Splinterization of Media| Content Machine Ep. #8

This week, our culture’s last real media focused holiday happened, the Super Bowl. The big game represents a unique moment in the US every year. It’s the closest thing we have to a unified cultural moment most years. Every year, headlines in the newspaper talk about how expensive Super Bowl ads are. And this year was no different with most ads costing between $6 and $7 million. On top of that, companies are usually willing to invest millions more in putting together star studded commercials, investing millions more in production. Why? Well, one, prestige. The company feels cool about being in the Super Bowl. It’s a big ticket purchase and one they can brag about to their friends on the golf course. Production companies also view this as an opportunity to show off. So that’s one reason many of the ads are so over the top. Super Bowl ads are so expensive that it also helps showcase a brand’s relev. If you are buying a Super Bowl spot, it’s not because you are struggling as a company. It’s because you are thriving and relevant and investing money to stay relevant as part of the cultural conversation. But the biggest reason is eyeballs.

The Super Bowl is the biggest media event in any given year in our culture. In 2022, the Super Bowl had as many as four times as the viewers of the College National Championship Game. Most every single major TV viewership event in every year is NFL related. And if it’s not NFL, it’s live sports. Why sports? Because sports is the last live event that you want to watch on traditional TV and not catch the highlights of something later on YouTube or catch it streaming. The Super Bowl is also a cultural event in the United States. Not only do we watch the game, but we have a party about it, and some people just watch it for the commercials. But the Super Bowl is unique because of the diversification of media in our lives. Would you guess that the M Ash Show back in the day, the day, the Finale, had more viewers and a bigger percentage of viewers in the United States than the 2022 Super Bowl. Why is that? Because M Ash was basically watched by everyone. Because in 1983, there were a lot less options on what to watch. Instead of having major networks and no data on a phone, let alone having a cell phone at all, people were set up to choose a very limited number of media options.

And people who grew up with that era are still having a hard time of understanding today’s era. In that era, there were household names and actors in TV shows. But I think the last touch point a majority of our culture has, the working adults at least, can go back to is Kelly Clarkson winning American idol in 2002. Since then, because of the ubiquity of the internet, the options have grown to the point where no one can keep up with them. This has tremendous effects on our marketing, but also as a society. I think it has some ramifications that will continue to play out as increasing division in our society because we have less and less cultural common ground to work with. So what is a marketer to do besides convincing clients that this has already happened? You have to take multi channel marketing seriously. Realizing that the media attention is so splintered in our society that it requires businesses to be available in many different places at many different times. For example, radio used to grab everyone in their cars on their way across town, but now you have to compete with satellite radio, podcasts, and streaming services in people’s cars.

This splinterization is only going to continue, and the cost to produce quality content has dropped, and there’s no more gatekeepers to prevent you from making content, and so there will be more and more options for people to find. Now, you can make your way onto all these platforms, but how do you prioritize? Lots of customer research. Evaluating where your customers are putting their attention will give you an opportunity to find the channels where you’re most likely to find your customers. Now, you can be on all these platforms, but how do you prioritize? Lots of customer research. Evaluating where your customers are putting their attention will give you an opportunity to find the channels where you are most likely to find your customers and people like them. We ran a political campaign last year, and part of our planning was to hit as many mediums as we could to reach as many people as possible. But we did have to rely on the mailer as well. Why is the political mailer so popular? The humble mail is still one thing that gets to everyone. They might not watch TV. They may not be on Facebook. They may not even watch YouTube, but they do get mail.

And additionally, when voters register, they give their address and political campaigns can get those. So we should think about the bigger picture here. How can we reuse the media? The Super Bowl has created such a touch point that some companies use their Super Bowl ad as an event within itself. They tease the release of the commercial or like this year, fan duell with its Gronk Kick. They have a whole series of promotions that lead up to the event, including real time things happening in their apps. So we have to think, how can we use the media we create in multiple channels? Can we use it as a radio or podcast commercial when we record it for a video? Can we use it on YouTube and TV? Can we turn it into pictures? Can we use the spot on our website or in a brochure or on a mailer? How can we squeeze every last penny out of the creative we are making to maximize the value of production for our clients? If you’re using positioning as an expert branding, so you’re creating content that has value like a podcast, how can you take the time you are investing to create good content to be used on multiple platforms?

Thank you for checking out the Content Machine Podcast. If you found this episode helpful or know someone who would, please send it to them. We will be releasing these episodes weekly, so be sure to subscribe to get more helpful content on marketing and leadership. Thank you for listening.

Dangers of Digital Marketing: Artificial Intelligence

Earlier this year an image won first place at a fine art competition. 

The image, photographed with a large blue ribbon, quickly circulated around the internet. 

The problem?

The picture was generated by artificial intelligence.

Despite not actually being created by humans, this image won first place. This situation sparked much controversy over the role AI will play moving forward in our society. 

One of the biggest concerns for the field of digital marketing is the influence this new technology will have on the job market in the future. Already, AI is capable of graphic design, copywriting, videography, and ad placement. 

Beyond the concern for the job market, AI forces us to reevaluate what media is true and what media is fake. AI presents us with more opportunities for technology to be deceptive. With the introduction of things like deep fake, misinformation can be more easily spread and viewers must evaluate if what they are seeing is really true. 

However, as AI is active in digital media, now more than ever, true creativity is needed.
With the threat of AI encroaching on digital marketing, how can we combat threats to the job market? Staying aware of trends in the industry is crucial to combating AI and other threats to digital marketing. 

Staying up to date on digital marketing requires reading as much on the subject as possible and learning from experts in the field. We recommend T-Minus AI: Humanities Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power for an insightful read on AI. 

While AI may seem like only a threat to digital marketing, when used the right way it can actually be used for good. With institutes like the AI Institute (https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/) and others researching this growing technology, the future of AI might not be as unknown as it seems. 

Want to learn more about digital marketing? Visit www.adelsbergermarketing.com/contact/ to schedule an appointment today.

LinkedIn: Making Connections in the Digital Age

LinkedIn: Making Connections in the Digital Age

 In this modern, digital age we have Facebook, Instagram, and apps for virtually everything, making connections and consuming content is easier than ever. But in a world overflowing with information, how do you form connections that are beneficial for both you and your business? How do you utilize platforms to your advantage without losing content to the algorithm?

 LinkedIn can be used for so much more than finding a job. LinkedIn provides opportunities for professionals to connect, learn from one another, and promote engagement.

 Here are three ways you can use LinkedIn to your advantage:

  1. Follow people who inspire you and engage with their content.

Whether it’s your boss posting business advice or a photographer creating compelling work, LinkedIn is a great way to not only connect with other professionals but also learn from them. After following accounts who inspire you, interacting with their content is a great way to build relationships and promote professional engagement on LinkedIn.

  1. Grow your personal brand on LinkedIn.

 Having a LinkedIn profile doesn’t mean your personal brand is always recognizable on the platform. Growing your brand is a process that requires both engagement and strategy. A practical way to grow your personal brand is to have a clear, organized landing page featuring your business logo. This will allow other professionals to easily recognize your brand and engage with your content.

  1. Use LinkedIn as a research tool.

 Considering a new hire for your business? Want advice from experts? LinkedIn is a great way to market digitally and gain valuable information to grow your business. LinkedIn allows you to keep your information and connections concise. Whether it’s a business professional you admire or a leadership strategy you’re curious about, LinkedIn allows you to learn more about people or research new topics without the distractions of other platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. 

 As the digital world grows, digital marketing has become more accessible while simultaneously becoming more complicated. Engaging across LinkedIn can equip you with the resources you need to grow your business and help your brand thrive.

 Want to learn more about digital marketing?

 Connect with Adelsberger Marketing on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kadelsberger/ or visit our website at adelsbergermarketing.com to schedule an appointment today. 

Adelsberger Marketing Named Clutch Top 20 B2B Service Provider

Adelsberger Marketing was recently named to the Top 20 B2B Service Providers list in the state of Tennessee by Clutch, the leading B2B ratings and review platform. Recognized leaders are considered to be the very best in their specialized field. Adelsberger Marketing is recognized for its marketing, content creation, video production, and website development accomplishments.

While being recognized as a top firm in your field is always an honor, being recognized by Clutch.co is particularly important to Adelsberger Marketing. While many sites rank companies based on reviews and feedback, Clutch gathers reviews based on in-depth interviews conducted with actual clients. These aren’t just reviews that we’ve asked our favorite clients to give, but instead third-party managed interviews that give a true representation of our work product and our clients’ experiences.

We intend to stay on this list for many years to come by listening to feedback and continuing to learn from our clients’ experiences. If you want to check out some of our reviews and rankings, visit our Clutch.co profile here: https://clutch.co/profile/adelsberger-marketing

Click here to view the Clutch Press Release

Working with a Legacy Brand: Coca-Cola

Corinth Coke

There is something special about working with a legacy brand. A brand whose color and logo invoke a feeling in most everyone who sees it. A brand whose products have been consumed by almost every individual in the United States and in most every country in the world. Of course, we are talking about Coca-Cola. 

Coca-Cola in America is distributed by regional companies. In the Jackson, Tennessee and Northern Mississippi areas, that company is called Corinth Coca-Cola. We were excited to get a chance to submit a proposal for this project and honored to be selected to create this new home on the web for this great company. 

Corinth Coca-Cola has been in operation for over a hundred years and is owned by the same family that started it. That statement alone is filled with so much awesomeness that you could almost forget to talk about the wonder they were to work with. The family team behind Corinth Coca-Cola are committed to their company, their community, and their employees. They also were great customers (which any creative service company will tell you are things that are automatically connected.) 

One of the interesting aspects that surfaced during the brainstorm portion of this project was the unique audiences that Corinth Coke needs to speak with. Unlike most businesses we work with, there is an entire global culture built around Coke fandom. We needed to build in part of the website to service those fans. We also needed to feature their biggest community event in the Corinth Coke 10K and their museum.

It was an honor to work with such a classic brand and such a great family! 

How To Maximize Google’s Free Advertising

Google My Business Listing

 

Typically, when you think of advertising and marketing, you think of spending money. But before you carefully plan out a marketing budget, make sure you are fully utilizing the free marketing options available to you! 

One of the most effective free marketing options available is the Google My Business Listing. When you search for a business on Google, results will display address, map, phone number, website, photos, reviews, business hours, and more. With 5 billion searches on Google for restaurants, 3 billion searches for hotels, 1 billion searches for clothing stores, 600 million searches for hair and beauty salons, and 5 million searches for coffee shops, as a business owner, you need to have control over this information. An unflattering photo of your location coupled with incorrect business hours is not a good combination for a potential customer!

You can strengthen your local search result rankings by ensuring that your business profile is complete and updated. High ranking local searches reassure customers that you are a legitimate and relevant business. By posting photos, up-to-date offers, temporary business hours, and other appropriate information to your profile, you instantly boost the visibility of your business to your customers. 

Don’t overlook the simplest details. Take your city and state as an example. If you’re a tree service in Jackson, Tennessee, you don’t want to waste your day receiving phone calls from customers in Jackson, Mississippi. 

And consider your business hours. Are you closed on Mondays? Be sure to include that information! Few things are more frustrating to a customer than showing up at your location and discovering it’s closed. Since most of them googled you first, be sure to include an accurate listing of your hours of operation.

The Google My Business listing is 100% free – so if you haven’t claimed your business listing, drop everything and claim yours by visiting https://business.google.com/ or by finding your location on Google Maps. You won’t regret taking the time to set this up properly. 

Are you ready to conquer even more aspects of digital marketing? Click below to schedule a meeting with one of our experts at Adelsberger Marketing.

 

Client Spotlight: United Way 2019

https://vimeo.com/343727502

One of my favorite parts of my job is helping people tell their stories. This year the United Way of West Tennessee‘s First Ladies Luncheon chose to focus on a story from an organization they support – The Scarlet Rope Project. Tiffany was kind enough to share with us her story of survival and the life-giving work of Scarlet Rope.

We also worked with the United Way to create a promo to help let men know they were invited to the First Ladies Luncheon. This was a fairly organic project. It evolved as we shot it with board members and the fantastic Becky Fly, who was a great sport about the whole thing!

https://vimeo.com/343727428

 

The Future is Private – How F8 Affects Facebook & Messenger Apps

What is F8?

F8 is Facebook’s mostly annual conference that often announces new features. The conference started as an 8-hour hackathon. It has developed throughout the years into a 2-day event for developers from around the world to network, attend in-depth mini-sessions, and enjoy product demos. This year’s F8 was held April 30-May 1st in San Jose, California. 2019 marked Facebook’s 10th F8.

 

A Recap of The Keynote

Privacy. Privacy. And more privacy. Not only that – but a bold statement that “The future is private.”

Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged they don’t have the strongest reputation on privacy right now. The only way you’ve missed this drama is if you’ve been left in the quantum realm. If that’s you – go ahead and read Wired’s article which recaps the past year and a half.

Zuckerberg continued by saying they are “building a privacy focused platform…privacy gives us the freedom to be ourselves.” He then made certain to mention that his team is going to play a more “proactive role” in making sure all services and partners are using their tools for good.

He continued his theme of “The Future is Private” by listing the next chapter for their services. This vision is based on 6 principles:

  • Private interactions
  • Encryption
  • Reduced permanence
  • Safety
  • Interoperability
  • Secure data storage

 

What This Means for Facebook & Messenger

Facebook

Zuckerberg has nicknamed this update “FB5.” And it’s more than an icon update (have you noticed the slight gradient to the blue?)

If the overall theme was “privacy,”  I’d say that the Facebook theme was “connection.” The app will now downplay the News Feed as the central point of connection. Instead, Facebook is pushing Events and Groups to center stage.

Communities and Groups now replace Friends as the central focus. You can now share to your groups the same way you share with friends and family. The Newsfeed still exists – and a feature I particularly like – will allow you to save your spot so you can pick up where you left off.

Here’s where some serious changes start happening: relationships. Facebook is now in the business of actively connecting people – be it dating relationships, friendships, gaming communities, or even job searches.

With Facebook dating you find matches based on things you have in common like shared groups and events. Your dating profile is separate from your personal profile.

This is currently live in: Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, Argentina, Canada, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname

End of Year: US

Facebook is also introducing Secret Crush. In this section, you create a private list of friends you might be interested in. And if your friend also puts you on their list, you match. If not, no one will know you even opted into Facebook Dating.

They are also adding new Business Tools which are considered to be “plug-and-play solutions.” The goal is to make it easier for businesses to drive in-store traffic, generate leads, and provide customer care. Two of these new tools include an appointment-booking function and a lead generation template built directly into Ads Manager.

Messenger

One of the most exciting changes to Messenger is size and speed. It is going from 127 MB to under 30 MB with 1.3 second cold start time. Keeping with the privacy theme, the Messenger app will be end-to-end encrypted by default.

And we once again see the increased focus on connectivity. Messenger will allow you to call and message friends and family not just on Facebook but also Instagram and WhatsApp.

The goal is to make Messenger the place for your closest friends and family to keep in constant contact. You can even watch videos together directly inside the app.

They are also launching a brand new Messenger desktop app for both Windows and macOS.

How This Affects Your Marketing Strategies

If nothing else, hear this – Facebook believes they know what their 2.7 billion users want above all else – not necessarily shiny new objects, cheaper prices, or gimmicks!

They want to use their technology to gain meaningful human connection.

People don’t want to feel spammed by your ads. They want to feel connected to your product and brand.

Your customers want to feel certain that their information is secure. That your brand is trustworthy. And that you aren’t going to take advantage of them.

F8 2019 celebrated their global community and how technology can bring people together both personally and professionally.

 

 

 

BTS: Jackson Chamber goes INTO the movies

Have you ever bitten off more than you can chew? When the first few pitches for the 2019 Jackson Chamber Annual Celebration video were left on the cutting room floor, one day remained. Being the genius I am, I suggested that we put the Chamber staff into old movies that revolved around the event’s nautical theme. Below I am going to do a breakdown of the process behind pulling this video off (this was a bit of a step up in difficulty over last year’s hit Carpool Karaoke).

1. Plan plan plan. We spent several hours planning out the video. This was key because we needed to find the right videos. It would not be as easy as selecting any scene from any nautical themed video, we needed certain scenes. What we discovered was that after a certain year of movies, the camera motion had gotten so loose, that it would be difficult to “green screen” people into movies. This limited our selection greatly and we were able to come up with just one scene more than was actually used in the project.

After we selected the scenes and received approval from the Jackson Chamber, we then went to work doing a scene breakdown. Each breakdown involved light placements, sound design, camera angles, costumes, props, dialogue, and scripting. Brittany Crockett on our team did a fantastic job of sourcing much of our costume work and props. She also worked with the Chamber staff on their dialogue.

2. Having the Right Equipment. To pull off this level of green screen project well, it took a lot of lighting and the appropriate green screens in addition to decent cameras and a space to work in. We even bought chroma green duct tape for the project!

3. Details, details, details. On the shoot days, we needed to be sure we got as close as we could to match the movement of the character in the scene, the camera angle, and the lighting. Though we had covered much of this in preproduction, it is another thing to make it work with actors on set. The Jackson Chamber staff were great sports during the entire process and we all had a good time. Particularly humorous was the Free Willy jump scene where Brittany got to spray me and Hannah with a hose while I moved an inflated whale with a broomstick taped to its back over Hannah’s head.

4. Time and After Effects. After the filming was done, the remainder of the work fell to team member Ricky Santos who spent a large amount of time in After Effects keying, scaling, content-aware filling the Chamber staff into these old movies.

During all of this process, we also managed to get some Behind the Scenes shots and with the help of Greg Hammond’s AV class at South Side High school, this BTS video was made:

https://vimeo.com/331256646

We also helped the Chamber with some display graphics for the event to help take things to the next level:

https://vimeo.com/325220365


Here is the full Annual Celebration Video:

https://vimeo.com/325209545