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More Proof That Television Advertising Is Alive And Well

Ok, ok, quiet down everyone. All those who have predicted the demise of television advertising raise your hand. You know who you are, the ones who have forecast doom and gloom for television advertising in the digital age for years  now. You’ve been predicting that social media, mobile advertising, online advertising and digital advertising in general will spell the end of our near and dear friend – the television when it comes to advertising.

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This article is directly squarely at you or as we say in Philly – at yous. (Yes I know the grammar police will be after me but please pardon my brief colloquialism if you will.

If television advertising is on its death bed how do you explain the fact that almost two-thirds (62.4% to be precise) of all advertising dollars spent by the major media buyers was spent on television advertising?

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Want To Build The Perfect Social Team? Here’s Who You Need

How big is your team? A simple question but increasingly a not-so-simple answer. Three years ago the answer was easy. Me.
While not quite a one-man-show (thanks to agency support) I was the only full time person at McDonald’s dedicated to social media.
Today, our social media team not only has an expanded roster, but the responsibility and execution has become diffused across the organization. I’ll write more about our setup in a future post, but given our recent growth, I’ve begun reflecting on the different skill sets that we have and where we could grow. Today instead, allow me to dream a bit about what my dream team would look like.

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The Oxymoron That Is Digital Marketing

A recent report revealed that while budgets for digital marketing are expected to increase across many specific channels, including email marketing, SEO and mobile, one major component of digital marketing is decreasing and has in fact been falling steadily since 2010.

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The report, a joint effort between Econsultancy and Responsys (full disclosure: the latter is my employer), highlights the findings of a survey conducted of more than 800 company and agency marketers.

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Some Top Social Hits & Misses of the Past Few Weeks

TedRubin-HeadShot-10.5.11-200x300It’s a wild and crazy social media world out there.  Small businesses, big brands, celebrities and everyone in between continues to struggle to find the right balance of engagement and sharing in social media (some with grace, others… not so much).  So, who knocked it out of the park and who struck out in social media in the past few weeks?

Here are a few notable items that gave me cause for pause:

Missed the Mark (by a mile)

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Chevy Proves Long Form Content Marketing On A Mobile Device Can Work

When it comes to content marketing the prevailing thought among marketers is that the longer the content the less likely it will be used on a mobile device. The thought being that people will not engage with long form content marketing on a mobile device thus that type of content is best served on a PC.

Well based on the results of a recent joint campaign between Chevy and mobile media company Zumobi, marketers may want to rethink long form content marketing and its potential use on mobile devices.

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Pulling Back The Curtain On Text Message Mobile Marketing

Ask 100 marketers if they use direct mail, email, social media, TV, radio, and/or outdoor in their marketing strategies and campaigns and the majority of them will respond in the affirmative.

Now, ask them if they use any mobile marketing tactics and they’ll tell you that mobile marketing comes right after taking a magic marker and drawing an ad on a bathroom wall in terms of priorities and hierarchy. Am I the only one who finds it amazing – utterly amazing mind you, that despite it’s rapid rise in usage and popularity, mobile marketing – especially text message mobile marketing, remains a mystery and enigma to many marketers?

I am surely not the only one who thinks this way, right?

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The Art of Balance

I’m a klutz – or as they say in Central Pennsylvania – dopic.  So, I really admire people that are more coordinated than I am (which is pretty much everyone).  Last night, we enjoyed a date night at the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by our beloved Maestro Stuart Malina.  What made the performance particularly memorable were the additional performers on stage last evening.  “Cirque de la Symphonie” featured acrobats and aerialists who amazed the audience with choreographed moves, accompanied by the orchestra’s masterful artistry.  I was particularly enrapt with the final performance by two bronzed muscular men. Those in attendance were spellbound by their feats of strength, balance and grace.

As I watched, I wondered what propelled these athletes to choose this occupation.  What discipline and practice it must have taken to achieve such synchronicity!  The countless hours of training and experimentation, the injuries that were likely sustained are beyond my comprehension.  And I’ve wondered similar thoughts about those musicians whose performances we so look forward to as they weave their own magic, beneath the stars of the glorious Harrisburg Forum.

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5 CMOs Identify The Characteristics of Successful Teams

Strategy, no matter how insightful and comprehensive, does not insure execution. Action plans, no matter how detailed or innovative, are no guarantee goals will be realized. And every leader that has managed through crisis knows benchmarks are not the be-all-end-all measure of resources.

The market is shaped by teams that move boundaries and redefine arithmetic.

Put another way — whether in sport or enterprise, successful teams are those whose measure is greater than the proverbial sum of its parts.

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Social Media has Played a Significant Role in the Rise of Marketing to Women… better keep an eye on the Latinas from #LATISM12

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Social has taken away numerous connection barriers between brand and consumer, giving brands more direct access to not just push information out to consumers, but to actively engage in ongoing conversation with consumers and their networks. Since women, who control 85% of household spending, are the majority of social media users, it makes sense that marketers naturally have turned their focus to marketing to women. They hold the purse strings AND have the highest and most interrelated social media presence.