Who's Winning at #NationalCoffeeDay

My second favorite holiday is finally here - National Coffee Day.  It's a joyous day filled with caffeinated bliss and happy social media posters.  Many businesses are promoting the holiday on social media with free coffees or simply posting pictures of really really really good looking coffee concoctions.  But who is schooling the other businesses on social media today and will definitely have the most successful business day?

Many different coffee shops and restaurants celebrated National Coffee Day with deals and promos.  Krispy Kreme was giving away free 12 oz coffee ($1.00 extra for mocha or iced); Tim Horton's gave you a coupon for a free coffee if you liked them on Facebook; and McDonald's had free small coffee for breakfast hours only.  Dunkin' Donuts took the party to a whole new level by offering a free medium cup of their new dark roast coffee (hot or iced) all day long.  While Dunkin' Donuts won in the big promotional side of National Coffee Day, the company also destroyed the competition on social media.  Using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vine, Dunkin' Donuts promoted their love of coffee as well as our favorite word: "free."

Compared to these other mentioned competitors, Dunkin' is definitely the more well-known brand for delicious coffee, but how did the donut chain destroy the icon of McDonald's?  On Facebook, McDonald's has over 44 MILLION likes, while Dunkin' Donuts only has a mere 12 million.  The pictures they posted on Facebook earlier today were almost identical, I'd say McDonald's was actually cuter, but Mickey D's couldn't even break 1,000 likes whereas Dunkin' has over 53,000 with 17,000 shares.  Dunkin' regularly focuses on their love and our love of coffee, and wants us to celebrate together.  McDonald's is too busy with their full menu and other offers to compete socially with Dunkin' Donuts one focus - coffee.  DD also built up to the holiday while McDonald's posted once and then the party was over.  Dunkin' literally took this term of a holiday to a celebratory level.

Dunkin' Donuts made this holiday fun, and that's why social media reacted so well to their posts.  The company shared on Twitter how they paired up with Sony on Sony's Vine, which was a stop motion video of a Sony camera pouring a nice hot cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee to celebrate.  It's a brilliant video and collaborating with a brand that we wouldn't associate with coffee tied everyone together for the holiday.  Even the New York Stock Exchange celebrated National Coffee Day, with a Dunkin' Donuts coffee mascot there running around.  All of these little connections really tied the idea of celebrating together, which I believe was Dunkin's main goal.

But what about one of the most affluent coffee brands?  When most people hear the word coffee, they automatically visualize a white cup with a green mermaid chilling in the center.  Starbucks has built their brand image and it does have great coffee, but how did they reach to the social outlets on this perfect holiday?  Starbucks did nothing to promote the trending hashtag nor did they really acknowledge the holiday any more than they do every other day making coffee.  I don't understand why they didn't go along, even if they didn't give out free coffee like Dunkin' Donuts, they should celebrate with the world.  Starbucks did little to celebrate, but if you scroll through the hashtag on Instagram, you'll see a good percentage of people posing with their Starbucks and using the hashtag anyways.  Starbucks brand is so strong it really doesn't need to promote, but they should have just for the fun.

By the end of the day, Instagram has over 83,000 posts using the hashtag #NationalCoffeeDay.  While it's not marked on official calendars, this holiday is important not only for these companies involved, but for social media.  People got to connect over the joy of having and sharing coffee, businesses got to prosper with booming caffeine-craving business, and the effects of happiness radiated all over the world.

Retro Reunions Are Taking Over Social Media - And It's Marvelous

I know it's not #tbt, but Missing-These-Shows-Mondays should be a new thing, right?  Over the past few weeks, some of our favorite TV shows and movies from the last two decades have decided to reunite and share their old ways via social media.  From 7th Heaven to the Mighty Ducks, or the Little Rascals to Friends, people all over social media are dying of happiness to see some of their favorite characters come back together for a reenactment or even just dinner.

While these beloved actors are most likely posting just for fun and to show that they do have friends, it is a fantastic marketing trick.  Some of these posts are in celebration of 20th anniversaries, (can we please get a re-release of D2: The Mighty Ducks) or just for old times sake, (7th Heaven should definitely come back and start a 27th Heaven series) but either way, it causes a riot.  All over social media, people are chatting about possible reunions or just reminiscing about how great that show or movie was.  It's great buzz for those old hits to finally come back into the mainstream.  I saw some throwback about Hilary Duff a few days ago, and it got me watching all of her old music videos with no shame whatsoever.  Just one little photo on Twitter or Instagram can cause a chain of thousands of other related searches and then more shares for these retro hits, which is always a bonus for their PR people.

Our generation loves a good throwback, that's why social media has created #tbt and even #fbf.  Social media is a great way to show our activities and whatnot, but it's a perfect place to reminisce and to connect with like-minded lovers of those 90's classics.  These old classics do these reunions solely for social media and for us users to share like crazy.  I love following these actors and seeing how they connect with the audience, like me, the crazy obsessed Friends fan, after all these years.  They give us the glimmers of hope that there will be some reunion, or if not at least a Buzzfeed or two that we can watch to fill our quota of walking down memory lane.  Social media does focus on the future, but sometimes looking at the past is just as much fun.

Why Social Media Might Take Down the Football Empire

Due to recent events, people all over the United States are outraged with the NFL.  The league slapped the wrists of Ray Rice who was caught on video knocking out his then fiancé and suspended him for 2 games, but when the entire world became angry for simply two weeks, Rice has now been suspended from the NFL indefinitely.  While I'm glad the Ravens have kicked him off their team and he is now suspended, I'm angry on how the NFL handled this entire situation, namely Commissioner Roger Goodell.  But I am no the only upset American.  The protest against domestic abuse has viral, and it very well could hit the NFL hard.

What's been trending recently on Twitter is the hashtag #GoodellMustGo and every kind of person or business is using it.  People want the NFL commissioner to resign since he apparently cannot give punishment well and has tried to cover up that he never saw the footage until we all did.  (The whole footage was sent to NFL headquarters a few months back.)  The equality group UltraViolet has made banners with the hashtag that have flown over several NFL games this past weekend to increase the awareness and to prove that a big group of people are willing to do what it takes to protect women in domestic violence.  

What has really sparked the social media fury is the new CoverGirl ad.  CoverGirl is the official beauty sponsor of the NFL, and has recently created the "Get Your Game Face On" make-up which color coordinates with all 32 NFL teams.  One of the ads was a girl made up with the Baltimore Ravens colors, and one person has edited the image to reflect domestic abuse.  This image is powerful and I am glad that someone did this.  It has been trending on Twitter and Facebook, and while the focus is on the NFL, people want to boycott CoverGirl as well.  CoverGirl didn't create the image, but they haven't taken down their images advertising the NFL, which has created some conflict.  The beauty of social media is that it is a two-way communication, and Covergirl released a statement last night about their stance on domestic abuse.  While they can't really come out saying that the NFL Commissioner who is paying for their sponsorship needs to go, I believe the makeup empire stood up for women.  Whether they take off the advertisements, we will just have to wait and see.  Not only does it affect CoverGirl, but every other sponsor of the NFL.  I want to know how they respond to this catastrophe, and that will surely affect my purchasing habits. 

Domestic abuse is a huge problem is the United States, and the NFL is a huge part of American culture.  If kids hear about Ray Rice and then he's still playing in the league, what lesson are we teaching them?  I hope this social media fire against Roger Goodell and the NFL works, because I love football myself, but I don't want to support a group of people that do not respect women.  Social media has fired at the NFL, and it's only time until we find out if the NFL will fall to their knees.

DuckTales Gets Literal

Not many people in my generation know of the Disney blog, "Oh My Disney."  It is definitely catered to those Disney moms that love sharing on Facebook how magical their passion for Disney is.  However, Disney is finally focusing on the generation that can change social media - the Nineties kids.

That's right, OMD is doing a 90's week, which I think is a brilliant idea.  The generation of now teenagers to young adults from the 1990s is the best target to get some viral buzz.  While moms are a good target to share on Facebook, the Nineties kids are so good at sharing on multiple social media platforms all at once and can easily make one video grow like wildfire.  This affluent group is the right target to get a blog talked about very fast.

Just yesterday, Oh My Disney kicked off its 90s tribute with a recreation of the classic DuckTales theme song - this time, using real ducks as the actors.  The bloggers actually did a great job recreating the vast adventures the ducklings and their Uncle Scrooge McDuck go on, from submarine excursions to being chased by a mummy.  I think getting the duck into the airplane was definitely the highlight for me.

In less than 24 hours, the video has already achieved over 280,000 views, which is definitely above the average amount of views Oh My Disney gets from a video from their YouTube channel.  Personally, I think this is a hilarious video, and have already shared it on my Facebook and now here on this blog.  I remember watching this show after I got home from school, and though it's been some time since I've watched an episode, it's a fun reminder of the 90s classics Disney Channel had.  Hey, I might even try to find some old episodes on Netflix!  Well done, OMD, on grabbing us Nineties kids' attention, and hopefully you will get the recognition you deserve.

Check out the reenactment video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txj6ROnIUIo

Why Oreo is the Champion of Instagram

While there might be Youtube personalities or celebrities or Beyonce that have millions of followers on Instagram, few people would consider a cookie brand to be a contender for "Hottest Instagrammer 2014".  Oreo has taken Instagram by storm and has really made itself one of the more successful businesses on this large social platform.  Just over the past week, Oreo has achieved an average of 8,500 likes per post, which has majorly increased from the average of 5,200 from the same week last year.

Here are some of the reasons why Oreo is so successful on Instagram:


1. Oreo's Best Friend
What Oreo shows on Instagram isn't how amazing their classic cookie is, but how great this cookie pairs up with everything else in the world.  Whether it's a nifty way to dunk your Oreos in milk, (thank you Party Dunk) or Oreos and popcorn for the perfect movie night, the brand gets creative for its audience in order for them to see how perfect an Oreo cookie can be for any meal at any time of day.

2. No Infomercial Needed
Rarely do you see an Instagram post with links to buy anything Oreo related.  Besides their recent two-week campaign, "Mini Delivery," the brand is not trying to get their users to buy a pack of cookies through the post.  Instead of followers thinking they are seeing an ad and scroll through the post, Oreo backs away from the sales side into the more personal side of Instagram.  And we do appreciate that.

3. Cookin' up Something
At least once a week Oreo posts a beautifully shot Instagram of some amazing dessert.  Insert drooling here.  Sometimes an Oreo cookie is visible, sometimes not.  The company's inclusion of recipes supports the fact that Oreo is so versatile and can be used in any situation.  Need a dessert for a party but don't want to be that person that brings a box of pre-made cookies?  Oreo's Instagram has you covered.

4. Simplicity is Key
They make stop-motion videos of Oreos being eaten with pictures drawn on paper plates.  I don't think you could get any simpler or more frugal.  It's a win-win for Oreo since audiences get mind-blown by the ingenuity while they get to save a good chunk of cash.

5. Are You Oreo's Next Top Instagram?
You might think, "Whatever, anyone can draw on a paper plates," but Oreo wants YOU to prove to the world how magical yet challenging it can be.  Oreo draws its followers in to be active in the conversation by creating a two-way Instagram conversation.  Followers can comment on recipes, tell about their favorite Oreo tradition, or even submit a stop-motion video.  With this level of intimacy, the followers feel like they are a part of the brand rather than just consumers, which is more powerful than you think.

I always look forward to seeing Oreo's Instagram posts because not only am I interested from the social media marketing perspective, but because they are so good at their job even I am sucked in with their funny videos and crafty recipes.  All I can say is, keep doing you Oreo.