Facebook Might Have Gone Too Far This Time.

Facebook has made a lot of shady decisions in the past; one of the most recent was changing everyone’s contact information to feature their Facebook email address instead of their preferred or ACTUAL email address. And today, they've hit another nerve:

They demanded my Grandmother’s government ID in order to keep her Facebook account. 

You have got to be kidding me!

 

Read the rest on FUSE Marketing Group's Blog

Is Apple In Trouble?

A biased look at the biggest tech company through the eyes of my roommate

*Read the original Post here 

First off – Apple is a giant in the tech world and has been since my early years of high school where I met my best friend and now roommate. One thing about my wonderful roommate is that she is a Tech Junkie (in the most flattering way possible). All throughout high school she always seemed to have the newest gadget from the i-Empire. I remember when she brought home the new iPod and then the iPod Touch when she needed touch screen, and now she has a Macbook Air because her Pro was too heavy, an iPad and the iPhone 4. In fact, if you remember the hilarious commercial from the Superbowl making fun of a particular group of fans sitting in line for the newest iPhone, well, that would be her, which I say with complete loving respect. 

Lately though Apple has faced a few question marks with the recent passing of Steve Jobs and the lack of innovation from the iPad 2 to iPad 3, though their earning reports haven’t seemed to notice. But through it all, my roommate was standing strong in defense of her tech brand. So when we were wandering in the mall on one of our many girly trips, I was shocked to see her staring at the new Galaxy Note (though I will admit it caught my eye as well). Initially, I just brushed it off as new technology curiosity until she pulled out her iPhone right there, opened Safari and logged into her service providers’ website to see how much it would cost to upgrade to the Note that day.

Later that night when we were home I felt my phone buzz and saw that I had a few new pins on my Pinterest board. She was looking at cases for the Note and had sent me a few she thought I would like. We started to discuss the upgrade (that’s right, upgrade from the iPhone to a Galaxy Note) and found that there were many features that were pulling us over. Beyond that, there were a lot of concerns making us wary of Apple. The difference (or lack thereof) between the old iPad and the new iPad really got us - a higher resolution screen and a bit thinner body? That’s it? The iPhone hadn’t seen much improvement either, as its layout and OS hadn’t changed much aside from a recent upgrade that allowed you to personalize ringtones.

Then we came to a sad realization. Despite the allure of its competitors, she may not ever be able to leave the iPhone. She already owns a MacBook Air and iPad. Once she left her iPhone for any other phone she would be sacrificing the easy transferability between devices. Plus, she has a LIBRARY of iTunes music that she has been building for years, and her iPhone syncs so easily with her Macbook as an MP3 player. We realized exactly how sneaky Apple had been; it ninja-d into our lives, with promises of easy use and top of the line technology. Now she was stuck. Was she really ready to leave Apple if it meant giving up so much convenience? 

Having realized just how difficult it may be to leave the Apple family, we decided to wait and see what would be announced at the E3 conference, be it a new phone or software - anything worth staying with Apple? Or maybe it’d finally be time to abandon ship? 

At the E3 Conference, Apple announced their new iOS6 and interesting upgrades coming in the fall, when we can also expect to see the new iPhone 5, otherwise known as Apple’s last chance with some of its more loyal fans. Since it’s still a considerable amount of money to upgrade to the Note at the moment, we are going to wait until the fall and the rumoured launch of the iPhone 5, saving up money now (her and I) for a much needed upgrade since the new iOS6 won’t work with my old school iPhone3. That means I either move to an iPhone5 or the Note this September.

What do you think of Apple lately? Is it worth staying loyal, or is there someone new out there that’s more deserving of my time and money?

Stay tuned for the decision coming this fall! :P

The Digital Consumer: Part 2

The Digital Apartment Hunt:

I don’t know how my mom looked for apartments when she was my age, but I realized while I was searching through ads on Kijiji that I didn’t know where else to look for apartments. Then I thought - Craigslist and I googled “Toronto Apartments” and was a little embarrassed at myself when I saw that all these sites were similar. The point isn’t that I don’t know what other websites to look at, but rather that I didn’t know where to search outside of the web.

I really started to think about how much the apartment hunt had changed over the last few years and started to analyze my apartment hunting process:

- Pick a website/directory – My choice is Kijiji for user friendliness

- Decide on a central location for all searches – I decided that my workplace made the most sense

- Limit/personalize the search by number of bedrooms, pet friendly, etc.

- Start the vetting process

o Only look at locations with pictures

o Utilities included & parking available

o Google Test – yes Google Test

So the Google Test works like this, take the address from the ad, plug it into Google Maps and get the TTC directions from work to the apartment, anything over an hour commute or more than 3 transfers was too hard for a Monday morning commute and was disregarded in the search. If the commute is doable, I used Street View to determine if I trusted the location.

Finally, after all this preliminary vetting I would e-mail for more information or a viewing date. This made me wonder: what other products/companies do I extensively vet before I even give the product a second thought? And that lead to my Digital Dress Hunt.

Read more on FUSEmg's FUZZ Blog

The Power of Placement – Week 4/6 as Marketing Intern

@mandamwright

I can’t believe how time is flying here at FUSE. Over the past few weeks I have really thought about what an internship is, and how it can affect a student. I know some peers went to placements thinking they were getting a job, some to graduate and move onto other studies, and many like me just didn’t know exactly what to expect. My belief is you should never go into a situation like placement and expect to get a job, there may not be an opening, maybe you don’t fit with the team, or maybe it’s perfect and you get it, but I think that if your entire focus is securing a job with the company you will over look everything else you can get from a placement.

These are my key takeaways from my internship at FUSE Marketing Group.


Networking – It is a given that being an intern allows you to meet a multitude of industry professionals, but taking advantage of this oppourtunity is how you will get the most out of your placement. The end goal is NOT to get a job but to make connections. Connect with your team on Linked In, shadow internal meetings and reviews, go out to lunch with the individuals you work with every day, connect with them on a personal and professional level. Don’t only make them your friends, but show them what you can do in the office as well.

Learn from these professionals, wow them, and search for that ‘golden reference’.

Studying – The office atmosphere has many differences from the classroom, but the main similarities I noticed was how close everyone becomes and how many different personalities comprise one team, let alone the entire office/company. Studying how all of these individuals interact with each other as well as how they adapt to the each unique client is a lesson in itself.

Understand the office dynamic as well as the many different techniques to adapt to different clients and you will go far in this business.

Experience – The one shout out I must give to my program at St. Lawrence College (Advertising: Integrated Marketing Communications) is our experience with local clients and the ability to run through the entire campaign process from the RFP and Pitch all the way through to Execution and Analytics has helped prepare us for agency life. In the office I suggest help with EVERYTHING, if there is anything on a project you are even remotely interested in, ask how you can help. Offer your time to everyone on your team, and to other teams, try to get your hand into as many projects as possible (without over extending yourself, because you want all of your work to be your best work) and expand your experience beyond sitting at a desk waiting for a project to fall in your lap.

My highlight of placement so far would have to be my work on the FUZZ Blog, not because it is astounding and groundbreaking, but because they trusted my work enough to have it associated with their brand. Seeing my blog post on the main website, shared on their Facebook and Twitter was the pat on the back I didn’t realize I needed.

My Advice to anyone entering into placement (Outside the obvious – show up early and be professional)

Everyday of placement is an in office interview. Never expect a job from an internship but earn an amazing reference. Every meeting is a first impression, every morning is a chance to show how dedicated you are to the industry and brand, and every interaction is a window of oppourtunity to create a long standing professional relationship to help you in the job search of the future.

Week 2 @FUSEmg! What have I learned? 2/6

Week two already, I feel like time is just flying and I dread the end of April! From client meetings, internal brainstorming, blog work and helping anyone who needs it my days are anything but boring. I was even able to show off my people skills this week while doing sampling on the street! The weather may be gloomy but my spirits are not.

I, of course, cannot disclose any client information but I have to say sitting in and listening to real clients is eye opening! Sitting in class listening to the teachers explaining how a client meeting will be does not prepare you. I am so glad that the last two years at St. Lawrence College we didn’t just receive lessons and lectures but were able to work on real campaigns and dip our toes in to the reality that is pitching to the client and adapting to their needs and desires. 

Lesson 1: The client knows their company better than you, as an advertiser, ever will, or should. The client should be an expert about their company and products; you need to be the expert on how to talk to and inform their target market and how they will respond to positioning and branding. As the marketer (from what I have seen so far) you need to be the channel, strategy and consumer expert, let the client tell you about their brand. Go in with facts and knowledge of the brand and leave all biased behind so that you can create a clear picture on how the client sees their own brand and how they want their customers to see it. 

Life at the Agency: The community and atmosphere of agency life (this agency) is so warm, even in a bad mood and completely stressed out and fighting to meet a deadline everyone here is supportive, understanding and friendly, it’s like a large family with strong communication skills. I’m only on my second week and I am greeted by everyone who walks by my desk, I am invited to lunches and meetings and I don’t think my brain has ever been so buzzing with information! The day is done at 5, and I am reflecting on what I’ve done, experienced and learned until I finally fall asleep at night (and I may even be dreaming it, who knows.)

Wish me good luck for my 3^rd week at FUSE Marketing Group and the halfway point of the best experience of my life! (Yup I’m sucking up :P)

@mandamwright

P.S. Cut down my coffee intake from 2  a day to 1 a week! 

How One Company Used Their Fans To Fund An "Impossible" Idea

Ever wish your consumers would fund your ideas?Zenescope did, and it looks like it's working! With a combination of fan loyalty, an interesting product and exciting incentives, Zenescope has raised $20,000 in less than 72 hours! 

• The Challenge

Some quick background: even though fairy tales are extremely popular at the moment with Once Upon a Time, Grimm, and the Snow White movies coming out this year, Hollywood decided there was no room for an animated series. Zenescope - one of the top independent comic book and graphic novel publishers in the world - disagrees, and so do their fans. With the support of Kickstarter (the world's largest online funding platform for creative projects), they've teamed up to create a 46-day campaign between March 16th and May 1st to raise $175,000 towards the creation of the Grimm Fairy Tales: Animated Series.

With a tough goal to meet and no backup funding, Zenescope must rely completely on their fans to not only pledge money but to spread their message. Now that's fan loyalty...and company trust. And what’s the best part about this campaign? The fans actually WANT to donate!


So, how did they do it? How has Zenescope tapped into their loyal fanbase to generate funds for a project that is, at this point, merely a POSSIBILITY?  

How'd they do it?

Zenescope has a very niche segment in the market, attracting not just comic book enthusiasts, but also the devoted fans that specifically want to support independent companies. It's allowed them to create a strong and personal relationship with their fans, which is key to their success with this project. Crowdsourcing like this only works when you have a well-established relationship with your customers - one that’s strongly focused on trust and open communication (kind of like a healthy marriage).

Larger companies with a broader fan base may have a more difficult time gaining and maintaining this type of dedicated support. When operating on a massive scale, it isn’t as easy to relate and communicate with your target market on an individual level – though social media is certainly making it more possible. Larger consumer bases with less loyalty to the brand are more likely to interact with a company because of offers, cost, location, and not because of personal connection. 

Zenescope, on the other hand, has done a great job of connecting with their fans and not only listening to them but also responding and adapting to their collective feedback. They allowed their followers to feel like a part of the team and by taking their advice and sharing behind the scenes material, they were able to lean on them for support when the need arose.

Thanks to a combination of blogger outreach and posts by Zenescope, as well as articles on comic news sources, they were able to quickly spread the word amongst their key communities and influencers. They also reached out to their Facebook and Twitter communities to connect with and inform their loyal fans who quickly responded with startling support. After only a few days, they had made significant process. Using targeted incentives, open communication and a common goal to bring these fairy tales to life, Zenescope had received over $20,000 from less than 200 supporters. 

They didn’t stop there. Following some fan suggestions, they created an HTML widget that can be posted on the sidebar of any personal blog. It created awareness and linked to a pledge page. Talk about ROI; the time they put into this small web app will be rewarded with increased share-ability and more media/blogger exposure. It also simplified the donation process, which is a key to successful fundraising. After all, the easier it is for a potential supporter to donate, the more likely they are to pledge.

The word was spread, the fans were excited and Zenescope is that much closer to bringing their fairy tale to life. Anything’s a possibility when you have a tribe of believers supporting your brand. Could your company benefit from crowdsourced fundraising? Is your fan base loyal enough to help push your business forward? 

- @mandamwright 

also published on Fuse Marketing Group's FUZZ Blog

Week 1 @FUSEmg #Reimagine #Placement

(That’s right I hashtagged my Title!)

It’s been a full week at Fuse and I already love it! I’vesettled into Toronto life and the agency atmosphere.

                Monday morning began with abrainstorming meeting where I was able to voice my suggestions and meet part ofthe Creative and Account team. It was very open, with all types of ideas justto get everyone thinking. After the exhilarating meeting I was introduced tothe team I would be working for, a group a fun and engaging individuals thatalways have something for me to work on. I started with client research, whichI am so thankful I did, because later that week I would sit in on a clientmeeting where I needed all the background info I could remember. Later they hadbe work on editing (yes they let me edit something!) and caught me up to speedwith the rebranding that was about to launch the next day.

                Tuesday was even more excitingwith FUSE’s Rebrand. #Reimagine #Results! I was able to help with some of theexecution of the new brand and the best part was joining the party downstairsin the Creative Department and meeting all the members of FUSE. It was my 2^ndday and we were having cake and FUSE-tinis. Though the day was mostly fun, itwas also a busy day, I worked through my lunch and didn’t notice until theparty what time it was.

                Wednesday and I am reallystarting to feel like one of the team. I come in early (Here at 8:30 everymorning because I’m terrified of being late) and almost everyone says hi ontheir way to their desk. I am remembering MOST of the names and becoming quitecomfortable. This day started with more research, some editing again and thenORGANIZING! I was able to organize and create a content calendar for one of theclients I am working on, and it was...sadly....very exciting, there werecolours and columns and now I KNOW I should stay on the account side just so Ihave an excuse to jump on Excel!

                Thursday & Friday almost toobusy to blog! Having a great time, and everything is getting a little clientorientated, which of course I am unable to disclose! But I am learning a lot,loving the ability to shadow, sit in on meetings and work on my own tasks! Iwill attempt to do an overview each week of my experience here at FUSEMarketing Group!

Stay tuned!

@mandamwright