By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage

Arguably, in 2008, social media emerged as a marketing staple. So, what have we learned about the benefits of social networking? Does everyone benefit: business-to-consumer and business-to-business companies? Or, is social media just a tool for Lady Gaga and other megastars?


SmartPulse, a quickie poll from SmartBrief on Social Media, asked marketing leaders to identify who has most benefited from social media engagement. Top on the list of beneficiaries:

• Business-to-consumer companies (32 percent).
• Celebrities (31 percent).

In the early stages of social media experimentation, I’d say that’s about right. Does it mean that social media isn’t working for others, such as media companies and business-to-business organizations? Of course not. There are hundreds of case studies demonstrating the power of social engagement for all kinds of businesses.

The Right Social Media Mindset

What is true, frankly, is that business-to-consumer companies are often the leaders in innovative marketing. They’ve demonstrated their prowess in traditional marketing and they continue to lead the way with new media strategies. Why? Because business-to-consumer companies make brand image part of the corporate fabric (think Apple and Ford, for example).


Social media cannot be thought of as just another marketing gimmick. In her SmartBrief blog, social media consultant Mirna Bard is right on target: “It takes a mindset shift, time, willingness to learn and commit, as well as consistency. These elements combined with the right strategy and tools can be powerful for any business or person, whether they are using it for training, internal communication, prospecting or even to become a celebrity.”


In other words, it takes a 360-degree cultural shift and commitment for social media to work. It is no small task for some organizations to move from defensive, controlling, top-down driven organizations to ones that are open to 24/7 engagement and, yes, even criticism.

Looking Ahead on Social Engagement

In The State of Corporate Social Media in 2011, from the Useful Social Media Community, 50 percent of U.S. companies said they still do not have a staff member devoted to social media. However, all U.S. companies surveyed said that social media is becoming a more important part of the marketing strategy and 29 percent project social media budgets to increase by 100 percent or more in 2011.


“Whilst marketing and communications retain their dominance as the main reason companies use social, customer service, employee engagement and product development all see significant growth [in the United States and Europe],” according to the report.

What is Social Media Worth?

Is social engagement worthwhile? The real answer to this question, for many companies, is unknown. Most do not measure social media ROI. But when you look at leading companies — Dell, Starbucks, Ford, Coca Cola and Apple, for example — it is easy to see the power of social media as a marketing tool.

Companies are still learning about social media’s power. For some, the transition has been easy (they had open cultures to begin with). For others, it’s going to require more than establishing a Facebook page or Twitter feed. It will mean substantial cultural shifts.


Or, as Lady Gaga sings: Baby I was born this way.

Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage

Yeah, the Super Bowl is cool. But as a media strategist, I can’t wait to weigh in on the most important kickoff of all — the sponsors of the greatest game on turf.

A Sneak Preview

Everyone understands the humongous advertising reach gained by a 30-second Super Bowl spot (106 million viewers last year) even if there is debate on the wisdom of spending so much money in one day. In the advertising industry, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media channels have been alive — for weeks — with discussions and pre-game anticipation and early predictions on winners and losers.

In fact, all the social media discussion around Super Bowl ads has become an important channel in its own right — expanding the already huge Super Bowl viewing audience with millions of additional online impressions. This allowed unprecedented integration of traditional and digital media.

But here’s what’s new. Advertisers are not only stirring the pot of excitement about the debut of their ads on Super Bowl Sunday, they are even providing sneak previews, via social channels.

Brands such as Audi, Best Buy, Budweiser, CareerBuilder, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, E*Trade, GoDaddy, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Snickers, Teleflora, 20th Century Fox and Volkswagen “are all over social media trying to drum up interest in the commercials they plan to run during Super Bowl XLV on Fox on Sunday,” according to The New York Times (Before Sunday, a Taste of the Bowl).

The advertising industry  is also capitalizing on the Super Bowl advertising frenzy. Check out Brand Bowl 2011, from Mullen and Radian6. The site, in short, tracks Twitter conversations to determine real-time audience reaction to the spots.

You can certainly expect Tweets from me at @BrandCottage. And I look forward, as I do every year, to engaging with other marketers and ad enthusiasts. You can follow the conversation on twitter and join in the fun with hashtag #brandbowl.

Oh, and good luck Packers and Steelers.

Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

—By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage

Welcome back to work and Happy New Year!  After a brief respite, we are ready to begin a new journey here at BrandCottage. I was reminded over the holiday break how important it is to take time off, slow down, find time to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. With so much advanced technology and an always-on business mentality, thinking time is all too rare.

BrandCottage Reflections

BrandCottage accomplished a great deal in 2010, both for ourselves and our clients:

• 2010 marked BrandCottage’s most rapid growth in the history of the company. This, coming off a down year for the industry in 2009. To say we were surprised and delighted is an understatement. This time last year, few knew where marketing was headed. There was much doom and gloom. But marketing began to see a rebound in 2010. In talks with our clients, they value marketing more than ever.
• Our digital brand offerings grew at record speed in 2010, both for social media and for paid digital advertising.
• Emerging brand technologies propelled us to new and exciting platforms. Throughout the year, we immersed ourselves in marketing’s transformation.
• We continued to gain new clients in new industries and we are proud to say that we were responsible for helping many of our long-standing clients evolve and transform as well.
• New technology also helped BrandCottage grow: video chat, virtual meetings, text messaging, conference calling, social media and many other solutions helped us run even more efficiently as a virtual agency.
• Meanwhile, we never dismissed our core values: veteran marketing chops, can-do attitude and client-first priorities.

BrandCottage Resolutions for 2011

• We can never forget, as an agency, that we are in the client-services business. BrandCottage will continue to improve client services in 2011.
• Emerging technology is transforming marketing and branding. Everyone in the marketing industry, including BrandCottage, must be dedicated to continuous learning, sharing and engaging to stay on top of emerging trends.
• Giving back to others is far more rewarding than receiving. BrandCottage will continue to increase its commitment to helping others.
• The value of hard work never goes out of style. We work extremely hard at BrandCottage. But we also will find some time for more fun.

I look forward to seeing all of you this year!


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


Overall, optimism is growing in the advertising industry. However, not all media are created equal in projections for U.S. advertising spending in 2010 and beyond. It remains a difficult time for print, while television seems to be holding its own. Digital advertising continues to grow, and may have even benefited from the recession.


(See related blog: Advertising Spending Looks Up in 2010.)


“The rise of the Internet continued uninterrupted during the downturn — in fact, the downturn probably accelerated the shift of budgets from traditional media by focusing advertisers’ minds on the importance of measurable return on investment,” said ZenithOptimedia, in a press release forecasting ad spending for 2010 and beyond.


Television suffered less than other media, ZenithOptimedia noted, while “newspapers and magazines have clearly suffered the most from the downturn.”

Ad Predictions by Media Type

ZenithOptimedia predicts the following for 2010 global advertising spending by media:

• TV: Up 4.36 percent with 40.3 percent market share.
• Newspapers: Down 3.8 percent with 21.7 percent market share.
• Internet: Up 12.9 percent with 13.9 percent market share.
• Magazines: Down 4.4 percent with 9.6 percent market share.
• Radio: Down 0.5 percent with 7.5 percent market share.
• Outdoor: Up 1.72 percent with 6.5 percent market share.
• Cinema: Up 3.07 percent with 0.5 percent market share.

Communications firm Carat, as reported by MarketingProfs, expects the United States — in specific — to follow a similar ad-spending pattern:

• TV: Up 4 percent.
• Newspapers: Down 8.3 percent
• Online: Up 10 percent.
• Radio: Up 2.5 percent.
• Magazines: Down 5 percent.

Last, but not least, in its April revised forecast (via MediaBuyerPlanner), MAGNA raised its 2010 expectations, predicting a 3 percent rise in U.S. ad spending, including revenues from the Olympics and spending on elections, to 3 percent. This is MAGNA’s second correction of 2010, including a January forecast predicting flat growth for U.S. ad spending.


MAGNA’s U.S. outlook is bullish for the Internet and TV, but bearish for print:

• Search: Up 16.8 percent.
• Local TV: Up 16.2 percent.
• Internet: Up 12.8 percent.
• National TV: Up 10.2 percent.
• Magazines: Down 6.9 percent.
• Local Newspapers: Down 10 percent.
• National Newspapers: Down 11 percent.

Industry revenues will rise from $40.5 billion in the first quarter of 2009 to $41.3 billion during the first quarter of 2010, according to a MAGNA press release.


“Among the various sectors, television remains the largest advertising platform in the United States,” MAGNA said. “The $56.0 billion dollar segment will grow by 9.8% during 2010, slightly higher than our prior 8.5% expectation. This growth will erase 2009′s losses and return the sector to levels observed between 2006 and 2008.”

What Media Executives are Saying about the Future

Overall, ad spending is expected to grow an average of 3 percent in 2010, while interactive ad spending is expected to grow 10 percent, according to an AdMedia Partners online survey of global senior business executives in advertising, marketing services, digital marketing and related industries.


The majority of media executives (65 percent) said that online revenue will account for more than 50 percent of total revenue within the next five years at business-to-business publications. For newspapers, 44 percent said online revenue will outstrip print within five years and 38 percent said that it is likely to take 5-10 years.


Mobile and social media marketing are also projected to grow.


“These evolving media and service offerings are considered to be important growth opportunities increasingly requested by content owners and advertisers,” according to the AdMedia Partners report. “Just like the early days of the Internet, media companies are experimenting with various business models to monetize these opportunities.”


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


The iPad. Promoted tweets. Interactive ads. Which hot new trends have merit for advertising? Getting to the soul of marketing. These were just some of the main topics covered at the 2010 Ad Age Digital Conference held April 13 and 14 in New York.


BrandCottage was on hand at the conference. Here are some of the event’s highlights:

Best speaker: Jim Farley, group vice president of global marketing at Ford Motor Co.


Farley, who is the cousin of the late comedian, Chris Farley, explained that Ford is riding a wave of advertising success based on the “democratization of marketing.” In both digital and traditional marketing, he explained, Ford puts the brand in the hands of real consumers. “That’s what digital has shown us: how to earn credibility among consumers,” he said.


One out of every four advertising dollars spent by Ford goes to digital, including social media. “Social media has shown the importance of being authentic, even in traditional media,” Farley noted.


Few could argue with Farley’s authenticity. At 16, he purchased his dream car, a Ford Mustang. “To be good at marketing, you have to understand the soul of what you’re selling,” he said.


See Ford’s Jim Farley Says Recession Was a Blessing for Digital in Advertising Age for full story.


Biggest news: Twitter COO Dick Costolo announced promoted tweets. It was refreshing to hear from Costolo that consumers and advertisers have a “wait and see what happens” attitude about the acceptance of promoted tweets and that Twitter was going to move ahead carefully (testing of promoted tweets began during the conference).


“We wanted to do something that just enhances the conversation that companies are already having with their customers on Twitter,” Costolo said. Of course, Twitter also needs to build a revenue model to capitalize on the company’s reported 50 million daily tweets — a fact not lost on attendees.


Twitter’s initial version of promoted tweets — in the form of keyword ads — will appear in search results. Later the ads will appear in user feeds on Twitter and on third-party clients such as TweetDeck, TwitterBerry and Tweetie, which Twitter recently acquired.


In short, each ad is a tweet that will appear at the top of a search. The promotional tweet can be re-tweeted, just as a regular tweet is passed around today. Costolo said ads would be available on a CPM-basis.


See Chats, Stats and Secrets about Twitter in Advertising Age for more information.


Biggest antagonist: Yahoo! Scientist Duncan Watts, who questioned the value of tweets.


Watts reported that, based on his research, a tweet’s average influence score is 0.28 people. “Most of them will send tweets and no one else re-tweets,” he said. “A lot of times, not that many people are listening on Twitter.”


However, Watts did not discount the value of thousands or millions of many-to-many connections. In fact, he said that advertisers would get more value from a lot of small influencers than from a big influencer such as Kim Kardashian, at $10,000 per tweet.


“If you recruit enough people who, on average, influence just one other person, you could get a much better return on investment,” he said.


Best quote: “I’ve seen the future and it’s covered in greasy fingerprints,” said Simon Dumenco, Ad Age’s Media Guy.


Dumenco gave a lighthearted speech on the transformational power of the iPad, for which he believes fingerprints are about the only down side of the device. Still, he added, publishers have only begun to scratch the surface of the iPad’s potential. “So far, the iPad’s killer app is demo-ing the iPad,” said Dumenco, quoting technologist Ben Rosen.


Cautious optimism: Digital is here to stay and marketers are getting on board in big ways. However, most CMOs and brand marketers say they are not hopping on the next shinny thing just to be first. “We never hop on the next hot thing, but the iPad made a lot of sense for us,” said Vivian Schiller, president and CEO of NPR.


For companies such as Dell, however, it’s full speed ahead. “Dell is a total digital company and it’s part of our corporate DNA,” said Dell CMO Erin Nelson. On Twitter, Nelson said the social media platform “has collapsed our customer feedback cycle and dramatically improved product development.”


In conclusion: Understanding how consumers use various media, how they react with online ads and why they join social networks in the first place — these are all important strategy questions for branders. We’ve moved way past mere reach and frequency.


What is clear is that (1) no single media owns the consumer and (2) the consumer now has a lot of influence. Smart marketers understand that consumers now seek authentic and trustworthy brands — new realities thanks to digital and social media.


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.