Just for Fun

Marketers buying time during the Super Bowl broadcast face challenges in determining the return on investment of their spots. They’ll face even more challenges if their websites aren’t designed to handle resulting surges in traffic… and Yottaa.com, a website optimization firm, is betting they aren’t.

Yottaa has released its predictions for the five sites most likely to either crash entirely or slow down considerably during the big game. They are, in order of likelihood: more

Three new videos from the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) seek to inform consumers to the use, value and control of banner ads. There is good intent behind these spots: Consumers should have the value of behavior-based ads demonstrated, and they should be alerted that there are ways to control the ads they are shown.

Unfortunately the script, sound effects and visuals combine to create three of the most unwatchable ads ever produced. The ads, which were generated for the DAA (a coalition of several advertising groups, including the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Direct Marketing Association, the Interactive Bureau and a handful of others) were produced pro bono by MRM Salt Lake City. They’re almost worth the price.

The spots use retro ’50s style art and graphics, which serve only to draw attention to the images and away from the message. The scripts go for stunningly unfunny wacky humor, and in the process overshadow the messages the ads are trying to convey. The text graphics pop, pulse, spin and otherwise manage the neat trick of distracting from themselves. more

So much for home-field advantage. Among the top 10 companies an American Express/National Retail Federation Foundation survey recognized for excellence in customer service, fully half are pure-play online marketers. As in, no brick-and-mortar presence whatsoever. more

Time magazine has several elements that reinforce its brand. Its distinctive red cover border, the central positioning and font of its logo and its reliance on single, full-page cover images all evoke the Time magazine feel.

Since 1927, Time has linked another element to its brand – its annual Person of the Year issue. While the idea of awarding an individual annual honor is widely duplicated, the concept is tied more closely to Time magazine than any other entity.

The key aspect of this element is selecting a person. Marketers immediately grasp the benefit of choosing an individual: It’s the resulting discussions. Love the pick, hate the pick. Water-cooler conversations over a specific person incorporate the magazine’s name. Reinforce the idea of a person of the year and build that brand, baby. more

Below were my 2011 marketing predictions. Let’s journey together and see if my crystal ball needs cleaning:

I can’t really claim these are anticipated, but here they are, my 2011 predictions advertising/marketing/communication specific to the New Year. For the record, my last few years’ predictions have been accurate. Use or dismiss this prose at your discretion.

Prediction #1: Video will play a keener role in website conversions, and marketing as a whole. It’s already happening and with YouTube the second most popular search engine (that’s right, only Google is bigger), it just makes sense. Zappos and other sites already know this, so test video on your site(s) and watch conversions skyrocket. As such, SEO/SEM will play a critical role in marketing effectiveness next year.



Video is being added to every new website that we now build and is being incorporated into old sites as well. YouTube continues to grow, so I would say this was spot-on. How often do you view video content on websites compared to one year ago?

Prediction #2: Consumer and Business purchasing decision-makers are changing their buying patterns because of advances in technology and the ubiquity of information that can be had on Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Bing, Rock Melt and the like. Thus, those who understand data – specifically how that data relates to transactional occurrences by each KEY target market segment – will rule the day. This applies to both customer and prospect segments. We have trained buyers to this fact: know intuitively who I am, what I am seeking and make it as easy as possible for me to do/continue to do business with you. Those companies that don’t understand this will be watching their bottom lines evaporate.

The web is blurring the lines between B2B and B2C marketing. Relevancy is the key to making me want to buy from you. Agree?

Prediction #3: Larger companies will hire more reputation mangers to make sure they can react swiftly to the chatter – specifically the negative chatter – that is so easy to post and even easier to go viral in 2011 and beyond. It’s a trend that will continue to grow and customers/prospects gain more powerful customer relation options thanks to the the web. more

Both Zynga, the online games company whose offerings include Farmville, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker, and Groupon, the daily deal site, are dot-coms which deal primarily in virtual goods. They hold no physical inventory and rarely generate transactions that result in drop-shipped deliveries.

Despite this, the Zynga IPO, unlike the one presented by daily deal firm Groupon, doesn’t make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The differences are rooted in how each company presents and markets itself. more