IMM Blog

Here’s a great video from Acuity that covers the basics of...

immnik — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:56:16 -0600

Here’s a great video from Acuity that covers the basics of real-time media buying. A great primer for anyone looking to get up to speed on the new standard for purchasing online media.

3 Ways to Get Your Money's Worth

immnik — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:03:00 -0600

Figuring out the value of a lead, a new customer, or the effects of a branding campaign is often vexing, and attributing the wrong value can be disastrous. The last thing you need is to throw money away after an unsuccessful marketing campaign that on paper looks overwhelmingly profitable, but really doesn’t contribute to the bottom line.

Here’s three items to consider when attributing revenue and profit to your online media campaigns, and to double-check when you’re presented with a new plan.

1. Is it a one-hit wonder

Does this marketing campaign drive a single sale or does it create a customer with lasting value? Even if it’s a straight lead-generator or a one-time coupon redemption, this channel just might bring in a higher or lower value customer. Don’t assume it’s the same. A good place to start is to pull a sample, even a small one, and see how it compares to the average customer over the near term. Even if it’s a new marketing campaign, a simple “finger in the air” test is often enough to justify further research, or additional investment.

2. Pick the right metrics

Too many branding efforts are attached to fuzzy metrics, or none at all. If you’re only evaluating leads by open rates on follow-up emails, you’re under-valuing every Gmail user that doesn’t automatically load images. If you’re only looking at coupon redemptions, but really need to look at the size of the total purchase at the point of redemption, you might be throwing money away to customers with no long-term value. What metrics are immediate an actionable? What actions actually turn your economic crank?

3. What’s your attribution model?

Are you calculating sales by first-click, last-click or view-through? How are re-targeting efforts evaluated against the search ad that brought the customer to your site in the first place? An incorrect or simplistic attribution model leads to wasted money on media and poor guidance for future marketing. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all attribution model, it has to be customized for each campaign. So track everything, and don’t be afraid to adjust attribution once you see results come in and gain a better understanding of what’s really driving response.

Hello my name is ...

jbbimm — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:27:14 -0600

The people at IMM make a big difference—in the agency’s success, in its clients’ successes, and in creating a lively (and often hilarious) work environment.

Take a moment to meet our very own Daniel Paul — Executive Vice President, Client Strategy.

Fancying himself a smart dresser, Daniel oversees the Client Strategy Group, a talented team that continuously seeks opportunities with new clients to help them leverage IMM’s unique business model and thrive through IMM’s client-focused relationships. A problem solver and solutions-oriented thinker, Daniel likes to harness everything the Internet offers to help clients exceed their goals in a digital landscape.

Daniel honed his client-side skills at Apple, Disney, Turner Broadcasting, and the World Poker Tour. At Apple, Daniel launched the company into the entertainment industry by building out an awareness campaign for the Mac in graphic arts and music, and in the feature film business. His activities contributed to a 30 percent rise in market share.

At Disney, Daniel oversaw the entire children’s digital landscape, including web and mobile extensions for the company’s linear television properties, which were consistent top performers in their categories. In addition, Daniel helped spearhead a successful project to create an innovative mobile application and website companions to the company’s existing linear broadcast content and desktop Web presence. These efforts allowed users to take the Disney online experience on the go.

Daniel attended Boston University (he’s a big fan of the Duck Tours) and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was recruited directly out of college by Apple to join its software marketing group.

DID YOU KNOW?

Daniel once friended 20 other people on Facebook named Daniel Paul so his wall would read, “Daniel Paul is now friends with Daniel Paul.” It worked! Eleven other people named Daniel Paul accepted his friend request.

Welcome to the IMM blog

jbbimm — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:54:47 -0600

We’ve always been a little quiet around here, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, far away from the urban centers of marketing. But IMM’s not a typical agency; we’re a revolution in the traditional agency business model. We’re spending our own money, not our clients’ money, and we’re totally accountable for bringing real success to our clients.

In the five years since we founded IMM, we’ve grown rapidly and delivered awesome results to clients like Tracfone, Chili’s, AT&T, DirectBuy, Amazon, and many more. So we think it’s time that we pull the notional beta tag off of our business model and start showing the rest of the world what we’re up to.

This blog is our new experiment (and a shameless grab for organic search ranking). We’ll share some of our experiences in the world of marketing, our insights into the many industries we serve, and a little about IMM and the people who work here. We hope you’ll also follow us on Twitter, where we’re already sharing great links and news snippets, and on Facebook, where we like to relax and chat about life at IMM in beautiful downtown Boulder.

We invite you to join the discussion and respond with your own comments about what you like, what you agree and disagree with, and how we can make this blog and the other resources we provide more useful. So thank you for coming to our blog, thanks to our clients who have driven us to be the very best we can be, and thank you to all the wonderful people working at IMM and otherwise supporting us. Welcome to our blog, and to the evolution of the IMM revolution.