The Facebook social network is shaping new advertising and changing the ways America shops

Marketing and Advertising Meeting the Future Ahead of Schedule 

Facebook and social medias are overwhelmingly the most visited websites on the web.  Facebook and twitter alone are visited by over 65% of people who use the internet on a daily basis.  Now that these networks are marketing and advertising products, it is leading to Americans shopping differently but more importantly companies using different marketing techniques.  Radio, Television, and all of the uses of old are still in use but are these tactics about to become invisible?

Facebook the Futuristic efficient way to Advertise

Facebook, social media empire is becoming an advertising monster.  What started out as a user friendly website working to connect friends and family has turned into a marketing phenomenon.  Companies all over the globe are advertising products of all sorts over this social marketing breakthrough.  Ideas of old, such as newspapers, radio, tv advertisements, are still in use which my expert Michael Ross supervisor of in-house marketing for Doctor's Vision Works said are currently efficient but could be outdone by Facebook for obvious reasons.   Facebook is looking to make money since going public, and advertising products seems to be a huge benefit to shareholders.  Opportunities of social media are apparent and can connect the world.  Low price, straightforward marketing, and advanced networking, are just a couple of reasons why a company would want to use Facebook to advertise a product.  In terms of advertising, many companies consider numerous approaches on how a product is best marketed.  Facebook allows the company to create its own page, where the consumer can locate the product and be tunneled into information strictly about that specific product or company information.  The difference between this and other tactics is that other tactics such as tv or radio, have their split second of glory and within seconds the product is off.  While this is important because these mediums display the product to thousands of people, Facebook and other social networks let the consumer get a closer look.  So why Facebook over other social networks like google?  Michael Ross pointed me in the direction of an important debate in the marketing field which is  Facebook Ads vs. Google AdWords because it shows that technology is speeding past the old uses of marketing into the modern age.  These social networks are the new outlets of marketing that companies are gonna have to get use to in order to sell products efficiently and keep up with technology.

Facebook the "King of the Marketing Game"

While other social networks have their own trademark ideas which encourage companies to use their services.  A breakthrough for Facebook known as exchange will allow advertisers to find specific audiences or users across the web and retarget advertising that is specific to what their behavior suggests they would be interested in.  Expert Michael Ross says that the toughest challenge is figuring who is the best audience for marketing and how they become interested.  Exchange essentially does this part of the advertising for the producer.  The twist is that advertisers can bid in real time for these users meaning that inventory can be sold to the best bidder at a better price.  Google, which was mentioned earlier already has developed an exchange along with Yahoo, and Microsoft being the others.  This exchange program is revolutionary because it allows the marketer and the consumer to receive massive benefits, with the knowledge of the consumers interests at mind.  Facebook can close in on marketing history with the statistics that our being recorded for the new program.  Before these are shown, lets go over how many users log in to the world's largest social network.  Facebook comprises of over 845 million monthly active users, and on average 1 trillion page views per month.  With all of these page views and users, what are the limits for Facebook exchange?  Compared to other exchanges, Facebooks takes less impressions and fewer clicks to drive conversions according to AppNexus.  Bizo found that Facebook exchange is 1.3 to 4.3 times more efficient than other comparable ad environments.  As a company advertising a product, efficiency is everything the less money you spend brings in more revenue which is the idea behind a successful business.

Why The Future Is Bright For Facebook

Facebook is a social media which allows constant interaction between users.  Ross says that a major complaint that consumers have is they can not provide feedback on advertising or the products quickly or efficiently.  Facebook puts an end to this without hesitation.  To advertise on the social network most companies simply design a page with the company or product name.  On this page, countless things can happen on a daily or even hourly basis.  Fans can comment on a product, or offer advice for changing it, which goes directly to the producer or marketer.  While some fans may not be happy with a product, it makes it easier if you can quickly, accessibly and efficiently get back to them with a fix to the problem.  Overall these tactics make the advertisements on Facebook more fan friendly and create good company relationships.  The positives do not stop there for a Facebook page, when a fan of your product LIKES a company's page, it shows up on their friends pages.  This means that the company name will get out to more and more people.  Giving the company an edge in the advertisement game over competition who do not use the social medias.  Although, these statistics show signs of promise for  the future, Ross says that his company still must use other tactics along with Facebook because it is not quite there yet as a stand alone method.  In the future, Ross says this could change leading Facebook to be the cheapest most efficient way to market a product.

The Not-So Expert

While Expert's opinions are extremely important when determining efficiency and how statistics lead to change.  Let's see what the typical stranger on the street has to say about Facebook shaping the way America advertises now and in the future.  When asked, the first stranger on the street agreed that Facebook is an excellent way to market a product.  As advertised earlier the stranger made the point that it is a social network where people are "spending a great amount of time".  The important remark that I caught from this "stranger" was that many other marketing techniques are used to draw the consumer to the marketing platform, as mentioned before the consumer is already using the website so its a given they will come across the product if advertised.  Stranger number two presented me with the knowledge that she is a business owner and said that this has an affect on her opinions of Facebook.  She says this particular social media spreads to friends and family at an accelerated rate which helps build a fan base for small business owners.  Also mentioned was the fact that a Facebook page, allows her to receive feedback on products from fans. 

listen to ‘Stranger #1 Opinion On Facebook as Marketing Tactic ’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Stranger #2 Opinion on Facebook as Marketing Tactic’ on Audioboo

Outline of Final Project: Facebook on the Economy

Facebook or Advertising Empire

Getting Started

The economy is directly affected by producers and consumers being active in the market.  Consumers control how healthy our economy is by purchasing items and maintaining stability.  This where Economics comes to play with advertising products and the most efficient ways in doing so.  Social medias have become Americas outlet for receiving news, staying in contact with friends, and now even finding goods and services.  Facebook is everything on the web in one.  Advertising on Facebook allows the consumer to choose what he or she prefers to click on by determining what they like on the page.  The most impressive and unique thing that Facebook has done for the user is connecting the groups that he or she is in or things that that user likes with what is advertised on the website for that specific person.  For example, on my Facebook page it notices that I have liked the Dark Knight Rises movie.  Therefor, right on the side it has the release date of the DVD and where to purchase the movie when it is released.  It also, becomes simple to connect friends and family to what it is that you have found by just having them one click away on the SAME website.

Expert's Opinion On the Matter

It is only possible to see how effective Facebook can be in advertising and marketing by confronting an expert in the economics field about their use of the social media.  If these professionals have no interest in Facebook, then it would not seem wise to use this as a mainstream way to get products introduced to the public.  Questions that arise that only an expert could give good opinions on would be.  Do you use Facebook, and for what purposes (personal or for students and co-workers)?  Also, does a social media such as Facebook have the power to rise to an advertising empire and influence consumers to purchase goods?  Competing against magazines, other internet sources, newspaper, etc.

Previous AudioBoos

Man on Street

listen to ‘Man on street Facebook Marketing’ on Audioboo

Woman on Street

listen to ‘Woman on street Facebook Marketing’ on Audioboo

Test Boo In class (social media on daily life)

listen to ‘Social media on daily life’ on Audioboo

Audioboo For final project

Man On Street Interview: Facebooks use of marketing?

listen to ‘Stranger #1 Opinion On Facebook as Marketing Tactic ’ on Audioboo

Woman On Street Interview: Facebooks use of marketing?

listen to ‘Stranger #2 Opinion on Facebook as Marketing Tactic’ on Audioboo

Frosted Flakes in 50 Years

They're Greaaaaaaat

Frosted Flakes were introduced to the United States in 1951, with mascot Tony The Tiger.  Frosted Flakes are a sugar-coated corn flake breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg Company.  Originally called Sugar Frosted Flakes, the name was changed to Frosted Flakes in 1980 to create a more appealing and healthier title for parents who were purchasing breakfast cereals for their children.  Being such an older cereal, commercials advertising Frosted Flakes date back to 1960 and have taken off since then.  Tony the Tiger has become the face of the box and a recognized mascot.  Here is an example of what a Frosted Flakes commercial looked like in 1960. 

1960s Flakes

This commercial that was produced in 1960, features Tony the Tiger and Tony Jr.  Beside the obvious black and white picture, things seem to have changed in commercial making since this was created.  In general, this specific Frosted Flakes commercial seemed to go for a cartoon show like feel.  Each commercial for this cereal that was produced in this era had another story line with Tony the Tiger and his son Jr. almost establishing a sitcom like approach.  Always added to this was, the box which was showed at the end with Tony's face filling the front, and his famous catch line, They'reeeee GREAT.  Most commercials did not feature anything else but these two famous tigers.  Most of the time, Jr. received some super power from eating the Frosted Flakes, that usually ended up with Tony the Tiger shocked and in a messy situation.  In this commercial that was posted earlier, Jr. cracks the safe that contains the secret recipe for Frosted Flakes. Following this Tony, goes to retrieve the recipe and Jr. locks him in the safe.  Finally, like how many of the other commercials end Jr. blows the safe door open leaving Tony injured.  This example reminds me of watching the cartoon show Tom and Jerry as a child where Jerry (mouse) always fooled Tom (cat) into getting hurt.  These type of commercials appeal to children because they first are interested in the story.  They later figure out that its for a food (cereal) and all of a sudden they are hooked on it because they love the mascot and stories.  The advertising of this cereal fell solely on Tony the Tiger and JR.  The hope was to have kids fall in love with these characters and doing so also fall in love with the cereal.

Fast Forward the Flakes

Its 2012 and Frosted Flakes are as popular as ever.  The advertising and commercials have not ended and more and more people are familiar with this cereal.  Tony the Tiger is still the face of the franchise, and THEY'REEE GREAATTT is alive and well.  Somewhere in the middle of all of this success, Jr. Tony's little friend was left behind.  Commercials now a days, feature Just Tony the Tiger and usually kids, playing different sports such as football, soccer, tennis, etc. Along with the famous slogan, put into the commercials are lines that show the nutrition facts for Frosted Flakes.  Unlike the 60s, where the cartoon had a story behind it.  Present day commercials are more for showing off the nutritional facts, and what ingredients are in the cereal.  The pitch for Frosted Flakes is for people of all ages interests.  While, Kelloggs shows it off as a childs cereal.  In most cases, parents are purchasing it for these kids.  When parents buy breakfast cereals for their kids, they want something that their kids like, but they also want something that is a healthy option to start the morning. That is exactly what Frosted Flakes is a nutritious and delicious breakfast.

What Were You Watching?

WISCONSIN vs. NEBRASKA "the showdown"

       Saturday night college football showcased some of the top teams in the nation.  Wisconsin entered the season as a favorite to win the Big 10, after a star studded performance last season that left Quarterback Russell Wilson starting for the Seattle Seahawks.  They opened the season as everyone expected with a win, but got off to a slow start in a week two matchup with Oregon State and became a victim of "overlooking an opponent.  Now they have gotten back on track and our ready for a week five show down with the Nebraska Cornhuskers who entered the game ranked number 22 in the nation.   This matchup should have provided for excellent ratings and a big night of football.  The ratings of this game according to TVbythenumbers were 1.2 million watching which was actually a step down from the last weeks 1.8 million.  Ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by the Nielson company.  This was an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the U.S.  On the other hand, a share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to the program.  The share number for this given game was 4 million.  These ratings and shares were the highest of the night and earned ABC the top spot for the evening.  In this crazy comeback performance the Nebraska Cornhuskers edged the Wisconsin Badgers on a late 4th quarter field goal after trailing by as much as 17 points throughout the game.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez, fighting his way out of a sack late in a fourth quarter showdown with Wisconsin.

The Middle is Back!

After a break from shows like Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, and The Middle they are back to ABC.  The Middle made its season 4 premier Wednesday night at 8 P.M.  The Middle features your average American family who resides in Orson, Indiana.  Three kids Axl, Sue, and Brick just like any other siblings fight, get into trouble, and are a handful for parents (Mike and Frankie).  In its season premier the Middle had a rating of 2.8 (million) with a share of 9.  These ratings are a bit below the 3.1 rating received after last seasons premier.

Why The Difference

Football has become a sport that is watched world wide.  While people in other countries do not have the capabilities to watch these events live, these games have now become available through live streaming on laptops, desktops, Ipads, and even Iphones.  The ratings for sports events have gone up at a rapid rate due to the streaming with these different accessories.  With the technology constantly changing it has left a positive effect on TV ratings for sports and other shows because people are more inclined to tune into shows while on the go or stuck somewhere without cable.

Integrity Restored: The NFL's Nightmare

      Who would have thought that a referee would have so much to do with a sport.  Last season it was the players who were locked out from the NFL.  Fans, coaches, families, all waited as the first NFL lockout was on the verge of reality.  Now these were the players that we are talking about, a deal was imminent.  On July 25, 2011 a deal broke and the NFL players were back to business and the NFL survived a huge scare.  Fast forward  to 2012 and we have a similar situation, but then again a little different.  The referees that have been part of the game for years and years did not have a deal in place for the season and were being replaced by "replacement officials" for the start of the season.  Most people shrugged this off because who really cares about a referee right?  Week one came around and things got a bit out of control, no major controversies but there were some complaints that these guys just could not keep up with the speed of the game.  Post week one, comments from all over the NFL poured out that these guys were doing there best but everyone would like to see the real guys back.

     When week three rolled around everyone was a bit fed up with the whole idea of replacement officials.  Many of the players mocked the fact that these guys were refereeing their football games and refused to be detained by them.  In a week two matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles there were several times during the game that players began to shove and push after the play because they knew the referees were not going to give them penalties or worst throw them out of the game.  Over the course of the football game four or five big fights broke out that did not result in any penalty yards for either time, so no lesson was learned.  Now, these referees were only a part of one football game at a time.  When they made mistakes it was a big deal but the audiences were limited.  This is when Monday night football came around, week three featuring the Green Bay Packers vs the Seattle Seahawks.  Monday night football is usually the most watched football event of the week and the referees were on the hot seat.  It came down to a late drive by the Seahawks that left them at the 25 yard line with four seconds left on the clock.  This meant Seattle was down to their last opportunity, the score was 12-7 Green Bay.  Before this play took place there was already some conversation that the officials were having a tough day and could not keep up with the NFL game.  This is when it happened, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson scrambled around and threw up a prayer to the endzone. Green Bay had three or four defensive backs around the ball, Seattle had wide receiver Golden Tate who shoved the corner back in front of him went up and was just late after an M.D. Jennings interception, game over!  But wait, the referee awarded Golden Tate with the catch for a touchdown even though the packers corner back (M.D. Jennings) caught the ball.  Seattle had won the game 14-12.  This was all over the news, sports fans were going nuts, reporters were going even more nuts.  A senator from Wisconsin posted Roger Goodells (commissioner of the NFL) phone number online.  He received over 70,000 calls that next day.  Wednesday September 26, came around and the NFL and NFLRA had come to a deal, the real referees were back and the integrity of the game was restored.

Seattle's controversial touchdown catch that brought an end to the replacement officials.

I bought it, i'll share it

Digital Rights Management to save the day?
     With technology moving at a rapid pace and the music industry as popular as ever how do we begin to limit the stealing of music.  When the Backsteet Boys would release their brand new albums back in the late 90s and early 2000s, people would rush to the stores in hopes to get hands on the CD.  The CD usually in a tiny clear case with fancy album work on the front and the track list on the back.  It was always a pleasant surprise to see how creative the album cover would be and it was exciting going to purchase your favorite artists album.  Now in the year 2012, Justin Bieber will release an album.  While some may rush to the store and buy that same CD that people have been buying for a decade.  Most, will simply get online and find the fastest way to rip the entire album right onto their Mac or PC.  This way is lighting fast, convenient, and offers the exact same music.  So why would someone go to the store if piracy is this easy?  Digital Rights Management is a term to refer to any piece of technology that offers the chance to stop or mediate piracy for music, video games, films, and many other things.
Bringing DRM to life

     Digital Rights Management aims to take control of the digital content out of the consumers hand and put it on the computer program too help block, out smart, and limit what is copied for multiple uses.  The digital copies are leading to the major corporations losing out on billions of dollars of profit because why buy the real thing when the copy is free and made so available.  According to Julia Layton at "How Stuff Works" the movie industry estimates a profit loss from illegal distribution of DVD's around 5 billion dollars.  This is why DRM is designed to limit the number of copies that are made available to the purchaser.  It is impossible to completely stop piracy, so this is the 2nd best option when trying to regain control.
This ones on YOU
    So how am i in the middle of this huge crisis in the entertainment industry.  Like most teenagers, i listen to music, play video games, and watch movies on a regular basis.  Walking to class i listen to my favorite artists, when i get home i turn on my XBOX and play my favorite games, and at night i occasionally pop in a DVD to entertain myself before bed.  Now, i do not participate in piracy for these DVDs and XBOX games, but it is almost impossible to track every song on my itunes and to determine that not one of these songs is "stolen".  Piracy is just one of those illegal activities that not many people frown upon.  We look at some crimes as not really being that bad, they don't imply that you are a bad person because you have done this activity.  With the booming music industry the way it is, it is only practical to say that some people are just gonna keep figuring out ways to copy music and thats just how its going to be.