It's AOP Season: An Agency Survival Guide https://ift.tt/2v8XWLL It’s the most hectic time of the year for CPG companies: Time to develop the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), also known as Joint Business Planning (JBP). And agencies play a big role. This period centers around CPG companies developing programs for different retailers — think Walmart, Target, Kroger, etc. Ideas are then presented to the retailers and sold, which in turn mirrors their sales goals for the following fiscal year. No pressure: dollars will either be increased or decreased. CPG companies handle the bulk of AOP season with the onus falling heavily upon agencies to help them meet projections, make the sell to the retailer and guarantee that volume is met. Agencies bring ideas to life that will be introduced to a retailer that will be picked up and appear in-store. Adding to the challenge, retailers are now asking brands to not only invest dollars in-store but also on their digital properties (.com, social media, mobile, apps) vs. buying media from other companies. For the retailers, it has become an additional revenue stream. This positions them to sell propriety information (both on and off their platform) on their shoppers’ behavior and purchases. advertisement advertisement With the right strategic partner, here are some tips to survive. Start listening: Instead of telling companies what they need, listen to what they need and how to solve their problems. The old days of approaching retailers with just sales figures and big brand programs are gone. Today, retailers want CPG companies to help solve their problems with new products, services, innovations, and customized solutions. Be quicker to market: Launch new products and innovations in a quarterly vs. yearly manner. This could mean changing deadlines and altering previous plans. Be nimble: Once you know what the company needs, be prepared to quickly change course or build upon their vision. There is an opportunity for an agency to drive better collaboration between all partners during the AOP process. Remember that agencies are often the connective tissue between AOP sessions as marketers move in and out of role/rotations on annual basis. Be a partner by being supportive: Clients could get more out of their agencies if they trusted their agency’s intuition with salient insights to inform direction of planning. Embrace the creative process. AOP is an overwhelming period that can be lightened with a little help from the right agency. Lean on them.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 27, 2018 at 05:20PM
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Desktops Still Pull Highest Email Revenue, Study Finds https://ift.tt/2mMxfbR Smartphones are the leading channel for email opens. But they lag behind desktops in producing conversions and revenue, according to a study by Movable Ink. Smartphone opens grew to 57.19% in the second quarter compared with 56.28% in the first quarter. In contrast, desktop opens marginally decreased from 29.46% to 29.29%. Tablet opens fell by less than a point to 13.53%. But desktops produced the highest number of conversions in Q2—56 million, compared with 29.9 million via smartphones. And the average order value (AOV) was $256.19, vs. $122.40 for smartphones. The variances were similar in the first quarter, although the overall numbers were lower — desktops produced 99.4 million conversions and $13.1 million in revenue, versus the 55 million conversions and $2.9 million in revenue that came in via smartphones. Overall, the first quarter saw 168 million conversions and $17.2 million in revenue. The second quarter had 93.4 million conversions and $19.3 million in revenue. "This data indicates that on-the-go consumers still largely open marketing emails on their smartphones, but then later go to a desktop to continue shopping and complete a purchase, says Vivek Sharma, CEO of Movable Ink. He adds: “There is still a big opportunity for brands to improve their mobile commerce experiences to drive revenue at that initial touchpoint.” Movable Ink studied 10.7 billion emails that it powered from January to June of this year. The company also examined several sectors, which together produced 106.5 million conversions in the first quarter and 81.9 million in the second quarter. Why the drop-off in conversions in this group from quarter to quarter? It could be that the first quarter included post-holiday shopping (i.e., post-Christmas sales, gift card purchases on cards received by email during the holidays). But those are guesses. The non-apparel retail produced the highest number of conversions in both quarters — 52.4 million in the first quarter and 24.6 million in the second quarter. iIs AOV was relatively low: $72.33 in Q1 and $188.14 in Q2. Media & entertainment generated a $1,062 AOV in the first quarter and $1,362 in the second quarter, based on less than 2 million conversions in each quarter. Travel and hospitality operators achieved only 8 million conversions in the first quarter, but had an $835.43 AOV. In the second quarter, it enjoyed 7.7 million conversions an AOV of $958.80. Retail apparel generated 18.8 million conversions in the first quarter, and an AVO of $110.77. In the second quarter, it had 22 million conversions and an AOV of $135.18. Non-profit emails snared 99,863 conversions in the first quarter and an AOV of $59.05. in the second quarter, the results were 136,788 conversions and a $39.71 AOV. Sharma concludes that “marketers need to focus on making sure that they are engaging consumers with consistent messages across all channels, and that the overall experience (offer, image, text) remains seamless as consumers move from email to web—no matter when they re-open or click through to make a purchase." Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 27, 2018 at 03:56PM LinkedIn Redesigns Campaign Manager, Adds Search, Voice Capabilities https://ift.tt/2NRxi1t LinkedIn has redesigned its reporting platform for Campaign Manager to make it easier to understand how campaigns perform and allow advertisers to optimize campaigns for better results. The new interface, which rolls out during the next two weeks, offers personalization options, one-click campaign breakdowns for reporting, and new search capabilities. It will have an intuitive design rebuilt from the ground up to support users, like B2Linked.com. Abhishek Shrivastava, director of product at LinkedIn, says the search feature was updated to allow ad managers to run multiple campaigns and quickly locate data on a specific campaign. The data highlights spend, impressions, clicks, social actions, and conversions. LinkedIn also took steps this week to bring a voice messaging feature to chats, allowing users to send audio messages up to a minute long to their contacts. The new experience described in a blog post will enable users to check messages on mobile and the web in the LinkedIn app on iOS and Android. Convenience, ease of use and users' ability to express themselves are the top three reasons that LinkedIn has integrated voice. This feature will become available globally to all members in the next few weeks, but it’s not entire clear how voice will support its 562 million members. The company, owned by Microsoft, believes voice will help to create more personal connections with business contacts. Why not just interweave the platform with Microsoft’s personal assistant Cortana? Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 27, 2018 at 01:49PM Google Search: Optimization Over Speed https://ift.tt/2LxhqF2 The Google Speed update began rolling out earlier this month, but after analyzing 33,500 keywords and 1 million pages of search results, analysts at SEO PowerSuite could not identify any noticeable impact on the ranking of mobile pages in Google search results. Instead, they noticed something else. SEO PowerSuite’s first round of experiments ran in April 2018, prior to Google’s update, to track the correlation between page speed and the position in mobile SERPs. At that time the company discovered that a page's average Page Speed Optimization Score had a significant correlation (0.97) to its position in the search engine results pages, but FCP (First Contentful Paint) and DCL (DOM Content Loaded) did not, according to the blog post. The test was repeated a week after Google announced the start of the update. From July 14 through July 16, 2018, analysts looked at 30 positions in mobile SERPs for the 33,500 queries to get a list of 1,000,000 URLs. For each URL, Optimization Score, Median FCP, and Median DCL were collected. About 1,000,000 rows of data to were analyzed. “The keywords, randomly taken from the Russ Jones and Grepwords keyword list of top high paying CPC, AdWords and AdSense keywords, cover a wide range of query categories,” according to the post. The findings get a bit geeky, but overall it’s about optimization, per the post. It’s about improving the performance of web pages. For three months only, an average web page, ranking on positions from one to 30 in mobile search improved by 0.83 Optimization Score points. The correlation between the position in mobile SERPs and the average Optimization Score remains extremely high: 0.97. This provides support to the previous statement: working on your Optimization Score is crucial. Any finally, per the findings, there is no correlation between the position in the mobile SERPs and the median FCP/DCL metrics. The growth of average FCP/DCL metrics before and after the Page Speed Update has been minor: 0.030 seconds and 0.028 seconds, respectively. Thus, there has hardly been any impact on search results a week after the Page Speed Update. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 27, 2018 at 01:49PM Media M&A Deals Dip, But Volume Up https://ift.tt/2mNNl5f Mergers and acquisitions deal-making for media and telecommunications companies revealed a mix picture in the second quarter. The number of deals dropped to 194 from 244 in the first quarter of this year, according to PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). Second-quarter deals this year were also down versus second-quarter 2017, when it was 219. Still, second-quarter 2018 total deal volume was at $44.8 billion, up from $37.6 billion in the first quarter. Second-quarter 2017 deals, 232, had a total value of $18 billion. Some 70% of this year’s deals were valued between zero and $100 million; 16% were between $101 million and $500 million; and 11%, over a $1 billion. Six deals were valued at over 1 billion dollars. The biggest was T-Mobile's announced $26.8 billion deal for Sprint. After this comes a merger of two TV station groups: Gray Television’s $3.6 billion deal for Raycom Media, which will create the third-largest U.S. TV station group. Since the start of this year, three announced deals in the first half of 2018 were valued in excess of $5 billion. For the first half of this year, there were 143 advertising/marketing deals; 97, internet/information; 54, publishing; 41, telecommunications; 33, film/content; 30, recreation/leisure; 26, broadcasting; 7, music, and 5, cable. advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 27, 2018 at 09:27AM Bitcoin Is Ready For Digital Marketing; Is The Industry Ready For Bitcoin? https://ift.tt/2JZeeMB For digital marketing — from ad tech and agencies to the entire ecosystem — initial blockchain conversations should center on application and readiness. For example, how do we use these new solutions to help publishers, agencies, advertisers, and consumers? Is my organization actually ready to green-light a multimillion-dollar blockchain initiative? Here’s my answer, mid-2018: I’m a blockchain proponent but I also believe that digital marketing must focus on solutions that leverage only the best elements of distributed-ledger tech. The promise of blockchain — a way to bring consumers, publishers, and the middle players together in powerful, transparent and dignified ways — that’s real. But making sure the tools we develop truly include the strongest and most important features of the tech … that’s the part I’m watching, because there’s the potential for some quality-drift out there in the blockchain space. advertisement advertisement Back to Bitcoin The first successful public ledger in the blockchain space that we know of was built to support bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that put distributed-ledger on the map. Every blockchain solution aside from bitcoin sacrifices at least one key element of the security, decentralization, consensus rules, and/or incentive structure that bitcoin includes. This is why it’s the foundation to which we need to turn. Even today, this iteration is the most robust and assured we’ve ever had — a public blockchain of transactions with ownership assigned by cryptographic proofs acting as a store of value for billions of U.S. dollars. These transactions are validated by a peer-to-peer network, using consensus rules for what constitutes a valid transfer between participants. Bitcoin does not require permission to participate, and transaction blocks are signed by a dynamically adjusting proof-of-work which is performed by “miners.” Key to bitcoin’s success, these miners — rewarded with monetary incentives to follow the rules — invest large amounts of up-front capital toward specialized computers, and the electrical costs of running them, to perform this work. The bitcoin foundation is the one on which we should base our industry’s work, and we can’t ignore the numerous failures we’ve seen over the last nine years of bitcoin’s existence. Recent advents show that second- and third-layer solutions built on bitcoin can serve the protocol well, however. For instance, earlier this year RSK launched a smart-contract platform which offers the same security as bitcoin in terms of double-spend prevention and settlement finality but that also allows organizations to experiment with new features. Due Diligence As we look to potentially use blockchain to run what’s expected to become a $215 billion global mobile-advertising industry, we must apply the same level of skepticism we would for any significant in-house development effort. Make certain you incorporate the following steps into your process.
Finally, yes, digital advertising can introduce blockchain to reduce discrepancies in ways that that have never been available to all participants in the ecosystem before — but it’d be a missed opportunity if our industry simply settles for efficiencies around media-buying settlement steps, for example, when the big picture — serving consumers and all our industry stakeholders in more powerful ways — is right in front of us. Bitcoin has opened up an entirely new way of transacting. It is still early days for the technology, and there is a huge opportunity in front of us to build a more trustworthy ecosystem of transactions. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 26, 2018 at 12:09PM Why Having A Customer-Centric Business Model Will Always Win https://ift.tt/2LEc5ei There’s nothing groundbreaking about the concept of a customer-centric business model. After all, who hasn’t been told “the customer is always right” at some point in their life? While the idea of a customer-centric business is nothing new, it’s never been more essential. We’re living in a digital age, an age where customers have unlimited options and competition for their attention is fierce. Customers have the upper hand now—and they know it. Winning them over means treating them as individuals—with personalized experiences to match. Econsultancy’s 2018 Digital Trends Report even found that 52% of consumers will switch brands if a company doesn’t provide a personalized experience, while 51% of consumers will buy from new brands if they offer more personalized experiences. advertisement advertisement So, how do you keep up with these customer expectations? The Fundamentals Every successful customer-centric strategy starts with one thing: customers. The customers buying and using your product or service should be at the core of every decision you make—in every area of your business. When departments align through customer-centric strategy, you create the experiences your customers expect. From marketing to sales to service (and everything in between), your entire organization needs to come together. Whether that means marketing building behavior-responsive customer journeys, or sales creating complete profiles of every customer, or service routing tickets based on purchase history, everyone plays a part. Digital Transformation The most important tool customer-centric companies have today is technology. From artificial intelligence, to marketing automation, to chat bots, to content and product recommendations, to IoT, and mobile devices, technology is fueling customer-centrism across industries. For a customer-centric business, adopting your customer’s perspective is key, which is exactly what companies try to do when building customer journeys. Technology takes the guesswork out of this process—tailoring them to what customers really want. AI drives meaningful insights on where journeys are failing, prescriptive analytics provides next best actions, and machine learning directs customer behavior. All this comes together to produce more personalized customer experiences—and a more customer-centric business. Competing on CX So, what can you do to stand out from the competition? To start, you need to shift your focus from your competitors to your customers. Keep customers in mind when you assess your product or service—looking for anywhere you might be failing them—and then improve, improve, improve. Seeing how your product or service affects customers and looking for ways to provide value, or solve a problem, or improve a process—this is how you stay ahead. With all this in mind—from fundamentals, to technology, to competition—you can start to build a customer-centric business strategy that keeps customers happy and keeps you ahead of the competition. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 26, 2018 at 12:09PM 3 Ways To Engage U.S. Hispanic Audiences Effectively https://ift.tt/2JZe73D When brands think about reaching Hispanic audiences in the United States, they often consider which language to advertise in or which aspect of their rich culture to highlight. While there is no question that this is invaluable for any advertising push aimed at U.S. Hispanics, there’s another facet that brands also need to examine, i.e., the platforms actively used by this audience. Knowing how to approach Hispanics means advertisers can connect with them better and ensure they are using the platform that is most effective for their campaign and objectives. U.S. Hispanics are tech-forward and are increasingly consuming content and ads digitally more than any other non-Hispanic groups. For brands trying to target and influence the U.S. Hispanic market, research has shown that mobile, influencer marketing, and impactful creative ads are essential to engaging this unique market. Mobile Hispanics were early adopters of smartphones and are known as “super mobile, super consumers.” On average, Hispanics spend more time on their smartphones than any other demographic, whether it’s streaming video or music, using social media platforms, or searching for information online. Third-generation Hispanics and Hispanic Millennials are also, unsurprisingly, more likely to use their mobile phones to access the internet and read up on the news. advertisement advertisement Given how present this demographic is on mobile, it’s incredibly important for marketers to come up with campaigns that work within the technological constraints (screen size, video quality, potentially spotty data access) while still being engaging and memorable. Influencer marketing Hispanics are heavy social media users on platforms such as WhatsApp, using them to stay connected to their culture and their families. As a result, a company that’s able to tap into these networks, whether by advertising on a platform that Hispanics are heavily present on or through strong word-of-mouth campaigns, is much more likely to fully penetrate the Hispanic market. Hispanics are generally more likely to be influenced by people they know and trust, so running a campaign featuring both macro and micro influencers is a good way of raising awareness amongst Hispanic audiences. Impactful creative Mobile is king for this market, which shows advertisers what they need to consider to create an effective ad unit. Based on my experience in the world of Hispanic advertising, consumers generally respond better to rich media such as ads that feature images, videos, audio, or anything that allows people to interact with what they see on screen. Hispanics also spend 66% more time watching videos on their smartphones than other demographics. Adding animations, embedding a location locator map, or including other interactive features works to generate engagement from the U.S. Hispanic audience, thus ensuring desired campaign results. Understanding the platforms that are most effective when reaching U.S. Hispanics is instrumental for brands and advertising, not least because it tells you where you should be placing your ads, but because it also informs the content and tenor of your advertising. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 26, 2018 at 12:09PM Hyperlocal News App Teams Up With Yelp To Provide Viewers Restaurant Reviews https://ift.tt/2JXDlPG Hyperlocal News App Teams Up With Yelp To Provide Viewers Restaurant ReviewsLocal Now is tapping into the website's wealth of content to round out its customized offerings and help users make dining decisions Local Now, a mobile and T.V. streaming app that’s powered by The Weather Channel, partnered with popular review site Yelp in an effort to help curate quality recommendations for foodies who find themselves overwhelmed by restaurant options in their neighborhood. According to The Weather Group’s Shimika Wilder Jones, “We’re excited to partner with Yelp as the most trusted and go-to crowd-sourced review and business rating services. The partnership will allow users to discover new, top-rated dining locations in their area.” The hope is that, through the collaboration, hyperlocal reviews will allow hungry users to discover both popular spots and hidden gems that they weren’t familiar with previously. As technology continues to change and advance, the consumer demand for personalization and tailored content increases. By joining forces with Yelp, Local Now is able to expand its growing portfolio, which already includes partnerships with content providers like The Associated Press and Cheddar. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ July 26, 2018 at 12:02PM Dentsu In Deal To Buy Agency Whitespace https://ift.tt/2NM6boA Dentsu has reached a deal to acquire Edinburgh, Scotland-based creative agency Whitespace. Terms weren’t disclosed. Following the acquisition, Whitespace will remain a standalone agency within Dentsu Aegis Network North, contributing to the network’s business efforts throughout the UK, according to the company. The shop was founded in 1997 is overseen by Managing Partners Iain Valentine and Phillip Lockwood-Holmes. The agency had revenues of about $5 million last year. On its website the agency showcases work for clients like Sainsbury’s Bank, Highland Park water and tourism marketer Visit Scotland. advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH July 26, 2018 at 11:41AM |
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