The Evolution of Social Media - What's Next?

After reading a blog on The Social Media Marketing Blog entitled A Brief History of Social Technology, my head is spinning. It's crazy to think that a mere 123 years ago was when the first radio waves were generated and within six years of that the first semblances of long-distance communications in the form of telegraph signals occured. Obviously that's way beyond the expanse of my lifetime, but look how far we've come from there.. Hard to believe actually.

For a long time even, phones, emails, and any technological communications were tied to home and stationary settings, but with current technology capabilities the sky isn't even the limit anymore. Plane, train, and walking down the street are all perfectly reasonable places to tweet, post a status update on Facebook, and post a Youtube video.

This blog post discusses how, interestingly enough, these same media outlets were once looked on as "a playground for younger generations" by most businesses, but this has obviously taken a 360 turn. Now, many businesses conduct their entire PR plan via social media sites and networking online.

So what does this mean for the future??

The latest idea - brainwave to iPhone interface. Devices that have the power to interpret brainwave activity and shape social media experiences accordingly.

Now that's a little scary. And my head is still spinning.



-Michelle    

More Research Shows TV Commerical Spending Falling Behind

Television is outdated.

Although this claim is not completely true, one can argue that the television industry and television programming is beginning to fall behind when compared to alternative media outlets. In today's society, anyone can get any information they need from a mobile device or tablet PC. Whether it is news, sports, weather, or entertainment, the sources to view media in the world are changing and television may be on its way out. Advertisers have taken notice. 

Today, Cynthia Boris, a writer on Marketing Pilgrim, blogged an article titled Online Video Ads Expected To See Largest Increase In Spend. The article discusses the transition many firms are beginning to make from television advertising to online video marketing.

To read the full article on Marketing Pilgrim, click here. 

Boris brings up a number of good points in the article. Perhaps the best reason explaining why online video advertisements is becoming so popular is because of targeting. On the internet, marketing can slim down who see's their article to the very detail they desire. Targeting plays such a crucial role as marketers are looking to spend their dollars as savvy as possible.

Research has shown that advertisers are increasing their spending rate on online videos over any other media source. Television, which in the past has been one of the most popular forms of advertising, is falling behind the competition. Ad agencies across the country will be looking to increase spending on online video, mobile video, social media, display ads, and search advertising over TV ads.

Society has developed into a mobile world. A world where you do not need to sit in front of a television to learn new information. Ad agencies have picked up on this and have now begun shifting spending budgets to more mobile and closely targeted mediums.

What changes do you think we will see as mobile media becomes more common in the United States?

How will mobile devices and tablet PC's shape to role of television in our society?

-Chad   
 

How Much Importance Do Logos Have?

Does a picture speak louder than words? When seeing a brand’s logo, without words, can you tell which company it belongs to? A logo ultimately represents a brand. But logos aren’t only used on cups, signs, advertising or billboards. Logos are in places you sometimes don’t even realize. When reading Scott Monty’s blog, head of social media for Ford Motor Company, he snatched my attention. His blog titled, “The Importance of Logos”, made me reflect on all the commercials I’ve seen when logos play a BIG part, and without wouldn’t make sense.

Do you ever watch TV and wonder who the heck is the company that’s running this commercial? Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

When I first watched this Old Spice commercial, I was so confused about what this commercial was even about….Until I saw Old Spice’s logo at the end. Another example, which is seen a lot with car commercials, is this BMW commercial. Without me telling you that it’s a BMW commercial before you view it, watch it as though you didn’t know.

A lot of car commercials put a picture in your head of what your life would be like to have their car before being able to view the actual car itself. When watching this commercial, I didn’t know it was for BMW or even a car commercial, until I saw car toward the end of the commercial. The BMW logo is one that most people are familiar with.

The next commercial is another perfect example of how logos are important:

Watching these Ikea commercials, you would never watch the first part and think “Ikea” until you see their logo at the end of the commercial.

Monty’s blog intrigued me to dive deeper into the importance of logos; and even a closer look at the importance of a picture for a brand so consumers can relate and identify with. Logos allow guidance and a sense of community for certain brand users. A great example is the Starbucks logo. All Starbucks customers can see the logo and feel a sense of belongingness, which they feel attached to. This feeling is experience through many logos.

Monty’s blog can be found at: http://www.scottmonty.com/2011/01/importance-of-logos.html

-Sara

Mobile Media and Marketing Part 2: Which Tactic is the Right Tactic?

Last Thursday, my fellow classmates and I were privileged to hear some insider mobile marketing strategies from a representative of Nordstrom. This Seattle-based, retail industry powerhouse does indeed dabble in this new trend, and it was interesting to learn about their tactics.

Given the type of upscale, refined service that Nordstrom provides to their customers, Nordstrom quickly learned after doing a preliminary round of mobile marketing techniques via text message to customers, that the SMS route was not for them. However, they have found success with the relatively new QR codes, like this,  

that Nordstrom strategically places on products and advertisements that allow any smartphone user to scan the image with their phone, and it takes them to virtually any sort of related site that Nordstrom wants. They have found this tactic to be more successful, as it allows their customer's to get an added experience from Nordstrom.  

Recently I've been seeing QR codes on all sorts of products and packages which poses the question, which mobile marketing route should a given company use to draw in their clients? I think the answer to this is, it depends on the type of company. In Nordstrom's case, the QR code provides a less-invasive way to reach out to their clients, but this obviously isn't the same right approach for everyone.

Mobile marketing is obviously the new craze but just a word to companies looking to jump onto this bandwagon - exercise caution with your approach because too invasive of tactics could drive potential customers away instead of bringing them in. 

-Michelle     

Is Mobile Media Going Too Far?

The smart phone market is one that is exponentially growing not only in the United States but across the world. Users can now surf the web, download content, and video chat with friends across the globe from the convenience of their mobile device's.

It is estimated that by the Christmas 2011, 50% of mobile phone users will be using a smart phone. To read an article about the growing trends in smart phones, click here. As the trend in mobile smart phones rise, marketers are implementing major marketing campaigns and committing major dollars to reaching consumers when they are on the go.

As the development of smart phones and smart phone technology grows, marketers are finding more and more ways to get their message out to the public. Even more so, companies can even more closely target who see's their ad.

SMS messaging, MMS messaging, in-game banners, and web browsing advertising have developed into the major means of reaching mobile users. Mobile marketing offers a unique situation because consumers do not need to be at a specific place watching TV at the correct time to see an ad. Now, users are available to seeing advertisements 24/7, regardless of location. That being said, privacy issues have arose stemming from this idea.

Recently, news has been come out about tracking mobile users locations and actions. Apple is under the latest attack, as questions have come up around their iPhone and iPad products. Both products have built-in  software that tracks and permanently records the where about's of its user.

This can be a very powerful tool for marketers and advertising agencies. But where is the line drawn when it comes to tracking a products users. Is it really ethical for this software to not only be implemented into a product but also to be used as consumer data tracker?

Apple has responded to these accusations. Of course, they have denied the accusations. To read more about Apple's response, click here.

-Chad   

How Social Media Marketing is Being Used Through Commercials

As Facebook marketing is growing at an increasing rate, TV commercials are beginning to draw viewers by pertaining content to Facebook or other social networking sites? We have recently looked into the Burger King example in class, which triggered my attention to this topic. Burger King ran a campaign that stated, “Delete 10 Friends on Facebook for a Free Whopper”, trying to prove that “Friendship is strong, but the Whopper is stronger”.  This Whopper Sacrifice opened a whole different aspect of marketing. Contests and promotions were seen more frequently on Facebook and other social networking sites. By using this form of marketing, you’re able to launch products, receive feedback, draw in new users, and have conversation with target audience. Facebook offers endless marketing opportunities. This video shows a quick glimpse of what Burger King did through their ‘Whopper Sacrifice’ campaign on Facebook:

Now other products are using this same marketing strategy. Marketers are beginning to understand how important Facebook and social networking is to consumers. Targeting your product to Facebook users will help increase consumers. With over 500 million active users, Facebook is a great place for marketing products and convincing consumers to not only buy in to what your product has to offer, but maybe even just try a product for the first time. This is an example of an iPhone commercial:

Through this commercial, they are trying to reach out to consumers who use Facebook daily and convincing them to buy the iPhone because it allows them to access Facebook anytime they want. Not a bad idea, giving the statistic that there are 500 million active users. This commercial pertains to 500 million people watching this commercial.

These examples are just two of many ways marketing is becoming based around social networking, as social networking has become the center of some lives. Not only is this form of marketing smart, drawing attention to Facebook pages is a much cheaper form of marketing as well. You’re able to target a certain audience, balance a budget, and add or drop ads at anytime. Social media marketing is a great way to listen and respond to how customers are reacting. 

-Sara

Television Ads Play An Important Role As Presidential Campaigns Begin For 2012

With 19 months until the 2012 presidential election in our country, the first TV advertisements are beginning to pop up across the nation. Although these preliminary ads are used to build a foundation for upcoming media campaigns, the style of political campaigns are unique in form and style.

Current President Barack Obama's campaign team has begun its campaign for his potential 2012 re-election. With the election a year and a half away, Obama's team has started with a preliminary ad to get its campaign rolling. Obama's first ad is quite interesting. The president barely appears in it, it shows little of what he has done thus far, and little about what his future plans are. Released by Obama for America 2012, here is Obama's first ad for 2012.

This type of ad is one of many different advertising styles that have come into the political realm. On the other hand, slander ads seem to be most predominate right around election time. These ads are used to degrade and shed light on actions rival candidates are weary of. They are used to make candidates look bad instead of build their own candidates reputation.

Last week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee released a video on You tube for Obama's 2012 campaign. Obviously, the Republicans are not promoting for Obama...here's the clip.

-Chad