The End of Digital Marketing

Does the term "digital marketing" ultimately hurt the marketing industry at large?

Earlier today I watched a video in which BBDO CEO Andrew Robertson discussed the importance of digital marketing, and how he was attempting to ensure that everyone in the massive organization that he oversees is thinking about digital.

Robertson states:
Everything has a digital component to it...Everyone is having to learn about the ways in which digital can enhance the quality of the programs we create...it is not optional



If digital is a component of all efforts, and everyone is required to possess digital marketing skills; what then is a digital marketer?


Ultimately, aren't we all just marketers with a variety of tools at our disposal?



Unfortunately this is not a new conversation and there is no easy answer. That said, I am not sure that large ad agencies are working fast enough to help solve this conundrum.


Some agencies have begun to take a more integrated approach in organizing their workforce, but is it enough?

We still see campaigns that begin telling a story that leverages out of home tactics, with little, to no digital follow up. In my opinion, such campaigns are incomplete; and no matter however creative the "creative" is, the campaign will ultimately fail-as more and more consumers have come to expect that the next chapter of the story will occur online.

So what is the answer?

Let's look at the pro's and cons to moving toward a model where we are all simply play the role of marketer;

Pros

  • Easier to ensure that strategy is central to all marketing efforts, as the strategic vision would come from one "nerve center"

  • All marketers would be held accountable for attaining a base knowledge of all channels


Cons

  • Difficult to decide who is going to focus on what areas of execution, of a campaign

  • Many marketers are still not savvy when it comes to digital, and if they were forced to manage any piece of the digital portion of the campaign, things could get messy


There are obvious benefits to each way of thinking. Ultimately, I do not think we are ready to switch to a model where all marketers are responsible for all media types. That being said, what will happen in 5 years, when recent college graduates will have digital media in their DNA? Will we then be ready for the type of change that I am proposing?

I would love to hear some thought from you.
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Afraid of Mobile Marketing? Get Over it!

Mobile marketing is not new by any means, however in light of the current mobile application gold rush (iPhone, Android etc.), mobile marketing seems to have taken center stage. In celebration of the coming of age of mobile marketing, allow me to share the story of my first experience in mobile marketing;

It was about four years ago. I was an eager interactive agency guy testing various new platforms; some...well, let's say, not as successfully.  Okay, I will be honest (it is, after all, the best policy) the firs mobile campaign I ran was an abysmal failure. Like any good marketer, I noted why it failed, then vowed never to make that type of mistake again (I have since made other marketing mistakes; but all of them were unique :) )

What did I learn?

  • Tactics driving strategy usually does not work

    • The demographic I was trying to reach was simply not ready to behave in the manner needed to make this campaign a success.

      • A click to call mobile campaign did not serve our strategic objectives





  • Pre-planning can make successes out of failures

    • The adoption rate, and awareness of many mobile technologies that are popular today, were not as popular at that time.  What we failed to do was create a model whereby; the long term learnings were just as important as short term ROI. All we learned was not to run any other mobile campaigns for that brand for a while.

    • Had created a framework for failure, the fact that my target demo was not a savvy mobile crowd could have diminished the degree to which this campaign failed



  • Communications should be consistent across platforms

    • There are certainly exceptions to this rule, but when testing emerging platforms, the look and feel you present to consumers should remind them of other campaigns in the market. It makes activation in new media environments more palatable; and can diminish any skepticism someone may have




I have taken these lessons and applied them to everything I do. As someone who is both a marketer and a lover of shiny new tech toys, these were very important lessons.

fear-of-phones1Fast forward a few shorts years.

The world of mobile has changed (hell, the entire world of media has changed drastically in these few years, and so has my thinking about mobile marketing). I know some of you out there are still afraid of testing mobile marketing; it is time you get over your fears! I am not advocating you go out and start buying mobile media for it's own sake. I am saying that you should begin to seriously consider how to integrate mobile into your communications strategy.

I have been thinking about mobile marketing a lot lately, and began to construct a framework that reflects my thinking. It is still pretty rough, but I figured I would throw it out to the community and collect some thoughts. I don't plan on explaining the meaning of these diagrams for two reason;

  1. I want to see if they resonate with you, and if so, how

  2. I am just too darn busy (but I promise to revisit them; so stay tuned)


Let me know what you think. or better still; take these ideas and make your owns slides and send them over. I will be sure to post.

(note: since posting this,  I have already begun to see holes in this model re:Search. Help me out here; I constructed this model quickly; knowing that the wisdom of crowds is greater than the wisdom of one)
Mobility

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Unsponsor_042009: ChaCha

chacha-mobile-search-text-search-questions-and-answers_1240171165290

Company: ChaCha

Founded: 2008

Twitpitch: ChaCha provides advertisers the opportunity to target young, active mobile users with highly effective messaging and engaging them via text conversations.

Why ChaCha should "make the plan": ChaCha is available ANYTIME & ANYWHERE - all you need is a cell phone.

Media Kit can be found at: http://partners.chacha.com/

Sales contact info: Mark Tarnuzzer, 860-690-6371
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Tapping Into The Future of Targeting

What is the promise of the future of advertising?

If you ask many people currently working in the digital space, they will tell you--localization and personalization are the keys to the future of advertising (and in many ways, I would agree).

Along with hyper targeting, comes the ability to charge using an acquisition model. We have seen CPA models work, to some degree, with larger ad networks such as Advertising.com (i.e. Platform A).  CPA deals tend to only work for some advertisers.  At the current time, buys may not even be accepted if you cannot meet a minimum budget (try doing a 5k CPA buy, I dare you!)

jumptaplogo-2It is my belief that the future of advertising is also about the democratization of media buying. Google started the trend with Adwords, lowering the barriers to entry for small businesses; we certainly have seen how well that has gone. Then came the ad exchanges, which may not make it easy for anyone to place media buys (they are a little more complex) but the idea that ad inventory can sell for market value, in an open market, makes the price of entry more palatable for the little guys.

Today, as mobile platforms become more prevalent, and more people carry smarter devices with them in their pockets, the question becomes; how receptive will people be to advertising so close to home?

I feel that the more targeted the ad, the more consumers receptive a consumers will be when an advertiser attempts to divert their intended course of action. The problem is, mass market brands may not be able hit the type of scale that they need to hit their numbers, while targeting at such granular levels.

The solution is two-fold:

  • More niche brands will begin to dominate the mobile space, messaging consumers in a very personal way

  • Mass market brands will need better strategies to tell different stories to different people; stories that are incredibly relevant to that consumer


In order to achieve these two solutions, you need:

  • a platform that can target consumers by location, device and many other factors

  • a platform that can facilitate media buys with ease

  • lowered barriers to entry (from a cost perspective), or ways that advertisers can buy on a cost per action model; taking some of the risk out of their buy


These solutions are what Jumptap is promising with their new platform, TapMatch. Admittedly, I am friendly with the folks over at Jumptap, and want to see the platform succeed; but that is not why I am writing this post. I had no prior knowledge of this platform, and when I saw it I said, "now that really makes sense".

Have a look for yourself.


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Baking with Technology

I love when technology inspires creativity. Often times I feel that people look for creative ways to use technology, for the sake of the technology; but it is always interesting to see the outcome. I came across this video and thought, "is this useful?"

I am still not really sure, but it is pretty cool. I would love to hear your thoughts; is this technology for it's own sake, or will this actually help bakers (having never baked a thing in my life, I really cannot say)?


BakerTweet from POKE on Vimeo.

The Death of the Banner Unit is Greatly Exaggerated

banner-tombstoneA few weeks ago, I spoke at OMMA Global in LA, on an industry panel entitled “What is Content.” One of the panelist said that traditional banner ad units are dead…I couldn’t disagree more. Pronouncements like that remind me of statements made in past; Newspapers are dead (when Radio was invented,) like Radio is dead (when TV was invented,) Broadcast Television is Dead (when cable came along,) and so on, and so on. My thoughts can be can be summarized by one statement

"Traditional banner units are dead, long live traditional banner units."

In the social media space this thinking has manifested itself into the pursuit of new ad units that “interact with users” and are “socially desirable”…there are numerous smart companies that are hard charging at this, most refer to themselves as widget companies…and someday some of them will emerge as viable marketing platforms. The road for those companies will be hard, and the prizes may be elusive.

All these “new unit” types by and large require a “Passion Brand.” A passion brand is one that a consumer is in love with, wants to be associated with, and in essence will wrap their personal reputation around. By and large there are very few passion brands that people want to be friends with, and for those selective few brands...this approach may be icing on the cake...but the heavy lifting, the creation of the brand, and it's appeal...happens in a more banal format...the plain old often accessible, but mostly overlooked...standard media unit (:30 second spot on TV, Radio spot, Newspaper Ad, Billboard, and yes the Web Banner Ad)

When I was a younger person, a traditional :30 second ad (see below) totally convinced me that elves bake cookies in with magic fudge in a tree… – try doing that with a text link! (please don’t dispel the magic cookie elves myth for me, it is my own perverse "brand" reality, where elves make cookies, a green giant picks vegetables, and an old guy gets up early, muttering to himself "it's time to make the donuts")

These are the battleground formats, where brands can communicate with their prospective customers about new products, features, goods and services. Where the brands can use imagery and copy to create a look and feel for the product...all the while hopefully building themselves into a passion brand that someone would want to be friends with. That being said, I strongly question the sanity of a person who wants to be friends with a laundry detergent or a bar of soap.
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Unsponsor This Blog

If you are in media sales, or are selling a new technology that is potentially beneficial for media and marketing professionals, this post is for you!

Would you like a new outlet to talk about your media property or technology?

Of course you would!

Would you like this outlet to be outside of your own domain to reach new audiences?

Once again, of course

(I know I am answering for you; I am taking stabs in the dark)

Well, we have created a way to help out!

That is right, we will feature your media property or technology, and you don't even have to pay us (you certainly can, but it won't get you preferential treatment other than having us totally pimp you to the biggest media buyers on the planet :)).

Here at AMediaCirc.us HQ, we believe that agency/brand/publisher relationships ought to be partnerships. We feel that, in order to create successful initiatives, you need to have the right information about the entire media landscape; and all of the players that make it up. As such, we have decided to create a portion of the site where publishers/vendors and technology providers are highlighted--for free (we tend to favor new publishers with fresh ideas, but that does not mean we won't include your stodgy old media property. Just kidding--we love you all).

In order to take part, go to this section of the blog and follow the instructions:

All you need is click, click is all you need.

Yes, it is really that simple!

Negotiate This: Brand Versus Agency Deathmatch

There are a variety of bottlenecks in the marketing world that hold us back from achieving the type of creative initiatives we were born to create. The other day a friend of mine (who is not in marketing) said to me, "80% of the marketing campaigns out there are not nearly as creative as what I can come up with". This is probably true, but what is also true is that many of the campaigns out there are not as creative as they could be because of the bottlenecks and red tape we, in the industry, face on a daily basis.

I can probably go on for days about the various blockades that keep us from realizing our true potential; but I won't.

I would like to focus on one area that is at the root of unhealthy industry relationships and manifests over time into unsavory working environments-- contract negotiations.

My goal is to help brands and agencies do better in the negotiation phase, as I feel that this will lead to more creative executions in the long run.

The first step to a healthy agency/brand relationship is making sure that both parties are comfortable with the terms of service, and that neither party feels like they are being taken advantage of. In light of this fact, I have created a poll to get insights from you, the marketing community.

Please help push the industry forward by taking some time to fill out the poll.


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Joe Marchese Turns 28; His Pink Balls Catch Fire


Image representing SocialVibe as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase


Here at A Media Circ.us, we often hear the term “wunderkind” used to describe the
radiant social entrepreneur, Joe Marchese; but what makes this, “Zack Morris of social
media” tick?

Our own John Swords caught up with Marchese to talk cause marketing (and how
sometimes doing too much good can actually be bad), strange men climbing into your
window at night and calling you Doogie, and why pink balls beat blue balls (but take
longer to pack).

Swords: Iʼm here with Joe More-cheesy of SocialVibe.

Marchese: Itʼs Mar-chez-ee.

Swords: So SocialVibe - I get the social part. What's the vibe?

Marchese: We were supposed to have a different name and we couldn't get the URL.
So, I guess “vibe” is what we liked when the URL wasn't available.   I think we were very lucky we didn’t get the URL and ended up with the Vibe, because SocialVibe just fit’s what we are doing and nobody here would want it any other way.

Swords: What is SocialVibe?

Marchese: It's pretty simple. People help brands out by putting them onto their online
profiles and in exchange those brands help out the charity of the person's choice.  You
could think of it as a cause/marketing mash-up.

Swords: How long have you been around?

Marchese: Well, today's my birthday. So I've been around about 28 years as of today.

Swords: You're pretty young for the role you're in. Do you ever get called Doogie
Howser? Or maybe you have a friend named Vinnie who climbs into your bedroom
through a window at night?

Will The Real Doogie Please Stand UpMarchese: Oh yeah. Well, I think everybody does, right?  If that's weird, then I've been
watching too much television because Saved By the Bell is the same way

Swords: I assume you were in grade school before SocialVibe?

Marchese: Well, I had a stint in preschool but I didn't take to it. It was the paste eating
that got me kicked out.  Before that I did some consulting and worked for Monster.com.

Swords: How does one find a job at Monster.com?

Marchese: On CareerBuilder, of course.

Swords: How long has SocialVibe been around?

Marchese: We launched to the public in April of 2008. Before that we had it private for about seven months.  There was a time when it was just three guys, a PowerPoint, and a patent kicking around.

Swords: How much money has gone to charity so far?

Marchese: Over $400,000. It's pretty amazing because all the money coming from the brands. People want to help, but it isn't always in the checkbooks. So, especially with the bad economy, people are saying, "Well, how else can I help?"

Swords: So I could pick Cherry Coca-Cola and Butterfinger as my sponsor. I could then choose American Diabetes Association as my cause?  Do you ever get situations where the sponsors and the causes conflict?

Marchese: Oh, for sure. We're happy to block if there's a conflict between the two.  For example, Partnership for a Drug Free America for some reason does not want to be partnered with alcohol brands.

Swords: Do you think there's a point where you can do so much good that you're actually doing bad?

Marchese: Sure, but as much as my mother would like me considered for sainthood, we're not doing all the good.  We just set up a system to get other people to do good.

Swords: You're from San Francisco, right?

Marchese: No, actually, I'm from Boston. No, I'm not from Boston.

Swords: Get your “facts” straight if youʼre going to lie to me.

Marchese: Let me back up. I'm actually from New York.  Born there, raised there.

Swords: I pegged you as being from San Francisco because of the pink balls you ship to some members as an award.

marchese-for-president

Marchese: Well, I do live in West Hollywood now.

Swords: I noticed that members have to wait for up to two weeks before receiving a pink
ball. So, going without something for weeks at a time, maybe you should have made them blue balls?

Marchese: Yeah, that might have been more appropriate for the waiting.

Swords: What are the logistics that make it take so long?

Marchese: It usually involves alcoholic beverages.  See, we close down the office on
Friday afternoons and we have a pink-ball-packing party. We can only hope that all the
balls go the right places.

Swords: Nothing says serious like a pink-ball-packing party.  I noticed a lot of your users, they take pictures of themselves with your balls?

Marchese: Yep.

Swords: Some of them hold them in their hands. Some of them press your balls against their face.  A few users put your balls in their mouth.  Do you have a preference as to how they pose with your balls, or maybe a favorite position?

Marchese: No, I can't say that I do.  Keep in mind they're not our balls at that point.
Those are their balls.

Swords: So they're putting their own balls in their mouth.  Those would be interesting pictures to see.  Have you ever had to take down any of the photos?

Marchese: I don't know, my fiance doesn't let me review the pictures so I can't tell you for certain.

[alarm sounds]

Marchese: The fire alarm's going off in the building.

Swords: Maybe your balls are on fire.

[alarm sounds]

Marchese: Seems that way.

Swords: Do you need to go?

Marchese: Yeah.
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Digital Storytelling; Out of Home


Image representing Rob Gorrie as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase


As our lives become increasingly wired (and unwired) all of our media is becoming interactive; allowing for a greater degree of consumer engagement. Today we have the ability to create far more immersive campaigns than ever before, and companies like Adcentricity are helping lead the way.  After listening to him speak, I asked Rob Gorrie, president and founder of Adcentricity to send me a primer on DOOH (digital out of home). He was kind enough to send over the PPT below. I hope you find it interesting, I sure do.
Adcentricity DOOH Primer


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Real Proof: Social Media is Useful

Don't think that social media is useful?

I present to you a case where social media was indispensable!  We needed help revamping this blog,; social media did that and much more. The power of social media helped connect people from around the world, creating business partners and friends.

In our tireless search to find a new design for this blog, we decided to employ the help of...you guessed it, social media. I tweeted my way to a blog about WP Themes which led us to Obox Design. These charming and talented gentlemen from South Africa were able to get the job done (and then some). In the process of revamping this blog, I truly feel as though I made new friends, and found talent from the other side of the world.

These boys over at Obox have created a stunning newWordpress Theme. It is limited edition and they are giving away 40 of them.

Have a look at this video and enter to win.

Good Luck!


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The Rise of The Real Time Web

map of meebo users across the world

Those of us living in the new media/tech industry, have probably postulated about lifestreaming (or lifelogging) and presence sharing from time to time-and have probably been doing so for years.

We recently lived through the rise and fall of Second Life (I still love this platform for what it represents) and are witnessing the rise of platforms such as UStream.tv and Loopt. On a much larger scale, we are witnessing the incredible success of Twitter, and for better or worse were recently graced with the redesign of Facebook, which aims to bring you the social news, as it happens.

These platforms may be different in the way they present information, but they all share a few core elements that are becoming an increasing part of all of our lives; whether we are aware of it or not (and whether we like it or not),

  • Real Time Social Interaction

  • Real Time Multi Point Experience Sharing

  • Non-Stop Streams of Social Data


These attributes have had a profound effect on early  adopters seeking ways to bring new layers of interaction to existing media, and new ways to broadcast their lives. But these platforms are not just for the diggerati anymore. All of us are slowly being inducted into this way of life. The real time web is slowly being infused into all media (and not just media on your PC).

This morning at the iMedia Breakthrough summit, one of the conference sponsors, Meebo, gave a presentation on the integration of their IM platform across multiple sites. Their message was aimed at advertisers, but something much more profound was present in the presentation. The ability to bring your friends with you across the web in real time, sharing content, ideas and experiences brought the notion of the real time, or experience web front and center.

I strongly recommend that you look at what Meebo is doing outside of their core platform, Meebo.com. I urge you to think about what Meebo is doing as more than just instant messaging; as it is, in essence a virtual world, much like Second Life. The only difference is that there are no avatars and it is not in 3D. If you disagree with me, great; but think about it a little before you simply dismiss what I am saying.
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Mobile Boot Camp Photos/Thoughts

Overall I thougt Mobile Boot Camp was a huge success. Thanks to everyone at iMedia, and thanks to the sponsors; especially Paran Johar from Jumptap.

Some highlights from the day (taken from Twitter):
AdamBroitman: Utility, entertainment, integration #imediasummit


elliotbenn: RT @AdamBroitman: mobile is one giant onion @zawthet #imediasummit




CraigPladson: Confirmation from credible source at #imediasummit - there are 7 MM iPhone users in the US. Not 15 MM as previously stated.


AMediaCircus: the average american eats 550 pounds of meat per year--Zaw Thet #imediasummit


dberkowitz: blog post from #imediasummit: 10 myths of mobile marketing, via jumptap http://bit.ly/eHwv (expand)


rganguly: NHL mobile case study preso is fascinating: massive uptick in all-star voting and fan engagement #imediasummit




CraigPladson: When sending text alerts, make sure to ask subscribers if they still want to get them after 3 text messages. #imediasummit


CraigPladson: US limits inbound texts to short codes at 160 characters. Canada limits text messages to 136 characters. IVR very important. #imediasummit




dberkowitz: @adambroitman he stole my line. i always thought of mobile as a boysenberry because it goes great with yogurt #imediasummit


FuelforThought: Mobile ad networks seeing 2-8% CTR on avg. As high as 20% CTR & 17% click to call for best mobile campaigns. #imediasummit via @CraigPladson


ChrisWexler: :: Hispanics/African Americans over index for mobile usage #imediasummit (RT @AdamBroitman) #imedia


elliotbenn: RT @AdamBroitman: mobile is one giant onion @zawthet #imediasummit












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Is Mobile a Medium?

mobile_bootcamp_imedia

As I got on the plane heading to the iMedia Breakthrough Summit, I was greeted by none other The David Berkowitz himself! Of course the first thing I did when I got to my seat was Tweet about it (what else would I do?).

The night's dinner was sponsored by my friends over at Jumptap (sorry you could not make it, Julie) and after the formal presentation was given, Paran Johar graced the stage and proposed a "mobile economic bailout plan" (aka a sweepstakes, where the winner gets an entire mobile campaign. Not a bad idea!)

At the risk of being overly pedantic, and potentially forcing people to mince words in my presence, I want to underscore something that Paran said as he was presenting. He referred to mobile as a medium. Now, I don't know what Paran's philosophical views are on mobility, but this phrase struck me as something juicy that I could explore. Let's first define out terms.

Medium

  1. an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished: Words are a medium of expression.

  2. one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television


It would be silly for me to add a definition of mobile; as I think we all know what I am referring to (in common parlance). The question remains,
Is the mobile phone a medium unto itself, and will it be treated as such in the marketing world in 5 five years?

I recognize the need for specialists in the mobile world today, and I love that iMedia is taking an entire day to focus on "mobile" (I would not have agreed to sit on the advisory board if I did not think this was a great initiative). Anyone who knows me, knows what my answers are to the following questions. I am not going to give my opinions at this time, rather I am looking to everyone at the iMedia summit to jump in and help out. Of course, I expect all the AMediaCirc.us/iMedia readers to jump in as well!

  1. What is the mobile web?

  2. Are there clear lines between the mobile web and what we commonly refer to as the web, necessitating dedicated, mobile web marketing teams?

  3. Where does the laptop fit into the mix, it is mobile?

    1. Along these lines, where does the netbook fit in (this is for my hardcore geeks)?






Help me turn this post into something of value by giving your answers and generating convesation. If you are not with us at the iMedia Summit and have some additional questions, please enter them in the comments. I will try to bring them up.
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Not All Ink Is Created Equal

newspaper-stands


Some subscribe to the idea that all press is good press or; "there is no such thing as bad press" (of course, some also say, "no news is good news" but that is out of context here).  I never fully understood this belief system, as I cannot think of a situation when it is good for people to speak poorly about you. Sure, you want people to talk, but negative press can put  companies out of business, as quickly as they got in business.


Perhaps it is a generational thing?


I recently turned 32 years old (old man, I know). The web has been around for the larger part of my existence (and all of my adult life). There is an element of permanence that is inherent in the web. This notion is something that moves me to operate in a certain manner, without thinking about it (even though sometimes I fail to proofread my blog posts).


The Web Does Not Forgive


Perhaps there was a time when the media was more merciful. When I think about it, the fact that newspapers are easily discarded, may have contributed to the belief that there is no such thing as bad press. In a world where newspapers play a decreasingly important role, this is no longer the case.


The permanence of the web makes it so, all news is eternal. Furthermore, all news can now be new to various individuals at any given time.



Forgive, but Never Forget


The web is a permanent repository of information. With this fact in mind, reputation management has become more crucial than ever. For every piece of bad press, you (or your brand) require an equal or greater piece of content. Whether it is an explanation of how the mishap occurred, or a promise that it will never happen again-when someone happens upon this negative event, there must be something adjacent that, at the very least, explains what happened.


I recently wrote an article for iMediaconnection which outlines a number of campaigns that I found offensive (I have gotten a lot of feedback that from people saying that some of the cases I presented or simply dumb and boring, not offensive. I will let you be the judge of that).


The article however is, in my opinion, just the beginning of the story. The real story will come a year from now and years after that; when the brands in question have had a chance to make reparations-positive actions greater than the ones that I shot them down for. At that time, I will write another article,


"Brands That Did Wrong, but Made Good"


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Doctor Zizmor Has the Munchies, Loses Ability to Have a Conversation

doctor-zizmor

My initial reaction to the new Snickers campaign that is gracing the sidewalks and subways of New York City was, "wow, this is REALLY corny!"

As I began to see more executions of the campaign on New York City Subways, the campaign began to grow on me a little bit (I realize that this is not actually the first time that this campaign has run, but it is the first time that it has caught my attention) after all, how many ways can you make people care about a candy bar on a NYC subway?

doctor-feedzmore

In thinking about this particular execution, the term culture jamming comes to mind. While this campaign does not fit the exact definition of culture jamming, it does poke fun at pop culture in an artful way (I guess "artful"  is open for debate). More than simply addressing pop culture, this campaign addresses a specific segment of pop culture that may only be fun for NYC subway riders. NYC subway riders have long seen silly, redundant ads from the infamous Dr. Zizmor; so in  looking more at this ad, as I was packed like a sardine in an NYC subway car, I had to smile.

This campaign may not exactly be brilliance in action (and it may not sell candy bars) but it did pass the time.

Upon entering my apartment, I transferred my photos from my iPhone to my computer and began to complete this post (which was almost complete on the subway ride--thank you iPhone). I did a search for, "doctor feedzmore" in order to find out who created this campaign and came up with one search result, one!!! No paid ads, nuthin!

feedzmore-results

This was the perfect opportunity to begin a dialog between a brand and a consumer. Sure, I am not your everyday consumer, as my interests were in the advertising campaign. Still, I wonder how many people went to Google to continue the conversation after seeing these ads. In my opinion, the nominal cost required to continue this conversation (via search) is nothing in comparison to the opportunity for a continuation of the overall engagement.

Unfortunately things of this nature continue to happen; the minute I begin to think that traditionally minded agencies are starting to understand, and leverage new media channels to create true integrated initiatives, I am let down. I realize that often times there is a bottleneck when it comes to budget and other practical matters, but it is the media strategists job to present a comprehensive strategy in the conception phase, and search/conversation can no longer be bolted on as an after thought.

If you are not versed in search marketing, allow me to show you the reason that the Snickers site is not showing up in the organic results. The first image is what a user sees (full flash goodness) and the second is what Google sees (hmmmm...what is that?!)



Looks a bit different, huh!? Looks a bit different, huh!?
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Do You Need to Pay to Play?


David Bowie bei Rock am Ring 1987
Image via Wikipedia


I cut my teeth in my media career on the paid media side of the media fence. It seemed that there was something inherently simple about the ability to pay to get placement in front of a brand's target audience.

I began my career at Digitas and then moved on to Morpheus Media. It was at Morpheus Media that I discovered that paid media was, in fact, an art; an art that, in the digital world, increasingly leveraged science. It was a this cross section of art and science that I found a new way to look at planning and buying media; and it was not simple at all. Creative media strategy became my M.O. and I preached the gospel of this ideology day in and day out.

As the world of paid digital media became more precise, and laser sharp targeting became the rule (as opposed to the exception), I began to notice something; many planners and buyers were becoming dependent on automated tools, and were fixated on creating consumer connections through science. The art seemed to be diminishing. While the science portion of targeting was compelling to me, I realized that the industry was beginning to weigh heavy on the side of science, and while I strongly believe (d) in the power of targeting--I felt that I needed to do my part in pushing the industry forward. I decided I would focus my time on the art of media+marketing.  I would spend more time on something that was being lost in the science of media; emotion.

Fast forward to 2009.

I know stand with one foot weighted more heavily on the marketing/PR side of the fence. I listen as the PR 2.0 zealots preach the gospel of earned media, conversation and community. I have drunk the Kool-Aid and truly believe that 10 relationships are more important than 5 million impressions.

Do I believe there is no place for paid media? Absolutely not!

Do I feel that paid media is inherently less effective than earned media? Again a resounding, no.

I have begun to draft a construct that I feel represents the interplay between paid media and earned media. This construct is, by no means complete, but I wanted to get it started in order to get feedback. Do you see things in here that make sense to you? Do you feel you can build on this construct?

This diagram was meant as a conversation starter, now I want to hear from you.

Paid Media Versus Earned Media and the Role of Targeting

Ultimately, I know that the truth lies somewhere in the middle; as the center is often where the truth is found. I will leave you with some words of wisdom from Mr. David Bowie himself:




I'm torn between the light and dark

Where others see the targets

Divine Symmetry

--David Bowie

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Disruption and The Battle for the Open Web



The speed at which new business systems grow is becoming exponentially faster. Lower barriers to entry for many business sectors have made Clayton Christensen's "Innovators Dilemma" more real than ever. It feels as if, every day we hear about young start-ups achieving things that established corporations could never achieve. I have noticed this in my own career, having worked for both small and large advertising agencies, and I can tell you first hand that the small shops are more nimble and adaptive than the larger ones (no shock there). Bigger agencies have certain advantages, but in the world of advertising, the pros of the small agency outweigh those of the large one (in my humble opinion).

Now that I have given my opinion about how disruptive business models have benefited the small advertising agency, I want to address how disruptive business models are currently effecting technology companies, and subsequently the way we socialize online.Disruption and The Open Web

At the current time there is a battle going on over the ability to port social data across the web.   The way in which the combat is unfolding seems to exemplify how newer, smaller technology companies are able to get to market faster, achieve critical mass sooner -establishing themselves as the industry leaders. For the duration of this post (and when I talk about this topic in the future) I will refer to this topic as The Battle for the Open Web.

It is inevitable that that the mashable, interoperable, read/write, mixable, distributed web will be the paradigm that will lead to the future growth and maturation of the internet. The companies that best capitalize on this new, distributed web will reign supreme. The question is; who will it be? Some may think this battle has already been won--it is my opinion that the battle has just begun.

Enter the warriors:

When the Battle for the Open Web first began, the only formidable competitors were Friend Connect and Facebook Connect. I had my money on Google, as I favored their approach to open standards. Yahoo has now thrown their hat in the ring; also employing open standards (you have to love Yahoo for their adoption of open standards). It has, however, become apparent that the employment of open standards is not enough to win this war.

There is little denying that Facebook is to the social web, what Google was/is to search engines. I cannot imagine Facebook building a search brand that could overtake the all-powerful Google, and I am beginning to think that it may be impossible for Google to build their brand into something synonymous with the social graph. As far as Yahoo is concerned--I love them, but have little hope that they can become a worthy opponent to the two category leaders.

Facebook is still young, nimble and best of all, privately held. The fact that they are not a public company plays a huge factor in their ability to innovate. They can roll out, and roll back products with ease, without the extra headache of answering to a public board. The ability to employ a test and learn mindset (something that Google was notorious for, and seems to be slowing down with) can be seen in Facebook's recent announcement about how they have changed the nature of the fan page. What I love most about Zuckerberg's post which announced the shift is the following statement:
"We'll begin rolling out the new home page next week, so please check out our home page tour to see the new design and let us know what you think about it."

This statement may not seem like a big deal, or may appear to be a farce, but we know that Facebook has actively listened to its users in the past.

Am I saying that it is impossible for companies to reinvent themselves and enter new markets? No. One only needs to look at the growth of IBM, from mainframes to desktops and Apple's growth from PC's to music devices to telecom, in order to see examples of the Innovators Dilemma being overcome. It is not impossible to constinuoulsy innovate over long periods of time, but it is very difficult. With that said, in The Battle for the Open Web, my money has moved from Google to Facebook (at least for now).

Are You Experienced?

The past 10 years have been challenging for many marketers. A whirlwind of new channels have blown into the world of marketing; creating confusion for some, opportunity for others and peril for even more.Those who have braved the new media storm and have successfully been able to bring winning strategies to their clients are marketers that remember the following adage; winning strategies are timeless at the core.

Tactics that employ new channels should merely feed the core strategic foundations of marketing--foundations that are tried and true:

  • Value Proposition

  • Surprise and Delight

  • Positive Experience


The third foundation that I have listed is something that is near and dear to my heart. I have been a champion of the notion that media planners are, in essence, experience planners (or at least this is what they should strive to be). I believe that the ability to create positive, holistic brand experiences is one of the most compelling benefits that new media vehicles have provided for marketers:

Social Media has provided brand marketers with news ways to listen and interact with consumers, creating the potential for an overall better consumer experience. Mobile Marketing has provided brands with the ability to extend their reach to wherever a consumer is, providing a consistent experience from store to online to in hand. Search Marketing has enhanced the experience of shopping, providing consumers with alternatives at each step of the buying process.

I recently provided insight for an article that Matt Kapko wrote for iMediaconnection on Digital In-Store Technology. I was able to get on the phone with Matt and a few of the technology providers mentioned in his article, and I have to say that the space is quite compelling. What I find most intriguing about the digital in-store space is that it is yet another way that brands can take advantage of technology in order to create a holistic experience for consumers. Do I think digital in-store is strategic in a standalone capacity; no. Does it have the ability to bring integrated marketing strategies to the next level; definitely!

We are at a time when all of us should be looking at how to use the platforms that have surfaced over the last ten years, as opposed to fixating on the platforms themselves. This notion has been forced upon us (to some degree) by the current economic climate, but in the end I feel that the interactive industry needed another period of self reflection and correction. If we are able to get back to the core strategic fundamentals that make for great marketing, while leveraging new channels when they make the most sense, we will come out of the current economic state as better marketers.
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