Organized Live-Tweet Events - Saint Paul Saints!

While the NFL is cracking down on Twitter, the Saint Paul Saints are embracing Twitter and the social world with open arms. The Saints are asking players, coaches, fans and employees to join them in the Twitter-My-Face event on July 23rd.

This is the first organized live-tweet event that I've come across and I bet more will be popping up over the next few months. Check out the full details here, but the opening to the press release cracks me up! Cheers to their PR team!

"I woke up today at 6:30 a.m. (so tired), worked out (off to the gym!), took a shower while listening to the radio (don’t you love that new Jonas Brothers song?), ate breakfast (LOL @snapcracklepop), and am now writing this press release (#work)."

Anyone else see any real life + social events that are this organized?

Thank You Twins Mobile Alerts

The MN Twins are done.  It's been a sad time but I still love my team.  I also love what MLB has done with their mobile website/text alerts.  I cancelled my subscription immediately after the season ending loss, but I actually had the option!  So many text ads/games/promos don't give you the chance to opt out (even mid way through the $4 per month subscription) whenever I want to. 

So the next Yaybia Brand Thank You Note goes to MLB/MN Twins for giving me real time game updates and letting me control the text messages that I get.  2009, boys.  Let's do this!

Target Field: Minneapolis Take Over?

Question:  Can you dilute your brand by giving/sponsoring too much?

Situation:  The new MN Twins stadium will be called Target Field.

Why Bring This Up:  Target Field (and Target Plaza) will be exactly one block from the Target Center.  While many Minneapolitans love Target, we’ve also voiced concerns over mega-Minneapolis companies like Northwest (or NorthWORST, good luck Delta).  Could this be more bulls-eye than our bodies have room for?

Charitable giving is part of Target’s differentiation strategy and they also are big fans of the arts and sponsor free nights/days at The Walker and MoMA.  But if the Target brand overruns Minneapolis, can it take away from brand strength?  I’m going to Target Center, or wait, was it at Target Field?  Or are we going to start referring to the entire warehouse district as the Target District?

Other top MN companies that would've been nice to see: Land O’ Lakes, Medtronic, General Mills, or Best Buy

I'm feeling OK about the Target Field decision right now, but it definitely has had me thinking.  People are talking have have mixed ideas about the name. What do you think?

Mobile Marketing: Deepspace and More

Jacey, Lauren, and I attended the Deepspace mobile marketing conference at the Fine Line sponsored by Space150 (presentations available here). This event was the first of many monthly mobile and new industry trend events that will be held in Minneapolis. We heard from Chuck Levine, former Sprint CEO and current chairman of Openware and Sierra Wireless, about the growth of the mobile industry. Kelly Thompson and Marc Jensen, both of Space150, brought us account planning insights in their presentation on The Mobile Ecosystem. There were also several panel discussions with industry leaders from Ad Mob, Nokia Interactive, Scanbuy, Millennial Media, Ad Infuse, and Weather.com.

I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't completely blown away by anything that I saw, but the fact that there are people who care about pushing the industry in new directions is always worth my time and attention. I was hoping for some awesome examples of location based ads, or interactive mobile applications, but the day was more focused on monetary opportunities, SMS based ad models, and discussions about the potential that this industry holds.

The most memorable quote that I took away from the speakers that day came from the Weather Channel representative. He spoke about the debate of the ever elusive "year of the mobile web" and how that will become a reality when everyone checks the weather on their mobile devices. While the weather may be a small portion of this move, the center of the idea is the eventual total dependence on mobile devices for accessing content that is typically only on television or online. This move towards online content will push brands to consider mobile as an outlet that is equal to that of traditional placements. This is where mobile marketing will reach its full potential. Until then, the speakers at Deepspace advised all advertisers to spend now in order to become leaders in mobile.

With all that being said, we'd like to share a few of our favorite mobile campaigns. Ready, break.

Sports (AHH): NBC Olympics and Minnesota Twins (and other MLB teams of choice) - Both mobile sites are clean, text based, and feature live refresh updates. SMS text alerts are also available and well worth it when you can get immediate videos of Mauer and Morneau's RBIs and home runs. Top Score!

Politics: Barack Obama - Supporters, and those wanting to get in on the brilliant campaign ideas that Obama's team is delivering, can text 'VP' to 62262 (which spells Obama) to get notified of his VP candidate prior to any other media outlets. Progress.

Television Integration: Project Runway - Viewers can text their vote for their favorite, or least favorite, designer during on-air polls use short codes to receive weekly texts with fashion tips from Tim Gunn, and access the iPhone site that contains games, episode recaps, and a PR fashion guide. Look out all you hot messes, this site is fierce.

We'd love to hear about your favorite mobile campaigns, apps, and sites!

Mobile Musings, Part 1: Sports Get It Right

(Welcome to the first in a series on one of our favorite topics here at Yaybia: mobile convergence.)

This week, AdAge has five compelling arguments why 2008 won't be the year of mobile. I argue they should amend their headline to say that 2008 won't be the year of mobile marketing, but some mobile content is getting pretty damn close.

With yesterday being the Twins home opener, I checked twinsbaseball.com in the morning. While the site redirected me to a text-heavy page clearly not designed for an iPhone or Blackberry, the mobile version is pleasantly easy to navigate, with the headlines and scores I want right at the top. Better yet, the alert package I signed up for is phenomenal. I get scores, lead changes after the 7th inning, and videos of home runs texted to me every game. All I had to do was enter my phone number and agree to tack $4 a month onto my bill, well worth it for the customized, instant content I want to get on the go.

That's what a mobile application should be: easy to use, to-the-point, and full of content. The MLB isn't the only one that understands consumers' mobile cravings, either. In early January, ESPN actually received more mobile hits than PC-based hits in a 24-hour period for the same section of one of its NFL pages. An article in today's MediaPost says, "Mobile is about a 'right now' experience. Just as TiVo shifts time to change the way people watch television, mobile changes the way people can consume content."

Companies that understand the need for local emphasis in mobile content will also succeed. What if Starbucks worked with carriers or manufacturers to develop an application that always shows the closest coffeeshop based on a user's GPS data? Or what if search got more specific than zip codes, and Google became intuitive enough to understand exactly what I want when I text "pizza hut washington ave & university ave minneapolis" to GOOG411?

I agree with AdAge that the ad industry doesn't have it yet. But it's always played catch-up with new technologies. We all remember watching 1950s TV spots in history of ad classes and seeing basically a print ad with sound. And it's only been the past few years that truly interactive and creatively compelling web advertising has become the norm, rather than flashing banners demanding we CLICK HERE! I see great potential for advertisers to sponsor instant alerts like the Twins baseball ones I mentioned before. I'd gladly take a five-second Jimmy John's spot before my home run video highlight if it offset the $4/month the Twins are currently charging me. Right now, it could be key to partner with a content provider who gives mobile consumers that instant information they demand--especially the weather, news, and sports networks that are getting better and better at understanding mobile needs.

(One last note: One of the reasons AdAge has no faith in 2008 for the year of mobile is poor penetration. But as young adults who have grown up with technology get off their parents' family plans and wireless carriers follow the lead of Sprint and its unlimited everything plan, the number of people with data plans is going to be insane before we know it. I, for one, can't wait.)