Lo DeGrezia

Social Media Marketing: Trends, traffic, and talk of the digital world

[pourloveandmore]

New Ventures: Snapchat to Snap Inc.

The moment Instagram launched its version of stories this past Summer on August 2nd, we all knew Snapchat would bite back with something. Well that something is HERE and it’s a pair of Spectacles unveiled by Snap Inc. CEO and co-founder, Evan Spiegel, stated on Snap Inc.’s blog that Snapchat has now changed the company’s name to Snap Inc. because they’re providing hardware with a whole new experience rather than just an app.

What are Spectacles?

Unlike the not so trendy Google Glass design, Spectacles are sunglasses with a playful look. Spectacles film with a 115-degree-angle lens, similar to the human eye’s field of vision. Their new circular video can play full screen on any device, which makes the video seem like you’re living the moment. Snap Inc.’s new product will be released “soon” priced at $129, and featured in three different colors upon release (coral, teal, and black).

Photo from: Spectacles 

How do they work?

According the Snap Inc. blog, Spectacles provide one of the smallest wireless video cameras in the world. The camera is conveniently located on the hinge of the sunglasses. The user activates the camera by pressing the button on the side of the frame. A light will then shine on the frame alerting that the subject they are being recorded. The film time is only up to 10 seconds, just like in the app. However, the Spectacles are able to record a full day worth of memories with a single charge. That’s a lot of memories!

Why are Spectacles different?

Aside from their stylish look, and dual function as a pair of sunglass, they’re convenient! Spectacles have the ability to stream your 10 second video instantaneously to your Snapchat using either Bluetooth or WiFi. What more do we want than to be instantly gratified, right? This saves users the hassle of taking out their phone while throwing up their hands at a concert, on a hike, or riding their bike, skateboard, snowboard, etc. Spectacles make it easy for users to share moments instantly for the times they are unable to (or don’t want to) use their phones directly.

| Spectacles | Introducing Spectacles | Youtube |

Safety First!

Apart from all that Spectacles offer, they are also a safe alternative for users. Snapchat has been accused of encouraging unsafe behavior in the past. Such as: the MPH filter provokes snapping while driving. But now with Spectacles, users are able to snap at anytime hands free. (NOTE: Snap. Inc. IS NOT encouraging snapping while driving with Spectacles! However, it can avoid the unsafe practices users may do to capture the “perfect” snap using their phones.) Spiegel told The Wall Street Journal recording with your phone is “like a wall in front of your face” and Spectacles will help solve this. AKA keeping us from hiding ourselves behind a phone!!! It will allow us to live each moment instead of watching your screen.

Just For Fun

Spiegel said that Snap Inc. is only producing a limited number of Spectacles in order to see what his consumers like. The project was just for fun. Being able to explore beyond the app and bring Snap users a new product. Mashable reports that Spiegel told The Wall Street Journal:

“It’s about us figuring out if it fits into people’s lives and seeing how they like it.”

So what do we think? Does Snap Inc.have something with Spectacles? Or are they going to come and go as quickly as the poor Google glass? We’ll have to wait and see after the release!

Photo from: Spectacles

[lodegrezia]

I'll now only be posting to my blog @lowendee !! Follow meeee! :))))

[lodegrezia]

Facebook ‘Reactions’: Alternative to the ‘Dislike’ Button

In September 2015, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook might be welcoming a ‘Dislike’ button to the social media platform that will allow users to express “empathy.” This dislike button stirred up controversy and negative emotions of Facebook’s motives for this new digital reaction.

Facebook had bounced around ideas for this ‘Dislike’ button for some time because of the high demand by users. Facebook hoped this ‘Dislike’ button would be a button that translates­– I’m sorry, I sympathize, I feel you. Facebook may have good intentions for this button, however, Facebook isn’t thinking of the ultimate results that may ultimately drown this platform with negative energy.

The idea of this button was inspired from the occurrence of videos going viral that told messages that people did not exactly ‘like’ but liked it to support the cause it may be fighting for. For example, posts protesting cosmetic companies for abusing animals for the sake of testing lipsticks, or people posting about a loved one who passed away. People don’t ‘like’ this type of post, but they want to support the cause of fighting for animal rights or let their friend know they are offering their emotional support. By doing this, they like and share the article or video.

But instead of a ‘Dislike’ button, Facebook launched their new ‘Reactions’ that people may choose from besides just ‘liking’ a post. February 24th, the day of the global ‘Reactions’ launch, Mark Zuckerberg states: 

“Not every moment you want to share is happy. Sometimes you want to share something sad or frustrating. Our community has been asking for a dislike button for years, but not because people want to tell friends they don't like their posts. People wanted to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions.”

In substitution for the high demand of a ‘Dislike’ button, Facebook introduced ‘reactions’ for users to choose from. Instead of just liking a photo, the user can demonstrate their feelings toward the post whether it’s anger, sadness, surprise, love, and happiness.

Is Facebook Controlling Our Emotions?

As we know, our Facebook home feed is tailored by an algorithm, which measures what kind of posts we tend to like, or are more interested in by our shares or link clicks. Our activity is monitored in order to fill our feed with posts and information that interest us most.

Facebook states that: 

“Over time we hope to learn how the different Reactions should be weighted differently by News Feed to do a better job of showing everyone the stories they most want to see.”

Therefore, the idea of sharing our reactions may alter the data in our feed. If I press the laughter reaction a certain number of times will I only see comical videos throughout my feed? What if I submit the sad reaction, only sad and negative stories will appear on my home page????

These questions are beginning to worry Facebook users of the possibility that Facebook will ultimately gain the power of our emotions based on the reaction data they collect through their software. Others feel they can’t decide on a reaction so they just continue to scroll (which will begin to diminish the user’s engagement level).

‘Reactions’ Getting A Negative Reaction

Although there isn’t a ‘Dislike’ button (or correlating facial expression) offered, people are still not won over about Facebook’s new move. The looming idea that Facebook reactions might cause more negative exchanges among users with the sad or angry expressions.

Since social media has become a central part of our lives, self-esteem has become closely associated with the number of likes, followers or retweets we earn on our posts. Earned social media has become a significant tool of self-validation. An article in the Huffington Post elaborates more on this subject with a simple equation that has become a regular and subconscious thought process for anyone with a social media account: Likes + Follows = High Self-Esteem 

Super model Cara Delevingne has spoken up about these new Facebook ‘Reactions’ and the impact they may have on the emotional energy circulating through this social media platform.

"If you can go around disliking someone’s pictures, that is going to set off a whole new wave of bullying. If it's something that is going to cause people harm, I really think we should steer against that. 'Like' away — but if you have a bad thought about someone, keep it to yourself,"

Delevingne is a prominent influencer within the social media world with high numbers to show for it: 3.6 million followers on Facebook, 27.5 million on Instagram, and 4.9 million on Twitter. She is taking advantage of her massive following by speaking up for keeping positivity alive on Facebook.

With self esteem being largely influenced by the ‘Likes” received from posts, there should be nothing but negative feelings toward the idea of a ‘Dislike’ button. However there is still a surprisingly high demand for the button, although, Facebook found an alternative to avoid it... for now.

[lodegrezia]

Join the #SpeakBeautiful Effect with Dove

Dove, a strong advocate for promoting a healthy body image, is taking their #SpeakBeautiful marketing campaign to another level. Last year, Dove introduced their #SpeakBeautiful campaign in honor of the 87th Academy Award Ceremony. This year, Dove is taking this campaign further.

In 2014, women posted more than 5 million negative tweets about beauty and body image (their own or someone else's). Dove’s goal was to change this ratio by encouraging women to post tweets supporting a healthy body image the day of the Oscars.

“It only takes one positive tweet to start a trend.”

This is Dove’s Video from their last years campaign:

| Dove #SpeakBeautiful | Let’s Make Social Media A More Positive Place |

Dove’s #SpeakBeautiful domino effect strategy successfully encouraged women to share positive tweets in support of their cause. But this campaign was not designed just for the day of the 2015 Oscars to prevent ‘bullying’ the nominated actors and actresses. Dove decided to launch this campaign last Oscar ceremony because what a better day than one of the biggest nights of the year where Hollywood stars will be strutting down the red carpet with millions of viewers eyeballing every move, every word, and everything they wear?….

Instead of commenting about what you don’t like about them… Why not spread some positive energy toward our nominees? Dove completed the night with more than 51,000 tweets using #SpeakBeautiful along with 46,000 responses and largely contributing toward the decrease in the amount of negative beauty tweets.

Feeding off of last year’s Oscar night success, earlier this week Dove introduced their new Twitter campaign the ‘#SpeakBeautiful Effect.’ Dove has now teamed up with Twitter for this campaign to monitor tweets using a technological tool to identify negative and hateful words within tweets. The tweet analysis will also measure the number of positive beauty words are being used by users who have signed up.

Whether the user is talking negatively about others or themselves in their tweets, Dove will respond with non-automated responses giving personalized advice to promote a more positive and respectful way of speaking about others and themselves on social media. Social media and self-esteem experts will be working with Dove and Twitter to empower women to use language that promotes “confidence, optimism, and kindness” on social media.

Dove is marketing users to join their #SpeakBeautiful Effect campaign. This is how you enter:

You must retweet Dove’s call to action video for their #SpeakBeautiful Effect found on their official Dove Twitter account

Dove will conduct a tweet analysis that will measure whether you are using positive or negative language in your tweets

You will receive your results in mid-March!

| The Dove #SpeakBeautiful Effect | See The Impact Of Your Words Online |

This mini challenge will allow people to gain perspective on how influential their words can really be, especially when they are sent out into the social media universe. Sarah Conley, a plus-sized fashion blogger comments on MIMI Chatter in regards to Dove’s ultimate goal with the new branch to their campaign:

“I believe it's important to understand how the messages we put out affect ourselves and others. Words have power, and if we start to speak more positivity about ourselves in our online communities, we have the ability to impact the broader conversation about beauty, both online and in real life."

| Tweet Analysis from Friday evening, February 27th | Two Days after Dove’s call to action | Source: ShortyAwards.com |

Most often while watching a televised event such as the Oscars this Sunday, people not only harsh critics toward the ceremony guests’ appearances, but also comparing themselves to them. Triggering a negative self-image mindset such as, “She’s so thin, I WISH I had her body.” Or “All of these women are so beautiful, I feel so ugly.” Those are just some examples of typical/ hypothetical tweets that people post which may not offend another person directly, but hurt their own self-confidence.

These are a couple of tweets Dove has responded to. Just reading these brought tears to my eyes just to think that people can allow themselves to feel so negatively about themselves. We are all beautiful… Dove is just trying to remind us.

Stats that continue to inspire Dove’s goals towards making social media a positive place for self confidence and empowerment: 

8 out of 10 women encounter negative comments on social media that critique women's looks

Women are 50% more likely to say something negative about themselves than positive on social media

82% of women surveyed feel the beauty standards set by social media are unrealistic

4 out of every 5 negative tweets Twitter identified about beauty and body image are women talking about themselves

Remember that saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” A sentence that rings in the back of my head in my moms voice. Yes, Twitter is a platform where we speak our minds. And yes, you do have the freedom of speech... But Dove is trying to make you to think twice about the impact of your words before you tweet. Because words do hurt. So don't forget… This year Dove will be measuring your tweets! Makes you want to be more nice.. Doesn’t it?

Happy Tweeting!

[lodegrezia]

Deadpool’s Marketing Strategy Broke Box Office Records

DEADPOOL. The movie that hit theaters this past weekend starring the “Sexiest Man Alive,” Ryan Reynolds demolished box office records in the first 3 days of release. How did Fox do it? MARKETING! Fox was able to market this movie in the most effective and strategic ways making this movie a sensation before it was even released.

20th Century Fox flooded numerous platforms with Deadpool GIFS, memes, comic strips, clips, interviews, clever billboards, and promotional pictures. Some might say Fox went a bit overboard with its publicity for the movie, which had started in March 2015. However, Deadpool’s shareable content has gone viral all over the internet/social media world. Thus, building a high level of anticipation for almost a year before the film’s release, and 20th Century Fox has numbers to prove it. $132 million in domestic (300 million worldwide) box office sales and biggest opening ever for an R-rated movie.

Yes, Ryan Reynolds with his perfect genes and charismatic personality gave Fox a huge boost with his willingness to help with marketing stunts, advertising with appearances, and his pure enthusiasm for the film. Reynolds has been trying to get Deadpool in production for 11 years and he was finally granted the opportunity. Ryan Reynolds made appearances both as himself and in costume to promote the character, Deadpool. Marc Weinstock, president-domestic marketing of 20th Century Fox stated in an AdAge article Inside the Over-the-Top Marketing Strategy for ‘Deadpool’:

"We had a fantastic superhero movie on one end and a hilarious comedy on the other and we knew if we did our job right we could bring in both audiences."

Deadpool’s R-rating gave Fox more of a challenge to reach out to adults rather than teenagers for a Marvel movie. However, along with Deadpool’s R-rating came more gory fight scenes and dirty jokes. The family friendly humor we usually see in traditional Marvel films was eliminated. This news gained an audience that may not have even heard of Deadpool before its marketing campaign and have now become instant loyal fans.

Deadpool Marketing Strategies:

Keep the Movie’s Content a Secret

Flood Social Media

Use Holidays to your Advantage

Create Original Content

#1 Keep the Movie’s Content a Secret

Have you ever seen so many movie trailers prior to its release and once you see it on opening weekend you had already seen all the best parts? ME TOO! It’s the worst! Movie trailers are becoming so long and detailed that the audience has seen all the action and laughed out all of the funny parts of the movie before seeing the whole thing! Deadpool was very careful to advertise the movie by advertising Deadpool’s character rather than movie clips.

This method draws an audience in by identifying with Deadpool’s sarcastic/ raunchy sense of humor. People connected to the character and built a personal liking for him. The humor displayed on advertisements that revealed NOTHING about the film won over new audiences just because it made them laugh.

#2 Flood Social Media

Deadpool’s advertisements continued to pop up on social media platforms, such as Tinder, TV spots, talk shows, and videos that went viral. Ryan Reynold’s has also personally marketed the film by making appearances, which aided the circulation of fan earned media and word of mouth advertising on social media platforms. Ryan Reynolds made an appearance at Super Bowl 50 selling Deadpool’s favorite food, chimichangas from a food truck! Ryan Reynold’s and co-star T.J. Miller also went to an unnamed bar that appeared in the movie as Sister Margaret’s Bar to play darts, serve drinks, and of course spread the news of Deadpool.

Not only was Fox focusing on advertising the movie with this guerrilla marketing approach, but advertising the character himself. Soon people were seen wearing Deadpool masks before the launch of the movie! Talk about customer loyalty..

For those you who are familiar with Deadpool’s personality at all, you’d know that he has an incredible sense of humor full of sarcasm and sexual innuendos. Fox took advantage of his strong personality and used it to be leading the storyteller to their social media based marketing campaign. Mark Weinstock said:

"This reaffirmed my faith in social media. There's a lot of debate as to whether or not social media can really open a movie…and this proves it can."

The photo that started it all.....

#3 Use Holidays To Your Advantage

Deadpool created viral content that could be shared on various platforms mostly using humor as their targeted emotion. Their content marketing took advantage of holidays, which not only boosted awareness but shares throughout the holidays…

April Fool’s Day:

Deadpool is going to be PG-13.... NOT!

Mother’s Day:

Halloween:

On Halloween night, Ryan Reynolds dressed in the Deadpool costume and went to “recruit” some superheros for his team. This isn’t exactly a kids movie... but Reynolds Interacting one-on-one with kids unrehearsed in support of his film is SHARABLE! The video is cute, funny, and the fact that those kids will never forget the Halloween they met Deadpool is an amazing marketing stunt.

Thanksgiving:

Valentine’s Day:

Deadpool opening weekend numbers beat last year’s 50 Shades of Grey Valentine’s weekend box office numbers at 85 million.

#4 Create ORIGINAL content

President of domestic marketing for 20th Century Fox, Marc Weinstock, comments how crucial originality is when coming up with content for a marketing campaign in Entertainment Weekly’s article, How Deadpool became a record-breaking viral sensation:

“Originally always wins. Audaciousness always wins. When you show something to the audience that they’ve never seen before, they get excited.”

Some of the original content themes were creating their own comic illustrations of the Deadpool character….

Deadpool themed #foodporn…

Clever ads using the voice of Deadpool’s raunchy persona….

I saw Deadpool this past weekend and LOVED IT! Laughed the entire time and thankfully had only seen one or two quick scenes of the movie prior to watching it. Making the rest of the movie experience even more hilarious. And of course, Ryan’s body wasn’t a bad view either.. But if you don't trust my opinion, maybe you’ll listen to Betty White’s….

[lodegrezia]

Breakdown of Valentine’s Day: Stats & Content Marketing

Valentine’s Day is TOMORROW. (for those of you who had no idea, you’re welcome) Whether you celebrate Valentine’s or not, this won’t be a gushy mushy post. Let’s forget about all the hearts, teddy bears, flowers, and chocolate for a minute. Start thinking like a marketer and how much Valentine’s Day actually represents content, shares, and sales!!! So don't be bitter if you’re flying solo this year, you should be focusing on posting the most (and most shareable) content for this small window of opportunity! Take advantage of those love birds by creating pretty, fluffy Valentine’s content, because there’s more to this holiday than chocolate.

Valentine’s is a HUGE spending holiday, everyone trying to show how much they love their sweetie with materialistic products and gestures. Ohhhhh love. Consumers are on the hunt for the perfect Valentine’s everything; jewelry, drinks, food, gifts, places to go. People get excited/ stressed to ensure everything is perfect for their special someone. This leads to impulse buys, overspending, and frantically looking through any Valentine’s content searching for ideas. The time is limited and the volume of search is high. This is where you come in.

| Valentine’s Day by the Numbers | History.com |

Business2Community has a great article, Killer Content Marketing: Valentine’s Day Branded Content. This article discusses the major statistics of Valentine’s spending and which brands are killing it at their content marketing for this time of year. People begin looking for Valentine ideas from November-February.

Bussiness2Community reported that 62% of adults celebrate Valentine’s Day and 41% of the people reading Valentines related content are millennials. Millennials also account for 50% of gift content search. Millennials, known for their tech savvy habits, will be the one’s brands are trying to impress because it’s most likely they will like, share, and even purchase your products through social media or online.

They gave Pillsbury number one for having detailed, festive, and original content for the holiday. Pillsbury has numerous recipes with Valentines colored accents on their sweet treats, heart shaped cookies, and language like, “15 Easy Treats to Say ‘I Love You’.” The original content they created puts them in the leading search results for example ‘recipes for valentine cookies.’ They have also purchased ad space on Google for similar searches. Pillsbury is ON TOP OF IT!

| Screenshot on Pillsbury Valentine’s webpage |

Some brands I guess you can say don’t have to try as much as others for this holiday, some things are just traditional to purchase like Necco Sweethearts. Necco’s Sweethearts have been around for 150 years! As long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed multiple boxes of Sweethearts on or around Valentine’s Day each year. Ya the taste of them aren’t really that great but the nostalgia has me hooked, like many others. I know I’m not the only one because approximately 8 BILLION Sweethearts are produced annually. That amount is enough to wrap around the earth multiple times, and enough for everyone in the world to have one! (no exaggeration) And of course, most of the sales are from January 1st to February 14th.

Apart from nostalgia, Sweethearts are still popular because they continue to make themselves relevant by adding more sayings based on how people communicate, opportunity to personalize your Sweethearts, and varieties (tart, sugar free, & now en español!)

| Picture from Luxeandthelady Instagram | Personalized Sweethearts |

According to U.S. News & World Report, a total of $19 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day in 2015. Forbes published an info graphic highlighting some main spending points for Valentine’s:

Men spend an average of $190.53 and women $96.58

Popular products: Candy, flowers, date night, jewelry

Who they are buying for, not just for couples

So how did February 14th become a day with hearts, chocolates, and sending valentines?

“The most popular theory about Valentine's Day origin is that Emperor Claudius II didn't want Roman men to marry during wartime. Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret weddings. For this, Valentine was jailed and executed. While in jail he wrote a note to the jailor's daughter signing it "from your Valentine"

Source: List 25

A brief history on Valentine’s Day:

Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day:

First mass-produced valentines are sold in the U.S. in 1840’s

Americans spend 8.6 million dollars on sparkling wine for Valentine’s Day

For every 100 single women in their 20’s, there are 120 single men

189 million roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day (67% are red)

In Victorian times it was bad luck to sign a Valentine’s card

The first diamond engagement ring was given by Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 (lucky girl)

In Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St. Valentine's Day to make them dream of their future husband

$703 million is spend on Valentine’s pet presents!!!

[lodegrezia]

Mass Marketing: The Real Super Bowl

The Sunday we’ve been waiting for is finally here! A whole day to gather with friends and family, drink beer, eating lots of finger food, andddd oh ya, watch football!! But the players aren’t the only one’s in the limelight tomorrow, this event is also a championship for the best ad shown during the commercial breaks.

Last year’s Super Bowl raked in a recorded 114.4 million viewers, making it the most watched event in American TV history. The commercials have become known to be so iconic, hilarious, or adorable that viewers don’t think of commercial breaks as breaks anymore. Some would even say they’re as exciting as the game itself!

Commercial spots aren’t up for grabs for just ANY company… To snag even a second of air time during Super Bowl 50 will cost $160,000! Therefore only the big dogs are able to compete in this game. Some of the top brands that usually come to mind when you think of Super Bowl are Budweiser, Bud Light, Doritos, and so on... This year, 13 new rookies have joined the major leagues with their first Super Bowl slot: Amazon, LG, Pokemon, Colgate, Shock Top, and Buick to name a few.

Pittsberg’s NPR News Station, reports and posted the recording of Paul Guggenheimer’s interview with Duquesne University Associate Professor of Sports Marketing, Ron Dick, and Marketing Professor, Audrey Guskey. The interview discusses how this event has become so popular for advertisers and gives readers a marketer’s insight about the Super Bowl:

Marketing Professor Audrey Guskey explains:

“This is the only mass marketing event that we have in this country. We have nothing else where at least one out of every two Americans or more is watching the game.”

So when did the Super Bowl become the championship for advertisers to market their products? The increase in popularity struck when Apple introduced the Macintosh computer in 1984 (ohhhh Apple, always setting new trends!) But they did what they do best, influenced and inspired other companies to follow their lead. Of course after the popularity of brands wanting to advertise their product during this game, the price per second increased with it. 

| YouTube | Apple 1984 | Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer |

Professor Audrey Guskey also makes a valid point in her interview saying that at least one out of two Americans are watching the game. So if the brands are able to afford the pricey competition, why not? USA Today also reported some statistics on the importance of Super Bowl commercials, and what the audience is hoping to see most.

USA Today reports that San Francisco ad agency Venables Bell & Partners conducted a survey of 1,000 participants:

95% of participants stated that the commercial MUST be funny to be considered one of their top favorites

47% of the participants were heavy drinkers (or at least on Super Bowl day they are) and are therefore more likely to purchase an ad product than non-drinkers

68% of participants within the ages of 18-29 said social media platforms enhance their Super Bowl experience

This survey also revealed that 78% of Americans are more interested in watching the commercials on game day than the actual game! Sorry Broncos and Panthers, looks like it isn’t all about you Sunday. This drastic statistic is why advertisers need to put their best game faces on for this event.

Super Bowl campaign etiquette has now changed with the major influence of social media. Brands used to keep their new commercials and campaigns under wraps until it’s official unveiling during the big game. But now advertisers are releasing teaser ads and even their whole commercial prior to the Super Bowl! Why ruin this element of surprise!? (That’s what I was thinking) But then I heard the reason why…

Marketers are hoping with the release of their golden commercial, their campaign will go viral on social media platforms BEFORE the game. More and more campaigns are using hashtags in hopes to create viral content on social media. Also, if people see the commercial prior and enjoy it, they are most likely going to grab the attention of all their friends at their Super Bowl party to all stop what they’re doing and watch the commercial. Pretty smart huh? It definitely makes sense, but I’m still trying not to watch too many because I still want to be a bit surprised and hopefully have a good laugh during the game :)

Another compelling pinpoint advertisers aim for is snagging popular celebrities to be featured in their ads to attract some extra attention. So let’s take a look at a few brands to see who recruited who this year:

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:JA;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} -->

Team Bud Light:

Amy Schumer & Seth Rogan

Team Budweiser:

Helen Mirren

Team Skittles:

Seven Tyler

Team Amazon:

Alec Baldwin & Dan Marino

Team T-Mobile:

Drake

Team Mini USA:

Serena Williams

Team KIA:

Christopher Walken

Team Hyundai:

Ryan Reynolds

|YouTube | Ryanville | Hyndai Super Bowl Commercial | The 2017 Hyundai Elantra |

So what team are you rooting for!?!??

[lodegrezia]

AXE: What’s Your Magic?

The men’s cologne and deodorant, AXE, has long drilled the same storyline into our heads with their promotional content. Once a guy applies AXE products, he suddenly becomes irresistible and surrounded (mostly tackled) by beautiful women. However, since ad agency 72andSunny Amsterdam has taken the reins, AXE’s content marketing is promoting a different kind of message…

AXE’s new marketing campaign Find Your Magic encourages men to ditch the traditional stereotyped macho male persona and embrace the qualities that make them unique. There are numerous campaigns about boosting women’s self image or embracing their body type (such as Dove’s campaigns)… but what about the boys? It’s time to show some love to our men! And AXE is doing just that.

An article written by Jeff Beer, Why AXE Is Toning down the Bro and Aiming to Reflect Modern Masculinity, quotes AXE Senior Marketing Director, Matthew McCarthy, about the new campaign:

"Guys today, particularly young guys, are calling bullshit on those archetypes and saying they won’t be constricted or defined by what it meant to be a guy in past generations."

AXE still kept their sense of humor and creativity they’ve displayed in their past ads. The campaign video begins with, “…who needs a six pack, when you’ve got…” the video continues to show an array of clips displaying men who possess qualities that make them unique. Who needs abs when you’ve got the nose, the fire, the brains, the touch…  

| YouTube | AXE | Find Your Magic |

But the campaign doesn't stop with this video. 72andSunny is expanding their campaign across various multimedia platforms with 15 second video tutorials/how-to’s on trendy grooming tips using their products and demonstrations such as: the proper way to wear a suit, or how to iron your pants like an expert. This grooming campaign dubbed “Instagroom” is aimed to teach men quick tips and tricks to polishing their personal style so they’re always looking their best.

Carlo Cavallone, Executive Creative Director of 72andSunny Amsterdam, explains where the inspiration originated for these helpful videos:

"We looked at analytics, and there’s been a massive increase of guys looking for grooming tips, and there are a lot of this type of content for women, but not for guys,"

YouTube is flooded with makeup tutorials, outfit pairing ides, and countless how-to’s for women tailored for every style. But what about the guys? Men like to look god too! AXE was able to recognize that this was needed in mainstream media. Now they’ve created an entire campaign to fulfill these lost boys looking for style tips. The videos are only 15 seconds long, therefore even the men who don't want to dedicate a lot of time to their appearance can learn something helpful in under a minute!

| YouTube | How To Style A Short Haircut | AXE | Instagroom |

While the 15 second videos are going viral, the AXE website has more details that correlate with the videos. There is a step-by-step process in text, and also provides the information of the specific hair product used in the video with a link to purchase. AXE is also encouraging men to post their own videos displaying their personal style and flair (generating more content for AXE and their new message).

| AXE | How To | Instagroom |

So what was the driving force behind all this content marketing? AXE has launched a new collection of products, AXE Advanced Collection, their premium line of products. The collection includes three lines: Adrenaline, Urban, and Signature. This line of products were made to release individuality, making each man feel like the confident and attractive man they are.

Award winning artist, John Legend, has also gotten in on the new AXE campaign. Legend joined AXE Collective in creating a promotional contest for music and/or film artists. The fresh artists will work with Legend and AXE to showcase their work at a sophisticated event that may change the rest of their life.

Music artists will win a chance to work alongside John Legend to polish their music skills and attend an event during SXSW. The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conferences and Festivals encourage new artists to display their original work. These events are amazing opportunities for new artists to become discovered.

Film artists whose passion is behind the camera (writing, producing, directing) will have the opportunity to join John Legend and AXE Collective at the Toronto International Film Festival. Having a spot at the festival will give the growing artist a chance to show an international audience their work on the big screen.

This mentorship opportunity was brought by AXE to promote new artists, and embrace their talents whether it’s writing, singing, or directing. AXE is working with Legend to pull these young artists talents to the surface and provide opportunities to perhaps further their career by doing something they are passionate about. Embracing what their magic is.

Click HERE to enter! 

| YouTube | John Legend for AXE Collective |

The new Instagroom, Find Your Magic, and AXE Collective campaigns are reinventing AXE’s brand and putting themselves back on the map with a new perspective. AXE is collectively trying to break past the molds society has structured for men for years by giving them products that empower them to be who they are, no matter what that may consist of. The content being produced for this campaign shows real men embracing their personal looks, style, and flair. Encouraging more men to be confident in their own skin. AXE wants to highlight that there isn’t just one definition of the modern man, the definition is up to them to decide.

So, what’s your magic?

[lodegrezia]

Coca-Cola 2020: The New Liquid World

With the release of this video, Coca-Cola introduces its goal to evolve from “creative excellence to content excellence” in its Coca-Cola 2020 strategy. The main objective of this strategy is to create and share an array of content that is story driven. Coca-Cola recognizes that stories bring families, communities, and cultures together. Therefore, their main focus is to add value and significance to people’s lives by curating and encourage people to share their stories.

| YouTube | Coca-Cola Content 2020 Initiative Strategy Video - Parts I & II |

Coca-Cola is aiming to share content that promotes positive living to and with its consumers. The international brand will utilize their prominent position by spreading content that will lead to positive change within our world. Knowing they have a worldwide audience, they are taking this opportunity to generate content that supports positive living and proactive thinking.

Social media ties into this idea with the opportunity that content can be shared, viewed, or exchanged at all times of the day using various channels. This will build a strong sense of connectivity and immediacy between Coca-Cola and its international consumers for this new story telling campaign.

Coca-Cola is encouraging its audience and partner brands to participate by sharing their stories and thus supporting the idea of making content liquid. Liquid content by Coca-Cola’s definition is “content that is so contagious it can’t be controlled.” In other words, increasing the conversation to a continuous and overwhelming flow of content generated by the brand, partners, and their audiences. Social media features such as likes, shares, and tagging within personal posts will help spread (or liquefy) Coca-Cola’s content.

What does this mean for Coca-Cola’s future? Will they eventually stamp themselves as a publisher with all of this generated content? Perhaps this continuously evolving and innovative brand is gearing this story telling content into a tangible/online source of stories, news, and information.

With this video, Coca-Cola 2020, it is demonstrating its goal for the next four years to evolve with the leading power of stories. By connecting to people’s emotions and values, Coca-Cola will create a deeper and more loyal audience. Which will pave the perfect avenue into a potential launch of something evolutionary for the company in 2020. So for now, listen and share your stories with the Coca-Cola community and see where this brand is going next!

[lodegrezia]

Because It’s #WorthSaying

The anticipation is running high for the 73rd Annual Golden Globes airing tomorrow January 10th at 5pm/8c on the NBC network. L’Oréal has been advertising a new side of their brand with their campaign #WorthSaying that will launch tomorrow for the ceremony. L’Oréal’s audience turns to this trustworthy brand to tell us the scoop on all the beauty tricks of each Covergirl that sets foot on the red carpet. But this year, L’Oréal won’t just be sharing the celebrities’ go-to L’Oréal product.

The hashtag #WorthSaying was inspired by L’Oréal’s tagline, “Because You’re Worth It.” This phrase was first written in 1973 by Ilon Specht when she was 23 working as a copywriter at McCann-Erickson advertising agency in New York. Specht produced the now famous phrase at the end of a women’s perspective piece for L’Oréal in the midst of the feminist movement. Now it has become the signature tagline for L’Oréal’s Covergirl brand.

President of L’Oréal Paris, Karen Fondu, states why this #WorthSaying campaign message is worth it:

“We are fueling the powerful words of women everywhere, so their most-worthy conversations reach, affect and inspire as many other women as possible.”

This campaign #WorthSaying is inspiring women everywhere to openly express something that is important to them and worth saying. This campaign is providing real life perspectives of Covergirls and what they value in their life. Whether it may be the meaningfulness in their profession, personal values, or a message they want to be shared. This campaign is inspired by L’Oréal’s core belief that each individual within their target market of women is unique and should embrace their individuality.

| Youtube | L’Oréal Paris launches #WorthSaying |

Why the Golden Globes?

So why is the Golden Globes a perfect event to promote this campaign? It is because L’Oréal has been a broadcast sponsor for the Golden Globes for 13 years and a number of their influential celebrity spokespersons will be attending this event. Julianne Moore, Eva Longoria, and Frieda Pinto will be the sole promoters of the #WorthSaying campaign throughout the day and night of the Golden Globes using social media and through their interviews.

L’Oréal hopes to redirect the red carpet conversation points to matters that women hold close to their hearts instead of the usual topics of conversation on the red carpet pertaining to cosmetic products, shoes, and fashion designers. Reminding the audience that “its about their work, not their looks.”

Marie Claire reported in their article, L’Oréal To Empower Women On The Red Carpet With #WorthSaying Campaign, women walking the red carpet have grown tiresome of the usual materialistic questions journalists bombard them with. Such as; “Who are you wearing?” “What makeup products did you use?” “Where is your jewelry from?” A number of red carpet status female celebrities have even gone as far as saying the repetitiveness of these questions are sexist and that they would like to be asked questions that have more depth in regards to their career and personal views.  

This clip is from the Red Carpet Show on E! at the SAG Awards in 2014. The interviewer, Giuliana Rancic, led an interview with actress Cate Blanchett. Rancic, an E! News reporter, asks the actress about her clothing to kick off the interview instead of leading with creative questions pertaining to Blanchett’s nomination for Best Actress for her leading role in the Blue Jasmine. Blanchett interrupts the cameras vertical fanning motion examining her dress by asking, “Do you do that to the guys?” L’Oréal wants to alter the traditional interview script on the red carpet by asking the celebrities to talk about topics important to them, how they feel about their work, and the message they would like to deliver to their fans.

| YouTube | Cate Blanchett Calls Out E!'s Glam Cam E! | 

Yes ladies, we all drool over the star’s dazzling dresses and those cascading earrings we wish we had… but let’s not forget the real reason those amazing women are on that red carpet! These women have worked tirelessly at something they love before getting the opportunity to strut down the red carpet. So let’s applaud their accomplishments, drive, and perseverance as well as their sense of style.

You Can Participate!

L’Oreal is encouraging women everywhere to partake in the campaign’s conversation and share your stories on Twitter the day of the Golden Globes. Just tag @LorealParisUSA and the hashtag #WorthSaying. Giving every woman the chance to express what they believe is worth saying. L’Oréal will select a number of posts to be featured on their @LorealParisUSA account. L’Oréal is listening!

The content driven by L’Oréal’s hashtag #WorthSaying will further encourage women to share and participate in this feminist empowered campaign. The positive energy from this campaign also reminds L’Oréal’s consumers that this brand represents more than just your lip color or mascara preference. It is a brand the truly believes every woman has a meaningful story to tell and each of us is WORTH IT!

[lodegrezia]

REI: Rebranding Black Friday

Black Friday has become an American tradition to start your holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Some people participate in Black Friday to go shopping with their families as time to bond, others go to kick off the holiday season, and some, go for the latest and greatest deals stores offer on this national shopping day.

Shopping on Black Friday has evolved into an aggressive shopping experience with people physically and verbally fighting over marked down items. It seems that Thanksgiving has become a meal to carb up before throwing yourself into the retail madness. Most retail stores prepare for Black Friday by staffing all of their employees, fully stocking their products, launching various promotional materials leading up to the day, and maybe hiring some additional security.

However, this year REI, an outdoor retail and equipment store, decided to take a whole new approach to Black Friday. REI has become the first store to CLOSE THEIR DOORS to Black Friday shoppers. In order to avoid being cooped up in a retail store all night and day, waiting in lines, rushing through crowds, and getting hurt by violent shoppers…. REI wants their customers to #OptOutside this year.

| REI #OptOutside | YouTube |

Although Black Friday is one of the top 10 busiest days for REI, in store sales have significantly dropped in the past two years with more customers shopping online. Instead of just providing equipment and clothing to use for the outdoors, they want to demonstrate that their brand practices what they preach by closing the doors to all 143 stores and giving their 12,000 full and part time employees a paid day off.  There won’t be any promotional offers, and online orders won’t be processed until Saturday November 28th.  

REI encouraged people to start a new Black Friday tradition and share their posts with their strategically designed hashtag, #OptOutside. REI’s website streamed the countless tagged photographs showing people soaking up natural Vitamin D, big blue skies, and breathing in the fresh air. REI created a new website for #OptOutside. Customers go to the website, and submit their location. REI will give results to nearby outdoor trails fit for running, biking, hiking, mountain climbing, and rock climbing. This makes it easy for their customers to plan their active Black Friday.

| Screenshot of #OptOutside Website |

REI mentioned specific individual customers on their Twitter account by mentioning them during the countdown to Black Friday and providing a link to their #OptOutside website for adventure ideas. 

| Screenshot from REI’s Twitter |

They also interacted with customers by asking where they chose to spend their outdoor Black Friday, encouraging users to share stories, and thanking them for participating in REI’s new found tradition. This customer engagement increased brand awareness, encouraged trial, and cemented customer loyalty. Jerry Stritzke, REI President and CEO told USA Today, “we define success a little differently. It’s much broader than just money. How effectively do we get people outside?“ REI is demonstrating that they care about the health and well being of their customers and not just their monetized gain.

CNN reported California State Parks were thrilled by the #OptOutside idea and decided to take this opportunity to spread awareness of Californian wilderness parks. The Save the Redwoods League and 49 other Nationa wilderness parks in Northern California decided to offer free admission on Black Friday. The state reported 44 of those parks were sold out yesterday. Dana Jones, superintendent of the California State Parks’ Capital District stated:

“It’s just a great opportunity for us to jump on the social media bandwagon and tell the public (that) state parks are a great place to spend a holiday. Get people to see our parks, show what you have in your neighborhood.”

CNN also states that REI reported 1 million Americans participated in “OptOutside” activities instead of rushing to the shopping malls. REI successfully helped 1 million people to reconnect with nature while spending time with their friends and family. 

| Photo from REI’s Facebook |

A message from the REI CEO himself, Jerry Stritzke wrote a letter to REI’s 5.5 million members explaining REI’s reasoning, values, and logic for shutting out the shoppers this Black Friday. A bit of the letter was posted on REI’s Newsroom:

“Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the essential truth that life is richer, more connected and complete when you choose to spend it outside. We’re closing our doors, paying our employees to get out there, and inviting America to OptOutside with us because we love great gear, but we are even more passionate about the experiences it unlocks”

“As a member-owned co-op, our definition of success goes beyond money. We believe that a life lived outdoors is a life well lived and we aspire to be stewards of our great outdoors. We think that Black Friday has gotten out of hand and so we are choosing to invest in helping people get outside with loved ones this holiday season, over spending it in the aisles. Please join us and inspire us with your experiences. We hope to engage millions of Americans and galvanize the outdoor community to get outside.”

| Photo from REI’s Facebook | "The response has been humbling and inspiring.” -CEO and President Jerry Stritzke |

Spending the day after Thanksgiving outdoors seems like a Black Friday tradition that will eventually catch on for the better of the American people. #OptOutside is a healthier, safer way to spend what we have come to know as the “National Shopping Day” in America. So whatever activity you like to do… REI would like you to #OptOutside !!!

[fnhfal-deactivated20180216]

A rose put in a bullet hole of a Restaurant window in Paris, with a letter that says “in the name of what”

[lodegrezia]

#PRAYFORPARIS

[lodegrezia]

Heartbreak in the City of Love

The terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, November 13th, has left the City of Love heartbroken. The devastating events resulted in 129 lives lost, hundreds injured, and countless people emotionally wounded by theses acts of violence.

Social media has created a hub where people can unite and grieve together. A place for aiding one another, sharing experiences, thoughts, and prayers through mixed media during this time of lament.

With the city in distress, social media enabled people to reach out to their families and friends, and locate survivors of the attacks. A trending hashtag looking for survivors and loved ones read #rechercheParis, translating to “search Paris.” The tagged Tweets were posting pictures and descriptions as they desperately searched for their missing family members, significant others, and friends after the attacks.

CNNMoney reported that Facebook activated its “Saftey Check” tool Friday night November 13th, which allows users to track their Facebook friend’s location.

“In the last 24 hours, since we activated Safety Check: 4.1 million people marked themselves safe using the tool [and] 360 million people were notified that their friends were safe.”

-A Facebook spokeswoman wrote in an email to CNNMoney

Resulting from the attacks, many were left without shelter, safety, and nowhere to turn. Parisians began posting their home addresses and/or using the #PorteOuverte to welcome the stranded individuals into their homes. #PorteOuverte, meaning “Open Door” in French, became a trending hashtag that offered a safe place to stay through the terrifying night. 

Americans also began to adopt the hashtag #strandedinUS to offer their homes to stranded French travelers. Below are screenshots from the trending hashtags #PortesOuvertes and #strandedinUS on Twitter which demonstrate the strong sense of solidarity in both Paris and the U.S. the night of the attacks.

#PortesOuvertes

#strandedinUS

The image depicting a peace sign with the Eiffel Tower in the center has circulated through various social media platforms and has been printed onto signs, t-shirts, flags, etc. This image was created by French graphic designer Jean Jullien, representing “Peace for Paris.” He tweeted the image November 13th and has been retweeted 59,900+ times with 45,900+ likes.

Robbie Gonzalez from Wired interviewed Jullien on the hype of his “Peace for Paris” image. When asked what he wanted this image to convey he responded:

“It’s a message of peace and solidarity. I didn’t do it to benefit from it in any way. It was my way of communicating with the people I know and showing that I was thinking about everyone affected in Paris. The fact that people shared it and used it, well, in a way that’s all for the better. It’s an image for everyone. It’s a communication tool for people to express solidarity and peace and that’s what it’s being used for, so I’m glad that it’s been useful.”

Read the full interview HERE

|Screenshot from Jean Jullien’s Twitter |

| NYC | Washington Square Park | Washington Square News |

Pianist Davide Martello saw the terrorist act at Stade de France while he was watching the France vs. Germany football match and decided he needed to go to Paris. 400 miles later, Martello carried his portable grand piano by bicycle and set up to play in front of the Bataclan theatre that had been attacked the night before. Martello’s performance of John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” was shared through mixed media. Using only music, and no words, Martello began rebuilding the Parisian’s spirit. Martello stated:

“I wanted to be there to try and comfort, and offer a sign of hope. I can’t bring people back but I can inspire them with music and when people are inspired they can do anything. That’s why I played Imagine.”

|The Guardian | Jonathan Bucks | Full Link HERE |

| Davide Martello | Imagine | New York Times |

| YouTube |

Familiar landmarks around the world lit up with blue, white, and red to support the lives lost in Paris that day and show solidarity to France. Pictures of these locations filled social media platforms reminding us to keep our spirits of Paris strong and to stand together. Virtually sharing using social media gives us the opportunity to grasp a better understanding of what the Parisians are going through, what we can do to help, and continues to encourage us all to #PRAYFORPARIS

[lodegrezia]

U Genero[c]ity: Virtually Sharing Good Deeds

Take a second to think about what you share to your followers on Social Media… Selfies? A yummy meal you cooked? Or how about that group shot showing the world all of your amazing friends? 

Well, U Genero[c]ity is a newly founded charitable organization promoting to use social media in a whole new light. U Genero[c]ity is flooding their Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Vine accounts with posts of young adults doing good deeds and then filming them to share to their followers.

U Genero[c]ity interacts with their followers on their social media platforms with contests, polling questions, and encouraging submission videos of their own good deeds. This interaction further promotes their pages, the message they are trying to translate, and virtually spreading positive energy to their audience.

A few examples of the good deeds they have filmed include: Giving the cashier at a drive through a gift card for the Movie Theater, Apple, H&M, Nike store, etc. The longer videos show U Genero[c]ity acting charitably by leaving a waitress a hefty tip, paying for someone’s groceries, or buying a cart full of diapers for a mom shopping in Target just because it’s a nice thing to do. The mom they had approached in Target and offered to buy her diapers immediately responded with shock, thanks, and said she would give a lot of the diapers to other moms to share the good deed. How amazing is this?!? 

One simple act of kindness can create a domino effect and make the world a better place one good deed at a time. This video shows Libby from U Genero[c]ity paying for people’s gas and spreading the word of what U Genero[c]ity is all about. 

If you like this organization’s concept and values, submit your own videos that were inspired by U Genero[c]ity OR follow their social media platforms to continue sharing these great acts of kindness!

[lodegrezia]

VS Angel Social Media Takeover

Every year millions of people gather around the television to watch our favorite Victoria’s Secret Angels strut their long legs and extravagant outfits down the catwalk. Last night the show was filmed in New York City and is scheduled to air on Tuesday December 8th at 10/9c on CBS. 

The VS show hasn't even aired yet and it was already a trending topic on various social media platforms last night! Snapchat featured a live story of the Victoria’s Secret Show puling content from the pink carpet, backstage, on the runway, and a bit of the after party. Social media has given the opportunity for everyone to view an Angel’s point of view of the VS Fashion Show.

| Screenshot from: Behati Prinsloo’s Instagram |

Last night social media was flooded with updates and pictures of the gorgeous VS Angels. The models are encouraged to post their own selfies (like the one below of models Taylor Hill and Romee Strijd from Taylor Hill’s personal Instagram) in addition to posing for the countless flashing cameras. This exclusive content from the models’ accounts and those lucky enough to attend helped spread awareness and build anticipation for the grand event airing in December.

| Photo from: Taylor Hill’s Instagram |

Just when we thought the VS Fashion Show couldn't get any bigger, VS has a new secret weapon this year… TWO secret weapons to be exact, social media stars Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. Both Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have become highly influential across all social media platforms as well as with their modeling careers. With their combined Instagram followers (Hadid 8.3 million, Jenner 41.1 million) the two new Angels are likely to increase the number of viewers for the 2015 show.

VOGUE held an interview with Victoria’s Secret casting director, John David Pfeiffer, and questioned him if the decision to cast Jenner and Hadid was a strategic move to win over the two’s social media following. He said that of course he took their following into consideration, but they had both proven themselves as professional models who deserved their angel wings. Click HERE for the whole interview article.

Say hello to 2 of the 12 new VS Angles for this years fashion show!

| Photo from: Gigi Hadid’s Instagram |

The famous Victoria’s Secret pink and white stripped satin robes, like the ones shown in Kendall Jenner’s Instagram post below, were worn by ALL the Angels backstage last night. VS is taking advantage of the social media exposure and now have the robes available to purchase on their website. The website has also launched a selection of limited edition VS Fashion Show 2015 official gear in edition to the robe in the spirit of the show’s hype. Feel like an Angel everyday and get yours HERE! I own a few, and they'rs so soft!!!

| Screenshot from: Kendall Jenner’s Instagram |

Almost one month before the airing of the show (27 days to be exact) and the anticipation is at an astronomical level. How will VS maintain this excitement until the show? I'd like to ask, but I'm sure it's a secret. 

Can’t wait to see the Victoria’s Secret Class of 2015 strut their stuff!!! 

| Photo from: Victoria’s Secret Official Instagram |

[lodegrezia]

Snapchat: The Happiest Social Media Platform

Out of all the social media platforms, it looks like Snapchat provides the most positive experience over all other social media platforms. According to an article from MBN, researchers at the University of Michigan used “experience sampling” on 154 college students to measure their Snapchat interactions. Gathering information such as: who they’re snapping, and the level of enjoyment they experienced from their interactions.

Results showed that Snapchat was:

The most rewarding in regards to communication

Used spontaneously

Used to interact with close friends

Has less “self presentational” concerns when sending pictures and videos (Most likely because the content disappears after 10 seconds)

So if you’re feeling blue, make Snapchat your platform of choice! 

Read MBN’s full article HERE

[lodegrezia]

Twitter: Hearts are the New Stars

Yesterday, Tuesday November 3, 2015, Twitter announced that they have decided to change their infamous “star” to a “heart.” Not only is the icon changing, but so is the lingo. Instead of “favorites” they are now calling them “likes.” This minor change generated countless hashtags and mentions involving Twitter’s Stars to Hearts transformation. Twitter is rebranding themselves by changing the icon and lingo of their platform. 

This switch was tranding all over the Twitterverse with hashtag’s like #TwitterStars #TwitterHearts #FavoritesVsLikes #StarsVsHearts #BringBackTheStar and using the polling feature to vote whether people preferred Stars versus Hearts. 

The strong dislike of the new Hearts has even sparked people desperately trying to bring back their Stars! An article from Digital Spy., explains how you can retrieve your favorite Stars with a Google Chrome extension called Fav Forever. This program was made for people who just can’t bear to see the Star thrown out on the streets.

People (some more than others) seem to have a negative reaction to Twitter’s change. At first, so did I! I felt that Twitter’s Favorite Star was a unique feature, and I now associate the heart too much with Instagram. HOWEVER, once I read the statement made by Twitter’s product manager, Akarshan Kumar, I began to understand Twitter’s reasoning.

So what was the underlying reason for Twitter to hop on the heart bandwagon along with other popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest? This quote on their company blog from Akarshan Kumar, Twitter’s Product Manager, gives us insight as to why Twitter decided to ditch the Star for the Heart.

“You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite. The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it.”

Click HERE to read the full Hearts on Twitter blog post.

| Twitter Blog | Akarshan Kumar, Product Manager | Hearts on Twitter |

The picture above is from the blog post by Kumar demonstrating a few examples of the many meanings the new Heart can possess. The heart will be bringing Twitter’s international audience together despite different cultures and languages. Making Twitter more internationally liked. So what do you think? Has your vote shifted or are you still on Team Star?

[lodegrezia]

Puke Rainbows This Halloween

Still struggling to decide what you will be dressing up as this weekend? Look no further! This costume is simple, relevant, funny, cute & most importantly, EASY! Brittany, a beauty vlogger on YouTube channel, Getting Pretty, shows how you can transform yourself into a social media hit at all the Halloween parties this weekend.

As many of you know, Snapchat began introducing face-recognition filters to their app in September. People are now able to snap a picture or video with their favorite filter that animates according to their facial expressions. These filters change and are swapped out for new ones frequently. 

However, the Puking Rainbow filter seemed to have a memorable impact on the social media world (hence this video). Personally I was a huge fan of sending videos of myself puking rainbows to my friends, so naturally I was drawn to Brittany’s creative tutorial. 

Brittany’s video is just one example of how social media trends can have such a strong influence on its users. This filter was only briefly featured on the Snapchat app. However, the Puking Rainbow face may become the popular Halloween costume of choice this year. Can’t wait to see how many people are puking up rainbows over the weekend! Happy Halloween!

Check out her process into Rainbow Vomit transformation below. Or click  HERE  to watch Brittany’s whole tutorial step by step!

| YouTube | GettingPretty |