Search+Social, I prefer Bing results

I have been working on a presentation on Search Engine Marketing today and decided to focus the screenshots around the word "insurance" due to it being one of the most expensive Search Engine Marketing keywords.

Google's new Search+ Your World Results let me know are Toyotas "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety" award winners and was mentioned in a blog about common search terms in 2009 from a friend's blog.

The Bing search results with social influence were much better.  Mayhem from Allstate, with links to the Mayhem Facebook Page and to www.allstate.com.

Google+, I am confident that one day you will be able to influence search behavior, but currently your fan base is to small to and business pages are to new for an effective use of search+social for most people. 

For business owners wanting to know how to benefit from reading this blog our advice is to get your business a Google+ account now and start building a fan base to begin influencing some Google Search results for your business.

 

QR Codes in TV Commercials

An advertising trend that just won’t seem to go away is the poor use of QR Codes.  I have been recently hearing discussions about using QR codes in TV commercials.  In my opinion this is a trend I hope does not continue.  Watch the following 30 second TV commercial from Scott Select then think about the following questions.

Did your phone load the QR reader fast enough to scan the ad?

Was the commercial over before you could grab your phone?

While watching it, thinking a favorite show was going to be ending its commercial break, were you inspires to scan the QR Code?

Our advice with QR codes is simple.  Use them with print, or don’t use them at all.  Our reason for saying this is because most of the US adult population still does not know how to use a QR Code, QR codes take time and patience when scanning, and does not cause driver distraction when placed on billboards or vehicles.

Did you see the QR code?  If not it was around the 25 second mark.  Good looking QR code design, poor execution.



Why You Should Never Piss Off Your Graphic Designer

It's is hard for people to communicate what they need - no matter what area of life you're in.  I find this happens frequently in the ad agency setting where Account Executives need to make their voices heard to their Graphic Design department. In turn the Graphic Design department also has to ensure that the Account Executives understand that design is an art.

I've recently come across several examples of when that communication has fallen apart and would like to share them.



Look closely and you will see a dog with a human penis. Not something that should have gone out in Ikea's catalog.


This is a more recent example of an altered ad that went out in a catalog and was posted online. Look closely in the background - yep - that is a naked man behind those children in their fashionable French designs.

The moral of this story is not to piss off your designers to the extent that they will embarrass your company for years to come with oddly altered photos that are intended for catalogs. Obviously the final edits didn't catch these photos, so you may want to make sure your editors are getting a nice Christmas bonus too.

Have more examples? Post them below!