How Brands Can Make Money in a Social World - Here's A Story For You

(Vampires, Indie Bands, Social Media, and an Ounce of Insomnia)

Last night, I was watching HBO's True Blood.  This was Monday night. The show actually aired on Sunday night, but I had DVRed it. During the closing credits, I heard a cover of Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Care Bears on Fire. I'd never heard of Care Bears on Fire, but I dug the cover. So I took out my Shazaam mobile app, found the track and the band, clicked the iTunes link, previewed a few other tracks, and purchased the entire album onto my iPhone.

At the gym the next morning, I told my trainer, Jake, about them while we listened to their beats during my workout. He was kinda digging their sound, too. After my workout, all amped up and endorphins a-flowin, I also gave them props on Facebook and Twitter to all my friends and contacts.

All of this happened within a span of 12 hours, much of it in the dark of night since I couldn't sleep. I was in complete control of every choice and transaction. And, with exception of an annoying pre-roll before the Barbie Eat A Sandwich video on YouTube, I didn't encounter a single advertisement during the whole thing.

Yet, someone, in the middle of all this, made a buck.

The moral of the story:

1. It all starts with content that's relevant to a particular audience (in this instance, indie music fans).
2. The right content needs to be put in front of the right people at the right time.
3. When they're ready, access to more info and purchase should be quick, simple, and super idiot proof.
4. Allow them to shout from the rooftops their groovy experience with your content and brand.

Ahmed Yearwood
Owner & Founder
Y INTERACT

Credits and Props
True Blood on HBO, Care Bears on Fire, Shazaam, my trainer Jake (he's awesome!), Barbie Eat A Sandwich video on YouTube

How The Economist Used Digital Media to Double Their Print Circulation

Is print media dead? Before you start mourning the loss of your weekend newspaper or impulsive airport magazine purchase, you might want to hear what Oscar Grut of The Economist Group has to say about print and online media. In the company’s annual report, they discuss their evolving digital business strategy at length.

While many print media outlets feared the impact of web publishing on circulation rates, The Economist has seen their print circulation grow to almost twice its previous rate in the past 10 years. This may be due to the fact that The Economist has figured out what their readers want, and how to deliver it across all platforms. Grut describes how digital strategy differs from the construction of the weekly magazine, pointing to the fact that “the web offers an interactive, snacking, lean-forward and increasingly, a social and shared experience.” This environment cultivates a sense of community, both with each other and with contributing Economist journalists.

For now, the company’s annual report suggests that the ritual of print – having an immersive, “lean-back” experience – will be a continuing desire of readers. But it will be one that tablets and digital reading devices may be fulfilling more and more.

At our June 26^th social media content strategy panel discussion, hosted by National Geographic, Michael Ma of The Vanguard Group makes the same observation in his description of media platforms as additive, not replaceable:

Watch more videos from Y INTERACT's social media content strategy panel at National Geographic. Featuring Pepper Evans (American Express), Michael Ma (The Vanguard Group) and James Gross (Percolate), and moderated by Dimitra DeFotis (Barrons.com).

And if you’d like to read more, you can find The Economist's Oscar Grut’s thoughts on digital business strategy here.

Junior Achievement Academy Job Shadow Day: A Day in the Life of a Design Studio

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, Y INTERACT hosted a Job Shadow Day for nine sophomores from Junior Achievement Academy, a three-year educational program centered on preparing high school students for college and the business world. We provided students with a glimpse into a day in the life at Y INTERACT, the responsibilities of a design studio, and showcased examples of our work.

Then students were given the opportunity to learn for themselves first-hand what we at Y INTERACT do on a daily basis. Our creative team worked with the students to help materialize their ideas into reality. From developing their own Junior Achievement Academy website and designing custom business cards to creating a mock press release for the New York Times, JA Academy students learned how to produce and market all creative material surrounding running a business and building a brand.

With this experience, the group gained valuable insights on the logistics behind a creative campaign - the amount of work that goes into coding a website, the layout of a poster, the font in a logo, and how they all tie together. Thank you to all of our friends from Junior Achievement of New York for arranging such an eventful morning.

To learn more about Junior Achievement of New York, their Job Shadow program and other volunteer opportunities, visit http://jany.org.

The R.A.T Debate: To Report or Not Report?

Our Report A Taxi app has been getting some awesome press coverage lately. You can check it out in:

• Wired – "The app makes a chore (calling up to complain) into a fun and easy piece of vengeance."

• Gothamist – "A few apps like this have popped up over the years, but Report A Taxi is the first we've actually downloaded to our phone."

• The Village Voice – "Complaining about taxi service is something of a New York City hobby, whether it's justified or not. But the systems through which you can complain can be cumbersome. However! There's an app for that, available free for iPhones and on the way for Blackberries and Androids. It has won an award, it's called Report A Taxi, and it is, basically, exactly what it says."

It has also gotten a lot of New Yorkers talking, dividing them into two camps: those that are excited to get justice for poor and potentially dangerous cab service, and others who feel that cabbies deserve to be left alone and not “tattled” on. Here are a few sample comments and tweets from people who believe R.A.T. is helpful and fosters safer and better service from taxi drivers:

• I would definitely like to report the cabbies who drive like complete psychopaths
• I'm often refused a #taxi to Astoria. Will use @reportataxi to report these a-holes. Could've used it this weekend.
• it doesn't matter. its the law. if they are worried about not making enough money then change career fields. i had some asshole cabbie who refused to cross the wb bridge from the les. he shut his car off and opened the hood claiming "i just broke down."
• could've used the report a taxi app last saturday when I approached an on-duty cab who quickly turned his light to off-duty once he saw me.

Then there are people who feel sympathy for the cabbies and believe that those who use Report A Taxi are “whiners,” “tattle-tales,” and “complainers,” among other things:

• I feel bad for a lot of cabbies. they put up with a lot of BS on a daily basis.
• leave the cabbies alone you self-entitled assholes
• Sometimes, cabbies have a legit reason to refuse, like their personal safety. It also sucks to drive to Brooklyn and return empty to Manhattan, often slowly in traffic over the bridges.
• Anyone who needs this app, who's anticipating the opportunity to report these drivers, is a whiny tattle-tale. Show some grace and have a life… Pathetic. If I saw that my date had this app, I'd dump them.

Where do you stand on this heated debate? Is Report A Taxi a good tool for passengers to ensure safe and respectful service from cabbies? Or should drivers be left alone to do their job in peace? Most importantly, is R.A.T a deal breaker when it comes to your next relationship?

 

Brian Baxter
Marketing & PR Manager
Y INTERACT