In the first part of this article, we looked at how social media is by no means the quick-fix-secret to online retailing, but that times are changing and there is certainly a need for it to be high on every marketer’s shopping list.

The real value for retail from social media comes from the way it is used to influence and inspire purchases. Research from Ebay suggests there’s a £1bn prize up for grabs for UK retailers if they can use social media to influence and help customers make up their minds when they’re looking to buy something. The impact that it will have on the way people shop, and as a result the impact on a retailer or brand’s bottom line, is set to be huge.

Social Proof is the human instinct to want to do things other people do, and is an increasingly powerful force in marketing. A study from McCann Truth Central, covering 12,000 interviews across 19 countries, found that over 90% of 16-30 year olds agree with the statement: “If a company impresses me in some way, I will make a point of telling my friends about it.” Since word of mouth and online product reviews are still some of the most trusted and influential factors in buying decisions, it’s important for brands to actively cultivate ‘love communities’ of their fans and defenders.

Being a social business is ultimately about encouraging an open relationship with customers, where they trust the brand enough to share their personal information and understand how the exchange is beneficial to them. For the majority (65%), one of the top two benefits of sharing data and socialising with brands is better access to discounts and promotions. It’s that simple. People have always wanted ‘something for nothing’ or access to a deal before their peers – whether it’s a BOGOF deal at Asda, or a chance to shop an online sale before the rest of the internet public.

Returning to ASOS, as it’s only fair to highlight the great work they do in this arena as well, they have previously had great success by previewing their summer sale through a Facebook application. The app allowed fans to play a series of games that meant those with the most points went to the front of the virtual queue and could access the sale first. Supported with Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories, the campaign resulted in over 1 million views of the application with 174,000 people joining the virtual queue, and their fan base growing by 32%.

New and innovative uses of social media like this are set to change how we approach shopping. eBay’s recently launched social tool ‘Help Me Shop’ allows consumers to call on their network of friends for advice on purchases. Not quite a virtual ‘Does my bum look big in this?’, but we’re getting there.

This type of activity sums up the future for social shopping, retailers have to remember that for most of us, the experience is as important as the purchase. We want fun and inspiration when we shop. And it won’t be long until we can have that classic changing room moment wherever or whenever we want.

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By Social Media Director Chris Date

The era of social media marketing is well and truly upon us. With every new tool – and in every new success and mistake – new ideas about how to engage with consumers emerge. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the fast-moving retail environment.

‘Social Shopping’ may be in its infancy, but it’s most definitely on the rise. Facebook took another step into the retail market last month with the introduction of gift cards that consumers in the US can use to keep monetary balances from different retailers on the same card. A week later, Twitter and American Express announced they are working on a “pay by tweet” system that will let accredited users pay for real or virtual items.

So…social media is the solution to online retailing then? Get a Facebook page and a retailer can easily sell their wares direct to their ever-so-important ‘fans’? No. If only it were that simple.

Consumers today are not looking at Facebook psychologically as a place where they go to buy things. When people are on Facebook they’re in sharing mode, not purchase mode.

Even online retailing giant ASOS, the source of so many social media success case studies, struggled to get customers to part with their cash through their very vibrant Facebook page. Visit their custom-built Facebook Store now and you’re left with a rather sorry looking ‘closed’ sign and a redirect to the main website.

So the measure for success is not – or shouldn’t be – revenue through Facebook. It should be sharing of the brand and traffic. It’s a phrase that as marketers we push all the time, but it’s important to remember that social media is not a strategy, it’s simply another channel.

While it can’t be doubted that digital technology continues to reshape the way companies and consumers interact, social media is not replacing the in-store shopping experience, according to a new report by PwC. Based on a survey of more than 11,000 shoppers globally, 49% said they use social media every day, but only 12% are using social platforms to purchase.

But is this really that surprising? It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of making a simple online purchase filled many with fear. Will my goods arrive? Are my credit card details safe? But to the online generation, it’s become second nature in less than 10 years.

Social media is an area where the vast majority of people don’t yet feel comfortable when it comes to pushing the ‘purchase button’. But it’s coming. As the channels mature and retailers find more ways of adding value to online shopping experiences, then ‘social shopping’ will come further to the fore.

Next: The £1bn social media prize that’s up for grabs to retailers…

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Universal McCann, the media-buying arm of the Midland agency and Rapport, the agency’s outdoor specialist, worked with J C Decaux (Midlands) to source and install a ‘sonic 6 sheet’ in Birmingham city centre.

Organised by Universal McCann for Orion Media, which owns the regional radio group, Free Radio, the sonic 6 sheet was available for shoppers and city visitors to enjoy last month.

The Free Radio sonic 6 sheet (pictured) was located on Birmingham’s New Street, the city’s highest-footfall area and was in situ for two weeks. Members of the public were encouraged to learn a series of dance moves as made famous by the station’s ‘mascot’, HumFree the Free Radio Hamster.

Visitors simply stood in front of the sonic 6 sheet and scanned a QR Code, which generated a series of dance moves for them to replicate, whilst playing accompanying 10-second bursts of music.

It was the first panel of this kind that J C Decaux had installed outside of London and is a media first for J C Decaux in Birmingham.

Until this, the only other city in the UK to experience an interactive outdoor sound installation was London. As a result, the creation of the Free Radio sonic 6 sheet is not just an all-time first for Universal McCann but is also a first for the city of Birmingham.

Dean Lovett, CEO of McCann Birmingham, comments: “Being able to spearhead such a new and interactive concept in Birmingham is a great achievement and really showcases creativity and capability.

“It’s truly unique to play sound outdoors, yet it is fundamentally something a radio station should naturally be doing. Therefore, the installation of the city’s first-ever sonic 6 sheet offered a great opportunity for Orion Media to pave the way when it came to finding innovative ways to promote its stations.”

For Orion Media, this pioneering regional activity was a really exciting development, as Andy Price, Head of Marketing and Digital, explains: “As a radio station, an outdoor installation that allowed us to play audio is perfect.”

The activity was supported by Free Radio Birmingham’s Street Stars and video images of the sonic 6 sheet were projected onto screens throughout the city’s Bullring shopping centre.

The activity also enhanced the use of QR codes as effective way to elicit personal engagement with the Free Radio brand. Visitors to the installation were able to scan the code using their smartphone and be directed to the Free Radio website, where they were able to learn the Hamster dance moves and enter a competition to win £250.

This activity forms part of a larger regional campaign by Universal McCann for the Free Radio group.

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The first commercial, released by McCann in January sparked a flurry of activity, amassing more than 1.5 million views, an uplift in traffic to E-lites.co.uk and it has even caught the eye of Gangnam Style rapper, Psy.

Now, Gangnam Style baby is back! And he’s got some new moves. The extended ad, being shown in 40-second spots on digital TV, features an extra 10 seconds of dance moves for viewers to enjoy.

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First things first, the agency needed to enlist the help of the bakers of the department to whip up some tasty treats – and they didn’t let us down.

A delicious array of cakes was soon displayed in prime position in the McCann bistro, therefore making them irresistible to hungry colleagues.  In no time at all word spread of the Birmingham PR company’s bake sale and the money was raking in as people couldn’t resist a cake to go along with their cuppa.

Worried that evidence of a bake sale ever existed would soon disappear, PR quickly papped a shot of team members (in official Red Nose Day t-shirts) and the cakes.

Before we knew it, news of our fundraising reached The Drum and McCann PR became the lead story for an agency round-up on Red Nose Day fundraising.  Overall, the bake sale raised an impressive £100 for the charity Comic Relief and left a lot of Birmingham agency colleagues satisfied with a sugar fix.

The McCann PR team in Red Nose Day T-shirts at the bake sale

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The Midlands agency will provide practitioner insight and student support for a third academic year at Aston University following a successful two-year sponsorship, which saw a programme of learning developed to encompass theory, research, practitioner view points and real-world application.

This year’s programme will consist of a range of collaborative learning activities, including a series of practitioner lectures delivered by the agency in the fields of creativity, media planning, pitching and communications planning.

Nick Oppenheimer, Executive Planning Director at McCann Birmingham, manages the partnership and comments: “Aston Business School is one of the UK’s leading business schools with a prestigious reputation both nationally and internationally and we’re delighted to continue working with this great institution.”

“Through the collaboration, we have been successful in supporting students’ learning with practitioner insight and providing postgraduate students with a valuable and engaging springboard into the workplace.”

“We are helping to nurture business leaders of the future and provide them with valuable and engaging interaction within the marketing and communications industry. This year, the partnership is increasingly focussed on continuing to provide students with greater employment prospects, with a view to developing digital and social marketing strategies amongst a young, post-modern audience.”

Keith Glanfield, module leader of the New Strategic Brand Management, adds: “We’re delighted that McCann Birmingham continues to offer their support. The partnership has proven to be a highly valuable, inspiring and substantially beneficial programme for our students that has certainly met the crucial aim of increasing employability.”

The renewal of the partnership comes after students on last year’s programme were presented with awards by McCann Birmingham for their involvement in a successful live project, which saw each member of the cohort go on to secure employment.

The activity offered a real-life marketing challenge to students, which counted towards their degree, and all students that took part in the project went on to secure employment in the marketing sector.

This year’s intake of students Aston Business School will similarly be able to express their creativity by working on a substantial live marketing brief, which will provide detailed, real-life insight into the marketing sector and further enhance their chances of employability upon leaving university.

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E-Lites wanted to reinforce their position as brand leader in one of the most competitive and rapidly growing sectors. They asked McCann Birmingham to create stand-out, impact and sales. In an advert, which is the first of its kind on television since 1965, the West Midlands agency has launched the affectionately named “Gangnam Style Baby” for the UK’s premium electronic cigarette company, E-Lites.

The 30 second TV Commercial shows a father popping out for a cigarette while the rest of the family look on dumbfounded as their youngest member breaks into the dance for Psy’s worldwide number one single “Gangnam Style”. Unhelpfully, the baby sits down just before dad returns to the room. Looking around he asks ‘what did I miss?’

The campaign immediately went viral, generating over half a million YouTube views in its first 10 days of airing, where it ranked 6^th on the site’s global chart. Gangnam Style rapper, Psy liked it so much he Tweeted it to his 2.3million followers. The ad’s effectiveness has led to a 131% month-on-month increase in web traffic to www.E-lites.co.uk , accounting for 32% of all clicks in the electronic cigarette sector.

Vince McSweeney, McCann Birmingham Exec. Creative Director, said: “The ad looks at how an alternative to smoking can be beneficial on an emotional level instead of just focusing on the health elements. It’s a different way of looking at the situation, while remaining effective and entertaining.”

After no cigarette advertising on UK television since 1965, this hugely popular TV ad represents a bold move into a new medium for E-Lites.

Trevor Field, Marketing Director at E-Lites, comments: “We are delighted to see the E-Lites brand capturing consumers’ interests both in the UK and overseas. We are growing so quickly that we felt the time was right to widen our brand exposure and reach out to a wider audience, driving understanding of our product and the work we’re doing.”

McCann Birmingham was appointed as the E-Lites advertising agency in December 2012. Gangnam Style Baby has been aired in Central regions in January 2013 and is airing in London and Granada regions in February 2013.

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Chris Date, former PR Director at Rave Communications, has been appointed as Social Media Director at the Midlands agency to spearhead the new service, which will see specialists from across the business come together to create tailor-made teams for each client.

Chris Date, spearheading McCann Birmingham’s Social Media offering

Chris said: “We understand the importance of integrating disciplines like search and social together, but being part of McCann Birmingham’s communications house means we can also offer our clients superb creative, PR, research and CRM expertise. There’s integration far beyond search and social, all under one roof. McCann Birmingham is in a unique position in being able to offer this.”

Since leaving Rave in June, Chris has been freelancing at McCann Birmingham, during which time he became involved in new business generation and was instrumental in organising the agency’s recent Search and Social Well Told event, which took place last month.

He will be responsible for developing and growing the portfolio of McCann Birmingham’s social media clients, in addition to further integrating its digital, PR and social media services to create award-winning campaigns.

Chris added: “Having worked with the team for the last six months, I understand the depth and breadth of talent available to clients. I’m excited to be a part of that and to continue the sustained and successful growth of McCann Birmingham.”

For McCann PR Managing Director, Christine Arthur, Chris Date is a very welcome new addition to the team: “Chris was brought in on a consultancy basis to look at the existing social media offering, examine ways in which it could be integrated deeper within the agency and ultimately to produce a long term social media strategy for the business. He proved such a valuable asset to us that we didn’t hesitate to ask him to us to join us on a permanent basis!”

During his career, Chris has worked on many award winning campaigns for big brands including Electrolux, AEG and Reckitt-Benckiser.

Chris’s appointment follows the success of the agency’s Search and Social Well Told event, the third of its annual digital marketing seminars.

The event saw highly sought after guest speakers from the likes of Google, Facebook, YouTube, ITV and Bing share their expertise and predictions on the future of search and social integration, while a presentation from insight and analysis experts Gorkana provided the latest thinking in tracking, measurement and evaluation.

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