Archive for the ‘advertising’ Category

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Is Facebook really a strong ad platform?

This week I was interviewed by Martin Giles of the Economist for his excellent article about the Facebook IPO.

This subject is by no means small beans for online marketers because the reality is that Facebook is indeed one of the most powerful platforms for consumer marketing that exists today. Why do I think this?

Well, firstly a Facebook page is uniquely an environment where the content has been written specifically by, or for, the individual user who owns that page. It’s highly personal and therefore some of the most powerfully engaging content a user will experience on the web. Placing an advertising message in such highly prized content almost guarantees it gets noticed (provided it’s made relevant, which is sadly still a problem advertisers have not solved in most cases on Facebook)

Secondly, the home page, unlike many web pages, has relatively little ad clutter. Facebook needs to watch this because I see a worrying trend of more and more ads on my page, but generally speaking only a very small percentage of ad page real estate is dedicated to ad messages.

Thirdly, the user profiling for advertisers will only get better. Already users voluntarily give up a ton of personal data to Facebook that can be used to target ads. The audience segmentation is vast and so it’s really quite easy to develop ad messages that are relevant to the consumer… it’s just that most advertisers are too lazy to do it.

With all this said there are still issues. Firstly, the Facebook model is having trouble scaling. Minimum serviced media buys start at $50K. If you have less than that you must buy through a self service online model. There are lots of potential advertisers who will not want to spend that amount.

Performance data is harder to come by with Facebook campaigns and that will undoubtedly slow growth with agencies and clients that use data for modelling.

As per Martins article the mobile platform is also a challenge since growth in traffic there if not monetized will leave big dollars on the table.

Facebook really needs more advertiser tools, so it’s future may depend upon companies like Wildfire Interactive who have the ability to help craft and build Facebook campaigns and pages that ultimately grow user engagement.  Many brands are adopting such tools and as they see campaign work the growth in commitment to this Facebook audience will grow, as will revenues.

Finally the biggest question of all… will Facebook still be huge in 5 years time? Valid question if you recall MySpace and it’s fall from grace. I know a lot of Facebookers and the ones who were most active several years ago hardly post at all now. However, new users and the younger generation are still really quite active and it’s still a massive global audience on offer. Personally, I don’t see it going anywhere for a while. Even with new social competitors the reality is Facebook has captured a large slice of pie and users will need something compelling to just up and leave. I don’t see any clamor for example from my network to move wholesale to Google+.

So yes Facebook is a powerful ad platform but it will only grow with better servicing of the advertising community and a continuation of it’s ability to micro target users. Sadly this may take more time than the street now gives it time for and I expect dissapointing results to hurt Facebook before they get the ad model right.

Dick Reed, CEO. Just Media, Inc.

 

 

 

Posted by DReed at 2:42 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Media Agency CEO slams Google metrics announcement

Google has announced its vision for a suite of new Internet measurement tools that it hopes will bring more brand advertisers to the web and increase the online share of media budget. The details of the announcement of Active GRP’s and Active Views are available at this Google Doubleclick blog.

I have serious issues with this announcement for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Google has, in many ways, been the creator of many of today’s online metrics problems. It was the first major online media vendor to focus entirely on the “click”; introducing the search and display cost per click and performance buying model. In doing so it sold the marketing community on the concept that the only intrinsic value of online was users actually clicking on an ad, since this is all they asked you to pay for.  By default, it eliminated any value associated with having a marketing message seen by millions of users who did not decide to react to it instantly. That put us back 10 years as an industry.

Secondly since the purchasing of the DoubleClick tools like Dart for Advertisers (DFA) & Dart for Publishers (DFP) and  in 2008, the pace of development of that tool has been staggeringly slow. Key industry metrics like ‘path to conversion’ (mostly promoted by rival Microsoft, who interestingly enough failed to compete in search with CPC, but operated a much more significant display network and had alternative motivations for seeing display value developed through metrics), promotion of the use of view-through-data and developing meaningful dashboards were so stifled that in 2010, after more than ten years as a DFA house, Just Media, Inc., switched adserver platforms. Integration with Google Analytics was noticeable by its absence too.

OK, so let’s look at the news.

Active View: Good. It’s nice to think the industry might be finally asking whether an ad is actually seen by a user. It’s a metric the online industry should leverage because no other media channel can give that. However, if Google expects publishers to only get paid for ads they actually deliver, they might want to start getting ready for some interesting conversations. In a recent test with our trading desk, the tool reported 70% of the ads appeared “above the fold”. Let’s, for the sake of argument, assume the 30% of ads below the fold were not seen, publishers are going to be mighty resistant to eliminating a possible 30% of revenue without raising the price for viewed impressions. Of course networks that sell remnant inventory might be even more challenged as the low value impressions buried in sites may have even more to lose in visibility and hence value. But overall a metric we should develop further.

Active GRP:  Really? Is using a panel based audience tool the best the online industry can come up with? Or are we finally admitting that we have to dumb down our metrics to those used by an industry that was established in the 1950’s? Shouldn’t the reality be that the TV industry should be dragged kicking and screaming into the 2010’s and held to a higher level of accountability? Isn’t this just a reaction in order to pander to agency and client executives who have failed to embrace developing consumer metrics and try and apply them to other media channels? I’m sorry, but I cannot give a free pass to using metrics that take us back in time simply to try and grab a bigger slice of the media pie. If we do, can we also re-introduce smoking and drinking in the office while we are at it.

Finally, as with many things Google, there appears to be no attempt made to bring in these metrics industry wide. I’d have been more impressed had Google announced an open metric platform; open to the whole industry rather than some new “product features” for DoubleClick. It’s simply unreasonable for Google to think they can introduce new standards if they are only available to a few customers.

Come on Google is this the best you have for us? I’m underwhelmed.

DICK REED, CEO
Just Media, Inc.

Email: dick@justmedia.com
Follow: @JustMediaUS
www.justmedia.com

Posted by John O'Connor at 2:55 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | 6 Comments

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

Trends in Digital Marketing. Is Mobile ready for Prime Time?

Just Media, Inc. CEO Dick Reed  was recently invited by the technology publisher GigaOm to contribute some thoughts for a video interview on the current trends in media. The short, two minute clip with our wider marketing community which you can view here:

Just Media, Inc. CEO, Dick Reed on Trends in Digital Marketing

The video includes Dick’s thoughts on how marketers are struggling with data and how agencies such as Just Media, Inc., are responding to their needs to provide the information they require and also how we are starting to see mobile included in campaigns and the issues that exist with these new platforms. Finally, what we as an agency look for in challenger media brands like GigaOm to keep us at the cutting edge of what’s going on in technology media marketplace.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any of your thoughts or comments.

Posted by John O'Connor at 12:23 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Monday, February 13th, 2012

The next player in B2B social media… an enthusiast responds.

Following on from Cristina Lehman’s earlier blog thoughts on Pinterest, Just Media, Inc’s Media Consultant, Georgina Cole, has decided to ‘out’ herself as a Pinterest addict. Here Georgina shares her thoughts on the application and ponders where it will head next.

Hi, my name is Georgina and I’m a Pinterest addict. I’ve been an active ‘Pinner’ for a few months now and find the site extremely useful in sucking up my free time. While I haven’t found the site to be life changing, it’s certainly a cool and different way to spend 15 minutes of my day. I’m a big Facebook fan too, so I like the social networking aspect of Pinterest. I’m able to follow like-minded ‘Pinners’ which makes the Pinterest content more relevant. Following members definitely creates a more community-oriented atmosphere and ultimately a more rewarding site experience.

I’ve often wondered how Pinterest plans on monetizing the site. Right now, the site is completely ad-free and that’s great. No intrusive banners in the middle of my page or boards and no membership fee. That seemed a little too good to be true and of course, it was!

The ‘NYTimes Bits’ blog has just revealed that Pinterest IS making money, only it’s on the down-low. Pinterest has been adding an affiliate tracking code to ‘pins’ that link to an e-commerce site and then takes a cut of the transaction if a purchase is made. OK, so what’s the big deal with that? Well, for a start, they’re not disclosing this information on their site.

So is this the new revenue-generating model for social sites? If Pinterest is getting a cut from my purchase, then shouldn’t I get a little something as well? What about the person that originally ‘pinned’/referred the product? Will users be less likely to purchase something through Pinterest now that they know there’s a kickback involved?

So back to Pinterest keeping this on the down-low; that’s a bit more complicated. Pinterest could have disclosed this info in their T&Cs and very few would have cared. Who reads the fine print anyway? Is this a huge breach of privacy or simply an oversight? It’ll be interesting to see what the fallout is (or not) from their membership base. Personally (and professionally), I think the tracking code is a great idea and I’m betting other sites are figuring out how to do it right now.

I applaud Pinterest for doing something more inventive than just incorporating display advertising on the site. They’ve created a great user experience and decided to go the less intrusive moneymaking route. For now.

Posted by John O'Connor at 4:23 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | 1 Comment

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Every Impression Counts: Part One

CEO, Dick Reed, explores the advantages of Just Media, Inc’s ”Every Impression Counts” philosophy and some of the key ramifications on planning and measurement when this approach is applied to advertising campaigns.

The first part of this two part white paper is available now on Just Media, Inc’s website by following this link: http://justmedia.com/blog/signup/ or by sending an email directly to CEO@justmedia.com.

As always, any feedback and thoughts on the paper and it’s topic are very much appreciated and welcomed.

Posted by John O'Connor at 12:59 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The next player in B2B social media?

Just Media, Inc’s Media Planner, Cristina Lehman, recently joined the Pinterest social networking site and offers her thoughts on this new and exclusive player in the online social world.

“I just recently discovered Pinterest and a couple weeks ago, I finally got my invite to join (yes, it’s invite only!).  If you haven’t used or heard of Pinterest, it’s a really cool social networking site where users create boards and “pin” or post interesting photos from different websites or by uploading their own photos.  The boards can be categorized by topic and then other people can comment on each photo.  It was one of the top ten most visited social sites in 2011!  Right now I see it as more of a B2C social site, but eventually, I can see it moving towards B2B as it gains in popularity.”

“Per this article on mashable.com (http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/pinterest-business-consumer-engagement/), there are a couple of ways that brands can utilize Pinterest to their advantage.  I thought two of these would be a great way to interact with customers: “New product approval” and “display various sectors of a company”. 

The first, new product approval, can be used as a pseudo-focus group.  I think this is a great way for companies to introduce a product in the early stages and see how consumers react to it by how many “pins” and “repins” they get.  They can also monitor comments on what they post. 

The second, displaying various sectors of a company, would be a great way to showcase a company – its products, people and company culture - and that would help build awareness and further interest in a company.  The article goes into further detail about these two and other ways to utilize Pinterest.  I personally love this site and have never really been this into other social sites.  It’s a great way to categorize things that you like and find new things you never would have known about.”

Posted by John O'Connor at 10:14 am | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | 1 Comment

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Be ready for the next evolution in online buying!

Have you heard of Online Trading Desks or DSP? If you are not deep in the online industry, then chances are you have not. It is the next evolution in online media buying and if you or your agency have not begun to test this new method, then you are already lagging behind the marketplace in access to critically important inventory. 

 

So, what is it? Basically, a DSP is a method for gaining access to the high volumes of remnant or unsold inventory that almost every site has in abundance. The difference is that rather than being sold on a commodity basis via a network, it’s purchased on a bidding model enabling every impression on sale to be priced at the true value rather than an artificially created one.

 

At Just Media, Inc., we have recently started testing a trading desk for small portions of media buys. Initially, we have principally been using it for retargeting, but now we are also using the desk for audience specific segments and the results have been fascinating. CPM’s are being drastically reduced, but most importantly, minimum buys are eliminated; allowing quick testing of different filters. It’s fast, efficient and driven by data. It learns too… dynamically optimizing buys to the key call to actions our campaigns require.

 

This technology might not change every media buy we do, but it has the potential to impact on many  strategies and make targeting the long tail of media even more productive and controllable. Yes, it’s one more vehicle that you should expect your agency to employ, but one very worthy of testing and refining right now.

 

For more information on how a trading desk might be right for your campaigns or simply to learn more do not hesitate to reach out.

 

Dick Reed, CEO

Just Media, Inc.

ceo@justmedia.com

Posted by John O'Connor at 2:51 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Cyber Monday & Mobile Ads

On Cyber Monday, Susan Redgrave, Just Media’s Trafficking & Analytics Specialist, shares her timely thoughts on the use of mobile ads:

“I recently broke down and traded my old school Blackberry in for the ‘new and improved’ iPhone 4s. What I didn’t entirely realize was that this would then open me up to the world of mobile advertising, which I have to say, did not make me the happiest consumer on the market. This I’m sure will strike at least some of you as surprising as I dearly love my work in the online marketing and advertising industry; and to be fair, in general I DO love advertising. I am one of “those” people who dig when a company can target a banner or textlink or even a whitepaper to me based solely on my previous searching or clicking. However, with mobile advertising, I dislike when ads pop up during my very important Angry Birds game. Although, I have been told that if I break down and pay for the game those ads will cease. All of that being said and to try to give you a little background on my feelings on the subject, I am writing this because after attending this awesome webinar the other day, I actually can see the value and promise in mobile ads. The webinar was called, “Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message” and was presented by Avinash Kaushik. I would say that for most people out there (including skeptics like me) it is virtually impossible to listen to this gentleman speak on mobile advertising and analytics and NOT get excited. He is extremely passionate about these two subjects and presented us with many examples of how and why mobile advertising is important to our ever changing technology driven lives.”

“One of the many ways to use mobile advertising involves when our shopping goes offline; which may appear to be counter intuitive at first, but hear me out. Now-a-days many of the products that we use everyday have the QR code on them. We can use our mobile devices to scan those bar codes which will usually bring us to different pages and examples about products that we are considering purchasing. Avinash mentioned that he was recently at Costco and bought a box of strawberries that had one of these QR codes on them. Now, personally I wouldn’t think of trying to scan a box of strawberries and have it show me anything of interest, but in his case, it did. The code brought him to a page that told him more about the company, but more importantly for me; it gave him recipes for him to try. As a mom of an 8 month old and who also happens to work full time, I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try. I immediately thought that whoever is running the marketing at the strawberry company needs a raise as I would never have thought about doing this before. At the very least this has made me remember the brand and because I had a good experience, I will most likely choose this brand over another one that is in the store.”

“He also mentioned that he recently was in the market to buy a new TV set and went to a local store to check them out and to do some research. To him they all looked the same. But one of them had a QR code on it so he scanned it; leading him to the amazing site that told him everything he wanted and needed to know about the TV. I know that anytime I am out shopping I almost always pull out my iPhone and try to search on Google or Amazon for whatever it is that I am thinking about buying. I rely more and more on other consumer’s reviews and honestly I reject a lot of products based simply on the score I see the minute that I search for a product.”

“As our society goes more and more mobile, this is going to be that much more important. I think that even the skeptics among us need to embrace and understand that this world of mobile advertising is only going to get bigger and so much more important. We are using our mobile devices in almost every aspect of our lives and I think this is an area of advertising that could potentially become bigger than ‘traditional’ online advertising. I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I am hardly ever without my phone and this gives the advertisers an opportunity to turn me on to their products almost 24 hours a day and not just the hour or two that I spend online on my laptop.”

For more information about Just Media, Inc., and how a mobile campaign could work for your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Contact: John O’Connor, Director of Partnership Development. johnoconnor@justmedia.com.

Posted by John O'Connor at 10:35 am | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Are your campaigns becoming one dimensional?

With the recent announcement from Ziff Davis Enterprise that they will be closing their remaining print titles (including eWeek and CIO Insight), the IT tech industry will again lose vital print life-blood in its media support system.

On the face of it, it really should not matter. IT professionals exist across hundreds of websites and can be reached through a plethora of different media channels. With the introduction of new social networks and media devices like iPads and Android smart phones, those channels increase every day.

But the reality is much more serious for marketers. Only a few years ago an IT professional was almost guaranteed to see your advertising if you placed it in a few key publications. Reach numbers were in the 80%+ range simply because an advert in a magazine had the potential to reach every single reader. In addition, it would continue to perform when that magazine was passed around the department. One ad reached hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of individuals.

Now if an advertisement runs on a website, typical share of voice numbers are minimal at best. Even when share of voice is high, with highly targeted media buys, the result is very few individual eyeballs and pretty much zero chance for passes on to others. Don’t believe me? Try and find your ad on a site. You either end up looking on just a few key site pages (home page, section page; so no depth to your reach) or you have to hit refresh a dozen or more times.

With this in mind what do we suggest for our clients? Firstly, don’t consider the web as the sole avenue to the audience. Recent studies of business professionals by Readex Research once again confirms the high reliance on print by the audience. With this in mind, find ways to carve out a slice of your budget to add depth to the media plan by including a mix of old and new media. Mix print at one end with web in the middle and a sprinkling of mobile at the other… mix it up a bit and be daring (by going old school!).

This multi-dimensional campaign strategy works. Our own campaign performance research proves that a business or an IT audience that sees a campaign across multiple media formats is more influenced by it, has better recall of it and will have a greater understanding of the message which it contains; and yes, eventually mobile content will continue to be a more viable delivery platform for your message. Just don’t think that the print workhorse is ready to be put out to pasture… because if you do you might just wish you had worked it that little bit harder while it was still there.

Dick Reed, CEO, Just Media, Inc.

Posted by John O'Connor at 10:34 am | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Fun (Google) Insight

Just Media’s Junior Online Media Trafficker, Ieva ‘Eve’ Rukuizaite‘s day was brightened by a Google alert:

“I like how Google is always there for you: It tells you the closest places for great food; provides product reviews; gives you directions to places; has a database of zillions of pictures; and it takes care of most of your Search needs. It is there when you need it and it knows (OK, kind of knows) what you need.

I wanted to share my little interaction with Google today. In one of the Google email blasts that I get on a daily basis, I found one piece of information that totally made my day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Who would have thought that NY is more interested in flip-flops than people in the Golden State?”

Find out the answer by clicking here:

Posted by John O'Connor at 3:50 pm | Leave a Comment | Share/Bookmark | No Comments

« Older Entries