A recent NYTimes article talked about the fact that as more people use Facebook, Google’s search results are becoming less comprehensive. ““The beauty of the Web is that it is open, and anyone can crawl it. But Facebook does not permit Google to reach most categories of information placed on the site.” The point of the article was to glorify the Open Web, as epitomized by Google, and as undermined by Facebook. “The statistics point to is a rise in Facebook, a decline in blogging, and before that, a decline in personal Web pages. The trend is clear — Facebook is displacing these other forms of online publication.”
But is Facebook evil? If people find it easier to write on Facebook than on a blog or a personal web page, then that shows consumers voting with their feet. You can’t blame Facebook. Just look at the current privacy flap about Facebook. What if they let Google crawl everything on the Facebook site?
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A few years ago, I met with a mobile device manufacturer who showed me a prototype of a small projector. It didn’t work very well – it was way too large for any mobile device and the image was small and faint. But it was exciting and clearly had potential. Now it appears its time has come and in much more innovative ways than I imagined.
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Competition and first to market advantage creates enormous pressure for businesses and brands to constantly be one step ahead of each other. Innovation can play a starring role. But while getting a flash of inspiration in the shower is great, most innovation involves a rigorous process of managing and harnessing creative thinking. This process needs to allow for the fusion of logic and magic.
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How do you build a profitable business model around giving things away for free? If it’s not something you’re thinking about, then perhaps now’s the time. Free is fast becoming a favoured route to market. And as more consumers experience the free economy, they’ll be expecting the same from all kinds of categories.
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Brand.
There are probably few words which have been more devalued, certainly in marketing circles. You hear it everywhere, all the time. Somehow everything’s a brand now, from Katie Price and Victoria Beckham to Comparethemeerkat.com and FC Bayern München. Read more…
China’s car brands have started to make an appearance on the world stage over the last 5 years. But the mass production, low cost reputation that comes with them has slowed their acquisition of market share in many countries.
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We’ve just returned from New York and the Advertising Research Foundation’s annual convention, Re:think 2010. It was a great event, jam packed with thought-provoking papers and discussions, all centered around the main theme of ‘The New Normal’.
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The Finns are serious about sauna. I’m not talking about a private personal indulgence at home – the sauna is also part of office culture too. Last night I toured the offices of our client, Sitra, the Finnish government think tank. Sitra owns and occupies the tallest building in Helsinki. Of course the top floor has an incredible view, with an outdoor observation deck encircling the contemporary wood and leather board room.
But no Finnish corporate board room would be complete without – you guessed it – a sauna. In this case, it is a spacious, beautiful wood sauna built by a famous craftsman utilizing all 16 of Finland’s famous woods. It was constructed in the historical village of Fiskars, transported to the building site, and hoisted to the top by the largest crane in the country. Apparently, they miscalculated the final height of the railing by a few inches… and ultimately had to get a massive military helicopter to drop it into place. They take this sauna stuff seriously….
Going to this length to add the sauna to their offices demonstrates…
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I’ve been quiet on the blog front lately, but that’s not to say that there hasn’t been a lot going on when it comes to growing our Cheskin Added Value team. With Spring emerging and Summer almost here, it’s no exaggeration to say that our garden is blooming. We’ve nicely survived having been ‘acquired’ and joining Added Value and the WPP family. After almost two and a half years together, we are still getting to know each other, collaborating on projects and definitely feeling like 1+1=3. And, we’re busy! We’ve added three new people in the past few weeks with plans to hire more.
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Marketers over time have been searching for ways to measure the effectiveness of their spending. This is an extension of the ongoing conversation about the value of online ads.
Charlene Li and Brian Solis criticized Vitrue’s $3.60 valuation of a Facebook fan. There are two aspects to the topic. One is a desire the measure the value of investments in social marketing, however roughly. The second is the recognition that social marketing’s value is not primarily about ad impressions, but about the value of connection to the brand and engagement.
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