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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 21, 2017 9:42 AM
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Welcome to Personal Marketing at scale This new buzz phrase might seem like just another trending marketing gimmick, but the potential it holds seems to the something that can transform our approach to marketing altogether, permanently.I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to find you and advertise to you Personal marketing at scale, in a nutshell, is the ability to target customers according to their unique needs with different creative messages rather than the one-ad-fits-all advertisements that plague us.. With this kind of digitalization, it is now possible to custom design an advertisement based on target’s location, interests, demographics, purchase history, in a way that seems personally relevant to the consumer. With this, unique brand positioning would become a thing of the past, and it is even possible to have entirely different voices for the same brand to appeal across different niches....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 11:37 AM
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When marketers develop their social and mobile strategies -- which we strongly encourage you to do, if you haven't already -- these are important questions to ask. After all, you want to reach the right audience. So in addition to determining your buyer personas, you have to know where to find them. Not all of them are going to be using Instagram, for example. Luckily, our friends at Tracx compiled all of that information into a handy infographic that breaks down the state of social media demographics -- who's using which social network, and for what. With this information, figuring out how to best reach your personas on social media doesn't have to be such a daunting task. So read on, and start distributing your content in the right places....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 11:16 AM
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Content marketing is now part of the very fabric of Virgin Media’s marketing operations on a day-to-day basis. “We now have a pot of budget that is solely allocated to content marketing, as well as having a content line in every piece of marketing activity we do,” says Worby. But how did Virgin Media get there? And what challenges did they face? At NewsCred’s #ThinkContent Summit in London, Worby shared Virgin Media’s story and the process they used to achieve executive buy-in for content marketing. In addition, she offered tips, based on her learnings, for other marketers who are looking to do the same....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 10:58 AM
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IGOR MORDATCH IS working to build machines that can carry on a conversation. That’s something so many people are working on. In Silicon Valley, chatbot is now a bona fide buzzword. But Mordatch is different. He’s not a linguist. He doesn’t deal in the AI techniques that typically reach for language. He’s a roboticist who began his career as an animator. He spent time at Pixar and worked on Toy Story 3, in between stints as an academic at places like Stanford and the University of Washington, where he taught robots to move like humans. “Creating movement from scratch is what I was always interested in,” he says. Now, all this expertise is coming together in an unexpected way. As detailed in a research paper published by OpenAI this week, Mordatch and his collaborators created a world where bots are charged with completing certain tasks, like moving themselves to a particular landmark. The world is simple, just a big white square—all of two dimensions—and the bots are colored shapes: a green, red, or blue circle. But the point of this universe is more complex. The world allows the bots to create their own language as a way of collaborating, helping each other complete those tasks. All this happens through what’s called reinforcement learning, the same fundamental technique that underpinned AlphaGo, the machine from Google’s DeepMind AI lab that cracked the ancient game of Go. Basically, the bots navigate their world through extreme trial and error, carefully keeping track of what works and what doesn’t as they reach for a reward, like arriving at a landmark. If a particular action helps them achieve that reward, they know to keep doing it. In this same way, they learn to build their own language. Telling each other where to go helps them all get places more quickly....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 12:09 PM
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When it comes to content strategy, a lot has been said about the importance of keeping a steady stream of fresh content flowing through your distribution channels. Marketers have listened. According to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), 76 percent of content marketers produced more content in 2016 than they did in 2015. That content stream will only increase in 2017. This trend has been with us for years. According to an October 2016 TrackMaven blogging report: Over the last five years, the average number of blog posts published per brand per month increased by 800 percent. However, over the same time the average number of social shares per post (from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest) decreased by 89 percent....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 11:00 AM
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A puppet of a cockroach lies on its back, flailing its arms wildly. A mouse cursor hesitates over an order on the website “Poison Depot” before changing it from one bottle to eleven. A gleeful Victorian marriage proposal goes awry when lightning strikes a nearby tree. Each story is told in just six seconds of video. And there are more than a dozen such short recreations of classic books from the Western canon, all promoting YouTube’s new brief pre-roll ad format. Those three vignettes, of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis (famous for its protagonist waking up one morning as an insect), William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (spoiler alert: everybody dies) and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (with its romantic symbolism around a split chestnut tree), join similar takes on George Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and more....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 10:38 AM
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Bigvu is an app designed to be a mobile studio for video journalists in the field. It combines a teleprompter with a platform for recording, managing and publishing the videos.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 10:19 AM
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The French advertising powerhouse and the British government want more control over where their ads run. Havas is pulling all spending from Google and YouTube in the United Kingdom, citing the desire to have more control of its inventory in hopes of keeping brands away from inappropriate or offensive content.According to a report in The Guardian, the French advertising giant’s decision came after talks broke down related to Google’s inability to “provide specific reassurances” related to where video and display ads appear. The report cites content showing up in YouTube alongside videos of white nationalists and terrorists. The news about Havas—which spends around 175 million euros ($188.2 million) annually on digital advertising clients in the U.K.—comes alongside a report that the British government and other organizations also pulled their ads from the tech giant....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 6:25 PM
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Data has never been more important to marketers, which is why it is always all the more alarming when it's suggested that a platform is delivering false analytics.
Approximately 15% of Twitter accounts — some 48 million — are bots rather than people, according to new research from the University of Southern California and Indiana University.
While the research is troubling news for Twitter, which has struggled to elevate its user base in the face of growing competition; it is perhaps more frustrating for marketers who trusted the engagement data.
The report elaborates on the percentage of bots, by stating that complex bots could have shown up as humans in their model, "making even the 15% figure a conservative estimate."
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 10:33 AM
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Content marketing can be very effective in increasing traffic, generating leads, enabling sales – and contributing to SEO. So how can businesses use it to improve their search rankings? When done well, content marketing can contribute to boosting a site’s position in search rankings.R Although this may not seem like the most obvious benefit to a successful content marketing strategy, it’s an effect that no business can ignore. Here’s how to take advantage of your site’s content to rank higher in the SERPs.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 3:18 AM
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McCann pitted the robot against human creative director Mitsuru Kuramoto to create an ad for Clorets Mint Tab that conveyed the message: "Instant-effect fresh breath that lasts for 10 minutes." The client was asked to fill out a form with all the elements they wanted to appear in the ad. The AI robot then scrambled the database for ideas (humans were required to actually produce the final creative). The two spots would then be thrown to a nationwide poll, where consumers could vote for which ad they preferred. See if you can guess which ad was created by a human and which was created by a robot...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 2:55 AM
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Adobe, one of the world’s largest and most powerful software companies, is trying something new: It's applying machine learning and image recognition to graphic and web design. In an unnamed project, the company has created tools that automate designers' tasks, like cropping photos and designing web pages. Should designers be worried? The new project, which uses Adobe’s AI and machine learning program Sensei and integrates into the Adobe Experience Manager CMS, will debut at the company’s Sneaks competition later in March. While Adobe hasn’t committed to integrating it into any of its products, it’s one of the most ambitious attempts to marry machine learning and graphic design to date. There have been efforts to use AI in the design world before—for instance, Wix’s Advance Design Intelligence and automated projects like Mark Maker, but Adobe’s is notable because of the company’s sheer reach in the design world. Although it’s just a prototype, it’s one to watch closely....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 2:34 AM
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Marketers need to know things like: How many searches happen each month across various platforms? Is Google losing market share to Amazon? Are people really starting more searches on YouTube than Bing? Is Google Images more or less popular than Google News? What percent of queries are phrased as questions? How many words are in the average query? Is it more or less on mobile? These kinds of specifics help us know where to put our efforts, how to sell our managers, teams, and clients on SEO investments, and, when we have this data over time, we can truly understand how this industry that shapes our livelihoods is changing. Until now, this data has been somewhere between hard and impossible to estimate. But, thanks to clickstream data providers like Jumpshot(which helps power Moz's Keyword Explorer and many of our keyword-based metrics in Pro), we can get around Google's secrecy and see the data for ourselves!...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 21, 2017 3:15 AM
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Nostalgia for the 1980s reaches peak levels in a new Domino’s ad from CP+B, in which actor Joe Keery, from the ’80s-era Netflix drama Stranger Things, re-creates the running-home scene from the classic ’80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—to promote the Domino’s Tracker. In the 1986 teen drama, Ferris, played by Matthew Broderick, is racing to get home before his parents do after his epic day of playing hooky. In the Domino’s ad, Keery is trying to beat the pizza man to his house after being alerted to a delivery by his Domino’s Tracker watch app. It’s a pretty faithful remake, including many of the same shots. And there’s a great cameo, too, which we won’t spoil until you watch the ad below....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 11:23 AM
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In the recent report, “Journalism That Stands Apart: The Report of the 2020 Group,” the Times provides data and an in-depth look at how it will continue to differentiate itself and engage its audience. As someone who works with leading companies on their content marketing every day, I believe that brands can absolutely borrow the Times’ insights to ensure their marketing programs and digital websites are prepared for success. Here are six key takeaways I recommend brands consider and pursue at any stage of their content marketing journeys....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 11:06 AM
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Creating a comprehensive, detailed list of the benefits of your products is a must. The truth is, no customer wants to hear about how you decided to sell the product. They don’t want to see detailed descriptions of every single feature your product has. If for example, you’re selling a chair, the description should only list the features without getting into too many details. Instead of elaborating on the type of wood you used and listing all features of that material, you can explain what exactly makes that material better than any other. Explain how the wood is a better investment in the long-term. A feature makes a product useful and effective, and while it can make your company stand out from the competition, features are rarely the ultimate factor behind your sales....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 20, 2017 10:43 AM
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The average consumer has stopped paying much attention to traditional marketing and advertising after decades of disruptive intrusions that are too often calculatingly misleading. Content marketing takes a different approach to reach and engage customers, one that’s less intrusive and treats them with more respect. Great content marketing offers something valuable to an audience, with no obligation to repay that offering. It is entertaining, insightful, relevant, and useful writing, graphics, video and/or audio. It seeks to establish a relationship with a relevant audience built on trust, so that when it comes to business time, prospects choose you over a competitor. The Content Marketing Institute’s research found 88 percent of companies are now using content marketing. Accordingly, companies are stepping up their investment in content marketing staffing, technology, and strategy. According to Curata research, this year 75 percent of respondents are “increasing” or “significantly increasing” their investment in content marketing, because it’s a sophisticated marketing method that works. Companies Can’t Keep up With Their Content NeedsCompanies continue to struggle to produce enough high-quality content to feed the beast. Which may be why 70 percent plan to produce even more content this year....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 11:53 AM
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TOne talk that interested me regarded native advertising because - in my opinion - native has the potential to deceive audiences more than it provides value. I say this because in a recent study by Grady College, "only 17 out of 242 subjects -- under 8% -- were able to identify native advertising as a paid marketing message." This is a huge problem in the era we live in with trust in the media being at an all-time low. I wanted to know where we are, where we're going and how will things shake out on the way - I asked the native advertising panellists for a view on where we are going.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 10:48 AM
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Last month three of Under Armour’s celebrity endorsers — Stephen Curry, Misty Copeland, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — publicly criticized the company’s CEO, Kevin Plank, for making a favorable statement about President Trump. This was an unusual PR challenge. Normally, executives worry about their endorsers behaving in ways that reflect poorly on their companies, such as getting in trouble with the law. They don’t expect to be reprimanded by the very people they’re paying to market their products. In today’s hyperpartisan environment, companies are facing backlash from in-house employees, too. As detailed in this report, one Oracle staffer posted a letter explaining that he had quit his job because the company’s co-CEO, Safra Catz, joined Trump’s transition team. And after IBM chief Ginni Rometty congratulated Trump on his election win, staffers circulated an online petition asking her to allow them to refuse to participate in projects that violate civil and constitutional liberties. It now has more than 2,000 signatures. What should companies do when insiders publicly condemn them? Based on my experience training communication executives on how to handle such situations, here’s what I recommend....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 19, 2017 10:29 AM
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Over the past year, several companies and thousands of freelancers have signed on to a project aimed at helping both groups broaden their horizons, with marketers getting access to global talent while creatives get to travel the world. Wanderbrief is a creative network startup that lets writers, designers, videographers and photographers submit their portfolios to its website to apply for project gigs at agencies or brands. Instead of accepting money, they work in exchange for airfare, room and board. Last year, copywriter Mark van der Heijden and former Havas Boondoggle strategy director Valentijn van Santvoort started Wanderbriefto give other creatives the same shot at adventure that van der Heijden enjoyed as The Backpacker Intern, a two-year journey where he traded work for free lodging around the globe....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 17, 2017 3:07 AM
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Is longer really better? Is it worth it? Are you wasting your time? Then, I’m going to give you a surefire formula for not wasting your time when you write articles — a powerful method that will make your articles rank on top. This article isn’t for the faint of heart. It wasn’t easy to write, wand it might not be easy to read. But if you’re ready to stop wasting time, start ranking high, and move your content marketing method to the next level, read on....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 10:47 AM
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How to optimize for audience trust. Plus, four tips for dealing with mistakes that can kill your brand’s reputation. Trust matters. Whether you’re creating content for a standalone brand publication or a company blog, you want people and search engines to trust the information on your website is accurate and current. Now, with engagement metrics seemingly becoming a larger factor in SEO, you can’t have one without the other. Google won’t trust (and reward rankings to) a website that doesn’t attract and engage an audience, and visitors won’t trust (or even find) content that doesn’t rank well on Google. Trust is how you build that audience.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 10:08 AM
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The ascendance of fake news, “alternate facts” and data denial are at the forefront of a cautionary tale that is as much about loss of faith in the media as it is about the political winds. Who is to blame? I will put politics aside to observe that there is certainly a need for greater accountability among the media, writ large. That pool has become a grab-bag of bloggers, tweeters and news channels of all ilk. But even the traditional media share some responsibility for a loss of faith. So what should a college of journalism do? A handful of our alumni have suggested that we take journalism out of our name and focus on a more contemporary approach to news and information. I see it another way: I say we double down on fact-finding, truth-seeking and audience engagement. There has never been a more important time to affirm our allegiance to the standards and practices that are the bedrock of an informed citizenry. Our ethical codes are the right ones. Let’s reinforce them, not abandon them....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 3:09 AM
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EThe inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has unveiled a plan to tackle data abuse and fake news. In an open letter to mark the web's 28th anniversary, Sir Tim has set out a five-year strategy amid concerns he has about how the web is being used. Sir Tim said he wants to start to combat the misuse of personal data, which creates a "chilling effect on free speech". He also called for tighter regulation of "unethical" political adverts....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
March 15, 2017 2:46 AM
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These days many designers can code—an increasingly important skillfor landing a job. But few are just as fluent in their own language as they are in Javascript. That presents a serious problem in terms of design. Users still depend on copy to interact with apps and other products. If designers don't know how to write well, the final product—be it a physical or digital one—can suffer as a result. In his "2017 Design in Tech Report," John Maeda writes that "code is not the only unicorn skill." According to Maeda, who is the head of computational design and inclusion at Automattic and former VP of design at VC firm Kleiner Perkins, words can be just as powerful as the graphics in which designers normally traffic. "A lot of times designers don't know that words are important," he said while presenting the report at SXSW this weekend. "I know a few designers like that—do you know these designers out there? You do know them, right?" By pointing to writing as the next most important skill for designers, the report suggests a corrective to an overreliance on the interface—to the extent that writing itself has been left behind as a design skill. "A core skill of the interaction designer is imagining users (characters), motivations, actions, reactions, obstacles, successes, and a complete set of 'what if' scenarios," writes designer Susan Stuart, in a blog post highlighted in the report. "These are the skills of a writer — all kinds of writers, but particularly fiction, screenwriting, and technical writing."...
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With digitalization, it is now possible to custom design an advertisement based on your target audience’s location, interests, demographics, purchase history, in a way that seems personally relevant. Personalized marketing is here.