 Your new post is loading...
Click here to turn the clock forward on an iconic ad campaign -- using inbound marketing, the original ad will be reframed.... Knowing how complicated our media landscape is these days, what would an ultra-popular, uber-successful vintage ad campaign have to look like today to make as big of a splash as it did in its time? What would Wendy’s have to do to turn “Where’s the beef?” into a modern day catchphrase? How would Volkswagen’s “Think Small” campaign have to be executed to make the Beetle the most popular imported vehicle? These are the questions we explored with the help from a handful of advertising and creative experts in a recent ebook,Traditional Turned Inbound: Reimagining 5 Iconic Ad Campaigns From the Past. Here’s our take on what one of those five applauded advertising campaigns would have to look like if it were recreated today using some popular inbound marketing tactics....
As marketers tackle the inbound marketing terrain, here's what's going through their brain.... One of my colleagues recently stumbled across this awesome piece of curated content -- compiled from the random thoughts of a guy named Aaron Karo at ruminations.aaronkaro.com -- and it got me thinking about all the random thoughts that cross my mind when I'm knee deep in inbound marketing. So I tapped into the minds of my fellow inbound marketers to come up with a marketing-themed parody of Aaron's list. Here's what we've all been thinking. I'm willing to bet a few of these have crossed your mind, too. Feel free to share your favorites using the tweet links below and hashtag #mktgthought....
Open innovation is changing the economics of advertising.... ... while open innovation platforms in advertising lend themselves to creative work, they're also being tapped in the production phase of the business. MoFilm, Poptent, and Tongal, for example, focus on video production for television and web films. In every part of the industry, the open innovation model is changing the economics of advertising by switching significant fixed costs to variable costs and sourcing creative from more relevant and, many times, lower cost sources. Each open innovation agency (and there are many) has its own revenue model, but common to all of them is the basic proposition of expanding the agency's capabilities by tapping the wisdom of a global self-selected crowd of creatives, strategists, and fans. In his research on InnoCentive, the first global Internet-based platform designed to match problems with creative problem-solvers, Harvard Business School professor Karim Lakhani observed that the further a problem was from the solvers' field of expertise, the more likely they were to solve it. Since few companies have the resources to hire the diverse disciplinary expertise found in open innovation networks, agencies will have to tap these networks if they hope to compete on creative output....
The new FTC disclosure requirements spell out how brands and bloggers must disclose material relationships – online, in Twitter and other short-form media, on video, and on mobile.... The most relevant part of the update for those of us working in social media is the idea that endorsements and disclosures must be made in all media, including short-form media such as Twitter. As Twitter has risen in popularity there’s been some question about how and how much disclosure was required when tweeting about sponsored posts or other types of paid content, and these guidelines make it clear – Twitter is not exempt. But this is not a Twitter-only update; there’s much more to the new guidelines. They provide in-depth explanation on the FTC’s “Clear and Conspicuous Requirement” – and although this in and of itself is not new, as media has changed so much, there are new ways that endorsers need to protect themselves and their brands to provide clear and conspicuous disclosures....
As absurd as it may sound, chatting with ads could become commonplace as speech-communication with computers continues to evolve. Just looking at ads is bad enough, so who would want to talk to them? While many people would likely answer "no one," voice-recognition software maker Nuance says the opposite is true. What Is A Voice Ad? Wanting in on the booming mobile ad market, Nuance developed a way for people to chat with ads much as they do with Siri on the iPhone. Called Voice Ads, the technology works off the Internet connection of any iOS or Android mobile device.... Hey. You. Get offa my phone!
Heavy usage of one of the top 3 media (by reach) does not necessarily mean that less time is spent with the other media,according to results from an Edison Research and Arbitron study.
The study looks at self-reported average time per day spent with the internet, TV, and radio, sorting the results by heavy users of each. Heavy internet users (4+ hours per day) report spending more than 7 hours per day on the internet – but the amount of time they spend watching TV (3:35 vs. 3:33) and listening to the radio (2:07 vs. 2:04) is on par with the general population....
The inverted pyramid style of writing works well to produce the kind of content that generates significant targeted traffic to your agency’s blog for new business leads. I recommend using the inverted pyramid style of writing used by journalists where you place the most important information first with a text. It is a common method for writing news stories but works extremely well when writing for online versus writing for print. Journalism on the Web is definitely different from print journalism. How most people read online? They don’t, they scan....
Wow, that was a cool ad” is not something I say often. But I was recently browsing Wookiepedia, a Star Wars Wikia site, and when I clicked an external link it popped up a half-screen interstitial for 15 seconds before redirecting me to my destination. Instead of cluttering its site with more ads, Wookiepedia let me bounce around internally for free, but “charged” me to leave. And I was impressed. Advertising is the lifeblood of the consumer Internet. It finances content and utilities so they can be free and widely accessible. But too much advertising and the user experience degrades. No one wants to sift out value from a sea of marketing. Exit traffic ads seem like an elegant solution....
Obvious statement of the day: the debate over who “owns” content marketing, native/paid media and social will only heat up in the months and years to come as agencies fight (politely) for clients’ money. But the latest chapter in this timeless face-off appears to be unfolding in record time. First comes news that big-name ad agency McCann Erickson will significantly expand upon a unit it founded last year to exclusively tackle social media projects. The unit, now called “McCann Always On” (get it?), will “[build] social media-centric marketing plans” rather than just managing clients’ pages and feeds in an attempt to back up the agency’s “sure, we can do that!” claims. This announcement follows a telling New York Times article by advertising specialist Stuart Elliot, who reported that a growing number of ad/marketing copywriters have mastered the subtle art of “LOLspeak” as their agencies integrate more social content into client campaigns. On the PR side, Weber Shandwick just announced its plans to expand upon the traditional definition of a PR firm by launching a new content-focused unit called MediaCo....
After disturbing—not to mention unsanctioned—mockup ads appeared online, the PR pros in Ford’s Asia Pacific division snapped into action on a Saturday morning. Are you having a rough Monday?
At least you weren’t handling a fast-moving PR crisis all weekend.
That was the case for Ford Motor Co.'s public relations team as it crafted a response to a disturbing mockup print ad for its Figo model that staffers at an unaffiliated agency had posted to the Internet....
Using Twitter as a medium, the World's Fastest Agency will respond from briefing to idea within 24 hours. A networked team of creatives in New York launched a new service that meets the demand for rapid turnaround advertising. Using Twitter as a medium, the World's Fastest Agency will respond from briefing to idea within 24 hours. Outputs will include tag lines, product and service naming, communications platforms and (of course) stunts. According to its press release: WFA helps time-pressured clients keep pace with the lightening fast 24/7 global media and social culture. Clients can say goodbye to 100-page PowerPoint decks, meetings, weeks of fee negotiation, countless emails, more meetings, lunch, meetings, scope of work to-ing and fro-ing, meetings, more emails, Q&A sessions, tissue meetings, inaudible conference call, pitch, feedback, feedback on the feedback, re-briefing, re-pitching, another meeting, more feedback, focus groups, another meeting, more emails…. A three-step process involves the deposit of a one-time fee of $999 via PayPal, the sending of a brief to @fastestagency, and then the turnaround of an idea via Twitter direct message within 24 hours....
A story generating buzz and controversy earlier this week amounts to a stinging indictment of the paid search industry as a whole.... If eBay is correct and other marketers take its research and recommendations seriously there are some profound implications for not only Google but the SEM industry as a whole. Google: Ads Offer Incremental Traffic not Replaced by Organic Not surprisingly Google has research that says the exact opposite of what eBay found. In early 2012 Google published the results of a “meta-analysis” of “six months of Search Ads Pause studies” where advertisers had reduced AdWords spending “at least 95 percent.” According to Google, “these amounted to 390 studies between April, 2011 and October, 2011.” These studies were conducted in the US, UK, France and Germany. They looked broadly at search marketing and not just AdWords....
We placed ads on AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon. Which service provided the best ROI? The results will surprise you. Social media sites already offer free advertising in the form of tweets and Facebook posts, but these tools can only take your brand so far. The next step involves paying for social media ads, and if you're considering this option, you're probably most concerned with one big question: What will my return actually be? Will spending money on an ad on Twitter or Facebook bring more customers to my business than the same amount spent on Google AdWords? I put that question to the test by setting up experimental ads across five services: Google AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon. I wanted to see exactly how these tools benefited my own content-creation and corporate blogging business. Indeed, Null Media is exactly the kind of small business that could benefit from social media ads—in theory....
|
Lots of cool logo and creative inspiration... What were they thinking?
In 1962, Time magazine called David Ogilvy “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.” In his years as an advertising executive and copywriter, Ogilvy created some of the world’s most successful and iconic marketing campaigns, including the legendary Man in the Hathaway Shirt, plus notable efforts for Schwepps, Rolls Royce, and the island of Puerto Rico among many others. As content marketers, we can learn a lot from the legendary Mr. Ogilvy He was, after all, one of the pioneers of information-rich, “soft sell” ads that that didn’t insult the intelligence of the prospect. For example, consider The Guinness Guide to Oysters, an early form of what the kids are now calling native advertising — from 1951....
Does advertising still have a place today? Take a look at what Jeff Rosenblum thinks in this Q&A.... ... Q. You also say that instead of just spending huge amounts of money on advertising companies should first look inward and spend money on making themselves better, on improving their products. A. That is the revolution in a nutshell. Take that lens and turn it inward and focus on behavior. Create an incredible platform. The advertising industry, in many ways, hasn't changed since the days of “mad men." And since the days of "mad men" the industry has been known for being full of shit. But being full of shit doesn’t work anymore. Q. It seems to me that your philosophy overlaps a lot with what we’re trying to do at HubSpot. Our co-founders talk about megaphones and magnets, the idea being that instead being a megaphone and using outbound tactics to “spray and pray,” you’re better off becoming a magnet, and using content to draw customers toward you....
Marketing forecast? Sunny with a chance of burritos... Who said content marketing isn’t fun? A recent Adweek story looked at three companies, including Taco Bell, who are buying real-time, mobile ads based on the weather. Twitter and The Weather Channel were quick to recognize the growing revenue possibilities in mobile marketing. They announced a deal to create custom content based on the weather and sell it to eager marketers....
Traditional advertising just doesn’t work in social media — at least that’s what most folks working in this area believe. And, I agree with them. Using social networks as a tool for blasting noise, self-promotion, and generally disrupting the flow of conversation can devastate your brand. Even using Facebook ads (or newer LinkedIn ads) is generally pretty ineffective. But, does that mean we can’t learn ANYTHING from traditional advertising? My answer is NO! And, here’s why I think traditional advertising still has something to say about how we SHOULD do social media marketing — new media....
The number of American pay TV subscribers cutting the cord to focus solely on Netflix, over the air, online, and other sources is growing faster than expected, according to the latest study from Convergence Consulting Group. Last year, the researchers predicted that 930,000 pay TV subscribers would cut the cord, but this year estimate that 1.08 million went ahead and did so. That represents 1.1% of pay TV subscribers, and means that between 2008 and 2012, 3.74 million (3.7%) of US TV subscribers cut their subscriptions.
If you’re an Inbound Marketer (or aspire to become one) who understands the importance of content and a well constructed content strategy, you’ve almost certainly done some research or had some conversations about the need to create personas that represent your best targets. The emerging importance of personas in content marketing supports the point of view that content should be written first for your target, and second for search engines, which definitely wasn’t the case just a few years ago. But learning that personas are important doesn’t mean you’re going to actually doing anything about it, right? From the conversations we have with clients and prospects it seems lots of people stop right there, with the question “OK, I know I need it, but what the heck is a persona and where do I get mine?”...
Ford isn't the only major company that has had to answer for a controversial ad it never wanted to go public. A series of Pepsi ads in Dusseldorf showed graphic images of a personified calorie committing suicide in various violent ways. The World Wildlife Foundation had to apologize when DDB Brazil created ads in which dozens of planes were shown flying at the World Trade Towers with the text, "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11." WWF said it never approved the ads even though they were submitted to various ad award ceremonies. Click here to see when big brands had to answer for huge ad fails ...
Learn how to use inbound marketing and native advertising together to drive measurable results. Native advertising is all the rage these days. Companies like BuzzFeed and ShareThrough have based their business models on the notion that in-stream, organic-like content will save the day and finally allow everyone to retire those tired and underperforming banner ads to a nice tropical island far, far away. In its current form, however, native advertising is destined to fail just like the banner ad failed. Why? Because most native advertising placements -- just like most banner ad placements -- are not structured with inbound marketing strategies that treat native advertising content creation as a starting point. Rather, the content is treated as the end point. In essence, most native advertising today is basically a branding play....
JWT India created a series of disturbing ads for the FordFigo, one of which shows former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi flashing a peace sign from the front seat of a car that has three curvaceous women tied up and gagged in the trunk. Ford and JWT have both issued an apology. Ford did not approve the ads; the agency was just publishing some speculative renderings to show off its creative chops. JWT India is Ford's agency for the Figo in that country....
... Since St Patrick’s Day is coming up on Sunday, we decided to celebrate the occasion by looking at the ads that have beer as its main theme. If we’re going to be honest, some of the best advertising that has emerged over the last couple of years have come from beer companies and so, we take a look at the best ads that are out there....
...We are still very much in the ideas business. Despite how much more sophisticated the algorithms get at search, contextual and behavioral ad serving, advertising still has to move you. And that comes down to the kind of creative that makes you feel an emotion... not just "think" or push you into "lower funnel" activation as many marketers are so anxious to do. This means drawing you in, getting you involved, and making you react emotionally, which is just as important on a hand-held device as it is in a 30-second TV spot. Creatively, this has been the challenge for the web banner, the video pre-roll, and even the next in-app-native touch-screen rich-media ad. These units may drive our impression-based ad-supported model, but they've yet to adequately prove the ability to make the consumer feel....
|
It's new. It's updated. But is it still relevant? And what does the newest version of the social media press release look like?