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Marketing and Advertising

The Marketing and Advertising Blogs Network will offer a unique perspective on the landscape of marketing & advertising. Some of the topics will include: marketing, media, advertising agencies, PR, branding, television, radio, internet, new media, interactive advertising, and influential discussion. To Join the Marketing and Advertising Network please visit: www.Marketing.fm


An Actual Client Who Actually Likes Creative. Maybe. [AdPulp]September 26
MediaPost reports on a Unilever exec who had some interesting things to say at Advertising Week:

In the continuing tug-of-war between what drives the train--creative or media--a top Unilever executive Thursday came out in favor of creative. While there is an argument that lackluster ads can still deliver a message with shrewd placement, Babs Rangaiah said if the creative does not drive demand, a strong media plan is not likely to save the day. Rangaiah, the director of global communications planning at Unilever, said if the creative appears banal, it's time to yank the media spend and use it somewhere else. "We have to penetrate the culture," he said. And the way to do that is through ads that effectively jump off the page or out of the screen. Top-notch creative is even more important in a fragmented world, he said, not to mention for a packaged-goods company.

It's always good to hear. Though what constitutes "top-notch creative" is different for everyone. We all have our own notches, I guess.

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Pilgrim’s Picks for September 26 - Contest Reminder Edition [Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim]September 26

Don’t forget that Trackur is offering a fantastic mini-notebook computer as a reward for suggesting a new feature or improvement. If you’d like to have a chance at winning, simply take a look at the contest details here.

When you get back, these Picks will be waiting for you.

Facebook Grows 50%; MySpace Still #1; Social Networking Traffic Declines 17% Overall [Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim]September 26

OK, Facebook, what do you want first? The good news, or the bad news?

The good news? Well, the good news is that, according to Hitwise, you’ve grown your US share of social networking sites by a massive 50%, in the past year. w00t!

Now for the bad news. MySpace still has a 67.54% market share, compared to your relatively meager 20.56% slice.

Oh, and there’s some bad, bad news. Total traffic to social networking sites declined 17% year-over-year. I guess there’s just only so much sheep-throwing and whale-failing we can handle.

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger! And, even if you do want to shoot the messenger, it’s Hitwise–not this Pilgrim.

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Microsoft’s 5-Year Plan to Catch Google? A DeLorean & 1.21 Gigawatts! [Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim]September 26

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer still believes that catching Google in search, is a "five-year task." Considering he made that statement back in May of 2006–and again this week–it’s clear that Ballmer is not committing to which five years he’s talking about. We’re guessing Microsoft has tasked a white-haired scientist to harness the power of 1.21 gigawatts! ;-)

"It’s a five-year task," he said, with a smile. "It’s a long-term task."

To succeed, he said, the company will have to find a way to fundamentally change the experience and the economics of search. "You have to redefine the category," Ballmer said. "We’ve taken some steps in that direction."

Can we believe Ballmer’s prediction? Well, during the same speech, he also predicted that Apple’s iPhone wouldn’t be "battling for the big part" of the smartphone business.

I’ll have what Steve’s having!

Let's Talk About Social Media Marketing [CenterNetworks]September 26

To extend my thoughts on people vs. content further, let's consider the opportunities for those in marketing, PR, and advertising who hope yet to realize value by engaging social media. In spite of their differences, one thing these industries have in common is a taste for volume. Their taste for success is a taste for more, and their appetites sated best by high calorie helpings of servings that perform.

That said, we all know that high volume advertising across social media are just *this* far off the bottom of the feed trough. Just ask Scott Rafer of Lookery (here's Allen Stern's interview with him, dated but relevant). CPMs are notoriously low on social media because users are disinclined to pay attention to ads whilst they're busy with friends. But sites like MySpace and Facebook serve up a huge number of pages, and are the equivalent of the outdoor advertising marketplace online.

Richer, more embedded, better targeted (by means of micro-targeting to the user, social graph targeting to the group, or social context targeting to audiences of followers) marketing is a better indicator of the future of online marketing. But as anyone in this space knows, ROI is not yet measurable, as is performance. In order for one-to-one or relationship marketing to make their comeback in