TRACTA :: 4eyes

Facebook News

~ Microsoft has finally acknowledged the power of social media with the creation of a Social Inbox within Outlook, integrating Facebook and Twitter feeds into the world’s most-used e-mail handling service.

~ Starbucks is now the biggest commercial brand on Facebook, having recently reached 10 million fans.  Check out what other “brands” have that level of loyal fans…

~ And in other not-really-surprising news, it has been revealed that gays and lesbians spend more time socially networking than straight people.  So if you’re targeting the pink dollar, hit those social networks!

National News

TV audiences continue to hit record levels.  Last week’s peak (6-10:30pm) TV audience (in terms of share of population) was the highest we’ve seen in 14 years.  So more of us are watching TV.  But that viewing is spread over more channels than ever as well.  This chart shows the share of viewing each channel received from the key All People 25-54 target audience set.  TVNZ’s main two channels account for just under 48% of all peak viewing, Sky channels account for 24% and TV3 just under 20%.

Local News

Havelock North online marketers Mogul are taking the bull by the horns (and getting some good media coverage) by offering to create Google Places listings for all Havelock North businesses, for free.  The idea being that it will make Havelock North businesses more visible to visitors planning their trips or seeking goods or services when they are here for the Rugby World Cup.  I expect they’ll generate a bit of paying work from this initiative too!

A Warning

Sponsoring or seeding brand stories within blogs is becoming a common addition to the online marketer’s toolbox.  But (this may seem obvious) it pays to understand the environment your brand is trying to infiltrate.  Pepsi found that out recently when they paid for a blog within the popular and highly respected site ScienceBlogs. The blog was called Food Frontiers and was purportedly about food nutrition.  But the backlash from the scientific community using the site was swift, and Pepsi were forced to remove the blog less than a week after launching.  Users felt the blog was clearly promotional and did not fit with the purely scientific content the site offers.

Lessons: Don’t try to be something you’re not, and don’t try to fool people – they are smarter, more cynical and keener to diss your brand than you might expect!

Cheers,

Social media. Heard of it?  Use it personally?  Professionally???

While recommendations from Social Media sites are still not as well regarded as true word-of-mouth from friends or family, social media channels are an important means of connecting with current and potential customers.  The common rule of “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” still applies, so social media should not be seen as THE solution to all marketing problems, but should definitely be part of the mix.  And not just for da yoof, as Facebook is experiencing biggest growth amongst the 50+ age group. 

Pepsi are taking this on board, as they commit more to social media conversation and interaction with their customers, rather than just shouting messages.  They have even gone so far as not placing an ad in the Superbowl this year (the first time in 25 years), reasoning they get better return on investment from alternative media.

Here are some tips on effective use of video marketing for small-medium businesses.  Of course it includes social media distribution!  I hope we all know this already, but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce the basics!

So how will you access your favourite social media sites in 2011?  Desktop, laptop, netbook, smartphone, game console, television?  What about a games console/smartphone in one?  There are whispers that Sony is planning to launch a Playstation smartphone sometime in 2010.  Where will it end?  And when can I get my hologram-video-phone-watch like they have in the movies?!

In more local news, TVNZ have made a couple of announcements recently.  Reservoir Hill - TVNZ’s first online-only, interactive programme for teens – has been nominated for a Digital Emmy.  That’s the real deal, so they can be very proud of themselves.  It’s not often NZ-produced TV gets awarded anything!

TVNZ today also announced they will be launching a new channel on Sky.  It will be available as part of the Sky start-up package, and will be called TVNZ Heartland.  Content will be entirely NZ-made, sourced from TVNZ Archives.

My picks for programming: A Dog’s Show, Country Calendar, maybe University Challenge and Krypton Factor?  It will be a challenge to present “old” content that is relevant and not just reminiscing, but they say they are aiming for a 40-64 year old demographic, so perhaps reminiscing is the way to go.  The channel will carry advertising: TVNZ say they are in the process of approaching selected advertisers for exclusive agreements with the channel.  Read TVNZ’s report and see an interview with John Fellet (Sky TV) and Rick Ellis (TVNZ) here.

Ads of the week

Two more outdoor executions that utilise the environment to carry the message.

Painting the town red… and blue and pink and yellow and green…

Clever, but I don’t know about walking through in a white shirt…

Cheerio!