Case Study #2 Sanuk On Facebook

Sanuk was founded in 1997, in Southern California by a man named Jeff Kelley. Kelly had been a part of the surfing industry for years before he got the itch to start his own brand. According to Sanuk’s website, Kelly stated, “…I decided to start my own brand done my way using new and interesting materials from all over the world.” Eventually he created Sanuk, which is a brand focused on footwear made from unique materials for both men and women.  The first shoe created was called “Fur Real” which was made out of indoor carpet.

Saunk means “fun” in Tai  and their company slogan is “Smile, Pass it on!”. This fun-loving, energetic brand has a consistent voice throughout all of their social media channels. Each channel gives off a goofy and spirited sense of humor. Fun and happiness is what this brand strives for and Sanuk can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, tumblr, Pintrest , Instagram and google plus.

Based on their Twitter page, consumers can see what a laid back and humorous brand they are. They have 11,204 followers and tweet several times a day about various events that their consumers would enjoy or that the brand is involved in.

Saunk also has a great Pintrest page with 2, 779 pins and 4,586 followers. They pin images of their own products as well as videos, quotes, songs etc.

Although they are present on many channels, Saunk’s Facebook fan page is phenomenal. Like Wordofmouth.org says, their page is simple, yet they have spectacular content that connects consumers to the brand. They have 147,083 likes  and they always post at lest once a day. According to Sysamos, they have a 99% favorable sentiment on Facebook and 54 wall posts with 5571 likes & 271 comments in the last seven days. They had103.2 likes and 5 comments per wall post as well. This brand is small compared to some of the other major footwear brands, but it is able to hold its own weight and bond with consumers well through social media.

Saunk is able to create engaging content that is relevant to all their consumers. For example, they often post bright, vibrant pictures of consumers enjoying their shoes out in nature. The picture below had 961 likes and  is simple, yet shows a consumer relaxing among nature,just enjoying life. This type of post embodies the mission of the brand and consumers love to see others enjoying the product as it should be enjoyed.

  

Sanuk also is able to promote their brand on Facebook without directly advertising their products. Simple posts like the two below are entertaining and sharable without directly promoting their shoes. Again, their sense of humor is also enjoyable and people are likely to pass the content on to their friends. The first picture received almost 550 likes and 23 shares and the second received 803 likes and 26 shares.

Another great thing that Sanuk does is that they do not only focus on their own products. As seen below, the brand is addressing a leader who is a “Champion of Change”. They get to go to The White House and are recognized for their work on fighting climate change. Although this does not have to do directly with their products, this piece of news is interesting to their consumers. They also provide links in which consumers can watch the event which can create even more awareness for the brand and its humanitarian goals. Content like this is great because consumers are able to see that the brand has other interests outside of their products and are able to take time out of their day to promote someone else.

I did not know much about the brand prior to this case study, but looking at Sanuk’s social media pages made me want to be one of their consumers as well. I loved interacting with their social media pages and each one drew me in. I learned that this brand also is partnered with organizations that are doing great things for our world and the people in it. For example, they are partnered with Operation Smile, wich gives free reconstructive surgery for kids who have various facial deformities. The more I look into Sanuk, who they are and what the stand for, the more I want to be apart of their community and get more involved with their mission. Their social strategy is successful if it is able to entice people who have not been very engaged with the brand prior to connecting to them on social media platforms.

Tips on Social Strategy

“If your social strategy relies on advertising in social media, it’s probably better to hang on to your money.” – Taddy Hall, chief operating officer of Meteor Solutions

Social strategy is so much more than thinking about the best ways to advertise about your products. People use social media as a way to personally connect with brands. People want to feel as though the brand cares about them and wants them to be engaged. In order to create this emotional tie, a brand needs a successful social media strategy.  Social media strategies have many different components but some essential elements are knowledge of the brand’s goals, knowledge of their audience, brands need to listen and need to be different from anything else on the web.

1-   Set goals. Goals set the direction for your social media strategy. Think about what you are trying to accomplish and what your long term and short term goals are for the brand.

2-   Consider your audience. Think about what platforms your audience is most likely to be on. Consider if your audience is more interactive on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook etc. If you are on a platform that is inappropriate for your audience, your brand may not get as much engagement as it could have.  The brand’s content should also be relevant and interesting to the target audience. If the content is engaging, the audience will feel more connected which could lead to more sales.

3-   Listen. Listen to what is being said about your brand by consumers, potential consumers and other brands. Whether it is positive or negative, be aware of what people are saying about you. How other people view you could give insight as to what your brand needs to do to improve its presence online.

4-   Be different.  Mark Cuban, owner of the Dalls Mavericks said, “If you’re looking for the next big thing, and you’re looking where everyone else is, you’re looking in the wrong place.”  In order to stand out from your competition, your brand needs to be different from all the rest. Creativity plays a large role in being different. Think outside of the box and be willing to take a risk. If you want to be noticed in a world where everything comes with its own hashtags and Facebook page, you need to catch people’s eye and make them want to interact with you.

Insight Summit Series at Marquette University

On March 20^th, Marquette University hosted the Insight Summit Series with a focus on digital advertising. This was the first summit I have attended at Marquette and I found it to be exceptionally enlightening. Every speaker was extremely knowledgeable about digital media and each presentation caused me to think about the field in new ways. I would highly recommend anyone to attend these summits whether or not you are in the field of advertising or public relations.

The first keynote speaker of the day was Casey Flanagan from Laughlin Constable. Casey’s phenomenal presentation on “Branding in the Digital Age” lead him to be my favorite speaker of the day. Flanagan presented on 7 ways to succeed in branding. The two points I found most compelling were point numbers three and six. Casey stated brands need to “focus on find-ability” and they need to “do it different” in order to succeed in branding.

While talking about “doing it different” Casey pointed out that “pretty good”, is not the same as great. In order to be a successful you have to do something different with your brand that no one has ever done. Casey pointed out that a great example of this is Anton Berg Chocolate and how they created the idea of the “generous store”. Instead of paying for the product in cash, they promised to do good deeds in return of a box of chocolate. When they purchased chocolate, the good deed they committed to was published on their Facebook wall, so their friends could hold them accountable. This idea was a huge success and it was all because Anton Berg “did it differently”. I had never heard of Anton Berg before, but knowing that they did this campaign would make me be more inclined to buy the chocolate. The other point I enjoyed was when Casey said brands “need to be findable”. He defined findable as shareable and searchable. If your brand is findable, it will have an advantage over the competitors. As an example of a brand that was findable was Dove’s Ad Make Over Campaign which also integrated Facebook and their consumers, making the campaign more widespread a searchable.

One opportunity I discovered was from Chick Foxgrover’s presentation on “The Intersection of Creative and Technology”. Chick expanded upon the field of creative technology, which I had not been very familiar with prior to this presentations. There are so many different opportunities for people who want to be creative technologists. For example, Chick mentioned GranataPet Snack Check where people check into the GrantaPet from Foursquare and dog food will come out of a billboard in front of the store. This idea integrated advertising, social media and technology. There are unlimited route to take in this field from pet food to cars. Creative technology was fascinating for me and pushed me to research this topic even after the summit ended.

One key take away from the Insight Summit Series is that digital media is an ever changing, ever growing field. It is extremely competitive and in order to stand out, your brand needs to be engaging and connect with consumers. Brands are all about relationships and the quality of your relationships will determine how loyal people are to the brand.

The only thing I did not like about the presentations is that the speakers presented within five minutes of each other and it was difficult to find a good seat if you had to change rooms. The constant chiming of metal coat hangers was a bit distracting at times as well. However, besides those minor details, the 2013 Insight Summit was a huge success and I am looking forward to attending more summits in the future.

Ben & Jerry’s Create a Community Within Facebook

There are many things I do not want to read about on Facebook. I don’t especially enjoy reading  what people had for breakfast or how “Johnny” is being a jerk to “Sally.”  However, I do like reading Facebook posts from my favorite ice cream brand-Ben & Jerry’s. They currently have 5,793,345 likes on Facebook, and I am proud to say I am one them.

On Facebook, Ben & Jerry’s post about once a day, and they don’t exclusively talk about their products. This tactic is  refreshing to me, especially when I see brands using Facebook solely to send blasts on their latest products. Ben & Jerry’s is a pleasure to read about, because whether it’s politics, the environment, or events they are holding, the posts are always positive and engaging.  For example, on February 7th, the UK legalized same-sex marriage and Ben & Jerry’s posted about it. They are not afraid to speak about their political positions, which gives them even more personality.

Besides posting news and other events, they also encourage fans to get involved in their brand community. One recent campaign they had was called “CaptureEuphoria.” This is  where the business encouraged their followers to send in Instagrams of them doing things they love, and the best will be featured in the next Ben and Jerry’s advertisement.

They also have the “Fan Foto of the week” in which they feature someone who is a big fan of the brand and the products themselves. This encourages fans to interact with the page and look at what other consumers are up to. For example, the picture below features a Fan Foto of  Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that she tried in Singapore. This picture received 16,600 likes and over 1,300 shares. Not only does it show people consuming the ice cream, but it shows fans this is a global brand, and people all over the globe love this ice cream.

Ben & Jerry’s is also very responsive to their consumers on the Facebook platform. When their consumers have questions or complaint, this brand always responds in a positive and helpful manner.

So, overall this brand incorporates their products, believes and consumers  all on this platform. They are engaging and post pictures along with the majority of the posts, which keeps the page visually pleasing. I also enjoy reading about things they post, because they  relate to their consumers. This brand is a community made up of people who love ice cream, but also people who want to give back to the world they live in.

What other brands are using Facebook as well as Ben & Jerry’s ? Please let me know your thoughts!

Clydesdales Running the AdBowl 2013

Since da Bears “narrowly” missed the Super bowl this year, I must admit I was paying more attention to my Twitter feed than the actual game. As the commercials rolled, so did the number of hashtages relating to the Super bowl commercials. However, only a few spots really stuck out and one of them was the Budweiser “Brotherhood” ad. First of all, who doesn’t love baby animals and a good heart melting story? Not only did it make me want to forget this whole “college thing”, go live on a farm and raise horses, but it also did a great job of incorporating the social media community.

Budweiser not only produced a great Super bowl ad, but they also asked social media users to help name the Clydesdale colt featured in their commercial. Budweiser even created a Twitter a week before the game to spread awareness of this campaign. Their efforts were rewarded with 10,138 followers and more than a million shares of the commercial.

According to Anheuser- Busch, there were over 60,000 tweets, Facebook messages and calls from people suggesting names for the horse. Furthermore, Unruly Media stated this commercial was shared 1.9 million times, which makes it “the 15^th most shared ad of all time.”

Budweiser did a great job because they encouraged the twitter and Facebook community to get involved. People who voted for the name were able to feel as though they were part of the horse’s life. They felt special because the brand was asking for their input, and in the end, the name “Hope” won the most number of votes.

Small companies can learn from this campaign. As previously stated, people like to feel connected and they like to be part of a story. This campaign allowed followers to be part of the horse’s life and then see her on TV. Small companies can learn that a good story can take a brand a long way. You don’t have to be a big business like Anheuser- Busch to get people involved and active within your brand.

I would not change anything about this commercial. I think it was executed well and created awareness for both the campaign and the brand before and after the commercial aired.

In the end, will this commercial increase sales? I am not sure, but it has already increased brand awareness. When I see Budweiser I have always thought about the Clydesdales, but now I will also think of Hope and how I felt as I watched their commercial. This awareness may cause me and others to buy this beer. Even today, people are still tweeting about the Clydesdales, which shows what an impact it had on society.

Should Age Determine Who Manages Your Social Media?

Cathryn Sloane’s post “Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25” sparked numerous responses on the connections between age and knowledge of social media. According to Sloane, every social media manager should be under 25 for a number of reasons. One reason is they are more capable of being able to “predict, execute, and utilize” the platform effectively, simply because they have grown up with it.

I must disagree with Sloane’s argument. I believe most people in my generation have a basic knowledge of social media. However, that does not mean we know how to manage it all properly. Just because we are capable of posting a video on Facebook and retweeting our favorite celebrity on Twitter, does not mean we know how to utilize social media well enough to run business’ social media content. In this situation, experience is key.

Another opponent of Sloane’s ideas is Hollis Thomases of Inc. Magazine, who wrote “11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldnt Run Your Social Media.”. Thomases make the point that there is much more that goes into managing social media than creative ideas and uploading content. It is just as important to be knowledgeable of “production requirements, tools, analytics, and other aspects of work.” I completely agree with this statement and think it is essential for a social media manager to be well rounded in multiple facets of marketing and management when it comes to social media.

Additionally, I do not think age should be a major factor in deciding whether to hire someone or not. It is true that if one is young, they may be more likely to know what the popular trends are in social media. However, it is not hard to get that same information if you 3o, or even 45. It is also true that many young people are spearheads for great social media campaigns, but age should not disqualify someone from being a social media manager.

So although social media may play a large role in the “millennials” generation, it does not mean we have enough experience to be a social media manager right out of school. Furthermore, age should not be a limitation when it comes to getting a job. Someone should be hired based on their experience in the field, not just their age.