Crumbs from the Scone
“To date,” writes Rob Hof in a post at BusinessWeek’s Tech Beat blog, “mobile advertising hasn’t taken off partly because it’s a hassle for advertisers to create special campaigns for mobile devices, most of which so far use stripped-down browsers that don’t display standard Web pages very well.”
This will likely change as more of your customers embrace devices like the iPhone, and as you take advantage of a new service from AdWords that removes the need to reformat ads for mobile devices.
In a short video included in the Tech Beat post, Google’s Alexandra Kenin provides a quick overview, guiding viewers to the Edit Campaign Settings page, where she scrolls to the Networks and Bidding section.
“As you can see,” she says, “I’ve put a check box next to ‘iPhones and other mobile devices with full internet browsers.'” With just a click, mobile landing pages and ads in mobile formats become unnecessary. “One of the major benefits of platform targeting,” she notes, “is that advertisers can now show their desktop ads on mobile devices and direct users to their desktop websites.”
Your Marketing Inspiration: “[I]t could position Google as one of the easy choices as advertisers realize how many people are increasingly on the Web through their smart phones instead of their computers,” says Hof.
source: marketingprofs enewsletter.
Crumbs from the Scone
If you were to talk to a sixth grader about blogs or social networks or streaming video, you’d be having a conversation with a first-generation “digital native.” While the rest of us learn new media as a second language—with varying levels of skill and comprehension—this emerging segment speaks Web 2.0 with accent-free fluency.
In an article at MarketingProfs, our content chief Ann Handley uses her 11-year-old daughter as an example of the digital native. “Caroline’s comfort with social media tools and her innate knowledge on how to use email to drive traffic surpass that of most grownups I know,” says Handley. “It even surpasses her older brother’s; just five years [her senior], he isn’t nearly as digitally fluent as she is.”
According to Handley, reaching digital natives requires what experts like David Meerman Scott call the “new rules” of marketing. They include:
- Offering or sponsoring online research tools.
- Refreshing content constantly.
- Tossing out marketing-speak and a product-centric viewpoint.
- Monitoring the conversation, and participating.
- Being completely transparent.
Handley also notes that you have to be prepared for the worst if you irk a digital native. “A ticked off customer has a larger platform, and negative feedback can send ripples excruciatingly far.”
Your Marketing Inspiration: “Rather than pushing marketing messages out to digital natives,” says Handley, “[engage] with your customers on an entirely different level.” Use the tools and social platforms they use; start a dialogue, not a monologue; and produce content they want to consume.
source: MarketingProfs enewsletter
Crumbs from the Scone
You know it’s time for your company to enter the realm of social media, but perhaps you’re unsure of how to get started, or where to concentrate your efforts. You probably require outside help. And in a premium article at MarketingProfs, Mack Collier provides an in-depth primer on hiring a social-media consultant. Here’s a taste of his advice:
Google the potential candidate. When you enter Collier’s name, “you see that there are over 30,000 search results, and among the first 10 results you see my blog and my Blogger profile, as well as my Twitter account and my LinkedIn account. You can immediately tell that I am active on multiple social sites.” Be wary if a search returns only a few hundred results, especially if they aren’t related directly to the consultant.
Investigate expertise with specific social-media tools. If you need help with blogs, for instance, look for evidence of success at the consultant’s blog. Do posts appear at least once a week? Do visitors leave comments? Does the consultant publish statistics on the volume of traffic and subscribers? “Evaluating a consultant’s blog is important, because if a consultant appears to have a healthy and vibrant blog, then odds are he or she can help you improve your blogging efforts. Blog consultants will understand that their blog is a tool that can be used to sell potential customers on blog consulting.”
Don’t rule someone out only because their consultancy resume is thin. “Many successful bloggers begin consulting simply because potential clients begin inquiring about their availability to consult,” says Collier. “Also, since the field of social-media consulting is relatively new, many consultants wont yet have a robust package of client work. So, although a nice portfolio of client work is important, its not essential.”
Source: MarketingProfs.
Crumbs from the Scone
“In 2007, 9 million digital picture frames were sold, about 1 million of them Wi Fi-enabled,” writes Katy Bachman in an article for Brandweek. “By 2010, that’s expected to jump to more than 42 million, with the vast majority of them Wi-Fi equipped, according to data from IDC.” Can advertisers be far behind? Of course not.
With an eye to capitalizing on this emerging channel, reports Bachman, the Initiative agency has already formed a partnership with Frame Media to test advertising potential for clients like Dr. Pepper and Lionsgate. Instead of paying a fee, users of Frame Media’s free 400-channel service see banner ads rotated through content like news, traffic, weather and sports.
Snapple, another Initiative client, combines content and ads in its own channel displaying “fun facts” sourced from bottle caps. “Think of it as a Snapple fact-a-day,” says Bachman, “like a page-a-day calendar.”
“We believe we’ll see the emergence of a new category of information appliances that will become ubiquitous in the home or office replacing the alarm clock or kitchen calendar,” Frame Media CEO Alan Phillips told Bachman. “We’re trying to predict the future,” Marc Simon of Initiative says in the article. “This really feels like it could be another screen in the home or office.”
Source: BrandWeek.
Crumbs from the Scone
A new whitepaper from ExactTarget—cheekily titled No Executive Left Behind—argues in its subtitle that there are 10 things your C-Suite must know about email. “You cannot assume that your C-Suite understands the critical role played by email in facilitating sales and maintaining strong customer relationships,” ExactTarget’s Jeffrey Rohrs says. “You must take it upon yourself to educate your executives about email’s strengths.” Here are a few facts your leadership team might not know:
Email is everywhere. “You would think that 15+ years into the Internet revolution, the ubiquity of email would be widely acknowledged as an asset—even in the C-Suite,” says ExactTarget. “However, you make this assumption at your own risk.” They suggest you offer executives persuasive data like this: 99 percent of Internet users have email accounts, 96 percent check their inboxes weekly, and 60 percent check them daily.
Email is profitable. According to a DMA survey, email campaigns return $45.06 for each dollar spent. But be sure to clarify that the personal nature of an email inbox demands a different approach from direct mail. “Higher ROI comes from developing and executing a long-term email marketing strategy that builds relationships,” notes ExactTarget.
Email is measurable. “Thanks to the magic of the Internet and tracking pixels,” they say, “you can gain an immediate sense of who is receiving, opening, and responding to your email messages.”
Source: ExactTarget.
Crumbs from the Scone
It’s a recession, folks. They’ve brought out the “R” word. And everybody’s pulling back. Turning in. Acting just plain scared. Gone are the days when a B2B team could take risks, push creative boundaries. It’s time to get practical. But, hey, that doesn’t have to be all bad. In a past blog post that’s still popular today, Jon Miller listed Ten Practical Trends in B2B Marketing that offer a wealth of creative opportunities for your team right now—as long as they’re handled properly. Here are a few time-tested ideas to help keep your B2B outreach vital:
Practice attention marketing—and make it measurable. “Leverage the Internet and word-of-mouth to break through the attention barrier,” Miller advises.
Love your landing pages. “Sending traffic to a landing page can [always] improve conversions … and following best practices can raise them [even further],” he reminds us.
Help buyers research early in the sales cycle. Hesitant B2B buyers are researching online before they engage with sales. “By helping to educate the customer,” Miller says, “you can establish your company as a trusted advisor that understands their problems.”
Measure relationship depth. “Track the number and quality of marketing interactions with each prospect company, so you know the next best marketing action to take,” says Miller.
Source: Modern B2B Marketing.
Crumbs from the Scone
Once hubs for consumers seeking a little indulgence on a busy day, many specialty coffee shops are now searching for ways to keep customers coming back. Does this mean the days of the Half-Caff Iced Mocha Latte Grande with Whipped Crème and Sprinkles are behind us? In other words, should marketers simplify customer choices in confusing economic times? Well, at least one recent study says: Don’t you dare.
These researchers invited a range of consumers (17 to 66 years old) to sample “new” coffees at a food court. The menus listed 50 coffee names drawn from coffees offered at major chains and a local shop. But subjects received different versions: the coffee options were either uncategorized (just the name of the coffee), or divided into 10 categories. The most informative category labels specified attributes of the coffee flavors, such as “Complex,” “Spicy,” “Nutty,” “Mild” or “Earthy.”
The catch? All of the subjects were actually served the exact same coffee, regardless of the extensive categories describing their choice.
The result? Hold on to your Latte: Customers who received the most complicated options (the name of the coffee, divided into 10 categories) were most impressed with the “new” flavor. Researchers concluded that “the number of categories partitioning an assortment leads consumers to feel more satisfied with their chosen option.” This worked even when the categories were not informative at all.
Source: “The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers’ Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction” by Cassie Mogilner, Tamar Rudnick and Sheena S. Iyengar.
Crumbs from the Scone
“While US consumers are fully embracing text messaging,” says Alan Berrey in an article at MarketingProfs, “very few enterprises have followed suit.” And when you consider that 80 percent of Americans own mobile phones, and send over one billion test messages each day, it makes sense to develop a strategy for this largely untapped channel. Here are some of Berrey’s pointers:
Join in. “Far too many companies do not support text messaging at all,” he says. “The key ingredient for most companies is simply to get started.”
Let people know you’re there. Demonstrate your texting proficiency early in the customer relationship, and you can fully employ the channel throughout the sub-processes of acquisition, support and retention.
Keep it short. Messages need to be relevant, timely and brief. “If you cannot convey the message in 160 characters,” he notes, “then the message is probably not well suited for text messaging.”
And be sure to integrate with other channels. “Text messaging rarely stands on its own,” reports Alan Berrey. “In most cases, [it] is used to augment other communications.”
Source: MarketingProfs.
Crumbs from the Scone
Chances are good that fewer than 15 percent of your list clicked on at least one link in your last email. “Think about that,” says Mark Brownlow in a post at Email Marketing Reports. “We have over 85% of subscribers not clicking on email they explicitly asked to receive. Over 85%. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? A missed opportunity?” The first step in improving that rate, he argues, is to identify the chain of events that have to unfold before a subscriber chooses to clink on a link. Brownlow points to five key factors:
Delivery. This is the first hurdle: if your recipient never gets your email in the first place, she can’t make a decision one way or the other.
Recognition. According to Brownlow, positive memories and associations about your company label your message as “unworthy of instant banishment to the spam or delete folder.”
Pre-interest. Your message itself looks interesting enough to merit further investigation.
Interest. After a more in-depth look at the content, readers want to take further action.
Interaction. They find the right outlets, tools or environment (usually in the form of a call-to-action and link) for follow-through.
Email marketing still works, Brownlow reminds us. The challenge is to optimize its effectiveness. “Imagine how much undiscovered potential still remains, given that we’re only getting clicks from under 15% of the audience for each individual email,” he concludes.
Source: Email Marketing Reports.
Crumbs from the Scone
What do kids—and, maybe, you—like about Bazooka bubble gum? It could be the flavor, or perhaps the size of its bubbles, but we’ll bet it has more to do with the Bazooka Joe comic strip contained in each wrapper. You open it up, hope for a strip you haven’t yet seen and chuckle at the corny joke, even if it’s a repeat. Good times.
In the Editorial Emergency newsletter, Julia Rubiner opines on a similar thrill she gets from the recently redesigned packaging of her favorite Wrigley’s product. While she appreciates the compact dimensions and tab closure, “what’s made me an even more ardent fan of the Classic Bubble iteration of the Extra brand is the cheeky copy printed on the inside flap of said envelope package,” she says.
The first slogan she saw: “15 sticks of unadulterated, mind numbing, euphoria-inducing, earthshattering, long-lasting, and humble enjoyment.”
Another pick: “Doesn’t bubble gum remind you of your childhood? It reminds us of your childhood. You were a cute kid.”
And her favorite: “Made with real bubbles.”
The collect-them-all mentality of the fun-loving copy has upped the volume of her purchases, and she is even considering the purchase of other flavors to see if they say something different.
“After all,” says Rubiner, “by the time you spot that chewy copy, you’re in the bag—you’ve already purchased the product. In other words, these morsels aren’t meant to make you buy the product; they’re meant to make you keep buying the product.” And that’s Marketing Inspiration.
