Publish Date: April 18, 2012

By: Sheila Shayon

Brands are ‘pinning’ it on Pinterest with increasing savvy, and although the site doesn’t carry advertising or sponsored content, publishers and brands are quickly getting hip to how to leverage the social thirst for sharing images to drive awareness and traffic to their own digital touchpoints.

With estimates of 18.7 million unique visitors in March, (according to comScore), “Pinterest has a message for the media: a picture is worth a thousand words," notes today's New York Times, or given Twitter's 140-character message limit, "about seven Twitter posts.”

Whole Foods, West Elm, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, Gilt Home,  L.L.Bean, and even the National Pork Board

As the social web evolution rolls on, a new breed of social discovery sites have emerged that offer a multi-media alternative to text-based forums like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. While these so-called Internet bulletin boards, like 20blinks, Pinterest and others are still working to build momentum, the gathering audiences have already attracted the attention of brand marketers and PR professionals.

For marketers, these sites represent a tremendous opportunity to gain authentic insight into their target audience, to see the world through their customers’ eyes. By posting their favorite images, video clips and audio snippets on 20blinks, for example, “Blinkers” reveal the essence of their personality—what makes them tick—to create a truly unique online

Publish Date: March 13, 2012

By: PRNewswire

New App Allows Film Fans to Share Movie Recommendations And Moviegoing Plans on Facebook and on Fandango

Fandango announced today at South by Southwest that it has launched a new Facebook timeline app that makes moviegoing more social than ever. The new app, called "Movies with Friends," allows fans to share their movie-based activities and recommendations on their Facebook timeline and News Feed, while seeing their Facebook friends' movie picks via an activity bar on Fandango's website.  The feature will also provide fans the choice to actively share information about their moviegoing plans and invite others to join them, facilitating moviegoing with friends in real time. 

"Movies with Friends" is an opt-in app that allows

#BullyMovie Campaign to Date Sparks 100 Times the Usual Conversation

Publish Date: March 7, 2012

By: PRNewswire

On Monday, The Weinstein Company (TWC) ran a highly successful campaign on Twitter to drive awareness around the issue of bullying in the United States.  The #BullyMovie effort, inspired by the film BULLY, which will be in theaters on March 30, resulted in a significant spike in conversation around the issue of bullying and a massive 100x increase in conversation about the film on Twitter.  

"We believe this movie has real power to raise awareness and increase empathy for this important issue.  That belief has been confirmed for us in the last few days," said TWC President of Marketing Stephen Bruno. "Not only did the Twitter campaign inspire a jaw-dropping

Publish Date: March 7, 2012

By: Katey Rich

When Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games, she likely had an idea in the back of her mind that the books could be turned into a movie-- after all, what author doesn't want that? But even Collins probably couldn't have imagined the phenomenon that The Hunger Games became, or the amount of products being spun off from her idea in advance of the March 23 release of the movie. There's the film itself of course, with all signs pointing to it being a huge blockbuster, but alsoviral campaigns and mall tours and, of course, nail polish. Now The Hunger Gamesmight have reached the true landmark of success in the modern Internet age: it's becoming a Facebook game.

The Huffington Post has gotten the first look

Apps have helped all kinds of brands advance branding and interest. From apps that help shoppers locate the appropriate Robitussin cold medication while they stand in the aisle to Val-pak apps that let users use their phone camera viewfinders to “see” coupon offers hanging over Valpak client merchants as they walk down the street to the Virtual Mini app that places an augmented reality version of the Mini Countryman vehicle in your driveway, your garage, that pint-sized compact parking space near the front door at work, or in fact on your breakfast toast.

The innovation in apps and what they bring to the consumer shopping experience has been an exhilarating technological advancement for marketers. Apps can be fun, creative, educational and engaging,

KLM: Mile-High Matchmaker

Posted by Sheila Shayon on December 19, 2011 11:01 AM

Dutch airline KLM is offering passengers a choice of seat-mates by accessing each other's Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

The 'meet and seat' service in early 2012 intends to improve the flight experience by pairing seats according to shared interests, as travelers choose to link their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to their check-in information.

KLM is not the first airline to court controversy by embracing social media for its travelers.

AirTroductions made headlines in 2006 by offering an online dating service for frequent flyers, since shuttered; and Malayasia Airlines is launching a Facebook service so passengers can check if their friends are booked on their flight or traveling to the same destination.

The "December to Remember" campaign from Lexus and other big holiday-themed auto-brand promotions are sooo 2011, even though they don't expire for awhile. Jeep and some other brands are more interested in looking forward to what promises to be an intriguing 2012 in the car business.

For example, Jeep's promotional focus already has moved to winter weather where its four-wheel-drive technology can excel. It's offering yet another special version of a Jeep model, this time a 2012 Wrangler Arctic Edition, and a just-launched marketing effort to match, including social outreach via Facebook and prize trips to a handful of random online participants to attend the Winter X Games in Aspen, where they will compete with each other to dig through a pile of snow and find a "Jeep Yeti."

That's only