The folks over at Wired Magazine created quite a controversy last week when they proclaimed, “The Web is Dead.”
Throngs of bloggers, tech professionals, and media pundits weighed in with their thoughts on the subject. A co-worker of mine even framed the cover, preserving this day in pop culture history:
The Web is Dead
Why all the controversy, and why should marketers care? It has to do with the changing nature of media consumption and the role of your corporate website.
Marketers assume that viral video is largely a consumer strategy. Life sciences and healthcare marketers in particular feel their products and industry regulations make using viral video difficult to impossible.
Because PARTNERS+simons has domain expertise we’re able to help our clients navigate the challenges and bring this powerful strategy into a largely virgin marketplace to create a competitive advantage.
We recently launched a viral video campaign for Agilent Technologies. When we first proposed the idea of creating an interactive video using puppets, we expected strange looks. But Agilent recognized the break-through potential of the idea and signed on immediately. Once we produced the puppet video, we promoted it via emails, banners and text blurbs on key sites. We also leveraged Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
A viral video campaign for Agilent Technologies
The results? In a word—outstanding.
I recently read a well-crafted post titled The Writer’s Best Friend on the Keyboard and couldn’t agree more with the conclusion: The delete button is critical to good writing. Especially when it comes to advertising where the simpler the message, the better.
We’ve all heard it before. Writing is rewriting. When in doubt, cut it out. Keep it simple, stupid. So there’s no need to belabor the point.
However, the post did get this copywriter thinking: Do I have other friends on the keyboard? Are enemies lurking? I let my fingers do the walking and discovered that I have both—in ample numbers. Read more »
Financial services marketers have had it tough over the last couple of years. The recession contributed to increased distrust in the category, decreased loyalty from bank customers, and a general commoditization of banking products. We’ve seen a lot of “your money’s safe with us” messages, or “get the best rates here.” Both of which can work, but at this point are not particularly differentiating.
Which is why I was delighted to stumble across Superior Credit Union’s Bank with Bella microsite earlier this week.
Yet another study now shows the importance of the Internet and the amount of influence it has on the lives and decisions of consumers. Since over 80% of adults who are online use the Internet to find information about health and medical issues, this is something that all companies in the medical device arena should be paying attention to.
“The Internet is by far the most important (influential) medium in the lives of consumers.” This is the conclusion of the 2010 Digital Influence Index study recently completed by Fleishman Hillard and Harris Interactive that measures several key aspects of consumers’ use of the Internet, versus other media, and the degree of adoption of various behaviors.
While there are nine key findings the study discusses, I would like to focus on four:
1. The Funding Gap: Globally, digital dominates in consumer influence, but not marketing dollar spend
Ever clicked on an online ad?
[SFX: Crickets and wind in trees.]
Anyone?
[SFX: More crickets.]
The truth is, most people don’t click on online advertising. In fact, the average click through rate for display ads is just 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
But maybe clicking on ads isn’t the point. I recently joined an eMarketer webinar that cited a study suggesting that by 2013 over 40% of display ads will have a branding focus. With branding, it isn’t really about the click-through. It’s about the message and engagement. Regardless of whether it’s for B2C or B2B.
Dynamic Logic has a point of view on how to make online ads more engaging and effective. They suggest: Read more »
Let me apologize in advance for generating something else to read on the “value” of a Facebook fan.
With users in the general vicinity of 500 million, it’s very tempting to apply the tired media CPM saw to desirable segments. Heck, that’s always worked fine in traditional and other forms of online media. But it’s unimaginative and lazy.
Facebook is an extraordinarily rich environment for all kinds of marketing communications mischief — from the strategic to the gratuitous. It’s therefore understandable that there’s an active interest in putting a price tag on a fan, particularly because Facebook use is free. There’s no subscription cost, and little conventional advertising. Imagine all that value being created out of just participating!
This has brought out all sorts of folks who would like nothing more than to have their calculus embraced as the standard – therefore increasing their own worth.
I think it’s an absolute riot that my 9-year-old daughter memorizes infomercials. I’m really impressed (and perplexed) that she can recite the Snuggie commercial flawlessly from start to finish.
This is one of a dozen informercials that has totally captivated her. And, truth be told, I find it hard to look away from the ShamWow or the Perfect Brownie Pan.
As an advertising professional, I thought it was worth at least the length of an infomercial to think about why these commercials work. After all, I’ve spent 20+ years trying to unlock the key to motivating people. The Snuggie, meanwhile, has motivated 4 million people to drop $19.95 (plus shipping and handling) on a bathrobe they wear backwards. So, herein lies my completely unscientific analysis of why we’re so drawn to the likes of Mighty Putty: Read more »
Earlier this week, I posted Part 1 of my recap of The AdClub EDGE Conference, the industry organization’s event to celebrate some of the people and brands that are driving innovation in Boston. It was a great affair, and there was simply too much to cover in one blog post alone. So here, I give you Part 2 of what I learned at #adclubedge (again, in no particular order):
Last week, a number of us from PARTNERS+simons had the pleasure of meeting with about one hundred or so students and their parents at the Marshall Elementary School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The team included me, along with Debbie Easdon, Head of Broadcast Production, and Christine Wyse from Christine Wyse Casting.
We were there at the invitation of Ms. Sophia Bishop-Rice, Manager of Extended Learning Services/DELTAS at the Marshall School. In full disclosure, I must reveal the Ms. Bishop-Rice was a former nine-year employee at P+s and one of our favorites at that.
We briefed all of these potential future actors and their parents on how an advertisement gets developed, produced, and the inner workings of the casting process. Several themes were covered in this presentation: Read more »
