BRAND - YouTube 2017 Advertising Leader Board

This special edition of the Global YouTube ads leader board showcases the top 10 ads of the year.

Connect to the Leader Board

OPINION - Josh Marshall on the Digital Media Crash

Joshua Marshall is an American Polk Award-winning journalist and blogger who founded Talking Points Memo. 

The New York Times Magazine calls his blog "one of the most popular and most respected sites" in the blogosphere.

Perhaps you've been wondering how the digital media/advertising/news complex works. Or, perhaps you're wondering why advertising seems more expensive and less effective than you expected in this new paradigm. 

What ever you imagined, this opinion piece is a good explanation of what may be occurring. What Marshall has to say about the digital news media crash deserves further attention by investors, advertisers and marketers. 

Here is the link to his article published on November 17th. 

MEDIA - YouTube May 2017 Leaderboard

The May 2017 Leaderboard for advertising on YouTube is available. 

Enjoy and learn from those who are leading this form of media advertising. YouTube is now the leading source of video content and is outperforming TV channels by a wide margin.

YouTube May 2017 Leaderboard

WELFARE - Awards for Innovative Public Service Announcements

Does your organization have an impactful, creative and innovative public service announcement that supports animals in need?

Enter it in the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA) / Hill’s Food Shelter and LoveTM PSA awards!

For the first time ever, you don’t have to be a member of SAWA to enter.

SAWA is encouraging animal welfare groups, regardless the size of their budget, to submit their creative PSA, YouTube digital video or promotional ad.

Two awards will be presented at the 2016 SAWA Annual Conference in Portland, OR in November - the Professional Choice, awarded by animal welfare marketing experts, as well as a People’s Choice award, with the general public voting on the Hill’s Facebook page.

Entry deadline is August 30th.

Submission details are available on the SAWA website.

DIGITAL - Complete Guide to Instagram Advertising

Instagram is fast becoming a top platform for advertising with users two and half times more likely to click on ads than other social media channels.

As of last week, monthly active users jumped up to 500 million with 300 million active every day.

With this massive potential audience in mind, businesses are looking for ways to create meaningful, quality experiences through Instagram's ad solutions.

To help businesses succeed, HubSpot teamed up with Iconosquare to bring you The Essential Guide to Instagram Advertising.

The guide includes:

• Integrating Instagram ads into your current advertising strategy
• Setting clear campaign objectives focused on improving your business
• Creating an optimized Instagram ad with our step by step guide
• Monitoring performance metrics and moderating engagement with your Ads
• Insights and takeaways from exclusive experimentation
• Bonus: Cheat sheet “The Perfect Instagram Ad.”

Start your Instagram advertising campaign - Download your free ebook.

Animals: Powerful Tools in Advertising

With Super Bowl just around the corner many thoughts turn, not to the game, but to the advertisements. This is the time for creative advertising minds to shine and it’s no coincidence that the most memorable ads often include animals.

A 2007 study by N. Spears and R. Germain examined animals in print advertisements from 1900-2000 in the United States. Their results indicate that animals were used to dictate the spirit of the time of each decade. For instance, 1940-1950 advertisers used animal themes reflecting strong family relationships, prosperity and consumer spending. The authors argued these themes were due to the recovery of the county after the Second World War.

However, as the century came to a close, the majority of studies examining the use of animals in advertising focused on anthropomorphism (endearing them with human characteristics) and its effectiveness on human behaviour, rather than the animals themselves.

People are naturally attracted to animals and find them fascinating. Today, advertisers aiming to provoke an emotional response often use this affinity with animals with great success. For example: the recent Budweiser Super Bowl commercials that feature puppies and Clydesdales (Puppy Love, Lost Dog and Brotherhood). They actually make people cry, and everyone remembers them - that is advertising success.

In 2016, Budweiser is using their Clydesdales in a different way - by using their characteristics. This year they have a much harder-hitting ad featuring the horses’ strength, stamina and brawn. But don’t worry! If you’re interested in warm-fuzzy animal commercials this Sunday, Heinz provides a wiener dog stampede and Honda showcases singing sheep. The biggest question is how everyone is going to feel about Mountain Dew’s very odd PuppyMonkeyBaby. Even if you don’t like it, with over 3 million views, it’s already a success for the company.

Nulo Pet Food Sponsors U.S. IRONMAN Events

Nulo Pet Food has entered a partnership with American IRONMAN events through 2016. Nulo Pet Food is founded by swimmer Michael Landa. Landa has considerable experience in pet care and education. Upon seeing increasing numbers of overweight pets he was inspired to create a healthy pet food. Nulo pet foods are based off of animal proteins, contain a probiotic, and have low carbohydrate levels.

Landa said, “For so many athletes, our dogs are our best friends and sometimes training partners. Just like our own diets, the types of protein, carbohydrates, and ingredients that we feed our dog or cat matter to their health and recovery. We thank IRONMAN for aligning their brand with Nulo and for teaming with us to become evangelists for better pet nutrition. IRONMAN athletes understand the role quality nutrition plays in fueling a healthy, active lifestyle. We believe triathletes seek the same superior qualities in their dog or cat’s nutrition too. Nulo’s partnership with IRONMAN allows us to educate fellow athletes and pet parents about the benefits of Nulo’s ingredients – in an atmosphere that is fun, inspiring, and celebrated by so many pet lovers.”

IRONMAN CEO, Andrew Messick said, “The IRONMAN organization is thrilled to partner with such a unique pet food company like Nulo. Their dedication to pet nutrition and promotion of healthy lifestyles breathes a new perspective into supporting our entire IRONMAN community. We look forward to helping them activate their brand across our many race venues and in inspiring IRONMAN competitors everywhere to take greater care of their extended families.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Eukanuba’s New Long Life Study Advertising Campaign

 

Eukanuba performed a 10 year study on Labrador Retrievers. The Labs were provided with ‘proper care’ and fed Eukanuba food. 90% of the dogs lived longer than the breed’s average life expectancy and 28% of them lived 30% longer than the average life expectancy.

Eukanuba is using the results of their Long Life Study in a new advertising campaign. Brand Director, Javi Neves said, “At Eukanuba, we’re dedicated to assuring the highest quality of nutrition to help dogs lead their most astounding lives. Every ingredient in our food has a specific purpose to promote health and vitality to help ensure the dogs that we feed look and feel their best at every age.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Petsecure creates buzz with Super Bowl commercial

Long-time Urban Animal sponsor, Petsecure, launched its first ever Super Bowl commercial during the big event last Sunday. 

The 30-second ad, "Petsecure Was There For Our Family" aired on CTV Winnipeg during the game and will help create awareness of how pet insurance can give families peace of mind when it comes to their pets' health. 

READ THE PETSECURE BLOG

2014 Social Media Trends

There are few people who would consider themselves a stranger to social media in 2013. About 14% of the earth's population are on Facebook. More than 500 million people have Twitter accounts and YouTube garners over 1 billion unique visitors every month.

As we enter 2014, businesses and organizations are recognizing the opportunities offered by online and social marketing and changing several facets of their business strategies. A common thread with all projected trends is duration and simplicity. Users want to see concise messaging and prefer images and short video clips.  

A 2013 study by Manta showed that 49% of small businesses surveyed increased the time spent on social media from 2012 to 2013. The same found that 26% of businesses spent a majority of their investment dollars on online advertising, marketing and social media despite 40% of businesses seeing only between $100 and $1000 Return on Investment (ROI) from social media activities. This suggests that while the ROI from social media has yet to be mastered, most organizations see a benefit to maintaining stable social channels.   

This article on Business 2 Community (B2C) forecasts Twitter will surpass Facebook in 2014. This plays into other reports which maintain that User Generated Content (UCG) will drive social marketing in the new year. Connecting with an audience by asking them to share experiences in photos and short status updates will be the key to attracting and retaining customers.  

In 2014, social media experts anticipate marketing will transition from monologue to dialogue as UCG is facilitated and consumers are invited to join conversations and engage in brand development. 

Several reports anticipate that images will outrank content for user engagement. A strong info graphic will not only hold the interest of users and keep them engaged longer but will also lend itself as brand advertisement.

Finally, hashtags will become the leading online search tool as every major social media channel accepts and encourages its use. The hashtag allows users to join conversations, follow events and search exclusively for products, thoughts and experiences.  

2013 Social Media Statistics 

• 1.5 billion Facebook users
• 500+ million Twitter users
• 500+ million Google+ users
• 238+ million LinkedIn users
• 130+ million Instagram users
• 70+ million Pinterest users
• over 1 billion+ unique monthly visitors on YouTube

Petsecure launches new commercial

Petsecure Pet Health Insurance launched a new ad today that will be airing on Animal Planet, W Network, National Geographic Wild, Pet Network, DejaView and Investigation Discovery. 

The ad is designed to introduce pet families to the importance of pet health insurance. 

Does Facebook Advertising work?

According to a recent poll by Reuters and Ipsos Reid, 80 percent of Facebook users have never clicked on Facebook advertisements, resulting in large corporations like General Motors to pull their advertising.

To recover from this hardship, Facebook hired comScore to do a study to discover how marketing on Facebook leads to return on investment (ROI). The study revealed that people who see brand messages on Facebook, are more inclined to buy products, but they just might not realize it.

Furthermore, comScore analyzed the buying behaviour of people who had seen brand messaging of large corporations, like Starbucks, on Facebook against those who had not. The study showed people who were exposed to Starbucks messaging on Facebook for four weeks were 38 percent more likely to buy their products.

Download the comScore Study Results

View the Reuters/Ipsos Reid Results

Bayer HealthCare Launches New Advertising Campaign

Bayer HealthCare announced April 10, 2012 the launch of their new advertising campaign starting this spring that will target Canadian pet owners, more specifically cat and dog owners, on the importance of effective flea control.

The campaign will encourage pet owners to speak with their veterinarians about prevention and the possible risks that flea's could have on their pets.

Click the following link to read the official Press Release:

• Bayer Launches Advertising Campaign for Pet Owners

Vets, Social Media, Communications and Advertising

The veterinary profession is struggling to understand how guidelines for advertising are aligned with modern social media and communication strategies.  The College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) posted an advisory statement in late 2011.  Other jurisdictions watch this conversation for the conclusion.  

Read the CVO Advisory

Does the CVO advisory really work to protect the interests of a public that consumes the services and products supplied by this profession?  Evidence suggests proactive consumers seek a palate of services and products that will allow them to select the care profile of the animals under their care.  These consumers may even wish to select and prepay the annual care programs they wish to use.  The industry is watching this development with great interest.  Please feel free to provide your comments.

The Collapse of Print Advertising

Dr. Mark Perry is a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan.  In his blog last Sunday, he highlighted the unbelievable collapse of print newspaper advertising.   Estimated revenues of $20.7 billion in 2011 will be the lowest annual  amount spent on newspaper advertising since $19.5 billion in 1951, exactly 60 years ago.


Others have called it 'creative destruction' or 'economic destruction', but what ever you call it, a paradigm shift is happening faster than most thought it ever could.

READ THE BLOG