Music and Fashion on groupon-like site? Yes!!!

http://www.1band1brand.com/

Buy music and clothes Groupon style! It is simple, this website features discounts on Music and Fashion brands. That is it for today’s post. I thought you might want to check it out.

Making a Big Marketing Splash

This is an article from February 28. Now that it is April 1 we know that it is in fact 3rd place!

Nevada marketing students earned their way to the American Marketing Association International Collegiate Competition in New Orleans.

February 28, 2011
By Claudene Wharton

The Wolf Pack American Marketing Association chapter at the University of Nevada Reno is a top-10 finalist in the international AMA competition. Pictured front to back, left to right: Sara Klinger, Danielle Ballard, Advisor Igor Makienko, Brittany Haggerty, Geane Mara, Anita Bowers, Joelle Lipsman, Chelsea Hejny, Diana Perazzo, Tim Walenta, Bryan McNutt and Cody Haener. Not pictured: Ryan Johnson. Photo courtesy of Tyler Harding, AMA and Nevada College of Business alumnus.

The student chapter of the American Marketing Association at the University of Nevada, Reno has been named one of the top 10 finalists in the AMA International Collegiate Competition, joining the ranks of students from other institutions such as Carnegie Mellon and Penn State. The AMA team from fellow Nevada System of Higher Education institution University of Nevada, Las Vegas was also named a top-10 finalist, setting the stage for yet another great showdown between the two friendly state rivals.

The Wolf Pack AMA chapter will compete against UNLV and the other eight finalists March 24 in New Orleans, where they will present their marketing plan for Nintendo to a panel of judges chosen by Nintendo. All teams had to target the non-gaming population of the United States, which Wolf Pack team leader Diana Perazzo said wasn’t much of a stretch for her and her teammates.

“Not a single member of our team was an avid game player,” she said, with a grin in her elegant Russian accent. “So, we were part of our own target market.”

The senior marketing major in Nevada’s College of Business is representative of the over-achieving, hardworking personalities of the 12-member team, according to chapter advisor Igor Makienko, assistant professor of marketing.

“They don’t have time to play games – they’re all too busy,” he chuckled.

The team spent a lot of their time conducting research – primary, secondary and focus groups.

“You cannot do anything without research,” Perazzo said. “The more we got to know Nintendo, the more we loved it. It’s a really good company with strong research and marketing. They support good causes and are very profitable.”

“They integrated research throughout their whole plan, not just the research section,” Makienko explained. “They backed up everything they said with research, giving a clear rationale for everything in their plan.”

Perazzo said that the team learned a lot from competing last year, when they finished in the competition’s top 20. Because they didn’t finish in the top 10, they didn’t get to present at the finals, but Perazzo said, “We watched, took notes and learned a lot. I think that’s one reason why we are so strong this year.”

According to Judy Strauss, associate professor of marketing, “I have never seen such high scores from industry professionals in a student competition. It is evidence of the high-quality instruction and real-world applications that our students are learning in our College of Business. We are very proud of them.”

The team scored 95 to 99 points out of 100 from five of the six judges. The sixth judge gave them a score of 87, to which Perazzo reacted with the true spirit of a competitor, “That’s okay. We don’t mind at all. That’s what makes you better and how you learn.”

Perazzo said that with both the Wolf Pack team and the team from UNLV being named top-10 finalists, she feels great pride, commenting, “We all must be getting a very good education here.”

But, she also admits that the friendly intrastate rivalry between the two institutions adds a little additional incentive.

“Seeing UNLV on that list does get my competitive nature going even more. We are Wolf Pack, so now it’s personal and we want to beat them,” she said.

The Wolf Pack team began working on the project the second week of September, meeting twice a week at first, then several days a week, and then every day in December, when the preliminary plan was due.

“Now we get to improve upon our plan, just continue to fine-tune it until the final competition,” Perazzo said, carefully guarding any more specific details of their plan until the actual final competition, as a true competitor would.

Those who wish to support the team’s trip to the competition in New Orleans can attend a Sushi Night at 7 p.m. March 3 in the University’s Joe Crowley Student Union Ballrooms. Admission is $10. Also, the group earns $1 for everyone who joins myEdu for free at this link: http://www.myedu.com/free/nevadaAMA#. For more information on assisting the team, contact Perazzo at 775-378-0297 or dianaperazzo@gmail.com.

Claudene Wharton is a media relations officer in University Media Relations.

Learn with me: Schedule your Twitter posts

One of my job’s functions is to schedule Facebook posts. After doing it for a couple of weeks, I found that it is easy to forget to post important information unless you post it right that second when you remember about it. However, usually such information has a time and a date when it should go out. How delighted I was to learn about the HootSuite! With this great Social Media Dashboard you can schedule your posts ahead of time. Moreover, it supports several Socia Networks, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and some others.

It is only Monday, let’s keep on learning!

Learn with me – Social Media Strategy

This semester my MKT 495 class had a challenge to come up with an integrated marketing campaign for a local casual dining restaurant. It is no news for anyone that during this economy consumers are looking for deals. With the popularity of such websites as Living Social, Groupon and others, consumers can arrange their restaurant trips in a way that they would not have to even pay a full price. Add to that specials restaurants offer during Happy Hours, and here comes a recipe for tasty lasagna paired with a recipe for disaster.

On the day of the presentation every team spoke about offering deals and promotions, including the team I was in. From Happy Hour specials to Day-of-the-week specials, we offered it all only to find out later that week from the client that she does not want to make the place look cheap. And this is when I got reminded (again) that marketing is not about offering a cheaper deal – it is about eliminating the “selling” part by making customers fall in love with you and your product.

 

One of the tactics we introduced was to create Facebook Business Page and update fans about deals and promotions. However, when all you do is post on your page about discounts, then you will only get online community to come to your place when you have those discounts. So what I learned today is a way to revamp your Social Media strategy. Here it comes…

SOLUTION!!!

Create really personal experience on your page. Introduce an owner, let fans know what the owner’s personality is, what he/she likes to do and anything interesting about this person. Let them know the owner’s face. Why is that important? Well, imagine you are the owner of a small local restaurant and you are shopping for groceries. One person recognizes you from the video they have seen on Facebook (any other social media) and tells his/her friend that you are an owner of that restaurant. Here is their possible conversation:

–       Oh, that’s an owner of “Little Joe’s”

–       Really? I never been there!

–       You should go, the food is great and the owner loves wine, so they really have a great wine-selection!

You can also give customers a peak in the kitchen. Introduce the Chef, after all, Chef’s talent should be celebrated, show how food masterpieces are made and decorated, and share your expertise in food-making and administrative process. When you convince your customers that you are an expert that is when they will share their wallets’ contents with you!

 

Improve your Facebook page – Learn with me

Learn with me: Improve your Facebook page

Have you ever wondered how some companies have A-ma-zing looking pages? I have. So I learned several techniques to improve your page and here they are:

1. PageRage Facebook Themes.

Remember the scins MySpace had (when we used it)? Well, you can do the same with your Facebook page. I am not saying you should, this App will only work if you already have an established brand colors and emages. If, however, you don’t, then do not use this application. If we overuse it on Facebook, then it will end up like MySpace.

1. Docs.

This one is phenomenal! While it would not work as Google Docs (don’t attempt using Facebook docs for group projects), this App is great for sharing your portfolio or a Resume. Also, you need to know that the uploaded document willnot be embedded into you page, the user will be redirected to docs.com to view your information.

1. Link to Twitter

This App is great if you don’t want to post the information twice: to FB and Twitter. Go to Facebook/twitter to connect the pages.

1. RSS Graffiti.

I use this one. This Application pulls new posts from your blog into your Facebook feed as they appear on your blog. Just go to Facebook/RSS.graffiti to get it.

1. Static FBML

Ever noticed those nice custom tabs that some business pages have? Well, it is easy to make one with FBML. Add Static FBML to your applications, then choose to use it for your page. After it is added, go to your settings and click to edit it. You can change the name of the tab and add your own design or images. All you need is upload your design into photobucket and then copy html text into your FBML. If you would like to add any text,you would need to code it with HTML, some basic coding knowledge is enough. I did it, trust me, you can too!

1. ShortStack.

I haven’t used this one myself, but heard that Peppermill is using it. So check it out on Facebook/chortstacklab.

Secret Santa on Twitter

Just opened my Google reader and learned that Twitter is holding Secret Santa this year. Yep, you can sign up until tomorrow and will receive your match from your own followers (only those who signed up for Secret Santa as well). This is an interesting step of Twitter to become more personal, but will it work? Mashable is signed for Secret Santa and has 1407 followers, yet has 0 matches. What are my chances with my about a 100 follower number?

Although the idea is really unique, I feel that online should stay online. Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% for online experiences, but I am against those experiences spilling over to my real life. How sad would it be if I had to turn to Twitter to receive Christmas gifts?! Perhaps, I would rather try harder to make real friends, than receive a gift from an online community….

 

Hashtag – Learn with me

Although I opened my Twitter account over a year ago, I believe I am still new to Twitter. However, after one amazing AMA Speaker Bret Simmons came to our luncheon, I am learning both blogging and posting on Twitter. Last week I learned a new word – Hashtag. I did my research and now I am ready to say I know what it is. I also organized this information in a way that would be easy for you to read and process.

Definition

A #prefix to a tweet word, which basically means that the word with a prefix is a common topic that could be easily searched for and found on the web.

How to use

• Simply place # before your word.
• Research at http://tagal.us/ if your topic already has a hashtag and then use the existing one.
• Pick creative name under 10 characters
• Only use it for valuable information

Good uses

Conferences and events –  Give your conference a hashtag. For example, #sphones for your Smart Phones Conference. Conference attendees then can find each other and learn useful information. Remind attendees of your hashtag through every media used. For those who do not use Twitter or are not familiar with hashtags, provide a Website Widget that displays the conversations (Use Twitgrid).

Polls – You can ask people to post their opinion followed by a hashtag.

Contest – I actually participated in one. One of the Fashion Magazines asked to tweet about my favorite designer followed by #favdesigner (just an example). At a certain date all who tweeted with the hashtag were entered into a drawing.

Constant contact – learn with me

I like to stay ahead of the curve and normally do. I don’t refer to myself as to a “Know-all” marketing specialist, rather a savvy student that catches new ideas fast. But I did not with this one! During the last class presentation for a local restaurant I felt a bit behind. This is when I heard of Constant Contact for the first time! And now I am on their website learning of what they have to offer.

Email marketing.

• Tools to create email campaigns. Choose from designs and customize it with your information. You can also view and analyze results and use them
• You are also given a “Join my newsletter” box that you can place at your website. If you already have a list of contact, you can easily export them.
• Email archive lets your customers look at all past emails you had. Can also add “View our archive” box to your website.
• Prices start at $15 with no limit of the amount of emails you can send. Try their 60 day trial for free!

Event marketing.

• Set up your event with getting started box. You enter your event details here. Constant contact can set up an easy pay option with Pay Pal. You can also cap the number of attendees and record their meal preferences. Constant Contact lets you customize registration form.
• Now publish and promote your event:  You can get your event homepageand send professional looking email invitations.
• When registered customers get email conformation.
• You can track your event’s progress with the tools provided, such as how many people registered, how many opened your invitation, etc.
• Prices are also $15 per month with a free 60 day trial.

Online Surveys.

• You can choose from over 40 customizable themes
• Constant Contact gives you tools to create the surveys
• You can analyze the results with the reports
• Again, $15 per month and 60 day free trial

Note: Pretty much looks like Survey Monkey. However, Survey Monkey only lets you ask 10 questions for free and analyzes 100 responses. You can use Constant Contact for free for 60 days and get the full service. Also, Pro service on Survey Monkey costs more that $15.

Social Media.

• Constant Contact lets you create a post only once and post it to several social media at the same time
• Get NutshellMail that would tell you all about what is being said about your business on the web
• Social Stats feature measures tweets about your emails, discussions on LinkedIn, and shares on Facebook and much more
• Social Buzz is a feature on your email letting customers to spread the word about your company
• “Follow me” icons available for your emails
• Social Media marketing templates – looks amazing. I see it used once or twice only, though – just to let your customers know that you have Social Media pages. Otherwise, your customers might get overwhelmed by inofrmation

Personal coaching.

• Free coaching is available via phone, email, online chat, FAQ’s no matter if you are a client or on 60 day trial.

Blog.

• Make sure to follow their blog. Just from glancing over it for a minute I learned one new thing (Hashtag anyone?)
• Trends, ideas, case studies, news and much more – all about marketing!

Community.

• I would say this is purely marketing social network, where you can share ideas, get answers and learn how others become successful
• You can use this community to get more customers – via directory listing
• You get to be in this community if you are a Constant Contact Customer (60 day trial is included)

MarketPlace

• Find service marketing/design/management service providers in one place
• Find applications for your business needs

Constant Contact also has seminars in 18 cities in the U.S. (not in Reno, though) and 2 in Canada. I am already liking what they have to offer and wich I knew about them about a month ago before I analyzed survey results for my IMC competition with SPSS!

Case Study: ASUN Facebook Page

Case Study: ASUN Facebook Page

This page was launched I believe in April 2010, just before I started working with Inkblot. Now, 8 months later, we have 1,600 fans. We still have lots of growth opportunities, but looking back at our page with just about 50 fans, I feel that we came a long way.

What did we do to promote it? Well, word of mouth is your friend. With about 100 employees it was easy to spread the word. My personal favorite was ordering fridge magnets with our logo and Facebook link and distributing it everywhere on campus, including the residence halls. We go to different events put by ASUN and take pictures of the attendees and give them those Facebook magnets to find their pictures on our page.

Of course, we have a link to our page on our website and in every employee’s email signature. We also ordered a lamp banner with the same look as the fridge magnet. A key here is that even if students don’t remember exact URL, they will at least know that we have a Facebook Page and once they get home they will try to find it. Besides, our page is really easy to remember http://www.facebook.com/NevadaASUN

We also have 10 TV Monitors in different areas of campus, we placed this screed ad on those screens as well. Every single piece of publicity that goes out from Inkblot has the link on it. This coming semester we are planning on printing a big banner and hanging it over the staircase in the student union. That sure is to get a lot of attention.

So … just a bit about campus publicity for those who work on campuses, too.

Commercials trend in Russia

This summer (just two month ago) I spent two month in Russia, mainly in Moscow and Ufa. It stroke me, that TV advertising there is a bit different from TV ads here in the U.S. The main trend I have noticed was that ads messages concentrated around promotions, giveaways and any type of swag and goodies. One commercial was promising a trip to “the desert of Nevada’s Burining Man festival”, another asked me to collect the lids from the bottles of the beverage they sold and look for a price.

Such ads happen in the U.S. as well, but in Russia it seemed that almost every commercial was talking about promotions. How fascinating! How different are the cultures 🙂