July 8, 2009: summarized from SunSentinal.com -- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is now online with Facebook and Twitter, according to a casino news release.
The casino says its Facebook Fan Page seminolehardrockhollywood.com/facebook
gives fans "the direct scoop on concert and sporting event on-sale dates, celebrity appearances and more." Also "the site features exclusive photos and video footage from a variety of events at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hard Rock Live and Seminole Paradise clubs, restaurants and special events."
Examples: visits from Kim Kardashian, Motley Crue, Juan Luis Guerra, Pamela Anderson, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. There's also a lineup of all Hard Rock Live concerts and events plus view rare footage from additional special engagements.
And current casino promotions for Seminole Players Club members and last-minute hotel room deals.
Seminole Hard Rock's Twitter feed is at seminolehardrockhollywood.com/twitter. They'll tweet out casino, poker, food and drink specials, last-minute hotel deals and of-the-minute happenings on the casino floor, they say. (The bad news, if you're like me, is you follow 300 people, and the Tweets get overwhelming. Gotta learn to filter.)
They also have RSS feeds at www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com and www.hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/kvr8hq
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Conn. Casinos Join Forces Against Atlantic City
CM Comment: A joint digital campaign has been launched by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Take a look at www.playCTcasinos.com.
July 10, 2009: summarized from Marketing Daily -- Two of the biggest casinos in the world are making an unlikely liaison to boost tourism to southeastern Connecticut, where Foxwoods Resort and rival Mohegan Sun are located.
In a move to get people to eschew New Jersey's Atlantic City, the two behemoths of gambling -- one of which brings in some 14 million visitors a year and has 2,225 hotel rooms that are pretty much always booked -- are for the first time in their respective histories launching an outdoor and digital campaign to tout the area as a major resort and entertainment destination.
Rob Victoria, SVP of consumer marketing at Foxwoods, says the effort will include billboards in New Jersey and the New York metro area. "We are working together because we think we can drive more business to the region by letting the public know we have two incredible scenic resorts, both of which are all-inclusive destinations." He says the effort, with a "Two Worlds Beats One City" that takes a jab at Atlantic City, drives consumers to www.playCTcasinos.com.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/nd2ceh
July 10, 2009: summarized from Marketing Daily -- Two of the biggest casinos in the world are making an unlikely liaison to boost tourism to southeastern Connecticut, where Foxwoods Resort and rival Mohegan Sun are located.
In a move to get people to eschew New Jersey's Atlantic City, the two behemoths of gambling -- one of which brings in some 14 million visitors a year and has 2,225 hotel rooms that are pretty much always booked -- are for the first time in their respective histories launching an outdoor and digital campaign to tout the area as a major resort and entertainment destination.
Rob Victoria, SVP of consumer marketing at Foxwoods, says the effort will include billboards in New Jersey and the New York metro area. "We are working together because we think we can drive more business to the region by letting the public know we have two incredible scenic resorts, both of which are all-inclusive destinations." He says the effort, with a "Two Worlds Beats One City" that takes a jab at Atlantic City, drives consumers to www.playCTcasinos.com.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/nd2ceh
Facebook's Own Estimates Show Declining Student Numbers; Now More Grandparents Than High School Users
July 6, 2009: summarized from ReadWriteWeb -- How fickle are kids these days? Just when all the grown ups started figuring out Facebook, college and high school users have declined in absolute number by 20% and 15% respectively in a mere six months, according to estimates Facebook provides to advertisers that were archived for tracking by an outside firm. Facebook users aged 55 and over have skyrocketed from under 1 million to nearly six million in the same time period. There are more Facebook users over 55 years old today than there are high school students using the site.
The dramatic change in user demographics was picked up by iStrategyLabs today. Anyone can go through Facebook's self-serve advertising program and see the user demographics numbers the company estimates now; iStrategyLabs captured that data six months ago and saved it for comparison. The changes have been dramatic.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/l9w2s5
The dramatic change in user demographics was picked up by iStrategyLabs today. Anyone can go through Facebook's self-serve advertising program and see the user demographics numbers the company estimates now; iStrategyLabs captured that data six months ago and saved it for comparison. The changes have been dramatic.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/l9w2s5
Common Mobile Marketing Questions
July 9, 2009: summarized from ClickZ -- We're always fielding great questions from clients. Here are some topics that come up so frequently that they apply to just about everyone.
How much of my digital budget should I devote to mobile?
Mobile isn't exclusively a digital channel. Just because your BlackBerry makes beeping sounds and the screen is composed of pixels doesn't mean the rules of digital are the only ones that apply. You should use digital to complement your print, out-of-home, radio, local, and even TV advertising. Consider using mobile as the response mechanism for campaigns that appear in static media; also think about mobile as a way to reach consumers at times and in places that TV and online can't.
Mobile display advertising as part of campaign should be at least $150,000. Anything below that as a line item in a well-sized campaign will achieve limited reach, low interaction rates, and minimum effectiveness, among other things. Throwing $10,000 or $15,000 into a plan for mobile just produces one-off initiatives that rarely achieve returns or indicative results that provide a basis for future investment.
Do I need a mobile strategy?
No, you need a brand strategy with a plan for determining mobile tactics. The most effective mobile marketing happens when you've found the right roles for mobile in your strategy for reaching, motivating, providing value to, and interacting with consumers. Mobile is really an indicator of customer behavior. Consumers who can be reached through mobile behave in ways that require different tactics than other channels. Those tactics then require different creative approaches, messaging, and functionality. Figuring out the roles for mobile essentially comes down to determining when interactions, sharing, sight, sound, motion, discovery, or transactions are better served by allowing a consumer to do those things through a device equipped with Internet access, location-awareness, text messaging, data input, and other capabilities. And figuring out how mobile will improve and complement a campaign gives it options that aren't possible through other channels in your plan.
I thought by now our customers would be paying for things with their mobile phones and I'd be able to text message everyone walking by my stores. What's going on?
Before those things become commonplace, a myriad of technical, privacy, security, and infrastructure obstacles must be resolved. But there's probably more going on than you think, and I'd like to see more brands and services adapt and build on the ones that do work to provide more functionality and service to customers.
Lots of tests are being run in almost every conceivable area of mobile-based convenience, including coupon serving, debit and credit transactions, dynamic shopping lists, and a breathalyzer that connects to the local cab company.
One example of a service available today is travelers using bar-coded airline tickets that reside on their mobile devices. The trick is airlines have the types of readers that can scan the screen of a mobile device; not all scanners can (retail stores have the same limitations with coupons). Also, airlines are working with the Transportation Security Administration to make the service work with federal laws and airport security standards. That's only one example, but it can apply to many other behaviors and customer services. Marketers should be thinking about how to adapt the capability.
I can't wait until we can use our mobile devices to control our other appliances, machines, and transactions. Who wouldn't want to control the applications we love to use on our PCs, DVRs, thermostats, nanny cams, digital content, Twitter feeds, and so on, and make them work together -- all from the one device that you have in your hand most of the day? The infrastructure and systems interoperability isn't there yet, but it will be. And it will happen sooner if we initiate programs that creatively use mobile interactions to make customer experiences better.
The great news is that none of the questions we get are about why a brand should use mobile. With so little denial, it seems that interest, understanding, and motivation are high for mobile. Now we just need to convert the high awareness to more specific spending and initiatives.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/noda2p
How much of my digital budget should I devote to mobile?
Mobile isn't exclusively a digital channel. Just because your BlackBerry makes beeping sounds and the screen is composed of pixels doesn't mean the rules of digital are the only ones that apply. You should use digital to complement your print, out-of-home, radio, local, and even TV advertising. Consider using mobile as the response mechanism for campaigns that appear in static media; also think about mobile as a way to reach consumers at times and in places that TV and online can't.
Mobile display advertising as part of campaign should be at least $150,000. Anything below that as a line item in a well-sized campaign will achieve limited reach, low interaction rates, and minimum effectiveness, among other things. Throwing $10,000 or $15,000 into a plan for mobile just produces one-off initiatives that rarely achieve returns or indicative results that provide a basis for future investment.
Do I need a mobile strategy?
No, you need a brand strategy with a plan for determining mobile tactics. The most effective mobile marketing happens when you've found the right roles for mobile in your strategy for reaching, motivating, providing value to, and interacting with consumers. Mobile is really an indicator of customer behavior. Consumers who can be reached through mobile behave in ways that require different tactics than other channels. Those tactics then require different creative approaches, messaging, and functionality. Figuring out the roles for mobile essentially comes down to determining when interactions, sharing, sight, sound, motion, discovery, or transactions are better served by allowing a consumer to do those things through a device equipped with Internet access, location-awareness, text messaging, data input, and other capabilities. And figuring out how mobile will improve and complement a campaign gives it options that aren't possible through other channels in your plan.
I thought by now our customers would be paying for things with their mobile phones and I'd be able to text message everyone walking by my stores. What's going on?
Before those things become commonplace, a myriad of technical, privacy, security, and infrastructure obstacles must be resolved. But there's probably more going on than you think, and I'd like to see more brands and services adapt and build on the ones that do work to provide more functionality and service to customers.
Lots of tests are being run in almost every conceivable area of mobile-based convenience, including coupon serving, debit and credit transactions, dynamic shopping lists, and a breathalyzer that connects to the local cab company.
One example of a service available today is travelers using bar-coded airline tickets that reside on their mobile devices. The trick is airlines have the types of readers that can scan the screen of a mobile device; not all scanners can (retail stores have the same limitations with coupons). Also, airlines are working with the Transportation Security Administration to make the service work with federal laws and airport security standards. That's only one example, but it can apply to many other behaviors and customer services. Marketers should be thinking about how to adapt the capability.
I can't wait until we can use our mobile devices to control our other appliances, machines, and transactions. Who wouldn't want to control the applications we love to use on our PCs, DVRs, thermostats, nanny cams, digital content, Twitter feeds, and so on, and make them work together -- all from the one device that you have in your hand most of the day? The infrastructure and systems interoperability isn't there yet, but it will be. And it will happen sooner if we initiate programs that creatively use mobile interactions to make customer experiences better.
The great news is that none of the questions we get are about why a brand should use mobile. With so little denial, it seems that interest, understanding, and motivation are high for mobile. Now we just need to convert the high awareness to more specific spending and initiatives.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/noda2p
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Rep. Barney Frank Optimistic For Online Gambling Bill
July 5, 2009: summarided from FoxNews.com -- A Democratic congressman at the World Series of Poker to rally support for legalizing and regulating Internet gambling says he thinks he can get a bill passed by next year. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts told nearly 1,700 players Sunday at the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event that he viewed Internet gambling as a right that must be protected. Phil Hellmuth, an 11-time gold bracelet winner at series who won the main event 20 years ago, says online gambling will grow worldwide regardless of whether U.S. lawmakers soften their stance. A 2006 law prohibits financial institutions from taking credit card payments, checks or electronic transfers to settle online wagers. The Justice Department viewed Internet gambling as illegal even before that.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/qk4a2x
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/qk4a2x
12 Tips For Creative Pros On Facebook
CM Comment: A very good primer on Facebook best practices. Click-thru to the underlying article on this one for all of the specifics.
July 1, 2009: summarized from CreativePro.com -- Here are 12 tips on how creative pros can use Facebook's various tools together, as part of a grand unified Facebook promotion strategy:
1. Start by setting up a Page (a.k.a public profile) for your project or business. Whatever you're publicizing, you'll need a home base for it on Facebook -- a central location for all the basic info, announcements, events, and other content that you'll be posting. That's where Pages -- with a capital P -- come in.
2. Make use of Facebook's News Feeds to reach people outside the boundaries of your fan base. One of the best things about Facebook is that it allows you to go beyond preaching to the converted. The secret ingredient to effective word-of-Facebook promotion is taking advantage of a phenomenon called passive endorsement, whereby Facebook's News Feeds make the content you post visible not only to your own friends and fans, but to all the people they're friends with, as well.
3. Remember that on Facebook, the best way to promote your creativity is to share your creativity. Or to put it another way: The most effective way to advertise on Facebook is not to advertise. I know that may sound like a Zen riddle, but bear with me -- this particular pebble isn't so hard to snatch.
4. Use status updates for short, punchy messages that keep you on your fans' radar. Just like your personal profile, your Page lets you post brief, timely announcements -- known as status updates -- about what you're up to and what's on your mind. Status updates appear on your Page's Wall, up at the top of your Page just under the name, and -- most importantly -- on the Home pages of anyone who's opted to view your content there.
5. If what you'd like to say is too long for a status update, use the Notes feature. Status updates do have some limitations. They're meant to be brief, so there's a restriction on how many characters you can type in the status update field (although it's noticeably more generous than Twitter's limit of 140 characters per tweet). But if you've got something you'd like to say that's too long for a status update, fear not: Facebook has you covered with the Notes feature.
6. Use Events to draw attention to time-sensitive happenings, build enthusiasm about them, and track your potential attendance. If you've ever used Evite, you'll be familiar with the basic concept of Facebook Events, which let you create an invitation page for a show, party, exhibition, meeting, or other calendar items. Posting public Events on Facebook helps you reach not only the people on your invitation list, but potentially their friends, and friends of friends, as well -- thanks to the magical ripple effect I mentioned earlier.
7. Use photos and videos to show off your projects in an eye-catching and entertaining way. Engaging people on a visual level is always a good strategy. So posting photos and videos on Facebook is an ideal way to showcase your talents. And because of the way Facebook's news feeds push photos and videos out to the Home pages of your Facebook friends and fans, you can use them as an effective tool to grab attention for projects, performances, and events of all kinds.
8. Direct attention to content posted elsewhere (YouTube, blogs, etc.) by using the Links feature. Facebook excels as a medium for sharing Web links. When you post a URL to Facebook, it doesn't appear solely as a Web address. If it's a link to an article or blog post, Facebook lets you choose a picture and a text excerpt to accompany it; if it's a video, Facebook will if possible embed a video player directly on the page. This makes it easy to keep your Page populated with fresh, engaging content.
9. Use Groups to network with fellow fans, professionals, and other peers. Although Pages are superior to Groups if you're looking to communicate with your own base of fans, customers, and supporters, Groups have their uses, too. Facebook Groups are a great way to connect on a peer-to-peer basis with fellow professionals, people you went to school or worked with in the past, or fellow fans and enthusiasts of whatever you're into. You might start a Group devoted to a specific issue or concern, and use it to meet like-minded Facebookers, some of whom might eventually find their way to back to your Page.
10. Keep your Pages, Groups, Events, and other content active to generate interest and discussion. Once you've created a Page, a Group, or an Event on Facebook, don't just let it sit there. You can help it get seen by as many folks as possibly by keeping it active. Add content to its page, write on its Wall, and use the Share button to post it to your own Profile.
11. Consider experimenting with the paid ads.
All of the tools I've discussed above are available for free on Facebook. But if you're willing to invest a little capital in the game, you can also experiment with bought-and-paid for advertising options.
12. Don't be pushy -- be engaging. Now that we've looked at the tools Facebook has to offer, it's time to circle back to the point I made in the beginning: The best way to put those tools to work is use them to showcase your creativity and the personality of your work. Try to make sure that every Facebook post you make has some entertainment value -- a new piece of information, a look at your work, or a useful or amusing link you just found.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ojrg44
July 1, 2009: summarized from CreativePro.com -- Here are 12 tips on how creative pros can use Facebook's various tools together, as part of a grand unified Facebook promotion strategy:
1. Start by setting up a Page (a.k.a public profile) for your project or business. Whatever you're publicizing, you'll need a home base for it on Facebook -- a central location for all the basic info, announcements, events, and other content that you'll be posting. That's where Pages -- with a capital P -- come in.
2. Make use of Facebook's News Feeds to reach people outside the boundaries of your fan base. One of the best things about Facebook is that it allows you to go beyond preaching to the converted. The secret ingredient to effective word-of-Facebook promotion is taking advantage of a phenomenon called passive endorsement, whereby Facebook's News Feeds make the content you post visible not only to your own friends and fans, but to all the people they're friends with, as well.
3. Remember that on Facebook, the best way to promote your creativity is to share your creativity. Or to put it another way: The most effective way to advertise on Facebook is not to advertise. I know that may sound like a Zen riddle, but bear with me -- this particular pebble isn't so hard to snatch.
4. Use status updates for short, punchy messages that keep you on your fans' radar. Just like your personal profile, your Page lets you post brief, timely announcements -- known as status updates -- about what you're up to and what's on your mind. Status updates appear on your Page's Wall, up at the top of your Page just under the name, and -- most importantly -- on the Home pages of anyone who's opted to view your content there.
5. If what you'd like to say is too long for a status update, use the Notes feature. Status updates do have some limitations. They're meant to be brief, so there's a restriction on how many characters you can type in the status update field (although it's noticeably more generous than Twitter's limit of 140 characters per tweet). But if you've got something you'd like to say that's too long for a status update, fear not: Facebook has you covered with the Notes feature.
6. Use Events to draw attention to time-sensitive happenings, build enthusiasm about them, and track your potential attendance. If you've ever used Evite, you'll be familiar with the basic concept of Facebook Events, which let you create an invitation page for a show, party, exhibition, meeting, or other calendar items. Posting public Events on Facebook helps you reach not only the people on your invitation list, but potentially their friends, and friends of friends, as well -- thanks to the magical ripple effect I mentioned earlier.
7. Use photos and videos to show off your projects in an eye-catching and entertaining way. Engaging people on a visual level is always a good strategy. So posting photos and videos on Facebook is an ideal way to showcase your talents. And because of the way Facebook's news feeds push photos and videos out to the Home pages of your Facebook friends and fans, you can use them as an effective tool to grab attention for projects, performances, and events of all kinds.
8. Direct attention to content posted elsewhere (YouTube, blogs, etc.) by using the Links feature. Facebook excels as a medium for sharing Web links. When you post a URL to Facebook, it doesn't appear solely as a Web address. If it's a link to an article or blog post, Facebook lets you choose a picture and a text excerpt to accompany it; if it's a video, Facebook will if possible embed a video player directly on the page. This makes it easy to keep your Page populated with fresh, engaging content.
9. Use Groups to network with fellow fans, professionals, and other peers. Although Pages are superior to Groups if you're looking to communicate with your own base of fans, customers, and supporters, Groups have their uses, too. Facebook Groups are a great way to connect on a peer-to-peer basis with fellow professionals, people you went to school or worked with in the past, or fellow fans and enthusiasts of whatever you're into. You might start a Group devoted to a specific issue or concern, and use it to meet like-minded Facebookers, some of whom might eventually find their way to back to your Page.
10. Keep your Pages, Groups, Events, and other content active to generate interest and discussion. Once you've created a Page, a Group, or an Event on Facebook, don't just let it sit there. You can help it get seen by as many folks as possibly by keeping it active. Add content to its page, write on its Wall, and use the Share button to post it to your own Profile.
11. Consider experimenting with the paid ads.
All of the tools I've discussed above are available for free on Facebook. But if you're willing to invest a little capital in the game, you can also experiment with bought-and-paid for advertising options.
12. Don't be pushy -- be engaging. Now that we've looked at the tools Facebook has to offer, it's time to circle back to the point I made in the beginning: The best way to put those tools to work is use them to showcase your creativity and the personality of your work. Try to make sure that every Facebook post you make has some entertainment value -- a new piece of information, a look at your work, or a useful or amusing link you just found.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ojrg44
E-Mail Marketing Open and Click-Through Rates
CM Comment: Click link for detailed rates by industry. Helpful data for benchmarking purposes.
July 6, 2009: summarized from eMarketer -- According to the "Email Marketing Metrics Report" by MailerMailer, 12.5% of unique marketing e-mails were opened in the second half of 2008. The figure is down from the first half of 2008, when 13.2% of messages were opened. How often e-mails were opened and clicked varied with the industry of the sender-and the size of the list. Messages delivered to small and medium lists had higher open and click-through rates than messages delivered to lists of 1,000 or more subscribers. Religious and spiritual e-mails had the highest open rates among large lists, followed by travel, general consumer and retail. Click-through rates for lists of over 1,000 recipients were also highest for religious organizations, followed by telecommunications and travel companies. A smaller list does not directly affect open and click rates, but mailings to smaller lists may be targeted better, contain more relevant content or have more recent subscribers.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ovwppl
July 6, 2009: summarized from eMarketer -- According to the "Email Marketing Metrics Report" by MailerMailer, 12.5% of unique marketing e-mails were opened in the second half of 2008. The figure is down from the first half of 2008, when 13.2% of messages were opened. How often e-mails were opened and clicked varied with the industry of the sender-and the size of the list. Messages delivered to small and medium lists had higher open and click-through rates than messages delivered to lists of 1,000 or more subscribers. Religious and spiritual e-mails had the highest open rates among large lists, followed by travel, general consumer and retail. Click-through rates for lists of over 1,000 recipients were also highest for religious organizations, followed by telecommunications and travel companies. A smaller list does not directly affect open and click rates, but mailings to smaller lists may be targeted better, contain more relevant content or have more recent subscribers.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ovwppl
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)