Avenue A | Razorfish released their 2007 Digital Outlook analyzing trends in online advertising spending, media consumption, and user behavior. There are lots of great insights here (disclaimer: I work at AA|RF) that is worthwhile reading for any online marketing professional.
Some Interesting Trends:
Search spending as % of total budget decreased attributed mainly to boosts in brand advertising (display banners, sponsorships, etc.) - Could Search be hitting a peak in spend? Have advertisers already exhausted their keyword lists and has search engine usage plateaued?
Yahoo! and AOL are firing on all cylinders for display advertising (heavy revamp of Yahoo! properties has helped) but also reflects a continued decline in billings for Search (Panama is helping a bit)
The Digital Class Key Findings:
- Human-computer interaction is about to get intense
- The network is ubiquitous
- There’s no middle
- The Internet is where general interest goes to die
- Information seeking equals entertainment
- Transparency is king
- Social networking ascends to utilitarian status
- Let’s stay friends
- Giving back is good
- Dust is settling on the music library
- Blogs have yet to achieve media brand status
- More mobile phones, less talking
Of particular note that I’ve touched upon several times on this blog about the causality of view-based conversions.
Quick Update: I’m seeing a lot of Google visitors who are searching for “fish eye wine cask” visiting here which proves my point about their need to get this product’s content on their site. In any case, you were probably looking to buy the wine or read some reviews so I have added a set of quick links right above here to take you to your intended destination. Please do feel free to read this review if you’re interested in online marketing or how you ended up here instead of on the fisheye site. Thanks!
Overview:
Fisheye Winery of Ripon, California launched a new integrated marketing campaign for a 3-Liter Wine Cask (essentially boxed wine) during the E! Academy Awards red carpet show. According to the press release from their agency B.A.R.C. Communications, the key goal of the campaign is to “reinforce the growing popularity of both Fisheye Wines and Premium Cask packaging”.
I’m noticing a lot of people wondering about the song from the commercial. The song is Mozart’s Lacrimosa from the Requiem. Hear the Sample from Last.fm.
Ratings:
Commercial - 9.0 out of 10
Website - 8.0 out of 10 - I would’ve liked to see a continuation of the storyline here in an immersive multimedia experience (multiple angles, behind the scenes of the video, character profiles, etc.)
“Produced in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese languages, as well as in English, the television spots introduce a cast of characters that frequent a nightclub called “Fusion.” Like all soaps, the TV spots set the stage for sub-plots featuring four main characters – Tommy, Jasmine, Simon and Chan. Viewers are encouraged to get more of the story online by going on the web to www.getintofusion.com.
On the new site, visitors can read about the characters and their backstories, mix their own music, learn about Fusion club night events that Ford will be sponsoring in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York, and receive detailed information on the new Ford Fusion.”
It’s an integrated campaign featuring a cast of Asian American actors done in South Korean Soap Drama style and is aimed at getting people to visit getintofusion.com to find out what happens next.
Here’s a few screencaps from the videos and some of the features on the site. The review will go beyond the design merits of this campaign and delve into how well this campaign fits Ford’s brand image whether or not it will work (in general and specifically to the Asian American crowd).
Initial Impressions:
Pros: Videos look good, a bit hard to follow, but has style. Questionable: Website execution + Brand decision (put up against Scion, lessons learned from Honda)
