Archive - Sep 2010
September 17th
Virtual goods, real money
Facebook made its first foray into brick-and-mortar retail, offering gift cards for Facebook credits at Target stores. The credits can be used for any Facebook purchase, like social games, applications, and virtual goods.
Why it matters
Shoppers spent $1 Billion on virtual goods in 2009. How could brands make virtual goods part of the value-add of the real products people buy? Could a product experience that extends to the digital world become a point to differentiation, or a loyalty driver?
Do nothing about hunger
Rhode Island has seen its population of people in need of food assistance increase by 54%. The “Nothing” campaign featured soup cans branded as Nothing, with a photo of an empty bowl, that could be purchased at grocery stores for $2.99. The cans also served as a “piggy bank” for the buyer to collect additional donations.
Why it matters
If people were asked to donate $3 at check-out, most probably wouldn’t. But they might be more willing to donate a canned food item. This strategy combined these insights, so the food bank got a more substantial monetary donation, while people still felt like they were donating an item. Each $2.99 purchase is enough money for the food bank to provide 10 lbs of food to a family in need.
What might have happened
Next Media in Taiwan specializes in animating news events with CGI, to show people what might have happened when the event wasn’t caught on film. The videos are created in a matter of hours to depict current events and get millions of views online.
Why it matters
We can’t help but form a mental image when someone tells us a story. Next Media is intensifying the engagement with news and information by helping us fill in that mental image. How could we use something like CGI to help consumers visualize their experience with a brand or product, increasing engagement?
