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How should online deliver messages to consumers – segmentation and smartness
With video becoming more and more prevalent through the web questions are starting to be raised as to how best deliver advertising messages to people in a medium , which is very different from TV. The argument goes that online people are actively engaging, they are in a non passive mode therefore delivering adverts such a as a 30 second spot will not be as effective ( inefficient as it may be ) as through traditional broadcast means. CNET and Google are starting to deliver video which is either inter dispersed with adverts , or are ‘ topped and tailed ‘ with adverts – however is the is really the most effective way of engaging the customer – does this represent real value for money for advertisers and how much thought actually goes into ensuring messages are compatible with the content on screen. A recent article in the Media Guardian highlighted the issue with broadcast , highlighting a plight which online suffers from – wrongly It outlines the recent events surrounding the final demise of Sadaam Hussein , the build up and events of his hanging being then interrupted by a ‘ cheery advert to by a sofa “ – a prime example of “jarring and a bit insensitive “. Along with giving other examples of McDonalds adverts being run next to childhood obesity in the press, they make the interesting point as the demarcation of adverts becomes more blurred due to shorter and shorter messages being squeezed in between programming - that we are not given enough time to make the shift between entertainment and promotion. This coupled with the increase in content driven promotion, such as the recent Audi TV channel and the fact that most TV productions now carry forms of in program sponsorship and branding – is it not true that we no longer truly realise when we are / are not being advertised – the entire viewing experience now is one long advert.
How best to approach this for the web - “contextually targeted, demo-targeted, frequency capped and combined with a companion piece” Bradley Werner’s comments (http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/13112.asp ) above he highlights one of the keys lies in the context. I would argue though simple segmentation to decide on what type of adverts to display does not go far enough ( even though this would be a great start , advertisers have to realise that simply picking high volume traffic sites may not be the best route ) . More time and effort should be spent on analysing empirical browsing habits from the session. From this you could determine both the context and also the frequency and type of advertisements to display – varying from banner adverts which are functional and could be displayed as a shopping cart after the programming or indeed adding promotional content to the piece (which could vary in terms of message and length) knowing or at least having a good indication, that the content piece is valuable enough in this instance to attach such messages for this particular person. In essence building a profile and then deciding upon what could be tolerated and be useful to the viewer. From a supposed interactive medium we should expect and deliver a more meaningful dialogue.
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Technology Marriage - back from Divorce
Media and new technology have been co-existing in a ' uncomfortable ' relationship for the past 5 years. A sort of arranged marriage if you like which offered promise and excitement through the prospect, but never really delivered on these wedding vows. The main issue all along has been consumer acceptance , the technology has , so far not actually delivered what consumers actually wanted.
This year see's the marriage start to blossom with promise , Sky+ continues its growth , mobile finally has a working delivery for TV through handsets and BT/ NTL and Sky's push into broadband gives us hope that on-demand may start making inroads and become the ' de-facto ' delivery for programming.
Programme schedules will be flipped on their side as consumers finally let their viewing habits be merged with profiles to lasso all the diverged delivery methods into one personalised channel. In terms of fragmentation , with audience sessions for MSN and Google in the 70 million for the UK in one week ( compared to the Sun newspaper equating to 50 ) with the prospect of the traditional radio and broadcast traffic being squirted to users through these various pipes , I say convergence is starting to ring the church bells.
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Media fragmentation
You say fragmented and divided, I say organised and concentrated. Marketers’ can no longer thin slice, they need to enter into a meaningful dialogue in order to capture both peoples attention and imagination. Take a look at http://www.pandora.com for the future of how our personal media consumption can deliver both specific relevant content, while interjecting ‘ something new and surprising ‘ through a little thought and technology.
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Media has always been fragmented
We have in theory only added on more medium to all of this in the past 10 years – the net. TV, Radio, WOM, Outdoor, Cinema have all existed. Just like the Internet bubble is again now growing ( with a harder , tougher shell ) convergence is coming back...... Demographics If we take the continuation of the single person household le person ( by 2010 this will represent the largest household type ) and the choice now being channel based rather than time based only from the broadcast days - I believe contributes more realistically as to why we no longer get 20 million people viewing Coronation Street - rather than the fact 50 more channels exist ( also take into consideration Ethnic population grows 54% compared with 4% for the UK – again is Yorkshire life in a public house really what people from differing backgrounds interested in. ) Certain events such as the World Cup produce that the correct content gives you the numbers – the event requires it be worthwhile. Immediacy adds relevance Elections are on the wane in terms of turnout however people through the use of Blogs are showing they still wish to be engaged in the democratic process, express their views and contribute through demonstrations , so why the poor turn out ? - the format of the ballot is alien to a large proportion of the population. The thought of having to ‘ schedule ‘ your support and be attending the voting booth, of using a medium such as mail which requires the most simple boundary of a stamp – why not move voting online – see the results rocket the other way. People today are watching more television albeit over a more diversely spread set of channels, without the use of technology you are of course going to spend more money trying to reach this ‘ dislocated ‘ group of people In the past 3 basic channels ( with shorter viewing windows – I recall broadcast finishing at 11 pm – I’m not exactly old either ! ) and 15 TV companies in the UK alone. This condensation of viewable time funnelled people in – the funnel is now wider , however technology will act as the lasso brining it all together. Convergence If we took their individual programming schedules of those 15 regions , combined with ‘ viewable time ‘ , then we mapped the programming we would indeed see the view that would be regarded as ‘ fragmented ‘ in the true sense of the word. The adage from David Ogilvy about which part advertising does not work is born from this. Scrap heap challenge Today they ( the broadcasters – a term which is due for the scrap heap really soon ) have in effect flipped the TV schedule onto one side , and built depth into each of the previous vertical sectors – spawning specialist channel – the depth we see today. Convergence a word pulled from the scrap heap however describes technologies job into consolidating all of these outlets of content back into 1 channel.
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Change
In our college days research was conducted in the library , spend hours researching and cross referencing and actually ended up understanding more about the surrounding information than the specific facts we initially wanted,. Nowadays with search the honing process of finding the answer immediately gives us a great ‘ veneer ‘ to our understanding , and in most case fulfils the need to hand – however it gave depth context and relevance.
With brands no longer being able to live and breath on the fact they add value and are trusted because they are recognised , data and understanding are becoming more important again. Comparison websites in effect will be the person at the library, performing the research and ultimately providing the potential buyer with a simple decision – product A fits your requirements – brand name will come a second place in this.
Photo’s – no digital cameras, no selecting which were your favourite shots. 24 and one may have been brilliant. This though gives rise to the technology effect of time stealing, as now we have much more information, catalogue your photo’s , learn the software and buy a computer just to facilitate the photo album which we would have previously been happy with. In search of perfection may take away the ‘ feeling ‘ which old albums evoke.
Appreciation for the finer things – with over 1,000 songs in your pocket the argument goes how can you become intimate with music anymore, with the choice and availability along with illegal methods for obtaining and copying music ( previously to steal you would have had to physically been present, technology removes the accountability from a physiological point of view ) will the future generation tune into the finer points of artist works, or is this symptomatic of the fact we are all now content producers and the quality is no longer there for us to ponder and appreciate – for everyone Honda Cog, there are a thousand Crazy Frogs as the saying goes – I always found my favourite albums were the ones I listened to over and over , I came to spend time with them and appreciate over time.
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“Relationship management “ – Google to start the dating game ?
Social networking phenomenon continues to grown – MySpace with a unique audience of 36 million people ( Nielsen netrating March 2006 ) , Youtube with over 19 and dating sites such as Match.com has over 15 million members with profiles posted.
Dating is ‘ dated ‘
The trouble with all dating websites / contact websites is the very fact they are static.
The medium has moved on very little from the days of the newspaper advert of ‘ tall dark handsome male ‘ seeking ‘ slim attractive female ‘ to only now including pictures of the suitor or female to be wooed.
This , considering the primary function of the dating website is to promote ‘ engagement ‘ ( literally ) the present format is lacking.
Sites such as Friends Reunited have within their portal added instant messaging function to expand the usefulness of the site from being just a conduit, to being the tool for nurturing those all important first exchanged words in a real time fashion.
Match.com part way went the route all portals should take , allowing video content to be uploaded, which fits nicely into a new purchase Google has just made with Youtube.
Extending the YouTube service to include profiles of its users , joining up their content to their profile and that of the person they are looking for will act as a far more engaging user experience – it is a winning solution.
Visual representation portrays an honest insight into people psyche and personalities beyond that of a series of tem plated questions and answers being displayed. I am sure that the % success rate for matching people would increase. For those sites such as Myspace, which inadvertently promote relationships ( that are just beyond a shag ) this could be just the potion to build a revenue stream beyond that of advertising.
ITV’s purchase of friends-reunited makes for a mouth watering possibility, with an audience that is still used to using the TV as it’s primary source for information and entertainment, to engage in some visual interviewing an selection ( the red button ) of my next wife.
How technology helps to find and show, your love
Bluetooth - Your perfect match through perimeter based systems – your profile is stored and sent to other devices in range , allowing for you to target , or be targeted by your perfect suitor ( I would add that maybe a breath testing kit be integrated into this to ensure the ‘ beer goggles ‘ are not affecting judgement
SMS – informal way of flirting – with XXX texts sent on valentines, this is still the most popular method of non verbal communication
Email – the classic method for those interoffice communications , with the advent of Sarbanes Oxley though , I am sure this auditable method is on the way out
Websites – Social sites, Myspace, Match.com
The digital Camera – no more Polaroid’s means your bits are now ‘ bytes ‘ to be sent along the digital airwaves
Additional cross promotional opportunities
Dating sites should engage lastminute to allow potential lovers the opportunity to book restaurants, flights and gift items.
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