The JaffeBLEND Blog

11 Things You Need to Know About Native Advertising

As I sat with my husband on the sofa after putting kids to bed, we collapsed on the sofa to watch some TV (prerecorded, of course). While we fired up our screens for a leisurely evening of media consumption, surfing and mild conversation. It was then that the term 'native advertising' popped up (as it only can when two digital advertising professionals are married) and I must confess to being confused as to what it is (or isn't). I then attending some Adweek sessions on the topic, and was even more confused as I was transported 7 years back during the discussions. I then decided to demystify this subject for myself and anyone else scratching their heads in order to preserve our sanity (and our scalps!).

 

Native advertising is the latest buzzword and trend in the online advertising industry with brands and publishers creating new departments, conferences allocating extensive covering and new companies are sprouting up with their offerings. Read on for 11 key things you need to know about native advertising.

 

1. Native Advertising Has Different Definitions

I discovered several different definitions as native advertising appears to mean different things to different people. According to Wikipedia, "Native advertising is an online advertising method in which the advertiser attempts to gain attention by providing content in the context of the user's experience. Native ad formats match both the form and function of the user experience in which it is placed."

 

Many professionals surveyed in the #StateofNativeAdvertising2014 survey consider Native Advertising to be sponsored content (53%), featured content (47%) or content 'brought to you by' (45%) whereas 38% felt that company branded pages and 25% felt that microsites were Native Advertising. Reuters' Felix Salmon contends that the difference between sponsored stories and native advertising is that "native content tends to aspire more to going viral" and generally being shared more.

 

It is important to note that Native Advertising seems to be more of a technique than a format, a way of ensuring contextual relevance, regardless of the format, with an element of shareabilty.

 

The lack of clarity around a definition makes it difficult to establish best practices, which is why the IAB in the USA created a task force aimed specifically at locking down a definition. They have since come up with the IAB Native Ad Playbook.

 

2. Native Advertising is Not New!

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yes, everything mentioned above is not new! The only thing new is the Jargon. Actually, come to think of it, not even *that* is new as we have used "native" to previously refer to Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants when referring to the different audiences familiar with the digital world.

 

3. OK, the Platform Part is New

It wouldn't be a digital advertising article if the word "platform" didn't appear. I stand to be corrected when I said native advertising isn't new as the presence of platforms allows for the first time the creation of scale and optimisation whilst automating the whole process. It also connects contextual relevant with real-time bidding (RTB) converging content with programmatic buying. This takes shareability and content marketing to a whole new level.

 

Native advertising can take place on closed platforms (where brands create and promote content/profiles within a platform e.g. promoted tweets on Twitter or sponsored stories on Facebook) or open platforms (where branded content can lives across multiple platforms). Examples of open platforms are Taboola, Outbrain and Plista who specialise in content distribution as well as StackAdapt, Instinctive, Adyoulike, Triplelift, Sharethrough and Nativo, who stake the claim to specialise in native advertising. There are also hybrid platforms with private marketplaces allowing external real-time bidding (RTB).

 

4. There are Loads of Formats

A big part of Native Advertising is the good 'ol fashioned webvertorial or webvertorial on steroids (i.e. content marketing). The latter being the area I've specialised in with publishers as they create custom solutions for advertisers by combining content with brands in order to bring relevance and added value to target audiences in the form of rich engaging experiences.

 

Other formats falling under the giant umbrella of Native Advertising are promoted blogs, videos, images, articles, music, social media (Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter etc.) and even Search. Wikipedia use the Search Advertising example where ads appearing alongside the search results are 'native' to the experience.

 

5. Measurement: Breadth versus Depth

As with all measurement, Native Advertising is measured in terms of breadth (pure traffic) or depth (engagement, time spent or social media sharing). I advise that it's important to look at both as both quantity and quality of audience matter to Brand marketers. As all marketers know, the Awareness, Interaction, Desire and Action (AIDA pyramid) funnel gets narrower as audience numbers decrease while engagement and call-to-action metrics increase. Respondents surveyed indicated that more intuitive metrics will be developed to help equip brands to define success.

 

6. The Native Love Triangle: Publishers, Agencies and Brands

These three players are all involved, with Brands increasingly taking more control over their own Native Advertising (relying only on publishers for distribution) whereas in the past, publishers and agencies took on this responsibility entirely themselves. This is most definitely a threat for agencies and publishers who specifically look to Native Advertising as revenue alternative to narrower margins elsewhere. I advise publishers to leverage their expertise and creativity in order to offer brands something unique and thereby differentiate their offerings e.g. a Microsoft solution may more easily incorporate their social media products, mobile or Xbox whereas CondèNast could typically rely more on their rich content.

 

7. The Blurred Lines between Church and State

The split between advertising and content has always had a grey area where advertorials are concerned. This challenge has traditionally been solved by the 'brought to you by' text in order to ensure that the reader is not left feeling 'duped' thereby decreasing their trust in the publication. On the web, this grey area has gone more 50 shades, for example with links to sponsored microsites placed on homepages or all surrounding display advertising space. As long as there is transparency from publishers, consumers should continue to embrace relevant content and advertising. The concerns are valid; with the FTC (in the USA) even raising concerns for consumers being deceived by ads. This isn't purely a digital problem as I recently was told that even "recommended products" in women's magazines are paid for (or heavily incentivised) placements. I'm gutted to have my bubble burst. But I trusted those editors! Shock! Horror!

 

8. Mobile and Apps are the Next Frontier

As with everything else digital these days, the Native Advertising evolution needs to extend into the mobile and tablet space. Sponsored apps are a no-brainer, as they can offer value in functionality as well as content e.g. a currency company could (and probably somewhere already does) offer a sponsored currency conversion app or travel guides. The responses from a 2014 survey suggest there will be growth in native ads within mobile.

 

9. It is Revenue Generating

We wouldn't be talking about this at all if it wasn't revenue generating. Considering that native advertising is so broad, it would be strange if it didn't generate revenue as it seems to encompass so many forms of online advertising! Still, I feel I should mention this point as at the end of the day, it's all about the money.

 

10. The Forecast is Great

In a world where interruptive advertising is facing extinction, you can only imagine that brand dollars will flow in the direction of added value and contextual relevance. In fact, brands expect to spend a quarter of their budgets on Native Advertising. The implication for agencies will be hiring and training in this area, though many agencies already have some form of capability in this area. According to research from IPG media lab, native ads are viewed the same amount of time as editorial content and is much more likely to be shared than a banner ad (32% versus 19%).

 

11. Creativity is the Missing Link

In my opinion, there is still limited creativity in the delivery of native advertising in the interplay between engaging experiences, added value and brands. The creative agencies are missing from the love triangle probably due to the complexity. I think there is a big opportunity in this area for creative growth. Never before has there been such an array of powerful interactive resources to wow consumers using video, content and social while bringing brand values to life in a tangible and meaningful way. Watch this space! The big question is who will discover this first and being able to pull this off to win the Native Advertising race for consumers' minds and hearts.

 

This article was compiled using the following sources: Wikipedia, #StateofNativeAdvertising2014 survey by Hexagram and Spada, "How Native Advertising Will Change in 2014" – Lucia Moses, Adweek; "What is Native Advertising Anyway" - Tony Hallet, Collective Content

Europe Adweek Day 2: #aweurope

After racing from the tube at lightning speed for a coffee at Costa, the first dilemma of the day was this: how does one consume a boiling coffee in record time as no external food & drink allowed in the venue?  

Matt Shepherd, MD AdWeek introduced the first session, the Evening standard CEO summit. Moderated by Gideon Spanier.

Stewart Esterbrook, MD Starcom Mediavest

• We talk about ourselves as a human experience company and that's the value we bring to the table in understanding consumers
  • Agencies have allowed transaction to be the centre of gravity in the past but Starcom are shifting that to more added value conversation by building rounded engaging experience for consumers 
  • We are not device led but rather look at seamless experiences marrying content and context
  • Key to keeping talent is to develop people, show progress and create winning culture (as everyone wants to be on a winning team)

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, CEO Hearst UK

• What keeps me awake at night?

1. Leadership and people keeps me awake at night
2. Agility and pace of change is a concern but opportunity
3. Absolute obsession with customer knowledge and data

• There is no demise of print but a complete overhaul. They recently launched a new publication achieving 100,000 circulation.
  • Keep talent by helping people believe they are building the future

Dave Gwozdz, CEO Mojiva

Biggest concern is looking for talent but also retaining talent is key. Constantly looking to nurture talent pool as people often picked up by Facebook and Google. 

• Mobile ads don't make you cry and its a challenge to figure it out
  • If you don't think you are doing the most exciting thing possible, you should leave 

Matthew Dearden, CEO Clearchannel

• Core leadership responsibility is to create possibility of potential in a flatline economy
  • Shift from a real estate business to audience business
  • I believe the future of the Internet is mobile and we have NFC enabled sites
  • We even had ads with realtime data feeds
  • When digital adds value you can justify charging a premium
  • For extra £1 spent on advertising you get £6 GDP growth so would encourage more spending on advertising to grow the economy
  • Keep people by giving people jobs they love

Dan Clays, MD OMD

• Culture is so important that they have just appointment director of culture. Need a culture of innovation running through r whole business and also emphasis on knowledge share. 

Next up is the Wired Global Conversation with an impressive line-up. This was definitely the best presentation of the day for me, personally. The panel included Rupert Turnbull, publisher of Wired, Bob Greenberg (R/GA), Sir John Hegarty (BBH), Jon Kamen (CEO Radical Media), Steve King (CEO Zenith) and Simon Rees (CEO DCM - Digital Cinema Media).

75% of Europe in 2015 will have smartphones. What are the challenges?

• Marketing on mobile is in its infancy (Bob Greenberg) and refers to Jeff Bezos (Amazon) saying the Internet is in its infancy! The desktop and laptop are shifting to mobile and, combined with GPS, larger screen and voice activation will create tremendous growth though we still don't know what advertising and marketing look like on mobile
• Sir John says the product we produce is getting worse (or at least people seem to think so) - the elephant in the room! There is always a creative deficit with new technology though we are only beginning to work out a roadmap which will take longer. We don't know where advertising fits.
• Jon also says we are in an interesting point of disruption which will change our business forever 
• Steve says that mobile and multi-screen consumption is NOT the biggest change. There is a multiple of 20 in the disconnect between time spent on mobile and advertising (because the format hasn't been worked out yet). Definitely have not yet worked out how to make engaging relationships with consumers. 
• Simon informs us of the stat that Facebook more consumed via mobile than pc. 
• Bob: you can't separate mobile from social 

How are going to foster the next gen of creative talent? 

• Sir John says we have a dysfunctional government with a disaster education minister who wants to remove a creative education (giving ability to cv don't the future). Real problem in teaching kids about creativity. Governments are run by words!
• Steve King has 5 kids and sees technology as an innate social accelerator as his kids all are producing amazing creativity 
• Bob and Sir John sit on the board at Brand Centre where there is a creative technology track. New role: Creative Technologist

What about data?

Steve King talks about the terabytes of data which advertisers have. What do you do with all this data? We can improve the efficiency and efficacy of our communication. But 2/3 of consumers are concerned about privacy though a different 2/3 want relevant ads. Zenith are working with clients at how to use this data. Simon (DCM) worried about data and specifically, how data is interpreted. Cautious about a completely data led solution. 

Can advertising change behaviour?

Bob: Nike have seen they can change behaviour e.g. fuelband (I've done that!). Nike working on data visualisation - this is a creative way developing when applied to a live event with sports. Sir John objects and doesn't want people to know all this. He expects a huge backlash as this involves taking away freedom. "I don't understand myself sometimes - why are these companies saying we understand you?!?"

Other points:

• 400 M actively blogging in China showing desire for self-expression and we should do whatever we can to protect freedom of speech and editors. 
• Advertising must have trust and authenticity. We've lost trust in banks and supermarkets. A different approach is needed and Facebook says only 3% of advertisers "get it" - content needs to be rich, engaging, truthful and honest (Steve King). 

Next up was Microsoft, my old employer, handing out "cookies" (or shall we say 'biscuits' as this is a European conference) to attendees just as the session kicked off as a tongue-in-cheek salute to the whole internet explorer cookie controversy (which remained the elephant in the room). Andy Hart (newly promoted VP Europe) and Dave Coplin (Chief Envisioning officer) took to the stage for the MSFT Advertising session on Re-imagining Digital Advertising. This was an abstract session telling us how the world is changing and then giving us a peak in the kitchen of Microsoft Research with some super cool innovative products for the near future.

• Our attention spans are getting shorter as we look to our phones, phablets, tablets etc. to cut through 
• We get shown 1009 messages a day (PWC/IAB study, Eye blaster/Mediamind)
• Technology is about enabling humans to be better at what they do
• Qwerty design is 142 years old designed to slow typing to avoid keys jamming- behind the core of these devices
• A video was then shown of Microsoft Research (who design technology 10 years out). In the future every single surface will be able to display 2-way transmission. We saw Xbox technology showing the entire room illuminating and making the room part of the game.
• Smart glass connects Xbox to your mobile device – essentially making 2 devices aware of each other, e.g. phone showing map through the supermarket with special offers
• Smart phones are rather stupid given that they know what you are doing next (calendar), who your friends are etc. and yet relying on you to push a button 
• Context is everything: emotional, social, environmental, external
• Big data will change humanity (nah, that hyperbole isn't big enough!)
• Consumers feel violated in Creepy Valley: there was company who knew a man's teenage daughter was pregnant before he did
• We need to launch "Invitational Marketing" i.e. consumers inviting your brands into their lives to share experiences and messages which will enhance their lives (though you must understand their context, lean in or lean back). Ads should be beautiful, useful and relevant. 

Despite being early, the room was already jam-packed for Programmatic Buying: A win-win for Agencies, Advertisers & Publishers. One angry attendee who was refused entry proclaimed "How could they have such a small venue for such an important topic?!" This session was presented by Powerlinks Media (Mike Harty, Co-founder & COO).

Topic 1: What is driving prices down?

Dan Shaw (ITG)

• Very difficult justifying advertisers paying a premium for data. 90-95% data is questionable which creates question mark about the 5% which is good. Premium doesn't justify the cost. 
  • Seeing more clients asking to be on white list of 1000, 50 or 10 sites because context is so important. Want to be more insightful or targeted and willing to pay a premium.

Harvey Sariant (RadiumOne)

• First party data is so important and publishers sitting on so much. How can they build segments for reading?
  • White lists are only about trust and brand safety 

Topic 2: Audience vs, Context ... Where is the scale? How can we standardise, achieve scale while reaching in niche environments (500 ads seen by each user every day)?

• Good progress in getting publishers to stop competing and start collaborating 
• Clients and planners still want larger formats - data is a hot topic but it's not where the money is being spent currently. Need measurement (the right measurement) and KPI's for it to mature. 
• MWhat is digital these days? We need a cross-platform metric (eg. viewability) across all devices

Is the age of below-the-fold dead? Yes

Seeing more clients talking about viewability from a DR perspective instead of chasing the last click to help the industry move forward. We need trade bodies to start taking the lead to help publishers. We need a way to only render an ad on the page when the page is viewed.

Topic 3: Complete Data; a pipe dream? Valuing an impression the moment of the cookie drop

• WPP changed their terms allowing them to collect data as they seem fit (IDG)
• Can we overtarget through programmatic buying? There is a temptation. 

Topic 4: Delivering for Brand Advertising 

• We need a new set of metrics which is standardised
• 55% of marketers interviewed by Digiday said that online metrics should be aligned to offline
• Clients know that TV performs well and they are comfortable with it

Topic 5: High Impact Ad Delivery and Creativity: Click-through rates are decreasing and creative agencies are becoming disassociated with the digital space. What do we think? 

• Skyscrapers and MPU's are our bread and butter
• We need to find ways at bringing creative agencies back to the table
• Can we loop back to the creative agencies? 
• Need for collaboration and measurement 
• Viewability would involve serving ads in real time (IAB guideline says 50% of an ad should be viewable for at least 1 second) 
• It's not just the agencies - clients are starting to ask questions 
• There are free tools for publishers to show what is and isn't viewable and it's not so scary
• Nobody wants the conversation "have u been serving non viewable ads?"

The final session of the day for me was a panel titled The consumer has changed but has marketing? I unfortunately had to go to other meetings so missed other sessions I would have liked but luckily the conference is streamed and on video This panel consisted of Rupert Staines (MD RadiumOne) , Mark Creighton (CEO Mindshare), Kelaine Blades (7digital), Jennifer Roebuck (French Connection) and Nick Ellsom (founder Fast Thinking)

• Kelaine: your smartphone is your remote control to life, it's timely, relevant and personal but how do we integrate it across everything?
• Nick: marketing is reactive and requires infrastructure
• Jennifer: it's operationally almost impossible to keep up – "digifrenia" is about consumers feeling overwhelmed even at the current pace (so it's not just marketers feeling overwhelmed)
  • Kelaine: you can't even use the same message across the big 3
  • Rupert: Brands don't lag behind, it's the people behind the brands who lag. Simply not enough attention at high levels in the company to address the changes consumers are going through. Companies are suffering inertia and we are still operating around an antiquated structure. Every company without data at its core will not understand its customer base. 
  • Mark: disagrees with Rupert - it's about structure (moving deck chairs on the Titanic). It's always going to be disruptive. We are just about to create seamless transfer between devices and get connected TV's!
  • Rupert: It's a real challenge as there are a lot of companies (see Lumascape) doing a piece of the puzzle
  • Mark: Many aspects are really difficult to articulate to clients e.g. Appnexus and RTB
  • Nick: Lots of DR spend and not brand spend because its measurable
  • Rupert: Nonsense that all value still attributed to last click
  • Digital gives smaller brands a chance to rise to the top
  • Nike have commercialised "I Am Player" by selling virtual boots so there is a huge opportunity for brands
  • Mark: Developed a game for Kleenex called sneeze man. Brands can step in and help small developers who cannot afford the App Store 

So after 5 hours of listening and typing furiously on my Ipad Mini, that was the end of the day for me. Lots of common themes and issues have emerged and I'll be publishing these after Adweek has ended. In the meantime, enjoy the little summaries with nuggets I'm providing. All feedback welcome. Let me know if there are sessions over the next 2 days you think I should attend. I have meetings tomorrow but should get a good chunk of sessions again in the afternoon.

 

Google Think Branding 2013 Event

At the Royal Opera House on a freezing Tuesday (today), Google held their annual Think Branding event #thinkbranding2013. This conference was almost entirely focussed on YouTube with several interesting speakers and examples. Below is a short summary of the seminar. Apologies where the summary is thin – I was listening more than typing. The full seminar will be available online, on YouTube of course!

After a welcome by Shuvo Saha (Industry Director Branding), Matt Brittin (VP Northern and Central Europe) kicked off on the topic of Remastering Marketing talking about the T-Mobile flash mob at Liverpool street station which was then also shown on TV in the form of an ad directing everyone to YouTube (and generating 18 M YouTube views and started 18 Facebook pages). This was 4 years ago so the big question was "how much has changed 4 years later?"

The 3 themes for this event were:

1. Reframing Brands (e.g. Band-Aid think bigger using an app that recognises Muppet character on a plaster and makes a dancing character)
2. Reimagining  Media (e.g. Pizza delivery giving physical app for fridge, GoPro cameras marketed by customers on YouTube 240 M times sharing their videos, Oreos at Superbowl tweeting " you can still dunk in the dark" with 14 M retweets)
3. Rebooting Organisations 

PART 1: Reframing Brands

Connie Kalcher, VP Marketing & Consumer Experiences, Lego

• Lego means play well (2 Danish words)
• There are also interesting partnerships e.g. with Star Wars 
• Lego facilitates conversations and segments customers according to affinity with brand. They see the power to get advocates to flip content and be brand ambassadors. 
• Launched Mindstorms "robotic invention" for adults which was hacked. What do you do when your customers hack your products?
• Fans share a lot on social media - see Star Wars cantina on YouTube. I searched and found a range of clips – this is the one with lego.
• Created a site called "We Brick" tagging all the content on fan sites to be a platform for them to shine. Adult Fans of Lego (AFOLS) have events attended by 9 M people a year. 
• An architect's idea formed a new Lego product for adults. They have Lego Certified professionals who are licensed to do business off the back of the Lego brand. 
• What about the kids? 40 M views on Lego channel on YouTube as part of 360 degree approach. Lego has become an experience brand! 

James Hilton, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, AKQA

• James introduced some key principles in the digital world. For starters, take the pain away! Make it simple! E.g. "Silver car" only have 1 car - silver Audi a4, Disney created the magic band so parents aren't continually opening up their wallets every few minutes at the Theme park.
• Disrupt or be disrupted. 
• Democratise what is for the elite and give power to the people. E.g. NHS, Google democratised data, Nike personal trainer in their pocket
• Help people be better e.g. Building Lego
• How? Start with vision.
• James gave some great examples of how brands reframe themselves. 
  • Nike Kinect training making it a habitual part of people's lives
  • Delta with bag scanning, airport navigation. It's not just about getting people on planes but helping them. The future of in flight entertainment (IFO) on iPhones and tablets. Went not just from pre-flight to inflight giving access to inboard wifi e.g. Glass bottom aircraft allows you to see where you are flying over, which friends of yours have been there, interesting facts etc.

PART 2: Reimagining Media

Dan Cobley, MD UK & Ireland, Google

• Dan introduced this part by talking more about video. 45% of online video watched on smartphone sand tables.
• The distinction between content and advertising Is blurred.

• There are 3 implications:

1. Type of context is changing
2. Measure for success is changing
3. Consumer insights and media planning is changing

Derek Scobie: Head of Propositions, YouTube

• An entertaining speaker, Derek talked about the content you currently get from YouTube vs. what you expect vs. what you will get to see
• YouTube's unpredictability is a challenge with lots of UGC (what you currently get) whereas YouTube wants to be more broadcast, professional and controlled (Note: BBC has more views on YouTube than on iPlayer!)
• Very interesting to learn that new original for YouTube content being made. E.g. Fast and furious, earth unplugged, fas#tag, Jamie's Food Tube. This leverages content from professionals with YouTube super users! E.g. The Daily mix made by 9 top beauty stars in YouTube (> 1 million views) with professional production company. This is the new YouTube. 

Bernardo Correia: Industry Head, Google UK

• How can you use data for brands to make successful content?
• I was interested to learn that the ideal content strategy should contain both "Hero" content and "Hygiene" content (see below)
• Content metrics should look at how much a video is loved and therefore create huge sharing social multiplier. 

Stuart Sullivan-Martin: Chief Strategy Office, MEC

• The magic for brands lies in the intersection between technology, media and psychology
• Data can sometimes be the currency of the marketing idea. E.g. Nike Auction site and Nike Zombie Run fitness app
• Searches for healthcare words gives insights
  

Part 3: Re-booting organisations

Andy Bird, Co-Founder and Exec. Director, Brand Learning

• There are barriers to digital are there and we need to shift the mindset - we need to embrace the new mindset and play to win! 
• We need to move from the relatively stable position to an agile position used to constant change

Paul Randle, Global Head of Digital, Akzo Nobel

• World's largest paint company, owner of Dulux, is on a corporate journey to go from being a chemicals company to being a paint company to being a decorative company
• There is a phenomenal amount of decorative conversation going on in the online world
• They started by conducting an audit: where are our customers, what are the conversations etc. and found that things were not good
• Paul found that he spent more in a year at Starbucks than the company spent on search!
• He also learnt that 0.9 FTE doing work with 2.5 agencies so he realised they had no control and decided to bring more in-house
• How do you make a vision come alive? Put the right organisation structure in place, get key teams on the bandwagon. Biggest challenge is doing this with limited budget

J&J, Juan-Jose Gonzales, MD Northern Europe. Johnson &Johnson

• J&J are an old client of mine from my time at Microsoft and I have fond memories of presenting at their global country managers meeting in Marbella to over 300 folks several years ago. Their portfolio includes several iconic brands like Neutrogena, Listerine and Acuvue
• Their story starts in 2008 when they lost 10% gross profit due to a depreciating £
• This gave them a strict cost-focus and emphasis on digital
• Then asked how many websites they had, the answer was unclear!
• Juan-Jose outlines the key elements for the digital journey: (These are exceptional good to hear advocated as JaffeBlend specialises in helping with points 1-5)

1. Training (!!): 24 mandatory training a year and 36 best practice sharing activities email, video. You build a very sophisticated level of IQ if you do this over 4 years
2. Infrastructure: there has to be a team looking at next gen technology, implications of social and mobile e.g. they realised that the legal team was not sufficient to deal with volume of contracts
3. Processes: the way they deal with communications briefs etc.
4. External Partners: they were not convinced that existing partners were in a position to support with new IQ
5. Targets: get idea to start spending up to 30% - they also looked at metrics, analytics, ROI to actually calculate the value of the move into digital
6. Leadership: very little can be achieved without this. Leadership= personal commitment. This is done by asking the right questions e.g. asking a particular question that can only be answered with Google Analytics or giving the order to reduce all media spend except digital. How do you personally embrace this as a leader? Do you sit together in a training?

• J&J have a global digital centre of excellence doing a yearly audit. 
• Current digital spend has gone from 4% to 22%.
• In 2011 they asked moms to share videos for Calpol which generated 100k likes and 24,000 submissions, Mouth vs. Life campaign for Listerine received 2.5 M channel views (300% more views in less time than Pepto Bismol).
• 2013 will see more relationships and e commerce development. 

Andy Bird then wrapped up the final part with 3 imperatives:

1. Integrate all drivers of capability

  

2. Inspire and enable behaviour change

3. Provide customer-focussed leadership 

Last, but not least, was a profound and moving session by Eric Whitacre on the Virtual Choir. This is a global choir to a piece of music composed and conducted by him, incorporated submissions via YouTube. The latest choir as more than 4,000 participants from all over the world. This is a moving example of social media collaboration producing not just beautiful music, but also helping talented music lovers to connect across the world giving them a sense of fulfilment and intimacy. I strongly urge you to watch some of these videos

I hope you've found some value in this post with highlights of the session. Thanks to Google for being such a fabulous host and for helping to educate marketers (albeit about their own products)! Next week I'm off to some cherry-picked sessions at Adweek so watch this space!

 

JaffeBlend Wins Business Person of the Year 2013 Award!

Hot off the press, yesterday I was honoured and privileged to attend the TrainE-TrainE Business Awards lunch, attended by 350-400 people in the magnificent ballroom of the Grosvener Hotel on Park Lane. Let me start by saying that I find it hard to do any form of self-promotion, but am so overjoyed with this award, I do intend to put that aside and shout the news from the rooftops (so please bear with me and share in my jubilation!).

And the winner is .... JaffeBlend! In true social media style, the clip was up on YouTube before I even got back to my table. http://bit.ly/ULzviG

The event began with a drinks reception, at which I had an exhibition table.

This was the debut also of the new JaffeBlend branding, the launch of the brochure and the free "99 Social Media Facts You Need to Know About" booklet.
Please email Sharon for copies as well as the JaffeBlend original jelly beans! I will be making a digital version available via the site very soon.

Then off we headed to the ballroom where the magnificent reception began. Check out the stylish starter which awaited us.

Finally it was Awards time, thank heavens completed before the main course since my stomach was doing somersaults and backflips from nerves. The Business Person of the Year Award 2013 was up first and massive thanks to Jonathan Sumberg for the professionally edited clip of me. Some folks told me they thought I should win based on the video alone (!). I highly recommend Jonathan's video services!

More pictures will be available soon, but in the meantime, here is what the ballroom looked like and the moment I took the stage.

A big thank you to all my friends, clients and colleagues for the support over years across multiple companies and multiple markets. I'm glad to have had you all along with me for the fast-paced bullet-train digital ride. We have had a blast being part of changing the world.

Looking forward to bigger and better things from JaffeBlend.

The best is yet to come!

5 Key Questions about Twitter #Hashtags

After presenting a session on The Power of Social Media at the Women in the Workplace conference last week, I had so many folks expressing utter exasperation in their attempt to understand the #hashtag in Twitter that I promised a blog post to attempt to demystify it and answer the key questions. I realised that those of us immersed in social media really take it for granted what we understand, so it's important to help educate and not just assume that everybody knows all the in's and out's of social media.

1. What is the difference between @ and # ?

The @ represents the username or person on Twitter that you follow whereas the # represents subject areas to follow. The @ can be a person or a company (like a store) or both, like with my twitter name @jaffeblend (I personally am tweeting but under my company name).

1. How are #hashtags created?

Anyone and everyone can create a hashtag simply by using the button on the "#" button on the keyboard and writing a term (with no spaces). This makes your "tweets" findable by those searching twitter on a particular subject matter. Tools like Tweetdeck allow you to create specific columns searching for all tweets on a specific hashtag e.g. #xfactor

Sometimes a hashtag is created and communicated to help bring people together on a specific topic e.g. at a conference like Google Zeitgeist (#Zeitgeist2012) or for a tv program (#xfactor). Often folks simply guess the most obvious #hashtag and communicate several of them to ensure that 'all bases are covered' e.g. #Zeitgeist2012 #zg2012 #zeitgeistLondon. Bear in mind though that you're using up valuable tweet space with too many #hashtags.

Sometimes people use hashtags for humour i.e. not expecting anyone to really search using them but just making a point e.g. My son just threw up on me #Ihatemondays

1. Why do I need to use #hashtags?

The very nature of tweeting is to communicate and connect, so without #hashtags, only your followers will be able to read your tweets. #Hashtags enable:

• Other people interested in what you're tweeting about to read your tweets
• More people to find you, to then "like" what you're tweeting about and follow you

Think of it just like wanting to appear in the search results in Google.

1. How can #hashtags help my business?

In addition to growing your Twitter follower base, you should use #hashtags to search twitter for relevant subject areas directly or indirectly related to your area of business. You need a Twitter client like Tweetdeck to do this.

This will enable you to:

• See and learn from what your contemporaries are doing (online)
• Learn more about your field of business e.g. if you're a solicitor, you can search on #familylaw #divorce
• Find potential customers (e.g. if you're in the cupcake business, potential customers could be tweeting about cupcakes)
• Find your brand advocates and detractors (e.g. those tweeting positively or negatively about your company)
• Join the conversation with your potential customers on relevant topics (without selling yourself)
• Create and run meaningful authentic conversations with current and potential customers

Using #hashtags in your own tweets will help you grow your customer base using relevant topics for potential customers e.g. if you are a paediatrician, you could post tweets linking to blog posts about useful topics like #flu #eczema #vaccinations #hayfever etc.

1. Did someone really name their child Hashtag?

   Sadly and apparently so …. Read more here. Even scarier is the poor child who has been named "Facebook". I.kid.you.not.

   

   Do you understand the #hashtag better? Do you have any useful tips for me and the readers of this blog? Are there other relevant points I haven't made? Please comment now.

Women in the Workplace - My Social Media Strategy

Last week I had the privilege of speaking on the Power of Social Media (“To Tweet or not to Tweet – that is the question!”) at the London "Women in the Workplace" conference.

After some blood, sweat and tears (well almost!), I managed to compress 200 social media slides from my digital marketing training module and strategy into a 45 minute session for an audience of women who are starting or thinking of starting their own business and know little about social media.

I opted to give the attendees a crash course in social media, since I knew that merely talking about it was just not going to be enough to empower them to walk away with a clear understanding of how it can help them and their businesses, and how to go about it.

I introduced my step-by-step social media strategy outlining the following:
1. LISTEN and monitor social media for information about your industry, competitors and trends as well as feedback on your product, website and brand (both positive and negative).
2. FIND your customers or potential customers.
3. JOIN the conversation. Be authentic and don’t interrupt.
4. START your own conversations and build your own community. Ensure your website is social including sharing and commenting mechanisms.
5. ACTIVATE your brand advocates to be your extended sales force.
6. EXPERIMENT, learn and evolve using free or paid tools.

After my sessions and throughout the day, I fielded a range of questions as well as the most profound level of appreciation I have ever experienced from the attendees. I realised that social media knowledge for many is like finding water in a very dry desert. Twitter is everywhere but so many people don’t even understand the meaning of the hashtag.

Moving forward I will be add a bunch of Social Media educational posts to the JaffeBLEND blog. If you know it all already, then please add your comments, experience and insights. If you don’t, then drink from the well and may you never be thirsty again.

If you want to learn more about the conference, need help with your social media strategy or need a presentation on social media, then feel free to contact me ([email protected]).

Go forward. Go social.

Social Media Update

With a mountain of workload, paperwork, never-ending to do lists, social events, an injured ankle and a nasty cold (which 70% of London seems to have), I have neglected my blogging.

Shame on me. But really, there are only 24 hours in each day. Respect to those who keep blogging amidst other pressures. Thanks though to some of my loyal followers who pulled me out of my blogging hiatus with email and Twitter S.O.S calls.

Luckily I haven't neglected my passion for digital marketing and I've tried to keep up abreast of developments. On that note, this post is a compilation of some of the interesting things that have crossed my path recently. I find myself continually fascinated with social media, specifically with Twitter, trying to get my head around it as a Twitterer and a marketer.

Social Media is Growing

..but revenue lags behind. Consumers are embracing social media but the rules for marketers and brands have yet to be written. There is loads of experimentation going on e.g. on Twitter @Zappos, @Comcastcares, @Delloutlet and even @BarackObama have successfully harnessed it as a channel for connecting and broadcasting with audiences.

I personally have been contacted by @Norton and @MarketingProfs as a result of my tweets about both companies.

The next stage is a clear monetisation model, and unfortunately just as 30-second spots are to TV as banners are to websites, there is no "quick" revenue fix yet for social media. When we still rely on display advertising for revenue, lower click rates on social media sites like MySpace, Facebook and Bebo do not paint a rosy picture. Read more on this topic here on MediaPost.

Social media can help sales significantly. Richard Shepherd predicts it could be a big earner in 2009 as the recession keeps people indoors. For ROI and success his tips are to use social media to Raise awareness, Listen, Engage, Respond and Control. The full article can be found here.

Steve Semelsberger, SVP of Global Sales and Business Development, Pluck, believes that Social Media will be the second largest area of spend increase by advertisers and piblishers, next to Search. Read an interesting interview with him here.

Social Media for Publishers

I was privileged to attend a webinar by Chris Brogan on Social Media for Publishers. With my online background, I immediately thought it would be attended by bloggers and online media publishers, however I was pleasantly surprised to discover loads of traditional publishers in attendance and the topic of books in discussion. In the spirit of social media, the Webex LiveMeeting had constant chatter and it was fascinating to partake in a virtual webinar and still be connecting with so many people! It was exhilarating listening in to great content while I hovered over my laptop from my kitchen as I cooked dinner (we females pride ourselves in our multitasking abilities). The value was heightened by the combined ability to fire away questions (and get an immediate response from Chris) while getting some new Twitter folks to follow and followers e.g. John Byrne, Editor-in-Chief, Businessweek.com. You can view it here.

2009 Social Media Predictions

Thanks to Rohit Bargava, who highlighted this document on his blog about the 2009 social media predictions from BeingPeterKim.com, with key view points from top thought leaders and bloggers. An interesting, easy read.

Social Media Research & Measurement

Traditional market research and online research gets a new twist with social media. Duncan Southgate outlines YouBuild and YouTrawl as 2 new techniques. Essentially, YouBuild is the research version of "crowd-sourcing" and YouTrawl involves doing secondary research or "trawling" social media for insights and valuable conversations about brands or products. You can read the full article here.

Everyone seems to want to talk about measurement, but before diving into tools and metrics, we are reminded by Laura Patterson, on MarketingProfs, to look to outputs (e.g. number of positive reviews relative to the campaign cost), outcomes (e.g. behavioural changes like increase/decrease in number of reviews) and business results (e.g. how a specific business objective in achieved). The whole article can be found here.

Twitter

Aaaah Twitter. I could write an entirely new post on this, but in the interest of keeping it short, I have consumed by trying out 100 of the best Twitter tools from the ComMetrics blog. The Sharon Jaffe jury is still not out on Tweetdeck – I love the extra functionality but just struggle to scan and read tweets as comfortably as say in Outtwit or simply on Twitter.com.

Some Cool Stuff

• 12Seconds.TV: I discovered this video microblogging service thanks to Neville Hobson. It can best be described as YouTube meets Twitter with a nifty iPhone app. I would have tried it out if I didn't get such a shock seeing my face on my PC's webcam before applying any make-up first thing in the morning.
• Masher.com: This is a nifty mashing site with clips and apps essentially allowing you to do the same as Apple iMovie, but online and with a community element. The term "mash ups" seems to refer to both 1) the combination of content consisting of music and/or pictures and/or text or 2) the integration of applications e.g. Twitter with Google Earth like in Twittervision. This site represents the former.

   

So that's the end of my social media update for 2008. As the year draws to a close, I hope this post gives you some food for thought on Social Media, an exciting area for growth and experimentation in the near future (and my favourite part of digital marketing at the moment)!

Social Networks Across Geographies

It's interesting to see that while many don't know what social networking is, we're all doing it! In a post by Scott Monty, 58% of 18-65 year olds interviewed across 17 markets did not know what Social Networking was. These are the results from a recent Synovate study also reported on by Emarketer.

Am I surprised? Not really. I don't think my mother or any of my non new-media friends know the term while we're all using social networks.

Even more interesting is the penetration of the different networks across the globe:

From a personal perspective, I have family, friends and associates spread across the world and many on different networks. In The Netherlands, I continually get Hyves requess (I lived there for 10 years), however being active on LinkedIn and Facebook doesn't leave me with much bandwidth for yet another social networks. Lately, I've also been meeting folks from Switzerland, Gemany and Austria. Am I on Xing? No. Will I subscribe to Xing? Not likely.

The foundation of social networking is not the presence but the participation. This participation requires actively logging in to read/post/forward/watch/write etc. I can barely keep up with Facebook! How many times has someone told me something about their personal life to which I've reacted with great surprise ... only to have them respond nonchalantly "well, I did announce it on Facebook!". Who finds the time to login daily or check out the photo albums of their 300 friends?

The implication for advertisers and commercial opportunities in this space is clear. For multinational campaigns, you need to include a variety of social networks in your strategy. It's not a once-size-fits-all solution alas. Forget partnering with MySpace for your global campaign! You'll only reach Bulgarians ... and Americans, of course.

It will be interesting to see in the next 5-10 years which of these networks are still around or if people will defect to other networks. If Facebook keep changing their interface, it may just happen even sooner.

 

Twitter Mad about Mad Men

When I heard about the TV series "Mad Men" ( AMC), I wasn't too keen on a programme about a bunch of crazy men. It wasn't until saw that it got a ridiculous amount of Golden Globe and Emmy nominations and awards, AND that it was about the advertising industry (Mad – Madison Ave) in the '60's, that I felt compelled to check it out. I picked up a DVD set promptly and churned through Series 1 in a marathon binge (personal tip: stop at 3 episodes each time). Now that my fix is over, I am waiting with a massive void for Series 2 to begin in the UK. BBC 4 has secured it though it seems as if it may only air next year. Pray tell it'll come sooner than that.

Where does digital marketing and social media connection come into play?

For starters, the void was somewhat filled when, much to my amusement:

1. I saw the Mad Men characters pop up in Twitter: @don_draper (with 1,749 followers!), @roger_sterling, @pete_campbell (and his wife @trudy_campbell), @joan_holloway, @betty_draper and I'm sure there are more. There's even @dick-whitman – Don Draper's old identity!
2. I discovered that the advertising agency in question, Sterling Cooper, had its own website (WeAreSterlingCooper.com).
3. I was even introduced to new characters e.g. @Bud_Melman (who works in the mailroom at Sterling Cooper). Bud has a linked-in page and has asked me for a recommendation! He's trying to move up at Sterling Cooper.

Why does it work?

1. Authenticity: The Mad Men characters remain fairly true to life – even with their language usage (we should bring back the word "swell" into our daily vernacular).
2. Interaction: They also follow their followers on Twitter, allowing for interaction with their "fans".
3. Engagement: This is the first time I've encountered characters from a show extend their persona's into the so-called real world that you and I interact in. In fact, this interaction with the characters is humorous, strangely real and very engaging!
4. Intimacy: The Twitter environment is very person as the messaging feels very much like sms or IM. I am almost tempted to direct message @don_draper and ask him questions which I can't do when sitting on the sofa. Of course, I remind myself that it isn't the real person and merely someone operating the Twitter account (my rational side always trumps). Still, maybe I'll ask Trudy Campbell what she see's in Pete Campbell but I don't want to burst her bubble.
5. Extension: Madison Ave in the 60's means that David Ogilvy must have been in the picture. While he isn't in the TV series, on twitter @david_ogilvy shares his insights and thoughts. My personal favourite is "Advice for @pete_campbell I despise toadies who suck up to their bosses; they are generally the same people who bully their subordinates 03:50 PM August 29, 2008 from web".

Why do I love it?

What has happened here is the use of social media in an un-controlled way to elevate and celebrate the brand "Mad Men". Its an environment for the fans, by the fans (although I really don't know who is behind it) and only has a positive impact on:

• The buzz around the show
• The fans and their loyalty

This impact has just touched on the potential for utilising social media to market and enhance the awareness and consumer base for an entertainment brand and product.

So what's the problem?

AMC are not behind this. AMC tried to take it down. AMC changed their minds (apparently on advice from their Agency Deep Focus). Read more about it on Silicon Alley Insider. They needed to be convinced that the "Twitterers assuming the names of Mad Men characters are actually brand ambassadors meant to be cultivated, not thwarted" according to Michael Learmonth. Of course, we understand that AMC is also concerned about controlling this so that it is true to the show's characters and integrity. It's a shame that legal action had to follow and not creativity to harness the power of social media and the fan base.

What should AMC be doing?

Here are some ideas how this could be further built upon in order to drive further awareness and buzz for the show with a greater audience while pull the existing fan base in even more.

• More Content: The current conversation on Twitter just scratches the surface of what is possible. I recommend giving the fans more to talk about and engage with, such as:
  • Some exclusive content e.g. a piece of footage not shown on TV
  • Even more insight into the characters e.g. What else does Betty talk about in her therapy sessions? What big pitches are happening at Sterling Cooper?
  • More play on the theme "advertising in the 60's" e.g. What research as become available about TV advertising (the new thing back then)? What did a 30-second spot cost?
• Fans as Evangelists: Satisfied customers and fans tell other people about their passions and this represents untapped potential in enhancing the audience and fan base even further. More should be done to a) activate the fan base and b) use other channels like Facebook, Bebo, MySpace to further the buzz and content distribution. Bud Melman on Linked In represents a good start in this direction. Of course, I also don't want my Linked In mailbox clogged with fake characters and endorsement requests so this space should be entered into delicately.
• Official Marketing Communication: Separate to the character Twitter feeds, AMC could set up a @MadMenFans feed informing fans on:
  • Show Content:
    • When will the series be out in the UK?
    • Sneak preview episodes
    • Some insight into the storyline and clips from Series 2 (these are floating around illegally on the web )
  • Era Content:
    • More on advertising in the 60's, life in the 60's (values, themes, trends), New York in the 60's etc.
    • Background to some of the truths in the series e.g. Lucky Strike - "It's Toasted" campaign was apparently created exactly as the scene played out.
  • Awareness: There's actually a lot hidden on the AMC site. While I'm a fan, I would never have gone to the site and surfed around to find such gems as video's of people doing Mad Men characters (to win a walk on role). Check out this Joan Holloway or my favourite video, which is Rich Sommer acting as Peggy Olson.

Advertising was certainly simpler in the 60's and the folks at Sterling Cooper didn't have to worry about audience fragmentation, the integration of digital channels and social media. If they were around today, I'm sure they would be up to the challenge, although the scotch-free no smoking environment would be a whole different ballgame for them!

Facebook is more useful than I thought

Thanks toTangerineToad on Twitter for directing me to this article: How to make facebook useful again. Guess I am not entirely the right generation or just don't have enough time to delve into this although I certainly will try out some of the things mentioned in the article.

I admit to being recently rather charmed an cheered by Facebook as a result of postings of school pictures from about 25-30 years ago! Even funnier was the resulting time-shifted commentary from the same people in the photo but spanning several continents. It was a form of enjoyment from social interaction which would never have been possible without Facebook. I honestly don't think I would ever have spoken to many of these folks again. If you've added me as a friend, then you can check out the photos and spot me. This week I LOVE Facebook. Next week, who knows ? :-)