Some minor issues

On today’s Bizzreport: “Advertisers disappointed with Facebook’s CTR“. So let’s take a look at some ads on facebook (see read more, don’t want to spoil my homepage).

Totally dull, not integrated ads. The first is completely pointless: “you’re the 999,999 visitor, you won!” Come on! Which moron thought he would make a chance with this ad on Facebook? Think about the usebase people, are you really thinking the youngsters and/or advanced internet users present on facebook are gonna fall for this?
Second ad: “Parlez l’anglais?” Why on earth do you think, as an advertiser, you want to speak to me in French (a language I don’t completely master) on an English platform about learning English? Ok, I get this: for the French speaking FB users this might come as a helping hand: if you don’t understand everything you are reading here .. we might be able to help you. But I’m not French, so DON’T show me the ad.

Facebook is an excellent platform. Facebook is an excellent advertising platform. But if advertisers want to improve their CTR, they really have to start thinking and take the users/target group into account. Who cares about CPM if 95% of receivers isn’t on target. And if your CPM targeting sucks, so does your CTR.

I’m not sure, it might exist, but the FB advertising future clearly is/should be contextual. That’s the only model that will work. That’s the only model that will ad value.
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I just bought “The Age of Conversation” online at lulu.com, a website that digitally prints books before they ship them. So no stock and less overhead costs, interesting model. (Although I must say the usability of the store can be improved).

The Age of Conversation is a distributed blogger project. 100 bloggers wrote about the subject, one pagers, which are bundled into this nice book together. Hope it will be delivered before my holiday read break, but I’m afraid not.

There are some excellent bloggers/marketeers/thinkers involved. Some Belgians as well: Kris Hoet, Geert Desager, Luc Debaisieux, ..
Quite frankly I’m a bit jealous I missed this boat I think I would have liked contributing in this project. Not fast enough, so better luck next time.

So all involved: good luck with the sales and promotion. I’ll write a review as soon as I’ve read the book.

BTW: please note by buying this book you’re supporting charity.
- e-book: $9.99 ($7.99 going to charity)
- paperback book: $16.95 ($8.10 to charity)
- hardback book: $29.99 ($8.55 to charity)

Whenever you want of course

Translated copyline: Ijsboerke comes whenever you want.

Ijsboerke is a Belgian company delivering ice-cream at home. The campaign is to show the consumers/prospects they can choose on the website the best time for Ijsboerke to drop by and deliver their orders.

Nice viral campaign.

Created by Vince Manze, part of NBC’s marketing team. He didn’t told the Heroes creator Tim Kring and finalized the project with only $17,000. Great job.
More information on the Heroes Wiki.

By the way, in terms of viral television spin-offsn check the Primatech website. They actually mention it in the show. There is a whole world behind it, discover it! (Use this wiki page for guidance..)

Found on buzzing Bees.

The way things look are so important. Design is an indisputable part of marketing.

Example: last weekend our washing machine broke down and we decided to buy a new one. In a segment were differences between different products are getting marginal (or of marginal importance) design becomes a key decision feature. And so it did in our case.

I’m not saying its absolute, and in fact I quite don’t care how our machine looks. But you have to decide. In my believe there are margins you decide on rationally: what’s about the amount of money you want to spend, what are the specs (in washing machine language: volume, rotation speed, functionalities ..), maybe some brands, .. . With this information you look at the goods to narrow your selection down. But the way things look is the final decision criteria. It makes you pick product X out of the selection that was left.

Ine showed me an other Berlitz funny ad

Seems like a nice client to work for

Great way to promote the Berlitz language courses

Excuse me while I kiss this guy.
Via Ondernemer in Gent

After all they won the grand prix (Film Lions) at the Cannes advertising festival.

Here is the winning video

It rocks. And the campaign around it rocked as well. There was a lot of UGC involved.
Great Job Ogilvy Toronto!

Also enjoy this Parody

Recently there was some fuzz about a playboy model who’s belly button was eleminated in the photoshopping (via Serge)

Just saw this Derren Brown movie on youTube

Isn’t this amazing? However, it doesn’t prove anything new. We know people can be influenced (otherwise there wouldn’t be advertising), and we know they’re not always aware of it. But most of all: this is a guided exercise. They’ve set up a specific path and gave the advertiser guys a specific task, in a controlled environment and a limited time-frame.

Question is how to use subliminal effects in the real world (advertising) jungle?
Answer: find the golden consumer paths and use your influence.

Great campaign if you ask me. Unfortunately they decided not to air it. Luckily there is youTube!

What’s it about. On our Belgian public network there’s a show called “Blokken“, meaning as much as (building) blocks. The name is pointing to the integrated tetris game: after a good answer the contestants can play with the blocks.
After the blocks are removed from the children, and they start crying, the copy states “Live sucks without Blokken/Blocks”.

I like it! I would use it. On the other hand, it’s a great viral this way.

Made by deMENSEN.