It’s All That and More…

With the ever-increasing number of channels from which to choose, increasingly the consumer is in control, especially when it comes through the web. Yet, television still reigns as consumer mistrust of online advertising continues. According to the Council for Research Excellence, time spent watching TV programs on live TV for 18-24 years old is 20 times more than DVRs and Tivos for 18-24 years, and 30 more times for 45-54 years old. That’s a huge difference, even with the ever-increasing fragmentation and clutter that exists today.

What advertisers need to look at is to embed their products in truly compelling content, where the creativity of the ad is based on creating a common human motivation between the brand and the general public. Companies are wasting their time with the commercials we see now. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal recently declared that the future of the 30-second spot is in doubt.

Short films simply present an alternative way to execute an advertising message. Not only can they be formatted to suit any type of media, but they have also been able to attract an increasing number of celebrities. Additionally, the feel of clutter in the messaging environment will be dramatically reduced, providing the brand’s message with standout placement that has a better chance of influencing the consumer. Multiple-media campaigns are what marketers need. Campaigns where traditional media create the need awareness and interest for the advertised product, and new media to reach specific targets to facilitate purchase.

Do you remember this?

How about BMW’s with Clive Owen?

Whether you watched them on TV or online, I am pretty sure that those ads kept you glued to the very last second. That how brands can stand out, engage any viewer to make use of the natural social networking instinct and more importantly be innovative and different from your competitor.

eMarketer Weighs In on 2010: Online Advertising

David Hallerman, Senior AnalystVideoMore marketers will increasingly embrace online video advertising, supported by the twin boom of video streams and video ad networks.Further suppor

via eMarketer Weighs In on 2010: Online Advertising.

Wake-UP: It’s The Time of Social Media

When we look at all the brands that exist our there, we realize that they have often opted to go for the good old traditional means of advertising. Mostly because they are afraid of taking the risk on something that is significantly new and most probably because they just don’t know what their return on investment will be like. I guess I would react the same… after all what we know about social media is not much.

Coming from someone who lives in a place that is still embracing social media, it makes a lot of sense. Coming from a marketer- kudos to those companies who have realized the importance of social media in branding. One of my all-time favorite ‘risk takers’ is Baby Einstein.

Relying on social media, this brand captured the over $14.2 billion dollar baby market, offering parents products that are created from a baby’s point-of-view, while at the same time promoting child-parent interaction, making their products loved by babies and trusted by mothers. With a $100 000 dollar investment, the creators of Baby Einstein created a presence and made significant impact, through its social media marketing, giving it the edge to get noticed by Walt Disney. Now, when we talk Baby Einstein, we talk of a $ 20 Million market worth brand that continues to grow stronger because of the direct interaction and first time experience it gave its customers. Can you tell me of other companies that have taken the high roll on social media?

Moving on… have you seen Toyota’s Prius latest campaign to promote its iPhone application? Oh my god. Pure and utter genius! Take a look and tell me what you think?  These people get it. They know that social media is all about the product and the buzz.

The point is that we need to embrace this new marketing paradigm, and start building our marketing strategies accordingly to be able to provide more innovative adaptations of consumer related products and services. Social media is an opportunity that cannot and should not be ignored. Only the foolish have not come to terms with this realization yet.

And Finally…. Power to the People

From digital media, the birth of social networks, blogs, forums, mobile and e-marketing, have revolutionalized our utilization of technology to share information and shape our views. Looking back, not so long ago, my perceptions towards certain services or products were limited to what I can see, and what corporations communicate. I often wondered if there are others out there that may feel the same or this is some mad vision that only I have. Then enlightenment dawned upon me, as the realization that this technology has empowered us to speak our minds, pulling together networks of people, eliminating time and distance, through tools that challenge us to speak out, share and make a difference, regardless of which generation we belong to.

We became the masters of mobilizing and disseminating information about anything and everything. Whether we are shopping, at home, commuting, or working, our technology- savy, multitasking skills have risen to the next level, taking advantage of emerging media. And with this power, we are now forcing corporations everywhere to reinvent their marketing techniques and strategies to capture our loyalty towards their brands.

The consumer is now empowered, interacting in fundamentally different ways with their brands. The stronger awareness and brand formation, involvement and interaction, and ultimately consumer actions related to purchasing has forced marketers to aggressively pursue their targets by effectively integrating new media tools to the more traditional ones in their campaigns. No more one-way communications. While corporations are still trying to measure the effectiveness of new media, consumers are becoming more interested in corporate values, culture and image. And what better way to share this, than the use of new media!