Somewhere in the Twitterverse, at this very moment, there’s a marketing or communications executive plotting a campaign to encourage consumers to tweet about their brand for a chance to win a trip…or a new accessory…or some device that promises to make life worth living. Exhibit A: enter this contest to win a new camera from photographer Scott Bourne.
Twitter contests and reward offers are becoming more commonplace as more companies notice how quickly consumer engagement impacts the volume of online buzz about their products and services. Planning these types of Twitter campaigns can be a logistical headache, especially for professionals who are new to the social media space.
Not so when you use Tweetons. The tool helps brands track their most passionate fans and reward them. Translation – among other services, it can help you plan, execute and select the winner of your next Twitter contest.
Almost five years ago, three savvy San Franciscan tech gurus took note of the increasing number of Twitter contests and brands promising coupons and special prizes to new followers. They created Tweetons and hundreds ofbusinesses, from local restaurants to major consumer brands, have since used the service to reward their brand loyalists on Twitter. One of the great things about Tweetons is the fact that it’s new, so it just keeps getting better. The support staff is hungry for client feedback and want to realize Tweetons’ full potential, so they’re willing to tweak certain features and add new functions to suit your campaign.
The best thing about Tweetons is that it’s free (marketers, rejoice!) so there’s minimal risk involved. It’s definitely worth a try.
Today, MTV announced the launch of their first-ever Twitter jockey (TJ). The month-long pursuit to find the ultimate Twitter voice and liaison of the network culminated yesterday with the 23-year-old plus-size fashion blogger, Gabi Gregg, coming out on top. Gregg unofficially starts her new gig today and already has been tweeting up a storm via her new Twitter handle, @mtvtj. According to Mashable, Gregg will move to New York and officially start her new position next week, while collecting a cool $100,000 a year to pump out 140-word tweets all day!
Will you follow @mtvtj to get the insider scoop from award shows to the latest news from the network? Check out Gregg’s winning moment in the clip here.
I Am Vampire: Gearing up for the season three premiere of HBO’s True Blood, a website was launched for fans to create vampire personas. Much to their blood-sucking delight, their vampire bios were turned into an ad featured in the birth/death notice section of the NZ Herald.
Vanity Fair Lounge: In attempts to capitalize on their brands, Condé Nast is opening up a restaurant division. For right now, this will only be implemented internationally and they are said to be focusing on the Vogue and GQ brands. There is already a Vogue Cafe in Moscow and Chairman Jonathan Newhouse said it’s been highly successful in enhancing the image of Condé Nast magazines in Russia.
Dot Coms: In the hopes that Speidi will reconcile their differences, eBay user cazual714 (he has 100% positive feedback, btw) is auctioning off HeidiAndSpencer.com for $21 million. And we feel it’s worth a mention that he’s willing to let go of GuidosAndGuidettes.com for $6,000 and 3DSantaClaus.com for $2,500 (and that it actually has one bid). Hurry up, only three days left!
Nothing Is What It Seems: A finalist in Levi’s “Care to Air” Design Challenge is industrial design student, Caleb Hill, who put an interesting spin on the drying rack. He created what looks like a mounted picture – but – it folds off the wall to reveal itself as a drying rack.
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BLD Restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine Diana Stavaridis (@BLDChefD) is encouraging people to tweet a dish to her Twitter handle by April 15. The winning dish will appear on the menu as that night’s plat du jour, and the winner and friend will also get to eat at the restaurant for free.
I see lots of Twitpics happening on her page; seems the number of followers should increase too!
…if you check out NBCNewYork.com and answer some trivia questions for their Around Town Contest. According to Luxist, 500 lucky trivia winners will be given a cart location and a secret password to present at the cart, speakeasy-style, in exchange for their free lunch (cool!).
The campaign is to promote NBC New York’s new food site, Feast, which is set to launch this winter. Mmm, can’t wait.
Mandalay Bay is taking “What happens in Vegas…” to the next level by prompting users to upload photos or video of their “most untamed moments” to its Facebook fan page for a chance to win a weekend with friends at Mandalay Bay for New Year’s Eve.
It seems like a pretty sweet deal, with roundtrip airfare and accommodations, tickets to a Black Eyed Peas concert, VIP access to parties, a $1,000 food and beverage credit and a tour of the Mandalay Bay Shark Aquarium by its curator (eh).
I wonder if my untamed moment of disgust while watching Jersey Shore this weekend could be in the running to win!
I’m not sure that this necessarily falls into the “digital trends” category — but I’ve always had a rather loose definition of that concept.
This is the ElectroluxScan Toaster — developed by Sung Bae Chang and entered into the Electrolux Design Contest. The premise is simple: you hook up the toaster to your computer via USB and then download an image, news story, or Cathy cartoon to the toaster. The modules within the machine then realign and toast the image onto your bread.
I don’t want to overstate this, but I’m fairly certain that this is the best thing to ever happen in the history of mankind. Take that, Guttenberg.
Today, the City of New York launched a software development competition called NYC BigApps, with the goal of making the city “more transparent, accessible and accountable, and an easier place to live, work and play.” The city’s Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications gathered over 170 datasets for the competition, including geographic locations of points of interest, census data, property valuation, events and traffic information.
The submitted apps will be judged on their benefit to the city, originality, visual appeal, effect on data accessibility and transparency, and commercial potential. The grand prize is $5,000, plus dinner with Mayor Bloomberg. I hope the people who developed the incredibly cool UpNext iPhone app will enter!
Kraft Foods in Australia has decided to change the name of its new Vegemite-and-cream-cheese product after the recent uproar over the new name iSnack 2.0. The company originally crowdsourced the name by asking more than 48,000 people to submit a name for the product online. An Australian web developer submitted the hokey, 2001-esque name “iSnack 2.0” as a joke, and lo and behold, it won! The original Vegemite name was chosen through a similar competition in the 1920s, although snarky web developers didn’t exist back then.
I’m not even going to delve into the question of the actual product — every time my Aussie boyfriend makes a Vegemite and toasted cheese sandwich, the aroma alone makes me nauseous! The Awlsuggests it may be made “from the carcasses of diseased koalas,” which is actually entirely plausible. The company decided to create the new cream cheese hybrid spread after finding that people spread about 13 grams of the creamier Vegemite on a piece of toast, versus five grams of the traditional version. All I have to say is, thank goodness they don’t sell The Spread Formerly Known As iSnack 2.0 in the States!
Last year, three friends started a Web site, meandgoji.com, allowing people to create their own cereals from a selection of healthy ingredients. Now, to celebrate their 1-year anniversary, they’re asking people to submit creative videos discussing what’s great about the site (and the creators), and new ideas for the future.
You can win a $100 gift certificate, and you get a free sample just for submitting.
First of all, if you haven’t been watching the new show Glee on Wednesday nights, you need to start. Not only is it hilarious and features great musical numbers, they’ve also been doing a great job of online marketing. They’re currently holding a karaoke contest on MySpace, where people can submit videos of themselves singing the songs featured in the show, for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood to visit the Glee set. In addition, the show will donate $1 for each entry to the Grammy Foundation.
Although it has its drawbacks, MySpace is the perfect platform for such a contest, since it is still the social network that focuses most on music. The contest already has hundreds of entries, some of which are rather amusing. It’s fun for everyone! In addition, some of the Glee characters — @RachelBerryGlee and @KurtHummelGlee —have their own very entertaining Twitter accounts. And don’t forget to tune in to Glee tonight on FOX at 9:00 p.m.
After viewing the above video, sent to me in a daily newsletter from The Awl writer Choire Sicha, I knew it would be really selfish if I didn’t share something so special.
Soraya Sobreidad, talent behind the video, submitted the recording as a contestant in the NY1 Music Video Star Contest, which encourages viewers to send in videos of themselves performing their own version of the NY1 theme song. The winner who submits the best rendition wins a professionally-produced music video and recording session, and an interview on NY1.
I’m rooting for Soraya; Soraya has a gift.
Whether or not it was part of NY1’s original gameplan, circulating vidoes such as Soraya’s creates incredible buzz for the station. Not only does Soraya spend two and a half minutes singing about NY1 (a performance she dedicates to “hunk” Dominic Carter, host of Inside City Hall, the program she will leave even her “hottest dates” to watch), but with attention from the New York Observer and The Awl, she’s fast becoming an internet meme, spreading news of NY1’s contest and larger sense of humor.
America, brace yourself for the greatest celebration of love and marriage yet: Married on MySpace. Up until now, MySpace was just a place for 40-year-old sexual predators. But now, it is a community of frustrated teens, emo rockers, and bisexual reality television stars who are going to vote on every detail of your wedding.
If you’ve watched the Today Show, you are familiar with the concept (though this version will not supply a tear-stained Ann Curry for the nups). MySpace takes all control out of the hands of the lucky couple and allows users to vote on the dress, etc.
Our client Kijiji is currently hosting a Pet Fitness Sweepstakes to help pets get in shape for the summer (did you know that 44 percent of dogs and 57 percent of cats are estimated to be overweight or obese?). If you live in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, or Houston, enter a photo of your pet for the chance to win a $1,000 pet supply gift card! Your pet will also be featured on Kijiji’s pet slideshow (above) for the chance to become Internet famous. So what are you waiting for? Visit Kijiji and send in a pic of your animal companion!
Purina is inviting consumers to upload videos of their dogs at LongLiveYourDog for a chance to win an appearance in the bonus section on the DVD of 20th Century Fox’s comedy Marley & Me. Upload by October 31, and your dog could be the next Eddy from Frasier.
