Beware of the Doghouse

JC Penney has been producing ambitious interactive campaigns for the past year. Here's the holiday 2009 effort. It's funny. Long. Very long. But funny.

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MediaPost Publications - iPerceptions: 'Old School' Ad Units Fare Better Than Emerging Media - 10/06/2008

"I think the biggest takeaway from the data is that the current ad formats aren't very effective," said Jonathan Levitt, iPerceptions' vice president of marketing. "Brands are going to have to start looking at things like direct content integration and product placement. There's still a place for things like banners and skyscrapers, but it's much more about brand awareness than inducing conversions."

MediaPost Publications - iPerceptions: 'Old School' Ad Units Fare Better Than Emerging Media - 10/06/2008

It's not that banner ads (or as I'd prefer we call them, display ads) are ineffective. In fact, their presence increases brand awareness, recall and perception. The problem is that agencies and clients rely on display ads for clicks, a task they're less and less capable of performing.

The problem I encounter every day is that so many marketing professionals are just embracing foundational interactive tactics - such as banners - at a time in which the interactive sector is undergoing rapid change. So you've got agency people advising their clients to jump in with a mix of tactics - banners and microsites, usually - that don't fit the business problems and marketing outcomes the clients wants to address.

The game of catch up is no fun to play.

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MediaPost Publications - ClipBlast Partners With Clearspring For Widget Distribution - 09/29/2008

ClipBlast will use the Clearspring platform to distribute widgets that provide custom video content, channels and playlists. The widgets will feature the ClipBlast Intelligent Index, which enables users to pull video from thousands of sources and play the content from any Web page, social profile, blog or other Web location. Clearspring's real-time analytics tools will track and monetize the widgets and their activity.

MediaPost Publications - ClipBlast Partners With Clearspring For Widget Distribution - 09/29/2008

Note to self: Call them up and see what we can do together. Note to readers: There's absolutely no pain in reaching out to companies you read about in the press to start a conversation about working together. It amazes me how few businesspeople, especially agency people, actually do it. No wonder agencies are lagging behind.

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Texting Outpaces Calling On Mobile Phones

While the number of calls has remained relatively steady, text messages have shot up 450% in the last two years.

Not surprisingly, the biggest gap between calls and text messages is found among teenage mobile customers. Those ages 13 to 17 sent or received on average 1,742 text messages a month, compared to only 231 calls.

For those ages 35 to 44, the ratio was about even at 223 to 236. And for mobile users 45 and over, voice is still the preferred method of communication.

MediaPost Publications - Texting Outpaces Calling On Mobile Phones - 09/23/2008

And, as I beat this drum over and over, here is more evidence of the new generation gap.

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Tug of War - Creative vs. Media

In the continuing tug-of-war between what drives the train--creative or media--a top Unilever executive Thursday came out in favor of creative. While there is an argument that lackluster ads can still deliver a message with shrewd placement, Babs Rangaiah said if the creative does not drive demand, a strong media plan is not likely to save the day. Rangaiah, the director of global communications planning at Unilever, said if the creative appears banal, it's time to yank the media spend and use it somewhere else.

MediaPost Publications - Advertising Week: The Future Belongs To Creative - 09/26/2008

I firmly believe and will continue to believe that the new advertising era that has dawned requires that we embrace complexity, whereas the old advertising era that is lingering beyond its much ballyhooed demise worshiped at the altar of simplicity.

While a great, persuasive message must be "simple" in its singularity of focus and incisiveness, the act of developing that message and disseminating it across the mediasphere will only continue to befuddle and perplex those of us who don't ... again ... embrace complexity.

How each simplified meme is launched into that matrix; and how each grows on its own without negating its brethren in the chaos of an on-demand world, is the work of big brains and fearless intellects.

Ack ... I got on a soap box. Apologies.

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MediaPost Publications - Retailers Search Report: Use a 'Portfolio' of Search Tactics - 09/26/2008

Indeed, just 12% of searchers that converted into buyers had clicked on both branded and non-branded terms. The majority (51%) of conversions stemmed from branded terms alone, while 37% came from non-branded terms. "Most companies pick one or the other," said John McAteer, Google's industry director, retail. "Very few are spending accurately on both their branded terms and the category terms, and I think this info should be surprising to them."

MediaPost Publications - Retailers Search Report: Use a 'Portfolio' of Search Tactics - 09/26/2008

Search is the primordial ooze of advertising's future. Google clearly knows that all TV advertising will be placed dynamically to every household based on contextual and behavioral criteria. The digital changeover will enable the technological underpinnings to be built. That's why the practice of placing ad units based on consumer input is the future of all media planning and buying.

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BannerBlog : Where Banners Click

BannerBlog : Where Banners Click

Um. It's a blog. About banners. And it's one of the most useful sites to show people how far online advertising has come.

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Boomers More Traditional Online - Not into Blogs, Social Networking

People over age 40 participate heavily in word-of-mouth and value personal recommendations and expert opinions, but they have not embraced social networking or blogs despite being heavy users of other online services, according to a ThirdAge/JWT Boom study.

Boomers More Traditional Online - Not into Blogs, Social Networking

Here's the bottom line: 96% of Boomers use Email. So, if you want to reach people age 35 and up, try Email.

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Metrics Insider » Blog Archive » In Praise of Online Advertising

As we develop new ways to dedicate on-screen real estate to delivering captivating, engaging ads, whether via banner, rich media or emerging formats, I fully expect online display advertising to become an increasingly important component of the media mix. We don’t require a click-through from a magazine ad or a TV ad or a newspaper ad or a radio ad, and all these impressions are valued by advertisers. Impressions online should have at least the same value, wholly independent of the direct linkage to a click. The opportunity to generate that action online is a profound value-add, but let’s make sure that we properly value the ad before we overlay the value-add. Advertising can have immediate effect, but it can also have quantifiable mid-term effect, and profoundly valuable long-term branding effect. And that is as true for online advertising as for any other medium.

Metrics Insider » Blog Archive » In Praise of Online Advertising

Amen brother. Click to read this article; it's got loads of great references to various online advertising formats and how well they work for a variety of outcomes: brand awareness, offline sales boosts, etc.

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MediaPost Publications - TNT Uses Tolls In TV Marketing Ploy - 08/29/2008

TNT is turning to one of the more persuasive promotional techniques to drive tune-in for a new series: a freebie. The network will cover the toll charge for drivers in four metro areas this weekend in support of the premiere of drama "Raising the Bar."

For two-hour periods in the afternoon, drivers in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta--all top-10 DMAs--and Orlando will be able to go through without having to forage for cash. The promotion runs today in Atlanta and on Monday in the other markets in advance of that night's 10 p.m. Labor Day show debut.

The booths across the toll plazas will be covered in signage. In Atlanta, drivers will sail right through. In the three other markets, they will stop and be handed a card reading, "Your free toll was courtesy of TNT and 'Raising the Bar.' 'Raising the Bar' premieres tonight on TNT."

MediaPost Publications - TNT Uses Tolls In TV Marketing Ploy - 08/29/2008

I can't begin to tell you how many times I personally have been waved off any and all promotional ideas leveraging toll booths. "We can't do it." "The authorities won't let us." "It's too complicated!"

Excuses, excuses, excuses. No more.

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Ugh ...

Teens would seemingly be the prime target for mobile advertising, be it via text messages or the mobile Web, but research from comScore reveals that while U.S. kids ages 12-17 are cell phone-savvy, they are not particularly receptive to mobile ads. In fact, the relative simplicity of their phones and the fact that nearly 70% of teens need their parents to pay the bill (and thus, green-light extras like data plans) makes them poor campaign targets.

MediaPost Publications - Mobile Teens: Savvy, Chatty And Don't Like Ads - 08/29/2008

Articles like this one make me unhappy. I want and want and want to sell mobile campaigns to my agency clients because I genuinely believe the platform can make an impact. But the metrics make it tough. How much to spend? What's going to be the ROI? How to test the most effective messaging? Interestingly, if teens aren't exactly the best target, maybe Mom is.

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MediaPost Publications - Video Ad Study Shows High Engagement Rates - 08/18/2008

Completion rates for pre-roll video ads approached 90% and click-through rates averaged 10% in a new study of video ad units by Break Media and video ad technology provider Panache.

MediaPost Publications - Video Ad Study Shows High Engagement Rates - 08/18/2008

This article contains lots of stats about the effectiveness of online video advertising. Great for reference.

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Levi's Invites Consumers To 'Unbutton' Artists - 08/19/2008

Levi's puts the focus on the 501 brand in its latest "Live Unbuttoned" digital campaign. The ads and microsites, featuring up-and-coming artists, offer a glimpse of the real person behind the celebrity, speaking to the hidden creativity in everyone.

EVB San Francisco built the campaign on the idea that everyone has an artistic side--they just need to "unbutton" it. The video and still ads directed by Pier Nicola D'Amico began rolling out last week featuring emerging artists including the British hip-hop singer Estelle, along with Nikka Costa and Wale. The concept, developed with support from music agency Cornerstone, gives consumers a glimpse into the style of several profiled artists.

MediaPost Publications - Levi's Invites Consumers To 'Unbutton' Artists - 08/19/2008

The standard argument I hear all the time is that only certain brands in certain verticals can produce this kind of work. The recently launched Converse Chuck Taylor campaign is strikingly similar to this one -- feature a bunch of up-and-coming artists (many of whom are known entities) and feature them via print and microsites. Got it. It's great for fashion, but how does Scrubbing Bubbles do one of these? Should some brands just step aside and continue to use more traditional advertising?

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Marketers Love Conversation, Unless the Consumer Starts It - Advertising Age - Digital: Columns

I dare you to find a feedback form that winks even a quasi-friendly smile. And if you find one that allows consumers to truly communicate in their native voices -- complete with links, photos, audio clips or videos -- I'll eat my just-published book.

Marketers Love Conversation, Unless the Consumer Starts It - Advertising Age - Digital: Columns

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New Ads on Last.fm Respond to Music - ClickZ

A redesign of Last.fm, the CBS-owned free online music platform, is giving advertisers the ability to create "smart ads" that can, among other things, move to the beat of whatever music a user is listening to.

New Ads on Last.fm Respond to Music - ClickZ

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Digitas is on a Roll. First Holiday Inn, now Gummi Burst

A new digital campaign for Gummi Burst, the latest addition to Mars' Starburst candy line, has Digitas flexing its creative muscle in a number of ways.

Using the premise that the individually-wrapped candies are ideal for sharing, the "Share Something Juicy" features Starburst in a new animated Web series, a Starburst channel on YouTube featuring videos made by Digitas's brand content unit The Third Act, and partnerships with several popular video bloggers.

"It really is a fresh look at their digital strategy," said Digitas Senior VP of Marketing Todd Stanley. "It's targeting a very fickle and hard-to-reach...audience for Starburst."

Care to Share? Digitas Launches Campaign for New Mars Candy - ClickZ

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RA DIOHEA_D / HOU SE OF_C ARDS - Google Code

In Radiohead's new video for "House of Cards" from the album "In Rainbows", no cameras or lights were used. Just data.

RA DIOHEA_D / HOU SE OF_C ARDS - Google Code

How exactly this admittedly stunning visualization technique can be used in marketing is an open question. I can see it appropriated by filmmakers for commercials or features. No sweat. It holds promise for banner ads, too.

But it's a treatment, not an idea. And the difference between the two is monumental.

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Big-name brands booking ads on Facebook

With millions of users riveted to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, big-name brands are venturing into the newly charted territory of social media advertising, seeking to unravel the real opportunities from the flurry of hype."They are reading about it a lot, their children are using it," said Ian Schafer, CEO and founder of Deep Focus, an ad agency that created Facebook campaigns for HBO, Coca-Cola and New Line Cinema. "And they are finding that the social media networks are too big to ignore."

Big-name brands booking ads on Facebook

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About Us | Peer39* Semantic Advertising Solutions

Based on natural language processing and machine learning, Peer39's patented algorithms understand page meaning and sentiment, and deliver the most relevant and effective brand safe display and text advertising.

About Us | Peer39* Semantic Advertising Solutions

Do yourself a favor and re-read that sentence a couple more times. Let me try to translate: the "patented algorithms" are computer program calculations that "understand page meaning and sentiment" -- literally reading the content and understanding it -- by using "natural language processing" and "machine learning" -- so the computer program processes language the same way our brains do, and the computer gets smarter, better and more accurate as it goes along.

This isn't science fiction. Get your head out of the sand. It's a wonderful, phenomenal breakthrough in being able to target advertising messages to people who are receptive to the offer in the moment.

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Springwise: Zero cents per minute: 100,000 takers so far

Blyk targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its free mobile phone service, which includes 217 texts and 43 minutes every month. In exchange, of course, they get advertising—up to 6 messages sent to their phones each day. Britain's youth don't seem to mind, though—Blyk reached that 100,000-member target six months ahead of schedule. Response rates to the ads in question have also achieved a whopping average of 29 percent—far surpassing the norm, which tends to hover in the single digits.

Springwise: Zero cents per minute: 100,000 takers so far

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