Tag: interviews

10 Questions with PINCHme’s Executive Chairman, Jeremy Reid

Posted on by Stephanie Carino

When I was introduced to PINCHme at TechStyle Lounge in September, I knew the Australian venture was going to be huge before they even debuted in the US. The thought behind it seemed like Birchbox, but free. The idea of getting complimentary care packages sent to you with products that you choose seemed too good to be true.

Since their US launch on November 12th, 2013, the company has had over 400,000 people signup for the chance to get their very own blue boxes sent to their homes. I had the chance to pick Jeremy Reid’s brain, PINCHme’s Executive Chairman, to find out how they started this consumer revolution.

  1. How did you come up with the concept for PINCHme? 
    JR: I started looking at the way CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies were marketing their latest products, and it became evident that product sampling was the most effective means. However, I realized that product sampling in its traditional form is very wasteful and inefficient, so I started looking at the ways in which the CPG industry had embraced the digital age. It became apparent that in comparison to other industries, CPG was significantly behind the curve. I thought that if I could marry both in an efficient and accountable sampling platform, it would prove as a pretty exciting initiative.
  2. Where did the company name come from? 
    JR: ‘Pinch me, I’m dreaming. How great is this? I get to try all these new and great products for free in exchange for my feedback.’
  3. What made you decide that the US should be your second market?
    JR:It was always our intention to launch PINCHme in the US. We launched first in Australia, serving as our beta market since the PINCHme business model did not yet exist, or rather had been tested before in the US. Following the success of the Australia launch, it was always our goal to expand to the US within 12 months, which we achieved.
  4. When PINCHMe launched in the US, the website advertised an once in a lifetime trip to Australia for two winners and their guest. Were the winners chosen?
    JR: The competition closed on December 31, 2013 and winners will be announced next week.
  5. What can you tell me about your experience with “the power of free” through this experience so far?
    JR: Free clearly sells very well. In the past 8 weeks alone, we have had over 400k consumers sign up to be members of PINCHme. This, by any means, is extraordinary growth. Our goal, over time, is to build a multi-member community, which we are on track to deliver.
  6. How do you decide what products get featured? Are there only specific items you guys are willing to showcase or is it “the more, the merrier”?
    JR: Yes, we have a curated approach where we are really trying to offer our members both exciting and new quality products to try. In order for sampling to work well, consumers must have a rewarding experience with the product. Thus, it’s important for us to ensure that we maintain a high standard of offerings to keep both our members engaged and to deliver an attractive experience for our brand partners.
  7. What’s the craziest story you have through the brand thus far? It could be pertaining to a customer or brand or the experience of building up the company, etc. You can be as vague or specific as you want.
    JR: We recently ran a campaign for a major car air-freshener company. The company was focusing their marketing efforts on an older demographic that they believed were buying more expensive cars and wanted to keep those cars smelling nice. Once they offered the product on the PINCHme platform, we saw significant demand from a much younger demographic. Particularly, 18-29 year olds.

    What we discovered through our insight was that the product was substantially more popular for younger people who were smokers concerned with keeping their cars smelling good. Through the PINCHme platform, this brand now has a whole new target market to go after.

  8. Your company is very social media driven. Can you tell me why you think this was important for PinchMe?
    JR: In today’s world, where everybody is connected online by numerous social media platforms, it’s critical for all brands to have a strong social media presence. Additionally, brands  need to be well represented within the social realm, as many consumers today will look at peer-to-peer recommendations before buying a product.
  9. What would your dream accomplishment from this company be? 
    JR: From a consumer standpoint, PINCHme is the go-to destination where consumers can discover, discuss, and buy new CPG products. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, PINCHme is the preferred media platform for launching new consumer products and receiving valuable feedback.
  10. Any exciting news coming up for 2014 that you’d like to divulge? 
    JR: PINCHme is currently in discussions with several major CPG companies, where they will be using the platform to launch new and exciting products into the market. Also, we are on target to have the largest database in the sample box category.

Stephanie Carino has spent over the past 10 years working in the city in the Fashion, Food and Event industries. She currently works in the PR Department at leading Technology and Business Book Publisher, Apress. On the side, she also writes event coverage and reviews for, Socially Superlative, a NYC-based event website, covering predominantly food, travel and entertainment stories. Connect with Stephanie on Twitter.

A Student’s Perspective: The Guardian Interviews Alec Ross

Posted on by smwnyc

Mehrunnisa Wani is a student at Columbia’s School of Journalism. She is one of ten students providing on the ground coverage of SMWNYC- all from the student’s perspective. She is providing her report from The Guardian Interviews Alec Ross.

“What does the Internet have to with foreign policy and diplomacy? In this day and age, if you care about human rights you have to care about the Internet,” said Alec Ross, senior advisor for innovation, Office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As evident from the Arab (Internet) Spring, social media was an effective vent for the outrage and the wave of the frustration that swept through Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and, most recently, Syria.

Tweeples, Facebookers, and YouTubers worldwide were all proponents of this change. With their succinct slogans, videos, and blog entries they encapsulated the depth of the oppression. The revolution was filled with narratives of twitter handles and even fact-checking was a collaborative effort, or what veterans would call a crowdsourcing activity.

Some dubbed it as the greatest tools of this age and others went as far as crediting it for fermenting the chaos and subsequently, toppling regimes. Despite the divergent views on the platform, it catapulted social justice campaigns worldwide, abetting and enabling leaderless protests.

The role of technology is, of course, integral –and now becoming closely intertwined with diplomacy. With governments realizing this, some are constricting expression and others such as the United States are allowing its ambassadors, some 195 have twitter accounts and 170 have Facebook accounts, according to Ross.

Ross, however, doesn’t credit technology—wholly—for the toppling of dictatorship-based regimes, but he is finding solutions to the gravest health, economic, social problems in developing nations through social media applications. It’s a new wave – the social networking-diplomacy era, where fostering ties between nations is done through programs like Apps4Africa, bringing fifteen nations and discussing solutions which, in the end, will yield innovative methods in tackling economic development issues and paving ways for sustainable long-term projects.

The consensus is that it is a tool for civic engagement, where information is readily available and movements are accelerated, but what happens when people achieve their goal, when governments are overthrown? Who helps with picking up the crumbs? Are plan of actions created?

“Though social media has proven to be a tool for dissent, it has not yet proven to be a successful tool for governance,” said Ross. With tools set forth by the State Department, Ross hopes that governance connects with the governing and social media takes out the implicit elitism in governing. Two things for sure, social media is equalizing the world and creating a forum of communication between the governing bodies and the people. Social media has become the weapon of the first world, but what about the third world?

 

Mehrunnisa Wani hails from Kashmir, India. She is currently a masters candidate at the Columbia School of Journalism learning to report stories in various mediums, all the while familiarizing herself with the digital media boom so she can utilize those skills to connect the world one story at a time. In the future she hopes to cover conflict zones, learn to code and change the world – simultaneously. She resides in Queens, New York. Follow her on @mehrwani.

New Events Added to SMWNYC

Posted on by Nicky Yates

As we’re finalizing our robust schedule for SMWNYC, we realize some of our newer events might be overlooked. And to ensure you know all that’s happening and don’t miss a thing, we’re here to update you on these events. We think you’ll like ’em:

How to Create Facebook Custom Pages Workshop: Learn how a ‘custom’ Facebook Page can help you stand out.

Making government listen: Using Web 2.0 technology to revolutionize how we communicate with our government: Technology offers a powerful opportunity for empowerment and tech makes government more transparent and accountable.

The Agency of the Future: Hosted by our Global Supporting Sponsor, Ogilvy, we’ll discuss what new skills are needed and how they apply across key marketing and communications industries — social tv, social CRM, mobile and video distribution.

Fixing Health From the Outside In: Explore case studies on Ford’s collaboration with Healthrageous, Weight Watchers impact on “diabesity,” and Jawbone’s entry into health.

The LinkedIn Difference: How Brands Are Building Deep Connections with Professionals: Join our local sponsor, LinkedIn, for a discussion focusing on how top brands are at the leading edge by marketing on LinkedIn and hear about some of the emerging tools they’re using to carve out a significant presence on the platform.

Networking Reception with Sanofi: Sanofi and the Data Design Diabetes team invite you connect and collaborate with the next generation health tech innovators.

Fireside Chat: The Creative Social Revolution – What in the world is going on?: Join our fireside chat discussing what was breakthrough/groundbreaking in Health and Wellness this year.

Biomarkers, Technology, and Age-Reversal: Help us explore the case of Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow, who engaged in a four-month experiment to turn back the clock on decades of drinking hard, smoking, and eating a lot of processed food.

Power to the Patient: What does it mean to be a patient in 2012? Or rather, an e-patient? Join us as we debate.

Guardian Interview with Jalak, sponsored by Nokia: Don’t miss our Global Media Partner, The Guardian, as they interview one of our keynotes, Jalak Jobanputra, up close and personal.

Food + Tech: With a growing number of startups entering the food startup community, it’s not only difficult to differentiate yourselves, but also monetize your ideas. We’ll dine and chat- join us.

Buddy Media Cocktail Mixer: Cocktails. Buddy Media. Need we say more?

My Social TV App Thinks I’m My Dad: Privacy Issues In The Age of Convergence: TVs are rarely personal devices. So how do you make sure that Mom and Dad’s Cinemax movies aren’t posted to their kid’s Facebook walls? Let’s talk privacy.

More than “Likes” Can Say: Join Microsoft, as they’ve assembled a panel of people who can show and tell how people’s activities and contributions online can contribute to a better overall web experience – in some very unexpected ways!

Covering the 2012 Election Socially: With NYT, Washington Post, and CNN, this panel discussion will focus on how social media is changing the way we’re reporting the presidential election this year.

Guardian Interviews Don, sponsored by Nokia: Global Media Partner gets to know our global keynote from Canada, Don Tapscott.

We’re All Social Now: Why B2B Marketers Can Get With the Conversation: How do B2B marketers adjust their strategies? Is there a difference in the way workers interact with their professional versus personal networks online? This panel will explore the kind of differentiated marketing programs leading companies are putting into place and lay out the new roadmap for engaging followers in a B2B world.

Social Media Week’s Opening VIP Reception Hosted by Nokia: Our invite-only special opening party.

Reflecting on 2012 Grammys Digital Partnerships, Social Media and Innovation: Following the 54th GRAMMY Awards, Beverly Jackson of the GRAMMY team will head to NYC to recap the Social, Digital, and Mobile initiatives that went into planning and executing the award ceremony this year – What did and didn’t work?

We all have Influence Somewhere: The Next Great Social Media Transformation: Kred CEO Andrew Grill and a panel of senior marketers will discuss the science and philosophy behind Influence, and why used properly it is an essential tool for building rich engagements and brand loyalty.

BtoB’s New York NetMarketing Breakfast: This breakfast will feature a panel discussion between B2B marketing executives on how they’re using social media ato drive response and the tactics and tools that are working from them.

Leveraging online platforms to inspire social good: Hear from experts on how they’re taking control and making a difference in the world through their use of the internet to leverage the power of community.

Rich Media Stories: Presenting case summaries from leading brands we will demonstrate how they are using rich experiences to make their social outreach more tangible, meaningful and valuable.

Getting to the Meat of the Tweet Redux (The Meatier and Tweetier Sequel): Applying Big Data Analytics to Social Media Data, Hosted by Opera Solutions: We’ve assembled some of the best to discuss what’s state-of-the-art for applying Big Data analytics to social media data and what it all could mean for business, politics, government, and the rest of us.

Keynote: Howard Lindzon followed by Panel: The Evolution of Reg-FD: How Social Media Has Changed Investor Relations, Hosted by StockTwits: Howard Lindzon is founder and CEO of StockTwits. Howard will share insights on how firms can best leverage social media to enhance investor communications, followed by corporate communications leaders sharing their experience.

Maintaining Authenticity and Transparency: How Financial Advisors Are Using Social Media to Build their Business, Hosted by Actiance: Listen to case studies that show how financial advisors are using social to build their book of business, and discover these industry leaders’ predictions on where the industry is headed in 2012.

Retail Banking Redux: Can Social Media Create a New Paradigm?: At this event, we describe how social media, particularly Foursquare and Facebook, increases consumer loyalty and the bottom line.

Social Media HAS Changed the World: With The Red Cross and DonorsChoose, this panel takes a look at how non-profits are using social media to get the word out about their specific programs and to listen to the problems facing a community.

With events like these, you don’t want to waste any time. Register today- and tell your friends! We’re looking forward to seeing you in 6 days!