Since launching Buddy Media in September 2007, I have been a leading champion for the use of social applications by brands to engage users. But it's been lonely on "app island" as many were quick to dismiss the use of apps in ad campaigns, or "app-vertising" as Buddy Media coined it. So it was welcome news that Forrester Research, in a report released last week, became the first independent research firm to encourage clients to use social applications and think "long term" in social ad campaigns. "To enhance an ad campaign with social elements, interactive marketers should know their audience's behavior, commit to the communities for the long term," Forrester's Sean Corcoran wrote in the report's executive summary and outlined five different ways that brands can enhance their ad campaigns.
I'm not authorized to share the entire report. So you'll need to purchase the report yourself to see the five ways. But all five ways are core to Buddy Media's mission to help companies market more effectively in the social media ecosystem. At the core of Forrester's recommendation is the idea that social media marketing is not turned on and off like banners, buttons and traditional digital marketing. It's an always-on program for marketers. Social media is about using your marketing to build always-on lines... Read more
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Should you use social apps in ad campaigns? Forrester says yes!
Tags: app-vertising, applications, buddy media, engagement, Social Media, social media applications, social media marketing
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Beating the "Results" Drum Is Great, But What Data is Most Relevant?
Not to beat up on an overused phrase, but "Show me the money" has turned into "Show me the results" when it comes to brands and marketers allocating their budget in these challenging economic conditions. It comes as no surprise that 59% of attendees surveyed at last month’s iMedia Brand Summit said they will be "heavying up on measureable, ROI-driven strategies." But what do “results” mean, exactly? There are so many different ways to spin it that it can be hard for even the savviest of marketers to get to the bottom of what is actually relevant to them. At Buddy Media, we consider results to be engagement, or "someone doing something with your brand." That something may be sending a virtual gift, playing a fun game or finding the cheapest gas in your area, either way, people are taking an action as opposed to delivering an impression. What can be done to further clear things up? For one thing, there is plenty of data out there. That of course is one of the benefits of digital marketing - it is all trackable. But is it the right data? This is something we ask ourselves and our clients... Read more
Tags: app-vertising, applications, buddy media, engagement, Social Media, social media applications
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Hey Brands: Are You a Welcomed Guest or Party Crasher?
Advertising and social media industry pundits have written much about what advertising works best within social media sites. But market research firm InsightExpress decided to turn off the inside-the-beltway chatter and go directly to actual users and ask them which ads they liked the best.
As it turns out, the most welcomed ads are those in which they can opt-in to the experience. The least successful? Behaviorally targeted and random display ads.
40 percent of the 1593 users surveyed said they supported the use of "opt-in" advertising advertising in which the user was given a choice whether to engage or not. Only 20 percent condoned behavior-based campaigns.
Drew Lipner of the Digital Media Measurement team at InsightExpress noted, "Recognizing the rapid growth of social networks and social networking audiences, advertisers have focused on creative engagement and how to apply their brands within a new environment."This data received very little press. But it highlights one of the fundamental challenges and most exciting opportunities in marketing to the 500 million consumers who spend billions and billions of minutes each month on social networks.
Specifically, social media advertising is the new AOL Chat. Brands aren't necessarily welcomed as friends chat, message each other, share pictures and videos, poke each other, post on each others' walls... Read more
Tags: buddy media, insight express, social media applications
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Live from the VivaKi REAL Social Suite Launch
This past week I had the pleasure of taking part in the launch of VivaKi’s REAL Social Suite. The effort is the first of its kind from any large global agency group to create a scalable, accountable and results-drive social marketing platform for the world's brands. One thing is clear: in the current climate where there is more and more noise around social marketing, VivaKi “gets it.” As MediaPost editor-in-chief Joe Mandese wrote in naming VivaKi Media Holding Company of the Year, “VivaKi has at its core the belief that agencies, media suppliers and even consumers operate more openly, and successes are measured by creativity and ingenuity.”
Buddy Media is honored to be named as one of the select partners in VivaKi’s open structure, alongside industry leaders including Facebook and Social Media. I was able to catch up with Cam Balzer, SVP Social, VivaKi, Americas at the last of the three launch events at MediaVest in New York. Along with the video below, here are some of Cam’s thoughts: On the VivaKi REAL Social Suite: “It’s an effort on our part to partner VivaKi and Publicis with some of the leading innovators in the space to help... Read more
Tags: buddy media, cam balzer, Social Media, VivaKi
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Branded Applications: Holy Grail or Graveyard?
In today's Adweek, Brian Morrissey takes a look at branded social applications. He concludes that "Facebook apps from brands like Coca-Cola, Champion, Ford and Microsoft are as popular as desolate Second Life islands."
This story comes just a week after Bob Garfield wrote on the front page of Advertising Age that the app "may not be the holy grail, but it's arguably pretty damn grail-ish -- maybe the highest expression so far of online marketing in the Post-Advertising Age."
Are you confused yet? Don't worry. There's plenty of data to support both sides. When done right, branded apps are one of the more effective ways to market in the social networks. When done wrong, they fail miserably.
When I spoke to Brian about his story, it was clear to me that he was dead set on writing a piece on why apps were the newest brand graveyard. Frankly, I don't blame him. He has plenty of examples of apps gone wild. And plenty of others share his view. Soon after the first branded applications launched on Facebook, interactive agency Organic asked "Are Facebook Apps the New Brand Wasteland?" And it's no surprise that two companies that don't offer branded app... Read more
Tags: adweek, brian morrissey, buddy media, social media applications
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