Category: The Female World

Win $1.5 Million with Esurance Post-Superbowl Commercial

February 3, 2014

With pricey commercials during the Superbowl, Esurance used their savvy saving skills by grabbing the first commercial slot after the Superbowl. They not only saved $1.5 million by purchasing this commercial instead of one during the game, but they spread the word about it to their viewers.

The tactic was carefully planned and worked out accordingly by starting with a celebrity spokesperson. Many know John Krasinski as “Jim Halpert” from the popular NBC television series The Office and because of this, Esurance hired him to capture your attention. From there, they started to deliver their message.

By using their savings, Esurance encouraged viewers to help promote the company with by tweeting with the hashag #EsuranceSave30 to win the money they saved from placing their commercial after the Superbowl. By incorporating social media and giving their viewers incentive to participate, Esurance became a trending topic almost instantly. What added to this was how they made each tweet with the hashtag another entry to win the $1.5 million. This helped achieve constant promotion rather than a one time deal so that Esurance would remain a trending topic until Wednesday night, when they would announce the winner on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel.

The marketing doesn’t even stop there. Insurance companies are there to help you “save money” and Esurance also correlated this with their tactic of promoting their company. Many viewers don’t fully understand or realize that they were informed of Esurance and their insurance savings, but it has been engrained in their minds. Not only has the thought of saving been engrained, but the name Esurance has as well and that name will stay in their minds until the winning announcement Wednesday night.

By giving people incentive to promote for your company through social media, which is the fastest marketing tool, Esurance became the buzz everywhere since the Superbowl ended last night. This trending topic will remain trending and be constantly spread through all friends and family for the next 3 days. This makes Esurance the most influential Superbowl commercial this year (even though it was played after) because with $1.5 million to win, who wouldn’t want to join in on this promotional deal? Don’t miss out and start hashtagging #EsuranceSave30 today!

Don’t Forget About Second Screen Superbowl

January 31, 2014

As Superbowl XLVIII is approaching this weekend, everyone will gather in clusters of family and friends to watch the big game and advertisers who got commercial slots are ready to display their million dollar ads. However, those who don’t have the financial backup to join in don’t have to worry about missing out.

There are some who sit during the entirely of the game and watch all of the commercials but most are more practical than that. There are bathroom breaks, food breaks and alcohol breaks where people get up and what most people don’t leave behind is their cell phone. In this age, almost everyone has a smartphone; even those who haven’t even reached their teenage years. With the need to constantly socialize, smartphones bring everyone together through social media and texting. Because of this, advertising on social media is the most affective form of advertising.

Commercials may only have a mere 30 seconds for an ad campaign, but there are always links as well as hashtags and handles that are presented at the end to keep their viewer’s interest and stay connected with them after the commercial has passed. You don’t need to have a million dollar commercial to do this. Place your ads straight to social media and you may even be ahead of those who invested millions in commercials. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter now all have integrated ads in users feeds, which makes marketers’ lives easier.

There are commercials that can be missed, but if your ad is placed in a social media feed, it is less likely to be. People are constantly scrolling through their feed, reading all of their friend’s statuses or looking at their pictures and videos. The integration is great, because your ad is camouflaged with all of the other content. People will see your image or video or read your status before even realizing that it’s an ad. From there, they can decide whether or not to follow the link provided but you have already taken that first step. This introduction is more likely to receive feedback because your information is already presented to your viewer and they have already taken it in.

Take advantage of these opportunities as people are always constantly checking their phones. They might even be checking their phone while sitting in front of the television instead of watching the commercials. Some even update their statuses with play-by-plays or complain or cheer during the game. A smartphone is the second screen of the Superbowl and you need to take advantage of these marketing opportunities to reach out to your audience.

Budweiser Warms Our Hearts with “Puppy Love” Superbowl Commercial

January 30, 2014

Budweiser does it again with its extraordinary marketing tactics. From one of their strongest and most-loved ads in awhile, Budweiser reprised the Clydesdale and its beloved trainer, from last year’s “Brotherhood” ad in yet another heartwarming Superbowl commercial. This commercial follows the previous ad’s baby animal theme and features a 10-week old puppy who keeps escaping an adoption center to befriend the Clydesdales at a nearby farm although the trainer continues to return the pup.

From the puppy’s persistent visits to the Clydesdales trapping a car when someone tried to adopt the pup to the reunion of the puppy and Clydesdale in the end, everything about this ad melts your heart. The multi-layered story with parallel signs of love add to the touching story as the woman from the adoption center played by Melissa Keller is also united with Don Jeanes, who plays the trainer, in the end as well. The two constantly meet due to the circumstances and give way to Budweiser’s emotional ties to the feeling of love as well as the strong friendship between the puppy and Clydesdale.

To make these commercial even more sentimental, strong music choices are anchored for both last year’s ad and this sequel. Last year, Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” touched the audience’s hearts and this year, Passenger’s “Let Her Go” does the same. With the connections of love and deep friendship of “best buds,” Budweiser did a great job of tying their brand to emotional connections that bring their audience closer.

Viral Video Lessons For Superbowl Ads

January 23, 2014

Superbowl ads have been increasing in price drastically each year. With the hefty price each company is paying to grasp a 30 second ad, going viral through your digital campaign to make the decision worthwhile is your highest priority. Looking back on the winning strategies in the past years and analyzing what makes them successful will improve your marketing chances greatly.

Longer commercials are making their way through this generation so you can tell more of your story. The average length of top 10 ads in the past few years have been increasing. In 2013, brands such as Chipotle, WestJet, and Dove each ran commercials that were over three minutes and each have generated between 470,000 and 4.24 million online shares. Your audience is willing to sit and watch a longer commercial, giving you more of an advantage. During the Superbowl, you have the ability to tell more in your ads to such a large audience size and it’s important to take advantage of that. Everyone knows Superbowl ads are the most expensive ads of the year and expect to be either entertained or moved with the money you are investing. Give your audience what they want and make sure it’s memorable.

Tease the people and they’ll keep coming back for more. Teasers are so easy to spread through social media as it is quick and grasps your audience’s attention easily. Last year, seven commercial ads were supported by teasers released previously. Dior posted teasers exclusively on Twitter and other social media networks over the course of a day. The hashtag, like and share activity helped generate buzz about their upcoming product line. This year, HBO’s hit series Girls used social media to their advantage as well. With their constant teaser tweets, Instagram posts and even Snapchats, they pumped up their audience base and was able to reach an all-time high viewership at 1.1 million for the season 3 premiere episode.

It’s not just the money that buys the Superbowl ads that makes them successful. Yes, it gives them the first few steps to make it out there for the audience to see, but there is still competition. Use your efforts to expand and grow digitally through social media and make a long, meaningful ad to remain memorable. Whether it is through going viral on the internet or making your audience laugh until they cry, the Superbowl ads are the highlight of commercialism that your audience is willing to take it all in. Give them the best of what you have and put forth efforts to constantly market it and you will gain success.

Beats by Dre Releases Perfectly Timed Ad with Richard Sherman: “Hear What You Want”

January 20, 2014

As a Stanford graduate with a degree in communications, Seattle Seahawk CB Richard Sherman took advantage of the media coverage after the NFC Championship Game with his memorable postgame interview with Erin Andrews. Not only did Sherman stop the potential TD that could’ve lost the Seahawks the NFC Championship, but he continued to bank in on the moment to gain publicity and future endorsements.


Although many would say Sherman acted like a crazy person during his postgame interview, he became a trending topic on every social media platform within seconds. Sherman was clearly media conscious of his actions as he looked directly at the camera and kept his rant non-profane. Minutes later, he sat with reporters at the Fox Sports Postgame Show appearing calm and collected. As someone who makes a mere $555,000 as a top NFL player, Sherman made smart, conscious decisions with his actions to gain the publicity to bring him into the spotlight.

How many CBs do most NFL fans know off the top of their head? Not many. As a DB, Sherman would rarely receive any publicity compared to that of Peyton Manning, a star QB with a $15 million salary. With the biggest game of the NFL season approaching, Superbowl XLVIII and the weeks leading up to it are the biggest media days for any player in the NFL. Sherman purposefully spoke up during his interview to gain the publicity he needed.

On the same night as Sherman’s postgame interview, Beats by Dre released an ad with Richard Sherman that professional media planners dream of. The ad consisted of Sherman being interviewed by several reporters asking about him as a player and “a thug” from Compton. Unlike the interview with Erin Andrews, Sherman was calm and collected as he was wearing Beats by Dre headphones. The ad ends with Sherman placing the headphones on his head and walking away, featuring the words “Hear what you want.” This is a clear example of perfect marketing that correlates to the social media banter following Sherman’s rant.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Continue to Conquer Social Media

January 17, 2014

2013 was a great year for Seattle-based hip-hip artist Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis as they received countless awards including an MTV Music Award, a Teen Choice Award and many more due to their successful social media efforts. Their success came from paving an independent path on YouTube rather than signing with a label, which helped them to connect with fans in a way that was more intimate.

“With the power of the internet and with the real personal relationship that you can have via social media with your fans… I mean everyone talks about MTV and the music industry, and how MTV doesn’t play videos any more — YouTube has obviously completely replaced that. It doesn’t matter that MTV doesn’t play videos. It matters that we have YouTube and that has been our greatest resource in terms of connecting, having our identity, creating a brand, showing the world who we are via YouTube. That has been our label. Labels will go in and spend a million dollar or hundreds of thousands of dollars and try to “brand” these artists and they have no idea how to do it. There’s no authenticity. They’re trying to follow a formula that’s dead. And Ryan and I, out of anything, that we’re good at making music, but we’re great at branding. We’re great at figuring out what our target audience is. How we’re going to reach them and how we’re going to do that in a way that’s real and true to who we are as people. Because that’s where the substance is. That’s where the people actually feel the real connection. “

— Macklemore (via techdirt.com)

Through social media branding, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis paved their way to success. Their website featured the album, where to purchase merchandise, their show schedule and various pictures through a blog that shows what goes on at shows both from a fan perspective as well as behind the scenes. This section, especially, gives off the feel of intimacy where Macklemore is an artist but is also one of the people to share a connection.

The Facebook page gives a similar intimacy as Macklemore updates it daily; sometimes multiple times a day. He shares EVERYTHING with his fans including free performances, messages thanking for support, pictures with his fans that tag them and information about their other social media channels. On Twitter, he constantly retweets what his fans say, answers questions and announces upcoming shows. YouTube has been the biggest social media outlet for Macklemore. He relinquished a lot of control over his videos so that they can be placed on different Youtube channels, allowing viewers to see them wherever they please and free of charge. As branding gurus, Macklemore really understands his audience and the demographic he is trying to reach out to.

Although Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have it big now, nothing is stopping them from the constant social media branding. With the Grammys coming up Sunday, January 26, Macklemore surprised a Bronx, NY bus with a performance of “Can’t Hold Us.” The performance was recorded by Macklemore himself and several of the bus passengers, bringing several videos to YouTube and spreading their marketing efforts. With over 1.3 million hits on this video in less than 3 days, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis still got it.

Where is Your Social Media Audience?

November 27, 2013

As marketeers spend loads of money on their social media campaigns, they are looking to reach out to their audience but are they focusing on a specific demographic? If a business focuses on a certain demographic, they would be able to gear their ads towards their audience more. A social media audience survey by Strata shows the breakdown.

In general, women between the ages of 18-29 yrs dominate in social media networks. They communicate constantly on almost all devices and networks more than men. It is also surveyed that Hispanics with an low income that live in an urban area use social media the most as well.

Social Media Breakdown by Strata

We know women, Hispanics, those with an income under $30K and those who live in an Urban neighborhood are the most active on social media networks. However, we need to understand it more in depth as this information is too general. Let’s break down the different social media networks with their most active users to see what audience to cater to with each network.

Facebook Breakdown by Strata

Facebook has the broadest age band as it has been around for awhile. Those from college students to those that are middle-aged are all pretty active on Facebook. It isn’t just limited to college students, but also involves parents that want in on it as well. They often join as well to connect with their kids on the same level and also monitor their activity while they are away in college. This gives you an opportunity to have a larger reach.

Twitter Breakdown by Strata

The usage of Twitter is significantly lower than that of Facebook. It is for those who constantly put the effort in engaging in the network and therefore, those who are older do not partake. Those between the ages of 18-29 have more to say and complain about and therefore, Twitter is their venting go-to. It is a quick way to get feedback and allows brands to communicate with their audience easily through almost instant customer service.

Pinterest Breakdown by Strata

Pinterest is a female dominated social media network. It is mainly for those that have time to engage in DIY projects and new recipes. Those who have money also engage as they get ideas to redecorate and change their lives. Because of this, the demographic for this can be between women in college to those that are housewives. With the constant ideas flowing through the site, the site shows how to better your life to make every aspect from fitness to house decor visually pleasing. If your brand is related to clothing, jewelry, decor, food, etc. Pinterest is the place to go for your target demographic.

Instagram Breakdown by Strata

Instagram is the most recent recent social media network and it is still growing. Photographs with captions and hashtags combine all other social media networks into one. It is visually appealing, presents a status and is categorized by hashtags similar to Twitter. There are also likes and comments involved for engagement with each post. Because it’s a newer network, only the younger generation is stronger participating as of now. However, Instagram is a already a very strong network and is still growing.

It’s important to understand your audience and what social media networks they participate in. Marketing costs a lot of time and if you place your efforts in the wrong areas, you will be wasting your time. Check to make sure your demographic is being reached in the best way possible. Social media is growing more and more each day with each network and it’s important to understand where each network is heading in relation to your business and audience.

Digitally Front Row for NYFW Spring 2014

September 4, 2013

It’s that time of year again as New York Fashion Week comes back for the upcoming Spring 2014 season. As fashionistas from all over fly over to “The Big Apple” for the first look at these collections, the digital age is making their way through this industry with many fashion-centric news sites becoming more prominent. With this, inbound marketing is made more possible for the fashion industry.

PopSugar fashion, a popular fashion news site, has managed to score interviews with the many high-end designers and gain invitations and front-row seats to exclusive fashion events including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. As these editors are planning to make their way to the best seats in the house, viewers from all over will be able to get the inside scoop of the new looks, as well as view them on the YouTube live stream.

“The attitude has definitely shifted,” said PopSugar fashion and beauty director Melissa Liebling-Goldberg. “At the beginning everyone was very nervous, and it makes sense that certain houses that are steeped in tradition had a slightly tougher time.”

The digital community is definitely making a turn in this industry as traditional paper sources are having a downfall in this economy. This digital twist to runway coverage started with the massive editorial news coverage on the web. It has moved on to the live YouTube stream and is still growing now that that industry takes the digital world more seriously. It is a great way to spread news and make an impact on many people at once easily. The web allows for photos, videos, insight, feedback and more very easily and through this process, the fashion industry can come a long way with inbound marketing.

Fashion Magazines Refining E-Commerce

August 20, 2013

With the falling ad sales, fashion magazines have steered towards new revenue opportunities through e-commerce. Lucky Magazine recently launched MyLuckyMag.com, allowing visitors to shop from various large retailers including Saks and Sephora. This jump into e-commerce gives the magazine a cut of the sales ranging from 3%-15%.

Fashion magazines have noticed an increase in traffic through their websites. This is due to the fact that it’s free compared to the $4 you would normally spend on the physical magazine. Blogs are also a big reason for this turn as people feel more connected to advice from the streets and everyday people that steer closer to home. The daily newsletters e-mailed to subscribers also keep the traffic as viewers continue to come back once they see something they’d like to know more about. This increase makes the perfect opportunity for Lucky to dive into the e-commerce market.

MyLuckyMag.com allows viewers to easily see the products that relate to the articles and link them to exactly where they can purchase them. As of now, shoppers are redirected to participating websites but eventually, shoppers will be able to complete transactions without leaving MyLuckyMag.com.

Although shoppers would have to complete transactions on a third-party site, Lucky allows users to add products to their cart with a single click. This saves time and also keeps them attached to the Lucky website rather than just sending them away to a store’s website. With this cart on their website, Lucky also alerts shoppers if something in their cart goes on sale on the third-party website it’s sold. This cart allows for people to shop from various third-party websites within one shopping cart, making it easier for shoppers.

Advertising is Getting the Best of Us

April 26, 2013

We often let our emotions get the best of us and what does that lead to? INSECURITY. Advertisers often prey on things that affect our self-control including our emotions, leaving them to target audiences like women, who too often make choices based on how they “feel”.

By leaving our judgment based on something so easily affected or swayed, we are at a disadvantage and marketeers understand that. The female market is filled with products that make us seem like we’re not good enough without the product. Whether it is a surgical procedure and cosmetics, a machine that can do household work better or a book that tells us how to be the best girlfriend, women are constantly judging themselves from these advertisements. In turn, they purchase these product or services to better their lives but are they really better?

What makes great advertising is to increase the quality of life and/or prevent the end of something good. Why attack your audience and give them something to bounce back from when you can just give them something to just improve their lives overall? Advertisers should focus on marketing to help women empower themselves rather than prey on their insecurities.

Over the years, “Girl Power” has made its way through the advertising funnel as a new insight on women in today’s age. Although this is true, marketeers are still constantly putting the mindset that women just simply aren’t good enough so they fork up the money and give in to the ads.

It’s important for advertisers to understand the affect they have on the female community and to help rather than harm the already-sensitive lives at stake. What your brand stands for makes an impact and if you lead your audience in the direction for a better life, you company will gain a much more positive influence and reputation in the long run.