Yahoo Acquires Tumblr

Yahoo! has announced that it has decided to acquire Tumblr. The official press release about the acquisition has been released by Yahoo. Approximately for $1.1 billion, substantially all of which will be paid in cash. In the release, Yahoo promises not to screw up & will be operated independently as a separate business. David Karp will remain as the CEO of Tumblr.

Yahoo’s corporate blog has been moved to Tumblr & this is a great sign of Yahoo showing its trust in tumblr. Marissa Mayer has also announced the same on her Tumblr blog. Facebook last year purchased Instagram & now Yahoo going ahead with Tumblr. There are more than 100 million blogs on the site & more than 100 million users across the world. There are many challenges for yahoo as well like monetizing revenues from Tumblr, making the mobile tumblr more popular & others.

Related articles

• Yahoo acquires Tumblr in $1.1 billion cash deal, ‘promises not to screw it up’ (theverge.com)
• Yahoo Buys Tumblr and Promises “Not to Screw it Up” (allthingsd.com)

Google+ gets a facelift with 41 new features

Google+ which made its début 2 years ago has been updated with new features. There are 190 million people active on Google+ stream & 390 million across Google. Google which faced serious competition from Facebook introduced Google+ in a bid to enter social networking space. The new google+ features are great & provide it with the much needed changes to stay in competition with facebook. Some of the new features available on Google+ are

1) Information has been organized across the columns. It can be between 1 to 3 columns.
2) Photos & Videos look richer & they occupy the entire width of the screen
3) When you click on the sharebox, it bounces & also the menus slide
4) Hashtags have also been added to the info shared on Google+. Depending on the post, they are tagged accordingly.
5) Clicking on the hashtag, provides relevent information
6) Hangouts has also been updated with new features & the app is available from Google play, app store & Chrome webs store.

Top Twitter Brands in India – NDTV, Times of India, MTV, IPL, CNN-IBN & others

Microblogging in India is emerging as a favorite medium for breaking news, sharing opinion/thoughts & for brand building activities. Twitter is the top microblogging platform in India & has become the favorite of the corporate world for their marketing activities. Pepsi is promoting the IPL hashtag in this season’s IPL, VW India also used Twitter for their #anything4Jetta campaign. Hashtags seems to have taken over the marketing campaigns & they are also commonly seen in Advts.

US, Brazil, Japan, UK & India are some of the top countries for Twitter. Some of the top Indian twitter brands are NDTV, Times of India, MTV, IPL, CNN-IBN, Vodafone India, Tata DoCoMo & many IPL cricket teams. IPL cricket teams are engaging with the audience with interesting tweets & also some of the top facebook brands are active on Twitter as well. Among the sectors, Entertainment, media, sports, telecom & Newspapers are topping the charts. Many advanced analytic programs provide deep dive analysis in to the audience share & engagement helping brands to better connect with the users.

Pfizer to sell Viagra Online – Will it a establish a new business model for Pharma?

Pfizer‘s blockbuster drug Viagra is now available online on its website through the catchy phrase “Buy real Viagra“. Ever since the introduction of this drug, counterfeit Viagra drugs sold online has become a big business. Millions of results appear in Google for keywords like “buy Viagra, online Viagra & others” This drug has brought more than $2 Billion in sales for the company in 2012. With CVS/pharmacy, patients in the US with a prescription for Viagra would be able to fill their order through the new Web site & buy it. There is fierce competition in Google search engine for the keywords related to Viagra & millions of queries are done yearly.

If this move by Pfizer is successful, this would establish a new business model for pharma companies to drive revenue. There is a thriving illegal online counterfeit market for this drug which has a huge brand recognition. Viagra was first introduced in 1998 & since then many of the drugs sold counterfeit doesn’t contain the active ingredient completely & this has made Pfizer to go for catchy phrase Buy real Viagra. The online sales provides a great avenue for people who are hesitant to purchase directly from the pharma & also can be purchased easily. The online purchase from pfizer also provides the product which is genuine & can be trusted.

Coca-Cola’s “The AHH Effect” – A New Digital Campaign

Coca-Cola’s new digital campaign called “the ahh effect” is targeting teens with 61 different URL’s. The 61 different URL’s with different ahhh’s includes games, gif’s & films. The home page of the campaign is www.ahh.com & each different URL contains one more “h” reaching the maximum of 61 URL’s. Each URL corresponds to different experiences of having coke. This is a unique type of campaign with Coke launching so many URL’s. Teens looking for creativity & delight. The game I played was the Bubble game, where users have to navigate a bubble away from falling ice cubes and straws in a glass filled with Coke. One can also submit what ahh means to them & will be utilized in the website.

Coca-Cola has worked with Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore., to create the campaign. With the rapid growth of social media & smartphones, these campaigns provide a perfect opportunity for the teens to engage with the games & films. For the brand, this would help optimize which different experiences are performing well & eliminate the non performing experiences. Facebook app is also available for the campaign. Coke which is at the forefront of launching unique campaigns, had earlier launched open happiness campaign.

Role of Digital Marketing in Medical Tourism in India

Digital marketing plays an important role in the medical tourism. Affordable healthcare in India has attracted many foreign nationals to seek for operation & treatment in India. Those desirous of getting treatment in India can have information on the available treatment through the internet. On the net, information is available through reviews, hospital websites & social networking profiles.

Hospitals should have a proper strategy in place to check & check the info on review websites. Any negative reviews would discourage those planning to seek treatment. The testimonials on the website offer crucial links & help develop a positive perception about the hospital. They should have a presence on all the major social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, google+, instagram & others. There should be regular blogging by leading consultants which would help drive away any fear related to getting treated in a foreign country. SEO on the websites can be done to optimize for top keywords which drives traffic. With mobile & tablet browsing on the rise, the sites should be optimized for them as well. Instagram, Pinterest & other visual based marketing sites provide a great platform by posting pics of the facilities & equipment available. Users can be involved by asking questions, reviewing the feedback given by them & others. Apps can also be developed for Android, iphone & other platforms. Cutting edge medical care helps in increasing the life span.

Top hospitals in India like Apollo, Manipal Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, Narayana hrudayala  & others have a presence on Facebook & other social media sites. This would help them establish visibility, drive traffic to their sites & also help in medical tourism.

Related articles

• Medical tourism: A global stampede for affordable care (madrastourist.wordpress.com)
• Medical Tourism Now Includes Things Like ‘Dialysis Cruises’ (jaunted.com)
• Cohen on Medical Tourism (lsolum.typepad.com)

SRK’s Frooti Vs Katrina’s Slice Vs Imran Khan & Parineeti Chopra’s Maaza

SRK quenches his thirst with the soccer team watching him. The soccer team grows up watching him drink Frooti. A perfect combination of SRK, soccer team & the background music gives a great visibility for Mango frooti. Katrina kaif is the brand ambassador for Slice. Slice advt has Katrina kaif, a young man and another woman with a background music. The man chooses between Slice & another mango drink. Imran Khan and Parineeti Chopra are the brand ambassadors for Maaza. They would be featured for the first time for this ad. This mango drink is from Coco Cola.

So this summer, there is a fight among Parle’s Frooti, Coke’s Maaza & Pepsi’s Slice. With the summer reaching its peak & to quench the thirst, companies are roping in brand ambassadors to build visibility & reach customers easily. Brands are roping Bollywood & Cricket stars as ambassadors to their products.

How Banks are using Social Media in India

With the globalization setting its foot in India in the 90′s, banking sector has witnessed a lot of changes. Competition among the banks led to the marketing activities by the banks in promoting their loans, credit cards, personal loans & others. Several foreign banks also set up their branches in India. Internet banking & ATM heralded a new wave of technology for the banks.

Banks have been using social media to connect with the customers, announce new offers & other activities. For ex: HDFC bank twitter account lists all the social media profiles of the bank. This is a very great move by the bank as it helps customers easily access all the profiles. HDFC facebook page has also lakhs of likes & frequent updates. Another bank, Axis bank has also listed all their social media profiles on their home page & also on their twitter page with thousands of followers. With lakhs of likes on their facebook pages. They also have a youtube profile

It is always a good practice to have profiles across all the social media sites & links to other profiles displayed in all the profiles. This helps customers connect easily. Also they can be used to address customer concerns, problems & others. The data found in the profiles can also be used to improvement of the operations. Facebook, twitter, youtube & linkedin are the top social media sites across the banking industry to connect with the customers. Pinterest, flickr, instagram, Google+ & others are also used to connect with the customers.

Top Facebook Brand Pages in India – Tata Docomo, MTV India, Samsung Mobile India & others

Socialbakers, which measures brands on social media, has released the India Q1 Facebook Report. India has 61 million Facebook members. This helps drive digital marketing activities. Tata Docomo has the highest number of Local fans followed by Vodafone Zoozoos & Nokia India. MTV India is the top facebook Media page by local fans followed by India & Bindass. Samsung Mobile India is the top socially Devoted brand followed by Airtel India . Tata Docomo has 13 millions fans with around 11 million local fans. Nokia India, Fastrack, Samsung Mobile India & kingfisher. Secret Engagement with engagement rate of 4.3% stands top by engagement rate followed by Amity University. Among the newspapers Times of India has the highest number of fans.

Many companies in India have succesfully adopted Social media into their Marketing campaigns. Most of the ads have a microsite with facebook, twitter, youtube profile. With the increase of mobile internet, more people are accessing social networks on their smartphones fueeling the social media growth. More info about the Indian facebook brands can be had at Socialbakers website.

Google Play Books & Movies now in India

Google has launched books & movies on Google play in India. Movies are available for rental & purchase in India. This service is currently available in 13 countries now. With the booming of Indian mobile market, it makes a perfect move for Google to make available movies on Google play. Books have also been added to the Google play which ranges from Indian titles to classics. Many international best sellers are also available in the store. Books can be read across mobile, tablets & computer. Google recently started selling Nexus 7 mobile devices online in India as well. This is the first time Google is selling a device in India to a customer through its Google Play Store. Also available on Google Play is apps with a wide range of categories in both free & paid versions. Google play was earlier knows as the Android market.