@Mavylala

As you have probably noticed I haven't updated this puppy in a while. I'm struggling to figure out my strategy for this blog since I find I'm contributing the same type of information to other outlets. So for the time being I'm retiring the weekly Digital Digs posts for more sporadic thoughts - i.e. when they happen.

If you are looking for the latest and greatest digital finds I'll be posting those through the following pieces:

1. Twitter: @thetweetsofjohn or @mavylala

2. Blog: john st. blog

My previous 2 posts, Aug 8 & Aug 29 talked about specific examples of how pizza companies have been trailblazers (good or bad) when it comes to social media.

In summary here is why I think the pizza industry has been able to experiment more with social media than some other categories:

1. Risk-Reward:

The cost of a pizza is minimal, therefore it's easier to give away pizza's to reward a consumer action and it's easier to test marketing tactics because the loss is justifiable. 

2. Franchisees:

Because most pizza joints are run by franchisees, they have more freedom to initiate their own tactics and in general entrepreneurs are more willing to try new things and take greater leaps of faith.

3. Impulse Buy:

Ordering pizza for dinner is considered the convenient and easy route. It's usually a spur of the moment or impulse decision because you're hungry, tired, lazy, know what to expect, cheap, fast, etc. etc.

Social media lends itself well to impulse buys because, well it's intuitively impulsive. You don't sit at home at night and think about what your status is going to be the next day, you just post it.

It's also easy to use this medium to localize messages in real time. For example, sending out a tweet about a pizza special at 5pm on Thursday in Liberty Village - exactly when your consumer is thinking about what to make for dinner that night.

4. Pizza Culture:

On August 8th I posted on article on why pizza companies are the trailblazers (good or bad) when it comes to social media. I said I would continue my quest in terms of analyzing the various companies, what they are doing and why they get so much media focus.

This week I'm tackling Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut has been forward thinking when it comes to social media. They've failed, but kudos to them for sticking to it and being risk-takers, experimenting with the space. Here's a recap of their memorable initiatives:

1. Hiring a "Twintern" to manage their Twitter account (2009)

The Good:

Using the newly found medium, Twitter when other business didn't know what to do with it.

They launched just after the Domino's employee fiasco (coincidence?)

The Bad:

Beside giving away free pizzas to fans, they only used the account to promote themselves and their brand (no 2-way communication), however Twitter was in it's infancy so they were learning along with everyone else.

Again, this was prior to the age of full-transparency, but instead of taking the "fake" or "real" road, Pizza Hut played in the middle and got some back lash for it.

2. Giving away the world's first edible Facebook gifts. (2010)

The Good:

Again, using a newly found medium (Facebook) when other business didn't know what to do with it.

A strategy that not only increased "fans", but also sales. Every time someone ordered a pizza online they received, 2 virtual pizza slices one for them and one for a friend. Once they had 4 slices, they could redeem them for an actual pizza. 

The Bad:

The online ordering system was riddled with technical issues. Before pushing people to a tool, make sure it's working properly.

Once the campaign was over, they left all these new fans high and dry.

3. Handling the delivery of 2million pizza's on Super Bowl Sunday (2011)

The Good:

Coincidentally enough they had a "playbook". A planned out strategy for "what if's".

They used tools like Radian 6 to monitor in "real time" what was happening online.

The Bad:

They should be using the same Super Bowl strategy 365 days a year.  

4. Whoops. They forgot to check a box on Facebook Questions. (Aug 2011)

The Good:

It was Pizza Hut California, and not the national/global page.

That's all I got.

The Bad:

They allowed fans to add their own questions. But this isn't the worst thing about the campaign. It's the fact that they ignored the whole thing and didn't acknowledge or explain what happened (as of the date this was written). And to make matters worse didn't respond to any comments from fans on their wall about the incident AND actually deleted comments! So wrong.

My advice Pizza Hut, train your franchises in the space.

Why are pizza companies the trailblazers when it comes to social media?

I actually don't have the answer, but you can definitely learn some lessons by watching what Pizza companies are doing online. Over the next couple of weeks I'll take a look at some of these companies and hopefully by the end, I'll have an answer to that question.

1. Domino's - learned by failing

Do you remember back in 2009, when the Domino's employees taped themselves doing whatever they pleased to your about to be delivered pizza? If you don't, here's a recap. It was bad. The videos went viral, Domino's waited days to respond and their stock price dropped 10%.

However, this did light a fire and Domino's engaged their social media efforts to address the back-lash (predominately Twitter).

Through those social media efforts they learned that no one liked their pizza. So what did they do, they took those negative comments and used them to launch the "Pizza Turnaround". The confidence of taste testers rose to 99%.

And then came along Ramon De Leon a Chicago Domino's franchisee owner of 6 stores.

Featured in Fast Company and countless blogs/social media conferences, he took their social media efforts to the next level by going beyond the pizza and connecting with his customers on an individual basis. Because of that those college kids he fed, are now devoted Domino's customers even in their adult hood. 

2. Pizza Pizza - are still a corporation

Ron Tite recently wrote about an incident where Pizza Pizza didn't realize the importance of listening and responding to influencers. Unfortunately they still don't understand how to use social media, a point he made clear in the follow-up post to the same story. They aren't relating to their customers and are only using social media as a way to (or try to ) manage complaints.

I'm not sure why I haven't done a post in 2 WEEKS - whether it's the weather or maybe I haven't seen anything out there that I've felt like blogging about. On the other hand, my Twitter account has been pretty silent too. I'll blame it on the amazing weather we've been having in Toronto.

Here's to my "green" issue:

The Climate Reality Project

Al Gore and his team are introducing 24hrs of reality on Sept 14-15. He has created a new presentation which will be given by various speakers across the world by the hour. It will be live streamed for the world to watch.

Folks can also submit their own videos, selects will be aired.

Likes: - It's a BIG idea that cultures across the globe can relate to - Easy to participate (user experience & touchpoints) - Well executed in terms of design

Dislikes: - Even Al Gore can't get #'s (only 22,000 people have RSVP'd, 11,000 Likes & 40,000 views of the video seen below) - No Canadian city is represented. Wha? - The "ask" is not clear. So I watch this and then what? If you want me to donate $$ - ask me.

EcoSet's goal is to shift film productions towards sustainable production practices.

Established in 2008, EcoSet has saved 57 tonnes of waste from going to landfills. Primarily working with productions in LA (they'll go elsewhere on case by case basis) they focus on the following:

Reusable water bottles prevent plastic waste

Set construction is donated to the local community

Office and set waste is recycled

Food waste is composted

Hazardous and electronic waste are properly recycled or disposed

Gels & lighting expendables are repurposed

Reusable & plant-based dishware & cutlery are used

1. "Youngsters" in Amsterdam think running is boring, so Nike created a Facebook app that allowed runners to draw graffiti running routes.

The app tied into their Nike+ system  and they opened up a Running Clubhouse where groups could challenge each other in person, drink beer and eat pizza. No product was sold there. In 6 weeks, they had 9,000 new runners join.

Great example of offline/online integration. Here's the case video:

2. The science of social timing. This infographic tells you when your customers are most likely tuning in to social networks. Thanks ICA.

Hope everyone (Canadian & American friends) enjoyed the long weekend!

1. Tesco in Korea is Grocery Gateway on steroids.

Folks waiting in the subway can shop virtually as if they are in the store. Order everything through their phone and meet the delivery guy at their door when they get home.

Here's the video. (Thanks@JamesMenzies)

2. Orange Mobile creates a t-shirt that charges your phone via sound for Glastonbury. Oh, wouldn't SXSW'er's like to get their hands on something like this for North America. Why can't we get a mobile company like this (or even close to this) in Canada?

Click here to watch video.

3. Google+. How could I write a blog post this week and not include a mention on this?

If you aren't one of the million or so people who got a sneak peak into Google's new social network, The Social Media Examiner does a good job at summarizing a bunch of videos and first opinions on the tool here.

In summary, Google+ is a social network much like Facebook. Their USP is that you can create circles of friends (i.e. work, sports, best, highschool) instead of broadcasting to everyone at the same level.

What a week?! john st. is busy with a ton of production happening and it feels like everyone in the industry is feeling the same (good) burn.

I'm dedicating this issue to "Live Likes". Taking the notion of "Liking" into real life scenarios. A big tip of the hat to Marc Cattapan who essentially wrote this blog post for me.

1. Renault uses RFID technology to "Like" cars at the Amsterdam Motorshow.

By connecting physical passes to Facebook accounts, visitors could swipe the cards by a reader to indicate that they "Liked" the cars. It then showed up in their Facebook profile/feed.

Here's a video showing you how it worked.

2. Coca-Cola turns a live event into a worldwide online one (2010)

Every year Coca-Cola hosts a "Coca-Cola Village - 3 day event" (it's like Bud Light Camp for teens). Upon entry each teen was given RFID-enabled wristbands that they could swipe as they stopped by attractions. By tying it to their Facebook account these actions were updated on the Coca-Cola Village site and sent through the teen's feeds.

An extra bonus - the wristbands also allowed for automatic Facebook tagging of any photos taken. 35,000 actions were taken by 600 kids during 3-days.

See video here:

3.PIAS Nites music festival in Brussels uses NFC technology instead of RFID to connect users.

During Brussels PIAS Nites music festival (2011), similar to the Coca Cola event, 10,000 attendees were given a card linked to their Facebook account. As well as checking in, they could earn free music and enter contests by playing games with it.

In this instance, instead of RFID technology, they used NFC - which is a less robust form of RFID.

4. What is RFID & NFC?

I finally renamed this thing so Cap C doesn't sue my ass. Bytes. Get it? I owe all that wisdom to my friend Tammy. I bought her lunch to thank her. She also gave me the link to this first story.

1. Ottawa hospital goes digital  

This Ottawa hospital has implemented 2,800 iPad's so far and based on this article in the Globe and Mail, don't have a single bad thing to say about it.

2. Let's open a "Food Truck" and tweet about it

In the dawn of real-time marketing Food Trucks have become more popular because they can  move around and easily let the masses know where they are. Gone are the day's where you roll onto a street and hope people come.

This article reviews some US food trucks and how they are using social media.

Photo courtesy of Stuart Campbell 

3. Using games to recruit and train employees.

Marriott Hotels is the latest company to use gaming to simulate the work environment, but they are not the first. Prior to 2008, L'Oreal used gaming worldwide to recruit for their Paris office and one of the first "serious" games was the U.S. Army. It's open to the public and allows users to feel what it's like to be a solider to see if it's the right decision for them. The list goes on and on.

1. "Trip Your Face" - by Hotels.com

The Good: Quality of video, willing to take a risk from the norm The Bad: Everything else (face recognition tool, story lines, purpose etc)

2. Trying to explain to your client what a QR code is.

Here's an easy to read article from Flyte New Media (they help small biz market online). Just a head's up 1 in 5 Canadian's now own smartphones (needed for QR codes).

3. Let your CPG client's know about this one! Consmr, the "Yelp" for products.

As the TNW blog notes, it was only a matter of time. Consmr lets you rate, review and check-in to packaged goods.

Canadians can access the tool from the web, but do not yet have access to the app version.

I'm not consistent I know. I missed last week. And I realize that I need to rename these since Cap C does a similar email called Digital Digs. Will get on that.

1. Groupon teams up with Live Nation to offer discounts on unsold tickets.

Before I weigh in completely, I want to hear from a customer and their experience with it. So if you have used the service let me know. In theory, I think it's win-win. Fans who don't like to commit to a concert months in advance get a chance to get tickets closer to the date and Live Nation gets to sell unsold inventory (or in most cases inventory they were just holding holding on to).I saw the Rhianna one sell out last week.

You don't need to sign up separately for this. Groupon is using their existing database to send these and aggregates like Deal Radar have already included them.

2. Everybody should download the Hidden App. Just ask this guy.

 Joshua Kaufman recently blogged about his missing computer and how it was safely returned by using the application Hidden . The app tracks the location while at the same time collecting pictures and screen grabs in order to collect even further evidence. Totally worth $15/year.

The whole ordeal got picked up by the news. See the video below.

Hidden strikes again from Hidden on Vimeo.

3. I won't go into great lengths on these two because they've been swirling around the internet's like crazy, but when you have a minute check them out. What makes them memorable is they actually work.

Intel's "The Museum of Me" - display's your Facebook content in a beautiful museum format 

Magnum's Pleasure Hunt - to support the global launch of their ice cream, it's an advergame (with pretty good mechanics) across the internet. If it sounds familiar, B-Reel was enlisted to help out (remember Google Chrome's Race Across the Internet)

Kiip - instead of handing your customer a coupon or product, they earn it through gaming.

We know everyone spends lots of time on their phones. This includes gaming. So next time your customer beats the bad guy or opens up a new level, you can congratulate and reward that customer through the Kiip network.

Click below to watch how it works. (thanks @simonmainwaring for the tip)

Kiip: A Welcome from kiip on Vimeo.

Diesel QR Codes to "Like" real life stuff

If you know me, you know I am a big supporter of Diesel and their marketing strategies. They just keep hitting them out of the park. They know their brand, innovate and actually follow-through with good execution.

This one's simple; users scan QR codes to "Like" real life objects, hits your social graph, blah, blah blah. I just like how they don't rest on their laurels.

Likey, like like! Gdgt - one stop shop to get answers about your gadgets from people who own them already, in one, nicely designed site.

Click below to watch.

Oh Pepsi, you are doing a good job with this social media thing. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it has a lot to do with @shivsingh (ex Razorfish, now head of digital at Pepsi). Following the success of the Pepsi Refresh project they have launched the Pepsi Social Vending Machine. This vending machine lets you buy Pepsi for your friends and even for strangers.

Watch the video to see how it works.

This intern really made an impression using a QR code as his resume. Showing his chops in creativity and innovation. I would hire him in a second.

Watch what he did with it.

The Facebook Send button - works like your typical "Send To A Friend" button but all through Facebook. Unlike the "like" button, this way you can share privately.