Cocktail Hour: October 26, 2012

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Each week, The Agency Post curates the top marketing-related news of the week, musings on the advertising industry and the creative work worth your attention. Here’s the scoop.

HEADLINES

The Mobile Mini: As expected, Apple announced the introduction of a 7.9 inch tablet — the iPad Mini. The Mini’s size, portability and price point will bridge the gap between the on-the-go use of smartphones and the laid-back reading and browsing style of iPad users. (Check out these tips for designing for the new screen size.)

Like and Star: Twitter has been testing out new “Star” and “Like” buttons for the service and may use this metric in its expanding advertising program.

MUSINGS

7 Reasons to Consider Print for Your ‘Non-Traditional’ Content Strategy: Newsweek’s announcement to end it’s weekly print edition has some continuing to hammer the “print is dead” line. And a new study shows that for every $1 gained in digital revenue, more than $7 are lost in print. So how will a smaller and more focused print industry provide opportunities for marketers? The author argues that with the onslaught of digital communication, brands will find more opportunities when reaching the unplugged readers of a dying industry. [Content Marketing Institute]

User Vs. Customer: Does It Matter?: Founder of Square, Jack Dorsey, sent an email to Square’s staff banning the word “user” — favoring “consumer” instead in order to showcase the company’s dedication to its buyers and sellers. The author finds that it is a jagged road to define the user of a free product/service or even a user/consumer that purchases a product. While these words are necessary, are they even important if the company treats its users and consumers in a way that’s human? [Forbes]

For Brands, 2012 Is The Year Of The Story. So Who's Telling It Best?: Storytelling and brand journalism has been the topic of the year in advertising. It’s the basis for content marketing and driving conversations through social media. Pushing advertising at consumers online doesn’t create engagement, but does dressing advertising up as a story really that much more effective? Go beyond the brand story and use the lessons of storytelling to create a dialogue. [Fast Company]

CREATIVE

Tweetphony brings music to Twitter

Stoli’s Moon-like Mixology

http://youtu.be/7pduLVyxOyc

Feline Falls in Love with a Corolla

http://youtu.be/dZfkSAQWz9E

STATS

11% of surveyed feel that public relations is a valuable profession. [PR Daily]

22% of companies lack a digital strategy. [The Drum]

87% of brand and marketers create videos to use in content marketing. [eMarketer]

44.5% increase in number of political ads compared to 2008. [AdWeek]