The Kryptonite Bike Lock Fiasco

1.   What factors led to the social media explosion of the Kryptonite story?

A video of a YouTube user showed how to open a popular Kryptonite lock using only a Bic pen. The video became viral and Kryptonite worked to replace customers’ locks to try and keep their customers’ trust.

2.   Do you agree with Donna Tocci’s claim that the company couldn’t have done much differently? If so, why? If not, what about its response could have been improved?

I agree with Tocci’s claim because Kryptonite created a program to replace the locks that were vulnerable. I can see how they could have reacted better since by replacing the vulnerable locks they are providing customers with a better product in exchange for one that they were already using.

3.   What can Kryptonite do now to prevent customers from getting inaccurate information about its products?

They can market the strength of their locks and provide new information on their locks as they improve.

4.   What can other companies learn from this experience in terms of listening to the community and designing their social media strategy and objectives?

Other companies can learn that it is important to act fast and to engage the customers with a positive response to remedy the problem as soon as possible to keep brand loyalty from taking a hit.

Home Depot Shows You How

1.   What in particular about Home Depot’s business made this how-to series of videos so successful? What other industries might be able to use a similar strategy?

With Home Depot being one of the leading large hardware stores a lot of their customers will be looking to improve their homes and do some DIY work of their own. The videos were so successful because customers looking into a certain project know that they can get all of the supplies to create what was in the DIY video at their local Home Depot. Other industries that could do this are automotive stores, they could make simple how to videos for replacing simple parts like batteries, wipers, and bulbs.

2.   Are these instructional videos actually more effective than overt commercials? Why or why not?

The instructional videos are more effective for building brand loyalty with customers because they are interacting with the brand. But to get people looking at the brand in the first place overt commercials are important. However in my opinion the instructional videos are more effective because it helps to keep the customers coming back since they are building brand loyalty.

3.   Why did Home Depot choose to focus on producing YouTube videos? Would videos exclusively hosted on its company web site or on other video sharing platforms have been equally effective?

Home Depot choose to focus on YouTube because it offers strong search ability, and since YouTube is a video sight the customers comments will be mostly about the video so they will not have to worry about losing control of the marketing message. It would not be as effective to host the videos on their site exclusively because then people who are searching YouTube for DIY projects are less likely to come across the video and possibly purchase from Home Depot as a result of watching.

4.   What advantages did Home Depot gain from having in-store representatives featured in the videos? Name at least two advantages, and explain why they are important.

By having in-store representatives featured in the videos it gives the videos and brand a community feeling which helps grow customer’s brand loyalty. Another benefit is that it makes the how to videos more approachable, if it seems like a normal person is instructing the video it is less intimidating than if a professional is doing it. Since people will think that they also have the skill set to accomplish the how to or DIY project.

            

Who are you with Nikon

1. What incentives did Nikon provide to spur its fans to share more pictures? Should the company have done more?

To Spur customers to share more pictures Nikon encouraged their fans to share their personal style and what camera they use, as well as information on the photo to share an experience. Nikon can do more for their fans who contribute; one way they could benefit their brand and help customers is to have photo competitions that focus on a certain style of photography. The prizes could range from high-end equipment for bigger competitions to smaller items that are branded with Nikons name to further make the customers to feel like they are “friends” with the brand.

2. Nikon was identified more with the professional market than consumer photography. Has that changed following this social media marketing campaign? Why or why not?

Since Nikon has used social media more they have brought more users who were not professionals to their brand, because consumers can see how others are using the brands more affordable cameras to capture quality images, and they want to use the product themselves.

3. How did Nikon leverage its technical superiority in photo taking with its social media strategy? Could it have been done differently? If so, how? If not, explain why not.

Nikon used two social platforms for their photo sharing. They used Flickr for the professional side to appeal to the professional and passionate photographers. This gave those who were very serious about photography a space to connect with the brand. The other social platform they used was Facebook. Their Facebook focuses more on enjoying taking photos and is less serious than the Flickr account, this allows people who do photography for fun have a space to share and connect, but still allows professionals to connect as well. Both of these are done well because it allows their various groups of customers to connect with each other and the brand on a more personal level. I feel it was done well since both social platforms already followed the serious or just for fun themes so they executed their strategy very well.

4. Nikon had an initial edge in photo sharing as a company specializing in camera gear. What specific tactical advantages did this give Nikon?

Nikon had the initial edge because with their large line of camera gear they can share product with customers and teach them how to use it and improve their photography skills. At the same time they are building brand loyalty with the customer since that customer can learn from the brand and then share their personal experience with the brand.

Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington drew on some of her celebrity contacts early on to popularize the website. Do you think a person without her connections could have been equally successful? What strategy changes would a non-celebrity have to make to succeed?

I think that a person that doesn't have as strong of connections would have a much harder time being as successful early on. Mainly because it is harder to get into the spotlight initially. A non-celebrity could focus on driving as much traffic to their website as possible and having a strong presence in as many facets as possible.

Do you expect that AOL’s purchase of the Huffington Post will have a largely positive or negative effect on its viewership? Name some pros and cons, and compare them.

I believe that it will positively effect on the Huntington Post's viewership since they will have more funding, allowing them to hire the best journalists and cover more stories. It also can draw more users to both sites because AOL users will see it, and Huffington Post users will see that it is on AOL.

But since they now have more money and are a part of a large brand, people from the past may try and sue to get a part of the Profits.

Beyond Arianna Huffington using her celebrity contacts, what other strategies did the staff implement to make this the number one blog in the blogoshere? Can these same strategies be applied to other blogs? Explain why or why not?

They focused on driving traffic to the site, and keeping the traffic by working on relevant, quality content that will put them ahead of other blogs, and news services. These strategies can be applied to any blog but most important is to have relevant, and quality information to offer the users. 

What are the possible strategic marketing benefits and drawbacks of the acquisition of the Huffington Post by AOL? Explain.

Marketing benefits for AOL is that they can easily publish stories that can boost their brand and make them look better, This is good for generating positive PR. A drawback is that since it is known that they own Huffington Post, articles about themselves could be taken skeptically by users.