CS2 Live

BY: Brian Sullivan

How many of you know the origin on the word “blog” ? The word is a shortened version of the term web log. There is a heavily sourced and referenced history of the term on Wikipedia, so you know it must be true. Check it out if you have 15 minutes to spare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.

Blogging has evolved from the relatively innocent online diary to a multi-million dollar pimping business.

In the beginning, people were blogging about things they actually cared about.  Blogs were personal, allowing people to step over the proverbial too much information line with great regularity. We discovered that most people lead an existence not too dissimilar from our own, but for some reason, they enjoyed sharing details and we enjoyed reading about them. Of course, not all blogs were purely personal. There were journalists, wannabe journalists and category experts that found a home to share their thoughts. Some people gathered quite a following by sharing information online, writing about politics, travel, fashion, music, parenting, etc.

The number of followers for blogs grew organically at first, but as always, people found ways to make money off of them, and advertisers like us began to take notice. Bloggers began endorsing products, companies began soliciting content from subject matters experts to add some third party credibility to their own blogs. In my humble opinion, this intersection of followers and advertising is where we lost the essence of blogging – that authenticity and transparency that made blogs so compelling in the first place.

The average web surfer knows that bloggers and corporations are often in bed together, and if they didn’t, Congress made sure they were protected through recent legislation requiring bloggers to disclose any compensation received for their words. This isn’t the death of the advertising-influenced blog, but it does mean we have to work harder and smarter when bringing our content into the blogosphere.

Authenticity and transparency must be present in what we do. We need to be sure we are communicating with followers, not talking at them, and sharing content that is both useful and interesting. We need to be sure that our focus is on meeting the needs of our followers, not just in meeting our immediate business objectives. And like we preach with every single tactic we present to our clients, it must be strategic.

There is nothing wrong with blogging for dollars, as long as you’ve got something interesting to say.

BY: Brian Sullivan

I think it is funny how much I have been reading lately about the persuasive power of recommendations from friends and family.  People are acting as if this is some new phenomenon that has just occurred in the millennial generation (ages 16-34). People have been asking their friends and family about the quality of goods, services or entertainment options probably since the beginning of time.

Q: Hey, should we go to the gladiator fight at the colosseum tonight?

A: I went last night and it was pretty boring.  These new prisoners are too weak for the Lions.

I am probably not going.

I read a great modern day example today that a movie production company could spend $100 million on producing a movie, $50 million on marketing it and if my friend says it sucked, I am not going.  If I am looking for anything from a washing machine to a car, I am asking people for their recommendations and experiences.

So, what does this mean to a marketer?  It means that if you provide forums for people to share insights and comments on your product or service, these comments could act like the recommendations from friends and family.  They are not quite as influential because there is no true relationship with the people making the comments but still effective.  This could come in the form of a facebook page or providing a way for people to leave comments on your e-commerce site.  Either way, it is the power of this persuasion that every marketer should be thinking about how to tap into.

For example, I recently was looking for a pair of trail shoes.  I don’t spend a lot of time on trails, but I like the way they look and feel. As I scoured the Zappos website, I read every comment about each pair of shoes I considered.  Some were talking about the shoes giving out after a 100 miles or so, some were talking about how great they tackled uneven surfaces, some were talking about how great they felt just walking around town.  All good information which was presumably from actual users (personally, I believe I can spot planted comments pretty easily).

Ultimately, I decided on a shoe based on my preferences supported by the comments by those who owned the shoes.  For the record, I did my research on the internet, but bought the shoes locally in an effort to support local retailers.  Those comments helped me make a decision.  Some were positive and some were negative giving me all the real world information I needed to make an informed decision.

Do you pay attention to comments online?  Do you make comments online?  If so, do you have to feel really strongly one way or another to take the time to make a comment?

BY: Brian Sullivan

There is an old saying attributed to a senior marketing executive that says…I know 50% of my advertising doesn’t work, I am just not sure which 50%.  Since then, the industry has found many new metrics to help judge the effectiveness of marketing efforts, and  the world of online advertising has taken tracking to a whole new level. Even with all these new metrics, we haven’t gotten to that utopian place where we know that 100% of our budget is working.

I read the attached blurb recently in ADWEEKMEDIA and thought it did a good job of explaining the value of ad impressions online.  Impressions aren’t new and they aren’t the end themselves.  As I have stated many times before, and is echoed in this blurb, whether you are talking about social media, online advertising or television the thing we are all after is consumers.  This new research helps us get a step closer.

According to research done by MediaMind, an online advertising solutions provider, you can take the number of unique visitors you are after and multiply it by 10 to get the equivalent impressions.  This holds true up to a target of about 18 million unique visitors.  Above that, the ratio changes to around 15 impressions per desired unique user.

It’s time to start impressing.

BY: Brian Sullivan

I learned a new term today, m-commerce.  Yep, commerce done on the mobile web.  Each year the behavior on mobile sites and online more closely mimic each other.

It seems people are quick to adopt new methods or sources to research purchases but opt to make purchases in the manner in which they always have.  They will eventually change their purchase behavior but much slower than their research behavior.

As you can see in the attached graph, people are researching and booking more and more travel on mobile devices.  EMarketer projects about 20 million mobile phone users will research their trips on their phones this year, but only 9 million (44%) will actually book via their phone.  Additionally, they suggest the percentage that book will increase to 51% next year which still lags the 84% of researchers who buy online.

The gap is closing making mobile an even more important consideration for marketers.

BY: Brian Sullivan

I have been mesmerized by the video of the tsunami in Japan.  Seemingly entire towns were washed away with the rushing water destroying and carrying everything (including burning buildings) miles from its original location.  Morbid fascination perhaps, but it is riveting video nonetheless.  While watching all of this video, I have learned a lot about earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear power in the last several weeks.

I also learned that AFLAC is Japan’s number one insurer and does about 75% of its total business in Japan.  This little bit of information became public as a result of some less than humorous comments that the insanely annoying Gilbert Gottfried made about the tragedy.  And, we all know that he is, or should I say was, the voice of the AFLAC duck.  He was fired immediately for his offensive tweets, and the company launched a PR campaign to show their support for the Japanese people.

So, AFLAC needed a new voice for the duck and held auditions for anyone wanting to try their luck at voiceover work.  You could submit your entry online, or go to one of six studios around the country to do your best duck imitation. Before you start berating the thousands of people who auditioned, the gig pays six figures just to imitate a duck (probably less than they were paying Gottfried, but still good money).

The most amazing thing about this story is that AFLAC’s brand awareness has gone from 10% to 92% since introducing the duck.  That is a serious jump.  Find something that works and stick with it.  A good idea with good execution can survive even major changes like “your voice.”  I dare say there may even be some anticipation about what the next voice will be like.  I hope it isn’t just a cheap imitation of the original.

I am sure they would rather not have been forced to fire Gottfried, but they have recovered well and gotten tons of publicity around the auditions.  This is a good example of how to handle a crisis.  I suspect that awareness number may even inch up a point or two after this.

BY: Brian Sullivan

Does being uber connected help you communicate better?  Smartphones, ipads, netbooks, and laptops have made it easy to stay connected via talk, email, text, twitter, facebook, instant messenger, skype, etc.  All of this is supposed to help us communicate easier but it doesn’t help us communicate better.

Technology is not the answer to better communication.  Content is still king.  What you say and how you say it is still the key to better communication.  Don’t be distracted by all the additional channels you have to spread the word.  Focus on the word you are trying to spread.

Further, be aware that people walk around on information overload.  They have to make decisions about what is important and what is not, what they are going to pay attention to now and what they put away for later (or never).  A good message, delivered at the right time through the right channels is the way to get someone to pay attention.  While overload is a very thin line, some amount of frequency, even if it is gathered by adding up all the potential channels, is still necessary.

BY: Brian Sullivan

At some point, commercials during the Super Bowl became an attraction unto themselves. I’m not sure if this was born strictly from the increased media value of the game associated with the popularity of the NFL or from carefully orchestrated hype by advertisers.  Either way, the commercials are as much a part of the viewing experience as the game (in some years, they are the only entertainment value).

On the surface, paying $2.8 million for a spot and about that much for the production seems crazy.  However, when you consider that 111 million people saw your spot during the game and the amount of PR coverage and water-cooler talk your spot will get, the numbers can actually work.

The game you are playing with these spots is trying to create something memorable. Whether it is funny or moving or just plain outrageous, your spot has to stand out and give people something to talk about.  Many of these spots have had a lasting impact on popular culture – wasssuuup springs to mind.  I just hope people don’t start licking other people’s fingers after this year’s Doritos ad.

Anyway, here is a link to all the spots for your review. I’m pretty partial to the Volkswagen one myself (or whichever one you liked, unless it was the lame GoDaddy one because then we can’t be friends anymore). Which is your favorite?

Superbowl Ads

BY: Brian Sullivan

How do you choose what messages you pay attention to?  Are you interrupted or engaged, passive or interactive, distracted or attracted?

Truth is you are probably prone to all of the above at different times and through different channels.  That is why a comprehensive campaign that utilizes different messages in different channels will increase your chance of reaching the most people.

There are arguments about quality vs. quantity in most social media campaigns these days.  When I hear people say things like…I am not interested in having a 1,000 fans on facebook I am just interested in quality fans…it makes me question whether they get it or not.  How about a 1,000 quality fans?  And how exactly do you determine a “quality” fan vs. a “quantity” fan?

Regardless, you still need to talk to quantity in order to get quality.  In order to get quality from the quantity, you need to spend time defining your audience.  With a good definition you should be able to talk to the right quantity to get the quality.

BY: Brian Sullivan

You may have heard the saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  This is not just a mantra for those with wanderlust.  It is a powerfully simple statement about the importance of vision and goal setting.

Vision helps pave the road in the direction you want to go.  Goals are the mile markers that help measure your progress.

Goals give you something to work towards and something to measure both personal and professional success.  A simple concept no doubt but there is both an art and a science to creating a vision and setting goals.

The science to setting a vision comes in the consideration of your strengths relative to your competition and establishing what place you can own in the minds of your consumers.  Communicating your vision is an art.  You have to paint a clear and compelling picture of your vision so all those that will help you get there know where you want to go and maybe even why.

The science to goal setting comes in the quantitative or qualitative measures used when setting your goals.  This usually involves almost every aspect of your business working together to establish where you want to go and likely how you are going to get there.  Here you have long term and short term goals with the timeframes relative to you business cycles i.e. quarterly and annual or weekly and monthly.

These goals can seem overwhelming not just because of their size but because of the relative long term nature of most of them.  The art to goal setting comes in establishing check in periods with goals specifically for these periods.  These can be more qualitative measures but should be on the same continuum as the overall goal.  I think this is a critical step because it gives people something to work towards in the interim and the opportunity to celebrate successes along the way.  These successes can improve employee morale and give them a greater sense of investment in the overall goals.  If there aren’t successes at the check in times, you have the opportunity to adjust giving you a better chance at achieving the overall goal.

This logic applies both to overall business planning as well as marketing plans that support the business plan.  For example, in our work, we start with a shared vision for the brand created by members of our team and the client.  This vision supports the business goals of the organization.  We then agree on goals and metrics we will use to measure the success of each campaign.  Armed with clear goals, we monitor (or check in on) our campaigns on a daily basis.  This gives us the opportunity to adjust spending or messaging during the campaign as well as make adjustments for the next flight.  It gives our staff a great sense of investment and the opportunity to share in both realizing successes and sharing those with the client.

So, unless you are happy wandering, pave your road.

BY: Brian Sullivan

I have come to realize that people will do almost anything for a free t-shirt (especially if the shirt is shot out of a gun or thrown into a crowd).

Seemingly rational adults will knock over small children or lean over railings risking a long fall to get a 50/50 cotton blend shirt with a large logo on it.  Now, I expect kids to scramble, jump over seats and dive a couple rows to grab one, but adults?  Come on.  I know some of you are saying that they are just trying to get it for their kids.  Baloney, most of these people aren’t with kids they apparently just love competition and free t-shirts.

The thrill of competition and winning can be a part of your promotion strategy. Creating excitement about your brand is the key to a great promotion or sponsorship.  Many times there is value in the goodwill you get for just being associated with a cause or event.  However, if you can create some excitement, you can create a more lasting impression.  Wouldn’t you place more value on a shirt after displaying your athletic prowess in jumping over three rows of seats to snag it and having your efforts replayed on the video board for all to see, rather than simply walking into the arena and having a shirt draped over the back of your seat just like the 19,500 other seats in the arena?

When considering a promotion, you must plan how you are going to activate your brand in the process.  Contests and giveaways are two of the most common tactics, but the options are only limited by your imagination.  The bottom line is you must push for access to every activation point available when paying for a promotion.  Do not miss an opportunity to make an impression or create excitement around your brand.

So, who do you think is the real winner in the free t-shirt-shot-out-of-a-gun scenario?

-       The sponsor whose logo is on the t-shirt and who is paying for the promotion

-       The event who sold the sponsorship and is using it to whip the crowd into a frenzy

-       The guy or gal who knocked over the kids to get the free shirt