Online Marketing Strategy: Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Social Media, Email

And so the pairing has begun, with Apple and Google firmly tying the knot with the charismatic unveiling of the delectable iPhone by The Reverend Steve Jobs. The reception was fantastic (brought to you by Cingular) and the highlight was finding a Starbucks via Google Maps and giving them a call during the ceremony itself. Ah young love! These occasions always make me so teary-eyed…

And then, after a debauched weekend of sin in Vegas, Nokia and Yahoo take a drive through the drive-through Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel where, through the power vested in Elvis by the N95, they say their solemn vows. The entire affair was captured for posterity and aired as a TV ad on Heroes on SABC 3 on Wednesday night. Oh…I give them a couple of months, she’s SUCH a slag.

Watch this space for more co-branded matrimony - just keep your divorce lawyers on danger money, baby.

Tony Lopes is a freelance writer living in Johannesburg, South Africa. Visit his site at www.hotcopy.co.za.

The hallowed treasure trove that is www.advertisingarchives.co.uk requires a simple free registration and then the world is yours.

Feel the nostalgia overwhelm you as you relive those cheesy ads of yesteryear - this is the motherload people, a must for any marketer or those interested in human culture (and who isn’t, come on…?)

As an example, there are 153 ads archived for the product “Guiness” - good stuff!

Carl Fisch published a fascinating and thought provoking video to YouTube about current and future world trends.

The text of this video is reproduced here:

Did you know . . .
Sometimes size does matter.
If you’re one in a million in China . . .
There are 1,300 people just like you.
In India, there are 1,100 people just like you.
The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQ’s . . .
Is greater than the total population of North America.
In India, it’s the top 28%.
Translation for teachers: They have more honors kids than we have kids.
Did you know . . .
China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world.
If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China . . .
China would still have a labor surplus.
During the course of this 8 minute presentation . . .
60 babies will be born in the U.S.
244 babies will be born in China.
351 babies will be born in India.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs . . .
By the age of 38.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor . . .
1 out of 4 workers today is working for a company they have been employed by for less than one year.
More than 1 out of 2 are working for a company they have worked for for less than five years.
According to former Secretary of Education Richard Riley . . .
The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .
Using technologies that haven’t been invented . . .
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
Name this country . . .
Richest in the World
Largest Military
Center of world business and finance
Strongest education system
World center of innovation and invention
Currency the world standard of value
Highest standard of living
England.
In 1900.
Did you know . . .
The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration.
(Luxembourg just passed us.)
In 2002 alone Nintendo invested more than $140 million in research and development.
The U.S. Federal Government spent less than half as much on Research and Innovation in Education.
1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
There are over 100 million registered users of MySpace.(August 2006)
If MySpace were a country, it would be the 11th-largest in the world (between Japan and Mexico)*
The average MySpace page is visited 30 times a day.
Did you know . . .
We are living in exponential times.
There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on Google each month.
To whom were these questions addressed B.G.?
(Before Google)
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the population of the planet.
There are about 540,000 words in the English language . . .
About 5 times as many as during Shakespeare’s time.
More than 3,000 new books are published . . .
Daily.
It’s estimated that a week’s worth of New York Times . . .
Contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
It’s estimated that 40 exabytes (that’s 4.0 x 1019) of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year.
That’s estimated to be more than in the previous 5,000 years.
The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years.
It’s predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010.
Third generation fiber optics has recently been separately tested by NEC and Alcatel . . .
That pushes 10 trillion bits per second down one strand of fiber.
That’s 1,900 CDs or 150 million simultaneous phone calls every second.
It’s currently tripling about every 6 months and is expected to do so for at least the next 20 years.
The fiber is already there, they’re just improving the switches on the ends. Which means the marginal cost of these improvements is effectively $0.
Predictions are that e-paper will be cheaper than real paper.
47 million laptops were shipped worldwide last year.
The $100 laptop project is expecting to ship between 50 and 100 million laptops a year to children in underdeveloped countries.
Predictions are that by 2013 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
By 2023, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
First grader Abby will be just 23 years old and beginning her (first) career . . .
And while technical predictions further out than about 15 years are hard to do . . .
Predictions are that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race.
What does it all mean?
Shift Happens.
Now you know . . .

Tony Lopes is a freelance writer living in Johannesburg, South Africa. Visit his site at www.hotcopy.co.za.

Google.

It’s starting to change my life. It’s my new vocabulary. 1984’s New Speak and Doublethink. War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, Microsoft is shaking in their pretty yellow galoshes.

I use Gmail. I get tons of storage space and 20 meg attachments. I chat to people around the world.

I use Google Maps and don’t get lost. I use it as a pedometer to calculate the calories burnt when I go walking.

My brother lives in New Zealand. I live in South Africa. I see his house from the comfort of my office via Google Earth. I see the Moon on Google Moon and zoom in to see yellow cheese.

I use Google Calendar to plan my work and social life. I get reminders sent to me for free via SMS and email. I share this calendar with my wife so we can both plan what we’re doing on the weekend.

I blog. I upload websites. I analyze traffic on both, for free, thanks to Google Analytics. I make a peanut here or there off Ad Sense.

I plan marketing campaigns using Google Trends to understand the national psyche of Uzbhekistan.

Using Google Documents I forego having to spend thousands on Microsoft Office.

Oh, and I use Google search engine to find out about life, the universe, everything.

Yes, I’m starting to get a little Google obsessed, but I don’t care. If it works, why knock it? And Big Brother? In the words of 1984’s Winston: “I Love Big Brother”.

Take that, Thought Police!

(Oh, and Apple are pretty cool to, thanks Steve.)

As I type, I’m listening to the Pixies crooning: “in Heaven, everything is fine…in Heaven, everything is fine…”

What a band. And what a brand. But interestingly enough, their following has changed somewhat over the years. They themselves admit in a video interview that back in the day their main fan base was male, but it has since morphed into a more female-biased audience.

So if the Pixies have noticed their fan base changing, have they adapted accordingly? Do bands react like marketers react to target markets? Certainly?

A great site that shows how brands have updated over the years is, funnily enough, www.historyofbranding.com. On the home page you can click upon a logo for a particular brand, and read up about its origins.

Remember that ol’ brand Coca Cola that used to be the world’s number one most valuable brand (or still is, if you go by the Interbrand study) until, according to Millward Brown Google usurped it? Well, they’ve certainly done some changing in the past 100 plus years, haven’t they. See how (thanks Solar Navigator):

Coca-Cola Slogans from 1886 - 2005

1886 Drink Coca-Cola
1900 Deliciously refreshing
For headache and exhaustion, drink Coca-Cola
1904 Coca-Cola is a delightful, palatable, healthful beverage
Coca-Cola satisfies
Delicious and Refreshing
Drink Coca-Cola in bottles - 5¢
1905 Drink a bottle of carbonated Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola revives and sustains
Drink Coca-Cola at soda fountains
The favorite drink for ladies when thirsty, weary, and despondent
Good all the way down
Flows from every fountain
Sold in bottles
1906 The drink of quality
The Great National Temperance
Thirst quenching - delicious and refreshing
1907 Delicious Coca-Cola, sustains, refreshes, invigorates
Cooling… refreshing… delicious
Coca-Cola is full of vim, vigor and go - is a snappy drink
1908 Sparkling - harmless as water, and crisp as frost
The satisfactory beverage
1909 Delicious, wholesome, refreshing
Delicious, wholesome, thirst quenching
Drink delicious Coca-Cola
Whenever you see an arrow think of Coca-Cola
1910 Drink bottled Coca-Cola - so easily served
It satisfies
Quenches the thirst as nothing else can
1911 It’s time to drink Coca-Cola
Real satisfaction in every glass
1912 Demand the genuine - refuse substitutes
1913 Ask for it by its full name - then you will get the genuine
The best beverage under the sun
It will satisfy you
A welcome addition to any party - anytime - anywhere
1914 Demand the genuine by full name
Exhilarating, refreshing
Nicknames encourage substitutions
Pure and wholesome
1915 The standard beverage
1916 It’s fun to be thirsty when you can get a Coca-Cola
Just one glass will tell you
1917 Three million a day
The taste is the test of the Coca-Cola quality
There’s a delicious freshness to the flavor of Coca-Cola
1919 Coca-Cola is a perfect answer to thirst that no imitation can satisfy
It satisfies thirst
Quality tells the difference
1920 Drink Coca-Cola with soda
Delicious and refreshing
The hit that saves the day
1922 Quenching thirst everywhere
Thirst knows no season
Thirst can’t be denied
Thirst reminds you - drink Coca-Cola
1923 Refresh yourself
A perfect blend of pure products from nature
There’s nothing like it when you’re thirsty
1924 Pause and refresh yourself
1925 Six million a day
The sociable drink
Stop at the red sign and refresh yourself
1926 Thirst and taste for Coca-Cola are the same thing
Stop at the red sign
1927 Around the corner from anywhere
At the little red sign
1928 A pure drink of natural flavors
1929 The pause that refreshes
1930 Meet me at the soda fountain
1932 Ice-cold sunshine
The drink that makes the pause refreshing
1933 Don’t wear a tired, thirsty face
1934 Carry a smile back to work
Ice-cold Coca-Cola is everywhere else - it ought to be in your family refrigerator
When it’s hard to get started, Start with a Coca-Cola
1935 The drink that keeps you feeling right
All trails lead to ice-cold Coca-Cola
The pause that brings friends together
1936 What refreshment ought to be
Get the feel of wholesome refreshment
1937 America’s favorite moment
Cold refreshment
So easy to serve and so inexpensive
Stop for a pause… go refreshed
1938 Anytime is the right time to pause and refresh
At the red cooler
The best friend thirst ever had
Pure sunlight
1939 Coca-Cola goes along
Make lunch time refreshment time
Makes travel more pleasant
The drink everybody knows
Thirst stops here
1940 Bring in your thirst and go away without it
The package that gets a welcome at home
Try it just once and you will know why
1941 A stop that belongs on your daily timetable
Completely refreshing
1942 The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself
Refreshment that can’t be duplicated
Wherever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be,
when you think refreshment, think ice-cold Coca-Cola
1943 That extra something
A taste all its own
The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself
It’s the real thing
1944 How about a Coke
High sign of friendship
A moment on the sunnyside
1945 Whenever you hear “Have a Coke,” you hear the voice of America
Passport to refreshment
Happy moment of hospitality
Coke means Coca-Cola
1947 Coke knows no season
Serving Coca-Cola serves hospitality
Relax with the pause that refreshes
1948 Delicious and refreshing
Where there’s Coca-Cola there’s hospitality
Think of lunchtime as refreshment time
1949 Coca-Cola….Along the highway to anywhere
1950 Help yourself to refreshment
1951 Good food and Coca-Cola just naturally go together
1952 Coke follows thirst everywhere
What you want is Coke
The gift of thirst
1953 Dependable as sunrise
1954 For people on the go
Matchless flavor
1955 Almost everyone appreciates the best
America’s preferred taste
1956 Feel the difference
Friendliest drink on earth
Makes good things taste better
1957 Sign of good taste
1958 Refreshment the whole world prefers
The cold, crisp taste of Coke
1959 Cold, crisp taste that deeply satisfies
Make it a real meal
1960 Relax with Coke
Revive with Coke
1961 Coke and food - refreshing new feeling
1962 Enjoy that refreshing new feeling
Coca-Cola refreshes you best
1963 A chore’s best friend
Things go better with Coke
1964 You’ll go better refreshed
1965 Something more than a soft drink
1966 Coke…after Coke…after Coke
1970 It’s the real thing
1971 I’d like to buy the world a Coke
1975 Look up America
1976 Coke adds life
1979 Have a Coke and a Smile
1982 Coke is it!
1985 We’ve got a Taste for You (Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola classic)
America’s Real Choice
1986 Catch the wave (Coca-Cola)
Red White & You (Coca-Cola classic)
1989 Can’t Beat the Feeling
1990 Can’t Beat the Real Thing
1993 Always Coca-Cola
Taste it all
1994 Play Red Hot Summer
1995 Play Red Hot Summer Again
1996 Enjoy
2001 Life is Good
2005 Welcome to the Coke side of life

Remind me to become a slogan copywriter for Coca Cola…seems they’ve got a steady supply of work.

For those who have been living in a tunnel for the past months, Facebook is a social network that is taking over the planet. Everyone I know (who has an Internet connection) claim it is like crack cocaine (very addictive, for those in the back who weren’t listening).

But social networking is nothing new, so what’s the Facebook appeal? Where I believe they did things right was to include a news feed where each of your “friends’” updates is broadcast, making the environment extremely dynamic and literally updating every minute. Compare this to MySpace where you construct a profile and then look at pictures of yourself for weeks, hoping for someone to post a comment or two.

Facebook is also a lot cleaner, easier to use and more stable. Sounds like I work for them, doesn’t it. Well, this ain’t no paid commercial people, just a man whose spotted something big which is exploding at the moment.

So, worldwide, how does Facebook compare to MySpace? Quite poorly at the moment, I’m afraid, but recently the numbers have spiked incredibly. Take a look at 7 Reasons Why Facebook is rocking (thanks for the link, Vinny Lingham).

An article on Wired.com caught my eye today – the US Army is putting an end to unrestricted blogging by its members. Loose lips sink ships and all that. I decided to dig deeper.

Want to know EXACTLY how it’s going down on the front lines, from the very men and women who have taken part in the action first hand? Military blogging is nothing new, but recently, mirroring the society-wide phenomenon, it has boomed (ahem). This has caused a bit of a security headache for anyone walking around with a couple of pips on their shoulders. The result - the implementation of severe restrictions on blogging by military personnel as outlined in Army Regulation 530-1 dated 19 April 2007. The restrictions enforced in this 79-page tome are applicable to both blogging and email:

“Consult with their immediate supervisor and their OPSEC Officer for an OPSEC review prior to publishing or posting information in a public forum.
(1) This includes, but is not limited to letters, resumes, articles for publication, electronic mail (e-mail), Web site postings, web log (blog) postings, discussion in Internet information forums, discussion in Internet message boards or
other forms of dissemination or documentation.
(2) Supervisors will advise personnel to ensure that sensitive and critical information is not to be disclosed. Each unit or organization’s OPSEC Officer will advise supervisors on means to prevent the disclosure of sensitive and critical information.”

Well, that’s the nitty gritty of it anyway. And it all makes perfect sense. You don’t want some Commander Keene blogging to all and sundry that “the frontal assault was mad success, dude, we’re doing it again this Thursday, but this time we’re gonna try it from the south.”

Loose lips.

Milblogging.com is the number one military blogging site, with 3,240 registered users. It has a top ten with 365 and a Wakeup king of the hill at the moment. This blog chronicles 18 months of service by a US soldier in Iraq.

Here’s what this military blog is about, generally speaking:
- Experiences of men and women in the harshest of conditions
- Memories of fallen comrades
- Being away from home and missing family and friends
- Politics and elections
- Crazy and cruel life in the military
- Personalities met while in service
- Insurgents
- The utter boredom and day to day grind of a military career

The author describes himself as “a husband, a son, a brother and a soldier”.

For soldiers caught in inhuman and unnatural situations, blogging reminds them of their humanity and brings a degree of normality into their lives. Their stories are real and insightful but sadly, like the letters of old sent to loved ones back home, are doomed to be blackened by the censor’s ink.