False Advertising...

"Lost 100 Pounds in 2 Weeks!"

"Win $10 Million Dollars For Your Fall!" 

"Head On! Apply Directly To Your Forehead"

False or misleading advertising is a well-known underbelly of the marketing industry.  Companies will sometimes inadvertently, and occasionally purposely, try to mislead consumers in an attempt to make money on their naivety.

Check out this Mental Floss article for a list of 6 examples of Shameless False Advertising by companies.

Mobile Advertising Guidelines

As current media evolve and new mediums emerge, marketers must adapt their marketing efforts to comply with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Recently, the FTC released updated guidelines for mobile and online advertisers to help make clear disclosures to consumers. The previous guideline had been released in 2000 (emphasis mine!) This guideline was before the iPhone, Twitter or even Facebook!

Based on findings from eMarketer, these updated guidelines are long overdue. Notice the previous and forecasted growth of mobile/digital ad spending.  As the industry grows and more companies move to the digital domain of advertising, there invariably will be companies who take advantage by unclear/false/misleading advertisements.

The FTC’s guidelines regarding disclosures can be simplified to fit three key factors – Proximity & Placement, Prominence and Clarity.

Proximity & Placement

“A disclosure is more effective if it is placed near the claim it qualifies or other relevant information. Proximity increases the likelihood that consumers will see the disclosure and relate it to the relevant claim or product.”

Here is an example of a proper proximity for a disclosure. This screen cap for Farmville 2 shows the disclosure close to where you purchase more “Farm Bucks.” The further a disclosure is located from the connecting text/ad, the weaker a connection people will make between the two.

Prominence

“It is the advertiser’s responsibility to draw attention to the required disclosures.”

Using the previous example to illustrate disclosure prominence, you’ll see that while the proximity is close to where the purchasing happens, I would argue that Farmville 2 does the very least it needs to when it comes to prominence. They are using black 12-point font and a lavender background. Considering the coloring and font size used for everything else on the page, this is definitely not as prominent as should be.

Clarity

Disclosures must be clear and not cluttered by other ads or media. The disclosure example is free from other extraneous text or ads. This is also a very simple disclosure, so only a one-time placement is needed. If it were a more complicated message, Zynga would need to repeat the message until they satisfied the expectation for the message to be understood or simply it enough while maintaining the integrity of the message.

Companies must hit all three of these key points to ensure they have clear and un-misleading advertising. This is, of course, in their best interest. Producing misleading content is an easy way to build consumer animosity and invite Better Business Bureau litigation. Just ask these companies about false advertising.

This Is Crazy But Search Me ... Definitely

So this is crazy but did you know there are things called search engines and people use them to find things? 


Did you know "Google" is in the Oxford English Dictionary? In Spanish it's "Googlear?" I have a B.A. in English; I get excited about things like the OED. 

*Side note* I recommend the book, The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. It's riveting!


Seriously though, Internet Ad Sales and Search Engine Marketing/Optimization (SEM/SEO) is becoming an increasingly important part of marketing. More than half of respondents to a 2013 eMarketer survey said that search engines and keywords were "more" or "much more important" than the prior year.

This thinking is detailed by the fact that 57% of marketers make use of SEO daily. SEO is not performed in a vacuum though and the social and content marketing factors play a large role in search engine marketing. The combined efforts of search engine marketing with its native results and search engine optimization with sponsored results are proving increasing invaluable to the public in their searches for anything airline tickets to video games.

In a recent article, Jennifer Van Iderstyne wrote an article with her take on SEO and the growing emphasis on content marketing, focusing less on the short tail and increasingly on the long tail. She believes that focusing on the longer keywords and keyword groups that are less popular than the more direct keywords will prove as effective in your SEO strategy. 

“If you actually delve into your potential for phrases that don’t have five figure search volume, you may find that you’re just outside the Top 10 or Top 20 for a number of phrases that you’ve just never thought about. The opportunity to perform better for those phrases is real with a little effort and the right strategy.” 

Winning multiple keywords with less competition, thus cheaper cost, can reach the customers who are looking for your product or don't know they want it until it shows up in their results. The ad services of the search engines have started to facilitate this by allowing purchase of not just individual keywords or phrases but keyword groups. Here is a shot from Google's AdWords. While doing research for a group project I came across this Google Adwords page for Bioshock Infinite. Notice these keyword groups all have low competition allowing for possible better ROI.

Compare the following screenshots. 

*Note* I searched for these terms while in Incognito.

The first screen shot I took from a google search for "Bioshock Infinite." This is a highly anticipated game being released soon from Irrational Games and Take Two Interactive Entertainment. 

The product name of a title will definitely be one of the top searches and costly, but a necessity. 

You'll notice that all the "above the fold" results are about the product. To the left are organic search results linking to the game website, the wikipedia page and news items. To the right are sponsored results for various items you can purchase related to the game.

Now look at the next two screenshots. The search terms, "Songbird" and "new infinite" are related to the game but not top terms and aren't combined with the word "Bioshock." You'll see that if you had purchased these terms you would still manage to gain results on the first page and above the fold. Neither of these results link to the main game webpage but to the Bioshock Wiki and to a gaming news site. 

If Take Two or Irrational had optimized the game's webpage for not just the popular, short tail search terms but also the more obscure long tail, they could have replaced these posts and reached more customers. 

It all boils down to remembering that sometimes the "slow and low" - many cheaper, low-competition keywords - method of SEO and digital marketing can earn you as many impressions and sales as blowing your SEO budget on one or two expensive, high-competition keywords.

Do I Fascinate You? Do I?!

Have you ever seen a company's twitter feed comprised of nothing but boring links like...

"Click here for more info ... http://bit.ly/boringlink"

"Sale! Click here for more info ... http://bit.ly/anotherboringlink"

"Friend us! ... facebook.com/boringcompany"

Would you ever click on one of the links? No.

When you're being interviewed would you answer the interviewer's questions by saying "Look at my résumé. That will answer the question?" No. 

Every interaction you have with someone, is a continuation of a story. Every conversation is another chapter in the mental book they write about you. The same goes for companies. 

Everything is a brand, even you – Yes, you ARE a brand.

Everything that you communicate from tweets and Facebook posts to stories you tell your friends tells a lot about your brand and how you communicate. Corporations and people must convey their stories to achieve whatever message they’re trying to get across, whether it is influencing others to buy their product or to hire them for a job.

According to SallyHogshead (@SallyHogshead), there are 7 triggers of fascination that everyone uses to persuade and captivate in telling a story and achieving their goals. Everyone has a primary and secondary trigger that combined forms an archetype.

The 49 Fascination Archetypes

Knowing your archetype can help you discover your strengths and weaknesses of how you persuade people and use that knowledge of both to your advantage.

After taking the test, I discovered that I have a primary trigger of Passion and a secondary trigger of Mystique forming the archetype The Intrigue. Everyone also has a trigger that they use least, their dormant trigger. Mine is Alarm

Unlike other tests, which focus on how you see yourself, this test focuses on how others perceive you. 

I was a bit surprised to see Passion score as my primary trigger. I tend to see myself more reserved though upon reflection I do try to draw people in by getting them excited about an issue/item/show as I am.  

I have taken several other types of tests before (I’m a whole-brained, INTJ with a cusp I/E) and these previous results have a definite correlation to the results seen in the overall fascination archetype. All of these tests show a prevalence to be somewhat even-keeled and to choose for quality over quantity when sharing information.

Companies would be wise to find their archetype - their strengths and weaknesses, the triggers they use to connect with their customers. 

Companies are dedicating more energy online and consumers are spending more of the sales funnel online researching companies and products. With the increased detachment, companies must engage consumers better - fascinate them. This is the first step in creating a lasting connection with that consumer that will, hopefully, shape into a lasting profitable relationship. For example, a company whose primary or secondary trigger of Mystique might prefer using Twitter where their message is delivered piecemeal. 

Listen to Sally's TED talk for her insights into how to fascinate.