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Ads Analyzed

Is Samsung’s Ad Targeting Perfect or Stupid?

A colleague pointed out a Samsung pay-per-click (PPC) ad that made the rounds recently. It’s an ad for the Samsung Galaxy S 6, but it shows up when users search for “iPhone 6s”.

Here’s a look:

samsungad

Does the ad target their ideal audience? And who is this audience, exactly? Here’s a quick breakdown and my take on whether this ad is a winner or a flop.More

The Wrong Way to Do Native Ads

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I saw this example of “native advertising” today, and I thought you might benefit from the lesson it teaches you about strategic content:

Screenshot 2015-03-02 09.34.46

Obviously, that native ad was on Lifehacker, a site dedicated to teaching its readers cool tips and tricks to improve their lives.

Here’s what Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi says about native advertising:

The information is useful, interesting and highly targeted to the specific readership. So, in all likelihood, it’s not an advertisement promoting the company’s product or service directly.

With that definition in mind, let’s dissect State Farm’s native ad:

  • Is the information useful? Not really, other than in a trivia game.
  • Is the information interesting? I think so, but you may disagree. It’s definitely got that, “Oh neat!” factor.
  • Is the information highly targeted to the specific readership? Not really. I think a tip on how to choose better tires, or something like that, would be more in line with Lifehacker’s readership.

There’s a big disconnect with the fact and the plug for State Farm. It’s like they didn’t quite know how to connect their neat factoid with their insurance business.

Native advertising is going to be one of the big trends in 2015. Learning about how to use it effectively can give your business exposure your competitors won’t even know how to get until they’re too late in the game.

But you have to do native advertising right, or else it will be yet another waste of resources.

(Kind of like how everyone jumped on Facebook a few years ago before really understanding how to use it. Now, many businesses are actually closing their Facebook pages because they’ve realized the ROI is too low.)

PS: If you want to learn more about native advertising, Copyblogger has some all-time great examples of native ads.

Is the Amazon Echo Advertisement Terrible?

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Today, Amazon announced one of the coolest uses of voice technology in recent years: Echo, a voice-activated home assistant. It’s basically like if the Jawbone Jambox had Siri built in.

The tech itself looks neat, but Amazon’s marketing team made a huge mistake when they announced it: the script was awful.

Take a look for yourself:

Pretty groan-worthy, right? There are some things they did right. Here’s a breakdown of what your marketing team can learn from this billion-dollar company’s profoundly dumb video script.More

Don’t Make the Same Crazy Advertising Mistake as the Country of Argentina

MedicalTourism Advertising #MedicalTourism? Apparently so. If only the ad copy made any sense. I just struggle to see any narrative here. “Argentina, by you.” Does that mean Argentina is near or around me? That can’t be right. Or maybe it means I’m defining my trip. But that’s not right, either, because the DOCTOR is running the show. I’m confused.

  • Who This Ad Thinks It’s Targeting: American males? Vaguely hispanic people who aren’t sure how much they weigh? People who want to travel abroad for cheaper medical treatment but think they’re too good for Mexico?
  • Who This Ad is Really Targeting: This ad probably made the biggest impression with the copywriter’s mom. She’s probably so proud her little child grew up to create confusing ads that appear in prestigious publications like SkyMall.
  • Biggest Improvement This Ad Should Make: Explain the nonsensical tagline. What does “Argentina, by you” actually mean? If they were going for a “Be in control of your healthcare choices” type of idea, they needed to make that much clearer.