We have just A Free Digital Library of Mobile and Social Media Programs. Check out the article on Forbes http://ow.ly/1ZvQ0

We use MooseTracker, our mobile- and social-obsessed robot to hunt and gather the latest in digital strategy. We’ve been assembling these insights for 2 years – and now it's available for the public. Find out what’s new or discover what brands in your industry have already accomplished.

Search Our Database Of Over 600 Mobile & Social Case Studies - Tracker.Moosylvania.com

 

 

GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT! YOU HEARD IT HEAR FIRST!

The fifth installment of the XL Marketing Trends is now available and ready to be read and embraced by a person just like you. In a world of non-stop connectivity, word-of-mouth marketing is an incredibly important tool that can help your brand gain awareness quickly. People trust other people (not so much brands) so the more you can get people talking, the more they are willing to try something out. 

Request your free copy of this special report so you can discover:

1. Brands that have successfully developed WOM campaigns (online and offline)
2. Lessons learned from small and large brands with WOM initiatives 
3. How to grow WOM knowledge and start a successful WOM campaign.  

Read Full CBS Money Watch Article

 

We all make pitches every single day of our lives. From “Would you like fries with that?” to “Will you marry me?”, proposals permeate our lives.

If this is so common on a personal level, why isn’t everyone an expert at pitching new business on a professional level?

Obviously, it’s not that easy. Nothing in new business is black and white – you have to be flexible and adapt to the needs of each potential client. Pitching is an art that, once perfected, still doesn’t guarantee a win every time…but wouldn’t you rather know you couldn’t have done anything better than wonder what you did wrong?

Here’s a quick look at five naughty and nice behaviors to keep in mind when you’re on the pitcher’s mound.

Naughty List

1. Pursuing EVERY opportunity. Think about new business the way you think about marriage – are you compatible? Do you have what it takes to make a happy long-term commitment? If not, don’t waste the time and resources required for an effective pitch.
   
   
2. Telling clients they’re wrong. If we want clients to treat us as experts in our field, we need to treat them as experts in theirs. If they identify a problem, solve it. If they come to you not knowing the problem, figure it out and then solve it. Just don’t pretend to know more than they do about their day-to-day biz. That’s insulting.
   
   
3. Talking at them instead of to them. This isn’t lecture hall. If you bore them, what does that indicate about future working relationships? Keeping clients engaged and excited is half the battle.
   
   
4. Badmouthing the competition. This isn’t a mudslinging fight. Don’t even acknowledge the competition – you’re selling YOUR expertise and talent. Mentioning anyone else just takes focus away from that. Should the client bring up another agency, politely sidestep and move on.
   
   
5. Presenting every ounce of research you have. Presentations are your chance to shine. Highlight the research and insights you developed, but leave the fine print in the appendix. They’ll thank you.

 

Nice List

1. Treating clients like partners. It’s not always possible, but if the opportunity arises to use the client as an asset, do it. Absorb their insights, learn their biases and make them feel like part of the team.
   
   
2. Doing your homework. Sometimes clients provide you with insights and sometimes they don’t. Either way, take the time and make the investment in your own research. Look at the target demographic, evaluate competitive sets, test your creative – whatever is appropriate to your situation.
   
   
3. Presenting in an appropriate format. Know your audience and where you’ll be presenting. Do you need boards? An electronic presentation? Both? Neither? What about leave behinds? Should you bring thematic props to engage the client, or keep things more formal? Each pitch is different – adjust accordingly.
   
   
4. Keeping things interesting. We’ve all sat through awful presentations. Don’t inflict that on others. Present with passion, excitement and a sense of humor, and don’t read from a slide. Use visuals with big images and brief headlines to serve as a background for what you have to say.
   
   
5. Following up. After the presentation, send a thank-you to the client. This can be as elaborate or simple as you deem appropriate, but it’s important. Thank the client again for the opportunity and make sure they know you’re available should any questions arise. If they know you’re easy to work with, that’s just one more gold star by your name.

 

Some of our recent work was picked up by MediaPost's Marketing Daily. We crafted a brand identity for this new flavored rum and developed a strategic plan to create complementary messaging between online and offline platforms. So the activity people see in store drives them to Facebook and their phone, and their Facebook/mobile drives them to the store. It is a seamless campaign that uses each touchpoint/channel to enhance the other. 

Read the Full Article 

 

ST. LOUIS, (April 8, 2010) – Sapporo USA, producer of Sapporo, the #1 selling Asian beer in the U.S., has chosen Moosylvania, the digital, branding and promotion agency, from among six finalists to be its lead marketing partner for all strategic and creative initiatives in the U.S.

“Moosylvania came to the table with an understanding of our brand and the strategic thinking to get us where we need to be,” said Sage Ubukata, president, Sapporo USA. “We are sincerely excited to be working with the Moosylvania team and are looking forward to a wonderful future together.”

Moosylvania is charged with all marketing for the brand with the aim of increasing Sapporo’s market share in the U.S. beyond its current core base. To achieve this, Moosylvania plans to develop a new U.S. brand position supported by fully- integrated advertising and promotional campaigns that will launch nationally Q1 2011.

“We could not be happier to be working on such a special brand that has a genuinely distinct and fertile heritage, perfect for where the market is today,” said Gus Hattrich, president, Moosylvania.

“We are very excited to begin working with Sapporo USA,” said Nick Foppe, EVP of Account Service, Moosylvania. “It’s a great win and we are definitely looking forward to growing the brand in the U.S.”

About Sapporo USA
Sapporo USA (www.sapporousa.com) produces Sapporo, the #1 selling Asian beer in the U.S. It is part of Sapporo Holdings Limited, a Japanese holding company with an enterprise value of C$4.3 billion. The company manufactures alcohol products including Sapporo Draft Beer, Yebisu Beer and Draft One. The company distributes Yellow Tail and Beringer in Japan.

A company not active in social media will have a hard time addressing a crisis like HP did. During the peak of the holiday selling season, the social sphere was abuzz with links to a YouTube video, titled “HP Computers are Racist.” The genesis of the video was a motion detector on an HP Web cam that could not acknowledge a black face.

HP responded to negative posts at myriad social media sites within a few hours. It extinguished the flame with an apology, an explanation of the technology and the fact it was working on the glitch. “The fact that HP had a social media strategy balanced the Google search sphere at a critical time when people were shopping and comparing for their holiday purchase,” says Rodney Mason, CMO, Moosylvania <http://www.moosylvania.com/> .

It’s not hard to realize that HP avoided losing a lot of sales by taking action rather than standing by and letting the crisis smear company’s name.

Read Full Article

Interesting to see mobile was not mentioned in this article with all the early success CPG brands are finding with their mobile initiatives.
 
A Deloitte survey in November found 19% of Americans noting they would use their mobile devices for shopping during the holiday season. The number for 18 to 29 year olds was more than double at 39%.  Phones were reported to be used to find store locations, obtain coupons and sales information and research products and prices. One-quarter of all who planned to use their phones to shop reported they would make purchases on the devices.
 
Additionally, according to “User View Wave VII” from BIA/Kelsey and ConStat the overwhelming majority of US Internet users research online to find local products and services.
 
The most common online tool is search. Given smart phone penetration reaching almost 1/3 of all phones in the US, which will eclipse computers when it does, mobile search - especially Organic Search, alone is and should be an important "Shopper Marketing Tool."
 
Additionally, Gartner, a leading think tank for the technology industry recently forecast that within three years, world wide, smart phones will be the #1 way people access the web.
 
Right now consumers are picking up their e-mail and social media messages on their phones.  They’re using Google and search engines for more information on their phones too.  For many, mobile is the low cost entry to the internet vs. a computer and broadband service.
 
GPS, Bluetooth and other self-identifying, opt-in technologies already have the ability for one-to-one communication and are being used in “Shopper Marketing Programs” around the world, which should make mobile, at the very least, a tremendous and significant "Shopper Marketing Tool."
 
We cover the emerging trends changing the marketing landscape today and over the next 10 years.  Mobile is our top pick.  We also have a special on-line engine, The Moose Tracker, that is updated weekly with top mobile and social media programs from around the world.  All are available free on site under "Insights

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What if lower calorie brands used social media to educate students and their parental figures about the impact lower calorie drink options can make in improving their overall wellness now and down the road?

It could move advocates to action, create a movement and make for a valued "give-back" to society, so many consumers, (especially moms with kids in the home and Gen Y), and brands long for.

We cover the importance of giving back to appeal to both moms and Gen Y in special reports covering both important audiences, available free on our site under Insights.

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Moose was abuzz last week when a local TV crew showed up unannounced to interview Tyler Davis, one of our Account Coordinators. They were doing a story on PleaseRobMe.com, which you can check out here.

So after all the watercooler talk and feisty comments on KSDK's website, we invited Tyler to write a response...

My recent run in with KSDK as the “Potential Target” on their “Please Rob Me” story was rather eye opening. Not because I learned that they were able to track me down and find out where I worked. Rather I was more surprised at the lack of information they chose to report on social media sites such as Twitter and Foursquare. Instead, they focused on scare-tactics.

PleaseRobMe.com, which is basically a Twitter search for all Foursquare posts, states their goal is “. . . to raise some awareness on this issue [online privacy] and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc.”

Foursquare, the newest and emerging social media, allows consumers to check in at certain locations, ping it across their social networks and earn points in the meantime. (It’s a little more complicated than that but those are the basics). 

So because of Foursquare’s nature, KSDK reported that PleaseRobMe.com is “A new website [that] lets potential crooks know when you’re not at home.” However, as the website states, this is not the case. Rather it is an over exaggerated way to raise awareness.

I agree completely with PleaseRobMe.com’s mission and believe that in the social media world, you have to be aware of what information you offer up. You need to keep your personal information private. That’s why I don’t publish my address or phone number on my social networks. That’s also why, when KSDK showed up at Moosylvania with a microphone in my face, they were unable to clearly identify my correct home address.

Sure if you dig hard enough online, you can find public records with my address attached. But that doesn’t mean when I check in on Foursquare that my roommates aren’t home or my alarm isn’t set or my dog isn’t hungry for human flesh.

New to St. Louis, I personally joined Foursquare to learn more about the city. I am able to see where my friends have been or check in and invite them to join me. Truly, it’s an online network that allows me to be social. 

As a marketer on the other hand, I use social media to explore and understand how consumers interact with it. In fact, both Bravo TV and Pepsi have recently joined forces with Foursquare to offer up specific check-ins and badges to consumers. Having this knowledge and understanding emerging media makes me a better marketer.

Since the KSDK airing, I haven’t shied away from Foursquare. Rather, I’ve embraced it. As of right now, I’m the mayor of Moosylvania. (How many entry-level account coordinators can say they’re mayor of their company?)

I encourage everyone to check actually check out Foursquare. Hopefully, the KSDK article piqued your interest instead of scared you away. If you do want to learn more, I suggest starting with this article from Mashable or this one from AdAge. 
 

Our CMO talks about some of the challenges CPGs face agianst private lavels as a response to an Ad Age article. The article focuses on how and why CPG marketers vow to boost spending.

It has come to the point for CPGs, that the retailers they sell to have become their biggest competitors.

One thing CPGs have over private labels (at least for now) is reaching and engaging with customers on a personal level with big marketing budgets.

Read the full article here:

http://adage.com/article?article_id=142188