McDonalds Marketing on Social Game FarmVille

"McDonald's has launched a one-day integration with FarmVille today. A branded farm and other game items have been placed within the popular Zynga-owned social game FarmVille and users are being encouraged to interact with the McDonald's content until midnight tonight. Those that do so will be rewarded with branded virtual goods, and other items to aid progress on their own virtual farms," says ClickZ. You can read another version of the story at AdWeek.

Chevy and xBox Promoting on Twitter

Chevrolet recently appeared in a targeted paid Twitter promo as the top listing in the site's "Who to follow/Suggestions for you" section, following up Xbox's and Rock Star Game's appearances earlier this week, reports ClickZ.
The ads, from about 40 brands according to a Twitter executive, "are served based on users' individually shown interests via an algorithm."

ClickZ used an excerpt from Twitter's blog to explain how the ads get targeted:

"Promoted Accounts are suggested based on a user's public list of whom they follow. When an advertiser promotes an account, Twitter's algorithm looks at that account's followers and determines other accounts that those users tend to follow. If a user follows some of those accounts, but not the advertiser's account, then Twitter may recommend the advertiser's Promoted Account to that user. For example, a lot of people who follow several gaming-related accounts also follow @xbox. If someone follows gaming-related accounts, but not @xbox, Twitter may recommend @xbox to that person."

You Should Read This and the Link

"As brand marketers gain more experience running social campaigns, they're becoming more sophisticated about choosing social media agencies. Head marketers at Pepsi, Ford, and Microsoft shared their thoughts on working with social media agencies last week during an event hosted by Huffington Post in New York's Times Square," reports ClickZ.

Social Media Campaign by Cheerios Backfires -- BIG Time

"With a recent 'promoted video' campaign on YouTube, Cheerios has provided the latest cautionary tale on the risks associated with social media marketing," says a post ClickZ. "Viewers who have searched for terms like 'heart,' 'heart issues,' and 'heart problems' and then clicked one of the cereal brand's promoted video ads are taken to a dedicated channel with approximately 30 narrative-minded videos, most under a minute long. The first is called 'Tennis' and features 'Victoria H.' from Chicago, IL, as the narrator. Another, 'Gardening,' has 'Paula' from Trinidad and Tobago.
While the videos (scroll down to view 'Tennis') could be labeled branded content, Cheerios itself isn't mentioned in them. That hasn't stopped YouTube users from posting mocking and sometimes strange comments about the brand since the videos went live three months ago."

I couldn't find them, but ClickZ claims that only those videos that mention Cheerios directly become negative.

70s Rock Band Tries Comeback -- Digitally

"It’s been years since sibling songstresses Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart had a big hit like their '80s comeback power ballad 'What About Love' or '70s tunes 'Barracuda' and 'Magic Man.' Now Heart is back with a new album, and it's trying to reach current and new fans online," reports ClickZ. "The band's digital agency had the luxury of being able to offer free song streams, and conjured up unique ways of getting those tunes in the ears of new and long-time listeners. Its strategy includes a one-of-a-kind integration with crafty community marketplace Etsy."

Fighting Breast Cancer across the Web

During October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) is running a traditional and digital media marketing campaign to raise awareness for early detection of breast cancer. The campaign will run across the multi-media network of media giant Gannett -- using traditional media such as USA Today, USA Weekend as well as digital sites such as USAToday.com, MomsLikeMe.com, and HighSchoolSports.net:

• Digital home page ads, created by Gannett's PointRoll, the leading provider of digital marketing solutions, on USAToday.com and seven Gannett Broadcast sites with interactive ads allowing audiences to directly register for the NBCF Early Detection Plan; 
• Targeted ad placements alongside USA Today's  health section, "Your Life";
• High-impact messaging [and I have no idea what that means] in USA Weekend; 
• HighSchoolSports.net, Gannett's hyperlocal online sports authority, will feature a fundraising drive with a donation scoreboard that tracks donations among all network high schools; 
• On-air campaign across seven Gannett television stations, driving audiences to register for the NBCF Early Detection Plan online; 
• A custom digital video produced by Gannett Video Enterprises designed to remind viewers to think about the impact of breast cancer; 
• A continuing education initiative for nurses sponsored by Kaplan University and promoted via Gannett Healthcare Group's platforms, including Nurse.com, Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek magazines and CE Direct.

Joining NBCF in the campaign, Gannett will turn its McLean, VA, corporate towers pink every night with special lighting throughout the month.

You Already Know This, but Someone Proved It

"American young adults spend more time online than consuming other forms of media, according to [pdf] a new study from Edison Research," according to a posting on MarketingCharts.

Online Advertising Up in UK

The United Kingdom Internet Advertising Bureau notes that "the boom in online video, social and ‘performance’ marketing contributed to the 10% increase in online advertising spend during the first half of 2010, which saw UK marketers invest £1,968.6 million, lifting the medium to a record market share of 24.3%. The return to double-digit growth for the internet mirrors the general recovery of the entire advertising industry, with total UK expenditure increasing 6.3% to £8.1 billion between January and June 2010."

This ties in with a report posted on DigitialSpy: "The BBC [Britain's largest video/television producer and broadcaster] spent around £1.4m on digital display advertising in the 12 months to the end of March, but claims that most of its online marketing is delivered at little or no cost. The figures, released after a freedom of information request by The Guardian, indicate that the corporation spent £220,000 on paid-search marketing in the financial year 2009/10. That was part of the BBC's marketing budget of £93.3m for the 12 months, which has been reduced by £4.3m for the current financial year in-line with overall cost cutting plans."

Why Digital Marketing in US Is Stumbling

According to a posting on Warc, "A 'communications gap' between [American] senior marketers and chief information officers means many brand owners are not adequately responding to the digital age." In a survey of 636 executives in 50 companies, the CMO Council and Accenture discovered that "73% of contributors argued digital marketing is important, but 64% of marketers and 48% of IT managers had faced problems undertaking projects that could enhance effectiveness in this area."

See Saturday's Special Posting on this Blog

It  affects you.

How Much Video Do We Watch

The average American websurfer watched 14.3 hours of online video during August, translating into more than 5.2 billion video "sessions" for the 178 million American Internet users. They also watched more than 3.8 billion video ads, with Hulu generating the highest number of video ad impressions at 790 million.That's the word from comScore.

Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Video Content Views Ranked by Unique Video ViewersAugust 2010Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: comScore Video Metrix
Property	Total Unique Viewers (000)	Viewing Sessions (000)	Minutes per Viewer
Total Internet : Total Audience	177,622	5,230,690	860.4
Google Sites	146,274	1,903,240	269.5
Facebook.com	58,596	243,210	20.5
Yahoo! Sites	53,929	229,087	31.6
VEVO	45,357	205,838	69.0
Fox Interactive Media	43,127	153,923	13.1
Break Media Network	42,410	167,054	25.9
Microsoft Sites	39,322	219,296	50.7
NBC Universal	32,833	65,059	14.8
Viacom Digital	32,257	76,458	49.5
Turner Network	29,776	90,716	24.9

Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Video Ads* Viewed Ranked by Video Ads Viewed August 2010 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore Video Metrix
Property	Video Ads (000)	Frequency (Ads per Viewer)	% Reach Total U.S. Population
Total Internet : Total Audience	3,811,351	28.3	45.1
Hulu	789,859	30.2	8.8
BrightRoll Video Network**	468,545	7.2	21.9
Tremor Media Video Network**	441,678	6.9	21.4
Microsoft Sites	233,949	8.8	8.9
Google Sites	216,607	4.5	16.1
Break Media Network	204,360	5.4	12.6
Crosspoint Media**	191,366	7.0	9.2
SpotXchange Video Ad Network**	172,263	5.1	11.3
CBS Interactive	170,242	6.5	8.8
BBE**	160,603	4.8	11.2

*Video ads include streaming-video advertising only and do not include other types of video monetization, such as overlays, branded players, matching banner ads, homepage ads, etc.
**Indicates video ad network/server

Special Announcement: Cancellations/Postponements in UB Work

My mother died recently after a long fight with cancer. The family will wake her on Sunday and bury her on Monday afternoon. Obviously I will not have "office hours" Sunday afternoon, and I will cancel Monday's class.

Additionally, I am changing the deadline for the slide presentation from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8, this coming Friday.

I will see you on Wednesday. Should you have questions, ask them during class. In that way, each of us has an opportunity to learn more.

Online Boston Globe Now Costs You

ClickZ reports that the Boston Globe is dividing up its media empire, transforming its Boston.com, which is a digital version of the Globe today, into  a shopping/classieds/social media site. Meanwhile it will launch BostonGlobe.com, which will have the serious news from the world of business, politics, sports, finance, and the arts, and hide it behind a paywall at BostonGlobe.com. Subscribers to the print edition also could access BostonGlobe.com at no additional charge. These companies are owned by The New York Times, which will charge for online reading of some New York Times content in 2011, following the example of the Wall Street Journal.

What is the significance to marketers? What becomes more valuable to a marketer--a website that allows  any individual to visit or a website that allows only individuals who are willing to pay to gain access to the site?

Ads Need to Engage Effectively, Says Study

"Consumers are spending a growing amount of time on the web, but this doesn't mean they are always accepting of ads. Carefully considering the best times to try to engage internet users with ads may help businesses improve their digital marketing initiatives, according to a new study from Yahoo," says a post from RICG.

Ford's Digital Program Takes a Musical Direction

"Ford, Internet radio leader Pandora and artists Jewel and John Legend are matching up to launch an integrated digital marketing campaign that enhances the Pandora user experience and benefits charities. The fourth-quarter campaign marks a transition in Ford's digital advertising strategy, focusing on working with digital content creators upstream to integrate Ford products and services into their medium rather than pushing out company-generated ads that interrupt content." That last sentence is common in the business world. What does it mean? Rather than running an ad between songs on the radio, Ford is attempting to create ads or product placements that are a "part" of the musician's presentations.

GM Putting Billions Online

"General Motors is leading the auto industry in shifting their traditional advertising campaigns to online marketing. The third-largest advertiser will spend half of their $3 billion advertising budget online. They give it 3 years to get there. Last year GM spent $197 million online," reports an entry on MarketingPilgrim. The story also reports on how much the  auto industry in general is spending for online marketing. Good source for the long report if you want to write about the use of Internet marketing by GM or the American automobile industry. One small drawback: The site posted the story two years ago.

Local Advertisers Going Digital

MarketingPilgrim is reporting that local advertisers, such as retail operations, are turning increasingly to digital marketing to drum up business.

Facebook's Thumbs Up Mean What?

"Facebook has been collecting thumbs up on everything from Levi's black denim leggings to Sarah Palin videos since April. But where do all those clicks of approval go? And when are brands going to benefit?" asks AdAge.

Advertising on Twitter an Experiment

The WSJonline reports that advertisers have mixed reactions to their ad campaigns on Twitter. They had expected to take advantage of Twitter's popularity,  as did Twitter. The social network had signed on "30 big-name brands, including Coca-Cola Co., Virgin America and Starbucks Corp., to test [advertising on Twitter]. Some marketers say that early results are promising but that advertising on Twitter remains an experiment." (You will need a subscription to the WSJ to read the rest or you can access the publication through the school's data base.)

comScore Ranks Top 50 US Websites

comScore Top 50 Properties (U.S.) August 2010 Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations Source: comScore Media Metrix
Rank	Property	Unique Visitors (000)	Rank	Property	Unique Visitors (000)
Total Internet Audience (000): 212616
1	Yahoo! Sites	179002	26	iVillage.com: The Womens Network	35289
2	Google Sites	178782	27	Gannett Sites	34923
3	Microsoft Sites	165271	28	Technorati Media	34818
4	Facebook	148048	29	Federated Media Publishing	34562
5	AOL, Inc.	107165	30	WeatherBug Property	33424
6	Glam Media	97948	31	Disney Online	31046
7	Ask Network	88281	32	Break Media Network	30965
8	Turner Network	84541	33	Verizon Communications	30665
9	Viacom Digital	81456	34	AT&T Interactive Network	30028
10	Fox Interactive Media	80210	35	Superpages.com Network	29019
11	Amazon Sites	79188	36	Expedia Inc	28334
12	CBS Interactive	79062	37	Target Corporation	27856
13	Wikimedia Foundation Sites	73685	38	Tribune Interactive	27811
14	eBay	69500	39	YellowBook Network	27217
15	Apple Inc.	69383	40	Photobucket.com LLC	26437
16	New York Times Digital	68901	41	YellowBook Network	27940
17	Demand Media	58798	42	The Washington Post	27711
18	craigslist, inc.	53400	43	Photobucket.com LLC	27396
19	VEVO	49386	44	ESPN	27197
20	Comcast Corporation	44106	45	Warner Music	27151
21	Answers.com Sites	41254	46	Everyday Health	26645
22	NetShelter Technology Media	40584	47	WorldNow Sites	25630
23	Weather Channel, The	39074	48	NBC Universal	25357
24	Wal-Mart	36683	49	Bank of America	24986
25	Adobe Sites	35345	50	Twitter	24798