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In This Issue
Advertising should not be "Taxing"
Andrew Mason's "Deal" expires
Fox's 'American Idol' is off key
Facebook to know even more about you
Tweet of the Month

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Hooters has hired Skiver Advertising for creative to produce its new "Step Into Awesome" ad campaign.  The work, including the "Big Fan" TV spots, emphasizes the food (Hooters recently expanded its menu) and congenial atmosphere.  The commercials will be seen in Chicagoland and across the country during the March Madness NCAA Basketball tournament.  Marketing Keys has purchased the TV schedule for Hooters, and works with the Original Hooters company owned stores in Chicago, Tampa Bay and Manhattan.
Fight for Air Climb 2013

The American Lung Association announced last week that cast members from NBC's Chicago Fire will be climbing as a team in the Fight for Air Climb at Presidential Towers on March 10th! Fire up your fundraising and you could win a MEET & GREET! For every $250 you raise by March 8th, you will be entered into a drawing to meet the cast!  For more information visit the Official Fight for Air Climb Webpage 

KEY REFERRAL! 

Do you know a Business Owner or Marketing Director that would be open to new strategies and ideas to reach your customers through an everchanging media landscape? If so, please forward our newsletter to them. Many of our clients have come to us through your kind introductions to your friends and business associates. In return, please let us know how we can help in terms of referring business back to you! roger@marketingkeys.com.

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Greetings!

Welcome to the March issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently.

 

Advertising should not be "Taxing"

  

 Desperate for cash, the governors  of Ohio and Minnesota are eyeing  a tax on advertising.  And even

as agencies, broadcasters, newspaper publishers and big advertisers prepare to push back, there is concern that such moves could not only pass, but spread to other states and to the federal level.

 

If Ohio's legislature approves Republican Gov. John Kasich's proposed budget, sales of print, billboard, radio and TV advertising would be subject to a 5% sales tax.  Further, the tax would likely apply to the fees agencies charge clients.  Mr. Kasich wants to expand Ohio's sales tax so he can raise enough revenue to cut other taxes, including personal income and business taxes. The Ohio budget doesn't require approval until July 1, so opponents of the tax have time to kill it -- something that's happened in the past when such proposals were floated.

 

Dan Jaffe, exec VP-government relations for the Association of National Advertisers, said taxing advertising is counterproductive.

 

"The whole purpose of advertising is to generate sales," Mr. Jaffe said.  "So if you're becoming more reliant on sales taxes, you shouldn't be doing anything to stop an effort to sell."

 

Few states have taxed advertising, and none have done so successfully.  Florida tried it in 1987, but national advertisers canceled conventions in the state.  Advertising was also canceled. Broadcasters alone saw $93 million in ad sales wiped out.  Facing an uproar, Florida repealed the tax. Roger Keys, President of Marketing Keys, started his career in advertising in Florida right after the tax was repealed. "It was one of the dumbest ideas back then for a state to raise money," Keys said. "And it remains a dumb idea today." 

 

But states aren't the only issue.

 

"If something of this magnitude is taking place in the states, they certainly would be aware of it in Washington," Mr. Jaffe said. "We're keeping ourselves on high alert." 




Andrew Mason Exits Groupon:
His "Daily Deal" expires.

 

Give Andrew Mason credit.  He came in like a smart aleck, and that's the way he's going out.  

 

The Groupon founder was fired from the company's CEO position February 28, 2013 after a bad earnings report, marking the end to Mason's colorful reign over the maligned daily deals space.

 

Mason's resignation email to employees was published online.  Its opening: "People of Groupon, After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family.  Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why ... you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves.  As CEO, I am accountable."

 

As Mason alluded to in the more earnest part of his missive, investors haven't been happy with Groupon's numbers since the company went public 16 months ago.  February 27, 2013, the Chicago-based firm missed forecasters' expectations again, and it seemed like just a matter of time before Groupon's board of directors would call to dismiss Mason.  Indeed, the development proved to be the straw breaking the proverbial camel's back for its founder in a series of unfortunate events that essentially began with Groupon's jokey Tibet ad that backfired during the 2011 Super Bowl.

 

Eric Lefkofsky, Groupon's executive chairman, and Theodore Leonsis, its vice chairman, will run Groupon while the firm looks for Mason's replacement.


Fox's 'American Idol' "off key"

"American Idol," suffering a rapid loss of viewers, drew its smallest Wednesday audience in more than a decade, pulling down the total ratings for News Corp. Fox network.
 
"Idol," the once dominant singing show now in its 12th year, drew 13.1 million viewers February 27, 2012, the fewest since August 2002, according to Nielsen data supplied by the networks.  The audience of viewers ages 18 to 49, a group targeted by advertisers, was the smallest since July 2003.
 
"Idol" is proving to be a drag on Fox's ratings this season, with the network's audience down more that 22% in total viewers and the targeted demographic, the Nielsen data showed.  Together, the four largest networks are down 6.4% in total viewers and 9.4% in the age group.
 
For "Idol" alone, the ratings are down 18% in total viewers on Wednesdays and 15% on Thursdays, according to Nielsen data.  Among the younger audience, the show has slid 16% on Wednesdays and 13% on Thursdays.
 
Even so, among broadcast networks on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, "American Idol" drew the biggest audience and the most viewers ages 18 to 49.
 

Facebook Logo
 
Facebook learns even more about you
 

Facebook will now be able to target some ads based on your offline shopping habits thanks to some partnerships it announced last week.

 

The social networking giant has inked a deal with data mining firms Datalogix, Acxiom and Epsilon that will apply their records about customers' offline purchases to Facebook's Custom Audiences product. Facebook is also working with BlueKai "as a marketing data platform to bring a brand's first party site data to use for targeting on Facebook," according to the company.  Custom Audiences, which was released last August, lets advertisers identify Facebook users by their Facebook ID, phone number or email address.  Now, advertisers can match that information with data from the firms, which was gleaned through shopper loyalty programs.

 

As Facebook explained in a blog post, the deals let advertisers target by generic product segment: "We will work with these select third parties to create pre-defined targeting categories on Facebook. Businesses of all sizes will now be able to target categories like "soda drinkers" or "auto-intenders."

 

According to Facebook, the change means advertisers can skip a step to identify an audience segment by its purchase intent.  Facebook also claims that it won't share personal data about users with marketers.  As with other Facebook ads, you can also opt out at any time.

 

 

Tweet of the Month.
MarketingKeys Roger Keys

Turn your #socialmedia followers into brand ambassadors http://ow.ly/hW4kD

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Until next month, may all of your marketing dreams and goals
come true! And - if they don't - we are here to help.

 

Sincerely,

 


ROGER KEYS
MARKETING KEYS