Emerging through the week in all stores across the country, we will be
introducing the Macy's Backstage Pass campaign. A new mobile consumer
initiative, Macy's Backstage Passes are customized QR codes that
deliver fantastic video content featuring a stable of celebrity
designers and fashion authorities.

The videos offer essential tips, trend information and
behind-the-scenes looks at collections that will help customers
in-store learn more about the brands/designs as they shop. Designers
participating include makeup maven Bobbi Brown, Sean “Diddy” Combs,
Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Greg Norman for Tasso Elba, Rachel Roy,
Irena Shabayeva for I.N.C., and a host of the nation’s most
influential fashion bloggers for Macy’s newest exclusive collection,
bar III.  Additionally, the campaign will feature content by Martha
Stewart and Madonna’s Material Girl in videos currently set to debut a
few weeks following the launch.

Understanding that this is an emerging technology in the U.S., Macy's
also created an informative tutorial video to educate customers about
QR codes and how they work. All this great content is available
in-stores now and can also be accessed online at
www.macys.com/findyourmagic.

For a quick demonstration on how it works for shoppers in-store, just
scan the red star code attached in this email using a QR code reader
on your smart phone and your device will do the rest. You can either
scan your computer screen or print the code to scan. Special tip: If
you don't have a QR code reader on your smart phone or video-enabled
device, just text "reader" to MACYS (62297) to receive a free QR
reader download.

The Backstage Pass attached features a quick fashion tip from renowned
designer Rachel Roy. Her Backstage Pass codes can be found in-store
within Rachel Rachel Roy shops at Macy's.

Finally someone get's QR codes right!!!!

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My fellow NY Tech Meetup Members,

My name is Mike Street and I am writing to you because I am currently
running for the NY Tech Meetup Board.

I need your support as a fellow member in my quest to serve this group
and to help mold and shape this community into so that it not only
continues to meet its present potential but exceeds it for your
individual needs.

I joined NY Tech Meetup in 2007 with many of the needs that I am sure
you had when you joined: as a way to stay connect to the NY community,
as an opportunity for professional growth, as a way learn about the
exciting new technology that is shaping our world, and most of all to
be amongst some of the brightest people in the space.

To me, this community has served that purpose and more.

I think that this would be a great opportunity to not only represent
the NY Tech Meetup organization but it would also be a true testament
to the hard work that the many startups, students, and techies who
attend monthly put forth.

As a member of the NY Tech Meetup Board want to to be certain that
your issues are voiced and addressed on a regular basis and that
everyone and find something beneficial from the organization moving
forward.

If I were to be chosen to serve on the Board, I would:

1. Actively represent the members, business processionals, startups,
students, and New Yorkers who Instructional who work with technology
on a daily basis. These individuals have an enormous task ahead of
them as we continue to utilize technology as a means for creating
effective change and innovations we must continue to provide an open,
honest, and transparent space where professional development
opportunities and a wide range of resources for our active members are
available.

2. Foster a level of diversity for the organization. There are many
audiences that could benefit from tapping into the technology,
digital, and social media space. Thus we must help to foster a level
of diversity where communities outside of the current makeup feel
welcome to attend and to present.

3. Encourage and develop a means for the talent within the New York
Tech Meetup can lend its skills for social good. Connecting the many
members to organizations like the Taproot Foundation, the industry
leader in providing pro bono service grants to the city's most
neediest non profits, would be one of my main points of focus.

Plus focusing on some of the low hanging fruit like a REAL wireless
connection during the presentations, better networking, and the
ability for people to get tickets to NYTM without having to fumble
around every month for tickets.

Thank you so much for your time and PLEASE show your support and vote
for Mike Street as a NYTM Board Member.

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Gap Inc. has tapped into the social media tastemakers for it's latest
campaign. We heard about this during NY Ad Week and saw the "making
of" video above. Gap's marketing team believes that influencers in the
social media space have more pull then celebrities.

What do you think?

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Check out the cool new Rock Melt social web browser.

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Earlier this week, Lionsgate launched an innovative Facebook
application which incentivizes SAW fans to share their anticipation
for the final SAW film on Facebook and Twitter; once SAW's more than
3,000,000 Facebook and Twitter fans share their excitement of the
series enough times, a new, special edition print created by famed
celebrity artist Jason Mecier will be revealed exclusively to the SAW
Facebook community. Ten of the lucky SAW fans who share will win one
of the limited edition prints signed by Tobin Bell (Jigsaw himself!)
and a grand prize winner will even win one of the famous SAW traps!

For more details, visit www.facebook.com/saw and click on the SHARE SAW tab.

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Twitter has released a video showing off their re-design.

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Evolving Influence

Fashion bloggers reached new prominence in 2010, but this is only the
beginning of an industry-changing movement. Kick off New York Fashion
Week with a day of seminars hosted by Independent Fashion Bloggers.
Eight pioneering experts will join IFB on September 9 to share
in-depth information about how their blogs catapulted them to new
career heights. Whether you want to become a major player, monetize
your blog or just get inspired, IFB has the resources you need.

http://evolvinginfluence910.eventbrite.com

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Media Monster Wars Trailer from Ben Barney on Vimeo.

Just when you though Facebook apps where dead, Sony bangs back with a
super cool Facebook app with Justin Timberlake. The app allows to
create and fight with an online monster that grows bigger and bigger
via the media and interactions that you share on Facebook. The more
you do with the app you can grow and grow the moster and then fight
against Justin Timberlakes Monster. This is a great and engaging app.

Click here to install the app to your Facebook account:
http://apps.facebook.com/mediamonsterwars/

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Kitty Bradshaw is a name that everyone in the NYC area and blogging
scene should know. She is a spunky and super smart blogger who host
some of the most fabulous events you've ever attended. Most recently
Kitty Bradshaw celebrated her two year Blogiversary at APART Fashion
Showroom (http://www.apartstyle.com/). APART is a fashionable show
room in the heart of NYC and any girl who is looking for the ultimate
style should go there and get hooked up ASAP. It was very smart on the
part of APRT Fashion Showroom to connect with Kitty Bradshow because
her target demographic for her blog is female fashionistas. APART even
gave the fashion bloggers dresses!!!! I was amazed at such a move but
again if you want your blogger demographic to take you seriously you
have to give a little to get.

But the brand connections didn't stop there. Kitty Bradshaw brought
out the big guns for this event. My favorite vodka Smirnoff jumped
onto the social media scene and came in as a liquor sponsor. Smirnoff
Vodka has a ton of new flavors, my new favorite is the Pineapple
Vodka and the Root Beer Vodka, and if you haven't tried them then you
are missing out.

Other brands involved::

Manicures sponsored by Priti Nails - http://www.pritinyc.com/
Cheese platters sponsored by Cabot Creamery - http://www.cabotcheese.com
Cocktails sponsored by Smirnoff Vodka - http://www.smirnoff.com/
Cupcakes by Tonnies Minnies - http://www.tonniesminis.com/
Skin care analysis by MySkin.com
Beverages by Skinny Water - http://www.skinnywater.com/
Shoes by Nina Shoes - http://ninashoes.com/
Gift Experiences in a Box - http://www.smartbox.com/
Non-Profit Lower Eastside Service Center/Angel Thrift Shop -
http://www.angelthriftshop.org/about.html

And the bloggers turned out in full-force, almost 200, and interacted
with the brands, tweeted, took pictures, live blogged, video taped,
and exposed each of these brands to a new level of social media media
height that no PR agency has been able to tap into.

Check out the video and see some of the reactions to Kitty Bradshaw's
event. And if your a brand looking to connect with bloggers then reach
out to us at streetforce1@gmail.com.

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In the ongoing war for Lebron James, the NJ NETS and Gowalla have
scored a major ad placement for their service. If your on 34th and
8th...only a few blocks from my Job at Zezza, you will see a HUGE
billboard for the NJ NETS. The billboard features photos of new New
Jersey Nets owner (and Russian billionaire) Mikhail Prokhorov and Nets
minority owner (and hip-hop star) Jay-Z. Second. However more
importantly for the location-based tech cognoscenti is the mention at
the bottom of the billboard referring to a free gift item for those
that check-in with Gowalla at that location. I'm going to go
re-download Gowalla today and check-in and see what the free gift item
is. I stopped using Gowalla cause most of my friends are on
FourSquare.

So which do you think is better FourSquare or Gowalla? Send me a tweet
and let me know.

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I went to Kitty Bradshaw's Blogaversary last week and today I got a
cool e-mail with a coupon for %25 off at the store. I'll give you more
details on this event soon and how 200 bloggers packed into the APART
showroom and gave the company a social media boost.
http://www.apartstyle.com/

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I missed this one but this is really cool. The Thomson LES Hotel held
a VIP Pool Party on the rooftop of the Hotel during Internet Week.
The Mayor's of select Internet Week venues got exclusive passes to the
event. This is an awesome use and we want to see more brands doing
thing as a way to reward loyal customers and influencers.

Have you see a cool usage of social media? Send us a pic and let us know.

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Nice move by Air New Zeland on the social media front. If you become
the mayor of the terminal you get free access to the lounge and other
rewards points. Sounds like an awesome incentive and one that I'm sure
many travelers would complete for.

Click here for more info: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/foursquare

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Looks like FourSquare is getting a lot more popular and a lot more
accepted by brands. Check out this sticker posted in a Whole Foods
Window.

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Canadian Club’s “Hide a Case” contest is one of the most unique
marketing campaigns the world has ever seen. And we just made
TechCrunch.com yesterday.

You can read the full story here
http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/30/leveraging-social-media-for-contest-promotion/

Hiding cases across the globe, putting ads in magazines and having
people find the cases is something many companies would dare not do in
today’s time. Or in other words your legal team will look at you like
a crazy person and request that you seek help from a psychiatrist. But
the Internet buzz about its return and the $100,000 grand prize has
been an amazing experience. Participants are tasked with solving
weekly puzzles in order to move on to the next round of competition.
At the end 8 people will journey with the Thirsty Traveler Kevin
Brauch to try and find one of the lost cases of Canadian Club. But
it’s 2010 and you can’t launch any type of marketing campaign without
factoring in social media. While many thought social media would
quickly disappear or was a fad akin to the Pet Rock, an audience for
the medium quickly emerged. And this audience quickly grew to millions
and millions on Facebook and Twitter so much so that Facebook now has
more total members then there are residents in most major countries.
So how does Zezza Network, a boutique digital and social media
marketing agency located in NYC, take one of the world’s longest
marketing campaigns and make is fresh and hip for social media
junkies? The key to success is simple, find passionate fans and create
powerful connections, and have them spread the word via Facebook and
Twitter.

When Zezza Network started working on the “Hide a Case” campaign, the
agency took a long and hard look at the digital footprint of Canadian
Club online. And what they discovered is that the brand really needed
a strong kick of social media to get whisky enthusiasts talking about
the brand online. Zezza Network first developed three core objectives
for the brand that would have a long lasting effect on Canadian Club’s
digital footprint. Expanding the overall reach of the brand, driving
engagement, and creating and growing connections with the online
whisky community were the core of Zezza Network social media strategy.
Canadian Club is a historic brand but the social media generation
hasn’t been fully introduced to the rich history and great stories
around Canadian Club. So Zezza Network set out to share Canadian Club
with the social media community and the growing base on Facebook.
Through status updates, trivia, mixology and other social engagements
Zezza has helped to educate the community around the brand. This
strategy tired directly into the objective of creating connections as
existing and new members will help to further the continued success of
Canadian Club.

In order to attract and grow the audience for Canadian Club on
Facebook, Zezza Network decided that one of the best ways to capture
an audience is by giving them free gear. Everyone loves free gear and
the Canadian Club fan base was no exception. Zezza Network developed
the “Friend Get Friend” application which allows users to install the
Facebook application and then invite their friends to become fans of
Canadian Club on Facebook. Once the user has become a member of
Canadian Club they earn one point towards completing the offer. After
five friends have converted they then get a super cool Canadian Club
t-shirt in the mail. The shirt is bound to be the new hot thing for
summer 2010. But this simple activity was perfect for the Facebook
community who only love to things in a few clicks. It allowed current
lovers of Canadian Club to become mini brand ambassadors. The
application introduced Canadian Club to over 1000 new members in the
first week of its launch and to date has seen almost 5000 installs of
the application. What’s even better is that Canadian Club has been
able to build an e-mail list from that base in a short amount of time.
This list of enthusiasts will be invaluable for the future success of
brand and can easily lead into any CRM programs that Canadian Club
decided to launch in the future. That’s marketing speak for they will
e-mail you about cool offers in the future. This program got current
members excited and helped to grow the membership to over 28,000 in
almost 2 months of outreach.

In order to create additional connections for the brand Zezza Network
turned to Twitter. The Wine and Spirits industry has treaded lightly
on the usage of Twitter since there is no means for an LPA. But Zezza
Network worked extremely close with Beam Global for over a year to
finally get approvals for Beam brands such as Canadian Club to start
using Twitter. And the whisky community is pretty strong within
Twitter with people such as @Intoxocologic, @WhiskyWall, @Baratunde,
and @WhiskyCast who all tweet about whisky and other topics on a
regular basis. Zezza Network used various tool such as Klout.com,
TweetReach, and Sysomos: Heartbeat to develop an outreach matrix and
targeted influencers to help spread additional buzz for the “Hide a
Case” campaign. Canadian Club’s launch in the Twitter space has only
been for less than one week but already some of targeted influencers
have been tweeting and chatting with the brand on Twitter. It’s these
types of relations that will be long lasting and will help with the
continued success and growth of the brand via social media.

For any marketing campaign your online influencers will be your golden
ticket to success. Discovering who your ambassadors are and
communicating with them in an authentic voice will ensure that they
are able to effectively spread your campaigns message and help to
bring your campaign to the next level. Shifting digital metrics from
old school page views to new school connects is at the core of Zezza’s
social media philosophy. Because at the end of it all if none of your
consumers talked about your campaign then it really didn’t engage them
enough for them to even care.

Check out more of the cool social media work from Zezza Network at
http://ZezzaNetwork.com or read our social media press release at
http://zezzasocialpr.com.

(Disclosure: Mike Street is the Director of Social Media Marketing for
Zezza Network and has been with the company for over 2 years.)

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I love it when a brand sends me a tweet. So today I re-tweeted a tweet
from @AroundHarlem and got a nice response from @DrPepper. Brands are
really stepping up their Twitter game and taking notice of their
followers. I'm currently managing @JimBeamOfficial and I think it is
SUPER important for brand to take notice of their followers and keep
conversations going. Conversations don't always have to be about the
brand. It's important to really let your community know that you are
watching and listening.

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