Celebs Embrace Social Media On-Line Megaphone to Build Brand Bank Accounts; Get On the Bus or Get Run Over By It.

Like it or leave it, according to today's front page of the NYT Sunday Business section,  celeb's use of social media (think Facebook and Twitter) has become a cottage industry for algo and data mining geeks who can turn cottage cheesy celebs into brand icons--and more importantly, introduce a data point for sponsored spokespeople's agents that can be used as a tipping point during contract negotiations.

Sure, you've heard this all before; marcom gurus have been touting social media for dozens of months, but now its gone institutional, and it's a practice area that hasn't gone unnoticed by the most brand burnishing Baristas. Case in point: :the who's who backers of  "theAudience", the most recent digital media consigliere to capture the mind share of marketing and sponsorship execs. Underwriters of this shop include William Morris Endeavor, Lionsgate, Universal Pictures — and one tech superstar, Sean Parker,
 
"..After largely ignoring social media — allowing fake Facebook pages to proliferate, sticking with tried-and-true publicity stops like “Entertainment Tonight” — stars and agents are realizing en masse that they need to get on that train.."

The British comedian Russell Brand says theAudience has helped him sell out shows “without any paid advertising”; the company also advises him on where to route tours, based on the geography of his fan base. “It’s a smart way to talk to my fans directly and in a bespoke manner,” Mr. Brand says.

The take-away: whether you're a fading star or an aspiring A-lister, social media + computer geek guidance is a low-cost strategy that can (according those who charge fat fees for finessing your message and build your follower list in a manner that builds your brand bank account.

Getting Nostalgic with Comfort Marketing; Macy’s Makes a Movie

Copyright 2012 The New York Times Company

Comfort Marketing...aka "using nostalgia to woo consumers during uncertain times" is one our fav topics, if only because the "times" have been particularly uncertain for a long time now, and specifically, for most of the past 10 years(!) that we've been blogging here.

If you are first time visitor, I'm a big fan of this type of advertising (go ahead, you can call it branding if you want), and the NY Times presumably piggybacked on our opining about this topic after they [coincidentally] ran on a piece on this very topic last January, immediately after we talked about it..

They're baaackkk! Courtesy of a great piece in today's NYT written by Stuart Elliott, Macy's is set to launch a TV ad campaign (and presumably, complemented by an online and a mobile-device compatible version) which "artfully co-mingles" Boy Bieber, Donald "You Can't Trump This!" Trump, Martha Stewart and Taylor Swift with clips of Edmund Gwenn aka Kris Kringle from the 1947 iconic film, "Miracle on 34th Street."

“The Macy’s campaign is indicative of a trend on Madison Avenue known as comfort marketing, using nostalgia to woo consumers during the uncertain economy. Other examples include revivals of familiar brand characters like Speedy Alka-Seltzer as well as campaigns that commemorate milestone anniversaries.”

For all of you marcom gurus and talking heads that have the attention of corporate sponsors, this is a strategy that always works well, if executed with creative thinking..

"System Update" is Major Banks' Euphemism for Being Hacked

Almost funny..after this blogger reported multiple incidences involving online banking issues (phishing, Identity Theft attempts, and erroneous charges on credit card) over past several days, and being told by bank 'customer service' staff the issues were merely related to "system updates", we're all reminded again that phrase is nothing more than a euphemism for "we've been hacked! (and that your account information was likely hijacked by perpetrators).

The intriguing part is that select politicians with nothing intelligent to say are attributing this week's cyberattacks on multiple banks to Iranian-backed trouble makers.

I guess the confirmation sent to me by Amazon for that $700 flat panel TV will actually be shipped to someplace in the middle east!

Citibank systems down for 2nd day- "Call Back When Our Systems Are Available"

Here's an update to yesterday's posting-

Citibank credit customers are experiencing a 2nd day in a row of "systems down" --those trying to telephone the customer service number displayed on their credit card, or the 'customer service' telephone number displayed on their various websites are being told after waiting on hold for upwards of 30 minutes "This is not customer service; if you want customer service, you need to call a different telephone number, but since all of our systems are down, you should wait until they are back up to phone.The real customer service telephone is 866-311-4975.."

Good fodder for those on the receiving end of collections team from Citibank; tell them that all of your systems are down and to call back when they are back up again..

Corporate Marketing/Communications 101: Customer Service is where the rubber meets the road; if you insist on failing to address major snafus in an intelligent manner,  remember the adage: the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

#Havock about #iPhone5 and #IOS6- Buying Google, Selling Apple, Shorting Citi

I finally gave in and bought an iPhone. 3 Weeks Ago. Before knowing that iPhone5 would be coming out. Whatever. I wanted Siri. And, after reading the reviews about iPhone5-bigger screen, much lighter, but no more Google Maps and snafu reports i.e. apps that aren't functioning with the new iOS6, which is not only part of iPhone5--but a latest operating system upgrade available for all other iPhones. Like 100 million other idiots, I downloaded that to my new (well, not so new) iPhone.

2 days later
I receive an email notification from Amazon confirming my purchase of a $700 flat screen that was delivered to an address in Texas that I've never heard of. As a matter of fact, I didn't order a $700 flat screen from Amazon, but I did attempt to download the Amazon app to my new iPhone because I wanted a Kindel book that Nook isn't carrying yet.

2. Concerned that if my Amazon account was breached, I figured I should check my credit card statement via the Citi online platform. Within 10 minutes of investigating the phishing attack (or an identify theft attack), I then went to my online credit card

3. I immediately noticed a $506.12 charge that purportedly took place today. The merchant was not identified, and the only information displayed by Citi was the merchant category ("Home Supply Company")

4. In the past 30 days, I hadn't used that credit card to purchase anything other than gas, train tickets and other sundry items--all under $75.00.

5. I called Citi. I was on the phone with 4 different customer service and fraud representatives over the course of 4 hours. F-O-U-R  H-O-U-R-S  (4). I might as well as have been connected to an Asperberger's clinic.

6. The Customer Services representatives insisted they were unable to view any transaction on my account re the $506.12 charge. They couldn't explain why it was displaying on my online dashboard. Hence, I was transferred between the 'customer service' dept and the 'fraud detection' dept 2x during the 4 hours of attempting to find someone that could what was going on.

7. While at 3hrs 50min, I logged back on to my credit card account to discover the $506.12 charge was no longer there. No memo statement re a  reversal or a credit. It was as if the charge never appeared. It did and I have a screen shot to prove it. Citi customer service reps that I was last on the phone with couldn't even begin to figure out how why a transaction displayed on my account, and disappeared with no trace. If I wanted to find out what happened, I was told to contact customer service.

8. While in one of those 'hold' moments with Citi--I received an incoming call from JP Morgan Chase. At least that's what my caller ID displayed. I put Citi on hold and took the JP Morgan call and the caller very quickly provided his name (I was distracted because I didn't want to lose the Citi call)--and then said he was calling about a check being presented to JPMorgan with my company name and he was calling to confirm the account. I don't bank at JPMorgan

9. Distracted--I asked to repeat who he was (even though I didn't write it down)..and what was the account name on the check. It turned out to be a very close rendition of my business account name. I asked how he got my phone number, and he said he Googled the name on the account. That's great. local banks are using Google to verify facts when being presented with checks.

10. I'm taking my profits in Apple , buying Google, and shorting more Citi.

Apple is a great company, but I'm thinking someone slipped on a bar of soap. 2 days after I download IOS6, I'm blanketed with phishing attacks, attempted check fraud, a credit card overcharge--all within 4 hours. Somethings not right, besides the fact that  its obvious that Citi (and likely every other bank) has no idea what's going on inside of customer accounts, and how hackers are walking through their stores as easily as a burglar walks through dept stores in the middle of the night.