Category Archives: Advertising
Who’s who and what’s what at the DIGITAL EDGE LIVE 2011
With just little over a month left before the Digital Edge Live showdown, the excitement and anticipation is starting to build up.
Not only will this incredible debate feature some of the best and brightest professionals in the Digital Marketing and Communications industry – all in ONE ring – but it will also give you plenty of insight into the world of online media and a peek into the future of the industry. This makes attending Digital Edge Live showdown at the Dragon Power Arena in Cape Town on 14 October 2011 a MUST! Here is a little more about what and who to expect:
What to expect:
A combination of the best advertising; digital marketing; brand heads and media gurus in South Africa will square off in the ultimate debate and get to the roots of the challenges within the industry. And of course, Bob Garfield, international guest speaker and industry heavyweight, will be there to share his knowledge.
During the 4 hour conference, the marketing contenders will enter the ring to share their views and opinions, Erich Vidge being the Fightmaster. The showdown will feature different parts of the digital marketing and communications industry, which will show off the experts’ knowledge and insight and will explore the challenges in the digital world.
The ticket (worth R1550) includes the following:
Visit their website for more details or read our previous blog post about The Digital Edge Live.
Why you must invest in Facebook page instead of profile for your business…
Should I invest in a Facebook profile or a Facebook page for my business? This is a question that some people ask themselves on many occasions.
I am going to highlight a few important aspects and explain why you should choose a Facebook page for your business instead of a Facebook profile.
Facebook term and conditions
Facebook’s terms of service, clearly states that “Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. If you create a Profile for your business, it’s going to be shut down because you will be violating Facebook rules and you will lose all your friends.
Pages are the best tool for marketing.
There are a lot of differences between profiles and pages, which make pages absolutely 100 % the only way for businesses to get the most out of Facebook. You can create lots of tabs and add all your products and services on Facebook.
Analytics
Facebook pages offer insights. This will enable you to useful data that Profiles can’t give you. The data includes how many page “likes” and comments you received each day, demographic break-downs, daily and monthly activity, etc.
Disadvantage of using a profile
The user will not have to wait for you to accept their Facebook request in order for them to start interacting with you. If you use a page, once they have liked your page they can start commenting or liking your wall post.
There are a lot of advantages of using a Facebook pages instead of a profile for business. If you have a few, how about sharing them with us.
The Digital Edge Live 2011: Digital Marketing As You’ve Never Seen It Before
Do you have a keen interest in digital marketing like us? Are you an innovator that sees the changes in the advertising industry? Are you looking to learn more about this topic from global experts? Then do continue to read this post…
Living Your Brand and Native have partnered to bring Digital Edge Live to Cape Town on 14 October 2011. The Digital Edge is an exciting weekly podcast in South Africa dedicated to all things digital marketing. The event promises to dispose of the dull and done conference format by putting the brightest minds in the digital marketing industry up against each other in the ultimate 4 hour showdown, creating a platform for clever debate!
More about the event:
Time & Venue
The Event takes place October 14 at Dragon Power Arena, 8 Stirling Street Cape Town and will feature the cream of the crop in the industry.
Speakers
Speakers include Bob Garfield (Digital Edge Live); Gavin Rooke (ISOBAR); Brent Shahim (AquaOnline); Pete Case (Gloo in the UK) and Rob Stokes (Quirk). The event host for the day is Erich Viedge, former IT Journalist of the Year and 702 Talk Radio Technology correspondent.
Content
Some of the interesting topics that can be expected include: Are we ahead or behind the rest of the world, and can we keep pace? And what indeed does the future hold for marketing in the digital space? How will traditional agencies deal with their digital foes and how will the South African telecoms scenario support or hinder online marketing?
Cost
Cost is R1550 per person, but tickets purchased before 30 August will qualify for a 10% discount. The event also includes free secure parking, coffee, tea, snacks and bar and entertainment. Native Clients get 20% discount and if you buy tickets for 5 delegates you will get a free ticket for the 6th delegate.
To contact the organizers or to book, phone 021 6716362 or email bookings@livingyourbrand.co.za.
Visit the Digital Edge website for even more details about the event, the speakers and the line-up for the day.
Popcorn-ish Innovation On Facebook
Just like many others out there, movies and Facebook are two things that I simply love. With individuals like me in mind, Facebook has implemented many changes (which I am grateful for) to not only make movie promotion effortless, stylish and fun, but also to make it easier for marketers to engage with fans on a higher level.
Interaction is a crucial factor when coming to the relationship between marketers and fans, and this has been made possible by the simple click of a “Like” button. In the past (which, by the way is just a couple of months ago), a Facebook page for movies would have a name and photo’s…now fans can have a full movie experience if they choose to. They can listen to audio streams of soundtracks, play interactive games and transform into their favourite characters. All of this from a Facebook page!
Being a big fan of movies, I decided to have a look at the pages of a couple of my favourite movies. One thing I noticed was that all of them had something unique to offer their fans, which tells me that they have researched their target markets intensely and went with what they found. It is not just about putting your movie brand out there, but also about creating an engaging experience with your fans before and after a movie premiere. Who will visit your page if they feel like there is nothing for them to benefit from? If there is no interaction with fans, who will support your movie after it has been released?
X-men: First Class was released on June 3rd and gives fans the opportunity to fully share their views and opinions about the movie. Fans can interact with the actors in the movie with the “X-perts” tab, allowing them to ask the actors questions about the film, their characters and all the behind-the-scenes action. Fans can share their opinion in the “Reviews” tab, where they rate the movie with stars and comment on why they gave their rating. Great strategy for future releases!
If you are a Twilight Saga fan (or even if you are not), you will know that the release of the 4th sequel, Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is due in November this year. Ecstatic fans are already going crazy on the official Twilight Saga Facebook page, which currently has more than twenty million “likes” – 22,911,637 to be exact! Twilight fans can watch the movie trailer of Breaking Dawn and previous releases and participate in discussions and polls. And another cool feature: a “Wedding Guest Book” tab that allows fans to sign Edward and Bella’s wedding guest book or “invite friends” to join.
I have to say, I just love the creativity and innovation that marketers are using to capture the attention of Facebookers. It’s savvy, unique and will definitely make you want to watch a movie – even if you don’t like it!
Banners ads: diluted or alive and well?
Many people think online banner advertisements are annoying and useless and a few months ago I would have agreed with them. I have been working on a few online media campaigns that involve creating and designing banner ads and I realized that the future of online banner advertisements is huge. The Internet is the most up-and-coming media form and advertising on the Internet will continue to blossom for a very long time. There are a number of reasons why banner ads will continue to survive and flourish on the Internet:
Online banner ads are one of the best methods to advertise and promote your business online and they are not as annoying as pop-up ads. Attractive banner ads increase the flow of traffic to your website. Banner ads promote curiosity – When readers see your banner on a specific website, they simply have to click on the banner to get you’re your website. With banner ads you are able to track how many people viewed the banner or website, how much traffic was directed to your website and how many people clicked on the banner ad.
I read an article on a website called howstuffworks and discovered a few tips on how to design an effective banner add that I would like to share with you:
- Link your banner ad to your website in order to increase traffic to your site.
- Place the banner ad on the top of the web page so that readers can see it immediately.
- Use animated ads, not static ones – it’s boring.
- Keep your message simple – readers will get bored if there is too much text to read.
- Keep the banner ad small – readers do not like ‘in your face’ advertising and big banners often take too long to load.
I’ve been doing some research on online banners ads and I came across a few cool banners but my favourite was one created by Pringles. I applaud the mastermind that designed this unique concept. It’s brilliant. That’s all I’m going to say.
Click here to view Pringles Banner
The King Of Tablets PC
I have been doing research on the tablets pc to see which one is exceptional. I look at these Tablets PC : HP Pavilion, Samsung Galaxy, HP Slate, Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Inspiron Duo. Some of these tablets have camera, some do not and some are heavier than the other. The king of tablets is the Samsung Galaxy.
It is most similar to Apple’s iPad, but compared to it, the Galaxy Tab has a lot of advantages. Firstly it weighs .84 pounds, nearly half as much as the iPad, which tips the scales at 1.5 pounds. Given that the majority of other tablets have to be held with both hands, the Galaxy Tab looks more like a Smartphone.
The other good thing about it is that: it is very fast, effective multitasking, great mobile and wireless network connectivity, flash support and it includes superb TouchWiz UI. Weighing both the Samsung Galaxy Tab merits and shortcomings, it’s a very impressive device because its memory can be can be extended, you can take pictures whereas Apple’s iPad does not have GPS ,no camera and removable card slot, making it difficult to extend the storage capacity.
To conclude I would like to recommend Samsung Galaxy to Japie and other people who would like to buy Tablet PC.
To read more click here
PhotoCode what?
There’s a new trend heading our way…
Cell C is taking mobile phone technology one step further with yet another innovation. By downloading Cell C’s new PhotoCode application powered by BeeTagg, your phone becomes a key to a whole new world of possibilities.
This new feature takes QR codes to a new level!
BUT WHAT IS A QR CODE?
According to Wikipedia a QR code is a matrix barcode or two-dimensional code, readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with cameras, and smartphones.
Because smartphones is a must-have this season, and almost everyone has a cellphone with a camera, Cell C, together with their partners (YOU, Huisgenoot, People, Sunday Times, The Times, 5fm, MultiChoice and Oppikoppi) has managed to see the possibilities that these so-called QR codes have to offer.
HOW IT WORKS:
First of all, you have to download the application to your phone. This is very easy and fast! Sms your name to 32357 (free for Cell C customers, R1 to MTN and Vodacom), click on the link that will be sent to you, and download!
Secondly, you take a picture of any QR code with your PhotoCode reader.
And lastly, your PhotoCode reader will analyze the QR code and ask you if you want to go to the link that represents that particular QR code. It’s as easy as that!
STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND? HERE’S SOME EXAMPLES:
- You notice an ad for an upcoming gig by a local music star and the PhotoCode printed alongside it allows you to download one of their tracks as a ringtone.
- You are attending an exclusive new event and a PhotoCode gives you the password to the VIP area.
- You are in the Cell C store and by snapping a picture of a PhotoCode you can find out all there is to know about any product on the shelves.
This could open up a whole new world to many industries! Some Twitter users have even joined in. When will you join?
Having his say at the Ad-Tech conference
On 19 April, the Ad-Tech conference kicks off in San Francisco. The three day conference will be focusing on the concept of online marketing, who to communicate with and how to reach your target audience.
One of the speakers at the event, Jamie Cohen Szculc – the chief marketing officer for Levi Strauss & Co will be speaking on the new global take on marketing, and basically taking a look at using social media for marketing and how do we deal with the transformation.
Jamie has his bachelors degree in civil engineering, but has more than 20 years of international experience in consumer products. Before working at Levi, he was the chief operations officer for Kodak’s consumer business.
Jamie is also the director and co-founder of TechnoCorp Energy, a company dedicated to research and development of renewable energy.
Japie is off to San Francisco but will have all the updates and trends once he gets back, so watch this space.
But let’s not wait for Japie to come back. What’s your take on Jamie’s topic?
The future of Newspapers
While we are all thinking about how internet has taken over and how we should adjust to that, we forget about the traditional mediums, such as newspapers.
Thousands of people have gone over to the “e”-side for their daily news and it has become part of their daily routine. It’s just so much easier to turn on the computer, rather than going out to buy the newspaper.
For more on this topic, read What Does the Future Hold for Newspapers?
