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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
KenRadio, November 4, 2008 — The number of those who read blogs at least once a month has grown 300% in the past four years, and what they read strongly influences their purchase decisions, playing a key role in ushering them to the point of actual purchase.
Advertising Age, October 27, 2008 — Just days before the Dow suffered its largest single-day point drop ever Sept. 29, Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom sat down with three top CMOs to talk about marketing in a recession. On hand were Ranjana Clark, senior exec VP-CMO of Wachovia Corp.; Tom O'Toole, CMO and chief information officer of Global Hyatt Corp.; and Mark Chmiel, exec VP-chief marketing and innovation officer at Denny's Corp.
Brandweek, October 21, 2008 — These days, countless users are wishing their social networking sites would simply pay attention to their online travels so they could serve up an ad for something they would—gasp—actually want to buy. After all, that's the whole idea behind behavioral targeting, isn't it? The footprints left behind a user's daily wanderings through the Web (or, in the case of social networks, personal and lifestyle details) are analyzed to later match her up with ads for products or services she's likely to want. It sounds so promising—in theory at least—that behavioral targeting is what many consider the wave of the future.
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
Advertising Age, October 17, 2008 — Detractors may mock Barack Obama these days as a celebrity, a candidate who promises little more than vague abstractions such as "hope" and "change." But no one should forget that he usurped the inevitable Clinton machine and has been considered the man to beat in this election.
How did he do it? The first step was taking the lessons learned from the Howard Dean campaign four years ago and turning them into internet-based fundraising that stunned Democrats and Republicans alike.... His campaign team has had a firm grasp of branding, messaging and old-fashioned political ground organization. It's also been able to balance mass marketing with social media and niche marketing.
eMarketer, October 10, 2008 — Nearly six out of 10 Americans who use social media interact with companies on social media Websites, according to a September 2008 study by conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Cone.
The researchers found 85% of social media users thought companies should interact with their consumers through social media, at least when needed.
“Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” said Mike Hollywood, director of new media at Cone, in a statement. “It isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”
Springwise Newsletter, October 7, 2008 — Most hotels today give guests a way to connect with them online before their stay, whether for making simple room requests or to shop ahead for items from the hotel's retail offerings. New York City's Pod Hotel, however, is now using an online forum to let guests make advance connections with each other as well.
The hotel's PodCulture forum is designed to let visitors swap stories, trade itineraries and ideas, and get to know their fellow guests before they arrive. Once they've booked their reservations, guests are sent an email that includes a link to the PodCulture blog and a unique user ID code. That code allows them to create a profile for the blog and begin communicating with other guests.
Owned and operated by BD Hotels, the Pod Hotel provides... continue reading
Brandweek, October 5, 2008 — Recognizing that a consumer's two cents are well worth their dollars, General Mills and Kraft have both launched new word-of-mouth networks.
For General Mills, it is "Pssst . . . ," an online network that gives members the scoop on the latest product news and offerings. The site, pssst.generalmills.com, currently has 100,000 members after a quiet launch last month.
Pssst uses an initial survey to help gauge product preferences. Once registered, users can voice their opinions via blog posts, share online coupon offers and recipes, and test new sample kits via the mail.
Kraft, meanwhile, kicked off Kraftfirsttaste.com last week, which lets consumers share the newest coupon and sampling offers, but also includes features such as a member spotlight, product... continue reading
Advertising Age, September 29, 2008 — Once upon a time — say, 2002 — digital spending was a negligible portion of total marketing budgets and we lived in a world where few marketers would dare go "beyond the banner." Fast-forward to 2008, and in some cases we have the opposite problem. Digital spending is still too low, but in the spirit of wanting to appear current, some marketers have rushed to embrace any and every new digital tactic.
This has resulted in a scenario where some digital tactics are dangerously close to "jumping the shark." Everyone is doing them, so they're not original anymore. They generally are not done well (i.e., in a way that builds brand equity, awareness or sales), and they may be so commonplace that rather than making a brand seem current or hip, they have the... continue reading
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