Mike O'Brien

A former ClickZ editor, Mike O'Brien couldn't stay away and now contributes to the site in addition to working as a content marketer at Sailthru, the world's largest sender of personalized email. He primarily writes about the innovative ways brands use technology now and the ways they might in the future.

Tweets of the Week: McDonald's Says No; Everyone Else Says Woof
Social

Tweets of the Week: McDonald's Says No; Everyone Else Says Woof

11y Mike O'Brien

Tweets of the Week: McDonald's Says No; Everyone E...

Brands typically steer clear of the hard news trending on Twitter, preferring to use the platform to celebrate things like National Dog Day... or snar...

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How Shoes.com Became Visually Searchable
Search

How Shoes.com Became Visually Searchable

11y Mike O'Brien

How Shoes.com Became Visually Searchable

When consumers take pictures of any pair of shoes, whether in-person or on a billboard, Shoes.com's visual search partner Slyce scans the site and pre...

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Spotlight On: Crispin Porter + Bogusky's Ivan Perez-Armendariz
Agency Spotlight

Spotlight On: Crispin Porter + Bogusky's Ivan Perez-Armendariz

11y Mike O'Brien

Spotlight On: Crispin Porter + Bogusky's Ivan Pere...

Ivan Perez-Armendariz, chief digital officer for CP+B, sees mobile-only experiences taking off, a trend that he sees in Domino's, a client whose emoji...

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Alphabet: What's Going to Happen to Google Advertisers?
Display Advertising

Alphabet: What's Going to Happen to Google Advertisers?

11y Mike O'Brien

Alphabet: What's Going to Happen to Google Adverti...

Industry experts say Alphabet, which separates the profitable parts of Google's business, highlights the company's weaknesses but may also be good for...

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Tweets of the Week: Rapper Beefs, Jon Stewart and Underwear
Social

Tweets of the Week: Rapper Beefs, Jon Stewart and Underwear

11y Mike O'Brien

Tweets of the Week: Rapper Beefs, Jon Stewart and ...

Two rappers' Twitter beef prompted Tweets from burger brands, Jon Stewart's Daily Show departure brought nostalgia, and National Underwear Day mostly ...

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Could Microsoft and AOL Take on Google and Facebook?
Display Advertising

Could Microsoft and AOL Take on Google and Facebook?

11y Mike O'Brien

Could Microsoft and AOL Take on Google and Faceboo...

To compete with Google and Facebook, Microsoft and AOL are training one another on their respective strengths: content and programmatic. Read More...

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Digital Makes Brands Think About Back-to-School Shopping Sooner
Ecommerce

Digital Makes Brands Think About Back-to-School Shopping Sooner

11y Mike O'Brien

Digital Makes Brands Think About Back-to-School Sh...

As the Internet has people starting back-to-school shopping earlier than ever, Nordstrom and Forever 21 are two retailers whose clever campaigns stand...

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Will Twitter's Backgrounds Contain Ads?
Display Advertising

Will Twitter's Backgrounds Contain Ads?

11y Mike O'Brien

Will Twitter's Backgrounds Contain Ads?

On Monday, Twitter removed all custom background images from user profiles. Marketers are divided on whether or not this move means that the white spa...

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Only 2% of Marketers Have 'Very Effective' Content Strategy [Study]
Ad Industry Metrics

Only 2% of Marketers Have 'Very Effective' Content Strategy [Study]

11y Mike O'Brien

Only 2% of Marketers Have 'Very Effective' Content...

According to a new study by the CMO Council, content marketing is on the rise - but less than half of B2B marketers think their strategies are at leas...

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And the Winner of Social Media Is... Victoria's Secret [Study]
Social

And the Winner of Social Media Is... Victoria's Secret [Study]

11y Mike O'Brien

And the Winner of Social Media Is... Victoria's Se...

Looking at 50 major brands in various industries, Victoria's Secret was the only one to score top marks across all eight social media platforms analyz...

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World Emoji Day Illustrates Global Impact
Social

World Emoji Day Illustrates Global Impact

11y Mike O'Brien

World Emoji Day Illustrates Global Impact

While some industry experts think emojis are an ephemeral trend, World Emoji Day demonstrates their valuable ability to transcend language barriers. R...

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Will Prime Day Become the Next Big Online Shopping Day?
Ecommerce

Will Prime Day Become the Next Big Online Shopping Day?

11y Mike O'Brien

Will Prime Day Become the Next Big Online Shopping...

At midnight, Amazon - and Walmart, in response - will start 24 hours of deals better than Black Friday. If it goes well, industry experts think Prime ...

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What Does Facebook's New Algorithm Mean for Content Marketers?
Social

What Does Facebook's New Algorithm Mean for Content Marketers?

11y Mike O'Brien

What Does Facebook's New Algorithm Mean for Conten...

With Facebook giving users more control of what they see in their News Feed, they're likely to remember their closest friends, but they may not necess...

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Tweets of the Week: Soccer and Sharks, Chicken and Chocolate
Social

Tweets of the Week: Soccer and Sharks, Chicken and Chocolate

11y Mike O'Brien

Tweets of the Week: Soccer and Sharks, Chicken and...

This week on Twitter kicked off with the Women's World Cup, around which Nike had the most engagement. Shark Week and two food related holidays inspir...

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Mobile Factors Into 54 Percent of Campaigns with Viewability Discrepancies
Display Advertising

Mobile Factors Into 54 Percent of Campaigns with Viewability Discrepancies

11y Mike O'Brien

Mobile Factors Into 54 Percent of Campaigns with V...

In its most recent testing phase, the Media Rating Council found that while 63 percent of campaigns had consistent viewability, mobile was a big facto...

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Only 14 Percent of Marketers Are Confident When It Comes to Data [Study]
Data insights

Only 14 Percent of Marketers Are Confident When It Comes to Data [Study]

11y Mike O'Brien

Only 14 Percent of Marketers Are Confident When It...

According to a new Millward Brown Digital study, 42 percent of marketers consider big data this year's top priority - however, only 14 percent are con...

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Doritos Moves From 'Mobile-First" to "Mobile-Only"
Media

Doritos Moves From 'Mobile-First" to "Mobile-Only"

11y Mike O'Brien

Doritos Moves From 'Mobile-First" to "Mobile-Only"

Doritos' first mobile-only campaign centers on 3D social media influencer videos consumers can access by scanning chips, meaning that the promotion re...

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Data Keeps YP Relevant in the Digital World
Data insights

Data Keeps YP Relevant in the Digital World

11y Mike O'Brien

Data Keeps YP Relevant in the Digital World

While many phonebook companies failed to translate to the digital age, YP is still going strong, in part because the platform realized the value of bi...

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Why Budweiser's "Lost Dog" Ad Was a Brand Flop After Super Bowl
Analytics

Why Budweiser's "Lost Dog" Ad Was a Brand Flop After Super Bowl

11y Mike O'Brien

Why Budweiser's "Lost Dog" Ad Was a Brand Flop Aft...

The Super Bowl's most popular ad was a hit on social media, but there was a lack of relevance that didn't translate to a brand lift, according to rece...

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What Can Data Do to Stop Cybercrime?
Data insights

What Can Data Do to Stop Cybercrime?

11y Mike O'Brien

What Can Data Do to Stop Cybercrime?

The people behind ad fraud are so sophisticated, it's impossible to stop them completely. However, the availability of data gives companies a greater ...

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Denny's, Walmart and Goodwill Score With Location Data [Study]
Data insights

Denny's, Walmart and Goodwill Score With Location Data [Study]

11y Mike O'Brien

Denny's, Walmart and Goodwill Score With Location ...

Combining location-based data with other types of data, such as app and purchase, helped the three brands launch successful mobile campaigns, accordin...

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Is Virtual Reality the Next Big Wearable?
Data insights

Is Virtual Reality the Next Big Wearable?

11y Mike O'Brien

Is Virtual Reality the Next Big Wearable?

Shortly before VR is available to the public, the Apple Watch breathed life back into wearables. Could VR be the next big one, or are the two technolo...

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5 PPC Tips from ClickZ Live Toronto
Conference Coverage

5 PPC Tips from ClickZ Live Toronto

11y Mike O'Brien

5 PPC Tips from ClickZ Live Toronto

To have the best possible PPC campaigns, Finhas Jhaveri of Allstate Insurance recommmends paying equal attention to branded and generic keywords and t...

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Snapchat Leads to 'Bestie Brands' #CZLTO
Conference Coverage

Snapchat Leads to 'Bestie Brands' #CZLTO

11y Mike O'Brien

Snapchat Leads to 'Bestie Brands' #CZLTO

It may seem like a flash in the pan, but compared with Facebook and Twitter, Snapchat gives marketers a better chance to create close relationships wi...

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Twitter: Real-Time Engagement Comes From Small Moments #CZLTO
Conference Coverage

Twitter: Real-Time Engagement Comes From Small Moments #CZLTO

11y Mike O'Brien

Twitter: Real-Time Engagement Comes From Small Mom...

"Twitter is a bridge, not an island," said Jamie Michaels, head of brand strategy and advocacy for Twitter Canada, talking about the platform's real-t...

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5 Tips for 'Unignorable Creative' from Pepsi #CZLTO
Conference Coverage

5 Tips for 'Unignorable Creative' from Pepsi #CZLTO

11y Mike O'Brien

5 Tips for 'Unignorable Creative' from Pepsi #CZLT...

During a keynote at ClickZ Live, PepsiCo Canada's senior director of marketing for Frito-Lay shared some top tips for coming up with creative campaign...

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Knowing When to Comment Is Crucial in Content Marketing #CZLTO
Conference Coverage

Knowing When to Comment Is Crucial in Content Marketing #CZLTO

11y Mike O'Brien

Knowing When to Comment Is Crucial in Content Mark...

At ClickZ Live Toronto, Lululemon's director of brand strategy discussed how having a strong brand identity means consistency and knowing when to weig...

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