MarCom Professional

The CIPR has hit out at the ASA for not consulting the PR industry on its proposed regulation of brands in social networks.

In a statement issued by the CIPR (disclosure: I’m a member of the CIPR panel) it said that it was given an undertaking in May that the views of the PR industry would be heard.

"We are disappointed this action has been taken without our involvement,” says Ann Mealor, Interim CEO at the CIPR. “We are writing to the ASA regarding our concerns and advocating the need for closer working relationships on this issue.”

The CIPR said that it has reservation about the planned changes to the ASA’s remit. More...

In part eight of a series of conversations exploring the state and future of social media, Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I discuss the changing landscape of advertising and engagement.

Advertising and marketing is experimenting with campaigns and engagement programs that essentially brings creative to life. It’s the fusion of influence and confluence that will define their success over time.

But how do we define success?

Success stories in social are now common, but can we truly use them as templates for our unique market dynamics? In order to measure the success of our programs, we must design metrics and desired outcomes into the plan. More...

In the communications game it's important to ensure you have plenty of 'layers' to the stories you tell on behalf of your clients (if agency) or organisation (if in-house).

That's often the job of the PR and/or advertising team - to bring a story to life so that it resonates with audiences. To do this, you need to be able to identify and add layers of interest, to 'join the dots' of a story and then leverage via a multitude of different channels.

Sometimes a bit of luck can fall your way and the elements come together beautifully, thus ensuring the communication enjoys maximum impact. More...

It will be increasingly difficult to grab attention from anyone on the Internet or in person. You may spend hours writing a great blog article, creating a high-value video or designing your marketing slicks only to find that people just aren’t interested in consuming them. Why? Because we’re being bombarded by messages, alerts, and feeds every second. We’re constantly distracted and interrupted when we invest our time on the Internet. As a result, our brain essentially reconfigures itself.

This is what Nicholas Carr, the author of the book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, found when he studies how the Internet influences the brain and its neural pathways. More...

In part two of a series of conversations discussing the state and future of social media with Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo), we review the viability of Facebook as an advertising platform. The discussion brings up elements introduced in my recent post introducing the concept of The Last Mile and how everything begins with the First Mile. We also review the ever-thinning attention span (Media A.D.D.) and ideas introduced in Part Two of the Hybrid Theory Manifesto.

This series was filmed at the new video studio at KickLabs SF where I spend time as an entrepreneur in residence.

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eMarketer reports that mobile data traffic has grown because of the popularity of smartphones and unlimited-use mobile data plans for netbooks, laptops and other devices.

Coda Research predicted in March 2010 that data traffic from mobile handsets in the U.S. will surge to 327 petabytes per month in 2015, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 117 percent.

And ABI Research reported in May that smartphones and connected computing devices would contribute 87 percent of all mobile network data traffic in the U.S. market.

The mobile service provider response was tiered pricing plans. As an example, after years of offering unlimited data at a fixed price, AT&T introduced tiered pricing for new customers. More...

You spent countless hours crafting your marketing campaign investing money and hiring marketing experts to help guide you through the process. You get ready to push the launch button, waiting for emails and phone calls come pouring in, then…

Nothing happens. But what could go wrong?

You did the things that the marketing “experts” said you should do with your keywords, putting up blog articles day after day, uploading videos and sending out email newsletters.

Why?

Here are 10 reasons why you’re not getting the attention, buzz and most importantly - the sales conversion. More...

The spirit of social media is enlivening industries, refreshing marketing, and humanizing businesses. While the steps to the social revolution are gradual, so are the budgets that fund innovation. Progress is underway however, and with every experiment and pilot program, we learn the answers to the questions that serve as the gateways to change.

Early experiments are sparked within various forward-looking divisions and funded by other resident or surrounding programs or departments. As social media permeates and socializes the frameworks of the modern businesses, finances and supporting resources will shift to advance expansion. More...

 
eMarketer reports that Internet users have been sending mixed messages about targeted advertising. Sometimes say they appreciate the relevance; sometimes they would provide personal information to facilitate targeting; and yet they also report concerns about advertisers and publishers having too much data.

While this suggests that consumers may be confused about online privacy and what behavioral targeting entails, research from online ad preference management provider PreferenceCentral calls into question whether consumer education is a solution for marketers.

Asked if they would prefer to pay for content, view targeted advertisements in exchange for free content, or receive limited free content supported by untargeted ads, 58 percent of US internet users chose targeted ads. More...