The Anatomy of Big Brand Deals panel at this past week’s Geo Loco Conference, was moderated by Ryan McIntyre from the Foundry Group. Panelists included: Brian Dresher from USA Today, Andy Ellwood from Gowalla, Rahul Sonaad from Geodelice, Michael Stich from Bridge Worldwide and Jonathan Treisman of NBC Universal.
General Takeaways:
The big question you need to ask first: what’s the value for your customer….for your user when you think about doing a deal? What kind of experience do you want to create for them?
Dresher says, “At USA Today, we have to bounce short term experimentation with long-term potential. We have a very keen awareness that users start their day and end their day on social networks – you have to be platform agnostic — the same content needs to be on iPad, your laptop or a mobile phone.”
Ellwood says, “Let’s take USA Today on Gowalla where you can have access to travel guides as curated by USA Today travel editors. It’s not just on the checkin, but its on the value-add after you check in: the goods, the coupons, the feedback. You need to represent it in a timely way on a mobile device to your users.”
McIntrye says, “One of the most important things I see with major brands regarding their needs and goals is the need to drive traffic to their physical location or once someone is already there, drive further engagement with them.”
Stich says, “You have to ask, is this going to further my brand equity? Conversely, is there going to be some way for this to screw things up for my brand? Is there enough of an addressable base with my consumer to have the impact I want to and need to? Is the impression the thing or are location-based metrics the thing? It has to be both. We have to fit for the large media planning agencies out there whether its print, TV or online.”
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
