Brand Management 2.0

To Celebrate The #Jan25 Revolution, Egyptian Names His Firstborn “Facebook”

Cultural relativity is an amazing thing. While American parents worry about their kids being on Facebook, Egyptian parents are naming their kids “Facebook” to commemorate the events surrounding the #Jan25 revolution.

Social Media Now Top Marketing Pick for Local Businesses

Social media marketing is the big winner with local businesses in the marketing method sweepstakes, according to a new survey. But social media’s win comes at the expense of traditional offline marketing methods, which continue to decline.

WWE’s social media-driven WrestleMania 27 spark

By James Caldwell, PWTorch

With WWE needing a quick spark for WrestleMania 27, “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson’s Raw TV return on Monday night created instant buzz that could salvage WWE’s most financially-significant event of 2011.

What Nuns, Yes Nuns, Can Teach You About Social Media

By Bernard Warner, Advertising Age

In New York or London, I find, there’s a healthy mix of job titles that attend social media functions: communications and marketing professionals, random journos, maybe lawyers, and possibly public sector employees, are usually in the audience. In Rome, you get nuns.
OK, it’s not just nuns here. But in a city where religious organizations and charities are such a dominant part of the local workforce you are bound to get men and women of the cloth who happen to code and tweet and do quite a bit of outreach through social networks peppering you with tough questions about proper social media editorial strategy.

Social media and politics likely to merge in 2012

By Josh Higgins, Collegiate Times

The midterm elections are now over, and it’s time for President Barack Obama and his staff to begin planning for the upcoming presidential election in 2012. Obama’s campaign staff have already been contemplating a strategy for the incumbent presidential candidate to secure his second term in the Oval Office.

JP Morgan Starting ‘Social Media Fund’ To Invest In Twitter, Facebook, And Other Private Companies

By Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes

Reports that J.P. Morgan is raising capital for a new so-called “social media” fund have been confirmed by sources close to the matter. The new fund will focus on privately held internet and social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, and is expected to have between $500 million and $1 billion in capital from wealthy retail investor, according to various news outlets.

Social Marketing to the Business Customer

From: Business Insider

Middle managers and marketing folks dealing with B2B companies that are still delaying their social media programs – PAY ATTENTION! We’ve reviewed our share of social media books here, but this is the first one targeted specifically to business-to-business applications. This is a book I received from the publisher, but I would have purchased on my own because of my extensive involvement in the B2B marketing space.

Auto show glimpses: Social media strategy

By Mary Jane Grandinetti, Chicago Tribune

Touting the auto as the ultimate mobile device, Ford marketing chief Jim Farley outlined the automaker’s social media strategy to open the media preview of the 2011 Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday.

For some clergy, social media a blessing

By JOHN TIMPANE, The Philadelphia Inquirer

You can connect with lots of people on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and texts.

Now, it seems, with the pope’s blessing, you can use all these media to make the ultimate connection.

Groupon Responds to Super Bowl Commercial Controversy

BY AUSTIN CARR, Fast Company

Yesterday, Groupon dipped into its $950 million piggy bank and bought ads for the Super Bowl. The group-discount service touted the spots as a way to give in to its “Napolean complex” and “invade the rest of the world” with a proper primetime commercial.