Influencer Targeting

37signals has an interesting article about how they successfully launched a product to their target market after building up a strong base of fans. It serves as an market compass on how to transition from design to market. The article continues:

We built up an audience that turned out to be an invaluable headstart when we eventually launched Basecamp. It’s a lot easier to market a product when you already have thousands of fans — ones who are the perfect target market for what you’re trying to sell.

It’s also worth reemphasizing one thing that’s been there from the beginning: Our philosophy. By knowing what we stood for, we always had an internal compass to guide us. We knew which clients were right/wrong for us. We knew which projects we wanted to spend time on. And we knew what we stood for.

The Early Days: How 37signals Built Buzz Out of the Gate

WeJetSet sponsors Josh Spear’s RSS. Nice to see someone taken the simple initiative of associating themselves in the medium many people now read blogs - i.e. through an RSS reader like iGoogle or NetNewsWire

In the run up to the opening of Topshop on Broadway NYC this Fall, the British fashion retailer is making some buzz by sponsoring one of New York’s must-do weekend activities - McCarren Park Pool Parties in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The retailer will be the “apparel” sponsor for the summer-long festivities including a series of concerts with bands like Devo, Ronnie Spector, MGMT and Aesop Rock.

Topshop to be apparel sponsor at McCarren Park Pool - news - dispatch - fashion week daily

Fiat has risen to the top of the Brazilian auto market, being named top manufacturer for four consecutive years. The Automaker gained popularity due to their modern designs and modern thinking. Fiat launched the first four-fuelled vehicles to the world and electric cars to Brazil. Now, Fiat has found that the best way to stay in young and urban Brazilians’ garages is through their closets.

This merchandising strategy that stretches Fiat’s brand into the clothing industry is a nice compliment to their sponsorship of São Paulo Fashion Week that dons pop-up cafes during the event.

Fiat collaborated with national and international designers including French Collective, Shobo Shobo, Zoomp, Alcides e Amigos, Amapô, Estùdio Mopa and Ndeur to create some seriously fashionable tee’s that stylish Brazilians could take to the streets.

You can find pictures of Fiat’s winter 2008 shirt line here and here.

[via coolhunting]

While the old business model for the music, and now the entertainment, industry becomes a case study in the ol’ Newton’s Apple Theory of what goes up must come down, one company is defying the laws of gravity and heading for the moon…literally and…er… fiscally. In an interview with Hub Magazine, Dee McLaughlin, VP of Virgin Entertainment Group, explains why Virgin has been able to avoid the apple drop.

Innovation. Virgin is a breeding ground of great ideas, starting with the culture of the company being insistent on constantly innovating itself. But, McLaughlin accredits her innovative successes to being able to embrace change, reaching out to trendsetting consumers and to appealing to right-brained qualities, like creating unique and emotionally driven in-store and online environments. McLaughlin examines:

It’s just a matter of stepping back, observing what the customers want and then giving them exactly that.

Of course, part of the process is deciphering what consumers say they want, but don’t really want, and vica-versa. For example, before creating Virgin Atlantic’s Club Houses, consumer research groups indicated that flyers did not want services such as haircuts and shoe shines. Virgin disagreed and gave it to them anyway where the services met rave reviews.

Perhaps this is exactly why Virgin is so successful, though McLaughlin answers with:

Virgin succeeds because that is what it has always done.

Well, lesson learned: Be successful and you’re sure to be successful.

Read the entire interview with Dee McLaughlin via: Hub Magazine

The most important art show in the United States was home to the fourth installation of Scion’s Installation Art Tour: ‘It’s a Beautiful World’. The tour, launched in 2003, will featured collages, paintings, photography and sculpture from an unprecedented collective of contemporary artists.

‘It’s a Beautiful World’ will visit nine cities with a grand finale in Los Angeles where it will auction off the art pieces. The proceeds for the auction will be donated to art related charities across the US.

Scion has joined with the definitive pop culture and lifestyle magazine, Swindle, as their media partner — well worth a checking out, too.

[via Cool Hunting]

The US distributors of the Smart ForTwo car have converted a Venice Beach building into a temporary event space and gallery-like showroom for the Smart ForTwo. The space, known as The Smart House, is being used to promote the upcoming release of the Smart ForTwo in America and as a platform for the brand’s lifestyle.

In conjunction with The Smart House’s opening was Rojo Magazines ForTwo Book release. As the name suggests, the entire issue was dedicated to the Smart ForTwo. In this issue of RojoForTwo, the Smart car played muse to many fantastic artists who contributed their own inspired interpretations of the Smart ForTwo. Artists featured in the book are: Catalina Estrada, MWM, Deanne Cheuk, Yoshi Sodeoka, Tofer, Alex Prager, Friends with You, Ben Summers, Dalek, Holly Stevenson, Chet Purtilar, Jemma Hostetler, Meomi, Yoshi Tajima, Evgeny Kiselev, Vanessa da Silva, Bruno 9li, Cristiano Trindade, Todd Tourso, Amir H. Fallah, Justine Ashbee, Sergei Sviatchenko.

The Smart House will be seeing loads of hustle and bustle as it has scheduled a number of events relating to the areas of environment and climate protection, music, fashion, fine arts and zeitgeist. Smart Trendsetters can also pre-order a Smart ForTwo on the spot, adding to the 30,000 future smart car owners who have reserved their own.

The Smart House on Abbot Kinney Boulevard 1319, Venice Beach in Los Angeles California is open until January 25, 2008.

[via Notcot]

Over at the Puddlegum blog, there’s a list of ways bands and music promoters can get noticed by music bloggers. The lessons can be applied to other markets:

One: Include the blogger’s name in the first line of the email.
Two: Keep the email short.
Three: Break your paragraphs up.
Four: Bold keywords to attract the eye.
Five: Provide an Mp3.
Six: Avoid linking to WMA or WMV links.
Seven: Include a link to your digital album.
Eight: Link to the artist’s websites.
Nine: Provide images.
Ten: Don’t pester.

Read more here: » Ten ways to get music bloggers to notice your email :: Puddlegum ::

We keep mentioning the work coming out of Mark Schiller’s electricArtists or just aggregating his thoughts on his blog - so we thought we’d ask the guy who’s been an inspiration to us and so we dropped him a line to see he’s up to.

PSFK: What have electricArtists been up to recently? Anything new?

It’s been an incredibly busy and exciting year for us at electricArtists as we head into 2008 celebrating our tenth year anniversary. On the brand strategy side, we’ve been putting a great deal of focus on digital brand management and have been developing numerous strategies for our clients utilizing branded utilities and leveraging social media. Some of the projects that have recently launched in this area are the Findrenewal.com site for Westin Hotels, PartnersInPresevation.com for American Express, and STATravelTools.com for STA Travel. All of these projects leverage the firms knowledge of the “social web” and how today it’s less about simply launching a new online destination and more about adding new branded content into an existing ecosystem that already exists around the brand on the web.

On the campaign side, we’ve been incredibly busy launching new online campaigns for a host of new shows for USA Network, A&E, and The History Channel. All three are retained clients. The most recent campaign that is just now breaking is for a new show on A&E called Paranormal State which will debut in December. Similar to the approach the we took to launch INKED on A&E, we’ve created a blog to support Paranormal State that covers all things paranormal, an area that is exploding on the web. You can check it out at www.paranormalinsider.com

PSFK: You talk about the social web - how big an impact is this having on the marketing industry? What else is happening?

The focus has certainly shifted in the last 18 months to understanding and leveraging the “social web.” With the rise of social media, every brand and company is now forced completely rethink their strategies and their web presence. Today, all of our strategies are centered around the concept of “sharing”. While this has been around for a while, only now is it hitting mainstream. I’m also becoming more and more interested in the concept of “discovery” and how the best brands should act as curators of culture to help filter out the best of what is available. Collaborative filtering has evolved to the point where now very smart brands can act as facilitators of presenting the “best of what is out there.”

Obviously right now Facebook is having the biggest impact on the marketing industry. Not just because brands now want to tap into Facebooks growing userbase, but Facebook itself represents a major shift in how we think about the web. Brands need to now understand the concepts of “platforms” and “APIs”. They need to shift their focus towards understanding how to tap into social interactions. Facebook represents a c-change in how marketers do business. Myspace was just the warm-up.

Finally, we’re seeing that people are no longer “surfing” the web. They’re “clipping” it. People are using start pages and personal organizers to filter out what they want to keep top-of-mind. Because of this, understanding the value of widgets and branded utilities is critical to success. Brands can no longer rely on people coming to their websites. They now need to think about providing modules that people can add to their personal pages whether it be iGoogle, Facebook, a blog, Pageflakes, Netvibes, etc.

PSFK: What creative ideas or brand activity that is really catching your eye right now?

I love how Innocent Drinks in London thinks about the web. They are certainly one to watch. Nike is always a brand that launches best of breed, transformative experiences on the web. They continue to innovate. I think our clients Starwood Hotels and STA Travel are committed to innovation on the web and they are certainly setting a standard. I’ve also been impressed what Jeep has been doing in terms of leveraging social media. They seem to be getting it right.

It’s an exciting time for sure!

Thanks, Marc!

electicartists
Marc’s blog - Hyperempowered