Who to Hire For Your Social Media Management Needs in 2011

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In a presentation about the future of social media at Le Web, industry analyst Jeremiah Owyang called 2011 the year of integration. Integration, you scoff? The ad industry tried that already, right? Well what Owyang is talking about is a bit different. He's not talking about pulling together several advertising-related functional areas into one giant holding company. He's talking about permeating the practice of social media across and throughout a company's DNA.

Social media efforts will integrate across across all departments from marketing to customer service to the customer themselves. A polished "Director of Social Media" will understand the purpose of aggregation and curation, the importance of socialized advertising, the need to create brand advocates among customers, the necessity of tying social media programs to and brand's CRM systems and, above all, to speak the language of the Board Room.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-13-10    
Topic: Opinion, Social



Social Media Gets Slapped Upside the Head

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Writing on Advertising Age, brand strategists and author Jonathan Salem Baskin wrote, "The conventional wisdom of social marketing is an effort to breathe new life into the all but dead presumptions of branding, only with one small catch: It can't make it work, and the only way anybody can claim otherwise is to fudge the stats, time frames and expectations for tangible results."

Damn, dude! Them's fightin' words! You're going to have the social media guru army all over you in a matter of minutes. But you know what? You're right. Well, mostly. Social media isn't the cure to everything. It can help. But not to the seeming exclusion of all other forms of marketing...which appears to be what's happening these days.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-23-10    
Topic: Opinion, Social



Idiocy as Ad Strategy Perpetuated in Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Ad

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Guess it's time for the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl thing again. And along with that, the continuous perpetration of man (the species) as idiotic imbeciles. To be clear, we're not talking about the idiocy and stupidity of this particular ad's creators. Not at all. Rather the supremely idiotic behavior displayed by one of the characters in the ad.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-17-10    
Topic: Commercials, Creative Commentary, Opinion, Super Bowl 2011



Top Ten Stories Cover Boobs, Guns, Verizon, Ass, Facebook

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So last week's most read stories here on Adrants offered up women with huge boobs in tiny bikinis holding guns, lingerie as a form of discipline, Verizon trying to get hip with Apple, yet another Old Spice spoof, Miranda Kerr tantalizing us with a seductive invitation into her bedroom, a time traveling phone, Japanese tourism boosted with branded bra and miniskirt and Facebook's apparent ineffectiveness business website traffic generation.

1. Girls With Boobs...Uh...Guns Pose For Charity
2. Lingerie Brand Teaches Men A Lesson
3. Verizon Teams With iPad to Hype Upcoming Apple Relationship
4. The Sun Spoofs Old Spice to Pimp Page 3 Girls
5. Miranda Kerr Wants You to Get Into Bed With Her
6. Lingerie Shot, Asses Tightened, Underwood Glamed
7. Charlie Chaplin Time Traveler Device Perfect For Branded Apps
8. Triumph Bra and Miniskirt Welcome Visitors to Japan
9. Without Proper Eyesight, Grave Errors Will be Made
10. Study Trashes Effectiveness of Facebook, Twitter

by Steve Hall    Nov-14-10    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Opinion, Racy



Kardasians Continue Celebrity Endorsement Parade

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Despite the fact 78 percent aren't swayed by celebrity endorsements, MasterCard is moving ahead with a Kardasian sisters-branded card. And, as Holly McKay writes on Fox News, MasterCard isn't alone. Brands can't sign deals fast enough these days.

We weighed in on this phenomenon telling Fox News, "Celebrity endorsements fall into the 'whatever works' category of marketing. If a brand thinks a particular celebrity will catch the attention of the public, in a good way or bad way, they will strongly consider signing a deal with them. In some cases, the more ridiculous the better, and currently what sells is the trashiest trash one can find about a celebrity."

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by Steve Hall    Nov- 9-10    
Topic: Celebrity, Opinion



Two Go Daddy Girls to Titillate During Super Bowl

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Ever since busty Candice Michelle's tank top almost fell off in front of a "broadcast censorship committee" in a Super Bowl commercial several years ago, domain name registrar Go Daddy has milked it for all it's worth. With Go Daddy Girl after Go Daddy Girl, the brand has strictly adhered to the salaciousness sells approach to advertising.

From Vanessa Rousso to Ella Koon to Erin Kalin to Danica Patrick, to newcomer Jillian Michaels, Go Daddy isn't shy about serving up sex despite it being derided year after year for its crass approach to advertising.

Go Daddy CEO calls his approach to advertising GoDaddy-esque which he labels as "edgy, fun and slightly inappropriate."

In this year's Super Bowl broadcast, the company's 7th consecutive year, Go Daddy will air three commercials; two during the game and one in pre-game. Each of the commercials, produced in-house by Go Daddy productions, will feature both Danica Patrick and newcomer Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser.

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by Steve Hall    Oct-31-10    
Topic: Celebrity, Opinion, Racy, Super Bowl 2011



Big Brother Hottie Lends Boobs She Doesn't Want to Lingerie Brand

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You've got to laugh at these celebutantes who pump themselves up to E cup deliciousness and then end up regretting it after the fact. Apparently, that the sentiment UK Big Brother star Chantelle Houghton has about her surgical boost to 32E.

But that minor issue didn't stop Houghton from using her assets to make a little money along the way. In a new campaign for La Senza, Houghton proudly flaunts her generous curves for the lingerie brand.

Sharing her regret over having the surgery, Houghton told Heat magazine, "They're just too big. Now I just want to hide them. I thought I wanted to go up to that size and I loved them at the time, but now I wish I'd never had them done."

Well, Chantelle, hoisting your pulchritudinous puppies into some revealing lingerie is hardly going in the right direction if concealment was your goal.

by Steve Hall    Oct-13-10    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Opinion, Racy



Gap Returns to Original Logo

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Backpedaling from one of the biggest marketing gaffs in recent history, Gap, following overwhelming public pressure, has, unsurprisingly, announced it will box it's new logo and return to the original design. Announced last week, the new logo, designed by Laird & Partners, was roundly mocked by the design community, especially when the brand asked designers to "crowdsource" new ideas (un-related to the new logo the brand insists) for free.

A statement on the brand's Facebook page now reads, "Ok. We've heard loud and clear that you don't like the new logo. We've learned a lot from the feedback. We only want what's best for the brand and our customers. So instead of crowdsourcing, we're bringing back the Blue Box tonight."

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by Steve Hall    Oct-11-10    
Topic: Brands, Opinion, Worst



Gucci Guilty Will Get You Laid

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Didn't you know? What? You didn't? Well let us let you in on a little secret. If you want to have hot passionate sex with that hunk you've been drooling over, ladies, all you have to do is slap on some Gucci Guilty and the man of your dreams will miraculous appear and ravage you to completion.

Actually, that's a lie. Why? Because it was in a commercial. No. In the real world, men don't need much motivation at all when it comes to that particular activity. You barely have to smile and the guy already wants to hop on. But this is Gucci we're taking about so that line of thinking is a bit crass here.

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 5-10    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Opinion, Racy



Agility Key to Brands' Success in Social Media

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In an examination of how social media is dramatically changing the way people consume media and how marketers use (or should) use it, iCrossing Social Media Director Alisa Leonard writes, "the rise of social media is more than simply the rise of a new 'channel' opportunity. It has signaled the rise of a new, complex consumer modality, generating altogether new behaviors and communicative norms in general.

Continuing, she writes, "We, as consumers, seem to be on the brink of a kind of techno-cognitive nomadism, a world in which communication output is evermore ubiquitous, ambient and continuous --where conversation and activity, from tweets to Likes and Shares, are not only visible pieces of meta-data, but forms of content in their own right. The link between content, identity and activity is tightening, fast. We continue to witness the evolution of content and its consumption as a direct corollary to the evolution of the social web itself."

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-10    
Topic: Opinion, Social