Austin-based Mass Relevance may be more deep-rooted in the sports social media space than any company not named Twitter or Facebook
The two-year-old startup curates and analyzes social chatter to highlight relevant posts and analyze overall conversation for a surfeit of brands, media companies and digital agencies across several industries. So pervasive is Mass Relevance’s reach, in fact, that Twitter made the company its first official social engagement and curation partner last year.
Sports make up a significant chunk of Mass Relevance’s work; its clients include Major League Baseball, ESPN, the New York Giants, TaylorMade and others. But why the special relationship between sports and social? We recently interviewed Mass Relevance founder and CEO Sam Decker to explore just that
For the last couple of years, there has been an increase in corporate executives being assigned to a post known as Chief Digital Officer. At the Gartner Symposium/iTxpo 2012 on Monday, market research company Gartner predicted that by 2015, as much as 25 percent of all organizations will have a Chief Digital Officer in their executive staff.
The first decade of the 2000’s saw a dramatic rise in two technology-centric executive offices: the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Depending upon the environment in which they work, these executives do different things. Generally speaking, however, a CIO is the head honcho of information systems and IT, and a CTO is an individual chosen to bring broader technological vision, direction and management to a company or government, sometimes outside of the realm of what could be considered IT.
The CDO is an executive who is essentially in charge of tech evolution. Consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates describes the CDO as an individual who helps a company drive growth by converting traditional “analog” businesses to digital ones, and by overseeing operations in the rapidly-changing digital sectors like mobile applications, social media and related applications, virtual goods, as well as “wild” web-based information management and marketing.
“The Chief Digital Officer will prove to be the most exciting strategic role in the decade ahead, and IT leaders have the opportunity to be the leaders who will define it,” David Willis, vice president and analyst at Gartner said in a statement on Monday. “The Chief Digital Officer plays in the place where the enterprise meets the customer, where the revenue is generated and the mission accomplished. They’re in charge of the digital business strategy. That’s a long way from running back office IT, and it’s full of opportunity.”
Willis says the position of CDO is not defined by infrastructure or hardware like the CIO and CTO roles, but instead it is defined by shifts and productivity and innovation.
Powerful technology is cheap and ubiquitous, and a problem can’t be solved by hurling the best and newest hardware at it, or by jumping on the latest IT buzzword-tech instead of providing actual innovation. There has to be someone in a company who can figure out the most clever ways to utilize this cheap and ubiquitous technology, and that’s who the CDO will be.
Gift network FreeMonee has raised $34 million in VCMonee for its consumer incentive program.
FreeMonee delivers cash gifts from participating merchants directly into the bank accounts of consumers. Merchants determine the nature of the campaign, deciding how many customers, how much to give, and when and where to deposit the gift.
Consumers then receive the free money, which of course encourages — but doesn’t obligate — them to go patronize that particular store or restaurant. The incentives function like a gift card, so it feels like getting birthday present, without the card and balloons.
This strategy is effective for merchants because the likelihood that the incentive will translate into profits is higher than other marketing techniques. Unlike rewards or rebates that consumers often ignore, FreeMonee gifts yield a high response rate without discounting the product with deals or coupons.
It seems people are more likely to respond to free money than traditional promotions. The company promises merchants a sales lift of 400 percent to 700 percent and a return on ad spend of 500 percent to 900 percent. FreeMonee turns into actual money.
The third party in this cozy little arrangement, the card issuers, stand to gain as well because consumers have to use their card to unlock their gift.
The technology involves more than just delivering money into bank accounts. The Gift Underwriting Engine figures out what gift will ensure the highest level of consumer interest. It analyzes a consumers’ transaction data to discern how much a gift recipient is likely to spend and where, increasing the likelihood that there will be a return on the investment.
With this model, FreeMonee claims to be “changing the economics of advertising”.
This second round of investment was led by financier Charles E. Ryan and returning investors Opus Capital Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Utter Hill Ventures, and Pinnacle Ventures. It is more than triple the amount of the $11 million Series A from 2010, bringing the total capital raised to $45 million.
FreeMonee was founded in 2009 and is located in San Mateo, Calif.
A guest post by Derek Mabie of Evolve Digital Labs.
Your online marketing strategy has more moving parts than ever, so adding one more to the mix probably sounds like a horrible idea. But having the most successful component to your company’s overall branding and marketing efforts might make it worthwhile.
What Is Search Retargeting?
Branding online is very difficult because users’ general intentions online makes them less receptive to external noise. Branding through the search engines can be costly and time-consuming. It requires an overall company effort.
Search retargeting lets brands market products or services to users who have performed relevant search queries. (Click here to read the long answer to search retargeting.)
Search Retargeting vs. Traditional Retargeting
In traditional retargeting, users’ computers receive cookies from sites visited. These cookies prompt the retargeted ads to display on other sites until the visitors complete a call to action. Search retargeting, however, allows brands to retarget users who have not been to their websites. Instead, the information passed to the ad network is from the search engine. Brands then can reach a much broader audience. Search retargeting delivers a more calculated prospect than a typical display buy.
The infographic below by Chango, a retargeting platform, lists the seven types of retargeting. Chango has assigned a level of intent to each type, which allows brands to become familiar with the purpose and opportunities of retargeting. Though the levels of intent assigned could be debated, the infographic is still a good tool.
Why Should I Incorporate Search Retargeting Into My Online Marketing Strategy?
If you are running a paid search campaign in the engines and have experienced success bidding on industry terms, you may have a CTR anywhere from 1% to 5%. If this is the case for a specific term and say the term in question has 10,000 unique searchers per month, you still have 9,000-plus users who demonstrated high intent but didn’t make it to your website. Search retargeting lets you market your unique message to missed users, away from the competition’s ads. Even pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns with limitless funds cannot perform to this level of persistence.
Another benefit search retargeting offers is the flexibility between CPC or CPM models; the more advanced platforms can operate on a CPA scale as well. Below is a cost analysis from an article on retargeting for high-cost verticals. It clearly demonstrates the ability to drive a similar consumer at a lower cost than with a PPC campaign.
Vertical Keyword Approximate CPC per Google Search Retargeting CPC
Auto
chevrolet
$1.58
$0.94
car dealers
$4.14
$0.72
autos
$1.79
$0.79
toyota
$1.65
$1.29
auto
$3.52
$0.75
Education
online school
$16.19
$0.73
business school
$14.07
$0.96
mba
$19.26
$1.44
online university
$25.26
$0.33
online education
$26.40
$0.55
online degree
$28.61
$0.16
Financial
mortgages
$7.47
$0.64
refinance
$8.01
$0.64
mortgage
$2.63
$0.59
loan
$4.66
$0.51
investing
$7.58
$0.51
Insurance
health plans
$6.84
$0.62
health coverage
$7.55
$0.32
life insurance
$17.15
$0.41
health insurance
$10.20
$0.42
Legal
injury attorney
$43.80
$0.58
lawyer
$10.49
$1.71
divorce lawyer
$13.18
$0.34
mesothelioma
$85.07
$0.26
business law
$3.57
$1.58
Average $14.83 $0.71
Search retargeting eCPC data is based on actual performance of those terms on Simpli.fi’s platform in October and November 2011.
Targeting with search technology goes beyond keywords from the engines. The advanced retargeting platforms can allow brands to narrow their displays to geotargeted campaigns while keeping within their keyword strategy. Brands then have one more chance to find and present a message to the correct audience. If you represent a brand that offers products to a complicated footprint, search retargeting can be a great money-saver over traditional display. Campaign creative has the option to be dynamic according to keyword and location, so brands can test multiple price points or CTAs to provide optimization opportunities.
For the Nonbelievers
Still skeptical? Consider then that comScore, a leader in measuring digital initiatives, recently announced a new product, Validated Campaign Essentials. The purpose of this product, a measurement system, is to validate digital ad delivery. It also helps assess the value of a placement according to user engagement.
Additionally, The Federal Trade Commission is aware of the impact that search retargeting can have on Internet users. Recently, the FTC started enforcing that brands allow consumers the option of self-exempting from retargeted advertisements online. This measure protects consumers’ privacy and lets them choose whether to opt out of retargeting methods. Read more about the “do not track” release here.
What Is the Strategy of Search Retargeting?
The different strategies depend on your budget and goals. Some brands choose to concentrate on terms that yielded the highest conversion rate percentages in the past. Other campaigns consist of pursuing competitors’ terms.
Whichever approach your brand decides to tackle, do match the advertising message to the searchers’ perspective. For example, if you are targeting competitors’ brand terms, make sure you have ads that compare the service or price, and lead to unique landing pages. Support each page’s authenticity with testimonials. If you are using industry terms, provide a case study or some form of industry validation.
Remember:
Strategies vary depending on which kind of keywords are pursued.
Keep a tight relation between ad messaging and keywords.
Lead visitors to unique landing pages for tracking purposes.
Leverage testimonials as a support.
Search retargeting—like any other form of marketing—takes strategy, time, and application. Measuring becomes a crucial component of improving and determining value. Track the campaigns at creative and keyword levels with your analytic suite of choice.
(Photo courtesy of Bigstock: Search)
Derek Mabie is president of Evolve Digital Labs, a St. Louis-based search agency. He has more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing and has worked with major brands. Derek can be reached at [email protected]
As an undergraduate of my university’s advertising program, every year, I’d have some sort of Super Bowl function that was centered around watching the commercials. After all, as an ad student, this was kind of a big deal and would be absolutely relevant to the next week of classes.
We would laugh at, be upset with, and critique most of the million dollar spots. Even though I was more interested in designing and directing print ads, I figured it couldn’t hurt to contribute to an upcoming topic and knock back a few brews.
Either way, once the final quarter ended and the winners celebrated by dumping Gatorade on their coach, I always felt unsatisfied. I know football isn’t my sport of choice, but most times the commercials were lackluster (and the half-time shows have been the pits). Most times I found myself making excuses for the commercials; “oh, that’s great for their target audience” or “oh, it was only a 15 second spot.”
Then it hit me one day after discussing the commercials with my baby-boomer mom. We were just talking about a pretty terrible commercial when she responded, “Yea, y’know commercials just ain’t what they used to be.”
While she probably said it flippantly, today, she is absolutely right—advertising as we know it just isn’t the same, and it’s truly on it’s last breath. Here’s my take on why…
Technology is changing
It may just be me and my peers but we rarely watch television. I mean, we get into the big events, but we aren’t that into a specific series, and if we are fans of a series we’ll catch it “On Demand” or on Hulu with a fraction of the commercials. Perhaps we’re too busy to care.
It’s not a huge deal because people are still obviously watching some shows and most networks are finding new ways to monetize their company. However, the issue is not the show or the network, it’s the viewer and their growing immunity to these commercial breaks.
I recall in some science class, we talked about how farmers use pesticides to try and kill the insects that were eating up their crops. Through evolution and adaptation, the bugs were becoming more and more able to resist the pesticides—they had gotten used to them. Farmers would make stronger pesticides, but the bugs kept multiplying and leaving offspring that were getting stronger and more immune to the chemicals.
Now, I’m no scientist, but I’d say the general population has reached a point where we are almost immune to commercials. I mean, half the time, we get up and do something else anyway. And most of these commercials are using the same tactics anyway (which we’ll get into a little later). We know all too well that it’s coming so we attempt to avoid it. And while I’m targeting television, it doesn’t work too hot across other media either. Internet banner ads and text ads are losing a bit of their sting as well.
Why? Technology is changing. People are spending less time on the couch and more time at the desk. Social media is the new trend and folks don’t want to be just sold to, they want to be interacted with (and we’ll also get into this point later). People want a good reason to go out and purchase a company’s product or service over your competition, and the fact that a company can give you a good laugh doesn’t necessarily give a company an edge. Companies have to make sure their audience frequents whatever media they’re looking into and why their audience is there. Slapping a commercial together and hoping someone will hear it or see it just won’t do.
It’s all the same
Now once again, this could be my own solid issue, but if I seriously see another company try to sell me something by using dry humor, I’m going to go nuts. I haven’t seen a good commercial in a while—one that both makes sense and is effective. It’s almost like everyone figured out being funny was cool and they just went with it. Little do companies know, that past that good chuckle, half of us still aren’t running to your places of business and buying two of whatever it is you’re advertising.
Humor is good and works in some situations but I think companies mix up a response to an ad with the effectiveness of an ad. Most ads try to draw us in with a story line, sprinkle on some humor, and then BAM—the product shot. For example, I think this Sonic commercial is absolutely hilarious—probably because I’m catching the subtle innuendos here, but hilarious nonetheless. I just wonder what it has to do with hot dogs. While I’m a fan of Sonic, the commercial doesn’t do much for me other than make me laugh.
What I’m trying to say is, advertising has straight up lost its creativity. Even if the hook isn’t the go-to humor, you’ve got sex in ads that never really need it, ads that are solely product glamor shots, or something that’s already been done a million times. And because of that, the general population is not amused (remember that immunity thing we talked about?). It’s one thing to recognize an ad or company because it’s funny, but it’s another thing to remember the company because the commercial actually stuck and drew something out of you.
The dagger is branding
Companies, especially new ones, just do not understand the importance of branding. It isn’t just picking a logo and colors, and it is no longer the ability to just inundate our media with commercials for products and services. Most want to put together an ad campaign and hope that we’ll watch TV at that time and giggle so hard that we’ll buy something from them. Hell, sometimes it works, but what a company needs to be sustainable is customer loyalty.
And this is where branding (specifically cult branding) comes into play. Customers today really desire a connection; there’s got to be a reason to use your product other than it works. We want to feel like the company understands us, our needs, and our lifestyle so much so that it feels like they cater directly to us. The way a company brands themselves and positions themselves in someone’s mind truly determines how a customer will react to them. Companies have to figure out what makes themselves and their audience unique and how to cater to those people, and create a brand out of that.
When you think about cult brands, it’s easiest for us designers to relate to Apple products. Steve Jobs does a great job at really romanticizing many of the Apple product features, but notice he never brands his products as a feature-benefit type of deal. He tells you how great and unique this product is and how it’s going to not just change your life, but change the way the world does this kind of product. So you don’t just have the ability to purchase and own a neat cell phone, but you’ve got the opportunity to be the first to have this cutting edge technology, to stand out amongst your friends, and frankly, be better than them. And their regular advertisements are more like party flyers and announcements than commercials. You get to see the product in action, how it contributes to your life, and figure our where to go check it out. But that’s not where it stops. Mac has events, conferences, pretty exceptional customer service, and much more. Owning Apple products is less about owning a phone or a tablet or a computer, and more about owning a lifestyle.
Regardless of how you feel about Apple’s products specifically, all companies could take some notes on their techniques.
So, when’s the funeral?
Advertising as we know it (TV commercials, radio, commercials, print, and some web) is no longer going to cut it, especially by itself.
Campaigns are going to have to draw customers into a brand and lifestyle or something greater than just a product or service. I will say, it’s a bit easier for older companies—they’ll get repeat customers just because of their age and reputation, but the newer companies are really going to have to take some time and figure out what makes them new and unique and cater to that small niche so that it can grow.
I remember our first family computer back in the 90s was a Macintosh and folks laughed at us—now, 20 years later, Apple practically rules the technology world and folks laugh at you when you don’t have a Mac. Advertising as a cut-and-dry proposition is dead and gone. Clearly, putting in extra time and effort now is a requirement, much like it was in the early days of advertising.
Kendra Gaines is a freelance designer from Virginia, USA. Connect with her.
What do you think is going to be the next wave of EFFECTIVE advertising? Are you tired of the funny commercials, or is it just me?
For the last couple of years, there has been an increase in corporate executives being assigned to a post known as Chief Digital Officer. At the Gartner Symposium/iTxpo 2012 on Monday, market research company Gartner predicted that by 2015, as much as 25 percent of all organizations will have a Chief Digital Officer in their executive staff.
As an undergraduate of my university’s advertising program, every year, I’d have some sort of Super Bowl function that was centered around watching the commercials. After all, as an ad student, this was kind of a big deal and would be absolutely relevant to the next week of classes.
