digital advertising | Margie Albert

Tag: digital advertising

Today’s remark – what works?

– Posted on Jun 03, 2012 by Margie Albert

One of my favorite marketers asked me the other day if I thought email marketing works. That got me thinking about what really works and here is my conclusion (drum roll please) – everything!

Every mode of marketing works IF it is directed to the right person at the right time in the right format with the right message.

As I have been saying in my classes lately, all forms of media (TV, radio, email, outdoor, newspaper, door hangers, etc) are simply conduits. Information, whether it is news, entertainment programming or advertisements flow from the originator (publisher, broadcaster, etc) to the viewer/reader/onlooker, etc. If your message is spot on, compelling, and noticeable and the conduits you have selected deliver that message to the interested consumer when she is motivated to respond you have a winner!

The problem is knowing that consumer, studying her behavior and what motivates her and understanding her information consumption habits. I think we spend way too much time in broadcast thinking in terms of quantity and worrying way too much about ratings. Yes, I know, the core business represents a very large percentage of the total and is still based on ratings so I’m not suggesting we abandon that race. I am suggesting we spend more dollars locally determining information about our viewers/users/likes and their consumption habits. Study not just consumption of our television programming but our digital products far beyond Scarborough data.

What works is the right message delivered at the right time in the right format to the right consumer. Do the pre-work and you will be remark-able.

Today’s remark – Ad Agencies, Digital GRPs, oh my!

– Posted on Jan 31, 2012 by Margie Albert

There are articles all over the internet about traditional ad agencies and digital ad agencies. Are they really different? Well, they were for awhile but I’m watching them getting closer and closer to each other every day. That is good news and bad news.

The good news is those once considered traditional agencies are seeing the value and need for expansion into other ways to reach consumers on the consumers’ terms. Remember, consumers now have more control than ever as to how they will consume information. The awake agencies are not depending upon what they know best and embracing all the tools available to them to get their clients’ messages out. Here is a really good article featuring several agencies and how they view their world today. Many of them say the message delivery systems may be growing but good ideas and creative will always be timeless. Here’s another good interview featuring David Sable, CEO of Y&R. His take is a bit different!

Other good news is digital agencies are beginning to see the value awake traditional agencies bring to the table and are allowing themselves to participate in that arena. I predict many more mergers in the near future.

The bad news is I just read an article where internet ads will be measured by “effective GRPs.” Yes, the same GRP we have used and hated in TV forever! The internet experience is so different from TV but the advertising community is so trained and comfortable with the GRP and wanting to compare TV to internet it is falling back on this archaic measurement even knowing how inaccurate it is.

Digital buyers will be as detached from customer results as their traditional media buying counterparts. And sellers will, again, become commodity brokers rather than solution providers. When will we learn to measure based on our client’s results?

Need your remark-able thoughts on this before I explode! And a special shout out to Park Howell at Park & Co for inspiring today’s remark.

4 comments Pin It

Today’s “rant” – can’t take eye off the ball

– Posted on Aug 20, 2011 by Margie Albert

The ascendancy to the top of the sales department 40 years ago was first you were an AE, than an NSM and/or LSM and then you became the GSM/VP Sales. Amazingly enough, it is exactly the same today!

The Digital Sales Manager is not only seldom considered in the hierarchy but isn’t even included in day to day department decisions. The reason I hear most often? “We are focused on the core product which still represents 90% of the business – can’t take our eye off the ball.”

Step away and observe for just a minute. If we were any other smart business we would shift our attention to where the business is going and we would do it quickly. Think of Wayne Gretsky’s famous “watch where the puck is going” quote. We would recognize we are not TV stations but an information delivery company and commercials are nothing more than information. Advertisers know this as illustrated by reduced TV budgets and increased Digital budgets.

As Sales Managers, we would hire the brightest people at the station level (not just promote an AE who likes this new stuff) to lead us forward and not look back. And we would hold them in the highest regard. We would spend more of our time on this portion of the business and it would not be an afterthought. After all, it represents our perpetuity. Maybe to become a GSM you must have DSM on your pedigree?

Or we can continue the 40 year old precedent and go the route of Border’s and Tower Records. By the time they took their eye off the ball the ball was in someone else’s court.

BTW – you’ll notice I kept “rant” thanks to your comments. I know some of you don’t like it but I sincerely hope you will continue to be part of this community. Unlike some bloggers, I actually do care about all of you.

1 comment Pin It