No matter how clever the creative or efficient the execution, the best brand managers understand that no marketing campaign can equal the return on investment of consumer-driven, word-of-mouth marketing. Traditionally grassroots marketing was required to grow organically, as consumers who have been surprised and delighted by a product or brand were compelled to share their experience and opinion with their friends and acquaintances. But over the past few years, advances in technology have ushered in a new paradigm:  business-driven consumer marketing. By rewarding customers for “sharing” information with his or her social network about a product, service, or event, consumers are finally getting compensated for being brand evangelists. Everyone from Groupon to The Gap has jumped on the social-sharing phenomenon, especially since giving away free or discounted product in exchange for new customers is both effective and reasonably inexpensive, especially compared to traditional marketing campaigns.

Here are just a few of my favorite businesses and brands that are compensating their loyal customers for spreading their message.

1) Gilt Groupe – Refer a Friend, Get $25

Gilt Groupe, the discount retailer for high-end fashion, offers its customers a whopping $25 after they invite a friend to Gilt and that friend makes a purchase. Although $25 sometimes doesn’t go a long way when browsing the online shelves for Trovata or Marc Jacobs, but convince a few friends to drop some coin on the site, and you’ll quickly find yourself shopping on Gilt’s dime.

Other fashion websites with similar offers: RueLaLa, HauteLook

2) Griffin Technology – Get Free Stuff

This iPod/iPhone/iPad/etc/etc/etc manufacturer uses their blog in creative ways to reward customers with free stuff like iPhone cases, speaker systems, messanger bags, gift certificates, and more. The creatives over at Griffin also come up with interesting and fun ways to engage their customers with each giveaway. For example, one Halloween, Griffin gave away a $100 gift certificate for creating and sharing the spookiest costume for a Griffin accessory on Flickr!

3) RedBox – Like Em’ and Rent for Free

If you’re like me, you’re still not sure why and how RedBox can offer movie rentals for a measly dollar a night when streaming services from iTunes, Amazon, and VUDU want upwards of $5.99 to stream. Well, dollar rentals just got even cheaper with RedBox rewards. When you “Like” Redbox on Facebook for the first time, they’ll hook you up with a coupon code for a free movie rental.

Know of some others? Please share your examples of great business-driven consumer marketing with Sharp Dressed Brand!

Within 72 hours, Samsung, with the help of Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino, helped raise over 100K for the Dan Marino Foundation, which helps fund autism research and supports initiatives aimed at helping the autistic lead normal, fulfilling lives. The social media campaign “Team Up for Autism” asked people to tweet a message about the campaign, using the #teamautism hashtag, or share the campaign’s infographic with their Facebook friends, and Samsung would donate $5 to the foundation for each share. As noted by a Samsung representative, the campaign was quickly adopted and spread by a wide variety of celebrities and other social media power users, helping push the campaign past the finish line faster than anyone could have imagined.

Corporate philanthropy is nothing new, as many companies have found that being socially responsible often pays dividends with a customer base who are now more informed than ever about the products they buy and the companies which they buy them from. The “Team Up for Autism” campaign is just another great example of how technology and social media provide companies a quick, effective way to deploy such a campaign, strengthening both their brand’s appeal while also raising both awareness and funds for a well-deserved cause.

To learn more about the campaign, visit the microsite for the campaign.

Masculine. Playful. Irreverent. Sexy. Clever. Unilever’s ability to bring these adjectives to life has made their Axe brand and its collection of grooming products for boys and men in the 15-35 year old demographic into one of the most successful brands in the overly saturated CPG market. While brand managers often scoff at the insidious relationship that Unilever endorses by running both Dove brand’s “Love Your Body” campaign while, at the same, featuring scantily clad, twenty-something females in nearly every commercial, print ad, or web video created for Axe, the formula has, thus far, in some sort of Black Swan type of way, worked for Unilever. And with their new iAd for the “Even Angels Will Fall” campaign,  Axe is able to be fresh and innovative while staying true to their core brand.

In its approach and messaging, Axe’s new iAd does not waiver from their formula. The central character is a “fallen angel,” (ie. a sexy young woman in heavenly lingerie and wings) who has been lured to earth by the scent of Axe’s new “Excite” body spray marked by her earthly conquest. The execution of the iAd, though, is quite different. If you come across the iAd while, say, browsing the New York Times, as featured in the online video about the iAd, (an obviously interesting choice for tapping into the male youth demographic), you’ll be able to not only watch, but also interact with the ad. With a few finger gestures, swipes, clicks, and shakes, you take control of the fallen angel and can command her to do a variety of commands, like throw off her halo or do a heavenly swing (Subservient Chicken anyone?).

What makes the ad really interesting is not merely the interactivity, but the way Axe leverages the campaign through the iAd to turn viewers into both “sneezers” and possibly even customers. From within the ad, consumers can view the “Even Angels Will Fall” television campaign that accompanies the iAd, along with a “making-of” video. Swipe the spinning halo and you can download fallen angel wallpapers for your phone and even purchase from iTunes the “Sexy Boy” choir hymn that serves as the soundtrack for the campaign. Sure, these sort of “extras” aren’t earth-shattering, but with the target demographic in mind, can’t you just envision a substantial minority of their customer base (remember, its 17 year old high schoolers and single twenty-something males), having a good laugh listening to the song with their friends while also showing off their new iPhone wallpaper. These are the types of features that are subtle, yet powerful, and help ideas and campaigns spread.

Click here to check out a promotional video for Axe’s new iAd.

Ahhh, its that time of year where Nashvillians dismiss our belt notches and new year’s resolutions and indulge in Restaurant Week, a time when Nashville’s best locales offer great discounts and specials to anyone and everyone looking to tantalize their taste buds. As a way to build excitement for Restaurant Week, Nashville Originals, the community of restauranteurs whose mission is “sustaining the independent restaurant as a fixture of Nashville’s culture and community,” have created a fun “online photo contest” where customers can share pictures of their food from Restaurant Week on the Nashville Originals Facebook page for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate.

So put on your stretchy pants, get your cameras ready, and head out to Restaurant Week. And if you’re ready to let your mouth water, check out some of the latest picture entries here. Restaurant Week ends on January 23rd, so be sure to take advantage of all of the great deals this week at some of the best local hotspots in Nashville.

In the world of sports, there are few moments that can rival that of the heart-pounding, nail-biting, do-or-die atmosphere of a NCAA tournament game in the midst of college basketball’s “March Madness.” Volvo, now the “official car of the Big East,” is trying to bottle some of that lightning in a new viral social media campaign to promote their new ride, the Volvo S60.

The “Biggest Fan of the Big East” cross-promotional effort between Volvo and the Big East is actually an “online contest,” pitting superfans from each Big East school against each other in the quest to create the biggest, loudest, social media megaphone they can while promoting their school, their fandome, and their pride for the Big East. At the campaign’s microsite myBIGEASTvolvo.com, there is a creative online video where the contestants espouse their belief of how the Big East is the “mecca” of college basketball, before the Big East commish and VP of Volvo dive into the contest’s goals and rules. From the microsite, you can clickthrough to “follow the action” on both Twitter and Facebook, and the site also features other interesting ways to engage visitors like offering News Headlines about recent games and player information, a live Twitter feed featuring tweets from the contestants, and an online poll where visitors can “vote” for which superfan the believe has built the strongest online presence.

The cross-promotional contest works on a variety of levels. First, Volvo is branding the S60 as their “most athletic car” they’ve ever made. From a branding perspective, The Big East conference, which is now pretty almost universally recognized as the most competitive conference in the NCAA, is a perfect fit. Also, because the Big East is such a national powerhouse, Volvo will likely benefit from an increased amount of national exposure, through extended coverage in sports media and a higher degree of televised and nationally-promoted games, all without having to actually launch a national campaign. Focusing their partnership with the Big East might alienate some of the die-hard fans from other conferences, but it also likely allows Volvo to be more creative and hands-on without having to be creatively tied down with the enormous levels of bureaucracy and red-tape that likely comes by partnering with the NCAA for a national campaign. Also, the target market for a Volvo is likely your college-educated, middle to upper income men and women who use social media on a regular basis, but also on a relatively “mainstream” basis (ie. using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn but probably not FourSquare, SCVNGR, or Instagram). The promotion gives off just enough forward-thinking tech “pizazz” without going over the heads of its target consumer.

Where the campaign seems to be lacking is integrating the competition into a digestible format for site visitors and potential voters. Sure, the twitter feed combines tweets from each of the sixteen competitors, but even within this feed, it is difficult to decipher which tweet is coming from which superfan. Creating a more comprehensive live stream by pulling in the social activity from the superfans from all the sources they are likely using (ie. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and more) along with identifying each update with a school logo and picture of the contestant would really help clarify who really is creating a strong virtual brand as a Big East superfan and who is missing the mark. Few visitors will spend the time and energy to dive in and investigate sixteen different twitter feeds, facebook profiles, etc., but a comprehensive live stream would be a great way of enhancing the competition by putting the superfans directly beside each other, in clear view, for the online world to judge them. Also, the site does not clearly explain on how the “superfan” is determined. My suggestion would be to let the world decide with an up-or-down online vote. Although online voting can lend themselves to manipulation, it also gives contestants (and other fans of a specific basketball team) the incentive to promote the campaign and share it over their social media accounts. When people know they have some direct ownership of the success or failure of a contest (in this instance by soliciting votes), there is a much higher likelihood that the campaign will reach the magical status of “going viral.”

Volvo and The Big East have done a great job of pushing the boundaries of what has been done in the past while also tapping into the real heart and soul of college basketball: the fans and superfans. With a few tweaks to the execution, the “Biggest Fan of the Big East” could really be (in my best Dick Vitale voice)… “AWESOME BABY!”

For those of us who’ve ever dreamed of quenching your appetite for entertainment by taking a swig of a Big Gulp or taking a giant bite of a Krusty Burger, you might need to go ahead and make reservations at Bob’s Burgers, Fox’s new primetime animated series.

Fox has teamed up with fast-food chain Fatburger to offer a limited edition product, the “Thanks a Brunch Burger,” which is a cartoon staple in the fictional “Bob’s Burgers” burger joint. Sure, the cross-promotional effort is clever enough on its own, but with the ability to checkin at a Fatburger using the geo-social technology Loopt to unlock even more discounts, Fox has brilliantly cooked the promotion from medium to Well Done.

In this mashup between social media, reverse product placement, location technology, and a good ole fashioned “limited-edition” scarcity play, Fox has devised a promotion that is clever, fun, and spot-on for the “Bob’s Burgers” brand. Also, by teaming with a “semi-boutique” burger joint, Fox can capitalize on the free media that comes with such a unique and integrated campaign without having to kowtow to the unswaying demands of one of the national brands. Sure, teaming with McDonald’s or Burger King would attract many more eyeballs for the campaign, but assuming the target market for Bob’s Burgers is likely in the 15 to 35 year-old range, the free publicity and simple “coolness” factor of a geo-social marketing campaign is likely even more valuable with the tech-immersed and socially-connected generations.

Bob’s Burgers, Fatburger, Fox. Mmmmm mmmm, Delicious.

Although not nearly as coveted as the prestigious Dundies, Sharp Dressed Brand has now established its very own awards for the best of the best in tech design, both in functionality and aesthetics. This week’s winning brand is Reeder and its collection of products, including Reeder for iPhone, iPad, and ReederApp.com, the promotional website for its popular iPhone and iPad RSS apps.

If you’re currently using Reeder on either you’re iPhone or iPad, you’ve surely noticed the minimalist beauty and simple interface that has made the Reeder apps some of the most popular in the worldwide mobile app-o-sphere. After using the Reeder mobile platform, reading blogs “the old-fashioned way” (ie. on a computer) quickly becomes more chore than leisure, fueling your craving for the mobile app’s design goodies, such as its collection of elegant share icons and the “like butta” flick to flip page transitions.

Was it any wonder if the creators of Reeder would also be able to recreate the beauty and simplicty of their mobile platforms when translating the experience to the web? Reeder’s promotional website is a near flawless extension from their mobile brand design, and the site is also completely void of Flash, ensuring a smooth and crash-free experience when viewing the site from a Mac, iPhone or iPad. Even the website’s “Follow us on Twitter,” oozes with design goodness, as a simple mouse roll-over reveals the true colors of the iconic Twitter bird.

Overall, I have found very few brands and products that have been able to leverage their design creative so appropriately across so many different platforms. Oh, and for those of you “old-schoolers” who are still holding your nose while reading your blogs on a traditional web-based RSS Reeder, you are in luck. Reeder is launching a native application on the Mac as well. And there was much rejoicing!

When you visit FullTimeFabulous.com, Sunglass Hut’s microsite which details the contest, you’ll find the Top 10 Finalists and a sample of their recent blogs, a collection of mini webisodes hosted by Rachel Bilson, the collection of prizes (which includes a cool 100K, a fully-furnished apartment in Manhattan, a $1,000 monthly style allowance, and all sorts of other goodies), and more. The site is wrapped in  the traditional black-and-gold branding that distinguishes the Sunglass Hut and is sprinkled with design goodies such as elegant shading, wrapping ribbons, photo borders, and even a “countdown clock,” ticking down the seconds until the winner of the contest is unveiled.

The online contest definitely achieves the goals that Sunglass Hut has set out, as it seems by reading a few of the sample posts from the Top 10 that they have narrowed their list of a few thousand entries to ten, very capable contestants. The area where the promotion seems to be lacking is the community reward approach needed to make the campaign truly go viral. Sure, the “basics of social” exist, such as the social media share elements that go across each page and an email sign-up, but where are the incentives for the contestants to build community or encourage visitors to share? If Sunglass Hut added the correct incentives for each of their bloggers to promote the contest, such as having individual “Like” elements on the individual blogs or offering visitors who vote and share the contest a percentage discount off their next Sunglass Hut purchase. Without the ability to “vote” or “share,” it is likely that the general public disengages with the contest, since they no longer have any skin in the game or any way to participate.

Sure, Sunglass Hut would be taking a risk by putting some level of trust into the web’s collective ability to identify talent, but if the filtering process that has elevated the best of the best into the Top 10 was done well, Sunglass Hut could be confident that they have identified 10 great candidates, each of which would be a great choice as their next style bogger. Crowdsourcing the final decision would be a great way to continue engagement with the masses while also gaining much more attention for the promotion by way of community votes and social shares they would achieve.

With the new “Add to FourSquare” buttons, FourSquare is obviously trying to piggyback off the incredibly successful approach of Facebook’s “Like” button, but unlike “Likes” or any of the current functionality associated with Facebook Places, the FourSquare campaign offers users a tangible reward in the form of a retail discount. While FourSquare has been successful in using “reward badges” to create the perceived value necessary to get to over four million users, it was only a matter of time before they created the business relationships that would translate into offering real, tangible rewards for user check-ins.

Sure, its just 30% off at Gap, your typical American fashion retailer offering a discount that you’d just as easily find in their weekly promotional email or print piece. But the idea of enhancing a standard banner ad with an interactive geo-social technology that not only gives you a discount but can also remind you about your freebie when you’re within a certain proximity of a Gap store, now that is cool stuff. It’s this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that gives FourSquare the fortitude to stand strong even amidst the 500-million pound gorilla that is Facebook.

Sure, Groupon’s popularity and reach makes it a viable marketing channel for a wide variety of businesses. Everyone from retail giant The Gap to your local burger joint and hair stylist are jumping on the collective-buying bandwagon, but as a music enthusiast and digital marketing consultant, I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I can buy a Rihanna album on Groupon.

Currently through Groupon’s holiday promotion called “Grouponicus,” Universal Music Group is selling a digital copy of the album for $5, a substantial discount from the $9.99 price set on the 800lb gorilla that is Apple’s iTunes. This temporary price reduction isn’t a new trend in the industry, as labels often release albums with a discounted price point to encourage early sales and boost the artist’s billboard chart potential. What makes the promotion so strange is the decision to use Groupon, especially considering potential ramifications for Rihanna’s brand and the potential devaluation of the product in the mind’s of her fanbase.

Rihanna’s music is edgy, soulful, and sexy, and her own personal brand reflects a unique blend of beauty, rebellion and youth wrapped up in a marketable package that makes as much sense at a fraternity party or your local DJ dive as it does on Top 40 radio. Groupon, on the other hand, is safe and sensible, clean, bright and happy. Seeing Rihanna on Groupon gives me the same feeling as watching Mandy Moore with Ryan Adams. Sure, you love them both, but seriously, together?

Not only does the promotion create an awkward relationship between two very different brand personas, but being able to buy a Rihanna record on Groupon also devalues her product in the eyes of the consumer. For nearly a decade, the music industry has been trying to protect against the devaluation of recorded music. 99-cent downloads, Wal-Mart bargain bins, and free, on-demand radio services like Pandora have kept industry executives pacing their bedroom floors in the wee hours of the night for years. But in the case of Rihanna’s new release, it seems as if Universal Music Group has embraced the concept that albums just might not be worth the “vinyl they are imprinted on.”

While I do believe that it is smart for labels to start accepting that “free” might actually be the only model that the market will accept for the sale of recorded music (and thus they can begin to figure out ways to leverage the distribution of recorded music to turn free listeners into customers), UMG’s decision to use a daily deal discounter is ultimately a decision to straddle the fence, which is usually no one’s ideal seating arrangement. The label could have released the album either as a free download or with a “pay what you want” offer, where they could then reap the benefits of free national publicity for the giveaway while simultaneously pushing new potential customers into the Rihanna concert ticket and merch buying funnel. Instead, the Groupon offer likely degraded Rihanna’s unique brand while devaluing her product, all to ensure a miniscule profit margin that will hardly produce a blip on the label’s income statement.

Groupon does have an incredibly valuable nationwide email list that afforded Rihanna a great deal of exposure with fans who were not likely to pick up a Rolling Stone or flip the channel to MTV where they would learn about the release of LOUD, but is the average Groupon user, now conditioned to browse through their email looking for $15 steak dinners and $30 pedicure daily deals, really going to shell out $5 for their first Rihanna album.

I do give Universal credit for at least attempting to think out of the box for new ways to distribute recorded music, but the Groupon offer feels forced and cheap, kind of like when you get a fan page request on Facebook from your local plumbing company. (Yes, I have received this request…)  And what’s next? Am I going to see a coupon for 50% off the new Lady Gaga album in next year’s school coupon book I bought from my neighbor’s kids?

Do you think I’ve got it wrong? Did you buy LOUD on Groupon?  I’d love to hear from you!