The Power of Mobile Among Hispanics

A picture is worth ten thousand words and this picture can be worth millions of dollars for those companies that take the lead and address this trend head on. Marketing and Advertising was dramatically changed by the Web and now the Web has gone mobile. This is more visible and predominant among Hispanics and African-Americans as per the above graph.

Innovation doesn’t stop there. Several marketing tools and mediums have been touched by the digital hand. Take a look at the current state of media: magazines, newspapers radio and even TV have seen declines in readership and audiences in the last few years. Those audiences have moved online.

The commonly used TV spot has also been threaten. First attack came in the form of Digital Video Recorders (DVR) that allowed users to skip over commercials and more recently via branded content as brands develop new methods of engagement on the new social media platforms.

Technology will continue to improve and with that we will have smart phones that take more and more of the computer usage from home to the streets and wherever we go.  That opens a world of opportunity for those marketers and entrepreneurs that are able to bring solutions to the challenges and opportunities presented by the mobile consumer.

Take a look at this article from the Pew Research Center on mobile and Hispanics. http://bit.ly/10ufLw0

Hispanic Entrepeneur on Ivan Cevallos

Ivan Cevallos, CEO & Founder, ethosGROUP Inc.

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
One of the core qualities of an entrepreneur is the gift of a vision and the ability to execute on it every day. When you run a business, you are exposed to many distractions that can take you on different directions. When you stay on track you are closer to success.

What did inspire you to start your business?
Before starting my business, I was running all kinds of business for other people, from restaurants to film production and distribution companies. I had none or very little supervision and was able to build up from zero to several millions in sales. One day I asked to become a partner and was told no. I thought about it, analyzed the situation and after a couple of days decided to go on my own.

Read More Hispanic Entrepreneur: Ivan Cevallos > www.ethosagency.com

 

News From the 2013 Online Marketing Summit

Heidi Melin at the Online Marketing Summit

Several topics surfaced from the keynotes at the Online Marketing Summit (#omsummit)

Heidi Melin, CMO of Eloqua said that engagement is a key tool. We know much more via digital channels and need to use digital body language to create engagement with prospects and customers. Heidi uses a dash-board with 5 key metrics for 3 key strategies. There she sees what works and moves dials to improve. That helps simplify work with large amounts of data. You should use data to determine what to eliminate in the process of making decisions so that you monitor what you keep.

According to Heidi, technology will not take over creative. We need balance between those two. Nothing compares to the power of a clever idea.

About ROI, she believes there are many ways to measure it. Most CEO’s want marketing to be measured on revenue and ROI but only 1 out of 3 is equipped to measure it. Eloqua’s process to measure and qualify sales opportunity is done via a number. They monitor information on social networks and use the digital body language to make decisions and create a more personalized offer.

It is important that you understand how much of the pipe line comes from marketing and how much from sales to develop a partnership that impacts revenue and use shared goals. Eloqua uses top-level metrics for entire team but each department has its own metrics, some of which may not be in the top-level.

Aleks Reljic, Vice President, eCommerce, Sony Electronics indicated that Sony uses about 14 media channels including affiliates, SEO, retargeting and other. Marketing technology has gotten complicated. Ad serving has changed roles and companies need to make decisions on how to deal with those changes. To build the ecosystem, you need to decide what data you want to own. For this to take place, the account needs to be on your name. You need to have a conversation with vendors when you build the ecosystem.

Start with a tag management system to work with retargeting, this will provide you with revenue attribution tools and the ability to react to marketing changes quickly as long as your budget is fluid. For Sony the window of the online sales process is about 10 days.  What is the best time to re-target and with what media? You need to learn about this.

Using too many tracking systems may slow your page. You have to understand whose pixels go on your site so that you maintain a good experience for users of your site. Sony prefers to be in control and manage the data. I-frame pixels are not a good sign, a single pixel is good and server originated is better.

E commerce platforms are difficult to change. When building them, consider a modular approach because change is here to stay. Use segmentation and keep it at a manageable scale. With regards to media, do direct buys if you know the clients are there. Develop a 52 weeks calendar for your buys and adjust for season, special events, launches (CES) and look at best day of the week. It is important to test. Sony looks at the data they have before making decisions on new technology and work with partners that are reliable.

Given the ecosystem you need many partners and need to determine what you keep in-house. Simple is not a key selling proposition. Sony asks a lot of questions and you need to be clear and up-front on your capabilities.

John Boris, Senior Vice President and CMO Shutterfly Said that most of their spend goes online. They have real-time information. New ideas are welcome at Shutterfly, they invest 17% on new ideas and use offline to bend the curve online by getting better customers.

According to John, mobile is pervasive. Most studies have 30% of traffic coming from mobile. However no company is spending 30% of their budget on this platform. The metrics are not quite there since you can’t prove that discovery comes from a mobile device. Quantifiable metrics are important and need to be used when looking at different channels. You also need to layer offline components and factor them in even when you can’t put a number to it.

Smarter analytics are a good tradeoff for dollars. Revenue metrics used at Shutterfly include CPA, ROI, LTV among others.

Social is big media for Shutterfly, it’s good for awareness and engagement. Content on social needs to be relevant, timely, and thoughtful. Social allows you to do fun things.

They look at customer engagement model and work with the CRM team to determine distribution of messages based on mindset at that time.

DSPs Stole Ad Networks’ Thunder In Q4, At Least On Retail Sites

Highly recommend this reading that highlights the importance of marketing technologies and ROI improvements.

“It’s a golden opportunity for retailers, as in theory and in practice, marketing technologies help drive conversion which drive sales, which is what retail is all about,” Herman said. “The benefit is better consumer experiences, better conversion rates, and a more modern retail construct.”

Read more http://www.adexchanger.com/data-nugget/dsps-stole-ad-networks-thunder-in-q4-at-least-on-retail-sites/

The Future of the Media Industry

The theory of evolution doesn’t only apply to live species like humans, animals and plants. Industries are also touched by evolution and need to adapt to the changing environment. The media and advertising industries are not immune. I have been following media and advertising for over 10 years and have seen them go though many changes. Those changes were usually the result of a new technology. Perhaps, one the most sweeping change is taking place now and it’s the result of the fast evolving internet related innovations.

Five years ago, the term RTB (Real Time Buy) was not part of the media and advertising lingo. Today, it’s a reality and the way many agencies are buying their online media and in the near future all media. Just as the name of this blog, RTB stands at the intersection of technology, media and advertising. This is a reminder that more changes will take place and new technologies will become part of the day-to-day business in media and advertising. The changes will require a new set of skills and knowledge and a new generation will take over the positions that individuals from legacy media will vacate.

There is more to come and at a faster pace. The innovation on technology brings us new media formats and with that native advertising. Not all media formats will survive but the ones that make it will become significant parts of our lives just like Facebook has done it. The current trends tell us a bit of what is to come that that is just a small part. This report from e-Marketer tells us about the use of online video by top advertisers and it’s an indicator of a shifting tide and with it budgets from traditional media to digital. http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Advertisers-Deploy-Optimize-Video-Content/1009651

Mobile, online video and social are the top contenders. What do you think are other media and technology plays that will affect media and advertising in the future?

Stores Seeking Shoppers Find E-Mail Outdraws Facebook – Bloomberg

Retailers as disparate as Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) and Home Depot Inc. (HD) have become much better at tailoring e-mails to specific customers rather than the one-size-fits-all blasts that once dominated this type of marketing. Measured by sales per dollar spent, e-mail outperforms social-media advertising three to one, according to the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group founded to provide accurate marketing data. That explains why retailers will send 19 percent more e-mails this year.

Read more http://bloom.bg/Zmohms

Mobile Helps Cyber Monday Sales Grow 17%

I believe this is a sign of things to come as smart phones continue to gain market share and consumers are less afraid of conducting financial transactions online.

Mobile Helps Cyber Monday Sales Grow 17%; Facebook and Twitter Have Little Impact | Adweek http://ow.ly/fCAcF

The Rise of Online Video

Every day I find more and more information on how video continues to affect marketing. This can be observed from an analytic perspective as well as live events where a video is shown. A basic sample of the second situation is a film festival. Last night, I attended the screening of “The Impossible” which screened at the AFI festival in Los Angeles. The movie is based on a true story and recounts the struggles of a family that was caught by a tsunami while they were vacationing at a resort in Thailand. A story of this nature moves people and shakes their emotions. We all knew that this was just a movie but we couldn’t stop from feeling fear, sadness and love. The brand, AFI selects films that align with its mission, fills theaters and get sponsors that want to reach those audiences.

Also on the live events front, I recently produced a short film for a non-profit that provides services for people with mental problems. The completed film was screened for the first time at one of their fundraisers. We developed a story around two patients and their families and highlighted how the center has changed their lives. As the video was playing, I could see how people engaged with the film and followed the story. At the end, then entire audience voiced their joy and happiness for the victory of the patients of the center, they live normal lives. The viewers were happy to be part of a group that is making a big difference on many people’s lives and the video was the proof. They contribute to the non-profit.

On the analytic side, a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study has released some data on the influence of online video during this year’s election cycle. According to the study, 66% of internet-using registered voters have gone on the web to watch videos related to the election. Discovering political videos on the web also seems to be a highly social experience. Per the study, 62% of internet-using registered voters have had others recommend online videos to them about the election or politics. Maybe the next president of the U.S. is elected because of its online video and social media strategy.

Brands that produced social videos enjoyed a strong third quarter with more than 1 billion total social video views, up 15% over the second quarter and up more than 75% over the same time period a year ago, according to a Visible Measures just-released report on social video advertising. The take away here is the raise of online video as a key player on marketing through social media and video and by default mobile. Read more: http://bit.ly/Vw7lXN

Facebook Guidelines

Creative, simple, passion, measurable, shareable = Facebook
http://bit.ly/SqJ0O4

Experiential and Social Hold Hands

In the age of digital, humans still need the experiential factor. Imagine building web sites, apps, e-commerce sites, etc. and just using social, online advertising and search to drive traffic to your digital assets. You will be living money on the table. When I started my marketing career and before that, when I worked on entertainment, there were marketing conferences and film markets/festivals. They were a must attend to meet the brand managers, marketers, producers, distributors, buyers, etc. Over a decade has gone by and those events still draw hundreds and thousands of people around the world.

The above refers to B2B. But there are many events that target consumers and you should consider them. There are the usual suspects: music concerts, sports, fairs, etc. If you do your homework, you will find additional events that reach a more local audience and require a lower investment. Given your unique business needs, you may focus at the local, regional or national level. Regardless of the geo targeting, you need to develop an integrated approach with a well calibrated and balanced mix of marketing tactics that provides you with the best possible results.

The key takeaway is that while it is important to build your brand in the digital arena, you still need to focus on building real and live interactions with your customers and prospects. I invite you to read this article from Bryan Boettger on the subject. He elaborates on the Red Bull and Felix Baumgartner jump from space and the concepts of “real” and “live.” Read more http://bit.ly/RJQPAZ