It's the engagement...stupid!

How many times have you heard the "message" is just as/if not more important than the delivery? Most logical marketing & media professionals agree with that. However, today that message better be designed to ENGAGE the consumer. Online & Social media have been engaging for quite some time. Now digital billboards & TV are finding ways to engage consumers as well. Check out these examples: Engaging Digital Billboard     Engaging Television So what engaging ads have you notic...

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2011 Online Revenue Review

On April 18 the IAB released the Full Year Internet Revenue Report. Here are some highlights of the 29 page report... 2011 Internet Revenue grew 21.9% over 2010's record breaking performance In 2011 Internet Advertising Revenues surpassed Cable and solidified 2nd place behind Broadcast Television which was down -1.8%. Mobile experienced the largest growth at 149% - Advertisers are recognizing the need to reach consumer where they are spending their time. Digital Video was up 29% Search (Paid & Organic) was up 27% - performance pricing accounted for approximately 65% of all Internet revenues  Display was up 15% Retail is still the #1 ad category and experienced growth in addition to Financial Services, Travel & Media What other Medium is growing 20%+...

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Advertisers = Publishers

"Content is King", "We are all Publishers"...these phrases while cliche still contain truth. In fact one of the hottest trends in media right now centers around Advertisers/Brands building Publications or Entertainment Channels with content relative to their business. Fashion companies were among the first to adopt this strategy. Now we are seeing more mainstream retail products join this content strategy. Look at what Red Bull is doing with their homepage. Here you find much more than information on their energy drink and where to find it. You will see videos, photos, events, news on extreme sports and all things relating to the culture of their demographic. Red Bull understands their position and how their product is part of their consumers' lives. Therefore they focus less on...

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Video SEM?

There is no debate that Google AdWords revolutionized marketing. In fact, most would agree it was AdWords that enabled the skyrocket growth of online advertising over the past several years. Now there are many effective & efficient online marketing options to consider. This past week Google has introduced yet another option. They have taken the SEM, pay-per-click model and applied it to YouTube to create Video AdWords. While I agree this may increase YouTube revenues, do you believe this product will have nearly the impact of the original? Put yourself behind the consumer's laptop for a moment...do you search the same on YouTube as you do on Google? Are you seeking the same information? Does YouTube have as much influence on your investments &...

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Empower the Trendsetters

Marketers have long attempted to identify trendsetters/advocates and motivate them to speak out on behalf of brands. What better way to maximize reach & impact than to create brand evangelists for your organization? Social media has helped enable these brand advocates to act proactively. Now, it appears Klout may be creating a platform for these consumers to unite. http://mashable.com/2012/04/17/klout-brand-squads-pages-red-bull/ With this concept Klout may be able to collect "brand evangelists" in one place and provide real-time direct communication with those who have the most marketing impact on your brand. This new platform may also provide a reason/incentive to become a trendsetter of your favorite brand. In theory I think it is a great marketing tool for...

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First Newspapers, now Magazines...

It is old news that Newspapers across the country are making digital leaps to transition their news delivery where consumers are spending their time. Therefore it should be no surprise that magazines are also making that same transition. Today people spend nearly 25% of their time online, so your favorite news source and/or magazine are continually looking for the easiest way to be there for you. In 2010 Conde Nast Publications launched its first iPad app with GQ Magazine. Now they are more than delivering the magazine content via the app. They are increasing their marketing metrics for those apps as well. Like many other publications, magazines are transforming from storytelling to interactive media. This changes and grows the audience and creates new opportunities...

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Seize consumer attention!

Every now and then a marketing message captures your attention. However, on rare occasion a marketing message can actually quiet a room. This Chipotle commercial actually caused my Wife & I to pause our conversation while it aired. We then both commented on the spot and returned to our previous conversation. The beauty of the spot is it has altered (perhaps temporarily) my perception of Chipotle in a positive way. The big question is, will it motivate me to eat Chipotle anytime soon? What marketing has been effective enough to really acquire and maintain YOUR attention and inspire though...

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Always room for growth

While online advertising is the fastest growing medium, "search" makes up 46%-49% of all online revenue. Keep in mind the revenue follows consumer media usage. However, believe it or not many businesses have still not caught up. Many lack the know how and others lack the resources. This may explain why search is expected to grow 27% in 2012. How many searches are being conducted right now? How many of those searches are being directed to you? How many are not? Does your business have a search strate...

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Seriously Pinterest???

A few months ago my Wife became increasingly engaged with her iPad. Each night after the kids were in bed she became glued to this device....what has captivated her attention I wondered...PINTEREST is the answer! Not often is she the early adopter of such online marketing tools, but this time she beat me to it! I quickly became aware that MANY more women were being sucked in by this social site. In fact I recently read that retailers are beginning to generate more traffic to their websites from Pinterest than facebook! I am now involved with Pinterest although not that active. If you are a retailer or are assisting a retailer with their marketing, PINTEREST should be discussed.   &nb...

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A better video ad...

Broadcast Television ad spending was down nearly 7% in the first half of 2011. The medium is down approximately 9% from 2006-2010. This is happening while the DVR has entered the lives of more than 42% of their viewers). More than 35% of Adults own a smartphone and  tablet owners nearly doubled in December 2011 from 10% to 19%. Nearly half of these smartphone & tablet owners are using them while watching TV! Now we are entering one of the most exciting times of the year for TV ads.....the Super Bowl! Last year we saw online tease the big ads and this year it appears online may actually influence the ads. Despite its challenges, TV still controls the majority of ad spending. However, more and more  advertisers are turning their love for sight & sound to online....

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The future looks good...

Unless you are ignorant or have been living under a rock, you have heard that online advertising revenues are growing exponentially. A few years ago the industry was shocked as "Online" advertising revenue surpassed "Newspaper" for the first time in history. Therefore we should not be surprised by the recent emarketer study that projects online advertising to surpass ALL print ad revenues. Newspaper & Magazine ad revenues are projected to remain relatively flat, while online is projected to grow 23.3% in 2012. Consumer behavior has changed, therefore marketing strategies adjust, media buys follow and the ad revenue shifts. This is the way it is. Media organizations and agencies need to keep up or fall behind. The question is, how are the people/organizations you are working with? ...

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The New Era of display advertising

Online display advertising accounts for approximately 24% of all online ad spending. While display ads were some of the first online marketing opportunities, they have come a LONG way. Thanks to ad networks, various partnerships and advances in technology these opportunities are ever increasing in sophistication and accessibility. However, your Behavioral Targeted display ads of yesterday are not always accurate and may be wasting ad dollars. See this article featured on Mashable - http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/targeted-ads-context/. The Mom who purchased a Hannah Montana DVD is not necessarily interested in Justin Beiber. The Uncle who bought Cars 2 toys for his nephews is still a single, middle-aged man next month. The reality is a computer may even be used by more than one person....

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Right people - Right place -Right time

Ironically. This headline describes not only the right professional opportunity, but the objective of what many marketing campaigns are seeking when delivering their message. I cannot describe the enthusiasm I feel for what is happening with the MLive Media Group. Consumer media usage and demand is evolving faster than most marketing media is able to deliver. The majority of media usage and the most media revenue growth is online. Mobile is the fastest growing medium of all time and is projected to surpass desktop usage in 2014. Comsumers are in the drivers seat today. Who do you trust as a resource to help you through this? The game has changed, your media buy should too. If you do ANYTHING like you "always have", you can do it better! So, who do you trust to educate and lead you through...

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