The Rogue Marketer

The Irrationality of Choice when Thinking Fast and Slow

2012-04-22T15:14:40-04:00

Think fast (Photo credit: freddie boy)

As marketers, we often rely more on instinct and perceptions of experience than rational thought. Marketers justify this type of decision making by convincing ourselves that when predicting the future, it's difficult to use the past or historical fact. Analysts on the other hand use historical fact and data as the only basis for decision making. They introduce a bias that often causes organizations to not see what is happening around them. This is how companies such as Folger's Coffee miss dramatic changes in a market, such as the coffee revolution sparked by a company like Starbucks.

In the book "Thinking Fast and Slow" , Daniel Kehneman demonstrates how bias influences decision making and how our minds are subject to systematic errors. As we all understand, but rarely consider, intuitive preferences consistently violate the rules of rationale choice. For example, if you like Ford cars, are you more likely to purchase Ford Stock, even if the stock isn't the best rational choice?

The notion of "Thinking Fast and Slow" refers to two systems in the mind, system 1 and 2. System 1 operates quickly without voluntary control, while system 2 are subject to the amount of concentration and reasoning you apply to a problem. For example, the author points our that system 2 applies to what we think of ourselves, while system 1 is the snap judgement we make when viewing others. Another example is the bias to act on an immediate emotional reaction, even when you are manipulated, instead of assuming or understanding that in fact you were manipulated into a decision, resulting in an error of judgement.

"We can be blind to the obvious, and we can be also blind to our blindness"

The book also explores the two dimensions of ourselves, the experiencing self, and the remembering self, which as noted by the writer, "do not have the same interests." For example, "what makes the experiencing self happy, may not make the remembering self happy." Another important point is that we are much better at recognizing mistakes in others, than spotting errors of judgement made by ourselves.

"Thinking Fast and Slow " is helpful in developing a higher degree of self awareness and promises to have a positive direct effect on your ability to formulate and execute marketing programs.

Channeling Don Draper

2012-04-09T13:41:28-04:00

Don Draper (Photo credit: Christina Saint Marche)

Sometimes life should imitate art. In this scene from Mad Men, Don Draper demonstrates how belief in great strategy and brilliant creative can be the difference between success and failure. Don knows that sometimes it's not what you can measure, but what you understand to be true. Don knows that when presenting an idea, you need to believe in it to a greater extent than a client's general level of skepticism and discomfort.

You can watch Don Draper in action here.

Right on Target

2012-03-16T11:48:01-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

There seems to be a change for the better in the quality and production values that are going into some recent TV spots. This commercial from Target just does everything right; visual interest, strategic ownership of Spring Color, speaks to unique Target aesthetics and it's so brand right. Congrats to the creative, production and account teams that pulled it together, as well as to the smart client that made the investment.

I Had Cartier Advertising for Breakfast

2012-03-05T13:54:05-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

This morning in between my orange juice and Kashi I was stopped mid-chew by a new long form TV commercial from Cartier. To understand the impact this had, you have to understand my purposely dull and monetenous morning routine. On most mornings the TV would actually have to explode for me to glance from the endless crime stories in the newspaper to the endless stories on the Today Show. If anything, the mornings are by design meant to unfold according to schedule, with the bits and pieces from my "friends" Matt, Ann, Al and Natalie providing soothing and familiar background noise as they struggle to make the latest update on LIndsay Lohan look like news. This is then followed by an endless stream of advertising that is filled with important updates such as the day for the latest Macy's super de duper sale, or the slightly more interesting new campaign from JCPenney (everyday low prices, but really low prices on every other Friday, or something like that). All this while thinking about the day, checking email and gulping down my breakfast in under 15 minutes so that I can catch the morning train with about 5 seconds to spare.

But not this morning. No this morning, out of no where, came a tiger racing through a dreamscape. Not one of those dreams that last :15 seconds or :30 seconds, but one that took over the entire advertising block. An eternity by today's standards. It was filled with images and music that were telling a story and taking you to a place that was beyond the ordinary. To call it an advertisement is to diminish my appreciation for the craft that went into its' production. To say it was a movie would not fully capture how impactful it was and how far it stood apart from anything I've seen before.... on morning television, let alone on television at all.

The "film" was released to celebrate the 165th anniversary of Cartier. It is a fitting tribute to the brand. The "film" was bold and original, making the programming that preceded it appear trivial, compared to the majesty of what just happended. Congratulations to Cartier and the marketers behind the brand on your 165th. The "film" is a fitting tribute and fresh start for a great brand.

Who Said Advertising Cant Be Fun

2012-02-16T09:46:43-05:00

Jeff Grill

Affiliate Summit West Sends 2012 Off to a Fast Start

2012-01-30T17:21:51-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

I've been a bit remiss in providing some thoughts and highlights coming out of Affilate Summit West 2012 (January 8 - 10 in Las Vegas). For those not familiar with the Summit, it's a biannual conference where performance marketers (translation: people that actually do the work to directly earn money that pays the mortgage) get together to share thoughts, ideas and to get a general sense of where we are all heading. Everyone in attendance uses a different approach, but all are centered around new models for lead generation, conversion and retention.

As was the case at past Summits, we are at yet another inflection point in marketing where the tactics of the past are giving way to opportunities created by the communications channels of the next 12 months. Each channel alone and in combination offers an infinite number of possible communications and revenue models that can be leveraged via either a highly focused or broad based multi-channel approach. As is always the case in marketing, those that take the time to learn faster, and then act with a test, read and role mentality can win, while those that cling to older models are destined to fail.

Of course, the other benefit of going to Summit is to learn about new networks and tools that can be placed into your CPA, CPC, PPC, SEO, Social Media and any other toolbox. This includes some innovative work being done by Sterkly, a company that is offering an interesting combination of software and affiliate offers that work alongside popular destination sites such as YouTube. There were also great presentations by Vinny O'Hare on that state of SEO, Robert Adler on link building and the famous Jeremy Schoemaker who provided an insightful keynote on the potential of the performance industry.

Affiliate Summit West was a sellout for good reason and it's why the upcoming Affiliate Summit East conference scheduled for August 12-14, 2012 will be even bigger.

Affiliate Summit West to Kick off 2012

2011-12-20T21:14:30-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Las Vegas promises to be the epicenter of the marketing universe from January 8 - 10, 2012 as affiliate marketers from all over the world meet to discuss 2011, the most turbulent year in marketing history. As we close on a year in which Google awoke from a long slumber and turned into a Panda, Amazon changed the face of publishing with the Kindle, and tablets became a rage, Affiliate Summit is the first conference to help marketers make sense of it all.

Spending some time at Affiliate Summit is invaluable since most attendees are hands on practitioners. For this crowd, understanding performance marketing is personal as it directly affects their livelihood. In an industry that continues to proliferate greater levels of complexity, it's the one place where marketers can piece it all together....at least for a day.

Not convinced? Let's add on the need to understand the impact of Apple iPhone's Siri, the mysteries of You Tube, the need to master social media, mobile couponing, not to mention benchmarking the performance of your affiliate program.

I'll be at the conference learning, networking and preparing to make 2012 a profitable year. Drop me a note if you are planning to go.

- Jeff

Update from Shawn Collins and Missy Ward: It looks like the final day to register for Affiliate Summit West 2012 before they reach capacity, will be Monday, December 26th.

Here Comes Siri and the Future of Organic Search

2011-11-23T20:30:22-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

For anyone that follows Apple and the recent introduction of the iPhone 4S, the most interesting feature was Siri. The platform is voice activated and is designed to provide a perfect match between a verbal request and the information or action requested.

What's interesting, is that just like brands compete for first position in organic rankings on Google (unpaid rankings), the same battle will occur for ranking in Siri. Said another way, companies like EasyCopy.com, the new online printer, will want to be the answer, when someone asks, "what is a high quality overnight online printing service," instead of a printing service such as FedEx.

It's still early on this one, but worth watching given the closed nature of the Apple universe and the disruptive nature of significant search share moving to voice. There are also several futurists that see Apple supremacy in the search world as their mobile devices and IPADs take over many of the functions that were previously dominated by PC use and the Googleverse.

The Value of SEO Optimization

2011-10-17T12:55:28-04:00

I came across these resources that can help anyone understand the revenue potential of organic keyword ranking and the on page and off page elements required to achieve high rankings. The entire process is referred to as SEO or search engine optimization. Oganic results are those website listings you see in Google, Yahoo or Bing that were not paid for by the site owner. They "organically" rank based on their value to the person doing the search.

The Value of Organic Search Click Through Rates

As you can see in this chart from Market Samurai, there is a significant difference in traffic generated based on your organic search results/keyword ranking. The distance from #2 to #1 represents a 3x increase in organic traffic!!! As an aside Market Samurai has a great tool for ranking and tracking keywords over time so that you can not only check your progress vis a vis the competition, but quickly identify those keywords that will result in the greatest revenue gain.

Organic Search Click through Rates
Source: Market Samurai

Methods for Achieving High Organic Rankings

There are many elements that go into achieving a high organic ranking. As detailed in the table, these elements roughly divide into on-page elements such as the quality and length of the content and off-page elements such as trust as expressed by inbound links and social media.

Developing a strong SEO optimization strategy ensures that all of these elements are managed to achieve the highest ranking possible. You can download the Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors here.

Affiliate Summit West 2012 Voting is Open

2011-10-14T13:34:04-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Voting is on for Affiliate Summit West 2012 sessions. For those unfamiliar with the show, it's the largest annual gathering of affiliate marketers and a must attend for anyone involved in the performance marketing industry.

I've proposed a session on what to do when your merchant program is not meeting expectations. The session is called "Merchant Failure to Launch." I need your votes to make sure that it is part of the show agenda. I'll be co-hosting with Deborah Carney, one of the best known podcasters and OPM's in the industry.

Please register here, and then click here to vote for the session.

Thanks for voting and be sure to say hello at the show.