Land of the free...Because of the Brave

Not going to lie, the Super Bowl (aka the Blackout/Beyonce Bowl) this past Sunday had to be one of the most boring. Normally, I do watch for the game, but since I was not a fan of either team, I was all about the commercials and Beyonce. However, even the commercials were disappointing. The one, however, that did catch my eye (like I said in my last post) was Jeeps. For those of you who have not seen the Jeep Super Bowl commercial, here it is below.

Now...maybe I am biased. I am a military girlfriend after all. When your boyfriend is in the Air Force, it's hard not to get teary eyed at any sentimental thing that has to do with the military especially ones about our men and women in uniform coming home. However, it is what Jeep did after the commercial aired that really warmed my heart. I was looking through my twitter feed and came across a retweet by @KissMySthrnSass (if you like all the Southern, I suggest you follow her...like yesterday). It was a tweet about Operation SAFE Return with the hashtag #joinOSR. The tweet essentially said for every tweet that goes out with the hashtag #joinOSR, Jeep will donate $1 to the USO. The goal: raise $300,000 for the USO to help our servicemen and women with their return home. Not only did Jeep honor our armed forces with a really expensive commercial, but they are also giving back to them as well. I love a company that gives back especially to our military men and women. The best part is Jeep didn't need you to tag them in it. It didn't say tag or hashtag Jeep. It just said hashtag #JoinOSR. They are not begging for people to like them in order to donate or saying the charity will not get money if you do not follow them. They just want to show support for our troops and that has definitely brought them up a few notches in my book.

So...if you have not tweeted #joinOSR yet, do it now! Make sure to tag @Jeep and @the_USO in it to show your support! 

God bless our troops and bring them home safe. 

Cookie or Cream?

In my last blog post, I talked about how a few years back you would have never seen a social media section in sponsorship contract. As I am sitting here watching the Super Bowl tonight, I am noticing something else you never would have seen maybe even 2 years ago. So far tonight, I have already seen two commercials that used some form of social media. One was Miller-Coors and one of their Bud Light commercials. They had hash tagged their famous phrase, "Here We Go", at the end. The other one was from Oreo in their first ever Super Bowl commercial. Two people in a library started arguing about whether the cream or the cookies were the best part of the Oreo. The small, whispered fight turned into a full on whispered, brawl. However, the weird quiet, brawl was not what caught my eye. At the end of the commercial, it says to make your choice using Instagram. So, being the curious person I am, I investigated. They want their fans to take a picture with the hashtag #cookiethis or #creamthis. This will not only be their choice of cookie or cream, but it's also their choice for what they want their picture to be made of. Yes, oreo will sculpt their favorite pictures out of oreo cookies or cream.

While the sculpture and whispered commercial are odd, the idea of using Instagram is genius on their part. Instagram continues to grow as a social media platform. And other companies have seen major success using Instagram as a way of reaching their market (Taco Bell anyone?). And in order to really connect with your audience on Instagram, you have to do more then just post pictures of your product. You have to get them to interact with you. And people are passionate about their Oreos. I am Oreo will get a huge response from this campaign. Not only because people want to show their passion for the cookie or cream part of the oreo, but they also want to see if Oreo will really sculpt whatever they send in. It'll be interesting to check back in a few weeks and see if Oreo got the response they were looking for. 

Oh and also...Beyonce is fabulous and Jeep wins the best commercial of the night. 

#QueenBey #Merica 

Social Sports

It's always interesting to see the different social media campaigns that companies are implemented. What's even more interesting is to see them from the inside. Currently, I am working part time for Georgia IMG Marketing which is apart of the University of Georgia Athletic Association (pretty much my dream job being a sports junkie). Our main job is to sell sponsorships for the athletic association and to fulfill those contracts.

Years ago, contracts for athletic sponsors really only included radio spots, signage in the stadium, video board replays, etc. Now, in many of our contracts, we have a section for Internet. While this section may just include simply just banner ads on website, many include Facebook and Twitter campaigns. I actually think this is a brilliant idea for companies who want to reach a broader audience. Obviously, companies can use their own social media pages to interact with consumers. However, what about the consumers who do not like or follow them? Many consumers may choose not to like or follow a company in order to avoid promotions on their new feeds, but they will like their favorite college or professional team! Not only will contracting a social media campaign with a sport's team broaden your reach, but it may also improve your perceptions in a consumers mind. The fact that they are on promoting with your favorite team may increase how much you like a certain brand.

One of my favorite campaigns this previous football season was the Lowe's Countdown to Kickoff Question. A few days before a game we would post a football related question on the Georgia Bulldogs Facebook page and fans who answered correctly were entered for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Lowe's. Not only was it a chance for the consumers to win a gift card, but it was a chance for them to show of their bulldog knowledge. So, naturally the consumers jumped at it. I think it was a great way for Lowe's to get their name our there and to tie it to an extremely passionate fan base. I think as time goes on we will start seeing more and more companies do promotions with various sports teams. When close to 4,000 people are liking your post, why would you not?

This was my question from the week before the Auburn game.

This picture never gets old. Go Dawgs.