Web 2.0 Promotions

Memorial Day means the start of the summer blockbuster movie season. This weekend, we’ll all be getting Fast and Furious again along with another Hangover. Next month, Superman returns to the big screen and in July the Lone Ranger rides again. But if you prefer not to fight the crowds, you can also stay home and watch some of the best movies (or the worst if that’s your thing) on your PC or mobile device.

In honor of this holiday weekend, here’s a look at how men and women stream from M-Go.

What a terrible blow for TV sets all over America. They probably have no idea how often their man is cheating on them! He’s running around with that hot, stylish mobile phone while his first love sits in the living room, cold and alone just waiting to be turned on.

The sad thing is, only 34% of streamers are satisfied with their choice. 81% said they have to bounce between at least two services in order to fulfill their needs.

Women, you’re not blameless in this either. Sure, men started this whole streaming trend but now you’re just as guilty as they are.

44% of men have been streaming for more than 3 years but in the past year, women have men beat 31% to 20%.  I’m totally behind this move. Why should men have all the fun? Women need to entertained. They need an outlet so they can relax and experience the romance all over again.

As we all know, the first time is the hardest. That’s why 43% of first time streamers made sure they were alone before they tried it. But once they did, they were hooked. Additionally, M-Go learned that men prefer to do it for longer periods of time, while women prefer to keep it under an hour.

The study also found that men are mainly concerned with good looks while for women, it’s all about the price.

We’ll end with this: women are more likely to do it with a tablet while men prefer to do it with their PC.  (I’m having a Weird Science flashback.)

If you choose to stream this holiday weekend, that’s your prerogative. Just don’t forget to give your television some love. Whether you needed a laugh, a good cry or a distraction from the harsh realities of this world – your TV has always been there for you. Time to give back.

Be safe and we’ll see you back here next week.

One of the great truths of social media is that moms like to share and they’re powerful influencers when they get behind (or are annoyed by) a brand. We know it’s true but we keep studying it to make sure the world hasn’t slipped sideways.

The latest fact checkers are ShareThis and Digitas. They surveyed 200,000 moms (that’s a nice sampling, don’t you think?) to find out how they interact with social. The packed their results into a slide show called “Wired for Sharing” and now I’d like to share a couple of key slides.

Think moms are all about Facebook? Have a look at this:

56% of the general population shares on Facebook but for moms, that same percentage is split between Facebook and Pinterest. I knew Pinterest was hot but I was surprised to see it closing in on Facebook. Moms also like StumbleUpon more than the average bear. Twitter, email, Reddit, and Tumblr just don’t get no respect. Tumblr is traditionally a playground for the young – is that because moms aren’t there or is it that moms aren’t there because it skews young?

What’s missing from this list is Instagram. That also traditionally skews young, so perhaps it came in lower than 1% and thus didn’t make the chart.

Next, it’s all about the when. After seeing this, I’m going to shift my posting times for sure.

We often see studies about how often people check social media first thing in the morning. Well, the might be checking but mom isn’t sharing until later in the afternoon. Peak time is 3:00 pm. For the average Joe, 8:00 in the evening is prime time.

Finally, here’s one I’ve never seen before. What kinds of content is mom most likely to share?

A third of the content that moms share is either parenting-related (18 percent) or focused on TV and movies (15 percent). I’m not so big on the parenting side, but I’m a win when it comes to TV. Technology comes in at only 10% then we see a huge drop for topics such as sports, music, travel, even pets. Beauty is on the bottom tier with only 2%. I’m surprised by that.

After looking at these charts, do you need to make a change? If you’re doing all your social media posting in the morning, you’re probably missing out. And no matter what your brand is, find a way to work a TV or movie Tweet into your feed. That might be all it takes to get noticed.

As Jon Stewart starts to get much less partisan in his skewering of the day’s news he is getting funnier than ever.

Here is his take on the Apple tax ‘issue’ in which the company is using legitimate tax loopholes to pay nothing on $44 billion in income. (NOTE: If video window does not show completely at first refresh browser and ‘Poof!’ there it is)

Google looks like it will probably be hiring yet again in their legal department. Well, there is no announcement to that effect but considering the number of countries stepping up to the plate to take a swing at the company for search and display tactics they are probably going to need the help.

Bloomberg is reporting that the FTC is looking into Google’s way of promoting its DoubleClick platform vs the other display ad platform options that exist. Once again there seems to be this idea that Google is a public utility even though it is a private company but anyway.

From Bloomberg we get the following.

Google Inc. is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said.

The fresh inquiry, which follows the FTC’s decision to close a review of Google’s search business in January without taking action, is in the preliminary stages and may not expand into a larger probe, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter hasn’t been made public.

If you would like a quick chuckle take a look at the video version of the Bloomberg report. Toward the end of the segment, the use of off-topic video of Google Glass really enhances the report .

Will this turn into anything for real? That remains to be seen. The political climate is what drives this and Google has played an interesting game in that they have been staunch supporters of President Obama (actually uncomfortably so but that’s just my opinion).

Many ex-Googlers have had various government positions during this administration. When you see things like this you have to wonder how much is for show which makes it even worse. Is Google protected by the government because of its political leanings? That’s for the conspiracy theorists to argue about but it’s something to consider.

As far as true free market principles go many wonder just why Google gets attention at all. Could it be just as an example that is used to scare other companies ‘into line’ while knowing full well that nothing will happen to Google, at least not in the US? That would be tragic but is it out of the question? I don’t think so.

Lots of speculation. Lots of questions. In the end, it’s a distraction that proves once again that the less government involvement in most businesses the better and vice versa.

Your thoughts?

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If you think 740 million video views sounds like a lot, prepare yourself for a shock. According to the latest comScore Video Metrix’s report, YouTube visitors (in combination with other Google properties) watched 13 billion videos in April. Yes, billion with a ‘b’.

What’s really fascinating is the rate of the climb. Look at these charts for April and February.

In three months, the list, particularly in number of videos viewed is incredible. In February, Facebook had just crossed the half a million mark. Now, they’re almost at 750 million. The difference in the number of unique viewers isn’t as drastic because, let’s face it, we have to be reaching the max pretty soon, right? But as you can see from the last column, it’s not about more people, it’s about more minutes per person.

In February, Facebook users watched 19.9 minutes, now they’re up to 25.

Google viewers jump from 362 minutes to 401 minutes. That’s over six hours of viewing per person. There’s no way that number is coming down anytime soon. Not with more people posting more videos every minute of every day. Add in all of the streaming TV and movie options, webshows, online news broadcasts. . the internet is bending under the weight of all this video.

The good thing for marketers is that a large portion of this content comes with an ad attached.

Americans viewed a record 13.3 billion video ads in April, with Google Sites ranking first with 2.4 billion ads.

Video ads reached 53 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 82 times during the month.

Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads to its viewers with an average of 63.

Other notable findings from April 2013 include:

•  84.7 % of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
•  The duration of the average online content video was 5.6 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes.
•  Video ads accounted for 25.5 percent of all videos viewed and 2.3 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.

On a related note, YouTube star Felicia Day is creating her own vlogger network. She put out a call to all of the “Geek and Sundry” fans to submit their best YouTube videos and those submissions will then be evaluated by her staff and her followers. The best of the best will get to join the new vlogger channel.

The new network is a smart way to keep fresh content on the channel at all times and it’s a sweet tip of the hat to all those fabulous fan creators who don’t have the following Ms. Day has. I think it’s a great idea that will become more popular as the video-sphere continues to grow.

Target recently launched a new digital coupon app called Cartwheel that is supposed to make shopping more social. It begins with a great idea; personalized digital coupons but from there, the wheel gets a little wobbly.

Here’s how it works. First, you have to log on to the Cartwheel site and sign-up using your Facebook login.  You must have a Facebook account to use the program and that seems like an unnecessary hurdle. The point is to get more people to shop at Target, right? But if I don’t want to give you access to my Facebook account, then I’m out. Hmmm. . .

Once you’re in, you’re presented with a grid of themed, coupon flipcards. If you don’t see what you want, you can use the search box to find coupons on a specific item or browse more than 20 coupon collections such as Baby Essentials, Pet Love, Men’s Must-haves, etc. It’s a lot to take in.

Here’s a row dedicated to Memorial Day BBQ’s.

When you click a card it flips over. Now you start choosing buttons. The “add” button puts the coupon into your Cartwheel. The “share” button posts the offer to Facebook (sorry Twitter, no go). The “details” button shows the expiration date, rules for redemption and how many others have redeemed this coupon.

Right now, all of the offers I could see ranged from 5% to 10% off an item. Not bad, but not stellar, either. You can use each discount up to 4 times unless otherwise noted. What makes this a better deal is that you can combine Cartwheel deals with manufacturer coupons and Target’s Red Card discount as well. That’s what us couponers call double dipping. That’s also how you turn a good deal into a “I got this for free” deal.

Target limits the number of coupons you can load per trip. They give you ten slots to start, six a day after that. To unlock more spaces you have to earn badges (*rolls eyes*) by shopping and sharing and following the red brick road.

Now it’s time to go redeem your coupons and that’s where it gets a little tricky.  All of your current offers get combined into one bar code. The foolproof way to go is to print the bar code page while you’re still home and on the website. But printing just feels wrong – these are digital coupons after all.

If you like to live on the edge, just go to Target and shop. When you hit the checkout, call up the app on your phone. Not the Target app, from what I can see, Cartwheel doesn’t show up on the store app. You have to log-in through Facebook and pull it up on your browser. (Not sure if you can get there from the Facebook mobile app. . . ) Do Target stores have free Wifi?

Find Cartwheel, login, find your page, find your bar code, show the bar code to the cashier, wait for her to say, “huh, I’ve never seen this before, let me call my manager,” hand her more coupons wait for her to stop being confused by two sets of coupons, pay for your order and you’re done. Easy!

Target could simplify the whole process if they just included the Cartwheel barcode in the Target app. (Feel free to correct me if I’m not getting this right.)

As for the forced social sharing in order to get more coupons – that could work. Women have been known to dumpster dive for more inserts, so what’s a little sharing between friends if it means an extra 10% off hot dog buns.

Target, I’m giving you a “A” for effort but a “C+” for execution.

Twitter is deepening its love affair with TV through new Amplify partnerships.

On the Twitter blog the company toots its own horn but its not like they are saying anything out of line, it’s just the truth.

Less than six months in, 2013 has already been a remarkable year for the nexus between television and Twitter. The vast majority of the online public conversation around TV currently happens on Twitter – 95 percent, according to Crimson Hexagon. Half of all national Super Bowl commercials had hashtags on them, helping guide viewers to the collective conversation. And you can’t turn on the news without hearing a Tweet referenced.

It is getting more and more difficult actually to not see Twitter referenced just about everywhere. Well, don’t expect that pace to slow any in the wake of an increasing number of agreements with properties and advertisers to create a more multi-screen environment for users. The blog post continues

On the ads side, Twitter has further amplified the social TV conversation with real-time, dual-screen sponsorships and in-Tweet video clips from broadcasters. ESPN and Ford Fusion led the way, bringing football fans Instant Replays in Tweets during every college football bowl game. During March Madness, Turner Sports, the NCAA, AT&T and Coke Zero followed suit, offering fans Real-Time Highlights of hoops action throughout the tournament. And now, during the home stretch through the 2013 Finals, the NBA is pushing the best Rapid Replays from TV, through a Tweet, to your mobile phone thanks to Sony Pictures, Sprint and Taco Bell.

An example of the NBA Playoffs and the use of this multi-screen approach is seen below.

Roy Hibbert’s BIG block. One of the nicest you’ll see #NBARapidReplay – on.nba.com/Z4vJmb

— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2013

So how far might this reach? Take a look at the list of recent additions. Oh by the way, the cool kids are apparently calling this “Twitter Amp”.

Today we’re announcing yet another wave of multi-screen partners, from television and beyond. Along with these new partners, we now have a name for this partnership program: Twitter Amplify.

A&E (@AETV)
theAudience
Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV)
Clear Channel (@ClearChannel)
Conde Nast (@CondeNastCorp)
Discovery (@Discovery)
Major League Baseball (@mlbdotcom)
National Cinemedia (@NCMonline)
New York Magazine (@NYMag)
PGA Tour (@PGATOUR)
PMC (@Variety)
Time Inc. (@Time_Inc)
VEVO (@VEVO)
Warner Music (@warnermusic)
WWE (@WWE)
VICE (@VICE)

Screens, screens and more screens. This is a good thing, right? Well, let’s not leave you without having a video from another Twitter blog post to help clarify things (which this one does actually).

Twitter Amplify may just make social media even louder than it is already. Are you ready?

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Twitter has had some trouble in the recent past with some high profile accounts getting hacked and the ensuing fallout from those issues. Part of their response was to say that they will be enabling a two-step verification process. At the time that was a promise but now it is in play according to the post on the Twitter blog from yesterday.

Here’s a video for you to get the gist.

So while this is a good first step it may not really be much help to those who really need it. How’s that you ask? Well, TechCrunch’s Josh Constine has this to say

However the brands and news outlets whose accounts are the most valuable to hackers may not benefit from the feature. They can only set one phone number as the recipient of the two-factor authentication codes, but may have several staff members who need to access the account. If they enabled it, whoever carried the phone registered with Twitter would have to relay the code to all the other staffers to get it to whoever needed it. That hassle might prevent shared accounts from turning on login verifications, and so the hackings may continue.

Hmmmm. It’s a nice start but this is a bit of a vexing issue. It’s hard to imagine that the AP’s Twitter account is accessed by only one person and would a large brand ever want to put that much control in the hands of just one person? Not likely.

Twitter has left the door open for improvements which many will feel can’t come soon enough.

This release is built on top of Twitter via SMS, so we need to be able to send a text to your phone before you can enroll in login verification (which may not work with some cell phone providers). However, much of the server-side engineering work required to ship this feature has cleared the way for us to deliver more account security enhancements in the future. Stay tuned.

So will you be using this feature? Will your company use this feature? Will your clients use it?

Here’s a help center link and here’s to secure tweeting!

The psychology behind how we spend our money is a wondrous thing. I’ll gladly throw down $1 a day for a Diet Coke, but I’m reluctant to spend $1.50 on a box of pasta that would feed my whole family when I can get it for less than that on another day. I’m also reluctant to pay for additional levels on my iPad games. I’ve done it once or twice, but it’s not an easy button push.

For whatever reason, mobile users will do almost anything to keep from paying for an upgrade – including engage with ads.

The data comes from a new study by the Yankee Group called “Redefining Virtual Currency.” It’s an informative read and it’s free, so you should check out the whole report if you’re in the app biz. Disclaimer time: the survey was paid for by Tapjoy, a company that is in the mobile advertising biz. Not saying the data is biased, I just want to be clear.

The report says that 1 in 3 mobile owners are downloading 2 to 3 apps per month. 1 in 5 are downloading 4 to 6 apps a month. Almost all smartphone owners and more than 85% of tablet owners have at least one free app on their device.

When it comes to paid apps, the numbers drop. 63% of smartphone owners and 64% of tablet owners have paid for an app. Smaller, but still, very good numbers.

It gets better. 54% of smartphone owners and 41% of tablet owners have paid for an upgrade to an app.

So, we know they’ll pay – but the flipside is, they’d rather not. Free is better, of course. Even if it means watching an ad in order to get a reward.

What kind of reward is worth the effort? This is my favorite chart from the study:

71% would watch an ad in return for a free coffee! LOL. Make that a Diet Coke and I’m in. I also find it fascinating that “paperback book” was the second most popular choice. Who says people don’t read? At the top of the list is the tablet app, coming in 7% higher and a smartphone app. Why? It’s not that tablets are more popular, it’s probably because tablet apps cost more. I haven’t seen a study but that’s been my experience.

Mobile users are already warming up to the idea of exchanging time and information for digital goods. 53% of tablet owners in the survey said they already viewed commercials in exchange for a free app download. I don’t think I have but I probably would if the opportunity presented itself.

Which brings me to the point – this is an opportunity for marketers that hasn’t been fully explored. Pretend you like to hike. You get a free hiker’s guide app but to get more hiking trails in your area you must pay an additional .99. Or you can submit your email address to a company that sells hiking gear and get the upgrade for free.  It’s a three-way win. The customer gets a personalized upgrade. The retailer gets a targeted email to add to his mailing list. The app developer gets a kick-back for every email he collects.

According to the study, The virtual currency market is currently sitting at $47.5 billion in the US. By 2017, it’s expected to rise to $55.4 billion. Who doesn’t want a piece of that?

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With so much going in the Internet and social media space sometimes it feels like you just missed something. After looking at this article from AdAge I had that feeling. It looks at the problem of waste that many advertisers are experiencing in the mobile space and how an accreditation process could give advertisers some solace that what they are paying for is what they are actually receiving.

The article says

The debate over the value of mobile advertising typically focuses on what effect, if any, it has on brand lift, sales and getting consumers into stores. But advertisers have been wasting money on mobile in the literal sense because a significant portion of the ads they’re paying for never properly display on devices.

Now, networks and publishers are being pressured to more accurately report how well they deliver ads in an attempt to legitimize the industry and increase mobile-marketing spending.

When you use the words ‘legitimize the industry’ that gives you a real good look into just how broken things may be. So who has gone through this process? Apple.

Apple’s iAd earlier this month became the first major mobile-ad network to be fully accredited by the Media Ratings Council as adhering to the standards the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Mobile Marketing Association jointly released earlier this year.

During the auditing process, iAd demonstrated accurate reporting of impressions, taps, tap-through-rate, visits, views, views-per-visit, average time spent, conversions, unique devices and unique device visits. Apple said its mobile ad network is more streamlined than others and that it only charges for ads that fully render on users’ screens.

This process is not cheap with a price tag of around $100,000 but right now a few other platforms are going through it including Google’s DoubleClick.

The issue is not just for the ad servers either. Publishers are seeing their culpability in this problem.

The Weather Co.-which had the 14th most unique mobile visitors in the U.S. in March, according to ComScore-said it compensates advertisers for any discrepancies by “overbooking,” or offering them more ad inventory than they paid for with the understanding that some may fail to render. The company also said it improved its discrepancy rate from more than 20% to less than 10% after it switched to using DoubleClick for Publishers Premium for its ad serving last fall.

Weather Co.’s VP-digital monetization echoed the need for ad counting to be standardized.

“There’s no agreement about how to measure it, and that’s just not fair to anybody,” he said.

Once again our industry promotes the measurability of online advertising down to the smallest piece of data but comes up short in delivery. At some point people will get fed up with the hype v. reality chasm that sometimes exists. But with mobile growing so rapidly and change happening virtually every day maybe everyone will be too busy to notice?

Your take?