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Sex Doesn’t Sell?
2007-02-23 23:24:00
Wha? Can it be true? Well, according to new research published in the journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, the recall rate for advertisements shown during sexually-oriented televisions shows is actually lower than the recall rate for children-oriented television shows. The study was conducted by exposing 18- to 31-year-old college students to ad-laden episodes of “Sex and the City,” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” Reach was significantly higher for the youth-oriented show. From APB Marketplace: “Todd Chanko with Jupiter Research says the study findings create a catch-22 for advertisers.“Ratings for shows with some kind of sexual or romantic content tend to be on the high side. And, of course, advertisers are interested in reach,” said Chanko. But the content may be more riveting than the ads…” Neat!  
More About: Sell

Visualizing the Blogosphere
2007-02-23 23:01:00
It’s old news (to some), but I finally got around to playing with the Twingly blog visualizer (via 3PointD). For those who can’t tell from the picture to the left or from the video at the bottom of this post, Twingly is a downloadable application that displays a rotating 3D globe that includes plotted locations of blog posts as they occur in real-time. Basically, the longer you let it run, the more you’ll see where blog activity is occurring around the globe. Statistics for each country are available in the big ring circumnavigating the globe. The application is available for download here and you can even turn it into your screensaver. Google has something similar to this at their headquarters that plots geographic search volumes on a giant globe, also, although that isn’t available for public consumption. Overall, the direct marketing applications of something like this are probably pretty low, but it may provide for interestingly analysis and it’s certainly an excellent...
More About: Sphere , Blog , Blogosphere , Visual , Here

Barack Obama’s Leap Into Social Networking
2007-02-14 20:33:00
Well, it looks like Barack Obama has gone and done something pretty cool, creating a social networking site for his supporters in addition to continuing his support of his already existing fans on other social networking sites. Obama’s foray into social networking, titled simply enough “MyBarackObama” (as opposed to taking a snazzy web 2.0 name like “baRackR” or “Obamaster”), gives Obama supporters the option to create a profile, post blogs, find other Obama supporters in their area and, in a move somewhat reminiscent of Howard Dean’s Meetup presence during the last presidential election, even arrange fundraisers and other Obama support events. At the lab, we’ve always been very careful to avoid talking politics because, generally, nothing good comes from it and you usually end up with someone unhappy with you, but I couldn’t resist mentioning this. There’s a lot of strange parallels that come out when examining how presidential contenders utilize technology, w...
More About: Social , Social Networking , Networking , Work

Burger King:Xbox Games = Huge Profit Increase
2007-02-12 09:00:00
Burger King revealed last week that it experienced a 41 percent increase in its second-quarter profit, which the fast food giant is directly attributing to the immense popularity of its cheap, branded Xbox 360 games. Talk about striking a major blow for branded console games, eh? For those not in the know, last year Burger King released three games for the Xbox 360 that were sold for $3.99 when customers purchased a BK value meal. The games, which included a racing game, a bumper car game, and a stealth game where players have to sneak up on unsuspecting hungry folks and feed them, feature Burger King characters and allow players to play against each other over the Xbox Live multiplayer service. (The picture to the left is from the somewhat creepy “Sneak King” game, where a player is about to stuff a much needed Whopper down an unsuspecting woman’s gullet) Over the holiday season, more than 3.2 million of the games were sold, putting them on par with popular real v...
More About: Games , Profit , Game , Prof

Excellent Web 2.0 Explanation
2007-02-08 21:13:00
This isn’t directly related to marketing, but Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropology professor at Kansas State University, has created a beautiful four minute video that totally captures what Web 2 .0 and social media is all about. It’s one thing to explain that digital technologies are allowing people to organize themselves in new (and better) ways, but Wesch has beautifully illustrated it. This video should be required watching for anyone who wants to understand what’s happening in the media landscape. Powered by WPvideo 0.60 Web20TheMachineisUsingUs -
More About: Cell , Nation , Elle , Excel