Ad-Supported Electronics
Posted on | December 26, 2011 | No Comments
This year Amazon released an ad-supported Kindle for a less expensive price than their ad-free version.
Marketers should keep a close eye on the sales of the ad-supported Kindle to see what tolerance customers have for electronic devices with advertisements and whether or not these ads are useful and will ultimately increase sales.
It is possible that consumers are getting used to seeing ignoring ads on their mobile devices, but it also could be that ads on a device like the Kindle are novel and subtle enough to make an impact on consumers. Since the ads show up when the Kindle is off, they don’t interfere with reading.
Who knows what additional types of electronic devices ads could be available for purchase on in the near future?
Social Advertising and Playing Tag with Shazam
Posted on | December 19, 2011 | No Comments
Shazam is a mobile app that allows smartphone and tablet users to tag a piece of music on the radio, in a restaurant, or wherever music is heard and find out what song it is and purchase it. But Shazam is proving to be much more than that. It has branched out to partner with television shows and brands to create a unique marketing experience for customers.
Last year, Shazam partnered with the Syfy television channel for the season finale of television shows Eureka and Warehouse 13. Viewers that tag promotions that run during the finales unlock special sneak previews.
More info can be found here:
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/syfy-shazam-play-tag-103240
Early this year, Shazam and Syfy hooked up to make the tv show, Being Human, the first taggable tv show. Tagging any part of the episode takes the viewer to a screen where they can view exclusive content, enter a sweepstakes contest, check out music from the show, or purchase the episode.
Shazam has partnered with store brands now too. Old Navy created original songs to play on commercials and in their store. When tagged, viewers can shop the looks shown in the commercials and view style tips.
Calvin Klein worked with Shazam to create an in-store program to engage with customers during this year’s holiday season. An original Christmas song played in stores allows mobile users to tag it to see special in-store promotions.
This appears to be just the beginning of beneficial partnerships for Shazam and many other potential brands.
Foursquare — Free Marketing Tool
Posted on | December 12, 2011 | No Comments
Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular social media websites. Foursquare is going strong as well. Foursquare had over 10 million members as of June and was handling about 3 million check-ins a day. Check out more info here: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-06-21-foursquare-ipo-buzz_n.htm
From a company’s point of view, what can Foursquare do for you?
First, find your venue and claim it. Go to foursquare.com and search for it. If it doesn’t exist, you can add it. If it does exist, that means someone has checked in to it before and you can claim it. You do have to prove you own it to claim it.
Once you have a venue, you can start adding specials. There are several different kinds of specials you can add. Those geared towards new customers are Swarm specials that allow you to give a discount if a certain number of people check in. A Check-In special means you give someone something when they check-in. There are also Newbie specials for a customer’s first check-in, a Friends special for when a group of people check-in, and a Flash special.
You can build relationships by encouraging repeat check-ins too. For example, you could offer a Loyalty special and give a customer a free item every 3rd check-in, or when someone checks in enough to become the “Mayor” of your venue, you could give them the Mayor special.
Select the type of special, what needs to happen for the special to occur, and what the special is. Foursquare even has information sheets you can print off for your employees and for customers.
Foursquare is a great example of a still emerging social media site that allows any business some marketing tools to work on building relationships with their customers.
YouTube Viral Videos – Real or Clever Marketing?
Posted on | December 5, 2011 | No Comments
When a video on YouTube goes viral, how do you know if it’s just a great video that someone happened to catch or a cleverly disguised commercial?
One example shows a baseball player in the middle of an interview when he catches a stray ball in an amazing bare handed catch. Notice the prominent Gillette banners in the background.
This article does a good job of analyzing the video and explaining why it’s likely a setup.
Interestingly, Gillette was involved in another video that went viral. Roger Federer was on a commercial shoot for Gillette when he talks a crew member into balancing a can on his head. He then knocks the can off his head with a tennis serve, not once, but twice.
In another example, a guy with a video camera happens to come across soccer player, David Beckham, drinking a Pepsi and kicking around a soccer ball on the beach. The videographer challenges him to kick the ball into a trash can and he proceeds to kick three soccer balls into three separate trash cans.
Some people may not appreciate being tricked into thinking these videos are real, but it’s a great marketing tactic and whether or not they are real they have gained the attention of a large number of viewers. Over 8 million views for Roger Fererer’s tennis ball hit, more than 6 million for the baseball catch, and over 900,000 for David Beckham’s soccer ball video.
In the end, maybe it doesn’t matter if they really are cleverly designed commercials. They are entertaining to watch and people talk about them and isn’t that really what a lot of commercials strive for?
It’s Game Time!
Posted on | November 29, 2011 | 2 Comments
Advergaming is a great way for companies to increase brand awareness of their product in a fun medium. Gaming is rising in popularity thanks to Facebook and mobile apps for smartphones. People who wouldn’t consider themselves gamers previously, now find themselves scouring the iTunes App Store or Android Market for the latest game to entertain themselves with while waiting for a doctor’s appointment or for their child’s soccer game to end.
Advergaming works best when the product is the focus of the game. The Legos game is a good example of the product being the focus. The Legos games have become very popular and are not only based on playing with Legos but are also tied to a movie like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Indiana Jones. Players become Lego versions of characters from the movie and build things with Legos to solve the game and proceed through the movie story. The gameplay encourages playing with Legos and are a lot of fun for fans of the movies.
There are many examples of advergaming for the PC and for smartphones. Apple Jacks has both a PC and a mobile app where the players search for boxes of Apple Jacks cereal. Triscuits has a similar type of game where the user races against the clock to fill a bowl with Triscuit Thin Crisps.
Coke has an app called Spin the Coke that is a takeoff on the classic spin the bottle game.
Advergaming is different than product placement in games. Product placement is commonly seen in sports games such as in an auto racing game where billboards in the game are real advertisements, or when a character in a game drinks a Pepsi.
The Sims manages to combine advergaming and product placement in their new Facebook game, The Sims Social. Players can purchase coffee or donuts from Dunkin Donuts for instant game energy. According to Facebook, The Sims Social has over 28 million monthly players.
It’s definitely a perfect time for companies to get on board and create games that allow users to see the benefits of their product while also having fun!
Looking for Value in Twitter?
Posted on | November 21, 2011 | 1 Comment
Are you unsure about what Twitter can do for you? Do you think Facebook is enough social media for you? Before you give up on Twitter, read this to see if you might be able to get some real value out of Twitter.
Twitter gives you, or anyone,140 characters to say something. It can be about anything and it can link to a website, an article, a blog post, a picture, or even a video.
But you don’t have to have anything to say on Twitter. There are lots and lots of people and companies that do and you just might find more value in it than you think.
Are you looking to be entertained? Follow your favorite comedian. If you don’t have a favorite comedian, follow Steve Martin (Hint: He’s hilarious).
Interested in great deals? Follow your favorite stores. There can be some great deals and coupons to be found. BestBuy, Travelocity, and Target are a few that I follow.
Cooking? You can follow Betty Crocker or Kraft Foods. You can even ask them a cooking question by including their hashtag in your tweet (@BettyCrocker for example) and you’ll likely get a pretty quick response.
How about a celebrity? Your favorite TV show? A political figure? A restaurant? A music group? A movie? Yes, you can follow all of them too.
You can see the latest breaking news events or follow the local events in your city. You can even follow Twitter on Twitter to learn more about Twitter!
From a consumer’s point of view, there’s nothing like Twitter. It is a huge information hub. Where else can you ask Steve Martin what kind of banjo he plays and Betty Crocker how long you should cook a pie and Home Depot how to repair your faucet – all using the same interface. And even better – they will probably answer you!
The bottom line is there is no right or wrong way to use Twitter. The best thing about Twitter is that it is what you make of it.
If you’re new to Twitter, go to www.twitter.com and get started. If you have a smartphone or tablet download the Twitter app or even better, the HootSuite app and start getting some value out of it!
Happy Tweeting!
Looking to the Webbys for Inspiration
Posted on | November 14, 2011 | 1 Comment
There are so many places to look for inspiration. It can even be a little overwhelming at times because there are so many sources of inspiration for great web design, banner ads, social media, and videos.
One great place I’ve found to find inspiration is on the Webby Awards website. The nominees and past winners are shown here in 4 categories: websites, mobile & apps, online film & video, and interactive advertising & media. Within each of those categories there are many divisions and you can browse through page after page of nominees while you’re getting inspired.
There’s also a blog, an app, a YouTube channel, a monthly newsletter, and a daily email and you can follow the Webbys on Facebook and Twitter so you can overload on inspiration if you’re up for it.
There are some interesting video debates on Webby University too. One tidbit from the Social Media debate is from Gary Vaynerchuk, host of the former winelibrarytv.com blog. He says “The way to win in social media or have success is to not talk but to listen.” I think this provides some food for thought. Companies will generally learn a lot by listening to what customers are saying to them or about them in social media. When it comes to designing websites, as long as companies think about their customers needs first, they will be ahead in the game.
Shake It Up
Posted on | November 7, 2011 | 7 Comments
Nestle has developed an integrated marketing campaign (IMC) for their Carnation Evaporated Milk targeting Hispanic customers across several types of media.
The website, MiCocinaLatina.com, has recipes like Dulce de Leche Flan and Deliciosa Sopa de Calabacitas that contain evaporated milk. The website is in both English and Spanish and is aimed at Hispanic moms.
An iPhone app is part of the IMC mix and has a fun connection to the can of evaporated milk. Shaking the iPhone brings up a random recipe and is reminiscent of shaking the can of milk before opening it.
Besides the website that is also compatible with mobile devices and the iPhone app, ads for the MiCocinaLatina app and website can be seen on AdMob for mobile ads and banner ads on websites.
Nestle rounds out the marketing campaign by sending email alerts about the mobile options.
The Hispanic population is ahead of the general population when it comes to mobile apps so Nestle is paying attention to their market and reaching out to them where they can be found – online.
More information can be found here.
Emerging Media: Becoming the New Normal
Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 1 Comment
To start off my Marketing on the Go blog, I want to talk a little bit about what emerging media is.
It might be easier to first define what emerging media isn’t. It’s not traditional advertising on the TV, on the radio, in magazines, or newspapers. It’s also not an ad on a billboard or on a bench at the bus station.
If it’s viewed digitally, maybe even on a mobile device, it’s very likely emerging media. Web sites, social media sites, podcasts, and smartphone apps would all be considered emerging media. What these all have in common is that they are new ways for people to communicate and share information — and to learn about companies and products.
I came across a couple of interesting examples of emerging media used in marketing this week.
Starbucks has an iPhone app that lets you find a Starbucks, view their menu, keep track of your Rewards purchases, send a friend a drink, and even pay for your drink using your iPhone. This is a great way for Starbucks to use emerging media to enhance its relationships with its customers in a new way.
Another example of a business using emerging media to connect with people is Farmer’s Insurance advertising in a Facebook game. My nephew occasionally sends me Facebook game requests for some virtual item he needs in the game. This week I received a request from him for some energy he needed for the Cityville game. In Cityville you can build various buildings like cinemas, restaurants, and shops. I had to chuckle a bit when I saw he had one branded building in his city – a Farmer’s Insurance skyscraper.
Companies are using emerging media to interact with customers in ways that are unique and innovative and then making it the new normal method of communication.
So, what is next when it comes to emerging media? What new ways will we connect with people and will companies connect with us? It’s hard to look into the future and tell what it will be like but I really like Microsoft’s prediction of what the near future might look like: