But now a new industry has emerged, for helping men pop the question in the first place.
Proposal planners have discovered a demand for lavish scenarios, be it white doves, helicopter rides, a favourite musician – all with a photographer on hand to record the magic moment.
Honda CR-V: Proposal | Ads of the World™
I love this spot. I love it because it celebrates an ambitious woman, therefore appealing to ambitious women. Most ads aren’t this smart OR current. But in the year 2012 when the share of U.S. adults who are married has dropped to a record low of 51%, this spot hits home: us women (and men) have a lot more to do in life than get married and settle down.
Cheers to Honda for recognizing that times have changed.
Six Reasons Why You Should Give Employees a 4-Day Week | LinkedIn.
The benefits laid out in this Inc.com original article are pretty crystal clear. Talk about employee retention AND differentiation in terms of industry standards! Could this be the future?
The movie about Facebook was… about Facebook. Its history, Mark Zuckerberg, the guy, the schools, the competition, Harvard, a social class, profiles, pictures, blah blah blah. The “community” that approximately 800 million people have been commanded, no, influenced to join.
For those of us in social media, we’re always on the search for the newest, the latest, the next big thing, the new Facebook. There will be one. Right? Google has retained its grasp of the search market, so could Facebook be it? Be the one social network we go to for the foreseeable future? Yes. For the rest of ours lives? I’d hate to think so.
Watch the Northeast. That’s where Facebook came from. What are the Harvard kids into? What are they working on? I HATE TO SAY THIS, SINCE I live near San Francisco now. And we like to think that the West Coast IS the Best Coast and great ideas, creatively technology, start-ups, etc. come from here. And just like Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg set up shop just south of here; and damn, the wine is fine!!! But watch: New York, Connecticut, the younger class, [young hip-hopsters like Chris Webby (Connecticut), Mac Miller (Philadelphia)]. They are smarter, better, faster, younger.
Punto. Blogging about the day-to-day. ~erin
Just read David Armano‘s “6 Social Media Trends for 2011” and all of the comments/ideas that it provoked. Here, I’d like to highlight 2 of his predictions as well as some of my own takeaways and thoughts.
1) “From Ford, to Dell, to Starbucks, to Jet Blue, and a host of other companies who have pioneered early uses of social media for business, 2011 will be the year these companies take a serious look at integrating social media, not only regionally but globally.” - Further integration of social media with small businesses and big brands will continue in 2011. Successful companies will not place the responsibilities of social media with one person but rather across the entire organization or at least with a group of dedicated people. One of the most important things we’ve all learned is that social media does not scale. But as Armano says in a comment, “The key to scaling is to create advocates. Both customers, employees and partners” to speak on your behalf.
2) “Social Functionality Makes Websites Fashionable Again… even the most iconic of brands realizes that they do not exist in their own walled garden. They must integrate to be relevant in a socially connected world.” - While many brands struggle to make their Facebook pages a destination, they should also consider why they’re doing so: Facebook is a social mecca, breathing and facilitating conversation all day, everyday. So with this in mind, businesses want their pages to be in “the conversation.” But what about their websites? Shouldn’t they be given the same social treatment? If a consumer stumbles on your Facebook Page and then they click over to your website, you want their experiences to be seamless: social to social, not social to stagnant. So I think Armano makes a good call that “websites will increasingly serve as ‘digital hubs’” in 2011.
In the comments, Ian Greenleigh brings up another trends, one that I think deserves its own number. 3) “2011 will be the year true online influencers are located.” - Influencers was a buzzword in 2010, but in 2011 it will become a solid part of social marketing strategies. This will require social strategists to analyze and understand context a lot more – where, when, and why are people saying what they are about your brand or product? And most importantly: who is saying it? And how is your brand treating them?
But while Greenleigh brings forth the topic of influencers, Armano and some commentators discuss the practical debate of Maven vs. Average user. If we only focus time and resources on the important few that influence the greater (and average) masses, then will we really be moving the needle? 4) So in 2011, expect strategists to not only tell you who your influencers are but also the insights that will motivate your average users to action as well.
I was just over at Brian Solis’ blog, and his latest entry Email Marketing Goes Social: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook states that email is a necessary part of most people’s lives:
For better or for worse, we are tethered to our inbox and continue to send messages and respond to those individuals and organizations to which we’re tied or vested.
It’s true. If you’re anyway online as part of your professional or personal life, it’s highly likely you spend a significant amount of your time with email. Solis brings in some charts that state businesses are using email more and more to raise awareness for their presence in social networks…but can email itself become a social network or a social medium?
I’m picturing a future in which I get an email that has comments and quotes from my friends who have received it before me – like a continuation of one message that reaches (and influences) certain people first and then branches out from there. That sounds like social email, or at least a device to carry a piece of social with it. Solis’ future of email is personalized and opt-in, but can we call email social just because it has buttons that take you to a SNS such as Twitter or Facebook?
Furthermore, what do you think of the evolution of “connective technology” (such as automated emails) to replace people? I like to think of social media as the people’s media. So if we took the people out of the media, and just had automated (but sharable) emails coming to us, could we really call them social emails? And would it really be social media or just an evolved form of direct mail? And, does making something sharable inherently make it social? It facilitates a social action if the person wants to have one, but is the availability of a share button enough to motivate the person to share?
Much to discuss and think about.
We all have our cellphones on us these days, because they’re not just phones anymore; they’re clocks, watches, email services, a gossip channel, a dating service, a marketing device, and now…they’re coupon transmitters. With 7-Eleven’s Test “text coupon” for Slurpees in the San Diego service, their marketing department says this:
“Our marketing programs try to reach them where they are. Mobile marketing is the next step to reach our target customers—the millennials who don’t go anywhere without their mobile phones.”
Oh millennials. GMR marketing owns the mobile couponing platform in this test.
What kinds of objectives do companies hope to achieve with mobile? Mobile Marketing Watch says increasing customer loyalty AND amping up database numbers for mobile marketing programs (customer relationship management) in the future are two things we’ll see more companies and brands asking for in 2010.
With this quote from 7-Eleven’s marketing manager:
“Our consumers are mobile; therefore, it’s critical that we communicate with them where they are,” said Daniel May, marketing manager at 7-Eleven.
It really shouldn’t be any surprise that mobile will explode in 2010.
What I blog about: cultural observations, San Francisco, agency life, planner things, advertising & marketing, creative inspiration, and lots of social media
