• Native Advertising: Not a place for excuses
    Native advertising? Sometimes junk -- and not a whole lot of scale. Native advertising can become an excuse for not coming up with compelling content and editorial. For example,  “I don’t need Taco Bell telling me what 14 things to eat after midnight,” says Adam Harrell, president/founder for Nebo Agency, speaking at OMMA Atlanta. “A lot stuff that is put out is junk.” Of the quality native content, Matthew Palmer, senior vp/general manager of content solutions of DemandMedia, says, “Social media is at the core of what is driving this. It has forced marketers to look at …
  • How UPS Handles Consumers' Real-Time Expectations
    UPS is doing its best to keep up with consumers' increasingly high expectations for real-time tracking and delivery times, but the necessary infrastructure can't be implemented overnight. So Rob Russell, director of social, mobile, and digital communications at UPS, told attendees of OMMA Atlanta on Thursday. "No, we don't have markers and GPS on every package," Russell said. Without question, however, "We're using mobile to deliver value." Meanwhile, while taking a conservative approach to technology adoption, UPS is experimenting with 3D printing or what Russell prefers to call "just in time manufacturing" in several U.S. locations. As for drones, Russell …
  • UPS's "Humble" Approach To Marketing
    In a world of forceful, in-your-face brands, UPS is the exception, according to Rob Russell, the shipping company's director of social, mobile, and digital communications. "We're a very humble company in many ways," Russell told attendees of OMMA Atlanta on Thursday. Perhaps too humble, however, Russell admitted that UPS could perhaps engage with consumers at a slightly higher decibel level. To that end, the company is experimenting with loyalty programs, and other services. Still, as far as engagement goes, Russell said UPS drivers do as good a job as any consumer outreach program. "They literally save lives," he said, recalling …
  • UPS Focusing On 'Shifted' Consumers
    Mobile is changing the very shape of our brains as we constantly check our cell phones for new message and come to expect a steady stream of incoming information. That’s at least according to Rob Russell, Director, Social, Mobile, & Digital Communications, UPS, citing neuroplasticity research in a keynote at the OMMA Atlanta conference Thursday. The effect of our increasingly mobile-molded minds means ever heavier demands on the shipping giant for efficient, on-time delivery and services. Russell described 22% of consumers as having made this mobile shift, with its customers having double that proportion of “shifted” consumers. That’s especially because …
  • Political Advertisers Dump On Digital
    Forget digital. The "people making the decisions" about where political ad dollars are spent don't even trust cable TV to target voters. That's according to Michael Beach, cofounder of Targeted Victory -- the digital ad firm blamed for Mitt Romney losing the presidential election in 2012. In some cases, digital should play absolutely no part in campaign advertising, Beach told attendees of MediaPost's Marketing Politics conference on Tuesday. In many cases, party leaders don't think new media channels are worth their time. "They're not at all sophisticated," Matthew Gagnon, Director of Digital Strategy at the Republican Governor's Association, said of …
  • TV Is Still King In Campaigns, But Not Always Decisive
    Kenneth Goldstein, prof. of political science, University of San Francisco, says spending on old media is alive and well in politics. Speaking at the Marketing: politics conference Tuesday noted that 3 or 4 dollars spent on a campaign is spent on advertising and over half that amount is spent on local spot TV. During the 2012 presidential race, a total of 1.3 billion was spent on TV advertising. Why does TV still dominate spending despite lower cost digital options? One, because “it’s catnip for journalists” according to Goldstein, arguing the news media doesn’t really care about campaign advertising unless it’s …
  • Did Ohio St. Football Secure Obama's Reelection?
    Did the last presidential election hinge on Ohio St. football? Consider the facts, as presented by Kenneth Goldstein, Professor of Political Science at the University of San Francisco. Critically, Mitt Romney's campaign failed to connect with young Midwestern males in 2012, Goldstein reminded attendees of MediaPost's Marketing Politics conference on Tuesday. Those guys love their college football, and especially in the key swing state of Ohio. Yet, by Goldstein's estimate, President Obama's reelection campaign thoroughly outspent Romney's people during Ohio St. football games in the three weeks leading up to the election.
  • Election Spending By The Billions
    The country continues to witness huge jumps political ad spending every election cycle -- about $1 billion every fours year since 2004, according to Kenneth Goldstein, Professor of Political Science at the University of San Francisco. The total amount was a little less than $1 billion from 2010 through 2014, he told attendees of MediaPost's Marketing Politics conference on Tuesday -- but the spending was still "seemingly recession proof." Meanwhile, marketing trends aside, elections always come down to this basic truth: "Democrats vote for Democrats, and Republicans vote for Republicans," Goldstein reasoned. Oh, and, "independent voters vote for the winner," …
  • Broadcast TV Remains Critical To Political Campaigning
    It may be 2014, but Russ Schriefer, Partner at Strategic Partners' Media, believes that broadcast TV remains central to any political campaign. That was essentially the theme of his keynote, "The Role of Digital in Political Media Buying," at MediaPost's Marketing Politics conference on Tuesday. Having worked on six of the last seven presidential elections -- and considered to be part of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's inner circle -- Schriefer is as entrenched in political advertising as anyone. Sure, broadcast TV is expensive. During Christie's latest gubernatorial run, Schriefer said the campaign was spending about $1.5 million a week …
  • Local Political Campaigns Tackle Big Data
    Gone are the days when local political campaigns could get by with a list of radio stations tacked to the wall. Rivaling the biggest national efforts, local races have become incredibly sophisticated in terms of measurement and targeting, according the experts at MediaPost's Marketing Politics conference on Tuesday. "There's a lot more sophistication and nuance ... to enable one-to-one targeting," said Gayatri Bhalla, COO at political data special Catalist. Local campaigns are "targeting in a way that was never possible," said Jim Walsh, CEO at DSPolitical. Yet, the vast majority of political spending still goes directly to TV -- about …
« Previous Entries