maggie+marketing

“We promise not to screw it up.” I believe it...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:22 -0400

“We promise not to screw it up.” I believe it — I’m excited about this news. Love that she used a GIF, too. More thoughts on all this later.

marissamayr:

I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr!

We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.

Tumblr has built an amazing place to follow the world’s creators. From art to architecture, fashion to food, Tumblr hosts 105 million different blogs. With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of thefastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent onsite each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr’s users are using the mobile app, and those users do an average of 7 sessions per day. Tumblr’s tremendous popularity and engagement among creators, curators and audiences of all ages brings a significant new community of users to the Yahoo! network. The combination of Tumblr+Yahoo! could grow Yahoo!’s audience by 50% to more than a billion monthly visitors, and could grow traffic by approximately 20%.

In terms of working together, Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance user experience.

As I’ve said before, companies are all about people. Getting to know the Tumblr team has been really amazing. I’ve long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of those who create them. That’s why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I’ve worked with. His respect for Tumblr’s community of creators is awesome, and I’m absolutely delighted to have him and his entire team join Yahoo!.

Both Tumblr and Yahoo! share a vision to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas by focusing on users, design — and building experiences that delight and inspire the world every day.

http://yahoo.tumblr.com/

strle: sparklebiscuit: conversemusic: TommyPom digs...

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:25:03 -0400

strle:

sparklebiscuit:

conversemusic:

TommyPom digs Converse’s new music Tumblr.

I know you are an advertisement but I love you just the same.

<3

Native Advertising: You’re doing it right

"I’ll give you the most logical conclusion kids are ditching Facebook—one that none of the articles I..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:05:58 -0400

“

I’ll give you the most logical conclusion kids are ditching Facebook—one that none of the articles I read on the Great Teenage Facebook Exodus mentioned. And the evidence that supports the theory is right there in the Piper Jaffray survey. But first let’s define Facebook.

What is Facebook to most people over the age of 25? It’s a never-ending class reunion mixed with an eternal late-night dorm room gossip session mixed with a nightly check-in on what coworkers are doing after leaving the office. In other words, it’s a place where you go to keep tabs on your friends and acquaintances.

You know what kids call that? School.

”

- Cliff Watson.

(via nedhepburn)

I don’t 100% agree with this — I think Facebook has more of an information/link sharing function than he’s giving it credit for — but overall it’s a good point.

"It seems to me that this is native advertising as it should be. … The content is genuinely fun, just..."

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:26:14 -0400

“It seems to me that this is native advertising as it should be. … The content is genuinely fun, just as it is fleeting and unobtrusive. … These are the sorts of native ad projects that help change some of the traditional polarity of the advertising and publishing relationship. This is where we really see marketers challenged by publishers on behalf of users to make their advertising more fun and engaging on the consumer’s terms.”

- MediaPost: Tumblr Brings Its Native Ad Format To Mobile (via david)

Gorgeous. adamswann: I love this recent illustration for AdWeek...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:40:37 -0400

Gorgeous.

adamswann:

I love this recent illustration for AdWeek Magazine from the super talented ednacional

humansofnewyork: “Put me on the internet! Even on The...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:22:00 -0400

humansofnewyork:

“Put me on the internet! Even on The Google!”

You got it, lady. Happy Friday!

"I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am..."

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:52:01 -0400

“I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting.”

- Roger Ebert. (via nedhepburn)

Love this. Rest in peace, Roger.

Emotion, Reason, and Marketing

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:13:45 -0400

Fast Company has a really interesting article on the role of reason vs. emotion in marketing. The argument? Market researchers have been getting it all wrong for years, by placing reason as the primary mode of thinking, rather than emotion:

The most startling truth is we don’t even think our way to logical solutions. We feel our way to reason. Emotions are the substrate, the base layer of neural circuitry underpinning even rational deliberation. Emotions don’t hinder decisions. They constitute the foundation on which they’re made!

I like how this article, and the neuroscience it cites, focuses our attention on a paramount issue that sometimes gets lost in the noise of marketing: building a brand connection. Particularly in the cluttered digital environment, that primary relationship — an emotional one — is as critical to a brand’s success as the attributes of its latest product.

Social adds a unique element to building a brand connection, because, for the first time, it’s a two-way street. Brands can tell their stories, and engage with fans who want to tell theirs. This is connection — and at scale, it’s community. With emotion at the center of consumer behavior, these are powerful things indeed.

The article doesn’t ever refer specifically to social marketing, but if you want to build a strong brand connection in today’s world, it’s clear that social belongs at the heart. I’ll close with another quote from the article that makes the point better than I can (emphasis mine):

The left brain creates an intellectual understanding of “self” and a sense of separation from others. Our right brain creates a feeling of “we,” that wonderful sense of connection with one another and the ineffable awe of living in the moment—the essences of better lives and great brands.

"I don’t see the world in silos called mobile, broadband, browser, app or television. Instead, it is..."

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:09:00 -0400

“I don’t see the world in silos called mobile, broadband, browser, app or television. Instead, it is all about being in the state of connectedness.”

- @om

Uber, Data Darwinism and the future of work — Tech News and Analysis

(via fred-wilson)

Making and Keeping Promises

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:29:00 -0400

I read an interesting article on VentureBeat the other week designed to provide startups with advice about brand-building, but it’s well worth reminding even the biggest brands of this simple truth:

At the core of every great brand is a company’s ability to deliver on the prospect’s expectations — or better yet, exceed those expectations.

The heart of every brand is its ability to make and keep promises, and marketing is the part of the brand that makes the promises. The article goes on to note that “startups often bake a ‘desired position’ into the brand that strays too far from reality,” but even big brands do this. When there’s too big a gap between the brand position and reality, you get a broken promise.

One of the most interesting things about marketing today is that with the rise of social media and, more broadly speaking, communication networks (e.g. email), broken promises are no longer isolated to one disappointed customer and his/her immediate group. Instead, they are shared, by lots of voices. If promises are broken too badly, and too often, conversation about your brand can get loud and negative. And that can directly influence how other customers feel about you (just ask Papa John’s).

Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Feeling a little jealous of all the folks down at SXSW. No...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:32:16 -0500

Feeling a little jealous of all the folks down at SXSW. No better remedy than a reminder of how amazing New York is, today and aways.

(via hellonewyork, hellonewyork)

"Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have..."

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:57:15 -0500

“Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.”

- (via yenchinschin)

fred-wilson: doing some research on @jack for my talk with him...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:56:41 -0500

fred-wilson:

doing some research on @jack for my talk with him later today. came upon this. look at that grin on jack’s face watching the president tweeting. that is pride in action.

Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.

"Taking your work live is energizing, invigorating and insanely risky. You give up the legacy of the..."

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:26:00 -0500

“Taking your work live is energizing, invigorating and insanely risky. You give up the legacy of the backlist, the scalability of inventory and the assurance of editing. It’s an entirely different way of being in the world.”

- Seth Godin

I wrote last week that real time social marketing was having a moment. It’s having another moment right now in the Oscars aftermath. Unlike the Super Bowl, there was no “:Oreo moment.” Many brand tweets fell flat, as Ad Age pointed out — and they also ran a piece on why not every cultural moment deserves a brand response. I don’t disagree with either article, but I thought Seth’s post was a timely reminder of what the stakes are. Thinking and being able to react in real time is risky — but it’s also energizing and invigorating. Not every moment is right for every brand, but when it is, the opportunity is huge. (And it almost goes without saying that day-to-day engagement adds up to huge opportunity over time, too.) On the flip side, sometimes there is a desperate need for restraint: you don’t want your pre-scheduled content or ads blasting out into the world, oblivious, while an unthinkable tragedy unfolds and the social web becomes a forum for shock and grief.

The point is, in today’s world, you have to be there — already living an “entirely different way of being in the world.” That is the essential piece. Make the moves you need to now so you’re ready later (which, of course, will soon be the now).

Real Time is Right Now

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:30:27 -0500

It’s something I’ve been interested in for years, and it’s really having its moment in the sun — real time reaching its real potential in social media. From Oreo, Tide, and others killing it during the Superbowl, to Twitter’s acquisition of social TV company Bluefin Labs to — a favorite example — The Onion hitting new heights thanks to its new focus on real-time/daily publishing, real time is truly having its moment.

For brands, this means being present and participating in real-time digital culture is becoming less of a luxury, and more of a must-have — a standard, like having a Facebook page and Twitter account. But here’s the thing: It’s not just about being there and saying something — anything. You have to see the opportunities that are right for your brand, and respond in a way that makes sense for you, your users, and what you want to achieve.

That’s strategy. And a smart social strategy needs to be absolutely ingrained in your team’s thinking if you want to play the real-time game (and spoiler alert: you should). It’s hard work to craft a social strategy that pays off where it needs to, harder still to ensure real-time responses adhere to it. But it’s work that’s worth doing for brands that want to keep up.

bobbycaputo: Extra! Extra! “Throughout my travels and transit...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:20:27 -0500

bobbycaputo:

Extra! Extra!

“Throughout my travels and transit time to and from shoots I started using the iPhone camera to scout locations and collect inspirational content for potential projects. I shot my first newsstand near Broadway and Morris Stretts in New York City and immediately found myself stopping to take portraits at every stand I passed. I’m drawn to the vibrant organized colors and compact product placement that provides an instant time stamp via magazine covers and headlines.

The New York City newsstand is a staple in the Big Apple and its perfect square structure is an immediate attraction to the composition fanatic in me. The iPhone has a great dynamic range and its unobtrusive ability lets me shoot with a lot more ease. Paired with editing apps such as Snapseed & PicFx, the end-product emulates the qualities of my favored Hasselblad. I revisited a handful of newsstands with different cameras, and although each camera delivers its own advantage, the iPhone is my current first choice. This project is ongoing and recently I was able to expand the collection to kiosks in Barcelona and Paris.” –Courtesy of Trevor Traynor

To see more of the “NewsStand Project,” visit Traynor’s Instagram feed @ishootpeople or #NewstandprojectbyTrevorTraynor.

Love love love this series. I hope he starts selling prints!

This is great. Hope lots of people will take advantage of all...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:15:13 -0500

This is great. Hope lots of people will take advantage of all the love in the air and make a donation to Donors Choose this week! I did this morning.

Related: Would have been a great brand sponsorship opportunity. Just sayin’.

Plympton and DailyLit

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:00:51 -0500

continuations:

Today Susan and I are excited to announce that DailyLit has become a part of Plympton. We are big fans of Jenny, Yael and Jacky, the co-founders of Plympton, and love their commitment to serial fiction. DailyLit provides a great delivery mechanism for serial fiction and thus fits very well with Plympton. You can read more about the combination on the DailyLit and Plympton blogs.

Thrilled about this. DailyLit was my first real job and was (and is!) amazing. Jenny couldn’t be more awesome — can’t wait to see what’s next!

"Strategy is five choices,” Lafley said. “What is winning; where am I going to play to win; how am I..."

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:37:00 -0500

““Strategy is five choices,” Lafley said. “What is winning; where am I going to play to win; how am I going to win where I play; where are my core competencies that are going to enable me to win where I play; and what management systems and measures are going to help me execute my strategies?””

- Business Insider (via khuyi)

Brilliant — and exactly the questions brands need to ask themselves about their digital marketing.

The Social Marketers' Super Bowl

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:05:00 -0500

Every year there are lots of of stats that come out of the Superbowl — both about the athletes and the marketers, especially those of us working in social. Digital Trends has a good run-down, and here are some highlights:

24.1 million total tweets during the game
5.5 million tweets during Beyonce’s halftime show — more than during the entire game in 2012
235,000 tweets per minute during the power outage
3 million Instagram posts mentioning Super Bowl-related words

These are mind-blowing numbers, but they prove out something most of us already know: the second screen is hugely important, and nowhere more so than during sporting events, where watching live truly matters.

The more interesting stats to me are these: Twitter was mentioned in 50% of commercials, Facebook in 8%. Last year Twitter received far fewer mentions, while Facebook was mentioned in twice as many ads. The total number of social media mentions increased from 2012 to 2013. I think these data reflect a growing sophistication among digital marketers about social — not only that they’re doing more with it, but they’re being smarter about it. Twitter has always been the more powerful platform for engaging with users in real-time, but because Facebook has dominated marketers’ thinking (and spend) for years, Twitter hasn’t always been embraced as fully as you might expect. Marketers today — the good ones, anyway — are getting more sophisticated about the multi-platform approach that effective social marketing demands, enabling them to be participatory and “native” in a way that isn’t possible when you’re super focused on one platform. It’s exciting.

And, just for good measure, I think Ram’s “God Made a Farmer” ad was my favorite of the night. There were other commercials that grabbed my attention (hello, Calvin Klein) or made me laugh (M&Ms) or disgusted me (not even going to link to it because we ALL know which one I’m talking about, and I don’t want to encourage them by contributing to their video views), but none were as arresting as Ram’s. It wasn’t perfect — notably, there is not much of a Hispanic presence in the ad, which is a huge oversight — but it was such a powerful concept and great execution that it still gets my vote.