groundswell: winning in a world transformed by social technologies

2009 Submissions

Business to Consumer

Energizing (13)

Supporting (16)

Business to Business

Supporting (14)

Employee & Non-Profit Applications

Social Impact (16)

Past Winners

Groundswell Awards Rules

Forrester Groundswell Awards: Talking

Wishnut.com

(2 votes)
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Wishnut.com

By Scientific Click LLC

At Wishnut, people post gift ideas for friends or loved ones and accompany each post with a story as to why the special person deserves the gift. Each week Wishnut buys and sends the gifts that receives the most votes. We call it competitive thoughtfulness.

Some posts are funny, like this one: "For The Guy Who Is Everywhere":
http://www.wishnut.com/gifts.php?id=1854

And some posts are touching. For example, this recent winning idea for a spa day for a wife with cancer:
http://www.wishnut.com/gifts.php?id=1629.

For more about the motivation for the site, see this brief piece I wrote for Ode Magazine:
http://www.odemagazine.com/exchange/8046/wishnut_com_promotes_competitive_thoughtfulness

Adobe Students: Real or Fake?

(2 votes)
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Adobe Students: Real or Fake?

By Adobe Systems, Inc.

Adobe's student marketing team had a very clear objective in November 2008: increase awareness of Adobe discounts for college students. We wanted students to know they could get up to 80% off the full retail prices of Adobe Creative Suite 4 products with Adobe Student Editions. Rather than just push this message to students, we needed to engage with them and encourage them to engage with each other. At the core of this campaign was "Real or Fake", a game that, each week, asked students to guess whether they thought a series of images was "Real" or "Fake". If "Fake", Adobe showed how it was done with the use of Adobe Photoshop CS4. At the end of the game, there were three call-to-actions: play again for those who were fooled, share for those who wanted to challenge each other and buy now. The game ran for one month, with five new pictures each week, for a total of 20 pictures at the end of the game. Check out the Adobe Groundswell entry web page and see if you guess correctly!

Office of Citizen Services, U.S. General Services Administration

(7 votes)
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Office of Citizen Services, U.S. General Services Administration

By Office of Citizen Services, U.S. General Services Administration

USA.gov, the official web portal of the federal government, is the flagship product of GSA's Office of Citizen Services (OCS). USA.gov content is arranged by topic, as opposed to agency name, to help the public find the information and services they need. USA.gov also links to state and local government websites.

If you don't find what you need on the site, you can send us an email, launch a webchat, or call 1 (800) FED INFO from 8 to 8, Monday-Friday. We also run a Spanish version of USA.gov called GobiernoUSA.gov.

GSA OCS is using social technologies to market our services. USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov are on Twitter, and USA.gov has a Facebook page. Through our blog called GovGab.gov and a government YouTube channel we launched, we market all the information and services the government has to offer. GovGab is also on Twitter.

In addition, GSA OCS has brokered government wide agreements to help other agencies use social technology tools. This way, each agency does not have to negotiate terms of service with their general counsel's office and social technology providers. We have 19 agreements so far. Here are a few examples:

- MySpace
- Slideshare
- YouTube
- Flickr
- Facebook

Cutest Animal in the World

(1 vote)
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Cutest Animal in the World

By Houston Zoo, Inc.

In late 2008, the Houston Zoo received word that we would be acquiring a rare red panda from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Our task was to generate excitement about the new exhibit opening without revealing the identity of the animal. Our goal was to keep Houstonians ï¿½guessingï¿½ what the Cutest Animal in the World could be. The end result of this campaign was effectively accomplished when we generated a significant amount of buzz about the mystery animal and saw increased attendance surrounding the unveiling of the new exhibit.

Social Media for Social Good

(338 votes)
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Social Media for Social Good

By SocialVibe

SocialVibe is the first social media utility that empowers people to earn money for causes by interacting with branded content.

And while people rarely want to interact with advertising, SocialVibe provides users with the choice and benefit that get them not only interacting with, but sharing branded content with their social graph.

These people access our utility through our social network partners or our website to register whereupon they can start earning free donations for charity by engaging with brands and sharing them with their friends. As they do more, they can see their impact grow, gain social validation from their friends for their efforts, and get regular updates from their charities on the fruits of their labor. Today, SocialVibe has over 800,000 users, many who have written in to thank SocialVibe, and in some cases the brands themselves, for helping their cause.

Obama Town Hall

(4 votes)
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Obama Town Hall

By conferROOMS LLC

The Vote Obama/We Caucus Town Hall is a dynamic collaborative tool for political online community development and social networking. This technology allows participants to engage with a speaker, view film clips and video, view slides and other print material and speak using web cam video and text capabilities. This platform creates a rich environment for debate, social networking and community growth and a strong appetite for online interaction. The participants easily connect with the topic speaker and quickly build relationships with the other users.

In a live setting, a speaker introduces a political topic and starts a presentation approach to the issue. With film and other video capabilities, the subject matter is expanded beyond a linear approach. Participants are inspired to relate and interact, creating an environment for a rich social and collaborative experience. Communication takes on a multi-layered approach. Simultaneously, individuals listen to a speaker or other users or film video clips, view slides or print material and follow a text chat dialogue. This multiple medium format allows for rapid absorption of information and an enhanced social experience. The users connect immediately with the material and each other, and expand their communication fulfillment exponentially. Participants find that they exchange ideas and viewpoints freely; polarized opinions easily come together within a greater level of understanding. A cooperative inter-relationship is quickly established.

American Family Facebook: connecting with customers

(95 votes)
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American Family Facebook: connecting with customers

By American Family Insurance

American Family Insurance has taken a bold move in one of the most conservative and highly-regulated industries: It has committed to putting 4,000+ local agents on Facebook in less than 12 months.

American Family Insurance agents are local business leaders and prominent sponsors of community events, athletics and local celebrations. They are trusted local advisors with strong community ties and local relationships. Their activity in local communities is vast.

Their activities within online communities? Absent.

As the personal relationships of American Family Insurance customers and prospects went online, our agents remained offline. This gap drove our company to redefine our corporate culture across 19 states, 8,000+ employees, 4,000 local agents and 3,000 local communities.

This entry describes how we energized employees; launched a corporate Facebook page; developed custom Facebook applications; and launched Facebook pages to reconnect our local agents with their online community.

2010 Mazda3 "33 Keys" Alternate Reality Game

(3 votes)
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2010 Mazda3 "33 Keys" Alternate Reality Game

By Doner

We needed to launch the 2010 MAZDA3 into Canada's Quebec province amid the worst car market in history.

To build awareness and buzz around the 2010 MAZDA3 launch and show the Quebecois that Mazda "gets" them, we targeted young Quebec drivers ages 18 to 34 who are among the most marketed-to consumers and are cynical about advertising messages but embrace social media.

We created an Alternate Reality Game to take drivers on a virtual thrill ride to rescue a woman who came back from the future to save the future. Players were led through a series of puzzles, code tasks and live hunts for 33 keys to recover the Essence (the car as hero). In addition to setting clues and dead ends with various traditional media, game characters used Twitter, Facebook, Qik and live events to engage players toward a final moment where one of the 33 keys would start the car and save the future. Consumers took over the game and some worked in teams to share clues and speculate about the game.

HootSuite 2.0 launch campaign

(145 votes)
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HootSuite 2.0 launch campaign

By HootSuite

With the advent of 140 character communication, there has been much speculation about how Twitter can further the success of business and organizations. It’s fair to say that the potential for Twitter as a business tool is widely recognized; what’s now needed is an accumulation of case studies proving its worth. Our experience launching HootSuite 2.0 provides a case study for how this social technology can help businesses and organizations achieve marketing goals.

With the release of our HootSuite 2.0 upgrade, our objective was straightforward: to become a trending topic on Twitter. Visitor conversion rate on HootSuite.com is high–our primary challenge has been to promote awareness of the product. With the upgrade to HootSuite 2.0, our campaign aimed to harness the power of Twitter as a promotional agent to drive awareness of HootSuite. To accomplish this, we employed a three-pronged approach.

1. The upgrade tweet: The upgrading process we built was easy and optional: we invited folks to send out a formulated upgrade tweet. As soon as they did so, they were automatically upgraded to HootSuite 2.0. This way, we were able to connect not only with the HootSuite userbase, but with an entirely new group that may never have been aware of our upgrade, or even HootSuite.

2. #hootlove hashtag campaign: We asked folks to tweet their favourite feature of HootSuite 2.0 and attach the hashtag #hootlove. We incentivized the #hootlove campaign by retweeting our favourite responses from our Twitter account, @hootsuite, which has thousands of followers, many of them major influencers. By retweeting responses, we were educating our followers about the new features, prompting more #hootlove submissions, and encouraging positive branding through customer feedback - and hey, who doesn’t love a little love?

3. Blogger outreach: We added another dimension to our campaign by sending press releases to key online publications and blogs, which directly resulted in HootSuite 2.0 coverage in several top tier tech blogs. Once some influencers published our news, numerous other online publications picked up the thread. We’ve counted approximately 90 stories about HootSuite’s upgrade to 2.0, and more are being written everyday. The extensive coverage encouraged discussion as well as debate, and ultimately got people buzzing about the HootSuite launch.

MasterCard Brazil - "What's Priceless to You?"

(4 votes)
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MasterCard Brazil - "What's Priceless to You?"

By Universal McCann / McCann Erickson

Mobilized by MasterCard’s twelve-year landmark campaign, Brazilians have developed personal interpretations of what “Priceless” means. Due to Brazil’s advanced blogosphere and cultural affection for self-broadcasting, many examples of ‘moments so special one cannot put a price tag on them’ populate the Internet as photos, videos and blog postings.

Keen to be part of the user-generated evolution of “Priceless,” MasterCard launched a revamped Priceless.com (naotempreco.com.br) with an overarching goal of moving beyond showing consumers “Priceless” moments to actively engaging them to share their real-life “Priceless” experiences. To drive participation, consumer-generated content was showcased in highly relevant venues: two grand-prize “Priceless” submissions were executed as primetime TV spots and many additional submissions were executed as print/online ads—all starring the winners themselves.

Key social platforms, popular Brazilian blogs, photo/video communities and search engines were also utilized to heighten promotion visibility/credibility and to create a holistic media experience.

Haciendogoles.com (ScoringGoals.com)

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Haciendogoles.com (ScoringGoals.com)

By Universal McCann - MasterCard

MasterCard’s ScoringGoals.com (HaciendoGoles.com) is an integrated digital platform running during Argentina’s hugely popular soccer season. Through this program, MasterCard seeks to enhance their digital strategy, evolve from Brand Awareness to Brand Preference and Usage models, and emphasize their Benefits platform, which has become increasingly relevant through its use of cardholder discount and rewards offers.
Users register online in order to earn “goals” which count towards a variety of premium offers and rewards. Registrants earn “goals” through various social media-driven actions, including online gaming and friend referrals on the host site and additional online games, polls, and contests on MasterCard’s regional soccer site, Futbolquenotieneprecio.com. Furthermore, MasterCard usage, mobile integrations and entry into ongoing raffles provide even more opportunities to earn “goals.”

HBO Dream Fight

(5 votes)
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HBO Dream Fight

By Digital Influence Group

HBO wanted to lower the average age of pay-per-view boxing viewers (45 years old) by making boxing more relevant to a younger market. So, Digital Influence Group (DIG) developed a unique Facebook application that let younger sports fans get in the ring and go a few rounds with their friends.

The campaign also promoted a historic HBO Pay-Per-View boxing match - Oscar De La Hoya's last fight - and included a Sweepstakes with a Grand Prize trip for two to Vegas for the big fight.

In the "Dream Fight" gaming application, Facebook users tapped into their photo galleries to create their own fighter. They then put a friend's face on a boxer's body, kicked his or her booty, and notified the victim (and his social network) that he had been beaten in a Dream Fight. The friend then had the chance to defend himself by picking a Dream Fight of his own.

Delta Blog: Sharing, Listening, Engaging

(21 votes)
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Delta Blog: Sharing, Listening, Engaging

By Delta Air Lines

Delta officially joined the blogosphere in August 2007, launching “Under the Wing” to better communicate with its constituents, customers, SkyMiles members worldwide and industry insiders. Today, it is one of Delta’s key communications vehicles and provides an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the company’s operations, destinations and marketing initiatives. Authors range from celebrities such as Jeff Francoeur of the New York Mets (formerly of the Atlanta Braves) and Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals, to Delta flight attendants, executives, aircraft maintenance employees, front-line representatives to customers and many others. And to create a more compelling and interactive experience for readers, Delta’s Under the Wing links directly to its active Flickr photostream, YouTube channel and Twitter feed.

Delta utilizes its blog to effectively maintain a conversation with its readers and to speak openly about topics that are essential to the airline’s success a rare move for a typically conservative industry (Delta is one of only two major domestic carriers to maintain a blog).

Ultimately, the blog gives customers insight into the large, global company and enables the airline to connect with readers on a personal level.

design mind

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design mind

By frog design inc.

Published by global innovation firm frog design, design mind is a media platform that includes a print magazine, a website, videos, and events. Written by frog designers, technologists, and strategists, design mind articles provide the design and innovation community with perspectives on industry trends, emerging technologies, and global consumer culture. design mind also features interviews with high-profile thought leaders, along with contributions from external writers, designers, and photographers. Readers can access select content from the magazine online along with additional Web-only features including a video series, a blog network, and interactive content from frog’s exclusive speaker series events.

Redwood Creek Wine and Affinitive: The 'Blaze the Trail' Consumer Engagement Platform

(20 votes)
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Redwood Creek Wine and Affinitive: The 'Blaze the Trail' Consumer Engagement Platform

By Redwood Creek Wine and Affinitive

Blaze the Trail is a social engagement platform that connects consumers who are passionate about wine and the great outdoors. Consumers register a profile at blazethetrail.com and are presented with educational and interactive activities including; polls and quizzes, sharing photos and recipes, blog posts from Redwood Creek Wine employees, contests and regional wine tasting event listings. As an incentive for participation, registered members earn virtual ‘corks’ or points which can be exchanged for various vintage-style Redwood Creek branded posters.

The platform has evolved to become the hub of Redwood Creek Wine’s consumer acquisition and engagement strategy, successfully linking several marketing platforms together to achieve a holistic approach to consumer engagement. The program includes stakeholders within Marketing, PR, Consumer Insights, and CRM.

Morris on Campus/The Morris Code

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Morris on Campus/The Morris Code

By Organic, Inc.

In 2008, Bank of America enlisted Organic to develop an online marketing program that would address the needs of students in their current stage of life. Organic created “Morris On Campus,” a branded content website and online TV show that stars Morris — a student peer, mentor, and confidante who has recently had to make the same financial decisions other underclassmen are making today. Our 2008 “Morris On Campus,” site launch successfully communicated bank messaging, talking to them specifically in terms that college students could understand. 55% of the site traffic was new to the brand and those who viewed the content were 2x as likely to open an account.

To follow up on the success of the “Morris On Campus,” site, Bank of America requested Organic to craft a similar approach to extend student banking branding to high-school students and their parents. Organic then created additional content to address this new target entitled “The Morris Code.” Through the creation of an immersive, interactive pop-up book that leverages a combination of entertaining concepts threaded with educational branded content (an “edutainment” strategy), “The Morris Code” site provides 10 tenets of financial literacy, decoding the complex nature of finance into 10 chapters and communicating to this audience via a clear, simple approach. “The Morris Code” also offers a new experience that engages parents and prepares them to start a conversation about banking with their high-school-aged child, and delivers an easy path that guides all site users toward opening an account.

Beauty.com

(64 votes)
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Beauty.com

By Beauty.com

Beauty.com has a unique approach to engaging with consumers on the social web. Like other retailers we have personality, we resolve issues and we show that we care, but what sets us apart from everyone else is that we link our 'Chat With A Beauty Advisor' function right to both of our Twitter Accounts (@BeautyAdvisor and @Beautydotcom). This offers our customers a convenient, on-the-spot option to get in touch with a live, expert Customer Care Representative who can readily advise them on topics ranging from a personalized skin care regimen to an issue with an order.

Through live, online chat sessions, Beauty.com replicates the beauty experience consumers have at the make-up counter in their local department store. Trained beauty advisors, all with esthetician or beauty counter experience, can now engage, live with online shoppers to share immediate advice on the best products for their needs providing convenience and privacy.

With two Twitter sites linked to our 'Chat With A Beauty Advisor,' we have conversations with our customers that help us create unique service experiences and shape our brand.

Flight of the Conchords Lip Dub Contest

(2 votes)
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Flight of the Conchords Lip Dub Contest

By Deep Focus

In order to combat a long length of time between the first and second seasons of Flight of the Conchords, the main objective of the campaign was to reinvigorate fans of the cult comedy while also drawing in a new audience by showing them how passionate the current fan base was. Knowing the client's main goal was to continue to foster a community among both old and new fans, the creative strategy focused on empowering existing fans and allowing them to become brand ambassadors. In order to generate buzz around the long awaited return of the show, three main tactics were implemented. First was the Flight of the Conchords Lip Dub microsite contest which encouraged users to record themselves lip-synching to the popular season one song "Hiphopopatamous vs. Rhymenoceros" and upload it to the site which was powered by the YouTube API. Tthe most creative submissions were edited together into an ultimate "Fansterpiece" that aired on HBO. .

Mad Men Yourself

(2 votes)
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Mad Men Yourself

By Deep Focus

Deep Focus created a viral marketing and social media application called "Mad Men Yourself" to promote Season 3 of Mad Men. Featuring artwork by acclaimed illustrator Dyna Moe, the application allows fans to create and customize '60s-style digital avatars of themselves that reflect the look of "Mad Men's" iconic characters - from smooth-talking Creative Director Don Draper to Sterling Cooper's smart and sassy office manager Joan Holloway. "Mad Men Yourself" users can select details from "body type" and "physical features" to "clothing" and "setting" to create an avatar that is truly a visual representation of themselves. Character images can be downloaded and shared, and were formatted for use as Twitter/Facebook icons, iPhone backgrounds, or desktop wallpapers.

Creating a Social Movement by Encouraging Conversation: Just Look for UL

(21 votes)
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Creating a Social Movement by Encouraging Conversation: Just Look for UL

By MS&L

Using online and mobile tools, the "Just Look for UL" Sweepstakes created a safety movement and a groundswell of chatter by encouraging a new generation of consumers to spread the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety message.

While baby boomers and manufacturers are familiar with the iconic UL Mark - a seal of approval in product safety - younger generations had limited awareness of UL's role in helping safeguard their homes. With "Just Look for UL," the company was able to create a new generation of consumers who only purchase products with the UL Mark and start a "safety movement" by encouraging new mothers to spread the UL safety message.

The digital program was rooted in the seemingly simple task of finding and recognizing the UL Mark. Through the "Just Look for UL" sweepstakes, consumers were encouraged to submit photos of products bearing the UL Mark to UL@safetyathome.com, or the 707070 mobile short code. They could also enter by completing an online form at http://safetyathome.com/safety-movement/sweepstakes/ for a chance to win daily digital camera give-aways and a grand prize of $10,000 in UL certified products.

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Converseon Case Study: Lion Brand Yarn Drives Measurable ROI with Social Media

By Converseon

The Challenge:
Establish an authentic and relevant online voice for a beloved 130 year old crafting company and institute best practices that help build relationships with passionate consumers of online knitting communities.

The Approach:
Lion Brand Yarn was not sure if its customer demographic would be likely to engage in social media but was willing to experiment with the new technology in an attempt to engage and connect with its passionate consumer base. They engaged Converseon to help them listen to the online conversation about knitting and crocheting, better understand their customers social media behavior, identify opportunities for engagement and develop a coherent and measurable social media strategy.
The brand's approach to social media hinged on an open approach to conversation and a employee driven content and relationships. The brand focused on "talking" to its customers and prospects and expanded its efforts in social media as the rigorous measurement framework indicated success. Lion Brand Yarn has taken a long term approach to community building and it is now, 18 months after the initial launch of the Yarncraft podcast, that the brand is seeing the most success and measurable return on investment.

Implementation:
Lion Brand teamed with Converseon, utilizing our Conversation Mining technology to map the knitting/crocheting online community, identify influential online voices and identify opportunities for engagement in social media. This listening uncovered a deep, interconnected and highly engaged community of passionate users spread across blogs, podcasts and even dedicated knitting/crocheting social networks.
With Converseon's strategic guidance, the "Yarncraft" podcast was launched. Hosted by a pair of LBY employees, the podcast was produced bi-weekly and focused on knitting and crocheting topics. The podcast was posted to a dedicated blog, distributed via iTunes and also given away as a CD in store for less tech-savvy consumers. The podcast was designed to be a conversation with customers and knitting community figures moreso than "internet radio" in the broadcast model.
In April 2008, the "Lion Brand Notebook" blog was launched, providing content and links to other knitting sources. The blog was also powered by Lion Brand employees with content ranging from customer polls for product development through to "knit alongs" that combine online/offline access allowing customers to knit the same project together. The "knit alongs" alone have proven to be a measurable driver of ROI for the brand as each virtual event drives a direct link to increased sales of the yarn featured.

The Aflac Duck on Facebook

(5 votes)
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The Aflac Duck on Facebook

By Aflac

Aflac was facing a unique challenge: millions of Americans know and love the Aflac Duck. Unfortunately, most Americans are far less aware of Aflac's specific products, value propositions, sponsorships or philanthropic efforts. We saw an opportunity to extend the Duck's influence beyond the traditional 15/30 TV format and launch him into a sphere where he can blend pop culture and celebrity status in an online forum. Capitalizing on the momentum built up by the Duck and Aflac over the past 10 years, we gave him a voice on Facebook. The Duck has successfully engaged the Facebook audience and extended his influence as Aflac's number one brand acolyte.

Rewriting Branding Rules: Aflac Duck Tweets the Truth

(1 vote)
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Rewriting Branding Rules: Aflac Duck Tweets the Truth

By Aflac

Millions of Americans are aware of the Aflac Duck. Unfortunately, those same Americans are far less aware of Aflac's specific products, value propositions, sponsorships or philanthropic efforts. We saw a unique opportunity to extend the Duck's influence beyond the traditional :15/:30 TV format. By giving the Duck a voice on Twitter, we were able to capitalize on the momentum that Aflac has built up over the past ten years, and launch him into a sphere where he has the opportunity to engage users legitimately as Aflac's number one brand acolyte

We combined the natural element of humor of an intelligent spokesduck who observes the advantages and disadvantages of being a duck in a person's world with messages of brand awareness. And, Twitter being what it is, followers have delighted in the ability to engage in a real time conversation with their favorite duck whenever they want.

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