Major Mistakes with Social Media

Many small companies make major mistakes with social media. To cite just one example with Twitter...you open an account and send info on your products and/or services. This is a positive step, but frequently the negative aspect comes into play when consumers ask questions and there's no response, or the response is not timely.

Let's jump over to Facebook. You post something and people Like It and sometimes, they make a comment. The polite and smart thing to do is thank them and make a comment in return. It can be something as simple as, "You've mentioned some interesting points James."

This is how you engage your audience...not by ignoring them. People want to be recognized.

These two tips are part of a series that I plan to develop, so stay tuned.

Mega Brands Enters Into International Licensing Agreement with Mind Candy

Mega Bloks construction sets and Mega Puzzles based on the immensely popular kids brand Moshi Monsters to debut for the 2011 Holiday season.

Mega Brands, Inc. has entered into an exclusive, multi year international licensing partnership with Mind Candy to develop creative toys based on the global kids' hit Moshi Monsters. Under this agreement, Mega Brands will work closely with Mind Candy to develop a full range of Mega Bloks construction sets, as well as 3-D Breakthrough puzzles for the global marketplace. The licensed products from Mega Brands will debut worldwide for the holiday season.

Darran Garnham, Head of Global Licensing– Mind Candy, commented, “This is a hugely exciting deal for Moshi Monsters. We’re in the privileged position of partnering with some of the worlds most premium licensees and this is a fine example of that. We look forward to bringing the Mega range to shelf in time for Holiday 2011.”

Best Use of Multiple Media Platforms

People ask if the best use of marketing dollars is to concentrate the majority of available dollars in new media, and the answer is still no.

The latest Nielsen report, commissioned by Google, supports the recommendation we've made for the last four years.The research shows that nearly 75% of consumers remember an ad when viewed across multiple media platforms vs. viewership on TV alone.

According to Nielsen's media lab study, participants viewed related content across a TV, computer, smartphone and tablet. A 15-second video ad promoting a premium sports sedan was shown to different groups with some people seeing no ads, and others seeing the ad on different combinations of screens.

In the group that was exposed to TV ads alone, 50 percent of people correctly attributed the ad to the correct auto brand. For groups that saw the ad across all screens – TV, computer, smartphone and tablet – the ability to remember the brand jumped dramatically to nearly three-in-four (74%). This is a tremendous increase in retention.

Steuben...End of an Era

Steuben, purchased in 1918 by Corning Inc., will cease production on November 29th, 2011, according to the Steuben Courier. At least 60 workers will lose their jobs with the factory closing.

Steuben, luxury lead crystal made by hand in the United States, is prized by collectors worldwide. The factory opened in 1903, where founder and designer Frederick Carder's magnificent creations earned him a reputation within the decorative arts alongside Louis Comfort Tiffany and Rene Lalique.

Luxury goods are doing well, so to this reporter, the initial announcement was confusing, but the history reveals problems. After the business lost nearly $6 million in 2007, it was purchased from Corning Inc. in 2008 by Schottenstein Stores Corp., a Columbus-based private retail holding company with a portfolio of brands that includes upscale handbags, jewelry and Italian fashion.

Schottenstein was unable to reverse the downward slide and never saw a profit, according to company spokesman Ron Sykes.

At the time, Corning officials said the company wanted to move away from the luxury glass business and into the innovative technology and the industrial component industries.

The Corning Museum of Glass will discontinue its Steuben line, and the flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York City will close after the inventory is sold. 

Corning has an agreement to repurchase the Steuben brand name from Schottenstein, but the company has no plans to re-enter the luxury glass business, according to Corning Inc. spokesman Joe Dunning. "It didn't fit our business model back in 2008, and it doesn't fit our business model now,"

Dunning said. "We have no plans to use it, but we are preserving the brand for any uses down the road."