Deck 22: Social Media and Marketing

Question 1

APPLICATION EXERCISE
One major issue regarding social media is the development of a company wide social media policy. In other words, a policy that states who can say what, when and where on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, blogs, Twitter). Companies and nonprofit organizations alike are struggling with social media policies and we have seen an increase in the number of employees getting into trouble for things posted on their Facebook page. Take a look at Social Media Governance (http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php). Find a social media policy for a brand and one for a large nonprofit.
Why do you think social media policies are important?

Answer 1

Not Answer

Question 2

As more and more kids today are getting cell phones, concerns about marketing to children through mobile phones have increased. Children can easily subscribe to services that are then billed to the parents' phone bill without the parents' prior knowledge or consent. Although some mobile phone companies have taken measures to limit children's ability to make purchase decisions, it is largely up to the parents to monitor such activity. Pay-as-you-go services are ideal for kids' cell phones because the kids can only spend what their parents approve of and pay for ahead of time.
What type of marketing is often used in the types of games children purchase?

Answer 2

Web Based Activity
After watching the clip, determine the popular form of marketing implemented for children's games. Consider whether the social media platforms and internal advertising are used in attracting children to games as well as other children who have purchased the games. Make note of the types of graphics and language used in appealing to this demographic.

Question 3

Gatorade is one of the best known marketers in the world. As the producers of sports drinks and one of the first companies to make widespread use of athletes to endorse its products, Gatorade is best known for its creative television commercials. However, they also recognize the impact of social media on their brand and have done more than most brands to put that in the center of its marketing efforts.

Enter the Gatorade Mission Control Center in Chicago. This room sits literally in the middle of the marketing department and can be considered a war room for monitoring the brand's performance using real-time social media. The room features monitors that tap into services like Radian6 which turns data into visual meaning. For example, Gatorade's marketing team can use the data from Twitter to track sentiment about the brand, its competitors and its athlete partners. Gatorade can also monitor similar information found on blogs and social networks in order to portray a complete brand picture.
Senior Marketing Director, Consumer Shopper Engagement Carla Hassan stated that Mission Control has been used to develop its "Gatorade has evolved" campaign. They also use this information for more conventional tactics-such as optimizing landing pages and increasing consumer engagement.
Why do you think having the Mission Control central to the marketing department is important to Gatorade?

Answer 3

For the sports drink company, operating a mission control within the marketing department is significant because real time information on social media platforms can be tracked.
The opinions of the brand, its athletic associates, and the activities of its competitors are monitored instantaneously. Possessing a mission control center means that the brand truly values social media and recognizes the importance it has in building the brand's image.
The sports drink company wants to be in tune with its brand's perception in the market and to be aware of the type of buzz surrounding its product. For a marketing strategy that is heavily centered on social media, having a mission control center is justifiable.

Question 4

As people become increasingly comfortable posting their lives online via social networks like Facebook or through microblogs like Twitter, some companies have begun to build web dossiers of consumers. They do this by mining the social web on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online forums. Then they sell it to other companies. And here is the deal... most consumers have no idea that this is being done.
While the use of customer data has been around for a few years (especially through companies like Amazon who use algorithms based on customer searches and purchases to make product recommendations), there are some privacy advocates who feel that mining and using data from the social Web crosses ethical lines. For their part, the companies that aggregate this information say that they are using this information to detect behavioral patterns in order for companies to provide better products and customer service.
Do think that this practice violates privacy or is it acceptable since it uses information that a person has posted voluntarily?

Question 5

APPLICATION EXERCISE
One major issue regarding social media is the development of a company wide social media policy. In other words, a policy that states who can say what, when and where on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, blogs, Twitter). Companies and nonprofit organizations alike are struggling with social media policies and we have seen an increase in the number of employees getting into trouble for things posted on their Facebook page. Take a look at Social Media Governance (http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php). Find a social media policy for a brand and one for a large nonprofit.
What are some of the common elements you see in each of the examples of social media policies?

Question 6

As more and more kids today are getting cell phones, concerns about marketing to children through mobile phones have increased. Children can easily subscribe to services that are then billed to the parents' phone bill without the parents' prior knowledge or consent. Although some mobile phone companies have taken measures to limit children's ability to make purchase decisions, it is largely up to the parents to monitor such activity. Pay-as-you-go services are ideal for kids' cell phones because the kids can only spend what their parents approve of and pay for ahead of time.
Describe the mobile marketing tools used by companies to influence children to purchase items on their phones.

Question 7

Gatorade is one of the best known marketers in the world. As the producers of sports drinks and one of the first companies to make widespread use of athletes to endorse its products, Gatorade is best known for its creative television commercials. However, they also recognize the impact of social media on their brand and have done more than most brands to put that in the center of its marketing efforts.

Enter the Gatorade Mission Control Center in Chicago. This room sits literally in the middle of the marketing department and can be considered a war room for monitoring the brand's performance using real-time social media. The room features monitors that tap into services like Radian6 which turns data into visual meaning. For example, Gatorade's marketing team can use the data from Twitter to track sentiment about the brand, its competitors and its athlete partners. Gatorade can also monitor similar information found on blogs and social networks in order to portray a complete brand picture.
Senior Marketing Director, Consumer Shopper Engagement Carla Hassan stated that Mission Control has been used to develop its "Gatorade has evolved" campaign. They also use this information for more conventional tactics-such as optimizing landing pages and increasing consumer engagement.
Why do you think social media is so important to Gatorade? Do you think it deserves this placement within the marketing mix?

Question 8

As people become increasingly comfortable posting their lives online via social networks like Facebook or through microblogs like Twitter, some companies have begun to build web dossiers of consumers. They do this by mining the social web on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online forums. Then they sell it to other companies. And here is the deal... most consumers have no idea that this is being done.
While the use of customer data has been around for a few years (especially through companies like Amazon who use algorithms based on customer searches and purchases to make product recommendations), there are some privacy advocates who feel that mining and using data from the social Web crosses ethical lines. For their part, the companies that aggregate this information say that they are using this information to detect behavioral patterns in order for companies to provide better products and customer service.
What are some promising ways that companies can use this data?

Question 9

APPLICATION EXERCISE
One major issue regarding social media is the development of a company wide social media policy. In other words, a policy that states who can say what, when and where on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, blogs, Twitter). Companies and nonprofit organizations alike are struggling with social media policies and we have seen an increase in the number of employees getting into trouble for things posted on their Facebook page. Take a look at Social Media Governance (http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php). Find a social media policy for a brand and one for a large nonprofit.
How do you think social media policies should extend to employees? Should what an employee posts on his or her Facebook be held against him or her regarding work life? Why or why not? Are there situations where firing an employee for private posting is fair?

Question 10

As more and more kids today are getting cell phones, concerns about marketing to children through mobile phones have increased. Children can easily subscribe to services that are then billed to the parents' phone bill without the parents' prior knowledge or consent. Although some mobile phone companies have taken measures to limit children's ability to make purchase decisions, it is largely up to the parents to monitor such activity. Pay-as-you-go services are ideal for kids' cell phones because the kids can only spend what their parents approve of and pay for ahead of time.
Who is Kajeet targeting? Explain your reasoning.

Question 11

Gatorade is one of the best known marketers in the world. As the producers of sports drinks and one of the first companies to make widespread use of athletes to endorse its products, Gatorade is best known for its creative television commercials. However, they also recognize the impact of social media on their brand and have done more than most brands to put that in the center of its marketing efforts.

Enter the Gatorade Mission Control Center in Chicago. This room sits literally in the middle of the marketing department and can be considered a war room for monitoring the brand's performance using real-time social media. The room features monitors that tap into services like Radian6 which turns data into visual meaning. For example, Gatorade's marketing team can use the data from Twitter to track sentiment about the brand, its competitors and its athlete partners. Gatorade can also monitor similar information found on blogs and social networks in order to portray a complete brand picture.
Senior Marketing Director, Consumer Shopper Engagement Carla Hassan stated that Mission Control has been used to develop its "Gatorade has evolved" campaign. They also use this information for more conventional tactics-such as optimizing landing pages and increasing consumer engagement.
Do you think that social media will be this important to most brands in the near future? Why or why not?

Question 12

As people become increasingly comfortable posting their lives online via social networks like Facebook or through microblogs like Twitter, some companies have begun to build web dossiers of consumers. They do this by mining the social web on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and online forums. Then they sell it to other companies. And here is the deal... most consumers have no idea that this is being done.
While the use of customer data has been around for a few years (especially through companies like Amazon who use algorithms based on customer searches and purchases to make product recommendations), there are some privacy advocates who feel that mining and using data from the social Web crosses ethical lines. For their part, the companies that aggregate this information say that they are using this information to detect behavioral patterns in order for companies to provide better products and customer service.
What are some questionable ways that companies can use this data?