Author Archives: Past Employees
The holiday spirit is in full swing and I’m back to bring you my top five apps for to help with holiday shopping. No matter if you are venturing out to the mall or simply shopping from home, I’ve compiled a quick list to get the job done.
1.) TheFind (Shop Nearby available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android.) Using this app you can find what store near you has the best price on the item you are looking for. Includes maps, coupons and online deals for the product you select.
2.) Amazon (Available for iPhone, Blackberry and Android.) Are you too busy to go out to shop? This app works just like the website to find what you are looking for. If you have an account you can simply sign in and your information is already in place!
3.) Foursquare (Available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android.) Make sure you check in to find out if there are special deals happening where you are shopping. But be careful that your loved ones don’t see where you are shopping. 
4.) Urban Spoon (Available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android.) After all of the shopping you are bound to be hungry. Just give Urban Spoon a shake and find out all of the restaurants in your area. You can even select the type of food and price range you are looking for. Then click the link and call to make a reservation.
5.) Where’s My Car (Available on Android and iPhone.) Now that you have a full stomach and an arm full of packages it’s time to get home. Using this app will allow you to locate you vehicle, but only if you launch it before you leave your car. Download this app and never hit your panic button again.
Hope this list provides some help during your holiday shopping expedition. Have a happy holiday!
Written by Jessi Odenbach
Thanksgiving is exactly one week away and I’m sure you are beginning to frantically wonder, “What do I need from the grocery store?” or “Is my flight going to be on time?” Well, you’re in luck because I have scoped out the top five FREE mobile applications that will help make your holiday stress-free and fun too.
Travel – WorldMate
Planning to travel for Thanksgiving? The WorldMate app lets you book travel, check status of flights, links to maps and Yelp Reviews and much more. (Available on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android)
Entertainment - Word Spree: Thanksgiving Lite
You can entertain yourself or others around you with this simple Thanksgiving themed word game for iPhone. Create some fun holiday stories to share with friends. (Available on iPhone)
Football - ScoreMobile
Stay in sync with the Thanksgiving Day football games with this app. It continues to monitor in the background the league or game that was last viewed. There are many customizable features and you’ll never be left wondering what the neighbors are yelling about. (Available on Blackberry, iPhone, Android)
Food Prep - Epicurious
Personally, this is one of my favorite apps. With this handy application you’ll be able to search for great recipes, create interactive shopping lists, and follow easy step-by-step, stove-side instructions. (Available on iPhone, Android)
Lose the Holiday Pounds - Calorie Counter
This app helps keep crack of calories and also figures the recommended daily intake for a user to achieve your fitness and weight goals, and has a built-in barcode scanner to make finding foods a snap. (Available on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android)
I hope you can use these app suggestions to create a memorable holiday! Please share any additional apps that you plan to use for Thanksgiving below.
Written by Jessi Odenbach
I recently attended the Social Media Masters Summit here in Chicago and was impressed with the overall knowledge and enthusiasm for social media from speakers and audience members alike. There were a handful of inspiring and energetic presentations, ranging from case studies, mommy bloggers and grass roots social efforts–but one keynote that stood out in my mind, was given by Betsy Owens, VP, General Manager at Kenmore.
For a brand that has existed for over 80 years, they have a great story to tell: Products that span across multiple generations, first to market with unique technologies and innovations and certainly a leader in the household appliance industry. But in recent years, they experienced lulls in the appliance industry, shares were down and brand equity was down because they lacked a sense of differentiation and modernism that their audience was seeking.
As any leader might do, they evaluated their strengths and weaknesses and worked to transform themselves in a way that resonated with their audience. Entirely revamping their brand, everything from products to advertising and digital programs were altered based on customer insight. Their social strategy was a major part of that transformation as well. One particularly inventive and successful initiative was their creation of the Kenmore Live Studio. The Studio is used for special live events such as guest-chef demos, competitions with fashion designers, concerts and even a comedic laundry series.
The Live Studio’s events always have 2 things in common: they use Kenmore appliances and are streamed live on Facebook. With a unique approach for bringing together the offline and online experience, Kenmore, has not only established itself as a “must consider” demand brand, but has launched itself into the social media space in a way that engages their audience on a deeper level than most.
Outlined below are 5 tips we can all use to become social media masters, based upon insights from Kenmore’s recent transformation.
As the long standing debate of online privacy policies rages on, consumers have become increasingly anxious about their personal information being shared with advertisers. As consumers voice their opinions, the leaders in the online space have to learn to manage a healthy balance of: sharing information with brands/advertisers to drive successful campaign performance vs. continuing to make consumers feel safe in their online behaviors.
In the social space, consumers trust their social networks and feel that the information they share should not leave the tight circle of friends that they have cultivated. In the specific case of Facebook, consumers have spoken out against the service sharing their personal information with advertisers, driving Facebook to create new privacy regulations to ensure its members feel safe and comfortable. But are these social networks actually doing anything wrong? As Mark Zuckerberg points out during his announcement a few months ago, Facebook isn’t sharing anyone’s personal information; all of the targeting used by brands is actually done by Facebook itself. It seems that a lot of the concern by the Facebook consumers stems from their lack of knowledge about what advertiser targeting actual entails.
The quest for who should “control” a social media campaign seems never ending. This is a debate that I’ve had with friends working across the communications industry. And while this should never turn into a personal attack, it absolutely turns into a battle big enough for the WWE. Not only are is this power struggle happening internally between departments, but externally between digital agencies, PR firms and social boutiques all vying for the social slice of the client’s business.
The importance of figuring out this debate once and for all reminds me a lot of Duane “the Rock” Johnson’s eyebrow–they’re both on the rise. Think about the training, the tone and the niche audience. It’s a battle royale, locked in a cage with a ladder, and only one competitor is coming out alive. Maybe it’s not that extreme, but from where I sit, the stakes are pretty high.That’s why I’ve set out to moderate this discussion at SxSW 2011. Bringing in perspectives from Pizza Hut, Infiniti, and Mashable, we can look at all of these considerations and more to help us decide, once and for all… Who owns social?
The Training
Most professionals battling for control in the social space are veterans that hopped onto this train long before Ashton was tweeting. They’re working with years of experience and, often, a competitive streak. Without years of a regimented workout in social media, no resume length can guarantee the proper preparation for the digital ring. Social media is an evolving beast. To be successful, like any athlete, you’ve got to change your workout up, lest your game get tired. What would you put in a social media training regimen?
Andrea Donatucci | Critical Mass Chicago
Last week, I attended the Chicago AMA BrandSmart Event “Staying Relevant in an ever changing world.” The day started with an inspiring keynote presentation from Walgreen’s CMO Kim Feil called “Changing Times at Walgreens- There’s A Way.” She explained how her team is working to change consumer perceptions and emerge as the preferred and trusted health services provider. With their new brand campaign “There’s A Way,” Walgreens is moving beyond the trusted traditional channels of TV and print and expanding into digital (online advertising as well as the largest out of home digital display in Times Square) to deliver integrated messaging and a more consistent customer experience.
What made her presentation especially fitting to the theme of the day was her own personal story… her first day as the new CMO at Walgreens was the same day that Wall Street experienced its biggest one day drop ever. Her “best laid” plans of transforming the brand were immediately revisited with the lens and added pressure of compelling consumers to spend (in especially trying economic times).
Beyond the keynote, I tried a sampling of breakout sessions from the available tracks of Innovation, Engagement and Social Media. My favorite presentation was one entitled “Diving into the Social Media Mosh Pit” given by Melissa Meulenberg, ecommerce Manager for the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago.
My reason for selecting this session was two-fold: the title sounded pretty interesting, plus this particular hotel is located across the street from the CM Chicago office and has been the topic of much conversation… but more about that later.
Melissa is a marketing department of one so I was immediately impressed by her simple but efficient methods of staying aware of the brand dialog that is in play on Twitter, Facebook and Trip Advisor. She told many stories about being tuned into what current and past guests were posting and responding quickly. Some of the major themes:
1. Selecting the sites in which you wish to join the dialog
2. Setting aside time each day to respond to posts and contribute new, relevant content (not solely promoting or talking about your brand)
3. Turning fans of your brand into public advocates.
• Hard Rock has an outreach to encourage those with positive hotel experience to share their story on Trip Advisor
• Their ranking on Trip Advisor has moved up 30 spots among Chicago hotels in last 18 months to #46
4. Proactively searching for comments about your brand as a Customer Service opportunity (before, during or after the experience with your brand).
• When comments are overly negative, taking action privately first and then publicly to remedy the situation
• Also taking action when posts give the opportunity to turn a good experience into an extraordinary one
All of the stories were entertaining, but the following account is my favorite.
