Events
ReadyGo Book Review “Yes We Did”
An inside look at how social media built the Obama brand.
A great book by Rahaf Harfoush on fundraising, mobilizing an online community or for anyone who just wants the inside scoop on one of the world’s most famous social media successes. Worth a read! Forward by Don Tapscott. Review by Joanne Probyn of ReadyGo Media.
BC Hydro Invent the Future | CASE STUDY Social Media
BC Hydro’s
Invent The Future Contest
Situation:
BC Hydro sought to increase public awareness of energy conservation through Invent The Future, a sustainability ideas contest for youth age 16 to 24. Goals included changing behavior through peer influence, driving contest entries and votes, and promoting off and online sharing.
Action:
- Created and executed on social media, community outreach and content strategies
- Activated channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
- Consultation on website design, video and mobile
- Targeted influencers and leveraged analytics to expand reach and maximize engagement
- Provided weekly analytics reports, ongoing strategic advice and a completion summary
Results:
- Viral video 31,900 views
- Nearly 150 entries from all over BC
- Practically tripled our goal for votes! 29,000 votes exceeding contest goals by 288%
- More than doubled Facebook Likes! 237% Facebook Likes (43% per month average “10-13% considered very good” Mashable)
- Motivated over 6,500 conservation pledges beating targets by 34%
- Generated over 35,000 website visits exceeding goals by 27%
- Created new strategies resulting in nearly doubling Facebook traffic!
- 180% Facebook traffic increase
- Facebook is now the number one traffic source!
- Earned tons of free media! 503 blog mentions and 57 discussions. Far exceeded goal of 5 blog entries!
- Website traffic exploded!
- 154% increase of overall traffic
- 130% increase of referred traffic
All achieved within the constraints of a 13% budget reduction!
Likely over a million dollars of free media coverage!
Based on year-over-year metrics. Partner agency: FD (PR)
How to Get More Attention
Don’t be boring.
Easy to say… harder to do. It takes an innovative idea backed by passion, determination and a willingness to take risk. Here’s a company that did just that.
Join me for a look at this groundbreaking advertising event dating back to the glory days of advertising… 1955.
Ad-man Bruce Baker, representing Quaker Oats, had a genius idea that tapped into hopes and dreams of over 21 million children. They offered them chance to own a piece of real land in the Yukon, “The Big Inch.” One legally subdivided square inch of land from the “Klondike Big Inch Land Co.” Land deeds were inserted into cereal boxes as a giveaway. Children across America had a unique chance to feel the pride of being a land owner, the hope of adventure, and the dream of striking it rich in the Gold Rush. The memory of this event lasted well into many adult lives, some even traveling to the Yukon to see their land later. Here’s the Deed of Land:
Download the actual ad seen in the Seattle Times.
Quaker passed up an opportunity to invest in their brand long term. Those that did travel to the Klondike were disappointed to find their land was sold (legally, as written on the back of the deed). Although the campaign did offer real dreams for children, it left some adults feeling played. It wouldn’t have cost much to keep the land and could have won the loyalty of those once true fans.
How can BIG IDEAS work for a small business? A conservative large business? Consider the following when assessing your marketing activities:
Are you tapping into the dreams of your target audience? Or are you just communicating “this is my product/service.” What do you know about your clients? What are those untapped dreams that you could align with your brand? Have you asked your clients? If exciting isn’t on brand, you can never go wrong with highly relevant. Who would have thought children would like to own land?!
Are you playing it safe? One sure way to get lost in the millions of messages we see each day is to be the same as everyone else. How is your company or product different? Is there a new exciting way to generate awareness? Engage your audience? What would it look like if you lighten up and make contact with your company more entertaining? When I think of companies who are struggling with their marketing efforts, they are usually trying to be “professional.” It’s a generic untargeted approach that sadly works against the best of intentions. Professional AND innovative can be achieved… it just takes a little more effort and a willingness to try.
And my favorite question, how can you integrate your on and offline marketing? Is there existing free content online that you could use… that you’re “leaving on the table?”
Learn more. Watch the documentary “Cereal Thriller”
Open Discussion:
Was it a reasonable expectation to hold the land? Or, was it enough to instill a dream? What are your thoughts?
Have you seen a successful groundbreaking campaign or idea in your industry?
Joanne
TED Comes to Vancouver
This week I was thrilled to discover that the annual TED conference, something I’ve been inspired by for years online, is now being extended to communities worldwide.
As Malcolm Gladwell’s said (and has been criticized for)… creating strong ties offline is important. I agree to a large extent; and it’s events like these (and Petcha Kutcha) that create a greater sense of community and deepen relationships. They reveal opportunities, inform, facilitate dialogue, energize change, and inspire innovation. And that is good news.
172 TEDx events took place in 53 countries last month.
Find (or start one) near you!
Check out:
Photo by Kris Krug
Webinar – Website Power Tips
Transform Your Website into a Powerful Marketing Portal
and Bring In More Money and Clients in 2010!
George Plumley
Author 24-Hour WordPress Trainer
Joanne Probyn
Director, ReadyGo Media
Are you ready to learn some killer tips that will make your website REALLY work for you in 2010?
I’ve teamed up with web developer George Plumley for a FREE 60 minute webinar that can take your site to the next level. We’ll share with you 15 Power Tips that I’ve personally used on my own site – and best of all, you can start using these “Power Tips†right away!
Whether you’ve just started your website or you’ve had one for several years, the tips from this webinar will make your site more useful to visitors and more visible to search engines. And because we can show you what we’re talking about on screen, the easier it will be to absorb these tips and see how they can work for you!
The webinar will also give me a chance to announce my newly branded company – ReadyGo Media – and again you’ll be able to see how powerful even just a few changes on your website can be.
Join us for this FREE ground-breaking webinar and you’ll learn:
· The single biggest mistake you can make on a website.
· The easiest way to drive more traffic and increase your Search Engine ranking with Google
· The fastest way to build trust with any website design
· One single change that will quickly reveal incredible opportunities and important relationships you never dreamed were possible
· You usually have one opportunity to make a good first impression. Don’t send the wrong message. Learn how employ powerful marketing to leverage your time for growing your business, instead of being a slave to it.
It’s Free – and Registration is Easy…
Just enter your information in the boxes below, and you’ll receive the complete webinar details via email in a few minutes.
FREE Webinar Reservation Form
Yes George and Joanne, please sign me up for this exciting free 60-minute webinar on
Tuesday, February 16th at 5pm PST / 8pm EST
It’s Free – and Registration is Easy…
Click here to Register
CAN’T ATTEND THE LIVE WEBINAR? Sign up anyway, and you’ll receive a link to a video recording of the entire event!
Please note upon registration you will also receive a complimentary subscription to
ReadyGo Media’s newsletter. Privacy is important to us, we will not share or sell
your information to any other organization.
LIMITED LINES AVAILABLE FOR THIS WEBINAR —
RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW.
