Promo - February 2008 - (Page 17)

The Players B rian Q uinton Interactive to scale premium advertising at all. But the real innovation seems to be coming from Facebook.” By contrast, Facebook opted instead to capitalize on what it calls the “social graph”—the self-created links that Facebook users forge to their friends’ pages. This viral sharing is behind the strong success of both Facebook widgets and the Facebook “news feeds,” introduced in September 2006, that push members’ Facebook actions out to their friend list proactively. Last November, Facebook announced two new ad products that also depend on the social graph. First, legitimate companies will be allowed to construct free profile pages on Facebook (something the network has not had before) and recruit brand “fans” among Facebook users. They can also buy “social ads” that can be pushed out to the Facebook user’s friends. The ads can carry the user’s name and photo with details about his or her actions on the marketer’s page, and Facebook says they’ll carry more word-of-mouth trust than plain-vanilla banners of display ads. But the real innovation was to combine these ads with an off-site extension program called “Beacon,” which monitors actions Facebook users take on the third-party Web sites of participating marketers. This can be anything from buying tickets to “Cloverfield” on Fandango.com to listing an item on eBay, writing a product review or comment, posting a high score in an online game or simply watching a video. Those actions can also be turned into social ads and pushed to the user’s Facebook friends. Early on, scores of users complained that they had not given permission. Liberal activist group MoveOn.org spurred 75,000 Facebook members to add a badge to their pages labeled “Facebook: Stop invading My Privacy!” The uproar was quickly defused, the ads disappeared, and the site was re-set for visitors to “opt in.” Equally bad from Facebook’s point of view was that a number of the brands lined up for the social-ad platform decided to hold off until the Beacon portion worked out its difficulties. Coca-Cola was the first “landmark partner” to demur, but Overstock.com and Travelocity quickly followed. At press time, Verizon, eBay, Fandango and Blockbuster are still offering Beacon social ads on Facebook. “We were landmark partners and we strongly believe in Facebook,” says Carol Kruse, global interactive manager for Coca-Cola. “We’re interested in the social ads and the business profile pages. But never did we say we would pursue the Beacon program, and we’re taking a wait-and-see attitude toward it.” In early December Facebook announced a more robust opt-in policy for its ads. The network also got privacy monitor agency TRUSTe to help draw up recommended disclosure SOCIAL NET AD SHARE, 2008 (IN MILLIONS) Niche & marketer social nets Gen’l and portal social nets $150 $255 MySpace Facebook $850 $305 SOURCE: EMARKETER, DECEMBER 2007 wording for Beacon partners and to watch those sites for future transgressions. What users won’t get, apparently, is a global opt-out on any and all social ad participation. Shakedown jitters notwithstanding, Facebook still considers ads based on social connections to be its best bet for monetizing its network. Williamson gives Facebook credit for trying to build a new model specifically geared to online communities. “They’re working hard to develop new ways of social network advertising, and that’s what’s going to move the market forward.” And Riley points out that Facebook encountered even more resistance to the news feed back in 2006, both on grounds of its clutter and its possible privacy incursions. Yet that feature is now one of the most popular elements of the network. “Facebook may need to educate consumers about what it must do to sustain the site economically,” she says. “It may have to inform members that they have a choice between this kind of ad and that kind—but that they can’t choose no ads.” l P W For more articles on interactive marketing go to www.promomagazine.com/retail Newsletter Web RSS Webinar Conference Podcast Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / February 2008 17 http://Fandango.com http://MoveOn.org http://Overstock.com http://www.promomagazine.com/retail http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - February 2008

Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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