Augmented Reality: Fad or future?
3-D technology is seeing a resurgance in theaters, with new films trying to improve the technology and bring more viewers into theaters, and online marketers are starting to experiment as well. A new technology called augmented reality (or AR) lets consumers play with hologram-like images through their web cameras. Brands are beginning to integrate the technology into their online marketing campaigns.
And the companies are not all cutting edge new media brands. Those testing out AR include Papa John's, General Electric, and The Postal Service.
Negative ads may not be nice, but they work
The New York Times may have written that we're in the midst of "an outbreak of niceness" this weekend, but marketers are not taking note. The number of ads mentioning or criticizing other brands have risen in the year since since the economy went south. And while many brands would like to place themselves above that sort of competition, it appears that the trash talk might be working.
The Taco Maker boosts sales with a tiny budget and SMS
Large advertising budgets can be a boon to companies looking to spread the word about their products, but they're not always neccessary. This spring, a Puerto Rican-based taco chain found that a combination radio and mobile campaign increased sales by 21%.
The campaign, which cost under $50,000, focused on spreading word of mouth about the brand and getting people into the stores by offering free burritos via SMS.
New on Facebook: Pope Benedict
Even the Old Testament could use a little help from new media. Starting this week, Pope Benedict XVI is on Facebook.
Facebook users will not be able to friend the pope or throw sheep at him, but they will be able to sign up for personalized daily messages at www.pope2you.net.
The new website provides access to the Pope's dedicated YouTube channel, an application that sends messages from Pope Benedict via Facebook, and Vatican news sent straight to the iPhone.
For Procter & Gamble, the indirect approach increased sales
Social media is very popular these days. But is it effective at bringing in revenue? Yes. This week, Josh Bernoff spoke at IAB's Social Media Conference to show how not only can social efforts increase sales, they can do so more effectively than traditional advertising.
It takes confidence to send customers to the competition - or a sweetheart deal
Companies that can reliably outperform their competition have a huge leg up in a tight market. And drawing attention to that fact can be a great marketing strategy. Cellular provider T-Mobile is so confident in its low prices that
it began a huge push this week, sending consumers to an independent search engine to check their prices against the competition. But now it looks like that search engine might not be entirely unbiased.
Alcatel-Lucent starts targeting customers, wherever they are
The mobile ad market has been on the verge of a major break out for the better part of a decade, yet it still only captures a tiny percentage of the online ad market each year. But that should change as large brands and carriers start entering the space.
And today, Alcatel-Lucent is dipping its toe in the mobile advertising market. The French telecom-equipment maker is teaming up with San Francisco's 1020 Placecast to target customers with ads specific to their location.
When employees become the brand
Egotistic oversharing wasn't always top on the list of corporate job applicant criteria, but increasingly, online brand management is becoming a social endeavor. And emloyees that eat, sleep, and breathe the brand are becoming the indispensable moutpieces of big and small companies alike.
Starbucks marketing: Coming to a Twitter feed near you
Starbucks is looking to Twitter to combat falling sales in its massive network of stores. The coffee giant is launching a new ad campaign that hopes to leverage its massive numbers of followers and fans online to get to their friends and acquaintances.
According to The New York Times:
"The coffeehouse chain is putting up new advertising posters in six major cities. To further spread its message, it is trying to harness the power of online social networking sites by challenging people to hunt for the posters on Tuesday and be the first to post a photo of one using Twitter."
Reaching out to the blogosphere can pay dividends
Ford has shipped out a few of its new Lincoln MKS sedans to bloggers, along with a brand new Flip video camera. And the preliminary results are in. Today on her lifestyle and self improvement site DishyMix, Susan Bratton posted Lincoln MKS's "First Video Review," and if her daughter's reaction is any hint, it is a hit.
It's unclear how far this effort will spread around the blogosphere, but it is a smart effort on Ford's part. They're obviously hoping the reviews will be positive, but by sending out Flip cameras with the vehicles, Ford has attached its brand (that it hopes to position as a technological marvel) to a fun little gadget that has great brand recognition and usability. Obviously the automanufacturer is hoping its car will inspire similar reactions.
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
