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The Mags (and Ads) of Google Books

Andrea Fjeld — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:18:00 -0500

I’m pretty old fashioned when it comes to my books, newspapers, and magazines. Yet despite my marginalia, I’m forever forgetting where that certain line or passage is—right when I want to read it to someone. Enter Google Books. I can certainly see the utility in that! And now it’s added magazines to the lineup. I want to scream “Disconnect!” but I can’t stop reading New York.

Like Google Books, the magazines are also searchable. What’s interesting here is that your search isn’t strictly limited to article content, but ads appear in the results as well. Can’t remember that interesting MoMa gift? Your answer’s four letters and a mouse click away.

While this is a positive move for the interactivity of what was formerly purely static media, perhaps eventually it will go even further. What if the ads were clickable and drove directly to a website or purchase page? How we live now: reinventing advertising one step at a time (psst—we call that post-advertising).

Celebrating Movember

Andrea Fjeld — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:55:00 -0500

Merry Movember! Now even non-Williamsburgers have an excuse to grow a ‘stache. It’s Movember—“Mo” for moustache, “vember” for November. Say what? Men across the globe are spending 30 days growing and grooming their moustaches. And, um, why? To bring awareness of and funding for the cancers that affect men.

But it wasn’t always this way. When it started over beers in Melbourne in 2003, the Aussies simply wanted to bring back the moustache. Then, the founders realized that the mo (Australian slang for moustache) had the potential for good. Inspired by the Pink Ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness, the gents wanted to do something for a male-only cause. So a year later, it evolved into a fundraising event for men's health—particularly prostate and testicular cancer. The Mo-movement caught on and spread into a worldwide mission to make men rethink their attitudes toward their own well-being.

It’s too late to sign up this year, but you can contribute by supporting participating friends with donations.

Yes, the ‘stache is sexy. And yes, I know people who've been affected by these cancer. But I love this campaign, which has raised over $47 million for many more reasons. Not only is it for a good cause, but it’s also an innovative way to spread the health message. Cause-based campaigns that the public wants to help should be a little fun. And these Mo Bros and Mo Sistas are sure enjoying themselves.

So get your MoJo on—I'll see at the Gala Partè!

In Cell Phones We Trust

Luke Dringoli — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:51:00 -0500

Rankings released by Brand Keys recently demonstrate that consumers are the most brand-loyal to the thing that they use daily (if not hourly). Yes, the cell phone.

The iPhone, predictably, was king. Samsung- and BlackBerry-made phones came in second and fourth place, respectively. So why are consumers so attached to these brands? Because they’re so attached to the physical phone. Even if they’re not in use, people always have one on them, in their pockets or lost in a purse.

Also on the list was Hyundai. The car company has been successful because owners connected with the offer that if they lost their jobs, they could return their vehicle. It’s good to feel secure. Hyundai proved it’s willing to go the extra mile during these rough economic times, which landed them the #18 position (up from last year's #108).

But on the other end of things, GM came in dead last, and it can blame its backward-facing marketing strategy for that. By focusing mainly on cost and financing, it fostered a deal-hungry, opportunistic consumer—faithful to no brand in particular.

Trust comes in many forms. If these results are any indication, consumers have faith in the things they engage most often or connect with personally. So take a lesson from this, and engage with consumers. Listen to their concerns. It’s one of the most effective ways to instill a greater sense of loyalty.

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A Difference of Opinion

Andrea Fjeld — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:51:00 -0500

In September, The Huffington Post surpassed the Washington Post in terms of unique visitors. "The Huff Post was up 26% year-over-year to 9.4 million uniques, while uniques at the Washingtonpost.com dropped almost 30% to 9.2 million," reports Jennifer Saba at Editor & Publisher. Look out, media giants. You are never safe.

What’s particularly interesting about this audience migration is that HuffPo often finds its stories from more established news sources — New York Times, Wall Street Journal, WashPo itself. Rarely (if ever) does it go the other way. But HuffPo’s reporters seem to have more freedom of opinion in their pieces. So why is this important?

A writer’s opinion is attractive to readers because people like to have their views validated — or they like to unabashedly disagree. Check the comment sections. On The Huffington Post, they are louder, more passionate. The other online publications pale in comparison. It’s a matter of agitation and self-expression.

The message is this: take a well-reported story, weigh in yourself, and you’ve created content your readership will love…or hate. Either way, you’re bound to get a response — and therefore an audience.

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Taking Back the Village

Andrea Fjeld — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:46:00 -0500

It's hard for me to badmouth Marc Jacobs, but this needs to be said. The West Village has become the ritzy part of town cluttered with upscale brunch spots, luxury shops, and the beatnik-turned-bourgeois. And it needs to be stopped.

That’s the reason for Mike Joyce's guerrilla-style campaign. After he saw two of his favorite restaurants close, he launched "More Jane Jacobs, less Marc Jacobs." It's supposedly a play on words, but it also appears to be a nod to the same-name activist and urban planner who lived in the neighborhood in the 1960s and is known for her writing on neighborhoods and inner-city workings. (A block of Hudson Street in the West Village was recently renamed Jane Jacobs Way in her honor.)

The campaign is nothing personal against the designer; it's a protest against the franchises that have moved in shutting down locally run businesses. And this sentiment is spreading through the neighborhood like an internet meme. The yellow postcards are popping up in store windows and café countertops. West Villagers want to rescue their home from the Starbucks, the Barnes & Nobles, the Ralph Laurens—and, of course, the string of Marc Jacobs stores that reign over Bleecker Street.

It's inexpensive, pro-bono work for a client that didn't hire him, but the grassroots campaign seems authentic for the 'hood (or what the 'hood used to be). We're all abuzz about web, but viral media can be as innocuous as a postcard, particularly if its message is strong to begin with.

Residents will have their Village back—even if Marc Jacobs has to take the fall.

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Can a Telenova Help the Census?

Mike Stevens — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:50:00 -0500

Historically Latinos have been undercounted come census time in the U.S. And after years of earnest (read: dull) community outreach efforts, the Census Bureau has gotten clever: It’s teamed up with the Spanish-language channel Telemundo to reach its audience. As the New York Times reports, they have decided to tell a story.

How ever do they do it? In the telenovela Más Sabe el Diablo, the focus is on the beautiful Perla Beltrán, played by Michelle Vargas. After her thieving husband is murdered, young Perla finds stability as a census worker. The plot twist allows the show’s creators to demystify the census for viewers (how to fill out forms, why the census matters, etc…) while entertaining them. The timing of this plot airs through November, just as real-life census workers fan out across the country.

Why all the effort? Census figures are used in figuring out Congressional districts and help feds determine how to divvy up hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. And why is Telemundo tucking such edifying fare into Diablo’s potent stew of intrigue and deception? Well, one guess: money. A better count would likely mean a big bump in the official Latino population. That translates into more ad revenue for Telemundo.

Who says storytelling is fun and games?

The Honda Brand Connection

Luke Dringoli — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:31:00 -0500

Honda has dazzled the social media world over the past several months with its Facebook experiment, Everybody Knows Somebody Who Loves a Honda, which tests the idea that everyone is connected through relationships with brands. In this case, that brand is Honda, of course.

The consumer makes a simple choice, between “I love a Honda” or “I know someone who loves a Honda.” Owners can post pictures of their rides, pledge loyalty to a specific model, or view connections with fellow drivers. Non-owners become “Honda love connectors” by inviting other fans to join.

After the low-key August launch, the campaign got a huge push from a one-day targeted homepage takeover (which included sites like ESPN.com and CNN.com). Since then, TV spots have been added, but senior manager Tom Peyton still claims the brand’s used minimal advertising. As AdAge reported, the largely viral campaign inspired him to tout word-of-mouth as the “oldest and arguably the most potent advertising you can do.”

The Truth About Lies

Kirk Cheyfitz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:48:00 -0500

There’s been a lot of hogswallow on the blogs and the eBooks about how social media promotes honesty because people engaging in social media must, must, must be honest, open, transparent and human.

I can give you a lot of examples, ranging from folks who rightly advocate honesty as the best policy (like Chris Brogan) to folks who tell you it’s the only approach that will work in social media. There is a myth gaining momentum that the social web possesses a set of antennae that are deadly accurate and can locate liars, phonies and self-promoters without fail.

Well, I, too, believe in and advocate for honesty. But I think it is important that facts and falsehoods can turn out to have equal power, especially online, contrary to what everyone posting about social media—especially folks in marketing and advertising—keep repeating over and over.

Consider this: The Harris polling organization, a reasonably trusted source of public opinion research, recently took the highly unusual step of measuring the public’s affinity for the manifestly false. Looking into what people understand about President Obama’s health care reform proposals, Harris found that huge portions of supposedly grown-up Americans believe a wide variety of things that simply aren’t true. (For a PDF of the Harris survey results on public beliefs about health care reform, click here and then download "Many People Are Confused or Misinformed on What Is, and Is Not, in Health Reform Proposals, September 21.") One example from the poll, taken during the week of September 8, tells the tale: “A quarter (25%) of the public believes that the president’s plans would ‘promote euthanasia to keep costs down,’ and only 56% believe this is untrue.”

The first point is that there isn’t any natural or easy way to distinguish the truth from a lie. The second is that lies may spread faster and farther than truths, especially if the lies are constructed to conform to someone’s preconceived ideas and prejudices. For example, most Americans are now primed to believe almost anything bad about ACORN or Goldman Sachs (to pick two extreme examples). And that means there will be more lies circulating about both.

We live at a moment when anyone with a keyboard and an internet connection can be a major media force. This is also a time when the old arbiters of truth in the mainstream media are losing ground (as well as money), when opinion is becoming more important than information and when promoting rage is becoming more popular than inducing calm. So we're seeing a big uptick in lies. It’s inevitable.

In this moment when the power to publish widely is available to anyone and everyone, it will not do to simply advocate for the truth. We have to go further and work diligently for the truth at all times. We have to worship the facts before we formulate or accept opinions. We will have to correct one another’s information when necessary. We will have to take our collective obligation to the truth seriously.

If we do this, we actually will receive some great benefits from the democratization of publishing that social media offers. But if we don’t, the chaos will get worse and worse until no one will be able to know what to believe.

GM Fights Brand Bullies with Social Media

Liz Arnold — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:19:00 -0500

When General Motors suffered from financial troubles this year, bloggers and social media types were fast to feed the frenzy. Some of them, including WebInkNow.com blogger David Meerman Scott, leveraged their prominence on the web to gain even more traction than the more objective journalists.

On Friday, Forbes.com’s Laurie Burkitt wrote about how GM pushed back against these brand-bashing “badvocates,” as they’re called, and directed a team of six social-media employees to scour the web to engage in brand discussion. The initiative is in addition to GM’s launch in July of "Tell Fritz," a section on GM's Re: invention site where anyone can comment or ask questions from GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson. Burkitt quotes Scott on one benefit of using social media in a brand’s storytelling: “We need to know there are real people out there.”

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Adidas Steps Up Its Game

Luke Dringoli — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:44:00 -0500

Trying to inch in on the Nike-controlled basketball market, Adidas is launching a global campaign projecting an image of brotherhood. The spot sports a who’s-who cast of NBA stars and their lives both on and off the court.

AdWeek reported that in the basketball category, Nike's Jordan brand captures 75% and Nike controls 18%, while Adidias owns only 2% of the game. But now it’s putting a full-court press on the competition. It’s using an inspirational approach, the concept being “It’s all on me to be stronger for my brotherhood.” Players profess their commitment to teammates. Besides the traditional TV spots, there’s a content-rich web portal.

B-ball fans can watch campaign clips. Articles are interlaced with roster details and game reminders. A “real talk” section gives enthusiasts a peek at the personal lives of their favorite superstar.

Meanwhile, the brand itself holds a first-place position. Products are featured the whole time. Consumers can customize sneakers, get more information, and learn about its NBA collection.

Great content? Engagement? Adidias might have a slam dunk with this one.

Tomorrow: Use Social Media for Global Good

Andrea Fjeld — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:36:00 -0500

In preparation for December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, advocates for environmental awareness are broadcasting their message to the world’s leaders online. They fear that many of them don’t take the crisis as seriously as they should and aren’t planning enough to prevent global catastrophe. The upper limit of carbon dioxide we can safely have in our atmosphere is 350 PPM (that's parts per million), and yet, as we all know, we’ve far surpassed that.

There have been many efforts for the cause. On October 15th, more than 13,000 representing 156 countries blogs and 18 million readers participated in Blog Action Day. Its mission was to change the flow of web conversation and create a global discussion about climate change. Together, they increased the number of posts on the issue by about 500%. Talk about empowering the public!

However, it doesn’t end there. Tomorrow, Saturday, October 24th, the world is following up the mission with the International Day of Climate Change. 350.org has called for people to organize at important places within their communities, somehow incorporate the number 350 into an activity, take a picture of the event, and upload it to its website. Then, it will send all of the images to world leaders and media sources.

If the October 15th campaign is any indication, International Day of Climate Change will be another success — or at least get a rousing turnout. And how is it all accomplished? Why, the usual army of Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.

One strong message with thousands of advocates has a powerful effect when you make that message easy to spread.

Social media can't change the world, but it a tool to move the process along. Let's hope the world's leaders take the appropriate next step. And hey, maybe I’ll see you at the pumpkin carving tomorrow.

Every Dog Will Have His Day

Luke Dringoli — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:38:00 -0500

Milk-Bone is lending a helping hand hoping to win over dog-lovers. As reported in the New York Times, the brand is donating a portion of its proceeds to Canine Assistance — a service-dog provider to people with special needs. Milk-Bone estimates it will give around $10 million to the charity. Now that’s definitely something to bark about!

The campaign promotes its products and their benefits (cleaner teeth, fresher breath, a century’s worth of brand trust) right alongside its philanthropic pursuits. For the campaign, Milk-Bone created a Facebook page following the adventures of a courageous service dog and a Twitter feature to encourage brand discussion. TV commercials call the bones “the treat that gives back” — both to pets and society.

In a crowded brand climate, wholesome, cause-based marketing can raise a brand’s profile, further sentiment amongst the segment’s core and overall, leave a lasting emotional impact.

In this day and age, such wholesome, cause-based marketing can really raise consumer sentiment. For these so-called “pet parents,” the message will hit home.

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The Evolution of American Demographics

Luke Dringoli — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:51:00 -0500

AdAge’s new white paper reveals information likely to come from the 2010 U.S. Census along with its marketing implications. Recognizing that modern culture is growing more and more complex, the study concludes that the “average” American is extinct.

The 32-page report found that the traditional household has transformed. The nuclear family of yesteryear is mostly a memory. In fact, it’s now largely split between married couples without children and single-person homes.

This also means the country is becoming more diverse. In California, Texas, Hawaii, and New Mexico, the traditional majority (white non-Hispanics) is now a minority. Plus, in the ten largest cities, not a single ethnicity accurately describes the majority of the population — a testament to the nation’s great urban areas merits as cultural melting pots. But consumers are restless, too. 85% of all population growth occurred in the American South and West over the last decade.

This report show signs that consumers are ever more intricate. Typical target marketing dogma is now invalid. Typical targets like “young white male” or “elderly Hispanic female” are rapidly becoming irrelevant. The meaning to all this? Segment more. Tailor your stories. You can’t slap simple labels on everyone anymore.

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Put a Smile On Your Face

Luke Dringoli — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:26:00 -0500

Turn that frown upside down! :) Campaigns are putting a cheerful face forward with positive messages about the economy. In this day and age, who needs to be dragged further down?

As the New York Times reports, brands like Levi’s, Bank of America and General Electric are all running upbeat ads. With taglines like “The American renewal is happening right now” and “America. Growing stronger every day,” they tell optimistic stories about the country. Of course, this appeals to downtrodden consumers.

The brands are betting that people want something uplifting in these troubled times. Those hit hardest want to believe that the times, they are a-changing — for the better.

The reality is that even marketers have been affected and want to believe. So never underestimate the power of positive messaging. An inspirational story or a happy ending often touches consumers in an effective manner. Perceptions, large and small, are always subject to change. And the dream could quickly become reality. (image)

Amp's Recent iPhone #PepsiFail

Luke Dringoli — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:22:00 -0500

Can an energy drink help you get chicks? Amp recently came under fire after launching an iPhone application to help guys score babes. Called “Amp Up Before You Score,” it described 24 female stereotypes and provided drinkers with pickup lines. AdWeek wrote up the app before the backlash the following weekend.

For each female category, the app offers icebreakers and conversation topics. With the “treehugger,” it lists local vegan restaurants. For the “sorority sister,” it identifies Greek letters. For the “punk rock girl,” it brings up the punk rock Wikipedia page. How sly.

The application encourages these fine, young men to boast to their fellow bros about their conquests through Facebook and Twitter. Its “Brag List” helps them record names, locations, facts — “whatever details you remember.”

Apple gave the app a steep NC-17 rating, but the way in which Amp depicts the female sex still outraged the public. PepsiCo (the parent company) apologized on Twitter:

Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback. #pepsifail

By introducing the hashtag “#pepsifail” themselves, AdAge thinks the brand may have exacerbated the situation and avoided permanent disaster.

This kind of advertising is not unusual and has been a trend for years. However, brands must recognize the consumers’ new, collective power to share their opinions (especially their distaste). New media has given the people more control and a louder voice — but must brands always walk on eggshells?

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