Category Archives: Next to Now

Next to Now – Early March Edition

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TRUTHERS EMERGE TO DRAIN DIGITAL SWAMP

Following Procter & Gamble’s call for digital advertising that is more reliable (and less “crappy”) Stein says, “it’s interesting that we’re at a point now where we question what even is real.”*

Isn’t it?

* In a meta twist, who is “Stein?”  He is not otherwise cited or named in the article!  It may be a typo for “Scott.”

 

CHOICE OF A NEW GENERATION?

“The Refresh Project accomplished everything a social media campaign is supposed to accomplish: millions of Facebook likes and thousands of new Twitter followers. But it didn’t sell Pepsi. Pepsi Cola and Diet Pepsi both lost about 5 percent of their market shares over the course of the year — a calamitous decline. The brand returned to TV.”

Turn on, tune in, pop out.

 

CHOICE OF A MATURE GENERATION

“American users aged 24 and younger may decrease time spent on Snapchat as more people check out Instagram Stories” but those book-buying 45- to 54-year olds are helping Snapchat to grow its total audience anyway.

Instantly Snap

Next to Now Late February Edition

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WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU?

“In the decision to trust a source, objective expertise appears to matter less than the determination that this person shares our beliefs, assumptions and suspicions, that they are, in a sense, a member of our tribe.”

Tell a story, earn some trust. 

 

TOP 4 BEST …

What makes you want to pay attention?  Here are VentureBeat’s “4 best practices to move the needle on digital advertising.”

“The only problem is that creating an exciting, engaging campaign is easier said than done.”

No kidding!  But food for thought as we select our review quotes.

 

COOL YOUR JETS, DIGITAL.

The advertising market is more diverse than some would have us believe, says SMI via MediaPost.

See from a different perspective. 

 

PAMA AND PAMELA PAUL

Pamela Paul speaks at the Publishers Advertising and Marketing Association’s event next week, Wednesday, March 1.

Full disclosure:  Poster Christian Toth is PAMA’s president!

More here if you’re interested. 

 

 

Next to Now Mid-February Edition

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FACEBOOK COMMITS TO AUDIT

“Until last year, advertisers mostly accepted Facebook’s metrics with closed eyes. However, after admissions that a portion of its ad numbers were being misreported, all hell broke loose.”

It’s a matter of trust.

 

SMART MAGAZINES FOR AFFLUENT READERS

Flipboard’s new app is getting noticed. “Rejecting robo-driven ‘programmatic’ advertising [and] using humans to sell premium-priced slots for magazine-style ad campaigns from upscale brands.”

Build your own echo-chamber.

 

FAMOUS POTATOES

Subversive branding coup? Or an extravagant waste?

Something to keep an eye on.

 

NEXT TO NOVEMBER

A story on firewalls that makes us think about ads on opt-in environments. CPMs may be higher but users truly value the content.

Unto the Breach.

Next to Now Early February Edition

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HOW MANY HAVE YOU READ?

The “One Book, One New York” Program has narrowed it down to five, and celebrities pitch their own picks in videos:

Bebe Neuwirth advocates for Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Anchor).

Danielle Brooks advocates for Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau).

Larry Wilmore advocates for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead Books).

Giancarlo Esposito advocates for The Sellout by Paul Beatty (Picador).

William H. Macy advocates for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Harper Perennial).

(I’ve read three!)  See the Buzzfeed Books Tweet and the NYC Page 

 

SNAPCHAT OPEN TO DISCUSSION?

“Although we have recently tried to establish longer-term advertising commitments with advertisers, most advertisers do not have long-term advertising commitments with us, and our efforts to establish long-term commitments may not succeed.”

So can we now have that $5,000 plan by Wednesday please?

Looking ahead …

And, On Thursday, The New York Times became the latest publisher to join Snapchat’s Discover section.  More here. 

 

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, INSIDE THE BAG.

These Tostitos could save your life.  And it’s a memorable Super Bowl promotion. 

 

 

Next to Now: January 27 Edition

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ABOUT FACE

No frame, all-image. (Potentially all-ad?)  In the near future your phone may be composed entirely of a single, interactive screen. Possibly on both sides.

The latest Apple patent spotted.

And bendy too!

 

 

PRINT IS THE NEW VINYL

Educated, affluent readers who love reading prefer their quality, long-form journalism in print form, even if it means paying more.  Or so hopes this web-only publication that is returning to print (partially).

Give it a spin.

 

 

3 WAYS TO DRIVE GROWTH

Google looks at the mindset of leading marketers.

Embrace experimentation!

Next to Now: Mid-January 2017

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MIDROLL WITH A TWIST

Facebook’s strategy creates a new opportunity for advertisers … while  incentivizing the creation of videos that people will actually want to watch.

Read about it here and here.

 

 

WHAT AD TECH INSPIRES TRUST IN 8 OF 10 USERS?

Spoiler … It’s not VR.

Don’t take our word for it.

 

 

WOMEN WANT FEWER AND MORE GENUINE INFLUENCER POSTS

Among other things, probably.

Learn to avoid pitfalls.

Next to Now for January 2017

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CAN THEY HEAR WHAT YOU HEAR?

Not always.  Here are 6 tips from Facebook for making silent videos speak.

Listen to the silence. 

 

“For mobile marketing, a moment of transformation is at hand …

… By year’s end, 75% of online content consumption will be mobile.”

Something to bear in mind when reviewing our ad stats, which often average mobile and desktop together.  (Not all CTRs are created equal.)

Tune in to Programmatic with Point 3.  A tool to remember as we plan our campaigns.

Read about the projections. 

 

“WE’RE PUTTING IT ALL INTO FACEBOOK!”

Maybe that’s a good idea … but maybe not.

Consider this. 

 

 

 

Next to Now for December 2016

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For our final post of 2016, we wish you a happy holidays and terrific last-minute gift-finding success for all your loved ones (pro tip: look in a bookstore).

 

FACEBOOK EXPERIMENTS WITH GREATER AD CONTROL FOR CONSUMERS

This week Facebook announced that are allowing users greater control over which ads they see. First available for blocking: ads for liquor and parenting. This is ultimately a win for advertisers as well as consumers. It is a great way to prevent wasted impressions.

#facebook

 

MARKETING HACKS FOR INSTAGRAM

Instagram’s new save feature was good news for advertisers from the moment it was announced. But some marketers have taken it a step further, exploring creative ways to use the save tool to increase consumer engagement.

#instagram

 

HOW MEN SHOP

If you’re looking to reach men for holiday shopping, look to the last-minute. According to a National Retail Federation study on Christmas shopping,

“51.2% of men (compared to 48.3% of women) said they expect to buy the last holiday gift between Monday and Sunday.”

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#lastminute #men

 

WHAT’S NEW IN RUSSIAN AD FRAUD

The New York Times reports on a Russian criminal organization that specializes in using bots to fake ad impressions, pocketing millions a day from unsuspecting advertisers.  The best ways to avoid this ad fraud is to make sure you’re working with scrupulous partners. While all programmatic companies—whether it’s Google or Turn or another—are working hard to minimize the problem they haven’t yet been able to stamp it out. The surest way to avoid ad fraud is to buy directly from sites such as NYTimes.com, rather than going through dodgy 3rd party providers.

#adfraud

Next to Now for December 16

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As the holiday season lights the way from one year to the next, this week’s ad news gives us a glimpse of what’s working, what’s not working, and what’s worth testing.

 

BANNER AD TIPS FROM BBDO

BBDO has run a study of the best performing banner ads. What they learned is worth noting:

  • Keep copy less than 5-10 words
  • Treat them like billboards
  • Make them look like ads (don’t make them look like fake edit)
  • Keep branding consistent

#banners #bestpractices #creative

 

FACEBOOK ADMITS TO MORE MEASUREMENT ERRORS

In a recent announcement, Facebook admitted to more errors in reporting likes, reactions, and shares. While we applaud their transparency, it underscores how digital reporting is built on an inherently opaque set of data. There remains an enormous amount of trust involved in seeing data from advertising partners who have an incentive to inflate results.

#facebook #social

 

INSTAGRAM NOW ALLOWS YOU TO SAVE OTHER PEOPLE’S PHOTOS

Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows you to save photos from your timeline. This will be a nifty feature for users, but is perhaps even better for businesses since it makes it easier for consumers to bookmark products they like so they can look at them later.

#instagram

Next to Now: December 9

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SELF SHUTTERS PRINT, GOES DIGITAL ONLY

Conde Nast’s Self is ending the print version of the magazine, and ramping up the digital brand. Media Post reports,

“Since 2014, Self’s single-copy sales dropped from 148,000 to 44,000. Circulation has dropped from just over 1.5 million to just under.

“Meanwhile, video viewership experienced triple digit growth compared to last year, according to Condé Nast. In September, Self.com broke previous traffic records with 5.3 million unique viewers, representing a 56% increase year-over-year.”

#self #print

2017 LOOKS TO BE THE YEAR INSTAGRAM GAINS GROUND OVER TWITTER

eMarketer’s survey of marketers suggests that 2017 will be the year more advertisers choose Instagram over Twitter:

“By 2017, the research firm forecasts, 74.2% of U.S. companies (or at least those with more than 100 employees) will use Instagram for marketing purposes — markedly more than the 66.2% that will be using Twitter.”

#instagram #twitter #social

MARKETERS NEED TO BE ON SNAPCHAT. THAT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S EASY.

The case for using Snapchat to reach 18-24 year olds is clear:

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That makes the platform a great place to experiment reaching this age group, but as this tale “from the trenches” of a recent Ben & Jerry’s geo-filter campaign shows, it’s not the place if you’re looking for flawless execution.

#snapchat

SNAPCHAT INNOVATIONS

Digiday reports on the Snapchat campaign run by Birch Box: By using vanity urls, Birch Box was able to sell direct to its highly engaged Snapchat fan base and measure the results. It’s a model of a scrappy direct response campaign on an emerging platform.

#snapchat

NATIVE ADVERTISING TILTS TOWARD SOCIAL

MediaPost reports that advertisers and agency executives are looking to run more native advertising in 2017, with more going toward social (and more of social going to Facebook) than traditional sites such as NYTimes.com and BuzzFeed.

#native

FACEBOOK’S “DEDICATED MEDIA” TAB A HIT WITH MEDIA BUYERS

We’re not sure how consumers will feel about it, but Digiday reports that agencies love it:

“The company has been testing out a dedicated video tab inside its mobile app among a small group of users over the past year, as it aims to make video a more integral part of its mobile offering. The tab appears on its bottom menu alongside the notifications, timeline, marketplace and settings tabs, and opens up into a separate video hub, delivering a feed of live videos and other video content based on a user’s subscriptions or interests.

“For media analysts and media buyers, the dedicated video vertical firmly equips Facebook to grab more ad dollars from TV.”

Matt Heindl, director of social media at Razorfish, doesn’t think TV has anything to worry about in the near future, but Snapchat and YouTube? Yes, they might want to start to worry.

#facebook #video

TOP APPS

In a post on the continued growth of streaming music services such as Pandora and iHeartRadio, eMarketer reports that Pandora is the ninth most popular app of all, and the #1 most popular after various Facebook and Google apps. Here’s a chart that lists the top fifteen most popular apps according to comScore:

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In the continued Pandora or Spotify debate, it’s worth noting Pandora’s dominance in the app category.

#music #pandora #apps