Defintely check out my videos page because there are a bunch of videos on there relating to all the posts I have done this past semester!!!

Marketing techniques have changed drastically over the course of the last ten years. The internet has become a large player in how companies advertise and market their products and services to consumers. With the influx of social networking websites, blogs, video sharing websites, and other new innovative ways to communicate via the internet, companies have taken a different marketing approach. These new marketing techniques allow more consumer interaction, gives companies more opportunities to personalize campaigns, and allows them to reach consumers almost instantaneously. I am going to take a look at several companies that have implemented digital marketing campaigns, what sites they used, and how their whole campaign worked out in the end.

Many marketing agencies have developed online marketing departments as the marketing trend is going to continue to move online. One company that is heavily involved in the online and digital marketing trend is Acxiom. Acxiom is a company that was originally based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, but has grown to incorporate all forms of marketing strategies including direct mail, point of sale, and of course, online and web strategies. They work with companies in all sectors including healthcare, media and communications, retail banking, and travel and entertainment. Part of the way they market is by collecting consumer data and using it for companies in their marketing campaigns. Many assume that Acxiom is the one collecting all this data, but they actually get the information from a host of companies that they work with. Thus, they are able to categorize the data and put together campaigns targeted at who their client is trying to reach out to. Much of this data in recent years has been collected via web campaigns, and oftentimes the data is just reused as need be to get their clients’ products and services out to who they believe would be most interested. It has gotten them into trouble at certain times as hackers are extremely interested in getting into consumer data, but companies are still very much interested in working Acxiom to develop web-based marketing campaigns¹. Recently, magazine giant Conde Nast hired Acxiom to develop an integrated marketing campaign. Sephora, the premiere makeup store, signed with Acxiom to help them with their online marketing as well. Regardless of Acxiom’s troubles when it comes to the precious data they collect, companies still very much want to hire them to help with their campaigns because they remain one of the best in the business when it comes to establishing successful digital marketing campaigns.

Barack Obama’s campaign for The White House is a great example of how running for a political office is being revolutionized by digital marketing. By creating Facebook and MySpace pages along with e-mail lists, Obama’s campaign staff was able to reach out to a wide range of people within seconds and give updates on the campaign as it got closer to Election Day. Also, on his website there is a page entitled “BarackTV.” Youtube videos and others created for the campaign are posted here and organized on an aesthetically pleasing webpage. The main idea behind all of Obama’s digital marketing wanted to get everyone involved and participating in the campaign. From Obama-Girl’s videos to the Obama iPhone application, there was a variety of ways people participated in the campaign. I am actually a fan of Barack Obama on Facebook, and I still get updates from time to time about videos and photos that have been updated. His Facebook page includes basic personal information just like any other person’s Facebook page as well as the photo albums and videos. It is such a great example of taking the campaign to the next level, taking advantage of what the internet offers these days, and it even earned Obama the title of “Marketer of the Year.”

Earlier this year, H&R Block decided to take on a new approach to the way they market their service by coming up with a complete digital marketing campaign. H&R Block wanted a unique way to market their digital tax solution program. The campaign included using Youtube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Second Life. They created a character named Truman Greene; the company felt it was more essential to create a persona that represents the company, as people are more likely to connect with a persona rather than the company name. Truman posted videos on Youtube as well as had a MySpace profile. This is a perfect example of a company that has taken the opportunity to utilize different social mediums for a marketing campaign. I took a look at the current H&R Block website, but since it is no longer tax season, it did not have the old campaign up or anything exciting in terms of what they were going to be doing for this upcoming tax season. They do have something called the “Digits Community” where you can download Podcasts that have tax tips, join the e-mail list to get newsletters, and also join their Facebook page. Once I went onto H&R Block’s page on Facebook, I found a lot of cool interactive activities. There were fun videos and a game to play called “The Deductor.” There are discussion boards, an RSS feed of tax tips, photos (both posted by the company and fans), polls, desktop wallpaper downloads, and a countdown to tax day that you can add to your own Facebook page. There were a lot of fun things on here to get people involved in the tax process since it is not exactly the most exciting time for most Americans. H&R Block has made an effort to make tax time as fun and appealing as possible to its consumers².

FedEx Kinko’s wanted to market an online print shop targeted to small businesses where employees could go online and upload documents from their own computers, then have whatever unique print service they needed done and shipped to anywhere in the United States. They used an integrated marketing campaign called “No More All-Nighters” which included a television commercial featuring characters that chug coffee after finding out they need to have a presentation put together, bound, and sent out by early the next morning. Once people saw the television commercial, they could log onto the website where there was an introduction to the service from one of the coffee-chugging office workers in the commercial. There was a guided tour of the website by him and showed what the online print service offered. People who signed up would get twenty-five percent off and had the opportunity to e-mail friends promotional posters about the new service. In any FedEx Kinko’s store, customers could watch the TV spot and then use the in-store computers to sign up online. Finally, they also implemented some guerilla marketing tactics to bring the commercial to real life. In Grand Central Station and Central Park, desks were set up with people acting as office workers asleep at their desks. Signs advertised the website URL and street teams offered free coffee samples (since the guy in the commercial chugged coffee)³. This integrated marketing campaign is a great example of bringing together traditional media, new media, and also bringing it all into real life. This is a great tactic to really make consumers feel like they are participating in the campaign because they may not feel entirely participatory by just sending e-mail flyers to friends, but having the actual experience in real life creates a lasting memory of the campaign.

XM Satellite radio had a really fun marketing campaign to promote the Major League Baseball feature with their service. When you buy XM Satellite radio, you are able to listen to every Major League Baseball game all season long. It does not matter what team or what game, they have them all. In order to market this service, they got David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Derek Jeter of New York Yankees as spokesmen. When you logged on to the website, you could choose whether you wanted Ortiz’s or Jeter’s side, then you were able to have a personal message sent to a friend either by e-mail or phone call. The message could be customized to by having Ortiz or Jeter discuss where one’s friend lives and hobbies they may have. At the end, the message tied everything together and let the friend know that they should be subscribing to XM Satellite radio in order to listen to every baseball game. There was also a similar campaign for Britney Spears’ “Fantasy” fragrance where you could log on to the fragrance’s website and have a personalized message from Britney e-mailed or phoned to a friend. I think these types of marketing campaigns are so interesting and creative as a consumer can get so involved in the marketing process in a fun way and send a surprise to a friend rather than just a plain e-mail; these messages have a celebrity’s voice attached to them with the benefit of personalization too.

Another company that did something interesting in terms of an integrated marketing campaign is the California Avocado Commission (CAC). The CAC wanted to promote fresh California avocados. They utilized several old and new media techniques. Radio spots and outdoor advertising are what they used for traditional outlets as well as a point of sale in-store display that encouraged consumers to “Take the Challenge” and enter a contest to win prizes. In order to gain an online presence, the CAC created a website that had users take part in the “California Avocado Irresistible Challenge.” In this challenge, consumers take a game show-like challenge on the site and are entered to win the grand prize of a Toyota Prius. This shows how even companies no one would ever think would want to implement such a large marketing campaign want to get ordinary people involved by way of the internet⁴.

Back in early 2002, Volvo and MSN partnered up to create a digital marketing campaign. Volvo designed the “Volvo Digital Garage” which allowed consumers to sign up and get alerts on the new Volvo sport utility vehicle. Also, users received three free months of MSN internet service and a Volvo-themed internet browser. The Volvo Virtual Showroom allowed people to view all of Volvo’s cars, take virtual tours, and request product information. Volvo was the first car manufacturer to allow consumers to go online and request information directly from a local Volvo dealer. Everything in the Volvo campaign was custom tailored to anyone interested in purchasing a Volvo and Volvo enthusiasts. Volvo’s campaign was one of the first in digital marketing and served as a model for car companies as most have added virtual tours and other such components to their websites. At the time this campaign was created, it was quite revolutionary for the industry⁵.

Digital marketing has completely revolutionized the way companies market products and services. It will only continue to grow as people get tired of the old ways of marketing and companies look to get more people involved as a way to personalize and create brand awareness and loyalty. The internet was the next wave for communication, and now people are looking for new innovative ways to use the internet for communication purposes including marketing. Whether it is financial firms or travel agencies, all different industries are becoming involved and making the most of what the internet has to offer in regards to developing a new customer base and figuring out what their wants and needs are. It will be very exciting to see how the future of marketing will turn out in the coming years, so many new opportunities will likely arise for both the consumer and the company.

1. Behar, Richard (February 23, 2004). “Never heard of Acxiom? Chances are it’s heard of you.” CNN. Retrieved December 12, 2008.

2. McIlroy, Megan and Klaassen, Abbey (May 19. 2008). “What accountants can tell you about using social media: H&R Block cast wide net with campaign that included profiles, videos, Twitter, and widgets,” Advertising Age. Retrieved 7 December 2008.

3. “FedEx Kinko’s ‘No More All Nighters’ campaign awakens interest in online tools (August 13, 2007).” B to B. Retrieved 7 December 2008.

4. “California Avocado ‘Irresistible’ Challenge’ Attracts Nearly 400K Web Hits (October 10. 2007).” Progressive Grocer. Retrieved 7 December 2008.

5. “Volvo Cars and MSN Drive Multimillion-Dollar Digital Marketing Campaign (December 1, 2001).” Microsoft. Retrieved 7 December 2008.

So even though this was a month ago, I am still baffled by that CNN hologram thing they used during the Presidential Election coverage. What was that? Is this the future of television news? I used to think the graphics used when they reported the weather on the local news was cool. You know the kind where the meteorologist (or someone pretending to be one) would appear to be floating over the region and then there would be some lightning bolts or big suns to show the weather in extreme 3D detail? Apparently, we are moving much farther beyond that these days.

Everything I watched on television the week after the election had to mention CNN’s hologram technology. Whether it was other news channels or the E! channel’s The Soup, everyone was talking about this crazy technology. I even think some of CNN’s anchors did not know how to react to it. Anderson Cooper stood so far away from people who were “beamed in” and the interviewing was completely awkward. It definitely appeared like something right out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In hindsight, it was probably an excellent public relations tactic. I mean everyone was talking about it and clips of the interviews they did with the holograms were all over the internet and television. We talked about it in at least two of my classes. It was everywhere, and it got people thinking about getting their cable news from CNN as opposed to MSNBC (or somewhere else) because CNN looks like they have the most advanced technology available. Even if the holograms were portrayed in some areas as a joke, it still got people thinking about it and wanting to see more from CNN whether as a joke or otherwise. This could potentially be the next technology used everywhere. Imagine being able to hologram yourself anywhere? Ok, it might not get that far, but it could certainly make live television more interesting to watch.

Assignment 5.

Youtube has transformed hours of boredom into hours of viral video fun. It has turned the television and film industries upside down and has forced them to come up with new ways to get their product out there as well as prevent copyright infringement. I love Youtube, and I am completely fascinated by how these viral videos have made their way into popular culture. Once, I even saw a show on VH1 called The Year’s Best Web Videos or something similar to that. After watching the show I ended up logging onto Youtube to find the videos that were featured on the program.

So where did this phenomenon start? Youtube was founded by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. The site officially launched in November 2005, and has since become a large part of internet culture. The site became so popular within that first year that in October 2006, the company made an agreement with Google to be acquired by them for $1.65 billion. In April 2008, there were 83.4 million videos and 3.75 million user channels. Anyone can watch content on the site, and registered users (registry is free) can upload an unlimited amount of videos too.

Youtube has transformed so much of our daily lives. It has forced most major television channels to make their most popular programs available to be watched at any time on their channel’s website. If these channels didn’t allow this, clips of their shows and on some occasions, the entire program would be uploaded onto Youtube for anyone to watch and the entertainment companies lose out on advertising dollars.

Youtube has also made some people famous and allowed others to discover basic video editing skills. Diehard fans of The Office know exactly what JAM videos are, and many others remember the infamous Chris Crocker videos. There was even a popular Youtube series, lonelygirl15, which many people couldn’t figure out if it was real or fake for some time until it was revealed that it was indeed, not real.

The Presidential campaign this past year also saw a huge impact from Youtube where there was the CNN/Youtube debate. People would videotape themselves asking questions for the candidates and then upload them to Youtube. During the debate, select videos were chosen and the candidates responded accordingly. Political campaign ads were posted by the candidates as well and each had their own Youtube channel for such things to get their policies and positions out there to a wider audience.

Needless to say, Youtube has changed the face of the internet and transformed television and film and other ways that we communicate visually.

Assignment 4.

Click here and search for The Impact of Rising Food Costs and check out the video made by me (Amanda Davis). It’s a little remix of some global news clips about rising food costs around the world.

Recently, my roommate and I decided to purchase a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with our television cable package. DVR is probably my favorite of all the new media technologies that have come out in the last couple years. I no longer have to arrange plans around my favorite television programs. I can just click a button, and I know that when the time is convenient for me, I can watch my show.

DVR has various features. I can set it to record a show at the same time every week or a show just once. It also has a feature where I can set priorities on which shows are more important than others, and if there is a conflict during recording, it will record the show with a higher priority over the show. For example, my roommate uses this unique feature to prioritize her favorite shows because she has various student group meetings to go to and she cannot watch her shows when the originally air. She prioritizes The Biggest Loser, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I’m not as concerned with my shows being recorded as she is (I love my DVR, but I also do not mind watching some shows online).

The final obvious perk of DVR is the fact that I can fast forward through commercials. It may be awful for advertisers as they are realizing that with DVR, people are no longer paying attention to the advertisements. I’m just happy that I do not have to sit through three minutes of commercials I do not care about. Therefore, it takes less time to watch a show. Also, I can pause a show while I’m watching it if someone calls me or I have to run and do something suddenly. I will not miss a minute of the show as it starts recording it when I hit pause. It is such a fantastic little invention, and I could never imagine returning back to the days when I had to put in a VHS tape and attempt to set the VCR to record and hope that it works. Most of the time it did not, and I’d get a recording of snowy static.

Assignment 3

This past week I was able to see a reality show come to life. Although I don’t necessarily consider Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance an actual reality show since it’s more like one of those “reality competition” programs (a la American Idol). Anyway, once the show has finished airing, the final twelve dancers on the show go on tour all around the country. Since, one of my friends and I would meet weekly to indulge ourselves by watching every dance routine and picking our favorite to win (although we never went so far as to actually vote), we had to see the show when it came to Boston.

The live show had the exact format as the televised show, which I found to be almost comical at first. A video introduction by the host was replaced by a live introduction, but they went into the same opening dance from the show and performed all the best group, solo, and partner routines from the entire season. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it! The dancers all got to show a little more personality than they did on the tv show, which was probably the only main difference between the televised and live show. My friend and I were so excited to see our favorite dance routines from the season as well. It was a little disappointing that there was no new original content added, but I think most people were there to see their favorite dances from the season anyway. We had amazing seats and it was well worth the money we paid to see the show!

I love my cell phone. I just cannot get enough of it! After spending several years with one of those flip phones that had no features except to send and receive calls along with the occasional text message, I upgraded. It was probably the best decision of my life! I have been the proud owner of an LG enV 2 cell phone for a couple months now, and I am officially addicted.

The best thing about my fantastic cell phone is that it opens up and inside there is a full keyboard. No more hitting the number three a bunch of times to get the letter I was looking for. Texting now takes half the time it used to, and I now feel confident enough to enter into a texting race competition. I can also use AOL Instant Messenger on my phone. It’s not as great as the real thing on my computer, but it can come in handy on occasion.

My phone also comes with a two megapixel camera. I’m not big into the camera phone thing, but sometimes having the ability to take a picture of something absolutely ridiculous while walking down the street and sending it to someone else’s phone is great. Within my phone, I can also crop, rotate, and zoom into the pictures I do take. I recently went to the aquarium where I took about a dozen photos of the same nurse shark because I have a friend who loves sharks. I proceeded to send them all to him in a picture text message, which he loved. Ok, so maybe I am more into the whole camera phone thing than I originally thought I was.

This phone also has the capacity to hold a certain amount of music, which I haven’t tried out yet. I’m sure once I attempt that I will be obsessed. My time will probably be spent adding songs, making ringtones, and giving each of my contacts their own personalized ringtone to go off when they call or text. There are probably so many features with just the music that I have not discovered yet, which will just make my phone that much more amazing to me.

Finally, there are some basic features it has that are just as important as the fancy stuff on my phone. There’s the calculator, the tip calculator (which is fantastic when out with a large group of friends who have no idea how much to tip), a calendar (in which you can add events and have the phone alert you when they’re coming up), and an alarm clock (the only alarm clock I use).

My cell phone is phenomenal. I could not live without it. In fact, I go into panic mode when it’s not with me at all times. It’s a crazy addiction, almost as crazy as my addiction to Facebook.

Assignment 2.

Facebook has become an integral part of almost every college student’s life. I know I personally log on at least five times a day. I just cannot get off that site! Recently, Facebook underwent a facelift, and creator Mark Zuckerberg announced the “new Facebook” much to many students’ disappointment. What was once an uncomplicated process in “web stalking” has now become slightly more difficult.

Beginning with the homepage of Facebook (also known as the “newsfeed”), there are news stories posted about what is going on with your Facebook friends’ profiles. These stories include new photo albums, status updates (where people write things like “Sarah Jones is partying all weekend!”), and who has written on another person’s wall. The newsfeed has basically stayed the same as it was on the “old Facebook.” The right sidebar on the homepage includes applications that you have added that were not developed by Facebook (like the very popular bumper sticker application), friends’ birthdays, upcoming events, and also the very interesting and annoying “people you may know” feature. “People you may know” is a unique feature that allows you to see people many of your other friends are Facebook friends with. These people are mainly people from high school that I just do not care to see anymore, so this feature is just slightly obnoxious.

The new Facebook is all about the tabbed browsing. When you click on the profile tab at the top of the homepage, you are brought to your own profile. Within the profile, everything is still tabbed. The “wall” is now no longer at the bottom of your profile, it is a combination of your wall and the old “minifeed.” This just looks disorganized. Some people just want to read another person’s wall; they do not care to see who you sent a bumper sticker to or what your status has been three days in a row. It’s a lot of clutter to sift through. There are also tabs for info (where the basic, personal, education and work info is located), photos, and a boxes tab (for all those pesky applications).

Overall, the new Facebook just appears cluttered and more obnoxious than ever. It used to be so simple with the profile, applications and wall all on one page. No ridiculous information to sift through and you did not have to click through eight tabs to get to your final destination. The general consensus among college students, who still remain Facebook’s core audience, is that the new Facebook needs to go as soon as possible!

Assignment 1.

This is just the first test post! Saying hola!