Under Armour is launching a new line of low-weight, high-support shoes for athletes who run. The Baltimore-based sports gear maker unveiled the new Spine RPM footwear line at an event in New York City that also included appearances by the three athletes who will be spokespeople for the brand and the new shoes: Tom Brady, Lindsey Vonn and Kemba Walker. An extensive campaign for the shoe line breaks this summer with the theme "This is how we run." The message that Spine is not just for runners but also athletes who run will be carried by a TV, print, digital, social media and in-store campaign starting July 9, and featuring the three athletes. The "This is How We Run" campaign, via Crispin Porter + Bogusky, features a 30-second spot starring Brady, Walker and 2011 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. Supporting elements include a 60-second spot with Vonn and Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver Julio Jones, digital, in-store and billboard inventory, as well as support on various social media channels. Gene McCarthy, Under Armour SVP for footwear, said UA's expansion into the category runs counter to tradition. "Everyone we compete with is a footwear brand that then got into apparel. We are the opposite, and we think that's a benefit." He said the inspiration for the shoe came with the observation at retail that there were essentially two categories of running shoe: support and lightweight. He said the new shoe's inner support "cage" was inspired by the human spine, and is designed to deliver both strong foot support and be lightweight, at around 9.7 ounces. The UA Spine RPM footwear collection will be available beginning June 29 for men, women and youth. The adult line will have a suggested retail price of $99.99, while grade school shoes will be $79.99. Speaking at the event, Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, said the company has been on a steep growth curve since it was founded. "We grew to $5 million in the first five years, to $300 million in the second five and hit the billion-dollar mark in 2010," he said, adding that last year the company grew another 38%. Plank says the next move will be to extend the Spine brand into shoes for specific sports.
The Arizona Office of Tourism is launching a summer ad campaign that uses social media to try to engage potential tourists. Themed “Discover a Summer Worth Sharing,” it is geared to drive in-state travel and increase tourist activities during the summer months. It uses Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to encourage travelers to "share" their Arizona travel experience with others to discover. By uploading photos and posting travel itinerary ideas on the campaign's Web site, SummerInAZ.com, travelers engage in conversations about their own adventures throughout the state. This activity aims to provide an “authentic” element to the campaign by encouraging consumers to give a third-party endorsement. The Web site, which is both mobile and tablet/iPad-friendly, includes five types of travel categories based on what residents enjoy doing during Arizona's summer months: AZ Explorer, Family Vacationer, Outdoor Adventurer, Urbanite and Water Enthusiast. Each travel type has ideas for places to go along with things to do and a sample itinerary. In addition, each category includes a comment section for consumers to share travel stories and a photo carousel where visitors are invited to upload their own Arizona travel pictures. Comments and photos are then viewable to anyone visiting the Web site. Expanding beyond Arizona’s current marketing campaign, which features the state's scenic landscape, the new campaign conveys a nostalgic, first-person tone featuring family-style photos of various statewide travel adventures. "This campaign is a great example of how our marketing efforts are evolving to accommodate the many ways visitors plan their vacations," said Sherry Henry, Arizona Office of Tourism director, in a release. "Through leveraging social media tools, we can build a more personal campaign approach and give consumers the opportunity to help us tell the world about Arizona's vibrant travel destinations." The campaign also includes print, radio, cinema, outdoor, mobile ads, banner ads and pay-per-click (PPC) search. AOT will target the campaign message throughout the state, with an emphasis in the Phoenix and Tucson visitor markets. In addition, the Los Angeles market will be targeted with digital advertising efforts.
Under Armour is launching a new line of low-weight, high-support shoes for athletes who run. The Baltimore-based sports gear maker unveiled the new Spine RPM footwear line at an event in New York City that also included appearances by the three athletes who will be spokespeople for the brand and the new shoes: Tom Brady, Lindsey Vonn and Kemba Walker. An extensive campaign for the shoe line breaks this summer with the theme "This is how we run." The message that Spine is not just for runners but also athletes who run will be carried by a TV, print, digital, social media and in-store campaign starting July 9, and featuring the three athletes. The "This is How We Run" campaign, via Crispin Porter + Bogusky, features a 30-second spot starring Brady, Walker and 2011 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. Supporting elements include a 60-second spot with Vonn and Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver Julio Jones, digital, in-store and billboard inventory, as well as support on various social media channels. Gene McCarthy, Under Armour SVP for footwear, said UA's expansion into the category runs counter to tradition. "Everyone we compete with is a footwear brand that then got into apparel. We are the opposite, and we think that's a benefit." He said the inspiration for the shoe came with the observation at retail that there were essentially two categories of running shoe: support and lightweight. He said the new shoe's inner support "cage" was inspired by the human spine, and is designed to deliver both strong foot support and be lightweight, at around 9.7 ounces. The UA Spine RPM footwear collection will be available beginning June 29 for men, women and youth. The adult line will have a suggested retail price of $99.99, while grade school shoes will be $79.99. Speaking at the event, Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, said the company has been on a steep growth curve since it was founded. "We grew to $5 million in the first five years, to $300 million in the second five and hit the billion-dollar mark in 2010," he said, adding that last year the company grew another 38%. Plank says the next move will be to extend the Spine brand into shoes for specific sports.
The Arizona Office of Tourism is launching a summer ad campaign that uses social media to try to engage potential tourists. Themed “Discover a Summer Worth Sharing,” it is geared to drive in-state travel and increase tourist activities during the summer months. It uses Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to encourage travelers to "share" their Arizona travel experience with others to discover. By uploading photos and posting travel itinerary ideas on the campaign's Web site, SummerInAZ.com, travelers engage in conversations about their own adventures throughout the state. This activity aims to provide an “authentic” element to the campaign by encouraging consumers to give a third-party endorsement. The Web site, which is both mobile and tablet/iPad-friendly, includes five types of travel categories based on what residents enjoy doing during Arizona's summer months: AZ Explorer, Family Vacationer, Outdoor Adventurer, Urbanite and Water Enthusiast. Each travel type has ideas for places to go along with things to do and a sample itinerary. In addition, each category includes a comment section for consumers to share travel stories and a photo carousel where visitors are invited to upload their own Arizona travel pictures. Comments and photos are then viewable to anyone visiting the Web site. Expanding beyond Arizona’s current marketing campaign, which features the state's scenic landscape, the new campaign conveys a nostalgic, first-person tone featuring family-style photos of various statewide travel adventures. "This campaign is a great example of how our marketing efforts are evolving to accommodate the many ways visitors plan their vacations," said Sherry Henry, Arizona Office of Tourism director, in a release. "Through leveraging social media tools, we can build a more personal campaign approach and give consumers the opportunity to help us tell the world about Arizona's vibrant travel destinations." The campaign also includes print, radio, cinema, outdoor, mobile ads, banner ads and pay-per-click (PPC) search. AOT will target the campaign message throughout the state, with an emphasis in the Phoenix and Tucson visitor markets. In addition, the Los Angeles market will be targeted with digital advertising efforts.
The subject of analytics and measurement is one of the most critical areas to your ongoing strategy and tactical development. By acting in a participatory manner toward search, social, and content marketing, your business gains equity in visibility, trust, authoritativeness, direct revenue generation, and awareness, among many other factors. Measurement of real-time content is not so much about real-time as it is about measuring within a tighter frame of recency. Many marketers believe that acting and measuring in real-time means taking on a harried and almost panicked approach, when this is far from the case. We are not just talking about “right now” when it comes to measuring your real-time performance. The last hour, last day, last week, and last month also provide insight into what is currently happening with your content marketing efforts. Taking a real-time view of analytics also means that you will need to strike a balance with how you measure more current flows, as opposed to historical analytics. Most marketers are heavily focused on historical data -- in other words, what they have received over longer periods of time, and data that may be 2 months old or older. By focusing just the history of keyword returns, and the history of traffic flow, they may be missing out on the bigger picture of what is buzzing around their content beehive. Remember that a significant percentage of searches in Google have never been searched before, and the only way to capture some of this action is to monitor within a shorter window of recency. And this type of measurement doesn’t just benefit search, it benefits social interaction as well, and helps you find more current connections to your audience. Remember -- keywords are connections to people, and knowing the current language through analytics (both onsite and offsite) helps you reach them. With this approach in mind, here are some additional considerations for ramping up to a real-time view of content analytics: Start viewing “people as people” rather than “people as data.” One of the worst sins of modern Internet marketers is that they typically view people as a data point. This might involve cornering a person into a spreadsheet as a “unique visitor,” a keyword referral, or other traffic stat. Remember that your visitors and audience are people (you can ignore the robots for now), and in many cases they have a search intent, or a problem they are trying to solve. This is often a problem in the way that analytics providers are set up, but the good news is that some providers are trying to tell you more about “who” your audience really is. Remember that real-time data means nothing without a knowledgeable human to translate it into action. If you are checking out your data within recency parameters, it is important that it is analyzed by the right people. These are the people who write content, those who interact in social spaces, and those who optimize content. These roles should have at least some direct access to data, because gatekeeping the data only prevents them from doing their job in a timely manner. Use the best real-time analytics tool of all - your brain. For all of the talk about the wonders of analytics and measurement, there is no greater tool than your brain to make sense of all the data. Your brain contains the key link to interpreting data into actionable insights, and is the connective element between your business goals and your data. Remember Avinash Kaushik’s 10/90 rule. Just as your brain is the most important tool of all, Kaushik recommends spending 10% of your analytics budget on tools, and 90% on the brains that you will need to make sense of it. Even if you believe that your expensive new analytics widget is the best thing that ever happened to your business, you will not be able to use and interpret it properly without the right amount of brainpower. Distribute your data and insights throughout your organization. Be sure to spread your findings to other parts of your organization. In some cases, forwarding your data to someone with more specific knowledge can help turn it into an actionable insight. Consider forwarding relevant data to product managers, sales associates, customer service representatives, hiring organizations within your company, and your IT and creative teams, among many others. Use a variety of sources to measure what you are getting. Also remember that a single tool won’t cut it anymore. Use your onsite analytics, but utilize quantitative measurement tools on third-party social sites as well.
Five small business owners will receive house calls from American Express OPEN and Facebook branding experts who conduct in-depth marketing makeovers. Winners also receive $25,000 in cash to implement the social strategies they learn. Support will be provided by digital agencies, such as Digitas. Independently owned businesses with fewer than 100 employees generating less than $10 million in annual revenue can apply. Business owners who win can invite other local entrepreneurs to meet with a panel of social media and marketing experts to teach them how to use social channels for their business. In turn, the small business owners gain educational and brand-building tools, as well as $50 in free Facebook advertising credits. American Express card members and merchants who enter will receive $100 in Facebook advertising credits. Answering a few questions provides entry for the small business owner. Laura Fink, VP of social media at Shop Small with American Express OPEN, said more than half of business owners use social media to attract customers. In 2011, the first year the two partnered for the giveaway, about 11,000 businesses entered. Fink said AMEX's mission to help small businesses in turn also supports growth in communities. More small businesses adding jobs can help the economy. An industry source said companies can advertise on Facebook for as little as $1 per day. Most marketers believe that integrating social into search continues to be an important topic for search marketers. Earlier this year, Google engineers, along with the computer science department at Stanford University, analyzed the implications of selective sharing in Google+ and other social networks. Doc Sheldon, founder of search agency Top Shelf Copy, estimates the winnings should support a campaign for between six and 12 months. A panel of judges will select 10 finalists, followed by voting. That's when Facebook Fans of the American Express OPEN Facebook page will choose five favorite small businesses.
According to the Genesys release of its Getting Closer to the Customer report, surveying more than 798 senior executives worldwide, 58% of C-level respondents consider the CEO responsible for new customer communications channels like social media and mobile, but only 28 of middle managers agree with their superiors’ assessment, and 38% of those non C-suite executives pinpoint the marketing department as having the ultimate responsibility in this area. The disconnect between top-level and mid-ranking executives might be explained by the novelty factor of social media. Paul Segre, President and CEO of Genesys, says “As companies tackle the demands of delivering a great customer experience across an increasing number of communication channels... delivering an exceptional customer experience requires a comprehensive strategy for emerging mobile and social channels, including how they align and integrate with existing channels, and spanning both marketing and customer service organizations.” When it comes to driving the customer conversation, the marketing department, not customer service or the C-suite, is driving the response to new channels with 44% of executives saying the marketing department has dominated the dialogue between company and customer, says the report. The report also found that 43% of companies only began using social media in the last year and only 11% of businesses have been using social media to communicate with customers for three years or more. Customer Service has not been a priority with new communications channels. Only 42% of organizations use call centers to communicate with customers and just 6% see customer support/service as the main purpose of new communication channels. Additional Findings of Interest:
One of the fastest-growing Facebook groups this year must be for people whose companies have been acquired by the social network. Following Instagram, Facebook acquired loyalty app Tagtile, proximity network Glancee, photo sharing service Lightbox, social gifting app Karma, and, this week, facial recognition platform Face.com. The last one’s a fascinating company with cutting-edge technology for marketers and publishers, as well as a new consumer-facing iPhone app, Klik, that can learn to recognize friends’ faces based on their Facebook profiles. What could Facebook do with Face.com? Here are 10 possibilities. Note that these are all what could be done, rather than what should or will happen. 1) Suggest faces to tag in friends’ photos on Facebook, rather than requiring users to manually tag everyone. 2) Target ads to people based on the facial expressions in their Facebook photos. Also allow Facebook page updates to be targeted to fans’ facial expressions. For instance, Virgin Atlantic could target special offers to people whose photos make them look so serious that they need a vacation. 3) Offer an option of logging into Facebook using your face rather than your username and password. 4) Build on the Apple partnership and combine Siri.com with Face.com. When handling your requests, Siri will not just analyze what you say but how you look when you say it. When you wink, Siri will know you are being sarcastic. 5) Improve accessibility for people with speech disabilities. It didn’t take much searching to find a story about Intel working on automated lip reading back in 2003, and Engadget covered an academic approach in 2009. This could benefit Siri as well. Beyond the accessibility enhancements, it could let people mouth commands to their phones when it’s inconvenient to talk aloud. 6) Make “liking” real. Require people to smile to like something. Or just offer it as a bonus option for users to show they really like it. 7) Create an app for event organizers to verify attendees based on recognizing faces of those who registered on Facebook. 8) Offer facial-based age verification when people like and share content from alcohol brands. My wife would love getting facially carded if she tried liking Smirnoff. She’d love it even more if it said she was too young and she should stop lying about her year of birth on Facebook. 9) Team up with Google to create a realistic “Minority Report” theme park. Combining Google’s self-driving cars and intent-based targeting with Facebook’s one billion users and Face.com, little in the movie seems fictitious. 10) Buy book.com. Barnes & Noble owns the site, so Facebook may have to buy Barnes & Noble. That seems doable. Facebook has a market cap of $67 billion, compared to $917 million for the bookseller. Then Facebook can merge Face.com and Book.com and call it… Facebook. The possibilities are endless? What else should Facebook do? Just look into your webcam, mouth your response, and remember to smile. You want Facebook to know you’re happy, don’t you?
Imagine if every time you played FarmVille you also reduced your carbon emissions… or, perhaps more realistically, you gained a point for every time you shopped with a reusable bag, and those points added up for coupons or savings? According to gamification advocates, those incentives might end up changing your behavior. Big brands are increasingly seeing the potential benefits of gamification – a term used to describe the engagement of users via points, badges, rewards, or even just positive recognition to motivate behaviors and even solve pressing problems. For marketers, there is a world of opportunity to use the theories of game-thinking and competition, aligned with savvy social media techniques, to influence and ultimately change behavior. Equally compelling is the potential to use gamification to crowd-source and problem solve. What if every time you played FarmVille, you were actually providing strategic insights to sustainable agriculture and resource management? Additionally, there is the aspect of positive reinforcement – it’s slightly Pavlovian and proven to work: reward me with something that I want and I’ll likely not only repeat that action, but I’ll repeat it and feel good about it. Charity Miles is new favorite application of mine. It’s a smartphone app that allows you to earn corporate sponsorships for walking, running or biking. Talk about a good reason to go for a run! It’s the perfect blend of gamification. It’s social, incentives personal good health while activating a greater good. As its tagline goes, “Changing the world is a team sport!” Practically Green is a business that is using gamification to alter behavior. Geared toward both consumers and businesses, you can get points for “being green,” compare and share points with others and get tailored suggestions for steps to take and products to use. At the enterprise-level, it’s an intriguing concept to offer to employees, to help inspire employees to make office-wide changes. Gamification isn’t a new concept in the workplace – most companies employ it whether they know it or not. Who hasn’t participated in a competition to collect donations, canned food, recycle or even lose weight? (What is the “Biggest Loser” if not gamification of weight loss?) As Kris Duggan writes in a recent Fast Company article, “Companies across virtually every industry are benefiting from gamification techniques. From technology to financial services to education, businesses can apply game mechanics across their existing user experiences to increase key user-driven objectives.” Constellation Research predicts that by 2013 more than 50% of all social business initiatives will include an enterprise gamification component. That’s a lot of time spent playing games. What do you think? Do you think gamification is smart or a waste of time? Let me know here or at @Measure4What.