Music Videos as a Means to Communicate

Although their popularity may be declining now, music videos very recently played a huge part in the way young adults entertained themselves. Many products appear in popular songs, such as "Fergilicious" mentioning Seven Jeans and True Religion or R Kelly's lyrics of "sipping on coke and rum." The music videos of these songs also make sure to clearly show the product much like a product-placement spot in a TV show.

Although brand-dropping has been a relatively common practice in the past few years, marketers often haven't taken it further than that. It surprises me that no one has thought of any other way to include products or brands into music on a higher level, especially given what has been done with video games, webisodes, and the like. Here is a music video I found on YouTube that might show the future of music video advertising:

This music video and song are both completely based around one product. They don't just mention the product or flash it on the screen once; the entire purpose of the song and music video are to promote the product, which in this case is the new DC shoe. This artist-product partnership makes perfect sense and it allows two brands to work together in cross-promotion.

There are two sides to this story, however, as many consumers may see this technique as an outright advertising tool and therefore, boycott such brands that take part in it. In order to best target their markets with creative strategies such as these, advertisers need to make sure they don't push the envelope too far and overtake areas of people's lives that people don't want touched. 

Oh the Glories of Email.

Email has continued to surprise me. Yes, you are probably thinking, "Wow this girl is nuts - she's talking about email like it's the new white bread," BUT once you think about how many untaken opportunities email can provide, I think you'll start jumping on my bandwagon.

First, it took the place of letters. Whether or not this helped their social skills, many people began using email in order to keep in contact with old friends. Hand-written letters are often a thing of the past and email has facilitated both short and long distance communication. It's so easy to type out a quick "Happy Birthday" email rather than sitting down to write a thoughtful and charming letter. You can never get away with a three-word letter but you definitely can with an email. 

Second, email became integrated into mobile usage and smart phones. Mobile email = lifesaver. I'll even admit that I can't go 10 minutes without checking my email on my phone. Embarrassingly enough, my phone had to be sent back to Apple for 3 days and I still get the shakes thinking about it. Mobile email has made communication move as fast as the rest of the world already does. Businesses can now reply to one another within seconds, meaning that business decisions can now be made almost instantly. 

Now, email is expanding once again. Many marketers are utilizing email to hit their consumers with stories and videos concerning their product. They are essentially turning this rapid form of communication into a mini-commercial. Statistics from the WebVideo Marketing Council say that "73% of [business survey] respondents thought video would raise clickthrough rates for their email programs and the same number believed video made email recipients more likely to convert." 

Email video integration allows advertisers to connect with their loyal customers on an even deeper level. It makes a relationship that much easier and increases the potential for word-of-mouth. The following graph details businesses' ideas on the best way to integrate video into email marketing:

               

There still are a few things that need to be hammered out however. For one, marketers are finding it hard to integrate this new idea into their strategies. It doesn't sound too hard to merely put a video in an email but companies must make sure the video works with the content, attracts viewers to click on it, and actually increases sales before they give it the go-ahead. Also, it's proving to be extremely costly. This chart shows the results of businesses surveyed on their biggest challenging with video email integration:

              

The next time you see a video on the Internet or see a link to one in an email, think about how you respond to it. Do you want to click on it? Does it upset you that a business is using your personal email to advertise even more? More likely than not, your reaction will mimic many others in society. My only question is what in the world is email going to do next? So far, it's been quite surprising!

The New Twitter...

Whoa - a new Twitter interface? That's just crazy talk. Except that it's not...

Twitter: Discover What's New In Your World

Twitter has recently announced that it is giving its website a face lift! The updates will center around integration of various multimedia tools, such as YouTube, TwitPic, and Flickr. The new layout is designed to make the entire site easier to use, given the fact that most users add in videos and news stories anyway. Therefore, this upgrade is perfect for my multitasking generation! We can't even sit on the same page of Facebook for longer than 12 seconds, let alone pay attention to an entire lecture or sit through a movie without looking at our phones. Twitter is taking advantage of our desire to intake as much information as we can in the shortest amount of time. They also are capitalizing on the fact that we jump around to multiple websites within a very short period of time. If Twitter combines the most popular sites all into one, they can keep the attention of many more users, rather than losing them in an instant to the competition.

Reasons for the Twitter change?

1. Many people love Twitter, love the idea that they can interact with celebrities, and love that they can keep up with all of their friends in one easy swoop. But to some users, it's nothing more than that. Many users don't even utilize the status area for themselves, but only keep their account to see what others have to say. This seems like the perfect time, then, to step up their game so to speak and attract those "side-line" users to get into the game.
2. The new upgrade also seems to resemble Facebook, which leads me to believe that Twitter wants to make their site an integrated version of both. This would, like mentioned earlier, "steal" users away from Facebook and keep them on Twitter.
3. In addition, it shows pictures and videos in the stream itself. Once you find something that interests you, just click on the tweet, picture, or video and find out more information. Two screens side-by-side allow users to see the full Twitter interface on one side and the specific person's profile on the other. In this way, users can switch back and forth between browsing tweets and focusing on their preferred ones that they would like to delve deeper into.

Obviously the main problem with this change is how users will respond. If Twitter fans don't like the new interface, they may completely terminate their services and Twitter could end up losing more consumers than they gain. With the new Twitter could also come new advertisements and marketing opportunities. Currently banner ads appear on the mobile versions and celebrity endorsements are EVERYWHERE but there are no pop-up ads or banner ads on the website itself. If users respond positively to the new interface, they could be open to advertisements...or...they could hate the fact that Twitter turned to the "dark side" and made users deal with nagging clutter. As long as the advertisements don't get in the way of using the site and quickly accessing information, I don't think that many users will have a problem with it. Twitter just needs to slowly integrate these changes into the site so as not to disrupt any of those crazy followers out there!

Checking Out Those Check-In Apps.

We are all used to checking in at hotels or airports but what about on your phone? What about checking into your favorite TV show or winery 24 hours a day? With new applications offered online and on smart phones, everyone can advertise their location or what they're doing at all times. Four years ago people were so skeptical about privacy issues that they wouldn't even use their real name on Facebook. Now, people are jumping at the chance to notify their friends of their exact location throughout the day.

Programs, such as GetGlue, now allow consumers to indirectly interact with actors, musicians, or authors whenever they want. Take, for example, an 18 year old boy and his favorite TV star. Traditional social networking sites allow for a simple two-way communication between the product (in this case, the star) and the boy. GetGlue, on the other hand, lets this person advertise what he is doing by "tagging" the star he is watching at that moment. After the boy "checks into" his favorite TV actor, he can send in reviews about the show, make comments concerning the actor, or even look up recommendations he might like based on who he has checked into in the past.

Right now, these programs look as if they are still in the beginning stages. They have gone one step further than Twitter or other social networking sites but they need more distinguishing features that will separate them even more. Also, they haven't fully utilized their potential for advertisements.

In my opinion, another social networking site that doesn't offer much more than interaction will quickly fade into the background of new and exciting applications. So many copycat sites are popping up that consumers are facing clutter and repetition - two things that often bore the multitaskers of this day and age. If, however, GetGlue and others like it begin to gain a following, advertisers need to jump on this band wagon while they still can. If consumers are used to being faced with advertisements from the beginning, there won't be such an outcry against it.

The New TV Strategy?

Consumers are becoming increasingly good at avoiding most traditional, and in some cases, untraditional forms of advertising. Agencies must continually be on the lookout for the next big thing that can catch the eye of a consumer in this media-saturated world. 

Television advertising is obviously one of the most developed media vehicles out there in this day and age...but that does NOT mean that it should be written off as in the past. When DVRs became popular, many advertisers began moving to a "product placement" method, forcing people to watch advertisements in the shows themselves rather than during commercial breaks. Since the introduction of this tactic, companies are always looking for different ways to put their product directly in the show without being as "obvious" as many product placement moments are. Some shows have even been entirely devoted to a product with the story line centering on that good/service. 

One of the most popular ideas for 2010 so far is featuring the product on a talk show. Shows, such as The View,  David Letterman, and Ellen Degeneres have all been utilized in order to promote an item. It definitely is one of the easiest ways to contact a very large portion of your target audience in one swoop. 

Recently, Procter & Gamble featured their new Pringles Xtreme crisps on Jake Sasseville's show, Late Night Republic. The talk show is also hosting an "Inner Xtreme" video contest where viewers can send in their own comedy sketch, showing off their Inner Xtreme for the Pringles' product. Now this late night show is one of the less talked about; however, this strategy perfectly demonstrates how other advertisers are feeling about this new market. The following video is a clip from one of his shows featuring the new Pringles. Pay attention to the way in which he promotes the product in comparison to how Jay Leno may react to it...

Jake Sasseville's Pringles Entry: Late Night Republic



More companies are opting for the smaller approach when using TV, spending their ad bucks on larger promotions rather than attempting to compete with American Idol or Grey's Anatomy. It makes perfect sense when you think about it - why spend more money to advertise on the larger networks where ads are skipped over repeatedly when you could spend your money on "less-prevalent programming venues" where your ads may actually be watched (AdvertisingAge)? 


Consumers are getting tired of the same old - same old. Even the new shift to utilizing talk shows will get old after a few products. By forcing their product to be the star of the show on Sasseville's Late Night Republic, P&G may have caught a few eyes in their target market. How long will this craze last? As long as consumers are willing to sit through shows that feature specific products, I believe this method will ride out its popularity. As of now, the "product shout-outs" aren't interrupting consumers' lives too much but advertisers must learn to either feature the item in an interesting and interactive way or only take up a few seconds of product endorsement before moving onto the show! Us consumers are quite impatient you know :)

The Ever-Changing Media World

The world of media is constantly evolving to incorporate new ideas and technologies. As the times change so must the tools in which advertisers promote their products. Traditional media is often being ignored by consumers with products such as Tivo and digital news sources. Advertisers must then change their tactics in order to get the attention of their target markets. The following article further describes the constantly changing world that advertisers are faced with on a daily basis:

Click here: Sustainable Marketing Starting in 2010.

The first product the article discusses is called Sezmi, which "combines the benefits of wireless digital television broadcasting with broadband internet connection to create a high-quality, cost effective and flexible video entertainment service" (Sezmi). Essentially it integrates multiple media vehicles into one convenient setting, including television, web videos, movies, and podcasts. You can rent or purchase these all through the on-demand store that Sezmi offers. It also features a personalization tool where each member of the family is able to categorize their shows from others. I believe this will completely revolutionize the way we think of TV. People have already changed their view in the last decade with the introduction of different DVRs and Sezmi goes one step further than that.

Another product discussed is the new Motorola Backflip. The phone functions in a similar way to many other smart phones released in the past few years; however, it doesn't actually seem to offer as much as previous models. The main difference in the phone is the design of it: the phone opens up much like a book and the keyboard is located on the backside. So far the Backflip doesn't seem to be making a splash in the technology world. The design of the phone and the features it offers don't match up to the rest of the smart phones offered today.

It is very true that technology and media tools are constantly changing in today's advertising world. Advertisers need to be on the look-out for new ways to promote their products in order to stay relevant in consumers' mind. However, many companies are releasing products that attempt to stay up with the new technology environment and just aren't cutting it. The real question they must ask themselves is whether it is more beneficial to release a product that isn't up to standards or stay one step behind their competitors while focusing on perfecting their current products.