by
0 Comments

Study Shows Men Notice Ads at Malls, Bars and . . . Medical Offices?

posted on July 12, 2012

AdAge Insights has just published a new report called “Dudes to Dads: U.S. Men’s Attitudes Toward Life, Family, Work.”

A portion of the report looks at how men of different ages view all types of advertising and the results were mostly predictable except for this:

Millennials report they pay considerable interest in the ads they see most often in shopping malls, followed closely by medical offices and bars or pubs. Gen Xers and boomers also notice ads in malls and medical offices, but to a lesser degree.

Medical offices? Are there a lot of ads in the doctor’s office? I guess I’ve seen charts with ads for pharmaceuticals at the bottom but it’s not like the exam room is plastered with Got Milk ads. Strange.

by
0 Comments

More than Half of All Mobile Phone Owners Own a Smartphone

posted on July 12, 2012

There are three of us in my household and two of us own smartphones. My husband is the only one with a feature phone and yesterday he was talking about upgrading. He’s the rare bird that only uses his phone to make calls and text but lately he’s been eying some of the apps I have on my phone and he’s close to making the switch.

According to Nielsen, more American phone owners are making the switch than ever before, with 2 out of 3 choosing a smartphone over a feature phone in the past three months.

Who knew my family was so typical? I never would have guessed.

As of June 2012, smartphones were in the hands of 54.9% of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers. Android is still leading the pack in sales due to their wide variety and lower price points.

by
0 Comments

USA Network Show Highlights Dangers of Social Media Outsourcing

posted on July 12, 2012

Over the years I have rid myself of many ‘guilty pleasures’ that had overstayed their welcome. As I get older what I give up certainly looks tamer as I leave the big ones behind and tackle less ominous ‘habits’.

One thing I will not give up though is the slate of original shows on the USA Network. I like them all but I can’t watch them all (I do have a semblance of a life, you know :-) ) but two in particular have me hooked. ‘Suits’ because it’s a reasonably intelligent and pretty funny send-up of a high powered Ivy League heavy law firm. The other, Necessary Roughness, is about football. I ask you, how can that be bad? (Be nice.)

by
0 Comments

Google Launches Free ‘Search As You Type’ Pilot for AdWords Customers

posted on July 12, 2012

Google is looking to help Adwords customers convert better on their websites with the pilot program introduction of ‘Search As You Type‘ functionality for US based advertisers. Here’s a quick video from Google’s Commerce blog

This could be a great boon to any ecommerce site while larger sites can really benefit as this could streamline the product discovery process for site visitors.

The post says

The Search As You Type pilot is available to US-based AdWords advertisers for free, up to 25 million searches annually, after which licensing fees would apply.

Search As You Type uses Google’s predictive suggestions and instant product results to enhance a merchant’s existing website search functionality. When shoppers type a search query into a merchant’s site, Search As You Type shows them product suggestions and photos, making it faster and easier for people to spot the product they’re looking for and click through to make a purchase.

by
0 Comments

Facebook Adds ‘Seen it’ Roll Call to Groups

posted on July 11, 2012

Did you know that Facebook still has Groups. I’m a member of a few and I still forget about this secret corner of the FB world.

Groups are private enclaves for people related by a particular title or interest: James Buchanan High Class of 78, Springfield Isotots Little League team, Dunder Mifflin Summer Picnic Committee . . . etc. Unlike fans of a Page, Group members have to be approved before they can join and Facebook caps the numbers and features to encourage you to keep it small.

This week, Facebook added a new feature to Groups which is good for them but bad if it catches on. It’s a kind of read receipt that appears at the bottom of a post. It shows who in the group has “seen” the post and at what time.

by
0 Comments

Would You Put Your Money in the Bank of Facebook?

posted on July 11, 2012

CNN Money says that Facebook is “quietly” working with Australia’s Commonwealth Bank on the creation of a Facebook online banking app. The concept is sound enough, people are already on Facebook, so why not let them do their banking from the same page.

To which I counter, why would you want to?

One stop shopping make sense when you’re out running real errands and gas is $4.00 a gallon, but is there really a need to put all of my internet stops under one roof? Not to mention, under Facebook’s roof?

The app will allow customers to pay third party bills and Facebook friends with a few clicks. Again, there’s good and huh here. Security has always been an issue with Facebook, so in spite of the fact that the bank says the actual transactions will be handled via their secure servers, I’d be reluctant to list all my payees on a Facebook page.

by
0 Comments

Twitter CEO’s ‘Truckload of money’ Comment Brings Back Memories

posted on July 11, 2012

Yesterday, the LA Times published an interview that Twitter CEO Dick Costolo did with the newspaper. Apparently, Twitter wants to insert itself into the news cycle as of late as they add new mobile features and take advantage of what is an otherwise slow time of year for Internet news.

What was great about the interview for us here at Marketing Pilgrim was the memories it brought back of one of our favorite Internet characters of all time, former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz. Remember Carol? The brash, potty mouthed CEO of the listing ship Yahoo, made a remark that a Yahoo and Microsoft search deal with have to come with “boatloads of money”? She was panned for the statement and rightfully so. She even backed off it eventually which was saying something considering her general demeanor in the public eye.