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.

Ferdinand and Price, along with Ian Botham, Amir Khan and X Factor’s Cher Lloyd have all been paid to promote the chocolate bar.

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

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

@McDonalds
McDonald’s

Meet some of the hard-working people dedicated to providing McDs with quality food every day #McDStories http://t.co/BoNIwRJS

January 18, 2012 8:30 pm via web Reply Retweet Favorite

From 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

Lynx, the Unilever-owned male grooming brand, is launching a women’s body spray in the UK today (23 January), for the first time in the brand’s history.

Lynx: rolls out women’s fragrance

The body spray is part of the new Attract range, which is mainly aimed at men and is being backed by a £7.2m marketing push.

Attract For Her is being marketed as a limited edition while the men’s products, including a body spray, antiperspirant and a shower gel are permanent.

Selina Sykes, Lynx marketing manager at Unilever, told Marketing that the Lynx brand is established enough to have the permission to launch a women’s fragrance.

She said: “As a brand, Lynx has got to constantly find new ways to entertain guys with a new variant that tops the previous year’s.

“Lynx is about surprising and entertaining consumers to generate conversation around the brand.”

Lynx will not be marketing the women’s Attract fragrance directly to women. Sykes said Lynx already has a high “spontaneous awareness” of the brand within the female deodorant market, which means the brand “doesn’t need to market to girls”.

The women’s fragrance is being marketed as a limited edition product to encourage consumers to engage with the Attract variant, she said, emphasising “when it’s gone, it’s gone”.

More at: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/rss/1113295/Girls-Lynx-effect/

In what may be a first, Cadbury UK has used Google+ to introduce a new product.

“Remember this moment: the first time Cadbury revealed a new product on Google+,” the brand wrote on its Google+ Page Wednesday afternoon. “The delicious new Dairy Milk Bubbly, available with milk or white bubbles [pictured], will be the first of many we hope!”

About 2,200 people have the brand in their circles.

Cadbury didn’t use Google+ exclusively. The brand also tweeted about it. There is currently no mention of the product introduction on Cadbury UK’s Facebook Page, which has about 77,000 fans.

More at: http://mashable.com/2012/01/11/cadbury-uk-uses-google-for-product-launch/

As social media marketers become more and more accountable for the return on investment of their programs, some are also starting to see the long-term results of campaigns that work.

Beginning in summer 2010, BzzAgent, the social media marketing arm of dunnhumby, began studying the immediate and lingering results of several social media marketing campaigns involving consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and brand advocates.

There was an immediate boost to advocates’ likelihood to recommend a product after being exposed to a campaign, with rates rising from 39% before exposure to 61% directly after. While the effect of the campaign diminished somewhat over time, 55% of brand advocates studied were still significantly more likely to recommend a product one year after their initial exposure.

When brand advocates studied were asked about their own purchase intent, the results were even more dramatic. Before the campaign, a similar number said they would purchase as would recommend the brand: 38%. Immediately after the campaign, the number shot up more than 30 percentage points and remained at 69% for three months. After a year, purchase intent was still elevated as high as 61%.

More at: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008764&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4

FedEx Delivery Goes Terribly Wrong (by TheOutdoorthings)

From: mashable.com/2011/12/15/branding-and-social-media/

Celebrity endorsements are set to be introduced to Google’s search results as part of a new advertising trial.

Christian Oestlien, Google’s head of social advertising, announced the trial at the SMX Conference in New York City and stated that celebrity endorsements will appear under paid search results during the testing process.

The new feature will work in conjunction with Adwords and will see products linked to famous faces. Currently the Kardashians and a few others have signed up.

A spokesman for the search engine said: “We’re always testing new ways to make advertising more compelling to our users and advertisers
“Some advertisers use celebrity endorsement in their ads. This test extends the option of celebrity endorsement to online campaigns.”

These endorsements will be shown in the sponsored ads at the top of Google+ pages in the US first. They will be rolled-out in the UK shortly afterwards.

More at: http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/googletointroducecelebendorsements210911.mxs