’11 points of #nonsense for the new year

1. 2011 is the year of Mobile. Wait, I thought that was supposed to be 2010, or was it 2009? No, certainly it was 2008; must have been 2007, the year of the first iPhone. #confused
2. Social Media begins to dominate customer service. As in-store customer service continues to decline, Social Media customer service will allow brands friendly, efficient ways to assist the customer without the long wait of an 800 number or the inconvenience of driving to the store. More brands will adapt the “Comcast model” and allow followers to see complaints by others, because the real story is how the brand solves it. Ok, this is a true story: I recently called customer service for a major computer manufacturer and was greeted by a guy with an accent like Apu from the Simpsons, who started off by saying, “Thank you for calling ____, this is Peter Parker, how can I help you?” I starting laughing so hard I forgot what I was calling about. #spiderman
3. #Hashtags will become part of everyday writing. People will use #hashtags to emphasize subjects, thoughts and events, even in offline writing. In a completely unrelated story, @BillClinton will declare “#hashtag” the greatest word ever. #stonedpimpxprez
4. Those willing to push the limits of creative and technology will be rewarded. Those who are doing the same thing they’ve been doing since 2009 will disappear. You know who you are! #buhbye
5. Honolulu will concede the Obama Library to Chicago in order to pursue a Dog the Bounty Hunter Library. #randyjacksonlikesyourname
6. Apple will release the iControlU, a chip that is implanted in the brain allowing users to instantly listen to any song or watch any video with a simple press of the temple. Unfortunately, reception issues will force users to wrap their head with oversized rubberbands. VGA output also proves to be rather tricky. #jobsarmy
7. Somewhere, some teen-aged boy will be beaten to a pulp by an angry middle-aged man for using the words #epicfail. With any luck, it will be Justin Beiber. #ohpleaseibegyou
8. Speaking of luck (this is more of a wish than a prediction), any chance Andrew Luck falls to #Jacksonville in the April draft? Here’s the prediction part: If David Garrard or Jack Del Rio are part of the Jaguars organization come September, the Jags will lose at least one fan. #falconsbandwagon
9. And speaking of #epicfail, @SethMacFarlane, (in Lois’ voice) Really? I had to watch Journey to the North Pole again just to get the bad taste out of my mouth from It’s a Trap. But, the failures are few and far between which is what makes #FamilyGuy the best show on TV. No real prediction here, just upset over the wasted $2.99 iTunes download. #bringClevelandbacktoQuahog
10. Online shoppers will become full of Gilt… and Ideeli… and HauteLook… and Rue La La. Brands and retailers will further monetize the trend with brand-specific “private” flash sales within their own sites. I would say my wife is addicted to flash sales, but the truth is, I have the Gilt Groupe, HauteLook and Rue La La apps on my iPad. #guiltypleasure
11. A whole bunch of exciting announcements will come from @RMM_Online. Follow us on @Twitter and @LinkedIn to learn more #video #backenddata #newwebsite #growingteam #bonusesforbloggers

Everyone at RMM wishes you a happy and healthy 2011!

As I was walking back to the table, I started thinking about how this is a lot like the online sales process: so many reps from all forms of online media trying to sell the inventory they have, but not necessarily the inventory that’s best for the client’s initiative. Not everything can be in black and white, and we need to be able to propose solutions that are in shades of gray. It’s our job as digital reps, especially multi-platform digital reps, to do more than sell. In many cases, we become the agency’s strategic partner. We know our solutions capabilities better than anyone and it’s our job deliver a well-conceived plan that can be justified through research and case studies. If it’s better shaken, why are so many reps pushing it stirred?

In a recent Media Post article, Woe The Digital Sale: Do You Know What You’re Selling?, Amy Auerbach wrote, “Agency buyers’ priorities are around client service, doing a good day’s work that ends earlier than 9 p.m., and having a life. Salespeople actually can contribute to all of those things… Help buyers manage their time by delivering RFP responses that are on-point and flawless. Over-communicate and provide extra research and rationale when you make recommendations.”  As digital reps, it is important to serve as an extension of the client’s team, and to not only create a partnership, but to be the “go-to” rep for ALL of their digital needs.

In today’s nearly over-saturated marketplace, buyers tend to stay with what they know works and people they trust. While building these relationships can take months, even years, losing them can be instant. One of the fastest ways to fall off of an RFP list or lose your preferred vendor status is to give the planner the “same ole, same ole” with each proposal. To be a successful AE, one must be part Brand Manager, part Media Planner and part Research Analyst. Those who can best embrace these roles will ultimately win the IO.

According to Nielsen’s Broadcast Season Universe Estimates, the number of television households in the US has grown from 111.4 million in 2007 to an estimated of $114.9 million by the end of 2010. The fact is that more people watching television than ever before.

Of course the growth of online video views has been explosive. According to July data from comScore, 178 million U.S. Internet users viewed online video content during the month and averaged 14.7 hours per viewer.

Content is still king when it comes to this convergence. The biggest difference is that much of what is being viewed is user generated content. YouTube has millions of channels, some with high production quality and with very low production quality. The millions of views generated by low budget content may surprise some. The one channel that comes to mind is Fred (aka Fred Figglehorn). This kid has been on YouTube for years. He gets millions of views for every video that he puts out and monetizes these views through the YouTube partnership program. I believe he’s now making a movie for Nickelodeon. We have already seen TV show start to increase distribution of content through sites like Hulu. You will start to a significant increase in web based user generated content being formatted and produced for TV.  Fred’s TV movie and shows TV shows like Web soup are just the beginning.

From a business perspective it just makes sense. If your self produced show/videos generate million of views online while drawing a certain demographic, then the TV folks already have an audience.

One of the advantages that web video has over TV is all of the real time metrics/interaction that can be tracked with advertisements.  There are several companies that are developing the same type of tracking capabilities for TV.

I’ m writing this blog entry while looking at my 32inch Apple monitor. I still prefer my 42 inch plasma for TV.  The biggest part of this E-volution will be when I’m writing my blog entry on the same screen that I watch the NFL.  In other words when TV/web surfers start using the same monitor for both that will be the biggest difference.

If you have any doubts about this convergence just think back the 1990′s. Remember dial up? Remember trying to watch a video using dial up? The very fastest modem at that time was 56kb. You often would have to wait at 20 to 30 minutes for a video to download. Things have changed at a rapid pace and unless of course the Mayan Calendar is correct, I have no doubt this convergence will happen in a big way.

So, your co-worker coaxes you to watch the trailer for Twilight when you came in for work this morning and it convinced you to be Team Edward all the way. Well, you’ll probably see the preview again in the theater a couple of times and wonder all along why you weren’t Team Jacob in the first place?  Regardless, you’ve seen the trailer twice as many times as you would’ve seen it ten years ago and you’ve invited all your friends to the midnight showing – now that’s how advertising works!

It’s almost impossible to go about your day online and not see an advertisement for an upcoming feature film.  The ad may be a banner across your e-mail server, or a pop up ad on your favorite news page.  It may even be free ticket dancing across your screen or a contest that entices you to check out the trailer.  What ever it is – online advertising for movies has become more and more aggressive since the first preview showed up on our laptops.

Take the movie Paranormal Activity.  This film was made for a dime in 2007 and sat on the shelves at Paramount for two years.  Needing to close out its fiscal year with a bang,  Paramount dusted off a copy and brought in the ad wizards.  With few dollars for marketing, a specific approach was taken: the movie would NOT carry a wide release unless 1 million votes were received on their official website, trailer included of course. And even though the indie hit was slowly making money already, the online approach to getting this film out and about was simply genius.  Once people heard about the scary flick on sites like Twitter who aggressively helped pushed the outcome by telling folks to “tweet the scream.”  People everywhere logged on to the site, watched the preview and made their choice.  When someone tells me I can’t watch a film – you better believe I will see it. And for online ad companies, this was a unique way to track what sites people were surfing, what advertisements linked them to the film’s website, how many people participated and how financially effective the campaign was. To date, Paranormal Activity has grossed $183 million worldwide so, you tell me.

Wikipedia claims that ten billion online videos including movie trailers are watched annually; while previews at movie theaters trail this number by thousands. Over 15 million people viewed the trailer for Paranormal Activity on YouTube, and that’s how online advertising has proved to be changing the film industry one click at a time.

Don’t be fooled. Yes, the snake oil hucksters that schlep keyword stuffing and link spamming are doomed, but their future was never very bright to begin with. If this is your strategy you’ll get nowhere, and if you’re paying for this then you’re wasting your money. If you’re charging someone for this, shame on you.

The core aspects of SEO, however, are needed more than ever. Google alone averages more than 200 million searches per day. With that much daily traffic, their view of your website matters. Do you really want to completely ignore the potential to earn traffic from them? Or worse, leave it entirely to chance? If you get one ten-thousandth of one percent of that (that’s 0.0001%), 200 people per day will see your site. Do that many people cross your doorstep each day? Does your phone ring that many times each day? Clearly there is an upside to paying attention to Google.

The traffic that your website receives can provide keen insight into what your target market thinks about your company. Whatever the goals of your company, your website can help you get there. Increasing sales, improving customer retention, reaching a new customer base, improving the return that you get on your AdWords spend… these are all achievable. As long as you are measuring your website’s traffic and can recognize trends, you can reach your goals.

Don’t misread the data. Yes search is changing, it has been since it started. It would be a mistake to infer that this makes SEO irrelevant. Quite the contrary, the changes that Google is making strengthen their search results, which gives people greater confidence in the answers they find through Google, which means that more people will be searching.

Optimizing your website for search is more important now than ever. Frankly, it’s irresponsible to think otherwise.

Online is the present and the future of our advertising world. Connecting and being in-the-know, creating campaigns based around mobile, internet, SEO, etc. is a step many agencies shy away from. However, RMM is a forerunner in new ideas and innovation and that is why I was drawn to apply here.

I began my job at Red McCombs Media the week after July 4th. Having never worked in an agency setting, I am learning all new dynamics and methodologies that go along with the “agency life”. Specifically, interactive is a whole new bean, so-to-speak. I mean, I’ve had black beans and Ranch Style, but interactive is like chickpeas… It’s new, it’s fast, it’s EVER-CHANGING, and can be mashed to make an entirely different kind of food (hummus…yummmm). Everyday. Scratch that. Every MINUTE, the online and mobile realm revolutionizes. Transformation and flexibility is the name of the game.

Have you noticed that we are all copycats on the internet? I think the key to being successful for your clients is becoming the WOLF, the pack leader. Not a sheep who blindly follows, but a wolf who seeks out, knows what he wants, and creates his own destiny.

Facebook is king. Twitter, TripAdvisor, LinkedIn, and YouTube were all “firsts” of their kind (meaning most popular and first to have success in their chosen area). These are the wolves and the owners of social media. All other sites MIMIC the success of these core trendsetters. What does this have to do with agencies? We have to play the game and belly up to the bar. Unfortunately, a successful wolf attracts a huge pack, and these sites have become cluttered in a way that makes me wonder if advertisers benefit by solely investing their dollars in them… bold statement… but hear me out.

Look at twitter, for example. How awesome would this site be if say, AT&T had developed it? If AT&T had created this site, they would OWN it. Advertising for their services, phones, etc. They could encourage consumers to text in on their AT&T phone and have judges who awarded the #1 text of the day. That person could win some sort of prize from AT&T. Agencies have an overwhelming and challenging duty to create these ideas that directly benefit and hit the values of their client. We have such an exciting and creative challenge to get the word out in any way imaginable. We do not want to limit our abilities to simply putting advertising out. Why not create it from within?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that all campaign strategies benefit by 360-degree marketing. Creating a site like the one above is just the first step, so next is getting the word out. As I said, playing the game of social media is pretty much a must for advertisers now-a-days. (I mean my mom and all her BFFs are on Facebook… it’s not just a college thing anymore.) The key element of social media is HUMANIZING your product, your company, your whatever. Because, we as humans want to speak out. We are opinionated, and we like being able to face-lessly vent. We like being able to hear, say, the new guy at ChipandDipCompanyA spout off about what’s really in the way-too-yellow nacho cheese at state fairs. We like the inside scoop, and we want to hear it from a TRUSTWORTHY source. It all boils down to that simple word; trust. Social media holds us as advertisers, businesses, and people accountable. As we’ve seen time and again, many advertisers have suffered like ChipandDipCompanyA will. Accountability in every sense of the word has become a core focus for consumers. They want to make sure you are being honest with them and others.

Honesty, creativity, and creating a campaign focused on the core desire of the advertiser are some of the keys, I believe, that create a successful social media campaign. Visibility and transparency, connecting with consumers, humanizing your company in a new way simplify your brand name. They put a face, a voice, a website to your company.

I hope you enjoyed my article! I look forward to writing again for RMM. Look out for more of my posts!

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It works like a frequent shopper card & you can collect your cashback from Bing 60 days after your purchase as long as you have more than $5 credit in your account. There is a maximum of $2,500 per year you can collect. There are a bunch of T’s & C’s on their website, but basically you need to allow cookies in your browser settings & perform the Bing search & make the purchase within the same window & user session. Of course, you can always search again to start over & ensure you get credit.

$20 cashback! Bing, you have my attention.

While all of the above are components of new media, perhaps the best way to describe new media marketing is simple. New Media advertising is any traceable, quantifiable form of advertising that offers the opportunity to quickly improve campaign results based upon specific campaign goals.

Internet marketing is the only form of media that has truly embraced this philosophy of transparency. Ask yourself, why do most new media companies offer quick opt outs on contracts and why is it you can open Google account for peanuts in comparison to the cost of some traditional media? The simple answer is trackable performance. What if Google started ad words with a minimum buy of $10,000 with no cancellation and did not offer daily reporting. Where would they be today?

I have heard some traditional media folks argue, “Well, the value is in the views or this is a branding campaign, not direct response so what the point of tracking?” While these statements are true to a certain extent, “performance branding” is a big part of new media. It starts with understanding exactly how many impressions you are getting for your investment. If you are achieving a high enough click through rate or positive post impression activity your ad creative, messaging and placements are having a positive effect on your branding. On the other hand if there is very little interactivity from users then you know you must make adjustments.

The competition for ad dollars among websites is fierce. Many traditional media companies with website inventory have not figured out what new media really is. They continue to sell their website inventory the same way they sell traditional advertising. The fact is that they are competing with new media companies that track, report and optimize their client campaigns. As an advertiser, who would you go with?

New media is about trackable performance. Whether it’s branding, messaging or direct response, the goal is always results. I have heard of many tracking technologies being developed in radio and television to do what we do on the net.

Will this not be a part of New Media?