Dish Network rolled out a piece of technology that allows consumers to skip commercials. Clearly as consumers we are jumping up and down with joy. For TV broadcasters this is a nightmare. As a result there are some broadcasters that are suing (or plan to) Dish saying they are messing with their advertising money.
As a consumer I don't see the problem here. As a ad sales guy I see how this could affect our business. As a media guy I see how this is an opportunity to jump start a traditional media like TV into innovation. As an old agency guy I see how this creates some issues for my media planning.
The focus here is not TV broadcasters or Dish Network but the media planners in the world. Media strategies have to account for ad skipping technology. How do we embed our clients in consumers' minds without being too obvious about it. Now, content integrations is important. Custom wraps are important. Branded entertainment content linked to shows become important.
Change is coming; even if the TV broadcasters win their case against Dish Network this is a sign that some evolving needs to happen. Convergent TV is here with web connectivity, Apple has plans for a TV that syncs all it's software, more and more TV networks have apps that allow you to watch their shows.
The point is media is becoming personal. We all see it coming but no one is doing anything about it.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Nike, just keep doing it!
Many of you probably did not watch the Euro Championship game between Chelsea and Bayern Munich! Oh this is a football game to determine the best club team in Europe. Okay, soccer game!
Well Nike unveiled its 3 minutes long branding featuring some of the biggest stars in football. The video has already gotten some ridiculous amount of views that has extended beyond the TV screen.
Nike has always been creative with it's media thanks to Weiden + Kennedy who pushes the envelope creatively. This mini epic of a spot further endorses the claim that as media develops the :15 or :30 or even :60 seconds spot is coming to an end. Especially, with MSOs mission to get consumers to skip ads (see Dish/Hopper). Nike realizes the content business is where value is and it shows with this latest ad (and others they have done in the past).
If you missed the ad, check it out!
Well Nike unveiled its 3 minutes long branding featuring some of the biggest stars in football. The video has already gotten some ridiculous amount of views that has extended beyond the TV screen.
Nike has always been creative with it's media thanks to Weiden + Kennedy who pushes the envelope creatively. This mini epic of a spot further endorses the claim that as media develops the :15 or :30 or even :60 seconds spot is coming to an end. Especially, with MSOs mission to get consumers to skip ads (see Dish/Hopper). Nike realizes the content business is where value is and it shows with this latest ad (and others they have done in the past).
If you missed the ad, check it out!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Get rewarded for using your peronal device!!!
Came across an article about a 21 year old CEO of a mobile company that gives stuff away to consumers based on each gaming level completed within mobile games. Consumers after completing a level of a game will get an ad with some kind of freeness/reward for them to redeem! Genius?
Lets me get this straight - we will get consumers to do the one thing they despise - clicking on mobile ads; especially, by accident- by giving them free sh*t? Make sense to me because I have seen those people at sporting events go bat crazy for a free T shirt shot out of a gun!
The name of the company is Kiip. And the dude that runs the show is Brian Wong (see face below). I remember what I was doing at 21 and it was not creating companies.
Nonetheless, I like the model B Wong is pushing with Kiip. You can read an article about the company in Business Insider (website). His model definitely works for the retail/CPG/auto,etc categories because you can run an efficient national campaign with local offerings (products and/or services). You can leverage location based technology for your franchisee or local locations. To create offers that are relevant to the target you are trying to reach in their community.
The numbers are big enough to make some sense: 300 apps (Apple and Android), 30 million devices (no idea between smart phones or tablets, etc) and has shown rewards to about 50 million users so far.
Kiip provides consumers a reason to engage with ads on their personal devices. As consumers become more aware of the process (cause we are skeptical by nature) the impressions and redemptions will increase. Very few people will turn down a hassle free reward that is relevant to their need and location. Now, a relationship is being developed with consumers that is meaningful. It is no longer just an advertisement but an offer to help you go about your daily business. It could turn out that consumers seek out specific apps to play just to get these offers. The challenge becomes how much free stuff can companies give away? What is the ROI? Is this just bribery?
The company is private now but I am sure there are people looking to snatch it up! B Wong stay strong and grow my man, I like where your company is heading.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
It's okay to let media sales partners see behind the curtains!
If you ask most media sales people (regardless of the media they represent):
- how much information do you get from your client/agency that helps you put together a meaningful media plan for them? I will bet the answer is not alot.
Now, some sales/client relationship might be strong and information is shared more freely but this relationship is exists less than often and many times protected. My philosophy is that clients/agencies should share more business information with their media partners in order to get recieve solid strategic plans/proposals focused against business. It is inefficient to withhold this type of information.
The argument at times may be that clients/agencies do not want to leak proprietary information into the marketplace because of competition or it may be a disadvantage. I understand this position but the process does not require sharing top secret brand/product/service information. The only thing required are the brand's objectives/challenges/goals/positioning/marketing. In fact every client/agency should send to the marketplace a detailed brand brief to ideate against. This will ensure everybody gets the same information to bring their best work/idea to link with the client business strategy.
Sales people are not the enemy! They are not storm troopers (often referred to as the "Dark Side"). They want your client business to succeed because means more revenue! Everybody wins from success!
It is time for clients/agencies to adopt a new approach in sharing information. It is the upfront time and people are positioning, formulating or strategizing how to get more money (sales), how to get better ROIs (agencies) and how to achieve growth (clients).
So, share information. Share complete, detailed information that gives your media partners something to create compelling ideas/plans for you. They are an under utilized resource; and you wonder why clients/agencies get media plans that are underwhelming. It is because you, clients/agencies, have fostered this environment. Media fragmentation will increase; as a result, clients/agencies will need to have strategic integrated strategies that communicate a consistent brand identity.
You are going to need all the help you can get when our media evolves, economy fluctuate and our consumers evolves.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Decoding Media Planning
There is a need by most agencies to layer in their own special sauce into media planning. The goal is to differentiate themselves from other agencies. To create a level of distinction their clients can be proud of. Often times the special sauce is so confusing that their own media planners need training to decode.
I blame this movement on the clients they represent. Why? Often times clients look for agencies that offer something different. They force the hand of these agencies to come up with something to offer that makes them stand out. Shouldn't the focus be on the client's business and how these agencies are able to translate into a comprehensive media strategy/execution in line with business goals? From what I am told business challenges are often clear, it is a matter of how you address those challenges.
With that I in mind I say media planning is quite simple. You evaluate the business, review the consumer experience/challenges and develop a connection strategy between the two. The connection should be obvious and simple. Only a few agencies are recognizing these simple connection. Consumers are humans not complicated beings. We are not algorithms that need deciphering. We like what we like so find what we like and connect with us there.
Consumer media choices are becoming limitless. As technology evolve and innovate , audiences will become more fragmented. As such, scale is no longer just one medium reaches all but organizing the different touch points to reach consumers with a continuous-complete brand story?
There need be no secret sauce or all encompassing statement to define our media strategies. It's what do our consumers want and how can we tell them were to go get what they want. Long gone should be the elaborate decks and long presentations. We should be able to articulate a strategy in one slide. And clients need to learn how to be comfortable with that.
I blame this movement on the clients they represent. Why? Often times clients look for agencies that offer something different. They force the hand of these agencies to come up with something to offer that makes them stand out. Shouldn't the focus be on the client's business and how these agencies are able to translate into a comprehensive media strategy/execution in line with business goals? From what I am told business challenges are often clear, it is a matter of how you address those challenges.
With that I in mind I say media planning is quite simple. You evaluate the business, review the consumer experience/challenges and develop a connection strategy between the two. The connection should be obvious and simple. Only a few agencies are recognizing these simple connection. Consumers are humans not complicated beings. We are not algorithms that need deciphering. We like what we like so find what we like and connect with us there.
Consumer media choices are becoming limitless. As technology evolve and innovate , audiences will become more fragmented. As such, scale is no longer just one medium reaches all but organizing the different touch points to reach consumers with a continuous-complete brand story?
There need be no secret sauce or all encompassing statement to define our media strategies. It's what do our consumers want and how can we tell them were to go get what they want. Long gone should be the elaborate decks and long presentations. We should be able to articulate a strategy in one slide. And clients need to learn how to be comfortable with that.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
NBCU's Digital NewFront - Social TV
Social, Digital's NKOTB
And into 2nd place moves Social past Search as the number two media planned/bought by ad agencies. And Social is only two percentage points behind Online Display. That is close!
But I don't think this is surprising anyone. Marketers have been anxious for years to get in the Social game but they really did not know how to or understood what it meant beyond their personal perception of Facebook. Now that agencies are getting more knowledgeable about the space and the role it plays in overall media mix- more are recommending in plans (and ultimately buying). While Facebook is the dominator and Twitter the well known - there are other platforms that are emerging as advertisers figure out how to translate and utilize in their plans.
As metrics develop and become more targeted beyond likes, posts, tweets, etc - will help the upward momentum. Now that advertisers have the attention of their marketers, the task is to incorporate Social into the media mix to maximize reach and deliver a comprehensive brand message while maintaining relevancy to each media touch point.
Search and Online Display has been the talk on the block for some time. They were the sexy, cool kids. But Social has entered the scene and is stealing the thunder fast. Not to mention Mobile quietly in 4th place (although 41 percentage points behind 1st). But Mobile is coming up as more phones become smart, OS become standard, data speed get faster, open source, etc. The Digital landscape is shifting and options are increasing. Strategies need to be tight and focused moving forward.
Exciting!
But I don't think this is surprising anyone. Marketers have been anxious for years to get in the Social game but they really did not know how to or understood what it meant beyond their personal perception of Facebook. Now that agencies are getting more knowledgeable about the space and the role it plays in overall media mix- more are recommending in plans (and ultimately buying). While Facebook is the dominator and Twitter the well known - there are other platforms that are emerging as advertisers figure out how to translate and utilize in their plans.
As metrics develop and become more targeted beyond likes, posts, tweets, etc - will help the upward momentum. Now that advertisers have the attention of their marketers, the task is to incorporate Social into the media mix to maximize reach and deliver a comprehensive brand message while maintaining relevancy to each media touch point.
Search and Online Display has been the talk on the block for some time. They were the sexy, cool kids. But Social has entered the scene and is stealing the thunder fast. Not to mention Mobile quietly in 4th place (although 41 percentage points behind 1st). But Mobile is coming up as more phones become smart, OS become standard, data speed get faster, open source, etc. The Digital landscape is shifting and options are increasing. Strategies need to be tight and focused moving forward.
Exciting!
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