Sunday, April 15, 2007

Leading the Social Media Stampede

I recently wrote about Titleist and their customizable golf balls as a type of user-generated content (alright, it's not like making a YouTube video). Now that I think about it, there's nothing stopping anyone from filming what they do with golf balls....

In my post, I mentioned Moo as a company that knows how to give customers a range of options and to customize to their hearts' content. The story continues today, with firsthand experience of how much Moo really understands the social media space.

For those of you who don't know Moo, they create mini business cards that you can customize with your own images. Here's where it gets interesting. Sold in packs of 100, you can get 100 different images, a single image across all cards, or any assortment in between. When you hand cards out to friends & colleagues, you can encourage them to "collect all 100!"

I've listed Moo on my sidebar as a recommended tool/service since they launched. I've done so because I've used their services many times and because I've been impressed with their product and especially their customer service. Many businesses, whether in the social media space or not, can learn from them.

They get it
It's encouraging when a company aligns itself with other social networking sites. In Moo's case, you can see it's committed to the space because it allows you to import images from Flickr, Bebo, Fotolog, Second Life and Habbo.

And to demonstrate that they understand the power of social media, they've gone one step further: they've integrated a feed/crawler onto their home page called "MOO in the Wild: What you say about us." There you'll see excerpts from blogs around the world that mention Moo. I found out accidentally after I started seeing a jump in traffic following my Titleist post.

Ease of use
It's standard fare - drag & drop, zoom & crop. Import or upload your photos, input your text, place your order. That's it.

Exceptional customer service
Receive an order of cards that isn't quite right? Smudged ink, blurred image, bent cards - it doesn't matter. Moo takes them back and makes right. They gave me a credit for my initial order and allowed me to place my order again, free of charge.

I would definitely recommend Moo to anyone who asks. The cards are unique in size and feel and they're just cool. Not to mention Moo is at the heart of the social media movement. I can Moo. Can you?

Labels: innovation, Moo, New Media, social media, tools

Posted by Scott Monty at 11:21 PM

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Schwag for Your Next Unconference

I was flipping through the Wall Street Journal today (Heaven forfend! I'm still reading print!), ready to fold it up and toss it in the recycling bin, when a 4C full page ad on the back of the Marketplace section caught my eye.

It was an ad for Titleist featuring 20 golf balls with different logos sitting on newsprint. The headline was "Excellence is the best investment" and the golf balls had logos from a wide variety of well-known brands such as Fidelity, Marriott, Lexus, EMC, Ocean Spray, Timberland and FedEx. In an effort to entice readers to associate their own brands with Titleist, the ad encouraged readers to go to titleist.com/customball to create logoed golf balls of their own.

It may be an old cliche, but there's still a ring of truth to it: a good deal of the business world uses golf as part of deepening relationships. Prospects, customers, employees, board members - essentially any constituency that matters - can be drawn into the conversation and engaged on a more personal and human level while on the golf course. But what does that have to do with the Titleist ad and social media?

This is a great example of an old-school company adapting to the world of new marketing and new technology as part of its branding efforts. Titleist gets the benefit of being able to run an ad with 20 well known brands that have created custom logos, thus strengthening their own, and they get wider exposure by encouraging what is essentially consumer-generated content (i.e. your own logo on a golf ball).

Here's my take on how their service delivers.

The Good
I had never before thought of or desired to visit the Titleist Web site. Golf balls are very nearly a commodity (or should be, the way I golf!) and in my mind don't offer much in the way of differentiation. Even though they aren't marketed this way, I think all golf balls are pretty much equivalent. For my money, the clubs (and the lessons) make the difference.

So I give Titleist full credit for getting me to visit their site based on a nice piece of creative with a compelling call to action.

Once there, you can select from event-related balls (birthdays, launches, etc.) or simply design your own ball. The interface is very smooth with - its Flash-enabled - and it allows you do quickly navigate through the steps.

Choose the type of cusomtomization - name, logo, name & logo, etc.
One, two or three lines of text in your choice of 4 colors
Your logo
Type of Titleist ball you'd like
Standard or customized packaging

It's as easy as drag & drop, and you can resize and crop your logo so it fits on the face of the ball.

Room for Improvement
Here's where Titleist falls down on this otherwise cool site:

Logo balls require a minimum order of 12 boxes (144 balls). That may be fine if you're going to a lot of shows, have a lot of customers, or you lose a lot of balls. But if you're looking to do something on the small end, it's not really an option. An example of a company that does it right with small orders of highly customized material is Moo.
There's no pricing information.
Once you're done with your design and are ready to place your order, it's not as simple as clicking "order now." You need to physically print out your order, gather a high-res file of your logo and track down your nearest "authorized Titleist golf shop or promotional products distributor." At least you can go back to the main site and click on their Golf Shop Locator to find one near you.

All in all, this is not a bad service. And like Moo, it's an interesting and unique way to brand yourself at smaller events like unconferences.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Titleist nor was I paid or approached by Titleist to write this post. I'm simply a social media expert with golf on the brain as spring rolls around.

Labels: 2.0, Advertising, brand, fun, Moo, schwag, social media, unconference

Posted by Scott Monty at 3:40 PM

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

My Agency Can MOO, Can You?

I work at a full-service agency that still has quite a bit of business in the print space. Which is why I was delighted to read this Techcrunch post.

A company called MOO announced that they can "Flickrize" business cards - that is, turn your Flickr photos into thick, glossy, mini-size business cards. This is a really smart move - Flickr has a wide following (demonstrated by the 1.2 million photos that were tagged in the 24 hours following the announcement of geotagging) and there's actually a revenue model behind this service.

For a small agency or the solo practitioner without a big budget for new business pitches, this could be a unique leave-behind. Simply upload your creative to your Flickr account and use teh MOO interface. For 20 bucks, you can supply your audience with 100 cards of interesting, relevant and customized information in an easy-to-pass-along format.

Along with another technology that I'll blog about tomorrow, this is a simple, yet powerful way to build awareness of your company's brand after you've left the building.

Labels: Advertising, Marketing, Moo, New Media, strategy, tools

Posted by Scott Monty at 4:00 PM

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About Scott

For hi-res, click here

The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.