MediaWhiz’s leaders are continually sought after as resources for opinions, advice and expertise, based on our deep understanding of industry trends, the needs of our customers and the broader marketplace in which we operate.
For the week of Aug. 20–24, 2012, MediaWhiz experts were quoted or featured on a variety of digital media news and trends, including Facebook marketing, the integration of social media and search and mobile payments. Their commentary was featured in
Advertising Age, eMarketer, MarketWatch / Wall Street Journal and
iMedia Connection.
Aug. 17, 2012 | Advertising Age (Op-Ed by Adam Riff, SVP of digital strategy)
When it was reported in early May that social advertising had overtaken search, many in the search-marketing industry reacted with disbelief. Some wished to take up a protracted battle with social-media marketers over whose turf reigns supreme.
Sadly, much of the discussion completely missed the point of what this data tell us: the age of the “walled garden” approach to search marketing is over. Let us all rejoice. The search-vs.-social debate is a worthless pursuit. Brands don’t care, nor should marketers.
The future of search marketing will demand a blend of many different digital-marketing components — traditional search, retargeting, display, etc. — that must reach audiences across a wide swath of media, as consumers use many different devices to search for content across multiple platforms and interfaces.
Marketers need to focus on how well they are integrating social within search, and vice versa. It’s not an either-or debate. There are two reasons this is true.
Social Signals. In the old days of search — that is, pre-2012 — many brands and agencies kept their search-marketing campaigns, both organic and paid, separate from social-media campaigns. They feared that mixing the two might alienate the respective audiences of what are sometimes highly distinct customer bases. Read more … (more…)
By Heather Fernandez | Senior SEO Strategist
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed originally published in Mobile Marketer magazine. Read the full opinion piece here.
Mobile is not just for email anymore.
That is evident to any marketer who has spent time around teens, at a mall or at a sporting event. Mobile is everywhere and it is reshaping how people interact with brands and make online purchases.
In a three-month study spanning February to May 2012, comScore found that 234 million U.S. consumers use smartphones and, of that number, 110 million are smartphones owners.
This impressive growth demonstrates the need for marketers to understand that consumers are changing their online behavior when they research and engage with brands.
Consumers are using the Web 24/7, thanks to the affordability and portability of owning a mobile device. The issue they increasingly face is trying to connect with businesses that have yet to adopt a mobile-friendly digital strategy.
Brands that have not developed such a strategy are missing out on the largest segment of online growth opportunities.
Read the full op-ed in Mobile Marketer.
By Adam Riff | @AdamRiff | SVP, Digital Strategy
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed that was originally published in Advertising Age.
When it was reported in early May that social advertising had overtaken search, many in the search-marketing industry reacted with disbelief. Some wished to take up a protracted battle with social-media marketers over whose turf reigns supreme.
Sadly, much of the discussion completely missed the point of what this data tell us: the age of the “walled garden” approach to search marketing is over. Let us all rejoice. The search-vs.-social debate is a worthless pursuit. Brands don’t care, nor should marketers.
The future of search marketing will demand a blend of many different digital-marketing components — traditional search, retargeting, display, etc. — that must reach audiences across a wide swath of media, as consumers use many different devices to search for content across multiple platforms and interfaces.
Marketers need to focus on how well they are integrating social within search, and vice versa. It’s not an either-or debate. There are two reasons this is true.
Social Signals. In the old days of search — that is, pre-2012 — many brands and agencies kept their search-marketing campaigns, both organic and paid, separate from social-media campaigns. They feared that mixing the two might alienate the respective audiences of what are sometimes highly distinct customer bases.
But that’s all in the past. Social signals and the rapid expansion of the digital-advertising industry are forever altering the search-marketing landscape — for the better. While still a relatively small portion of search marketing, social signals – the signals from Google +, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks that Google considers in its algorithm — are already being optimized for by sophisticated search marketers. More broadly, the digital-advertising industry is poised to reach $39.5 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer, and will overtake TV advertising spend by 2016. That’s too big a pot to be arguing over.
Read the full op-ed in Advertising Age.
MediaWhiz’s leaders are continually sought after as resources for opinions, advice and expertise, based on our deep understanding of industry trends, the needs of our customers and the broader marketplace in which we operate.
The Wall Street Journal / SmartMoney | Featuring Daryl Colwell, VP of Business Development
… Plus, the leather wallet has one distinct advantage: It doesn’t require a battery. Even a digital-wallet fanatic is “always going to want some kind of backup,” says Daryl Colwell, a vice president at MediaWhiz, a digital media agency.
If there’s good news for consumers, however, it’s that as retailers embrace mobile commerce they could be offering deals of all sorts as part of the formula, experts say. Think “instant” coupons or other offers, designed to trigger a last-minute purchase.
And just as retailers will offer shoppers a special one-time discount for signing up for an in-house credit card, they could do the same with a mobile-wallet platform.
Mr. Colwell believes it’s this sort of promotion that could ultimately make the mobile wallet a mainstream consumer reality. “As long as there’s a big incentive for shoppers to jump on board, they’re going to jump on board,” he says. Read more …
Note: Article also published on MSN Money. (more…)
By Keith Trivitt | @KeithTrivitt | Director, Marketing and Communications
Courtesy of blogtipswriter.com
Facebook has been all over the news lately. Unfortunately for the company, much of that news has been of the non-positive, stock-sinking variety. But there is a silver lining: Facebook appears to be finally getting its act together when it comes to brand advertising! At least, that’s what we’re led to believe by the frenetic PR push the company has been on in recent weeks.
The reality, as Digiday’s Brian Morrissey expertly dissected in a recent post, is more nuanced and less rosy for the social network. In that blistering post, Morrissey declared what many digital marketers have long grumbled to themselves: “Facebook’s got a brand problem.”
The post details how, despite some laudatory press about its overhauled ad offerings, marketers aren’t buying the hype that Facebook is trying to portray about its value to advertisers. “More often than not, marketers proclaim to love Facebook, only not for the ads,” Morrissey says. But much of what they love about Facebook is its “earned and owned media” and brand equity-building qualities: the fact that it allows brands a free and enormous platform upon which they can distribute their messages to whomever they’d like.
Despite this apparent upside, there are many reasons why skepticism remains high among marketers over the value of advertising on Facebook. Whether it is the feeling that Facebook just doesn’t just doesn’t care about brands, or the daily grind marketers have trying get some semblance of reasonable stats and analytics about the value of the money they spend on Facebook advertising, the general perception seems to be that Facebook is putting on a show for advertisers rather than helping them deliver results. (more…)
By Ed Kats | President
While not ideal, DNT legislation could foster improved media integration
Proposed do-not-track (DNT) legislation will create numerous barriers for advertisers, brands and agencies. The ability to track consumers’ online purchasing habits and deliver targeted ads based on data collected is a cornerstone of e-commerce.
DNT legislation will make online ads less relevant, forcing potentially unforeseeable changes — not to mention increased costs — into the digital ecosystem. This will adversely affect consumers’ online experiences in a manner few proponents are willing to admit.
Despite these issues, the enactment of DNT legislation will not destroy online advertising.
While we do not wish to see this legislation passed we believe it would force marketers to be more creative in their campaigns. It may foster the development of closer connections and opt-ins between brands and consumers. This, in turn, will deliver more detailed customer data and more successful purchase paths.
Numerous products and services exist that help agencies and advertisers target consumers and collect publicly available data. If advertisers are compelled to collect that information offline (as would be the case if DNT legislation is passed), those capabilities will still remain.
The two behemoths of online advertising — Google and Facebook — offer examples of how DNT legislation could imperil future growth and innovation of online advertising but won’t dampen the industry’s prospects. (more…)
By Keith Trivitt | @KeithTrivitt | Director, Marketing and Communications
Growth in the email marketing industry shows no signs of abating. Analyst firm Forrester Research forecasts U.S. email marketing spend to reach $1.7 billion in 2012, a 12-percent increase over 2011. Fueling that growth is the increasing combination of email with social media and direct marketing that many businesses are using to deliver more targeted and relevant campaigns to consumers.
Much of this improvement is based on data and learned information about customers.
New technology has created an evolution for direct mail marketing, allowing companies to seamlessly integrate it with email marketing. This delivers better leads for brands while ensuring their direct mail and email marketing campaigns are actually read by consumers.
Recently, MediaWhiz President Ed Kats was asked by Inc. magazine to offer his thoughts on how companies can effectively integrate direct mail marketing and email marketing. Below is a summary of his responses:
- Know your audience and business model and then integrate direct mail marketing and email marketing to either be a 1-2 sales punch or complimentary to each other. For example: direct mail is meant to compel customers into a store through the use of coupons or advertisements. An email is generally meant as an “Act now!” retail sale for non-considered / non-essential purchases. For considered purchases (those that consumers think about purchasing before going to a store or brand website), companies should use direct mail and email marketing in tandem to drive consumers to either call or visit a website and “learn more” about the product.
- When used for customer relationship management (CRM) campaigns, businesses should plan their event calendar well ahead of time and make sure they have different conversations with customers across direct mail and email marketing that are complimentary to each other. It’s important, however, that those marketing pieces are segmented by tactic and channel to ensure quality and consistency with how your customers have responded to direct mail and email offers in the past.
What are your tips and best practices for integrating email marketing and direct mail marketing campaigns? Share them in the comments section.
By Ed Kats | President
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed that was originally published at AdExchanger.com.
Some marketers love to bash Facebook ads. We saw it in the immediate aftermath of General Motors pulling its $10 million cache of ad buys just days before Facebook’s IPO. We continue to see it as the company’s stock price stumbles.
The truth is, Facebook is finally developing new, exciting ways to deliver real value to online advertisers. It’s time for marketers to recognize that value and get serious about Facebook ads.
In recent weeks, the company has announced a number of prominent changes to its ad platform, including a real-time bidding exchange, mobile-only ads, and a rumored ”want” button that would “only work with content identified as relating to a purchasable product.”
Facebook also has increased its outreach to the advertising industry. Through various public and private campaigns, it is working to educate marketers about its multitude of ad options and addressing their concerns about the need for more precise data and analytics. At the Cannes Lions festival last month, Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s vice president of global marketing solutions, made the rounds touting the social network’s various ad options.
The key to the success of all of Facebook’s new ad options is segmentation. Segmentation gives marketers the ability to analyze and make real-time media buying decisions based on data available through Facebook’s interface. For agencies, segmentation marks another opportunity to optimize, target deeper and increase conversion rates. The segmentation and retargeting opportunities now exist that will enable Facebook ads to be profitable for brands.
Read the full post at AdExchanger.com.
By Steve Goldner | @SocialSteve | Senior Director, Social Media
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published in iMedia Connection.
Web hosting company HostPapa’s new infographic comparing email marketing and social media marketing has given marketers a new lightning-rod topic to debate.
Despite no shortage of proponents in each camp, we think the conclusion is simple: it’s pointless to compare email marketing with social media marketing. Each has a unique value. More importantly, we believe that email and social media should be used in tandem, not against each other, for effective digital media and marketing campaigns.
The problem with comparing email marketing and social media marketing is apparent: one (social media marketing) is a brand strategy while the other (email) is a direct-response strategy. Each requires the other in some form to be effective, and each builds off the other for greater value and efficiency.
The infographic isn’t without merit. It offers some valuable insight marketers can use to understand how, when and where to use and integrate email marketing and social media marketing to improve their lead-gen and digital engagement efforts.
But first, it’s necessary to look at the facts.
Email Still Generates Results
Email marketing continues to produce eye-popping results. According to HostPapa, business spending on email marketing campaigns has increased 60 percent in the past year, accumulating 17.4 percent of U.S. brands’ digital marketing budgets in 2011. Email open rates continue to rise, too, improving 12.6 percent in Q1 2012, according to a report by Epsilon and the Direct Marketing Association.
Those are no small feats; especially for a form of digital communications many believe is dead/has died/will die. (more…)
By Keith Trivitt | @KeithTrivitt | Director, Marketing and Communications
Of all the hot trends in digital marketing — Facebook advertising, the future of display ads, mobile payments — perhaps none is getting more attention at the moment than mobile search. As developed nations continue their march into the era of the mobile-dominated Web, mobile search marketing has taken on an increasingly important role for brands, marketers and advertisers.
According to IBM and other industry observers, 2012 is shaping up to be the year of mobile. Direct Marketing News reported in May that mobile commerce accounted for 13.3 percent of all online sales in Q1 2012, up from 7 percent a year ago. The growth and power of mobile commerce is further magnified by data from IBM showing that mobile traffic to retailer sites made up 17 percent of all online traffic in Q1 2012.
And as Kleiner Perkins partner and Internet analyst Mary Meeker famously reported in 2010 (and others have confirmed since then) mobile Internet is projected to overtake fixed Internet by 2015.
Clearly, mobile marketing and mobile search have taken their places as digital marketing’s rising stars.
Here at MediaWhiz, mobile search is part of the lifeblood of our successful and growing search marketing practice. It has helped us retain a top-20 ranking among search agencies in Advertising Age’s Agency Report, and it is increasingly being utilized across various client campaigns.
It’s also a topic we love to talk about, both internally among colleagues and externally with clients, analysts and the media. The latter is where we recently had the opportunity to discuss this fascinating industry trend.
In a detailed report out this month in Direct Marketing News, Adam Riff, MediaWhiz’s senior vice president of digital strategy, offers analysis and perspective on how brands and agencies can develop effective mobile search marketing campaigns. (more…)
