Agencies, Retailers, and Publishers are reorganizing their structure to keep up with this powerful movement of mommy bloggers, which is up 73% from the past year and companies are adding them to their list of servies (ie. Walmart & BabyCenter.com). This is a huge business for marketers! View the video for intersting facts.
We've noticed that engaging influential bloggers has become a staple in many social media strategies, and whereas some companies employ monetary compensation for favorable posts, General Mills has created a more organic approach to spreading the word about its brands.
MyBlogSpark is a General Mills-created blog network comprised almost entirely of moms. These bloggers are privy to General Mills' latest products, such as cereals and yogurts, in hopes that they will provide positive reviews to their readers. Not only is the program completely voluntary, as these bloggers opt-in to participate, but General Mills also asks that the bloggers contact the company if they feel they can not write a favorable review of a particular product. As Mashable states in the original post last week, "This is social media done right."
Who doesn't want to be like Willy Wonka?
Dishola is a new site for foodies that is not focused on the restaurant, but the dish. Dishola's dish-focused approach promises to make it more practical and
useful for taste-driven eaters than traditional restaurant guides. Users can read smart reviews by Dishola editors, industry professionals and
other members, as well as posting reviews and photos of their own favorite dishes
dishola /dish•ō•lâ/
Coke Zero and its agency, Espalhe Marketing de Guerrilha would like to entice Brazilians with an irresistable offer: FREE TONGUE PIERCING WITH COKE ZERO'S LOGO!! I mean, come one, how do you pass up that kind of an offer? Several shops in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Salvador are giving free piercings with the only condition being that the piercee must agree to have their pictures published on the website. Check out the gallery...yikes!
As kind as the thought of sending your friends virtual food and drinks on Facebook is, let's face it, it's an icon...and unfortunately, we can't eat/drink it. Trying to take the virtual world to reality, Mars is offering UK Facebookers the chance to send their friends real-life, tangible, tasteable (if that's a word) goodies from its online Celebrate Sweet Shop. Facebookers can use their Paypal accounts to send a text with a message and a Celebrate Voucher ID number redeemable at over 12,500 locations. Now, if only we could make those virtual drinks a reality...
Magazines are great media for pass-along readership, but let's hope this doesn't translate to pass-along tasting as well! Courtesy of First Flavor and JWT for Welch's Grape Juice, marketers can take a lesson about ditching that "scratch n' sniff" ad for one that really lets people experience their brand via "peel n' taste."
Want to make your woman swoon? Check out Culinary Seductions--the cooking site for men that offers recipes by dishes / course, degree of difficulty and mood (decadent, snugly, saucy, sassy, nutty, luscious, to name a few). The benefit to cooking for women? According to the "How the site works" page, the benefits are: "it's a hell of a lot cheaper than taking her out and can be every bit as romantic as a five star restaurant, it gets [her] over to your place [and] better yet, It could get you over to hers." Charming.
Ever wondered exactly how many calories you just consumed after inhaling that chocolate muffin, and comparing it with your morning's 20 min bike ride? Introducing My Food Diary. With nutrition data for over 45,000 supermarket and restaurant foods, My Food Diary gives you the tools you need to make
good, healthy decisions about food and exercise including a food
diary, an exercise log, charts & reports, a body log, and
a discussion forum. Now that's what I call healthy eating.
Check out Mana, the new energy drink made specially for gamers, by gamers. The drink boasts twice the potency of two 8-oz. Redbulls because we all know how exhausting games can be.
Gamers can either buy online or find distributors on the site.
Crushpad, an urban winery that providing the grapes, equipment, barrels and know-how to aspiring wine enthusiasts, has now introduced fusebox a wine blending kit that lets users experience the wine-making process at home.
For $120 dollars consumers can learn how to turn a good wine into a great one and gain an appreciation for why blending is the highest art form in winemaking--perfect for the ultra-premium wine experience, without having a vineyard in your backyard.
Branding a soda the name of a general and apathetic response to the question, "What would you like to drink?" has worked well for Nuvo. The beverage company recently released "Whatever" and "Anything"--two new drinks that are a surprise in every can. "Anything" is fizzy and comes in six flavors (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer), while "Whatever" is non-carbonated (Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea). The kicker: consumers don't know which flavor they're getting until they taste it.
Gourmet food purveyor, Zingerman's, offers its specialty Z Club members surprise food packages throughout the year containing "adventurous" delicacies uncommon in local grocery stores, like raw milk Stilton, and chocolate covered candied peels.
Kellogg’s research found that busy lifestyles mean people are struggling to eat enough fruit and are looking for easier ways to eat their '5 a day'. As a result, Kellogg's is launching a totally new Stretch Island Fruit snack brand called FruitaBü
that is not only set to revolutionize the fruit snacks category but
also contribute towards the way consumers get their '5 a day'.
Appearing on shelves in January, the products in the new range all
contain one portion of fruit per serving with no added sugar,
artificial colors or flavors.
