Mad 4 Blog

Last Thursday, Facebook revealed its plans to restructure the look and layout of its “newsfeed” page, which is the first page that viewers land on when they log onto the site. This page is where a person can see the top posts from their “friends.”

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that this move correlates with Facebook’s agenda to feel like a personalized newspaper, with stories and content that are relevant specifically to the user based on the interests of his or her social sphere. Thus, the organization of how content appears will also gain greater significance. Facebook hopes that making the appearance easier to navigate, people will stay on the pages longer and navigate them more skillfully.

One key aspect of implementing this new agenda is a renewed focus on the appearance of photos on the newsfeed. Rather than tossed in among other content, the newsfeed will be segmented so that photos (and other niche media, such as music files) will have their own display area.

Because images will now be further emphasized on this section of the social media website, it also means that advertising on Facebook (such as through traditional banner ads) will also have the opportunity to become more prominent. Ads have been directly incorporated into the newsfeed since 2011.

Since then, however, the amount of Facebook content being posted has surged. Facebook has been adapting its algorithm to try and cull the mass of stories posted so that users can find the items that are most relevant to them with greater ease. However, the appearance itself has been largely unchanged since the newsfeed’s inception. And some advertisers have complained that it’s far too easy for their ads to get lost in the shuffle due to visual cluttering on the page.

The new look and specialized sections are expected to lead to greater user engagement from Facebook’s approximately 1 billion members, which could be reflected in more click-throughs and greater traffic (and thus, profit) for Facebook’s ads.

A focus on images also makes sense given Facebook’s ownership of growing photo-sharing service Instagram.

February 22 marked the gala night for the 2013 ADDY® Awards, presented by the Greater Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach Clubs of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). This year’s “Simply Irresistible Night” was hosted at Cinema Paradiso, comprising both an awards banquet and after-party.

This year, the appointed committee received more than 400 entries — a combination of submissions from Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. One highlight of the occasion was when contributor iCreatives organized the AAF’s own Harlem Shake performance.

During the night’s proceeding’s, Mad 4 Marketing’s Vice President Elyse Taylor was presented with a prestigious Silver Medal Award.

According to AAF:

The American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award Program was established in 1959 to recognize men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern.

The Silver Medal Award is based on five areas of consideration:

• Contributions to the recipient’s own company – success achieved in one of the following areas of work – advertising agency, advertiser, media, or advertising service company
• Creative ability – a consistent, high degree of creative, original thinking in whatever phase of advertising the nominee has worked
• Contributions to the general advancement of advertising – efforts to increase the stature and raise the standards of the advertising profession
• Contributions to the community – activity in civic, religious or other groups dedicated to some phase of human or social welfare
• Contributions to the American Advertising Federation of Fort Lauderdale

Recipients are named after a nomination process is completed.

Elyse’s award was presented by John Savor, a former ADDY chair, and Andrew Martineau, a past president of the Club who made a “special appearance” in order to be part of presentation.

Elyse was also acknowledged at the start of the award presentation in appreciation of her contributions to this year’s awards.

Staying one step ahead of its looming public offering, Twitter is now making it easier than ever to advertise with its social media platform.

As of last week, it’s launching an application programming interface (API) for advertisements. That means that marketers who use their own advertising software (HootSuite, Adobe, etc.) can synch it up with Twitter’s platform in a direct way — making it easier than ever before to plan, schedule and launch advertising campaigns on Twitter.

“With the Ads API, marketers now have more tools in their arsenal to help them deliver the right message, to the right audience, on the desktop and on mobile devices — all at scale,” states a blog entry by April Underwood, product manager

Marketers will also be able to expand their abilities to target tweeters based on their profiles and interests. Twitter hopes to capitalize on a broader and more efficient marketing base that some have been complaining it lacks since the 140-character social networking platform took off.

Twitter makes money when promoted/sponsored tweets are retweeted or clicked on. Marketers will now be able to efficiently organize and automate the “promoted” tweets that are sent out, making it easier for them to send more in a timely and calibrated manner — to the mutual benefit of their businesses and Twitter.

If Twitter’s API has an impact that’s anything like Facebook’s was two years ago, then it’s sure to see a quick, positive response from marketers and a steep, rapid increase in ad revenue growth.

Valentine’s Day has a huge reputation for being a “commercial” holiday. Skeptics argue that it’s not based on history or religion, it was created to drive consumerism. This is supposed to be a criticism.

Of course, being in marketing, that makes us wonder: Is it really such an insult to be considered a “commercial” holiday? And should advertisers really be critiqued for taking full advantage of a holiday with a reputation for being all about, well, advertising?

Thanksgiving, for one, is founded in historical significance. However, it’s become increasingly commercialized over time with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, etc. First companies observed the trends in spending, and then they named them and capitalized on them. Can they be faulted? It seems like the obvious move, and it was born out of observation of how and when spenders shopped. This year, there was backlash as many companies (notably Wal-Mart) extended Black Friday deals into Thanksgiving itself, because more open hours means more sales. Others started Black Friday sales early online in order to capitalize in another important way: drawing attention to their social media outlets and building relationships with consumers through the Web. As much as there was outcry about the poor taste of merchants encroaching on a family holiday, it raises the time-old truth: These campaigns are only successful because there are people willing to buy into them. If enough people boycotted early Black Friday sales, they would cease to exist. But as long as there’s demand, there will be supply — even if business have to manufacture the demand in the first place.

So it goes with Valentine’s Day. You don’t have to be a florist or jeweler to reap the benefits of this holiday’s themes. Almost anyone can sell love, romance, friendship and even being single.  And let’s not forget lust, infatuation and sex. If you can successfully market your brand through those themes around Feb. 14, why shouldn’t you? And if people respond to it, then why is it such a bad thing? As long as you find a way to do it without alienating your current audience, and continue to draw in a new crowd, detractors who don’t like V-Day tactics shouldn’t invalidate your advertising efforts. It’s only tacky if it’s tacky: So, as ever, just keep it clever and keep it classy. Don’t pander. Stay true to your core values, public image and brand strategy. As long as everyone’s happy at the end of the day, who cares if it’s the end of a “commercial” day?

Click through for a few of the cutest (and some risque) marketing ideas that sprang up from Valentine’s Day.

Everyone wants to be the best product or service in their respective industries. It would be easy to advertise measurable superiority, wouldn’t it? But that’s not always feasible — after all, there’s only room at the top for one. In fact, maybe you’re too niche to ever hit the top of a broad industry. Some services can’t even be quantified and qualified in the traditional ways — everyone’s opinion on the “best” hair salon, the “best” art gallery or the “best” pizza parlor is bound to vary.

OK, so maybe you’ll just stand out by being dramatically different than your top competitor. If you’re strange and diverse, you’ll surely scoop up a crop of individual clients or customers who aren’t seeking that same old thing. You can be the healthy pizza shop, or the one with the craziest toppings. But maybe you’re simply not in the business of reinventing the wheel. Maybe you’re just trying to sell competent, capable wheels. (Or a yummy slice of classic cheese pizza.)

Now you’re not some standardized “best.” You’re not even unique. So toss out those oversimplified ideals of advertising angles. Here’s the great part: It’s even better if you do. According to this week’s piece in Advertising Age, “Differentiation will only get you so far; for long-term success, you need pre-emption.”

Maybe that sounds like a bunch of buzzwords, so let’s break it down. Ad Age is saying that the best way to stand apart from your competition is to be the first at a new angle. No matter how basic the premise, if you pick a strategy to advertise your brand in a way others are likely to echo, you’ll always have the stigma and success of doing it first.

One example in the article is Volvo being the first car company to bank on “safety” as its keyword. By focusing on this one token feature out of thousands, the brand began to stand out and attract a new audience. Even though most car companies followed suit with safety-focused commercials, people still think of Volvo as the forerunner and trendsetter — not to mention, the safest.

Similarly, Apple capitalized on setting its technology apart as a “high-end” brand. It was a risky move, since people tend to think of high-end as expensive — but instead, they saw it as exclusive and even inferred that it was better, regardless of performance specs. Other IT brands copied the concept, but none has surpassed the first. Across devices and campaigns (iPod, iPad, iPhone, Mac), Apple is consistent with its image of being the premiere — and premier — high-end tech product.

This reasoning easily translates to companies of all shapes and sizes. Take a few minutes in your next marketing meeting to come up with obvious angles that have never been the focus in your industry and how you can associate that image with your brand in a big way. And hey, if you need a little help, reach out — Mad 4 Marketing is sure we can discover some advantageous “pre-emptive” ideas that are perfect for you.

Last week, we talked about how social media was playing a big role in this year’s Super Bowl. But who’s really the standout in social networking, now that it’s all said and done? Despite the analysis of popularity (Facebook fan page “likes”) and views (YouTube re-watches), Twitter was arguably a winner due to its sheer presence. The 140-character social media site was directly mentioned in half of all Super Bowl commercials (compare that to Facebook’s mere 8% mentions).

Surprisingly, it was also the first place that many companies turned when they wanted to immediately take advantage of the unexpected blackout in the third quarter. One great anecdote is Oreo’s quick five-minute response, which is how long it took to conceive of the tweet “you can still dunk in the dark” and get it into the Twittersphere. This brought even more attention to Oreo’s Super Bowl “Whisper Fight” ad, featuring a debate about cookies that takes place in the sanctuary of a library. Bloomberg also reported that Twitter saw bidding on the search term “power outage” almost immediately.

Also during the game, Budweiser asked fans to tweet using the hashtag #clydesdales to name its newest colt, which served the dual purpose of capitalizing on its long-term brand association with the grand horse while also hooking a new audience who might feel like they can be part of something from the ground up. It dealt an emotional card to viewers who may have otherwise been shell-shocked from sports jokes, slapstick, toilet humor and the ever-popular use of sexuality to sell ads during the Super Bowl.

Hyundai had perhaps the greatest sweep in responsiveness following the event, with 15,000 new Facebook fans and the hashtag #pickyourteam used more than 20,000 times on Twitter as fans responded to its call to action.

Then again, one of the social media tactics didn’t have much to do with Twitter. Audi created a commercial about a teen taking his dad’s S6 to the prom — ostensibly to impress his dates — where viewers could vote to choose the commercials ending on the company’s YouTube page, helping them feel like they had a real and visible connection to the brand’s image. (For the record, they went with stealing the principal’s parking spot and kissing the prom queen, showing that happy endings and emotional pull still do have as much of an impact as machismo and hot models — much like Budweiser’s commercial. Advertising agencies of all sizes, take note!)

And oh yes, in case anyone was wondering bout that little football game that took place: Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31.

Typically, social media scoops up the traffic reactively as people talk about Super Bowl ads and then re-watch them on sites like YouTube or Hulu — or respond to brand messaging and calls to action by heading online for more information and participation. But this year, top networking sites are getting ahead by having fans vote on or engage with favorite ads and concepts weeks or even months before the big game.

One successful example from previous years? Think of Frito-Lay asking fans to choose which is their favorite amateur-created Doritos commercial to hit the airwaves. And yes, this year that will happen all over again — but it might get a little lost in the white noise of social media-soliciting competitors.

This year is bringing in top-dollar sponsors, who are paying CBS an average of $3.75 million for half-minute spots (think of it this way: $133,333 per second), which is record-breaking (last year was about $3.5 million per same-size ad). One brand even reportedly spent $4 million on NBC, which sold out its 70 spots by the end of November 2012. So we’re sure to see companies making the best of their buck by capitalizing on social media campaigns that will continue to pay themselves off well after the game has ended.

It’s especially important to marketers because social media check-ins and “likes” count as recommendations of a brand. Since people are more likely to pay attention to what their friends and family members are interested in, this is a top priority for big businesses like the soda companies, car manufacturers and beer brands that typically dominate February’s climactic football showdown.

So what’s new this year to help make the best of it? About a month’s work of social media advertising leading up to the main event, to drum up curiosity and interest. Some brands are even showing their spots early, prepared to trade the exclusivity of seeing an ad for the first time live on TV for the sensationalism of starting a campaign well in advance and asking followers to stay tuned with it right up through its premiere — for example, in order to vote on an ending (Audi) or finish a narrative (Calvin Klein teasing a male model who will show off the brand’s latest skivvies only during the commercial breaks sometime Feb. 3 — what a reason to keep your eyes peeled).

So what can you take from these facts? Although you may never be able to afford a pricey television spot like major Super Bowl advertisers, the great thing is that social media is a cheap way to get your message out to the masses. Anyone can capitalize on a great slogan, viral video or online competition thanks to the power of social media. Think about how you can push a tag line or hashtag into your community or industry in as little time as 30 seconds and get a tremendous payout on your investment.

And check back next week to see how these efforts work out for the Super Bowl’s top advertisers.

As we mentioned in October, we’re now published among a collection of inspiring words from 30 top advertising execs on how to get your brand out there — and keep it out there. Here’s a look at the title that might change the way you do business:

So how do you get your hands on it? Visit Amazon, where you can buy your copy for less than $10. It’s easy to read in one sitting, or just pick it up and turn to a new chapter by another diverse marketing professional whenever you need a jolt of inspiration.

Here’s the Amazon excerpt:

With a combined 850+ years of experience, these agency owners from all over North America have guided their clients through just about everything. They’ve walked their clients through start-ups and product launches, recessions, acquisitions, pricing wars, internal cultural shifts and the digital revolution. As one of the authors put it, “When you run an agency, you get to experience every high and low a business can encounter, just by walking them out with your clients.” And now you get to walk along side these agency owners and soak up the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Within the pages of this book, you’ll learn from their decades of experience as they answer the question: “What’s the best marketing advice you’ve ever given?”

Turn to page 77 for Mad 4 Marketing’s insight on community outreach in a title called “What Is Your Partnership Plan?” But don’t bypass the rest of the chapters, chock full of advice from top agencies.

Continuing a trend of using members’ profile information for such purposes as targeted advertising, Facebook is now taking those analytics and applying them to a user-friendly new tool: targeted searches. It’s known as Graph Search.

Yesterday, Facebook revealed that it’s now in beta testing for an internal search option that allows users to receive results according to the preferences of their friends and family members. For example, it will give you results based on what your “friends” have “liked” — and those results will then be ranked according to the opinions of your closest confidantes first, which is gauged by how much you’ve interacted with them. Results are also ranked according to how many of your top friends collectively have “liked” certain pages, places, photos and similar content.

The Wall Street Journal quotes these as sample search phrases:

• “Music that people who like Mitt Romney like.”
• “Movies my friends in San Francisco like.”
• “Photos my friends took in the 1990s.”
• “Friends of friends who are men and single in Palo Alto.”
• “Languages my friends from college speak.”

That not only means website results, but also photos and business pages. For marketers, this news is important because it would mean that if a business page has a high amount of “likes” within a certain community, then when anyone in that community searches for related content, the business page would be boosted to the top of the search results list on Facebook. Ultimately, it’s an algorithm that rewards popularity and loyalty, which is perfect for social media marketing.

The remaining results will come organically from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing! This could be a bold move for Bing! to come into closer competition with top-ranking search engine, Google. Google has similarly tried to incorporate search engine results with social media through its Google+ services.

You can sign up for the wait list to receive a Graph Search beta invite starting this week.

It’s impossible for anyone to stay on top of every new development in the marketing world throughout the year — especially when it comes to the quick-moving world of social media and technology — much less analyze how those updates can impact your business. The best way to stay sharp is to keep track of the major game-changers over time, and then focus on how those primary targets can affect your advertising strategies.

Here’s a helpful overview of the Top 3 changes in social media that occurred in the past year that you need to know about:

1. Facebook bought Instagram. At a whopping $1 billion, Facebook acquired the photo-sharing social media company in April 2012. Because a large base of its members was using Instagram to upload and share photos, Facebook saw the value in acquiring and managing the way that the two platforms engaged. Then, Facebook seamlessly and created correlating photo-viewing systems so that people would see Facebook as an optimal choice for photo storage and photo sharing. By merging two related brands and creating new ways for them to sync, fans had even better access to their favorite technology, and usage of both grew as a result. Whether your company uses Instagram or Facebook or both, understanding and taking advantage of how photos can be shared between the two — and boost traffic between dual accounts — should be a vital part of your social media strategy for 2013.

2. Twitter offered Tailored Trends. In June 2012, Twitter revolutionized the way that users can keep current with the most popular themes of the day. Instead of seeing trending topics in a sidebar on the 140-character social networking site, users were able to start seeing what topics were popular that pertained to their own interests and lifestyle. Loosely using geocentric information and data about who users “follow,” tailored trends are based on a non-disclosed algorithm. When marketing your business on Twitter, you can now aim for hitting a niche audience with targeted hashtags rather than trying to generate presence that’s big enough to light up the entire Twittersphere.

3. Twitter and LinkedIn Split. After Facebook bought Instagram (see No. 1), one later ramification was that Instagram and Twitter no longer synced. By making it impossible for Twitter users to take advantage of Instagram’s popular services, Facebook thought that it would dominate the photo-sharing stratosphere. Similarly, when Twitter and LinkedIn stopped cooperating in July, it meant that people could no longer automatically send tweets to LinkedIn from their Twitter accounts. However, LinkedIn still allows users to post to Twitter from its pages. So you can still tweet messages without leaving the LinkedIn platform, but you can no longer send messages to your LinkedIn account by using #in.