Volume 1, Issue 4: October - December 2012

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insights for innovation, storytelling and change.

The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform helps organizations build and nurture public or private, web or mobile, hosted or white label communities around four pre-configured application areas: Expertise Request Network, Innovation Challenge Network, Research & Insights Network and Contest & Activation Network. Our community and gaming features encourage people to share rich content, vote/

comment on other people’s content and collaborate to find innovative solutions.

The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform and approach forms the core of our distinctive insights and foresight approach, which consists of four elements: organic conversation analysis, MSLGROUP’s own insight communities, client-specific insights communities, and ethnographic deep dives into these communities. The People’s Insights Quarterly Magazines showcase our capability in crowdsourcing and analyzing insights from conversations and communities.

People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Innovation & Insights

Learn more about us at: peopleslab.mslgroup.com | twitter.com/peopleslab

Inside

Foreword by Pascal Beucler

04

Editorial by Gaurav Mishra and Nidhi Makhija

05

In India, Bloggers emerge as Influencers by Ashraf Engineer

Snacking conversations in the United States by Steve Bryant

09

Small Business Saturday

6343Coke Zero Unlock

the 007

Nike FuelBand

31

39

Open Ministry

Restore the R

27LEGO CUUSOO

47The Beauty Inside

MTV Fantasy

Elections

Vicks Mobile Ad Campaign

55

58

51It Gets Better

Intel IQ

Walmart & Mattel’s Virtual

Toy Store

07

13

17

21 35Benetton

Unemployee of the year

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Pascal Beucler,SVP & Chief Strategy Officer,

MSLGROUP

year-long endeavor to identify the ten most important frontiers that will define the future of engagement for business leaders and changemakers.

In 2013, we will continue to track inspiring projects at the intersection of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship, with a focus on projects in the areas of education, learning and capability building; environment, energy and sustainability; health, wellness and nutrition; and happiness, kindness and human potential.

Please feel free to write to me at pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com to share your feedback on the magazine, or start a conversation on how we can help you win in the areas of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship.

I am delighted to introduce the fourth issue of the People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine, which pulls together the best insights on social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship from our global network of 100+ planners.

In the past year, we have written 52 weekly insights reports to curate the conversations around the most inspiring projects at the intersection of these four areas, and presented them to you, along with original research from our network, in our quarterly magazines.

Next, you can register to receive our annual report titled Now & Next: Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engagement, to be released in mid-February as an iPad app and a Kindle ebook. In this report, we have synthesized the insights from our

Foreword

5

Editorial

Nidhi Makhija,Manager - Insights, MSLGROUP

Gaurav Mishra,VP of Insights, Innovation & Social, Asia,MSLGROUP

The People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine pulls together insights from MSLGROUP’s Insights Network — a private network created on our proprietary People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform — in which 100+ planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss thought-provoking research and inspiring projects in the areas of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship.

Every week, we pick one project from the MSLGROUP Insights Network and curate conversations around it — on the network itself but also on the social web — into a weekly insights report. Every quarter, we present the thirteen insights reports to you, along with original research from our global network, as an online magazine.

People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 4

In previous issues of the magazine, we have showcased original research and thinking from our network on purpose-inspired transmedia storytelling, the transformation of healthcare in Europe, and the role of social media in how food brands are perceived and how moms make food decisions. In this issue, we share two original research reports: MSL Seattle on snacking conversations in the United States and 2020 MSL on the perceptions of technology brands amongst Indian bloggers.

We also share thirteen case studies on inspiring projects in the areas of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Check out Issues 1, 2 and 3 of the People's Insights Quarterly Magazine here

Social Data:

• How Nike is reinventing itself as a technology company with Nike Plus and Nike Fuel

• HowMTV created a behaviour change game for the 2012 U.S. presidential elections

• HowVicks used search and social data to engage moms in areas with high incidences of flu

Crowdsourcing:

• HowLEGO is co-creating new products with its customers at LEGO CUUSOO

• HowOpen Ministry is enabling Finland to crowdsource new legislature

• HowUnited Colors of Benetton used crowdfunding to sponsor 100 youth projects

• HowRainier Beer used crowdsourcing to engage fans

Storytelling:

• HowCoke Zero, Intel and Toshiba are using transmedia storytelling to create immersive experiences

• HowIntel is rethinking branded content with its social curation platform iQ

Citizenship:

• HowAmerican Express created a shop small movement with Small Business Saturday

• HowIt Gets Better created a movement to inspire LGBT youth to share their stories

What’s Next

Next, you can register to receive our annual report titled Now & Next: Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engagement, to be released in mid-February as an iPad app and a Kindle ebook. In this report, we have synthesized the insights from our year-long endeavor to identify the ten most important frontiers that will define the future of engagement for business leaders and changemakers.

In 2013, we will continue to track inspiring projects at the intersection of social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship, with a focus on projects that are shaping the future of education, learning and capability building; environment, energy and sustainability; health, wellness and nutrition; and happiness, kindness and human potential.

Do subscribe to receive our weekly insights reports, quarterly magazines, and annual reports, and do share your tips and comments with us at @PeoplesLab on Twitter.

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In India, Bloggers Emerge as Influencers

For more than 15 years, bloggers have used the internet to express their views and spark discussions. However, only in the last few years has the blog emerged as a powerful medium in India. What started as individual indulgence has evolved into a highly interactive medium

that influences mindsets, brand perceptions and purchase decisions.

Photo from Thomas Hawk on Flickr

Smart marketers recognise this and are engaging professional bloggers – as seriously as the traditional media – as part of their brand-building and promotional strategies.

In some ways, blogs are a social commentary and therefore act as an attractive tool to engage with the audience. In this age of digital media, where everyone wants to have their say, brand managers are increasingly becoming aware of blogs’ immense potential.

Keeping this in mind, 20:20 MSL partnered with Blogathon India to conduct a survey on what bloggers feel about brands, blogging and industry trends.

Blogathon India, along with 20:20 MSL, organised the first edition of the Blogathon on May 26, 2012. Bloggers across specialisations come together to celebrate the craft, and the event became a platform for brands to interact with them. The 2012 Indian Bloggers Mindset survey was conducted at the event.

2012 Indian Bloggers Mindset Survey

Sample size: 90

Geography: All respondents were from India’s National Capital Region and were participants of the Blogathon.

Respondents: Bloggers from all domains – from technology and fashion to food and lifestyle. There were also bloggers from unique categories – for instance, a PowerPoint blogger and one who blogs about blogging.

Analysis: Respondents were categorised into technology and non-technology specialisations since preliminary research showed that there are many who blog solely about the former.

Key findings

The survey reflected current trends as well as sites and brands that are fast gaining popularity. The top three brands thought to engage best with audiences were all from the technology sector.

» Dell and Samsung – in that order – engage with bloggers the most, said respondents

» Facebook and Twitter are the preferred social platforms on which to connect with bloggers

» Excluding Facebook and Twitter, Google+ is Indian bloggers’ preferred social network

» Pinterest is catching up fast

» Most bloggers believe that no social network can beat Facebook, in terms of number of users, in the next five years

» Most views for blogs are directed from Facebook, followed by Twitter and then Google+

» Digital campaigns for corporate social responsibility were the most recollected

» Actor Aamir Khan is bloggers’ favourite brand ambassador

» Flipkart is the top e-commerce site for bloggers; 39% ranked it the highest, followed by eBay (10%) and Yebhi (6%)

» Samsung Tab and Canon DSLR – apart from all Apple products – are bloggers’ most desired gadgets

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Most respondents said they spent less than five hours blogging every week. It was technology bloggers who spent the most time practising their craft – 30% spent more than 20 hours every week on it – while only 14% of non-technology bloggers spent more 20 hours on their blogs. Some technology bloggers spent more than 40 hours per week updating their posts. Most bloggers (44%) accessed the internet from their phone and/or tablet for more than six hours per day.

When it came to brands getting in touch with bloggers, Facebook (30%) followed by e-mail (29%) led the pack as preferred modes of communication. The preference for Twitter (16%) over SMS (14%) was marginal. Clearly, non-technology bloggers preferred traditional means (read: e-mail) of contact.

If you leave out Facebook and Twitter, Google+ emerged as the most preferred social network among technology bloggers. Non-technology bloggers seemed to be more experimental and spent their time on various other networks.

Aamir Khan (18.8%) enjoyed a strong lead over fellow actor Amitabh Bachchan (11.8%) as the leading brand ambassador. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (11.5%) and actor Shah Rukh Khan (10.5%) came next. With three of the four most-preferred brand ambassadors being actors, it seemed that the Bollywood bug had bitten bloggers too.

In terms of youth appeal, bloggers pointed to Samsung as the top brand. An equal number of tech and non-tech companies were in the top 10 list of Indian brands with youth appeal. Among the cola majors, Pepsi had an edge over Coke.

Through this survey, we have insights into how the Indian blogger thinks with regard to products, technology and the medium. Few marketers can today afford to ignore these powerful voices.

View The 2012 Indian Bloggers Mindset Survey Report on Slideshare

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Why Hostess Lacks the Mostest

Steve Bryant gives his take on the recent demise of an iconic American snack company, Hostess. Founded in 1930, the company was ubiquitously known for its brands like Wonder Bread and Twinkies. What does the fall of the Hostess Empire mean for the American, and

even the global, “snack-scape”?

Photo from Christian Cable (nexus_icon) on Flickr

The possible demise of Hostess has played out in the media as a tale of Twinkies, but the dollars and cents of the matter come down to two big issues: the decline of the bread business and the vast diversification of snacking.

Bread took a serious blow in the low-carb decade and, despite a perception that “carbophobia” is history, consumer enthusiasm for bread has only partially recovered. If that sounds like today’s economy, the comparison is apt. While the apparent cause of bread’s decline seemed obvious, another, more persistent cause was at work: Changing lifestyles that have pushed to the extreme our definition of ready-to-eat.

Picture June Cleaver. She whips out a ready-made loaf of Wonder Bread. (It’s a wonder she didn’t have to make it herself.) She pops the ready-cut bread – count that as another innovation – into her new-fangled toaster.

(Will the miracles of modern convenience ever end?) Could life be any simpler?

The answer, Hostess can vouch, is resoundingly, yes.

A nice piece of buttered and jammed toast takes — what? — three to five minutes? That could once have defined convenience. Today’s breakfast makers are more likely to put that buttered toast and jam into a blender, squirt it out in bars, and wrap it in a shiny foil wrapper. Grab, go, eat on the way to work or school, and you’re done. No napkin required.

Pocket bread, wraps and tortillas have served up a similar fate for sliced bread, with sales falling 11.3% from 2006 to 2011, according to Symphony IRI. Rising whole grain bread sales are a bright spot, but overall category weakness has escalated consolidation in the bread business (Hostess itself was built through consolidation).

But the real mourning these past few months is all about Twinkies and their snacking kin. They have well earned a place in the “Snacking Hall of Fame,” but the world of snacking has changed radically since their introduction. Sure, you could chalk up their fate to changing nutrition and wellness concerns – but you’d be mostly wrong. There is still an enormous market for consumers who don’t give a fig for healthy eating!

Here’s the daunting fact: Consumers have vastly more snacking choices in stores these days. And the competition is about to get fiercer, with nearly every major food maker declaring snacks as a focus of growth initiatives. This new snacking land grab is a response to the startling fact that, according to The Hartman Group, about half of eating occasions are now snacking occasions.

In the branded food and beverage PR business, a large share of the communications work we handle is introducing new items that appeal to evolving lifestyle needs of consumers. There’s a reason: Consumers make dozens of food choices a day, and they welcome variety. Brands snooze, they lose.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

It’s true that brands have lately gained a lot of traction with communications that mine their origin stories. “Fruits are found in the roots of brands,” a colleague likes to say. However, this brand excavation works best in illuminating a brand’s enduring sense of purpose.

Like others, I don’t think we’ve heard the death knell for Twinkies. The indestructible snack may well live another day, just as Cracker Jacks are still on shelf … last time I checked. But then, that’s the problem. We have affection for the oldies but goodies, but the growth is in options that are geared to the pace and demands of life today.

In the latest twist, a court has ordered mediation and the sun may yet come out for Twinkies and Snowballs. Along other would be acquirers, Sun Capital Partners has refreshed its offer for the company, promising capital for innovation. Now we’re talking. What are the Twinkies of Tomorrow? Therein lies hope for the Twinkies of Yesterday.

Snacking Conversations in the United States & Recommendations for Brands

The MSLGROUP North America Food & Beverage Specialty Unit recently published a new study called Snacking Conversations in the United States, which examines how traditional and social media cover the subject of snacking and the key themes they tend to discuss.

Photo from Sacred_Destinations on Flickr Why Study Snacking Conversations?

Snacking is big business. As Americans move away from three square meals to a “graze the day” style of eating, savvy food manufacturers and foodservice operators are transforming food products and menu items to meet changing needs. Consider the following:

» Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine recently launched six snack SKUs, three flavors of spring rolls and three vegetable dips with pita

» General Mills, maker of snacks such as Chex Mix and Bugles, expanded further into the category in February 2012 with its purchase of tortilla and sweet potato chip maker Food Should Taste Good

» Food trend experts offered Perpetual Snacking as a top prediction for 2012

As food and nutrition communications experts, the MSLGROUP North America Food and Beverage Specialty Unit team undertook a deeper exploration into the always-on conversation revolving around the snack trend:

» Which products and messages receive the most media attention?

» How does the story take shape in the blogosphere?

» To what degree does nutrition matter?

» Which areas are saturated and which have room to grow?

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We uncovered a robust conversation, largely centered on healthy snacking strategies (with one noticeable exception, the men’s segment) and a wide variance of opportunities for brands based on the category within the world of snacks. Overall, we see a large amount of attention within the traditional and social media spheres on better-for-you snacking, i.e., snack products that marry nutrition with the great taste that consumers demand. View the in-depth findings of the study and the

team’s recommended actions for brands who want to join the conversation at Snacking Conversations in the United States.

Findings

Themes and Their Subgroups At-A-Glance

What do media also tend to mention in conversation about snacking and families, snacking and healthy, or snacking and flavor?

View Snacking Conversations in the United States on Slideshare

Social data

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A wearable activity tracker

In 2012, Nike introduced the Nike FuelBand – a wearable band that measures and displays people’s daily activity – in a virtual metric called NikeFuel – to inspire them to stay fit.

Nike FuelBand

Source: nike.com

Source: nike.com

Journalist Jessica Stanley observed the need for such a device:

“Just Do It’ is one of the best positioning statements in the world, but customers started to change. Don’t just say it, help us.”

Targets ‘everyday athletes’ Nike targets the “everyday athlete” with the FuelBand, acknowledging that everyday activities contribute to overall well being, inspiring people to do more and giving people a way to measure the actual contribution.

FuelBand user mkloker commented:

“For an average Joe - I like it. It provides constant feedback and motivation… Before I got one, I never thought much about my activity level.”

And self-trackers

The FuelBand also appeals to self-trackers, making it easy for people to measure their daily behavior and engaging them with visually beautiful displays and metrics.

As journalist Jenna Wortham mentioned in her review of the FuelBand:

“From the moment I wrapped the band around my wrist, I was enamored with the idea of a device that could help me collect data about my habits and behavior, so that I could try to improve them.”

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Helps make sense of dataPeople can sync their bands with their smart phones and the Nike+ website to see the number of steps taken, calories burned and NikeFuel earned over time.

Alyson Shontel commented:

“The statistics are amazing. You can look at your activity by the hour, day, month or year.”

The app and website also double up as a social network, connecting people to their friends and also to members of the 7 million strong Nike+ community.

Source: itunes.apple.com

By taking into consideration factors such as age, gender, height, type of activity and amount of movement when calculating the NikeFuel, Nike gives people one single data point to look at while analyzing their own activity and their friends’ activity.

As Catherine de Lange commented:

“Because the fuel currency is universal too, it means you can link up and compare with friends.”

Or, as blogger Christen Costa put it:

“In short order, Nike Fuel is a calculation that allows everyone and anyone to compete regardless of their sex, age and any physical predispositions.”

Acts as a constant reminder Ever present on the wrists of the owner, the FuelBand displays the amount of NikeFuel earned for the day, and motivates people to meet their daily goal.

FuelBand user Roger Cheng shared his experience:

“The color LEDs on the FuelBand serve as an extra crack of the whip: the lights move from red to green as you approach your daily goal, taunting you to keep moving until you hit your mark. When I was a few hundred points away from the goal, I spent the last hours of the night walking around my apartment to boost my score (your Fuel score resets to zero at midnight).”

Alyson Shontel wrote

“The mix of guilt and competition the FuelBand makes you feel pushes you to make healthier decisions.”

Gamification of fitnessThe FuelBand makes fitness a game by presenting people with a daily challenge and rewarding them when they get closer to meeting their goal, and makes daily activities and chores fun.

Catherine de Lange commented:

“After using the bracelet for a couple of days, I found it strangely addictive. Just wearing the device compels you to take the stairs or walk, even clean the floor - all those things we know we should do but seem like a chore.”

Instant feedback - a powerful motivator The constant monitoring of data also acts a powerful motivator. Users found that the instant feedback and a sense of progress helped bring about a change in their behavior and make them become more active.

Gaurav Mishra, VP of Insights, Innovation and Social Asia, MSLGROUP shared:

“I remember that the year I first bought a Nike+ shoe was the year I ran most regularly. The instant feedback and the sense of progress was almost addictive. Then, I lost the sensor, and lost my stride.

“I bought a NikeFuel band a few weeks back and I have seen my activity levels go up significantly since then.”

Alyson Shontel reflected:

“Realizing how inactive I was during certain hours has made me more active in my spare time.”

Social data Nike FuelBand

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Source: blisstree.com

Source: nike.com

Clockwise: Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, Withings Body Scale, FitBit activity trackers, MyZeo Sleep Manager, Nike+ iPod

Does it do enough for $150? While most agree the FuelBand is a great motivator, the FuelBand has its limitations and, for the price, people feel it should include GPS and a heart monitor and should be more accurate in measuring activity.

CNET editor Roger Cheng summarized the limitations of the FuelBand:

“The Nike Fuel score is worthless to anyone who doesn't have a Nike+ product, and isn't always accurate. There's no way to measure distance for specific runs, so it isn't useful for athletes or people who train regularly. At $149, it's also pricey for what it does.”

Several people shared this view, especially since Omron pedometer’s come as cheap as $20, and FitBit’s popular activity tracker is priced at $100.

Others however, believe the FuelBand delivers on what it promises – it gets people moving. As FuelBand user CPC08 commented:

“The app is great. I would love it to be more accurate, but paying $150 for true motivation is well worth it to me.”

Part of the larger Nike fitness ecosystem

The Nike FuelBand is the latest addition to Nike’s suite of fitness products, which includes not only Nike’s apparel and shoe line but also tracking products such as the Nike+iPod shoe tracker, GPS watch and the Nike+ running app.

Journalist Jessica Stanley observed Nike’s domination of the fitness industry:

“So alongside products like shoes and apparel, they’ve built an entire ecosystem.”

Other personal data tracking products

As gadgets get smaller and smarter, self-tracking becomes easier. Indeed, we are noticing a trend of innovative tracking devices designed to help people change their behavior for the better.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

View this report directly on Slideshare

Social data Nike FuelBand

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What is MTV Fantasy Election?To educate and engage 18-29 year olds around the 2012 U.S. elections, MTV launched Fantasy Election – a game in which players create teams of politicians and track their performance in five categories - transparency, honesty, social media engagement, civility and public opinion.

Players lose or gain points based on their teams’ behavior as judged by five independent websites including PolitiFact.com and Project Vote Smart.

MTV Fantasy Election

Source: fantasyelection.mtv.com/

How it worksPlayers and members of their leagues can change their teams on a weekly basis and earn bonus points by answering daily trivia, checking in to televised debates on GetGlue and events on Foursquare, and by reading news articles.

Jason Rzepka, MTV's senior vice president of public affairs, hopes the game will “instill the habits of good citizenship among young voters,” over a sustained period of time. He also said:

“Being a savvy spectator won't be enough to win the game, he says. Players will need to keep abreast of the latest news, register to vote via a streamlined application on the Rock the Vote website and exert subtle peer pressure on their fence-leaning friends.”

MTV motivated players to stay engaged with over 3,000 prizes, ranging from $5 gift cards to the grand prize – an all-expense paid trip for four to the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and $25,000 in cash.

The prizes are plenty, but so are the challenges MTV faces in meeting its vision.

A step away from MTV “Choose or Lose”With few exciting jobs and growing debt, the 2008 election marked the year U.S. youth chose but yet lost. As a result, MTV has moved away from its 20 year election slogan “Choose or Lose” and created the new entity Fantasy Election.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

As Keith Wagstaff, writer at TIME Techland, commented:

“Why ditch MTV’s classic “Choose or Lose” motto? Because despite the fact that more young voters turned out in 2008 than for any election since 1992, young people in this country face grim job prospects with $1 trillion in student-loan debt. In other words, they chose and they lost, not exactly an empowering experience for a first-time voter.”

Lack of youth interest in 2012 electionsEven with the new campaign, MTV faces a steep challenge – 45 million millennials (aged 18-29) are eligible to vote, but studies have found they are less enthusiastic and less likely to vote as compared to 2004 and 2008.

A July 2012 Gallup poll found:

“Fifty-eight percent of U.S. registered voters aged 18 to 29 say they will "definitely vote" this fall, well below the current national average of 78% and far below 18- to 29-year-olds' voting intentions in the fall of 2004 and 2008.”

The MTV Fantasy Election thus is very relevant and serves a good purpose. As Govind, National Creative Director at MSLGROUP Creative+ and member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network, commented:

“This [campaign] is really good. Sensitizing disinterested youth so they get involved in the electoral process!”

Source: nytimes.com

Source: gamification.co

A better platform for political discussionsDespite the youth’s tendency to over-share, they tend to avoid political discussions on social media. Bloggers point out the MTV Fantasy Election may offer a better platform and also spark more political conversations.

As L.A. Times journalist Rebecca Keegan noted:

“Hangovers, breakups, Katy Perry lyrics — millennials are notorious for posting information online that older generations find either too personal or too trivial to share. But there is one topic where young people cry TMI — politics. At least that's what MTV found in a 2011 poll of some of its 15- to 24-year-old viewers, only 36% of whom said they would post a political opinion on a social media site…

“To get millennials… thinking harder about the election, MTV has turned to a format the age group is very comfortable with — games.”

Gamification to educate and engageBloggers commended MTV for using gaming techniques to educate young people about politics and for making the subject more accessible and interesting.

As Gary Henkle pointed out:

“Fantasy Election ‘12 can definitely be used as a tool by student activists to bring their disengaged friends on board. For any friend who says “I want to be more involved, but I don’t know how this works,” this game makes discovery of the political process more fun than a didactic civics lesson, and as mentioned brings awareness in less time.”

Social data MTV Fantasy Election

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Source: fantasyelection.mtv.com/

Fast Company contributor Lydia Dishman praised MTV for its mature and intellectual approach to creating political awareness:

“Rather than simply showcasing a pop star wrapped in an American flag (hello Madonna!) and calling it cool, Fantasy Election ’12 is attempting to channel the intellectual core of political activism’s heyday during the 60s and 70s.”

Is gaming an appropriate approach?Several people however have criticized the gaming approach: they do not believe that gaming techniques should be applied to a matter as serious as voting, and consider it a frivolous waste of time.

As JackiMaddie commented at CNN.com:

“If it takes a video game to get someone to vote, I'm not so sure we want that person voting to begin with.”

Another CNN reader, nelly0042 commented:

“Considering that half of recent grads are unemployed or under employed, they might be better off paying attention to that instead of some fictitious game.”

CNN reader StopItB on the other hand embraced the MTV Fantasy Election format as the ‘future of communications:

“I beg to differ here. I think this could be a rather successful venture if handled correctly. There are many political discussions that occur on Facebook… This is the future of communications. It should be embraced rather than ostracized.”

Ranking tool helps combat skepticism People have also applauded MTV’s innovative ranking system which helps voters digest the overwhelming amount of information available and focus on candidates’ performance in areas that matter.

As AWM1983, a reader at Time.com, commented:

“While I don't really care about earning points or playing the game, I do like the idea of on going ranking system that takes multiple factors into account. It is a shame that it has to stop with the election. It would be great if they continued to track and rank elected officials on honesty, campaign promises, and lobbyist connections.”

Indeed, it was this skepticism of political claims that led to the ranking system. As Jason Rzepka of MTV said:

"Because of the skepticism of our audience, we decided to use the game as an accountability tool."

Tracking candidates is hard workIt is important for voters to actively tracking candidates’ claims and elections throughout the elections season, and MTV generously offers plenty of incentives to keep young voters engaged.

As Keith Wagstaff wrote:

“The idea is that while Millennials might not venture to a host of dry political sites to keep track of which politicians are disclosing funding sources and making false claims, they might pay attention if their Fantasy Election team loses points — especially if those points can lead to prizes like a trip for four to the Video Music Awards.”

However, players have still found the effort strenuous and hard to sustain. As dspringfield commented:

“This thing is pretty exhausting. I hope it pays off.”

His sentiment is evident amongst the larger pool of players. While ten thousand people have joined the MTV Fantasy Election, MTV’s Rzepka shared that “a lot of the audience is turning away”.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Can MTV convince youth to vote?Bloggers acknowledge the need of reaching millennials online, but question if gamification of politics is enough to motivate millennials to vote.

Source: fastcocreate.com

As Keith Wagstaff said:

“Will it get young voters to turn out on Election Day? It’s doubtful that the “gamification” of politics is enough to counter the disillusionment of moving back in with your parents or staring down $100,000 in student-loan debt. Still, the days of simply prompting young people to vote from a rock concert are over; twenty-somethings expect everything to be online — and that includes political engagement.”

At the very least, MTV believes it can help create more informed and active citizens in the long run. CNN journalist Gregory Ferenstein quoted MTV’s Rzepka on this:

“Even if MTV can't make Generation Y a huge voting bloc, Rzepka believes the network can still be influential.

"We're not going to solve the problems we face with voting alone," he said. "If we as MTV can get them [young citizens] when they're 18 and when they're 22, they are a long way on their way to being active and informed participants in our democracy from now on."”

View this report directlya on Slideshare

Social data MTV Fantasy Election

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Source: nytimes.com

Innovative ad targeting campaignIn early 2012, Vicks combined several layers of data to reach moms in high flu zones with mobile ads for their premium Behind Ear Thermometer. Moms only received ads if they were within three miles of a retailer selling the thermometer.

Elyse Dupré, a reporter Direct Marketing News, summarized the campaign:

"The mobile aspect of the integrated campaign used three components to target its audience and sent relevant messages. The first was demographic criteria (e.g., experienced or expecting moms). Second, the mobile system was set up to use the Google Flu Trends index to alert moms when their local flu levels were high. Third, the mobile system used geo-targeting to provide customers with a list of retailers selling the thermometer—such as Walmart, Target, and Walgreens—and directions within a 3-mile radius."

Vicks Mobile Ad Campaign

The mobile experienceMoms received in-app ads which warned them that they were in high flu zones and directed them to the closest retailer. On clicking the ads, moms were shown a video on the benefits of the thermometer.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Matthew Arnold, who covers medical marketing news online, wrote:

“They see an in-app banner ad reading “FLU LEVELS IN YOUR AREA ARE HIGH. Be prepared with Vicks' revolutionary Behind Ear Thermometer,” and “buy at Target .2 miles away.” Clicking on the banner takes them to a landing page with a store finder, video and mobile site.”

Layer 1: Google flu dataVicks used Google Flu trends to find out which areas were experiencing high incidences of flu. Google uses search trends and IP addresses to determine the locations, and provides this data for free online.

Source: google.org/flutrends/us/#cities

Source: site.where.com

Google explained the logic behind their analysis:

"We have found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries are added together"

Dr. Robert Brecht, a specialist in healthcare marketing, explained how the raw data was validated and made accessible:

“Google’s [Flu] Trends is based on a formula to estimated flue activity based solely on searches. Google was able to do that by correlating flu-related Web searches with actual data from the Center for Disease Control (DCD). By combining the search keywords with the IP address of searchers which provides searchers’ locations, Google is able to estimate regional flu activity within a day of outbreaks compared to a week or two lag with CDC reports.”

Google provides this data for states and countries in North America, South America, Europe and also Russia, Australia and South Africa. In addition to flu trends, Google also monitors dengue trends in Mexico and some parts of Asia and South America.

Layer 2: Demographic data Vicks was able to reach moms and expecting moms through mobile apps such as Pandora which collect user data including age, gender, marital status and number of children.

Andrew Adam Newman, a journalist at New York Times, noted:

"A mobile campaign by Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, which is based in Chicago, places the ads for the thermometer within popular apps like Pandora that collect basic details about users, including their sex and whether they are parents, and can pinpoint specific demographics to receive ads."

Layer 3: Location dataVicks used real-time data from location based mobile advertising network Where to target moms when they were within 3 miles of a closest retail store that stocks the Behind Ear Thermometers.

Social data Vicks Mobile Ad Campaign

23

View the full Privacy Infographic – June 2011 (Survey respondents from UK, Spain, and Singapore) at gsma.com

Melissa Hoffmann noted:

“[Where] has the geolocation technology necessary and the ability to tap into Google's flu trends to properly target the ads.”

Highly relevant propositionThinkers point out that the ad campaign is highly relevant as it reaches only moms that meet all the targeting criteria and at a time when they are most likely to make the purchase.

As Andrew Adam Newman pointed out, “ not all mothers will see the ad on their smartphones. "

Dr. Robert Brecht highlighted the “real time” factor, and noted that mobile ads are a great way to reach moms:

"Mobile marketing is an important tactic to reach moms because of their reliance on smartphones to help them multi-task to balance the many demands of their hectic lifestyle."

Michael Johnsen, who covers medical marketing news, wrote:

“The ad targets users who arguably have a higher need for the product — a factor that would presumably increase the purchase intent with that branded call to action.

The targeting options did indeed have an effect on the ad performance. Sarah Van Heirseele, VP of digital at Blue Chip which ran the campaign, shared:

“Click-through rates during the soft launch period are more than double what was originally anticipated.”

Privacy is a rising concern Marketers and healthcare specialists predict that the increasing power and possibilities of targeting options will lead to a widespread debate on protection of privacy and call for newer and more relevant laws.

Patricia Kosseim, General Counsel, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, addressed this issue in her keynote speech at an ethics conference earlier this year:

"[The Vicks] example gives rise to yet another range of ethical issues having to do with the privacy of app users in this case -- whether they were aware that their personal information would be used for targeted ads by third parties and whether they were given meaningful opportunity to opt out of it…

"Many of the online practices we see rely on the assurance that the information aggregated, used and/or disclosed to third parties is non-identifiable. However, given the scope and scale of the information collected, the powerful means now available to combine and analyze disparate pieces of data and the increasingly personalized nature of targeting strategies, there will often be a serious possibility that information could be linked to an individual."

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Targeted ads are “creepy”Thinkers point out that targeted ads and location-based ads can creep out consumers, and that campaigns should be designed to appear less targeted to avoid ‘spooking out’ consumers.

In a blog post on Redefining Privacy: Mobile’s Privacy Challenges, Brian Morrissey, editor at Digiday, wrote:

“People carry their phones everywhere, storing pretty much their most sensitive information on them, making the prospect of location-tracking scoring very high on the “creepy” scale that seems to govern whether issues become privacy controversies.”

New York Times report Charles Duhigg came across the same issue when covering retailer Target’s use of data to identify expecting mothers and send them tailored product recommendations. He quoted a Target employee, who said:

“With the pregnancy products, though, we learned that some women react badly… Then we started mixing in all these ads for things we knew pregnant women would never buy, so the baby ads looked random…And we found out that as long as a pregnant woman thinks she hasn’t been spied on, she’ll use the coupons. She just assumes that everyone else on her block got the same mailer for diapers and cribs. As long as we don’t spook her, it works.”

Big Data Big Data has been receiving an increasing amount of attention in recent months, as the amount of data captured increases and brands become more data savvy.

In May 2011, the McKinsey Global Institute released the report “Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity,” in which they noted:

“The use of big data will become a key basis of competition and growth for individual firms. From the standpoint of competitiveness and the potential capture of value, all companies need to take big data seriously... Indeed, we found early examples of such use of data in every sector we examined.”

Several of our previous case studies show how media companies and brands are using big data and social data to cover politics (CNN I’m Voting app), to engage and educate youth (MTV Fantasy Elections) and to cater to self-trackers – people who like to measure and visualize their activities (Nike FuelBand).

Social data Vicks Mobile Ad Campaign

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View this report directlya on Slideshare

Crowdsourcing

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What is LEGO CUUSOO?In 2011, LEGO opened up its Japanese crowdsourcing platform CUUSOO to global audiences, inviting adults to submit and vote for new LEGO product designs. There are currently 3,787 live projects at LEGO CUUSOO. Three co-created products have been launched to date, and a fourth one is in production.

LEGO CUUSOO

Source: lego.cuusoo.com

Source: techhive.com

How does it work?Ideas that clear an initial review and receive10,000 votes are formally evaluated by a LEGO product team for Brand Fit, Business Case Development (and license agreements), Model Design and Final Review.

As Levent Ozler, editor-in-chief of Dexigner, summarized:

“Ideas that are supported by 10,000 votes have a chance of being selected to become part of the LEGO Group's product portfolio and sold in LEGO Brand retail stores and the LEGO online shop. Consumers who have their ideas chosen will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product.”

Maxine Horn, advocate of safeguarding intellectual property, commented:

“Lego are certainly an inspiration and what I love about their new move is that, unlike others using their customer base to inspire innovation, they set a challenge and are prepared to share in the revenues of anything they take forward.”

People can submit their own projects and can also collaborate with other members of the LEGO CUUSOO community (Guidelines for Collaborative Projects). People must be 18 to submit ideas and 13 to vote on ideas.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

This video explains the LEGO CUUSOO review process.

Source: LEGO® CUUSOO Process and Summer Review Results

Source: lego.cuusoo.com

Challenges the LEGO business processFan submitted ideas undergo the same scrutiny as internally developed ideas, and have pushed LEGO to consider new partnerships to bring projects to life. For instance, LEGO partnered with Mojang, creators of the popular video game Minecraft, to produce the Minecraft set.

The LEGO CUUSOO process has also resulted in LEGO standing by brand guidelines and rejecting projects that were not an ideal fit. Ideas have been archived for being inappropriate for young audiences (The Winchester - Shaun of the Dead), for being too costly to produce (Legend of Zelda set of characters) and due to barriers in obtaining the license from original copyright holders (My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic, a property owned by competitor Hasbro).

In a blog post, LEGO stated:

“Opening ourselves to new product suggestions invites popular ideas that don’t always fit our brand. This is the first time we’ve felt that we should turn a LEGO CUUSOO idea down, but we’re grateful for the spirit behind projects like the Winchester and for the opportunity to be challenged. It keeps us sharp and looking toward the future of the LEGO brick.”

Speed of innovationWith LEGO fans eager to see the products they voted on in stores instantaneously, LEGO has cut down its typical product release cycle from two to three years to as little as six months with the Minecraft project.

Matthew Kronsberg, writer at Fast Company, pointed out:

“The first Cuusoo project--the Shinkai--took 420 days to accumulate enough votes to trigger a review (only 1,000 were needed for the Japan-only project), while Minecraft, with its 20 million registered users, racked up 10,000 votes in just 48 hours.

“Such an outpouring of interest would be squandered though, if that consumer desire was left to wither through a traditional product development cycle. And this is where the second, and possibly more significant piece of the Cuusoo endeavor comes into play: Lego Minecraft will go from concept to release in roughly six months, rather than Lego’s typical two- or three-year process.”

Staying relevant and constantly innovatingLEGO enthusiasts point out that LEGO’s agility and determination to staying relevant to changing demographics has helped turn the company around and establish a strong fan base.

As LEGO enthusiast and CUUSOO reviewer GlenBricker said:

“At one point a few Years ago Lego almost went bankrupt. Now they are a multimedia empire… Lego is doing a great job staying relevant to a changing demographic who has a constantly expanding field of entertainment opportunities available to them.

“Sure, it is far from an instantaneous process but more and more we expect or entertainments to conform to what we want rather than us to conform to what is available.”

Power of crowdsDigital enthusiast Luis Remelli Beerbower noted:

“LEGO has many reasons for crowdsourcing: engaging their customers, accurate estimation, customer needs, spotting trends, and seeing in first hand market potential for each product.”

Crowdsourcing LEGO CUUSOO

29

Source: bturn.com

Source: AFOL A Blockumentary via fastcompany.com

Crowdsourcing is beneficial to brands in several ways. In a Tedx Talk, Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of innovation platform Innocentive, highlighted the primary advantage:

"What we have created are systems where we build large facilities and large buildings full of the researchers that we think can solve the most important problems. We hire the best in the world to work on those problems, but we all know the fundamental limitation of that kind of system. We couldn’t hire all the smartest people in a given field if we wanted to, we can’t.”

The CUUSOO model also helps individual ideas stand out and enter the spotlight. As Peter Esperson, Lego’s Online Community Lead said:

“If we got all the Lego designers, and probably even all the fans in the same room and discussed what it was we should make, and put it to a vote? It probably would not have been the Shinkai [submarine]. But some guy in Japan decided he wanted to do this, and he tapped into the deepwater marine biology community and then it happened.”

CUUSOO’s 10,000 vote requirement also helps streamline the crowdsourcing process. As the Idea Connection team noted:

“Lego receives original ideas but is not weighed down by too many which can be costly and time consuming to examine. And fan support can provide some kind of indication of the potential popularity of a concept.”

Targets AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO)CUUSOO caters to the adult LEGO fan base, a sizable population of people with a shared passion for and expertise in building things. Participants of CUUSOO include professional designers and engineers.

In the words of Fast Company’s Matthew Kronsberg, AFOLs are “small, all but invisible demographics, but taken in aggregate, colossal.”

AFOLs are connected offline through local Lego User Group chapters, meetups and brick conferences, and through online LEGO platforms like CUUSOO and ReBrick, a social bookmarking site for adults to share and discuss user generated LEGO content.

Co-creating the next generation of productsThe passion people show for co-creating and shaping products around them, and the technology to harness their creativity and feedback has lead to the new generation of co-created products we are seeing today, with LEGO CUUSOO and other brand initiatives such as Philips Simply Innovate.

In a 2009 Forrester report “Future of the Social Web”, Jeremiah Owyang predicted the role communities would play in the creation of new products:

“Socially connected consumers will strengthen communities and shift power away from brands and CRM (customer relationship management) systems; eventually this will result in empowered communities defining the next generation of products.”

Indeed, the last few years have seen a rise in consumer facing crowdsourcing and collaborative programs and the emergence of a strong DIY culture and technology driven maker sub-culture.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Chris Anderson, former editor-in-chief of Wired and author of the book Makers – The New Industrial Revolution, believes technology is responsible for this new maker movement:

“The real revolution here is not in the creation of the technology, but the democratization of the technology. It’s when you basically give it to a huge expanded group of people who come up with new applications, and you harness the ideas and the creativity and the energy of everybody.”

LEGO co-creation ecosystemLEGO nurtures the spirit of creation amongst adults and children alike with digital tools such as LEGO Digital Designer and LDraw to create products with a virtual supply of LEGO pieces, and social networks such as LEGO Club and ReBrick that foster knowledge sharing, content sharing and discussion.

Source: cnet.com

Joren de Wachter, an IP strategy consultant, noted:

“The genius of Lego is to embrace and share that creativity, rather than trying to own it.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

Crowdsourcing LEGO CUUSOO

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What is Open Ministry?

In March 2012, the Finland Citizens’ Initiative Act went into effect, giving citizens the right to propose legislation to the Finnish Parliament. To facilitate this, a group of non-profit entrepreneurs launched web platform Open Ministry.

The platform supports a new era of open governance. As Journalist Susan Fourtané noted:

“Today, companies are crowdsourcing everything from designs of cars to marketing slogans. Why shouldn’t governments follow suit?”

How does it work?

Through the web platform, citizens can propose and vote on new legislature online. The proposed legislation must gather support from 50,000 citizens of voting age within six months to be considered by the parliament.

Open Ministry

Source: avoinministeraio.fi

This approach empowers citizens to have a say in their governance, and more. Science and technology writer David Hill pointed out:

“More than that, Finnish voters can back an initiative online rather than being physically approached by solicitors. Not only does that make it more convenient, but voters can study the initiatives in more detail and research information before they sign up, something that is much harder to do when someone is pushing a clipboard in your face to sign.”

Collaborative Social innovation

The initiative involves collaboration both between the government and the people, as well as among people, with volunteers running the platform and converting proposals into legal form.

Journalist Susan Fourtané noted:

“In the meantime, The Open Ministry's team has been actively working with organizers / campaigners in planning the initiative campaigns for the fall. A group of volunteers from different professional backgrounds evaluate and select proposals that citizens send through the Website. Later, the final selection is passed on to volunteer lawyers who draft the proposals into legal form and terminology.”

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

CSR opportunity for brands

Several banks and telecom providers have supported the initiative by providing free access to their verification APIs, thus enabling Open Ministry to verify the identity of voters. This partnership was crucial to the Open Ministry being accepted by Finnish policymakers, and provides brands an opportunity to support their consumer’s passions.

Source: peopleslab.mslgroup.com

Source: gigaom.com

Revival of trust in government? Thinkers believe that the transparency that is inherent in Open Ministry platform can lead to greater accountability for government officials and increase of trust in officials.

Stefaan Verhulst, an academic in law and communications, wrote:

“Finland’s program forces representatives to officially take a stand for or against proposals demonstrated to be important to a large portion of the population.

“As such, Open Ministry could lead to not only more immediate direct democracy, but greater accountability for government representatives.”

Joonas Pekkanen, founder of Open Ministry, shares similar views, which have been summarized by Good News Finland:

“Open preparation and decision-making ensure that real causes and opinion leaders will be heard. When the processing phases surrounding decisions and background documents are open to everyone, trust in government officials and representatives will grow.”

Matthew Ingram, a writer at GigaOm, pointed out:

“The laborious process of putting together a comprehensive piece of legislation — which would require hundreds of pages, legal footnotes and cross-checking with existing laws if it is to succeed in any real way — may simply not be compatible with existing crowdsourcing methods”.

Do we need a new paradigm for lawmaking? While some question if crowdsourcing can be effective in creating serious legislature, some question whether the current definition of legislature is still relevant in today’s world.

Academic Stefaan Verhulst wrote:

“Despite the promise of crowdsourcing towards more participation, transparency and accountability of the law-making processes several challenges remain. More importantly, broader questions exist on whether these efforts aim to fix a process designed for a previous era or should go beyond what we currently mean by legislation.”

Can crowdsourcing lead to social change? In October 2012, the first citizen-proposed law, a ban on fur farming, entered Parliament with the support 55,000 citizens. Thinkers are watching developments to gauge the success of the initiative.

Crowdsourcing Open Ministry

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Clockwise: U.S.’s Petition White House, Latvia's Mana Balss, Iceland’s Constitutional Council, France’s WeSign.it

Can Open Ministry work elsewhere? Thinkers highlight the progress of the initiative to Finland’s open culture and history of collaboration between citizens and government.

David Meyer, a writer at GigaOm, noted:

“Nordic countries tend to have relatively close societies where people are enthusiastic about pitching into civic life… Tech-driven democracy fans in other countries may not find the environment as conducive to crowdsourced legislation right now, but on the other hand they just got themselves a model to study.”

Though the code for Open Ministry is freely available open source community GitHub, people believe the initiative may fall victim to pranksters if replicated elsewhere. Fruzsina Eördögh, writer at The Slate, noted:

“While Open Ministry may be spam- and hacker-proof, there are no signs that it is prankster-proof. Maybe the residents of Finland don't seem the type to vote on bogus legislation, but the same can't be said for citizens of the United States. In July of this year, two writers from the satire Internet site Something Awful got more than 62,000 people to like a Facebook page in order to “exile” rapper Pitbull to Alaska.”

Other open governance initiatives People now call for an open democracy and thinkers believe in a ‘writeable’ society.

In a TED Talk in June 2012, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck argues:

“…we live not in a passive society–a read-only society–but in a writeable society where we have the power to change our communities, to change our institutions.”

Joonas Pekkanen, founder of Open Ministry, observed the shift in people’s expectations:

“Citizens have begun to call for a more open, transparent and participatory western democracy in place of the old rigid system.”

In France, WeSign.it allows people to create petitions online. In Iceland, a Constitutional Council allows citizens to offer direct feedback, re-write and vote on new proposed legislature. In Latvia, Mana Balss (My Voice) enables citizens to propose topics for politicians to debate. In Russia, WikiVote! enables citizens to write the laws and vote on the different versions. In Brazil, e-democracia enables citizens to highlight issues, draft solutions and debate with other citizens. In the US, Petition.WhiteHouse.gov enables citizens to highlight issues to the government. On a corporate front, IBM Many Bills is a “visual tool explorer” that aims to simplify legislation for the public.

This shift in people’s attitudes is evident in the number of open governance initiatives in Europe, Brazil and even the U.S.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

View this report directly on Slideshare

Crowdsourcing Open Ministry

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Fighting youth unemploymentUnemployee of the Year is a global initiative from the United Colors of Benetton UNHATE Foundation to create awareness around youth employment and to fund 100 youth projects that drive social good.

Unemployee of the Year

Source: unhate.benetton.com/

Source: unhate.benetton.com/unemployee-of-the-year

According to Benetton:

“[The initiative] aims to spread a positive message of hope and celebrate young people’s ingenuity, creativity, and their ability to create new smart ways of addressing the problem of unemployment.”

To spread word about the youth unemployment, Benetton encouraged unemployed people between the ages of 18 to 30 to create and share UNWORK CVs documenting their UNWORK experience and their own personalized magazine covers. 42,266 young people participated.

Crowdsourcing & funding projectsOf these, 1,035 people uploaded projects that would help their local communities in some way.

18 year old Viktorija Bozhinoska from Macedonia shared her vision to tackle migration of educated youth in her home city Prilep. 25 year old Lili Chong from Belgium shared her plan to create a community mentorship program for under privileged children. 29 year old Ludwig Esposithoven from Italy shared his vision to create a short movie that would highlight the exasperation affecting interns who compete for rare jobs.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Source: unhate.benetton.com/unemployee-of-the-year

Crowds voted on their favorite projects from September to October 2012, and the 100 most popular projects were each awarded € 5000 by the UNHATE Foundation.

Benetton (finally) gets into social workIn the past, Benetton has gotten flak for exploiting social issues in its advertising campaigns and not creating or contributing to solutions. Unemployee of the Year is Benetton’s first initiative that proposes and invests in a solution.

As Stuart Elliott, advertising columnist at The New York Times, wrote:

“For almost as long, critics have dismissed the ads as exploitative because they do not offer solutions to the problems or assistance to the causes that could use financial help".

“Now, however, Benetton is going to put some money where its mouth is — 500,000 euros, to be exact, or about $650,000.”

Important issue to highlightBloggers and journalists agree with Benetton’s choice of social cause and believe that youth unemployment is a severe problem affecting that world. Benetton estimates that there are over 100 million unemployed youths (15 to 29) worldwide.

As mawaltrees commented at guardian.co.uk:

“The issue of youth unemployment is a massive economic timebomb, it's not a minor issue. A strong economic climate enables us to improve society and it's infrastructure for the benefit of all. A weak economic climate means 'minorities' will continue to find themselves bottom of the priority list and scapegoated. The issue of youth unemployment could not be more important.”

Keeps youth motivatedPeople have commended Benetton’s efforts to motivate youth to spend their free time working on creative and social good projects.

As Govind, National Creative Director at MSLGROUP Creative+ and member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network, commented:

“Nice way to channelise otherwise wasted resources - so many minds with so many ideas, but no jobs.”

Journalist Chidanand Rajghatta also commended Benetton for channeling their free time to social good projects:

“A job doesn't define who you are, but what you fight and strive for does. So if you don't have a job, don't let it stop you from doing something positive for your community.”

Source: http://youtu.be/zKZ3w_Vg4o8

Times of India reader Dinesh Prabhakar pointed out the importance of reaching out to the youth with this message:

“The campaign highlights a point not ever thought by others, [everyone] needs words of appreciation and commendation, the very first thought that you are needed and are a part of the society where majority of people are employed, can make one get up and start doing something beneficial for the society!”

Good insight, but UNshocking executionWhile bloggers agree with the cause, they have criticized the print ads for being “too boring” and not as controversial as previous Benetton campaigns.

Crowdsourcing Unemployee of the Year

37

Source: marketplace.org

As journalist Arwa Mahdawi wrote:

“The way in which Benetton has chosen to champion Neets in its latest campaign is shocking. Not because of the choice of subject matter, but because the subject is presented in such an un-shocking manner. The ads are so utterly unprovocative that some commentators are already calling it Benetton's most boring campaign ever. Benetton is a company, after all, that is famous for its controversial advertising.”

Indeed, some bloggers expected a campaign as controversial as the previous UNHATE “Kiss” campaign, in which political leaders were shown kissing each other.

As Adverblog blogger Martina wrote:

“I personally find the insight to be perfect, but I like the execution less. It’s a bit too elegant and polished, less edgy than you would expect from a brand (and about a topic) that wants to generate a lot of word of mouth not just for a few days thanks to a massive campaign launch PR effort. Yes, metaphorically speaking, I kind of miss “the kiss” scene somewhere.”

Is Benetton’s effort enough?Several journalists have also questioned whether Benetton’s efforts are “enough.”

Journalist Arwa Mahdawi slammed Benetton for not doing more:

“When companies are able to provide tangible resources to solve social problems, CSR schemes can be a very good thing. Benetton's Unemployee of the Year, however, smacks of the flimsiest sort of brand-aid: a temporary salve that solves nothing.”

Stuart Elliott, advertising columnist at The New York Times, shared a more balanced view:

“The money to be awarded the winners [€500,000] is a small sum compared with the estimated budget for the Unemployee of the Year campaign, which is 20 million euros, or about $26.2 million. But it is a major commitment compared with what Benetton has spent until now on the issues addressed by its ads.”

“Every little bit helps”Many people, however, are grateful for Benetton’s efforts, acknowledging that the economic situation is dire and “every little bit counts.”

As DJ commented at nytimes.com:

“Actually, it equals about $6,500; and every little bit helps when you have no job at all.

“Pepsi does it; Levis does it. Who are we to judge if this company passes on the wealth in any manner they choose? Anytime a company gives back, we should be grateful; especially since Capitalism has done such a great job at promoting profit, not promoting social welfare.”

Feature-writer Zoe Beaty too noted:

“It’s certainly not going to change the world. But its humour and support is refreshing. And, let’s face it: things are pretty dire. Every little helps.”

Marketers predict the messaging and €5,000 grants will help Benetton build a lasting relationship with the target market. As Tim Nudd wrote:

“They may be less provocative than last year's, but perhaps they'll make a more lasting difference in the lives of the target market.”

Doing good is good for businessStudies show that consumers prefer to buy from companies that give back to society. Marketers believe that “doing good” is good business and brands are implementing programs that give back to society.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

As Arwa Mahdawi wrote:

“Earlier this year, a study by Nielsen found that 66% of consumers around the world prefer to buy from companies that have implemented programmes to give back to society. Further, 46% claim to be willing to pay more for products from these companies. Being seen to do good is now seen as good business and every brand and its dog now has some sort of corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign. Increasingly, companies are acting in spaces NGOs and governments traditionally filled.”

Creating jobs is good for business tooBusinesses are beginning to see unemployment as an issue not just for society but for their future business performance and profitability.

As Dominic Barton, global managing director of McKinsey & Company, said in a recent interview:

Source: latimes.com and wired.co.uk

“Adam Smith, in the Theory of Moral Sentiments, recognised that successful business and a healthy society are interdependent. When talking about youth unemployment, we must remember that these young people are our future workforce, future consumers and, most importantly, the generation which will determine the destiny of different businesses.

“Never has the need been greater for business leaders to weigh in and contribute solutions. If we do not, if we fail for example to help address youth unemployment, our long-term business performance and, ultimately, our economy will suffer.”

Several companies have launched major efforts to boost job creation, including Starbucks, Citibank and Microsoft.

View this report directly on Slideshare

Crowdsourcing Unemployee of the Year

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A collaborative restoration effortIn July 2012, Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) and Pabst Beer invited people to participate in the restoration of the iconic Rainier Beer sign, by completing a series of online challenges at RestoretheR.com.

Restore the R

Fast Co.Create’s Reggie Ugwu wrote:

“Dubbed "Restore the 'R,'" the campaign relies on community engagement to help spread the word about the fallen icon and a recent effort to give it the renovations it deserves.”

How it worksThe website featured a virtual R sign with 258 light bulbs. To light up the bulbs, fans completed challenges and posted photos/videos as proof. As a reward, participants were invited to the opening ceremony of the new MOHAI location in December where the restored sign would be displayed.

Torin Daniels, copywriter at the agency behind the campaign, described the process:

“Step one: get the public involved. We created a teaser video that served as a social media rally cry. When people heard that the Rainier R needed new bulbs, they wanted to help – So we created a website where anyone in the country could light up a bulb by completing a Rainier challenge. Film yourself completing a challenge, upload it to the site, share it with your friends.”

Journalist Allecia Vermillion wrote:

“The beer conglomeration will pay for a full restoration of the sign, but illuminating each of the 258 lights [of the virtual sign] requires participation from the public.”

Taps into local passion for RainierThe campaign taps into passion for the historic Rainier brand (established in Seattle in 1878), and appeals to people who were accustomed to seeing the iconic sign as a part of the city skyline.

Ad watchers at Little Black Book wrote:

“The “R” in question is the sorely-missed 12-foot-high, red, illuminated symbol of legendary Rainier beer, which welcomed Seattle residents and visitors from atop the brewery tower.”

The sign was visible from the I-5 highway, and was a familiar sight for travelers. As Seattle local Cheryl commented:

Source: restorether.com

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

“I loved that old Rainier brewery sign - it meant I was almost home.”

Source: queenanne.komonews.com

Source: restorether.com

The local passion for the Rainier sign is best summarized by Seattle-based writer Kendall Jones:

“Before the birth of craft beer as we know it today, there was Rainier Beer. Around Seattle, it was the beer. In its heyday, Rainier Beer was ubiquitous around Seattle, even more than Manny’s Pale Ale is today. If you drank anything else, it was probably only for effect. You were probably a contrarian by nature. Keeping dutiful watch over its dominion from atop the brewery, the glowing Rainier R graced the city’s skyline for decades. A smaller version of the same R adorned the window of just about every tavern in Seattle.”

The COOL factorThe quirky nature of the challenges helped the campaign gain traction. Challenges were creative and fun, appealed to the Rainier fan community and inspired participation and coverage.

Ad watchers at Little Black Book noted:

“Rainier is known throughout the Northwest for its quirky, innovative marketing and faithful fans. The brand’s playful essence and consumer affinity fostered an inspiring collaboration with a uniquely engaging strategy as the end result.”

Bloggers at Belles of the Sound wrote:

“Several of the challenges include “finding a cloud in the shape of an R” and “teach a bird to say Rainier”… If you decide to complete one of the challenges, let us know!! We’d love to profile you on the blog.”

Challenges, such as “Make Rainier your guest of honor at the World’s Best Picnic,” were social in nature and participants roped in friends and family to accomplish them.

Restore the R was also covered on the Historic Seattle Preservation blog, which called it “one of the coolest restoration and preservation campaigns we’ve seen.”

Here’s our favorite submission to the website:

Crowdsourcing share-worthy contentThinkers applaud the design of the campaign, which is designed to generate a stream of share-worthy content and appeal to bloggers and the media.

Journalist Allecia Vermillion described the campaign as a “broadcast media bonanza.”

The editorial team of Little Black Book wrote:

“As the campaign gets underway, with challenges completed and participant proof uploaded, the expectation is that certain submissions will find themselves shared across the web sphere by Seattle residents and Rainier beer fans nationwide. And of course, the media won’t be able to resist getting involved either. What news crew could resist the sight of someone standing on the street playing the vuvuzela for a cause?”

Crowdsourcing Restore the R

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Source: queenanne.komonews.com

On-ground share-worthy contentOn-ground, Rainier created awareness, excitement and an opportunity for people to share photos on their social networks by having mascots ‘Grazing Rainiers’ walk around local parks and neighborhoods.

As Aubrey Cohen noted:

“Pabst also plans to send Grazing Rainiers out to roam Seattle and Portland parks, events and neighborhoods. These are ‘mythical creatures best described as giant beer bottles with legs.’”

Was the campaign successful?While only 94 of 258 challenges were completed online, the campaign was successful in generating buzz around Rainier, favorability for Pabst and awareness about the new MOHAI location.

As Nidhi Makhija, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network commented:

“Considering the relatively small population of die-hard Rainier fans (compared to say, Budweiser), 258 challenges may have been too optimistic a goal. I’d say the campaign was a success – it generated quite some excitement at the local level – both for Rainier beer and for the Museum of History and Industry.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

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As part of its promotions for the newest James Bond movie Skyfall, Coke Zero challenged unsuspecting passengers at a train station in Belgium to unlock the 007 in them and complete a mission in 70 seconds.

Coke Zero - Unlock the 007 in You

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=RDiZOnzajNU

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=RDiZOnzajNU

The mission began at a Coke vending machine and directed participants to race to Platform 6 to win free tickets to the launch of Skyfall. Participants evaded obstacles such as an old lady with dogs, a spilled cart of oranges and an attractive ex-girlfriend. Upon reaching the second vending machine at Platform 6, participants had to sing the James Bond anthem to successfully complete the mission.

Extremely positive response70 people attempted the mission and a video showing the successful attempts was published a week before the UK launch of Skyfall. The video immediately went viral with 5.3 million views and 44,692 likes in just 7 days and widespread positive coverage on blogs and social media.

This headline from Jim Edwards, senior editor at BusinessInsider.com, sums up the response quite well:

“This Coke Ad, In Which Ordinary Folks Are Suddenly Forced Into A 007 Foot Chase, Is Utterly Charming.”

Taps into men’s desire to be James BondBloggers and marketers pointed out the campaign was received well because it centers on a strong insight – that every man desires to be a secret agent – and brings the desire to life.

As marketer Christien Smeja tweeted:

“Great campaign from #coke & #jamesbond, tapping into every man's secret desire to become a secret agent!”

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Experience matters more than free tickets Indeed, bloggers and viewers noted that they would love to participate not for the chance to win free tickets (only € 8-10 each), but to experience the thrill of being a secret agent, if only for 70 seconds.

As Marieke Brinks commented on Facebook:

“I want to do this!!! This is great and really fun even without the tickets.”

Right amount of humor and action

Bloggers also attributed the success of the video to tone and story told – the video contains the right amount of humor to engage online audiences and the right amount of action to delight James Bond fans.

As a blogger in the UK pointed out:

“In anticipation of the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, Coke Zero have conceived this awesome public stunt that ties in beautifully with the film, while adding enough humour and action to create a compelling video that is sure to rocket up the viral charts. Unlock the 007 in you puts Coca Cola customers through their paces and rewards them for a 70 second dash through a Belgium train station dodging deliberately clichéd obstacles such as dogs, fruit stalls and workmen carrying panes of glass.”

“I wish I was there!”While the campaign was created a great experience for people at the event and attracted millions of viewers online, it leaves too many people wishing the event would come to their city and happen to them.

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=RDiZOnzajNU

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=RDiZOnzajNU

Indeed, 71 people agreed with the sentiment shared by YouTube user MrJesussaves777:

“I sit here broken hearted because I know nothing as cool as this will ever happen to me.”

Many more left messages on Facebook asking Coke Zero to bring the campaign to their home country. But several people also noted that it would be impractical for Coke Zero to repeat the campaign at a widespread level for fear of people getting hurt while completing the mission and then suing Coca Cola.

Authentic? Staged? Does it matter? Legal liabilities were among the top reasons some people, like YouTube user tropicalscot, believed the campaign was staged:

“Definitely staged… the health and safety implications of random members of the public running through barking dogs and rolling oranges would have been too much. Also they’re all too good looking and clean cut to be real!”

Some, like Alex, believed it was real and criticized Coke Zero’s editing choices:

“It would be great to see some of the outtakes or 'wrong bits' in a follow up. Also, isn't it the point that the 'non-photogenic' get to become bond for a moment?”

Others, like YouTube user metalfender88 enjoyed the video so much, that they felt the controversy didn’t matter:

“Real or fake I don’t care, I found it very funny! It’s one of the best advertising I have ever saw (sic)”

As people diverted their attention away from the video to debate the authenticity of the event and criticize Coke Zero’s editorial choices, blogger

Storytelling Coke Zero - Unlock the 007 in You

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Source: cokezone.co.uk/007

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=RDiZOnzajNU

Anna Richardson Taylor noted the need for brands to choose authenticity over perfection:

“In the days where authenticity in brand communication is everything - as consumers quickly point out the fakes on social media - ad agencies might have to start throwing in a few imperfections to convince the viewing public.”

Not for women?While a few people criticized the lack of women participants, others, like YouTube user 11Buzzy11 quickly pointed out that it would be impractical to expect women to participate:

“…MAYBE, no women were gullible enough to go ripping through a train station on a whim with the potential prize of some movie tickets. Plus, doing that in high heels would be incredibly challenging.”

Some, like blogger Maisie Benson, noted that Coke Zero was targeting men with its campaign, and not women:

“Coke Zero tends to target a male audience and so this campaign urging commuters to unlock the 007 within them fits right into their brand strategy.”

Coke’s commitment to storytelling Blogger Joseph Pedro highlighted the challenge brands face as the online space grows increasingly cluttered, and applauded Coke Zero’s success on breaking through the clutter:

“OK, we’ve all watched in amusement for the past couple of years as companies worked hard to figure out how to reach consumers through everything from flash mobs to webisodes. We admit we became quite jaded toward the whole thing after a while. So, when we saw that Coke Zero and the new James Bond flick Skyfall were in viral-video bed together we loaded it up with hesitation. Thankfully, it is kind of awesome.”

Govind, National Creative Director at MSLGROUP Creative+ and member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network attributted Coke Zero’s success to its long term commitment to storytelling:

“Coke keeps coming with these interesting engagement ideas all the time. This is a matter of being committed to this strategy of storytelling. Can't happen just by chance.”

Bringing the story to life onlineMedina, a reader at SocialTimes.com, pointed out the opportunity for Coke Zero to recreate the Unlock the 007 in You experience online:

“This is a genius engagement idea! I'm thinking, how can we take this type of fun and bring it into on-line social?”

Indeed, Coke Zero empowers people to achieve their dream of becoming James Bond online as well, through a series of daily challenges. In the run up to the UK launch of Skyfall in October 2012, Coke Zero posted daily assignments for “Coke Zero Agents” at the Coke Zone and on Twitter using #CokeZero007. Agents used their secret agent talents to decipher clues and win prizes.

Staying true to brand values By creating a real mission for everyday people and enabling them to play the role of James Bond, Coke Zero stays true to both, the spirit of James Bond and also to its brand position: Make it Possible.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

As Nidhi Makhija, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network, commented:

“With "Unlock the 007 in You" Coke Zero gives everyday people (and James Bond fans) exactly what they wanted - the chance to face obstacles and become James Bond for 70 seconds.

“The campaign connects very well to Coke Zero's brand positioning "make it possible.”

Zoe Howorth, marketing director for Coca-Cola Great Britain, too pointed out the connection between James Bond and the Coke Zero brand tagline:

"Skyfall is without a doubt one of this year’s most anticipated film releases, and we are very excited to be a part of it and to continue our relationship with the world’s favourite movie franchise.

"James Bond is a global cultural icon who consistently takes action to create what’s possible, making this the perfect partnership for Coca-Cola Zero."

View this report directly on Slideshare

Storytelling Coke Zero - Unlock the 007 in You

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A social film from Toshiba and IntelThe Beauty Inside is a six episode web series in which the audience plays the lead role of Alex - a shape shifter who wakes up in a new body everyday and documents his identities in a Toshiba Ultrabook.

The Beauty Inside

Source: facebook.com/thebeautyinsidefilm

Source: facebook.com/thebeautyinsidefilmPeople were cast alongside Hollywood stars and TV actors Topher Grace (That 70’s Show), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Final Destination 3) and Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds), and directed by Sundance acclaimed director Drake Doremus.

As the film’s tagline puts it:

“It’s Hollywood’s first social film that lets everyone in the audience play the lead role.”

How it worksMore than 4,000 people across the global auditioned for the lead role of Alex. 26 people were cast in the web series, and an additional 50 were featured on The Beauty Inside Facebook page via photos and videos.

Power of Hollywood + Social mediaThe star power attracted people to the audition, and viewers to the final film. People then used social media to spread the word and to discuss the film in depth.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

As Ella Riley-Adams wrote:

“This project seems like a solid combination of vital entertainment factors. “The Beauty Inside” features one familiar young celeb, one up-and-comer… Viewers can easily get involved and have input in the plotline when they audition, and they’ll then spread the news to their friends and followers. This may be an elaborate creation for some simple product placement, but a branded movie with both star power and shareability seems likely to succeed.”

Adweek blogger Tim Nudd pointed out that social media was key to engaging so many:

“A man wakes up as a different person every morning—and one day, against his better judgment, he falls in love. It's an intriguing premise—not quite right for Hollywood, perhaps, where movies need one or two unchanging stars, but perfect for social media, where involving as many people as possible is the whole point.”

People submitted their photos to add to Alex's story. source: facebook.com/thebeautyinsidefilm

Source: youtube.com

The combined power of Hollywood and social media helped the series attract over 5 million views, and a following of 14,531 subscribers on YouTube and 95,500 fans on Facebook.

Why storytelling works for Intel & ToshibaStorytelling helps Toshiba and Intel engage people, and generate interest and buzz around their products, a feat, marketers say, that is usually a challenge for non-Apple tech brands.

Todd Wasserman, business editor at Mashable, wrote:

“Since relatively few people are interested in discussing new hardware (unless it’s from Apple), the campaign broadens the discussion with a bit of branded entertainment.”

Adweek reader Wayne Wood too applauded the storytelling approach:

“This is one of the most brilliant approaches to marketing of a technical brand, without hitting the buyer over the head with geek speak. and its about getting inside the head. the human touch.”

Seamless and effective product placement By writing the Toshiba Ultrabook into the script, the filmmakers ensure the product and its features are evident, and that it doesn’t call attention away from the core story. A beautiful example of product placement.

As blogger Ben said:

“Presented by Intel and Toshiba, the branding is evidently there, but subtle enough not to intrude on the experience or hinder the concept…”

Blogger Denise Fernandes noted the role of the laptop:

“The biggest challenge was how to identify Alex in each scene, but the agency found a subtle, product-friendly solution—he's always the one with the Toshiba laptop.”

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Source: http://itmightbeserendipity.tumblr.com/

Ashraf Engineer, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network commented on the effectiveness of the product placement:

“To me, this was a great way to get your target users involved in the message you want to send out and to display the versatility and utility of your product.”

Ben also pointed out the role of the product in the larger scheme of things:

“What the brands have done is clever. They've let the experience speak for itself and respected the fact that people are at the end of the product. Entertain those people, play to their emotions, and keep them gripped in a great story and half the battle is already won.”

Discussing “Inside”Ultimately, the film is one big metaphor for the Intel tagline “Inside,” and succeeds in getting people talking about the “beauty inside,” and subconsciously connecting with the concept of “Inside.”

People on YouTube, such as Kathryn Fornier, discussed the deeper significance and ‘moral ‘ of the film:

“I believe that the reason why he stops changing and becomes the true Alex is because he has found someone to love him despite his physical appearance... She didn't care if he was old, fat, ugly, a woman, or a man. Leah loved Alex. She loved "the beauty inside" of him. That's it for me.”

On Tumblr, people shared quotes from the movie and blogged about their take on inner and outer beauty.

Even Steve Hall of Adrants was enthralled by the emotions brought up by the film:

“True love is blind. That's the lesson here. But how many people actually experience true love? How many people could fall in love and live with a person that looks different each day?”

Nidhi Makhija, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network commented on the connect to Intel Inside:

“When I shared the story with a fellow advertiser, he was unimpressed and asked ‘What's the connection to Intel?’

“Without even realizing I was echoing ‘Intel Inside,’ I replied, ‘It's not about what you look like on the outside, it's who are you within.”

Power of the story, and the lead characterAt the end of the day, it was the interaction that attracted people, but the power of the story and the character Alex that kept people engaged for six weeks and hungry for more.

This comment from YouTube user AshleyNicoleTM is but one of hundreds:

“I'll be sad that I will not hear anything more from Alex. He was truly such a beautiful person. I'm glad he found happiness. I'll miss my Thursdays looking forward to hearing about more from him. However I'm glad he finally found his happy ending.”

As PJ Pereira, co-founder of the agency behind the film commented:

“What we've learned is that viewers will come for the innovation of a project like this, but they will stay for the story. The story matters a lot."

A new kind of experienceBy allowing people to co-create the story and to be part of the story, The Beauty Inside delivers a different kind of experience altogether. As blogger Denise Fernandez pointed out:

“One of the most fascinating aspects of the series is the fact that it’s Hollywood’s second ever “social film”, and the first one of its kind that offers everyone who has access to a webcam the chance to play the lead role, since Alex has no definite appearance.

“…the entire social film experience gives viewers a sense of intimacy and belonging, something cinemas and television have never accomplished yet.”

Building a case for Immersive StorytellingThe Beauty Inside is the second social film from Intel and Toshiba, after launching the social thriller The Inside Experience in July 2011. The overwhelming positive reactions to both imply that people are ready for more integrated, immersive storytelling experiences.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Storyteller John Ford noted:

“Inside attracted a huge following, fans not only enjoyed the experience they begged for more, so the arrival of a second experience was always likely… [The Beauty Inside] concept lives and dies by the quality of the storytelling and the immersion of the users.”

Storyteller Howard Blumenthal believes immersive storytelling is the way of the future – and especially in the digital age:

“Today, the power of computing can provide spectacular realism and the promise of deeply interactive experience–in which the individual participant and the story framework become one.”

Source: Latitude: Future of Storytelling

Research findings from consultancy Latitude too support the increasing popularity of immersive, and interactive, storytelling.

Other social approaches to storytelling Other social films include Toshiba & Intel’s thriller The Inside Experience in which audiences help a woman escape a closed room, AT&T’s Away We Happened in which fans decide the course of the story, and Discovery and Ridley Scott’s Life in a Day which crowdsourced scenes from around the world.

Clockwise: Discovery and Ridley Scott’s Life in a Day, AT&T’s Away We Happened and Intel & Toshiba’s The Inside Experience

View this report directly on Slideshare

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Purpose-inspired movementIn response to a rise of gay youth bullying and suicides in the U.S., Dan Savage and Terry Miller created the It Gets Better Project, soliciting personal stories from LGBT adults and allies to let LGBT teens know that life gets better.

It Gets Better

Source: itgetsbetter.org

Overwhelming volume and diversity of storiesSince its launch in September 2010, more than 50,000 stories and messages of support have been shared on YouTube from LGBT adults and allies including political figures Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, actors Anne Hathaway and Neil Patrick Harris, TV personalities Tim Gunn and cast members of Modern Family, comedians Sarah Silverman and Stephen Colbert, musicians Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Ke$ha and professional football team San Francisco 49ers. Several companies including The Gap, Google,

Facebook and Pixar, too have shared videos with stories and messages from their employees. The videos have collectively been viewed more than 50 million times. The project has spread beyond the U.S. with chapters in countries including Australia, U.K., Chile, South Africa and Malaysia.

Elizabeth Weise wrote:

“They sit down in front of the camera, and they start to talk. In English, in Spanish, in American Sign Language. Proudly wearing their U.S. Marine uniforms or wedding rings or holding squiggly, giggling children.”

A reader shared her surprise at the volume of support the cause gathered:

“Until you see a trend like this, you have no idea of even a fraction of the overwhelming amount of support that is out there - you know in theory, but you can't really gauge it.”

Social media as a free platformSocial media and YouTube gave the co-founders the opportunity to reach out to supporters and LGBT teens across the globe with their message in real-time and without the need of seeking approvals or spending money.

In an interview with ABC News, Dan Savage co-founder of the It Gets Better Project, said:

“It occurred to me that we can talk to these kids now. We don't have to wait for an invitation or permission to reach out to them using social media and YouTube.”

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

“Co-founders Dan Savage and Terry Miller share their story in the first It Gets Better video”

Connecting people with storiesIn addition to the platform, the movement also relied on personal stories to connect people around the cause and to spark participation and action both from adults and from the teens themselves.

In their book It Gets Better, Dan Savage and Terry miller wrote:

“Thousands of LGBT adults who thought they were just going to contribute a video found themselves talking with LGBT youth, offering them not just hope but advice, insight, and something too many LGBT youth lack: the ear of a supportive adult who understands what they're going through.”

Blogger Christine Friar pointed out:

“Obviously, it's important for there to be a national discourse about bullying on TV and in the paper, but for the kids who have to wake up every morning and deal with victimization on a personal level, the fact that The Huffington Post covered the issue might not do a lot to make them feel less alone.

“That's where It Gets Better comes in. It's the internet at its best: connecting people to one another through their personal stories and letting them know that they're not alone.”

Personal stories drive changeChange can be a slow process and a struggle for the change-drivers. Thinkers make the case that personal stories are vital to bringing attention to a cause and engaging people around it.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcVyvg2Qlo

Clockwise: It Gets Better MTV Special Trailer, It Gets Better – The Book and it gets better tour

Drawing a parallel between the civil rights movement and It Gets Better, journalist Kate Tuttle pointed out:

“Whether or not the adults can agree on much-needed policies to help them, one thing we can learn from both Eckford's story and the messages from the It Gets Better Project is that change comes with struggle, and telling the story is a vital part of the process.”

Role of transmediaEach transmedia adaptation adds to the movement. The two one-hour specials on MTV help reach more people via multiple devices, the book of essays has been donated to school libraries, and the musical tour involves audiences at the local level.

TV Academy chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum said:

"The 'It Gets Better Project' is a great example of strategically, creatively and powerfully utilizing the media to educate and inspire…

"This is television moving well beyond the traditional physical set in the viewer's living room to the intimacy of the monitor, laptop, tablet or mobile device and delivering the ideal mix of inspiration and creativity to affect awareness and, ultimately, change."

Jimmy Nguyen, creative producer of the it gets better music tour and LGBT advocate, wrote:

“[The show] adds a vital dose of community by interacting – both on and off stage – with straight and LGBT students, teachers, residents and singers from the town… With these novel twists, the it gets better tour does not just speak to a passive audience. It depends on the community to get actively involved. And it asks the all-important question – once the show leaves, what will local residents do to help their LGBT youth?”

Storytelling It Gets Better

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Source: itgetsbetterproject.tumblr.com

Clockwise: Undroppable, All Out and Alpenliebe Kindness Movement

Transmedia ActivismSome thinkers list It Gets Better as an example of transmedia activism for its use of content, stories and multiple platforms to inspire, connect and educate people, and create dialogue around the cause.

As Brannon Cullum wrote:

“While there are numerous examples demonstrating the thoughtful use of digital media for advocacy, there are a select number of cases where organizations and activists are using multiple digital platforms and distribution channels to connect, educate and inspire supporters. These instances can be referred to as ‘transmedia activism.’”

Community-driven movementIn addition to stories, the movement was also fuelled by community support and gives merit to the theory that some successes can only be accomplished by a ‘loosely affiliated group’.

As Clay Shirky, thought leader in internet technology, wrote in his book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations:

“the loosely affiliated group can accomplish something more effectively than the institution can.”

In the case of It Gets Better, the community was responsible for spreading the word, initiating discussion at the grassroots level and changing teens’ perception of life.

In a paper on “Fraternity and Social Change in the Digital Age,” politics student Maxwell Mensinger noted:

“By wresting control of its narrative, an entity (again, a group or individual) may begin to reshape the dominant interpretation of its story in a way that changes public and private perceptions of that entity’s identity.”

Other grassroots movementsMovements use either story or community, or a combination of the two, to connect with people and gain supporters. For instance, Undroppable uses stories to encourage students to stay in school. All Out uses community to drive LGBT activism online and on-ground. Alpenliebe Kindness Movement uses both stories and community to inspire people to share kindness and happiness.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

View this report directly on Slideshare

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What is Intel iQ?Intel uses iQ, its dedicated branded social curation platform, to curate content from influencers and employees on how people are using technology in inspiring ways, and to showcase technology’s impact on media, life and the planet.

Intel iQ

Source: iq.intel.com

Source: iq.intel.com

How does it work?The iQ algorithm sources content from vetted online sources based on social popularity. Then, it crowdsources the most popular content amongst Intel employees based on what they are sharing publicly, and publishes links and excerpts from them, along with original commissioned content from sources like Intel Free Press and Intel’s Creators Project.

Around 160 employees currently participate in the iQ program.

We live in a content economy Brands have invested heavily in communities, and need to create shareable content on a regular basis to stay top of mind.

Luke Kintigh, Managing Editor of iQ, noted:

“As brands build up these large communities on social networks, it’s forcing them to think more like a publisher. All of a sudden they have this community that needs to be fed this valuable content.”

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

iQ is Intel’s answer to the challenge of creating a consistent stream of compelling content, and was inspired in part from thought leader Tom Foremski’s notion that “Every Company is a Media Company.”

Foremski believes that we are witnessing a major business transformation and that companies “must learn how to publish, listen, and converse in a very fragmented media world”:

“Every company is a media company because every company publishes to its customers, its staff, its neighbors, its communities. It doesn’t matter if a company makes diapers or steel girders, it must also be a media company and know how to use all the media technologies at its disposal.

“While this has always been true to some extent, it is even more important today, because our media technologies have become so much more powerful.”

Targeting a young audienceMillennials and Gen Y no longer access content on print, TV and radio. iQ was designed as a touch-optimized web app to be present where the youth (and increasingly, all demographics) are – on smart phones, laptops and tablets.

Bryan Rhoads, iQ Editor-in-Chief, said:

“[The goal is to] connect with a younger audience and tell them the bigger story of who we are as a brand. Many of them don't know, so we need to tell them the story of Intel that is beyond PCs and beyond processors."

Subtle Intel Inside theme continuesIntel is adept at communicating the power of technology through storytelling, and Intel iQ is another instance where the company focuses on what the product enables and not the product itself.

In his review of Intel iQ, social media thought leader Shel Israel noted:

“All content includes technology but the focus is not. This is an end-user publication and would not appeal to deep technologists. I would assume a great many of the topics being covered involve products powered by Intel, but on the surface, that appears to be besides the point.”

Sharing the brand messageSome thinkers believe the true value of the iQ platform will come from having an army of consumers who share brand-aligned content and helped increase the favorability of the Intel brand and its products.

As blogger and social media professional Michael Kieran wrote:

“At a time when we’re all drowning in content, there’s real value in having customers organically share content that’s aligned with your company’s marketing messages.

“I applaud the experimentation that Intel’s doing here, and will be interested to see how effectively this site can generate sharing that builds favorable awareness, interest, and consideration of their products.”

Brands are becoming social publishersBloggers point out that social publishing is becoming fairly common, especially among tech brands.

Wall Street Journals’ Don Clark pointed out:

“Intel is far from alone in trying to break new ground in communications. Qualcomm, for example, has a site called Spark that is staffed by professional journalists and also employs the latest Web and social networking techniques to talk about new trends in technology. Cisco Systems’ online news site, called The Network, lists a large stable of professional tech writers it leans on for submissions.”

And blogger Josh Sternberg wrote:

“IBM has A Smarter Planet, which curates content related to the brand’s attributes. AmEx has long created content for small businesses. The question hovering over these moves is whether brands can pull it off. After all, it’s not like there’s a dearth of tech blogs and aggregators out there.”

Is social publishing apt for brands?Bloggers point out that product and media companies have begun to overlap, and question the impact that branded content platforms will have on the overall media industry.

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Bobbie Johnson, a tech blogger at GigaOm, cautioned that the content space is becoming too cluttered, and competitive:

“Social curation exists in a complex space for organization and discovery that overlaps with everything from to-do lists to tagging, from bookmarking to recommendations… and, of course, big sharing platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. To say it’s a competitive area is an understatement.

“Creation is very difficult. Curation is hard. Consumption, on the other hand, is relatively easy.”

Thought leader Shel Israel cautioned there will be “unintended consequences” that may affect the media companies, the “middlemen,” unkindly:

“I write a lot about how social media has blurred the lines between companies and customers, citizen and professional journalists and iQ seems to me to have just made the latter lines blurrier between product and media companies.”

Intel’s Bryan Rhoads and some bloggers however, feel there is plenty of room for collaboration between brands and media companies.

Intel too is building its own customized social curation software based on its proprietary monitoring technology called “Social Cockpit” and hopes to involve 5000+ employees in the curation process.

Source: pinterest.com

Macro trend: Social CurationIn 2012, we have seen social curation take off on the web with Pinterest reaching 40 million users and new curation platforms like Pearltrees, Storify, ShortForm, The Fancy and Cowbird gaining visibility.

View this report directly on Slideshare

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

What is the Virtual Toy Store?In November 2012, Walmart and Mattel lined two walls of an underground walkway in downtown Toronto with images of toys and invited passers-by to purchase them on-the-go using their smart phones.

Walmart & Mattel’s Virtual Toy Store

How does it work?To make a purchase, people scanned the toy’s QR code with their smart phone and were re-directed to Walmart’s website where they could enter payment details and avail of free home shipping.

This video explains the process:

Photo: CNW Group/Mattel Canada, Inc. via newswire.ca

Chantal Tode summarized:

“The program will run for four weeks during the busy holiday shopping season and will showcase Mattel toy brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends.”

Source: Virtual toy store debuts in downtown Toronto

Located where the people areLocated along a retail concourse and commuter hub, the virtual store enabled Walmart to reach a large audience of urban Canadians who might not otherwise shop at Walmart.

Blogger Andrew Livingstone noted:

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Photo: Deborah Baic / The Globe and Mail

“Located in the PATH, the city’s sprawling downtown underground shopping mall, the virtual toy store will allow consumers to scan a QR Code with their mobile device and purchase toys from the Wal-Mart website without having to set foot in an actual store.”

Writer Carly Lewis pointed out:

“Currently there are no Walmart retail locations in Toronto’s business core, so the virtual toy store is an attempt to reach urban consumers who do their shopping in the city.”

On the other hand, some people, like digital signage and DOOH professional Dave Hayne shared a different point of view:

“I have my doubts about the take-up rates because of the dynamics of where it is located. There are MASSES of people, but they are all moving to work or to the commuter trains. This is not a place with ANY dwell time.”

Walmart estimates 41,000 people passed by the virtual toy store every day of the campaign.

A convenient way to shopMoms and bloggers responded favorably to the concept of a virtual toy store, highlighting that it helps them skip lines, avoid lugging around shopping bags, and immediately recognize the hottest toys, all on the go.

Mommy blogger Carrie Anne wrote:

“Whether you are heading home from a late night meeting or stepping out for a quick bite of lunch, the Mattel and Walmart Canada Pop-Up Shop will be open for your shopping needs. No need to carry packages home with free shipping from Walmart Canada.

“The best part about the Mattel and Walmart Canada virtual Pop-Up Toy Shop is not having to step foot into a toy store during the holiday season. Now that’s a gift I can enjoy.”

Blogger Andrea Allen remarked:

“A digital marketing campaign that allows me to purchase Christmas presents without having to enter a hot, overly-crowded mall while I’m on my usual commute? That’s an idea that certainly puts me in the Christmas spirit.”

“Perfect for Christmas”Marketers too responded well to the program, noting that it eliminates retail costs, including rent, maintenance and staff salaries, is easy to scale and helps reach crowds during the shopping season.

Marketing professional Chris Reed wrote:

“This not only eliminates retail space costs from rent to maintenance it also eliminates staff and all associated costs. You need many less staff to work in a warehouse where customer service skills are not needed than you do in a retail store.”

“Simple and inevitably the future of retail. The costs and the ROI stack up like no other retail outlet ever could. Stores like this are perfect for xmas time when it’s all about the ROI on space and speed of movement in store to drive up seasonal sales.”

Dmitry Sokolov cautioned that virtual stores don’t guarantee sales, but do help break through the clutter:

"An equally important (if not primary) goal of this installation is brand awareness (for classic and .ca Walmart properties). Given the single-digit uptake rate on any QR code-driven initiative, expecting such initiative to deliver ROI solely through revenue via product sales would be ludicrous.

“Instead, the install successfully breaks [through] the clutter of traditional advertising murals that frequent Union Stn. by offering a novel approach to the traditional billboard."

Tailored to the new age consumerThe virtual toy store caters to time-crunched consumers, who own smart phones, are comfortable with online shopping and open to the idea of purchasing products through their mobile phones.

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

In a press release, Melissa Chau, Brand Manager at Mattel Canada, said:

"As Canadians become increasingly comfortable with e-commerce, we see mobile-commerce taking off; in fact, the most recent statistics show that four out of five consumers use smartphones to shop.”

Technology opens possibilitiesMarketers believe the interactivity and appeal of virtual stores can be enhanced through technology, by targeting ads better, making QR codes more attractive and changing products based on data.

Photo: Andrew Livingstone /Toronto Star via moneyville.caSource: designboom.com

Chris Reed noted:

“Everything is there for you as long as the adverts are targeted in the right way.”

Ari Fuld, a community manager at Visualead (which makes visual QR codes), commented:

“The only issue that has to be dealt with is the generic, unappealing, uncreative appearance of the QR Code. Time to turn every QR Code into a visual QR Code and design codes that were made to interact with humans not only machines.”

The CodeZ QR team is optimistic about the scope of virtual stores and interactivity, and blogged:

“Chances are these types of stores are going to become less and less of a rarity in the coming years, so it could get interesting to see what kinds of creativity marketers come up with. With changing products, it will also be interesting to see when screens allowing companies to change out the products on display will enter into the picture of things.”

Measurement and analysis of data can help marketers optimize the choice of products and time of display to boost sales, and seamless integration of social media with the mobile shopping experience can help generate e-word of mouth.

A new way to shop, and engage2012 has seen a rise in similar virtual stores across the globe, and marketers speculate that this hybrid of real life meets digital life will shape the way people shop and the way brands engage with people.

In a blog post covering a similar virtual store by Tesco in the UK, David Cardinal remarked:

“Taking the experience one step further, customers can also scan the barcode from any product they have at hand to place an order for one. Imagine being able to instantly reorder your food and office supplies the instant you ran out of them, instead of having to remember to put it on a list, for a future trip to the store.”

Nidhi Makhija, a member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network, commented:

“Once brands begin to see success in this hybrid commerce model, the next logical step is to further explore the world of converging realities to target and engage people who are on-the-go. After all, people are shifting from laptops to on-the-go devices such as smart phones and tablets, and brand programs in 2013 will need to adapt to this reality.”

Brands have experimented with and opened virtual stores in South Korea (Tesco-HomePlus), Canada (online retailer Well.ca and P&G), the U.S. (PeaPod.com, Walmart and P&G), the UK (Tesco, Argos), Germany (Adidas), Sweden (Jetshop) and Ireland (Argos).

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View this report directly on Slideshare

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What is Small Business Saturday?

In 2010, American Express launched Small Business Saturday, a purpose-inspired movement to encourage Americans to shop small at local independently owned businesses on the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2012, $5.5 billion was spent at independent merchants during Small Business Saturday, a total of 3.2 million people have liked the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook, and 213,000 tweets mentioned the movement in the month of November.

Built around a powerful shared purpose

By highlighting the role of small businesses in creating jobs and contributing to local communities and the national economy in its advertisements (Video: Small Business Saturday 2011) and communications, American Express established a strong shared purpose around which people united.

Source: View the full Small Business Impact infographic at american express.com

Scott Goodson, author of the movement marketing book Uprising, summarized how movement marketing begins with a powerful idea:

“You start by identifying a powerful idea on the rise in culture. You then join, fuel and add real tangible value to the idea through innovative marketing and social media. People who share the passion for the idea join the cause. And rally others to get involved too. And so, a movement is born, which smart brands can profit from.”

Small Business Saturday

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Mobilizes small business owners

In 2011, 500,000 small business owners leveraged tools and materials provided by American Express to promote themselves. Tools included free advertising credits on Facebook and Twitter, free marketing materials (in association with supporters like FedEx), tips on getting customers and tips on setting up Facebook pages, YouTube ads and Foursquare deals.

As PRWeek reporter Lindsay Stein wrote:

“Business owners are ticking up their grassroots communications for American Express' “Small Business Saturday” initiative.”

Source: facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday,

Source: facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday

Jason Keith wrote:

“Localization is the reason that this has been not only powerful, but effective in getting the message out. Local businesses promote the event and encourage people in their area to shop small, local media then picks up on the event and writes about it, covering it with live TV the day of and also encouraging people to get out and shop small.”

Also mobilizes people

American Express provided supporters with a map to find participating stores and encouraged supporters to do four things: pledge to shop small, rally friends, spread the word on social media and share photos on Instagram with #SmallBusinessSaturday.

American Express used Facebook as the central platform of the movement, leveraging the social network to connect with people who shared the same purpose.

Source: Small Business Saturday Facebook Case Study

The success of the movement shows that people have the desire to act around a purpose they are passionate about, in this case local businesses and communities.

Incentives for customersAmerican Express also incentivized participation for cardholders, rewarding them with a $25 credit for spending $25 at a participating merchant, and allowing them to redeem membership points for Shop Small gift cards.

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Source: facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday

Source: twitter.com/whitehouse

Support from public figures The movement was promoted by 350+ advocacy groups, city and state governments, and 100+ public figures, including President Obama, who tweeted his support and participated by shopping at a local bookstore on Small Business Saturday.

The movement was also supported by 155 corporations.

Movement becomes bigger than the brand

Quite a few people who participated in the movement did not realize it was an American Express initiative.

As Leslie Bowers, one of the small business owners who participated in the movement, said:

“People are actively participating, but they don’t know that American Express started it.”

Marketers point out that this is true – and necessary – for most successful branded movements. In our Now & Next: Future of Engagement report on Grassroots Change Movements, MSLGROUP’s Gaurav Mishra said:

“Brands can create a campaign around purpose and participation, but it becomes a movement only if people make it their own. For movement marketing to work, the brand needs to think of itself as a custodian of the movement, not its owner; it needs to nurture the movement over multiple years, but also create the space for it to become bigger than the brand itself. If a brand tries to control the movement, and keep it on message, the movement is likely to be stillborn, or die a slow death.”

American Express still benefits American Express reported a 21% increase in card transactions on Small Business Saturday 2012. Thinkers point out the movement also helped American Express gain the goodwill of small business owners.

As John Tozzi, a reporter at Business Week, pointed out :

“Besides encouraging shoppers to use their American Express cards, the campaign aims to win over merchants, who pay higher fees for accepting AmEx than for Visa (V) or MasterCard (MA) swipes.”

Small Business Saturday sponsor FedEx too reported an increase in awareness and revenue.

Stories to spark participation

American Express encourages participating small businesses to share their stories to sustain momentum of the movement year on year, to encourage more small businesses to participate and to provide a feel-good to shoppers who supported the movement.

Source: facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday

Volume 1, Issue 4, October-December 2012

Sets precedent for more movement marketing Small Business Saturday was awarded two Grand Prix awards at Cannes, drawing attention to this type of program and carving a role for grassroots change movements in the future of engagement.

View this report directly on Slideshare

In their analysis of the Cannes Festival, Ad Age bloggers Rupal Parekh and Kunur Patel wrote:

“By choosing a campaign that wasn't just a one-off and has had some sustained momentum, the jury seemed to be making a statement about work that has the power to go beyond its initial conception and become something bigger, something embedded into popular culture. They want to see lasting effects, and a campaign that has impact broadly, not just on a small subset of consumers.”

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We are delighted to share that we will be publishing the People's Insights Annual Report titled "Now & Next: Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engagement" in February 2013 as an interactive iPad app. The report will highlight the ten most important frontiers that will define the future of engagement for marketers, entrepreneurs and changemakers: Crowdfunding, Behavior Change Games, Collaborative Social Innovation, Grassroots Change Movements, Co-creation Challenges, Social Curation, Transmedia Storytelling, Collective Intelligence, Social Recommendation and Social Live Experiences.

Throughout 2012, 100+ planners on MSLGROUP’s Insights Network have been tracking inspiring web platforms and brand programs at the intersection of social data, citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. Every week, we pick up one project and curate the conversations around it — on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web — into a weekly insights report. Every quarter, we compile these insights, along with original research and insights from the MSLGROUP global network, into the People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine. Now, we have synthesized the insights from our year-long endeavor in future scanning as foresights into the future of engagement.

We believe, like William Gibson that, “the future is already here; it’s just not very evenly distributed.” So, innovative web platforms in the areas of social data, citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling point towards interesting possibilities for brand programs that leverage similar models to engage people. In turn, the web platforms and brand programs of today give us clues to the future of engagement tomorrow.

In our reports on the ten frontiers that will define the future of engagement, we start by describing why they are important, how they work, and

how brands might benefit from them; we then examine web platforms and brand programs that point to the future (that is already here); then finish by identifying some of the most important features of that future, with our recommendations on how to benefit from them.

For the next ten weeks, we will publish these reports one by one, then present them together, in context, as an interactive iPad app. Do subscribe to our email newsletter to receive each report and also an invite to download a free copy of the interactive iPad app.

People’s Insights Annual Report

Write to us to start a conversation on how we can help you distill actionable insights and foresights from conversations and communities:

Pascal Beucler, SVP & Chief Strategy Officer (pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com)

Janelle Dixon, North America Head of Insights (janelle.dixon@mslgroup.com)

Dominic Payling, Europe Head of Insights (dominic.payling@mslgroup.com)

Gaurav Mishra, Asia Head of Insights (gaurav.mishra@mslgroup.com)

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