August 25, 2009 In Tinsley Blog

Flagler Awards 2009

by John Underwood

The Agency walked away tonight with three (3) Flagler Awards at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism held at The Fountainbleu Hotel. We were actually finalists in four categories and won the three below:

Radio: Tropical Storm Fay
TV: Go Green
Multicultural: The only time we’ll tell you to go straight and Flaming and Fabulous

About The Flagler Awards:
“The Flagler Awards were established by the Florida Commission on Tourism to recognize outstanding tourism marketing in Florida. Every year, the Flagler Awards honor many of the countless individuals and organizations that help sustain and improve Florida’s position as one of the world’s most popular travel destinations. It is a way to recognize the determined efforts of those who use their skill, resourcefulness, creativity and innovative spirit to market Florida to the world, and in doing so help ensure the continued success of the state’s most important industry.”

Thanks to ALL for their hard work. Harold and Rita Irwin (TDC Chair) were in attendance with Harold accepting the “Henrys”.

August 18, 2009 In Tinsley Blog

66% of companies are Using Social Media in 2009

Nearly two out of three companies are Using Social Media in 2009.

As marketers embrace new media platforms, social media and viral videos have seen the largest jump in ranking, according to a survey done by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), BtoB Magazine and in partnership with marketing services firm ‘mktg.’ The survey had the following findings:

  • 66 percent of marketers utilized social media in 2009, as compared to 20 percent in 2007
  • Fifty percent employ viral videos, up from only 25 percent in 2007
  • 55 percent of respondents funded new media formats by shifting funds from their traditional media budget, while 48 percent shifted funds from other marketing communications budgets. Twenty-six percent of marketers created an incremental budget.
  • The top concerns for marketers when considering newer media platforms are the inability to prove ROI (45 percent) and having metrics to properly allocate the mix of traditional and digital media (43 percent)
  • Among social networks being embraced by all marketers, the top sites used are:
    • Facebook (74 percent)
    • YouTube (65 percent)
    • Twitter (63 percent)
    • LinkedIn (60 percent)
July 30, 2009 In Tinsley Blog

YouTube Viral Videos Are Great For Advertising

by Gio Gutierrez

In a blog post today, YouTube presents a case study on Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz’s wedding party. The video (see below), set to R&B star Chris Brown’s hypnotic dance jam “Forever,” became an overnight sensation, gaining more than 10 million views on YouTube in less than one week. What’s happening is that most advertisers don’t want to associate themselves with user-generated videos (the bulk of YouTube), just the professionally produced videos on YouTube, Hulu, etc. and YouTube wants to change your mind. YouTube presents this as proof that advertising works on viral videos even if they are audience produced.

This traffic is also very engaged — the click-through rate (CTR) on the “JK Wedding Entrance” video is 2x the average of other Click-to-Buy overlays on the site. And this newfound interest in downloading “Forever” goes beyond the viral video itself: “JK Wedding Entrance” also appears to have influenced the official “Forever” music video, which saw its Click-to-Buy CTR increase by 2.5x in the last week.

So, what does all of this mean? Despite compelling data and studies around consumer purchasing habits, many still question the promotional and bottom-line business value sites like YouTube provide artists. But in the last week, over a year after its release, Chris Brown’s “Forever” has again rocketed up the charts, reaching as high as #4 on the iTunes singles chart and #3 on Amazon’s best selling MP3 list.

July 21, 2009 In Tinsley Blog

Fortune 100 CEO’s and Social Media

by Gio Gutierrez

UberCEO recently did a study with the headline “It’s Official: Fortune 100 CEOs Are Social Media Slackers.” It goes on to analyze the social-media habits of CEOs at large companies and concluded, shockingly, that they don’t use social media much. They looked at Fortune’s 2009 list of the top 100 CEOs to determine how many were using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, or had a blog. The results show a miserable level of engagement. Here are the topline results:

  • Only two CEOs have Twitter accounts
  • 13 CEOs have LinkedIn profiles, and of those only three have more than 10 connections
  • 81% of CEOs don’t have a personal Facebook page
  • Three quarters of the CEOs have some kind of Wikipedia entry, but nearly a third of those have limited or outdated information
  • Not one Fortune 100 CEO has a blog

I’m surprised but then again… I’m not surprised. Too many CEOs think there are more important things to do besides identify with and build an audience for themselves and their company. I also suspect the reasons CEO’s aren’t using social media is because of fear and lack of knowledge seeing that the CEO’s that stood out of the pack are all from technology companies – Michael Dell (Dell), Gregory Spierkel (Ingram Micro) and John Chambers (Cisco).

July 10, 2009 In Tinsley Blog

Tinsley Creates New Keys Co-op Website

By ROB BUSWEILER Free Press Staff

Cooperative advertising with the Monroe County Tourist Development Council has been made a little bit easier.

TDC officials met with members of the Middle and Lower Keys District Advisory Council on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to unveil the new Web site that allows private businesses to piggyback on national and international advertising campaigns. The county’s promotional materials are handled by Tinsley Advertising.

Businesses can get started on the process by going online to www.keysco-op.tinsley.com.

The new Web site allows for businesses to pay for placement in the ad campaigns handled by Tinsley online. The Web site lays out the rates and placement dates for the separate campaigns.

“This streamlined a lot of things,” said Tinsley Account Executive Sharon Joseph.

Businesses can submit their desired ad copy and payment information on one form. The private business information is then placed below the main artwork from the TDC ad. Officials from Tinsley said it gives the small private businesses a national presence at a fraction of the cost.

Tinsley execs also laid out a video presentation that showcased some of their upcoming targets for this year’s advertising campaign.

Those targets included trying to reach the traditional niche markets that the Keys have been successful with in years past, such as families, scuba divers, fishermen and the wedding crowd.

One of the new additions to the market grab is Tinsley’s attempt to try and reach eco-friendly tourists. The video displayed a new television advertisement focused on attracting “green” tourists, which showcased visitors using bicycles and kayaks to get around, in addition to those enjoying the coral reef.

“The ads are very catchy,” said Middle Keys DAC Board Member Vicki Tashian.

The DACs and the TDC have already committed to upping advertising budgets this year, with a greater focus on an internet presence.

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