Recently, Facebook changed how users connect with its pages. The “become a fan” option was replaced with “like”. Same user-privileges apply though; the only difference is that your page will no longer show the number of “fans” you have. It will show the number of “likes”. In the marketing community, this has been the cause of much debate as some argue that being a “fan”, by definition, implies a deeper engagement with the brand while “like” could be considered non-committal to a large extent. Think of it in music terms – how differently do you behave towards an artist you “like” vs. one you’re a “fan” of? But this is a discussion for another time. Whether we agree with it or not, Facebook has made the switch, and “like” it is.
Starbucks is the most liked brand on Facebook with over 12.7 million “likes” while there are brands with less than 100 “likes”. So, what do these numbers really mean? At best, these “like” numbers serve as a barometer of your brand’s popularity among Facebook users. I’m being too harsh, you say? Well, let’s do the test (and answer honestly). How many times have you become a “fan” or “liked” a page/brand and never returned to it…ever? I’m sure there’s more than a few of you who fall into this category. Digital cameras have allowed for us to go picture-happy. Facebook has allowed us to go “like”-happy.
“Liking” something on Facebook requires no commitment – surely not a financial one. In most cases, the connection between user and brand is feeble; engagement level is low – a connection barely made. Wouldn’t you just love to see a correlation between “likes” and actual sales? I would!
I’m not bashing Facebook. In today’s marketing landscape, Facebook is an important part of the overall marketing mix. I’m just having a difficult time accepting a “like” as a measure of success or meaningful brand engagement for that matter. Unless a specific “like” number was set as an objective/goal, “like” carries no weight for me. At the end of the day, it’s just a number – high / low. Oh, and let’s not forget that a user cannot “dislike” a page, so the user is forced to “like” it in order to engage in communications regarding that brand. How are you liking those “likes” now?
To me, the most valuable measure is the actual exchange of ideas within a brand’s page. Is the sentiment overwhelmingly positive or negative? How engaging is the exchange? As the brand in question, can I offer something meaningful to the conversation? Can I drive traffic to my e-commerce site? How can I turn that exchange of ideas into sales – that’s my ultimate goal, no? That’s something I can definitely “like”.
I’ve never been a morning person but since I’ve become addicted to Groupon, all that has changed. As soon as the sun cracks through my window curtains, I reach for my phone frantically wondering what the deal will be. Will it be a spa getaway? A trendy Wynwood restaurant? A chic hotel stay? I’ve managed to a try couple new restaurants with deals like spend $25 to get $50 and the best deal as of yet- 2 manicure/pedicure visits for $28. Yes, ladies, I said 2!
While the majority of “Grouponers” are looking to be frugal, they are also really looking to try something new. The deals are usually local and reveal undiscovered businesses with new and exciting things to try. Be it rock climbing, a golf 101 class, tandem parasailing, or a sight-seeing cruise, it makes you feel like you’re a tourist in your own city. It’s a great way to break the monotony of everyday life and save a few bucks as well. And I have to say, I was uneasy about using my first Groupon. Would I be given the cold shoulder because I was using a coupon to get a massage? I haven’t had one bad experience to date. These businesses understand that they are luring customers that otherwise would not be customers, so they have this one shot to turn them into loyal, repeat customers.
Local businesses have been enjoying all the success and heightened awareness, so it was only a matter of time before some well known brands would want in. Case in point, last week Groupon had its largest national promotion to date with Gap. “Grouponers” were able to buy a $50 credit for $25. According to an AdAge article, Groupon adds in a week about 500,000 subscribers that number went to 750,000 for the week after the Gap promotion. That’s pretty impressive. The deal’s timing was impeccable since it was the last week of the back-to-school shopping season. Some would argue that Gap was stooping to a new low having to offer this deal to get consumers into their stores. Gap hasn’t had the same success in recent years and this deal may have been just what they needed to convince their lapsed shoppers to come visit their stores again. Also, selfishly, I have to disagree, as a loyal “Grouponer” I want more big name brands to follow suit, so I can cash in on some more great Groupons!
Are you a “Grouponer” who has had a good or bad experience? Have you become a loyal customer through Groupon?
Read more on the Gap promotion here.
Today’s deal
Sign up for Groupon here.
by Evelyn de la Vega, Account Executive
ACT NOW! HURRY IN! LAST CHANCE! FINAL OFFER! IMPORTANT UPDATE!
Ahhh I’m stressed just writing about all these emails with sales and offers that yell at me on a daily basis with their letters in CAPS, exclamation points and aggressive active words.
Which one do I open first? What’s more important to me? Am I really missing out if I ignore your final notice?
In my opinion… No. I am not missing out and I probably will not open your email. At this point, all your offers have annoyed me vs. attracted me, and the most time I will spend on your email is grouping them all together and pressing “DELETE.” At one point in time, I trusted the emails and would open it right away because “I could be the winner”, but really, if I go a whole day with out checking my personal email, do I really need 10+ emails from the same company telling me different reasons to open their email!??
Don’t get me wrong, email marketing can be effective. There are many companies that do it correctly. They know and relate to you as a consumer and speak to you by offering you relevant information.
However, this blog is more about the misuse of email marketing and raising awareness that over-crowding consumers’ inboxes should be a primary concern to all marketers. Loosing a consumer’s trust can not only affect the perception of your brand, but also their loyalty to you.
So how do you make sure your email/offer is the one that makes the cut and doesn’t simply get deleted at first sight? Here are some tricks of the trade I’ve picked up from attending a webinar or 2 (Thanks Frank):
- Have strong and concise subject lines. Please don’t yell at me with all CAPS and exclamation points.
- Test your subject lines to see what works and what doesn’t. Not all target groups will respond to the same call to action.
- Develop relevant creative that reflects the personality/style of your brand.
- Build an effective list – No matter how enticing your offer or creative, if you don’t email the right target group, you won’t get the response you want.
Now, I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here and shouldn’t be giving tips on the top 10 ways to tackle email marketing, but my point is this….Through TV ads we want to stand out and entertain, In print we want to stand out and entice, In social media we want to stand out and relate….So, in emails lets strive to stand out and not annoy.
Take the time to realize that you may be catching your consumer “after hours” – give them a break – provide them with something that truly calls their attention …. Have them look forward to receiving something from you. Don’t have them feel that sorting through your email offers is a chore to clean out their inbox the way they take out the trash…Indulge them….
For your reading pleasure – here is a deck with useful email marketing stats, facts, and consumer attitudes from a webinar we recently attended (presented by Lyris, INC).
By now you’ve probably heard about the Jet Blue flight attendant named Steven Slater who decided to exit his job in grand fashion last week, but just in case you missed the story…
Slater had an altercation with an unruly passenger upon arrival at JFK, and after the altercation Slater took the intercom and began swearing at the passenger over the loud speaker, then he grabbed a few beers from the beverage cart, pulled the lever to activate the emergency evacuation chute, and slid down and rode off into the sunset (his house, where he was later arrested!).
Ironically, I was traveling the same day of this incident and witnessed a passenger argue with the flight attendant over why he couldn’t leave his bag in his lap with the strap wrapped around his neck during takeoff. The flight attendant very politely stated the choking hazard to himself if he kept the strap around his neck and the hazard to himself and other passengers around him if he kept the bag in his lap during takeoff. It was amazing to me how ridiculous this passenger acted when all he had to do was follow the FAA rules and place the bag under the seat in front of him. I think people forget that flight attendants are on board to keep us safe, not to be our waiter/waitress, and there is actually a reason why they ask us to abide by the rules.
After witnessing this incident and later hearing of Slater’s drama, it got me thinking about how stressful it must be to work as a flight attendant and encounter hundreds of passengers every day, most of whom are probably in a bad mood because they were rushing to catch their flight or they had a bad client meeting, etc., and this is probably the reason why Slater’s actions have resonated with so many people in America. I’m sure we’ve all been in Slater’s position at some point in our career and fantasized about telling our boss to “take this job & shove it!” Working in advertising is pretty stressful, so I’m surprised I’ve never heard of any epic departures from an ad agency, but I was curious if any of have you? Tell your story. And be nice to your flight attendant next time you fly!
Ever since I can remember, I’d watch my favorite movies over and over until I learned them by heart. Then I would play them out with my Barbies… but that’s beside the point. The point is that I can quote a hell of a lot of movies and I remember them so well because: a) I’m a freak; and: b) they’re entertaining. And if I were a kid now and had a fabulous DVR in my house, I would be even more of a freak than I was back then. See, back in 1985 I had to record on a VHS all my favorite movies and shows just so I could watch them over and over again, but now these little machines, these DVRs, do it for me! And I confess, I love it! Not only do I get to watch things over and over without having a gazillion tapes around my house, but, as part of the instant gratification generation, I along with everyone else, now have the power and control to watch what I want, when I want… how many times I want.
I remember when the DVR came out and how everyone in the industry was panicking and talking about it. The end of TV advertising has arrived! Yet, 10 years later we’re still around… and I don’t think we’ll be off the air anytime soon. Unlike what many people thought, that a DVR would eliminate the TV ad, it has simply made us up our game and challenged us to find new and more creative ways to reach our target.
To me this doesn’t just mean finding new media outlets through which we can bombard people with our message, but new ways to reach them through a TV commercial. TiVo and other DVR/Cable companies have come up with showcasing a product through a commercial specifically created for the DVR medium, where people are showed a teaser and invited to click and see more. Once they choose it, they can watch one, or a series of commercials, and sometimes even interact with the brand. There’s also been an increase in TV show premiers being sponsored by a specific brand and allowing viewers to enjoy their show with limited commercial interruption. But, to me there’s a much simpler solution. Something we can do instantly and will always be important:
ENTERTAIN.
If I watched Top Gun once a day for a whole year it wasn’t because Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer showed their gorgeous bare chests throughout the whole movie… it was because it was entertaining! It was fun and I, as a thoroughly entertained/hormonal 13 year old, wanted to watch it over and over again. As creative advertisers, we can do that for our products. We can come up with entertaining ideas that will make people connect with our brands and want to watch our spots, and visit our websites, and play our games, download our apps, and click here and there and everywhere!
Take the award winning campaign for Old Spice as an example. This is a well-rounded campaign with TV spots that are so entertaining that even the most avid DVR fast-forwarder will stop to watch… at least once, but probably more than that. Why? Because they’re funny and absurd and as a viewer you’re intrigued and entertained enough to want to see more of it.
DVRs are not the enemy… we are. Bad, bland, dull ideas are… as they have always been. Before the DVR people couldn’t speed through commercials while watching TV, but they could certainly use us as a bathroom break, a go-to-the-fridge-for-a-beer break, or even a quickie break, but at least our message was still a buzzing in the background. Nowadays, we have to be careful to be even that buzz. And the way to do it is by respecting our consumers and their time. We can’t simply place our ad on TV and expect they’ll watch it because they have no other choice. They do. So instead, we have to respect consumers and their time, and let them choose us… choose to watch our spots. And the way to do that, is by purely and simply, creating good, entertaining ideas that will then be quoted and remembered.
One of the big learning’s from life not only from being an immigrant but from others like when it comes to religion is that when you migrate from a country to another or from being Christian to become Jewish there’s this anxiety or willingness to learn everything so you feel part of it like you belong to that place or religion since that first day the Dr slapped you to make you cry. If you think about it, you become like a sponge, one of those that absorbs everything and suddenly you could even know more than the one that was born in the US or maybe Jew. As a note I say USA and not American, because I guess I am American since I was born in South America, right?
Here’s what Sachi Brown thinks:
So, I’ve conceded my status as an immigrant, a status upon which society has deemed somewhat negatively. I’ve also acknowledged that I was adopted and that all Asians seem to “look alike.” I have to be honest, sometimes, even I can’t tell. What I propose to you, now, is the idea that foreigners, to a degree, possess a quality more American than native Americans. To clarify, this is not a discussion about Hiawatha or Sitting Bull. By “native American,” I mean to say, those who were born in the States.
What does it mean to be “more” American anyway? Does it mean you eat more hot dogs and watch more baseball than the next guy? Or maybe it’s that you get the most excited when you see the red, white and blue fireworks on the Fourth of July. However you define it, you exude those qualities to a greater degree than the average American.
Is that all it is? Part of displaying these “American” characteristics is the ever present need to fit in, not in the cookie-cutter mold kind of way, but in the I-don’t-want-to-be-ostracized-from-society kind of way. Immigrants are already qualified as “other,” so in order to rid themselves of that title means a greater need for compensation. It means more tightly embracing the American way of life and every aspect of its culture.
There’s obviously no definitive way to classify what is American, and it makes this question a rather difficult one to answer. Is it being more patriotic than your neighbor? Is it about being the most generic, all-American individual? There are so many angles to tackle this, but none of which will result in anything conclusive.
Perhaps it can be whittled down to the Ken Burns trilogy of the Civil War, baseball, and jazz. So if you are the most knowledgeable about those that make up a large portion of the American experience, then you are more American. Doubtful, though it doesn’t hurt to be familiar with them.
The other obstacle rendering this even more challenging is the fact that there is more than one America. Save from the fact that there is a South America and a Central America, North America is comprised of more than one country. The United States seems to pretty confidently maintain that whenever someone says “America,” the reference is to it. Unfortunately, I’ve also erred in that way throughout this entry, but at least I’ve acknowledged it here.
I seem to have inconclusively answered this question, talking in circles and winding up even more confused than when I started. The United States, America, whatever you want to call it, has become an amalgamation of all sorts. As Israel Zangwill said in his play, The Melting Pot, “..America is God’s crucible, the great melting-pot where all the races […] are melting and re-forming…” Metaphorically, this epitomizes what America is, and as such a mixture of people, cultures, beliefs, ideologies, how can one pinpoint what is more? I truly implore you all reading to respond because through the countless hours of rumination, I’ve come up short.
As stewards of US Hispanic marketing, we’re always proactive in bringing forth information that educates marketers on the Hispanic market and the business growth opportunity it may represent for their brands. Lately, though, it feels that our priorities as Hispanic marketers have shifted from bringing forth new business opportunities and/or viability for growth to actually defending Hispanic marketing as a strategic tool.
Everyone has been affected by the economic downturn, and Hispanics have been disproportionately so. They have traditionally been employed in blue-collar jobs such as construction and manufacturing – two of the areas mostly affected by the recent economics. This downturn has affected the “performance” of the Hispanic market, and as a result, some marketers are beginning to have reservations about supporting the Hispanic market.
To them I say “please hold your course”. Hispanics, in general, are very resilient people. They are fighters. Adversity is second nature to them. They will bounce back…strongly. This is not the time to pull back on Hispanic efforts. On the contrary; this is the time to carve out a specific role for this market – to evolve from a tactical approach to full integration.
1) The Hispanic market is growing: by now, we’re all well aware of the 2010 Census projections as it relates to the US Hispanic market, but just in case anyone has missed it…42% growth since last census; that means 1 out of every 6 US residents will be Hispanic!
2) Hispanics are the new baby-boomers (in terms of marketing appeal): Hispanics will be key to the growth in consumer spending as they are younger and larger (family size) than the average population. Non-Hispanic segments are aging and their growth rate is significantly less than Hispanics. As baby-boomers begin to retire in the next few years, Hispanics will replace them and contribute to economic growth.
Savvy marketers are bringing Hispanic marketing front and center. Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner’s chairman-CEO, recently issued an internal memo titled “The Multicultural Key to Our Growth”. The memo called for a company-wide revamp of its multicultural efforts, stating the obvious growth of multicultural audiences, and how they will become the nation’s new majority.
Hispanic marketing is to be integrated into brand marketing strategies to ensure its future growth and success. Don’t let this bump in the road deter you from cultivating this market, exploring its key insights and its connections to your brand. Foster your brand’s relationship to the Hispanic consumer now, so you can reap the benefits later.
By Alex Rodriguez, Junior Media Buyer
With the summer half way done one cannot argue that fishing season is still going strong. Week in and week out the seas are filled with boats with their expensive rods and their high tech fish finders. All in same pursuit of that trophy fish to mount on their walls. This got me thinking on how this is so similar to what advertising is all about. How each of the different brands are out there week in and week out with their high tech HD quality commercials or their “out of the box” ideas with that same hope of getting that winning prize. The only difference is that in this case the prize is the consumer. However, the thing that gets me the most is that there really isn’t just one type of fishing. For example, there is spear fishing, fresh water fishing, salt water fishing, etc. And for each of these there are different tactics in going about getting that “prize fish.” So why is that not the case with advertising? What I mean by that is the following: Some clients have the tendency of having their Hispanic agency adopt what their General Market agency is doing. I don’t believe this is always the right way to go about it. I understand that staying within the same strategic direction is very important to maintain the integrity of the brand, but I still feel that we should be able to add our own flavor to it, and by flavor I don’t mean just changing the language to Spanish. Put it this way; if you wanted to go salt water fishing in the morning and fresh water fishing in the afternoon you wouldn’t use the same bait, right? So why use the same General Market advertising campaigns for the Hispanic Market? With more companies taking their Hispanic dollars away from Hispanic agencies and moving them to a General Market agency, I think it is crucial that we make a tougher case to companies that using the same bait may end up costing you a long day at sea.
Article from AdAge, July 26th: “Hispanic market hits the tipping point” No kidding, really? “Over 50 million Hispanics expected to report in the 2010 Census, “a sweet market for consumer goods and services,” “more vital to future growth in consumer spending than at any time in the past.” WOW. But here’s the rub, “The youthful US born Hispanic population means that children of immigrants, who typically attend public schools where they learn English, will acculturate much faster than their parents did.” Here we go again. I need to inform my 14 year old son and his three friends that begged me for tickets to Premio Juventud and refused to leave early, even when bribed with a limo ride home, that they need to begin that acculturation process immediately. My son, who was born at Mercy Hospital in Miami, never saw Cuba and goes to a high end private school where English is by far the primary language. His friend Carolina, who swears she is Brazilian even though she has never been there and two other 14 year olds that knew the name of every novela star that was in the audience. These are the future vital consumers that will wake up one day and realize there is no longer a need to watch Spanish TV, listen to Spanish radio or chat with their friends in Spanglish. You have to read their Facebook posts, it’s amazing how they mix the language and the culture so fluidly that not even the best copywriters we have could come close to matching the originality of it.
So I guess that Univision’s number one ranking (of all major networks, including ABC) in Nielsen against Adults 18-34 is just a fluke and that Enrique Iglesias’ new album will sell more copies in the US than any other record debut this year is due to a sagging record industry, what the heck, it took him three years to record it. BTW, the Spanish language television ratings against kids 12-17, again according to Nielsen, show year to year increases in viewership, with the same population base, but those kids must not be attending school and learning English.
The bottom line is when I joined Zubi in 1990, I heard the same story, you don’t need to reach Hispanics in Spanish, they all will be speaking English soon. Flash forward 20 years and I still believe that when you are free to choose, without fear of repercussions, you’re going to exercise your right to speak from tu corazon.
So, while I enjoyed reading Peter Francese’s article, let’s not lose sight of the fact that he is the founder of American Demographics, not America’s demographics and an analyst for Ogilvy and Mather, which, to this day, has not officially aligned themselves with any Hispanic agency.
In this day and age, with the rise of social media, Internet privacy is an increasingly hot topic. Facebook, being the most scrutinized on this matter, has implemented, time and again, ever-changing privacy policies. Mind you, once you sign in to facebook the power is yours, what you put on there and who sees it can be easily managed, it just takes a bit of set-up, and some maintenance. I recently re-vamped my own privacy settings following a very useful guide I stumbled upon last week, and If you’re like me, and love living in the social age of media, but want to make sure what you share is shared with those you intend to, then take the time, visit those settings and make sure they are to your liking.
I, like most of us, started the Facebook privacy settings by limiting those not so close ‘friends’ to the pre-set limited profile list, but after careful consideration I noticed it was way too limiting, and wanted to customize these settings to my liking, determining exactly who would see what, depending on the pre-set limits the list they belong to was set to. Lists are the simplest way I’ve found to manage my Facebook privacy, even allowing you to determine, post by post, which list it should go out to and who to omit.
In the spirit of sharing I give to you the guide I used to set my lists up, set by step, offered up by a fellow blogger for the Engadget site.
I started by creating three lists, like on the above linked post. The first one is reserved for my closest friends, and mind you this list has no limits, everything is open to the people in this list so obviously only those you trust the most would go on this. They will see everything you post and that is posted about you (pictures others tag with your name etc). The second list is a bit more limited, this one includes all those friends you know, but don’t know that well, and you can limit these from seeing your personal information, things like your address and phone number/personal email, as well as those infamous tags of unapproved pictures or videos you’d rather they not automatically see. The third list is the most limiting, and this one you reserve for those you’d rather not share that much with, and would include limiting what pictures, what posts, and whether or not they can comment or post something on your wall.
I found the list process so useful, I even created lists for family members, work colleagues etc, so when I post something that is relevant to only those people, those are the only ones that will get it.
The Internet is an amazing tool, for sharing, research, learning – but it’s all up to you, what you share and who with, you have the power.
