If you read this blog enough, you surely know that I love Dunkin Donuts (both their iced coffee and use of social media).
The above Dunkin Donuts Twitter post was in response to my "Dunkin Donuts Uses Maurice to Drive Facebook Tab Clicks"
Google Acquires AppJet (Creators of Etherpad) - Congratulations!
Dogpatch Labs resident Appjet - makers of the the collaborative, realtime document editor EtherPad - has been acquired by Google. As announced on their blog, AppJet will be joining the Google Wave team and "the EtherPad team will continue its work on realtime collaboration." Congratulations to the entire team!
Etherpad is a unique product and an engineering feat: it allows "really real-time" collaboration where users can create, edit and converse in documents at the same time. The applications are obvious and range from education to note taking (several Dogpatch Labs events were covered via Etherpad) to product planning (used during the Rails Rumble competition).
The fit within Google - and particularly with Wave - is natural: according to Techcrunch, "The two products share some overlapping features, but AppJet has built technology that can be deployed behind company firewalls. If Google ever decides to roll out Wave as an enterprise product, which seems logical, this technology and the team’s experience could prove valuable."
The Etherpad team is excellent and comprised of a cluster of ex-Googlers: CEO Aaron Iba, CTO J.D. Zamfirescu, and COO Daniel Clemens. They are sharp, savvy, hard working (an understatement) and highly collaborative with other entrepreneurs. They will be missed around Dogpatch Labs - but they will certainly add great value to Google and the Wave product.
a comment on TechCrunch's initial article... from another Dogpatch Labs resident:
More coverage: TechCrunch: Confirmed: Google Acquires AppJet, The Maker Of EtherPad Venturebeat: Google acquires AppJet. Maybe Wave will become usable now GigaOm: Google Buys EtherPad Maker for Google Wave
Dunkin Donuts Uses Maurice to Drive Facebook Tab Clicks
So much of the best content on branded Facebook Fan Pages is within custom tabs - which most fans fail to recognize and click. Dunkin Donuts (who always does a great job with their social media campaigns) has a clever solution: use the Facebook logo to drive viewers / fans to the click the special tab.
Facebook now allows users to use large, skyscraper-esque icons... allowing brands to creatively insert specific messaging. Facebook automatically crops the top section of the graphic into the 'feed icon' (which is why the Dunkin Donuts logo is prominently placed at the top). Dunkin uses the remaining space to insert marketing messages and offers - currently that includes the "Maurice" character - but typically it is reserved for promoting the Dunkin Donuts "Fan of the Week" (users are entered by uploading unique photos of themselves drinking Dunkin coffee).
There are lots of possibilities - but this particular example is a clever way to drive usage of their custom tab while also spotlighting fans to their 960,000 Facebook fans... a unique, ego-satisfying contest!
The "Meet Mauirce Tab":
Verizon & AT&T: Second & Third Largest Advertisers
If you're reading this blog:you likely either own an iPhone or an Android device ... and you've likely read my coverage of the marketing blitzes around Droid and around Apple's iPhone ... and you've probably seen the recent commercials from Verizon and AT&T around 3G maps:
But did you know that Verizon and AT&T are the second and third largest national advertisers respectively? Together, they spend nearly $7 billion each year - more than 3x the spend of Coke and Pepsi... combined.
And as Verizon attacks AT&T Apple with their new Droid lineup, you can bet that advertising will play an integral role both online and offline. And as you saw with their recent Luke Wilson campaign, AT&T is capable and willing to respond both aggressively and quickly:
The combatants this time around—in case you hadn't noticed—are Verizon Wireless and AT&T, the respective No. 1 and No. 2 U.S. wireless carriers. That's the nation's second-largest advertiser (Verizon's marketing war chest is $3.7 billion), up against the third largest (AT&T spent $3.1 billion last year according to the Ad Age Datacenter). Those budgets dwarf Coca-Cola's $752 million or even PepsiCo's $1.3 billion.
From AdAge's 'Verizon Vs. AT&T: Blistering Battle Raging Over Map'
Also worth noting, the advertising figures from AdAge do not take into account the tangential spend from related brands, developers and/or manufacturers. For instance, Apple advertisers heavily for the iPhone (on television, in the New York Times, etc) and brands with successful applications frequently use their TV spots to, in part, promote their mobile presence.
Facebook Featured in Xbox's "It's More Fun Time" Commercials
Microsoft clearly understands that the platform element of Xbox is as much a selling point as its game titles: in just the first week of being live, 10% of Microsoft's Xbox Live subscribers connected their accounts to Facebook. The platform represents new online content (such as Netflix) and the ability to make console gaming more social and viral. Furthermore, the association with big brand names like Facebook, Netflix, and Pandora is an effective sales tool that is appealing to all console owners (whereas games and their audiences vary dramatically: Madden Football vs. Call of Duty vs. Little Big Planet).
So in Microsoft's most recent Xbox advertising campaign, the 'platform' is a major theme: "more games, more entertainment and more fun" and "plugin to the endless entertainment of Xbox Live".
The Kindle: Amazon's Most Wished For, Gifted & Purchased
On the heels of last night's post about the most wished for laptops and how they differ from the bestselling items, Amazon released a statement on the success of the Kindle (conveniently timed with Cyber Monday):
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - News) today announced that November is already the best sales month ever for Kindle, even before Cyber Monday. Kindle continues to be the most wished for, the most gifted, and the #1 bestselling product across all product categories on Amazon. full release on Yahoo Finance
That is very impressive: a single product is the most desired, most gifted and most purchased item... and in some ways it debunks precisely what I wrote last night: there is a gap between what consumers want most and what they realistically purchase.
But in other ways, it proves that the gap between desire and reality is affected by price: whereas the most wished for laptops are 2-3x as expensive as the most purchased, the Kindle is at a relatively affordable price point of $259.
Top Three "Most Wished For" Laptops on Amazon are Mac; But Bestsellers are Windows
As Cyber Monday and the holiday season approach, Fortune notes that Macs are the most wished for computers (laptops and desktops) on Amazon. For laptops, the three "most wished for" products are the MacBook ($999), MacBook Pro ($1,499) and MacBook Pro ($1,199):
But wait... there is a big difference between the "most wished for" and the "bestselling". It is as much Windows vs. Mac as it is price differential - a point that Microsoft highlighted in their successful Laptop Hunters commercials. To be fair, Apple has the third best selling laptop (MacBook Pro $1,199), the sixth (MacBook $999) and eighth (Macbook Pro $1,499). The Windows best-sellers average $500-$600 per machine... and that is a significant difference between the machines people "wish for" and actually purchase.
It is important to note that these are merely trends on Amazon, who does not sell Dell machines (a significant portion of Windows laptops) and does not reflect activity from the Apple Stores themselves (or for that matter, Best Buy and other major retailers). But, at the very least, it highlights the difference between 'fantasy' and 'reality': even for Apple-only machines, people "wish for" the high end MacBook Pros but buy the version the 'entry' level version ($300 cheaper).
It's an obvious - but important - demonstration of consumer psychology.
High Energy: Common Trait of Top Talent
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Mindy Grossman's great perspective about hiring talent - look for tiggers not eeyores. The below quote is related and comes from Peter Brooke's new book, "A Vision for Venture Capital." While Brooke is describing talent that he looked for at his firms, the listed traits are applicable to all business fields. Both Mindy Grossman and peter Brooke highlight "energy" as a key component to top talent: Minday refers to tiggers as "energy-givers" and Peter Brooke looks for "high energy" with "burning drives":
"All had a number of traits...: They were competitive, diligent, tenacious and skeptical, with a high energy level and a burning desire to succeed."
Peter A. Brooke, A Vision for Venture Capital (page 176)
Starbucks Sends Thanksgiving Wishes via Facebook; We can "Like" via SMS
I subscribe to Starbucks' Facebook Page updates via SMS because I like to stay current with Facebook's most current brand marketer. With 5.1m Facebook fans, they tend to innovate... and also get seem to trial new Facebook features before others have access. Today, Starbucks sent Thanksgiving wishes to their fans and I noticed a seemingly new feature: the ability to "like" updates via SMS (in updates sent over the last two weeks, only "reply" function was available).
It is a natural product extension and a demonstration (as if one was needed) that brands want more tools to drive engagement and Facebook is working to enable it. It also demonstrates that the "like" function is becoming a more important part of the Facebook ecosystem - for pages, users and the feed.
