I wasn’t going to write about the FTC’s latest salvo on native advertising. When the agency announced its “enforcement policy” on Dec. 22, I was focused on making sure there was enough “Bud’s Famous Egg Nog” in the fridge and constructing my argument that binge watching Empire absolutely fits the holiday spirit. But so many …more
Remember when native advertising promised to rescue online media with a legit revenue stream? Putting the poster children of native advertising such as BuzzFeed, The Atlantic and The New York Times to the side, most of the content is downright dreadful. The defenders are quick to say it’s early days, but its’ been a good …more
Everyone seems to think there’s a deep lesson in Donald Trump’s popularity. At the risk of stating the obvious, Furthermore, Americans love a good train wreck. We can’t help ourselves. And one of the few things that will outperform a train wreck is the potential of a train wreck. That’s why the viewing numbers for …more
It’s not easy. Here’s the situation. The giant Hong Kong food company, Lee Kum Kee Products Group, created an app and website for the China market. The app evangelizes a healthy lifestyle, encouraging people to embrace the one exercise that can be done anywhere, walking. As can happen on the Internet, wires got crossed and …more
Showing knowledge that transcends zone blitzes and optimizing the price point of a 12-ounce domestic beer, the New England Patriots jumped into the content marketing game last week. New England created a microsite to defend Tom Brady’s honor and the integrity of the franchise after the Wells Report reignited Deflategate. For the 27 Americans out …more
Before jumping into the sense of urgency part, let’s frame the issue. Mobile devices are taking over the world. In terms of raw numbers, mobile users surpassed the desktop users last year. Yet, this only tells part of the story. For PR and other communication functions, the core question comes down to behavior. Are consumers …more
“Branding is in a state of disruption and re-invention. Recent advances in Internet and consumer technologies have put professional branding tools in the hands of consumers. Everyday people – as individuals and as communities – are appropriating, remixing and recirculating brand icons beyond the control of those who have historically shepherded the brand.” So states …more
Many brands jumped into the real-time marketing fray with the Royals’ latest addition to the family on Monday. This effort wasn’t as effective as what took place during the Super Bowl blackout for a reason I’ll get into in a minute. Still, I don’t think the Mashable headline, “Brands, Try, Fail to Capitalize on Royal …more
Every company is a media company. Tom Foremski, ex Financial Times Silicon Valley bureau head before starting Silicon Valley Watcher, made this statement years ago. Intel has hired journalists to man the Intel Free Press. Cisco has gone down a similar path with an owned media platform called “The Network.” Observing from afar, one might …more
