Fashionbook: For when you cannot live without a second opinion.

Ever been shopping alone, and asked the fitting room attendants opinion (or even a random stranger), because you absolutely cannot make a decision?  Maybe guys won't openly admit to this problem, but I can say this has happened to me on more than one occasion.

Facebook is attempting to step in to remedy those fashion indecision woes.  A recent post on Adverblog.com reports that there is a new case study to combine the way Facebook users shop, and get a second opinion on the clothes they buy.  The concept is currently being tired out in stores in Portugal, to see if it is received well amongst the public.

C&A displays, like the ones pictured here, show in real time how many likes each item of clothing receives.  Wondering if everyone will approve of your new outfit?  Can't choose between one shirt over the other?  Check the likes on the hanger for the most popular item and you won't need to ask the fitting room attendant (or random stranger.)

For some consumers, this could be the answer to their fashion dilemmas.  For other, less easily-influenced when it comes to fashion, they may not want to know what the world thinks of that green blouse hanging on the rack.  For advertisers, this could be a great opportunity to influence their own customers into buying, perhaps even more clothes from their stores.

Google the Golden Child?

"Google it."  "Why don't you just google it?"  You probably have heard these phrases or said them yourself, at least once a week.  I mean if I have a question, it has become automatic for me to use google.com to get the answer.  So automatic that the brand name has become a verb for most internet users.

In the advertising world, brand awareness on the internet is almost vital to a company's success.  Companies will pay thousands for search optimization, just so their website will appear at the top of the list on Google.  Trust comes in from all angles to google.com, from the person who wants to know what the ugliest dog breed is to the company who trusts their search optimization specialists to identify the right keywords to be sure that their company is first.

Recently, Jonathon Mayer from The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School discovered something fishy going on with Google, the golden child of the internet world--an alleged invasion of privacy using "Safari Trackers."  According to his article, Google used a software trick that wormed its way around Safari's privacy limitations on third-party tracking.

They are now facing a hefty $10 million fine, thanks to Mayer's discovery.  Google has admitted to implanting the code, however, responded by saying they did not collect any personal information from users.

Brand trust and brand identity on the internet can be a tricky thing, and for a ginormous company such as Google, there is an extreme amount of brand trust from users and advertisers.  An incident such as this one shows that people should never put their blind trust into a company, no matter how "good" or "trustworthy" it may seem, because it is, after all, just a company like any other.  Whether the allegations of collecting personal information or not is true, this can be viewed as a wake up call for people to look out for their own privacy on the internet, especially the next time you go to "Google" something.

When I read this, I was less than surprised.

So I saw this infographic on Mashable.com...

and I just said, "Well, yea obviously."

How many times have you heard a news report, seen an article, heard a 50+ year old person say that college students cannot do anything without technology.  And my answer is the same resounding, "Well, yea obviously."  The infographic went on to throw out facts such as "73% of college students said they cannot study without technology" and "70% of students use keyboards to take notes (no more paper)."

At first glance, those facts that were meant to make us out to be some sort of completely dependent slaves to the internet/smartphone, were actually telling me something a bit different.  To me, its saying that modern college students are actually more efficient by finding easier ways to access all types of information at a rapid pace, we are inadvertently tree-huggers by going paper-free, and most importantly, this is great for internet advertisers.

From an online advertising standpoint, the more time college students spend "depending" on the internet and technology, the more confirmation that it is a virtually propelling market.  According to a journal article from Education Resources Information Center called "The Internet Goes to College," studies from 27 colleges and universities have shown these main findings:

•  College students have adopted and heavily use the internet early on

•  College students feel that the Internet has actually enhanced their education

•  They agree that their college social life has been altered by the Internet

What does one have to do with the other?  With the 12 million college students that already take online classes, and the projected 22 million that will join in the next 5 years as predicted by the aforementioned infographic, being in advertising, especially on the internet, opportunities are about to double.  With a huge stronghold in the connection between college students, technology, and education, advertisers can use that seamless gap to connect with a huge world of a dependent audience.  So, yes, I can say that I was not in any way surprised by the information the infographic or article had, but I was in no way offended.  In fact, for any person that is in advertising, this is just the type of thing that I want to hear.

Source:

Jones, Steve.  "The Internet Goes to College:  How Students Are Living in the Future with Today's Technology."  Pew Internet and American Life Project.  ERIC Education Resources Information Center.  September 15, 2002.  http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED472669

Clients: You can't act like you want all their money (even if you do).

Just to be clear:  I do not have my own business, clients, or huge knowledge base about either of the two. That was not a disclaimer, but I do pride myself in looking at things logically but with an understanding of human nature.  I like to think after four years, as many of my fellow Advertising and Communication majors, that I have the ability to connect with people through many mediums of communication, and convince them that they need whatever I am selling.

As the end of college career nears, I have given thought to the eventual factor that working with clients may be in the near future.  Using the concept of web advertising or design as a basis, I researched and found an article about attracting, keeping, and the overall etiquette of working with a client when it comes to working on the web.

According to an article written by Lior Levin, a business entrepreneur, there are 3 ways to attract not just clients, but higher quality clients, the ones that will benefit you the most.  Levin acknowledges that in any business, especially in the creative web design field, there are many times a client is not willing to pay enough or does not appreciate the quality of work that has been provided.  Far too often these type of "low quality" clients can cause a creative to end up in an undesirable position, leaving both the client and the designer dissatisfied, and can ruin a reputation very easily.

Even for someone who has had zero experience working with clients of their own (such as myself), realizing that these "low quality" types of clients will always be around is just as important as knowing that there are ways to attract "high quality" clients.  Your name might not be well known, your reputation might not have even gotten off the ground, but just the attitude (without being pompous) that even you deserve a quality client may set off your career in the right way.  Granted that you are capable of delivering a high quality website or advertisement yourself, you can project your self-confidence towards a satisfying career, according to the article.

Levin's 3 tips to orient yourself towards high quality clients:

1.  "Know your worth":  "High quality clients want high quality designers," know that you can deliver if you insist on a price you think your work is worth.
2.  "Be flexible but not bendable":  Some clients will let you use your creative abilities and let you go on a project, while others will attempt to micromanage.  Either way, it is important to keep the client within your own boundaries and make sure they understand your own creative process.
3.  "Offer services clients really want":  Take the time to get a feel for the market through research.  See what clients are looking for, and make yourself an expert at it.  The more you can offer your client, the more high quality you will appear.

It may seem a bit premature to be thinking about clients, yet its never too early to imagine yourself in the position of exactly where you want to be.  If you see yourself as a top designer, you have to start by building your client base.  Besides making the initial contact or connection, researching and knowing just how clients tick when you want to produce your best work for them is never too far off in the future.

I sort of don't know anything about web design.

It is safe to say that every one of us has no clue how many websites they have visited so far in their lives.  Just to think about what the number could possibly be is pretty mind-boggling.  Yet, of those infinite amounts of different websites we have scrolled through, skimmed, or stumbled upon, there are those that have caught your attention, and you have probably visited them more than once.  Besides the ones that have become an obsessive or daily habit (ahem, Facebook, Twitter, we are all guilty), there are those that have for some reason, spoke to you in one way or another.

What was it about that website?  Was it a particular interface, game, video, design, article, or just how it plain made you feel when you saw it?  With my own relatively limited experience working in graphic design, I have always considered myself influenced by just the experience of how something looks alone.

One computer, one screen, one website,
 but there's a whole lot going on up there.

According to an article in the Journal of Business Research, one helpful perspective of website design is viewing the layout as a cognitive landscape.  The article points out the direct relationship between content and design.  It says, "As content on the web includes text, pictures, graphics, layout, sound, motion and, someday, even smell, making the right web content decisions are critical to effective web design."

Basically what goes on in your head, engages all your senses, and makes you create connections to other concepts--is exactly what goes into a truly well-designed website.

The article analyzes studies done of different multi-million dollar company's websites, and looks at contrasting opinions--one saying speed, ease of use, and high-quality content are most important, the other siting the user's shopping experience as the most important factor.  It gives these studies the appropriate merit, however, it offers a different and more psychological perspective.

What would your cognitive landscape look like?  More importantly, what does your audience's cognitive landscape look like?  Based on the work of environmental psychologists, the article concludes that offers this suggestion:  when attempting to design a website, think of it as if you just walked into your perfect room--what is the experience of the space?  In designing a website that makes the person want to visit it again and again, it exudes the same qualities as designing a physical landscape.

My concluding thought comes from a direct quote from the article, "Computer interaction is intensely cognitive involving perceptions and preferences. Interactivity implies not only perceiving the web landscape, but also entering into it and “experiencing” the space."

Source:  

Deborah E. Rosen, Elizabeth Purinton, Website design: Viewing the web as a cognitive landscape, Journal of Business Research, Volume 57, Issue 7, July 2004, Pages 787-794, ISSN 0148-2963, 10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00353-3.

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00353-3

50 Ways to Make it Viral

Well I won't name them all, but I can give you 5 ways viral videos become successful.

                                                           It's because of content like this
        

And this

And of course...

So can brands really create campaign videos with the same effective level of "virability" as these?

It has been done, tried, successfully completed, and failed miserably by a number of companies that have attempted to jump on the viral video bandwagon.  So, yes it is possible since it has been done.  However, when is it a truly helpful or hindering aspect to an ad campaign?

Having advertising concepts drilled into my head, I tend to enjoy looking at top companies latest ad campaigns.  Recently one in particular caught my attention, SoBe's campaign for its Natural Fruit Elixirs on its website.  Basically, SoBe has come up with "personalities" for each flavor of Elixir in the line of products.  Each of these personalities have a corresponding video, with testimonials of people trying and describing the particular drink.  Basically, they show the people who emulate the personality of the drink as well as the laid-back Californian lifestyle of the brand.  This is, however, where the videos begin and end.  I immediately thought of how they have the potential to create a viral video presence, but are not connecting to the right outlets to do it.

I then found this article on Mashable.com and a scholarly article from the Kent Academic Repository, both agreeing that there are five main types of viral marketing factors that make or break an attempt at a viral marketing campaign.

Both articles also agree that, "The rapid diffusion of the Internet and the emergence of various social constructs facilitated by Internet technologies are changing the drivers that define how marketing techniques are developed and refined."

To put it in plain English:

1.  Look beyond celebrity endorsers and obvious influencers.  Brands can benefit from word-of-mouth advertising and a large spread across social media sites rather than simply putting it on TV.

2.  Make a "social object".  Even if the person loves the brand or product, it does not mean they want to be sold to.  As with the SoBe drink videos, it is too obvious that they only used what supported and sold their product.  Instead, there should be an element of conversation for two people, or social object, that drives the connection and sharing around the brand solely based on hitting a person's interests.

3.  Use a brand pulsing strategy.  The brand should be integrated throughout the video content, rather than the driving force.  Find the sweet spot between the brand's positioning and its humor or attention-grabbing factors.

4.  Timing is everything.  If the video is too short or too long, people are less likely to share it.  The shorter one may not grab the attention of the audience, while the longer one can bore people and over-do the joke or point.

5.  Use the right mix of social media.  As for SoBe, there was a limited, seemingly nonexistent presence of the videos on any other website.  The company has pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, yet fails to utilize these to display or promote their videos.  The right mix can help spread the likelihood someone will share the video, increasing its "virability."

Source:  Woerdl, M. and Papagiannidis, S. and Bourlakis, M. and Li, F. (2008) Internet-Induced Marketing Techniques: Critical Factors in Viral Marketing Campaigns. Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 3 (1). pp. 35-45. ISSN 1753-0296.

Men, Women, and Advertisers: An e-Harmony True Story

The classic story:  Man falls in love with car, woman falls in love with ice cream, advertiser makes man and woman fall in love with their brands.  

In 1st grade, girls had cooties and boys were icky.  Back then, girls and boys seemed like opposites in every way, and may still seem like that today (although luckily the cootie shot was invented at an early age).  Everyday, a person will see ads that are geared specifically toward men and women.  Advertisers, based on careful research, assume they know what men and women want.

However, what if social media is allowed key points of research that changes the dynamic of what advertisers thought each sex wanted?  Well, in a recent social media study, that shift in the dynamic has been brought out of the woodwork.

According to this infographic on Mashable.com, the sexes have more common denominators than you might think.  In the study done by the social media monitoring company, NetBase, a year's worth of online conversation has revealed this conclusion:  the top 10 social wants list overlaps by 70%...

What do both women and men want the most?  Their top 3 were both the same:  ice cream, a car, and pizza.  The extra 30% of the list that does not overlap between the sexes?  They were still the same kind of food.

What does it all mean?  For men and women, you can score points by buying each other their favorite brands.  For advertisers, more ads geared toward both sexes, or them sharing the same interests in brands and food items holds added merit.