Advertisers have access to more consumer data than ever before. With a more focused way of understanding preferences, behavior, sentiment, purchasing patterns, how do these insights inform the creative process? Join Pappas Group at 6:30 PM tomorrow, February 16th, at CIDA Georgetown for Social Media Week DC panel featuring Anthony Pappas which answers what data does for us. The event will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar with the first drink FREE thanks to Rocketfuel. Call 703-683-5954 with questions or to purchase tickets.

As soon as the last seconds tick off the clock to end the Super Bowl, everybody begins to ask the same question: who had the best ads? Anthony Pappas breaks down the winners and losers from the Brand Bowl on The Bill Press show. Tune in at 7:30 AM on SiriusXM station 127 and channel 1480 on your Washington, DC AM dial.

Some of us watch the football, the rest of us sit through it for the ads. What better way to keep the party rolling than a lively Brand Bowl discussion with the DC Ad Club? Join our industry’s top creative directors Chuck Husak of August, Lang & Husak, Matt Smith of SmithGifford, Leslie Bradshaw of Jess3, and our own Stefan Poulos, as they kick-off a panel discussion February 7th at 6:00 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar available. Grab your tickets fast, price increase on February 3rd!

Kick-off: Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 6 – 8:30 pm
Home Field: Ketchum // 2000 L St NW # 300 // Washington, DC 20036
Metro: Farragut North (Red), Farragut West (Blue/Orange), Dupont (Red)
Cost: Ad 2 DC & Student Members: $20; DC Ad Club Members: $25; Non-Members: $35 (price increase Feb 3rd + $10)

Click here to register

On January 23rd, 2012 over 400 bright minds collaborated at DC’s latest marketing and communications conference, What’s Next. Speakers came from across the country and included representatives from Facebook, Mashable, HBO, The World Bank, Washington Post, Hilton, NASA, and IBM. We’ve gathered top tweets from the event, offering plenty food for thought.

To help Hilton Hotels and Resorts celebrate 24 years as the Official Hotel of the GRAMMY Awards, Pappas Group has created the Go To The GRAMMYs Contest. Simply share your most memorable musical journey on Facebook and you could win a trip to the 55th annual Grammy Awards in 2013. Visit the new site for more details on the contest, a look back at Hilton’s very own musical history and a music lover’s travel guide.

Announced earlier today, Google brings Your World to their Search. That’s assuming you’ve started to build a version of your world on Google Plus. Now, when you’re logged into your Google Plus account and searching on google.com you have an option to search the public web (as you are currently familiar with it) or to click on the personal icon and see results from people you are connected with – turning google.com from a search engine that understands content to one that also values people and your relationships.

Search, plus Your World will feature the following:

• More personal results based on information you have either shared with your circles or information shared from your circles specifically with you.
• Profiles will come up in search results from those close to you or whom Google thinks you might be interested in based on your search.
• Google Plus pages sharing related information, those you are already connected to or that might be of interest to you.

Why is this important to your business? If this takes off and people stay logged into their Google Plus accounts –favoring personal search– then your hard-earned SEO efforts become less important. If it’s about a social connection you need to be where your audience is to get noticed, and you need to be shareable. This creates a huge incentive for businesses to create Google Plus pages, and also to integrate the +1 button across their websites, encouraging an audience to share.

This is no small concern, at the time of writing this post Twitter came out with an official statement calling this “A bad day for the internet”. Jason Kincaid puts the debate into context in his post ‘Twitter Really, Really Hates Google’s New Google+ Integration’ on TechCrunch. It’s natural to assume Twitter fears that people and publishers will begin to share breaking news on Google Plus before Twitter so they remain relevant to Google search results.

This is a bold statement from Twitter but I expect more will follow. I wouldn’t suggest brands jump right in, Google has produced many (failed) social products and concepts. I think they may pull back if backlash is heavy, but it’s a sign of things to come and that the +1 button will become more and more relevant in the near future.

What are your thoughts? Will this encourage you to share more on your Google Plus account – or get your business/brand on there?

Learn more about getting Google Plus with this detailed guide from Mashable.

Pappas Group worked with Clyde’s Restaurant Group to create the visual identity for the new establishment, the logo, the website, pens, matchbooks, envelopes, stationery, note cards and more than 5 different menus. Browse an all new The Hamilton website and check out some of the great publicity in The Huffington Post, Urban Daddy, Washington City Paper, and The Washingtonian.

Image courtesy of Jeff Martin.