Posts Tagged ‘apps’
Friday, February 25th, 2011
The Academy Awards Show is my Super Bowl. That’s what I’ll tell my husband on Sunday, when I NEED to start watching the TV at 3 p.m. and switch between channels for all the best Red Carpet viewing possible. Additionally, I’ll have one or two laptops going with multiple Twitter searches refreshing faster than I can read. YouTube will help me replay some of the best and worst dresses on the Red Carpet.
I used to host an Oscar viewing party. But, I don’t need to anymore. I have all my social media
friends to confirm that so-and-so did have the ugliest dress and celebrity Y should have shaved.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed I’m not alone and reported on the efforts of several agencies who have celebrities posting live updates via Twitter and Facebook streams during the Oscars. The article reports social media advertising company MyLikes Inc. has Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian commenting on fashion via Twitter for fashion site Gilt Groupe. It was noted, however, that marketers are still working to find the fine-line between selling and adding to the conversation.
This year, Oscar.com will offer live streaming from backstage in an effort to attract younger users to their site. Additionally, there will be interactive ways to enter your predictions and help choose a designer dress for the on-stage awards escort. If you have an iPad, you can download the Oscar app for the same interaction. Adding to the interactivity, Sprint is partnering with People.com for a real-time trivia game during the show.
Advertising Age says the cost for a 30 second spot for the Academy Awards show has increased this year to $1.7 million, and the Los Angeles Times reports the spots are sold-out. It’s not the $3 million the Super Bowl demands, but it’s getting there for arguably the second most watched event of the year. Oscar commercials are usually targeted to women, unlike the Super Bowl ads, which were mostly directed at men. This is an opportunity for advertisers to target the real decision makers in most households.
I wonder how many brands are looking for tie-ins to Oscars to capture the interest of the media and celebrity obsessed viewers? Pop Secret hosted a Twitter party, #PopCameraAcation, on February 24 and they used mommy bloggers to spread the word. What other hashtags will I be encouraged to use on Oscar night?
In my earlier BurrellesLuce Fesh Ideas post on 2010 Trends and 2011 Predictions…, the 2010 Academy Awards did not make the top 10 for Twitter trends. Could this have been because there are several hashtags being used to talk about the event? Also in the post was a prediction for the true integration of social media with PR. Will PR efforts around the Oscars take us a step closer to this?
How are other marketers promoting their brand with a tie-in to the Oscars? What will communications professionals learn from this year’s Academy awards? Were they successful? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Tags: #PopCameraAcation, 2010 Trends and 2011 Predictions, advertising, Advertising Age, apps, BurrellesLuce, communications, Debbie Friez, decision makers, digital, Facebook, Fresh Ideas, Gift Groupe, Gilt Group, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, marketing, MyLikes, Oscar, Oscar.com, People.com, PR, Public Relations, Red Carpet, Social Media, Super Bowl, The Academy Awards, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, YouTube
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Broadcast, Media Industry, Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
In my previous post published earlier this week, I suggested that content providers just come up with a way to charge for the use of the article when somebody reads the whole article instead of the hextract (header/extract)… do this regardless of whether that somebody is the first reader of the article or the recipient of it being passed along in an email. Make the charge a passive transaction and at a price the consumer considers fair. So the question on the table is why this hasn’t been done?
Pondering this question, two phrases immediately come to mind: “The Inventor’s Dilemma” (a
great book by Clayton Christensen, 1997), and “like turning an aircraft carrier around.” The legacy environment is blinding. At the heart, though, I believe, is the much bantered-about idea of “engaging the consumer.” This is the “buzz” used by the folks attempting to do the engaging. The consumer is evidently not getting the message that they are being engaged; at least not by The Media companies’ definition, which is about adopting and paying according to its rules of engagement.
I was at a conference last fall with a significant number of aspiring media titans in attendance. The panels focused on devices, technology, and the creation of apps to support their existing revenue models. My takeaway was the tremendous amount of energy going into convincing the consumer of what their, the consumers’, needs are instead of discovering and meeting those needs that already exist.
This contrast became more apparent with the remarks of each and every one of the CEO keynotes: Jason Kilar, Hulu; William Lynch, Barnes and Noble; and Oprah Winfrey, OWN. They all shouted about the key to success being the result of a dialog with the customer, listening to them, and giving them what they wanted. The panelist’s focus was certainly not the result of these folks being from a culture that celebrates entrepreneurial thinking. The legacy rules discourage divisional collaboration and non-linear approaches. You don’t get your own castle without being able to protect the moat. Problem is that the market in which these rules worked moved and it didn’t happen in the dead of night.
The old marketplace based on scarcity of information has left the building and with it the providers’ absolute control of access.
So what to do . . . ?
After having given this way too much thought, I would suggest an industry strategic planning meeting be convened with a very select group of players. I would gather together Hearst’s Frank Bennack, Advance’s Donald or Stephen Newhouse, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Barnes and Noble’s William Lynch, and Clay Shirky, who consults, teaches, and writes on the social economic effects of Internet technologies. I would also include Ken Doctor, a leading news industry analyst, as the scribe. The group should be sequestered for a week and then every six months reconvene to make adjustments. With all the exclusive consortiums in play targeting “low hanging fruit,” this is one consortium that could actually move the needle, and create enough disruptive engagement to get all those “mortgages” paid for a long, long time.
My guess is that, in the end, a process of marking, tracking, and monetizing will emerge. The only absolute is that time is of the essence in the 30-second world or information.
Tags: Advance, apps, article, Barnes and Noble, BurrellesLuce, Clay Shirky, Clayton Christensen, consortiums, consumer, content provider, Copyright, Dan Schaible, Donald Newhouse, Engagement, engaging, Eric Schmidt, Frank Bennack, Fresh Ideas, Google, Hearst, Hulu, industry analyst, information, Internet, Jason Kilar, Ken Doctor, licensing, market, marking, message, monetization, monetizing, Oprah, OWN, revenue models, Stephen Newhouse, strategic planning, Technology, The Inventor's Dilemma, The Media, tracking, William Lynch
Posted in Copyright, Media Industry, Public Relations | No Comments »
Monday, January 17th, 2011
At the end of 2009, I heard that mobile was the future of communications. As the New Year rolls in, it is fast becoming clear that 2011 may just be the year for mobile campaigns. Last month, Mashable made 5 Predictions for Mobile in 2011. The Verizon iPhone prediction is about to come true already. This announcement has sparked several online polls, asking if smartphone users will make a switch. When I registered for the Digital Capital Week (DCWeek) this week, even they asked me what kind of smartphone I use.
In my personal life, I’ve been living the smartphone debate for quite awhile. I was a tried and true Palm user, but BurrellesLuce has a Blackberry server, so I made the switch. My husband loved his iPhone, but hated that he could not get service anytime we were in a crowd of more than 20 people; he recently switched to Blackberry. My sister recently switched to a Droid and loves her ability to access a lot of information easily. According to TechCrunch, the best of the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the Motorola Atrix smartphone.
Recently, my BurrellesLuce colleague Crystal deGoede blogged, You Are What You Use…What Does your Tech-Gadget Say About You?, which tries to categorize smartphone users based on survey results from the 2010 Gadget Census Report by Retrevo. Additionally, our Johna Burke listed her favorite Droid Apps in her post, Apps I LOVE for the DROID. BurrellesLuce even posted a newsletter on Using Mobile Apps to Connect with Your Audiences.
As mobile marketing and PR grows more in popularity, we’re also seeing more articles like Ragan’s 7 things you need to know about mobile communications. One of my favorite posts on the subject came from Mashable, who gave us 15+ Worthwhile Ways to Kill Some Time on Your Mobile. It reminds us we don’t need to play a game or read funny tweets to occupy the time waiting for the train or plane.
Are you going to make a smartphone switch in the near future? If so, what influences your decision? How does your smartphone help you be more productive? And what are some of the ways you’ll be looking to leverage mobile communications in your public relations initiatives this year?
Tags: 15+ Worthwile Ways to Kill Some Time on your Mobile, 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, 2011 Gadget Census Report, apps, Atrix, Blackberry, BurrellesLuce, campaigns, communications, Crystal DeGoede, DC Week, Debbie Friez, Digital Capital Week, Droid, Fresh Ideas, influence, iPhone, Johna Burke, marketing, Mashable, mobile, Motorola, Palm, PR, predictions, Public Relations, Ragan's, Retrevo, smartphone, TechCrunch, Technology, Using Mobile Apps to Connect with Your Audiences, Verizon, You are what you use...what does your tech-gadget say about you
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Industry Events, Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 29th, 2010
by Carol Holden*
For me, it’s official – the world has gone totally mobile. The other night a commercial, on a kids’ cable channel my daughter watches, featured a Grandmother giving her little grandson (he looked about six to me) a tablet-reader for Christmas. I’ve been forewarned and won’t be shocked if my eight year old asks for one.
No wonder the rush continues for traditional media to expand to mobile devices, with some innovative apps already rolled out and others on the way:
- The Economist just launched an enhanced version of its publication for the iPad and iPhone. Readers can tweak the layout and graphs so they can receive all the robust content of the magazine, but in a format that makes sense for a small screen. “You’re trying to recreate your print magazine but redesign it to make the most of the medium,” said Oscar Grut, managing director of digital editions for The Economist.
- Oprah’s O, The Oprah Magazine has just released its iPad app to much fanfare. As described in the Marketwire release, “’I love the written word, and I love the iPad — to me, it’s another way to experience the intimacy of this magazine and its part of the future of the business,’ said Oprah Winfrey. ‘It’s a new way to connect with our readers, who are on a path of becoming their best selves.’”
- New Corps’ Rupert Murdoch and Apple’s Steve Jobs recently announced they would be teaming up to create a new iNewspaper. “The collaboration, which has been secretly under development in New York for several months, promises to be the world’s first ‘newspaper’ designed exclusively for new tablet-style computers such as Apple’s iPad, with a launch planned for early next year,” writes Edward Helmore in this Guardian UK article. “According to reports, there will be no ‘print edition’ or ‘web edition.’”
In fact, there are already enough publications with apps (over 700) available to audiences and readers on the iPad that strategic research company McPheters and Company was able to put together a ten best list. “McPheters ranked the print-to-iPad products based on design, functionality and use of rich content.” The list presents an interesting mix of both newspapers and magazines covering the gamut of lifestyle, culture, politics, news, sports, food, fashion, etc. The number one spot went to The New Yorker app, with apps for newspaper circulation heavy-weights USA Today and The Wall Street Journal making the list at number eight and ten respectively. Fashion entrant Net-A-Porter made the list at number five.
Mobile applications are becoming such an integral part of the media landscape that other industry organizations are taking notice. The American Society of Magazine Editors announced that among the changes to the National Magazine Awards 2011, they will include a new award for mobile editions.
In this age of PR 3.0, how are you using mobile apps to connect with your audiences? If you use a mobile device to read newspapers and magazines, what outlets would top your list of best media apps? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
***
Bio: I’ve been in the media business all of my adult life, first in newspapers before going full circle and joining BurrellesLuce, where I now direct the Media Measurement department. I’ve always enjoyed meeting and especially listening to the needs of our customers and others in the public relations and communications fields; I welcome sharing ideas through the Fresh Ideas blog. One of my professional passions is providing the type of service to a client that makes them respond, “atta girl” – inspiring our entire team to keep striving to be the best. Although I have been lucky enough to travel through much of Asia and most major U.S. cities for business or pleasure, my free time is now spent with my daughter, visiting family/friends, and of course the Jersey shore. Twitter: @domeasurement LinkedIn: Carol Holden Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: American Society of Magazine Editors, Apple, applications, apps, audiences, BurrellesLuce, business, cable, Carol Holden, circulation, commercial, content, culture, design, devices, digital, Edward Helmore, fashion, food, Fresh Ideas, functionality, Guardian UK, iNewspaper, iPad, iPhone, landscape, lifestyle, magazine, Marketwire, McPheters and Company, media, mobile, National Magazine Awards, Net-a-Porter, New Corps Rupert Murdoch, news, newspapers, Oprah, organizations, Oscar Grut, outlets, politics, PR 3.0, print, publications, research, sports, Steve Jobs, strategic, subscription, tablet-reader, ten best list, The Economist, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, traditional, USA Today, web
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Media Industry, Media Measurement, Public Relations | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Image Source: WMPowerUser.com
I have an old phone.
I know it’s old because I’ve kept it longer than the service agreement I signed when I bought it. I know it’s old because it still has the logo of a now defunct cellular company on it. I also know it’s old because of my inability to download apps of any kind.
However, despite my phones technical limitations, it appears that I may not be the only one hasn’t been filling their phone with the all the latest available applications.
According to Mark Welsh’s recent story on Mediapost.com, Pew: Only Two-Thirds Of Cell Users With Apps Use Them, only four in ten mobile phone users have apps on their phone. And just two-thirds, of that 40 percent, actually use them.
(Not sure which apps to choose for the Droid? Check out this post from my BurrellesLuce colleague Johna Burke.)
Welsh notes that the download and use of applications is “still not among the most popular mobile data activities, with only 29 percent of mobile subscribers having downloaded an app…” In fact, “People are more likely to use their phones to take a picture, text-message, browse the Web, email, record a video, play music and send instant messages than they are to access an app.”
Does this mean that downloading the latest apps for my mobile device isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be? I have to admit; it’d be nice to have sporting event updates or get restaurant reviews before leaving the house and then be able to accurately calculate a good tip.
However, like many of those surveyed, I use my phone as, well, a phone. The reliability of the service is paramount. Anything beyond that is just gravy.
Of course, there are always benefits to owning an older phone. For one, unlike so many people, I can break my cell phone contract without a penalty. Also, I never get frustrated with my phone because I really expect nothing from it other than the most basic of services.
Confidentially, though, I’m really just waiting for my birthday present iPad anyway.
How about you? Have you been quick to download apps? If so, do you still use them? If you haven’t added any or no longer use them, why?
Tags: activities, applications, apps, browse, BurrellesLuce, calculate a good tip, David Aloisio, downloaded, Droid, email, Fresh Ideas, instant message, iPad, Johna Burke, limitations, Mark Welsh, Media Post, mobile, music, Only Two-Thirday of Cell Users with Apps Use Them, Pew, phone, picture, reliability, restaurant reviews, service, service agreement, sporting event updates, subscribers, technical, text-message, video, web
Posted in Client Services, Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | 1 Comment »
