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Heading into the new decade we took a moment to examine what digital trends would have a significant impact throughout 2010. As we pass the first quarter of this year we have been able to watch the continued emergence of some of the digital and web trend predictions discussed including:   

• Social gaming and virtual currencies: This can be seen with the continued popularity of games such as Farmville, which now has over 80 million users. Women ages 35-55 continue to be the largest demographic for social gaming, so expect to see more social network games geared toward this group’s interests.
• Mobile and GPS based advertising and services: As discussed in a recent article, MillerCoors has crossed the threshold to mobile advertising and will be utilizing SnapTag technology to promote their latest craft beer.  GPS based services such as Foursquare continue to grow along with mobile and GPS dating services. Expect to see a continued growth in geotargeting as marketers continue to find better ways to deliver relevant real time content to consumers.
• Improved social-media monitoring and analytics: This can be seen with the increase and improvement of the analytics tools available as marketers and brands seek to justify social media campaigns.  

Now that we are well into 2010 it is time to start looking forward at the next wave of digital trends, to try to stay ahead of the curve. Freddie Laker discusses his predictions for the social media landscape in 2012 in his AdAge article, “What Social Media Will Look Like in 2012”, which include:  

• Decentralization of social networks: We are already seeing the early-stages of this with the emergence of Facebook Connect and the functionality of the new Windows Mobile 7 Series.
• Growth of content aggregators: This is increasingly important as the amount of content available continues to grow and is scattered across multiple channels. Brands will need to find ways to manage content, filtering it through the appropriate channels and delivering in the right context.
• Interaction with search engines and influencer marketing: New platforms like Google’s Social Search will change the way people interact with search engines by permeating search results with content that is relevant to their personal networks. This will increase the significance of influencer marketing and will give brands the opportunity to reach their potential consumer base in more focused and effective ways.

Laker believes that in order for brands to stay relevant in the future, they will need to be on board with the idea that share of voice, point of view and community influence will be more important than brand ownership. It will be interesting to see if all digital experiences will become socially-enhanced, rendering the term “social media” obsolete as everything becomes digital media as Laker predicts. Regardless of how the digital world evolves as we move forward it will be imperative for brands to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the changes if they want to stay relevant in a constantly changing marketplace.

MillerCoors, the second largest brewing company in the US, who is most well known for their American-style lagers Miller Lite and Coors Light are taking a new approach to reach their consumers in Colorado. This week under their A.C. Golden Brewing Co. unit, MillerCoors plans to launch their new craft-style beer, Colorado Native Lager. According to Jeremy Mullman’s AdAge article, “Miller Lets New Craft Brew Speak for Itself”, the new lager, which is brewed from “99.9%” Colorado grown ingredients and distributed only in Colorado, will be marketed exclusively through digital and word-of-mouth channels.

This in itself is not an entirely new concept for the Chicago based company. The Colorado Native Lager is following in the footsteps of Blue Moon, another MillerCoors’ craft-style beer whose popularity was built through word-of-mouth advertising. According Mullman’s article, A.C. Golden will be putting the entirety of the Colorado Native budget into mobile and social media channels hoping to encourage consumers to become the brands advocate and introduce the beer to friends.

Where the new approach differs and becomes more engaging is with the addition of SpyderLinks’ SnapTag technology, which will enable MillerCoors to utilize their logo on each bottle as a portal to mobile interactivity. According to Mullman:

“Every Colorado Native label is affixed with a “SnapTag,” which, if photographed on a mobile device and e-mailed to a specified phone number, allows the brand to begin a conversation with its drinkers. After e-mailing in a picture of the logo, a drinker will first get a reply asking for their birthday. If they say they’re older than 21, they’ll be queried with Colorado-centric trivia about their hobbies and interests, and the database will remember the answers and use them to craft future communications and offers to each individual drinker.”

Through utilizing the SnapTag technology MillerCoors will be able to communicate with their consumers rather than just talking at them with the goal of organically growing the brand around what the Colorado consumers want. This will allow A.C. Golden to provide consumers with content and information that is relevant to their lives with the hope of building the number of advocates for their brand. According to A.C. Golden’s president, Glenn Knippenberg:

“This brand is all about our consumers and their Colorado lifestyle. And this technology is going to allow the brand to evolve based on what they tell us about their lifestyle.”

As a craft beer fan myself I wonder if this approach will resonate within a community that tends to be skeptical of any beer brewed by a national powerhouse. It would also be interesting to see how many people will be willing to install the tag app and go through the motions of sending their personally identifiable information to MillerCoors. Will the incentives be enough to entice their customers to jump through the barriers to entry? Using digital and mobile advertising to build brand advocates will definitely be a huge step for brewers who have typically shied away from social media outlets in the past because of the struggle with age verification. Finding that “killer implementation” could be the answer for Colorado Native Lager success in a market that is already over-saturated with locally craft brewed beer.

Content has long been considered king but with the growing amount of content scattered across multiple channels, distribution channels and context are increasingly more important.

In the AdAge article, “Is Content King? Then Distribution Is Crown Prince”, Keith Richman discusses the importance of distribution and how having great content does not guarantee it will be reach its audience. According to Richman:

“The good news is that the internet provides amazing opportunities to distribute content and reach an audience. The bad news is that you are competing with millions of other content creators for the attention of that audience and their barrier to entry into the online medium is almost non-existent. In this environment more than any, distribution matters significantly.”

While “Overemphasis on Brand Building Leads to Mistrust” by Brent Leary in Inc. Technology examines the 2010 Trust Barometer report which shows that increased content through social media has swung the pendulum away from individuals in favor of industry experts/academics who are now as the most trusted source for company information.

“All the information being created and distributed is overloading most of us, which may be why there is a return to trusting authority sites, and recognized experts.  So, as the trust study is indicating, it’s becoming increasingly important to be viewed as an expert — more than ever before.”

This pendulum swing reinforces the idea that there is opportunity for brands to create content to tell their brand stories.   Adidas Penalty Shoot-Out, which was released in 5 European countries through Windows Live Messenger, was able to garner over 13 million game plays in just a two-month period.  This clearly shows that a combination of great content, strong brand tie-in, appropriate context, careful understanding of audience and engaging user experience can get you some amazing results.

With the continued growth of social media and digital marketing, and the abundance of channels for marketers to communicate with consumers, are we beginning to forget the fundamental truths of successful advertising? I recently read an interesting article by Pete Blackshaw, VP of Nielson Online Digital Strategic Services, who discusses the need for advertisers to get back to basics.

In his AdAge article, “Marketers Get Back to Boring”, Blackshaw offers up some great building blocks for advertisers to focus on trust, customer relationship management, emotion, feedback, listening, patience, and leadership. According to Blackshaw:

“Social media and digital marketing will only succeed – and only sell through the organizational layers – if we ground it in deeper, more established marketing truths, not ephemeral campaigns, one-trick pony moments, or hypocritical oaths or proclamations.”

The new, innovative marketing concepts we are embracing today all have roots with these rudimentary building blocks. Companies like Proctor & Gamble were seeking to engage and listen to consumers years before social media and digital marketing were around. The difference now is that by utilizing the new technology, brands have a greater ability to engage customers and have a conversation with them rather than talk at them.

Blackshaw ends his article on an excellent point,

“At the end of the day, what truly matters is less about social smarts than good, old-fashioned leadership. Leaders inspire and drive change — irrespective of platform, cause or brand. Most important, great leaders always follow the consumer.”

Now that the excitement has calmed down around the Super Bowl (except in New Orleans, where I am sure they will be partying for the next year) people’s interest in the oh-so important Super Bowl ads has faded. With the hype and excitement built around the “big event” no longer prevalent, the interest in watching, talking, and examining the Super Bowl ads has dropped from the public’s mind. I know this is true for me. After spending the days following the Super Bowl discussing the ads around the water cooler I am hard pressed to remember any of the commercials except for Snickers Betty White commercial of course.

People have moved on to the next “big thing” and with no shortage of content and channels to receive it they are having no problem doing this. Maybe this is another reason that influenced Pepsi’s decision to pull out of the Super Bowl after 23-years of being a sponsor.

A great example of this is the weekly AdAge Viral Video Chart that shows the majority of Super Bowl ads haven’t gained traction as viral campaigns. According to the viral chart and Micheal Learmonth’s AdAge article, “Most Super Bowl Ads Don’t Go Viral”, the majority of the ads that dominated the viral chart the week following the Super Bowl fell from the list the very next week, just two weeks removed from the event.

“This week, only four ads from last week’s Bowl-dominated chart remain: Doritos, Snickers, E-Trade and Google, while a fifth Super Bowl ad, from Bud Light, joins the list for the first time. Doritos came in at No. 1 with an impressive 5 million views, even though that’s a 73% drop from last week. Gone are many of the ads that generated heat around the game, such as Audi’s “Green Police,” Tim Tebow’s Focus on the Family ad and Motorola’s Megan Fox ad.”

Learmonth believes that this is a testament to the power of TV as it is the driving force behind the Super Bowl ads popularity. This may be true, but I believe more than anything this shows the power of the “big event.” The event and the excitement surrounding it, not TV is the driving factor in the popularity of the ads during the Super Bowl. Vicky Tamaru discusses the concept of the “big event” in her AllBusiness article, “How Entertainment Can Avoid Becoming a Commodity.”

At the same time more legitimate viral campaigns powered by social media have returned to the chart, showing off the lasting power well-planned strategic viral campaigns can have. And this can be done without dropping the exorbitant amount of coin a Super Bowl ad spot costs; $2.5-$3 million for a 30 second spot. So at the end of the day maybe Pepsi made the right decision to pull out of this years “big event.” Will other big brands begin to follow in their footsteps?

In her latest article for Dun & Bradstreet’s AllBusiness.com, “How Entertainment Can Avoid Being a Commodity” , Vicky Tamaru discusses how the seemingly endless channels available to consume content (Hulu, DVR, Cable, On Demand, Internet, ect.) are turning entertainment into a commodity and the steps that can be taken to avoid this.

To hear more from Vicky check out past articles on her Branded Entertainment blog.

Can you feel the excitement? The kind of excitement that can only build as millions of people prepare to gather to watch the most anticipated commercials of the year. As a sales and marketing professional I will be one of the millions waiting in anticipation to view the most expensive advertising spots of the year. According to the AdAge article, “Super Bowl Ad Time Is Sold Out, CBS Says”, as of Monday ad time for Super Bowl XLIV was sold out at a cost of $2.5 to $3 million per 30 second spot.   

In this down economic climate CBS took a creative approach to fill these slots by designing customized packages of ad time rather than relying on a solid price for a 30 second spot as traditionally done.  CBS also turned to some unusual sponsors including a Christian advocacy organization in order to fill ad slots after losing some of the events long time sponsors such as Pepsi.

But in all this hype over the next great ad campaign I almost forgot there is also a football game. For me I’m trying to remember when the commercials became bigger than the game itself. Almost every poll I have seen or heard has people more excited about the ads than the game itself. Budweiser had over 100,000 people register as Facebook fans to vote in a Super Bowl ad poll, which brought back the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales to the Super Bow line-up.

Personally I am a huge football fan and am stoked for this year’s game, but I have to admit there have been years where I was more interested in the ads than the game. I remember the first year I was truly more excited about the ads was Super Bowl XXXV between the Giants and Ravens. No offense to Giants and Ravens fans, but I had no interest in watching Trent Dilfer battle Kerry Collins. But for the record I cheered as loud as anyone during the Giants most recent Super Bowl, sorry Tom Brady, but you already have Giselle. 

 Even though I had no interest in the game itself that year I still had a great time watching Super Bowl XXXV; eating, drinking, and enjoying the ridiculous ads and the extremely over-the-top halftime show. I don’t remember a single play from that game, but I will never forget the Budweiser “Wassup” commercial and the absurd MTV produced halftime show that paired Aerosmith with N’Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige. What was Aerosmith doing and why was Britney Spears wearing a gym sock on her arm? Looking back now that is not even close to one of her worst fashion statements. 

So whether you are excited for the game, the commercials, or just looking forward to the great food, drinks, and friends and family Sunday is going to be a great day. Enjoy it and come Monday let us know what your most memorable Super Bowl ad was, good or bad.

As marketing professionals it is our job to utilize our experience and the tools available to us to understand consumers and help brands develop solutions to communicate effectively with them. I would love to say we understand what people are thinking and why they are thinking it, but unfortunately even with all the tools and research available, people will always be unpredictable. So though these tools arm us with a better understanding of consumer behavior we are still only making our best guess on how consumers will react. Marketing is not a definitive science.

How can we avoid common mistakes and increase the chances that our “guesses” or marketing initiatives will be innovative and successful? In the IMEDIA Connection article, “Top Marketing Innovation Killers”, Sean X Cummings discusses four key barriers to successful marketing innovation and solutions to overcome them.

In his article Cummings discusses how the “big idea”, relying on historical reflection, the knowledge gap between agency and client, and ideation by committee are all killing marketing innovation. Too often agencies use the “big idea” as bright and shiny window dressing to excite the client, but don’t have the technology or strategy to back it up. This leads to unsuccessful campaigns that scare brands off from future innovative programs. Vicky Tamaru discusses the concept of the “big idea” and why Microsoft had to pull the plug on an agencies “innovative” campaign in her AllBusiness article, “What’s the Big Idea?”.

Cummings makes a good point that agencies need to design smaller ideas that are more nimble and adjustable and launch off the same basic platform. But it is key to remember that each of these smaller ideas need to build on top of one another, reinforcing the end goal of the overall comprehensive marketing strategy. It also important to make sure that each of the initiatives addresses the brand and its overall goals.

Marketers will not succeed by relying on a “one-size fits-all” approach. It is great to learn from past campaigns, but just because a campaign was successful for one brand does not mean it will be successful for another. Look at Subway’s Jared Campaign versus the new Taco Bell weight loss campaign. Though the Taco Bell campaign is still young it is hard to imagine it will garner the same success that Jared did for Subway. Have you met Christine? Every brand has a unique audience and unique goals, so it is important their marketing programs are unique to them. Work closely with clients to educate them as well as learn from them to bridge the knowledge gap, so you can find the most appropriate solution to achieve their goals.    

Though Cummings makes many good points I disagree on his argument that “ideation through committee” stifles innovation. Brain-storming sessions can be very effective and can limit problems with execution if they include the proper people—designers, developers, writers, and even producers. As I mentioned earlier, it is also very important to collaborate. This approach will help you find the most effective, innovative, long-term solution to meet each client’s specific goals.

With digital marketing still in its infancy and many clients not having a full understanding of the power and pitfalls, it is important for marketers to educate clients on the benefits. Rather than throwing out the “big idea” in bright, shiny packaging that can distract potential clients, marketers need to engage the client to learn their goals before suggesting solutions. Marketing approaches must continue to evolve to be more user-focused than brand-focused to be effective in this highly fragmented, over-saturated age.  But we also must remember that relying on focus-studies doesn’t always result in the best ideas, we must continue to innovate and ideate based on the perceived needs of the consumer.

As we move into the second decade of this century what digital marketing trends will have a significant impact in the coming year? With the ground continuing to shift where will brands need to focus their energy to ensure the success of their digital communications? Ken Mallon and Duncan Southgate discuss the top ten digital marketing trends to look for during 2010 in the AdAge article, “Where Digital Marketing is Heading in 2010″ , including:

• Gaming becoming more social
• The emerging importance of social graphs
• The increase of mobile and GPS based advertising

According to Mallon and Duncan the basic rules of branding will continue be just as important in the digital world as in traditional advertising, while brands cannot rely on technology itself to bring success and will need to focus on providing creative, engaging, relevant communications to stay ahead of the game in the coming decade.

Have a safe and enjoyable New Years and comeback in 2010 ready to “hit the ground running!”

The social graph is the representation of our relationships, which define our personal, family, or business communities on social websites. With the growing number of distribution channels in the social realm, consumers are now more in control of establishing the power of a brands message as they create and share media through their social graph. According to the AdAge article, “What Studying Your Links Can Teach You About Your Marketing” , nearly 20% of traffic that websites receive arrives via shared link (IM, email, online communities, blogs, forums, tweets, ect.), and this percentage is continuing to grow. This means that brands are more reliant on the power of social graphs as relevant, engaging, useful content is selected and distributed by the consumers themselves.

Multiple studies have shown the importance of measuring and analyzing shared links with site visitors arriving from shared links having a conversion rate two to four times that of other traffic sources. Brands must harness the full power of social media and better optimize their marketing efforts through mapping the social graph by analyzing shared links to identify:

• true brand advocates
• content that engages consumers
• channels being used to share information