Advertisers Begin to Look Beyond Facebook and Twitter
eMarketer

Social network marketing is now de rigueur for most brands. eMarketer estimates that 80% of companies with at least 100 employees conduct marketing activities on social networks this year. Fewer are advertising on social networks, but the number is growing.

May 2011 research from The Pivot Conference and Brian Solis found that two-thirds of marketers surveyed were already conducting social media advertising activities, and 18% more planned to do so in the next year. Most agreed that these efforts would prove very valuable, and 54% of those currently running ads were satisfied.

The success of these efforts so far—along with the continuing growth in consumer usage of social sites—may be leading advertisers to expand their plans to more social venues. Currently, Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter dominate. More than nine in 10 respondents have deployed campaigns on Facebook and 78% have done so on Twitter; eMarketer estimates these sites will make $2.19 billion and $140 million, respectively, in US revenues this year. But advertising on sites like YouTube, LinkedIn and foursquare will grow: at least 20% of survey respondents indicate they would begin campaigns on these sites in the next year.

Understanding the Fan Journey
Direct Marketing News

Many marketers and agencies have developed the tools necessary to address how shoppers act, feel and what ultimately leads them to purchase. Now, what about the "fan" journey? Marketers are spending millions of dollars on sponsoring events, but today's fans experience events in a dramatically different way than they did years ago. Fans today must be approached with a tailored, multichannel marketing program connecting them to brands in both the physical and digital worlds. Here is some guidance on how to capture a fan's attention and lead them to purchase.

Amplify their passions. Consumers going to events are primed for marketing messages. Take advantage of the time before, after and during the event to communicate, as these are the perfect moments to encourage an emotional connection to your brand.


Not all fans are created equal. Audiences vary across the spectrum from "mildly interested spectator" to "obsessed." Fan segmentation is a bridge between consumer segmentation and shopper segmentation. Marketers can leverage those segments to enhance their understanding and the key benefits to deeper connections. Linking the client segmentation and the event's demographics and psychographics is the sweet spot for focused efforts.


Fans are magnetic and avid fans want to be around like-minded people. Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare provide a forum for fans to gather and share passions to form mini-communities. Social media allows us to scale event activation programs. It also lets us have a continuing dialogue with the attendee and his or her network.


10 Cool Uses of American Eagle’s Stunning LED Sign in Times Square
AdWeek

When American Eagle opened its Times Square store in late 2009, most of the attention was on the retailer's sprawling 25,000-square-foot, four-story floor plan. But in the year and half since then, it's the brand's towering building-side LED display that's had the most noticeable impact, even in one of the world's most notoriously cluttered visual landscapes. By the numbers, this digital ziggurat is 15,000 square feet of LED, climbing 25 stories above Broadway and playing animations 18 hours a day. It's one of the nation's premium ad spaces, not only for American Eagle but for the brands and charities that buy (or are given) space there. We've compiled 10 of the more interesting ways the display has been used.

Why the Pipes Are Broken in Mobile Advertising
AdAge

Embarking on a mobile ad buy is diving into a dark, deep sea crammed full of startups you've likely never heard of: Celtra, Mojiva, Medialets, inMobi, just to name a few. It's brimming with a lot of little companies -- and a couple of big stakeholders like Apple and Google -- scrambling to build the infrastructure to make advertising work in a medium that some have said will be bigger than TV.

Someday maybe, but right now mobile is behind -- about $59 billion behind TV, in fact. Despite all the excitement around smartphones, there still aren't the standard tools mobile advertising will need to even hope to reach the $60 billion in ad spending TV pulled in last year, according to Kantar Media. This year, mobile ad spending in messaging, display ads, video and search is expected to top $1 billion in the U.S. for the very first time, according eMarketer.

"There are challenges at scale," said Brandon Berger, chief digital officer for Ogilvy Worldwide. "Buying $30 million worth of mobile media is going to be daunting."

Freshpair Gives Package Goods New Meaning
AdAge

Packing heat in a sensitive area? Bra bringing you down? Too ballsy for your own good? Customers who answer affirmatively to those questions are increasingly logging on to Freshpair.com to find the fixes for sensitive garment issues that they might be too embarrassed to address at a brick-and-mortar retailer.

While e-commerce has been booming for years, and buying underwear online is nothing new, what's surprising about Freshpair is that half its customers are men. And a large percentage of these men's purchases are going toward sexy styles that are harder to find in local stores, according to Freshpair.com President Matthew Butlein. Jock straps are a big seller on the site, for example, but the company has found that "only one-third of jock strap wearers actually wear their jock straps during sports activities. The rest are just worn for fashion," said Mr. Butlein. Guys are also logging on to find tanks that enhance both their torsos (yes, there are Spanx for men) and bottom halves (bulge-boosting trunks, anyone?) as well as to find solutions to some of the other package problems mentioned above on its "UnderweaRX" section.

Founded in 2000 out of a one-bedroom apartment, Freshpair has seen large growth over the past 11 years and in 2004 moved into an office in New York's trendy SoHo neighborhood. (Fittingly, for company that sells products for privates, Freshpair is itself privately held.) In 2007, it added its 100th brand to the site and continues to see healthy growth amid the recession, said Mr. Butlein. Part of the reason is a big focus on promotion -- every employee's email signature contains the question "Want to see my underwear?" tool.

How Nascar Is Starting a Turnaround
AdAge

Nascar had been in a tailspin for the last four years, but it's Sprint Cup Series is making something of a comeback in 2011, with gains in both track attendance and TV ratings, thanks to a revamp of its business and marketing model to reach new and younger audiences.

"Obviously we're very pleased with the turnaround," Nascar Chief Marketing Officer Steve Phelps said, "especially with the gains in the 18-to-34 demo, which of course is important for TV and advertisers."

Nascar's audience had steadily eroded over the last four years due to a variety of circumstances, not the least of which was alienating its longtime, hard-core fans with a variety of changes: later starts to appease West Coast viewers; altering its rules that made for safer, albeit less exciting racing; and instituting the playoff-like Chase for the Cup, in which the last 12 races of the season would serve as the racing league's championship. Throw in a tepid economy, rising ticket prices and skyrocketing gas prices, and it also hindered track attendance.

Fox ‘Enhances’ Consumer Value — Other Nets Sure to Follow
Media Post / Marketing Daily News

It's a tricky scenario for traditional TV networks. How can they keep older distributors and retailers—like cable operators—happy while serving new fast-growing digital video sites like Hulu? The answer: Pry a few more dollars that come straight from consumers' hands.

Whatever happens, you can be sure that TV executives will offer this tired phrase: "We are enhancing the value for consumers."

Fox said as much Tuesday night. It would delay free online airing of its TV shows for eight days after being seen on the Fox network. But Fox fans could still get shows online a day after airing if—and only if—they had a monthly subscription from an approved distributor. This new process starts with a deal struck with satellite TV distributor Dish TV.

Now, don't blame just Fox. Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes has spoken of similar so-called "TV Everywhere" efforts as giving customers more "value." What happened with Fox will eventually occur with other networks, be they ABC, CBS, TNT, TBS or HBO.

One-Year Countdown to 2012 Olympics Gets Gold Marketing
BigLeadSports

Most of the official marketing partners of the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games are marking the one-year to go date of the 2012 Summer Games with marketing and/or activation.

In London, official IOC and LOCOG Olympic partners that are running ads and beginning to unveil other marketing support include British Airways, BP, Holiday Inn, Lloyds Bank, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, P&G, Samsung, Thomas Cook and Visa.

In the U.S., among the marketing partners that will highlight the fact that the Olympic Games will begin on July 27, 2012 are Allstate, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser), BMW, Citi, Coca-Cola, GE, Hilton, Nike and United Airlines. McDonald’s, P&G and Visa are among the companies that have both USOC and IOC official affiliations.

The London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games said that even though the work is not yet completed, most major goals have been met with the 2012 Summer Games just one year off.

According to LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe, ‘There is much to do in the next 12 months, but we can take huge comfort in the progress that has been made so far. We are absolutely on track and determined to stage Olympic and Paralympic Games.”