Author Archives: Amy Johnston

M&S introduce ‘green’ receipts, why not go one step further?

7
Posted by Amy Johnston on April 15, 2009 – 12:25 pm
Filed under General, Word of Mouth

I’ve just read an article in the Guardian about Marks and Spencer introducing a new, more environmentally friendly receipt using “thinner paper and 8% less pulp.”

On the surface, this sounds like a great step forward and I think M&S should be applauded for their efforts to be environmentally sound (their Plan A campaign is brilliant). However, as a cynic - one who has worked in the retail sector - I’m a bit dubious.

Is it the law for retailers to provide a receipt? I didn’t think so - if you go to a small shop or market stall you don’t get one.

Surely, if the large retailers asked each customer if they required a receipt, they would cut the number the needed printing in the first place by hundreds of thousands. I personally have about 15 receipts gathering at the bottom of my bag from lunches, drinks etc that I will inevitably bin when I have the motivation to clear out my handbag.

The supermarkets have been under a lot of pressure to cut carrier bag use, and as such have taken steps to remove them from the tills. People have to ask for bags now and this has seen numbers drop dramatically.

Could they not operate the same policy with receipts? The article says they use a lot of paper for receipts – so surely any savings would be good for the environment and for their profits? It would be interesting to find out if this is possible, and if so, why more retailers aren’t doing it.

Interactive Easter egg hunt

0
Posted by Amy Johnston on April 15, 2009 – 10:08 am
Filed under Consumer Social Media, General

I stumbled across this video on You Tube today and think it’s quite a cool idea! From what I can tell, this is just something someone’s created at home for a bit of fun. It has had over 200,000 views though! It’s a simple but fun use of social media – even though the girl is slightly irritating (sorry)!

It got me thinking about ways in which brands could utilise this kind of thing. Maybe they could do a similar thing but use an even more interactive medium like Kyte to allow people to ask questions and choose where to look in real time.

Has this been done before by any brands? Be interesting to see how it worked!

When facebook goes too far…

4
Posted by Amy Johnston on April 8, 2009 – 8:58 am
Filed under General

Well, I opened my facebook this morning to see an invite to a new event. I thought it might be a girlie night out or someone’s birthday. No. It was an invitation to a wedding. Someone who I’ve not spoken to or seen since I finished high school almost nine years ago has invited me to their wedding via facebook.

Now I love facebook and the way you can stay in touch with your friends, nosey at photos and easily invite your friends to parties with the click of a button, but surely this is too far.

Firstly, I suppose it brings up the old social media debate of ‘who is a real friend’ online? I have nothing against this guy, but we weren’t even close mates at school – let alone nine years on.

Secondly, since when did facebook become an acceptable way to mass invite people to attend the most special day of your life? Will he even recognise half the people at his wedding?

The event page wall is full of comments like ‘would love to mate but on a course’ and ‘nice 2 ere from u mate, soz can’t make it.’ Is this really a fitting rsvp for someone’s wedding?! Am I being old fashioned or is this the future?

Maybe it’s my fault for accepting the friend request in the first place. This has definitely made me think it’s time for a facebook friend cull. And when it’s my turn to get married, I’ll be sticking to hard copy invites in the post.

How to create a successful social media campaign

1
Posted by Amy Johnston on April 7, 2009 – 12:40 pm
Filed under Consumer Social Media, Public Relations, Word of Mouth

Conversations about brands are already happening, whether they like it or not. Brands can’t control their marketing and PR message the way they used to.

Consumers are in control and have an incredible power over a brand. Some companies are still scared about this, but it can be used to their advantage. By engaging with these consumers, brands can become involved in the conversation and built customer loyalty in a completely new way.

As social media gathers more momentum, marketers are integrating social media tools and using tools like blogs, social communities, forums, video content on You Tube and photo galleries on Flikr to add impact to their offering.

This means people can not only find out information about products, brands and services, but become part of the process. When it comes to building a community or outreaching to bloggers - an individual approach is key. You cannot generalise or use a blanket approach.

You must know your audience and this takes time. The space must be fully evaluated and the tools your audience uses, the things they talk about and the format they us must be noted. Only then can your offering be relevant and impactful.
For example, simply setting up a facebook group for a new brand or product is not enough. Social media (the clue’s in the title) is social. People love to talk about things they’re passionate about. If consumers are passionate about something, they’ll already be talking about it.

For example, Soap and Glory (who I’ve talked about before on this blog) have a facbook fan page with over 1,700 fans. This has been set up by consumers because they have passion for the brand.

Are Soap and Glory aware of this? It’s hard to say from the look of the page, there is a link to their website but that’s about the only clue. What is for sure is that they’re not using this tool to their advantage. There is hardly any content. No photos, no videos, no interaction or conversation with fans.

This strikes me as a wasted opportunity. Why not use the fan base as a research tool? Find out what they like about the brand, what new products they’d like to see. Or how about offering discounts and special offers?
The key to successful community building is responsiveness and personal engagement. Consumers want to see that Soap and Glory is a human organisation. If they engaged with their fans, they would increase their word of mouth online, have a direct line to their key audience and build a truly beneficial relationship with them.

Justifying social media spend

0
Posted by Amy Johnston on March 31, 2009 – 1:11 pm
Filed under Consumer Social Media

Just been reading my feeds (a little overdue admittedly) and saw a great post for Michael Litman about a presentation he saw at the Social Networking World Forum by Dirk Singer.

It’s all about justifying social media in these credit crunch times. I think it’s really interesting and a good way to get the point across to clients etc without all the hype and buzz words they don’t necessarily understand.

Justifying social media to internal clients

View more presentations from Dirk Singer.

Watchmen… great music, great film and great social media

2
Posted by Amy Johnston on March 11, 2009 – 3:28 pm
Filed under Consumer Social Media

I went to see Watchmen last night and really loved it. I didn’t know what to expect, not being a DC Comics fan I hadn’t heard the story, and I didn’t initially think it would be my kind of film, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a kind of cross between Sin City, Kill Bill and The Dark Knight.

The thing that impressed me most had to be the soundtrack. I absolutely loved it. The film uses a very Tarintino-style use of strange song choices to heighten the scenes and make the audience feel a bit confused or uncomfortable.

For example, the opening scene is a brutal and really violent fight sequence ending in someone being thrown out of a window. This is set to the beautiful ‘Unforgettable’ by Nat King Cole. To go from that to a montage of American history set to Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ has to be duly noted.

The characters were well developed and I genuinely cared for them (or was petrified of them in the case of Rorshack!)

There’s been a lot of hype about this film, mainly from DC Comic enthusiasts. The film’s online presence has been massive and really uniquely executed. I think their social media strategy has been fantastic. The main website links to a blog called ‘I watch the Watchmen’ which is totally interactive and a dream come true for fanatics (both social media and Watchmen).

There are a number of tools available including iPhone apps, a selection of character images so you can change your profile picture on your social networking sites, skins for blogs and websites, widgets, film clips that you can add yourself into and social bookmarking.

It’s great to see film companies and big-budget films using social media to engage with their audience and spread word of mouth online. I think these tactics will start to be used more and more often, which is great news because die-hard fans can totally immerse themselves in the film and feel part of the experience.

Comic Relief - Barry Islands in the Stream

0
Posted by Amy Johnston on March 6, 2009 – 4:56 pm
Filed under General

The Comic Relief song, Barry Islands in the Stream, has arrived. Full video as promised!

PR and Journalism - the same thing?

8
Posted by Amy Johnston on March 5, 2009 – 3:38 pm
Filed under General, Public Relations

My colleague Jed said today that journalists and PR people do the same job. This started some heated debate between Chris, Becca and I. We all totally disagreed with him and said the two professions were completely different.

Although they both utilise the same skills - writing, communication, relationships, storytelling - they are very different. Journalism is independent publishing with an aim to sell papers. PR is telling a story on behalf of a client in order to create a certain perception.

Wikipedia defines public relations as:

  • Public relations is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics.

And journalism as:

  • Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media.

I suppose it goes without saying that Jed’s statement has created some healthy debate on Twitter. What are your thoughts?

Soap and Glory Days

0
Posted by Amy Johnston on March 3, 2009 – 10:51 am
Filed under Consumer Social Media

I am a huge fan of Soap and Glory cosmetics and was delighted to see their products on 1/3 off at Boots at the moment. After splurging a ridiculous amount of money on goodies, I began thinking about the brand from a PR and social media point of view.

The brand has a bit of cult following and in my eyes is a more affordable version of Benefit (who coincidentally have just joined forces with GHD for a new combo package supported by a national ad campaign).

Soap and Glory’s presence online and in traditional consumer media is quite small - I did a quick Google search and only found a few pieces out there.

I would absolutely love the chance to work for a brand like this. I think there is so much potential to develop their presence online using social media tools in a quirky way that fit alongside their brand personality.

Social media is still a relatively untapped resource for cosmetic brands - so Soap and Glory could truly put themselves ahead of the curve by taking the opportunity now.

So Soap and Glory, if you’re listening, you know where I am ;)

Tic Tac recreate missed Liverpool goal for viral video

0
Posted by Amy Johnston on February 12, 2009 – 9:50 am
Filed under Consumer Social Media

Tic Tac have been quick off the mark and recreated the extra time winning goal Everton scored last week in the derby match against Liverpool, which millions of viewers missed due to a badly timed advert from the company.

Good example of a brand reacting to negative attention, and using social media to create some buzz.