Frontiering Talk

Fleishman-Hillard Inc. and Harris Interactive have published an excellent white paper which examines how the internet influences the modern consumer.

The study is titled  “Digital Life Index Study”  and highlights how the internet influences shopping behaviours, making particular comparisons between the UK, Germany and France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 key insights of the study were:-

Digital Influence:

The Internet is by far the most important medium in the lives of European consumers — but companies are underinvesting in that influence.

Behavioural Framework: Consumer use of the Internet falls into five distinct classes of behaviours. 

Research, Communication, Commerce are the 3 more established behaviours. 
In the expanding web 2.0 environment Consumer Generated Content is rapidly rising in importance. 
The 5th behaviour is consuming Internet content on Mobile devices.
Smart marketers will clearly understand the mix of behaviours that is most critical to their business — and formulate integrated campaigns to address that mix.

Consumers use the Internet in different ways to make different decisions.

The differences are driven by the impact of the decision on their lives and the range of available choices. e.g. Buying commoditised items like airline tickets are made with less consultation with online consumers than choices that have higher personal impact such as healthcare, or major electronic purchases.

Consumers see the clear benefits of the Internet to their lives, but they still have strong concerns that need to be addressed.

Clearly consumers recognise the value of the internet as a medium, but are also voicing concerns over internet safety.

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2.7

The BRW has officially launched it’s top Australian web2.0 applications.

Here’s a selection of the ones I am familiar with :- 

5. Engagd

Website: http://www.engagd.com/

Person/Company: Faraday Media (Chris Saad/ Ashley Angell)

Description: Web service application that creates ‘attention profiles’ of users, and enables these to be used in customising services and content for users.

 

6. MyVirtualHome

Website: http://mvh.com.au/

Person/Company: Greg Lane/ Paul Condon

Description: Allows users to create an accurate 3D walk-through model of their home, preview renovation possibilities and products provided by vendors, and contact service suppliers. People can share their home interiors and gardens for collaborative design. The viewing software will soon be available as a free download, allowing manufacturers and retailers to display products and themed homes in interactive 3D on their websites. Software being sold and licensed in a number of overseas countries.

 

9. Scouta

Website: http://www.recommendationventures.com/

Person/Company: Richard Giles/ Graeme Sutherland

Description: Collaborative filtering and recommendation engine provided as a web service for online retailers or entertainment providers. The consumer site Scouta.com provides personalised recommendations for video and audio.

 

11. vibEngine

Website: http://www.vibecapital.com/

Person/Company: Vibe Capital (Clay Cook/ Rachel Cook/ Jackie Shervington)

Description: Richly featured social community platform used by Vibe Capital’s Minti and Gooruze, and licensed to a number of overseas clients.

 

15. StreetAdvisor

Website: http://streetadvisor.com.au/

Person/Company: Jason Spencer/ Adam Spencer

Description: Residents rate their streets and localities on criteria such as public facilities, noise, and neighbourly spirit, and write reviews. Users earn ’streetcred’ and ‘local experts’ are appointed. The primary focus is on Australia, US, UK and Canada, but it has been launched in many other countries.

 

17. Plugger

Website: http://plugger.com.au/

Person/Company: Stephen Phillips/ Richard Slatter

Description: Australian news aggregator covering mainstream and social media, and providing recent trends in coverage of leading companies and people.

 

18. Tangler

Website: http://www.tangler.com/

Person/Company: Martin Wells/ Alex von Kotze/ Mick Liubinskas

Description: Customisable live forums with features including embedding discussions into blogs and social networks. Popular with Australian and US technology start-ups for their user forums.

 

21. Particls

Website: http://www.particls.com/

Person/Company: Faraday Media (Chris Saad/ Ashley Angell)

Description: Application and browser plug-in that uses the Engagd web service to provide personalized news and alerts based on users’ attention profiles.

 

23. Ripple

Website: http://ripple.org/

Person/Company: Matt Tilleard/ Mack Nevill/ Jehan Ratnatunga/ Simon Griffiths

Description: Charity site that generates income for donation through advertising and sponsorship. Buttons and search boxes are available on Facebook, widgets for blogs and websites, Google gadgets, and browser toolbars.

52. Minti

Website: http://www.minti.com/

Person/Company: Vibe Capital (Clay Cook/ Rachel Cook/ Jackie Shervington)

Description: Online forums and community for parents, including tagging, rating and comments. Based on VibeCapital’s vibEngine platform.

 

55. Norg Media

Website: http://www.norg.com.au/

Person/Company: Bronwen Clune

Description: Citizen journalism websites that allow local residents to report and comment on what is happening in their city and community. Currently available in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. ure directions include licensing the platform into overseas markets.

 

67. Gooruze

Website: http://www.gooruze.com/

Person/Company: Vibe Capital (Clay Cook/ Rachel Cook/ Jackie Shervington)

Description: Social network for online marketers. Includes ranking of members and their submissions based on their contributions and user ratings. Based on VibeCapital’s vibEngine

 

92. The Roar

Website: http://www.theroar.com.au/

Person/Company: Conversant Media

Description: Australian sports opinion site, including user generated content and discussion.

 

100. Buggerall

Website: http://www.buggerall.com.au/

Person/Company: Australian Blogs

Description: Blog search based on tags.

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It’s great to see Australian companies making their mark in the global web2.0 space.  I hope that these companies can inspire more innovation.

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2.7

A new social network has launched in Australia which hopes to address some of the key insights from online social media research.

Vibe Village is a social network which is hoping to connect brands to social influencers, by targeting 3 needs.

Being First.

I still remember running home to tell my brothers that I had found a way to get through the lane way at the back of my house, only to be disappointed when it became apparent that the news wasn’t news to them.

One of the key motivators for research and discovery is to be one of the first to know about a certain product, service.  Being First can be a relative concept, for example there is only one Neil Armstrong.  Yet, it’s much more common to be the first person in our social group to communicate a new fact.

Free stuff.

We all like stuff for free, so much so that we are almost suspicious when we are offered free things.  Vibe Village lets its members chose products that match their interests, offering programs that members can register for, and obtain free stuff such as advance copies of soon to be released DVD’s and new innovative products.

Share and Shape.

Members are encouraged to shape the innovation of products by being given a direct voice to products, and are also given opportunities to share news by hosting parties.

In today’s world of advertising clutter, it’s more and more difficult to get your message in the hands of the people who can provide a genuine word of mouth communication.  Vibe Village is attempting to provide a targeted solution for brands wanting to recruit product evangelists, by providing access to individuals who are passionate about your category. 

 

Disclosure: Vibe Village has been a client of Frontiering

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3.1 (2 people)

Tim Noonan simplifies Web 2.0 in this tweet.

via Servant of Chaos

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2.9

Internet advertising revenues in the US hit $5.8 billion for the first quarter of 2008 reflecting a 18.2 % increase on the same period in 2007.

Source: PwC/IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report (www.iab.net)

“We continue to experience significant growth and vitality in interactive marketing, media and advertising,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “We expect growth to continue, as consumers spend more and more time online, and marketers find more – and more innovative – ways to reach them through digital media.”

The growth of advertising networks and recognition of better ROI metrics associated with the online channel, are no doubt fuelling this rise in digital spend.

The challenge for both brands and advertising agencies is to make sure this investment is used to develop engaging experiences.

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2.9

A team of developer’s funded by Michigan State University and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International have come up with a browser-based MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that teaches players how to speak Mandarin Chinese.

“By interacting in the Zon environment you will be exposed to Chinese language and cultural knowledge in a new and exciting way. Everything that you do in the game is another chance to learn new words, phrases and cultural info about China. Never before has learning Chinese been more fun. Once you log in to the Zon Environment server, your avatar will show up in the Beijing International Airport. The airport has everything you need to get acquainted with Zon. As you explore the airport, notice that all interaction is done by clicking on the different pieces of the world. You’ll find a large variety of interactive objects to explore in Zon. You can observe authentic conversation and examine the vocabulary and grammar with the language tools, engage in interactive conversations, solve puzzles, play trivia or just play the games at the arcade for fun.”

If intrigued sign up for the beta

Initiatives like this and social networks such as Live Mocha are proving that you can take some of the advantages of real time interactions and socialisation and deliver them via new and exciting online mediums.

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2.9

MSNBC have released a NewsWare site, which provides an interesting news spectrum which can also be customised into a widget to embed on your blog, social network profile, or desktop.

The news experience includes this spectrum which is very engaging.

 

There is also a Newsblaster tool which lets you read the news while you are playing an online game.

To promote this feature, MSNBC setup the world’s first interactive cinema crowd game.

Cinema goers became human joysticks as the collective crowd body movement controls the functions of a game controller.

 

NBC New’s social education iCue site is also mixing news videos with study guides and educational games in what they hope will satisfy Generation Y’s shorter attention span.

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2.6

Google has just announced a new web based purchasing and analytics system that allows anyone to run television commercials.

The system has been available as a trial program for about a year, and this announcement now opens the system up for everyone to use using this simple process.

-  Select your target audience

-  Choose the networks, days and times, and  the specific programs you want your ad to run on.

- Choose the cost-per-thousand impressions you’re willing to pay

You don’t pay until your ad airs on TV.

Like Adwords, Google is hoping to reduce the complexity of advertising and also providing the necessary self service tools that make the process scalable. 

Google’s Ad Creation Marketplace also provides you with the tools to connect with pros who will provide scripting, copywriting, editing, production and voiceovers for your ad.

The interesting thing about Adwords is that it levels the playing field for the advertisers, so big global brands don’t get a significant benefits for large spending volumes.  For TV advertising, companies get rewarded by distribution networks for bulk purchasing, effectively reducing the appeal to large brands. However, the transparency of the pricing may have an effect on the TV media buying industry.

Google is no doubt hoping that it can take advantage of monetising video content in the same way it has monetised search.

Video content will continue to grow, and whether the content is consumed via television or online, providing a simple interface that is open to everyone to both sell and buy advertising is going to have wide appeal. 

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3.1

New interactive technologies can help to bring brands or big ideas to life.
Bullseye in partnership with 808South are pleased to announce Australia’s first client demonstration of the iBar™.

 

Speaking about the technology, Ian Farmer Senior Brand Strategist for Bullseye said

“The iBar™ has received many innovation awards in Europe and we are excited about the digital possibilities this technology can provide to Australia. Designing a creative set of interactive experiences is an integral part of producing a rewarding and engaging brand interaction”.

Intelligent surface system

iBar™ takes consumer interaction to a new level. Integrated video projectors beam content onto the bar surface and the intuitive tracking system creates a new connection between real life products and dynamic digital content. This turns the bar into a giant touch sensitive screen allowing multiple people to interact with the content at the same time.
Coloured lights, animations or any rich media content can illuminate, link and follow every movement of a hand, bottle or glass.

The iBar™ software consists of two parts – tracking and displaying. All objects are tracked and their position is transmitted to the displaying-software. The displaying software can be adapted to your needs. The use of pictures, text, movies, animations or any visual content is possible. iBar™ is a modular, stand alone system that can be configured to suit your needs. The modules are 2m long and can be linked together to form a seamless interactive surface of virtually any length.

The iBar™’s can also be networked wirelessly to allow interaction between two or more separate units. Content can also be streamed via the net and bars can be fitted with Bluetooth technology to allow consumers to download content. Each portable module consists of its own cameras, projectors and computers. Any number of iBar™ modules are available for hire on short and long-term arrangements.

 

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3.1

YouTube is introducing a new feature called YouTube Insight. The new feature will entail several new tracking abilities for those who want to advertise on the video sharing site.

YouTube Insight provides insight on how a video is doing over time and geographically.  YouTube Insight will show a breakdown percentage of the countries that viewers are coming from and how long a video takes to perform well

“Effectively, YouTube has become an ad-effectiveness, or an insight-effectiveness, tool,” stated Tracy Chan, YouTube Product Manager. “YouTube has millions of viewers every single day, and has become the world’s largest focus group.”

Brands will also have information regarding the geography of content consumers.  This will enable artists or marketers to target certain audiences for their videos.

YouTube Insights lets you see information on the geography of content consumers, how long it takes for a video to become popular, and ongoing performance. The new metrics are available under the About This Video, which are available to publishers and consumers alike.

Google Analytics is probably having an influence here and upcoming features will include how visitors were referred to specific videos.

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3.1

Here are some notes I took from Brad Jakeman’s session which described the current lack of focus on getting the brand promise or big idea right.

Complicated communication channels as media became more fragmented and diverse.

• - There’ve never been more communication channels available and yet we are
• - So obsessed with the channel (the how)
• - And have lost focus on the Content (the what)

“The step that precedes action is Engagement”

 US Stats – in 3 years time

• US$6.9 billion will be spend on marketing and social Networking site.
• US$2.9 billion mobile marketing
• US$7.1 billion online video
• Search will triple to $25 billion.

 Consumer Shift

Then	Now
Passively	Actively
Viewing	Using
Listening	Trialling
Reading	Experience
Passing	Playing
Absorbing	Engaging

 

We’re not spending enough time developing interesting , attractive content.

• 98% brand messages are not effective.
• Brands now need to participate rather than enforcing themselves on it.
• The average consumer is exposed to 2,904 messages each day.
• Of those 2905, they pay attention 279
• Of those 123 are from Read, Listen or Watch
• 30 of those are disliked, and of the 83 that are left
• Only 55 are liked and remembered. .which is a 98% attrition.

By not focusing enough on the what, we have allowed consumers to view what we do as pollution

I also liked this quote which suggested that ROI really stands for “Removal Of Imagination”

We still operate by pushing messages at our consumers rather than pulling them toward great ideas.

• TV commercials lost to DVR zapping

The Big brand idea is greater than any cool ad and that idea should govern everything we do in all media channels.

He suggested that by 2010, 18% of ads would be screened out.

He then showed the this years Superbowl ads.

And commented that whilst these were great one-off ads, where’s the big brand idea?  At a cost of ~ $2.4 mm all they got was 60 seconds.

Big idea – an idea that’s big enough to drive a brand’s behaviour and language across all channels.

- I got the feeling he was talking about the Brand promise rather than an individual campaign idea.

• It should be Media agnostic – can be executed across all consumer touch points.
• Proprietary and unique – it is based on a truth about the business and its core customer.
• It would sound disingenuous when another brand has said it before.

JETBLUE case study

• The big idea “Bringing humanity back to travel”
• Which drove out every function and experience that was delivered to their audience.
• They used the “JetBlue” storyboard which was like a cockpit with webcams to record consumer stories
• Airline horror stories is a very engaging topic that people like to talk about .. so this tapped into the positives and the consumers embraced it

5 lessons

1. Shut up & listen – Start with the consumer. A big brand idea can’t be created in isolation of the consumer.
   85% jetblue consumers – will recommend jetblue a friend.
2. It has to start at the top – The big brand idea has to be embraced by the CEO because it has to drive all facets of the business.
3. Everyone in the company is a marketer – Everyone in the business has to be accountable for delivering the brand promise.
   (“invertise before advertise” which I thought was a great quote and refers to making sure your employees understand the big idea before the general public)
4. Do as you say! Mass collaboration enabled through technology
5. Insulates you from operations e.g. Feb 14, 2007 – Jetblue Disrupt most flights – 17,000 flights were cancelled.
   but despite this disaster consumers forgave JetBlue due to their loyal fan base, and the transparency with which they handled the crisis.

Conclusions

Media is becoming more complex but marketing is not – focus on some basic principles.

• Start with finding the unique role your brand plays in your customer lives
• New media is very important but don’t let it become the shiny object.
• Be rigorous and relentless in driving the idea in every single thing you do.
• Try zagging when everyone else is ziggling. – Know what your competitors are doing, but don’t be afraid to be different.  Create something that is unique. And make sure the content is superb.

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3.1

Brightcove have just published an excellent whitepaper on 5 keys to successful online video.

The 5 keys are :-

1. Create Context This refers to label and tag the videos to help with searching)
2. Encourage snacking (displaying related videos around the main video)
3. Produce for the Medium (i.e. short form content, bearing in mind not all genres are equal)
   - Av length is 2.6 mins
   - Less videos provide fictional narrative and drama, more at news, paparazzi video, individual personalities
4. Use Internet Distribution
   -  Allow consumers to embed your videos
   -  Organise syndication with internet video distributors
5. Monetize (for non branded sites)
   -  Need to thinking through how to integrate 15 sec pre-rolls
   -  For Brands .. the creation of 15 sec pre-rolls is an important strategy

With video becoming more and more popular as a medium, brands have a unique chance to join the conversation, sharing valuable content about related topics.

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3.1

Mike Murphy VP Media Sales Facebook (x-Yahoo) gave today’s keynote address and spoke on the Power of Social Media for Brands.  Some key take outs.

Facebook Australia Statistics
- now have 2.2 million
- that is 1 in 5 Australia people online.

Mike talked around the frequency of how Brands are mentioned in conversations without incentives.
For example, there are
- 118000 mentions of McDonalds
- 7000 mentions of Ikea in their profile

Polls
You can now run polls on Facebook, and in this example people were asked on their preference for Vegimite, Marmite or neither), and in 14 mins over 500 responses were received.

Trust and influence
People are discovering their friends various passion points, and this is being used to influence purchasing behaviour, as well as close friends being trusted for all topics.

Value of online media
Mike showed some examples of branded online media
Ali versus Ali (addidas)
Aussie Week (which was is a clever travel log showing real people experiencing Australia)

Distribution through Conversation
Mike talked through the social graph to explain social networking

Media spend
4 to 5 % of budgets are being spent online in Australia versus 25% in the US
He appealed to the industry to find better ways to measure engagement

Examples of companies doing social media right
1. Be a part of the experience
Gillette Venus Breeze razors, which asked women to interact with experiences

2. Maintain a daily dialogue
JP Morgan / Chase bank.
- Asked collegue students what was important to them in a credit card
- Results suggested that points were important, but that they didn’t feel they would accumulate enough points
- Chase responded with an application that enabled student to accumulate points together and then you could see how many points your network has
- This was the most successful credit card campaign that Chase has done

3. Give a reason to share
Cloverfield movie .. created a facebook application which could run as a widget on users pages.

 

What makes social media different and exciting? (some quotes from leading US ad execs)
- The power of conversation
- Like the difference between leaving a voice mail and the other person picking up and talking
- Putting your brand out their and letting people contribute to it
- How do you listen and engage consumer needs … over and above your brand needs
- Creating a fair value exchange - experience for their attention

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3.1