Stephen Speicher:
viewers overwhelmingly chose to record episodic television and to watch unscripted shows and sports events when they aired live. What does this mean? In addition to lackluster live ratings for these episodic programs, networks now also have to worry about commercials being skipped. As such, is it a surprise to anyone to see networks all but give up on scripted television? Earlier in the year NBC made the announcement that they would be reducing their primetime lineup from three hours to a two-hour block. What would fill the extra hour? You guessed it, unscripted entertainment (e.g. Deal or No Deal).
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NMA's Editor, Michael Nutley:
The amounts of money being spent not just in online advertising but in interactive marketing communications as a whole are pushing interactive agencies up the food chain into more strategic roles. The downside, for some, is that budgets are also coming under much greater scrutiny, which means greater involvement of procurement departments in the client/agency relationship. But it also means greater emphasis on measurement and analytics. The strategy question raises another important issue. There's growing concern among agencies about the power of novelty over efficacy. Whether this is clients asking for the latest fashionable thing, or agencies experimenting with clients' money, the concern is that effective but unglamorous aspects of online business are being ignored, as are the real business needs. Another key trend that's likely to continue next year is the reshaping of the agency side of the industry. Researching the introduction to the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2006 revealed a significant change from the previous year. In 2005, agencies were warning that the staff shortage was holding back growth; this year they were saying it was fuelling merger and acquisition activity, as agencies sought to buy presence in specialist areas. More seriously, they warned that unless creative agencies could maintain margins, staff costs could force them under. The flipside of this is likely to be an explosion in new agencies. There have been very few established in the past couple of years, but as existing staff look at the amount of business out there and the reported prices being paid for digital agencies, the urge to do it for themselves will prove hard to resist. One things is for certain: no matter what happens, 2007 will be another transitional year, just like every other year of the internet age. Things are moving too fast for it to be anything else.
The amounts of money being spent not just in online advertising but in interactive marketing communications as a whole are pushing interactive agencies up the food chain into more strategic roles. The downside, for some, is that budgets are also coming under much greater scrutiny, which means greater involvement of procurement departments in the client/agency relationship. But it also means greater emphasis on measurement and analytics.
The strategy question raises another important issue. There's growing concern among agencies about the power of novelty over efficacy. Whether this is clients asking for the latest fashionable thing, or agencies experimenting with clients' money, the concern is that effective but unglamorous aspects of online business are being ignored, as are the real business needs.
Another key trend that's likely to continue next year is the reshaping of the agency side of the industry. Researching the introduction to the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2006 revealed a significant change from the previous year. In 2005, agencies were warning that the staff shortage was holding back growth; this year they were saying it was fuelling merger and acquisition activity, as agencies sought to buy presence in specialist areas. More seriously, they warned that unless creative agencies could maintain margins, staff costs could force them under.
The flipside of this is likely to be an explosion in new agencies. There have been very few established in the past couple of years, but as existing staff look at the amount of business out there and the reported prices being paid for digital agencies, the urge to do it for themselves will prove hard to resist.
One things is for certain: no matter what happens, 2007 will be another transitional year, just like every other year of the internet age. Things are moving too fast for it to be anything else.
Daniele Fiandaca, COO of Profero, on the agency of the future:
First and foremost, it will need to have digital at its core. This is where audiences are migrating, so it's vital that marketers understand what the best way is to talk to this new connected consumer.Second, the agency is likely to be entrepreneurial and multi-functional. Some of the best creative and media ideas in the US, both offline and online, are coming from quick-thinking hot-shops like Crispin Porter & Bogusky and Goodby Silverstein, and new kids on the block like Strawberry Frog and Taxi.This leads to a third point, that as agencies we need to be far more open in our models and should be looking to add value to our clients beyond simple communication strategies. The US agency Anomaly has done this to extremely good effect in areas like product innovation and business transformation.Finally ... media and creative thinking needs to be far more integrated in this digital environment and, if not under one roof as is becoming far more prevalent, then working much more closely together.So does this put those agencies like ours, born in the era of digital engagement and technology-enabled measurement, in a prime position to regain the strategic ear of senior marketers and CEOs? It should do, but something is holding digital agencies back.The fact is, above-the-line ad agencies still hold the key relationships, albeit less influentially than before. This means few clients have made the leap to entrust digital agencies with the strategic lead. How many times have we come up with a fantastic idea that can work through the line only for the above-the-line agency to say it doesn't, and the client simply agrees?If digital agencies want to break this cycle, I'd argue the first thing they need to do is, paradoxically, to drop the 'digital' label. The fact is that we're advertising / marketing / communications agencies that simply have digital at our core.As a sign of maturity and confidence, we need to hire traditional agency talent, the kind that already enjoys the recognition - and ear - of clients at senior level. This will cost money but hopefully the investment will be rewarded with increasing influence and engagement. If we do this and continue to deliver, I have no doubt that clients will realise that the best thinking can come as much from agencies with digital roots as it can from those with above-the-line pedigrees.
First and foremost, it will need to have digital at its core. This is where audiences are migrating, so it's vital that marketers understand what the best way is to talk to this new connected consumer.
Second, the agency is likely to be entrepreneurial and multi-functional. Some of the best creative and media ideas in the US, both offline and online, are coming from quick-thinking hot-shops like Crispin Porter & Bogusky and Goodby Silverstein, and new kids on the block like Strawberry Frog and Taxi.
This leads to a third point, that as agencies we need to be far more open in our models and should be looking to add value to our clients beyond simple communication strategies. The US agency Anomaly has done this to extremely good effect in areas like product innovation and business transformation.
Finally ... media and creative thinking needs to be far more integrated in this digital environment and, if not under one roof as is becoming far more prevalent, then working much more closely together.
So does this put those agencies like ours, born in the era of digital engagement and technology-enabled measurement, in a prime position to regain the strategic ear of senior marketers and CEOs? It should do, but something is holding digital agencies back.
The fact is, above-the-line ad agencies still hold the key relationships, albeit less influentially than before. This means few clients have made the leap to entrust digital agencies with the strategic lead. How many times have we come up with a fantastic idea that can work through the line only for the above-the-line agency to say it doesn't, and the client simply agrees?
If digital agencies want to break this cycle, I'd argue the first thing they need to do is, paradoxically, to drop the 'digital' label. The fact is that we're advertising / marketing / communications agencies that simply have digital at our core.
As a sign of maturity and confidence, we need to hire traditional agency talent, the kind that already enjoys the recognition - and ear - of clients at senior level. This will cost money but hopefully the investment will be rewarded with increasing influence and engagement. If we do this and continue to deliver, I have no doubt that clients will realise that the best thinking can come as much from agencies with digital roots as it can from those with above-the-line pedigrees.
NMA reports:
Hamley's, the toy retailer, has fallen victim to the current etail craze of e-vouchers after a loophole let consumers gain as much as 60% off its online stock over the last weekend.The vouchers were not intended to allow a discount of that amount, but if used with offers on the site then almost two-thirds of the price could be shaved off.The error was rectified within 24 hours, and all products bought will be honoured, according to Hamley's, but the company is unsure how badly its stock levels have been affected.
Hamley's, the toy retailer, has fallen victim to the current etail craze of e-vouchers after a loophole let consumers gain as much as 60% off its online stock over the last weekend.
The vouchers were not intended to allow a discount of that amount, but if used with offers on the site then almost two-thirds of the price could be shaved off.
The error was rectified within 24 hours, and all products bought will be honoured, according to Hamley's, but the company is unsure how badly its stock levels have been affected.
According to The Guardian, more than half of Hamleys' top selling toy and doll ranges are now out of stock, while one very happy customer snapped up a £13,000 full-size snooker table for just £5,000. Idiots.
Richard Huntington on how to build better brand ideas.
Bill Nussey relates some email design tips based on the results of eyetracking studies:
Over to the Fallon Planners:
I'm sure that everyone is familiar with the 4 P's of marketing. In a recent paper, Brand Channel explores the rise of marketing's 5th P: participation. Building off the realization that "passive one-way conversation between brands and consumers, has now turned into a mandatory active relationship."
Contagious covers the launch of EMI's tuneglue-audiomap:
Too busy to spend hours wandering record stores? EMI Records is launching an online music mapping service to predict and provide the songs that listeners desire. Called tuneglue-audiomap, the program analyses listening preferences and profiles of other music fans to predict which tracks are most likely to be bought by a given user.Using data taken from online music destination Last.fm, the program effectively creates a user-generated music map incorporating consumers, retailers, and recommended artists, allowing music fans access to a wealth of tailored info. The map includes a visually appealing network where artists are represented by expandable nodes. Though any artist may potentially be recommended, additional functionality such as site links, artist biographies and competitions guarantees EMI artists an edge.
Too busy to spend hours wandering record stores? EMI Records is launching an online music mapping service to predict and provide the songs that listeners desire. Called tuneglue-audiomap, the program analyses listening preferences and profiles of other music fans to predict which tracks are most likely to be bought by a given user.
Using data taken from online music destination Last.fm, the program effectively creates a user-generated music map incorporating consumers, retailers, and recommended artists, allowing music fans access to a wealth of tailored info. The map includes a visually appealing network where artists are represented by expandable nodes. Though any artist may potentially be recommended, additional functionality such as site links, artist biographies and competitions guarantees EMI artists an edge.
Go and have a play - it is truly awesome...
A couple of beautiful executions - 1, 2 - for Pause (an exclusive HiFi store) from Swedish agency åkestam.holst.
Over to the press release:
According to a recent study of senior marketing executives by Evalueserve for Sapient, just over half of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) believe that traditional, large advertising agencies are ill-suited to meet online marketing needs. Similarly, 49% of survey respondents believe that traditional advertising firms have difficulty thinking beyond traditional print and TV media models, which no longer are effective ways of engaging consumers who now get their information and influence one another primarily through digital channels. As a result, fewer than 10% of those polled seek to partner with large advertising agencies for their online marketing. Instead, the majority of senior marketing executives show a strong preference for blended firms - firms with roots in technology that can also offer creative and traditional print expertise. Even more (68%) prefer to work with multiple agencies, in order to derive the benefits of specialization.
According to a recent study of senior marketing executives by Evalueserve for Sapient, just over half of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) believe that traditional, large advertising agencies are ill-suited to meet online marketing needs. Similarly, 49% of survey respondents believe that traditional advertising firms have difficulty thinking beyond traditional print and TV media models, which no longer are effective ways of engaging consumers who now get their information and influence one another primarily through digital channels.
As a result, fewer than 10% of those polled seek to partner with large advertising agencies for their online marketing. Instead, the majority of senior marketing executives show a strong preference for blended firms - firms with roots in technology that can also offer creative and traditional print expertise. Even more (68%) prefer to work with multiple agencies, in order to derive the benefits of specialization.
Nisan Gabbay, former analyst at Sierra Ventures and the author of Startup Review, explains the factors at play in creating an overnight internet success story.
Very clever promo site the World Domination Design Group have done for themselves. Go have a play.
comScore data shows that the proportion of internet users visiting UK comparison sites has now flattened off at around 50% in October 2006 (compared to 49% in Oct 2005).
Jaap Favier, research director at Forrester:
Active bloggers can make or break a brand in less than a day. Firms shouldn't fake a relationship with them or they will experience a backlash.To get bloggers on their side, firms should gain bloggers’ trust by establishing an honest and transparent relation with bloggers first.
Active bloggers can make or break a brand in less than a day. Firms shouldn't fake a relationship with them or they will experience a backlash.
To get bloggers on their side, firms should gain bloggers’ trust by establishing an honest and transparent relation with bloggers first.
Reminiscent of Adobe's creative mind, a really nice site from Toyota Sweden.
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