COCA-COLA - SPIN THE BOTTLE V2

The original app which was downloaded over 870,000 times was a simple take on the classic spin the bottle game, once users downloaded the free app they could choose a series of themes - each with its own soundtrack and background and then using the touch screen interface, spin the iconic glass bottle.

The latest iteration connects users to Facebook to spin with friend's profiles or use the images in their phone's camera roll. Users can then choose whether players Kiss, Hug, Tickle or High-five and then post messages about the winners of their Spin the Coke game to their Facebook walls.

Ralph Lauren is first luxury retailer to launch mobile commerce

Every day brings a new technology and another brand that tries to get a head start by implementing it before the rest. Polo Ralph Lauren has become the first luxury retailer to launch mobile commerce. In Asia, it is common for people to buy products like Coke from vending machines through their mobile phones - that started as early as 2001.

What Polo Ralph Lauren is doing now, is aiming to attract business from the tech-savvy consumer in America by allowing them to buy products with codes that they intend to place in print ads, mailings and store windows, which will also be a feature of their sponsorship of the U.S Open later this month. Once users download the software to their phone, the codes can be scanned and they will be directed to a phone-friendly version of the Ralph Lauren site.

From Forbes, David Lauren, the Senior Vice-President of Advertising at the company and son of Ralph Lauren, said:

“We recognize that in America this is going after somebody who is more comfortable with technology. The truth is that in other countries, it’s becoming a part of their culture. The trend is coming, and as a fashion company it’s very important to identify trends and get ahead of them.”

Thanks to NGT and marktd for this post: http://www.marktd.com/2008/08/ralph-lauren-is-first-luxury-retailer-to-launch-mobile-commerce.html

9 myths about widgets

Off the back of what I posted yesterday showing how Coke and Nike are using widgets well - here are 9 widgets faux pas so to speak. Thanks to iMedia Connection for these:

1. Widgets are trinkets (Consider: how have widgets have evolved exponentially since their Jurassic days)
2. Widgets aren't important (Actually, widgets will soon be the new model for the construction of whole websites)
3. Widgets are only about social networking (But as more traditional media companies and web portals become more comfortable with user-generated and user-mediated content, the industry is likely to see the widget world expand far beyond the realm of social networking)
4. Widgets are social application unto themselves (Think: widgets are still fairly small components of larger pages -- not distinct microsites. Widgets must still compete with other widgets and other content on a page)
5. There's no room for ads on widgets: (Fact: widgets are ads. At least, they can be. With the ability to insert dynamically changing feeds and run video within widgets, advertisers can take advantage of the medium to develop much more dynamic, richer campaigns. Widgeads?)
6. You can't make money on widgets (Consider this: When consumers use widgets to exchange notes or send messages, the widget itself becomes a product or a conversation. And for the successful advertisers who can use widgets to build a user base and generate clickthroughs, "The value of that conversation is ridiculously high")
7. Widgets are blind (False: widgets are in fact informed by social data. Each widget can be used to construct a unique social graph that tracks both user demographics and time spent with that widget across the web)
8. Widgets don't bring traffic (If that's the case, the publisher isn't using the widget correctly)
9. Widgets aren't viral (But they can be: to make widgets viral they have to contain video, photos or music, as well as some content that offers genuine value to users)

Visit http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/19736.asp for the full article.

How to widget well - some examples

Here are some examples of how famous brands are using widgets and using them well... I think its a good thing that there isn't strong branding on the CokeTags because it gives some credibility to Coca-Cola when they say that "they believe that connecting people and giving them a way to share what matters is one of the many things that helps define The Coke Side of Life". But le me know if you agree or not? Here are the links thanks to Contagious:

Nike has developed ‘MyNike+Mini’, an avatar-based widget that can be downloaded as a screensaver or saved to your Facebook profile. You can customise your own ‘mini me’ runner and give them a look put together from a stock selection of hair, eyes, mouth, nose, shoes, clothing and facial hair. If you so wish, your avatar can bear no resemblance whatsoever to the sweat-soaked, red-faced real version.
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus

Watch out for the nifty CokeTag, coming to a social network near you. A customisable widget, the CokeTag enables social networkers to promote themselves and their interests. Thanks to a set of expandable menus, users can store and display bundles of their favourite links. A built in click-tracker lets the creator keep count of exactly how many people have looked at their CokeTag and what links they have chosen to follow. Currently in beta on Facebook, the widget will soon be made compatible with Bebo and MySpace.
www.coketags.com

http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/News%20Article.aspx?REF=836&IsArchive=false

Mobile Commerce

Remember when you could buy Coke from a vending machine at Central Station with your mobile phone??? Well I think this is a little more techy than that... Thanks to Mobile Crunh for this post:

Your Mobile Phone to become Mobile Wallet
Posted by John Kullman

Report Buyer published a study today that finds mobile commerce is quickly catching on worldwide. By 2011, 25 million Americans are expected to use their mobile phones as mobile wallets. Many countries are finding the ease and convenience of mobile phone commerce is hard to resist.

For the full article check out: http://mobilecrunch.com/2008/06/10/your-mobile-phone-to-become-mobile-wallet/

Let your avatar do your living for you

From Mashable
This is an awesome example of a brand getting the social platforms it wants to engage in, then delivering relevant value that's tied back to the band...


Coca Cola’s Facebook App, Burn Alter Ego
We’ve seen some pretty interesting advertising campaigns that utilize Facebook’s platform for integrated applications, such as Bob Dylan’s. Most of them have been pretty cool, even in their blatant attempts to get users to spread a brand’s name around to their friends. Coca-Cola’s latest, however, seems like it could be fun.

It’s branding is rather subtle–if you add the app to your profile (click here), you may not even recognize that it’s a marketing effort until you’ve gotten it all set up and begin to play. The product being promoted? Coca-Cola’s drink Burn. The app itself? An avatar alter ego that goes clubbing at night, and reports back in the morning. That report shows up on your Burn app blog, your profile page, and even your newsfeed.

You can choose to go out with your other friends that have added the application, or make new friends while your out. Who knows? You may even bump into a celebrity avatar, and have all your friends thinking you were out with Paris Hilton last night.

At any rate, there’s a bit more to this application than trying to trick your friends on your newsfeed. The more you go out and enjoy the Burn night life, the more options you’ll unlock for your avatar. New outfits, hair dos, furniture for your apartment, and more. Looking through the application’s unlockable extras, there don’t appear to be too many more than what’s already available, so I’m curious to know how far Coca-Cola plans to build out the Burn application and others like it.

Depending on the success of the Burn app, however, and the potential for other services like SceneCaster may be recognized even faster, for use as branding tools across social networks.