Our marching orders this week? Download a mobile app for a product/service/company. Share a little about it. Does it offer discounts? Coupons? Reviews? Does it include GPS features? How useful is this app? The following is for the Masters Degree program specializing in Social Media at the University of Florida. The observations and opinions are 100% mine from using the app but the purpose here is academic…
When it comes to pharmacies, your town is probably a lot like mine: one on every corner. I hate to say it but I don’t really have brand loyalty to CVS or Walgreens. I downloaded the CVS app because friends kept telling me how convenient it is for printing photos from your phone.
Yes. I actually print photos and keep photo albums. It’s a lost art but I figure someday my little girls will appreciate it.
So back to the CVS app. If you haven’t downloaded it, I highly recommend you do. It’s pretty much an all-inclusive pharmacy experience (short of actually giving you your drugs). Here’s a quick rundown of what it offers:
CVS App Menu
Mobile Pharmacy
Extra Care Card section where you can keep track of purchases
Minute Clinic location search
Mobile Shopping
Photo Printing from your phone, an account or Facebook
Drug Interaction Search
Pill Identifier
Weekly Ad
PHARMACY ACCESS
The pharmacy and photo sections are the ones I would use most. You create an account and store your information and go from there. The pharmacy section of the app offers a little more though. You can easily transfer a prescription from one pharmacy to another and it doesn’t have to be CVS to CVS. It’s competitor to CVS. It certainly makes that process a little easier. Additionally you can add all your family medications together in one section and manage it. You can opt to receive text alerts when prescriptions are close to refill or ready to be picked up. Another nice feature within the pharmacy section is being able to scan your refill.
Scan your refill
You simply open up that section, select your location, add your name and email as shown and then a small window will appear for you to scan your prescription bottle. Information is sent. Just wait for the text to pick it up.
PHOTOS
The other part of the app that’s pretty awesome is printing your photos right from your phone. You log in, choose your store and select away. You can print different sizes and as many copies as you like. You will receive an email shortly after doing it to confirm your order and then you will receive another email when the photos are ready. With all the photos trapped in my smart phone, it’s nice to have a completely effortless way to set them free.
DISCOUNTS AND COUPONS
The app does provide discounts and coupons in a couple different ways. First, there is the weekly ad. This can be personalized to everything you buy or you can just check out what’s in your local store. There is also access to your CVS ExtraCare card which awards discounts and deals as you continue to buy. As you can see there are banners at the top of the app’s menu page featuring discounts:
The app will geo-locate you when you search for a store, search for a minute clinic, shop online or send your photos off. It occasionally has a pop-up survey to get your feedback on the app which can be annoying. The good thing is, there is a whole feedback section so if the pop-up annoys you, feel free to register a complaint.
Overall, I find it to be pretty useful. If you are someone who relies on medication, the text alert reminders and drug interaction notifications are invaluable.
For someone like me who doesn’t always need a pharmacy, the quick photo service is pretty cool. Throw in the ability to shop online when school, motherhood, work and life keep me slammed and you have a winner. I may have to rethink that loyalty thing after all.
Week 7 Assignment: Pick 3 brands that are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and at least LinkedIn/Pinterest/YouTube. Evaluate them by the criteria presented below. These are the three brands I am profiling this week:
The Honest Company sells eco-friendly, non-toxic baby and household products. They identify their mission as educating, inspiring, and fulfilling the promise of creating a healthy and sustainable future for our children. The bulk of their business is online but their products can now be found in Target as well.
Spinning the Integrated Mix?
(For the purpose of this blog entry, I will be using the Boundless.com definition of IMC for all 3 brand evaluations: Integrated marketing communications is an approach used by organizations to brand and coordinate their marketing efforts across multiple communication channels. Typically, communication tools for IMC encompass both traditional and digital media such as blogs, webinars, search engine optimization, radio, television, billboards and magazines.)
The Honest brand is very successful at integrating its marketing message. The brand has its own website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube accounts. Additionally you can opt in to receive emails from the company and blog updates:
Email option and social links
Honest also utilizes traditional print ads in various clean living and parenting magazines:
Print & Digital Advertisement
Print & Digital Advertisement
They also use have commercials that are paid spots on air and online featuring real life customers like this one:
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
The Honest Company is on their game when it comes to consistency. The brand logo is featured prominently on all channels, they use the same font, the same hue of blue, the same floral background with an occasional color adjustment and their mission and introduction is the same on each channel. They are Consistent with a capital C as you can see below:
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Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
In both our lectures and readings, we learn to ensure integrated marketing success brands must post content regularly. Honest succeeds in this appropriate to the channels. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ have all been updated as recently as 2 hours from me writing this with the oldest update being 17 hours ago.
LinkedIn and YouTube are not updated as frequently with the most recent updates taking place 12 days ago on LinkedIn and within 2 weeks on YouTube. Honest uses LinkedIn to post job openings so it would make sense that updates only occur when there is a demand.
Right This Way Please
Take a look at this infographic. It represents how The Honest Company pushes to its social channels. The flow of traffic is color coordinated. A little jumbled, right? The Honest Company is very integrated but there is no rhyme or reason to what channel pushes where. Some traffic flows both ways and some does not. I would definitely streamline this.
Where each Honest Company Channel pushes to
There is one certainty. Every channel pushes back to the main site which is the only place you can purchase products on the Honest channels.
#Success or #Fail
I’m a big fan of the hashtag. As a journalist, I use it as a research tool, a feedback tool and a way to find communities. The Honest Company has fully embraced the hashtag. Go to any Pinterest board, tweet, Facebook post, Google+ post and Instagram post and you will see hashtags aggregating all sorts of content. On their Facebook page, they even have a tab devoted to #TheHonestCompany:
#TheHonestCompany featured on company Facebook page
Worth Noting
I spent a great deal of time reviewing their blog recently but it’s worth mentioning here again. It’s a good blog for eco-conscious parents and it covers a WIDE variety of topics. So I encourage you to check out Honestly.
A final note, I’m an Honest Company customer. I use their products and they have had their ups and downs. That said, they are steadily working towards a solid, consistent quality customer experience. I had an issue with both their diaper tabs once and their wipes. I sent a note to the company and received a prompt reply. I noticed in time that both issues were addressed so I am guessing that others expressed similar concerns. ________________________________________________________________________________
A leading source of global news and information for more than 75 years. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City’s Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago (NBC LinkedIn)
Occasionally you will see print ads for NBC News in newspapers or magazines. Typically this will be around big events like the Olympics or during an election season. You might see an “image” spot that focuses on talent like Brian Williams or Matt Lauer as opposed to a specific story. NBC News will also turn to print for what is called a POP or Proof of Performance ad during the traditional ratings periods:
Image spot for the Today Show
Proof of Performance (POP) ad
Promoting Olympic Coverage
They will also create promotional commercials as well. These typically coincide with a new show launch, talent change, ratings period or big event. Here are a couple examples from the archives:
Additionally, you can also sign up to receive breaking news alerts from NBC News via email and text messaging.
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
NBC News, like The Honest Company, has mastered consistency across its channels. It starts with the iconic peacock logo. It is known the world over. The logo is featured prominently wherever NBC is. As you saw above in that “Everywhere” promo from nearly 3 years ago, NBC News was at the forefront of integration when it comes to the news industry. Who they are is clearly stated on each channel right when you arrive or by clicking on the “About” section. The copy is the same no matter where you visit NBC News. Fonts, colors and presentation are also clear and consistent. On most channels you will see a version of the same photo of 30 Rock, NBC’s famed headquarters. No matter where you go, you know you are spending time with NBC News:
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Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
By the nature of what they do and who they are, there is no nap time for NBC News. The brand is perfectly positioned to be active and consistent in posting to their channels. The news never sleeps and by all accounts, NBC News does not either.
Facebook updated within the hour
Two tweets within the hour
They appear to use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ almost hourly. Of note, the content they post is different on different channels which I think is smart. They are giving their consumer variety. Their blog is updated daily as is Pinterest. Instagram had gaps here and there but still has consistent activity. I was also impressed to see their YouTube account (below) updated daily as well. They are in the video business so it makes sense but not all news outlets are successful at this and I speak from personal experience!
You Tube updates every day
Right This Way Please
NBC News has a more organized approach to its social channel push than The Honesty Company but there is still some channels that don’t push to others. To me, it makes sense to have all channels marketed on all channels with something as simple as social buttons. Take a look at the social push flow chart for NBC News.
Where each NBC News Channel pushes to
I do think it is smart in terms of SEO that the channel pushing the most places is Google+. Like The Honest Company, all channels push to the main website.
#Success or #Fail AND Worth Noting
As I wrote up above, I am a fan of the hashtag (when used wisely). Interestingly enough though, NBC News seems to only use hashtags on their Instagram channel and I think it’s brilliant. For journalists, this is not a bad thing. When you go to NBC News Twitter or Facebook accounts, they are very clean, professional and streamlined connecting you to NBC content. The use of the hashtag as a mechanism for search could potentially take you away from NBC content. I think this is an interesting and effective strategy for a news organization that wants you to stay with them.
Since Instagram is both content community and social channel, hashtag use there is effective for searching similar images and videos. Ironically, while spending time on their pages I came across this NBC article on hashtag abuse and overuse and thought I would share it. Happy reading!
Two other items worth noting before we move on from NBC News: They are also on Flickr and Vimeo. The Flickr appears to be used for behind the scenes and staff events and hasn’t been updated in quite a while. Vimeo though was updated as recently as this week and also seems to be an internal sharing channel, not a site for publishing mass news events.
Founded in 1997, Manduka was built on the simple idea that a better yoga mat can make a world of difference. Manduka strives to support and enrich the yoga community by providing premium quality mats and products while respecting employees, customers, materials, and the environment. Created for and by yoga enthusiasts, Manduka’s technical and purpose-driven product designs meet and often exceed the distinct needs of all practitioners. Today Manduka’s products, which include yoga mats, towels, yoga straps, water bottles, and bags, are sold in more than 35 countries around the world. Not only focusing on superior design, Manduka also promotes their ethos of quality, thoughtfulness and sustainability in all realms of their business (Manduka LinkedIn)
They use print ads in Yoga Journal and other fitness magazines geared towards yoga enthusiasts and those who like to spend time outdoors.
Manduka Print Ad
Manduka Print Ad
Manduka is a small but very popular company within its industry. It is considered the leader in quality mats for yoga practice. They do not use traditional commercials on air or radio. They have created Manduka TV on YouTube where they produce videos about yoga life, eco-friendly partners and thoughts on deepening your practice.
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
While Manduka is present on many channels, they lack the consistency that research and our lectures tells us makes for successful IMC. For example, there is no uniformity in which logo is used. Across the channels I mentioned above, 3 different logos are used:
Plain graphic logo
Logo without circle and with text
Textured fabric logo
For the most part the company sticks to the same colors: red, black and white. The red does seem to be a different shade depending on which logo is used. There are at least 3 different fonts used in the company title and imagery is not consistent. As you will see in the slideshow of their channels below, there is a disjointed feel to their channels. The Google+ page is completely off -brand. Facebook and Twitter have photos from the same photo shoot but not the same photo. You will note the dog and the model are the same.
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The mission or “about” section or tag line is also inconsistent on their channels. For example, on Instagram you will find:
Life is one long, beautiful yoga class. Summer is to LiveON, love on and practice on.
On Twitter you will find:
Manduka was founded by yogis on the simple idea that a better mat can make a world of difference.
On Facebook you will find:
Manduka, for your practice, and for our world™. Namaste.
Mission
At Manduka, our mission is to support and enrich the yoga community we serve by providing the very highest quality mats and accessories. We do this because we truly believe in the power of yoga to change lives and make the world a better place. We are committed to designing and creating thoughtful, useful, lasting products whose purpose and value are clear. And, we do so in a way that respects our employees, our customers, our materials and our environment. It is our hope that each and every Manduka product brings joy to our user and helps spread the wonder and wisdom of yoga. Manduka, for your practice and for our world
…and that is just a few examples! Most of their channels are different.
Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
Overall, it seems that Manduka is focused on some channels and not on others. I think sometimes the pressure to be everywhere is so great that companies open an account but then fail their target consumer by not programming it properly. For some companies, being focused on one or two channels may be the best way to go. I think for a company the size of Manduka (11 to 50 employees according to their LinkedIn profile), they may be better served to just pick a few channels and focus. Social Media Today tells us:
When you’re a small or medium-sized business with limited marketing resources, or even a larger business who wants the best return on investment, focusing on one social platform gives you the benefit of gaining the most sophisticated expertise and most effective strategies for that network. It also works because it allows you to learn the voice and approach required for that network. (Nicole Karlis)
Manduka has a Google+ page that has not had a new post since August 2012. Additionally, when you click on “Videos” on that Google+ page it says there are no videos. Manduka, however, has a nice YouTube channel where they have created Manduka TV. So clearly they have the content, they just aren’t programming Google+. As we know, this is not good for search engine optimization.
Manduka posts to Twitter a couple times a day and Facebook daily. Their Pinterest and Instagram pages are also well maintained with great content and beautiful photos. If I was working for Manduka, these are the channels I would focus on.
Right This Way Please
Below you will see where Manduka channels are pushing. As you can see, the Google+ page doesn’t even drive traffic to the main site for purchasing products. As I mentioned above, they should either commit and build up their Google+ account or they should delete it. It does not serve them well in its current state.
Where each Manduka Channel pushes to
The failures with social push don’t stop there though. Instagram and the company’s own blog do not prominently push to their main site. Considering Instagram is one of their well-maintained channels, I would rectify this immediately.
As with The Honest Company, there is no rhyme or reason to the way they push out from each channel. It is definitely disjointed.
#Success or #Fail
On the channels Manduka is using well, they get a thumbs up from me for hashtag success. They utilize the following hashtags often: #LiveOn #KidsYoga #practice #whatmatters. They primarily use hashtags on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. They aren’t overused and they are relevant to the post.
Worth Noting
Despite what I would say is not the greatest IMC approach, Manduka does have a very nice blog full of interesting content. It’s used to tell stories about sustainability, yoga success and yoga for kids. Yoga for Kids is something Manduka is very supportive of which I think is pretty cool. They also use the blog to share community photos and engage with their consumer. The blog would be much stronger if they posted more often. It appears to only be updated a couple of times a month.
Final Thoughts
Overall I would have to say of the three brands I spent time with this week, NBC News has the slight edge over The Honest Company. In all fairness though, the business itself positions NBC News to be a constantly engaged brand. For a product-oriented brand, The Honest Company does a great job keeping all its channels programmed. To that end, my only real critique would be they should streamline their social push to include social buttons for all channels on each channel.
Just For Fun
One last thing before I go this week…I’m adding a “just for fun” to my blogs with a little extra something relating back in to each week’s topic. For my Just For Fun debut, I give you the very talented Jimmy Fallon and his take on the hashtag:
