Newcastle paying consumers to follow it on Twitter
Here’s an easy shortcut for creating a Twitter audience: give them money.
Simple as that – at least in the eyes of the beer brand Newcastle, which is offering consumers in the U.S. a dollar for their Twitter follow (a sum it describes as “one-millionth of one million dollars”).
In a tongue-in-cheek ad for the promotion, Newcastle admits it could have created a contest or exclusive content to entice new followers. Instead, it chose cash. Why? “It’s summer. And we want to get out of here.”
The gimmick is in line with Newcastle’s “No bollocks” ideology, and was the “least bullsh*t” way to deliver on its goal of getting more Twitter followers, according to Scott Bell, creative director the brand’s agency, Droga5.
So far, the ploy seems to be working as well as a media buy might have. Since the start of the campaign on June 2, Newcastle has jumped from 15,000 followers to almost 28,000.
Vogue makes its Instagram shoppable
Vogue readers can now purchase items they see on the fashion magazine’s Instagram page. The publisher, which has 1.9 million followers on Instagram, has partnered with an ad tech company called rewardStyle and is using its “Like to Know” feature to make the feed shoppable. When consumers click to like one of the enabled posts, they’ll receive a follow-up email telling them how to purchase the item from the post. As a digital finder’s fee, Vogue receives up to 20% commission on sales.
Fruit of the Loom’s Father’s Day ‘GIF registry’
Fruit of the Loom has created a mock gift registry for GIFs to promote its dad-friendly items ahead of Father’s Day. Using the site, people can buy socks, underwear, T-shirts and other items for their father, then send him a GIF to let him know there’s a purchase on the way. After consumers click to share one of the GIFs, they’re prompted to purchase one of selections the brand curated for the holiday.
Myspace still has all your embarrassing photos
This week Myspace started sending users old photos from the social network’s heydey. The surely embarrassing email calls the photo selection a mix of “The good, the rad and the what were you thinking…” Cute, but all we’re thinking is: who still checks the Hotmail address they used to sign up for Myspace?
From Marketing:
Yahoo might launch a YouTube rival
Sport Chek amps up social spend, tests migrating all flyers to Facebook
Environics launches digital arm, will do social monitoring and community management
The Numbers
Twitter is booming in Canada, according to the latest numbers from eMarketer. Here’s a look at how Twitter is faring locally and how that growth stacks up globally.
28.8
Percentage Twitter’s Canadian user base is expected to grow in 2014
11.6
Percentage Twitter’s American user base is expected to grow in 2014
4,400,000
Number of Twitter users in Canada as of 2013
8,700,000
Number of Twitter users eMarketer predicts will be in Canada by 2018
16
Percentage of internet users in Canada that use Twitter as of 2013
25
Percentage of Canadian social media users on Twitter as of 2013
