How does Advertising hold up?

Forrester Research released a new study that reports social media won't be seeing as many budget cuts as traditional media will. Marketers are more likely to decrease spending here than in areas such as word of mouth, blogging, and social networking. AdWeek reported this last week. Some might be apprehensive to how much advertisers are going to invest in these new practices, especially when the experimental stage isn't over yet. Starting a Facebook page or a blog doesn't cost a company much, unlike the big-media campaigns everyone is doing. The study shows that social media initiatives will withstand budget cuts because companies are beginning to understand them and make smarter choices, instead of jumping into something just because all your competitors are doing it.

Forrester found that Procter & Gamble's online community for adolescent girls, BeingGirl.com, has been 4 times as effective as an almost equally priced marketing program for traditional media. Advertising on Facebook has become even more widespread with the use of "pages", where a company, product, music group, non-profit organization can create content. These pages allow you to buy advertising that's seen by your "fans" or "members".

For your podcast pleasures

Since our podcast project is coming up, I figured I'd share a bit of an article that I found on eMarketer. I know Corinne has really emphasized the popularity of podcasts, but maybe some of these numbers will convince some of us who might be hesitant to believe.

Research has shown that the podcast-user base if growing due to:

• Greater ease of consumption for podcast content
• Growing awareness of podcasting
• Terrestrial radio’s use and promotion of podcasting
• Increased penetration of portable players
• The evolution of smart phones and proliferation of affordable mobile data plans

Just like Corinne discussed in class, the majority of users experience their podcasts on PCs instead of cell phones or iPods. That's right. The estimated 18.5 million of us out there are listening to this stuff on desktops. This means the peak hasn't even been reached. Nope, by 2012 we'll be up to 65 million...that's 251%! And out of these millions and millions and millions, 25 million will tune in at least once a week.

Along with the podcast audience increase, there's bound to be some more advertising money spent. A projected $435 million in 2012, up from the $165 spent this year for sponsorships and all.

Thanks Corinne for the practice!
The full eMarketer report from Paul Verna can be downloaded here.

When Sandwiches Duel

We've all seen those commercials that star people on the street as taste-testers. A person is blind folded or the brand name of the product is hidden, and they get taste two products to see which is better. Then the product name is revealed and it's usually the underdog brand, who claims its superior taste. Pepsi did a lot of this to show its resounding preferred taste over Coca-Cola products. We've also seen the user-generated videos that have made it to commercial stardom. Consumer brands like Doritos, Dove, Toyota and Heinz have run promotions of this sort because "they generate publicity, usually at a low cost to the advertiser", and can lead to some nobody making a clever commercial. So what do you get when you mix the competitive taste-testing with user-generated content together? A rivalry between Quiznos and Subway to see who is the meatiest of them all.

The toasted sandwich chain created a contest online at a site Quiznos had set up called meatnomeat.com, as well as on iFilm that would invite the public to create commercials that would show Quiznos sandwiches superior to Subways.

It's all in competitive fun right, the rivalry between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, Miller Lite and Bud Lite, Colgate and Crest. Personally, I think the bashed brand still gets a little advertising time by having its name shown. But not to Subway. They're suing Quiznos and iFilm, owned by Viacom, claiming that these ads contained “literally false statements” and depicted Subway in a “disparaging manner.” They're also suing for the ads Quiznos itself created that show passer-bys choosing Quiznos over Subway.

So companies are always suing each other over ad disputes but what about the video contest. Should Quiznos really be sued for what other people created if they just facilitated what costumers already express? They did provoke it and give incentive, but what happens to user-generated video contests like this? This was a short-lived fad that, if Subway wins, will surely be killed off.

At least Quiznos finally got smart and realized that any ads they produced were at best horrible and tried something new. This is better than the talking baby or whatever THIS is:Yes, anything is better than THAT.

Cashmere Mafia reveals the new trend

Thanks to a fellow classmate, I've become obsessed with ABC's new show Cashmere Mafia. It's executive producer is Darren Star, sound familiar? He's also the creator of Sex In the City. I really wasn't interested in adding a new show to my list of "must sees", but I can't help but want to watch the trendy and glamorous lives of these 4 women who live in NYC. The stars of the show (Lucy Liu, who is always fun to watch on screen, Frances O'Connor, Bonnie Somerville, and an "ice queen" performance that you just can't help but love by Miranda Otto) unite as a female "boys' club" that dominates the finance, media, publishing and advertising worlds.

Now I'm not writing to give a critic review, but to point out what's really interesting about the show. The fact that it places the power in these women's hands, or shows them repeatably as victors over men is fun to watch, BUT I was particularly drawn to (don't get me wrong, I'm all for a sitcom about strong successful women) its references to modern technology such as blogging, Facebook, and BlackBerrys. I love that in every episode the women are so in tune with this stuff and it plays such a big part of their professions. Of course, I do enjoy that they are marketing execs and publishing editors since this is along the lines of what I plan to do in a few years. Blogging is something that pops up every ten minutes with shout outs to Media Bistro. One character is even a blogger who's made enemies with these women by posting gossip about each of them. Two young entrepreneurs appear on the show to sell their "Facebook clone" for a pretty penny, and Bonnie Somerville's character tells how she receives instant alerts every time her name appears online. It's cool to see how the things we discuss in class are making their way onto primetime television. I'm sure more shows will continue to shed light on trends like YouTube and Myspace.

Swag for Beauty Bloggers

We can see in many ways that bloggers are no longer seen as whiners, free loaders, or bitter customers. In the cosmetic world, for instance, two years ago bloggers were seen as an annoyance. Now, it's hard to leave their calls asking for free samples unanswered with such a big possibility that one blog could inadvertently or (let's be honest) purposefully send a product's sales through the roof. Even Alison Brod PR founder admitted that these bloggers are no longer seen as bottom feeders, but influential journalists. The firm has recently created a new position whose job is to get bloggers to write about clients.

In Kristen Kelly's case, her BeautyAddict blog generates 3,500 visitors daily and is thought to be one of a handful of other bloggers to trigger the first waiting list in Lancôme's history for her approval of a limited-edition lipstick created by the designer Behnaz Sarafpour. Bloggers like this have the influence that companies want...and are receiving the benefits because of it (and these guys aren't stingy with their $250 face cream or luxurious trips). All the free makeup they want, designer purses and all-expenses-paid trips to Paris are in some cases the swag that keeps these bloggers happy. Beauty editor turned blogger, Nadine Haobsh, receives 20 to 50 products every week for her blog Jolie in NYC.

Unlike beauty editors and directors, these bloggers aren't obligated to decline these lavish gifts that cost more than some of our monthly rent! In the last six months beauty companies have specifically planned events for bloggers...companies such as Chanel, who flew 15 of them to Paris from places all over the world to meet with its master perfumer and a tour of Coco Chanel's apartment!

Magazines like Allure and Glamour have now started blogging about beauty products to rank the newest thing for their readers. In the last year or so, more women turned to blogs for this advice because of the attraction to a more personable and relatable tone. Not only is beauty blogging appealing for readers, but inspiration for more women to start their own blog in hopes of freebies. I just hope this doesn't mean these beauty bloggers become beauty whores...nobody wants these once trusted blogs to turn into similar- sounding posts that reek of promotion.

There isn't an approximate count of beauty blogs, but there is an estimate of thousands, says Julie Fredrickson, a founder of Coutorture (a network of 240 beauty and fashion blogs and Web sites!). I see unbiased product reviews that bloggers once not unafraid to publish, disappearing as more bloggers are treated to champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Even though aspirations to become a "beauty addict" might result in an over abundance of beauty blogs, make no mistake, companies look for the best blogs out there to treat: a fresh look, tons of views, comments from active readers, and bloggers with personality are all requirements...misspellings are viewed as a blemish.

Check out the NY Times' article here.