marginally subversive

what can i say about "mutiny with a conscience"?

I was passing by the big TV screens in the newsroom in the office when I caught glimpse of the news - "Soldiers take over a Manila hotel, demanding Arroyo's resignation".  I had to stop of course and watch the news.  (I was in fact surprised that Trillanes is a 'senator'!  C'mon, people!  What were we thinking?) 

Then I decided to take a short walk - took the lift and inside the lift, what do I get?  A small TV screen that details how Trillanes and the rest took over the Peninsula in the Makati CBD. 

Jeez.  I wondered to myself, "Not again."

Anyway, a couple of hours later, the news channel was broadcasting something else - that "soldiers surrender for the sake of the people". 

I had to pinch myself.

For the sake of the people?  For the people's safety?  Are you nuts?  Why do it in the first place?  To make a statement?  Couldn't it have been done some other way?

Anyway, I picked up this quote from Under the Canopy: Mutiny with a conscience which I assume would be Trillanes' "wise words":

"We're going out for the sake of the safety of everybody, for your sake because we cannot live with our conscience if some of you get hurt or get killed in the crossfire," said Trillanes, addressing the media.

What?

Man, Philippine politics really is something.

Ad Agencies will have to shift - in more ways than one

This is an article from the latest issue of Business Week where Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi was interviewed about his views about the changes that are happening in the world of advertising.  It talks about the changes and the shifts that have happened in the world of advertising due to the changes in the way clients see marketing and communications, and in the way audiences are consuming media.

It talks about the emerged power of direct marketing companies.  It also talks about the emerged power of the media buying companies. 

The media buyers are no less powerful. Once consigned by the creative agencies to back-office obscurity, they also have scads of consumer data, which they use to help clients figure out where they should spend their advertising budgets--be it on specific TV shows, magazines, or Web sites. Now they are using their buying power to persuade broadcasters to air television shows chock-full of product placements--a direct threat to the venerable 30-second TV spot.

Here's is the interesting quote from Kevin Roberts - and whilst I do admire him and his tenacity and his never-say-die attitude, I have to say I am bothered by the idea that he suggests of media companies:

Kevin Roberts isn't one to shy away from a fight. This, after all, is a man who, after being kicked out of school at 17, tried to break into professional rugby, a full-contact sport played without pads or helmets. When the media buyers come up, his indignation is visceral: "A media agency couldn't emotionally touch the consumer in a million years," he rails "They have no f---ing idea. They don't have feelings. They're media people." Roberts' position is clear: He still believes in the power of the Big Idea--that emotional connection to the consumer--and he sells it tirelessly.

I am no longer a media planner/buyer.  But I came from one.  And to suggest that a "media agency couldn't emotionally touch the consumer" in a million years is simply - hmmm - an old, Jurassic view of the world.

I suggest that he review the latest Media Effies Award Winners.  Or the Media Cannes winners.

These media agencies who "couldn't emotionally touch the consumer in a million years" are delivering creative solutions to communications problems - it just so happened that some of them didn't need advertising to do it because (all together now) "Advertising is just merely a channel - it is not the only channel available to brands". 

The Search for the Great GTD App...

This article form Lifehack.Org talks about the search for that great GTD app - which I would say is becoming more and more important in these harried days (and particularly in my new job).

I’ve yet to find the system that works best for me, although there are plenty of slick apps that look promising until I actually get down to working with them. After a few days of excitement, I find myself coming up against barriers to productivity — some of them because of poor design, some because of differences in philosophy between myself and the programmers, most because I’m simply not the target client — and find myself spending time looking for workarounds to make the system work rather than actually getting stuff done.

I can commiserate with the author's experience.  I once downloaded PlanPlus for Outlook (it was supposedly created by experts from Franklin Covey of the Stephen Covey fame; see www.franklincovey.com for more information).  And for awhile I found it to be a great tool.  However, it's got problems syncing with my Windows Mobile powered phone.

I gave up on it after one year of lugging my heavy laptop around.

I would say, however, that the new Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 comes close.  I am rather new to Office 2007 and coming from Office 2003, the leap to Office 2007 for Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint was rather disconcerting at first.  But on day-1 of my personal migration to Outlook 2007, it was rather easy.  And each day, I find more and more tools to make my life a little easier.

I specially like the "drag-and-drop" feature of Outlook 2007.  Say, someone sent me an email that I would like to follow-up on three days after.  I'd just highlight it and drag it to my to-do list or to my calendar - and voila!  Three days after, I would remember and in fact follow it up.

I also like the idea of creating calendars in Outlook 2007.  (OK, I am not entirely sure if this is a new feature and if this feature was available in Outlook 2003.)  But that was exactly what I did today - I now have two calendars on my Outlook:  One for my day to day stuff, and the other one for my professional milestones.  I am sure that this will come in hand as I venture into more and more projects.

It's not perfect - but I really think that it is getting there.

(And Google Calendars?  It's screwing up my schedules - for some reason, it keeps on moving my recurring appointments one hour later!  I think I'll stick to my Outlook for now.)

One wish though:  I would love to be able to sync my Outlook Calendar (at least one of them) with my Live.Com calendar.  That way I don't have to log in to check my Monday appointments every Sunday evening.

Engagement: It's not yet clear...

It is still unclear and debatable - what exactly is engagement?  We know it is supposed to be bigger than rating points and mere exposure or hits.  We know there is an added dimension to it - or more.  We know that it goes beyond mere attention - which audiences are surely lacking these days if we defined it as purely '100% watching tv or reading presses and doing nothing else'.  We know there is an element of 'lingering' in it.  But what is it really?

And if we had defined it - hopefully soon - what would we use it for?  Will it be a new metric?  A new currency?  A new standard?

Will media agencies use it more than creative agencies?  Will vendors use it as their benchmark?  Does it aid in content- and other programming-related decisions?  Will it be able to predict sales?  Will it drive loyalty?  Will it drive connections?  How do we define connections?  Will the brand need to engage or will the medium or the message need to engage?

Questions.

I love them.

Zipf's Law vs. the Long Tail: the new era of (dis) content?

I read somewhere that Google will have no choice but to buy itself a partner or a company that will offer it content.  In BusinessWeek's latest print issue, there is an article about the end of the 'amateur content' (read: audience-generated content).  Some research studies are pointing to a similar thing - that audiences are now looking to see 'profesionnally crafted content' on their internet screens.  Is this now the era of Zipf's law vs. the 'long tail'?

Of clients and measurements

One thing that agencies and media vendors have to realize is tthat not all clients are created equal.  Some clients are far ahead of the crowd in terms of sophisticationg and in looking at their marketing departments as business-drivers and demand creators.  A lot still are stuck with traditional mode of thinking.

The question about ROI and accountability needs to be tailored to each client's needs.  True, we can take it upon ourselves - agency people and media space sellers - to educate the client.  But until the CEO buys into the philosophy that 'marketing is not a cost centre and not just a department but a mindset that should pervade throughout the company', nothing much can be done.

Agencies can spend all their money - and willpower - in shifting perceptions.  And adspace sellers can justify their product to the best of their ability.  But the fundamental issue remains: Clients are not changing as fast as we want them to.

I wonder what it will take for marketeers (or so-called 'marketeers') to shift and change their minds.

GRPs, reach and frequency for web properties?

The more I look at the trends that are happening on the web and on the digital media landscape, the more I am convinced that we need to develop new currencies that span more than just ratings and percentages.  Percentage-based planning - it goes without saying - needs to be rethought. 

I don't think that GRPs, reach, and frequencies can capture all the things that new media are ushering into the world of communications planning.  Time-spent with a medium is fast becoming more than just a secondary metric - and the "depth and quality of impressions" are beginning to be critical.

I think that the time is ripe for us to rejig and reinvent our metrics.

About life...

If you were going to deliver the last lecture of your life, what would that lecture be like?  Dr. Randy Pausch talks about life, dreams, and letting and empowering others to dream their own dreams.

Beautiful.

Bangladesh appeals for more aid - CNN.com

Bangladesh needs more help from you and from all of us after the cyclone.

read more | digg story

Will the online medium ever be the only medium that would matter to advertisers?

It's quite unthinkable, I know, could it be that there is a time wherein online is the only medium that would matter to advertisers since it is the only medium that matters to the lives of consumers?

Is it plausible?

If we looked at the trends YOY of advertisers' investments into the online medium - and just based our projections on these figures - it seems that online will most likely overtake the rest of the other media in terms of shares of investments (on a cost-parity basis).

This means that marketing, branding, tactical, and response campaigns - and all other campaigns - will move into the digital realm in the foreseeable future.

Could this be a possibility?  Is it plausible?  Could this be the new reality?

funny...

This is really funny.

A Word of Advice...

I guess this was meant for people like me.  I stumbled upon this page a few weeks ago and tagged it Del.Icio.Us.  It's only now that I have had the time to actually go through and review my tags.

I hope it comes out clear - but it simply says "Everything will be okay in the end.  If it's not okay, it's not the end".

How apt.

How simple.

Yet appropriate.

Now if I could just live it. 

Is search advertising overrated?

I had an interesting thought at the office today as I was reviewing some knowledge-databases:  Is it possible that search (SEM, SEO - and its other incarnations) is overrated? 

I know of at least two ex-colleagues of mine who will probably consider this anathema and totally contradictory to where the digital medium is headed.  But I ask nonetheless:  Is search overrated?

We've always said in marketing communications and advertising that "it's all about the brand".  And that in these days of attention-deficit audiences, media-fragmented landscapes... and (insert here other hackneyed expressions and cliches about the media planning and advertising industry), "branding is all there is".

If such is the case, then can search advertising create brands?  Influence the creation of brands?  Influence the strengthening, weakening, creation, positioning of brands?

Just asking.

 

Technorati Tags: Branding,Communications Planning,Marketing Planning,Strategic Planning,Measurements,Metrics,Advertising,Advertising Planning

The Search for that Elusive "Engagement Metric" Continues

The media and communications planning industries are still trying to define what engagement really is.  Several models have been proposed - and binned.  But there remains to be a gaping hole with regard to how engagement should be measured and 'operationalized' and therefore, included in media and communications plans.

I believe that we're jumping the gun - and mostly, this is the fault of quants like me, who believe that unless it is measured and represented by a number, it doesn't exist and therefore cannot be managed.

I still believe in that proposition, to be honest - that unless something is being measured in the most theoretically sound way possible, then it cannot be considered to be of significance and therefore difficult - if not impossible - to manage.

But I digress.

The main point is that before we even jump into defining HOW to measure engagement, we need to know WHAT engagement is and WHAT it is not.   This is not entirely original thinking.  I believe that Erwin Ephron wrote about this need in his site.

But as with all research projects and measurement projects, we need to know what exactly are we measuring and what exactly are we NOT measuring.  Is engagement about attention?  Is engagement engagement about liking?  Is engagement about eliciting a response - an overt, behavioral response that can be observed?  Is engagement a result of a communications campaign - or is it a variable inside the communications campaign that needs to be manipulated?  If I am engaged, does that mean I will buy a certain brand?

 

The Role of Qualitative Research

Some agencies are beginning to look at "what differentiates certain groups of people" rather than "what makes them alike".  I think this is a very good step.  The acknowledgment of the differences across consumers and audiences is an important first step. 

However, this trend is also seen as a move towards qualitative research methodologies - such as group discussions, ethnography and ethnology (which have become the flavors of the month of the research world), and in-depth interviews.

There is a role for qualitative research - and there is a role for quantitative research in the search for the elusive Engagement Metric.

Solely relying on qualitative research - however exotic and esoteric the methodology might be - is simply not sufficient to define engagement, I believe.

Qualitative research allows us to form initial hypotheses - and perhaps, this is the first step in that it will point us to the creation of frameworks on what engagement is and is not.

Quantitative research, however, needs to be a part of the search for engagement as well.

 

 

Deep-dive Quantitative Research

Media companies are number crunchers - I should know, I came from one..  However, as it is, there are a lot of limitations with how we use numbers.  We always stop at the macro level: 

• We report ratings - and we stop there.
• We report past-week percentages of exposures  - and we stop there.
• We report the percent of people who agree or disagree with a statement - and we stop there.
• We report the percent of people who buy or do not intend to buy - and we stop there.

I honestly believe that we are not really looking at the numbers more deeply - and we are content with the macro, "percentage" views.

Data is data is data.  And there is no dearth of data these days.

What we need as we search for that elusive engagement metric is look at existing data that we already have:  Can we still squeeze something out of the data?  Can we go down to the respondent-level and identify trends?

PCs and technologies now allow us to run simulations and calculations that used to be difficult and computationally-inefficient.  Why are we not using technologies such as Hierarchical Bayes Regression - or other hierarchical models?  Why are we not using genetic algorithms, cell automata-based simulation, and other simulation software?  Why are we not looking at individual-level data in our analysis of data?

All these have been made possible with technological advancements in the field of computation:  Why are media planning companies not using them?

 

We need to move... now!

Things are changing radically amongst our audiences - models of advertising and communications effects are quickly being revised by new technologies being made available to our audiences.

Why are we still stuck with GRPs, impressions, reach and frequency, and OTS?  Is it because that's what we're used to?  Is it simply a fear of the unknown?

 

Technorati Tags: Engagement,Media Planning,Media Communications,Communications Planning,Strategic Planning,Measurements,Media Measurements,Media Metrics,Marketing ROI,Marketing Returns on Investment,ROI,ROMI,Metrics,Advertising,Ads

Are they finally seeing the light?

Picked this up whilst surfing for some news -

Universal McCann has been invited to join agency industry trade body the Marketing Communications Consultants Association (MCCA). It marks the first time a media planning and buying agency has been selected for membership.

The body, which promotes itself as representing "forward-thinking" agencies, has a remit which covers sales promotion, experiential and direct marketing.

Universal McCann says it is joining the association as part of its new integrated structure and "Next Thing Now" proposition. The agency has about 3,000 employees in over 200 countries around the world.

The best news I have read so far this week.  Finally, UM seems to be seeing the light.

The funny thing is, I am no longer a part of UM after having helped build the UM Consulting proposition in Singapore - and having been "suspended in mid-air" with regard to where Consulting is supposed to be headed in the near-, mid- and long-term.

Well.

I guess one cannot have it all.  I can only rest assured that perhaps - just perhaps - my voice was heard in the ruckus and the chaos.

To UM and to UM|C - all the best.

(Yes.  This is a self-centric blog entry.  I am only being honest.  And true.)

 

Technorati Tags: Universal McCann, UM, Next Thing Now, Consultancy, Marketing ROI, Returns on Investments, Analytics, Communications Planning, Strategic Planning

Career Changes and all that...

In about a couple of weeks, I will be turning a year older.  And in the midst of these, changes are abound as well in the career-side.

I moved jobs.  In my old job, I would like to think that I was amongst decision-makers and -influencers in the company with my role as director.  It was not a small company - it had its strengths, it had its weaknesses; it had its glory days, it had its gory days.  In the new company, I am in the background.

I always fancied being a musical director or a stage manager in the theater.  Being a musical director, one gets to create and evoke emotions from the audiences whilst empowering others - the actors mainly - to perform effectively.  Being a stage manager, one gets to be a part of the action - ensuring smooth flow (exits and entrances, props, lighting, background and all) behind the stage so others can perform effectively.

I think that's what my career is turning out to be - an "empowerer" of others.

I am reminded of a friend's vision for herself:  A leader for leaders.  One doesn't need to have the title and the grand responsibilities to be a leader - one can be in the "background" (if such existed) and still be effective as a leader. 

All that matters is making a difference.

one for my baby...

I know that things are a little difficult at work right now, Baby.  But there is always light at the end of the tunnel.  There is more to life than just work - you taught me that.  There are far more important things - such as love, family, relationships, and serving others.  Living simply so that others may simply live.  Stopping - and smelling the roses.  And yes, cherishing each moment as if it were one's last.

I sometimes think that I don't say it often enough.  But I do love you. 

I have made mistakes in the past.  And yes, I have stumbled - because I have chosen to live a life that wasn't mine, that was an illusion, that was brimming with anger at no one and at nothing in particular.  The beauty - and the blessing - behind these challenges was that you were there.  You patiently waited.  You patiently unfurled me.  You patiently told me this too shall pass.

So now, Baby, I tell you - these problems too shall pass.

And that which we face and survive through will only make us better people, better souls, better lovers, better humans.

We may come out scarred - but we live.  We breathe.

And yes, we love.

 

     

agencies, advertisers and consumers

Picked this one up from YouTube.

 

Interesting take on advertises, agencies, and consumers... Well, things have changed, people! Wake up!

 

Technorati Tags: MSN, Microsoft, Advertising, Ad Agencies, Agency Life