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May 15th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Brands Seeing Impact from Online Video
Mimi Wilfong

A study from 33Across has found that more consumers are responding to online video than ever before. Across the eight industries included in the study, those that garner the biggest impact from online video are consumer packaged goods, travel and telecom.

Getty Images Reimagines the Solution
Scott Luther

When Getty Images, the world’s largest image library, wanted to change consumer sentiment toward the protection of its copyrighted images, R/GA London uncovered a way to reimagine the most public aspect of the brand itself. By shifting the watermark from the center of the image to the side and giving each photo a unique short code, Getty Images has found a way to make a nuisance an opportunity to increase attribution and potential licensing revenues.

Bing Reinvents Social Search and Discovery
Stephanie Wierwille

Bing has joined Google in the social search realm, but unlike Google, it’s including more than just Google+ search results. For now, it populates search results with Facebook data, but Bing has plans to also include Twitter, Foursquare, Google+, LinkedIn, Quora and Blogger. Not only does it allow for social search, but you can also ask friends questions directly from the Bing window. The redesigned search engine is being heralded as more integrated, forward-looking and user-friendly than Google’s social search offerings.

Macy’s Ties Stores More Closely to the Web
Nick Daigle

Realizing the increasingly vital role that the Internet, both traditional and mobile, plays in the customer’s shopping experience, Macy’s recently announced big plans to enhance retail locations with digital. The brand plans to outfit 300 stores to handle fulfillment of online orders as online sales grew 40% from 2010 to 2011. It’s also planning to expand Wi-Fi to all 840 stores to support growing consumer and employee mobile Internet needs during the in-store shopping experience.

May 8th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Stride Gum: The World’s Longest Banner Ad
Stephanie Wierwille

Matching its claim as ridiculously long-lasting gum, Stride created a ridiculously long banner ad. It was an interactive game, challenging users to click and hold a moving target for as long as possible for the chance to win $500.The record holder? One user who lasted 46 minutes and 27 seconds.

Google Rolls Out Its “Hangouts On Air” to All Users
Les Boswell

Google has been making huge strides in implementing a years-long social strategy. The rollout of “Hangouts On Air” is a potential game-changer, as it promises to be the ideal social companion for brands looking to create real-time town hall experiences. Google Hangouts On Air allows you to publicly broadcast to Google+ and YouTube, enhances administrative abilities by allowing the creator to see how many people have joined in the hangout and allows for recording and resharing.

Pinterest. Infographic. Video.
Mimi Wilfong

Combine three of the most common Internet buzzwords and this is what you get: a video infographic about Pinterest. It covers the basics of what you need to know about Pinterest, including users and history, in a two-minute infographic-style video.

Make Choices: Choose Everything
Scott Luther

How does your organization make decisions? Is it by the HiPPO – Highest Paid Person in the room? In web design, embracing A/B testing – simple concept, much harder in execution – allows all decisions about design and content to be broken down into component parts and continually optimized. It is this simple concept that has allowed companies like Netflix, Amazon and Google to ensure they are delivering the best possible experience to their users.

Mobile to Become Top Email Platform (Infographic)
Cody Hudson

Return Path projects that mobile will overtake web mail and the desktop PC to become the leading platform for email by year’s end. Email readership on mobile devices accounts for 30% of all opens, up from 10% a few years ago. What this means for marketers: email ads that might appear in a traditional web browser will not show up in a native mobile email reader and formatting is paramount. Despite the sharp rise in mobile email use, Return Path found that nearly half (48%) of marketers don’t know how many mobile subscribers they have.

May 7th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

While others label my generation as a narcissistic bunch of navel-gazers, as self-absorbed participation-trophy-in-tow whiners,[1] today’s media landscape provides little evidence that we are not the center of the media universe.

Others will gladly outline how this happened and why it is an abomination; this post is an exploration of one small piece of how this new generation of consumers will change your approach to advertising. While this may sound extreme or overly simplistic in cases, this is what your customers (or the customers that you will soon have) are expecting of you. This post is about what you are competing with for attention and the shifting of eyeballs away from programmed content toward curated content.

In the old video consumption model, content had clear delineation as to which device it had been created for: premium and live content was developed for the traditional television, and short-form or catalog content was reserved for the Web where die-hard fans could seek it out if they so chose.

However, the line is no longer so clear. Netflix, YouTube and Hulu are all developing exclusive scripted content for their own platforms, and traditional broadcast networks are releasing their content directly to laptops and other web-connected devices.

So now, how do I choose what, and where, to watch? It is an important choice for brands and advertisers to consider, to efficiently target an impactful message to connect with potential customers. But most importantly at this stage is to recognize that this choice exists and to understand why choosing content first, device second has become a widespread behavior.

Content Curation

At its essence, this behavior is not about convenience, it’s about curation. It is about spending your attention on the content and platforms that best express what you are looking for at a given moment, rather than accepting the limits of what networks have programmed. And that is why web pundits are declaring the death of TV. Curating and personalizing content have always been a strength of digital media – from the AOL or Yahoo! home page on through to Instagram and Pinterest – the Internet enables people to build a media platform around themselves.

The Internet, and especially the social web, is built upon platforms and publishers that are continually pushing personalized content and experiences to users.

According to Steven Rosenbaum, content curators are the real superheroes of the Web: “Curation is the act of individuals with a passion for a content area to find, contextualize and organize information. Curators provide a consistent update regarding what’s interesting, happening and cool in their focus. Curators tend to have a unique and consistent point of view – providing a reliable context for the content that they discover and organize.” Because of the efforts of content curators, both human and algorithmic, the Web is becoming the new prime time.

But Aren’t People Watching More TV?

The counterpoint, however, is that people are spending more time watching videos than at any other point in history. According to Nielsen, the average household still watches almost five hours of video per day, but the share of time spent watching live television continues to decline.[2] Granted, live programming through a traditional TV still makes up the vast majority of time spent watching video content; for younger viewers the “best screen available” will soon be replaced by the “best experience available.”

As Seth Godin puts it: “the only way your business wins in Google world is to be the best available option, where ‘best’ means best for the person searching for an answer, and ‘available option’ means everything.” And for those who hope to reach people by advertising, they need to understand both where and how they are interacting with media. Today’s viewer is choosing content first, then finding the device that offers the best experience available.

The technology that will most likely help bridge the gap between the rise of personalized, professional-quality video curation and live programming already exists: tablets. According to a study by Viacom, among tablet owners 15% of full-length television is being watched on the handheld (or lap-held) device. That is in addition to the various short-form clips being consumed on YouTube and Vimeo. Ultimately, this goes to show that viewers will easily adjust to watching content on the device that makes the experience suit their expectations, regardless of whether it is supposed to be a “second screen.”

Now that people have started to embrace their power over programming, TV is trying to adapt by integrating second-screen experiences into the mix to create more engagement with premiering or live content. There are some really exciting opportunities emerging in this space, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to stop people from shifting viewership to a more familiar channel.

So really, if the media world, the online world and education are all built around us – what else should we think? I am the Center of My Media Universe.

For more on the convergence of online video and television, see Alex Kenney’s and Cheryl Huckabay’s predictions in our Trends to Watch in 2012.

Alex Kenney, Watching TV, Tweeting and Chewing Gum: http://trends.clickhere.com/tv-tweeting-and-chewing-gum/

Cheryl Huckabay, Buying Audio and Video: http://trends.clickhere.com/audio-and-video/

[1]Point conceded.

[2]Nielsen, “The Cross-Platform Report: Q4 2011” http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports-downloads/2012/the-cross-platform-report-q4-2011.html

May 1st, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Social Media Explained for the C-Suite
Scott Luther

Global management consultancy McKinsey & Company has released a briefing that details the core responsibilities and approaches to take in social media to generate a measurable return on investment in both the short and long term. The report artfully distills social media activities into four key responsibilities – monitor, respond, amplify and lead – and further suggests opportunities to put these tactics into action.

Actionable Social Analytics
Les Boswell

A common question we hear from clients is, “What do I do with social media?” There was a time when “like,” “follow” and “retweet” seemed to carry some form of weight, but more and more organizations are beginning to realize that quantifying “likes” is about as effective as counting the number of cars that pass by a billboard on any given highway in America. In an attempt to answer this and other social media questions, Socialnomics has released a white paper and an associated infographic detailing effective approaches to measuring social media impact.

Is There a Place for Sass on Social Media?
Mimi Wilfong

Brands continually struggle with how to stay relevant and memorable in the minds of today’s consumers. With lines between traditional and digital campaigns blurring, brands face an even bigger challenge as customers on the Web crave a social experience. Some brands have found that they’re able to create a strong connection with consumers using a little bit of sass. From Taco Bell to Old Spice, bold campaigns are making waves in social media.

Five Mobile Trends to Watch
Stephanie Wierwille

With Google’s Project Glass hitting the Web and a slew of brands developing AR apps, augmented reality is no longer a future trend. Starbucks has ventured into augmented reality twice – both for holidays – and has seen strong revenue from it. Here are four other trends spreading through mobile now.

Hispanics Lead Ethnic Groups in Their Digital Savvy
Nick Daigle

Brands who target Latinos need to consider what mobile and social touchpoints to leverage as usage among the population grows and outranks other ethnic groups. According to recent research from Nielsen, U.S. Hispanics are more likely to utilize their mobile devices for texting and calling than any other ethnic segment. Latinos are also highly engaged in social, as they’re 25% more likely to follow a brand, and are the fastest-growing group of Facebook and WordPress users.

April 24th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Those Multitasking, Smartphone, Connected TV-Loving Moms
Nick Daigle

Building a stronger relationship with Mom these days just might mean depending more on digital as it increasingly plays a leading role in her media consumption habits. According to new research from Nielsen and BabyCenter, moms are 50% more likely than the general population to watch web video. They also overindex in usage of all digital devices, including Internet TVs, digital cameras, smartphones and tablets.

P&G Thanks Moms with Social Media
Stephanie Wierwille

Procter & Gamble released a tear-jerking video on YouTube last week in time for the 2012 Olympics. The video, which celebrates and thanks moms, has received 1.2 million views in six days and is part of P&G’s largest campaign in its 174-year history. It’s joined by a Thank You Mom Facebook page, Twitter and Facebook app, where sons and daughters can thank their moms with a message on Facebook.

Riots? We Should Have Been Listening to Twitter
Mimi Wilfong

Last week, The Buzz featured an article stating that social media could effectively determine who was going to win an election. This week, we learn that Twitter could help us predict riots. According to scientists at Bristol University, increases in anger and fear levels on Twitter in 2011 could have been predictors of widespread violence and looting on the streets. The same study found that there was a drop in levels of anger before the Royal Wedding, indicating the event had a calming effect.

What Second Screen?
Scott Luther

A study released by Viacom shows that tablet viewership now comprises 15% of television viewing, eclipsing computers as the second-most-common outlet for watching video. The sample included a national audience of more than 2,500 people aged 8-54. Another interesting usage trend Viacom noted is that a group of early adopters (18% of total) are using their tablets for practically everything, somewhat replacing the need for a PC, TV, gaming console and maybe even their smartphone.

Chill.com – the Video Version of Tumblr and Pinterest
Cody Hudson

A recent Webby Award honoree, Chill.com is a video-sharing site that’s a lot like Pinterest in some respects. The site allows users to create “categories” of videos and share them with other users. You can also follow other users: reposting, commenting on and expressing your emotions (via a series of emoticons) about their videos. The site has a chat feature and is linkable to both Facebook and Twitter.

April 17th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Spotify Launches Brand Apps
Stephanie Wierwille

Spotify is introducing brand apps, releasing apps from the likes of AT&T, McDonald’s, Intel and Reebok in an effort to create an advertiser-attractive platform. Apps were introduced in late 2011, with music publishers like Rolling Stone and Billboard, and allow third parties to create playlists. The brand apps will be similar – with AT&T’s “Surround Sounds” plotting songs to the locations in which they were created.

Smart Car. Cool Ad.
Mimi Wilfong

Have you ever seen an animated Twitter ad built into a brand stream? Using the standard 140 characters or less, Smart Argentina created an ad where, when users scroll through the Twitter feed, they see a Smart Car going through a tunnel, past trees and other vehicles, and into a parking space.

It’s Time to Choose: Team Mike or Team Ike?
Sarah Allen

Mike and Ike, the characters who represent the chewy, fruit-flavored candy product bearing the same name, are asking consumers to take sides as they announce a split. Mike says Ike spends too much time on his graffiti art, while Ike says Mike spends too much time on his music. They ask consumers to go to their Facebook page to take a side. Celebrities like Lamar Odom and Greyson Chance have picked teams already. The campaign is aimed at teenagers and based on the notion that teenagers like to follow the developments of friendships and romances on Facebook.

Don’t Call It a Gaming Platform
Scott Luther

Through content partnerships with services like Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora and HBO Go, users now have more options for premium content outside broadcast media than ever before, and users of all ages are taking full advantage of these options through gaming platforms, Internet-enabled TVs and tablets. A recent statistic released by Yusuf Mehdi, head of Marketing and Strategy for Microsoft’s Xbox division, shows that on average families with an Xbox are now spending 84 hours a month watching videos or listening to music through their devices. As new options proliferate, it will be imperative for marketers to understand where, and how, their targets are interacting with content.

Ford Partners with Yahoo! to Promote Electric Car with Reality Series
Nick Daigle

In an effort to influence consumer perceptions of the electric car, Ford has partnered with Yahoo! to create an online reality TV series where show participants compete in a scavenger hunt that takes them across the U.S. while driving the new Ford Focus Electric. The episodes will be distributed by Yahoo! throughout its content network and video hub, Yahoo! Screen. If the move is successful, Ford will close the perceptual gap between electric cars and their gas-powered alternatives, as well as brand Ford in a more authentic light as it moves beyond sponsoring an entertainment show to owning it.

April 10th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Project Glass: Google’s Augmented Reality Glasses
Stephanie Wierwille

Last week, Google released a video showing its sci-fi-like ambitions in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Google’s augmented reality glasses act as a smartphone – looking up information and socializing with friends – but do so through the view of the wearer.

Lufthansa App Wakes up Travelers to New Deals
Scott Luther

Because of its extreme northern location, Sweden spends much of the year in continuous daylight. Offering to alleviate the disorientation this may cause for residents, Lufthansa Airlines created a mobile alarm app that wakes up users to the sounds of a city to which Lufthansa offers flights. If users can correctly identify the city to turn off the alarm, they are offered discounted airfare to that city to escape their local endless day.

Online Transparency: Cheaper Than the Alternative
Les Boswell

Trendwatching.com publishes a series of very public brand missteps and how organizations reacted. The lessons are varied and insightful, and all seem to confirm what we already know – consumers are willing to forgive and even grow fonder of a brand if there’s transparency in admitting the mistake. It’s Flawsome! Consumers prefer genuine over perfect.

Social Media Buzz Can Predict Elections
Mimi Wilfong

A study by NM Incite found that while social media can’t forecast the size of the victory, it can predict the winners in political elections. In the study, they found that in 75% of races, the candidate who was mentioned most on social media won the election. The buzz around candidates did not show causation in winning elections, only correlation.

Nearly Half of All Consumers Intend to Purchase More Items Online This Year
Nick Daigle

Nearly half (47%) of all consumers are planning to purchase more items online this year, accelerating the trend from previous years’ growth by 9% year over year. One factor driving this trend appears to be budget consciousness as 58% say they expect to find lower prices online. With the uptick in e-commerce, consumer expectations for the online experience are changing, pressuring brands to develop their voices and programs on emerging platforms. Mobile is a key area to meet expectations, and many retailers are falling short: 37% of consumers say they have tried and failed to use mobile devices to shop in-store because of “connectivity” issues.

April 3rd, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Digital Ad Sales for the Big Dance Continue to Grow
Mimi Wilfong

Turner and CBSSports.com will bring in around $60 million for ad sales around digital viewing of NCAA tournament games this year. While that’s probably not going to cause a huge reallocation of TV dollars to digital, it is nearly double the $32 million sold for the 2009 tournament. During the first two days of this year’s tournament, time spent mobile streaming was up 40% year over year, with over 31 million visits across all platforms to NCAA.com and March Madness Live.

Scrabble Convention Pirates Captcha Field for Gamers
Scott Luther

To promote an upcoming event among online gamers, Scrabble created an interactive Captcha form field to spark interest in the creative word game. Specifically targeting online gaming sites, this campaign disrupted a common online annoyance and turned it into a memorable, inspiring moment for its key target.

Search, Social Media Important Indicators of Branding Effectiveness
Sarah Allen

Digital media measurement is becoming more refined, and traditional media is beginning to pick up some of the measurability that new technologies offer. This eMarketer interview discusses the importance of defining the right KPIs and value for your digital efforts. It also focuses on search and social media roles in digital media and how these metrics can measure the impact of broader campaigns.

Consumers Receptive to Mobile Coupons, Many Not Receiving One
Nick Daigle

With any widely unmet consumer interest comes a rather large opportunity for brands to connect and build relationships in a new space. According to Mercator Advisory Group, just 10% of consumers receive a mobile coupon, with 55% expressing interest in the new way to save. To capitalize on that demand, Kroger allows loyalty card customers to search for coupons and load the savings to their loyalty cards through its mobile app. No paper, ink or circular subscription needed.

Digital Drives Local Ad Spending Growth
Stephanie Wierwille

By 2016, more than one in four local ad dollars will be spent on digital. Though total U.S. local ad spending is expected to grow steadily over the next four years, digital ad spending is predicted to see double-digit growth each year, while traditional spending remains relatively flat. Much of this spending will be driven by social, mobile and video advertising.

March 27th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Coca-Cola Soda Fountain Dispenses Free Internet Access
Sarah Allen

The Coca-Cola concept store in Brazil includes a vending machine that dispenses free mobile Internet access instead of soda! Most young Brazilians don’t have large data plans, so this allows them to get access via a “Happiness Refill” that will allow them to navigate online in a Coca-Cola browser for about two weeks.

Kotex Creates First Pinterest Campaign
Stephanie Wierwille

Women’s Inspiration Day by Kotex uses Pinterest to find out what inspires women and then surprises them by delivering it to their doorsteps. The brand found 50 inspiring women and scanned through their Pinterest boards. Then, personalized, handmade gift boxes were filled with the items the women might want – and delivered to their homes. The results? Social media shares by almost all the women, and almost 700,000 impressions created.

Your Employer + Your Facebook Password = Controversy
Mimi Wilfong

Some employers are now requesting Facebook login information from current and prospective employees, and Facebook has made their stance on the issue clear: they will protect your privacy, even if it means going to court. While some states are in the process of passing legislation prohibiting employers from requiring employees to disclose this information, Facebook vows to continue to do their part to protect the privacy and security of its users.

Mobile Devices Changing News Consumption Behavior
Scott Luther

A new study released by the Pew Research Center shows that mobile devices are adding to the ways in which people are staying up to date on news. Among the findings in this infographic: most adults’ mobile devices do not replace laptops or desktops for reading news, but contribute additional time to this activity, with 5% of adults getting news from smartphones, tablets and laptops. Also, those who owned both a tablet and smartphone are significantly more likely to follow the news through social media sites than any other combination of smartphone, tablet and laptop ownership.

March 20th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

Mobile Comparison Shoppers Visit in Store, but Buy Online
Nick Daigle

With the influx of mobile as the quintessential shopping companion comes a disruptive trend in the way connected consumers buy. Research from ClickIQ indicates that 29% of consumers who use a smartphone in-store to comparison shop land in the checkout lanes online instead of in-store. And many, depending on a consumer’s affinity toward their retailer, turn to the competition, including Amazon.com.

Google’s Move into Semantic Search
Brian Kress

Right now, we live in a search world dominated by keywords. Our search engine optimization efforts, search engine advertising and even much of our search behavior as consumers focuses around a few select keywords to return what we believe to be a relevant result. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google aims to change that. With their new approach to semantic search, they’re focusing instead on using artificial intelligence to determine the meaning behind our searches.

What Siri Means for the Future of Mobile Shopping
Stephanie Wierwille

Of those early adopters using Siri, the digital personal assistant is showing potential in the shopping experience, in, near and out of stores. Smartphone owners are using Siri at the shelf to compare prices and check inventory at other stores and, during shopping, to hunt for coupons and deals. The category in which people find Siri most helpful: food and groceries.

Retailers Fight Back with Digitally Driven Service
Scott Luther

As shoppers head to the store equipped with mobile devices and deep product knowledge, retailers are fighting their growing price-sensitivity by arming associates with smartphones, tablets and kiosks to help make service a contributing factor in purchase decisions. These new tools will allow associates to engage with shoppers for more than just finding stock on the shelves, even accessing shopper history for upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

Public Adoption for QR Codes…Finally Rising?
Mimi Wilfong

It has been said that the only people who like QR codes are marketers. Online buzz for QR codes was at .002% in June of 2010, but last month had risen to .15%. While that still isn’t a large number, it is a glimmer of hope for brands who are investing in the codes. According to sentiment analysis, 78% of people are neutral on the topic of QR codes, leaving 11% being positive and the same number negative. So who is talking about QR codes? Seventy percent of tweets about QR codes came from men.