Martin Sorrell, who grew up and lives in the UK, is head of WPP, the largest marketing-communication conglomerate. As such it decides which media firms to support around the world. List list is from "Jack Myers’ Think Tank," a newsletter. Meyers evidently got it from a speech Sorrell recently gave.
1. Global Shifts in economic, political, social and cultural power.
2. Continuing Auto Production Capacity and the under-capacity of people/customers. While U.S. auto capacity has declined, the capacity in China and India has expanded. Over capacity of supply and under capacity in the supply of people makes the role of agencies and marketing even more important.
3. The Web. The reason the Consumer Electronics Show is important is that the tech companies are now media owners. The Web disintermediates legacy players and is a more attractive destination for talent.
4. Internal Communications. Communicating strategic and structural change is an internal challenge for organizations as much as -- or more than -- an external challenge.
5. Retail Power. Major retailers are gaining power, especially when there is little inflation. Retail companies put pressure on manufacturers, pushing companies like P&G into direct consumer marketing through websites.
6. Global Centralization. As companies expand and gain global influence, they are integrating their organizations at the center.
7. Procurement and rise of the finance function puts more emphasis on cost management.
8. Governments, as both regulators and as clients.
9. Corporate social responsibility. Doing good is good business.
10. Content. We have to think about content in the context of how business is fundamentally changing. Consumers have to pay for content. There is not enough advertising to finance the business models of all the new media. There needs to be more consolidation for the health and development of the media business. State subsidies have to play a greater role to maintain professional journalism.
- From Jack Meyers, "Sir Martin Sorrell's Ten Priorities for Media, Agencies and Advertisers," From Jack Meyers Think Tank, February 1, 2010.
Showing posts with label chapter 15. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chapter 15. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Drugs, Tweets, and Responsibility
The Food and Drug Adminiistration (FDA) requires pharmaceutical firms to make sure that when drugs are "promoted" to the public "statements stick to approved uses for drugs only and maintain a “fair balance” of information about their risks and benefits." The actual rules about this can get complex in today's world, where there are so many ways that people can learn about medicines.
"For example, the 'social' part of social media means that third parties — bloggers, commenters, Twitter users — are also part of the message. (Kanye West tweeted this summer that 'clothes are my drug,' but what if he’d instead said that Lipitor was his drug? Should the FDA pay any attention to that? What if he or another celebrity were paid for the tweet?"
Two Boston physicians recently suggested that "To maintain a fair balance of benefit and risk information, the FDA might 'try to ban pharmaceutical promotion entirely from these media.'"
From: Katherine Hobson, "Who’s Responsible for Tweets About a Drug," Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2010.
"For example, the 'social' part of social media means that third parties — bloggers, commenters, Twitter users — are also part of the message. (Kanye West tweeted this summer that 'clothes are my drug,' but what if he’d instead said that Lipitor was his drug? Should the FDA pay any attention to that? What if he or another celebrity were paid for the tweet?"
Two Boston physicians recently suggested that "To maintain a fair balance of benefit and risk information, the FDA might 'try to ban pharmaceutical promotion entirely from these media.'"
From: Katherine Hobson, "Who’s Responsible for Tweets About a Drug," Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2010.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Marketers' Constitution
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the advertising industry’s oldest trade association,"founded on June 24, 1910 in Detroit, Michigan by 45 companies to safeguard and advance the interests of advertisers and consumers." In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the ANA has created The Marketers' Constitution. According to its CEO, Bob Liodice, "Its goal is twofold: to acknowledge the marketing industry's many contributions to our society, and to help the marketing profession move beyond the inefficiencies, limitations, restrictions and unknowns of the past to a new, effective, transparent, economical and socially responsible model of marketing and media for the future."
The ten principles of the "Constitution" follow. The ANA website elaborates on them. They are useful guideposts to the evolving logic of marketing and, by extension, advertising in an increasingly digital media world.
* Marketing must become increasingly targeted, focused and personal.
* Marketing must build real, tangible and enduring brand value.
* Marketing must become more effective - more creative, insightful and accountable.
* Marketing must become more integrated and proficient in managing expanding media platforms.
* The marketing supply chain must become more efficient and productive.
* The marketing ecosystem - including agencies, media and suppliers - must become increasingly capable.
* Marketing professionals must become better, highly skilled, diverse leaders.
* Marketing must be indisputably socially responsible.
The ten principles of the "Constitution" follow. The ANA website elaborates on them. They are useful guideposts to the evolving logic of marketing and, by extension, advertising in an increasingly digital media world.
* Marketing must become increasingly targeted, focused and personal.
* Marketing must build real, tangible and enduring brand value.
* Marketing must become more effective - more creative, insightful and accountable.
* Marketing must become more integrated and proficient in managing expanding media platforms.
* The marketing supply chain must become more efficient and productive.
* The marketing ecosystem - including agencies, media and suppliers - must become increasingly capable.
* Marketing professionals must become better, highly skilled, diverse leaders.
* Marketing must be indisputably socially responsible.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Ad Spending on Internet Tops TV in UK
This is the first major market where online has overtaken television to become the biggest single medium.
- Guy Phillipson, head of the British the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)
In Kate Holden, "UK Internet ad spend overtakes TV for first time," Reuters, September 30, 2009
The recession in the UK has caused a general advertising slump, and that has affected the growth of internet advertising there. Nevertheless, advertisers have continued to built their presence on the internet at a faster pace than in other media. "Spending on Internet advertising in Britain grew 4.6 percent in the first half of 2009, outperforming the wider ad sector, which slumped 17 percent, and making it the country's biggest ad medium ahead of TV." One consequence is that the internet has pulled ahead of television as the medium drawing the most advertising pounds.
According to the report from the UK's IAB, "ad spending on the Internet grew to 1.75 billion pounds, with the medium accounting for 23.5 percent of all spend, ahead of television for the first time." One commentator suggested that the shift to online reflects a belief that search advertising and other "clickable" ads show better than with traditional media how successful the ad spending has been. It will be important to see whether this trend continues when the recession ends.
- Guy Phillipson, head of the British the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)
In Kate Holden, "UK Internet ad spend overtakes TV for first time," Reuters, September 30, 2009
The recession in the UK has caused a general advertising slump, and that has affected the growth of internet advertising there. Nevertheless, advertisers have continued to built their presence on the internet at a faster pace than in other media. "Spending on Internet advertising in Britain grew 4.6 percent in the first half of 2009, outperforming the wider ad sector, which slumped 17 percent, and making it the country's biggest ad medium ahead of TV." One consequence is that the internet has pulled ahead of television as the medium drawing the most advertising pounds.
According to the report from the UK's IAB, "ad spending on the Internet grew to 1.75 billion pounds, with the medium accounting for 23.5 percent of all spend, ahead of television for the first time." One commentator suggested that the shift to online reflects a belief that search advertising and other "clickable" ads show better than with traditional media how successful the ad spending has been. It will be important to see whether this trend continues when the recession ends.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Blurring the Boundaries of Advertising and PR
This is business Darwinism now.
- Sissy DeMaria, president of Coral Gables public relations firm Kreps DeMaria
In Clifford M. Marks, "PR and Advertising Are at a Crossroads," Miami Herald, August 10, 2009
For decades, most people working in advertising public relations saw clear differences between the two businesses. "Madison Avenue types took care of the 30-second spots, the billboards and the full-page ad in Sunday's paper. Their cousins in public relations drafted press releases, networked with reporters to land favorable coverage and helped handle crises that drew negative media attention." Now, MySpace and other sites are blurring the question of what kinds of marketing messages are PR and what are advertising. Moreover, they realize that in the new world to reach consumers they have to use a wide variety of strategies to reach their target audiences--even if the strategies don't fit traditional definitions of advertising or PR.
``Public relations and advertising are blending much more than they did in the past,'' says Jeff Steinhour, director of content management at Coconut Grove-based advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. ``They used to be separate worlds -- like church and state. Now you're seeing them at the same meetings at the same time.''
- Sissy DeMaria, president of Coral Gables public relations firm Kreps DeMaria
In Clifford M. Marks, "PR and Advertising Are at a Crossroads," Miami Herald, August 10, 2009
For decades, most people working in advertising public relations saw clear differences between the two businesses. "Madison Avenue types took care of the 30-second spots, the billboards and the full-page ad in Sunday's paper. Their cousins in public relations drafted press releases, networked with reporters to land favorable coverage and helped handle crises that drew negative media attention." Now, MySpace and other sites are blurring the question of what kinds of marketing messages are PR and what are advertising. Moreover, they realize that in the new world to reach consumers they have to use a wide variety of strategies to reach their target audiences--even if the strategies don't fit traditional definitions of advertising or PR.
``Public relations and advertising are blending much more than they did in the past,'' says Jeff Steinhour, director of content management at Coconut Grove-based advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. ``They used to be separate worlds -- like church and state. Now you're seeing them at the same meetings at the same time.''
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Beyond TV's 30-Second Commercial
...the whole industry is moving toward a different model where deciding whether something is a hit or not is not just based on how much you charge for 30 seconds of advertising.
Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at Horizon Media
In Edward Wyatt, "Despite Lower Ratings, Cash Flow Rises for ‘Idol’," New York Times, May 10, 2009
Despite declines in audience ratings over the past few years, the American Idol TV show is still making enormous--and growing--revenues for its owners. But the money is increasingly coming from more than the standard 30 second commercial: "The deals, which include products as disparate as ice cream and trading cards, as well as the more familiar partnerships with iTunes and AT&T, have driven tremendous growth in the profitability of “American Idol,” according to the public financial statements of the parent of 19 Entertainment, the company founded by Simon Fuller, the creator of the show." Fox Television, which broadcasts the show, also makes money by spinning off syndicated versions of it.
The activity is clearly not limited to Idol. Everyone in TV is trying to find "ancillary revenue streams" for their materials as audiences for individual programs decline with channel fragmentation and the amounts networks can charge for commercials consequently decline as well. One gauge sponsors of program deals like to see is audience "engagement" in the material. And Idol certainly still has that: "Last week, viewers cast 64 million votes, the most ever for a nonfinale episode."
Brad Adgate, senior vice president for research at Horizon Media
In Edward Wyatt, "Despite Lower Ratings, Cash Flow Rises for ‘Idol’," New York Times, May 10, 2009
Despite declines in audience ratings over the past few years, the American Idol TV show is still making enormous--and growing--revenues for its owners. But the money is increasingly coming from more than the standard 30 second commercial: "The deals, which include products as disparate as ice cream and trading cards, as well as the more familiar partnerships with iTunes and AT&T, have driven tremendous growth in the profitability of “American Idol,” according to the public financial statements of the parent of 19 Entertainment, the company founded by Simon Fuller, the creator of the show." Fox Television, which broadcasts the show, also makes money by spinning off syndicated versions of it.
The activity is clearly not limited to Idol. Everyone in TV is trying to find "ancillary revenue streams" for their materials as audiences for individual programs decline with channel fragmentation and the amounts networks can charge for commercials consequently decline as well. One gauge sponsors of program deals like to see is audience "engagement" in the material. And Idol certainly still has that: "Last week, viewers cast 64 million votes, the most ever for a nonfinale episode."
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Email Marketing and Politics
This is the first time a politician of any kind has used the internet for daily one-to-one dialogue.
- Steve Cone, Chief Marketing Officer at Epsilon, a database marketing agency
In Michael Bush, "Why Watch Obama? Here Are 13 Million Reasons," Advertising Age, April 13, 2009
During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama amassed a database of 13 million fervent supporters. After the campaign the Democratic National Committee took over the database and began an email campaign to reinforce and mobilize Obama supporters for the long haul. "Turn out the database has continued to be one of his biggest assets, and the 'permanent campaign,' as it has been dubbed, continued to roll on after the election, with e-mails from President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and campaign manager David Plouffe asking supporters to identify ways to get involved in their communities, donate money to the DNC and to the inauguration ceremony." For example, the president recently signed one email that asked people to support his proposed budget by phoning the email recipient's local congressional representatives. (The phone number was included in the email.)
Marketers are marveling at the effectiveness and organization behind the activity, which they say consumer products firms should learn. But some worry that the DNC might be starting to commit an email sin that too many marketers commit: Sending out too many emails and risking the audience's annoyance.
- Steve Cone, Chief Marketing Officer at Epsilon, a database marketing agency
In Michael Bush, "Why Watch Obama? Here Are 13 Million Reasons," Advertising Age, April 13, 2009
During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama amassed a database of 13 million fervent supporters. After the campaign the Democratic National Committee took over the database and began an email campaign to reinforce and mobilize Obama supporters for the long haul. "Turn out the database has continued to be one of his biggest assets, and the 'permanent campaign,' as it has been dubbed, continued to roll on after the election, with e-mails from President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and campaign manager David Plouffe asking supporters to identify ways to get involved in their communities, donate money to the DNC and to the inauguration ceremony." For example, the president recently signed one email that asked people to support his proposed budget by phoning the email recipient's local congressional representatives. (The phone number was included in the email.)
Marketers are marveling at the effectiveness and organization behind the activity, which they say consumer products firms should learn. But some worry that the DNC might be starting to commit an email sin that too many marketers commit: Sending out too many emails and risking the audience's annoyance.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
A New Goodwill Era Toward Social PR?
Corporate America deserves, in this instance, a pat on the back.
- Bon Jovi, on Oprah! TV show, quoted in Emily Bryson York, "Starbuck's Volunteer Push Gets Boost From 'Oprah Effect'," Advertising Age, January 1, 2009.
Bon Jovi and Oprah Winfrey both heralded Starbucks' campaign to promote volunteerism as part of the new era of social concern ushered in by the presidency of Barak Obama. The Starbuck "I'm In" campaign encourages consumers to pledge five hours of community service during 2009. If you commit to doing that at Starbucks between now and Sunday, you'll get a free coffee.
Starbucks contacted Oprah after an Election Day free-coffee promotion. When she liked the idea, the public relations blitz began. "The chain later organized an ad buy at oprah.com. Online ads promoting "I'm In" are also appearing at Slate, Huffington Post, NBC.com, NYTimes.com, CNN and Facebook, among other sites."
Of course, a cynic would say that the troubled coffee chain is simply riding a wave of Obama love with an activity--the circulation of free cofee--that it has done in the past only for its own publicity. Moreover, no one will track whether the people who pledge the five hours to get coffee actually carry out their promise. But Oprah, Bon Jovi and others chose to be optimistic. Perhaps it was the halo-effect of the good will surrounding the new president.
- Bon Jovi, on Oprah! TV show, quoted in Emily Bryson York, "Starbuck's Volunteer Push Gets Boost From 'Oprah Effect'," Advertising Age, January 1, 2009.
Bon Jovi and Oprah Winfrey both heralded Starbucks' campaign to promote volunteerism as part of the new era of social concern ushered in by the presidency of Barak Obama. The Starbuck "I'm In" campaign encourages consumers to pledge five hours of community service during 2009. If you commit to doing that at Starbucks between now and Sunday, you'll get a free coffee.
Starbucks contacted Oprah after an Election Day free-coffee promotion. When she liked the idea, the public relations blitz began. "The chain later organized an ad buy at oprah.com. Online ads promoting "I'm In" are also appearing at Slate, Huffington Post, NBC.com, NYTimes.com, CNN and Facebook, among other sites."
Of course, a cynic would say that the troubled coffee chain is simply riding a wave of Obama love with an activity--the circulation of free cofee--that it has done in the past only for its own publicity. Moreover, no one will track whether the people who pledge the five hours to get coffee actually carry out their promise. But Oprah, Bon Jovi and others chose to be optimistic. Perhaps it was the halo-effect of the good will surrounding the new president.
Monday, November 17, 2008
The Rise of Product Integration
Every single first-year show we’ve launched has an advertising partner in place, which has probably never happened in broadcast TV.
- Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment
In Brian Stelter, "Low Ratings End Show and a Product Placement," The New York Times, November 13, 2008
When NBC ordered the cancellation of My Worst Enemy recently, it meant more than the demise of a series that many in the network were sure would succeed. It also marked the end of a program that it had sculpted to highlight General Motors cars in a deal that had GM underwriting some of the production costs. Such "product integration" deals are becoming common on television, and NBC's Silverman is one of their greatest proponents on NBC-Universal's broadcast and cable properties. The reasoning behind it is straightforward: The network gets money to help create the programs, while advertisers get the ability to present their products within programs at a time when viewers are increasingly likely to use DVRs to fast-forward through regular commercials.
In the case of My Own Worst Enemy, NBC and GM "teamed up early in the production process, created commercials together and carefully added the Camaro and Traverse brands to the story lines." The lead character, played by Christian Slater, had two personalities; he drove the Traverse sport utility vehicle in his ordinary middle-class father manifestation and the Camaro converticle when a secret agent. Of course, even the best laid plans cannot guarantee success with the audience, and Nielsen's ratings doomed the show.
The demise of My Own Enemy by no means spells the demise of the basic product-integration business model. Quite the contrary: NBC not only has built several current shows around advertiser interests (including Knight Rider, with Ford), it is pushing the concept forward with gusto and sensitivity to the interests of specific advertisers. In the words of Marc Graboff, the other co-chair on NBC Entertainment, "It's not about sticking a Coke can on a desk anymore. It's an evolving form."
- Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment
In Brian Stelter, "Low Ratings End Show and a Product Placement," The New York Times, November 13, 2008
When NBC ordered the cancellation of My Worst Enemy recently, it meant more than the demise of a series that many in the network were sure would succeed. It also marked the end of a program that it had sculpted to highlight General Motors cars in a deal that had GM underwriting some of the production costs. Such "product integration" deals are becoming common on television, and NBC's Silverman is one of their greatest proponents on NBC-Universal's broadcast and cable properties. The reasoning behind it is straightforward: The network gets money to help create the programs, while advertisers get the ability to present their products within programs at a time when viewers are increasingly likely to use DVRs to fast-forward through regular commercials.
In the case of My Own Worst Enemy, NBC and GM "teamed up early in the production process, created commercials together and carefully added the Camaro and Traverse brands to the story lines." The lead character, played by Christian Slater, had two personalities; he drove the Traverse sport utility vehicle in his ordinary middle-class father manifestation and the Camaro converticle when a secret agent. Of course, even the best laid plans cannot guarantee success with the audience, and Nielsen's ratings doomed the show.
The demise of My Own Enemy by no means spells the demise of the basic product-integration business model. Quite the contrary: NBC not only has built several current shows around advertiser interests (including Knight Rider, with Ford), it is pushing the concept forward with gusto and sensitivity to the interests of specific advertisers. In the words of Marc Graboff, the other co-chair on NBC Entertainment, "It's not about sticking a Coke can on a desk anymore. It's an evolving form."
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Akamai Moves into High-Tech Behavioral Targeting
We have the ability to work with some largest advertisers and networks and publishers today to do much larger and more flexible re-marketing buys.
- Mike Afergan, chief technology officer-senior VP, Akamai's Advertising Decision Solutions
In Abby Klaasan, "Akamai Gets Into the Ad Business," Advertising Age, October 21, 2008.
Remarketing is a company's act of sending a followup message to a consumer to encourage a purchase based on what the company has learned about the consumer since the prior interaction. Akamai's purchase of Acerno gives it a special ability to do that. Akamai itself is a "content delivery network" that helps web publishers, ad networks and advertisers delivered their content to users efficiently. "Because it streams content all across the internet, it has a wide view of the web and how consumers use it." Acerno, meanwhile, "tracks what consumers buy on a variety of e-commerce sites and crunches that data through an algorithm that predicts who the customers are (someone buying maternity clothes is likely a soon-to-be mom) and predicts what they'll buy next and serve them appropriate ads."
Working together, Akamai and Acerno can determing the internet behaviors of a person and then send an ad that the computer calculations deem relevant for that consumer. The system also recognizes when a person puts a product in an online shopping cart but abandons it before making the purchase; Akamai can help that retailer target ads or discounts to that person, promoting the products left unpurchased. Though Akamai executives didn't mention it, the technology undoubtedly sets the stage for serving consumers with different news and entertainment along with ads on the web in the belief that ads will get a better response when served with other materials that match consumers' interests.
Will these sorts of cutting edge activities, that don't require knowing consumers' physical-world names or postal address, raise concerns? That remains to be seen.
- Mike Afergan, chief technology officer-senior VP, Akamai's Advertising Decision Solutions
In Abby Klaasan, "Akamai Gets Into the Ad Business," Advertising Age, October 21, 2008.
Remarketing is a company's act of sending a followup message to a consumer to encourage a purchase based on what the company has learned about the consumer since the prior interaction. Akamai's purchase of Acerno gives it a special ability to do that. Akamai itself is a "content delivery network" that helps web publishers, ad networks and advertisers delivered their content to users efficiently. "Because it streams content all across the internet, it has a wide view of the web and how consumers use it." Acerno, meanwhile, "tracks what consumers buy on a variety of e-commerce sites and crunches that data through an algorithm that predicts who the customers are (someone buying maternity clothes is likely a soon-to-be mom) and predicts what they'll buy next and serve them appropriate ads."
Working together, Akamai and Acerno can determing the internet behaviors of a person and then send an ad that the computer calculations deem relevant for that consumer. The system also recognizes when a person puts a product in an online shopping cart but abandons it before making the purchase; Akamai can help that retailer target ads or discounts to that person, promoting the products left unpurchased. Though Akamai executives didn't mention it, the technology undoubtedly sets the stage for serving consumers with different news and entertainment along with ads on the web in the belief that ads will get a better response when served with other materials that match consumers' interests.
Will these sorts of cutting edge activities, that don't require knowing consumers' physical-world names or postal address, raise concerns? That remains to be seen.
Monday, October 20, 2008
College Students Get a Taste of TV's Future
It's a very personalized experience.
-Linor Tal Levav, vice president-content strategy and acquisition, Intercast
In Joe Mandese, "Esurance, MPG Back New Ad-Supported Video Service: Provide Pay TV Series Free To College Kids," Online Media Daily, October 13, 2008
Students at a few leading universities, among them Purdue and Columbia, are part of a test that allows them to watch TV shows from Paramount's subscription network Showtime for free. The programming includes series like Dexter, The Tudors, and Californiacation. They are being made available for free to students who agree to watch ads on a a new online service, Kazam. Kazam is using technology by Intercast, which runs on Internet2, an ultra-high speed service that research universities have implemented on their campuses.
Although from the students' standpoint the service may be a way to get cool programming that would otherwise cost money, Intercast, Kazam and their advertisers see it as a way to use the fastest technology to test the customization of commercials and programs based on data Kazam has about each student. Intercast's Levav says that "The nice thing about our platform is that we serve the ads from storage, so we can serve them in great quality, high-definition, and we can combine features like targeting and interactivity and data feedback." The consequence is that the Kazam service can serve different shows and commercials --"say an episode of "Dexter" for one student, or a Discovery Channel show for another, or even a Sports Illustrated swimsuit special for a third, along with different commercials"--based on "the viewer's profile, their user behavior and the context of when and where they are viewing the content."
Although it seems like simply a way to make money from advertising in a college environment, it's really a test by advertisers, media planners, and technology firm of the TV model for all Americans in the not-too-distant future.
-Linor Tal Levav, vice president-content strategy and acquisition, Intercast
In Joe Mandese, "Esurance, MPG Back New Ad-Supported Video Service: Provide Pay TV Series Free To College Kids," Online Media Daily, October 13, 2008
Students at a few leading universities, among them Purdue and Columbia, are part of a test that allows them to watch TV shows from Paramount's subscription network Showtime for free. The programming includes series like Dexter, The Tudors, and Californiacation. They are being made available for free to students who agree to watch ads on a a new online service, Kazam. Kazam is using technology by Intercast, which runs on Internet2, an ultra-high speed service that research universities have implemented on their campuses.
Although from the students' standpoint the service may be a way to get cool programming that would otherwise cost money, Intercast, Kazam and their advertisers see it as a way to use the fastest technology to test the customization of commercials and programs based on data Kazam has about each student. Intercast's Levav says that "The nice thing about our platform is that we serve the ads from storage, so we can serve them in great quality, high-definition, and we can combine features like targeting and interactivity and data feedback." The consequence is that the Kazam service can serve different shows and commercials --"say an episode of "Dexter" for one student, or a Discovery Channel show for another, or even a Sports Illustrated swimsuit special for a third, along with different commercials"--based on "the viewer's profile, their user behavior and the context of when and where they are viewing the content."
Although it seems like simply a way to make money from advertising in a college environment, it's really a test by advertisers, media planners, and technology firm of the TV model for all Americans in the not-too-distant future.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Google and Visa Combine for Mobile Marketing Future
This has the potential to change the advertising model in the U.S.
- Tim Attinger, head of product innovation and development at Visa
In Beth Snyder Bulik, "Visa Teams With Google for Mobile Play Using Android," Advertising Age, September 25, 2008
Google's new mobile operating system, Android, allows users to use their handsets as credit cards. In connection to this ability, Visa will introduce a system to that provides users who opt in with offers directly to their phones. If the user clicks on the phone offer (which might be customized for the individual), Google Maps will tell the customer where the nearest retailer offering the deal is located. Some of the offers may be frequent-shopper, and when the customer pays using the phone, Visa will keep track and tell the person when a certain number of purchases from the merchant will yield the reward.
Visa is rolling out its system slowly. They are just now trying to sign up merchants. Moreover, at this point, it works only on the Android G1 phone that T-Mobile will release. That means relatively few people will be able to try it. Over time, though, Visa executives see advertisers as having the ability to track their performance from the message sent to an individual consumerto the actual purchase via the handset. That, they believe, will change marketers' understanding of how to judge advertising's success.
- Tim Attinger, head of product innovation and development at Visa
In Beth Snyder Bulik, "Visa Teams With Google for Mobile Play Using Android," Advertising Age, September 25, 2008
Google's new mobile operating system, Android, allows users to use their handsets as credit cards. In connection to this ability, Visa will introduce a system to that provides users who opt in with offers directly to their phones. If the user clicks on the phone offer (which might be customized for the individual), Google Maps will tell the customer where the nearest retailer offering the deal is located. Some of the offers may be frequent-shopper, and when the customer pays using the phone, Visa will keep track and tell the person when a certain number of purchases from the merchant will yield the reward.
Visa is rolling out its system slowly. They are just now trying to sign up merchants. Moreover, at this point, it works only on the Android G1 phone that T-Mobile will release. That means relatively few people will be able to try it. Over time, though, Visa executives see advertisers as having the ability to track their performance from the message sent to an individual consumerto the actual purchase via the handset. That, they believe, will change marketers' understanding of how to judge advertising's success.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Future of Audience Research
We no longer have to rely on old cultural prophecies as to who is the right consumer for the right message. It no longer has to be microsample-based [à la Nielsen or Simmons]. We now have [total-population] data, and that changes everything. With [those] data, you can know essentially everything. You can find out all the things that are nonintuitive or counterintuitive that are excellent predictors. ... There's a lot of power in that.
- Dave Morgan, Founder of the behavioral targeting firm Tacoda, now owned by AOL
In Bob Garfield, "Your Data With Destiny," Advertising Age, September 15, 2008
Morgan's quote reflects current beliefs about the use of data-mining that are reshaping the media system. The idea is that instead of making predictions about specific customers based on general surveys of people like them, marketers should track the customers themselves in ways they may not know. The assertion is that findings from such tracking can lead to accurate predictions about products and persuasive techniques that will appeal specifically to those targeted individuals. Garfield gives interesting examples of how that can work from basic collaborate filtering technologies (as with Amazon and Netflix) to more sophisticated activities via Taboola and My6Sense.
Implicit in his piece—but as important as the main theme—is a view that has begun to take hold in parts of the marketing community: that survey samples (for example, Nielsen’s TV, internet, and billboard samples) should be replaced by population samples via set-top-box data, behavioral tracking, and other methods. In that connection, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) has convened “forums” on the topic later this month and next month that will valorize tracking “entire” populations and foreground buzz and other techniques that supposedly get close to the consumers in unobtrusive ways.
"I don't know if we are going to have a choice but to move away from survey research," Donna Goldfarb, VP-consumer and market insights for Unilever Americas is quoted as saying in another Ad Age piece. "We continue to torture consumers with boring and antiquated search methods. What's holding us back is history and norms. But I work in a business where I think most of the senior leadership is still very frustrated with the tools that we are using."
The Ad Age piece acknowledges that firms such as Unilever and P&G continue to spend lots of money on surveys. (P&G spent $200 million on research vendors in 2006.) Yet statements such as Goldfarb’s “signal a shift in paradigms, and most likely budgets, away from surveys and toward mining insights from blogs, social networks, consumer comments to websites and more,” according to Joel Rubinson, chief research officer of the ARF. They also may signal that the audience research that emerges may create increasing tensions around issues of privacy.
- Dave Morgan, Founder of the behavioral targeting firm Tacoda, now owned by AOL
In Bob Garfield, "Your Data With Destiny," Advertising Age, September 15, 2008
Morgan's quote reflects current beliefs about the use of data-mining that are reshaping the media system. The idea is that instead of making predictions about specific customers based on general surveys of people like them, marketers should track the customers themselves in ways they may not know. The assertion is that findings from such tracking can lead to accurate predictions about products and persuasive techniques that will appeal specifically to those targeted individuals. Garfield gives interesting examples of how that can work from basic collaborate filtering technologies (as with Amazon and Netflix) to more sophisticated activities via Taboola and My6Sense.
Implicit in his piece—but as important as the main theme—is a view that has begun to take hold in parts of the marketing community: that survey samples (for example, Nielsen’s TV, internet, and billboard samples) should be replaced by population samples via set-top-box data, behavioral tracking, and other methods. In that connection, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) has convened “forums” on the topic later this month and next month that will valorize tracking “entire” populations and foreground buzz and other techniques that supposedly get close to the consumers in unobtrusive ways.
"I don't know if we are going to have a choice but to move away from survey research," Donna Goldfarb, VP-consumer and market insights for Unilever Americas is quoted as saying in another Ad Age piece. "We continue to torture consumers with boring and antiquated search methods. What's holding us back is history and norms. But I work in a business where I think most of the senior leadership is still very frustrated with the tools that we are using."
The Ad Age piece acknowledges that firms such as Unilever and P&G continue to spend lots of money on surveys. (P&G spent $200 million on research vendors in 2006.) Yet statements such as Goldfarb’s “signal a shift in paradigms, and most likely budgets, away from surveys and toward mining insights from blogs, social networks, consumer comments to websites and more,” according to Joel Rubinson, chief research officer of the ARF. They also may signal that the audience research that emerges may create increasing tensions around issues of privacy.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Where Will the RIAA Go After Five Years of Lawsuits?
If the goal is to reduce file sharing, it's a failure.
- Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation
In David Kravetz, "File Sharing Lawsuits at a Crossroads, After 5 Years of RIAA Litigation," Wired, September 4, 2008
Lohmann's comments refer to the lawsuit approach pursued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against consumers who share copyrighted music with others online. David Kravetz notes that September 8, 2008 marks five years since the RIAA's first lawsuit. He presents an overview of the controversies swirling around the more than 30,000 lawsuits that RIAA instituted during the past half decade. The RIAA says it is continuing its lawsuits to emphasize to individuals that downloading copyrighted content is, in fact, illegal, and to scare people from doing it. Opponents claim that the RIAA's tactics have terrorized people into paying up rather than fighting in the courts, that the company it is using to ferret out wrongdoers is not doing it legally, and that the way the RIAA is trying to prove illegal sharing may also not stand up to court scrutiny.
Kravetz notes that "despite the crackdown, billions of copies of copyrighted songs are now changing hands each year on file sharing services." And he adds that "critics of the RIAA say it's time for the music industry to stop attacking fans, and start looking for alternatives."
- Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation
In David Kravetz, "File Sharing Lawsuits at a Crossroads, After 5 Years of RIAA Litigation," Wired, September 4, 2008
Lohmann's comments refer to the lawsuit approach pursued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against consumers who share copyrighted music with others online. David Kravetz notes that September 8, 2008 marks five years since the RIAA's first lawsuit. He presents an overview of the controversies swirling around the more than 30,000 lawsuits that RIAA instituted during the past half decade. The RIAA says it is continuing its lawsuits to emphasize to individuals that downloading copyrighted content is, in fact, illegal, and to scare people from doing it. Opponents claim that the RIAA's tactics have terrorized people into paying up rather than fighting in the courts, that the company it is using to ferret out wrongdoers is not doing it legally, and that the way the RIAA is trying to prove illegal sharing may also not stand up to court scrutiny.
Kravetz notes that "despite the crackdown, billions of copies of copyrighted songs are now changing hands each year on file sharing services." And he adds that "critics of the RIAA say it's time for the music industry to stop attacking fans, and start looking for alternatives."
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Advertising in Popular Culture
Irritate them, Mr. Norman. Irritate, irritate, irritate them.
- Evan Llewellyn Evans (played by Sydney Greenstreet) to Victor Norman (played by Clark Gable) in the 1947 movie The Hucksters
Quoted in Stuart Elliot, "For 60 Years, the Ad Game Has Been Fodder for Scripts," The New York Times, September 18, 2008
The AMC series Mad Men, which takes place in a 1960s advertising agency, had won much acclaim about its reproduction of the tone of that era. Stuart Elliot, The New York Times' longtime advertising columnist, put together a short list of movies and TV shows with advertising as a central theme. One movie he missed: Putney Swope, the 1969 dark comedy written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. starring Arnold Johnson as a black man who is made the chairman of an advertising agency.
One feature that most of the movies about advertising depict, whether critically (as in The Hucksters) or endearingly (as in Bewitched) is the need to catch audiences with jingles or pictures or other persuasive forms.
The following clip from The Hucksters is one of the classics that still resonates with critics of advertising. In it the agency people nervously wait until their client comes in the door. The client is modeled after the real-life George Washington Hill of American Tobacco, who is supposed to have done what the character here does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvW3JRBeDR0
Elliot's list ignores PR and press agentry. This scene from The Sweet Smell of Success is a classic critique of the relationship between press agents, gossip columnists, and sources. In the clip below the columnist (played by Burt Lancaster) is holding court with a senator who wants good coverage when the press agent (Tony Curtis) comes in on them. The scene turns into a revelation of the acid, tension-filled relationship between all three. The film was written by Clifford Odetts and Enest Lehman and produced by the company owned by Ben Hecht (who co-wrote the original version of the film The Front Page) and Burt Lancaster. It is credited with helping to destroy the often-reptilian power of columnist Walter Winchell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N77uqGZPUPw&feature=related
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Web Publishers Worry About Growing Competition From Google
The question in people’s minds is how unbiased can Google be as it grows and grows and grows.
- Wenda Harris Millard, the co-chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
In Miguel Helft, "Is Google a Media Company?," The New York Times, August 10, 2008
Though it is best known for the capability of its search engine, Google increasingly owns firms that distribute content and need to draw audiences to support themselves through advertising. One examples is the YouTube video website, where Google sells ads around and sometimes in the videos. Another example Knowl, a new online encyclopedia where people write articles about topics they know and can choose to place Google ads next to the articles witth the aim of sharing the revenue with Google. Some media executives say that they can imagine a time when Google "adjusts" the results of searches so that sites it owns automatically show up among the highest rankings. That would send lots of people to its sites and increase its ad revenues.
At this point, there is no evidence that Google does not adjust its searches to privilege its own sites. The company adamently says that will never happen. Yet the Google search formulas are secret, and the company is not bound by any laws that require it to be unbiased in its search results. Even if never does that, Google has power to create content sites that compete well with other sites in search, perhaps because it sees what users want by analyzing their search activities. Harvard business professor David Yoffe points out that with YouTube, Knol, Blogger and other company sites, Google could take 3 of the top 10 results in some searches. That could get Web publishers that advertise on Google search and other Google ad platforms angry, even if there is no evidence that Google distorted the results to favor its sites. Yoffie and others believe that suspicions about Google's honesty and its conflicts of interest with its advertisers will inevitably increase as its investment in content sites grows.
- Wenda Harris Millard, the co-chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
In Miguel Helft, "Is Google a Media Company?," The New York Times, August 10, 2008
Though it is best known for the capability of its search engine, Google increasingly owns firms that distribute content and need to draw audiences to support themselves through advertising. One examples is the YouTube video website, where Google sells ads around and sometimes in the videos. Another example Knowl, a new online encyclopedia where people write articles about topics they know and can choose to place Google ads next to the articles witth the aim of sharing the revenue with Google. Some media executives say that they can imagine a time when Google "adjusts" the results of searches so that sites it owns automatically show up among the highest rankings. That would send lots of people to its sites and increase its ad revenues.
At this point, there is no evidence that Google does not adjust its searches to privilege its own sites. The company adamently says that will never happen. Yet the Google search formulas are secret, and the company is not bound by any laws that require it to be unbiased in its search results. Even if never does that, Google has power to create content sites that compete well with other sites in search, perhaps because it sees what users want by analyzing their search activities. Harvard business professor David Yoffe points out that with YouTube, Knol, Blogger and other company sites, Google could take 3 of the top 10 results in some searches. That could get Web publishers that advertise on Google search and other Google ad platforms angry, even if there is no evidence that Google distorted the results to favor its sites. Yoffie and others believe that suspicions about Google's honesty and its conflicts of interest with its advertisers will inevitably increase as its investment in content sites grows.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
PR Firm: One Fifth of Major Marketers Buying Favorable News Coverage
I'm not saying it's a huge problem. But 19% of senior marketers saying they do it constitutes a problem.
-Mark Haas, CEO of public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee
In Michael Bush, "Just So You Know, No One Paid for This Article," Advertising Age, Aug 4, 2008
Hass was referring to a finding in a recent survey by his firm of chief marketing officers that 19% of them said their organizations had bought advertising in return for getting news story about them. Representing one in five senior marketers, that is up for 17% last year. Although one aim of public relations is to get favorable media coverage, Hass contends that it gains legitimacy through a process in which the PR practitioner needs to persuade a media practitioner that the story the PR person is pitching deserves coverage. Paying for this sort of coverage means the standard vetting that goes on through the PR give-and-take with media is lost. Moreover, says Hass, if this sort of pay-for-play influence on editorial becomes broadly public, it could cause media to lose credibility. "There needs be credible, independent media," he stated, "and the marketing industry should not be doing anything to undermine credible editorial quality." A cynic might add that Hass doesn't want his clients to get into the habit of simply paying for favorable editorial attention--an activity that would lessen the value of Manning Selvage & Lee's work.
New media seems to be a particular problem, according to the survey findings. More than half (53%) of the senior marketers said that the marketing industry as a whole is not following ethical guidelines in the new-media realm. "It's almost like there's a different standard for online activity, and that's a little worrisome because that's a growth area," said Hass. "That's something that the industry needs to be attentive to, because the reputational damange that can occur if a marketer is dishonest online is huge."
-Mark Haas, CEO of public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee
In Michael Bush, "Just So You Know, No One Paid for This Article," Advertising Age, Aug 4, 2008
Hass was referring to a finding in a recent survey by his firm of chief marketing officers that 19% of them said their organizations had bought advertising in return for getting news story about them. Representing one in five senior marketers, that is up for 17% last year. Although one aim of public relations is to get favorable media coverage, Hass contends that it gains legitimacy through a process in which the PR practitioner needs to persuade a media practitioner that the story the PR person is pitching deserves coverage. Paying for this sort of coverage means the standard vetting that goes on through the PR give-and-take with media is lost. Moreover, says Hass, if this sort of pay-for-play influence on editorial becomes broadly public, it could cause media to lose credibility. "There needs be credible, independent media," he stated, "and the marketing industry should not be doing anything to undermine credible editorial quality." A cynic might add that Hass doesn't want his clients to get into the habit of simply paying for favorable editorial attention--an activity that would lessen the value of Manning Selvage & Lee's work.
New media seems to be a particular problem, according to the survey findings. More than half (53%) of the senior marketers said that the marketing industry as a whole is not following ethical guidelines in the new-media realm. "It's almost like there's a different standard for online activity, and that's a little worrisome because that's a growth area," said Hass. "That's something that the industry needs to be attentive to, because the reputational damange that can occur if a marketer is dishonest online is huge."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Google's CEO Challenges Hollywood to Create New Business Models
They won't just copy the old models; they'll come up with new ways of both making money, but also building brand. Seth is a good example.
- Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
In Claude Brodesser-Akner, "Entertainment Will Be 'First Through the Gate' in Digital Economy," Advertising Age, July 17, 2008
Schmidt was referring to Seth MacFarlane, creator of the Fox series "Family Guy" and reputed to be the highest paid TV writer in Hollywood. He recently made a deal with the firm Media Rights Capital (MRC) to fund a new online animated series. In turn, Media Rights Capital, which is funded by Wall Street and Madison Avenue, will make money every time people access the video, and wherever they access it online , through a deal with Google. The reason: Media Rights Capital bought advertising space from Google's Adsense service, which places ads around videos and text on websites. MRC it then resold those ads to advertisers, keeping the difference as its profit. And unlike "Family Guy," Mr. MacFarlane keeps the rights to the online series.
Schmidt was highlighting a development that he hoped would replace the approach that a number of Hollywood actors (such as Viacom) have taken: to sue Google for not adequately policing its YouTube video site for their copyrighted products. By contrast, the McFarlane-MRC approach is, he said, "a perfect example of how Hollywood needed to change to adapt the 'anytime, anywhere consumer model,' vs. what he derisively termed 'the lawyer model.'"
- Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
In Claude Brodesser-Akner, "Entertainment Will Be 'First Through the Gate' in Digital Economy," Advertising Age, July 17, 2008
Schmidt was referring to Seth MacFarlane, creator of the Fox series "Family Guy" and reputed to be the highest paid TV writer in Hollywood. He recently made a deal with the firm Media Rights Capital (MRC) to fund a new online animated series. In turn, Media Rights Capital, which is funded by Wall Street and Madison Avenue, will make money every time people access the video, and wherever they access it online , through a deal with Google. The reason: Media Rights Capital bought advertising space from Google's Adsense service, which places ads around videos and text on websites. MRC it then resold those ads to advertisers, keeping the difference as its profit. And unlike "Family Guy," Mr. MacFarlane keeps the rights to the online series.
Schmidt was highlighting a development that he hoped would replace the approach that a number of Hollywood actors (such as Viacom) have taken: to sue Google for not adequately policing its YouTube video site for their copyrighted products. By contrast, the McFarlane-MRC approach is, he said, "a perfect example of how Hollywood needed to change to adapt the 'anytime, anywhere consumer model,' vs. what he derisively termed 'the lawyer model.'"
Friday, July 18, 2008
Taking Advantage of The Long Tail
Google finds the long tail, and we fill it.
- Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media
In Joseph Menn, "Demand Media Wags a Long Tail of Niche Websites," Los Angeles Times, July 16, 2008
"The long tail" is writer Chris Andersen's phrase for products that speak to very small audiences. Rosenblatt has been building a company that takes advantage of the ability of search engines to tap into the long tail--that is, to find obscure websites that deal with topics relatively few people would use--but that would interest advertisers to those who go to them. His company, Demand Media, has quietly amassed a network of thousands of websites such as EHow, Expert Village and a slew of special-interest sites including GolfLink, Trails.com and Daily Puppy. ... Although none are huge hits, together they rank among the Internet's 50 most visited Web networks, according to rating service ComScore Inc." The sites use articles and videos videos created by experts on their topics for low cost. Because Demand Media's websites deal with relatively obscure subjects, they tend to show up high on Google results when people are searching for them. When that happens--and when people the go to those sites--Demand Media makes money from the ads. Demand Media seems to be a case where the long-tail idea is actually working to bring a firm profits.
- Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media
In Joseph Menn, "Demand Media Wags a Long Tail of Niche Websites," Los Angeles Times, July 16, 2008
"The long tail" is writer Chris Andersen's phrase for products that speak to very small audiences. Rosenblatt has been building a company that takes advantage of the ability of search engines to tap into the long tail--that is, to find obscure websites that deal with topics relatively few people would use--but that would interest advertisers to those who go to them. His company, Demand Media, has quietly amassed a network of thousands of websites such as EHow, Expert Village and a slew of special-interest sites including GolfLink, Trails.com and Daily Puppy. ... Although none are huge hits, together they rank among the Internet's 50 most visited Web networks, according to rating service ComScore Inc." The sites use articles and videos videos created by experts on their topics for low cost. Because Demand Media's websites deal with relatively obscure subjects, they tend to show up high on Google results when people are searching for them. When that happens--and when people the go to those sites--Demand Media makes money from the ads. Demand Media seems to be a case where the long-tail idea is actually working to bring a firm profits.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Will Sponsorships Change "Independent" Web Videos?
It's still an open question whether big business is going to play Internet culture's game, or if Internet culture is going to play the big business game.
-Tim Hwang, organizer of a Boston conference on web culture
In Mike Musgrove, "Product Placement Creeps Into Amateurs' YouTube Offerings," Washington Post, July 13, 2008
Hwang was referring to the growing phenomenon of companies that sponsor the creation of individually created videos. Sometimes the products are placed into the videos. Sometimes, as in the case of Matt Harding's, the sponsor (Stride Gum) is thanked in a two-to-three second spot at the video's end. "In it, the 31-year-old does his jig with crowds of locals in exotic spots around the globe. The 4 1/2 -minute clip, featuring brief glimpses of 42 locales from Argentina to Zambia, is a smash hit on YouTube, where it is closing in on 6 million views."
Increasingly, videos on sites like YouTube attract corporate sponsors. The reason: Doing that is far cheaper than a 30-second commercial. Of course, it's much harder with a web video to be sure than anyone is watching. But Matt Harding is one of those video creators who are getting a track record for producing material that millions of people view.
Some critics are troubled that the possibility of sponsorships will change the way internet-video creators go about their work. "Internet culture, Hwang said, has spent most of its existence in its own in-jokey world, but that's changing quickly. And as deep-pocketed corporate entities turn to user-generated channels looking for attention, there's no telling how things will play out." From a public interest standpoint, it is worth considering how to encourage sponsors to refrain from integrating their brands into user generating materials.
-Tim Hwang, organizer of a Boston conference on web culture
In Mike Musgrove, "Product Placement Creeps Into Amateurs' YouTube Offerings," Washington Post, July 13, 2008
Hwang was referring to the growing phenomenon of companies that sponsor the creation of individually created videos. Sometimes the products are placed into the videos. Sometimes, as in the case of Matt Harding's, the sponsor (Stride Gum) is thanked in a two-to-three second spot at the video's end. "In it, the 31-year-old does his jig with crowds of locals in exotic spots around the globe. The 4 1/2 -minute clip, featuring brief glimpses of 42 locales from Argentina to Zambia, is a smash hit on YouTube, where it is closing in on 6 million views."
Increasingly, videos on sites like YouTube attract corporate sponsors. The reason: Doing that is far cheaper than a 30-second commercial. Of course, it's much harder with a web video to be sure than anyone is watching. But Matt Harding is one of those video creators who are getting a track record for producing material that millions of people view.
Some critics are troubled that the possibility of sponsorships will change the way internet-video creators go about their work. "Internet culture, Hwang said, has spent most of its existence in its own in-jokey world, but that's changing quickly. And as deep-pocketed corporate entities turn to user-generated channels looking for attention, there's no telling how things will play out." From a public interest standpoint, it is worth considering how to encourage sponsors to refrain from integrating their brands into user generating materials.
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