LikeMe.net Campaign Book

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LikeMe

This campaign was prepared for LikeMe by Blink Media.

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Introduction Getting to know you...

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Dotting the i’s (And all that other important stuff) LikeMe is a new social networking site that hopes to gain success with a unique approach.

Much like other current Web sites, LikeMe deals with building profiles, making friends and restaurant reviews. LikeMe differentiates itself from the other sites by its one-of-akind feature in which an algorithm calculates how much alike users are. The objective is users will connect through finding people “like” them. By building their profile and friendship base they can view other recommendations for restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.

LikeMe is hoping to attract more college-age users, specifically 18- to 23-year-olds. There is currently only a small percentage of the desired demographic participating in the site. This age group maintains a strong presence on other social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

In turn, LikeMe is hoping to emulate their success. Thus, the main objective of the campaign will be focused on brand awareness. We need to get people interested and excited about the site.

The desired result being they’ll be more inclined to join and become regular users.

Because LikeMe is hoping to tackle a target market that is relatively unaware of its existence, several different tactics will need to be employed during the duration of this campaign. During a year-long campaign we will use print, Web, viral, partnerships, and street teams to try and get young people familiar with the site. One hundred thousand dollars has been allocated to achieve these goals.

The Bottom Line:

LikeMe is currently not on the social networking radar of the majority of college age students. This campaign aims to not only to increase brand awareness, but make LikeMe a go-to site of students, much like Facebook.

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Situational Analysis

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Houston, We Have A Problem LikeMe is a growing social networking site currently in beta. In comparison to the entire Web population, LikeMe has a small, limited group of current users.

The audience they desire to reach is largely oblivious to the site’s existence. Primarily, the problem is how to increase the volume of younger users and make the site more appealing for the target audience.

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We’ve Got Our Reasons LikeMe is mainly concerned with introducing and spreading awareness of the site on college campuses across the nation. The purpose of the campaign is to create a general knowledge among the college communities and ultimately increase the users. Once the students join the site, the key will be to integrate LikeMe into their normal Web activities and other social networking sites.

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Money, Money, Money Our budget is $100,000, which will predominantly be used for street teams and online strategies.

Other tactics will include partnerships, viral, and some print advertisments.

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Enough About Me, What About You? LikeMe is a young Internet start-up, so there is little background information because it is essentially history in the making. It is based in California and Denver, where it was founded by Jeff Giarraputo, the current CEO. A key draw of LikeMe is its numerous celebrity users and endorsers. The site receives funding from Happy Madison, the production team owned by Adam Sandler. Other celebrity users include American Idol’s Katherine McPhee and NASCAR driver Kasey Kahane.

Here’s Looking At...Who? This campaign will be targeted toward social 18- to 23-year-old college students nationwide. This demographic is presumed to be tech savvy and maintain a disposable income that they spend on activities such as eating out and going to bars. Behaviorally, this age range is highly interested in connecting with each other through the Internet, meeting new people, and finding friends based on common interests. LikeMe is just one of several social networking outlets that they are using as a tool to stay engaged and informed of social situations with like-minded people of their similar age group.

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SWOT Analysis

Strengths • LikeMe can be viewed as the next generation of an established and successful Web

site, Yelp.

• Presents another opportunity for social networking for young users.

• The site is easy to navigate and well constructed.

• The function of the site is relevant to the public and a useful tool for recommendations.

• There is large potential for growth and use.

Weaknesses • There are already a lot of similar competitors on the Internet. With this in mind, it makes

it more difficult for LikeMe to differentiate itself from the comparable sites.

• The preferred target audience has little awareness of the site.

• In comparison with other social networking sites, it has minimal integration throughout

the Web community.

• The name of the site, LikeMe, does not give an accurate picture to what the site is

actually promoting.

Opportunities • There are huge growth opportunities based on the nature of the product and the active

target audience.

• The site has the ability to adapt and grow, as users are able to voice opinions and

recommendations about improving the site.

• LikeMe can expand, as a company through its Web presence as well as

integration with different businesses that are not Web based.

• Companies that are featured on the site, such as restaurants and hotels, can partner

with LikeMe and mutually benefit.

Threats • The numerous social networking sites: Yelp, Facebook, Digg, Twitter, etc. all

provide threats to LikeMe. Because the vast majority of these sites were established

prior to LikeMe, they have the advantage of more established audiences and users.

LikeMe users are growing and changing day by day.

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Secondary Research Google It...

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Secondary Research

What We’re Up Against

LikeMe is competing with other several other online sources of recommendations. These sites also seek out college students looking to learn and share information about restaurants, nightlife and other extracurricular activities.

Yelp The top competitor for LikeMe is Yelp. Currently, it is a top 250 Web site, reaching more than 5.7 million people each month. Yelp refers to itself as being a city guide that taps into the community’s voice and reveals current insights on local businesses and services. Although similar to LikeMe, one big difference is Yelp tends to have an abundance of negative reviews, while LikeMe is strictly limited to only positive feedback. The majority of Yelp’s users tend to be young adults ages 18–34, which is similar to the audience LikeMe is trying to reach.

Citysearch Another site that resembles LikeMe is Citysearch. This site contains more than 14.5 million business listings across the U.S. with more than 600,000 user reviews. Its users tend to be older than LikeMe’s target audience with 60% of users being 35+, and 35% in the age range of 18–34. Citysearch serves more as an online listing source rather than for user recommendations. In May 2007, the company decided to launch “Insider Pages” which was created to help people find the best local businesses through recommendations from their friends and neighbors.

Zagat Zagat attracts a little older and more affluent group of users, especially since you have to subscribe to the Web site in order to receive the site’s full listings and reviews. Its estimated monthly traffic is 208,000 people, with 64% of its users being at least 35 years old. Zagat uses surveyors who are everyday consumers to rate a restaurant, bar, club or extracurricular activity on a 30-point scale, which is much different than simply writing a personal review of your own experience.

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Yelp has already surpassed its competitor and predecessor, Citysearch, in number of users

Using Social Media to Create Brand Awareness

A survey of marketing executives from December 2008 discussed the main benefits of using social media marketing. Taking the top spot was the concept of customer engagement. This means that 85% of maketing executives think that using social media marketing is useful for attracting new customers and keeping old customers engaged. The problem with most companies diving into this new trend is they are expecting customers to eagerly want to know what the company has to say without putting in any of the work required to gain a base following. Companies need to participate in discussions with the community and build a base of followers before it starts hyping its product.

If the company is interesting in any way, be it humor or always having useful links, people will give more attention to its comments. This goes for any social networking site or online community, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc. If a company tries to create a presence with a new Web site through simply making noise about its product, it will fail to get any response back from consumers.

To gain influence on Twitter, or any other networking site, companies need to actively engage in the community. This includes posting often and responding frequently to others’ posts. One big tip on how to use Twitter: encourage participants to “add value” to the discussion. Businesses can do this several ways. First, use the site as a “shared feed” reader. Post links of what employees might be reading at the time that are of interest to other members of the community. Second, use the site to recap an event. Comment on an interesting experience, whether it be a seminar or an experience at a restaurant. Third, respond to others on the site, comment on a good link that is being followed, give advice to others, and participate if 85% of marketing someone asks a question. executives view

social media as a useful tool for attracting There are mixed feelings in the online communities about whether or not you should include personal details and events in posts. Some new customers argue it gives you a personality and can be interesting. Others say no one really cares to find out what you’re eating for lunch or if you’re just waking up or going to bed. As long as conversations are focused on 14

current discussions in the community, personal experiences are welcome. An example would be, “eating at this amazing restaurant I found at...” followed by a link where you found the restaurant and other information about your visit there.

After you build your base of followers you can start using social media as a helpful way to get constructive feedback from current customers. These opinions from consumers, both positive and negative, can help improve and develop your company in a cost effective manner. Comcast Cable is a good example as it uses its Twitter account solely for this purpose and it has been shown to be increasingly effective for customers. Usually they get a faster response from the Twitter account than they would having to wait on the phone to talk to someone.

Twitter by the Numbers

25.9 63 57 84

The percentage of Twitter users who make up the site’s largest demographic, 35- to 44-year-olds.

The percentage of Twitter users who are male.

The percentage of Twitter users who are California residents.

Twitter’s ranking according to a Hitwise list that ranks sites in the computers and internet category.

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Primary Research The Nitty Gritty

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Likewho?

Primary Research

Through email surveys we collected more than 200 responses. The vast majority of responses came from University of Missouri students in the 18- to 23year-old age range, which is exactly the target market LikeMe is hoping to attract.

We also conducted two focus groups in which we had 20- to-23-year-olds use the Web site and narrate us through their experience for immediate feedback.

While we only gathered research from participants in the Columbia, Missouri area, we believe the results and observations we compiled will hold true in most college-town locations.

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The Research Plan

What’s the problem?

In order to get the most accurate results out of this campaign, Blink Media needs to do some in-depth research into the lives of our target market. We are trying to investigate the Internet habits of young people, specifically in terms of their usage of social networking sites.The goal is to discover why people are not using LikeMe and their reasons for using other sites.

What do we want to get out of this?

Our goals for this research plan focus on finding out why and how 18- to 23-year-olds use social networking sites. We want to know what features attract them to these sites. We are also focused on finding out about current LikeMe users’ opinions about the LikeMe site.

Bring on the people Our audience is the fast-paced 18- to 23-year-old college student. The Web is not an unknown terrain to them, considering they have been raised as a generation where Internet is easily accessible. They are tech-savvy and can distinguish easily between sites that are relevant and useful to their lives. This group is highly motivated by advice given to them by peers and they want to be a part of something that makes them feel like they “fit in.” They are skeptical of advertising and need to be reached through creative messages with a style that provides entertainment or diversion.

What we’re going to do We plan on releasing a large-scale Internet survey through several Web-based mediums. The survey link will be sent to every member of the LikeMe Facebook group, as well as Greek affiliation and various journalism courses list serves. After the completion and analysis of the online survey, we plan to conduct focus group interviews for more in-depth questioning.

How we’re going to make stuff happen The bulk of the results acquired through the primary research will be more quantitative. By using surveymonkey.com to create the survey we will be able to send the link out to a mass audience.

We are sending the survey out through Facebook first because the majority of our target audience accesses the site on a daily basis. Secondly, the Greek affiliation lists are effective considering members in these clubs typically go out and participate in social activities. Lastly, e-mail lists from 20

journalism courses will allow us to reach students that are aware of advertising techniques and Internet trends. Although we will have more quantitative data, the most important information we will gain is through the focus group meetings. After analyzing the survey results, we hope to have college students expand on their responses. The discussions will allow for the students to express their motivations, frustrations, and personal opinions. Through their conversations we hope to receive more extensive insight into the audiences’ behavioral patterns.

Recommendations The most important recommendation would be to include a daily drink special list from local bars. A big reason students go to certain bars is for the drink specials and these need to be appealing. Thursdays in Columbia are a great example, with places serving 25 cent drafts or 75 cent triple wells. If there was a compilation of drink speicals on the site, it would provide invaluable information to students. Also, knowing that LikeMe is constantly updating and changing the list gives students incentives to frequent the site Another reason we found for using the site would be when traveling. College students are often going out of town to visit friends or follow sports teams to road games and this is a medium where they would be able to find where to eat/stay/go out in the cities that are unfamiliar to them.

There is also an avenue with incoming freshmen students. Through following the Fuego Ad focus group through live Tweets, we found freshmen still didn’t know the main places in town to eat and socialize. If LikeMe could tap into this group of consumers, it could create a loyal, well-established base right from the start.

The majority of people we talked to had initial thoughts that the site was a dating Web site. We reccomend tapping into the idea and developing creative that plays off of this information to create an awareness of what the site actually does.

Because of the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, many people also commented if you could integrate the site with Facebook it would be a useful tool. If you could import your LikeMe profile to Facebook and receive information there, it would allow for an easier way to manage multiple social Web sites.

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Who influences your buying decisions or the sites you visit most often?

Who influences your buying decisions or the sites you visit most often?

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12.4 Friends Family Co-workers Media

76.7

Survey Says:

68.4% say they AREN’T more likely to visit a Web site if it is supported by a celebrity.

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Which social networks are you currently using?

Which social networks are you currently using?

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99.5

80

Web Site

60

40

18.8

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13.6

11.3 4.7

0

Facebook

MySpace

Twitter

Digg

LinkedIn

Percentage of users

Survey Says:

Facebook is by far the most popular social Web site for the age group in LikeMe’s target demographic.

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Live Tweeting of Our Tweets

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Our Focus Group Live Replies to Tweets

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often do you visit restaurant, nightlife or hotel reviews online?

How often doHow you visit restaurant, nightlife, or hotel reviews online?

0.95%

12.55%

Several times a day At least once a week

46.39%

A few times a month A few times a year

40.11%

Survey Says:

73.1% of respondents say their primary use for social networking sites is ‘just for fun’.

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Creative

Where being weird is a good thing

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Tactictime

Creative Strategy

The primary focus of our creative efforts is to create brand awareness in the 18- to 23-yearold market. Our tactics are concentrated not only on them getting to know what LikeMe is, but also what the site offers and why it is vital for them to join.

We plan to feature the brand in a variety of venues in which this target market is already using.

By using a compilation of different mediums, we hope the message will reach the audience repeatedly.

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Strategy

Our strategy is to create brand awareness around LikeMe, and make it the leading Web site in searching for online recommendations. It will be the newest social networking site that is a must-have for those early adopters and techsavvy college students.

Objectives

Our main objective is to reach and penetrate the 18- to 23-year-old market on college campuses nationwide. Currently, our target audience isn’t aware of the Web site’s existence, so brand awareness is the most important goal. This is followed by an increase in traffic on LikeMe by this target audience, and the eventual development of habitual users. We need our target audience to be open about the idea of finding recommendations online, and then make LikeMe their go-to site. Eventually, the Web site should seem like a necessity they can’t live without.

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Audiences

Our target audience for LikeMe is college age students, 18to-23- year olds, who have disposable income to spend on restaurants and nightlife as well as other activities multiple times a week. This audience is Internet savvy, growing up with ready and available access to the Web. Already members of at least one social networking site, they won’t need any help adapting to the idea of an online society. They rely more heavily on the advice given to them by their peers and word-of-mouth, because this generation has grown up in an era that is has been loaded down with cluttered advertising. As a result, these individuals are highly skeptical to advertising and have built a strong mental filter to sift through the clutter. In terms of acceptance of products and new ideas, the group can be split up into two different groups: trend setters and trend followers. Trend setters, as more active individuals, go out and explore the Web for new products, sites, and activities. Their opinions and knowledge have much influence on the decisions of the trend followers. The secondary audience then joins and explore the sites trend setters recommend and support. For these reasons, our primary target will be trend setters and secondary will be the trend followers.

The main message LikeMe needs to convey is LikeMe is the newest fad on the Web. People should want to be part of this up-to-date social networking site, and even feel as though it’s a necessity to join. After first being introduced to the Web site, they should understand the overall relevance to the site, and want to interact with this social networking society.

LikeMe will appeal to those young Internet-savvy college students that are always looking for the newest hot-spots and the next “big thing.”

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Messages

Creative Brief:We’ll Be Creative, We’ll Be Brief So the story goes...

LikeMe is a new social networking site. The site’s construction mirrors many of the other social networking sites currently on the Web. For example, people can create and build on personal profiles, add or recommend friends, stay interactive through messages, and upload pictures. Through these tools, people can connect and interact based on similar interests and recommendations. By answering a few demographic, behavioral, and personal questions the members can view other people that are “like” them on a percentage rating scale. This feature helps differentiate LikeMe from other social networking sites.

GOOOOAAAAAL

LikeMe wants to increase its brand awareness in the minds of 18- to23- year-olds and increase the number of users in this demographic on their site. We want this demographic to view LikeMe as their go-to recommendation site.

We want you!

Our target audience for this campaign is college age, 18- to 23-year-olds , who are on college campuses in the U.S. and go out to eat more than twice a week. They have at least some disposable income to spend on activities like entertainment and eating out. The Web is not unknown an terriain to them considering they have been raised with the Internet being easily accessible. They are techsavvy and they are highly motivated by advice given to them by peers and want to be a part of something makes them feel like they “fit in.” They are part of multiple social networks already, so they won’t have a problem adapting to a new network. They are the thought leaders of their group of friends and they want to be on the leading edge of new ideas and products.

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The BIG Idea

Using LikeMe will enhance and expand existing social communities. College students need to realize how to utilize these sites to allow for growth socially online as well as in their everyday lives. Whether in a new city or their hometown, LikeMe should be young people’s first source for food and entertainment information and reviews. The tone of the message will be light-hearted. Humor is a good way to relate and draw in the attention of the target audience. By using the humor appeal, the audience will hopefully feel a sense of trust and familiarity in the message being delivered. The advertising will primarily be delivered in non-traditional mediums that will appeal to this young generation.

A is for Advantages

Though LikeMe is entering a crowded marketplace, it does have an advantage over competitors in that it offers a unique service in the form of the algorithm. The other sites rely on people making “friends” by searching through each other profiles; they have to work to make the connections. LikeMe automatically matches people up and presents the match clearly. It is easy to connect with people.

Listen Up...Find You!

The key message that needs to be communicated is that LikeMe is the newest and hippest social networking site. We want to give the impression that being a part of the site is a necessity to completing their social networking Web society. They should be able to see the relevance of the site at first visit and want to continue to using the site as part of their everyday lives. The type of people in the target market want to feel like they are part of the big picture, but have a concern to maintain their sense of independence. Thus, LikeMe needs to convey the site is about you. Though others’ recommendations are helpful, the site only builds based on your suggestions.

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Creative Tactic #1: Web Because this campaign revolves around the promotion of a Web site, it only made sense we would utilize this as one of our tactics.

We plan to address Web use as a tool to spread the word about LikeMe to current Internet users.

Tactic: LikeMe Blog The Web site itself should have a blog to keep users updated with the site’s progress and what you, as a company, are doing to improve the site. Since the site is still in the beta stage, it needs all possible feedback it can get. If the users don’t already know what you are doing to currently improve the site, it might be intimidating for them to comment or give suggestions. Look at the Facebook blog for inspiration. They update anytime they are thinking about changing the site in any way and they get instant feedback whether people agree or disagree with the decisions.

Many Web sites have a blog to keep users updated. This could be a tool to help your company connect with users.

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Tactic: Twitter Yup, we aren’t going to leave you without talking about Twitter. There are more than 7 million people on the site and that number is rapidly increasing.

Twitter is the fastest growing Internet site going right now, with 1382% growth from February 2008 to February 2009. We recommend you use your substantial base of users to gain a foothold in the Twitter community. There is no doubt many of your users are already on Twitter and use it all the time. This is another way you can gain insightful feedback from your users. Use the Twitter to update on new restaurants people add in an area. Make sure your tweets aren’t always about your business. Twitter is an active conversation tool. When people reply to your tweets via Direct Message you need to reply back to them as soon as possible. People should feel like you are part of the community and not just a spammer. If they believe that you are truly acting as part of the community, they will trust you and provide good feedback about how to improve your site.

Tactic: Photo Contest

The goal of the photo contest is to build brand awareness. The photo contest will encourage members of LikeMe to submit pictures of their favorite restaurants, bars and nightlife hot spots around town. Once the photos have been submitted members will be able to vote for their favorite picture.

The voting and evaluation of the pictures will be based on the execution, creativity, and personal opinions of the LikeMe users. The task of uploading the pictures will introduce the new component of LikeMe, the ability to upload pictures and videos. The winner of the competition will win a day on the set of a Happy Madison Production. The mutual relationship between the Happy Madison and LikeMe.net owners will make this prize possible and very cost efficient. The contest will run during the months of May through July, and a winner will be selected and announced during August. We found during our focus group that many people are interested in participating in a photo contest.

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Creative Tactic #2: Print Our surveys and focus groups revealed some interesting findings in that students said they did, in fact, pick up the campus newspaper, but primarily just for its crosswords, Sudoku, and other class time distrations. With that in mind, we felt the best way to get their attention, was exactly where we knew they were looking: on the Sudoku board.

Tactic: Sudoku Sponsorships We believe, by associating the LikeMe name with the Sudoku puzzle, we will have great success in reaching our target market. Our research widely indicated the target market of college students rarely turn to newspapers for actual news any more. When they pick up newspapers, a large number of respondents indicated they were picking them up purely to complete the puzzles and games page in the back. They indicated they primarily grabbed them for class time and whenever they had a few spare minutes. Thus, placing the LikeMe name underneath the puzzle will help with the goal of brand awareness by getting LikeMe to become part of their everyday lives. Also, because of the low cost ad rates in school papers and wide accessibility to students, this tactic is an effective and efficient way to reach the target market.

The current budget accounts allows for only a year sponsorship of the Sudoku puzzle in the Mizzou student newspaper, The Maneater. Because of a lack of avaliability of other campus newspaper’s ad rates we were unable to calculate the cost for the sponsorship in multiple papers, but believe it is an affordable and effective solution, no matter the locale.

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This would appear on the puzzles and games page of the student newspaper.

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Creative Tactic #3: Partnerships With the rapid growth of iPhones and the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, partnering with these two companies seems like a reliable option for trying to reach the college market. By creating applications for each of these respective programs, LikeMe is associating themselves with two hugely successful products. The users of those products will become users of LikeMe.

Tactic: Facebook Applicaton

The Facebook application we will introduce is inspired by the dominant theme behind LikeMe, the algorithm that shows the “like-mindness” between the LikeMe users. When adding the Facebook application the individual will be asked to answer a series of questions. After answering the questions the LikeMe application will be a part of your profile. Anyone that adds the application to their profile can visit other people’s pages and the application will then calculate how “like” you are based on the set of questions. The site LikeMe will be introduced to Facebook users in two different ways. First, the name of the application itself will be “LikeMe Application” highlighting the name of the site. Secondly, under the percentage there will be an ad displaying “powered by LikeMe.net” with a link that will lead you to the site. There are many benefits creating the LikeMe application. Mainly, primary research shows that 99.5% of our desired target audience is a member of 38

Facebook. The addition of the application will create brand awareness for LikeMe by introducing the name of the site, as well as, begin to integrate LikeMe.net and Facebook. LikeMe.net will also display the Facebook link and application throughout the site on the member’s LikeMe profiles. This exchange will create a beneficial relationship between LikeMe.net and Facebook. The evaluation of the efficiency of the application will be simple by just measuring the amount of Facebook users that add the application. We will have to hire an application developer to create the application at a cost of about $4,000. In respect to the high return of the application, the budget allocation is quite low.

Tactic: iPhone Application The application for the iPhone will incorporate the LikeMe algorithm to allow people on the go to use the site while away from their computer. People will be able to access their profile and get recommendations for restaurants. It will incorporate a GPS system for location and people can view their recommended bars and restaurants from any given location using the GPS tracker. When a person wants to find a recommendation, the applications will pinpoint their location and give them recommendations, based on the algorithm, that are within a given distance.

The application will also have a photo uploader so users, when leaving a restaurant, bar, shop etc. will be able post pictures as well as write an instant review. This will increase membership use and site interaction.

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Creative Tactic #4: Viral It’s hard to go a single day without seeing a YouTube video.

Whether you’re looking for news, the latest music, or a clip from last night’s Leno, YouTube is one of the most popular Web sites among young people. By creating and posting a YouTube video we hope to establish presence and spread awareness about LikeMe.

Tactic: Viral (YouTube) Though viral is a broad marketing category that could quite possibly be expanded in the future (for little cost), we recommend starting viral marketing with the creation of a YouTube clip. While there are a wide variety of clips currently available on YouTube, we have narrowed down what should and should not be included in LikeMe’s viral video. Recommended Video requirements include:

• Should feature a song; primarily one that echoes early 90s rap the fewer actors in the video the better.

• The best (most popular videos) are ones the average Joe does, or possibly could create. So, leave the fancy lighting and sets to MTV. The more “real” it looks, the better received we believe it will be.

• Video should focus on humor. Because of the nature of the Web site and the viewing patterns of college students, humor appears to be the best way to get a message across to the intended target market.

• The video should not be directly about the LikeMe site. LikeMe can be listed as asponsor or incorporated into the bar, but again we want this video to look more home grown than like a commercial.

• LikeMe address and logo should be displayed prominently at the end of the video.

• Provide a link to the YouTube video on the LikeMe site so that current users will have the opportunity to enjoy it and potentially share it with their friends.

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Creative Tactic #5: Street Teams Sometimes there’s no better way to get the word out about something than actually hitting the streets and making it happen. The street teams add another dimension to this campaign and will hopefully have a personal impact on the target market.

Tactic: Street Teams The street teams will be used to bring the brand name and personality to the target audience. They will be active in college towns, handing out various free items with the LikeMe logo. They’ll also have a presence at tailgates during football season as well as distributing other branded items to selected restaurants and bars in the college town. More specifically, this is how the street teams will be creating a buzz about LikeMe: • Distributing coasters to restaurants and bars. The coasters will have interactive games printed, they’ll be more than just a place for your drink.

•Handing out koozies at tailgates during football season.

• Information Desks: The street teams will have a presence during freshman orientation in the summer with computers enabling hands-on interaction with the Web site for incoming students.

• Handing out branded T-shirts and water bottles at information desks at summer orientation • Branded Planners: They’ll be marked with the dates and locations of our street teams.

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Exchange a clothing item with the person to your right!

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Example of the 2 sided coasters

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LikeMe.net find�You.

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Media

Lights, Camera, Action!

45 45

Budget Total Budget= $100,000

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Price Breakdown 41.75%

31.20%

24% 1.5% 1.25%

Street Teams • Coasters for restaurants and bars=$1,600 for 20,000 coasters (Inkhead.com) • Koozies for tailgating=$7,100 for 10,000 (Customink.com) • T-shirts=$13,980 for 2,000 (Vistaprint.com) • Info desks at summer welcome=$4,580 • Planners= $8,110 for 2,000 (Inkhead.com) • Water Bottles= $1,520 for 2,000 (Inkhead.com) • Other expenses= $4,860 • These expenses are based on the experience of one school (The University of Missouri). They do account for a full football season, but the budget would need to increase as schools are added to the media plan

TOTAL=$41,750 Web • • •

Twitter ($5,000 of a $33,000/a year salary) Manage Photo Contest ($300 of a $33,000/ a yeary salary LikeMe blog=$15, 600 TOTAL=$31,500

Partnerships • Facebook Application=$4,000 • iPhone Application=$20,000

TOTAL= $24,000

Print • Sudoku =$1,800

TOTAL=$1,500 Viral • YouTube video=$1,250

TOTAL=$1,250 48

Sticking to the schedule -Partnerships: Continuous; the partnerships with Facebook and iPhone only require a one time cost and they can then be utilized year round with little need for maintenance.

-Street Teams: F lighting; the street teams will focus their efforts during two very specific times of year— during home football games and the days when freshmen come to campus for orientation.

-Viral: Flighting; viral only needs to be used when a new YouTube video is launched; it may require some promotion in the beginning, but will require little maintenance after being filmed and released.

-Print: F lighting; during the months of June and July the print ad will not run.

Considering the amount of summer school students is low, it doesn’t warrant the expense. The ad will run as long as a majority of students are on campus.

-Web: Continuous; the blog and Twitter account can be maintained year round with a relatively low cost and high return. Flighting; the photo contest will only run during the months of May, June, July and August. It is during these months the majority of tactics will be in progress and traffic for the site should increase.

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Media Calendar... ry

a Janu Web

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ar u r b e

F

Print

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rs e n t

May

June

Web

Web

Web

Web

Print

Print

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Pa

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Apri

Web

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Pa

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Mar

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Viral

Viral 50

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Street Teams

keeping busy July

st

P

Street Teams

Sep

r tobe

Oc

r

e mb

e

v No

e

c De

Web

Web

Web

Web

Print

Print

Print

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Print

s

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tn ar

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Street Teams

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ip h s r

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Street Teams

Street Teams 51

ips

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ip h s r

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Street Teams

r

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Web

ips

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tn ar

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u Aug

Web

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h ers

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Street Teams

Evaluation The overall effectiveness of the LikeMe campaign will largely be reflected through the growing number of traffic to the Web site. Through the increase in traffic, the effectiveness will also be evident by growth of the user base and user activity, such as, a higher frequency of new recommendations.

The campaign’s efficiency can also be broken down by each individual tactic. Success of the street teams will be evaluated by the amount of traffic and new users to the Web site itself.

As for our partnership with Facebook, results of its success can be measured by not only traffic to the Web site, but also by the number of users who are actually downloading and using the application. The iPhone application can similarly be measured by the amount of people downloading it to their phones.

Our viral marketing effectiveness will be clear by the amount of hits received on the Web. The YouTube video will display the number of users who have viewed the video. Also, the photo contest’s success will be displayed by the amount of photos entered for the contest, as well as traffic to the Web site.

The success of our Sudoku advertisement in college newspapers will be attributed once again to the amount of traffic to the Web site.

Our last individual tactic, the Web, will be measured by the number of followers and replies LikeMe receives on Twitter, and also the number of views for our blog. Twitter can also help show the overall growing buzz about LikeMe through searching for conversations about any of our tactics and the Web site itself.

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What’s Next?

Based on our research, observations, and campaign experience Blink Media has several recommendations about where LikeMe should go from here. First, we believe the campaign plan should be implemented immediately. Because the Web is a already a crowded market with new competitors joining everyday, time is of the essence with this promotion. LikeMe needs to grab the audience before another Web site comes along and does so.

Second, we believe the best way to attract the 18- to 23-year-old demographic to LikeMe would be to implement some additions and changes to the Web site. While this may change the current look of the site, we believe these changes are necessary to keep the intended target market interested. These include, but are not limited to displaying local drink specials, upcoming events, and possibly exclusive parties.

Another large change we highly recommend is having some sort of preview or editing feature. Through the surveys and focus groups we learned young people like the idea of uploading their own content and reviews, but were a little wary of a Web site that seemed to lack a checks and balances system. They requested a way to verify the information was being submitted to the Web site was indeed true. This not only answers their concerns but helps LikeMe appear legitimate and trustworthy.

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Hello all!! My name is Sarah Wilson. Some of my earliest memories consist of directing skits in my neighborhood, where, at the age of 4, I was someone how able to tell 7 and 10 year olds what to do. With the help of my creativity, spunk and loud voice I was able to turn my rendition of The Lion King into a cul-de-sac Broadway production. That outgoing personality still carries me through my life, and have definitely put it to the test a few times coming to the University of Missouri from Texas and not knowing anyone. One of my favorite things to do is laughing with my family and friends. For that reason, I’m guilty of being a huge home body. One of my biggest pet peeves is people that take life for granted. Oh, and not turning your blinker off when you get into the right lane! Max, please come clean and tell everyone you have a Twitter shrine in your room!

Hi y’all, Emily here. I’m going to do the best to keep this short and sweet, so that means like a page or two. While I have many talents, briefness has never been one of them. So, let’s get down to business. I’m a Taurus, I like breakfast tacos, and anything having to do with summer time. I’m looking for a single, white male.....oh wait. Wrong ad, sorry. Anyway, when I’m not busy completely destroying kitchens in my quest to pretend I can cook, I’m watching YouTube clips of musicals like it’s my job. Nothing really hits the spot like a nice Shirley Jones rendition of Oklahoma. Right Max? 54

My name is Calli Cox. With that being said, please fight your urge to sing me the lyrics, “I’m going ,going, back, back, to Cali, Cali” because it gets a little old after awhile. If I could invent a sport, it would probably consist of a mixture of tennis and disc golf. I’m thinking that instead of the disc, you have to attempt getting the tennis ball in the basket by hitting it with your racket. For those of you that don’t know what disc golf is, look it up. It’s fun, I promise. My favorite color is green because it reminds me of warm weather. It is also simply the best color there is. As for the defining moment in my life, I think I’m still waiting. Unless it was something so miniscule that I didn’t even notice, which would be sad. On a side note, I think Max’s has to do with kitties, cemetery kitties to be more specific. Ask him for more details.

BLINK OUT.

Hey there, my name is Max. As a boy, I always grew up dreaming of the color yellow, I mean it is, in fact my favorite. It makes you happy on a sad day and it reminds you of the sun, one of the factors contributing to the creation of life on this planet. I always wanted to invent a sport and I think the combination of skiing and capture the flag would be the one I would like to invent. You might think that it sounds dangerous, but what’s life worth living if you aren’t going to live it to the fullest right? The defining moment in my life came when I experienced my first dining hall omelet. You may assume it was a terrible experience but it was one of the greatest of my life.

The combination of 3 to 4 eggs with bacon sprinkles and topped with as much cheese as is humanly possible left me reeling with joy and I will never go back to living life the same as I did before that omelet.

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Appendix

Here’s where we went for our secondary research: • Yelp.com • Citysearch.com • Zagat.com • quantcast.com • http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/ultimate-how-to-grow-your-socialmedia-network/ • http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/31338 • http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/viral-video-clipstargeted-traffic.html • http://www.copyblogger.com/grow-business-twitter/ • http://www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com/social-networking/top-5-lessons-aboutsocial-media-social-networking-twitter-and-business/ • http://web-strategist.com/blog/ • http://web-strategist.com/blog/ • http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/11/29/how-i-use-twitter-and-you/ • http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887.htm • http://mashable.com/2008/12/29/benefits-of-social-media-marketing/ • http://www.blogherald.com/tag/twitter-statistics/

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OUR SURVEY 1. Do you look at restaurant, nightlife, hotel, and extra curricular activity reviews online? a. Yes b. No c. If yes, which sites do you typically visit?

2. How often do you visit these review sites? a. Several times a day b. At least once a week c. A few times a month d. A few times a year e. Never 3. Do you feel more confident going to a restaurant, hotel, bar/club, and participating in activities if someone suggest those rather than discovering them on your own? a. Yes b. No 4. Who influences your buying decisions or the sites you visit online the most? a. Friends b. Family c. Co-workers d. Media 5. Do you trust the recommendations you find online? a. Yes b. No c. Somewhat 6. If you have common interests with another person, would you have more trust for their recommendations about restaurants, nightlife, hotels, extra curricular activities? a. Yes b. No 58

7. Would you be more likely to visit a Web site if it was supported by a celebrity? a. Yes b. No 8. How important is it to you to be able to post a negative review of a restaurant, hotel, retail store, etc? a. Very b. Moderate c. Not at all 9. Check which social networking sites you currently use. a. Facebook b. MySpace c. Twitter d. Tumblr e. Digg f. LinkedIn g. Other (please specify) 10. What is the primary reason you use these social networking sites? a. To make new connections for personal reasons b. To make new connections for professional reasons c. To connect with new customers and promote new business d. To share ideas and information in real time e. Just for fun 11. What kind of advertising are you exposed to in a typical day? Check all that apply. a. TV b. Radio c. Print d. Online e. Word of mouth f. Viral g. Other 59

12. Which type of advertising do you find most effective? a. TV b. Radio c. Print d. Online e. Word of mouth f. Viral g. Other 13. Does the type of sponsorships certain companies take part in affect your decision to support that company? a. Yes b. No 14. When you hear the name LikeMe, what is your initial thought about the Web site?

15. What is your gender? a. Male b. Female 16. What is your age? a. 21 and under b. Between 22 and 30 years old c. Between 31 and 45 years old d. Over 46 years old 17. What is your education level? a. Some high school b. High school grad/ GED c. Some college d. College degree e. Advanced degree

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18. What is your annual income? a. Less than $20,000 b. Between $20,000 and $40,000 c. Between $40,000 and $70,000 d. Between $100,000 and $200,000 e. More than $200,000 f. Rather not say OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS Question: Do you look at restaurant, bar, nightlife, hotel, and extra curricular activity reviews online?

• Kansascityrestaurantguide.com, Expedia for hotel stuff • Google, Yahoo • Whatever shows up first on Google searches • Most times go directly to the place’s site or Google and search • Orbitz • Midmodiningguide.com • Hotels.com • Depends • All of them • Google Question: What kind of advertising are you exposed to in a typical day?

• Outdoor (building signs and such) • Certainly viral, just keep that in mind • Ad sheet, billboards, direct mail, point of purchase • It’s everywhere • Guerilla (billboards) Question: When you hear the name LikeMe, what is your initial thought about the Web site?

• I think it is a dating site, or something like Hotornot.com • Never heard of it • Who is like me?

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

? social networking site dating site?

A dating service Dating site Not accurate No clue Meeting others with similar interests Probably something that has to do with online dating Weird People trying to make connections Never heard of it Dating Web site Sounds like eharmony What is it?

Stupid Dating site… only for desperate creepy people, uses webcams I would guess, 18+ material for sure Dating site Michael Jordan What?

Sounds kinky Dating site I have never heard the name LikeMe Dating service Dating web site Gay porn site?

Sounds pretty gay It’s gay It’s a dating Web site Desperate Dating web site Nothing 62

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

That is a web site that one can connect with others with similar interest Match making A web site that is not legitimate Arrogance It sounds like another “eharmony” I have no clue what that site is Social site for people that want others to like them, desperate Dating site Run It’s a social networking group for friends It must be a place to meet new people Dating site for those of common interests Dating Web site Relationship Web site for people looking for couples Self promotion Social network, dating site Good for my generation Dating service No comment Dating web site Unsure…

Matching up people ? shit-tastic name… needs to be stopped at once dating web site it’s a dating web site dating service finding someone like you never heard of it what?

Personals Web site It’s interesting but sometimes confusing to navigate Dating Web site 63

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Not reliable Dating Another social networking site kind of like Facebook Like Facebook? Some kind of personal/blog Web site I have no idea what that is Sounds like a dating site Sounds like a dating web site Lame Dating service It’s a dating site Porn site Desperate Social networking site similar to match.com …sounds kind of dirty… opinions of other people like me what is it? I want to know!

Review site Dating Web site Online dating No idea Dating service What’s that?

I don’t know what that is.

I have never heard of it Dating site Dating web site Source of information Source of information Never heard of it Finds things that are like you Not sure Dating web site It’s LIKE ME! Hotornot.com, middle school.net is weird, nobody uses that 64

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Dating Web site Match finder like for people to meet What is it?

Advertising Don’t know what that is Dating network Social Someone is like me.

Selling products It’s a dating site Dating site I have never heard of this web site It’s a dating web site Unsure Connection site It would have similarities to me Dating Dating Web site A dating Web site It’s about someone It is a dating site A rating system on people’s pictures Dating service Online dating service Rating people based on their picture. Do you like me or not?

Dating I’ve never heard of it Social networking site Dating site Dating Online dating Shoes Dating Web site Don’t know 65

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Not a legitimate Web site Things that people like me enjoy I have no idea It’s a site where people are alike to one another Not a good name Geeee, I wonder what that site is all about.

Something I might try once Sounds like a dating Web Site Porn I thought it was a personal self image Web Site Dating/ networking site Desperation dating Web Site It sounds like a dating Web Site You want me to like you Online dating Desperation, like begging Poor souls looking for friends Things people like Not sure I have no clue what it would be about from that name so I probably would not be interested Superficial That its probably not like me Dating Web Site Dating site? Like hot or not Uncertain, have not used it yet Truthfully, the first time I heard it, I thought it was a social connection site Dating site You are looking for some love Sounds like a dating Web Site Personal like dating A ratings/review site that similar to mine Wishyouhad.com – a site to find people like you probably to see if there are other things you like of theirs.

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• Never heard of it • Its people like me on a site • I am not sure connotes “similar to me” or “have affection for me.” The former appealing: the latter, not so much.

• Social media where people are grouped by common interest • Sounds like you are trying to hard to be like me - and.net? please.

• It is a dating site • Something about common interest • I guess the feeling would be unknow, because I cant derive a meaning from the name initially • Desperation to be liked • It was a dating Web site • Something about dating or social life • Dating Web site • That it is a dating site • Dating site • What are you supposed to be?

• Dating service • Dating Web site • It will have a social networking component • Dating Web site • Never heard of it • Might be a dating Web site Here’s where we went online to find information about the budget quotes: • inkhead.com • customink.com, • vistaprint.com • missouri.edu • maneater.com

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FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS Question: How do you find out about restaurants, bars, etc.?

• I look at some recommendations online.

• If I need to find a review I’ll normally just google it.

• I would visit LikeMe if they had a place for drink specials and updates • I don’t look at reviews online. I normally just ask people where to go. It would be helpful

to have something like LikeMe when out of town • I just google a restaurant if I hear about it. I’ve never heard of Yelp.

• I could see me looking for reviews when I’m older, but by now I know about all the

places in the town.

Question: What comes to mind with the name LikeMe? How could you use the misconception effectively for marketing and advertising tactics?

• Sounds like a dating site. Could use a humor approach • Definitely go for the humor approach. I think it’s the best way to get attention

for advertising.

• I thought it was a self-confidence site.

• Thought it was a dating site. Might worry about the confusion and if you could change

the name.

Question: What motivates you to visit a site? What motivates you to become a permanent member of the site?

• If my friends tell me about a new site I normally go check it out.

• Normally through word of mouth.

• I don’t think that traditional tactics would be effective for promoting this site.

• If everyone is on LikeMe then I would feel like I would have to get on. That’s how I

joined Twitter.

Question: What do you think is the best way to get the word out about LikeMe on college campuses?

• College kids always respond well to free stuff (t-shirts, food, etc.)

• If they would sponsor concerts, sporting events and other local activities. It would also

help to have an iPhone app.

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•

•

There is a lot of potential for traveling people. Like going to away football games and such.

I don’t really download Facebook applications, but if LikeMe was integrated with an app I would probably use it.

Question: If the site was set up for strictly colleges/ college students would you find the site more appealing?

• I don’t think that really matters • Maybe when I was first getting into college I would have liked that idea, but now that I’m

older I don’t really care • I don’t think it would make a difference • No, because I’m getting out of college soon and would still want to use this site when

I graduate.

Question: What is your favorite Web site and why?

• Facebook. It’s simple and helpful for staying in touch. I don’t really know or understand

the concept of Twitter but I know it’s getting big • I like Facebook because everyone I basically know is on there. It’s a good way to kill the

study time.

• I like Espn.com and staying updated on sports. Also, Facebook just for fun.

• I like Flickr because I upload pictures a lot and can share with others. I definitely think

seeing and viewing other people’s pictures and profiles is a good way to get someone’s

attention. LikeMe has the profile but maybe more ways to upload things like videos and

pictures.

• Don’t really understand the pull of Twitter but I’ve only been using it for a month so I

haven’t really taken to the site.

Question: Would you consider entering an online sweepstakes/ competition?

• I think the idea of a photo contest would be a good idea.

• I wouldn’t like the contest if it involved having to upload a video. Too complicated!

• I haven’t joined or participated in many online competitions, but I guess it’s because I

haven’t seen one on a site that relevant to me.

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• •

Photo contest is a cool idea.

Like the idea of a photo contest. The users could vote on their favorite one.

Question: Do you think a viral video is effective?

• If it’s funny I’ll watch it after a friend has shown it to me.

• You would have to make sure the video wasn’t obviously an advertisement. People

don’t want to watch an ad just something funny.

• I think it would be effective if it’s humorous and you can get the word out about it. Most

the time I watch videos people post on their Facebook walls.

• I think for this type of site a viral video would be relevant and helpful for spreading out

the word.

Question: What do you think of LikeMe’s ‘likemindedness’ algorithm? Do you understand the concept/presentation at LikeMe? • I believe the algorithm.

• Don’t know why you need to ask about the person’s religion. Don’t think it’s necessary,

but I like and understand the concept.

• I like how I can see how like other people are compared to me. It’s a good way to con

nect with other people.

• I think it’s a good concept and different. Makes the site easy to differentiate from other

social networks.

Question: Do you regular the Web site Pitch or any other online newspapers?

• I don’t read Pitch online.

• My parents read Pitch back at home in Kansas City • I don’t know how effective the widget on the Pitch site would help get people to LikeMe.

More because I don’t think that many people at Mizzou read pitch or any newspapers

online.

• I don’t read newspapers all that much. It wouldn’t get me through this medium.

• Don’t get how the widget works and like that it’s integrated with the site, but it doesn’t

stand out very much.

• IF I do pick up the paper, it’s just to play Sudoku and pass the time during class.

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Question: Where, besides Facebook, might you want to see LikeMe integrated? Do you listen to local radio when you’re home?

• It should definitely go on Facebook and have a Twitter account.

• I listen to radio at home, but I don’t think that traditional tactics would be very effective

for this site.

• I don’t think television would be an appropriate medium.

• I would like to see it on more social networking sites.

Question: Suggestions to improve the LikeMe site?

• Would like it if there were a place where you could find the person most like you.

• At first, it’s kind of hard to find places to find people. So maybe improve the navigation.

Maybe have a search icon on every LikeMe page.

• I would like to see videos on the site.

• Would like to see more of a push for celebrity recommendations. Didn’t notice them until

it was pointed out.

• Would be more likely to use the site if it had more types of reviews for books

and movies.

• We’re all from college towns so having the best drink special of the day would be good

to have so you can decide between different bars.

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Blink Out.