As a marketer, it’s very important to maintain transparency while engaging in social media.

For the first time since the 80’s the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is revising policies regarding testimonials and endorsements. Today, more marketers are utilizing social media so the FTC is attempting to enforce stricter policies regarding social media and transparency. The goal is to hold marketers responsible for false claims and penalize them for not identifying their motives in the social media arena. I’m sure here in Canada policies are also being revised I was unable to find any Canadian articles addressing the issue.

Don’t wait for regulations to mimic how you interact with your target, remember what marketing in the social media space means. It involves searching out the target and asking permission to engage with them. It’s not like traditional media where you shout and hope they listen, for this honesty is always the best policy. If you don’t identity yourself it will likely come out later and result in distrust with brand.

I currently comment, post and Twitter for a variety of different clients. In all cases I’ve made it clear I represent a particular brand with motives of engaging with consumers and potential purchasers. Before jumping in I make a point of familiarizing myself with the discussion. It helps me find the right moment to introduce myself. Commenting on something already being discussed will increase chances that forum readers are more likely to read and engage rather than scroll over my message like they do most spam messages.

In my introduction post I always inform every one of my name, my company and the client I am working with. In most cases forum readers were pleased to see their brand reaching out to them. I’ve received a lot of very insightful feedback from consumers regarding the brand. I’ve made connections and am certain that in the future if I need any consumer insights for a category I will have these relationships to draw from. I trust their feedback and I hope they feel they can trust me.

In closing I’d like to reiterate my point - in the world of social media honesty is currency to build a relationship between customers and your brand.

As most agencies do, MindBlossom is composed of a variety of departments who collectively ensure the jobs get done. However, at MindBlossom creative ideas are not limited to the creative department; everyone is encouraged to contribute their creative ideas. A recent in-office competition is an excellent example.

The goal was to develop an iPhone application for an existing client that would utilize unexploited opportunities. Employees were allowed to form their own groups of threes that could consist of any department. Teams brainstormed ideas and assembled a preliminary pitch deck that included initial design compositions. Later each group presented their concept and final designs to the MindBlossom Senior Leadership Team. The competition inspired some truly original great ideas.

The winner’s concept will be polished and pitched to the client. They also won a new iPod Touch, not too shabby for a friendly in-office competition. The winning team consisted of Cassie McDaniel, design, Mark Kosokovits, development and Oila Krivtchoun, information architecture. Their outstanding idea may have never been realized if MindBlossom only encouraged creatives to think creatively.

Without naming clients I’ll just briefly describe two of the ideas MindBlossom teams came up with.

Pizzeria- This team created an iPhone application that offered ordering capabilities, locate the nearest restaurant and games. The game allowed users to create their own pizza by adding topping and putting it into the oven.

Airline- This team created an application that offered tools and information to use to both plan and experience a vacation. The application would continuously provide travelers with upcoming and ongoing vacation deals. Once booked, the application would help with the planning of itinerary and other details.

When clients work with MindBlossom they get the creativity of the entire company not just one department. This approach allows MindBlossom to successfully create original and ingenious concepts that achieve results.

Mindblossom has won first place in the ‘09 Aegis Media North America 3C Awards for its work for Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka.  Winners in Aegis’ internal competition were announced last month, and we thought it to be about time to share the strategy and creative that put us at the head of the class. Please take a look at the storyboard below, then head over to http://crystalheadvodka.com to get the lowdown from Dan Aykroyd himself.

One last thing: We must apologize in advance for any moments of ‘blast!’ caused by a difficulty in getting your hands on a bottle of the crystal-distilled spirit for yourself. ‘Seems a thoughtful mix of strategy, execution, and good old fashioned word of mouth can really do a number on the supply of a finely crafted vodka such as Crystal Head.