digital ninja from moon stuff on Vimeo.
Friday, November 12, 2010
True Confession: I Once Had The Journey Afro
There is but one picture left, no negative, and I have the photo.
CTRS and One Hundred Thousand Count Von Counts
Thanks to MediaBizBloggers for publishingn this there first!
It's no new observation that digital enables marketers and their agency counterparts to access tons of metrics. So many that for many media people, two days of the week are devoted to collecting and visualizing bajillions of data points in complex reports.
Reports that, let's face it, are often given no more than cursory examination. Why? Because most of the numbers are meaningless, or at least are meaningless until someone takes the time to really examine them, which few actually get around to
Most of us digital marketers have spent years channeling Count Von Count, the affable vampire from Sesame Street who, upon entering any room, would begin measuring virtually every object in his line of vision. 7! Seven apples! 6! Six balls! 1. One Snuffalufagus!
A good way to teach kids numbers, but not a great skill for cocktail party success. Or, for that matter, brand marketing.
Our medium gives us access to data on every aspect of consumer exposure and interaction. Impressions, clicks, interactions. Interaction rates, Interaction times. View through conversions. Interaction rates by spot on the ad. Video views. Video view times. Impressions by in market shoppers. Impressions by metro. Interaction rates by daypart. That ability to count has turned us into 100,000 Count Von Counts.
7 million! Seven million impressions! 6 thousand! Six thousand complete video views! 74 thousand! Seventy four thousand clicks during the period 12-4 PM!
Trouble is, many of these metrics aren't in and of themselves terribly relevant at answering crucial marketing questions. Sometimes some of them have value, but often they don't mean much at all. And the most commonly referenced one of all, CTR, is about as meaningless as they come for most brands.
The traditional side of media often feels smug about our incessant counting. They know that many of our metrics are of little value. But at the same time they aren't offering anything better. For a decade they have been doing jazz hands to cover up the fact that they have few reliable metrics to offer.
The solution to tiresome and irrelevant counting of everything is NOT counting nothing.
As new platforms and technologies raise the value of digital impressions and make TV and Print impressions less passive and transitory, our converged industry needs to take a new approach to measurement. We need to figure out the data points that matter and only count those. With this smaller number of metrics, we can devote more of our time to figuring out brand impacts and optimization strategies to improve effectiveness.
If clicks don't matter to your business objectives, why count them? Having access to them almost inevitably leads to using them as a surrogate measure of brand impact. They are, after all, eminently understandable, and can be boiled down into a simple figure. This makes them almost magnetic.
With the myriad opportunities available for data collection, we can do a lot better than we are now. But doing so requires the time and focus to devise a real measurement strategy.
Finding Your Social Mojo
Thanks to MediaBizBloggers for publishing this first!
I’ve been working on a presentation to give at iMedia Sydney Australia, built around the idea that we need to think about creating relationships with consumers as akin to courtship, nuptials, and married life. In it I am using examples from about 20 countries to show how a variety of brands are courting their customers socially.
And the most salient observation I can make is that the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to brand participation is patently absurd. Our collective rush to identify and exploit digital magic beans sometimes makes us forget that our brand campaigns have to be as unique as our brands.
For indeed social is simply participatory marketing, not a medium. Social is permeating every media channel, reflecting the truth that consumers prefer personalized experiences across the board, not just on sites where we friend one another.
Preparing the presentation has been a great experience because it has forced me to seek out examples and industry news from across the globe – which is not something I want to do during a typical week. I’ll leave to you to interpret whether that is marketing xenophobia or simply focusing on what matters most in my job today.
In my quest for examples, I’ve learned about Walls, a UK food company that has a multimedia effort showcasing the unique eccentricities of Britons. The campaign asks ordinary Britons to compete to appear in ads where they can showcase their peculiar passions. Mind you, this in a country with a high standard for eccentricity. Where an obscure aristocrat collected thousands of wigs that stuffed every room in his manor house from floor to ceiling. A country where Chelmondeley is pronounced “Chum-Lee”. A place where yeast extract is a delicacy. There is a unique, delightful form of crazy that Britain has a lock on. Tender Britons', please note that I point to your obscure behaviors with loving support. Long live the Belisha Beacon!
But back to the contest. Entries range from “Extreme Ironers” who press clothes while balanced on speeding cigarette boats, to a knitting circle that has created a blanket the size of a soccer field. Where seniors have organized a club in which they compete at pole dancing. Where other people delight in making ginormous versions of snack foods because…well just because. And the whole kit and caboodle of this effort goes far at reinforcing the uniquely British “Proper Food” Walls excels at producing.
The campaign is superb.
And so is the wonderful Australian Tourism effort in which Aussies were asked to submit photos of their favorite hideaways across the country. More than 29,000 people participated, providing what has to be the only travel site that didn’t use (or for that matter, need to use) pro photographers to capture azure ocean vistas and the Opera House at sunset.
Personally, I’d much rather see a snapshot of someone’s favorite billabong.
Another: the fascinating Raymond Weil campaign that asked consumers to describe in their own words what the brand should be in the future. To read these entries is to vicariously experience sincere love.
Which is not to say that good old Yankee ingenuity is dead. Not by a long shot. Pepsi’s Refresh Everything effort and its remarkable charitable overlay are growing that brand as it cures social ills that for whatever reason our government is unwilling or unable to address.
My point is each of these campaigns is wildly different. Each took the essence of its brand and its customers and shaped a participatory initiative around that message. They all recognized that social isn’t a channel. It’s people. People who are anxious to be part of the brands they love.
I for one am delighted to participate in a marketing era where a major national brand is delighted to associate itself with extreme ironing.
I’ve been working on a presentation to give at iMedia Sydney Australia, built around the idea that we need to think about creating relationships with consumers as akin to courtship, nuptials, and married life. In it I am using examples from about 20 countries to show how a variety of brands are courting their customers socially.
And the most salient observation I can make is that the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to brand participation is patently absurd. Our collective rush to identify and exploit digital magic beans sometimes makes us forget that our brand campaigns have to be as unique as our brands.
For indeed social is simply participatory marketing, not a medium. Social is permeating every media channel, reflecting the truth that consumers prefer personalized experiences across the board, not just on sites where we friend one another.
Preparing the presentation has been a great experience because it has forced me to seek out examples and industry news from across the globe – which is not something I want to do during a typical week. I’ll leave to you to interpret whether that is marketing xenophobia or simply focusing on what matters most in my job today.
In my quest for examples, I’ve learned about Walls, a UK food company that has a multimedia effort showcasing the unique eccentricities of Britons. The campaign asks ordinary Britons to compete to appear in ads where they can showcase their peculiar passions. Mind you, this in a country with a high standard for eccentricity. Where an obscure aristocrat collected thousands of wigs that stuffed every room in his manor house from floor to ceiling. A country where Chelmondeley is pronounced “Chum-Lee”. A place where yeast extract is a delicacy. There is a unique, delightful form of crazy that Britain has a lock on. Tender Britons', please note that I point to your obscure behaviors with loving support. Long live the Belisha Beacon!
But back to the contest. Entries range from “Extreme Ironers” who press clothes while balanced on speeding cigarette boats, to a knitting circle that has created a blanket the size of a soccer field. Where seniors have organized a club in which they compete at pole dancing. Where other people delight in making ginormous versions of snack foods because…well just because. And the whole kit and caboodle of this effort goes far at reinforcing the uniquely British “Proper Food” Walls excels at producing.
The campaign is superb.
And so is the wonderful Australian Tourism effort in which Aussies were asked to submit photos of their favorite hideaways across the country. More than 29,000 people participated, providing what has to be the only travel site that didn’t use (or for that matter, need to use) pro photographers to capture azure ocean vistas and the Opera House at sunset.
Personally, I’d much rather see a snapshot of someone’s favorite billabong.
Another: the fascinating Raymond Weil campaign that asked consumers to describe in their own words what the brand should be in the future. To read these entries is to vicariously experience sincere love.
Which is not to say that good old Yankee ingenuity is dead. Not by a long shot. Pepsi’s Refresh Everything effort and its remarkable charitable overlay are growing that brand as it cures social ills that for whatever reason our government is unwilling or unable to address.
My point is each of these campaigns is wildly different. Each took the essence of its brand and its customers and shaped a participatory initiative around that message. They all recognized that social isn’t a channel. It’s people. People who are anxious to be part of the brands they love.
I for one am delighted to participate in a marketing era where a major national brand is delighted to associate itself with extreme ironing.
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