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Super Bowl ads are continuing to pile up web reviews, Google is laying the groundwork for a "home entertainment device," and Pinterest is becoming a very notable competitor for Google and Twitter. Get the lowdown with this week's Pizza Friday!
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THE NEWS
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Super Bowl Spots Keep Piling on Web Views
Old wisdom: releasing your Super Bowl ad early on the web builds excitement and buzz for your spot
and gives it a huge boost online. New wisdom: still true, but it's not necessarily a requirement.
In a special edition of the Viral Chart this week, we're looking at cumulative online views for Super Bowl
campaigns as of early yesterday. As expected, ads released before the game, such as Volkswagen's "The Dog
Strikes Back" and Honda's "Matthew's Day Off" are doing well, as are a host of other spots released early from
Audi, Kia and Toyota.
But what's striking is ads that weren't released before the game are also climbing up the chart, even
though the competition had a head start. Chrysler's controversial "It's Halftime in America" gained this week,
even though the spot wasn't available before the game, and it was briefly pulled down from YouTube over a
mistaken copyright claim.
M&M's "Just My Shell" also did well, even thought the spot didn't go live online until the game (though there was
a lightly viewed teaser). Samsung's ad was also new, but it was part of a bigger campaign targeting Apple that at
this point many viewers recognize. The Doritos ads were already online, but no one knew the winner until the
game.
Last year, VW worked the pre-release strategy to perfection with "The Force." This year, many emulated that
approach. Long term, its the quality of the content (and the budget put behind distribution), not a few
weeks head start, that determines who rises to the top.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MejbOFk7H6c
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An ‘Entertainment Device’ Is Expected From GoogleSAN FRANCISCO — Google is developing a home entertainment device, according to people with knowledge of the company’s plans, in
a move that would bring it more broadly into consumer electronics. The device, which exists as a prototype and will eventually be sold as a
branded item to consumers, is the company’s most significant venture into hardware. While the initial purpose of the device will
be for streaming music, the eventual use could be much wider.
Google still makes the vast majority of its money from Internet search. But as computing detaches from the desktop and laptop,
the company cannot afford to be marginalized. The new device is an effort to control the design, production and sale of an
entertainment device, just as its competitors have done so successfully. The device will have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and, as Google noted in
the application, it will “connect to other home electronics equipment.”
Analysts are wary of Google’s venture into the notoriously cutthroat hardware field. Apple has loyal, sometimes fanatical followers, and
enviably rich profit margins. Amazon is willing to lose money on its devices and make it up on sales of content. Most other hardware
makers have a much tougher slog. But Google is seen as having little choice.
“Google’s future depends on extending its influence beyond the PC screen,” said James McQuivey, a Forrester analyst. “They’ve
made tremendous progress in the mobile phone business, but their attempts to do the same thing with the TV and tablet flopped because
the hardware manufacturers they relied on were not able to move fast enough.”
Google’s larger goal, a person closely tied to the project said, was to connect everything in the home to the Internet, including light
bulbs, speakers and TV sets. Google unveiled a “conceptual” version of a multi-purpose device last year at a developer conference.
The perils of not having full control of the design and manufacturing of a device became apparent with Google TV, which was codeveloped
in 2010 by Google, Sony, Intel and Logitech. Reviewers hated it and the public scorned it. Guerrino De Luca, chief executive of Logitech
has acknowledged publicly that the Google TV was “a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature.”
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Whats your Pinterest?
The newest social media channel on the market, Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with interest) is a virtual pinboard where
users can share their own interests with others across the globe by simply “re-pinning” photos that pique their fancy.
Originating in Palo Alto, Calif., in March of 2010, the site has seen tremendous growth since its humble beginnings,
boasting a 429 percent increase from September 2011 to December 2011 alone and currently drawing on average
11 million users each month — catapulting the two-year-old site into the top five social media sites.
“Once you hop on it’s so easy to scroll through and find something that you like and by having that visual as opposed to all
words, like on Facebook, helps a lot,” said Kronstedt, who spends two to three hours a day on Pinterest. “If you see
something you like, you simply click on the image, pin it to a board of your choice and you’re done. It really is that easy.”
According to Hitwise.com, about 70 percent of Pinterest users are females between the ages of 24 and 54. In addition
to female dominance, the Midwest is one of the most Pinterest popular regions.
“To this day, the Midwest is disproportionately represented given its population amongst our user base,” Pinterest founder
Ben Silbermann — an Iowa native — told the Des Moines Register earlier this year.
ComScore.com reported Midwesterners are up to 102 percent more likely to visit Pinterest than the average U.S.
Internet user.
http://mashable.com/2012/01/29/pinterest-retail-infographic/ http://pinterest.com
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Pinterest Hits 10 Million U.S. Monthly Uniques Faster Than Any Standalone Site Ever -comScore
TechCrunch has attained exclusive data from comScore showing Pinterest just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors,
crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history. (not true but close)
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Pinterest Challenging Google and Twitter for Small Business Bucks
Shareholic.com reports "Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined." While it doesn't
show nearly as much clout as Facebook for January (which pulled in 26.4 percent of referral traffic as compared to Pinterest's 3.6 percent),
it's got the same numbers as Google and Twitter. That makes Pinterest a major player in the social media field.
What it Means for Small Business Owners
Social media strategist Stevie Wilson of LA-Story.com notes there is a way for small business owners to take advantage of the
opportunities the site provides. She says it's a good place to "test the waters" -- provided you utilize a strategy.
Pinterest demands a very precise focus, and, as Wilson points out, "The trick for the small business person is to find that missing
segment, that gap in the chain or market ... fill that."
How it Works
Imagine a tool that cuts your favorite photos, recipes or image online and posts them in easy-to-navigate groups and pages, allowing users to
organize, subscribe, collect and comment on anything that catches their eye. You might include photos of recipes to try, books on your must-
read list, a sweet idea for your daughter's next birthday cake and a still-life composition that moves you. With Pinterest, users do the same
thing and still keep their workspace tidy.
It's for this reason Wilson suggests small business owners get focused and prepare a concise, well-developed strategy that works for a
largely unknown quantity like Pinterest.
"Make sure you attribute your source material and tell the reader where to find it," she said. "Make sure your photos are terrific --
videos even better -- and make sure whatever is it that you are selling is in stock at that time you put it up. Make sure you have
authentic voice, photos, and most of all, some video that encourages connection."
The jury's still out about whether Pinterest will offer the consistency and staying power necessary to drive a major media effort. Still, the site's
gaining a devoted following, and is worth watching.
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How Pinterest Is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business
Here's a look at why some business owners -- particularly retailers -- might want to seriously consider starting a business
profile on Pinterest now.
How It's Being Used
Perhaps the most powerful business application is the ability to post images of your company's products on your Pinterest
board and link them back to your website. It works as a sort of virtual store catalog. But savvy social media users know not to
get too promotional. For example, Whole Foods Market pins pictures of delicious-looking food, food art and images of recycled
or reused products to inspire customers to be environmentally responsible
Driving Sales
Pinterest already is driving buyers to some websites. In the last six months, the retail deal site ideeli.com has seen a 446
percent increase in web traffic from Pinterest and sales resulting from those visits have increased five-fold.
Is Pinterest Right for Your Business?
The site does have some drawbacks for businesses. If your product or service isn't particularly visual, your images may not tie
directly back to your brand. Pinterest also doesn't offer business-oriented features, and its search function prioritizes pin and
board subjects ahead of "people," the category that brands would fall into.
The best way to determine if Pinterest could attract buyers is simply to give it a shot. Set up an account and start pinning things
that are relevant to your business but not too promotional.
Try creating an image of a special deal or coupon just for your Pinterest followers. Upload it to a new board for Deals. Perhaps
offer a prize to the person who gets the most likes or comments on a re-pin of the coupon, and then see who shares it the most.
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5 News Organizations To Follow On Pinterest
It came seemingly out of nowhere. Pinterest, a social network where users can create virtual
pinboards, quietly transformed throughout 2011 from a niche interest site to a top 10 social
network, all while still functioning under an “invite only” model. With solid growth like that, it’s hard
not to take notice. The site is more easily geared towards retailers, but journalists and news
organizations are beginning to experiment with ways they can tap into the Pinterest market.
Here are five of the news organizations you should be following on Pinterest.
It’s interesting to note that some of the most successful brands eager to take on Pinterest
are actually print magazines. That’s because Pinterest’s ethos is so conducive to what
magazines have done for years: coupling glossy photos, stories and anecdotes for public
consumption. As one user in the Denver Post put it, “Pinterest is like getting a new magazine in
the mail every day.”
TIME Magazine over 1,650 followers
LIFE.com Newsweek & The Daily Beast
The Wall Street Journal Mashable acquired almost 8,600 followers
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Pinterest secretly swaps links for profit
Although still in open beta, Pinterest skyrocketed in 2011 and even surprised the industry at the speed of its
growth. TechCrunch reported that site attracts 10 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. alone. It isn't all
gravy for some loyal users, however.
The affiliate marketing blog GTO Managemen noticed that links were being changed without notice to
members. Instead of going to a user's link, Pinterest is swapping out the links to the benefit of its partner
Skimlinks. "I discovered that a pin that linked to one of our merchant clients was swapped out for a Skimlinks
affiliate link," Joel Garcia said in a blog post. Garcia repeated this experiment a few times with varied results.
According to social media blogger Josh Davis, Skimlinks automatically goes through a site and converts
affiliate links, so that it will point to its own.
The problem isn't that Pinterest is trying to monetize. The problem is that users are left in the dark.
This is especially troublesome for organizations using Pinterest to promote their products. Davis explained that
"if the store has an affiliate program, it is highly likely that those links now will have an affiliate code in
them that gives Pinterest a percentage of any sales."
Davis pointed out that monetizing without using ads has appeal when considering the user experience.
However, lack of disclosure is definitely an issue.
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[email protected]: welcome1
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