Popular YouTube and Gaming Star Apologizes for Cheating
In many cases, PR crises or scandals happen due to accidents or otherwise unforeseen consequences. Sometimes, they are the result of clearly poor choices creating consequences people should have seen coming. While it doesn’t help to point fingers, it is instructive to review the response to those situations when the opportunity arises. Fortnite player and YouTube superstar FaZe Jarvis recently provided such an opportunity. According to various media reports, Jarvis was caught “cheating” by using in-game aimbots, a strategy that allows players to automatically target opponents, thus “greatly increasing” shooting accuracy. The use of these bots is strictly prohibited in bigtime competition, so Jarvis was forced to face the music after receiving a very public lifetime ban by Epic Games,…
Read MoreGarbage Crisis
Garbage in, garbage out is a well-worn phrase that originated in the early days of computers when first-adapter users had to write their own paths and batch commands. But unlike old sayings that come and go, GIGO, as it’s also known, is even more appropriate today with the advent of artificial intelligence or AI. Some law enforcement agencies have come under intense criticism because their facial recognition programs leaned toward people of color. Why? AI reacts and responds according to the information that’s entered into it. If is weighed more heavily with information on people of color, that’s the kind of results it will deliver. Apple was one of the latest companies to get caught up in this because of…
Read MoreMetrics To Check Before Contracting an Influencer
Influencer marketing is a wonderful corner of the digital marketing industry because of its ability to be tailored to whatever the needs of a brand are. Influence is acquired by creating content — and finding the best ways to share it with as many people as possible — that resonates and connects with consumers. Whether the content connects on an aspirational level — ”I want to feel like that person does! That product might help me accomplish that.” — or on a more emotional level — “This person really gets me. I would like to be more like them.” — the precious metric that is loyalty can be accomplished with just one single Instagram post. Because of the influence these…
Read MoreHAMED WARDAK: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
The meaning of this title from a play about Sir Thomas Moore has evolved over the years to now describe a person who’s ready to calmly deal with just about every situation imaginable. That title is indeed fitting for Harmed Wardak who was born in Afghanistan two years before the Soviet Union invaded the country in December 1979 , the son of General Abdul Rahim Wardak. His father fought the Russians in the 1980’s during the Soviet occupation and was later named the country’s Defense Minister in 2004. Though just 42 years of age, Harmed Wardak has accomplished enough to last several lifetimes according to an interview by digital marketing firm ContentHow. Wardak was one of more than 6 million…
Read MoreTake the Lead
So, the company board of directors or senior management directed marketing to take the lead in the company being seen as an industry leader by recommending that it advocate for something aligned with their industry. Now what? Next Steps What a tall order! Before walking down the plank alone, here are some ideas. The biggest challenge will be in coming up with something provocative and novel, a position or road that’s never been taken before. Achieving this will set a company apart from everyone else. Tap every trustworthy asset and ally available. These may include loyal clients or customers, vendors, partners, and suppliers. Get their input, including not just about one or more possible products, but also potential events, conferences,…
Read MoreLet’s Have an Open Relationship
This may not be what one may wish to hear from a significant other, but in the digital world, “open”, as it relates to emails, are important. Even more critical is the click-to-open rate (CTOR) because it better reflects customer interest and engagement in a company’s products or services. Effective CTORs are generally indicators of good design and copy. One study showed a direct correlation between that and click-to-open rates. That same study showed the mean CTOR globally at 14.1% and with the US at 12.7%. If a company is a member of a large trade or professional association, they need to discover what the average CTOR is for their industry and compare it with theirs. Next Steps If the…
Read MoreSnapchat is Growing: Should Brand Advertising Grow with It?
Despite weak forecasts ahead of the release of its most updated user numbers and revenue reports, Snap Inc. has come out ahead in its latest report, adding 7 million daily active users and showing growth for the third straight quarter. The social networking platform is immensely popular among younger millennials and Gen Z and has become a dark horse favorite among advertisers, who seek to reach users in their native habitats. Publishers have begun creating content specifically designed to be consumed on Snapchat in short, bite-sized video format. Using the Discover tab within the app, users can view stories published by brands designed to entice the viewer to click through the video and visit an external website. Other brands have…
Read MoreUniversity in Italy is Offering a Degree Program In Influencing?
Yes, you read that right. eCampus, an online university with a roster of over 30,000 students, will now offer a three year degree program for social media influencing. It’s a marked shift away from traditional degree programs such as engineering or medicine, but it’s nonetheless a popular pathway for many young people. Is this new program beneficial for today’s environment of heavy reliance on social media influencers, or will it only encourage further forays into narcissism and poor self-esteem typically brought about by excessive time spent on social media? Such is the perceived impact of such a program that soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is supporting the program himself, even offering up nearly 40 grants for students as a part of…
Read MoreIs Everybody Happy?
Ted Lewis, a popular musician in the 1940s is credited with being one of the first, but certainly not the last person to say those words. While it’s not realistic to think that all employees within a company are happy, almost 80% of company executives surveyed about top business priorities cited employee experience as being number one. However, what they said and what’s being practiced are two different stories. What’s Employee Experience? In short, employee experience means recognizing and creating a workplace that environmentally and emotionally embraces and invites the entire workforce. One of the first industries to go down this path were high tech firms. Classified ads for workers included enticements like a fitness center, nursery, flexible schedules, and…
Read MoreBrands are Using Loyalty to Cut Acquisition Costs
The ongoing battle among brands today is the one raging over customer loyalty. The environment of digital marketing is shifting, and this causes competition in various forms. As more brands become aware of the importance of building a loyal customer base — while also keeping their new customer acquisition costs low — some creativity is needed to entice those customers not only to stay loyal, but to bring more people into the fold via referrals. This challenge has led to an increase in loyalty and rewards programs. For example, the recently announced Target Circle is one of the latest iterations of loyalty programs promising perks and benefits for those who choose to spend their money in Target stores. Another way…
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