Category: social networks
When drug companies are cited by the FDA for deceptive marketing, they lose 1% of market value on average, according to new research by Diana C. Robertson of Wharton and two colleagues. Harvard Business Publishing 10/22/09
Consumers are using the internet to find the best deals at retail outlets, toy stores and more “So what happens online, doesn’t always stay online in the new economy where deal hunting is driving buzz.” Nielsen Wire 10/23/09
Buzz about Christmas and holiday shopping on social media sites is down 3% year-over-year. This activity is in line with other research at Nielsen relative to retail expectations and consumers’ personal finances that indicate modest spending from a cautious consumer base. Nielsen Wire 10/23/09
Google (GOOG) has launched Campaign Insights, a tool to help marketers determine the incremental change that is directly attributable to online display ad campaigns on brand awareness and user interest. Available for larger display ad campaigns Campaign Insights goes traditional measures of clicks and conversions to calculate the incremental lift in both online search activity and website visits that result from a display ad campaign. BtoBOnline 10/23/09, Google AdWords Blog, 10/19/09
Disney (DIS) is offering consumers who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs their Money back. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood says the offer is the result of a complaint they filed with the FTC regarding Baby Einstein’s marketing claims. Baby Einstein says the offer is part of an upgrade package and has nothing to do with the CCFC FTC complaint. Brandweek 10/23/09
Fortune (FO) magazine is dropping from 25 issues a year to 18 in 2010, will undergo a redesign, and focus on more “long-form, deep-dive journalism, great narrative stories,” to gain cost savings and strategic advantage. New York Times 10/23/09
Through Lufthansa’s free MySkyStatus service, fliers on any airline can sign up to have their flight details posted automatically to their Facebook or Twitter profiles, including regular updates about their departure, altitude, location and arrival as they travel. Springwise 10/23/09
Beginning next Wednesday, New York-based daily newspaper, Newsday, will offer limited free content on Newsday.com. Only Newsday and Cablevision Optimum Online subscribers will still have full access; others will need to pay a $5 weekly subscription fee. Clickz 10/22/09
Financial services brands are less effective at building awareness and persuading consumers to become customers says researcher Dynamic Logic. The study says financial services online ads are too text-heavy and could benefit from adding images of people and including fewer details. Clickz 10/21/09
On Wednesday Google (GOOG) reportedly plans to announce a new service that will give users an easy way to learn more about and sample music after searching for information about bands, alsbums and songs. Facebook also plans to integrate music site Lala into its gift store. New York Times 10/21/09
Career Expert Provides DOs and DON’Ts for Job Seekers on Social Networking
As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential employees.Read more
Air New Zealand says their fares have nothing to hide, and to prove it they’re screening a new in-flight safety video featuring staff members and company chief executive, Rob Fyfe, clad only in body paint. Seatbelts, luggage and life vests provide "appropriate” concealment where needed. NYTimes 6/29/09
A “vicious industry wide slump” in the luxury hotel business has generated friction between the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts management company and Four Seasons hotel owners with distressed profit margins. While some owners want to cut expenses, the Four Seasons resists the potential negative impact to the brand. BTW, did you know that Bill Gates owns nearly half of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts management company? NYTimes 6/28/09
LinkedIn says their survey asking translators if they would volunteer to translate the LinkedIn site was intended to develop a crowd sourcing model similar to Wikipedia’s legions of volunteers and provide increased exposure for the translators. The survey generated mixed results among translators, with some feeling it was an opportunity for increased work and exposure, while others felt LinkedIn was simply trying to get professional services for free. NYTimes 6/28/09
Acer is the world’s third largest seller of personal computers, and “appears poised to overtake Dell as the world’s second-largest seller of personal computers” this year. The company positions its four brands to cater to various consumer segments, such as eMachines for affordability. Other brands include Gateway and Packard Bell. NYTimes 6/27/09
Target (TGT) has rebranded its core commodities line — a product category that includes everyday items such as baby wipes, sunscreen, dryer sheets and plastic containers — under the name “up & up. The trend is consistent with an overall increase in store brands that are more profitable for the retailer and attractive to consumers who are “increasingly buying in-house brands to save money.” Atlanta Business Chronicle 6/25/09.
Yahoo (YHOO) is working to change its branding, with the new branding to be unveiled when it releases is new main home page design in the fall. Atlanta Business Chronicle 6/25/09
According to the third annual Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace survey, 60 percent of business executives believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations in online social networks.
However, employees disagree, as more than half (53 percent) say their social networking pages are not an employer's concern. This fact is especially true among younger workers, with 63 percent of 18-34 year old respondents stating employers have no business monitoring their online activity.Read more
According to VentureBeat, Facebook is running a test that enables advertisers to run a poll on a member’s home page. When the user answers a poll question they can see how their Facebook friends and other people have voted. The poll ads will begin running for CareerBuilder.com as part of a larger online and offline Super Bowl advertising campaign. Source: VentureBeat 1/27/09
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iGO iWRITE, an application that enables the community of online travel aficionados to publish travel books created as a group, has been launched on Facebook. Users "can help edit, vote, and shape the direction of the final user-generated book." Topics of posted stories include worldwide destinations, hidden beaches, quirky small towns, hostels, ecotourism, and voluntourism. The end product, a blend of new and traditional media, will be a user-generated series of travel books available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Compleo 1/9/09
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Burger King (BKC) challenges Facebook users to install their Whopper Sacrifice application on their web page and get a free whopper when they sacrifice ten friends. Clever. 
Via Pauldervan
UPDATE: BURGER KING PULLS THE PLUG ON WHOPPER SACRIFICE PROMO
Burger King’s tremendously successful Whopper Sacrifice application on Facebook was disabled by the social Network due to “privacy reasons.” To date, BK says 233,906 friendships were sacrificed. AdFreak 1/14/09
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A Rasmussen poll finds that 51% of U.S. consumers say they won't buy a car from an auto maker that is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Thirty-one percent said they’d be okay with it, while18% said they weren’t sure. Phoenix Business Journal 12/13/08
What are the most effective means of reaching consumers in social media spaces? A report from Netpop Research, “Social Networkers U.S., Who They Are And What They Mean for Next-Generation Online Advertising” provides trending data showing the growth of social networking users since 2006, including a comparison of social networkers to non-social media users, and categorization of broadband users segments. While now is not the best time for marketers who haven’t used social network advertising to experiment with (during challenging economic times it’s best to stick with proven ROI), the report provides useful insights on social media users. Download the report, free until 1/31/09. Clickz 12/12/08
Nearly 30% of online adults will immediately leave a website if they perceive it to be cluttered with ads, and more than 75% of those who remain on cluttered sites pay less attention to the ads there says a study from Burst Media. Marketing Charts, 12/11/08
The financial crisis has spawned a new generation of mattress stuffers, aka New Mattress Stuffers, boomers “who have lost their faith in the housing market, the stock market, their bank, their big corporate employer, their auto company, and their last president,” and they’re waiting for the next shoe to drop. The new mattress stuffers are trying to create “safe havens” by investing in U.S. Mint gold coins, purchasing safes, vaults and guns, and eschewing plastic for cash. Wall Street Journal 12/10/08
Retailers can help consumers make a decision, and prevent the loss of a sale by introducing “decoys, loss leaders, or other products similar to the ones they really want to market.” When consumers are trying to choose between two highly desirable options, its easier for them to make a decision when a third, less desirable option is introduced, according to research conducted by Akshay Rao, marketing professor at the
University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Using the example of a consumer trying to choose between two attractive sweaters, adding a third, less attractive sweater serves as a “’decoy’” that makes the other sweater appear more pleasing than before.” Science Daily 12/14/08
University of Minnesota (2008, December 14). Inside The Consumer Mind: Brain Scans Reveal Choice Mechanism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 13, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/12/081211141846.htm
53% of American Adults age 18 and older play video games while four out of five (21%) young adults play. Not surprisingly, the biggest players are teens; a staggering 97% of teens play video games. Obtain a PDF of the report. Pew Internet and American Life Project 12/07/08.
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Despite the inexpensive pricing, marketers are finding that brand advertising on social networking sites isn’t a great deal because it’s either resented or ignored. Turns out that “members of social networks want to spend time with friends, not brands.” New York Times 12/13/08
Concerned about getting the best results for their money in a tight economy, some marketers plan to reduce online display advertising in favor of more immediate results, such as PPC or search. However, the results of a study conducted by SpecificMedia indicates display advertising may help to boost search advertising results by making it more likely that consumers will search by brand and segment terms such as “BMW”and “635CSi.” Marketing Charts 12/08/08
Mobile advertising reaches coveted affluent and young audiences, is measurable, and relatively inexpensive but spending is not expected to grow much in 2009 because it is still in the experimental stages. Adweek 12/01/08
The recessionary climate has increased the number of Fortune 500 firms seeking to barter goods, services and underperforming assets, such as real estate leases on closed stores, for ads. Adweek, 12/01/08
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