Dissecting a Social Marketing Campaign (the MeanWhile)

Posted by jonpape | Filed under Business, Internet Marketing

The MeanWhile is a small bar located in Grand Rapids, MI which offers a variety of community events and promotions to bring in patrons.  By having a consistent voice and focusing on a several key tactics, the MeanWhile is able to create a consistent social media strategy offering interesting, entertaining advertising without incentivizing user participation.

MeanWhile Bar’s core values (strategy)  is that their organization values the community.  Their organization is able to communicate this message effectively because of the high level of commitment to local groups and non-profits and because of their deep roots in the community.

Whether selling “Michigan: Americas High Five T-Shirts” or naming drinks after local politicians such as the Vern Ehlers (which is Jameson & Vernors, a local Michigan soda), patrons know that the MeanWhile Bar is proud of Michiganders. 

What I really think is great about the MeanWhile Bar is the series of marketing campaigns that they are running that focus increasing foot traffic to local businesses and encourage participation.  I’m going to analyze the campaigns professionally but I suspect that all of these campaigns are essentually grass-root and focused more on fun, interesting activities that the owner of the MeanWhile support.  Essentually, this makes there advertising more authentic and original than profit focused.

The largest marketing campaign currently running is the MeanWhile Film Series.  This series is sponsored in coordination with the Wealthy Street Theater and features a series of movies that are cult-classics.  Social media users are reminded weekly of upcoming movies and because of the Wealthy Street Theaters proximity to the MeanWhile Bar, an increase in customers is anticipated after each event. 

The campaign is supported on print (posters) and digital social networks such as MySpace and on Facebook.  The Facebook campaign is particularily effective because of the integration between the fan page and the individual events pages.  Friends of the MeanWhile profile on Facebook are sent weekly reminders using the Facebook messaging system to attend the screenings. 

Other local businesses which benefit from the increased foot traffic also display the event posters and the film screening are prominately displayed on the classic theater marque at the Wealthy Street Theater.

Another campaign that MeanWhile supports are bike rides throughout Grand Rapids.  This campaign is harder to define because there are two distinct aspects to the campaign.

The group bike rides that the MeanWhile sponsors start at the MeanWhile and from there, participants ride to a series of other destinations (bars).  Eventually, the ride ends back at the MeanWhile with a group of thirst, tired bike riders.  The other prong of the marketing campaign is sponsorship of local bike riding events.  I couldn’t find much information available except for this positive comment on Facebook:

Michael Tuffelmire: Bikestock happening August 1, 2009 at Ah-Nab-Awen Park (Gerald R. Ford Museum) would like to thank the Meanwhile for there sponsorship.

The MeanWhile bar does a great job of promoting interesting events in a variety of mediums.  I like that the MeanWhile has an authentic voice that communicates positive, community driven events that appeal to variety of niches.   MeanWhile Map

Read more | Comments (0) | July 5th, 2009

Social Media Strategies (does your company have one?).

Posted by jonpape | Filed under Internet Marketing, Social Marketing

LONDON - MAY 31: Party revellers enjoy the atm...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Social media planning and strategies are a lot more complex and entangled than any other advertising channel available to marketers.  It seems like for every example of a strategy that works, there are 10 strategies that fail.  It seems that companies are stuck using one off tactics on social media networks and have no integrated strategy to boost interest through overlapping and consistent campaigns.

  • Originally (about 2 years ago), as a SEM strategist, most of the literature available recommended using social media outlets as an extension of directories and social bookmarking sites.  Marketers would submit URLs to increase the number of in-bound links and the quality score/visibility of target URLs in search engines.
  • As a programmer and RSS proponent, social media outlets were seen as a way to aggregate and spread content in an automated fashion using a variety of social marketing tools.  Additionally, it is not uncommon to see individuals using social marketing outlets as a way to network inanimate objects, appliances, and applications to receive continuous updates.

Now, if marketers really want to use social media the way social media developers envisioned the medium being used, marketers must be much more strategic and plan campaigns to be much more comprehensive than one off campaigns.  Your company isn’t creating print pieces.  A Facebook campaign simply cannot be cobbled together to cover a two month period focusing on back to school.  Social media is a companies voice that must be sustainable and consistent.  It is cliche to say social media is a conversation with customers.  More accurately, if a business as an authentic, consistent voice it is more likely that the customer will continue to listen.

Above is a very basic social media strategy.  The illustration lacks a lot of glitz and glamor but it includes something most social media planning lacks, an overall strategy.

What is your company trying to tell the consumers?  Social networks are just the vehicles of this message.  Will consumers find your companies message interesting or entertaining?  Is your social media strategy limited to profile pages with no friends or sweepstakes and prizes?  Does your company ask for user videos but has no submissions? Then your company (and your agency) many have a problem.

If the social media strategy for your organization is similar to the diagram below, there is a planning problem.

What is your company trying to tell consumers about yourself? If the message is that you have “free shipping from now till Christmas” or that “this is your chance to win $10,000 by entering our contest now” then expect to fail.

Focus on your companies passions and plan a strategy that lasts for more then six months and your company may have a chance.  If customers find your social “voice” interesting or entertaining, than you may have a win.

Otherwise, you can build something as awesome and creative as the Whopper Sacrifice but marketing that genius doesn’t happen every day.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Read more | Comments (3) | July 2nd, 2009