Consumer confidence in both consumer electronics and the overall economy jumped in August, according to the CEA-CNET monthly index. The CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Expectations, which measures the overall economy, jumped six points from July's yearly low, reaching 172.2. The number is also a gain of six and a half points from the same point last year. Meanwhile, the Index of Consumer Technology Expectations rose one and a half points to 78.2, for its fourth gain in five months. “While consumers remain cautious, an increase in the dollar amount consumers are willing to spend is a positive sign for manufacturers and retailers,” CEA economist Shawn DuBravac said as part of the announcement. “Sentiment is improving at a crucial time in the year – as students head back to school and consumers begin to think about the holiday shopping season.”
Share this with clients who still shy from their needed branding and media marketing
PJL
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Mobile Marketing for Dummies
By Eric Holmen, President of SmartReply
According to a recent study done by Project Lighthouse, only 8% of consumers haven’t change their spending habits since the beginning of the recession. So why do retailers continue to use the same marketing techniques to try to get consumers to let go of their hard-earned dollars? Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Retailers need to embrace new channels with higher response rates and lower costs to get the most out of their shrunken marketing budgets. The latest Advertiser Optimism Report from Advertiser Perceptions finds media-buyers are more optimistic about mobile than any other channel. Why is mobile the best channel for retailers looking to increase revenues and brand loyalty?
· At least 50 percent of the world’s population owns a mobile phone and penetration in many developed countries already exceeds 100 percent.
· Mobile offers the best return on investment compared to other marketing communication channels.
· Mobile has greater targeting capabilities and more personalization.
· Sending relevant, tailored and timely messages to a consumer’s mobile phone delivers far higher conversion rates from communication to sales.
· The always-on, always-available nature of the mobile device presents a unique opportunity for marketers to engage directly with consumers, building a meaningful dialogue, while respecting consumer privacy.
I’ve compiled a list of the seven deadly sins of mobile marketing; basically, a list of what-not-to-do’s for retailers who are looking to try out mobile for the first time.
1. Garbage in, garbage out
As with any marketing approach, sending inappropriate, irrelevant or poorly targeted content buys you a ticket to one place - the sin bin. Do not be tempted to send trashy content. SMS marketing works exactly the same way as other ad mediums in turning customers off. 64% of consumers find mobile ads irritating if they aren’t delivering valuable or relevant content, while 3 out of 10 US mobile users recall relevant mobile ads. So if you don’t fancy being blacklisted from your customer’s phone, understand their preferences and dislikes before sending content, even if it’s a simple text message.
2. The road to nowhere
Spam ‘em? Don’t even think about it. The mobile phone is a high-ranking highly-personal possession and should be treated with respect. It is one of the three things people do not leave home without – the other two being keys and wallet. Call it sacrosanct. Spam has no place on mobile phones (as start-up HeyCosmo found out last year when it sent phone spam to certain bloggers). Opt-in is the only road forward for mobile marketing, with FTC regulations firmly in place to weed out any maverick marketers around.
3. Pick a time, any time
Some marketers might be mistaken in thinking that any time is a good time to send a text message. Just like telemarketers calling up during dinnertime, the text message delivered at the wrong time will appear obtrusive, unwelcome and potentially annoying to the customer. So what is the right time to text? Ask the customer when they sign up to receive your messaging.
4. Gimmicks, gadgets, gizmos and junks
As a guest on consumers’ mobile phones, sending gimmicks to enter competitions (that are not relevant), links to irrelevant banners or scrolling through multiple screens will get you blacklisted faster that you can say TXT2LOSE. If a consumer has signed up to receive price alerts, notifications of new arrivals or discounts on favorite items – send those only. Leave the gimmicks and silly banner links for someone else.
5. Don’t dish up seconds and thirds
An honest marketer will tell you that campaigns do not always translate successfully into other mediums. Just because an online campaign yielded great results with low CPM, it is no guarantee of similar success with mobile. A strategy for mobile should have its own identity, but be able to integrate with others. And with a small screen and size limitation of 160 characters, you need to get2the!
6. Safe data, smart operator
Security breaches happen because someone somewhere wasn’t smart enough, while someone somewhere else was much smarter. If you value your customers, then you’ll value keeping their data safe and well protected especially as mobile commerce and banking grows. Brand erosion and the damage from loss of customer trust caused by security breaches can end up costing a company millions.
7. You’re dumped
The point to all this advice is about developing and feeding your relationship with consumers. Marketing - mobile or otherwise - does not drive most transactions. Relationships and trust do. So if relationships drive transactions and business, marketers must treat their mobile relationships with respect and without aggression. Most of all, marketers have to show consumers their raison d’être in order to become a valued and trusted part of that mobile phone carrier’s life. Otherwise, you’re dumped.
About Eric Holmen
Eric is responsible for leading SmartReply’s strategic and creative teams in developing innovative voice, mobile marketing and advertising solutions to make the mobile phone valuable for consumers and advertisers: delivering solutions that are engaging, while empowering consumers to obtain the most relevant information onto their mobile phones. For more information about Eric or SmartReply, please visit www.smartreply.com.
According to a recent study done by Project Lighthouse, only 8% of consumers haven’t change their spending habits since the beginning of the recession. So why do retailers continue to use the same marketing techniques to try to get consumers to let go of their hard-earned dollars? Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Retailers need to embrace new channels with higher response rates and lower costs to get the most out of their shrunken marketing budgets. The latest Advertiser Optimism Report from Advertiser Perceptions finds media-buyers are more optimistic about mobile than any other channel. Why is mobile the best channel for retailers looking to increase revenues and brand loyalty?
· At least 50 percent of the world’s population owns a mobile phone and penetration in many developed countries already exceeds 100 percent.
· Mobile offers the best return on investment compared to other marketing communication channels.
· Mobile has greater targeting capabilities and more personalization.
· Sending relevant, tailored and timely messages to a consumer’s mobile phone delivers far higher conversion rates from communication to sales.
· The always-on, always-available nature of the mobile device presents a unique opportunity for marketers to engage directly with consumers, building a meaningful dialogue, while respecting consumer privacy.
I’ve compiled a list of the seven deadly sins of mobile marketing; basically, a list of what-not-to-do’s for retailers who are looking to try out mobile for the first time.
1. Garbage in, garbage out
As with any marketing approach, sending inappropriate, irrelevant or poorly targeted content buys you a ticket to one place - the sin bin. Do not be tempted to send trashy content. SMS marketing works exactly the same way as other ad mediums in turning customers off. 64% of consumers find mobile ads irritating if they aren’t delivering valuable or relevant content, while 3 out of 10 US mobile users recall relevant mobile ads. So if you don’t fancy being blacklisted from your customer’s phone, understand their preferences and dislikes before sending content, even if it’s a simple text message.
2. The road to nowhere
Spam ‘em? Don’t even think about it. The mobile phone is a high-ranking highly-personal possession and should be treated with respect. It is one of the three things people do not leave home without – the other two being keys and wallet. Call it sacrosanct. Spam has no place on mobile phones (as start-up HeyCosmo found out last year when it sent phone spam to certain bloggers). Opt-in is the only road forward for mobile marketing, with FTC regulations firmly in place to weed out any maverick marketers around.
3. Pick a time, any time
Some marketers might be mistaken in thinking that any time is a good time to send a text message. Just like telemarketers calling up during dinnertime, the text message delivered at the wrong time will appear obtrusive, unwelcome and potentially annoying to the customer. So what is the right time to text? Ask the customer when they sign up to receive your messaging.
4. Gimmicks, gadgets, gizmos and junks
As a guest on consumers’ mobile phones, sending gimmicks to enter competitions (that are not relevant), links to irrelevant banners or scrolling through multiple screens will get you blacklisted faster that you can say TXT2LOSE. If a consumer has signed up to receive price alerts, notifications of new arrivals or discounts on favorite items – send those only. Leave the gimmicks and silly banner links for someone else.
5. Don’t dish up seconds and thirds
An honest marketer will tell you that campaigns do not always translate successfully into other mediums. Just because an online campaign yielded great results with low CPM, it is no guarantee of similar success with mobile. A strategy for mobile should have its own identity, but be able to integrate with others. And with a small screen and size limitation of 160 characters, you need to get2the!
6. Safe data, smart operator
Security breaches happen because someone somewhere wasn’t smart enough, while someone somewhere else was much smarter. If you value your customers, then you’ll value keeping their data safe and well protected especially as mobile commerce and banking grows. Brand erosion and the damage from loss of customer trust caused by security breaches can end up costing a company millions.
7. You’re dumped
The point to all this advice is about developing and feeding your relationship with consumers. Marketing - mobile or otherwise - does not drive most transactions. Relationships and trust do. So if relationships drive transactions and business, marketers must treat their mobile relationships with respect and without aggression. Most of all, marketers have to show consumers their raison d’être in order to become a valued and trusted part of that mobile phone carrier’s life. Otherwise, you’re dumped.
About Eric Holmen
Eric is responsible for leading SmartReply’s strategic and creative teams in developing innovative voice, mobile marketing and advertising solutions to make the mobile phone valuable for consumers and advertisers: delivering solutions that are engaging, while empowering consumers to obtain the most relevant information onto their mobile phones. For more information about Eric or SmartReply, please visit www.smartreply.com.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Business Primer For Media Sales AEs
Are You Making Enough Profit to Grow?
Chaitanya Sagar
Aug 20, 2009 - I have spoken to many small business owners recently. I wanted to know from them what their plans to grow are. This is what I realized when I talked to them. Each of the business owners thinks her business is a ‘work-in-progress.’ Not a finished product. They believe that they are going to be big – though they are small now.Many have a ‘cash-flow’ view of their business and not a profit approach to it. Let me explain. When I say ‘cash-flow’ approach, they understand how much cash is coming in and how much is going out as expense. But what they don’t know are answers to the following questions:
Did I make a profit or loss?
Am I earning enough to grow?
How am I going to fund growth?
If I continue my current funding strategy, will growth be possible? The scary thing is that some have been in ‘I-will-grow’ mode for over 10 years. And they have either given up their growth plans or are still in the growth illusion. What is Your Strategy to Fund Your Business Growth?I will use two broad categories of funding for this discussion. First is external (I include everything from VC funding to a bank loan in this category) and second is internal accrual. Internal accruals are used by most small businesses to fund growth. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, are your internal accruals sufficient to fund your growth? How will you know?It’s Not Sufficient If You BreakevenWhen someone says they have “broken even” in the business, they generally mean that have been able to pay all bills from revenue. However, when you break even, did you realize that you may actually have an accounting loss in that month? Because to calculate accounting profit or loss, you have to deduct ‘non-cash’ expenditures like depreciation. When you do that, you may actually end up with a net loss. Net Income Determines If You Can Grow I had this question about ‘am I funding my business right’ that had been bugging me for some time. And I modeled it in a simple spreadsheet. What I noticed is startling. But first the assumptions I made.
I assumed the starting revenue is $100. (you can make it $100K if you want)
I have assumed that entire Net Margin is reinvested in the business (in the model you can download, I have given another option – reinvest only 50% in the business).
I have assumed a ‘growth multiplier’ factor which is if you reinvest $100 into the business, it leads to revenue growth of reinvestment times growth factor from next month onwards. ResultsThe results of the modeling are revealing. If you have a 5% net margin, and 10% growth multiplier, it’s difficult to make even 5-6% growth per year. But if you have a 20% net margin and a 30% growth multiplier, you can achieve as much as 80% growth in a year. The crux of this model is that it’s important to know how much net margin you are making. And it’s important to know how much you are reinvesting in ‘growth expenditure’ (i.e. marketing or other expenditure that results in growth in revenue). I have given the financial model itself so you can play with it and generate your own insights. Share your thoughts!
Chaitanya Sagar is the Founder and CEO of p2w2 (for PeopleToWorkWith), which helps small businesses outsource services like business and financial planning, software, virtual assistance, and research. p2w2 focuses on building relationships with vendors so you can focus on your business. Chaitanya blogs at p2w2 blog.
Chaitanya Sagar
Aug 20, 2009 - I have spoken to many small business owners recently. I wanted to know from them what their plans to grow are. This is what I realized when I talked to them. Each of the business owners thinks her business is a ‘work-in-progress.’ Not a finished product. They believe that they are going to be big – though they are small now.Many have a ‘cash-flow’ view of their business and not a profit approach to it. Let me explain. When I say ‘cash-flow’ approach, they understand how much cash is coming in and how much is going out as expense. But what they don’t know are answers to the following questions:
Did I make a profit or loss?
Am I earning enough to grow?
How am I going to fund growth?
If I continue my current funding strategy, will growth be possible? The scary thing is that some have been in ‘I-will-grow’ mode for over 10 years. And they have either given up their growth plans or are still in the growth illusion. What is Your Strategy to Fund Your Business Growth?I will use two broad categories of funding for this discussion. First is external (I include everything from VC funding to a bank loan in this category) and second is internal accrual. Internal accruals are used by most small businesses to fund growth. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, are your internal accruals sufficient to fund your growth? How will you know?It’s Not Sufficient If You BreakevenWhen someone says they have “broken even” in the business, they generally mean that have been able to pay all bills from revenue. However, when you break even, did you realize that you may actually have an accounting loss in that month? Because to calculate accounting profit or loss, you have to deduct ‘non-cash’ expenditures like depreciation. When you do that, you may actually end up with a net loss. Net Income Determines If You Can Grow I had this question about ‘am I funding my business right’ that had been bugging me for some time. And I modeled it in a simple spreadsheet. What I noticed is startling. But first the assumptions I made.
I assumed the starting revenue is $100. (you can make it $100K if you want)
I have assumed that entire Net Margin is reinvested in the business (in the model you can download, I have given another option – reinvest only 50% in the business).
I have assumed a ‘growth multiplier’ factor which is if you reinvest $100 into the business, it leads to revenue growth of reinvestment times growth factor from next month onwards. ResultsThe results of the modeling are revealing. If you have a 5% net margin, and 10% growth multiplier, it’s difficult to make even 5-6% growth per year. But if you have a 20% net margin and a 30% growth multiplier, you can achieve as much as 80% growth in a year. The crux of this model is that it’s important to know how much net margin you are making. And it’s important to know how much you are reinvesting in ‘growth expenditure’ (i.e. marketing or other expenditure that results in growth in revenue). I have given the financial model itself so you can play with it and generate your own insights. Share your thoughts!
Chaitanya Sagar is the Founder and CEO of p2w2 (for PeopleToWorkWith), which helps small businesses outsource services like business and financial planning, software, virtual assistance, and research. p2w2 focuses on building relationships with vendors so you can focus on your business. Chaitanya blogs at p2w2 blog.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wendy's & Arby's to Join Under One Roof
August 14, 2009
Wendy's and Arby's to join under one roofWendy's and Arby's are set to venture into co-branding, internationally and in the U.S. Although Wendy's and Arby's menus aren't as complementary as, for instance, Cold Stone's and Tim Hortons', experts say the right franchise mix could really pay off. QSRWeb.com
HOPE THEY WILL USE SOLID MEDIA MARKETING.....
PJL
Wendy's and Arby's to join under one roofWendy's and Arby's are set to venture into co-branding, internationally and in the U.S. Although Wendy's and Arby's menus aren't as complementary as, for instance, Cold Stone's and Tim Hortons', experts say the right franchise mix could really pay off. QSRWeb.com
HOPE THEY WILL USE SOLID MEDIA MARKETING.....
PJL
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
5 Tips for Managing Unruly Clients
J.K. Glei (Behance)
Aug 11, 2009 - For better or for worse, clients are like snowflakes – each one is unique and comes with his/her own idiosyncratic needs and challenges. We can never be sure that what worked in the past will work in the future. At the same time, we do tend to face relatively similar problems and struggles again and again, so there must be some common ground.Looking to extract some guiding principles for effective client management, we dipped into our archive of hundreds of interviews with creative business folk to suss out the most frequently cited techniques. What follows is a handful of guideposts, supported by insightful quotations from small business owners who deal with clients day in, and day out.1. Listen.It may seem obvious to listen, but after years of client dealings, sometimes we fall into the trap of tuning out our clients. We assume we know the solution and fail to pick up on the crucial nuances that make their dilemma distinctive. As the founder of Serial Cut studio Sergio del Puerto says, “I believe it's important to know what the client has in mind and go beyond his expectations, but it's also important to listen and to be realistic regarding projects."2. Educate.An oft-overlooked part of the client management process is education. Clients come to you for your expertise, but they often need to be educated along the way in order to be able to understand and value that expertise. Todd Berger, a member of design house cypher13, breaks down his approach: “There’s almost always an education component to any project. A client needs to convey their goals to their consultant and the consultant must convey their ideas to their client. It is our responsibility to succinctly and efficiently convey our ideas to our clients. With larger budget projects we’re afforded a great deal more time to both concept and communicate our ideas and their evolution to our clients. When budgets are tight there’s a great deal of pressure to ensure that our client shares our vision and vice versa before work begins.”3. Communicate constantly. Keeping the client in the loop and updated every step of the way is essential. By doing so, you can ensure a shared vision as the project progresses, keeping timeline, scope, pricing, and general expectations on track. Even if you’re struggling with something, communicating the situation to the client can be an opportunity to humanize yourself and build trust. And, as Senior Art Director Jonathan Moore from 2Advance Studios comments pragmatically, “Keeping in contact with the client helps to prevent feature creep and last-minute surprises during the project.”4. Focus.Like any consumer, clients can be overwhelmed by too much choice. Our job is to give them the best solution, which may or may not mean providing a smorgasbord of options. Tom Muller, principal of Muller design, favors a less-is-more approach, saying, “Your don't always have to present a client with a barrage of ideas - sometimes just one (good) idea can be enough. Don't dilute yourself."5. Make the case. Always lay the groundwork for the presentation of an idea. Whether it’s focus groups or prototype testing, doing the footwork that demonstrates why your product will work in advance is powerfully persuasive. As Alessandra Lariu, a Senior VP at McKann Erickson and founder of SheSays, puts it: “When presenting work to a client I do a lot of work on the end users/consumers. You use them to talk about how appropriate and interesting your idea is - always remember that the work that you do is mainly for people out there and not to satisfy your - or the client's - ego.”
Aug 11, 2009 - For better or for worse, clients are like snowflakes – each one is unique and comes with his/her own idiosyncratic needs and challenges. We can never be sure that what worked in the past will work in the future. At the same time, we do tend to face relatively similar problems and struggles again and again, so there must be some common ground.Looking to extract some guiding principles for effective client management, we dipped into our archive of hundreds of interviews with creative business folk to suss out the most frequently cited techniques. What follows is a handful of guideposts, supported by insightful quotations from small business owners who deal with clients day in, and day out.1. Listen.It may seem obvious to listen, but after years of client dealings, sometimes we fall into the trap of tuning out our clients. We assume we know the solution and fail to pick up on the crucial nuances that make their dilemma distinctive. As the founder of Serial Cut studio Sergio del Puerto says, “I believe it's important to know what the client has in mind and go beyond his expectations, but it's also important to listen and to be realistic regarding projects."2. Educate.An oft-overlooked part of the client management process is education. Clients come to you for your expertise, but they often need to be educated along the way in order to be able to understand and value that expertise. Todd Berger, a member of design house cypher13, breaks down his approach: “There’s almost always an education component to any project. A client needs to convey their goals to their consultant and the consultant must convey their ideas to their client. It is our responsibility to succinctly and efficiently convey our ideas to our clients. With larger budget projects we’re afforded a great deal more time to both concept and communicate our ideas and their evolution to our clients. When budgets are tight there’s a great deal of pressure to ensure that our client shares our vision and vice versa before work begins.”3. Communicate constantly. Keeping the client in the loop and updated every step of the way is essential. By doing so, you can ensure a shared vision as the project progresses, keeping timeline, scope, pricing, and general expectations on track. Even if you’re struggling with something, communicating the situation to the client can be an opportunity to humanize yourself and build trust. And, as Senior Art Director Jonathan Moore from 2Advance Studios comments pragmatically, “Keeping in contact with the client helps to prevent feature creep and last-minute surprises during the project.”4. Focus.Like any consumer, clients can be overwhelmed by too much choice. Our job is to give them the best solution, which may or may not mean providing a smorgasbord of options. Tom Muller, principal of Muller design, favors a less-is-more approach, saying, “Your don't always have to present a client with a barrage of ideas - sometimes just one (good) idea can be enough. Don't dilute yourself."5. Make the case. Always lay the groundwork for the presentation of an idea. Whether it’s focus groups or prototype testing, doing the footwork that demonstrates why your product will work in advance is powerfully persuasive. As Alessandra Lariu, a Senior VP at McKann Erickson and founder of SheSays, puts it: “When presenting work to a client I do a lot of work on the end users/consumers. You use them to talk about how appropriate and interesting your idea is - always remember that the work that you do is mainly for people out there and not to satisfy your - or the client's - ego.”
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Online Advertising Shrinks
Online Ad Market Contracts For Second Consecutive Quarter
by Joe Mandese
Worldwide spending on Internet advertising contracted 5% during the second quarter of 2009, marketing the second consecutive quarter of contraction, according to estimates released this morning as part of IDC's "Worldwide and U.S. Internet Ad Spending Report." ... Read the whole story > >
by Joe Mandese
Worldwide spending on Internet advertising contracted 5% during the second quarter of 2009, marketing the second consecutive quarter of contraction, according to estimates released this morning as part of IDC's "Worldwide and U.S. Internet Ad Spending Report." ... Read the whole story > >
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
More Traditional Money Escapes from TV
TiVo's "Pure Program" Ratings Enhances DVR Appeal for Advertisers
TiVo has unveiled its "Pure Program Ratings" function which lets advertisers see how many viewers ignore their commercials. The new feature, embedded in TiVo's "StopWatch" service, compares viewing of the TV show to the commercial breaks within it. The initial results are stunning. TiVo cited a May episode of the...
Click to Continue
TiVo has unveiled its "Pure Program Ratings" function which lets advertisers see how many viewers ignore their commercials. The new feature, embedded in TiVo's "StopWatch" service, compares viewing of the TV show to the commercial breaks within it. The initial results are stunning. TiVo cited a May episode of the...
Click to Continue
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