tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62737261987995651512024-03-06T00:43:23.790+10:30Via Media CommunicationsMusings from the crew at Via Media Communications, connecting brands with today's customers.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-45874092576517021752010-02-12T12:29:00.001+10:302010-02-12T12:32:26.805+10:30Belgium's Agencies on Strike (Kinda)In an interesting twist, Ad Age <a href="http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=142039">reports</a> that Belgium's creative shops have taken down their websites in protest at client-side marketers ignoring 'pitch rules' negotiated by the industry some time ago.<br />
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Spiralling pitch costs are point of industry debate globally, and following talks a charter was penned containing 'rules of engagement' to make the process fairer, including things like clients inviting no more than 3 agencies to pitch for work, and contributing to pitch costs where reasonable.<br />
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Its sounds like things haven't panned out as expected, and agencies have taken the unusual step of taking down their sites and replacing them with a linked open letter that takes people on a journey from one site to the other to read the whole thing. You can start it at Famous, and continue from there, or if you're short of time, I've posted screen grabs below. Interesting stuff, and no doubt going to get tongues wagging around the world - what do you think?<br />
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text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcD6Mt6cnAmqxYbNBdLk4ixHRNY1jBFJ9CbYHbxQtNwD9TFR75ZJWPV1_O5xHHZyfnS8xec5gM-W5GQHhEXjFfrUBHDQTzA-cky9F1YeD_q4t5nHDN_dAkALWYRHfugk3UG1gID9MlvU/s320/Website+closed_26_openhere.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="goog_1265939988254"></span><span id="goog_1265939988254"> </span><span id="goog_1265939988255"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-64555954381704068212009-11-29T23:32:00.000+10:302009-11-29T23:32:08.891+10:30ADMA Awards Making WavesNot many people know this, but ADMA is far and away the largest marketing industry association in Australia. Historically, perhaps unfairly, seen as the less sexy side of marketing discipline, the industry has really hit its straps in recent years and the recent <a href="http://www.admaawards.com.au/">ADMA Awards</a> highlighted how far the organisation has come. A black tie affair on the Pyrmont wharves in Sydney attracted over 800 of the industry's guns from both agency and client-side, and the awarded work was bloody inspiring. Make sure you check out the <a href="http://www.admaawards.com.au/">website</a> to get a look at the winners. There's perhaps not as much performance/effectiveness information as I would like - participating companies are usually (understandably) pretty cagy about campaign financial data so only the judges get to see the full breakdown, but we know effectiveness is one of the main criteria for many of the award categories.<br />
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Clemenger Proximity scooped the Grand Prix with their <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/clemenger-scoops-grand-prix-at-adma-awards-12144">'salad made of plate'</a> (catch mUmbrella's article with the full award list here) along with around a dozen other awards to make them a clear winner with daylight second.<br />
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All the winning campaigns were notable for the fact they weren't stereotypically DM campaigns, but were great combinations of creative strategy and multichannel execution. Top marks for innovation should go to Tequila CD Russ Tucker and the TBWA gang for their augmented reality campaign for Nissan. Amazing stuff - check it out <a href="http://takethewheel.nissan.com.au/">here</a>.<br />
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Closer to home, congrats to Lauren Halliday from SA Lotteries for picking up the state Young Direct Marketer of the Year award. I also wrapped up this semester's ADMA Digital Marketing certificate course with the exam on Wednesday night - hopefully one of our graduates will pick up a gong or two in years to come. Already looking forward to next year.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-33109886491133264222009-07-08T15:07:00.004+09:302009-07-08T15:26:09.962+09:30Marketing Week 2009<span style="font-family:arial;">Planning is well underway for the annual Marketing Week conference/love-in at the Holiday Inn in Adelaide - with the theme of 'A Marketing-Led Recovery' likely to generate a fair bit of interest both here and interstate.<br /><br />Whether touched by the GEC/GFC/FinancialArmageddon or not, many businesses are seriously questioning the currency value of traditional marketing methods and looking for more measurable ways to connect with today's customers - whether in a B2B or B2C environment - and SA's flagship marketing event is a good place to get a rounded view on some of the opportunities available.<br /><br />Marketing Week's <a href="http://www.marketingweek.com.au/marketingweek/Speakers.aspx">speaker list</a> is fairly impressive, with a lot of focus on consumer research and accountability to follow up last year's digital bent. I even heard a couple of comments last year that the event should be renamed Digital Marketing Week - which is kinda puzzling. Specialisation and niche markets are one thing, but as an industry we need to stop treating 'digital' and 'traditional' as two different animals. There will always be a place for both - digital may be on the steeper growth curve, but ultimately all clients want to know is how to make meaningful connections with their customers, regardless of the channel. And that's what Marketing Week is all about.<br /><br />And in the theme of traditional marketing activity, there's a fat business lunch on the Friday. Got your <a href="https://registrations.ami.org.au/registration.aspx">tickets</a>?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-13259104873637017632009-06-03T21:56:00.003+09:302009-06-03T22:37:06.005+09:30A Marketing-Led RecoveryIt's been a little while since our last post, perhaps a function of increased activity in the marketing sector - specifically the digital and direct marketing sector - over the last couple of months. It provides food for thought - are people turning to more accountable methods of marketing because of the GFC, or is it simply a continuation of the trend of the last few years? Logical thinking dictates that remaining visible in a time when everyone else is slashing budgets, means cut-through should improve. But the age old question is where to direct our efforts?<br /><br />Recent consumer preference research from <a href="http://www.openmind.com.au/">Open Mind</a> showed consumers still prefer to receive marketing information via personalised direct means over any other form. Email was the big improver since the benchmark version of the study in 2003, with newspapers and television showing the most rapid decline.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.openuptomail.com.au/index.php?pageID=6789&merchant_id=0">study</a>, commissioned by Australia Post, supports a move towards information-based marketing at the expense of broadcast media. Perhaps not surprising given the sponsor, but the research group and its methodology is well regarded, and it importantly offers the comparative benchmark against the same survey framework from five years ago. Trends + Statistics = Guidance.<br /><br />So at the risk of sounding self-serving (being in the information-based marketing industry and all...) I'll sign off for now, but with <a href="http://www.marketingweek.com.au/">Marketing Week</a> coming up and a recent lecture by <a href="http://www.mercerbell.com.au/">MercerBell</a> principal Nic Mercer reinforcing the issue (150 marketing bods at a breakfast in Radelaide - who would have thought?!) it seems like a topic that's not going away any time soon.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-47861420826549747722009-03-02T23:29:00.004+10:302009-03-03T00:29:11.948+10:30Skill Up in a DownturnIt's that time of year again. In case you've been ignoring all those new year notions of self improvement for a month or two, it might be worth checking out the ADMA <a href="http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=33993">Certificate in Digital Marketing</a> (of for that matter, it's original sire, the <a href="http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=2039">Certificate in Direct Marketing</a>). Both are related, and having been through each of them I can honestly say both are worthwhile.<br /><br />With all the hoo-hah about the technology, people often forget that digital is really just a pure form of direct marketing - the same basics apply. (As <a href="http://www.ideagarden.com.au/phillip.html">Phil Smith from IdeaGarden</a> pointed out in last semester's course, all digital is direct, just not all direct is digital...yet..)<br /><br />I also caught up with Phil's business partner Jenny Williams (p.s. the ideagarden <a href="http://ideagarden.wordpress.com/">blog</a> is worth a read) at the ADMA board meeting in sunny Glenelg last week where part of the focus was on building on ADMA's strength in the digital space. Much is often made of industry bodies being very Sydney-centric, but I think the fact the meeting was here in Adelaide is testament to the association's commitment to supporting members and marketers from around the country.<br /><br />And back to the education focus of this post, both Certificate courses start next Wednesday and run for 14 weeks if anyone is wanting to make their marketing dollar a little more accountable!Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-89746418197714603232008-12-18T14:46:00.002+10:302008-12-18T15:33:50.396+10:30Media planners twitch over new publically accessible stats toolsA few years ago I brought to the attention of a certain <a href="http://www.smvgroup.com/offices.html">Media Agency</a> the growth in online media buying in the US and Europe, allowing advertisers to access inventory on tv, <a href="http://www.bid4spots.co.uk/">radio </a> and in <a href="http://www.mediabids.com/Splash.jsp">newspapers </a> and magazines.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SUnPkv4WI5I/AAAAAAAAAJE/K06LWtm7y-0/s1600-h/fb-demographics.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SUnPkv4WI5I/AAAAAAAAAJE/K06LWtm7y-0/s200/fb-demographics.gif" /></a><br />
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Now digital publisher, <a href="http://www.socialtimes.com/">Social Times</a> , has released a <a href="http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-demographic-statistics/">new tool</a> that allows you to look at the demographics of Facebook users in real time across countries.<br />
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Just a few minutes playing with the tool you can see the power of open accessibility to statistical data, made easy through a simple interface design.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-14912081651381347002008-11-17T08:12:00.005+10:302008-11-18T18:38:18.289+10:30Information overload? It may be your fault...If your like me and you don't know how you're going to get away from the fact that your email inbox is just never going to empty itself, and your blog posts need responding to, and your Twitter feeds need a read, and your Facebook status needs an update, then you'll be delighted to hear from Clay Shirky, Author of "Here Comes Everybody", as he <a href="http://web2expo.blip.tv/file/1277460/">addressed </a> the Web2.0 Summit in San Francisco last week. (Lance Armstrong also spoke of his pending return to cycling)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SSCZi0f6aVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/EDfLCWixs4c/s1600-h/Web2_Conference.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SSCZi0f6aVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/EDfLCWixs4c/s320/Web2_Conference.png" /></a><br />
Using some terrific personal anecdotes from acquaintances experiencing the dilemma of the blurring of the lines between public and personal life in the Post-Facebook world. He identifies that it is not the overload of information that is the problem, moreover the failure of the various systems, (technological or human), that lead to information overload.<br />
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With a philosophical approach to describing the evolution of the publishing model since Guttenberg, Shirky highlights that information overload is not fixable by putting a linear publishing model solution onto a non-linear (Facebook) publishing world.<br />
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The reason why it is popular is because it offers something new.<br />
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The old guard need to recognise that now new solutions need to be found.<br />
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More from the summit via BlipTV <a href="http://web2expo.blip.tv/">here</a>. (Australian bandwidth limitations considering).<br />
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More on Clay <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Shirky">here</a> .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-24395220236940129782008-11-07T15:26:00.004+10:302008-11-07T16:42:26.511+10:30Many Happy Returns (on Investment)With the growth in Social Networking, widgets, onlinePR and the search behemoth, many pundits have predicted the death of email as a marketing tool.<br /><br />Not so, according to the latest <a href="http://directmag.com/email/1014-email-roi-dma/">economic impact study</a> from the Direct Marketing Association in the US. While Email ROI seems to be slowly declining, the DMA estimates that marketers earned $45.06 for every dollar spent on email marketing in 2008. And while this might drop to $43.52 next year, its still so far in front of the rest of the pack that you can understand why most marketers are fighting tooth and nail to keep the CFO's hands off the email marketing spend in the current economic downturn. An article from Direct magazine comments further - you can read the rest of it <a href="http://directmag.com/email/1014-email-roi-dma/">here</a>.<br /><br />Even if email remains the holy grail of DM, its not without its challenges. Email Service Providers once relied on relationship management with the major ISPs to make sure their servers (and their client's email efforts) stayed off the spam blacklists, but the proliferation of web-based email accounts with auto spam feed back loops (FBL) and the automation of the spam reporting process, means that deliverability has become a bigger challenge than ever.<br /><br />Sender Reputation (find out your email server sender score at www.senderscore.org) is now the biggest challenge to email deliverability, and it gets more complex when the different ISPs and webmail providers use a different mix of content and reputation scores to decide whether to deliver the email.<br /><br />So just when you thought email was easy, think again. . So, read blogs, download reports, talk to your agency and work hard at keeping your content fresh and your list current. Email marketing will be an ongoing - sometimes fairly labour intensive - process of improvement. But at $40-odd dollars back for every buck you spend, the rewards look worthwhile to me.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-25322832731167254822008-10-08T23:11:00.008+10:302008-10-13T21:37:41.295+10:30Digital Marketing Course in Full FlightWe're just over half way through the ADMA Certificate in Digital Marketing <a href="http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=33993">course</a>, and after last night's great chat with <a href="http://www.shaicoggins.com/">Shai Coggins</a> of <a href="http://www.b5media.com/">B5Media</a> fame, it struck me that we've been pretty fortunate so far.<br /><br />Our small class allows for a pretty interactive (pun?) session each Wednesday, and the guest lecturers we've shared the boardroom with read like a who's who of new media.<br /><br />Shai has just returned from BlogWorld Expo in Vegas, and is a global expert in the development of communities (and commerce) through blogging. We had <a href="http://www.leehopkins.net/">Lee Hopkins</a> take us through managing corporate conversations online, as well as the subject of both his PhD and his passion - Second Life. Our own Anthony Coles made sense of the myriad paid media channels available online, and ex OgilvyOne MD Phil Smith held sway on the topic of Digital Strategy. Next week we've got Kevin Wohling from search technology leader <a href="http://www.e-channel.com.au/">eChannel</a>, to be followed by ex Fosters senior marketing exec Georgia Rasmussen's guidance on database and CRM strategy.<br /><br />Only 6 more weeks to go, and with some of the shared insights from the sessions so far I'm expecting some pretty good strategic campaign plans as part of the student assessments (they get to take a fictional product launch and make it a household name through the - well argued - use and execution of digital marketing strategy).<br /><br />Heaps of healthy debate, lots of lessons learned, and expert opinions a-plenty. Now I'm starting to wonder what next semester's <a href="http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=33993">course</a> will hold.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-80865247191169350732008-10-05T14:00:00.000+10:302008-10-05T14:29:01.186+10:30When marketing goes full circle.Planes are great to force you to read things. Whilst sitting on CX104 on my way to Hong Kong, I managed to eat up Geoff Livingston's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://nowisgone.com/">Now is Gone</a> </span> in which Executives and Entrepreneurs get a primer on Web2.0.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SOg7cZFb2PI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/94ZBJBdl-IQ/s1600-h/nowbadge2.thumbnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Jo8DFvAzYXM/SOg7cZFb2PI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Sxonpr_b61I/s320-R/nowbadge2.thumbnail.jpg" /></a>The foreword was written by Futureworks CEO Brian Solis, who highlights the evolution of communications that we are going through, and indeed the Darwinian, "Survival of the Fittest" regarding changing skillset of marketing professionals.<br />
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They have <a href="http://media.libsyn.com/media/geoliv/audiences.wav">Podcast </a> a few of their discussions, but what struck me the most about his observations were how similar they were my mantra to our guys that:<br />
Listening is marketing<br />
Participation is marketing<br />
Media is marketing, and<br />
Conversations are marketing<br />
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Markets, like the flourishing Farmer's Markets, ARE conversations.<br />
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The growth of new SOCIAL media are just an evolution in democratising our markets so that We The People are in control.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-39230495094205436272008-09-24T10:53:00.005+09:302008-10-01T08:38:10.642+09:30Blog smogI'm forever adjusting my radar between the global phenomenon of inter-connected conversations facilitated by the Internet, and the microcosm that is the South Australian marketing community.<br />
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The tsunami of change has to eventually crash upon our shores.<br />
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Our isolation and ignorance is not a unique phenomenon though, as new findings from the Technorati "<a href="http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/">State of the blogosphere</a>" report highlights.<br />
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I remember it was only a couple of years ago while I was doing some consulting for Starcom that we had a representative from Google in to share with the planning team some of their products and services offerings.<br />
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"I never click on links on Search Engines", was the defensive cry from the room.<br />
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Well someone does.<br />
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Business Week this week just published its Top 25 "<a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/1.htm">Web's Most Influential People</a> " report, and although they're only No 5., they talk about <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">their key task managing the breakneck growth of the company, now comprising more than 18,000 employees and expecting<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> $16.2 billion</span> in sales this year - up 53%. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Even the declining economy has not yet seemed to slow its dominance in Web search and search-based advertising. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But that very success is creating challenges, namely a backlash against their increasing power online from competitors, advertisers, and government regulators. Now, their main job will be convincing the world they mean it when they spout their informal corporate motto, "Don't be evil."</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-53007537737321026412008-09-21T21:35:00.007+09:302008-09-22T08:14:44.142+09:30iMedia Brand Summit distant memoriesWow, a week goes fast these days. <br /><br />This time last week I was cramming to get jobs out the way before I rushed off to the Blue Mountains for the iMedia Brand Summit. My last post was about the presenters from Tuesday morning, and its now Monday after already.<br /><br />I loved <a href="http://www.ideagarden.com.au/">Jenny Williams</a>' summary of the greatest challenges for the industy - motivating change. <br /><br />It is however still all about the <a href="http://www.mixx-expo.com/2.7/awards_gallery_2007.aspx">creative </a>idea and with the lines blurring between media, creative and strategy, that idea can come from anywhere - its just about the conversation that helps we service providers gets to the core of the business challenge.<br /><br />The challenge for many marketing service providers today though is that despite the "20+ years" in the industry, they don't have the same value proposition in the fast-changing digital media landscape. <br /><br />Jenny provided a great example of a simple <a href="http://www.classroom20.com/profile/s1mple">stone-masonary business</a> leading the charge with his use of web 2.0 tools to grow his business beyond the yard he's working in and into Education, (for those that haven't seen it, he's using <a href="http://www.ning.com">Ning </a>as a platform - something <a href="http://www.viamedia.com.au">we've</a> used on a few solutions this year).<br /><br />And as a great Jedi once said, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the <a href="http://www.convinceandconvert.com/internet-advertising/wake-up-agencies-digital-shops-trojan-horse/">Dark Side"</a>. It is certainly time for clients getting advice on this space from traditional agencies to look around for more qualified help.<br /><br />The Summit format offered many opportunities for conversations with peers in the Australian Digital Marketing industry and I had a great chat with <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/cbartens">Christian Bartens</a> from <a href="http://www.datalicious.com.au/">Datalicious</a> in the break. A very clever dude doing some amazing things with data and analytics.<br /><br />Sat in on a few 'spotlight' sessions after lunch.<br /><br />Fionn Hyndman from <a href="http://www.dgm-au.com/">DGM</a> gave a tannin-impared presentation on customer acquisition strategies. Their speal is that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Deal Group Media Plc UK. To quote the website, <span style="font-style:italic;">the company's principal activity is the provision of online marketing services through the mediums of performance based marketing, search engine positioning, optimisation and marketing services, including the provision of competitive intelligence gathering services</span>.<br /><br />Ian Gardiner from <a href="http://www.viocorp.com">Viocorp</a> showed the crowd why their business has doubled in size in the last 12 months. Their tools are driving some of the best examples of integrated video content in Australia.<br /><br />Nice to be <a href="http://www.viamedia.com.au">representing </a>them West of the Blue Mountains.<br /><br />Trolling through my notes from the Summit, there were many "Nuggets" that I hoe to share over the weeks ahead.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-28701429168119618352008-09-18T15:47:00.003+09:302008-09-18T16:06:12.226+09:30More iMedia moments"Stay relevant" said Dave Cormier from <a href="http://www.strongmail.com/">StrongMail</a>. Stay relevant, test & monitor, keep things in balance and add a sence of urgency to your email.<br /><br />"Grow or go" said Mehrdad Baghai of <a href="http://www.alchemygrowth.com/">Alchemy Growth Partners</a> in an awesome presentation that highlighted the elevated discussions of the corporate strategists considering "Where to compete", vs the day-to-day dilemas of most marketing practicioners worried more about how to execute. Granularity of growth a great book if you want to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470270209/ref=pd_cp_b_1?pf_rd_p=317711001&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0462098982&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1W62YTDAW219WWW29F5J">purchase</a>.<br /><br /><br />"Know your customer, digitally" professed Anthony Goldman of <a href="http://www.nextdigital.com/">NextDigital</a>. A challenging thought for those of us not skilled in proctology. Pretty good overview for his Ten Commandments for digital strategy. The 4 P's have become 10 P's in the uber-complicated digital world.<br /><br />Ed Smith from <a href="http://www.nextdigital.com/">News Digital Media</a> cracked open the 2nd day with his inspiring presentation on the global trends from his recent visit to Cannes. <a href="http://www.whopperfreakout.com/">Whopperfreakout</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_HBO_Voyeur_Project">HBO Voyeur </a>campaign blowing people away with its scope and breadth.<br /><br />And wrapping up Tuesday morning was Jenny Williams from <a href="http://www.ideagarden.com.au/">IdeaGarden</a> nailing the need for internal organisational change and a commitment from industry to bridge the skills gap.<br /><br />Awesome crew.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-70365368656194225252008-09-16T06:36:00.002+09:302008-09-16T06:46:13.493+09:30iMedia Brand Summit is all actionThe <a href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/17533.asp">iMedia Brand Summit </a>kicked off in the Blue Mountains last night with Mark McCrindle from <a href="http://www.mccrindle.com.au/">McCrindle Research</a> giving a very entertaining overview of the changing social landscape, and how that is fundamentally affecting how brands connect with consumers.<br /><br />Of note were the key trends of a post-life stage, post-structure, post-linear and post-rational society.<br /><br />Shifts from the drawing to Tradition to a drawing to Innovation. From Reputation to Recommendation. Sit and Listen, to Try and See. Long-term needs to Short-term wants. Content, to Process. Authority, to Authenticity, and from Tech IQ (a given), to Emotional IQ.<br /><br />These changes best reflected by an observation of a friend of his trying to offer a Gen Y-er a job. Highlighting the generational gap the Boomer saying "You're ignorant and Apathetic", to which the Gen Y-er said "I don't know what you mean, and I don't care"...<br /><br />Good luck to us all. <br /><br />Some interesting downloads from his <a href="http://www.mccrindle.com.au/">site</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-3075227848678141572008-09-10T23:33:00.004+09:302008-09-10T23:47:07.018+09:30No Such Thing as an Average JoeWhen it comes to discussions about email marketing I often get asked the same question: What is the average click through rate?<br /><br />Without wanting to be too flippant with the standard 'piece of string' comparison, its important to get past what the Average Joes (or Joneses) are up to. Benchmarking is one thing, but in the world of digital media the cost of entry is so low, and the quality of measurement data so high, that there's no real excuse for not putting a toe in the water and creating your own INTERNAL benchmark. Then all you need to do is test some variables, look at the results, and apply the information in a cycle of<span style="font-style: italic;"> continual improvement</span>.<br /><br />In a <a href="http://www.marketingprofs.com/news/email-marketing/index.asp?nlid=551&cd=dmo121">blog post</a> at Email Insider, Jordan Ayan notes that 'industry average' metrics can be so broad a range as to be totally useless, and that companies should look in their own backyard to find that starting comparison. Trust your own stats, and improve on them from there.Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-72031971239725041462008-09-02T20:54:00.004+09:302008-09-02T22:00:24.167+09:30The Adelaide Crows Inner CircleFanatical Adelaide Crows supporter, Rebecca, had a real MCB (Money Can't Buy) experience on Saturday when she belted out the Crows team song arm in arm with the players after a nail biting win against the Western Bulldogs.<br /><br />Rebecca was one of more than a thousand punters who risked the life of their mobile phones in a deluge of biblical proportions when she texted her entry in the Carlton Draught Text'n'Sing promotion at AAMI Stadium.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.viamedia.com.au/">Via Media</a> was engaged by the Crows and Fosters to manage the interactive side of a test campaign that looks like running through to season 2009 after positive feedback from club, sponsor and fans alike. With co-operation from partner <a href="http://www.2moro.com.au/">2moro Mobile</a>, Via Media set up an inbound mobile number to capture entries, before bouncing back an unexpected voice message from superstar Crow Nathan Bock, thanking fans for their support and asking for help to get the Crows over the line in what was a tense final quarter.<br /><br />Not quite the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3GH7Pn_eA">Big Ad</a>, but targeted, relevant, timely, contextual, engaging communication. Maybe just what Fosters was after?Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-81622561073307154432008-08-31T23:36:00.005+09:302008-09-01T11:36:16.020+09:30Marketing Week Goes Digital. Finally.Last week saw the Marketing Week roadshow hit town, and refreshingly, 'Digital' got it's fair (i.e. dominant) share of the <a href="http://www.marketingweek.com.au/">speaker</a> calendar. Themed <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Marketing Revolution</span>, 'non-traditional' communication was collectively endorsed as the future of marketing, effectively giving advertising agencies as we know them the life expectancy of a needle-sharing Baghdad mortorcyclist.<br /><br />Our own CEO Anthony Coles had two speaking spots, IdeaGarden's Jenny Williams painted the big picture in her inimitable way, and industry leaders like Matt Baxter (of Naked fame) and ex Singo's MD Phil Smith underlined the opportunities available to marketers who embrace the changes we're seeing (and thanks also to Phil for adding a guest spot at our ADMA Digital Certificate course to his list of presentations - a rare opportunity for an appreciative audience).<br /><br />I'd like to think that Marketing Week has galvanised a few people who've been meaning to 'join the revolution', so it will be interesting to see who in Adelaide steps up, and who falls back into the comfort zone of yesterday. Telling times ahead...Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-85533980882250003782008-08-25T10:48:00.001+09:302008-08-25T10:49:23.824+09:30Google Adwords Makes a Few ChangesYou might have seen some news on changes to Google's Adwords service.<br /><br />In a post on the company blog, Google has advised that changes to the Quality Score metric means that ads will no longer be tagged 'inactive for search' if they don't meet a minimum bid value. What does this mean? Every ad will now remain live regardless of their maximum bid settings, but it's unlikely to have much/any positive effect on your campaign given the ad is still unlikely to rank on the first page or two. Google will also introduce a metric that indicates the minimum bid value required to be on the first page of paid listings, effectively aligning their metric to a marketing objective, rather than a nominal active/inactive setting. Quality Score will also now be applied dynamically at the time of each search, rather than in batch on setup, to enhance the user experience and ad relevance for people using the search engine.<br /><br />In a nutshell, be aware of the changes but don't expect any revolutionary difference in the way you use Adwords. You still need a high Quality Score (relevance) to keep bid values low, and still need competitive bids if you want those valuable rankings near the top of the list. Pretty simple, eh?<br /><br />Read more on the detail here.<br /><br /><a href="http://adwords.blogspot.com/2008/08/quality-score-improvements.html">Inside AdWords: Quality Score improvements</a>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-84588768094279071662008-08-14T08:16:00.003+09:302008-08-14T08:59:51.441+09:30ADMA Digital Certificate Kicks OffLast night was something of a watershed moment for digital media education in Adelaide - the intro session to ADMA's certificate in digital marketing.<br /><br />Part of Via Media's charter, and the reason for our involvement with the course, is using education to bridge the disconnect in SA between companies "knowing we need to do digital" and them actually doing it.<br /><br />There's belief in the potential of the media, but - without the baseline knowledge required to develop a strategy - uncertainty about where to start. And that translated with the group last night. The key takeout was that digital marketing IS direct marketing, and while I expected a few eyes glazing over with the statistical analysis that comes with 'DM', it was evident that Digital offered these marketers accountability and clarity, as well as the chance to be creative.<br /><br />A marketing campaign with looks AND brains? Maybe not such a rare creature after all...Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-68043619812377115692008-07-28T16:54:00.002+09:302008-07-28T16:59:30.555+09:30Certificate in Digital Marketing in Adelaide at lastThe Australian Direct Marketing Association announced today that they would be offering their Certificate in Digital Marketing in Adelaide, facilitated by Via Media.<br /><br />The nationally accredited 14 week course will be run in the evenings, and starts on August 13.<br /><br />Throughout the course students will work together to learn the key concepts and principles of digital marketing and how they apply across the myriad of media channels available, from simple email campaigns, to website project management, to leveraging social networking tools and online advertising.<br /><br />Via Media has been pushing to bring courses in this space - that run regularly in the Eastern States - to the SA market. The recent cancellation of the B&T Digital Bootcamp program was the latest disappointment.<br /><br />“Too many of these courses don’t head West of the Blue Mountains” says Jason Neave, ADMA State Councillor and facilitator of the digital course in SA. “Access to a recognised certificate course in SA is imperative for local organisations if they want to remain competitive nationally, and internationally. The program is standardised across the country, and students get to mix with other local practitioners and learn from case studies from Australia’s biggest brands”.<br /> <br />“There is a huge need for this in the local market”, says ADMA Education manager Alex Pye, “and ADMA’s role as the premier industry association in this space is to help SA companies re-skill in order to participate.”<br /><br />More information is available on the course from the <a href="http://www.adma.com.au">ADMA</a> site.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-33563035485387894312008-07-23T16:02:00.006+09:302008-07-28T16:53:02.988+09:30Digital media makes The Advertisers Round TableThe Adelaide Advertiser hosts regular Round Table's with industry heavyweights to bring expertise on different topics to their readers. Today they just happened to invite 5 internet & media industry-related people (including yours truly, Via Media CEO Anthony Coles) to the table under the multi-media gaze of their AdelaideNow audio and video production team, (and a couple of work experience bods to boot).<br /><br />After happy snaps and card swapping, discussions opened on the topic of "will the Internet have any impact on business in SA".<br /><br />Biting my lip I glanced over to catch newly appointed SA Tourism GM of Marketing, Steve Kernaghan, ease back in his seat and break into a grin.<br /><br />"The Internet is ALREADY having an impact on business in SA", we all chimed in unison to exclaim.<br /><br />Steve gave space to a few local lads to lead the charge in response.<br /><br />Adam Internet CEO Scott Hicks lamented the challenges to their considerable investments in Internet-related infrastructure here in SA in the face of the huge Telstra/ Australian Government conflict-of-interest. <br /><br />"How can business benefit from our infrastructure (ie - better content), if our playing field isn't world-competitive", cried Scott. "We have the demand. How can we move beyond the infrastructure constraints of a poorly advised Government and cross-ownership confilct?"<br /><br />My thoughts raced ahead to a Facebook Group, "Help Raise $400M to fund Adam Internet's fibre-optic roll out". More on that later...<br /><br />SATC's Steve K finally added his weight to the debate with his international perspective, (Steve's new to SA from a Tourism Australia gig in the US).<br /><br />His experience with mobile internet, Tivo, and direct-to-consumer transaction opportunities presented by the internet were refreshing in this market.<br /><br />"The internet is the single most important channel in our marketing planning for the year ahead" says Steve.<br /><br />"Don't jump up and hug him here", says the little guy in my head who stops me doing silly things!!<br /><br />"But where is all this content going to come from?", asked Business Editor Cameron England insightfully. "Do we have the talent here to produce it?"<br /><br />"Absolutely", states OMD CEO Gary Jaffer, "we have some of the best talent in the world here in SA".<br /><br />Er, then why can't I find an experienced digital Account Director or gun Creative Director with web 2.0 campaign experience for my business, I thought?<br /><br />As conversation progressed, we weaved from technical Internet issues to consumenr and Media issues. <br /><br />"The role of the media with any advertising campaign is the same", noted KWP! Media Manager Matt Rawnsley. "Each needs to be considered within the context of what it is the client is trying to achieve, and its value evaluated against those objectives".<br /><br />Quite right I thought, couldn't have put it better myself if I was a media manager with and Ad Agency.<br /><br />But what if your 'media' is someones Facebook profile, and your ad is a "Had a Top Stay Here" widget promoting some local B&B you stayed at, offering a 'free bowl of soup' to any of your friends if they click on the widget?<br /><br />Then Me becomes the Media. <br /><br />Word-Of-Mouth blurs with Direct (Marketing) via the mass media of the Internet. Facebook currently has a Gazzillion* page views per day. (*note - Nielsen NetRatings does not recognise gazzillion as a media planning term).<br /><br />Creative (Content) has just become a Transaction (Customer).<br /><br />Where does 'the Media Agency' and the evaluation of relevant 'Paid Media' channels fit into this model?<br /><br />Lucky I never let that mind rant leak out publicly amongst the group, or I'd have been shipped off in a tight white jacket with long sleeves!<br /><br />And so on it went for an hour or so. More reality checks from Scott (Hicks) (not the Film director), more international tourism-industry perspective from Steve (Kernaghan) (not the former Carlton and Glenelg great), and more ad-land fundamentals from Gary (Jaffer) and Matt (Rawnsley). <br /><br />And more Blue Sky from me.<br /><br />Overall, hosts Meredith (Booth), Cameron (England) and Chris (Russell) were all on-topic and enthusistic with the industry participants at today's Round Table.<br /><br />Did we find a solution to the growing gap between the have's and the have-nots?<br /><br />Maybe not. <br /><br />Did we contribute to combating Climate Change?<br /><br />Well Rupert's building is very Green, and I did walk to the meeting.<br /><br />But was I excited to have this topic, (one that I've been beeting my head against a brick wall over for 15 years now), finally reach the Business Section of The Adelaide Advertiser, and have an opportunity to participate in the discourse? <br /><br />You bet.<br /><br />Can't wait until it appears in the paper next week.<br /><br />Oh, but now you already know what happened because of this blog. Doh!<br /><br />What was that again about the impact that the Internet was going to have on business in SA?<br /><br />Oh well....let's go to the <a href="http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/video?vxSiteId=eba5375d-00a6-4a97-be48-fdcb891bfc33&vxChannel=frontPagePicks&vxClipId=1383_354203&vxBitrate=300">video</a>...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-89300766284161563762008-07-21T19:04:00.002+09:302008-07-21T19:11:46.441+09:302.0 the go in Enterprise Knowledge Management-landThere were more cliche's and acronyms than a orthodontists convention at the KM (knowledge management) Australia Conference in Melbourne today. <br /><br />It seems enterprises (ie - organisations, private and Government), far and wide are looking for ways to integrate these new user-generated tools into their communications. <br /><br />The KM Australia Conference has been going for 5 years now, and is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere (their speal).<br /><br />Some good insights from 'the Vignette dude' (Carl Jones) today about the way forward with the big guys. Funny to hear though that 90% of their clients (Fortune 500's), don't start with the simple question of what business are we in?, and what do our clients want from us?. <br /><br />Just as we try to say to our clients, let's get the strategy right first, then the tools (ie - 2.0 technologies), can be selected on their merit in meeting the organisations goals. <br /><br />Can't wait till tomorrows talk from those Via Media guys on their 2.0 work for DEFEEST...;-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-39265349244359834622008-03-12T00:10:00.000+10:302008-03-12T00:10:32.049+10:30Get higher open rates with the right welcomeHere's a nice 'back-to-basics' article on email marketing from Lindsey Secord at Premiere Global Services, one of the worlds largest e-marketing technology service providers and one of Via Media's partners. Too many businesses fall into the trap of thinking that email is cheap, and if they have an opt in email list that they might as well blast every message to every person (and think of all those hours saved on segmentation and targeting strategy...)<br /><br />Lindsey offers a few examples, and a number of tips you can use pretty easily in your own eDM program. Click on the link below for the full article from iMedia Connection, and please sing out if any of it needs translating into (South) Australian.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/18542.asp">iMedia Connection: Get higher open rates with the right welcome</a>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-80787815372434631062008-03-11T08:22:00.002+10:302008-03-11T08:24:30.004+10:30Avoiding Facebook FolliesAn interesting article by Evan Gerber from Molecular, commenting on the huge disparity between successful brand forays into social networking, and those that miss the mark (even though the brand itself might be a household name). A key tenet of the article is that engagement is vital, more so than the supporting media spend regardless how heavy. It comes back to core strategy - are you jumping into social networking because its the flavour of the day, or because there's a real alignment with your brand strategy? And once you've made that call, how can you give your campaign the best chance (and it's true, some of it comes down to chance) of flying instead of flopping. The full article is worth a read.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/18612.asp">iMedia Connection: Avoid these Facebook faux pas</a>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273726198799565151.post-17162166892287134692008-02-28T12:16:00.000+10:302008-02-28T12:16:39.225+10:30Net users multitasking in front of telly | Australian ITAn article popped up in the Australian IT section yesterday that showed some interesting stats on internet use in Australia and in NZ. Nielsen Online is reporting that 80% of internet users here and across the ditch are engaged in publishing to the web (posting photos, videos, blogging etc) - not just surfing it.<br /><br />The 'always on' home broadband access also seems to be responsible for a new phenomenon of 'multimedia tasking' - either working or interacting socially online while watching TV. Makes you wonder where their attention goes during the ad breaks...<br /><br />Click below for the full article.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23273844-15318,00.html">Net users multitasking in front of telly | Australian IT</a>Jason Neavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219380061771480628noreply@blogger.com0