Social nets not shaping purchases... or did they just ask the wrong questions?

WARC article on social media impacts on purchase

I totally agree that purchase decisions are based on experience, recommendations and mix of media inputs, but i think this reseracher may have missed a key difference between the nature of the channels here. Of course people go to brand websites in that active research phase (why they hell would i search facebook when trying to compare camera specs?), but i'm sure if they asked the question around the role of recommendations i.e opinion of peers delivered through a social functionality, as opposed to 'do go to myspace for product info', he would have gotten quite a difference result.


NEW YORK: Consumer purchase decisions are informed by a mix of "old" and "new" media, but more traditional forms of communication appear to exert a greater influence than social networking websites, a new study by Harris Interactive has found.

Based on a survey of 2,355 American adults, the research firm argued the most common way shoppers collect information prior to buying a particular product was via a company website, with 36% of respondents adopting this course of action.

"Face-to-face" interaction with a "salesperson or other company representative" was mentioned by 22% of contributors, while 21% of participants spoke to someone "not associated with the company".

A further 19% of those polled found out about a brand from print advertising, with 15% doing so via broadcast ads, while 14% made judgements "based only on my past experience."

In terms of online behaviour, 19% of consumers used independent websites featuring product reviews – like Trip Advisor or Amazon – and 11% accessed internet message boards.

By contrast, just 4% of Harris Interactive's sample turned to social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, with a similar number visiting "private social networking sites" and “customer communities".

Results varied slightly by age group, with 16% of 18–24 year olds employing social media to conduct product research.

However, this figure was 5% lower than for ads on TV and radio, and 6% below that for print executions among this demographic, and some 24% smaller than the number visiting company websites.

Ads on broadcast media were most widely-used among 25–29 year olds, at 22%, with print ads most popular among 50–64 year old shoppers, on 27%.

Some 57% of the company's panel also said they "communicated about my positive product/service experience to others" after making a purchase, while 41% "recommended" what they had bought to others.

By contrast, just 11% of this group did so with regard to a negative experience, and only 6% "recommended against" purchasing an item.

In expressing their positive or negative experience, 63% of respondents did so when talking to "a family member, business colleague or a friend."

A further 30% used email to do so, while 12% used a company website, 9% employed social networks, 8% opted for online message boards, and 7% added their comments to independent review websites.

Data sourced from Harris Interactive; additional content by WARC staff, 18 June 2009

Blend up!

Fantastic. ‘Will it Blend’ Tom has become such a star that he’s now selling other peoples’ products:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FWv21EgRZU

make art in real life via the web

Nice work from the BBC. http://www.blastgetcreative.co.uk/

Continuing to merge the real and virtual worldsSite closeing soon, but really nice to be able to take part in a real event in London from all the way down here in OZ. Not a new approach of course, but one i prefer to AR for more action oriented digital work

Twitter powered car recommendations

Thanks Gerry.

Whether i'd buy one based on my tweets is another story, but nice idea:
http://caseyshultz.com/vw-ad.php

Want to Tweet? Do It From an Ad Unit Nearby

Thanks Adage for this post on twitter breeching the media divide

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Nestle's Juicy Juice isn't the first brand to try to integrate Twitter in to an ad campaign (see Skittles and TurboTax). But it may be the first to allow users to post tweets within an ad unit that can appear anywhere on the web.

Juicy Juice's Twitter display ad

Juicy Juice is testing the unit, from SocialMedia, for one month on mom-targeted sites BabyCenter and CafeMom. The units ask questions such as "How do you stimulate your child's mind?" or "How important are vitamin-enhanced foods to you?" and users can answer the queries as short messages, or tweets, directly in the ad.

If users are logged on to Twitter, the answers will be posted to the ad directly; otherwise users are first directed to Twitter.com to sign in. Posts, which also appear in users' Twitter feeds with a "hashtag" (the symbol #, used to group keywords or events for simpler searches on the site) are moderated by Nestle, but there's the option for that to be turned off.

Clicking on the ad unit, meanwhile, takes the user to Juicy Juice's YouTube site, which is chock-full of helpful videos, including a scary one about how many more germs per inch are on a water fountain than your average toilet seat.

The difference between this campaign, dubbed "Twitter Pulse" by SocialMedia, and other recent attempts is that it allows a conversation to be instigated by -- or occur within -- the ad unit, rather than just syndicating tweets already posted on Twitter.

"The ad unit is paid placement but the additional impressions are effectively earned media," said Seth Goldstein, CEO of SocialMedia, a technology company, noting that the hashtag then reaches the follower base of those who have entered tweets, and potentially sparks more attention and conversation.

SocialMedia is tracking a number of metrics for Juicy Juice, including traditional views and click-through rates but also number of tweets posted and the number of followers exposed to the hashtag on Twitter. Like other executions with Twitter, there is no revenue involved with the microblogging service, but, as Mr. Goldstein pointed out, it could be a potential source of new sign-ups and increased usage.

KFC's reinvention plans

Thanks Mashable

KFC has put a lot of marketing muscle behind their new “Kentucky Grilled Chicken,” most notably with the free meal giveaway by Oprah. While that campaign generated enormous online buzz – some of it rather unfavorable as stores refused to honor the coupons – the chicken chain is now turning its attention to social media.

Specifically, KFC has launched a promotion on MySpace (), where the user that submits the best video ad for the brand will both star in an upcoming TV ad campaign and receive a lifetime supply of chicken. KFC will then pick three finalists, and users will get to vote for the winner. How much is a lifetime’s supply of chicken you ask? According to Brand Republic, KFC will be on the hook for around $16,000 USD, or roughly 2,600 two-piece meals.

KFC’s broader strategy, however, is called “unthinkfc,” and features its own website, as well as a presence on Twitter (), YouTube (), and Facebook (), where the company has amassed nearly 200,000 fans. There are also games – like uploading your own “chicken dance” and a “custom grillz” (get it?) application for iPhone.

Ultimately, KFC appears to be a company trying to re-invent itself somewhat, and they’ve setup a well rounded campaign that can certainly generate buzz if executed well. On the other hand, for fans to enthusiastically endorse KFC and participate, the in-store experience will also have to win them over. Having yet to sample the colonel’s grilled chicken, I can’t speak to how they’re doing, but given the clumsy Oprah launch, it would seem the company still has a ways to go.

iPhone apps going the same way facebook apps did

Lot's wow up front, but little long term engagement. Thanks acid labs for the post:

Should You Pitch a Branded iPhone App?

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

There are days when it feels like iPhone apps are the new microsites -- every campaign has to have one. And on the surface it seems the numbers stack up just right: a healthy range of demographics, 50K apps, one billion downloads, 40 million devices (source), all going strong. But before you pitch an app to the next client, consider these usage stats from Pinch Media's deck on Slideshare (February 2009) and Greystripe’s Q109 Consumer Insights Report (April 2009, pdf):


-- Minutes per use: 9.6 (Greystripe)
-- Uses per user: 19.9 (Greystripe)
-- Only 20% of users return to use the app after the first day (Pinch Media)
-- After a month, this number drops to 5% (Pinch Media)
-- "39% of iPhone users cited weather-related apps as one of the three kinds of applications they use most frequently (Compete via MediaPost, April 2009)