5 Famous Ad Campaigns That Actually Hurt Sales Jared has sold a shitload of Subway sandwiches. Ronald McDonald has become one of the most recognizable characters in the history of human civilization. They are what ad executives dream about: campaigns that become media sensations and make the company billions. But then there are the ad campaigns that only do the first part; everybody can quote them, but they didn't actually make people buy the product. Like ... The Taco Bell Chihuahua Getty Created in 1997, the Taco Bell Chihuahua was the fast-food chain's big attempt to establish a mascot for their brand. David ShankboneA Chihuahua in its natural state: filled with rage. The dog itself (first played by a dog named Binky, then quickly replaced by one named Gidget, presumably over a bitter contract dispute) and its catchphrase "Yo quiero Taco Bell" skyrocketed in mainstream popularity, as irritating things have a habit of doing. Chihuahua-mania swept America, and Taco Bell's future never looked better. So What Went Wrong?
Leading Spark and Resource for Word of Mouth Conversations Is the answer really the Web? A recently published study from Google/Keller Fay Group Study* found that: Word of Mouth conversations still predominantly take place face to face. 93% of word of mouth (WOM) brand impressions occur offline.The Internet is both the leading spark of WOM conversations and the #1 resource utilized to take action after conversation. Search impacts more than 15% of all Word of Mouth conversations.Google is the #1 spark of Word of Mouth conversations and the #1 place people turn to after conversations for more information.Google directly informs 146 million brand conversations a day.Word of Mouth impressions generated by search are 25% more credible and 17% more likely to lead to purchase than those generated by online social media sites. True, we still get things done through search vs. in social networks. As the study says, search, and Google specifically, informs 146MM of conversations a day, more than 15% of all conversations. What do you think? [h/t Stowe Boyd]
Minimalist Internet Marketing: My Personal Guide Minimalism seems to be a hot topic these days and rightly so. People like clutter-free living and getting things done. After listening to a recent podcast between minimalist Leo Babauta and problogger, Darren Rowse, I started thinking about how I could apply minimalism to my internet marketing operations. After all, I’m sure we can all agree there is time we spend on a computer each day that isn’t spent doing relevant tasks. I personally know that I check Tweetdeck, Facebook, and my email inbox far more often than necessary. If you’re not familiar with minimalism, then you might be wondering about the benefits that it offers. Before I give specifics on a minimalist internet marketing set-up, I want to dive into what the benefits of operating like this may be. To that, I say: I’m writing as much as I need to write to help you do less. – When you sit in front of your PC or Laptop each day there should be one thing on your mind: getting things done. Keep it simple. {*style:<b> </b>*}
How To Build Multi-Purpose Landing Pages For Small Budget Advertising For a long time, I thought utilizing a strong Landing Page Optimization program was only available to large companies with large budgets. The software to create landing pages on the fly by keyword is pricey, and the learning curve is significant. If you have the time, budget and manpower to utilize a design team and software that builds a landing page for every paid, organic, social and email marketing keyword or blast you send — Awesome! The reality is, most of us do have time and budget limitations. Getting permission to spend thousands on software isn’t likely, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the idea. Think a bit deeper and build your landing pages for multiple purposes. In the past, we would build a website, and send clicks to the homepage of that site. Limited budgets don’t mean you have to completely remove LPO from your marketing vocabulary. Then think about the reality that not every keyword needs a landing page. Layout Your Landing Page Target Keywords Add Content
Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony to divorce - Entertainment - Celebrities Singers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are getting a divorce, PEOPLE Magazine reports. "This was a very difficult decision," the couple told the magazine. "It is a painful time for all involved and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time." J.Lo and Anthony on what marriage was like The couple also said they have reached "amicable conclusions on all matters." J.Lo's big announcement isn't about 'Idol' They wed in 2004 and have 3-year-old twins, Max and Emme. Story: 35 million reasons why J.Lo might not return to 'Idol' Lopez was a judge on "American Idol" last season, but has not yet announced if she will return to the show. In April, the pair announced plans for a television show together, "Q'Viva! Slideshow: Celebrity couples who work together (on this page) The show had no airdate, and it's unclear if it will continue. Story: J.Lo and Marc Anthony will still do reality show Lopez released her latest album, titled "Love?" Slideshow: Jennifer Lopez's rise to fame (on this page)
Google+ Will Succeed Where FriendFeed, Buzz and Wave Failed. But Will It Go Mainstream? [10+ Links] You can find the Google+ thread I found this image of Tyler Durden on here. My 10 Links posts are in a way a homage to the original Google search results, which were always 10 links. That isn’t really the case anymore but the remnants are still there. With all the *Buzz* about Google+ it seemed like a forgone conclusion that I would do a 10 Links post. I don’t have a lot of personal opinion to add at this time but I do think that Google+ will succeed where FriendFeed, Buzz and Wave all failed. The big question is will it become a major player? Yes and no. But trying to predict future acceptance on it’s current state would be a mistake. Without further ado, here’s the 10+ Links (seemed only right to throw in a few extra): 1 - TNW: Google+ and its two-pronged relevance problem Google However Google+ has one huge challenge ahead – relevance – both in terms of finding a place in people’s everyday lives and making sure it serves users with exactly what they want. Sound familiar? Name drop moment.
Google+ Brand Page Concept Naturally, with the advent of any new social platform, brands want to be included. Almost immediately after the Google+ launch, we started to see a few, mainly tech-related blogs, creating brand profiles there. However, the Google+ profiles aren’t really set up for brands. The profiles ask a lot of questions more applicable to humans–for example–if a profile is male or female. This created some initial confusion, but Google VP of Products, Bradley Horowitz, quickly responded with: ”Let me be clear – and I’m sorry if this wasn’t obvious – we are not currently supporting brands, organizations, and non-human entities in the Google+ field trial.Supporting these non-human entities is an obviously great feature – we have no allergy to it at all! So, while we wait to see how Google plans to incorpate brands into Google+, I decided to come up with a little concept of how that might look. Related: The Google Plus 50 Add me to a circle:
I Pledge Allegiance to the Pole There is a telephone pole outside my house - seven steps down the front porch, one step across the sidewalk, and there it is - that leans only slightly enough to the right to raise concern. It does it's job tolerably well, as least as well as its sagging brethren that hover along and above my tired old Brighton sidestreet. It offers no complaints. Take a close look, however, and all of a sudden this simple, slightly splintered nondescript thing makes you think. Once upon a time a utility worker planted that pole in that spot, another utility worker strung the wild carnival of electrical wires that are still festooned above my house, and now I get to enjoy electricity and cable television and all the nonsense that goes along with both. The nails in that pole will get you thinking if you look at them long enough. Each message, once upon a time, was important enough to nail up, and each message is remembered now only by the nails left behind. What, indeed? Funny how that works out. Right?
Why People Follow Brands This is a great infographic that has just been released from the team at get satisfaction. It gives you an interesting insight into why people follow brands in the social media space. The main reason is pretty obvious, apart from being a current customer of the brand, is to receive special offers or deals, however there are some other interesting stats in this infographic. The highlights: Over 97% of people say that social media has influenced their decision to make a purchase of a brand or product.Over 23% of people have downloaded a branded app onto their mobile devise.Over 18% of people follow a brand on Facebook for interesting and entertaining content.Over 22% of people follow a brand on Twitter for interesting and entertaining content. Is there anything here that you find surprising? Be Sociable, Share!