[Note: Following sentence to be read in your best valley-girl dialect]  Since we haven’t been, like, increasingly bombarded with the word “Like” enough in, like, everyday language, Facebook is making moves to, like, hammer us over the head with it.

[Ok, back to your own voice] Many of you have already heard the news about Facebook’s decision to soon do away with the “Become a Fan” button on brand pages and replace it with a simpler “Like” button.  This news follows the other recent “Like” announcement that will allow people to like just about anything across the internet via Facebook functionality.  For the sake of this post, let’s focus on the impact the new Like button has on Facebook brand pages and their former “Fans”.

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Scissors are a great tool; they allow us to separate things, open boxes, and create works of art, but they can also be dangerous.  The same holds true for social media; it can create and foster consumer relationships, cultivate brand advocates/ambassadors & generate brand awareness and favorability, but it too can be dangerous.

As a child your parents, teachers and elders told you not to run with scissors.  Furthermore, they told you to walk with the pointed end of the scissors facing the ground, in case of a fall (sorry for that visual).

More often than not, brands enter into social media running with the scissors.  They create a Facebook page, Twitter account or YouTube channel with no real thought as to what the desired outcome could, or should, be.

When/if you have the urge to do this as a marketer, take a step back, think about the outcome and objectives.  You certainly wouldn’t run with scissors as an adult.

When you’re thinking about how your agency could save you money, their accounting system may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, few campaigns run without some vendor error, and a good accounting system can catch those and turn them into significant savings. Here are 5 ways how

1. Billing – Invoices received from media vendors should be checked line by line against the orders and the use of weekly billing reports will help identify discrepancies. If the wrong rates and totals are invoiced, you should credit the difference between the amount invoiced and amount billed.

2. Creative – Every proof photo or tear sheet should be reviewed against the trafficking to ensure the correct copy ran. If the wrong copy runs, you should request a full credit; if the ad is still valid, then a 50% credit can be discussed on a case by case basis.

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Mike Davis, Senior Digital Planner/Buyer here at B/T provided Media Mosaic with a fantastic wrap up of the 2010 iMedia Breakthrough Summit. Here’s what he had to say:
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After four jam-packed days of presentations, conversations with 75+ vendors about their latest and greatest capabilities and getting to spend some time with the best of the best in Digital Media I left with a slightly different perspective on where Digital Media is today and where it’s going. Dean Donaldson, Director of Digital Experience at Eyeblaster gave a great presentation tying everything covered at iMedia together nicely. If you ever get the chance to see him speak I highly recommend taking advantage of it.

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This week, Keith Betz and Andria DiFelice of Butler/Till are attending the 2010 Advertising Research Foundation conference in New York.  We wanted to share a bit of news from the conference with our readers.  Here is a note from Keith as well as a few video updates from the show.  Stay tuned… more updates to come!

Here’s an update from the 2010 ARF Conference in NYC, a meeting of some of the best and brightest research focused industry folks you would ever want to meet. This year’s theme is “The New Normal” which posits that with all of the rapidly shifting technologies in media and research, things will never be the same. Hanging on to the hope that things will return to “normal” is a ticket to failure.

Understandably, there has been a huge focus on these new technologies, everything from mobile apps to billboards capable of recognizing age/sex of viewers and delivering messages accordingly. I’ve sat in on a few seminars rooted in neuroscience that provide insights into how/why the human brain reacts to certain advertising messages. There has also been a lot of talk surrounding online engagement and the effect this engagement has on brands. Social media has been a part of almost all discussions in one way or another, but has moved past the “you need to be on Facebook” story. Researchers are now focusing on how to leverage the insights garnered from monitoring all of the tweets, posts and blogs and turning that into actionable response from advertisers. Advertisers focused on actually advertising through social media are missing the point, and instead should be engaging, talking with and learning from the conversations taking place. The top research minds from NBC, Nielsen, ComScore, Google, IBM, Coca-Cola….they’re all here and are helping to make this a very valuable learning experience.

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Mike Davis – one of our Senior Digital Media Planner/Buyers here at Butler/Till is currently attending the iMedia Breakthrough Summit in Florida.  I got a chance to catch up with him for an update from the conference – specifically with regards to mobile trends and updates.  Here’s what he had to say:

iMedia Breakthrough Summit – Mobile Bootcamp

Just a quick update from iMedia after attending Mobile Boot Camp with some of the top minds in the industry yesterday… Everyone keeps asking when the year of mobile will be? Was it 2009, will it be 2010, 2011? I don’t know the answer to that but what I do know is that mobile is here now and it’s already an effective platform to engage with consumers. Not to mention the fact that mobile internet usage is projected to surpass desktop internet usage a lot faster than most realize.

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Recently, more and more networks have begun premiering new shows throughout the year versus only twice each year (Spring/Fall). With an ongoing offering of new shows to choose from, it is now easier for TV advertisers to schedule make-good weight. A decade ago there were significant periods of time when the only thing on television was reruns. This resulted in lower ratings and required more spots to provide the needed GRPs.

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The first quarter of this year served as a good example. Many high-profile shows and new, buzzed-about programming premiered, providing a great opportunity for Q4 under-delivery to be made-good in Q1. This makes it easier for agencies that are committed to stewardship to secure first run programming for their clients.

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In a recent NYT article, David Carr examined consumers’ use of social media to comment on television programs while they’re watching.  The trend is growing and it has created an unprecedented level of viewer engagement.  Carr gives examples such as the heavy use of Twitter during this year’s Oscars and increased viewership for the Oxygen networks’ The Bad Girls Club, which allows viewers to talk back to both their television and other people via www.Oxygenlive.com

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