http://immediatefuture.shinemarketing.com/ en info@shinemarketing.com Copyright 2010 2010-04-29T09:59:44+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/rspca-highlights-the-risk-of-trafficked-puppies-at-christmas http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/rspca-highlights-the-risk-of-trafficked-puppies-at-christmas#When:09:59:44Z Aims The RSPCA approached immediate future to help raise online awareness around puppy trafficking and to inform the public about the risks. The challenge we faced was conveying a difficult, emotional and time critical message on a small budget, whilst cutting through the seasonal media noise. Activities A hard-hitting campaign was devised which targeted families and those people most likely to buy a puppy at Christmas. We worked closely with the RSPCA to commission a survey on the perceptions and opinions of those considering buying a puppy. And the results revealed that, sadly, many parents were willing to scour the internet in search of a ‘puppy bargain'. We issued an optimised news release outlining the shocking results and highlighting the dangers parents face by buying a puppy without checking relevant vaccination cards or vet details. immediate future also commissioned an infographic which was issued to relevant pet and parenting blogs during the launch. The visual highlighted important statistics from the press release, providing a checklist of considerations before buying a puppy. Results The story was sold in to the PA, going live on Sky News and retweeted to its 40,000 followers. In total 41 pieces of coverage appeared within national, vertical specific media and high profile parenting sites and pet blogs. "Reaching potential puppy buyers and spreading the word via social media was the priority for this campaign. Our online communications was certainly enhanced by immediate future's ability to achieve coverage across a wide range of blogs and national online news sites." Justine Pannett, Campaign Manager, RSPCA 2010-04-29T09:59:44+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/hotel-chocolats-social-media-campaign-has-chocolate-lovers-drooling http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/hotel-chocolats-social-media-campaign-has-chocolate-lovers-drooling#When:08:58:38Z AimsThe aim was to build brand equity online, improve search results and drive traffic to the site. Activities immediate future devised a tailored campaign to increase Hotel Chocolat's profile online and support sales activity over the Easter period. Each element of the online campaign incorporated a participative element, maximising the emotional engagement in the Hotel Chocolat brand; inspiring advocacy; and ultimately generating buzz through word of mouth. The online audit revealed a community of chocolate fans, foodies, wine lovers and mums' networks who were all interested in chocolate or related subjects. Influencers were identified in each of these groups, as were topics of interest which would enable Hotel Chocolat to enter the conversation and engage directly with advocates. Giving bloggers a sweetener Contact was initiated with influential bloggers and online journalists by offering Hotel Chocolat Easter eggs for review. A positive response was received with bloggers posting complimentary comments about the quality of the chocolate and becoming strong advocates for the brand. We set up partnerships with influential bloggers and online publications who were given a set of Easter-themed questions to post on their site. For the ‘online Easter egg hunt' readers had to answer a question by searching online; the resulting answers formed a code which was entered on the Hotel Chocolat site. All successful entrants were entered into a prize draw for a luxury Easter hamper and each partner blog or site was assured that one of their readers would win a prize. The final phase of the activity was designed to engage with families. So we developed an Easter family guide which was shared online amongst Mum bloggers and parenting sites. A Hotel Chocolat Facebook group was also created as part of the overall campaign - which quickly grew in volume over a short period. Search engine friendly PREvery part of the campaign was supported with SEO PR activity. All news releases were optimised with relevant keywords and links to the Hotel Chocolat site. Results Over a six week period 100 positive online pieces were published and reviews were frequently linked to by other bloggers, enabling Hotel Chocolat stories to spread quickly across the web. The ‘online Easter egg hunt' proved to be enormously popular, with almost 4,500 entries on the Hotel Chocolat site. Nine sites partnered with Hotel Chocolat to run the ‘online Easter egg hunt' including Guardian Unlimited. And the novelty aspect of the competition ensured widespread coverage in traditional media online and throughout the blogosphere. Improving Google rankings SEO PR and blog relations activity vastly improved Hotel Chocolat's Google rankings as well, ensuring positive coverage and recommendations were returned on key search phrases. At the end of the campaign, coverage generated as a result of the activity accounted for 23 rankings in the first 100 Google search returns for "Hotel Chocolat". "The social media phenomenon is an incredible opportunity for brands like ours to engage directly with consumers. Recognising our most loyal customers, Hotel Chocolat is able to create strong relationships, reward fans and generate advocacy."Chris Bishop, Online Marketing Manager, Hotel Chocolat 2010-04-29T08:58:38+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/g.i.-jonny-uses-online-chatter-to-inform-and-protect http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/g.i.-jonny-uses-online-chatter-to-inform-and-protect#When:08:50:36Z Aims The aim was to highlight the risks of catching HIV and the facts surrounding it and to make these facts engaging and relevant to the target audience. Activities The Viral Factory prepared the launch video, while additional short films were made by BBC comedy. Three of these films were seeded by immediate future by distributing sneak previews across online communities, blogs, websites and social networking groups, which drove traffic to the main campaign site. Bloggers from straight and gay sexual health online communities were encouraged to post links to the G.I. Jonny website, where visitors could customise their own G.I. Jonny virtual action figure, and then upload it to their Facebook page. The site also contained the basic facts about HIV, communicated to users whilst they built their G.I. Spotting an opportunity to create a high level of buzz due to the controversial nature of the viral videos, we also posted the films on YouTube, MySpace and iFilm with links back to the content from collaborative sites, such as linkdump.com. To support other online activity, an optimised news release ‘G.I. Jonny Declares War on Ignorance' was released and the story was pitched to a wide range of mainstream and niche online media, including national newspaper websites, men's and women's interest sites, entertainment, health and student sites. Results On the day of the video launch there were 583 Google news results. In just 24 hours, the G.I. Jonny site received over 1.5 million visits. Within 3 days the site had received almost 3 million visits - 94% within the UK - and the campaign viral video received 4 million views. A week after the video was launched, Google Blogs returned 1,989 results for "G.I. Jonny", with 46,800 results returned in a generic Google search. In addition, analysis of blog and forum posts showed that 79% of comments posted regarding the video were positive and in favour of the campaign. The Sun's and the Times' websites were targeted to continue building online momentum behind the story, which spread rapidly across the web, with coverage appearing on news sites and blogs around the world. How online influences offline Published on the day of the video's launch, the Metro ran an article based on immediate future's content and information, which had been supplied to the Metro online. The article balanced arguments by parent and media groups, which had branded the video ‘disgusting', and included a defence of the campaign from the BBC and the Terence Higgins Trust. Crucially, the article was accompanied by screenshots from the video along with the site's address. "Given the positive response from the intended audience as seen in all the comments, we can only say 'bring it on."Elizabeth McKay, Development Executive, BBC Learning, 2010-04-29T08:50:36+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/targeted-online-activity-helps-change-attitudes-to-disabilities-in-the-mode http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/targeted-online-activity-helps-change-attitudes-to-disabilities-in-the-mode#When:08:32:05Z Aims The aim was to raise awareness of the TV series and to spark debate about the core issues by engaging online authorities Activities During the campaign, which had to be handled with extreme sensitivity, we had ongoing conversations with over 200 online influencers from the recruitment phase (for the show's contestants) through to the final episode of the show. We set up partnerships with websites and blogs, which subsequently reported on events in the show and published weekly poll results and interviews with the contestants. This resulted in a consistent flow of communication, interaction and engagement with online audiences. Managing reputation We advised the BBC regarding communications across all social media channels, including news sites such as the "Comment is Free" section on Guardian.co.uk and the highly active BBC Ouch! message board. In addition, we issued optimised press releases with key search terms to ensure greater visibility in search engine results. As part of a fully integrated offline/online campaign a total of 25 interviews were set up with the contestants as they were eliminated from the competition including an interview with mentor, Jonathan Phang. We secured coverage in the Metro newspaper and an exclusive front page interview with the Daily Mail (Femail) for the winner - Kellie Knox - to drive conversations online. Results At the end of the campaign the key search term "disabled model" dominated the first page of Google. A total of 876,000 pieces of online coverage which referenced "Missing Top Model" was achieved. This included coverage on mainstream sites such as Sunonline.co.uk, Guardian.co.uk, Metro.co.uk, Londonpaper.co.uk, and Telegraph.co.uk. As well as specialist sites such as Fashioncapital.co.uk, Femalefirst.co.uk, Trendhunter.co.uk, Digitalspy.co.uk and Disabiltynow.co.uk. 1,647 blogs mentioned the key search term "Missing Top Model" and over a 1000 people joined the "Missing Top Model" Facebook group. 2010-04-29T08:32:05+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/how-online-advocacy-repositioned-baileys-as-a-drink-for-all-occasions http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/how-online-advocacy-repositioned-baileys-as-a-drink-for-all-occasions#When:08:27:24Z Aims immediate future's aim was to create a programme of relationship-building activity by providing information and content to key online influencers which would build anticipation in advance of the above-the-line marketing campaign. Activities We identified areas where Baileys could connect. These included online interest groups as diverse as food and drink, photography, marketing, and beauty. Relationships were built with bloggers by offering them exclusive access to behind-the-scenes information, images and video. And we created bespoke packages of content for individual bloggers, always weaving in the key message that Baileys is a versatile drink to be enjoyed at anytime. Bespoke content for key influencers Beauty blog PrettyPrettyPretty, for example, was given additional information about how the Baileys' ‘lip look' was created. While Taillightsfade, a photography blog, was given insight into Rankin's work. As a result, each influencer felt they had unique information, and were able to convey their enthusiasm to their readers first hand. In addition, we developed a relationship with the founder of one of the largest Baileys' fan pages on Facebook. This allowed fans to download wallpapers, ad campaign images, and video clips, as well as participate in online polls created by immediate future. Results By delivering relevant content to key influencers, we created buzz ahead of the new Baileys' campaign and ensured consumers understood the key brand message. immediate future developed a network of more than 70 influencers in different interest clusters who in total published 102 articles about the ‘Listen To Your Lips' campaign between August and December 2008. This coverage led to over 3,000 blog mentions and more than 150,000 brand mentions referencing the campaign at launch. On Facebook, immediate future grew fan numbers by 280% to 700,000 with engagement levels boosted by 300%. Critically, the online conversation was dominated by chat about new ways to drink Baileys, with just 8% of posts on Facebook talking about Baileys as an after-dinner drink. The TV commercial appeared on 50 blogs and was viewed 100,000 times on YouTube alone. Overall, online sentiment towards the campaign was calculated to be 77% positive, based on an audit of 195 articles, reviews, user comments and direct feedback from 30 bloggers. "As our first foray into driving online advocacy for Baileys, I am impressed by both the number of consumers we managed to reach with a relatively modest investment, and the quality of the interaction and messaging that was delivered."James Payne, Global Communications Manager, Baileys 2010-04-29T08:27:24+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/social-media-activity-for-sony-bravias-paint-ad http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/social-media-activity-for-sony-bravias-paint-ad#When:08:21:14Z Aims The aim was to proactively and positively connect with Sony BRAVIA's digital audience using BRAVIA ‘Paint' ad content that could be used by bloggers, influential media and forums, and to increase visitors to the campaign microsite, bravia-advert.com. Activities Discovery of influential bloggers, niche sites and forums allowed us to accurately target interest groups with relevant conversation, content, and creative assets. These included sneak previews, stunning ‘Paint' images and interviews with the team at Sony BRAVIA. These creative assets could also be found on the BRAVIA microsite. The campaign kicked off with a shoot visit for three influential bloggers which saw buzz around the ad increase as images from the shoot began to viral on YouTube, Flickr and other social networking sites. Enhancing content with SEO PR A Del.icio.us page was created to support press release activity and enable bloggers easy access to further information. Blog posts and comments were added to enrich the content. Optimised press releases were posted to syndication wires with embedded links, and also pitched to online journalists, ensuring high visibility and ‘searchability' for Sony BRAVIA. Results Influential advertising bloggers, alongside mainstream media, covered the launch. And as the BRAVIA ‘Paint' ad hit UK TV screens, the buzz online intensified with the ad receiving more than 850,000 views on YouTube and gaining almost 100 pictures on Flickr. Most significantly, the conversation was positive. Independent research by Onalytica revealed positive sentiment for Sony BRAVIA across the internet suggesting that the new ‘Paint' ad was well received. During the campaign period, over 1.6 million visits resulted in over 1.5 million views of the new Sony BRAVIA commercial. Almost 800,000 visitors downloaded the ad. Search engine visibility heightened because of link building through blogs and SEO PR. Entering ‘advert' into Google saw the BRAVIA ad appear in second and third place in the natural search listings. There were over 40,000 links to the microsite site and in the last month of the campaign a posting on the social news site Digg gained hundreds of linked visits and 918 votes. 2010-04-29T08:21:14+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/creative-community-collaboration-delivers-mass-audience-anticipation-for-so http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/creative-community-collaboration-delivers-mass-audience-anticipation-for-so#When:17:16:39Z Aims The aim of the campaign was to reposition the product ahead of its European launch. Activities From Sony-commissioned research we knew the tech-savvy audience had little interest in the product. This meant a different audience had to be identified. We targeted the Slash/Slash generation: a group of young people, with multiple interests, who are highly connected on and offline. This group constantly collaborates on a variety of projects across multiple networks, which meant their approval of Rolly had the power to change perceptions of the product within these communities. Using social networking sites such as MySpace, Skyblog, Facebook and Don't Stay In we identified the Slash/Slash influencers across Europe and gave them exclusive access to a Rolly and the means to capture their content. Each individual was allowed the creative licence to develop their own concept such as a video, picture or photoshoot. The only condition was that a Rolly had to make an appearance in their final creation ‘in action'. Creating advocates These relationships were maintained across the course of the campaign, creating a group of Sony advocates that continue to act as brand guardians online. Over 70 per cent of those contacted created content, which was distributed via social networking sites and blogs; uploaded to video sharing platforms; and added to social bookmarking sites. There was no formal endorsement, no fees were agreed and no one was under any obligation to produce content. Instead, the campaign appealed to the Slash/Slasher's desire to maintain their status within their own community (as they had exclusive access to a product still waiting for its European launch). The buzz built to such an extent that a UK music artist and television star made a video diary, featuring Rolly, during his European tour. He had not been directly approached, but had seen Rolly in action online and wanted to try one out for himself. Results 78 video clips were received from 12 countries and were viewed over 400,000 times. Rolly was repositioned as a product that had appeal and was worthy of word of mouth recommendation. There was no reliance on traditional marketing activity. Instead, clips from the PR campaign were edited into demo films for use in store and online across Europe. This meant that the campaign was not only effective, but efficient, delivering results at a fraction of the marketing spend normally associated with pan-European activity. Sales were 150% higher than forecast. And Rolly won Stuff magazine's ‘Cool Toy of the Year' award, adding to the product's credibility through endorsement from a trusted media brand. 2010-04-28T17:16:39+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/the-sony-world-photography-awards-awareness-programme-inspires-photography- http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/the-sony-world-photography-awards-awareness-programme-inspires-photography-#When:16:56:17Z Aims Working alongside Sony's creative agencies, our aim was to raise awareness of the competition and persuade photography enthusiasts of all levels to participate in the competition. To do this we had to inspire, educate and engage individuals and communities online and ultimately increase entries to the awards. Activities immediate future worked in partnership with the central PR team at Sony Europe on a seven month pan-European awareness programme. Tapping into people's passionsWe began by looking at the different genres of photography categories in the awards - such as current affairs, sport, fashion and music - and matched them up with the passions of influencers (bloggers, community managers, website editors etc.) Having identified the influencers, we decided that a highly personal approach was needed to encourage participation. So at every stage of the campaign, we sent news updates, set up interviews with SWPA judges, showcased inspiring images and exclusive examples of last year's entries which served to motivate people to enter. The images were a powerful tool, so were re-used as a means to create conversations. Raising awareness through SEO and editorial partnerships The campaign was enhanced with SEO PR using identified key search terms to ensure increased online visibility. Editorial partnerships with leading advocates such as Environmental Graffiti (who receive over 900,000 unique visitors per month to their site), helped to heighten awareness with ongoing updates, images and news. Continuing the conversations Relationships with online influencers were reinforced as the immediate future team took six bloggers to the 2009 awards ceremony in Cannes. They reported live from the events (via Twitter and on their own blogs) and brought the experience to life for their readers through interviews with winners, video and image galleries. This coverage sustained the excitement and conversations after the awards. Securing these relationships for SWPA 2010 proved beneficial for driving future entries. Additional competitions were set up on various European lifestyle sites, including FHM (Spain and Germany), Shortlist (UK) and Stuff TV (UK) to encourage people to submit an image that ‘captures the beauty and spirit of football in unexpected places.' Exclusive interviews and features were also set up with the chairing judge of this award, Delly Carr on FIFA.com, to encourage participation from football enthusiasts. Results Before activity started, the term "Sony World Photography Awards 2009" returned only 469 results in Google. After activity there were 361,000 results: a 770-fold increase. Online presence within the blogosphere increased considerably too with results in Google Blog search increasing from just 9 results before the campaign to 6,851 results in April 2009. A total of 63,934 images were submitted to the competition overall. 2010-04-28T16:56:17+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/social-media-activity-boosts-visibility-for-sanex-celebrating-skin-ad-campa http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/social-media-activity-boosts-visibility-for-sanex-celebrating-skin-ad-campa#When:16:26:58Z Aims A key aim of the 'Celebrating Skin' campaign was to take ownership of the 'healthy skin territory' across European markets. With little or no competitor activity embracing the digital arena, this was a perfect opportunity for Sanex to enhance its brand visibility online. Activities Interest clusters were first identified. These included a range of groups from photography, choreography and beauty blogs to forums on advertising, marketing and branding. Influencers were then targeted within these groups and were engaged using a range of inspiring creative assets, including a popular behind-the-scenes choreography video, detailing the dance vignettes orchestrated by renowned Cuban choreographer, Alex Verona. Optimised news releases, focusing on topics such as dance and photography, were issued to increase visibility and ‘searchability' for the Sanex brand. Results By engaging with Sanex's target audiences and offering inspiring and exclusive creative assets, the campaign overall achieved an impressive increase in brand share from 4.3% to 7.5%. (Source: IRI Jan 07.)SEO PR was one of the most successful parts of the campaign with the five optimised news releases being syndicated 1,297 times in total and read on more than 517,135 occasions. "Audiences were teased through the initial phase of the campaign with glimpses and sneak previews of the advertising to come. This drove traffic to the Sanex microsite where content such as outtakes, behind the scenes footage and inspirational photography could be found." Mark Slaughter, Sanex Global Marketing Manager 2010-04-28T16:26:58+00:00 http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/twilight-football-showcases-sonys-technological-innovation http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk/case-studies/twilight-football-showcases-sonys-technological-innovation#When:19:06:30Z Background Sony's Exmor RTM CMOS sensor technologyfeatures in Cyber-shot cameras and Handycam® camcorders and captures incredibly detailed images and videos in challenging low light settings. Aims The aim of the activity was to showcase the capability of the technology in a consumer friendly manner and to spark interest from mainstream audiences around the products: bringing the technology features to life , Activities Working alongside Sony's other European creative agencies; we used football as a platform, creating an aspirational campaign which captured the imagination of mainstream audiences. ‘Twilight Football' staged seven matches around the world in 24 hours. To showcase Sony cameras' capability to capture incredible detail in low-light, all the games took place during twilight in spectacular venues worldwide. Each of the seven locations were chosen for their unique scenery and challenging terrain, and provided the perfect backdrop and photographic canvas to showcase the action from the ‘beautiful game'. The locations ranged from Tintagel in the UK to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and the Aquila game reserve in South Africa. The activity was staggered over eight months in three distinct phases: recruitment, event and celebration. Working with our media partners Activity in the recruitment phase was PR-led: over 90 pan-European traditional and digital media editorial partnerships - such as ePHOTOzine and Goal.com - were developed to ensure a steady flow of compelling and relevant coverage at each stage of the campaign. Media partners were carefully chosen to target specialist audiences (e.g. Tripwolf targeted travel enthusiasts) and were drip-fed tailored content (e.g. image galleries) to bring the campaign to life for readers at all stages. All media partners ran interactive competitions to recruit attendees who were then flown to one of the seven locations across the globe, for the three day trip, either to participate in the game or to document the event. Using various social media channels Attendees were given the opportunity to try out Sony's new range of products to experience the Exmor RTM CMOS technology first-hand. Participants shared their experiences with peers and showcased images and video footage across social media platforms such as Flickr, YouTube and Facebook. Twilight Hunters, a carefully selected team of European bloggers, became the official Twilight Football ambassadors. Each blogger was recruited from a range of interest groups including football, photography and gadgets. They reported on all phases of the campaign, especially the event phase, where they blogged live from the games. Twitter was used to recruit a football team to play in the Twilight Football grand final in South Africa. Participants had to state, in 140 characters, why they deserved to be in the Twilight Football team. Entries were asked to submit a video showcasing their skills which was then uploaded to YouTube. Results Sony Twilight Football's central media partnerships reached an estimated 124 million consumers. The Twilight Football viral video received more than 2 million views and was shared across more than 900 sites. In the week prior to the event, searches for Twilight Football rose by 158%. Searches for "Exmor RTM CMOS" increased by 385% across the campaign. And at the peak of the campaign there were nearly 60,000 returns for the term "twilight football" in Google search. Higher than expected sales increases Post event sales of Sony cameras featuring Exmor RTM CMOS technology exceeded forecasts with sales of Cyber-Shot TX1 27% higher than expected and sales of the Cyber-Shot WX1 45% higher than expected. Event attendees continued to stay in contact after the Twilight Football grand final, sharing images via their Twilight Football communities on Facebook and Flickr. Many have stated that the event was a ‘life-changing' experience for them and The Twilight Football team have since staged fund raising events for the football charity organisation team, StreetFootballWorld, (a global network of organisations that use football to address social issues like education, health and women's rights) who they played in South Africa. In total, the Sony Twilight Football campaign delivered an ROI of €12.5 thanks to our partnerships, on a budget of just over 1% of the return. 2009-04-29T19:06:30+00:00