Microsoft's Bing

Microsoft has launched its answer to Google in Bing, its replacement for Live Search. This latest go at a search platform has some interesting quirks, including instances of single results on the SERP (search engine results page) for keywords it’s certain have a single destination site.

On the homepage, Bing layers a pleasing image behind the search box, with your standard Images, News and other options down the left-hand column. The image has discoverable hotspots, which both fits the theme of searching and could be a very interesting way to integrate ads onto the most visited page at Bing.Read full post...

Award-winning work

That’s why I’m happy to report that AB&C recently won 12 awards at the 2009 Aster Awards, a medical and healthcare marketing awards program. The awards —golds, silvers and bronzes — recognized creative work in direct mail, web design, television, collateral and print. Check it out for yourself.

One gold was for our design of the St. Joseph Hospital Website. St. Joe’s old website was packed with information, but you had to take the time to dig through it. And that was the problem — especially because the good people of Greater Nashua, western New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts — the hospital’s audience — are very tech-savvy and look to the Internet as their first source of medical information. So after we impressed St. Joe’s with unique micro-sites for some of their new campaigns, they decided it was well past time to overhaul their main website.Read full post...

Stay competitive by advertising.

Almost half of the adults in the United States think that if you’re not advertising, you must be in trouble. And most think that if you are advertising, you’re competitive and committed.

That’s according to a new Ad-ology Research study, “Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy.”

Also:

• 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago.
• TV, newspaper, direct mail and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action.
• Store websites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online.

The lesson? If you want consumers to know you’ve got a healthy business in this sick economy, advertise.

Spec Creative

For all you prospective clients out there, we at AB&C would love to have you as a client. We really would. And please, give me a call at any time.

Or, feel free to include us in your RFP process. Just one little thing about that RFP process…
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Social networking vs. Social marketing

People, please. You are breaking my heart.

I spend hours on Facebook. Hours. I do it so I can reconnect with people I purposely lost touch with years ago. I do it so I can poke Scott Bille and not get sued. I do it so I can see pictures of people from my past.

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Search engines

The top search engines have collectively agreed on a solution to a problem that has long vexed web developers and web site owners.

Google, MSN, and Yahoo have announced support for the use of a “canonical” link tag as part of a page’s markup to help identify duplicate content. The three have a combined search market share of over 90 percent, according to several independent rating surveys.Read full post...

Good ads = good sushi

While walking back to the agency after a really nice sushi lunch today with my coworkers, I was struck by the parallels between creating ads and the tasty Japanese delicacy.

Sink your teeth into this: A really good ad should hit you in the same way good sushi does. It should have an attention-grabbing, almost explosive impact, just as the tastes and textures of the fish, rice, wasabi and soy sauce simultaneously slam into your palate.

Like sushi, good ads:

• Are fresh
• Are tasty
• Are potent. It’s been said sushi should provide “the universe in two or three bites.” A good ad should make its point at a glance. Or two.
• Leave you wanting more. Hey, unless you’re spending $30 on sushi, you’re still hungry. So, too, a good ad should make you want the product — and more good ads.

What else is good advertising like? Hmm, I sense a whole series of blogs…

Using sex to sell Hardee's

Sex. Duh.

And it was proven yet again with the latest ad from the fast food chain Hardee’s. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check it out. It features Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi…umm…enjoying one of Hardee’s new hamburgers.

I’m sure this phenomenon is not news to any of you. If it is, I’m sorry. Either way, Karlene Lukovitz, a writer for MediaPost Publications, wrote a good article about the new commercial and it’s worth a quick read.

Now, how can we make tobacco cessation and highway safety sexy? Think, people!

Advertising on the internet

Have you seen “Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet” by Eric Clemons?

Reads partially like another “pay for content” scheme. But it is totally true that most premium (and non-premium) content creators cannot sustain their business models based on their current advertising model.

NYTimes.com could not support its robust site and content without the proceeds from its print counterpart, leading to a vicious cycle of reduced content value as print ad revenue decreases.Read full post...

Peel n' Taste

First Flavor Inc. of Bala Cynwyd and US Ink, a Carlstadt, NJ–based company that provides ink for the newspaper industry, recently launched “Taste-it Notes” – newspaper front-page sticky notes that double as flavor strips. Now you can smell and taste a food or beverage product in your morning newspaper!

So far, flavor strips have been used in national campaigns for Welch Foods, Arm & Hammer, SKYY Vodka and Campbell’s Soup. In addition to newspapers, the ads have appeared in People and Rolling Stone magazines.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Taste-it Notes are being billed as “a new way for struggling newspapers to build up ad revenue. … This delivery leverages the power of print advertising and brings an interactive experience that is not possible with online, television or radio ads.”

Now I’m not sure if Taste-it Notes will revitalize the newspaper industry, but this is an interesting new take on product sampling.

Award-winning work

AB&C earned 11 awards, including a “Best in Show,” at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards, the nation’s oldest and largest healthcare advertising awards competition, sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report. Click to see the winning creative.

AB&C took top honors (the “Best in Show” award) for developing a Physician Recruitment Showcase Book on behalf of Geisinger Health System of Danville, Pennsylvania. Physician recruitment is challenging and highly competitive —particularly for Geisinger Health System, a renowned but remote health system in rural Pennsylvania. Recruitment branding has always represented Geisinger as a place where physicians are thought leaders and innovators — where they can be heard, do research, teach and pioneer revolutionary treatments and modalities.

Our idea was to create a showcase book that would capture the essence of the Geisinger physician experience. The book parallels scientific/technologic photography with quotes that aren’t so much inspirational as they are aspirational. We chose quotes from contemporary sources rather than “dead Greek guys.” Other photography captured the lifestyle of the physicians with captions that contrasted their leisure pastimes with their clinical pursuits. Response has been good — the piece has gotten high marks from physician candidates.

The Whopper Sacrifice

Did you hear about Burger King’s recent “Whopper Sacrifice” Facebook promotion? The promotion attempted to get Facebook users to “sacrifice” ten friends in exchange for a coupon for a free Whopper.

Facebook didn’t like the promotion and Burger King had to take it down after one week, but only after 234,000 friendships had ended.

Here’s what happened. Burger King launched the “Whopper Sacrifice” micro-site, where Facebook users could install the Whopper Sacrifice Application. The application allowed you to delete 10 friends in exchange for a coupon for a free Whopper. According to statistics, over 89,000 Facebook members added the application. To add an interesting twist, the friend’s profile photo was set on fire through animation once you chose to delete him or her.

Are we seeing a brand-new way to use Facebook? Will others try similar stunts?

The reality of print advertising.

Well, maybe not greatly exaggerated, but there’s a sliver of hope for the faltering industry – at least for the time being.

A new survey of American readers by The Rosen Group, about the state of current and future media, found that nearly 80% of respondents still subscribe to magazines; 83% find that daily newspapers are still relevant. Of those surveyed, though, 40% were uncertain whether newspapers and magazines would exist in 10 years.

The results suggest that although there’s a strong shift to online news consumption and a strong preference for online sources for breaking news, Americans still believe print publications are important to their lives.

The research brief was published by the Center for Media Research – online.

Twestivals...social networking for charity.

What happens when civic-minded social networkers decide to rally together and use technology to raise money for charity? A Twestival!

In September 2008, a group of Twitterers based in London decided to organize an event at which the local Twitter community could socialize in person. During the event, they also solicited donations to charity. The bulk of the event was organized in under two weeks, via Twitter.

And so began Twestivals. Stories started appearing of local Twitter communities coming together and taking similar action for charitable organizations. And in February 2009, 200+ cities participated in an international Twestival to raise money for a good cause: water.

Read more about how Twitter and Twestivals are making a local impact on a global scale.

Brands and Twitter

By now, you have probably heard people talking about Twitter. Reporters are Twittering during the commercials breaks on CNN and Fox News. Senators were Twittering during President Obama’s recent address. It seems like every day, someone else is joining Twitter.

But what the heck is Twitter? And how can advertisers use it effectively?

Twitter is part social network, part blog. It allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.

Mashable, a blog about social media, has posted its review of 40 of the best brands that are using Twitter. Mashable also has thoughts on why major brands do belong on Twitter. So read on and decide if you (or your employer) should be on Twitter.