IMC Hawks Blog

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  • Summertime and the Advertising is Easy

    Spring is in full bloom! Finally the days of heavy coats and freezing rain are over. The weather has finally warmed up and summer is clearly on the horizon. Despite these changes in weather, have you noticed any other changes? What about advertising? It is no secret how brands transform their advertising campaigns depending on the season. But how can they become even more advanced in this approach? The answer is location-based mobile advertisements.

    According to Adweek.com, more and more companies are using location-based mobile ads to target consumers in real time based on the weather. In fact, Twitter and The Weather Chanel have agreed to a partnership for a weather-based ad-targeting product, which use promotional tweets based on current weather. For example, Taco Bell is using this new ad app to run mobile ads through May only when the temperature exceeds 48 degrees. This way, Taco Bell only has to pay for mobile advertisements when the weather matches their summer campaigns, calling for consumers to buy some food and head outside.

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    Other brands, such as Ace Hardware have seen great success using this weather-based advertising technique. This is an extremely smart tactic, using mobile advertising, because they can catch their consumers in real-time through a medium that will always be with them. As you have read earlier this week, we are in an age of digital technology, and almost everyone has a smart phone these days. Consumers will see these ads whenever they use an application on their phone, and the advertisements are even more specially targeted to their audience by focusing on location.

    Mobile advertising is a technique that is taking advantage of our fast, intuitive minds. As Daniel Kahneman suggests in Thinking Fast and Slow, the human mind has two systems at work.  System 1 uses fast thinking and makes spur of the moment decisions. When a consumer has a very targeted advertisement show up on their phone, it may spark a quick decision. Think of this: weather is warm, you’re hungry, and bam!…Taco Bell pops up on your phone showing a variety of tasty, summery foods to satisfy your appetite and quench your summer-mood. Next thing you know, you are in the drive through of Taco Bell with your windows down. These advertisements appeal to the impulsive nature of system 1.

    Paul Gelb, head of strategy for the “MoPub’s” mobile ad network, says it best: “We are just beginning to see the potential of these opportunities because we are now able to reach people in ways that we couldn’t before.” The behavioral insights that location data gives advertisers allows them to successfully deliver mobile audiences based on actual consumer activity. In fact, being able to directly target mobile devices of possible customers, while they are on-the-go, represents the future of mobile marketing. It is safe to say, that the advertising world is at a tipping point in consumer usage of the mobile medium.

    –Julia Tompkins & Sasha De Vecchi

  • Pin Pin Pin Away!

    As our generation surrounds itself more and more with social media, Pinterest is becoming more prevalent as an upcoming advertisement strategy for businesses. Only existing for 3 years now, Pinterest has skyrocketed to the third most popular social network site. Businesses have started to see the opportunities Pinterest can offer when marketing their products. Jim Cockrum, author of Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business, states  “Pinterest has unimaginable potential as a marketing and customer relationship building tool”. Small companies have begun to expand their clientele greatly due to the publicity that Pinterest generates for them. Similar to Twitter and the concept of “retweeting”, social media users do the work of advertising for businesses just by pinning their posts. Pinterest is like a multimillion multiplier, there simply is no end to where it can and will go.

    Another advantage of Pinterest is the ability for consumers to shop when they are not intending to do so.  Pinterest gives consumers the feeling of leisurely browsing, similar to a shopping mall. However, we can get ideas from all over the world, put them in an electronic file and remember them all later. Products are directly displayed to the public and the person who pinned them, but all of their friends on Pinterest, as well as others interested in that topic, can view them as well.

    Jason Miles and Karen Lacey  (shown above) wrote the book Pinterest Power revealing how they have made millions based solely on Pinterest.  In 2008 Liberty Jane Clothing was cofounded and took off when it launched its page in 2011.  Pinterest also led Liberty Jane to growth on Facebook with over 14K likes and on Youtube, with a channel consisting of 7,600 subscribers with 1.2 million video views. James Miles has also worked with over 600 small business owners to launch their Pinterest businesses as well.

    As you can see, Pinterest might be a valuable marking tool for businesses to look into in order to increase sales and publicity.  However, there is one issue consumers might want to stay clear of. Consumers should be aware of the dangers of mixing private and public spheres on Pinterest. Graham K. Henning, writes in Corporation and Polis, that “The polis emphasized the importance for public and private spheres to stay separated. Blurring of the spheres creates a social sphere”. He compares the social sphere to a shopping mall as well, and claims it to be unethical. I think consumers need to draw a fine line between their private and public worlds on Pinterest, but from a marketing standpoint this is the best customer relationship tool you can have!

    –Kelsey Raskob

  • Google Takes Over Mobile Advertising with Admob

    The online advertising market is growing but not only when it comes to computers. Facebook is no longer the only company with mobile ad news.  Google recently launched a new system for advertising within mobile cell phones and smart phones, “AdMob: solutions for mobile advertising and the monetization of the most recognized and reliable name in the field of mobile advertising, also known as Google”.

    This new system presents solutions for advertisers who want to promote their brand and acquire new customers by advertising on mobile phones, solutions for agencies that want to expand their advertising campaigns to mobile platforms, and solutions for application developers who want to add Admob as a platform for distribution and monetization. The AdMob-AdWords integration also makes it easier for small and medium sized businesses to spend on Google mobile ads.

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    Admob uses an advanced algorithm of ad selection that allows businesses to contextualize and optimize advertising revenues (similar to Google AdSense). Inserting ads is very easy and can be done without a WordPress plugin, which is usually used to create a mobile version of the site. All a business has to do is simply enter the code in the website page that is generated with Admob to automatically fill in the “banner” advertising within the site.

    “This is about enabling scale for industry,” said a rep for the company. “Anybody that’s buying performance media through AdWords can now very easily add mobile display to campaigns. We have a lot of customers that buy search and desktop display through one interface. Now they’re adding mobile display to that.”

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    As Google grows stronger in the field of mobile advertising, they are claiming their spot in this fast growing sector. In fact, connecting ad platforms has been a focal point for Google this year, as they are enhancing their mobile ad targeting capabilities.

    Admob is a tool that should not be underestimated. In fact, the company’s mobile display ads appear in more than 300,000 apps on phones, establishing themselves as the world biggest mobile advertising company. I think this is a smart move for Google as it seems that everyone in this world now uses smartphones on a daily basis. Companies can easily target consumers at any time of the day because our phones are always with us. Furthermore, brands can stay at top-of-mind awareness because consumers can see their advertisements whenever they use an app. By offering this advanced mobile advertising technology, Google is maintaining their spot as a major technological powerhouse, and helping clients meet their advertising needs.

    –Sasha De Vecchi & Julia Tompkins

  • “Here comes the… Promotions”

    Tis the season to…get married! As summer is rapidly approaching it seems that more and more couples are tying the knot, and Wilmington, North Carolina is a state ‘hotspot’ for weddings. What does this mean for the vendors? That they could potentially be overflowing with customers if they play their cards right, and by this I mean, promoting their brand. Cape Fear Wedding Show throws an expo every year around October to attract the blushing brides and their beaus to meet with vendors who will potentially make their big day a memorable one. However, we all know that weddings are not cheap, and if you didn’t…. well they aren’t. Therefore, the vendors are competing with each other for business, basically, by who has the most appealing promotion. They have to use a lot of pathos. The event itself is practically one huge promotion, even for the Wilmington area as a prospective location to have a wedding.

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    The Cape Fear Wedding Expo invites photographers, videographers, caterers, cake bakers, event planners, party rentals, DJ’s, bands, etc. all lined up in the Wilmington Convention Center with their ‘pick-me’ face on. Cape Fear Weddings promotes their event opportunity to all vendors, getting paid for the spot they reserve, and the vendors get many potential customers. It is a win- win. They are encouraged “make the best of this great sales opportunity” by promoting the expo to vendors promising them “on-air promotions” for their company. It is huge, and it only happens once a year, making that much more of a big deal. Here is a comical video that local videographers, Life Stage Films, used as a promotion for their company against competitors:

    Essentially brides, and whoever accommodates them, will pay a small fee (like $5) to get in and then it is game time. Let the special offers, discounts and incentives begin!  Lets take a look at what Seth Godin has to say about promotions. In his blog entitled “Promoting the Promotion” he states, “Promotions work when they’re seen as generous or unique or tied into our needs and dreams.” Every bride has their dream wedding, and they have been dreaming it for their entire lives so according to Seth these promotions could potentially be quite effective. Godin goes on to say, “They also work as brand builders when they’re so ubiquitous we associate the brand with the event itself.” This is the incentive for the expo. The event itself is associated as a haven for dreams to come true.

    The goal here is to make everyone feel like one big family, like they are receiving help from experts (help with a price tag of course) to make one of the most memorable days of their life just that… memorable. This ties in to what we know as CMM where meaning is being cultivated within a community. The Cape Fear Wedding Expo serves as a model for a community gathering of all the brides in the area to collaborate. However, by the promotional advertising utilized, brides truly feel as though these vendors want to help make their special day unforgettable by offering even a small discount. So, come October let the promotions begin!

    –Katelyn Alston and Laura Tippett

  • The Medium and The Message

    We already know that social media is a powerful tool in the realm of advertising and promoting a brand. Companies are able to buy advertisements that show up on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. Whether or not you find it obnoxious or love the introductions to new brands, the advertisements will probably only increase and spread to more social media sites. Personally, I typically find the ads annoying but every once and awhile, they lead me to a new site. Now, a less interrupting way to promote and communicate a brand is by creating accounts on these social media sites. Companies are able to build their brand identity and communicate with their target audience. As consumers, we can follow the brands on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. if we choose to do so. We can, in a sense, choose which brands communicate to us and which brands we form a relationship with.

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    The importance of social media in communicating to a target audience cannot be overlooking. The medium, social media, through which the content or message is presented, plays an important role in the message the brand communicates. As theorist Marshall McLuhan said, “The medium is the message.” The frame in which the communication occurs has a great impact on the actual message. Brands such as Pepsi have used social media to communicate with brands in a modern way. Staying relevant to their target demographic allows Pepsi to continue building their brand. Brands using social media suggest that they are open to two-way communication and connecting with their target audience. The social media avenue they decide to take also impacts the message. With Twitter, businesses can “quickly share information with people interested in their products and services” using no more than 140 characters. Using Pinterest as a medium, businesses use photograph’s linked to other sites. These pins can represent the brand’s personality to its followers. Amongst his ideas, McLuhan points out the importance of technology and the medium of communication in how it affects our society.

    In terms of social media, McLuhan’s theory applies. The brand communication that occurs because of social media is unlike communication that occurs through any other medium. However, it is important to clarify that the message displayed for the world to see on social media sites is vitally important. We have seen and heard our fair share of social media mistakes that require a full cleanup crew.

    In our technologically savvy and social media buzzing society, I think we can agree with McLuhan that media alters our environment. Using social media is another step in brand communication.

    –Laura Tippett and Katelyn Alston

  • The WWF Deforests a Football Field to Get Their Point Across

    Deforestation and climate change are two topics we hear being talked about very often, and yet global accountability is still far from being achieved. The green movement still remains one of the most important goals of the WWF, who, in order to attract the public’s attention chose to use one of the world’s most famous green spaces: a soccer field in Brazil. The idea is to make the tragic scenario that affects the Brazilian forests real and tangible. Every 4 minutes in Brazil an area equivalent to a football field is deforested. The commercial they created was originally filmed in Portuguese, but has since become a viral sensation internationally.

    The creative talents of Grey Brasil have created a visual scenario for WWF, by eliminating the grass that is present on the field during a Women’s National team game between Brazil and Denmark, turning it into a dry stretch of land. Football is a powerful means to get people’s attention. In fact, the special effects do a great job at intriguing the viewer in an original way by taking advantage of a moment of relaxation in which the viewer’s mind is more likely willing to listen to social issues. It’s a shame that they didn’t choose a broader context, a context with even greater visibility.

    The advertisement ends with a visual message on TV screens, which is followed up with a call for donations. The idea is just brilliant. The ad certainly worked on me, and it’s not even in english. Overall, the message of this ad is extremely powerful and quite effective; in fact, online visits to the WWF website increased by 73% after the game went viral. Hopefully the awareness will continue to grow.

    – Jay Reilly

  • How Kotex Got Almost 700,000 Impressions with their Pinterest Campaign

    In the past few years, Pinterest has been the protagonist of a real-life international explosion, a phenomenon with incredible numbers constantly growing worldwide. The steady growth of their users, combined with the social media’s careful attention to what is now clearly a new platform of communication, has led many brands to explore and take advantage of this viral sensation. Kotex, a famous feminine hygiene brand owned by Kimberly-Clark, partnered with the lesser-known (at least until now) Israeli social media agency Smoyz, for the first Pinterest-based campaign that finds expression in the initiative “Women’s Inspiration Day.” The creative talents of Smoyz searched and analyzed thousands of boards of women who eagerly use the social media site, until they finally selected 50, the muses who would then become the medium itself for the campaign.

    Once the “muses” were selected, they analyzed all of their boards on the website trying to find out what inspires them, after which the brand created individually personalized gift packages with the products they wanted decorating them with different styles that would capture each one’s attention. The 50 users selected to receive the packages did not have to do anything but re-pin Kotex’s original invite. How did this tactical advertising strategy go? Well, the numbers speak for themselves: 50 sent packages, 2284 interactions and almost 695 thousand impressions.

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    This marketing experiment was a huge success, a buzz that then involved several other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the amount of traffic generated to the brand’s websites. Both Kotex and Smoyz did a great job at carefully taking advantage of Pinterest’s peculiarities, such as females’ natural predilection for this specific social media, which holds about 68% of female users. Their careful demographic analysis combined with the use of the website for the production of gifts that were “tailored” around the user was refreshing and original.

    For quite some time now, Kotex has been conducting strong content advertising strategies, starting from their very own official site, which is home to a fairly populated online community. In fact the brand has already hosted several successful initiatives such as the campaign “Stand Up for What’s Real.” The campaign is primarily targeted at young women between the ages of 14 and 24 and it is aimed at helping women to talk about a subject that is usually viewed as taboo. Overall, this campaign certainly opens an interesting new chapter when it comes to online marketing by once again demonstrating how the dynamics of communication, thanks to the new media, are increasingly moving towards a more “tailor-made” approach.

     

    – Sasha De Vecchi