Apple "1984"

With football back on the air, the Super Bowl commercials are already on the minds of many marketers. Do you have a favorite commercial that comes to mind? How about Larry Bird and Michael Jordan playing a game of Horse for a McDonald’s Big Mac or Coca-Cola's “Mean Joe” Greene where the little boy gives up his Coke to the “Mean Joe” Green?

Did you know that the #1 rated Super Bowl commercial is “1984” by Apple Computers, introducing Apple Macintosh? Surprisingly enough, it was only aired as an ad on television ONCE during the Super Bowl XVIII. It had a production budget of $900,000, which was unheard of at the time. When first presented in Dec 1983, the Apple Board of Directors hated the spot!

Check out the Top 10 Super Bowl commercials here.

Where are your customers? Most likely on Facebook.

Rippe Keane Marketing knows the power of social media...and good strategy starts with good information. Social media can be downright addicting and when we get your brand involved, we like that!

The world's largest social network, Facebook, announced on Tuesday it has finally become profitable. On top of that, they also passed the 300 million registered-user milestone.

On Thursday, Twitter said they have become a billion-dollar company.

As social media companies join the million-dollar club and membership numbers continue to skyrocket, it’s hard to ignore the opportunity to get your brand into the arena. However, as with anything new, some companies encounter push back from management teams who are hesitant to jump into uncharted waters.

Confidence prevails despite potential risks

A new study from Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law takes a close look at management teams’ perception of social media. The group’s research confirms that confidence exists in social networking as a viable communication undertaking, but so do worries about the potential liabilities.

Eighty-one percent of surveyed executives believe social media is a corporate security risk, while 49 percent said that using social media could damage company reputation.

Despite these concerns, respondents view social networking as a key strategy. According to survey results, eight in 10 senior management, human resource and marketing executives believe social media can enhance relationships with customers/clients (81%) and build brand reputation (81%). In doing so, it’s important to have a social media policy grounded in honesty and respect.

Communication with results

Above all, companies want to know what results they can expect. A recent USA Today article highlighted several businesses that have embraced social media tactics and reaped the benefits.

Intuit added customers quickly when they integrated elements of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn into a new site for small businesses. It generated more than 1 million visits in 12 weeks and increased QuickBooks unit shipments 57% in June.

National pizza chain Papa John’s launched a guerrilla marketing campaign on Facebook to add 148,000 fans. They offered a free medium pizza to anyone that joined and ultimately got 300,000 fans and drove Web site traffic up 253%.

Comcast pioneered the use of Twitter to talk directly to customers and has 28,000 amassed followers. Customers can talk to a representative immediately on Twitter, making the days of waiting on hold on the phone a thing of the past.

Software maker Sage North America receives instant feedback from hundreds of people to improve their products and services. Typically, companies rely on third-party focus groups to observe reactions of customers that can cost up to $15,000.

Social media can be the ideal forum for a CEO to speak directly to customers. Companies can say “I’m sorry” when necessary on Twitter to respond to a customer service slip-up.

Follow consumers online

Increasingly, consumers don’t proactively search for products and services but encounter them via social media. Nine in 10 consumers trust their peers more than marketers, according to a recent survey of 25,000 by Nielsen. Consumers are exchanging messages and advice online more than ever. In April, Facebook members spent almost 14 billion minutes on the site, up 700% since April 2008, Nielsen NetView said. In that same month, Twitter users spent nearly 300 million minutes on the site, up 3,712% since April 2008, reported Nielsen.

As customers spend less time with traditional media and more online, companies have no choice but to follow. Some of the largest companies, including Ford, Levi Strauss and Chevron, are reinventing their marketing operations to embrace digital tools to support customers through online communities and implement aggressive outreach programs.

“It was an easy call. This is where our customers are,” said Megan O’Connor, director of digital marketing at Levi’s, a 150-year-old company.

Ask Rippe Keane about the possibilities of social media. We can help.

The Rippe Keane Summer Golf Classic

"Golf...or No Golf?" was the question posed to invitees of the tenth Rippe Keane Summer Golf Classic; their enthusiastic response of "GOLF!" assured all of us at Rippe Keane that these spectacular people would help us make this year's classic one of the best yet! Clients and friends lived it up on August 26th as contestants at the "Classic Game Show" themed outing, which brought “Vanna White” and “Bob Barker” out to get things rolling at The Meadows of Six Mile Creek in Waunakee.

The weather forecast called for cloudy and cool….but the very persuasive marketing powers of Scott and Lucy produced sunny and warm! A perfect day for golf, with a few classic game show prize winning opportunities sprinkled in. On the course, guests had the opportunity to “Name That Tune,” play a round of “Card Sharks” and “Plinko,” and enjoy a few themed adult beverages as they went.

One special hole gave guests an opportunity to help The Rippe Keane Foundation make a donation to The Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation, an organization that helps breast cancer patients deal with the emotional aspects of battling cancer. With current statistics stating that 1 out of every 4 women will be touched by this horrible disease, we felt it was a cause very worthy of support. This hole was designed to honor the family of our own Matt Kemp, who just lost a sister to cancer this spring. Our wonderful clients and FORKS (Friends Of Rippe Keane) made bets to increase donation totals, and generously added additional bills into the collection.

Cash prizes that were awarded at the end of the day were given back to be added into the donation total, all of which was matched by The Rippe Keane Foundation. Is it any wonder why we love working with these people?? Thanks to the help of our wonderful and very generous golf guests, Rippe Keane will be making a sizable donation to The Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation.

As we all reveled in the glory of our golf games….or not…. a wonderful dinner was being prepared by the staff in the clubhouse. As we dined, awards were handed out for the dubious golf honors, including “Lovable Losers”.

Scott showcased his game show hosting prowess (and gave Regis Philbin a run for his money) during Rippe Keane's version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Edgewood College’s Ed Taylor did a spectacular job in the contestant "hot seat," making the most of his opportunity to win big! The whole audience chipped in to help Ed to become a millionaire, and he left winning a cruise for two!

Fun! That’s the only word I have to describe the day! We laughed, we golfed, we ate, we donated to a wonderful cause, and we made enough fond memories to last us until the next Rippe Keane Summer Golf Classic, scheduled for summer 2011. Can’t wait to see you there!