In an Adage.com article (http://adage.com/article?article_id=144493), Smirnoff said this about Bros icing Bros:

[Smirnoff Ice parent] Diageo has taken measures to stop this misuse of its Smirnoff Ice brand and marks, and to make it clear that ‘icing’ does not comply with our marketing code, and was not created or promoted by Diageo, Smirnoff Ice, or anyone associated with Diageo

Was this a smart move by Smirnoff?  I am not an advertising executive, although I know a good thing when I see it, and Bros Icing Bros is as good as it gets, when considering the free advertizing and the general buzz the game was generating. The chart below shows stock from Diageo the parent company of Smirnoff Ice. Coincidence that it peeks during Bros Icing Bros heightened popularity? You be the judge.

Stock Price this last month. from:http://www.dailyfinance.com/charts/diageo-p-l-c/deo/nys/classic-charts

If you’re sad don’t be, big deal no more website, I believe as long as there is that cold sugary beverage and a bro out there waiting to get you back for last night’s pranks, bros will still be icing bros. What better homage, than to take a knee and chug some sugary alcohol right?!

What fun would it be though, to make a bro chug that and not get any public recognition or record that you got him? Albeit, it’s no brosicingbros.com but, http://yougoticed.tumblr.com/ is all bros have left if they want to publicly post their “icings”.

Lets look at http://yougoticed.tumblr.com/, from an academic stand-point, forgetting the immaturity of irresponsible drinking. Is “yougoticed” an efficient social media site? Well it’s a forum that allows like minded people (bros) a chance to communicate with one another, through posting pictures and commenting on pictures. Through the increased interaction of posting pictures, commenting on pictures, perusing other bro’s icings, “yougoticed” has done a good job of providing P-E-C, personal emotional connections, which seems to further and strengthen any loyalty and involvement in the icing phenomenon.

*to read more on PEC check out my article on Promoting loyalty

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

From our session with Thomas it was clear that this(code of conduct) was not just something he and company said, but truly believed and lived by. It’s all about P-E-C, Personal Emotional Connections. PEC can be demonstrated thru good customer service or even creating social media platforms like blogs to connect customers with like-minded interests. It’s really simple, Zappos knows if I have good experience with them I am likely to promote them with my friends and adversely if I have bad experience I would tell my friends not to do business with them, which scenario do you think works better for business?

An integral part of Zappos’s success when looking at it from a social media point-of-view, is the interaction they have generated from Facebook, Twitter, and use of company blogs. The best part of it is the fact it’s not just interaction between company and customers but also customer to customer. Thomas said, “It’s not about making sales… it’s about connecting customers with each other.” Hmmmm, using social media to socialize? I suppose that is easier said than done, but Zappos has managed it quite well. Although it’s comparing apples-to-oranges, a similar successful technique of connecting like-minded people with each other that developed or strengthened loyalty is mybarackobama.com a campaign site that brought supporters together and created vast amounts of buzz (campaign $ or simply spreading the word). Looking at the success of both Zappos and Barack’s presidential campaign, highlights the unique ability to make micro-level connections (people to people) at a macro level (the internet).

A recent icing of mine

A full out social media blitz I have seen  this week is known as “Bros Icing Bros”. I first learned of this game that seems to sweeping the nation by surprise at a recent Dave Matthews Band concert where I saw many “icings” take place. Normally I would not talk about drinking games, but their use of social media from what I have seen is great.  I suppose we could congratulate Smirnoff Ice’s advertising and PR team right? Wrong, according to a recent New York Times article by, David Goodman “A company spokesman denied any involvement, but would not comment on whether any action would be taken” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/business/media/09adco.html?ref=business). This game seems perfect to talk because of their social media use, brand jacking to a certain extent, and the overall idea of a “conversation” being held on a companies’ product or service whether or not they are involved in that conversation. As of now Smirnoff is not involved by any means, but could this be another “Wal-Marting Across America” hoax where we later find it was genius plot to spike sales of icey cold Smirnoff Ices during the hot days of summer. Like every other urban legend the origin is unknown, it just seems to have started happening. According to  http://brosicingbros.com there are only 2 rules

• “You cannot refuse an ice. If you refuse to drink the ice you are instantly excommunicated and shunned, and thus can never ice another bro or be iced.”
• “If you are iced by a fellow bro you can ice block. When presented w/ an ice, you pull out an ice of your own and reverse the ice on your bro. The ultimate ice insult.”

As I mentioned earlier the social media being used is coming from every angle. Their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bros-Icing-Bros/125815350777226?ref=ts) which was made this year, already has over 18,000 fans. The Facebook wall posts pictures of bros getting iced and allows for comments. Searching Youtube, hundreds of video come up for search results, the highest one having over 30,000 views.  Their Twitter (http://twitter.com/brosicingbros) has almost 700 followers, so alittle behind the other social media vehicles.

Postman in SocialCorp Social Media Goes Corporate, describes brand jacking as “The unauthorized use of a company’s brand. Some of these are good humored, others can cause problems for companies, and many are actually quite positive and beneficial” (82). Right now I don’t see this as a problem for Smirnoff, realistically this is creating such a buzz for them it’s great.  A good question is why Smirnoff is not involved yet? I know it is a slippery slope to be behind a game that promotes not very responsible drinking techniques but come on… Smirnoff could have a Youtube contest of the best “icing”, or getting iced in the most uncommon spot ( people have been iced at their wedding so that’s out), this could apply with Flickr too. Smirnoff could use twitter help people become better icers or defend themselves from an ice attack. The possibilities for Smirnoff to use bros icing bros in a social media campaign is ripe for the picking.

Youtube video of bro’s icing -

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnvwQRUZYnk

Wal-Mart love them or hate them is a global powerhouse fighting two wars, one is fighting to roll back prices for the customers. The second war is a little more devious or sordid, while they roll back prices, they are also trying to roll stories of poor employee pay/benefits and destroying mom and pop shops under the rug. The gloomy days of Wal-mart’s bad PR storm might have had a chance of a small victory had they been open and honest. In 2006 a blog called “Wal-Marting Across America” seemed to be a little too good to be true. The blog featured a couple that traveled across America staying in Wal-Mart parking lots (RV’s park for free there) chronicling their interactions with each Wal-Mart along the way.  It was later revealed that the trip and RV were all paid for by Wal-Mart’s PR organization. This bad PR stunt just added more fuel to the fire.

What can be done to avoid poor social media decisions? Well as I stated earlier common sense should usually prevail, but we cannot count on that and as an employer I wouldn’t count on that either. Postman states, “Behave ethically. Hire ethical people. Make ethical decisions. Implement clear policies and ensure companywide understanding of, an agreement to those policies” (116). For many companies now the  use of social media is a must, in order to compete, but the risk of making a bad social media decision probably thwarts some companies from utilizing social media to the max. To fully safeguard themselves companies must teach and monitor appropriate social media behavior but at the same time try to be as innovative as possible, which is understandably hard.

Will this be good or bad for politics? Since I have already mentioned the scarcity of young people interested in politics, it would be hard for me to say Facebook’s addition of the U.S politics page could be bad. I was searching for a Pew article (http://people-press.org/)  that showed the time spent on reading newspapers online versus time on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter,  and  I’m sure you could guess the results.  The article (which I cant find) showed that average person would spend at least a couple hours a day on Facebook versus minutes a day reading and/or skimming news articles online, this should not really shock anyone.

After examining the page for a little while, its clear at least so far, there is no biases of liberal or conservatism overtones.  From the posts they (Facebook.com) has made so far, it is basically just an aggregator of all things political.  In the photos section there is a screen print snapshot of how a Michigan representative uses Facebook.com to notify his constituents how he voted on particular bills, so facebook.com/uspolitics used that as an example how politicians are using  Facebook (social media) in general as tool.

After reading the book, Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, I have become much more aware of the worrisome attitudes some people have with the lack of substance associated with social media.  Although now, with Facebook.com/uspolitics as example we can see the shift of social media as fun past time (or waste of time) to becoming a legitimate source in disseminating truly substantive material. Hopefully while young people are checking their friends status’s or photos from the weekend they will stumble across this page and become more informed when it comes to politics.

The PR conversation style has changed immensely since the time of Bernays and Lee, the fathers’ of PR. The beginning of PR was more of a top-down system, with the PR practitioners at the top sending out a message that would not only resonate with audiences but guide them. Bernays took into account the audience’s inner psyche, and based many of his strategy’s on that, so guiding them based on their own inner wants and needs. Take for example Bernays’ “Torches of Freedom” where models were sent to a New York City parade, and lit up their Lucky Strikes(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torches_of_Freedom). Bernays New York City parade stunt help break down barriers of discontent with women smoking, and furthered the already growing women’s autonomy movement.  One thing that has remained unchanged over time is the importance of the audience, which the web 2.0 shift has really proved.

So far what SocialCorp Social media goes corporate, by Joel Postman, has really proven is the success and drive of companies to become part of their audiences conversation. Now, what I have seen, is the companies not so much trying to guide their audience like Bernays, but to be a part of the social media conversation and change their PR approach accordingly.

As I mentioned before, something that has not changed is the importance of the audience, after all they are the ones buying a product or service. If the drive of companies PR efforts, as shown by Postman,are an indicator I would say the audience is really more important now than any other time. In the over-saturated marketing world we live in, web 2.0 has proven to be a new unclaimed frontier for marketers and PR people alike. I beleive the PR style shift, which places consumers on a more level playing with the companies, is beneficial to both parties. Companies have an opportunity to produce exactly what their consumers want, if they listen and engage, which is what web 2.0 is really about.

*Video from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWIJTydRLt8

Since it is Memorial Day Weekend  and my reading post was on social-media  branding, today I am going to discuss a great game called Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (http://modernwarfare2.infinityward.com/agegate.php)and their use of social media.  To start with, the game is about a prestigious multi-national commando unit fighting global terrorists. Normally I would not talk about this, but since the class now knows I dabble in Farmville, things can’t really get any worse.

Joel Postman author of, SocialCorp Social Media Goes Corporate, states “True Participatory communication and multi-dimensional discussion mean not only does the company give people a means of discussion, but the company listens and responds to what’s being said, and empowers all of its people to do so as well” (79). Social-media branding is all about interaction with your consumers, which is exactly what Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (COD) has done. COD’s exemplary social-media branding can be found on their Facebook page.

COD’s Facebook page has over 703,000 fans, with a majority of them being active when looking at the response each COD post gets.  The first thing that is apparently clear when perusing the Facebook page is the consistent posting by COD, which definitely keeps audience interactive  and voicing their opinion, which is what social media is all about. From the company’s perspective this constant feedback helps them fix problems with the current game, and insight how to make new games even better. How is COD so interactive on Facebook?

• Posts from third-party articles pertaining to the game.
• YouTube videos giving insight to certain aspects of the game.
• Quizzes on equipment for the game such as; guns, ammo, explosives etc…
• Sneak-peaks for new games being developed

One thing that I found very interesting is the fact you can not post on the Facebook wall but only comment on COD’s posts, which I think is a good strategy for containing the messages that are posted. Although the discussion section is open to talk about anything, from gaming strategies to likes and dislikes.

YouTube is another formidable vehicle that COD has. Although, the majority of the videos posted are from private users not the COD company. Still there are over 104,000 videos posted under “Call of Duty Modern Warfare2” which creates a lot of buzz for company.

Twitter is another way Infinity Ward, the maker’s of COD stay in-touch with its consumers. Right now they about 66,000 followers. Due to the nature of Twitter the messages are much shorter than that of Facebook, but the tweets link to help for guides and hints to the game, new information about the game, and even awards the game has won.

The social-media approach that COD has taken is beneficial for both the company and consumers. The company is able to get immediate feedback, create a buzz about the product, maintain consumer loyalty by its interactive approach and most importantly they come off as authentic and credible. The consumers have a place to voice their opinion, interact with other players, and have become ambassadors for the brand whether they know it or not. No matter what social venue is explored its clear to see the opinions of their game users really matter, and that means a lot to the users themselves.

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2/84663582252?v=wall&ref=ts#!/pages/Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2/84663582252?v=wall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Warfare_2

http://modernwarfare2.infinityward.com/agegate.php

http://twitter.com/infinityward

Happy Memorial Day (soldiers holding flag at Citi field opening day)

“With the advent of social media, consumer voices have grown exponentially louder, and online conversations have begun more and more to shape a company’s brand” (Postman 78).  Whether its air fresheners or U-Haul’s service as mentioned in the book, people are out there talking about products, so companies must have a social media presence, if nothing else to be aware of what is being said about them.  A perennial axiom that holds true in social media branding and public relations in general is to always remember it’s a two-way conversation. Companies must maintain a consistent message but have the ability and more importantly willingness to react and respond with feedback based on their audiences opinions.

Does opening lines of communication, especially in social media leave companies more vulnerable? Yes, opening forums in social media leaves your company more vulnerable for negative feedback, but it gives the company an opportunity to directly address their consumers. Negative and positive feedback on companies’ products or service will be discussed whether or not the company has a social media presence, so they should be a part of it. Being part of the social media conversation gives companies a perfect chance to explain how they will fix whatever problem is affecting their consumers, in a way traditional advertising does not allow.

Authenticity and credibility are two crucial aspects to a company’s social media role. When developing a social media message the company must always recognize why they (the company) and the consumer are using social media in the first place. The company is there to create a two-way dialogue with the people who use their product or services; the consumers are there to voice their opinion with other users of similar products and services. The consumers are NOT there to be pitched with advertising hype. Authenticity and credibility will be severely damaged and annoy their customers if they just bombard their audience with advertising (especially in the blogging world); obviously a company is there to promote their products and services but that must be done subtly and tactfully.

Overall I think social media branding has proven to be a useful tool in direct interaction with consumers when done the right way. In my opinion it will become even more vital due to the over-saturated marketing world we live in.  As I mentioned before people are going to talk about products and services whether or not that company has a social media presence, so the company mine as well be a part of that conversation and interact as much as possible in hopes of perpetuating a positive image. Consumers praising a product or service has more credibility and authenticity than a television commercial ever could. Because consumers have the potential to become the most impactful ambassadors of your brand, companies must maintain that two-way dialogue that social media offers.

* clip from :   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlNaAfE7qx0

The recent and continuing oil disaster in the Gulf Coast has produced at least one thing positive and that is Dawn dish soap stepping up to  help donate resources to the Marine Mammal Center and International Bird Rescue Research Center through their initiative “Dawn Saves Wildlife.”

This weekend I was watching television and a commercial came on of animals covered in oil, being washed off with soap, and the very end of the commercial flashed this “Facebook.com/dawn”. Usually I would dismiss it like most commercials but something about the helpless animals and my constant time already on Facebook helped motivate me to check it out further. After perusing Facebook more I’ve found that Dawn through its “Dawn Saves Wildlife” campaign has an all-out social media blitzkrieg, raising awareness of the oil leak disaster and, of course, helping to hype their brand subtly.

Facebook.com/dawn is the first social media tool I stumbled across on this topic. Currently there are over 178,000 fans, which is a substantial amount. I should point-out that this Facebook account was started and active before the oil leak, so it was not just a scheme that Dawn dish soap jumped on after the oil leak to get more coverage.  Oddly enough there really isn’t that many plugs for Dawn on the Facebook page. The page does a very good job posting regularly to keep user’s interest up and they also do a good job incorporating other social media like videos and Twitter.

http://twitter.com/dawndishsoap continues to keep their followers updated on the oil leak situation. Right now they have 428 followers, and like Facebook update their tweets often. They provide many links to credible sources like , http://emergency.louisiana.gov/Releases/05202010-seaTurtles.html which happens to use Flickr to show the devastation of the oil.

Overall I’m very impressed with the abundance of social media used by the “Dawn Saves Wildlife” campaign. One thing that our text SocialCorp Social Media Goes Corporate, by Joel Postman, clearly explains is the need for a consistent message when deploying a social media strategy.  Dawn’s campaign clearly exemplifies this consistent message through the many social media tools its using. Just as import for me was the fact they did not just plug their soap, it seems to truly be about helping animals, that’s not to say next time I am grocery shopping for soap I won’t remember those oily birds and magicical effect Dawn had helping them.

If you are interested in learning more check these links out:

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/savingwildlife/home.do

http://www.ibrrc.org/

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/

Image from-http://www.peachpit.com/ShowCover.aspx?isbn=0321580087

Our class textbook SocialCorp Social Media Goes Corporate, written by Joel Postman (http://www.socializedpr.com/bio/ ) , lays out the framework from which one of my two weekly posting will be derived from. Postman in the first three chapters introduces social media described as “The latest generation of network-based applications and content that have brought about a revolution in participatory communications, building communities and creating and sharing information (Postman 7).

Chapter one particularly sets the stage for what corporate social media “SocialCorp” is all about. Postman states that socialcorp’s are “Companies that are learning to take advantage of the power of social media to reshape their relationship with customers and other important audiences” (3). Something that I really took away from chapter one is the strategy for corporations’ social media.  In public relations class we learned to never have a press conference for the sake of just having a press conference; there must be some specific need a for a press conference, and the same goes for social media. Before implementing any social media the company must first set forth its goals, objectives, and how they plan to track the progress. Any person/company can use social media, but Postman points-out that the successful strategies are ones linked to the overall business goals of their particular company.

Chapter two is the “SocialCorp Readiness Quiz” which helps you rate your company’s social media strategy effectiveness. What I found to be most pertinent was if the leadership was on board with trying new social media. One of the major downfalls to social media is the fact it is new, there really is no standard way of doing things, each social media strategy will be different from company to company.  Having the support of the company’s leadership I feel is important because it will allow you think out-side-the-box more freely and be a little risky.

Chapter three delves into particulars of social media such as; blogs, mircrobloging, social-networking, video posting/sharing, etc.  Postman seems to constantly reiterate “Social media strategy should tie to business and communication strategy” which I think is actually a helpful reminder because in the wide-array of social media tools and uses, maintaining a consistent message could be difficult (32).

From what I have read so far, I now have even more appreciation for social media. It’s kind of exciting being in the middle of an ever-changing landscape for communication/PR practitioners. One thing has definitely become clear, which I stated earlier, you can not use social media just to use it though, its imperative that you have clearly defined goals, objectives and some way to quantify the progress.