Alex Fascilla

In my last excruciatingly brilliant installment on Twitter developments [I'm going to skip right over "New Twitter" as I'm still irritated with how it covers my delightfully whimsical background--it's good though, the preview pane is exceptional!] I discussed Promoted Tweets, or, essentially, Tweets that have nothing to do with anything you're interested in, but rather trailblaze a shameless path to profitability and drench your topic searches in a layer of irrelevancy. WHEW! Yo, can we really blame them, though? They might be the most prolific "business" in the world that has yet to really make a dime...  ...except for, HEY-O!, never mind, too easy.

The news? Twitter's come up with a second way to encourage your *I hope* non-clicking on very obvious (why obvious? Because of the giant yellow 'Promoted' designation next to them) twadvertising: Promoted Trends.  That's right, as ClickZ recently reported, now, in addition to Promoted Tweets, Twitter is now offering Promoted Trends, or an offering that guarantees a spot in the day's Trending Topics.  As the article indicates, for example, Disney paid Twitter recently to put Toy Story 3 among the Trending Topics.


WHAT??? Okay, let's quickly review the definition of Trending Topics: a list of the day's most popular tweeted-about topics. A few weeks ago, for example, it was probably Chilean Miners or something else equally as newsworthy and important, like a new Doritos flavor. Today, October 27th, it is PlayStation Phone...  PlayStation Phone? ...What is wrong with you tweople? Anyway, Trending Topics are an excellent way to get a pulse on what real humanoids like you and I are talking about/find important, etc. Now, however, with the introduction, and recent change to move Promoted Trends to the top of the TTs, it's taken an ugly turn into now seeing-what-big-business-wants-us-to-see territory.  Awesome, can I have another helping of Soylent Green?

Ok, too paranoid, perhaps.  It can't be easy to balance two mutually exclusive directives: maintaining the original "everything's free!" ambiance with profiting from user bases in the multiple millions.  It happened to YouTube, it (kind of) happened to Facebook, and now worsens with Twitter.  It's a shame though, as the integrity of the Twitter site, the idea behind it, is completely compromised. 

Or is it? The idea the entire time--Shyamalan-surprise!--was actually to make money! So, settle in, let's accept the nature of the web, and if you're content with the current utopian integrity of your favorite free site, prepare for a shakeup: "your tweet will begin in 30 seconds" is just around the corner...             

The other night, I caught an episode of CBS's Undercover Boss, a show in which, if you haven't already heard (hopefully, you have, as your CEO could be lurking--perhaps even watching you now as you read this, posing as an interested temp as he scribbles a mental note, "This guy likes to read blogs when he should be working . . . fired!") features CEOs of Fortune 500 companies—never mind—I just explained the entire premise of the show.

Anyway, this particular episode trailed Chris McCann, the President and little brother of Jim McCann, the CEO of the largest floral and gift company in the world, 1-800-Flowers. [An aside: the best scenes came when Jim treats Chris like they're both 9 years old again, going so far as to almost blow Chris' cover in a stunt to embarrass him in front of people that technically work for him. Classic!].  The episode proceeds as most do. Boss finds some bad. Boss finds more good. Boss hands out promotions/gentle coaching.  However, one particular scene made my "hey-Balihoo-could-own-that-if-given-the-chance" light bulb go off. Yes, I have that light bulb. Jealous?


Shortly after this scene was shot, Chris was almost fired by this lady! No joke!

The scene involves Chris visiting a franchise that recently went from locally-owned to a 1-800-Flowers branded florist shop. When the manager of this particular store was asked why the store was struggling, she stated simply, "people just don't understand we're the same shop, with a different name, especially since we aren't involved in local advertising." DING!  Enter Balihoo.  With Balihoo actively enabling breakthrough local store marketing, that store, and other 1-800-Flowers franchises just like it, would have been quickly outfitted with the tools neccessary to get their store performing optimally.  

So, Mr. McCann (and others just like you) . . . can I get you our local marketing playbook?

In 2004, I remember Facebook emerging (seemingly) from nowhere as a new social networking site intended solely for college students (going so far as to require a .edu email address to even sign up).  It was very blue, and very simple--example: remember the days before the News Feed?  The days when the 'Poke' finger took up like half your welcome page?  It was 'social networking' at its best...   if Mark Zuckerberg intended social networking to be a platform for co-eds to pepper each other with Status Updates like "dude, I got soooooo blaaaasted last nite" and maintain Interests like "Being Drunk".  Nice, Zuck.

Fast forward to 2007, and we see a donnybrook begin to form. FB starts to throw its weight around by opening up service to high school students and suddenly you're either a MySpacer or a Facebooker.  Those that preferred clean lines, a simple interface, and legitimate friend requests choose Bookface.  Those that didn't mind a clunky interface, albeit full customization possibilities, and loads of fraudulent friend requests sided with MySpace.

Now recall Facebook circa 2008-09 (shouldn't be too hard, 2009 was like, less than a year ago).  As FB opened up to the whole of humanity, youth everywhere were able to painfully recount their story of hovering over the "Ignore" button before frustratingly clicking "Accept" after receiving the dreaded Parental-Unit Friend Request--to me, when this occurred, the party was over. The lights were flipped on, the beer was dumped out.
(Hey, the after-party still rages on Twitt...  ughh, forget it).


Present day? As Media Life Magazine recently reported, Facebook just hit 500 million users.  When I got my own P-UFR, around the summer of 2009, there were half as many users. In that article, Media Life astutely notes that if Facebook were a nation, it would be the earth's 3rd most populous.  500 million? That's a full 1/14th of the world's population.  What does this mean?  Well, it basically means that Facebook IS the internet.  I challenge anyone to visit 3 different websites on the internet that don't mention Facebook or feature a tiny Facebook icon. 

So what does it mean for the local marketer?  Glad you asked, considering that's the business Balihoo is in.  It means that just as you're clamoring for Search Engine Optimization and optimized Google AdWords performance, you should also be for a Facebook account.  Seriously, integrate this, right now, into your local internet marketing strategy if you haven't already.  You can set up a Business page (as opposed to the more personal pages I describe above) and customers, or, potential customers, can become fans of that page.  Next, commit to doing these things:

• Spend at least 2-3 hours a week tending your page.  Conversely, limit your tending to 168 hours per week.

• Share photos, videos, and blog about what you do, how you do it, or why you do what it is you do.  If you don't know why it is you do what you do, wow, I don't know what to tell you.  That's definitely not a good thing.

• Respond to those that comment on your posts or Wall

• Share links to news on your business or industry trends.  Links to funny YouTube videos are appreciated but probably a bad idea.  Unless you have a Facebook page, Break.com, then you should keep doing that.

• Have fun (I just wanted 5 bullet points and "have fun" seemed like an easy way to get the fifth. A lot of people use that tactic.)

Moral of the local advertising story: if you're not on Facebook, your competitor probably already is--so sign up and get to postin'!  BONUS moral: a business page is much different than a personal page: the party doesn't have to end when you're sent a friend request from your parent company.  I apologize, that was a really terrible joke.   

I'm exasperated as I reach the top of the 4th floor stairwell and jump-kick the steel bar that stretches across the fire door, gaining entry to a long hall.  I'm sprinting now, the noise coming from the pounding of my feet hitting the end of the hall and bouncing back at the speed of sound, echoing throughout.  I take a sharp left down an adjacent hall, immediately noticing a large window at the other end, stretching to the floor.  "Should I Die Hard-it and dive through the double-pane glass, hoping to land atop the building below? Or do I Master-Key-Guy-Off-The-Matrix 2-it and duck into any one of the rooms I'm passing now at a rate of two per second, instantly launching me to a new corner of the earth?"

Neither, see, because I'm only figuratively escaping the pursuer.  I know, boring.   

In all actuality, last week, while scanning Eastbay for footwear that's a little less enclosed (flops) than what I've currently got, I 'picked up a tail' as they say in every cop movie ever made.  Spending approximately three minutes looking at a particularly interesting pair was my first mistake.  Unfortunately, this totally harmless activity gave the re-marketing 'parasite' enough time to 'latch on'.  I know this because for the next three days a good 80% of the websites I visited featured multiple Eastbay ads--and not just any old banner ad, but a banner ad featuring the exact shoe I was looking at!  Perhaps the most remarkable thing, however, was that this was on everything from big sites like MSN.com, all the way to little local news sites like KATV.com.



As I blogged in early March via an article in MediaBuyerPlanner, this re-marketing technology enables retailers to serve future ads on other sites to try enticing buyers that browsed but didn't buy into returning to remind them what they've left behind.  The article pointed to how underutilized this marketing software tool really is.  Well, I'm here to tell you, while parasitic, this technology is both ingenious, effective, and quickly becoming less than underutilized.  How do I know they're effective?  Well, allow me to finish the story...

...Being old-fashioned concerning chase scenes, I quickly choose the former, ripping my jacket off as I sprint and swinging it around my body to cover my torso and head as I punch through the curiously easy-to-shatter window.   The jacket floats down into the alley below as I miss my landing, hitting the edge of the building's top, dangling with both arms fully extended, fingers curled around the lip of the stone that caps the building's waist-high wall.  Kicking my feet against the edge of the building, I pull myself up and over onto roof and collapse with a grunt. I look up to realize I'm surrounded by goons.  With guns. Caught.

That's right, I know re-marketing is effective because what really happened is I clicked on the damn banner ad the third day and bought the damn shoes hook-line-and-sinker.  [To get the ads to go away? or because I wanted them? Hmmm...]

Nice work, Eastbay--retail marketing at its best.  I can't wait for others to adopt this technology. I'm sure they can't either!


For more information on cool marketing software tools, download Balihoo's whitepaper here.

If you've been alive the past two months (which, you have, if you're reading this--also, if you've only been alive two months but you're reading this, congratulations, you're the smartest baby in the world)  I guarantee you've seen at least one ad in Kia's New Sorento campaign--the damn thing spans magazines, television, social media, online, and includes a "The Official Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle of the NBA" sponsorship--even as sponsorships continue to become more ridiculous in their specificity like, "ULINE: The Official Contractor-Grade Staple Gun of the WNBA".  Seriously, how many other staple gun manufacturers were clamoring for that distinction?  [Answer: they weren't, I made that up.]

As far as the social media component of the (I'm assuming) successful--and I forgot to add earlier, giant-toy-themed--Sorento campaign is concerned, Kia has a Sorento-specific Facebook Fan Page (of which, as a Sorento owner myself, I am a fan...  alright, who cares if I own the '04 model? I can still like the new one--especially its gas mileage, which infuriated me when it was first posted: 26 mpg. My '04 seriously gets fifteen. Fifteen. Miles. Per. Gallon. 15 MPG!  I didn't realize when I bought it that it came with an invisible 22-foot trailer) as well as a Sorento-specific Tweets via Kia's Twitter feed.  These two mediums are great, but I first discovered the new Kia via TV and later Wired Magazine.  It wasn't until I saw these and then the Facebook page that I became a Fan.

So how effective would their product launch marketing have been if Kia had decided to forgo the traditional mediums--and even *GASP!*, a major car show like the Detroit Auto Show--and rely solely on the Facebook marketing?  You'd think not as much. Who would ever gamble on that kind of strategy, though?  Interestingly enough, our own Ford Motor Company.  As Marketing VOX recently reported, Ford plans to roll out the new Explorer--yeah, you know, like the most famous SUV of all time--on just Facebook alone.


That's correct, one of America's largest and most storied corporations--a pillar in our nation's industry--is fully embracing the power of social media to market one of their flagship products.  Many (presumably, large traditional media-buying agencies) are questioning the decision, especially considering Ford isn't even going to announce the new Explorer at any auto shows. If you ask me, this is exactly why Ford is head-and-shoulders above GM and Chrysler (who?) in the domestic car-manufacturing race:

They're religious about collecting customer feedback, they experiment with alternative mediums (see: Fiesta Movement), they embrace unique designs and, in doing so, they connect with buyers, especially younger ones, on many levels.  And it's those younger buyers that will be the key to their continued success.  Ford should be lauded for this new Facebook strategy. Why? You mean besides the fact that they're a [serious] multi-billion-dollar corporation not afraid to take risks on unproven social media retail marketing tactics? Because it will probably work for them.  And if it works for them (Ford of all companies!), expect others to follow suit.

{Insert clever conclusion here}

For more information on product launch marketing and other marketing methods, please download our Local Franchise Marketing Playbook here.

Hey folks, let's kick this off real quick and review our old standbys when it comes to advertising approaches/appeals (Caps indicates yelling):

    * BANDWAGON APPROACH
    * HUMOR APPROACH
    * SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE APPROACH
    * TESTIMONIAL (Hint: this is the one this blog is about!)
    * GLITTERING GENERALITIES APPROACH
    * SNOB APPEAL
    * APPROACH APPROACH

That last one was included to make sure you are paying attention. There is no such thing as an 'approach approach'.  [Seriously, I just typed that word so many times it looks weird to me now.]  Anyway, that may not be the most comprehensive list of appeals used when advertising but we're only going to focus on one; one that I'm sure is in the list...  I think.

As Wired Magazine and the New York Times recently reported, garnering celebrity endorsements (and more specifically, professional athlete endorsements) for TESTIMONIALS is about to become quite the turn-key affair.  A company called Brand Affinity Technologies has created an online marketplace that connects local advertisers and what Brand Affinity might call a 'regional celebrity' for use in local marketing and media creative. 

So, while you may not be the fanatical Vikings fan that I am (which I find incomprehensible) and thus probably do not know their starting Center is John Sullivan, those in Minneapolis that see him in a Burger Jones ad are going to recognize him and subesequently take him up on his recommendation to "come on down and take the Sully Burger challenege!"  Burger Jones is banking on that fact, anyway. As well as the fact that out-eating their favorite center in the National football League is something all Minneapolins (Minneapeeps?) aspire to do.  

Garnering celebrity endorsements is something that's traditionally been very difficult. Time, expense, lengthly contracts, and just tracking down the damn celebrity, have all hobbled the process.  With Brand Affinity promising to rid the ordeal of long-term contracts and reduce negotiation times to no more than 96 hours, most of those pain points are removed and a platform that makes creating celebrity testimonials more simple emerges!

So... with their catering to local/regional marketers, wouldn't it just go over like gangbusters if Balihoo and Brand Affinity Technologies teamed up and a BAT component was integrated into our ad builder software?  Now that's a top-to-bottom marketing software tool!  Imagine this, my local marketing audience: Balihoo creates your brand, plans and buys your media, produces and builds your BAT-supplied, celebrity-infused ads, and then follows up with constant campaign optimization... AND it all takes place within one easy-to-use platform?  DONE. Nailed it.  

And hey, as I'm leagally obligated to say, even without the Brand Affinity Technology component, our software can do incredible things.  Check it out!  In the meantime, however, I suggest you incorporate more of the bandwagon approach into your ads. Why? C'mon! Because everyone else is!

On April 16th, I wrote a blog that's way better than this one that unveiled Twitter's plan to roll out Promoted Tweets, or "TweetWords" (as I completely uncleverly dubbed them--I thought of a new one right after I posted the blog: "Pay-per-Tweet"...I said new, not better) that would allow advertisers to place ads at the top of Twitter search results. 

Keywords would be purchased, searches would be tracked, performance would be measured, and Twitter would become yet another marketing money-maker aesthetically hobbled by advertising... ...So is it working?  To be honest, I haven't seen one Promoted Tweet since the program was rolled out.  However, that's a sample size of one so I wouldn't trust the data.

To Twitter's delight and contrary to my data above, its Promoted Tweeters have reached people that are searching for normal things like #airfare, or #travel and not #lonelyisland. As MediaBuyerPlanner daily recently reported, both cable channel Bravo! and Virgin America Airlines have both enjoyed early Pay-per-Tweet (use it!) retail marketing success.  As the article states, Virgin announced selling out of 50%-off airfare tickets just three hours after posting it as a promoted tweet.  Similarly, Bravo! increased impressions to their website by 200,000 after one particularly popular Promoted Tweet.



As a media planner constantly seeking cutting-edge alternative media--especially in the social media arena--for inclusion in media planning strategy, we could have an AdWords circa 2000 situation arising.  It's almost *gasp!* better than AdWords; however, considering Twitter's re-tweet** functionality: A tweep sees a Promoted Tweet offer they like, say, a free bacon burger at Carl's Jr. for one-day only, re-tweets it to their followers, and effectively adds exponential (particularly if the re-tweeter has thousands or even millions [@aplusk] of followers) reach to Carl's Jr.'s campaign. Invaluable!  Just make sure there aren't any regional restrictions first, guys... BIG mistake.

Currently, Twitter has re-tweet max/cap of 200 and features a very Google-esque keyword bidding system.  Get rid of the re-tweet maximum and switch the Promoted Tweet pricing to be performance-based, and Promoted Tweets will quickly become an absolute no-brainer in any advertising media plan. 

When Balihoo makes media recommendations to its partners in local advertising, a social media component is always included--it can't be ignored, this is where web 2.0 advertising is headed!  I know I was skeptical at first, but with these Promoted Tweets, we've got a local internet marketing sleeping giant about to awake here. 

Had to try it.  The keywords I bought? 'intelligent', 'strong as an ox', 'black belt', 'powerful core', 'real cool'.  The Promoted Tweet? "AlexFascilla: what you've always been searching for".  Still waiting on that first lucky lad...  er, click.


**Clicking the re-tweet button below another's tweet will post it to your profile as if you had tweeted it yourself

That's correct, another May brings yet another Month of the Mustache here at the Balihoo offices.  POW!  Now, some might argue for a name change like "Must Ache May"* (as in, "dude, your wife must be aching for you to shave that thing off.") or even "Mustake May" (as in, "growing this mustache was a huge mustake."), but those silly naysayers just don't understand how important it is for a man (or woman) to prove their follicle density annually via some upper lip cultivation. 

May becomes for us a month of soul-searching and self-reflection, culminating after a period of 2-3 weeks into a query that resembles: "is it possible this mustache I wear is a measure of my worth?" KABLOOM! That's some heavy stuff, man.  Let's keep things topical and not think about mustaches and how they have the potential to become yardsticks for existential musings and instead focus on their power to transform the look, attitude, and general well-being of all that adorn them. I mean, look at this guy!:



Recall for a second great men from history that have worn their hearts on their sleeves by way of hair on their lips:  Albert Einstein, Salvador Dali, George Washington Carver, Freddie Mercury, Ambrose Everett Burnside, Tom Sellick, Janet Reno, Mario, Rollie Fingers, William Howard Taft, Luigi, Ron Burgundy and the Channel 6 news team, Burton Leon Reynolds... you get the idea.  The unifying theme here? They all derived their collective power from their perfectly manicured cookie dusters.  



To harness such power, very clear and specific rules must be followed.  Balihoo Culture has dictated the following:

1.    You’re allowed a three-day run at the month as far as growth is concerned.  This means shaving of the upper lip must occur on/by 12 midnight April 28th, Mountain Standard Time.  Each year, some poor sap is granted a growth-challenged exemption from this rule.

2.    If the ‘stache becomes unmanageable or begins to affect your marriage (our own Steve Nett fell victim to the latter even though he was crowned '09's winner... sorry buddy, your fame overwhelmed), you’re allowed to shave it after a picture of your ‘stache has been taken. You WILL be ridiculed for early withdrawal/non-participation.

3.    Once you’ve decided on your desired shape and size, the mustache must be obvious. No goatees, beards, Charles Darwins, etc. allowed.

4.    You must comment frequently/loudly on other ‘staches you encounter.  It’s good to encourage your fellow ‘stachemates to keep morale up. You never know how bad things are back home.  ‘Staches have been known to ruin even the strongest bonds of love.  Also, mildly disparaging comments are not encouraged but should be expected so if you’re sensitive, this may not be the event for you.

5.    Arguments over whether it is spelled ‘moustache’ or ‘mustache’ are tired, and quite frankly, I think either are accepted by Webster.  Also, this is not a rule but really more of a comment.

Good luck and godspeed, folks. May 31st comes much quicker than you'd think when you've got a mustache riding on it.

Ready, break!

*must+ache = mustache...  cool!

One of my favorite Twitter features, besides its thank-God-they-capped-it 140 character per tweet limit (nothing is worse than a Facebook update that blurs the lines between a tweet and a bona fide blog--Mom, if you're reading this, you're guilty of status-blogs) is its search function.  You can never go wrong when searching for trending topics with hashtags like #letsbehonest, #somethingaintright, or, my personal favorte, #nowthatsghetto (as in: "Captain Crunch and tap water... #nowthatsghetto") Hey, even if it lacks a certain sophistication, pop culture can be comically perceptive...

After sites like YouTube and [dinosaur] MySpace sold for hundreds of millions of dollars with no clear plan to capiatalize on their every-person-on-earth traffic count figures, it was only a matter of time before people started pointing the finger at Twitter: "How you gonna make money?" Or, even better: "#somethingaintright about the fact u can't make money.. whens it gonna happen?"  Of course, Twitter could respond to these inquisitive folks with "#letsbehonest, we're not entirely sure" But, Twitter, perhaps sensing these questions would begin rolling in at exponential rates as they continued to exist pennilessly in a very profit-hungry world (a lá YouTube), unveiled a plan for revenue generation: paid search.

So... will your Twitter searches for things like #theresnothinglike be hijacked a bit by paid search results?  Alas, yes, they will; but hey, that's something we're used to, right? I mean, you've used Google within the past 13 years haven't you? And it's actually not results but rather result.  A single paid ad will appear at the top of tweets on your searched topic.  As MediaBuyerPlanner recently reported, Starbucks is the first advertiser to jump on board with
what Twitter is calling 'Promoted Tweets' by bidding on particular keywords they wager Tweeps will search for. [Hint: It's technically very similar to Google's ad words and the basis for my unoriginal blog title] 

It remains to be seen whether a tactic like this can produce results in the context of a social media platform as unique as Twitter.  The biggest question, as the article indicates, is whether or not Promoted Tweets will be any more effective for Starbucks then their regular tweets that speak directly to their followers. 

This all comes at a time when Twitter really started unlocking its potential in the retail marketing, franchise marketing, and product launch marketing (when news of the iPad dropped, some of the most hilarious tweets I'd ever read surfaced, including one from a woman asking "do you think they'll eventually make an #iPad with wings?" ...Get it? Pretty sure Sarah Silverman tweeted that...) space--tweets concerning one-day freebies like Denny's Free Grand Slam Breakfast promotion have paid off big.  Or did they? Measuring Twitter's impact, from tweet, to tweep acting on that tweet, has been understandably difficult.   Obviously, these Promoted Tweets should offer something a bit more measurable.  In the meantime, we'll get used to yet another one of our beloved 'free' sites entering a cocoon of profit analysts and emerging with a thin, almost undetectable layer of advertising...  Damn, and I JUST knocked those translucent ribbons of fluff at the bottom of all my YouTube videos off my #thingsihate list!   

FYI:
Tweet = a Twitter status update
Trending Topics = terms that are the most-tweeted about for that day
Hashtags = the # that prefaces a popular term and helps it to "trend"
Tweeps = twitter-ers or twitter peeps

 

In my last installment of what's current in co-op advertising, I covered the ways Hilton and American Airlines shoehorned--perhaps shoehorned is too harsh, I saw the film and can personally attest, their inclusion was seamless--their brands into Jason (son of Ivan) Reitman's film, Up In The Air; ultimately concluding that Lady GaGa and Pizza Hut would make a fantastic co-operative advertising team... whew! Recently, while conducting my (self-)required perusal of MediaBuyerPlanner, I came across another interesting example of co-op advertising, this time, the two parties are AMC's critically-acclaimed drama, Breaking Bad, and notoriously bad energy-cola, JOLT. 

We're all aware of JOLT cola aren't we? The cola whose aluminum can bares the slogan: "All the sugar, twice the caffeine"? Whose genius was that? In a time when McDonalds is hustling salads and energy drinks are handing out more heart palpitations than a Taylor Lautner appearance at a Twilight: New Moon midnight DVD release party, do we really want to push the fact that we've got all the sugar, and twice the caffeine?

I'll put JOLT in the same "we're-well-aware-of-America's-burgeoning-health-issues-caused-by-the-products-we-peddle-but we-don't-give-a-flying-***k-and-if-anything,-we'll-strive-to-make-our-products-even-more recklessly-harmful" as Carl's Jr. or RJ Reynolds. Take the "Grilled Cheese for Grown-Ups" Carl's Jr.'s--or Hardees, for you regional readers--extra jumbo bacon cheeseburger-turned-"grilled cheese" monstrosity. The ad for it even guilts me into thinking it's how grilled cheese is supposed to be for a twentysomething MAN such as myself--mom's grilled cheese never had a 1/3 lb. beef patty or bacon but they'll be damned if I don't remember it that way.

Anyway, I digress, as MediaBuyerPlanner reports, JOLT cola now adorns their cans with Breaking Bad's network, AMC, and when you can catch it: 10/9c.  In return, JOLT gets air time during each high-octane episode.  Financial details of the agreement are under-wraps, but this has all the makings of a straight-up co-op advertising deal.  A tit-for-tat, if you will.   If you ask me, JOLT made out like a bandit in this deal as Breaking Bad is an up-and-coming rising star and JOLT continues to be a down-and-out white-dwarf of a dying star.  Regardless of a clear "winner" both parties are happy with the agreement, with Brandweek reporting:

“Breaking Bad is an edgy show that pushes the envelope in every way possible: extreme characters, awesome action and outrageous situations, the show’s heart thumping, in-your-face attitude is a perfect fit with the high intensity lifestyle that is Jolt Energy.”

Ughh...  please don't try putting the 'tie-in' designation on a clearly straightforward co-op example.  What's BB's demographic? Low-income tweakers with increasingly-questionable futures and a penchant for Xanax binges? Regardless, I'm a huge fan of these sorts of synergized marketing efforts.  There is a lot of ad space out there. Why buy when you can barter?

Which brings me to my 'tie-in', of sorts.  With many of our Nobel oral surgeon clients striving for exposure to the marketplace that skews cosmetic, (often times these elective procedures can completely change the look of someone's smile) we routinely recommend they pair with a local spa, placing implant dentistry brochures in the spa's lobby--it's a great fit as women are already thinking of cosmetic enhancement upon entering.  The cost to these oral surgeons?  Less counter space in their lobbies.  Why? Because, in-keeping with their co-op advertising agreement, they'll feature the spa's brochures in their offices in return.  Beautiful.  Is it JOLT cola/Breaking Bad good?  No.  But it has to be close.

Now that we're well out of the holiday season, it's time to take a few minutes--or hours, if your 'haul' was like one of those kids' from the TV show my Super Sweet Sixteen--and conduct inventory on the gifts you received.  "Alright," you say to your gifts, "which ones of you is a re-gift, and which ones of you will I treasure for years to come?"  It should be a pretty simple task.  The Blu-Ray you received probably isn't in this particular pile but rather long been set up in your entertainment center--shrugging apologetically at the progressive-scan DVD player as it was being switched out--while the Hillshire Farms Summer Sausage Sampler Pack is firmly established among this group of misfits, collecting dust since the morning of December 25th, when its brick-patterned wrapping paper was apprehensively removed.

The worst among these is the 'ween-gift--the gift that leaves you on-the-fence about whether to hold or fold. This might be the basket of wine cheeses you can someday see yourself sampling at a spring picnic (heh, yeah riiiiight...), or, conversely, giving to your fiancée's aunt to save yourself some coin when faced with buying a gift for someone who, one, you don't know anything about, and two, don't necessarily care about.  These are the gifts that take the longest to relegate to 're-gift' status. Eventually however, your logical side overtakes any romantic vision you had and a re-gift is born.  As an aside, please join me in listening to (sorry, copyright laws prevent me from saying watching) perhaps the most hilarious example of a re-gift attempt of all time (at bottom):

So where am I going with all this 're' talk?  Well, what if I told you it is possible to 'remarket' or 'retarget'?  According to a recent article in MediaBuyerPlanner, advertisers are severely under-utilizing this relatively new retail marketing feature.  This is how it works: suppose you go to backcountry.com and find a new pair of Smith sunglasses you want. You add them to your cart, enter your shipping address, and even go as far as to enter the first 4 digits of your credit card before deciding, "I don't want to buy this. This is impulsive." You close the browser window, close your wallet, and take a quick walk, shaken up by your close-call with impulse (your walk invariably leads you outside where you immediately squint at how bright the sun is...). 

If Backcountry wanted that business back, it could entice your return by utilizing 'remarketing'--or serving their ads on other sites you visit to constantly remind you of "what you could have had**".  As it turns out, many advertisers do have access to this remarketing feature, but as the article reports, only about 31% of them actually use it. A staggeringly low amount given some remarketing efforts have boosted ad response as high as 400%. 

Why not turn this into a co-operative marketing solution? I can see these online retailers that have similarly been 'doorbell ditched' swapping impressions on each other's sites, banding together to recover lost sales.  Any hey, even if they don't pursue the co-op advertising route, it's painfully obvious retailers need to make remarketing/retargeting a part of any media planning strategy they follow.  Good luck ducking those impulses now!

**Thank God my ex-girlfriend doesn't have access to this technology.

As of the writing of this blog on February 26th, 2010, one share of Berkshire Hathaway stock will set you back approximately $119,010.  That's for one share. Some think (Jim Cramer, relax, I can already see you getting all 'Mad Money' on me concerning Berkshire: "Buffet's a pretentious hack!" you yell) you'd need some major time to see meaningful gains on a single share of stock that's as expensive as that. Typically, that'd be correct.  But that share would have cost you about $101,751 on January 26th 2010... a price just barely out of reach of what I could have afforded on my media buyer's salary. Sarcasm aside, really a pretty nice return on a single share that costs as much as most people's entire portfolios.

"But what about us little guys, Mr. Buffet?  Can't you, nay, won't you just split the stock so we can own a little piece of Berkshire? ...Please?"  Traditionally, Mr. Buffet has responded with, "No."  See, he prefers "owners" rather than "traders".  Someone in it for the long haul. Like him. Someone who wants to enjoy making that first life-changing gain when they're too old to enjoy it.  That was, of course, the case until Jan 20th, when shareholders (all 12 of their super-rich asses) approved a 50-1 split of the stock.  The price of one of these Class-B shares? As of today, about $79.  Dammit, still out of reach!

Let's focus on the "little guy" in this example.  Let's pretend Berkshire's Class A stock (the really expensive one) is a major metropolitan newspaper like Portland's The Oregonian.  Let's also pretend that the "little guy" is a store owner with a single store in the Portland DMA--Designated Market Area--engaged in local advertising that wants to place an ad in The Oregonian.  (Also, before our director of media buying jumps all over me, we're going to need to pretend there isn't such thing as wasted reach). 

Previously, it would have been cost-prohibitive for this local advertiser to engage with The Oregonian--much like it was for me to buy that share of BRK.A back in January.  However, The Oregonian, realizing they were losing potential business with these single-shop store-owners, effectively 'split' their paper, creating zoned editions that only go to certain zip codes and feature ads that are more geared toward those in those particular zip codes. The Oregonian essentially issued some Class B stock!  The result is cheaper placements, better-targeted local advertising for clients, increased ad sales (and hopefully subsequent increased sales for their advertisers), and excellent fodder for a blog such as this.  

Local store marketing and the ensuing media planning strategy for one that owns a single store in a metro area as large as Portland will never be easy.  But when media vendors adapt and generate creative ways to "give the little guys a shot", all benefit.  Oh, also, Mr. Buffet, how about some Class C? I know our tax brackets are so disparate you'd think I lived in Cambodia, but something in the $10-$15 dollar range would be perfect. See you at the shareholders meeting!   

Perhaps the least hackneyed, most unforced example of product placement advertising I've ever seen appeared in the movie that made the phrase "that's what she said," famous.  "They made a 'The Office' movie?!" You wonder excitedly, if not a little clumsily because of the whole "a The" part.  No, there is no 'The Office' movie...  But there will be, relax.  The movie I'm referring to is the impeccable 1992 comedy--yes kids, 'that's what she said' is 18 years old and still alarmingly funny--Wayne's World.  In one particular scene, we find Wayne quickly cycling through the product-placement agreements the movie was committed to feature as he damns those that--very similarly--"sell-out" to big business.  Note Garth's Reebok get-up.  I'd pay hundreds for it if I could find it on eBay.

So what's new in the product placement arena these days?  Well, shucks, if you have a feeling it's become a new form of co-op advertising, you'd be correct.  See, whereas Pepsi, Pizza Hut, and Doritos probably plunked down hundreds of thousands of dollars for each of those blatantly--but remember, that's why they were effective--shameless plugs that were so "seamlessly" integrated into Wayne's World, advertisers lately have pulled off product placement at virtually no cost to them.  How?  Well, as MediaBuyerPlanner recently reported, via a co-operative structuring. 

Oscar bait and recent Clooney showcase, Up In The Air features American Airlines and Hilton Hotels placements almost as much as it does Clooney's muse (and Best Supporting Actress nominee) Vera Farmiga.  The deal?  Well, as the article outlines, hotel stays for the cast and crew and plane rentals for in-plane scenes were on the house--paid for by none other than Hilton and AA, respectively.  In return, of course, they'll enjoy all the benefit those product placements produce--on that note, I assume they'll accrue more benefit as the movie continues to grow in popularity given the recent Best Picture nod.  Although, as a media planner, I wonder how you measure ROI on product placements... hmmm...  *stroking chin*  Interesting medium... 

Is this the typical sort of thing we'd be able facilitate in Balihoo's co-op marketing software platform?  Perhaps.  We currently facilitate co-op advertising for more traditional mediums like TV, radio, magazines, etc.  But why not add product placements?  I'd love a crack at negotiating a client's request to product place in the next Nicolas Cage bomb.  Daydreams aside, it's an exciting time for the co-op model--and startups like Balihoo that foster collective ad spending--as firms discover increasingly inventive ways to band together in their marketing efforts to the benefit of all involved! 

So as I calmly slip into daydreams once again as Paparazzi by Lady Gaga blares in my ear buds, I imagine calling Gaga's producer, urging him to change the chorus to "Pe-Pa, Pe-Pa-Roniiiiii" in exchange for a lifetime of stuffed-crust pizzas to the satisfaction of recent client Pizza Hut and of course a very stuffed-crust-loving Lady Gaga. Now that's co-op advertising!

Do you feel as though that target on your back is growing? You should. Whenever I hear about the latest ad-targeting technique/software/service, I always imagine arrows tipped with arrowheads that read "Old Spice" or "Pantine Pro-V" hurling toward targets affixed to our backs that are made up of rings that say things like "Male", or: "Age 25-34", or even: "Retired-Southern-Religious, Would-Never-Drive-Anything-But-A-Buick, Lamenting-The-Days-Reagan-Was-In-Office-Senior". The shooters? Well, in that last case, probably Unger, maker of the vaunted Nifty Nabber.  In the first case, probably Unilever, the obvious scent-challenged maker of Axe products... as an aside, if you're a male aged 25-34 and you currently use an Axe product, STOP--in an attempt to smell better, you've managed to make yourself smell much worse (additionally, if a manufacturer makes a product for a sole purpose and that sole purpose is never fulfilled, it's probably time to start thinking about having another sole purpose [Tip: empty Axe bottles are great at filling that unused space in recycle bins!])

As MediaBuyerPlanner recently reported, Yahoo is working to help those advertisers (like Unilever) that engage in search and social media advertising, but yearn for better-targeting in these local internet marketing efforts.  As the article indicates, "Yahoo is developing a search app which takes into account the location of the mobile device, time of day, an event, information from the mobile user’s calendar, past behavior of the mobile user, weather, social networking data, aggregate behaviors, information about proximity of a social contact - or even the mobile user’s mode as determined by an avatar." 

Wow. That's quite a bit of data that a search from a mobile phone can deliver over a search from a traditional desktop. With internet usage and web searches on phones becoming increasingly more popular, and local advertising becoming increasingly more, well, local, Yahoo will do well to fully-develop this "contextual search results" idea.  Taking an event on Facebook, for instance, and marrying it to search results for a person searching Yahoo for a related event is just the kind of Web 2.0 synergy we've all been waiting for.  And think of how this might change franchise marketing: a consumer sees a national ad for the Flooring America name, does a quick search on their mobile device for 'Flooring America', and comes to find the Flooring America store just a few blocks from them is hosting an event that features a local designer and offers wine and cheese tasting!

Additionally, the fact that advances continue to be made in areas of search advertising just provide one more reason to include heavy internet marketing--including a social media component--as a part of any media planning strategy.  We media buyers aren't seeing large strides in demographic/location targeting in other mediums like radio or newspaper--an online presence MUST be a part of any solid recommendation.  And with The BIA Kelsey Group predicting mobile search ad revenues to grow into the billions by 2013, and Yahoo's recent progress, those that jump on the bandwagon sooner will be rewarded.  And to those conducting searches from your mobile phones: quit trying to shake the target on your back... the sharpshooters are only getting sharper from here.

Typically, it's wise to avoid products/ideas/music/phenomena with the prefix 'hyper'.  Just ask Zimbabwe about their bout with hyperinflation: a monthly inflation rate of 5,473%? Yes, that equates to 89.7 sextrillion percent annually.  Come again?  Sextrillion?  Yeah, apparently that's a number that is 10 to the 21st power.  There have been reports of wheelbarrows full of cash to purchase a 2 liter Pepsi, prices doubling every 24 hours, and the issuance of 1 billion dollar bills.  Warren Buffet could carry his fortune around in his wallet if we'd adopt 1 billion dollar notes--which leads to an interesting question: what president would adorn our 1 billion dollar bill?  Gerald Ford has my vote.  Anyway, I digress.  "Keep hyper-anything away from me," you're thinking.  Until now.

MediaBuyerPlanner recently reported on an interesting little company called Groupon.  Groupon runs a site that offers coupons on services that appeal to those in a hyper-(there's that word again!)-targeted area.  Users have the ability to filter their coupon results to areas as specific as Mongomery County > Washington D.C., for instance.  As the article indicates, the discounts are usually significant, sometimes totaling $50 or more.  Service providers signed up with Groupon are guaranteed a certain number of new customers.  Additionally, customers are given up to one year to redeem these coupons--coupons that are offered only 24 hours at a time. 

Excellent new local marketing ideas such as this from Groupon continue to change the landscape of local advertising as they successfully compile three simple ideas: the growing use of internet coupons (in lieu of those you might find in your Sunday paper), consumers' desire for discounts, and local marketers' desire to target their immediate markets with advertising. 

I think this is a step in the right direction as local marketing and media continue to move to the forefront of large corporations' marketing strategy.  The article notes that Borrell Associates predicts corporations like ESPN, AOL, and even Microsoft are all expected to "immerse themselves in local ad sales" in the coming years.  Expect ads that are almost scary-targeted from big business in 2010 and beyond.  Are we close to Minority Report-level ad targeting?  Don't be silly.  Worrying about frivolous things like that can lead to hypertension...

Public Television.  Although it may not be the most popular media vehicle for advertisers in this age of Twitter, a burgeoning blogosphere, and increasingly interactive outdoor advertising, it’s still a perfectly viable, albeit decidedly un-sexy, medium to consider in media planning strategy when attempting to reach a more…   how do I put this delicately?  Distinguished audience.  It’s fairly well-known in media circles that PBS reaches an audience that tends to be older, more affluent, and thus more likely to purchase luxury goods and services.  We think. 

Because of the rules that surround ‘advertising’ on Public TV, advertisers aren’t technically ‘advertising’ at all, they’re underwriting or sponsoring given programming—“Nova this evening is brought to you by Lear, specializing in all of your private jet setting excursions.”  These sponsorships are not allowed to feature calls-to-action or pricing information of any kind—additionally, (or perhaps interestingly is a better word) if you’re selling personal products, soap, etc., you might be out of luck: they’re reviewed on a case-by-case basis and if your ad features any “waist-to-knee” footage, you’ll receive a large “REJECTED, OVERT PBS VIOLATION” stamp on your sponsorship submission.  The collateral damage that results from these stringent FCC-enforced rules is a complete lack of ratings information.  Without ratings information, media planners are acting on a gut-feeling when recommending PBS to those dedicated to retail marketing.  “Well, we feel like this is a good fit for your Nantucket-based-boutique-400-thread-count-seersucker-robe business, but you’re just going have to trust us as we have NO data to back up our feeling.”

Until now. I found recently via MediaBuyerPlanner that PBS recently signed with ratings company Nielsen in an attempt to hopefully shed some much-needed light on what we’ve suspected all along: the Antiques Road Show has a lot of viewers.  Kidding aside, this is a very good thing: PBS is helping us planners to be surer about our choices, in turn allowing us to make our clients and their local advertising more successful.  Armed with the appropriate ratings data, we can either abandon previously-recommended PBS sponsorships or—and PBS is hoping it will go this way—ramp them up.  Don’t be surprised to see luxury goods producers/Centrum Silver clamoring for PBS underwriting in the coming months.  I just hope I can get through Masterpiece without constantly being reminded of the fact that I’ll probably never own a Rolex; amid my frustrations, however, I will thank them for “bringing me that programming”.