Know Your Data: Cookies May Ruin Your Appetite For Marketing

Posted: July 22, 2011 by Casey Flanagan Filed under: Advertising, How To, Media, Tracking

I sat through a great webinar last week put on by Compete. I imagine my reaction was similar to what The West Wing’s CJ Craig must have felt sitting through the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality presentation. I thought I knew what I was going to see. And then I quickly realized reality looked a lot different than I’d expected.

And it started with two simple data points that weren’t the actual data, but tied directly to it. First, 35% of computers delete cookies. Second, the average number of different cookies for the same campaign among deleters was five.

Are these true of the campaign you’re running? I – obviously – have no idea. The important question is: Do you? Because it could have a huge impact on your metrics.

If you are using cookie-based metrics – and not accounting for how your users account for cookies – you may be greatly overstating your reach, greatly understating your frequency and, if you are conducting a brand study, may be artificially raising your control score.

The implications of any of those misunderstandings can steer you in a different direction. Not understanding cookies – and other variable inputs – can prematurely ruin your appetite for a further investment that might provide a greater return than you realize. It’s not that cookies are bad. Misunderstanding their context is.

The more we become dependent on data to make decisions, the more we must really understand what we do, what we don’t and what we can’t know

Interested in more stuff I find interesting? Follow me @casey_flanagan on Twitter.

PR 2.0: Working with the media

Posted: January 24, 2011 by Matthew Waller Filed under: How To, Media, PR, Social Media

I recently attended a luncheon held by the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of PRSA. The event featured a panel discussion with Mark Kass, editor of The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, Jim Nelson, Politifact editor and deputy business editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Steve Jagler, executive editor of BizTimes Milwaukee.

The well-respected trio participated in a great discussion on what lies ahead in 2011, how their respective publications are adjusting in an ever-changing media landscape and how PR professionals can more efficiently work with them.

This post will touch on a few highlights and how PR professionals can stay on the media’s radar.

My guess is the points below will ring true with a lot of you or serve as a reminder on how to conduct media relations 2.0, but it never hurts to have a quick refresher. They don’t cover the entire discussion but cover segments I found particularly interesting. Without further ado:

• Embrace online exposure – The hard copies aren’t dead (publishers are nodding vigorously in agreement). But PR folks need to continue to counsel clients that online exposure is just as good as print coverage, if not better. Jim Nelson said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gets as many as 2 million hits a day. That’s a big audience. Compare that to the print circulation of 183,636 during the week and 331,171 on Sundays. Between online stories, blogs, e-newsletters and live updates, there are plenty of opportunities to garner publicity.

• Think like a reporter, better yet a TV reporter – Think visually and for ways your story can have legs itself. How can you make this story more appealing, even if it isn’t for a TV station? Utilize those Flip cams and iPhones, and edit footage back at the office. Offer the footage to compliment your pitch or news release. Steve Jagler said it a number of times, “We’re a multimedia company now.”

• Have a spokesperson ready 24/7 – News moves fast these days. Really fast. The news media world is a competitive business and PR professionals need to be able to act quickly. Have a spokesperson always ready to speak on breaking news. Work with the media. Mark Kass said, “Our story will run whether you comment or not. You have to decide whether you have your say.”

• Look for unconventional opportunities – The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee’s “Forty Under 40” annually honors 40 up-and-comers in the community under 40. It’s a great way to see who the new leaders are in the area. Mark Kass mentioned that they receive close to 300 nominations for the program. Tough odds, to be sure. However, he said they don’t just toss the 260 or so nominees that don’t make the list (yes, I can do basic math). He hands them out to his staff and has them hold onto them for potential profile pieces or to use as experts/sources down the road. Unconventional opportunity but a good one.

• Engage social media – All three editors couldn’t stress it enough. It’s happening and it’s here to stay. Get clients involved or be left behind.

So those are just a few of the nuggets I found interesting. Please share ideas and input below.

Let’s Focus Less on Emerging Media and More on Merging Media.

Posted: December 3, 2010 by Casey Flanagan Filed under: Ideas, Media

We spend a lot of time talking and thinking about emerging media, when we should be focusing on merging media. Two truths belong at the foundation of your marketing plan: integration is essential and synergy is opportunity. So how do you get there?

Think holistically. Social marketing is no doubt powerful. How do you better ensure its success? The BBC suggests advertising. A recent study gives advertising and marketing credit for stimulating 58% of word-of-mouth. And how do you get people to be an advocate in the first place? An eMarketer article recently reported that 75% of people who have joined a brand’s Facebook Page have done so at the brand’s invitation / advertising. The idea that one media makes another more effective isn’t new. It’s been well-established that Display advertising and Search advertising benefit each other. But new data from comScore shows the same can be said for Social. And the synergies don’t stop there – television ads can help Search advertising.

Don’t oversimplify. Think about component parts. Merging media necessitates understanding both the forest and the trees. Take “digital” for example. Too often it’s thought of as an inclusive line-item. But a brand could choose, among other initiatives, to invest in their website, an email program, a display campaign, a social strategy or mobile. Mobile, then has a number of merging media within it – mobile site, mobile ads, SMS, MMS, apps, etc.

The oft-cited quote from IBM goes like this: “The next five years will hold more change for the advertising agency than the previous 50 did.” A natural conclusion is that this change will be driven by emerging media. And there is truth to that. But I believe merging media will be at the heart of the change. From linking banner ads to Foursquare to Nielsen adding elements like “connection speed” to its TV rating system, brands will succeed by figuring out how to make their channels work together.

Merging Media

Posted: October 18, 2010 by Cat Boland Filed under: Media

As marketers, one of our greatest challenges as of late has been staying aware of and applying the uses of emerging media. Today however, the challenge seems to be staying on top of how media and multimedia platforms are converging and overlapping as a result of the demand put on them by today’s consumers. Our new mountain to climb and where our new focus should lie is to understand the world of merging media.

There are examples of merging media everywhere; IP TV, mobile web, iPad publishing and social search and optimization to name just a few. As a result, there is now more than ever the need to organize and map out an approach, and then determine how to implement it effectively within the structure of our organizations.

My advice for understanding the world of merging media is to start by:

Identifying concentrations of “emerged media” (SEM, social marketing, mobile marketing, etc). How do they frame up?
Work with your team members to come to a unified approach. This is not easy. Take search for example, even within this undeniably well-established space there are vast differences in the language and approach that people grew up practicing.
Identify the strengths among co-workers and implement teams that can assemble quickly and nimbly tackle projects. You will be surprised where this talent will surface. Today’s marketing solutions come in all shapes and sizes so don’t rule out the possibility that you have hidden skill sets in unexpected places.
Get the word out. Distribute roadmaps and get everyone involved and talking in the same language. A consistent voice is essential as clients more and more look to us to simplify and solve today’s unique marketing challenges.

What have you found when evolving from emerging media to concentrating on merging media?

Evolution: The Result Of Being Always On

Posted: August 6, 2010 by Casey Flanagan Filed under: Ideas, Marketing, Media, Planning / Research

The concept of our culture being one that is “Always On” isn’t new. It was around long before we consumed 34GB of info a day. It was a household name long before 20% of voicemails went unlistened to. Weʼve just continued down the path at a rather incredible pace.

And in the sea of incredible statistics…

According to Visible Measures, there are four webisode series that have audiences of over 20 million
Nielsenʼs Three Screen Report found that time-shifted TV watching is up 14.7%… from last year
65% more American cell phone owners access the internet from their cell phone this year compared to last

…we lose track of the incredible-ness. There are now (4.) 500 million Facebook users? Yawn.

But we can’t lose track. Changes are still afoot. So much so that I propose that “Always On” will no longer suffice. In that Darwinian way our species has always depended on, weʼve evolved. We are smarter. Faster. More powerful. Consumers have fought back.

Our world can now best described as Always On… Demand.

Always On is still mass. Always On Demand is niche. Always On means constantly searching. Always On Demand means taking control.

Control is the new luxury. Being savvy has badge value. I want what I want, when I want it, where I want it.

Those are important distinction for marketers. Communications have to evolve too.

The Revolution Is Televised. Just Not Always On TV.

Posted: May 7, 2010 by Casey Flanagan Filed under: Digital / Interactive, Ideas, Media, Planning / Research, Uncategorized

A very important anniversary passed last year. And as far as I’m aware, it passed with minimal fanfare. We were all too engrossed in Mad Men. TiVo turned ten.

I bring this up for a few reasons. First, it seems like a anniversary worth recognizing. (TiVo ranks right up there with the iPod, iPhone and Twitter for changing my life for the better.) Second, despite the drum beating by the doomsayers, the thirty-second commercial is not dead. (It’s changed. For the better.) Third, it’s worth acknowledging we were all – or at least I was – too busy to notice.

Habits are changing dramatically. Strategies, too. That’s not news. So it should come as no surprise that it seems we may be at the beginning of another revolution. By the end of next year, eMarketer projects 86.6% of US Internet Users to be Online Video Users. That would account for an almost 40% increase in five years. But the under 25 set is already blazing a farther-reaching path.

According to new report from Retrevo, 29% of the Under 25 set reports watching TV online “all” or “most” of the time. Include “some” in the equation and the number shoots up to a whopping 83%. This next – trend-setting – generation continues to watch TV. Four out of five of them just might not be using a TV to do so.

The revolution is being televised – in new and exciting ways.

On Language: Traditional Media

Posted: April 9, 2010 by Casey Flanagan Filed under: Advertising, Ideas, Media

I’ve been thinking a lot about words lately. In this business, we have a tendency to spend hours (and hours) deliberating exactly which adjective to include on a brief. Is the brand smart or intelligent? Nimble or agile? Fast or really fast?

For better and worse, words matter.

It strikes me as odd, then, that there are so many words we just let slide. Tim Williams, principal of Ignition Consulting, points out that most marketing words are based on the military: strategy, tactic, target, campaign. The list goes on. But string enough of those together and – at least on paper – we’re at war with the consumer.

His bottom line? We won’t change our behavior until we change our language.

“Traditional” is the first word I would change. Webster’s defines traditional as:

An inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)

and

A belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable

In our world, traditional media is often used to characterize any media that’s not digital. And the word itself suggests “old.” If you search for traditional media on Google, the first return is from Wikipedia – which comes right out and describes it as old media. In marketing, old is where brands go to die.

Traditional isn’t old. And new isn’t new. We’ve all seen incredibly innovative television commercials and outdoor executions. We’ve also all been exposed to exceptionally tired Twitter campaigns.

But, if you need a game changer, who would go with something traditional? Especially when you could go with something new! And, if it’s new, we’d have to assume it’s… improved!

But “cutting edge” isn’t good. Just like “tried and true” isn’t good. Good is good. And any descriptor that – even subtly – impacts a strategic decision otherwise needs to be neutralized.

Death Where is Thy Sting?

Posted: October 13, 2009 by Steve Laughlin Filed under: Advertising, Media

Dark thoughts started with e-mail from our executive producer in Chicago. He sent a link to a podcast called What’s Next for Advertising from National Public Radio (an ad free medium ironically).

Catching up after three days in the Chequamegon National Forest, this e-mail found me receptive to primal concerns. It was a slight adjustment from questions like, “Is that wolf poop?” to being in the right frame of mind to think about professional survival.

I just knew a show about the future of advertising had to have a Shakespearean plot to it. The final scene of Act III would end with the stage littered with bodies.

I listened and I wasn’t disappointed.

Mass media dies. The big agencies are next to go. After all, why would a consumer listen to an ad when a blogger can tell them what to buy? The podcast goes way beyond the killing of Madmen, too. It also predicts the end of mass marketing. Not even Proctor & Gamble comes out this story alive.

The argument goes that without mass media, mass-market brands can’t do the volume they require. Something about efficiencies getting lost. It’s hard to survive inefficiency. There is no known cure.

But then things get brighter. There are some Utopian speculations about how more “backyard” brands will pop-up and inherit the earth. I hear birds chirping and butterflies fluttering. As the media fragments, it gets more specialized, actually helping niche brands find niche markets.

For big brands life just gets a little more complicated. The challenge will be to partner with the media and create big audiences – more like the old days than the nowadays really.

What will remain a challenge for both large brands and small is to have ideas. They’ll need concepts around which to organize their marketing. They’ll need us.

Things aren’t as scary as they seem. Yes, it was wolf poop. Yes, my dog and I are still here.

All The News That’s Fit To Digitize

Posted: March 11, 2009 by Steve Laughlin Filed under: Branding, Media

I work back and forth between our Chicago and Milwaukee offices, so I pay close attention to three local major daily newspapers. One’s in bankruptcy, another’s stock is trading for $.59 and the third’s stock is trading for $.03. The daily paper’s themselves cost more than a share of their stock. Last time I checked a package of Cottonelle toilet tissue was selling for $3.59, just to put additional perspective on the value of newsprint.

There’s no mystery to what the problem is. I can go online and get the same or more up to the minute content for free, so why pay? But, this doesn’t seem like a sustainable business model either.

It’s pretty clear that people are as hungry for news as they ever were. Yet most of the online links still serve content that is funded by an old school print or broadcast brand. If they go away who exactly will pay the people who write the news? This is where advertising always comes in. If the newspapers are lucky, they’ll monetize their websites before all their reporters and columnists drift off into the blogosphere. The survivors will make money. They always do.

After all, brands are a short cut to understanding. So the online brands that gain awareness will grow and prosper. It’s interesting that bloggers are now migrating into branded websites so they can become sponsored content. Maybe the future won’t be neatly divided into main news, local news, sports, lifestyle and business. But don’t bet against it. How many different websites do we want to bookmark after all? One thing’s for sure, the need to know what’s going on won’t go away.

Maybe the new normal will begin to look like the old normal. Only with fewer trees and dirty fingers involved.

Laughlin Out Loud / Blog

Category Archives: Media