91% of B2B companies are diving into content marketing according to eMarketer. It seems that the fat part of the curve is upon us as the corporate world realizes that savvy consumers of all stripes just don’t buy the old advertising game. The new bargain is, if you give me valuable content of some sort, I’ll maybe think better of your company. Seems a bit tenuous, but I’ll vouch that it works, or used to.

We (IQ) started our first thought-leadership led strategy with IBM back in 2002. We didn’t call it content marketing back then, but IBM had realized that they were not in the blue box business anymore, they were instead in the business consulting business; that’s why they sold their PC operation to the Chinese and bought PwC Consulting.

The problem is that with everyone and their brother buying into marketing automation systems, which need to be fed with content, I’m afraid the marketplace is rapidly going into content overload mode. Enterprise marketers cite producing engaging content as their number one challenge, according to the Content Marketing Institute. That’s code for: “Whoops! We’re making content, but nobody’s looking at it”.

So what’s a marketer to do? Advertising doesn’t work like it used to and the hoi polloi are ruining content marketing for the good guys (that’s us!).

Table stakes today are having a constant flow of content designed to appeal to each of your key personas at every step in the Consumer Decision Journey. This requires doing serious work mapping your consumer’s path to purchase, discovering their key touch points and understanding their psychology at every step. It sounds complex and it is. But if you don’t do this foundational work, you will not have the right content in front of the right consumer at the right time. That, however, just gets you in the game.

The challenge then is to create content that is sufficiently valuable and distinctive that your prospect not only engages with it, but also shares it, and most importantly is intrigued by the company that has produced it. This is a very high bar and not for the weak of spirit.

Unfortunately, in content marketing today there is no substitute for a living content strategy effort informed by data and analytics and activated by best-in-class content created around valuable consumer insights. Makes you pine for the days of a clever print ad and a scotch and soda.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, we've reached a point now where brands should no longer view social media as a cool new way to connect with consumers.

We must now view social media as a means by which we as brands can enable consumers not just to connect with us, but to each other. And not just in some virtual space, but in the physical world as well.

This initiative can help break the ice in a social setting - as well as continue the conversation (and/or flirtation) after that beer (or the many, many beers, as the case may be) is gone.

Cheers to Bud for the bold idea.

Read all about it, here.

Social listening examines social media including: blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, to find out what people are saying and where they are saying it. It’s one of the ways we glimpse actual consumer behavior (vs. reported behavior), and combines with other forms of qualitative research, and quantitative data, to reveal consumer insights.

Consumer insights are, of course, the jewels that illuminate the critical process of mapping the Consumer Decision Journey*. The idea is to build a complete picture of how consumers are interacting with brands, social touch points and knowledge as they wend their way towards the moment of purchase and then beyond. We do this by understanding who consumers are, their personas, and then what they think and do at each point along the journey. Some of what we learn is what is already happening, but more importantly we are looking for opportunities to serve an unmet need or a perception in a new way that sets our client apart. These insights make social listening a remarkably potent tool.

Discovering what your customers and prospects are saying, and equally important where they are saying it, reveals actionable clues, insights and opportunities, social locations that brands should be present, the impact of campaigns, and the effect of culture and seasonality on consumer behavior.

This study we just released on tax refunds is an example of how what you learn when you start to listen can be surprising. We discovered that an overwhelming 65% actually had plans to go shopping with their refunds, so we dug deeper.

What we ended up with delivered clear insights about what Americans wanted to do with the money. While it wasn’t surprising to see all the plans to buy Apple products, it was a surprise to see how many people planned on purchasing a new tattoo.

Overall the report was good news for retailers with 65% of tweeters having immediate spending plans for their refund in the following categories:

* 14% electronics spending
* 11% fashion spending
* 11% car spending
* 10% food and beverage spending
* 7% travel spending
* 7% event spending
* 5% music retail spending

The research also showed that sober responsibility was still alive and well in America with 35% of tweeters saying they plan to save their refund money or pay bills.

Click to view on Visual.ly:

You’ve heard of mobile-first organizations, those that launch first on mobile devices prior to web. That can be a good idea for some, but being a consumer-first organization is a universal necessity.

Gone are the days of relying on clever messaging aimed at grabbing the attention of distracted consumers. Awareness is easy, right? You can even buy awareness in digital and convince your boss that it’s edgy just because it’s digital. But being a sales-first organization that prioritizes short-term bumps in numbers should not be your goal. Building an army of dedicated, loyal followers should. Today, consumer-first brands are winning consumer loyalty and, as a result, their money.

The music industry is a great example. For decades, the music industry succeeded by making consumers pay for records, tapes, or CDs of pre-packaged music. But as soon as the tools were invented that allowed them to collect just the songs they wanted, the music industry suffered. The blame was placed on cheap consumers who just wanted everything for free. But we’ve learned that that isn’t true. Consumers, and music fans especially, WANT to pay for the things they love. In fact, artists have given away their music, allowing fans to make donations and received millions of dollars.

Amanda Palmer was a street performer turned professional musician who grew a large following and eventually received a record deal. After selling 25,000 copies of her debut album, her label considered it a failure and they parted ways. Determined to prove them wrong, she started giving away her music to her fans with the simple request that they help her out financially. She received almost $1.2 million from an ironic 25,000 donations.

I think there is a story here bigger than the music industry, which, as we all know, has seen the light (if you will) and is again experiencing growth. We’re seeing a dramatic shift in consumers’ expectations that is literally decimating entire industries. In marketing we like to talk about how social media is changing everything. It isn’t. It is simply enabling consumers to be as social as they’ve always been but now with the tools to ask for more personalized service. And that should frighten any company that is ignoring not just social, but more broadly, campaigns that genuinely connect with consumers.

Let me be clear, if your model is dependent on pulling in consumers rather than providing easy ways for them to get your product naturally, you will ultimately fail. Companies that do it right, the ones that connect with consumers and build the tools that make it easy for them to pay for the things they want, will survive. That is the difference between making consumers pay for your product and letting them.

Don’t be that brand. Don’t use social as a channel for more awareness and push messaging. Build loyalty. And then build or leverage tools to help those consumers pay you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More importantly, what might they do with it?

An insurance company called RSA in the Middle East has created an interactive print ad that enables readers to ask for a quote, no mobile phone or other consumer device required, though the quote comes back via the reader's mobile phone (which obviously provides the brand with contact information it could use for follow up communications).

As PSFK points out, the ad, developed by OgilvyOne, is targeted to prospective customers in Dubai, and supports the brand's "Easy as Ever" promise.

Sure it's early days in this kind of thing - a first step toward some of the interactive print concepts we saw in 'Minority Report' a decade ago - and it will need to be enhanced before it gets truly compelling.

But here, the medium is quite literally the message - an innovative "wow" moment that directly delivers on the brand's positioning.

Read more here.

During a period when online publishers were already improvising monetization efforts to compensate for the rise of programmatic buying, mobile introduced yet another variable that would further complicate the situation, forcing a shift in focus. Already squeezing every last cent out of online CPM’s, mobile traffic immediately made its presence felt as online audiences were no longer restricted to a computer screen as a means of accessing their favorite digital content. As a result, mobile traffic began cannibalizing impressions from the desktop impressions, further impacting an already depleting bottom line. Digital publishers reliant on online advertising revenue were suddenly dealt with a brand new form of supply to figure out and monetize immediately, or face a slow death at the expense of mobile's rapid growth.

By properly understanding the psyche of the mobile user, and aligning approaches to meet what consumers demand, these basic mobile guidelines for publishers will not only help your properties produce a mobile experience that maximizes mobile audience engagement, but also the revenue stream that follows:

· Content is king, and this is especially true in mobile. When determining how to slice and dice online content for the mobile screen, hone in on the content that matters to your audience and make it compatible for their mobile viewing pleasure. For this content to be considered mobile compatible at least two requirements must be met. First, this content needs to be easily found and identified by the user upon initial visit and, second, it must be made native to the mobile screen. Simply shrinking pre-existing content, which then requires the mobile visitor to pinch and zoom to engage with information is a mobile property’s worst enemy. In fact, a recent study commissioned by Google found that 79% of mobile visitors that find a mobile site difficult to use would immediately leave to find a suitable replacement.

· Mobile is a “need to know now” medium. Unlike TV, Radio or PC, mobile users carry this Internet connected device with them at all times. This reality feeds our instincts for instant gratification, so it’s only natural that a mobile user is accustomed to immediately being able to access desired content or information. Within seconds, a mobile device can be leveraged to find the nearest food, access the latest sports scores, lookup tomorrow’s weather forecast, watch a trailer, or purchase movie tickets. To reproduce a successful mobile experience for your organic audience, their immediate asks must be met.

· Which is better, App or Mobile Optimized site? Depending on who you ask, there is an argument to be made for either as each format comes with an inherit set of benefits and limitations. When deciding on which to adopt, it is advised to let the content influence the decision-making. For example, apps are conducive to rich content experiences. Publishers with an audience who primarily consume video, music, images, and social media are more likely to reproduce a favorable mobile experience for their audience through an app. On the other hand, a well-designed mobile optimized site may be best suited for content that is research or task oriented. Whereas apps are largely utilized for consumption of media or leisurely browsing, mobile web audiences are typically on a mission in search of facts or specific information.

· Monetization of mobile is very possible. For most publishers reliant on ad revenue, low mobile CPM’s and ad fill rates are top concerns of this medium. That said, many publishers who find themselves in this situation can look to experience immediate gains by examining mobile monetization shortfalls and adjusting appropriately. For one, just because a site can be accessed from a mobile device does NOT make it mobile optimized. All too often I come across web based properties simply trying to milk their pre-existing ad demand by serving online formatted banners within mobile based viewing sessions. Plenty of mobile demand exists, but a "mobile first" ad serving infrastructure must be in place to start reaping these benefits.

Given that mobile traffic already accounts for 20% of all daily U.S. Internet traffic and, with sales of mobile devices also surpassing PCs, this shift in traffic from desktop to mobile is not destined to slow down anytime soon. For those ill-prepared to fully absorb this continual transition, the good news is that it’s not too late for publishers to adopt a successful mobile strategy, regardless if they are starting from scratch or purely looking to improve upon current framework.

How are you bringing B2C approaches to your B2B marketing?

Are you doing it at all?

For far too many B2B marketers, there's a view that never the two should meet. But as I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, it's critical that B2B marketers realize business people are just that - people. And their exposure to B2C marketing approaches in their personal lives sets expectations for B2B marketing, whether B2B marketers like it or not.

But some savvy B2B marketers have caught on - big time.

Case in point: Our client LoopNet, the #1 online marketplace for commercial real estate.

Over the last few months, LoopNet has launched an integrated campaign that's predicated on a simple, yet powerful message: If your commercial listings aren't advertised on LoopNet, they may as well be invisible. That's because only LoopNet drives traffic to commercial real estate listings like literally no other option can.

Print, direct mail and online advertising developed by has articulated this theme in compelling, brand consistent fashion.

So when LoopNet decided to fete the luminaries of Los Angeles commercial real estate, we got to thinking: What if we took our message and super-sized it? What if we used a full-motion, building-size canvass to drive home the LoopNet value proposition in an amazing new way?

In short: I wanted to bring 3D projection to our campaign.

So I reached out to Josh Cohen, the CEO of Pearl Media (and its partner Go2 Productions), which has worked on a number of 3D projection mapping experiences for B2C brands like Lexus, Perrier and Chevy Sonic.

I asked him straight up: "Do you think you can make a building in downtown LA go invisible?" He thought about it, and then said: "Yes, I think we can do that."

The concept began gaining traction, and eventually became LA Traffic Jam, Presented by LoopNet - a spectacular, VIP event featuring a private concert by TRAIN ("Drive-by") and our 3D projection experience.

Multidimensional direct mail invites featured cool, die-cut guitar bodies, iPods featuring TRAIN music and a call to action to join LoopNet "at the Corner of Epic & Mind-Blowing."

Fans, attendees and participants could join the conversation via mobile & online at the hashtag #looptrafficjam.

And video of the projection was placed on a special landing page and on YouTube. The client even decided to give viewers the ability to share the video via social media for the chance to win a $1250 Fender guitar signed by the band.

The event was last Thursday night - and it was a blast. Testament to a client who thrives on innovation and embraces a decidedly B2C approach to blockbuster B2B campaigns.

There's a making-of video in the works that I'll share when it's ready, along with more details of what worked, and what didn't, as client and team analysis comes in.

In the meantime, give it a view - and enter for your own chance to win that signed guitar.

Following up on our list of Top 10 Mobile Marketing Initiatives of 2012, it's time to look at some trends we'll see emerge and/or evolve in the year ahead.

Among the most prominent (not necessarily in this order):

5. Mobile Advertising Picks Up Speed (For A Time)

According to Forrester Research, mobile ad spend will boom next year - to $15 billion. Why? Because consumers now spend 10% of their media consumption time on mobile devices, yet mobile attracts less than 10% of ad dollars. The firm reasons that the old school Internet's ad growth from 8% of spend to 22% of spend means mobile must follow course (even though marketers get less and less from that increased Internet spend). But, the firm says, even a small step toward closing the gap will mean big dollars for this medium.

I'm not completely convinced. As a marketer, I find mobile advertising a bore (even some of the newer, much hyped expandable ad units). As a consumer, I find it all a snooze fest.

Mobile's far more powerful than just trying to replicate ad models from the old school Internet and slapping them on a small screen of a phone, or even the larger screen of a tablet. But there's just too much potential revenues at stake so, in 2013 at least, mobile advertising will be a hot topic. Until it's someday not (or is at least recognized as one small, nearly insignificant sliver of the amazing things you can do with mobile). But as Ad Age points out today, 38% of click-throughs in mobile are from fat, clumsy thumbs.

The pub goes onto talk about some ways mobile video and native mobile ads within apps like Foursquare may see success. But in my view, Coca-Cola's Re:Brief integrated campaign is probably the best example of mobile advertising combining with social & traditional media to work cohesively in a compelling manner.

And, as I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, using mobile to not just promote but enhance your product - turn it into a mobile service, ala Nike+ and other successful initiatives - is what will define winners and losers in many categories next year and in the decade ahead.

4. QR Code Stores Proliferate (Just Not in The US)

QR code stores in subways and elsewhere seem to have been the surprise hits of 2012, and could seriously take off in 2013. According to shop2mobi, 300 of these virtual stores launched last year - and 2,000 have already been planned for the next 12 months. Still, while these are huge in South Korea, China, Germany and elsewhere, QR codes themselves still mostly elicit quizzical looks from consumers, when they generate any notice at all. I could easily see commuters in New York or San Francisco taking advantage of these kinds of offerings. But it may be a while before they stand any chance in most of the US - and by the time that happens, we'll probably be onto whatever will replace QR codes next.

3. Mobile CRM Gains Strength As Transaction Capabilities Advance

Here's a winner: Use of mobile for customer loyalty programs like Starbucks'. Look for more brands to move beyond just using mobile to replenish cards to having mobile become the entire platform for loyalty. Look for transaction capabilities to advance, and adoption rates to follow suit.

2. More Brands Make the Mobile + Social + Local Connection

The big trend here is that more brands will stop viewing mobile and social as (just) cool new ways to connect with consumers, and start viewing these channels as cool new ways for brands to enable consumers to connect with one another - moderated and empowered by the brand.

In my piece the other day on social media trends for 2013, I point to early examples of this, including Vail Resort's Epic Mix app, which connects real friends in the real world in a highly social, physical world brand experience.

This past year, one look only at Heineken's personalized concert QR codes to see how ad hoc mobile + social + local branded experiences can take shape.

Look for more of this in the year ahead (especially as it pertains to things like social television viewing) - along with a new syllable, as we move from SoLoMo to SoLoMoCo with the addition of Co, which stands for Commerce. In a mobile roundtable I hosted this last August, SAP CMO Jonathan Becher and I discuss what this new dynamic might mean to brand marketers and retailers alike in the year ahead.

1. Augmented Reality Gets Really Cool

One look at my list of Top 10 Augmented Reality Initiatives 2012, and it's clear that AR - while quite gimmicky today - holds great promise for brand experiences via mobile and elsewhere. One of my favorite things about mobile AR is that it gets to the heart of the mobile ad debate.

In my view, mobile is far more powerful as an activation mechanism for communications we experience in other media - in print, television, radio, direct mail, outdoor and so on - than it is as an ad platform in and of itself. Mobile AR is an experience activated by the consumer, at his or her own initiative, at the point of communications impression. And it delivers something that literally can't be achieved in any other medium.

Not that many consumers are going to go download an AR app and start using it in 2013. But as standards emerge, these kinds of brand experiences will become more common - and will make up some of the cooler components of integrated campaigns in the year ahead.

First up: Five big trends to look for in the world of social media marketing.

5. Social Gets More Physical

In the year ahead, look for an increasing number of social initiatives to move away from pure-play digital to the physical world. Coca-Cola has been a leader in this, with efforts like the Happiness Truck and Happiness Vending Machines, which engaged consumers in the physical world, and helped those consumers propagate the experience via digital.

You also saw Microsoft use branded mobile game apps like "Dance Cam" to engage in the physical world by enabling folks to create dance videos on their mobile phones and then share them.

And ad hoc physical world social networks will become commonplace. Look at efforts like Heineken's personalized QR codes for music festivals, where users can create their own customized QR code stickers that other attendees can scan to spark up conversation.

Factor in augmented reality, and "liking" things in the physical world will take on all-new forms.

In a world gone mobile, having a desktop presence or experience becomes increasingly irrelevant.

4. 'Presence' Takes A Backseat to Campaigns

As I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, the first question to ask about social media is not "how?" It's "why?" When you think in terms of objectives, you begin to see the value of augmenting social "presence" - that much vaunted, ongoing conversation with consumers - with specific, short term and very actionable campaigns.

Look at Mercedes' "You Drive," a TV campaign that viewers could "drive" via Twitter. Or Mustang's "Dream Mustang" social media street fight. And of course, Coca-Cola's live social Super Bowl experience - in which the brand's popular polar bears comment on the game and ad bowl commercials in real time.

These are short-term efforts designed to engage consumers for a specific amount of time, around a specific promotion. Look for more of that in 2013, especially in the form of games.

3. Brands Bash Social Media

We're all finding ourselves starting to unfriend "friends" who aren't really, well, friends in an effort to get as authentic in our online relationship building as we are offline. With growth rates for Facebook leveling off in mature markets, attrition may come to the fore. Already, a huge bulk of brand "likes" are from inactive accounts.

Perhaps it's no surprise that more brands are using social media to poke fun at social media instead of glorifying it. Mitsubishi's "Unpretentious" app enables you to run over your most annoying Facebook friends, for instance. And DKNY recently made fun of social media by creating a fake success story to build actual buzz through social media.

Indeed, I've said this before and I think it will continue in the year ahead: For some brands in some categories, a premium will be placed on how few friends and follows you have, instead of how many. Authentic, high quality connections will begin to mean far more to brands than mass, unqualified connections.

2. More Standalone Branded Social Platforms Emerge

To engage consumers in social, marketers have largely turned to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and so on - with good reason. You should reach consumers where consumers congregate. But as mentioned in trend #5, that doesn't mean in some desktop Internet experience anymore. It's the physical world.

In 2013, more brands will move beyond viewing social media as (just) a cool way to connect with consumers, and start viewing social media as a cool way to enable consumers to connect with one another, enabled by the brand.

One of my favorite examples actually emerged a few years ago, when Vail Resorts launched Epic Mix, a mobile app that enables groups of real friends to connect with one another while they're skiing. They can see where their friends are physically on the slopes. They can automate status updates based on those activities. They can earn points that they can redeem back at the lodge. And once they're back home, they can review their performance and share it with the broader community.

One need only look at PlayStation Home, AMEX OPEN, and Johnson & Johnson's BabyCenter to see that social media is about lot more than Facebook & Twitter - and that brands can be the enabler of community, instead of just a participant.

1. Social Media Go Geriatric - While Teens Keep on Texting

In 2013, more brands will begin to realize that social platforms like Facebook and Twitter have profound value for reaching people over the age of 40, the fastest-growing segment of users. But millennials use social far differently.

I'll put it this way. If a parent wants to know what a teen wants them to know about, check out the teen's Facebook page. To find out what a teen is really up to, check his or her text messages.

As the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported this year, 63% of teens say texting is their preferred mode of communication on a daily basis, compared to just 29% for social media sites (regardless of which device they're accessed on).

Teens just aren't as into sharing their lives with the world as adults think they are. They're far more interested in closed loop systems like text messaging where they can connect with friends - and, sometimes, the brands they know and trust.

As figures like this become the norm, it’s clear that media’s charter has changed. Beyond a slight course correction or even a pivot, we’re talking 180-degree change. Continue down the same path and you’re hot on the heels of dinosaurs.

Media delivered the mail for marketers for a long time. You thought it was there to provide you with programming you’d relate to, learn from, and fall in love with? Puh-lease. Make no mistake: you’re the mark, the advertiser is the hunter, and the media channel is pointer nosing you out, flushing you, and chasing you relentlessly until you give in and get bagged. Media companies gave away stuff free or dirt cheap because what consumers gave was found money – a rounding error in the grand scheme of things. The entire enterprise was funded by Madison Avenue.

Media math was simple: deliver enough quality content and reach audience scale. Achieve scale and advertisers will pay you for delivering the quarry.

Now it doesn’t add up like it used to.

You see, a funny thing happened. Some “up with the people” technologists figured out the equation and decided to do something about it. Seemingly overnight, most towns went from one paper, three television stations, and a handful of radio stations to hundreds or thousands of each from around the globe. Content became liberated from form. Newspapers became synonymous with “news” not “paper.” Radio became audio and emanated from phones, iPads, and even cable channels (in addition to your car stereo). Television became decoupled from the video that fueled it, relegated to just an appliance, not a magic box as it was once regarded.

Seeing where things were heading, media companies did the Big Boomerang out of enlightened self-interest. As the marketplace became fractured, efficiency flagged. Their hand with their ad masters became diminished as they brought less eyes and ears (and wallets) to the party every year.

So they switched allegiances. Media became Mediators.

Now, they create content much more with the consumer in mind. Things got specialized and relevant. Their “big tent” approach where they played to the middle to keep everyone (somewhat) happy gave way to working the corners, moving audience out of a nameless and faceless herd and into little groups of similar tastes, perspectives and locations.

Ultimately, media will not only deliver content to these little groups but they’ll deliver messages from them to advertisers as brokered by the media property. “They’re willing to give you the following personal information in exchange for limited, highly specific adverting and equally relevant content on a purely opt-in basis. And PS—they want a vote in the narrative as well.”

If you want to listen to Yiddish Dance Music, there are plenty of stations to choose from. Want to learn the intimate thoughts and life stories of albino hoarders? Tune in and find out. These slivers of special interests sometimes get aggregated together with others and packaged up for advertisers with huge scale. Equally, they can be spoken-to very personally in smaller groups without being shouted at.

Danish-loving-fetishishts of the world rejoice!

This list may spark a Twitterstorm all its own.

We know some people are going to disagree with our list.  Indeed, in some quarters, the fact that we didn’t include Kony 2012 is going to be enough to send some in the socialsphere over the edge.

It is, after all, arguably the most astonishingly successful social media effort ever. And everyone (everyone) is reverse engineering the campaign to see if they can replicate it.

It’s just that ultimately (again, don’t hate), we found certain aspects of the effort unsettling for
reasons we haven’t quite taken the time to fully puzzle together in our own minds.

But the other, far more important reason: This particular list is for brand-oriented social initiatives
versus cause-oriented efforts (or political, for that matter - which would have resulted in the Obama campaign's inclusion on our list this year).

And in that regard, like a few of our Top 10 lists so far this year, it is one that is dominated by Coca-Cola. It's no wonder the brand has been named the 'Creative Marketer of the Year' for the 2013 Cannes Festival.

So: Here’s our list. If you disagree, make your own list and share.

10. Social Media Street Fight: Duke It Out for Your Dream Mustang

Mustang’s not horsing around when it comes to social media.

9. ‘Dance Cam’ Mobile App Lets You Create Music Videos on Phone, Share & Vote Via Facebook

Not only fun, but serious blackmail material, too.

8.  Pepsi Next Internet Taste Test

Move over social celeb-crazy
Old Spice Guy. Comedians in this campaign impersonate consumers who Like the brand, based their sure-to-be-embellished Facebook Profiles

7. Dove Lets You Give Facebook Ads A Makeover

Turn downer beauty ads that feature negative or unrealistic imagery into uplifting ads that eschew beauty industry stereotypes.

6. DKNY Fakes Social Buzz to Spark The Real Thing

Why go to all the trouble of building social media buzz when you can just fake it and achieve the same thing?

5. 'Unpretentious' App: Mitsubishi Drives Down Your Most Obnoxious Facebook Friends

Obliterating your most annoying Facebook friends? Yeah, there’s an app for that.

4. Let’s Eat Together: Coca-Cola Happiness Truck

A new twist on sharing a Coke and a smile.

3. Project Re:Brief from Google & Coke

A mobile-meets-social take on Coke’s classic “Hilltop” spot. Oh, and winner of the 1^st ever
Cannes Mobile Grand Prix.

2. Mercedes Launches ‘You Drive’ – A TV Campaign You Drive, Via Twitter

Call it a crowdsourced cliffhanger

1. Coca-Cola’s Polar Bears React to Super Bowl (Even Other Ads) Live Via Social Media

Brought the ad bowl to a whole new level of social interactivity.  Oh and attracted 9 million viewers who spent an average of 28 minutes with the brand.

With the rise of many quality blogs, online publications, and digital video and social media, we continue to see this content shift online faster than ever before, and the old school newspaper monetization model doesn’t work online. For instance, even if a newspaper sold all of their banners at the highest possible CPMs, it would never make up for what they have lost from their traditional model, and therefore will never be able to support the glory days of newspapers. Say a newspaper could sell four banner ads on a page for $10 CPM each (and that’s being generous). For every 1,000 page views, they would make $40. Applying Denver Post’s comScore stats for last month where they generated 45,000,000 page views, they would make $1,800,000 per month. I can guarantee you that the incremental $1.8M made from banner ads comes nowhere near what they used to make from their traditional model.

An additional problem for publishers is that the Internet is considered by most to be inherently free, which explains why publishers have struggled to establish payment models online. And the problem isn’t limited to the news publishing industry – many different industries struggle to churn out the content readers/viewers desire while remaining profitable.

The TV industry is a perfect example; when TV content first moved online, broadcasters and content providers made some TV content available for free. Even if you think back to the beginning of Hulu, it was a free service before they added HuluPlus, their premium subscription site. However, as more users have gone online for entertainment and opted to ‘cut the cord,’ we’ve seen content providers go to extreme lengths to protect their cable/satellite subscription models by requiring terrestrial subscriptions for online consumption, switching to online subscription-based models, in addition to relying on pre-roll video advertising. This has created a confusing environment for consumers, but we must also recognize this is an environment full of experimentation and testing. And while confusing, choice is usually a good thing for consumers.

We continue to see a wide variety of business models created for accessing content online, making one point very clear: the future of media is paid. Publishers and content providers simply can’t afford to provide content for free without getting something in return. But as some companies are finding out, what they receive in return doesn’t always have to be money or ad dollars, it can be a user’s time or even actions like posting on a brand’s Facebook wall. The good news is that consumers have shown they’re willing to pay or give their time for content they care about.

The New York Times paywall is a great example of a paid model that is working. When they first launched the paywall in early 2011, many were skeptical that readers would pay to access New York Times content online. Fast-forward almost two years later, and the paper boasts more than 530,000 paying subscribers for its digital editions, with some analysts estimating that the paper will have more digital subscribers than print within a couple of years.

Google recently made a move in an effort to convert engagements into cash by launching a new product, Google Consumer Surveys, which prompts visitors to answer a microsurvey on market research before accessing a site’s content. It’s a win-win for both advertisers and publishers. Advertisers run the surveys and Google pays sites five cents per response. For sites with heavy traffic, that can add up to a lot of cash when combined with their ad revenue.

And it doesn’t end there – a host of Internet-based companies have seen great success by establishing business models that require some sort of payment or engagement. The freemium model, which offers basic products or services for free, but charges premiums for advanced features, has seen an incredible amount of success with companies like Pandora and Dropbox leading the charge.

Options for watching TV content online are improving as well, and several companies have developed options for consumers when viewing the video ads played before entertainment content. Solve Media is allowing consumers to skip ads by typing in a captcha, and SkipIt allows viewers to earn opportunities to skip video ads by liking a brand on Facebook or paying a small fee. This is important to publishers because in a recent SpotXchange survey, more than 90% of consumers said they were more likely to visit a website more often if it allowed them to skip video ads.

The Internet is a dynamic environment where users create their own experience. Media companies are quickly realizing that they can no longer just copy the business models of their traditional broadcast and print mediums. It’s also clear that consumers are open to choice and paying a premium for the services and content they want online. The challenge for publishers and content providers is deciding what exactly that business model will look like.

Consumers are ignoring ads like never before and banner blindness is plaguing the industry. Even if consumers were paying attention, many ads wouldn’t be “in view”:  They’re served below the fold, or take longer to load than the time viewers typically spend on the page.

So how can you make sure your ads will be seen? Get ads into the content stream. It’s where you and every other consumer on earth spend the bulk of their time: watching, listening and reading content.

Companies like Vibrant Media create “in-content” brand-discovery solutions that get brand messages into those content streams, where consumers are actually paying attention. These placements are the polar opposite of the old static banner ads that sit quietly in the right rail of the page, just waiting to be ignored. For example, Vibrant has contextually relevant rich-media brand canvases that take all of your great content – such as the social media channels you spent so much sweat and treasure to populate – and bring it into the editorial well, where it’s ready to be discovered by consumers who are interested.

Now that you’re in the content, what are you going to deliver? There will always be a place for “traditional” digital advertising, whether it is a 15-second web video spot or even a banner ad with a simple call to action. However, we have seen that advertising performs best when it delivers genuine value to the consumer. Create ads that are relevant, fun and engaging. Want to do display? Then make it radically different, like this one from Ikea. Reel people in with ads that are contextually relevant, and really useful like these Jeep ads that run alongside news stories and highlight road conditions and weather info.

Much of the buzz around native advertising focuses on branded content or sponsored content, such as what you see on sites like Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post. It is clear this will grow as an opportunity for publishers seeing their revenue squeezed both online and off.

However, not every brand is going to develop its own content shop with a healthy budget. We should hope to see “hundreds of content shops” blossom, whether they are small home-based operations in Brooklyn or big-time offshoots of ad agencies. We’ve already seen some PR firms get into the game.

Whatever its origin, content is the key (along with context, of course) to the hearts and minds of consumers. Ads need to be fun, value-adding, and “content-like,” and they need to be seen to be appreciated. You’ve engaged them, so now you better be engaging.

Be it a factor of too many companies chasing the same digital budget, the almost inhumane time-constraints on buying teams, or a lack of resources all around, it feels like there’s a communication problem at the end of the sales / RFP / proposal process in digital media.

One common topic that usually comes up over a casual lunch or happy hour is the lack of business etiquette or manners from both sides of the sales aisle when it comes to the final part of the proposal process. The buyer perspective is something like this:  “An RFP is not a promise of business, I’m sorry you didn’t make the plan this time – just wasn’t a fit - but if you continue to hound me and fire emails into the client there likely won’t be a next time.”  The seller perspective is generally looking for more insight:  “Just give it to me straight – did we or didn’t we make it?  If not, can I have feedback a little more detailed than ‘Budget cuts’ or ‘Change in Direction’?”

A thread recently popped up on SellerCrowd asking for “Things that media planners say.” Here are a few entertaining (or sad, depending on where you sit) responses:

-       Sucré:  “We'll reach out if we see a fit!”

-       Midas:  "We are going with preferred partners"

-       Cervantes:  "Thanks for the great lunch, but how about next time we do a helicopter tour of Manhattan for the team? Another vendor did that for another team here and it sounds fun!" That was before they spent any money with me, too...”

-       Parsley:  “My favorite response...NOTHING!”

-       Homer:  “I only answered the phone because I didn't recognize your number on caller ID, but now that we're talking, I have to go because I have a client conference call starting now. Give me a call back this afternoon and we can talk”

-       Shallots:  “After asking for availability for an in-person meeting I received the following one line as reply..."Those weeks will be tough, apologies"

These are six from a total of 40 responses. That’s right, 40.

And to keep it a level playing field, I reached out to some friends on the Agency side to get the other perspective:  Things reps do, but shouldn’t:

-       Telling us that they have spoken to the client about a program, and that the client is super excited about it and wants to move forward, when they have not spoken to anyone on the client side at all

-       Playing the lowly salesman unable to meet a quota card

-       Upon hearing the news they didn’t make the plan, saying:  “You know everyone in your content vertical is running with us except you all”

-       I once had a rep I thought was a friend and didn't make the plan.  I knew his inventory was tight so I emailed him an informal one off to let him know he wasn't on the plan. He then forwarded it to my director and the client even though in my email I said I would follow up with further rationale.

-       When they get my name wrong – really wrong as in “Hey Tiffany”, um, it’s Elizabeth, thanks though.

And this story deserves a spot all its own:

“I was extremely busy as an assistant planner, and was working on putting together a plan recommendation and hadn’t gotten back to a rep on an RFP they had sent a week earlier.  I was sitting at my desk when all of a sudden, a person in a monkey suit approached me and started singing a song and doing a dance.  As this was happening, the entire office was curious to know what was going on and crowded around the dancing monkey.  I was totally confused by this monkey, until he handed me a note with a banana – it read “you’re bananas if you don’t work with us”.  I supposed after several attempts at emailing and calling me, the rep thought this was a good way to reach me.  Needless to say, he never got my business again.”

I’d like to propose an informal media sales code, which boils down to a combination of communication and manners.  As sellers, let’s pick up the professionalism and manners, and buyers, please communicate the good, the bad and the ugly with us.  And speaking directly from experience to the Sellers out there – In an industry where a 40% close rate is hall of fame material, you’re not going to make every plan you submit a proposal on.  Don’t take it personally and be ready for the next time you’re up to bat.

A special thanks to my friends on the agency side who shared their stories.

In part five of our August Mobile Marketing Roundtable, we move beyond mere Social + Local + Mobile to Social + Local + Mobile + Commerce, the ability to not just connect with consumers via the mobile channel based on where they are, but also to enable transactions based on that context.

This time out, you'll get some outstanding insights from Jonathan Becher, CMO for softare giant SAP, and Dorrian Porter, CEO of longtime GEN WOW sponsor Mozes.

At the heart of the conversation: A new report from ABI Research that by 2017, one quarter of all online sales will come through mobile. Retailers can choose to do what they can to stem this tide, or capitalize on it in powerful ways through the power of SoLoMoCo.

SOCIAL + MOBILE + LOCAL + COMMERCE: MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 5)

>> CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO: Social + Mobile + Local + Commerce & The Future of Retailing <<

(Approx 5:27)

Also, don't miss:

PART 1: SAP CMO: 'Digital is Dead' - And So Is Mobile

PART 2: Mobile 'Happiness': Coca-Cola's Secrets of Mobile Marketing Success

PART 3: Social + Mobile + Local & The Facebook Free-Fall

PART 4: Foursquare's New 'Promoted Updates' & The Race to Make Location Click

Foursquare has always been at the forefront of location-based mobile marketing, and it is always at the vanguard of what's next in this nascent arena. (Listen to my Q&A with Foursquare Co-Founder Dennis Crowley on the eve of the launch of Foursquare to get a sense of his early vision for the service.)

But as innovative as it is, even Foursquare is still finding its footing in what's possible and what's compelling for both marketers and consumers when it comes to SoLoMo.

In recent weeks, Foursquare has launched Promoted Updates, an advertising product that gives merchants a way to reach people who are near their stores, based on location and interest as indicated in past check-ins and other data.

In part four of our August Mobile Marketing Roundtable, GEN WOW sponsor and Mozes CEO Dorrian Porter, SAP CMO Jonathan Becher and Ignited LA VP/CD Jordan Atlas weigh in on this new feature and some of the current challenges in making location a vital part of the SoLoMo equation.

SOCIAL + MOBILE + LOCAL & THE FUTURE OF FOURSQUARE: MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 4)

>> CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO: Foursquare & The Race to Make Location Click <<

(Approx 5:40)

Also, don't miss:

PART 1: SAP CMO: 'Digital is Dead' - And So Is Mobile

PART 2: Mobile 'Happiness': Coca-Cola's Secrets of Mobile Marketing Success

PART 3: Social + Mobile + Local & The Facebook Free-Fall

In part three of our August Mobile Marketing Roundtable, Jordan Atlas, VP/Creative Director for Ignited LA joins our conversation with Jonathan Becher, CMO of software giant SAP (middle image) and Dorrian Porter, CEO of longtime GEN WOW sponsor Mozes (bottom).

As I open up questions to the group, we get a perspective on Facebook's challenges in mobile. In recent days, key mobile marketing execs have left the company, news hit that 83 million Facebook accounts may be fake, and the stock has been hammered in the runnup to the end of its first lock-up period.

Can Facebook effectively monetize mobile. And if so, what models might it employ?

Our panelists - a Fortune 100 chief marketing officer, an award-winning ad industry creative director and the CEO of one of the most innovative mobile marketing solution providers weigh in on this very hot topic.

>> CLICK HERE to Listen to: Social + Mobile + Local & The Facebook Free-Fall (Roundtable Pt 3) <<

(Approx 7:52)

Also, don't miss:

PART 1: SAP CMO: 'Digital is Dead' - And So Is Mobile

PART 2: Mobile 'Happiness': Coca-Cola's Secrets of Mobile Marketing Success

In part two, we hear from Dorrian Porter (pictured top), CEO of longtime GEN WOW Mobile Roundtable sponsor Mozes, on how his company and Coca-Cola have been quietly revolutionizing the way this iconic brand uses mobile to connect with consumers in amazing new ways - and why text may still be the killer app.

Consider it a warm-up to a special, must-attend webinar Mozes, the Mobile Marketing Association & Coca-Cola's Center for Mobile Excellence is hosting this Thursday, August 16th at 11 AM Pacific, where you'll get the inside scoop on how to become best-in-class in mobile marketing.

Along the way, we'll hear about how brands like Macy's are taking the cue - and launching new mobile marketing initiatives of its own.

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 2): MOBILE 'HAPPINESS': COCA-COLA'S SECRETS OF MOBILE MARKETING SUCCESS

>> CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MOBILE 'HAPPINESS': MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE PT 2 <<

(Approx 6:26)

That's the word from Jonathan Becher, chief marketing officer for enterprise software giant SAP, in a new Gen Wow Mobile Marketing Roundtable.

This time out, Becher is joined by Jordan Atlas, vice president/creative director for LA digital marketing powerhouse Ignited LA, and Dorrian Porter, founder and CEO of longtime Gen Wow sponsor Mozes, which is teaming up with Coca-Cola's Center for Mobile Excellence for a must-attend webinar on mobile marketing best practices this Thursday at 11 AM Pacific.

As many observers have no doubt noticed, Becher is one of only a handful of Fortune 100 CMOs with an active social media presence. In part one, I ask Becher about his views on a report last week from Fortune magazine on the sorry state of CEOs and social media. Along the way, we'll hear why Becher is predicting the death of social (and mobile) - and his three recommended steps for companies looking to capitalize on the mobile channel.

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): DIGITAL IS DEAD - AND SO IS MOBILE

CLICK HERE to Listen to: GEN WOW Mobile Marketing Roundtable Pt1: Digital Is Dead - and So Is Mobile

(Approx 7:02)

Click here to view the embedded video.

During this concert, the band was playing on a stage that was 50 meters above the crowd.

As Adverblog reports, in order to bring the band down lower, the audience had to "download" them by using their mobile devices to log onto Coke FM and download songs from the band. As they did, the performers would be lowered closer to the public.

This effort, from Ogilvy Columbia, seems to have been a lively way for activate this live event through mobile. And as you can plainly see, it worked.

A QR code or something to instantly log on and download songs could have made this even more immediate.

Either way, Coca-Cola has done it again.

Coca-Cola Mobile Marketing Webinar Thursday, August 16 at 11 AM PDT

For those interested in finding out more about how Coca-Cola leverages the power of mobile - especially during live events - Coke's Center for Mobile Excellence is hosting a Webinar August 16 with the Mobile Marketing Association and Mozes, a client of mine that specializes in brand activation using mobile at live events.

At 'Become Best-in-Class in Mobile Marketing, attendees will learn:

- How to approach cultivating an in-house mobile expert or team.

- How mobile is transforming the event experience.

- How to convert participation into long-term relationships.

- Best practices for building a successful mobile engagement strategy incorporating audience engagement.

Moderator: Michael Becker, Managing Director, North America

MMA Speakers:

- Tara Scarlett, Senior Manager, CRM and Mobile Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company

- Chris Bigda, Connections Planning & Investment, Media & Interactive, The Coca-Cola Company

- Dorrian Porter, CEO, Mozes Inc.

To find out more and to register to attend, click here.

And to find out more about the Coke 'Download The Concert Initiative' click here.