A Change in T.V Viewing

Online TV and movie viewing is becoming one of the fastest growing trends in media today. Whether it is a TV show or a movie, it’s hard to find a young person today that hasn’t downloaded or streamed online with the massive amounts of websites dedicated to hosting the content for a small monthly fee, or free of charge. Even on our mobile devices, the public consumes countless hours of television. This year`s March Madness has 26% of all viewers coming from a mobile or tablet device. In previous years this technology was not available; and it is obvious that mobile TV viewing is going to be `the next big thing` for marketing and media corporations worldwide.

This should be a marketer’s dream - websites dedicated to binge TV viewing; but there must be a way to have the biggest impact on consumers with the least amount intrusion on their viewing experience. Standard advertisements litter these file-hosting website like there`s no tomorrow; paid for by the companies that make the ads, they allow these streaming websites to stay free. Unfortunately, this often proves to be a hassle for viewers, overloading their computers with media and slowing down the streaming rate. This is a small price to pay for most people, who chose these websites over cable TV to avoid additional expenses

 This is an exciting time for marketers who are looking to come up with new innovative ideas to reach consumers on platforms that didn’t previously exist. When legitimate streaming websites limit and monitor the amount of advertisements being presented on their page, they can also target specific audience groups based on the information gathered about their users. This will allow a harmonious relationship between marketers and the viewers who prefer to make their TV-viewing mobile without the annoyance of unnecessary and outdated ads.

MIXX Canada Conference 2013

On March 21^th the IAB MIXX Canada 2013 Conference took place in Toronto, and Humber's Internet Marketing students were fortunate enough to attend - thank you IAB Canada for inviting us! I, Siddique Baksh, had the opportunity to live-tweet from the event for the class, keeping those that could not attend updated from @MktgHumber. From beginning to end, the conference was informative and fun. Speakers from Google, Terraform Media, Sapient Nitro, comScore and many other distinguished companies were present. All of them shared their knowledge of marketing, as well as insights as to what to expect next, as technology advances.

The first speaker, Alan Schulman gave the show an amazing start. He focused on something called “Storyscaping”, which is creating a world in which many different types of media carry your advertising message, and said, “to be part of the story, we must create worlds, not ads.” After him, speakers from Casale Media, The Weather Network, and Juice Mobile took the stage and presented their recent innovation in the marketing field. After a break, the speaker from Environics Analytics talked about Canadian demographics and about their PRIZM segmentation system, which I think every marketing and business student at Humber has used at least once. comScore then came up, and talked about the growth rates in smartphones and tablets, which brought to light some very interesting statistics. Terraform Media then talked about how important the T.V. video business is, and how some people are “cord cutting” which means they are trading in a traditional T.V. cable connection in favor for an internet based T.V. experience. Then, Tim Reis, the head of mobile and social solutions at Google was up. Mobile marketing was his focus, and he talked a lot about how the potential for mobile marketing has not even begun to be touched yet. He also showcased a video of how powerful and influential the connection can be between mobiles and Google+, you can watch it below. Lastly, Candy Chang took the last speaker spot, and talked about how useful and informative public communication can be. Allowing the public to post up their ideas and hopes in different places around the city is a fun and interesting way to gain insights into what people are thinking. And just like that, the conference was over.

As I was tweeting along with IAB Canada, Google Canada, and others about the conference and what was being said, I found myself to be enjoying the experience quite a bit. In addition to what the presenters were talking about, the interactions I was getting on twitter with these huge names in marketing, was also part of the fun. Getting retweets from Google Canada, FounderFuel, FFWD AdvertisingWeek, and some others gave me some sort of drive that enabled me to keep going. Although I was not able to keep up with the heavyweights, I believe I held my own and gave out some useful information to the followers of MktgHumber on twitter.

Of course, I would not have been a part of this experience if it were not for the IAB inviting the Humber Internet Marketing students, Christina Clements giving me the opportunity to live-tweet, and the support of my classmates helping me out while I was tweeting. Thank you to all and I look forward to future MIXX Canada events

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Uv7as5ZmI

Go Viral!

               Why do viral videos create such a big buzz in the marketing world? We have all at some point in our lives wanted to be wanted to be stars, actors, or comedians; and viral videos do just that. It gives all of us the opportunity to be part of the world’s culture, and in almost an instant you can become a star.

                An example of this can be taken from an episode of television show ‘The Pitch’. For those that haven’t heard of it, ‘The Pitch’ is an unscripted series from AMC that goes behind the scenes with the pressure on America's top creative ad agencies, competing to pitch a new account. Each week the two agencies go head-to-head in a presentation known as ‘The Pitch’ with only seven days to prepare. In one of the episodes, two companies competed to be the advertising agency for Subway sandwich chain. One of the agencies saw a video of somebody on YouTube rapping about everyday food and thought it would be a good idea to bring him in and develop a rap for Subway sandwiches. After the two agencies presented all of their ideas, Subway ultimately chose the agency that brought in this unknown rapper.

                This is a fantastic example of how a marketing agencies was able to think out-side the traditional forms of media to capture the attention of consumer through an on-line video sensation. A lot of companies today are investing in online media, going viral is the ultimate goal. Not every video is going to be a success but if you make something that’s unique, funny, and creative enough you may just have the right ingredients to go viral. So next time you are looking to go outside the box in your promotional campaign think VIRAL VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsAE-3xjc3Y