social media

Mar

Facebook continues to evolve, for better or for worse. These changes are likely in response to advertisers and in hopes of courting new ones. Facebook must demonstrate a sustainable revenue model to put shareholders at ease.

While the auto industry is just one of many consumer brands on Facebook, Borrell Associates predicted that in 2012 the auto industry will spend $30.8 billion with 40 cents of every dollar going to digital.

Digital companies, Facebook included, know how important (read lucrative) it is to accommodate the auto industry. The job announcements below were all pulled within the last month. These companies look to flatter not only manufacturers but also retail dealer groups who sit in the trenches of consumer interaction.

I’ve had a few interesting concepts for Facebook and the automotive industry, most notably [Read more...]

Oct

Social Currency & Xboxmercials

By Juan Barnett | Advermarketing, Social

A Trial In Digital Marketing

Each day automakers search for innovative ways to influence buyers. Marketers continue to improve their ability to coordinate digital into their traditional campaigns. Why is digital important? Simply put – today’s technology allows marketers to be flexible, accurate, engaging and measurable. The average American has an incredible array of tech constantly at their fingertips, each of which create a new challenges (losing viewers) and new opportunities (gaining new viewers)

Below are two concepts I had combining technology and automotive marketing.

We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges!

This weekend I looked over Ford’s in-house social media platform – dubbed Ford Social. Much like its title, it’s a platform that allows people to share their stories, experiences and ideas with the brand. Users can also opt to select from an assortment of Ford-branded badges to represent their lifestyle or passion as it relates to Ford’s product offerings. Everything you do on Ford Social can be easily shared with your online friends through traditional social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.

While Ford has built a strikingly good looking and user-friendly platform, it lacks a bond to the real world. As good as it is, at some point users will revert back to both real-life and their traditional social media platforms where their friends and family live.

Badge, Move Over. Meet Money

While virtual badges are fun and expressive, free stuff is [Read more...]

Oct

Should brands live tweet TV?

By Juan Barnett | Advermarketing, Social

When watching TV automakers have two chances to put product & messaging in front of your eyeballs: the traditional 30-60 second ad or in-show product placement.

The advent of the digital video recorder has given users the ability to skip past commercials pushing automakers towards product placement as the operative eyeball grabbing media buy.

In case you aren’t familiar with what automotive product placement looks like - I’ll describe it for you. During a television show it typically comes in the form of a long akward shot of a vehicle or its navigation system. It can also present itself as an out-of-place comment about a vehicle’s fuel economy while doing something unrelated, like speeding to catch a murderer. That is product placement.

The most recent Nielsen Cross-Platform Report showed that viewers who watched Live [Read more...]

May

ROI of an Autograph

By Juan Barnett | Advermarketing, Industry, Social

There’s nothing like them. I’ve been to several. Even helped organize a handful. What makes them special is their beginning. They are grassroots – born out of passion and love. They are independent, self-governed, a republic of mechanical showcase. 365 days a year thousands take place across the US, some big – some small, all important in their own way. Cultures and communities collide to share their love, their work, their appreciation. They are car shows and I love them.

This weekend I attended a local car show, the 5th annual Moparpalooza. The show brought together every brand that has ever lived under the Chrysler pentastar. The event raised money for the Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit that provides housing to families of wounded warriors while they receive care.

The show was in high gear. The parking lot filled with [Read more...]

May

Marketing with Siri

By Juan Barnett | Advermarketing

First and foremost: THIS POST IS HYPOTHETICAL. At no point do I anticipate Apple will turn Siri into a marketing platform, but if they did…imagine the possibilities! That’s what this post is.

A hypothecially look at Marketing with Siri.

You are probably familiar with Siri. If you are not, please Google it. I’ll wait………OK. Moving right along.

While Siri allows iPhone users to do a multitude of things hands-free, much of the focus, both in application and marketing, has been discovery. Siri in many ways has become its own search tool. You generate a Q and she provides an A. The difference between Google search and Siri is Siri’s A’s can be chained to other actions on the phone such as navigation, notes, call, etc.

While Siri may be a tool of discovery and accesibility, she can also be entertaining. The folks at Apple have programmed Siri with preset responses that make her more human, most notably giving her a sense of humor. If asked the right questions that is. This proves that Siri can be programmed to provide specific outputs based on inputs. Meaning Apple can tell Siri what to say when she is asked a certain question.

Example 1.

Placing preprogrammed Qs & As within Siri to support a national marketing campaign.

For this example we’ll use the new 2013 SRT Viper. [Read more...]