Digital Digest: The Age of Complexity

Digital Digest: What Edelman Canada is reading in digital marketing, technology and strategy. Fresh links served up Fridays.

During his keynote address at the Institute of Public Relations’ annual dinner earlier this month, Richard Edelman distinguished between two kinds of worlds: a complicated one, in which many moving parts interact in predictable and manageable patterns; and a complex one, where unforeseen intersections lead to unexpected outcomes (blog post, full text PDF). In this week’s edition of Edelman Canada’s Digital Digest, we look at six case studies for organizations that are successfully, or not, navigating the Age of Complexity.

Case Study: Qantas’ Ill-Timed Twitter Content

In PR, timing is everything. Qantas learned this the hard way when on Tuesday the Australian airline launched a Twitter contest just a day after Qantas and its union broke off negotiations. With Qantas’ fleet grounded, customers voiced their frustrations on Twitter, leading to what one commentator called an “excellent case study in corporate cultural tone deafness.”

Reuters: Qantas’ Ill-Timed Twitter Contest

Disclosure: United Airlines, a competitor to Qantas, is an Edelman client in the U.S.

Case Study: Nissan’s Facebook Page Hit by Contest Controversy

Nissan Australia’s Facebook page was slammed by angry customers this week, when first and second prize for a Facebook contest went to friends of the staffer who runs Nissan’s Facebook page. Nissan was up front about the situation, and believes winners were objectively selected by an algorithm, but “found out the hard way that in today’s world consumers control the conversation, not brands.”

Sydney Morning Herald: Facebook fury after Nissan awards free car to ‘BFF’

Disclosure: Chevy, a competitor to Nissan, is an Edelman client in the U.S.

Case Study: Trolling the Taliban

The conflict in Afghanistan hit a new low late last week when @ISAFmedia and @ABalkhi, who represent the coalition’s press office and the Taliban respectively, began exchanging heated words, including “dumb dumb” and “everything you type is wrong.” Seriously though, read this one.

CNN.com: Twitter is new battleground for NATO and Taliban in Afghanistan

Case Study: How Social Media Revived the Muppets

The Muppets’ new movie was released in theaters this week, marking the end of a two year campaign online and off. Mashable reports on how an integrated team built buzz for the launch through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and a mobile app.

Mashable: How Social Media Revived The Muppets

Case Study: How to Attract Attention on Foursquare

Recently, Foursquare rolled out services for businesses, including the ability to post discounts designed to attract new customers and retain loyal ones. Here’s how Luke’s Lobster, a chain of seafood restaurants in NYC and Washington, D.C., used the location-based mobile app, which boasts 10 million users, to double sales for a new location.

Inc. Magazine: Is Foursquare a Great Place to Advertise?

Retailers use social media to promote holiday deals

To entice Holiday shoppers, retailers like Sears, Radioshack and Walmart (an Edelman client in the U.S.) are offering discounts, tips and tricks and handy shopping tools on their Websites, Facebook and Twitter. But are customers who snap up online deals sharing their experience with their friends?

USA Today: Retailers use social media to offer holiday deals

Disclosure: BestBuy, a competitor to RadioShack, is an Edelman client in the U.S. and Canada.

Edelman Canada’s Digital Digest is a weekly bundle of links, served up on Edelman Canada’s Our Ideas blog on Fridays. It’s also available by email. If you know someone who would like to be added to the mailing list, have any questions or just want to share some thoughts on anything you read here, email me. Let’s get a conversation going. 

Digital Digest is edited by Matthew Hayles and Kareena Coelho.