Baskin-Robbins lanzó recientemente una innovadora promoción titulada “Escape Tropical con Baskin-Robbins” en la red social más importante en Puerto Rico, Facebook. El esfuerzo fue diseñado para apoyar el lanzamiento de las nuevas batidas “Tropical Shakes” de la popular cadena de mantecados.

Durante el transcurso de la promoción, Baskin-Robbins estará repartiendo a sus clientes 100,000 cupones con códigos especiales a través de sus 45 tiendas en Puerto Rico. Los consumidores serán invitados a entrar los códigos a una aplicación en Facebook donde obtendrán 50 puntos por cada código entrado. Los participantes también podrán aumentar sus puntos regalando batidas digitales a sus amistades en la red social. El usuario que logre la mayor cantidad de puntos ganará un viaje en crucero para 2 personas en el popular Adventure of the Seas de Royal Caribbean.

La promoción social ha tenido un lanzamiento explosivo logrando que más de 8,000 usuarios añadieran la aplicación en la primera semana y regalaran sobre 36,000 batidas digitales a sus amistades en Facebook. Además, los participantes están invirtiendo 5 minutos interactuando con la marca. Esto representa más de 10 veces el tiempo que invierten los consumidores viendo el tradicional comercial de Televisión. Los usuarios también han generado cerca de medio millón de mensajes virales a sus amistades a favor de Baskin-Robbins.

“Baskin-Robbins se ha destacado siempre por ser una marca sumamente innovadora en búsqueda contínua de estar cerca de nuestros consumidores. Facebook nos ofrece una oportunidad única de brindarle a nuestros clientes una experiencia entretenida con la marca que los conecte a su vez con sus amistades,” indicó Juan A. Hernández, Director de Operaciones de Baskin-Robbins. “El nivel de envolvimiento tan positivo de los usuarios confirma la apertura de éstos a que Baskin-Robbins sea parte de su vida social, “ concluyó Hernández.

La aplicación promocional “Escape Tropical con Baskin-Robbins”, fue desarrollada por Chat, una agencia digital especializada en el desarrollo de campañas para redes sociales. “Este programa ilustra la versatilidad de Facebook para llevar a cabo promociones de consumo en el nuevo contexto social, donde masificamos la experiencia positiva de cada usuario con la marca ante sus cientos de amistades,” indicó Rafael Arteaga, director de Chat.

Ref. AdNotas

Marketers seek novel ways to reach consumers as Internet sites surge

The surge in social networking on the Internet has transformed the way marketers are approaching their targets as more people are spending more time online at such websites as Facebook and others.

The number of minutes U.S. Internet users spent on social-networking sites has increased 83% this year compared with 2008, according to market research company AC Nielsen. Facebook (FB) alone registered almost 14 billion minutes in April on a global level.

In Puerto Rico, an already popular Facebook has skyrocketed higher in the past year. In March 2008, FB registered 264,764 users on its San Juan network. A year later, the network reported 1,014,642 users, which represents a staggering 283% year-to-year increase.

“Although this number doesn’t represent the total number of FB users in Puerto Rico, it certainly indicates this phenomenon’s rapid growth,” said Rafael Arteaga, director of the Chat interactive division at the Arteaga & Arteaga ad agency.

Despite the staggering numbers, most brands still have no presence on popular social networks.

Chat is leading the way in this field as it specializes in developing branded applications on social networks aimed at helping steer brands such as 20th Century Fox, Baskin-Robbins, Coca-Cola, Ferrero, FirstBank, L’Bel, Malta Polar, MCS, Mini Cooper and Nestlé to engage emotionally with virtual communities while strengthening their social-media presence.

“The shift to social networking online, at this stage, represents mostly an opportunity to achieve a deeper connection with consumers who are more difficult to reach in other social environments. Chat was reinvented upon this premise two years ago,” Arteaga said.

In fact, FB has shown great potential over the past three years as a viral tool able to create social experiences that effectively integrate a brand not only into consumers’ lives, but also into their network of FB friends.

“We are the only local agency currently developing branded applications, the main objective of which is to turn a user into a brand ambassador,” Arteaga said.

A brand ambassador, the ad executive explained, is someone who will deliver the brand’s message to his or her Facebook friends at no extra cost to the brand.

How do branded applications work?
Escape Tropical con Baskin-Robbins (Tropical escape with Baskin-Robbins) is one of the most recent promotional applications launched by Chat two weeks ago to support the launch of the ice-cream chain’s new tropical shakes.

The concept is a virtual contest where the user who accumulates the most points wins a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas.

Every time consumers make a purchase at a Baskin-Robbins store, they will be given a coupon with a code number. They must first add the Baskin-Robbins application to their FB account and then enter the code. For each code entered, consumers will win 50 points. Consumers may obtain an additional 10 points with each digital milkshake they send to their network of Facebook friends through the application.

“This allows the brand to reach more people,” Arteaga explained.

The results? “Outstanding. In just one week, 8,000 people have added the application to their FB accounts to participate in the contest; 1,345 coupon codes were entered into the application.

“An average user spends around five minutes on Facebook. This means participants are spending around five minutes interacting with the brand, which represents 10 times the time spent watching a traditional TV spot,” Arteaga explained.

Users have an average of 120 friends in their FB network. So, every time a user sends a digital milkshake to his/her FB friends to obtain more points, the brand message is spreading virally among FB users in an incredibly short period.

“In just one week, users have sent more than 36,000 digital shakes to their FB friends, generating close to half a million viral messages supporting the brand,” Arteaga explained, highlighting how these electronic campaigns can really put brands in the spotlight.

The investment to achieve such brand-exposure results in just one week is very modest compared with the norm in traditional media, he said.

“This particular campaign ranges from $15,000 to $17,000, mostly to cover the expenses involved in producing the application,” said Arteaga, adding that such costs depend on how complicated the application is.

“We are starting to see clients increasingly moving budgets from traditional media to social networks due to the fact that investment is modest compared with traditional media and results can be measured in real time,” he said.

For Arteaga & Arteaga, such campaigns have proven to be an innovative venue to attract new clients to its portfolio.

“In the late 1990s, leading brands had to have an effective presence on the Internet by having a website because this equaled innovation. In 2009, to be perceived as an innovative brand it is mandatory to have a presence on Facebook and other social networks,” Arteaga concluded.

Ref. Caribbean Business PR

Con motivo de la celebración de su 25 aniversario, la agencia publicitaria local independiente más grande en Puerto Rico, Arteaga & Arteaga, realizó varias actividades bajo el lema “Summer of Bonding” para continuar cultivando el trabajo en equipo que la distingue.

Desde su fundación en 1984 por Juan y Grisell Arteaga, la agencia se mantiene innovando y sentando la pauta en tendencias y en estudios del mercado. Su misión actual es CREAR MARCAS LÍDERES ofreciendo servicios diversificados en las áreas de mercadeo, publicidad, relaciones públicas, interactivo, promociones y, sobre todo, creatividad.

Ref. AdNotas

En los pasados 25 años Arteaga & Arteaga ha logrado mantenerse al frente de la industria estableciendo programas e iniciativas que sirven de ventaja competitiva para sus clientes. Además, su afiliación a redes de reconocimiento internacional como Carat, ICOM, WOMA (Word of Mouth Association), ISOBAR (Digital Media) MS&L, Publicis Group (Relaciones Públicas), demuestran su enfoque visionario y perspectiva global.