Latest Thinking from IEG

Return on Engagement: Learnings from the TELUS Facebook Go Pink Campaign
Leading up to the 2011 IEG Sponsorship Conference, Return on Engagement: Sponsorship’s Impact on Business, I will be blogging on measuring sponsorship’s ROI: How to do it, what the research reveals, improving the value of sponsorship, etc.

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Filed under: cause marketing, evaluation, IEG conference, new media, nonprofit, social media, sponsorship measurement, sponsorship ROI, telecommunications, Canada

My Experience with Pepsi Refresh Leaves a Not Great Taste

In the midst of the second week of trying to rally support for my stepdaughter’s Pepsi Refresh grant application, I’m struck by my response, which is counterintuitive.

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Filed under: beverage, social media, soft drink, backlash

Mommy Tested, Mommy Approved?

As a mom of a toddler and a soon-to-be mom of two (22 days to go but who’s counting?), my attention has turned lately, not surprisingly, to “mommy marketing.” Companies such as Procter & Gamble are all over this trend for brands including Pampers, Tide and Bounce. P&G is focusing on advertorials and Web videos featuring moms in order to spread the word about its products.

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Filed under: social media, trends, endorsements

The Difficulty of Cause Marketing in the Age of Social Media

At this point in the Facebook, Twitter and all other social networks era, I doubt there is any company—large or small—that has not found itself the subject of some online discussion that calls into question its behavior, motives, principles, etc.

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Filed under: cause marketing, green, social media, backlash

Why Aren’t Corporate Sponsors Optimizing Search Terms?

Official corporate sponsors of the 2008 and 2010 Olympics failed to optimize social media opportunities by ignoring search engine optimization. Now the official corporate sponsors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup—including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates and Hyundai/Kia—are missing the boat.

All are failing to link their activation to online search terms such as “soccer world cup” and “world cup 2010.” There is a huge volume of traffic surrounding these terms and sponsors have the rights to use them. So why aren’t they optimizing? Why isn’t FIFA advising them to do so?

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Filed under: ambush marketing, beverage, cause marketing, digital media, endorsements, international, music, olympics, social media, soft drink, sports, activation

How Sponsorship Aided The Launch Of New Pampers Brand

At yesterday’s ANA Brand Innovation Conference: Igniting a Brand Movement presented by The New York Times, Jodi Allen, vice president, North America baby care for The Procter & Gamble Co., told attendees that Pampers’ mini online soap opera, A Parent Is Born, grew out of the insight that everyone talks about when a baby is born, but rarely mentions the fact that with each birth of a baby, two parents are born.

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Filed under: digital media, olympics, pro sports, social media, activation

Interesting Developments At Major Sponsors

(This blog post originally appeared as an opinion column in IEG Sponsorship Report on April 19, 2010.)

In recent private conversations with a number of key sponsorship professionals, I picked up the following tidbits that I thought were worth sharing:

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Filed under: beverage, motorsports, NASCAR, retail, social media, soft drink, trends, activation

Festival Sponsors Get Creative With Activation

Festivals are going from strength to strength, especially in Europe. Just one indication of their prominence is the special limited edition jeans Diesel produced for Denmark’s Roskilde Festival. The run of 1,000 jeans are specially treated to deal with mud, wind, rain and other surprises that you might come across during the course of a festival. 

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Filed under: beverage, digital media, events, festivals, international, music, new media, social media, activation

I Pity the (April) Fool!

As a newshound, I can’t wait for April 2. April 1 seems like a constant cycle of clicking on a link to an interesting article and realizing within a paragraph it’s all a self-indulgent joke—and generally not a very funny one. Note to editors everywhere: The Onion’s on Line 1—you didn’t get the job.

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Filed under: selling, social media, backlash

Not Sold on Lewis Hamilton’s Secret Life

Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, and Reebok unveiled an alternate reality game (ARG) yesterday called Lewis Hamilton: Secret Life. Hamilton is the central character in this game, which allows its users to experience a facet of Hamilton’s “life” beyond being a Formula 1 driver. The overall goal of the game is to help Lewis train and prepare to recover priceless artworks, sculptures and manuscripts from thieves. Apparently (or as Reebok would like you to believe), Hamilton is a big “The Thomas Crown Affair” fan and bypassing museum security/stealing priceless artifacts is his secret passion.

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Filed under: branded content, motorsports, new media, non-traditional categories, social media, sports, activation