The Super Bowl has become a TV viewing event that draws audiences to the commercials as much as the game. In fact, 16 percent of viewers say they pay more attention to the ads than the game itself.

Each year, advertisers clamor for seconds in the highly sought-after timeslot, some even forking over as much as $3.5 million. That’s quite the investment.

To help bolster ROI, marketers used social media to further conversations online and engage audiences. Building on the metadata trend, this year, 1 in 5 commercials featured a hashtag and viewers were encouraged to vote for their favorite ads by hashtag on Twitter. In the end, it was Samsung that received the most votes, trailed closely by H&M, M&M and Kia.

Which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite? Here are just a few from Volkswagon, Career Builder, Go Daddy, E* Trade, Audi, Dannon and Cars.com. Leave your comments or a link to your favorite commercial below. 

It’s hard to believe that Facebook has only been around for eight years. However, last Wednesday the Harvard-dorm-room-start-up filed preliminary paperwork for its hugely anticipated IPO. An IPO, or initial public offering, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. The company plans to release its shares in May.

By the time of the sale, The New York Times says the internet giant could be worth as much as $100 billion. That’s excluding the $5 billion in capital the IPO sale is expected to generate. That means, if successful, Facebook will hold the record for the largest internet IPO.

Without question, the most interesting part of this deal is the staggering figures revealed in Facebook’s SEC filings. Figures, the company has kept virtually secret until now, such as:

·        Facebook currently reports an active user base of 845 million. In September, that number was estimated at 800 million users.

·         Every day, Facebook users upload more than 250 million photos and contribute more than 2.5 billion ‘Likes’ and comments.

·         Currently, the company estimates that there are 100 billion Facebook friendships on its site.

·         And in 2011, Facebook earned a whopping $1 billion on $3.7 billion in sales.

We can't help but wonder, do the numbers revealed in Facebook’s SEC filings surprise you? Is going public the right move for the company? And, when the shares do become available, will you be buying stock? 

“What is that actor's name again? You know, the one from that movie?” More often than not, our response is, "I’ll Google it."

Today, we can find the answer to almost any question with only a few keystrokes. But, is this expediency helping or hurting us? A new study out of Columbia argues that, in the long-run, it may actually be a disabling convenience. 

According to the neuroscientist-led study, the world’s largest search engine has transformed the way we remember information – because we don’t. After four experiments testing participants’ memory of searchable information, the study found that we remember where to search for information but have forgotten the information itself.

“People actively do not make the effort to remember when they think they can look up information later,” the study’s authors write.

So how dependent on the internet are we really? The study went so far as to compare losing a SmartPhone and hence, our ability to easily access the internet, to the experience of losing a friend.

Do you suffer from the “Google effect?” Leave your comments below.

The Internet: an invention that has undoubtedly changed history. We rely on the internet every day. We use it to make a dinner reservation, get directions, shop, interact with friends. But what if it just disappeared overnight? How would you get by without Google, YouTube, Facebook, or Wikipedia?

As users began logging on to their favorite websites Wednesday morning, they were greeted by censored, blacked out and, in some cases, shut down domains with anti-SOPA messages, as January 18 marked the largest online protest in history.

In case you have been living under a rock or you are one of the last remaining holdouts, you have undoubtedly heard of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) recently introduced in Washington. SOPA and PIPA were introduced to the House and Senate in an attempt to curb the download of pirated movies and music. It would allow the movie and music industries to send Internet Service Providers (ISP's) and search engine demands to deny access to any site found to be sharing copyrighted information. If one person uploaded the new Lady Gaga video on YouTube to share with friends, the entire YouTube website could shut down. 

Thousands of websites participated in the blackout with messages similar to the one found on the English Wikipedia home page that read: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.”

Even the President of the United States is opposed to the current legislation.

The Internet masses made their voices heard as Twitter aggregated more than 2.4 million tweets about SOPA in one day. It's obvious this will not be an easy issue to settle as Hollywood prepares to go to battle against Silicon Valley. But, with tech giants Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, and others prepared to take a stand, this could truly be the battle of the century.

Where do you stand on the issue? Post your feedback in the comments section below.

In last week’s post we discussed how social media is finding its way into every part of our lives. Facebook is predicted to reach 1 billion users by August of this year while Twitter and Google+ are gaining in popularity around the world.

Despite its global acclimation, the London Organizing Committee recently announced a limited social media ban for its 2012 Olympic Games. London volunteers from its 70,000 person volunteer crew, Games Makers, will be prohibited from posting roles, locations or details about the athletes and other events online during the Games’ July 27-August 12 run.

“We understand that many of our Games Makers will want to use social media to share their exciting experiences at London 2012 with their friends and family,” a spokesman told Reuters. “As is standard in most organizations, we have provided some practical guidelines to give basic advice on interacting in a social media environment with the aim of protecting the interests of our workforce and operation.”

Athletes will still be permitted to tweet or post Facebook updates. 

In this day and age, snapping a quick photo and uploading it to Facebook is common practice. Now, volunteers will have to exercise social media restraint. Many people are criticizing the committee for the decision, stating that volunteers could provide one-of-a-kind accounts of the famed event.

Will this restriction set the precedent? Flash back to the 2008 Beijing Games. While social media was certainly on the rise, no policy was put into place as Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites are banned in China.

Do you think the social media ban will limit the public’s discussion of the 2012 London Olympics? Did the London Olympic Committee make the right decision? Leave your comments below. 

There’s no question about it, social media is here to stay. From raising money for disaster-stricken countries to being a forum for celebrity gossip, there is no space social media has yet to invade – including the 2012 presidential campaign.

An early adopter, Barack Obama set a precedent in 2008 for effectively using social media to engage constituents and build support. Now, social media giants Twitter and Google, are jumping on the political bandwagon. 

Just in time for the Iowa caucus, Google launched a hub for the 2012 election that tracks the popularity of presidential candidates using search trends, mentions in Google News and YouTube views. Google.com/Elections organizes candidate information in a centralized dashboard and gives users the chance to weigh in on the candidates and the issues.

“We're launching an election hub where citizens can study, watch, discuss, learn about, participate in and perhaps even make an impact on the digital campaign trail as it blazes forward to Tuesday, November 6, 2012 and the election of the next President of the United States,” a Google spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Launching the same day and using Twitter as its aggregating platform, The Washington Post unveiled a new Twitter application, @MentionMachine. Like Google, the app monitors candidate’s mentions in the media and across the web revealing which candidates are being talked about most and where and displaying the most popular stories and tweets. The app is anticipated to be a good indicator of public sentiment amongst candidates.

Cory Haik, executive producer for news innovation and strategic projects for The Washington Post, says the app has the potential to be “an early indicator well ahead of polls or other traditional campaign measures.”

Only time will tell whether the new Google and Twitter data crunchers will influence election outcomes but, you can bet we will be watching. Will you look to these platforms for up-to-the-minute information on the candidates? Leave your comments below.

It’s that time of the year. The time when we take a moment to extend well-wishes to our friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances to let them know that they are important to us.

The postal service expects to handle about 16.5 billion cards, letters and packages between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. However, the USA Today estimates that one billion fewer holiday cards will be sent in the mail this year in favor of the popular e-cards, distributed via email or an online service. 

We’ve created all kinds of holiday greetings on behalf of our clients and our firm. Here’s a digital card we created last year for our client, Wirtz Beverage Group. And, below you will see how our firm spread holiday cheer to clients and friends this year.

Whether you’re a fan of traditional cards or e-cards, we can all agree that there’s something special about receiving a holiday greeting. So, from all of us at Res Publica Group and 36i – happy holidays and best wishes for a safe and happy New Year. 

To strengthen its relationship with advertisers, today Twitter joined the ranks of its social media siblings – Facebook and Google – by launching brand pages. We recently wrote about Google+ extending its functionality for brand and business pages in this post.

So, what are Twitter brand pages and how can you use them as part of a greater marketing strategy?

Brand pages have a few key elements:

1.  Design: Pages can now be customized with large header images. Advertisers can use this to prominently display logos, taglines and product shots.  Brands can also choose a tweet to keep at the top of their time line. Customize your “top tweet” by embedding a photo from Flickr or a YouTube video.

2.       Interaction:  Brand’s @ replies and mentions are now separated from its feed. That means companies can respond to users without “diluting” it’s messaging.

Already, top organizations like American Express, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike and Paramount Pictures have signed up.  Learn how these organizations are using Twitter brand pages to add to their marketing strategies, here.

According to Twitter insiders, the move is just one part of a more comprehensive redesign strategy. Stayed tuned, we know we will. 

More than a communications firm, Res Publica Group assists clients with top to bottom communication strategies executing a wide range of website design and development projects on their behalf.

To support current and upcoming efforts, we are seeking a web designer and developer intern to assist our team with the upkeep and creation of a wide range of web-based projects.

Requirements and skills of an ideal candidate include:

·     Proficiency in HTML, JavaScript.

·     Knowledge of ASP.net, PHP and CMS Platforms.

·     Basic understanding of web design standards and concepts.

·     Strong verbal communication skills.

·     Basic understanding of flash. Basic video editing skills a plus.

While working in teamwork with the staff at Res Publica Group, responsibilities of a web design intern include:

·     Collaborate with the Chief Creative Officer on client websites and web-based projects.

·     Assist with the upkeep and updating of client websites and web-based projects.

Intern's schedule is flexible; however preferred availability is 3 full days per week at our Michigan Avenue offices. The duration of the internship is 3 months, with potential to go beyond. Intern will receive a compensation of $10 per hour. 

Interested candidates should contact Chief Creative Officer, Travis Schoening at Travis@res36i.com with a resume and design/programming samples by December 14, 2011 to be considered. 

36i, a division of Res Publica Group, is a full service website design and interactive strategies firm. Often irreverent. Occasionally outrageous. Always effective. We help clients break through the clutter to make their point. Learn more about 36i and its parent company, Res Publica Group.

A new study examined the CTR (click through rate) for links posted to the news feed by Facebook Pages. The study, performed by analytics provider EdgeRank Checker, found on average links posted by Facebook Pages receive 1 click per 1,000 fans.

Ultimately, these figures give marketers and communication specialists an idea of how many Facebook fans they’ll need to drive significant traffic to external websites.

Other interesting findings from the study include:

• ·         Most major brands have 100,000 fans.
• ·         Posts on Wednesday receive the most clicks and shares, while posts on Fridays receive the fewest.
• ·         Links posted by Pages have nearly three times the CTR of Facebook ads.

Facebook Pages can be a useful marketing channel and an important component of your online strategy. To find link click metrics of your Facebook Page, click the Insights button on the left side of your Page.

Click here to see just one of the Fan Pages executed by Res Publica Group and 36i.

Data based on 84,000 link posts by more than 5,500 Facebook Pages in October.