Katie Perry

Google Buzz,  the Boss and a lesson for brands as social media and CRM collide.

A couple of months back I came across a Facebook ad and clicked on it. It was for a $6 dollar T-shirt emblazoned with Bruce Springsteen’s head that said “The Only Boss I Listen To.” Obviously, I had to have it.

I made my way to the checkout found that the $8 shipping cost was more than the product, as the only option for delivery was UPS.  I ordered it anyway. A few days passed.

Curious as to where my awesome shirt was, I shot an email to the vendor, 6 Dollar Shirts, asking what was up. Two days later I received a response. Turns out, my order was processed on Dec. 26 – but was not actually shipped until Jan. 6 (12 days later). Oh, and it was sent via USPS. Wait a minute… I followed up again and asked what my adjusted shipping charge would be, given that it was clearly not shipped by UPS.

No response. I finally got my shirt on Jan. 8. No one ever got back to me on the adjusted shipping rate. I didn’t press the issue because frankly, I didn’t want to waste any more time on a few bucks. I was just happy to have my sweet Springsteen t-shirt.  End of story? Nope.

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Mayor Bloomberg tweets alongside Twitter creator Jack Dorsey (image by davidall via Flickr)

Social marketing programs have proven their worth in driving sales (@DellOutlet), building loyalty (Coca-Cola’s Facebook page) and improving customer service (@comcastcares) – but in the throes of a complex political campaign, what is the worth of social engagement?

If done right, it just might be the difference between victory and defeat.

The evidence? Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral campaign, in which he won by just over 50,000 votes. Jonah Seiger (@jonahseiger), Chief Online Strategist for Bloomberg ’09 and Managing Partner at Connections Media LLC, shared the social strategies that ultimately bolstered the then-incumbent’s road to re-reelection at a Tuesday Social Media Week event hosted by ClickZ and the Personal Democracy Forum.

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Last week Twitter announced plans to roll out one its much-anticipated “business-specific features” for businesses currently using the platform to connect with consumers, drive sales, provide real-time customer service and more. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our comprehensive Twitter guide for marketers.

The feature, simply called “Contributors,” is now being tested in a limited beta state and will enable businesses using Twitter to attribute tweets to specific personalities within the organization. According to Twitter, the goal of the feature is to allow users to engage in “more authentic conversations” with brands by granting individual credit to tweets from a generic business handle (such as @wholefoods, @dunkindonuts or even @360i.)

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It’s an app world, and we’re just living it. Last month, Apple announced its two billionth application download. More proof of the surging interest: Apple doubled its number of downloads in about half the time it took to hit the one billion mark.

Apple’s advertising claims that there’s an app for everything. In fact, the world’s more than 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch users can now choose from more than 85,000 apps available in the App Store. But with such a crowded playing field, it’s hard to stand out. What ultimately determines the success of an app?

To find out, we looked at some of the hottest branded apps – those garnering substantial buzz in terms of downloads, ratings or pure word of mouth hype – and noted some common features that make them so effective.

1. Value – Does it enhance consumer experience with the brand?
2. Innovation – Is it unique in terms of creativity or functionality?
3. Purpose – Does it solve or address a specific challenge? Or, if the objective is to entertain, does it hit the mark?
4. Cool Factor – Would someone tell a friend about it, or tweet about it?

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Picfog’s live Twitter image results for “Entourage” showed how fans interacted with the popular HBO show during the season premiere.

Picfog is a real-time image search engine that displays photos uploaded to Twitter as a visual stream. Here’s how it works: Searching a keyword on Picfog will create a live stream of tweeted photographs mentioning that topic. You can also browse the most tweeted photo topics in the “Breaking Now” list. The tool is most powerful when it comes to tracking live events, for example the blaze that engulfed an office building in London’s Soho neighborhood on Friday, last Sunday’s Mets game or the season premiere of “Entourage” on HBO.

Using Picfog adds another layer to conversation monitoring on Twitter. Using Twitter’s simple search tool can yield interesting insights into what people are saying about a topic – but Picfog takes this a step further, allowing you to see how people are interacting with an event as it happens.

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If cats can tweet, why can’t taps? We created an apparatus that tweets each time a beer is poured – and reminds you when it’s time to refill the keg.

This is the story of a tap, who – by the grace of technology – has finally been granted a voice. For centuries he has been humankind’s silent servant, swiftly and adeptly fulfilling our need for cold, frothy refreshment. But no more. We set out to devise a digital bartender of sorts – a tweeting tap that would amuse us with his witty banter, let us know when the keg was getting low and remind visitors to tip their bartender…

At approximately 4 p.m. on May 19, @TweetingBar uttered his first words – and the world will never be the same.

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Dunkin Donuts delivers a location-based ad through digital map provider NAVTEQ (via Flickr).

This week, 360i welcomed a panel of guest speakers as part of its Innovation Learning Academy, a series of lectures and training sessions that help educate employees about emerging trends in digital marketing space. David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy, moderated a discussion on location-based advertising – an area that’s poised to be “the next big advertising trend,” according to Mediaweek.

Guest speakers included:

• Scott Dunlap, CEO of NearbyNow
• Shafiq Sharrif, Director of Advertising Products at Whrrl
• Danny Reinert, Director of Interactive Advertising Sales at NAVTEQ
• Mike Burke, Emerging Business Group at Google

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