What’s the ROI in That?

Posted by Jon Thomas, 02 Jan 2013

There seems to be no better time of year for brands to empty their pockets and slap their logos everywhere they can in hopes of gaining exposure than the end of the calendar year. Between the New Year’s Eve televised specials, holiday parades, college football bowl games, sponsored parties, Times Square billboards, Super Bowl commercials and more, the in-your-face advertising is literally unavoidable. 

This type of advertising is nothing new. It’s something we’ve lived with for decades and it expands further with each passing year. But the age we live in now, the post-advertising age, has provided audiences with a bit of perspective. The stadium sponsorships, Super Bowl commercials, Times Square billboards—it all seems a little…funny, doesn’t it?   

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Grey Poupon’s Facebook Page Spreads a Lesson in Brand Storytelling

Posted by Jon Thomas, 26 Sep 2012

I hate mustard.

I’ve always been a picky eater, though my palate has developed as I’ve gotten older. I used to avoid nearly all condiments and toppings. I’d eat salads without dressing, sandwiches without mayo, and whatever you put mustard on, I didn’t. I’ve come around on some of those. Any salad is better with ranch.  I need mayo on my tuna sandwiches.

I still hate mustard, though.

Hello. My name is Jon, and I’m a fan of Grey Poupon on Facebook.

It makes little sense, allowing a brand I have no intention of ever buying into my precious Facebook timeline. If my wife sneaked it into a sandwich, I’d spit it out like a petulant child. But Grey Poupon took an approach to building a community on Facebook that was so unusual, so exclusive, that I had to become a fan (or at least try). 

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What’s the Point of Paid Media in Post-Advertising?

Posted by Jon Thomas, 25 Jun 2012

Paid, earned and owned media are integral parts of any brand’s media strategy. While owned and earned media have flourished during the evolution of the marketing and advertising landscape in the past two decades, paid media has had a tumultuous ride. It has been the catalyst (broadly speaking) for obnoxious and interruptive advertising—pre-roll ads, billboards, banner ads; the kind of advertising we love to point out and lambaste—which makes it an easy target for ridicule by marketers trying to sell owned- and earned-media strategies into brands. But is it fair to ship paid media off to the Island of Misfit Toys? Is it a big mistake to ignore an effective paid-media strategy?

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Why Celebrity Ads Fail

Posted by Katie Edmondson, 20 Jun 2012

According to a new infographic from Crowdtap, “consumers trust recommendations from peers over all other forms of advertising.”

That’s right. Earned media—a suggestion from his neighbor, his college buddy or even his dentist’s cousin—will influence Mr. Consumer more than  a high-budget television, print or online banner ad. This is echoed by another recent study, this one by Nielsen, which also found that consumers trust online opinions (read: those of complete strangers) more than they trust any other form of editorial content, ads or sponsorships (and second only to recommendations from people they know). The full results below:

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Welcome to the Future of Advertising

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 23 Mar 2011

The post-advertising age is complex. Consumers controlling brands, optimizing search, utilizing paid, earned, and owned media…all aspects can seem pretty confusing. So what’s a poor brand to do? Never fear: Help is on the way!

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Paid, Earned, Owned Media: Defining Your Brand Online

Posted by Ryan Saghir, 25 Oct 2010
If you've been involved with interactive marketing in the past year, you've undoubtedly heard the terms "paid, earned and owned" media. Breaking down an online brand presence into these three categories can help define your marketing efforts, but how should you prioritize them?
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