It was exciting to see our Wall Street Journal documentary go live on the WSJ Business Center site this week. If you haven’t gotten the chance to view the documentary, you should! It is a great inside look at the company, the culture and the services we offer here at Oneupweb.
Our CEO, Lisa Wehr, provides a bit of background on how Oneupweb became what it is today – a cutting edge digital marketing company
Lisa Wehr
Several leading team members are interviewed in the documentary and offer their take on the company’s myriad of services available to their clients and also their enjoyment in working at Oneupweb.
When the film crew was here in Traverse City last fall interviewing and filming the locations, it was a fun time indeed. It is great to see in the final product how that good time translated into this amazing film. We are happy to see our #Relentless energy and passion for the digital marketing world showcased on the Wall Street Journal’s site.
We also love how the Wall Street Journal began the film, “Keep it interesting or be ignored.” They get our vibe and get that we are sincere in our efforts to be “One UP!”
Keep it interesting or be ignored
So, slide on over to the WSJ Business page and tell us what you think! We’d love to hear your thoughts!
2011 has become a year known for its world-wide protest movements – often inspired by the advent of social media. 2012 appears to be starting off on the same foot and that collective voice is on a march. From the Middle East protests against regimes to the 99%’s Occupy Wall Street protests against the 1% Mega Rich of the United States, a protest has indeed taken root and it doesn’t look like it will recede anytime soon.
That is unless come January 24th, 2012, two bills get passed in the legislature: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
SOPA is “a law of the United States of America proposed in 2011 to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods… The bill would criminalize streaming of content, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.” (Wikipedia: House Bill 3261)
PIPA (Protect IP Act or Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011) is “also known as Senate Bill 968 or S. 968, is a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to ‘rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods’, especially those registered outside the U.S.” (Wikipedia: Senate Bill 968)
SOPA and PIPA could have negative results in the long term on Internet speed, security and innovation if passed. The two bills intend to stop online piracy and protect copyright holders, but observers claim they will infringe upon creativity, Internet security and innovation. They infringe on these by punishing websites that link to any copyright-infringing sites, even by accident.
Oneupweb supported the stand against the SOPA and PIPA bills presently being considered in Congress. In a public announcement yesterday Oneupweb stated:
“While the intention behind the bills is to stop copyright infringement, they are drafted in such a way that is incompatible with the current open and free Internet as we know it. These bills, as they exist presently, will do little to stop piracy. Instead, they will stifle innovation, promote censorship, and break how the internet functions.”
Oneupweb Home Page on January 18th, 2012
Of course the big wigs of websites like Google, WordPress and Wikipedia also protested the bills by performing blackouts on the 18th of January, 2012.
WordPress
Google launched a petition page that gathered 4.5 million signatures just on the 18th alone. Wikipedia’s blackout caused a Twitter freenzy in the hashtag #wtfWikipedia, which caused a real time page to be created that showed the millions of tweets on its blackout.
To better understand the intention and the backlash against PIPA and SOPA watch this video:
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet:
In response to the mass blackout day across the Internet people also came out from the New York tech community and gathered to protest SOPA and PIPA on Wall Street. Around 1,500 people were in attendance.
Something to know is that PIPA is a rewrite of the COICA Bill (Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act), which supporters unsuccessfully attempted to push through in 2010. The same thing happened with the SOPA bill. Therefore, something to also note is that though we may beat SOPA and PIPA this time around (and we better with 4.5 Million signatures from the Google petition be end day of Janurary 18th, 2012), we may be protesting revised versions of these in the not-so-distant future.
We at Oneupweb support the movement against SOPA and PIPA. We have a right to a voice and we give the movement two thumbs up!
Where do you stand and how do you feel about this movement?
Fresh off a pretty radical social marketing experiment in Portugal, Coca-Cola has opened another can of serious social on Tumblr with its “Happiness is…” blog. Aimed at the network’s active young blogger demographic, the “Happiness is…” campaign draws on the traditional marketing strengths of both Coca-Cola and Tumblr, respectively: sugary, feel-good sentiment and photography. As reported by Jason Keath for Social Fresh, Coca-Cola launched its Tumblr blog just after Christmas and is one of the first consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to the use the platform. From what we’ve seen so far, I’d say they’ve nailed it. Touchdown, Coke.
What makes the “Happiness is…” campaign tick? Well, being one of the world’s most recognizable – and admired – brands certainly doesn’t hurt. But it’s the design of the Tumblr blog itself that truly distinguishes Coca-Cola’s campaign. We’ll keep it simple and focus on three important lessons:
1) Less Can Be More
Much like the theme of the campaign itself, “Happiness is…”, the Coca-Cola Tumblr page focuses on essence – and is careful not to overpower the user with graphic wizardry and surface static. In doing so, the Coca-Cola team is positioning itself to appeal to the platform’s core demographic – young, artistically inclined bloggers looking for authentic experience, not commercial polish.
Coca-Cola's "Happiness Is..." Tumblr blog invites users to experience the essence of the brand.
2) Push the Idea, Sell the Product
Social media is all about relationships – and a platform like Tumblr is perfect for forging emotional connection between a brand and its audience. By focusing the conversation on what happiness means, Coca-Cola’s “Happiness is…” campaign not only connects the brand with potential customers; it connects the product with a desirable feeling.
3) Hand Over the Wheel
When I can hangout with the Muppets, why would I bother sticking around a brand page that treats me like a museum visitor? Today’s social consumer needs to feel involved. While paying close attention to message and design consistency, Coca-Cola has given visitors to its “Happiness is…” Tumblr blog plenty of creative license, posting user-generated content and encouraging interaction with the content.
Coca-Cola shares plenty of user-generated content on its "Happiness is..." blog, curating the user experience.
MASCOT: defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck.
CHERRY BEAR
Today, I watched a marketing video a friend of mine here in Traverse City helped create for a company out near the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Cherry Republic.
Cherry Republic is located in Glen Arbor. It is a company that specializes in gift packages for what this region is known for – cherries!
The company’s viral videos wasn’t a method they usually employed until recently. It was a smart choice if you ask me. In reviewing their YouTube channel I see two videos.
The two videos at present time on the Cherry Bear Republic YouTube channel
As you will see the two videos were launched within the last three week time period. The video my friend helped with was launched first. As of today, it has received 1,944 views. That is really good for a local company! The second one launched yesterday. It has already received 684 views.
As can be observed the company has a mascot. Their mascot is: Cherry Bear. I love how they implemented their mascot into the videos. The “Cherry Bear Stocks up for Hibernation” is clearly a day-in-the-life of the Cherry Bear. We get to see in the end of the video the bear resting finally to stuff him with cherry goodies on the beautiful Glen Arbor shores of Lake Michigan. In “Cherry Republic Thanksgiving Cookoff” we still see the bear present in little animations and artwork helping us through the flow of the video while also inviting us into the company culture via a yummy cookoff.
Also, love the little “mom, stop talking” blooper in the opening. So cute! Gotta love moms!
"Mom! Stop talking!" blooper screen shot
Indeed, Cherry Republic implemented an excellent idea within their company social media marketing campaign. Smart tactic, Cherry Republics!
MAYHEM
Let’s take another one of my favorite mascots, Allstate’s Mayhem.
Sexiest Mascot alive! The only time Mayhem is welcomed.
I’m sure he is a favorite for a lot of you. I mean, how amazing is that, that an insurance company hit a home run with accident and mishap topics via the “Sexiest GPS Alive!” This could be the only time you would hear many of us scream “GO Mayhem!” Well, besides those select few that mosh about at a Sex Pistols concert, which actually could make for a good Mayhem commercial.
By the way (BTW), finding a proper hyperlink for mosh about wasn’t an easy task to avoid extreme profanity while holding classical music vs. death metal. So, make sure to click it and enjoy the musical dance of mosh and stage diving. It’s my ode to Mayhem!
Mayhem Facebook Fan Page - notice we call it a "Fan Page"
The Mayhem character (mascot) has a huge following. Their Facebook fan page – note to the word “fan” – holds one million, one hundred and three thousand, four hundred and seventy-five fans [1,103,475]. That’s a lot of likers! The fact that they have almost 50,000 people talking about the mascot in the last 24 hours within Facebook is also a stat number to get crazy over.
Imagine sitting in a social media marketing meeting and having that sort of feedback to a brand. “Is it working” someone asks. I don’t know. What do you think?
Another interesting find I discovered on the Mayhem Facebook was the fan photos. I can’t believe how popular Mayhem was this year for Halloween. GO Mayhem!
Mayhem - popular Halloween costume 2011
IN CLOSING
How about you? What do you think of company mascoting? Any insights? Any outside of the box stories? Share them. Would love to hear from you!
And now… I close with my ode to Mayhem once more: my favorite Mayhem commerical “Toddler Mayhem.”
The Village Voice wrote an interesting blog on Tuesday about the United States Postal Service’s new Facebook (@USPSstamps) and Twitter (USPS Stamps) profiles. These are two new social media profiles created by “the dying government institution” to generate interest in 2012’s upcoming stamp collection.
According to The Village Voice blogger:
The USPS social-media person must be too old to appreciate the irony in trying to save snail mail on the interwebs, or maybe the Postal Service has finally realized that the only young people who are going to buy stamps are irony-loving hipsters.
Ouch! But is it true?
The USPS will release a new 2012 stamp everyday for a certain period of time so collectors and fans can can share and discuss the new stamps.
Here are the three stamps they’ve released thus far:
Although the US Postal Service may not be as in demand as it was 30 years ago, this is a creative way to generate interest for the organization’s coveted centerpiece – stamps.
What do you think? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
