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Why Kodak Is Using DRTV in Addition to Brand Advertising for Its Printing Products

By Beth Snyder Bulik
Published: August 27, 2009

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) — The phrase “As seen on TV” might bring to mind Snuggie, ShamWow and PedEgg but probably not a venerable American brand that invites you to share the most important moments of your life.

Yet for Kodak, direct-response TV has become an effective and preferred way to reach consumers in the year and a half that the company has used it.

 Good Read: Drake Morton

Five Ways To Measure Social Media

by Jim Sterne , Friday, August 28, 2009

Ahhhhh — social media. Addictive. Fun. Downright social!

But how valuable is it? How do you tell?

There are dozens of reckoning tools online to tally up any and all countable social media elements. Most of them are interesting and some actually useful. Rather than drill down into specifics, let’s take a bird’s-eye view of the types of measurements that might prove useful to the marketing professional.

We’re looking to answer these questions: (more…)

 You Need to Read: Drake Morton

WPP Profit Dropped 47%

in Second Quarter

More Than Half of Company’s Revenue Came From Nontraditional Advertising

By Michael Bush
Published: August 26, 2009

       NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Using words such as “severe” and “surprise” to describe the recession’s impact on its business, WPP, the world’s largest advertising conglomerate, said today that its profit was down 47% for the second quarter. And WPP Chief Executive Martin Sorrell said it will be a while before marketing executives begin to spend and take chances the way they did just a few years back.

 ”Given the fact that we stared into the abyss six or nine months ago, people are going to take a long time to go back to where they were,” Mr. Sorrell said. “It’s going to be a long time before this generation of managers, who were managing businesses that are faced with the extinction of credit lines, severe sales compression and inventory being eradicated, begin to take risks. They won’t until they are 100% sure things are on the uptrend.”

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Corporate Use of Social Networking

Still an Executive Concern

According to a study by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law, senior US marketing, management and HR executives are concerned about the risks of increased use of social networks within their companies. 51% percent of these executives fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity, while 49% assert that using social media could damage company reputation.
Despite these apprehensions, says the study, social networking is being accepted as a key communications strategy. According to survey results:

• 81%     believe social media can enhance relationships with customers/clients
• 81%     agree it can build brand reputation
• 69%     feel such networking can be valuable in recruitment
• 64%     see it as a customer service tool
• 46%     think it can be used to enhance employee morale (more…)

Did you know? Drake Morton

Beyond The 30-Second Spot: Online Video Trends   

by Chris Lawing , Friday, August 21, 2009

Brand Videos

Marketing your company online isn’t what it used to be. Words alone are not enough.  A Diffusion Group study projects that by 2013, long-form video will represent almost 70% of online-video ad revenue, up from just over 40% today.  The great attraction to this form of video is not only can company sales and marketing teams leverage a company brand video, they can push it to customers on their Web site, blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts. Good storytelling, believability and creative visuals still make the foundation for a powerful brand video.

Whatever you call it - a brand video, company demo, video intro to your company - this online video represents what your company is positioning or selling in a dynamic way with motion and sound.  Apple showcases video right off its home page with its commercials and an iPhone demo. B&H in New York City has a SuperStore Experience video off its homepage, which showcases the store, products, and customer relations.

VerbalEyes

Video eMessaging

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You need to know: Drake Morton

You need to know: Drake Morton

Analytics As A Secret Weapon

by Jodi McDermott

Competing on analytics sounds like a good thing, but is your organization actually living it?  This past OMMA Metrics and Measurement conference in San Francisco, we heard several agencies talk about how analytics aren’t just a piece of the business, but are the key drivers in helping their clients kick the s#$t out of their competitors. Knowing how to successfully arbitrage and optimize the trigger points of the entire funnel through the use of technology and ingenuity takes not just smart minds but incredible discipline and stamina.

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Need to Know: Drake Morton

FTAF Vs. SWYN

by Chad White , Tuesday, August 11, 2009

When I released a report last week showing that forward-to-a-friend (FTAF) usage among the top online retailers was four times greater than share-with-your-network (SWYN), it surprised some people in the industry.

While only 12% of retailers use SWYN, 48% use FTAF — and FTAF adoption is up from 44% in 2006. That said, SWYN adoption is up from essentially 0% early last year, so it’s growing rapidly.
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 How better to share a Word-Of-Mouth experience then Proactive Video eMail: Drake Morton

Brand Spending on WoM Marketing on Fast Track

According to new research from PQ Media, spending on word-of-mouth marketing rose 14.2% to $1.54 billion in 2008, despite the worst economic recession in 70 years. However, WoM spending is on pace to grow another 10.2% this year, placing it among the fastest growing advertising and marketing segments. By comparison, the U.S. economy, as well as the advertising and marketing services sectors are all expected to decline in 2009 for the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
PQ Media defines WoM marketing as an alternative marketing strategy which encourages consumers to dialogue about products and services through various online and offline tactics, often facilitated by brand ambassadors.

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