Probably the most interesting is the Fiat 500, apparently over 65% of the product searches happened after the game was over (not shown on the infograph). Perhaps it just stuck in consumers heads. Hyundai seemed to spark interest pretty consistently. The searches were across several models throughout the entire game. The heaviest hitter appears to be the Chevy Sonic, followed by Toyota with the Camry.

This is real-time information on what consumers were doing in reaction to the advertising. It would be interesting to hear what about the ads provoked watchers to leave the game momentarily, to go search a product.

Bing partnered with Hyundai and ATX (which deals in connected vehicle technology) in order to make this happen, and an official statement explained, "Through [Blue Link], Hyundai drivers can access via voice activation location-based and dynamic content supplied by Bing, including points of interest, addresses, restaurant ratings, gas prices, weather and more."

Then the statement continued, "ATX will also provide Hyundai drivers with access to Bing Maps through a highly customized Hyundai website, which allows the driver to personalize with dynamic content that can be sent to the vehicle.  ATX also relies on Bing mapping tools at its response centers, where specialists are trained to provide drivers with real-time, location-specific guidance or emergency assistance."

So, together with lots of Toyota owners, new Hyundai owners will get a chance to become much more familiar with Bing’s offerings.  That could translate to increased Bing usage when they park their cars and head indoors.

Blue Link will first become available on the well-reviewed Hyundai Sonata and the highly anticipated (but yet-to-be-unveiled) Hyundai Veloster.

It should be interesting to see how the product’s received and what kind of adoption rate occurs.

Apparently not. AdAge is reporting that Twitter is in the process of ticking off more than a few of the hands that might feed them in the future. Of course, Twitter may now be in the position to tell anyone, paying now or possibly later, for their services that they will just have to wait until Twitter is good and ready. While the argument exists that they are truly that powerful it would be a shame that if they used that power as an excuse to ignore the needs of corporate clients.

AdAge reports

On Twitter’s @Hyundai page, there is a collection of 140-character blasts in English and Korean about oysters, cellphones and the Yankees. Clicking on a profile photo reveals a collage of scantily clad ladies bearing cleavage and more, and a caption saying, “Have a Lustful Day.”

This kind of stuff leaves the folks at Hyundai Motor America less than thrilled

After having contacted the social-media site’s headquarters repeatedly to evict the squatter without success, the frustrated automaker has gone so far as to contemplate legal action. “They simply haven’t responded to requests,” said Chris Hosford, VP-corporate communications at Hyundai Motor America. “Our brand name is extremely important to us. … We’re very disappointed that Twitter has shown no interest in protecting brand names.” Unable to use the handle, the company has resorted to sending out official company tweets from @HyundaiNews.

Ughh. The L word. No not that one you sick person but L for “legal”. Last thing any start up needs is the fun and games of legal issues to get in the way of putting together a better service and offering.

The article talks in greater detail about how celebrities have been afforded special badges but the corporate side of the ledger (you remember, the one that could make money) is left to fend for themselves for now. Twitter’s policies are there but there is no guarantee of remedy in a timely fashion so some companies are left to get creative. Of course, one could argue that a big brand being late to the game and not securing these names years ago is on the company. There are two sides to every coin, after all.

So what is Twitter doing, if anything?

Twitter’s head of commercial products, Anamitra Banerji, said, “We understand brands’ frustration when it comes to account verification. We are working on ways to make the process easier and faster …. Given the volume of requests we receive, sometimes it might take a little while to close requests but we are trying to improve that too.” The social-media service, he said, is “[working] with business owners extensively to ensure that they own their trademarks/brand names on Twitter as our terms of service doesn’t allow name-squatting or impersonation.”

Ahh yes. The old volume of requests complaint. That one might have worked when Twitter was the little start up that could but the recent influx of investment takes the air right out of that argument. HIRE SOME PEOPLE, TWITTER!

So it’s interesting to see that not everyone is bent out of shape on this issue

Not all marketers are ruffled, though. Pfizer doesn’t own the handle @Pfizer, and a mystery tweeter is regularity tweeting updates about the company. Ray Kerins, VP-worldwide communications at Pfizer, told Ad Age that the company isn’t planning to take any action. “We are obviously watching any site that discusses our company or our products,” Mr. Kerins said. “We’re going to continue to watch. These social communities are actually very self-policing.”

Wow, now there is either great confidence in the ability of people to keep the street clean or a level of naiveté that will end up badly when the next brand firestorm comes up for Pfizer and the fake account is at the center of it. Maybe the folks who make Viagra are suffering from one of those side effects than impair judgment. Just a thought.

What’s your experience with getting Twitter to help in these situations? Should Twitter care? Happy Monday Pilgrims, let’s hear it!

Comments

Who?

Right.

Taurus is the Wisconsin affiliate of Texas-based Plutus IP LLC.

Who?

Right again, because they don’t make anything but lawsuits.

CNNMoney sums them up beautifully:

The group’s very name — Plutus is the mythical Greek god of wealth — evokes the riches that are stake in a business that wrings revenue from patent portfolios via licensing deals and settlements, usually achieved by threatening or filing lawsuits.

Here’s the way it works: A law firm buys up unused patents on the cheap, sits on them until somebody makes something similar, sues them, settles for a million or so, goes on to the next litigation. Nice little racket, huh?

Often these patents are arguably "low-quality" or "obvious" and as such, won’t hold up in court, but large companies, such as the four mentioned above are willing to settle for a small amount to save on legal costs.

The suit comes at an interesting time as the House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on the Patent Reform Act, proposed to address overly-litigious patent farmers.

Interestingly, most of the lawsuits are filed in patent-suit friendly, Marshall, Texas, says the Coalition for Patent Fairness, which counts Google, eBay, and Microsoft among its members.

According to the website:

The number of companies caught up in patent litigation is large and growing: for example, the 218 infringement actions filed in Marshall, Texas, during the 28 months from January 2004 through April 2006 named 856 defendants, including more than 600 separate companies (some companies were named in more than one action).

Earlier this week, Google expressed why patent reform was important on its Public Policy blog:

Low-quality patents and escalating legal costs are currently hurting the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally, and that in turn hurts U.S. workers and consumers. Without a modernized patent system, U.S. companies are at a competitive disadvantage, spending resources on unnecessary litigation and unwarranted licensing instead of on innovation.

Starting in 2006, XM radios will be factory-installed in all Hyundai models, beginning with the all-new Sonata, Santa Fe, Elantra, and the upcoming replacement for the XG350 premium sedan. By year-end 2006, 75% of Hyundai’s sales volume will be XM-equipped, with the remaining models following quickly thereafter, totaling well over 500,000 units by 2007.

“XM is the leading satellite radio provider, and our unique partnership establishes Hyundai as the industry leader in the application of standard satellite entertainment and data systems,” said Robert Cosmai, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “Just as we’ve done in achieving our position as an industry-leader in value, quality, and standard safety features, here again we are setting a new benchmark as the first automaker to launch standard XM satellite radio across our complete model line-up.”

“Including XM as standard equipment in all of its vehicles makes this one of the most aggressive automotive rollouts of XM Satellite Radio ever,” said Hugh Panero, President and CEO of XM Satellite Radio. “Hyundai is one of the fastest-growing automakers in the world today, and it has earned outstanding ratings for quality, reliability, and safety. We know that Hyundai customers are going to love XM’s award-winning programming as they travel from coast to coast.”

=======================================

Fanatical Support and Instant Emergency

Response on our Zero-Downtime Network

Get more info on our managed hosting solutions on Linux or
Microsoft operating systems

Check our offers

=======================================

WebProNews | Breaking eBusiness News
Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.

Previously, the company had a reputation of being one of the least reliable brands, but it appears that has changed.

An article from Fool.com says:

“As bright as Hyundai’s U.S. prospects are looking, though, its stock, listed on the Pink Sheets, doesn’t look terribly promising for U.S. investors. As far as I could tell, the stock didn’t trade a single share in the U.S. yesterday. Talk about illiquid!

That doesn’t mean, however, that U.S. investors should just click ‘ignore’ and pretend the company doesn’t exist. The time may come when Hyundai decides to list its shares in the U.S. and offer us a chance to participate in its success. And even before then, it wouldn’t be at all Foolish to ignore the effects that a rise in Hyundai’s popularity here might have on Ford (NYSE: F), GM (NYSE: GM), and DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX). Each of the U.S. Big Three automakers increased its reliability ratings in Consumer Reports’ rankings, almost certainly in response to continued inroads that their Japanese nemeses continue to make.”

Consumer Reports’ “Top Picks” list was domintated by Asian brands.

WebProNews | Breaking eBusiness News
Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.