Cocktail Hour: August 10, 2012

This week Pinterest opened up their registration to the public; in the wake of the Mars rover landing, we celebrated with an Oreo; billboards and TV are latching on to facial detection technology; The New York Times sold About.com to Answers.com for $270 million; and here’s a salute to Dr. Seuss and his amazing advertising artwork over the years.

Did You See?

Google, Tumblr and Twitter are all jumping on the bandwagon with video stories. Here’s a few success stories, including how Twitter helped save a bookstore:

http://youtu.be/dB6_mmXiH50

If you’re a luxury brand and you aren’t on Instagram, you’re missing out. 40 percent of the Interbrand 100 are now on Instagram, tapping into the ‘rich kid’ demographic.

Technology is amping up engagement, not just in teenagers and adults, but children as well. PlaySquare, a touchable television app, teamed up with Alex Kay (founder of WordWorld), Scott Webb (previous Director at Nickelodeon) and Tina Peel (worked on the Sesame Street Workshop) to create an interactive, educational learning experience for children.

http://youtu.be/5BCpAqvBmfM

Last night was the official “National Night.” Mentos’ new campaign in Singapore is touting a night for getting it on, literally. Since Singapore has a low birthrate, they’re hoping this campaign encourages some baby making.

http://youtu.be/8jxU89x78ac

The New Yorker just launched their new app with the help of John Hamm and Lena Dunham.

http://youtu.be/KTiCulvL-lA

Catch Up

The Evolution of Social Apps and Content Marketing in Presidential Politics (Radian6): “In an era when technology and social media enthusiasts are constantly looking for the next big thing, it’s worth remembering that all industries – even politics – operate on a number of “fundamentals”. Political parties and political candidates live and die by the volume and accuracy of their voter I.D. data. Any social strategy in politics has to meet that need. This is the simple genius of the ‘Mitt’s VP’ app: it combines a major content hook while generating a wealth of data to be used for campaign communications, soliciting donations, and getting out the vote purposes. The information gathered will fuel both social media and traditional media outreach. The lesson here: an effective social media strategy doesn’t always have to be innovative, but it must be effective.”

26% of U.S. Consumers Access Social Networks on Mobile Today, Facebook 85% of That (TechCrunch): “Figures out today from eMarketer estimate that in the US, just under 82 million consumers, or 26 percent of the population, will access social networks from their phones this year, rising to nearly 117 million by 2014...Facebook today accounts for 85 percent of all mobile social networking activity, and that proportion is only growing: eMarketer projects that Facebook will account 87.4 percent by 2014 — or four out of every 10 mobile users and nearly two-thirds of smart phone users.”

Starbucks, Square Partner Up to Make Paying for Coffee Even Easier (PC World): “This fall, Starbucks will begin processing all debit and credit card transactions made in US coffeehouses with Square. Starbucks will also be investing $25 million in the startup, and Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz will join Square's board of directors.”

The Via Agency: Why the Long-Shot Pitches are Worth It — Even When You Don’t Win (Business Insider): “Many people complain that the advertising business is ridiculous because you have to do an enormous amount of free work to pitch a new client and if you don’t prevail, you get nothing. These pitches can be extraordinarily expensive, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs, but that’s the price of choosing to play in the highly saturated advertising world. It’s pure free market dynamics. We have the privilege of being in advertising, the most fun you can have with your business clothes on, but this low barrier to entry industry spawns fierce overcrowding.”

How Google’s ‘Penguin’ Update Will Change Publishing, for the Better (AdAge): “New SEO will put all publishers on more equal footing, favoring those that produce quality content that is highly engaging to a certain audience. If SEO was previously a linear method of feeding a crawler with words and links, Google's results are now the result of a feedback loop: show them that you can produce quality content that people are attracted to, and free search traffic will follow. There are two ways for a user to arrive at content — the first is actively searching for it on a search engine like Google or Bing. The second is to discover or stumble onto it via a link on another website, an e-mail from a friend, a link shared on Twitter or Facebook, etc. 'Discovery'encompasses all those times we reach a page without first typing a keyword into a search box."

Cool Down

Here’s a nice way to get refreshed. If you’re an ice cream fan, you’ll love this:

Blooming Fizz

You will need:

• 1 scoop lemon sorbet, softened
• 1 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
• Moet & Chandon imperial Champagne
• Edible flowers, for garnish

1. Combine sorbet and liqueur in a cocktail shaker and add ice.
2. Pour into a glass and top with Moet & Chandon Imperial champagne and add flowers for garnish.

Please drink responsibly. Recipe courtesy of Drink of the Week.

Enjoy your weekend and tell us what you’ve been reading this week.

Cheers!