The Brief:
In early 2009 PUMA began moving heavily into social media. Most PUMA brand pages were turned into blogs (PUMA Running, PUMA Ocean Racing, etc) and PUMA began developing presences in Facebook, Twitter and others while utilizing a range of social tools and platforms. How to make sense of this new space, properly manage communities and technologies, vet research and new partners, calculate ROI, and use the knowledge to improve programs, create value, measure performance and make sales?

coBRANDiT's Role:
Since February 2009 we have partnered with PUMA on a retainer basis to assist with program and platform development, research initiatives, and other tasks related to the socialization of their business. Working out of their international office in Boston, we are continuing in this capacity through 2010. Specific projects to date include:

PUMA Football: Develop iPhone and BlackBerry mobile apps, technology and feeds. Assist with football content strategy, mobile and otherwise, surrounding African Cup of Nations and the upcoming 2010 World Cup.

PUMA Ocean Racing: Video distribution research & recommendations. Extensive platform set up and maintenance, including facebook, twitter, blog functions.

PUMA Running: Set up facebook page, manage Street Meet PR and limited advertising thru facebook. Video production & distribution surrounding Street Meet. Develop and execute award winning Usain Bolt video distribution program (see case study here).

Ongoing research: The social media/WOM ROI question: Assigning value to fans/friends, figuring out market mix/word-of-mouth valuation methodologies, making research recommendations. Assist in vetting monitoring solutions, develop questions/analysis surrounding research results.

Monthly pull of comparative statistics for facebook, twitter, and youtube channels, competitive research. Ongoing research into ramifications of facebook platform updates and the effect on fan growth. Ongoing research and recommendations re: facebook app developers and use of dashboard management systems. Assist in vetting platform development proposals.

PUMA Golf: Video production, tee-off party. PUMA City: Develop and populate elements of facebook page. Tretorn: Video distribution, optimization, & reporting. Sergio Rossi: Video distribution & optimization. Alexander McQueen RAW POWER: Analysis and recommendations related to video editing contest.

Research/expose "black hat" video distribution techniques (Findings were presented in our WOMMA Webinar, click here for deck).

Research/recommendations: 1) Brand presence/best practices in Orkut for S. American audience. 2) Marketing uses of mobile "Check-In" sites: Foursquare, Gowalla, etc.

Create blogger outreach master list by brand: Research existing resources/contacts and recommend new ones when appropriate.

We will continue to post examples of our PUMA work here in the months to come. Thank you PUMA for the opportunity to be a part of your team!

Last Friday the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) awarded coBRANDiT client Daily Grommet with a 2009 Commendation of Excellence in the Corporate Media Creation category. This award recognizes our innovative use of video in Daily Grommet's social media powered e-commerce site, and is a reflection of the Grommet team's willingness to experiment with new forms of video production. From their award application:

"Video production is handled by coBRANDiT, they've proven to be wonderful partners able to adjust to our changing needs. They built us a basic in-office studio, provide professional 1 and 2 camera HD shoots on a weekly basis, got us started with Flip video cameras (plus assistance, training, and a tip sheet for new users), manage regular ooVoo video chats, and generally counsel us on content development and continuous improvement, all while handling daily editing of the content that floods in. Our videos now consist of a mix of studio content as well as material shot by our office staff, Grommet creators, and assorted family and friends. coBRANDiT sends us finished, compressed videos in the 2 formats we require and provides ongoing strategic assistance related to video distribution."

Congratulations to the Daily Grommet team, and thank you for bringing us along on the ride! Samples of our work can be seen at DailyGrommet.com.

Related Links: Webinar Q&A Re: Video Distribution, Jeben Berg of YouTube on How to Make Your Videos Successful, Flip Video Shooting Tips for Distributed Production Teams and Novices, Matt Allen of NBC on their innovative online video approach: They give their stars Flip-type cameras for use back stage. coBRANDiT's Capabilities and Case Studies, Get In Touch With coBRANDiT.

http://deadman.spike.com

PUMA CITY comes to Boston for three weeks or so later this month. It's a retail store, event space, and bar rolled into one. Constructed of shipping containers, it's currently traveling around the world with PUMA Ocean Racing as the team competes in the Volvo Ocean Race. It's also going to be the backdrop for STREET MEET, PUMA Running's Jamaican street party/track meet on April 26.

coBRANDiT is assisting PUMA with content production, distribution, optimization, and general social media strategy. Work in progress, details TK, but here's the short list of projects we're involved with as of now:
PUMA Ocean Racing, PUMA Running, PUMA Golf, PUMA City, PUMA.
Most of these sites are blogs. Also active on facebook, twitter, flickr, and youtube.

The Brief:
With the return of legalized absinthe to the US market Austrian distiller Fischer Schnaps began importing Absinthe Mata Hari in late 2008. Partnering up with marketing agency the Brand Action Team, Fischer Schnaps launched a campaign to introduce this "mixable absinthe" to communities of cocktail enthusiasts in key markets. Reaching out to noted cocktail bloggers, the Brand Action Team began sponsoring drink nights at local wi-fi enabled bars: mixologists meet to develop original recipes based on Absinthe Mata Hari, and share the results via live chat. But how to publicize this activity, put faces to names, and get out the word on absinthe's return to the US? And how to give the bloggers valuable content that would highlight their original creations?

coBRANDiT's Role:
Armed with a single Flip Mino HD camera, coBRANDiT documented the January 22 drink night session at Washington DC's Tabard Inn. The resulting video introduced chat room participants, provided links to their blogs, and contextualized Absinthe Mata Hari in the cocktail scene...as well as showcasing the top drink creations. Within a few days of the event we distributed the video on a variety of platforms and sites, with the Brand Action Team handling outreach and commentary. A "basic training" component was built into the project, with the goal of seeing what could be done with simple tools...the ultimate intention is to have reps. in local markets documenting events with Flip cameras and sending raw content to coBRANDiT for editing, distribution, and optimization.

Results: As of this writing the video has been embedded in drink blogs and forums over 800 times.

The Brief:
Narragansett Brewing Company runs an annual Father's Day tie contest wherein consumers are asked to submit tie designs to the Brewery. 15,000 examples of the winning design are given away with the purchase of a case of beer. The contest has been traditionally limited to residents of Providence, RI, but in 2009 Narragansett wished to spread word of the contest to creative communities in Boston as well.

coBRANDiT's Role:
Utilizing existing creative (a poster), coBRANDiT created a cross-platform widget that could be shared (via email or social nets) and embedded in blogs and profiles. The widget contained contest details, links to brand websites, an invitation to the contest wrap party, and a video call-to-action.

coBRANDiT distributed both the widget and the related video, posting to 12+ social media sites and managing blogger outreach and commentary across all channels. All content was optimized for SEO with the secondary goal of improving search results for Narragansett Beer.

Results: Word got around between Boston and Providence, and 'Gansett got many entries. The winning tie was released and spawned at least one fan video...see below.

The Brief:
Viximo is a leader in the growing market for virtual gifts, creating platforms for developing and monetizing digital goods worldwide. On January 5th 2009 Viximo released a landmark new development platform called VixML that allows talented designers to create basic iPhone applications with a minimal amount of programming knowledge. With a month to go before launch date Viximo contracted with coBRANDiT to produce an HD video that would explain the basics...and show off some of the cool things developed with VixML.

coBRANDiT's Role:
Viximo had an outline of the information that needed to be delivered...verbal and visual. We worked to streamline the content and develop a script that was then sent out to VO talent. We then shot supporting HD footage at the Viximo offices and in our studio which was edited together to create a 2 minute piece that demonstrates VixML's capabilities...and how the results look on an iPhone. The finished video is posted to YouTube HD.

Results:
Techcrunch wrote up the January 5th launch, giving VixML a great review and embedding the video. As of this writing (January 7th) the video has over 6000 views and is growing daily. The post has been linked to by numerous tech sites (many of whom have embedded the video) and has generated 36+ comments...a strong launch in a targeted community.

"coBRANDiT did an awesome job of understanding what we were trying to accomplish in the video & applying their creative energy to bring cool, innovative ideas to the table. Video they produced was very high quality & they were super responsive to all the feedback & edits that I had."
--Ted Achtem, Product Manager at Viximo, Inc.

The Brief:
The Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) was founded in 2004, coBRANDiT has attended every conference they have put on. In fall 2005 we approached WOMMA and offered to provide video coverage of their events with the goal of providing short, insightful interviews with key participants that could be viewed and shared by ad and marketing industry professionals. We have been working on WOMMA's behalf ever since.

coBRANDiT's role:
We have covered WOMMA events in a variety of ways including:
1) Shooting interviews with keynote speakers and panelists and rapidly preparing edited pieces for web delivery. Examples can be seen here.
2) Live streaming keynote addresses and general sessions via WOMMA's Ustream channel (archived videos require WOMMA membership, though an example can be seen here).
3) Mobile live streaming and party coverage using a combination of qik-enabled N95's and Flip Video cameras. For a detailed post on this type of coverage, read this.
4) We also produce and distribute overview videos used to pitch specific upcoming WOMMA events, and build cross-platform widgets (white label video players with WOMMA links and other information) to help spread the word.

Results:
Our WOMMA videos have accumulated over 50,000 views and have helped to demonstrate, establish and solidify WOMMA's leadership in a new industry. WOMMA video content has been featured on top marketing blogs and has led to increased online chatter, increased search visibility and improved traffic to womma.org. Here's one of my favorite WOMMA videos, featuring a massive game of Rocks/Paper/Scissors:

The Brief:
In early 2008 PUMA Running began sponsoring up and coming Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. On May 31 Bolt surprised the running world by setting a new world record in the 100m, and it was decided to create a video “blogumentary” following Bolt as he prepared for and competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A flash based site and game was built to contain the program, but how to attract online running communities and the wider world of Olympic enthusiasts? What word-of-mouth and social media strategies could be used to involve viewers, improve SEO, and drive traffic to chasingbolt.com?

coBRANDiT’s Role:
In the space of 4 weeks we developed a multi-faceted social media outreach strategy that consisted of distribution to 15+ video sharing and social networking sites, as well as a branded Facebook application with a related cross-platform video widget. We optimized the videos within networks, responded to commentary, reached out to top running and olympic bloggers to gain choice placement, managed ad buys supporting the program, and ran a user-generated photo contest through the Chasing Bolt Facebook app. During the month of August, 12 videos were sent from Beijing to us for distribution and optimization, resulting in over 2 million views, a 64% increase in PUMA-related online chatter, and on August 20th the greatest number of daily uniques for any PUMA web property ever.

UPDATE: On November 14th 2008 this program received an Award of Excellence from the Society for New Communications Research.

“coBRANDiT put together a great social media campaign, the results of which exceeded our expectations. They know the space very well and are very easy to work with. I highly recommend coBRANDiT.”
-–Matt Taylor, Global Manager, PUMA Running

“coBRANDiT has been an incredible help to PUMA in areas from consumer research to digital campaign launches, always bringing fresh ideas and seeing them through to execution. Their passion and energy lifts up our entire team.”
--Ryan Eckel, Group Head, Marketing Strategy and Operations, PUMA AG

**Note: coBRANDiT has also conducted man-on-the street video research for PUMA in top markets such as Paris, London and NY; produced internal sales vids for PUMA Running; and consulted on social media and word-of-mouth programs off and on since 2004.

coBRANDiT is working with Fizz and the ADA Midwest documenting the ADA Midwest's Refuel with Chocolate Milk program. The program aims to spread awareness of chocolate milk's benefits as a recovery beverage at high school football games, track meets, and at health and fitness events throughout Ohio. The video series will be distributed in a custom player late in 2009.

"The coBRANDiT team really knows what they're doing. With work from Sixthman to Chocolate Milk they bring some great creative ideas to the table. They always deliver results and they do it within your time frame and do it with class. I highly recommend their work."
--Tyson Yirak, Director of Operations, Fizz

The Brief:
Athlete’s Performance provides training staff, facilities, and equipment to top athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and many other sports. For the launch of their new consumer focused website coreperformance.com Athlete’s Performance required interview and demonstration videos shot on location with their coaching staff, as well as long-term social media video capabilities and strategic assistance.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
Working with Core Performance’s site editors, coBRANDiT shot interviews in Boston and Phoenix, creating over 40 2-3 minute HD videos in the space of about four weeks. We developed custom compression specs and delivered finished flash video ready to be uploaded to coreperformance.com’s servers ahead of schedule. As an ongoing partner to Athlete’s Performance, coBRANDiT continues to provide regular video content for coreperformance.com, and assists with strategic facilitation of social media video strategy.

“We needed storytellers experienced with video production and coBRANDiT did an excellent job. By helping us translate our needs into video presentations they really helped me sell-in to our organization just how we can use video to help out users out.”
--Sean Bohan, VP Strategy & Production at Athletes' Performance (Read more details here)

The Brief:
DailyGrommet.com is a web retailer hooked in to social media. Daily Grommet is “a place to learn about, and buy, one great product a day. Our promise to you is to offer fresh finds, and true stories, every day.” Launched in mid-October 2008, Daily Grommet emphasizes community, and stays connected to it’s audience with widgets, blog posts, twitter, and numerous social networking sites. Founders Jules Pieri and Joanne Domeniconi knew daily video would be a key storytelling component, but had no video production or distribution experience.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
Every weekday we produce a 2 minute video which features Jules and Joanne (and others) talking about their product offerings; the vids are distributed on 9+ social media video sites as well as on Grommet's homepage. We built a simple studio in the Daily Grommet offices for regular shoots, and work with Jules and Joanne to integrate manufacturer videos and their own Flip Video content. We also produced introductory and “about” videos for the site launch, and continue to offer strategic counsel relating to social media video. Watch Daily Grommet here.

“I hired coBRANDiT to produce our daily videos for www.dailygrommet.com. This was a big decision because our team had no expertise in this area and we really needed pros… coBRANDiT is delivering on all counts. They are highly dedicated, make us sound way better than we should, and really add valuable experience, creativity, and perspective to the whole project. Our video shoot day is becoming a highlight of the week… Great work!” --Jules Pieri, Founder, Daily Grommet

The Brief:
Craft brewer Flying Dog has an ambitious social media program; they aim to be the most web 2.0 savvy brewer online. The goal is to communicate with home brewers, beer drinkers, and aficionados in the environments where they live, and to create and place content in easily sharable formats. Video is a clear part of the mix.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
coBRANDiT traveled to Flying Dog HQ in Denver, CO for 2 week long taping sessions; one in the winter and one in the summer. While in Colorado we documented the brewhouse, interviewing brewery founders, the head brew master, bottlers, and other staff; the brewery Superbowl retreat in Steamboat, a road trip to Flying Dog’s original location in Aspen, and various staff interactions and brewery events. The results were edited into a year’s worth of bi-weekly video which was distributed on various sharing sites, and on a vlog we built and continue to manage. We also developed and distributed a video widget that brought the entire series to embedded locations. In addition we worked with FD marketing on how best to integrate our activities with event, advertising and packaging initiatives, tying it all together with an outreach strategy that incorporated all elements of the program.

SNCR recognized our work with the 2007 Award of Excellence in the Corporate Video category, a full case study can be seen here.

“The guys at coBRANDiT are forward thinkers. They’re constantly analyzing new and current social media technologies to present to clients and integrate into their marketing efforts. They love this stuff.” –Neal Stewart, Prime Minister of Marketing

**Note: Neal was formerly the Brand Manager for Pabst Blue Ribbon, and in that role became coBRANDiT’s first client. We produced a series of PBR neighborhood interviews for him in exchange for beer. The story was written up by Rob Walker in Inc. magazine, August 2004. That’s what put us on the map.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
We shot and delivered finished, edited videos (6-8 per roundtable) within days of the event, and in the case of cancersandcareers.org we developed a cross-platfrom widget containing videos, info pages, and links to relevant urls. Distribution was handled by MS&L.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
We sent a two-man video crew to cover the event, attending blogger dinners, press events, the show floor, and interviewing GM managers and auto industry bloggers about their take on the state of the industry and show announcements. Within two days we released 14 detailed videos on various social media sites, and built a cross-platorm video widget to allow easy sharing and embedding on relevant blogs and social networks. These videos were viewed thousands of times and resulted in increased traffic to Gmnext.

coBRANDiT’s Role:
Working with Communispace’s marketing department we developed a series of interview questions focusing on various team member’s role within the company, and how their work positively impacted client business. Our low-impact shooting methodology took the stress out of the interviews, and allowed thoughtful, insightful, and passionate responses to come from staffers not used to being on-camera. The results were carefully edited into a series of pieces for use on Communispace’s website and in sales presentations.