Archive for the 'Case Studies' Category

Standard Bank Responds to Muti Comments

Published
by
Dave
on April 18, 2008
in Case Studies, Conversation, Marketing, Media, Muti and Nomadic Marketing
. 10 Comments

Standard Bank on Muti

We recently moved our business banking to Standard Bank because we weren’t getting the level service we needed from our previous bank, FNB.

The service I’ve received since from Standard Bank Sea Point has been warm, personal, and efficient.

So when I saw all the commentary on Muti.co.za about the Standard Bank website redesign, I felt (as one of their customers) that I wanted to have my say to help them do a better job of it.

So I left a comment saying that I couldn’t see their header image properly on Firefox for Mac (it has been fixed now, but the Heavy Chefs had the same problem).

Muti Comment about Standard Bank redesign

So, I was really happy to see that not only did Standard Bank fix the problem quickly, but their Head of Online Banking and Communication Channels, Itai Maunga, is engaging with social media channels like Muti, and with bloggers, like me:) He sent me this email:

Hi Dave,

We picked up on your comment after Damien du Toit’s comments on Muti on the home page (www.standardbank.co.za) redesign, expressing his disappointment at the finished product. We value your opinion, aware that you are a thought leader in the online marketing sphere, and would like to establish if you are open to having a conversation with us about the site. We will get in touch with you next week if we do not hear from you before then.

I must admit that when Standard Bank released their new slogan “Inspired. Motivated. Involved.”, I thought that it was marketing fluff that a big old corporate would be unable to live up to. But Itai’s response is like a Cluetrain case study. I must say that this has reflected my whole experience with Standard Bank so far. I’m inspired!

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Blank Bottle: More Marketing Innovation from the Wine World

Published
by
Dave
on April 14, 2008
in Case Studies, Collaboration, Crowdsourcing, Interactive Marketing and Marketing
. 3 Comments

Blank Bottle WinesI just recieved an interesting email from the owner of Blank Bottle Wines, Pieter H. Walser, describing some of the marketing/customer-engagement tactics they’ve used successfully lately.

1. Mystery wine. “I sold a few thousand bottles without telling anyone what’s in the bottle. There were 10 cases up for grabs for the closest answer. Two months later I revealed what was in the bottle. 125 people wrote back with comments, guessed the cultivar, vintage etc”.

My comment: Good idea, this gives people who know their wine the opportunity to show off that knowledge by correctly guessing its characteristics. It also gives people something to discuss around the wine, which (at least in my case), would make me more likely to take it along to dinner parties.

2. BLANKbottle™ Premium white released without price: “Instead of setting its price, I decided to let my loyal clients decide. I sent out 20 cases of “Moment of Silence” without payment or price, leaving it up to them to pay me what they thought its worth! Pricing suggestions reached up to R70, and most were prepared to pay around R50/bottle. As BLANKbottle™ was created to over-deliver on quality; I set the final price at R40″. i.e. He crowdsourced the price:)

My Comment: Good idea, following the same principle that RadioHead successfully applied with In Rainbows. However, I think the execution was a bit half-hearted by limiting it to only 20 of his loyal customers. Perhaps Pieter should have left the price people chose to pay open to suggestion for a few more weeks, as this would have created more buzz around his product.

As with his previous wines, “Moment of Silence” leaves you in the dark about the cultivar and year of vintage. To uncover the lineage of “Moment of Silence” or any of his other wines, you need to go to his website where you will find the full story behind your BLANKbottle.

Pieter is sending me a bottle to try, I must admit that the small incentive did encourage me to write this blog post. I’m such a sucker for freebies sometimes. Aren’t most bloggers?

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Let the Springleap Blogger Warz Begin!

Published
by
Dave
on April 1, 2008
in Announcements, Case Studies, Collaboration and blogging
. 1 Comment

Amazing Marketing MachineThe clever chaps at Springleap have come up with another killer idea to engage SA bloggers and drive lots of signups to their new site. It’s called Blogger Warz, where each month two prominent SA bloggers are pitted against each other to get the most votes for their t-shirt designs.

I’m up against Mike Stopforth (with his design called “Fit-Shan“) in the first round. The design I submitted was done my my talented illustrator friend, Ryno Van Niekerk. It’s called “The Amazing Marketing Machine“.

The story that goes with the design is as follows:

A mashup of potent technological innovations, The Amazing Marketing Machine will help any marketer be more intelligent, more playful, more out-of-this world! But if you didn’t know that you might just think it was a pile of junk. Ironic huh?

If you dig it, please go and vote it up on Springleap HERE (note, you need to register). Some lucky people might even get the opportunity to wear this awesome design if we win.

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Join The Conversation

Published
by
Dave
on December 14, 2007
in Case Studies, Collaboration, Conversation, Events, Marketing, blogging and geek dinners
. 14 Comments

Join the ConversationOn Tuesday night, a small group of us had the pleasure of having dinner with Joseph Jaffe, one of the world’s top new-marketing bloggers/podcasters. He’s president of Crayon, and wrote the bestselling “Life After the 30 Second Spot“.

During the dinner he wanted to give someone a signed a copy of his just-released book called “Join the Conversation” (which he’d brought to SA for his mom!), but has instead dedicated it to the Cape Town blogging and podcasting community to be passed around.
The inscription says:

“To the wonderful Cape Town community, I’m proud to represent you in the big US of A and I hope this book inspires, motivates and reflects the power of us“.

I’m almost done reading it, so if you’d like to get it next (and you’re in Cape Town) then just write a blog post mentioning the words “Join the Conversation” and then let’s meet for coffee and I’ll pass it on to you:)

One of the cool things about the book is that Chapter 10 was written by a bunch of people interested in the subject using a wiki. Interestingly, if you feel compelled to write more about it, you can become a contributor on the official blog by registering yourself there.

Glen from the ZA show has posted a video of the dinner here.

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