Monthly Archives: February 2014

by | Friday, February 21, 2014 · 4:02 am

February 2014 – YouTube Trends Map

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Everyone is familiar with YouTube; the video-sharing site averages more than one billion viewers each month! But the videos we watch vary by age, gender, geography, and more. The most popular video watched by men is likely not the same as the most popular video watched by women. And don’t forget about variations in culture across the U.S. The viewers in New York have very different habits than do viewers in Texas.

YouTube posts a daily trends map based on demographics as reported by its account holders. Rankings are based on the number of views and can be separated by age, gender, and location. Through the aggregated data, YouTube Trends show us the most popular video in real time and gives ideas about trends that are developing within the YouTube viewing community. The map is a visual representation of the most viewed videos over the past 24 hours across the U.S.

Before you look at it, take a guess. What do you think the most popular, trending videos are this week? Then click on the interactive map to discover trends and viewing behaviors.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What are the YouTube videos they watch the most?
  2. What videos do they think are more popular for men vs. women? By various age groups?
  3. Bring up the YouTube trends map: http://www.youtube.com/trendsmap
  4. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a specific target market and geography and view the most popular videos in that area.
  5. Discuss how this information can be used by marketers.

Source:  YouTube.com

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by | Friday, February 21, 2014 · 3:58 am

CVS Quits Tobacco

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People shop at drug stores and pharmacies primarily to get medical supplies, medications, and other products that impact their health in a positive manner. But walk into most drugstores and one will see a plethora of tobacco products being sold – a decidedly unhealthy product!

Publically acknowledging this discontinuity, CVS recently decided that it could no longer sell a product as unhealthy as cigarettes and tobacco products and still maintain its main premise of helping people. Yes, the second-largest pharmacy in the U.S. announced that it will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco in more than 7,600 stores by October 1, 2014, thereby becoming the first nationwide drugstore to eliminate the toxic products.

The move will not be cheap for CVS. Analysts estimate that tobacco sales contribute roughly $2 billion in annual revenue to the company. But it is a move that has been lauded for helping the company move into a more authentic and consistent direction, helping to reposition the company into a broader based health and services provider instead of just a dispensary for pills.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. View the announcement on CVS’ Web site: http://info.cvscaremark.com/cvs-insights/cvs-quits
  2. Discuss why this is an important development in the drugstore industry? Will other companies follow CVS’ example? Why or why not?
  3. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  4. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for CVS – both before the elimination of tobacco, and after the elimination of tobacco. How will the change help the company reposition?
  5. Have each team draw their map on the board.
  6. Debrief exercise.

Source:  New York Times, other news sources, 2/5/14

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by | Friday, February 21, 2014 · 3:54 am

February 2014 Viral Videos

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Every week Advertising Age, in conjunction with company Visible Measures, publishes a list of the week’s top performing videos. The weekly chart highlights viral video ads that appear on online video sites. Each ad measures viewership of brand-syndicated video clips as well as social video placements that are driven by viewers around the world. True Reach™ quantifies the total audience that has been exposed to a viral video campaign. There are three key factors for viral video success:

  1. Reaching the tastemakers.
  2. Building a community of participation.
  3. Creating unexpectedness in the video.

Regardless of the type of product or service, the country of origin, or the importance of the message, what matters is reaching the audience in a way the both entertains and informs.

Check out this week’s top videos and discuss what makes them “go viral.”

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Bring up Ad Age’s weekly Viral Video chart: http://www.visiblemeasures.com/adage
  2. Have students examine how the ads are measured by Visible Measures.
  3. Divide students into teams. Have each team select an ad on the top video chart and analyze the ad.
  4. What is unusual?
  5. Who will it interest?
  6. What is the key message?
  7. How effective is the ad at getting the company’s brand and message across to viewers?
  8. In teams, have students design a viral video for a product of their choosing. What are the elements that are needed to go viral?

 

Source:  Advertising Age, Visible Measures – weekly update

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