Our friends at the Red Cross have made a lot of news lately by demonstrating their grasp of social media.  First, they had that fantastically wonderful social media "emergency" that they handled with such grace and charm that they actually made money from the ordeal.  This mashable post explains it well.  


Last week, Chicago Red Cross launched a new website (http://every80seconds.com/) that further demonstrates their understanding of the medium, while more importantly creating an emotional experience that demonstrates the emotional toll caused by house fires - the cause behind the ad and the disaster that the Red Cross actually responds to most. The first portion of the experience is interesting and makes the point.  Once you hit the Facebook Connect portion, however... the impact of house fires is really driven home.

Marketers have been talking for years about "creating experiences."  The Chicago Red Cross delivered.  Is your brand tapping the true power of social media?