BCA

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Competition is intensifying in the mobile apps sector, as major players like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple all seek to attract an audience.

Online retailer Amazon has this week started selling applications for smartphones and tablets using Google’s Android operating system.

The company’s Appstore was introduced with roughly 3,800 such tools, including those for Newsweek magazine, Zagat’s consumer-generated restaurant reviews and an offering from travel specialist Kayak.

“It’s day one for us, and we’re adding new apps every day,” Aaron Rubenson, Amazon’s category leader, mobile services, told the Seattle Times.

“There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available, with new ones coming every day.”

Amazon is providing one free app each day

In promoting the latest addition to its portfolio, Amazon is providing one free application each day, and lets people “test drive” apps for around half an hour before choosing whether to buy them.

Leveraging its ecommerce site, the Appstore will also give visitors recommendations based on an individual’s purchase history, for example suggesting recipe apps to someone who recently acquired kitchenware.

“While that breadth of selection is interesting, it can make it difficult for customers to select products that are relevant to them,” said Rubenson.

Emphasis is on having a great selection

“We focus on having great selection and helping customers find products that are right for them.”

Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, argued Amazon should benefit from its existing capabilities in the internet arena.

“The mobile apps ecosystem has its unique challenges, but we believe Amazon’s strength in online retailing and digital delivery position it to be a leader here,” he said,

Research firm Forrester estimates smartphone app sales will reach $4.5bn worldwide this year, and $1.1bn on tablet equivalents, totals expected to hit $29.4bn and $8.1bn respectively by 2015.

Amazon has a huge base accustomed to paying for goods

Sarah Rotman Epps, a technology analyst at Forrester, stated the fact Amazon already boasts an enormous customer base schooled in paying for goods via its interface might be advantageous.

“Consumers interact with Google all the time, but not with their credit cards,” she said, adding that Amazon could “change the economics of apps” for Android as a result.

To date, iPhone subscribers have proved more willing to download paid-for apps than Android counterparts.

Apple’s App Store contains 350,000 options – ahead of Amazon and Android’s 130,000 – while the manufacturer of the iPad and iPod holds details about 200m credit card accounts.

Credit cards are the coin of the realm

“That’s the coin of the realm – people who have secured their accounts with a credit card,” Michael McGuire, a Gartner analyst, said.

“You have a lot a choices all coming back to that one credit card. Google certainly can’t claim that.”

McGuire added: “Developers will look at momentum. Will Amazon build new devices? How much is Amazon investing in its ecosystem?”

Apple is trying to trademark App Store term

In an indication of the fierce rivalry now emerging, Apple has attempted to trademark the term App Store, and is suing Amazon for employing a derivative of it.

“Amazon has begun improperly using Apple’s App Store mark in connection with Amazon’s mobile software developer program,” the organisation’s lawsuit said.

“Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon’s mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple.”

Microsoft, another possible actor in this area having rolled out the Windows 7 Phone, has previously also opposed Apple’s moves.

“An app store is an app store,” Russell Pangborn, Microsoft’s associate general counsel said earlier this year.

“Like shoe store or toy store, it is a generic term that is commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps.”

Data sourced from Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times, Financial Times, BBC; additional content by Warc staff24 March 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

 Facebook, the social network, is seeking to provide solutions helping brand owners forge substantive “associations around people.”

Speaking to AdAge, David Fischer, Facebook’s vp, advertising and global operations, suggested its core strength lies in offering an intrinsically interactive experience. “The web can be the best branding opportunity if you think about creating associations around people,” he said.
“Part of what’s so exciting about Facebook, it’s clear that what drives change and motivates people to act is other people … It’s about how you tell stories through people.”

“People, really, is the operating system that drives all of our behaviors. It’s the organising principal that drives us. I’m seeing that come to life via Facebook.”

Having previously worked for Google, Fischer argued the rapid rise of Web 2.0 platforms across the globe constitutes the next stage in the internet’s development.

“Search has been an incredible advancement, but the opportunity for brands that the web has always represented – there’s an opportunity to fulfill that through Facebook that you hadn’t had before,” he said.

Coke leads the way

Among the most successful firms here at present are soft drinks giant Coca-Cola, boasting 22.7m fans, and coffee house chain Starbucks, with 19.8m. “Those millions of connections are not the end. It’s just the start. Those millions are the means to the end,” said Fischer.

“It’s a way to build relationships with those people, and then to tap into all those people’s friends. It’s an opportunity to do word-of-mouth marketing at scale.”

Indeed, Facebook is empowering companies as much as consumers, thus meeting a range of traditional needs in new ways.

“As we build out the social graph, there’s an opportunity for brands to rebuild their businesses themselves,” said Fischer. “Marketing is key to that, and so is customer acquisitions and customer relationships.”

Always on is an essential strategy

Another essential strategy takes the form of an “always on” approach, from setting up pages to handing insider status to their followers, stimulating viral traction.

Ford, the carmaker, launched the latest version of the Focus in this way, demonstrating such a process in action.

Nike’s ‘Write the Future’ video, for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, also attracted 3m Facebook members, delivering considerable WOM.

“In the world of marketing, we think about paid media, owned media and earned media – all three exist on Facebook,” Fischer said. “As you build up more connections, each thing you publish, you can build more and more ongoing connections.”

“Sponsored stories”, which determines when netizens choose to “like” a brand, creates an ad featuring the names of the relevant person and product, and then displays it to their contacts, have also proved effective. “That impact of having a name will increase brand awareness by 68%, and it has a four-times increase in purchase intent,” Fischer said.

Building brand associations is powerful

“That really is the power. And that’s the kind of brand associations we’re trying to build for companies. Branding should happen around people.”

Although Facebook has rapidly become one of the biggest sources for display ads in nations like the UK and US, it only hosts a single homepage ad at any given time, and encourages clients to target specific demographics.

“We do want the messaging to pop. At the same time, we’re careful to avoid an intrusive experience,” said Fischer. “We do what we think will be appealing to markers and be useful to our users. That’s why we don’t sell home page takeover for an entire day.”

“Marketers have to understand the opportunity goes far beyond the particular box on the home page.

Data sourced from AdAge; additional content by Warc staff, 2 March 2011

From:  World Advertising Research Center

Major brand owners like Unilever, HSBC and Johnson & Johnson are focusing on sustainability, in the belief it will offer significant competitive advantages.

The MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group polled 3,000 executives across the globe, combining these findings with insights from in-depth interviews.

As a result, it divided companies into two groups – “embracers”, blazing a trail concerning best practice, and “cautious adopters”, proving slower to react.

Some 30% of embracers made products and 23% came from the services sector, and two-thirds of organisations within this group said their prior initiatives had boosted profits.

Exactly half the survey panel argued innovating to achieve genuine differentiation was one main challenge lying ahead for the next two years, while increasing sales posted 39%.

This compared with 16% depicting the opportunities and threats posed by sustainability as an obstacle. In all, 59% of firms heightened their sustainability commitments and expenditure last year, when 3% cut back, totals standing at 68% and 2% looking to 2011.

“Unlike in previous downturns and recessions, people haven’t necessarily put sustainability on the back burner,” said Nick Robins, head, climate changes center of excellence at HSBC.
“Our clients are already moving heavily into these areas; some of them are big industrial groups. We have a reasonable share. And with investment coordination, we could claim a greater share.”

On a five-point scale, senior leadership received 3.75 points regarding such activity, and customers attained 3.47 points, but only 24% of contributors agreed sustainability constituted a “core strategic consideration.” In identifying the benefits from addressing this matter, 49% of executives referenced improved brand reputation, 28% cited reduced costs and 26% thought it could yield a competitive advantage.

Consumer views resonate

“There is an additional element in the business case, which is brand composition and brand equity,” said Santiago Gowland, Unilever’s vp, brand and global corporate responsibility.
“The views of consumers increasingly resonate with some of the social, economic and environmental messages of brands.”

A further 22% of respondents hoped to access new markets, 21% anticipated gains covering margins or market share having adopted an eco-friendly positioning, and 17% named enhancements to innovation.

Turning to investment, 21% of the sample said spending was managed in the standard way, 19% analysed intangible or qualitative factors, 15% revealed ROI expectations were lower, and 10% asserted longer term timetables are usual.

Difficulties in measuring effectiveness

Difficulties related to evaluating effectiveness include quantifying the impact on reputation, with 3.2 points out of five, and predicting the value of customer uptake, lodging 3.16 points.
However, 54% of participants claimed sustainability was essential to competitiveness and 32% forecast it would become so in the future, measured against 8% not affording it an elevated status.

Another 34% reported past environmentally-driven schemes had enhanced profit levels, 24% broke even, and just 11% suggested these programmes served to drain income.

“It’s been better for the bottom line, especially in terms of energy costs,” said Al Iannuzzi, Johnson & Johnson’s senior director, worldwide health and safety. “Waste is cost to the corporation,” he added. “And, of course, the less waste you send out of your gates, the less expensive it is to make your product.”

GE tops field of  world-class companies

When choosing “world-class” companies in the field, General Electric topped the charts, doubling the number of votes secured by second-placed Wal-Mart.

Toyota, IBM, Google, Apple and Microsoft all featured in the rankings, as did Procter & Gamble, which has made sizeable investments in this area. “Nobody’s asked me to talk about the business case for several years,” said Peter White, P&G’s director, global sustainability. “From our point of view, it’s a done deal – it’s proven, let’s get on with it.”

Data sourced from Boston Consulting Group; additional content by Warc staff14

From: e-Marketer

Measurement will look more toward the bottom line. Marketers appear to be inching closer to answering the question of social media ROI—or at least making a serious effort—as the stakes get higher.

 eMarketer estimates four out of five US businesses with at least 100 employees will be marketing on social media this year, and US ad spending on social networks is expected to reach over $3 billion. And according to research from Bazaarvoice and The CMO Club, marketers are planning to change the way they measure the effectiveness of those dollars.

 Site traffic, which was the top metric for social marketing success in 2010, will still be on top this year. But the No. 2 spot will change hands, as twice as many companies plan to pay attention to conversions. More marketers will measure success with conversions than by tallying fans and followers, positive buzz and a variety of other “soft” metrics. Revenues will see a similar surge in interest.

 Asked about social media activities with the highest ROI based on older metrics with less of a focus on the bottom line, CMOs were most likely to say they did not know the return from any channel other than their company’s online community. Even Facebook and ratings and reviews, the two top venues with “significant ROI,” failed to win over more than about 15% of respondents.

 It remains to be seen whether CMOs’ evolving focus will lead to a shift in which venues are perceived to be the most valuable, or what other changes might be in store in the social media marketing landscape.

From: eMarketer

Not all target audiences are created equal.

Consumers planning to make large-ticket purchases are active on a variety of digital channels as they make their way through the purchase funnel. The media usage habits and preferences of intended audiences must inform marketers’ decisions about where to target them, and whether social media efforts make sense for their brand.

The US automotive industry provides an example of brand-to-brand differences. As part of the industry’s continued push into online marketing, vehicle manufacturers and dealers are evaluating a gamut of digital options and attempting to select tactics that will most influence potential buyers. Social media is often part of this consideration set. But while social media has successfully driven several recent high-profile auto campaigns, research indicates that it may be more effective for certain brands over others.

An October study of more than 65,000 US consumers by The Media Audit found that Audi, Infiniti and Saab owners were the most likely to have recently used popular social networks, while owners of Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln/Mercury were less frequent participants.

Vehicle purchasers were influenced
Research into the influence of various media on large-ticket purchases by S. Radoff Associates found that overall, 21% of vehicle purchasers reported being influenced by some form of social media. The study also revealed differences in the influence of online ratings and reviews by brand owned. Ford owners were more likely to be influenced by online reviews and earned media than Chevy or Toyota owners, while Chevy owners put more stock in paid media than those who bought the other brands. For their part, Toyota purchasers were more influenced by coupons and discounts than those who bought Fords or Chevys.

Ford Motor Co. appears to be keenly aware of such differences in the use of participatory media by owners of its different brands. Though the company has been aggressively spending on digital and social media to promote Ford brand vehicles such as the Fiesta, Jim Farley, the company’s group VP of global marketing, recently said it is pursuing an “experiential” marketing focus for the Lincoln nameplate. This includes giving Lincoln’s upscale consumers the ability to touch and drive the cars at selected venues.

“It’s pretty clear that Lincoln is going to require a pretty different strategy in marketing,” Farley told Automotive News. “Social media has allowed us to break a lot of myths. But luxury customers need to know more than something they read on Facebook.”

Brand values of others may require a different approach
Other brand marketers must keep in mind their target audience and avoid splashy marketing campaigns that are cutting-edge but fail to speak to their core customers. Social media makes sense for many marketers, but the brand values of others may require a different approach.

For complete story and data charts, go to eMarketer.com.

By Dawn Pigoni

Social media, (SM,) for some people, believe that the success it can bring isn’t measurable. However, if you believe this, then you’re listening to the wrong people.

There are actually several sites out there that can help you to determine your success, popularity and your competitor’s successes by way of SM.

Here are six sites that offer measureable means to your SM presences:

1. Daily Feedback:
It’s easy to go into your Facebook account and take note of all your “likes,” over a period of time. However, to get a more accurate status of your “likes,” including your comments, Facebook offers a daily feedback feature. You can find it here: facebook.com/insights. It’s great to know how much feedback you are actually getting, and if you’re not getting as much as you’d like, you’ll now be able to see the actual numbers which may help you to develop a better social media plan.

2. Klout:
Klout is beneficial for keeping up with your Twitter account. Klout will measure your tweets, followers, retweets, link clicks and so forth, to come up with how well you are utilizing Twitter as a social media site. Recently, they added a Facebook feature that helps to monitor that account as well, but is still more beneficial for your Twitter account.

3. PostRank:
PostRank offers a free membership and a membership that is $15 a month. What it does, is it measures how well your blog is received and what methods of sharing are the most popular. It will take into account whether your comments, diggs, tweets and so on are the most beneficial to your blog. Furthermore, it can be connected to your Google Analytics account for a more detailed scoring of your blog. Similarly to Klout, PostRank provides an engagement score, which is an overall score of your comments, tweets, shares etc. combined. This is beneficial because you can see which of your blog posts have had the biggest impact.

4. Shared Voice:
It’s definitely realistic to take into account how many times your products and promotions are mentioned through social media. But have you thought about considering how much your competitors are getting feedback and shares? There are three sites; Social Mention, Radian6 and ViralHeat. You can set up a “Share of Voice” report for the last 30 days, both of your business and your competitors and compare them. It accounts for all positive, neutral and negative responses you and your competitors may have received.

5. Volume Search:
One of the most important aspects of measuring your business is not only by measuring your social media endeavors, but that combined with searches. Google offers a system called Google Insights which allows you to see if people are searching for your business and/or products. It also provides whether or not there is an increase of people searching for you, which may tell you whether or not your social media accounts are working for you. In 2009, a study provided by GroupM was performed that in conclusion, they found that consumers are 2.8 times more likely to visit your sites if they were exposed to your brand through social media first.

6. Link Tracking:
Links are one of the most important things about having a successful business online. With that comes the tracking of where you posted links, who is linking your site from theirs and who is sharing your link on their own social media accounts. There are a few sites that will measure your link exposure. Those are Open Site, Explorer, and SEOmoz. They will allow you to track your links from Facebook, blogs, twitter etc.

Although, there is no magic number that will give you the exact measurement of your success via SM, these sites can definitely help and be beneficial. Additionally, with the sites mentioned above, and depending on what your business does and who you are trying to reach, you can certainly come to a conclusion on what sites and plans are best for your business.

Dawn Pigoni
Social Media Virtual Assistant

http://BeSocialWorldwide.com

http://Twitter.com/dawntrenee

The Social Media Marketing world is important to online businesses and I bring value to other companies by offering social media marketing assistance to those small companies that don’t have the time, knowledge or manpower to keep up with social media marketing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Pigoni