Thinking about spending a boatload of cash on a location-based marketing campaign? Maybe you should hold off for a little while, because the general population is a long way from adopting the new technology.
A new study from Forrester found that a measly 1 percent of U.S. adults are using location based social networks on a weekly basis. Only 4 percent of adults have even tried these social networks, which include Foursquare and Gowalla.
So who's actually using Foursquare? Young male influencers with college degrees -- or the type of people you see at marketing conferences preaching about how location-based technology is the way of the future.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this demographic, which I should probably include myself in. But 1 percent of the population simply isn't the type of scale marketers are looking for when it comes to digital. Forrester predicts that location-based advertising will have its time, but that day is still a ways away.
Archive for Rich Cherecwich 
Foursquare: Just for nerds
Yahoo and Microsoft preparing to flip the switch
After nearly a year of planning, the Microsoft/Yahoo search partnership will soon kick into gear, provided that everything is in working order.
Yahoo engineers are now testing keywords in Microsoft's search advertising system, according to The Wall Street Journal. The tests are the first attempt to see how Yahoo advertisers will perform when Microsoft takes over the ad system for both search engines this fall.
The Microsoft/Yahoo pact makes good business sense: Microsoft's Bing will power searches on Yahoo sites and Microsoft will sell ads through its adCenter paid search platform. Yahoo, meanwhile, will be freed to concentrate on display advertising.
But the big question remains: Once they build it, will the advertisers come? The two search powers combined will still only account for about a third of the U.S. search market -- roughly half of the share Google owns.
Yahoo and Bing are both in the middle of heavy traditional ad campaigns, and Bing made headlines earlier this year for nibbling away some of Google's market share. But if the partnership is to be successful, the new super search friends will have to take a massive bite out of Google's market share.
Nike's bland banners
Many Americans dislike soccer because the sport is "boring." Nike, one of the biggest soccer brands in the world, apparently hoped to cash in on this sentiment by being a mind-numbing bore in its own right.
With many of this year's World Cup matches are streaming live online, and the U.S. team's thrilling victory over Algeria crashed Twitter earlier today, it only makes sense that Nike would make a big digital advertising push.
Look at this screen grab from ESPN.com earlier today. It's the perfect branding opportunity for Nike. There's an image of a jubilant Landon Donovan after scoring the decisive goal, and it's sandwiched between two Nike display units: a special collapsible unit up top, and an accompanying 300 ad unit in the right column.
It's too bad that Nike wasted this great placement with banners that say absolutely nothing. The ad copy gives no indication of what I'm supposed to do. Who will write the future? I'm not really sure what that means. If I were to ask Whitney Houston, she might say "our children." Clicking the Twitter icon took me to my Twitter homepage and put the hashtag #NIKEFUTURE in my text box. OK… tell me again why I am... Read more
Celebrities jumping aboard branded video
YouTube has the power to make anyone a celebrity -- or at the very least, an internet celebrity -- until the next funny sketch or skateboarding dog comes along. But internet fame is fleeting, and the people we define as "real celebrities" -- actors, athletes, musicians, TV personalities -- have been resistant to appear in online video.
Until now, that is. The New York Times reports that more celebrities are agreeing to online video projects, especially projects produced by brand advertisers.
Celebrity chef Paula Dean is taking part in a Kraft campaign for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Comedian Adam Corolla is appearing in web videos munching on a Klondike bar for Unilever. Even Major League Baseball stars like Albert Pujols are getting in on the act, appearing in videos for Dove Men + Care.
But everybody knows that online marketing needs to be authentic, even when it comes to video. With that in mind brands aren't simply plunking down cash looking for any celebrity. According to Rob Candelino of Unilever, Dove chose its spokespeople based on the fact that they had "fantastic stories" to tell.
Step up your engagement! Don't miss out on the latest tips for capturing the attention of the new media audience.... Read more
