Video Nano

I know the Ipod isn't a new product, I have one of those Ipod Nano 1st generation ones, yeah really old. So they have these video nanos now. My brother has one of these and he has a collection of movies and podcasts on his Ipod, oh yeah he has a Video Nano, one of the small ones. Part of me thinks this is kind of a cool concept but a bigger part of me thinks that it seems kind of pointless to be allowed to watch videos on your Ipod because the screen is so small. I know that not all Ipod screens are so small but even on the larger screened Ipods trying to watch a movie on them would be odd.

Think about it on an Ipod Nano the screen is, what, one inch by an inch and a quarter. Who would want to watch a movie from something like that. It would be so difficult to see what is even happening on a screen that small much less enjoy the movie.

Another problem is that only one person can really watch the movie. Yeah, Ipods are meant for only one person, but I enjoy watching movies with people on a decent sized screen with speakers instead headphones. Which leads to another problem I have about video Ipods, the earbuds.

I always have problems keeping the earbuds in my ears. They always tend to fall out or they don't work properly or outside noise is distracting. Yes, there are ways to get around problems with headphones but I just believe that earbuds can be more efficient. I guess I am complaining a lot about this great technology, I really don't think Ipods are bad. I have one myself as I mentioned earlier. I do believe that maybe Apple should rethink video Ipods for the nano.

Guerrilla Marketing Wonders

Guerrilla Marketing: an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_marketing)

Currently I am developing a mock national media plan for Kashi in my media strategies class, in which I am researching some guerrilla marketing tactics. During the research I found this really neat site that lists some of the many guerrilla marketing methods.

Guerrilla marketing can be just about anything. Like a mobile video cube. This cube is a self-contained mobile outdoor digital advertising billboard truck capable of delivering full motion video advertising to thousands of consumers nightly in metro markets. These are so cool because it is a vehicle that drives around with a large "you can't miss it" digital sign advertising for something. It would definitely be a neat eye catcher.

Another neat type of guerrilla tactic is street art mural advertising, which blends street art with brand advertising through the implementation of hand-painted one-of-a-kind, permitted, street-level outdoor art-advertising murals. These are also really neat because who wouldn't want to look up at a building and see a cool graffiti picture instead of dirt on the wall.

Interaction Mobile Billboards are custom-built mobile billboard with a 3' stage on each side providing the opportunity to integrate performers, props, product displays, and other branded 3D elements into the mobile billboard medium. This one is particularly neat because the consumers can actually interact with the billboard and pretend to be in the actual advertisement. It would be something that I would stand in line to be a part of or I would stand around to see what is going on.

These are just some of my favorite types of guerrilla marketing. There are so many more different tactics and the creative people of the advertising biz keep coming up with new ways to get their message out there.

Mobile Marketing on the Rise

The other day I was doing research for a class project. The presentation my group had to give was about alternative media and my part was about mobile marketing. When I first started researching this category I had a lot of trouble finding information because this type of medium is still so new that most people just blog about it. After some deep researching I came across some great articles written by Laura Marriott from the Clickz website "The Mobile Knowledge" (http://www.clickz.com/3625879) and "The ABCs of Mobile Marketing Part 1" (http://www.clickz.com/3623351) . 

Some of the information Marriott mentioned in her articles I had heard of but a lot of the information is so new and always changing that I hadn't even considered where mobile marketing could be taking the future of advertising. Mobile marketing is the most personal marketing channel available on the market. At first glance I wasn't quite sure I believed this because cell phones being more personal??? But they truly are, people are so caught up with their mobile phones now that the advertisements come right to them. Another interesting fact I found was that mobile marketing is completely permission-based. Since opt-ins are required for text messaging campaigns only people who opt-in will receive the message. Along those same lines mobile marketing is the most powerful loyalty marketing tool, which makes sense because if a person signs up to receive something or pays for something on their phones they are going to be checking it frequently. A really interesting fact I found about this type of marketing is that in the past year the adoption of text messaging campaigns has grown 200% in the past year, which is more than any other medium, including the Internet and outdoor marketing. This is crazy. How did we ever live without cell phones??? I don't even have the Internet on my phone but I am on it a lot, I can't imagine having Internet access on my phone. I don't think I would be able to put it down...I hope it wouldn't consume me. 

Although I don't have Internet access from my phone, I do use a lot of the applications on my computer. Some of these include Shutterfly and Snapfish (photo sharing), YouTube and Hulu TV (video sharing) and Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (social networking). These aren't the only applications available, the mobile applications market is growing by leaps and bounds. In the end I really enjoyed researching this topic. It really helped me get a small grasp on what is happening now in the world of mobile marketing and a bit of what is to come. 

Consequences of Misusing Twitter

I came across this interesting blog from Lawrence & Schiller last week about how the National Basketball Association is fining Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, $25,00 for two tweets on Twitter about how he didn't like the officiating http://www.ls-unscripted.com/index.php/2009/04/05/twitter-means-business/. I have been using Twitter for a couple of months now and starting to get up there in followers. My 96 followers don't even come close to the 19,000 people who are following Cuban, so any posts he puts on Twitter are going to be seen by 18,900 more people than if I made a couple of offensive posts. Going even bigger Jimmy Fallon, host of Late Night, tweeted about how he was kicked out of a restaurant, he didn't stop there. Fallon warned people not to go near the restaurants owned by this owner. Even after he apologized Fallon had tweeted to over half a million people. Twitter has a bigger affect on businesses and people and it shouldn't be misused.

In this same article some posted a link to Advertising Age to another article about Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=135827 . According to B.L. Ochman "Twitter has grown %1200 in the past year, doubled its membership, and attained 14 million members in March." That's crazy how fast a social networking tool can catch. This article is a must read for companies who think that Twitter is the place for them to be truly connected to their clients, but is Twitter for everyone?

Future of Online Advertising

What's the future of online advertising in the world? Even though Internet has been around for a while, the advertising aspect is still new and continuously changing. Advertising online started with the banner ad on the top of the screen, which has been great but got replaced by skyscrapers and leader boards and larger rectangles. Recently these ads have started going to more video and interactive ads. But what does the future hold for this type of advertising.

I personally believe that online advertising will only keep getting bigger and better. I'm sure like a lot of people get annoyed by the random pop-up advertisements and the bright blinky ones. There are many ads out there though that are good and actually get a person's attention. My favorite type of advertising is the Apple commercial, where the banner ad and skyscraper ad talk to each other. Then there are those annoying sound ads that pop up and don't stop until you go onto the next page. There will be a time when the advertising we see now on the Internet will be gone and replaced by the next big "wow."

Right now I can't imagine what that is, but I truly hope that I am working at an agency that comes out with a completely new type of ad on the Internet. I truly believe that advertising on the Internet will keep going, espcially when a lot of advertising is moving from print to digital. Adveritisers in the digital age will just need to keep coming up with unique ideas on how to get people to see their ads when all people want to do is bypass them. As Cory Treffiletti said "It's an exciting time for the Web, and display is not going to be squashed by search and video. Display will continue to be an important part of the Web -- just not in ways that you would currently imagine." http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=102331

Coca-Cola's Fan Page on Facebook Ranked #2?

Middle of the year last year Facebook fan pages started becoming more and more popular, a lot businesses/brands create a fan page and people become a fan of their page. Regular users were able create their own fan page, but since so many crude comments and inappropriate pictures were being placed on these pages. So Facebook decided to only allow fan page creators to only be from the brand they are representing. What does this have to do with Coca-Cola?

Well a recent post on Advertising Age's webpage "How Two Cok Fans Brought the Brand to Facebook Fame" interested me http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135238. I have seen a lot of fan pages and I happen to be a fan of a Scrubs, the Newsboys, and AI Photography. I wouldn't call myself a loyal fan because I think I have only been to their pages once a piece. But there are a lot of loyal fans who check their pages diligently, which is how a lot of pages get their popularity. There are thousands of pages on Facebook, so how did Coca-Cola's page become so popular, especially when it was created by two die-hard Coke fans, not the actual Coke brand.

According to the article "One theory the company keeps coming back to was the quality of the photo—a crisp, high-resolution image of a Coke can covered with a thin layer of condensation." The creators of the fan page found a high resolution picture of a Coke can and I guess that was enough to get people to want to become a fan. I'm kind of jumping around, but back to what I was saying before about Facebook making it so only business managers or people associated with the actual brand can create a fan page.

Because the people who created the Coke page aren't associated with Coke Facebook had to ask them to either get rid of the page or surrender it to Coca-Cola. Coke didn't really want to take over the page but also didn't want to make them get rid of the page so someone from Coke asked the two guys if they would like to join Coke in administering the page. This is something very unexpected because most large companies would either get rid of the page or take over completely. I found it very neat...Go Coke!

Facebook vs. Twitter

Facebook vs. Twitter who is going to win? I was reading the article "Will Facebook's Faster Feeds Make it the New Twitter?" by Abbey Klaassen on Advertising Age the other day http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135079. I read it but hadn't seen any changes in Facebook but I knew they were coming since it is all about who will be faster and easier to get to on the Internet. And sure enough today I log onto my facebook page and my homepage is completely differnt then I remember it being yesterday.

At first I thought my computer didn't load my page correctly since it has happened before...but sure enough I have gotten a couple of notices from the Facebook creators about the new changes. Some of my friends have already made the comment on their status bar stating that they don't like Facebook's new layout. This seems to happen everytime the creators decide to change something, such as the layout, and people always complain about the changes and then they decide they like it. Anyway back to Facebook and Twitter.

The changes in the layout of Facebook this time where done so the marketers have more freedom but more importantly so the users can get more information about each other faster. I guess it just makes the "gossip page" as I call it more convient for all of those users who enjoy knowing what is happening in everyone's life all the time. I guess for those users a faster access to that sort of information is great, I read in a book once that since the Internet and faster technology continuously comes out we are becoming more and more impatient if we can't get to something with the click of a mouse. So I do understand the changes Facebook made.

As for Twitter, I am I guess you could say "a newer user." I am still getting to the hang of updating my status more and more. I don't do this regularly on Facebook so constantly updating my status on Twitter doesn't come easily to me. I check everyone else's updates often, about as much as I'm on my computer. I make my rounds to email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so I do chekc it often. I guess the thing I like about Twitter more than Facebook status updates is that on Twitter people will tell you when they have updated a blog you may be following or you may learn something about a topic you have been researching.

As for the competition between Twitter and Facebook, I don't know who will be on top or if they are even in the same category to be judged that way but I enjoy both. Facebook for more personal/friend updates such as pictures and people who write on my wall, and Twitter is in my eyes more of a professional networking update. No pictures just knowledge and information about what is happening in a more professional way.

Digital Ban??

As I was looking at my daily reader on Google I happened upon an interesting article on MediaPost from the Digital Outsider titled California Considers Bill to Ban Digital Billboards by Eric Sass. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=98856

I don't understand why the state of California wants to ban digital billboards. With our society in the "Go Green" phase you would think that having digital billboards would be welcomed. Numerous advertisers can now advertise on one billboard at one time instead of polluting the roadside billboards with only one ad on each.

The state of California is concerned about safety issues, I guess I don't understand how these digital billboards can be dangerous. I think they would be better for the environment because there would be fewer boards with multiple ads on one board. The boards wouldn't have to be changed as often. After these billboards are built the ads would in the future cost less because you would be sharing with other advertisers and the ad just needs to be inserted digitally instead of manually placed up on the board.

I believe California needs to rethink their ban on digital billboards. these boards are a new technology that will be everywhere and California will be behind in this advertising technology.

Ahhh Cell Phone Techology

Should cell phone use be banned in restaurants, theaters, & classrooms? https://www.insightcommunity.com/case.php?iid=1278 With all of the popular new technology continually coming out, you would think that it would be more accepted. But I guess all the changing technology is happening faster than people can or want to adjust. Cell phones are probably changing faster than any other technology except for maybe the Internet.

I can understand how people constantly on their cell phones can be a bother, whether they are talking on the phone at the table or even just texting. I guess I find it annoying when people answer their phones at restaurants, theaters, and even class. Although, I have to admit I text during a movie and sometimes during class but I try my hardest to not look at my phone while at a restaurant. Should these mobile monsters be banned in certain places though? I don't know if this would work though because these little machines are addictive. People constantly check their phones for messages and the internet because the phone is their conncection to the world.

My mom came home from a conference about technology in the classroom. The speaker told her that kids should be allowed to use their cell phones in the classroom and during tests. His reason for beliving this is if kids know how to use their cell phones to get an answer during a test they are using their sources to gather information. This is another blog for another time but I think cell phone use during a test is wrong even if kids know how to gather information and use thier sources.

Ahh cell phone use is only going to get popular. There are times when I disagree with when and where people use them, but I am one of those people who likes to check my phone a lot. I guess the world is just going to have to get used to seeing people on their phones constantly because its technology.

Gadgets, what are they anyway?

According to Google they are made by Google users and can be placed on any page on the web. Gadgets are becoming a big thing on the web. When browsing my Google account I found the gadgets page, which is constantly added to by Google users everyday. These gadgets aren't only found on Google, you can find them on Facebook, blog sites, or just about anywhere on the web. You can become a fan of a TV show or add a countdown to your profile and you become an advertiser for that show or brand. As Google says these gadgets might come in handy for you at work if you need a countdown or a list maker or a calendar, the gadget possibilities are endless.

A new gadget I found on the New York Times website "Friday Fun Tip: Amazon's Universal Wish List Button." This is one cool gadget because you can be on any site and want something but you aren't ready to buy it yet so you click your the Wish List button on your browser and Amazon saves your item for you for future time of purchase. Wondering how you getit? Well you just need to drag and drop the Universal Wish List Button from Amazon onto your browser and its there for as long as you want it to be. http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/friday-fun-tip-amazons-universal-wish-list-button/?ref=technology

Along with many others I really enjoy these gadgets. They are fun and easy to put on your profile, there is a gadget for everything. Some of my gadgets on my Google home page are the weather, Frogger, Tetris, driving directions, html tips, quotes of the day, and date & time. I have the option to have multiple homepages also, so if I can't fit all of my gadgets on one page I can add another page for more!