At last week’s Social Consumer seminar in New York, a fascinating case study was presented by Rich Keller, Global Business Director Marketing Innovation at Godiva Chocolatier. 

As we approach the end of 2009, it’s no secret that many brands and organizations are beginning to effectively harness the power of social networks to effectively interact and engage with consumers but Godiva is a great example of an organization that’s taken things a step further.  Rich’s case study illuminated how Godiva used their three-year old Godiva Chocolate Talk online community of 600 chocolate lovers to guide product development and marketing of their successful “Gems” line extension.  Beyond benefits including effective product development and a stellar launch, this community also proves to consumers that they really do matter and that the company is really listening.  – This is a win, win, win, win.

According to Keller, the “Gems” case study begins with the economic meltdown that cut significantly into sales of a luxury item like Godiva chocolate.  In this environment, it was incumbent upon the brand the figure out new ways to retain (or even grow) marketshare.  With a decision to move from mall/specialty stores directly into plain jane supermarkets, Godiva called on its community of core constituents to ensure that the transition didn’t tarnish the brand.

Community members weighed in on the product itself, its name, packaging and pricing.  The company was able to significantly accelerate its “innovation cycle,” save the cost of engaging a naming company, and coordinate expedited consumer research leading to a new hit product. 

The process was sort of summed up as using social media “as a feed into innovation.”  Not placing it in a silo but making it an integrated part of their business. This is a path we’ll see more and more companies taking in the months and years ahead.

 

 

Last week I attended a media preview for a new exhibit at The American Museum of Natural History. This fact alone isn’t unusual, museums often have media openings. This particular preview was different, though.

 

The exhibit preview of Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World was a bloggers preview and photography and cell phones were welcome.

 

Make no mistake about it, even without the Web 2.0 accoutrements, this is one cool exhibit. Interactive elements like stampable “passports,” live silk worms, and tear-sheet recipes are great touches. And, at the very center of the exhibit, you can dig into a map that will never let you get lost- a shiny, new smart map. By simply touching brass button replicas surrounding a flat World map, the Silk Road comes right to life, highlighting the ancient trade route and adding the same facts you can score from a book, but in a more digitally digestible way.

 

The crowning achievement, however, is the use of sharing in this exhibit. Besides welcoming bloggers to Twitter and Tumblr their thoughts, the museum provided two laptops, perched on café tables near the exit. Before leaving, travelers are encouraged to share their experience with friends via the exhibit website. In just a matter of clicks, your first impressions are public domain via Gmail, AIM, Wordpress, Facebook, Digg, and a variety of other social sharing sites. Beats waiting for a newspaper review to publish.

 

AMNH also presented attendees with an info pack suggesting a Twitter hashtag, #AMNH, a few blog tag suggestions for SEO, and even direct information links. They've asked fans to spread the word- and made it accessible for them to do so. How's that for digital curating? 

 

So, if you have a chance, stop by Traveling the Silk Road and tweet your thoughts as you approach the gift shop.  Oh, and take lots a photos, too.

Photo Credit : Chris Farina - Top Rank (no other credit allowed) copyright 2009  

I am a huge boxing fan - I know when fights have been set up, when my favorite boxers are in the news, what the odds are in sports betting, and the list goes on and on. How do I find out my information? Good ol' Facebook and my favorite social tool, Twitter.

There's a big fight going on tomorrow, the 14th - Firepower: Manny Pacquiao v Miguel Cotto. I'm sure you've heard of it through traditional media, your friends, or through various Social Media platforms. Top Rank (Twitter handle: @trboxing; Tumblr: http://trboxing.tumblr.com/; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/trboxing) is the promoter for both fighters. They've done a great job in building their brand in social networks and, not to mention, getting fans pumped up for the main event. They provide exclusive content for their fans and recently launched a contest to increase the number of followers. For every 50th Twitter follower, Top Rank selected a random follower to win an autographed poster of the two fighters and a qualification for the grand prize: an autographed glove, tickets to watch the fight "Closed Circuit" and a chance to meet the two fighters.

I think Top Rank executed their campaign well, and they even had a creative way to select the winner of the grand prize. I won't give it away - check it out: http://bit.ly/1Vr5kS 

Another way to keep fans tuned in on the events leading up to the main event was the use of the hashtag #firepower. The most recent event was the Press Conference on November 11th. For those who could not watch it live, in-person or while viewing it on hbo.com/boxing, people on Twitter could search for #firepower and get the latest news as it happened (I'll admit, I was contributing too). I'm sure people will continue to use the hashtag for today's weigh-in at 6pm ET and continue it during and after the fight.

So who are you betting on?

To add to a recent streak of policy changes and feed edits, Facebook has updated their guidelines to restrict all promotions to just two locations on the popular networking site: a specified applications box in a pages tab, or on the canvas page of an application.

What does this mean for marketers?
Because this limits promotions to third party applications, all contests of this kind must now be approved by Facebook at least seven days in advance. Plus, the viral nature that made Facebook such an effective marketing tool, user to user notices, will now be limited to invites. If a user doesn't opt-in on an invite, any and all information is lost in the abyss. Even for users that do opt-in, updates will be sent via email, not published on their wall. Additionally, mom-and-pops without the big bucks to create third party apps will seriously miss out on Facebook promotions.

What does this mean for users?
Because most activity will be privatized, users who've grown tired of cow-milking Farmville feeds can rejoice. By limiting promotions to these application guidelines, Facebook is effectively removing all promotion notifications from the Wall. Contests requesting fans to upload photos, videos, or make status updates are now forbidden, as are promotions that require purchase or participation in a "lengthy task." Plus, users will have to opt-in to any promotions, regardless of location, before their experience is interrupted by them.

Of course, there's no restriction for companies who chose to link to an off-site promotion via banner or widget. However, the viral quick-click style of yesteryear applications is gone. Will further limitations push for custom promotional apps in other mediums? Will this encourage developers to create more contests in mobile app form? 

See full list of guidelines and restrictions at www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines