Patricio Robles

Nielsen to recognize that TV viewing doesn't always involve a TV: report

As homes and offices fill with more and more internet-connected devices, consumers are increasingly consuming content on multiple screens.

Content creators and distributors know this. Advertisers know this. Analysts know this. Entrepreneurs and startups know this.

by Patricio Robles 21 February 2013 20:36pm 0 comments

Five things every retailer should know about its customers

We live in an age of Big Data and more and more companies in a wide range of industries are making it a point to collect as much data as they can about markets, transactions, their website's users and customers.

When it comes to customer data, retailers are a blessed bunch because they have greater opportunities than many to collect this type of data.

by Patricio Robles 21 February 2013 15:37pm 0 comments

ROI key to future mobile marketing investments: report

With billions of mobile devices in use by consumers around the world, and with those devices getting more and more capable every year, it's no surprise that many industry observers believe the future of mobile marketing is bright.

How bright? Some have gone on to suggest that mobile ad spend will eventually overtake that of television. A bold prediction given that brands spend well over $100bn globally on television ads ever year -- magnitudes of order more than they spend on mobile ads.

by Patricio Robles 20 February 2013 16:01pm 1 comment

Companies struggle to use social for marketing and customer service: report

With countless consumers around the world using social media, it's no surprise that companies have flocked to services like Facebook and Twitter.

In many cases, companies are using these services to market to consumers, but in the past couple of years, a growing number of them have started using social as a customer service channel too.

by Patricio Robles 20 February 2013 14:47pm 5 comments

Seven things companies can learn from the Tesla-New York Times dispute

Recently, the New York Times published a review of the Tesla Model S electric car.

The review, written by a well-known journalist, John Broder, was titled Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway, and as the title suggests, was not favorable to Tesla. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a well-known entrepreneur, Broder's review was, amongst other things, "bogus." Not one to shy away from the spotlight, Musk took to the web to prove he was right.

by Patricio Robles 19 February 2013 16:02pm 2 comments

Native advertising: whatever it is, it shouldn't be PR

More and more publishers are rushing to embrace native advertising, and for good reason: advertisers are eager to spend money on it.

While there's debate and discussion around the exact definition of 'native advertising', publishers and advertisers are quickly learning that ads integrated into the user experience, often to the point that they're not immediately distinguishable as ads, come with challenges.

by Patricio Robles 19 February 2013 15:14pm 1 comment

TD Bank bets on Google+ as a search play

For all of the time and money companies are investing in social media, marketers continue to grapple with basic questions about ROI. Is the investment worth it? Can the potential pay-off ever be measured accurately?

Progress in answering these questions varies from business to business, but at least one company has decided that its latest investment in social is really an investment in search.

by Patricio Robles 15 February 2013 15:29pm 1 comment

Rubio Water: not every marketing opportunity is worth pursuing

Marketers have more channels than ever in which to hawk their wares, and combined with our 24/7, media-obsessed culture, marketers arguably have more opportunities than ever to reach consumers.

For better or worse, marketers are under enormous pressure to capitalize on these opportunities. But increasingly, it's worth asking: just how many of them are really worth pursuing?

This is a question the marketers behind Poland Spring had to answer when United States Senator Marco Rubio needed a sip of water during his televised response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Yes - he happened to reach for a bottle of Poland Spring. Rubio's thirst-quenching move was likely seen by millions and, perhaps undeservedly, became one of the biggest highlights on one of the biggest nights in U.S. politics.

by Patricio Robles 14 February 2013 16:10pm 1 comment

Facebook apps: there's no such thing as a free audience

Facebook's success hasn't only netted its founders, early employees and investors billions of dollars, the world's largest social network has built an ecosystem that has served as the foundation for other businesses collectively worth billions.

From large social gaming companies like Zynga all the way to individual developers building Facebook apps out of their bedrooms, Facebook's launch of a development platform in 2006 proved to be a game-changer for online entrepreneurs.

by Patricio Robles 13 February 2013 15:06pm 0 comments

Your social media initiatives might be pointless if...

Social media, as a channel, is hard to hate, and despite the fact that companies are still grappling with ROI, brands continue to pour larger and larger sums into social media initiatives and industry observers continue to show the same interest in highlighting and analyzing them as they did when social media first started to go mainstream.

But don't let any of this fool you. Investment and attention don't mean that social media initiatives are effective, or serve a useful purpose. In fact, many of them are arguably downright pointless.

by Patricio Robles 12 February 2013 15:03pm 0 comments