The 'Brewdog Million' & GDPR

Craft Brewery Brewdog has just introduced a new promotion.  They are giving away one million pints of their Punk IPA to anyone who registers on their site, and signs up for an email.  The pints have to be claimed at a Brewdog bar, and presumably most people won't just stay for one.

Very clever marketing, but also I think it's very clever in the light of GDPR.  Brewdog get an opted-in database of 1 million names of people who have stated explicitly that they are willing to be re-contacted.  (Or as many as they want, to be honest - they could keep it going as long as people keep signing up).  I suspect that more brands might start doing this, to ensure that everyone is legally opted in with the most up to date terms and conditions.

Update - it's been pointed out to me on LinkedIn that since you have to opt in to newsletters to receive the free drink, it is not freely obtained consent, so it is not GDPR compliant after all.  But anyway, this is a more interesting example to discuss the practicalities of GDPR than most.

Krispy Kreme's 'Talk Like A Pirate Day' Giveaway on Snapchat

I love this - sadly I think it's happening in the US only.

This campaign will run on 29th September, to tie in with the bizarre 'Talk Like A Pirate Day' which was created in 1995:

"In celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day, which falls on September 19 this year, Krispy Kreme is inviting customers to dress up in their finest pirate gear to receive one dozen free original glazed doughnuts. Qualifying costumes must include three pirate-themed items, such as a bandana or eye patch.

If individuals do not own such gear, they can simply visit a Krispy Kreme store to access the chain’s custom Snapchat geofilter, which can be used to digitally adorn their outfits.

The filter features a pirate hat, parrot and sword.

Consumers must then show their Snapchat selfie with the accompanying filter to any in-store associate to receive a free set of a dozen original doughnuts."

Source

I think it's a great use of both location (you've got to be in a Krispy Kreme to get the filter), couponing (one of the first give-aways I've heard of on Snapchat), and you can bet that the pics are going to be shared far and wide, as will pics of people eating the free donuts!

Slash Football's The Last 5

This is a great example of Facebook Live Video.  Slash Football, the football community, are going live every Saturday afternoon at 5pm (UK time) to talk through the football results.  Like they do on TV, but with panel members who are less 'TV'

(Starts about 3 minutes in)


Plus, there's a definite reason why it is live - pre-recorded just wouldn't work.

Twitter and Sports Rights

This Twitter Moment from yesterday gives an example of what Twitter is turning into, with their recent sports rights deals - a video platform that is the place to go to catch up (legally) with the latest action.

14 goals you might have missed over the weekend

I'm sure as a twitter poster 99% of my tweets will still be text, links, and pics, but as a twitter user, I'll be watching more and more videos.

Deliveroo feeds the Pokemon Go players in London

Seemingly everyone is playing (& talking about) Pokemon Go

It's not yet possible to buy locations in the UK - although it will come soon, and McDonalds has paid for 'Gyms' to be located at 3,000 of its restaurants in Japan - but some companies are using guerrilla tactics to capitalise on the craze.

Why are we on a mission to feed the Pokemon gyms across the land? #GottaFeedEmAllhttps://t.co/kdN7tQMqPZ

— Deliveroo (@Deliveroo) July 25, 2016

For example, Deliveroo, the food delivery people, are taking out food to popular gyms, and giving it out to players when they tweet the #GottaFeedEmAll hashtag - with a different restaurant each day

A Wild Deliveroo Appears! We're out feeding Pokemon Go gyms in London. Tweet #GottaFeedEmAll + location to lure us! pic.twitter.com/h3lpam6Sf7

— Deliveroo (@Deliveroo) July 25, 2016

See some happy customers here:

Thank you @Deliveroo for yesterdays #Poke lunch 😍 #GottaFeedEmAll pic.twitter.com/iNjPuBKfTS

— Alvin Chen (@alvinch3n) July 26, 2016

& here

Thank you #GottaFeedEmAll pic.twitter.com/AGwZq4lovr

— イチゴ (@Yukan00) July 25, 2016

10 Trends for 2016

Carat's 10 Trends for 2016 from Carat Global

Carat Global has been producing trend reports for over 5 years, looking at new technologies that will become more important and relevant to clients.

The trends for 2016 are all growing in importance, and will all have implications for clients.

This year’s trends involve two big themes:

The rise of closed, competing ecosystems

The development of artificial intelligence and actionable measurement

I hope that you find the presentation useful and informative!

Man from UNCLE's 'Invisible Ink' Instagram

This is a good, unofficial use of Instagram -

Warner Brothers UK has posted the picture below.  If you regram (hence sharing the pic to your own friends) with a certain filter you can see a hidden word in the background, and this could win you a Jorg Gray watch.

Calling all secret agents. 💣 Regram this post and apply a special filter to uncover the secret hashtag. Put this hashtag in the caption of your post to be in with a shot of winning a @JorgGray watch ⌚️ Time is running out. ⏳#ManFromUNCLE #GuyRitchie T&C's http://po.st/IGTMFU

A photo posted by Warner Bros. UK (@warnerbrosuk) on Aug 14, 2015 at 7:28am PDT

This what it looks like with the filter applied:

More here

Update - as one of my colleagues has pointed out, Ted Baker did something similar in March

Teasing Taylor Swift's Bad Blood video on Instagram

One of the main trends in 'content' is that people want so much of it.  It's no longer enough for brands to put out occasional ads, pictures and videos, if people like them, people are hungry for lots of things to keep them amused.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in music and celebrity.  One example of this is how Taylor Swift teased her recent Bad Blood video, which was finally released at last night's Billboard Music Awards and to Vevo.

The video is a high production value number, with Taylor as a superhero, Catastrophe, with appearances from the guest star on the song, Kendrick Lamar, plus lots of other celebrities like Lena Dunham, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne and more,

During the two week lead up to the release, pics of the guest start were teased on Taylor Swift's Instagram, each getting around 1 million likes.

It's important to do a series of pics on Instagram, as all content is shown as it appears, like Twitter, rather than through an algorithm, like Facebook, so it's easy to miss stuff.  By posting about 20 times, it increases the chances that each of the 30m followers will see at least one or two.

The stars also posted the pics on their own Instagram - for example Cara here

Stock Photos with Vince Vaughn and others for Unfinished Business

This is inspired!  To promote the film Unfinished Business, Fox has partnered with Getty's iStock photo library to produce some stock photos, featuring the cast.

Four pics will be released each week, for one week only, free for any one to use for editorial purposes (but you need to create and iStock account to get them without the watermark)

Pretty much guaranteed to go viral too, just as these 'stock photo' tumblrs have shown.

Very creative!

Brands react to #TheDress

Today everyone (clearly not everyone...) is talking about The Dress.  Sparked off by a Buzzfeed article on a debate on Tumblr about the colour of a dress (nearly 22m views at time of writing, in less than 24 hours, with 6 follow-up articles), it's a debate about the colours of a two colour dress.

Essentially, the colours you see are determined by your screen brightness and your eyes, but somehow the story went viral, driven by celebs like Taylor Swift commenting.  It's helped distract us from Jihadi John, the story that is on the front page of all UK newspapers, anyway.

Here are how some brands have tried to hijack the #TheDress hashtag:

(See times for approximate order of posting)

You'll be telling us one of these Red Noses is gold next! #TheDress pic.twitter.com/6gjDROarmt
— Red Nose Day (@rednoseday) February 27, 2015

#whiteandgold or #blackandblue? We found a way around science- you can have both! #TheDress #dressgate pic.twitter.com/5oj3ZTqOWk
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) February 27, 2015

For all of you who think #theDress is #WhiteandGold, come and visit us for an eye test #shouldve https://t.co/meL7PikOJu
— Specsavers (@Specsavers) February 27, 2015

Fashionably late? #TheDress pic.twitter.com/qGVecgt4mz
— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 27, 2015

It's white and gold. pic.twitter.com/OqrPgKx6r4
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) February 27, 2015

That time we had blue crowns. #TheDress pic.twitter.com/yPvaKOsELA
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) February 27, 2015

We don't know about #TheDress but we do know that our #C4Cactus has more than 2 colors available! pic.twitter.com/EmDNA1bUhY
— Citroën (@Citroen) February 27, 2015

What colour is #TheDress in this picture? We just can't decide. pic.twitter.com/RUmZB7Kg7n
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) February 27, 2015

The colour of a dress has divided friends (and fairies) for years. #TheDress #SleepingBeauty pic.twitter.com/fgXHymHjfz
— Disney UK (@Disney_UK) February 27, 2015

We can't confirm the colour of #TheDress but we do know that the Microsoft Lumia 535 comes in both Orange and White. http://t.co/bUs0Toky3G
— Tesco Mobile (@tescomobile) February 27, 2015

Whatever colour you see for #TheDress, make sure you use Hotpoint to look after your colours! #dressgate pic.twitter.com/aYWtXPGs73
— Hotpoint UK (@HotpointUK) February 27, 2015

RT to #WIN a new machine for washing #TheDress, use #HotpointLove to say how many colours you see #dressgate pic.twitter.com/Tn3ZFY6pja
— Hotpoint UK (@HotpointUK) February 27, 2015

Right, let's settle this. #TheDress My First Colours - https://t.co/Orn2D5MT9X
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) February 27, 2015

Forget #TheDress. This is the next big debate of 2015. pic.twitter.com/UeiNJWyW4j
— Kia Australia (@kiaaustralia) February 27, 2015

No filter. #TheDress pic.twitter.com/U1A8A6pNsd
— Miller Lite (@MillerLite) February 27, 2015

We promise, we aren't messing with you. This dress is blue and black. #TheDress #Blueandblack #WhiteandGold pic.twitter.com/pI92V96uLX
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 27, 2015

#TeamBlue http://t.co/b9gLZtwLWk pic.twitter.com/XqAKhNmj4X
— Amazon (@amazon) February 27, 2015

All we see is comfortable. #TheDress #CrocNation pic.twitter.com/vZfuW9DgEJ
— Crocs Shoes (@Crocs) February 27, 2015

McDonald's Super Bowl Twitter Stunt

McDonalds seem to have won the Super Bowl on Twitter this year with a classic 'why didn't I think of that?' stunt -

Their Super Bowl ad used the theme 'Lovin' - showing people paying in-store with making a loving gesture ('The price is that you call your mom and say you love her')



What they did next was brilliant:

They tweeted during each ad break, letting people win the other Super Bowl brands' products by RT-ing their tweets - a Mercedes, a Victoria's Secret gift card, a wheelbarrow full of Doritos...

Lovin’ the hare-raising @MBUSA spot. It’s no fairytale, RT and you could win a beautiful @MercedesBenz C300, on us https://t.co/oKBCECNIFe
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) February 2, 2015

That @VictoriasSecret ad was magical. RT and you could win a lovin’ $1,000 Victoria Secret gift card https://t.co/1ljdEVOYo3
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) February 2, 2015

Haha-SNORT. Lovin’ it, @Doritos. RT & you could win jetliner tickets & a wheelbarrow full of Doritos https://t.co/1peysrgjrs
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) February 2, 2015

Not all of the products were given away in such a literal way - the tweet for the 50 Shades of Grey trailer for example was a ride in a helicopter (rather than a BDSM session)

Nothing grey about that ad, @UniversalPics. Lovin’ 50 Shades, RT for your chance to win a ride in a helicopter https://t.co/YVjIKGzu6s
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) February 2, 2015

(UK readers will recognise that this is something that has been done on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - game show contestants win all the products in a TV ad break)

Given the engagement and plaudits McDonalds has received for this I'm sure they'll do it again - maybe it will become a new Super bowl tradition?

Full story here  (& it seems that McDonalds had 1.2m RTs over the course of the night)

In other McDonalds news, they've been auctioning a small number of bottles of Big Mac Sauce in Australia for charity - and bids have reached over £10,000

Taylor Swift's 1989 #Taylurking

Taylor Swift has just sold the highest number of albums in the US in the first week of release of any artist since 2002, for her album 1989, and all this at a time when teens generally don't buy music.

One contributing factor was how she leveraged her social media channels, including Facebook (70m likes), Twitter (46m followers) and Instagram (13m fillowers).

The cover of 1989 features a Polaroid picture, and fans are allowed to create their own version through this page on her site.  When you do so you have to register with an email address, and effectively join a mailing list.

It can then be shared on social channels, and Taylor (or more likely her social media team) is regularly #Taylurking in channels and tweeting a selection of these pics, and pics of fans holding physical copies of the album.

On my website, you can make your own 1989 Polaroid cover! Look at these cuties: http://t.co/1sMB7M0l42 pic.twitter.com/XxavUbWy8A
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 26, 2014

Oh my God, guys, you could not possibly be cuter. #TS1989 pic.twitter.com/PbduCikdhm
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 27, 2014

Found some important photos while #taylurking just now... #TS1989 pic.twitter.com/V22MRB83kK
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 27, 2014

What a beautiful week. Night guys 😘 pic.twitter.com/JqpasUXkaH
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 3, 2014

Superfans have also been encouraged to buy multiple copies - there are different polaroids in the packaging to collect.

The #TS1989 physical cd comes with 13 Polaroids. There are 5 different sets (65 different poloroids in all) 9 hours. pic.twitter.com/wAKgcUDNrO
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 26, 2014

At the same time she's taken all her music down from Spotify - you have to buy it to listen to it (although its possible that it will return once the sales have fallen off a bit).

Very smart marketing

Update - Spotify has responded to Taylor Swift removing her songs in good humour, including creating this playlist:

#ThatSongWhen for Spotify

A good new campaign, highlighting the significance certain songs have for people

For example



&

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" #thatsongwhen your singalong inspired countless karaoke nights. http://t.co/qdskkrhSUQ pic.twitter.com/3uJhR2VaCg
— Spotify (@Spotify) September 24, 2014

they've also got some influencers to get involved:



(Caption reads: Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" is #thatsongwhen I made my first very long journey in a 2CV just after passing my driving test! ( so chuffed to be collaborating with @spotify on this project. If you go to thatsongwhen.com you can share your song too 🎶 ))

&



& there's a Spotify site where you can tell your own stories

I really like the tone - very celebratory.

More here

Loom Bands took off because of the inventor's daughters' videos on YouTube

Is there anything more 2014 than Loom Bands?  About half the people (grown ups) I'm in meetings with seem to wear them...  They're everywhere.

An article in The Guardian at the weekend about Rainbow Loom inventor Cheong Choon Ng has this fascinating detail on the role YouTube played in the phenomenon (my bolding):

"We invested our entire family savings of $10,000 (£6,152) to order tooling and 2,000lb (91kg) of rubber bands from China, and assembled the kits ourselves in our garage. I spent months going round toy stores in Michigan with my daughters, trying to sell the loom band. Nobody was interested. The problem was that people didn't understand how they worked. So I asked my niece and my daughters to create YouTube videos, explaining how to make rubber-band bracelets. These created a trend.

In July 2012, I received an order from a toy store in Alpharetta, Georgia, for 12 loom-band kits. Less than two weeks later, the same store placed an order for $10,000. When my wife and I saw it, our jaws dropped. We thought it was a mistake. The store owners told us they had never seen anything like it. After that, our sales climbed every month until, in December 2012, we reached $200,000 wholesale sales a month. I took a three-month sabbatical from Nissan, but never returned to my old job."

I think that this is the original video:

See more of the videos here

Pizza Pilgrims' Panini Sticker Swap

A great promo from Pizza Pilgrims in London.  If you have a sticker that they haven't got in their Panini World Cup Album you can swap it for a free pizza.

Blog post here

"We have started our Panini sticker collection in earnest at the Pizzeria in Dean St – an excuse to feel 8 years old again. so we thought it would be fun to open up our collection to the whole of soho.

In short, we giving away pizza in return for stickers. we will be collecting a different team each week – starting with Italy, obv. if you bring us a player (or, whisper it, a shiny) from the chosen team that week then an entire pizza will be yours, to eat in or take away.

We will also be giving away stickers when you eat in the pizzeria – so you can even get stuck in (!) if you are not a sticker collector (shame on you). we are also selling the sticker books and stickers if you just want to boost  your collection.

Finally – in classic playground tradition – we will be turning our foosball table into a dedicated #sohoswapshop between the hours of 3pm-6pm every day. just come down, and swap your doubles for ones you actually need!"

This week it's Costa Rica.

Our @OfficialPanini World Cup team this week is Costa Rica. Fill in any of our blanks & get a free pizza. Operation #swapshop continues too.
— Pizza Pilgrims (@pizzapilgrims) July 1, 2014

A great example of using Twitter to push a great (& cheap) idea.

Casey Neistat's Snapchat Stories

Snapchat recently introduced 'My Story' - pictures and videos grouped together - and 'Our Story' - similar for groups and events.

If you're not an active Snapchatter (I'm not) you might struggle to visualise how this works.  As an example here's American social media celebrity Casey Neistat, who posts his Stories onto YouTube to archive them:

For example:



&

Brands' 'Louis Suarez' Tweets

Lots of brands posted humourous tweets after Louis Suarez' apparent 'biting' incident in yesterdays World Cup match between Uraguay and Italy.

Including:

Hola @luis16suarez, si te quedaste con hambre vení a darle un mordisco a una BigMac ;)
— McDonald's Uruguay (@McDonalds_Uy) June 24, 2014

Translation: 'Hi, Luis Suarez, if you are still hungry, come take a bite out of a Big Mac'


&

Should've gone to Specsavers #SHGTS #ITA vs #URU pic.twitter.com/9LZxluxVCW
— Specsavers (@Specsavers) June 25, 2014

&

Hey @luis16suarez, if you're that hungry, why not get your teeth stuck into something really tasty? pic.twitter.com/TPrPoC6ljt
— Nando's (@NandosUK) June 24, 2014

&

Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you're hungry just grab a Snickers. #worldcup #luissuarez #EatASNICKERS pic.twitter.com/3RAO537HjW
— SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) June 24, 2014

& even

Fangs for the memories, Uruguay. #URU http://t.co/Uhx0XqyAem pic.twitter.com/S2fzMsLhPQ
— JCPenney (@jcpenney) June 24, 2014

Lots more here

Coca Cola's Second Lives

Brilliant in its simplicity...  Why has this not been done before?  (Or has it).  The bottle tops are currently being given away in Vietnam, then to be rolled out to the rest of Asia.


I also love how it uses the 'workarounds' idea of making do and mending, because people have been doing this with empty plastic bottles for years.  (I use one as a cocktail shaker, because I was thinking of buying one, and then realised that I had lots of perfectly usable plastic bottles lying around).

It also reminds me of this nice stunt from Coke from a couple of years ago - turn a magazine ad into a loudspeaker

Full story here

Update - Coca Cola is also a partner in a new 3D printer that will use old plastic bottles as one of its raw materials in making new products

TBS & Family Guy Hijack Rihanna

A nice stunt by broadcaster TBS 'The home of Conan, Cougar Town, Ground Floor, Sullivan and Son, King of the Nerds, Deal With It, The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy':  On Monday Rihanna wore a very revealing dress to the CFDA awards in New York - and soon the pictures were being shared everywhere.

TBS posted this photo on Wednesday of Peter Griffin in Rihanna's outfit

That awkward moment when you and your bestie are wearing the same thing. #OneOfUsNeedsToChange @Rihanna #FamilyGuy pic.twitter.com/1DWk4MB1qh
— TBS Very Funny (@tbsveryfunny) June 4, 2014

...  & then on Thursday Rihanna tweeted this.

He gets it! pic.twitter.com/bWLbcFw32B
— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 4, 2014

(Check out the number of RTs and favourites)

Very good, very opportunistic work!

Hollyoaks on Snapchat

The British soap opera uses Snapchat to give teasers for that day’s episode every day at 4pm

Sometimes a pic, sometimes a video, I think.

Very good!