Social Media Lessons from the NBA

We can all learn a lesson from the NBA. No, I don’t mean how to improve our jump shots. Instead, we can learn how to improve our social media strategy from an organization that has embraced the online conversation and sent it into overdrive for the NBA Finals. Those of us who follow pro-basketball tuned into TNT during the playoffs, and are now cheering (or cursing) at our HD screens while watching the Finals on ABC. We tune in to watch the Mavs vs. the Miami Heat “live” at prime time. However, the NBA has its own social media “team” to create conversations on social media for fans to get the play-by-play of the game without needing a ticket or having to turn on a TV. Continue reading

Tags: brand loyalty, CBD, facebook, Katie Whitmore, NBA social media, public relations, Social Media, social media marketing, Twitter

Live healthier with the new Mission App from Whole Foods

For all you foodie app junkies out there, and you know who you are! … check out the new “Mission App” from Whole Foods.

Hats Off to Whole Foods … this app is a really strong example of both mobile application and peer-to-peer communication … and another reason that my iPhone looks so used and beaten up. From a marketing point of view, apps like this one further elevate and extend the Whole Foods brand … certainly this app is a perfect manifestation of the Whole Foods mission.

The Mission App allows users to earn badges for taking steps toward various goals. There are more than 70 “missions” for you to choose from. Within each is a checklist of foods to eat, things to do, even movies to watch. All designed to educate and push you out of whatever rut you’re stuck in. When you successfully complete all of the requirements within a category you earn a badge. You can share your badges with friends via twitter, facebook or email.

Personally, I’m not going for any badges. For me, the usefulness is the Tips section … it offers more than 300 tips across nine subject matters: Cooking, Fresh & Frugal, Green Living, In the Store, Nutrition, Storage, Time Savers, Your Wellness and a kind of strange group called Worth a Try. I’ve found many of the tips to be helpful, especially those in Cooking and Storage.

Fun, succinct and social. Oh, and free! Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod.

Tags: brand loyalty, CBD, food, iPhone, Lori Colman, marketing, Mission App, Mobile Marketing, social media marketing, Whole Foods

Consumers and their supplements, part one

Europeans eat nutritious food. Americans pop pills. Or, that’s what some of my industry friends on the continent like to think. Are we really that bad? A quick fix for a bad diet?

I’ve been a supplement taker on and off for years, albeit randomly. Someone sneezes on the train, grab some Vitamin C. Have leg cramps, reach for the Calcium. I’m not sure what prompted a month of sipping noni juice – maybe I was feeling exotic.

I’ll be speaking this year at Focus on the Future , and wanted to “supplement” my company’s consumer food behavior survey with one on vitamins/minerals/herbals. What do people look for? Are they loyal to a brand? Are they faddists or do they swear by particular nutrients? And does anything worry them about taking supplements? Continue reading

Tags: brand loyalty, dietary supplements, differentiation, Lori Colman, transparency, www.focusonthefuture.net/2010

Connecting financial literacy and brand loyalty

I’m working on a hypothesis and need your help. 

The recent economic events prompted thoughts about the need for financial literacy programs. Large government agencies, education institutions and several well-meaning non-profit organizations all believe in the critical importance of financial education. 

That’s to be expected.  In fact, financial literacy is a topic that’s always been considered the responsibility of educators and government.

But fall 2008 changed everything.  Right along with the disappearance of 401K balances and low credit card APRs went brand loyalty and trust. Our thought is that one way to regain it is to reach out and help someone with their finances. Or at least understand their finances and payment options. 

Simply put, the hypothesis is that the new path to brand loyalty (which translates into purchase frequency) starts with a more financially astute customer. And that from retail to real estate, financial services to utilities, brands who engage customers on this issue will benefit greatly.

Thoughts? Please let us know.

Tags: APRs, brand loyalty, financial education, financial literacy, purchase frequency

Happiness in a bottle—the joys of rediscovering a comforting brand

My aunt and uncle had 13 children. Age-wise, I fit right into the middle of the bunch. As an only child, a visit to their home was an overload, yet a great place to learn to emulate the older kids. Of course, I coveted their “stuff” … from Neil Diamond albums to bottles of Saccharine tablets that we’d pop in our mouths to for the fizz and the oddly bitter-sweet taste.

Well, one of my cousins had a bottle of Jergens® lotion hidden away on a little shelf in the back of her closet that I’m sure she considered well concealed from her eight sisters and her nosy relative. Yeah, right.

Was it the sensation of sneaking a forbidden blop? Was it the feeling of silkiness on the hands of a 9-year old? The pleasing and clean cherry/almond fragrance? Anyway, in my book, only Jergens lotion and The Monkees achieved the status of “most desired and sought after” … couldn’t get enough of either at the time, but of through the years, I outgrew them both. Or so I thought.

Continue reading

Tags: brand discovery, brand loyalty, Jergens, The Monkees

The opportunity behind “Brand Attention Deficit Syndrome”

As CBD’s Director of Customer Engagement, I think a lot every day about the business implications of consumer beliefs and behaviors. Here’s something we all might want to think about.

80 million teens, tweens, and 20-somethings spent a record-high $200 billion in America last year. The challenge is that brand loyalty is virtually unheard of in these sectors. Companies continue to struggle to find a formula to engage these consumers in a way that will inspire brand preference.

If brand is irrelevant to our youngest consumers, we may be looking at a future of constant reinvention, a colorful and interesting parade of short term icons instead of true brands. This will challenge our entire way of thinking about branding and consumer communications. It’s a whole new land of opportunity.

Tags: brand, brand loyalty, brand preference, consumer, Customer Engagement, marketing, teens, tween