You are currently browsing larredondo’s articles.
Perhaps it was those all long nights during production week which I spent editing articles and designing pages for my high school newspaper that gives me a great appreciation for newspapers. As a journalism major I can’t help but sometimes fear for the future of news and the newspaper as reports of large daily papers downsizing or going completely out of business become more frequent.
However, a report issued by the Newspaper National Network the number of unique visitors to newspapers web sites in the top 25 markets grew 10 percent from March to April, reaching 83.7 million. So while people are not picking up paper copies of their daily newspaper, they are still reading the paper—it just happens to be online. Jason Klein, CEO of the Newspaper National Network, reported that newspaper web sites recorded 2 billion page views in the top 25 markets in April alone.
So the problem for major newspapers is not how to increase traffic to their web sites, but how to make a profit off their online versions. These online trends are promising, especially during a time when advertisers are currently reducing their reliance on print advertising. While online advertising is still considered by many advertisers as ‘uncharted territory,’ national advertisers would be foolish to ignore the data provided by the Newspaper National Network. The increasing trend of unique visitors to online newspaper web sites will hopefully inject more confidence in advertisers who have already taken their ad dollars to the web.
Newspapers and the news industry are guilty of helping create a culture in which people are accustomed to getting their news virtually for free. Large newspapers must work collectively to begin to change the culture of ‘free news’ if they want to remain in business. The New York Times has already started to implement a type of payment plan for frequent viewers, but until other large newspapers begin adopting similar measures people will always have the option of circumventing paying for their news.
While their paper versions might be faltering, online newspapers in top markets are doing well, and they must begin to take advantage of this success by promoting online advertising. The internet has helped sustain and revitalize this old medium, but now it is up to the newspaper industry as a whole to work hard to incorporate advertisers in this new medium and change a culture in which people are used to paying little, if any, for accurate and trustworthy news.
Well, it was only a matter of time before Twitter found a way to incorporate advertisements into its social networking structure.
Today is the apparent unveiling of its advertising plan, which Twitter calls “Promoted Tweets” (although after searching for 30 minutes and not being able to find an ad I promptly gave up). With Promoted Tweets, Twitter plans on incorporating advertisements into the Twitter live stream that relate to the personal search choices of its users. The promoted Tweet advertising plan, however, differs from that of Google, Yahoo, and even Facebook, which all place their advertisements on the right side of their web page. Unlike other social networking sites, Twitter only plans to display one ad at a time and plans to place the individual ads, which resemble normal Tweets, above the search results Twitter feed.
Advertisers will initially have to purchase key words that allow their ads to be displayed at the top of the Twitter feed when users use that key word in their searches. Twitter is also in the process of developing a performance model called ‘resonance’ to determine pricing for its Promoted Tweets. Similar to the pay per click model, Twitter’s resonance model will attempt to judge the impact of a particular ad by measuring the amount of times the ad is passed around, marked as a favorite, or how often users click the posted links on the advertisement, in order to determine price for ads. The more demand and popularity for an ad, the longer it will stay around.
I was skeptical at first about Twitter’s Promoted Tweet’s plan, and not able to recognize the difference between a Starbucks Promoted Tweet and the normal tweets Starbucks puts out daily to promote its brand and products. Why would a brand pay for something that it is already doing for free? However, it is important to recognize the fluidity of Twitter. Twitter is constantly being updated by its users, and as a result individual Tweets do not remain in one place for long. The Promoted Tweet plan allows advertisers to display a message without fear of it being engulfed in the constantly updated stream of Tweets. While Twitter’s advertising strategy is certainly unique, it is up to Twitter to convince advertisers, who will still have access to the promotional capabilities of a Twitter account free of charge, that its Promoted Tweets plan is worth the investment.
Lady Gaga’s new music video for her song “Telephone” made its debut on March 11th. Within hours of its YouTube release the video had so many viewers that the site temporarily crashed. Despite what you might think of the “Telephone” video, it’s impossible not to recognize that Lady Gaga is much more than an entertainer – she is a social media powerhouse. Gaga not only dominates the airwaves, she also extends her global pop domination via the Internet.
So you like the music video you are watching on the YouTube window embedded in her webpage? Well, just wait for Apple’s iTunes advertisement to pop up on the video screen and link you to the power of a one-click purchase of the mp3. You don’t even have to stop watching the video.
Lady Gaga’s viral dominance is fed directly through her website LadyGaga.com. Here Gaga links viewers to her Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and iTunes store. It’s easy to navigate because the various media platforms are combined into one simple user experience. This, in turn, makes it easier for consumers to listen and purchase Gaga merch – from albums to a pair of stylish new earbuds – all while receiving personal updates from the pop queen via her Twitter feed. Here you can truly plug into Gaga’s world 24/7.
This social media cocktail has proved an effective elixir for Gaga and her fans, pushing the “Telephone” video into the spotlight before MTV or VH1 got a hold of it. Now the artist has surpassed the record industry’s antiquated medium of delivery (video request shows or top ten countdowns). Social media cuts the power from the industry giants and puts it directly in the hands of the artists.
It is interesting to see how artists are embracing social media and turning it into venues for social marketing that directly and personally engage the artists with their fans. Lady Gaga isn’t the only one who is taking advantage of these new platforms, she just happens to have figured out a way to unite them all in a successful global media campaign that not only reaches thousands of people, but allows them to feel a personal connection with her at the same time.
It is hard not to notice the pattern in advertising during this year’s winter Olympics where advertisements have not only been more family oriented but specifically targeted towards the female sex. Advertisers are not just advertising products designed for women, but they are including women subjects in their ads more often, too.
AT&T, known for using actor Luke Wilson in their various commercials, takes a totally different approach in their advertisement currently running during these winter Olympics. Their commercial “Up and Up” features Gretchen Bleiler snowboarding in space, accompanied by Lou Reed’s song ‘Perfect Day.’ Its difference lies not only in the fact that it doesn’t even mention its on-going feud with Verizon, but that it presents Bleiler as the ad’s focal point and ends with the copy “here’s to possibilities,” an empowering message in itself.
Other notable commercials include Chevy’s ‘We Carry’ ad, which features parents driving their kids to and from numerous sporting events, and Proctor & Gamble’s ‘Proud Sponsor of Moms’ ad, which shows young kids participating in the Olympics with the end copy that reads “To their moms they will always be kids.”
It’s interesting to note, the stark difference between the current Olympic ads and the ads presented a couple of months ago during the Super Bowl. Olympic advertisements seem to target women and highlight their strengths while Super Bowl targeted men through ads that put women in stereotypical roles or just didn’t include them. The difference is undeniable when you compare Chevy’s winter Olympic ‘We Carry’ commercial to Dodge’s Super Bowl ‘Last Man’s Stand’ commercial. Chevy’s ad fails to show women and portrays them in the most negative light possible.
Not to cry sexism but it’s easy to assume that Super Bowl ads are targeted to men because it is presumed that more men watch the game than women. However, current Nielsen ratings for the 2010 Super Bowl reveal that women viewership of the Super Bowl has increased by 17% in the last five years to an estimated 48.5 million. I appreciate the attention given to women’s interest by the Olympics marketing crew, but just for the record: women may like ice dancing but that doesn’t mean they don’t love pigskin, too.
