Archive for May, 2009

May 30th, 2009

7 Tips to Make Sure Your Press Release Gets the Attention it Deserves

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This 60 Second Marketer guest column was written by Joyce DeLay. A career-long specialist in public relations writing, Joyce has written for clients in many industries, including industrial, pharmaceutical and agricultural fields. She serves as a senior public relations writer at BKV in Kansas City.newspaperreader

All PR professionals have found themselves in the position of trying to help a client determine if their news really is NEWS. A certain topic may seem important to the client. However, this doesn’t mean their customers will be interested. Many news releases are self-serving and overly promotional, loudly proclaiming the superiority of a company or its products without sharing any information that has real value to the reader.

You can determine if a potential news release subject is newsworthy by asking yourself one simple question:

“Will readers of the publications I’m sending this to find it interesting or helpful?”

The following factors have the power to deem a story newsworthy:

Timeliness. If it’s NEW, it’s news. Your company’s first quarter earnings are only important shortly after the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, no one will care.

It’s truly different. Have an innovative product hitting the shelves next week that no one else offers—or that does something no one else’s product can do? That’s news. Have a product that’s similar to something marketed by your 10 largest competitors? That’s not news. New technology that delivers benefits no one else can offer is guaranteed to be a hit with the news media.

Proximity. If your company CEO—a resident of Kansas City—receives a significant national award, there’s a good chance some of the Kansas City news media outlets will want to cover it. The news media in Dallas probably won’t.

Prominence. Sometimes, just being a big fish helps make headlines. Companies with recognized national brands have a leg up when receiving news coverage—however, celebrity status doesn’t guarantee a story. News releases that are primarily self-serving and say very little other than how great your client is won’t get covered, even if that client is a famous Fortune 500 entity.

Future impact. Will your client’s new product revolutionize the way their customers do business? For example, if an equipment manufacturer designs an excavator that can dig a basement in half the time of other machines—that’s news.

Consequence. If your company’s computers are hit by a virus, it’s not necessarily news. Unless, of course, your client is a major telecommunications company and the virus shuts down the network, leaving thousands without cell phone service.

Human interest. Some stories have news value by virtue of touching people’s emotions. If your client is a construction materials company who donates time and materials to help local families rebuild their homes after a devastating tornado, they might receive some great news coverage, particularly if your news release tells a story—such as featuring the experiences of one special family who benefited from their generosity.

As mentioned, many news releases are self-serving and overly promotional, loudly proclaiming the superiority of a company or its products without sharing any information that has real value to the reader. If you use the tips above for your press releases, you’ll ensure that your news gets the attention it deserves.

CategoryPublic Relations | CommentNo Comments »

May 29th, 2009

The Top 25 Resources for Marketing and Competitive Research

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If you’re like most marketers, you’re probably aware that the more data you can get on your customers and your competitors, the more successful you’ll be.researchwoman

Of course, you can’t just rely on information. You also have to have insights into the information. That’s where brainpower, strategic thought and pure chutzpah come into play.

But the starting point for all marketers is to get good, reliable information so you can draw insights from that information.

With that in mind, we’ve come up with the top 25 resources for marketing and competitive research. Use these tools when you need to get good, solid information to help you grow your business.

Competitive Intelligence

  • Forrester Research: One of the best resources for the latest trends and predictions in the technology industry.
  • Hoovers Online: Competitive intelligence on almost all publicly traded companies.  Paid subscription necessary for in-depth research.
  • The List: A top-notch contact database with names, addresses, phone numbers and even e-mail addresses of key employees.  Paid subscription necessary.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission: Visit this site for annual reports and, more importantly, 10K filings, which provide threat and opportunity analyses for publicly traded companies.
  • Standard & Poor’s: Analysts reports on industry trends as well as corporate profiles.
  • Plunkett Research: Another source for industry trends.

Demographics and Marketing Research

  • MarketResearch.com: A resource for research into a multitude of industries.  Costs range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, but a good resource for solid, credible marketing research.
  • Trend Watching: A web site devoted to consumer trends.
  • Google/Uncle Sam: This site searches government documents from federal and state websites.  Good for demographic and census data.

Marketing Related Sites

Additional Sites:

  • Edgaronline.com
  • TheNewYork Times.com
  • TheWallStreetJournal.com
  • Reuters.com
  • Findarticles.com
  • Hispanicbusiness.com
  • Statistics.com
  • AdAge.com
  • Trade Association sites
  • HBR.com (Harvard Business Review)

We’d like to add to the list, so if there are any sites that you think should be added, please let us know!

CategoryConsumer Behavior, General Marketing, Research | CommentNo Comments »

May 28th, 2009

How to Use YouTube to Promote Your Company

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There are a number of ways to use YouTube to promote your business. Two of the most common are as follows:

Click here to watch the short YouTube video we produced to promote the launch of 60 Second Online University.

Click here to watch the short YouTube video we produced to promote the launch of 60 Second Online University.

  1. How To Videos: These are videos designed to provide information to your customers and/or prospects that will be useful and helpful to them. The videos on the 60 Second Marketer website fall into this category. They’re (hopefully) useful and help create a link between BKV (the 60 Second Marketer’s parent company) and the marketing community.
  2. Entertaining Videos: To help launch 60 Second Online University, we created a short, light-hearted video with only one intent — to build awareness for the new website. The key to these kinds of videos is to push them out to your constituents. In this day and age, the odds of having a YouTube viral video phenomenon are pretty slim, so you have to help them along a little bit.

There are several other things to keep in mind when producing a YouTube video:

  1. Keep the video short. 60 seconds is a long time on the web. 120 seconds is a lifetime. 180 seconds is almost unheard of. (At least for the kind of promotional video we’re talking about here.)
  2. Make it entertaining. Again, the odds of having a viral video phenomenon are pretty slim. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reward the viewer for watching. Keep it fun, lighthearted and enjoyable.
  3. Use contemporary editing styles: You’ll notice in the YouTube video we produced for 60 Second Online University, we made quick, short edits. YouTube watchers are used to this style, which started about 8 years ago. It’s comfortable for the YouTube audience. Cater to their comfort zone.
  4. Drive people to the site. Again, the days of uploading a video to YouTube and getting tens of thousands of views are increasingly rare. As such, you’ll need to promote it yourself and push it out to your constituents (as we’re doing here).

These are just some top-line tips for using YouTube to promote your company. What are we missing? Do you have any other suggestions?

CategorySocial Marketing, YouTube | CommentNo Comments »

May 27th, 2009

Free 72-Page eBook “60 Tips on Growing Your Business”

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We’ve been talking a lot over the past week about the new website launched by the 60 Second team. It’s called 60 Second Online University and it provides instant online seminars to help people grow their business or supercharge their careers.

Click here to download your free copy of this eBook from 60 Second Online University.

Click here to download your free copy of this eBook from 60 Second Online University.

As part of our launch strategy, we’ve included a free, 72-page eBook available for instant download. The book is packed with 60 different marketing secrets that can help you grow your sales and revenue. (There are actually 73 marketing secrets, but who’s counting?)

Here are just some of the tips covered in the book:

  • The Top 18 Things to Measure in Your Next eMail Marketing Campaign
  • The #1 Mistake in Web Design
  • The Top 13 Social Media Tools, Tips and Techniques
  • How to Use Twitter for Business
  • 25 Interactive Definitions You Should Know
  • The 10 Forbidden Words in an Email Subject Line
  • 51 Low-Cost and No-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business During a Recession
  • 22 Tips on How to Use Online Video to Grow Your Business

To get your copy of the free ebook, just click Free Marketing Tips and Techniques and download your copy today. While you’re there, be sure to check out some of the instant online seminars available to help you grow your business and supercharge your career.

CategoryGeneral Marketing | CommentNo Comments »

May 26th, 2009

New e-Learning Site Helps Businesspeople Grow Business and Supercharge Careers

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There’s a growing demand for online seminars and training tools for businesses. People from around the globe are trying to find ways to keep employees up-to-date on the latest business techniques and trends. And they’re trying to do it without having to send employees to expensive, off-site seminars.

60sulogo566x119With that in mind, the 60 Second Marketer team has decided to launch 60 Second Online University, which provides online seminars for people who want to grow their business or supercharge their careers.

What makes 60 Second Online University so cool is that you can watch the online seminars as many times as you’d like over the course of 21 days. And each seminar includes free email consulting on the topic during the same 21 day time period.

What’s more, every seminar includes a post-seminar quiz as well as links to additional content and information on the topic of the seminar. And here’s the really amazing part — you get all this for about 99 bucks.

We’re not kidding.

Imagine buying a product or service for your business that could potentially generate thousands of dollars in incremental revenue — all for about $99.

Here’s everything you can do when you buy an online seminar from 60 Second Online University:

  • Watch instantly as many times as you want for 21 days
  • Click through to additional tools and content
  • Get free email consulting for 21 days after purchase
  • Take the post-seminar quiz to test how much you’ve learned
  • Download PDFs of the seminar content for later study
  • Learn from top-rated instructors

If you’re interested in seeing a sample of one of our seminars, you can check out our 60 Second Seminar Sampler. It’ll give you a 60-second snapshot of our seminar experience.

Here’s the Bottom Line:

Businesses around the globe are realizing that the internet is providing new and innovative ways to keep employees trained and up-to-speed on the newest techniques and tools in business. 60 Second Online University connects businesspeople to the best online training in the universe (seriously) all for around $99.

If you’re interested in learning more about our specific seminars, just click the links below:

  1. Using YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to Grow Sales and Revenue
  2. How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Sales and Revenue
  3. Communications Skills for Business
  4. Using Goals, Tasks and Priorities to Drive Your Productivity

CategoryGeneral Business | CommentNo Comments »

May 18th, 2009

The Short, Happy Life of TiVo

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TiVo has been part of our lives for more than a decade and people who use it seem to love it. But TiVo reminds the folks at the 60 Second Marketer of WebTV and/or Apple’s Newton, both of which were technologies that never really caught on in the market place.tivologo

How can we call something that has been around for more than a decade and has sold millions of units a technology that isn’t quite making it? Because we believe the TV of the future isn’t going to be your TV — it’s going to be your computer.

Already, consumers are turning on their computers to watch programs on Hulu or YouTube. Scarier still (for TiVo anyway) is something called Apple TV. Even though there are surprising similarities between TiVo and Apple TV, TiVo doesn’t come packaged with the Steve Jobs mystique the way Apple TV does.

The problem with TiVo isn’t that it’s a bad technology. It’s that it has had trouble catching on with consumers. We’re not sure why that’s the case — we just know that it is the case.

Will TiVo go away (the way many advertisers wish)? No, it’s here for another decade or more. But will it ever dominate the marketplace as people originally thought? Nope. You might leave that up to Apple — or some other platform altogether.

CategoryApple, General Marketing, Marketing Techniques | Comment1 Comment »

May 16th, 2009

What’s the Difference Between a Trademark and a Tradename?

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Not long ago, 60 Second Marketer contributor Jon Andersen answered a question many marketers have about Trademarks and Trade Names.  Mr. Andersen runs the Andersen Law Firm and specializes in advertising and marketing law. lawbook

Here’s his answer:

A question which frequently arises in trademark matters is: what is the difference between a “trademark” and “trade name?”  Both have similarities but have different functions.  A trademark (or service mark) identifies the products or services of its owner and distinguishes these products or services from those made and/or sold by others.  A trade name, on the other hand, is generally considered to be any name used to identify a business or trade.  So, if a word or mark is used solely as a trade name to identify an individual or a
company and not the products or services of that individual or company, then it is not a
trademark (and could not be registered as such).
However, where a word or words, or a term of some sort which forms part (or even all) of a
company’s name is used in some manner to also create a separate commercial identifica-
tion of the company’s products or services, then it may also serve as a trademark.  Since
the issue of whether a company’s name is used both as a trade name and a trademark is
a question of fact in a registration prosecution, and the decision is frequently determined
by an examination of the specimens submitted in support of the application, here are
some tips for weighting the table in favor of trademark use:

  1. Put the company’s name on the product or in the advertisement without the word which specifies the type of entity it is, i.e.  without Inc., LLC, Co., or Corporation. Make it: “Big Time Enterprises” rather than “Big Time Enterprises, Inc.”
  2. Where the name is being used as a trademark or service mark, use a different font, of font size or even a different color, all of which will support the argument that the name is a trademark.
  3. Do not link the name with the company’s street or mailing address, telephone number, or email address when it is being used as a trademark.  These tips are especially important where the specimen being submitted is something like an invoice, order slip, or other typical company business forms.  The key is to somehow make the use of the name distinctively different for trademark purposes that it is when
    functioning as a trade name.

Remember:
A trademark should never use “Inc.”
Or be tied to an internet link
If the mark’s not pristine
And the specimen clean
Your registration will probably sink

Jon Andersen runs the Andersen Law Firm.  He received his Bachelors degree from Pur-
due University (Go Boilermakers!) and JD degree from Emory University’s Law School.  He
focuses most of his activity on advertising, marketing, communication and intellectual
property matters.  His special interests are sweepstakes, contests and promotions, trade-
marks, copyrights, and advertising/marketing business matters.

CategoryAdvertising | CommentNo Comments »

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May 14th, 2009

10 Webinar Tips to Make Your Webinars Sizzle

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On Wednesday, a member of the 60 Second Marketer team sat in on a webinar about webinars. It was sponsored by BtoB Magazine and GoToMeeting as a way to provide useful information on making webinars work for small businesses.

Webinars can be great tools for marketers to build trust and loyalty with prospects and customers alike.

Webinars can be great tools for marketers to build trust and loyalty with prospects and customers alike.

During the webinar, a member of the GoToMeeting team shared 10 tips on making webinars useful for your audience. Here are the tips he shared:

  1. Promote the webinar via email: 95% of all webinar presenters promote their webinars via email, which seems to be the prefered vehicle for letting customers and customer-prospects know about an upcoming event.
  2. Profile your webinar registrants: When people sign up for a webinar, they’re often asked for company information. But you should also ask them more probing questions that will help you better understand their needs and how you can fulfill them.
  3. Reminder emails improve attendance 10% to 15%: A reminder email sent out 1 to 3 days prior to the event or even 1 hour prior to the event can help increase attendance 10% to 15%.
  4. Develop presenter interplay: One of the best ways to keep webinars lively is by having multiple presenters. They can play off of each other, ask each other questions or simply add color commentary to existing information.
  5. Present dynamic content: You don’t have to stick to a PowerPoint show. It’s perfectly acceptable to show an Excel spreadsheet, play a video, or click through to another website.
  6. Monitor your audience: GoToMeeting gives you the ability to monitor how engaged your audience is with your seminar. This allows you to spice things up if and when you start losing their attention.
  7. Engage the audience with an instant poll: Asking the audience for their feedback or opinions on something allows you to keep them engaged and respond to their input.
  8. Conduct a post-webinar survey: Interested in finding out how you did? Then send out a post-webinar survey and ask them for feedback.
  9. Continue the dialogue with follow-up emails: In one recent survey, 50% of the attendees asked to be contacted afterwards with follow-up information. That’s a great way to keep the dialogue going about your product or service.
  10. Extend the reach of your webinars with recordings: You can record your webinars and put them up on your site or other sites for later viewing. This is a great way to continue to leverage the webinar long after the live presentation is finished.

If you really want to build trust and loyalty with your customers and prospects, you’ll need to become an information station. An information station is a place people can go to get business-building ideas (e.g. The 60 Second Marketer).

When you become an information station, you build trust and loyalty with your brand and that leads to revenue growth and increased market share. And that’s a good thing!

CategoryGeneral Marketing | CommentNo Comments »

May 12th, 2009

BubbleTweet, Bubble Guru and other Great Twitter Tools

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There are a number of cool, new Twitter Tools cropping up all over the place. One of them is called BubbleTweet and it allows you to easily drop a short video onto your Twitter page.

To check out how Bubble Twitter works, click on the bald guy's head.

To check out how Bubble Twitter works, click on the bald guy's head.

To see an example of how it works, check out the 60 Second Marketer’s Bubble Tweet Twitter page. It’s a fun, easy-to-use tool that can help you bring some life to your social media campaign.

In like fashion, you might also consider Bubble Guru, which uses similar technology to allow users to drop bubble videos into their websites, blogs and, presumably, Twitter pages.

Will bubble videos be the next pet rock? Or are they here to stay? We’re not sure. What do you think?

CategorySocial Marketing | CommentNo Comments »

May 11th, 2009

Mobile Marketing Glossary: 19 Terms Every Marketer Should Know

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Several months ago, the 60 Second Marketer team took a dive into the Mobile Marketing Glossary created by the Mobile Marketing Association. It’s packed with all the terms and definitions every mobile marketing expert should know.

But if you’re like most people reading this blog, you probably just want the top-line stuff. (We are, after all, called the 60 Second Marketer.) With that in mind, here are the top 19 mobile marketing terms every marketer should know:

  1. Alerts: Notifications, typically in the form of a text or multimedia message, containing time-sensitive information (event details, weather, news, services updates) that are pushed to a mobile subscriber who has opted-in to receive this information. Note: If the mobile subscriber has not opted in to receive said information, the notification would be considered SPAM.
  2. Carrier a.k.a. Mobile Carrier, Mobile Network Operator, Mobile Carrier, Network Operator, Operator Company, Wireless Carrier: A company that provides wireless telecommunications services.
  3. Click to Call: A service that enables a mobile subscriber to initiate a voice call to a specified phone number by clicking on a link on a mobile web site. Typically used to enhance and provide a direct response mechanism in an advertisement.
  4. Dedicated Short Code: The process of running only one service on a common short code at any given time.
  5. Double Opt-in: The process of confirming a mobile subscriber’s wish to participate in a mobile program by requesting the subscriber to opt-in twice, prior to engaging the subscriber. A requirement for premium and many other types of mobile services.
  6. Global Positioning System: A system of satellites, computers and receivers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a given receiver (within its system) located on Earth. It pinpoints the receiver’s location by calculating the time it takes for signals from different satellites (positioned at various locations) to reach the receiver.
  7. Location Based Services a.k.a. LBS: A range of services that are provided to mobile subscribers based on the geographical location of their handsets within their cellular network. Handsets have to be equipped with a position-location technology such as GPS to enable the geographical-trigger of service(s) being provided. LBS include driving directions, information about certain resources or destinations within current vicinity, such as restaurants, ATMs, shopping, movie theaters, etc. LBS may also be used to track the movements and locations of people, as is being done via parent/child monitoring services and mobile devices that target the family market.
  8. MMS Message: A message sent via a Multimedia Messaging Service that contains multimedia objects.
  9. Mobile Advertising: A form of advertising that is communicated to the consumer/target via a handset. This type of advertising is most commonly seen as a Mobile Web Banner (top of page), Mobile Web Poster (bottom of page banner), and full screen interstitial, which appears while a requested mobile web page is “loading.” Other forms of this type of advertising are SMS and MMS ads, mobile gaming ads, and mobile video ads (pre-, mid- and post-roll).
  10. Mobile Search: Executing a search via mobile Internet.
  11. Pre-roll: The streaming of a mobile advertising clip prior to a mobile TV/video clip. The mobile ad is usually 10-15 seconds in length.
  12. Pull Messaging a.k.a. Wireless Pull Advertising, Content Pull Messaging: Any content sent to the wireless subscriber upon request, shortly thereafter, on a one-time basis. For example, when a customer requests the local weather from a WAP-capable browser, the content of the response, including any related advertising, is Pull Messaging.
  13. Push Messaging a.k.a. Wireless Push Advertising, Content Push Messaging: Any content sent by or on behalf of advertisers and marketers to a wireless mobile device at a time other than when the subscriber requests it. Push Messaging includes audio, short message service (SMS) messages, e-mail, multimedia messaging, cell broadcast, picture messages, surveys, or any other pushed advertising or content.
  14. Third Generation a.k.a. 3G: The third generation wireless service promises to provide high data speeds, always-on data access and greater voice capacity. The high data speeds enable full motion video, high-speed internet access and video-conferencing, and are measured in Mbps. 3G technology standards include UMTS, based on WCDMA technology (quite often the two terms are used interchangeably) and CDMA2000, which is the evolution of the earlier CDMA 2G technology. UMTS standard is generally preferred by countries that use GSM network. The data transmission rates range from 144 kbps to more than 2 mbps.
  15. Vanity Short Code: CSCs that are specifically requested. It usually spells out a content provider’s name, brand, an associated word or is an easy to recall number sequence, e.g., DISNEY = 347639 or 88888.
  16. WAP 2.0: An increasingly popular format of choice for mobile web. Relies on a new set of standards that are more in line with Internet standards. Using xHTML, mobile carriers, content providers and media companies can present content and functionality in more robust formats via faster wireless technologies.
  17. WAP Landing Page: A secondary WAP page a consumer is taken to once they click on an MMS link in order to give or receive additional information.
  18. WAP Site: A website that is specifically designed and formatted for display on a mobile device.
  19. Wireless Application Protocol a.k.a. WAP: An open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. Its principal application is to enable access to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA. Can be used to deliver content to mobile devices.

These definitions were compiled by the members of The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). The MMA is the premier global non-profit association that strives to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The complete glossary of these terms can be found by visiting Mobile Marketing Glossary.

CategoryMobile Marketing | Comment2 Comments »

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May 8th, 2009

Cut Through the Email Clutter

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Constant Contact has a variety of helpful tools for email marketers on their website. In one of their white papers, they talk about four things marketers can do to improve or preserve their open rates.emailicon

Here are the four tips, as outlined by Constant Contact:

  1. Ensure that the name in your “from” line is recognizable; include the name of your business or organization.
  2. Use a compelling subject line. Lead with a benefit and try to pique the reader’s curiosity. You want your readers to feel compelled to find out more. For example, “7 Ways to Eat Healthier.”
  3. Send targeted emails to specific audiences with content that appeals directly to their needs.
  4. Evaluate how frequently you are sending emails. Resist the urge to over-communicate.

Are there any other suggestions that you’d like to add to the list? If so, fire away — our readers would love to hear your suggestions.

CategoryEmail marketing | Comment7 Comments »

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May 6th, 2009

The End of Ad Agencies as We Know Them?

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In 2002, Sergio Zyman (the former Chief Marketing Officer at Coca-Cola) wrote “The End of Advertising as We Know It.” Not long thereafter, Joseph Jaffe wrote “Life After the 30-Second Spot.” Both books highlighted the rapidly-changing environment marketers are facing in the 21st century.

Now, Sean Carton at ClickZ has written an article called “The End of Ad Agencies as We Know Them?” which takes a look at the changes happening in the ad agency world. The truth is, as long as there are consumers and as long as there are companies that want to sell products to those consumers, there will be marketing firms that link consumers to the products they want to buy. Mr. Carton embraces that point and goes a little deeper in his well-thought-out article.dont do it!

For the entire article, visit ClickZ. For a 60-second excerpt, read on:

It’s pretty obvious to any reasonable person watching the tens of thousands of layoffs in the industry along with the simultaneous implosion of the newspaper industry that the ad biz as we know it is in serious trouble. Couple that with the ongoing decrease in advertising spending along with new studies (such as this one from Microsoft that predict that the Internet will overtake TV in 2010), and it’s clear that advertising as we’ve all grown to know it is on the way out.

I’m not predicting the death of advertising. That’s baloney. If anything, we’re witnessing the rebirth of an entire industry that’s going to expand in ways we’ve never thought of before — especially if we expand our concept of what advertising means. And we’d better. Before we blow it like the newspaper industry has.

To understand the tectonic shift we’re in the midst of now, it’s helpful to remember where ad agencies came from. Originally advertising agencies were “agents” for newspapers, placing ads produced by clients in newspapers. In 1877, the J. Walter Thompson Co. figured out it could sell more advertising space if it created the ads instead of relying on clients to create ads. The modern agency was born.

As new media developed, the advertising agency adapted. Radio and TV required new creative skills and new people. Agencies kept growing and adding more overhead. Agencies became more unwieldy, more rigid, and more set in their ways. “Creatives” were privileged above all and people were drawn to the industry because of the glamour associated with big-budget clients and flashy TV campaigns.

Then along came the Internet and all that changed.

It took a while, but today advertising is less about the big splashy TV spot (with questionable effectiveness) and more about producing measurable results across a host of media and channels. Social media, search marketing, and online direct response (with its associated need for customer-relationship management and other data-handling technologies) have required new skills and and a new way of thinking.

And that’s the crux of the issue. Advertising as we’ve known it has always been about an “interrupt” model that requires consumers to pay for content by sitting through (or paging through) commercials and print ads. It’s been about grabbing and holding attention in a linear way because that’s how media worked.

It doesn’t work that way anymore. And neither does the advertising agency as we know it.

Why? The full-service monolithic agency model worked fine in a world where there were four major broadcast networks, large-scale radio networks, and a couple daily newspapers per town. It doesn’t work when you have to deal with dozens of media channels that change on a nearly daily basis. New technologies pop up (social networking, Twitter, online video, etc.) and new skills and new thinking are needed to deal with them. Large organizations with large payrolls, hierarchical structures, and well-defined (and well-defended) areas of expertise can’t possibly hope to make any money when they have to staff themselves with a constantly expanding cast of experts to deal with new media challenges. Add to that a compensation model based on a world that’s long gone (retainers and media commissions) and the agency model we’ve all grown up with starts to look like a relic of the past. Turmoil in the industry provides proof.

So what to do? Simple: explode the idea of the monolithic agency. Get rid of the concept that only an agency that does everything can possibly create and manage large campaigns. Look for more flexible and fluid models that expand and contract as needed, bringing in new expertise when needed and ditching it when it’s not. Think distributed, not centralized. Think “collective,” not “company.”

As more people get laid off and can’t find jobs at other agencies (who are also laying people off), more people hanging up their shingle and do whatever it is that they do best, creating an explosion of entrepreneurs and experts who (without the overhead of a big company) can do things cheaper, faster, and more flexibly than their counterparts at big companies.

If this sounds suspiciously like the “free agent” and “new economy” predictions we heard eight years ago, it kind of is. But there’s one big difference: now we have the (free!) tools to actually make it happen. Social networking, collaborative tools such as Google Docs, and advances in mobile technologies make it possible to create a distributed team that doesn’t need to be in the same place to work effectively.

So what’s the agency of the future going to look like? Probably a lot smaller and focused on strategy, account/project management, creative leadership (but not execution), and media strategy (but not planning and buying). Most agencies will revolve around these hubs if they’re honest with themselves. Agencies will exist to provide high-level strategic guidance that clients need in a media-chaotic environment. Agencies will expand or contract as needed or will explore radical solutions such as crowdsourcing to get work done for less money.

CategoryAdvertising | Comment2 Comments »

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May 6th, 2009

Is Hulu Giving YouTube a Run for its Money?

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Hulu got one step closer to its Super Bowl ad promise to take over the world last week by bringing Disney-ABC into the fold, according to Television Week magazine.

Hulu's Deal with Disney-ABC Gives it Access to Major Series Like "Desperate Housewives."

Hulu's Deal with Disney-ABC Gives it Access to Major Series Like "Desperate Housewives."

The deal dashes YouTube’s hopes of making headway into the world of long-form online video. It also enhances Hulu’s reputation as a real contender in the race for premium online content.

According to Television Week, under the deal, Disney becomes a joint-venture partner and equity owner of online video aggregator Hulu, which has become the number 3 player in online video in a little more than a year. The deal unites Disney and its TV networks with NBC Universal, News Corp and Providence Equity Partners as joint owners of the site.

What does this mean for consumers? It means a whole slew of major series including “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “General Hospital” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” will be available for viewing on Hulu.

Over the past few months, Hulu has expanded its reach, in part because of an advertising campaign that started with a spot featuring Alec Baldwin during the Super Bowl. (Side Note: What is it about Alec Baldwin that is so appealing? C’mon, the guy was a total jerk to his 12 year old daughter. And yet, somehow he seems to skate by.)

All this Hulu stuff will be difficult for YouTube. Advertisers and marketers have grown a little reluctant to advertise on the site because of the “Wild West” nature of some of the videos. But, in the long run, all this will be good for consumers. After all, competition breeds innovation and segmentation, both of which are good for the marketplace.

CategoryAdvertising | CommentNo Comments »

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May 5th, 2009

Companies That Advertise in a Recession Have Sales 256% Higher Than Those That Don’t

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Research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run. A McGraw-Hill study looking at 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that those businesses which chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 and 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise.shoppingbag

With that in mind, Neil Raj, Director of AdCommunal Inc., has provided a list of the Top 10 Tips for Advertising Online in a Bad Economy.

Here are Neil’s tips:

  1. Understand your audience. Choose an advertising approach that best suits your goals, and select an agency that can deliver to your goals.
  2. Pay for leads, not impressions or clicks. The best way to do this is through a performance-based program where you pay a set amount per lead generated; regardless of how many times the ad is shown or clicked on.
  3. Maximize your investment. Not only does a lead-based performance approach generate leads, it provides free brand visibility through banner placements and free site visibility through clicks, while generating leads that you can contact repeatedly.
  4. Avoid set-up fees. There is no reason for you to pay set-up fees for your online campaign. If an ad agency tries to charge you set-up fees, look elsewhere.
  5. Look for exclusivity. Most advertising agencies will tell you that they do not handle competing accounts – check if the agency has a smaller division or a separate department that’s serving your competitor.
  6. Consistency through smaller agencies. Make sure that the agency representative you deal with is also responsible for the distribution of your campaign, thus giving them a direct handle on both sides of the transaction.  Smaller ad agencies tend to allow for this, are often hungrier and can provide better attention and service.
  7. Target niche sites and bloggers. Make sure the ad agency you select has access to a network of various traffic sources including social media, search engines, niche sites and bloggers -as they can be valuable sources of traffic.
  8. Avoid extra costs of hiring a dedicated affiliate/program manager, and instead, appoint the ad agency as the exclusive program manager or agency of record to promote your campaign.
  9. Monitor your success. Make sure the agency you choose provides advertiser and publisher reporting interfaces so that you can login and see real time ad tracking data like the number of leads generated, ads run and sites reached.
  10. Make improvements as you go. Select an ad agency that can differentiate between sources of traffic so advertisers and publishers can optimize campaigns, fuel profitable sources and avoid wasting ad time and money on the wrong sites.

Are there any additional tips that you’d like to add to Neil’s list? What about tips for off-line or traditional advertising?

CategoryGeneral Marketing | Comment7 Comments »

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