For the last few years I have been convinced that running Facebook ads is a pretty solid strategic choice. At the same time I found them creatively limiting: tiny pics or video thumbnails and condensing the message into a slither of straight-to-the-point copy. In light of Facebook’s multi-billion IPO comes news that Facebook ads are also not quite as effective as we might think. At least when you compare them to those of the other digital ad juggernaut, Google.
This infographic done by WordStream isn’t necessarily well executed. Actually it is quite difficult to orient yourself. But it does contain some interesting numbers. Facebook has less reach, and their ads are less effective with an average click-through rate of 0.051 percent (0.1 percent web wide, 0.4 Google). And since GM just pulled $10 million worth of Facebook ads you might just want to hold off on your Facebook share purchase.
On Monday we attended Google’s creative breakfast session, this one on mobile. Stats and creative examples presented by Brendan Forster drove the main points home:
Australia is a global leader(!) in smartphone penetration and usage
mobile is fully mainstream yet businesses lag in the development of mobile destinations and experiences
mobile search is very local and focused (customers are much closer to conversion)
we use our mobiles a lot at home
together with the tablet it has become the ideal TV companion.
It was nice to see that Google featured our Mojo/Razorfish/UofSydney mobile prototype “Brandtable” with which we explored near-field-communication (NFC)
Have a look at the a couple of presentation screenshots below and download the PDF here. You can also mobile-test your client’s current site or your own work by feeding it into this site. The numbers and videos will surely help you during your next ‘Why we need to think of mobile upfront” discussion.
There is much talk about President Obama’s re-election efforts marking a new pinacle of digital marketing. He has wowed the world with his original success of almagamating thousands of online supporters and donors in 2008. Now his team is on the verge of releasing a new milestone in digital grassroots marketing. Simply called ‘Dashboard’ it is the work of statisticians, predictive modellers, data mining experts, mathematicians, software engineers, bloggers and internet advertising experts.
All this was made for the organisers to have a real-time master view of the effect their campaign has. And to predict where more effort is needed and where they can relax. It makes it easier for local organisers to tap into an existing supporter base and it even contains competitive elements (gamification anyone?) to compel supporters to outdo each other. No wonder then that this American election is being called the ‘Facebook vote’ or the ‘data election’. Check out and register for a test run here.
This ‘dashboard’ makes me draw parallels to software like ‘Spotify’ that can predict a better tour schedule for up-and-coming bands, based on the listening history of fans using the streaming service. And the truth is, the better you can predict how your messaging reverberates and model your efforts accordingly, the more success you will have.
In this week’s Klubi we focus on the power of sports in social media and explore some of the inspirational content that’s creating buzz online.
The London Olympics have already been dubbed the first ‘Social Media Olympics’ and yes – there is an app for that. Or rather, an entire social media platform, the ‘Olympic Athletes’ Hub’. Billed as a ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘social connector of conversations between athletes and fans’ by Alex Huot, Head of Social Media for the IOC, this is only the beginning of the Olympic fervor which will sweep across all platforms in the next few months.
The Olympic Athlete’s Hub – London 2012
One of the first Olympic videos to debut is P&G’s ‘BestJob’ Olympic TVC directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel, Nike ‘Write the Future’) which thanks mothers for their role in shaping today’s Olympians. An inspirational piece shot in London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing, the ad has screened globally as part of a larger integrated social media campaign.
P&G ‘Best Job’ London 2012
The ad recalls the critically acclaimed TVCs The Palace produced for Westpac for the Sydney Olympics.
Westpac Sydney 2000
It’s not easy being Michael Jordan. Especially when you’re not that Michael Jordan, you know – the one they call the greatest basketball player of all time. ESPN have created a funny ad about a poor guy who just can’t live up to the legend of his name.
ESPN – It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports
While ESPN’s ad is notable for the complete absence of Michael Jordan, he certainly featured in many classic marketing campaigns over the years, whether Nike’s memorable stop-motion ‘Frozen Moment’ commercial or this golden piece of 90’s nostalgia by Gatorade.
Gatorade – Be Like Mike
One of the most inspirational and just plain awesome pieces of content on the web right now is Tupac’s resurrection at Coachella where his holographic image performed before awe-inspired crowds. There’s even talk of a tour. In the not so distant future we will not only be singing along with legends, but athletes’ will literally be chasing the ghosts of champions past in their bid for glory.
Tupac at Coachella
To end with I’m going to throw in an example from one of my favourite sporting advertising campaigns of all-time, the NHL’s 2010 award-winning History Will be Made campaign. Both poignant and inspirational, it generated more than 2,400 fan-created copies and parodies online and made the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs the most watched in 36 years.
In this week’s edition we discover how the use of technology can make life fun and sometimes a little easier. From riding a bike, to changing tunes and even satisfying your thirst, technology has played a role. Read on to find out how.
Who would have thought the days of free hugs would result in this. Well now all it takes is a simple show of affection and you too can score yourself a free can. Thanks to the Coca-Cola Hug Machine all it takes is a simple hug. #hugmecoke
Problem 101 of travel. Translation. Technology for a long time has tried to provide a solution to this problem. Solutions have come in the form of paper books, electronic gadgets or even humans themselves. Well now the crew at Bing have thrown their hat in the ring with a slick phone app experience. Introducing the new Translator app for Windows Phone. An app that uses augmented reality to make any translation as easy as point, shoot, translate. Check it out.
This one is for the trendy street kids. In a world first the guys at Cogoo in Japan have created a device that transforms your bike into a DJ turntable. Check out the video below to see it in action.
Imagine being at home on the couch or by the pool relaxing with some tunes in the background and then all of a sudden a track you hate comes on. The remote is just out of reach and the last thing you want to do is get up to change it. Well now the problem has been solved thanks to Agency Republic’s cool interactive poster called ‘Change the Tune’. A simple poster that has some wicked technology hooked up to it. The poster is embedded with a ‘knock’ sensor that detects vibrations and is connected to a board that syncs with the music system. So all you gotta do now is throw something at it. It’s that easy. I’m bending the rules here cos this is actually on vimeo. Oooops.
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