The much hyped album battle between 50 Cent’s Curtis and Kanye West’s Stronger is turning out to be not much of a fight. It is estimated that Kanye will win with approximately 800,000 copies sold versus 50’s estimated 600,000. This should not be of much surprise because 50 Cent’s album Curtis was doomed from the start.

From a marketing perspective, let’s look at the famed “4Ps”. Price and Place are identical for both artists. They both were sold in similar big box retailers for about $9.99. For promotion, each artist benefited by the media attention given to the same release date. Each artist was also heavily promoted on radio stations with similar radio spots and advertisements. 50 has recently been quoted as complaining about Kanye’s exposure on the MTV VMAs but I think that the last “P” is the real cause of his likely loss.

In terms of product, one could argue that one album is superior than the other, but for this debate we’ll assume they were of equal quality. Both albums hit up the hip-hop market with some pop crossover appeal. Packaging will roll up into Product and for this aspect, I give the advantage hands down to Kanye. If you look at the covers, Kanye’s is colorful, playful, and unique whereas 50’s looks serious, muted, and understated. If you saw both albums on the shelf, I feel that you would immediately gravitate towards Kanye’s.

Perceived image of the artists also plays a role in sales. Kanye is known as being more playful, lively, and he has more “pop” appeal. 50 drives home the more hardcore, gangsta, and “real” street edge. Unfortunately for 50, the bad boy image has taken a bit hit in the media this summer with the likes of Michael Vick being the poster boy for illicit behavior. I think youth today is also tired of reality and I think Kanye provides a bit more escapism.

All in all, 50 Cent’s album was disadvantaged from the start. Unfortunately, his “brand” of music does seem to be what people want at the moment whereas Kanye’s blend of humor, pop, and beats seems to fit the bill perfectly.

Lagging a bit behind rivals Google and Microsoft who already have advertising deals with Facebook and MySpace, Yahoo! just announced plans to sell ads on popular UK social networking site Bebo.  This marks the first time that Yahoo! has agreed to supply advertising for a social network. 

While these social networking sites offer tons of traffic (especially teenagers, college students, and young professionals), the bigger question remains if this type of traffic can translate into sales.  Typically these sites offer a location to keep up to date with friends, send short messages, and give the ability to share personal content such as photos and videos.  Are they there to purchase products or even learn more about them? Probably not.

Looking in the future for marketing on the web, I foresee today’s generation becoming increasingly numb to online advertising (especially banner and text ads).  But is this really any different from ”traditional” media like TV, radio, and print?  I feel that the same issue of consumer apathy applies to all.  In regards to social networking sites, marketers are trying many ideas from traditional display advertising to widgets to dedicated pages to elicit some form of response.  While the tools to reach our target market might be a little bit different, the challenge for us as marketers remains the same – how do we cut through the noise, engage customers, and make them care.

It seems like Apple has another hit on their hands.  Like Pixar, the other company Steve Jobs founded, it seems Apple can do no wrong.  Today, Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s newest iPod.  It is largely based on their popular iPhone mobile device with similar navigation and design. 

Dubbed the iPod Touch, Apple’s new media player is more than just music and videos.  It is only 8mm thick and incorporates a Safari web browser and the ability to access a Wi-Fi iTunes stores.  This means that individuals will have the ability to shop, preview, and purchase music on the fly.  As we all saw with the iPhone frenzy, the new Touch should have a similar fan reaction.  At $299 for the 8GB and $399 for the 16GB model, it is pricy for the amount of storage.  But as Apple has shown before, people are more than willing to pay a premium for their unique designs and fashionability. 

I wonder if I’ll see the day when Apple isn’t seen as being cool.  So far they seem to be one step ahead of everyone else…

As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s really important for brands to know who they are.  I came across an article today about VW and Apple discussing a possible “iCar”.  This sounds like a win-win for both companies. 

Apple wins because the demographics that VW targets (or should be targeting) is similar to Apple consumers.  They are youthful, technologically savvy, and like to be unique.  Integrating the iPod and iTunes into cars would be a great test case to show the automobile industry that it should be a standard fully integrated feature in all cars. 

VW wins because this is something they could promote that would resonate with its consumers.  Like its previous promotions, it could offer a free new limited edition iPod with each new car purchase.  A great selling point (or interest point) could be limited edition colors for both the iPod and “iCars”.

All in all this looks like a money maker for both companies and something we should look forward to in the future.

Not that Google needs an even bigger stranglehold on web advertising but they now have an exclusive deal with CNN.