The City of Coon Rapids announced a new marketing strategy to encourage people to shop and visit the community during a Facebook Live reveal Wednesday afternoon. In the video, Shelly Greving from Emerge Marketing Solutions debuted the Passport to Coon Rapids. The passport highlights 13 Coon Rapids attractions and 54 businesses within the community. Greving says using the passport also provides a bonus to shoppers.

Each passport turned in gives participants a chance to win “Coon Bucks” from the Coon Rapids Development Group. According to Greving, shoppers have just over a month before the first drawing on Nov. 24.

Dec. 22 will be a grand prize drawing for $500 in Coon Bucks. The drawings are tentatively scheduled to become monthly events going into 2018. Passports to Coon Rapids can be located at participating Coon Rapids businesses. A link to the video can be found included below this story.

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Coon Rapids Facebook Page

THE NEXT GENERATION of YouTube influencers is here and kid-sized, leading major toy companies to begin shifting their marketing budgets towards leveraging on the power of authentic digital content to sell their products.

According to a report by Bloomberg Businessweek, some of the most influential YouTube stars today are aged around 12 years old and below. Channels such as KidToyTesters have shot to fame due to the fun, familiar atmosphere their videos project, which has helped the family of five siblings gain clout as a major force of cultural influence. Major toymakers such as Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and MGA Entertainment Inc. are now turning to these pint-sized stars to help create content and market their latest products.

From unboxing videos to haul rundowns, influencers like KidToyTesters have become a focal point for toy retailers ahead of poor market sentiments. Toys R Us has slid into bankruptcy, while Mattel and Hasbro both reported poor earnings over the summer. In a increasingly digital world, physical toys may be on their way to becoming obsolete as more and more youths turn to the Internet for their entertainment.

In comparison, toy unboxing videos have gone viral, and have become staples of YouTube’s most viewed videos lists. Videos by young influencers an garner millions of views and have incredible staying power. The most popular video by the KidToyTesters – in which the kids reenact The Little Mermaid with rubber mermaid tails – has racked up 38 million views. .

Hence the innovative turn to digital content aimed at reinvigorating the market.

“I said to myself, How are we going take advantage of [the viral video] phenomenon and make the ultimate unboxing toy?” Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA, said to Bloomberg. “I challenged my design team, and they came up with the idea.”

MGA tested out a toy called LOL Surprise!, which brought the element of suspense inherent in unboxing videos to toy-life. The plaything, simple as it was, was a small plastic sphere concealing a tiny, accessorized doll, and it became a hit. This happened without any kind of television marketing, prompting MGA to go bigger with LOL Big Surprise.

The secret? Larian relied entirely on YoutTube kid influencers to market his toys, as well as more social media-focused programming that could prompt tech-savvy youths to share their experiences with their friends. The shift has also been characterized by the drop in TV engagement among kids.

Ratings company Nielsen said that compared to 2008, the number of kids aged six to eleven watching Disney Channel on TV has fallen 53 percent in 2017. Meanwhile, eMarketer research house said that 32 percent of young viewers said they would prefer to watch content on a non-TV device last year .

“There was a time when you would put a product on TV and watch it sell, but kids aren’t watching Nick anymore,” Larian said to Bloomberg.

“So we aren’t wasting money with TV anymore. We’re going with digital influencers’ viral marketing.”

Among young respondents, YouTube’s brand was ranked highly according to Smarty Pants LLC, and it’s resulted in companies pouring money into the platform. According to PwC LLC. YouTube was ranked as the most influential platform for 72 percent of young viewers, leading companies like Mattel and MGA to invest millions in buying up influencer content.

Physical toys are not commanding as much attention as they used to. Source: Shutterstock

The KidToyTesters, for instance, now produce toy videos that can earn around US$3,000 to US$20,000 per sponsored video (information about a sponsored video must be disclosed). Bloomberg reported that a toy feature can cost a company up to US$200,000 if they engage an influencer with a significant audience base.

“It’s the Wild, Wild West,” said Justin Kline, the COO of Markerly Inc., a company that matches brands with influencers, to Bloomberg.

In the case of the KidToyTesters, brand deals now make the bulk of their revenue since Google’s tweaked algorithm removed many ads from the videos.

The rise of influencers all across YouTube has led to some big bucks flowing into the pockets of video content makers. There’s always some chatter about the falling power of influencers today, but they remain a staple for brands because of the authenticity they can project to their audiences. Some of the best influencers build communities with their audiences, but kid influencers bring a kind of spontaneity that can often be absent in adult videos.

“Influencers are able to relate better to kids than a scripted or overly produced traditional TV advertisement would,” said Victor Lee, senior vice president for digital marketing at Hasbro, to Bloomberg.

Samantha Cheh
| @sam_sicilipadi

Samantha Cheh is a writer based in Kuala Lumpur, and has previously written for various online publications. She’s interested in the intersections of tech, culture, business and politics. Get in touch with her for interview, or tweet her a GIF.

Cedato is out today with an open version of its private video ad supply-side marketplace, along with what it says is the first supply path optimization (SPO) for video ads.

The video ad platform’s previous marketplace was a private one for its own clients. That’s now called Cedato X Direct, and the new open marketplace — featuring premium inventory — is branded as the Cedato X Marketplace.

But the Tel Aviv-based company is pointing to its new, built-in Video Supply Path Optimization (VSPO) as a key differentiator.

Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer Dvir Doron told me the VSPO is designed to make life easier for demand side platforms (DSPs).

Especially in header bidding situations, he said, DSPs might be offered the same impression from 10 to 20 different exchanges or networks. And the impression might have been passed from an exchange to a network to another exchange for bids and sub-bids, adding as many as four additional hops that increase latency.

It also increases the DSP’s Queries Per Second (QPS), a key measurement of efficiency in responding to bid requests. The higher the QPS, the higher the server load — and the higher the DSP’s operating cost.

Doron said that Cedato’s VSPO eliminates the problem of multiple sources for the same impression bid request to DSPs, and it reduces the number of hops to no more than one. This shortest path with no duplicates, he said, can reduce the DSP’s cost of winning a bid for an impression by 60 to 70 percent.

Header bidding for its video ads takes place in the Cedato video player, since video ads don’t have a header like a web page. Doron noted that header bidding is often the “root cause” of duplicate sources for impressions, because the competing exchanges can have some of the same DSPs, although such duplication can also exist in waterfall bidding. Cedato’s VSPO, while designed to make video header bidding more efficient, can be used for any video ad bidding situation.

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After a 2009 recall for Tylenol Rapid Release Gels, it was time to get the brand back in the market and mobile, combined with video, were the channels of choice.

Shopper agency Upshot worked with the brand on an integrated campaign to get people into Walgreens—and hopefully purchase the product, AdExchanger wrote. Mobile ad platform Aki Technologies was brought on board to crunch data signals to pinpoint consumers in various trigger moments, such as running an errand, working out or within reach of a Walgreens store. It found strong engagement targeting consumers who had just worked out. Traffic app Waze was also tapped to direct consumers to the nearest Walgreens.

Once in stores, consumers found in-store messaging, including an end-cap video explaining how the Rapid Release Gels work. More than 2,500 stores featured the video and those stores saw a 9% to 10% lift in sales. The video also ran for 12 weeks on YouTube, the report said.

Video is big business

The U.S. digital video marketing industry is expected to reach $135 billion this year. In contrast, advertisers are expected to spend $83 billion on digital ads and $71 billion on TV commercials in the U.S. this year, according to a new report from Magisto.

In general, each American business will spend $20,000 on video marketing in 2017 and 84 percent of marketers intend to create more business videos. Some 60 percent of businesses spend more than 25 percent of marketing budgets on video with 64% creating video content internally.

“Advertising is no longer perceived as information, but rather as part of a growing slush of white noise. Video narrative offers businesses authentic and renewable currency, a way to create value in the attention economy,” the report said.

Interestingly, Generation X appears to be driving the video revolution.

Marketers From Generation X are 40 percent more likely than Millennials to spend on business videos and 60 percent more likely than Millennials to create business video daily. Magisto, a mobile video platform, surveyed more than 500 marketing decision makers in the U.S. at small, medium and large businesses.

“Done correctly, video has the scale of television, the precision of digital marketing and the power of authentic story. Businesses are using video to distribute their messages in ways that contribute real value to the attention economy and, as a result, is becoming a fiscal economy unto itself,” the report concluded.

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SOCIAL MEDIA DIGITAL MARKETING INTERN

The Unrefined Pty Ltd – Brisbane QLD   

Do you want to work for one of Brisbane’s fastest growing health lifestyle brand?

Initially a wellness blog, The Unrefined has grown to become a successful granola company and popular online platform offering healthy recipes and beauty/health articles.  

We are currently seeking outgoing content and social media interns to support our growing business!   

You will work closely with our Director to plan and deliver compelling and on trend social media and video content, as well as blog content for The Unrefined website.  

You will create, photograph and design a broad range of content for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, including graphics, photos, videos and copy. You will also have the opportunity to work with other leading health, food and fitness brands through brand collaborations and partnerships. 

In return, we will provide you with professional development as you learn the ropes of creating a business from the ground up and leverage social media to drive sales and brand awareness.

As The Unrefined’s Social Media Marketing Brand Management Intern, you will          

• Manage our social media accounts across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
• Work closely with our CEO to develop business strategies and alignments
• Respond to emails and email potential brands for partnerships
• Assist in the planning of events and marketing activations
• Blog about a broad range of topics
• Assist in the photography and editing of social media content
• Work with other social media influencers in health and fitness industry
• Style photoshoots to ensure all social media aesthetics remain consistent

Are you our intern?

You have an avid interest in learning the ropes of a business.

You are across current marketing trends and know how to boost engagement on Facebook, Instagram YouTube. 

You follow all trending lifestyle brands and profiles and have a good understanding of facebook and Instagram marketing.

You are passionate about health, well-being, beauty and fashion and love to take initiative, develop creative content and think outside the square.

You are passionate about converting your personal interests into solid skills for your future career.  

This internship has the ability to turn into a permanent paid position as The Unrefined Director’s 2nd In Charge should you be the right candidate. If you’re someone looking to further your experience in the field of business development, digital marketing and social media, this role is for you. If you see yourself starting your own business down the track, this role is also for you. We want you to learn and grow in this position so you can either continue with us as an employee, or learn the necessary skills to start your own business.  

Required Skills/Knowledge/Experience: 

• Creative and keen eye for photography, specifically product styling  Proactive and able to work autonomously.
• Have highly developed written and oral skills 
• Must be up to date with online beauty, health and lifestyle trends.
• Passionate about social media, beauty and digital/social media marketing.
• Extensive experience using FB, IG, Youtube.
• Willing to share creative campaign ideas 
• Willing to feature in live videos and Instagram stories.
• Familiar with WordPress (this is ideal but not crucial)
• Prepared to take on any tasks we throw your way and show initiative.
• Web or graphic design experience is favourable but not necessary  

This is a part-time unpaid internship position (1-2 days per week) based in a home office in Brisbane City available instantly for the right applicant.   

Any out of pocket business expenses will be covered. You will be required to bring your own laptop. The internship can also be accredited to any relevant study requirement and subjects. 

APPLICATION PROCESS:   

Please send your resume to [email protected]

Job Type: Internship 

Required education: Studying a Bachelor’s Degree   

Get creative and tell us why you think you are a social media pro and why would you be perfect for the The Unrefined (Australia) Pty Ltd