Hasta La Creative!

Two weeks out, the agenda for Ad Age Digital 2014 is finally locked down and we’ve got some new additions to announce:

When it comes to aesthetics in social media, Instagram sets the standard, which is why the photo sharing service treaded very carefully before inserting ads into the stream. Instagram’s business chief Jim Squires is ducking out of a Facebook all-hands to join us and talk about it. (Thanks, Jim!)

We’re also really excited to welcome chef, restaurateur, veteran celebrity and Crocs-wearing icon Mario Batali to the Ad Age Digital stage. Mr. Batali has two new series debuting this spring, “Feedback Kitchen” on Dailymotion and “The High Road With Mario Batali” on Hulu. In a keynote coversation, we’ll talk about the difference between creating for the web and for TV, working with brands, and how he connects with his fans on an individual basis through social media.

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With hundreds of startups plying their wares, sometimes it’s hard to wade through the noise at SXSW. And as marketers, we need to assess not only which companies are going to succeed, but which are ready for potential partnerships and brand activations. Often startups are too young to have a functional and viable offering for brands and agencies, but when their product (and sometimes team) matures enough, there’s a lot to be gained from working with them. After sitting through dozens of meetings and pitches at the most recent SXSW in Austin, I’ve hit on five startups that marketers should be sure show up on their radar.

Sonic Notify: The best way to explain Sonic Notify’s offering is that it’s like an audio-based QR code that doesn’t require any scanning. Their technology sends audio signals (inaudible to you and me) from a beacon to phones in proximity to trigger a mobile experience. The simplest execution would be pushing a coupon to a user’s phone when they walk into the store, but they’re doing some awesome stuff around shared experience at events as well. The best part for marketers? The potential for their product is limited only by your own creativity.

Gravy: Gravy helps users find local events they’d be interested in. It’s part social, part search. The data set they’ve been able to compile over the past 18 months is truly impressive. They’ve also developed a hosted white-label version of their product that can provide a fast and easy extension for brands that want to tap into or position themselves around hyperlocal events. The kicker? Gravy can help track conversion from exposure to physical attendance of the event.

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After spending nearly 15 months at what is now FCB L.A., Michael Bryce has left the agency, sources familiar with the matter confirm. Bryce, whose last day at FCB was Friday, joined the agency as executive creative director at the beginning of 2013 following a yearlong CD stint at 72andSunny, where he worked on campaigns for Samsung GS II and Activision. During his time at FCB, meanwhile, Bryce led creative efforts for the likes of Levi’s, Dockers and Nabi.

The creative vet, though, spent the majority of his career at Deutsch LA (14 years, give or take), where he last served as EVP/group creative director and managed the agency’s U.S. Playstation account while leading work for clients such as CiCi’s Pizza, DirecTV and TGIFridays along the way. No word yet on replacement plans at FCB, etc, but we’ll likely fill in the blanks soon enough.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Em menos de um mês, entrará no ar a primeira parte da sétima e última temporada de “Mad Men”. Enquanto muitos fãs já começam a lamentar o fim da série, outros se inspiram nela para criar projetos pessoais. É o caso do diretor de criação Fernando Barbella, que resolveu usar o tema como ponto de partida para o Tumblr “Real Mad Men”, uma bem-humorada homenagem aos verdadeiros mad men trabalhando nas agências de publicidade mundo afora.

O Tumblr entrou no ar ontem, mas já conta com boas amostras de alguns “tipinhos típicos” da publicidade. Se continuar nesse ritmo, será um divertido compêndio da área.

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Apesar dos novos leitores que as redes sociais trazem aos sites de notícias, a verdade é que o leitor fiel ainda é o que mais investe tempo na navegação. É o que diz uma pesquisa da Pew Research, que analisou o tráfego para 26 dos mais populares portais de notícias dos EUA.

Em média, os leitores que digitavam a URL do site ou tinham uma determinada publicação favoritada no seu navegador passavam 4 minutos e 36 segundos em sites de notícias. Já quem vinha dos mecanismos de busca costumava investir 1 minuto e 42 segundos, e os que haviam clicado em links compartilhados pelo Facebook gastavam apenas 1 minuto e 41 segundos em suas visitas.

O curioso é que esse tipo de comportamento acontecia também em sites com uma pegada mais social, como o BuzzFeed – as visitas vindas do Facebook continuavam difíceis de serem retidas por mais tempo ou para outros conteúdos do site. Curiosamente, quanto mais tempo as pessoas passavam no BuzzFeed, maior era a tendência de compartilharem o conteúdo, revelou o CEO Jonah Peretti.

“O Facebook e as buscas são importantíssimas para trazer novos visitantes para histórias específicas, e isso eles fazem bem. Mas esses visitantes sociais vindos do Facebook não criam uma conexão com a publicação”, explica o estudo. A Pew Research destaca ainda que talvez a maior importância do acesso social seja ajudar a desenvolver uma nova base de leitores, que possam pensar naquela publicação quando quiserem buscar conteúdos similares – e aí sim digitarem a URL e investirem mais tempo na leitura. Será?

Um ponto a ser destacado é que a análise da Pew Research, que usou dados da comScore, não incluiu informações de tráfego a partir de dispositivos móveis, considerando apenas acesso via notebooks e desktops por um período de três meses. Quem sabe, com a chegada dos dados de acessos via tablets e smartphones, a situação melhore um pouquinho para as publicações online.

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If you think it's a stretch that Taco Bell is repurposing mid-day bang ballad "Afternoon Delight" as a metaphor for going to Taco Bell, you're really going to be shocked to hear this: That's almost exactly what inspired the song in the first place.

In the chain's new ad, we see co-workers, classmates and geriatric bingo competitors slipping off together to the tune of Starland Vocal Band's enduring 1976 classic. And despite all the furtive note-passing and conspiratorial up-nodding, we quickly learn they're just heading down to the local Taco Bell for a "Happier Hour" promo that runs from 2 to 5 p.m.

It's a cute ad and even features a cameo by 6-foot-tall America's Next Top Model contestant Laura Ellen James. But what's truly surprising is that the song actually was based on an afternoon food excursion.

According to band lore, singer Bill Danoff was amused by the fact that Clyde's restaurant in Georgetown featured a spicy happy hour menu called "Afternoon Delight," which he thought sounded like a metaphor for sex. (And thanks to him, it now totally is.)

So there's your odd fact for the day. I still don't recommend you refer to a Taco Bell visit as an "Afternoon Delight," though it sounds better than "Afternoon Grease-Beef Injection." Good luck inviting your supermodel classmate to that one.

Coca-Cola is planning to use its sponsorship of the World Cup to push its global sustainability campaign, encouraging consumers to live healthier and more active lifestyles.

(TrendHunter.com) GIF-experts and photographers Reed + Rader, also known as Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader, created a new 3D video that explores the world of hyper-futuristic fashion.

The film is ninety seconds long…

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson has said she has “no regrets” over her role in a SodaStream ad campaign, which led to her quitting as an ambassador for charity Oxfam.