Archive for May, 2010
So, you want to quit Facebook?
May 31st
Following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement at F8 that he would be changing the privacy controls on Facebook, 25,418 users signed up to stage a protest today and quit. But will they actually pull the plug?
QuitFacebook.com says that user should quit for two reasons:
1) Fair choices and best intentions. In our view, Facebook doesn’t do a good job in either department. Facebook gives you choices about how to manage your data, but they aren’t fair choices, and while the onus is on the individual to manage these choices, Facebook makes it damn difficult for the average user to understand or manage this. We also don’t think Facebook has much respect for you or your data, especially in the context of the future.
2) For a lot of people, quitting Facebook revolves around privacy. This is a legitimate concern, but we also think the privacy issue is just the symptom of a larger set of issues. The cumulative effects of what Facebook does now will not play out well in the future, and we care deeply about the future of the web as an open, safe and human place. We just can’t see Facebook’s current direction being aligned with any positive future for the web, so we’re leaving.
With a user base that is approaching 500 million worldwide, 25,418 is a very small amount that seem so concerned (in percentage terms its 0.006%).
And why should more be, Zuckerberg has done a back flip on the controls and promised to make them more simple.
In a Washington Post editorial, he claimed it was never Facebook’s intent to be seen as an entity which deliberately collected and shared personal information to be sold.
Whether that’s enough to limit any damage done to the site by movements such as Quit Facebook Day will be anyone’s guess, as Facebook doesn’t include deactivated accounts when it comes to its “how many million users” milestone announcements.
It’s possible, of course, that the number of Facebook quitters will rise dramatically today, but the lack of interest thus far is a telling indication of the average Facebooker’s indifference to the ongoing privacy debate.
Furthermore, Google has released web traffic data over the weekend that indicate Facebook is king when it comes to online visitors.
Facebook.com is visited monthly by 540 million people, or slightly more than 35% of the internet population, according to Google Ad Planner worldwide data gathered using recently-acquired Double Click.
Approximately 570 billion pages are viewed monthly at Facebook.com, more than eight times as many pages as are viewed each month at second-place Yahoo.com, which gets 490 million visitors, according to Google.
UTALK’S WEBSURF: Web analytics, stats and resources for marketers
May 31st
This week in our websurf we came across Sysomos – an online resource library for social media.
Sysomos is redefining social media analytics by giving corporations, marketers, public relations agencies and advertisers the intelligence and insight needed to make smarter business and strategic decisions.
The site brings business intelligence to social media, providing instant and unlimited access to all social media conversations to quickly see what’s happening, why it’s happening, and who’s driving the conversations.
What caught our eye was this brilliant post on Twitter: An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World.
It includes all sorts of facts about the microblogging site such as:
– 72.5% of all users joining during the first five months of 2009
– 85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update/day
– 21% of users have never posted a Tweet
– 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people
– 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity (see the report on analysis of top-5% users)
– There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%)
– Of the people who identify themselves as marketers, 15% follow more than 2,000 people. This compares with 0.29% of overall Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people.
Sysomos also has a great blog and really is proving to be a fantastic industry resource.
Automatically generated ads? Computer say yes
May 28th
There’s a new ad creation tool making waves in the US with headlines shouting about an engine to put ‘Mad Men’ out of business. So what’s it all about?
PlaceLocal is a new program that builds display ads automatically by scouring the internet for references to a neighborhood restaurant, a grocery store or another local business. All a business has to do is type in their business name and address.
The program then combines the photographs it finds with reviews, customer comments and other text into a customised online ad for the business.
Computer generated ads, it is the future. And why not, computers already do everything else for us.
This nifty new piece of software means no costly copywriters and ad men – a big expensive for small business.
The program, developed by advertising technology company PaperG, is aimed in part at small businesses just beginning to advertise on the web sites of local newspapers or TV stations.
Sales representatives at the media companies who have signed up with PaperG often use PlaceLocal to build sample ads they show to small businesses already.
Pricing, typically a flat monthly fee, is set by the media company and varies from about $150 a month to $500 or more, based on how many times the ad is shown.
But this comes at a time when devices such as Apple’s iPad are forcing advertisers and brands to become even more creative in their ads.
PlaceLocal is a good idea for small business, but true stand out comes from the experts. Do you think this concept will take off?
Zynga takes it’s Mafia War offline with 7-Eleven
May 27th
Zynga, the social gaming giant that has just struck a five-year partnership with Facebook, has also this week announced its first retail partnership.
The gaming giant has gone from strength to strength thanks to its increasingly popular FarmVille and Mafia Wars and now has a deal with 7-Eleven in a bid to attract new users.
7-Eleven will offer FarmVille, Mafia Wars-and YoVille-branded items on many of the convenience store’s products, including on Slurpee and Big Gulp cups in its 7,000 stores.
In total there will be more than 30 branded items in store, ranging from cups, bottles water, a signature ice cream and more.
Consumers will be able to connect back to the social games by using their product redemption codes for limited edition 7-Eleven goods.
The campaign kicks off on June 1 and will last for six-weeks.
According to TechCrunch, Zynga says the partnerships represents a way for it to bring its brand to the masses offline.
Ten per cent of the US is playing FarmVille and 80% of its players are engaging every day with either FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and YoVille.
Meanwhile, Yahoo! has also just announce a partnership with Zynga that will integrate Zynga’s popular social games through Yahoo!’s global network.
FOCUS ON TRAVEL MARKETING: all that glistens isn’t always gold
May 27th
Nick Evans, account manager at Epsilon International, explains that while the online travel market may be saturated, it’s still a goldmine for advertisers.
Buying travel online has never been easier and with so many offers saturating the market the consumer is able to pan through a goldmine of offers, via email, social media and online advertising. That’s why vendors need to ensure their offerings stand out from the competition – making their gems shine brighter than the rest.
A common mistake travel marketers can make is to follow the path of other brands online – trying to copy what’s shiny and new. Like fool’s gold, online virals and the like can prove to be a false economy in this competitive sector.
That said, it’s the integration of technologies, such as email marketing and social media that are proving most effective universally. Leveraged correctly, such techniques can provide the right amount of digital dynamite necessary to make travel offers more compelling to a 2.0 audience, as the following tips illustrate:
Golden Tickets
They might seem a bit old and a little rusty but coupons work. They worked on the back of cereal packets, in newspaper and magazine giveaways and are still effective via email. The annual redeemed rate continues to increase and in the travel sector they’re becoming a big hit, particularly in hotels. Even when not redeemed they still play a vital part in the sales funnel according to the 2010 Forrester Report. Make coupons part of the mix and customers and shareholders alike will reap the benefits. Read the rest of this entry »
How Google took the sector from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’
May 26th
Google has topped yet another list for being the best, the most trusted and the most valuable brand in the world, the Reputation Institute’s annual international list of companies ranked by global reputation.
A couple of years ago the top performers on this list were the likes of Coca-Cola and McDonalds – consumer and FMCG brands.
Now days, the lists are dominated by technology giants, a trend that Google itself started.
The Institute’s “Global Reputation Pulse 2010″ report acknowledges companies with the “most trust, admiration, respect and good feelings from the general public.”
And it’s certainly the tech giants that embody all these things but more than anything, they generate the most admiration and interest.
Technology has become one of the most lucrative news sectors across the globe, but how did it go from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’?
Google’s dominance of all these ‘lists’ signals a massive shift in the habits of the ever changing and more attentive consumer. Furthermore, tech brands are putting their fingers in many, many pies.
Google is no longer just a search engine and email provider. It has its own mobile handset, Android, its own operating system, Chrome, and its own social network, Buzz. Soon, it is rumoured to be releasing a tablet computer.
Microsoft is much the same, but the other way around. It made its name selling software, now it manufactures the equipment, has just released its own phone – Kin – and its own search engine, Bing.
Lastly, Apple has sent waves through the tech community in the past five years. It has gone from producing big box computer screens (in partnership with IBM) for schools to having MP3 players, the iPod, the most successful mobile handset in the world, the iPhone, and now a table device, the iPad.
And let’s face it, we all want one of these gadget. We’ll camp out over night if we have to (and we do).
To follow these companies’ enormous success, we’ve seen the rise of the techie geek through various web blogs and magazines.
And the world witnessed just how powerful these blogs are last month when Gizmodo editor Jason Chen ‘found’ a lost iPhone 4G prototype and proceeded to dissect the phone photographing it along the way and publishing it for all the world to gawk. Turns out that 36 million people visited Gizmodo to read the breaking story proving not just technology’s pull, but Apple’s genius.
Technology brands have demonstrated their pervasiveness in our daily lives – they have triumphed to the point where they have now become fashionable, and Google started it all.
Is there a smartphone iPad gap? Dell thinks so.
May 25th
Smartphone too small? iPad too big? Well, what about a device that’s just right for Goldilocks and the tech fans?
Dell thinks it has found a gap in the market and intends to plug it with the Dell Streak and its 5-inch touch screen.
It’s a direct challenge to the iPad with its positioning, specifically hoping to attract “customers looking for a big screen experience without having to carry a laptop around.”
With internet capability, entertainment, easy turn-by-turn navigation and thousands of Android Market apps it drives the mobility of the net yet further.
“A 5 megapixel camera, fast processor, built in Wi-Fi and can easily connect to a range of social networks,” the official blurb tells us.
Dell are no fools. They know exactly what consumers are spending most time looking at and interacting with online. Not banking or shopping, but social networks.
In fact, recent findings from The UK Online Measurement Company show that Social Networks and Blogs activity accounts for almost 23 percent of UK Internet time – the equivalent of one in every four and a half minutes.
Looking at it another way, if all April 2010 UK Internet Time was condensed into one hour, 13 ½ minutes would be spent on Social Networks & Blogs.
“The Dell Streak hits the sweet spot between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets,” explains Ron Garriques, president, Dell Communication Solutions Group.
“Its unique size provides people new ways to enjoy, connect, and navigate their lives.”
Launching in the UK in June, it will be exclusive to users of the O2 network as the operator prepares to gain ground against the new Orange and T-Mobile newly merged ‘Everything Everywhere’ giant.
The success of the Streak is difficult to predict as UK consumers get set for Apple frenzy and the imminent launch of the iPad on May 28. And then there’s the next generation iPhone waiting in the wings.
Apple’s allure seems untouchable while the timing of Dell’s new launch is simply questionable.
This is Mark Zuckerberg, I’m listening
May 25th
Facebook is the very tool that has allowed marketers, brands, CEOs, managers etc to talk and listen organically to customers…so shouldn’t it be listening too? And reacting sooner rather than later.
Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take on the views of his users yesterday was well received, but it is one in a long string of changes and re-changes by the young CEO. But has it really damaged the social network…or perhaps made it more popular?
Let’s face it, Facebook’s numbers have only ever grown, despite a number of gaffes.
Since its start, Facebook has be broiled in many a privacy debate, many an investigation and many a backlash. But it’s always stood up for itself…not apologised, stood up.
Think of Facebook as a country (after all, Zuckerberg regularly reminds us that Facebook’s user base is actually bigger than the population of the US). Zuckerberg is the Prime Minister…or the President.
Not everything he does is well received, and being a democracy (as it seems to be, freedom of speech and all that) civilians are allowed to voice their concern, protest and revolt.
With that many users, like a country with vast amounts of people, there are always bound to be some that aren’t going to be catered for the way they should. But the government, and Zuckerberg, can never please everyone. Why? Then we’d have world peace and secretly no body actually wants that. We love to revel in chaos and calamity, it what makes life interesting and why shows like Neighbours remain popular across several continents for decades.
There doesn’t seem to be a week go by when Facebook and its fearless (sometime naïve) leader are not making headlines. Maybe Facebook wants it that way…perhaps they’re using PR tactics similar to that of Apple…stealth tactic, marketing to us, encouraging us and we don’t even know that they’re mostly not just the catalyst.
In Facebook listening to its users’ concerns over privacy and then acting upon it, it is sending out the message similar to what Frasier Krane “we’re listening”.
And perhaps that was the intent all along…to restore consumer confidence as a government would. Create a problem in the public eye, fix it, win confidence. It’s an easy formula…perhaps a little cynical of me but you can ignore the fact that it’s slightly usually for a company that is yet to make a profit give up the chance to please its consumers. Can you think of any government or corporate who’d do the same?
There’s more to this story than meets the eye and sooner or later, it’ll be in the headlines again.
RESEARCH WATCH: The next digital battleground for brands
May 25th
The internet is viewed as a “double-edged sword” for businesses, according to the latest brands research from intellectual property group, Marks & Clerk.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of marketers feel that while the digital age has brought tremendous opportunity for brand promotion, intellectual property abuses and threats to brand integrity are more numerous and difficult to protect against.
Evil eBay?
Respondents reserved particular criticism for eBay, which has been at the centre of a recent storm of court battles with luxury goods companies over the abundance of counterfeit goods for sale on its auction site.
More than 86% claim that eBay should be at least partly liable for the distribution of counterfeit goods on its site, while 59% claim eBay’s current efforts to combat counterfeiters using its site are insufficient. A further 64% described it as “unreasonable” to expect brand owners to police individual items on the site themselves. A sizeable majority (91%) believe that stricter conditions and penalties ought to be directly imposed on secondary markets such as eBay, to combat counterfeiting.
Pam Withers, Partner at Marks & Clerk, said, “For many brand owners, the assertion that eBay encourages counterfeiting is probably politely described as an understatement. Platforms like eBay offer the counterfeiting industry one of the most effective distribution channels we have ever seen, while the size and scale of online marketplaces makes constant monitoring and the detection of crime almost impossible for brand owners.” Read the rest of this entry »
Could 3D breathe new life into cinema advertising?
May 24th
Last week, digital transmission specialist Broadcast Australia became the first to broadcast 3D TV signals terrestrially over the air, as the rest of the world goes mad for all things 3D.
3D is attributed to making James Cameron’s Avatar the most successful box-office movie of all time.
And you’ll no doubt remember earlier this month when Hugh Hefner made headlines with his special 3D centerfold special June issue of Playboy.
And last week, Olympus launched a new advertising campaign for its new PEN E-PL1 camera that encourages viewers to go to a dedicated microsite (www.getolympus.com/PEN3d) and play around with 3D with a paper cut-out and a webcam.
3D is everywhere, and publishers and advertisers can’t seem to get enough of it despite reports that owning your own 3D set may actually be dangerous for your health.
So why all the fuss?
3D is about the next level, and the experience…as far as I can gather.
I remember going to Movie World on Australia’s Gold Coast when I was very young and saw a Marvin the Martian 3D movie there. It was pretty cool, fun, interactive…but it was also a novelty.
Imagine watching 3D all the time, it won’t always look so good. Perhaps this is a fad.
There’s a new movie out at the moment, Street Dance 3D. A movie about dancing in 3D. I can’t help but feel this is a space that is going to much like social media, a long-term experiment with sometimes, little pay off.
What do you think? Can advertisers benefit from our 3D fascination? It’s certainly going to be hard, and expensive, until the spectrum becomes mainstream. Still, there’s room to make a big impression.
3D advertising is one area expected to grow within in-theater advertising this year. Recently, Samsung ran a 3D ad in theaters prior to airings of the DreamWorks animated movie How to Train Your Dragon, for its new line of 3D TVs.
As more films are released in 3D, more theaters are investing in 3D-capable screens in the hopes of convincing consumers to leave their DVD players and video-on-demand behind and come to the movies.
3D, in fact, could mark the rebirth of cinema advertising. Since the beginning of the financially crisis, cinema advertising has suffered falls and failed to since report any growth since the recovery. 3D could be just what the medium needs to kick start growth again.
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