Advertising

Making Money on Twitter

Until quite recently Twitter seemed sluggish to the point of indifference on the subject of monetizing its micro-blogging service. As millions of users came pouring in, the company, at least in the public perception, appeared to have no plans on how to profit from his huge success.

But that didn’t stop others from looking for ways to get more buck for their Tweets.

For more than a year, a few companies that sought ways to capitalize on the 140-character space sprouted up in Twitter-land. Now it seems their time has come with what to this point has to be the pinnacle of commercialized micro-blogging.

Earlier this week Fast Company ran a piece on what might the singular most lucrative Tweet of all time, a Twitter ad by Charlie Sheen that became a run-away smash hit – garnering the sponsor hundreds of thousands of visitors it would never have receive otherwise.

The advert was run through ad.ly, a company that has become the promotional Tweeting gateway to the stars. The list of celebs on the ad.ly account is a veritable who’s who of Twitter notoriety: Snoop Dogg, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kim Karashian … bringing in hundreds if not thousands of dollars per character for everyone involved.

However, an ad.ly account is only attainable to true Twittering legends. But that doesn’t mean that millions of other Twitterers are left out. There are some crumbs for the rest of us.

MyLikes and Sponsored Tweets are two firms that allow those with a Twitter account to run advertisement on their feeds. Each tends to pay those who use the respective services on a cost-per-click basis for traffic in the United States.

Morgan Spurlock Brings the Brands Together in Supersized Movie-Marketing Venture

Remember the Norwegian television station which achieved YouTube notoriety a couple of months back by assembling the stars from decades ago and having them lip-synch “Let It Be” and “We Are the World”?

Now, in an effort to bring together brands of all shapes and mostly one size (big), Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me fame presents POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, the documentary director’s exploration of product placing, marketing and advertising.

The list of placed products in the flick is enormous and impressive — in a shameless marketing kind of way: Amy’s Kitchen, the Aruba Tourism Authority, Jet Blue, Hyatt, Old Navy …

As Mr. Spurlock recently wrote:

Brands are everywhere these days. It seems like I can‘t go to any event these days without someone ―sponsoring it. Sporting events, concerts, anything. So, why not a movie? Better yet, why not a movie that examines the whole phenomenon that is actually paid for by the companies themselves. That was the jumping off point.

Will Lost Socks Be This Year’s Old Spice Guy?

GE is injecting a bit of irony into appliances with a new online campaign about the disturbing issue of sock loss.

Concerned citizens can even take matters into their own hands by creating their own missing socks’ posters. L.O.S.S. allows you to perfectly design the lost sock’s image and display it as your Facebook profile picture to help spread the word. Families can also call 1-855-762-5642 to report missing socks and get emotional support. You don’t have to keep quiet any longer.

One can read more at sockloss.com.

Remembering the Assvert

While some originally … umm … pooh-poohed the concept, assvertising, the placing of promotions on shapely derrieres, at least to our feeble collective imagination, seemed rather clever.

We weren’t the only ones taken in by the idea. Companies as diverse as Kodak and the NY Health & Racquet Club saw the potential of assvertisements helping the … umm … bottom line.

After all, as one of the pioneers in the industry once said: “If you want to be seen, go where people are already looking.”

Do Tobacco Companies Engage in Litter Advertising?

I was walking by the river yesterday in a Central European town — one I shall not name — when I was struck by the number of empty cigarette boxes strewn along the pedestrian path.

Almost all were of the same brand, all neatly facing up.

I did not have to step over piles of them. Nor were there a mere one or two. Simply a number of empty boxes that would strike one’s attention: too many to be ignored, to few to produce an outcry.

But just enough to catch the attention of a blogger with little else to think about on a Sunday afternoon stroll.