GASP and those emails...

For a blog with a focus on social media & marketing communications I simply must post about the topic dominating social media and news programs all over Australia today, GASP & those emails.
If you haven't seen or heard about GASP today (it would be hard to ignore) here is the full story according to the Herald Sun.
A customer complains about poor service, company responds, emails go viral and become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
I'm not a PR expert in the slightest but even I can see GASP didn't hande this well at all. In current economic circumstances retail stores are suffering and this type of customer service will not entice anyone into stores. I can understand that it would be frustrating for salespeople with a continual stream of customers and no sales. However, as a customer trying on clothing is part of the shopping experience & in no way should a sale be forced. In fact the more a salesperson forces a sale the more likely I am to simply walk away.
So in a he said/she said saga we may never know the truth of what happened. What we do know is that GASP have done horrific damage to their brand. They are persistant and are unlikely to apologise, normally a brave action. However in the face of such public negative comments it seems like a truly stupid decision.
What do you think of GASP's actions?

Two and a Half Men & Foursquare

Whilst I was watching Two and a Half Men last night I noticed Ashton's laptop case covered in stickers. The foursquare logo really stood out, perhaps because I'm a daily foursquare user. Foursquare mentioned this fact on Instagram making me wonder whether it was simple a coincidence or planned. Ashton is a foursquare user...
For such a highly hyped television show recently it makes sense to have a subtle bit of advertising with such a large audience watching.
What do you think? Planned or coincidence?

EDIT: It turns out that Ashton actually has a personal financial stake in each of these digital companies. CBS wasn't too happy about him using these stickers as essentially a free promotional platform. However, it doesn't really compare to the behaviour of Charlie Sheen on set.

#SocialMediaLunching

My friend Caitlin (@caitlinjjohns) and I had a cute little lunch today at Sushi Train. Throughout the meal we tweeted our experiences, checked-in on Google+ and Foursquare, and posted photos of our meal on Instagram.
We tried to document as much of our little lunch time adventure on social media as possible. Although it was probably mundane updates to other people it was a lot of fun. It also gave us both a chance to use Google+, something we now both adore.
So next time your having a lovely lunch don't forget to share the experience on social media, and on Twitter use our self-made hashtag phenomenon #SocialMediaLunching.

Life's For Sharing

Procrastinating as only an University student can, I re-discovered my favourite pieces of advertising from T-Mobile.
Flash mobs are difficult to undertake and if done poorly can cause damage to the brand's overall image. When done well, as T-Mobile has done on several occassions, it becomes a powerful piece of communication.
The T-Mobile Dance is fantastic. Look out for the people who aren't involved in the flash mob but dance along anyway, especially the two old ladies.

This sing along in London to The Beatles' classic 'Hey Jude' is moving to say the least. The whole idea of this flash mob really illustrates what the brand is about and their motto 'Life's for sharing.'

The final video is something I discovered today. I absolutely love aiports & this video made me want to be stepping off a flight and seeing this reception.

Get It For Less...

I only saw the latest Big W ad the other night but it's already firmly imprinted in my mind, possibly for all the wrong reasons. If you haven't seen it yet check out the YouTube link below.

Warning: Will be stuck in your head for days. If you're like me you'll also feel the need to buy a $1 skipping rope.

On the back of consumer uproar and hatred at the Coles singing advertisement I can assume the only reason Big W followed was for the publicity. The Facebook group hating the Coles ad currently has over 26,000 members. Coles has even started a competition where the school with the best performance of 'down down' wins more sports equipment. Ethical issues currently in the media about this aside the advertisement certainly cut through.

I don't know if Big W followed or simply was slow off the mark releasing it.

Personally, I hope these retail giants dont start a trend of cringe worthy musical advertisements in the future. What are your opinions of these ads, love, hate, or indifferent?

Apple Lover

I learnt about authentic brands today during my Management of Brands lecture with Cullen Habel. Apple came up often as an excellent example of an authentic brand, something with quality leadership, a passionate artisan (being Steve Jobs) behind the brand. 
Throughout the lecture I reflected upon how I became such a lover of everything Apple. My first Apple purchase was a first generation, pink, iPod Mini. Now I own an iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPod Classic, and my pride and joy a MacBook Pro.
Apart from word of mouth recommendations the only research I conducted before purchasing my MacBook Pro was watching this YouTube video. Despite the ads being a little old they are still as relevant as ever. 
Apple is selling the benefits of their products rather than the features. Rather than saying it comes with a magnetic power cord they state it if the cord is tripped over it will *pop* out & not bring the laptop crashing to the ground. 
Watch it and then buy yourself a MacBook Pro. It will be the best decision you ever make, I promise.

Apple just works.