marginally subversive

how digital is shifting the world of media buying

The world of media buying has shifted dramatically due to changes in the consumer landscape as digital media became a significant part of the lives of consumers.

Through a friend on Facebook, I saw this video from PSFK.Com on the 'Secrets of a Killer Media Buyer: Future Success'.

There are three things that I got from the video:

1. Media buying is still about value-creation.  At the end of the day, it is about creating value for clients and generating the best deal.

2. However, the definition of value has changed: Value is no longer merely dollars-saved or the "best deal that you could negotiate and seal with all the bells and whistles for the clients for the lowest price possible".  Value is now about

(a) utility to clients - what's in it for them, they who are investing the money
(b) utility to consumers and audiences - what's in it for consumers

3. To achieve the best deal and realize the ultimate value for clients, you need data.  Because technology has paved the way for consumers to be entertained in terms of quantity and quality, we need data.

(a) The usual lines between 'traditional media' and 'non-traditional media' have been blurred by technology. 
"Video" no longer is just about TV - it now encompasses online videos (and the ad platforms supported by it), mobile videos, game consoles, handhelds, and even outdoor/in-store. 
"Radio" is no longer just what one hears on a radio set or on the car - but also in-mobile, on-the-web, on-demand, on-the-palm...  And press and magazines.

(b) To navigate through these choices, you will need data - how do consumers shift from one medium to another and why? 
[The "why" bit is almost-always missing - and is always a point of contention between me and most of the media planners-buyers that I work with.  But that's another story.]

(c) The kind of data that we need no longer will center on "how many people are exposed" - the usual impression-based metrics and currencies.  The kind of data that we need will need to encompass audience motivations, mindsets, and response. 

Here's the video:

 

 

Secrets Of A Killer Media Buyer: Future Success from Piers Fawkes on Vimeo.

new consumer-media-brand landscape demands new marketing metrics

"New" is used loosely above.  Social media have always been around - technology just amplified it by empowering people to connect and communicate with each other more effectively.

With this "new" trend came problems for marketeers: "How do we use them?"

Some have jumped on the bandwagon by creating Twitter accounts and Facebook pages and Groupon promos, measuring retweets, reblogs, and "likes".

But these metrics are just skimming off the surface, really.

There is more to The Social than these metrics.

Jeremy Owyang of Altimeter and John Lovett of WebAnalyticsDemystified shared this presentation which I thought was an excellent start towards creating an integrated approach to measuring the effects of The Social on brands' and their businesses. 

Oh - and just for the fun of it, let me state that "digital" doesn't mean "search-strategies" only anymore. ":D

 

 

Social Marketing Analytics

View more presentations from Jeremiah Owyang

The Future of the Communications

Cisco

 

For CISCO, the future of communications is on Mobile Internet – not just being able to access the internet through a mobile phone as a “by the way”, but as a real, basic part of our lives.

 

 

They call it 4G – and have even created a site for it.

 

Microsoft

For Microsoft, it is somewhat different – but still within the same category of “everywhere-everytime”.  This is an entry from Chris Brogan showing what Microsoft thinks the future of computing will be: it’s everywhere and anywhere – and every time and anytime.

 

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

 

 

Here’s the challenge to marketers and device-creators:  How can you leverage these to create the future – and be a part of the changing world of consumer-brand-entertainment landscape?

"el mas famoso" - or simply writing...

(The entry otherwise known as "Why I blog")

Blogging has been an interesting journey for me.  It somehow clears my thinking - and sometimes, whilst writing, I catch some illogicalities in my thinking.  (Although most of the time, I catch these illogicalities when I re-read and review my blog.)

At first, I thought blogging would be a way to become famous - to be "el mas famoso!" is not an entirely bad objective specially in a crowded marketplace such as my field.  But I realized that I was not really writing for anyone else but me.

It's for me to express my thoughts - to get them out of my system - and perhaps, instigate a conversation with someone who may or may not disagree.  A self-serving purpose, still - which I believe is neither good nor bad.  It is still a personal call - a personal goal - a personal blog.

And no, I probabyl won't hit my "el mas famoso" goal, but it is not so important as the power to express myself in ways that only I can do.

Seth Godin wrote about it today on his blog:

Who cares that you're not writing a mass market newspaper? The point is not to show up on a list, the point is to start a conversation that spreads, to share ideas and to chronicle your thinking. That's the work of an author, and I think rather than kissing author blogs goodbye, someone should just start a new list.

(Emphases mine)

And it just doesn't work on Sarah Palin videos - it works on this, too!

Hulu, SNL and Sarah Palin - Finally!

I have been trying out HULU for the past several days - and I couldn't get it to run because - well, I am not based in the US.  But today seemed to be different: I was able to watch these two videos of SNL's featuring VP candidate, Sarah Palin.

To be honest, more interested in the access granted by HULU (and SNL) more than the content of the video.  But oh well.  It was fun watching it - and I would say, a great PR move for Sarah Palin after all the criticisms that I have read of her.  (OK - I am in no position to comment because I don't really follow US politics that much... though I know it would impact all the markets I am following.  Oh well.)

Here're the videos - watch them before HULU - and NBC - change their minds and get it off-air:

What's next, I wonder, from Hulu?  Are they finally going to go global?  Dudes, you should!  There's gotta be a way for Hulu to make money out of this.

Here's a discussion of the implications from Silicon Alley Insider.

Is SEO evil?

I am still learning all about SEO and SEM and all the other intricacies of the 'search ecosystem'.  I am too far off the mark to be called a "SEO practitioner" - and I guess, given that I am considered by digital guys to be too "traditional", I guess I won't be able to be one. 

(But hey, I can talk about data mining if you want me to... say, 'identify clusters of users of a certain website based on their behaviors and predict what kinds of information and pages they would most likely go into next, simulate it, and perhaps even give you optimal cost-benefit decision-points... that is, if you have the data'.  Forgive the rant...  Anyway.)

Here's an interesting presentation on SEO which might be of interest to (1) execs trying to catch up with the search world, (2) search specialist wannabe's, and (3) others.

Is SEO Evil? - Web Directions 2007

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: search engine search engine optimisation)

Pretty good stuff -  but a little long.  (43 minutes of search!  There's only so much of search I can take.) Haha.

Ubiquity Mashups for Firefox

Interesting use of mashup technologies...  Hope it gets into beta soon!

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Bedpost... Anyone?

Bedpost.  You log in every time you have sex, "fill out a few simple fields" and " (b)efore long, you'll have a rolling history of your sex life on which to reflect.  Use the tagging feature to provide even deeper insights into your activities, and use the partner feature to record as many partners as you encounter."

Hmmm.

Right.

Pro-tech Diatribe...

A lot of people are complaining to me that they are receiving thousands of text messages and phone calls everyday, and not to mention, a lot of emails that "ping" them on their desktop PCs whilst working or on their BlackBerry.  Then there are those officemates who sign in to instant messaging software - only to get upset when someone sends them a message, saying "I am busy - don't disturb me right now".

These are people who believe - at their core - that they are victims of technology.  Who nonetheless crave the technologies and the gadgets that surround them.

I have been there.

I came to a point where I couldn't live without my email.  I would spend lots of download time on my 3G mobile phone plan just to check my Hotmail and Gmail accounts.  I would also spend lots of money downloading the latest news from CNN, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, and BusinessWeek (as if I would make a decision on my investments that easily).

I also came to a point where I couldn't live without my phone - that if I left the house without a phone, it would've been akin to leaving the house without my pants on.

Then I realized that, heck, it's only technology.  And how I use it is my business - I dictate how technology contributes to my life.  Technology cannot dictate the way I live my life.

I turn off my mobile once in a while - or leave it on my desk whilst going for lunch with office colleagues.  I have gotten off the habit of checking my Hotmail/Gmail (and OK, ebay...) accounts every hour or so.  And am getting out of the "Facebook" addiction.

I am retaking my life back from technology.

But here's the funny thing: Those who actually say that "I don't want technology to rule my life", those who say "human connections are still better than technology, emails, or IMs"... They are the ones who are struggling in keeping up. 

 

Here's my suggestion:  Don't resist the technology urge.  Ride through it.  Immerse yourself in it.  Even if it means emptying your 2'800 unread emails, with gazillion megabytes of attachments - go for it.  Face them.  It's only emails and instant messages. 

If you really don't want to get disturbed, don't sign in to IM at all.  Or turn off the crackberry.  If you really don't want to be disturbed by email, turn off Outlook or Lotus Notes - and turn on your out-of-office assistant saying that you're checking emails only at 5pm or 12nn - and follow your routine.

Will you miss something?  Perhaps an urgent message?  Sure.  You will.  But hey - something's gotta give.  And you'll have to know what to prioritize.

The more you resist technology, the more it will persist and thrust itself unto you/

Just ride it.  It's only technology.

You still make the call.