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Customer Spotlight
From Online to On-air: Scripps Networks Premieres HGTV Series
TV Spin-off Inspired by Online Community Powered by Neighborhood America
What if broadcast networks knew what viewers wanted to watch before a TV series went into production? What if their concept had already been tested and proven, a winning strategy that would save the network millions of dollars? And what if advertisers were standing in line waiting to support it?
Well, forget about the ‘what ifs.' Neighborhood America's technology and guidance has enabled Scripps Networks to make this a reality.
As millions have discovered, HGTV.com’s Rate My Space, is a unique online community that allows members to test their inner designer. Scripps launched the much-trafficked site last year, which is powered by Neighborhood America, yielding a ROI within months - not to mention a huge following and new advertising revenue.
As a result of this success, last month Scripps premiered a TV spin-off that asks homeowners to pick three rooms that inspire them from the website, identifying the objects or finishes in that space they’d like to have in their own. Designer Angelo Surmelis uses these elements to make over their room, then the public gets to rate the makeover online. When members share their pictures online, they’re automatically considered for the Rate My Space show.
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Scripps is successfully closing the gap between multiple platforms – by first engaging consumers online, and then developing programming that they actually want. The online community feeds right into the on-air community.
As with Scripps, Neighborhood America helps all of our customers understand that enterprise social networks aren’t about making friends – they’re about driving business results and profits.
Before TV production ever began, Scripps figured out how to prove how receptive and excited the audience would be, and hand advertisers measurable expectations to reach their targeted demographics – at a small fraction of the estimated $7 million cost of producing a TV pilot (BBC News report, January 23, 2008).
Read the recent buzz about Scripps' success, featured in a New York Times Blog.
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  Citizen Journalism Gets Social on Fox News Site
The images are astounding. Water as far as the eye can see, reaching treetops, inundating homes and devastating lives. For folks living across the Midwest, the images don’t remain within the confines of their TV sets, they exist all around them.
Many snapped candid shots of their experience to share with the world. One of those images came from a resident of Davenport, Iowa who participated on Fox News Channel’s (FNC) uReport.
The top rated cable news network provides an outlet for viewers on their site to upload pictures and video of news happening in real-time. Many of the submissions are featured on-air to enhance the network’s news coverage and engage audiences.
When FNC partnered with Neighborhood America to launch uReport last year, it received nearly 40,000 videos and pictures in the first six months. Our solution enables the network to review the content quickly and broadcast within minutes.
Recently, the success of uReport lead FNC to incorporate Neighborhood America’s award-winning social networking solution, to build an online community of citizen journalists and news-savvy viewers. At last check and only after a week, the site boasts more than 33,000 registered members.
Members can see what their peers are uploading on uReport and rank the submissions. Whether it’s pictures of natural disasters or a video of a reindeer wadding through neck-deep water after escaping the Columbus Zoo. No really, you have to check it out (Reindeer Loose at Zoo)!
What’s happening here is viewers are coming together around the FNC brand to share stories - with the hopes of making it on air; an incentive that builds loyalty and viewership, a business strategy behind FNC’s efforts to leverage the phenomenon that is online social networks.
Who says news has to be boring? FNC is making it a social affair!
Go ahead… click on uReport to see what viewers are uploading right now and participate!
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  Retro Cellular - and What it Can Teach Us, Part 1
by Kristi Grigsby, Sr. Director of Marketing
My early career began in the cellular industry, working alongside a visionary president who assured me, “Mark my words. Someday these phones are going to be small enough to fit in your pocket and you’ll take it wherever you go.”
In those days (and yes, I’m aging myself here), the ‘bag phones’ were about the size of the big handbag I’m carrying today, so the thought of ever tucking that phone into my pocket was quite extraordinary.
Cellular phones were little more than an insurance policy… an added peace of mind that, in the event of an emergency, you were ready. Our advertisements focused on the helpless woman stranded on the highway with a flat tire, or the hurried businessman standing next to his broken down car as the radiator spewed steam. With cell phone in-hand, help was only minutes away.
It worked. The thought of instant communication when it was needed the most fueled the initial market demand. But we all knew we were sitting on something much bigger, and it was only a matter of time before the industry exploded. As they say, the rest is history. We all know what happened next.
But just as the focus on ‘emergency use applications’ was only a glimpse of the bigger possibilities awaiting the cellular industry, the social media industry holds far more potential than many may realize today....
To finish reading this blog, visit our Neighborhood Cafe.
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 Haughwout’s Newest Adventure: VP of Technology & CIO of Neighborhood America
Relocating to a new city can be difficult, but for someone like Jim Haughwout and his wife, Anne Dixon, it’s hardly a big deal. Haughwout (pronounced “how what”, by the way) has lived and worked in 40 countries over the last 16 years, designing and delivering business-transforming technologies, products and programs across five industries.
Actually, the fact that Haughwout has spent so much time navigating the exotic infrastructure and unusual cultures of some of the world’s most remote nations, is probably about to serve him well. As Neighborhood America’s new, first-ever Vice President of Technology and Chief Information Officer, his responsibilities will require the ability to map new territory and view the exploding industry terrain with instinct, resourcefulness and a broad perspective – tasks he comes well prepared for.
“I don’t mind being dropped off in a remote place, and forced to figure things out on my own. In fact, I really enjoy the chance to view life from a new and different perspective.”
Among Haughwout’s numerous notable achievements are multiple patented technologies designed to improve the way that organizations interact with their customers. He can also be credited for the development and disbursement of AOL’s OnTarget platform, which uses targeted communications to engage millions of AOL and Time Warner customers based on their interests and on and off-line actions.
“My particular interest is in helping people engage each other, and in building the future of this exciting industry.”
However, not all of Haughwout’s interests are high-tech in nature. Aside from travel (he’s been to 10 countries in addition to those he’s worked in) he also enjoys working out, several forms of martial arts, boxing, fencing, jazz, wine (who doesn’t) and French cooking (probably the reason for the working out).
He and his wife Anne, whom he met while working as part of the same Booz Allen Hamilton consulting team, will celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary in August. They, and their two cats, Piglet and Tigger, have been living in Naples for all of two weeks, and are looking forward to taking advantage of the area’s beautiful tropical lifestyle.
Read our news release regarding Haughwout's hiring and learn more about his background. |
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Neighborhood America Launches 'Coffee & Clarity' Breakfast Series
While marketing budgets may be squeezed, Web 2.0 and rich media continue to be at the forefront of aggressive spending increases. In fact, over 50% of marketers are intending to make these increases, according to MarketingProfs' report, 'B-to-B Marketing in 2008.'
In response to the overwhelming demand from marketing professionals to ensure those dollars are well spent, Neighborhood America is launching a new Coffee & Clarity series over the summer.
Coffee & Clarity will provide a fact-filled 90 minutes that will cover topics relevant to today's marketers, and bring clarity to the complex world of social media. Intended to be highly conversational, the limited-seating will ensure that attendees have the opportunity to ask their tough questions, and leave with answers that will equip them for success.
The breakfast seminars will kick off in Boston on July 28, and will continue into Atlanta and New York City in August and September, respectively.
Watch a sneak preview: http://www.neighborhoodamerica.com/events.
  Not Your Grandfather’s Strategic Marketing Plan
Marketers hoping to maximize sales and optimize product positioning in today’s global marketplace must be willing to cede greater control of their brand to customers, and to take advantage of never-before-available chances to understand and respond to users’ needs and opinions.
A discussion on how to do just that, will be the focus of a workshop presented by Neighborhood America’s Director of Business Development, Steve Ennen, at the upcoming Social Networking Conference on July 10th in San Francisco. The workshop is titled, “The Real World of Social and Mobile Communities: Results Driven Enterprise Social Networks.”
Designed to highlight the growing range of opportunities presented by enterprise and mobile social networking technology, Ennen will focus on best practices for using these latest tools optimally, and in conjunction with traditional mediums and established communications strategies.
“Half a decade ago, marketing was simply about ‘pushing’ promotional messages to the customer, but the new technology has brought about a virtual communications revolution that finally allows for a meaningful dialog between the customer and the marketer," says Ennen. "This chance to listen to users’ candid evaluations provides organizations with the ability to respond more directly to customer needs and opinions. There is no doubt that marketers that learn to navigate this new landscape effectively will have the greatest advantage going forward.”
According to Ennen, the most potent strategic planning will incorporate a multi-platform approach that builds a strong interactive community. Campaigns that make the user central to the marketing development equation will generate the greatest loyalty and ultimately pack the strongest punch.
Want to attend the Social Networking Conference? Click here.
 Bringing It All Together
Like any medium, mobile marketing works best when it is tightly integrated with the other elements of a campaign and constructed on the foundation of a sound communications strategy.
But users of mobile and enterprise social network marketing don’t always use the relatively new media as part of the bigger picture. Just ask David Rippetoe, Senior Director of Business Development for Neighborhood America.
Rippetoe spoke on the subject at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum, held at the Marriott Marques in New York in June. There he advised marketers looking to increase brand identification, to interweave the social networking elements of their campaigns with the other vehicles and the overall strategic message.
With both experience and success to point to, Rippetoe remarks that it was meticulous integration that made the Adidas “Brotherhood” campaign a success. Based on the concept of Basketball is a Brotherhood and touting the values of “family”, “we, not me” and “sacrifice”, the Adidas campaign, which was targeted to boys and girls 13-19, integrated print with mobile text ads and internet options that allowed members to interact with the brand by choosing from several options. These included downloading tailored voicemail and/or specialized ring tones to their phones, wallpaper and the chance to make a phone call to basketball superstar, Kevin Garnett, among others.
An internal branding study of response showed a 69% increase in intent to purchase Adidas products as a result of the campaign, and found that mobile outperformed all of the other media for driving opt-ins, at a fraction of the cost.
“We learned a lot about the importance of integration, from our work on the NBA campaign for Adidas, that earned us a Mobile Marketing Association Award in February of 2007”, adds Rippetoe.
It seems that experience has been a good teacher.
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Newsletters
Customer Spotlight
From Online to On-air: Scripps Networks Premieres HGTV Series
TV Spin-off Inspired by Online Community Powered by Neighborhood America
What if broadcast networks knew what viewers wanted to watch before a TV series went into production? What if their concept had already been tested and proven, a winning strategy that would save the network millions of dollars? And what if advertisers were standing in line waiting to support it?
Well, forget about the ‘what ifs.' Neighborhood America's technology and guidance has enabled Scripps Networks to make this a reality.
As millions have discovered, HGTV.com’s Rate My Space, is a unique online community that allows members to test their inner designer. Scripps launched the much-trafficked site last year, which is powered by Neighborhood America, yielding a ROI within months - not to mention a huge following and new advertising revenue.
As a result of this success, last month Scripps premiered a TV spin-off that asks homeowners to pick three rooms that inspire them from the website, identifying the objects or finishes in that space they’d like to have in their own. Designer Angelo Surmelis uses these elements to make over their room, then the public gets to rate the makeover online. When members share their pictures online, they’re automatically considered for the Rate My Space show.
Scripps is successfully closing the gap between multiple platforms – by first engaging consumers online, and then developing programming that they actually want. The online community feeds right into the on-air community.
As with Scripps, Neighborhood America helps all of our customers understand that enterprise social networks aren’t about making friends – they’re about driving business results and profits.
Before TV production ever began, Scripps figured out how to prove how receptive and excited the audience would be, and hand advertisers measurable expectations to reach their targeted demographics – at a small fraction of the estimated $7 million cost of producing a TV pilot (BBC News report, January 23, 2008).
Read the recent buzz about Scripps' success, featured in a New York Times Blog.
The images are astounding. Water as far as the eye can see, reaching treetops, inundating homes and devastating lives. For folks living across the Midwest, the images don’t remain within the confines of their TV sets, they exist all around them.
Many snapped candid shots of their experience to share with the world. One of those images came from a resident of Davenport, Iowa who participated on Fox News Channel’s (FNC) uReport.
The top rated cable news network provides an outlet for viewers on their site to upload pictures and video of news happening in real-time. Many of the submissions are featured on-air to enhance the network’s news coverage and engage audiences.
When FNC partnered with Neighborhood America to launch uReport last year, it received nearly 40,000 videos and pictures in the first six months. Our solution enables the network to review the content quickly and broadcast within minutes.
Recently, the success of uReport lead FNC to incorporate Neighborhood America’s award-winning social networking solution, to build an online community of citizen journalists and news-savvy viewers. At last check and only after a week, the site boasts more than 33,000 registered members.
Members can see what their peers are uploading on uReport and rank the submissions. Whether it’s pictures of natural disasters or a video of a reindeer wadding through neck-deep water after escaping the Columbus Zoo. No really, you have to check it out (Reindeer Loose at Zoo)!
What’s happening here is viewers are coming together around the FNC brand to share stories - with the hopes of making it on air; an incentive that builds loyalty and viewership, a business strategy behind FNC’s efforts to leverage the phenomenon that is online social networks.
Who says news has to be boring? FNC is making it a social affair!
Go ahead… click on uReport to see what viewers are uploading right now and participate!
by Kristi Grigsby, Sr. Director of Marketing
My early career began in the cellular industry, working alongside a visionary president who assured me, “Mark my words. Someday these phones are going to be small enough to fit in your pocket and you’ll take it wherever you go.”
In those days (and yes, I’m aging myself here), the ‘bag phones’ were about the size of the big handbag I’m carrying today, so the thought of ever tucking that phone into my pocket was quite extraordinary.
Cellular phones were little more than an insurance policy… an added peace of mind that, in the event of an emergency, you were ready. Our advertisements focused on the helpless woman stranded on the highway with a flat tire, or the hurried businessman standing next to his broken down car as the radiator spewed steam. With cell phone in-hand, help was only minutes away.
It worked. The thought of instant communication when it was needed the most fueled the initial market demand. But we all knew we were sitting on something much bigger, and it was only a matter of time before the industry exploded. As they say, the rest is history. We all know what happened next.
But just as the focus on ‘emergency use applications’ was only a glimpse of the bigger possibilities awaiting the cellular industry, the social media industry holds far more potential than many may realize today....
To finish reading this blog, visit our Neighborhood Cafe.
Haughwout’s Newest Adventure: VP of Technology & CIO of Neighborhood America
Among Haughwout’s numerous notable achievements are multiple patented technologies designed to improve the way that organizations interact with their customers. He can also be credited for the development and disbursement of AOL’s OnTarget platform, which uses targeted communications to engage millions of AOL and Time Warner customers based on their interests and on and off-line actions.Relocating to a new city can be difficult, but for someone like Jim Haughwout and his wife, Anne Dixon, it’s hardly a big deal. Haughwout (pronounced “how what”, by the way) has lived and worked in 40 countries over the last 16 years, designing and delivering business-transforming technologies, products and programs across five industries.
Actually, the fact that Haughwout has spent so much time navigating the exotic infrastructure and unusual cultures of some of the world’s most remote nations, is probably about to serve him well. As Neighborhood America’s new, first-ever Vice President of Technology and Chief Information Officer, his responsibilities will require the ability to map new territory and view the exploding industry terrain with instinct, resourcefulness and a broad perspective – tasks he comes well prepared for.
However, not all of Haughwout’s interests are high-tech in nature. Aside from travel (he’s been to 10 countries in addition to those he’s worked in) he also enjoys working out, several forms of martial arts, boxing, fencing, jazz, wine (who doesn’t) and French cooking (probably the reason for the working out).
He and his wife Anne, whom he met while working as part of the same Booz Allen Hamilton consulting team, will celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary in August. They, and their two cats, Piglet and Tigger, have been living in Naples for all of two weeks, and are looking forward to taking advantage of the area’s beautiful tropical lifestyle.
Read our news release regarding Haughwout's hiring and learn more about his background.
by Paul Greenberg
It's usually a combination of great products/services, great customer service, good people, and most important a cultural ambiance. There is a feeling of "goodness" associated with the company that makes you happy to deal with them and happy to talk about them.
Read the full blog post that appeared in PGreenblog.
Neighborhood America Launches 'Coffee & Clarity' Breakfast Series
While marketing budgets may be squeezed, Web 2.0 and rich media continue to be at the forefront of aggressive spending increases. In fact, over 50% of marketers are intending to make these increases, according to MarketingProfs' report, 'B-to-B Marketing in 2008.'
In response to the overwhelming demand from marketing professionals to ensure those dollars are well spent, Neighborhood America is launching a new Coffee & Clarity series over the summer.
Coffee & Clarity will provide a fact-filled 90 minutes that will cover topics relevant to today's marketers, and bring clarity to the complex world of social media. Intended to be highly conversational, the limited-seating will ensure that attendees have the opportunity to ask their tough questions, and leave with answers that will equip them for success.
The breakfast seminars will kick off in Boston on July 28, and will continue into Atlanta and New York City in August and September, respectively.
Watch a sneak preview: http://www.neighborhoodamerica.com/events.
Marketers hoping to maximize sales and optimize product positioning in today’s global marketplace must be willing to cede greater control of their brand to customers, and to take advantage of never-before-available chances to understand and respond to users’ needs and opinions.
A discussion on how to do just that, will be the focus of a workshop presented by Neighborhood America’s Director of Business Development, Steve Ennen, at the upcoming Social Networking Conference on July 10th in San Francisco. The workshop is titled, “The Real World of Social and Mobile Communities: Results Driven Enterprise Social Networks.”
Designed to highlight the growing range of opportunities presented by enterprise and mobile social networking technology, Ennen will focus on best practices for using these latest tools optimally, and in conjunction with traditional mediums and established communications strategies.
“Half a decade ago, marketing was simply about ‘pushing’ promotional messages to the customer, but the new technology has brought about a virtual communications revolution that finally allows for a meaningful dialog between the customer and the marketer," says Ennen. "This chance to listen to users’ candid evaluations provides organizations with the ability to respond more directly to customer needs and opinions. There is no doubt that marketers that learn to navigate this new landscape effectively will have the greatest advantage going forward.”
According to Ennen, the most potent strategic planning will incorporate a multi-platform approach that builds a strong interactive community. Campaigns that make the user central to the marketing development equation will generate the greatest loyalty and ultimately pack the strongest punch.
Want to attend the Social Networking Conference? Click here.
Like any medium, mobile marketing works best when it is tightly integrated with the other elements of a campaign and constructed on the foundation of a sound communications strategy.
But users of mobile and enterprise social network marketing don’t always use the relatively new media as part of the bigger picture. Just ask David Rippetoe, Senior Director of Business Development for Neighborhood America.
Rippetoe spoke on the subject at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum, held at the Marriott Marques in New York in June. There he advised marketers looking to increase brand identification, to interweave the social networking elements of their campaigns with the other vehicles and the overall strategic message.
With both experience and success to point to, Rippetoe remarks that it was meticulous integration that made the Adidas “Brotherhood” campaign a success. Based on the concept of Basketball is a Brotherhood and touting the values of “family”, “we, not me” and “sacrifice”, the Adidas campaign, which was targeted to boys and girls 13-19, integrated print with mobile text ads and internet options that allowed members to interact with the brand by choosing from several options. These included downloading tailored voicemail and/or specialized ring tones to their phones, wallpaper and the chance to make a phone call to basketball superstar, Kevin Garnett, among others.
An internal branding study of response showed a 69% increase in intent to purchase Adidas products as a result of the campaign, and found that mobile outperformed all of the other media for driving opt-ins, at a fraction of the cost.
“We learned a lot about the importance of integration, from our work on the NBA campaign for Adidas, that earned us a Mobile Marketing Association Award in February of 2007”, adds Rippetoe.
It seems that experience has been a good teacher.
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