The hopeless romantics went for chocolates and flowers. The lovestruck went for oysters and champagne. The singles went anywhere the other two were not. And NYC Health went mobile.

The New York Health Department celebrated National Condom Awareness Day (also known as Valentine’s Day) by launching NYC Condom Finder, a free smartphone app available for the iPhone and Android OS and designed to locate the five nearest New York City venues that distribute free NYC Condoms. With nearly 1,000 locations throughout one of the world’s most populous cities, free condoms are almost certainly within walking distance.

In addition to geo-locating the nearest condom, the app also provides specific directions to each venue, the hours of operation for each location, the types of safer sex products available and helpful tips on condom usage.

“The NYC Condom Finder is a useful tool to ensure that New Yorkers have access to free condoms wherever they are in the city,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner.

New York City’s free condom initiative began in 1971 when the Health Department started distributing male condoms through its STD clinics. Over the last 40 years, the NYC Condom program has distributed condoms in 3,000 public venues citywide (i.e., community-based organizations, clubs, restaurants), released the country’s first municipally branded condom, and most recently, launched an NYC Condom Facebook Page followed by an online NYC Condom wrapper design contest last year.

You do all you can to engage prospects—craft a compelling message based on consumer insights, design a look and feel that supports the brand and aids in driving conversions, test and retest to ensure that efficacy is optimized. You get the opt-ins you’re looking for. You begin a campaign of communications. And then the “unsubs” come in and you’re left wondering what happened; why the “thanks-but-no-thanks.”

ExactTarget, a global interactive marketing services company, recently released the results of a survey in a report titled, “The Social Break-Up.” Querying more than 1,500 consumers, they uncovered the reasons for disengagement, the curious and quizzical “unsubs,” “unlikes” and “unfollows” of email and social marketing.

The big take-away—not surprising—is that 9 out of 10 people surveyed expressed a dislike of too much and not enough. They do not like to be contacted too frequently. They do not appreciate irrelevant communications. They certainly do not like boring messages. And they make their feelings known in large numbers:

• 91% have unsubscribed from permission emails
• 81% have “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed
• 51% expect that a “like” will result in marketing communications from brands; 40% think this shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion
• 41% of consumers have “unfollowed” a company on Twitter

So, what is it that drives these folks to take action, to turn us off, to tell us straight-up “thanks-but-no-thanks”? Your next email message, Facebook post, or Tweet could be received or rejected based on how well you respond. What do you think, is it this simple or have you found something different in your customer exit surveys?

Why do consumers unsubscribe from emails?
“Too frequent emails” is the top reason why consumers unsub from permission emails. Second is the perception that content’s become repetitive or boring over time.

What do subscribers do when they’re no longer interested in emails?
First action is to click the link to “unsubscribe.” A distant second is to simply delete the emails upon arrival. Third, is to click the “spam” or “junk” button.

Why do people “unlike” brands on Facebook?
Nearly half those surveyed stated the company posted too frequently. One percentage point below the top spot were those that claimed that their Wall was becoming too crowded with marketing posts and they wanted to get rid of them.

What do users typically do when they no longer want to see Facebook posts from a brand or company?
Nearly half of respondents went to a Fan Page and “unliked” the page. Done. Hiding posts and simply ignoring posts came in second and third.

Why do consumers “unfollow” brands on Twitter?
Tweets that become “repetitive or boring over time” are the top turn-off. When consumers’ Tweet streams are “too crowded” with marketing posts they get rid of them. They’ll also “unfollow” if the company is posting too frequently.

trendwatching.com, a London-based, independent trend firm, recently published their December 2010 brief detailing consumer trends for 2011. They choose to examine eleven trends, which I’ve abbreviated and commented on below.

See how these trends impact your brand today and in the future. Are you already taking advantage of these changes? Are you ready in the very near future? How will you be moving the needle in the new year?

1 | RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

In 2011, expect companies to monitor consumers’ public moods and act upon them with random acts of kindness as social networks enable brands to know what’s going on (or not going on, as the case may be) in consumers’ lives. Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare posts and check-ins will become beacons for those who may need a boost. These consumers will be looking for authenticity, but as the two examples below illustrate, some brands already deliver the goods:

Interflora, a flower delivery service, brightens up the lives of Twitter users by sending them flowers. Twitter monitoring finds users that might need cheering up and when found, a tweet and a surprise bouquet arrive to do the trick.

KLM Royal Dutch Airline’s location-based initiative surprises passengers at the airport with personalized gifts. Using Foursquare check-ins, a “Surprise Team” learns who is flying, a few more details about a particular passenger, determines an appropriate gift and then delivers it before their flight.

2 | URBANOMICS

“Today, half the world’s population—3 billion people—lives in urban areas. Close to 180,000 people move into cities daily, adding roughly 60 million new urban dwellers each year.” (Source: Intuit, October 2010)

Viewed as more daring, more experienced, and more likely to try out new products and services, brands will find more opportunities with urban consumers as they gravitate toward experiences targeted to their wants, needs, and desires. Hometown pride is put into overdrive as campaigns set their sights on very localized messaging.

3 | PRICING PANDEMONIUM

Trendwatch.com notes that “mobile devices increasingly enable consumers to find or receive dynamic deals right at the point of sale, or to compare prices online.”

The smartphone has changed the coupon forever, and in 2011 it will be hard to beat the always-on, always-available point-of-purchase positives of mobile commerce as saving is smart and sexy again. Keep an eye on or, better yet, get your brands into group buying, member sales, flash sales, local discounts and dynamic pricing. With more than two billion online consumers flexing their buying muscles there’s more reason than ever to encourage and engage them.

4 | MADE FOR CHINA (IF NOT BRIC)

As geopolitical and economic power shifts, watch as “Western” brands launch new products or new brands in emerging markets. Following the money won’t simply be enough, but brands that tap into a bit of local flavor and exclusivity will reap the rewards of recognizing new consumers and reacting to their specific drives.

Brands that are reaching out and resonating with localized messages and products:

• Levi’s dENIZEN jeans

• Luxe brands Dior and Hermés

• BMW, Honda, Nissan and GM

• Apple

5 | ONLINE STATUS SYMBOLS

Showing off one’s connectedness will remain an important sign of status and cool in 2011. And the brands that offer these signs and symbols to customers, online and in the “real world,” will not only assist consumers in their display but will also begin to bridge both worlds.

Some examples:

Tweets are applied to tangible items, pulling the virtual/online content creation into consumers’ lives and those of their friends. Everything from books and household items (see my recent Talent Zoo post on Tweetwrap) to wearables can be processed in minutes and in your hands in days.

Foursquare check-ins turn into badges such as the Supermayor badge (awarded when someone is mayor of 10 different places at once), the Entourage badge (awarded when checking in with 10 friends), and even the “Baggage Handler” badge (awarded when checking in at an airport with words along the lines of “TSA,” “touch,” or “Don’t touch my junk!”).

6 | WELLTHY

Good health, the ultimate “badge,” will be even more important to consumers as they look to brands to aid them in improving their well-being. With an estimated 500 million people worldwide expected to use mobile healthcare applications by 2015 (Source: Research2Guidance, November 2010), it appears that smartphones will be key in porting these brand messages to consumers actively engaged in health related activities.

trendwatch.com notes the brands that are already delivering on this:

The Strollometer tracks speed, distance traveled, time spent exercising and speeds. A website stores data and displays results.

Sleep On It tracks sleeping patterns and lets users track duration and quality of sleep, naps, and mood to chart health and quality of life.

Motion-sensing game controllers by Microsoft and Sony use new technology to detect users’ movements during gameplay, enhancing the gaming experience and adding a health and fitness component.

7 | SOCIAL-LITES AND TWINSUMERS

As technology and networks further enable consumers to create, collect, and distribute comments and content on the brands they love (or feel otherwise toward), 2011 will see the continued growth of online word-of-mouth. The folks at trendwatch.com define these active and actively consuming users “Twinsumers… those with similar consumption patterns, likes and dislikes and are hence valuable sources for recommendations on what to buy and experience.” The “Social-Lites” are described as those actively engaged in building their personal brand and see the curation of opinions and other types of content as the currency necessary to their online existence.

What can brands do to leverage this trend? Create engaging content that begs to be shared. How should brands do this? Know the consumer, especially those whose identity is built on the sharing of highly engaging and relevant content, and interact with them in a respectful, real, and transparent way.

8 | EMERGING GENEROSITY

86% of global consumers believe that businesses need to place equal weight on society’s interests and business interests (Source: Edelman, November 2010). As younger consumers continue to give, they expect that their generosity will be mirrored by the brands that they buy.

According to trendwatch.com, any brand doing well will be expected to give transparently, with absolutely no excuses.

9 | PLANNED SPONTANEITY

Say what?! You read that right.

Watch more and more consumers sign up for services (the “planned”) that enable connection at a moment’s notice (the “spontaneity”). Location-based tools plus ubiquitous text-enabled and smart phones make this sharing even easier for those who want it now and want others to know about it. Here are two brands that are doing just that:

Geomium takes data from local review sites like Yelp, pairs it with social information, and allows users discover nearby friends, events, and deals.

Unsocial connects people in the same profession or industry using a location-based platform, membership database, and a “People” button to display colleagues nearby.

10 | ECO SUPERIOR

Sustainable products won’t be enough to sway consumers in 2011. With early adopters and eco-assertive consumer numbers flattening, brands will need to be green and good. Mainstream consumers will demand superior quality and value in addition to “green” designs and features. Brands will need to step up and deliver to a much more skeptical marketplace.

trendwatch.com also suggests that we’ll continue to see a trend that started in 2010: forced intervention. As federal, state, and local regulations in the U.S. take effect, we could see consumers confronted with a no-choice option and a change in behavior could be dictated by law instead of the marketplace. We are already seeing that in the San Francisco Bay Area (Northern California) as state and local laws are forcing change in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

11 | OWNER-LESS

As consumers crave and collect more things, the need to “own” is not as important as the desire for the experience. Everything, from jewelry and handbags to gadgets and cars, has been available to consumers on a “borrowing” basis. As urban consumers’ influence grows, we may see more brands responding to these space-limited but experimental and adventurous “buyers.”

Zipcar showed us that automobile ownership was not a requirement for getting around on the roads and we’re already seeing start-ups demostrate this with other means of transport—scooters, vans, and bicycle sharing, for example. We will also continue to see the sharing of transportation, durable goods, and even housing between consumers as well. As trendwatch.com notes, “2011 could be the year when sharing and renting really tips into mainstream consumer consciousness.”

Ever tire of the same old holiday gift wrap? Ever wish there was a way to crowdsource your good tidings and cheer? Ever find yourself thinking, “If only I could do all of my shopping in 140 characters or less?”

Tweetwrap to the rescue!

The Barbarian Group launched Tweetwrap this week as part of a three-part campaign for Samsung to promote the “boosted” RF510 laptop. The agency delivered an application that allows users to design their own unique gift wrap using five fun patterns, five tweet threads, or a thread of their choosing. Users can choose to “keep it” by downloading a JPG to their desktop, or “get it” by purchasing a roll of the wrap (free to the first 3000 orders). Then, users can take photos of their wrapped presents, upload them to the Boosted Facebook Page, and enter to win an RF510 Notebook by Samsung.

“This is really exciting for us because this is something that steps beyond the norm of Samsung’s day to day product-focused advertising,” notes James Murphy, Creative Director, on TBG’s blog.

Will gift wrap sell more laptops? What will come next in the series for Samsung and their agency? More importantly, how will you use Twitter, or any other social media, this year and next to activate the brands that you’re working with and engage consumers in unexpected ways?

Ikea and agency, Forsman & Bodenfors of Sweden, are at it again as they reinvent their annual Ikea Wardrobe campaign. I recently posted on the group’s creative campaign to sell kitchen appliances via coffee table cookbooks; in this campaign they’ve turned everyday household storage into fashion show knockout.

Garderob, which means “wardrobe” in English, was the hook for a media blitz announcing the annual campaign, the design competition that fed the event, the website that promoted that competition and the four-day event that showcased the 25 designers chosen to compete in the final fashion spectacle.

Tapping traditional and online media outlets, the campaign went above and beyond the promotion of inexpensive furniture to build a current and creative story around what it is we do with that furniture. The rich storytelling around a relatively plain, box-shaped storage unit enabled Ikea to position their brand into the rich lives of designers, fashionistas, and fashion-forward consumers in Stockholm and throughout Sweden.

Ultimately, the grand-prize winner was a young watchmaker, but the real winner was Ikea with more than 60 journalists reporting on the fashion event and more than 10,500 people attending that same event over four days.

A new browser — built with social networking at the forefront — has come on the scene, and the folks from the “Netscape Mafia” are banking on the explosion of social media and our insatiable desire to be constantly connected through those networks.

A group of Netscape alumni founded and financed RockMelt, the company, and the release of their new browser comes 16 years after Netscape introduced the first commercial Internet browser.

“We think it is a fantastic time to build a company around a browser,” said Marc Andreessen, Netscape co-founder and principal financial backer through his venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz.

RockMelt, the browser, lets users experience the Web, especially the social Web, without the hassle of the back-and-forth toggling that other browsers require. Sure, tabs are great, and we’ve come quite adept at speeding in, out, and around our top picks, but imagine if you could do the same all more efficiently and with a much higher level of interconnectedness.

CEO Eric Vishria did just that.

“The thing that really led us to this was the observation that the typical Web user only visits five to seven unique websites,” he said. “Like they only visit a handful of websites and they visit them multiple times a day, basically going back polling for updates. And to us, the thing that didn’t make sense about that is it’s 2010 and the browser isn’t, like, intelligent enough to understand that I do the same thing 10 times a day — just to have that content ready and waiting for me. And that’s what we’ve tried to do here.”

Currently, users can “reserve a spot” on the beta list via their Facebook account. In the future, all users will be required to log in to Facebook as a gateway to the browser — the social’s baked right in. RockMelt joins a roster of also-rans in the browser game. Flock, released in 2003, has many of the same features but came out before social media hit big. Chrome, backed by Google and promoted to millions daily, has only eight percent market share.

I’ve got my beta and will be test-driving this browser, putting it through the paces to determine if I’m ready to change. What do you think? Would you make the change to a new and different browser if it made your social (media) life easier?

MySpace recently began a complete overhaul not only to its visual identity and interface, but also to its positioning and focus. The transformation is expected to finish at the end of November, but site visitors now can see what’s in store through promotional copy content, screen shots, and videos spread across the home page and site like early holiday gifts.

Mashable posted a quick introduction and overview and promises to do more in-depth review and reporting over the next few days. Check out the screen shots at the end of the post.

I’ll be watching this closely as well, but not for the obvious reasons. Sure, I can appreciate how far they’ve moved the needle on identity — the new logo (see video below) is a breath of fresh air and sets an enthusiastic and aspirational tone. After five minutes, I already forgot what the old logo looked like. The modular, box-grid layout is current and percolates with possibility, but it’s the bold redirect from all things to all people to entertainment for Generation Y that intrigues me most.

MySpace once defined social networks, and in not-too short a time, they epitomized the past. The old, out-of-touch, and irrelevant past. In search of the shiny and new, legions of young adults, teens, and tweens ditched the tiled wallpaper, audio clips, favorite band stickers, and funky profile pictures to set up camp with Facebook. It wasn’t long before MySpace became shorthand for out of touch, kicked to the curb. You might expect a brand so forgotten simply to fade away.

Instead, we’ll witness the realignment and return of a leader in the category. Focusing exclusively on the 13- to 35-year-old demographic, MySpace will prove if they still have (or found in the interim) what it takes to be the “social entertainment destination.” Will new users believe? Will loyal users stay? Things could get very interesting come November. Stay tuned.

The New MySpace: An Introduction

The New MySpace Logo

This post also appears at TalentZoo’s blog, Digital Pivot, as “Will Users Embrace the New Face of MySpace?”

Much has been written about the recent redesign and retraction of Gap’s new visual identity. What hasn’t received much attention, relatively speaking, is the attempt by Gap to harness the energy and redirect it via crowdsourcing.

Only days after Bill Chandler, VP of corporate communications, described the new mark as “a more contemporary, modern expression” he was expressing doubt and corporate’s new thinking could be found on the brand’s Facebook page: “We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas.”

Just as the haters reloaded for another round of venomous critique, the world’s second largest specialty retailer gave them another reason to attack. A flagship brand and household name, with the ability to bankroll a redesign of such monumental proportions, was coming to the design community with its hands out, asking for spec work. How low could they go?

Now, some proclaim it has all been a premeditated, strategically planned-and-plotted process to gather up media attention, create buzz within passionate communities, and essentially reinvigorate a brand. Others hail the quick comeback as a savvy move, tapping into the zeitgeist of social media and “leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals,” as defined by Wikipedia (irony intended here).

You’d be hard pressed to find an abundance of opinion in the “fab” camp and can hardly make your way through the Web without stumbling on a bit about Gap’s gaffe. Either way, the conversation may evolve as the “public as professional stand-ins” exposure begins to spark conversation. I, for one, welcome the dialogue and think that as digitally inclined professionals, we need healthy discourse on how our tools are affecting change in the business process and in client expectations. What are your thoughts?

Are you ready for the next time your client considers your work a fumble and calls a ringer off the bench to finish the game? Are you, perhaps, the ringer? And do you consider that opportunity to engage mass opinion and insight (using that word broadly) fab or fail?

[ this post also appeared on TalentZoo Media, along with the following ]

the gap’s great marketing gaffe

The denim-clad world did a 180 last week, and somewhere a designer weeps for what could have been. A simple logo redesign turned ugly, and consumers had plenty to say (and tweet) about it. If you missed the death and rebirth of Gap’s iconic blue square, here’s a quick recap (pictures will not be shown out of respect for the still grieving; links, however, will be abundant).

In 1969, Donald G. and Doris F. Fisher open the first Gap store in San Francisco. They open their second store in San Jose in 1970 and establish headquarters in Burlingame, California. They have four employees.

The name of the clothing retailer is based on a popular phrase at the time, “the Generation Gap,” which describes the chasm, both in fashion and culture, between the day’s youth and their parents.

In 1972, The Gap Stores file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a service mark. A second filing occurs two years later for a trademark, with first commercial use in 1974 (Gap has 25 stores at this point) and registration is granted in 1976.

At this point, the visual identity is a stylized wordmark owned by The Gap. Fitting of the time and brand, the logo reflects the casual, clean, and simple lifestyle of their target — young people craving the comfort of denim and T-shirts and, perhaps more importantly, insisting that their personal “uniform” not be that of their parents.

The 1980s saw growth via business units launched from within and acquisitions. The company acquired Banana Republic in 1983 and launched GapKids in 1986 and babyGap in 1989. During this decade, the much-beloved and championed blue box logo debuts.

The 1990s welcomed the launch of Old Navy and GapBody. As the multiplying sister brands begin to overpower (and perhaps cannibalize) the parent brand, the solid blue color field and thin serifed logotype remain the same. The established “mother ship” is the anchor for both in-store merchandising and point-of-sale, print, and online advertising and promotion.

The shift continues as the brand survives into a new century — younger consumers gravitate to Old Navy, professionals turn to Banana Republic — and looks to new product lines, celebrity spokesmodels, and fashion photographers. The logotype remains untouched, and by 2008, the company employs more than 150,000 people throughout more than 3,000 stores worldwide.

So how, in 2010, nearly 30 years in, did we end up here?

The new logo, designed by New York agency Laird & Partners and created with a bright outlook on the brand’s future, took up residence on the Gap’s website and found itself in the middle of a huge hatefest. Quickly, running commentaries on the change filled social media spaces, touching on the ill-advised direction and the so-simplistic-as-to-be-absurd creative (or lack thereof) direction.

A brand that had anchored an empire and represented one of the world’s largest specialty retailers — one that had remained strong and stable for decades — suddenly found itself in the middle of shouting match. It didn’t take long for the powers that be to recognize the mistake they’d made in underestimating the power, and popularity, of the old blue box and sedate serif typography.

“There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way,” proclaimed Marka Hansen, president of Gap Brand, North America in a statement issued this week.

What started as a refresh and a reinvigoration turned into mudslinging and crowdsourcing and ended up right back at square one. The jury’s still out on what offended the masses more — the clumsy snap-on redesign or the solicitation to the community to re-redesign gratis. Either way, the company stumbled and recovered, not so gracefully, and it is to be seen how that may affect the brand and its ability to lead a loyal, leaden, and vocal following.

The numbers are impossible to ignore: More than 500 million people are active on Facebook, and those folks are prospective customers not only for big brands but for the small and niche brands that can — and should — engage in this space. It all depends on who you ask, but many of business owners and marketers whom I speak with still are unsure about why they should be spending time and money on Facebook (or any social media in the hard-core cases). The ones who “know they should be there” are unclear about how to get started, and the ones who are there seem to be hovering in moderator mode over infrequent wall posts and pictures.

Here is my top five list of “likes” — with a twist — for marketers taking a first or new look at Facebook and their media mix. If you “like” what you read, leave a comment and fire someone else up. If you have more ideas — particularly effective in convincing those nowhere near the fence much less on it — please “share.”

1 | Facebook Ads: Usually, you’ll find this at the bottom of the list as most see social media as a “freebie.” The low cost of entry, do-it-yourself and democratic nature of the medium enables promotion with a small price tag, but small business (typically local and regional) is missing a great opportunity to get in front of prospective customers. With the ability to micro-target, flexibility that ensures a nimble approach, and costs that won’t overtax a tight budget, what’s not to like about these hard-working ad units?

2 | Facebook Pages: “Create a Page for My Business” is how it typically happens. Business owners see the prompt, follow the links, and are up and waiting for the “likes” of friends and fans in no time. However, these pages are more than a wall for exchanging greetings or glad-handing; they are, some proclaim, overtaking websites and microsites to be the Web presence for many businesses. Applications for customization using FBML (Facebook Markup Language), analytics to collect and report on user behaviors, and locating in social media’s number one address make Pages so easy to like.

3 | Facebook URL: A page with 25 “likes” (as of this writing) is eligible for a username, the unique Web address that leverages the power of Facebook and announces that a brand is doing business there. Many small and niche businesses find the borrowed equity of these vanity URLs provides a recognizable and relevant credibility to their brand or promotion. Sure, some will tell you that their customers “aren’t on Facebook,” but one can’t ignore the benefit of this powerhouse support in reaching out to new (and existing) customers.

4 | Facebook Apps: More than 550,000 active applications can be found on Facebook, and they’re not all for growing virtual farm crops or blowing away zombies. Small and niche businesses are using these apps to deepen the experience on their pseudo-sites — enabling customers to share photos, videos, and links to ensure that prospects get the third-party information that they’re seeking. Survey apps aid R&D, contest apps create buzz., and off-site promotional apps let businesses sync their Facebook activity to their own websites, which means more than one way exists to like what you see.

5 | Facebook Places: Now that Facebook has turned on this geo-based app, small, local, and regional businesses can tap into this promo-friendly mobile app. Ideally, folks would check in and broadcast their whereabouts to friends, but businesses should consider the benefits of a real-time app like Places for point-of-sale promotions, exclusive offers, and loyalty program add-ons. Who doesn’t like a deal like that?