Reality appears to have finally arrived at Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest marketer, whose $10 billion annual ad budget has hurt the company’s margins.
P&G said it would lay off 1,600 staffers, including marketers, as part of a cost-cutting exercise. More interestingly, CEO Robert McDonald finally seems to have woken up to the fact that he cannot keep increasing P&G’s ad budget forever, regardless of what happens to its sales.
He told Wall Street analysts that he would have to “moderate” his ad budget because Facebook and Google can be “more efficient” than the traditional media that usually eats the lion’s share of P&G’s ad budget.
QR codes are one of the most often asked about topics, but up to now I’ve pretty much avoided the subject. That’s mainly because it’s been three years since foursquare launched, but there’s still no good way to check in using a QR code that works across all the major platforms.
I recently checked out foursQR on the iPhone and it’s a pretty good solution for iPhone users. No, it’s not the answer for everyone, but it works very well in certain cases.
You can quickly create a PDF QR code sticker on foursQR’s site for any venue and put it wherever you like – provided you have the owner’s permission of course.
What’s it good for? Any place that you check in often and that you control. I’ve put one on the wall next to my desk at the office. I can check in using foursQR in less than 10 seconds thanks to its automatic check-in function at places I’ve added as favorites. It’s a fast and easy process.
More at: http://aboutfoursquare.com/iphone-app-uses-a-qr-code-to-check-you-in-on-foursquare/
Tweets sent by Rio Ferdinand and Katie Price promoting Snickers are to be formally investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Following complaints, the ASA will look into whether the tweets were in breach of advertising rules by failing to adequately inform the public they were part of a marketing campaign.
When Sky News contacted Snickers earlier this week, a spokesperson said a series of “teaser tweets” had been sent out to “comply with social media regulations” to “ensure Twitter users knew they were enjoying promotional tweets”.
But the ASA will investigate whether it was clear the celebrity was getting paid to advertise the product.
Katie Price also tweeted a picture with a Snickers bar
In a statement the regulator said: “The ASA has launched a formal investigation into tweets by Katie Price and Rio Ferdinand to establish whether Mars’ @SnickersUK#hungry#spon campaign is in breach of the Advertising Codes.
“We are investigating two points: (a) whether it should have been stated in the ‘teaser’ tweets that they were marketing communications and (b) whether the hashtag “#spon” in the final ‘reveal’ tweet made it clear enough that that tweet was a marketing communication.”
More at: http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16157569
Facebook is investing further in its outreach programme to retailers to bring clarity to the term “social commerce” and promote social integration on their websites.
Gavin Sathianathan, Facebook’s strategic partner manager, is leading the social network’s bid to promote social commerce in the UK and said that agreed definitions are a key building block in its evolution. “It’s really important we nail what we mean by ‘social commerce’,” he said. “At Facebook, we do not equate ‘social commerce’ with opening a store within the network.”
The comments follow a story last week in which retail brands including John Lewis and Reiss told new media age that selling items via social networks, such as a Facebook Store, was not on their 2012 agenda, favouring to hone their m-commerce strategies instead (nma.co.uk 19 January 2012).
Defining social commerce, or “f-commerce”, simply as a transactional store on Facebook is a restrictive way of thinking, according to Sathianathan. “From a defininiton perspactive, it’s important we’re all clear on that,” he saidd. “When I talk to retailers about this, I try to make it clear that it’s about how we can bring social media to bear on the purchase process, be that in a Facebook store or not.”
Most of the discussions taking place between Facebook and retailers centre on integrating Facebook functionality, such as a Like or Shar’ buttons, into their own websites, according to Sathianathan.
Top of Facebook’s priority list are supermarket and FMCG brands, while those that have experienced notable success in their f-commerce strategy stem from the fashion and ticketing vertials, according to the social network.
“We talk a lot to FMCGs and grocers [whose goods or services are not necessarily social] and talk to them about the social aspects of their products,” said Sathianathan. “For instance, a can of baked beans may not be social but the meal you have them with could.”
Earlier this week, Unilever used its Facebook storefront to help debut its Lynx Attract for Her brand – the first time it has attempted to appeal to female audiences with the brand (nma.co.uk 23 January 2012).
The FMCG giant sold all 100 cans it was offering via the platform, retailing for £3.25 each, within two hours of launch in a campaign that met most of its initial performance metrics.
More at: http://www.nma.co.uk/news/facebook-urges-clearer-understanding-of-social-commerce/3033576.article
The ever-present coffee chain is expanding its dominant position on the market by offering a range of beer and wine to its customers, alongside a wider choice of savoury nibbles such as flatbreads and cheese plates.
The move is intended to draw in a larger proportion of evening customers looking to relax after work.
Starbucks is currently testing the initiative at a series of select stores in Spain and the US, where Burger King is already experimenting with the sale of in-store alcohol.
There are no plans as yet to bring alcohol to UK shops, although it may be on the cards if schemes in other countries are successful.
More at: http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/starbucks-to-sell-wine#image-rotator-1
Man City asks supporters to spot themselves and Mario Balotelli in its 360 degree ‘Fan Cam’
Manchester City Football Club is asking fans who were present at Sunday’s blockbuster clash with Spurs to tag themselves in its new 360 degree ‘Fan Cam’ from the game.
The The five billion pixel photograph captures every single supporter who was inside the Etihad Stadium to see City’s dramatic 3-2 victory.
As well as inviting fans to spot themselves, the club is running a Where’s Wally style competition by hiding virtual avatars of four of City’s star players around the stadium.
As you can see in the video above, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri were all recorded in front of a green screen then digitally rendered into the online visual.
The lucky fans who are able to spot the hiding players will receive an interactive message asking them to enter a competition to win a signed shirt and personalised video message from the player, which will then be uploaded on to the winner’s Facebook page.
@McDonalds
McDonald’sMeet some of the hard-working people dedicated to providing McDs with quality food every day #McDStories http://t.co/BoNIwRJSFrom there, the #McDStories hashtag was born, but probably not in the way McDonald’s was hoping. Negative tweets about the fast food giant began to proliferate, prompting the New York Observer to remark that “some stories are better left untold.” Tweets ranged from tweeting about being high while eating McDonald’s to throwing up the food.
While the hashtag grew steam, McDonald’s also had a back and forth with PETA on Twitter, in which McDonald’s tried to correct some of PETA’s allegations about using mechanically separated white meat.
More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/mcdstories-twitter-hashtag_n_1223678.html
To herald in this new era for the Lynx brand in the UK, it’s giving its Facebook Fans the chance to buy one of the first 100 cans directly from Facebook from 4pm today.
We’re seeing more and more brands turning to Facebook to sell items directly to consumers, as we reported last year when UK-based clothing retailer ASOS launched one of Europe’s first fully integrated Facebook stores.
