The Vitrue Blog

Well, if you're the state of Missouri, a lot. Next week (September 8th) Missouri kicks off their 2nd annual Tour of Missouri International Cycling Race. This year the tour will include an online social community where fans, tourists, teams and Tour personnel can upload and share content. The social network is called Fanzone and is integrated with the Tour's main site. The social community includes photo and video uploading, commenting, member profiles, and member messaging. Mobile upload is also available and obviously important to an event based social experience like the Tour or Missouri.

"We will be providing video cameras to Tour personnel and each of the 15 teams in the race in order to capture behind-the-scenes footage, which is usually never seen by the public. Team footage could include views from caravan vehicles following the race or team strategy sessions," said Steve Brunner, president of KOM Sports, which markets the event. "The partnership with Vitrue has been trailblazing from the beginning. They have been incredible to work and brainstorm with. They've been able to mold the site to the needs of the race."

Oh yeah, I didn't mention the fact that Tour of Missouri's Fanzone is a Vitrue powered site. Read the press release if you want the details...

I'm personally excited about the Tour's combination of event marketing, social media and mobile upload. I can think of numerous events from my past that could have been significantly enhanced with an online social community. This isn't our first time bridging live events to online social communities, and it surely won't be our last.

Are you attending the Tour of Missouri? Have you engaged an online social community built exclusively for a real world event? Want to participate in a dialog about social media strategies? Sound off in the comments below. We're listening!

The Vitrue powered Ben & Jerry's Imagine campaign has gotten plenty of buzz, and rightfully so. Ben & Jerry's hit the sweet spot with a new flavor, a cool social app, and a cause everyone can appreciate. You have seen Ben & Jerry's Imagine haven't you?

So it was of no surprise when I learned that Vitrue is up for the vote on AdWeek's People's Choice Buzz Awards featuring Ben & Jerry's Imagine. You can see our entry and most importantly vote for us at:

http://www.adweekbuzz.com/

Don't forget to checkout Ben & Jerry's Imagine campaign and leave your message of peace. And, while you're feeling chatty, drop us a note in the comments below.  

Brandweek recently featured Ben & Jerry's social media program (powered by Vitrue) in a case study.  Brandweek found a 42-fold increase in engagement and concluded the program strengthened relationships with loyalists and introduced Ben & Jerry's to younger audiences. Read the full case study at Brandweek.

The Ben& Jerry's program utilizes Vitrue's mosaic application (marketing description here). Personally I think the Mosaic demonstrates a great alternative UGC. The barrier to participate is so much lower than creating a UGC video or even a photo. Check out http://www.benjerry.com/imagine/ and leave your wishes for world peace. Let us know what you think with a comment below. 

I read an interesting interview with Founder and CEO of Real Travel Inc., Ken Leeder, in EyeforTravel on March 6, 2008. In this article, Mr. Leeder contended that the idea of "Travel 2.0," or the interlacing of social media with travel companies' consumer outreach, may in the future be linked to social networks like Facebook. He pointed out an alleged disconnect in intentions between people visiting travel sites and those accessing social networks, debating if consumers would be reluctant to have their demographic and psychographic information shared with travel agencies and advertisers for no additional value.

 As the Cincinnati Bengals gear up for another competitive season, they are once again encouraging their fans to create fan generated content that best expresses the passion for the team.

Think you've got a better Touchdown Dance than Chad Johnson? Want to share your favorite tailgating moments or experiences with other Bengals fans? Grab your camera, shoot a short video clip of your favorite Bengals activity, and upload it to the site.

As a registered user, you can make connections with other Bengals fans around the world no matter where you might be. Form new networks of Bengals friends, send and receive personal messages and share your Who Dey spirit with your new Bengals community!