iab social media buyers guide 2010

Social Media Buyer’s Guide

Released February 2010

This Social Media Buyer�’s Guide has been developed by the IAB Social Media Committee.

About the IAB�’s Social Media Committee:The Social Media Committee of the IAB is comprised of more than 150 member companies dedicated to helping develop and expand the social media space as a viable advertising platform. The committee works to educate marketers and agencies on the strength of social media as a marketing vehicle. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at:

http://www.iab.net/social_media_committee

This document can be found on the IAB website at:

http://www.iab.net/sm_buyers_guide

IAB Contact Information:

Gina KimDirector of Industry Services, [email protected]

IAB Social Media Buyer's Guide

© 2010 Interactive Advertising Bureau 1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 2

Planning 4

Social Media Platforms 8

Social Media Production 11

Pricing Models 16

Success Metrics 19

Appendix: Sample Social Media RFP 24

Appendix: Engagement 25

Appendix: Case Studies 26


2 © 2010 Interactive Advertising Bureau

Executive Summary

Social Media is an increasingly important marketing tool. A survey of 133 CMO�’s found that nearly two-thirds plan to increase social media budgets in 2010.1 With those gures continuing to rise, the IAB Social Media Committee has created this resource to guide marketers and agencies through the social media buying process.

The IAB Social Media Buyer�’s Guide is a valuable resource regardless of your prior experience with social media, however, those who have some familiarity with interactive advertising will bene t most.

The Guide addresses key elements that should be considered during the social media planning and purchase process. After reading this Guide, you will have a better understanding of social media and will be able to answer the following questions:

Planning �• What steps are involved in planning a social marketing effort? �• Why should I plan for ongoing efforts, even for a short-term social media campaign?

Platforms �• What social media platforms are available? �• Which platform(s) is best for achieving my objectives?

Production �• What are the production considerations for a social program?

Pricing �• What are the common pricing models for social media? �• What are the pros and cons of each?

Success Metrics �• What metrics should I use to evaluate the success of my social media effort? �• What are the available sources of data on which these metrics are built?

_____________________1MediaPost, "Survey: Most CMOs to Boost Social Media Budgets in 2010 (And It Had Better Pay Off)," December 9, 2009



The IAB Social Media Buyer�’s Guide builds upon a solid foundation of guidance previously released by the IAB Social Media Committee, which includes:

User-Generated Content & Social Media Platform Status Report

http://www.iab.net/ugcplatform

Social Advertising Best Practices

http://www.iab.net/socialads

Social Media Ad Metrics

http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics



Planning

Your target audience is already engaging with your brand in social media environments. The opportunity to connect with them and leverage the power of social media, where messages pass from person to person on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis, is now. Social Media planning differs from traditional online media planning in several key ways:

�• While traditional online campaigns are typically limited to nite dates with set viewership goals, social media campaigns can be more exible; they may be limited to nite campaign dates or may extend well beyond �• Social campaigns can have owned, paid, and/or signi cant earned media gols, the delivery of which is not guaranteed as it is based on user action �• Purchasing models include cost per thousand (CPM) impressions, cost per action or other models that align with campaign goals

So how do you plan a social media campaign or program? The process begins with four main steps:



Setting Marketing Objectives & Strategies

A framework for determining the benchmarks appropriate for measuring performance against your objective is found in the Success Metrics section of this document.

The foundation of any successful media plan, whether it is of ine or online, begins by setting the marketing or business objectives. Your social media program can achieve one or more broad marketing objectives such as building brand awareness or generating consumer loyalty, as well as more tactical objectives such as driving site traf c or increasing consumer conversations. Some common social media objectives, from strategic to tactical are included in the chart to the right:

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Develop/Create Word-of-Mouth and Viral opportunities

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Understanding Your Audience

Like any campaign, you need to understand the goals, perceptions, motivations and behaviors of your target audience in order to develop a compelling campaign. For social media campaigns, a great rst step in building this understanding is to pose these key questions and listen:

Since your audience is already immersed in social communities and activities, there are tools that can help build a better understanding of their social media behaviors. One useful research tool is social media monitoring. A growing number of research and analytics vendors offer tools and services that provide a view into the conversations people are having about any given subject area. Conversation content falls into many categories ranging from interests such as gaming, running, nutrition, etc, to a brand or product, or even a concept/issue such as sustainability or the economy. Most of these tools provide some measure of audience sentiment, whether it trends positive, negative or neutral, and allows a marketer to dig deeper into speci c questions, such as:



By understanding how your audience is using social media, you can begin to apply your creative strategy. You may choose to develop new creative. Often, the creative that exists on your site or from current/past advertising campaigns will translate well into social media, provided it is engaging and potentially shareable. Well-designed social media creative should take into account both traditional and digital platforms to create a comprehensive social media program.



Social Media Platforms

For the purpose of the IAB Social Media Buyer�’s Guide, �“Platform�” is de ned as any social media environment, content or feature that can be purchased or used to facilitate relevant consumer social actions and metrics. Examples include playing games, sending messages, tracking the number of conversation-relevant posts on the site, and installing applications. For a complete list of relevant consumer social actions and social metrics, please refer to the IAB Social Media Ad Metrics document:

http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics

With the power and breadth of consumers�’ social media connections, including Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc., consumers can reach and in uence other consumers online resulting in a far greater social reach. Marketing activities that are executed within a social media platform vs. traditional of ine media drive higher consumer interaction and have a far greater social reach. For real-world examples of campaigns executed on these social media platforms, please see the case studies in the appendix.

Types of Platforms & De nitions

Blogs: Blog platforms are used to publish and manage personal and/or branded blogs, i.e. advertiser content. It is recommended that blogs be regularly updated, written in a human voice and be dialogue oriented to encourage conversations between consumers. Blogs can also include microblogging platforms such as Twitter.

Social Networks: Social networking sites are made up of individuals who are connected by one or more speci c types of interdependency, such as friendship, personal/business relationships, interests and the like.

Widgets and Social Applications: Widgets are mini web applications that are used to distribute or share content throughout the social Web, downloaded to a mobile device or desktop, or accessed on a Website or blog. Content within a widget can be branded or user-generated, or can be in the form of games or other interactive content. Widgets can also provide sponsorship, branding or other promotional calls to action for consumers.



Mobile: Social activities can take place on mobile devices, of which there are multiple channels for mobile advertising. They include mobile Websites, downloadable applications, mobile messaging and mobile video. Mobile ecosystem advertising opportunities are listed to the right. For more information on mobile advertising, please refer to the IAB Mobile Buyer�’s Guide:

http://www.iab.net/mobile_buyers_guide

Gaming: There are games developed speci cally for social platforms as well as games that have social components where for example users can create and upload content to social networks. Video games are played across three key hardware platforms: on consoles, on PCs, and on portable devices. For a guide to online gaming, please refer to the IAB Game Advertising Platform Status Report:

http://www.iab.net/gamesplatform

Cross Social: A cross-social platform combines several of the platforms listed here and allows a single social media program to cross several platforms across the social Web.

Social Advertising: Social Advertising includes all standard IAB and non-IAB display advertising occurring within social media environments such as social networks, social networking applications, fan pages, blogs, mobile environments, video sites, and other destinations with sharing functionality. This also can include new social ad units such as Facebook engagement ads.

Social Advertising also includes emerging social media and content distribution functionality within the ad unit itself, and can be targeted in many ways including contextual, demographic, psychographic, etc. The best advertising within social media environments leverages native social functionality in some way.

Social Advertising can include, but is not limited to the following: �• Blog advertising �• Social Network advertising �• Social Networking Application advertising �• Mobile advertising �• Video advertising �• Co-branded advertising �• Social advertising (refer to the �“Production�” section for more detail)



Sponsored Platforms: Sponsored platforms in social media are based upon underwritten or created content. They showcase features or functionality within social media environments such as social networks, social networking applications, fan pages, blogs, mobile environments, and video sites.

Sponsorship can also include the aggregation, creation and monitoring of user-generated content and social media activities within a branded environment. These environments can exist within a brand�’s Website, a standalone micro site, or integrated into other interactive marketing initiatives.

Sponsorship associates a brand with marketing elements, such as the following: �• Content creation sponsored sections and modules �• Fan pages and Group pages �• Mobile applications �• Branded Interaction �• Contests/Sweepstakes �• Promotions �• Games �• Podcasts �• Polls/Surveys (see The Wall Street Journal example below) �• Web applications �• Trivia

Other social media platforms and methodologies continue to emerge and evolve.



Social Media Production

For the purpose of the IAB Social Media Buyer�’s Guide, �“Production�” is de ned as any type of custom development or content creation that can be purchased or sponsored.

Content can be produced by tapping internal resources, contracting vendors for custom content creation, and enabling consumers to create their own content for a brand�’s use. The key to success across all production methods, especially when it comes to user content, is for brands to be transparent in how they source and ultimately plan to leverage users�’ content. The types of production listed below can be used to create, source or co-opt interactive media �– whether it�’s video, text, audio or social �– as a means to drive increased engagement and brand af nity.

Fees: Costs vary widely from minimal to expensive depending upon the scenario. Hiring an in-house writer or community manager can be done on a full-time or hourly basis. Ask your media vendor what production elements they may cover, as well as recommendations on other outsourcing options for production.

Some guiding questions to consider for either outsourced or internal initiatives:



Types of Production & De nitions

Community Creation/Moderation: the role of a brand representative in helping to establish, build and sustain an online community of customers, partners, in uencers or fans. Typically, it is designed to strengthen relationships with key audiences and online communities, and often generates user content via posts, comments and links. A brand serves as the �“host�” or moderator in this environment, listening, learning from and guiding conversations, as well as paying attention to how the user-generated content (UGC) created can potentially fuel other brand programs.

Conversation and Content Aggregation: syndicated tools such as Really Simply Syndication (RSS) provide the ability to collect UGC in one place, making it easy to analyze, manage and leverage data from a marketing perspective.

Custom Content: brand sources and subsidizes the creation of UGC on a project or campaign basis. This can include asking users to create content relevant to a brand, or tapping experts or industry bloggers to participate in podcasts and webinars. Another model, Sponsored Post, enables marketers to contribute relevant commercial content to an organic editorial discussion occurring on blogs or other platforms, but doing so in a transparent and clearly marked way as to make the marketing agenda clear. In either case, as the lines between advertising and editorial continue to blur online, it�’s important that any advertiser-driven engagement that takes place with a blogger be publicly disclosed as such, as mandated by the FTC:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf

For additional legal guidance on social media, please refer to Reed Smith�’s �“A Legal Guide to the Commercial Risks and Rewards of the Social Media Phenomenon:�”

http://www.reedsmith.com/_db/_documents/social_media_e-version.pdf

Content Association: brands can identify and aggregate relevant existing organic UGC (via blogs and other sources) and, with permission from the author(s), leverage this content to build credibility and reach new audiences. Examples include: building a micro site or �“hub�” around a topic that audiences care about, and including trusted UGC as part of the editorial; integrating blog posts from users in an ad unit or widget/application; or, featuring a user�’s blog on a corporate blog or site.



Brand Conversation Hubs/Social Media Micro-Site: branded conversation hubs are also referred to as micro-sites and are branded environments designed to facilitate social activities such as commenting, posting and sharing. The content can be topical and informative, or associated with a speci c campaign, product or service. The common thread is that organic conversational content �– Twitter streams, Facebook updates or blog feeds �– is incorporated into the user experience. Advertisers bene t by being able to associate their brands with credible, trusted content that provides a useful purpose �– without being intrusive or controlling of the contributors�’ points of view.

Microblogging: Microblogging is a form of blogging that allows users to send and read brief messages. These messages can contain external links and as well as other media such as photos and audio clips. For example, Twitter enables its users to send and read messages known as �“tweets.�” Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author�’s pro le page and delivered to the author�’s subscribers who are known as �“followers.�” Tweets are exchanged via the Twitter site, short message service (SMS), or external applications such as smart phones.

Mobile: There are multiple channels for mobile advertising. They include mobile Websites, downloadable applications, mobile messaging and mobile video. For more information, please refer to IAB Mobile Buyer�’s Guide:

http://www.iab.net/mobile_buyers_guide



Virtual World: a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. These avatars are usually textual, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional graphical representations of the user. Some, but not all, virtual worlds allow for multiple users. Virtual worlds present perceptual stimuli to the user, who in turn can manipulate elements of this modeled world, crafting it into whatever they�’d like. Communication between users in the model world ranges from text, graphical icons, visual gesture and sound, and rarely, forms using touch and voice command are incorporated.

Virtual Goods: non-physical objects that are purchased and exchanged on the internet. Virtual goods don�’t have any intrinsic value in the physical or real world and are by de nition intangible. Shared between people via the internet, simple virtual goods can be shared through a virtual community such as a social network Website or instant messenger. More complex and expensive 3D goods and property can be exchanged in massive multiplayer online games within virtual economies.

Widgets: applications that can function on any site that accepts external content, including social networks, blog platforms, start pages, desktop platforms, or personal Web pages. Widgets can be built to function differently on each platform, delivering varying degrees of integration with a social network, from accessing and using social data to not interacting with the platform at all. These applications encourage connectivity, self-expression or collaboration, often through games, productivity tools or interactive content.

Online Polls: surveys in which participants communicate their responses via the internet, typically by completing a questionnaire presented in a Web page. Websites host services that enable users to both create and participate in customized polls on an array of subjects. Each can vary in the number of questions. Upon taking and creating these polls, users can email them, plug them into their Web sites, blogs or social networking pro les, or submit them to public directories.



Social Ads: As the de nition of banner ads evolves, and banners continue to become more interactive and entertaining, production requirements become more signi cant. A social banner ad is a type of banner ad that incorporates social or conversational functionality within it. Some social ads incorporate a person�’s likeness within the ad, acting as a brand endorsement and leveraging one�’s social graph to target the ad. The user must connect via the unit to their social network account to use any social functionality. Other ads may incorporate conversational content, such as user-generated content from tweets or blog RSS feeds, on a particular topic. Other social ads embed sharing, voting, or commenting functionality built into the ad. The key to success is for social banner ads to enable consumers to have a real interactive experience within the unit, as opposed to just passively viewing the content within the ad. For more detailed information, refer to IAB Social Advertising Best Practices:

http://www.iab.net/socialads



Pricing Models

To aid in social media planning, there are new pricing models available to purchase the media and new metrics used to track results. Pricing models such as Cost per Install (CPI), Cost per Action (CPA) and Cost per Engagement (CPE) are intended to facilitate the buying process by matching your pricing model with the overall social media strategy. Socially-focused metrics are subsequently used to track the desired social behaviors such as sharing, rating or commenting on content. Monitoring and optimizing performance is more important than ever to keep brands relevant online. This can occur through the timely updating of content, whether it is adding to blogs, managing contests, daily tweeting and texting, uploading photos and video, or refreshing widgets and applications.

Pricing models used in social media include the familiar Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM) and Cost per Click (CPC) models, as well as newer models.

Social ActionsCost per Install (CPI), Cost per Engagement (CPE), and Cost per Action (CPA) represent a variety of different �“Social Actions.�” These models aid in planning, purchasing, and measuring social media inventory by aligning with your media strategy and assisting in the media selection process. These new pricing models are performance-based models similar to the CPC model in that you are billed based on the number of total actions. Following are de nitions of the pricing models (in no particular order) that are tailored to social media:

Cost per Install (CPI): The cost of creating a unique install of a widget or application that may be placed on a Web page such as social networks, start pages or blog sites. An install may also be referred to as a �“Post,�” �“Embed,�” or �“Grab.�” A CPI may include installs that are distributed across different demographics, psychographics, or contextually relevant applications. The actual CPI rate may vary depending on the following:

�• Placement (run of site vs. a speci c application or page) �• Demographic-targeting (age and gender) �• Distribution volume or total budget �• Geographic-targeting: Country, State, DMA, or Zip Code



CPI is recommended for guaranteeing distribution of widgets, applications, videos or any other piece of content. This pricing method is effective for quickly building a base of users who have agreed to post your content. However, there are drawbacks to this pricing model as well. For example, a CPI guarantees the install, but it does not guarantee interaction with the content. Also, an install may be incentivized, and depending on your objectives, you may nd users who have installed content without an incentive to be more valuable.

Cost per Action (CPA): The cost of each user-de ned action that takes place in a given time period. These actions include (but are not limited to):

�• Becoming a fan (fanning, friending, or following) �• Posting to pro le �• Commenting �• Video Views (CPV) �• Any other user-de ned social interactions

CPA is best when a speci c single action is desired, for example �“play a game�” or �“view a video trailer.�” While using a CPV (cost per view) placement guarantees viewing, it does not guarantee the audience. The views may be delivered to users who do not fall within the target audience. It is recommended that brands are very clear on ad placements when purchasing on a CPA basis.

Cost per Engagement (CPE): The cost of each user-de ned engagement that takes place over a given time period. These actions include (but are not limited to) one or more of the following user interactions/engagements:

�• Submission of branded user-generated content (BUGC) �• Engagement/interaction with branded content �• Entries �• Votes �• Social actions (I Like, I support, thumb up/down, etc.) �• Engaged views �• Reviews or Comments �• Ratings �• Engagement or interaction with rich media ad units

CPE is a good pricing model to use when you want to build a performance-based campaign on the social web. It is recommended for social media programs that are designed to drive one or more user interactions or engagements on a single website or distributed interactions throughout the social web. These programs are most often designed to engage users with brand-focused activities.



Cost per Click (CPC): The cost of each click to a de ned location, in a given period of time. These locations may include but are not limited to:

�• Application page �• Canvas page �• Fan page

CPC is suggested when the goal is to drive traf c. Because the quality of traf c driven is critical, further metrics may be needed to validate the value of traf c driven from different places within your media plan.

Fixed Fee/Sponsorship: The cost associated with the development of a social media program that might guarantee a certain level of social activity based on an amount of time (month/quarter/year). Though not performance-based, sponsorships are often packaged with guaranteed impressions and clicks so that other buying metrics can be calculated. When broken down, xed fee buys can offer great economies of scale.

SummaryWhen considering which pricing model(s) to choose, keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules on when to use one over another. More importantly, all of the pricing models can be used as metrics. For example, even if the campaign is bought on a CPC basis, CPE can be a helpful metric to determine campaign performance.



Success Metrics

Building on the IAB Social Media Ad Metrics document, which covers the types of activity that can be measured in social media, Success Metrics focuses on how to obtain these metrics, how to think about their relationship to marketing objectives and pricing models, and how to apply them to evaluate success.

Owned vs. Paid vs. Earned Media

Forrester Industry Analyst Sean Corcoran writes that all media can be classi ed as owned, paid or earned as de ned below (See Figure 1):2

�• Owned Media: a message delivered from a company to consumers through channels controlled by the company.

�• Paid Media: a message delivered from a company to consumers by paying to leverage a channel not controlled by the company.

�• Earned Media: a message about a company passed between consumers as a result of an experience with the brand.

_____________________2Forrester: "No Media Should Stand Alone" by Sean Corcoran, December 16, 2009



Using this same reasoning the IAB Social Media Committee has created the following Roles of Owned, Paid and Earned Social Media (see Figure 2.):

It is accepted today that any effective social media campaign should have an owned and paid media plan as its foundation in order to achieve earned media objectives. Earned media may or may not have direct cost associated with it, and it can include PR, outreach, and activities initiated by users over and above any speci ed paid-for engagement such as word of mouth (viral), pass along, repeat usage, etc. Depending on how a campaign is purchased, a single type of user engagement may fall into both the paid and earned categories. For example, a brand may buy video views as paid media on a cost-per-view basis, but generate additional video views as earned media through viral pass-along of the video player. Objectives should be set for each.



�• Paid Media Examples: Please refer to the Platforms & Production sections �• Earned Media Examples ° Individual engagement, de ned as interaction with a brand in a way that brand de nes as meaningful. It may be dependent upon creative, for example: video views, bookmarking, photo uploads, or creation of user-generated content from brand assets (B-UGC) ° Social engagement, de ned as interaction with brand assets, which has peer-to-peer(s) impact: �• Conversation contributions, size, density �• Comments, ratings and reviews, discussion boards, forum activity �• Content shared, status updates made ° Growth of followers (Twitter), fans, friends ° RSS subscribers ° Media attention/Press coverage/Buzz ° Traf c (link-backs from newsfeed items or status updates to brand pages) ° Search equity from links to a brand site sent by users into a social environment (status update, blog post, comment) ° Insight into advertiser�’s users or customers (demographics, psychographics)



Determining Success Metrics

While there are now standard metrics, prioritizing them and setting benchmarks to determine success must be done based on campaign objectives.

Forrester Industry Analyst Nate Elliot suggests that marketers fail because they focus on the metrics that are most easily available, instead of the metrics that best correspond to the objectives they are pursuing. He recommends that marketers consider measurement during the planning process using three steps:3

�• Identify a marketing objective �• Choose measurement categories that match that objective �• Find a way to track those metrics in the social technologies they are using

Performance analysis may need to cover quantitative metrics as discussed in the IAB Social Media Ad Metrics document as well as qualitative metrics. Some qualitative metrics include: �• Appropriateness of user content submitted �• Subject/content of positive or negative comments �• Impact on consumer sentiment as result of program

The following provides a framework for determining the benchmarks appropriate for measuring performance against your objectives: �• Benchmark non-social efforts

° ROI as compared to other of ine or non-social media, for example, driving sales, registrations, use of coupons, or number of positive conversations

° Engagement, or time spent with a widget or application creative as compared with traditional display ads �• Benchmark previous social efforts and set new goals and objectives in the planning phase

° Increase in performance, sentiment and/or quality of content on previous social campaign. This assumes similar marketing objectives for the two efforts. �• Model goals and use % of goal reached

° If campaigns pay for 10,000 video views, and external benchmarks suggest a 15% lift with earned video views, set a minimum goal of 90% and a stretch goal of 110% for those estimated 11,500 views

_____________________3Forrester: "Three Steps to Measuring Social Media Marketing" by Nate Elliot, October 29, 2009



�• Set absolute goals

° Increase % of conversations around brand

° Increase number of positive conversations and overall consumer sentiment from current levels

° Identify the customer demographic segments who are most interested in a new product

° Achieve speci c number of fans for a brand on Facebook or number of followers on Twitter

Data Sources

All social media programs should be able to provide a brand with data and metrics so that the organization can measure the success of its social initiative. There are three typical data sources for social media, not unlike the sources for traditional media. These include: �• New Media Vendor: Vendors that run social media programs typically provide advertisers with the relevant campaign statistics collected directly through their own systems. For example, a vendor that builds and distributes applications or widgets typically provides clients with associated data on application installs and usage. �• New Metrics Vendor: Vendors focused exclusively on social media monitoring, including listening platforms that monitor conversation volume and type, can provide necessary data for evaluating performance against some marketing objective. �• Technology Platform: Data may be captured by using existing ad tracking technology, such as including pixels or tags from your ad management platform.



Appendix: Sample Social Media RFP

A comprehensive RFP is the rst step in building a strong social media plan. Similar to the RFP for traditional online media, the social media RFP sets the parameters of the campaign, or ongoing program, and provides enough creative guidance to generate strong responses from potential vendors. All RFPs are structured differently. The following list of key RFP components will help a sales representative or new-business manager prepare a proper response.



Appendix: Engagement

What exactly does engagement mean?

In social media, �“engagement�” is most often used as an all-encompassing term to represent a desired interaction with your brand. As opposed to passively reading or watching, people are encouraged to engage in sharing, connecting, and experiencing dynamic, real-time content. Successful social media campaigns will meet this expectation and allow consumers to interact with their brand, which may include personalizing, tagging or rating content, sharing something new with friends, adding comments and so on. Selecting the right kinds of engagement is achieved by �“listening�” to your audience�’s needs, behaviors and motivations.

There is more than one metric used to measure success of this engagement. The value of engagement depends on your business goals. If your goal is to build trust and credibility, then shifts in brand perception based on engagement activities should be considered. If your goal is to build consideration, then metrics such as registration, contributions and other data are important to show how engagement is drawing the consumer closer to the brand. In many cases, engagement can only be shown over time as users nd value in the experience and deepen their relationship through successive interactions.

This continued engagement can give a social media campaign a life of its own. Even if you initially plan a short-term campaign based on a speci c event, for instance, you may have built up a relationship with your audience by the end of the campaign. To get the most value of your investment, be exible in maintaining the connection with your newly engaged audience.



Appendix: Case Studies

The case studies included illustrate successful social media campaigns submitted by members of the IAB Social Media Committee. They are real-world examples from marketers and agencies collaborating with social media partners to plan, buy, execute, and measure social media campaigns. They are meant to bring the lessons from this buying guide to life. Use them as inspiration for your next social media campaign.



Campaign: The Organic Trade Association: Discovering New Buyers via Blog Conversations

Using social intelligence to target a display campaign to blog sites/audiences

Social Media Platform: Blogs

Goals �• Reach �“almost new�” organic users by tapping speci cally into blog sites/audiences �• Build awareness around organic food with moms and college-age adults �• Increase site traf c

Approach �• OTA chose to work with BuzzLogic to identify where the most in uential and trusted blog chatter was taking place around key topics.

�• BuzzLogic�’s platform identi ed and targeted conversations in four key areas: parenting, novice organic interests, healthy living, beauty and popular culture. �• Its proprietary algorithm looked at multiple factors, such as the credibility and topical expertise of authors, site-to-site connections (or, social graphs) around content and site audience/demographic data to maximize ROI for the OTA campaign.



Results �• Outperformed traditional ad network buys by more than 2x. �• Outperformed ad buys on a social networking site dedicated to moms�–one of the OTA�’s most important constituents�–by more than 4x. �• Uncovered new audiences by focusing on unexpected conversations: for example, audiences engaged with tness/pop culture conversations showed a strong af nity for the OTA�’s message and produced the highest response rate for the ad.

Campaign: JC Penny AZ Jeans Holiday 2008Social Media Platform: Widgets and Social Applications

Situation �• Brand interaction and purchase intent need to work in unison �• The audience is greatly in uenced by their social environment and friends opinions �• Young adults react well to and support brands who engage them intelligently �• The target is looking for opportunities to show independence

Strategy �• Utilize tools that open the door for users to express their digital personality �• Ef ciently utilize existing assets and brand awareness

Rationale �• Used existing �“Stuck on You�” concept and wigetized to engage the audience �• Gigya brought the experience and reach in the social widget world. �• Cost per install model gave a level of guarantee in our execution ° 2.9 Million customization starts = average of 31 customization starts per install



Insights �• Teen demo responds to brand interactions that allow a social and creative outlet �• Increased functionality -> increases virality �• CPI model is optimal for this type of execution �• Need a �“Kill Switch�” for admins in order to monitor content �• The successes and engagement these executions have brought to the table have solidi ed their place in our media strategy moving forward.Results �• Brand Engagement ° Interaction rate ° Over 43 clicks per install �• User-endorsed Brand Engagement ° Average of 22 friends reached in addition to original install



Campaign: Coach Launches �“Are You a Poppy Girl?�” Cross-Social Marketing Program with Brick sh

Using a cross-social media platform to introduce a new product line to a younger demographic to learn more about its consumers�’ tastes and points of view.

Social Media Platform: Cross Social: Blogs, Mobile, Social Networks, Widgets and Social Applications, Sponsored Platforms

Goals �• Introduce a new product line on many social media channels at the same time �• Build and reach a new target audience �• Learn about new target audiences�’ tastes and points of view �• Drive increased awareness for new product, as well as the brand

Approach �• Launch the �“Are You a Poppy Girl?�” program to engage consumers by asking them to create one-of-a-kind Poppy scrapbook pages, which displayed their own unique styles and points of view �• Entrants used a customized version of the Entry Editor, which provided them with Poppy Girl logos, bags, and Poppy Girl personalities from which to choose �• Products that were utilized and promoted in each of the Poppy scrapbook entries were listed below the entries with short descriptions of the items, price points, and links for purchase �• Introduce participants to the new Poppy line while also allowing



Coach to gain insight into the product lines target demographics�’ sense of style �• The program offered unique and compelling prizing

Testimonial: �“The �‘Are You a Poppy Girl?�’ campaign is yet another great example of how the power of online consumer engagement, coupled with an interactive social media platform and Brick sh�’s expertise as one of the industry�’s most innovative social media marketing teams can ignite huge results,�” said David Duplantis, SVP Global Web & Digital Media for Coach. �“This campaign allowed us to build awareness through consumer to consumer sharing and give Coach Poppy a foothold in the ever increasing social media sphere.�”

Results �• Using Brick sh�’s patent-pending viral share tools, 68% of entries were shared across the internet to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more. �• More than 3,000 unique Poppy scrapbook pages were created �• The program received more than 1 million consumer social engagements �• Each program participant spent an average of 14 minutes with the brand �• The program reached more than 2,300 unique URLs cross-socially on the Web



Campaign: The Jeep Experience: Branded Social Media from Organic

Social Media Platform: Cross Social: Widgets and Social Applications, Social Networks

Situation�“The brand is not what you say it is. It�’s what they say it is.�” �— Marty Neumeier, Acclaimed Brand Strategist

The Jeep brand has always had community element around it. Jeep owners have a history of gathering and sharing their experiences of ine. In early 2007, we saw a lot of online activity as well. A general search of the word �“jeep�” revealed:

�• Over 160,000 photos on Flickr �“tagged�” Jeep �• 31,000 videos on YouTube featuring Jeep 4x4s �• 500 Jeep-related groups on Facebook �• 1,316 Yahoo! Groups for Jeep enthusiasts

Organic and Jeep decided it was time to formally engage the online Jeep community.

Approach �• Strengthen the Jeep brand by casting it in the light of its owner and enthusiast community �• Promote fan content and enable content sharing between fans and brand intenders �• Join and contribute to the conversation already in progress �• Become the authoritative and authentic voice of Jeep on branded properties as well as existing groups and forums



SolutionOrganic designed and developed �“Jeep Experience,�” an aggregated showcase on Jeep.com featuring the best conversations and content taking place on social networks, as well as an interchangeable social media �“portfolio�” from which we pulled content for Jeep Experience. The social media portfolio that feeds Jeep Experience consists of branded pro les on YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and MySpace. This created a very large, very active social media footprint where user-generated content and branded content live together seamlessly.

Jeep Experience was developed and categorized by the Jeep brand passion points:

�• Community �– the landing page showcases the best of Jeep UGC and promotes the various branded social media pro les and branded content �• News - a place for both of cial Jeep news plus lifestyle news (want to know where to buy a recycled sleeping bag for your next camping trip?). �• Events �– want to experience the 10+ different Jeep sponsored events are like? Get a preview of them all via video footage shot by attendees. �• Action Sports �– see pro athletes such as Tony Hawk and Sean White at Jeep Winter X Games and other sponsored events �• Legacy �– a catalog of all Jeep 4x4s from 1941 to present day. �• Swag and Games �–Jeep brand merchandise, downloadable wallpapers, and Jeep branded games

Organic designed Jeep Experience to pull in new content via RSS feeds, Flickr photos, and YouTube videos from its branded social networking pro les and groups. We folded in new and pre-existing content. A custom-coded Refeed/Reblog system serves as a holding tank for dynamic content moderation, which is important for timely publishing work ow. API pulls bring in the content from Flickr, YouTube, and RSS Feeds �– allowing for quick Legal and Product review and fast content refresh.

The Jeep Experience Site

www.jeep.com/experience

The Branded Social Media Portfolio

www.facebook.com/jeepwww.youtube.com/thejeepchannelhttp://www. ickr.com/groups/jeepexperience/http://www.myspace.com/jeep



Results Even with no paid media, Jeep Experience metrics signi cantly outperformed expectations. Engaged visitors spent close to 15 minutes on Jeep Experience. Many of these visitors continued to build their relationship with the brand on the branded social media pro les, most notably Facebook, with approximately 350,000 active fans. Jeep Experience visitors also outperform jeep.com visitors �– not only in the expected engagement categories, but in lower funnel activities (these activities are directly correlated to new vehicle sales).

�• Average Time on Site: 14:53 �• 17% Compare Vehicles vs. 7% on jeep.com �• 12% Search Inventory vs. 9% on jeep.com �• 15% Locate a Dealer vs. 11% on jeep.com



Campaign: Microsoft�’s ExecTweets

Social Media Platform: Cross Social: Blogs, Widgets and Social Applications, Mobile

GoalExecTweets, a groundbreaking, rst-of-its kind marketing program, leverages the Twitter platform to accomplish brand goals. It does this by enhancing the Twitter experience and providing a service to the business community. The high-level campaign objective was to improve the perception and preference for Microsoft�’s brand, products and services among the business community.

ApproachFederated Media, Microsoft and McCann Worldgroup created a Website called ExecTweets and a twitter account (@exectweets). ExecTweets is a platform that aggregates the tweets of top business execs and empowers the community to surface the most insightful, business-related tweets. �• The centerpiece of the site is an aggregated Twitter feed of all tweets from a select group of leading business executives. This feed has voting functionality, so the community can vote up or down their favorite tweets. It can also be lted by �“Featured,�” �“Most Popular�” and �“All Tweets.�” �• Users can the follow the @ExecTweets feed and receive the best tweets from the leaders in the American economy on a regular basis. �• Twitter users can nominate people they�’d like to see featured in the ExecTweets site. �• There is a �“Community Tweets�” section in which anybody can feed their Tweets into the site by replying to the @exectweets Twitter alias. �• For those that are as yet unfamiliar with the Twitter service, the site features a Twitter 101 section. �• ExecTweets also has an accompanying iPhone application.

The Website relies heavily on organic Twitter traf c to drive people to the site, but Microsoft also used banner media as well as a key promotional placement on the Twitter homepage. The combination of the three efforts resulted in traf c and engagement that exceeded all expectations.



ResultsExecTweets exceeded all expectations in terms of results and ROI. The campaign enhanced preference and improved perception of the Microsoft�’s brand, products and services with over 1,000,000 Twitter followers, 800,000 page views and 15,000 iPhone application installs in the rst 9 months of the campaign.



Campaign: Public Enemies Blu-ray�™ and DVD Release Integration in Zynga�’s Ma a Wars through appssavvy

Social Media Platform: Widgets and Social Applications, Gaming

GoalGenerate buzz for the release of Public Enemies while bringing value to the game�’s user experience.

Approach �• Celebrated the home entertainment release of Public Enemies by launching this rst-of-its-kind integration reaching millions of consumers �• During �“Public Enemies Week�” on Ma a Wars, players completed various jobs in order to unlock Public Enemies �“Loot�” �– items such as John Dillinger�’s wooden gun, prison stripes, and Public Enemy #1 Newspaper, among others �• Additionally, special Public Enemies -featured jobs were offered for a limited time. After completing jobs (playing the game), players were able to view clips from the movie and read John Dtillinger factoids



Testimonials �• �“Even John Dillinger would be impressed with the scope and success of this effort,�” said Mike Wokosin, Vice President, Digital Marketing, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. �“Ma a Wars was an incredibly dynamic environment to seamlessly integrate our property and to effectively engage a signi cant and relevant audience.�” �• �“The opportunities for marketers to engage with people in social media are vast but they have to be done in ways that are relevant to consumers as the Public Enemies campaign demonstrated,�” said Scott Koenigsberg, General Manager of Ma a Wars. �“The metrics were off the charts in every KPI (Key Performance Indicator) exemplifying not only the relevance, but the success of adding value to the Ma a War game experience. We are excited about exploring more opportunities as we look ahead to enhance Zynga games through advertising partnerships.�”

Results �• Public Enemies Loot garnered nearly 55 million interactions during the campaign �• Public Enemies�’ featured job, or �“Crime Spree�” was completed more than 44.5 million times by nearly 19 million unique game players �• Outside of Loot interacted with and Jobs completed, the integration was a viral success. Loot and Job interactions were posted to players�’ Facebook Newsfeed more than 7.6 million times delivering nearly a billion viral impressions �• Meanwhile the campaign generated nearly 25,000 �‘Likes�’ and more than 26,000 comments on the Ma a Wars Facebook fan page �• Overall, over delivered by a multiple of 13, which ultimately supported the lm�’s break-out during the busy holiday season

iab social media buyers guide 2010

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