My top 10 funniest ads... for today

Hey, its nearly the week-end. So let's get ready to unwind and stop thinking. Hope you enjoy this small selection of creative yet hilarious ads. Click on the pictures to zoom. Which one is your favourite ?

Is Radio not going digital then ?

Recent UK numbers show that digital radio has failed to grow as quickly as expected. Indeed, UK’s RAJA Q3 2010 results show that digital radio listeners stagnate at 25%.

But the recent disappointing growth shouldn’t undermine that digital radio has grown 17.5% year on year in the UK.

It is also important to understand that Radio is also a media platform that is meshed with others platforms : 65% of European radio listeners also combine this with another media consumption according to the EIAA, Mediascope Europe 2010. 36% combine this with Newspapers, followed by TV and Online.

However, if you take into account the fact the online and mobile are increasingly eating up the user media consumption hours, no wonder that the average hours listening radio per week has decreased. So as radio competes with other media for the user’s attention, the digital extension of radio should continue. But music streaming sites such as Deezer or Spotify, and their subscription based apps, are new competitors in this space. Meaning a radio's station specific content is more key than ever.

A great source of information : M&M's new look

Here is a quick post to give credit to the great new print and web version of M&M. The good people at the magazine give clear and interesting data and interview in both the monthly magazine and the website. I am particularly impressed with the site's capacity to give everyone access to usefull updated data : check out the agency profiles section or the great media passeport section which will give you clear advertising data per market. Great stuff.

Great data per market available at M&M

6 reasons why marketers should already think Mobile ?

Not sure anybody needs convincing that mobile is becoming a booming new media platform for marketers. Indeed E-marketer.com has just released a forecast that shows mobile advertising is to grow by 50% -twice more than social media- to reach $1 Billion dollars in 2011. Every day, new headlines seem to indicate that mobile is the online of the 2010’s. Yet, most marketers would be tempted to take a back seat and let others trial the platform for them to reap the learnings. Big mistake; Here are 6 reasons to remind marketers exactly why they should implement mobile marketing and advertising now.

#1 - Mobile technology is finally mature enough. In the space of 10 years, mobile technology has now arrived at an exciting place: just remember that old Nokia you use to have... hugh, yeah that one. SMS, MMS, Camera lens, WAP and touchscreens are basic features. Now, your current or next phone has 3G connection allowing you to surf on the go and use multiple apps. You post your latest tweet on the go whilst watching a video on your phone before playing a quick game you downloaded. iPhone we owe you one for helping the industry kick-start the need for all this amazing technology at your fingertips. And looking ahead, augmented reality and geo-localisation are just some of the recent features which seem to bring mobile in a world of its one.

#2 - Users increasingly diversify usage of mobile phones. Recent Comscore data comparing phone usage in 3 key markets shows that users are taking full advantage of all the new features.  Gone are the days were SMS was the sole alternative use to phoning. The study reflects that if text and photo are still the primary usage, Internet and apps are now also key. This trend will continue to increase as smartphones take over. Notice also some interesting region specific usage, as per graph.

#3 - In 2014, Mobile while be the first online platform. According to Morgan Stanley’s review of mobile, trends indicate that by 2014 PC and laptops won’t be the first tool used to go online.

#4 - Early adopters of smartphones, a golden demographic. Unsurprisingly the smartphone profile is young, active and ultra wealthy. A dream audience of 25-36 years old, +100K USD income. Nielsen's study goes as far as to illustrate how this phenomenon is amplified when looking at iPad owners.

#5 - Unlike Internet, mobile users accepts paying for content. As the success of paid apps prove, the same users who want to download free content on Internet are more willing to pay for similar features on their phone. This fractioned user mindset is thanks to the way subscription to mobile phone networks have accustomed users to pay for extra service. Successful and intuitive iTunes platform has helped bolster this phenomenon. This mentality is also exported on to the tablet format such as the iPad which is potentially great news for publishers and advertisers alike. More information can be found at Internet2go.net on the topic.

#6 - Mobile advertising and m-commerce booming. A couple of recent annoucement seem to all point in the same direction ; the era of mobile advertising has begun. In October 2010, Google's SVP of product Jonathan Rosenberg announced that Google would make $1 billion in top-line mobile ad revenue on an annualized basis. For Apple's advertising platform launch, iAd, Jobs announced over $60 Million worth of commitments from leading global brands before launch.

So in a nutshell the technology is there, users have integrated these possibilities and smartphones are booming across the world. Mobile marketing and M-commerce show similar growth potential and excitement to online in early 2000’s. So the next question is : what are we waiting for ? 

Want to know what mobile will look like in 2020?

A skill most of us would like to have is the ability to read into the future and predict the next big thing. As mobile shows intriguing signs of generating as much excitement as online in the early 2000’s, many wonder how fast and how mobile will grow. The clever guys at Mocom2020, a collaborative think tank about the future of mobile media, have created an interesting video showing the evolution of mobile all the way up to 2020. Place your bets now. It is also interesting, thanks to the short history intro, to remind ourselves how recent the smart-phone revolution is.

How to run a successful Google Display Network campaign

Info on my certification here

As digital display advertising relies more often on networks than ever before, Google’s proposition, the Google Display Network, is unavoidable. But for both clients and agencies, it can be a bit daunting to approach correctly at first. Its adword interface and set up make it a natural extension for search specialists. Yet it is a display proposition that should really sit and work with the rest of a media plan. Hum...
To help you understand how best to tackle the beast that is Google Display Network, I have listed my own list of top 5 benefits, do’s and don’ts. The below is based on my own experience running multiple campaigns and being a qualified Google adwords professional.

Top 5 reasons for clients to use Google Display Network:

#1 - Massive network reach at low cost click: With its 80% reach of online population, GDN make sure you have to potential to go for massive reach therefore a must have to upweigh online presence. This also gives you access to long tail sites at competitive costs too which are perfect fit for the more niche audience.
#2 - Full visibility and control of brand exposure: unlike blind network, you can check all the sites that run your ads. No surprises.
#3 - Unparalleled granular targeting: one of the key USP’s of GDN is the ability to look at so many different targeting options. Whether you decide to look at audience profiles, keyword targeting, city precise geotargeting, retargeting or “remarketing”... yep, it is all possible and you have complete control over all parameters.
#4 - A tool for every brief: If you are looking at performance type metrics, then you can use GDN very similarly to search. Placing relevant conversion pixels on landing pages will then allow you to optimize towards better performing CPA. Added to search activity, it also seems to provide uplift in conversions as per this whitepaper shows. If you are looking at branding, then fear not because lots of interesting options are on offer too. For example Youtube, part of the network obviously, offers interesting video based placements whether it is in-text or pre-roll videos. More and more rich media options are now available on the network too helping push more engaging units. Some interesting examples at this Youtube page.
#5 - Easy extensions to mobile advertising: after setting up everything for GDN campaign, you are also literally a few clicks away from a mobile presence too. Strong synergies and easy to use options for mobile mean that all of the cool targeting mentioned above can be easily added to mobile type or provider targeting. So there is really no reason for clients not up-weigh GDN online with 10% of mobile presence to test new platform and get learnings before competitors.

Top 5 tips on setting up a successful Google Display Network campaign:
#1 - Look at the adplanner tool to prepare the campaign. You will gain interesting knowledge of types of sites represented on the network for the audience, country and vertical you are interested in. Check out this useful tool at www.google.com/adplanner
#2 - Separate Adwords display and search campaigns. Obvious for the more the experienced adword users, it is crucial though that search and display campaigns are set up in separate campaigns. This way you can have 100% control on your display budget and results. A best practice is to separate also per market or between mobile and online. Basically, you should set up new campaigns were it make sense to control budget and results independently.
#3 - A clear mix of Keyword and site selection strategy: to make the most of targeting options on the display front when creating your ad groups, you should definitely combine keywords, automatic and managed placements. Unlike search which has a specific usage of keyword selection, the display element works differently: select 5 to 8 keyword max per ad group and Google will understand the general theme these keywords cover. A longer list of keyword is useless. You can ad as many ad groups as you think there are relevant themes. You can then create adgroups with sites and placements that you want to appear on.
# 4 - First 10 days are crucial: so a daily check of top performers per metrics will help you clean up your performance dramatically. First make sure that top site which are driving the most traffic are relevant ones and not “dodgy” otherwise exclude them. Then add all best performing site which you have spotted into the managed category so you can keep a close eye on these and bid accordingly. Increase bids on sites you would really want to appear. Next 2 weeks, you can start seeing trends and gather learnings from best performing ad units, sites and adgroups.
# 5 – Test one optimisation at a time: yep, a very obvious one but nevertheless important. It is very tempting to want to tweak multiple things once you spot anomalies in early campaign results. As the network will respond rapidly you will then have no clue to which optimization drove the latest result. So test everything one at a time. Keep a login of all amends so you can then retroactively comment on results.


Top 5 you SHOULDN’t do on Google Display Network :
#1 - Expect high CTR or response rates. No matter how targeted your campaign, expect response rates to be online with massive reach partners and networks, which are usual twice lower than your country benchmark average. The network will give you unprecedented reach at an efficient cost but is unlikely to be a CTR champion no matter how much you optimize.
#2 - Underestimate resources and expertise needed to run a campaign effectively. First of all, like any search campaign, this is a time consuming exercise which requires a designated person to be responsible for a daily running and checking of the campaign. However, it requires branding and display know-how which makes optimizing the campaign very different to what a PPC specialist could do. So make sure you develop the right skill-set within your company to manage this efficiently. Minimum prerequisite is to train and pass the Google Display Advanced exam to be certified.
#3 - Let campaign run without checking on it. Very much link to the point above, it is an easy temptation to be hyper sensitive to early days of setting s well as the launch and then let the control slip. Make sure you allow sufficient resource throughout the campaign and schedule frequent weekly update with the team to check on progression as with any other online campaign.
# 4 - Hope GDN can replace all your online advertising. At this point of the article, you are intrigued or agree with the benefits of using Google Display Network. Smaller advertisers especially can find it tempting after a trial to limit online branding presence to the network. However for a large proportion of briefs, GDN should remain a part of the reach upweight.
#5 - Expect flexible and personalized service. Be prepared for heavy processes and long timelines. Creative guidelines and specs are especially ultra strict and are the cause of many delays of start of campaign. When serving through 3rd party, expect 5 days delay for approval to run ads. Not to mention potential negative feedback which require further creative modifications. A common one is forgetting borders on the ads. And not to mention, Google’s tendency to behave like the leading online player that it is. You definitely won’t build the same type of relationship than with other publishers. A bit frustrating at some occasions but hey, nobody is perfect.

Media marketing shifts explained in 3 videos

So you have just been tasked to discuss and present latest media and advertising trends in front of an impossibly difficult audience of peers and colleagues. Fail miserably and you will be remembered for the wrong reasons. Plus you have the usual 3 hours notice to prepare the presentation of which you have burned up half that prep time complaining about your predicament.

But fear not... Why would you reinvent the wheel each time? Youtube is filled with great videos which will help you introduce a topic or point you wanted to make. Not only insightful, these videos are slick and will capture your audience's attention. Added bonus, they’ll make you look goooooood.

Here are 3 recent great short videos which make great introductions to your advertising presentations. Definitely worth a watch.

Step 1 : key changes in marketing in last 50 years. Great animation from Scholtz and friends which underlines shift in traditional marketing.

Step 2 : Recent shifts in media. A great summary made end of 2009 to illustrate how quickly media consumption shifts have accelerated recently.

Step 3 : The social media revolution. If ever someone is still unconvinced about social media and the fundamental shifts it brings, then watch this.

Retargeting : the new eldorado for online ?

As online advertising is increasingly more complex and fragmented with multiple buying models and strategies on offer, marketers struggle to keep up. So you have just received your media brief, and you struggle to understand the media mix of current online options out there : should you go for audience targeting and contextual targeting... no wait, maybe CPC and efficiency models,... or premium placements and Network ... or what about behavioural and retargeting... Hum ... It obviously depends massively on the objective of the brief.

Yet, Comscore and Valueclick have joined forces to identify relevant strength of these online media-placement strategies. Indeed, the research looks at a number of factors to evaluate strength of those 6 options: media cost, reach, but also search uplifts and site visitation are some of the major factors studied. It is a refreshing approach from the usual click oriented research. And as the recap graph indicates, retargeting shines through as being the overall best performer. Indeed it beats other strategies at combining impact delivery and moderate reach efficiently.

Yet according to SEMPO's study, a massive 70% of marketers don't have retargeting strategies. So definitely  worth giving it a shot. Simplistically put, online retargeting allows marketers to serve specific messaging to users who have dropped out of the brand's site and shopping cart. It is essential that brands consider different messaging to accompany customers throughout the different phases of awareness and purchase funnel. Clever tactics mixed with stronger CTA on remarketing ads should definitely help boost conversions as well reinforce awareness. So make sure you take the time to lay out the user journey and how different messaging could intervene. Even though many players offered retargeting possibilites ages ago, Google noticeably followed and announced earlier this year that is was rolling out its retargeting or “remarketing” offering. The below clip gives a good recap of what is retargeting before jumping into the detail of how you can implement it on Adwords.