Another example is The Wall Street Journal.  This publication has multiple properties online, but the one most closely resembling the print publication is WSJ.com. If you are trying to reach an audience that is male, has an average House Hold Income (HHI) of $200,000 or greater, and is highly educated (meaning the majority of readers have college or post college education) then you would likely place print insertions within The Wall Street Journal. Yet if you were to replicate the current print buy to online, you would be reaching an audience that is more evenly split male/female, has a HHI of under $100,000 (68%), and has either a college or post-college education.  Thus, a print buy and an online buy would be reaching two different audiences.

The content delivered by publications remains relatively the same across print and online.  It’s the audience consuming the content that may differ from one medium to another.  Does your media team give print VS online comparisons when planning or making recommendations?

By moving your mouse over each circle, the relevant ad begins playing.  The interactivity doesn’t stop here.  By clicking on each circle, the user is taken to a page displaying updated information and statistics pertaining to the video, such as the sharing rate and buzz by language.

According to the site, Viral Spiral “charts the explosion in sharing of branding video content and the extent to which many advertisers are using social video to amplify their brand.”  As the boom in technology continues to grow and the world continues to move online, the use of viral marketing is becoming increasingly prevalent.  Viral Spiral is most interesting because of the fact that it measures shares, not views.  Thus showing the power and success that brands have gained when consumers and potential consumers spread the word and talk about the brand and its products online.

“Linsanity” is in full swing in New York and around the country (if you haven’t heard of him, ask Kobe Bryant, he will explain). He has already made a huge impact on the New York Knicks and the NBA beyond the court. Ratings on MSG Network for the first five games of “Linsanity” have been 87% higher compared to 20 Knicks games prior according to MSN Money. Jeremy Lin jerseys are sold out, and he is filling the seats wherever the Knicks go. Bloomberg reports that for the February 15th game against the Sacramento Kings, the average ticket price increased 26%. Clearly, Jeremy Lin is good for business (see Linfographic from infographicworld.com).

This makes “Linsanity” a huge opportunity for any consumer packaged goods company whose brand aligns well with this high energy, off-the-wall trend regardless of its specific category. Part of the appeal of Linsanity is that people are simply having fun with the trend and creating new Lin phrases. Any brand that could tap into this naming trend with a clever or amusing pun would be an instant top seller.

The following are a few of our picks for best “Linsanity” aligned branding opportunities:

1. Wheaties with 100% more Lin than the leading cereal brand- It’s clear Jeremy eats his Wheaties, and it would be a shame if there wasn’t a special edition released during “Linsanity”.

2. Linsanity bar- Similar to the Reggie! Bar of the 70’s, a Linsanity bar will get you to the proper level of enthusiasm before a Knicks game. These snacks would also be great for sharing with friends and co-workers during post game discussions.

3. Vita-Lin Vitamin Water- Here for a limited time only, hydrate during those intense games with Jeremy Lin limited edition water.

One of the best ways to identify brand alignments across categories such as Sports and CPG is through the Brand Eco Map™. This unique research tool gauges consumers’ brand perceptions across multiple dimensions to reveal new and unexpected positioning and alignments. Do you know where your brand lives?

In “Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough”, Jonathan Tisch provides suggestions for how companies can solidify strong relationships with their customer base. Tisch provides several examples for how companies have connected, or reconnected with their customers and successfully built, or revived, their brand. One example in particular that caught our attention is the section on The Rebirth of Harley-Davidson through Customer Community. The section focuses on Harley Davidson’s strategy to rebuild its brand after it faced losses for several years in the 1980s with intense competition from cheaper Japanese imports. Instead of advertising towards prospective customers, they took a different approach and allocated the majority of their advertising budget towards existing customers. This idea was explained by Clyde Fessler, the company’s vice president of business development, “If you provide a value experience to your existing customers, they become your salespeople and brand ambassadors” (Tisch, 157). They also created the Harley Owners Group (HOG), which sponsored events for Harley owners to gather where they could learn more about their motorcycles, but most importantly, partake in a social event where they could share stories. Their efforts were by all accounts a success, allowing the company to make a successful financial turnaround.

This provides a great example of not only how important it can be for a brand to connect with its customers, but also the power that customers have for a brand. By providing benefits for the customers through HOG, the company provides an incentive for the customer to remain loyal. It also provides a reason for that customer to go and share his or her experience with friends and thereby grow the customer base organically.

This is likely due to increased budgets at financial services firms along with a more receptive public as America begins to move past the financial crisis. Aside from E*Trade, which advertised last year, this year’s Super Bowl also included ads for Chase Bank, MetLife, Prudential Financial, and TaxAct.com.

Retail also had a small increase in share of voice with Old Navy, H&M, and Best Buy all placing ads in this year’s Super Bowl. This shift came at the expense of Consumer Packaged Goods which had a smaller share of voice and did not make as large an impression on viewers as they have in years past.

What was your favorite ad from this year’s Super Bowl?

So, why does media cost tend to stay the same or increase?  When planning for a campaign, it’s extremely important to take into account the number of people who actually consume a type of media (digital, print, OOH, broadcast, TV) or particular publication.  When buying media, if visitors, circulation or GRPs remain consistent over the previous year, media cost would respectively stay consistent as well.  But, if reach of media is declining then cost should reflect this as well.

For example, I pulled a report from BPA World Wide to see the average circulation of three publications focused on boating & yachting.  As you can see by the chart below, Sea Magazine has held a consistent circulation over the past three years, but Yachts International has had a steady decline since 2010.  If you were advertising in Yachts International over the past three years, you would want to compare your rate from 2010 to your current rate.  Has it decreased along with its circulation?  If not, you should investigate why and renegotiate.

There are 3^rd parties that audit publications and sites to ensure that numbers reported by these publications are true and as close to accurate as possible.  Two companies that audit print are BPA World Wide (trade) and Audit Bureau of Circulations (commercial).  There are also several that audit online, such as: comScore (paid), quantcast (free) and compete (free or paid depending on level of data you want).  Other companies like Carroll Media audit outdoor advertising.

When was the last time your agency showed you ‘health’ reports on the publications in which you run?  This analysis is critical to understanding your media choices and negotiating the best rates possible.

In the days after the Costa Concordia disaster, we have begun to see more cruise line advertising in more mainstream media, at least anecdotally. Companies such as Norwegian Cruise Lines appear to have added special offers to their TV placements in the hopes of counteracting the disaster. It is also possible that cruise lines’ media strategies have not changed significantly after the disaster but that consumers such as us are more aware of cruise line ads, thereby actually increasing their effectiveness.

While it will be impossible to know the full impact of these placements on this Wave Season (the period from January to March, when most cruise lines offer their best deals) for another few months, initial reported figures are looking good. Costa Cruises ticket prices have remained steady in the days following the disaster (as seen in the Cruise Market Watch graph) and UBS, a financial services firm, estimates that ticket prices have actually increased 1% industry wide since the start of 2012. In all likelihood Wave Season for the other major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, that are not directly tied to the disaster, will be largely unaffected.

While a recent poll of travel agents published in Adweek revealed that 25% of customers said they felt a “high level of concern,” this is unlikely to pan out in their actual spending habits.  There is usually a negative emotional reaction in consumer polls immediately following a tragic news event, which eventually fades away by the time consumers are at the purchase stage again. A study on the impact of airline crashes conducted by the University of Colorado has found evidence that following a crash consumers simply switch to different airlines. This may be concerning for Costa Cruises, but not for the industry as a whole.

If you are a believer in statistics like I am, then now is actually the best time to take a cruise. The rarity of cruise ship disasters indicates that now should be the safest time to travel despite the natural reaction to avoid cruises after watching the news. All cruise lines will be taking additional safety precautions given customers’ anticipated anxiety, and travelers could even snag a good deal in the process.

“Peak” takes a look into Conley’s process for engaging and stimulating loyalty among his employees, customers, and investors.  His accomplishments resulted in a complete business turnaround that brought back sustained success.  Along with his personal anecdotes, Conley provides real-world examples from companies like Southwest Airlines, Google, Harley-Davidson, and Whole Foods Market.  “Peak” provides the reader with insight into the results of what happens when a company’s employees live up to their full potential, customers are motivated to engage with the company, and investors maximize the potential of their capital.

ComScore reported recently that online holiday shopping

Does this mean all businesses should move to conduct their business transactions online?  It is hard to say.  There are some industries that are probably best serviced face-to-face (such as the swimming pool industry).  Should all businesses have a presence online, such as in a directory, making sure their contact information is correct for search results or market to their target audience through display media?  Yes.  The numbers show that more and more people are turning to the internet for everyday needs and wants (with Google processing 1 billion searches in 1 day alone) and putting their dollars there too.  If your business has yet to dive into this space, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to expand your customer base and consequently your revenue stream.

Have you taken advantage of online: search, display media, or e-commerce?  If not, what’s holding you back?