Mindjumpers » Best Practise Cases

How Social Media Can Work Wonders For Banks

Jonas Klit Nielsen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:41:56 +0000

(R)evolution, is a series that connects you to the people, trends, and ideas defining the future of business, culture, and media. It features head honchos, who share their experiences and stories related to social media in their interview with Brian Solis. Currently the series is in its second season.

A recent episode of Revolution, which I found especially interesting, is with Bianca Buckridee, AVP of Social Media Engagement at SunTrust.

Bianca answers some very common questions, which any financial services organization operating in social media is bound to face- why would a bank need to connect with its customers on social media?

Do people talk about their finances online? And if she faced any challenges internally in getting everyone onboard with the SunTrust social media business programme?

Its clear that SunTrust has come a long way when it comes to social media, so I think it would be valuable to share some of the insights with you.

She points out that banks have to change, and deliver a service their customers demand or someone else will do so. If a bank talks about being customer centric, they should give their customers a platform to talk to them.

When going online, she realized there were a lot of conversations aimed at her bank, while SunTrust was not present on the channel to address them. Therefore, there was a need to listen and take action, which could not be done by contact centers. This made her look at social media as an option for her bank.

After staring on social media, the top management realized that the feedback was definitely an eye-opener, social media helped their brand become more customer centric and gave them an access to a huge amount of data, that would have otherwise been ignored.

It became easier to understand customer pain points and analyze their own processes, which were making their customers unhappy.

She then says a that platforms like Facebook and Twitter open their customer’s life to them and helps the bank to condition its response to the complaint. A quick look at a customer’s life may tell them about an unfortunate incident that happened in customer’s life, which might have led to him being aggressive with the bank.

On being asked if people actually like to discuss their finances online, she answered yes, but being a bank we need protect our client’s privacy. Social media does give us a platform to look at customer’s problems but we like to take it offline and discuss it further according to our clients preferred way of communication. This also makes the service more personalized.

Internal Road blocks:

One of the key issues that I often discuss with a wide range of different companies is the organizational working structure around social media. Getting everyone onboard in understanding how the world is changing and how we, as companies need to adopt these changes in our internal work streams, is often very challenging but highly interesting.

After watching the interview, I think Bianca had some very interesting learnings on this topic to share.

When being asked about the tight ropes she has been working on internally, she answered we have graduated from a closed model to an enterprise structure. She says that we are a team in which every department has a representation. People from HR, legal, and different LOBs are informed about the happenings within the social media team. They discussed the response framework with everyone. To keep up with the legal and compliance regulations, all the marketing campaigns are cross -checked with the legal team. Also to make sure that the information shared on the page is according compliance regulations, the team checks their page daily.

According to Bianca, what worked for them was the fact that they looped people in at the beginning and not the end of the process.

Another interesting concept was doing internal roadshows, which helped creating awareness in the social media department. According to her, this not only brought more people on board, but also brought new suggestions to the table.

Lastly, she says that I would see my efforts as a success if an unhappy client who complained on our Facebook wall came back to us and said that my bank actually listened to me and I am just not a number to them. While everyone today talks about ROI, to her engagement is critical.

You can see her complete interview here:

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How Air China Used Facebook Check-Ins for Their New Campaign

Charu Dwivedi — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:45:32 +0000

While surfing through the net, I found an interesting campaign by Air China, using Facebook’s check-ins. Facebook places is one of the most neglected marketing channels and here it has been very effectively used.

The airline wanted to raise awareness among customers in Sweden about the fact that they flew to countries all over Asia and not just to China itself and still emerge as winners in Swedish markets.

Concept: They realised that people had already experienced Asia and one of the most evident ways to leverage that was through Asian cuisine. So Air China tied up with restaurants serving different Asian cuisines in Stockholm. The instructions were printed on the menus. The restaurants being only too happy to help out as it drove more customers into their premises.

People were asked to check-in to restaurants serving food from the countries that they flew to. All the check-ins were then added to a leaderboard on a Facebook app. Each week, whoever got more votes on the leader board got 2 tickets to Asia by Air China.

The contest gained momentum and lasted several weeks. It emerged as a win-win situation for both restaurants as well as Air China. Restaurants got more guests and Air China got more perspective customers who can speak for their brand. Personally, I feel that this was a smart campaign without any on the face sales as well as works like a lead generation mechanism.

Take a look at this video case study and do tell us how you found it :)

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Social Interview: An Innovative Recruitment Campaign

Charu Dwivedi — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:00:01 +0000

We have come across a lot of innovative campaigns and written about an infographic on how recruiters look at social media profiles and Google you before interviews or after speaking to you. There is no doubt that recruitment is changing and that social media is starting to play a much bigger part for both employees and employers. It’s also great to see companies embrace it in such an open way as this.

As an example of this today, I am writing about a campaign by a digital agency, which is both exciting and interesting. The campaign by R/GA’s is just so “social” that it gives a new meaning to social recruitment.

The campaign

The agency was swamped with intern requests. To find the right candidate who matched their company’s requirements, they launched an app which asks their friends to leave answers to a set of questions posted on their Facebook Wall or Timeline.

Since social media savvy was what they were aiming for, this was an amazing way to get the right one. Here is a video case study to the campaign. So, are you up to a social interview ?

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T Mobile Scores Again With a New Viral Hit

Charu Dwivedi — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:08:31 +0000

T Mobile is back this holiday season with a new video that has gone viral and generated over 2 million views within a week. T Mobile has, in past, brought the best virals and flash mobs like The Fake Royal wedding, The Parking Ticket Stunt and the Welcome Back.

This new viral captures the holiday spirit and features over 100 women singing out for Christmas in a Chicago’s Woodfield Mall on an updated spin on the holiday classic, “There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays.”

The Viral: hit or miss?

Looking at the scale of the campaign, it would have taken some takes and retakes to shoot it (videos available), and the element of surprise would definitely be lost, which is said to be one of the key ingredients to viral success. But I guess, no one cares for this one, considering the number of views it has gathered.

Just plain feel good video, which brings a smile to your face, when you see it –nothing more, nothing less! Considering their amazing virals in past, personally I feel they could have done better. But no questions asked and eyebrows raised, since it is currently soaring high on charts.

Take a look and feel the holiday season here:

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How Tropicana Created A Facebook Campaign To Launch Twister

Charu Dwivedi — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:34:10 +0000

While surfing the web, I stumbled across an interesting campaign designed by BBDO Argentina for PepsiCo to launch Tropicana’s new drink Twister.

The challenge was to launch a new fruit drink in Argentina, with a lot of buzz, when, market was dominated by aerated drinks, alcoholic beverages and other fruit drinks.

Creative Concept: The campaign started in August 2011 with a series of videos featuring Mother Nature Panchamama and all her wisdom. She talks about a drink called Twister with perfect mix of water and juice, just like in fruits, which she recommends to everyone.

To prove that Mother Nature knows the best the participants are challenged to a competition with her owl. The Pachamama gave to the owl the capacity to go hours without blinking to make sure it could stay alert for any dangers lurking in the night.

The Campaign: The campaign to launch the drink was done in several phases, starting from late August this year. Several videos were aired this to describe the life of Panchamama, including a YouTube channel.

In the second phase of the campaign, Panchamama has hit Facebook with her owl Twister. Fans on Facebook were invited to challenge the power of Mother Nature’s Owl in a blinking competition. This was done through using a webcam and a technology that detects the slightest blink.

What is good about it? The campaign was carried out in phases, which is an interesting part. As well as the concept of going back to nature, to promote a fruit drink is commendable. The concept of endorsing a fruit drink and nature relates to product but is also present in the communication campaign, which has as its star Pachamama (Mother Nature) and all her wisdom.

Also, to engage the younger target group a competition was launched in the second phase. Though the campaign is in Spanish, we have the video for you right here, take a look and do tell us if you want to challenge the owl:

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McDonald’s Celebrates 30 Years in Spain With a New YouTube Video

Charu Dwivedi — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:35:24 +0000

McDonald’s is known for creating amazing campaigns that do not “sell” anything on the face, but instead remind the consumers about the brand and make them feel the connected to it. These campaigns mostly catch the eyes of advertising and marketing enthusiasts and I for one happen to fall in this category!

Therefore, I thought of writing about this interesting new campaign that was made by McDonald’s to celebrate 30 years of serving customers in Spain.

The unusual promotional video:

To capture the journey of McDonald’s during the last 30 years, the food chain has created a YouTube video. To show that it is a recap, the video plays backwards! It goes back through the years, and looks at the trends and events that occurred each year until it reaches 1981. The video is placed on their YouTube page. It is interesting to note that they have not captured the nostalgia bug or the used any nostalgic background score, but a smarter use of technology to show the times gone by.

As it cycles back through the years, the page begins to de-evolve to more basic technology, the YouTube video reverts to its old format while the video suggestions located at the side are replaced with an old fashioned cassette deck.

Should you watch it? Yes, of course!

It’s not supposed to be a history lesson or a nostalgic moment, but if you’ve a minute, it is a nice to have a quick recap of the major events and moments gone past. The video can be found on the McDonald’s Spain Youtube page.

The video is in Spanish and difficult to follow for people who do not know the language, but according to me it’s a good concept and a must watch:)

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How Carlsberg’s Bikers Video Went Viral

Anne Herngaard — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:13:09 +0000

If you are into watching videos online, you have probably seen Carlsberg’s bikers cinema stunt video that took place in Brussels, Belgium. Ever since the video came out last month, it has been going viral and are now charted among the most seen viral videos at the moment.

The video is an outcome of Carlsberg Belgium’s wish to give the brand a boost, as it was considered too formal and less approachable and daring. In order to tackle this, the brand decided to communicate to a younger target group and project the feeling of ‘stepping up and doing the right thing’. In the video, a couple enters a cinema where there are only two seats available among a group of bikers. The couple who stood up to face the challenge were rewarded with a true Carlsberg moment based on the slogan “that calls for a Carlsberg”.

Why did the video go viral?

We have talked to Bart Creemers, Senior Brand Manager at Carlsberg Importers based in Belgium to get his views on the video. In his opinion what was part of making the video a hit was the fact that it is easy to relate to as anyone can put himself or herself in the dilemma and think “what would I do?”.

“The idea of the bikers was just spot on in the sense that it is simple and recognizable for all. The situation is authentic, stepping away from traditional commercial. The sole challenge was to gather a big group of well casted ‘bikers’ as well as to make the ‘victim trap’ working in a real-life environment”, says Creemers.

In order to execute the campaign, Carlsberg designed a media strategy to create awareness through TV, cinema, outdoor and online video. On top, they leveraged a partnership with Kinepolis for the infrastructure.

Hit the lottery

As an important remark, Bart Creemers notes: “You are never able to forecast the success of a viral spot. In that case, it is similar to a lottery”

In our opinion Carlsberg has hit the right spot in creating the video. One can never fully plan a video to go viral, but as long as you have done something edgy, funny or interesting for the users, it will be worth sharing.

Carlsberg succeeded in creating viral video that nicely captures the essence of the brand and that really portrays the “that calls for a Carlsberg” moment perfectly. Today many viral videos plays on the doubt whether the video is fake or not. But this video portrays the daily act of courage and is authentic in the sense that it emphasizes the real-life and spontaneous reactions to the situation. And this is the entertaining part in it and what makes worth a look.

Results

· 20,800 likes versus 180 dislikes and 1.500 comments
· Featured on YouTube Trends
· #3 Most Viewed (Per Week) on YouTube in the first week
· YouTube sharing figures: 630.000 Facebook shares, 13,500 tweets, 530 blog posts
· By charts: #1 on Mashable Global Ads Chart and AdAge Top 10 Viral Videos Ad Chart

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How Stockholm Transport Improved Its Brand Image Through Facebook

Charu Dwivedi — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:47:09 +0000

Stockholm public transport created a unique campaign at Stockholm Pride Parade to improve the image of public transport in Stockholm. For the main event of the festival, every year around 40,000 people walk in the parade and half a million watch it as passive supporters.

The idea of the campaign was to encourage the passive supporters to be part of the parade.

Challenge:

Soften their brand image.
Get people thinking about public transport in a positive way.

Solution:

Made public transport a part of the local event.
Reached out to people on social media to gather support and live stream the event .

Campaign:

Unique campaign was run by a Swedish bus company which asked users to add their Facebook profile picture to the side of a bus, virtually on Facebook.
Once aboard you can find your friends on the bus and also invite people to join you on the bus.
The day before the parade, the pictures were printed into posters. They were colour-coordinated to look like a rainbow and were displayed at the side of the bus.
The bus was also fitted with a 360 HD video camera so that you could see what was happening virtually.

Results:

Unique visitors :167700
Profile picture over 35500
Estimated Reach: 8875000
Over 16,000 people did so with their photos colour coded to turn the bus into a giant pride flag.
Both rainbows on the side of the bus were filled in less than 10 hours.
On the streets of Stockholm, half a million people could spot themselves and their loved ones rolling by.
Increased the participants to the parade by 26%.

Take a look at the case here and do tell us how you found it :)

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How Adecco’s Facebook Campaign Changed Its Positioning

Charu Dwivedi — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:25:29 +0000

Adecco is a world-known employment agency which supplies a great number of jobs in a variety of sectors. But they were facing a challenge in Norway. To overcome this they came out with a great campaign in which the CEO give up his job to a deserving candidate.

Challenge: Adecco was facing a challenge about its positioning. Young and ambitious students associated the company with low profile service jobs but not with high paying white collared ones. In order to attract the right talent for such openings they launched a campaign called ‘Adecco: Be the next CEO’.

Campaign: The CEO of the company offered his job for a month to the winner of this campaign. The person would get to make all the decisions and get the big money, but the challenge was to walk in CEO’s shoes for a virtual work day. This involved hiring employees from among your Facebook friends, conflict management and talking to journalist. As the answers were broadcasted on the local radio, the current CEO decided the effectiveness of your management.

Result: The first round generated 2300 pre-qualified applicants followed by screening interviews and personality tests, where they were narrowed down to 10. These 10 candidates started running their own campaigns and ads for votes, some of stunts during the personal ad campaigns were covered in news papers.

After the voting, 4 candidates were selected, then they had a series of tests and debates in front of a live audience. When the winner was announced at the end of the day. She got to be CEO of Adecco for the next month. Her experiences were documented in blogs and through social media.

What was good about the campaign?

Finally, the campaign attracted a lot of student attention, positive press coverage and social media coverage too, of course! And finally Adecco achieved what they had set out to.

I believe it was a very clever strategy to reach out to the target customers and set the image of the brand right. And selecting Facebook as a platform was an effective way to connect with the audience where they are present. It was also an effective way to create a buzz among friends of friends, who were not directly involved in the campaign.

Here is the video of the campaign:

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How Altoid Used Social Media to Change Customer Perception

Charu Dwivedi — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:37:15 +0000

Sometimes brands run cross-channel campaign in which they use one channel to motivate people to engage with another. These campaigns may involve 2 or more than 2 channels to increase participation.

I found a really cool campaign by Altoid, a brand of breath mints owned by Wrigley. The campaign is called Curiously Strong Awards that involved both Facebook and YouTube.

The prime objective of the campaign was to change the customer perception of the brand, since Altoid was always associated with strong characters. The challenge was to make it more relevant to the youth and make them identify with the brand. Along with this company also wanted to create awareness, drive traffic, sales and increase page visits.

The creative idea

Since Altoid was associated with strong characters, the campaign was designed to identify the strong characters on Facebook, without whom it would be a dull place to be at. Then these characters were awarded.

Campaign

With this campaign, fans were encouraged to award their friends, who made Facebook interesting for them. It started with a catchy YouTube music video, directing viewers to an app where they were encouraged to award their friends from one of 12 archetypical categories.

Recipients of an Altoids Curiously Strong Award receive a Golden Tin straight to their Facebook feeds complete with the anthem video and an exclusive invite to become immortalized in the Altoids.com Curiously Strong Gallery.

The interesting part of the campaign was that they designed a YouTube video to compliment the campaign, which directs the users to Facebook page. As needed to capture the user’s attention and lure them towards the contest, the video is very interesting and engaging.

Results:

In just two weeks, over 1,200 Curiously Strong Awards were given, as users publicly celebrated the quirk of their friends and Facebook.
A supporting anthem video was a viral hit, racking up over 400,000 views on Facebook and other channels.
And within those two weeks, Altoids’ fan count jumped by 9,400 new fans, proving that people’s enjoyment of Facebook is as curiously strong as ever.

Take a look at the video here and tell us what do think of the strategy:

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