Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

Putting Tumblr in Perspective

ERWIN PENLAND PRESENTS

FOOD FOR THOUGHTNovember 2013

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

Social Network

a massive engaged audience

complete creativecontrol of the

open web

Website

What is Tumblr?Tumblr is a micro-blogging site where users and brands can leverage the creativity of an open platform to display their interests and passions. It's a blank canvas that allows them to tell their stories through text, pictures, animation, music and video, without design restrictions or character limits. 

Combine that with standard social functionality (likes, favorites and re-blogging) and the community of a large social network and you have the perfect mix. Users can interact with each other and brands on individual pages or via the dashboard—a personally curated feed of things that users love from the blogs that they follow, updated in real time. 

Contrary to popular misconception, Tumblr has been around for almost as long as Twitter. It has been gaining in popularity, as many younger users are migrating away from Facebook to avoid the drama and being on the same site as their parents. It's a place where they can truly express themselves, away from adults, directly with their friends. 

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

TumblrThe Tumblr audience skews slightly female and it is certainly younger, with 52% of the audience between the ages of 18-34.

However it’s the youngest demo, 13-17 (18%) that is by far the most active. In fact, they are so active that they regularly hit the 250 post-per-day limit, flooding Tumblr with requests to lift this restriction.

Tumblr is emerging as the platform for educated, ethnic, urban teens to express their creativity and follow brands that they are passionate about, making the platform even more attractive to marketers trying to reach the coveted millennial audience. 

the statsAge Group

13-34

Ethnicity

Location

urban

Education

college

femaleGender

SLIGHTLY

+asian

african-american

+hispanics

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

Activity & EngagementWith the average user spending 90 minutes/month on the platform, Tumblr users are more engaged and active than the other major sites, sharing and engaging with the content.

Compared to Twitter, Tumblr is much more community-oriented, as it’s easier to find people with similar interests based on the content you follow. The platform continues to showcase the personality of users and their passions versus the celebrity self-promotion commonly found on Twitter.  

The key driver of Tumblr is built on the credibility and follower base of bloggers, and yes, while there are celebrities, creativity is found in its most dedicated users. 

the statsBlogs

133MILLION

Minutes / visit18

Global Uniques

225million

Daily Posts

80million

Monthly page views

20billion

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

If there is a passion, there is a Tumblr for itUnlike Facebook, which is about you and your history, Tumblr is a platform to showcase and share your passions and interests. The lack of format restrictions enables users to create and tell extraordinary stories through various media, to a passionate, highly-engaged audience.

The content includes an array of entertaining memes, photos and gifs that are very sharable. The ability to use pseudonyms is popular with the younger audience as they can share their content selectively with friends versus name-search features on other platforms. 

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

IBM has taken a drastic departure from their traditional brand tone to engage younger demo on Tumblr. This campaign is successful because it shows us how the brand embodies innovation and invention instead of just telling us. 

With over 628K monthly unique visitors, IBM celebrates 20 years of innovation by telling an engaging story using topic-focused original content. “IBMblr” lets curious consumers in on secrets that are normally kept behind locked research laboratory doors. 

All of the content on the page is centered on ideas, innovation and invention, three things that hold our emotive interest.

Brands: IBM

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

Denny’s has quickly become the most beloved brand on Tumblr among the younger millennial audience. Success has come by speaking to them in their language and formats they prefer, such as memes and animated gifs.

By engaging and interacting with them on trendy topics, pop-culture and humor, Denny’s has become a “must-follow” blog—and perhaps even more telling, being followed by Denny’s has become a sought-after social badge.

Another key to Denny’s Tumblr success is the utilization of User Generated Content through the submission feature. By highlighting the contented created by their fans, Denny’s excels at fostering a true community on Tumblr, one that is authentic and genuine.

Brands: Denny’s

Erwin Penland - Proprietary and Confidential

Food for ThoughtFood For Thought is Erwin Penland's thought leadership platform.  

It began six years ago with a three-day annual symposium celebrating the intersection of food, creative thinking, entrepreneurialism and social responsibility through events, discussions and of course, dining.  

The fully experiential gathering is crafted to inspire dialogue and debate among prominent entrepreneurs, business leaders and creative thinkers from around the country—showcasing how creativity is paramount to success in every organization, and in fact, in life.  

The platform itself has been extended into quarterly client sessions, internal agency training programs, research and marketing trend presentations.

For more information:Joe SaracinoChief Marketing OfficerErwin Penlandjoe.saracino@erwinpenland.com

Erwin Penlanderwinpenland.com@erwinpenland on Twitter, Instagram and Vinefacebook.com/erwinpenland

Food for Thought Conferencefoodforthoughtconference.com@fftconference on Twitterfacebook.com/fftconference