Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Oct 12, 2018)

How Pantene can help fix your #BadHairDay and more in this week’s Marketing in the Digital Age.

Having #ABadHairDay? Pantene Can Help

Summary: Pantene's "14-Day Challenge" invites Instagram and Twitter users to post pictures with the #BadHairDay hashtag to receive a personalized consultation from a Pantene Hair Advisor. The haircare brand has enlisted an "army" of social responders in a new #GreatHairDay Studio to engage with each #BadHairDay post.​ They encourage people to post videos on social media with to be used as ads from “real people” using the product. The brand saw 17x more photos with #BadHairDay than with #GreatHairDay.

Opinion: I am sure the stylists are in need of well-deserved time off after answering that many posts/tweets! The engagement is interesting in that people wanted to share more of the “embarrassing” photos to get advice. Makes sense since there isn’t much interaction needed on a great hair day.

Snap Originals in AR

Summary: Snap will be releasing a dozen new shows catered for their format. It will be leveraging storytelling through an AR focus to make the viewing more interactive. The video will be filmed in a 360-degree format so that the viewer can walk through the scene as if you’re inside of it.

Opinion: Still struggling after the controversial redesign, it begs the question: why doesn’t Snapchat go back to its old format? These videos could be a good addition but still don’t address the fundamental, mass attrition issue.

Facebook Interactions Influence Instagram Feed

Summary: If you like or comment friend’s posts on Facebook, you will be more likely to see this friend’s content on your Instagram feed. Because your Instagram feed is no longer ranked chronologically, a majority of content from friends and family were being missed. Facebook uses machine learning to prioritize what content may be most relevant for you.

Opinion: They are the same company. It’s not rocket science to put one-and-one together to see that they would cross-use data. Especially with the amount of data breaches Facebook has seen, we know they use a lot of data to market.

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Oct 5, 2018)

Selfie deaths on the rise, A.I. written ads, and the QR code resurrection in this week’s Marketing in the Digital Age.

Death By Selfie

Summary: A study from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences found over 250 people have died in the past five years while trying to take a selfie. The country with the most selfie deaths was India followed by Russia, US, and Pakistan.

Opinion: Well, I guess we all have to go sometime.

Burger King’s “A.I. Written” Ads

Summary: Burger King released a series of ads that started with the bleeping sound of a modem and a warning that the ad was created by artificial intelligence. It produced ads around a chicken sandwich like “It tastes like bird.” Lo and behold, the ads were actually created by humans posing as A.I. as a nod to the threat people fear of A.I.

Opinion: Any ad that gets me to write about it I take as good as marketing!

Instagram Introduces Scannable Nametags

Summary: As the title of the article implies, Instagram rolled out scannable, semi-customizable QR name tags for users across the platform. Even though QR codes aren’t huge in the US, they have generated $1.65 TRILLION from transactions in China and Japan, and the hope is it translates over to the US over the coming years.

Opinion: Even with slow adoption of it in the US, scannable QR codes have provide their worth in spades with our friends in the East. Makes sense to incorporate it as international growth for these companies become increasingly important.

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Sept 28, 2018)

How many new ways can we get advertised to now? Let me count the ways…

Facebook Shadow Profiles

Summary: Even if you changed your ad settings not to target on Facebook, Facebook has still found a way to target ads to you with near psychic like prediction. By using information you handed over for security purposes, like a cell for two-step verification, or even info you didn’t hand over at all, like your contact number stored in your friend’s contact list that s/he connected to Facebook, these “shadow profiles” are being used to target ads to you. This practice wasn’t limited to Facebook but also extended to Pinterest, Google, and Twitter.

Opinion: I would have that Facebook would get a jump ahead on rectifying this situation with the amount of security breaches and scrutiny it has been under the past few months. I guess not. In addition, it seems none of the other culprits are learning from what Facebook has endured either and are doomed to repeat the same mistake. These actions seem all too familiar when it comes to seeing businesses thinking they are too big to fail (i.e. banks, entertainment industry).

Snapchat’s New Monetization Strategies

Summary: Snapchat announced Collections, which will allow brands to provide links to purchase their products without having to swipe up on the ad. Collections will appear between users’ Stories and in the Discover section. In addition, Snap also announced it will allow users to purchase products on Amazon by pointing the Snapchat camera at an object around them.

Opinion: These seem like great tools to bring more concrete engagement metrics to brands that advertise on Snapchat. One thing to note, with Instagram announcing a similar purchase link a week and a half ago, it’s suspect how independently these companies actually run.

Facebook Goes After YouTube Advertising

Summary: Facebook announced In-Stream Reserve which will allow advertisers to reach people watching video from a selection of the most watched videos. Advertisers can select specific categories to advertise within, like beauty, sports, etc. YouTube has a similar option called Google Preferred. Facebook also announced ThruPlay, which allows advertisers to pay for ads that are viewed through completion or at least 15 seconds only (akin to TrueView with YouTube).

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Aug 31, 2018)

Can political manipulation be stopped? Probably not, but it can be curbed hopefully. 

Twitter Launches "Issue Ads" 

Summary: Twitter announced it will launch issue ads, which will label ads in for stream as political ads.  This is being done in an effort to curtail manipulation by politically motivated groups. If they are paid for by political candidates, they will hold an additional label "paid for by" as well.  Advertisers seeking to run ads in these categories will need to go through a certification process to verify their identity and info, though news organizations will have an exemption to this.  

Opinion: It's apparent some type of transparency is required within this sector. Interestingly, the exemption for news organizations could be a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it allows news to flow freely; on the other hand, what constitutes a "news organization"?  Does an extremist group reporting on news in that arena classify as an organization? 

WhatsApp Monetization

Summary: WhatsApp announced its first revenue generating product, the WhatsApp Business API.  This tool will allow businesses to respond to messages for free for 24-hours and then charges for replies after that. The company has opened the service up to a select group of businesses as a test, which seem to be larger companies like Uber, Wish, etc. 

Opinion: This news surfaced a few months ago and will be a great test to monetize a platform in an "organic" sense.  By organic, I mean a way that helps customers and businesses by providing a customer service platform while also helping a business monetize its product.  

YouTube Fundraising Tool for Nonprofits

Summary: As released by YouTube: “Fundraisers enable fans to donate to creator-led campaigns directly on YouTube via a “Donate” button, making it easier than ever for creators and fans to raise funds for causes they care about on the platform. Creators can simply set up their campaigns, and let us take care of the logistics and payment processing.”

YouTube also rolled owed Community Fundraisers, which enables multiple creators to co-host the same event.  

Opinion: For non-profits, awareness, funds, and marketing expertise aren't always readily available.  This new function can help non-profits raise awareness for their causes. Allowing for Community Fundraisers is akin to crossposting on Facebook, which has been successfully used by brands to promote the same event. 

Marketing in the Digital Age: Weekly News Round-Up (week ending Aug 24, 2018)

Diversity in marketing in the this week's Marketing in the Digital Age. 

Beauty Vlogger "Apology"

Summary: A 2012 racist tweet from YouTube beauty vlogger Laura Lee resurfaced in which she tweeted, "tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster."  When fans from a rival beauty vlogger dug up the tweet, Lee deleted her Twitter account and issued a Notes app apology.  A few days later she resurfaced with what is now a formulaic apology from YouTube bloggers- cry, apologize, cry some more, beg forgiveness.  Instead, she ended up with a wholly insincere video which went viral for all the wrong reasons-- mocking her "apology".

Opinion: I couldn't even get through this "apology" video.  We all make mistakes. Unfortunately for those thrust into the public eye and with the advent of social media, it's hard to escape the past and these mistakes.  Releasing a video for the sake of releasing a video here does more damage than reparations in this case.  

Nike Promoting Gang Culture

Summary: Nike was criticized for profiting from "gang culture" in a recent ad with a model wearing a balaclava with a holster.  The balaclava was created in partnership with Alyx.  Nike released a statement saying, "These products were part of a wider Nike Training collection, styled on different models and available in multiple markets around the world. We are in no way condoning or encouraging the serious issue of criminal and gang culture.”  The product has been removed from the website, which incidentally featured a while male model without a holster.  

Opinion: Gang culture or not, an image of a balaclava paired with holsters is not an innocuous ad.  Moreover, featuring a black male model with a holster and a white male model without one begs the question if there is a lack of diversity and diversity training at Nike.  With a few other brands making big mistakes on the issues of diversity, this stands out as seemingly even more ignorant.

Facebook Hires HP's Luccio as CMO

Summary: Antonio Luccio was announced as the new incoming CMO at Facebook.  During his tenure at HP, Luccio was known for championing his efforts in diversity.  “Purpose and impact have been at the center of every career decision that I have ever made,” said Lucio, adding that he will work to “support [Facebook’s] evolution. “Facebook is one of the world’s most impactful brands, at a pivotal moment in its history.” Prior to this, Lucio served as CMO at Pepsi.  

Opinion: At this critical juncture in Facebook's history and the often lack of diversity in marketing, it's nice to see a seasoned veteran who is known for championing diversity and works with the intent of purpose and impact.  

Marketing in the Digital Age: New Round-Up (week ending Aug 10, 2018)

Controlling Google's algorithm, Instagram's makeup trend, and Facebook large page verifications in this week's Marketing in the Digital Age.  

Google's Celebrity Video App, Cameos

Summary: Google is releasing an app for celebrities to search for the most asked questions about them and respond with vertical video.  It's like a Reddit-style AMA (Ask Me Anything) that allows celebrities more control over what people see about them.  These videos will appear at the top of search results, and allow celebrities to weigh in ahead of Google's algorithm feed.  

Opinion: Some celebrities will need a publicist to control this, ahem, Kanye, Trump... 

Instaception: Instagram's Newest Makeup Trend

Summary: Instaception is being used by makeup artists to paint borders on one's face to look like the frame of an Instagram post.  

Option:  Although I couldn't see walking out of the house with a painted still frame on my face personally, props to these artists for a new, literal facial expression.  

Facebook Pages with Large Followings to Require Location Verification

Summary: In an effort to crack down on fake accounts, Facebook will require pages with large followings to verify their physical location.  The definition of "large" accounts was not released, but these accounts will receive a notification in the top of their News Feed.  If an account chooses not to verify the info, they can no longer post.  Facebook managers will also need to verify his/her location.  This action will start this month primarily on accounts with large US followings.

Opinion: It feels like there is still a way to circumvent the verification process if the Facebook account was setup via a VPN or something to the like.  Since this is not my area of expertise, I am sure the security team at Facebook has already addressed this (well, hopefully). 

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Aug 3, 2018)

"Wake up hustlers, let's get this bread. No days off"! Google news in China, WhatsApp ads, Apple App Store ads, and mascot selfies in this week's edition of Marketing in the Digital Age.  

Google Censored App for China

Summary: Google's recently leaked plans revealed their attempt to enter the Chinese market with a mobile search engine app and also getting into a censored news business.  The app would be powered by AI and provide customized info to each user.  It would also be censored, government friendly information.  

Opinion: China is a massive market, largely untapped in this space.  For any company to enter it is a huge milestone.  As far as censorship, on a related tangent, news everywhere is regulated to an extent.  The government of any nation releases and focuses on what news it wants the public to hear, not all of it.  China is of course a more extreme example of it, but it's a seemingly huge step to allow for the development of this technology.  

WhatsApp Launching Advertising

Summary: WhatsApp will rollout pay-to-use advertising for customer related inquiries, like information or service updates. "According to BBC news, the fee will be based on confirmed delivery, on which advertisers will pay between 0.5 cents to 9 cents (0.3p to 7p), depending which country the user is based in, meaning the service could actually be more expensive than standard SMS messages."  The advertising is meant to encourage a dialogue between customers and businesses, as it will be free for businesses to respond within 24 hours but the charge described beyond.  

Summary: I  wonder if responding with an automated "we'll get back to you soon" within 24-hours will buy businesses time to respond properly later.  As a business, this could be a challenging (and expensive) way to keep up communication with customers.  On the business-side, I would proceed only if the proper response infrastructure is in place to serve the potential volume of customer requests. As a customer, this could be great to get immediate responses out of businesses. 

Apple Store Search Ads Expansion

Summary: In an effort to take on Google and Facebook, Apple announced it will expand search ads on the Apple Store in Germany, Korea, Japan, Spain, France, and Italy. The ad expansion has already taken place in 7 other countries, including the US.  Apple ventured into search advertising only two years ago quickly rising from 23rd in ranking to 3rd.  

Opinion: With its recent $1T valuation, Apple is technically not in need of new revenue sources.  This move does help to keep its place on top, though, by not resting on what they had done in the past.  

Wake Up, Hustlers! Mascot Selfies

Summary: Jay, @iPurrple, posted a selfie with the caption "Wake up hustlers, let's get this bread. No days off" to his Twitter and it went viral overnight, appearing even on Diplo's Instagram Stories.  Soon, others joined in on the fun.  Soon, others chimed in with their own words of encouragement on making money and with their own mascot selfies.   

Opinion: Twitter was made for this!  I like the positive support. :)

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Jul 27, 2018)

Colleges using targeted marketing, Facebook drops big, and the $60B company you probably have never heard of (yet). 

Colleges Turn to Corporate Marketing Playbook

Summary: To recruit new students, colleges have turned to consumer-driven marketing targeted at adults and graduate studies (a market for which there isn't as much data as high school surest, where info about students are purchased through standardized test companies). Houston Baptist University found room research that their students had a large interested in recreational boating and fishing.  Using this, they bought targeted ads on Facebook featuring a woman on a boat to show potential applicants that they can still have a social life while pursuing a higher degree.  

Opinion: First, I didn't know data about me from high school was being sold to universities to push schools on me.  With high school students being under 18 for the bulk of the time while enrolled, it feels like there should be more explicit parental consent to have this data sold off.  Second, I think education can and should take more from corporate learnings to apply to their own marketing. It's already been proven in those markets, so I don't think there is a need to reinvent the wheel.  Higher education is still something that needs to be purchased like a good, so it can be marketed the same (to an extent).  

Facebook Loses $120B in Market Cap

Summary: Facebook's market cap fell $120B after its earning call yesterday. This was the single biggest drop in Wall Street history.  Why? Amongst large privacy concerns, Facebook also saw its slowest growth rate ever, user count shrank in Europe and stayed flat in US and Canada, revenue growth would decelerate, and shifting to Stories may (or may not, they don't know) have an impact on advertising.

Opinion: Who do you know that's not on Facebook?  A slowed user growth is inevitable because there are only so many people who would sign up for a platform.  I do also applaud the company for being transparent with the challenges they are facing amongst a shift to Stories and privacy.  There are many public companies, including ones I have seen firsthand, that dress up the bad news instead of addressing it head-on.  

Pinduoduo, China's Latest E-Commerce Force

Summary: PInduoduo just IPOd on the US market raising $1.6B at a $60B valuation.  It is an e-commerce site based in China that allows shoppers not only to shop for their products like home appliances to groceries, but adds a social component to purchases.  Users can invite their contacts on WeChat and QQ to form a "shopping team" to get a lower price for their purchase.  It keeps users engaged as well through coupons and free products.  Its acquisition costs have been low for these reasons and it keeps people coming back to score deals with your friends.  

Opinion: I haven't used this app and don't speak Mandarin to translate it, so I can't speak to it firsthand.  From what I have read, I think it would be fun to shop like this for awhile.  After some time, the novelty of finding the best deal for your friends would wear off quickly for me.  But, maybe that's the method to get people onto the site.  The other free deals and incentives could make it worthwhile to stay.