Indoor mapping and the iBeacon

It was announced recently that ~200m iPads currently have the right hardware and software to be switched on to become iBeacons. The iBeacon seems to be Apples long planned system that will assist in indoor mapping, and it is feasible that this will bring upon the next level of data analytics and marketing accuracy. Currently Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, the NSA etc all track and analyze every detail of your online lives. If accepted by consumers, this next level of technology may well be the link they are looking for in order to link your digital life with your offline life. Re-targeting can now occur when people visit stores of interest, or even if they stand looking at relevant products. Personally, this is rubbing up very close to the zone which makes me uncomfortable. I am convinced I will accidentally stop in front of medicine for some humiliating disease, and then have this product advertised to me the next time I am listening with friends to Spotify.

Pinterest begins offering advertising

Slightly before Halloween of 2013, Pinterest began allowing advertising in its Pin feeds.  Like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest ads will appear within the users' feeds, and the ads will be labeled as such.

Although it does not get the press of Twitter or Instagram, Pinterest is sneakily large.  Approximately 16% of all internet users have Pinterest accounts, compared to 15% for Twitter and 13% for Instagram.  However, both Twitter and Instagram appear to have much more media coverage than Pinterest.

Could it be Pinterest's female slant?  Women are five times more likely to use Pinterest than men.  Does this affect the media's coverage of Pinterest?  My feeling is that Pinterest could be a dark horse, and that it has more potential than the popular media give it credit for. 

Pinterest: A holiday gold mine for retailers

Pinterest is killing it this holiday season. According to a new study by Lab42, a market research firm, Pinterest users spend 54% more time on the site during the holidays and 94% say it has changed the way they make their holiday preparations.

What this means is good news for retailers. Piquora, which helps retailers run Pinterest campaigns, says revenue driven from the social network to retailers' sites doubled over the Thanksgiving holiday. Piquora also found that an average pin generates 78 cents in sales and drives two visits to company websites.

Now if only Pinterest could find some way to make money off of all this activity...

Here is a clip from CNBC that talks more in depth about Pinterest's success this holiday season.

iBeacon

A recent WSJ article discussed how Apple would now role out a service called iBeacon, which senses when users are near a specific location such as an Apple store. It's use through a similar technology as Bluetooth. Now, users can receive information, updates, or coupons to their mobile device whenever they're near a store. The big difference between this and what we've seen before is that users are acquired and targeted without initiating the action; a user doesn't have to search for deals or information to receive them from a local Apple store.

I predict that most users will not appreciate their phones being inundated with ads and other call-to-action marketing as they walk near a store. Imagine your phone constantly ringing or beeping as you walk near several stores that use this technology. It's not the most effective method especially if mobile users are immune to this type of targeting. Hopefully it's something we can opt in rather than be forced to turn off. 

SpaghettiOs' Dubious Tweet to Remember Pearl Harbor Enrages Twitter

I found this article interesting given the fact that there was so much anger toward spaghettio's for their "insensitive" tweet about Pearl Harbor and also that anyone actually follows Spaghettio's on Twitter. While I am not an extremely heavy user of twitter, I cant for the life of me figure out what anyone could possibly think they would get out of following Spaghettio's on twitter...do people really not have anything better to do? Secondly, there were some very angry people about the picture that Spaghettio's tweeted...it was not overly offensive, but some people didn't like the fact that they put their brand of a Spaghettio holding an American flag. I understand that this isn't in the best taste and it would have been enough to just have an american flag or even just text, but they crossed the line in many peoples eyes. I believe that we will see more of this before we see less as many brands are in the infancy stages of learning how to use social media to interact with their customer base.

http://mashable.com/2013/12/07/spaghettios-twitter-pearl-harbor/

Facebook Eyes Indian Startup for mobile data analysis

Facebook is in talks to acquire an Indian startup that analyzes data, to broaden its reach to consumers through mobile devices. Little Eye Labs was founded in August 2012 by five engineers who had worked together at IBM until 2007. The startup built a software tool for Android app developers to analyze how apps are performing.  It analyzes data on users, the power consumed and the memory taken by the apps on cellphones and tablet computers..

India is Facebook’s second largest market after North America, with more than 82 million users at the end of June.  This acquisition will help Facebook expand its mobile services and increase its mobile platform and channel access in Asia.

Will this tool help Facebook really figure out how to earn money from its mobile apps is still a question. However, taking a step towards analyzing data from mobile users can pave the way for ideas of mobile monetization for Facebook.

Tailored ads on Twitter

This week, Twitter announced that all advertisers could now target their users based on their web behavior, through the use of tailored ads. These ads will allow a company like Sephora for instance to target Twitter users who have just visited their website or have joined their email-subscriber list.

Based on initial research by Hubspot, which provides tools for online marketers, these types of retargeted ads lead to 45% higher engagement rates for users who had recently visited advertisers' websites. This move is promising for Twitter - many companies are interested in linking customers' behavior across different devices and using this information to target them better. By requesting an email address of its users when they sign up, Twitter is able to link users' activity on the Web and mobile devices - providing valuable information for advertisers moving forward.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/12/05/twitter-expands-ad-targeting-program/

Working on Content

We have learned a variety of tactics in class about how to build an SEO strategy, including making sure you have appropriate descriptions, tags, and keywords that relate to what you are trying to accomplish.  We also discussed the importance of link building, social media engagement, and video development. 

 

The one component that has stood out for me has been the importance of creating valuable content.  I think it is very easy to become consumed by the numbers and the analytics and the latest strategy to make your business a success.  While all of these ideas are important, I think focusing on subject matter that is relevant and of interest to your customers is of even more importance.  Without strong substance, the business is bound to unwind.

 

So instead of spending time commenting on someone else’s blog for the sake of having a link between the two of you, I think it is more important to first hone and refine what you are publishing.  In the craziness of marketing, I imagine one could take this for granted.  However, I think continuing to first focus on one’s core strength and then working on other areas will help maintain a solid strategy. 

Hooray! Ad Spend Up By Retailers This Holiday Season

U.S. retailers spent the most on paid-search ads during the holiday weekend, with an emphasis on mobile devices.

Smartphones rose 542% year-over-year (YoY) during the four-day weekend, peaking at more than 1000% growth on Thanksgiving Day. The cost per click for smartphones also grew 134%, compared with the 2012 holiday weekend, all per the IgnitionOne mid-quarter report highlighting a strong Thanksgiving weekend for digital marketing across search and display.

Overall, impressions rose 40% compared with the 2012 shopping weekend, but clicks only rose 4% YoY.

Backing into the weekend, U.S. retailers spent 32% of budgets on Cyber Monday, 18% on Sunday, 11% on Saturday, 24% on Black Friday and 15% on Thanksgiving Day. Surprisingly, retailers spent 71% more on Thanksgiving Day compared with the prior year.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday also played an important role for display advertising. Conversions resulting in sales rose 20% on Black Friday and 32% on Cyber Monday compared with last year, per the report. Retailers saw a bigger jump in conversions, with a 52% increase on Black Friday and a 79% increase on Cyber Monday YoY.

Other programmatic display metrics improved as well, with a 49% YoY increase in impressions for Black Friday and a 55% increase for Cyber Monday. CPMs decreased YoY at the same time -- down 73% for Black Friday and 77% on Cyber Monday.

For those interested in more data about ad spend over the holiday season, check out the following website: http://www.adexchanger.com/data-nugget/iab-digital-ad-spending-surpasses-20-billion-in-the-first-half-of-2013/

Mazda combines audience targeting and tracking to reach customers with new technology

Mazda has been using a new mobile location tracking and targeting data from PlaceIQ that helps the company to send ads at consumers that are likely to want to test drive and/or buy a Mazda car.  The new technology, using satellite data, allows Mazda to identify which consumers that visited a Mazda dealership have high-incomes, own SUVs or even how far they travelled to visit the store. More importantly, the location data shows where potential consumers went before and after visiting Mazda, ie a big-box retailer or even a competitor's showroom.

For Mazda, probably one of the best features of the new technology is that it can identify consumers going to competitor's showrooms and target ads at them for Mazda, thus encouraging consumers that might not have otherwise considered Mazda to also visit a Mazda dealership.

Essentially, the technology allows Mazda to learn more about its customers and thus better create and target ads.  This is clearly the future for mobile advertising where companies and brands know not only the demographics of their customers, but can physically track what they do and where they go. Personally, I find this notion more than a bit disturbing!

Link

Sprint's Innovative Debut of its Latest Ad

The goal of every digital ad campaign these days is to go viral, right?  Well in a highly unusual move, Sprint is sending its latest ad to a single person’s Twitter feed.  The ad is the latest in a series of TV spots featuring acclaimed actors James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell reading everyday text messages.  The latest ad will debut on the Twitter feed of Danielle Gray, a proclaimed fan of the ads.  After 6 hours of exclusivity on Danielle’s Twitter feed, which only her limited number of followers can access, the ad will then go public on Sprint’s Facebook page.      

On the surface this is a puzzling marketing move.  But given Sprint’s marketing theme to celebrate the little, everyday exchanges between family and friends, it’s an innovative tactic that builds anticipation for the widespread release of the ad.        

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/sprint-debuts-ad-exclusively-1-person-s-twitter-feed/245514/ 

Apple and Twitter

Apple recently purchased access to twitter's feed so to better track consumer sentiment, by purchasing Topsy Labs.

In this new wave of digital innovation, old revenue models (search and display advertising) are being increasingly challenged.  There is real value in being able to marshal consumer data and sentiment.  This is a smart play by Apple.

Earlier this year (in August), American Express activated a YouTube campaign starring Fred Armison, a favourite of all things hipster and twee and millennial and cool.  In a series of funny (I think) videos, Armison pokes fun at the popular (if fading) rock stars Kings of Leon. 

Views on the videos, which are expertly produced, range between 70-90 thousand.

What all of this worth it?  In short, no.  How could it be?  This incredibly expensive add seen by, at most, 90 thousand people.

Its a cautionary tale for companies learning to deal with new media: star power, comedy, rock-and-roll... and it still didn't work.

Sensing Emotions - how marketers can take advantage of this type of innovation

Microsoft is working on a new bra that can detect emotions, and prevent women from overeating due to their emotional states.  Having this type of sensor that tracts emotions opens up huge possibilities for targeted marketing in the future.  Right now it would reduce marketing, stopping people from overeating.  But if marketers could get at that emotional data, they would have a much better time understanding when and why people use their products.  Talk about Big Data. 

Also, it could help them target their marketing even better, if marketers are able to get in front of consumers based on their emotional states.  Although almost inhumane, people could be targeted with ads for sweets if they are emotionally frazzled.  Or perhaps the data could be used for better purposes, such as serving people with humorous ads if they are in an unhappy mood.  These types of ads could be influential, such as targeting ads for a coffee if people are getting sleepy.

Granted this type of technology is far removed.  Microsoft first has to perfect it for general consumers, then people have to be willing to wear this type of mechanism.  Then, advertisers but be allowed to get this data.  Then there has to be a connection built between individual people and their online presence.  Yet this type of data is quickly being built between devices.  It might not be that big of an obstacle in the future.

It is also interesting to note where the tech giant Microsoft is going with this venture to new hardware.


'http://mashable.com/2013/12/03/microsoft-smart-bra/

Eye tracking in apps is near

The future of computing is near – and it starts with your eyes.  With the Tobii EyeX Engine software kit, app developers can now add eye tracking to their apps, allowing users to interact with their devices through an interface that senses eye movement to control actions.  For example, apps will be able to automatically log users in, zoom in on emails or make reminders disappear after sensing that you’ve finished reading it.  This feature has a lot of creative potential in gaming environments where eye position moves you naturally within the game.

While some skeptics may feel that eye tracking sounds like a clumsy and unpractical practice, tests and demos have shown that it is faster and more natural than using a mouse or trackpad.  For now, it will be interesting to first see how fast app developers buy into the software and integrate it into their apps for a value-add user experience.    

http://mashable.com/2013/12/03/tobii-eye-control-apps/

Apple Buys Topsy for $200mn+

Apple has recently purchased social analytics firm 'Topsy'. Topsy focuses on parsing out data that it has accumulated from Twitter. Topsy is one of the several firms that focuses on gathering data from Twitter's platform. Customers are able to scour through over 425 billion tweets since 2006 that allow companies to understand consumer trends, and seek out the 'next big thing'. Other players in the space include companies such as DataSift and Gnip. However, it seems that Topsy offers far superior user-facing tools and a trends search engine, making it a popular option for many.

Some feel that Topsy may serve as a way for Apple to mine through tweets, and as a result recommend apps to users on a more personal basis. Personalized recommendations have not been Apple's forte thus far, and it is an area that they hope to expand into. 

Facebook changes algorithm - More "real" news, less "personal" news

Facebook has announced recent changes to its algorithm, more prominently displaying and promoting real news articles posted by users by exposing more links to articles from media organizations. The move viewed as strategic for a number of reasons: 1) As a competitive response to Twitter and their value in providing a more powerful real-time news feed; 2) Increase in referral traffic to publishers from Facebook, increasing revenue created from these publishers and enticing publishers to post more content on Facebook; 3) Capitalize on commercial opportunities that exist instead of focusing on the individual users.

Implicit in this move is a much larger undertone, however... is it possible that user fatigue is setting in and traffic is no longer driven by personal stories? Facebook was initially set up to allow people to connect with friends and others in their social circles, knowing what they were up to or what they liked/disliked, etc. Users would come to Facebook simply to see the status updates of all of their friends appear in their feeds. Perhaps what Facebook is observing is a slow down in traffic due to the lack of attractive information appearing in news feeds. It may be that people no longer visit Facebook out of habit, as a destination site to fill time, because the constant updating of personal information/activities no longer drives traffic.

Even if the above paragraph is completely wrong, and traffic is still strong because of personal stories, this move still marks a shift away from the core product and value proposition that Facebook started with years ago. It might need to be careful going forward, being mindful not to forget what made it popular in the first place, even if this reason is not sustainable for the future of the business.

What Do Instagram Advertisers Actually Get for Their Money?

This article is interesting in that I had no idea Instagram did not allow links in the adds that run on Instagram. Not being able to track measurable click thru rates or other metrics because of the lack of interaction with the advertisements is unfortunate and surprising that instagram does not allow it. As the article points out, after advertisements ran there were often just as many negative comments as there were positive comments by followers or people seeing the add. But, not being able to track or quantify the effectivness of adds hinders some from actually knowing if there add campaigns on Instagram are effective. the article states:
"What the ads don’t offer is any clear way to drive immediate sales, since companies can’t include links. Instagram hasn’t yet offered any data on its first crop of ads, and a spokesperson for the company declined to comment. Just before the ads were launched, Emily White, Instagram’s director of business operations, said the value was somewhat unmeasurable, because the ads are more about branding than inspiring immediate transactions."

My initial reaction was why would anyone want to use this, but the article also points out that there is a lot of value just in brand recognition:
“There’s a lot of value in impressions and views that may not be captured in likes or comments,” she told Rebecca Lieb, an analyst at Altimeter, in October. “Instagram will guarantee a certain number of impressions initially, which will vary by campaign. This is a premium brand advertising product. Success is brand lift over a longer period of time.”

I think that Instagram will eventually offer the ability to create a transactional add, but for the time being there seems to be value in just plain old brand advertising with no bells and whistles.


http://mashable.com/2013/12/02/value-of-instagram-ads/

CYBER MONDAY MARKETING

With over 131 million Americans expected to shop online during Cyber Monday, digital marketers are tasked with differentiating their e-commerce platforms to stand out against the noise. While this figure is up from the 129 million shopping last year, overall spending over the holiday weekend is expected to decline, illustrating the shift from consumer spending in-store on Black Friday to online on Cyber Monday.

A big push on behalf of marketers this year has been to integrate data across shopping platforms to gain more information about customers. Linking accounts across desktop, smartphone, and tablet present marketers with the opportunity to better influence shopping behaviors and target shoppers where they are most likely to purchase. Marketers can benefit from consumers looking to take advantage of Cyber Monday deals by requiring customer profile creation before discounts can be applied, enabling improved customer cross-channel tracking. Marketers are also looking to better understand customers’ product education process by linking cookies across platforms through companies such as Drawbridge and implementing apps that offer features that can be used both online and in-store. For example, Shopkick mobile app provides shoppers with deals within stores while logging location-tracking and product preferences through barcodes, providing additional customer behavior information to cross-platform retailers. The availability of customer data can be fostered by Cyber Monday, and clever marketers can utilize the holiday to improve their knowledge of shoppers.

Sources:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101237995

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/national/cyber-monday--technology-reveals-what-kind-of-shopper-you-are