Facebook Digs Deeper into Privacy Concerns

By Bob Fetter, SVP of Pluris Marketing

According to a post in the September 23^rd issue of the Financial Times, Facebook is partnering with a “controversial” data company called Datalogix that can “track whether people who see ads on the social networking site end up buying those products in stores.”  

Of course, this announcement has raised concerns with privacy advocates who have continually been concerned about marrying online profiles and presence with offline data since the purchase of Abacus (a Datalogix competitor) by Doubleclick (an online ad-serving company later bought by Google) in the late 90s.

5 Reactions to Facebook’s “Page Post Targeting Enhanced”

By Bob Fetter, SVP of Pluris Marketing

Facebook creates so much news that it’s easy to miss a new set of features aimed at marketers- even when those very changes can have big implications on how brands speak to you on the social platform.  Last week, nestled between the social buzz of the Olympics and ups and downs of its stock price, the social network rolled out a bevy of new ways for marketers to take advantage of  things such as your age, interests, gender, relationship status and more to inform how they ‘speak’ to you.

What Can Brands Learn from SocialTV?

by Bob Fetter, VP Pluris Marketing

 

You have probably noticed hashtags during broadcasts, tweets streaming across the screen, second-screen applications where viewers can check in to watch a TV show together online and numerous other examples of the TV industry transforming itself into something more than a lean-back experience.  The multi-billion dollar TV industry is fast undergoing a realignment from appointment television on the couch to a real-time, 24/7 entertainment anywhere business.  So what can brands outside of the TV ecosystem learn from this?

Facebook Steals Page from “Old School” Acquisition Strategy

A shiver went down my spine this morning as I read the post “Facebook to Credit Newbies, Buy $1 get $4 free” on AllFacebook.com. Apparently, developers claim that Credits haven’t been reeling in enough paying users, so Facebook has come up with this promotion in an attempt to expand its base.

My thoughts immediately turned to the businesses of cable and wireless.  You know, the model where all the best deals go to NEW customers?  This is due to the massive competition of for lucrative monthly revenue streams of new subscribers.  And what happens when an existing subscriber calls in and asks for the same deal?  You know the answer, not much.  In reality, all that actually occurs is that subscribers are “trained” to follow these deals, and go to a new promotion from a different company when the current one ends.