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Snuggie Understands Parody

posted on August 2, 2010

We live in a very cynical and sarcastic world. One of the ways that people (myself included) feel a little bit of control or power is to make fun of things. I am not saying this is healthy but I am saying it’s just reality. As a result, products can often live and die by the amount of buzz generated that is derogatory and designed to make fun of it rather than promote it (even though it still does promote it which is often the point, right?).

One of the most derided and lampooned products of recent memory is the Snuggie. While I laughed when I first saw one of the cheesy infomercials about the ‘revolutionary’ product, I have to admit that seeing how much my daughter loves her Snuggie knock-off (now isn’t that ironic) makes me think twice.

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If Time is Money, Spend Your Advertising Dollars on Social Networks!

posted on August 2, 2010

Where are you advertising in 2010?

TV? Print? Radio? Online?

Well, of course online! But, where online are you focusing your marketing efforts? According to Nielsen, if you’re focusing all of your budget on search ads, you might be barking up the wrong tree.

If you want to be where your consumers are actually hanging out, then social networks are the place to advertise:

OK, so social networks see the greatest share of time, but which social networks? While we may be all of a tizzy over the possibilities of Twitter advertising, Facebook is where the action is at!

Not only does Facebook command the highest audience of all the social networks:

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Is bing Really Challenging Google?

posted on August 2, 2010

We have noticed, along with many other people, just how Google and bing are beginning to look a lot alike. Google seems to be adding features that in some ways look very similar to bing’s interface. There has even been indications that Google’s stranglehold on the US search market is starting to loosen just a bit. So what does this all really mean?

According to the New York Times, this race to match features is creating some real competition. An article from this weekend opens with an interesting scenario.

Edwin Perello discovered that Bing, the Microsoft search engine, could find addresses in his rural Indiana town when Google could not. Laura Michelson, an administrative assistant in San Francisco, was lured by Bing’s flight fare tracker. Paul Callan, a photography buff in Chicago, fell for Bing’s vivid background images.

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Content Mission: About.com Turns to B2B Market

posted on August 1, 2010

Content for the consumer is good but let’s not forget content for the business world. The B2B world is always a bit of a laggard when it comes to Internet marketing techniques and practices but when it does catch on there is a lot of opportunity. About.com, a long time Internet success story, has seen the B2B light, so to speak. It is starting to move into the B2B space, which could be a wide open field if they can put it together in an attractive enough manner.

Webnewser reports

About.com is planning a major move into the business-to-business space, launching a number of industry-specific sites.