Advertising on Facebook

How does advertising on Facebook work?

1)    The Like Button

a.     When someone visits your site, they can simply click on the Like button to show they like and support your page. This enables posts from your page to show up on their wall. Also, their friends have the opportunity to see that they liked the page and check it out.

2)    Fan Pages

a.     Fan pages allow you to promote a business, website, cause, place- pretty much anything. To set up a fan page you can just log into your Facebook account and click on the “Account” menu. Then click on “Manage Pages” and Facebook will guide you through the set up process.

b.     Pages can contain a lot of information such as the website URL, address, telephone number, products you sell, photos, news updates, etc. Good fan pages are a great way of attracting attention and visitors to your website.

3)    Facebook Ads

a.     These ads can be clicked on, “liked,” or made to disappear. Facebook ads can be set up as a pay per click or pay per impression, but are different from most PPC ads because they have pictures. It is important to have a good picture as this is what draws the audience in. If you use the pay per click method then the price you pay for your ad will vary based on how successful your ad is and the higher the click through rate, the lower your cost per click.

b.     How does Facebook know what ads might interest me? Well, when you set up an ad in Facebook, you can chose the demographics of the people that you want to show the ad to. The target audience can be narrowed down by age, sex, location, interests, etc. In that way, Facebook ads can be more targeted than Google AdWords or Yahoo Ads.

c.     Before setting up your Facebook Ad make sure you read how the auction for Facebook ads works. Basically, you bid on the ad the amount that you are willing to spend per click or thousand impressions on that ad. A bid range is then suggested based on how much other advertisers are willing to pay for the same target audience. Past performance history of the ad as well as the quality of the ad are also taken into account.

d.     Also Facebook doesn’t allow some types of ads, so be sure to check that your ads follow Facebook’s policies.

Coca-Cola’s Australian Campaign: “Share a Coke”

I just returned from an amazing semester abroad in the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia at Griffith University. Aside from classes, I spent my time at the beach and exploring. I’m not a big soda drinker, but this campaign by Coca-Cola convinced me to buy a couple bottles for my friends.

The “Share a Coke” summer campaign offers customers in Australia Coke bottles with different names printed on them. The names replace the Coca-Cola logo. There are 150 names available that are supposed to represent a cross section of the Australian population. They are popular names in Australia, making sure to take into account the ethnic population. 

Not only can you share a Coke from the grocery store or a ‘servo’ (gas station), you can share a virtual Coke on their Facebook page.

Here are their "Share a Coke" commercials:

 -  Share a Coke with Matt:

- Share a Coke with your Pop:

- Share a Coke with Kate:

- Share a Coke with Luke:

- Share a Coke with Alex:

- Share a Coke with Jess:

- Share a Coke with Laura:

- Share a Coke with Steve:

- Share a Coke with your Nan:

- Share a Coke with Tom:

- Share a Coke with Rob:

- Share a Coke with your Sis:

- Share a Coke with your Bro:

- Share a Coke with Mel:

- Share a Coke with Dave:

While most of the commercials are very similar, they each offer a personal touch, compelling the audience to "Share a Coke." I think this campaign works really well. At first I thought it was stupid, but I saw people buying Cokes just because they had the name of someone they new on them. Out to eat, I watched a girl grab a Coke, then put it back in the cooler and grab another one which had the name of her boyfriend on it and present it as a gift to him. My friend also tried to make amends with one of my roommates by placing a Coke with her name on it outside of her door. I have never seen her so excited. 

If only they would bring this campaign to the US.

Denver Water Ads: Use Only What You Need

The campaign carried out by Denver Water has been promoting water conservation through using only what they need in their advertisements too, from park benches and billboards to bus and taxi ads.

Denver Water is committed to helping people reduce the amount of water they use on a regular basis by encouraging the conservation of water through limited the use of sprinklers, full flush toilets, leaving faucets running, etc. 

Here are all of their ads: enjoy!

National Geographic is Magazine of the Year

On May 9^th, the American Society of Magazine Editors announced the winner of Magazine of the Year 2011 to be National Geographic. Growing up with National Geographic, I couldn’t be more excited. I remember looking at all the pictures of animals, landscapes, and people, before I could fully understand the articles that went along with them, and being in complete awe.

The awards were hosted by Katie Couric and were attended by more than 700 magazine editors and publishers. Magazine of the Year is the highest honor given and commends the best magazines published both in print and on digital platforms. National Geographic was chosen over finalists The Atlantic, Backpacker, Foreign Policy, and Wired.

National Geographic also grabbed the award for Single-Topic Issue, honoring magazines that have devoted an issue to the comprehensive examination of one subject or topic for “Water: Out Thirsty World,” the April issue.

Here are the 22 National Magazine Awards winners:

• General Excellence -- News, Sports, Entertainment
  New York magazine

• General Excellence -- Literary, Political, Professional
  Poetry

• General Excellence -- Fashion, Service, Lifestyle
  Women's Health

• General Excellence -- Food, Travel, Design
  Garden & Gun

• General Excellence -- Finance, Technology, Lifestyle
   Scientific American

• General Excellence -- Special Interest Magazines
  Los Angeles magazine

• Design, Print
  Gentlemen's Quarterly

• Photography, Print
  W

• News and Documentary Photography
  The New York Times Magazine

• Feature Photography
  ESPN

• Single Topic Issue
  National Geographic

• Magazine Section
  New York magazine

• Personal Service
  Men's Health

• Leisure Interests
  Men's Journal

• Public Interest
  The New Yorker

• Reporting
  Harper's magazine

• Feature Writing
  Los Angeles magazine

• Profile Writing
  The New York Times Magazine

• Essays & Criticism
  The Paris Review

• Columns & Commentary
  Vanity Fair

• Fiction
  Virginia Quarterly Review

• Magazine of the Year
  National Geographic

Sources:

www.magazine.org

http://www.minonline.com/news/National-Geographic-Is-2011-Magazine-of-the-Year_17046.html

Honda Civic "To Each Their Own" Campaign

The new Civic, released at the New York International Auto Show, went online two days ago. It has a sportier design and better fuel economy than the last model, released in 2006. With choices of a coupe, sedan, hybrid, performance SI, fuel-efficient HF or Natural Gas, the new 2012 Civic is trying to compete in a saturated compact-car market against the new Chevy Cruze, the redesigned Ford Focus, the Hyundai Elantra, and the Toyota Corolla. For a standard gas engine, the Civic will set you back between $15,605 and $23,905, or for a hybrid gas-electric engine it will cost between $24,050 and $26,750.

Although Civic is run on an Ohio-made engine and transmission, with other parts coming from Ohio-based suppliers, and the car being assembled in Indiana, Honda is feeling the effects of the earthquake in Japan last month, as some parts for the Civic are made in Japan. Because of this, US plants have cut production by about 50% to make parts supplies last as long as possible. For the first few weeks of the roll out, dealers are expected to have an adequate supply of Civics, but the production slow down could have an effect on availability of the new Civics. Consumers may have a better chance of getter the new Civic sooner rather than later, especially if they are picky about features or color.

Enough about the car, let’s talk about the advertising.

Honda is launching a new ad campaign to support the Civic, entitled “To each their own.” The campaign shows all of the options available to the consumer and the different types of consumers who buy Civics. The characters include a ninja, zombie, monster, woodsman, and professional wrestler.

John Mendel, Honda’s top sales executive in North America, explained the need to distinguish types of Honda owners; “We’re talking about perhaps the broadest and most diverse customer demographic in our industry.”

It’s all about positioning: According to RPA, an independent advertising agency working with Honda, the new Civic is positioned to be “the latest canvas for personalization.” The campaign is targeting consumers who personalize everything in their lives, from social media to fashion, to their cars. Honda aims to have consumers view the Civic as well-designed, trendy, and technologically advanced.

What exactly can consumers customize or personalize in their car?

-       Audio preferences, including iPod library, can be set to the intelligent Multi-Information Display.

-       Navigation system with turn-by-turn directions

-       Fuel Economy readings

-       Door locks

-       Headlights

-       Color

-       Displays, such as personal wallpaper on MID

-       Many, many others

Wanna meet the characters in the commercials?

• Aiko, the ninja. She is a cute, innocent, and deadly martial-arts master. She drives the high-energy performance SI model Civic.

• Jack, the urban woodsman. He lives in the city, but his heart is with the woods. He drives a Hybrid for its fuel efficiency, which comes in handy on all his trips to the great outdoors.
•  Mitch, the zombie. He is a salesman and into high-tech gadgets. He drives a Civic Sedan loaded with features such as the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink and the navigation system with FM Traffic.
• Teeny, the monster. She is a college student with a bubbly personality. She has a practical nature and is a frugal budgeter who drives the fuel-efficient HF model Civic
• Teeny's commercial doesn't air until May 5th.
• 
  
• Cesar, the Champion Luchador. He is a handsome celebrity, however a bit vain, he drives the sleek-lined Civic Coupe.

Honda also trying targeting Gen Y consumers not just through their technology driven lifestyle, but through the breakout artists they use in their spots. Music plays a large role in the commercials and Honda features artists such as Snake and Jet’s Amazing Built Band, McChris, Barry Louis Pollsar, The Virgins, and Oh Land.

Civic spots will air during premiers or finales of highly rated programs including Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Fringe, NCIS, Vampire Diaries, Chuck, Nikita, The Bachlorette, and So You Think You Can Dance, again targeting Gen Y consumers.

Sources:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/04/21/hondas-2012-civic-holds-line-on-change.html?sid=101

http://www.rpa.com/subsections/press.html?section=2011&id=2011_04_20_Honda_Civic

Shocking Fashion Ads

Ethics of Fashion Ads

The shock value of an ad is known to help get the consumer to remember the ad, and consequently the brand. However, it isn’t always a good memory. If you shock people, they remember you, and if they remember you, they talk about you, which leads to more brand awareness. However, sometimes it goes too far.

Personally, it takes a lot for me to be offended by an ad, probably because I am used to talking about shocking and unethical advertisements in classes. Many industries are known for shocking ads such a fashion, alcohol, tobacco, and they are usually shocking because of violent or sexually explicit content.

You can be the judge, are these fashion ads pushing the envelope or crossing the line?

Most of the Sisley ads ran in Europe. In European countries, such provocative ads may not be as shocking, but in the US advertising is usually much more tight lipped concerning sexually explicit content.