At Cannes, Search & Native Ads are Hot Topic

At Cannes, multiple digital trends and optimizations are being discussed by the likes of Marissa Meyer of Yahoo, and Nikesh Arora of Google. Their statements look to change the way the ad industry looks at digital and mobile.

For instance, Meyer and Yahoo announced the integration of Native Ads from Tumblr to Yahoo on Tuesday, and why native ads are considered the future of display:

• Viewers of native ads are 3.6 more likely to perform a branded search than viewers of traditional display
• 46% of millennial who noticed branded content say they consumed it
• 1/3 of those millennial shared the content

Additionally, Arora stated that search is “only 5% of where it should be.” With the standardization of mobile platforms (iOS and Droid) and the global scope of the digital connection, there is a lot more opportunity for search. Beyond smartphone devices, search can still exponentially increase as new mobile devices begin to enter the market, specifically Google Glass.

For more information, please see the articles below:

Search is Only 5% There

Digital Needs to Get Past Its Discomfort with Native Ads

Yahoo to Bring More Ad Formats to Tumblr

Pinterest Finally Launches Promoted Pins Beta

After several months of testing, Pinterest launched their promoted pins pilot program last week with a small group of advertisers.
















As demonstrated in the photo, the ads will:

• Functionally act like a native pin
• Appear in users’ search results and category feeds
• The promoted pins will also always appear in the top row of the results
• Contain a “sponsored” tag on the pin

Although commitment costs are high, and targeting functionality appear a bit sub-par, at this time:

• Pilot program runs about $150k/month with a required media investment for 6 months
• Targeting is limited to location, language, gender and device 
• However, this is expected to evolve along with the ad product

Looking forward to see how these perform or turn some brand lifts/ROI.

Key Moments in Social Media

After a great Social Media Week panel with the likes of Social Code, Livestream and BuzzFeed, we heard a lot of the same stuff: 

Social TV is not going away. Users are engaging with live TV events (like Super Bowl, award shows, sports, etc) while on social within their mobile devices.

• We should be selective for the events in which we engage on live events
• For Example:  Pepsi only held a live event war room for the Grammy’s and Super Bowl as they have a larger presence for these events. It gives them more of a reason, and more content to work with, when engaging on these programs.

Listen to, and think like, Customers:

• Become more “Data Driven” but with the right data points based on campaign KPIs
• Continue to join existing conversations, rather than creating your own so we can become a part of the community
• Evaluate if you would share your branded content as a user first - if the answer is no, don't publish it!

But, some information is nice to hear again as a reminder for brands: 

Think moneyball strategy for content strategy with 3 types of content:

• Evergreen strategy: maintain the “always on” organic posts that support the brand and marketing goals (long tail)
• Seasonal strategy: Layer in relevant content to join the existing conversations
• Real-time integrations: Plan around a tent-pole moment and react to real time moments (like Sponsorship opportunities)

Content has a shelf-life. Revisit it and repurpose it when we can:

• Think about the platform shelf-life:
• Twitter = 2-3 days
• Facebook = 5-7 days
• Instagram = 5-7 days
• Pinterest = 60-90 days
• Some evergreen content can be repurposed – evaluate how to optimize and bring back to the platforms especially if the content worked well the first time

Follow me at @CourtRache for some more live moments for the last day of SMW!

Twitter & TV are Better Together

As we look back on the success stories for this year’s Super Bowl ads, it’s apparent that TV and Twitter can be extremely powerful when used together.

Through recent Twitter studies and articles we found that:

• 31 total hashtags were used in 57% of nationally-run Super Bowl ads, up from 50% last year, according to #Hashtagbowl 
• #Hashtags in TV ads drive positive brand conversations 
• TV ads that featured hashtags had 42% more Tweets about the ads than those without hashtags 
• Additionally, Esurance asked TV viewers to enter their #EsuranceSave30 sweepstakes on Twitter to win an extremely enticing prize. Esurance accrued 3 Million tweets, with 200,000 coming in the first minute after the ad aired.
• The success is tied to both, a great prize and the tie of Twitter and TV 
• Twitter keeps viewers tuned in to advertising 
•  The use of Twitter while watching TV, decreased the likelihood of users changing the channel while watching the ad 
•  Twitter makes TV ads more effective 
•  Viewers who watched TV without a second-screen had an average TV ad recall of 40% while those who watched TV while using Twitter, had an ad recall of 53%, as shown below

This research helps drive home that using hashtags in ads should be a best practice. When this combination is used with large scale events, like the Super Bowl, it is beneficial for both brands and viewers.

To learn more about this Twitter study and why TV and Twitter are better together, click here. See the full infographic below:

Super Bowl Social Wins (Still, none for Peyton)

Forget the TV spots, during the boring Super Bowl on Sunday, you could have been entertained on social media instead.

Thank you, Twitterverse, for hours of fun.

Here are some of the great engagements, conversations, and social posts from brands that just "get it:"

Oreo's Sits this one out...

Hey guys…enjoy the game tonight. We’re going dark. #OreoOut

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 2, 2014

Dorito's Human Dorito at MetLife:

Are we making you hungry? #Doritos pic.twitter.com/NyFEcL4TV9
— Doritos (@Doritos) February 2, 2014

DiGiorNOYOUDIDNT:

YO, THIS GAME IS LIKE A DIGIORNO PIZZA BECAUSE IT WAS DONE AFTER TWENTY MINUTES #SuperBowI #SuperSmack #DiGiorNOYOUDIDNT
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) February 3, 2014

Spiderman:

Need a hand, Peyton? #SpiderMan #SB48 pic.twitter.com/QrkkbZ8fnQ
— Spider-Man (@SpiderManMovie) February 3, 2014

RadioShack #InWithTheNew Campaign Support:

Out w/ the old, #InWithTheNew! For the next 24hrs, we're giving away all our old '80s stuff! http://t.co/SzvbDQmSlj pic.twitter.com/wI8hipTmhs
— RadioShack (@RadioShack) February 3, 2014

SNICKERS Connecting with (drunk) JCPenney:

Eat a #SNICKERS, you’re not you when you're hungry RT @JCPenney Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
— SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) February 3, 2014

Tide Vines:





And for the brand trying to be real time.. and just being well..:

Little known fact @RealJoeNamath and us have the same tailor. Who wore it better? #smartWrapMe #SB48 #joenamathscoat pic.twitter.com/VLlXkq7l7J
— Official smart USA (@smartcarusa) February 3, 2014

Happy Anniversary, Facebook.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Facebook.

Through the 10 years, Facebook went from small university network, to a worldwide movement.

I feel as though I've seen it all being on the platform for nearly 9.5 years.  Take a look at your history on Facebook with a look back. 

Also, thanks to Mashable for this great infographic:

2014 Marketing Resolution: Break Through The Digital Clutter

Image from: IMI

As users’ newsfeeds become overcrowded and saturated we must evaluate the best ways to be seen and heard, online. Below, you can find some key tips from a series of articles and ebooks that we can explore when creating and amplifying compelling content:

1. Get into the mindset of a publisher by looking for content that supports our niche, and then give users a fresh perspective on it.
• Likeminded brands are posting similar content so anything produced needs to be cool and captivating.
2. Add muscle by including multimedia elements to create richer content.
• Provide a balance of snackable and long-form content.
•  Magazine-style narratives and multimedia experiences provide long-form experiences rather than the quick-hit meme. Ensure how the multimedia content will be viewed on mobile and within search
3. Leverage paid and organic SEO so content can be found.
• Answer the specific needs of niche audiences but the only way it will be read is if it’s found, paid media is one piece of that puzzle.
• The other piece of the puzzle is crafting content with SEO and content marketing in mind.

Curating content that fans can get excited about paired with the right paid media strategy and SEO, will help marketers garner impressions and lengthening reach.  As we move into a new year, we will see brands and companies continue to test new tactics and initiatives.

For detailed articles and information on breaking through the clutter, please see the ebook and articles below:

How to Make Content That Stands Out

What Makes Content Stand Out? Hint: originality is key

9 Steps to Creating Good Content for Your Brand