Elizabeth Huber
Weekly reporting on top trends in retail, design, and social. Sharing true-grit storytelling, free-wheeling tomboy vibes, & good design at western-daughter.com
Snapchat Scavenger Hunts Pump Up Promotional Efforts, Adidas Targets Dark Social Influencers, and Other Updates From Around The Web
Social News & Trends
- Last week, Dos Toros Taqueria launched a Snapchat Scavenger hunt that apes popular ‘Pokemon Go’ for an inventive promotional campaign.
The promotion, starting October 6th and running through the 12th, targets a digitally-savvy, younger demographic through the use of Snapchat geo-filters. To celebrate the opening of the fast casual chain’s 12th and largest store in NYC, the company will turn nearby Bryant Park into ‘Burrito Park’, where geo-fenced areas of the park will activate specials Snapchat filters displaying various menu items. Savvy scavenger hunters can then take a snap using the filter, and bring in the screenshot to a participating location in exchange for free burritos, chips, and guac. To guide participants, a mascot in costume will be wandering around Bryant — ahem, — Burrito Park, to guide participants. The inventive campaign cost a grand total of $157 to activate on Snapchat. — Via Ad Age.
- Two weeks ago, Mark Zuckerburg unveiled ‘Carmel’, a new Virtual Reality web browser built and owned by Facebook exclusively for use on Oculus Devices at the brand’s ‘Oculus Connect Conference.’ The brand bought the rights to Oculus VR headsets to the tune of two billion dollars in 2014. This year marked the first time that the headsets were made available to VR first-adopters (aka, gamers) for $600 a pop. ‘Carmel’ is an interesting step forward in the virtual reality space, as the Facebook-built web-browser now means that developers and brands alike can build fully immersive sites for products and promotions. Among the first brands to use the new technology is Ford, who has used Carmel to tell 360-degree VR video stories that take users inside the race track. Facebook is also in development with creating a new social hangout spot that can be used with the Oculus headset, ‘where people have avatars and can play games like chess.’ — Via Ad Age.
CASE STUDY
ADIDAS TAPS DARK SOCIAL INFLUENCERS FOR AUTHENTIC REFERRALS
- Adidas taps into influencer marketing on the dark social sphere through the use of Tango Squads, communities of hyper-connected football obsessives operating on direct messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Line. Tango Squads are groups of socially savvy 16–19-year-old football content creators living in 15 key cities worldwide. Each group is managed by an Adidas in-house team, who share exclusive content and new products with the group, before they are even unveiled on Adidas’ Twitter or Facebook channels. Currently 70% of global brand referrals happen on dark social not via Twitter or Facebook, explained Adidas senior director of global brand communications Florian Alt, speaking at the Festival of Marketing today (6 October) about the value brands can add by gaining mentions in the private messaging sphere. “At the moment a lot of brands are approaching social media as a publishing job with pre-set and pre-defined agendas. With the Tango Squad project we have a great opportunity. It’s a different way to produce content and speak to your communities. “It’s not about sheer reach, what the hyper-connected kids bring is mass awareness. These are the guys who will push out your stories and content. They give it longevity and authenticity, because they are talking in a private messaging environment. If it comes as a referral from your mate, you’re much more likely to pick it up than if it comes from a brand.” Alt argued that while you can give a piece of content to one global influencer with a million followers, the message is far more authentic if you give it to 500 kids, each with 2,000 followers. Alt admitted that currently Adidas cannot measure the effectiveness of the dark social approach as he can measure engagement on Twitter and Facebook, meaning reports of success are reliant on the local teams who manage the communities reporting back. However he is very positive about the success of the Tango Squads three months in.
“It could be this is re-defining influencer marketing. It could be this becomes an Adidas insider tool for face to face communications or it could become a bad-ass loyalty programme. It could be a combination of all there. That’s the beauty of it.”
— Via Marketing Week
Home & Style Trends
- How to live with (and style) perfectly imperfect house plants. — Via the Jungalow
- In a sea of stainless steel, white appliances stand out. — Via Hommemaker.
- Wooden spoons are the perfect collection to keep in your kitchen. — Via Kitchn
UK - based design company ‘Plain English’ keeps it sophisticated, staid, and simple with the their latest catalog. One project in particular brings classic farmhouse style to a decidedly modern place. “Featuring pale herringbone wood flooring and contrasting black cabinetry, the under-the-counter cupboards are from Plain English’s Spitalfields line and the island is from the Osea range. The beautiful Carrara marble splashback is paired with white walls and exposed industrial beams. Carrara was also used on the benchtops, with the luxurious Arabescatto marble featuring on the island worktop.” — Via The Design Chaser
