Reuters is reporting on General Sentiment, a social media analytics company, that “measures consumer impact and awareness for marketers and advertisers, using a formula it calls Impact Media Value.” They took all the ads and compiled a list of the companies which saw the largest boosts in awareness, who made the most money and who has the most Twitter followers that also follow the NFL and its teams.

What may surprise people is that Dannon made the number one spot on the first list, even though this is their first time airing an ad for the Super Bowl. Their ad featuring Oikos Greek Yogurt and actor John Stamos got the company the media attention it had craved for the past three months.

The next four brands to make the largest impact, in order, are E*Trade, Doritos, H&M and Kia.

The company that made the most money back on its investment was Samsung who spent a reported $18 million dollars on their Super Bowl ad for their new Galaxy Note. Interestingly enough, Samsung and Coca-Cola are the only two non-auto manufacturers to make the list. Honda, Volkswagen and Toyota are all looking at making gobs of money through their Super Bowl ads.

Then they took a look at which companies had the largest overlap of Twitter followers between the brand and the NFL. JetBlue had the most “total shared twitter followers with NFL and NFL teams” with 330,794 followers. The company did this through their partnership with DirectTV to broadcast Sunday football games to passengers. The airline will also be broadcasting the Super Bowl to those traveling today.

The other companies that follow, in order, are Amazon.com with 314,932 shared followers; Starbucks with 304,778 shared followers; TV Guide with 163,924 shared followers and Nike with 93,257 shared followers.

Finally, they look at which brands have a total shared percentage of Twitter followers with NFL and NFL teams. First place is Visa with 45.73 percent because of their “Ned’s Journey to the Super Bowl” ad campaign that promised one lucky winner and 10 friends a trip to the big game.

The other companies, in order, are Under Armor with 41.05 percent; Arby’s with 27.52 percent; Papa John’s with 27.42 percent and Outback Steakhouse with 26.29 percent.

These numbers are bound to change after the game since more people are going to be able to see the ads. It will be interesting to see which ad comes out on top as the best this year.

Users will be able to collect points and deals starting today through March1, 2011. Jet Blue says this is the first of a series of promotions it has planned for 2011 on Facebook Places.

For each check-in at an official JetBlue airport location via Facebook Places, 25 TrueBlue points will be awarded.  Users who tag a friend they’re traveling with will also unlock a special badge.  In addition, the first 100 customers to check in at Boston’s Logan International, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International, Long Beach, New York’s John F. Kennedy International or Orlando International airport locations will receive 100 TrueBlue points.  

“We know our customers like to stay connected with their friends and keep ‘tabs’ on them," said David Canty, director of loyalty marketing at JetBlue.

"With this unique new promotion not only will they be able to, they will also be rewarded for it with TrueBlue points and other great offers!"

This week, JetBlue ran a very successful campaign in New York City. How do we know it was successful? No one was hurt, no one is really complaining, and it got some press. While many in the social media world would use other metrics, I think these are pretty darn good.

So what did they do? They gave away 1000 round trip tickets in three locations that required people to follow their "guidance" on Twitter to know where to go and what to show up with. This is where the "no one got hurt" part makes sense, huh?

CNET reported:

It was apparently one step short of a cattle stampede when low-cost airline JetBlue used its Twitter account to announce that, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, it would be giving out about a thousand free round-trip tickets at three undisclosed locations in Manhattan on Wednesday.

"One of the things we knew was that people were just going to follow us," JetBlue public relations representative Morgan Johnston told CNET, relating anecdotes about one woman who claimed she sprinted in heels from midtown to the Financial District (one of the giveaway spots), people chasing the JetBlue team in taxis as they left one location to head to the next, entire offices clearing out when they heard that one of the ticket giveaways was nearby, and a cab driver who left his passenger behind in order to get out and claim a ticket. "It was like the Pied Piper of Hamlin."

Once again I reiterate: no one got hurt. I have to admit that if I was responsible for this kind of promotion that caused mini-panics in offices and a run on taxi cab fares in NYC, I would have some concerns. Fortunately for JetBlue, this one worked well, and I tip my cap to them.

So, would you have the confidence to give something like this a shot? Of course, it would be best if your business lends itself to this kind of reaction. If you are selling pipe fittings in Peoria, you will need to tweak the concept considerably.

This is the fun of social media, though. There is a chance to do things that have never been done before. As people begin to experiment more and more, it is likely that those with jangly nerves need not apply.

What do you think about JetBlue’s "event?" What could you do that would cause a stir and make the cash register ring?

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United‘s chosen to call its offerings "twares," and would-be travelers need to click through to the main United site in order to see how much things cost.  JetBlue has labeled its deals "cheeps," and it posts every flight’s start and end points, along with the price, right on Twitter.

Both companies’ Twitter accounts are pretty popular, with about 15,500 and 21,000 followers, respectively.  It’s gotten to the point that flights often sell out in very little time.  Flyers win because the prices can be extremely low (JetBlue often offers tickets for just $9).

The interesting potential catch is that these bargain tickets tend to be one-way, and so airlines stand to gain more money when people book their return flights.

Still, even leaving that aside, JetBlue and United have figured out a way to use a fast-moving medium to sell time-sensitive deals.  Hat tip goes to Charisse Jones.

The carrier will use AirCell’s broadband Internet service on planes that primarily fly transcontinental routes. AirCell Chief Executive Jack Blumenstein said the company can provide Internet access for about $10 per user.

"Airline customers across the U.S. list broadband access in flight as one of their top wishes," said Blumenstein. "As the first airline to deploy broadband access, American is demonstrating its commitment to the business traveler and to its industry-leading position in technological innovation."

American says Internet access will be available on all of the Boeing 767 aircraft and if the test is successful they could extend the service to the rest of American’s domestic fleet.

Earlier this month JetBlue announced it was partnering with Yahoo and Research in Motion (Rim) to offer in-flight email and instant-messaging services on one of its planes equipped with a wireless network. The carrier also has plans to install the system on its entire fleet if things go well.
 

Being that I’m traveling a lot now for work it becomes readily apparent when I’m in the air that it’d be nice to be able to connect to the web in order to get work done and communicate with colleagues, friends, and family.

However, in a weird way I also treasure those few hours of internet-free time to read documents or get stuff done that is harder to focus on with connectivity distractions. It’s also a good time to just relax on occasion by reading a book or watching a movie. I guess as connectivity hits the friendly skies it will just be another place I’ll have to learn to block out distractions to relax or be extremely productive.

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According to the New York Times, JetBlue Airways began its first test Tuesday, with free email and IM on one of its planes. American Airlines, Virgin Airlines and Alaska Airlines all have plans to begin full Internet access. The Times says access will cost from $10 per flight. The wireless Internet access will not be available during take off and landing.

On JetBlue’s test flight Wednesday, the Times likened the service to dial up with its delays and “dropped calls.” The touch-and-go access is part of the reason why JetBlue isn’t charging during its test.

As for other carriers’ plans, American will have its test plane equipped this month. Alaska Airlines still plans to begin its test in spring, with plans to equip the full fleet by the end of 2009 if all goes well.

Is there a market for this? Forrester Research says there is:

But other companies are convinced that plenty of travelers will pay for more robust Web access. That view is bolstered by a recent survey by Forrester Research that found that 26 percent of leisure travelers would pay $10 for Internet access on a two-to-four-hour flight and 45 percent would pay that on a flight longer than four hours.

Voice calls from cellphones. will still not be allowed.

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 The carrier has partnered with Yahoo and Research in Motion (Rim) to test the service in the first plane called "BetaBlue" for test flights with passengers. If things go well in the coming months JetBlue said it would install the system on its whole fleet.

Passengers on the carrier who have Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Messenger accounts will be able to send email and instant messages to contacts on the ground and receive messages from those contacts.

JetBlue believes its wireless system will be able to support everybody on the plane, Nate Quigely chief executive of JetBlue’s LiveTV unit told the Wall Street Journal. Quigley said long wait times were not expected because not everybody will have a Wi-Fi enabled device and not everyone will be sending messages at the same time.

On a test flight earlier this week the system took 20 minutes to connect and get running, a JetBlue spokesman said. Once the system was online the spokesman said it worked beautifully.

Unfortunately for Virgin America, this feature won’t be entirely unique – JetBlue reached a similar deal with Google over a month ago – but there are still some neat features.

“Virgin America’s guests will be able to locate where they are, how far they are from their destination and how much time is remaining in the flight, in addition to being able to pan and zoom at eight different levels,” reports a press release.  “Guests will be able to plan their travels . . . either through a navigational toolbar on their touch-screen seatback monitor or by touching a button located within arm’s reach.”

Now there’s some PR spin for you – isn’t everything within arm’s reach in those cramped tubes?  Virgin America’s publicist has done his (or her) job well, however, and the Google Maps development is turning a lot of heads, including one at the San Francisco Business Times.

I’m not ready to choose an airline based on whether or not it has Google software on board, but then again, I wouldn’t mind seeing the search giant’s logo at 35,000 feet.

Unfortunately, “pretty cool” is not “revolutionary” – the partnership, as it stands at the moment, will only bring about flight tracking.  “We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our customers’ in-flight experience,” explained Brett Muney, a manager of product development for JetBlue, in an official statement.  “With the addition of Google’s advanced mapping technology, our customers can enjoy a seat with a view – tracking their flight’s altitude, speed and location on the way to their destination.”

But then Muney implied something else, and it’s hard to say whether there’s actually meaning behind his words, or if they’re just a typical bit of press release-ese.  “We look forward to future product developments with Google as we continue to innovate our in-flight entertainment options and other products,” he stated.

Any further relationship between JetBlue and Google could be beneficial for both companies; Google still has a fairly positive reputation, and stands out as king among American search engine.  As for JetBlue, despite that whole sitting-on-the-tarmac thing, the airline recently earned a nod from Consumer Reports.

Webware’s Caroline McCarthy wrote some good advice: “Keep an eye on this one.”