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Before I delve into this post, I should mention that, in my previous post I used the term "social media advertising," when, in actuality, it is better stated "social network advertising." Thus, I refer to it here in that manner.
If you're a fan of advertising, raise your hand. Come on, raise em high. Anyone?
Ever since Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow said "the app is the new ad unit" (paraphrase) during a panel at OMMA Social, I've been intrigued with the notion of how advertising and social media successfully converge, or whether they will at all.
Conventional wisdom says advertising and social media make for strange bedfellows. Nobody goes to their favorite social networking site to see ads after all. At the same time, advertising is not going away, no matter how badly we wish it would.
What seems to be happening is, rather than social media adopting to traditional ad models, advertising is adapting to social media in the form or "app-vertisements."
Two companies leading the charge toward a more engaging, shall we say "creative" form of advertising, is the aforementioned Buddy Media, based in NYC, and PopularMedia, based in the Bay area.
Buddy Media creates interactive Facebook applications for large brands and PopularMedia offers what it calls Influencer Ads, which are standard ad units with a social element.
A report released today by research firm InsightExpress says, "According to the social networkers themselves, opt-in advertising works best, while behavior-based campaigns and randomly generated ads are far less successful." It goes on to state that 40% of social networkers condone the practice of opt-in advertising.
"Recognizing the rapid growth of social networks and social networking audiences, advertisers have focused on creative engagement and how to apply their brands within a new environment," said Drew Lipner, vice president and group director of the Digital Media Measurement team at InsightExpress.
Is this the future of advertising in social media? Is it a matter of creating a better mousetrap? It the app the new ad unit as Lazerow suggests? At this point, all I have are questions, but am watching this space to see if oil and water can indeed mix to generate profitable ROI.
GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons reports that "Go Daddy's 2009 Super Bowl campaign results shattered prior records for both new customer sign-ups and total orders, with 10 percent more new customers joining than last year's Super Bowl Sunday."
Despite the salacious nature of the ads, Go Daddy knows its customer base and, in the domain name registrar bowl, it appears they are the clear winner.
Or maybe not...
I had the opportunity to do a quick phone chat with , Network Solutions' "Swami of Social Media," earlier today to get his reactions to the GoDaddy Superbowl 2009 ad debaucle.
My intent was not to sensationalize or stir up controversy, but to try and view this issue through Shashi's eyes as well as to see what lessons could be learned and best practices gleaned.
A few months ago in a blog post about Google OpenSocial, Internet pioneer Dave Winer said, "Advertising will get more and more targeted until it disappears, because perfectly targeted advertising is just information."
A few days ago Blog Business Summit blogger Jason Preston echoed Dave's sentiments when he said, "One of the things about advertising on the internet is that it seems to blend more and more with marketing and with content. Good, relevant advertising is content."
Today CMSWire blogger Gerry McGovern said, "Google has become one of the most successful companies in the world by selling lots and lots of these 17 words of text that help us find what we are searching for. In a money-rich, time-poor economy, helping busy people complete their tasks is the new advertising."
What is it that each of these comments have in common?
Continue reading "When advertising becomes information...three blogger's opinions" »
Today, I'm speaking to the AdFed club in Lake Charles, LA, on the topic Top 10 Strategic Business Benefits to Using a Blog. I appreciate the invitation and look forward to not making a complete fool of myself sharing some insights about business blogging.
The reports are in: Not one Super Bowl XLII advertiser sent viewers to any type of social media site. Not one. That's pitiful.
MediaPost blogger Joe Marchese had this to say in response...
Besides making Monday a miserable and unproductive work day, the Super Bowl is a great example of why no media buy can really ever be done in a vacuum. A few times during the big game, fans were prompted to visit MySpace.com to view and share the commercials they see during the game. The idea that is so intuitive, yet so hard to practice, is this: For today’s brands to get the most out of their traditional media buys, they must have a plan to extend those campaigns into social media.
Let's see. Digital cameras, laptops, MP3 players...no...cell phones, printers, desktops...no...oh, there it is, jewelry! Just what I was looking for.
Somebody want to tell me what a jewelry ad is doing sitting in the middle of a Web site about all things digital? Not my idea of contextually-based advertising. Is it yours?
I was honored to be asked to blog at Beneath the Brand, a group blog sponsored by Atlanta-based Talent Zoo which covers the worlds of marketing, advertising and media. The site features frequently-updated, industry-relevant content with just a twist of humor.
I'm happy to be a contributor and hope you'll add the blog to your blogroll.
BTW, here's my first post.
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