We’ve celebrated the Fourth by getting in a little bit deeper into FourSquare. While growing in importance, Foursquare and other geo-location social sites are often left out of social networking planning because of its newness. In our round of regional franchise meetings this week, we gave a FourSquare 101. Here’s a breakdown:

What it is:

Foursquare is a social media platform/city guide/game that rewards you for “doing interesting things.”

Available only on smart phones , it allows users to know where their friends are, and get rewarded with badges and “mayorships” for doing new things or meeting new people. The service can link to Facebook and Twitter to update those communities on where the user is and what they’re doing. “Mayors” are those who check into a location the most within a 60 day period. Users give tips, do’s and don’ts of each location, making it an online review site as well. Recently, Bing Maps has integrated Foursquare data to show tips, venue info, etc.

How most brands are currently using it:

Many retailers, restaurants, hotels and others are offering discounts for the mayor of their businesses.

Starbucks has embraced Foursquare by offering $ 1 off coupons to several products to those who are mayors.

Foursquare’s business page makes in-store materials available to those businesses who have claimed their venue but only a few have started to display them.

Some untapped opportunities:

Incentivizing the masses: While many are offering mayor discounts, smarter advertisers are offering discounts or promotions to anyone who checks into their locations. Like any other mass media coupon, this should be something that could be honored for many – while leaving the bigger discounts for the mayors.

Review of honest feedback: The tips section of Foursquare includes honest feedback of what’s best and sometimes what’s worst at a restaurant, venue, etc. Business owners should be reviewing this frequently and maximizing the feedback learned. For example, you might not have known that your restaurant was home of the “city’s best margarita” and perhaps it’s something worth weaving into your traditional advertising and PR messaging.

Tracking and Analytics: Foursquare offers services to share customer behavior with neighborhood businesses. While the data is useful, it is somewhat limited and should be part of a deeper and global social networking analytics.

Event Marketing: Companies can promote community events, trade shows and outside events that they are attending, and award specials for those who check in.

B2B Marketing: Foursquare is not just for retail, B2B companies should be using the trade show idea, as well as assigning their corporate locations as venues.

For more questions on how to best integrate Foursquare and other Social Networking sites into your marketing plan, feel free to give us a call!

While at first the image is aesthetically striking, my mind immediately went to the The Gates, the beautiful and ambitious art installation in Central Park by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. I guess I’m not the only one, as at the end of the spot there was a tag that noted “The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have had and have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with the creation of AT&T’s advertising.” I learned later that this tag was a recent addition after some legal issue and have some discovered some fiery debates on the topic.

Some have argued that the campaign pays homage, or even better is not directly connected the installation. After all, the artists do not own a trademark on orange fabric. However, the use of the fabric on key landmarks is way too close and does seem like a direct lift of intellectual property that wasn’t handled properly.

Overall I think the execution, including the song choice, is well done. I would have preferred that AT&T worked out a proper endorsement/cross promotion with the artists and their estate. Not only because I think it would be the right thing to do, but I think the campaign would have more legs and more relevancy beyond a nice visual execution in a TV spot. Perhaps AT&T would donate profits to their respective charities. Or even better somehow AT&T’s support and recognition of the artist could help expose more Americans to installation art. Perhaps the campaign can include a microsite about The Gates or other notable art installations. But now, it looks like AT&T just stole an idea.

So, in my opinion the campaign misses the mark. I promise it has nothing to do with my disdain for AT&T service and the fact that I live in a non-orange-fabric-area.

The campaign will be looking at today is the new Kia Soul “This or That” campaign where agency David & Goliath  has brought back the Kia hamsters but this time has recruited their more urban hamster friends to rap against a background of Black Sheep’s This or That. 

Released in early June, this spot has already won awards, gained traction in the auto community, and has gained a ton of You Tube views. Promising consumers a “new way to roll” the campaign is not just a mix of entertainment and smart choice of music; it’s the perfect fit for its target audience and extremely memorable. I first watched the spot with some others, and all were able to recall the name and model of the car long after the spot ran. Plus, we couldn’t get over the 31 MPG and the starting price of $ 14,000 (!!)  The campaign also does a pretty good job of selling the features and benefits of the car (you’ll notice the hamster use his iPod with the Soul’s technology package and the speaker lights that light to the bass of the music). Plus, the animation is extremely well done with an unbelievable attention to detail (street signs and graffiti all play off Hamsterdam.) Some bloggers have noted that the campaign lacks concept, and while one can say a hamster isn’t a concept, the campaign works on a lot of levels.  And of course, the campaign is smartly integrated with a microsite “Escape from Hamsterdam” where you can catapult hamsters (a bit cruel for my tastes.) What do you think of the Kia Soul campaign? Cute but lacks concept or right on target?

As I’ve been visiting retailers around the country this week…..there has been one hot topic that I can’t get away from: Yelp.

In case you haven’t heard, Yelp, one of the leading consumer review websites announced changes of business practices after getting hit with a third lawsuit this week. The class action lawsuits have claimed that Yelp practices extortion by using advertising to control reviews. It all started back in late February with an animal hospital in San Diego that when allegedly requesting Yelp to remove a negative posting, they were repeatedly contacted for advertising payments to remove the bad review.

So what did Yelp change? First, an advertiser on Yelp can no longer bring a favorite review of the top of their listings. Second, the “filter feature” on Yelp will no longer control what reviews users can or can’t see. They will also be making other changes that include the development of a small business advisory council. It remains to be seen if Yelp was really using trickery to advance advertising sales. It’s important to note that previously if a user had scrolled over the “favorited” review of the advertiser, they can see that it is part of the ad program. Despite the changes, the lawyers won’t back down anytime soon and this topic will be in the news for some time.

What really struck me about all of this was the reaction I saw this week from retail advertisers….all who have been struggling with the concept of Yelp, City Search, Epinions and other online review sites. One retailer I spoke to was very excited about the lawsuit…almost too excited. It was as if he thought the entire concept of the online consumer review would go away. We had a healthy debate where he felt this will start a movement where all online reviews will have to be substantiated/supported to get posted, and where I noted that will probably never happen and that whether it be online review sites or via social media, the consumer driven economy is here to stay and consumers will always have a voice online. He brought up the issue that no one ever really knows if these reviews or from real customers, the competition, etc.

So, what do you think? Was Yelp to blame? Are the changes good enough? Is the fact that someone can go online and quickly damage your restaurant, business, service with no recourse – fair, unfair, or just the way it is now?

When you hire a celebrity to represent your brand, your company is exposed to the potential backlash should that person’s star fade- both professionally and personally.  Perhaps the most important question when hiring the celebrity to be the face of your brand is what they truly represent as it relates to your brand, and if you can survive any number of potential “casualties” to their image.

Let’s use Tiger as an example.  When Nike hired him as an endorser, it’s no doubt that the fact that he had a clean, wholesome image was a benefit—but it was likely more icing on the cake than anything else.  At the end of the day, Nike wants Tiger to represent supreme athleticism, perseverance and dedication… which, whether you like what he did or not, you can’t deny Tiger still does represent.  This enabled and justified Nike in making the bold decision to stand by him.  Our guess—the red shirt Tiger will wear on Sunday at the Masters will, like all of his red Sunday tournament shirts, reap millions of dollars of sales for Nike.  If he wins, Nike should see sales through the roof.  If he fails miserably, Nike will suffer as they always do when Tiger underperforms on the greens- but little will have to do with the scandal in his personal life, because Nike is aligned with Tiger the athlete, not Tiger the guy.

Now, Gillette and Tiger are a different story.  It was, we would guess, more than icing on the cake that Tiger had a wholesome image when Gillette hired him to be one of the faces of “the best a man can get.”  This is a personal care product—and as his personal life turns into tabloid fodder, it’s understandable why Gillette would seek to minimize Tiger’s image in their marketing.  Companies like Gillette, Tag Heur and Accenture are all more aligned with Tiger the guy, the overall package, than just Tiger the athlete, which explains their decisions to minimize his image in the wake of his scandal.  It will take time before non-sports-affiliated companies can feel comfortable using his likeness—if ever again.

The moral of the story?  You never know what your endorser will do, so try to align yourself with their greatest asset that makes sense for your company, and have a disaster plan in place.

Not willing to take the risk?  Then why not just create a fake endorser?  Hire an actor and create a face for your brand.  Apple did it, so it must be brilliant, right?

Maybe.   But there are risks there, too.  What happens when your actor gets somewhat famous on his own?  Will Apple suffer if Justin Long does something to feed the tabloids?  Or is he benign because The Mac Guy is a character?  Is it okay if Justin Long prefers Dell?  These are muddy waters, ones that we’re certain Apple and other companies who make up fake endorsers hope they don’t need to experience any time soon.

I recently had a chance to ponder the “fake endorser” question when I heard a radio commercial for a local company I’m familiar with.  The spot was a testimonial, and one I’d actually heard from the company last year.  What struck me between last year’s commercial and this year’s iteration was that the voice of the man singing his praises was different between the two!  The company was trying to represent two different people as the voice of one story.  It suddenly made me wonder—were they both actors?  Was the first guy the REAL guy, and why was he replaced?  It really just left a question in my mind as to if the story was real at all… which certainly, I can assume, was not the company’s intention. 

The moral of this story—if you’re going to create a fake endorser, make it clear the endorser is a character.  Don’t try to represent them as something they aren’t—you’ll just make the consumer wonder if they can trust you.

Admittedly, I hadn’t had a chance to put my Kindle into real use until today, on a business trip.  And while those benefits I had looked forward to still ring true, I have to say, I discovered a number of downsides of the Kindle (and likely all eReaders) that make me wonder if all the buzz around the impending death of printed newspapers and magazines at the hands of eReaders and tablet computers is just ridiculous.

One of the core markets for eReaders is business travelers.  Stop struggling to read that New York Times on a cramped plane, and don’t worry if the newsstand is out of it, because it’s being delivered directly to your device (+1 for eReaders… convenience). HOWEVER, how about that 20 minutes between the time that the flight attendant made me “power down” my device and the announcement that allowed me to turn on my approved electronic device?  What was a traveler with no printed book/magazine/newspaper to do?  Stare out the window and sulk… (-1 for eReaders). 

The next little annoyance I discovered with my Kindle actually relates to something I love about it.  When you’re reading on a Kindle, the print really does feel like a book—which for avid readers is important, and helps get over the “I want to hold a book in my hands” issue that so many people express in their hesitation to adopt eReaders (+1).  HOWEVER, at 6am in the dark car service on the way to the airport, the Kindle was rendered useless, as I don’t have the optional reading light (-1 Kindle… and watch out, because the iPad and The Nook win a point on this!).

And what really bothered me the most?  My traveling companion had purchased a magazine that she leisurely flipped through, looking at the pictures, reading snipits of articles as she went, deciding if she wants to go back and read more later.  And while that Vanity Fair took up a lot of room in her purse in comparison to my Kindle (+1), I realized as I read Time on my Kindle that I miss the pictures, the captions, the ability to flip through (-1). The sting was only made a little worse when she offered to let me read her magazine… and I had nothing to offer her in return.  How rude!  I assure you—I will be buying a real, printed magazine for the trip home.

As the iPad goes on sale, there is a lot of speculation that the Kindle and other eReaders will be blown out of the water and that publishing as we know it is dead.  I have to say, while the iPad may hurt Kindle and other eReader sales, I’m not convinced it will do any more to doom print publishing than the Kindle and The Nook have.  There will always be a place for printed newspapers, books and magazines for many, many people- including this devoted Kindle fan who still loves it, despite its minor shortcomings.

Given the mass amount of information and data that is being accumulated on households and people online, it is no surprise that television, which is now basically another digital medium, is going to leverage similar technology in order to remain effective.  It’s also little surprise that Comcast is the first to test such targeting.  As the largest Cable provider in the world, one of Comcast’s primary interest is in making sure that television advertising remains effective—and to do so, it must be much smarter.  DVRs and the fragmentation of media only make this “work smarter, not harder” approach that much more important. In the next few years, there is no question that this technology will become more prevalent and mandatory. In fact, when watching TV is no longer just an act of sitting on the couch with the remote, but rather one of watching a program on a TV, computer or mobile phone, this technology becomes indispensible—and Comcast is poised to be at the forefront of it.

Its little secret that marketing and advertising are more effective when combined with great data and the right technology. With the evolution of television technology we are getting closer to using great data in what has traditionally always been a mass-reach vehicle, which in turn is going to drive better results for advertisers.   We are excited for the changes that are coming and can’t wait to test it with our clients.  

Microsoft has a stronger position over Apple when it comes to the adoption of technology, simply because the majority of businesses use Microsoft products, including Microsoft Exchange. It is easier for businesses—and ultimately their employees—to adopt software that is compatible with their current systems. The problem for Microsoft when it comes to mobile phones has always been that their user interfaces have not been as easy to navigate as others, like Apple’s iPhone, which revolutionized mobile interfaces. However, Microsoft has realized the importance of mobile in the company’s future and rebuilt the platform from the ground up. Focusing on integration with social networking, Xbox and its Zune music player, Windows Phone 7 has the trappings of being a real player, even possibly on par with Apple’s iPhone.  All this being said, until we actually get to play with it and use it we won’t know for certain… but we’re excited to try it, and once we do, we’ll let you know what we think.

One publisher has already displayed what it is capable of, and it could very well be the breakthrough device for advertising and marketing.  Wired Magazine recently displayed what it could (and probably will) look like on Apple’s device, and it looks pretty promising.

Wired is bringing a new way to engage the reader for their articles, while at the same time bring a fresh and exciting way for advertisers to appeal to its audience.  While scanning through a magazine, they showed how a product, in this case the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, could be shown 360 degrees with the point of a finger, being immersed in the ad with natural hand gestures.  No longer a flat world, advertising can accomplish so much more in one centralized location – full interactivity with video, animations and supporting content without every having to leave an ad.