Marketing Pilgrim

“In February 2011, Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ ad stormed the Superbowl to become
the most shared ad of all time in just six days, jumping from 100,000 to 1,000,000
views in just a few hours.”

That’s the first line of Unruly’s “What’s Next for Social Video Insight Report” and it really explains it all, doesn’t it?

In the past, a clever TV ad might have sparked a round of water-cooler chatter, but now ads are shared, reviewed, parodied and copied within days of release. Ad pitchmen are becoming overnight stars. And heaven forbid you make a misstep (Walking in an”orgy” wonderland) everyone will know about before you can pull the commercial off the air.

TV commercials aren’t the only ones benefiting from the world’s love affair with shareable videos. Anyone can make a splash with a clever idea and a lot of luck.

If you’re on Google+, you probably don’t need an infographic to tell you that the site is populated mostly by men. You don’t need one, but I have one for you anyway because infographics rule, along with single men.

According to Website-Monitoring.com, men make up 61% of Google+, 32% are women and 1% are other. Other? Strange and wonderous things come to mind, but it’s probably brands or Muppets.

42% of Google+ users are single but I love the 3,3% who said their relationship status was complicated.

Not surprisingly, the US is home to the majority of users, but India beats the rest of the world by a mile. Or should that be kilometer?

When talking individual cities, Bangalore and New York are the sister cities both vying for the top spot with London coming up on them fast.

If you have been able to stomach the recent back and forth between investors in Path (CrunchFunders Michael Arrington and MG Siegler) and the rest of the online space about CrunchFund investment Path’s use of contact data then you can say you have made it. Congrats. It has been painful to watch these cloistered Silicon Valley high priests act the fool but maybe it’s a necessary evil in today’s world. That’s one explanation at least.

To be fair, it is important to note that Path’s CEO Dave Morin, otherwise known as the “What NOT To Do With Your Users Data” poster child narced out the rest of the industry in his apology to the world. I say fair because it is Path’s mission to make sure they don’t bear the full brunt of this backlash.

One of the most interesting exercises anyone can undertake is discovering their worth in the marketplace. It can be an exhilarating or frustrating experience depending on which end of the marketing you happen to find yourself.

Onward Search has put together a neat infographic using data from Indeed.com to show the salary range of social media types in top markets in the US. While we hope this experience is fun for you we also understand if you want to go have a sit-down with your boss after reading it.

Let us know if you think these figures are accurate or what you see in a market that is not listed. Click “Continue Reading” to see the full infographic.

Continue Reading…

The Gap knows that it’s not about the individual pieces in your wardrobe, it’s how you put them together that counts. Jeans and a t-shirt can be punk, preppy or Paris depending on how you mix and match the colors, prints and accessories.

This is the concept behind their new Styld.by campaign which takes the simple catalog shoot and turns it into a highly shareable experience.

The Gap collaborated with six fashion and lifestyle blogs including WhoWhatWear, FabSugar, and MOG. Each blog took key items from The Gap’s new “Be Bright” line, then styled the clothes in a way that suited their readers.

From Tomboy Glam at Rue to Rockin Leather on Mog, each photo has two important elements, links to The Gap catalog and an easy share box.

Yesterday, I wrote about a stat that said more men than women remember and enjoy mobile ads. I stated that I never remember the ads I’ve seen and now I know why. The ads I’ve seen aren’t cool.

Westin Hotels and the Weather Channel had an ad campaign last year called “Wipe Away Your Weather.” You check the app for the current weather. If it’s snowing at your location, snow slowly fills your screen. You then wipe it away with your finger to reveal a sunny location courtesy of Westin Hotels. Relevant, location-based information served up with a relevant ad. Smart and cool.

I like Google. For the most part I tend to side with them on most issues like free market concerns and so on. I usually don’t have any issue with the privacy stuff either mainly because it’s my choice whether I want to be “tracked” by Google or not. As you may have noticed I said usually.

What made me think a bit more today was something that most would find completely innocuous which is an update to Google Maps that saves your directions. I read the post at the Google Lat Long blog and was intrigued, wondering how that might apply to me (since I am not much of a traveler the answer is ‘not so much’). After reading through the explanation of the new feature I came to this sentence