Marketing | Advertising | Digital Media Thoughts and Observations

Listen First

March 25, 2010

Here's another nugget from the white paper, "Sorry Madison Avenue, This Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Before interacting with customers in the realm of social networking, marketers should listen to what customers are saying about their brands by using the wealth of monitoring tools available. Many are free and worthy of investigation before deciding whether to invest in more-sophisticated listening technologies.

Examples of free tools include Google Alerts for monitoring keywords related to a brand, Technorati for listening to the blogosphere, Lexicon for monitoring Facebook and Twendz for assessing a brand’s reputation on Twitter. Not only do these tools yield valuable insights into how people feel about a brand, they also can reveal opportunities for seeding conversations with customers.

The complete white paper is below.

Download KSV_MediaRevolution

Old, New Media Coexisting

March 24, 2010

TV didn't obsolete radio and online video is unlikely to displace TV.

So reports New York Times ad columnist Stuart Elliott (http://nyti.ms/aLh1cn).

Elliot cites a number of recent campaigns from advertisers like Jim Beam and Unilever unit Bertolli and concludes that online video complements TV ads. Bertolli, for example, is promoting its web series "Into the Heart of Italy" with TV spots on ABC.

Not to mention all the advertisers who post their commercials on YouTube and on their web sites.

Long live TV! And the web! And mobile! And outdoor! And (your favorite medium)!

'You Say You Want a Revolution'

March 23, 2010

Looking for some guidance to the media revolution?

"Sorry, Madison Avenue. This Revolution Will Not Be Televised" may be your ticket. It's a pithy look at the forces pushing marketing and media to the brink.

A sample:

The old model of mass marketing is crumbling. Trouble isn't looming on the horizon; it's here. We see two primary challenges with which brand marketers must contend in the Information Democracy:

• Sorting through the myriad connections customers are building
• Mastering unfamiliar and uncharted channels of communications

Intrigued? Read the entire analysis at the pdf below and then weigh in with your comments.

Download KSV_MediaRevolution

 

Low-Tech Marketing

February 22, 2010

Sometimes a good idea is in plain sight.

How do you educate people visiting a resort about all of its offerings, especially when said resort has transformed itself from a mere ski resort into a world-class destination?

That was the challenge we faced for Stowe Mountain Resort. The resort is well into a ten-year makeover that is fundamentally altering its character. Of course, the mountain remains the same with its steeps and deeps. But now you can complement your tree skiing with Swedish massage and five-star cuisine.

We chose a simple solution: small weather-resistant signs attached to the ubiquitous ski-and-snowboard racks that sit outside the day lodges. And we chose a variety of messages to both amuse and inform. And cross-sell, too.

The sign pictured here at the base of Spruce Peak promotes the spa. Others promote ski school ("A school where students actually look forward to their assignments."), real estate ("Should we arrange to have your mail forwarded?"), and the resort's courtesy code ("There's plenty of mountain to go around. Stay in control.").

One of our parameters for the project was don't oversign the environment. Did we succeed? You can view all 16 signs by clicking below.

Download StoweRackSigns

Newspaper Sites Struggle

October 26, 2009

It looks like ad networks are scooping newspapers, at least in terms of ad spending.

In a report in today's Times, Stephanie Clifford's article, "Online Rally May Sidestep Newspapers" (http://bit.ly/2gvIiJ), suggests that "newspaper sites are the patent-leather stilettos of the online world: they get used for special occasions, but other shoes get more daily wear." Colorful language.

Ms. Clifford cites a recent Mercedes-Benz USA campaign that used The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for an online roadblock, buying expensive 3-D ad units on the front pages but then quickly migrating the campaign to smaller, less expensive, more efficient sites via ad networks.

This could be an ominous trend for the big newspapers.

Ms. Clifford also cites research that suggests "as long as an ad looks good, it does not matter whether it runs on a fancy site or a lower-end site." Ouch!

7 Things I Learned at SMX

October 24, 2009

Earlier this month I attended the Search Marketing Expo in New York. I participated in workshops on paid search, Facebook and Twitter marketing, and online reputation management, among others. There was a lot to take in. Here are just a few nuggets:

1. Web users spend only 5% of their time on search engine sites and 95% at content sites. You may want to think about how to get your message on the latter.
2. Think key phrases not key words. Longer key phrases--three and four words--get searched more these days.
3. Typeahead tools used by many search engines can be a great source of key phrase ideas because they usually are the most popular, recent phrases people are searching .
4. The very best search engine optimization is great content on your site.
5. Putting your toll-free number in your paid search ad may save money if buyers call before clicking. It's worth testing.
6. Facebook advertising is like a massive land grab at the moment with 120 million people logging in daily. Count on advertising rates skyrocketing in the next year.
7. One speaker described Facebook as "the other Internet, only worse."