The Physical and The Digital

September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Marketing Punters and Pundits alike make stupid predictions.  One of the most laughable of late was the prediction of the early demise of “physical” Marketing- it will all be digital, in the ether, non-corporeal the big-thinkers said.

And like the seers of a “paperless office,” they were dead wrong.

Case in point is a superb piece of Marketing that just crossed my desk today.  The sexy brand Ferrari built their website on Microsoft’s Sharepoint for Internet Sites (FIS) platform, as have thousands of other companies.  Seeing an opportunity, Austin-based Catapult Systems decided to build a Practice out of planning, developing and maintaining websites built on FIS; in order to drive (excuse the pun) the business forward, they decided to do a Marketing campaign leveraging the Ferrari brand in a smart, fun way.

They sent a physical mailer with a nice Ferrari keychain attached.  A VIN number was etched on the keychain.  With simple text, the physical mailer drove (there we go again) folks to a website where one can watch a very simple-yet-compelling video about Sharepoint FIS and how Catapult systems can help companies engage their customers with the Sharepoint technology.  After watching the video, one had to register (with only a few information fields.)

And guess what?  No matter what happens, you get to keep the keychain (and who doesn’t love Ferrari products!)

In one fell swoop, the consumer got a very compelling digital and physical experience.

Now, I’m not trying to stump for Catapult; that’s not my intent or the intent of this blog.  But I do want to heap praise where praise is due.

But more than that, I want to share a bias with you all- I still love physical marketing.  A good giveaway is as compelling as any website.

So throwaway the bathwater but keep that gorgeous and gurgling baby!

[Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on our sister site, MarketingAccess.com]

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Early Demises: Why Zealotry around Digital Hurts Marketing

September 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It is NOT all about digital. I swear I read that somewhere in a magazine. Or, maybe, I saw it on TV. Not sure, but I do know that Marketing is a many-splendored thing and shouldn’t be cast as narrowly as it has been of late.

This piece is an admonition not a statement of nullification.  But we need to make it clear that Marketing is still about the “mix” and about “context.”  So the intended audience is those of you who are in “digitally zealous” mode – head out of orifice please!

My favorite piece of Marketing over the past 5 years has to do with the TSA. Yes the Transportation Safety Administration. No, not their cool outfits.  No, not their incredible customer-service. And not the **** probes either.  Instead, I love the trays. Because Zappos “owned” them for a long time and it made sense: advertising shoes where you put your, well, shoes.

Nothing like a captive audience, already immersed in “context.”

I have to admit I still believe in magazines too. While I think there are serious considerations around the environment that might militate against the growth of the magazine base in general, I still subscribe to no less than 10 magazines. In many ways, I still have a bias towards what I call the “burden of authorship” which characterizes the print editorial process. Because of that, I pay more attention to the advertisements in magazines because I find the surrounding content valuable.

And so on. You get the point.

Look, I embrace digital too – when it makes sense. The possibilities unmasked by the digital media are fantastic: measurement, quick-revolution, interactivity, deep experiential value, and so on. Wow. Because of these, it’s easy to get sucked into that world and to think “Digital is everything.”  It’s easy to get sucked into religion as well but so far I’ve steadfastly avoided that as well.

Because zealotry of any fashion hurts the whole.

So as Marketers, let’s reintroduce ourselves to our complex and wonderful craft.

In all its forms.

[Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on our sister site, MarketingAccess.com]

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Gaining Clarity in Digital Marketing

April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I just participated in a three day conference on Digital marketing which was attended by several digital agencies and thought leaders with good vantage points into this emerging space.

Interestingly, at the end of three days it became very clear that things are not very clear.

Multiple definitions exist concerning what digital marketing is, who cares about it, how to participate in it as a client/marketer or agency and how best to profit from it.

What is abundantly clear is the opportunity – for customers and agencies alike to change how they view their existing marketing efforts, reconfigure their marketing mix, rethink expectations of how we connect with customers, engage them, create a community and stickiness and in general, engender loyalty. This is clearly not blinding insight but I do believe there is a need and opportunity to help provide a framework to guide the efforts of various participants.
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Filed Under: Digital, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

The (Digital) Year in Review

February 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last week, comScore released its 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review. comScore describes this report as, “its annual report on the prevailing digital trends of the past year and their implications for the future.” There probably aren’t many surprises here for those who’ve been keeping reasonably abreast of the big trends, but there are some interesting nuggets for sure. Among the topics covered:

  • How did the rebounding economy influence retail e-commerce, what group-buying and flash sales sites found success in 2010?
  • Which social networks witnessed the largest gains, what new social media players came onto the scene in 2010?
  • What were the key trends in the search market, which search engines saw the largest gains throughout the year?
  • Who were the top players in display advertising in 2010, what are the key trends in measuring the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns?
  • How did online video viewers’ behaviors shift throughout the year, how are video ads influencing the industry landscape?
  • How has smartphone adoption influenced the mobile landscape, which players accounted for the largest share of the mobile market across operating systems, device manufacturers and network operators in 2010?

Again, not too many surprises (Facebook got more popular!), but there are some interesting statistics. Points of entry of engagement, for example, continue to shift, with portal traffic and traditional e-mail dropping as social media and entertainment channels grow. The trend towards local and group buying is exploding as well, with sites like Groupon up 712 percent over last year.

Check out the full report, and let us know your thoughts. Anything surprise you?

Filed Under: Market Research, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

The Consumer Changes the Market

October 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook is charting some interesting trends in the marketing world, stating that “brands are changing their focus from advertising on a medium, to marketing through, and with, content.” In fact, PwC predicts that global entertainment and media spending will rise by several million dollars by 2014 and grow at a rate of 5% annually.

PwC attributes this growth to three main causes: the ubiquity of mobile devices, the increasing dominance of the internet, and increasing engagement across all content. Because of the continuing digital resettlement, businesses are resettling their marketing spending as well. It will be nice when companies can stop chasing their customers and, instead, be waiting for them when they arrive at their digital destinations.

Have you shifted your own marketing spend to allocate more towards content? Does advertising remain supreme? Have you seen a positive (or negative) impact either way? As always, we look forward to your comments!

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Mind the Gap

August 24, 2010 By 1 Comment

The results of the 2010 Digital Influence Index have been released and although the results are not shocking, they are still compelling. Unsurprisingly, the index leads with the insight that “digital dominates in consumer influence — but not marketing dollars spent.” The Internet is reliably the source that most consumers go to when it comes to making purchase decisions. They go to the Internet for recommendations, information, and online purchases. Still, however, less than 14% of marketing dollars are spent on digital mediums worldwide.

When looking towards the future the study summarizes that, “thirty-nine percent of respondents said they thought the Internet would be more important in the next two years, while 59 percent said its importance would likely stay the same. Three percent said it would be less important.” It definitely seems hard to picture a future where the Internet isn’t just as influential as it is today, but hopefully marketing spending will begin to reflect this trend.

What are your thoughts? As you look within your organizations or among your clients, do you see marketing spend out of sync with the influence of the Internet? What’s behind this gap? And what will it take to better align marketing dollars with influence?

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Online Video: Right on Target

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Across the board, agencies are expecting to invest more in using online video for marketing purposes. This study by BrightRoll, a branded video advertising network, showed that not only does this still-developing medium prove itself to be “more effective” than other forms of advertising, but that its main appeal is the efficacy of targeting according to the respondents of this online survey.

Targeting is just one of those advantages of digital mediums. And with sites like Hulu allowing users to select the type of ads that they want to view, advertisers can expect that their messages will not only be viewed, but that those messages will be valuable and relevant to their audience. And that’s good news for both users and advertisers.

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