The New York Times published an article this week detailing the new social media marketing partnership developed between General Mills, and the immensely popular Facebook game, FarmVille, created by the Zynga Game Network.

The agreement between Zynga Game Network and Cascadian Farm, a General Mills subsidiary, allows users to plant an actual Cascadian Farms product – organic blueberries. The aim of the in-game crop branding is to increase awareness, as well as educate consumers about the benefits of switching to organic produce.

Cascadian Farm’s integration into FarmVille represents a unique step forward in both social media marketing and in-game advertising. The majority of social games have incorporated ads that takeover the entire game, or are custom games designed for the brand itself. In this situation, Cascadian Farm is opting for a more subtle approach, and is simply sponsoring a single crop within FarmVille. By becoming part of the game, rather than take over the game, they avoid harassing players with excessive advertising. They give the user the choice to “opt-in” on their own, and choose to plant their branded crops.

Users who choose to plant the Cascadian Farm Organic Blueberries will be rewarded with shorter harvest times and larger cash returns. By adding extra value to the crop, players have an extra incentive to plant the blueberries. This is a savvy marketing move on behalf of FarmVille. Adding the extra value to the crop increases the likelihood of a user planting it, this, in turn, increases Cascadian Farm brand name awareness.

Will the FarmVille product placement generate brand awareness for Cascadian Farm? I think so, but only because there is an extra incentive for users to choose to plant the Organic Blueberries. Can Cascadian Farm educate users about the benefits of choosing organic products? Potentially, but I don’t have high hopes for this effort. Users don’t want to be directed to another website while playing FarmVille; they want to focus on their crops, not leave and go elsewhere.

The partnership between Zynga and General Mills is reminiscent of deals negotiated in the mid 2000’s, when the virtual world of Second Life was at the height of its popularity.  Many real-world corporations couldn’t establish an in-game presence fast enough. Second Life, like FarmVille, allows users to play for free, but encourages citizens to purchase the in-world currency to enhance their ‘second lives’ by purchasing in-game items.

However, while brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and AOL were clamoring to be first to open a store or sell products to Second Life residents, the citizens of the virtual world weren’t all that enthusiastic about being treated as ATM machines.  They were less than enthused by the new corporate invaders. Pay a visit to many of the real world corporate presences in Second Life today and you’ll more than likely find an entirely new and unrelated building, or more commonly, vacant land.  Ruins of a failed brand experiment deleted long ago.

Perhaps the most important question in the Zynga and General Mills scenario is whether or not the brand awareness generated through this in-game advertising will translate to actual revenue for Cascadian Farm? While I do approve of the method, I don’t envision much success at the cash registers. FarmVille users are logging in for an escape; to tend their crops and have fun online. They’re not coming to learn about organic produce and green living. Besides, who’s to say that the grocery shoppers in the household are even logging on to FarmVille in the first place?

Because of the added incentives offered to the user for choosing Cascadian Farm’s Organic Blueberries, I think that Cascadian Farm’s foray into branded content within FarmVille has the potential to succeed at increasing brand awareness.  However, I don’t think that this integration will generate increased real-world sales and revenue.  There’s simply not enough to motivate the user to actually purchase the product in the stores. 

For the last year or two, we’ve had an interesting book club at Flightpath.  Every couple of months, we choose a book, order copies for whoever’s interested in reading it, then get together over lunch for a spirited discussion.

This time out (on my recommendation) we read Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Social Media personality Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee).  While one staffer said the writing was at a fourth grade level and Gary could come off as a tool, the general consensus was that it worthwhile reading.

Even though I’ve kicking around digital marketing since the mid-nineties, I found Gary’s straightforward ideas around choosing platforms – from Wordpress to Facebook to UStream – to be thoughtful, to-the-point and informative.  I also agreed with the premise that social media success requires commitment and hustle and took to heart the concept that real triumph is predicated upon truly engaging with a broad community of bloggers, tweeters, etc.

Much of the Flightpath team discussion revolved around the concepts of passion and authenticity (agreeing with Gary’s thesis that if you’re passionate about what you’re talking about, authenticity will shine through).  We added a third attribute to the pyramid – knowledge – arguing that together, these three traits make for a compelling online (and real-life) presence.

Recommended for anyone interested in growing the influence of a blog, video blogging or social media in general.   A quick, quality read.  If you have future book club recommendations, feel free to leave them in the comments.

There was lots of excitement about enhancing web design though CSS3, HTML 5, and Web Fonts at the An Event Apart conference in Boston last week. I’m just as pumped to use CSS3 drop shadows and gradients as the next designer. However the presentation “Learning to Love Humans” by Aarron Walter really got me thinking about where this focus on technology is all going.

Walter used Abraham Maslow’s popular 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, to parallel the four levels of human computer interaction. At the bottom of this pyramid we have a product that functions. Meaning it accurately behaves in the manner in which it was designed. One step up we have a reliable system that functions consistently and predictably.

Once these two basic requirements have been met, we have a usable product. Useable is the culinary equivalent of edible, and users now have developed acquired tastes. This is where most websites drop off. It is when we add a pleasurable experience on top of the usable layer that a user can ultimately develop a ”love” of a product.

You mean to say just adding gradients and drop shadows does not create “pleasurable” experience? Unfortunately the novelty has worn off, and we, as digital marketers, can no longer suffice to design user interfaces that are simply functional; rather, our designs must simultaneously facilitate a compelling emotional connection.

Walters brought up some great examples of humanizing the web experience. MailChimp uses their chimp spokesperson to shell out complements and random non-utility conversation with the user. A favorite of mine is “I kissed a chimp and liked it.” There is a whole Flickr following dedicated to these hilarious messages.

The easy+fast+fun form builder tool Wufoo uses bright colors to remind its users that form-building can be fun. Kevin Hale, of Wufoo, put it perfectly. “The inspiration for our color palette did come from our competitors. It was really depressing to see so much software designed to remind people they’re making databases in a windowless office, and so we immediately knew we wanted to go in the opposite direction.”

Humans crave emotional interaction. Over the 160,000 of years of our evolution we have survived by working together. Today we spend more time alone interacting with our LCD screens than we do with our own flesh and blood. Our computers, iphones, tablets, ect. have taken the place of face-to-face human interaction we have cultivated since we were banging sticks together.

More than ever we must design digital interfaces that have a personality that is receptive to the user. Have your website make friends with the user, complement them, and be the HAL 9000 we always wanted.

The topic of emotional design is quite timely as we are currently in the final stages of launching a redesign for large pharma company. In this redesign we licensed a popular cartoon character to help deliver a fairly serious topic and tuned the messaging to speak in an empathetic tone.

Users don’t want to have a conversation with a binary being, however we can do our best with the technology available to create the illusionthat our product wants to be your friend. So go out there and design a website that has personality, voice, and loves your users back.

 

Last week, I attended the 2010 Snacks and Sweets Expo in Chicago. It was a great turnout, and with over 480 exhibitors, the show was NCA’s largest in the last 5 years. I spent my days wandering through the exhibits, discussing possible marketing partnerships, and of course, getting in a few sweet treats along the way. I even had time to rank my top 5 favorite snacks from the event:

• Strawberry Bon Bons from The Foreign Candy Company, Inc.

• Cholive Cocktail Chocolates from The Cholive Company

• Pina Colada Tic Tacs from Ferrero

• Mango Ginger Chews from Chimes Gourmet

• Scary Suckers from McJak Candy Company

As I wandered around with my sugar buzz, I started to wonder why is candy surviving and even thriving in a down economy? One reason I can think of is the ability of candy to have immediate and special kind of satisfaction on its consumers. It takes just a second to truly enjoy something you have loved since you were a kid, and rekindling that experience is inexpensive to our “adult” standards. Candy provides a little piece of childhood joy in every bite, and it’s that kind of nostalgia and simplicity that we, as adults, still seek out.

From my experience walking the floor of this enormous event, it seemed to me that everyone was happy. Attendees walked round with a full bag of sweets and wide, open eyes anxious for what they would discover next. I found many exhibitors pushing organic and health-food candies and sweets, as if that wasn’t an oxymoron in itself, but to my surprise, they all had very compelling stories that drove me to test and taste their claims—yummy!

Other strategies of note were health-conscious companies packaging their products in a “smaller is better” package. That’s right, smaller packages with bite-sized pieces were everywhere because less chocolate means less calories, which also means more units sold—ingenious.

After the close of the second day, I attended the Tweet-Up and had the opportunity of meeting some amazing people from the NCA and other candy brands. There were an incredible amount of ideas spread through this social-networking gathering. Everyone sat poised over their smart-phones and iPhones, tweeting and posting about a long, sweet day of taste testing. Sharing sweet-talk like this over social media channels was one of the most natural digital exchanges I’ve seen. And if giddy Tweets about how you HAVE to try ginger-mango chews are a litmus test for the possibility of using social media to boost product trials, drive sales, and create brand loyalty for this industry, I’d say it’s time to jump on the bandwagon. Get ready for big and tasty things to come from this huge and untapped industry!

Increasingly, brands are becoming hip to Twitter. I normally follow my favorite brands to keep track of promotions, events, and news. Recently, I decided to use Twitter to complain about a bad shopping experience.

On Tuesday evening I received a limited edition Chanel lipstick from Saks Fifth Avenue (Twitter handle: @saks). I was about to try it on to show off to my Twitter pals, when I realized the lipstick was used! Immediately, I took a photo of the product, and tweeted the following:

So @saks sends me the rare Chanel Super lipstick. About to try it on & notice it's been used. Super #fail http://twitpic.com/1n2b5a

The next morning I received a Direct Message with instructions to email them about the situation. We exchange emails. In less than an hour, I'm informed that I will get a refund for the order, and that they will ship me a replacement. Pumped up about it, I tweet the world:

Shoutout to Douglas from @saks for helping me with my Chanel lipstick dilemma. Quick, quality customer support! Thanks again!

Hours go by, I'm about to leave the office. Another representative from Saks calls me up and tells me that they've located the product in their Greenwich location, and an associate would drive to my house and deliver it to me that evening!

And yes, I received the product (brand new), delivered by Elizabeth, who coincidentally had her mortgage done by my fiancé.

Today is the last day of the #140conf in NYC. #140conf is an event which looks at what Jeff Pulver calls “The State of NOW” - the emerging real-time Internet and the effect on both business and people.

There was an excellent presentation by Melinda Emerson, (Twitter: @SmallBizLady), on Twitter and Small Businesses. She says, "If you're not seeing success with Twitter, you're not using it right." Here are some key takeaways:

1. Know your target niche customer. You need to communicate consistently with that customer. Make sure your content connects with them.
2. Participate in Twitter chat
3. Give to get: Use a 4:1 ratio - promoting other people's content to your own. Give them enough and soon enough your customers will sell for you. 
   
4. Use @ replies - Communicate with your customer - don't just retweet (RT) their tweet, send them a message about why you like their content
5. Use Auto Direct Messages. I'm not a big fan of Auto DMs, especially when it's impersonal. Melinda says Automatic DMs are okay if used properly. Don't provide a link to your website. Give real information - Introduce yourself and say what you do.

5 reasons why small businesses fail:

1. They don't realize what running a business is going to be like
2. They don't save enough money before starting the business. Keep in mind, there will be no paycheck for 1-2 years
3. They don't focus on target market
   
4. They have no network. Remember: "Your network is your net worth"
5. You need to know your financials/budget

Finally, Melinda suggests each business owner have their own theme song. What would yours be?

This past week, in Austin Texas, Twitter CEO Evan Williams delivered a keynote with the biz spin that a lot of South By go-er's expected to hear. After all, Twitter's been popular for a few years, it's gained its start-up tenure, and with Foursquare already making good on their business model, it's high time for Twitter to follow suit. 

During his keynote, @ev explained a new (but not really) concept that will catapult Twitter everywhere... everywhere it isn't already, that is. It's called @Anywhere. This facebook Connect-ish platform will allow third party websites to align themselves with Twitter, enabling shared user names, profile info -- possibly like the latest location web feature -- and tweeting. 

Though the official Twitter blog is vague on the details of the platform, it names several sites that are anxiously awaiting its launch, including Huffington Post, The New York Times, and YouTube. Twitter's VP of Comm, Sean Garrett also told Gigaom that like Facebook Connect, @Anywhere will start by allowing duel sign in, curated Twitter list management while offsite, and "richer experience [for] engagement." 

So before you yell out, "But I already use the API for Twitter integration," here are few examples of what @Anywhere could possible deliver that an API wouldn't be able to *fully* dig into. 

1. Foursquare, Gowalla, and geo location tweeting. While you can currently view your friends' Twitter feeds on Foursquare, there's no way to tweet to them unless you manually "shout out." And Gowalla and other location games don't even have this aspect yet. Think of how much fun it would be to not only see that your friend is at Magnolia Cupcakes, but tweet her to pick you up a Red Velvet before she leaves? 

2. Though a FBML superstar would create some sort of API for Twitter/Faceboiok integration, tweeting on the 'book will be easier than ever. This means big business for corporations who have poured lots of money into fan pages and have yet to create the desired engagement they crave. Simplicity and easy access is the name of the game where enabling these two is concerned.

3. Whether you're creating a one-time campaign or branded messaging, your thoughts will carry more virality. On Facebook, microsites, or informational websites, having the ability to log into Twitter handles and broadcast your message in bite-sized characters at the push of a button couldn't be more helpful in passing word around. This also adds a new element to contests. While you can't require that someone become a Facebook fan on Facebook to win a prize, you can require that they become a Twitter follower or immediately tweet your chosen message. 

4. For event websites and superstars, @Anywhere opens up a new function of RSVP. While users respond to your invitation, they an send out automatic messages promoting the event. Of course, when their followers see your amazing event, they'll want to RSVP with the push of a button as well. That opens this up to creative API uses and new clients that allow invitation responses, live event tweeting, and more momentum for your party or event.

5. Like the new breed of Facebook Connect sites (link to Discovery Shark Week and the CNN thing), there's great ability for microsites to pull your information from Twitter instead of vice versa. Of course, with this ability comes the understanding that regulations and copyright laws might also need to be created. Can publications now pull from your @Anywhere-enabled comments as quotes? Are your 140 characters your own anymore? 

Earlier this week at SXSW Interactive, the one and only Gary Vaynerchuk took the stage. Known for his loud mouth, honest words, and ultimate ability to empower everyone around him, “Gary Vee” is more motivational speaker than social media maven these days. But his use of digital tools to spread his message is just about unparalleled.

During his panel, Vaynerchuk made good use of common sense. He reminded us that being open to listening is part of the battle; that even just being at SXSW was an edge because we wanted to learn. He lectured one questioner on authenticity, when she asked about scheduled tweets outside of organizations. And he reminded us that no matter what genre, sector, field we were using social media in, we are all in customer service.

What we need to do is stop thinking about our fans and followers as the viewers of advertising campaigns, and start building a “thank you economy.”

What is a thank you economy? It’s really simple. Let’s pretend a follower sends a note about how much they enjoy your product. Just say thanks. Now let’s say someone emails you to ask how you got your hair just-so in that stunning avatar. Say thanks and praise your hairdresser.  Your social metrics search pulls up a comment from a disgruntled fan. Respond- and thank them for taking the time to make your work better.  

Never once in that paragraph was the following mentioned: Add a carefully crafted and witty side note about your new book that’s about to drop; slam in a few links from unrelated blog topic posts; include a two paragraph bio detailing your every career move since birth. All you have to do is say thank you. And you’ll be surprised at the number of ways you can say it, and what it does to even the most jaded consumer.

Take Kimpton Hotel’s for example, who contacted me after a particularly bad meal at one of their signature restaurants. Thought I politely declined the offer to meet the chef and have a meal on him, the simple act of listening and thank me for bringing the matter up was its own reward. I had been heard. I currently consider myself an ambassador for their brand.

Cheapoair.com has a simple formula for empowering their Facebook fans: Let them know where to find the best airline deals. Rather than simply dispensing codes again and again, this travel aggregator sneaks in quick tips and tricks for securing lower fares without gimmicks and coupons. This tactic may seem simple, but it empowers consumers, provides them with a sense of value, and builds a relationship of trust.

At the end of his presentation, Gary snuck in this comment: As consumers, we are so jaded by being ignored that when a company even pretends to care a little, we go crazy. And it’s true. Crafty headlines and sneaky gimmicks are no way to create a dialogue. Speak to consumers as individuals, be grateful for them, listen to them, and above all, no matter how you choose to provide the value, THANK them.

Last year, one representative from Flightpath traveled to the SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin.  This year we sent four – including me.  Next year, I hope we’ll send eight or more.  As I decompress from the last five days in Austin, Texas, I wanted to try and reflect on reasons why we need to be there. So, I crafted this subjective, Flightpath-centric list of the Top 10 Best Reasons to Attend SXSW Interactive.  Hopefully, next year’s Flightpath contingent will be able to use this list in planning for and experiencing the event.  I trust it’ll have some value for those beyond our agency as well.  

1. Identify and learn about new/innovative things can be immediately integrated directly into our work to deliver better experiences, provide more value to clients and make our day-to-day more interesting and productive. 

2. Get a broader understanding of the competitive landscape by seeking out and interacting with people from other agencies similar and dissimilar to ours.

3. Get to know other people beyond the agency world who are doing interesting things in other parts of the industry. 

4. Attend the Web Awards Show as a team – a very important way to stay on top of some of the best work in our industry. Share and discuss opinions on the award winning work during and after the event.  Similarly, seek out talks/panels with industry leaders in order to learn from some of the absolute best.

5. Learn and share things that aren’t necessarily directly aligned with your job but are relevant to others in our organization that weren’t able to attend.

6. Tweet, blog, and report on things of interest to clients, colleagues and others.  As was drilled into my head at countless SXSW talks: all companies, brands, etc. are content producers and programmers.

7. Meet with clients and partners who may be in Austin with you.  Make best efforts to plan meetings prior to traveling to Texas.

8. Go out of your way to identify new revenue-driving business/agency growth opportunities aligned with things you learn, people you meet or trends you identify.  Try and come home with a meaningful list.

9. Swap stories, ideas, learnings and experiences with colleagues while in Austin.  It’s an interactive conference and should be experienced interactively as a team – not individually or in silos.

10. Take advantage of the time in this creative environment to decompress and think about your role and day-to-day work  from a fresh perspective.  And while you’re at it, be sure to take advantage of the parties, food, music, weather, lakefront and everything else the city has to offer.

Thanks to everyone I met in Austin for being so open, enlightening, gracious and kind (except for the guy that tried to charge $300 of Patron shots and nachos to my hotel room).  I look forward to meeting more of you at next year’s conference.