Author Archives: Connor

No-Fear Photo Marketing

Augmented Reality, Brand Loyalty, Mobile Marketing | by
    User-generated content has a genuine, extemporaneous feel to it, which appeals to our desire for self-expression and authenticity.

    With the right tools, UGC is nothing to be afraid of.

    We talk a lot about how valuable user-generated content can be for brands because of its high level of self-expression and authenticity, but we recognize that for many brands, relying too much on earned media and user-generated content can be a little scary. There’s always a certain degree of unpredictability. Plus, asking for fans’ submissions can result in a huge volume of content. But with the right tools, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

    It’s true that traditionally marketers are very concerned about predictability and control. Nobody wants a publicity disaster that requires clean-up, and so some brands may approach user-generated content with more than a hint of trepidation. There’s nothing wrong with this attitude, of course; brands still need to be in control of creating and broadcasting a unified, coherent brand message.

    Intelligent photo marketing tools, though, mean brands don’t have to give up any control when user-generated content is brought into the mix. Part of what is so attractive about user-generated content is its perceived sense of unpredictability. In contrast to the polished sheen of brand-owned media, user-generated content has a genuine, extemporaneous feel to it, appealing to our universal human desire for authenticity. Tools like Pongr’s free widgets allow brands to manage and proudly display fan photos that make the brand look the best.

    Photo Marketing and Social Media: A Balancing Act

    Social Media | by
      The "right" social marketing tools can become the wrong ones if not used well.

      The "right" social marketing tools can become the wrong ones if not used well.

      Just because you own a hammer, doesn’t mean you’ve built a house yet. Simply establishing a profile on a social media site and blasting a message isn’t enough for brands. In fact, it can often be counterproductive.

      Consumers don’t care about brand-owned media channels nearly as much as brands think they do. With so many users producing their own, inspired content, brute force marketing can get lost in the “noise” of the engines of massive self-expression. Chances are, the consumer doesn’t even hear the brand’s message most of the time.

      Certain things are never going to change. Brands will always need to promote new products and special offers, drive in-store traffic, and ultimately, increase the bottom line. What has changed is how these things should be accomplished.

      Brand content now has to compete with user-generated content for consumers’ attention. Marketing strategies based on earlier media in which content flowed in only one direction (like television or print) are not going to be as effective on social networks—the user-generated content is more attractive because of the perceived level of authenticity and self-expression. In order to narrow the gap, social media marketing has to make use of authentic user-generated content to engage with fans and promote the brand.

      The Best Part About Summer: Photo Marketing On the Go

      Mobile Marketing | by

        Summer is fast approaching, and that means lots of people are gearing up for a vacation. Whether it’s a five-star tour of Europe’s finest museums and restaurants or a caravan-style road trip to visit family or friends, one thing that every vacation has in common is pictures, and lots of them. When people are away from home, you can bet that a lot of those pictures are going to be taken using their mobile phones, and now that 60% of Americans own smartphones, this is a valuable marketing opportunity for brands.

        When people go out of town, they’re away from their usual routine. That often means that many marketing channels don’t reach their audiences. The more time spent gazing at beautiful views and spotting famous monuments, the less time spent watching TV. Being away from home also means no daily newspapers or fewer visits to the local supermarket. But brand moments are still happening even when we’re traveling, and brands would do well to take advantage of that. Highly emotional memories stick in our brains much better than mundane ones. If brands are able to become a part of people’s fun and unforgettable vacation memories, they will build a lasting, meaningful relationship that translates directly into brand loyalty.

        Brand moments can happen anytime and anyplace and brands need to be ready with always-on photo marketing to clinch the deal.

        I'll never forget when I spotted this beautiful Audi while on vacation in Florence.

        The best kind of marketing is ready to capitalize on brand moments whenever and wherever they happen. Mobile photo marketing can provide dynamic direct response content anywhere in the world. Pongr’s photo tools allow brands to be everywhere at once, offering consumers relevant and engaging content on their mobile devices. It may not compare to the Sistine Chapel or the world’s largest ball of twine, but it can help to make a summer trip truly memorable.

        The First Pinterest-Enabled Magazine

        Advertising, Augmented Reality, Mobile Marketing | by

          On Monday, TechCrunch broke the big story from House Beautiful’s June issue. No, it’s not the hottest new throw pillows this season. Thanks to Digimarc, the magazine’s latest issue is now “Pinterest-enabled,” allowing readers to pin photos from the magazine to their Pinterest boards right from their mobile phones. The trick is an invisible watermark printed on the page that directs to the preconfigured Pinterest page for that image when scanned. Digimarc’s EVP of Sales and Marketing, Ed Knudson, says it gives Pinterest users the ability “to pin things from the physical world as easily as they pin from the digital world.” But we beg to differ on the easy part.

          House Beautiful has added Pinterest integration to their magazine, but it's clunky and limited compared to image recognition photo marketing.

          House Beautiful readers can now pin images from the magazine by scanning an invisible watermark on the page with their phone using Digimarc's proprietary app.

          Digimarc takes advantage of Nellymoser’s new “Scan to Pin” tools, but in order to scan the watermark, readers have to download Digimarc’s proprietary app. The functionality isn’t even integrated into Pinterest’s own mobile app, which is used by users to take photos and pin them. The embedded watermark also means brands that want to add photo functionality to their print media have to work with Digimarc from the start—there’s no way to add it after the fact. And a major drawback to Digimarc is their emphasis on Pinterest. No one is suggesting that Pinterest isn’t a fast-growing and popular social network, but integrating photo marketing with one site is too limiting.

          The Power of Self-Expression

          Mobile Marketing | by

            Everywhere you look, it’s clear that today’s world is dominated by engines of massive self-expression. In earlier eras dominated by television, radio, or print, content flowed in one direction and one direction only: from the brand to the consumer. But now that so many people have the ability to create and disseminate their own content, brands are fighting a constant battle for consumers’ attention. User-generated content is much more attractive to the average consumer because it appeals to our universal human desire for self-expression and authenticity.

            Brands should tap into their customers' creativity by allowing them to express themselves through the brand.

            Desire for self-expression and authenticity is part of what makes us human.

            Ancient cave paintings can attest to the fact that self-expression has been around for as long as we’ve been on this earth. Everyone has something to say, and everyone wants to be heard. Throughout history, we have celebrated self-expression— from ancient epic poetry to the masterworks of the Renaissance to modern jazz and pop music, and we especially celebrate authenticity. There’s something magnetic about a blues singer passionately wailing from someplace deep inside her or a poet laying bare the inner workings of his soul for all to see.

            That underlying desire to express ourselves is part of what makes us human, and by supercharging our ability to both create and experience authentic content, these engines of massive self-expression have made creativity and self-expression part of a fundamental shift in how brands should be engaging with consumers and fans. Appealing to consumers’ desire for self-expression simply cannot be ignored when crafting a social marketing strategy.

            Sunday Brunch Photo Challenge

            Pongr Contests | by

              Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the U.S. (yes, tomorrow!), so it’s a perfect time to start our next photo contest. We want to see what goes into your perfect brunch or breakfast at home or at your favorite restaurant. Take photos of everything you need to make Sunday morning (or any morning!) special— eggs, bacon, pancake mix, syrup, coffee, anything you like. Do you have any special brunch traditions in your house or family recipes you love? Show us what goes into them!

              The contest will run for three weeks starting tomorrow, May 13, and ending on Sunday, June 3. Make sure you include the hashtag #brunch in the description of every photo. The winner will be chosen at random and will receive a gift card to their local supermarket. Get creative with your photos, too! Remember that all photos always have the chance of being named our Picture of the Week every Friday. Happy Mother’s Day and bon appetit!

              Show us what goes into your ideal brunch!

              The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe

              Featured Posts, Mobile Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Social Media | by

                We talk a lot about how popular photo sharing is, but sometimes it’s nice to have some numbers to really get an idea of what we’re talking about. When we say that social networks are engines of massive self-expression, we’re not kidding. More than 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, which makes 91.25 billion photos expected to be uploaded this year to Facebook alone.

                Photo sharing isn’t limited to Facebook. There are around 2.5 billion active camera phones today, most of them the mobile customer’s only camera. Moreover, the number one mobile shopping activity—regardless of phone type—is taking pictures of products. It is absolutely imperative that brands tap into mobile photo marketing to boost sales and supercharge brand engagement.

                Pongr sheds some light on the world of photo sharing apps.

                Pongr sheds some light on the world of photo sharing apps.

                In our recent white paper, The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe, we run down a list of the major photo sharing apps on the scene today. There are a few things they all have in common, like sharing capabilities and allowing you to express yourself artistically with filters and effects. But there are a few things none of them have, like the ability to enable direct-response marketing or create branded experiences around photos. It’s for these reasons and more that we don’t include Pongr on the “Photo Sharing Cheat Sheet.” We don’t see ourselves as a competitor to Instagram or Hipstamatic, and we’re not trying to replicate Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Pongr is a whole different ballgame because of the unique tools we offer brands to take advantage of the popularity of photo marketing.

                To get the whole story, visit our corporate site and download The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe, and see what Pongr has to offer.

                Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck: Effective “Nonworking” Media Spending

                Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Social Media | by
                  Smart media spending means investing in highly effective and engaging content creation. Photo by 401K.

                  Saving money is really about getting the most value for money spent.

                  In the current economic climate, everyone is looking for ways to streamline and save a little money—brands included. One way brands are trying to do this is by cutting down on their “nonworking” media spending. Traditionally, brands have thought of the money they spend in two ways: either working or nonworking. Nonworking media spending is the money used to create content; brainstorming, concepting, designing, and executing. Working media spending is the money used to actually run the content, to get it in front of consumers’ eyes. This distinction is not always popular among advertising agencies. As David Beals, CEO of the Chicago-based consulting firm R3:JLB, put it, “The whole idea that the agency-fee dollars are nonworking and the media is working just doesn’t make sense. Anybody who has enough experience knows if the agency comes up with a crummy idea, not only does the media become nonworking, it can be negatively working.”

                  It’s understandable that brands are examining their media budgets carefully and looking for places they can save. But indiscriminately slashing creative budgets is a good way to end up with crummy ideas, as Beals says, which won’t do the brand any good at all. Many brands are focused on reducing the ratio of nonworking to working media at all costs. One so-called nonworking area that often gets the short end of the stick is digital, mobile, and social media, even though many in the industry would agree that it’s a crucial part of the future of marketing.

                  Brands should consider what types of content are the most effective at engaging consumers and leading to a sale, and focus their resources there in order to maximize every dollar. “If the goal is to get people to participate in the brand, you’re going to have to invest,” says Jordan Bitterman, senior VP social-media-platforms at Digitas. Smart media spending means investing in highly effective and engaging content creation.

                  Here at Pongr, we make a big deal about the power of photos and photo marketing, but that’s because it is a big deal. The popularity of sites like Instagram and Pinterest—not to mention the 300 million photos that are uploaded to Facebook daily—proves that we live in a visual world. People snap photos of brands they love every day, and shoppers are far more likely to actually purchase a product they’ve taken a picture of. Creating these brand moments should be a top priority, and the value of earned media cannot be underestimated. Studies have shown that earned media consistently ranks first in driving purchases, above owned and paid media.

                  Everyone’s keeping an eye on their spending these days, even brands. Creating really excellent, engaging content is highly effective and leads to sales, and is a much better option than simply cutting back content development entirely. Fan-generated photo content is where it’s at, and will provide huge returns on advertising dollars. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.

                  Photos: The Secret to Facebook Success

                  Advertising, Social Media | by

                    For quite a while now, there’s been no question that Facebook is an essential aspect of every brand’s marketing strategy. But there hasn’t been much in the way of definitive stats telling us what works and what doesn’t when it comes to marketing on Facebook. Every brand has their own idea of how it should be done, usually figured out by trial and error. But as Advertising Age reported today, Facebook has recently released the results of their own study into the effectiveness of different ways brands are using their timelines.

                    Facebook conducted a one month study of 23 brands, plugging information about what the brands post into an algorithm to predict engagement— that is, likes, comments, and most importantly, shares. Shares are incredibly valuable to brands. Getting fans to like or comment on brand content is great, but that’s still only a one-on-one, brand-to-consumer interaction. On the other hand, if a fan shares brand content, then everyone that person is friends with will see it. Shares are what make Facebook really powerful for brands. And what type of content are people most likely to share? You guessed it— photos.

                    George Takei posts funny photos that get thousands of shares on Facebook.

                    When you think about it, this isn’t particularly surprising. While many animals rely on other senses like smell or hearing, humans are naturally visually-inclined. We are captivated by images, so it makes sense that this is the sort of content we’d want to share with our friends most. AdAge provides an example from Skittles’ fan page: a status that read “Like this post if you agree with what I’m going to say tomorrow” got more than 10,000 likes, but only 21 shares, while a photo of a football helmet made of Skittles got over 400 shares. Actor George Takei, known for his role as Lieutenant Sulu on the original Star Trek series, has practically made a second career posting funny photos to his Facebook timeline, most of which are shared by literally thousands of people.

                    These findings underscore the need for brands to have robust photo marketing capabilities. Pongr makes it easy for brands to collect photos taken by their fans and post them to Facebook with one click. As we’ve already pointed out, it’s amazing the kinds of exciting, visually stimulating photos brand enthusiasts take. The key for brands is to make sure as many people as possible see those pictures and get pumped about the brand.

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                    This post is based off this article in Advertising Age.

                    "Old" Meets "New": How radio stations are reinventing themselves with social media

                    Social Media | by

                      Let’s face it: in many ways, radio is a relic of a bygone era. It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of innovation and new technology. It was dealt a heavy blow by television, and the Internet has proven to be a daunting challenge. Sure, there’s satellite radio and Internet radio like Pandora and Last.fm, but where does that leave traditional, terrestrial radio?

                      Radio was once as new as social media and stations have been embracing new trends to reinvigorate their businesses.

                      President Roosevelt famously addressed radio listeners in his "fireside chats."

                      Despite how dire things may seem at first, many radio stations are reinvigorating their businesses using social media. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Radio and social media actually have a lot in common. Radio has always been considered a medium that’s all about communication and connection, just like social media. FDR made history by reaching out to citizens via his fireside chats broadcast over the radio, while President Obama was the first president to successfully use social media to win a presidential election. One of the things that made radio so revolutionary was the ability to help people get news immediately, and everyone knows how fast word spreads via social media.

                      Facebook not only gives radio stations a chance to post links to their online content and recorded broadcasts, but is also an excellent way for listeners to interact and engage with each other like never before. Boston’s WBUR 90.9 FM posts links to their pieces, infographics, and photos on their Facebook page, and all of these spark engaging discussions among fans. Stations can also make their promotional contests accessible to many more people by allowing entries via social media, like Kiss 108 has done with their contest to win a year-long Zipcar membership. Social media also allows individual DJs to connect with their fans. Many hosts are regular Twitter users and use the site to communicate with fans and post promotional tie-ins as well as other content that interests them. Twitter is also an excellent tool for stations with a variety of different types of content. NPR has many different Twitter accounts, for example, allowing listeners to get info only on the topics that interest them the most.

                      Many radio stations appear to be embracing social media very well. It’s an excellent opportunity for something that was once a one-way medium to become a two-way medium by engaging with listeners. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing so-called “old media” working in harmony with “new media.” Even though radio is inherently not a visual medium, the incredible versatility of social media means promotions for radio stations could very well include things like photo contests— something we know a thing or two about.

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