Cool by Association

Here is an example of another companies advertising dollars promoting the social giant. In this TV spot for the launch of the Palm Pre, Sprint uses Facebook to show that the social network is accessible and live on the smartphone. The commercial shows a day in the life of a rock vocalist, as her Facebook page gets updated and refreshed throughout the day. Most of the 30-second spot belongs to Facebook, until a voice-over comes on and reveals that the ad is actually for a handset.

This is not the first time we have seen Facebook used to connect the audience with a brand. Apple built an entire 30-second commercial last year around the popular social network, showing how to access and interact with the application on the iPhone.

So is it smart to target Facebook users? Through association with the social-media icon, brands can become immediately relevant to a loyal user base (half of all facebook users log in at least once a day). Brand association has been araound for a long time and if its the right product/service then in a nutshell..Yes. But remember direct association alone is not enough. Brands must deliver on their promises and be viable to succeed in what is a very saturated and educated marketplace.