Facebook Advertisers Can Target Users by Zip Code

 by Jennifer Van Grove

Advertisers wishing to target Facebook members in specific zip codes can now do so. The social network has made the new targeting option available to advertisers via Facebook’s Power Editor and Ads Manager self-service tools.

Facebook has confirmed that zip code targeting, which was spottedby Politico, is now available in the U.S.

“The zip code targeting launched yesterday and this change was made due to requests for such a change,” a Facebook spokesperson tells Mashable.

Advertisers, previously able to target members by country, state or province, can now direct ads and sponsored stories to users in more localized areas.

“Over the past few months Facebook has been showing sidebar modules asking users to confirm which of several zip codes they are closest to or live within,” Inside Facebook reports.

Now that advertisers have the potential to reach hyper-local audiences, what types of ads should Facebook users expect? Local merchants and small businesses are the most likely candidates to promote products and services by zip codes. Politico also theorizes that the addition of zip code targeting will factor into upcoming elections.

“In an election cycle when social networking is expected to play such a big role, Facebook’s new program signals its intention to be a major player in the sprawling, and lucrative, market of local campaigns,” the site contends.

Image courtesy of Inside Facebook

Angry Birds Now Appearing on a Baby Near You

 by Jennifer Van Grove

Even the tiniest tots can participate in the Angry Birds craze. App-maker-turned-entertainment-franchise Rovio has teamed up with baby product maker SwaddleDesigns to release an Angry Birds Baby line.

New parents can now opt to outfit, wrap or protect their bundles of joy, while showing off their Angry Birds fan status, in any of the five types of products (as seen below).

“As parents, one aspect of Angry Birds we appreciate is how protective the birds are and how much they love their offspring,” says Lynette Damir, CEO and creative director of SwaddleDesigns. “It’s one of the characters’ endearing qualities that resonates with parents everywhere, and a key reason we believe Angry Birds fans will be enthusiastic about our new line of Angry Bird baby products.”

Merchandise is a hot category for Rovio and the Angry Birds brand. The company has sold more than 7 million plush toys alone and will likely see merchandise sales skyrocket should the movie project come to fruition.

SwaddleDesigns is making its official Angry Birds Baby products available for sale Tuesday. Items cost $20 to $38 and will begin shipping October 10.

4 Reasons Google+ Brand Pages Will Be Better Than Facebook’s [OPINION]

 by Zeny Huang

Converting Facebook’s 750 million active users to Google+ will be a long, difficult battle for the search giant. But converting brands to Google+ will be much easier if Google+ is able to solve advertisers’ biggest problems with Facebook — such as post-click engagement tracking, paid search inefficiencies and limited customization.

Advertisers drive paid media to their Facebook Pages because they want to be where their audience is, but there’s a major flaw in this strategy. Advertisers can’t track post-click engagement of non-Facebook ads driving to Facebook, and that’s a huge disadvantage in qualifying traffic and uncovering valuable user insights. Without such information, we can only guess whether media dollars are being well spent.

In a month or two, Google+ will launch its highly anticipated brand pages. Here are four reasons why marketers are right to be excited and why Google+ brand pages will provide a better branded experience than Facebook.

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1. Better Search Opportunites

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A major challenge with driving paid search ads to a Facebook page is that the Facebook.com domain generates a lower click-through rate (CTR), most likely due to people finding the domain irrelevant to their query. The low CTR makes for a low quality score in Google’s auction-model, which typically increases cost per click for paid search ads driving to Facebook versus a unique brand domain. The loss in cost efficiency of driving to a Facebook page has been an ongoing struggle for advertisers, particularly on Google, which has over 60% of the search market.

It would be crazy for search giant Google not to have search benefits for Google+ brand pages, whether it is a “certified check mark” callout (like on Twitter), a colored box around the listing, or possibly page-rank priority. Search benefits would likely be the strongest reason for brands to adopt a Google+ brand page. The only flaw in this theory is that giving brand pages’ extra benefits in search could raise the specter of anti-trust action and legal challenges.

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2. More Customization

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Facebook ad types are limited to just ads, sometimes with a video or poll, allowing for few branding or creative opportunities. Looking at the design of Google+ personal pages, I predict the two skyscraper-sized white spaces on each side of the profile will be opportunities for custom skinning of your brand page and for display or rich media ads.

Google+ users are probably cursing me for suggesting the placement of ads on the currently clean design of Google+, but I am speaking specifically about allowing brands to advertise and skin their own pages as seen on branded YouTube channels such as Old Spice and Miracle Whip. These are great examples of how Google+ brand pages can deliver stronger brand experiences and help brands raise awareness of special promotions, as well as letting them drive qualified traffic to pages outside of Google+.

I would not be surprised if advertising opportunities were immediately available after the launch of Google+ brand pages, since Google is fully prepared to support it with its Google Display Network, AdWords and DoubleClick advertising products.

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3. Better Analytics

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People who have used Google Analytics know how detailed the data is, including metrics like time spent on page, top content, referring sites and geographic information. It seems inevitable for Google to integrate Google Analytics into Google+ brand pages, so that brands can gain valuable insights into who their fans are, what content their fans are consuming, and where they are coming from.

All this data will guide brands in the prioritization, organization and creation of content for their page, which will lead to an improved experience that better suits fans’ interests and needs. More importantly, Google Analytics and DoubleClick reporting products will let advertisers tie paid media placements to page interaction, and help to optimize and maximize the value of media spend.

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4. Google Can Learn from Facebook

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Facebook pioneered one-on-one connections between a brand and its fans through social networking, and will continue to be valuable for inherently social brands like musicians and celebrities. But for less social industries such as insurance, health and, say, paper towels, Google+ provides a platform that is open to conversation and focuses on providing branded content and valuable information in one place.

Facebook’s successes and missteps offer invaluable lessons, giving Google second-mover advantage in creating a brand page based on brands’ need for more customization, a hub to aggregate content across the web, strong search presence and user-engagement data. However, if Google+ brand pages turn out to be a replica of Facebook’s, the battle could be over before it’s begun.

Skype CEO Teases In-Call Ads

You may soon be seeing and sharing advertisements during yourSkype calls, if the company’s new CEO has his way.

Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Tony Bates discussed ways he might monetize the popular Internet phone service, once its $8.5 billion acquisition by Microsoft is completed.

“Obviously, there’s a very rich long-term advertising play,” Bates said. “The one I want to tease right now is in-call advertising. The average length of a video call is going up — it’s about 27 minutes now — and you’re doing a lot of things in that time. If we’re talking, you’re not just looking at me, so we have a lot of opportunities there.”

Asked if that might involve ordering a pizza, for example, Bates responded: “Why not? Why not, because we have this intimate relationship, at the end of the call, I share an ad with you? Watch this space. We think this is going to be a very exciting area.”

Bates, a former executive at Cisco, was tapped as Skype CEO back in October. After the Microsoft acquisition, he says, he is committed to staying in charge of Skype, which will be run as a separate division — an unprecedented level of independence for a company snapped up by the software giant.

In March, the company began rolling out advertising from major sponsors on its homepage. Bates didn’t say whether in-call ads would appear as pop-ups, audio ads or some other form, but it seems Skype is considering all its options.

Google to Offer Credit Card to AdWords Users [REPORT]

Google plans to offer a credit card with a low interest rate to its AdWords advertisers, Reuters reports.

The credit card will be issued by MasterCard and will come with no annual fee and a 8.99 percent annual percentage rate, but customers will only be able to use it for buying AdWords ads.

The purpose of the card is to help small and medium businesses ramp up their sales with intensive ad campaigns when needed – before holidays, for example – something many of them normally wouldn’t be able to do due to lack of funds.

“They are resource-constrained and they are often cash flow-strapped. Many of them are trying to grow a business without the kind of means that, say, your classic company has”, said Claire Johnson, vice president of global online sales at Google.

Google wouldn’t say to whom, exactly, it plans to offer the card, but claims that the maximum credit line will vary by cardholder. Select customers should get an invitation to start using the credit card in a “beta test” as soon as Wednesday.

How do you like this idea? Would you consider using Google’s credit card? Please, share your opinions in the comments.

Yahoo’s Q2 Revenues Fall As Display Ad Business Suffers

 by Todd Wasserman

Yahoo’s earnings and revenues fell in the second quarter as various factors — including a deal with Microsoft and executive shuffles — weighed on results.

Revenues for the quarter were $1.08 billion, a 5% drop from the comparable quarter in 2010. The figure was below analysts’ estimate of $1.11 billion. In a statement, Yahoo blamed the shortfall on a search- and revenue-sharing agreement with Microsoft. The companyinked a 10-year deal with Microsoft in 2009 in which the latter’s Bing will be the search engine for all Yahoo sites. Meanwhile, net earnings for the quarter were up 11%, to $237 million.

Though display advertising is booming this year, Yahoo’s share of the business isn’t keeping pace with rivals like Facebook and Google. In Yahoo’s statement, CEO Carol Bartz (pictured) blamed the softness on “comprehensive changes we have made in our sales organization to position ourselves for more rapid display growth in the future.”

Yahoo’s earnings stand in marked contrast to those of Google’s, which posted revenues of $9 billion in its second quarter, a 32% jump over Q2 2010, and a net income of $2.5 billion, compared to $1.84 billion for the same period in 2010. Researcher IDC reported in May that Google, which surpassed Yahoo in search ad revenues years ago, now sells more display ads as well.

Facebook bans Google+ ad

by Chris Matyszczyk

Ingenuity is surely something to be admired. Commercial ingenuity is something to be revered.

Sometimes, though, it seems that certain tech companies only revere their own ingenuity. That seems to be the case with Facebook, which, as reported by TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld, has removed a piece of fine commercial ingenuity from its site.

App developer Michael Lee Johnson, conscious of the need to be big on Google+ or be nobody, wondered what the best way to levitate his Google+ circles might be. He hit upon a fine idea: he placed an ad on Facebook. It was a simple thing that was headlined: "Add Michael to Google+."

The copy read: "If you're lucky enough to have a Google+ account, add Michael Lee Johnson, Internet Geek, App Developer, Technological Virtuoso."

If those words weren't enough to persuade Facebook users that Johnson was a must for their Google+, he added a fine picture of himself wearing a jaunty cap.

You're not guessing what happened with the ad, are you? You know what happened, don't you? Facebook didn't, according to Johnson, merely erase this heinous horse of Troy from its pages. It reportedly banned all his other campaigns too.

The message he received read as follows: "Your account has been disabled. All of your adverts have been stopped and should not be run again on the site under any circumstances. Generally, we disable an account if too many of its adverts violate our Terms of Use or Advertising guidelines. Unfortunately we cannot provide you with the specific violations that have been deemed abusive. Please review our Terms of Use and Advertising guidelines if you have any further questions."

Because my life's purpose is to be helpful, I scanned Facebook's Terms of Use and Advertising just to see what specific clause might have been besmirched by Johnson's chutzpah.

Perhaps it was Clause 11 in the "Special Provisions Applicable to Advertisers" section: "You will not issue any press release or make public statements about your relationship with Facebook without written permission." Johnson had shamefully declared on Google+ that he was placing the ad.

Perhaps it was Clause 4d of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines: "Ads cannot insult, harass, or threaten a user." He was, some might say, harrassing and insulting Facebook loyalists by his mere suggestion that there might be another place to socially network.

Or perhaps Facebook, its nose feeling tweaked, merely decided to reach for 6a of the same Advertising Guidelines: "We may refuse ads at any time for any reason, including our determination that they promote competing products or services or negatively affect our business or relationship with our users."

Still, ejecting all of Johnson's campaigns seems a touch cruel. Perhaps Johnson will consider an action against Facebook for emotional distress and, well, damage to his reputation.

This he will have to place, so Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities tells me, in a court in Santa Clara County. For now, Johnson's only public statements have been: "LOL." Oh, and "Facebook. You Suck."

1,460 people currently have Johnson in their Google+ circles. I cannot find Google+'s No. 1 personality, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, among them.

Watch All 61 Super Bowl Ads in 2.5 Minutes [VIDEO]

by Charlie White

 

Was it a good year for Super Bowl commercials or not? Take a couple of minutes (2:24 to be exact) and watch parts of all 61 spots shoehorned into this tightly edited masterpiece, and then let us know.
While you’re trying to recall each one of the ads racing by, sit back and enjoy the editing work of Adweek‘s Matt McBrayer, who cut thousands of shots down to this exquisitely manageable size.
In case you missed our Super Bowl Advertising Play-by-Play, one of our many conclusions was that there was plenty to love in this year’s Super Bowl, with certain themes coming to the fore. That must have been thinking of Adweek‘s video editor when he created this spectacular montage, grouping the shots into categories.
So now that you have the perspective of a few days, after this quick recap, which Super Bowl spot was your favorite? Are any more memorable than the others?

Groupon Responds to Super Bowl Ad Controversy

by Christina Warren

Deal-of-the-day juggernaut Groupon has responded to the controversy surrounding its recent Super Bowl ad.
The startup’s first offline ads, which feature celebrities solemnly intoning about a serious issue associated with social good — before segueing into a pitch for how the celebrity has used Groupon to save money — has generated significant criticism on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites.
You can see the series of ads at Groupon’s “Save the Money” microsite. Here’s one spot that aired during the Super Bowl:
On the company blog, Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason attempts to explain the rationale behind the ad and point out that despite the laissez-faire tone of the overreaching campaign, Groupon is actually donating money and highlighting the causes it seemingly dismisses.
Groupon’s campaign, which can be viewed at SaveTheMoney.org, was conceived by the advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky. CP+B is well known for its button-pushing advertising campaigns — in fact, drawing ire from viewers is part of the agency’s M.O.
In 2009, AdWeek named CP+B “Agency of the Year” and quoted an executive at the agency as saying, in regards to controversy, “we ask ourselves, ‘Would the press write about it?’ We use that as a guide and it’s worked out pretty good for us.”
Groupon classifies the campaign as “making fun of themselves” and says that offending customers was “the last thing [it] wanted.”
Regardless of intentions, customers are offended. The disconnect, it seems is that it is unclear from the advertising spots that Groupon is actually giving money to the causes it mocks. Most people can handle a good-natured parody of a Sally Struthers “Save the Children” ad, provided that at the end of the spot the viewer knows that the underlying cause is actually benefitting,
For what it is worth, we believe that Groupon and its agency absolutely expected the public reaction to the ad. Groupon basically says as much in its blog, noting that “[it] took this approach knowing that, if anything, they would bring more funding and support to the highlighted causes.”
The advertisements certainly have individuals talking. What impact (if any) this campaign will have on Groupon’s overall brand perception remains to be seen.
What did you think of the ads? Let us know.