How to Win Friends and Influence People [at SXSW]

This past week, I attended the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas for the first time. I had the opportunity to assist a large global company host a number of activations on the ground at SXSW which showed me a lot about how brands can break through the noise at such a large conference to leave a lasting impact on consumers. It also taught me a bit about myself and how I can attempt to stay focused on running and training even when there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

Below, you’ll find a couple of insights I gained from my time in Austin (aside from the fact that Austin truly has amazing breakfast tacos and BBQ).

For Brands:

1. Don’t Be Intrusive: This piece of advice is twofold. First, when meeting someone for the first time, try to establish a relationship before you begin selling. While assisting one of my clients who serves as the Director of Social Media and Digital Communications for a very large company, I often felt like a bodyguard who had to protect her from people spouting out pitches on why their app/product/agency/etc. should be used. Second, if you are a large brand who hopes to capitalize on the buzz surrounding SXSW, do not interrupt attendees’ conference experience with activations that A) don’t make sense or B) don’t tie back to your company or product.
2. Solve a Problem: One of the best ways to leave potential customers at an event as large as SXSW with positive impressions of your brand is to find a way to solve their problems that reflects back on your product or company. Companies that do both of these things well – solve problems while allowing consumers to have experiences with their products – will come out as winners. At SXSW, I saw a lot of organizations trying to solve users’ problems (with free food or free charging stations), but I honestly can’t remember who was handing out free breakfast tacos on the corner or who had the jacket that could charge mobile devices because there was never a true connection between the company and the freebie
3. Provide Value: A lot of companies head down to SXSW to build relationships with influential social media users. There are many ways to do this, and a lot of times they involve lots of free products. That’s fine, but try to think creatively about how you can fulfill a need in a thoughtful way. While in Austin, I overheard my clients chatting about how they’d like to meet other in-house social media managers. With their permission, I organized a dinner that brought together social media directors and community managers from several large organizations. This proved to be a big success – the conversation lasted for three hours as everyone discussed ideas, challenges, and successes they’ve seen in their roles. Both the clients and the other attendees were very happy to leave the dinner with several new connections.

For Staffers:

1. Try to Maintain Parts of Your Normal Routine…: Traveling always throws off my routine. Add in traveling for a massive conference where I’d be working long hours and I knew the only way to maintain some sanity would be to keep some aspects of my regular habits in place. I decided to focus on two things: running in the mornings and getting in as many fruits and veggies as possible. Everything else went out the window: personal social media activities, reading, cross training, strength training, and yoga. Luckily, I made a running buddy who kept me motivated to wake up early and go running in the rain. Trying to keep up with everything I normally do would have been disastrous, but having two tasks to focus on allowed me to stay on track with my training plan and my health while still giving 100% to my work tasks.
2. … But Be Flexible: Big conferences are notorious for crazy schedules, which can get even crazier if you are working the event. With my OCD tendencies, I often find myself stressing when my normal routine is disrupted. However, before heading to Austin, I prepared myself for this inevitability. Sure enough, last-minute meetings and events and deadlines popped up, causing me to rearrange my personal schedule. The day for my long run changed three times, I switched my rest day twice, and changed the time I woke up daily. And… I survived.
3. Follow-up: SXSW, at its core, is a networking event. Even if you’re staffing an event and never step foot inside a panel or party, you will be connecting with lots of people from a variety of industries. If you meet anyone who you enjoyed speaking with, be sure to follow-up once the dust from Austin settles. Don’t rely on the business card exchange – I received many business cards that simply got misplaced as I ran from event to event assisting my clients. Now, I’m hoping many of those who I met will reach out via email or on social channels. I recommend following people on Twitter and sending a quick @reply to remind them of your conversation, adding them to specific Twitter lists (I immediately created two new ones), trying to connect on LinkedIn, or sending a quick email with your contact information. Also, in your introductory email, please don’t pitch the person. This is your chance to start a relationship and the fastest way to ruin it is to reach out with the sole purpose of pitching your product, service, or need for a job.

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These are just a few takeaways I had after leaving Austin, but there are many others. What do you recommend for both brands, staffers, and attendees heading to large conferences and events such as SXSW? How can they make the most of their experience and leave the largest impact?

runDisney Heavily Promotes Princess Half Marathon Online, Builds Community Along the Way

A week later, I’m still riding high on finishing my first half marathon. By the time these feelings finally wane, I’ll be gearing up for my next race – the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half on St. Patrick’s Day.

After posting what might be the wordiest race recap in the history of race recaps, I don’t want to bore my readers with more thoughts about my experience with the race. Instead, I’d like to take a look at runDisney’s digital marketing campaign for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. (Note: these are my own opinions and observations as I did not interview anyone for this article.) 

A company like Disney has significant marketing budget to throw behind race promotion compared to other, smaller organizations that put on races. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I’m generally impressed with how runDisney used social media to build awareness for the event, drive it to sell-out status for the fourth year in a row, and – most importantly – foster a sense of community among runners and spectators on various social channels.

Facebook

Before I even thought a half marathon could be in my future, I “liked” the runDisney Facebook page to stay updated on events, announcements, and participate in the community of runners who also love Disney. The team does a great job of updating the page on a regular basis with relevant content and news, but also posts status updates the foster conversations about active lifestyles, running, and training. When I finally registered for the race, this Facebook page became my go-to source of information regarding the race and to get ideas for my training plan.

What I really enjoyed about runDisney’s page is that that it’s become a true social community. Fans use the Wall to communicate openly with each other, sharing tips and asking questions. Fans quickly answer others’ questions thoughtfully and correctly. When you’re on the page, you notice a real sense of community as you see strangers offering words of support and encouragement as people post their accomplishments to the page.

Twitter

While there is no official runDisney handle, the @DisneySports account is used to share news and updates about Disney races. Leading up to race weekend, the profile pushed out numerous runDisney-related Tweets to keep runners informed. However, I didn’t find the Twitter channel as effective of a resource as the Facebook page.

One aspect of the runDisney Twitter strategy I did like is that the team promoted the #runDisney and #princesshalf hashtags, resulting in heavy usage throughout the weekend. While on the road to Orlando, I tracked these conversations on my phone to get an idea of what people were saying about the Expo, traffic, and the race, which help keep me better informed about the event in real-time.

At the start line of the race, the emcee told runners to use the #runDisney tag. Once I crossed the finish line, I had fun going back through the #runDisney stream to look at photos and Tweets other runners had shared during the race (I still don’t know how they Tweet and run at the same time!). It was fun to send and receive congratulatory notes from other runners who finished their first half marathons or achieved personal best times. Like on Facebook, runDisney used Twitter hashtags to foster the community, which left me with even more positive feelings about the race.

Blogger Engagement via FitFluential

About 2 weeks before the Disney Princess Half, I noticed a few of my daily must-read running bloggers posting that they would be running the race, staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and attending several special events on behalf of runDisney. This came about through FitFluential, an organization that introduces fitness brands to relevant online influencers.

As I’ve said before, blogger engagement – when done well – is an effective means of social marketing. I enjoyed the FitFluential  group’s runDisney coverage and think it helped improve my experience as well as built awareness among their readers about what a full Disney race weekend could look like (and cost).

In addition to reviewing extra events like the Pasta in the Park party and The Race Retreat, these women used their blogs to share little tips and tricks I never would have known otherwise, such as that Disney hosts free first-come, first-served meet-up runs with Olympian Jeff Galloway that are announced on the Disney Parks blog or that the family 5K events aren’t chip-timed (um, no way will I be paying $50 for a race that doesn’t include official times!).

Heather, one of the FitFluential bloggers, organized an independent meet-up the day before the race that allowed bloggers, social media enthusiasts, and readers to all meet in person. This event apparently went well and, coupled with the runDisney/FitFluential partnership, showed the importance of bringing the online offline when developing an active and engaged community.

The heavily integrated social media campaign that runDisney executed for the Princess Half Marathon succeeded so well because it didn’t focus solely on pushing out content. The marketing team used social channels to build a community of engaged people with similar interests and then provided them with various ways to communicate with each other, making for a better overall experience during the race weekend.

Personally, I already can’t wait to cross the finish line of another runDisney event.

I swear this race photo is totally relevant to this post… because… I found out that official race photos were online on Twitter and then posted my photos to Facebook to share with my friends.  See, social media marketing in action… or something like that.

If you ran the Princess Half, did you follow along on social media?

Case Study: Broad Street Run Registration Complaints Hijack Facebook Page

Facebook proved again this week to be a top spot for people to express concerns, share complaints, and demand answers when issues arise. When runners encountered major delays while registering for the popular Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, PA, yesterday, the official Facebook page took quite a beating.

How did the team monitoring the page handle the surge of customer service issues? I’d say they did better than most:

Throughout the day, the admins explained the situation, responded to numerous comments left on the Wall, and shared updates about the registration process and website issues. I am also impressed no one is complaining that negative comments have been deleted or removed, which is a knee-jerk reaction many brands have when faced with a deluge of angry posts.

Though, I did encounter one area for improvement involving the default settings of the Facebook wall.

As I tried to register for the race, the site seemed unreasonably slow. Turning to the Facebook page for answers, I could not easily find the Broad Street Run’s administrator comments. I began to doubt whether organizers were using Facebook to provide updates. After sifting through hundreds of angry comments, I finally found info that the page had shared about the registration process. While trying to find official updates, I read a lot of the negative reactions to the race organizers. This left me wondering if I’d made the right decision in signing up for the run.

So, let’s recap:

• I tried signing up for the race and realized the site seemed very slow
• Wondering if others had similar issues with the registration process, I turned to social media and visited the Broad Street Run’s Facebook page looking for official notifications
• When I got to the page, the default view for the Wall featured many negative comments from other runners
• I could not easily locate official updates from the page owners
• I doubted that the Broad Street Team was even providing updates through its Facebook page
• Getting inundated with negative reactions to the race, I began to question my decision to register

With so many upset runners flooding the Wall, the team behind the Broad Street Run should have changed the default settings of the Facebook page so that people automatically saw only official status updates. This allows Facebook users (both fans and nonfans of the page) to quickly receive official information and stay informed, especially with how quickly updates disappear from the News Feed. Should anyone want to read comments from others, there is an option to switch the view to “Everyone:”

This is especially important to consider knowing that over 425 million Facebook users visit the site using a mobile device. Using the iPhone Facebook application, it is very tedious to scroll through Wall updates from both consumers and the page trying to find official news.

In both web browsers and mobile applications, if a page chooses to show its updates by default, only those posts that the page makes will appear unless someone manually switches the view back to “Everyone.”

Normally, I recommend brand pages default to comments from “Everyone” since Facebook is a community platform that thrives on engagement and conversations, but sometimes it is more important to provide updates to users rather than featuring the social conversation taking place on the Wall. In this case, sharing news about the registration process and status of the website should have taken precedence, especially when the page was doing a great job keeping people informed through consistent posts.

What do you think about how Broad Street Run’s Facebook page handled the issues yesterday? Would you have changed the default settings of the page?

My Shifting Social Media Presence: From Student to Professional

For a year and a half, I’ve been active in social media as a public relations student, a recent graduate interning at a big firm in a new city, and a young professional getting settled in her new career.  As I grew and changed with each of these roles, so has my presence in social media.  I believe this shift is one many students go through as they get their first jobs, though the results are extremely varied.  Since the majority of my readers are PR students, I wanted to share how my social media activity has changed since I’ve embarked on my career and why it’s okay to experience change.

When I started blogging on PR Interactive, almost 2 years ago, I wanted to enhance my classroom education by analyzing and reporting industry trends.  Back in 2007, the PR trend to discuss was social media.  Most of my posts focused on digital PR campaigns, Twitter, Facebook, and viral videos and how these were influencing public relations students and professionals.  Rarely did I write about traditional PR campaigns.  To create a balance in my extracurricular education, I started following agency blogs and college professors.  This opened my eyes to another benefit of social media: the world of networking.

I began using my blog as a networking tool in addition to supplementing my college education, especially as graduation grew closer and the impending job search became necessary.  Twitter started to grow in popularity back in early 2008, so I created an account and started interacting with professors, students, and professionals from around the country regularly and easily.  My digital network of PR influencers steadily grew via my blog, Brazen Careerist, and Twitter, and it’s no secret that this group of amazing people helped lead me to my outstanding internship and, subsequently, my current positon at NMS.

The last year, as I’ve embraced the title of “young professional” and [reluctantly] let go of  “college student,” has probably seen my most dynamic shift in terms of social media presence.  I don’t blog frequently or consistently, but I still comment on numerous blogs each day to engage in conversations about the PR industry.

Additionally, my Twitter network has grown exponentially to include the bloggers and journalists I frequently work with on behalf of my clients.  Instead of focusing on just PR and social media, it’s imperative that I have an invested interest in the entertainment industry since the majority of my clients fall into this category.  Following entertainment professionals – whether it’s a movie studio or a film critic – on Twitter has allowed me to build better relationships with them and my clients, which as I often say, is the foundation for good PR.  And, of course, my Google reader is now filled with entertainment/film/TV blogs that I frequently comment on, too.

Currently, though I might not be as active on my own blog as I used to be, I’ve found ways to incorporate social media into my daily life outside of what I already do every day at NMS.  All of it provides me with a better understanding of what I do as a PR professional at a digital agency.

I’ve also started using Twitter and blogs to learn more about my personal interests, such as traveling and the hospitality industry.  I recently launched a separate blog,  Take Flight, that allows me to investigate the tourism industry more in-depth, much as I did with PR back in 2007.

Though each of these stages allowed me to use social media differently to benefit my education and career, one aspect remained the same: social media allowed me to dive deeper into my passions while constantly learning about a variety of topics in ways I never thought possible. Communicating with much wiser people, who I might have never had the chance to meet and learn from, impacted my life, career, and knowledge of the online world in a way that will always be the most significant part of my social media presence.

As 2009 grads start their new lives post-college, I hope they  realize it’s okay to change the way they use social media, and that their audiences and network will most likely shift, too, as they become more involved with the type of work they’ll be doing.  As long as social media is providing value and education, there’s still benefit to participating, no matter how often (or not) you use Twitter or write on your blog.

(h/t to Sydney Owen for asking some great questions recently that sparked this post.)

Super Bowl Advertisers Score Big on Twitter; Missed Engagement Opportunities with Consumers

It’s no secret that I’m a social media geek, which is why I had no problem spending Super Bowl Sunday in the NMS office working with my co-workers to compile the 2009 Super Bowl Social Media Snapshot.

The snapshot, a quantitative and qualitative analysis, looked at how consumers used social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Wikipedia, and blogs to discuss not only the game, but also the brands featured in those million dollar commercials everyone keeps talking about – for now.

What I love about social media is that it allows companies to connect with their consumers on a deeply personal level. This is what most of us find fascinating about social media, right?

Unfortunately, most advertisers have not fully embraced this concept yet… which is why the Snapshot revealed that marketers may have missed a huge way to engage and connect with their consumers by not providing long-term relationship development opportunities.

Here are some of the findings I found most interesting:

• In the 24-hour period surrounding the game, there were over 191,000 blog mentions of 41 Super Bowl advertising-related brands, personalities and terms
• During the game itself, there were about 41 Super Bowl advertising-related brands, personalities and terms
• Movie trailers and car companies saw the highest volume of blog mentions; notable performers included Audi, Star Trek, Hyundai and Transformers 2

However, here is where advertisers missed out:

Despite Facebook’s ability to serve as a tool for companies to build lists, much like Obama did by building a database of 13 million, through the group and brand pages, this year’s crop of advertisers failed to leverage the free tools available to compliment and maximize their TV buys.

• The analysis showed minimal discussion on Facebook brand pages regarding spots aired during the game
• Companies were selective in the platforms that they used – most posted their ads on YouTube at some point, some also ran a Twitter account in the character of their ad spot; however, users proliferated on dozens of social media platforms and no one single company successfully activated and realized the potential that was out there
• For a significant number of online community members, social media usage surrounding this year’s game was centered on sharing and documenting their own Super Bowl Sunday experiences, including: preparing snacks for a planned Super Bowl party, watching the game with friends at a local bar and families tailgating in head-to-toe Steelers or Cardinals fan gear

Engaging consumers on a variety of platforms, such as promoting a Facebook fan page community or a highly interactive Twitter account (kudos to the brands that did this!), should have been the rule, not the exception.

The full report can be downloaded in .pdf form here: http://newmediastrategies.net/docs/NMS-Super_Bowl_Snapshot_Report_2-2-09.pdf

Update: The Wall Street Journal ran a story showing how advertisers used Twitter to “keep Super Bowl buzz going.” The brands are: SoBe, H&R Block, E*Trade Financial, and Overstock.com.  Some of these brands have a lot of work to do when it comes to engagement and response, but at least it’s a start.

Introducing Robert Gibbs: The First Press Secretary in a Tech-Conscious White House

Robert Gibbs recently held his first press conference as the new press secretary for the White House. The PR student in me listened intently to this man, wondering how he will adapt this traditional government role to an aggressively innovative administration.

Adapting to a Technologically Conscious White House

Similar to many government press secretaries, Gibbs has a strong background in traditional media relations, but how will he integrate his established skill set to a role that will probably heavily rely on new technology? Though his role in the White House focuses on interacting with print and broadcast outlets, his involvement with the Obama campaign most likely showed him the importance online communications will play in this administrations’ daily activities.

I hope Gibbs will reach out to bloggers and online news sites for press conferences, interviews, and other events. He should also maintain a prominent presence on change.gov and the interactive new whitehouse.gov. Bridging this gap between the president and citizens while providing access to variety of journalists will be difficult and time-consuming, but it is necessary to maintain the level of transparency Obama’s team keeps stressing.

Keeping Up with the President

While serving as press secretary for someone as savvy as Barack Obama, Gibbs is going to have to be aware of the precise action a transparent government demands from the official spokesperson. That’s why it surprised me to discover Gibbs already slipped up this month when he avoided answering the most popular user-submitted question on Change.gov, forcing the President to answer it on live television. As Nisha Chittal points out, aides can’t practice “politics as usual” in the Obama administration. I hope Gibbs will learn from his mistake, and will practice the type of transparency Americans are now demanding from their government.

So, as President Obama receives immense praise for the actions he took during his first week in office, how do you think Robert Gibbs has done as the new press secretary? Do you think he will continue practicing politics as usual, or will he match the standards set by his administration?

4 Questions Obama Needs to Answer Before We Can Have a Wiki White House

Last week, I attended the Wiki White House panel at the Google office in downtown D.C. The event, co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and Wired Magazine, featured an exciting conversation about the future of social media under President-elect Barack Obama’s administration. You can watch the video of the panel here.

We all understand the Obama era will fundamentally change how government, especially the president, communicates with citizens. It’s a moot point that has been blogged, tweeted, and podcasted about for months. Yes, the Obama campaign (and now administration) used social media to energize and educate millions of people about political issues. But how will that continue once Mr. Obama takes his seat in the Oval Office? Will the ideas translate well to other branches and departments? The panel and audience raised several questions that need to be answered:

Will government leaders understand social media?

The reason social media is so popular is because it builds communities and allows people to interact with others across a variety of platforms. People who are active online understand this, but many large businesses don’t get it.We’ve all read case studies where clients push to use the technology because everyone else is – they don’t think about the reasons for or implications of being active online.

So does the government, and everyone who would be using social media tools on its behalf, understand the importance of communication? For example, many of the government officials I follow on Twitter post a steady stream of press release headlines. They don’t respond to @replies or answer constituents’ questions. This isn’t communicating, it’s broadcasting. What measures will the Obama team take to overcome this?

How will First Amendment rights be observed?

Politics and government are topics that breed discourse and heavy debate. People don’t always agree, and sometimes disagreements can lead to personal, vicious attacks. What will the government do to monitor and regulate these discussions without infringing on the First Amendment?

How will the government engage those who aren’t online?

Not everyone is online, and not everyone who is online participates in social media. Will the government urge more people to be active online? Or, as a panelist mentioned, will people follow the adage “build and they will come?” What about Americans who do not have access to the Internet, especially those with disabilities? The new administration will have to develop comprehensive plans to overcome these obstacles.

What will communications’ positions look like in the new administration?

As someone with a PR background, I’m interested to see how positions in PR and communications will change in a Wiki White House. The panel stressed the need for a CIO and CTO (Chief Technology Officer), but I wonder how traditional positions like press secretaries will adapt to this era of wide open communication. Will these positions become more involved in the process, or will the role grow obsolete?

As always, I’m convinced that integration will be key. Those who work for or as press secretaries will be talking more openly with bloggers and implementing more Web 2.0 strategies to keep up with an administration that recognizes its importance.

I know this is a bare-bones list, but the panel only lasted an hour and a half – I’m sure it could have lasted for days with the numerous possibilities social media makes available to the government.

I’m interested in how you think government communication, both internally and externally, will change in the next four years. Will you be happier with Government 2.0?

Lessons From Recent Marketing Missteps and Successes

One of the best parts about being active in the PR blogging community is that I can constantly educate myself on industry trends from some of today’s top practitioners. I have a public relations section in my Google Reader that is an archive of case studies for best and worst practices in both traditional and digital PR.  Recently, I’ve been able to add numerous resources to my collection due to recent PR activities of some well-known brands: Motrin, Papa Johns and Burger King.

MOTRIN

In the past week, my RSS was filled with posts about the Motrin debacle.  As people debated whether the incident was blown out of proportion or a significant misstep in marketing history, I tried to decide what big lessons I could take away from this controversy as a young PR pro.

Audience – The ad clearly targeted moms, and sparked a massive revolution among mommy bloggers who demanded the ad be taken down (which it was and replaced with this message from the VP-Marketing). Although a number of people spoke out in support of the ad saying they didn’t understand why it was seen as offensive, the fact is that a vast majority of the target audience DID find it ignorant and distasteful. As some marketing bloggers have pointed out, focus groups that were done correctly could have helped Motrin prevent this advertising faux pas from escalating the way it did. If Motrin had researched the target audience more clearly, they could have come with a more thoughtful ad that created a positive buzz instead of an overwhelming negative roar.

Conversation is Key– Another lesson learned is that with the explosion of social media in the past few years, marketing professionals have to be aware of this environment – one wrong step can be widely broadcast on Twitter and blogs. Whether working on a traditional or digital marketing campaign, conversations are essential to the campaign’s success. As professionals, we need to learn that relationships are the foundation for good PR and two-way conversations help build these relationships. Motrin and numerous other companies suffered when they talk at their customers and not to them. On the other hand, Motrin’s downfall in this instance occurred when a large group of people started talking to each other on public forums like Twitter, Web sites, and blogs. Conversations – those that companies have with consumers and the ones consumers have with each other – are equally as important for marketers to monitor.

PAPA JOHNS

The client campaign I’m currently working on has me immersed in Facebook pages, so when I noticed Papa Johns advertising a free pizza to encourage people to become fans of its page, I was intrigued. According an AdAge article, the promotion is supposed to coincide with the fact that the night before Thanksgiving is a goldmine for the pizza industry.

Know Your Strengths – Even though the company doesn’t spend as much money on advertising as its competitors, Papa Johns’ vice president of marketing and communications recognized the value in WOM and used Facebook to establish a strong fan base in the weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.

We have to rely on our fans,” he said. “We have to rely on word of mouth much more than Pizza Hut and Domino’s does just from an ad-spend level.”

Provide a Sense of Community – Another reason why the Facebook fan promotion worked so well for Papa Johns is that the company used a platform that the sole purpose is to build – and eventually maintain – communities. On the site, fans can upload their own photos, vote for their favorite specialty pizza, and post their opinions about the product and campaign on the wall and discussion boards. Although some people complained about the offer being misleading (it’s actually buy-one-get-one-free rather than just a free pie), the wall became a makeshift troubleshooting forum when fans had difficulty receiving the e-mail coupon. One fan advised others to check their spam folders, which helped alleviate some of the negativity surrounding the missing coupons. A campaign that builds a community not only enhances word of mouth marketing, it also provides a legacy network that will last significantly longer than the promotion itself.

BURGER KING

I first got wind of the latest Burger King marketing initiative on my friend’s blog, So Good. It seems that the King has been displacing wallets in various locations around the U.S. When people look inside the wallets, they find cash, BK gift cards, coupons, maps to BK locations, and a message telling them not to worry about returning the wallet to its owner.

Timing Can Be Everything- Although people have pointed out that other companies have launched similar initiatives, what will make Burger King’s so successful is the timing. As one PR blogger pointed out, in our economy’s current state, handouts are extremely well received. The combination of cash and BK gift cards was a nice touch – consumers will think highly of the company that gave them “free money” and will be inclined to visit the stores to use the coupons and gift cards. This tactic will produce more brand loyalty than a traditional advertising campaign, and of course, timing was integral in building this positive reputation because it allowed people to view a brand positively in a time when spending money isn’t on the forefront of their minds.