Facebook ads get competition

Digital startup ThingLink are giving Facebook a run for their money by launching landing pages that double up as advertising platforms. For a fee of of either $5 (for a basic account) or $20 (for a Pro account), companies can now introduce a fully interactive landing page to their Facebook presence that features links to their Twitter feed, YouTube channel or iTunes or Amazon profile. In fact, anything a brand wants to promote can be placed on the page, opening up a wealth of opportunities for brands. Neil Vineberg, ThingLink chief marketing offer, said: “Facebook has a billion users, which means if you’re a business of any size doing anything online, your audience is there. ThingLink Tabs for Facebook turn any Page into an interactive web experience that drives engagement.” Iggy Pop and Steve Coogan are among the big names already integrating ThingLink’s offering.

Copycats and copyright for Pinterest

With Pinterest continuing to grow, it’s no surprise that the newest social platform is attracting copycats and copyright attention. Covering the former, Mashable have an interesting insight into new proposals for Yahoo’s picture sharing service, Flickr. They write that the changes bring the site more in line with Pinterst’s aestethic and that it will soon feature bigger photos and less text. Meanwhile, on the copyright issue, new functionality has been introduced to Pinterest that allows publishers to block images they own from the website. Though Pinterest’s terms of service requires users to always credit their sources, many aren’t doing so and this new modification has been introduced to combat that. In order to further legitimise and expand the site, Pinterest have also introduced a ‘Pin It’ button that publishers can add to their site to encourage users to share their content. One example can be seen on clothing store Threadless, but expect many more to appear in the coming weeks.

Twitter partner with Yandex

They’ve had their share of problems with search engines, but now Twitter have partnered with one. The microblogging site is teaming up with Russian company Yandex for a significant deal that will ensure that tweets appear in their SERPs from the moment they are published. Yandex accounts for around 60 per cent of all searches in Russia – making it the most used search engine in the country, ahead even of Google – and offers functionality which allows users to search for hashtags and usernames. Last month, Twitter and Google were embroiled in a bitter row over the latter’s decision to not index the @ symbol and that issue seems to have motivated the Twitter-Yandex deal. “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter,” the company said in a statement. “We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.” Anton Pavlov, Blog Search Manager at Yandex, added: “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter,” the company said in a statement. “We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.”

Mobile stats continue to grow

Over half of all Britons now own a smartphone, according to new research conducted by Kantar Worldpanel Comtech. Android is the most popualar platform (accounting for 71.4% of smartphones sold in the 12-week period prior to 22 January 2012), while iOS rose from a 21.7% to a 29.1% share. The news is less impressive for Symbian and BlackBerry, who have seen significant declines, but previous stragglers Microsoft now account for 2% of the market, with the Windows Phone 7 now enjoying its biggest ever share. Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director for Kandor, says that’s not the only good news for company. “One of the real positives for Microsoft Windows Phone 7 is how engaged its users appear to be with its devices. Eighty one per cent of handset owners have used social networking on their device in the past month, higher than both iOS and Android.”

The Prague based lager company now has a presence on three key social media sites: a Facebook page, Twitter account and a YouTube channel.

Although all of these have contributed to the expansion of Staropramen’s online presence, it is on Facebook where the company has really benefited from embracing social media. The Facebook page not only describes the business’ history and brand values but also displays images of Prague and allows anybody to write on the page. Crucially, Staropramen regularly interacts with their fans and replies to posts, photos and any questions submitted.

By doing so, Staropramen has successfully intertwined growth with the necessity to listen to their customers’ needs as well as bridging the gap between the average consumer and the multi national brand.

Staropramen has also successfully utilised Facebook in launching its ‘Great Fan Giveaway’ campaign. The campaign centres on building relationships with customers and spreading the brand virally. It encourages fans to ‘like’ the page by offering a daily prize for anyone who does and shares to their own profile. There is also entry into the monthly draw to win a trip to Prague.

Such campaigns and an active presence on popular social media platforms have resulted in a huge increase in awareness of the Staropramen brand both at home and abroad.

For the past three years, the AB InBev-owned lager brand has run advertising that harks back to a ‘swinging 60s’ life of ‘city chic’ and the French Riviera across its Stella Artois 5% and 4% brands respectively.

It also used the retro theme for the launch of its cider brand, Cidre, last year.

However, in a strategic shift, the latest ads, which are being rolled out across outdoor, digital and print, focus heavily on the product and the brand’s ‘chalice’ glass. AB InBev claims the glass has been instrumental in turning around public perception of the brand in recent years.

Ads, by Mother, use slogans such as, ‘We were brewing beer in Belgium before Belgium was Belgian’, and ‘Master Brewers required. 600 years experience needed’, both of which refer to the beer-maker’s origins in Leuven, Belgium, in 1366.

To read the full article, visit Marketing Magazine.

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To take part in setting this world record, fans of St Patrick’s Day and Guinness-drinkers will be able to make an online pledge via Facebook or www.guinness.com or join a St Patrick’s Day party to celebrate true Irish friendliness.

In order to successfully set the world record, on this year’s St Patrick’s Day (17 March), GWR adjudicators will be stationed at Guinness events around the globe to count the number of people celebrating this famous day, whilst verifying online pledges to assess whether St Patrick’s Day has achieved the records ‘Most pledges received for a campaign’ and ‘The Largest St Patrick’s Day Celebration’.

If successful, GWR will officially confirm that St Patrick’s Day is ‘The Friendliest Day of the Year’.

To read the full article, visit Marketing Magazine.

The Adam & Eve-created campaign will break on 5 March and span TV, outdoor, digital and online communications.

It will bear a new strapline, ‘Australian For Chic’, which aims to build on the “posh” qualities of Foster’s Gold while continuing the humorous theme featuring regular agony uncles, Brad and Dan.

Doug Walker, Heineken’s head of customer marketing for the off-trade, said: “We’re launching the next phase of the Foster’s Gold campaign in time for the crucial summer trading period, and reaching nine million of our target audience to make sure that it’s on the top of the list when shoppers drop in to a local shop on the way to watch Euro 2012 at a mate’s house, or visit the supermarket to stock up for parties and barbecues.”

To read the full article, visit Marketing Magazine.

The apps can be seen on the Games and Learning section of the newly-created Diamond Jubilee website (http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/), which went live on Monday 6th February.

FWM helped build the picture puzzles and quizzes, as well as a fully interactive timeline that gives the user details of Her Majesty’s life and reign.

Fast Web Media CEO Mike Flynn said: “It’s an honour for FWM to be involved in such a prestigious project, and we hope it’s the first of many digital collaborations with the Press Association. Everyone at FWM would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Her Majesty on this anniversary.”

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne on 6th February 1952 and her Coronation took place on 2nd June 1953. The focal point of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations is from Saturday 2nd to Tuesday 5th June 2012.

The self-service ad platfrom will go live in March and will massively expand the number of advertisers using Twitter from an estimated 3,000 to tens of thousands. Twitter has also announced that the new version of Twitter is now available for all.

Twitter is offering a $100 free advertising to the first 10,000 businesses that sign up to the service initially in partnership with American Express merchants and customers.

Twitter said it will launch its new ad offering more widely later this year.

To read the full article, visit The Wall.

At its F8 conference in September, Facebook introduced a dramatic transformation of profile pages for its more than 800 million users with the Timeline format, which generates picture-heavy, scrapbook-like collages spanning users’ entire history on the social network. It has been rolled out slowly, and users still have the choice to opt in.

At the time of the announcement, the company said it would wait to roll out the new feature for brands. Facebook VP-Marketing and Business Partnerships David Fischer said Timeline for brands would be “consistent” with the Timeline look-and-feel, but not a carbon copy.

The new pages for brands will start in beta with a handful of partners and then be released to more marketers in stages, according to the sources. Facebook declined to comment on the product or the timing.

To read the full article, visit Ad Age.

The brewer has confirmed that Baby Cow productions have been commissioned to produce a second series of the Foster’s internet series, featuring Steve Coogan’s hapless broadcaster character.

The new series will return exclusively this summer to www.fostersfunny.co.uk. It follows collaborations with Vic and Bob’s Afternoon Delights and the Fast Show.

Foster’s brand director Gayle Harrison said the series “resonated exceptionally well with our target audience”.

To read the full article, visit Marketing Magazine.