Marc-eting 101: User-Generated Content

We sat down with our CEO Marc Sampogna to talk about the latest trends in marketing and branding. This month we asked him the following questions, “Recently, we’ve noticed a lot of brands sharing user-generated content across their digital channels. What is the most effective example of this that you’ve seen? What do you think are the benefits of having consumers create and share content for brands that they love?”

There’s no doubt that user-generated content is extremely effective for brands to market their products or services. It provides content to populate the brands digital platforms and allows them to build brand loyalty by fostering unique experiences for their customers, both digitally and in real life.

We all remember the Doritos activation, “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, which yielded thousands of submissions, all culminating with the winner’s spot airing during the big game. While that’s certainly a very effective and memorable one, there are others that I believe have a longer tail.

Take Jones Soda — they literally place consumer photos and stories on their labels to celebrate the quirky nature of the brand and those who enjoy it. They’ve been doing this for years, and others have followed in different shapes and forms. Such as Twisted Tea, and even Coke for that matter, taking it to another level with their custom shareable cans campaign. And who can forget Mt Dew’s Democracy, where they asked consumers to design the packaging for their latest flavor or Starbucks’ MyStarbucksIdea.com, where consumers share and vote on the coolest idea that they think Starbucks should integrate into their stores. My favorite was coffee flavored ice cubes — avoids the watering down of your ice coffee with regular ice cubes. Simple, yet genius.

No matter how you slice it, brands will always benefit from empowering their consumers to participate in their story. Whether it’s designing it, naming it, or sharing how you enjoy it, we just want to be a part of it. This results in broader exposure for the brand, as well as newfound perspective on exactly how they’re audiences experience their products and engage their brand. So, I certainly believe that brands will continue to embrace the “power to the people” approach, and find new and unique ways to do so.

Round Up: The Best of April Fools

April Fool’s is one of our favorite times of the year. We like to play a few pranks in the office, but what we really look forward to is the creativity this day sparks within brands. Here’s a rundown of some of our favorites from this year:

Each year we anticipate what Google’s April Fool’s joke will be. This year Google Maps turned into a game of Pac-Man. They also launched ‘com.google’ which mirrored all search results.

Samsung announced it’s supposed newest accessory- the Galaxy Blade Edge, “the world’s first smart knife with smartphone capabilities”.

Amazon went back in time by redesigning it’s site to look like it did in 1999.

Groupon created its own version of Uber in “Grøüber”, a transportation service with cat drivers.

Netflix released a series of binge watching warning PSA’s that showed up if you streamed more than two episodes in a row of any show. They featured stars from some of Netflix’s most binge-worthy shows, including actress Taylor Schilling, the lead on The Netflix original ‘Orange is the New Black.’

What Sparks Our Fire: Some of our favorite brands, channeling their creativity to poke fun at themselves.

The New Age Of the Millennial

Over the past few years, brands have made huge investments to target the tech-saavy, authenticity craving, youthful millennial audience. But what’s up next for one of our favorite target audiences?

A new study published by Google and Millward Brown Digital brings to light the changing nature of Business to Business marketing. By mirroring a study published in 2012, this study (which was conducted in 2014) was able to capture the B2B decision making landscape two years later.

One of the most notable changes captured in the study is the demographic shift of decision makers and influencers. Almost half of those researching and making decisions are now between 18 and 34 years old. With an astounding 81% of non C-suiters now having a say in the decision making process, millennials’ influence will only increase as their presence increases in the workplace.

The study also uncovered the changing process in which information is being found by purchasers. While online search continues to be the purchaser’s #1 resource, what the purchaser is searching for is changing. In 2014, 71% of purchasers searched with a generic query. Researchers and decision makers are now learning more about B2B products and services before learning about the associated brands. This poses new challenges for B2B brands, requiring them to market their products in new ways before the researcher even reaches their website.

Based on these trends, there are two important considerations that B2B brands should be making when marketing their products. First, millennials are driving the adoption of mobile as a space to search for their B2B needs. Brands must begin to consider their mobile presence and it’s appeal to the millennials who are increasingly conducting their research on mobile. The second consideration is the increasing value of video. According to the study, “seventy percent of B2B buyers and researchers are watching videos throughout their path to purchase.” With that many influencers watching videos, it’s important for B2B brands to understand the value that their videos bring to them.

Read the study here.

What Sparks Our Fire: The need to redefine marketing tactics and strategies to reach the maturing millennial audience.

International Women’s Day Wrap Up

This past Sunday, International Women’s Day marked the beginning of Women’s History Month 2015. We’re continuing the celebration by sharing some of our favorite ways that brands honored the event with powerful messages.

Microsoft created a video where young girls interested in science and technology talked about the challenges they face, even at 10 years old. The girls then received letters from Microsoft, encouraging them to keep working hard in these areas, despite their challenges. Microsoft celebrates International Women’s Day by using it as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of encouraging female talent from a young age, especially in the STEM areas that are traditionally male-dominated.

For a few days this week, British communications agency Adam&eveDDB has changed their name to Eve&adamDDB. This symbolic change emphasizes the brand’s commitment to the principals of “Leaning In” by giving the female name top billing. While the change is not permanent, it signifies the brand’s intention to have a reputation as company that celebrates women and helps them get to the top.

Always debuted a new video from their #LikeaGirl campaign, where girls talk about the various activities they excel at, “like a girl.” By helping to change the phrase from an insult to a confidence-booster, Always’ new video makes an emotional appeal to celebrate what women are capable of.

What Sparks our Fire: Brands celebrating women in powerful ways on International Women’s Day

How to Start a Fire

Brought to you by Canopy Brand Group

Category Archives: Web

Round Up: The Best of April Fools

The New Age Of the Millennial

International Women’s Day Wrap Up