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Long John Silver's 'Seacret Society' Offers Members Exclusive Offers https://ift.tt/m9txcn1
Apparently not all secret societies are meant to be kept totally private -- especially in the case of seafood chain Long John Silver’s new loyalty program. The program, launched today, is named Seacret Society, in reference to its oceanic offerings. The loyalty program is within the chain’s new mobile app, which also enables customers to connect and order online. With the program, “we aim to express our appreciation to our loyal patrons while embracing the digital age and evolving restaurant landscape," said Nate Fowler, president of Long John Silver's, in a release. Acording to the brand, “the name "Seacret Society" is a playful nod to Long John Silver's most loyal fan base, often joked to be a secret society on social media.” Seacret Society members will earn four coins for every dollar spent on Long John Silver's food and drink items. The coins can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, from food items to exclusive discounts. Members will also have access to specials and offers, and new members will receive a welcome gift of one free preselected menu item, per the release. advertisement advertisement The new tech upgrades are part of an “ongoing investment by the brand to modernize the customer experience.” Long John Silver’s has also recently revamped its website and remodeled restaurants nationwide, installing digital menu boards. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/7iKWeuv May 15, 2024 at 05:44PM
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Google To Give Away Custom Electric 1981 DeLorean In Creative Contest https://ift.tt/qC7dQGM Back to the Future legend Christopher Loyd announced a Google AI app contest looking for the most creative apps powered by the Gemini API. The ad shows Loyd coding in front of a computer screen. “You may recognize me from my action work, but my real passion is programming,” he said. “When I’m in the zone, I’m unstoppable.” Google said anyone who can build an app that integrated the Gemini API can enter the contest. The top prize is a custom electric refurbished 1981 DeLorean. The company said it will give away $1 million in cash prizes. “I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m really excited about the future, and Google’s Gemini models are tech that can get us there,” Lloyd said. One app submission is eligible to win in multiple categories including Innovation and Technology. The grand prize is a separate category, along with the People's Choice award. Within the Innovation category there are three subcategories: Most impactful app for a cash prize of $300,000; most useful app for a cash prize of $200,000; and most creative app for a cash prize of $200,000. Within the Technology category there are six subcategories. All have a cash prize of $50,000. The subcategories include Best flutter app, Best Android app, Best web app, Best use of ARCore, Best use of Firebase, and Best game app. The most voted app will win the People’s Choice Award. Google welcomes anyone to join the competition by building an app that integrates with the Gemini API, creating a demo video about the app, and publishing and submitting it to the competition. Loyd said the competition is so cool it will "blow your mind back to beta." Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/7iKWeuv May 15, 2024 at 03:45PM
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AI Emotions In Ads And Content: Will Consumers Embrace It? https://ift.tt/pjF25HV Google, Microsoft and OpenAI showed the world how artificial intelligence (AI) will highlight emotions as the technology develops. It will rely not only on the training of large language models (LLMs), but also on publicly available data connected to the questions and the intent. While watching the presentations, I wondered whether people in general will adapt and accept the emotional responses from AI we heard this week. "Personally, I do not think they are ready," Udayan Bose, CEO at NetElixir, wrote in an email to Search & Performance Insider. "But we all know Google has a strong track record of creating consumer habits. My answer may be different in 12 months." Bose said Project Astra and AI Overviews will ramp up personalization. "Consumers may prefer to not see ads for informational search queries, potentially causing a drop in monetizable SERPs." he said. "Personalization may lead to better targeted ads. Google could decide to create a different monetization model, since the quality of traffic it attracts is likely to improve." advertisement advertisement The ad industry is moving out of the era of traditional search and into AI. And, out of the era of chatbots -- and into the realm of AI agents that can express emotion based on questions. "As an advertiser, if it drives an increase in relevance, clickthrough rates, conversion, and more," said Brooke Hess VP of Paid Media at NP Digital. "While it sounds like a win, the concerning part is once users understand how they are being emotionally manipulated or think about it through that lens, it could impact how people think of Google and push them to avoid advertisements intentionally, even more, as the rise of ad blockers could accelerate." The companies acknowledge that the industry remains in the very early days with AI, but one thing stood out for me: how quickly and emotionally the AI agents responded dynamically to conversations and the change in direction of the conversation prompted by humans. OpenAI GPT-4o quickly responded to requests from research leads Mark Chen and Barret Zoph for things like help to solve a math problem without giving away the answers. New voice capabilities from OpenAI and Google appear to mimic human speech in actual conversations. OpenAI said the latest version of its “voice mode” can respond to a person speaking on average in 320 milliseconds, which makes it seem more human-like. In its announcement on Monday, Microsoft said it has integrated GPT-4o into Azure. The company also is scheduled to hold an AI event Wednesday afternoon. No doubt we will see advertisers and marketers use emotion in ads and content within the coming year, but there is a creep-factor--how an AI agent can change an emotional stance based on a request. Will advertisers and marketers use it to augment a variety of paid media and organic content, and what type of measurement guidelines will be developed to attribute success? Will AI Overview, which Google renamed Tuesday from Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), completely consume traditional search? Users of Google AI Overview can now ask complex, multi-part questions in one query to get a complete answer such as “how do I get to the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, how long will it take my from my destination, and where is the nearest gas station that sells diesel to fill up my truck before I get there?” Still, with all the advanced tech, marketers are concerned. "Google wants to make the user experience the most customized for searchers through AI, but will still find a way to be profitable through monetization of the AI generated results pages," said Nikki Lam, vice president of SEO at NP Digital. "We anticipate paid advertising to be incorporated into the AI features, but have yet to understand the true impact it will have on our client’s campaigns until it rolls out." The plan is to monitor impacts to campaigns as the industry adapts to the new search-engine result pages (SERP) with paid advertising. Lam said the industry has been waiting for the "inevitable rise in clickless searches," and added that "now more than ever users will likely find what they need directly in the SERPs, putting organic traffic at risk for a growing number of queries." Google’s technology has been upgraded to use multi-step reasoning. Google Vice President of Search Liz Reid called it an AI agent. In OpenAI’s presentation, they called the chatbot an AI agent as well. Publishers should have little concern about losing site traffic. Reid wrote in a blog post: "we see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query." Reid wrote that as Google continues to focus on “sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators,” ads will appear in slots with clear labeling distinguish between organic and sponsored results. Google CEO Sundar Pichai in an interview with CNBC basically said the company will not allow that to happen. He insists that AI Overviews make the search experience better, and that users will still value commercial information in ads and content, adding that it is “growing traffic to the ecosystem” when analyzing clicks year-over-year. “We are prioritizing approaches that will generate more traffic.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/zmLXBRI May 15, 2024 at 01:10PM How to Build a Winning YouTube SEO Strategy https://ift.tt/5cOgGRn What’s the second most-used search engine in the world? Nope, not Bing. Or DuckDuckGo. Certainly not Yahoo, AltaVista or AskJeeves. The second most-used search engine in the world is YouTube. Over 2.5 billion users visit the site per month, and people watch over a billion hours of video on the platform every day. It’s no surprise that brands are looking to connect with an audience on YouTube. But the sheer size of the site — and the algorithms that govern it — can make it hard to be seen. Here’s a quick guide to help your channel make the grade. Keys to an effective YouTube SEO strategyAs with any content marketing, a great video SEO strategy takes great content. Make sure that the video content you’re producing is relevant to your audience, offers genuine value, and meets the specific intent of the keywords you’re targeting. It doesn’t need to be a Hollywood-grade production, but should cast your brand as credible and worth remembering. When you’re ready to upload that killer content and start racking up views, keep these elements in mind. Optimize the video title A title is just as important to a YouTube video as a headline is for your blog posts. Treat your title the same way. The goal is to entice people to press play and clearly identify your subject matter for the search algorithm. Aim for specific and quantifiable value for the best result. For example, consider these two titles:
The first title is short and it has our keyword (B2B automation). But it’s too vague — it doesn’t tell me what I’m going to get for my time investment. You could get even more granular, depending on the audience: “Save 10 hours of accounting time with B2B Automation.” To avoid having your title truncated, aim for 75 characters or less. The descriptive second title above is only 65 characters, so you have more room than you think. Optimize the description YouTube offers a generous 5,000 characters for the description field. But it doesn’t offer a guarantee that anyone will read to the bottom. It’s a good idea to be thorough in your description, including links and time stamps, but don’t feel like you need to fill space. And definitely don’t feel like you need to shoehorn in more keywords! For long videos, your description should include:
For shorter videos, a quick summary may be all you need. It shouldn’t take longer to read the description than it does to watch the video. Add hashtags Hashtags on YouTube work the same way as they do on X, Facebook or Instagram: They are intended to help people find content on a specific topic. For YouTube, it’s best not to do an Instagram-style deluge of hashtags #wokeuplikethis #marketerlife #B2B5eva #Hashtag. Stick to the two or three most relevant terms related to your topic, and include them in your description and (if there’s room) the tail end of your title. Choose a category and add tags When you upload new content, YouTube gives the option to add it to an existing category. Don’t pass up that drop-down box; it’s one way that the search engine knows what your video is about. YouTube tags are the other crucial add-on that can help your video show up in search. You can select these tags when you’re uploading video, or edit the video’s details to add them after the fact. It’s important to include both hashtags and YouTube tags for each video. Hashtags only apply to the hashtag search, while YouTube tags inform the results for every search on the site. Keep the tags short and descriptive, and aim for 3-5 total. One easy way to know what tags are most relevant for your audience: Check the tags on your competitors’ videos. Organize your content Once you have a decent content library built up, it’s important to organize it for both human and algorithmic browsers. YouTube offers a robust set of tools for organizing your channel’s home page and it’s worth exploring them all. If you have multiple videos on the same topic, make a playlist to group them together. That way if someone finds one video, they’re more likely to be recommended the next one (and the next and the next). Add eye-catching thumbnails A compelling thumbnail won’t help the algorithm find your video, but it will help your offering stand out in a search. It’s just as important to get humans to click on your video as it is to show up in search results. When choosing a thumbnail, make sure it:
In other words, if your video is about B2B automation, don’t make your thumbnail about hilarious skydiving fails. An eye-catching thumbnail is only useful if it makes a promise the content can keep. Take that, radio star! Video content has been a rising star for B2B, and it’s only going to get more popular. YouTube makes it easy for your brand to upload and host content—but it’s up to you to make sure the content gets seen. With great content and a solid SEO strategy, you’ll be ready to rock the world’s second-biggest search engine. Need help with your SEO? Request a free site SEO scorecard. The post How to Build a Winning YouTube SEO Strategy appeared first on TopRank® Marketing. Mobile Marketing,SEO via Hubspot https://ift.tt/vPCGJn0 May 15, 2024 at 11:00AM
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Genesis Expands Dealer Network https://ift.tt/bPavsjg Genesis Motor America today announced the opening of 26 new standalone facilities across the United States, bringing the total to 35 dedicated retail facilities nationwide. Genesis EVs are also now available in 37 states with the expansion of electric vehicle sales to select retailers in Alabama, Kansas, Oregon and Rhode Island. The expansion demonstrates the Hyundai Motor Group luxury division’s commitment to serving more communities nationwide, says Claudia Marquez, chief operating officer of Genesis Motor North America. The brand focuses on customer convenience and time. In a nod toward traditional Korean culture, upon entering each facility, customers are welcomed as honored guests. In addition to the in-store experience, customers can take advantage of Genesis Concierge, a complimentary service that provides a personal advisor to aid in the shopping experience, from scheduling test drives at the facility or residence to arranging vehicle delivery. advertisement advertisement With the addition of the new states, the GV60 SUV, Electrified GV70 SUV, and Electrified G80 executive sedan are now available at select retailers in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. In collaboration with Electrify America, Genesis offers three years of 30-minute complimentary charging sessions from the date of vehicle purchase. Utilizing the Electrify America mobile apps and Genesis Connected Services, owners of the GV60, the Electrified GV70, and Electrified G80 can locate and access fast charging stations while on the road. Customers also can secure comprehensive charging solutions at their residences via Genesis Home, a one-stop marketplace for residential AC EV chargers, solar panels, and energy storage systems. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/zmLXBRI May 14, 2024 at 04:44PM
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Comcast Bundles Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ For Cable, Broadband, Mobile Subscribers https://ift.tt/w2lkyoN Following news of efforts with streaming bundles, Comcast Corp. says it will now bundle its NBCU-owned Peacock streaming service with Netflix and Apple TV+ in a package deal for cable, broadband and mobile subscribers at a discount monthly rate. This follows a bundling deal between Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery recently disclosed packaging Disney+ , Hulu with WBD's Max. Neither of these deals have disclosed monthly pricing. Currently, the least expensive packages show Peacock subscription plans to be $7.99 a month (starting this summer, now $5.99); Netflix at $6.99 per month, and Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month. All are limited advertising supported plans. For the Disney-WBD deal, Disney+'s least expensive option (Disney+Basic) is at $7.99. Hulu is also at $7.99, and Max is priced at $9.99. advertisement advertisement The Disney-WBD pairing is the first of what is assumed to be a rush for more streaming bundling or packaging by legacy media companies themselves. This comes due to maturity in the streaming TV-video business that has seen a slowdown in subscriber growth. The Comcast proposal follows that of T-Mobile bundling efforts in January which package Apple TV+, Hulu, and Netflix, as part of its wireless/broadband package. The Apple TV+ option is an ad-free version. Hulu was added to the package earlier this year. Back in December 2023, Verizon announced a “first of its kind” Netflix and Max bundle (ad-supported options) for its mobile customers at just $10 a month. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/zmLXBRI May 14, 2024 at 02:46PM
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The Data Lowdown: How B2C Brands Are Building Audiences https://ift.tt/7vRzStK Two thirds of B2C marketers are hampered by data challenges, and almost as many feel dissatisfied with the quality of their data. But they are getting better at leveraging information to build customer audiences, judging by 2024 Audience Building: New Research from the B2C Perspective, a study from Porch Group Media, conducted by Ascend2. For instance, 65% make significant use of first-party data to build their customer audiences, and 29% utilize it to some degree. And 65% deploy zero-party data — data willingly shared with the company through surveys or other means. However, 67% use third-party data, which is not considered optimal, although only 25% utilize it to a significant degree. At the same time, 53% say they now have strategies in place to reduce their reliance on third-party cookies. There are many challenges to building effective customer audiences, including:
advertisement advertisement There are also hurdles to achieving audience segmentation:
But it's worth the trouble. For instance, the respondents have realized these benefits from using first-party data to build their audiences: Improved customer experience — 40% Increased customer retention — 39% Improved ROI on advertising — 36% Increased customer engagement — 36% Improved targeting accuracy — 36% Increased customer acquisition — 34% Increased personalization of content — 29% Optimized marketing campaigns — 25% Marketers see these elements as essential to building effective customer audiences:
Of the various data sources, brands use these to build their target audiences:
Brands with the most effective data strategies are much more likely to use eight data sources to build target audiences, the study says. Ascend2 surveyed 353 professionals working in B2C or D2C (direct-to-consumer) organizations in February. Of these, 35% are from firms with $25 million-$ 99.99 million in annual revenue, 33% in companies with $100 million to $499.99 million in revenueand 32% in those with over $500 million. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/4MzU3xg May 14, 2024 at 01:46PM 2024 B2B Influencer Marketing Statistics and Trends https://ift.tt/KcGufAE Here at TopRank Marketing we do more than just plan and execute B2B influencer marketing programs. We also conduct research on the state of B2B influencer marketing at companies across multiple industries. The statistics and trends surfaced by this report and the iterations that preceded it are incredibly valuable for any B2B marketer looking to start or expand an influencer marketing program. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from our research and that of others in the industry. Influencer marketing is taking rootWhile influencer marketing isn’t new, its prevalence among B2B marketers certainly is. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that a small but wise minority of marketers recognized how important influencer partnerships are. As recently as 2020, only 34% of B2B marketers said they used influencer marketing. The next year that number ticked up to 46%. More recently, influencer marketing has become a standard part of the B2B marketing mix. Our most recent Influencer Marketing Report found 85% of B2B marketers emphasize the importance of influencer marketing in their suite of tactics. Influencer marketing contributes to successAccording to Forbes, 94% of B2B marketers say influencer marketing is a successful strategy. This is up significantly from last year. This level of confidence is an improvement from the already positive feelings for influencer marketing of last year, when our 2022 Influencer Marketing Report revealed that 86% of marketers found their influencer marketing to be either moderately or very successful. To put this confidence in perspective, respondents to our 2023 survey told us that influencer marketing contributes even more to the success of their marketing programs than social media marketing or content marketing. When asked “Which of the following contributes most to the success of your marketing programs?” marketers responded:
But just how successful are these programs? Research from Zen Media found that as of 2022, B2B influencer marketing programs were generating a 520% return on investment (ROI). Of course, this ROI is not guaranteed, but averaging $5.20 for every dollar spent very effectively demonstrates the real, measurable impact influencer marketing can have for B2B brands. Maturity of B2B influencer marketing programsBecause it is still relatively new to most B2B marketers, it may not come as a surprise that influencer marketing programs vary widely in their level of maturity. Our research divided influencer marketing maturity into four groups: beginning, moderate, extensive, and those who do not use influencer marketing at all. In 2023, our research reveals that most B2B marketers fall somewhere in the middle of their influencer marketing journey, with 48% reporting that they fall into the moderate category. This means they are already using influencer marketing, but it is usually limited to one-off campaigns and not involved in their overall strategy. Beginners – those just starting out with researching or testing these programs – make up only 15% of those we polled. Another 15% of marketers reported they do not use influencer marketing at all. The remaining marketers are those who have fully matured influencer marketing programs. This group makes up 26% of respondents from our 2023 influencer marketing survey. This group takes advantage of a developed strategy with ongoing “always-on” engagement and campaigns. This bell curve highlights the evolving landscape of B2B influencer marketing, with most companies still navigating the path to full-fledged integration but with a significant portion already demonstrating its potential as a valuable marketing tool. Influencer marketing challengesAnother indicator of the increasing maturity of B2B influencer marketing is the evolution of its top challenges. We have tracked this in each of our influencer marketing reports, and the trend indicates an increasing sophistication in influencer marketing. For example, in our 2020 report, respondents said their top challenge was the influencer marketing process being too manual. Once B2B marketers got their sea legs for influencer marketing programs and entered the moderate stage of maturity, they cited their number one challenge as a lack of documented strategy. By 2023, the challenges became less about how to do it and more about how to do it well. The top challenge in our latest influencer marketing report is identifying, qualifying and engaging with ideal influencers – a clear indication of experience and sophistication with influencer marketing. Outsource for successOne important trend uncovered in our 2023 report involves how B2B marketers execute their influencer marketing programs. Slightly more than half of all the marketers we surveyed said they conduct their influencer marketing initiatives in-house. However, among those who reported the most effective programs, an astounding 70% said their influencer marketing programs are entirely outsourced. This correlation with outsourcing and success is no coincidence. Agencies that have been specializing in influencer marketing for years bring a lot of advantages to B2B brands, including a deep bench of thoroughly nurtured influencer relationships, outreach expertise, and content co-creation capabilities. Outlook for B2B influencer marketingThe future of B2B influencer marketing is bright. Recent research found that an overwhelming 93% of CMOs plan to increase their use of B2B influencers in the coming years. Given the remarkable success reported by those already using these programs, this is not a surprise. This trend makes it clear that the rise of influencer marketing is bound to continue in the coming years. Ready to learn more about influencer marketing for your B2B brand? Discover the latest insights in our Influencer Marketing Report and find everything you need to get your own program started at our B2B Influencer Marketing Resource Hub. The post 2024 B2B Influencer Marketing Statistics and Trends appeared first on TopRank® Marketing. Mobile Marketing,SEO via Hubspot https://ift.tt/WtCaJYO May 13, 2024 at 03:48PM
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Ad Campaigns By Streaming Services Under-Deliver To Gamers https://ift.tt/wr9E1eT Mobile game advertising should be a bigger part of the media plans for streaming-services brands such as Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, according to an analysis of consumer behavior by Digital Turbine and Qrious Insights. “In 2023, every leading streaming services’ YouTube campaigns significantly under-delivered to the 62% of consumers … Reminder: You are seeing this premium content because you are a subscriber to MediaPost's Research Intelligencer and/or a member of the Center for Marketing & Media Research. This content cannot be viewed by non-subscribers/non-members. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/4MzU3xg May 13, 2024 at 02:02PM
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McDonald's Creates Franchisee-Funded Digital Marketing https://ift.tt/jom2DKh McDonald’s will require its U.S. operators to contribute to a new digital marketing fund starting next year. “The company is recommending that franchisees invest in the fund using their existing marketing contribution,” according to CNBC, which obtained a memo written by U.S. Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan and Chief Information Officer Whitney McGinnis. “The switch is meant to modernize the company’s marketing strategy and widen its competitive advantage as it doubles down on mobile ordering and its digital business.” The company estimates that the contribution shifts will improve a store’s cash flow by about $2,600 per year. “The plan is to shift spending away from marketing that has a lower return on investment and into digital marketing," according to Restaurant Business. "It is uncertain what areas of marketing McDonald’s plans to cut to shift spending toward those digital channels, as those decisions will likely be made in conjunction with franchisees. Some of it could come from local marketing.” advertisement advertisement The fast food retailer also is planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its MyMcDonald’s Rewards loyalty program and add ordering channels, including the ability to place web orders without downloading an app, which should also bolster its digital business. McDonald’s loyalty program members generated over $6 billion in systemwide sales globally during the first quarter, according to the memo. “McDonald’s investment will be focused on innovation and development costs for new products and features whereas franchisees’ investment will fund ongoing operating costs,” according to QSR Magazine. “The different approach will move McDonald’s away from legacy marketing with lower returns and push it toward digital-forward strategies. The company will collaborate with franchisees over the next few months to prioritize investments.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/SO1m0Bp May 9, 2024 at 06:35PM |
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