For all those who love UGC (user generated content) there is good news for you and your friends...Microsoft is introducing another star as part of its new consumer ad campaign: you.
Microsoft: I'm a PC
In its newest iteration, Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' campaign has gone user-generated.
Microsoft's "I'm a PC" campaign -- part of Crispin Porter & Bogusky's $300 million marketing ploy to help the computer maker regain some positive buzz lost to competitor Apple -- has launched yet another iteration, this time, going user-generated.
Keeping it real
The latest spots are a compendium of consumer-generated content based on "I'm a PC," which began airing last month. The new ads, which began running yesterday, string together what Microsoft calls "real PC users" from around the world who uploaded a video to Windows.com. Additional spots will be created using user-generated content from the site, Microsoft said, meaning that anyone who visits Windows.com and uploads a video has the chance to star in a future ad.
Submitting a video entails recording five seconds of footage using a webcam; simply state "I'm a PC," followed by something (non-obscene, naturally) you love to do. Individuals are then asked to choose a PC name, which will be displayed with the video.
Imaginations run wild
The end result features folks making mundane, sarcastic or downright bizarre pronouncements, from "I'm a PC and I like the slimming effect of a purple striped shirt" to "I'm a PC and by that I don't mean politically correct."
One spot groups together a number of user-created videos themed around food: "I'm a PC and I cook dinner every night" and "I'm a PC and I eat pancakes."
According to a Microsoft spokeswoman, in the first few weeks following the launch of "I'm a PC," more than 17,000 photos and videos were uploaded by consumers hoping to become part of the campaign, and "I'm a PC" videos have been viewed on the site almost 1.5 million times.
Microsoft hasn't set a timeline for creating and airing the next round of user-generated ads but said it is "fully committed to putting more on the air." Additionally, some user videos will be shown on digital billboards in New York's Times Square.
So are the people uploading pictures and videos actually real PC users, or are they merely looking for 15 seconds of fame? For its part, Microsoft doesn't really care.
Mac users welcome
In the frequently asked questions section of the site, it says: "I have a Mac, can I participate?" Microsoft's answer: "Of course you can. A Mac can be a PC too, most notably when it runs Windows Vista."
That's a friendlier stance than Apple took in one of the latest ads last week in its long-running and popular "Mac vs. PC" campaign. In a spot dubbed "Bean Counter," again featuring Justin Long as Mac and John Hodgman as PC, Apple snubs Microsoft's new ad campaign -- criticizing the company for investing more money on ads instead of fixing glitches in its Vista operating systems.
Incidentally, according to Visible Measures, which aggregates data on online viral videos, the first seven days of the new Apple ads notched 70% of the reach the PC ads snared in their first seven days. But Apple had double the number of unique placements -- sites that posted the video -- than Microsoft had, perhaps indicating Apple ads have more viral potential.
[credit : http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132094]
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Social Networkers Don't Mind Ads - Razorfish Report
Good news for Social Networking sites....
Advertising is not a turnoff to people who love social media Web sites. In fact, many MySpace and Facebook users said ads on their favorite social sites have prompted them to buy something, according to a new report from Razorfish.
In its survey-based publication named "FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report," the digital marketing agency says 76 percent of the 1,006 people surveyed said they didn't mind seeing ads when they logged-in to Facebook, MySpace or the other social media sites they frequent. Razorfish also found that 40 percent of the respondents said they made purchases due to seeing those ads.
However, while consumers see a place for advertising on social networks, advertisers should think beyond traditional approaches, said Garrick Schmit, group vice president of experience planning at Razorfish. He said successful ad campaigns can come in the form of fan pages, games, widgets, videos and other "social experiences. "These experiences, or types of content, are what engage users today and will increasingly become the vehicle to acquire them," said Schmit.
Razorfish describes the survey respondents as "connected consumers." It defines them as people with broadband access who spent at least $200 online in the past year, used a community site such as MySpace and consumed or made some type of digital media including videos and music.
"Connected consumers have enthusiastically embraced social media (both technologies and networking sites), are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly embracing new communication offerings like Twitter," says the report. It notes that these users are "challenging" publishers, advertisers and marketers to give them services they find useful even though those offerings "have no immediate monetization models."
The report suggests that smart marketers and publishers will figure out how to "merge tactics" so that the wall between content and ads is increasingly dissolved. "Content, in our view, will become advertising," the agency believes.
However, the report admits this evolution will not necessarily be easy. In fact, it says online advertisers and publishers are venturing into "uncharted territory," and need to take a scientific approach that will require new tools and services. Razorfish warns that "today's widget might become tomorrow's TV set" making it a challenge to understand and manage users' connections "with almost no explicit controls."
In the report the agency explains it was surprised to find 91 percent of respondents use Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask.com as their Internet homepages. Over 60 percent of these people have customized their homepages with content feeds and widgets. The report notes 55 percent said they use widgets with some frequency and 62 percent use them on sites such as Facebook and iGoogle.
The researchers found that, while those who view online videos don't mind the presence of advertising, they prefer banners and "newer, emerging forms of video" ads including tickers and interstitials to pre-roll video ads.
While video ads might not be as powerful as their makers might have us believe, Razorfish says retail loyalty programs -- such as Amazon's Prime and Best Buy's Reward Zone -- have a big impact on purchasing decisions.
"Clearly consumers are receptive to advertising with online videos, but the preference for companion banners speaks to the notion of choice," said Schmit. "People will always choose to click or view advertising that interests them instead of waiting for a pre-roll that may not align with their interests." Given the fact that most online videos are short, Schmit said "there's no joy" in watching a pre-roll that can be half as long as the clip itself.
The widespread use of widgets suggests people are comfortable "with the concept of distributed experiences" bolstering Razorfish's suggestion that content and services distribution is becoming more important than Web destinations. This is a big challenge for publishers, especially those focused on media and entertainment because they "currently have no clear path towards monetizing content distribution across the Web," says Razorfish.
"I definitely think there’s a place for a widget advertising network," said Schmit" He said photo-sharing sites Slide and RockYou do this well, and he noted widgets "get really interesting" when advertisers make content or services that are consumed and interacted with through widgets.
While Web destinations may no longer dominate, the report also notes that targeted, personalized recommendations offered by some sites can have an impact. Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they made repeat purchases from a Web site that sent them a recommendation based on their purchase history.
You could read the original story at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3631324
Advertising is not a turnoff to people who love social media Web sites. In fact, many MySpace and Facebook users said ads on their favorite social sites have prompted them to buy something, according to a new report from Razorfish.
In its survey-based publication named "FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report," the digital marketing agency says 76 percent of the 1,006 people surveyed said they didn't mind seeing ads when they logged-in to Facebook, MySpace or the other social media sites they frequent. Razorfish also found that 40 percent of the respondents said they made purchases due to seeing those ads.
However, while consumers see a place for advertising on social networks, advertisers should think beyond traditional approaches, said Garrick Schmit, group vice president of experience planning at Razorfish. He said successful ad campaigns can come in the form of fan pages, games, widgets, videos and other "social experiences. "These experiences, or types of content, are what engage users today and will increasingly become the vehicle to acquire them," said Schmit.
Razorfish describes the survey respondents as "connected consumers." It defines them as people with broadband access who spent at least $200 online in the past year, used a community site such as MySpace and consumed or made some type of digital media including videos and music.
"Connected consumers have enthusiastically embraced social media (both technologies and networking sites), are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly embracing new communication offerings like Twitter," says the report. It notes that these users are "challenging" publishers, advertisers and marketers to give them services they find useful even though those offerings "have no immediate monetization models."
The report suggests that smart marketers and publishers will figure out how to "merge tactics" so that the wall between content and ads is increasingly dissolved. "Content, in our view, will become advertising," the agency believes.
However, the report admits this evolution will not necessarily be easy. In fact, it says online advertisers and publishers are venturing into "uncharted territory," and need to take a scientific approach that will require new tools and services. Razorfish warns that "today's widget might become tomorrow's TV set" making it a challenge to understand and manage users' connections "with almost no explicit controls."
In the report the agency explains it was surprised to find 91 percent of respondents use Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask.com as their Internet homepages. Over 60 percent of these people have customized their homepages with content feeds and widgets. The report notes 55 percent said they use widgets with some frequency and 62 percent use them on sites such as Facebook and iGoogle.
The researchers found that, while those who view online videos don't mind the presence of advertising, they prefer banners and "newer, emerging forms of video" ads including tickers and interstitials to pre-roll video ads.
While video ads might not be as powerful as their makers might have us believe, Razorfish says retail loyalty programs -- such as Amazon's Prime and Best Buy's Reward Zone -- have a big impact on purchasing decisions.
"Clearly consumers are receptive to advertising with online videos, but the preference for companion banners speaks to the notion of choice," said Schmit. "People will always choose to click or view advertising that interests them instead of waiting for a pre-roll that may not align with their interests." Given the fact that most online videos are short, Schmit said "there's no joy" in watching a pre-roll that can be half as long as the clip itself.
The widespread use of widgets suggests people are comfortable "with the concept of distributed experiences" bolstering Razorfish's suggestion that content and services distribution is becoming more important than Web destinations. This is a big challenge for publishers, especially those focused on media and entertainment because they "currently have no clear path towards monetizing content distribution across the Web," says Razorfish.
"I definitely think there’s a place for a widget advertising network," said Schmit" He said photo-sharing sites Slide and RockYou do this well, and he noted widgets "get really interesting" when advertisers make content or services that are consumed and interacted with through widgets.
While Web destinations may no longer dominate, the report also notes that targeted, personalized recommendations offered by some sites can have an impact. Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they made repeat purchases from a Web site that sent them a recommendation based on their purchase history.
You could read the original story at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3631324
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Preventing Friday's mail screw up's - Googles New Feature
For those who have been following this space... I know i have disappeared for a while, thats just because there was too little time at hand :( [after you read this post, do not conclude that I've been partying :)]
Google comes with new features all the time and ofcourse, for a common cause. The latest feature is something we all have been thru (At least those of us who are party animals) and ofcourse tend to check mail [and reply] when we get back home [or wherever you call home :)] and when sanity returns, and expression says "WTF... did I do that"!!!!
So here it is Prevent sending mails you regret later... and your wondering what is this doing on "The Advertising blog" ??
Well, well if it wasn't Google's product feature [since they believe in clean & non-cluttered advertising), it was an amazing space for branding, especially for the likes of Chaser and so many others who have a party pill.
If there were cookies being set, each time you encountered the math in "Mail Googles", you'd probably be in Google's list of "drinking and mailing" and they'll identify you each time you log on & ofcourse, especially on Friday nights :)
You can read more at Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret
Cheeeerrrsss Googles
Google comes with new features all the time and ofcourse, for a common cause. The latest feature is something we all have been thru (At least those of us who are party animals) and ofcourse tend to check mail [and reply] when we get back home [or wherever you call home :)] and when sanity returns, and expression says "WTF... did I do that"!!!!
So here it is Prevent sending mails you regret later... and your wondering what is this doing on "The Advertising blog" ??
Well, well if it wasn't Google's product feature [since they believe in clean & non-cluttered advertising), it was an amazing space for branding, especially for the likes of Chaser and so many others who have a party pill.
If there were cookies being set, each time you encountered the math in "Mail Googles", you'd probably be in Google's list of "drinking and mailing" and they'll identify you each time you log on & ofcourse, especially on Friday nights :)
You can read more at Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret
Cheeeerrrsss Googles
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
