In class last week we talked about mobile marketing. At first I thought mobile marketing was just getting text messages on my phone. I have NO interest in getting text message advertising to my cell. Turns out that mobile marketing isn’t really that at all. I was first turned off of the idea of mobile marketing when we started talking, but by the end of class I sort of wished (even more) that I had an iphone or a smart phone so that I could use cool apps like Foursquare (a mobile marketing tool). This program isn’t very popular in Canada, and it’s a shame. It sounds like a really fun game and a great way to get out and discover new things in your area. It’s also a good way of getting “frequent visitor” bonuses if your favorite stores get involved.
So I’m sort of on the fence about the program. It would be pretty cool to walk into Starbucks and get “the usual, on the house” because I’m the Mayor, but at what expense?
I can sort of understand the apprehensiveness of Canadians though. You’re basically letting a program (and everyone else using the program) watch you at all times. It lets people know when you’re home, when you’re out shopping, or if you’re out of town. It’s a pretty big security risk for a not-so-big payback. Also, beyond a security risk, how are you supposed to deak out of lame dinner-parties because you’re “sick” when people can see that you’re actually out at a fancy restaurant with: “Who? Omigosh… so-and-so is there too! I wonder if they’re dating.”
What are you supposed to do? Leave your phone at home? Right…
I checked out Foursquare on my boyfriend’s iphone when I got home from class last week and we had a peek around… of course we made up a fake username and fake email address. Does that defeat the purpose? Lol. After checking some stuff out and “locations near us” we decided it wasn’t really for either of us. It’s just not popular enough around here. Ottawa is kind of a bore that way. We’re the capital of Canada, but we’re always the slowest in terms of catching on to cool technological trends. Come on Ottawa, get with it! Then maybe I’ll blog about this topic again.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
And the Oscar will go to... (Round 2)
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and where there’s drama, there’s an Oscar. I’m not talking about on-screen drama, I mean the fact that The Hurt Locker producer is banned from the Oscar ceremony because, according to bostonherald.com, he sent out an email asking voters to ignore the “$500 million” movie. My theory is this: the friends that received the email to boycott Avatar will vote for The Hurt Locker in protest to the fact that Nicolas Chartier has been banned from the ceremony. It will all end in poetic justice.
Is that all the drama? Of course not. Apparently there’s another personal battle being fought between the directors of The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Kathryn Bigelow (director of THL) and James Cameron (If you don’t know who he his, get out of your cave) were married for a short time between 1989 and 1991. According to a few blogs that I’ve read, people are rooting for THL not only because they feel it’s a superior movie in acting and script, but because they want Bigelow to knock Cameron down a notch or two. Nothing would be more perfect than sticking it to Cameron by giving the Oscar to his underdog ex-wife and her low-budget war film.
That’s two points for The Hurt Locker.
Checking back with my other social media mention trackers, it seems that talk about Avatar and THL are consistent since the announcement of their nominations. That being said, Avatar is still consistently way higher in mentions than THL.
So do I go with my previous prediction that more talk means better results? Not when there’s drama like this around. I’m taking a 180-degree spin and changing my bet to The Hurt Locker. Maybe it’s my desire to see a multi-million-dollar-man get shown up by his low-budget ex-wife, but I also think drama is gold.
Is that all the drama? Of course not. Apparently there’s another personal battle being fought between the directors of The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Kathryn Bigelow (director of THL) and James Cameron (If you don’t know who he his, get out of your cave) were married for a short time between 1989 and 1991. According to a few blogs that I’ve read, people are rooting for THL not only because they feel it’s a superior movie in acting and script, but because they want Bigelow to knock Cameron down a notch or two. Nothing would be more perfect than sticking it to Cameron by giving the Oscar to his underdog ex-wife and her low-budget war film.
That’s two points for The Hurt Locker.
Checking back with my other social media mention trackers, it seems that talk about Avatar and THL are consistent since the announcement of their nominations. That being said, Avatar is still consistently way higher in mentions than THL.
So do I go with my previous prediction that more talk means better results? Not when there’s drama like this around. I’m taking a 180-degree spin and changing my bet to The Hurt Locker. Maybe it’s my desire to see a multi-million-dollar-man get shown up by his low-budget ex-wife, but I also think drama is gold.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Branded Utilities
Branded utilities are a great way of reaching an audience and engaging them with a brand. By branded utilities I mean things like iPhone apps and websites that make your life a little bit easier and associate themselves with a brand. Examples of this include The Weather Network creating an app that gives you instant weather reports and Charmin creating an app where people can find, review and rank the closest public bathroom, using the GPS on your phone. Branded utilities are everywhere, and I personally think that the invention of iPhone apps was the tipping point for the avalanche of innovative ways to interact with consumers.
While I don’t have an iPhone, I am exposed to branded utilities. I use things like Widgets on my mac. I personally use The Weather Network widget several times a day (every time I walk my dog in the winter), along with the Dictionary widget. There are flight trackers, google search bars, wikipedia search bars, the yellow pages and an unbelievable, unfathomable amount of others.
Other examples of branded utilities are websites like Fibre1.com, that feature recipes about how to cook with fibre1 and get the best benefits from the product. Campbells soup has a similar website. Ikea has gone in another direction by hosting in-store seminars about home improvement. All of these utilities not only help people improve their lives, but also expose them to how to use the branded products properly. It’s win-win.
Some companies are missing out on branded utilities though. Companies like Sharpe could have a branded scientific calculator widget and Pedigree could have a service that sends me email reminders to book my dog’s annual vet visit and vaccines. With advertising developing the way it has so far, it won’t be long until brands find their way into our everyday needs.
While I don’t have an iPhone, I am exposed to branded utilities. I use things like Widgets on my mac. I personally use The Weather Network widget several times a day (every time I walk my dog in the winter), along with the Dictionary widget. There are flight trackers, google search bars, wikipedia search bars, the yellow pages and an unbelievable, unfathomable amount of others.
Other examples of branded utilities are websites like Fibre1.com, that feature recipes about how to cook with fibre1 and get the best benefits from the product. Campbells soup has a similar website. Ikea has gone in another direction by hosting in-store seminars about home improvement. All of these utilities not only help people improve their lives, but also expose them to how to use the branded products properly. It’s win-win.
Some companies are missing out on branded utilities though. Companies like Sharpe could have a branded scientific calculator widget and Pedigree could have a service that sends me email reminders to book my dog’s annual vet visit and vaccines. With advertising developing the way it has so far, it won’t be long until brands find their way into our everyday needs.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Guerilla War, Where?
Everywhere. Guerilla marketing is all around us (ok, maybe not those of us who live in Ottawa). It’s the wacky take on advertising that catches you off guard and uses shock tactics. I love guerilla marketing and I think it’s a fantastic way of catching people when they aren’t expecting it. Maybe it’s because I’m studying advertising, but I really appreciate the creative thinking and ingenuity that goes into these campaigns. If people can find a new way of getting a message across to me, I will commend them. I appreciate the skill, and will likely show that appreciation by supporting that company, or at least spreading the word by discussing my interaction with them.
Interaction is a huge part of guerilla marketing. A lot of billboard ads are seen and passed, channels are changed, radio stations are ignored. It’s all too easy to ignore marketing messages these days. The best way of getting customers is to gain interaction with them.
The well known Kleenex campaign is an example of this. Kleenex set up couches and a rug in main downtown areas and had a man sitting on one of the couches. He then proceeded to ask people walking by if they wanted to talk about anything. People would speak to the guy like a counselor, and when things got emotional, he handed them a Kleenex. Interaction with the product and the brand.
Another thing about guerilla marketing is its ability to gain high impact at a low price. Take the Daily Bread Food Bank’s campaign to launch their fall food drive a few years ago. They hired an unconventional advertising firm, called Smak, to come up with the concept. What they came up with was this: They purchased old useless fridges from scrap yards and dumps for minimal costs, and deposited them on the streets of downtown Toronto in the early hours of the morning. When the morning rush started, people were seeing a random fridge on their way to work. If opened, the fridge contained nothing. People would be confused, and continue on their way to work, puzzled. The stunt got a lot of attention and created a lot of buzz. Later in the day it was revealed that the fridges were placed on the streets to bring light to the fact that so many Torontonians cannot fill their fridges. It was a minimal cost to buy and deliver the fridges and the city ended up picking up the bill for removing them – as it turned out, security wasn’t fond of the fridges, and they were all gone by 3pm. I’m not sure of the exact numbers in food donations that year, but I know that it was a successful campaign.
If you have a higher budget, you might be able to pull off something like this: It’s pretty self-explanatory.
Guerilla marketing is awesome! I wish we had more of that creativity in Ottawa. I’d love to be the victim of one of these ploys.
(p.s. as for the sentiment expressed in the video “Urban Spam” shown in class today… It bums me out. People should be commended for their creative ideas and new ways of reaching the masses. But maybe that’s just my opinion.)
Interaction is a huge part of guerilla marketing. A lot of billboard ads are seen and passed, channels are changed, radio stations are ignored. It’s all too easy to ignore marketing messages these days. The best way of getting customers is to gain interaction with them.
The well known Kleenex campaign is an example of this. Kleenex set up couches and a rug in main downtown areas and had a man sitting on one of the couches. He then proceeded to ask people walking by if they wanted to talk about anything. People would speak to the guy like a counselor, and when things got emotional, he handed them a Kleenex. Interaction with the product and the brand.
Another thing about guerilla marketing is its ability to gain high impact at a low price. Take the Daily Bread Food Bank’s campaign to launch their fall food drive a few years ago. They hired an unconventional advertising firm, called Smak, to come up with the concept. What they came up with was this: They purchased old useless fridges from scrap yards and dumps for minimal costs, and deposited them on the streets of downtown Toronto in the early hours of the morning. When the morning rush started, people were seeing a random fridge on their way to work. If opened, the fridge contained nothing. People would be confused, and continue on their way to work, puzzled. The stunt got a lot of attention and created a lot of buzz. Later in the day it was revealed that the fridges were placed on the streets to bring light to the fact that so many Torontonians cannot fill their fridges. It was a minimal cost to buy and deliver the fridges and the city ended up picking up the bill for removing them – as it turned out, security wasn’t fond of the fridges, and they were all gone by 3pm. I’m not sure of the exact numbers in food donations that year, but I know that it was a successful campaign.
If you have a higher budget, you might be able to pull off something like this: It’s pretty self-explanatory.
Guerilla marketing is awesome! I wish we had more of that creativity in Ottawa. I’d love to be the victim of one of these ploys.
(p.s. as for the sentiment expressed in the video “Urban Spam” shown in class today… It bums me out. People should be commended for their creative ideas and new ways of reaching the masses. But maybe that’s just my opinion.)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
And the Oscar will go to... (Round 1)
This week's challenge was to use social media to try and predict the winner of the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. So here it goes:
I quickly googled to find the list of Nominees:
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”
I can tell you what my top three nominees are: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and The Blind Side. All three movies I have not been able to escape hearing about. I haven't seen any of them because I live in a moneyless cave, but I can't stop hearing and reading about them.
So after figuring out my top three based on what's been jumping at me, I did a little bit more searching. I used goggle trends, trendistic, twitter search and socialmention to see what was talked about the most. In my opinion, if it's talked about, it's going to win. I don't have to read every blog, or see everyone's opinion. If its stirring the pot, it's bound for greatness.
Avatar seems to be the most talked about movie. Everyone is raving about it and the revolutions its causing in movie and television technology. With fanatical people becoming obsessed with this movie to the point of suicide because they wish they were in Pandora instead of Earth, it's a LOT of talk.
Based on keywords associated with the Oscars on socialmention.com, it appears that Hurtlocker may be talked about the most as a movie, while James Cameron comes up as best director. Could Hurtlocker be giving Avatar a run for its money? I'm not so sure. My money is on Avatar.
I quickly googled to find the list of Nominees:
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”
I can tell you what my top three nominees are: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and The Blind Side. All three movies I have not been able to escape hearing about. I haven't seen any of them because I live in a moneyless cave, but I can't stop hearing and reading about them.
So after figuring out my top three based on what's been jumping at me, I did a little bit more searching. I used goggle trends, trendistic, twitter search and socialmention to see what was talked about the most. In my opinion, if it's talked about, it's going to win. I don't have to read every blog, or see everyone's opinion. If its stirring the pot, it's bound for greatness.
Avatar seems to be the most talked about movie. Everyone is raving about it and the revolutions its causing in movie and television technology. With fanatical people becoming obsessed with this movie to the point of suicide because they wish they were in Pandora instead of Earth, it's a LOT of talk.
Based on keywords associated with the Oscars on socialmention.com, it appears that Hurtlocker may be talked about the most as a movie, while James Cameron comes up as best director. Could Hurtlocker be giving Avatar a run for its money? I'm not so sure. My money is on Avatar.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Advertising online to Shiba Inu owners
For this week’s blog, I’ve decided to try and find more information online about Shiba Inus (a native Japanese dog breed) while paying special attention to the advertising and marketing opportunities.
There are so many different ways to get information about dog breeds online: Blogs, forums, chat rooms (so 1998), wikipedia, kennel clubs, rescues and breeders. I’m a member of a forum about Shiba Inus, so I spread some links around. From the responses I got, it turns out I’m part of one of the best english forums in the world about Shibas. It also turns out that a lot of people on my forum read and write blogs about their dog(s). People had several opinions about the blog links I posted, as well as suggestions for ones I didn’t know about. I really enjoyed reading about the similarities and differences between my dog, and others with the same breed.
In terms of brands taking advantage of the information available online (by advertising on the sites), I didn’t see much at all. I guess since it’s such a specific (and not very prominent [in Canada]) breed, brands don’t think about advertising on these sites. The only “brands” I see benefiting online are breeders. Breeders from all around the world are advertising their dogs, litters and services for minimal costs compared to other forms of advertising.
The brands that should be taking advantage of these pages are “premium” dog food companies. There is a well-known website (Dogfoodanalysis.com) that reviews almost every brand of dog food you can imagine. It ranks every blend of every brand according to the nutritional value of the food ranging from 1 to 6 stars (6 being the highest quality). Anything above 4 stars is considered to be “premium”. It would take forever to go into great detail about what makes premium dog food and what doesn’t, so I’ll be quick in saying this: Premium dog food won’t be found in your local Petsmart, and you won’t see ads for it on TV. Now I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m going with this…
First: Shiba Inu owners and people interested in owning a Shiba Inu are not generic. They’re likely going to do a lot of research before they get the dog, and will likely want to do everything in their power to ensure that their dog gets the best training, the best grooming tools, and of course, the best food.
Second: Those who have done research about Shibas know that they are vulnerable to food allergies. No wheat, no chicken, no crappy bi-products. If you want a happy puppy tummy, you’re going to need the premium stuff.
So this is where I’m going: Premium dog food suppliers should be advertising on these blogs, forums, chat rooms, breeder sites, rescue sites and kennel club sites. Shiba wanters/owners are seeking information about how to get the best of the best for their dogs, so give it to them. Tell them about your products.
There are so many different ways to get information about dog breeds online: Blogs, forums, chat rooms (so 1998), wikipedia, kennel clubs, rescues and breeders. I’m a member of a forum about Shiba Inus, so I spread some links around. From the responses I got, it turns out I’m part of one of the best english forums in the world about Shibas. It also turns out that a lot of people on my forum read and write blogs about their dog(s). People had several opinions about the blog links I posted, as well as suggestions for ones I didn’t know about. I really enjoyed reading about the similarities and differences between my dog, and others with the same breed.
In terms of brands taking advantage of the information available online (by advertising on the sites), I didn’t see much at all. I guess since it’s such a specific (and not very prominent [in Canada]) breed, brands don’t think about advertising on these sites. The only “brands” I see benefiting online are breeders. Breeders from all around the world are advertising their dogs, litters and services for minimal costs compared to other forms of advertising.
The brands that should be taking advantage of these pages are “premium” dog food companies. There is a well-known website (Dogfoodanalysis.com) that reviews almost every brand of dog food you can imagine. It ranks every blend of every brand according to the nutritional value of the food ranging from 1 to 6 stars (6 being the highest quality). Anything above 4 stars is considered to be “premium”. It would take forever to go into great detail about what makes premium dog food and what doesn’t, so I’ll be quick in saying this: Premium dog food won’t be found in your local Petsmart, and you won’t see ads for it on TV. Now I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m going with this…
First: Shiba Inu owners and people interested in owning a Shiba Inu are not generic. They’re likely going to do a lot of research before they get the dog, and will likely want to do everything in their power to ensure that their dog gets the best training, the best grooming tools, and of course, the best food.
Second: Those who have done research about Shibas know that they are vulnerable to food allergies. No wheat, no chicken, no crappy bi-products. If you want a happy puppy tummy, you’re going to need the premium stuff.
So this is where I’m going: Premium dog food suppliers should be advertising on these blogs, forums, chat rooms, breeder sites, rescue sites and kennel club sites. Shiba wanters/owners are seeking information about how to get the best of the best for their dogs, so give it to them. Tell them about your products.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
New Class, New blogs
So this week's assignment is to read some advertising blogs and write about my experience reading them. I've decided to do mini-reviews on each one I read.
Adrants.com
Yawn. Sure, some of the content is kind of cool, like a coke machine that had a person inside who dispensed not just coke, but also pizza, flowers, and a submarine sandwich. But there was no insight into why this machine was a great marketing idea, or what coke could have done differently. Adrants.com is a blog where some guy writes 6 postings a day that give updates on new ads/marketing ideas that have been released recently. How about instead of 6 posts a day, the guy focuses on writing complete sentences and using spell check. It's poorly written and doesn't really give me anything tangible. Also, the layout and user interface is brutal (I shouldn't have to open a new page to see comments posted, and then click "back" to get to the original page with all of the posts on it)
Adblog.com
Loads a "contact us page" instead of a blog...?
Adverlab.blogspot.com
On first impression, this blog looks amateur. The content is on a plain white background with the content justified exactly along the left side of my browser window. Upon reading the first couple of posts, I saw this quote: "There will always be some group of people who want to block ads for personal reasons. But if we do a good job on the advertising side, people won't want to block ads. People will find them actually useful." Was this guy sitting in class with us? I have a feeling I might really enjoy reading these blogs. The next post is about product placement in relation to the blossoming of 3D animation as common place now. The post is brief, but he get's the point across that product placement may soon be useless, since the depth of field in 3D is so minimal.
Brief. Informing. Insightful. I like it! (although this guy could also use a proof-reader)
PSFK.com
While I still have no idea what PSFK stands for, I find it pretty interesting. It's not just about advertising and marketing; it's about industrial design, and current popular culture trends. Posts are written by several different contributors, and I enjoy that. It's better than just one person's opinion all the time. While it's not especially insightful, it's a neat blog that demonstrates innovation and brilliance. I also didn't notice any typos in my time on the site.
sethgodin.typepad.com
Seth Godin is a very smart man, so I'm not surprised that I love this blog. It's human, it's insightful, it's entertaining. Seth Godin has a lot of insight, which makes me happy to see that he has a blog. He takes many otherwise blah things, and makes a life lesson about them. For example, his post about Tim Burton's failures. Seth talks about Burton working constantly on new projects, several of which have never made it, but it's all of those (still current) failures that have made him as successful as he is. Moral of the story: if you never try, you'll never win. Life lessons aside though, Seth Godin has a lot of knowledge in relation to marketing and advertising, and I'm glad he's blogging it. Oh, and since he's an accomplished author, he can write. I appreciate that.
So of all the blogs listed, I think I'll likely read Seth Godin and adverlab, and I'll pass the link to PSFK over to my brother and my dad. They'll love it.
Adrants.com
Yawn. Sure, some of the content is kind of cool, like a coke machine that had a person inside who dispensed not just coke, but also pizza, flowers, and a submarine sandwich. But there was no insight into why this machine was a great marketing idea, or what coke could have done differently. Adrants.com is a blog where some guy writes 6 postings a day that give updates on new ads/marketing ideas that have been released recently. How about instead of 6 posts a day, the guy focuses on writing complete sentences and using spell check. It's poorly written and doesn't really give me anything tangible. Also, the layout and user interface is brutal (I shouldn't have to open a new page to see comments posted, and then click "back" to get to the original page with all of the posts on it)
Adblog.com
Loads a "contact us page" instead of a blog...?
Adverlab.blogspot.com
On first impression, this blog looks amateur. The content is on a plain white background with the content justified exactly along the left side of my browser window. Upon reading the first couple of posts, I saw this quote: "There will always be some group of people who want to block ads for personal reasons. But if we do a good job on the advertising side, people won't want to block ads. People will find them actually useful." Was this guy sitting in class with us? I have a feeling I might really enjoy reading these blogs. The next post is about product placement in relation to the blossoming of 3D animation as common place now. The post is brief, but he get's the point across that product placement may soon be useless, since the depth of field in 3D is so minimal.
Brief. Informing. Insightful. I like it! (although this guy could also use a proof-reader)
PSFK.com
While I still have no idea what PSFK stands for, I find it pretty interesting. It's not just about advertising and marketing; it's about industrial design, and current popular culture trends. Posts are written by several different contributors, and I enjoy that. It's better than just one person's opinion all the time. While it's not especially insightful, it's a neat blog that demonstrates innovation and brilliance. I also didn't notice any typos in my time on the site.
sethgodin.typepad.com
Seth Godin is a very smart man, so I'm not surprised that I love this blog. It's human, it's insightful, it's entertaining. Seth Godin has a lot of insight, which makes me happy to see that he has a blog. He takes many otherwise blah things, and makes a life lesson about them. For example, his post about Tim Burton's failures. Seth talks about Burton working constantly on new projects, several of which have never made it, but it's all of those (still current) failures that have made him as successful as he is. Moral of the story: if you never try, you'll never win. Life lessons aside though, Seth Godin has a lot of knowledge in relation to marketing and advertising, and I'm glad he's blogging it. Oh, and since he's an accomplished author, he can write. I appreciate that.
So of all the blogs listed, I think I'll likely read Seth Godin and adverlab, and I'll pass the link to PSFK over to my brother and my dad. They'll love it.
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