By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage

The Super Bowl has long been thought of as the incubator for advertising and marketing innovation. For Super Bowl XLVI, this is more true than ever.


For the past couple of years, marketers and advertisers have filled Twitter and social media channels with Super Bowl conversations — about the ads as much as about the game. On February 5, when the game airs, Super Bowl advertisers will be working overtime to see that the general public tweets about their favorite commercials as well.

Shazam! Super Bowl Marketing Gets Social

“Super Bowl XLVI marks a tipping point for the anticipated explosive growth of interactive TV and will be a glimpse of what’s to come with emerging technology in this space,” said my friend, Susan Borst, a social media consultant. “Notable this year is the first live streaming of the big game by the NFL and Verizon (NFL Mobile), with an estimated one-third of ads being Shazam-able on smart phones. With more than 60 percent of fans watching the game tied to a second screen, this truly will be the most social Super Bowl ever.”


This year, advertisers are going all out to connect their brands to social media channels. The potential, based on last year’s social media results, is tremendous:

• Super Bowl XLV was the topic of more than 4.5 million tweets (Semiocast).
• During the final moments of the 2011 game, fans sent 4,064 tweets per second (The Huffington Post).

“Having spent record-breaking sums to secure the most valuable television slots in advertising, global brands from Coca-Cola to Volkswagen are looking to leverage social media to extend the buzz and reach of their ads,” writes Yinka Adegoke for Rueters.

Super Bowl 2012: Social Media Highlights

More than 150 million people will watch the game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. This year, it is estimated that the average 30-second spot will cost about $3.5 million, up from last year’s average of $3 million. (All this in a down economy, I might add.)


Some of his year’s reported social media highlights:


Century 21: Behind-the-scenes advertising footage via its app.


Coca-Cola: Along with the TV commercial featuring the Arctic polar bears, the bears will also be active on social media channels, including their own #GameDayPolarBears hashtag on Twitter. “The computer-animated bears will appear in a video stream running throughout the game at CokePolarBowl.com, a site hosted within Facebook,” reports USA TODAY.


Mars M&M’s: Touting a new candy, Ms. Brown, with an @mmsbrown Twitter handle.


Pepsi: Featuring X Factor USA winner Melanie Amaro performing the song, Respect. Fans can download a free video on their smart phones using a Shazam app.


Volkswagen’s Audi: Highlighting young vampires who are stunned by the Audi S7′s LED headlights (a spoof on the Twilight series), with continued conversation on Twitter: #SoLongVampires.

Super Bowl Ads: Not Just for TV

“Super Bowl ads aren’t just for TV anymore,” writes Carolyn Said at SFGate.


Said notes that many companies already have and others will share clips on YouTube. Companies are also extending their messages offline. Kia Motors, for example, is running teaser ads in movie theaters.


The trend in social media with the Super Bowl has been building over the past two or three years,” says Tim Calkins, a Northwestern University marketing professor, in a msnbc.com story. “This year, we’re really seeing it go to a totally new level where marketers are making social networking a core part of their Super Bowl efforts.”


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

Advertising is dead. Long live advertising!


Or so the chant continues as advertising spending continues its march from economic doldrums and adjusts to changes due to technological innovations and shifting consumer media habits.

Interpublic Group’s Magna Global recently lowered its 2012 worldwide ad revenue projections, but still predicts total ad revenues to be up 3.7 percent — nearly $153 billion — in the United States. Similarly, ZenithOptimedia forecasts a 3.6 percent growth expenditure for the United States in 2012, pointing to continued newspaper declines and flat magazine advertising,  but increased market share for Internet advertising.


Biggest gainers: digital and mobile ads aimed at driving new revenue from a growing appetite for tablet computers that come in all shapes and sizes, from the innovation-leading Apple iPad to the low-cost Amazon Kindle Fire (see PCMag’s tablet review). However, even within the television and digital ad spaces, changing priorities in ad spending look like the norm for 2012.


(See related BrandCottage blogs: Advertising’s Recovery: Not all Media Created Equal and Advertising Spending Looks Up in 2010.)

TV Advertising Maintains Market Share

Holding its own in the battle for advertising dollars: television.


Cable “cord cutting” is expected to continue in the U.S. at an annual rate of 500,000 subscribers for the next few years,” said Vincent Letang,the executive vice president and director of global forecasting at Interpublic Group’s Magna Global (reported by MediaDailyNews). But dollars won’t be lost as much as they are redirected to other video channels and platforms.

Print Down But Not Out

A poor performance in the second half of last year resulted in an 3.1 percent decline in magazine ad pages for 2011 compared with 2010, according to a report recently issued by the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Category declines included food and food products, home furnishings and supplies, public transportation, hotels and resorts and direct response companies.


There are, however, some “pockets of strength” in the apparel, cosmetics and financial sectors. In fact, according to Mediafinder.com, 239 new magazines launched in 2011, up 24 percent from 193 new launches in 2010 (see MediaDailyNews). Business-to-business magazines almost doubled, from 34 new titles in 2010 to 62 last year.

Innovation Drives Advertising Disruption

Three emerging trends are the direct result of disruptive technologies, according to a 2012 market survey conducted by AdMedia Partners:

• The distribution of content across trans-media channels.
• The demand for real-time, more personalized content across multiple devices.
• Exponential growth in the ability to collect, manage, analyze and execute on marketing data.

“As a consequence, digital media and marketing services are experiencing more rapid growth than both the overall economy and marketing spending as a whole,” according to the AdMedia report.


The Internet is and will continue to be the fastest-growing medium, according to ZenithOptimedia. Major Internet advertising trends, worldwide:

• Display is growing the fastest, at 18.9 percent a year, and is driven mainly by online video and social media.
• Paid search is growing more than 15 percent a year, but growth is “slightly restrained by the shift in search behavior from desktop to mobile devices, where costs are currently lower.”
• Google increased its global share of the Internet market from 34.9 percent in 2006 to 44.1 percent in 2010.
• Facebook has overtaken AOL with a market share of 3.1 percent in 2010.

Digital advertising has quickly advanced from a fringe buy to an imperative part of companies’ media mix,” notes Jenna Levy in the Marketing Conversation blog.


Even more amazing, Forrester Research predicts that U.S. advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing in 2016 (thanks DailyDOOH).


That’s the amount spent on television today!

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

Gone are the glory days of Mad Men when ad campaigns consisted of a glossy television spot that ran on three networks, reaching 90 percent of U.S households. There are now many new devices and platforms. There are new consumer-controlled choices including time-shifting, downloading and sharing.


Everything about media planning and buying has changed dramatically. We have moved from:

• A passive ad market to an engaged ad market.
• A brand-controlled ad market to a consumer-controlled ad market.
• A few brand managers controlling the brand to a social universe controlling the brand.

The Multidimensional Brand Jungle

Remember when a brand media plan had just three mediums: TV, Print, Billboards?


Today’s media landscape is cluttered with thousands of choices, driven largely by technological innovations. And there is no sign of media proliferation slowing down.


Traditional media has evolved to multi-platform channels. TV is no longer just one screen, but now four (TV, computer, tablet and mobile). Print is no longer just print but tablets now offer fully interactive magazine experiences on mobile devices. Digital ad buying is much more than banner buys. Viable digital media options now include ad networks, rich media, video, behavorial targeting, retargeting, contextual, search, mobile, email and social media.


In addition to considering “where” strategies, media planners must also consider “how” strategies for complex ad technology solutions. In addition to knowing the right target segments for ads, marketers must also know how to deliver ads in the most meaningful ways to consumers.

Making Sense of the Jungle

More than ever, CMOs and marketers need experienced media strategists working on behalf of their brands. Media planning strategists must serve as valuable neutral parties who can filter, evaluate and recommend the right media tools. However, too many media planners fall into one of two camps: classically trained in traditional media with little knowledge of digital media capabilities or digital planners with little knowledge of integrating digital initiatives into the larger communications plan.


Successful media plans are best served by classically trained media strategists with proven media planning skills and plenty of experience across a range of clients and brands. Today’s best media planners have evolved into the digital space, especially in terms of the tools required to deliver and engage consumer targets. Proven media planners are well trained in gathering consumer insights, synthesizing business objectives and developing a fully integrated plan.


In short, the best media planners embrace a holistic planning approach with no bias for one media option over another. They analyze and develop the optimal media mix in which to achieve objectives against a given target audience.

Asking the Right Media Planning Questions

Here are some critical media planning questions that marketers must ask to develop a successful media plan:

• What is the objective of the media plan? Awareness? Web site traffic? E-mail capture? Social engagement. Word of Mouth generation? Customer data? Coupon redemption?
• How will the media plan success be measured?
• What is the budget?
• What is the geography to be served?
• Who is the target segment?
• Is there purchase seasonality? Times of heavier spend and greater opportunity?
• What are the creative considerations?

It is also important to ask the right questions to determine target segments. For example:

• Do affluent business travellers use FaceBook as much as Gen Y?
• What about mobile usage among moms?
• In mobile, is SMS as effective as mobile apps?
• What social networks index highest among heavy fast food eaters?
• In digital, who is really watching video?

Answers to these questions can often be found using syndicated research like MRI, MMR, comScore, Nielsen, proprietary customer insights and a variety of other tools.


Finally, it is essential to understanding the delivery of ads. This reguires a deep understanding of ad technology solutions, along with an understanding of how to integrate technology with data to drive efficiency and target reach. Critical areas to consider include:

• Dynamic creative delivery options.
• Publisher partnerships and sponsorships.
• Audience data warehousing.
• Demand-side platforms.
• Social Media technology.
• Video serving options.

Media and technology will continue to evolve. Return on media investment will continue to be driving forces for every brand’s C-suite, not just CMOs. Experienced, well-rounded media planners will be critical in helping companies navigate swiftly changing media jungles to carve out the best paths to brand success.

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


Where have all the news junkies gone or, more appropriately, where are they going? And what does the migration from print to digital — if its exists — mean for marketers and the advertising agencies that want to reach news consumers?


Consider these transformational changes in news consumption:

• Print newspaper circulation continues to decline. The Audit Bureau of Circulations, in October, found that 379 daily newspapers reported an average 10.6 percent drop in circulation (see The New York Times story).
• Purchases of U.S. magazines at news stands and other retail outlets, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, fell 9 percent in the second half of 2009, while subscriptions fell 1.1 percent in the years second half (see msnbc.com story).
• 28 percent of newspaper executives responding to a recent survey by the Associated Press Managing Editors, a group of newspaper executives, said their publications are considering online fees (see USATODAY.com story).
• According to a survey by Editor and Publisher (itself, a magazine that is shutting down), 55 percent of readers said they would be very or extremely unlikely to pay for online newspaper or magazine content (see News Consumer story).
• At the same time, 81.5 percent of the online paid subscribers of The Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports consider them to be good, very good or excellent value, according to the Editor and Publisher study.
• To really complicate matters, 26 percent of Americans get news on their mobile phones, according to a new Pew Research Center study, Understanding the Participatory News Consumer.

For advertisers and marketers who are wondering where to find their target consumers in this jungle of media usage patterns, it’s time to remember:

1. All good marketing starts with clear objectives.
2. Every media can accomplish something….and most often not the same objectives.

Online news is fast, it’s searchable and it saves valuable time. But online news is also highly fragmented. Print, on the other hand, is surprisingly engaging and encourages readers to take deeper dives. They both have their place and, as media strategists, we have to make the right choices for our brands.


For example, I can’t imagine the brand launch of a new car design or Prada jeans without thoughtful print campaigns. Or products for babies without being in Parent magazine, where new moms and dads seek information-rich articles, photos and sidebars. For the same reasons, radio is intrinsically a good bet for fast-food restaurants, just as digital advertising is fabulous for reaching highly targeted segments at places in their lives where they are close to a purchase decision such as taking a trip to Europe, for example.


It’s more important than ever for marketers to get back to understanding what each media type can and can’t do. New media, without a doubt, is growing and important. But there is still a place in the media plan for traditional media.


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