Author: joannadeepfocus

This guest post has been brought to you by Mike Matthews–Fighting “decisionparalysis” at retail with mobile technology. You can follow his tweets here.

A legacy client from the pharmaceutical industry once humbly shared a major business challenge they were faced with:

“Mike, I’ve got 1.5 minutes to sway a consumer to purchase one of my cold/flu products while in-store and I’m competing against a new competitor every quarter (it seemed) and “loyal” consumer base that’s faltering. What’s the answer? They all have smart phones, so should we create some mobile apps?

We discovered that the consumer was overwhelmed with being able to match symptoms to the product benefits of over six product lines which treated “cough & cold” to “long-acting fever” to “cough & chest” (you get the picture).

Before throwing out the entire product line and then launching a singular product which served all symptoms we knew two things:

1. The product worked. It was hyper-focused on symptoms and when taken properly it beat out the “all-in-one” solution.
2. Consumers had phones. More than that they used them to call/text for health counsel, to scan for competitive pricing or coupons and to find out where the nearest Blockbuster video was located.

If there was a way we could initiate dialogue with our consumer on their mobile devices, we could drive sales. An app? No. We have 1.5 minutes and that time would be spend downloading and we got ourselves a customer who can barely stand up straight.

We had to create value for the consumer. Value first, product second. What if the consumer told us their symptoms and we gave them the recommendation? What if we listened to them and served as a “mobile concierge” of sorts to alleviate their mental exhaustion? Now that dialogue is struck and choice is made clear, what else can we do to maintain this conversation?

I use this pharma example to share what brands, from pharma to auto, feel everyday. They know they have potential and current customers armed with “always-on” mobile devices but lack understand as to what they should do about it. How do I drive a consumer in-store, communicate with them while in-store and continue dialogue when they leave? Every brand is different, but one thing is for sure, the opportunities exist. At the upcoming “Convergence: How Social Media & Mobile Change the Way We Make Decisions and Shop” you’ll hopefully leave with an idea that speaks to your consumers.

Hosted by Saatchi Wellness,  Convergence: How Social Media & Mobile Change the Way We Make Decisions and Shop aims to highlight why and how convergence is impacting marketing, advertising and sales and will provide a deeper dive into mobile and social commerce and what this means for brands. This event will be held at Saatchi & Saatchi on February 8th from 12 to 3 PM. You can register here.

Social Media Week New York begins next week and posts this week will include overviews of each of the five Content Hubs, which is where much of the programming is taking place.

We are thrilled to be teaming up with The Paley Center for Media, host of the People & Society Social Media Week Content Hub! This Hub will feature events that will place you at the nexus of technology, activism, and social change.

Social Media has given activists and change makers the ability to access new audiences and, particularly in the case of Newark residents on a snow day, the ability to access influencers with the intention of influencing them (to shovel their snow or otherwise). Social Media has altered the way that governments and people interact and it’s made the process of policy and advocacy simultaneously more complex and more accessible.

Events throughout The Paley Center for Media will investigate this dynamic—these events are not to be missed.

The day begins on Monday with an event being hosted by Purpose on Consumer Activism & Social Change. Contributors will discuss the potential for change using consumer power and key brand partnerships to solve global problems. Following that, Reboot will tackle the future of citizen activism and participatory government in a session entitled “Citizen 2.0” which will cover how social media is resulting in more inclusive forms of political engagement.
Tuesday is jam packed so be sure to grab a cup of coffee (sponsored by Whole Foods) before heading into your first panel. The morning will begin with a session from Luminary Labs that will illuminate how social technology can play a role in our health featuring presentations from thought leaders. This will be followed by an panel hosted by Convio that will delve into the role of social media in perpetuating, and cultivating, social good by looking at tools like Causes, CrowdRise and Jumo.

The afternoon continues with a purpose, with Purpose leading a panel called “Let Them Eat Tweets” that will delve into how modern day tools are resulting in 21st century movements. During this panel,  PepsiCo is also leading a discussion on how to build the women’s audience for films focusing on how social media has helped studios, producers, distributors and marketing experts reach a more diverse demographic. ALSO, during these events Fenton will be hosting an interactive discussion on 12 driving forces in communications and concludes with concrete steps on what you need to do in the “new normal”. You’ll have to choose from these three amazing events since they overlap–but don’t worry we’ll try not throw any hard decisions your way tomorrow!

Maybe you can sleep in a little on Wednesday and weigh in on Valuing New Media Companies vs. Old(er) Media Companies in the afternoon. Then, learn more about being socially responsible on the web and see what speakers from the Ad Council, MTV, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Jed Foundation have to say about Responding to Suicide and Digital Abuse.

On Thursday, the early bird gets the worm (also coffee and breakfast snacks from Wholefoods) while Purpose hosts another great panel–The Rise of the Movement Entrepreneur— that will discuss topics such as when a movement is the necessary intervention, the struggles with this new form of entrepreneurship, and the social impact of such ventures. Then, the hostess with the mostess, United Nations Global Pulse will take care of you for the rest of the day with Engagement in the Age of Real-Time which includes  a slew of keynotes, presentations and  panels from PSFK and Robert Kirkpatrick to name a few…

Finally on Friday—decisions, decisions, decisions. There are two morning events  you’ll have to choose from. The panelists of the Open Government and The Transformation of New York City’s Digital Environment discussion will talk about the City’s use of social media and technology to better serve its customers and promote economic development while Scott Case, co-founder of Priceline.com and Malaria No More will be leading the event titled: Non Profits using Social Media to Close Doors…for Good (be sure to bring your business cards to this one).

Joanna Firneno is a contributing writer to the Social Media Week blog and is an Associate Communications Manager at Deep Focus.

What if people spoke in Twitter updates? What if we reprinted embarrassing pictures of each other and handed them out to thousands of strangers? Or to co-workers?

Social networks have fundamentally changed the way we socialize, so connected  users are increasingly looking for ways to marry their virtual experiences with their real ones. Platforms like foursquare bring the online space into our everyday lives. As they gain in popularity, we’re witnessing an increasingly fine line between our online social networking worlds and our real worlds. Will this line blur even further in 2011?

Start your Monday morning off right and kick it off with a series of pre-filmed xtranormal vignettes that depict the absurd and potentially hilarious scenarios that could occur when social media networks and the real world collide. Discussion to follow. Get all the details below!

What is this event called? If Your Real Life Were a Social Network

Where will this event be held? Science and Technology Hub at Google

When will this event be held? Monday, February 7th from 9 AM to 11 Am

Who is hosting this event? SapientNitro

Who is putting their two cents in? (Moderator) Melissa Read, Ph.D.: Behavioral Psychologist and Director of Marketing Strategy at SapientNitro, Alison Barth, Ph.D.: Dept of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, Shayla Thiel-Stern. Ph.D.: Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota and author of Instant Identity (Mediated Youth), Duncan Watts, Ph.D.: Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo; Director of Human Social Dynamics Group and author of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age and Chris Mahl: SVP & Chief Brand Alchemist at SCVNGR.

What’s this event all about? Following the presentation of the vignettes, a discussion moderated by Melissa Read, who specializes in behavioral anthropology in the digital space will begin. She’ll raise questions about how social behaviors manifest themselves differently online than they do offline and the effect this is having in the “real world.” The panelists will also explore these behaviors from the perspectives of a scientist who uses social networking to describe neural behavior, a professor who studies the effects of social media on teen girls, a celebrated researcher who experiments, measures, and explores our modern day social behaviors, and an entrepreneur who has developed a social media application to form real world connections.

Don’t forget to register here.

Joanna Firneno is a contributing writer to the Social Media Week blog and is an Associate Communications Manager at Deep Focus.