Poll: Where would you look… company website or Facebook?

Put yourself in my shoes for just a moment.  You are in the market to buy a new smartphone for your Sprint wireless service, but you don’t have a clue what are the latest “must-have” features that are included in today’s phones.  You are at your computer and ready to start your research.  You have two options for finding the info that will help you make the right choice for a phone that’s right for you.  Where online would you look to learn more about what smartphones Sprint has to offer?  Would you visit the Sprint company website or would you start with the Sprint Facebook page?

Before the introduction of Facebook, we had been trained for years that the easiest way to find info about a product is to type in a company’s name followed by a “.com” which would hopefully lead us to the correct company website.  But now, are we spending so much of our time already in the Facebook social environment that it is easier to type the company’s name in the Facebook search space to then be lead to a page displaying products and services along with consumer commentary?

Reports tells us that a majority of Americans (58%) begin their purchasing experience by doing online research to compare prices, quality and the product reviews from other consumers.  Experts predict that by 2015, the number of Americans researching for and purchasing products online is expected to surpass 200 million and 90% of the population’s internet users. So when you go online to look for that new phone, new car, new tablet or even dinner later tonight, will you be visiting the company’s website or finding their presence on Facebook?  It’s time for you to chime in!  Let me hear from you.

 

Fan-made videos that make BIG buzz for brands

At the beginning of the Emerging Media course that I’m currently in, we had discussed how technology allows marketers to deliver their message digitally to consumers. But now more than ever consumers are able to help brands build buzz by creating their own user-generated content that supports the brands we love. Just spend some time looking on YouTube and you’ll find several ads and movie trailers that were created by the fans.  Many of these fan-made spots and short films appear to be produced with such high quality that they rival spots produced by some of the nation’s top advertising agencies and movie studios.

One notable video that I am compelled to share is a fan-made short film by Dan Trachtenberg that is based on the ‘Portal‘ video game franchise which debuted in 2007.  This video is so good at reconnecting me to the Portal universe, that I’m going to have to pick up a copy of Portal 2 which was released last year.  You see, marketers do benefit from fan-made digital content that supports their brands.  Check out this amazing video “Portal: No Escape” for yourself.  Since its upload to YouTube in August 2011, it has had over 7.8 million views. It’s viral buzz at its best.

 

Marketers are reaping the benefits of having consumers with such creative talents by urging them to produce home-made commercials for a chance to win a cash prize and their spot to be aired on television. If you’ve watched the Super Bowl over the past few years, you’re likely to have seen some of the best fan-made spots promoting Pepsi and Doritos.  Through their annual Crash the Superbowl contest, PepsiCo provides an outlet for talented fans to create Pepsi and Doritos brand TV spots to air during the BIG GAME.  So, what do the brands get out of it? — An arsenal of fun spots promoting their brand with relatively little to no big budget production costs and most importantly lots of buzz.  This “Man’s Best Friend” Doritos ad has gone viral with over 2.5 million views on YouTube since it was posted in January.

 

Pop-Unders: Annoying or Brilliant?

The week, I discovered the actual name of a form of internet marketing that I have been noticing for quite some time, probably years.  The “Pop-Under.” If you’re reading this, you’ve probably encountered the pop-under on several occasions and like me called it a pop-up ad.  But the big difference is when you visit a website that has a pop-under advertisement linked to it, the new browser window that features the web advertising opens up hidden under the browser window that you’re currently viewing.

Unlike pop-ups, when pop-unders open they wait patiently behind the scenes for you to close the current browser window and then present the ad on your desktop.  It is not as intrusive as it doesn’t interrupt your current browsing session and will not take you away from the original site that you were visiting.

I have to admit, that I don’t mind getting served up pop-under ads.  I have actually paid more attention to them.  They work because once my regular web experience is done and my browser is closed, they are prominently placed on the desktop and are not competing for my attention with any other media. If I like what they are advertising, I click and learn more.  If not, I close it and move on.

Netflix has been using pop-unders as a major part of their internet marketing strategy for years. I have noticed them on several occasions.  Some people consider them to be annoying.  Here are a couple of samples of their pop-under windows:

In the right hands I think that pop-unders can be a useful marketing tool to enhance a brand, especially when coupled with behavioral and keyword targeting. Just as long as they are simple pages that invite you to inteact with the message as show above with Netflix.  Pop-unders that include flash with sound can be just as bad as any old pop-up.  Just keep it simple (and tasteful) and it’s less likely to annoy us.  Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

Related Links on Pop-unders:
How Pop-Under Ads Still Work Despite Pop-up Blockers?

Pop Under Advertising

 

Are you an “Exergamer”?

Do you enjoy “exergaming”? Before you answer that, let me give you my definition of the word.  Basically, exergaming is the act of using interactive video games that require body movement as a form of exercising. The video games often provide an alternative for us to get off the couch and burn calories through cardiovascular based exercises, stretches and muscle stengthening drills without the need of a gym membership.  Most exergaming usually takes place in the comfort of your own home (in gamerooms, living rooms and bedrooms) where video game consoles are stored.

Ok, so are you an exergamer? Are you working out to the virtual instruction of Jillian Michaels, Jenny McCarthy, Zumba Fitness, UFC: Personal Trainer, Dance Central, or NFL: Training Camp?  Maybe you’re playing one of the top fitness games as ranked by CNS News.

I first became an exergamer about two years ago when we purchased a Nintendo Wii and the highly popular Wii Fit 2 with the Wii Balance Board. But the idea of virtual exercising didn’t begin with the Wii generation.  Remember the Power Pad for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)? Or have you ever ridden an exercise bike with a monitor that has a virtual bike path?  Exergaming has been a form of emerging media for years.

So how is this trend emerging?  Just like going to the gym, working out with video games can eventually get boring or less important.  Many of the current games allow you to work out in groups online, participate in tournaments and meet-ups, and track your workout stats online to encourage continued virtual exercise activity.  According to Web MD, as a way to keep exergamers committed to sticking with their workouts, a National Active Gaming League is currently in development.  These activites that bring the community of exergamers together will make them more invested and less likely to give up on their digital workouts.

My exergaming experience has now been stepped up over the past month with EA Sports Active 2, a game for several game consoles (X-Box 360, Wii, PS3) that comes with resitance bands and movement sensors for your arms and legs. If anyone wants to get into the exergaming revolution, this is the game to do it with. Drop me a line if you want to form a virtual workout group.

 

Marketing to kids is no longer as simple as Saturday Morning

Attention marketers!  Remember when running TV spots during Saturday Morning Cartoons worked like a charm at influencing kids to tug at mom or dad’s shirt and say, “ I want that!”? Back then, kids needed only a glimpse of Ronald McDonald in a TV spot to get a quick craving for a McDonald’s Happy Meal.  Now Ronald has his own website (Ronald.com) and the ability to reach kids all over the world anytime they are online.  For any children of the 80′s out there, I remember watching those 30-minute kids commercials AKA cartoons like Masters of the Universe, The Transformers and G.I. Joe.  During the commercial breaks, the branding onslaught would continue with TV spots of the action figures back when you could advertise them during the show they were based on. That was before the government stepped in with federal guidelines on marketing to children.

Fast forward a few years and all of the cartoon/toy properties mentioned earlier are still appealing to the imagination of children and many grown-ups alike in the form of major movie franchises, rebooted cartoons, online webgames and brief parodies on Robot Chicken.  There’s even been talk of a Master of the Universe reboot live action show, that will probably have kids of today yelling. “I have the power!” Advances in media have changed the face of marketing to kids.  Now, kids are not confined to watching cartoons and other shows by sitting in front of a TV set during a specific show time.  Kids’ television content of my day and today can be consumed by children whenever and wherever they want, including on tablets, video game consoles and smartphones. One good thing out of this is that new media websites like YouTube and Hulu allow you to relive your childhood and share those memories with your own kids.

According to a USA Today article, “Marketers are getting more and more devious,” says Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. With the growing use of smartphones and social media, she says, “They have new avenues for targeting children” that parents might miss.

Now for Show & Tell. Scan this QR code found in the “The Great Big Toys ‘R’ Us Book” this past holiday season :

Just one of the latest ways marketers are presenting toys to kids. I wish this was available when I was a kid thumbing through JC Penney Wish Books.

 

Hello world!

Welcome to my own little bit of real estate in the digital space. First, thank you for joining me as we embark on an amazing journey into the world of emerging media. With every post, I hope to provide engaging dialog on my views of where the world is heading with the latest platforms of media and how it affects our lives.

The media of today allows us to be connected more than ever before. When I say “connected,” I’m referring to our increased access to information, people and new ideas. Emerging media enables this constant state of connectivity and is present in many of the things we do on a daily basis. We can’t escape it. But we also can’t live without it. Even now as I type this, I’m listening to my own streaming soundtrack of life on Pandora and have another browser tab open to occasionally check in on Facebook updates. Media Multitasking has become a norm in our society thanks to new and emerging media.

I ran across the following trailer to a recent documentary, called “Connected” that really supports that fact that we have developed somewhat of an addiction to instant connections and “right now” access to the world. I can definitely relate to the urge to “faking a trip to the restroom” to check and respond to emails, texts and social media messages.

We are in constant pursuit of keeping up with new and emerging media through the items that we purchase. Many of these items allow us to maintain connectivity outside the home and on the move. We must have the latest smartphones, not to make calling easier, but to allow us to play with apps and conveniently post photos with captions on Facebook. We buy netbooks and tablets to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s. We buy the latest gaming consoles, not only to experience the best in shoot-em-ups, but also to chat with friends and enjoy streaming media. These things help us make new connections every day.

The beauty of this new era of connectivity that we live in is that media is no longer one directional. Through various means of technology, we are now able to act on the media we consume – whether we simply view it, respond to it or share it.  I look forward to seeing where we go from here.  Nice connecting with you!