Julian Smith

isheep say baah!!

On my tube ride into work today I was intrigued by an ad I happened to glance at whilst trying not to read someone else's Metro. It simply read: "isheep say baaah!" accompanied by a picture of a sheep wearing white headphones and "idon't.com". With my analyst receptors sufficiently stimulated, first thing I did when I arrived at my desk was go online and type in www.idont.com!

As it turns out this is a brave attempt to challenge the iPod hegemony. Alongside a number of links to anti-ipod blogs and consumer posted comments, under "The Alternative", the site visitor is revealed the real advertiser - SanDisk offering their Sansa e200 mp3 player .

I love the concept of this ad campaign; it is an intriguing and clever, tongue-in-cheek challenge to the category leader, has that potential 'buzz' factor about it and is well integrated. I just wonder whether it is a little too clever for most, a little too esoteric. As an analyst I was interested to find out more, as Joe Bloggs in the tube, with his shiney new nano in his back pocket, would I have been?! Will the non-specific, subtle call-to-action lead to high or low response rates? What will be the bang for the media buck?!

Also having responded to the call-to-action and visited the site I was really disappointed at how difficult and clunky it is to find "a store near you"!

Nice effort, but somehow I doubt this will impact iPod's dominance or eat into their market share.

The broadening adoption of engagement tactics

As I have mentioned a few times in previous blogs one of the key trends we are seeing in the evolving marketing landscape is the emergence of "engagement marketing" tactics as marketers start to more fully embrace the potential that the broadband Internet now offers.

To start with early adopters of tactics such as 'digital branded content', 'viral' and 'collaborative marketing' have tended to be those targeting the early adopters. ie the young, male, tech-literate crowd. A good example being the Axe deodorant campaigns in Germany (created by AKQA). Now it seems that the concept is going mainstream as more grown-up, old world marketers attempt to engage with an increasingly empowered, interconnected and informed digital consumer.

A couple of examples I have heard of recently:

The 175 year old financial institution Standard Life Bank, who have just launched (with the help of Avenue A-Razorfish) freestyleplus.com in the UK -an immersive online brand experience containing 34 video snippets told from the point of view of a roving reporter and a studio anchor to explain topics such as draw-downs and fixed rate mortgages!! Now there is a new approach to selling a boring old product like finance!

To increase brand awareness of the three online property brands propertyfinder.com in the UK, realestate.com.au in Australia and New Zealand's allrealestate.co.nz DMC has just launched www.weirdflatmate.com to encourage their audience to share experiences of weird flatmates. Admittedly being heavily seeded on myspace.com this campaign is targetting a young adult audience however it does offer insight into possibilities for the wider real estate marketplace and is a far cry from the days of advertising property availability in the classified section at the back of your local newspaper!!

Death of the 30 second spot...

There has been much recent debate (and navel-gazing in TV circles) about the death of the classic, "interruptive" 30 second advertising spot on TV as media and audiences fragment, TV viewing becomes on-demand and PVR controlled, and consumers spend more time with online and interactive media. This trend is typified by the recent publication of a book entitled "Life after the 30 second spot" written by Joseph Jaffe , who Nate tells me he was hanging out with in Miami, just the other day. At the same time the concepts of branded content and viral marketing have been gaining prominence in advertisers' and, especially, agencys' vocabulary.

The result: an evolution in the nature of audiovisual commercials, with much freer rein on length, content, distribution, channels and often much greater opportunities to be seen.

Take this video clip for example. At 3 minutes long, is it an ad or branded content? Has it been created to view on TV, cinema, online or on an iPod even? The fact it has a SKySports logo on it suggests it has been aired on TV, the fact that it is in Google Video suggests it has been copied by a consumer and made viral. Would an ad like this ever have been created to fit into the restrictions of the 30 second spot?

Whatever, its probably the best viral video clip I have seen recently!! Ha!

For UK viewers see if you can name all the football stars in the clip. If you can, then you were definitely born before the Internet was!! And probably before the computer become a ubiquitous, personal desktop tool!!

The free ads market - publisher opportunity or threat?

In my recently published report looking into the online classified marketplace in Europe (clients click here) I suggested that the emerging free online classifieds ad market, as spawned by the likes of Craigslist, would be a threat to traditional purveyors of classifieds (ie local and regional newspapers) and to investment in the classifieds marketplace in general as it does away with the need for local advertisers to pay to post ad listings. As these sites, coupled with the pure-play classifieds marketplace specialists, seriously impact the revenue streams of traditional classified providers it is good to see that not all are taking it lying down!

In a classic example of turning threat into opportunity, the UK Trader Media Group, which publishes over 70 magazines and associated websites, is launching their very own local free site called Wooo (we own our own). It seems their business strategy is to build up a significant user base on this site which they can then exploit by cross-selling their extensive portfolio of ad-funded properties, such as autotrader.co.uk. So by giving away free ad listings they still hope indirectly to generate ad revenues elsewhere. It seems the demise of classified revenues could be to the advantage of display formats.

Commercial text messages with potential!

While the idea of using SMS text to send promotional mobile marketing messages direct to consumers is garnering growing interest among a wide range of marketers - due to the always-on, always-at-hand, ubiquitious nature of the one-to-one medium - successful, large scale implementations of this type of customer acquisition activity have been few and far between to date (both in Europe and the US).

Most brand marketers, beyond mobile operators, handset manufacturers and retailers, mobile content providers and a few radio stations, have had limited success in persuading consumers to opt-in, by offering up their mobile numbers and permission, in exchange for the occasional offer or promo delivered to their handset. Jupiter estimates spend on SMS mobile marketing to reach a total of �111 million by the end of 2006 across Europe. Small fry in comparison to the explosion in paid search, for example, which will total �1.6 billion by the end of this year!

This might soon change however with an interesting new development from Miva in the UK. The pay-per-performance contextual ad network has just launched a new pay-per-text service in collaboration with The Number's 118 118. At present when a consumer dials up the directory enquiry service to find out the details of a company or service provider they are delivered the details back as a text message. With this new advertising platform relevant and related marketers will be able to add a couple of lines of additional text promoting their complimentary service. So taxi services could be promoted alongside restaurant details. Or car hire services alongside airline details. Or home insurance against emergency plumbers. This sounds like a win / win for both advertisers and consumers. The advertiser gets directly in front of interested consumers, when actively searching a related business, while the consumer gets added value information, non-intrusively incorporated into their text message, that they are happy to receive.

This new type of co-branding / sponsorship advertising model could help drive investment in the SMS channel. It could also help boost the revenues of directory enquiry businesses - 118 118 texts tens of millions of directory callers with their details every year!

Meateaters: Join the Mustard March

Still wondering how on earth the Internet can be used to promote and brand low involvement consumer packaged goods, like mustard for example. Well, looks like Unilever, and their UK agency Grand Union, have had a good stab at overcoming the challenge!

The FMCG giant is launching what it claims to be the world's first virtual march as part of a campaign to promote the relaunch of its classic Colman's mustard brand as the perfect accompaniment to meat.

A heavyweight TV campaign will drive viewers online to create their own illustrated avatar. This will allow then to join Jeremiah (Colman) in a trek across a number of web sites to spread the 'Meatylicious' message. In doing so the brand owner is attempting to set a Guinness World record by encouraging as many consumers as possible to sign up to what it hopes will be the biggest ever virtual march!

There is a lot of talk in the ad industry at present about the idea of moving away from interruption to engagement in marketing communications. Well, for me, this campaign is what "engagement marketing" in the Internet age is all about. Its participatory, its collaborative, its connects consumers, its viral (or you could say it has good "buzz"), its entertaining and its integrated.

I wish them well and hope they achieve their Guinness world record.

Now I'm off for a ham sandwich!!

BBC demystifies RSS

Still struggling to understand the RSS phenomena?

Finding Really Simple Syndication not that really simple?

Well, let Auntie Beeb help you at the Feed Factory.

For those more familiar with RSS this gives you access to all BBC's content feeds.

Internet Good or Bad? Discuss.

Who Killed Connie?

AOL did, thank goodness!!

Having ditched the sickly sweet Connie character from their UK advertising (created to provide a reassuring guide to the early Internet for newbies and their families) AOL is now back, filling our media space, with the recent launch of their latest customer acquisition / brand buiding activity. And what a difference a couple of years of Internet adoption have made!

This time, with Internet penetration and usage much more firmly entrenched amongst the UK population, AOL has produced a great, thoughtproking campaign that has not only got the industry talking, for its "controversial" substance, but has also got the audience talking.

AOL have spent �15 million on an intelligently integrated campaign (across TV, online, poster and print media) to present the 'good' and the 'bad' sides of the Internet and encourage the audience to go discuss online. (And it sounds like they got John Hurt to do the voice-over which is inspired given its 1984 Big Brother connotations)!

I applaud AOL for this campaign. Clearly they have done their homework. It exemplifies where advertising is going in a new era of consumer empowerment. The creative doesnot try to sell features and benefits, it sparks a discussion. It does not present a monologue, telling me what I should believe, it encourages me to make up my own mind. The call-to-action is not "buy-me-now", it is "participate" or "join in" with the debate. The online element is not just a bolt-on, afterthought that replicates offline media messages, it is the heart and soul of the campaign.

As 2006 unfolds I am hoping to see more and more campaigns like this, with consumer engagement at the core. Lets hope other traditional advertisers and their agencies are paying attention!!

The blogosphere is important for ALL marketing functions

The more I research and study the impact of blogging and online consumer-created-content (CCC) on marketing, the more I realize that this phenomenon should no longer be confined to observation, analysis and exploitation by a few, smart online marketers and buzz specialists! The influence of the blogsphere touches almost all marketing functions and its importance, and growing power, should now be recognized and responded to by every marketing agency / department.

PR agencies should look to the blogosphere to gauge consumer reaction and feelings to brands, detect negative sentiment in the marketplace and manage brand detractors before they get out of control. Uncovering disgruntlement early gives a company the chance to mitigate negative publicity. Those in PR must recognize that the blogosphere and mainstream media are now inextricably linked - if misalignment exists between a well crafted, marketing message and the reality of consumer experiences (increasingly posted online) it will be detected! Advice that Kryptonite locks, Land Rover and Dell, amongst other, could have done with earlier!

DM agencies should look to the blogosphere to help detect the key influencers and vocal opinion makers who hold sway in the marketplace. Once identified, these consumers can then be targeted differently from the average audience. Establishing a direct relationship/dialogue with these important brand stakeholders, whether through online or offline direct communications, and treating them with extra care and attention can help build brand advocacy. This can have a beneficial, trickle-down effect throughout the target market as these influential hubs spread word of mouth through their spokes.

Media agencies should look to the blogosphere to understand where the influential online content contributors congregate and how to reach them. Discovering where these influencers hang out online - mainly on informal media such as blogs, consumer-led websites, discussion boards and IM - helps create more sophisticated and engaging media plans that go way deeper than a simpel portal buy.

Above-the-line Ad agencies should look to the blogosphere to gauge reaction to new TV & press creative work. Just type in "Kingsmill Bread" into Google UK and the first organic listing reads: Kingsmill Bread Insulted Memory of Elvis - Kingsmill insult the memory of ELVIS Don�t buy Kingsmill bread!. Worth knowing that a few disgruntled Elvis fans hated the new ads that show an imitation Elvis supposedly enjoying Kingsmill Bread - strapline "by appointment to the King!"

Market Research agencies can also use the blogosphere to extend traditional qualitative market research by tapping into a free, open, unrestricted public forum and eavesdropping onto conversions. This can help detect real, uninhibited consumer opinions and attitudes quicker, cheaper and more easily than any in-depth focus group.

So if, as a marketer or marketing service provider, you want to know how to untap this growing wealth of marketing intelligence trapped inside the online consumers' published self-expression then:

- check out my colleague Gary Stein's Vision on Dynamic Attitude Analysis

- await my upcoming report on the topic

- or in the meantime you could read Connected Marketing, a collection of essays and case studies on "the viral, buzz and word of mouth revolution" edited by Justin Kirby and Paul Marsden!

Some advice on viral marketing

Still wondering how to go about viral marketing? Want to know how to increase the pass-along rate of your creative? Need to discover the meaning of "cheesetarian"?!!

Then this Advertising Tutorial might be just what you need.

If you're still left wondering then Jupiter client's might find my report of interest.

02 launches i-mode in UK

O2 has recently launched the new i-mode mobile Internet service into the UK marketplace with a campaign that started off with some interesting teaser posters introducing the distinctive yellow 'i' logo and has now developed into a full blown integrated branding campaign.

From an industry analyst perspective this is exciting news. Alongside the recent launch of T-Mobile's "Web'n'Walk" it marks the beginnings of a new era for mobile telephony and the full blown introduction of the mobile Internet into consumer consciousness. It feels like the early days of the WWW all over again - and is likely to boost marketing & media investment in the channel.

Putting myself in the shoes of Joe Public however, leaving my knowledge of the mobile industry to one side, I think I might be a little confused about this latest development!! Just as I was starting to get my head around the plethora of handsets, tariffs, operators and industry buzz words out there (like 3G, WAP, GPRS, Tri-band etc.) I am now asked to understand, and become enthusiastic about, yet another new development. As an O2 customer myself - who until recently was happy accessing the 02 Active service - why do I have to yet again reconsider my mobile options? What does i-mode give me that 02 Active doesnot? Why do I now have to go through the whole rigmarole of changing my handset again to get this service? Do I now need a 3G phone? How will I get charged for using this service? What is a kilobyte of information anyway?

The marketing team at 02 will have to ensure that they address a lot of these types of questions in their marketing communications if they wish to see quick uptake of the service. They will also need to ensure that the young lads flogging phones down the highstreet can also clearly communicate the benefits of i-mode to the public - now there's a challenge!!

However well they manage to convey the features & benefits of i-mode I think consumer adoption of the service, like 3G, will take some years to pick up. In the meantime I look forward to the marketing campaign unfolding!

Weighing up pay-per-call

Finally, pay-per-call advertising is posed to roll out into the UK market over the next few months. Yahoo! has been testing out their pay-per-call option on the Kelkoo service with a number of retailers prior to launch and Miva, after much fanfare, is set to go live with their model in the next month or so.

Pay-per-call will have attractions to both consumers and advertisers. It will offer consumers, who are perhaps uncomfortable with online shopping or would rather actually speak to someone prior to purchase / reservation / order, a free-phone number to make a sales-related call. It will offer advertisers the potential to capture and convert in-market online consumers on the brink of purchase. It is thought that it will be particularly attractive to local, SME businesses, most without a website, used to Yellow Page advertising and taking orders through the phone. It will also enable bigger retailers, with existing websites and call centres, the ability to offer consumers another channel to purchase. As it is assumed that consumers who pick up the phone are likely to be much hotter prospects that those who simply click through to a website, advertisers will pay a premium for those prospects over and above what they pay for clicks. Yahoo! states that it expects cost-per-call to be between 3 and 8 times that of cost-per-click rate. While Yahoo! will offer a fixed pay-per-call rate, Miva's pricing, like its PPC, will be driven by auction-style bidding.

Either way, for advertisers big or small considering this option can I make a few suggestions.

Work out the cost impact of handling increased calls. How will this effect margins, cost-per-acquisition? How does this compare to your existing online and offline ad channels? Once a website is up and running there are few incremental resource costs for handling increased web traffic. They will be no point going down this route if the maths don't add up.

Ensure call handlers are primed to sell. Pay-per-call will cost more both in terms of media spend and prospect handling than pay-per-click + website so call handlers will need to maximize conversions to ensure incremental sales benefit will outweigh incremental costs.

Ensure call handlers are primed to gather consumer data - one of the advantages of digital media is its ability to gather an abundance of consumer behaviour data that can be analysed and acted upon. The interaction that takes place over the phone needs similarly stringent data gathering and analysis - if you are to optimize the channel. Also make sure contact details and contact preferences are taken from propsect so follow up commnuications can be optimized.

Ensure call experience is a positive one. With any inbound call handling activity bad consumer experiences can have a negative effect on brand perception. If you can't handle calls in a professional and efficient manner than maybe a website + cost-per-click is a cheaper and safer option!

Ensure operations and data are integrated and joined up. Especially for those who also offer other online consumer touchpoints (ie website) - being able to identify existing v new customers, high value v low will help improve customer experience and business.

I will be very interested to see how this new online ad option takes off in the marketplace and would love to hear from practitioners about their experiences and learnings as they invest in the channel. So keep me posted!

Publishing online? Try dialogue not monologue

It is good to see that there is an ever growing acceptance (whether willing or reluctant) amongst traditional, dead-tree publishers of the need to branch out online. Following Rupert Murdoch's now famous speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors - in which he said that many in the newspaper industry had been "remarkably, unaccountably complacent" in the face of the rise of interactive media - we have seen many big media owners on both sides of the pond further venturing into the digital arena.

In the UK Northern & Shell, owners of tabloid, gossip papers such as Daily Express and Daily Star, has just launched the Daily Snack, an entertainment and news portal bringing together "bite size news and gossip". Trinity Mirror is launching a network of local recruitment web sites across the UK as part of its ongoing attempt to "transform itself into a multi-platform newspaper publisher".

What these publishers need to realise though, if they wish to create sustainable long-term businesses online, is that simply repurposing and repackaging print content online will not engage your new digitally empowered and enabled readership for long. Publishers need to recognise that a new generation of consumers are not only rejecting the old methods of accessing news but also the structure of news delivery. Consumers are increasingly looking for control over their news intake, instant, on-demand access wherever and whenever, participation and involvement in the news making process and the authority of their peers, not media owners, for the real take on emerging news, issues and trends. Consumers are no longer accepting of a broadcast monologue where they are passive recipients of information, they increasingly wish to be active participants and expect a dialogue.

More forward thinking media owners are starting to embrace this. News International's purchase, for $580m, of US blog site MySpace - is interesting in that it gives them the opportunity not only to tap into a ready made community of elusive 18 - 24 year olds but also to explore the emerging phenomena of blogging, social networking and user-generated content. By extending its strategy into emerging digital platforms such as blogging and RSS services VNU Business Publications is looking to provide readers with more chance to interact with its online content.

Offline publishers still devising their online strategies need to remember that the Internet is a two-way medium where content can just as easily come from the bottom-up as well as top-down. Furthermore, for those who haven't already, publishers would be much advised to check out the Online Publishers Association's Online User Experience study for research into how, and how not to, deliver engaging, and profitable, user experiences online.

Hats off to Miva.

Well, I have to say I have been pretty impressed by the launch of Miva (the new name for Findwhat / espotting) which has been unfolding over the last couple of months. A masterclass in rebranding - if you have got the money. Which this no-expense-spared extravaganza would suggest they have!

From the first, teaser direct mail piece that landed on my desk, with nothing but an intriguing 'a' like symbol on it - to the multiple cover wraps of the industry weekly New Media Age - to the swanky 'Red & White' launch party, at London's coolest venue Sketch, last night - to the Miva branded London black cab that was strategically parked outside the entrance of the venue so you couldn't miss it on your way out - the rebranding exercise has been well planned and well executed.

And, I have to say, I have been happy to be a member of their target audience! Not only did I get to sip numerous, free raspberry-based cocktails, in the company of some extremely fun, friendly & female Miva staff - at a bash that so reminded me of Razorfish parties in the heady days of the dotcom boom - but also as, on my arrival in the office this morning, I received my free Miva-branded iPod shuffle! The cherry on the icing on the cake!! Nice!

After all that I was prepared to spend 5 minutes listening to the pre-installed sales pitch from Craig Pisaris-Henderson - about the biggest online performance marketing network the world has ever seen and the promise of 0% ad spend wastage!! And I will be keeping a close eye on the company as they roll out pay-per-call into the European market over the coming months. A new ad vehicle that everyone I spoke to (both Miva and non Miva) seemed to be geniunely excited about.

Buying media to win new ISP customers?

Ever wondered how a relatively small, challenger brand, LLU broadband ISP might go about winning new customers in a competitive (UK) marketplace?

Here's how Bulldog, the Cable & Wireless owned firm, spent its media money in the UK in 2004 (according to Nielsen Media Research):

Total = �7,842,276

Direct Mail = �2,382,136 = 30%
Internet = �86,994 = 1%
Outdoor = �528,905 = 7%
Press = �2,344,176 = 30%
Radio = �929,008 = 12%
TV = �1,571,057 = 20%

A surprisingly small amount online, I would have thought, especially as Bulldog would be looking to target existing online users on lower bandwidth connections. But then it probably goes to show that if you want to build brand awareness to a new audience that traditional channels of TV, press and direct mail still win out.

Rumour has it that their online media investment is going to increase significantly over the forthcoming months as the company "plans a major marketing blitz to back ambitious claims of its super-high-speed broadband services". A number of leading UK media agencies are lining up for the beauty parade pitch process.

If you want to know how the creative execution of their advertising is going down amongst the audience then check out Ian's post on the subject. I agree, I don't think 'fatband' necessarily sends out the right message!