While Tasti has been conversing with customers on Twitter, Facebook, et. al., the biggest takeaway from the event was its rewards program. What makes the TastiRewards loyalty program unique is that card holders can register their card online and opt in to notifying their networks when they buy a cup of fro yo via Twitter, Facebook, or Foursquare. When they swipe the card at point of purchase, they get a point for every dollar they spend, plus a point for every tweet, status update, or check in. Tasti gives them a reason to tell their friends every time they stop by, and the store makes it easy by doing it for them automatically.

Tasti D-Lite recognized that friends might get sick of hearing about every time someone gets a sundae. They went an extra step and decided to reward followers as well. Every fourth or so time a customer checks in, Tasti adds a link to a coupon in the message. Here's why we think fans will embrace this program:

• It's optional. You're not obligated to participate, but you are rewarded if you do.
• You have choices. You aren't restricted to a boring message - unless that's the one you choose. There are about 10 others you can use instead, or rotate several.
• It takes your followers into account by rewarding them, too.
• It's free.

Tasti D-Lite seems to do a good job of balancing listening, engaging, and rewarding its customers. It's something other consumer--and B2B--brands can learn from.

UPDATE: Inc. published an article earlier this week that features Tasti and how it is attracting customers through Twitter and Facebook.

Social Media Club Nashville is a non-profit that brings together "the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit." The monthly events are free, and for the rest of the year Yazoo Brewery will host the meetings.

BtoB magazine had an excellent Q&A in its Feb. 8 issue about the impact of emerging media on direct marketing. The panelists included Bruce Biegel, managing director, Winterberry Group; Adam Christensen, manager-social media, IBM Corp.; Michael Mendenhall, CMO, Hewlett-Packard Co.; Laura Ramos, VP-principal analyst, Forrester Research; and David Meerman Scott, marketing strategist and author of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.”

Here are a few of our favorite quotes:

Read the entire article at www.b2bonline.com

If you haven't seen it, the premise is simple: The head of a large corporation trades in his suit and tie for a week as he "trains" with several employees in the field (and a documentary crew gets it all on camera). Sunday's episode featured Larry O'Donnell, president and COO of Waste Management. Zaniness ensued when an employee "fired" Larry for doing a poor job of picking up trash from the side of a hill, and heartstrings were tugged when a residential customer praised a field worker in front of the Big Boss.

The show is designed to be entertaining, so it's cheesy at times and seems to be a little set up in others. But the show is basically every employee's dream--to have the boss spend a day in your shoes so he sees what it's really like to clock in, pick up trash, or clean toilets every day.

While CEOs or other C-suite execs won't learn anything about running a company from the show, there are some communication lessons that apply:

1. Don't be afraid of looking dumb. Agreeing to go on the show is a risk, but the payoff is worth it. We think a lot of CEOs would be wary of failing at basic tasks in front of a national audience. But showing that you're willing to try and that you actually want to go through what your employees experience is a powerful morale booster. Public response to the show has been largely positive, which surely has helped build Waste Management's reputation.
2. Everyone wants to be appreciated. The most moving parts of the show were when customers shared their appreciation or when Larry recognized workers for a job well done. In fact, he promoted one worker to a salary position with a bonus option. Appreciation doesn't have to come in the form of cash. If an employee does a good job, a thank you note or a pat on the back from the boss can go a long way.
3. Listening to your employees is critical. Larry didn't realize how his cost-cutting measures were affecting front-line employees until he saw firsthand how his policies were being implemented. You can't always rely on regional or district managers to relay the message without it becoming sanitized and diluted. And you don't have to go on national TV to do it. Some of the executives we work with hold regular listening sessions with employees with the understanding that nothing they say can be used against them. Another writes an internal blog and encourages comments--positive or negative--from associates.

We can't wait to watch next Sunday's episode, which focuses on the oft-maligned wing joint Hooters. Maybe, just maybe, people's perceptions of the restaurant will change.

You may also want to check out:

'Undercover Boss' Interview: What Really Went Down at bnet.com

Photo and video from CBS

It's the day after the Super Bowl, and the people we follow/read/talk to are discussing the ads more than the game itself. Could that be because we're in PR?

For all the hype--and the expense--the ads were underwhelming. A few were entertaining, a few were emotional, but most were simply forgettable. Worst of all, some were memorable, but we can't remember the brand. 

Here were some of our favorites and the ones we thought flopped.

Favorites

Google's Parisian Love

If you're going to do a Super Bowl ad, this is the way to do it. There's no pre-game build up because it's already been online for a few months. Low production values mean Google isn't spending millions on top of the $2.5-3 million it costs just to air it. It's simple and emotional while at the same time heavily branded--there's no way to forget what product was being advertised.

Coca-Cola's Hard Times

Who doesn't love The Simpsons? With this ad, you get most of the cast of characters and an alternate-reality view of Montgomery Burns. Broke and happy. It's an optimistic nod to what the country has been going through the past year. Favorite parts: Smithers on the odds-and-ends table with an $84 price tag affixed to his sleeve and Milhouse's "Sorry, Coke" at the end.

Cars.com's With Knowledge Comes Confidence

This follow-up to their 2009 Super Bowl ad is clever. It includes a Bengal cub and cheerleaders (awww). It assumes its audience is intelligent. Most of all, Cars.com realized it didn't have to scratch everything they've done before and come up with someone radically different. They continued the campaign by coming up with an ad that's fresh and creative but still falls in the same theme as last year's ad, which helps brand consistency.

Flops

Amid the few ads that stood out, there were several flops. We won't bother with clips because they weren't much to look at.

Focus on the Family. Setting all controversy aside, the ad itself wasn't great because it was very difficult to tell what it was about. Why spend all that money on a Super Bowl ad if you're going to be so vague? Also, Tim Tebow tackling his mother Pam just didn't fit with the tone of the whole ad and was especially disconcerting after seeing Betty White get tackled in the Snickers ad right before.

GoDaddy.  Nothing new here--Danica Patrick and other attractive women with no real tie-in to the service. It was interesting to follow the #brandbowl hashtag on Twitter and read how many people want to switch their domains from GoDaddy to someone else because they were offended by the sexism in the ads.

Doritos/eTrade/Taco Bell. Just not that funny or memorable. eTrade continued its annoying baby campaign (don't they know people are sick of the talking babies and have been since Look Who's Talking 2?) The Doritos ads were heavily branded but unfunny. We can't tell what Charles Barkley was hawking in the Taco Bell ads besides, well, tacos. Something about a $5 box?

What were your favorite and least-favorite Super Bowl ads?

"Freeze! This is the police! You're under arrest! On your knees! Put your hands on top of your head!"

We know the scene too well. Some police officer has finally cornered a suspect after a 10-block chase through the city. It's a staple of every copy show on TV.

Marketing that is designed to interrupt our lives follows the same model.

Sale!

Best interest rate available!

Guaranteed!

We see these phrases every day. They're commands for us to stop what we are doing -- Freeze! -- who is calling your attention -- This is the police! -- and take some action -- On your knees! Put your hands on top of your head! Yes, these commands are authoritative (or try to be). But they are not the Voice of Authority.

Why not?

Conditioning compels us to obey the police officer as much as it does to ignore the interruption marketing. It is one of the great battles that all marketing professionals fight every day.

Voice of authority

Think of someone whose opinion you always valued. What made her opinion important and more valuable than others? Do you recognize any of the following in that voice?

• Grounded. The voice was principled. You believed its intentions were good.
• Nurturing. The voice cared. The voice was not trying to be heard for its own sake, but for yours.
• Wise. The voice gave the issue or choice facing you context. The voice knows the value of a great question.
• Supportive. The voice lays out the alternatives -- maybe even the consequences -- but encourages you to make your own decisions.

Why the Voice of Authority matters

We have access to more information than ever before. It's easier than ever to become an educated buyer. We don't want to be sold. We want someone who helps us buy.

The Voice of Authority speaks to us on our terms and helps us understand. We may not choose to follow the voice, but we store it away for a future time.

Who was a Voice of Authority for you?

Peter Shankman was the featured speaker at yesterday's NAMA/PRSA meeting in Nashville. Peter is the founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO), an e-mail that goes out three times a day to 125,000 subscribers, filled with requests from reporters for sources on whatever story they're working at the moment. We use it to see if our clients would be a good fit for any of the stories and, if so, pitch them.

Peter shared his four rules for social media success during the entertaining presentation. He attributes these to helping HARO make $4.1 million in revenue and for getting his e-mails read -- it has a 75 percent response rate, compared to the commercial e-mail average of 0.75 to 1.25 percent. (He sells one ad that goes on the top of every e-mail he sends out.) The overarching rule is to create something your audience needs, but then he breaks it down to:

Rule 1: Transparency

Peter says when HARO does something, they announce it. When they do something wrong, they announce that too. Getting out in front of the situation breeds trust and familiarity, which breeds fans. As an example, HARO hosted a conference call a few months ago about pitching reporters. For some reason the line went down and the call was abruptly cut short. Peter wrote about it on his blog, set up a call for the next day and offered to refund the call fee to anyone who couldn't make it. Instead of writing blog posts complaining that the call was cut short, people wrote about how they were impressed with HARO's fast response and customer service.

Rule 2: Relevance

Information has fragmented. In Peter's words, the average age of people who watch the evening news = dead. It's not appointment television anymore (as NBC started to realize after moving Jay and Conan around). People get their information from a variety of sources. So how do you reach your audience if it's so fragmented? The answer is simple: Ask them. He said every change HARO makes comes from member suggestions.

Rule 3: Brevity

The average attention span is 140 characters or 2.7 seconds (Twitter anyone?). To reach an audience with such a short attention span, you have to learn to write. Every try conveying an important idea in a text message or tweet? It takes skill.

Rule 4: Top of mind

When Barry Diller was president of Paramount Pictures, he used to call 10 people in his Rolodex every morning just to catch up and stay connected. Peter does the Facebook version -- every morning he checks Facebook to see which of his friends have birthdays that day. A third of them he'll write on their Facebook wall, another third he'll send a tweet to, and the last third he'll send an e-mail. It's his way of keeping touch with most of his contacts at least once a year.

The future of social media

Peter ended his talk with where he thinks we'll be in 36 months. He's a big fan of Pokens, which are basically USB drives that hold all of your social media contact information -- Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, etc. Instead of exchanging business cards when you meet a new contact, the two of you can touch your Pokens together and automatically share that information. Download it when you get home or to the office, and you'll have that person's contact info in Outlook.

Peter also thinks social networking sites like Facebook will become more relevant. They'll start to figure out who you spend your time with and whose opinions you listen to most. Your best friends' recommendations or reviews would come to the forefront. The implication for business is that if someone has a bad experience at your store/bank/clinic, it will be really easy for that person to write a review, and with no effort his or her friends are likely to see that feedback and act upon it. More than ever before, your goal will be to provide excellent service so positive feedback spreads through your customers' networks.

Ann Handley is the chief content officer for MarketingProfs, an educational community of more than 350,000 marketing professionals.

Social Media Examiner has a great interview with Ann about how her organization manages employees' social media use.

A couple of the highlights:

• Personal stuff isn't bad. It can humanize a brand. As long as it's relevant.
• It's important for companies to tie social media to company objectives.
• Employees should have a litmus test -- e.g. "If you're worried, then don't post it." -- to help them make decisions.

See the entire video interview:

How MarketingProfs Manages Its Brand on Twitter (an Ann Handley Interview)

Their premise was to create systems that combine the cost efficiencies of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customization to create ideal solutions for a client.

Our client Pinnacle Financial Partners has applied this principle to great success and phenomenal growth during its first 10 years.

There is a great opportunity for companies who employ the same concepts to their employee brands.

What do you mean our employees are brands?

It's true. Let's examine the parallels.

Like company brands, employees have values they stand for (and, hopefully, values that match their employer's). Employees' individual brands rise and fall with their ability to deliver results and keep promises. Employees have networks of people who engage them on many different levels, whether at work, at church, in social circles, etc.

And then there's this. How often have you heard companies say, "Our greatest strength is our people?"

Yes, employees are brands.

OK, so what?

Social media has made the mass customization of employee brands -- and the potential multiplying benefit for company brands -- possible for the first time in the history of marketing.

Social media has eliminated the single biggest barrier to creating an employee brand: the cost of technology. Almost all social media is free to use. The biggest commitment is time.

Social media is highly flexible. Individuals can engage in the social media that fits their personality and then needs of their network. For some, it's Twitter. For others, Facebook. It will scale to whatever the person involved wants it to be.

The killer difference

When done correctly, social media engenders trust because it's personal and authentic. Even the best corporate brands struggle with trust. And that trust can lead to a much broader network that can benefit the worker's employer.

Mass customizing employee brands

The saying goes that people want to do business with people, not brands. The mass customization of employee brands can push a company's brand to an entirely new level.

Companies that embrace this direction have to make a few key decisions:

1. Which employee brands is the company going to support?

Employee brands require direction set from above. No employee should be allowed to do whatever they want. Likewise, employees should not assume they have the company invest resources in creating their individual brands.

A good litmus test is to start with employees who are already the best brand ambassadors -- regardless of their position in the company.

2. What model will the company follow?

Intel requires employees to participate in training about its Code of Conduct and rules of engagement of social media. After that, employees are free to participate as they see fit.

Other companies may choose to take a more hands-on approach.

3. What are the consequences?

Eighty percent of desired behavior is consequence. Employees should know upfront who is monitoring their social media activities as well as the rewards for positive behavior/results and punishments for negative. Deciding the criteria and consequences upfront can save a lot of pain on the back end.

We seek authorities. Clients value them. Reporters use them as sources. Conferences ask them to speak.

The mindset of an authority is different from traditional sales and marketing. We explored the steps for an organization to become an authority in a previous post.

This time, we'll concentrate on the mental side of the process.

Mindset of an Authority

1. Perspective

Authorities understand the history and evolution of their chosen field.

For example, let's take authority. It originated as clans and tribes evolved from egalitarian to societal. This gave rise to institutional and religious authority. Philosophers elevated the concept further and set the stage for academics (scientific), who used the printed word to share their discoveries with the world.

Business leaders adopted authority to differentiate themselves from the competition.

The most recent evolution of authority can be found online. Google and Technorati are just two of the businesses using authority to connect readers to the most relevant content.

2. Synthesis

Authorities combine ideas to create a new category.

Kipp Bodnar and Jeff Cohen launched www.socialmediab2b.com to explore how B2B companies can embrace social media for their benefit. Their blog is less than one year old and ranked among the top 100 by AdWeek.

Dan Schwabel (www.personalbrandingblog.com) approached social media from an entirely different perspective. He elevated from a personal networking platform to a strategy for personal success.

3. Contribution

All authorities elevate people's knowledge of a subject by contributing something unique -- often without asking anything immediately in return. The advent of free and inexpensive publishing tools has made authority a potential strategy for anyone or any organization. Contributing relevant, valuable information to the conversation is what separates experts from authorities.

Creating the Mindset of an Authority

We said before that authority demands a different mindset. Here are our criteria for building the right approach.

The first part is research. Authorities commit to understanding their topic as well as or better than anyone. They start with a complete understanding of their own organization and solutions. Then they expand to their industry as a whole, collecting what others are saying and filing it away for later use.

The second part is time. More accurately, it's the commitment of time. Authorities have to publish. The cost of publishing is 1% technology. The other 99% is the time to research, synthesize, network, brainstorm, etc.

The third part is a good filter. Like writing, a good filter requires experience and practice. It's a vital skill to sort through all the junk while finding the relevant, timely information that is important to your audience.

Appearing in the Harvard Business Review will always be a career-validating achievement. At the same time, free and inexpensive publishing tools have democratized the concept of authority.

Here are five steps anybody or any organization can apply to become an authority.

1. Pick a topic.

Revered management authority Peter Drucker is not the model. He was the demigod who managed to be an authority on a broad topic like management.

The rest of us are mere mortals and have to pick a specific topic where we can reasonably establish some expertise. Here are some criteria to consider. It's meaningful to your clients and prospects. It's easy to understand. And it's something your organization does better than its competition. Does this sound like a unique selling proposition? Then that's a good place to start.

2. Research.

The first cut of research is within your organization. Ask your sales team about the most critical questions they are hearing from clients. Go back in time and understand the history of your topic as well as your company's products and services.

The second cut is within the industry. Others are talking about the concept of authority. Brian Clark has an excellent e-book called Authority Rules. His point of view is similar, but different, from ours.

3. Contribute something meaningful.

Every business authority has made a contribution that makes other businesses more successful.

In 2001, Michael Stelzner was writing whitepapers for dot-com companies. And, then the bubble burst. He decided to do something that many friends cautioned him against: He wrote a 10-page whitepaper that included the best insights from his years of writing whitepapers. 

4. Share.

Here's where most organizations struggle. You have to give away your knowledge.

Against the advice of friends and peers, Michael gave away his whitepaper.

At last count, Michael’s whitepaper has been downloaded 80,000 times (yes, 80,000 times). Michael is now considered the grandfather of whitepapers and runs a whitepaper empire that includes a book, a consulting practice, a community with 25,000 members, conferences, and more.

Free and inexpensive publishing tools -- blogs, Twitter, etc. -- make it easy for anyone to share their knowledge and, in turn, attract a loyal readership. You no longer have to be published in a major publication to begin creating a network of people who share an affinity for your topic or point of view.

5. Network.

Authorities embrace the concept of competition. They network with their peers, share insights, post comments, aggregate news, etc. They become a go-to source for people looking for a solution. They are constantly observing and reporting.

Does authority really work?

As Brian pointed out, Google loves authority. Its whole business model is built on the premise of measuring how many people value a particular piece of information by the number of incoming links. Larry Page and Sergey Brin based their strategy on the academic practice of tracking the number of citations to a report or published work.

Recommended reading:

Authority Rules by Brian Clark