BEFORE WE BEGIN: INTRODUCTION

This is the seventh in a series of white papers we have published during the past year, in which we capture and explore interesting happenings in the digital and social media worlds.

Our other papers have included:• 20 Interesting Things: Foursquare•20 Interesting Things: Augmented Reality•20 Interesting Things: Crowdsourcing•20 Interesting Things: Goodness•20 Interesting Things: QR Codes•20 Interesting Things: Vending Machines

BEFORE WE BEGIN: FACEBOOK

What can we say about Facebook? It has more than 500 million users and is growing. If you’re not using it, you probably should stop reading now.

Facebook Places and Deals have been getting a lot of the recent press, but there’s a ton of other interesting stuff happening on Facebook as well. These are just 20 examples (in no particular order) we have found intriguing during the last year or so. There are certainly many, many more and probably some good ones we have missed.

#1 RED BULL STASH SCAVENGER HUNTWe’re hiding Red Bull Energy Shots all over the USA and posting clues on our Facebook page for the fans to find. Visit the Red Bull Stash contest page on Facebook and enter your ZIP code to get clues and your city scavenger hunt begins. Where are they hidden? All over: under trees, behind fences and just about everywhere, but without the clues you’ll never see them. The adventure is for the fans. It’s our way of saying thanks for tipping our Facebook page to more than one million fans. Learn more here.

Sources: yearofthescavenger.com and atttaackr.com (picture)

#2 VONAGE TALK FREE

Here is a new app to talk to your Facebook friends on your iPhone or Android device. With Vonage Mobile for Facebook, users can make free calls to all Facebook friends who have downloaded the same application. You don’t even have to dial a number. A single click can get you connected to your friends. Learn more here and here.

Source: hardgeek.org

#3 WASA CRISPBREAD GROWING COUPONWasa Crispbread hopes to get consumers to try its products through a “growing coupon” component on its Facebook page. At the moment, the coupon is worth 75 cents, but will grow in value as more consumers become fans, the company said. The page currently has 8,243 followers. Learn more here.

Source: brandweek.com

#4 DELTA TICKET WINDOW

Delta Air Lines has become the first airline to allow Facebook users in the U.S. to buy flight tickets without having to leave the social network. Dubbed Ticket Window, the application lets users select different search criteria, including route options, aircraft type, times and inclusive prices, then review results within Facebook. Once a fare is selected the user can enter the usual passenger and payment details and the booking is complete. Facebook users can also share their travel plans with friends on the social network. Learn more here.

Source: airlinetrends.com

#5 PRINGLES OVERSHARERS

Pringles is campaigning to rid Facebook of “oversharers,” people who plague the social network and irritate other users with too much information.

The brand has introduced a Pringles-branded tagging facility, which performs the opposite function to Facebook’s ubiquitous “like” sign by labeling users as “oversharers.” The plug-in allows anyone seeing a ridiculous Facebook status update to shame his or her friend with just one click. Learn more here.

Source: adage.com

#6 COCA-COLA OCEAN CONSERVANCYCoka-Cola is seeking to raise $200,000 for the Ocean Conservancy with a Facebook campaign that encourages its 1.5 million North American fans to change their profile photos to ocean images.

The beverage giant is offering to donate $1 for each person who pledges his or her Facebook profile. A Coke app lets users choose from four different ocean scenes, such as scuba diving, to insert as their new digital images. Learn more here.

Source: adweek.com

#7 KLM LUGGAGE TAGS

KLM Royal Dutch airlines has developed a system on its Facebook page where users could design and obtain free luggage tags, using their own pictures (gallery and upload) or other glamorous and travel-related stock photography. Learn more here.

Source: Toonz.com

#8 GM ONSTAR VERBAL STATUS UPDATESGeneral Motors Co. is testing software that would let drivers talk to their cars to update status messages on Facebook and listen to Facebook messages. The verbal updates would be made through GM’s OnStar Virtual Advisor service.  Learn more here.

Sources: HuffingtonPost.com and crunchgear.com (picture)

#9 NIKE SPORTSWEAR DESTROYER BURRITO

After tracking down the truck, patrons who checked in via Facebook Places and then placed their order for the mystery item received a mammoth-sized “burrito,” which was filled with a Nike Sportswear varsity jacket in lieu of meat and rice. Nike didn’t leave customers hungry: each one also received a free edible burrito of their choice. Learn more here.

Sources: Trendcentral.com and sneakernews.com (picture)

Nike Sportswear partnered with Portland favorite Koi Fusion, a Korean taco truck, to create a secret menu item called the Destroyer Burrito. Followers of both companies’ Twitter accounts were informed that if they ordered the special meal on a particular date they would eat for free.

#10 NEW YORK JETS ULTIMATE FAN

The NY Jets released a social video game in Facebook to feed their fans’ love for football. Ultimate Fan becomes the first NFL-backed game in the social network to generate revenue through virtual goods and product placement sponsorships. Fans have the ability to purchase virtual tailgate items and team gifts.

Not a football simulator or a fantasy league game, Ultimate Fan allow fans to engage with the team online. Fans can predict game scores or passing yards, as well as hold a virtual tailgate party with others across the U.S. Learn more here.

Source: MediaPost.com and Facebook (picture)

#11 AMAZON PAMPERS WEBSTORE

Selling products through social networks isn’t entirely new, but when Amazon.com, the world’s most powerful online ecommerce store recently launched a Facebook product page to sell diapers for Procter & Gamble without making the consumer leave the site, analysts took notice. Customers can use their existing Amazon accounts to order products and complete purchases without leaving the Pampers Facebook page. Learn more here.

Sources: MediaPost.com and Facebook (picture)

#12 MCDONALD’S FARMVILLE

The world’s largest fast-food company recently partnered in an unusual 24-hour tie-in with the wildly popular FarmVille game and virtual world. McDonald’s sponsored the simulation game’s first branded farm.

Sources: USAToday.com and VaporTV.com (picture)

The lure for the game’s players: prizes. But the prizes aren’t things like coffee coupons or Big Mac discounts. They’re virtual, too. Players who click on the farm will be rewarded with two virtual goodies, including a McDonald's-branded hot air balloon to place on their own virtual farms. Learn more here.

#13 JACK IN THE BOX BE A RICH FANFor every person who “likes” Jack on Facebook, he made a nickel donation into a money jar, displayed and updated in real time on his fan page. At the conclusion of the month-long campaign, Jack rewarded one lucky fan with the total amount in the jar. The grand prize was determined by how loyal Jack’s supporters really are and the number of people they helped turn into new Jack fans.

Source: facebook.com and allfacebook.com (picture)

#14 STARBUCKS GIVE A GIFT

Facebook members can credit their friends’ Starbucks cards without ever leaving the social network, thanks to a recent update added to the Starbucks Card Facebook application.

“Give a Gift” is the new feature that makes the Facebook exchange of Starbucks currency possible. Starbucks Card Facebook application users in the U.S. and Canada can use the application to load between $5 and $500 to a friend’s registered Starbucks Card. Learn more here.

Source: Mashable.com and facebook.com (picture)

#15 COKE ZERO DOPPELGANGER

In a ploy promoting their claim that “When it comes to taste, Coke Zero is a lot like Coke,” Coca-Cola launched a Facial Profiler app for Facebook. Curious consumers used the facial-recognition-software-powered app to find their digital double.

Source: Iconoculture

Billed as a “worldwide social experiment to find people who look like you,” the app lets consumers upload their profile picture and then uses “the same facial recognition software that governments and international security agencies use” to produce look-alike results from within its database of user-submitted snaps. Learn more here.

#16 ORDER DINNER

In November 2010, Massachusetts-based company Exit41 rolled out a new tool that allows consumers to order food directly from a restaurant’s Facebook page.

Facebook-based ordering saves clicks (no navigating away to the restaurant's website) and allows consumers to “like” or share menu items on their Facebook walls. This tasty info will show up in their friend’s newsfeed, potentially luring hungry friends to post a comment — or place an order.

So far, the following restaurants have signed on: Wow Bao, Bailey and Sage and Bravo Cucina. Learn more here.Sources: Iconoculture and facebook.com (picture)

#17 HOTELS WITHME

The new Hotels WithMe app enables travelers in the U.K. to search for the perfect hotel together with one or more of their Facebook friends. The chosen friends are invited to join a “trip,” from which they can search for hotels together as easily as if they were all looking at the same computer screen.

Source: hotelmarketing.com

All members of the “trip” can view the hotel searches in real time and additional functionality of the app allows “trip” members to make notes about specific hotels, add them to a short list and ultimately vote for hotels they prefer. Learn more here and here.

#18 LOWE’S BLACK FRIDAY 90% COUPONSIn November 2010, Lowe’s Home Improvement launched a massive Facebook campaign that gave their Facebook fans 90% off certain products. Their “Black Friday Sneak Peek Party” lasted for three days and provided secret codes to fans who watched short videos.

Lowe’s shared a new 20- to 30-second video on its Facebook page everyday, and each video contained that days’ 90%-off coupon code. Fans who watched the video could then use the code for “certain items” in Lowe’s online store. Learn more here.

Source: SocialFresh.com

#19 STARWOOD GLOBAL SCAVENGER HUNTThe Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide “Passport to Free Weekends” contest began May 12, 2010 and awarded a total of 200 Free Weekend Nights to 100 winners over the course of 10 business days. Participants could find daily clues on Facebook and Twitter leading them to the Starwood property that held the free weekends prize. Each day, Starwood awarded two free weekend nights to the first 10 winners. Learn more here and here.

Source: MediaPost.com and starhot.wordpress.com (picture)

#20 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY PLACESThe University of Kentucky has planted giant, wooden pointer thingies (like the tab that marks the map in the Facebook Places logo) on its campus to encourage students to check in at school.

“We’re encouraging students to check in,” says UK marketing director Kelly Bozeman, “so when they do, it’ll show up in their news feed and maybe their friends still in high school will see it over and over again.” Learn more here.

Source: adage.com

WRAP-UP

Like we said, Facebook has 500 million users and continues to grow. It makes the 800 pound gorilla look small. So far, users can share photos and videos, call, chat, message, use location-based check-in, get deals for doing so and now buy stuff.

As popular as social-buying sites like Groupon, LivingSocial and the like are, you can bet Facebook will soon have a social-buying coupon functionality. Maybe next on the horizon will be a music app, putting the final nail in the MySpace coffin and giving other music services a good scare.

If any site could ever be an all-in-one go-to site, Facebook has the potential. In the future, will we still use services like Flickr, YouTube, Foursquare, Skype, Pandora, iTunes, Twitter, Groupon and others?

Either way, marketers must get up to speed on how to best interact with their audiences and offer real value.

CONTACT AND MORE INFORMATION

If you are interested in learning more about Luckie & Company and how we think, please visit our website, www.luckie.com, and check out our 10 Trends to Watch in 2010.

We publish five monthly newsletters: four “Trend Tracker” newsletters that take a quick look at what’s new and interesting in the Banking, Snacking, Telecom and Tourism industries and one “Generational News & Views” newsletter that takes a quick, topical look into the lives of Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

If you would like a complimentary subscription to any of these newsletters, please e-mail david.stutts@luckie.com and mention your newsletter of interest in the subject line.