Spotted: Zynga's Billboard on 101 (Grand Avenue)

This week, I wrote about the resurgence of billboard advertisements on 101 - spotlighting Droid, eBay, Zazzle, Yahoo and Zynga. While driving this morning, I captured this photo of Zynga's billboard on 101 around Grand Ave (exit 425):

With no direct branding other than the red / white dog - I do wonder how many people (even in Silicon Valley realize this is Zynga's logo. And worth noting, there is no direct call to action particularly considering that Zynga's activity is within its games' brands.

101 Billboards: The New Ad Unit?

Driving up 101 North last night, we passed billboards advertisements for: - eBay (several billboards featuring their new ad campaign) - Zazzle (see below, clearly in time for the holiday gift giving season) - Zynga (which was simply a red sign with their white dog - not text whatsoever) - Droid (featuring the handset and prominent Verizon / Google logos) - Yahoo (a pink billboard featuring their new ad campaign)

When did advertising on 101 become so fashionable? I understand that Droid advertisement (it is time sensitive and a consumer product play) but since 2003, I have not seen such a flurry of branding-based billboard ads... Perhaps the prices have plummeted!

Welcome Droid (and the Ensuing Marketing Blitz)

Droid officially launched today and, as I wrote last night, I expect Droid (and the forthcoming hardware line) to significantly increase Android's market share - and subsequently the developer attention it warrants and receives. Meanwhile, I also expect the Droid marketing blitz to to ramp aggressively. Below are a few screenshots of large, flash-based ad units across VentureBeat, Alley Insider and Verizon.com (a text ad even exists on Google's homepage).

The messaging across the campaign and its various states are: - Droid is Dropping - Droid has Arrived - And my favorite, Compromise Officially Deactivated

Incentivizing Facebook Fans: Papa John's Doubles Fans with Free Pizza

As brands and marketers continue to grow their presence on Facebook through Facebook Pages, 'fan acquisition' becomes as important as ongoing engagement / marketing. Like traditional traffic acquisition, there are various methods - some organic and viral; other through paid programs. A powerful trend on Facebook is, obviously, the movement of Facebook Advertisements from destination sites to Facebook Pages. Facebook clearly has recognized this with the addition of the "Become a Fan" button.

And brands recognize that acquiring fans is both difficult - but valuable considering the ability to engage with consumers on an ongoing basis.... leading to incentivized Facebook Fan Ads. Below is a great example from Papa Johns who offers a free medium cheese pizza in exchange for becoming a fan.

In reality, this is a unique coupon code for Facebook Fans... which, assuming that the economics work out for Papa Johns, is very smart because it allows them to directly track the 'redemption rates' of the Facebook offer - effectively understanding the direct commercial value of their advertising campaign. Meanwhile, there is downstream value in the growth of Facebook fans, the ability to interact with them, future coupons / promotions, and so forth.

The campaign worked. Papa Johns is the third biggest gainer in Facebook Pages - nearly doubling their fan base and driving 250,000 new fans in a 48 hour period.

Wendy's Real Time: An Interactive, Social Ad Campaign About Bacon

Wendy's has been advertising their new Bacon Deluxe burger which features four strips of Applewood bacon:

So unless you love bacon, why is this interesting? Because Wendy's has been promoting the burger heavily in an interactive campaign that runs on prominent websites like ESPN and Gizmodo - and concurrent to a large television campaign... and that the campaign is billed as "Wendy's Real Time" - a play on the real time web and their focus on "real burger" taste.

The takeaway (which I moved up from the bottom of the post) is that this is a unique and interesting swing at real time advertising / branding... but it is too dynamic and too big. The interactions and user experience would be greatly simplified if they integrated with Twitter's OAuth and also with Facebook Connect. Why ask people to leave Wendys.com to post, interact, etc. Make it simple up front and then push the data both directions: on Wendys.com and on Twitter / Facebook (both of which have clear benefits).

Below is a screenshot of an expansion leaderboard ad that features the burger and invites you to "view Wendy's real time":

The leaderboard retracts into a traditional size, but it is also matched by a skyscraper with similar messaging:

The ad takes you to the "real time" experience - which is a mix of Twitter updates, user photos and videos, Wendy's messaging, etc. It is cooler than it is effective (or even decipherable) - content is dynamic and constantly moving, but much of it is neither about Wendy's nor bacon.

When you click on a post, it expands the Twitter message and displays the user's Twitter information (allowing you to follow him / her).

The video experience is easier to digest and the incentives for posting are more clear: hamburgers for a year. By posting videos of your Wendy's experience, you are eligible for the contest. The UI is slick and this content clearly be reusable for other campaigns (such as on Facebook).

Finally, Wendy's encourages you to Talk Bacon with their Twitter account (@urBaconMeCrazy).

Unbranded Research Poll Ads on Facebook

This is the first time I have seen an unbranded "research" ad on Facebook that uses their new interactive platform (polling, events, etc). Below is a screenshot of an unbranded "research poll" about car insurance and consumer purchase habits. The ad unit clearly uses the same infrastructure and format as the branded poll units (see samples here) but, unlike the others, this is aimed at collecting data rather than promoting a brand or fan page. This too is interesting because, as part of branded campaigns, the polls are usually aimed at capturing attention rather than consumer behavior data - for instance, Saw VI polls were somewhat outlandish and bizarre... such that you were driven to participate and see how others vote. Facebook has a note below the poll that this data can be shared anonymously - but because there is no brand associated with the unit and because the header says "Sponsored", it is still a strange interaction (I took the poll specifically to see what brand would pop up upon completion). Once the poll is answered, it collapses and thanks you for "participating in [the] research poll". In contrast, after voting in a branded poll unit, it displays the popular vote and which friends participated.

The Research Poll - which appears in the same 'premium' location as other units

Upon completion of the poll, you are thanked for participating... a different experience than with branded units

New Facebook Gifting Ad Unit - Saw VI's Facebook Campaign

Facebook has been rapidly innovating with their ad platform and rolling out new ad formats. We have seen:- Fan Page ad units - Polling and rich video units - Direct response / Sampling units

It looks as though a new ad unit has been rolled out: Gifting. The flow is simple:

1. A user sees the ad and is able to select a friend to give the 'gift' to (the gift is the notification and the unique icon):

2. As you give the gift, you are able to select friends (with the auto-fill tool) and add a personalized note:

3. Once you give the gift, it shows up with below the ad in the Google Chat-like format:

4. That gift is then posted directly to the recipient's wall and a notification is sent:

For Saw VI, this is a follow up to their other Facebook Ad Campaigns (they previously ran a fan and Event RSVP campaign). This latest 'gift' campaign seems to be more focused on continuing the viral loop and reinforcing the movie's branding. It is an interesting format - but I am not sure you would want to launch a Facebook campaign specifically with it... perhaps if, like the Rockstar direct response ads, it were tied to also becoming a fan (and it very well could be - I happen to already be a Saw VI fan!).

Apple: Now Use In App Purchase in Free Apps to Sell Content, Subscriptions, Digital Services

Major announcement from Apple today that has made application developers (like the one below) very excited: free applications can now be directly monetized through "In App Purchasing" - which is a key component to what is driving the success in the booming online-gaming space. Now developers have choices beyond the current options: premium applications and/or in-app advertising (standard units, sponsorship, interstitials):

"In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services. You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your app can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing you to verify In App Purchases."

Powermat Takes Over Gizmodo with Terrific Expansive Ad Campaign

By now, you may have heard about Powermat - the innovative tool that charges your equipment without the cords and tangles. It's a smart product that solves a common need - and has we continue to collect gadgets that play important roles in our daily lives, charging becomes more important and more of a hassle.

Powermat has begun advertising heavily on radio, television and internet. The below ad unit currently running on Gizmodo is outstanding. I have written before about expansive ad units (examples here and here) and integrated, full-page units (like this).

The Powermat ad units do both. Here on Gizmodo:

- there is a great expansive header where the cords retract into the traditional ad unit (Gizmodo content can be seen beneath). Not only is it visually terrific - it captures the Powermat concept perfectly and is fully integrated into the Gizmodo site - there is a matching vertical banner on the left panel - a Powermat sponsorship logo near the search box - and a large, integrated horizontal unit halfway down the page

And the Powermat ad units are integrated throughout the entire Gizmodo site. Below is a screenshot of the ad sitting between blog posts and headlines: