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April 2013

IMC 619 Emerging Media: Condensed Version, Please? I Don’t Have All Minute!

Condensed Version Please? I Don’t Have All Minute!

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Let’s face it, consumers are “time-compressed” nowadays. Many consumers belong to several different social media sites and desire a way to catch up on all the days events without spending too much time searching through endless amounts of information. High quality information provided in a condensed manner will result in very satisfied web surfer.

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So, How Do I Get Their Attention?

Example: I’m am an office worker and I get a :30 minute lunch break. During my lunch break, I want to get a mental break from work by catching-up on as much news and social media content that I can in the time allotted. How are you, as a marketer, going to capture my attention so that I feel that I have used my free time efficiently?

More content, less fluff!

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Vendor Seek gives a great breakdown of how to gain the attention of your audience:

Making advertising relatable

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Your ads should feature situations they can relate to, people who look and act like them, and realistic and desirable outcomes.

Making advertisements pleasurable

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People find humor pleasurable; everyone likes to laugh. Advertisers think of clever ways to integrate humor with their products and services. Again, not everyone will share the same sentiments regarding what is funny. Know your target market. There may be certain scenarios they would consider funny based on their likenesses.

Making advertisements surprising

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Eccentricity is closely related to the concept of novelty. ‘Strange’ is also ‘new’ to most. In advertising, we attempt to orchestrate novel and riveting images to demand attention. The element of surprise captivates consumer attention, and keeps their attention long enough until the ad features hosted services and products.

Combine the three tips above with an engaging message and you’ve got yourself the start of something wonderful!

Look To Kmart

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Kmart just stepped out with a new marketing message that is relatable, humorous, and eccentric and is relayed in a message :36 seconds long.

That leaves the average worker another 29 minutes and :24 seconds to spare.

Check out Kmart’s Ship My Pants Commercial:

I Work Better When I Surf The Internet. Really!

Give them an excuse and they will use it! “Good news for web surfing junkies. And their bosses. New research has revealed that workers who surf the net on their lunch break are likely to be more productive in the afternoon than peers who rested away from their computer screens.  The study, “Impact of Cyberloafing on Psychological Engagement,” by Don J.Q. Chen and Vivien K.G Lim of the National University of Singapore, was presented last week in San Antonio, Texas, at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management”- The Periscope Post

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Lastly, If All Else Fails, Remember to Kiss It!

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Remember, in today’s internet jungle, you need to grab the consumer attention for as long as you can. This is where I recommend that marketing strategists utilize the K.I.S.S concept: keep it simple, stupid! Media offered in the form of a short, sweet, entertaining message will most likely grab the attention of the consumer, at least for a few seconds. And, if you’re message is good, that’s all you’ll need.

Honorable mentions:

What the fluff [image]: www.ashtarcommandcrew.net
The Periscope Post: http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/08/the-benefits-of-cyberloafing-lunch-break-web-surfing-refreshes-workers-boosts-their-productivity/
K.I.S.S. [image]: http//www.forgecommunications.com
Internet Minute [image]: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/images/illustrations/embedded-infographic-600-logo.jpg
60 Seconds [image]: http://manjgura.hr/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/internet-1-minute-large1.jpg
Vendor Seek: http://www.vendorseek.com/how-to-get-attention-with-advertising.asp
A Case For Allowing Social Media At Work [image]: http://rikigarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Surfing-the-internet-at-work.jpg
Dilbert Marketing [image]: http://thethinkingfrog.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/dilbert-gets-a-social-media-manager1.gif
Hello My Name Is [image]: http://goleftmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/who-we-are-main-image-sized.jpg
Eccentric Marketing [image]: http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/8400000/Emilie-Autumn-eccentric-and-unique-people-8496880-511-732.jpg
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IMC 619 Emerging Media: Have You Picked Your Tribe Yet?

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Google’s definition of tribe is as follows: A social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties,…

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Do you ever wonder where social media is heading? I mean, there is so much of it out there and much more added to it everyday that it’s hard to make sense of it all. In recent years, social media sites have not only allowed users to create their own social media pages but have also allowed users to create social groups where like minds connect on the issues that are most important to them.

Lets take, for example, Facebook groups. As a Facebook users, I can join any number of social groups and be in contact with others that share in that group. So what happens when I find myself falling behind in trying to follow the 50 groups I belong to plus my friends? Neal Shaffer of Social Media Today has hinted at something that I think will be the future of social media: Social Media Tribes. Imagine belonging to just one “tribe” that shares all the information from the numerous “groups” that you belong to. No more having to visit each group separately: a tribe would encompass all the aspects that you like into one easy to follow social tribe. The tribe could choose a leader or group of leaders that could then pass on only the most important information needed from the combined groups.

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Neal Shaffer of Social Media Today states, “I believe the future of social media can be seen by looking to the past. Humans by nature are social creatures, however we have spent years relying on mass media.  As time has passed, we are now relying less on mass media and more on our peers: we are once again turning to one another.  Consider your friends on Facebook or those you follow on Twitter. Via social,  I have surrounded myself with like minded people that I can have a symbiotic relationship with.   Many of the folks I follow on Twitter I follow because I can learn from them and I value the content they produce.”

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So, how would we marketers market to a tribe? By connecting with the tribe leader/leaders, of course.  YCS Marketing explains how tribes will work in creating better group marketing strategies, “To think of this concept in other terms, consider tribal marketing as a high level targeted group of potential customers. Instead of having a snapshot of the buying, lifestyle and other demographic factors of a particular market, tribal marketing keys in more on smaller, focused sections of consumers. This allows an opportunity to better gauge how information about products and services spread and influence the buying decisions of a target market. Using this information a company can scale products, services, brands that are specifically inline with the needs of a particular group. Let’s illustrate with an example: take a group of friends Jordan, Sally, John and Suzie. John is seen as the outspoken, take charge guy of the group and is usually an early adapter to new services and technologies. As he finds a product/and or service to be useful he passes this information to the rest of the group. The products he doesn’t like or has a negative experience with he shares information about as well. John’s friends all consider him very knowledgeable in this area and weigh his opinion heavily whenever they are considering making this kind of purchase.”

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According to Steve Krivda, “Unarguably “Tribe Marketing” is a marketing method that attempts to create social groups or communities that are targeted around a service or product. But to the shrewd entrepreneur, tribe marketing can mean much much more than this.”

Here is a short list of potential benefits:

* Automated Backlink Syndication
* Automated Facebook Integration
* Automated Twitter Integration
* Automated Blog User Collaboration
* Automated S.E.O Processes
* Automated Live Traffic Systems
* Increased ROI

I see tribal marketing as a type of Ripple Effect Marketing. Imagine the potential of being able to reach out to just one person with a marketing message and one simple message reaches hundred or thousands more just by word of mouth recommendations? Brilliant!

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IMC619 Emerging Media: Flexible Electronic

Are Electronic Tattoo Sensors The Future of Media?

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 Skin signals: This device, applied directly to the skin, can record useful medical information.

Thanks to the creative genius of John Rogers, new electronic sensors that resembles a small tattoo could help monitor health during normal daily activities. The sensor, printed directly onto the skin, can last up to two weeks and can record and transmit vital medical information between you and your doctor. “Taking advantage of recent advances in flexible electronics, researchers have devised a way to “print” devices directly onto the skin so people can wear them for an extended period while performing normal daily activities. Such systems could be used to track health and monitor healing near the skin’s surface, as in the case of surgical wounds.”

Imagine the implications this could have on emerging media. As a marketing professional, I am excited at the prospect this new technology could hold for all aspects of marketing media. One example of how this information could be used is in the area of market research. Market research professionals could utilize the tattoo sensor when researching markets for new brand introductions. Using the sensor, market research volunteers could collect data, such as weekly buying habits and brand choices, and the data collected could be sent back wirelessly via strategically located vendor kiosks.  Of course, this is just one example of the many marketing uses I can think of. I believe the potential for this technology will only be limited by ones imagination.

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“Rogers says his lab is now focused on developing and refining wireless power sources and communication systems that could be integrated into the system. He says the technology could potentially be commercialized by MC10 (see “Making Stretchable Electronics”), a company he cofounded in 2008. If things go as planned, says Rogers, in about a year and half the company will be developing more sophisticated systems “that really do begin to look like the ones that we’re publishing on now.”

Thanks to Mike Orcutt, writer for MIT Technology Review, who shared this information via his article:  Electronic Sensors Printed Directly on the Skin.

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