Archive for August, 2009

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14
Aug
09

Socially Obsessed?

By breannehight Leave a Comment
Categories: Marketing, Satire, Social Media, Viral and YouTube
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Have you ever experienced frustration because you poked someone who never poked back? Have you ever been inclined to write on an actual wall? Is your job on the line because you tweet all day or just can’t stop taking those darn “What ______ would you be” quizzes? Social Media Addicts Association (SMAA) can help!

Social media has amazing marketing and PR potential and is an extremely valuable tool. That being said, we’ve all probably engaged in, or noticed someone we know engaging in, some sort of bizarre social media behavior (having 763,492 friends, poking incessantly, tweeting about a tooth brushing, etc.). Ideal for such enthusiasts might be the Sony Vaio W Series, a mini on-the-go laptop, that advertises as “perfect for social media addicts” and proves so in this amusing viral marketing campaign.

Using social media to launch a marketing campaign that pokes fun at social media addicts? Ironic, but way to target an audience! And definitely something everyone can relate to on some level or another.

What behaviors could land you (or someone you know) at an SMAA meeting?

13
Aug
09

Five Text Messaging Advertising Myths

By Beth Hardy Leave a Comment
Categories: Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, sms, text messaging and Uncategorized
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1104507_train_station_in_japanAccording to Susan Marshall of Online Media Daily, SMS (text messaging) often gets overshadowed by sexier mobile technologies, such as iPhone apps and mobile Internet. But Marshall says that advertisers and marketers shouldn’t overlook SMS advertising, as it’s “fast, effective and provokes action.” She even provides a new study from Local Mobile Search that says, “SMS advertising generates response rates two to ten times higher than Internet display ads.”

With response rates like those, SMS should be ignored no more. Unfortunately, though, it is. Marshall says it’s because of a lack of understanding. Following are her top five SMS advertising myths:

1. SMS advertising is intrusive.
False. There are very strict guidelines around how and when you can advertise via text messaging. Users must explicitly “opt-in” to receive SMS advertising from a company or engage in a free SMS service that is ad-supported.

2. SMS advertising doesn’t have scale or reach
False. ChaCha and 4Info are the two largest SMS players. ChaCha reaches more than 2 million monthly unique users (mostly under 25) and serves more than 30 million monthly impressions. When you compare that to digital properties and TV or cable shows that reach this audience, it is very competitive.

3. SMS advertising only reaches teens
False. While teens and young adults are three times more receptive to mobile advertising than their parents, that doesn’t eliminate the power of text messaging when it comes to reaching the over 25 crowd. In fact, text messaging among all mobile phone users tripled from 2007-2008 with a reported 2.7 billion text messages sent every day.

4. SMS advertising is only good for direct response
False. SMS is a great way to directly reach users to drive calls, ticket sales and downloads, but it is also an effective way to increase brand metrics (aided, unaided awareness and affinity) by engaging users in conversations about a product or a service.

5. SMS advertising isn’t very creative
False! According to many marketers, mobile Web sites and mobile banner advertising are the “be-all, end-all,” with their ability to deliver splashy, colorful landing pages, images and videos on a mobile phone. But SMS is perhaps the MOST creative way to reach mobile users because it delivers the “holy grail” to advertisers — the ability to have a direct, one-on-one conversation with a consumer about your product and service.

The key to SMS seems to be the direct contact and conversation that it allows advertisers and marketers to have with consumers. I don’t discount iPhone apps and mobile Internet by any means, but SMS is certainly an advertising platform that works and shouldn’t be overlooked.

What is your experience with SMS? Has it worked? Will you continue to use it?

12
Aug
09

time to move your franchise to canada?

By Joshua Woolery 1 Comment
Categories: Business growth, Business Strategies, Franchise, Franchising, location data, Press Release and recession marketing
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Canada flagCanada offers enormous opportunity for franchisors seeking to grow beyond our U.S. border, according to a press release issued by Canadian law firm, Cassels, Brock & Blackwell. The release comes as franchise lawyers in the U.S. and Canada prepare for the American Bar Association’s 32nd annual Forum on Franchising conference in October.

The press release stated that well-known U.S. franchise Buffalo Wild Wings is expanding their operations in Canada.

This press release got me thinking, “Why all this fuss about Canada?” I did some high level research online and this is what I found:

Franchiseek Canada:

  • Canada has the second largest franchise industry in the world, led only by the U.S. One franchise operation exists for every 450 Canadians.
  • Approximately one out of five consumer dollars are spent on franchise good and services.
  • Of all the franchises that opened in Canada within the last five years, 86 percent are under the same ownership and 97 percent are still in business.

Canadian Franchise Association:

  • The Franchise industry in Canada represents more than $100 billion in sales annually.
  • Franchised businesses account for 40 percent of all retail sales.
  • Franchising accounts for $90 billion per year in sales nationally, or 10 percent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Is your franchise facing expansion difficulties in the U.S.? Maybe it’s time to look at other markets. And, Canada seems to be the most viable option currently available to franchisors.

Have you considered expanding into a different country? Where? Why?

11
Aug
09

mobile marketing is three times less likely to be used by B-to-B marketers

By Joshua Woolery 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, B2B, BtoB, business to business, Linked In, LinkedIn, Marketing, mobile marketing, Social Media, trends and Twitter
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Results from a survey, conducted in a partnership between the Association of National Advertising (ANA), BtoB Magazine and marketing services firm ‘mktg’, were published last week on ANA’s Web site.

The survey revealed some interesting B-to-B marketing statistics. It found that LinkedIn is the preferred Web site of B-to-B marketers, and Twitter is used more by B-to-B marketers than b-to-c.

The survey’s prediction of future trends also provided some interesting insights. Blogs will be the most implemented new media format by B-to-B marketers in the next year; followed by mobile marketing and social media.

Among the current marketing challenges mentioned by marketers in the survey was the failure to show ROI and difficulty determining how to effectively allocate resources between traditional and new media.

The full article provides additional statistics that further describe the results, but the one overall theme I took away from the results was marketers’ concerns about new media as we move forward.

New media is just that, new. Many organizations are beginning to see the inherent value of integrating new media with existing traditional activities. Of course, with anything new, there are usually growing pains associated with researching, understanding and implementing new strategic marketing campaigns.

To make the transition to new media easier on your organization, I suggest you invest time in learning about each of these new tools and their potential applications in your existing campaign(s).

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you understand what it is?

How will it add value to our customers?

Tracking the ROI associated with new media formats is extremely difficult, and marketers are currently trying to develop better tracking methods. Any marketer, worth his weight in salt, will admit that current ROI metrics for new media aren’t perfect. And, until we develop a better way of tracking these metrics, marketers will have to make decisions based upon the information available.

What are your predictions for the B-to-B landscape in 2010?

Will your organization be implementing any new media formats?

What are your concerns for 2010?

10
Aug
09

Healthcare reform ads take center stage

By Joshua Woolery Leave a Comment
Categories: Ads, commercials, Harry and Louise, healthcare, Healthcare reform and Political

Our president, Tracy Weise, was recently quoted in an article on the HealthLeaders Media Web site. The article was focused on answering the question, “Is there a healthcare reform ad that will resonate with the public?” We encourage you to read the full article here.

HarryandLouise

07
Aug
09

Kosher Swish

By breannehight Leave a Comment
Categories: Matzo, New York Knicks, PR, PR Stunts, promotions, Public Relations, Publicity, Publicity Stunts and Stunts
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matzoballA 267-pound, 3-foot high matzo ball that was made with 1,000 eggs, 200 pounds of matzo meal, 80 pounds of margarine and 20 pounds of chicken base was up for serving yesterday morning at a NYC deli.

Why the mountain of matzo? On October 18, the New York Knicks will host the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team at Madison Square Garden for a charity game. What a publicity stunt!

It’s the perfect way to mesh Israeli and New York culture and cause quite the stir. There’s probably not much that can stop a New Yorker dead in their busy, fast-paced, seen-it-all tracks, but I’m sure this did it. The matzo ball even had its own NYPD escort. Hopefully, Knicks fans will hurry to the ticket office (proceeds benefit Migdal Ohr, an orphanage in Israel) and Noah’s Ark Original Deli will see some traffic, too.

Go Knicks!?!

06
Aug
09

Army’s new officer recruitment campaign

By Joshua Woolery Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

This week, The New York Times reported on the U.S. Army’s new advertising strategy that’s designed to “appeal to achievement-oriented college graduates who could qualify for one of its officer training programs.”

This is the first time the Army has used mass advertising mediums specifically to recruit talent to fill officer roles in their military branch. Mediums being used in this campaign include television and online advertisements. They also created a microsite to support their advertising efforts.

The article references the Army’s desire to appeal to both recent college graduates as well as young adults who have yet to go to college.

As the son of two parents who spent their careers in the military, I think this will be great for the Army in the long run. It shows the enormous potential present for young adults to be successful during and after  career.

I think commercials like the one below will help the Army accomplish their goal.

05
Aug
09

Mobile Marketing Ideas for Franchises

By Tracy Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Business growth, Business Strategies, Franchise, Franchising, Marketing, mobile marketing and Tips
Tags: , , ,

phoneAs mobile marketing continues to increase in popularity, franchisors need to consider how this technology can be implemented to help grow local business. And as with all things marketing related, when it comes to franchised companies, it always gets a bit tricky. So to make your life easier, here are two ways to use mobile marketing for your franchises:

Mobile sites with maps: Regardless of if you are a service business, retail shop, restaurant or doggy day care, if you are a franchise, you have numerous locations. Ideally, you want customer loyalty no matter where they might live or travel to. Develop an easy-to-use mobile site with a one step “click to find a location near you” function.  With the use of maps and click-to-dial numbers from handheld devices, customers will always be able to locate and access your locations.

Mobile banner ads: Targeting consumers with mobile banners can be done using many of the major targeting techniques used in traditional media. Franchise companies can choose to target customers based on their current location, demographics or behaviors. For example, if you are a franchised hair salon, a mobile banner targeting teenage girls during homecoming season can remind them to come to your locations to get their updos for the dance.

Use your marketing advisory boards to help determine other creative ways to implement mobile marketing campaigns that will help grow business for all of your franchise locations.

03
Aug
09

New Twitter front page: What’s it all about?

By Beth Hardy Leave a Comment
Categories: Twitter

Picture 20

By now, you’re probably aware that Twitter has completely redesigned its front page. (If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.) But do you know why they changed it? Apparently, the update is meant to help those visitors new to Twitter navigate the site. But to help break it down further, I turned to PR 2.0, which provided the following:

1)    The new homepage helps provide a frame of reference, helps set expectations and offers a lens into the conversations populating Twitter.
2)    There is now an emphasis on search, which enables new users to easily find conversations that are related to the keywords that are important to them.
3)    Popular topics are now broken down by the minute, day and week, enabling user to see what others are talking about “right now.”

“This move, while in the works for quite some time, follows the release of the Twitter 101 guide designed to help businesses embrace and leverage the power of Twitter and the Tweets that fuel the new media revolution,” explains Brian Solis of PR 2.0. Twitter 101, A Special Guide was released by Twitter last month. A link entitled “Business” can be found at the bottom of every Twitter page and will bring you to the guide.

Overall, the emphasis on search is what I think is the most noteworthy difference. The search box and popular topics are the main focal points, which should help new visitors better understand Twitter’s uses and benefits, and ideally encourage them to use the social media tool.

So, go forth and check out the new Twitter front page. Tell us what you think. If you’re not already a user, did you find it helpful? Does it make you want to be a Twitterer?

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