Facebook Ad Sales Growing

According to a new estimate from eMarketer, Facebook ad sales will reach $1.2 billion in global advertising this year. That is nearly double the $665 million in ad sales the social media giant realized last year.

While the growth in ad sales may not surprise marketers, what is surprising is the segment attributing to much of that growth - Facebook's self-serve ad platform, which caters to local advertisers who have gotten away from the old tried and true yellow pages listings. eMarketer estimates that self-serve ads represent around half of Facebook's ad revenues. The other half is from display advertising.

I would expect to see ad spending increase on Facebook for the next couple of years as more companies - especially retail begin to focus more of their media spend on social networks as opposed to television networks and some of the more traditional media. Gap's fall campaign last year is a great example of this shift from traditional channels to social media channels (Facebook and YouTube).

Pepsi: Refreshes its Advertising Strategy and Goes Social

For years companies (including Pepsi and Coke) have spent millions and millions of dollars advertising their brands during the Superbowl. While many companies including Coke still chose to do that this year, Pepsi was not one of them. Coke spent the money on the bowl while Pepsi made the decision to invest $20 million in its social media efforts. This decision means many things for Pepsi and where advertising is heading today.

First, the decision to not advertise in the Superbowl and to instead commit $20 million to social media says that Pepsi is still after all these years embracing its "cola of the new generation" positioning. While Coke continues to go with the tried and true Pepsi is leading the way in new media - a better place to reach its target audience of hipsters.

Second, this decision proves that the power and value of social media as an advertising strategy is growing as other companies like The Gap have made it a central part of their advertising strategy and the main media for reaching its target audience. I believe we will continue to see more consumer products brands taking this approach although it will not work equally well for just any brand.

Finally, as brands like Pepsi continue to market to the customer through social campaigns and channels, we'll see that those consumers who are not as engaged in the new media will hear about it from their friends and colleagues and quickly find that they are missing out.