Blogging with Corporations

The newest blog on e-marketer describes the trend of corporate America using blogs to communicate.  Originally blogging was looked down on by journalists, but now any publication that has an internet site has a blog with all their writers.  Blogging is becoming the future of journalism and more and more people are following blogs, while printed editorials following declines at a parallel rate.  The article estimates that 43% of firms will use blogs for marketing purposes by 2012 and currently 34% are.  That's a large increase in a short period of time, and considering that blogs have been around for a decade, this seems to be the wakening for blogs.  It has a focus on lead generation, brand marketing and of course the details of that corporate culture. 

Blogging has had a recent spike in popularity over the last 5 years, but not even nearly as drastic as other social media networks. (Facebook, Twitter) However the beauty of blogging is that it's both uncensored and uncut. As a blogger you don't fall prey to corporate rules or need to worry about it being restricted to a certain space. However blogger beware, this doesn't mean you have free reign on your corporate site.  One third of researchers, 'dig' into corporate blogs for information.  Also it should be said that anything you post on a corporate site reflects not only the company, but it's shareholders as well. 

Marketers alike need to take heed of many warning signs of failed upcoming tools (like the dot.com bust) and use blogging responsibly.  It only takes a few months of over saturation and user disinterest for this new marketing 'midis' to bust.   Tread carefully because if there's one thing that consumers won't tolerate long it's spam and annoyances.  So these corporate blogs can be very effective, but if they get followers they have to be respectful and tread lightly, for they tread on consumers fury.  It takes one wrong message sent or post to send your blog following down the drain, and good luck advertising to 20 people.  It also is worth noting that new markets will arise and blogging will fall victim to other social media, just like it did to Facebook and Twitter.  Technology is a hard market and they key to success is to be always evolving and changing. Staying idle is the same as sitting down in the middle of the freeway.  (It's technological suicide.) Once you have followers on your corporate blog, the advertising can be cleverly inserted throughout and ion the side of your blog. You can also add links all over your blog, but once again over saturation will drive the consumers away. However if your a great marketer, than you get people to want something they never knew they wanted. Like I tell my wife, she's the woman I never knew I always dreamed of. To be more practical Steve Jobs said on his apple blog, “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

As Seen on TV

According to E-Marketers ad "TV ads perform as well as made for web ads", the trend is great for brand awareness, when taking a made for TV commercial and running it online. It also says that the support leans towards made for TV ads over web made ads. I think this is interesting when understanding the budget for both.Typically TV ads are much larger and involve much more depth but when we looked at the Evian bottled water campaign on You-Tube, we saw how successful a made for Web ad can be. The other thing to be considered here is the resources for television are far more vast then what available to marketing teams towards the internet.
The most interesting thing that the article showed was that brand favor-ability went up on the internet in every age group by 1-2 percent.  That seems like it needs much deeper research as such a large jump in every age group tilts me to believe that internet ads are connecting with people at a much less generic level then television. It could be simply because the amount of people searching out topics and marketers being able to focus on a more detailed demographic.  It's less about attracting a large group then really 'snagging' the core group of your audience. 
Lastly neither ads had high completion rates, or watching it to the end. Interesting enough the food and beverage industry did the best on the internet (funny considering the high interest in Alcohol commercials.) while the TV ads did best for retail stores. That once again needs more details behind it like the demographic information or target audience and direction of the ads. Overall they both had there strengths and weaknesses, but it appears like the trends of late, that the internet is going to take more and more market share from other media/

Target

I visited the Target web site and The first thing that stood out was the deliberate color use of white and red.  The term white space, and the good use of it with contrasting colors or even large gaps to emphasize a picture or image.  Target uses dark colors that make each topic stand out, which is nice because it gives the site a certain equilibrium.  Their topics are clear and black, stand out and are organized logically (probably in order of frequency). 
Target's next marketing move was to use red for campaign items or action items.  They use the color red like M. Night Shamalyn in the Sixth Sense. You just see it on the screen without realizing the connection each red item has to the other. The shopping cart, coupons and the red card, all listed in red. You know what else?? In all the cases they get demographic information from you. Coupons an email account, shopping cart they get your name, address, phone, etc... This site is brilliant because it gives information from you willingly. 
The last thing Target does is repeat subject matter when appropriate.  for instance the Baby section is in black and then featured a quarter of an inch down in large font. Then a special is listed for a toddlers toy.  Now that makes three different ways to link to the same department on the landing page.  It's a great way to get people deeper into your site (along with the search bar and store finder) and keep them looking. 

Vikings vs, Packers

Of course after reading the heading you immediately thought, Vikings win. This is true. Actually that's the end of the important information but I guess we can discuss the evaluation I got back on their website. The Vikings web site received a 99 out of 100. In comparison it's rating (like Nielsen) is in the top 8 percent on the internet. The site is exceptionally well functioning and perfect for options.
It is very interesting that this marketing rating is directly tied into social marketing. Part of the criteria is it's link and usage through Twitter. The site and it's grade appear to be a little bias or at least driven to believe that Twitter is a marketing essential.  It rated the Vikings web site in the top 2 percent for social marketing effectiveness but doesn't include Facebook. (which by the way the site has a link too) However it does list current blogs and the tweets associated with those blogs and they maintain 'value'.  It appears that there is a huge elephant in the room when considering this rubric and it's accuracy.  Could you consider grading department stores and leave out Wal-Mart? 
My recommendations are first that they make there content a little easier to read.  It is currently rated as a doctoral level of reading, which is really high. Second i would suggest that they post more blogs on their site since it only listed 3 found. Lastly I would find it immanent that they try and appeal to users to have the site bookmarked. The Delicious site that is social bookmarking lists top links and if Vikings.com was one of them then it could drive more traffic, and traffic is exactly what you want. 
The last aspect of this is Packers.com. Quickly, it rated the same, but it's blog rating was lower (probably because packer fans can't write), it's reading level was undergraduate which a lot lower than the vikings (probably because packer fans can't read) and last the actual number of blogs was more than the Vikings. (proving that Packer fans have far too much time on there hands.) Overall the Vikings site, fans and team are just better. That's a fact, Google it. :)

RANDY MOSS

So I am actually going to try something different. Randy Moss is the most marketable person in the history of Minnesota.  His jersey 84 sold more than both the 98' NFL MVP and someone called Jerry Rice.  How do you market a product that can be so controversial.  The correct marketing of such huge personalities could result not only in huge revenue but also the publicity could carry over to a possibility of a new stadium. The Vikings are off to a slow start, and he will be presented as the savior of the team.  His presence will be accepted to the state like a son returning from battle.
The Vikings website has a huge opportunity here to market the sale of jersey's/tickets as well as use this publicity to promote the state partial funding of a new state of the art stadium. Make no mistake, without a great season, possibly a super bowl win, there is almost 0 chance of state senators approving such taxation.  I bring this up because we are at the beginning of a marketing campaign of not only the Vikings but of Randy Moss.  It's truly jumping in on the ground floor, and we can all critique or suggest things that could happen from here.  I will say this, as of now there are no mentions on the web site of Randy coming to Minnesota, however i think that this adds to the media storm.
The acquisition of old fans is now at an all time high.  The Vikings have the opportunity to attract a fan base that they may have lost in the last 12 years. The coverage is extensive and there hasn't been an opportunity like this since AP's second year.  People in Minnesota have a renewed sense of pride.  There is no more talented offense than the Minnesota Vikings.  Percy Harvin, Randy Moss, Sidney Rice, Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre.  Um is this an all-Madden team or are we serious?  Behold the power of marketing in Americans favorite past time. Feel free to comment as the weeks go on and look at the numbers that will be coming out about ticket sales, jersey sales, and promotions that are run. 

The things they make, make them.

Ok so that slogan doesn't sound as good when you reference it.  However it is clever and a testament to a quality tangible product line.  The landing page is put together well with new models switching with each other in the background/main page. (It's hard to call it just the background when it's the main thing displayed.)  Jeep seems to not only have put a lot of time into their vehicles (which is to be expected) but have brilliant people behind the scenes of their displays.
The pictures tend to take on a life of their own and are so integral.  It is apparent to me that a team was put together to match a vehicle with an appropriate environment, and make it stand out aesthetically. The Liberty is displayed from a lower angle and that projects dominance or can represent it atop a hierarchy. It sends subtle messages that we accept through our established environment. (Or upbringing/experience)  The sand below it and the light blue sky make contrast and make the Vehicle the focal point. They also take an angled shot to give a more 3 dimensional appearance or 'real life'.  All of the ads represent their prospective demographics and the pictures are so simple and well done yet complex in background and extensive in direction.
The next thing i noticed was that they had a Find a dealer button and an enter your Zip Code link on the same landing page separated by about two inches.  It's really a focus on Jeep to attain new customers and they seem to focus greatly on acquisition.  However with the life cycle of vehicles and the nature of the industry, Retention is growing less important than acquisition. Cars today are projected to last up to 200-250 thousand miles. That is nuts.  If i ran my old Ford 250,000 miles it would need so much maintenance i couldn't keep it.
Lastly i think that the brilliance behind Jeep's site is it's simplicity.  It offers many options for those who wish to look, but it focuses most of it's energy on display, and acquisition.

Grocery IQ

The article yesterday in the e-marketer posting was on how buyers in today's economy use shopping lists (91%) and rarely deviate from it.  The state of most people's finances is not currently well, and a list is a great way to limit spending.The key to success with marketers is that it isn't typical for people to list brand names, but instead items.
So now we face the challenge of acquisition of new customers. The best strategy by far is coupons (78%) and discounts (<30%) which can be issued right to stores as well as online.  (Manufact. coupons)  People will overwhelmingly choose the cheaper name brand if given the choice. The surveys taken in the article, show strong support that people not only want to save money, but also want a hand in it.  Consumers want the choice, so that it doesn't feel so 'discounted' and more of a bargain they had discovered. Trying to keep this balance is hard for marketers, but attainable. 
Applications are continually helping facilitate the consumers needs while improving sales to the retailer.  The new wave that will come will be a customer will make a list online, and then the application will use special algorithms to search web sites and online ads to find brand coupons for those products. A really good application would also take information that was given and draw coupon suggestions. Example:
    You type in bread, mayo, lettuce and roast beef. Then it searches for that but also suggests a special on ham and a coupon to go with it.
For most consumable retailers, this is the future.  If you can get people to consistently buy your product over the competition, clearly you will increase your market share.  This also gives the company who builds the application to have sponsorships and push certain retailers coupons more frequently.
More then anything else this new medium is great for initial sales but unfortunately does not contribute to retention.  People are simply looking for a deal so the CLV is going to be low as the turnover and the market share will decrease as competitors mirror your coupons and promotions.  The only thing i can think of is to offer special coupons on a temporary basis to retain registration information, and then send promotional offer. You could also give free coupons if they refer friends, or just really forward the message. In the end i think that if you want people to choose Cheeze-its instead of Great value, your going to have to save them some cheddar.