I’m not the only one who watches the Super Bowl just for the ads, and companies know it. At the Super Bowl this year, a 30-second spot is going to cost $3.5 million, and according to the Brand Keys Super Bowl Engagement Survey, about half of the ads will fail to engage customers, drive positive behavior or sales, or build the brand.

According to Media Life Magazine, companies with $3.5 million to spend on a 30-second spot probably have a high awareness to begin with, and are seeking innovative ways to achieve this awareness.

However, wthr.com warns that brand recollection still needs to be a priority. For example, last year’s Darth Vader commercial was highly discussed but because it sought to entertain, very few remember the brand. (Ahem, it was Volkswagen).

@KirstenETaylor

A recent study by Marin Software has shown that paid search is gaining more acceptance from search users.  The study, as reported by eMarketer, indicated. “According to the company, the average US clickthrough rate on Google increased 48% in Q4 2011.”  The growth was also seen in other popular search engines, as “Yahoo!/Bing saw a 44% increase during the same timeframe.”

The eMarketer article went on to give a greater insight into where these paid results are most successful.  Data indicated that 90% of clicks in the United States came from a computer, with 6% coming from a smartphone and only 4% from tablet devices.  93% of impressions came from computers, with 4% from smartphones and the remaining 3% from tablets.  Although the percentages may seem relatively small, as Marin Software reports, “smartphones and tablets are beginning to eat away at computers’ total share of paid search activity,” compared to data from 2010.

@MatthewBick

Google has finally announced that they will soon begin displaying content from its Google+ social network in its results.  Google+ has been slow to this point to gain mainstream acceptance, but the massive search engine may be angling toward convincing more brands to take advantage of their pages.

According to an official blog post, the search engine will allow users to conduct social network searches in addition to regular web searches Using the example of choosing a vacation destination, Google states that, “You can of course search the web, but what if you want to learn from the experiences your friends have had on their vacations? Just as in real life, your friends’ experiences are often so much more meaningful to you than impersonal content on the web.”

New features include Google+ posts, photos, and profiles appearing in searches when a user is signed in with their Google ID.   Google goes on to describe that their initiatives are designed to create a broad spectrum of user personalization, from none to results finely tailored to the individual.

However, many are quick to point out that Google may have brought an anti-trust storm upon itself.  Although Google claims that Google+ is, in fact, not a social network, it would be difficult to persuade the majority of internet users otherwise.  Google using one product to promote another in this manner may be the start to a dramatic fight in Washington.  In fact, just hours after the announcement, Twitter’s general consul  Tweeted his misgivings about the news.

@MatthewBick

The account coordinator will work in tandem with the client services and digital teams to assist the daily servicing of their clients and support other agency activities on an as needed basis.

Job Responsibilities:

*Support client services and digital teams as needed to build rapport and credibility with client based upon trust and expert counsel.

*Coordinate production of client and business development projects with any or all agency resource areas.

*Take ownership of projects by managing the day-to-day operations of projects as directed by client services and digital teams.

*Helps coordinate the production of client and new-business presentations.

*Develop production schedules and complete timelines for creative projects that balance client and agency needs.

*Take ownership for team communication, and keep entire team informed of project status and/or changes.

*Maintain a high level of organization to all projects on assigned accounts.

*Complete search marketing, social media, PR, media and billing reporting as needed for clients.

*Assist as needed in execution of specific digital, PR and creative tactics.

*Fulfill agency administrative and proofing duties as needed.

Required Skills:

*Superlative Writer: As a communications professional, you are an effective, persuasive and stylish writer who thrives in a deadline-driven environment and handles pressure with grace. If you’ve been published, even better.

*Detail-Obsessed: The little things matter to you, whether it’s properly placing the comma in “1,000” or knowing the difference between “it’s” and “its”, and your work and achievements reflect this commitment.

*Proactive Team Player: The words “that’s not my job” aren’t part of your vocabulary, and you enthusiastically seek out and embrace opportunities to help the agency and add to your professional skill-set by fulfilling duties not necessarily in the domain of your title.

*Critical Thinker: You are able to independently form critical judgments and seamlessly blend facts, logic and intuition in order to justify your stances.

*Relentlessly Curious: You are not only undaunted when faced with new challenges or unexpected results, but insatiably driven to use these experiences to enhance your professional development.

*Uncommonly Resourceful: You have a deep understanding of the value of resourcefulness and pragmatism in problem-solving and have demonstrably employed creative thinking to solve real-life professional challenges.

*Graceful Under Pressure: Always the true professional, the very real challenges of multiple projects, shifting deadlines and changing priorities do not incite frustration, impact the quality of your work, nor hinder you from honoring commitments.

*Math-Literate: You might have struggled at high-level calculus, but you can accurately compute and aren’t intimidated by business-world math, including calculating percentages, averages and ROI.

*Technologically Savvy: More than simply reading Mashable and owning an iPad, you are sufficiently versed in digital tools and technologies and capable of applying that knowledge towards solving real-world business problems.

*Insistent on Accountability: If you could, you would sign your name and title in big, bold letters on every piece of work you produce. More importantly, you own mistakes and find ways to use them as opportunities for growth.

Email your resume and personal summary to christianbeckler@russellherder.com. No phone calls, please.

According to a recent study featured on AdAge, most millennials don’t respond to television ads like previous generations did, however this doesn’t mean they’re tuning out all digital ads. According to the research, millennials respond to the same advertising approaches as prior generations, including brand differentiation, competitive comparisons, information about new products and superiority claims. Millennials are simply more engaged in other kinds of media, including websites and digital media, when compared to their older counterparts.

This doesn’t mean that millennials don’t respond at all to television. As it turns out, they are less likely than their elders to recall a television ad, but when they do, they remember it much longer than seniors.

What does this teach us? The days of Mad Men are over and you can’t focus simply on print and television. Sorry Don Draper, digital is where it’s at.

@KirstenETaylor

Verizon announced last Thursday that they will begin issuing a “convenience fee” in mid-December to customers who choose to pay their monthly bills online or by phone.  As news of the $2 fee spread, Twitter, Facebook and blogs were bogged down with negative feedback.

According to an article in PR Daily, little had been done to address the negative commentary flooding their social media profiles. However, they did offer “a cheery post about gadgets and pets” and a post suggesting that “the deals keep getting better and better”. The company missed a vital opportunity to converse directly with their customers, probably leaving many to wonder, can you hear me now?

@KirstenETaylor

A recent article on Online Media Daily explains that in 2011, we saw an explosion in mobile marketing in the form of apps, commerce and analytics. And, with the announcement that 3.7 million Android devices were activated over Christmas weekend and 242 million apps were sold on Christmas Day alone, the possibilities for mobile marketing will be endless in the coming year.

The article suggests five trends to look out for in 2012, including an increase in time and money being devoted to engaging on mobile platforms, more mobile purchases, more meaningful apps, and better identified segments and targets. These trends suggest that it will get easier and easier to have meaningful interactions with the right audiences.

@EMortek

The wall that separated many brands from their customers was often thick and impenetrable. A company who truly wished to avoid its customers at one time enjoyed many options:  overburdened call centers, unmanned wewanttohelpyoubutnotreally@company.com e-mail addresses and unempowered front-line employees.

Social media, however, has reconstructed that membrane in a way that’s much more permeable. Dissatisfied consumers can now register their complaints in forums far more public and permanent. Brands who at one time could simply call the police when a customer vandalized the side of their building or became belligerent in the lobby find there is simply not enough law enforcement available to keep those troublesome miscreants off of their Facebook page and Google Places accounts.

Increasingly, evidence suggests that brands shouldn’t cede the social media asylum to the inmates either. According to a brand new survey by Conversocial, nearly nine in ten individuals reported they would be at least somewhat less likely to buy anything from a company if they saw unanswered customer questions or complaints. Conversocial also reports that most consumers aren’t enamored with how their favorite brands choose to operate within social media; nearly one-third rated the way in which companies use social media sites to communicate with their customers as either poor or very poor. Sixty percent, however, expressed guarded optimism for future positive developments in the field of social customer relations.

@NeilAndrewJames

Ever tried to put together a focus group? It’s a lot of work. Rounding up the participants, getting everything organized, hiring a moderator, and that’s before anybody even walks in the room. Therein lies the beauty of social monitoring programs – brands now have the ability to conduct focus groups 24 hours a day, seven days a week! According to Harris Interactive, one-quarter of Americans are talking about companies, brands or products online.

Denise Keller discusses the reasons your brand should explore a social monitoring program right now in a new article for Social Media Today, The Top 7 Reasons You Should Implement Social Media Intelligence. While citing the obvious benefits of a social monitoring program – unearthing new consumer insights and reputation management – for Keller, the ability to identify qualified leads and prospects is the top reason for launching a robust monitoring program.

@NeilAndrewJames

Sad is the B2B marketer who obsesses over the fan counts of mass consumer brands: “More than two million people like Doritos! Why can’t we get one-tenth of one percent of that?”

New research from Accenture, as chronicled in a new article for eMarketer, attempted to learn the extent to which social media is employed by B2B marketers and what they require to be more successful. According Accenture, nearly half of B2B marketing executives said that they need new tools and technology investments in order for social media efforts to be more effective. Four in 10 felt they needed stronger measurement and improved internal collaboration.

@NeilAndrewJames