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To Subscribe or Not To Subscribe…

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

I don’t have a print subscription to The Times, but like many Millennials, I receive NYTimes.com alerts to my Gmail account, I use the free NYTimes app on my smart phone to see Top News and I read articles of interest that show up in my personal twitter and Facebook feeds. Now the publisher wants to tell me something. An image of the letter is below, but here are the highlights:

- NYTimes.com is now offering digital subscriptions. This service was rolled out to customers in Canada on March 18 and will become available to the U.S. and the rest of the world on March 28

- NYTimes.com readers without a subscription will have access to a maximum of 20 articles/videos/slideshows/features a month. To access more, online readers will have to subscribe.

- Current subscribers to the print issue will have unlimited access to NYTimes.com

- Smartphone and tablet apps will still provide the top news section for free, but to access other sections through the apps, readers will have to subscribe.

- There is no option to solely purchase a subscription to NYTimes.com, subscribers much choose:
    – $15 every 4 weeks for NYTimes.com and smartphone app access
    - $20 every 4 weeks for NYTimes.com and tablet app access
    - $35 every 4 weeks for NYTimes.com and smartphone app, and tablet app access
    – $29.60 every 4 weeks for NYTimes.com access and daily print issue home delivery (this is the rate in Atlanta, rates vary based on location)

- Reader’s accessing NYTimes.com content via blogs, social media or search engines (like Google) will not be limited to the 20 features a month.

This new policy leaves me feeling conflicted. On one hand, I believe the free flow of news and information via technology is one of the greatest things to happen in my lifetime. With a device and connection to the internet, we have access to endless amounts of up-to-date information. My constant companion and smart phone tells me things before they can even be formatted for print, let alone delivered to my front door step. And much of this is free. And while I’d argue that this type of information exchange is invaluable to society, value typically comes with a price.

If we want something that is high quality, we usually have to pay for it. While the free flow of news and information makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, I have to remember that newspapers are a business – businesses that appear to require subscription and advertising dollars in order to survive. Yes, I want free information, but I also want accurate and clear information compiled by credible sources. What’s the point of receiving free information if it’s wrong?

There are a few points I find strange. First, why the price difference between the smart phone and tablet applications? Will they be dramatically different? Why is there no incentive for the unlimited option? It just appears to be the cost of the two options combined. Technically, doesn’t this option require subscribers to pay twice for the NYTimes.com access? Why is this change happening now? Is there any relation to the new Apple App store subscription policy entitling the company to 30 percent of all subscriptions sales through the App store?

While considering whether a digital subscription was worthwhile for me I realized that the way I currently access information from NYTimes (via blog, Google, social media, top news on my smart phone) means I will be relatively unaffected by these policies.

This leaves me wondering how many other Millenials are in the same situation and what audience is this really affecting? Who out there is the 20+ NYTimes.com article reader that only access content via the official website? Are tablet subscribers surprised that accessing the New York Times will come with a subscription fee when many other tablet media applications already require one? And finally, is this news revolutionary enough to be worthy of a NYTimes.com News Alert in my Gmail account or is that free service gone as well?

Posted in Conversation, Internet, Media, Millennials, News, Social Media | No Comments »

37signals You Have Successfully Weathered a Customer Service Storm

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

All too often, companies give in to the instinct of burying their corporate heads in the sand when crises arise, instead of immediately engaging their customers.

In “How To Ride a Storm” (Inc., Feb. 2011), 37signals co-founder Jason Fried shares his company’s honest, transparent approach to dealing with unhappy customers when it’s Campfire product malfunctioned.

“When one of our products malfunctioned, thousands of stranded customers erupted in fury. Yet we came out of the crisis more credible than ever.”

Fried’s approach was to regularly update 37signals’ website with service repair status updates and engage each individual customer through Twitter who was voicing their ire or concern. They also took the blame. They acknowledged their responsibility for letting Campfire falter.

“We are battling demons on all fronts and losing. It’s pathetic, I know,” tweets 37signals co-founder, David Heinemeier. “We’re spending the goodwill we’ve built from years of reliable service like it’s going out of style.”

By signaling to customers that they were committed to fixing the problem while providing a continuous stream of status updates, 37signals avoided eroding all credibility as a service provider, and endeared itself to customers who saw 37signals as a true partner commitment to the needs of its customers.

They get it. In the always on conversation, 37signals made sure to openly communicate with its unsatisfied customers and strengthened its authenticity as a brand.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/how-to-turn-disaster-into-gold.html

Posted in Brand Awareness, Conversation, Internet, Social Media | No Comments »

Five Top Super Bowl XLV Social Media/Mobile Campaigns

Friday, January 21st, 2011

Alas, the Atlanta Falcons are out of the playoffs, but don’t tune out just yet. Some of the biggest players aren’t setting their sights on the Lombardi trophy, but will be fighting for a title just as prestigious – to be the biggest brand at the Super Bowl. By throwing out budgets, giving credence to the wildest ideas in the brainstorm and utilizing the latest technologies, brands will fight for the honor of being the company you bring up at the water cooler on Feb. 7.

Below are some of the best social media and mobile campaigns and contests to look out for leading up to and during Super Bowl XLV.

Coors Light

Snap, Send, Score – Doesn’t get much easier than that. Using your mobile phone, “snap” a picture of a unique upc code on Coors Light products and even in store, outdoor or online advertising, “send” the picture via text or e-mail to Coors Light and “score” instant-win prizes. The unique mobile incorporation, instant gratification for contestants and heightened brand awareness for all participants make this contest a winner.

If you’ve got a camera phone and are purchasing some brews, take a picture of these things on the package or on promotional materials and text to 26753 or send it to coors@snaptag.mobi. Click here for more info: http://www.coorslight.com/superbowl/how.aspx

Doritos/Pepsi Max

While run through its own sites, Doritos and Pepsi utilize all social media outlets to promote the Crash the Super Bowl promotion, which promises to air during the Super Bowl the best fan-created commercials. In the age where a kid singing into a webcam can go viral and get 30 million views, incentivizing clever and tech-savvy people to create high-viral potential commercials about the product is a win-win. Additionally, they’ve built in milestones wherein if your commercial ranks as one of the top rated during the game, you’ll get a ton more money and meet with their ad agency to consult on future campaigns.

Voting is still up, so be sure to take a look and pick the best one on www.Crashthesuperbowl.com (I’m torn between House Sitting and The Best Part myself).

Mercedes-Benz

“The First Twitter-Fueled Race” is a bit complicated but an incredibly unique idea. Four two-person teams in different parts of the country are given different Mercedes-Benz cars and told to drive to Dallas, site of Super Bowl XLV. These aren’t ordinary cars, but fuel economy/horsepower is somehow affected by Twitter activity (Mercedez is mum on the details, preferring to describe them simply as “Twitter-fueled automobiles”). People can choose which team to support and give them extra “fuel” by hashtagging or retweeting their messages. There’s also celebrity tweeters for each team who can give them a literal boost with their twitter activity. First to make it to Dallas wins, and you can win Super Bowl tix as well if you help “fuel” the winning team to victory.

It might be confusing and Tweets probably won’t replace fossil fuels anytime soon, but the thinking behind this contest has to appreciated – kudos to Mercedes for taking a risk on a crazy idea that might just be a big hit.

You can follow the action and participate on their Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/mercedesbenzusa

PhoneDog /Cost Plus World Market

The exact opposite of Mercedes, these contests are simple and straightforward: “Like” PhoneDog or Cost Plus World Market on Facebook and automatically get entered to win hundreds of prizes worth close to a half million bucks. Rather than a traditional sweepstakes that helps companies build a database for mailers/e-mail that people often ignore, these companies will get new fans on Facebook to see every update they post. To topi it off, they also get a measurable audience with built-in analytics and an impressive follower number that will make them even more appealing to potential followers.

You can like these companies here:

http://www.facebook.com/worldmarket

http://www.facebook.com/worldmarket http://www.facebook.com/phonedog

Audi

Audi will seek out and reward 10 of their social media fans with the “most original and numerous” posts before the Super Bowl with trips and other expensive prizes. However, much like selling cookies or wrapping paper in grade school, this contest rewards elbow grease for social media users. It also levels the playing field by not counting impressions, just posts, so you don’t have to be @ParisHilton to have a shot at winning.

To participate, just start tweeting and Facebook posting about Audi – simple enough!

Posted in Advertising, Atlanta, Brand Awareness, Conversation, Events, Media, Social Media, Television | No Comments »

Flurry of Changes Mark Transition of Atlanta Media into 2011

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

As “Atlanta Snowmageddon” finally thaws, it’s time to examine the flurry of recent changes in the Atlanta media landscape. For organizations pitching stories in the ATL and surrounding markets, there continues to be growth on each end of the spending spectrum, with new bargain bloggers and luxury writers doing well. And the spotlight continues to shine on home-grown reporting.

In 2011 “hyperlocal” is still a hot trend with a brand new series of Websites called The Patch (Patch.com) hiring editors who write about specialized areas of town ranging from Marietta to Buckhead to Stone Mountain and many more. Not to be outdone, television station WXIA-TV has introduced the “Where U Live” feature, 50 community sites encompassing areas of Metro Atlanta for coverage.

Sites such as TheExaminer.com Atlanta have a variety of contributors, particularly on family and community events. And sites such as Atlanta Moms Like Me continue to gain members and momentum.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and AJC.com have become very blog and Twitter-active, so there are lots more ways to get small-bite news stories into the cycle.

The AJC has tapped a new “Bargain Hunter,” Lauren Davidson, who writes about deals in a city dominated by Scoutmob, Groupon and other new cost-saving and bartering technologies. She’s part of a growing category of bargain bloggers ranging from Jennifer Maciejewski at AtlantaOnTheCheap.com to Jessica Dauler of JessicaShops.com.

Arts and culture in the city is also getting a spotlight thanks to sites such as ArtsCriticATL.com and Atlanta Plan It (atlantaplanit.com). Sports coverage, however, has tightened, with stations such as WGCL-TV outsourcing content duties to radio station 790/The Zone.

The latest additions to the local magazine scene are Buckhead Home & Life, which reaches homeowners and businesses in one of Atlanta’s high-end neighborhoods, and Atlanta Girl, focusing on teen empowerment with a high-fashion edge. Dickey Publishing, owners of Jezebel, have purchased The Atlantan, adding more luxury lifestyle firepower to their portfolio.

Now on its 6th quarterly newsstand issue, Get Married Magazine (getmarried.com), targets newly engaged couples in the peak stages of wedding planning and purchasing. This locally-originated title can now be found alongside nationals such as Lucky in the “shopping and trend guide” section at major retailers.

The radio dials continue to shift with news/talk 750 WSB-AM adding an FM signal at 95.5, displacing the urban/rap format of The Beat. Now fans of hip-hop can tune into Groove 105.7 as an option. Oldies 106.7 is now Atlanta’s Greatest Hits 106.7 24/7 with a decidedly ‘70’s emphasis.

Some familiar faces are gone from the Atlanta airwaves – namely, Good Day Atlanta’s Suchita Vadlamani who has been a fixture of Good Day Atlanta on FOX 5 for nearly a decade; much-touted fresh face Dagmar Midcap of WGCL Weather; and, after 46 years in the business, John Pruitt of Channel 2 Action News. Behind the scenes, Nina Brown, formerly a producer at V-103 Radio, now has a role on the team at 11 Alive. Expect 2011 to usher in many more personalities to the scene.

We’ve certainly been relying on the media more than ever as our roads have become sheets of ice this week. It’s great to witness an amazing intersection of traditional and consumer-generated content that keeps the media business exciting.

Posted in Atlanta, Conversation, Media, Social Media | No Comments »

How to manage (and not mismanage) your branded Twitter handle – Part 2

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Continuing from my last post, here are a few more general guidelines and pointers on what to do (and not do) with your brand’s Twitter handle.

Do: ReTweet, Don’t: Repeat Tweet

ReTweeting is great. Repeat Tweeting is not.

ReTweeting is sharing someone else’s tweet with your followers – it helps spread ideas that are worth spreading and engages others to become followers. ReTweet relevant tweets often.

Repeat Tweeting is sending out the same or very similar tweets from your own handle to increase the chance of visibility among your followers. It is ok in small doses, but carries brand-damaging potential if done in excess. Twitterati @GuyKawasaki, founder of AllTop, endorses repeat tweeting just three times over the course of 16 hours, and even this modest repetition has vocal opponents. Repeating tweets will get your message in front of more followers, but may turn off followers who get the message more than once or twice.

Pointers on avoiding Repeat Tweeting:

Tweet during the highest traffic times to get your message heard. People typically check their Twitter feeds before and after work and during lunch. Tweet between 7-9 a.m., 12-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. in the time zone of your biggest markets to reach the largest audience.
Break up multiple tweets. If you’re promoting a contest or event and need to spread the word, rephrase each repeat tweet and buffer each one with tweets on other topics.
If you do it right, your followers will ReTweet for you. Share something your followers are interested in and watch the RTs multiply organically.

Do: Engage potential followers and provide incentive to follow, Don’t: Just sit there

Unless you’re an A-list celebrity, don’t count on people seeking you out and following your brand on Twitter. Like any startup, getting your Twitter handle off the ground requires

Pointers on getting others to follow you on Twitter:

Go to where the conversation is. Chances are that people are already talking about your brand or subjects related to it somewhere on Twitter, so find them using keywords and hashtags. Teusner Wine, a small Australian winery registered @Teusnerwine last January and started searching wine-related terms, following influential wine tweeters and engaging people tweeting about wine. They now have more than 7,500 followers.
Engage, don’t sell. Dave Brookes manages the @Teusnerwine handle, and says that he tries to keep conversations relaxed and steers clear of sales. “This is about building trust as well as relationships—and that comes from not selling.”
Offer something of value. Giveaways, contests, fan votes and exclusive content all provide incentive to follow your brand on Twitter. If you fill your feed with opportunities to influence your brand, win freebies and get brand announcements before they go to anyone else, people will follow.

Posted in Brand Awareness, Internet, Social Media | 1 Comment »

How to manage (and not mismanage) your branded Twitter handle – Part 1

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Congratulations, you just registered @MyBrand and you’re now officially on Twitter. Now it’s time to gain ground on the notoriously fickle medium, carefully script tweets to sound like they aren’t scripted and explain to your boss why you don’t have 10,000 followers after your first week.

Good luck – here are a few general guidelines and pointers on what to do (and not do) with your brand’s Twitter handle.

Do: Write Tweets in a casual, friendly tone of voice, Don’t: Use Webspeak

Business speak is unwieldy, cumbersome and difficult to fit into 140 characters, and a medium like Twitter calls for a more conversational, friendly voice, so cutting and pasting from press releases isn’t effective on Twitter.

It is, however, not difficult to go from friendly and conversational to writing in Webspeak where all ur tweets lik dis n til no1 gets wat ur saying. If you think using Webspeak will help you reach a younger consumer base, take a look at three youth-oriented brands with more than 1.5 million followers each: Zappos.com online shoe store (@Zappos), Woot.com discount website (@Woot) and Threadless t-shirts (@Threadless) all use correct grammar and spelling. So there.

Do: Respond and follow for customer feedback, inquiries and complaints, Don’t: Respond to/follow everyone

Twitter is an amazing customer service and insight tool that allows companies to directly connect with their customers in real-time, receive valuable consumer feedback and get heads up on issues before they become problems. Jet Blue, the New York-based airline, joined Twitter in 2007 to help with customer service after they realized their customers were Tweeting about travel problems via smartphones and laptops at the airport. Today, @JetBlue has 1.6 million followers and the handle serves as a primary customer service resource.

Of course, not all tweets are constructive. Between spammers, hashtaggers, stalkers and swearaholics (more here), your feed can get bogged down with off-topic or unwanted messages. Responding to these messages or following their authors increase the noise that obscures your brand.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Twitter tips for your brand……

Posted in Brand Awareness, Internet, Social Media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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