One relevant factor for getting (potential) customer’s attention is knowing and anticipating their reactions. Advertisers know that there is nothing like an infallible ad. Every ad could be appealing for someone as it can also have the opposite effect on others. Women’s reactions are different from men’s reaction, as well as young people can react in a different way compared to the elderly.
Consequently, an advertiser should make a choice between developing a single ad that could be interesting for everybody, and/or creating several different ads, each one fit for every potential type of customer.
Thanks to the digital technology, the adversing industry is starting to invest in tools capable of recognizing customers, understanding which “customer category” they belong to, hence displaying the right ads for them.
This concept has been partially explored online, with the “behavioral targeting”, but now it has also become an off-line reality.
Let’s take, for instance, the French company Quividi: they are using a very interesting kind of billboard, backed by a video camera and a computer: with this technology - as stated on Times by Paolo Prandoni, Quividi’s chief scientific officer - “we know how many people have walked in front of the screen, how many turned to face the ad, and how long they looked at it”.
The Quividi system can also distinguish the gender and the age of the viewer, so it is possible to get a demographic background about a particular ad.
On my behalf, Quividi’s tools (and tools similar to such), could provide a really deep analysis about viewer’s behaviour, not just to figure out how much time a viewer has spent in front of the screen, but even to make a proper database of “actions” performed by potential customers, in order to provide the right ad for the right person.
Imagine yourself approaching a screen display; and straight away the display recognizes your gender and your age followed by the advertisement that, according to the data, would suit you entirely.
Quinvidi’s idea evidently describes the way the advertising industry will be pointing towards in the coming years. The key is to catch the consumer’s attention in a personalized way, from data entirely gathered from the consumers themselves.
Posted by Manuela Barreto @ July 3rd, 2008 in Media News
I can’t possibly let this news go by without saying something. Spain, Great Britain, USA, France, Colombia, Venezuela, the whole world is celebrating Ingrid Betancourt’s release from captivity. The rescue operation was brilliant as the Colombian militia posed as rebels by disguising themselves with Che Guevara T-shirts, which immediately led hostages to thinking ‘now what?’.
Fortunately, it worked out! The Colombian military was able to trick the FARC by pretending they were just going to transfer them to a different hideout in the jungle.
However, nobody understood what was going on, perhaps another circus act where they would be used as guinea pigs for some ‘weird’ exchange. Just to add some wood to the fire, a few months prior to the rescue, certain bright individuals like , Venezuela’s president Chavez, was bringing forward a $300 million donation to the FARC as a way to show support for the ”guerrilla’ cause. In the meantime, the whole world, specially Ingrid’s family, kept mourning and lamenting her disappearance.
Luckily, we have a fantastic video sharing website, YouTube, which kept us all informed and updated with Ingrid’s whereabouts. Specially that time where rumors said she was in the brink of death while suffering from Hepatitis B and some kind of skin disease caused by insect bites. Yes, this was all very sad, but thanks to YouTube and the video shown below, Ingrid’s, family, closest friends, sympathizers and the whole world was reassured that she in fact was not dead, but sadly enough receiving very cruel treatment on behalf of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Posted by Manuela Barreto @ July 3rd, 2008 in 77News
A 77Academy story was released on NetForum’s June 2008 issue which featured ‘creativity’ as its highlighting topic. NetForum is an Italian communication, marketing and new media magazine, which distributes a total of 5.000 on a monthly basis, which reaches more than 12.000 readers with managerial, entrepreneurial profiles as well as internet-related and remarkable companies throughout Italy. NetForum covers news surrounding topics such as communication developments and innovations, promotions, research and it also features specialized corporations and/or individuals who play prominent roles within the industry.
Deals, deals, deals; seems to be the tendency nowadays amongst all big cheeses in the corporate world. Vodafone, the mobile telecom giant and MySpace, one of the largest online social networks brought Vodafone Music Reporter live this week.
This feature is expected to help share Vodafone’s music initiatives with its customers by displaying all sponsored events on the leading online community. Such events will include summer festivals and concerts which can then be further promoted by users with the insertion of pictures and videos available to all music fans, which leads me to my next point.
Music fans in Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK will be enabled to participate in a competition where they will basically be judged by their ‘reporting skills’ while attending one of these Vodafone Music Unlimited events to take place this summer.
The online interactive music platform will choose contestants depending on a submission of a picture or video from the latest gig they attended, which will be voted on by friends of the Vodafone Music Reporter community on MySpace.
Because MTV is also partially running this contest, the winner will be sent along an MTV crew for a day, where he/she will have the opportunity to record a specific event or concert while being in the spotlight as an on-line reporter for the mobile and online version of the show.
I guess it is a cool initiative. This opens way for music enthusiasts to participate and enjoy music in a social networking space. User-generated content is also applicable making the experience all the more interactive and feel like part of a real music community.
Who’s not a Family Guy fan? Even I am. Think about having a similarly cool animation, only this time, online.
In September, Google together with Family Guycreator, Seth MacFarlane, will be launching a new cartoon called “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy,” to be streamed online through AdSense. This being Google’s innovative strategy to try out video distribution on the Internet, which many are betting millions on in anticipation to its utter success.
The key to all this is how Google intends to follow through with the distribution of such. The initial idea will be serviced by the Google Content Network, which will run “Calvacade,” in place of static ads, on select sites that are popular with MacFarlane’s target audience. In addition, advertising may be inserted within these clips in two ways: preroll- this being a short commercial before the actual video starts rolling and/or banner ads, which will be placed at the bottom of the videos with perhaps a possible, ‘this is brought to you by’ welcoming message.
According to the New York Times, the partnership with Mr. MacFarlane represents a bold step into the distribution business, one that, if successful, will surely send shock waves through the entertainment business. Simultaneously, Kim Malone,director of sales and operations for AdSense claims that Google has “recreated the mass media.”
On the other hand, Media Rights Capital, a boutique production company that invests approx. $400 million each year in TV, movies and Internet content, will be using the Google Content Network as a business model where every time someone clicks on one of the “Calvacade” videos, advertisers will pay a fee, which will then be split between MacFarlane, Media Rights, Google and the site where the click was generated from.
Seems like a win-win for all parties involved. I have a feeling this will slightly shift the way in which original and innovative content distribution will be treated in the future. In the meantime, more business opportunities for everyone!
Don’t allow your city, state or island to just be a blob on the map! Its a good thing Google Map Maker added a new feature recently which lets you contribute or edit map information freely, however, its only currently available in certain cities.
The Google Team has realized, maybe due to continuous claims, that some of the places that appear on Google Maps, are in need for some major tweaking. Meaning, they may not even contain any rivers, roads or even bike trails. They’re just plain…blank. In the example below you can notice there’s the before and after versions of a map from Myanmar, which has slowly been modified by engineers from the area.
What better than having the locals contribute to ‘filling in the blanks’ of their own geographical region?
Some other regions in the world in need for local support and expertise are the following: Cyprus, Iceland, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Caribbean nations of: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago.
Although, as I was browsing through other sites, I found this blogger’s opinion to be quite reasonable. Stephen Shankland from Cnet News commented on how Google is continuously profiting from user-generated contributions that offer users better mapping, however, and I quote Stephen’s words, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we could do it through a more neutral mechanism that lets others benefit from the work, too?’ I agree.
The Google Map Maker functions are very easy to use and basically anyone can add to any of these empty looking maps.Its just a matter of time before users become fully aware about the fact that their local knowledge could really give the search engine monster a hand.
