Only 17 months old, Groupon has blown up exponentially and garnered the attention of the world. The hot start-up has already passed the point where it could turn down a cool $6 billion from Google. The sole mar on the Groupon visage is the Superbowl, when they debuted a commercial poking fun at the struggles of Tibet with star, Timothy Hutton.

The ad met with huge controversy and was pulled post haste from the airwaves. It wasn’t quite the “shot heard ’round the world” but it ignited a lot of discussion around what types of risks advertisers should take — whether those ads are created in-house or outsourced to agencies like CP&B (the agency Groupon used for the project).

It’s tough out there in advertising! You can’t do the same old dog and pony show, because no one in your target audience is interested. It’s a constant reinvention of the wheel and controversy is one way to market your company and or product as edgy and fresh-faced.

With added coverage via social media, word of off-color ads spread like wild fire which can be a good thing or a disaster. The pay-off can, as Ad Age describes it “reap miles of PR” (Ad Age, 3.21.11) or cost you a good chunk of money, all to end up taking it down.  There goes that tight rope again, walking the line between innovation and controversy.

In recent years social media platforms have revolutionized the way businesses connect with their target audiences. For the most part, B2C marketers have gotten most of the glory for their exciting and innovative social media programs, however some recent statistics show that it may actually be B2B marketers who are taking better advantage of all that social media has to offer. We came across this great video from the Ernest Agency outlining some interesting stats and facts that may just change the way you think about social media as a B2B marketing tool.

Someone alert the Snuggie Fans!

Cash4Gold just bought a 30-second ad, slotted for the third quarter of Super Bowl XLIII, making the company the first direct-response advertiser to have a commercial during the big game.

The fact that Cash4Gold is advertising during the most-watched broadcasting time slot of the year sheds light on the hugely underestimated success and power of direct-response marketers.

Direct response advertisers often pay less for ad time, because they agree to allow the networks to run the commercials during less-watched time periods. But as networks find selling ad space at the regular rates increasingly difficult during these rough economic times, direct response advertisers are rising to the occasion.

Cash4Gold is experiencing an upswing, according to AdvertisingAge’s recent interview with Howard Mofshin, president of Cash4Gold. Since Cash4Gold was founded in 2007, Mofshin says, the company has grown from two people to 350, and executives intend to hire another 150 people in 2009.

The highly-anticipated ad will feature Ed McMahon and MC Hammer, who are known for both their fame and ongoing financial woes. McMahon said in a statement, “I’ve used Cash4Gold before, and that’s why I am happy to spread the word by appearing in their ad.”

Mofshin told the press that the commercial shows McMahon and MC Hammer trying to out-do each other by sending in things that get more and more outrageous in each shot.

Here’s hoping we’ll see gold Hammer pants. But let it be known that I’m keeping mine.

As we’ve moved into this protracted period of slow to negative growth, we have talked a lot about how spending allocations must change and how the web has affected the landscape of marketing.

But shifting the focus of the message is equally important.

When people are hurting, they buy differently; they need more value. As marketers, it is key to recognize that value is really all about benefit, not price. The benefits our products deliver are now more important than ever.

The pie is smaller—so fewer will grow. But this is a time when the fight for market share is critically important. The companies that learn how to strengthen their story and interactive approach in 2009 will be the greatest beneficiaries when we pull out of this mess.

This is not a simple task—it requires effort on several fronts, but it is not that complicated either. Step into your customers’ shoes and look at what they need. Align your strengths with their needs and make yourself easy to find. They will be doing more research and buying more carefully. This in itself gives you opportunity.

To find the silver lining in this economy is a real challenge—but if you make the effort to find it, it’s there.

Scott LoSasso is President of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Scott)

Despite uncertainties in the economy and financial markets in 2008, trends in online advertising continue on an upswing. The latest report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP reports that online advertising revenues reached $5.9 billion for the third quarter of 2008 – up 11% over the same period in 2007, reports a recent post in Marketing Vox.

It comes as no surprise that despite a faultering US economy, online ad spending is up. Now more than ever, the increased measurability, targetability and direct path from online ads to trackable response mechanisms make search marketing and online advertising an attractive place to spend shrinking ad budget dollars. When things get tight, it’s nice to know if what you’re doing is working.

David Fabbri is Creative Director of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by David)

For many, technology is evolving too fast to keep up. For small- and mid-size businesses, Search Engine Marketing might be a new concept, but it can significantly impact your business. A SEM program will boost your visibility when people are searching the web. See some great tips for selling and buying SEM here: Prey or Pray.

Scott LoSasso, President of LoSasso Advertising in Chicago, discusses marketing planning for 2009. With marketers concerned about the economy, it’s important to make sure that you don’t stop evolving. Online marketing is essential to  positioning your company for growth coming out of the economic slowdown.

David Fabbri is Creative Director of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by David)