A Cure for the Common Flu Campaign

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to Google Flu Trends, a new tool from Google that tracks flu activity across the U.S. up to two weeks faster than the data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  It works by measuring the amount of flu-related searches in a state or region and then using that data to estimate actual flu activity.

As winter progresses and flu activity increases, this tool is your #1 ally for reaching consumers at the moment of greatest relevance.  Below are a few simple steps to get you started.  

1. Visit Google Flu Trends and identify regions of opportunity.

2. Set up a flu search campaign and reach consumers where flu related searches are highest.

3. Contextually target to reach consumers on the sites they visit to find flu remedies.

4. Geo-target your campaign to regions and cities of interest.

5. Monitor Flu Trends and continuously optimize.  

Data this strong is sure to fortify any campaign, so take a dose, or two, of Google Flu Trends with yours, and call us in the morning.

Posted by Anastasiya Blyukher, Account Proposal Coordinator, CPG

It's 10 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Teens Are?

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

We'll give you one guess.  Online.

It shouldn't be news for marketers that kids and teens are online but the frequency and duration with which they are may be surprising.  eMarketer estimates that 82% of US teens 12-17 and 43.5% of kids ages 3-11 will use the Internet on a monthly basis in 2009.  And when they aren't online, they are still connected through their mobile device.  Nearly 2/3's of US teens have a mobile phone.

The Internet and their mobile phones are their lifeline and their primary means of communication.  The percentage of teens who text, make a call  on their mobile phone, send an instant message or chat via a social networking site is on par with the percentage that spend time with friends in person outside of school.  Imagine that, actually having a live, face-to-face conversation with a friend these days.

A teen's life is incomplete without technology and these multi-media mavens don't distinguish across communication channels - offline, online and mobile.  To them, they all provide a means of communication and they rely on each other to keep them in the loop.  As long as they know where the party is Friday night, they could care less if they found out on Facebook, in an email or in a text message.

So while it may be 10:00 on a Friday night and you don't know exactly where your teen consumers are, it's a safe bet they are plugged in.  Why don't you give them a call?

(Original source: "Kids and Teens Are Always On." eMarketer, November 17, 2008.)

Posted by :

Ashley Hedges

CPG Account Planner, Google