The Pros & Cons of QR Codes

This week when presenting my group project Public Service Announcement campaign, which we included a QR code on our print flyers, we received the feedback of "isn't using QR codes dead?". This question made me wondering, are QR codes really ineffective in advertising or are they still viable to be used. I know personally, I see QR codes all over products. There is no limit for where QR codes can be used. 

Pros

• QR Codes are now well-known and simple to use. The audience simply has to take a picture through their app.
• The codes usage can be tracked. You can see how effective you product or ad is. You know how many consumers are scanning and using your codes. 
• Opposite to this is if you only offer a number for your audience to text, you may face some concerns of your audience worrying about charges. Although it is not as common anymore with unlimited phone plans, some people may not want to use their texts. They may also not want to give out their phone number to continue to receive unwanted messages in the future. 

Cons

• Sometimes they just do not work, you need to know your target and sometimes it is a matter of trial and error. 
• People just don't use them, they are easy to use but they may not have the app installed or it is still a reality not all people have smartphones. 
• The codes are misused and put in places where people can not reach them, take the time to use them or even WiFi. 

In my opinion, I can fully see the side of why QR Codes are not quite as popular as they once were. I think there are certainly more creative things which can be done to have more information, or linking on creative ads. I also believe everything goes back to your audience and if there is room to test out and do the proper research, you will find how your audience will be most receptive. For my own group campaign, I believe we could further our creative campaign with augmented reality. In relation to our campaign, this would be an additional feature to utilize and get the audience interacting and looking for more information. 

Print & Media: Are They Different?

This week, I was reading for fun with a fictional book. I came to find out that this book, which may be geared more towards the late teens/early 20's because at the end of most of the chapters, there were hash tags which related to the events of the chapter. This was new and pretty interesting for me to see. The hash tags are attempting to create a community of readers where they can connect on Twitter and even Facebook. It is logical to think that the audience which is loyal to  the author or series, then they are more likely to look up or even tweet with the hash tag. Readers can see what other readers have to say about the chapter and can create a connection through this.

How Do They Differ Anymore?

More and more we are seeing the two forms of media come together, print uses digital to compete to keep up with the times. Social media is growing continuously and can be incorporated in various ways to other media. This use of social media expands my already held knowledge. I have seen hash tags used in magazine ads and different transit ads, but never in a book I have read. SO, my question is, how do the two forms of media differ anymore. They are not separate but melding together in a way. I think it is also important to note that with the changes in technology, the way we read original print media is now different than it once was. 

People have nooks, kindles, tablets, apps and smartphones in which reading is small and portable for on the go reading. We can now  read the newspaper online, magazines and so much more. So where will this lead? We can not even read a book without being reminded of digital media and social media. 

Is Mobile Really A Second Screen?

This week I was reading an article on Bloomberg Business Week about the major increase our society is spending on mobile devices versus watching television. This article shares that on average, a person is spending 2 hours and 48 minutes on their mobile device a day. The distinction is above the time distinction spend watching television now. On average, 177 minutes is spent on a mobile device and 168 minutes watching television. In my opinion, I believe the gap is going to increase between time spent on both technologies. So, is mobile really what marketers call a "second screen'?

Mobile Versus Television

Typically, television is referred to as a first screen in which marketers can reach consumers. Mobile would be called a second screen marketers can reach their consumers with ads and messages. With the large growth seen in time spent on mobile, will it take over the first screen slot. I believe that this distinction will stay the same for consistency sake, but mobile is clearly beating out reaching consumers on the television. With the technological advances we have seen within just the last year or two, watching television or videos on your mobile device is easy and portable. Consumers may start to choose to watch through their smartphones rather than directly through a television. Alternately, I have noticed that if you visit some regular station websites to watch videos, such as CBS or ABC, you must confirm your television provider to receive the videos. I do believe people will continue with television providers for reasons such as this. 

What Should Marketers Do?

As mentioned in prior posts, it is always imperative for marketers to know where their consumers are spending their time. If you as a marketer know your target is spending a significant amount of time on mobile versus television, then advertising more on mobile will be more effective. It is interesting to see how this trend is growing right in front of my eyes. Only a few years ago I personally did not have a smartphone, or even a cell phone in general. Now I look around and practically everyone is on a smartphone...and for a majority of their time. I see how my younger cousins can be glued to their devices even to just play games with each other. This concept is already so different from when I was their age and they were much younger. If marketers are trying to reach consumers my cousins' ages, then mobile will certainly be worth it. 

Bloomberg Article mentioned: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-19/we-now-spend-more-time-staring-at-phones-than-tvs

How Adobe is Opening Doors for Marketers

Through a handful of my Marketing courses, including my Marketing Campaign Planning course, we have discussed location-based marketing. Using this type of strategy is helpful in a number of ways for marketers and businesses. Being able to contact consumers in a more personal way based on their geographic locations is quite beneficial. A marketer is able to target their consumers more when they have information about them. This week I came across an interesting announcement made by the Adobe company. 

Adobe & Location-based Marketing

This week I learned that Adobe announced they are making it easier for businesses to reach customers using their business apps. Adobe has made these updates to their mobile services. It will allow for businesses to have in-app ads based on their consumers activities, metrics and even location. This tactic aims at making it more effective for businesses when targeting consumers through apps. 

According to Forbes.com, Adobe is making this push in competition against salesforce.com and is in pursuit of marketing dominance. About  two-thirds of Fortune 50 companies use Adobe's Cloud Services. In co-ordinance with this, Adobe has put out options such as the in-app messages, mobile app management, mobile campaign management, and a new Adobe social app. These types of services are pertinent to consumers today because consumers are more likely to go to a businesses easily accessible apps as opposed to their mobile website. 

How Does This Apply?

Marketers need to know these new options and where their consumers are searching. They should have the ability to access these features to gain success in effectively reaching consumers. It is important marketers keep up with these trends. They will be able to make more personal connections to consumers. These features allow businesses to send push notifications to app consumers when they enter their stores. Location-based marketing and technologies allow businesses to do this. 

References

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/Adobe-All-In-with-Location-Marketing/story.xhtml?story_id=10300CL9W1CP#

http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/11/18/adobe-embraces-location-based-marketing/

Watch Out For Social Media

This week I wanted to discuss the hot topic surrounding allegations against Bill Cosby. As you all may have heard either from Cosby's career, or more recently, he has numerous negative publicity to address concerning sexual assault allegations. When hearing about this topic, I found it very interesting that this issue started to pick up again because of a social media back fire. Those managing Bill Cosby's website (http://billcosby.com/) had created a meme generator for the celebrity. A meme is typically a humorous image with some short blurb on it. The most popular ones tend to go viral and are seen by many. I can assume the meme generator was supposed to be for fans of Cosby and a way to have his fans be engaged. Unfortunately this backfired for the star and brought more heat to him. 

Media Gone Wrong

People out there who saw this generator decided to portray Cosby negatively and use his own troubled situations to be funny. This is far from funny for the star. Memes created by the public have opened up more questions for sexual assault allegations which Cosby has been facing through the years. His team who created the generator had initially promoted tweeting their fun creations to Bill Cosby, which made this whole situation worse because it easily grabbed attention. With the option of social media, especially Twitter, it is so easy to hashtag and search such images or posts. Social media has made it so easy to share information instantly, which can be very bad for situations such as Cosby's'.

What to Do?

http://diymusician.cdbaby.com

Those who manage Cosby and his publicity/online presence have since taken the generator down, which is a great first step. From what I have learned through my courses, there are a few actions to take with these situations. I have specifically learned the three "A's". These are acknowledge, apologize, and act. I believe this could be part of Cosby's rebound to this situation. It does not matter whether the allegations are true or not, he needs to acknowledge what has occurred through social media. His team must apologize for the stir and share that this was of course not the intent. They need to act by taking the generator down and through positive work try to create a better image of Cosby after the meme incident. 

The Big Take Away

The big take away I provide to you all from this situation is this: expect the unexpected. Bill Cosby's team did not intend to create the meme generator for negativity, but it fell under the unexpected. There is always something that can go wrong and not everyone will take what you post the same way. Social media provides many benefits but also creates the possibility for negativity and the ability to falsify information.

To see more on this social media back fire:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-wp-wp-root--bc-cosby15-20141115-story.html

Creating Awareness With Raffles

This past week I attended the Grinspoon, Garvey & Young Entrepreneurship Conference at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The conference was created and has been held annually "to encourage innovative thinking and entrepreneurial acumen in young people." At this event I met other students from local colleges and sat in on two speaker sessions. The speaker session I want to mention is a social media speaker session. I heard three professionals speak and answer questions in regards to social media and business.

Prosperity Candle

One of the topics from this session which sparked my interest was given by Kim Hutt, the Director of Marketing for Prosperity Candle, a company which provides handmade candles and jobs for women rebuilding their lives. During her talk, she discussed what she is doing for the social media of Prosperity Candle. One of the sites they utilized for promoting the brand is called Rafflecopter. Rafflecopter is a site which provides a service of setting up giveaways for your company or product. The slogan of the site is "Rafflecopter is the world's easiest way to run a giveaway." I found this to be an interesting way to easily offer and control a giveaway to your audience. In the image above, it shows Prosperity Candle's recent giveaway, as well as how Rafflecopter works. A company embeds their giveaway address to any or all of their social media. From there, their consumers must share the post in various social media sites in order to increase their chances of winning the giveaway.

When & Why Use Rafflecopter?

Rafflecopter is a great way to have a giveaway in a simple and easy to use format. It is a savvy way to get consumers to share your product and brand through the giveaway. If one consumers shares the giveaway via their numerous social media accounts, many of their followers will see the posts. This process gains awareness and interest into the product and brand. Kim Hutt explained the best time in which her company utilizes Rafflecopter. They tend to have giveaways, such as now, right before holidays. If they increase awareness before big purchasing periods, people will think of their company when going to buy gifts for the Holidays or Mothers' Day, for example. In the consumer pathway, creating awareness is the first stage. It is important to create this awareness for consumers to recognize and know what your brand is. Overall, I find this site to be useful for companies in creating that promotion through social media and initiating that awareness a brand needs.

http://static.squarespace.com

Sites mentioned in this post: https://www.rafflecopter.com/

                                          http://www.prosperitycandle.com/

Country Isn't Just For The South

Keeping on a similar topic from my post last week, I want to discuss how Country music can actually be a boost to your brand. I read an article of Forbes called Country Music Is A Powerful Opportunity For Brands this week and found it to be a pretty interesting idea which relates to my Marketing Course topics. This article discusses how popular and powerful country music can be for your brand. It describes a segment called New Heartland which has consumers who are very brand loyal and family oriented. This idea also stems from the fact that the CMA Awards were the most social show in this year. So who and how can this segment help?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/pauljankowski/2014/10/29/country-music-is-a-powerful-opportunity-for-brands/2/

Music, Loyalty, & Endorsements

In my class, we recently discussed establishing trust and credibility as a source. People are going to trust ads with people they trust and like. Likeability and attractiveness are a big player in message effectiveness. Having a celebrity endorsement certainly can help a brand's advertising. Celebrities people like and view highly are going to have a good affect. This topic relates to Country music because it is such a popular genre with involved fans. This brand suggests creating this likability and trustworthiness by using a Country celebrity. The loyalty of the Country fans will follow into the brand. Of course it is still important to choose a celebrity who embodies aspects you want portrayed for you brand/product. 

Carrie Underwood

http://stocklandmartelblog

One example of a Country singer who I can recognize as being a part of many brands is Carrie Underwood. She is a part of many magazines, commercials and print ads. She has been the face of Olay, Almay, Sketchers, and Vitamin Water. She does these ads and becomes a face of the brand. She has high likeability and attractiveness to consumers. Her face is recognizable and a majority of people will know who she is.