Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertiser, adwords, google, Google maps, interactive, local business, location-based technology, maps, marketing, Media, Pittsburgh, real estate, small business, street view, virtual, Wal-mart, world domination
It used to be an old joke between my friend Heather and I that Wal-mart was going to take over the world. She worked for a contracted service within their stores and thus did nearly all her shopping there. Conversely, I refused to shop there for reasons too numerous to mention. But now, Heather and I may need to revise the old joke to read that Google will be the new world leader. I don’t know if you have heard, but Google makes news on a daily basis, especially here in Pittsburgh where they are expanding their Burgh-based tech center out of CMU’s campus and into a big new space in the East End, adding a slew of new jobs to our market.
And today, there’s news about Google in China, several allegedly-hacked GMAIL accounts of human rights activists and organizations, and a possible revision of the agreement the Chinese government and Google have about censoring certain search results.
And don’t forget about the Google Nexus One phone and the possible Google tablet design partnership with HTC. All of the above makes news in tech circles, which unfortunately, I don’t know much about. But in the world of marketing, there is big news on the Google front…Google has been granted a patent to “identify posters, billboards and buildings within the Street View online maps” so they can sell the ad space to advertisers!
The patent is listed as “Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or 3D Mapping Environments for Advertising” and will allow the search giant to replace the ads featured in Street View from when the original photography took place for that area, and create a new ad to fill the existing space. This is exciting news for marketers. Just imagine…you’re a local business owner, maybe a retail store, and you’re located at the corner of Elm and Main. This application would allow you to place a current relevant ad in the Street View map near your actual location, perhaps for an upcoming sale or for a new line or merchandise. This ad would also show up in the Google search results for your business name, bringing in even more traffic as your outlet would be even easier to find!
For example, take a look at the photo below; a street view search I performed for an area of the Pittsburgh with several ever-changing billboards:
In this example, an advertiser would be able to place their ad in place of the existing ad for State Farm and Ball Funeral Chapel. This could be an ad for the car dealership which is just out of sight to the right of this intersection, or an ad for the McDonald’s on the opposite corner.
But the scariest part of this concept is that local businesses, who would most likely benefit greatly from such an ad vehicle so close to home, may be squeezed out by national corporations who simply want to buy up as much ad space in the new medium as possible. The patent states “The link can alternatively be associated with an advertiser who placed the highest bid on the image recognized within the region of interest (e.g., poster, billboard, banner, etc.).”
This is because the ad spaces in Street View may be subject to the same rules as Google’s Adwords tool which means they would go to the highest bidder.
To explain my point, consider the available ad spaces in the above photo could be snatched up by Best Buy or TGIFriday’s, whose locations are more than 20 minutes away from the intersection in question, but whose ad budgets are a great deal larger than the car lot at the physical corner. The amazing ability to advertise in this virtual real-estate medium could cause an even greater crunch to the small businesses which are already struggling to compete in a recessed economy. This medium would also be a great way for local politicians to campaign in a virtual sense, right in the ‘location’ where their constituents live, but how can the local county-controller-hopeful compete with yet another ad for Starbucks or American Idol?
And just like retail-giant Wal-mart’s ability to force American owned firms into closure with their practice of buying tons of cheaper made foreign goods, the Google model might allow mega-corporations to out-advertise the little guys in their own virtual back-yard! Don’t get me wrong, I love Google and use it daily, but the worse-case scenario is that Google may become just like Sam Walton’s dream-gone-awry…crushing American small businesses with one hand while handing its people their only affordable daily living options with the other hand. Personally, I feel that the specifics of the patent and ensuing procedure for ad purchase should allow local business owners a first-dibs ability to buy an ad within a certain proximity to their physical location so the backbone of our country, our small businesses, aren’t swallowed up by yet another marketing trick. Google should show some respect for small business owners, especially as we now face the reality of new location-based marketing technology, and even more opportunities for Main Street America’s economic recovery and growth.
What do you think?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: campaign, cheese, crust, Domino's, dominos.com, Kuben, marketing, newpizza, pizza, sauce, taste, YouTube
New campaign, new commercial, new dedicated website to the change…yeah, I’ve been hearing about the new pizza at Domino’s and watched the video about how the changes came about. If you haven’t seen, check it out here:
Well, it made me want pizza. The campaign seems very transparent; they show actual focus groups and employees of Domino’s expressing their genuine reactions to the news that their pizza sucks. As soon as I saw the blog about the campaign, I decided that I had to order the new pizza and give it a thorough taste-test. So being that it’s New Year’s Day, and I have nothing to do but watch the Criminal Minds marathon, it was a good day to try a few slices…in the name of marketing research.
First, I went to their website, to look at the menu and see the closest location to where I live. In order to look at the menu, you have to enter your street address, so the menu for your area will come up. The same requirement comes up for the coupons page. This is smart because if the casual web viewer goes through the process, it is that much easier for them to take the next step and place an order for delivery. I utilized the site to place my order online, and it was very easy. The new pizza is the hand-tossed and the pizza builder allows you to adjust the amount of toppings and add side dishes, sauces and drinks. The only thing it wouldn’t let you do is add toppings to half a pizza. Once you play, you can register for easier delivery in the future and also track your pie. This was a pretty cool, and even updates you when your pizza goes in the oven, but the time it stated was in the future. For instance, the message “your pizza went into the oven at 8:32 pm” but the time on the computer, and on my cell phone, was only 8:30. Estimated delivery time was right on target, as the order system stated that the order would arrive in 31-41 minutes and it came in 32 minutes. We had to tip the driver in cash at the door, as the order system didn’t allow the ability to add it to the credit card. I can see the customer assurance in that procedure, as the tip is meant to be an action after good service and if the customer had an issue with the delivery then the tip would be harder to retrieve. But the convenience of not having to use cash at all in the order process is becoming more prevalent in delivery food service, at least in my area. I could however add a tip at the door onto the credit card, but enough about the process…
How was the taste? Both the video and the order site mention that the crust is ‘garlic-seasoned crust with a rich, buttery taste.’ I didn’t get that at all. Although the texture and consistency of the crust is chewy and a great base for the other toppings, it was not all garlicky or buttery. Perhaps the new garlic butter is to be brushed on after baking and it may have been forgotten. Too bad. The taste of the crust was rather bland after so much hype. Unfortunately, my pizza’s crust didn’t look like Adam Kuben’s did;
Adam Kuben's slice
Nor did I get any hint of the mild garlicky flavor that Adam found in his slices, which you can read more about here.
My pizza didn’t have that garlicky look to the crust:
My slice
Another view of my slice
The sauce was delicious though and actually caused me to say ‘mmmm’ after several bites; zesty and lightly sweet. The cheese was also good and I could tell it was real cheese and not just some imitation. The toppings were just as I ordered them, but one dipping sauce was forgotten. Not too bad but not a perfect experience. I would suggest some greater input from Domino’s HQ to ensure the new recipe is followed with 100% accuracy. But I can see where a new process might need the have the kinks worked out for a few weeks. While I am not going to start ordering exclusively from Domino’s in the future, as I really like non-chain restaurants, I will probably consider them in the future so that I can have more of that delicious sauce, truly the only real change toward delicious that I found in the new pizza.
So there’s the latest news from the S.I.N…over and out!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: brand, career, facebook, interactive, marketing, social media, social networking, twitter
While conducting my statistics and researching my past 28 posts, I see I have learned a great deal in just 8 short weeks. Before this class I wasn’t on Facebook, now I avidly check in about every 2-3 days. I was greatly opposed to Twitter, thinking the persons who use this tool were all narcissists or celebrity gossip hounds. Now I am on Twitter and have found it very helpful with class. I have followers who post informative links, I can talk to friends, and I can continue my education on social media.
(Retrieved from http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/social-media-people.JPG)
In addition, this class helped me to secure a new job. I began interviewing after the first few weeks of class, when I knew about some of these new media methods, but not how to utilize them yet. This knowledge allowed me to discuss these methods with increasing knowedge and confidence during my three interviews and I am currently researching how to apply Facebook, Twitter and its various tools, and blogs into the communications with members of the non-profit union at which I am employed. This is an exciting time for professionally and educationally!
Of all the interesting things I have learned about social media, here are some highlights:
1. On Social Media in both the online and offline world: “No one lives in a 100% online world and limiting social media to only online is very short-sighted.”
And
2. On taking a long-term view on how new media should be used: “You can take a short term approach, but the minute you stop doing what you are doing it fades away,” both quotes from CC Chapman of the non-traditional marketing agency The Advance Guard, (Baer, 2009).
3. “You should also check out Twibs, an online business directory within Twitter. You can list your business or product within the directory and gain access to millions of eyeballs. Twitter had seven million unique visitors last month. Interestingly 62% of those people used Twitter for work purposes,” (Davey, 2009).
(Retrieved from http://www.mariareyesmcdavis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/032309-twibsbusinesstwitterdirectory2.jpg)
4. “Expect any social media program to take at least 2.5x the amount of time and resources a traditional PR approach normally would. You need to plan ahead,” Jenna Boller.
And
5. “Before you jump in with a ‘me too’ Twitter account,” ask yourself these questions: 1. Is your audience on Twitter? 2. What do you want to get out of Twitter? 3. Who will Tweet for your company?” Kim Terca, (both from Page One PR, 2009).
There are many things to consider when getting yourself and your brand involved in these new media outlets. As in all marketing and advertising ventures, DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST. It’s not really possible to go back and start all over again and it’s bad for the brand.
References:
Baer, J. (2009, June 4). “CC Chapman – The Twitter 20 Interview on Telling Stories and Humanizing Brands.” Retrieved July 11, 2009 from http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-marketing/cc-chapman-the-twitter-20-interview/
Davey, J. (2009, April 23). Response to “I am a Novice when it Comes to Marketing via Social Media. Help!” Retrieved July 11, 2009 from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/social-media/20090423-i-am-a-novice-went-it-comes-to-marketing-via-social-media-help.html
Page One PR. (2009). “Archives: Posts Tagged Twitter.” Retrieved July 11, 2009 from http://www.pageonepr.com/blog/tag/twitter/
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aka-aki, digital signage, facebook, Food Service, GPS, iPhone, marketing, Pittsburgh, Spinal tap, twitter, YouTube
Digital signage, the kind that I am used to seeing at the convenience store register, is being pushed as a great way for restaurants to increase patronage. This may work better for walk-ins in high foot-traffic areas (say Downtown Pittsburgh) as it would seem that a roadside billboard would have not only a high price tag (for just one business) but also may have some zoning issues. Starmount Systems is a digital signage firm that offers solutions that may help brand promotion, can be designed to run entertainment content so that wait times seem shorter at busy establishments or peak times of day, and can also highlight new menu items, promotions or daily specials, (Starmount, 2009).
This idea could be a great addition or replacement for the standard back-lit sign, and could be changed and updated onsite quickly with little trouble. Say the chef has too much soft-shell crab on hand due to getting an amazing deal if he orders so much. The manager could take a picture of the crab special, upload it to the signage software, and add “Today only-Fresh Soft-shell crab with fries and coleslaw for $5.99!” Not only would this help traffic on a slow day (like Tuesday) but it would help get rid of perishable inventory. Now imagine that this same picture was posted on the pub’s Facebook page and Twittered? Pop-up specials like this would help to increase business in the short term, and increase goodwill with patrons in the future. Running too many specials can harm the brand value if done over a too long a period of time, but a quickly planned promotion that runs may 1-2 times per month may create a following of eager repeat diners. These persons can also talk with the company, twitter from the eatery about how good the sandwich tastes and write comments. It would also be important for a manager to get involved with the persons who order the special, letting them know that their business is important. Then it’s a win-win for all involved!
On a side note, a larger billboard-sized sign may be a great idea for several businesses in a small strip mall where the merchants are not in direct competition with one another. There are many of these types of mini-malls in PA, and I can think of a few who would benefit from forming a cooperative to get one of these signs together and allow looped mini-ads to play for about 45 seconds each.
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Spinal Tap is Back! The new album “Back from the Dead” is being released June 16th and INgrooves is handling the distribution. INgrooves is a firm that handles “digital distribution, marketing and promotions for the independent music community,” (PR Newswire, 2009). The release is being accompanied by the following promotions:
• An iPhone application with exclusive video clips, pictures and a fan wall;
• A YouTube promotion starting June 22nd where fans compete for the best fan generated music video of the band’s hit songs;
• Spinal Tap video channels with promotional clips and never-before-seen footage;
• Custom voice tones from each band member, (PR Newswire, 2009).
And if you really love Spinal Tap, you’re in for a treat…the physical CD comes with a promo video, three action figures of the band and a replica of Stonehenge!
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So you’re out and about, running errands and a friend that lives in another town is in the coffee shop you just passed. How do you know? You have Aka-Aki, a new application that turns your phone into a GPS for people in your personal network. You would both need to have downloaded Aka-Aki to your phones, which is free, and it allows you not only to meet up then but to communicate with them later. I am not sure how this works but you can watch the video:
http://www.aka-aki.com/
References:
Starmount. (2009). “Industry Solutions.” Retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://www.starmountsystems.com/industry-solutions.html
PR Newswire. (2009). “INgrooves Powers Digital Marketing Campaign and Global Distribution for Spinal Tap.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20090609/LA3007909062009-1.html
Spinal Tap Video. (2009). “Spinal Tap On: Back from the Dead.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qql8o1EUUsI
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blogging, conversation, Dale Carnegie, IMC, Jeff James, marketing, Mythology, prezi, social networking, twitter, WVU
I attended the IMC Weekend Dinner on May 29th, and sadly my life has been very busy, so I have needed a little more time to get some notes down. Sorry! If you missed the dinner, it was fun and I felt the Keynote Speaker, Jeff James, was entertaining and his address was very relevant to what we are learning in class. Jeff James is a native West Virginian who founded Mythology, a company which focuses on market management and growth. He feels that in order for marketing to be effective and successful it has to “craft a compelling narrative” and that 95% of organizations of all sizes are “struggling on how to have a conversation” with their customers and clients, (James, 2009).
Here are some other highlights (some stated and some thoughts I took away):
1. He discussed that in the process of writing his speech, he consulted others in the field via Twitter. He asked these professionals about what he should speak on. He then created a PowerPoint presentation to emphasize his points, but somehow this was lost when he delivered to the IT people. However that wasn’t as important as the running joke of the lost slides and that a colleague told him that PowerPoint was yesterday’s news and that he should have done the presentation in Prezi, a new type of interactive presentation creator. For more info, go to , and if you click on ‘Learn Prezi in 4 minutes,’ you can actually play around while you watch the video. Very cool!
2. James also discussed a book, Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Li and Bernoff. In this book, the authors discuss the many roles of persons involved in marketing culture; (creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators and inactives) and the parts they play. Creators contribute, critics are evaluators and reviewers and collectors find and link things so they can be followed. This could be considered a ‘technographic ladder’ and James offered this question: “How do you empower people at all levels?” This is what many companies are trying to answer.
3. A discussion on news and its accessibility offered this thought from an associate at the Charleston Gazette: “social networking accelerates the news cycle.” This is because writing an article for print is time consuming and a tweet is immediate. Tweeting about your upcoming article allows others to be part of the creative process and creates demand for the article before it is completed or printed. This is preferable to the scenario of working on a great article and having no one read it because it’s buried on Page 9, Section B.
4. Twitter allows an organization to see the Everyman Point of View. It is the opportunity to get honest, real time feedback…whether you want it or not. However, it cannot be implicitly trusted. Just because anyone can post ‘news’ does not make it newsworthy. In a sense, social media can create a false reality. Just as the internet can be used to find up-to-the-minute news, it can also be a way for anyone to broadcast their views. These views can be illegal, immoral, slanderous, degrading, and hateful. We have become so dependent on this source for news that we may trust its content without thorough evaluation. The old adage was “let the buyer beware.” Now it seems more fitting to “let the searcher beware.” You can find any number of sources on the web to solidify your story so it is concrete and seems like immutable truth. Watch where you find your validity!
In the last several minutes of the address, James commented on Dale Carnegie’s book from 1936, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ And he mentioned several ideas that translate well into marketing any organization today.
Retrieved June 4, 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B001MBV64U/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
• Become genuinely interested in others-get to know your clients, and their customers. Nothing is as effective as doing your homework and finding out what theur needs are so you can ascertain how to fill them.
• Smile-the electronic version of this may be color, space, ease of reading and navigating (through a site), interactivity and fun, pleasant images, etc. The design of your site or other marketing materials are how you ‘smile’ at those who view it.
• Remember that a person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language-Don’t forget who you are talking to. Even though he or she may be different than you, don’t forget who the most important element is to your business’ success.
• Be a good listener-when you ask someone their needs, be sincere and listen to them. If you are asking the right questions and keeping an open mind then they will tell you what they want or need of you.
• If you’re wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically-Don’t wait to get ‘called out’ or caught in a bad situation. You are accountable for your actions and inevitably someone will find you out. Today, not only will one person find you out but they will broadcast your ill-judgment for the entire internet-connected world to see…on every possible portal…in every language.
• Let the other person believe it’s their idea-You can plant the seed and water it, but you can’t tell it to grow. If you want to reach agreement, then give people all the information they need to believe they should do what you want, whether that’s buying your product or quitting smoking or whatever you are marketing to them.
• Throw down a challenge-if you ask people to step up and you do it in such a way that they want to step up to meet it, they will.
A few final quotes from Jeff James that may keep you thinking:
“Individuals have the power, not institutions.”
“Social Media is the product development process.”
“Visibility is accountability.”
References:
James, J. (2009). “Keynote Address.” Observed May 29, 2009 at Milan Pushkar Stadium, Morgantown, WV.
Prezi. (2009). “Learn.” Retrieved June 7, 2009 from http://prezi.com/learn.
