Google is not media, Part II

May 4th, 2010 by Eric Hyman
Categories: Integration, Search | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

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The BrandZ top 10 for 2010

Yesterday I mentioned results of a casual though telling internal survey that led me to make the statement above, read below. Today I want to emphasize one potential takeaway for marketers, by picking up on a an idea from a presentation our director of search marketing, Jiri Vala, did at MediaPost’s recent Search Insider’s Summit. I won’t go too deeply into it since we are going to post it at some point soon. But the point was search marketing today is in a constant state of evolution. It doesn’t live in a vacuum. And it never will.

True, for many small marketers, a search only/driven strategy can be hugely successful. But for larger brands, or those with big aspirations, the importance of integrating search into a more cohesive overall communications plan — involving any of many trusted media sources like those noted in my last post — continues to increase. Understanding how to do this — and creating programs that are capable of attributing successful search results to their original media source, and/or vice versa — is one place search marketing is going.

It’s also a holy grail of sorts. He/she who can figure out a fool proof method will likely receive a buy out offer in rapid time. Until then, the teams of people most likely capable of sensibly integrating search with other aspects of the marcom mix, and then being able to make actionable sense of the data, are those with expertise across a wide variety of disciplines, including search.

Our office is one where such a team exists. There are others out there, I’m sure. If I were a marketer facing complex challenges in dynamic markets, I’d engage one of these sorts of shops in dialogue. I’m not sure anyone has all the answers yet (Jiri and co, correct me if I am wrong here). Because in the future, no matter how many years BrandZ names Google the world’s #1 brand, the inability to closely tie search marketing to the rest of the trusted media landscape will have a major impact on everyone else who wants to be on that list.

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Google is not media. But it is the message.

May 3rd, 2010 by Eric Hyman
Categories: Analytics, Commerce and Content, Demographics, Digital Media, Search, Social Media, Traditional Media, Trend Spotting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

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Newsflash. Once again, for the 4th year in a row, our WPP sister firm Millward Brown Optimor has named Google the world’s #1 brand of any kind. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Interestingly, our company recently did a far less scientific piece of research among our own employees that also said something uniquely enlightening, though entirely different, about Google.

Members of our media/experience team circulated a one question internal survey asking everyone to list their three favorite media sources.  The intention was to use the results in an orientation session to show how diverse our own media preferences are. And the results confirmed it, with nearly 125 “top 3″ sources collectively named.

But what jumped out at me was not the variety of unaided answers. Nor the overwhelming dominance of CNN (see Wordle results below, kudos CNNers), across almost every department in the agency (other crowd favorites were ESPN, MSN, Fox News, ABC, Wired, along with one medium, radio).

Mighty Google looking more like David than Goliath

What jumped out, rather, was in fact, what didn’t jump out; Google.

Think about that a minute. In a world where Google plays such a pervasive role in so many people’s lives, in an industry that’s been pretty much turned upside down by the immense power of Google itself, a relatively small number of us “industry insiders” think of Google as a “media source.”

While I suppose this shouldn’t be totally surprising, I found seeing it so clearly to be pretty enlightening.

To be quite clear, this doesn’t lessen Google’s omnipresent and ever-expanding role in pretty much everything.  But it does lead me to say this; Google is not media.

What is Google then? A tool? A platform? An aggregating oracle? The Gutenberg Press of the next millennium?

Personally, I think it most closely resembles a medium. Though this doesn’t exactly fit either, since I think in the technical sense, the Internet is the medium.

One thing is certain, though. As Marshall McLuhan pointed out (for those in the Google generation not… errr… um… experienced enough to have been forced to study this in college, see this great clip I caught the other night from Annie Hall, though you might not have heard of that either), in the grand scheme of things, it is not the content itself, or any single provider of content, that is most responsible for the way people interact with media, or the changes media can bring about, but rather the medium itself.

On that note, the results of the research are clear. Despite our overwhelming love of select media brands to keep us informed and engaged, the medium is still the #1 message. And the message is, at least as far as I’m concerned, I should have bought Google at $95.

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Engagement Statistics That Suck In Even The Savviest Of Marketers

March 22nd, 2010 by Rory Partalis
Categories: Social Media, Trend Spotting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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Whether you realize it or not, I’m sure you’ve fallen victim to one of the most effective marketing tricks in the book – sucking people in by providing them with engagement statistics.  It’s a tough concept to wrap your head around initially, but once you understand it, you notice it everywhere – the endless feedback loop of engagement statistics.

The draw of this is most apparent in video game addicts. Do you know someone who is obsessed with improving their XBOX Gamer Score or getting enough XP to level up their character in WoW (that’s World of Warcraft for you n00bs)? Do you know a Facebook addict that is consumed with seemingly mindless apps like Farmville or Mafia Wars?  Why do they care so much about something that has little to no effect on their real life?  Because their stats are constantly shared with themselves and their peers and it becomes a status symbol or competition of sorts. It also taps into the OCD in us all – a desire to make progress and accomplish things.

However, this isn’t just limited to gamers.  Take marketers, like myself.  Too much of my time is consumed with checking email because I hate to have things on my to do list or unread email messages.  I also spend a lot of time on Google Reader making sure to keep up with my RSS feeds and to make sure I continue to share and read shared items with my peers.  Actually, when I think about it, much of my online life is trying to suck me in even further with engagement stats and feedback loops: Twitter followers, RTs, DMs, @ replies and lists; Facebook friends; Netflix Queue lists and rated movie counts; and Foursquare check-ins…

There is a debate to be had about whether this is a healthy trend or not, but I’m not going there because I feel like there is no turning back now.  People, like myself, enjoy being able to see statistics on our own behavior and being able to compare that behavior with friends’.  However, I do recommend moderation and reflection on our behavior.  Most people reading this blog consider themselves savvy marketers or advertisers, so we should be able to spot these techniques designed to encourage re-engagement. Feel free to get sucked into these binges of OCD behavior from time to time, but know when to say “enough is enough.”

On the other hand, from a marketer’s perspective, giving people access to statistics is a valuable tool to encourage re-engagement. Use it wisely.

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What do Red Cross, Harvard and Tasti D-Lite have in common?

January 14th, 2010 by Kristen Green
Categories: Cause Marketing, Digital Media, Social Media | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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What do Red Cross, Harvard, and Tasti D-Lite have in common? They have all learned how to use existing social media and digital platforms to work overtime for their causes and brands. Let’s take a little walk through three highly effective and brilliant uses of this digital thinking.

Case Study No. 1: Red Cross
As the world watches the heart-breaking images of the devastating earthquake, our hearts are saddened. We want to provide help in whatever way that we can, but we live here. They are there. What role can we play? This is where Red Cross stepped in to provide a way. Everyone knows that Red Cross plays a huge role in responding to disasters around the world. They also accept donations that fund these very causes. Their mission didn’t change but their call-to-action did. Many people would never take the time to seek out a way to give to Red Cross, but our tech-savvy society had phones in hand when they heard of the Haiti disaster. Many of us, including myself, learned of the disaster on my phone. So, the idea of using that device as a quick and easy means of collecting money was perfect. With a simple text message, you can donate $10 to the Red Cross’ relief efforts in Haiti. The buzz about the 90999 SMS code spread like wildfire across Twitter and Facebook. Within 3 days they had raised over $3 million dollars in donations through text messaging alone. That is phenomenal! That is money that may have never been seen if this system wasn’t in place. It is such a simple technology, but it found a great use in this tragedy. Tony Aiello of mGive, the company that is handling the donations for Red Cross, said it best, “Today is a huge day for mobile giving. We are experiencing a tipping point.”

Case Study No. 2: Harvard
Remember the first day that you walked onto your college campus as a freshman? Can’t you feel your heart pounding as you try to discreetly glance at your campus map that is secretly tucked away inside of your shiny new binder? Well, Harvard is attempting to take the fear out of freshman life and encourage upper class-men to become more involved and active on campus. Enter Foursquare. For all of you Mayors out there, you already know that Foursquare is a game that lets you & your friends discover new things in the city, and you earn points and unlock badges when you discover something new. You can think of it as a location-based scavenger hunt with the goal being to connect with new places and ultimately new people. So, Harvard has partnered with Foursquare to create a game and badge specific to their locations. I think this is a great use of a previously existing social platform. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Harvard has harnessed the power of a very popular tool to encourage campus activity and help save fearful freshman.

Case Study No. 3: Tasti D-Lite
If you peek inside your wallet, do you find a stack of unused loyalty reward cards? Or do you have a myriad of grocery store fobs that adorn your key ring? Even though the rewards of using loyalty cards can be beneficial to our bottom line, many people simply forget to use them. But would you reconsider if your incentives were increased? Tasti D-Lite has taken a new approach to customer loyalty by combining digital platforms that their patrons already use. If you connect your Tasti D-Lite loyalty card, known as the TreatCard, to your Twitter and/or Foursquare account, you can earn additional points for spreading your Tasti D-Lite love. When you swipe your card, you will earn points for an automated tweet that will go out, and when you check in on Foursquare more points will be added to your account. Again, it’s such a simple idea that will most definitely have an effect on their patrons. Tasti D-Lite may be one of the first to attach loyalty rewards to social media engagement, but they won’t be last. Others will soon see the benefits and follow suit.

Brands are always looking for ways to further their cause, engage their consumers, and increase their awareness. Red Cross, Harvard, and Tasti D-Lite, although drastically different in their missions, have all found a shared success harnessing the power of existing digital addictions. These case studies are great examples of how to implement easy and highly successful programs for your brand. So, what digital power will your brand harness?

Sources:
NY Times Blog
Mashable: Harvard
Mashable: Tasti D-Lite

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