Rx For Agencies Suffereing From Digital, Direct, PR, And Social Media Confusion Or Disorientation (Updated 01/22/2010)

Rx for agencies suffering from Direct, Digital and Social Media Confusion or Disorientation

Why Are We Still in This Business?

What Type of Agency Are We?

Direct Marketing Agency Digital Agency Social Media Agency Database Marketing Agency
Database Skills
Digital Skills
Website
Social Media
SEO/M
Analytics
Measurement/ROI
Segmentation/Media
Technology

Yesterday: “Digital” used to be interchangeable with online, digital technologies, online video, social media etc.
Today: “Digital” is a collection of habits and expectations of modern users” Source: (Augustine Fou, ClickZ)
The New Definition…”Digital”

Facebook has 250 million registered users @ July 2009 (largest on Web)
57% of adults 25-34 belong to a site
75% of adults 18-24 maintain profiles
35% of all US adults are active
Myspace and Twitter have more members than the entire US Population!
Facebook users spend on average 25 minutes on the site each day. (10min average for Google/Yahoo)
The Recent Growth Of Social Media Exponentially Fueling Change

Top 5 Most Trafficked Sites July 2009 The Rise of Social Media Rank 2005 2009 1 2 3 4 5

There is a good reason why social networking commands so much consumer time and attention, and its related to what is often referred to as the signal to noise ratio.
Consumers are naturally inclined to divert their attention toward high-quality “signal” in the form of personalized, relevant, or engaging content.
Source: Email in the age of Social Networking (StrongMail Systems)
Why Consumers Find Social Networking Online So Compelling

This requires a new approach to marketing. The focus becomes how you contribute to the “signal” and not contribute to the noise.
Why Consumers Find Social Networking Online So Compelling

Two thirds of businesses are planning to integrate the two channels in 2009/10
48% have already formulated their strategy for achieving this.
Of marketers planning to increase budgets in 2009, 83% will increase spend in email marketing, followed by social media at 62% Strongmail/Zoomerng 2009 Marketing Trends Survey Convergence of Social Media and Email Marketing

Integration with social media accelerators allows them to leverage their most valuable asset,”the customer”, to expand the reach of their message and brand to the customer’s trusted network and communities.
Convergence of Social Media and Email Marketing

Emergence of Social Media has Created a Land Grab Between Agencies & Within Marketing Departments!

Source: June 2009 Strongmail/Zoomerang Survey Which Marketing Function Owns Social Media Within Your Organization?

“ What are the benefits of social media?”
Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media

The channel is valued, with customer service and brand building being most important.
“ For what reasons do you use social media?” Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media

Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media

Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media “ How will you fund increases in your company’s Interactive/Social marketing budget?” By shifting money away from Traditional marketing: Increase budget with no change to Traditional marketing: Increase budget for both Traditional and Interactive Marketing: We have no plans to increase our Interactive Marketing budget: 60% 15% 14% 7% Source: Forrester Interactive Marketing Forecast 2009-2014

Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media “ Which of the following Traditional marketing budgets will you decrease in order to fund increased Interactive/Social marketing?” Direct Mail: Newspapers: Magazines: Television: Yellow Pages: Outdoor: Radio: Telemarketing: None of the above: Other: 40% 35% 8% 3% 28% 12% 11% 9% 7% 3% Source: Forrester Interactive Marketing Forecast 2009-2014

Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media “ In the next three years, do you think marketing effectiveness will increase, stay the same, or decrease for each of the following?” Created Social Media: Online Video: SEO: Mobile Marketing: Paid Placement in Social media: Email Marketing: Direct Mail: Television: Magazines: Telemarketing: Radio: Source: Forrester Interactive Marketing Forecast 2009-2014 Increase Stay the same Decrease 80% 60% 20% 40%

“ What are the reasons why you do not use social media?”
While valued, it’s also a cause for concern! Marketing Executives’ Attitudes to Social Media

“ Take one major global recession. Add slashed and gutted media and marketing budgets. Pour in a generous dose of traditional marketers groping for clients in a digital world. Finally, add social media marketing, for which both the cost and barrier-to-entry is near zero. Blend gently and presto -- social media carpetbaggers, in all flavors and colors of the rainbow.”
Source: Rebecca Lieb, ClickZ, Aug 28, 2009
Beware of Becoming a Social Media Carpetbagger!

Average number of hours spent online:
7 hours on content sites (42% of their time)
3 hours on community sites (13% of their time - up 63% on 2008)
11% of their time on eCommerce sites - down 19% on 2008)
Don’t Forget, Consumers Spend Twice As Much Time Online With Content Than Social Networks

The Ultimate Combination of Search and Social Networking Social Media, Meet Search Engine Marketing

The basic idea is that, if someone in your social circle has ever commented about the topic you are searching on, That content will appear on the first page of your search results. Imagine the impact of this on marketer and agency alike!

Aided by a flurry of acquisition activity, an influx of venture capital funding and growing brand adoption in the latter half of 2009, the year ahead will see mobile continue its shift toward the marketing mainstream. eMarketer.com Mobile Marketing: The New Frontier For Agencies

In January 2009 it projected m-commerce sales would reach $544 million this year, up 57% over 2008—impressive in its own right. But in late October, ABI upped its forecast, saying sales would top $750 million in 2009, a whopping 117% annual growth rate. M-commerce’s time has arrived, and it is an easy bet that sales in 2010 will pass the $1 billion mark. Mobile Marketing: The New Frontier For Agencies

eMarketer estimates that mobile ad spending will increase from $416 million in 2009, to $1.56 Billion by 2013, outpacing online ad-spending as a whole. While the overall complexity of the medium may make it appear daunting to agencies and marketers alike, overcoming these complexities can pay dividends.
Mobile Marketing Is Quickly Gaining Momentum

Mobile marketing has an additive effect on other advertising and marketing efforts, and can bridge the gap between digital and traditional campaigns . It is also flexible, lending itself to both direct response and brand reinforcement campaigns .
(Source: eMarketer, June, 2009)
Why Mobile Marketing Is Such A Critical Opportunity

When Webtrends surveyed marketers worldwide about how to close the gap between data analysis and business action, their top answer was more knowledgeable staff. Data Analytics… Is There An Agency Out There Who Can Help Me?

To prove the success of their campaigns, marketers need analytics. But many report frustration with understanding and using the Web analytics tools necessary to prove their success to management!
The Web Analytics Headache (Understanding and Integrating Data)

While difficulty using analytics tools frustrates many marketers, they also recognize the need for more resources and expertise. Fully 72% of respondents to the Unica survey had no full-time worker devoted to analytics.
The Web Analytics Headache (Understanding and Integrating Data)

At The End Of The Day… It’s All About!

Social media has created a fundamental shift in the way we all communicate. In the process, we sometimes lose media, develop new media and in some cases see traditional media adapt to the new sociology and technology.
Source: www.socialnomics.com
It’s All About Socialnomics!

Buying social media does not work
25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 brands are links to user generated content.
90% of people who can Tivo ads actually do it.
25% of Americans have watched a short video on their phone in the last month.
24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in readership because we no longer search out news, the news comes to us.
By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers, and 96% of them will have joined a social network.
If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest between the USA and India. A true example of a global community.
The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.
80% of twitter usage is on mobile devices.
There are over 200,000,000 blogs out there.
Interesting Facts About Socialnomics!

This Has Created A New Era Of Person2Person Marketing!

Branding as we know it, is for all intents and purposes dead. Now it’s all about “Brand Experience” or as Forrester describes it, “Brand Engagement”
Consumers are gravitating towards those media/channels that provide easy access to information, advice and recommendations, plus allow them to socialize and be entertained at the same time.
In the process, these consumers are building and refining their own trusted personal networks.
People targeted through a consumers social connections convert at 300 to 500% higher than those targeted through traditional media channels. Source: StrongMail Influencer Campaign Data 2008/2009 The New Era Of Person2Person Marketing

As consumers change to pulling information as they want or need it, push marketing becomes less and less relevant no matter how “targeted” the marketer thinks it is.
Also, keep in mind that conversations cannot be bought either, and if they are the community often quickly finds out and retaliates.
Those of you who are direct marketers will be disappointed to hear that targeting is dying too! Source: A New Definition of “Digital”. Augustine Fou, Click Z. The New Era Of Person2Person Marketing

“ Reduction in the role of channel specialists. Today, interactive marketers want agencies to keep them ahead of the curve. But for most agencies, this means little more than just providing executional help in digital channels. As marketers seek interactivity, agencies that subsist will forgo their role as channel specialists and dedicate themselves instead to determining how to change the relationship marketers have with their end customers”. Source: Shar Van Boskirk, Forrester Research, Jan 12, 2010
What Does The New Person2Person Agency Look Like?

Core skill sets will be Direct/CRM, Data/Analytics and Digital/Social.
Experts in understanding consumer habits and expectations in this new media environment.
Truly unbiased filter that prioritizes the media/channels and identifies the ones that will yield the greatest ROI.
Embrace techniques that cultivate genuine and open dialogue with customers, where brands quietly listen and learn, and then respond with new features, product innovations and content that better match the needs of the consumer.
Tools to help deploy, monitor and measure campaigns across all these new media channels.
Avoid the temptation to shout messages at consumers disrespectfully or target thousands of people multiple times (reach and frequency).
What Does The New Person2Person Agency Look Like?

The opportunity is clear. Forget about continuing to structure your agency in silos like brand, direct, digital and social marketing, and start to think about People2People marketing.
If you can integrate your marketing efforts and succeed in motivating customers not only to interact with you, but to share their personal networks with you, you will have created a powerful channel for your brand in the marketplace.
The DNA Of The New Person2Person Agency

“ Companies deeply engaged in seven or more social channels (blogs, branded social websites, Facebook, Wikis, ratings and reviews etc.) significantly surpassed their peers in terms of both revenue and performance.”
Companies investing heavily in social media significantly surpass their peers in terms of revenue and performance! Source: Altimeter/Wetpoint, “Enggement db” July 2009 Person2Person Marketing Proof Of Concept

In recent weeks, a number of Fortune 100 companies have issued agency RFP’s that share a common purpose. They are all looking for a unique agency organization that can truly deliver what they refer to as “ I n tegrated Customer Relationship Marketing”.
Person2Person Marketing Proof Of Concept

Some common parameters across all of the RFP’s can be summarized as follows:
Preferably an agency that was not built out of a historical specialty (like advertising or direct marketing etc)
key disciplines required were digital, direct, CRM/eCRM, data analytics, integrated marketing planning and true channel neutrality
Person2Person Marketing Proof Of Concept

Rx for agencies suffering from Direct, Digital and Social Media Confusion or Disorientation (www.clivemaclean.com)

Rx For Agencies Suffereing From Digital, Direct, PR, And Social Media Confusion Or Disorientation (Updated 01/22/2010)

by Clive Maclean

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