Captivating Connections.

its all about the love (for marketers).

It's not even February, but you'd think it's almost Valentines Day with the ads coming out recently...

"How the word for the most profound of human emotions came to be so popular for peddling consumer goods has less to do with linguistics than psychology.

'There are left-brain and right-brain approaches to advertising,' said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive of the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Publicis Groupe. 'For a long time, there was a left-brain approach' that highlighted 'rational reasons and good selling points, but in the last several years studies have shown that emotional attachments really are a crucial factor in purchasing decisions.'

Jerry Della Femina, chief executive of Della Femina Rothschild Jeary & Partners, is dubious about some love-themed ads.

'I wouldn’t have the nerve to walk into a client’s and say, ‘Here’s the campaign: everybody loves your product,’ ' said Mr. Della Femina, who has worked on Madison Avenue since the 1960s.

But he is not surprised that such pitches are approved. 'Is a client going to say, when that’s presented, ‘No, nobody loves us’ '? asked Mr. Della Femina. 'Of course not — they’re going to say, ‘Everybody loves us.’ '"

kidlets get clicky.

"Kids under 14 are generating the highest click-through rate on pre-roll ads, at 3.7%, according to the latest user data from video ad network YuMe.

That group's parents -- people over 35 -- had the next-highest CTR, at 1.9%, followed by those 18 to 24 at 1.5%. For any age group, the pre-roll remains by far the dominant video ad format, accounting for 96% of ads served through the first nine months of 2009. During that period, the pre-roll actually gained ground at the expense of overlay ads -- which dropped to 3.4% in the third quarter, from 10.5% in the first quarter.

Within the pre-roll format, 15-second spots accounted for 65% of ad volume, with 30-second units making up the balance. Not surprisingly, the shorter ads had a higher completion rate, at 77% compared to 64% for :30 spots. But the longer ads had a higher CTR, at 1.8% versus 1.2%."

ads may not be the way to win during the holidays.

"A new survey has found that half of consumers say they're not inspired to shop at the retailer whose holiday TV commercial or online promotion they liked best.

'It goes along with the old adage that I know half my marketing dollars are wasted, I just don't know what half,' said Mike Gatti, executive director at the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey, which was conducted by Big Research. '[Consumers] probably still get a kick out of the commercials, but there are a lot of brand loyalties out there. ... [But it] does position [retailers] in the minds of people whether they shop there or not.'

When asked to choose their favorite holiday TV commercial, 26% of consumers chose one from Walmart, upsetting Target's holiday-ad dominance. Target had taken the top slot on the survey for the past three years, but this year it only garnered 16% of the vote. Perhaps that's not surprising, considering that consumers took to Facebook to complain about one commercial that seemed to cast doubt on the existence of Santa Claus and another that put a damper on Christmas morning with talk of finances."

continental goes mobile.

"Continental Airlines increased its ad awareness by 60% via a mobile campaign it ran this past summer, and is planning more mobile efforts as a result.

The Houston-based airline worked with Jumptap and Mediavest Worldwide to develop the campaign to promote its new reduced fares. The goal of the mobile campaign was to generate brand awareness and interest regarding the fare promotion and drive traffic to the Continental mobile site.

The campaign targeted a mobile Internet-savvy smartphone audience ages 25-54 with household income levels of $100,000 and higher. The target audience also had traveled for business within the last three months."

NIce job, guys!

univision launches (un petite) ad network.

"Univision is the latest major media company to launch its own mini ad network—though in this case the company is looking to replicate the ad network model in the much less cluttered Spanish-language market.

The company announced on Monday (Nov. 30) the formation of Univision Partner Group, a collection of Spanish-language Web sites from the U.S., Latin American and Spain which reach a significant U.S. Hispanic audience. Univision will be able to sell advertising across these partner sites, which include a range of content sites such as the entertainment-oriented Caracoltv.com, the news-focused Perfil.com, Tycsports.com and the business-centric Ambito.com.

Univision has tapped the technology company Adify to power the new network and Quattro Wireless to handle the mobile version of the network.

With the rollout of the Univision Partner Group, the company is borrowing a formula from companies like MTV Networks (Tribes) and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Martha’s Circles)--which have scoured the Web for small to mid-sized content sites and blogs that reach a similar audience to the media company’s core property, but lack their own ad sales operations. The sell to advertisers is that these vertical networks offer more targeted, well-lit content environments compared to typical thousand-site long tail ad networks."

green is still good.

"Marketers have heard a lot in the last year about the ways green consumers have scaled back to accommodate tough economic times, but a new study suggests it would be a big mistake to interpret reduced sales as reduced interest.

In fact, according to new research from GfK Roper Consulting, there's been little change in their commitment to the environment -- just a big shift in how they approach it, replacing idealism with hard-boiled pragmatism.

'Consumer commitment to green living is very stable,' Tim Kenyon, senior analyst for GfK's consumer trends division, tells Marketing Daily. 'But if products are too expensive, they will find other ways to express that commitment. They may buy fewer green products, but they'll do things like cut their energy costs or reduce consumption.' The study finds that 60% of people now believe green products are too costly, a 6-point increase from 2006.

The recession has ushered many of these consumers from environmental altruism to a more practical approach, he says, with green purchases more likely to be driven by the desire to save money, be healthier, or get more value. They're also measuring the worth of their time differently, with 28% saying they are 'too busy' to do what it takes to be green.

For marketers, that means it's essential to focus on green innovations that consumers will regard as both easy and affordable. And while the report also finds that environmental awareness is becoming more mainstream, there is also a growing cynicism about marketers in general. 'They are frustrated,' Kenyon says. 'On one hand, they say product packaging is a leading source of information about environmental claims, and on the other they also say those claims can be confusing and misleading.'"

the current state of webisodes.

The NYTimes has a great article looking at the current state of webisodes, and how advertising plays a role:

"Webisodes — part of a trend called branded entertainment — are growing because marketers feel compelled to find new methods to reach consumers in an era when the traditional media are losing eyeballs, ears, hearts, minds and perhaps other body parts to the Internet. 

Web series can cost from tens of thousands of dollars to sums in the range of $2 million, depending on how sophisticated they are, the number of episodes and whether the cast members are famous or just would like to be. Among the major brands proclaiming 'brought to you by ... ' online are Maybelline cosmetics, which is sponsoring Ms. Bushnell’s Web series, 'The Broadroom,' available at maybelline.com/thebroadroom, and ConAgra Foods, which is sponsoring a daily show, 'What’s So Funny?,' on yahoo.com, peddling products like Healthy Choice and Marie Callendar

The goal is to 'extend our reach,' said Ellen Liu, media director at the Clorox Company in Oakland, Calif., and attain 'a higher level of engagement' than is possible through tactics like running 30-second commercials that interrupt episodes of conventional TV series."

playing marco polo with consumers.

"Black Friday 2009 has become a massive game of chicken among retailers and consumers, as the closely watched post-Thanksgiving sales data will largely decide who succeeds at outsmarting the other.

Consumers are planning more and earlier to get the best deals this holiday season, starting their shopping and online price comparisons weeks ahead of last year. Retailers, meanwhile, have been more conservative with inventory even if they're offering what some observers see as the best Black Friday deals ever, hoping to avoid big late-season and post-season markdowns. Black Friday will go a long way toward deciding which side comes out on top.

Google data show the upswing in searches for 'Black Friday deals' started about two weeks earlier this year than last, beginning in October. Search on that phrase actually hit a short-term peak Nov. 13 and declined through last week, though it may pick up again this week. Experian Hitwise is now seeing searches for Black Friday starting as early as August.

Thriftier consumers are making Black Friday more important, said Kohl's CMO Julie Gardner. 'The environment has never been more difficult,' she said. 'The interest, from a consumer standpoint, on how to be the smartest shopper will be amplified.'

Interest is intense enough that the traditional boundaries around Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) are breaking down fast. Amazon announced last week it will begin Black Friday deals starting Monday Nov. 23, essentially a week before online retail's traditional 'Cyber Monday' shopping peak. Black Friday, however, already had become an online phenomenon, with ComScore reporting last year that traffic to online retailers was up 98% over the previous year's Black Friday."

the power of brand engagement.

"The power of online brand interaction is not to be denied: A solid majority of connected consumers have had their opinion of a brand swayed, either positively or negatively, by an online experience. And more than 97% said that experience influenced whether they purchased a product or service from that brand.

Razorfish’s '2009 FEED' survey polled US broadband users who had visited a community site, consumed or created digital media, and spent at least $150 online in the past six months.

These connected consumers were also connected to brands. About one-quarter had produced content to participate in a contest held by a brand, and close to the same amount had followed a brand on Twitter. Two-fifths had friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace.

The main reason to follow or friend a brand was to get exclusive deals or offers, followed by general fandom—because the user was a current customer, or because of interesting or entertaining content.

An impressive 64% of connected consumers told Razorfish they had made their first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience—be it a Website, microsite, mobile coupon or e-mail. And friending, following and content creation spurred upticks across the marketing funnel—from raising awareness to consideration, purchase and recommendations to friends."

 

could this be web tv's year?

Is this the year web tv makes its breakthrough?

"Big TV manufacturers including Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Vizio say that they're poised to revolutionize television this Christmas shopping season: They're about to launch the first major marketing push for a new generation of sets that can easily integrate Web content with traditional TV news and entertainment — without the fuss of connecting the TV to a set-top box.

'When we all open up the newspapers on Jan. 1, and they talk about the hot items from the holiday selling season, Internet-connected TVs are going to be at the top of the list,' says Randy Waynick, senior vice president at Sony's Consumer Group.

The campaign could be risky. Consumers may balk if TV sets become too computerlike and complicated. Manufacturers are in a race with cable companies and gadget providers — including makers of DVRs, Blu-ray players and game machines — who offer alternative ways to blend the Internet with TV.

But the new versions of Web TVs will soon become the norm in consumer electronics stores. In 2014, consumers in North America will buy 45 million of these sets, representing 69% of all TV sales, ABI Research says. That's up from 6 million and 14% of sales in 2009.

As they catch on, television will become 'a completely new ballgame,' says Matthew McRae, general manager of advanced technology products at Vizio. Software developers will flock to the new platform, making Web TVs 'the next area of innovation' following computers and cellphones, he says."