1. The Digi-Centered Lives of American Moms.

American moms are top online influencers using social media to share experiences.

Nielsen has released a study from March 2012 showing how rooted moms’ lives are in online social networks. The top social website for the demographic is, of course, Facebook with 72.5% of moms logging on to connect.

What’s particularly interesting is the combination of top social and brand connections that make moms significant online influencers. They are 38% more likely to become a fan of or follow a brand through social networking, and they are passive followers. One in three bloggers are moms, too. Moms are over 25% more likely to visit Blogger.com or WordPress.com.

Moms dominate the fast-growing sharing site Pinterest, and they are also shopping online to find the best deals and sharing their shopping information with their networks. They are 85% more likely to share advice on beauty and cosmetics and almost 30% more likely to provide online shopping advice. The segment wants their voice heard and is making social media the delivery method.

How they get their opinions out there has been changing, too. On-the-go moms are not waiting to share this information when they get home. In fact, mobile device usage with this segment is 13% higher than the general population with 50% of all moms accessing social media through a mobile device.

2. In the wake of filing their IPO, Facebook tests a pay-for-post model.

The social and tech community grumbles over potential repercussions.

Facebook is testing a cost model for users to pay to ‘Highlight’ their posts in friends’ feeds. The ever-changing social network thinks the process may give users more control over being seen in their friends’ new feeds. Allowing a user to pay for the highlight would give the post higher priority over Facebook’s current algorithm.

The test is being conducted in New Zealand and price points have been reportedly tested from free to US $2.00 per highlight. The test is apparently only available to users and not business pages, and it’s unclear if Facebook will test the new service with business pages, as well.

Only time will tell if users will be the hesitant acceptors they have been in the past or if they will flock to other social networking websites if Facebook enacts a pay-for-service model for highlighting posts or storing images .

With Facebook filing their IPO today, it’s no wonder they want to show their earning capabilities to potential investors.

3. YouTube plans on producing about 25 hours of daily content across 100 new channels.

With a high $20 CPM, will advertisers sign-on or shy away?

YouTube announced the launch of 100 professionally produced channels at the Digital Content NewFronts in April. The new event is the online version of the annual spring broadcast television upfronts, where network and cable television announce new programming and schedule shakeups for fall premieres. YouTube and other marketers are attempting to bite at the heels of the $70 billion advertisers commit to television ads each year.

YouTube has pledged $200 million in marketing to support the project and according to the New York Times, have already recruited emerging digital studios and established brands like WWE, the Wall Street Journal and Thomson Reuters for channel content. A few advertisers like AT&T, GM and Toyota have already signed onto some shows on the first channels to be released.

They’re pitching it to advertisers as a targeted medium to reach specific consumers across a variety of demos. Adweek has reported YouTube as actively seeking sponsorships of the channels for about $5 million each. For pre-roll, channels would cost $20 per thousand viewers, which isn’t out of the realm of broadcast television, but is higher than many advertisers feel comfortable spending on online ventures. While online metrics haven’t found a similar universal measurement similar to Nielsen ratings for television, it can’t be ruled out as a method of message delivery.

4. Attention to posts throughout the day varies across social networks.

Facebook peaks mid-week, while Tumblr performs best on Friday evenings.

Bit.ly posted their May 2012 findings on what times of day are most likely to have content ‘go viral’ through various social networks. Facebook and Twitter achieve more clicks throughout the week, especially during standard work hours, while Tumblr’s optimal time for clicks peaks on Friday evenings.

Facebook traffic rises and falls with the work day and peaks on Wednesday from 12 pm – 2pm CST. Bit.ly has also quantified the ‘half-life’ of a Twitter link to 2.8 hours. They’re defining half-life as the ‘amount of time at which the link will receive half of the clicks it will ever receive after it’s reached its peak.’

According to a May 2012 study from Simply Measured, Google+ is mirroring Facebook’s peak day with Wednesday showing the highest engagement. About 64% of the Interband Top 100 brands have an active Google + page and they are becoming more active. Brand activity has risen 15% since February, with 43% of brands posting three or more times per week. The top time of day for these brands to post is 9 am CST.

What digital trends have caught your attention this week?

It’s early May, and like Alice Cooper sang, “School’s Out!” Right? Wrong! As a recent graduate, most would assume that my time of intense learning is over. I can say, for myself, this has not been the case. During the interview process, I noticed Lawrence & Schiller was promoting its internship program as “Lawrence & Schiller University.” This label could not have been closer to the truth. I think it’s fair to say that I have learned more through my first week than I did in my last semester at school, not to say I didn’t learn important lessons in the classroom.

In fact, I picked up one of the most helpful lessons for this internship on the campus of USD. As the school year wound down, I spent some time talking to my professors in the Contemporary Media and Journalism Department about what I could expect from my internship. I also asked what rules I could follow to make the most of my internship. The most distinct piece of advice came from one of my professors pointing to a plaque on her wall which read, “Anacora Imparo.” She told me it is the Latin translation for “I’m still learning.” She described through every position she has held, she never assumed she knew everything, or anything about it. She emphasized I should never assume I am done learning.

When I stepped through the doors at L&S, I knew I needed to be ready to learn. The first few days at Lawrence & Schiller have been a bit overwhelming and chaotic, primarily due to the massive amount of information I’ve consumed. After the initial few days, my LSU experience is still bursting with excitement and employees willing to help. Similar to my professor’s teaching assistants in my courses in college, everyone at L&S is willing to help teach me what I need to know in order to succeed. From helping me become familiarized with time cards and research programs to setting up the company email signature, everyone has been beyond helpful in my learning process. With the fast-paced, media-driven world that we all live in, there is no doubt in my mind I will be in a perpetual state of learning at L&S.

Fifty.  Two.  Eighty.  I heard about it before I applied for this internship, before the Meet Greet Repeat, and after being selected for this internship.  Yet it took a week of interning to get the first taste of what it means.  The idea of going the Extra Mile for clients is one of the many things that makes Lawrence & Schiller unique.  It has been what I expected, but at the same time, unlike anything I could have expected.

I was lucky enough to start my internship on a week packed with events.  The quarterly staff meeting provided a wide look at what all the teams have been doing.  The 36th anniversary of the agency gave me a better look at what drives this place.  I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the people who represent L&S’s largest client, South Dakota Tourism.

I have always believed account service to be a position for a jack-of-all-trades, and this first week of the summer has confirmed it.  Through client meetings, conference calls and brainstorming sessions, I was privileged to experience first-hand a dynamic range of opportunities throughout the week.  But all that stuff sounds pretty common, especially at an advertising agency.  Some of the less common events included unpacking photo printers, going on road trips, naming piñatas and learning some of the lingo (I had to figure out what “CVB” stood for pretty quick. Thanks, Google). Team Synergy has welcomed me with open arms and proven to provide changing scenery, both physically, and metaphorically.

From Day 1, the sheer amount of new information has been tremendous and made manageable because of solid guidance.  Everyone at the agency is more than happy to help me as I continue to learn the ropes.  The team environment is, in a word, contagious.  Everyone sees the big picture.  Everyone understands his or her role, and they put a strong effort into execution.  Although I’ve only spent five days at L&S, I’ve seen the Extra Mile concept ring true across the board.

All this has begun to reveal the 5280 spirit I have heard so much about.  The fostering environment has been exemplary.  I couldn’t have asked for a more fast-paced, involved, or thrilling first week on the job.  After witnessing just a small piece of the action, my excitement has only grown.  Without a doubt, it has been one of the most memorable and eventful “first week” experiences I’ve had in my career.  It’s going to be an outstanding summer.

I can sum up my first day with one word – intimidating. I’m sure you can imagine what it’s like being a rookie finding yourself in midst of the “A” team. I pride myself as a confident person, but over the past month, I have anxiously anticipated my start date as L&S’s creative intern. As if I didn’t already know I would be joining the leading marketing and advertising company in the region, I was constantly reminded by friends and neighbors, which only furthered my anxiety.

Luckily, this isn’t the first time I’ve met with the L&S crew. The Meet, Greet, Repeat and mixer plus the interview process helped to ease my nerves. Not to mention the fact that while great at what they do, the L&S crew is incredibly friendly and humble. I was even welcomed Tuesday morning by my favorite coffee courtesy of my mentor and champion, designer Sarah Pitts.  How awesome is that?

Onward to “The Bunker” – my workplace for the next several months. Sounds scary, right? Don’t fret. In addition to my awesome creative workspace close to those who’ve mastered creative strategy, print/web design and web development, I’m fortunate enough to work on two monitors and the latest operating system and software. Coming from a four-year-old 13″ MacBook, this is technological luxury at its finest.

I can sum up the rest of the day as orientation, basically, the calm before the storm. I was graced with my first wake-call later that day; design a logo, in 3 hours. At that moment the adrenaline kicked in, I couldn’t mess up my first task. Luckily, some freelance experience has taught me to work fast and efficiently. I joked with Scott Lawrence later that week about how I under promised and over delivered, a mantra a mentor taught me earlier in my college career. I won’t lie, while I was able to deliver two logos in the time allotted, I spent countless hours that night weighing the options in my head.

Now, fast forward to Friday. My first week was a combination of working on web banners and aquatinting myself with past and active jobs. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few meetings, a concept that I appreciate coming straight from college where the ideas are yours alone. I feel privileged to be part of a team that understands the bigger picture aside from their discipline. For each creative direction, there’s reasoning. I have finally transcended the days of “because it looks cool.” Not to say that L&S creative work doesn’t look “cool.” I’ve just experienced firsthand the strategy and research that’s put into the final product.

All in all, it has been an active first week. I attended the second quarter staff meeting and helped L&S celebrate 36 years of business. I’ve quickly learned this internship is not for the faint of heart. I’ve been thrown in headfirst, but I can say with confidence that I have people here to help me swim. All the hard work, the late hours and the time cards will not go unrewarded.

Now, who here has heard the term media hopper? I haven’t, but it’s funny because it turns out, I am one. For example, when I’m watching TV I always have my trusty smartphone on hand to save me from commercials or so I can be “Pinning” while watching my TV favorite shows.

So who is a media hopper? A media hopper is a person who is known for their ability (or need) to be continuously shifting their attention to different media sources. For example, in their daily lives consumers are engaged with what marketers have termed the three screens: their TV, computer and mobile device. According to Innerscope Research, these media hoppers can switch between each media source nearly 13 times during a 30-minute TV show…guilty!

As marketers continue to look into this new style of interacting with media, some are speculating about the reasons behind this phenomenon. Some say that by switching between media sources, consumers can interact with different information and messaging to regulate moods. Others believe consumers want to continuously be engaged with interesting, new content or they are simply eliminating boredom.

The more we as marketers learn about the who, what and why behind the actions of media hoppers, the better we will be able to address the issues that stem from this new usage habit. Issues, such as limited interest in a single medium and limited time and attention given to advertisements, show marketers that they need to attract users’ attention in an interesting and engaging way across multiple platforms simultaneously.

A good example of this multi-platform approach was the Jack in the Box Super Bowl campaign. This campaign consisted of TV, social media (#MarryBacon) and a special microsite for mobile and tablet users to access (marrybacon.com), to further engage with consumers in a two-way, interactive conversation – a conversation that could take place while continuing to watch their TV show, after seeing the commercial.

When you’re in marketing you gotta learn to roll with the punches – or in this case, changing consumer preferences!

What’s your favorite example of a company who has engaged their audience in a multi-platform kind of way?

1. Tumblr-Hosted Blogs Surpass the 50-Million Mark.

In April, Google predicted that the search term “Tumblr” will overtake the term “blog” by end of the year. Yes, that’s right; Tumblr is to blogs, as what Kleenex is to facial tissue. The popular brand name Tumblr will soon be the go-to term for the generic word “blog.”

With Tumblr hosting over 50 million blogs, the company is obviously experiencing quite the growth spurt, and now brands will be able to take advantage of it. The platform’s Founder and CEO Dave Karp recently released that Tumblr will introduce new ad units for sale on the site’s “Radar” post where popular content is highlighted. Ads began appearing on users’ dashboards on May 2nd.

Clients may be hesitant to advertise on such a platform, but there are benefits to doing so. Tumblr is a site that has consistent and heavy user engagement. Users worldwide spent an average of 89 minutes on the site during January 2012, according to a February report from comScore. This may not seem like a lot, but it quadruples the amount of time users spend on Twitter, which is a mere 21 minutes, and is dead even with Pinterest.

Read about Tumblr’s growth and move into the advertising game in eMarketer’s article entitled, “Tumblr Boasts Rapid Growth and New Advertising Opportunities.”

While social media now seems like a marketing staple, it hasn’t been until recently that brands have harnessed the power of social marketing to not just advertise their own products, but to build relationships with their fans and followers. With social media enhancements like the Facebook Timeline and new platforms like Pinterest, brands are engaging with their consumers in more interactive ways, ultimately attracting more fans and strengthening overall brand interest.

According to an article from Think Social Media, travel brands are seeing positive gains in the social space, especially on Facebook. Think Social media found that with  Facebook’s Timeline feature, Texas, South Dakota and Maryland all have Facebook engagement percentages of more than 10 percent overall—a strong accomplishment considering that more than half of other state travel organizations have engagement ranging between 1 and 5 percent.

As social media platforms become more optimized for experiential browsing and destinations build pages where users can more clearly envision themselves visiting their locations, travel brands will have more opportunities to inspire potential visitors through social media.

Brands are already seeing optimistic gains as a result of such enhancements. Research from Wildfire Interactive recently found that Facebook engagement through likes and comments has increased for brands with less than one million “likes” since the addition of the Timeline feature.

Travel destinations aren’t the only ones thriving with the optimized features on social media platforms, though. JetBlue Airways was one of the first travel brands to try the new brand pages from Twitter and travel-based pins rank in the top 10 categories on the emerging social network Pinterest.

Travelers today are looking for vacation inspiration almost anywhere and are open to finding travel tips, destinations and other vacation information through social media and their networks. To build stronger relationships with your online networks, try featuring photos, contests, weekly games or giveaways on your social media brand pages. Each will not only provide fresh content each week, but also give users something specific to comment about or interact with in their online searching.

What other techniques has your destination found successful in your social media outreach?

1. Are Brands Seeing Success With Facebook Timeline?

Engagement has increased making brands more successful!

At the end of March, all brand pages on Facebook were required to switch to the new Timeline format. Since then, several pages have seen an increase in engagement on brand posts, with more comments and likes. Simply Measured, a social media measurement company, studied brand pages that made the switch to Timeline. They found that engagement rose 46% in just three weeks after the switch was made.

However, according to EdgeRank Checker, a Facebook analytics tool, the majority of engagement takes place within the News Feed. Timeline has no direct impact on content within the News Feed. Therefore, the switch to Timeline does not affect the success of brand pages. The credit for increased engagement has been given to a curiosity spike from users wanting see how Timeline looks on different pages. While they’re visiting the pages, they’ve interacted with content they maybe wouldn’t have seen otherwise causing an increase in engagement.

No matter which company is right in their reasons for an increase in engagement, the bottom line is we are seeing an increase in engagement on brand pages. Now is a perfect time to make sure your business keeps your Facebook page active with interesting and appealing topics. Time will tell how big of an impact Timeline has on overall engagement.

2. What do emails and search engines have in common?

Google is testing how emails can be sent to those showing interest in paid search ads.

Paid search ads are served to consumers who type in a specific keyword that an advertiser has targeted. This technology has proven successful for several years. Google is currently testing a new ad format to enhance these ads.

The format includes a box displaying a user’s Google email address. Another allows the user to enter the name of a product or brand. When they click “Get Offers,” their email address is sent to the advertiser, according to an article from MediaPost.

The new format is a highly sophisticated form of lead generation that would use a cost-per-action model, meaning, the advertiser will only pay when a user clicks “Get Offers.” For advertisers already using or considering the use of paid search ads, this is a very good option to increase the number of leads. Once emails have been captured, they’re available to the advertiser indefinitely.

3. No free streaming for you on Hulu!

Hulu will start requiring users to enter a cable/satellite TV account number to view content.

Hulu has offered a free-for-all model to more than 31 million users. However, they are moving forward with a change to the way viewers’ access their favorite showsl. Now, a cable or satellite TV account number will be needed to view programming on Hulu according to an article from the New York Post.

This change may not only cause a decrease in Hulu viewership, but also cause an increase in cable and satellite TV subscriptions. Advertisers will want to watch whether the viewership numbers fall and how far. They will also keep an eye on the subscribers to both cable and satellite TV and whether viewership increases on the good ‘ole television set. Advertisers may reevaluate the value of advertising on these more-traditional mediums that have been outmaneuvered and outperformed by online in the recent past.

4. The FCC makes it law to post political files online.

Political candidates can now view opponents’ strategies and spending easier.

The Federal Communications Commission has voted in favor of requiring television stations to put their political files online. Political files for candidates have always been public record, though not always convenient to find. To view files, it would require someone to physically drive to the station and pay to review files of political opponents. For statewide and national campaigns, this proves to be a tedious and inconvenient task if not altogether impossible in some cases. These records give insight into the strategy of and the dollars spent by each candidate and could impact a campaign’s tactics. With the files now available online, political campaigns may be even more competitive than in years past,.

What does this mean as a non-political advertiser? During big campaign years, such as 2012, available inventory tends to fill up, bumping out non-political advertisers because stations are required to allow fair treatment of all political ads. This new law will either free up inventory giving non-political advertisers more of a chance to advertise, or it will cause inventory to be scarce making it next to impossible to secure space.

This new law takes effect immediately in the top 50 markets on only ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates. All other stations and markets will be required to fall in line by July 1, 2014.

Congratulations to our clients who have been honored with 55 awards since March 2012. Judges on the local, district and national level have honored the work we’ve done in print, radio, digital and non-traditional mediums.

Check out the full listing below and click to view showcases of the work.

Telly Awards

The Telly Awards honor outstanding TV commercials and videos. Three Taco John’s commercials were selected as Telly Award winners out of nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and several continents.

Client	Project	Award
Taco John’s	Baja Boneless Wings TV	Silver Telly – Use of Animation
	Baja Boneless Wings TV	Bronze Telly
	Wicked Chicken TV	Silver Telly

 

Webby Awards

Out of nearly 10,000 entries submitted to the 16th Annual Webby Awards, the Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 10% of all work entered.

Client	Project	Award
Taco John’s	TacoJohns.com	Webbie Honoree

 

District ADDY Awards

Winners from the local ADDY awards advanced to the District 8 competition in Minneapolis on April 21, 2012. District 8  of the American Advertising Federation includes advertising and marketing professionals from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. *The projects below earned District ADDY Awards and are now National ADDY Awards finalists.

 

Client	Project	Award
Deadwood CVB/South Dakota	Deadwood Outlaw Campaign	Silver ADDY® Award
Feeding South Dakota	Feeding South Dakota Video	*Gold ADDY® Award
Koch Hazard Architects	Koch Hazard ‘Take A Moment, Take a Look’ campaign	*Gold ADDY® Award
	Koch Hazard ‘Take A Moment, Take a Look’	Silver ADDY® Award
South Dakota Tourism and the Rapid City CVB	Rushmore Mascots	*Gold ADDY® Award
	Rushmore Mascots	Judge’s Choice Award
Taco John’s	Taco John’s Chicken Switching	Silver ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s Mobile Website	Silver ADDY® Award

 

 

Local ADDY Awards

The projects below earned recognition at the local ADDY Awards held on March 11 in Sioux Falls.

Client	Project	Award
Deadwood CVB	Deadood Outlaw Playing Card FSI	Silver ADDY® Award
	Deadwood Website	Silver ADDY® Award
Feeding South Dakota	Feeding South Dakota video	Gold ADDY® Award
Great Western Bank	Free Checking “Restaurant” TV	Gold ADDY® Award
	Free Checking TV	Gold ADDY® Award
Koch Hazard	“Take a Moment, Take a Look”	Best of Class
	“Take a Moment, Take a Look”	Gold ADDY® Award
	“Take a Moment, Take a Look” campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
Lawrence & Schiller	Tool Box RFP response & website	Gold ADDY® Award
	Ho-Ho Invitation Website	Silver ADDY® Award
	Prohibition Invitation	Silver ADDY® Award
Midcontinent Communications	More HD – “Remote” TV	Silver ADDY® Award
	More HD – “Costume” TV	Silver ADDY® Award
	MidcoSN – “Pride” TV	Silver ADDY® Award
	“X is Next” campaign	Silver ADDY® Award
Rapid City CVB	Rushmore Train Wrap	Silver ADDY® Award
SD Office of Highway Safety	Sturgis Rally Campaign	Best of Class
	Motorcycle Safety – Motel pillowcase	Gold ADDY® Award
	Motorcycle Safety – T-Shirt	Gold ADDY® Award
	Sturgis Campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Seatbelt Theatre Standee	Silver ADDY® Award
South Dakota Tourism	SD Giant Step Suitcases Campaign	Best of Class
	SD Giant Step Suitcases Campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Macy’s Parade – SD Promotion	Silver ADDY® Award
SD Tourism & Rapid City CVB	Rushmore Mascots	Gold ADDY® Award
SD Tourism & Rapid City CVB	Deadwood “Outlaw” Playing Card Ad	Best of Class
	Deadwood “Outlaw” campaign	Best of Class
	Deadwood “Outlaw” Playing Card Ad	Gold ADDY® Award
	Deadwod “Outlaw” Playing Card Ad Campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Deadwood “Outlaw” campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Deadwood “Outlaw” card illustration	Gold ADDY® Award
	Deadwood TV campaign	Silver ADDY® Award
Taco John’s	Taco John’s “Wings” campaign	Best of Class
	Taco John’s “Wings” campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s ‘Ruffle Some Feathers’ Trayliner	Silver ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s “Taco” Bar Bathroom Sign	Silver ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s “Bar bathroom signs	Gold ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s Chicken Switchin’ Game	Gold ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s Mobile Website	Gold ADDY® Award
	“Boneless Wings” Intro TV	Gold ADDY® Award
	“Boneless Wings” Multi-Media campaign	Gold ADDY® Award
	Taco John’s Website Redesign	Silver ADDY® Award
	“Wicked Chicken” Multi-Media campaign	Silver ADDY® Award
	“Wicked Chicken” TV	Silver ADDY® Award
University of South Dakota	“Onward” TV	Silver ADDY® Award

Almost 10 years of reporting. On average, 250 days worked each a year. Approximately two stories reported each day.

Based on the math (admittedly not my strong suit), I wrote approximately 5,000 news stories during my broadcast career. And that isn’t even counting all of the stories written from the desk as a producer and anchor.

More than ten thousand interviews went into those stories. Yet only a handful earned a place in my permanent memory. One resurfaced today when reading about Proctor & Gamble’s PR nightmare following accusations its Tide detergent contains carcinogens.

P&G is taking heat for defending the use of 1,4 Dioxane, stating the levels are well below currently accepted safety standards. P&G has responded to the press but is ignoring Women’s Voices for the Earth, a national organization working to eliminate toxic chemicals.

Queue the flashback to my days in the newsroom. The police scanner screeches something about a chemical spill. I jump in the car with a photog and we rush to the scene – across the street from both a residential neighborhood and a public park – generally speaking not where you want a toxic mess.

Within minutes the president of the company responsible for the spill is on the scene.

Now conventional wisdom says she doesn’t want to talk with the media. And if she does, it will be brief and brusque.  That’s what we all expected.

What actually happened was so unexpected and unprecedented, I’ve never forgotten it. The company president/owner not only spoke with the reporters on the scene, she was also friendly, open, honest and engaging.  She was apologetic and empathized with the neighboring families. If she didn’t have an answer, she promised to get it.

I’ve often wondered if her response was coached or instinctive. Regardless, the result couldn’t have been better for Company XYZ. The spill was the lead story at 6pm and 10pm, but by the next day it quickly faded away. One or two brief follow-up reports completed the story arc and it was done.

I’m convinced the story would have lasted longer and reporters would have dug deeper, if the company president hadn’t immediately stepped into the fray. By being so open and accessible she effectively smothered the story. You see, nothing kills an investigative report like an open book.

More than 5,000 news stories and this is the one time I witnessed a company president handle crisis communication so effectively. It’s a game plan every business should run whether it is a tiny Mom & Pop or a behemoth like Proctor & Gamble.

Ads on Foursquare? Possibly in June.

Users searching for local specials will also see local paid ads.

Set to launch in June, the new Foursquare platform will target users based on their previous check-ins, their friends’ check-ins, and the Foursquare population as a whole; using the same algorithm as the current “Explore” function. With the new platform, users searching for local specials will also see local paid ads. The company hopes that the new platform will enhance the user experience for their growing community of over 20 million users, as well as increase the opportunities available to the 750,000 businesses currently using Foursquare to engage with customers.

I am interested to see how ads are integrated into the app and how they appear. I presume there will be a few negative responses from current users, but if they do it right it could be a valuable feature for both users and advertisers alike.

Facebook Offers in beta, 8 months after Deals are dead.

Get coupons in your news feed from brands you “Like.”

Last summer, Facebook launched a product similar to Groupon called Facebook Deals, only to be killed after four months of testing. Now, only eight months later, Facebook Offers is in beta testing. Through the new Offers feature, businesses can push coupons or discounts to their fans via news feed or sponsored story simply by posting the offer on their Facebook Page. If it passes the testing phase, Facebook Offers will likely increase competition with Foursquare.

This feature could be quite successful to announce a sale, new products and upcoming events. However, there will no doubt be a distinct line between useful and annoying when it comes to Offers appearing in the News Feed. Advertisers will need to pay close attention to changes in their fan base while using the Offers feature to be sure the activity isn’t causing fans to dislike the brand.

New branded apps on Spotify. Coming soon!

Thematic playlists such as Reebok’s workout songs introduced.

Over the next few months, Spotify will introduce branded apps from companies such as AT&T, McDonald’s and Reebok. The new apps will serve as a way for users to organize and find songs in the massive database of 16 million songs, as well as increase advertiser appeal to the platform. Spotify will not charge advertisers to build an app but anticipates that those advertisers will increase the dollars spent promoting the app and their brand on and off Spotify.

The branded apps are intended to be thematically consistent with the brand’s image. AT&T’s “Surround Sounds” app will recommend songs based on the location they were written, recorded or performed and users can search for songs using a map. Reebok’s app will create workout playlists and Intel’s “Sifter” app will recommend songs and artists based on what your Facebook friends listen to.

These apps are just one more example of how brands are trying to connect with customers at various levels. Spotify apps should not be used as a standalone strategy but built into an engagement strategy as a fun way to interact with the audience.

If you could build a playlist app, what would your theme be?

Hulu announces new policy to increase advertiser appeal.

Company will charge advertisers only when spots run in entirety.

A core emphasis of Hulu is to steer away from widely distributed ads and find the best target through opt-in style ads and contextual based ads. Hulu has revised its ad policies and will begin to charge advertisers only when a user watches an entire advertisement. If a user skips a portion of the message, that advertiser will not pay. The new policy is in addition to their ad swap feature where a user can choose to switch from one advertisement to a more suitable or entertaining one. In this case, only the second advertiser would be charged for the placement given that they benefited from the switch.

Hulu anticipates increased advertiser appeal due to the policy change, but will they get it? If I were placing ads on Hulu, I would be comforted knowing that I am only paying when a user sees the entire ad. One thing to keep in mind is budget allocation. If the campaign will potentially see fewer impressions in the same amount of time due to skipped or partially viewed ads, will fewer dollars be sufficient?

It’s important to understand that Generation Y is different. Whether we are talking about how they look, act or feel, marketers need to approach messaging to this audience differently.

Baby Boomers grew up rarely eating out; the traditional home cooked meal was their norm. Generation X viewed eating out as a special occasion, one you often got dressed up for and planned ahead of time. Now, for Generation Y, eating out can be an everyday occurrence and with the popularity of quick service restaurants, one doesn’t necessarily associate going ‘out’ with eating ‘out.’

There are over 75 million Gen Yers in the U.S. so what do you need to know as a restaurant in order to capitalize on their spending power? Three little words: Price. Value. Experience.

This generation is mooching off their parents, working summer jobs, going to college or launching their career, which makes price something that Gen Yers are very conscious of when deciding where to eat. They don’t have as much cash as older, more established generations, so they need options that can make their money last.

However, price isn’t necessarily a make-it or break-it part of the decision, because Gen Yers also place a lot of weight in the value that they receive. “They want good value on demand,” says Sharon Olson, cofounder of a Chicago-based youth-oriented food and beverage research firm. “They are willing to try new things, but they are very conscious of price and value.”

They are also willing to step out of their comfort zone, especially when it comes to different ethnic foods, but another part of the food experience are those snack times between meals. QSR completed a phone study with 1,000 young people nationwide and found that almost 1/3 of respondents ate a snack after 10 p.m. and 63% ate between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. These two snack times for young adults represent two great opportunities to accommodate this generations’ style of graze eating.

If you’re part of Generation Y, let me know if you agree or disagree with the necessities of price, value and experience. I’d love to hear what you think!

1. Facebook Targets May 17^th for IPO Date.

Insiders estimate Facebook’s valuation to be around $100 billion.

According to Tech Crunch, Facebook may be hitting the NASDAQ on May 17^th with an estimated valuation of $100 billion. With 2.51 billion fully-diluted shares outstanding, the price per share would be around $40 out of the gates.

Historically, both Yahoo and Google have tried to purchase Facebook, but the only company allowed through the door was a sale of 1.6% of the company to Microsoft in October in 2007. This gave the company $240 million to invest into Facebook. What does going public mean for Facebook? Only time will tell but rest assured that Facebook has a plan.

A hint may relate to Facebook’s recent acquisition of Instagram, a photo sharing and editing platform. This action would lead one to believe that they will integrate a Pinterest-like community into Facebook.

2. What’s next for Instagram? Will Facebook Ruin It?

Facebook + photo editing capability + social photo tagging/bookmarking = win, lose or draw?

With Facebook’s recent $1 billion acquisition – how will Facebook roll Instagram into Facebook? Over the last 18 months, Instagram has served a very specific purpose –  within a mobile app, you’re able to take pictures, edit them with a series of filters and then upload them to one of your social networks. There’s no website attached to the platform, it’s mobile-only. There’s no social community aspect, it’s simply photos that live on each person’s mobile device. And the beauty of the tool has been its simplicity.

How will Instagram become part of Facebook’s core functionality and what will Instagram’s 30 million users think about this? I believe that it wasn’t about acquiring cutting-edge technology. Facebook could have built the photo platform for less than $1 billion. It was really about eliminating a competitor. Photo-sharing sites are competition for Facebook and they’re doing whatever they can to retain consumer loyalty with Facebook as their primary social tool.

The real question for us, as marketers, relates to how we capitalize on and prepare for what’s next? Pinterest has proven that photo bookmarking and sharing can be extremely successful as a referral and link building strategy. Similarly, many celebrity and big brand Instagram accounts are gaining thousands of likes on each photo they post. Surely, Facebook will add an interactive layer of tagging and linking which may prove to provide a great opportunity within Instagram in the future for us to paint brands through pictures.

3. Google Creates TV-Like Measurement Metric.

Google & Comscore create the new Active GRPs, a.k.a. “active impressions”

Google and Comscore are leading the charge to develop new, standardized measurement for all types of online ads, including traditional display, video and mobile advertising. The newly defined Active GRP, also called “viewable impressions,” will be submitted to the Media Rating Council for accreditation, but with these two giants behind the initiative it’s sure to come to life.

Neal Mohan, Google’s VP of Display Advertising said, “The objective is [to] make it easier for more and more brand dollars to come online. One of the biggest opportunities to crack the nut relates to brand advertising is the area of measurement. Unlike digital-media companies, such as AOL, that are partnering with measurement firms to provide advertisers with metrics, Google is going solo to an extent, creating its own methodology for an online GRP based on a mix of aggregated panel data and anonymized user data.” – AdAge

Leveling the metric playing field will eliminate much of the unknown factor with digital and allow advertisers to really focus on the best ways to reach their customers/audiences. We call it message delivery and it’s medium agnostic – all that really matters is delivering the right messages to the right audiences when the consumer is open to receiving the message.

4. Nike Allows Customers to RSVP for New Products via Twitter

The first to utilize Twitter to capture purchase commitment. Bold move.

Nike continues to integrate on the product and social media fronts. The latest trial allows customers to reserve Nike product before it hits the shelves via a tweet. No credit card required, no standing in lines, no Black Friday insanity, just a simple tweet with the product hashtag, last four digits of their state, passport/military/school ID number and the desired shoe size. Nike then sends a direct message reply which is what customers need to pick up the product in the store as soon as it arrives.

This is one for our watch list – if customers respond well, we’ll see other retailers follow. This could be yet another shift in social media consumer behavior.

1. Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion – what does it mean for mobile?
Facebook purchased photo sharing mobile start-up Instagram this week for $1 billion. The huge price tag for a company that was started as a mobile-only app seems to be a tipping point for where the world is headed – both towards mobile technology and image-driven interfaces (see: Pinterest).

What Facebook will do with Instagram isn’t clear yet. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on his Facebook feed on Monday, “We’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently,” But some Instagram loyalists have threatened to delete the app rather than see the small company they love be gobbled up by the corporate giant that is Facebook. In any case, they will certainly try to take a company that had no revenue to speak of into something more.

2. Hearst launches HelloStyle YouTube channel – importance of video continues to expand
Hearst is launching their new HelloStyle channel on YouTube April 15^th. The channel will be a collaboration of three of its magazines: Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar. YouTube is kicking in $10 million for Hearst to produce high-quality content and promote the channel. It promises to be a better and different kind of content than publishers have released in the past – less how-to videos, and more television-quality stories. The move highlights the importance of multi-channel content distribution for publishers.

3. Google introduces Project Glass – Augmented Reality Goggles – is this what comes after mobile?
This looks like something out of a futuristic movie, but it’s happening in 2012. Google gave us a sneak peak of their “Project Glass” this week – a pair of eyeglasses that are able to show messages, weather, maps, etc. in your field of vision. If you haven’t seen what they can do take a look at the video Google posted:

Right now the technology is still in development. Google says, “We want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.”

The video has me excited yet a little scared for the future. I just hope they come up with a more stylish option before it’s officially released. I’m not sure if I’m ready to start sporting these glasses every day.

4. Global Tablet sales to nearly double in 2012 – led by Apple

A market forecast released this week by Gartner, Inc. predicts that global sales of tablets will almost double in 2012. Even with the arrival of the Kindle Fire and other PC and phone manufacturer tablets, Apple’s iOs will continue to be the dominant operating system among tablets, as it’s projected to account for 61.4% of worldwide tablet sales in 2012. The release of Windows 8 may be an opportunity for some tablet manufacturers to appeal to a business audience with an operating software they and their tech support people are familiar with.

Hi,

I’m Alix Suckstorf. While I’m not too great at mental math, solving rubrics cubes, or building tree forts, I am good at designing websites; which is why I have proudly accepted the web design internship for this summer’s L&S University.

A little about me – I’m a product of rural Nebraska. My hometown boasts a whopping population of
332 people, a “village” bar and two churches. I moved to South Dakota my sophomore year of high school and graduated from Sioux Falls’ Roosevelt High School in 2007. After a brief detour through business classes, I joined the Graphic Design program through SDSU at the University Center in Sioux Falls and will become a proud Jackrabbit alumni come May 2012. My love for all things web and interactive led me to seek a minor for Electronic Commerce through DSU.

While intimidating at best, I will take the L&S interviewing process with me for the rest of my professional career. It taught me a lot about marketing myself and gave me confidence as a student to network with the best and the brightest in my field.

This summer, I’m looking to gain colleagues that I’ll have for the rest of my career as a graphic designer and perhaps some lifelong friendships. I’d like to get a better understanding of the professional process when implementing new marketing strategies. Specific to my role as a web designer, I’m excited to learn more about creating effective interactive media and websites based on user experience.

I can’t wait to see everyone at Lawrence & Schiller again this May and learn what it really means to go the extra mile!

Alix

Learn more about the L&S internship process here.

My cellphone rang; I took a deep breath and answered it. I tried to keep my voice steady and my emotions in check as I was offered an Account Service internship with Lawrence & Schiller. Only then, after hanging up did my excitement and relief come pouring out. Las Vegas would have set the over/under at about five fist pumps.

It all started with the Meet-Greet-Repeat event on February 10th – speaking with a handful of L&S employees for less than three minutes each. A true test of adaptability – an interviewing process unlike anything I’d ever known. The hour flew by. The initial nervousness dissipated quickly – only a few seconds to catch your breath and reload before moving on. The process gave me a great look at the culture that drives L&S.

While in college, I developed an interest in client relationships. What makes them better? What makes them last? My fascination with this aspect of the advertising world couldn’t be overstated. After working at a management position filled with client exposure, my interest continued to grow. At my second interview, I was able to reflect my passion and experience and get to know the agency better. The more I found out, the more I wanted to be a part of it.

After the second interview, I was told that internship decisions would be made in a week. If the MGR was the fastest hour ever this was, hands down, the longest week ever. And then, the phone rang and Lawrence & Schiller was calling…

I’ve always believed if you work hard and be yourself, everything else will come together. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities this internship will present. I’m both ecstatic and humbled that my first agency experience ever will be with Lawrence & Schiller. I can only imagine how much I will learn from this truly coveted internship. I believe I will find that, in the right place with the right people, the extra mile won’t seem quite as far.

Learn more about the L&S internship process here.

I compare my life to a series of novels, each longer than Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Many chapters in my life have been written and even more have yet to be. One of the most enjoyable, and probably most interesting chapters of my life happened at the University of South Dakota’s Contemporary Media and Journalism Department. From the time that I entered The Al Neuharth Media Center, the legend of Lawrence & Schiller has been whispered in the halls and hailed in the classrooms.

Alas, this chapter of my life is coming to an end. Like most seniors, I am having those feelings of anxiety about life after college. I loved seeing my friends everyday, I loved singing the “Back To School” song from Billy Madison at the beginning of each semester, and I loved USD’s CMJ department.

However, I know this internship, like all of the other chapters in my life, is going to be an amazing one. I know it will give me an opportunity to meet new people, create lasting friendships, and learn new things. I am beyond elated for this summer to finally arrive, not only to put the great education I received to use, but to zealously learn even more about the ever-changing field of public relations, from everyone at Lawrence & Schiller.

Kevin

Learn more about the L&S internship process here.

The most exciting part of my Spring 2012 semester at South Dakota State University has to be receiving an L&S internship…hands down. Being chosen to be a part of the most fantastic ad agency in the region is truly a blessing.

Following in the family footsteps, I find myself drawn to advertising on a daily basis. Whether it be the inspiring Apple commercials (that have turned me into an all-out Apple nerd) or beautifully crafted messages that pull at your heartstrings, I know I’ve found the right profession.

After an initial tour of the agency, I shadowed the wonderful Katie Kuyper for a couple of hours. I asked my fair share of questions and knew that media planning and buying was the route I was interested in taking. The day after, I was thrown into the Meet-Greet-Repeat. Upon getting over the nerves of literally speed dating with the agency’s team members, I was awe struck at how amazingly talented these people were!

Fast-forward two months, and here I am, proudly accepting a coveted internship at THE Lawrence & Schiller. Knowing summer is around the corner is exciting enough, and now I have so much more to look forward to! I can’t wait to learn more about the industry and just how an agency runs.

Cheers to a wonderful summer ahead!

Lizzy Cranny

Learn more about the L&S internship process here.

It’s important to understand that Generation Y is different. Whether we are talking about how they look, act or feel, marketers need to approach messaging to this audience differently.

Baby Boomers grew up rarely ever eating out; the traditional home cooked meal was their norm. Generation X viewed eating out as a special occasion, one you often got dressed up for and planned ahead of time. Now, for Generation Y, eating out is an everyday occurrence and with the growth and popularity of quick service restaurants, they don’t necessarily associate stopping at a drive thru to eat ‘out’ with getting all glammed up and going ‘out.’ 

Now, there are over 75 million Gen Yers in the U.S., so what do you need to know as a restaurant marketer in order to capitalize on their spending power? Three little words: Price. Value. Experience.

This generation is mooching off their parents, working summer jobs, going to college or just launching a career, which makes price something that Gen Yers are very conscious of when deciding where to eat.

However, price isn’t necessarily a make-it or break-it part of the decision, because Gen Yers also place a lot of weight into the value that they receive. “They want good value on demand,” says Sharon Olson, cofounder of a Chicago-based youth-oriented food and beverage research firm. “They are willing to try new things, but they are very conscious of price and value.”

Last, they are willing to step out of their comfort zone, especially when it comes to different ethnic foods, but another part of the food experience are those snack times between meals. QSR completed a phone study with 1,000 young people nationwide and found that almost 1/3 of respondents ate a snack after 10 p.m. and 63% ate between 2pm and 5pm.

These two snack times don’t just represent new opportunities to increase sales around the clock, but also shed light on how and when this generation wants to experience food. They no longer limit their eating to 3 meals a day, but have adopted a graze-style of eating with a preference for trying new things.

If you’re part of Generation Y, let me know if you agree or disagree with Price – Value – Experience. I’d love to hear what you think!

Spring is definitely here in South Dakota, which means summer is right around the corner. And with soaring temperatures and more daylight comes the arrival of interns. Each year we ask several college students to join the Lawrence & Schiller University experience.

Over the past two years, we’ve turned our internship selection process upside down. We start with an even we call the Meet.Great.Repeat. We accept applications from college students, and ask a select group to join us for our speed dating event where they have two minutes to convince Lawrence & Schiller team members they have a passion for marketing and advertising. We also ask intern candidates to join us for a social after the Meet. Greet.Repeat. event. It’s a great time to get to know the students better. This year we talked with more than 50 applicants. After compiling L&S team members’ feedback, we call in a select group for round of more in depth interviews. I’ll be the first to say that we were blown away by the talent and confidence displayed by this year’s applicants.

This year’s process led us to hire four outstanding students to join the 5280 team for the summer. We’ll be posting an introduction from each one of them over the next few days. You can also look forward to hearing from them here on L&S Unscripted throughout the summer.

LSU Class of 2012

• Elizabeth Cranny -Consumer Insights
• Kevin Fitzgibbons - Public Relations
• Tom Koeller – Account Service
• Alix Suckstorf – Graphic Design