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Media Advertising Forecasts Are Now A Reality

April 25th, 2012

Let the celebration begin! Media advertising spend forecasts become a reality in Q1. We’ve all been hearing the positive signs that the U.S. economy is improving. Slow. But, improving. In the Nielsen Wire, ad spend for the close of 2011 showed an increase of 24% growth on the internet. And, Nielsen shared a very optimistic outlook for continued growth in 2012. Analysts suggest the U.S. presidential election, The European Cup, and the London Olympics will also continue to a rise in ad spend. This all sounded great to me at the end of 2011. We could use some positive economic signs. But, honestly, I was holding my breath to see how Q1 ended and what industries were adjusting their forecasts for media spend. I can finally breathe…reports confirm we are on target. And, still analysts are sharing a positive outlook for the remainder of 2012.

Here are some highlights from Adobe’s Global Digital Advertising Q1 2012 Update:

Search spend increased year over year 16 % in the U.S.
In the U.S., ROI increased by 11 % year over year
In Q1, mobile spend reached 8 % of all search spend in the U.S.
Google CPC fell by 5 % year on year
Google search algorithmic changes contribute to growth in search spend
Facebook post engagement increased 176 % year on year
Facebook spend has grown by 93 % year on year
Display advertising continues to increase in strength

The report also highlights that Google’s search algorithmic changes more than made up for the drop in CPC. And Bing/Yahoo CPC rates increased by 18 % as marketers took advantage of better return per click (RPC) rates. The bottom line is that the Bing/Yahoo ROI advantage over Google no longer exists.

Adobe’s Outlook for Q2-Q4 2012

US Mobile Spend and Forecasts

Tablet and mobile spend will make up 15 to 20 % of all search spend by the end of 2012.
Facebook CPC rates are expected to decelerate. Facebook Timeline for brands—Brands that measure success of Facebook via engagement will probably spend more on Facebook advertising to build their audiences and engage with fans in a meaningful way.
Search spend in the U.S. will increase 10 to 15 % for the rest of 2012. This rate is consistent with macro trends. Search spend is typically indicative of the current state of the economy—as the medium allows advertisers to react quickly to marketplace changes—thus providing a positive outlook for both search and the U.S. economy.

It will be interesting to see how Google’s Adwords for Video is adopted. If you missed the launch of Google Adwords for Video, Search Engine Watch published a great article, Getting Started on Google AdWords TrueView Video Ads, during the beta launch. The screens may have changed, but the images of TrueView are very helpful for newbies.

I hope you find the report helpful as you review your budget planning for the remainder of 2012.

-Kim

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What’s in your media mix?

March 30th, 2012

Are you feeling overwhelmed by media options, new technology, and the constant push for ROI metrics? You aren’t alone.

I recently attended the Microsoft Convergence 2012 event in Texas. General Colin Powell delighted attendees with inspiring keynote speech, in which he shared a great story about his granddaughter. General Powell was sharing how kids in this generation are “hard wired” for technology. As an example, his granddaughter had expressed shock and frustration at the new flat screen television he had recently purchased. “It doesn’t work”, she insisted. When he asked her what was wrong, she said “it won’t work!” She was swiping the screen as you would any touch pad. And, of course, the screen didn’t change. How is that for a “hard wired” generation?

I couldn’t help but think about this example while reading a white paper published by Susan Kelly, Vice President of Enterprise Marketing Services at Xerox Corporation. Today’s Media Mix Conundrum: Tranformative marketing trends in the next decade shares the top 5 forces shaping the next digital decade. And, it is packed with insight on what is happening and how Chief Marketing Offices are struggling to keep up with the changes all while dealing with the struggle of declining budgets. Here is a snap shot of the changes found in many of the Fortune 1000 companies. How does this compare to the shift in your marketing mix?

I recommend going through the whitepaper and taking in the tips on personalization and capturing your customer’s preferences. I am interested in learning what techniques you are using in your business to gain a better understanding of how your consumers are using media.

As technology evolves, it is easier to to test and adjust marketing campaigns in real time. But systems are still not fully integrated, making reporting cumbersome and sales response times delayed. So, even as marketers refine their media mix, organizations will struggle until marketing and sales systems are integrated.

What are you biggest challenges in defining the right marketing mix for your organization?

-Kim

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Code for Conversions: Lastest Mobile Advertising Trends

February 7th, 2012

Are you taking your mobile advertising campaigns to the next level? Why not learn from others? Did you get a chance to read the Search Engine Watch (SEW) blog article, QR Marketing Evolving Rapidly [Study], posted last week? SEW shared some stats from a recent study conducted by Nellymoser of the top 100 U.S. magazines by circulation. The focus of the study was to learn more about how QR codes are being used in magazine advertising.

The bottom line is that there is an explosion of growth in the use of marketing action codes, and we can learn plenty by diving into the data in this study. Download the entire report on QR Codes and Tags in Magazine Advertising, so you can learn, compare and apply the information to your marketing campaign experiences. The stats and graphs shared here are from Nellymoser.

Highlights:

In 2011, advertising drove a 439% increase in use of action codes
QR codes boast 72% of code market share over Microsoft Tag and others
Video engagement most common action after scan, 54%
By Q4, only 3% included SMS campaigns for people without code readers

Personally, what I took away from this study is that the magazine medium has experienced an amazing adoption trend, and as a result best practices have been refined for their market. For example, in Q4 only 23% of the action codes had instructions to get the scanning app. In Q2, 48% of the action codes had these instructions. Does this mean you should not include instructions? Do your research, and test your theories?

The other stat I find fascinating is the 3% choice to use SMS. Although the percentage hasn’t dropped, it is extremely low given the number of people that still do not have a smartphone. I believe SMS is still a relevant action code element for some types of businesses. Especially if at the point of viewing the code, there isn’t time to download an app or get the camera ready to snap a photo. This situation is not as likely for people browsing a magazine. Therefore, this stat makes sense here, but I would expect a variance across other advertising mediums.

I didn’t find any shocking information on the mobile engagements after scanning, but maybe this list will help get you thinking about how you might incorporate mobile action codes into your campaigns.

Some examples of branding and demonstrations by video provided in the Nellymoser report include:

A behind-the-scenes look
A product demonstration
A how-to video
An entertaining video

On a side note, I attended a cancer fundraising function this last weekend, and I tried to scan a QR code printed on a large sign. In creating their signage, they didn’t take into account the distance of the attendees in relationship to the sign. It was too small. However, they also included the QR code on their collateral and giveaways.

I see these codes popping up on more and more of my medical, insurance, grocery and food direct mail and packaging. Some brands are getting very clever in how they use them. I am very interested to see how adoption grows for logo specific action codes, like SnapTag. Especially since this reports shows customization of action codes has dropped over the course of the year.

If you are just getting started with action codes, I put together a few links that will help you learn the basics of mobile action codes and some recommended best practices.

Let me know if you have any questions or additional topic suggestions. In the meantime, share some of your favorite QR code campaigns here, so we can explore new ideas for engagement!

Thanks.

-Kim

Additional Resources

Social Media Examiner – How QR Codes can Grow Your Business

Search Engine Watch – Top 14 Things Marketers Need to Know About QR Codes

Microsoft Tag – Best Practices (This site includes recommended minimum image sizes.)

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So-LO-MO Advertising: Is it for you?

December 29th, 2011

Social Local Mobile (SO-LO-MO) advertising has some great benefits. Reaching local customers while their shopping is just one. So, how can you extend your reach?

Have you every waited until the last minute to buy a gift? Of course you haven’t! However, maybe you have a…umm…”friend” that was stuck in this situation. So, you can probably relate to the example below on SO-LO-MO. The diagram walks you through an example of how someone (you know who you are) might use SO-LO-MO to buy a last minute gift.

Source: Nielson: The Mobile Media Report: State of the Media 2011

(Click to enlarge image)

The sidebar stats are interesting. There is a increase in adoption and some insight on how 35 – 44 year olds are using mobile devices. And, in the full Nielson report, there are some other highlights that will ultimately make a difference in how businesses consider mobile in the marketing mix. I found this specific example interesting, because the story telling approach gives a great foundation for understanding how the apps contribute value to the mobile user.

After reading through the research and taking a look at the top apps downloaded from various sites, it is clear that most mobile users are using their phones for communication (of course), gaming, and getting discounts. The productivity tools really haven’t been embraced by the majority yet. Many of the productivity tools are just too early in their development cycle yet to offer compelling time-saving features. Take a look at the survey results conducted on mobile users that have downloaded an application to their device in the last 30 days.

Clearly, customers are using mobile phones for discounts.

As a marketer, you really need to look at all of the pros and cons of using Deal-of-the-day advertising companies.

Pros:

Great exposure (multi-platform, great adoption)
Can significantly drive new business
Easy to promote sharing incentives
No upfront costs

Cons:

Steep price discounts required
Advertising company often keeps up to 50% of the revenue
Customer satisfaction risk for returns and order changes

If your looking at new ways to advertise and want to reach consumers at the right time, you might want to give these types of deal a try. But, make sure you review some of the consumer complaints, and be sure to build a closed loop approach that allows you to refine your process and ensure customer satisfaction. Finally, do the math. How much product or service can you give away at that price? Consider short term, and longer term value of return business.

You may want to conduct some research to determine what apps your existing customers download on their smartphones. You might be able to generate more business advertising with a third party app provider that captivates your market.

Maybe some of the additional report highlights will spark some ideas of your own. I would be very interested to hear your experiences with some of the latest discount and retail apps.

Additional Nielson Report highlights:

Smartphone subscribers using the mobile Internet have grown 45% since 2010
This quarter, 26.3 million mobile consumers viewed mobile video
62% of smartphone owners have downloaded apps on their devices
87% of app downloaders have used deal-of-the day websites (e.g. Groupon, Living Social)
Marketers can now reach consumers while they shop: 49% of smartphone owners claim to use their mobile handsets frequently while shopping
Older segments present the greatest growth opportunities
Android platform: Older generations like games, and rely on their mobile devices for productivity (e.g. Google properties)
Android platform: Younger folks will use entertainment apps with social dimensions (e.g. Pandora, YouTube, Words with Friends)

-Kim

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Privacy Please! Facebook Settles FTC Charges

November 29th, 2011

After years of complaints about the lack of security on Facebook, users finally get a commitment from Facebook. Today the FTC news release shares the security change requirements Facebook is obligated to address.

“Specifically, under the proposed settlement, Facebook is:

barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers’ personal information;
required to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences;
required to prevent anyone from accessing a user’s material more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account;
required to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program designed to address privacy risks associated with the development and management of new and existing products and services, and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consumers’ information; and
required, within 180 days, and every two years after that for the next 20 years, to obtain independent, third-party audits certifying that it has a privacy program in place that meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order, and to ensure that the privacy of consumers’ information is protected.

The proposed order also contains standard record-keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with its order.”

You can read the full details here: Facebook Settles FTC Charges That It Deceived Consumers By Failing To Keep Privacy Promises.

Consumers can voice any public comments or concerns by December 30, 2011 here.

Facebook CEO, Mark Zukerberg, posted a statement for the Facebook community that reinforces Facebook’s commitment and acceptance of the FTC recommendations to improve their internal processes. In response to this request, Zukerberg states:

“In addition to these product changes, the FTC also recommended improvements to our internal processes. We’ve embraced these ideas, too, by agreeing to improve and formalize the way we do privacy review as part of our ongoing product development process. As part of this, we will establish a biannual independent audit of our privacy practices to ensure we’re living up to the commitments we make.”

Facebook appears to be taking this settlement seriously, by creating two corporate officer roles to ensure collaboration with key government agencies, privacy groups and regulators.

We only hope these changes don’t cause overwhelming challenges for third party developers, which would ultimately complicate customization, design, and campaign management for Facebook pages.

Keep an eye on these developing changes on Facebook’s product and services page.

-Kim

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Media Impact: Is Your Brand Getting a Bad Reputation?

November 28th, 2011

How many different types of media are you using to connect with your customers? How does each type of media impact your brand as you connect with, or possibly ignore, your customers and prospects? The truth is, we are all experiencing a huge growth in the various platforms and technologies we use when communicating with our customers and prospects. So, how do you know your employees across the organization are representing your brand in the best light? And, do your customers actually understand your message the way it was intended? Are you doing your brand more harm than good by almost investing in these media platforms?

The more mature, traditional marketing formats like email, direct mail, radio advertising, and other push style marketing formats are more likely to provide consistent messaging and voice of your brand due to years of testing and refining. However, in new media, specifically digital media, how your employees are responding to customers and prospects could be hurting your brand.

Does your business consider customer support, sales, and every customer touch point to be an extension of the marketing department? Well, it should. Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) is one of the most influential types of marketing. Unfortunately, many organizations measure the important key performance indicators, often Net Promoter Scores (NPS), to identify areas of the business where they are detracting from customer experience, but few apply what they learn to their marketing efforts.

Source: Forrester Research: Correlation Between Customer Experience Ratings and Three Loyalty Metrics

According to Forrester Research, which likely supports your own experience, customers that are pleased with their experience will recommend your brand to others.

Ok, that isn’t new news. So, then why aren’t organizations investing in resources to document, train, and refine best practices for their business across all media channels? If your organization is using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, online forums, rating and reviews, and other two-way digital media platforms, do your employees know how to respond to create a positive customer experience?

We recommend you combine all your current research on industry pain points with the information you learn from your customer experience research, and take a new, social approach to marketing. In many cases your Net Promoter Score research will identify areas where your brand is suffering from a detractor. And, often the detractor is caused by lack of training. The training required could be internal employees, your partner channel, or even legacy customers that haven’t stayed current. So, use this information to interact more intelligently in social media. And leverage every opportunity to train on these areas through blogs, videos, community posts, LinkedIn discussions, and online customer interactions.

If you need help incorporating this concept, please let us know.

-Kim

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Advertising Pressure: Healthy Lifestyle All The Time. Really?

October 20th, 2011

It seems like there isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t bombarded with advertising about exercising and eating “organic.” As I stuff my face with chocolate-covered raisins, I ask myself, why is maintaining a healthy lifestyle so hard? And, why do we feel so much pressure to look this healthy and fit? In case you wondered, no, that isn’t me! Someday…maybe I’ll start after Thanksgiving!

Source: Huffington Post

Childhood obesity. Adult obesity. Why are Americans so fat? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of us — 33.8% — are obese, as are 17% of our children. And Deborah Cohen, senior natural scientist at research firm Rand Corp., believes that the Kraft Foods and McDonald’s of this world must shoulder a lot of the blame. She said that in some ways consumers can’t resist unhealthful food all the time because humans are hard-wired to want sugary and fatty food. Combine that with what some consider constant marketing messaging, and it’s difficult to resist the temptation.

And, increasingly hectic and stressful lives may also make it difficult to stay on task and eat well. It seems that most people actually don’t have the capacity to make good choices all the time, especially if they’re distracted, under stress or in a hurry.

“Overall consumers are cutting back on spending, so when they go out to eat, they get something they really want,” said Sara Monette, director-consumer research at Technomic. In a recent Technomic report, data show that only 23% of consumers polled strongly agree that they tend to pick healthful foods when eating out.

Even when I eat at home, I don’t always pick the healthiest foods. I wish I had the money to buy all my groceries at “whole paycheck.” I wish I had the time to devote to exercising 4-5 times a week. And with the upcoming holiday season, why does it have to create so much anxiety? It should be the time of reflection, being thankful and for enjoying time with loved ones, right?

-Lorena

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Victoria’s Secret Puts the “Sexy” in QR Advertising Media

October 12th, 2011

Sexier than Skin, Victoria’s Secret’s latest QR (Quick Response) ad campaign, takes not-so-sexy barcodes and turns them into suggestive reveals that reinforce their tagline. Are they hitting the right demographic with these eye catching advertisements? What do you think? Would both women and men snap a picture to reveal the hidden truth? I would the on the first campaign I ran across, but that would likely address my curiosity.

QR codes are popping up everywhere. They are on my bills, ink cartridges (to inspire reorder), food products, and plastered in most of the mail I receive. Are QR codes part of your marketing strategy? While QR codes are becoming more familiar with the general public, statistics on usage could motivate you to over-invest your marketing dollars without the return you are looking to achieve.

Take a look at your overall marketing strategy, and think about where QR codes might bring additional value to the consumer. It helps to understand how most consumers are currently using QR codes.

According to a study by eMarketer, getting coupons, special deals, or additional information triggers consumers to use QR codes.

The location placement of QR codes that seems to get the best traction is through audience participation at events and through printed material such as newspapers, magazines, and direct mail. Product packaging has also shown success. When you look at your strategy, the most important thing you can do is test, test, test!

If you’re currently using QR codes, please share your successes, and tell us what you have learned using QR codes in various media types. Our audience would love to learn from you.

-Kim

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Medical Blogging…When Enough is Enough

September 14th, 2011

I’ve been reading tons of interesting healthcare articles – “Doctor disciplined for revealing patient info on Facebook”, “Even on Twitter, physician professionalism a must” and “New AMA policy helps guide physicians’ use of social media.” I decided to continue with my theme of cynicism about social media and TMI (too much information), especially in healthcare.

Source: American Medical Association

I would think that protecting patient privacy is a huge concern. Apparently, some physicians post their patient encounters and cases online?? Well-known physician blogger Bryan Vartabedian, MD, took a fellow doctor to task in a post calling attention to a Twitter stream in which she poked fun at a male ER patient with a delicate medical problem. On his own blog, 33 Charts, Vartabedian wrote, “Whether you change details or not, the use of the social space at the comical expense of those we’re called to treat is irresponsible….This is something I’d expect from a frat house, not a treating physician.”

Meanwhile, Buckeye Surgeon blogger Dr. Jeffrey Parks also took on the topic of physician of medical blogging in a post for MedCity News. Here are some of Parks’ tips for posting about clinical cases:

Wait at least several weeks before posting about a particular case.
Never post anything about any celebrities under your care, as even anonymous details you might share could match information leaked by the press.
Make sure your operative consents contain a section about “using images for educational purposes,” and remove any names from the images before posting.

Hmmm…have you come across medical blogs that sound very familiar, where you have wondered if the “patient” being discussed was you?!

-Lorena

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