Social media extends the shelf life of advertising
What happens to an advertising campaign after magazines come off the shelves, billboards are redone and television spots retire from network TV? Cue Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
An article in Monday’s New York Times highlighted how companies such as Burger King and CareerBuilder have extended the life of past advertising campaigns by hosting them on their Web sites and promoting them via social media activities:
MADISON AVENUE is coming up with a digital variation on an Irving Berlin standard: The campaign has ended, but the advertising lingers on.
Years after its introduction, a chimpanzee-themed e-mail service for CareerBuilder, Monk-e-mail, is still going strong.
Thanks to Internet staples like YouTube, Facebook and the special Web sites known as microsites, consumers can still see ads after the completion of the campaigns of which they were part — not unlike satellites that remain in space, visible to the eye, long after they have stopped being tracked.
The ongoing online presence for ads is different from how campaigns conclude in the traditional media, when television commercials and print advertisements cease appearing or billboards and signs in stores are taken down.
Scrabble changing? Fans lay down a collective one consonant, one vowel 'NO'
Scrabble purists worldwide considered burning their beloved Scrabble dictionaries as news surfaced the classic board game was changing its rules to allow proper nouns such as Howard (13 points), Merrell (9 points) or Karlie (10 points).
Despite their usage of new media, it seems consumers still value tradition: Twitter was abuzz with backlash, reaching a fever pitch after Steven Colbert announced he was changing his name to “Qxyzzy.”
(Image from TrickGo)
New @anywhere Twitter platform looks promising for businesses
Our own Jeff Cohen and Scott Piggott may be in the middle of all the SXSW action this week, but you don’t have to be in Austin to learn more about Twitter’s new @Anywhere platform. When Twitter talks, people listen: The new feature was announced around 3:30 p.m. EST, and less than 30 minutes later its @anywhere Twitter account has more than 3,500 followers.
The official announcement describes the platform as a framework that will seamlessly integrate into a Web site without requiring the implementation of APIs. The Twitter conversations – in all of their customer service, focus group, instant feedback and media relations glory – that have proven so important to businesses and their customers will now happen on Web sites such as Amazon, AdAge, eBay, Salesforce.com and MSNBC.com, some of the first to try out the platform.
Still blurry? Twitter puts it this way:
Imagine being able to follow a New York Times journalist directly from her byline, tweet about a video without leaving YouTube, and discover new Twitter accounts while visiting the Yahoo! home page—and that’s just the beginning. Twitter has proven to be compelling in a variety of ways. With @anywhere, web site owners and operators will be able to offer visitors more value with less heavy lifting.
Jeff, a social media strategist here at HM&P, has already put together his thoughts on four ways the @Anywhere application will impact B2B marketing. I’m interested to see what kind of impact @Anywhere will have on sales and lead generation, and if it will increase Twitter’s small core of “consistent users.”
What do you think about the new platform?
News & Observer tweetup combines AP Style with APIs
Tuesday night, HM&P’s social media team and PR staffers attended the News and Observer’s first tweetup at Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern in downtown Raleigh.
@Newsobserver (the paper’s Twitter handle) pulled together a fun event that combined Raleigh’s location-based app TriOut, a host of sweet giveaways, good beer and plenty of social media-centric conversations with N&O bloggers Eric Frederick, Mike Williams, Andrea Weigl, Sue Stock, Matthew Fortner and Brooke Cain.
Karlie Justus, Nicole Curtis, Jess Redman, Sarah Findle and Melea Mauldin pose for the tweetup's photobooth.
Check out the tweets around the event with the #nandotweetup hashtag, and follow HM&P on Twitter @hmandp.
Valentine's Day, Associated Press style
Roses, chocolates, candy hearts and…AP Style?
10,000 Words, a site that follows journalism and technology, managed to add Romance to the school-yard staples Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic with its second annual “Happy VDay: Valentines for Journalists” blog post. The site hilariously incorporates newsroom mainstays such as bylines, crime beats, quotes and word counts into sweet, bite-sized sentiments.
For more fun, check out more AP Style lovin’ on 10,000 Word’s Valentines Day post from last year.
