TV's only hope

What's left for television? We all know viewership is declining, content is being offered across multiple competing access points, the effectiveness of the channel is being questioned all the time by marketers and advertisers alike.

Is the death of television advertising inevitable? I'm gonna stick my neck out and say "No." My daughter who is 3 , considers the tube to be the only truth on God's good planet. If Captain Carlos says 'eat your vegetables" , then she's gonna be stuffing down greens like there's no tomorrow. You might scoff at the age influence equation, but anyone who has understood the long tail, probably won't. The impact of the medium i believe remains as powerful as eve. The challenge however is now moving inline with internet & mobile advertising which is to confront the pillars of advertising itself.

What is advertising? It's certainly not a 30 sec commercial anymore if you consider that my daughter received branding and awareness from 3 minutes of unpaid interstitial programming.

Integration and non intrusive advertising surely must be the way forward if television is to remain relevant as a medium of advertising influence. As adults with a much higher advertising consciousness, we like to think we can "suss out the ads" and product placements and fancy gimmicks like segmented "relevant" sponsorships. Social media rules, please step forward. Authenticity and transparency aren't just values you peg to social media but to all media accounting.

Don't sponsor a show because the show's theme is relevant, integrate your value proposition into the show as a form of positioning and intent. For example, i love the way Bluefly integrates themselves into project runway as part of the accessories menu. It's the same analogy of a waiter interrupting a conversation without permission versus the same person standing ready by the side with a plate of entrees. Opt in. Always opt in.

Comments?


Song of the blog "Street Spirit" by Radiohead

Quitting social media practices is a good thing

You probably already know that social media can be a real vacuum cleaner of time. Try clocking in the number of hours you spend tweeting/blogging and facebooking/myspacing. I'm pretty sure the final figure will be pretty jaw dropping. ( as of now, i've officially clocked 3 hours and 27 minutes)

This has really helped me look at the "WHY" with a whole new perspective. When i follow someone's tweet and click on an URL, that's opportunity cost i could have spent on Guy Kawsaki's newest blog post. That if irrelevant ( i jest, the man's a god), could have gone to my own personal blogging time.

When you start to weigh this more heavily, the question of objectives and goals (the WHY) becomes an inevitable juncture. Why you micro blog will impact the way you use your time on twitter.

Reviewing your objectives will eventually narrow your time into funnels of worth. For example, i blog to air my opinions in an articulate fashion. But whats the "WHY?" (trust me, facing this was painful)

It became apparent that i can achieve better results by responding in multiple article comment forums. So, instead of becoming an author , i could do more entries as a contributer to existing topics. I believe this will change over time as my personal branding road gains more traction,but for now, it makes more sense spending slightly more time on commenting in the best blogs i follow.

I thought more objectively about why i use Twitter (Thanks Jerell !)and came to to conclusion that my goal is to learn from the best in marketing and social media and hopefully be considered as one myself someday. This meant trimming who i followed and whose tweets i identified as top tier net property.

Seth Godin spoke about quitting the right way, learning what to quit in order to excel in the goal is a vital part of this housekeeping process. I believe in order to maximise the best use of our time in social media, we all need to quit certain streams of content or people in order to reach those objectives.

Song of the blog "Heart attack" by Low Vs Diamond

Ogywawa deserves a drink?

Hi, as part of my occasional startup review, Ogywawa has come under the spotlight recently for it's innovative use of web to mobile commerce. It allows you to buy drinks ( it has since expanded to include meals and other FMCG goods) for friends via a website that will deliver a mobile coupon to your friend's phone.

Sounds very interesting yes? Well, i have never tried the service so i'm reviewing it based on it's concept. My take is that for this idea to take shape, a lot needs to be delivered as a proof of concept. Here is my dissection

The good

1) Finally, someone is using mobile the correct way. If you read my post on mobile communication, i spoke strongly about the HOW mobile advertising or branding needs to be redefined by actions and not just by current measures of impressions and click trus, The mobile phone these days is like wearing your head on your shoulders. Ogywawa has recognised that the use of anytime anywhere means delivering fuss free content that is useful and digestible on the go .

2) Mobile commerce makes much more sense than e commerce in many ways. The point of purchase intent is much closer for brands to take advantage of and most times, impulse buying is done on the go and rarely in front of a screen. For example, I'm a great fan of outdoor media because of the versatility of the medium to attract attention. But where is the measurement?, why on earth isn't mobile a huge part of outdoor media? I'm not going to remember www.wateveryoururl.com is but i will take my mobile phone and sms to retrieve info/access a purchase WAP page. I don't know how many times I've seen a concert poster plastered on some wall and wished i could buy on the spot. Maybe this is being done in other countries but it certainly isn't here.

The bad (potentially)

1) I don't know about you but it would be pretty embarrassing if i walk up to the bar, flash my mobile coupon and get replied with a blank gaze. The coordination and delivery by the F&B staff need to be SPOT ON. Again, i talk about branding as part of behavior and experience. If i get a lousy experience at xxx bar ( that's probably a real place) , guess who's in the doghouse. Not just the bar but Ogywawa. This is dangerous, Ogywawa's service and eventual profitability is reliant on their retail partners helping to deliver a good mobile coupon redemption experience. Difficult to control and very very prone to outlet staff not living up to their end of the bargain.

2) Buying drinks for a friend is fine as an idea of a gift but unless you regularly stand in front of meetings and start with " Hi , my name is .. and I'm a ..." Most people don't drink alone. Drinking will always be something best enjoyed with good company and for me, i don't think i would go out by myself to redeem a drink coupon just cause someone bought 1 for me. I might store it for a later time, but i doubt my immediate thought wouldn't be "Cool! I better get myself to the bar at lunchtime". In other words, if it ain't broke, why fix it. I haven't heard anyone say "Man, i love drinking with friends at bars, i just wish i didn't have to actually pay for it now." (wait, actually i have)

3) Even using the mobile coupon as a means to save time ordering and paying for drinks brings me back to the first point of service delivery. You really don't want to be caught with business associates showing off your new mobile coupon and getting an earful of " let me check with the manager"

So in conclusion, i applaud the fact that Ogywawa is using the mobile phone intelligently and creatively. The idea has merits but is also wide open for poor retention from customers.

Feel free to comment or bite back.

Song of the post We might fall by Ryan Star

How to keep your marketing job and thrive in the downturn

Hello 2009! This is my first post for the year and i think it's apt that i start off on an issue most marketers are thinking about. Yesterday, ch 5 news reported that the National Wage council will be reviewing salaries and one prediction is that skilled workers will continue to have a rosy outlook while supporting roles such as marketing might be in some danger. Salaries might also be pegged more to a flexible variable structure that rewards performance. ( Sales people take note)

The first question that popped in my head was " So, marketing isn't considered a skill?" . I don't know about you but it was slightly insulting at first to be categorized in a profession deemed less important than someone who can read a manual and operate heavy machinery. Then i spent a good 45 mins thinking about it further, and i realized that for many marketers, marketing really isn't a skill. It's hiding behind words like "creativity" and "Branding consciousness" whilst for the large part, ignoring effectiveness and the bottom line.

So here are some tips i want to share that i reckon will help marketers get treated as skilled workers in this time of resource crunching and insecurity.

1) Measure Everything.
Don't get caught up in the trap of psychological influence marketing or the "If i show this ad to someone enough, the message will magically stick in his head and linger there as branding" school of thought. Nothing magically sticks, branding is as useless as telling a fat kid your latest candy bar will make him cooler in class. If you are in an agency, look at your methodologies and question them. Trust me, your biggest assets in the long term are your clients, not your loyalty to a particular company's self promoting measurement system. If you are working directly on channel marketing, pressure media owners to provide more than eyeballs. You need share of voice, not just eyeballs. (give this 5 seconds, it's not the same)

2) Don't preach to a searcher, search for the preachers
Social media is in essence about a new way of communication. Advertising the way we used to know it is radically being transformed as a result of open channels of communication. "Don't preach to a searcher, search for the preachers" This is something i think is vital to understanding how influence can bring about a better return than simply going about advertising based on banners ads and pop up spam. if you are able to communicate honestly and clearly to your target audience, chances are they will be the best advertising channel you didn't pay for. Investment doesn't always mean payment.

3) Be customer centric
This is not new but it certainly isn't practiced. Customer centric thinking means more than customer service. It's a way of business. When you market a product, brand or service. Be mindful of who is using them and how they consume it. Constantly endearing yourself to your target audience will make them feel closer to your intent which is the key to permission marketing. (if you don't know what this means,you NEED to read this article by Seth Godin)

4) Spend less doing more
The less you spend whilst generating effective results will make you look like an indispensable rock star. The trick is not to compare media rate cards and squeeze your servicing account manager. It's about doing the above tips in a practical fashion. Social media marketing offers us the many cheaper (often free) alternatives to getting your message heard. Here are some case studies for you to look at. Again, remember that investment is not the same as payment.

The Ford Story
Peter Kim's yummy list of best practices

I will be the first to admit change is often the hardest thing to adopt. Most times, change is painful especially in the area of marketing. We've been trained to reason away logic and pretend to be psychologists, artists and magicians all rolled into one. Our pillars of how marketing performs seem to be falling all around us and old marketing wisdom suddenly seems like quotes from a Disney fairy tale. What is important and exciting however, is that we now have a REAL shot at developing marketing as a skill and not some art we cannot even define in 45 seconds.
(Hands up all you marketers who've broken a sweat when asked "so what exactly do you do?")

No one really knew because we didn't always know. The shift from traditional to digital offers us an opportunity to make marketing about a new way of communication from brand to consumers that offer treats and not tricks. (nod to Mitch Joel). Thanks for reading and i hope this has helped encourage you in some way or another.


Here is Rachael Yamagata performing "Reason Why" live