The WSJ is reporting that General Motors is planning to stop advertising on Facebook after deciding that paying for ads on the social network has little impact on consumers when it comes to car purchases.

That is a significant blow to Facebook as it prepares for its IPO on Friday. Yesterday Facebook increased the planned price range for its stock to $34 to $38 per share amid growing investor excitement. The new price will see it raise about $12.8bn and values Facebook as high as $104bn, but without big advertisers that figure could quickly fall. Read More »

UPDATED This is what Philip Gladman, Diageo’s Western Europe white spirits marketing director, said yesterday while speaking at ISBA annual conference. His argument was that, yes, “size matters” and that unless brands could attract one million plus followers they should abandon social networks.

It is when you read statements like that you really understand that there are people out there, many in senior positions, who really don’t get it. Read More »

With every brand on the planet trying to “engage” with people online, it’s quite difficult these days to sort the wheat from the chaff. Thankfully some campaigns have been so outstanding that they have set a benchmark for others to follow.

Whether it’s using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or ‘blogger outreach’, a new body of work is emerging that, as well as being based on outstanding creative ideas, makes the most of the media at its disposal. Read More »

Do you have the attention span of a spider monkey that’s drunk five cappuccinos?

I was delving into the issue of shortening attention spans recently, and one essay in particular caught my eye. Written by Douglas Rushkoff , media analyst and documentary writer, it was entitled ‘The internet makes me think in the present tense.’

Rushkoff argues that ‘the internet pushes us all towards the immediate. The now. Every inquiry is to be answered right away’. Then he states: ‘Once the internet changed from a resource at my desk into an appendage chirping from my pocket… the value of depth was replaced by that of immediacy masquerading as relevancy’. Read More »

Brand storytelling is a bit of a buzzword right now. You can’t read a magazine, blog or agency website without it cropping up in some form or other. I guess it’s not rocket science; people love stories. When they resonate, we connect with them, we remember them with ease and we pass them on. Looking at these potential outcomes, it’s no wonder brands and marketers are keen to understand how to create brand stories that give them these types of results. Read More »

Interesting piece on the Telegraph website today from Alexis Dormandy, who runs something called LoveThis.com, who argues that despite all the evidence that social media works businesses still don’t get it.

He blames Generation X market marketing directors, those 40 year olds, now running the marketing show for failing the big businesses they work for in pushing through social media adoption. He says they have the wrong skills. I’m pretty sure he’s wrong. Read More »

Very interesting presentation from venture capital investor Roger McName, of Elevation Partners, which was an early Facebook investor. He covers a lot of ground, but his thoughts on social media are very interesting. His basic message is simple: social is over.

He also says Google’s dominance is over because it lacks prominence on mobile connected devices.

Read More »

If there is one thing worse than so called “blood-sucking social media gurus” it’s ranting journalists. A perfect example of which is on display at the Telegraph today.

Milo Yiannopoulos argues that “social media consultants are an inexcusable waste of money”. Maybe. Maybe not, but what is really inexcusable is if you are going to say such things give us some examples of the work these people who are apparently beyond parody. Read More »

PR and social media agency Umpf has compiled what it is calling a Social Media Campaign Hall of Fame. It  includes 54 social media campaigns from brands including Coca-Cola, Comparethemarket, Old Spice, Ford, Nike and Nokia and…the Pentagon (Darpa) among others. Question is are these the best? Read More »

Anyone that uses social media or works in the digital space will have been hard pushed to miss the Old Spice Guy. A textbook example of an original idea that works across a variety of channels (adapted seamlessly to each medium), that has got everyone talking, and an assortment of ad and digital marketing execs feeling nearly as smug as the Old Spice Guy himself. Read More »