Companies are using new technologies and social media channels to reinvent and revitalize proven marketing strategies.
• What are those new technologies?
• How can they revitalize your marketing plan?
• How do you measure results?
• Where do you start?
1. Presented by
Cheryl Cardon
Circus Strategic Communications Inc.
September 23, 2009
2. Companies are using new technologies and
social media channels to reinvent and
revitalize proven marketing strategies.
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3. What are those new technologies?
How can they revitalize your marketing plan?
How do you measure results?
Where do you start?
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4. Prior to the internet, the standard tools
available to a Marketing Director consisted of:
Print Media (newspapers, magazines)
Direct Mail (flyers, post cards, gift guides)
OOH (transit, billboards)
In Mall Signage
Radio / TV
PR
Events & promotions
These are all still available and valid.
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5. During the early years of the internet Centres
added
Web sites
eNewsletters
to their marketing “tool” kit. However, the internet
was still in its infancy and its full potential had yet to
be realized.
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6. The marketing universe as we
know it has shifted!
The communication universe has and will
continue to shift and shift at a rate that has
never been seen before.
Online communication options have swiftly
moved from a helpful tool to an essential
marketing tool.
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7. The understanding of, access to and investment in
online and social media programs needs to be a
high priority for all companies.
Marketing directors need to embrace it, understand
it and make it work to their advantage in order to
communicate with their customers and enhance
their marketing strategies, programs and events.
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8. Layering your marketing and advertising program
with an interactive online component enhances
and
extends the reach and impact of the media you
use.
It can provide you with direct access to your
customer...right where they live and work. Engage
them in a meaningful way and they will introduce
your brand & message to their social network.
This is the power of the internet.
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9. 1. Assess your website. Is it engaging? Is it share-worthy? If
not, then implement features that will encourage repeat
visits.
2. Get your social community up and running... but do it with
a clear plan and use the help of a social community
manager.
3. Add a simple online contest or poll to your website to add
an interactive element and to keep it fresh.
4. Ensure all contests, polls and emails have a share feature.
5. Layer your traditional media with an online media strategy.
6. Don’t forget emails! Html emails with live links are a great
way to stay connected with your customer.
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10. The following case studies range from an interactive
Enter to Win contest to a Bounce-back promotion.
The Centre added an online component to generate
greater impact, extend reach and tap into the social
network of their customer.
The results exceeded expectations in each case!
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11. Tactics engaged the customer in order to
generate ...
◦ an online visit(s)
◦ a viral response (share)
◦ an email address
◦ an introduction to the customer’s social
network
◦ a relationship (build loyalty)
◦ a centre visit/sale
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12. Direct Mail
Promoted back-to-school shopping and invited recipients to enter an exciting online contest
where entrants had to Make a Statement about shopping at the Centre.
Engaging Contest
1. Viral - Comments were immediately posted on a live gallery for viewing and sharing.
2. Voting - Individuals with most votes won a prize and went on to round 2.
3. In Mall – Finalists won a FLIP video camera and then had 3 hrs to record a message about the
Centre while in the Centre
4. YouTube – Videos were judged and the winner won the Grand Prize plus had their video
posted on the Centre website and linked to YouTube.
Results
Expanded reach and market penetration.
Multiple visits to website to access Back-to-School gallery – reinforce shopping message.
During voting period participants used their social networks to help generate votes.
Contestants promoted voting on Facebook and Twitter. ...and asked their contacts to “share”
with their networks.
The “buzz” was picked up by the local media. The contest was highlighted on the local radio
station’s Facebook and local radio personalities were “tweeting” about it.
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13. Scratch Card
Dispensed with each purchase. Each card featured a “secret locker combination”.
Customers were required to visit the new website to enter their locker combo to
see if it was a winning combination. All entries also qualified for a Grand Prize.
Interactive Fun
Lock spun before it either opened to announce the value of the Gift Card Won or a
message popped up to say “Sorry, Play Again” . To play again they were required
to visit the Centre to pick up another card.
Results/Benefits
Results varied between the 6 participating centres. All were significantly above
industry standards and one centre had a play rate of 64%!
Activity can be tracked on line (great research)
Customers were required to fill in a short form (emails were harvested and 2 -3
marketing questions were answered).
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14. PHASE 1
In Mall
Customers styled a mannequin using the latest fashions & accessories from a wide variety of retailers
in the Centre and then “describe their style”
A photo of the contestant, with their styled mannequin and their description was posted to a live
gallery using PARADE! Circus’ new event photo system (provides instant upload)
Instant upload meant they could text their friends right after their photo was taken to check out their
entry and invite them to come to the Centre to create their own stylin’ mannequin.
On Line
Contestants accessed the live gallery via the Centre website.
Share function built into the program facilitated sharing with family & friends.
Auto messaging promoted the contest, the Centre and a return visit to the site for phase 2 ... The
voting!
PHASE 2
Voting takes the message viral and deep into social networks, revitalizing the interest in the site and
extending the reach of the brand message as contestants contact family and friends and leverage
social media such as Facebook and twitter to garner votes.
Each VOTER was required to register before voting which enabled the Centre to generate an email list
for future communication.
RESULTS
Google the Centre name and promotion name and you will come with a page of links to the site ....
Contestants pleading for votes via Facebook and twitter. It even reached into the seat of the local
municipal government where a government official asked people to vote for his grand daughter!
One person put it on kijiji and promised to give their Gift Card to a children’s charity!!
WEB STATS: 6.5 million hits in 2.5 week period & 54,000 unique visitors....generated by 625 entries!
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15. Online
Visitors were invited to register and pick their “style” from a selection of style
options.
A rollover on each style provided a product description and a store name to
encourage a shopping visit.
Once registered, they received a voucher valued at $5 - $250 redeemable at the
Centre for a Gift Card in that amount.
All entries were winners. One entry per email address. Limited number of
vouchers were available... which generated a sense of urgency to play.
Winning a voucher prompted a return visit to the Centre.
Once all the vouchers had been dispensed entrants were advised that while they
could no longer instantly win they still qualified for the Grand Prize draw.
Share function built into the program facilitated sharing with friends & family.
Auto-messaging promoted the contest, the Centre and the stores.
Results
Hundreds of vouchers were dispensed in less than a week!
Advantage of an online program? – adding winning vouchers was simple. It also
allowed the Centre to monitor and ultimately extend the promotion.
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16. Keepsake photos are a great way to brand your Centre. Create an event that
includes a “memorable” moment for a child. Capture it in a photo or video and
your brand will find a permanent place in your customers’ home and heart. It
will also be shared with a wide network of friends & family.
Circus developed a new program that digitally captures an event, instantly
watermarks it with the brand message then emails it to the participant....within
minutes of the photo/video being taken. With a quick click individuals can
print, share or save their experience! The email contains information about the
Centre, upcoming events, links to sponsors, link to the Centre website and
more!
Sidewalk Sale – enhanced with photo op! 845 pictures & 464 videos over a 10
day period. 34% opted in to be contacted in the future! Website enjoyed
68,439 additional hits in 10 days!
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17. What are those new technologies?
Growing daily but the key ones today are:
Internet(email, web, incl. voting) social networking sites (Facebook, YouTube,Twitter) mobile
(texting, contest)
How can they revitalize your marketing plan?
They engage your customer, start a dialogue and open a door to their social network.
How do you measure results?
Email addresses harvested, number of participants in a contest, number of hits on a
website.... its up to you!
Analytic apps starting to emerge.
Where do you start?
Start with your website. Your online strategies will direct them to your website so
make it good! Then start looking for ways to layer on the new media options from
simple Enter to Wins and Polls to major promotions.
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18. Social networking sites are among the most frequently visited
websites on the Internet. How are you managing your social
network? Remember 1 image on 10 sites is better than 10 images
on one site.... when properly linked!
Women & Social Networking
According to a recent study by ShesConnected, 59% of women
surveyed said they visit social networking sites multiple times per
day. 83% belonged to Facebook, 73% to LinkedIn, 55%
were on Twitter and 41% on MySpace.
48% reported belonging to 4 or more social networks!
The reason for being on these sites?
79% said researching products & services
64% said finding deals and discounts
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19. Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to
174 million users by 2011. Texting promotions are now
simpler and less expensive to execute using third party services.
Twitter
Twitter reaches 27 million people per month in the U.S.
Quantcast.com (June 2009)
1% of the addicts contribute 35% of the visits Quantcast.com (June 2009)
com Score suggest that this micro blogging platform is right up
there with Facebook when it comes to attracting moms, dads,
grandparents and even great-grandparents! Their research shows
that the 45-54 age range are 36% more likely to visit Twitter and
that the majority of its users are aged 35 or over.
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20. Award winning advertising agency known
nationally
for excellence in retail communication and branding
Seasoned team with convergent disciplines in
business strategy, interactive design, print
advertising and emerging media
Dedicated to a consumer-centric approach.
Inhouse capabilities include creative designers,
graphic artists, writers, photographer & photo studio,
visual merchandiser, web specialists and social media
development & management.
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