What's on your mind?
Noah Bier recently created 'brand tags' a word association game for brands -- the site shows you a logo, you enter the first thing that comes to mind, and then check out the cloud.
Two thoughts:
1. People will really define a brand; not just customers.
2. Not everybody sees the world the same (no real surprise there.)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Grammatical Pronouns and Marketing
What do pronouns have to do with marketing?
In an article on Chief Marketer I argue the answer is 'a lot'. The point is that one of the difficulties in monetizing social media may come down to an issue of grammar. Social networks are conversational and participative - that is first person: we, my, our, us, and I. In contrast, advertising has a long history of being targeted and direct as in "hey you, listen to me and do something."
Changing the grammatical person will do wonders.
In an article on Chief Marketer I argue the answer is 'a lot'. The point is that one of the difficulties in monetizing social media may come down to an issue of grammar. Social networks are conversational and participative - that is first person: we, my, our, us, and I. In contrast, advertising has a long history of being targeted and direct as in "hey you, listen to me and do something."
Changing the grammatical person will do wonders.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Made Me Laugh - Nuts
Andy Sernovitz had a good post on 'nuts' the other day; liked both of them.
Nut Roaster and Nut Poppers
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Product Requirements for an Ad Agency
How would a product manager design an ad agency?
iMedia's recent Brand Summit included some marketers describing what the ideal agency should be. This nine-minute video is all you need to define your requirements. I can think of a myriad of ways an agency could satisfy what these buyers want - integration with business and execution.
Power Points:
iMedia's recent Brand Summit included some marketers describing what the ideal agency should be. This nine-minute video is all you need to define your requirements. I can think of a myriad of ways an agency could satisfy what these buyers want - integration with business and execution.
Power Points:
- Know the client's business and how you can help strategically.
- While you may be a specialist boutique with world-class expertise, work as part of the whole team.
- Channels are tools, media is a tool, creative is a tool -- without working together to foster or stimulate the audience it just won't be worth it.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Marketing is the New Sales
What can B2B sales teach us?
The decision to buy almost any product now has a number of people involved providing their opinion, recommendations, and thoughts. A good B2B sales strategy identifies all the players: the emotional buyer, the financial buyer, and veto holder in addition to the user. As trust in advertising decreases and people turn to others for opinions and recommendations it seems to me that the approach of B2B sales should percolate into marketing.
The decision to buy almost any product now has a number of people involved providing their opinion, recommendations, and thoughts. A good B2B sales strategy identifies all the players: the emotional buyer, the financial buyer, and veto holder in addition to the user. As trust in advertising decreases and people turn to others for opinions and recommendations it seems to me that the approach of B2B sales should percolate into marketing.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Behavioral Targeting
What should this term mean?
A group of folks is working on defining 'behavioral targeting' and how to measure it. Here's what I said about it.
Working from a high level down:
I'll make the assumption that behavioral targeting is a marketing tool as opposed to a financial, operational or even a sales tool. If so, then a definition of marketing is in order first before defining the boundaries of behavioral targeting. A definition I often use is:Marketing is the alignment of needs and solutions to everyone's mutual benefit.
The above keeps the focus on the important thing and removes the tactical or implementation steps to another set of discussions: what needs, how do we align, how are we compensated fairly, where we should promote, etc.
In this context then it appears that behavioral targeting is both a method of inferring the paths used to satisfy needs and a method that allows a solution or message to be placed along the path.
An audience segment is a group of people that exhibit a similar need and is reachable in a reasonable manner.
While one-armed paper hangers is a group with a similar need, reaching them effectively might be difficult at best. People looking at and evaluating graduate programs is both a reasonably homogeneous group and is relatively easy to target.
On the measurement question, I'll go back to marketing, budgets and campaigns. The purpose of spending marketing dollars is to change someone's behavior (and I'll put attitude and awareness in that category for the moment). The other tongue-in-cheek definition I use is "marketing is behavior modification." Money is often allocated via a campaign which should have a measurable objective -- we want x people to take y action in z time frame. So, on one level Behavioral Targeting must support the metrics by which marketing campaigns are judged. In the end, this must be revenue with a few key steps in between.
Of concern, like most web analytics, is the temptation to measure that which is easy to do. We all remember 'hits' and then 'page views' and now 'time on site'.
Some other thoughts:
1. Behavioral Targeting is database marketing - using the best information available to get an offer in front of a prospect.
2. Behavioral Targeting should not be limited to the web - if we can infer a person's need and stage, then we should use all available tactics to reinforce that position.
3. The biggest challenge will be deciphering or inferring intent based on a small subset of information. Like the movie business, its one thing to watch the actions in a silent movie but quite another to hear the story. Why? remains elusive.
A group of folks is working on defining 'behavioral targeting' and how to measure it. Here's what I said about it.
Working from a high level down:
I'll make the assumption that behavioral targeting is a marketing tool as opposed to a financial, operational or even a sales tool. If so, then a definition of marketing is in order first before defining the boundaries of behavioral targeting. A definition I often use is:Marketing is the alignment of needs and solutions to everyone's mutual benefit.
The above keeps the focus on the important thing and removes the tactical or implementation steps to another set of discussions: what needs, how do we align, how are we compensated fairly, where we should promote, etc.
In this context then it appears that behavioral targeting is both a method of inferring the paths used to satisfy needs and a method that allows a solution or message to be placed along the path.
An audience segment is a group of people that exhibit a similar need and is reachable in a reasonable manner.
While one-armed paper hangers is a group with a similar need, reaching them effectively might be difficult at best. People looking at and evaluating graduate programs is both a reasonably homogeneous group and is relatively easy to target.
On the measurement question, I'll go back to marketing, budgets and campaigns. The purpose of spending marketing dollars is to change someone's behavior (and I'll put attitude and awareness in that category for the moment). The other tongue-in-cheek definition I use is "marketing is behavior modification." Money is often allocated via a campaign which should have a measurable objective -- we want x people to take y action in z time frame. So, on one level Behavioral Targeting must support the metrics by which marketing campaigns are judged. In the end, this must be revenue with a few key steps in between.
Of concern, like most web analytics, is the temptation to measure that which is easy to do. We all remember 'hits' and then 'page views' and now 'time on site'.
Some other thoughts:
1. Behavioral Targeting is database marketing - using the best information available to get an offer in front of a prospect.
2. Behavioral Targeting should not be limited to the web - if we can infer a person's need and stage, then we should use all available tactics to reinforce that position.
3. The biggest challenge will be deciphering or inferring intent based on a small subset of information. Like the movie business, its one thing to watch the actions in a silent movie but quite another to hear the story. Why? remains elusive.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bogus Leads
When is a lead really bad?
At a recent meeting of the Wasatch Online Marketing group there was a discussion of a search campaign that produced bogus leads. The client has a very technical product and a very narrow audience they are trying to reach. So, they introduced a white paper describing their solution and got a lot of leads. Unfortunately many were "bogus" and the discussion turned to search-bots, mad-robots, click-fraud, and auto-populating the form.
In reality, the issue was the offer and information had general appeal to a wider segment. While the audience that requested the report aren't buyers, many may be influencers or users of the category. So, before throwing the baby out with the bath water ask yourself: are other people interested in what I have to say?
If the goal is to increase lead flow among a highly-targeted group then there will be spill over into non-buyers. These may be useful or they may be chaff. If they truly are chaff then general search strategies aren't appropriate and vertical or niche engines a better option. The smaller the market, the more targeted you should be - up to picking up the phone and calling them.
At a recent meeting of the Wasatch Online Marketing group there was a discussion of a search campaign that produced bogus leads. The client has a very technical product and a very narrow audience they are trying to reach. So, they introduced a white paper describing their solution and got a lot of leads. Unfortunately many were "bogus" and the discussion turned to search-bots, mad-robots, click-fraud, and auto-populating the form.
In reality, the issue was the offer and information had general appeal to a wider segment. While the audience that requested the report aren't buyers, many may be influencers or users of the category. So, before throwing the baby out with the bath water ask yourself: are other people interested in what I have to say?
If the goal is to increase lead flow among a highly-targeted group then there will be spill over into non-buyers. These may be useful or they may be chaff. If they truly are chaff then general search strategies aren't appropriate and vertical or niche engines a better option. The smaller the market, the more targeted you should be - up to picking up the phone and calling them.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Power Windows
What's happening online?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
White Space and Market Sizing
How big is a market when none exists yet?
When looking at the white space of a category for new opportunities the wrong question to ask is: "How big is the market?"
By definition new areas have no defined market boundaries so the answer is 'zero'. This is hard for executives to hear - they want safety in numbers. Sure, we can come up with numbers but latent demand, like the advertising value of UofP's exposure on the super bowl, is a 'bit' difficult to calculate and defend. Any answer is wrong - just remember the need for 5 computers and 900,000 cell phones.
The objective of analyzing white space in a product positioning exercise is to determine if it is probable that a category could be created. Is there a need , or more often a combination of needs, that can be satisfied totally differently than alternative offerings? Note that most new markets tend to be a subset or reconfiguration of existing, larger markets. Consider that Billboard now tracks 45 charts for singles, 47 for albums and another 7 for videos. The second question is: Are we capable of satisfying that need? If you can articulate a need and envision a solution then you're on the right track.
The goal is very different than a line extension exercise.
When looking at the white space of a category for new opportunities the wrong question to ask is: "How big is the market?"
By definition new areas have no defined market boundaries so the answer is 'zero'. This is hard for executives to hear - they want safety in numbers. Sure, we can come up with numbers but latent demand, like the advertising value of UofP's exposure on the super bowl, is a 'bit' difficult to calculate and defend. Any answer is wrong - just remember the need for 5 computers and 900,000 cell phones.
The objective of analyzing white space in a product positioning exercise is to determine if it is probable that a category could be created. Is there a need , or more often a combination of needs, that can be satisfied totally differently than alternative offerings? Note that most new markets tend to be a subset or reconfiguration of existing, larger markets. Consider that Billboard now tracks 45 charts for singles, 47 for albums and another 7 for videos. The second question is: Are we capable of satisfying that need? If you can articulate a need and envision a solution then you're on the right track.
The goal is very different than a line extension exercise.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Human, Social and Algorithmic Search
Can the long tail be segmented by style?
In a recent post on The Long Tail, Chris Anderson relates a discussion around how the 'tail' can be thought of in different ways in terms of search strategies. The idea is that the fat head will be human, the middle of the tail will be social and the long tail will be algorithmic. That seems logical since for my area of expertise I know what I don't know and who to ask, for related topics I'm guessing somebody I know might know somebody else who might know, and for completely new topics/areas I have no clue who to ask so let the machine try to help.
In support of the middle tail (or is this the 'belly'?) a friend of mine who runs echodonation has used LinkedIn as a social search tool. The ability to ask questions of a network of people has provided surprisingly good information along with the bad and blatant sales messages. A recent question about landing page design targeted to executives gave the development team good pointers - all for free and without advertising (I'm out of a job if this takes off).
So, what does Chris (my friend, not the author) do? He builds out a long tail of contacts in order enlarge his search network. From a handful of business associates and colleagues to a very large network he has created an extended search pool.
It is interesting to note that the market is determining the use of the product (again.)
In a recent post on The Long Tail, Chris Anderson relates a discussion around how the 'tail' can be thought of in different ways in terms of search strategies. The idea is that the fat head will be human, the middle of the tail will be social and the long tail will be algorithmic. That seems logical since for my area of expertise I know what I don't know and who to ask, for related topics I'm guessing somebody I know might know somebody else who might know, and for completely new topics/areas I have no clue who to ask so let the machine try to help.
In support of the middle tail (or is this the 'belly'?) a friend of mine who runs echodonation has used LinkedIn as a social search tool. The ability to ask questions of a network of people has provided surprisingly good information along with the bad and blatant sales messages. A recent question about landing page design targeted to executives gave the development team good pointers - all for free and without advertising (I'm out of a job if this takes off).
So, what does Chris (my friend, not the author) do? He builds out a long tail of contacts in order enlarge his search network. From a handful of business associates and colleagues to a very large network he has created an extended search pool.
It is interesting to note that the market is determining the use of the product (again.)
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
The Day Google Died
When did the stumble occur?
It wasn't the day Microhoo was announced; nope it was before that when they migrated from their strength into other territories. Newspaper, radio and television advertising might be related to search or they might not be - doing an awareness campaign for a new category is a bit tough if people don't even know you exist. Those probes into the larger marketing arena haven't been nearly successful.
The recent bar codes for cell phones is another example of a forray of falling under the spell of the convergence sirens. It is presumed to be 'advertising' and everybody is worrying about that revenue pie. But is it? (Is it even necessary?) It is simply a form of cross-platform tagging that could take advantage of cell phone features, if we had them.
Reminds me: "If we had ham we could have ham and eggs; if we had eggs."
Google is known for search -- it is a verb, which is even better than being a noun or adjective (think scotch tape or formica). It should focus on improving that area since I still can't find what I'm looking for. Yes, the growth rate will slow. Yes, other firms will be experts in other areas. Yes, there's room for new kids on the screen.
It wasn't the day Microhoo was announced; nope it was before that when they migrated from their strength into other territories. Newspaper, radio and television advertising might be related to search or they might not be - doing an awareness campaign for a new category is a bit tough if people don't even know you exist. Those probes into the larger marketing arena haven't been nearly successful.
The recent bar codes for cell phones is another example of a forray of falling under the spell of the convergence sirens. It is presumed to be 'advertising' and everybody is worrying about that revenue pie. But is it? (Is it even necessary?) It is simply a form of cross-platform tagging that could take advantage of cell phone features, if we had them.
Reminds me: "If we had ham we could have ham and eggs; if we had eggs."
Google is known for search -- it is a verb, which is even better than being a noun or adjective (think scotch tape or formica). It should focus on improving that area since I still can't find what I'm looking for. Yes, the growth rate will slow. Yes, other firms will be experts in other areas. Yes, there's room for new kids on the screen.
Friday, February 01, 2008
MShoo!
What is the new idea?
The acquisition of Yahoo! by Microsoft for something north of $44 billion raises a set of interesting questions.
The rational logical arguments is easy - combine two top 5 destinations and dominate display advertising.
Power Points on how I'd think about the opportunity; nobody is asking but here goes:
The acquisition of Yahoo! by Microsoft for something north of $44 billion raises a set of interesting questions.
- Just what does the combined firm offer?
- Will the uniqueness of the brands be erased in the cause of economies of scale?
- Will people be forced to reorder their thinking?
The rational logical arguments is easy - combine two top 5 destinations and dominate display advertising.
Power Points on how I'd think about the opportunity; nobody is asking but here goes:
- Establish Google as the 'evil empire' -- as the world's largest travel agency they don't really provide much in the way of given me a reason to hang around. MShoo! gives you what you want - right here on the page, content.
- Own online branding - pay-per-click advertising is great for transactions and affiliates, but if you want to establish a brand you need to focus on awareness and interest, preferably using humor or entertainment to cut through the clutter. As we know, display advertising can't hold a candle to ppc in terms of efficiency; so blow it out and go where text can't.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Worst Pick Up Line
What were they thinking?
The history of Xerox is laid out on Laura Ries' "Origin of Brands". The print ad with the headline
This Xerox machine can't make a copy
makes me shudder. They owned the term, the category, the mind -- and lost them all.
If it can't, it must be broken.
The history of Xerox is laid out on Laura Ries' "Origin of Brands". The print ad with the headline
This Xerox machine can't make a copy
makes me shudder. They owned the term, the category, the mind -- and lost them all.
If it can't, it must be broken.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Your Specialty is Your Brand
How do you link sales and marketing?
Offering 'wide selection, good service, and best prices' is a very common online strategy for retailers. It is also the most likely to guarantee mundane results. Everybody says it and nobody is different. Getting people to understand what it is that makes you different will help them understand why they should work/shop/visit with you. Thus, your brand is your specialty.
This is particularly true if you use search in your marketing mix. As that tactic continues to grow, both in terms of share of online spending and in absolute terms, the competition for general key words will get terribly expensive. To succeed you must focus on (and own) those ideas most closely related to what it is exactly that you do better than anyone else.
While William Bernbach of VW "Think Small" fame was referring to advertising most of the time, his quotes often reflect marketing. This one speaks volumes:
"In advertising not to be different is virtually suicidal."
If you can't find a way to differentiate yourself, then get out of business.
Offering 'wide selection, good service, and best prices' is a very common online strategy for retailers. It is also the most likely to guarantee mundane results. Everybody says it and nobody is different. Getting people to understand what it is that makes you different will help them understand why they should work/shop/visit with you. Thus, your brand is your specialty.
This is particularly true if you use search in your marketing mix. As that tactic continues to grow, both in terms of share of online spending and in absolute terms, the competition for general key words will get terribly expensive. To succeed you must focus on (and own) those ideas most closely related to what it is exactly that you do better than anyone else.
While William Bernbach of VW "Think Small" fame was referring to advertising most of the time, his quotes often reflect marketing. This one speaks volumes:
"In advertising not to be different is virtually suicidal."
If you can't find a way to differentiate yourself, then get out of business.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Wanamaker (or Leverhulme) Question
Why is half your advertising wasted?
Seth Godin has reduced the answer to four words. Who vs. how many.
Hopefully you can figure out your target market and start there. Simply put, once you've reached your target; you should stop spending - no matter how 'big' the rest of the world is.
Help the poor soul who finds his target last.
Seth Godin has reduced the answer to four words. Who vs. how many.
Hopefully you can figure out your target market and start there. Simply put, once you've reached your target; you should stop spending - no matter how 'big' the rest of the world is.
Help the poor soul who finds his target last.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Facebook Saving Face or Egg on the Face
Did I read this right?
In a post on GigaOM written by Stacey Higginbotham about Mark Zuckerburg's appearance on 60 Minutes there's a quote that I had to read a couple of times.
Successful businesses align their solutions with the needs of their customers. Yes, advertisers and agencies (and I work for one) are enticed by the promise of social networks; but if people aren't there in the mood to shop then no amount of advertising is going to work. (ok, you can make a branding argument if you'd like, but the metric that matters at the end is revenue.)
Facebook didn't start as means of facilitating commercial transactions; the switch to another business model will be very difficult and if successful will be for a different audience segment.
“I mean, there have to be ads either way because we have to make money…We have 400 employees. We have to support all that and make a profit.”The quote is both short-sighted and immature.
Successful businesses align their solutions with the needs of their customers. Yes, advertisers and agencies (and I work for one) are enticed by the promise of social networks; but if people aren't there in the mood to shop then no amount of advertising is going to work. (ok, you can make a branding argument if you'd like, but the metric that matters at the end is revenue.)
Facebook didn't start as means of facilitating commercial transactions; the switch to another business model will be very difficult and if successful will be for a different audience segment.
Five Nines: 99.999%
Is that level of precision good?
Well, it depends on what you're measuring. For systems like 911 it is an indicator of reliability or guaranteed up time. Even at five nines the system could be down around 5 minutes a year; still might be considered too much. It is a very expensive proposition to get this level of service - triple redundancy, remote hosting across different parts of the power grid, etc.
In marketing, particularly lead generation in competitive categories, five nines is often the level of misaligned effort. Consider the following for display ads:
Click-through Rate: 0.1% (yes that is one tenth of one percent)
Convert to Lead: 1%
Convert to Sale: 5%
So, for every 2 million impressions you get 1 sale. This makes even bargain basement networks or sites look expensive in the end. A $2 CPM equates to a $4,000 Cost per Acquisition.
Since well over 99.999% of the impressions are "wasted", what can we do?
PowerPoints:
Well, it depends on what you're measuring. For systems like 911 it is an indicator of reliability or guaranteed up time. Even at five nines the system could be down around 5 minutes a year; still might be considered too much. It is a very expensive proposition to get this level of service - triple redundancy, remote hosting across different parts of the power grid, etc.
In marketing, particularly lead generation in competitive categories, five nines is often the level of misaligned effort. Consider the following for display ads:
Click-through Rate: 0.1% (yes that is one tenth of one percent)
Convert to Lead: 1%
Convert to Sale: 5%
So, for every 2 million impressions you get 1 sale. This makes even bargain basement networks or sites look expensive in the end. A $2 CPM equates to a $4,000 Cost per Acquisition.
Since well over 99.999% of the impressions are "wasted", what can we do?
PowerPoints:
- Target better - explore behavioral, geo, and related category options. But that still works on the assumption that a clear link from a click to a sale is the only thing on the path, so don't stop there.
- Capture intent better - the standard 'give me your name and we'll send you' info may work in the CPL-compensated world but may not be the best strategy for this category
- Treat it is branding - this alone is a cop out. But the impact of branding advertising on search and choice should be understood because it does help cut through the clutter of unknowns. Now it is true you end up paying twice in a sense - once for the display ad and then again for the lead from an aggregator/affiliate, but you do end up with the lead.
- Say it differently. Even a slight improvement in the original CTR cascades into financial metrics that would make the CFO smile. And this means understanding your audience really, really well.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Collection of Ads
Where can you see current creative?
Firebrand, a site launched last month is dedicated to TV ads has some interesting pieces from television around the world. While still in beta (and having a few technical and layout issues) the idea of good ads as good content is interesting. Yes, they could be on YouTube but if I'm interested in what ideas actually get produced then this cuts through the clutter.
Particularly enjoyed the Braveheart ad for "The Mail on Sunday".
Firebrand, a site launched last month is dedicated to TV ads has some interesting pieces from television around the world. While still in beta (and having a few technical and layout issues) the idea of good ads as good content is interesting. Yes, they could be on YouTube but if I'm interested in what ideas actually get produced then this cuts through the clutter.
Particularly enjoyed the Braveheart ad for "The Mail on Sunday".
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Marketing and Advertising Defined
What do these terms mean?
In a recent MBA course I taught at Neumont University on marketing I had to define these terms. While there are myriads of technical definitions; here's what we came up with to capture the main point.
Marketing: the alignment of a need with a solution to everyone's benefit.
Advertising: publicizing the fact
Thus, marketing must understand who has a problem to be solved and then figure out how to make the exchange of benefits profitable to both parties.
On a side note, Neumont is interesting in that it focuses on two-year Bachelor's degree in Computer Science -- that's it. Students attend college full time, work on industry-sponsored projects, and graduate with 100% placement and above average salary. The founders (and venture capitalist backers) designed the program for what enterprises need in software developers.
In a recent MBA course I taught at Neumont University on marketing I had to define these terms. While there are myriads of technical definitions; here's what we came up with to capture the main point.
Marketing: the alignment of a need with a solution to everyone's benefit.
Advertising: publicizing the fact
Thus, marketing must understand who has a problem to be solved and then figure out how to make the exchange of benefits profitable to both parties.
On a side note, Neumont is interesting in that it focuses on two-year Bachelor's degree in Computer Science -- that's it. Students attend college full time, work on industry-sponsored projects, and graduate with 100% placement and above average salary. The founders (and venture capitalist backers) designed the program for what enterprises need in software developers.
Sales and Marketing Babel
What if we shared a common language?
Sales and marketing continue to talk in different languages. Consider the 'sales pipeline' and the 'brand pyramid'. Both tools should focus on helping to align people and solutions better; but we talk about qualified, buying stage, etc. in the sales cycle and emotional benefits and brand essence in marketing. In the end sales and marketing want the same customer - one that is deliriously happy with the solution.
The brand pyramid should be held up as a sales tool and the sales pipeline should be as a marketing tool. Maybe we should have "brand pipelines" and "sales pyramids" to help with alignment.
Sales and marketing continue to talk in different languages. Consider the 'sales pipeline' and the 'brand pyramid'. Both tools should focus on helping to align people and solutions better; but we talk about qualified, buying stage, etc. in the sales cycle and emotional benefits and brand essence in marketing. In the end sales and marketing want the same customer - one that is deliriously happy with the solution.
The brand pyramid should be held up as a sales tool and the sales pipeline should be as a marketing tool. Maybe we should have "brand pipelines" and "sales pyramids" to help with alignment.
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