Karl Havard ~ A Grapefruit Matter:

#BigData could mean #BigTrouble. A post from @econsultancy.

2013-05-08T10:58:00.000+01:00

[Extract] "We're quite literally swimming in a sea of data. We have the ability to collect it from every consumer touch point we choose, whether it's website activity, cookies, socialgraph information, direct marketing database, in-store or using other third party tools.

There is no shortage of data, but what does your business do with it all? Is your brand using big data to enrich people's lives? Or is it just used for more "accuracte" ad targeting?

It probably depends on how your business is structured and where you sit, or how you employ your agencies. Do you consider the entire consumer journey, and understand how your product and services enhance the lives of existing customers? Or are you only concerned and targeted on achieving high advertising click-through rates and low cost per clicks?

There is a balance to be struck, and one of the biggest challenges facing brands and agencies today is to ensure they really do have the right intentions at heart. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of using all the insights derived from the various data sources to construct "relevent" marketing messages to interrupt people with the aim of persuding them to buy stuff. This interruption, even if deemed relevant by the business, maybe unwelcome to the consumer and could tarnish your brand.

Read on, if you feel you, as a marketer, may be falling into such a trap. "

Real Time #Social: Planning for the unplanned #InternetWorld2013

2013-04-25T19:09:00.000+01:00

Real Time Social and ROI: Capture the moment #InternetWorld2013 from Karl Havard

The #Social Consumer Journey: from a brand perspective...The #Funneloop

2013-03-14T16:17:00.001Z

There have been a number of consumer and customer journey models, all of which have been very confused and somewhat fudged, since the arrival of social media. McKinsey, GfK, Forrester (with Facebook) and a few others have been doing the rounds for the past few years. #Imho, none of them have actually really grasped an accurate and representative model that includes the social dynamic of people interacting with each other. So, please let me introduce to you the #Funneloop.

For those of you familiar with previous models will see two subtle differences:

It combines the funnel (the consumer attrition from awareness through conversion to loyalty) with the Loyalty Loop
It adds the much missed consumer into the equation. Not a consumer on their own, but consumers in numbers, interacting with each other

The image may be likened to a limb challenged squid, or one of Ricky Gervais' Flanimals, but if you take the time to follow it, it does actually serve as a beneficial framework for marketing and social marketing purposes.

The key factors are:

The people flowing through the funneloop.

Numbers are one thing...you need these of course.
But specific audience segments, based around their passions, influence and value is a major, and potentially more important consideration
Understanding how they interact with each other is also key

The amount of attrition throughout the flow, the "leaky pipe", naturally, needs to be kept to a minimum.

There will be leaks, so it's worth knowing where these occur, understand the reasons why, and have a baseline measure. This will enable you to see if these become larger than normal at any given time.

Product, brand and fellow consumer experience post purchase, which will impact the decisions of those considering purchase. [ZMOT].
The experience will also impact the number of customers (already purchased) who decide to turn right at the "Reconsideration point".

Minimise the "left turners" and reduce churn rate.
Build up advocacy and trust to drive Momentum.

As well as the numbers and quality of consumers, enhancing the speed of flow will also increase conversion rates and repeat purchases.
Make it easy and a great experience at every touch point for them. Momentum will be stimulated by achieving high degrees of advocacy and trust.

It's important to realise that a brand's social behaviour plays a part at every stage of the funneloop and will also enhance the returns (ROI) from other marketing, when operated in a synchronised manner. 2nd screen with TV and Twitter are good examples of this. You may also see a #Funneloop in an aquarium.

Looks like #PaidSearch is a "goal hanger" and #SocialMedia is the play maker.

2013-03-05T12:41:00.000Z

Courtesy of Harvard Business Review, the above chart is part of an article outlining how "swim lane" measurement i.e. measuring a channel in isolation, can provide misleading results and ROI. Quite clearly, from this analysis, Paid Search is that player that hangs around the 6 yard box, waiting for the easy tap in and taking all the glory. This makes sense, when you keep in mind that people searching are those with an intent, and towards the conversion end of the consumer journey. Where as, social media looks to be the chap crafting the build up play and making the assists. Full article here.

Wouldn't it be cool if #nikeplus could calculate your possible best. #makeitcount

2013-03-01T18:54:00.002Z

Like most runners (and I use that term very loosely) there are certain routes I run on a regular basis. Sometimes my times are ok; sometimes I'm blowing like a factory chimney, and could probably walk quicker. However, overtime, each route becomes very familiar and has certain points on the way, where you gauge how well your doing against the clock.

So, wouldn't be cool, if you could overlay the run stats on Nike+ over each other, so you could see where you're quicker, and where you're slower. Maybe even annotate where the landmarks are too.

By doing so, Nike+ could then calculate your possible best time and pace for the route, by showing your best pace, across all runs, at each stage of the route. I've tried, quite badly, to demonstrate this below. So, Nike, if you ever get to see this, please add it to your dev' path. I don't think it would take much effort to make it work, and it would help give every runner that reachable goal based upon their own personal performance.

An example of three graphs, of a short route over-layed on top of each other.

#SocialMedia Love v Respect Matrix: Which platform is a "Lovemark"?

2013-02-11T21:50:00.001Z

You may or may not be familiar with Lovemarks. This is a concept which came out of Saatchi and Saatchi, and identifies, as best as possible, the characteristics of those brands which become things we love. The idea of "brand" is always in the head (and heart) of the consumer, and therefore, what is a Lovemark to some, maybe something very different to someone else....Apple and Microsoft for example.

One way to grade a brand is to place it within the Love v Respect matrix. High Love, and High Respect making it a Lovemark, where as the opposite (Low Love and Low Respect) makes it is a commodity. The image below fills in the gaps.

I thought I'd choose 12 social media platforms to place where I believe they sit, but also accompany each with an arrow representing the direction of travel. i.e. Where they used to be, say 6 to 12 months ago. The longer the arrow, the further they have travelled. Obviously a matter of opinion, and I haven't given the reasons why I think this (some may be obvious), but it would be interesting to hear others opinion. [The time of writing is a key element here.]

We're all feeling it! Facebook Fatigue.

2013-02-07T14:07:00.002Z

That feeling of getting a little tired of Facebook, has been validated by Pew Research. An interesting report on the changing behaviours of people towards the worlds largest social network.

#DailyPint: January's top beer & a bunch of reprebates

2013-02-02T09:35:00.003Z

A lot of people chose to abstain from alcohol, taking part in this odd January "Dryathlon" thing...making not drinking sound like an endurance sport. However, for 2013, I chose the opposite, but in moderation of course. A #DailyPint. A different pint of beer everyday for 2013.

So at the end January, so far so good, and for me there were some stand out favourites, with the best beer I tasted bringing back a flood of memories. Here's my top three:

The clear winner for a number of reasons is "The one and only" Newcastle Brown. As well as the taste, it has been quite some time since I'd drank one, and it took me straight back in time. I instantly recalled a quiet evening, stuck in a broken down Chieftain tank in the middle of the Ooloo going no where fast. In such situations, you should diligently camouflage yourself up; maintain 24hr radio coverage, and ensure 100% vigilance. Which of course our crew of four did, whilst polishing off a crate of Newcastle Brown. There's always room for beer in a tank.

This led me to dig out an old photo of that time, and here it is. I wonder where these good looking fellas are now?

If Carlsberg did Tank Troops. This is D Squadron Fitter Section, The Queen's Own Hussars, in 1991(a lifetime ago). From l to r: Gruesome, Steve Taylor, Sharpie, Some bloke who thinks he's in a boy band, Geordie Corker, Sooty, Grant Anderson, Mick Orme, Geordie John, Barry Jordan & Wol' The Spaceman.

Social Metrics that impact Business Metrics: 3 Case Studies

2013-01-13T18:15:00.000Z

Social Media Measurement case studies, presented at the All Facebook conference in London at the end of 2012. There are 3 cases studies outlining the impact of social on metrics from NPS to sales. Correlation and causation.

Moving the Metrics that Matter. 3 Case Studies: All Facebook Conference, London from Karl Havard

Emotional v Rational Content Matrix

2013-01-06T19:05:00.000Z

I came across this really simple and useful content matrix, which plots the type of content delivery by emotional to rational v awareness to purchase. Naturally, it's not all about how content is structured, a major factor is the content itself, but this matrix helps you choose how to deliver your content based upon what you want to achieve. Credit to First10 and Smart Insights.

Why do people share online?: New York Times Report on #SocialMedia

2012-11-26T13:38:00.001Z

A bit annoyed at myself for missing this report when it first came out. It's a very good read, insightful and will be using some of this research in presentations.

Is Online "Influence" all relative to Justin Bieber? #figaroconference

2012-07-13T14:22:00.002+01:00

A spooky and rather unpleasant thing happened yesterday. I presented, on behalf of TBG Digital, at yesterday's Figaro Conference in London, discussing the value of online influence tools to brands (slides at the bottom of this post). All that was good and very enjoyable, but I'm afraid to say that Justin Bieber made an appearance in the deck, due to his perceived levels of influence.

Anyway, one of the front running influence measurement tools (Klout) recalibrated their algorithm a few months ago. The vast majority of scores dropped, and the rumours on the grapevine, rightly or wrongly, were that the recalibration was because of Justin Bieber's continually perfect score of 100. So, there was a lot of discussion about everyone's score actually being relative to Justin....Justin, in fact, maybe perceived to be the epi-centre of the online influence universe.

I have nothing against this chap, apart from his music, and the fact that he is slowly infiltrating my home with random noise and his face appearing on a number of bedroom walls....however, after the conference and discussion yesterday I arrived home to find that a life size cardboard cut out of Justin Bieber had decided to move in on the same day. I'm hoping this is coincidence and not a prank from someone with a warped mind.

Bieber, Maddy and Tallulah

Naturally, there had to be a series of photo calls with cardboard Justin, and I wanted to share this one. A few likes and dislikes about the picture:

Dislikes:
1. Justin Bieber
2. My eldest daughter thinking she is standing next to Justin Bieber, and looking far too happy about it

Likes:
1. My youngest daughter getting in on the action and spoiling the "moment". Good work Tallulah!
2. My other two daughters nowhere near Justin Bieber

As luck would have it, I also enjoy a little bit of .22 smallbore competition target rifle shooting. So there is a strong chance that Justin's cardboard effigy will serve a much more rewarding purpose.

The Real Value of Online Influence Tools: The Figaro Conference, London 12th July 2012

View more PowerPoint from Karl Havard

#EdgeLondon: Online advertising: Breaking through the subconscious

2012-06-21T13:09:00.000+01:00

Please find the presentation from the On The Edge Marketing Conference held at the Congress Centre in London on 21st June 2012. I hope it's interesting and useful. Please feel free to download.

Online Advertising: Breaking through the subconscious spam filters, #EdgeLondon 21st June 2012

View more PowerPoint from Karl Havard

The New #Twitter Logo: It was all done with circles

2012-06-15T08:30:00.000+01:00

Seen the new Twitter logo? Of course you have and all the batman variants too. But simplicity is sometimes very elegant. 12 circles is what it took to create the new logo. Take a look and see how...in glorious technicolour and blue.

Online Influence Presentation, #FoDM @econsultancy 13:06:12

2012-06-13T16:28:00.000+01:00

Here is the Slideshare embed of the Online Influence slides, from the #FoDM econsultancy conference 13th June 2012

Online Influence, at #FoDM econsultancy, by Karl Havard, TBG Digital

View more presentations from Karl Havard

The Value of a Facebook Fan: Is there an answer?

2012-05-04T16:24:00.000+01:00

It's not an age old question, but certainly one that is starting to be asked much more frequently by brands, businesses, agencies...pretty much anyone who is involved in marketing today. "So what is the value of a Facebook Fan?" In fact if you Google it, you'll be presented with 401Million results....and this post will add to the noise.

The interesting thing is, the most prominent results present the reader with a number of explanations and hypotheses {plural for hypothesis....allegedly} which take you on a path of intangibility ended up with the conclusion that you can't put a value to a fan. Is that because that's the easiest conclusion? Whereas a number of others are very definite about the value, it's £9.81!! However, they fail to focus on the "people talking about that" element.

In my very humble opinion, most of these articles are confusing a number of things, hence they are quite a bit fluffy. Here's why:

Value is being mistaken for Quality

Value should be a tangible err... value
Where as quality includes all the good stuff (aka "Hippy Sh*t") such as influence, sentiment, reach, recency, frequency etc.
Therefore, quality is a factor within value

There is a direct value to Fans who are already customers, but does a customer who is a fan, have an incremental value to a customer who is not?

Assumption is they do, but in some cases they don't. Share prices can go up as well as down.

Fans who are not customers don't have a direct value, they haven't parted with any cash, but they do have an in-direct value. Again this can be positive as well as negative.
The in-direct value is the elephant in the room. Some say technology is not yet advanced for us to calculate this (Olivier Blanchard, Rule #2 b.)

I'd disagree. The right data from several sources, correlated together can bring this to tangible numbers

The actual value WILL vary from business to business, due to frequency of purchase and ticket value, but for B2C business the actual value can be calculated. I know a company that can do it! ;-)

#Klout Gaming & Artistry. "Can you see what it is yet?"

2012-03-22T17:44:00.002Z

So everyone is familiar with Klout...the online influence scoring site that gives your social ego a score out of 100.

But did you know there is a new game you can play with it? It's called "Klout Trolling" and Wired UK first posted about it earlier this month.

I was putting a few slides together for an @econsultancy session around online influence, to find that Klout thought I was a little bit of an authority on Pirates and Disease. The latter I can understand due to spending a bit of time working on the END7 campaign, but Pirates!!! No idea where that came from. Then I found out, thanks to @areshaonline that it was possible to add influential topics to others within Klout by awarding K+ points. And, according to Duncan Geere on Wired UK this is the latest social "craze"(slight exaggeration). So, since then I have awarded people influence points on Donkeys, Mushroom growing and even Typo's, and in return I've become a bit of an authority on Toilet Training.

So...the point of this post...will this craze skew influence scores and segmentation? Brands use Klout to find and offer Perks to"influencers" in specific topics, who have fairly high Klout scores, this may make life a little more difficult for them to reach, who are perceived to be, the right people.

I've also attempted to start another craze, which won't take off, but is just as creative as Trolling. Can you create artwork from your Klout Score Analysis chart? I've worked hard to adjust my score, up and down, to create a real online profile, with a slightly surprised expression. Please see below. Can you do better?

This is some good work by @AreshaOnline. A strong firm jaw, probably sculptured from adding Facebook to the profile....and clearly outranking my own Klout score.

Why is it #TeamGB #trampolining athletes struggle to find sponsorship?

2012-03-12T17:47:00.001Z

Tucked away in the heart of England there lives a centre of excellence. This isn't one of those nonsense marketing terms, sometimes used by businesses to draw attention to something which is typically quite mundane; this, is in fact, the complete opposite.

This is a genuine centre of excellence, which is the home of several world class athletes and up and coming athletes who represent Great Britain at World, Olympic and European level.

It is the home of NTGA (Northants Trampolining & Gymnastics Academy). Where these athletes and their coaches live and breathe trampolining, putting in 20+ hours a week in training, plus further time to help train and support other budding trampolinists through the competition grades to become the next regional and national champions. To see how good these guys are, please watch the video at the bottom of this post.

So you'd think they would have all sorts of sponsorship support from major businesses, especially in the year of 2012 when the Olympics comes to London. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong, very wrong indeed.

Most of the trampolinists train 20+ hours a week, and have to pay for their own equipment and stump up for the cost of travel across the UK and internationally for competitions (e.g. 2012 European Championships in St Petersburg). It's not cheap and the chances of earning a salary to help contribute towards these expenses are reduced because of the training required...it's a catch 22 situation. The dedication shown and achievements attained are not matched with the financial backing that is required.

These guys really do need some support and sponsorship. Fund raising events organised by friends and family and by the trampolinists themselves can only go so far. So if you know of an organisation or business that would like to sponsor the athletes and coaches, or contribute towards helping them, please can you "Like" the NTGA Facebook Page and get in touch this way; or contact them via @NorthamptonTGA on Twitter, or by email at info@ntga.co.uk

The NTGA Athletes representing Great Britain in The European Championships this year are:

James, (28) is 4 x British Champion and ranked 7th in the world in 2009. In 2011 he competed in the World Cup Finals. He has been selected for the GBR team in 2012 and will represent one fifth of the senior men's team for the European Championships in April this year. James is currently sponsored by the National Grid, a sponsorship which is up for review in April, and it is hoped this support will continue.

Steve, (26) has also just qualified for the GBR Team to make up one more fifth of the senior men's team representing Great Britain in the Euro's in St Petersburg in April 2012. He is currently a freelance sports journalist, working for the Northampton Chronicle & Echo and actively seeking sponsorship.

Penny, (22) has just secured her first GBR Team cap and represents Team GB at the European Championships in the Ladies under 22 Team. Penny is a part-time degree student at Northampton Uni' and also does part-time work for the County Council to help pay for her love of trampolining.

STOP PRESS: Penny has been selected as one of the Olympic Torch Bearers and will be carrying the flame on 2nd July 2012 through Corby.

These and a number of others at NTGA, plus their coaches, including Tracy Whittaker-Smith GBR Coach, would all welcome and appreciate any support that can be offered. Please spread the word.

James' qualifying routine for the Euro's

A recent club competition supporting "I am BG"

#iPad3...for Horses.

2012-03-09T14:02:00.005Z

So funny, it's worth sharing. "LongFacebook" is just genius.

The next level of augmented reality from Inition

2012-03-01T15:48:00.001Z

How cool is this?! Imagine, in the not too distant future, every smartphone/tablet having this technology inbuilt within it....it would revolutionise magazines, outdoor advertising, the retail environment, education etc. etc. There is some very clever work being done out there...this is from Inition

#SocialMedia Advertising from the 1950's

2012-02-27T14:20:00.004Z

Have you ever thought what the advertising for Facebook would have looked like if it had been around in the 1950's? The chances are you haven't....why would you! But if, on the very remote chance, you have, there's no need to imagine anymore.

I came across these fifties style ad's for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Skype designed by Moma Propaganda a pretty cool agency from Brazil. So I thought I'd share them. It's worth taking time to read the descriptions....very funny

#wtf is OPRIG or NAKN? A perspective on poor graffiti.

2012-02-22T11:12:00.002Z

Every morning while walking to work, I'm presented with the letters "NAKN". As you can see.

Like many people, who are in "routine mode", a lot of things go unnoticed, and it took a few months before I saw the hand painted letters, and probably a couple more for them to even register. Subconsciously, they must have been categorised as bland graffiti and filed away somehwere, but something wasn't quite right, hence it pricked my conscious level. When I took the time to read the letters, it struck me as a very odd thing for a graffiti artist to write; plus the fact the artist's handy work was pretty poor. It certainly wasn't a Banksy.

Then, walking from work back to the station, I'm presented with "OPRIG". Again, probably a 2 out of 10 for graffiti skills, and definitely the handy work of the same artist. Of course by now, I know what the letters mean, as I walked passed the entire piece of artistry earlier that day. Seeing OPRIG did make me smile and think about different perspectives.

A very cheesey metaphor for encouraging people to look at something from different angles, before they can be entirely sure as to what the full picture is.

The more astute may have worked it out already, but if you're like me, I had to see it full on before I had any inkling of why this budding graffiti artist had taken the time to show his or her handy work to the world.

It's not very exciting, but the full reveal is below.

It reminded me, a little bit of the video where you have to count the basketball passes. See if you get the right answer.

What is it with the colour #Blue and implicit click-throughs?

2012-02-20T16:58:00.001Z

I recently presented the results of some implicit brand association research to a number of different groups and individuals.

Prior to presenting the results I wanted to try and demonstrate its power above and beyond conscious level research. So I asked a number of people what their favourite colour was. The aim of this, regardless of their answer, was to then ask people "Why?". The majority of people could not articulate why, the minority thought they could, but it felt a little post rationalised. My point regarding the power of implicit research compared to conscious level research (surveys, focus groups etc.) was generally accepted...to a degree. Any doubters were then followed up with "What's your favourite song?"

Anyway, what was really intriguing is all apart from one person, regarding the favourite colour question, answered blue.

At a recent Google event they presented some data around the colours attracting the highest click-through rates...again this was blue. This intrigued me so I carried some further amateur research. Here are some observations:

The vast majority of share buttons on the web for the social networks are blue. Coincidence?
Blue is, allegedly, the colour of trust, reliability and being safe
Eating food off of a blue plate can help you lose weight!
People are more productive when working in a blue environment, even blue tinted light can help productivity.
Also, "Blue is the colour, football is the game" with Chelsea being knocked out of the FA Cup this year by the Mighty Foxes. Both play in blue.

But here are some practicalities:

Blue is a dominant colour and has a wider spread across the spectrum. Statistically meaning it will the most popular choice
As for click-through. Google, since its inception over 14 years ago, has always presented its search results with the blue text as the hyperlink to click through.
According to the more geeky, html links default to blue.

Therefore, the argument is, the web has programmed people to click on blue...it's ended up in our system 1 auto pilot, we've be implicitly trained. The data just confirms this.

So would you click on this link?

Impact of #SocialMedia & Technology on the Consumer Journey

2012-02-04T10:03:00.001Z

Below are the slides presented at the recent digital conference for the restaurant and leisure industry at the Soho House Hotel, organised by Aardvark Media.The social consumer journey

View more presentations from Karl Havard

#Google Wallet & iPhone 5: Is this the end of "Pretty Green"?

2012-02-01T10:28:00.004Z

Pretty Green, a song by The Jam about money (£1 notes used to be green...a very long time ago) lost literal relevance when the £1 coin was introduced...tenuous link....so are we now on the verge of witnessing the end of physical tender all together?

Some may think so. If you take a look at the videos below and it would indicate this is a very strong possibility, with all currency, like music, moving into a virtual medium...even small change. Mobiles and NFC and one touch payment is happening in 2012.

So, what will we put in the Juke Box?