ShanaRay.com » holiday http://shanaray.com Shana Ray's take on Sonoma County, Food, Wine & Social Media Sun, 30 May 2010 18:26:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 The realities of ElfYourself http://shanaray.com/social-media/the-realities-of-elfyourself/ http://shanaray.com/social-media/the-realities-of-elfyourself/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:11:18 +0000 Shana Ray http://shanaray.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/the-realities-of-elfyourself/

Articles about the viral hit have been everywhere over the past month and a half. This weekend alone, I read four different articles throwing out statistics like “There were 123 million elves created this year, up from 11 million last year” “40% of all visitors to Elf Yourself were 55 or older” and “Users spent a combined average of 2,600 years on the site.”

I am not here to criticize the fact that it was a great viral campaign, it was. Credit is due to Office Max and their agency, Toy, for creating such a simple and fun website that everyone is STILL talking about. What has bothered me is that most of the articles I read didn’t mention if the campaign actually boosted Office Max’s sales or brand recognition.

Until now!! Advertising Age came out with an article asking the important question….

How much help did the OfficeMax brand get from its silly little helpers?

“That’s always the danger with this kind of advertisement… They’re cute, they’re funny, but they’re not necessarily related to the brand.”

In terms of brand recognition, Office Max is a winner “Of the 20 most common search terms in the four weeks of December, six of them included the words “Office Max,” indicating that brand awareness had carried through.”

Now I wait to see if their profits reflect all of these statistics.

Some recent Elfyourself articles:

OfficeMax Out Elfs Itself: A Case Study In Viral Marketing

The Myth of ElfYourself.com

They’re the Little Elves That Could

]]> http://shanaray.com/social-media/the-realities-of-elfyourself/feed/ 0 Gift Cards for the Holiday’s http://shanaray.com/social-media/gift-cards-for-the-holidays/ http://shanaray.com/social-media/gift-cards-for-the-holidays/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:34:49 +0000 Shana Ray http://shanaray.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/gift-cards-for-the-holidays/ Thinking of Snapfish’s product line over the past few months, Cheryl and I came up with a few new product offerings for them to stand out in comparison to Shutterfly and Kodak Easy Share. One of the idea’s was a personalized gift card where the giver could add any image they wanted to the Snapfish gift card and give to friends or family.

SF gift card

As Christmas is coming closer, I have been paying more and more attention to the massive amount of gift cards that take up several different spots in Safeway, as well as every POS by a cash register in almost every store I go into. They are everywhere. Did you know that 88% of us (according to NRF) will buy at least two gift cards this year.

Here are some suggestions, if you need them:

Home Depot’s cards double as a CD of How-to tips, which is perfect for most any guy on your Christmas list.

itunes (I saw this gift card in Safeway) now has gift cards that are for specific CD’s or playlists (i.e., 80’s or Mellow Jazz)

Starbuck’s gift cards leave a bad taste in my mouth because I was there several years ago for the start of the whole gift card craze…. We would have to hand register each card while there was a line out the door.

But now you can get a custom drink order (mine is a 150 degree tall soy black and white mocha, no whip), a personalized greeting, or you can tell your story through images on any gift card you buy online (much more efficient for large orders)!

stabucks

Circuit City is giving away an instant-win card with gift card purchase and you can customize your card with a photo

Sears is going all out with their gift cards: One is a water-paint gift card that lets the giver or getter paint the scene and a sticker-book kit that lets buyers deck out their cards. The campagin is “What will you wish for”

santa.jpgwish

]]> http://shanaray.com/social-media/gift-cards-for-the-holidays/feed/ 1 Hoilday Cheer… It is almost November http://shanaray.com/social-media/hoilday-cheer-it-is-almost-november/ http://shanaray.com/social-media/hoilday-cheer-it-is-almost-november/#comments Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:35:29 +0000 Shana Ray http://shanaray.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/hoilday-cheer-it-is-almost-november/

Generous Pour is Clos du Bois’ holiday website that I was able to be a part of.

You can download a complimentary song from Corinne Bailey Ray and while doing so donate a dollar to Share our Strength- one of the nation’s leading organizations working to end hunger in America.

You can also browse the Celebrity Chef Tips for recipes, wine pairings, music playlists, and a party kit (created by us).

There are also several videos of Erik Olsen, winemaker for Clos du Bois that we shot or edited… Hopefully soon, they will be on You Tube. :)

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