6 must-know CSR trends for public companies in 2017

One of the biggest focuses for public companies in the New Year is improving their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in terms of tailored goals, visibility, reporting, and more. The Ethical Corporation recently released a report in which they gathered research from 948 CSR professionals from around the globe on their thoughts of the state of their profession as it moves into 2017. We analyzed their research, as well as our own findings from what was most crucial for our clients this year, and developed these 6 must-know CSR trends for public companies in 2017.

1. CSR is more mainstream, which means more competition

A few years back, it was enough for public companies to have a fairly comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility section on their website, with a simple PDF presentation and a few images of how they took into consideration the environment, communities, and their social impact. A vague understanding of social impact is no longer enough to stand out amongst the top public companies with the best CSR reputations. Taking action against climate change, contributing to social justice movements, and standing firm in founding principles are trends in themselves for big companies, and have become not just acceptable, but expected. With more companies understanding the value CSR can bring to both their public image and their stakeholders, it’s getting harder to make a message stand out in a sea of ‘do-gooding’. The Bmeaningful Blog writes, “Breaking through the clutter of messaging and advertising will be a challenge but we see tremendous opportunity for professionals who can authentically tell their companies’ cause story”.

2. CSR content will become even more personalized

Focus on CSR goals that make sense for your company and will garner the most trust from your primary stakeholders. As we talk about in our report entitled, What is CSR and Why Your Website Will Tell Your Story, “A trap that many companies fall into is thinking that CSR is only about giving back to the environment…CSR can also focus on efforts with local communities and interactions with your own consumers and what matters to them”. Building investor trust means tailoring content to their main concerns, while also ensuring you’re staying true to your company’s story and goals. If you’ve published multiple CSR success stories to a company newsletter, one focusing on community impact and one focusing on social change, you can serve different content to different investors based on what they most care about. As we discuss in our article about Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2017, investors are looking for more personalized content. This includes what CSR stories you should be promoting.

csr trends for 2017 video

3. Showcase CSR efforts through video and animation     

Perhaps the biggest trend we see each year in the digital marketing world is that the online attention span of consumers is shrinking astronomically. We are so used to getting the information we want online right away, in bite-sized pieces. The same concept applies with investors. Your investors won’t have the time to read a 15 page PDF report on how your latest CSR measure impacted a community and benefited your company. Break down the CSR successes of the past year with videos, data visualizations, or animations on your website. Even more important: make your reporting shareable. Short videos illustrating your impact as a company are the perfect way to get some brand differentiation and easily circulate your message. TELUS’ 2015 Sustainability Report is a great example of how a company can mix text, bold images, and data visualization to highlight impact.

4. Align your CSR goals with those at the top

Ethical Corporation’s report states that “Only 25% of CSR executives [surveyed] stated their CFO is absolutely convinced of the value of the CSR report”. This is a problem. If your company’s CEO, CFO, and more aren’t aware of the CSR goals for the coming year, or don’t see value in spending more time, energy, and money on CSR initiatives or CSR reporting, your company will come across as disjointed and not united in your social message. Ensure that environmental impact, social justice, and community service goals aren’t simply dreamt and executed within one department. The whole company, from the top to the bottom, should understand the importance of what you’re doing and how it relates to your vision and end goals.

5. Make CSR presentations available on every platform

We spoke above about translating your CSR initiatives to video and animation, but it’s equally important to make sure what you’re putting out there can be accessed by anyone who wants to see what your company is up to. 2017 will see even more people disregard their desktops for a mobile phone, so make sure every downloadable CSR presentation, testimonial video, customer story, and website link are available by a smartphone or tablet browser.

csr trends for 2017 tablet

6. Don’t just report, relate back

Don’t focus all your CSR energy on reporting. Ethical Corporation’s report says, “60% of respondents agreed that too much time is being spent on the reporting process”. Investors want to see how CSR initiatives affected the numbers, but that doesn’t mean you can pull a ‘number dump’ and be done with it. Make sure you’re not just reporting the numbers or you’ll create a disconnect between your company and the lives you actually impacted. So this year, think about other ways to illustrate the impact you’ve made. Include more employee testimonials, customer success stories, environmental impact studies, or ‘Message from the CEO’ videos. Mixing up how you deliver CSR good news makes sure investors, as well as your target audiences, don’t get number fatigue.

 

Conclusion: Don’t choose a CSR focus based on what’s trending

Ironically, even though this article is all about CSR trends, make sure you’re not shifting your CSR strategy each year based on what’s trending. Although many big companies have jumped at the chance to show their support for social change in the past few years, that doesn’t mean you have to organize something similar for your company if a big social justice push doesn’t match your short or long term goals. As long as everyone is working towards your company vision, you should be okay.

For a comprehensive look at ways to improve your CSR on your website, as well as some great examples of public companies with great CSR reporting, download our guide below!

 

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IR Resolutions for 2017

When it comes to resolutions for the New Year, we all have various personal and professional goals that we are seeking to accomplish. Whether it’s a personal goal that will work to make you a stronger leader in your workplace or community, or a professional goal, like creating and launching an optimized online IR strategy for your company, this is time of the year when we are ready to get started on our New Year Resolutions. And if IR Resolutions are what you’re making, this blog is for you.

We’re excited about what is to come in IR for 2017. So excited, in fact, that we’ve compiled the IR resolutions that you need to know about now for this New Year. With a compilation of trends and insights we’re ready to see unfold, you’ll want to bookmark this blog and review in the upcoming quarters.

Here are the IR Resolutions for 2017 you need to know now.

 

Review and determine if your website needs a refresh.

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load, so it’s time to ask yourself – does your website need a refresh? Furthermore, given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something well designed than something plain, and a bore to view.

Given the fact that visitors to your website are unlikely to spend 15 minutes on any given page, you have a limited amount of time to make an impression on your IR visitors.

In 2017, it’s time to review and determine if your website needs a refresh.

 

Video is King.

We’ve spoken about this at length, but 2017 is the year when it truly comes into play

59 percent of executives admit that they would rather watch video than read text, which means that your IR decision makers are looking for video content in the New Year. It should be an integral part of your website’s infrastructure, and can no longer be considered an addition to your IR strategy.

Integrate video content on your home page, your company’s about us page, your contact page and more. Ensure it is engaging content – and short! Aim for a video length of 0:30 to one minute in length.

IR Resolutions Video

 

Do you need to update your CSR strategy?

Although we have seen a great number of companies who have an understanding of how CSR can impact their IR strategy, showcasing your efforts will soon be the norm. CSR has been more of a trend seen in the European and Asia-Pacific regions, but 2017 will be the year that it becomes increasingly relevant in North America.

With this in mind, it’s time to review your CSR strategy and online presence in this New Year. Ask yourself – does the CSR section of my website accurately reflect our internal efforts?

 

Use social media to tell your story.

Although you very likely have presence online, and perhaps even use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram every single day, this is the time to review how you are telling your company’s story through social media. 62 percent of adults in the United States get their news on social networks, which is up from 49 percent in 2012. It’s clear that this trend will only continue in 2017.

As you are making company announcements or CSR initiates in this New Year, consider how social media can compliment your strategy.

 

From a website refresh to video, CSR to social media, your IR resolutions for 2017 range in topic, but will all play a significant impact on your business within this New Year. Take time this month to review your strategies currently in place, and consider the benefits of making optimizations now.

Why General Electric is the smartest brand on social media

What if a 100 year old person was better at social media than you? A lot of brands better be asking themselves this question, because General Electric is 123 years old this year and are rocking every social media platform from LinkedIn to Vine. It’s not just about the brand’s commanding presence on social media, however. We’re more interested in the way a century-old company who most people know best through lightbulbs and refrigerators can take every aspect of social media, from GIFs to infographics, and integrate them seamlessly into their strategy. Here are some main reasons why GE kills it daily on social media.

1. They encourage conversation and participation

GE always has a social media contest going on. Last year they took to Vine to get people talking about science. Their #6SecondScienceFair invited everyone to interact with their brand by capturing a 6 second video of the coolest science experiment they could create. GE posted their favourites on their own social media page, and created a tumblr account for all the best videos. Like the experts they are, GE made sure to tie the fun contest back to their main message of influencing science and technology. (They also won a shiny award for this educational video series at the 2014 Cannes Lions advertising competition).

6 second science fair

httpss://vine.co/v/hhdWwFqELlm

2. They experiment with new sharing platforms 

General Electric is known for being early adopters of new social media platforms (for instance they got on Vine one day after the video-sharing app launched). Now, GIFS within tweets is the new image within tweets. One brilliant aspect of GE’s social media strategy is that they know how to take each emerging platform or trend and seamlessly integrate it with their mission. Check out how they put GIFS to work in the example below. An inside glimpse of a new ice nugget maker? Sweet, I’m in.

httpss://twitter.com/generalelectric/status/626410823188021248

GE has also been all over Periscope lately, the new video live-streaming app. Their most recent endeavour included a ‘DroneWeek’ where, using a modified drone, General Electric gave social media followers an up-close and personal look at the biggest and tallest machines.

Live on Periscope

3. They personalize their brand

General Electric is proud of everything they create, and they let people know. Their Instagram account is full of behind the scenes images and videos detailing a day in the life of a GE employee as well as glimpse s of testing facilities, aviation grounds, and wind turbine fields. Their Instagram is a machine enthusiast’s fantasy: who doesn’t like giant pictures of airplane engines and gas turbine load compressors? Behind the scenes snapshots are also smart because they increase the brand’s positive reputation and build enthusiasm and trust between the company and its social media followers.

httpss://instagram.com/p/31mdm1RP3Z

httpss://instagram.com/p/49yDD5RP5q/

4. They teach as well as promote

GE promotes the new technologies they’re working on through social media the best possible way: they educate users about what they’re building. Their YouTube series ‘Invention Factory’ provides an investigation on some of humanity’s biggest questions, and how GE is looking for answers. They’ve produced many videos such as the one below to create enthusiasm about their big picture work.

5. They embrace the light-hearted aspect of social media

GE seriously promotes their technology and their mission, but they also know when to loosen their ties and have a little fun. They’re big fans of emojis on Twitter. (And in general, check out their whole EmojiScience campaign).

httpss://twitter.com/generalelectric/status/623528180394102784

6. They keep investors in the loop

While some companies may believe that social media and investor relations doesn’t mix, General Electric challenges that idea with a seamless integration between the two worlds. (We also think it’s a perfect marriage, and we’ve written about it before). General electric releases investor highlights on their social media channels with bold images for easy sharing and consumption. Keeping investors in-the-know on social media makes for a more engaged investor audience.

httpss://twitter.com/GE_Reports/status/622027190343991296

7. They love engaging other brands

It’s clear that GE has a lot of fun on social media, and they love engaging other brands. A lot of times GE’s Twitter will publish an Emoji puzzler concerning a historic scientific breakthrough and will call out other companies and invite them to take a guess. They also love congratulatory tweets, and spread love to everyone from NASA to Bill Nye the Science Guy.

httpss://twitter.com/generalelectric/status/624319459574943745

httpss://twitter.com/generalelectric/status/622084145230016514

 

 

6 lessons from companies on creating a killer brand

Take some tips from the masters. There’s a reason we’ve all heard of these names, and although size, budget, and success may all be different between factors between these brand curators and your company’s brand, there’s still valuable lessons they can teach you about standing out. Take a look at these six lessons from companies who’ve mastered everything from email newsletter copy to reviving 90’s hip hop.

Lesson #1: Know your legacy and let it influence you

The expert: Sprite

Sprite’s been doing a bit of marketing speed-dating lately; they just switched creative agencies for the fourth time in three years. Flashback to 1994 when they launched the now iconic ‘Obey Your Thirst’ slogan with a campaign featuring underground hip-hop up stars and freestylers like Nas, AZ, and Grand Puba.

 

 

Over 20 years later, Sprite is returning to the ‘Obey your Thirst’ campaign and to their hip-hop roots. Sprite partnered with The Fader magazine to create a video series aptly titled ‘Obey your Verse’ featuring big names like Drake and Nas, alongside shining up-and-comers Vince Staples and Isaiah Rashad. The Fader president Andy Cohn spoke to Contently about the campaign, saying “I think Sprite had a really good handle on how they wanted to relaunch ‘Obey Your Thirst’ because I think they realized they had a legacy they could trade on“. The new twist on the famous 90’s campaign has been very successful; the series has totalled more than 1 million video views so far. Cohn also spoke of how the legacy of ‘Obey Your Thirst’ with famous rappers was so easy to rejuvenate because “ever artist we talked to…knew about Sprite and ‘Obey Your Thirst’ from 20 years ago'”.

 

Lesson #2: Speak to your audience like human beings

The expert: Mailchimp

If you look up Mailchimp’s public Style Guide, you’ll get pages and pages of content explicitly explaining a Mailchimp employee’s responsibility to help customers in a friendly and informative way. They’ve even created a whole website called Voice and Tone full of potential conversations between a user and Mailchimp, and appropriate way to respond. What you’re seeing is Mailchimp nailing the importance of frank and personable communication. Isn’t it refreshing when a company’s support line speaks to you like, well, the real human being that they are?

 

MailChimp voice and tone

 

Lesson #3: Understand your core message

The expert: Dove

Growing from a brand who sold soap to a well-known advocator for all women’s beauty is quite a feat. Dove’s “Campaign for Real-Beauty” evolved in 2004 and still runs strong in their ads today. In the past few years, they’ve also become experts at making viral videos. The brilliance of these videos comes with the underlying core message in each of them: a move to inspire self esteem in women and encouraging all girls to reach their full potential. Whether their ads focus on Real-Beauty sketches, choosing whether to walk through a door that says ‘Beautiful’ or ‘Average’, or teaching young girls to embrace their curly hair, each of Dove’s ads trace back to their social mission statement of creating “a world where beauty is a source of confidence, and not anxiety”. Other brands have begun to follow Dove’s lead, such as the Always #LikeAGirl campaign and CoverGirl’s #GirlsCan empowerment ads.

 

Lesson #4: Don’t be afraid to take risks 

The expert: GoDaddy

2015 marked GoDaddy’s 11th ad appearance in the Super Bowl. Over the last decade, GoDaddy’s Super Bowl commercials have been some of the most controversial and some of the weirdest ones out there, but definitely also the most talked about. Their bold marketing moves and insistence on being surprising year after year has cemented them as one of the country’s most recognizable brands. And what’s their thing? Providing website domains. It’s not the spiciest industry out there, but it’s a safe bet that anyone you ask has at least heard the name ‘GoDaddy’, even if they’re not sure what exactly the company does. But that brand recognizability is exactly what the company needs to keep doors open. This isn’t to say taking plunging risks like GoDaddy is always the smartest move (they’ve definitely fallen on their faces a few times), but the idea remains an inspiring one. If a website domain company can be one of the most talked about companies out there, they’re certainly doing something right.

 

 

Lesson #5: Be brilliant at something unexpected

The expert: Lululemon

Lululemon’s brand dominates their industry. The yoga-inspired athletic apparel company has been so successful for many reasons, especially the way they encourage an entire healthy lifestyle as well as selling their product. Lululemon’s ‘good vibes’ and lifestyle branding are driven by their lesser known talent online: their killer content creation. Lululemon’s daily email newsletters are brilliant moments of witty copy, and their blog is a space for everything from wellness articles to profiles on up-and-coming folk singers. They’ve recently also released a seven part podcast as part of their one week meditation challenge. The constant contact a user receives online from the podcasts, interviews, and blogs establishes Lululemon’s brand beyond simply producing comfy yoga pants. The become that super healthy friend who you’ve always admired who’s also there to motivate you with some good vibes and great reads.

 

lululemon podcast

lululemon podcast

 

Lesson #6: Keep raising your own bar 

The expert: Tesla

Heard of ‘Ludicrous Mode?’ Well, it’s Tesla’s new addition to the Model S sedan and Model X SUV that’s going to kick the car from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, and the SUV in 3.3. It’s also a nod to one of the greatest movies of all time (no judgement, it’s a classic). Elon Musk announced the new speed last month,  as well as promising his adoring fans audience that “he’ll launch an all-new Roadster in four years” (Bloomberg). This announcement comes only a few months after the unveiling of Tesla’s next venture the ‘Powerwall’, their own sustainable home battery. The lesson here, in essence, is that Tesla refuses to quit. They’re pushing into multiple industries and demolishing  all expectations along the way. There’s a reason they’re called “the brand of the year, decade and possibly century” (Forbes). Even if you’re not on the Elon Musk level, there can be strong value in refusing to settle and constantly pushing out new ideas and ways to evolve as a company. The energy surrounding Tesla and its supporters seems more like fans at a rock concert than shareholders and consumers. That’s a sign of how crucial Tesla’s brand has been in their success. Now, it’s all about where they’ll go from here. Maybe all the way to plaid? If you didn’t understand that, you didn’t click the movie link.

 

Tesla Powewall

 

How to use video for investor relations

Introduction: Incorporate video for investor relations to up your IR game

There are many ways a company can use video for investor relations in order to grab an investor’s attention. We’ve made a list of some ways you can start using video in your future investor relations strategies with five examples of companies doing it the right way.

If you’re interested in more ways to connect with investors, download our free eBook about 9 ways to improve investor communications with your website.

1. Educate people about what you really do

Here’s a video we did for the folks at Uranium Energy Corp. The company wanted to talk about the new ISR mining technology they’re incorporating into one of their projects. Instead of attempting to describe the technology in long paragraphs, we produced a short animated video under their website section ‘Uranium 101.’ Educating about your product is a great way to utilize video for investor relations so potential investors and current stakeholders can learn what the company does.  Click to :45 to see the animations really kick in.

httpss://vimeo.com/139989401

 

2. Address big company changes and common questions

If something really big is happening in your company, address it with a video. Stakeholders and community members alike are sure to have questions when it comes to a big transition, like new leadership or a merger. A concise company video can answer most questions at once and shows you’re on the ball in addressing the situation first.

Here’s an example from Medtronic, a medical technology and services company, who acquired the company Covidien last year. They utilized video for investor relations initiatives to educate stakeholders shortly after the merger about the ‘Medtronic story’, and said in a statement, “as we welcome Covidien to Medtronic, learn about our journey to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life for millions of people around the world”.

 

Another example is Bill Gates (yeah that guy) welcoming Microsoft’s new CEO. If Bill Gates is telling you about the new CEO, you listen.

Want some other great tips on getting your website investor ready? Download our free eBook about 9 ways to improve investor communication with your website.

 

 

3. If you like it, then you shoulda put a face on it (aka CEO videos)  

Get your CEO talking. Microsoft is a great example of how company videos don’t have to include crazy animations or special effects to be interesting and get an important point across. To introduce their new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft published this video of Nadella and an interviewer just strolling around the Microsoft campus talking about life and his exciting new role. Nadella takes the opportunity to say how “honored, humbled, and excited” he is to be offered the position. Face time with the boss, even in video, goes a long way. 

 

4. Three words. Corporate. Social. Responsibility.

TD Bank has an entire video gallery within their Corporate Responsibility tab showcasing different ways the bank gave back to their community. To put it plainly, it’s a lot more motivational watching a video about the affected community rather than reading paragraphs on a website.

using video for investor relations

Videos not only showcase what you’ve been doing in terms of CSR, but also why the acts themselves are so beneficial for public companies. Nielsen, a global information and measurement company, posted a video on their investors page of the executive director Nic Covey giving an interview about the extreme importance behind Corporate Social Responsibility and public companies. This is a brilliant move because it positions Covey, and by association the company, as a thought leader in CSR and CSR reporting.

 

using video for investor relations

 

 

 

Conclusion: Go beyond best practices

Yes, it’s perfectly fine to have an investor relations website without multimedia elements. The most important part of your IR site is to ensure investors can get the information they need right away. Using video for investor relations, however, can really give you an edge over your peers. Everyone is checking off the best practice lists, but how many are thinking of how they can take their corporate IR website beyond that? Introducing video, even a small 30 second CEO message, could really take your investor relations section to the next level.

 




9 tips to improve investor communication with your website




Keep investor marketing hot during slow summers by asking these questions

While the wolves of Wall Street are away in Tahiti

Turns out vacation plans and warm weather have their effects on the markets as well. Summer is often a slower time for public companies, as it’s the slowest time for the markets and investors. MainStreet.com writes that “one of the biggest reasons [for summer slump] is that there isn’t much market-swaying information being released…summer is [the] correction period before the market picks up again in October”. Or maybe everyone just wants to find some sand, sun, and surf.

Regardless of the reason, it makes us excited because summer is a great time to strengthen your investor marketing strategies–aka our bread and butter. If getting more visibility to your IR website or researching new investor marketing tactics was in the back of your mind in the past year, try thinking about it now. Here are some questions to ask yourself this summer to help strengthen future IR marketing strategies.

1.  Have I taken a look at my website lately?

How does your website stack up amongst others in your industry? Does the design need to be updated? Take a look at some of your competitors’ websites. Design trends move so fast nowadays that it’s important to take a step back and reassess where your corporate and investor site is on the scale. This doesn’t mean you need to be ridiculously cutting edge. But some things, like being mobile-friendly, are really important to start incorporating. (Mobilegeddon anyone?) Your investor website is the main point of contact between you and your target audience. Think about whether it’s time to give the site a refresh. Summer’s a great time to get started!

2. How are my social media accounts doing? 

Still not on social media? No excuses this time. If you still need proof on how social media can work for investors, get it here. Next week’s blog will also talk about Twitter and investor relations specifically, so stay tuned. When we say you should look at your social media accounts, we don’t mean just making sure you have them. Have you seen some new things companies are doing with Twitter and IR marketing? Check out how General Electric’s CEO tweeted important quotes from their annual meeting. Use social media to get more people involved and more people listening.

3. Have I started cleaning my email lists? 

Remember our infographic last week? We showed you how ensuring your subscribers are a ‘yay’ on the CASL scale actually increases your open-rate by 87%! If you haven’t seen the proof yet, we really think you should check it out. Going through your email lists might sound like less than a good time, but it’ll be really helpful especially when the markets pick back up. How many of your news releases are currently sent to outdated contacts or lost in spam filters? As we showed in the infographic, outdated lists affect your open-rate statistics. Plus, don’t you want to be sending emails to only those who actually care?

4. Have I looked at new ways people are using technology for investor marketing?

Start researching. We talked a few weeks ago about T-Mobile live-streaming their earnings call and participating in a live social media Q&A. There’s a lot of ways to incorporate newer technologies into investor marketing that many companies haven’t touched on yet. Summer’s a good time to see what’s out there and start thinking of how things like webcasts and live Q&A’s can work for you.

5. Do I have plans to start using more video in my marketing efforts?

Remember the infamous ‘Oreo Superbowl tweet of 2013′? If you don’t: Oreo Cookies’ real-time reaction tweet about ‘dunking in the dark’ minutes after the power went out in the Superbowl stadium stands as the pinnacle moment of brands reacting to current events on social media. Two years later, everyone has shown up to the party and things are getting crowded.

Using video for investor marketing is still fairly new. So there’s still time to be the Oreo of public company video marketing. Start thinking of how you can use video to target investors whether it’s a casual CEO one-on-one interview, an animated spot about your company’s product or process, or a short video of highlights to showcase your investment proposition. Whatever you choose, start looking into it now, because video is going to be the new social media.

 

 

 

 

‘Pa-Drone’: See Patrón’s virtual reality drone marketing campaign

The Art of Patrón

Happy Cinco de Mayo! While browsing the internet for what’s new and exciting in digital marketing trends, we thought it would be fitting today to highlight Patrón’s newest marketing campaign. The world famous Mexican tequila’s new virtual reality experience called ‘The Art of Patrón’ is aimed at giving consumers an up close and personal glimpse at the extreme care and craftsmanship that goes into each bottle.

Through the eyes of a bee 

Patrón, along with FirstBorn agency, decided to immerse the viewer completely in a virtual reality film experience from the perspective of a bee, the brand’s icon. According to PR Newswire, the Art of Patrón: Virtual Reality Experience “is the first by a brand that combines live-action film with cinematic CGI animation”. The experience was filmed in Mexico “using a specialized drone that was custom-built for the project”. The drone was also outfitted with seven different GoPro cameras. The result is a stunning video that takes you from the sweeping agave fields to the heart of the distillery, in just over a minute. The virtual reality experience comes once a viewer puts on an Oculus headset, but for most of us, the dizzying drone-filmed video can be viewed online here (it works great on a tablet, mobile phone, or desktop computer).

Shots of the distilleryGlimpse into the process behind it all

Brands using drones to film projects

The completely immersive experience that’s achieved through filming processes such as these and through virtual reality was crucial for Patrón to capture. The company’s CMO Lee Applbaum stated that “the idea behind the campaign came from the fact that the distillery is located in a remote part of Mexico. The virtual reality is meant to replicate, as closely as possible, the on-site experience”. Patrón are just the latest of many companies who are starting to really see the potential drones and other modern technologies have on their campaigns, and overall brand engagement.

Adweek quotes Applbaum saying, “it’s very ironic that we’re using cutting-edge technology to tell this story of a very traditional, time-honored and ancient process…All of this audio and video from the drone gives you this sensation that you are this bee flying through places that ordinarily you simply could not do.”

Here’s a behind the scenes video of the campaign from the folks at FastCompany:

Three Simple Ways to Engage Investors

Brazil Resources Inc. (TSX-V: BRI) is a public mineral exploration company with a focus on the acquisition and development of projects in emerging producing gold districts in Brazil, Paraguay and other parts of South America. Recently we re-designed their website. The company needed a website that could effectively tell their story to investors! Together with the client, we brainstormed different ideas and web design techniques that would help achieve their objective. In the end, we decided that an embedded video, a unique investment highlights page and responsive design were the three tools that could help make BRI’s story be heard.

bri-1

Embedded Video

Since 2013 was one of the toughest years for the junior mining sector we wanted to find a way where we could effectively communicate BRI’s plan with its shareholders. We chose to use an embedded video because it has the ability to covey a clear and direct message. The video gave BRI’s management team the opportunity to communicate with its audience about its strategy during these tougher times. The CEO, Steve Swatton, and Chairman, Amir Adnani got a chance to touch on all of the market opportunities for the company. The video emphasizes that a downturn can be the best time to grow a new company.

 bri-2

Investment Highlights Page

We created a scrolling parallax page with interactive images to tell BRI’s story, this is the perfect tool for giving your viewers an informative, yet seamless experience. With a micro to macro approach, we used facts, figures, and performance metrics to elaborate on BRI’s story. Starting with micro, the Investment highlights page explains BRI’s rapid resource growth through strategic acquisition, highlighted by their capital structure and strong management team. Then we switch over to the company’s macro story – Why Brazil?  This section highlights the country’s rising economy.

bri-3

Responsive Design

Brazil Resources has a very diverse group of shareholders so it was important for their website to cater to everyone’s needs. On that note, we used responsive design, a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience. This ensures that all of BRI’s shareholders and future investors can access their site anywhere, on any device.

bri-4

Be a Facebook Expert: Insights to Instagram Video & Facebook Updates

1. Facebook adds video to Instagram

Mobile video is exploding! Twitter’s Vine has been a popular hit but we’re not sure if it’s going to withstand Instagram now. Instagram got to the social media world before Vine so it’s fair to say it has a bigger and stronger fan base. Question is, if you already have Instagram on your phone and now that it has a video functionality, would you still download Vine? Check out TechCrunch’s detailed comparison of the two apps and here’s my quick summary of the pros and cons:

 

+’s for using Instagram Video

  • Up to 15 seconds
  • You can personalize Instagram’s 15 second videos with filters and frames
  • You can share videos on multiple social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Email & Foursquare)
  • Image stabilization
  • Has photo map
+’s for using Vine

  • Short and punchy in 6 seconds
  • Videos are embeddable via desktop
  • Vine videos can loop, while Instagram videos only play once
  • You can share videos on Facebook & Twitter
  • Users will have the ability to create drafts soon

 

2. Facebook revamps its analytics dashboard

Facebook’s analytics dashboard, Insights, has a fresh look – clean and simplified. The “People Talking About This” is now broken down into smaller charts, which allows us to measure the reach and engagement of each individual post. What does that mean? Each post will have its own chart of stats (likes, comments, clicks and shares), and you can also break down your analytics to your specific target (women ages from 18-24 or men over 35). It’ll be easier for marketers to judge which type of content is more popular with which crowd. (See Mashable’s print-screens for visual examples)

3. Facebook reply comments with photos

Forget about typing a comment to reply, post a photo if you can! Comments just got that much more expressive. According to PCMag.com, we can reply status updates with images and mobile users will be able to view it too, but we can’t post photo comments via mobile just yet. So never mind about finding the right words for replies, find the right pictures or better yet, memes ;)!

Just in case you missed the news, Facebook introduced #hashtags last week and emoticons to its status updates a while ago. Facebook is bringing in a lot of new updates to remain the biggest social network. Despite the fact that they’re still the biggest with 1.1 billion citizens, competition is stiff as other networks are growing rapidly. Are you a Facebook loyalist? How do you like its new updates? Or are you more interested in growing with other channels like Google+? Let me know! @BlenderMedia