Amazon Marketing the Kindle for Valentines Day 2011... with Same Ads as 2010

Since its launch, I have followed Amazon's Kindle ads and campaigns. Today, you will notice that Amazon is marketing the Kindle for Valentines Day... and if you look back a year ago, you will also notice that the Kindle ads are almost exactly the same. Furthermore, the language is consistent with nearly every Kindle ad to date: it's their best selling, best-reviewed and most wanted / gifted product. It seems that, even after a year, Amazon is confident in wrapping the same messaging in seasonal units.

The Kindle ads for Valentines 2011:

The Kindle ad for Valentines 2010:

Facebook's Latest "Friend Finder" - Universal Login

I have written several times about Facebook's continued promotion of the Friend Finder tool ... which one attempt by Facebook to encourage user invites. Here is the latest Friend Finder 'widget' which sits on the right column of your newsfeed (underneath the Events and above Sponsored unit). Two things are worth noting:

First - and most noticeably - there is no call out for particular services (like AOL, GMail, Skype, etc). It appears to be a universal login. This is bold, creative and mildly confusing. I am not sure that I would know what credentials to login with... and I *am* sure that, if I found a similar widget' on off-Facebook.com, I would absolutely not enter anything (particularly true if on Gawker!).

Second, I really like the creative. The social content makes it hyper-targeted: "Friend XYZ found you and N more friends using the friend finder." I love how it tells you which friend(s) connected specifically with you via the tool. Ahh... the power of social ads and targeting.

"Social Top Ups with Facebook"... Not by Facebook

Here is an example of why it is important to pay attention to an advertisement's provider: I stared at this ad for quite some time and wondered what Facebook's Social Top Ups product was. Turns out it is NOT a new Facebook promotion to drive Credits, international usage, etc. Turns out it IS a developer's product (Social TopUps) and their ad unit is made to look like a Facebook product (not sure this is / should be allowed). If you dig in, the ad creative is similar to Facebook's mark(s) but at much lower quality... and the app's landing page describes the product:

"Roamware's Social TopUps Service allows a Facebook user to directly recharge a mobile subscriber's prepaid mobile phone in another country, as long as their mobile network operator is a participating carrier in this Service."

I suspect the ad unit converted terrifically from impression to click. And it probably lead to higher-than-average install rates... but the unit is sneaky and yet another example of why it is important to pay attention to the source of ads (on Google, Facebook, etc).

McDonald's Buys Facebook Ads to Ask, "Would You Check-In?"

McDonald's is currently buying sponsored ads on Facebook to ask whether you "would check-in at a McDonald's restaurant". Considering that McDonald's does not currently provide offers for checking-in via Facebook Places, this appears to be a survey campaign. At the time of the screenshot, over 20,000 Facebook users completed the survey. ~30% of those users have already check-in to McDonald's (hard to believe?) and 43% would do so for a "good" deal.

This is not surprising: we know that people love discounts and anything with the word "free".

It is a different approach to advertising alongside Facebook Deals. Starbucks and H&M have run campaigns promoting their deals - McDonald's might well do that in the future, but for now it is more of a branded research project.

Facebook Now Advertising "Facebook Deals" to iPhone Users

Last week I wrote about how both Starbucks and H&M are beginning to advertise their Facebook Deals / Facebook Places campaigns. Now Facebook itself is advertising the Deals Platform:

"Find Deals on Facebook: Checking in on Places can get great deals nearby. Find specials wherever you see a yellow icon in the Facebook for iPhone app."

Like Starbucks and H&M, this ad is targeting consumers and aims to drive check-ins... which in turn can also be considered a promotion for the deal providers (ie Starbucks, H&M, etc). Also interesting:

1) the ad specifically targets iPhone users - I wonder if there is an Android specific campaign? 2) the ad expands into a video. Facebook has been releasing high-quality videos for each of their new products (example here)

Landing page:

Facebook Testing New Ad Format With Groupon?

As Facebook ramps its own Deal platform, it appears as though they might be testing a new ad unit / format with the web's leading deal provider: Groupon. The following ad appears as a Facebook sponsored unit on the main page and is essentially a mini feed post includes:

- the friend's / purchaser's name - the exact same text as Groupon's automated feed post (see the feed screenshot below) - the Groupon deal's image and location - has a unique three button base that allows for comments, likes and "Deals" .... that "Deals" link goes directly to the Groupon page and also appears on the feed post (like a custom application link)

The ad itself is hyper relevant: - time (expiring) - relationship (my friend) - and location (specific to me - I imagine I would NOT get an ad for a Minneapolis deal).

I wonder how automated the buying and publishing is... and I wonder if it is a sign of an ad platform being built directly into the Facebook Applications platform. From the look of it, it appears that could be true.

The Facebook Sponsored Ad Unit

The Feed Post for that Same Groupon Deal

Google Advertising Chrome Heavily on Facebook

Chrome is a clear focus for Google. It is growing quickly and taking market share from other web browsers... and it represents a core component of other Google priorities: Google TV, mobile, web speed, apps, etc. Google is now advertising "the world's fastest-growing web browser" on Facebook with a handful of different ad units. Some of the ads promote liking the Chrome Facebook Page (now with over 3.2m fans!) and others promote downloading the "speedy browser built for the modern web".

Google also released a clever website to highlight the power of Chrome and get users familiar with the benefits: 20thingsIlearned.com. Very well done and is prominently featured on the Chrome Installation page:

Coincidentally, September marked Google Chrome's 2nd birthday. Google crafted a couple commemorative graphics for the occasion:

H&M Offers 20% Off Entire Purchase for Facebook Deals Check-In

Within a day of Facebook announcing their new Deals platform, Starbucks started advertising for their check-in rewards.

Retailer H&M is now doing the same: rewarding checked-in users with 20% their purchase. H&M has been an aggressive experimental marketer. For instance, they were early to advertise in Booyah's location game MyTown and have advertised on Facebook in the past. It will be interesting to see if H&M starts appearing in your newsfeed during the promotion (which ends today).