LONDON – Advertising will continue to be the main way online content is funded for the next two to five years, according to Microsoft’s UK boss, Ashley Highfield.
Free Credit Report.com has been pounding the airwaves, especially in non-Prime areas, with their 30-second TV spots depicting “Credit Guy” and his numerous run-ins with bad credit. He, and two of his friends (all musicians), tell stories of how bad credit has left them in a pinch with no way out.
There have been five spots (that I know of) entering our homes with the Free Credit Report.com guys singing and dancing their credit woes, warning us not to fall into that bad credit trap. These credit guys are our friends, warning us that if we don’t keep an eye on our credit, someone may come in and snatch our identity, leaving no option for work other than wearing pirate duds at the local seafood buffet.
Thus far, the spots of which I am aware are: Pirate Guys/Seafood; New Car/Subcompact; Bike Song; Rock Star; Girlfriend/Basement. If I missed one, let me know. The music is kinda kitchy, and I’ve caught myself singing out loud as I merrily dance through my daily activities, proving that advertising does burrow its way into our consciousness, whether we want it to or not. My favorite spot is the New Car/subcompact, mainly because of the lyrics. Feel free to join in at any time:
“F-R-E-E that spells free
credit report dot com baby
saw their ads on my TV
thought about going but was too lazy
Now instead of looking fly and rolling fat
My legs stick to the vinyl
and my posse’s getting laughed at!
F-R-E-E that spells free
credit report dot com baby…”
Those friendly guys! Not only are they kinda fun to have as friends, but they are also funny. Plus, they care for me. They care that my credit isn’t “whack.”
NOT TRUE: These goofy bastards are the Bernie Madhoff’s of the credit rip-off world. Don’t fall for their small-town, farm boy charm: they want your money so they can get fly chicks.
And just what is their intent? Our wallets, baby. The “free credit report” isn’t close to free, friendly singing dudes or not. The cost is $15 every month, or $180 per year. False advertising? Maybe, except that there are those little words on the screen that say it isn’t free. Free Credit Report.com isn’t going to tell you that when you sign up, but it will magically show up your credit card statement.
The spots use fear– bad credit will put us in the basement with a lying wife, no car, working at a seafood restaurant in pirate duds– to lure customers into signing up to monitor their credit. I don’t sing or dance and don’t have the look of a cute Midwesterner, but I’ll give you better advice than the Free Credit Report boys: Do Not Sign Up. There is a truly free credit report that you can get, and it costs nothing. Go to Annual Credit Report, fill out the forms, and the reports from all three major reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, & TransUnion) will be either sent to your email or available as a download.
Exercise caution and read the fine print when signing anything that has to do with your credit. Although positioned as “your credit report,” it’s actually the creditor’s file report about you…
by Stu Haack
Earlier this month, Ragan Communications released poll findings on the declining standing of press releases. Only 49 percent of the professional communicators polled think press releases are “as useful as ever.” Given the inroads of social media and other market forces on PR, that’s not a surprising finding. We doubt that alert communicators have been placing primary reliance on news releases for getting the word out for some time.
Not only are news releases being overshadowed by social media, Ragan and PollStream found, they haven’t been treated well by their creators, the corporations.
“Companies have become too self-protecting in their releases,” said one respondent. “Everything has been tossed into the legal CYA blender, and what comes back is bland and over-processed.”
There’s irony there, in that social media is even less tolerant of a cushioned approach to communicating. The word certainly seems to be getting around that the way to relate is to relate — mix it up and gain understanding and presence in the resulting dialogue. That’s a healthy trend. News releases still have utilitarian value, in light of SEC disclosure rules, but greater reliance should be placed on closer-up, franker ways of engaging our publics.
To get every ounce of clout from news releases, it’s critical for them to be search engine friendly. He are some factors to be mindful of in that regard:
Get more from Press Releases
Press releases can be more than a vehicle for distributing messages. If optimized, it can also serve to pull journalists (and even prospects) to the content hosted on a website or within a newsroom.
To optimize your press content for search visibility, remember to:
Research and identify target keyword phrases
Optimize the release for 1-2 phrases
Include a Call to Action (link to landing page, so you can track activity)
Develop and Optimize Landing Pages
Post to Newsroom
Pitch to Media
Distribute via RSS
Leverage Wire Service Distribution
Measure Results
Here are 7 tips specific to Press Release Optimization:
1. Think up and to the left
2. Optimize for people first, search engines next
3. Use keywords in Title, Subhead, body
4. Don’t obsess over keyword density
5. Aim for a 500 word release to use target keyword 2-4 times
6. Use keywords in links to company sites
7. Add media: images, podcasts, video
LONDON – If you weren’t able to make it along to today’s IAB Engage conference here’s the lowdown on what happened and who said what. Read it on your tea break and you’ll be able to pretend you were there.
LONDON – MSN Video, Microsoft’s long-form video platform, will come out of its testing phase and be fully available to consumers after Christmas.
LONDON – The Department for Children, Schools and Families has retained WCRS to handle creative duties on its £3 million diplomas account.
(TrendHunter.com) If I were born in any other century, my friends and family would say the 1800s would be the perfect fit, and if it were anything like this Olivier 1842 portfolio, I’m totally down with that. Yes, I have…
LONDON – Guardian News & Media is to shed more than 100 jobs in an effort to alleviate losses running at £100,000 a day.
LONDON – Digital is “probably the pivotal channel” for the future and social media gives it the power to change people’s behaviour through conversations, COI chief executive Mark Lund told the IAB’s Engage conference.
LONDON – Tesco is to launch mobile audition studios in its stores to allow shoppers to record audition videos in a partnership with talent site, 1Click2Fame.com.
LONDON – The Department of Children, Schools and Family (DCSF) has hired WCRS to develop a new TV campaign to promote diplomas, following a four-way pitch handled by the COI.
LONDON – A “modest” tie-up between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide remains a possibility, culture secretary Ben Bradshaw said today (11 November).
LONDON – The COI has refused to commit to increasing its digital spend despite outlining plans to give the internet a crucial role in its marketing strategy over the next three years.
No fim de 2008, falei sobre os painéis interativos do filme “Crepúsculo” no metrô de São Paulo. Na época, eu nem sequer sabia da existência de uma saga literária chamada “Twilight”. Aí eu resolvi assistir o filme, e bem, acho que preferia ter ficando sem saber do que se tratava.
O que importa é que quase um ano se passou, e os painéis interativos evoluíram (será que o filme também?). Dessa vez criado para “Lua Nova”, o segundo capítulo da saga, as peças trazem mais do que conteúdo relacionado ao filme.
Os fãs, ou melhor, as fãs, podem tirar uma foto e se transformarem em lobisomens e vampiros. As imagens ficam gravadas em uma galeria e, além disso, um aplicativo mobile é oferecido para download via Bluetooth.
A criação é da Ginga.
Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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LONDON – World Snooker has announced that Pukka Pies is the new title sponsor of the UK Championship tournament.
LONDON – Daniel Rosen, founder and head of AKQA Mobile, told digital marketers this morning that mobile needs a role within an integrated marketing strategy, rather than operate as a separate campaign.
LONDON – The COI’s digital ad spend has rocketed by 200% in the past three years, chief executive Mark Lund said today (11 November), and predicted digital will be “at the heart” of the COI in the future.
LONDON – Bath brand Radox is to launch an antibacterial hand-gel range, prompted by recent health scares.
(TrendHunter.com) Creativity knows no bounds and barcode art is one example of how innovation can rise out of some of the most unlikely sources.
Take a look at the gallery above for some creative takes on the standard…
Em um longínquo 2004, eu falei que a Axe fez um dos melhores comerciais do mundo com “Getting Dressed”. Criação da BBH London, e premiado de tudo quanto é jeito, ele mostra um casal recolhendo suas roupas pelo caminho.
Quando vi esse novo comercial, “Destinos”, criado pela Ponce Buenos Aires, lembrei imediatamente daquelas cenas. É também protagonizado por um casal, com uma bela trilha, e o tom de mistério. Mas a ideia e a conclusão são igualmente geniais.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
