‘Fall’ into the Hudson Valley

Coppery colors, a cool autumn breeze, infinite activities, family and friends enjoying themselves; there’s no need to imagine a place like this. The beauty of the Hudson Valley is upon us. And, for you city-dwellers, the Hudson Valley is close yet far enough away to escape.

Mowhonk Mountain House

 I was not surprised when I read that the Hudson Valley is one of the top ten most visited places in the U.S. All of us here at BBG&G enjoy living and working in such a celebrated part of the country. As a firm with extensive experience in destination marketing, we have done our research about tourism in New York. When it comes to marketing the Hudson Valley, it’s almost natural for us. It is something we love talking about.

Everyone’s vacation desires can be fulfilled in The Hudson Valley. That’s why I adore this region. The Hudson Valley provides activities for the adventurous: hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding, tubing, kayaking, white-water rafting, skiing, fishing and more. There are also more relaxing things to do like wine tasting, shopping, and antiquing. This time of year there are a lot of family activities like apple and pumpkin picking, fairs and festivals. And how could you forget the Walkway over the Hudson! It’s the longest pedestrian bridge in the world and you’ll be in the heart of fabulous fall flora above the Hudson River as you watch the passing boats beneath.

Culinary Institute

My personal favorite thing about the Hudson Valley is the dining. This region is a foodies dream come true. The Hudson Valley is filled with healthy, fresh farm-to-table restaurants offering a culinary experience that will appeal to everyone. We even have the world-famous Culinary Institute of America right in our backyard! Options are endless.

When it comes down to it, a weekend outing won’t be enough to see everything in the Hudson Valley, but it’s a good justification to come back again and again. I truly feel lucky to have un-covered the majestic Hudson Valley and still awe at the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River views. 

Facebook Advertising by Gender – Why Are Men So Cheap?

Advertisers are far more likely to target by age and location than by gender but new studies are showing that gender targeting for Facebook ads will get you more bang for your buck. Facebook, the largest social networking tool in the world, is dominated by women. But, more companies are spending the majority of their ad money specifically on men. How come?

Men click on ads more often- 60% of them to be exact. While only 40% of women click. Due to this higher ‘clicking’ men are less expensive to target. The average cost per thousand ads is only sixteen cents for men; women cost twenty cents.

Men deliver better exposure rates and click through rates than women and it increases their value for marketers. Don’t get me wrong, women are worth spending money on too! They LOVE interacting with brands on Facebook, your ads just have to be more relevant and eye catching.

The evidence comes from how and why men and women use Facebook. Women use it for maintaining existing relationships and usually have an agenda. Men look for making new relationships and have a shorter attention spans thus leading them to be distracted by relevant advertisements. (I know it’s tempting, but bite your tongue ladies) You can reach more of a unique audience when targeting men.

If you are a brand or company that serves men and women, general advertising is not the route to take when it comes to Facebook. Gender targeting is a lot more effective and will boost ROI.  Use different colors, text and images to obtain the attention of a particular gender. While it is clever to spend more money reaching men with Facebook ads, don’t forget about the other 58% of Facebook users!

The Future Of Marketing …. The Basics Stay The Same

As marketers, we are utilizing online & digital advertising/marketing more than ever before — and it’s great!  It’s easy, however, for businesses to get too caught up in the digital world and forget the basics of marketing: to be where your customers are.

While it is important to have an online presence, a key aspect of our job as advertising professionals is to keep our clients focused on the use of an integrated marketing mix — because, let’s face it, our customers don’t live online. The use of both traditional and social media is the key to a successful campaign.

An example of an integrated marketing mix may include the use of television and radio advertising supported by print and online ads, public relations, and social media.  While radio and television ads will reference your website and social media involvement, anything online will link to each other, providing your customers with a real sense of who you are and the benefits of your product or service.

Speaking of traditional advertising, there really is nothing traditional about TV advertising these days. Many consumers now watch commercials on YouTube, while others buzz through them on their DVR. The ads that are really making a comeback and are the future of advertising are the product placements, the sponsorship ads, and the 2-4 minute ads that truly entertain while delivering a soft sell.

Whether you are advertising in the yellow pages, the local paper, or on your local radio, all media now has online advertising to complement your traditional advertising. So, while speaking with your media representative, ask about any PR or online advertising opportunities that can work hand-in-hand with your traditional media buy.

As we look to the future, some still feel that social media is just a fad. We don’t agree. Will things change? Of course! They always do. The scales of social media have tipped strongly to high usage. It’s only normal that they will tip back and forth for a while. But social media is here to stay.

Mobile technology also provides unique opportunities for advertising. When you download an app, you are asked if you would like to allow push notifications. More often than not, we enable this because after all, what would happen if we missed the latest comment on our Facebook status? Ever been lost and pulled up your map app to find local businesses are labeled right on your map? These “conveniences” are new ways to market your business. If you are not taking advantage of them, your competitor has the advantage.  

McDonald’s is already utilizing social media to push notifications to users based upon their location and their preferences. It’s only a matter of time before others jump on the bandwagon and even more innovative uses of social media will be found.

As social media and mobile technology advance, it won’t be long before a “typical” ad campaign may look more like this:

Television advertising including product usage and placement, radio ads with sponsorship community service tie-ins, online advertising and public relations through your traditional media sources, social media specific to your target market, mobile apps with push notifications, and geo-based mobile advertising.

Gone are the days of going home to watch some TV at the end of the day.  Consumers are now utilizing 2-5 devices at once now — television screens, computer screens, tablets, smart phones …. The list goes on.

Have two minutes to kill in the middle of the day? There’s an app for that!

If you don’t believe us, just ask Siri.

Holiday Shopping Already?!?!?

With back to school shopping wrapping up, retailers are starting to get in gear for the holidays.  Seems early?  When you’re trying to get the upper hand on your competition, it only makes sense.  Malls are dying out and everyone is grasping for the pieces of straw before the retail giants turn into fossils.

If you are like me, then you love to go to the mall just to walk around out of the pure enjoyment of shopping.  But with the economy in its current state, it is not the frequent pleasure trip that it used to be for many.  This is why retailers have turned to the web to drive sales.

This year more than ever, I believe you will see a huge increase in digital advertising among retailers.  It takes a matter of minutes to get into the minds of your audience at an extremely cost-effective price.  Sales are down for the week?  Give consumers a reason to come in with an extra 15% off their purchase.  What’s even better about this?  You don’t even need to print the coupon anymore; you can just show your Smartphone!

Though sales across the board were up in 2011 from 2010, online sales touted a record-breaking 15% increase in November and December, totaling 37.2 billion in revenue.

Why do I think this number is going to rise?  Well, there are a few reasons.  First, we all know the best advertising is word of mouth.  All I heard last year was about how much money everyone saved online.  Why the better discount online?  For starters, it costs less money to run a website than it does to run a store.  It cuts down overhead and payroll expenses.  This is why we see “web exclusive” deals.  Retailers can offer discounted prices online compared to what they would have to charge you in a retail location.

Though the price of the products is lower, there is actually higher markup for retailers to sell their products online.  Not only that, but they are no longer limited to a geographic area.  Reach becomes virtually endless through online, mobile and tablet advertising, and the cost per customer becomes much less.

Guest Blogger: Rich Kurisko

 

The good news for shoppers — Black Friday lines should be shorter for all the early-rising, thrill-seeking bargain hunters.

Creative, resourceful and simply ingenious!

Those are only a few adjectives to describe the mobile campaign that McDonald’s has put in place and we have discussed this week.

The mobile website and app are direct and straightforward which makes it very appropriate for mobile devices and busy consumers. They provide a unique and creative way to distribute and redeem coupons, as well as entice consumers into McDonald’s restaurants, gaining them more burger sales.
 
While we move forward into an era of high technology and consumers who want more, mobile is the way to attract new customers, as well as retain and reward old ones.

Kudos to McDonald’s. It’s always fun to watch the big brands do a bang-up job of promoting their brand!

McDonald’s Winning Mobile Ad Strategy

Smartphone use is rapidly growing and 9 out of 10 people say they notice mobile ads.

McDonald’s is promoting the new triple cheeseburger on the Rolling Stone mobile website. The ad reads “Spend Less. Taste More” and features the McDonald’s logo as well as an image of its triple cheeseburger. It is simple and eye-catching and when selected, consumers are redirected to a location finder to feed their indulgences.

What I find to be a clever addition to the mobile ad is the Twitter icon that leads to the McDonald’s Twitter landing page. By adding this social network element into the ad, McDonald’s is giving consumers an opportunity to continue a relationship with them.

Another McDonald’s mobile ad that caught my eye was for the Blueberry Banana Nut Oatmeal, a new breakfast product. What’s makes this ad a ‘winner’ is that it is being promoted mainly on Us Magazine’s mobile website. Research shows that people are most likely to read this magazine during the morning hours. Promoting the new breakfast item within a magazine mobile website that has the most traffic in the AM hours is considered a good marketing strategy in my book.

By clicking on the breakfast ad, the smartphone user is able to locate the nearest McDonald’s and obtain mapped directions from their current location. Consumers can do all this without even leaving the mobile website they were initially on. Now that’s trouble-free!