Foursquare is a location-based social network popular with smartphone users. Users ‘check in’ at venues using a mobile website or application  that leverages GPS coordinates to pinpoint their location. Each check-in awards Foursquare users with points and periodic “badge” achievements.

“As Foursquare has evolved, the focus has turned from simply ‘checking in’ to sharing our experiences and expertise, unlocking rewards and deals, and exploring the world around us,” reads a post on Foursquare’s blog announcing the recent changes.

Foursquare’s latest updates are intended to show users the application’s value as a powerful web resource featuring restaurant menus, recommendations, and emerging trends. The new site will contain a large customized map to show users where their friends are hanging out as well as popular places nearby.

Foursquare and American Express have also introduced a partnership that allows app users and cardholders to link their AMEX credit card to their Foursquare account in order to unlock specials. These specials are in turn loaded directly to the credit card account making printed coupons virtually unnecessary. With the catchphrase “Sync, Explore, and Save,” Foursquare enables the idea of check-in promotions for consumers by making the act both simple and convenient.

Foursquare has also launched a new assimilation that puts a check-in scorecard on Facebook Timelines. Users who connect their Foursquare accounts to Facebook  will see a Foursquare Timeline sector that displays recent activity, total checkins and top places for the month.

“Foursquare has obviously already been on Facebook for a while,” explains Foursquare project manager Noah Weiss. “What this does is add structure.”

Foursquare hopes that with its new initiatives in place and the newfound user appeal will contribute towards increased mainstream exposure amongst consumers.

The event started with a VIP red carpet soiree including silent auction featuring a pre-game tour from the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday Night Live tickets, a St. Louis Blues experience, an Innsbrook Golf Getaway as well as many other great items.

The event was hosted by nationally renowned talk show host McGraw Milhaven, and featured New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson. Amazing live music performances by singer/songwriters Dave Berg, Seviin, Josh Golden w/Savannah Outen, and CocoSoul sounded great in the Sheldon Theatre.

Grammy winning producer Alonzo Lee, bestselling children’s book author Amy Sklansky and exclusive video appearances with Nelly, Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals, Alicia Keys and authors Stephen King, Eoin Colfer and Mo Willems added inspirational commentary to a great format.

The true stars of the show were the kids from America’s SCORES as they performed their own poetry on stage with their favorite celebrities. Damonte, Eric, Octavis, Demontre, Aliciya, Triniya, Carjanae, DeAngelo, John, Alana, Carmen and Jerell were absolutely inspiring as they read their poetry to the theatre and proclaimed in their own style their dedication to graduation!

SCORCH is proud to help America SCORES St. Louis reach their goals through smart marketing and a visible dedication to creating positive growth opportunities for today’s youth.

If you didn’t make it, we’ll see you next year!

Photo Credit: Lance Thurman

The event had media coverage from KSDK NewsChannel 5, MLB.com, Radio Disney St. Louis, STL Today, Fox2Now, KDHX 88.1, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the nineNetwork. For a full list of the media and further details of the event, please visit http://www.stlcelebrityvoices.org

For media inquiries or more information about America SCORES St. Louis, please contact Teresa von Stamwitz at 314.533.0302 x205 or tvonstamwitz@americascores.org

Behind the Scenes (courtesy of Nine Network)

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

About America SCORES St. Louis

America SCORES St. Louis inspires urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world.

America SCORES hosts five-day per week youth development programs that uses soccer to inspire youth in urban public schools. Teamwork learned on the field is transferred to writing workshops in the classroom, through which poetry and service-learning empower youth to find their voices and to be leaders in the community. America SCORES St. Louis serves over 240 kids in 8 elementary schools with the help of 32 teachers city-wide.

The royal court (VIPs) sipped on specialty cocktails and small batch beer provided by Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, which was recently voted one of the top five new breweries in the world. Guests feasted on eclectic hors d’oeuvres from some of St. Louis’ best local eateries, including Orlando’s, Mosaic, Pappy’s Smokehouse, and Pickles Deli. A stilted jester showed off his knife juggling skills to those perusing the auction tables. Some of the most generous donations included sports memorabilia, vacation packages, vintage wines, and spa packages.

The annual Tasteful Affair celebration is traditionally Food Outreach’s largest fundraising event.  The charity’s proceeds provide nutritional support to low income men, women, and children battling Cancer or HIV/AIDS in the greater St. Louis area.

Food Outreach was founded in 1988 by Friends Caring for Friends Living with HIV/AIDS and has recently expanded its mission to also include Cancer. It is the only organization of it’s kind in the St. Louis area and has not turned down a single person in need. Food Outreach supplies nutritious hot meals, nutrition education, and counseling for all of its clients. In 2011, the need for Food Outreach services reached its highest level in its 24-year history. Volunteers and staff members served more than 484,333 nutritious meals to 1,902 individuals, ages 4 to 90, in 137 Missouri and Illinois zip codes.

For Executive Director Greg Lukeman, the commitment is strong and unwavering. “Dealing with the current economic times has been challenging, but I believe with challenge comes opportunity. A wise man once told me that you should never harp on what you don’t have because you will never get it.”

Working along side of TOKY’s great creative work, SCORCH created a micro-site through their Facebook page and took control of their social media efforts by reaching out to sponsors and supporters.  SCORCH is proud to have been a lead sponsor for A Tasteful Affaire, and can’t wait for next years event.

Messaging: Fans will now be able to private message Facebook business pages they follow. A big benefit with in-store issues for retailers, requesting information and more.HighlightedPosts: The set up of the new Timeline pages revolves around the posts. It has been migrated to a two-column layout, with friend activity located on the right-hand side. Here, you can highlight a story so it appears at the top of the page for up to a week.  A handy feature to have particularly when your brand has an event or new product it wants to showcase.

StarredPosts: In addition to highlighting a story, you’ll have the ability to star an image so it stretches out between the two columns. An area that can focus on a specific event, product, or idea. You cannot, however, star and highlight the same post.

Fangates: ‘Liking’ a page specifically for access to exclusive content will become a thing of the past.  The fangate option will be removed and replaced with tabs along the top of the page, under the cover photo and about information. Four apps will be shown (including photos), and a drop down menu is available for up to 12 more. Instead of 520 pixels wide images, applications can be expanded to 810 pixels, however the original 520 pixel image will still work.To see the new timeline, visit our facebook profile . If you’re interested in learning more about social media marketing for your brand, give us a call at 314-827-6360 or complete our online contact form.

Is Your Brand Ready for the New Facebook Brand Pages?  Find Out What It Takes!

As their mission states, Pinterest links people all around the world to a common thread, whether that be a book, a recipe, a wedding bouquet or anything else. Brands are quickly realizing they can gladly fill the “anything else” hole with their products and services. HGTV, Nordstrom and West Elm are already capitalizing on the website that’s grown by 429% since September 2011.

At the moment, Pinterest is invite-only, however, we’ve got some tips on how to capture the most out of your brand’s experience.

(1) Tie in your branding: Selling flowers? Show every bouquet you’ve made, as well as ones that inspire you. Show off your products by linking it to your website. If that’s not an option, tie in your logo and commentary that fits in with the rest of your social preference.

(2) Share ideas: Chances are your followers believe in what you do. Don’t hesitate by sharing ideas with them from other sources. You’re likely to gain respect in the community, as well as potential partners in the industry.

(3) Link It: Currently, you can’t log into Pinterest as a Facebook page, which eliminates the opportunity to find followers. Be sure to announce your Pinterest presence on your other social networks, and don’t be afraid to follow them back.

(4) Benefit from others: Would you ignore a post on your page? No, which is why you should respond to comments on pins. Similarly, interact with those you follow through comments and likes.

(5) Remember – It’s a Community: Pinterest users come together because they share a common interest. Leverage that interest with your brand and you’ll be able to benefit from sharing.

Adding Pinterest to your social media toolbox can only benefit your business. The increased ability to share products and ideas works great for ambitious retailers, restaurants willing to share a recipe or two and techie folks looking to share a new product. Pinterest can change your brand image for the better, and we’re happy to send over an invite.

Anxious to start pinning? Contact SCORCH® Agency today for a personal invite into the pinning network. In the meantime, checkout the example of how we’re using Pinterest with our client, Plato’s Closet KirkChestCoMo.

The “Crank Up the Revenue” campaign speaks across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with creative that stands out in a playful way. Using the Marketo colors of purple with an accent of orange, we we’re able to create the connection between the campaign and brand. But the creative isn’t the only highlight of this campaign.

The Facebook leg of the campaign included a Revenue Rockstar application which generates an offer to get a free decal. Once these decals are selected, a Marketo form pops up to collect information. Using this information, Marketo has been able to track leads and account for those who have already visited the corporate site. The campaign is easily shared, therefore allowing Marketo to find the most important leads. By delivering the decal to each individual, Marketo is able to continue to conversation after the initial social media connection.

Take a look at Marketo’s favorite aspects of the campaign in their article, Tying Facebook Leads Directly to Revenue, and see the creative executions with their article 5 Tips for a Social Media Profile Extreme Makeover.

Scorch worked with the organization to develop promotional and marketing strategy to increase visibility and grow attendance for the event. With the help of SCORCH, SLU Athletics and other sponsors support, SCORES reached their goal, however that was not enough for us! By adding a promotional code for the event sponsors to use for discounted tickets, Scorch doubled sign-ups in the four days prior to the event as well as created additional buzz for the event.

With retweets from the Mayor, SLU Athletics and more, America SCORES was able to really reach out to the St. Louis community and get their dribblers to show up! Tim Ezell covered the event on Fox 2 news, coverage from STLToday.com and a story may soon be released on KSDK shortly from Heidi Glaus.

America SCORES is a five-day per week youth development program that uses soccer to inspire youth in urban public schools. Teamwork learned on the field is transferred to writing workshops in the classroom, through which poetry and service-learning empower youth to find their voices and to be leaders in the community. America SCORES St. Louis serves over 240 kids in 8 elementary schools with the help of 32 teachers city-wide.

Check out some of our favorite photos from the event below, thanks to Steven Ley.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

However, sports and twitter do not always mix in perfect harmony. With the MLB trade deadline quickly approaching, it is no surprise that ESPN, MLB Network and Fox Sports bottom lines cannot keep up with trades. However, how many “rumors” and “trades” get lost (and created) in the Twitter-sphere?

Twitter gives fans, analysts, “insiders,” and really anyone who can type the option to throw their own opinion into the world regarding a potential trade, a game, a bad call – you name it. That’s great, but coming from a sports writing background, how on earth can I trust these “insiders?”

Can you tell the difference between these two accounts?

Aside from the amount of tweets, they both look pretty convincing. During the NHL trade deadline on March 1, reports coming from TSN analyst Nick Kyperos (@RealKyper) had Dustin Penner heading up north to Montreal, which wound up being retweeted 75 times. Too bad for Canadians fans – the “@RealKyper_” was actually a real fake, and Penner went south to Los Angeles.

So how can you tell the difference between these fakes and the real people they claim to be? It’s not easy. Most athletes become verified, such as David Freese, with a blue checkmark next to their name.

Newer accounts may not have the verification, but many organizations will have a link on their website with their personnel’s twitter pages like the St. Louis Blues.

If you aren’t sure, check out websites such as tweeting-athletes.com for a listing athlete’s real twitter pages, as well as checking your favorite sports station for analysts and broadcast personalities.

Twitter isn’t perfect, but with a little common sense and verification, twitter can be the new sports hub of the Internet.

Philosophically, I understand where they are coming from. Financially though, the status quo is losing value. I am here to take a stand and tell you [gramps] that some standards are not worth protecting.

We are paid to make profitable decisions, not to preserve the egos of rubber-stamping middle managers. The warning signs are all there, your ideas are dying and I’ve outlined this short list to prove it.

Your brand is DOA if…

10. It employs the liberal use of talking pets. “Mention Bucky and get $200 off your trade-in price”

9. The current logo is a combination of several logos from the 50’s and 60’s – three typefaces, two triangles, a circle and a sketch of the company’s first president.

8. The website looks like the newspaper classifieds.

7. The owner’s kids are in every commercial. “You can twust our company, daddy says so.”

6. Wilford Brimley is the company’s spokesperson. “I’m dying, and you are too… buy insurance.”

5. Henry Winkler is the company’s spokesperson. “I was cool in 1960… buy medicine, Eeh.”

4. The tagline rhymes… so it sounds good on the radio. “That’s what I said… Sorry Nick Bankhead”

3. The brand’s approved color scheme includes seafoam green and mustard yellow.

2. The brand is spelled AAAnderson… so it is easy to find in the phonebook.

1. One word: “Papyrus”

One thing is certain in today’s marketplace. Brand identities must be dynamic to survive. They must be agile, multi-format ninjas to survive the cut and paste, mobile-ready pixel playground that is the internet.

Do yourself a favor. If you recognize any of the aforementioned warning signs in your brand… fire your marketing agency and call me immediately. I know a good branding guy.

1. Know your audience, and know what they want.

2. Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous.

3. Share the love