Favorite 4 - Authentic Facebook Timelines

Facebook rolled out the new Timeline interface, and now brands and marketers are looking into the best ways to approach the new format for their brands. I thought I would give you an outline of my favorite brand timeline integrations so far. These have incorporated the real history of their brands and created a historic story line for their brands. There are some that choose the comedic and more fictional path like Old Spice and Captain Morgan. But I really do prefer the authenticity of the older brands. If you have the history...use it!

 Coca-Cola
The Timeline starts with the company's founding paper - a Captial Stock Letter for $160,000 - from 1886. It also features a hand written testimonial about the addition of Coca-Cola in the soda fountain line from 1892, and letter form the owner of Alpha Drug Co. in 1893.

facebook.com/cocacola

The time line continues with more testimonials, a student's entry for sponsorship signage at the Amsterdam Olympics. It really shows the progression of the brand and it's history. 

Ford 

Great historical references can be found on this page. My favorite part is the photo of the first Ford vehicle ever sold in 1903. Model A, bout by a Dr. E. Pfennig of Chicago for a whopping $850. The Timeline also includes more photos of new vehicle model introductions, the first moving automotive assembly line, and a celebratory December 10, 1915 when the 1 millionth Model T was produced. 

facebook.com/ford

facebook.com/ford

Burberry

The brand has vintage photos and ads that help trace the brand's evolution as a group of explorers and adventurers to high fashion and luxury. How great is the picture of the first store to open in Basingstoke, UK in 1856.

New York Times
Love this Timeline! Not only does it provide a great story of how the newspaper developed over time, but the cover pages and articles provide an accurate timeline of history. The Timeline begins with the founding front page.

facebook.com/nytimes

“We publish today the first issue of the New-York Daily Times, and we intend to issue it every morning (Sundays excepted) for an indefinite number of years to come,” wrote The Times’s founders, Henry Jarvis Raymond, speaker of the New York State Assembly, and George Jones, an Albany banker, in the inaugural edition. It cost one cent per copy."

It even includes the front page when Lincoln was assassinated:

facebook.com/nytimes

Have any favorites? Let me know at nicolen[at]bengny[dot[com. Would love to include them in a future post!