In honor of Bastille Day, the advertising news this week is centered around freedom and revolution.
FREE POKEMON
In a time of bitter political and racial divides, one thing is bringing Americans together this summer: Pokemon. In the many stories about Pokemon Go (It’s good for depression! It’s getting kids outside! It’s stupid!), there are several with the marketer’s take. Here’s Click Z’s article on what Pokemon Go means for local marketers. Here’s a longer piece from GeoMarketing. This Business Insider interview with Niantic CEO, John Hanke, is a very interesting insider’s view of the development of the product—and how long term vision can lead to an overnight sensation. Our take: Pokemon Go has the perfect mix of new technology and nostalgic sweetness that mix together to make a summertime hit. And like most hits of summers past, it will likely fade—especially since the AR is *very* clunky and will surely be bested soon. But it is worth enjoying a happy meme in a troubling summer, and doffing our Ash Ketchum-style baseball hats to marketers everywhere who are bringing local flavor to a nationwide trend. It’s a timeless tactic, and will continue to evolve as the hits and misses change over the years.
#geotargeting #local #freedomtocatchemall
FREEDOM FROM GADGETS
A new study suggests more than half of Americans want to unplug on vacation . . . but few do. As marketers, it is incumbent on us to notice when there is a gap between what people want and what people do. Perhaps it is not a surprise that eBook sales continue to drop even as devices become more prevalent—as the AAP has noted, declining “9.7%, with eBooks now making up only 17.3% of the trade book market.” Perhaps it’s time for an industry campaign along the lines of “Declare freedom from your device.” A campaign featuring regular people in real world situations enjoying being away from the stresses and anxieties that come through a 24/7 digital life could be just the thing to promote book reading.
#data
FREEDOM FROM THE CABLE BOX
Twitter is in talks with major sports leagues to obtain rights to stream their events. This could be a boon for non-cable-subscribing sports fanatics (such as your humble correspondent), and the advertisers who want to reach them for less than the astronomical ad rates major sports events command.
FREE THOUGHTS ON SNAPCHAT
In AdAge, Adam Kleinberg from Traction writes about the challenges and opportunities with Snapchat advertising. As with any newish platform that has gained passionate popularity with one segment of the population, there will be backlash as the community goes beyond the core members (that is, assuming anyone over 30 will ever figure the platform out), and as ads are introduced into what was previously an ad-free environment. It strengths are almost a perfect match for its pitfalls.
Photo of statue of Marquis de Lafayette (c) Martha Otis, 2016