Digital Musings on the Fly

Google Making Greater Strides to Open up Display Market

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Dewey Decimal Online?

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:53:00 +0000

At the risk of sounding old and obviously out of fashion, I have to wonder -- has the online space grown too quickly and thus still a version of the wild west?

It struck me last night as I was watching Bravo's the Fashion Show (FYI-- horrible, horrible show I can't stop watching) last night that there is no consistency to marketing URLs. One insurance company is driving to YouTube.com/something something, one company is driving to their Facebook page and many more have varying names-- everything from catchy to predictable. Marketers throw anything and everything at potential customers to get them engaged with our online selves, but are we just making it harder than it needs to be for consumers?

When we know that a significant % of users go straight to a search engine because they don't remember the URL or are just most comfortable starting their research there, are we ignoring the pink elephant in the room?

Special K and a couple of other products have seemingly tried this, and while I've seen their campaigns nominated for awards, I haven't heard them referred to as the gold standard either.

It makes me wonder, what would the world be like if the Dewey Decimal System was in place for online? If companies in mass decided to have a systematically standard URL? For instance, all TV stations-- WSB.TV, ABC.TV, all companies with known names and branches -- hyatt.com/123peachtree, nissan.com/456main?

I know, I know, it's a gross generalization, and consumers are already accustomed to using search engines to start their research, but aren't we feeding traffic to search engines where the competition can steal the consumer in the first place? And aren't we paying thousands of extra dollars (through SEM and SEO) just to make sure we're capturing the fish we threw into the net in the first place? Something seems out of whack here to me and maybe it can't be fixed, but maybe juuuuust maybe... we can improve the way we market URLs just a bit.

I don't have the magical fix, but these are the sort of things I think about as we're stewarding our Client's online efforts.

What you talkin' about, Twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Everywhere you turn these days, people are asking "do you tweet?" With Tweeting being talked about everywhere from coffee shops and the halls of our government it seems to have formed into a social networking frenzy. And yet, while people think it's "hip"... they don't see the value in it. Nielsen Co. recently released this bit of research explaining that a whopping 60% of those who go to Twitter don't RETURN the following month.

Is this perhaps because consumers don't see how this is any different than the status updates on Myspace, Facebook, etc. Heck, even LinkedIN has status updates now.

To pull out some grandma research, the common complaint I hear from people who don't Tweet is that they already do that on other sites and in fact, that's the thing they HATE most about social networking... the inundation of status updates about stupid stuff.

Or is this simply a sign of younger generations being much more comfortable publishing themselves and older generations valuing privacy? Us digital marketers see that more and more consumers are turning to social networking, but need to be cognizant that there is a definite resistance to it as well and make marketing plans with that in mind.

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Social Networking Overload

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Don't get me wrong... I have a plethora of social networks that I use... Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, (a rarely touched) Myspace, LinkedIn, etc, but I think at some point, digital entities have to ask themselves... "Do we really need to reinvent the wheel?"

Case in point - Yahoo looks to be trying to make their network more "socia l" soon. Here is a quick exerpt from the lengthy article:

In the next several months Yahoo will begin rolling out new versions of its most popular products, from Yahoo Mail to the Yahoo home page. A thread of social media features, including a common user profile, list of friends and regular updates about friends, will tie the family of Yahoo properties together.

When an individual recommends a news story from the Yahoo homepage, uploads a photograph on Flickr or makes a trade on a fantasy baseball team from Yahoo sports, Yahoo will send an alert to a network of friends or contacts.

While I totally have Yahoo IM and I've even participated in some of their groups, I have to pause and say... WHAT? I've spent months building up all of these other sites and now they're going to try and revolutionize the social network category by making me work outside of the platforms I've spent so much to build? Maybe it's because I'm not seeing the real life example, but I have to say the move has the early stink of OLD ideas - don't let the content be free range, instead work on putting up virtual walls. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the coming months.

Revitalizing Digital Display

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:20:00 +0000

It seems that digital display creative standards are on a pendulum...

beginning of display - creative tried to distract from content (blinking, crawling over content, etc)
the last couple of years - publishers pushed back and said that an annoyed customer meant a customer who left their site
within the last few months though - publishers are starting to open themselves back up to big, bold creative

With this change, I have to ask... "yeah, but will they even see that rich media ad?" I've been hoping to see some traction on measuring time/exposure and last week I sat down with an ad network that had tested various models such as only charging if the ad had been seen by one user for 1-2 minutes during the course of the campaign. I asked why that model didn't stick -- "CPMs were in the pennies that way."

Surely there is some middle ground that generate revenue for the sites and helps digital ads stand out more.

Part of the issue is that we've accepted the focus on the short term measurements and we're less concerned branding and long-term intention drivers. I think the following could help us look at the branding impact (beyond pre- and post-wave studies) :

Sites could stand to be more open to product integration. I know, I know... this is church and state in the traditional world, but digital blurs the line between user generated content and site generated content. I'd love to see the same courtesy extended to advertisers.
Ad units need to be able to "read" if the user can see the full ad in their screen in order for it be counted as an impression.
I get WHY sound isn't allowed on most sites, but doesn't this seem odd to anyone else? TV and radio have the ability to pull you in with sound even if you're driving or in another room. Would it not make sense that one ad on the digital page could have sound to help pull users into their message?
It's been raised by others in the industry, but I'd love to see one ad unit per page-- perhaps the ad could even follow you as you scroll down the page?

The responsibility doesn't just lie with sites/networks...

Media Planners/Buyers need to push for more information.
Agencies need to take the time to tailor ads to fit the various needs of the consumer-- not just based on their mindset, but also based on their "in the moment" surfing habits.
Creative needs to think beyond telling a story to creating long-term bonds with its consumers.

Thankfully, IAB has finally tried to take on this long-standing concern and will hopefully help turn many individual voices into a discussion that can yield results.

Last Click

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:11:00 +0000

I applaud Abbey Klaassen and other digital columnists for continuing to push marketers to think beyond the last click. This notion isn't really NEW news-- we've seen digital advertising analytic companies jump on this for at least a year. However, one thing I seem to be seeing over and over again is that cetain web site analytic companies (Google Analytics namely), seem to hold near and dear to the "There is one true click" mentality/reporting.

As much as we'd like for digital to either branding or DR, it becomes clearer and clearer to me that digital advertising still holds many of the principles of traditional advertising. While this medium is certainly more complex as you're likely leading them down a more defined path, its not always best to define the medium solely by the measurement tools that aren't always perfect.

TG Madison has found that it's best to use a mix of advertising and site analytic tools to help look at the campaign from at least two perspectives. Additionally, it's helpful to use branding surveys to see what impact the digital campaign had even if it didn't drive an immediate action.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me.

Digital Ad Impact

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:38:00 +0000

So I've been reading a bit here lately about what is being called a problem for digital advertising - why consumer's can't recall online advertising.

Obviously, I'm in the industry and while I can call some creative that I've liked... I've got plenty more examples from other media. So should digital advertising consider more impactful ad units, i.e. - one ad unit per page?

I like the idea, but something seems odd to me. I grew up in a time when people freaked over how certain songs sounded when you played them backwards. Have we lost the idea that working into someone's subconscious is just as desirable as making them sing our jingle?

Hey don't get me wrong, I totally agree that it's absolutely silly to think that someone who doesn't even scroll down enough to see the ad is anything but a wasted impression. But just because I didn't play the ad's game or clicked the ad, does it mean I wasn't impacted?

Instead, I think the larger problem is two fold

For awareness driven campaigns, it's often difficult for consumers to understand what the ad wants you to takeaway. The pages which are usually targeted for awareness campaigns often aren't pages that people rest on for more than mere seconds. Off the top of my head, two ideas come to mind:

Create simple, 5-second ads for these types of ads
Push publishers to retarget users who only saw part of the message until they are given time to digest the message

Completely opposite of that, is trying to tell the consumer a story and trying to get them to perform an action (AKA DR). Over and over again, we find that contextually relevant conversation and content is the best area to get someone to perform an action. Here is where it's easier to get someone to get into your message... because you're relevant to what they want to find.

Display often gets a lot of knocks but when you think of it as a process instead of an instantaneous push, it's much easier to create a successful campaign.

Update: Google Feeling the Pinch

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Well, who didn't see that Google investing in newspaper sales wasn't maybe the brightest strategy? I mean in THEORY it's a cool idea -- using codes in newspapers to track to eventual sales, but in a medium that is feeling the pains, it's smart for Google to cut it's losses.

Unfortunately, that's not the only area that's effecting Google's ad revenue.

Due to the economic climate's effect on the way marketers are looking at media's need to be accountable, one would think that Google of all places would see an increase in CPCs (money out of branding and into DR means more demand = higher bids). As it turns out, not so much. Reportedly, this is due to marketers moving to less expensive terms that still produce results. Google ad spends, like the rest of advertising, are feeling the pinch.

Compacting the effect the economy has in this field is the fact that marketers are seeing that Search Engines alone aren't the end all be all. In fact, Search Engine usage has actually fallen a bit over the past few years.

Will people's use of Google products tumble?

Likely not.

Sure, consumers may shift to favor social network learning, but Google won't die. People will still need a 3rd party to help give us unbiased, factual information. We as consumers may be prompted to explore something by our friends, but we still feel the need to be the leader of our own research.

We may see more people lessening their use of SEARCH part of learning, but this will likely not hurt nimble companies like Google - keep in mind that Google/Yahoo have an extensive network of partnerships with content based sites and we'll still their ads. Additionally, YouTube is one of the most heavily "searched" sites on the net and they're owned by Google.

With that worry out of our minds, it brings up a larger issue. We're afraid that one of the "best" products we've grown accustomed to showing "success" may not be invincible.

Today's marketing isn't "media is the message" or "creative is the message" it is.. your customer is the message.

With the market ever changing it's easy to get hung up on the tactics instead of the idea. Search doesn't stand alone, display doesn't stand alone... WOM while several instances are EXTREMELY cool doesn't stand alone. Each media tactic works in tandem.

The key take away I have been feeling over the past few years is that there's a need to impact people no matter where they're researching (across this fragmented market). This means that we as marketers need to focus in on why/when our message would be most impactful. For instance, imagine it -- an ad network that puts your ad in front of someone who's looking to find out about your specific product. Selling a Dried Bean product? Imagine marketers targeting search/display/conversations about bean soup recipes. Or targeting consumers who are looking for projects to keep their kids entertained on a rainy day. Who is that optimum customer - not how old are they, but who are they and why would they care about your product?

Today's new model is shifting from telling why your brand is important to demonstrating how this product is a part of the consumer.

Social Networking Snapshot

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Yesterday, Pew Internet published a look at social networking. The study looks at the broad demographics of social networking users as well as some trends, i.e. - most social networkers having more than one account.

Beyond the demographics, some of the interesting nuggets to me were:

49% of Adults with an online profile use it to "Make Plans with Friends."
Most social network users use the sites daily (37%). This suggests that with a heavy, consistent advertising presence that the message should be changed more frequently.

Digital Fundraising

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:03:00 +0000

I've participated in my fair share of car washes, walkathons and even a rock-athon (not as cool as it sounds... we sat in rocking chairs). It's nice to see that digital is taking this to a whole new level. There have been several eyes looking at the American Cancer Society's SecondLife Relay for Life, but what about something more instantaneous?

Well, check out this blog that was recently written up by WOMMA! In it the marketer states that for every blog subscription, they'll donate $0.50 to their local chapter of the National MS Society... a great, easy way to have people to support your cause and drum up subscriptions. Nice thinking!

What Are You Doing Online?

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Media Post published the Fall 2008 top online activities as reported through MRI.

Some things of note BESIDES their callout to the rise in video watching/downloading:

Not so suprisingly, a rise in those seeking jobs online. Additionally, recipe sites also saw a strong lift.

Blog visitation continues to rise-- honestly, this 11% of pop stat worries me. I'm not sure everyone knows they're going to a blog. Sure, the # isn't off by much, but I do think it's a bit soft.

20.5% made personal/business travel plans (up slightly)

19.9% of consumers obtained medical information online (again up slightly). This is a great stat to look at as most other studies ask if someone gathered health information (@ 80% of the online population does this activity), which can cover anything from dieting to researching heart disease.

Who's Tweeterific?

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Want to start a Twitter profile?

This recent Mashable article highlights some hurdles in attracting Twitter followers.

For established brands not all of this is information is relevant, but the some points made in this article still apply. (1) Publish updates frequently (2) Continually engage followers (listening to feedback, responding in a relatively short period of time to questions, participating in conversations, rewarding loyal followers, etc.)

From 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter...

1. You have no user avatar…or your user avatar is neither a personalized photograph nor reflective of a brand.

2. You list no location, no website, or no bio

3. Your “website” listed is a MySpace profile…or, far worse, an AngelFire “page.”

4. You’re following over 1,000 users, have 20 followers, and no updates

5. Your profile features any variation of “Internet expert”…or “social media expert” and you have very few and/or insubstantial updates.

6. Your updates clearly indicate that your Twitter activity is always, only, about pushing your own service/product

7. Your following and my return follow result in a poorly-constructed auto-DM reading, “Thx for the follow! How can I help you get to a 4-Hour Work Week?”

8. Your most recent updates make references to any need to achieve “more Twitter followers”
…or “enough new followers to reach 10,000 followers by midnight!”

9. Your Twitter stream indicates a propensity for consistent arguing
…with your followers/random Twitter users/really anyone.

10. You do not engage your Twitter followers

2009 CPCs Up and CPMs Flat

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

Let's start the year off by talking forecasts... Media Post published an article today that discusses digital spending forecasts for 2009.

Overall several media are feeling the downturn in the economy, but various interactive spend forecasts still say 2009 will remain relatively strong. This is no surprise given digital's accountability and ability to segment out the optimum audience. The medium has become even more attractive given the current climate and as a result some dollars are shifting from non-digital media to digital.

This means that where other media are able to cut deals, it is a bit of a different story when it comes to an online buy.

Search will remain the strongest due to its ability to capture those seeking to find your product (higher demand = higher bidding).
Display will likely see some shrinkage in demand but CPMs will remain somewhat flat.

That being said search, "which captures the lowest hanging fruit," still needs promotional media to help increase search enquiries. As such, TG Madison recommends a targeted mix of display, WOM and search tactics for many of it's clients.

So what does this mean immediately for 2009?

Bid based campaigns will need to be monitored more closely to ensure that spend levels are adequate for the desired visibility.
Online commitments will need to begin earlier than in previous years as inventory in certain, high profile, highly relevant areas may become tighter more quickly.
Consumers will need to clearly see the difference between your offering and your competitors as its likely that your ads may run side-by-side (i.e. - Search).

Get ready for an interesting year, guys! Its going to be a bumpy ride!

Experience Based Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:13:00 +0000

TG Madison is taking an expertial communication approach with a couple of upcoming campaigns for Clients and thus this ClickZ article caught my eye.

Key take-aways from the article are:

Give people something to talk about (e.g., a unique feature, benefit, value proposition, etc.).
Let people experience the product and facilitate their talking about their experience publicly.
Use traditional media to drive people to talk about their experience so their collective feedback is accumulated and publicly visible for others to use in their own purchase decisions.
Be prepared to hear what you don't want to hear; be prepared to acknowledge questions, complaints, and suggestions and openly carry on the dialogue.
Use the ideas contributed by real users to innovate as fast as possible to give people something more to talk about, such as adding new features that users say they want.
Repeat the cycle often.

The burried lesson here is to "be prepared to hear what you don't want to hear." As such the question then becomes, what does listening look like now. There are several ways:

POP comments, feedback, surveys
Making it easy for consumers to email questions and comments to someone who will get back to them
Focus groups
Investing in an online opinion monitoring service

The last one is the one that doesn't get as much attention due to the fact that it costs money, but it may be one of the most telling ways to gather opinion because it is indirect -- It's hard to tell someone to their face that they have spinach lodged in their teeth. TG Madison has working relationships with a few companies which help understand this feedback and help work it into communication. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.

More Support: Display --> Search

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:17:00 +0000

No surprise, but a recent study from Specific Media says that while search acts as a base to capture those who want to find your product, display has it's purpose too and should be monitored jointly (i.e. through DoubleClick or Atlas tracking products).

This recent eMarketer article calls out how display tends to help stimulate incremental conversions when coupled with SEM.

The Imaginary Handcuffs

noreply@blogger.com (christina_in_atlanta) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:07:00 +0000

Love this article from Adweek.com.

My favorite quote is about idea briefing:

"Traditional briefs are about the brand, not the customer," says David Kenny, managing partner at Publicis's digital strategic initiative, VivaKi. "Digital is about the customer; you create around wherever they are. You start with human beings and then ask why your product is relevant to them."

I’ve personally struggled with trying to articulate why I’m not a fan of certain campaigns and I think this captures that “so what?” mentality that’s moving advertising away from awareness focused to relevancy focused.