Minority Report advertising is not the Future... it is the Present

All people who love the advertising world, enjoyed when we saw these images at Minority Report movie. We knew that one day it would be possible and we also knew that the future of advertising would be like that.

Well, this future has arrived, because today there are different softwares able to create a facial recognition and used for advertising objectives.

In that way, there are some smart billboards able to recognize the person who is looking at them. So, this billboards can know if this person is a man or a woman, if is young or old, if looks casual or elegant... and, so, the advert can be modified in order to be adapted to the kind of person who is looking at the billboard. Let's imagine a billboard about shoes, for example, if the person who is looking at it is a young men who wears casual, the advert will show him some modern and casual sneakers... if the person is a old lady, the advert will show her some classical and elegant high-heeled shoes.

Interesting, isn´t it? It is the perfect way for targeting the best as possible. I bet brands must be excited about these new softwares...

However, I guess that this new facial recognition advertising stuff will wake up controversial related with the people´s privacity... what do you think?

The most famous fast-food mascots ever

Burger King has announced his decision of remove 'The King' from his position as a mascot and image of the hamburger chain, with the aim of bringing its image to the food and fresh and quality ingredients, in a clear effort to get closer to its competitor McDonald's and get to be seen as a quality restaurant and even as a healthy food.

This news has led me to think about the most famous mascots that advertising has given to fast-food. Bizarre and eccentric mascots who have become icons of capitalist consumer society in which we live, as part of our daily lives.

Who does not know the clown Ronald McDonald or the superamerican Colonel Sanders? Do not show some kids a photograph of the prime minister of their country, as many have no clue who the hell he is, but show them a picture of 'The King' of burgers, now about to leave his throne... and I'm more than sure that all of them will recognize it in seconds!

Ronald McDonald - McDonald's

The King - Burger King

Colonel Sanders - Kentuky fried chicken

Chihuahua - Taco Bell

Jack - Jack in the box

The Noid - Domino's Pizza

Big Boy - Frisch's

And many more!!! Which's your favourite one? 

"Metro bank" and his big blunder

Normally is very difficult to be able to control near what kind of information our advert is going to be published, but, if if our adverts contains some words related with important and current thematic...wow in this case we have to check it always!

Few days ago, just when London was immersed in the riots that collapsed the city during five days, I was in the laundry and, in order to no die of boredom, I was reading the newspaper "Evening Standard".

It's important to say that a lot of these rioters and looters justified their actions saying that it was a revolution, in order to don't feel like simple thieves I guess...

Anyway, I was turning the pages when suddenly I found out an advert of the bank "Metro bank" whit the headline "Thank you for joining the revolution". This advert was exactly placed in a double page dedicated to the riots of these days. My first impression was "OMG, this is a big blunder of Metro bank!!" because the headline and therefore the bank, seemed to be thanking all the looters have joined the riots and almost have destroyed some districts of the city!!

I don´t know if other people thought the same as I when seeing the ad, but I guess so...

Digital Marketing Concepts

Sometimes it's difficult to know about marketing concepts and so a lot more, about Online/Digital Marketing concepts.

Maybe you know there are a lot of possible actions related with the Online Marketing world, but you really know them? 

Bellow you can find a small glosary with the definition of different concepts and acronyms of common digital marketing actions.

• Online Marketing. It's the application of the principles of Marketing in the Internet network of networks. You can include from market research to the application of specific techniques of online promotion like SEO and SEM strategies, Email Marketing, etc.

• SEO: "Search Engine Optimization". It's the natural or organic positioning. It consists of a series of actions on page (modifications in the website) and external actions that make possible the emergence of a website on Internet search engines, with the aim of achieving top positions for most relevant search terms in each case.

• SEM: "Search Engine Marketing". This is the field on the Online Marketing  that refers to the emergence and the promotion at search engines. It's very related with the PPC strategies.

• PPC: "Pay Per Clic". This includes the contracting of sponsored links in different search engines on the market. There are different formats for this type of advertising, from conventional text ads or image ads through ads on videos, etc. The most famous system of PPC it would be Google AdWords.

• SMO "Social Media Optimization". It's the Online Marketing field that generates publicity through social networks and online communities. The methods used are many and varied, from RSS feeds, blogging, social networking, personal or professional ...

• ORM "Online Reputation Management". It's the practice of search, analysis and image enhancement and feedback from users of a person, company or brand in online media.

• Email Marketing. Consists in using this versatile media by sending advertising of products or services to e-mail addresses that have been purchased or belonging to an existing database. There are two types of Email Marketing:

• For Customer Loyalty. It's to offer promotions to specific customers or partners already established. It also includes creating a link to the user either congratulating him on his birthday, by the entry of a new year, any other special occasion or simply sending newsletters.
• To Attract New Customers/Users. It's contracted the sending to an external database, in order to get users to become direct contacts of the company. Typically, you use a special promotion or any other claim appeal.

• Internet Branding. It consists in building a brand, brand awareness, in online media. The Internet Branding can use many of the strategies of Online Marketing but with the very specific objective of strengthening the brand.

• Affiliate Marketing. It's a practice of online marketing consists of creating a virtual network of affiliates, whose mission is to refer visitors to a website target. Obviously there are different possibilities for compensation, either by generating traffic to the website or performing a specific action of the visitor on this site.

• Mobile Marketing. It's the use of strategies that bring a product, service or brand to consumers through their mobile terminal.

I hope all these small definitions are useful for you. They were it for me! ;)

Merry Christmas...in July...

Yes, you have read right. Xmas has arrived in London. 

Really, Xmas has arrived at the most famous department stores in the city, Harrods and Selfridges, which launched last Thursday 28th of July their campaings for the most important shopping holiday of the year.

In that way, Harrods decided to promote the shopping having Santa Claus and Mrs Claus eating ice creams in the store (combining so winter and summer seasons) and Selfridges prepared its Christmas display in order to awake the Xmas shopping feeling in all the Londoners who come into the Oxford Street's store.

So... Merry Summer-Christmas to everybody!!!

The most popular option of the moment to share content

Since few months ago, when a user makes a search via Google, he can do +1 on any link of the search results' website with the goal of recommend content to his contact list, list that can increase considerably since the launch of the new social portal, Google +.

This new method of sharing that Google has implemented allows the user to see the sites that his contacts recommend within the search results of Google. This method could be summarized as "word of mouth" of Google. People trust more in what their friends recommend than anything else ... if a friend tells us that in the Spanish restaurant of the corner we can eat great and the price is very cheap, probably we will go sometime. In the same way, if when doing a Google search we see that the outcome is a +1 from some of our friends, we will possibily decide to enter on this link rather than others.

On the other hand, being aware that users are not always familiar with the sites that they see for first time in a search results, and they need to visit them before recommending them, Google has provided the option to include the +1 button in the content of our website/blog. In this way, we can make our site stand out on Google searches, improving our CTR in search both payment results and naturals.

All you have to do is to include a small line of code where you want the button +1 to appear. 

Below you can find the link where you can get the code.

::. Button to insert the +1 to Google

L'Oreal airbrushed ads banned in UK

Airbrushed make-up ads featuring actress Julia Roberts and model Christy Turlington have been banned after complaints they are misleading. So, L'Oreal has been forced to remove the images used in its Lancome and Maybelline magazine campaigns.

It's because a complaint from Jo Swinson -former marketing manager who won East Dunbartonshire from Labour in 2005, and was re-elected in 2010- who has said the pictures weren't representative of the results the products could really achieve, because they had been digitally manipulated. 

The ASA, has agreed the ads breach its code on misleading and exaggeration.

Below you can compare the images of the beautiful celebrities in de ads and in the real life. Wow!!!