Social Media Success Stories

Hi everyone

At a time when everyone is selling themselves as an expert in social media, but few really are, it’s worth having a reality check about what social media can and can’t do.

This great article, 10 things Social Media Can’t Do, is a timely reminder that nothing will replace a solid and holistic marketing strategy, and an understanding of social media’s limitations.

On the flip side though, I think there is a misleading perception among some that social media is not a place a brand can really be heard or engaged with in any serious way by customers, or that this audience is too young or dis-interested to even try.

Despite many strong arguments to the contrary, the only really effective argument is proof positive that social media marketing works. Because after all, only by doing and learning and re-applying can any brand or agency be successful in this ever-changing environment. And successful case studies can help highlight the fundamentals of what is working well in this field.

So let’s look at what we can learn from the following campaigns:

1. It all starts with a ‘social media’ idea: Not just any idea. One that is useful, or fun, and one that we are really dying to share with others. One that reflects your brand and its values. The one recently that I like most recently is the Ikea Showroom campaign, which combined all the elements of a strong Facebook idea, with the cheekiness and humor of the Ikea brand. Watch how it works here.

2. An idea that people want to share & others want to hear about: Some ideas aren’t born to share, aren’t right for the brand, or don’t have enough connection to truly catch on. It takes insight and inspiration to come up with sharing ideas which truly resonate with audiences. I love this one’s simplicity from Lufthansa.

Users who sign up to Lufthansa’s MySkyStatus will find their Facebook and Twitter profiles automatically updated with their altitude, location, departure and ar­rival information. Lufthansa is branding the service as ‘travel made social’, but any customers who don’t want to share their itineraries with the world are free to keep the information private. It’s reported almost half their online audience are signing up.

3. An idea your people want to talk about: One of the great strengths of Twitter is providing your employess, your people, to use it as a means of communicating directly with customers and provide a personal and engaging customer service experience. Best Buy is a great example of this, which you can read about here. The US-based consumer electronics retailer took its reputation for in-store service to the next level with the launch of Twelpforce – an army of 2100 Best Buy employees authorized to answer consumer questions via Twitter.

The tool took 13,000 queries in the first two months, and at a time when consumer spending in the US is down by 1.9%, the company made a net profit of $158m in 3Q09 on revenues of $11 bil­lion (up from $9.8 billion year-on-year). It’s just one example of just how useful, fun and rewarding Twitter can be.

4. An idea that lives across different media: Yeah you can focus only on social media, but why risk that? Besides if it’s a great idea with great content then what are ALL the video, mobile marketing, social networks and traditional channels we can use to spread the idea. The reality seems to be the best ideas use other digital and other media, to drive the idea further.

One great example is Cadbury Nibbles online pop –up store, which combines Facebook application with a great in-store promotion. Read more here. The result saw comments appearing on the Facebook page at the rate of one every 2.5 seconds for the two days of the promotion, and the store garnered an equiva­lent footfall in excess of 4m people with over £1.5m earned through social media.

Estee Lauder also did a great campaign for cosmetics here http://visitshoremagazine.com/2/?p=7995

5. An idea that is measured, evaluated and then evolves: The evolution of social media is ongoing but the best campaigns are always measured, evaluated and built upon. In this wonderful article on ‘Retailers Go Nuts for Social Media’, it shows how Best Buy, EBAY, JCPENNEY, TOYS’R’US and WALMART are evolving their Facebook/ social media campaigns using trial, measurement and evolution.

And shows that social media marketing for retail, and almost every other industry, is here to stay.

Cheers everyone. This is my last post for 2009, look forward to exploring more exciting developments in 2010. And BTW the Avatar image is not related, but a great movie, I highly recommend it!

Happy New Year to you all.

You Have Beautiful UIs

Hi everyone

We can talk about Web 2.0 strategy and functionality, but the design of the User Interface (UI) is fundamental to the success of any Web Site.

Too often in the past different industries have adopted a cookie-cutter approach to Web Site design, but that is changing dramatically.

Most companies now realize that they need a unique Site design approach to support their new customer centric content and tools, whether it’s a major Brand Site or a campaign specific Micro-Site.

Here are some starting points to consider when thinking about creating a great UI:

1. Create your Own Voice: Does your web site design truly reflect your company/brand/campaign story? The best web sites acknowledge industry norms but are not afraid to make things better, simpler or faster. They are not afraid to let the brand personality shine through in unique or innovative ways. These days Web Sites are often the first place people experience brands in any significant – across many industries such as travel, automotive, finance, fashion, technology – you name it.

But it doesn’t mean you need to look exactly like your competitors just to be in the game. The same customer that goes to your site visits many others, and is not locked into only one way of doing things. Look at best practice across different industries then create your own voice. This article on the design approach from Virgin.com’s new Web Site is a great example how a brand can go about creating something that speaks in a unique and engaging way through UI design.

2. Be Purpose-Oriented: What this means is simply being aware of the different types of users you have to your site. When designing a site our Information Architecture (IA) needs to consider the different types of users and different purposes they have in visiting your site. And we need to plot these user personas and ensure we optimize each journey for a particular customer. Does the site template design, navigation design, iconography, image presentation, information display, etc. actually make it a better experience for ALL your key customers?

Check out this great Web Site from Volkswagen UK, designed from the very beginning to be tailored to different needs of all its audiences.

3. Make it Useful/Usable/Enjoyable: Which brings me too the 3 elements that are a great checklist when deciding whether your design approach adds to the Web Site experience. Does the Web Site actually help you get something done that you need to get done. Many sites now are about providing transactions or tools to help you achieve a specific aim – buy something, test something, play something. So if your site is not interacting or engaging me – why would I visit?

In this article, UI Matters: How an Interface Lift Can Make or Break a Brand, Garrick Schmitt provides a number of great examples of brands such as Mint that combine utility, usability and yes are actually fun to use.

4. Be Organic: The pace of change in ALL marketing means that Web Sites need to be flexible enough in conception and design to cope with constant change in a brand’s involvement in things like consumer-centric content, social media, mobile utility, etc. We call this an ‘organic’ approach to Site design, and something that major Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo does with sites like this so well. The Japanese retailer creates striking visual interfaces that enable to users to look at the company’s fashions in a completely unique, and yet intuitive manner.

And one that is constantly evolving.

What are your favorites?

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

5 Reasons Why Thai's Love a Digital Life

Hi everyone

12 months ago I used to have to convince some marketers that Thai people were embracing a digital lifestyle.

Not any more. As marketers we are constantly faced with the digital changes in our work and social lives. But there is still the belief that digital is ‘only for the young’, or that ‘most Thais aren’t ready for digital marketing’.

So I’ve provided 5 FACTS below (mostly sourced from the 2009 Asian Digital Marketing Association Handbook) about the digital change that is sweeping Siam and, what the implications of this are for marketers here.

1. ALL Thais Love the Web: There are more than 15 million Internet users, with a penetration rate of 23.7% this year. That’s up from around 20% last year and next year it’s predicted to hit 28%. That means we’re growing by about 20-25 % per year in terms of Internet usage. And it’s not just urban Bangkokians, 2/3 rds come from outside Bangkok and almost 60% of people online earn less than 30,000 Baht/month. Just kids? No, almost 50% of online users are older than 25. That means all mass consumer brands should be considering their digital strategies across the board, not just for young urban Bangkokians.

2. Thais are Embracing the Mobile Web: I have mentioned before that Thais are amongst the highest users in Asia of their mobile phones, at almost 3 hours a day. While much of this is just SMS & chatting on the phone, the real story lies in how Thai users are starting to embrace the mobile Web. Thailand’s mobile Internet population has grown by 116% in the past year, as people start to embrace smart phones and applications and the mobile web. It is still early days but predictions are that more people will be accessing the web from mobile than from any other device within 3 years. And with a mobile penetration rate of 82% and rising, you better have a mobile marketing strategy NOW!

3. Thais Connect with Social Media: While last year’s stats show 10.73 million social media users in 2008, I know for a fact that Facebook increased their members by about 1 million in the last month alone! Social Networking is split mainly between the teens on Hi-5 (Up to 8 million users) and the 20 + crowd, who are increasingly flocking to Facebook. And the trends are that the biggest growth area is actually in the 25+ age categories. Yes, everyone is starting to embrace this movement. And every brand now needs to recognize this is not a fad, but a real social media phenomenon which requires a new approach to marketing across different age groups.

4. Thais are Crazy about Gaming: According to recent research Thais are the #1 (18-29) for online gaming in Asia, at 3 hours per day. In fact, 33% of all users play games online. And the implications for this are beyond kids again. Looking at all the gaming on popular portal sites like Sanook or Pantip, at Hi5 and Facebook, and how game play is starting to become a part of marketing campaigns and web interaction from all ages. Gaming can be a fun way to educate, entertain and yes to sell. Are you making the most of this opportunity?

5. Thais Live to Blog, Create & generally ‘Engage’: Yes Thais are gaming a lot, using email and visiting news sites. But they are also inter-acting and creating in other ways. Look at blogging – 84% of Thai Internet users claim to write or participate in a blog every week. And 18% have used their mobile devices to make a video clip. As the Web becomes the primary communication & creativity tool in our lives, we need to keep up with the sophisticated and interactive elements in our marketing as well.

Of course we can talk about the negatives. The lack of infrastructure, that 3G is not here yet, the income divide. But the fact is many Thais are not waiting for anyone or anything - just getting out there and doing it. Marketers take heed.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Can Social Media Campaigns Drive Sales?

Hi everyone

It’s a question we’re all faced with now. And it can be a tough one to answer at times.

“How can I get a campaign like ‘Whopper Sacrifice’ that sells?”

And as the bandwagon gathers pace, and social media becomes more central to our digital marketing plans, the right answer will get more important.

Because with more budgets and attention, comes more ROI demands.

But are these sales expectations justified? If you read recent research like this you are left wondering – marketing people saying it’s working, but results saying the opposite.

So what can marketers and agencies do to ensure we are developing social media campaigns that head in the right direction?

Different Ways to Measure Impact

The first step is to remember that social media has evolved by people and for people. It is generally not a direct sales tool, it is a conversation and relationship builder, although there are obvious examples like these that use social media to sell directly.

But in this interesting blog, we see there are a few different social media marketing goals, of which sales is only one:

- Increased Brand Awareness. Content can be created and spread by the social media community and improve public perception of your brand through the social media dialogue

- Reputation Management/ Customer Service. Another goal here is to positively influence the way a potential and existing customer/audience perceives your brand through this participation

- Improved Search Engine Rankings. Used as an SEO tool and creating content for the purpose of obtaining links from the members of the social news websites.

- Increased Relevant Visitor Traffic. Driving visitors or users to your website by investing more time on social communities which have a high topical relevance.

- Improve Sales for a Product or Service. Although hard selling a social media audience through an overtly commercial profile is not advisable because it will come across as marketing spam.

How Successful Social Media Campaigns Sell

So sales can certainly happen, but it’s selling in a different way. Perhaps the best lessons are looking at successful campaigns out there now to see how they are ‘selling different’:

#1. Give people something useful/ fun/ rewarding: Like a lot of digital marketing, utility and enjoyment are vital, because that’s what drives social media conversations and get’s you noticed and talked about or passed on. Look at recent examples like this one from Estee Lauder, offering free makeovers and photo shoots at its department-store cosmetics counters coast-to-coast to produce shots women can use for their online profiles. Similarly we have used social networking in a recent P&G online gaming campaign to help drive awareness and participation among young women in Asia.

#2. Make it sharable in the ‘conversation stream’: Twitter and now much more with Facebook recently, is a constant stream of updates that makes building static ‘fan pages’ and detailed brand material and very difficult sell. Instead, campaigns like this from Whisper (from our colleagues in Singapore) provide tools for women to connect with each other at ‘that time’ through messages of support and encouragement.

#3. Combine all your social media tools: Successful campaigns look at every social media – whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, FlickR, Youtube or Digg – and combines this with other online media channels such as web sites, blogs and online advertising. In this Ford Fiesta Movement campaign, Ford created a grassroots social media campaign to promote the new Fiesta model by placing Fiestas in the hands of 100 social “agents” and having them promote Ford’s new vehicle through Twitter, blogs, video, and events, all without spending a dollar on traditional media.

#4. Make a sale connection a natural part of the conversation: In all of the above campaigns, a sale or sales call is a natural outcome of giving people what they want. For Estee Lauder purchase isn't required, but the promotion does get women to the counter to talk with reps and try makeup. For Ford it raised 50,000 follow up sales contacts. And for Kellogg’s in this campaign, they raised awareness for the US’s largest hunger relief organization, through their Facebook page. Anyone can become a fan and those who donate $5 or more will receive $5 in coupons for Kellogg products. With over 200,000 fans that’s and good cause and good sales result.

So the answer is yes, social media campaigns sell. It may not always be the first or only priority, but done right it can definitely be a key part of the campaign goals.

But always bear this in mind. Do you really want to have a relationship, or even a conversation, with someone who is just trying to sell to you all the time?

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

App vs. WAP & Thai Mobile Marketing

Hi everyone

Interesting to read today that VW in the US is launching the latest Golf GTI car, using ONLY an iPhone application as its sole marketing media

Which raises some interesting questions – like when should marketers invest in an iPhone application (App), as opposed to a mobile web service (WAP)?

And what focus should we put on these strategies, compared to the rest of our marketing mix?

In Thailand, with the lack of a 3G network and slower development of mobile web, getting the answer right has never been more important.

So today I want to look at 3 points when considering the benefits of each:

1. Smart Phone Application
- This presentation App vs WAP – what is a marketer to do? does a great job at comparing the pros and cons of each approach. The key benefits of an app are:

1. Allows you to build a richer experience without impacting data speeds / charges. It’s more focused, fun and faster to use then mobile web.
2. Allows you to take advantage of native phone features (GPS, camera & voice). Localisation services using GPS are often a key to app success.
3. Features can work offline. No problems with bad connections.
4. Integration with other services (i.e. Facebook connect) Works well with many new platforms.
5. Can become a great extension of your brand attributes. It’s useful, fun and they almost always perform very well.

On the other hand, in Thailand with perhaps 200,000 iPhones phones you are only looking at less than 1% mobile penetration. Sure there are apps for BB and Android, but not many yet.

And then what % will find/ take up the app? As good as apps are, the audience reach is still at an early stage, and you need a good strategy to get buzz and generate usage

2. Mobile Web Site (WAP site)
The growth in mobile web sites has been pretty big this year. Most media, technology, social networking, gaming and banking/financial companies have one. Check out this list for an insight into 30 of them. The benefits to mobile are sites are:

1. Can work on 100% of devices. We are not restricted to just iPhones, we can adapt the site reach all mobile users.
2. Experience can be optimized to the highest common denominator. Means we can set a high standard across all platforms.
3. You can publish when you want – no approval process by App store required. No more 1 month delays for app approval!
4. iPhone, new Blackberry, Palm, and Android all share same Safari open source application framework Web kit. Makes developing easier.
5. Easier to drive to mobile web vs. drive to mobile App from mobile advertising networks. Driving traffic to a WAP site is easier for marketers.
6. Content from mobile web is searchable / search friendly. It works more like a Web experience people are used to.

Of course the issue is WAP sites need to be made for phones, they are very different and need to be much simpler than web sites.

And let’s face it, with download times and connection problems and a lack of confidence in transacting over the web here – a mobile site approach needs to be simple, well thought out and highly practical to make it work for this market.

3. The Right Mix?
In this excellent 3 min video from President of Major League Baseball in the US explains why for media organizations like his, you need to have both.

Clearly he makes a lot of sense. With apps you get a great experience, but a much smaller market. Albeit a market you can make money from. But with WAP you can get a much bigger reach. For Thailand it does depend on your industry, but some basic rules apply:

1. For WAP if you’re in media, banking, tech or entertainment you need a WAP first and need it now. Most other industries may not have one yet but with estimates saying a majority of Thais will access the Internet primarily through mobile within 2-3 years – you need a WAP strategy now!

2. For iPhone, apps make sense here and are great for a targeted and quite youthful (20-40), urban demographic. As part of an overall digital marketing strategy though, it is not a silver bullet but a great addition to the digital marketing plan.

Even in the States, some are questioning VW’s iPhone launch approach. And so do I. I tend to a agree with this reader who makes interesting strategy comments then finished with:

“In Volkswagen's quest to be the world's largest car marketer, saving money by launching a brilliant new vehicle with an i-phone app is akin to cutting back on an army's bullet budget...you'll have a little extra cash on hand when you've lost the war.”

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Times are A-Changin' Again for Marketers

Hi everyone

Over my recent holiday break I watched the latest series from the hit TV show Mad Men, about a New York ad agency set in the 1950’s.

It was a time of real insights and storytelling, of brand creation, and when the ad agency had the influence to shape a company’s future. They were times of great change.

Many agency people, and marketing commentators, would love to go back to that same role we once had.

Some people even wonder, with the advent of Web 2.0 and fast & cheap social network enabled content, whether this is the beginning of the end for marketers? Unilever’s so called crowd sourcing experiment is cited as one example of this outsourced marketing movement.

Are we then, as marketers, becoming obsolete?

Those people who haven’t experienced fully the revolution that’s been going on in agencies in the last few years might think so. But I’d argue that agencies are becoming as important as we were in the Mad Men days, but for totally different reasons.

The agency and client model has radically changed to suit the times. Here’s what we’re doing different now, and why I think it’s so important:

1. Understanding & reaching people better: With the shift to social media, changes in consumer preferences, growth in communities, etc. it has never been more important to not only understand relevant consumer insights, but also work out new ways to provide access to these audiences.

“Agencies now help to create or manage customer communities for their clients. They will also create client specific media channels – whether it’s Twitter feeds or Internet radio – which can be used to deliver specific campaigns.” (Phil Johnson, Ad Age, ‘Creating the future of Adland’)

2. Creating engagement not just advertising : Agencies like ours are now are creating acts, not just ads. We therefore must be able create a large type of different brand experiences in different media, but that all speak with one voice.

That means a marketer and their agency should be able to offer everything from a branded web site, TV campaign, mobile promotion, package design, software applications, PR buzz, online games, branded events, email stream or retail experiences that are all integrated and work together seamlessly.

To do this agencies become more like content super-producers, managing the dozens of technology production and content streams, to come together as one. As Allison Mooney notes, agencies need to think like software companies to survive.

3. Managing the social media experience: Social networking does give more power to our customers – but any marketer will know there is a real challenge in getting a social media project balance right. Just setting it up is not enough, nothing will happen. Spend all your time maintaining it and it will drain your resources. And how do you turn the noise into sales?

An agency is crucial to understand what a brand’s role is in this social media conversation, when to contribute, when to listen, and what tools we can give our consumers to be useful. Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom said it best: “Social Media isn’t a box to be ticked or a department to be manned or even a campaign to be launched. It’s about thinking differently about marketing, customer service, the entire company.”

4. Helping change the business not just the marketing: This leads to perhaps the biggest revolution has been taking place for marketers: by understanding our changing customers' lives better, we are now better positioned to provide advice on real customer utility. That is, not just better communications – but better products ideas, better services channels, and better ways of being useful in people’s lives.

Look at all the work that’s being done in an agency now, so much of it is about addressing the core issues of the business. In this way, as Wayne Arnold says in this article, we stop being an agency and start being an agent of change.

Welcome to Agency 2.0

Cheers

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

How Location Changes Digital Marketing Pt. 2

Hi everyone

Apologies for the late post this week – so I’ll make it brief.

Following up from last week, I wanted to talk about the ways in which marketers are using digital in retail environments.

While we can’t yet do what GAP did in the film Minority Report, there are some big changes going on in the way we can enhance the retail experience and drive sales.

It’s important because research shows that up to 70% of purchase decision are finalized at the point of purchase. If we can use digital tools to deliver more engaging, more customized and more compelling product experiences this can have a big effect on our sales outcomes.

Let’s look at 2 areas that are making a difference at the shop store.

1. Digital Signage/ Product displays: Whether it’s in the shop window to attract people inside, or as part of the signage within the store, digital enables us to localize and customize the content depending on customer type, time of day or seasonal changes. Add to that interactivity, and it starts to become an interesting sales tool.

I love what Samsung are doing in the UK, and you see that digital retail is evolving from just pretty pictures, to far more interactive product experiences that enable people to control what they want to see, even before they get into store and feel the ‘sales pressure’.

Equally powerful but more communication specific is digital signage, like this example from Tesco Europe. The beauty of this signage is its ability to not only give information about products, but give customer/time/location specific offers or information throughout a retail environment, and connect to mobile devices as well.

2. Digital Interactive Sales Tools: Take the above examples and make them even more customized, more sales driven, more involved and you end up with something like this from Nike ID at the Nike store in Fukuoka in Japan.

A great concept which makes the most of a branded destination, by providing and customized sale tool to really put fun back into buying shoes. And isn’t that what we’d love shopping to be all about.

This type of marketing simply evolves from the interactive web site search and explore model that customers already understand. They are in control, and that’s the way they want it.

No matter what industry you are in – technology, automotive, fashion, you name it – there is a relevant retail application that can draw traffic and fast-track the retail sales process for you.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

How Location Changes Digital Marketing: Pt. 1

Hi everyone

One of the fastest growing and most important areas of digital marketing is based on providing ‘distributed digital experiences’.

That is, reaching out to people in the real world with digital experiences and communications, not just trying to reach them at our branded space online.

Mat Honan from Wired wrote in this article recently about how important location is to people’s decisions, and the impact digital services can have. “Simply put, location changes everything. Where we shop, who we talk to, what we read, what we search for, where we go – they all change once we merge location and the web.”

For marketers that means if you aren’t building location-based digital marketing into everything you do, you will lose them, because their choices are increasingly being dictated by their location.

The social networking tools people use, the mobile applications they choose, the stores they visit – are all influenced by digital location specific content and it's changing the way people behave.

This week I want to look at what marketers are doing with digital marketing installations and location-based mobile marketing experiences.

1. Digital Installations: One of the most visible ways of reaching out to customers is through large scale digital installations, often event-style communications, where people can not only experience visual/video/audio communications, but interact with them as well.

HBO’s Voyeur campaign was a great example of this type of communication, and interesting to see they will follow up with a new campaign called HBO Imagine to be launched soon. The reason why this was so powerful was it used the visibility of an installation medium embedded into everyday life, then led people to explore other mediums to interact with the idea further. Using these installations to excite and inspire further exploration is a key to success.

Other interesting examples of different real-world digital installations the fascinating Nike Chalkbot, Puma’s engaging installation Lift, and the interactive billboard experience Nike ID. This last, mobile digital experience we’ll describe further below.

2. Location Based Mobile Experiences: I’ve spoken about mobile a lot lately, and the reason why it is becoming so important – as highlighted in this excellent Ad Age article – is the realization by most markers “that mobile isn’t an ad play, but an extension of the services and products already on offer. And location is one of the most important contextual clues a mobile phone can provide”.

I’ve listed 4 of the most popular ways that marketers are using this added layer of location to enhance services and communications to customers:
- Mobile Applications: This great mobile real estate app from Zillow allows you check out home prices on houses from where you are
- Social Networking: Location specific social networking communities like 4Square add another layer of utility to online relationships
- Interactive Destinations: Combining the attraction of a digital installation and mobile interactivity, Nike ID campaign a good example
- Location Aware Communications: RFID, Blue-tooth, augmented reality and mobile web are allowing us to communicate with customers at a specific location.

Next week we’ll look how digital experiences are transforming the retail environment, creating unique branded destinations and digital shop-fronts.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Facebook, Twitter & Social Context Marketing

Hi everyone

Try this, it will only take a minute.

Click here and enter your Facebook login for this Prototype Experience. Then watch the video.

Pretty cool, huh? This is the direction social networking marketing is going, and it is important for 2 key reasons.

1. Context drives engagement
In the future, the Era of Social Context will mean we are able to serve personalized content to users based on their social networking information. And this ‘contextual’ content will not to be limited to just ads or marketing like the Prototype example, but also include all media sites, e-commerce, corporate sites, and TV.

Every brand will adapt, at some level, to this model.

We are moving quickly from fairly static and one-way social marketing model, for example using just a simple Facebook page, to far more engaging applications using features like Facebook Connect that allow us to create a rich, interactive experience and far greater personalization.

The beauty with this approach is that you don’t have to ask people to enter any details, they just log in to Facebook, and you use things they’ve already shared.

Imagine how we could use this data in a campaign? We could use a customer’s personal photos to create personalized marketing with just them as the hero, as with the Prototype example.

Another good example of this is this case study from Doritos called iD3, where coming up with a new flavour has rarely been so socially connected.

2. Engagement drives sales
Importantly, we can also help a customer with an online purchase decision by asking them to connect with Facebook/Twitter so we can give our recommendation/suggestion on what they should buy.

As we all know, customers are far more likely to be involved and interested in a purchase if the message is just right for them. And that’s just what Volkswagen has created in this cute little ad which looks at the info from your Twitter stream and recommends the car most relevant to you.

Test it for yourself here (Volkswagen Rich Media Twitter ad), and if you still do not have a Twitter account, why not try a celeb Twitter name instead!

This is a simple, but totally engaging tool, with huge sales potential. In this interesting article, The Future of the Social Web, Jerimiah Owy explains how the movement towards Social Commerce is quite simply inevitable.

Of course there will be significant hurdles for brands to address in terms of privacy issues. But these will be overcome as people learn how better to filter their social information, and when they see the personal benefits this marketing can deliver them.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Virtual vs. Augmented Reality

Hi everyone

This week I wanted to mention 2 areas that hold a fascinating future for marketers - virtual and augmented reality.

To put it simply, virtual reality creates a whole new digital (virtual) world for people to interact with, while in augmented reality we add a digital layer over the real world (via PC, phone or other digital device) to enhance our view of the existing world.

It's the difference between Second Life virtual game for example, and this fascinating TATS augmented reality phone application.

Virtual reality was the hot topic a few years ago when talking about digital marketing potential, but it rarely gets a mention now.

But this recent overview in the Guardian article notes, virtual worlds are alive and doing very, very well - especially among younger audiences. Online world for kids Habbo has 135 million registered users alone, that's more than the population of most countries!

In virtual worlds brands are able to hold meetings, openings, have launch parties, create virtual showrooms, have exposure at different events - the possibilities are enormous. However despite all this success, you won't find a lot of marketers investing much there.

As the Guardian article says about Second Life: "Only a small fraction of its 19 million registered users are active, and it is still the creative laboratory of the genre."

Quite simply, the virtual experience is not interesting or immersive enough for most adults, yet. Until then, most marketers will keep their budgets on hold.

Augmented Reality, to me, is another story. AR has recently been highlighted in various marketing campaigns as a cool way to show your product via PC or mobile phone, such as in this concert launch by the BBC. But it is much more than just a gimmick, and the potential to change product and brand communications in remarkable ways:

- Create virtual maps/marketing information via phones: Check out world's first augmented reality browser, from Layar
- Connect you with social networks: An incredible augmented ID system from TATs to enhance your social and business networks
- Create digital shop fronts: Check out how we could all be buying clothes soon, in this digital shop front from Zugara
- Bring gaming to life: Want to see the future of gaming - how about a virtual pet on iphone?
- Change the way we teach/learn: How cool would it be if we all had school books like this?

There are endless possibilities to add useful and interesting information onto a world we, and marketers, are already in.

If you want a marketing reality we should start thinking about now for our products and campaigns, this is the one to watch.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Our Mobile Marketing Future

Hi everyone

For a long time mobile phones have been both the great hope, and the great disappointment, of digital marketing.

But with the launch of the iPhone, and development of smart phones like the Blackberry & Pre, things are getting really interesting for marketers. For the first time our phones are becoming a primary source for many to access the web and communicate with each other.

And this is driving a huge growth in mobile marketing opportunities in Asia, beyond just the usual mobile 'hot spots' of Japan and Korea.

Thailand in particular has a fast growing smart phone uptake, and one of the highest uses of mobile phones in Asia, so the possibilities here are tremendous.

But before we can realize these opportunities, it's worth highlighting the top mobile marketing mistakes . Too often in the past, marketers have done a poor job at adapting digital to mobile environments. The main points are:

- Design for mobile not PC: Customers want fast access to relevant information. So they need services that recognize they are on the move. They also want location-aware, activity-specific experiences. So thousands of words, massive images, slow downloads, and lots of clicks are NOT the answer.
- Don't ignore mobile's limitations: The phone can't replicate the PC experience. Remember that the screen is smaller, there’s no mouse, no printer, the keyboard is limited, bandwidth may be restricted, and megabytes cost money. But creative marketers can still overcome all of these to deliver fast, fun, fantastic experiences designed just for mobile handsets.
- Do exploit mobile's capabilities: The best mobile experiences take advantage of mobile's strengths. Remember It’s a phone, a camera, a video camera, it sends text messages, It’s location-aware, it’s a micro-payment device, it sends email, has a music player, a video player, a calendar & a browser . If all this doesn’t inspire you and your campaigns, nothing will.

Okay then, so what are our options? Below is a list of mobile marketing tools, and recent best practice examples, that show the beginning of the new mobile marketing revolution:

1. Mobile Web (WAP) Sites: These are great for everything from online retail utilities, to campaign supported sites. But the best sites don't try and do everything, but keep it simple to serve the specific needs of its users. The Bank of America mobile site is often given as an example of a site that does a great job. Find other great WAP sites here.

2. SMS/MMS Campaigns: It's perhaps been around the longest of all mobile marketing desciplines, and is still the most powerful tool for mass interactivity, and continues to evolve. Great SMS campaigns now are about opt-in, two-way involvement and immediate reward. Here's a good example of a campaign to launch an album from the popular Gorilaz band.

3. Mobile applications: With nearly 100,000 iPhone applications now developed, this is now a massive growth area which some people think could rival mobile web access for mobile marketing budgets. Mobile apps range from the fun, to the useful, to the silly. But if done right they can really provide a new way to interact with your audience and drive sales. My favourite branded apps at the moment are Barclays Card app, Grolsch beer fun and Pizza Hut ordering!

4. Mobile Advertising: One marketing tool which has promised much but rarely delivered has meen mobile advertising. The nature of the media and user reluctance to engage rarely makes this a compelling experience. Even advertising supported-mobile models such as Blyk have failed to really catch on. Having said that there is a place for mobile advertising with the right audience and as part of a more integrated mobile approach, as this campaign from K-Mart shows.

5. Mobile Video: As I discussed last week, video is exploding on the web, including on your mobile phone. Consumer generated mobile content, video sharing sites and even specialised video channels for mobiles - such as this mobile TV show from Sony Ericcson - are taking off.

6. Mobile Retail: It's not just marketing, our mobile phones are allowing us to search/shop/buy online like never before. Anything you can do on the web you can do more conveninetly - and often more simply - on your mobile. As this article shows, there are so many ways that creating shopping opportunities via mobile can be used effectively by brands.

7. QR/Short Codes: These so-called 'URL Killers', that allow you to scan a code on your mobile and get immediately connected to a mobile (WAP) site, have been around for a while in Japan and Korea - but not much elsewhere. All that is changing with smart phones and WAP access becoming popular, and you can see here that brands such Green Day, Firefox and Louis Vuitton are just some of the companies getting in on the act.

8. Location Based Services: The best thing about mobile is it's always with you - which means doing something out and about where you are is so relevant when done well. I've always loved this Hong Kong Airport campaign from Motorolla, but what really caught my imagination is how location marketing and social networking are combing to create some really interesting possibilities, such as this service from Four Square. Compelling stuff.

9. Future Mobile: I'll discuss more on this next week, but the integration of digital technologies to 'augment (add to) reality', such as giving you information overlayed on the real world when seen through your mobile, will be a really exciting area for marketers in future. To see what may be possible with this concept of augmented reality , check out here how we could use it to enhance our social networks!

But more on augmented reality vs virtual reality next week...

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Video on the Web Takes Off

Hi everyone

Last week was the 40th anniversary of man's first landing on the moon. To help remember the event an incredible web site project was launched called We Choose the Moon.

In it you'll find 44 NASA archival videos covering the whole mission as well as 11 mission-critical events rendered in stunning animation. A timely reminder about how far video on the web has come.

And why is video so important? Well, moving pictures are now by far the most popular way way we tell stories about ourselves, and our products. They are the defining visual form of our time. First it was the Hollywood movie and the small TV screen, but now it's just as likely that YouTube that will attract our attention..

Online video enables us to tell our stories in simpler, more engaging ways than ever before.

But it is not just TV on the web. It is something far more compelling than that. And here are just some of ways companies are using it to great effect:

1. Be clear: I love the way retailers are incorporating video into we sites to show us, rather than tell us, about their products. Here's a great example from Nike called Sportswear stories.

2. Be simple: I heard a lot about the iPhone last year, but I didn't consider buying one till I watched this guided tour video on their site. Suddenly everyone is creating video demos of their products rather than boring old words and pictures. Who has time to read all that anyway?

3. Be interesting: As I mentioned we choose the moon allows you to follow the whole trip from lift off to splash down. A compelling story where you decide what's important and interesting for you. Brilliant and so engaging.

4. Be involved: Best job in the world is just the latest campaign in an idea that has still got legs - customer creation of video content. Done right it has the twin success factor of being fun to do and fun to pass around. No wonder it got so much buzz.

5. Be inspirational: I watched this Microsoft Project Natal video and was totally convinced it was possible. Is it real, will it happen? Don't know but here's one gaming and interactive experience I would love to buy.

6. Be informative: The great thing about video is that allows you learn stuff in an easy, and yet interactive, way. This online video series from MacAfee software about understanding hackers and how to protect yourself became compulsory viewing for me, it really got me hooked.

7. Be Different: FedEX have got a reputation globally as always trying something different and great to hear they are doing it again. Instead of TV advertising, the company has decided to do a Web-video advertising campaign, five three-minute films that feature the actor Fred Willard done in mock info-mercial style. When you've got something to say in an interesting way, why not do it longer form, and in a place your customers are increasingly spending their time?

8. Be real: My favourite team Man U and Nike have teamed up on the team's Asian tour to provide a web site packed with videos, many taken behind the scenes by and about the players, to enable fans to track their every move at the Man U Asian Tour 2009 site. It's the latest in a trend of sportswear sites that use their stars real experiences and behind the scenes action on video to bring fans closer to the brand.

9. Be mobile: Last but not least, it's worth noting that digital video does not have to be on your laptop. Pocket TV from Sony Ericsson is a TV series on You Tube designed in short form to be watched on your mobile, with interesting stories on music, fashion, the arts - you name it. Increasingly, mobile is where video needs to be at, and good effort to design something just right for the medium.

I probably could have listed another 20 ways to use video in our marketing, and so could you. And that's the point really.

We are only limited by our imagination and our bandwidth, and thankfully the latter is becoming less and less of an issue.

Which means we've only just seen the start of what will be possible. Exciting stuff.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Digital in a Travel Downturn

Hi everyone

I've been away in Australia on holiday, where like everywhere these days, business and agencies are suffering from the effects of the Global Economic Crises.

During these times digital marketing can drive a message in a more interactive, engaging, measurable and cost effective way.

But too often it seems to me, we are simply using digital to talk about lower prices and cheaper deals.

In the end the cut-price approach only damages our brands, so perhaps this is a good time to re-think our approach. After all, when times are tough, our customers don't always choose the cheapest option - they simply become smarter about their behaviour.

This discount mentality afflicts those in the travel industry more than most, so while I was in Australia it was interesting to see a travel campaign that looked differently at the challenge to kick-start tourism again.

The campaign is called 'No Leave/No Life' and the insight behind it is quite fresh. Often during an economic downturn, many people feel the need to take less holidays - even though they are actually not as busy and there are more people out of work & retrenched that could take a break.

But this guilt about tough times, combined with the fact many Australians often don't use their annual leave, is stopping them from going. The prevailing mood is often, 'Things are tough, I shouldn't be holidaying.'

What this campaign does is try to overcome this guilt with the idea that, actually, this is the perfect time to address the 'work/life' battle we all have. How about when you were busy and never took annual leave? Why not redress this imbalance by taking leave now, and get your life back?

The integrated campaign works across many different media, but online is where it really comes alive. It includes:
- A video (bottom left of link page) about the issue and how you can win the work/life battle
- All the reasons why it's good for you, your company and your country to take a break
- All the tools you need to plan your getaway, including holidays deals, handover templates for colleagues and out of office screen savers
- Holiday ideas and inspiration, that make you feel good about travelling now

A great campaign that uses all the digital tools, but more importantly, has some great thinking behind it.

And a timely reminder that even in a downturn, we can still create ideas that go beyond the discount clutter.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

The importance of PR in a social media world

Hi everyone

As you may have heard, the excellent 'The Best Job in the World' campaign picked up the inaugural PR Gold Lion at Cannes last week.

It's a ground-breaking campaign for a number of reasons. Firstly, it wasn't won by a stand-alone PR shop, but by an integrated ad agency.

Secondly the campaign didn't fit neatly into any category but combined a range of marketing disciplines in an integrated effort. And finally the success of the campaign was driven as much by consumer buzz as by mainstream media.

In many ways this campaign highlighted why PR has become arguably the most important tool in making our brands famous in a globally connected, consumer driven, social media world.

So what can we as marketers learn from their success? Here's a few important lessons:

1. Accept that media is in every one's hands : To see the impact of the change in media landscape, you only need to take a look at what's happened with the influence of social media in the protests in Iran this last week. No longer can authoritarian governments (or brands) control the message anymore. It's in the people's hands now. Look at this fascinating overview by Clay Shirky about the new media landscape and its implications.

This social media power really hit home to me in the 'Best Job' campaign when I received video entries like this from my Thai friends, long before I heard about it from other media.

2. Let social media and other media to feed off each other: But that's not to say that we should forget about the influence and importance of 'mainstream media'. Major newspapers, blogs, twitter feeds and cable news all live side by side and play a role in getting the message out. In many cases the influential bloggers are also journalists, or the mainstream news site is getting its updates from Twitter.

'The Best Job in the World' created the virtuous circle of online feeding offline PR (Osama Bin Laden video entry), and offline news reports feeding online entries (News reports of competition).

What is important in this environment is that we have a plan to cover all media to allow this cross fertilisation and spreading of the message. Given this, It was worrying to read in Asia this week that many APAC PRs are ignoring bloggers. In a social media world, where Twitter can have as big an influence as CNN, that's a major mistake.

3. Embrace a human idea to generate buzz: The fact that people could create video applications for "The Best Job in the World' meant that the core idea for the campaign was also the main way of spreading the news around the web. Creating consumer buzz is not just a media choice, it's a creative choice. And that means now more than ever, your idea has not only got to be newsworthy for big media but also interesting enough and 'human enough' for everyone to want get involved.

At the heart of the success of the 'The Best Job' campaign was NOT the fact that it's Queensland, but that everyone dreams of a job on a tropical island getting paid to relax and have fun. Without understanding this human truth, the best use of social media ever would not have helped this campaign.

Many tourist organisations will rush to replicate this success, but most will fail for one simple reason. They will rush to push their brand first and forget about the very motivation people travel in the first place. They do it for themselves.

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

End of the Lion?

Hi everyone

This week is the Cannes International Advertising festival, the pinnacle of global advertising and marketing award shows.

And it's interesting to note that the festival, this year more than any other, is under attack. This is typified by Bob Garfield's article this week saying that Cannes no longer matters. In typical Garfield style he's a bit over the top, but he does make some important points.

In an age where advertising and marketing is undergoing a massive revolution, many award shows are simply not keeping pace with these changes. Actually they are trying to evolve, and Cannes more than many others. But they are definitely behind the times.

And the fact is they need to change because award shows should still matter. Because the best in the industry still needs to be acknowledged. Because these creative campaigns, which has been proven time and again, drive disproportional sales success for our clients. And because they light the way for the rest of the industry on how we can improve and do great work.

But to keep that flame alive, to save the lion, I think we need to start to evolve shows to better reflect the changing environment of the times. Here's my thoughts on how:

- Change categories: Yes, separate categories have already been created for digital and integrated work, but there are simply not enough of them. So much great integrated work is confined to so few categories. Print and film are still dominant in most awards, yet they are becoming less relevant in the real world. This must change.

- Change Judges: While of course some of the greatest advertising minds in the world are the judges, I don't believe there is enough young and integrated minds also involved in the judging panels. Most award shows still venerate the old school of marketing and these judges are, no matter how esteemed, part of this school. Judging needs a radical shake up.

- Outside Influence: One way would be to invite non-industry judges and clients into the process. Already we are increasingly influenced by areas such as fashion, design, computer animation, etc.. so why not bring their insights into the process? And why not include major global clients, with an understanding of creative effectiveness, for their input as well. Yes we want to be judged by our peers, but I think the idea of who these peers are needs an overhaul.

- People Power: I think one way to make the awards relevant again is to open up the festival to the people, to our global customers. Yes the awards are about peer recognition - but there is a perception we are out of touch. Introducing a series of 'people's choice' awards alongside the main awards, and a global campaign to introduce this concept, will bring some much needed PR and relevance back to the show.

Ok, that's my view. Now let's look at some great work. I've chosen 5 campaigns, highlighted from 50 shown at last week's Leo Burnett Cannes Predictions, which I think show the best of what we can be and hopefully will win at the show. Watch all the You Tube campaign presentations below:

1. Whopper Sacrifice: For me this was the campaign of the year, a great way to show a love of the burger and have some cheeky fun with your friends. The fact it got shut down made it even more powerful in terms of positive PR.

2. Oasis Street Launch: A wonderful approach to launching music for the people, by the people. Watching this actually made me buy my first Oasis album in 10 years.

3. Share our Billboard: A brilliantly simple idea to involve people in the brand, offline, and made possible online. And it does what all great campaigns do - it sells.

4. Best Job in the World: The most buzzable campaign of the year, a great example of giving the tools to people and enabling them to sell the story.

5. Obama for America: Perhaps the greatest integrated campaign ever created, a landmark in political advertising that will set the scene for similar campaigns from now on.

What's your favorite?

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Don't make an ad, create a movement

Hi everyone

Recently there's been some different integrated digital work that stands out because it's communicating more than a product benefit, it's creating a cultural movement.

Below are major examples of this from brands like Coke, HP, Doritos, Dove, Microsoft and Virgin.

Why are more brands getting involved? Well as Carlos Ricardo notes here talking about the Doritos campaign, when a brand creates a a cultural movement "it plays a strategically important role as an enabaler in bringing a memorable experience to consumers. And that message (if done right) is a spark that can transform into something very big."

Yes, we must ensure that the 'cause' is relevant to the brand - even if this link is just the irreverence or fun of the product - but we should also remember that this relevance doesn't just have to be to about corporate or social responsibility.

A movement is simply something real that a customer can care about, take ownership of, share with others and feel a part of the solution. Whether that's saving the planet or saving slow dancing - every brand can find a movement that is right for their audience. Here at Leo Burnett we call it creating ACTS, not just ads. Here are just a few:

Types of Movements:

1. A fun movement: Doritos created a movement shown here that connected with something authentic and real that their young digital audience related to. Bring back slow dancing!

2. An educational movement: McAfee software decided people would love to understand how hacking works and created a great movement to stop H*Commerce.

3, A fantasy movement: To launch Halo 3 last year Microsoft created a wonderful story and memorial to the chracter from the vidoe game, Master Chief, called'Believe'. It helped create the biggest entertainment launch in history.

4. A real memorial movement: Back to reality, this new campaign for Victoria Bitter (beer) created a movement about remembering, and raising a glass to, Australia's war dead. Watch the TVC and see the website and campaign review here.

5. A social progression movement: Dove is famous for its campaigns about changing attitudes to beauty, which everyone has seen, but worth looking at this one again.

6. An environmental movement: Following on from our Sydney office's effort with Earth Hour, our colleagues in Singapore have teamed up with our client HP to create a movement about saving power and the planet, just by turning off your PC. Visit https://h30470.www3.hp.com/

7. A celebration movement : In China we created a movement around celebrating the Chinese New Year with people you love, in First Coke of the Year.

8. A whacky movement: Virgin mobile (who else) created this hilarious and silly movement to 'stop wrong music' with apologies from past artists who created some pretty bad music.

There are so many movements to create that can connect with our customers. Any others you care to share?

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

Keeping up with the digital revolution

Hi everyone

Every generation thinks they are at the crossroads of history, that the changes going on NOW are the most important ever. I guess our present generation is no different.

But it would be hard to think of another era when so many changes were happening in the marketing landscape all at once.

And of course it's our job to try and keep up with how these changes that are effecting our customers and our brands, both in Thailand and around the world.

But how do we manage this tsunami of new marketing information, and make sense of it for our particular needs?

I am often asked - how do you keep up? And while it isn't easy, it's vital to find a way to understand and utilise all these developments. In providing these information sources though, I'd suggest 3 things to help to tailor this approach to suit your own particular needs:

1. Commit to learning: Accept that part of our jobs must be to learn more from others. The nature of our work these days means we are all time poor, but my theory is we should invest at least 30 minutes a day to updating ourselves on new learning. We need fuel for ideas, and food for inspiration, not just from within our company but also from beyond our own walls.

2. A starting point: Take these sources below as the beginning of finding out where right information is for you. Then tailor them to your particular client or industry or product. Whatever industry you are in there is a wealth of important, practical and up to date information that is ideal for you.

3. Get involved: While we can read all we want about Twitter or Facebook or gaming or iPhone apps - there is no substitute for actual experience. My best advice is just to jump in and start using all these technologies - they are easier than you think and it's only through their use that we truly understand their power and their limitations. And you'll be better informed about the marketing decisions you make.

With that in mind, here's my digital marketing resource list:

Marketing News: You can visit these sites or better yet sign up for the e-newsletters sent to your email. Just don't overdo it and skim read for what's important.
- Digital Advertising Age: http://adage.com/digital/ Sign up for the daily newsletter to keep track of things on a industry wide scale. Good for big issues, if a bit US-centric
- Click Z News: http://www.clickz.com/news Sign up for a range of industry news letters, depending on your interest. This is a bit more technical so good for the geeks amongst your team.
- Media Asia: http://www.brandrepublic.asia/Media/: More for advertising and marketing industry news across Asia, including Thailand. Sign up for e-newsletter
- Positioning (Thailand) http://www.positioningmag.com/: One of the local Thai marketing mags that does a reasonable job of keeping up with digital. Review this weekly for updates.

Marketing Research: Keep track of all the latest in digital marketing research so your insights remain fresh
- Emarketer Daily: http://www.emarketer.com/Welcome.aspx: Sign up to daily news or review the web site for the latest research
- Synnovate: http://www.synovate.com/ I personally find Synnovate's observations and insights on Asia invaluable, in particular their yearly digital review

Marketing Presentations: Rather than just read, sometimes it's more engaging to watch and learn
- Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/: This awesome site lets you search just about any subject for presentations on all industries. Highly useful, try it
- TED: http://www.ted.com/ Riveting talks by interesting people, there is no better place for watching great digital marketing presentations
- You Tube http://www.youtube.com/ : Still the best source for finding archive of past great campaigns and current case studies

Marketing Campaigns/Insights: To be truly inspired we need to keep track of ideas that are happening now
- Contagious: http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/: get the weekly newspaper and the best, by far in my opinion, insight into what is happening in terms of global digital/integrated campaigns
- PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/: More trends than campaigns but very interesting look at what is hot and not, across many different fields
- Award Sites: http://www.webbyawards.com/ : Keep an eye out on award sites to see the latest and greatest examples of work

- Digital Thinking: http://www.wired.com/: An old favourite, for some understanding on why these changes are happening and the latest geek viewpoint

Blog Sites: Find a blogger that's right for your industry and that you like and trust. It may take time but usually very practical and personal insights and you can interact with the author to learn even more. Here's two I like, but do yourself a favour and Google "Best xxx Blogs 2009" or check out lists like this. Also click on my profile and you'll see 6 other blogs I follow.
- Viral Blog http://www.viralblog.com/: Updates on trends and inspiration for digital marketing
- Seth's Blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ Straight forward opinions by a straight forward thinker

Twitter Feeds: Twitter is a fantastic new way of getting a ongoing dose of marketing insight, if you take the time to track down people worth following. Here's your task now - sign up for Twitter, then use Twitter Search for 'digital marketing' and see where it takes you. Get involved and give it time, it will be worth the effort.

Any of other digital marketing resources you'd care to share?

Cheers, Rob

Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com

It's time for digital to measure up

Hi everyone

It was interesting to read this week that many Chief Marketing Officers are unhappy with digital. And especially to read why.

"Respondents to the survey found their current ability to access ROI and metrics on their digital marketing lacking, and rated their companies behind the curve".

During these tough economic times, it's more important than ever to measure and assess every marketing activity we do. But while digital marketing enables us to measure like never before, as the latest research highlights, it's become our own worst nightmare.

It seems many marketers, while having access to greater amounts of marketing data, are drowning in it and therefore actually using it less. The study notes that "time after time in the survey, marketers expressed an awareness of digital’s potential, along with a recognition that they weren't close to tapping into it."

What's going wrong folks? Well, some people are happy to blame clients for trying to expect short term results from digital rather than a longer term objectives, but I think that misses the point. The frustration tends to be understanding what and how to measure, not that the results themselves are bad. If you don't know what to measure, how can you ever be satisfied with the outcome?

Most of us have faced this data dilemma at some point. We're not sure what to measure, so we measure everything, or what we've done previously, in the hope that some figures turn out okay.
We don't think hard enough about what we want up front, so are frustrated when we don't see positives in every outcome. Or we think we don't have the budget to measure properly, so we go with the status-quo.

But really, getting the basics right is not about money. We just need to be more realistic about what we measure, and why. Here's a start on how:

1. Align objectives: Know what you want to achieve
- First we need to make a very clear and early choice about the outcomes objective of the campaign, and make sure it aligns with the overall integrated campaign (if there is one) objectives. What's the point of creating a brand banner ad when we need to drive people to a campaign web site for a promotion?
- In identifying these objectives we need to consider a customer's digital behaviour, their user personas, to make sure we know how digital fits in with their overall purchase journey. If you can't do detailed research, do a quick online survey or interview. It will really help focus your thinking.

2. Choose your metrics + tools: Different horses for different courses
- - If we are doing qualitative measurement - like brand impact- be sure we have the measurement in place such as surveys, contextual observations, buzz tracking, usability testing and/or customer interviews.
- For quantitative measurement, many digital campaigns can be measured just with the metrics supplied by basic reporting tools from web sites or media companies. It's worth exploring the usual metrics, but also some we should use more often. But if it's a major campaign, invest a small % of the campaign in the right digital tool for the job

3. Set a baseline: Focus on only the metrics that really, truly matter
- Choose the one metric that matters above all others for your particular campaign. Is it CTR, average viewing time, registration rate, time on game, interaction rate..? You should know from step one
- Choose the one metric that aligns most with our objectives as your benchmark KPI so as we change variables for the campaign, as this is the key measurement we need to monitor that matters

4. Assessment: Put some meaning to the numbers
- Data analytics is often what is missing in all of this. That is, making real meaning from all of the numbers. Too much of the time what we produce is a report on the numbers, and perhaps highlight the key outcomes, but often there is very little insight on the implications of the data
- For complex CRM and data campaigns you need the right people for the job. But 99% of digital marketing campaigns - given we've followed the steps above - can be done ourselves. Many of us are afraid of numbers but as this digital creative points out in this article, it is a vital part of the creative process. "Data itself is meaningless. But data grants insight, and it is only with insight that we can create something meaningful".

5. Test & Optimize: Change your creative variables to improve performance
- Digital marketing allows us to vary elements in a campaign relatively easily and see the results almost immediately. From the CMO research discussed though, few of us do this
- User pre-testing for online ads, prototyping for web sites, etc. are rarely done but are possible. Of course we can and should change elements after launch to optimize as well - but as Kristen Berg says in this article (I stole her title) - for larger campaigns we can save a lot of time and money seeing what works before-hand.

Every single activity, from an email to banner ad to mobile app to web site to widget - we can follow this process and achieve meaningful and measurable outcomes.

This isn't happening though because we're afraid of the outcomes, afraid people will be scared from using a medium we have worked so hard at building trust in. We're worried we won't compare as favourably with other campaigns or benchmarks.

But that fear is stopping us moving forward. Most marketers understand that we can learn as much or more from failure, and that every meaningful piece of data is a weapon for future success.

Cheers, Rob