“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, you’re staying alive, staying alive.”- The Bee Gees

When it comes to the future of magazines, we admit at first we were afraid, we were petrified, but just when we thought it was the last dance for big time magazines and traditional journalism, an eleventh hour remix of the genre has been slapped on the turntables. All right, enough with the disco metaphors. But it’s hard not feeling like boogying after witnessing the incredible magazine metamorphosis that has taken place over the last couple of months.

The easy-to-bash but hard-to-love iPad has played a big part in the resurrection of magazines. Magazines from all of the major publishers have all surfaced on the iPad and have proved to be some of the gadget’s most popular applications. Even Conde Nast’s beloved yet defunct Gourmet magazine had a comeback this summer when it returned as a free app for the tablet. Yet the question remained: Would iPad users pay for magazines?

Enter Zinio. Just this week, digital newsstand operator Zinio offered a game-changer when it took on paid content for The Sporting News and National Geographic apps for iPad. This new subscription model works a lot like the traditional version: Readers can get limited content with the apps for free, buy single issues for 99 cents or plunk down $2.99 a month for the whole enchilada, which receives regular updates and is delivered fresh to your iPad. If Zinio’s plan catches on, the iPad and devices like it look to be the future of subscriptions and daily publication.

Yet the iPad isn’t the only beacon of light for magazines. Social media is helping revive the genre as well. Glamour magazine is looking to rope in “young and posh” readers (translation: not old ladies) with a new promotional and advertising makeover that is heavy on the Facebook and Twitter marketing. Announced yesterday, the magazine’s multi-million-dollar campaign is revamping the publication to speak to a younger set, so naturally Glamour has already launched aggressive moves on all the big social media sites. From 3 voices on Twitter to an interactive Facebook page to turning to fashion bloggers to assist in the Glamour re-deux, the publication is hoping to reinvent itself for a new audience.

Also, trying to turn the beat around is Lucky magazine. The shopaholic bible’s unique multi-media duet with Kellogg’s Special K is nothing short of brilliant. Cereal aficionados are encouraged to swipe their smartphones across Microsoft tag 2D bar codes on boxes of Special K that will launch a video starring Lucky’s editor-in-chief Elise Loehnen talking about figure flattering jeans. Lucky has always shameless promoted shopping so this partnership wisely speaks to its core audience in a way old magazines would have never dreamed of.

Now it’s your turn to hop on our soul train. Do you think magazines have another dance left in them? Shout it out in the comments section below!

Everybody loves a good parody. So when the irresistibly corny Snuggie infomercials went viral, amateurs and professionals alike lined up to make fun of the goofy blanket with sleeves. Allstar Products Group, makers of the Snuggie as well as other campy products like EmeryCat and Bumpits, however, are laughing all the way to the bank. Snuggie is said to be one of the most successful as-seen-on-TV products of all time. Sales in 2009 were through the roof, all while the spoofs kept sprouting up online.

Now Allstar Products Group has decided to enlist these smart alecs for its next television commercial. The company launched The Snuggie Fan Club website, where aspiring television commercial directors can post their own takes on the now infamous Snuggie commercial. Visitors to the site can vote for their favorite Snuggie parody and the winner receives $5,000, a trip to New York City and a chance to appear in a Snuggie 2011 television commercial. Allstar has enlisted social media and the world of viral video to spread the word about the contest. It’s a pretty hip marketing plan for a company that also sells magic brownie pans.

The folks at Snuggie did a wise thing by embracing the good-natured ribbing. Brands who get in on the joke are able to take the punches while also laughing with their customers. Time and time again, we’ve seen the benefits of lightening up. From politicians on Saturday Night Live to controversial celebrities on commercials, a little good-natured self-effacing acknowledgment goes a long way. Frankly, I think more brands could stand to lighten up. For example, a blunt “Sorry we effed up” ad campaign from BP wouldn’t make things completely better, but it would at least make the company seem less evil.

But what do you guys think? Does being in on the joke translate to sales? What brands could uses a little self-parody? And fess up — have you ever bought anything wacky from TV?

While we clickety-clacked on our keyboards, relentlessly checking our e-mail and social media inboxes, Internet data tracker-types noticed something strange: For the first time in its history, Facebook’s ever-dominating growth suddenly petered out. The site added a mere 320,000 new U.S. users in June, down from the nearly 8 million in May. So why the drastic drop? According to this piece at PCWorld.com, the bad press swirling around Facebook and its security issues may have scared off Facebook virgins in droves. Even more surprising is that Facebook’s bread and butter demographic — 18- to 44-year-olds — kindly said “no, thank you” to the site. This coveted group of users was down about 150,000 from the previous month. The privacy story hit like a tornado, appearing everywhere from ABC’s Good Morning America to CNN. The fear is that one day Facebook may hand over user information to potential advertisers.

According to this Wall Street Journal story, that day may be just around the corner. The article announces a new ad platform that Facebook will use to supply big companies with your information depending on whether you’ve mentioned them on your Facebook page. For example, if you love Pepsi and say so on Facebook, this new platform will customize ads to your page. Some call it a brand loyalty advertising platform, while others are saying that Facebook is crossing the line.

But what does any of this mean for marketers and small businesses? Honestly? Not much. It doesn’t really matter if you ethically agree or disagree with Facebook’s privacy policies. You can disagree with the power of the thing. But Facebook remains the one-stop social networking destination for PR, advertising, client communications and campaign launches. What does matter is protecting yourself and your business/clients. So in lieu of hoping that Facebook will stop pimping out your information (because that’s not happening. Ever.), we have to thoughtfully post on Facebook pages. Running Facebook pages for clients means that we take care of their image and don’t leave them prey to a bunch of spam. For individuals, less is more with Facebook. Leaving off your work information, what you like to eat and where you shop will prevent you from becoming demographics roadkill.

But where do you darlings stand on this debate? Will breach of privacy bring Facebook to its knees? Any nightmare social networking privacy stories you’d like to share with the class? And, lastly, should the government step in to monitor social media like the FCC does television? Debate your behinds off below!

This week’s Brandsplat Video report episode covers the Lakers vs. the Celtics, E3, brandjacking, domain names, Brandsplat’s Smokes and Booze Giveaway. Check it out! Or click here for more Brandsplat vids

This week’s Brandsplat Video report episode covers the great Smokes and Booze Giveaway, Bros Icing Bros, and a Toy Story/Google co-op branding effort.  Wait, what?!?  That’s right, I said Smokes and Booze Giveaway!!  Check it out! Or click here for more Brandsplat vids

The reality TV juggernaut American Idol, which somehow manages to generate more tabloid covers and Entertainment Tonight reports than any television show ever, has run out of gas. Simply put, nobody cares this year and the hot button water cooler buzz that surrounded AI has now evaporated. Likewise, the new batch of summer movies is failing to excite in previews as the majority of them are sequels. From Toy Story to Iron Man, there’s a cultural sense of deja vu going on. Entertainment, still one of the this country’s highest grossing exports, seems a little tired; like it could use a time out and a nap.

New media and marketing have also experienced a dip in creativity as of late. Shortly put, when the best Facebook press of the week involves Hamster torture, the well appears to have dried up. The climate can truly lead to feeling uninspired and exhausted. So it is easy to hop on the everything sucks and nothing is original bandwagon in times like these. But have no fear- I rustled up a few examples of marketing lights at the end of the tunnel.

To start things off, I think a special shout out is order for Hanes and their commercial that touts the company’s foray into using environmentally friendly fabrics. The clip features a Hanes wearing guy who an announcer tells us is doing the right thing while his friend James, whom he strolls through the mall with, is not. James receives menacing looks from babies and toddlers (read: the future generation) who look as though they’re ready to take the guy out for not being environmentally friendly. It’s a funny spot with a good message from Hanes. It also marks a departure in style from those ”Look! Jennifer Love Hewitt in a bra!” ads of a few years back.

Also on the environmental tip, is this ad for Sun Chips. User created by Heather Kramer of Brooklyn, this sweet little commercial promotes the new 1005 compostible Sun Chips bag. Kramer, who was chosen by Al Gore as the winner of a nationwide contest, provides a voice over while a the chip bag takes a little journey. Chosen as AdWeek’s clip of the week, the Sun Chip commercial is a step in the right direction for the brand.

Lastly, Diesel jeans gives there “Be Stupid” campaign a shot in in the arm by leaning on Twitter and Facebook to spread the word that stupid is the new smart. The company’s website and Facebook page feature contests and videos submitted by fans on how to do crazy dances. Sounds a little uh stupid, right? That’s the point and Diesel in the meantime is reinventing themselves by returning to the edgy marketing that put them on the cultural map during the 1990′s. The whole  dumb thing turns out to be pretty ingenious.

Still not inspired? Looking to the past is a good way to start the juices flowing and to combat our current state of cultural boredom. Old movies, vintage television shows, and bad ass art books are a good place to start. But enough from me- how do you, dear readers, fight the media blahs? Any tips you’d like to share with the class?

Foursquare recently announced that April 16th will be the world’s first social media holiday–Foursquare Day! The holiday will be celebrated in 100 cities around the world including Seoul, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur,  Manchester, Tampa, and Boston. Yay! And we should care because…?? Well, I’m not entirely sure that you should as I’m not totally certain if I do just yet either or even if I understand the point of more…

Having a strong brand awareness is essential to the success of any business.  As a small business owner you may wonder how viable it is to employ an online brand management specialist. One of the upsides of the online world is that it’s a great equalizer. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation makes no difference to the opportunities available. What may be different is the way each individual business allocates their marketing dollars.

Return on investment (R.O.I.) is the only thing that an finance person is interested in. For the business owner, growth and profitability is the bottom line. For marketers, looking at the short,  medium and long term gain is equally important. This then becomes the clash between the finance department and the marketing department at some businesses. For Marketing managers, the R.O.I. is there and if undertaken successfully, the return can be much higher than other forms of online promotion.

There is a perception that online brand management is expensive. This may or may not be true depending on your strategy. For example, if you as a business owner shoot video footage, a brand management team can promote that video in all the right places. If you are part of a large business, you may use a professional team to create a video as well. However, and this is the great equalizer, the two videos are more often than not promoted in the same multimedia websites.

The opportunities for both are almost equal. What is different is how the video is promoted and whether or not the video has the content that others will recommend. Create a video that is different, a video that is funny  or in some way memorable and you’re well on the way. Video is just one example.

Small business not only can, but are, competing against larger business with a lot of success. Is online brand management a viable way to spend your budget? For most businesses it has to be. If you are considering spending any money on advertising or some form of promotion, speak to an online brand management specialist first. Your advertising budget stretches a lot further than you realize if a little time is spent promoting your brand online.

It has long been known that if you can get your timing right, then brand engagement can produce long term brand loyalty. Mothers appear to be a perfect candidate for brand engagement if you can gain their attention in all the right places. Gaining their attention could be a difficult hurdle to cross; do it well and you may gain loyal customers. The question is how to gain their attention.

The art of reating engaging content for moms is no small feat. Knowing how to get that content in front of them can be a science in itself. There have been numerous reports over the last 18-24 months reporting on demographic trends and their use of online services. The fastest growth in internet use is in the female demographic and a recent report suggests that moms are more likely to use search than non-moms. The report suggests that moms will use search twice as much as non-mums and that they are quite savvy in they way they use search.

Search is the number one activity for moms (85%) followed by email (83%). Shopping was down the list at number 4 (72%) and social 5th (67%). Those numbers are important if you want to catch their attention particularly if you want to catch their attention early.

When it comes to search, there are three other factors to be considered. The first is that mom’s place a lot of trust in Google. This then leads to them selecting results from above the fold and rarely going below the fold, let alone to page two. The third factor involves the use of long tail searches. Moms are most likely to use sentences, often in the form of questions, when conducting a search.

Based on that information, the logical places to target are the search engines using long tail keywords. If you can gain a listing above the fold on page one, then your halfway there. If getting to page one is too competitive, then PPC advertising may be an option that can achieve similar results.

What is often forgotten is that 67% of moms engage in social networking. That’s where brand engagement can create initial ties. Search engine results (paid or organic)  will then reinforce those ties creating a strong brand image in the mind. If you can put it all together in a successful campaign and then follow up with quality products and/or service, you may just win the hearts of moms as they become loyal long term customers.

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Check out this interview during the OMMA Video Event in L.A. with digital strategist Rob Schwartz, who explains the concept of “Brand Piggybacking” to enhance your digital engagement strategy. Enjoy.