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CONTENT

Overview

Defining Ideal Influencers

Earned Media Strategy

Methodology

Value Proposition

Case Studies

OVERVIEW

The Social Underground connects brands with their ideal influencers through integrated communications and a custom multimedia program.

In other words:

We filter through our network of 60,000 to find your ideal influencers.

We lead them through a custom multimedia experience.

They create original content and share it with their social networks.

BACKGROUND

in•flu•ence im•pre•ssion An online mention, perspective and/or

recommendation that can influence a consumer’s opinion of a brand.

90% of internet consumers trust recommendations from people they know2

i•deal in•flu•en•cer A member of a brand’s target segment, a

conversationalist and a creator. A coveted group whose thoughts resonate throughout their networks.

15% of the US online population creates more than 200 billion influence impressions per year1

DEFINING IDEAL INFLUENCERS

The consumers that fit within a brand’s demographic and psychographic profile.

Social media users who create and publish video, audio, photo, music and blog content.4

The select group of social media users who update their status frequently and engage in conversations online.3

EARNED MEDIA STRATEGY

earned me•di•a– The media a brand earns, rather than paying for or building itself, that consumers are motivated to create and distribute on their own.3

The custom multimedia program harnesses the potential of contributors and creators, yielding significant earned media.

METHODOLOGY

STRATEGY

Our multifaceted process begins by collaborating to define the:

IDENTIFICATION

Using our PeopleTracker™ nationwide network and proprietary LiveOne™ technology, we leverage existing relationships and identify the ideal influencers for any campaign. Candidates are screened, filtered and personally interviewed before they are ultimately selected to participate.

ENGAGEMENT

Selected ideal influencers are then engaged in an custom multimedia program. This uniquely interactive experience is tailored to meet these specific social media goals:

AMPLIFICATION

As the program progresses, we identify core advocates and craft innovative ways to integrate their passion with branded content, including specialty social media contests and live events.

core ad•vo•cates – The most prolific conversationalists and dynamic creators, identified based on the quantity, quality and spirit of the earned media they generate.

Social Underground programs can be extended for long-tail impact. Core advocates can connect to a new phase of influencers or seed an additional round of the program, Social Underground managers can develop and implement ongoing strategies, or Brands may continue their relationship with core advocates on their own.

RESULTS

Throughout the custom multimedia program, Social Underground leverages the power of ideal influencers. We track and report earned media through:

•  Metrics dashboard •  Content archive •  Core Advocate long-tail

VALUE PROPOSITION

Social Media Monitoring

Online Advertising Live Events

Blogger Outreach

Target Segment Listening ✓ ✓

Impressions ✓ ✓ ✓

Web Traffic ✓ ✓

Targeted SEO ✓

Social Media Contribution

Earned Media ✓ ✓

Long-tail Engagement

Consumer Generated Content ✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

DRACULA IN LOVE

Challenge Rare Bird Literary Promotions and author Karen Essex wanted to create authentic, online buzz leading up to the release of her new book, Dracula in Love.

Identification •  50 historical fiction & vampire literature enthusiasts •  Women 25 years of age and up •  Active social media habits (FB, Twitter, Blogs, etc.)

Strategy & Engagement We created an online book club driven by immersive media. As advanced reading copies were en route to participants, we brought on voice-over artists to set the stage with cryptic welcome calls and questions from main character Mina Harker. Readers discussed the book on a custom Facebook Fan Page and Twitter hashtag, while sharing links, opinions and multimedia with their personal networks and interacting with “characters” and the author.

Amplification •  Core advocates were invited to a live online chat with the author •  Several advocates went on to hold their own book clubs to continue to promote the book

Results All told, we gathered costumed photos, video reviews, and visits to the landing page from more than 600 of our readers’ online connections. Click here to see and hear examples.

Influence Impressions: 53,550 via Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and Book Blogs.

iBALLZ

Challenge iBallz, an emerging new iPad accessory, needed original content from online users showing creative, innovative uses of the product in action.

Identification •  iPad owners •  College students based in major metropolitan areas •  Multimedia content creators

Strategy & Engagement To collect original content, we sent influencers a collection of iBallz cases and gave them a week’s worth of interactive challenges. We relied on their existing creativity as they integrated the product into their unique lifestyles and provided us with videos, photos and posts. The most enthusiastic advocates hosted their own contests, generating more exposure on Facebook and YouTube.

Amplification •  Core advocate connected with iBallz owners at the SF MacWorld. •  Advocates streamed live interviews online during the conference with people seeing iBallz

being used for the first time!

Results The program delivered a vault of photos and videos which were repurposed on the iBallz Facebook Fan Page, blog and website.

Influence Impressions: 27,800 via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

HEADLINE SHIRTS

Challenge Headline Shirts, an online retailer of intellectually, funny t-shirts, needed to drive traffic to a holiday promotion and raise their page rank.

Identification •  50 active Facebook users •  5 key urban markets reached •  Intellectually humorous and comical personalities

Strategy & Engagement We invited 50 influencers to be the first in the country to try out the Headline Shirts “Gift Finder” – a tongue in cheek online quiz that matches shirts to personalities. After taking the quiz, they posted a link and their thoughts to Facebook. When shirts arrived, participants posted creative pictures, blog reviews and status updates. For those who wanted to hook up their networks, we provided a special discount code.

Amplification •  Core advocates invited for an insiders’ tour at the Headline Shirts warehouse in SF •  Tour included: choice of shirt, beer at the handmade bar and marketing strategy

brainstorms with the founder of Headline Shirt

Results 13 new inbound blog links that helped raise their page-rank 2 pages for specific keyword. Facebook photo sharing and links helped drive a 200x rise in sales during the holiday season.

Influence Impressions: 127,800 via Facebook and personal blogs.

HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

"The Social Underground connected us with targeted, active online users that created original content, social buzz and (most importantly) had fun with our product. The response was phenomenal!”

– Lee Doerr, CEO/Co-Founder of iBallz™ for iPad

“I expected success, but I have been blown away by the way Social Underground organized the campaign and elicited a wholly genuine response from the participants. Their innovative ideas brought freshness and excitement to the experience, and the readers have moved beyond being promoters to being true fans. I will never launch a book again without Social Underground!”

– Karen Essex, Doubleday Author of Dracula in Love

“Being involved with social underground is an excellent way to connect with a company on a personal level, and I enjoyed better understanding their culture and personality when I wrote about them.”

– George, San Francisco

“The Social Underground experience was lots of fun, from posting links to touring to the company.”

– Katie, San Francisco

“I felt that I was an informed reader, watching the reactions from my fellow book clubbers as well as getting phone calls from the character herself. Getting the inside scoop was fun because I could get excited about telling my friends about an up and coming new read!”

– Lauren, Houston

THANK YOU!

Please contact us here for additional information:

Scott James Social Media Manager scott@attackmarketing.com (415) 433-1499 x228 www.socialunderground.com

Andrew Loos Managing Partner andrew@attackmarketing.com (323) 454-4472 x224 www.attackmarketing.com

Christian Jurinka Managing Partner christian@attackmarketing.com (415) 433-2499 www.attackmarketing.com

APPENDIX

influence impression – An online mention, perspective and/or recommendation that can influence a consumer’s opinion of a brand.

ideal influencer – A member of a brand’s target segment, a conversationalist and a creator.

earned media – Media a brand earns, rather than paying for or building itself, that is created and distributed by consumers.

immersive media – a combination of technologies and social networks that creates a moment/series of moments of delight and is designed to catalyze earned media, content and influence impressions.

core advocates – The most influential conversationalists and dynamic creators, identified based on the quantity, quality and spirit of the earned media they generate.

1.  http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2010/04/introducing-peer-influence-analysis.html 2.  Nielsen via http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/090714-161738 3.  http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2010/04/introducing-peer-influence-analysis.html 4.  http://influencers.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/09/forresters-social-ladder-2010.html