Ford has taken some arrows as the auto industry's social-media-marketing leader, most notably around a staged press conference in Sept. 2011 that was pushed out on social media. But for the most part, the automaker's social aggressiveness has helped it conquer new territory. Becoming an acknowledged trailblazer in the arena also has helped Ford sidestep potential problems that can attend companies if they get too far out on social-media limbs.

"Ford being well-respected ... in the social space, has given us an added level of credibility and it has given us a legion of fans who actually act as our eyes and ears and who can flag stuff for us," Scott Monty, Ford's director of social media, told Business Insider. People are "looking out for our best interests and will say, you know, 'You guys might want to take a look at this.'" Including, evidently, the company's CEO.Continue reading...

They may look like the cast of Bridesmaids, but T-Mobile US picks up on its UK counterpart's "Life is for Sharing" penchant for viral videos and flash mobs in this holiday spot featuring in-the-pink brand face, Canadian model Carly Foulkes.

The video, taped December 1st, was helmed by Hollywood director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who oversaw the orchestrated surprise of shoppers at the Woodfield Mall near Chicago with a flash-mob performance of (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays. Watch the making of below.Continue reading...

As AT&T’s Flash Mob commercial (above) shows, the flash mob has evolved considerably from its hazy historical origins in the early '00s to mainstream commercial TV.

But there is growing agreement that digital technology has pushed social media mobbing to a new edge of immediacy and power. Compare the early reaction (sounding very last century), via Wikipedia:

Flash mob was added to the 11th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary on 8 July 2004 where it noted it as an "unusual and pointless act" separating it from other forms of smart mobs such as types of performance, protests, and other gatherings.

According to CNN, “The phrase flash mob was coined in 2003 by Bill Wasik, then an editor at Harper's magazine. It was later adopted by Web-savvy folks to describe large choreographed dances and songs in public places, usually organized through digital messaging tools. In recent years, the term has taken on an additional, darker meaning.”

In 2011, we’ve seen flash mobs that vary from the Arab Spring protests to the recent London riots and most recently, the 7-Eleven incident when more than two dozen teens ransacked a 7-Eleven store in Germantown, Maryland, and the robbery was recorded by surveillance cameras. Turns out, the 7-Eleven flash mob was actually organized on a bus trip home from a county fair, not over social media. But the coverage evidenced how quickly social media has moved center stage as the purveyor of instantaneous group power.

And now, there are apps for all that – benign, but leveraging social mobbing in unprecedented ways. Continue reading...

Las Vegas city government is moving locations and Zappos couldn’t be happier about it. The online shoe retailer based in Henderson, Nevada, yesterday received local officials' blessing to the e-tailer's amended deal to take over the Las Vegas City Hall building and relocate its corporate headquarters to downtown Vegas.

This is part of the city’s continued attempt to redevelop itself, and revitalize its local economy. As the Las Vegas Sun notes, Zappos' plan is to make the city's "downtown and Fremont Street East a mecca for music, food, affordable housing and other cultural amenities."Continue reading...

Of all of the creative capitalizations on the upcoming Royal Wedding, T-Mobile's viral campaign has to be both the most ambitious and bizarre.

Part of its "Life is for Sharing" campaign, this viral (viroyal?) hit pays homage to an earlier viral video smash: the now-iconic JK Wedding Entrance video, which has been viewed more than 65 million times.

T-Mobile's royal update is on its way to that stratosphere, having passed 13 million views in the two weeks since it was posted on YouTube, so it's certainly popular. But is it effective?Continue reading...

If you haven’t noticed the staying power of flash mobs, many organized by brands looking to generate some viral buzz — well, lucky you. They're everywhere.

Earlier today we noted some up and coming Disney stars promoting themselves with an Apple Store mini-flash mob. T-Mobile in the UK has been particularly fond of them — but can Glee also be blamed for this?

The FOX hit series' recent extended episode featured a flash mob breaking out in the middle of the mall, dancing to the song Barbra Streisand by Duck Sauce. As is typical with flash mobs, it starts with just a few characters, and builds up until the floor of the mall is covered in dancers and the whole thing ends up on YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.Continue reading...

Three years ago, Disney Channel was called "the greatest teen-star incubator since the NBA stopped drafting high schoolers."

But with Miley Cyrus moving on to Lindsay Lohan-land, the High School Musical stars now college-age, the Jonas Brothers morphing into the Jonas Men, and (most recently) Demi Lovato quitting, Disney Channel needs new stars.

Luckily, a Disney original movie about a fake band appears to have spawned the real deal.Continue reading...

How can a small brand make a big splash? Flash mobilize! Alphabet Photography, a husband-and-wife business based in Niagara Falls, Canada, staged a seasonal flash mob at a local shopping mall food court. After being featured on CNN, ABC's Good Morning America (and TV around the world) and going viral online, the video clip above has notched more than 3 million views on YouTube. Also helping: a savvy Twitter and Facebook campaign.

T-Mobile, meanwhile, has expanded its recent "welcome back" campaign (you know: the one with the London Heathrow flash mob) with a new viral spin.Continue reading...