A very innovative piece of marketing by those guys and gals at Calvin Klein Jeans. For one week only they have replaced several of their billboards in New York and LA with a QR code. Smartphone users can scan the code on the billboards and view an exclusive commercial on their phones which they can then share with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Despite the fact that Smartphones are still quite uncommon and most people cannot view the video, the campaign succeeds at generating a buzz and getting people talking about the brand. I’m sure passers-by are a lot more likely to stop and take notice of these giant codes than they are a typical billboard, even if they don’t know what the codes mean. Kudos Calvin Klein.

Another very innovative piece of marketing that has been all over the internet this past week. The Old Spice commercial that was released a few months back had been a viral hit on its own but Old Spice have used that momentum and built on it using social media to great effect.

Old Spice started posting YouTube videos featuring the ‘Old Spice Guy’ character from the TV commercials delivering personalised messages to fans on Twitter, Facebook and other websites. Regular fans got video responses, but the Old Spice guy also smartly targeted social media-savvy celebrities and bloggers to get the word out and achieve viral status. Perez Hilton (who the video below is directed at) has over 2 million Twitter followers who each would have heard him shout about this video from the rooftops. The Old Spice Twitter account accumulated tens of thousands of new followers and the YouTube videos amassed millions of views.

This campaign highlights the fact that advertising is changing and to keep up with the pack you need to get creative and using multi platform campaigns that have social media elements built in to them can only help.

Dominos Pizza UK have reported an increase in pre-tax profit of nearly 29%, attributing social media initiatives for the gains. The fact that online orders now account for 32.7% of all orders is viewed as proof that their web and social media efforts are paying off.

While a lot of social media initiatives can be used to build loyalty and brand awareness, Domino’s is at the forefront of using Social Media to increase cold, hard sales. Its Foursquare promotion rewards mayors of its stores with free pizza while other patrons who check-in receive a free side dish. Similarly, Domino’s Facebook site now has almost of 40,000 fans and they are continuing to attract new Fans using Facebook Apps.

Domino’s Pizza are proving to be a case in point for the sales potential of social media.

With the World Cup well and truly under way, it is quite interesting to observe how football fans are beginning to use social media to express their shared passion for football with other fans across the world.

With Twitter, fans can express their views and see what others have to say live as a match happens. By using Tweet Deck or Trends Map, you can see what other fans around the world think about the same topics as you.

Likewise, Facebook campaigns have been used to get behind a team or to make fun of a situation. A Facebook petition to have France vs. Ireland replayed attained almost 500,000 ‘Likes’! At the moment, Paul, The Psychic Octopus has just under 200,000.

Social media is making following sports online an interactive experience. Fans no longer just read about the latest games and stories, they can express and share their opinions on them as well.

Update: Check out these World Cup 2010 Social Media Stats from Simply Zesty! Some of these figures are staggering – CocaCola’s sponsored Twitter hashtag #WC2010 recieved 86 million impressions in just 24hrs!

An interesting example of a large company acknowledging the importance of social media and putting it at the center of the way they approach marketing. Sports drink Gatorade recently created the ‘Gatorade Mission Control Center’ in its Chicago HQ. It could best be thought of as a war room for monitoring the brand in real-time across social media. The video below gives an indication of its role at Gatorade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InrOvEE2v38