College Students Head Back to School

College Back-to-School Spending Rises

In a recent survey conducted by Alloy Media + Marketing and Harris Interactive, year-over-year back-to-school spending by students is projected to increase by 13 percent.  The report is part of Alloy’s 10th annual “College Explorer” survey, which analyzes the spending habits of college students.

The report found that students were not only spending on mandatory back-to-school purchases (books, room, board and tuition) which are increasing, but also technology, gaming and beauty products.  Overall, 3 percent more per month on discretionary purchases compared to last year, or $69 billion in total spend.

Making the Connection with Mom

The Mom Connection

Moms buy everything from diapers to desks, lipstick to laptops and moisturizers to mini-vans.  With an annual spending of over $2 trillion, just about every brand has recognized the buying power they possess.  To effectively reach this lucrative demographic it is essential that marketers address the four key emotional drivers that motivate moms to make consumer decisions.

Marketers who speak to moms with a message that is relevant, valuable and in a language they understand will capture this advantageous buying power.  Perhaps most important are timing and placement – what good is the right message in the wrong place?

IAB Long-Tail Alliance publishers on Capitol Hill

Earlier this week, it was my pleasure to represent Apparel Media Group at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s 2nd annual Long Tail Alliance DC Fly-in.  Over the course of the two day program, dozens of small content publishers and interactive ad networks participated in interactive panels on topics ranging from direct selling into brands to malware control and lobbied members of congress and the senate on behalf of more than 375 companies responsible for selling  over 86% of online advertising in the United States.

I had the opportunity to discuss key issues around consumer privacy and the collection of information online, interactive ad targeting, and industry regulation with five members congress and their legislative staffers.  In these discussions, it was clear that Members of Congress both on and outside of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are concerned with the well-being of small businesses that depend on the ability to sell targeted interactive advertising to provide jobs for their employees and valuable content to their audiences.

Shout-outs to Google DC office staffers for hosting a heck of a dinner and to Tara at Venable for an awesome job chaperoning our group!

[Update - 6/24:  WSJ - To stem privacy abuses, industry groups will track web trackers]

[Update - 6/21:  NPR - Lawmakers try to introduce new bill]

[Update - 6/20:  Politico -  Website owners lobby against bill]

DEWmocracy Project

Mountain Dew Crowd Sources Media Planning

Mountain Dew is once again tapping the collective intelligence of it’s most passionate consumers.  The DEWmocracy project, now in its second iteration, kicked off last year with the brand asking 4,000 of its most loyal fans to help in creating three new Mountain Dew flavors.  Participants were first split up into groups to campaign for their favorite flavor followed by a series of nationwide events to drum up support for their particular drink.  This time, agencies were asked to pitch their creative ideas to the three groups, who in turn got to vote where the adverts would run and on which platforms.

Frank Cooper, chief engagement officer at PepsiCo said, “By maintaining an open dialog with our consumer through an intense, year-long collaborative project, we’ve offered them an opportunity to leave their imprint on a brand they truly love and have solidified an even stronger relationship with fans who matter most.”

Connect By Hertz is #1 at the Buck I Slam Basketball Tournament!

The Connect by Hertz campaign at The Ohio State University is in full swing, or should we say slam dunk!  Check out the latest photos, from the Buck I Slam basketball tournament, on AMG’s facebook page.

It's Time to Hit the Reset

Why It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button on Trust

In an age of digital and social media trust is a hard word to define.  Wikipedia defines a trusted party as one who is “presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes, laws and their previous promises.” 

Cluetrain Manifesto’s co author, Doc Searls, warns of a coming “advertising bubble” and a push-media “attention economy” crash.  If this is true, then marketers in particular need to recount and rehash the rules of trust.

Trust has three main components:  credibility (delivering on promises), care (demonstrating an understanding of the other party’s needs) and congruency (the extent to which a brand’s and a consumer’s values are aligned).  To foster trust, marketers must think of it as an overarching principle, one that transcends sales.

Consumers trust the brands that demonstrate they really mean it.

Tweeter

Twitter Unveils Plans to Draw Money From Ads

Twitter unveiled a plan Tuesday to use advertising to turn its massive popularity into cash.  “Promoted Tweets” will allow businesses and organizations to highlight their 140 character or less messages to a wider group of users.  Under a system reminiscent of Google’s advertising formats, businesses will be able to buy ads that appear in Twitter’s search results.  Brands including Starbucks, Best Buy, Red Bull, Sony Pictures and Virgin America will be the first customers to experiment with ”Promoted Tweets”.

Now that the ad platform has been revealed and Twitter is focused on making money, the question is this:  will users engage with or reject Twitter ads?

Email Counting T-Shirt

T-Shirt Let’s You Know When “You’ve Got Mail”

You probably don’t have enough reminders that you’re always a little behind, right?  Well Chris and his wife Madeline decided to make one more for themselves:  A t-shirt that lights up when you have new emails.  It even tells you the number in your inbox!

Personally, I hope they don’t start requiring this at work!

The Relationship Era Inspires at SxSW

The Relationship Era Inspires at SxSW

During SxSW Mark McKinney and Dan Patterson (of imc²) presented the idea of a new era in marketing that is more focused on brand sustainability than the prevailing promote –> persuade –> sell model on which the industry has relied for the last 50 years or so (and that is less effective).  The general consensus among participants was that having this conversation is a great start but there is still a lot of work to be done if this evolution to the relationship era is to take place sooner than later.

The Relationship Era Core Conversation was one of the best at SxSW.  Cutting edge strategic thoughts were openly discussed and debated by people from agencies and brands throughout the country – it’s only a matter of time before this sort of thinking dominates live strategic brand positioning discussions.

US Internet Users More Likely to Buy

Social Fans More Likely to Purchase

If a business doesn’t have a presence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook they risk being seen as “out of touch” while missing out on valuable word of mouth and even sales.  Ina recent study by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate not only are Facebook fans and Twitter followers apt to recommend brands they follow to others, they are also more likely to make a purchase from those brands.

While 60% of Facebook users and 79% of Twitter users are more likely to recommend a brand after becoming a friend or fan, over half of Facebook users and 67% of Twitterers are more likely to purchase from brands they latch on to.

“Companies not actively engaging are missing a huge opportunity and are saying something to consumers – intentionally or unintentionally – about how willing they are to engage on consumers’ terms,” according to Josh Mendelsohn, VP at Chadwick Martin Bailey.  Today’s consumers expect that a business will have a digital presence and the perception is that those that don’t are out of touch or are not interested in the demographic that frequents Facebook and Twitter.