Posts Tagged ‘blackberry’

Social Media This Week: December 12, 2008




Ford uses Social Media to Clear the Air



The news: On Wednesday, Ford sent a fan site called The Ranger Station a letter from a lawyer about copyright violations. News spread quickly that Ford objected to the site using the name of its Ranger pickup truck line. Other Ford fan sites (which have Ford in their domain name) feared that they would be asked by the organization to change their material and domains. By the time this news hit the larger auto sites, stories were being published that Ford’s legal department was asking for thousands of dollars in compensation or the site gets automatically shut down. The head of Ford’s social media department, Scott Monty, stayed on top of the online conversation developing around the topic using sites such as Twitter. He quickly began chiming into the conversation and keeping online customers and fans aware of the situation. As it ended up, the situation needed to be clarified. The Ranger Station site was actually selling counterfeit Ford parts. Monty used different online avenues to get the word out, including The Ranger Station’s forum. The entire lifespan of this situation (that could of spiraled out of control online) lasted less than 24 hours.



Key question: News spreads more quickly than ever online. How quickly will this rapid response method spread?

Begging for a BlackBerry this Holiday Season

The news: Rogers launched an online contest this week called “Beg-for-a-BlackBerry” to promote BlackBerry smartphones over the holiday season. Canadian BlackBerry yearners enter the contest by submitting 30 seconds of audio over Facebook to explain why they deserve a BlackBerry over their current cell phones. Facebook participants can add their message to their own profile page where their personal network can hear it.



Key question: Facebook is by far the dominant social network in Canada and the most important mass market social media site for brands. Will its dominance ebb in 2009?

Social Media and the Economy

The news: This week, in partnership with Pollara, com.motion released our second annual Trust Barometer. The results were telling in terms of how marketers will approach social media in the face of an economic slowdown. We found that Canadian business leaders say it would be a mistake to cut back on social and digital spending in tough economic times, with 7 in 10 recommending increased investment.

Key question: Just how much will social media grow in 2009, and how much will traditional marketing communications disciplines suffer?

What is com.motion?

com.municate + com.mit + com.pel = com.motion

com.motion [kuh-moh-shuhn] is a full-service, integrated social media and word of mouth (WOM) agency. We use social media channels and traditional marketing tools to drive bottom-line results. com.motion helps businesses and brands amplify their marketing messages through the effective use of online communications channels in the U.S. and Canada.

To learn more about how we can help your brand or organization, contact us.

Leadership Team

Lynn Eastep
Senior Vice-President, com.motion North America

With more than 15 years of digital communications experience, I've delivered award-winning and sophisticated marketing solutions for Fortune 500 corporations, major government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and household-name consumer brands. I ensure the successful execution of digital and social media business strategies to build profitability and grow market share on behalf of our clients. I stay abreast of relevant new technologies in the Web 2.0/social media space in order to contribute a point of view while remaining focused on ROI to drive the right message to the right people at the right time.

I'm connected to the industry and trends, intuitive about people, a strategic thinker with intense curiosity, an eclectic user of information, and an engaging storyteller with strong interpersonal skills. I’m a team player who is passionate, curious, positive, and courageous. I have provided senior-level strategic counsel for clients such as Nestle, Bayer, AT&T and Visa.

eastep [at] causeacommotion.com


Ed Lee
Managing Director, com.motion Canada

I’ve been working in or around the social media revolution since 2005 and I am grateful to be exploring this new media landscape with com.motion’s clients. As managing director, my role is to guide our clients through the use of new technologies and to provide innovative ways to engage their stakeholders online. Shiny new Web 2.0 toys are great to play with but our recommendations are always strategic and focused on reaching the right people, with the right message across the right channels.

lee [at] causeacommotion.com

I was interviewed with Bob Pearson on BNN about the importance of social media for business. Watch the video here: