Blockchain

Customer engagement strategies that heed power of social media

Published

2 years ago

October 22, 2018

The power of social media to alter customer engagement strategies — for a product rollout, an executive hire, a policy change — is impressive.

Case in point: Legendary Entertainment did not anticipate the kind of response it would get when it released its trailer for The Great Wall. The decision to cast Matt Damon as the hero in a film centered around the iconic Chinese landmark drew immediate criticism on Twitter and Facebook as another example of a white savior narrative and of whitewashing.

“The whole storyline was meant to be about someone coming into a new culture and learning and growing in that culture,” Matt Marolda, chief analytics officer at Legendary, said at the recent HUBweek, an arts, science and innovation festival in Boston. “But the perception was not that.”

Social media platforms and the swift judgment of the internet are forcing companies to engage in ways they’ve never had to before. And executives from Legendary and Microsoft are sharing their experiences with the new tools for — and rules for — customer engagement.

New tools of engagement

On paper, The Great Wall made sense, according to Marolda. It was 2016, and the U.S. and China were the two biggest movie markets in the world; the East-meets-West film reflected Legendary’s sale to Wanda Group, a massive entertainment company in China. And, based on an analysis Marolda and his applied analytics team did, Damon had an active following and a reputation for taking on high-quality projects.

But what looked good on paper did not translate well to audiences — especially those in the U.S. Marolda said the company reacted to the criticism quickly. For example, the company released a statement from Zhang Yimou, the film’s director whom Marolda characterized as “the Steven Spielberg of China,” defending the casting decision.

After that, the team stood still and observed. “We had time on our side,” said Marolda, adding that the film wasn’t scheduled to be released for nine months. “We could see analytically that the best thing to do was nothing.”

The public ire did cool, but the film couldn’t completely escape the negative press it had received, according to Marolda. The company ultimately decided to shift its marketing strategy. “We then realized that emphasizing the movie’s possibilities outside of the U.S. was as important as emphasizing the movie’s possibilities inside the U.S.,” he said.

The decision appears to have been a good one. While the film bombed in the U.S., it was moderately successful worldwide, and has helped spark a larger conversation about how to make blockbuster films for a global market.

Executives onstage at HUBweek. — Matt Marolda, chief analytics officer at Legendary Entertainment, and Kathleen Kennedy, director of special projects at the MIT Sloan School of Management, onstage at HUBweek.

Customer engagement strategies: Ask three questions

How do companies develop customer engagement strategies that acknowledge the power of social media? A reactive approach — no matter how swift the response or how successful in the short term — doesn’t cut it.

Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer at Microsoft, talked about the role companies should play in the public discourse and stressed that companies need a moral compass today.

“You have to know the issues for which you’re going to take a stand. And you have to be grounded in a certain set of principles,” he said during a fireside chat at HUBweek with Adi Ignatius, the editor in chief of the Harvard Business Review.

Before weighing in on a controversial issue, Smith suggested that companies ask three questions. First, is the issue important to the business? Smith described this question as “an easy space,” and can include tax law or intellectual property law — topics companies have always weighed in on.

Second, is the issue important to its customers? As data has moved to the cloud, companies have entered into a new kind of relationship with their customers, according to Smith. He said it’s vital that they think about the security and protection and actively take a stand on issues like surveillance and privacy.

Third, is the issue important to employees? The company believes a safe work environment doesn’t automatically equate to employee success. Employees could be hindered by issues outside of the office such as an inability to buy the home they want to buy, get the kind of healthcare coverage they need, or marry the person they want to marry, according to Smith.

So when a bill in North Carolina looked like it would restrict LGBT rights, Smith said it “was not a difficult decision” for Microsoft to voice its opposition. The company has a pretty significant presence in Charlotte, employing about 1,000 people there, and Smith said the issue was “important for our employees outside of the workplace.”

In an effort to be as effective as possible and preserve its relationship with the community, Microsoft will often seek out a local business community — a trusted organization that uses its voice to speak up on issues such as these — to partner with. “I prefer a course that’s going to maximize our chances of being effective and not just maximize our chances of being seen,” he said.

Source: https://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/252451024/Customer-engagement-strategies-that-heed-power-of-social-media

Related Topics:Analysis big-data Business China Companies Culture environment Facebook Healthcare innovation Law Legal Markets Movie Security Tax

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Blockchain

Government Blockchain Week Story

Published

13 mins ago

January 28, 2021

bryan feinberg

From September 27- October 1 of 2021, the Government Blockchain Association, GBA, will be bringing together blockchain enthusiasts from around the globe for their big event, Government Blockchain Week in Washington DC.

In spite of the ravaging of COVID-19, the GBA is planning to hold this event live in many of the iconic buildings of the Capital City. The September week will be the third time that this event has been moved farther into the future in hopes that when Government Blockchain Week finally happens, attendees will have no fears of contracting the virus.

The week will begin with a Blockchain Foundations class on Monday, along Embassy Row at the British Embassy’s Rotunda building. At the same time, Blockchain Use for State and Local Governance will be held at the Attorney General’s Office downtown.

On Tuesday, a DC government agency building will host the Blockchain, Innovation & Economic Growth with Pitch Competition. Competitors from around the globe will be pitching their blockchain solutions to a panel of investors and government policymakers. Prize money, as well as the chance to advance to the World Business Angels Investment Forum world competition is at stake. The winners will be chosen at the end of the day.

While this is going on, the Department of International Trade UK at the British Embassy will host Blockchain, International Trade and International Aid.

On Tuesday evening, attendees can purchase tickets for Blockchain Ambassadors, held at the historic Whittemore House, for an evening to network under the stars. This cocktail party, the first of 3 Evening Receptions, will feature strolling musicians, parlor talks in the grand rooms of the mansion, catering fit for a President, networking in Eleanor Roosevelt’s library, finishing off with brandy and cigars out on the patio as the evening comes to a close.

Wednesday will be a day full of cryptocurrency and cybersecurity. Beginning with the Legal, Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Forum happening in tandem with the Money, Banking and Cryptocurrency Forum. Guests will agonize over which one to attend, because they will miss the other.

In the late afternoon, selected guests will be invited to the FinTech Round Table, hosted by the Embassy of Bahrain. This invitation only meeting of the minds will allow banking regulators and finance policymakers a chance to meet and discuss the changes that are happening in their industry.

On Wednesday evening, on the rooftop of the International SPY Museum, the GBA will host CryptoNite, and electric, black tie event filled with intrigue and drama. Words cannot describe what CryptoNite is. You just have to be there. This is the second of the 3 Evening Receptions.

On Thursday and Friday, the big guns of the Speakers’ list will show up at the Congressional Auditorium of the US Capitol where GBA will host their 2-day flagship event, The Future of Money, Governance, & The Law. During these two days, global leaders in blockchain, finance, cryptocurrency, government, and law enforcement will discuss where and how blockchain will dramatically change their industry. During the 2 days at the Capitol, GBA will host their

Annual Achievement Awards,

and a Digital Art Show.

On Thursday night, on the rooftop of Capital View 400, the guests of Government Blockchain Week can purchase tickets to attend the

Inventors and Pioneers Evening Reception.

For centuries, inventors and pioneers have shaped and impacted the whole of humankind. On this night, we celebrate the inventors and pioneers of the 21^st Century who will impact the decade and the century to come. This final Evening Reception will be a great celebration of a monumental week, overlooking the dome of the Capitol under a sky full of stars.

Government Blockchain Week, September 27 through October 1, 2021, will be packed with forums, presentations, competition, awards, art, parties, and most of all, powerful and impactful networking. Anyone who hopes to make a stand in blockchain technology will benefit by attending this monumental event.

Author Bio

Kathy Dache’ is the Events Director of the Government Blockchain Association (GBA). She has over 30 years of training and events experience. She co-founded a blockchain professional networking group in 2016 and helped launch the Government Blockchain Association in 2017. She has conducted extensive research on blockchain and cryptocurrency topics including economic analysis, financial systems, and the impact of cryptocurrency adoption on governments. She has developed presentation and training materials on blockchain use in healthcare, identity management, supply chain management and many others. She has also been the GBA liaison for GBA speakers and dignitaries. Her passion is graphics and art.

Blockchain

Wall Street Bets ‘Chairman’ Tweet Sends Dogecoin (DOGE) Soaring 85% in Hours

Published

53 mins ago

January 28, 2021

Republished by Plato

The price for the popular meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE), went flying today. The cryptocurrency skyrocketed by almost 90% in just a couple of hours after the ‘Chairman’ of the now popular Wall Street Bets group tweeted about it.

About a couple of hours ago, the ‘Chairman’ of the popular Wall Street Bets group asked whether or not DOGE has ever been trading at $1.

Has Doge ever been to a dollar?

— WSB Chairman (@WSBChairman) January 28, 2021

After the Tweet went live, DOGE’s price went for the skies. The cryptocurrency soared by about 85% in a matter of hours and reached an intraday high at around $0.0145. The price has since corrected, but it appears that there’s still momentum in the market.
The reason for this excitement is what recently happened with the stock price of GameStop.
The Wall Street Bets group on Reddit saw more than 2 million people joining it with the common cause of buying GME stock against the trades of Wall Street hedge funds, who have been shorting it.
Not long after that, the price soared by up to 600%, causing mayhem on Wall Street and even getting one large hedge fund out of its position for what was reported as a massive loss.
The entire ordeal even saw the CEO of NASDAQ say that they would potentially halt trading in case of increased social media chatter.

“When we evaluate how we would manage through a situation where you see a significant run-up with a stock that is not based on news or fundamentals, we have technology that evaluates social media chatter, and if we see a significant rise in the chatter on social media channels and we also match that up against unusual trading activity – we will potentially halt that stock.”

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Source: https://cryptopotato.com/wall-street-bets-chairman-tweet-sends-dogecoin-doge-soaring-85-in-hours/

Blockchain

Reddit Doubles-Down on Blockchain: Partners With The Ethereum Foundation

Published

53 mins ago

January 28, 2021

Republished by Plato

The giant social media platform Reddit has doubled-down on its blockchain and cryptocurrency involvement with a new partnership with the Ethereum Foundation. As a result, Reddit plans to utilize the Ethereum network to create larger-scale applications like the Community Points introduced last year.

Reddit Doubles-Down On Blockchain

CryptoPotato reported last year that the San Francisco, US-headquartered platform launched Community Points as tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain. Users from two subreddits, namely r/CryptoCurrency and r/FortNiteBR, were able to receive the ERC-20 coins and spend them on various services, such as membership purchases or voting on polls.

Reddit asserted that the points will be a measure of reputation and contribution within each of the communities. Earlier, a platform administrator going by the handle u/jarins reaffirmed the relationship between Reddit and the blockchain space with a fresh partnership with the Ethereum Foundation.

“In this new stage of our partnership, immediate efforts will be focused on bringing Ethereum to Reddit-scale production. Our intention is to help accelerate the progress being made on scaling and develop the technology needed to launch large-scale applications like Community Points on Ethereum.”

Furthermore, the post explained that the Ethereum choice was rather apparent as Reddit was looking into exploring an open-source and publicly available scaling technology.

An Increasing Commitment To Blockchain

The post highlighted that the most recent initiative with Ethereum is a step to increase the platform’s “commitment to blockchain,” which should help bring “the value and independence of blockchain technology to millions of Redditors.”

Consequently, Reddit has established a designated Crypto Team and is looking for “engineers who want to build the decentralized Internet.”

Aya Miyaguchi, the executive director at the Ethereum Foundation, also commented on the new partnership. She noted that the team behind the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap continues to “be impressed with Reddit’s vision, and by how it maintains its culture and philosophies, which were key in forming this relationship.”

Additionally, representatives of both parties plan to host an online session to answer users’ questions.

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Source: https://cryptopotato.com/reddit-doubles-down-on-blockchain-partners-with-the-ethereum-foundation/