“The Web is essentially improvisational. … The Internet is the shortest, hardest wall against which your voice will echo back,” Colbert said. “It’s a big place, but, boy, you get an echo back really fast.”
- Steven Colbert

Well said, Mr. Colbert. Especially when it comes to marketing and your message, evidenced by Colbert’s attracting 78 members per minute.  Just when you thought no one was paying attention, think again.  Be prepared when you put content out there because the ‘echo back’ will happen immediately.  But for a good picture of who has got it right and to ignite your creativity, take a look at the winners (chosen from 8,000 entries), http://www.webbyawards.com/.

Some of the WEBBY winners:
Blog-Political: Huffington Post
Blog-Cultural: PostSecret
Magazine: National Geographic
Best mobile news site: CNN.com (voted by People’s Voice)
Newspaper: NYTimes.com
Politics: FactCheck.org
Community: Flickr
Weird: Passive-Aggressive Notes (Academy), I Can Has Cheezburger? (Popular Vote)
Social Networking: Flock The Social Web Browser (Academy), Facebook (Popular Vote)
Comedy - Long Form or Series: “Wainy Days”
 

Fast forward to the future (now)… How will this translate when company’s develop online advertising campaigns? The problem with advertising on the web today is that while the digital medium itself provides almost unlimited mechanisms for archiving, manipulating and retrieving information, most online ads have all the fleeting properties of a TV commercial.

So what are advertisers to do? Our goal is to make it easy for customers to translate electronic ads into redeemable coupons they can use at point-of-sale. For example, we could equip online ads with a clipping mechanism — a small scissor icon that, when clicked, would produce a printer-friendly stand-alone version of the ad with extended information for future reference. Online ad networks could offer a repository of all offers they serve and a link that says “view more offers from this vendor” or “view similar offers”. We could even offer cell phone ads, most cell phones have photo capabilities, companies could send ads to customers via cell phone that could then be scanned at point of purchase.

Nationally, companies usually get “buzz” after the game on YouTube and the talk shows, which can be beneficial (IF the commericial is a fan favorite, that is). Local advertisers who insert ads during the SuperBowl also can generate positive coverage, but I’m just not convinced that the buzz it may generate locally justifies the premium price point.

Or, put another way, I would probably advise a client that they’re better off buying more spots at a lower price point…unless they have money to burn.

Anyone think differently? What would you advise a business owner to do?

UPDATE: Here’s the 2nd most-recalled ad by Cheez-It:

Rounding out the Top 10 of Most-Recalled spots were commercials by: Target, Lowe’, Volkswagen, Dannon, Travelers Insurance, Cialis, Expedia and Pizza Hut. These were ads whose viewers could recall within 24 hours the brand of an ad they were exposed to during the normal course of viewing TV.

Meanwhile, the most-LIKED commercial was a new one featuring a pink peanut M&M being attacked by squirrels while reading a magazine on a park bench (no luck finding a link to that one yet, however).

See the complete list here.

So, a few tips on what EVERY news release MUST have:

1. Contact information. Seems like a no-brainer, but it’s not. And if you’re not in your office most of the time, then include an alternative way to get in touch with you. Deadlines wait for no man.

2. Date. So the media knows that they’re not dealing with outdated information.

3. An interesting, descriptive headline (and subhead if need be). Make it timely and topical. This is your best chance to getting a reporter’s attention.

4. The 5 Ws. Who, what, where, when, why - give ‘em all their answers up front. If reporters call because of your release, you want it to be for quotes that promote your organization’s mission…not for the address of where the new-product announcement is happening.

5. A reason to care. Editors and reporters can get dozens of releases - sometimes many more - every day. Make your information news-worthy so it grabs their attention. Before you send something, always ask yourself, “who cares?” If you answer, “no one,” rethink and rewrite it so that someone will.

6. Correct grammar & spelling. Proof read - sloppy writing will not win you any friends and just reflects poorly on your organization.

7. Company info. Include a brief description of your company - and your web address! - at the end.

Optional elements could include:

• A quote. Talk to a pertinent employee or customer & include their comments. Got a CEO who’s less than verbose? Write quotes for him/her and get a sign off if you must.

• Statistics, charts, graphs. Good, verifiable data - particularly if it ties in to a current industry or news trend - is like nectar to reporters. Find a nugget of data to tie into your release and you immediately broaden your announcement’s appeal and audience base.

In an future post, I’ll talk distribution and follow-up, two other keys to getting your news covered.

Yet when we calculate campaign effectiveness, or ROI, we overlook on-page ad placement. And this is primarily due to delivery reports (whether supplied by the publisher, the ad network or a third party) rarely indicate what percentage of the media buy was served above or below the fold.

“It’s give and take when it comes to ad placement,” said Alexys Ruiz, an account manager at Los Angeles-based Revolution Media. “You can purchase specific, prominent areas on a site like a leaderboard or skyscraper, but your CPM is going to be higher than if you just purchase a blanket run-of-site within a network. But I don’t think you go into it thinking that the trade-off is that people won’t see the lower-priced ads. You’re buying with the goal that your impressions will be viewed.” And that is the key. As informed buyers we have the opportunity to drive change. Not only in the way we purchase ad space but also in the way we pay for it. Whether that shakes out in terms of prime placement CPMs in niche markets or causes run-of-network or remnant prices to come down further remains to be seen.

Literally hundreds of students worked for months on these plans and the corresponding presentations. The two District 6 first-place winners - Columbia College in Chicago and Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. - will go on to the national competition in Atlanta in June.

What struck me was the unabashed enthusiasm these students have for what they were doing. They were totally invested in this project personally and professionally. While some of them may have had better plans, more creative ideas or slicker presentations, I think any one of them would be an asset to any agency or corporation.

We hear a lot about how the younger generation is lazier than the one that came before it and has a sense of entitlement to the benefits of hard work without ever having to do the hard work…but that wasn’t what I saw in Detroit.

In fact, I think the competition reminded us judges that we need to work harder and keep current in our industry…and that we need to keep a look out over our shoulder because the next generation of creative, innovative and hard-charging professionals is right behind us.

Here are a few tips by Aaron Wall that I have found helpful. Aaron offers some good insight into what to look for when selecting an SEO company. But when it comes down to choosing “the one”, don’t forget those old school business practices. Define the role of the consultant, interview the candidates, check references and evaluate all contracts. By choosing your SEO consultant carefully you will usually get the kind of end result you are looking for.

A recent article from MediaPost Publications highlights the exceptionally high rate of word-of-mouth recommendations by expectant and new mothers.  Overall, pregnant women and new moms engage in one-third more WOM conversations per day than women in general, and almost two-thirds of their conversations include brand recommendations, one study found.  The same study also showed that nearly 70% of this group deems what they hear from their fellow moms to be very credible, and 51% are likely to pass the information along to others and indicate intent to purchase based on the information.  As you would imagine, much of their conversation centers around children’s products, but it is evident that discussions go far beyond kid-oriented products/brands.  That’s the good news! 

Researchers point out that 76% of all U.S. moms say that they use the Net for support and guidance and 70% participate in online communities.  One case-in-point in our area is “mom’s place,” (www.nwherald.com/moms) a landing page linked from the Northwest Herald Newspaper’s front page online.

The numbers are clear that marketers should include WOM within the marketing objective;

·         make it easy for consumers to share info with one another

·         use artful storytelling to create differentiation in the customer’s mind

·         encourage participation, collaboration and contribution 

So, could your blog use some stories?  Have you looked at ways to reach this talkative segment of the market?  One thing is for certain, always include a ‘send to a friend’ option on email news and publications because most likely, they will.

Included was a special section about how small businesses can survive in light of a recession. Aside from not cutting your marketing and advertising budgets (see the ADWire post from March 17), there were several other worth-the-read tips, including these two pieces:

• How five Chicago-area entrepreneurs are using the threat of a recession to their advantage. (Check out the second item from Chip Miceli, owner of Des Plaines Office Equipment - he mentions the Rockford market in particular.)

• Action steps for surviving from an accountant…and what NOT to do in troubled times.