No Cookies with Your Apple

 

Getting back to tracking cookies that track our browsing history.  Ever heard of UDID?  If you are an owner of any Apple device you may have.  It stands for “unique device identifier,” and is what Apple initially used to track and collect information on their users.  It basically acts as a network to collect data on user preferences, not so much personal information.  Well, it turns out that UDID hasn’t been working well for Apple in the growing app ad market, and within this last year has caused a large group of app developers who are interested in user interaction with app ads, to reject apps that use the UDID technology.    So what are app developers who want to work with Apple doing as an alternative?  When Safari is opened, it now uses a tracking cookie-like technology called HTML5.  It’s a little different then desktop cookies on your mobile devices because developers can an identifier on your device and retrieve it later.   So you have to wonder why Apple even has UDID.  And to make it more confusing, it’s because Apple rejects tracking cookies!   This is a problem considering many big companies heavily or only rely on the tracking cookie method.

Where does this bring us?  To the iOS 6 settings.  Apple somehow, always comes out on top.  They want to have their own Ad Identifier technology, and you know once this happens, all mobile devices will want to follow.  However, there appears to still be some controversy over how Apple is handling this transition with developers, but developers also can admit that having Safari open and close before an app is loaded in the user's face can seem sketchy compared to what Apple is envisioning.  As a user you acknowledge tracking through their own setting and tracking system.  Currently, Apple has rejected quiet a few big consumer brands that get over a million downloads, just because they rely on the cookie method.  Developers seem to not want all of their apps to be attached to the same technology, at least for now.  Like with anything, sometimes it is better to play it safe and see what happens. But, then again we are talking about Apple here!

How do you feel about Apple having their own setting?  Do you feel Apple products are more secure vs other mobile devices?  Have you experienced tracking through Safari?

Perez, Sarah. "Apple Rejecting Apps Using Cookie-Tracking Methods, Signaling Push To Its Own Ad Identifier Technology Is Now Underway." TechCrunch. 25 2 2013: n. page. Web. 18 Jun. 2013. <http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/25/apple-rejecting-apps-using-cookie-tracking-methods-signaling-push-to-its-own-ad-identifier-technology-is-now-underway/>.

Trust me, It's not Bacterial....It's Viral!

      With over 1 billion shares this video sets the bar ridiculously high. Impressive yes, but if you think Gangnam Style is the beginning of the viral video, try again. Try 1995, long before Youtube was even thought about, when email was all someone had to spread the word. It took a lot more effort to "share" with your friends, which would explain the difference in billions of views vs. thousands, but the concept is still the same.

       So this is what we had just under 20 years ago: The Spirit of Christmas (warning: language ) This video was the result of  two college kids named Stone and Parker who were hired by a Fox executive to create an animated Christmas card that he intended to email to about 80 friends. The email spread like the flu at an elementary school and soon had gained a massive fan base. A couple deals later Comedy Central picks up the series South park, featuring four animated kids who, not so surprisingly, resemble the characters on the short Christmas film. Stone and Parker become very rich!      
       At this point it is safe to say that these two creative geniuses (and I realize we won't all agree on the "genius" part) were just at the right place at the right time and their motive really was to create a Christmas card...not become wealthy and famous. Luck was on their side. However, as the internet has evolved with communication avenues progressing, entrepreneurs, businesses, artists and hopefuls have developed alongside and are capitalizing on it's effect. Using a strategy similar to the history of South Park, people can "accidentally" leak a video created with the purpose of advertising themselves. The point is to get people to think about you and pass it on, a sort of grassroots effort on steroids! When it catches on we say it has "gone viral".
      One company tried this advertising approach in the early stages of the concept. The video appeared to be a commercial shoot gone very wrong in which the actor is so hungry he flips out on the set directors because they won't let him eat the pizza that he's trying to sell. He pushes the makeup guy into the pool, rushes the camera and tackles the pizza man all while cameras are rolling. The video is "leaked" and accomplishes the marketing objective easily; people talk and re-post. It wasn't long before mainstream called BS though, the idea needed refinement and while it may have been humorous to see a grown man throw a fit, people moved on after realizing the fake.
     What would you do? How would you use the viral video approach to advertising? Do you think it is promotion at its best? Remember, there's no such thing as bad publicity right?  (think Paris Hilton or pretty much any Kardashian) Or do you not care? A funny clip is just funny, there are no deeper pulls to get you to buy something....hmmmm....


Works Cited:
http://www.southparkseries.com/

A Need for Metrics Digs a Little Deeper into Privacy

As you know from our presentation the mobile advertising industry is growing tremendously thanks to the popularity of mobile phones and electronic devices.  The expansion of mobile internet use has created a dynamic shift from desktop internet usage to mobile apps and browsing.  With this shift, advertising has followed suit and has begun allocating more and more resources to mobile advertising.  One catch though…how do advertisers know that mobile advertising is working?

In other countries such as Japan, Spain and France the results are more obvious.  In Japan, an estimated 44% percent of mobile users ACTUALLY click on these ads.  This immediately creates a data source for calculating effective ROI by comparing the number of sales and user clicks of the advertisement. 

Focusing on the US though, it’s a different story.  For the most part, advertisers have engaged the issue by using traditional comparisons as described in Japan’s case.  However, how does one measure ROI if say a user sees an advertisement on their phone or mobile device but uses their desktop to search/purchase the product?  There are no cookies to track users on mobile phones.

This challenge has caused a lot of hesitation for advertisers.  In the corporate advertising world, metrics are enormously important and advertising expenditure must be justified to continue the spending. 

A New Innovation is born

Companies like BlueCava, Inc. and Google are working to offer a solution.  Although there is no news on how Google is addressing the issue, BlueCava has laid the groundwork to a new tracking method.  Using 1^st and 3^rd party data, BlueCava uses data mining to identify the consumer’s household computer and other mobile devices by assigning a unique identification number to each one in order to connect a purchase from one device to an advertisement seen on another. 

Basically this means through data such as user names, frequently visited sites and 3^rd party information BlueCava is connecting the dots to figure out which device is yours.

Privacy

In all actuality, I consider this intrusive and unsettling.  I personally consider the former anonymity of the Internet to have been one of its greatest assets.  Although advertisers and Google claim to only use these tools to better serve customers and to make the Internet more efficient; privacy is a pillar of the US Constitution, namely the 4^th Amendment.  Given the recent scandal with the NSA it’s hard to not look at companies like Google, Yahoo, and Verizon etc. and not feel somewhat violated by these advertising practices.   The point is this: if privacy was truly a concern to these companies then most of the mobile advertising tools that are used today wouldn’t be in existence. 

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_per_click

http://allthingsd.com/20130415/the-biggest-challenge-for-mobile-ads-showing-that-they-work/

http://bluecava.com/visitor-insight-campaign-measurement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_advertising

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100809354

http://www.mbipr.com/whitepaper4.pdf

 

 

All about the Free Stuff: Broke People's Guide to Internet Advertising

    So I'm having a yard sale this weekend. I called the newspaper and asked them to print an ad in the Classifieds. They said "no problem" and I could mail, that is give to the USPS via big blue drop box, a check (that's the paper version of debit) for give or take 2 million dollars per character. I agreed and then moved onto another super important aspect of my marketing campaign that I call "Torn up Cardboard Box Strategy". This is extremely easy. First, under cover of nighttime, find dumpsters behind grocery stores and procure enough discarded boxes to fill the back of your car. Second, use kitchen utility scissors to cut boxes into big rectangular pieces. Thirdly, use the biggest marker you have to write the time and place of said yard sale. Be sure to add big arrows to direct potential customers. Lastly, and this is the most fun, drive through your neighborhood and fasten these signs to telephone poles, trees, stop signs etc. (fyi, make sure the arrows make sense...or huge mess).
     I know this sounds extremely fun! You should definitely try it if you haven't already. Or, how about saving some time...not to mention the give or take 2 million dollars!? Lucky for us, in this great year of 2013, we have the world wide web and cool things like yardsi.com, manta.com, and craigslist.org.. These sites allow free advertising that is easy to use. A simple post can reach an entire city instantly. No more signs, no more newspaper, no more word of mouth; just a lot of traffic.
     Internet Advertising isn't just for businesses with big budgets. It is also for us broke college students. I've sold old textbooks on Craigslist for much more than the buyback price. http://charlotte.craigslist.org/bks/3793351946.html ...feel free to pass this along :) 


Works Cited:

http://www.downtownhenderson.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Yard-Sale-Sign-1570165.jpg

   

Skyscraper Off the Paper

Last week on May 28^th, blogger advertisement service Skyscraper went from a closed beta to open to the public.  Skyscraper, a company that help blogs generate revenue through direct ad sales, over 1.5 million ads to be exact, is starting to shift to a service that covers all blog monetizing advertisements.  Skyscraper allows bloggers to place ads where they want them, view which ads are running, and how much cash they are making all on one dashboard.  Bloggers also have the option to receive notifications through e-mail, text, or twitter if they sold an ad or added a new follower. To kick off their expansion, on this same day, Skyscraper also announced its integration with VigLink, a service that only requires a few clicks to link into affiliate links and earn extra revenue.  Remember those two important words we learned during our presentation, impressions and clicks?  With this partnership bloggers can see how many impressions they have to sell and how many clicks their ads are getting. Because Skyscraper is looking into offering a broader variety of advertising services, they are also looking into adding sponsored posts.  This new launch was also a very important day for Skyscraper because they began offering their WordPress plug-in available for download which not only makes integration of these new services more efficient, but also user friendly because it installs the Skyscraper media-kit.  Skyscraper raised $500,000 last year and it seems safe to say that they are strategically growing their services and have the potential to compete in blog advertising.   They have been featured in the popular TechCrunch and VentureBeat.  Small businesses should be psyched! What impact do you think blog advertisements have on the audience?  Do you have any examples of blogs you follow that contain ads?  Would you be interested in this if you had sponsors?

Lardinois, F. (2013, May 28). Blog monetization service skyscraper comes out of closed beta, adds viglink integration & wordpress plugin. TechCrunch, Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/28/blog-monetization-service-skyscraper-comes-out-of-closed-beta-adds-viglink-integration-wordpress-plugin/

Old School Advertising!

In the early days of the internet, a majority of advertising was for internet service providers and browsers, i.e. Netscape.

Check out this commercial for AOL from 1995!

While videos like this seem silly and obviously outdated, the trend in online advertising has changed even more.  Looking back at the data, it's obvious that by 1997, advertising was starting to pick up speed, even though previous growth was fairly slow.  (See Chart Below)  Within 2 years the U.S. Economy would experience the "Dot Com" bubble which brought exponential growth for a short period, but ushered in a new era of consumer familiarity with the internet.  As more and more Americans spent time on the internet, advertising companies worked to keep pace and "follow the eyeballs," eventually causing internet advertising revenues to surpass print in 2012.

After the "Dot Com" boom, and as technology evolved, the true advertising advantage of the internet became apparent: measurability!  Up until this point in history, the best way to measure an ad's success was to compare changing sales revenues, or even just ask customers: "How did you hear about us?"  The internet brought about a whole new reality: the ability to track the number of eyeballs viewing an ad, and more importantly the conversion rate, or number of people responding to an ad (clicking on it, calling in, etc).

Privacy issues aside, this new ability now allows companies to track sites visited, time of day, length of time on pages, referring website, and even search terms.  This ability was deemed the "Holy Grail" of advertising as it allowed companies to finally be able to measure success.  It also gave birth to the term and idea of "big data," which became an integral part of the growth in online advertising, fueling revenues of over $30 billion in the US alone!

It is my prediction that the future of all advertising will be internet based as more and more devices are connected.  Television commercials will no longer be television commercials as TV programming will likely be coming over the internet, making them technically online advertising as well.  When your "Smart TV" makes you log in for content, you'll remember that advertisers are interested in everything you do!

Sources:
NY Times Article by Peter C. T. Elsworth, February 24, 1997  http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/24/business/internet-advertising-growing-slowly.html

Forbes.com Article by Robert Hof, January 19, 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2012/01/19/online-ad-revenues-to-pass-print-in-2012/

NY Times Article by Rob Walker, August 27, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/27/business/new-economy-holy-grail-internet-advertising-ability-measure-who-clicking-message.html

YouTube video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1npzZu83AfU

Advertising Revenue Growth Graphic - Content aggregated by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers

http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_PwC_004_2000.pdf