single and married, all with diverse backgrounds. A recent story became viral when Mike Melgaard, one of Target’s loyal customers was so dedicated to the company, he posed as a customer service rep on social media and responded to Target “haters” over new gender neutral areas in toy aisles. After Target discovered what was happening, they responded to the customer service troll in quick-witted Target form. Even while responding to internet comments, Target always maintains consistent message and tone with style and humor.

According to Eric Hausman, senior group manager of PR and social media at Target, the company doesn’t believe in hard-sell tactics and would rather build long lasting relationships with its customers. “Consumers want to connect with brands. They want to understand who we are and what our stories are, ” Hausman says. 

And with Target’s many social media channels, blog and mobile app, they try to engage the consumers thereby extending the consumer experience.

The newest addition to Target.com I recently found is the “Behind the Pin Series,” which features quick video and step-by-step directions on how to DIY some of your favorite pins from Pinterest without #pinterestfail-ing. They use catchy hashtags like #kaboom which help the posts go viral and are branded within the same Target style, voice and tone.

Behind the Pin Series, “pb & yay” How-to Video Click here to view.

#Kaboom How-to make fruit skewers. Click here to view.

A touchpoint which proves Target is a true brand leader is the commercial creative which runs on both TV and its YouTube.com channel. Many have gone viral over the years and some are even considered cult-classics.

One of which is my favorite commercial of all-time — still has me saying “glitter” with jazz-hands.

Here are some of the newest commercials aired online that have given Target the “rules the internet” comment on their feeds.

A popular engagement tool Target has chosen to launch is “A Bullseye View” its own online magazine. Target works with over 16 bloggers to write content for their posts. it has over 100,000 unique visitors a month.

“A Bullseye View” online magazine. Click here to view.

As well as print ads, billboards and TV,  Target has many online touchpoints which help the retailer achieve brand awareness and consumer engagement. Here are links to all of Target’s social media channels: 

Facebook 

Instagram

Pinterest

Target Pulse Blog

YouTube

A Bullseye View

Cartwheel Mobile App

Vine

Classic Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing

For modern retailers and brands the direction of their communications strategy is one of the most important decisions they can make regarding marketing plans. These days, in order to reach audiences across the board, brands must use an integrated approach of using classic marketing and social media marketing in their media plans. Most modern consumers are savvy and do not take classic advertising whether it be print ads, TV, radio or billboard at face value. They know a “a sales/ marketing spiel” from a mile away and most skip through the commercials, turn the page or ignore the ad entirely.

Grabbing the attention of the masses is harder and takes a broader, more robust campaign including multichannel and multimedia creative.[1]

The most beneficial aspect of this layered approach is that classic marketing and social media marketing support each other and can drive traffic back and forth between the social media channels. [1] A print ad only talks to you, but it can use a hashtag or give you Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube information, and let the consumer talk back. Social media can help a brand not only organically by consumers talking, tweeting, referring or posting, but a brand can also talk back to the consumer by responding to posts or advertising directly in the channel.

Most people are overloaded with marketing messages all day. Especially for millennials, they no longer want a brand to talk to them, but want to be immersed in an experience in which they can relate and even contribute to the content.

Take Lowes for instance, they gave simple How-To advice on Vine. Lowes uploaded 15 second videos with easy step-by-step information on how to do small projects then gave the user a hashtag to post their own videos on social media.

Lowes on Vine. Click to view.

GoPro uses a similar tactic to keep the consumer involved. A production team goes on location, shoots video and posts to their website and on YouTube. The videos go viral and in return, they ask their audiences on the website, YouTube, Instagram and Vine feeds to shoot their own video or photos and upload to multiple GoPro channels or use #GoPro. The audience vies for a coveted chance to be featured on the website or on one of the brands social media platforms.

GoPro original video featuring a whale breach. Click to view.

User uploaded images on the GoPro Instagram feed. Click to view.

The language in classic marketing is vastly different than the way you communicate on social media. Classic marketing can lean towards “catchy” phrases and even rhymes that try to be memorable. I think most people know the jingle from commercials, “The best part of waking up, is Folger’s in your cup” or how about “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”  The sad thing is, it might give you an ear-worm, but doesn’t make you want to buy. Even if you do remember the name of the ad, these days, consumers still go online to research before buying. McKinsey Quarterly estimates that “TV only is only 35 percent as effective as it was in 1990.” Therefore, brands are smart to have a social media presence that is on-brand with their classic marketing as well as a good online reputation and can’t be filtered out. [1]

There tends to have a specific formula in classic marketing. Take the standard print ad. It consists of a headline, maybe a subhead, marketing body copy with “why you should buy,” a call to action (call now) and a logo with a big image in the background. The conversation tends to be more formal, sometimes even with legal-ease at the bottom. The savvy consumer knows this model and will not buy something solely based on an ad. This is why most print ads, commercials, etc. drive user traffic to a hashtag or back to a brand’s social media channel.

Social media marketing is much more conversational and not long-winded. Twitter is only 140 characters, Instagram and YouTube are more about the visuals and  marketer can speak directly to a consumer on a channel to personalize the experience.

Taco Bell seems to hit this out of the park on a daily basis with their Twitter feed. They use tongue-in cheek conversational humor as they reach out not only to other brands, but also their audience.

@TacoBell and @MensHumor Twitter exchange

@OldSpice and @TacoBell in a friendly Twitter “feud”

Oreo and Pizza Hut also use humor on their Twitter feeds.

Oreo’s “Lost Oreo” on Instagram.

@pizzahut on Twitter. To me, you are perfect.

Lowes, GoPro, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Oreo have huge social media followers that are brand loyal. The brands all still do classic advertising but have ventured successfully into the social media arena to shore up the brand message and to hit additional audiences that aren’t seeing traditional media.

In short, brands today can no longer rely solely on classic marketing media and expect to succeed in the marketplace. In order to get traction with their brand amid a cluttered landscape, a multi-media, multi-channel technique has to be the standard practice in brand communications.

Additional links:

1. Antony Young, Brand Media Strategy, Integrated Communications Planning in the Digital Era (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014), 17, 18, 19

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/check-out-2015s-shorty-award-winners-best-use-social-media-apps-and-video-163627

http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/michael-patterson-10-brands-amazing-social-media/624169