How Twittering Critics Brought Down Motrin Mom Campaign†

Bloggers Ignite Brush Fire Over Weekend, Forcing J&J to Pull Ads, Issue Apology

Adweek, November 17, 2008 — Johnson & Johnson did manage to offend some mothers with an online and print campaign for Motrin that implied moms carry their babies as fashion accessories. But was it a genuine groundswell that felled the effort — or an alliance of the few, empowered by microblogging service Twitter?

Building a Better Twitter

BusinessWeek, November 7, 2008 — A host of rival sites allow users to share short messages like Twitter, but offer unique features such as picture-sharing or private groups

Study: Blogs Influence Purchases More Than Social Sites

ClickZ, October 28, 2008 — Blogs can have more impact on purchase decisions than social networks, a new study finds. Blogs create a conversation and trusted resource that influences purchase decision.

The study, "Harnessing the Power of Blogs," sponsored research by BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research company, looks at the evolving influence from the reader's perspective. "What we wanted to do was look at the reader's side of the coin, look at reader patterns and how people are reading blogs...and drill down into the content impacting other media platforms," said Valerie Combs, VP of corporate communications at BuzzLogic.

Affluent Women Dramatically ‘Multiply’ Major Purchases with Word-of-Mouth

Marketing Charts, October 22, 2008 — A new subset of affluent women dubbed “Marketing Multipliers” spends twice as much as other affluent women on consumer electronics and fashion, and uses dramatically more online and offline word-of-mouth to drive increased purchases, according to a study from the New York Times Company.

Based on qualitative interviews and a survey of more than 3,000 women with household incomes of at least $100K, the research identifies a combination of extensive social networks, past recommending behavior and personality traits that differentiate influential Marketing Multipliers from other affluent women.

“In a time of tight marketing budgets and an increased focus on return, this study provides advertisers a much better understanding of consumers who are... continue reading

Why Pharma Fears Social Networking†

Brandweek, October 19, 2008 — Although a majority of marketers have embraced online social media and user-generated content efforts, one industry is conspicuously not taking advantage of the gold rush: pharmaceuticals.

The reason: Marketers fear that user-generated content will include complaints about injuries caused by their drugs’ side effects. The law requires these “adverse events” to be reported to the FDA. The FDA’s adverse-event databases are regularly combed by lawyers looking for potential class-action suits.

Thus, drug marketers have stuck with a decidedly Web 1.0 model, in which customer interaction is kept to an absolute minimum.

This head-in-the-sand approach may be about to change. A debate is raging in the drug business as to whether companies should adopt... continue reading

Viral Video Marketing Survey: The Agency Perspective

Feed Company, October 13, 2008 — The tactic of creating and distributing viral video sponsored by advertisers to users on web video sites and blogs is increasing in popularity following a year that saw YouTube-charting videos from major brands such as Levi’s’ “Guys Backflip Into Jeans,” Gatorade’s “Ball Girl,” and Nike “Kobe Jumps Over Car.” A new report released from online video seeding firm Feed Company shows 70% of ad agency and media buying executives plan to increase budgets for viral video marketing in 2009. The ”Viral Video Marketing Survey: The Agency Perspective” culled insights on viral video marketing trends from 40 executives at major advertising agencies and media buying firms including Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Wieden & Kennedy, Digitas, and... continue reading

Mainstream Blogging: Integral to Media Ecosystem

MarketingVox, October 8, 2008 — Bloggers collectively create nearly one million blog posts each day, and half of bloggers believe blogs will be a primary source of news and entertainment in the next five years, according to Technorati's 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report, MarketingCharts writes.

The report, which was published on Technorati's website over the course of a work week, covered five broad topic areas relating to the state of blogging: Who bloggers are, how they blog, blogging for profit and brands in the blogosphere.

Survey Records Shift in Blue Chip

New Epsilon CMO Survey Highlights Shift to Digital Marketing

Epsilon, September 8, 2008 — Chief Marketing Officers at many of the biggest brands in the nation are seeing a major shift in the marketing landscape. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the 175 marketing executives surveyed see an increase in their spending on interactive/digital marketing while 59% report a decrease in traditional marketing spend.

According to Mike Iaccarino, CEO of Epsilon, a leading marketing services firm, "Epsilon's first survey of the nation's Chief Marketing Officers presents a unique look at the changing dynamics of the marketing landscape. In this economic climate, marketing executives are seeking accountability and measurable results. Data driven marketing is an increasingly important component of corporate marketing campaigns as senior marketers employ... continue reading

Woman to Woman, Online

New York Times, August 14, 2008 — Heather Armstrong’s wickedly funny blog about motherhood, Dooce, is more than just an outlet for the creativity and frustrations of a modern mother. The site, chock full of advertising, is a moneymaking machine — so much so that Ms. Armstrong and her husband have both quit their regular jobs.

NPR opens the Kimono - Inside NPR

FastForward Blog, July 8, 2008 — One of the aspects that I love about NPR’s new morning Show Bryant Park is that the show shows you what is going on behind the scenes with their Twitter feed and a daily video showing what will be on the show the next day. BPP was tested in beta by allowing a lot of interaction - real time research.