Einstein Bros. Bagels cooked up a fresh-from-the-oven Facebook campaign. Through two single-day events, the "Bagel Bonanza" on January 25 and "National Bagel Day" on February 9, the brand offered up free goods to each new fan.  A familiar strategy for brands looking to beef up their social media presence, the question rises: are new “fans” really committed brand loyalists? Or are they just in it for the goods?

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Advertising on YouTube. It may seem like little more than traditional TV marketing for the digital age. However, innovative means of branding may surprise you. At least, if Mercedes Benz and Adidas are any indication.

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Well, another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. This year, Skittles and its army of Facebook followers schemed up a special surprise for one lucky lady—and she really could've used it. It’s part of the brand’s ongoing Mob the Rainbow experiment. This was a way to mobilize the candy’s 3.7 million fans for fun, on-brand web antics, actively engaging this base without forcing it.

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Here in New England, news of snow makes adults grumble. On the other hand, it sure makes kids perk up. And somewhere 75 miles west of Denver, Colorado, Copper Mountain is turning the tables, calling for adults to take a snow day of their own. “Everyone Deserves a Snow Day,” claims the campaign.

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"The message is clear,” concludes an article about Audi on Global Watchtower. “Language services are a critical part of any company's growth strategy. And when times are bad, the companies that have laid the linguistic foundation are the ones that benefit from the international diversification that enables them to survive—or in Audi's case, to drive—through some of the toughest economic storms."

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While many media-conscious brands have engaged Twitter in some form, others have stuck to inefficient strategies. Bad Twitter usage—either through mass spamming or one-way messaging—makes any brand look out of touch. Twitter’s real power is sown when it’s used in supporting roles or as a base to amplify consumer-brand relationships. But some are doing it right. Take super-brands like Universal and Coca Cola.

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With just a tweet and a Facebook update, Coca Cola began a global, viral push. The campaign is particularly significant because it lacks traditional media promotion.

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This year at MIDEM, a gathering in France for the music industry elite, a number of panels focused on branding. Execs from Converse, NASCAR, PepsiCo, and Carhartt shed some light on the current state of music-based branding efforts. Advertising and the music industry are getting in harmony, Brandweek explains.

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Hey nerds: wanna go to Yale next year? Consider yourself warned.

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We’re already a few weeks into the new year. So what does the upcoming decade hold for the ad world? Pepsi’s betting on social media (and cause-based marketing). In fact, last December the company announced it would abandon Super Bowl advertising for a $20 million social media campaign.

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Tomorrow, Story's London office will be hosting a free social media seminar from 9:30 am to 12 pm (Note: that's London time. If you live elsewhere, figure out here what time you should join in). What's this all about? With traditional advertising struggling and businesses under severe pressure to control costs, finding new, cost-effective revenue streams is critical. And while savvy marketers are positioning themselves for when the recovery comes, it’s crucial that any marketing activities produce results immediately. We at Story, for example, recently built a blog for Oasis that paid for itself in three weeks, improved conversion by 17% and raised average basket values by 14%.

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