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This Week in Digital 4.20.12
04/21/2012
From Klout launching brand pages to data on how children use Facebook, this edition of This Week in Digital underscores the importance of targeting the appropriate audience through social media to communicate a message. We hope you enjoy this round-up of digital news and how it relates to communications between brand and consumer.
Over 35% of Children on Facebook are Younger than 12
MinorMonitor, a dashboard that allows parents to monitor their children’s Facebook activity, compiled data on how kids are using the top social media platform. Through a survey of 1,000 parents, the survey found that 38% of the children on Facebook were 12 and under, even though it’s against Facebook’s policy. Over half of surveyed parents log into their children’s accounts to monitor their use, and the second top concern of parents (behind sexual predators) was that their children were sharing too much information. As overall Facebook use grows, it’s important to look at segmented use by age to optimize participation in campaigns. Many Facebook applications require users to share personal information like email, age and location so that brands can stay compliant with Facebook policy. Although Facebook is appealing to a younger audience, running campaigns on the platform may not be the most effective way to reach them.
Klout, the popular site that measures social media influence with a score from 1 to 100, has launched “Brand Squads,” its version of brand pages. Red Bull has signed on as the first brand to participate in the program, which highlights the top 10 and top 100 influencers as well as the conversations those influencers are having about the brand. These new pages give companies a quick way to see who their top influencers are and reach out to them with unique perks to retain them as brand advocates. cebook use grows, it’s important to look at segmented use by age to optimize participation in campaigns. Many Facebook applications require users to share personal information like email, age and location so that brands can stay compliant with Facebook policy. Although Facebook is appealing to a younger audience, running campaigns on the platform may not be the most effective way to reach them.
Screenfeeder App Displays Social Media On-Screen
Screenfeeder, a new app available for iPhones, iPads and Apple TV shows social media updates one by one, in real time, on a custom background. While the service wouldn’t be used for everyday social media activity, the app can stream updates from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare at events and conferences through an attractive and easy-to-read interface. For example, Screenfeeder could deliver live hashtag updates at an event, giving attendees the ability to view their tweets on a screen. As brands are looking to increase their online presence, Screenfeeder may be another way to encourage social conversations and connect the offline and online worlds at events. ion in campaigns. Many Facebook applications require users to share personal information like email, age and location so that brands can stay compliant with Facebook policy. Although Facebook is appealing to a younger audience, running campaigns on the platform may not be the most effective way to reach them.
Thich Nhat Hanh and Tornadoes in Oklahoma
04/19/2012
This past Sunday, I had the great pleasure of sitting next to Mary Emeny at a dinner in Amarillo, Texas where we were showing highlights of Ken Burns’s upcoming film, The Dust Bowl. Mary, I later learned, is prominent in the arts and environmental communities in Amarillo. When I asked someone else at the table what Mary did, she responded, “She makes Amarillo worth living in for the rest of us.”
During our chat, Mary spoke about her trips to Vietnam as a young woman and specifically, her work with Buddhist monks there on behalf of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk. (Vietnam came up because Ken Burns is working on a film about the war in Vietnam.)
Among his many accomplishments, Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated by Martin Luther King in 1967 for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to stop the war in Vietnam. Today, he’s known as well for his writings on Buddhism– in particular, mindfulness and the importance of being present in the moment. “Life is available only in the present moment,” he wrote in “Taming the Tiger,” and “the past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”
The Dust Bowl provides many opportunities to think about this message, given the hardships created by the decade-long storms for the people of the Oklahoma Panhandle, where we were traveling to launch our promotion for the film. April 14th was the 77th anniversary of the worst storm, now remembered as Black Sunday.
Weather turned out to be a large part of the trip, and not just the dust (though we saw lots of dust blowing). On, April 13th, our first day in Oklahoma City several tornadoes touched down just south of where we were. The next day, we left Oklahoma City at 5 a.m. Several hours later, we drove through Woodward, Oklahoma, a town of about 12,000 people. We stopped at Hutch’s, a small convenience store, for coffee and water. Two elderly women working there were getting ready for the day. We chatted about our trip and the weather, and they explained they had already seen earlier in the week “hail the size of grapefruits” and they were expecting “harsh weather” later in the day.
Several hours later we arrived in Guymon, Oklahoma and later showed The Dust Bowl to survivors of the storm featured in the film, followed by a drive through Cimarron National Grasslands.
The next morning, as we were preparing to drive to Amarillo, we learned that Woodward had been hit by a tornado, one of more than 100 that touched down in the region over the weekend. Much of the town was destroyed and six people, including two young girls, five and seven years old, died. A news story about the storm is here and video of the storm is here.
At the dinner in Amarillo, Dr. John Bridwell gave the invocation. I thought, “Ah, Texas and God,” as he prepared to speak, wondering why there would be an invocation at an event like this. Minister Bridwell said:
“Where are the safe heavens, Lord?
The bowels of the earth grown and grind and erupt,
Tsunamis blaze and erase our work,
And destroy our castles and shacks, the products of our hands and heads,
We run and splatter, and sputter, and scream and cry, and curse,
But time does not hear us, nor seem to care.
“The winds rage incessantly, we feel, and ruin our crops, and assault our homes,
And make us grasp for breathable air, and we cry mud and suffocate,
And lay our babies and elderly to rest.
Oh, Lord, God, what is this? Where are you? Where do we find refuge?”
His words seemed, to me, to reinforce Thich Nhat Hanh’s message of mindfulness. Throughout the evening, I thought about our quick stop in Woodward at Hutch’s. Was I truly present when there and curious about the lives of the women who worked there and greeted us? I thought about the families who lost their homes, and of course the family that lost their lives, including the two young sisters.
I thought about the families of the Dust Bowl, who endured apocalyptic storms that seemed to them like the end of the world, as well as Floyd Coen, a survivor in the film who is now in his 80s, recalling the death of his young sister from dust pneumonia. We visited her grave site in Kansas.
Perhaps it is obvious, perhaps even a bit silly, but the suddenness of these storms, along with the ravaging dust bowl that over years destroyed farms and families, seemed to emphasize the importance of the present moment, given how quickly the next moment can be shattered.
Dr. Bridwell continued:
“Then the sun rises once again, and the heavens declare your glory, but we do not forget,
The day is clear, the sky is glorious, the breezes caress, the earth heals and so do we, but we do not forget.”
By Joe DePlasco, Managing Director
Wrestlemania, Part II: Becoming a Fan All Over Again
04/18/2012
I used to watch the WWE when it was the WWF, when Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy and Ricky the Dragon Steamboat ruled the ring. As I got older, though, my fandom waned, going to high school then college. During those years, the only time pro wrestling registered with me was when I found out there was a Superstar named Sycho Sid (nee Sid Vicious). His WWF career didn’t last too long–but I still have his action figure on my desk.
Flash forward to one week in March 2012, when my colleagues and I stood on the field at Sun Life Stadium, current home to the Miami Dolphins and former home of the Florida Marlins–an orange-bedecked octagon plopped down in the middle of Miami-Dade County, vulnerable to heat, humidity and, of course, rain. The sun was beginning to set and soon the main event would take place. The seats were filling quickly, with WWE fans alternatively chanting “WE LOVE CENA!” and “CENA SUCKS!” (John Cena, for the uninitiated, is one of the WWE’s biggest stars, crossing over into movies and the occasional Nickelodeon TV show that my daughter watches.)
Towards one end of the stadium, there stood a giant stage stretching from sideline to sideline, and giant, illuminated capital letters spelling out W-R-E-S-T-L-E-M-A-N-I-A stood sentry. A massive ramp, probably 40 yards long, led directly to the ring, itself surrounded by four massive palm trees (more on those later) with giant TV screens on all four sides–the better for those in the nosebleeds to see the action with. TV crews from the WWE intermingled with security staff from Sun Life and, of course, the fans streaming in, each wearing the t-shirts of their favorite Superstars and Divas: the aforementioned Cena, The Rock, Sheamus, Kelly Kelly, The Miz, Jericho, et al. And there were fans of the old-timers, too: Edge, Triple H, The Undertaker, and even more from way back: at one point, fans went nuts when The Iron Sheik entered via wheelchair. Of course the crowd was peppered with homemade signs — the ultimate love letters to their favorite wrestlers. Soon, the old Joe Robbie Stadium — originally for football and having failed as a venue for baseball — was packed with a record 78,363 fans, all there to see a historic sports entertainment event.
WrestleMania 28 lived up to its own hype, from the opening match — which saw current WWE heavyweight champion Sheamus knock out Daniel Bryant with a high kick within the opening seconds — to the epic battle between Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. If you couldn’t hear the punches, elbows and bodyslams from your seat or on pay-per-view, the crowd helped by punctuating each hit with a “BOOM!” and a “BOOM!” and an “OHHHHHHHH!” In an interview with AP Radio, WWE’s Natalya pointed out that in the WWE, there are always “good guys and bad guys,” and sometimes the crowd helped remind us which was which, for instance, loudly cheering for Big Show or guest Diva Maria Menounos, or heartily booing The Miz. (Far be it from me to take sides, of course — but I’m happy The Rock won his match.)
Towards the middle of the event, an epic, what-seemed-like-it-took-forever match between Triple H and the Undertaker was clearly the favorite, with the crowd breaking out in a “THIS / IS / AWE-SOME!” chant at least twice. Guest referee Bret Hart, whose WWE career was ended by the Undertaker some years back, added to the drama by getting (accidentally) knocked out during the match. A few chairs, a sledgehammer and one steel cage later, the match ended with Undertaker victorious, and all three leaving the ring together, beaten and a little bloody, but brotherhood well intact.
And that, I think, is the underlying and / or overarching theme of the WWE: that despite the apparently animus between “the good guys and the bad guys,” ultimately, we can all get along. The fans helped prove that by taking a break from their partisan catcalls to yell, in unison, “(BLEEP) THE PALM TREES!” — by far the funniest, and most unifying, chant of the night.
WrestleMania was a great spectacle, and an engaging one, to be sure. It had enough drama and emotion to rival The Bard’s greatest plays and even put some of Michael Bay’s action flicks to shame. It had Flo Rida and Machine Gun Kelly and a cameo by Diddy and Mike Tyson as its social media ambassador and a world heavyweight champion who charms with an Irish brogue and disarms with a single kick to the throat. It has smart-aleck fans who chant for Superstars and Divas and against fake palm trees. And now I have no choice but to care about what happens next to The Rock, to John Cena, to Sheamus and Hornswoggle and Alicia Fox and Rey Mysterio and Mick Foley and The Miz and Kelly Kelly and David Otunga and maybe even my imagined WWE persona, “Sid The Run-On Sentence.”
Yes, WrestleMania made me a fan again. And perhaps that’s the most amazing thing of all.
By Sid Dinsay, Account Supervisor
Wrestlemania, Part I: WWE Uses Its Power for Good
[This post is the first in a series of three about DKC's time at Wrestlemania XXVIII.]
Upon finding out that DKC would be working with the WWE and WrestleMania XXVIII in particular, I was beyond thrilled, and slightly giddy. Since my role in the sports department here is focused on entertainment, what better project than the largest sports entertainment property in the world?
DKC was retained by the WWE to support their communications team, both socially and traditionally, surrounding WrestleMania XXVIII and the dozens of events leading up to it. Before we knew it, the DKC WWE team was on a plane to Miami for the week’s festivities.
Now, like many people my age, I grew up watching WWE (then WWF) on TV–Macho Man Randy Savage (I knew him as Macho King), Honky Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan–all names from childhood. But like most kids that age, I thought it was real. (Or was I the only person not in on the act?) So as I grew up, I always thought of the WWE as a violent sports substitute.
Boy was I wrong.
Now rated PG, the WWE is also exceptionally socially active. From their heavy involvement in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, strong support of the troops, global literacy programs to their major anti-bullying campaign,“be a STAR,” the WWE does anything and everything it can to enrich the lives of its fans. And I had the privilege of witnessing almost all of this first hand.
Seeing little Colton’s eyes light up when he saw Superstars and Diva Mick Foley, Tyson Kid and Natalya walk into his hospital room at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital provided the first tear-jerking moment of the trip, and it certainly wasn’t the last. Watching a mother cry upon seeing her son smile for the first time in a long time is a moment you just can’t shake.
The next day, I went to JFK Middle School in North Miami Beach for an anti-bullying rally, where over half of the kids there said they’ve been bullied at some point or another. After witnessing some pretty moving speeches from David Otunga (better known as Jennifer Hudson’s fiancé) and The Miz, both of whom had been bullied as kids–I knew this story had to be told.
As a publicist, I consume an insane amount of media on a daily basis, yet I had never heard of “be a STAR,” which was created well before the anti-bullying movement swept the nation. Every day, we’re tasked with generating positive publicity for our clients in appropriate and targeted outlets, but this was a story that truly meant something to me. Like so many kids, I was bullied in school, and to know that these buff Superstars were also in that same embarrassing boat growing up struck a chord with me.
Not only did I want this story told for my client, but I wanted this story told for myself. Other kids out there needed to know that these icons of massive stature were also picked on–and as the saying goes, “It Gets Better.” Not to self-aggrandize too much, but this potential story took on a new meaning. If at least one child that’s being bullied in school read about “be a STAR” and the WWE’s initiative, maybe they could have some newfound optimism for their future.
Let the pitching begin.
And luckily, the Associated Press, the largest news wire service in the world, told this story for us. And if the piece helped provide a glimmer of hope for one of the over 199 million people whoread it, then I had accomplished my goal.
The next morning, after the story ran, I witnessed the most emotionalmoment of the trip–the Make-A-Wish Pizza Party hosted by John Cena. Some may not know this, but John Cena has granted more “wishes” than any other celebrity or athlete since the establishment of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cena had actually granted a dying wish to a young boy about two weeks prior to WrestleMania, and he told that frail child, Dylan, that if he could hold on for a few more days,that he’d be Cena’s guest at WrestleMania. That boy, who had less than 24 hours to live and had defeated cancer four times, attended that pizza party at Jungle Island, and then WrestleMania XXVIII the next day.
These stories all compounded to create an entirely different view of the WWE and what it truly stands for. The WWE as an organization, as well as its Superstars and Divas, knows that it has power in its fan base and a solid platform to tell multiple stories – and it uses that platform not only to entertain, but to enrich and inspire.
Our week in Miami was one filled with emotional highs and lows, but it will remain with our team forever.
And we can all look forward to WrestleMania XXIX and the powerful moments leading up to it right in our backyard next year.
By Michael Braun, Account Supervisor
This Week in Digital 4.13.12
04/16/2012
From a startup looking to make magazines social to Facebook’s billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram to events enhancing a brand’s online presence, this edition of This Week in Digital underscores the importance of integrating online and offline communication. We hope you enjoy this round-up of digital news and how it relates to communications between brand and consumer.
Netizine Turns Magazines Into Social Networks
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A startup is looking to take magazines social this summer, connecting readers, bloggers and journalists with their favorite magazine content on a single platform. Netizine, an HTML-5 based application for tablets, will operate outside of the Apple store and offer a personalized experience through profiles, live chats, groups, location check-ins, seamless Facebook and Twitter integration on magazine pages, and more. The app will use social metrics to influence an article’s visibility, allowing readers to view the “most shared” or “most commented” articles with the push of a button. Netizine is already speaking with seven of the top publishers worldwide, including three in the U.S. Social media continues to reshape journalism and the media, exemplified through Netizine, where visibilty, readership and influence are driven by its social network.
The Turning Point for Mobile Apps
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Facebook’s billion-dollar acquisition of photo app Instagram this week demonstrates the shift in Internet start-ups’ business models as they build services for mobile first and web second. As brands realize that consumers want to share content immediately wherever they are, mobile technology is becoming increasingly important to the larger brand strategy. Other recent app-first successes include Draw Something, which was recently acquired for $200 million, and Angry Birds. Brands can capitalize on this switch by imagining their brand messaging and online experiences with a mobile consumer in mind, and rethinking methods of communication to reach their audience on the go.
How Events Can Enhance Your Brand’s Online Presence
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Whether celebrating the launch of a product or providing a special brand experience, events can be a successful way to build brand awareness and exposure. How can that awareness transfer to a brand’s online presence? Photobooths, although not a new element in event production, can be optimized for social media, allowing attendees to post photos directly to their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Social scavenger hunts create an online world where users can engage in the game together, build buzz and receive virtual and physical prizes relating to the brand. Livestreaming allows a single event to reach and engage consumers globally. As brands include events as part of their PR or marketing strategy, consideration should be given to highly sharable elements that connect the offline and online world, as well as content or experiences that attendees would want to share with their friends and followers through social media platforms.
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Hair to Help: Shaving For a Good Cause
04/13/2012
I shaved off my facial hair.
Well, technically I had it shaved off for me.
It’s in the name of a client, and in the name of charity. I now look like an alien to anyone who knows me, and to myself as well. I can only imagine what my wife will say when she sees me – and I hope my big pup, Oscar, doesn’t get too confused.
The client is my beloved New York Rangers, who began their quest for the Stanley Cup last night against the Ottawa Senators. The facial hair has come off for the Rangers’ “Beard-A-Thon” where each person who shaves off his facial hair can raise money with the help of friends, colleagues and others who can sponsor one’s beard on behalf of The Garden of Dreams Foundation. They’ve made dreams come true for countless kids facing obstacles of all kinds.
So while I am extremely uncomfortable without my facial hair, I am extremely proud and happy to be able to help—in some small way—a great organization help others.
What does facial hair have to do with hockey, the Rangers and the Stanley Cup? It’s part of a long running superstition that players and fans have been part of, including yours truly, for years and years. In 1994, prior to the Rangers beginning their playoff run on their way to their first Stanley Cup Championship since 1940, I decided to grow a goatee superstitiously just like most if not all of the players who do so as well and keep it on until they win the Cup. I did my part eighteen years ago—and they won. But then I ended up liking the goatee, and so did girls (at least at the time). So I kept it on in what became a whole new superstition surrounding The Hair. I became concerned about what would happen not only with the Rangers but would happen with my life. Hence it stayed on until 11:45am, Monday, April 9th.
Now, my brand new superstitious facial hair will begin all over again.
Maybe I am an important link between the Rangers’ last Cup and their next one, which, god-willing, will happen sometime this June. Maybe if I shaved the goatee after the team won in ’94 as per the rules of this superstition, the Rangers would have a few more championships–and my life would be better!
Go check out the Beard-A-Thon, find my name, and help out two great organizations: the New York Rangers and The Garden of Dreams Foundation.
My new playoff beard begins now. When it comes to the client, whatever it takes—especially when it helps others.
By Michael Schwartz
This Week in Digital 4.6.12
04/06/2012
From a “Pinterest for men” to a platform that pays influencers to share video to the release of Instagram for Android, this edition of This Week in Digital underscores the importance of targeting consumers in the communities where they are interacting. We hope you enjoy this round-up of digital news and how it relates to communications between brand and consumer.
Instagram for Android App Downloaded More Than 1 Million Times in First 24 Hours
Instagram, the popular photography app, has finally been released on the Android platform. Within the first 24 hours, it was downloaded more than one million times, including 430,000 people who had signed up for the app before its release. Despite the iPhone’s seeming ubiquity, the Android mobile operating system has more than 50 percent market share, making it an important channel for brands to consider as they develop apps to communicate with consumers.
A New Platform Pays Influencers to Share Video
Most brands dream of one of their videos going viral and spreading their message organically. A new platform called Wingsplay helps connect brands with influencers to pay them by the views they generate to distribute the video. In its first two campaigns—with NBC and Oxygen—each paid view generated approximately 3.2 free views. Although a pay-for-play service, Wingsplay provides influencers an opportunity to become more invested in a campaign’s success, in addition to a relationship with the brand.
Pinterest for Men: Will Dart It Up Catch On?
A new interest-based social media platform, Dart It Up, launched this week and is being labeled by media as the “Pinterest for men.” For a look into the platform, check out the website which offers mottos such as “A guy’s night out but completely online” and “Share and save cool sh*t” (asterisk included). Instead of Pinterest’s boards that cover fashion and wedding ideas, Dart It Up boards offer challenges like “Things a Man Can’t Live Without.” Its launch offers up an interesting debate: should social media be segmented by gender, and do women and men need separate platforms to share ideas? Either way, as more digital opportunities are being created, it’s now more important than ever to assess brand demographics before including social media platforms in PR campaigns and initiatives.
Coffee With a Legend
When you think of the birth of Rock & Roll in the 1950s and 60s, who comes to mind? Certainly Elvis, The Beatles…and Connie Francis? Yes, Connie Francis.
A legend among legends, Connie paved the way for many female music stars of today, all the while redefining what it means to be a survivor and a fighter through life’s struggles. And there she was: one of music’s original, genuine female pop superstars—in reality, an “American Idol” decades before Simon had the chance to insult anyone—sitting in our conference room and sharing her extraordinary life with us as we listened and began planning how to share a story that needs to be heard to be believed.
Long before Madonna donned her cone-shaped bra, before Janet Jackson got “nasty,” and long, long before Katy’s sheer ensembles, Rihanna’s umbrella, all of Britney’s many oopsies, and Beyoncé made everyone “crazy in love,” a petite brunette with a big voice set the music world on fire.
Born into a traditional Italian family as Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero to a strict father and mother, Connie knew early on that she wanted her life to follow a different path. Her love affair with the stage began at only four years old when she picked up an accordion – yes, an accordion—and began belting tunes.
And she never stopped.
As a pre-teen, she performed at all of the neighborhood talent shows and pageants. By the time she was 15 years old, Connie secured a spot on the national hit TV show “Startime Kids”—what our generation would equate to the early 90’s “Mickey Mouse Club.” She appeared on Ted Mack’s “Amateur Hour” the equivalent of “American Idol” today and went on to become one of the biggest stars to emerge from Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” She appeared on every major variety show of her time, including “Ed Sullivan,” becoming such a worldwide sensation that she was named the #1 female singer in over 10 countries during that period.
She recorded in 15 languages, had sold some 35 million albums by the late 60’s, had 35 Top 40 hits, became the first female to have back to back #1 singles and was Billboard’s number one female artist for seven years straight.
At the very same time Connie’s career was exploding, her personal life was failing. Connie’s father, who guided his daughter’s career with an uncanny knack for always making the right moves and choosing the right songs for her, was also emotionally abusive.
Yet, underneath Connie’s unrivaled career triumphs, were the near soul-breaking tragedies Connie endured as a mother, sister, wife and woman: four failed marriages (one of which was abusive), a miscarriage, followed by a brutal rape that made headlines around the world. She left the stage for seven years in an attempt to heal when her brother was gunned down by the mob, a case that still remains unsolved today. As if this wasn’t enough for any human being to endure, Connie then lost her voice due to unexpected health issues, and suffered through years of mental illness, including being committed by her dad, and a suicide attempt.
But the Connie Francis that sat with us today was nowhere near broken or defeated; the soft-spoken, husky-voiced woman that we met today was nothing short of remarkable. Connie’s resilience and talent is unquestionable, all of which is quite evident through the sold-out concerts she continues to give today.
It’s a story Connie and DKC look forward to sharing with the world when her memoirs are published in just a few short months and if you miss out, we’ll be asking Who’s Sorry Now?
By Melody Mercedes, Publicity Assistant
This Week in Digital 3.16.12
03/19/2012
From lessons in crisis PR from Kony to studies highlighting what men and women want through social media, this edition of This Week in Digital shows the importance of optimizing a message for the audience. We hope you enjoy this round-up of digital news and how it relates to communications between brand and consumer.
Five Crisis PR Lessons from the ‘Kony 2012’ Initiative
Invisible Children’s ‘Kony 2012’ social media campaign focused on spreading the word about Joseph Kony, who is responsible for kidnapping children for his growing army in Uganda for the past 30 years. While successfully going viral on social media platforms, the campaign opened itself up for criticism regarding its core messaging and spending. As social media has empowered users to speak their minds on brands and initiatives, it also creates a platform for messaging to spiral out of control in a matter of seconds. The main lesson to take away from the Kony 2012 crisis challenge is to communicate through social media quickly and openly, addressing specific concerns and encouraging advocates to voice their support as soon as possible. Using social media effectively can help avoid unwanted crisis situations.
Shoppers Prefer Using Mobile Web Over Apps
Over the 2011 holiday season, 60% of smartphone-using shoppers made purchases through mobile websites instead of branded applications. The Nielsen study reports that men are slightly more likely to try retail apps, but overall, the preference for both men and women remains with mobile websites. It is important to note that shoppers who did use retail apps spent more time on them than those using the mobile web. While this research doesn’t necessarily suggest avoiding the implementation of retail apps, it is important to take users’ preferences into consideration to ensure an effective and successful mobile campaign.
What Men and Women Really Want (via Social Media)
What do men and women really want? Brands can listen through social media to find out. Social media monitoring brand NetBase compiled 27 billion online conversations, and separated their findings into top 10 lists for each gender. The number one ask by women in social media was for ice cream,
while men specifically discussed the look, smell, and sound system of cars. While the findings are entertaining, the study really exemplifies social media’s role not just as a way to communicate a brand’s message, but as a listening tool to better understand a brand’s consumers and what’s important to them.
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