Authors

April 03, 2008: Social Media Campaign Works Wonders for Disney Flick

While Disney’s tween movie series High School Musical (HSM) has been wildly popular among 12 to 14 year-olds, older siblings of HSM fans have probably been more excited about the company’s dance-themed flick Step Up and its sequel Step Up 2 the Streets. Released on Valentine’s Day, the sequel was a surprise hit at the box office, thanks in-part to Disney’s use of social media. A post last month on http://social-media-optimization.com/ discussed the success of Step Up’s MySpace campaign.

March 04, 2008: Mexican Import Bellies Up to the Web to Introduce “Activitdades de Pacificos”

While most companies these days have learned to take advantage of marketing opportunities on the World Wide Web, there aren’t many that are bold enough to leave traditional TV spots behind entirely to pursue a relatively low-budget magazine, billboard, and web campaign. Meet Pacifico, a Mexican import beer that has done just that.

A recent New York Times article highlighted the small beer company’s marketing tactics. Based in the Western United States, Pacifico has been looking to branch out for a while now. The company has a small market share (less than 1% of domestic giant Bud Light), but is growing rapidly. Sales volume has increased at a compound annual rate of 14.8%, and the brand is continuing to gain popularity across the nation.

January 23, 2008: Freerice.com

Looking for a website that helps educate while attempting to combat world hunger? You’re in luck. Freerice.com is a charity website that allows users to play an interactive vocabulary game where each correct answer allows 20 grains of rice to be donated through the United Nations.

The site was created back in October by John Breen, a computer programmer from Ohio who got the idea for the site as he watched his son study for the SAT. Breen is also the creator of www.thehungersite.com, therainforestsite.com, and poverty.com, all sites devoted to charitable giving.

December 17, 2007: Does Prime Rib Predict the Polls?

As 2007 comes to a close and the 2008 presidential election rapidly approaches, Americans are beginning to gear up for another crazy campaign season. For those who find CNN sponsored Gallup polls and media reports dry and sometimes hard to follow, restaurant blog Urbanspoon has developed a creative new method for predicting election results, one that taps into the power of consumer tastes and Google Trends.

The inventive new prediction system, called the “Steak/Sushi Index,” measures voting trends in cities based on the number of sushi restaurants found in the area compared to the number of steak restaurants in the same radius.

December 05, 2007: Now Playing: Cherry Chocolate Rain

If you frequent video sharing website YouTube, chances are you may have seen “Chocolate Rain,” a viral music video recorded by University of Minnesota Ph.D. candidate Tay Zonday. Zonday wrote and recorded the hilarious song himself in his Minneapolis apartment, and posted the video on YouTube last April. Since then, over 11.5 million people have viewed the spot, and it was ranked the hottest viral video of the summer by Utalkmarketing.com.

Good news for viewers: Zonday is back with a second installment titled “Cherry Chocolate Rain.” This time though, the video isn’t just for kicks—Pepsi owned-Dr. Pepper hired Zonday to produce the sequel as an ad to accompany the campaign for its new “Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper. The video hit YouTube last week, and boasts over a million views already.

November 13, 2007: Run a Half Marathon: Virtually!

While my mom has successfully completed numerous half-marathon events and six full marathons, last month she competed in a race unlike any she had run before. What was so special about it? The event was held virtually on the Web. 

November 06, 2007: FEMA News Conference Disaster Teaches Valuable PR Lesson

Unless you’ve been out of the country recently, chances are you’ve heard about the fake news conference held by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) public affairs department about the wildfires in California. While a lot of governmental affairs are beyond my understanding, this PR misstep is one that will be dissected for years to come.

October 25, 2007: Radiohead’s Online Marketing is Music to Fans’ Ears

If you’re a fan of the British music group Radiohead, you probably know they recently released their 7th CD In Rainbows earlier this month. What you might not know is that the CD isn’t available in stores or on iTunes, but can be purchased exclusively on the band’s website.  What’s the going rate for the new disc?  Whatever you want it to be.

October 15, 2007: A Few More Reasons to Worship Google

As an advertising and PR student at the University of Minnesota, one of my required classes is “Information for Mass Communication.” While I’ve learned a lot about the information that’s out there and where to find it, there’s one source in particular that continues to come up in lecture, whether we’re talking about tracking, searching, or… anything really.  Hint: Where does one first automatically go to find any sort of information about any possible subject?  Google, of course.

September 26, 2007: New Fall TV Line-ups: Drivers and Viewers Wanted

As the excitement of fall slowly wears off and the people of the Midwest settle in for what promises to be a long, cold winter (c’mon, we all know its true) there is one more new autumn beginning to look forward to—the fall T.V. season, which kicked off Monday. And in this business, what could be more important than the shows themselves? Why, the advertisements, of course.

September 19, 2007: McDonalds “Lovin’” New Viral Ad

Another day, another example of how YouTube is taking over the internet—this time, the site playing a lead role in the development of a viral ad for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets.

September 10, 2007: Colleges Get Creative with Recruiting Ads

Now that Labor Day has passed, students across the nation are back in school, cracking open new (and expensive) textbooks. Classes at the University of Minnesota (where I’m a student) started Tuesday. With the fourth largest student body in the nation, the U of M Twin Cities boasts 50,000 students alone. What made all these people want to enroll here? What made me decide to attend the U of M? Come to think of it, what makes any student want to attend any particular school? The answer to that is simple—college recruiting ads.