It’s Potty Posting time! Need a refresher on the purpose of the Po

These monthly articles take a humorous, yet informative, approach to emerging cultural trends, new technologies, and innovative marketing tactics. And yes, they’re posted in the Upshot bathrooms, where we know we’ve got a captive audience. Click the image to the right for a PDF of the post and share with your network to build your Klout, duh.

You Know You Make Me Wanna Klout

To over 3500 brands, the world of online social networking is beginning to look a lot like a high school. Cliques are forming, popularity is becoming a tool, Lindsay Lohan is giving high-calorie nutrition bars to the Plastic Queen to sabotage her weight and status…

OK, maybe not that last part. But, when it comes to social media, brands are paying attention to the widening gap between those who matter online and those who don’t. By targeting the people who are most likely to influence others – the ones who inspire the most buzz with their tweets and posts – brands can maximize their reach while putting in minimal cost and effort. In essence, this online popularity contest could be the key to doing word-of-mouth marketing right, and Klout, a social metrics service, was made to do just that.

The aforementioned Plastic Queen, Regina George, owns a silver Lexus and allegedly does car commercials in Japan. She’s also teen royalty. So not only is she pretty popular, she’s also pretty influential. Now, if only there were quantifiable data to tell Mercedes how influential Regina George really is, especially on the topic of cars, so they can give her a free SL550 Roadster in the hopes that she ditches that Lexus and tweets about her new Mercedes.

“My Klout Score is so fetch, I haven’t paid for anything in months!”

Bingo. Klout is a website run by a team of digital engineers, marketers and analysts who have made it possible to quantify a person’s online influence, or ability to drive action on the internet. Taking data from a person’s social networking accounts, Klout measures True Reach (how many people someone influences), Amplification (how much that person influences them), and Network Impact (the influence of the people being influenced), with a single number between 1 and 100 as the result.

No longer is the internet democratic. No longer does everyone’s voice hold equal weight online. And far from being ashamed about being the harbinger of online social inequality, Klout is actually partnering up with thousands of brands to take advantage of it!

Brands have started using Klout to give away free stuff, “Klout Perks,” to the most popular influencers (or social networking users) in their fields and provide them with a good experience or a good product so they can tweet about it to their friends. For example, HP offered high-scoring film influencers an HP laptop pre-loaded with films from Cinequest film festival, and Audi invited top design, technology and luxury influencers to test drive their new 2011 Audi A8 at exclusive events.

Yeah, but does it work? Influencers who receive Perks aren’t required to post positive things about the brand. They’re not even required to post anything at all.

To ensure that giving away Perks will be worth a company’s expense, Klout has begun to up the demand and cool factor of a high Score and the Perks that come with it. When Spotify, a wildly popular music-streaming service, first came out in 2008, Klout gave free account access to only some of its high-scorers before Spotify was even released in the United States. In addition, some special events, like the annual after-hours shopping extravaganza, Fashion’s Night Out, require a Klout Score of over 40 points in order to attend. This not only ensures the exclusivity and coolness of the Perk, but the honor of having a high Score as well.

And it has definitely been working for a ton of brands. Like Virgin America, who offered only 120 free flights to top travel influencers, which generated over 4,600 tweets and, subsequently, led to over 7.4 million impressions and coverage in top blogs and news outlets. And, for a very small price, that’s good business.

But it hasn’t just been working for brands. While Klout’s expertise in generating buzz has been great for building brands’ reputations, it’s also been building their own. People have been putting their Score on their resume and many competitors and copycats have begun to emerge, like PeerIndex , Twitter Grader and, most recently, PeopleBrowsr’s Kred, which will up your Kred based on real-life achievements like degrees and awards.

“People have even started attaching it to their wardrobes. Ladies love it.”

And while there certainly are downsides for the people being judged on their Score, there are also downsides for brands. How does a brand do damage control when a top influencer receives a product, hates it, and blasts the company on Twitter? The best response is to turn it positive – using Klout, brands can decide which reviews they can ignore and which they need to address. 70% of companies ignore their customer complaints on Twitter, yet nearly half of Twitter complainants expect the company to read them. Plus, 83% of complainants on Twitter who have received a reply either liked or loved the fact that the company responded.  So, when a brand comes across a bad review from a top influencer, they should see it as a great PR opportunity.

While the concept of Klout is certainly proving to be integral to brand marketing, its underlying foundation is nothing new. They’ve recognized social group behaviors and separated the popular from the ordinary, but by mathematically proving the amount of a person’s popularity, Klout is able to help brands single out the people who will, hopefully, inspire action and do a good chunk of their marketing for them. And therein lies the innovation:  realizing the marketing potential of good ol’ fashioned cliquishness brought into the modern, digital age.

Want another good Klout read? Take a gander at OMG! Your Klout is Showing! posted earlier this year by Jaclyn Gordyan.

Twitterphobia affects over 83.72% of marketers* in the US every year.

We’ve seen the devastation it causes. We’ve heard your cries for a cure. And, we’ve found the vaccine in… our latest Potty Posting!

Twitterphobics Anonymous

Click the link above for the PDF version, or continue reading below for the online version. As always, please feel free to share this post with colleagues, clients, or anyone who may be suffering from this absolutely-curable condition.

*No it doesn’t. We made that up. But it definitely exists.

Twitterphobics Anonymous

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

We’ve noticed something funny happening in recent meetings. While we’re thumping our chests about Driven by Data Twitter visualizations and using the Twitter API for Life in the OOC applications, we’re often met with nodding approval…along with some shifting eyes and simmering discomfort. We wondered: was there something in our teeth? Did we have bad breath? Probably, and possibly, but neither was the real problem. Eventually, we got people both inside and outside the agency to admit (in shamed whispers) that they’d previously dismissed Twitter as a fad, or thought their consumers weren’t using it, or were (understandably) confused by conflicting reports about Twitter’s dominance / irrelevance / significance / shallowness / growth / stagnation / obsession with why #youdeservetobesingle. Realizing their mistake, they asked us to take it back to step one. Luckily, they’ve found a safe place.

First things first. You’ll never understand the nuances of this service if you don’t set up a Twitter account… like, right now. (Being on the throne is no excuse – Google already told us how often you surf in the bathroom. Eww.) If you’re in marketing and you don’t have a Twitter account, you are #FAILing. We’re not saying you have to tweet. But, we are saying you have to follow a handful of marketers, brands, and industry smarties to see how they’re using the service (a good place to start: Upshot’s own The Awesome Blog.) In fact, having an account would’ve clarified why there’s a pound sign in front of “FAILing” above. On Twitter, any phrase preceded by the pound sign is called a hashtag, and its purpose is to organize disparate tweets into a single conversation stream. (Oh yeah, we’d already put the cart before the horse with a blog post describing how brands can advertise via those hashtags.) For instance, let’s say I wanted to have a wine tasting with some friends who are spread out across the globe. Option one: everyone flies out just to sit in my too-cramped living room and resent having to pick cat hair out of their wine glasses. A better idea: tell anyone who’s interested to grab a bottle of this week’s selection and tweet their comments, including a predetermined hashtag in each tweet. Without that tag, our comments would get lost in the stream of other tweets, but the hashtag allows anyone to track or contribute to this particular conversation, regardless of geographical (or shedding feline) obstacles. We’ll even give you a chance to sample some hashtags yourselves – read or contribute any tweets about this posting using the hashtag #twitterphobia. Unfortunately, #pottytweet was already taken because… well, see that aforementioned Google study.

But, following a couple of Twitter conversations isn’t going to quiet your inner skeptic who continues to question the significance of Twitter. With countless social networks vying for consumers’ attention (and giving old-school ad-types heart palpitations), what makes the tweet so special? How about its ridiculous, lightning-quick, superpower-esque speed? You can argue about the ramifications of Twitter all you want, but there’s no debating that Twitter is the fastest system for information dispersal ever created. With a click of a button, users can re-broadcast another persons’ tweet to their own social network (called re-tweeting), enabling information to jump across social circles in a matter of seconds. Case in point: hours before the official announcement about the demise of one particularly evil Abbottabad resident, many Twitter users had already passed around a tweet from a Washington insider revealing this information. Still, the most widely-shared tweets generally include links to online content outside of Twitter; for instance, when the Bulls’ Taj Gibson dropped bombs on another embodiment of evil, the documenting images, videos, and commentaries were racing across Twitter mere moments after impact. Plus, unlike Facebook, Twitter tends to be radically public, meaning strangers can see (and respond to) tweets on any topic from anyone around the world. In fact, many tweets are written with the expectation that total strangers – including marketers like you! – will read them, share them, and respond to them.

And that’s the whole point here. Don’t get hung up on the insatiable efforts to build up or tear down this service. Instead, take it for what it’s worth – a chance for marketers to step into the conversation. Twitter isn’t just about tweeting on your brand’s behalf (although that’s a whole ‘nother topic – see this site for tons of great thought-starters). And while Twitter’s one of the most powerful PR tools ever created, even that doesn’t tell the whole story. Those who dismiss Twitter as a bunch of self-important narcissists who are just tweeting about their Nikon ads and their new TV shows with one and a half other men… well, okay, that does describe one user pretty well. But dismissing Twitter altogether because of a handful of twits is just undermining your own ability to keep up with what’s captivating the public, why those things are captivating the public, and the shifting ways in which the public digests, shares, evaluates, disbelieves, mocks, and mashes-up information in the modern world. In this case, the medium really is the message.

Still have questions we didn’t answer here? Of course you do. How do you generate followers? How often should you tweet? Did this post convince Dave Nigh to finally open a Twitter account? Tweet any additional questions with the hashtag #twitterphobia and we’ll keep the conversation going. In the meantime, Mashable’s Twitter guide book is a great introduction to the service’s component parts.

P.S. Thanks to historicaltweets.com for the images used in this posting.

the hotspot for haute thought is the pot at upshot

we admit we’re awesomeholics at theawesomeblog.net

A Message to You Foodie 2011

Please feel free to share that delicious morsel with clients, colleagues, and lunch dates. Or, if you’d prefer a text-only version, just keep reading below. (And, if you’re completely confused by the theme of this post, the references to the Specials, or the dancing dude to the right, go ahead and get yourself acquainted.)

A Message to You Foodie 2011

Stop Your Messing Around. Better Think of Food Future.

In our last foray into food trends, things were looking pretty sour. Obesity was weighing us (and our kids) down, misleading food labels were offering everything but “smart choices,” and hucksters kept promising suspicious benefits from so-called “superfoods” that we could barely pronounce. Amidst plenty of Future Fear about intractable problems facing the economy, global politics, and the fate of Two and a Half Men, we’d understand if pessimism about food future was lumped into the mix. But, something funny has happened in the meantime: the major players in the food world suddenly started cooperating and taking significant swings at the category’s toughest problems. In the past few months alone, we’ve seen South Los Angeles (an area with chronically high rates of obesity) take a stand against food deserts by banning new fast-food restaurants and actively recruiting healthier options. We’ve seen San Francisco wrist-slap kids’ meals that dangle toys as carrots instead of just dangling some damn carrots already. We’ve seen food manufacturers like Kraft filling gaps in municipal funding (and giving kids a place to be active) by building neighborhood playgrounds. In fact, if we had to pick one overarching food theme for 2011, it’d be progress and pragmatism in tackling the category’s most entrenched problems. (Fortunately we don’t have to pick just one. We’ll get to the others in our forthcoming Smartshot webinar.)

As you’d expect, some of the biggest contributors to this remarkable progress have come from the liberal, hippie, anti-business, nanny-state environmentalists at… Walmart?? Yup, their Great Value private label foods were already tough competitors on price, and now Walmart’s launched a five year plan to reduce sodium, trans fats and added sugars in these foods. (A five year plan? What is this, Stalinmart?) The nation’s largest retailer is also exerting pressures on manufacturers like ConAgra and Kraft to adopt similar measures for the foods they sell in-store. For some added incentive, Walmart’s tightening the screws by dropping prices on whole grain foods, fresh fruits, and vegetables, and even considering a seal that would distinguish foods that are low in sodium, sugar, and fat. And, just to make sure they’re staying on task, Walmart has agreed to provide progress reports to… Michelle Obama?? Yup, the First Lady’s made childhood obesity her first priority, and her Let’s Move initiative is promising realistic, achievable changes that are grounded in common sense. While her neighbors in the Beltway must think that’s crazy talk, that’s exactly the kind of strategy that’ll go far in boardroom. The collaboration with Walmart is just one example of the First Lady actively engaging corporate America in her efforts, which is partially a realization that Walmart has as much power as the federal government to impact these problems (if not more). That’s not to say the feds aren’t trying. They just overhauled the USDA food pyramid, with takeaways that are uncharacteristically straightforward: eat less, be more active, cut back on salt and sugary drinks, and keep an eye on calories. The “eat less” piece is perhaps the most startling part (the pyramid has never really addressed the issue), and it’s a big win for the shift towards small (yup, we called it with our Sized Right trend). These recommendations are simple enough for a child to follow, and that’s no accident. Kids consume over half of their calories at school, which is why there’s an effort to get them involved in preparing cafeteria lunches or, at the very least, to understand where their food comes from.

This all sounds so completely… reasonable, which explains why we’re seeing such progress on these problems. There’s a growing acknowledgment that superfoods aren’t the answer, that quick fixes to health probably don’t exist, and that health and wellness isn’t as complicated as we often make it out to be. There’s not a lot here that we didn’t already know; it’s just that eating healthy and being active have always been so difficult for the average consumer. Ask Walmart why they’re instituting the aforementioned changes, and they’ll tell you that their customers asked them to help by making the healthier foods more affordable than the junk. And that’s what’s radically different this time ‘round: for every problem facing the food world, the big players are offering practical solutions that make it easier for consumers to lead healthy lives. Yes, the USDA is telling us to eat less, but restaurants and food manufacturers are making this trade-off a tasty one by offering everything from sliders to substantial snacks to small plates. Yes, fatty foods are a delicious way to ensure you don’t live past 50, but chefs are finding smarter and tastier alternatives like duck fat (as any Hot Doug’s fan already knew). Yes, you knew that a bacon double cheeseburger is basically a sucker-punch to your circulatory system, but menus with calorie counts are now revealing the less obvious horrors of your morning muffin or daily burrito. Yes, you need to eat your veggies, so chefs and food manufacturers alike are reexamining ways to get all kinds of flavors out of formerly forsaken produce, even if it requires looking toward cultures that are more traditionally vegetable-focused (anyone catching a whiff of our Primitive Simplicity trend?).

But the idea of practical solutions is perhaps most evident in the realm of meat consumption. Americans are grudgingly acknowledging the personal and environmental downsides of consuming too much meat, but many aren’t ready for the extreme limitations required by vegetarianism or veganism. (Gotta allow for Baconnaise, right?) Normally, that’d be the end of the story, but a number of strange bedfellows are finding themselves promoting a third option: flexitarianism, or getting creative about cutting back on meat consumption (without completely eliminating it). It’s certainly worth noting when numerous trend-setting eateries embrace Meatless Mondays, including all 14 restaurants run by snout-to-tail advocate Mario Batali. But things are really changing when we see Meatless Mondays institutionalized at Sodexo, which supplies food for hospitals, government institutions, and schools. As one of the biggest employers in the world, reducing Sodexo’s meat consumption by 1/7 makes a dramatic dent in the overall demand for industrial livestock, but also makes it more likely that others will follow. For instance, Kellogg is doubling down on its Morningstar product line, including a new line of soy-based breakfast entrees. (And lest you think it’s those darn kids driving this trend, Kellogg’s primary target for this line is Boomer women.)

Flexitarians aside, the meat of the matter is that concerns about health and wellness are becoming an increasingly significant part of the American consumer’s value equation. They’re realizing the long-term implications of the choices they make at the table. They’ve clamored for practical solutions, and the food, beverage, and beauty industries (among others) have delivered them. So here’s the message to you, Foodies: get your programs in tune with progress and your consumers’ calls for practical solutions.

the hotspot for haute thought is the pot at upshot

the Specials are always on the menu at TheAwesomeBlog.Net

(Say, that almost sounds like a trend worth bringing back for 2011. Hmm… stay tuned on Twitter for more developments on that.)

But back to present. H&M recently partnered with the GoldRun AR platform to spice up their store windows, which are currently displaying H&M’s fall and winter collections. When a shopper accesses the GPS-enabled iPhone app within the vicinity of the store windows, they’ll get access to a virtual fashion show featuring digital versions of those clothes and accessories. Through augmented reality, these items are overlaid on the real street scene depicted on the user’s phone, which can then be photographed and sent to Facebook (such as the floating bag photo above). This allows users to position the clothes on themselves and send to friends for feedback, too.

While this element captures the fun, shiny-object part of augmented reality, there’s a concrete benefit for the brick and mortar stores too (yeah, pun intended). Snapping pics of the items generates a 10% discount off of in-store purchases, and also enters users into a sweepstakes for gift certificates and a trip to Las Vegas. If getting shoppers to the store is half the battle, this sure seems like a compelling weapon for H&M to bring to the holiday wars.

But what if your brand doesn’t have a dedicated retail outlet? Certainly, pop-up stores are an attractive option, but that requires you to find an available retail space, come up with a design, build it out… gosh, that’s so much work. Wouldn’t it be easier if you just picked a pristine beachfront location and stuck a virtual store there? That’s so much easier – just ask Airwalk. They recently launched “invisible” pop-up stores at Venice Beach and NYC’s Washington Square Park, thanks to a clever use of augmented reality. In order to purchase the limited-edition reissue of the Airwalk Jim shoe, sneakerheads had to go to the designated location and use the smartphone app to snap a photo of the spot. A virtual pair of the shoes would be added via AR, which then became the user’s pass for ordering the kicks online. [Update: We've just learned that GoldRun is behind this campaign as well. We promise we didn't intend for this post to be an ad for them!]

So, what have we learned here? For starters, using augmented reality in practical applications shouldn’t forsake the fun parts of the technology. Plus, combining this feature with location data enables brands to add a hyperlocal element to their promotions. Finally, don’t be turned off by the fact that these campaigns aren’t likely to be adopted by the masses. Rather, look at the level of engagement these brands have inspired among micro communities in the real world, thanks to a couple of digital flourishes.

Set the Ex-Sample

As always, please feel free to share that document with colleagues, clients, friends, and various assorted ghouls and goblins. Or, if you’d prefer the text only version, keep on reading below!

Set the Ex-Sample

An Ample Sample of Exemplary Sampling

Have you been stuck in rapturous daydreams about world-rocking sampling? We’re not surprised, after our last Smartshot webinar walked through – or, more accurately, stomped all over – sampling’s ho-hum past. We showed how present-day sampling’s become ever more engaging and dramatic, and introduced 5 best practices. Admittedly, some were more exciting than others; even though steps like precise targeting and holistic integration are imperative to sampling success, they’re not quite as fun as, say, “generating curiosity and anticipation.” In fact, that particular best practice provides enough room for innovation, experimentation, and general craziness that it’s worth flushing out in its own Potty Posting. So let’s get to it.

As noted in our Smartshot, distributing samples is easier than ever, and today’s consumers are simply bombarded with free swag. With this much clutter, it’s hard to get consumers to even see your samples. Well, it’s a good thing you’ve got four other senses to work with! For instance, Welch’s got our tongues wagging with their lick-able Peel & Taste print ads, generating plenty of curiosity while also making you look like a crazy person who licks magazines in public. But print ads are not only getting tastier – they’re also getting better for your skin. Thanks to BeautiSeal pouches, P&G has been able to sample moisturizers in print ads, allowing consumers to experience the product’s scent and texture without turning the whole magazine into a dripping glob of Olay. And while that sounds much more appealing than blasting consumers in the face with dry, scented air, that’s exactly the idea behind sampling via shelf puffers. These devices are gaining popularity as an in-store sampling tool for fragrances, scented CPG products, and anything else that could appeal to your nose. And, when you compare a puff of dry air to getting shot by a fragrance-filled watergun, I guess it doesn’t sound so bad. And yes, we’ve made it this far without pointing out the connection to Immersive Sensory Experiences from our 10 Trends for 2010, presumably because you already made that connection yourself, right? Don’t make us blast Source-scented dry air at you! (In case you’re curious, it’s the intoxicating scent of smarts.)

Y’know what else is notable about the sensory sampling examples? None of them require the clichéd old lady in a hairnet to hand ‘em out. In fact, there’s a whole line of sampling tactics that have replaced human sampling because – dun dun dun! – the machines have taken over. (Shh, no one tell the Governator.) The formerly-bland vending machine now offers some of the most immersive sampling experiences available, and since there’s no need to pay overtime (shh, no one tell the vending machine union), the samples can be distributed anytime, anyplace. The Boobox dispenses samples when users send a text from their phone, which ensures that consumers only get a single sample, but also enables the brand to collect data that can be used for follow-up conversations. Granted, that’s not as fun as, say, a vending machine that gives you free ice cream if you smile big enough, or one that dispenses your sample after you successfully complete a brain teaser (shown to the right). Honestly, you never thought you’d have this much fun with a vending machine, did you?

Blanketing the Earth with your samples makes for a great bottom line, but it also makes for a crappy Planet Earth. We’ve all seen the sorry remains of a sampling event strewn with discarded packaging and unwanted samples. Some CPG brands are switching to Xela Pack as a remedy, since they provide a line of 100% post-consumer recycled paper alternatives for primary and secondary packaging. Then again, it won’t be long until we can get rid of much of the physical waste altogether. The growth of technologies like virtual mirrors has given rise to virtual sampling opportunities, where the product benefits can be experienced and personalized without any physical accompaniment.

Finally, in line with our 10th trend from 2010, you can never go wrong with delighting your consumers with the element of surprise. Normally, brands would be a tad concerned if they heard that residents were tearing down the contents of their billboard, but apparently that’s how they do things in the Austrian city of Graz. Or, at least that’s what happened when the outdoor clothing company Northland Pro affixed product samples to billboards throughout the city (see the image at the top). Each day, the 50-or-so billboards were graced with 20 items for the taking, generating a ton of word-of-mouth (and a handful of entertaining videos) in the process. Then again, perhaps your brand isn’t keen on the possibility of starting a riot. No matter, thanks to the “Interesting Stuff” project from London’s Matter. Manufacturers provide the service with samples that go beyond a single-serving, making a more compelling (or, more to the point, interesting) statement about what the company does and stands for. Matter boxes the stuff up, sends it to targeted recipients at no charge, and ensures that they’ll arrive on a Saturday (when the person is more likely to spend time interacting with the items). Interesting Stuff has lived up to its name so far, intriguing brands like Sony Ericsson, Stolichnaya, Nintendo, and Virgin Atlantic.

Let the statisticians worry about sampling bias – you get to work on creating some world-rocking sampling!

the hotspot for haute thought is the pot at upshot

we’re serving up an awesomeness sampler at theawesomeblog.net

In this Posting, we take a sneak peek at what Stickybits is about to unleash upon the mobile marketing world. Hint: it’s about to render a lot of campaigns extinct.

As always, we’ve provided a PDF version of the original Potty Posting here, which we strongly encourage you to share with colleagues, clients, and anyone who you’d warn about an impending mobile marketing meteor. Or, if you’d prefer a text-only version, keep on reading below.

Has Stickybits Discovered Mobile’s Missing Link?

Don’t let your brand become a marketing fossil!

Students of The Awesome Blog will recall that we recently had a little chat about Stickybits. (If that doesn’t ring a bell, we strongly suggest following twitter.com/upshotblog, since this material will be on the final exam.) We talked about how scanning a UPC with the Stickybits smartphone app allows consumers to interact with physical goods by attaching (or receiving) images, videos, comments, or reviews to the product’s barcode. While we acknowledged this service’s intriguing potential, we also warned you about two potentially significant shortcomings. First, we struggled to find a non-intrusive way to inform consumers about which UPCs were worth scanning, so that shoppers weren’t aimlessly roaming the supermarket aisles in a zombie-like scanning haze. Additionally, we were concerned about the likely possibility that a product’s barcode could become the gateway for incessant brand bashing, considering the not-so-elevated discourse that often plagues social media. So, when Stickybits announced that they’ve got a big makeover coming in October, all we really wanted was for them to iron out these nagging issues. In a way, they did. But rather than worrying about resolving these problems directly, they’ve done one better: they’ve rendered them obsolete by drastically enlarging the scope of the service. In the process, they might’ve broken the mold for what mobile marketing can accomplish.

What, you think we’re being dramatic? When a few tweaks suddenly unearth the missing links between mobile marketing and digitally-enabled shopping, promotions, group buying, social media, location, scale programs, value-added partnerships, and shopper marketing, you’ll forgive us for getting a little verklempt. Look a little closer and you might find your own marketing mind blown into little sticky bits. (Hmm, do you think that’s how they came up with the name?)

Let’s get the mundane stuff out of the way. Stickybits plans harvest the low-hanging fruit by allowing brands to deliver coupons when a UPC is scanned. Hey, you could do worse as far as mobile marketing promotions go, since this will deliver relevant, targeted values at the point-of-purchase. Better yet, it also encourages consumers to physically touch your product, which increases the likelihood that they will buy the item. But, we know that digital coupons aren’t exactly making your blood pressure rise.

Now, you may find yourself getting all hot and bothered if we tap emerging trends to make those couponing promotions infinitely more engaging. (Admittedly, it’s a weird fetish – must’ve had something to do with those Baby Ogilvy tapes our moms played when we were infants.) Stickybits’ first smart move was noticing that this whole “social” thing seems to be going places. In response, brands will be able to offer coupons that are activated when a group of your friends all scan the code together. That’s a pretty simple (and, in the parlance of Upshot, pretty brilliant) way to build-in viral potential to your campaigns.

The service is also making an intriguing entry into the location space by offering location-specific deals. Say, doesn’t that sound like it’s full of potential for regional shopper marketing programs? And let’s not forget about event marketing applications: what if consumers could only gain entrance to your awesome branded party by buying your product and scanning it at the front door? Heck, you could take this one step further by bringing sampling into the mix, and using codes on the packaging to unlock experiences, discounts, and just about anything else around town. Age of boring mobile campaigns, meet your meteor!

Finally, Stickybits will also offer multi-item deals that can be unlocked by scanning a variety of different products. For instance, the Svedka campaign pictured above is dependent on the user scanning 5 different flavors of their vodkas. Wait a minute… do we finally have a compelling digital solution for scale programs and value-added partnerships??? I believe we do! If you just heard a squeal of joy from the stall next door, you can assume it came from our CPG and beverage teams, as they realized the potential for some serious digital enhancement for their promotions. Now, does anyone still think we’re being overly dramatic?

the hotspot for haute thought is the pot at upshot

we make bad marketing extinct at theawesomeblog.net

As always, a PDF version is available here, which we encourage you to share with clients and colleagues. But, if you’d prefer the straight text, continue reading below.

Code Read

Brace Yourself for the Barcode Barrage

Well, what do we have here? Is that a QR code campaign delivering exclusive content for FOX shows like Glee and Fringe? And do I see a Campbell’s sweepstakes where consumers enter by scanning their soup can UPCs? While, over here, I could’ve sworn I caught a Kelley Blue Book window sticker equipped with QR codes, allowing car salespeople to keep the same sticker in the window even when the price fluctuates. With everyone from beer brands to magazines to sports teams loading up these little squares with data, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a full blown barcode party on our hands, to which we say…

Well it’s about time you all showed up! See, we at Upshot have been hanging around the QR code punchbowl for years, checking our watches and nibbling on hors d’oeuvres while wondering what’s taking everyone so long to get here. (We’ve even used the codes in our own agency campaigns.) But, that’s given us plenty of time to get acquainted with the breadth of barcode applications, understanding what works and what doesn’t. We already went ahead and qrushed the topic of QR codes in a recent 15-minute Smartshot webinar (accessible by scanning the QR code above), so let’s head in to the party! Look for the balloons out front.

(Of course, the best way to get into this shindig is to try scanning some codes yourself. If you don’t have a barcode reader for your smartphone, shoot The Source a message and we’ll point you to one that you can download for free.)

While we prefer the flexibility and broad compatibility of QR codes, we’re admittedly using them as a proxy for all kinds of barcode marketing applications. It really doesn’t matter whether you implement a smartphone app that reads traditional UPCs or a code like JagTag that doesn’t require a reader. What’s important here is that barcodes should be driving consumers to compelling, valuable information when scanned, regardless of the format. Ultimately, these codes are just an efficient way to connect consumers to a wide range of content on the mobile web, whether it’s a link to the Double Rainbow YouTube video, the Double Rainbow remix mp3, a coupon for the Double Rainbow t-shirt, a calendar link to Double Rainbow viewing parties… you name it. The codes are not campaigns on their own. The real consumer interaction comes after that code is scanned and engaging content is delivered, much like the true measure of a party’s greatness isn’t what’s on the invitation, but how early the karaoke machine gets broken out. For instance, the QR code to the right will take you to an awesome art installation, in which portraits of classic movie stars are made out of a series of barcodes. When those codes are scanned, they play various video clips from their respective repertoires. Now that’s one heck of a barcode blowout!  (Hint: linking your QR code to your company’s bland homepage probably makes for a crappy party.)

These data-laden codes are ideal for any products where the consumer experience can be enhanced by accompanying information and education. For instance, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to wine: food pairings, terroir, blends, vintages, and how to properly mock anyone garish enough to order a California Merlot in public. But, even for oenophiles, that’s a lot of stuff to put on the outside of a bottle. We’ve seen some brands try to get around this with bottle neckers, in-store media, packaging, and more, but none of these options really allow for the full story to be told. Compare that to the smartphone apps that Constellation Wines has developed for its brands, which include barcode-scanning capabilities. When consumers scan the UPC on the bottle, they’re linked to everything from reviews to tasting notes to streaming videos about the wineries. It helps that these apps also build personalized profiles for the consumer, since it gets a little tricky to remember your favorites halfway through a tasting session. Just ask Edina and Patsy (they’re waiting for you behind the QR code above).

Like the Best Buy example we covered in our Smartshot webinar, Constellation bakes the barcode readers right into their branded smartphone apps (along with other features). We think this is particularly crafty, and not just because it circumvents the problem of whether consumers have already downloaded barcode readers to their phones. When users scan the codes using the branded app, that marketer can exert more control over where that user eventually ends up. In Best Buy’s case, the retailer can link to movie and video game trailers, coupons, installation instructions, their Twelpforce staff, and more, without worrying that the barcode will take their shoppers to an online competitor. And this approach isn’t just beneficial for retailers; imagine how much more control a brand could exert over its shopper marketing programs via a similar technique.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter which code format your brand pursues. What’s important is recognizing the value of augmenting consumers’ real-world experiences with rich, immersive, online content. It’s part of the Online-Offline Convergence that is changing our consumers’ everyday experiences, and which happens to be another party that we’ve been crashing for a long, long time. Now that you know the code for the door, we do hope you’ll join us. We even left you a special message hidden – where else? – in the QR code to the right.

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we’re all hopped up on code-ing at theawesomeblog.net

As always, a PDF version is available for sharing and perusal right here: Totally Radical Demography.

But, if you’d prefer a text-only version of the Posting, just continue right on reading.

TOTALLY RADICAL DEMOGRAPHY

Like, totally.

While we’ve been tracking all of our 10 Trends for 2010 throughout the year, the recent Census got us re-stoked about the eighth trend on our list: Radical Demography. As a refresher, Radical Demography warned us to look beyond the same stories we’ve been hearing for years: explosive Hispanic population growth, aging Boomers, Gen X-headed families. Now, we’re talking about social shifts that are so dramatic that they’re worthy of such an 80s-tastic phrase as “radical,” if not “most excellent.” Taken individually, these changes provide important clues about how to better target and message to often-ignored niches. But, as a whole, these righteous shifts have given the bogus concept of the “average consumer” a facial disgracial (in English: it’s now totallyless than a quarter of all households. We’re not mental; this is the world of outdated). By the time the Census results come out next year, the traditional family (a married couple with children) is expected to account for Radical Demography. Let’s take a look at four emerging (or re-emerging) household types and how the most bitchin’ marketers are targeting them.

SINGLE, READY TO MINGLE: Does a “singles cruise” bring to mind a scene of mass debauchery (perhaps an “excellent adventure”), or a sign of savvy marketers reading the demographic tea leaves? Well, probably both. But the fact that Norwegian Cruise Lines is offering single-occupancy rooms for the first time in their 43-year history shows a recognition of the startling spending power of the single consumer, who now accounts for 35% of all US spending. With Americans delaying marriage longer and divorce rates still hovering high, the rise in singledom isn’t especially surprising. Over a quarter of Americans currently live alone (27% in 2007 versus 17% in 1970), and married couples only accounted for 60% of home purchases in 2009 (compared to 81% in 1985). By the way, 21% of those unmarried home purchases were made by single women (meaning only 10% by single men), which may explain why Home Depot’s now (wisely) offering “Do-It-Herself Workshops.” But, when other marketers (especially in food and CPG categories) don’t address this population, they’re really doing it themselves, like singleedition.com’s recipes-for-one and kitchen gadgets for solo cooks.

SH*T MY DAD SAYS, IN THE NEXT ROOM: Even before the Great Recession forced youngsters to move back home (most heinous!), we were already witnessing a longer-term resurgence of multi-generational households. 2008 saw a record number (16.1%) of Americans living in households with multiple generations of adults, and there are plenty of explanations: the rising share of immigrant families (especially Hispanics and Asians, although many African-American families are also in this boat), the rising age of marriage, and Medicare cuts. Regardless of the cause, the effect is multiple generations having input on household decisions. With each cohort responding to dramatically different purchase drivers, these families may require simultaneously messaging to a number of household members in independent ways.

DINKS AREN’T JUST SPACEBALLS CHARACTERS: Although it sounds like an insult, “DINK” is just short for “Dual Income, No Kids” households. In 2007, married couples with kids made up a smaller percentage of US households than married couples without kids (22.5% vs. 28.3%). Throw in the aforementioned single folks (without kids) and childless cohabitators and you’ll realize that the majority of US households now lack those grody little weasels. As we asked in our original 10 Trends, how much of your marketing is based on the assumption that you’re talking to parents? When you’re talking to Gen Xers (and even some older Gen Yers/Millennials) who don’t have kids, their priorities, their interests, and their disposable income will all be greatly impacted if they’re not subject to the iron grip of Hannah Montana.

MORE ELYSE KEATONS, FEWER PEGGY BUNDYS: What’s your idea of a breadwinning head of the household? Is he a cranky middle manager like Jack Arnold? Is he generously affluent like Phillip Drummond? Is he even a “he”? PSYCH! With women increasingly outlearning and outearning their husbands, many households are reversing traditional gender roles. Our creative briefs frequently refer to the multi-dimensional mom who’s bodaciously juggling kids, work, household chores, and her own interests, but how much does that description change if we add “And, she’s the primary source of household income”? Suddenly, she’s not the overstretched “supermom” who needs a break and a pat on the back; instead, she’s driven, focused on the big picture, and, while perhaps short on time, knows exactly what she wants from marketers. We could even say she’s most triumphant.

Obviously, these are different folks (with diff’rent strokes), so we’re not saying you should be targeting all of these household types at once. In fact, we’re saying the opposite: divvying up your demographics can take your targeting to the max! When your target is Jessica the Gen Xer, ask whether your campaign also resonates with her intentionally-childless friend and her neighbor whose father has moved in. You may find your marketing taking a radically different approach.

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What the Web Will Be Like with Facebook’s “Like”

If you’d prefer a text-only version, keep reading below. And if you like the post, be sure to “Like” it!

WHAT THE WEB WILL BE LIKE WITH FACEBOOK’S “LIKE”

You’re going to like it.

A whole lot of people spent last week freaking out about Facebook’s new “instant personalization” features. Most of these freakouts came from users panicking about the privacy implications of Facebook sharing their (public) information with third party sites. A smaller percentage of these freakouts came from analysts realizing that as soon as users understand the benefits of instant personalization, we’re all about to start using the internet in a completely novel way.

Marketers, start listening to this second group, because Facebook is on the verge of something big. Let’s look a little deeper, shall we?

By now, most of us are familiar with the concept of “liking” (formerly “fanning”) something on Facebook. You can “like” public figures like Louis CK or hobbies such as bowling. You can “like” brands like Corona or marketing powerhouses like Upshot. And you can “like” important causes like saving the environment or completely banal things such as not being on fire (quite a bold statement!). When you choose to “like” any of these things, you also notify your Facebook network, so “liking” Nickelback will broadcast your (inexplicably awful) taste to your peers (and probably explain why they’ve stopped talking to you).

But, there’s more to that news stream than just the things you’ve “liked” within Facebook. With the arrival of Facebook Connect (which we covered in a prior Potty Posting), other sites can broadcast your tastes back to Facebook, so your peers can learn that you gave Paris Hilton’s The Hottie and the Nottie a 10/10 on Netflix. (Have I introduced you to the aforementioned Nickelback guy? You two would really hit it off.)

These features have enabled Facebook to become the king of social media (with 400 million members, and growing), but most of this information heads in one direction. Users declare that they “like” something, and it ends up in their news stream on Facebook.com, along with photos, and videos, Farmville triumphs, and… you get the idea. It gets lost in the clutter, rather than forming a piece of a larger profile about our tastes and preferences.

But what if things were different? What if that one-way exchange turned into a loop? What if “liking” The Hopleaf meant that when I visit Yelp, the site would prioritize a recommendation for another craft brew mecca like The Map Room? What if “liking” both of those bars meant that when I visit a travel website, I would be directed to a page that tells me the best bars for craft beer across the United States? And, if I “liked” those bars… well, hopefully Facebook would steer me to a health spa, since I’d be in need of some serious detoxification by then.

But setting aside my personal problems, don’t you think that this scenario would be a better internet experience for everyone?

It would. And that’s what “instant personalization” is all about: personalizing sites around the web according to your interests and the recommendations of your Facebook network. That little “like” button is the key. The like button can now be added to any page on the web, allowing Facebook to harness what you “like” on any site (for example, you can now “like” any of the articles on theawesomeblog.net). Then, Facebook shares this data with trusted partners to personalize your experience on their sites. For instance, the streaming music site Pandora can now analyze all the bands you’ve “liked” in order to create a playlist customized to your tastes. Pandora, in turn, can share this information with concert listing sites like SonicLiving and let you know if any bands you “like” are coming to town. In other words, all the websites you are visiting have become instantly personalized.

For marketers, this is big news. Our customers want personalized, customized, relevant interactions with our brands, which have been relatively tough to deliver. But, our consumers are about to start telling us a lot about their interests, and we will have the opportunity to deliver targeted, valuable messaging in an absolutely unprecedented manner. For our clients, the future could look something like these (purely speculative) examples:

• If someone generally “likes” online recipes that are healthy and can be prepared in under 30 minutes, Kraft can prioritize these recipes when this person visits kraftrecipes.com or uses the iFood Assistant.
• If a business traveler “likes” college sports stories, Gogo Inflight Internet can deliver messaging on their portal page that reminds this person to keep up on his or her favorite teams while in the air.
• If a Disney Vacation Club member “likes” the outdoors, DVC can emphasize their resorts that feature more natural surroundings.

We could continue with similar hypotheticals for each of our brands, but so could you. And that’s the point. If there was one overarching takeaway from this year’s SXSW Interactive conference, it was the willingness for these tech companies to let marketers get under their hoods. The Facebooks of the world are creating technology solutions without really knowing which problems they can solve, while we have expert insights into our consumers’ needs and wants. Someone turn on the Barry White, ‘cause this is a marketing marriage that needs to be consummated! We’ve seen it happening with Foursquare, we’ve heard Twitter calling for it, and now, Facebook will be on the prowl for partners who can imagine the potential of “the social graph.” It’s not about determining which service is “the hot one” and jumping on the bandwagon; it’s figuring out which service has the data that can be harnessed for deep, meaningful customer interactions. We “like” what we’re seeing.

the hotspot for haute thought is the pot at upshot

We’ve got a new Potty Posting available for your reading pleasure! We take a look at location-based social networks like Foursquare and suss out whether there are fruitful marketing opportunities.

Spoiler alert: there are.

Click here for the full-color PDF, and please feel free to share with clients!

Or, if you’d prefer the text only version, continue reading below.

Here and Now (with Foursquare)

We know, we know. You just congratulated yourself after successfully introducing your clients to Twitter, but as you headed for the door, they causally asked, “By the way, what’s this Foursquare thing?” Yup, we’ve got a new tech du jour. With over a million check-ins per week, and everyone from Bravo to Harvard jumping on board, you’d better learn how to play nice with Foursquare.

Let’s say you found yourself at, oh, I don’t know, the Holiday Inn’s Cityscape bar. If you “checked in” using the Foursquare mobile app, your friends would be updated with your current location and could choose to join (or avoid?) you. You could also feed your check-in to Facebook and Twitter, which is far easier than climbing on the rooftop and screaming, “Hey! Everyone! Look at me!”

Oh, by the way, you just started playing a game. For every venue, Foursquare crowns the most frequent visitor as “Mayor” (we’ll let you make your own assumption about who’s “running” Cityscape). If the bragging rights aren’t enough motivation, a number of establishments have started offering discounts (or free drinks) to whoever “earns” their Foursquare mayorship. Got your attention now, didn’t we? Wait, where are you going? Get back here!

Oh, by the way, you’re also living inside a user-generated recommendation engine. For each check-in, Foursquare encourages you to offer tips, which are essentially brief reviews or recommended things to do at a given location (such as “bankrupt the bar via their frequent wine drinker card”). Foursquare offers links to Yelp reviews as well, in case you want more in-depth information.

Oh, by the way, you’re also competing against the entire Foursquare community. Each check-in generates points (with bonuses for trying new places, traveling longer distances, etc.), and Foursquare maintains a weekly leaderboard, despite Foursquare’s acknowledgment that they don’t know what they’re doing with it just yet. (However, they recently got Pepsi to contribute to CampInteractive for every point added during a specified week.) Plus, you can acquire “badges” based on different activities; for instance, check in to three bars with photobooths and you’ll get the “Photogenic” badge. (More on these in a second.)

But before we go any further, let’s address the two questions that are driving you crazy right now. First, isn’t this an insane violation of privacy? Insane, maybe, but not violating. The service doesn’t “track” your whereabouts; you choose to check-in (or not) at any given location. (As always, the best way to learn about – and stop fearing – these services is to sign up and experience them for yourself.) Second, is Foursquare more likely to be the next Twitter or the next Second Life? Actually, the prospects look pretty good. Someone is going to crack the code on real-time location, whether it’s Foursquare or Loopt, or Google Latitude, or Gowalla, or a site that’s bound to pop up tomorrow. (Foursquare just happens to have a head start.) Sure, these services are a bit invasive and self-absorbed, but they’re also easy to use, addictive, and admittedly kinda fun. Better yet, they use technology to get people off of the couch and interacting in real life, even if these folks are staring at their phones half the time. Still, this isn’t for everyone, and never will be. After all, it took your mom this long to get on Facebook, and that site doesn’t even reveal your location… yet.

Now, the million-dollar question: should marketers play ball with Foursquare? Actually, it’s not much of a question, ‘cause it’s already happening. We’ve got a boatload of examples on The Awesome Blog, but essentially, it’s all about the badges. For instance, Explore Chicago created a number of badges to encourage people to check out the city; their On Location badge lets you trace the trajectories of famous Chicago-based movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, High Fidelity, and Blago Goes to Jail. (Wait, scratch that last one.) What’s the benefit of earning a Foursquare badge? About the same as earning one in Cub Scouts: impressing your circle of fellow dorks. But, we’ve previously noted that peer recognition can be an effective form of currency, so that’s not something to trivialize. For instance, if Corona created a badge highlighting the five most laid-back bars in a given city, consumers would probably be proud to display that to their friends. (Say, that’s a good idea!) Such badges work two-fold; on the one hand, it’s essentially free schwag for the consumer’s participation in a fun game. Plus, Corona looks like a Hometown Hero by highlighting some lesser-known spots in a consumer’s neighborhood.

Admittedly, though, the best is yet to come. We’ve corralled a number of emerging applications of these technologies on The Awesome Blog, as well as some hints about what the future holds. For now, at least you can say that you’re completely caught up on the latest in every social networking platf– wait, what the hell is Google Buzz?

Check out who’s checking in at theawesomeblog.net?