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Leaving Your Fate with Facebook

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 4:35 PM

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This Sunday, football fans will be glued to their TVs for the Superbowl, while we in the advertising industry will be glued to our TVs for the... Superbowl. Let's face it, some people watch the Superbowl just for the ads, and through the years I've seen some great TV spots debut on the big game day. This year, 30-second ad spots reportedly cost $2.5 million and up - that's A LOT of money so advertisers often spend months (even years) in advanced preparing for those Superbowl ads.

However, Budweiser - a huge Superbowl advertiser - decided to take a leap of faith on deciding which ad to play and leave its fate with Facebook. Yes, Facebook, particularly Budweiser Fans on Facebook. Budweiser proudly declares as its status:

Budweiser wants our fans to help us decide which commercial makes it to the Big Game. Click on the "Game Day Pick" tab for an exclusive preview of three new spots and vote for your favorite!

This "promo" first caught my eye when I saw a Facebook homepage engagement ad:

It was a basic "Become a Fan" ad unit and it actually made me wonder why Budweiser is targeting me - is it because of my age group/gender/location? Or is it because I have "advertising" in my profile? I'm not a big fan of beer but I am a big fan of (most) TV commercials so I still clicked the ad and became a fan.

I landed on the custom tab for "Game Day Pick:

And proceeded to watch all three clips. My personal opinion: they were all... blah. I was not impressed by any but did end up voting for the "Payment" one (the only one that's slightly funny and more interesting than the others, I think).

But if I didn't like with the Budweiser ads, why am I using up precious blog space and brain energy to write about Budweiser on Facebook? Because while I wasn't impressed with the ads, I was impressed with their strategy.

This is one of the most well-known brands in the world, undoubtedly with millions of dollars invested in marketing and advertising, and it is wholly embracing the power of social media. I'm impressed that they are leveraging the power of Facebook to hype up their Superbowl ads, and are letting their fans become part of this big decision (what ad to run), encouraging user engagement and brand affinity. And I'm impressed that they got me - a non-beer drinker, non-Budweiser aficionado - to actually become a fan, and watch their ads, and vote!

And even more impressive? Budweiser is smart enough to encourage viral propagation not just by giving the user the option to post it on their feed:

But also asking them to comment on the "what do you think" area:

This is just basic social media strategy, but it is genius in its simplicity. The key here is user engagement and Budweiser is doing a really good job at it.

I'm definitely watching out for the Budweiser ad this Sunday to see if the one I voted for actually "won", and hey, I might even drink a bottle of Budweiser (just maybe)... Whether you're tuning in for the football or the ads, I hope you have a great time!

Labels: Advertising, Facebook, Industry, Online Media, POV, Social Media

A Social Media Scorecard – 2010 US Senate Special Election in MA

posted by Ty Velde @ Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 1:03 PM

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Click above image to enlarge

The recent special election to fill the vacated US Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts was certainly one of the most highly charged and closely followed statewide elections in recent history, both on state and national level. Not only was the Democrats filibuster-proof 60 vote majority at stake, the fact that a Republican was threatening to take the seat, in what many consider the bluest of blue states, made this an election for the ages.

In the end, it was Scott Brown, a Republican, who won the seat with a convincing 51.9% of the vote over Maratha Coakley’s 47.1%. Independent Joseph L. Kennedy (no relation) received 1%.

While there were many factors that contributed to Brown’s victory and Coakley’s surprising defeat, one area I decided to look at was how effectively the candidates used social media to get their message out and rally their base. In doing so, I looked at the following:

Facebook
Here I not only looked at how many fans each campaign garnered, but also how they each leveraged specific elements and available functionality on their Fan Pages. As you can see via the above Social Media Score Card, Scott Brown’s campaign and base were clearly more engaged than that of Martha Coakley.

Twitter
Here I looked at baseline metrics in terms of how many Followers, Tweets and times Listed. As you can see via the above Social Media Score Card, Scott Brown’s campaign and base were once again clearly more engaged, as there Total Score for Twitter was 228% higher than that of the Coakley campaign.

YouTube
With YouTube, I analyzed the volume of content posted as well as level of user engagement. While you will see that Martha Coakley had one more video than Scott Brown, his base was clearly more engaged as indicated by the number of channel views, video views and channel subscribers.

Website Integration
While this is not something you can necessarily quantify, looking at how each campaign integrated social technologies into their websites, is a sign of how well they understand the medium and how they looked to leverage it.

Again, Scott Brown is clearly the winner as his campaign integrated a Twitter feed right on the home page, and integrated Chiclet sharing technology throughout the site. So not only did users who made it to the “mother ship” see what was being communicated in the social sphere, Chiclets ensured that they also had the opportunity to share content from the site directly within their own personal social networks. This last point is very important as chiclets enable users to advocate directly to their base of friends/followers, and since the message is coming from a third party, not necessary the source itself, it adds additional credibility. Conversely, Martha Coakely did not have any of this kind of integration or technology within her site, which was a huge missed opportunity.

Additionally, one thing neither candidate did was incorporate the Facebook Fan Widget into their site, which could have made for much more effective Facebook integration for both campaigns.

The Winner – Scott Brown!

Total Social Score:
- Brown: 946,109
- Coakley: 135,053
- Margin of Victory: 601%

While Scott Brown won the election, he also clearly won the race when it comes to Social Media. As you can see via the Total Social Score outlined above, Brown’s presence was 600% greater than that of Coakley’s.

With the impact and influence that Social Media is having on today’s cultural landscape, its more important than ever to leverage this channel as it provides a huge opportunity to connect with your base, be they constituents or customers. Having a well defined social media strategy and presence will enable you more effectively reach, connect and market to your base and also give you a leg up on the competition.

This was certainly the case with this election, as while both candidates were all over the airwaves in terms of traditional media, when it came to Social Media, the Brown campaign clearly won the election, and in the end, made what seemed improbable, probable.

Labels: Facebook, POV, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter, twitter social media, web 2.0, YouTube

An Alternative Approach To Social Media Marketing - Your Social Brand

posted by Ty Velde @ Thursday, December 31, 2009 - 8:40 AM

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“Your Brand is what identifies your business to consumers.
It resides in the hearts and minds of your customers and prospects
as the sum total of their experiences with and perceptions of your company.”

- SEMPO
Branding With Search Marketing

If you were to ask most people about ‘branding” as it applies to their business they will most likely respond with an answer rooted in a company’s products and services. Sure, they will speak to the importance of emotionally connecting with their target audience, but at the heart of it all it still boils down to what you do or the products you produce. In short, for your brand to be effective it needs to sell and move product or services.

As we all know, companies spend untold amounts of money to develop a brand that connects with the hearts and minds of consumers, so as to ensure that they understand who, not just what, they’re all about. Therefore, if a company can form an emotional bond with consumer, it will lead to a much more long term and profitable relationship, as it’s more about the connection, than just about the product. However, while many brand marketers will speak of the effectiveness of a brand in terms of “awareness”, success is ultimately tied to and measured by units sold or profitably. What I mean here is that if people are aware but no one actually buys, are you really being successful?

Transactional Branding
I like to call this approach “Transactional Branding”, due to the fact that at the end of the day, while you are looking to emotionally connect with the hearts and minds of your consumers, it’s really about promoting products and services. Now, I will say that Transactional Branding makes complete sense due to the fact that it's rooted in common business strategy, which is to grow revenue and improve profitability. It also makes complete sense when used in the context of traditional media…broadcast, print, display and even search. The reason being is that in most cases you are using these forms of media to push a message out to consumers with the hope of connecting with them and pulling them back to purchase your product or service. While this type of brand connection does have the opportunity to facilitate a dialogue and customer relationship, it's ultimately based on the sale and/or product/service experience.

However, when it comes to Social Media, the paradigm is changing and many companies are trying to figure out what to do. The reason being is that the “Transactional Brand model” just does not seem to fit. Companies want to speak, but not be spoken to. They want to hear, but are afraid what might happen if they actually start to listen. The challenge for many companies is that when it comes to branding, they have built and developed their brand as a means to sell to, not socialize with, their target audience. However, for companies to leverage social media effectively, they need to be willing to socialize their brand, because that is what social media is all about…Socializing!

Now for companies that have the good fortune of a having a transactional brand, with a social angle, jumping into social media is not that big a stretch. The reason being is that these kinds of companies, such as Harley-Davidson, already have a very strong social relationship with their user and customer base. The reason why these types of companies are successful when it comes to social media is that they have figured out a way to “socialize” the “Transactional Branding relationship”. Therefore, when it comes to socializing with their customer base via social media, they are ready, prepared and willing to do so, because it’s been part of their core business and brand strategy all along.

However, there are many companies, such as those in highly regulated industries such as financial services that don’t have the luxury of being able to readily socialize with their audience. While many have very strong and trusted brands, they have been built from the top down and are not readily structured to be dissected via social media. The fact is, many companies in this arena have very carefully crafted brands and images and the thought of being exposed to the world of social media, scares the heck out of them. At the same time, they realize that there is an audience to be had and that they need to figure out a way to communicate with them via social media and establish a presence.

In my opinion, the mistake that these types of companies are making is that they are rooted in one size fits all model when it comes to branding and are flustered by the fact that they can not seem to fit their Transaction-based Brand model into a social environment. The lack of control scares them, and as a result instead of jumping into the social media space they have opted to just sit on the sidelines.

The Social Brand
This is where the notion of the “Social Brand” comes into play. While a brand should always be rooted in a company’s core values, how it’s developed, presented and executed within different forms of media, can enable a company to enter new and uncharted waters much more readily. Hence, while your Transactional Brand is aimed a facilitating sales, your Social Brand is aimed at facilitating socialization. Of course both are rooted in the same values and at the core express the same ideas, the content you put forth with your Social Brand, does not have to exactly mirror what you are doing with your Transactional Brand.

For starters, in developing your Social Brand you need to look at your company and what it does from a “Social Perspective”. This will enable you understand how and where people might want to socialize with your brand and what components are ripe for socialization. Therefore, while you may be in a regulated industry where you can not openly endorse or make claims about a product, you need to take a step outside of these parameters and look at other components of your business. For example, does your organization sponsor sporting events, support particular philanthropic endeavors or back particular social initiatives? While these items might not be tied directly to your products and services they are tied to your company. They are a brand component and most importantly convey its value system. These are also aspects of your business/brand that people can also readily connect and socialize with.

Now, I’m not endorsing the fact that when it comes to social media you should deny what your business is rooted in. What I am saying is that when it comes to social media, you need to think differently about your brand and how it can be leveraged to socialize with your audience.

By identifying and developing your Social Brand, you also have the opportunity to steer and guide the social conversation. Of course there’s always the potential that someone will address and bring-up product or service related issues, but by focusing on your Social Brand, you can help to guide the conversation around particular topics. Additionally, by focusing on and developing your Social Brand, you have the opportunity introduce your audience to a completely new side of your organization. Simultaneously, you will be likely grow your base, as you will bring people into the fold, who would not have previously engaged with your company, as you are now tapping a whole new set of interests.

How To Develop Your Social Brand
So, how does a company go about developing a Social Brand? The following are a few key points:

Alignment
For your Social Brand to be effective, it needs to be aligned with your core values and business plan. Therefore, it can’t just come out of left-field, rather people need to see how it relates and applies to your overall business positioning.
Social Segmentation
Take a look at your organization from a “social perspective” and identify which aspects and segment are ripe for socialization. Taking this approach will enable you to see what opportunities exist and the different ways you could socialize with your audience.

Content
After identifying how you can socialize with your audience, what are you going to say and communicate? This sounds more daunting than really is, as you are most likely doing this, but it's just not being surfaced within the context of outbound media channels. Rather the conent is being tied to the "social" initiative itself. For example, if your company sponsors a sporting event or is involved with a particular charity or social issue, focus on content that pertains and gets created in relation to these endeavors. Before you know it, you may find yourself becoming a hub for people passionate or connected to these issues, causes or events.
Socialization
Now comes the big leap, you need to be ready to socialize. Do you set-up a MySpace profile, YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, Twitter Account…all of the above or just some? The key here is that you don’t need to jump into everything all at once, focus on those areas that make the most sense and that best complement your Social Branding strategy.

Social media is definitely changing how we market and connect with consumers. Therefore as marketers, we need to also think differently about how we approach our business and look to connect with consumers. In the end traditional branding models will not always work, because they were not constructed to deal with a high degree of social interaction and input from consumers. Therefore, we need to look at branding as a form of subsets, including how we will and want to socialize with our target.

Developing a Social Brand, will help you provide a vision for your organization to approach the social media space and be comfortable with doing so. Yes, it will require you to think differently, but the development of a Social Branding strategy will also provide the vision and clarity needed to enter the social media space in a manner that compliments your overall business strategy and enables you to harness all the power that social media has to offer.

Labels: Advertising, Brand Awareness, Facebook, Integration, POV, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter, twitter social media

Yahoo Picks Up Baggage for the Holidays

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - 11:42 PM

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On December 23 (the busiest travel day of the year), Yahoo sent employees to the San Francisco International and San Jose International airports and paid for airline customer's baggage fees. According to NBC Bay Area, this was "not a bad deal for travelers, who likely booked --and payed for -- their tickets, only to learn that they'd have to cough up a bit more dough for the privilege of actually traveling with luggage. The timing couldn't be better for Yahoo. For one thing, people leaving town will have a warm feeling in their hearts about the search company."

And according to AdAge, who called it a brilliant holiday marketing stunt, Yahoo hoped to inspire the Yahoo community to create a wave of goodwill. "Goodwill? Great. Putting the idea in consumers' heads that Yahoo is a company that will make navigating the world simpler and cheaper? Brilliant."

However, the AdAge article points out that the only issue with the stunt is scale. Instead of sending employees to just two airports near Silicon Valley, Yahoo could have spent more money - a lot more money - sponsoring baggage fees throughout the country for the whole holiday season.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think a bigger scale approach would get more attention and possibly build stronger brand affinity among consumers. Yahoo already launched Yahoo! for Good with a campaign spotlight on spreading kindness. Yahoo declares on its website:

This holiday, create a ripple of happiness triggered by your single act of kindness. Update your status to share what you're doing to spread joy. Then inspire others to join you by asking "You in?" The more people you tell, the larger your ripple. We'll use our network to share your good deeds with others. We'll also be doing our own acts of kindness inspired by your updates. So whether you pay for someone's groceries or drop off a coat for the homeless, your actions will encourage others around the world to join in. How big will your ripple of happiness be?

I personally find it endearing that this web giant is encouraging people to do random acts of kindness. But as an online marketer, I think the AdAge article had the issue spot on - this definitely could have been a much, much bigger campaign. Where is the social media component? There is already an inherent viral spread there (by updating your Yahoo status with your act of kindness, your actions will encourage others to join in), why didn't Yahoo leverage the power of social media to blow up "Yahoo! for Good"? For instance, Yahoo could have incorporated their Facebook page - maybe create a tab for this campaign - and not only generate user interaction but also build their fan base and create lasting connections. Yahoo could also have used Twitter to send updates about making the holidays better by paying for your luggage fees. And last but not least, what about Flickr? It would have been great to see pictures of delighted customers who were treated to Yahoo's generosity. Yahoo could have encouraged more people to comment, share stories, photos, videos, and basically engage with the brand.

These are just some of my thoughts, but in spite of all the could have's, I still want to give kudos to Yahoo for doing its part in making the holidays easier and brighter. Maybe next time they can send some employees to the Boston Logan airport :)

I wish everyone a stress-free, kindness-filled, happy New Year!

Labels: Advertising, Industry, POV, Social Media

Facebook Launches 'Friends of Connection' Targeting

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 5:19 PM

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Last week, Facebook added another targeting opportunity for its advertisers: Friends of Connection. According the Facebook Ads:

“Friends of connection” targeting is now available for Facebook Ads. Expand your audience reach by delivering your ads to the friends of people already connected with your Page, Application, Group or Event. In addition to harnessing the social graph by targeting your connections’ friends, every “Friends of connection” targeted ad promoting a Page or Event includes social content about a friend’s interaction with your business, amplifying the relevancy of your ad.

This means that advertisers can reach potential customers or highly relevant users (since birds of the same feather flock together, and it is likely that you and your friends have similar interests) and gain free impressions/brand presence through viral propagation.

For the advertiser: this option is only available though if you are the admin of a Facebook Page. So for instance, I am an admin of the O verdrive Facebook Page. When I create a Facebook ad (ASU = ad space unit) using the self-serve platform/ad interface, I can target users whose friends are already connected to Overdrive Interactive:

For the Facebook user: Facebook will then show those ads to the appropriate users and include a blurb about their friends. So for instance, Harry is a Fan of Overdrive and he is friends with with Barb. Facebook will show an Overdrive ad to Barb with the sentence "Harry Gold is a fan of this Page." Now the Facebook ad is more relevant to Barb; it has more "pull" because her friend Harry's connection/interaction with Overdrive is directly showcased.

And remember that there are other brilliant ways that Facebook lets advertisers target. Here's a quick list:

Geo-targeting (location by country, state or city)
Demographics (age, gender)
Birthday (useful for promo-based campaigns)
Education
Workplace
Relationship status
Languages
Connections (users who are or are not yet connected to your Pages, Events, Group, or Application) - and now we can add Friends of Connection
Keywords (any keyword that shows up in the user’s profile i.e. interests, favorite books/movies/TV shows, etc)

Facebook is definitely working to improve its advertising platform and capabilities and as a media planner, I am very happy to be presented with all these targeting opportunities. Now we can really hone in to our desired users and micro-target our social media campaigns. I am looking forward to more exciting developments in the future!

Labels: Facebook, Industry, Online Media, POV

If You Build It, They Will Come

posted by Bill Holmes @ Friday, October 30, 2009 - 1:09 PM

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Advertisers, that is. The 'IT' in this case being social media. The popularity of social media has finally reached the point where marketers believe they can profit from it, and it seems that everybody wants in on the game. For businesses & advertisers, social media is quickly becoming more of a Need To Have than a Nice To Have.

However, this is a path that must be traveled carefully. Social media has the power to connect people to their friends and the world around them. Many people have a very personal connection to their Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts. With this level of personal investment, marketers plastering these sites with ads could run the risk of alienating their customer base.

For example, the recent changes to Facebook allow for ads to be more prevalent and expand their reach, much to the chagrin of users. Less than a week after these changes were implemented, a Facebook group called "Change Facebook To Normal" has garnered over 1.2 million members.

Personally, I'm torn over the issue. As a person I tend to feel ads invading my online life somehow cheapens the experience and reduce my individuality - "Bill Holmes is brought to you by Jeep" just doesn't have that ring to it. As a marketer however, of course I want my ads to show up everywhere I can get them, with an unlimited budget and millions of impressions.

The inevitability of this argument is that people will eventually accept ads prevailing in social media. Until that time comes though, marketers will have to walk the line between getting their message out while not interrupting user experience.

Absolutely there are many ways to do this. Jeep in fact has a great game 'Boostin Nuts' along with forums for Jeep enthusiasts (myself included) to post pics and brag about their rigs. Other applications such as the Celtics 3-Point-Play are a great way to be involved with the team (brand) while still maintaining a good social media experience.

I think overall advertising will always be part of just about everything we do, but the most successful marketers will be those who can promote their products while still maintaining the personal user experience that social media provides.

Labels: Advertising, Brand Awareness, Facebook, Industry, POV, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter

What We Can Learn from NBA Players and TV Stars

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 2:59 PM

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... on Twitter.

If you're on Twitter (and I hope you are), you might have noticed the influx of celebrities there - movie stars, professional athletes, TV hosts, chefs, etc. Usually, they're just on Twitter to tweet about random ideas (or their rumored dates; I'm looking at you, John Mayer), but every now and then you'll find a gem who really utilizes social media to improve their "brand" or strengthen their social image, and/or actually do something useful. They're basically pulling off these viral social media campaigns that agencies and marketers can learn a thing or two from. I put together a few tips for social media campaigns that were inspired by NBA stars and TV personalities - both groups are experts at gaining, performing for, and maintaining their respective audience loyalties.

What We Can Learn from NBA Players and TV Stars on Twitter:

1) From Shaquille O'Neill: Be There First. And if you're not there first, be there BIG TIME
Can anyone even discuss celebrities on Twitter without mentioning Shaquille O'Neil? Shaq jumped on the Twitter bandwagon when it was just a small toy sled. And he tweets a lot - he describes himself as "very quotatious, I perform random acts of Shaqness." Sometimes (okay, most of the time) what he says doesn't make a lot of sense but the point is he is there. And his fans know he is there. His opponents know he is there. He is there big time.

As brand marketers and advertisers, we have to make sure that we're present in the right places. Even better, we have to hustle to be there before anyone else gets there. This is where beta campaigns, innovative ideas, and risk-taking come in. And once we're there, we have to make sure our voice is heard loud and clear.

2) From Dwight Howard: Synchronize Your Campaigns
Dwight Howard is flying his one millionth Twitter follower to an all expense paid trip for two to the Orlando Magic home opening game. But aside from his Twitter "campaign", he also talks about that, and is interacting with his fans, on Fa cebook, SuperFan, and his blog. I never thought I'd quote Dwight Howard in an online marketing blog (or ever), but he said these "are just great avenues for me to connect with people." And he's right. And another thing he's doing right is that he is synchronizing everything, mirroring the content of one channel to another.

When we launch social media, branding, promotional, or even lead generation campaigns, we have to remember that once we already have the content - all we need to do is create a cascading turn of events where we propagate all our media avenues or social channels with the same content. Remember: everything is interconnected. We can easily weave our content and synchronize our online and social placements so that our campaign message will be present throughout.

3) From Paul Pierce and Ray Allen: Do Engaging Contests and Give Away Free Things
Paul Pierce would give away random clues on where he will be and post secret "passwords" on Twitter so his followers can find him and receive free Celtics tickets. And Ray Allen left random pairs of sneakers around Boston, tweeted clues about them, and whoever finds his shoes get to keep them!

Everyone likes contests and give-aways, especially if the contest is actually fun and the give-away is actually something of value. What companies can learn from these two Celtics players is that Twitter can be an avenue to host interesting contests that encourage user action and engagement - contests that encourage socializing (say it with me: social media is about socializing).

4) From Rachel Zoe: Listen to Your Customers and Reply to their Questions
Almost all of Rachel Zoe's tweets (for those of you not familiar, she is a stylist to the stars and has her own show on Bravo TV) are either re-tweets and @ replies where she answers various questions from her followers. She may not answer the minute the question is posted, but she still answers them.

Most marketers and advertisers forget that the customer feedback is one of the greatest assets to any campaign. Don't just push-push-push your message. Take time to listen to your audience, take note of their complaints and compliments, and answer their questions. Sometimes the most basic things make the biggest impact.

5) From Martha Stewart: Tweet Useful Info
Martha Stewart tweets quick and easy recipes and all sorts of food, home, and lifestyle tips. She also reminds her followers about important events, dates, and shows. She uses Twitter to communicate useful little nuggets to her socialsphere. She even thinks that Twitter is better than Facebook, but that's another topic all together (also, that's her opinion, not mine). The point is, she tweets useful info.

Again, this is something very basic that we should not take for granted. If your brand offers something unique, tweet about it! If you have a good promo, tweet about it! If you want to share a relevant article, tweet about it! Make your tweets helpful, interesting, worth reading - and re-tweeting.

Those are just 5 tips for successful Twitter and social media campaigns. Remember that gaining followers, fans, and friends in one thing, but growing that relationship is another. If you want to learn more about social media campaigns, please contact us!

Labels: Industry, Online Media, POV, Social Media, Twitter

Recent YouTube Changes

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Friday, August 14, 2009 - 2:17 PM

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A few days ago, YouTube quietly launched its homepage redesign (see Mashable article and YouTube blog post). The changes are pretty subtle, but are aimed at streamlining and simplifying the YouTube experience. According to the YouTube Blog, the left side is dedicated to exploration: finding videos to watch through search and browse. The right side is all about organization of the videos that matter most to you: your subscriptions, your recent viewing history, and your own uploads.

Apparently, YouTube ran a large landing page testing experiment before implementing the changes and launching the new page, but personally it doesn't feel like much of a redesign for me. Being a regular YouTube user, when I saw the homepage, I thought it looked different but couldn't quite pinpoint it. After chatting quickly with YouTube account executive extraordinaire Ryan Stonehouse, he confirmed that the changes were indeed small (for instance, the Search box now has a separate area with a gray box around it) but all aimed to improving the user experience.

I am glad to see YouTube constantly trying to improve and as an advertiser, I'm impressed with the expanding array of opportunitiess not just for branding but also for user engagement and entertainment. I am a big fan of the interactive masthead units, such as today's Madden 10 video. It starts out as a regular homepage video unit on the usual upper right hand side, but one of the players busts out of the frame, it expands into a full masthead unit, and the player pushes out the content on the left like he's breaking a tackle. Very fun to watch (although I thought there was still a lot of room for more interactivity/user engagement - maybe some games? video within the video?). Check out some screen grabs below.

Also another YouTube change, but this time WAY BIGGER and not so subtle: YouTube is now doing pre-rolls!! Only on select partner channels for now, but this means that advertisers can now have more opportunities to be in front of more consumer eyeballs. More on this later, but here's a quick screenshot of a 15-second Chevy pre-roll on a video for the one of the TravelChannelTV shows (Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations):

There is usually a companion 300x250 ad on the right - that's another avenue for branding, obviously... It becomes something like a page take-over, with all possible units promoting one brand (in this case, Chevy). And let's not forget that YouTube also offers those flash lay-overs, video within a video, and even call-to-action opportunities.

We'll keep you posted on other YouTube and social media news so keep reading our blog!

Labels: Industry, Online Media, POV, Social Media, YouTube

New Facebook Ad Features

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 11:50 AM

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Facebook continues to improve its ad platform!

Over the last few months, Facebook has added new features for Facebook Ads, such as the options for inline fanning and RSVP right within the ad units (which makes the Facebook ASU's more socially enabled) and ability to target users by languages spoken (in addition to the existing targeting options).

Last week, Facebook announced recent adjustments in the Ad Manager, which basically now lets advertisers edit and revise existing ads, as well as specify date ranges (and viewing format) when viewing reports.

And yesterday, Facebook announced more targeting filters: connections, location, and birthday.

Targeting by connections lets the advertisers target fans, members of your group, users who have RSVP’d to your Events, and users who have authorized your Application/s. This makes it easier to target users who have already expressed interest in your brand/company and strengthen your relationship with them by continuing conversations, sending alerts and promos, and increasing engagement. This new feature also lets advertisers targets users who are not yet connected. This is especially useful for increasing the number of Fans and page views, since impressions will only be shown to new/potential members of your community.

(Improved) targeting by location simply means that advertisers can now target the same Facebook ad to multiple countries. This is a good tool for agencies like us who manage international campaigns, if we are running the same ad but for different countries.

Targeting by birthday is a great opportunity for advertisers who offer special birthday promotions. This can also be coupled with targeting by Age to be even more specific.

It's great to see that Facebook is listening to advertiser feedback and is actively trying to continuously improve its advertising interface and reporting tools. Today, Facebook is connecting 250 Million people and it continues to try and make the site more meaningful for all its users (and advertisers!). Just a year ago, I remember advertising on Facebook and being so frustrated with the lack of options. It has definitely come a long way since then! I admire Facebook's efforts to give its users more opportunities to engage and experience a seamless, connected, social experience. I'm looking forward to even more developments to come.

Labels: Facebook, Industry, Online Media, POV, Social Media

YouTube's New Social Sharing Mechanism

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 9:46 AM

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The power of social sharing just got bigger. And in this case, easier.

Last week, YouTube launched its new Auto-Share Your Uploads feature. According to YouTube account executive Ryan Stonehouse, "users can now easily send their YouTube uploads to Facebook, Twitter, or Google Reader. Once you link your accounts together, all of your uploads (whether they're uploaded on the web, via a phone, via the API, etc) are automatically posted as tweets, Facebook stories, or Reader shared items."

With a single log-in, users can automatically share their YouTube videos with two of the most popular social media sites, Facebook and Twitter:

YouTube is just the latest site to integrate with Facebook Connect. This makes social sharing infinitely easier (and less manual and time-consuming) for Facebook users. According to the Facebook Developer Blog, as more sites and applications implement Facebook Connect, the power of the social graph is extending across the Web, to the iPhone, gaming consoles, and TV, changing the way we view gaming, videos, concerts, and even church. Many of these sites are benefiting from increased distribution and engagement, as they enhance the user experience by making it easy to share and connect with real world friends.

And as for Twitter? No need anymore to manually feed video-related tweets to individual Twitter accounts (since admit it, most video uploads are from YouTube anyway; it's not the most popular video site for nothing). As MarketingVOX recently pointed out, YouTube users can directly syndicate recently-uploaded videos across social networks (or at least for now, across two of the biggest ones).

This new social sharing mechanism benefits the users and makes the social web one smooth, easy, integrated piece. Consumers and businesses can now easily automate video-seeding across social networks, and this equates to having the ability to disseminate information (aka new videos) more quickly. All with one click of a button. Not only is that easy, it's great.

Labels: Facebook, Industry, POV, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube

Google Announces a New Way to Manage Your Online Identity

posted by Melanie DAcchioli @ Friday, April 24, 2009 - 10:00 AM

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Back in the days before the Internet took off, when you received someone’s contact information, business card, etc., you would use said information to either call, email, or send a letter or card to them. Nowadays, the first thing you do is Google them. In response to this phenomenon, Google has unveiled a new feature called Google Profiles, allowing you as an individual to more closely manage what someone will find when their name is searched on Google.

To take advantage of this new feature, a user must Google the word “me ” and click through from the Google Promotion ad that is currently in position 1 of the sponsored results. This will bring up a simple form including limited contact information, opportunities to link to other social profiles, images from Picasa, and a few generic fields for a user to add a detailed description about him or herself. Google Profiles also allows you to opt-in to have your profile show up in search results. This is not an automatic inclusion, so as to allow people to either essentially have “private” or “public” profiles. While not necessarily optimizing your profile to position 1, Google Profiles tend to show up on the first page of Google’s natural search results. This is a great tractic of natural search engine optimization on your own name.

Google Profiles could become a very powerful reputation management tool. Of course, if someone is typing your name into Google and they see your profile, it will likely only be one of the many links they end up looking at. However, it at least allows you to have a say in what Google returns to searchers; essentially, who Google thinks YOU are. According to Adam Ostrow at Mashable, “This is going to be a welcome addition for lots of people, especially those who aren’t necessarily happy with what links Google has for them on the first page of results.”

Google Profiles opens up a whole new realm in the world of controlling your online identity. Now not only can you control sponsored results, but there's an additional level of control for the natural search results as well. Get started! http://lmgtfy.com/?q=me

Labels: Google, POV, Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Strategy

Twitter Dips into Advertising/Sponsorships?

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 2:44 PM

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Yesterday, Twitter launched ExecTweets, a cross between a Twitter app and a sponsored site. A joint effort by Twitter and Federated Media, ExecTweets is still in beta but is basically a Microsoft-sponsored page that aggregates the tweets of various executives. Although this is not exactly the traditional advertising revenue-model, the launch of ExecTweets opens up more branding and sponsorship opportunities. Because now, we can look at Microsoft as the pioneer "advertiser" - and who know what other brands will follow soon?

Some interesting soundbites -
According to the Federated Media blog, "Federated Media, Twitter and Microsoft have created ExecTweets, a real-time tool that helps you to find, follow and engage with the world’s most prolific and successful business executives on Twitter... ExecTweets cuts through the clutter and provides only the most relevant and insightful business-focused conversations - all curated and aggregated into industry verticals..."
And according to the Twitter blog, "Twitter is contacted regularly by brands interested in sponsoring innovative experiences based on topics of interest.... So if you're a major brand and you want to sponsor a topic-focused social media experience with Twitter, we suggest Federated Media—they'll fix you up right." (good job promoting partners!)

An article on All Things Digital states that this seems to be a fairly cautious step into marketing, and I agree - but at least Twitter is finally venturing into sponsorship opportunities. Another article on CNET talks about how this is not yet the big, evasive revenue model users were expecting...

Well, whatever it is, it is definitely something new that could become an avenue for future advertising opportunities! Besides, if you scroll down the bottom of ExecTweets, what do you see? A Microsoft leaderboard...

Exciting news, and I can't wait to see what the future of (advertising on) Twitter holds!

Labels: Advertising, Industry, POV, Social Media, Twitter

A Very Special (K) New Year

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 9:56 AM

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We all know that one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to lose weight or start dieting, and Special K is here to remind us all of that. According to AdAge, Special K Kicks Off "Wake-Up Call" in Times Square. Just before midnight in Times Square, Kellogg will launch its newest digital and integrated marketing campaign which focuses on consumer's healthy-eating goals. For the whole month of January, Special K will run billboard, mobile and online media campaigns, kicking off with the Nasdaq and Reuters billboards on Times Square just as the ball drops on Newy Year's Eve. Display ads will encourage consumers to share their holidays indulgences and wake-up calls, and there is also a social media mobile component where consumers can text their weight loss goals, as well as 15- and 30-second TV spots.

(photo from AdAge)

Special K is focused as "a weight-management brand, and [it] always had a marketing presence during resolution season," according to Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles. However, the campaign hasn't even started yet and there is already some criticism, with some people accusing Special K of being a party pooper for reminding people of dieting during one of the most festive celebrations. Personally, I think the campaign is a great example of timing, relevancy, and media savvy. Special K is positioning itself to be present at the consumer's critical moment, aka right when most of its target market (women) realize and vow to make dietary changes. Besides, who says you can't celebrate and think of your health at the same time?

Maybe I just have a soft spot for Kellogg - after all, this is one of the (smarter) companies whose own New Year's resolution is to spend more money online, forecasting their digital efforts to surpass their broadcast effort's ROI (yay for online!) But in any case, kudos to Special K for reigning in the New Year with an innovative advertising campaign that aims to reach its target consumers in non-traditional, relevant and engaging ways.

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, fantastic 2009 ahead! Cheers!

Labels: Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Online Media, POV, Social Media Marketing

A New Way to Get Skinned

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, September 24, 2008 - 9:17 AM

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There has a lot of buzz around Microsoft's Bill Gates-Jerry Seinfeld ads (and by buzz, I mean both positive and negative). Personally, I was buzzing on the negative side, because I didn't think that Jerry Seinfeld was the best character for a PC. But I do like (very much actually) the new I'm a PC ads. And no, it's not just because of Eva Longoria, Vera Wang, Pharrell Williams, or the other celebrities in there - although I am pretty impressed with the mix of everyday people and well-known personalities proclaiming their allegiance to the PC. No surprise, because I'm a PC myself. However what really caught my attention was the innovative use of online media and viral marketing tactics of the new I am PC ad campaign. Yesterday there was a homepage take-over of the MSN homepage - but it wasn't just any ordinary take-over with a monopoly of all ad placements. It showed a new way to get skinned... The skin of the homepage was literally tiny little thumbnails of the "I'm a PC" video testimonials, and when the user rolls over one and clicks it to play, that particular video pops up into the very prominent box ad placement on the right. See screen grab below:

But aside from encouraging users to interact with the skin/videos, there's also another engaging component to this ad campaign: a landing page/mini-site that lets the user upload his or her own picture or video that lets them state what kind of PC they are and get a chance to see themselves in online ads - or in Times Square (!). See screen grab below:

For attention-loving PC devotees (you know who you are), this is fun and memorable. (Yes, I submitted my own photo and caption.) Sure enough, something like this caught the attention of not just the "traditional" media (aka news and reporting) but also the online viral community (aka bloggers and members of bookmarking sites). Not only are the ads being forwarded around through YouTube, but the users are actually participating in the whole user-submission process. This is a great example of mashing together online media opportunities with social media distribution, and creating a solid branding campaign.

Of course there are still criticisms about the ads, but I think the whole ad campaign in general is fresh and interesting, and gives brand marketers new ideas. Imagine what an interactive skin can do for user engagement, and what a well-designed and content-rich landing page can do for brand affinity. Think about it, and see you at Times Square!

To show the world what you think a PC really looks like, click here.

Labels: Industry, Online Media, POV

Brand Marketer's Wish List for Agencies of the Future

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Monday, September 8, 2008 - 12:14 PM

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An online digital marketing and interactive advertising survey by Sapient reveals brand marketers' wish list for their advertising and marketing agencies. At the top of the list is greater knowledge of the digital space or expertise in interactive campaigns. Others that caught my attention are: more use of "pull interactions" (such as social media and online communities), agency executives who use the technology they are recommending, Web 2.0 and social media savvy, and ability to measure success. As an online marketer, I completely agree with this list. And working for Overdrive, most of these things are like second nature already when we deal with online media campaigns. For instance, we strongly believe in using the so-called pull interactions to develop engaging and relevant social campaigns (our mantra might as well be social media is about socializing). And we all make it a point to be fully immersed in the technologies we recommend to our clients. And our reports measure not just success, but also comparisons to past performance and future expectations. So we're definitely on the right track.

That wish list also got me thinking - what if agencies came out with our own wish list for brand marketers of the future? Most of the items would probably mirror or be parallel because let's face it, we're all shooting for the same stars anyway. What do you think - do you have your own agency or marketers wish list?

To see the full Top 10 Wish List, click here.

Labels: Industry, POV, Social Media Marketing, web 2.0

Going Local

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 5:17 PM

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We've all heard of localvores, people who are committed to eating locally-produced food. And now more and more consumers have started putting stronger effort into buying locally-produced items. How does this trend translate for us online marketers? Well, how about focusing on locally-produced ads? Or buying more local-specific media?

A study by the Online Publishers Association states that local online media offer significant ad advantage (see Marketing Charts article). Apparently, consumers are more likely to trust and be persuaded by ads found on local newspapers, magazines, and TV sites. According to the article, "the new OPA report looks at consumers who get local information from online city guides, classifieds, magazines, newspapers, portals, television sites, user review sites, or yellow pages." It also took note of the fact that local sites attract higher concentrations of influencers.

This is not surprising at all, and from personal experience, we do seem to be more inclined to click on interesting offerings that are happening locally... Let's put it this way: let's say you're an events marketing company advertising a food tasting event in Boston. Which ad you think is more likely to get clicked on - an ad on the Yelp.com Boston Restaurants section, or a Run of Site ad on MSN.com? Granted, the Yelp ad will have tighter, more focused targeting, but isn't that precisely the point of local advertising?

Whether it's display, video, rich media ads, or search ads, local advertising should have a place in every online marketer's plan. So let's jump on this localvore phenomenon and think about supporting not just local food and local items, but also local media.

So hello, Boston.com.

Labels: Online Media, Paid Search, POV

Good News for Facebook Advertisers

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 1:53 PM

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According to a quick poll by Mashable, readers think that Facebook is the social network that delivers the best ads. "Best" is described as "“most accurate, interesting and engaging.” Facebook ads seem to be considered the most relevant, which is no surprise with its unique advertising platform that lets advertisers target users not just based on the usual demographic data but also based on specific terms found in the user's profiles (interests, hobbies, favorites, jobs, etc.)

This is definitely good news for us online marketers who advertise on Facebook, but what about our ads on the other social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, and so on? My opinion is that we should not be discouraged, and instead work even harder on making sure that our ads are relevant, engaging and reach the correct target audience. We can rely on technologies such as MySpace's hypertargeting, or try out ad networks that focus solely on Social Media such as Lotame.

However, whether we are advertising on Facebook or Google or any other property, we want to make sure that our online ads get clicks, and these clicks convert into actions. Because ultimately, our role is to encourage desired behavior - and great ads are always part of our strategy.

Labels: Facebook, POV, Social Media Marketing

Thinking of Developing a Facebook Application?

posted by Ty Velde @ Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 7:20 PM

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You might want to read this first.

Ah Facebook. Day by day, its audience and community just seems to grow larger and larger and as this audience grows, more and more businesses are looking to effectively levearge it as part of their social media marketing strategy.

One obvious step is to set-up a profile, which is a key if you want to access the Facebook community in a relevant manner. Having a profile gives you a presence and a base of operations to start marketing to and leveraging the community. However, the challenge that many organizations face once they set-up a profile is what to do next, in order to actually grow their friend and fan base. Having a profile on Facebook is great, but if no one know its there or it just stagnates, then what is it really worth?

In order to grow your friend and fan base, there are a number of viral tactics you can tap into as well as advertising mediums such as left-hand ad units and Social Ads. While these are all great, if you read the press and just listen to the buzz, these all seem to pale in comparison to what many see as the Holy Grail of a developing a successful Facebook presence – Application Development.

Yes, in May 2007 Facebook decided to invite developers to create free software programs that Facebook members could in turn use to communicate with and entertain one another. The net effect of opening up Facebook as a development platform has played a huge role in its growing popularity and has helped to ensure that things do not become stagnant. This assertion is supported by the fact that in the past year more than 250,000 developers have requested the company’s tools for building applications and more than 24,000 applications have been launched. This equates to over 65 new applications being launched every day! Pretty impressive growth, if I say so myself.

Needless to say, many developers have turned their applications into viable business models and companies have used applications to raise their profile within Facebook through increased engagement with their brand. While this is all great and I applaud everyone who has had success, it has also spawned some unrealistic views about Facebook’s application development platform.

The Myth of the Facebook App
This flood of application development and the associated buzz has also led to many organizations talking about developing “Facebook Apps” as part of a strategy in order to grow and evolve their presence on the site. It’s almost as if people look at Facebook as some kind of magical development platform and no matter what kind of App you develop its surely going to be viral and increase your friend and fan base 10x over. As much as I would like say this is the case, its really not and hence - “The Myth of the Facebook App”.

So what do I mean by “The Myth of the Facebook App”? Well, take this recent quote from Ben Ling, director of platform marketing at Facebook, when asked why some applications are successful, but many just seem to stagnate – “The Facebook platform is not a magic platform and you can plug anything in and be successful. It does not make something that’s not useful useful.” - Wall Street Journal – June 10, 2008

Reality Bites
In fact a study published in March 2008 by O’Reilly Media, Inc. regarding Facebook applications revealed some very sobering statistics:

The top 1% of applications accounted for two-thirds of all application activity in the first nine months since Facebook introduced the platform
Only 200 applications host more than 10,000 users a day
Approximately 60% of available applications failed to attracted even 100 daily users

So why is it that some applications are successful while others are not? The applications that seem to be working are those that provide a useful service, entertain users and allow users to socialize with one another. This last point is very, very key, particularly when you think about Facebook as medium. What I mean is that as a medium Facebook is about connecting and socializing with others and something that is considered to be both useful and entertaining is most often based on the premise that it enables you to connect and socialize with your friends.

Examples of applications that have proven to be successful are FunWall which 2.1 million people use daily to post messages, cards, videos and more on Friend’s profiles; as well as games such as Scrabulous which has over 482,000 daily users has proven to be hugely successful as it gives users a reason to come back time and time again.

Adding to the application development challenge is the fact that their numbers are growing at a furious pace. What is relevant today is irrelevant tomorrow, partially due to the increased level of sophistication associated with newer applications. Additionally, just getting user attention is becoming more and more difficult as they are constantly flooded with more and more applications to choose from. It should also be noted that some practices that contributed to the growth of early applications, such as forcing users to send an application to say 10 of their friends before being able to install it themselves, have been disabled after Facebook received complaints from users who felt they were being SPAMMED. Therefore, to succeed in today’s environment an application must do so primarily on its own merit.

Developing an Application Strategy
Therefore, when considering developing an application, before you just go out and do so, take some time to consider its strategic purpose and ask yourself and your team the following questions:

What is the problem I am trying to solve?
What is the need I am trying to address?
Does a likeminded application already exist?
What unique merits can this application bring to the Facebook community?
How will the application enable users to not only connect with your brand, but also with each other?

While these are certainly not the only questions to be asking yourself, they can provide a baseline framework to ensure that you set foot in the right strategic direction when developing an application. As Facebook grows more and more crowded, the opportunities for successful application development are going to get more and more challenging. To simply develop an application without considering its strategic value and how it can be effectively woven into Facebook’s social fabric is a recipe for failure and frustration.

Ultimately, Facebook is a medium that is quickly maturing and therefore as marketers we must quickly mature along with it. To just list “Develop Facebook App” as a bullet point as part of a Facebook promotional strategy is a mistake. Rather to successfully launch an application in today’s Facebook environment, you need to develop an entire strategy around its development, launch and evolution. In the end, a well thought out application development strategy, will help to ensure that what you do is aligned not only with your business objectives, but more importantly is socially relevant to the Facebook community; and if your application is going to be successful that is the key.

Labels: Industry, POV, Social Media, web 2.0

Yahoogle – It’s Here

posted by Ty Velde @ Saturday, June 14, 2008 - 7:30 AM

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Well folks, it’s official! On Thursday, Yahoo officially stated that under a new pact with Google it will display “some” ads sold by its rival. The deal is expected to generate an additional $800 million in annual revenue for Yahoo, through what the Wall Street Journal describes as improved monetization of certain types of searches.

On top of it all, both companies also stated that they are looking for ways to now expand what is considered to be a limited partnership, possibly into the realm of display advertising. Now this would be interesting, as display is one area where Yahoo does hold a commanding lead over Google.

While all of the specifics of this deal have not been definitively worked out, the understanding is that Yahoo will control how Google’s ads are displayed along side its own advertising. Although it has not been 100% defined, my guess here is that Yahoo will most likely give priority to ads purchased directly through its own site, but then populate excess inventory with ads from Google.

Therefore, it appears that Yahoo is entering in a pact to become part of Google’s “Expanded Search Network”. This means that while you will still be able to buy everything you would like directly via Yahoo, whenever there is a case of excess inventory on Yahoo, Google’s ads will now be displayed. It appears to be a similar arrangement that Google has with sites such as Business.com, from which you can purchase ads directly from or go through Google to do so, as Business.com is part of Google’s expanded search network.

Assuming I am correct, and while this great news for the shareholders of Yahoo, there are few things that we as search engine marketers must now consider.

If you did not already know, when you buy advertising from Google, you have a few options. You can go with Google Search, which means you advertise to people just searching on Google; Expanded Search, which means adverting on Google and all of its search partners (AOL, Earthlink, etc.); and then of course there are programs such as Google Content. In my experience, most people opt to go with Google’s expanded search network as they not only get access to the audience on Google, but also those on AOL, Earthlink and more. However, unlike Yahoo’s expanded search network, with Google, it’s an all or nothing proposition. This means that with Google, you can not select which search partners you advertise with and which you do not. Additionally, Google does not disclose what percentage of your searches or budget are actually being spent with their partners, versus them directly. This leads most people to believe that when they advertise with Google all traffic and clicks are coming from people directly on Google, but this is not necessarily the case at all.

Why this is important is that if Yahoo does join Google’s Expanded Search Network, you could end up spending a good portion of your budget directly with Yahoo unknowingly via Google. Because Yahoo does command upwards of 20% of the Search Marketplace, they still have a very good sized audience and therefore you could soon find your Google programs spending much faster that you had previous realized, as you now have your ads being put in front of Yahoo’s still very sizeable audience. As a result, if you were previously reaping the benefits of Google’s Expanded Search Network, whether you knew it or not, with Yahoo in the fold you may have to start spending a lot more to continue to do so.

Additionally, seeing that Google does not let you see the specifics behind what is happening on their Expanded Search Network, you will loose the ability to plan your budget accordingly for Yahoo. I see this as important as both Google & Yahoo perform differently under certain circumstances and therefore you want to be able to structure your campaign on many levels such as Keyword, bidding and budget to take advantage of different audience dynamics. However, under this pact you will be relegated to spending some of your budget with Yahoo, but planning based on your insights from Google. Now, you might say that with Google’s Expanded Search Network you’ve already had to do this for AOL, Earthlink, Business.com, etc., but the difference here is that none of these engines offer an audience the size of Yahoo’s and really have the potential to shift things one way or the other. Now of course you can still advertise with Yahoo directly and plan accordingly, but previously you had the advantage of knowing that you had a Google budget and a Yahoo budget. But now under this new pact you will have a Yahoogle budget and a Yahoo budget, if in fact you decide to advertise directly with Yahoo at all.

This leads me to my last point, what does this mean for Yahoo in the future? In my experience, a lot of organizations like the fact that they can go through one provider and get their ads displayed on multiple engines. In the end you basically get the same result, without the headache of having to manage multiple programs and campaigns. In short, life is simpler. So, does this mean that over time, we will see more people just turning to Google to leverage the fact that they can go there and use them as a one stop shop? I guess the answer to this question relies on the definition of “some”, in terms of what the Google/Yahoo pact means when they say it means that Yahoo will display “some” ads displayed/sold by Google. Ultimately the word “some” is very ambiguous, and leaves a lot of room for this partnership to grow and expand. However, while you can at times get better cost efficiencies of going straight to the source, versus going through a partner, the challenges of managing multiple programs sometimes outweighs the cost benefits gained. Therefore, while I do believe that Yahoo will always have direct presence, I feel that the number of advertisers who opt run programs directly with them will shrink as they realize they can go to Google and manage everything from one single interface. This will be particularly true for those businesses that don’t have the ability to have a dedicated search marketing staff, but previously felt they had to run on both engines in order to access both audiences.

One thing that is for sure is that by making a bid for Yahoo, Microsoft has certainly shaken-up the search marketing landscape. Who would have thought that the net result of trying to acquire Yahoo, would have the unintended effect of making Yahoo run directly in to the arms of the rival that Microsoft as trying to fend off via their intended acquisition strategy. If you think this is strange; based on the precedent set here, I can only imagine what's going to happen next.

Labels: Google, Industry, Online Media, Paid Search, POV, Strategy, Yahoo

What's Next?

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Thursday, May 8, 2008 - 2:40 PM

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It’s understandable why there’s so much buzz going around Social Media nowadays. Millions of consumers like me are already so deeply immersed into social networks, UGC and brand channels that it’s part of our everyday lives already. In fact, if I had 15 minutes of free time, I would not think twice about spending it online in the social media space: log into my accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Flickr, Multiply, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger, Wordpress, Yelp (whew – did I miss anything?) and before you know it, the 15 minutes had stretched into an hour, or maybe even longer. Last year, a study called Never Ending Friending (commissioned by MySpace, Isobar & Carat) confirmed that majority of users really would check out social networking sites if they had 15 minutes of free time.

What does this mean for marketers?

First of all, it tells us where we can find our consumers (and consequently, where we should be spending more media money). Second, it tells us that consumers don’t just join these networks for the sake of joining. Consumers actually engage in conversations, build relationships, and spend hundreds of precious online minutes on social media. And last but not least, it tells us that marketers should be doing the same thing because whether we like it or not, social media is now a major part of our media mix.

But what’s next? – That’s the question we have to keep asking. What do we do after we set up our profiles, blogs, pages, brand channels? Aside from making sure that there is always fresh and relevant content, we can now use this medium to communicate with the consumers. We do not want to be the static “friend” who never updates his or her site. We want to be the brand/product/company that has a dynamic, cross-functional, multi-connected presence.

Profile set-up? Check. Build community with friends and fans and followers? Check. Content-rich, constantly-updated page? Check. Time to start socializing? Yes, please. Because the next thing that marketers need to do is be part of and herald the ongoing conversations in the social media world.

So next time you have some free time, think about how you can continue to leverage the power of social media to help your brand or company. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out those Facebook updates too.

Labels: POV, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, web 2.0

Social Media and Why You Need a Strategy

posted by Ty Velde @ Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 9:44 PM

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Every day, it seems we read something new about Facebook, MySpace and other likeminded properties and how the social web is changing the face of the online landscape as we know it. So what is it that makes these companies so important that they are garnering so much press and interest? Well, in my opinion its not such much the properties themselves, but rather the communities they have fostered within them and this is why every marketer should be paying attention.

To support this point, just read the following quote from a recent Wall Street Journal article about Sport Illustrated (SI) and their decision to take their Fantasy Content to Facebook:

"The move is, in part, an admission by the iconic sports brand, owned by the Time Inc. division of Time Warner Inc that it needs to do more than draw users to its own Web site. It also needs to take its products to a site people already visit.”
- Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2008.

What struck me about this comment was not so much that Sports Illustrated is partnering with Facebook, but rather how it as decided that a presence on Facebook is a viable alternative to driving users to their own web site. In short, SI has realized if they truly want to engage the Facebook community, they have to do so within Facebook, not outside of it.

This, in my opinion is one of the true powers of the social web, and a key reason why all companies need to start thinking about developing a social media strategy, if they have not already done so.

In short, the social web, comprised of sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others is a web within a web. Rather than refer to these as sites, I think that they could be more accurately described as online environments. People don’t necessarily go on the social web with the intent of finding the next great web site, rather they're on the social web to interact and socialize with others within the context of that environment.

Therefore, if you want to reach users within the social web you need to come to them and set-up shop in their environment. Doing so demonstrates to users that you understand the nature of the social web and are willing participate within it. This is an important fact to realize and if you want to be considered relevant within the fabric of the social web, then you need to be have a presence within the social web.

Now you may be saying to yourself “But we have a website, so why would I need to create a presence within context of the social web? I mean, we’re already online.”

Well, yes your business or company does have a website and is online, but you are not operating within the realm of the social web. You are also making the broad based assumption that those who are engaged in the social web, want to leave it to see what you have to offer. However, this is big assumption and an unfortunate mistake. Again, users go to the social web to interact within that environment, so if you want to reach them you need have a presence where they are.

Additionally, there is a common misconception that the social web is only for kids, teens and young adults so it just does not make business sense to be there. Well, there was a time when people felt the same way about this thing called the World Wide Web. Remember when only cutting edge companies had websites? It’s laughable by today’s standards and if you don’t have a website today, people will seriously question your competency.

Well, the same trend is now being realized with the social web. Not every company has a presence and those that do are hailed as being innovative and thoughts leaders…just look at Sports Illustrated. The fact that they have decided to set-up shop on Facebook has gotten them ink in the Wall Street Journal. I’m willing to bet that in a matter of just a few years, that such moves will be par for the course and if you don’t have a presence on the social web, you’ll be laughed out of the room.

So where am I going with this all? Well, the fact is that marketing on the social web is something that is still relatively new. People are waking up to the fact that there is an audience to be had, but they don’t know what to do or how to effectively access it. But the fact is that social media, just like other forms of online media such as search, can act as channel and means to access a very ready and willing audience. However, to be successful you need to understand how to play with and engage this audience within the context of the social landscape.

Like what SI did, think of social media as a means to complement what you are already doing online. While your corporate web site can still be the center of your online marketing universe, it does not mean you can’t have branch or satellite offices within the confines of Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others.

As I mentioned earlier, the social web is not just another group of sites, it's a unique, multi-faceted environment in which resides a huge audience. However to effectively market to this audience, you need to first understand the environment and be willing to join its fabric. Ultimately, by deploying a social media strategy you will greatly expand the power and reach of what you are doing online and develop a channel that is bound to pay off today and in years to come.

Labels: Industry, POV, Social Media, Strategy

Overdrive's Unique Core Values

posted by Harry Gold @ Sunday, April 20, 2008 - 2:50 PM

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Ok, so I was being interviewed for an article and afterwards I sent over my notes to the journalist just to encapsulate some of the points I was driving home. However, these notes really summarize what Overdrive is and provides to its clients so I thought I would post it. Don't be surprised if you see this as future site copy as well.

As for what publication – well the article should be out on 5/9/08 so I'll let the cat out of the bag then.

What makes Overdrive Interactive unique?

Harry:
There are 2 major factors that make us unique.

1) First, we combine unrivaled search marketing, social media marketing and online media services with creative and conversion services designed to encourage desired behavior and measurable ROI. Let me elaborate:

- Search and online marketing is not just about lots of impressions, clicks, high search rankings and traffic – it is about connecting with the right people at the right time and getting them to do what we want them to do. It is about getting them to become a lead, engage in a meaningful brand interaction that changes their perception or belief about a product or buy something online or off-line.

- At the core of any successful online marketing campaign is to develop a product and audience specific Benefit and Offer Matrix that answers the following questions that a consumer is asking when they go online looking for something:

How are you going to help me?

What do you have for me right now?

- Remember, people want to know how they are going to benefit from their association with your company or product – how they are going to make more money, have a better life, feel good – what ever it is that they are seeking. You need to address their needs very quickly to engage them online.

- Then you need to think of an offer that gets them to take some kind of action that gets them closer to the point of sale and in their minds, closer to satisfying what ever need you are addressing in your benefit statement.

2) We not only deliver quantitative data to our clients reporting clicks, costs and ROI – we give them qualitative data. We give them the numbers and tell them what the numbers actually mean. It is this factor that attracts the big-name clients we have who are seeking more then standard click and cost numbers in their reports – they want to know why certain things worked or did not work and how they can use that data to the benefit of their entire businesses. Let me elaborate:

- The actual process of optimizing the performance of a paid search and online media program taps the biggest real time focus group on the planet.

- Buried in all the click and conversion data of your banner ads, search ads and landing pages lies the key to what you need to say to a consumer to get them to react to your messages, offer and products in a positive way that drives sales.

- Rarely does the actual wisdom of the data get called out and packaged in a form that it can be escalated to the benefit of the entire company.

- The Benefits and Offers that resonate with people online can often be migrated to all forms of marketing and advertising.
We think successful online messages should be driving off-line advertising instead of the other way around!

What makes your service better then others?

Harry:
1) We are very focused creating an entire company of search and online marketing experts – not just staff members that work for a core group of experts. Overdrive is about great people who also have a great way of doing things.

2) We also are very focused on providing our clients with search engine and online marketing training. We actually provide our clients with onsite seminars on a wide range of topics including search engine marketing, online media and social media marketing. The more people in an organization we can get to embrace online and understand best practices, the more successful we are in launching their programs.

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