Google has begun to extend its advertising business offline. Wallet sits at the cornerstone of this long-term strategy to close the loop between offline and online advertising, as well as help media buyers make more strategic decisions through attribution modeling. The company plans to achieve this by having the ability to analyze offline sales similar to online, says Marc Freed-Finnegan, Google's senior business product manager for Google Wallet. "We already know online ads impact in-store behavior," Freed-Finnegan said. "We would, however, like to help merchants have a better understanding of the real impact." Merchants have begun to put a heavy focus on the "loyal" consumers, finding those who continually return to the Web sites or physical stores to purchase products and services. Freed-Finnegan said merchants will provide the point-of-sale data, and Google will work to analyze the number of impressions, clicks, and coupons saved to Wallets generated. Combining the two manually at first will provide a starting point. Google offers options to drive Web site and in-store traffic, but the key remains finding the most valuable consumers through loyalty and rewards programs. "You can run a promotion and find it's only generating one-time customers," Freed-Finnegan said. Privacy Concerns There are specifications for transmitting payment information over near field communication (NFC), a shortwave radio frequency technology. About 150,000 merchants in the United States accept payments. Freed-Finnegan believes that doing electronic transactions through Wallet "is much safer than a plastic card." He said there is no chance of skimming because the smartphone gets turned off when not in use. "When the screen of the phone is off, the NFC antenna is off, and you can't send or receive any information." The hardware chip that holds encrypted information prevents other applications on the phone from accessing the information. A one-way flow of information also aims to keep data safe. Adoption Challenges While NFC mostly supports consumer applications today, VDC research analyst John Shuster said there are plenty of possibilities for the technology in the enterprise space. It's not clear whether Google will extend support into the enterprise applications market, which could mean analytics connecting offline PoS systems with ad platforms. Isis, the NFC network spearheaded by Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, will support Google's Android mobile operating system when services go live in 2012. Last week, Google Wallet rival Isis confirmed support for Android when service goes live next year. Apple also has thrown in support for Isis. How It Works Google Wallet, the application, supports an ecommerce platform, which turns a smartphone into a wallet. It recently rolled out to Sprint users, but Google designed it to run on an open platform and work on any mobile device and major credit card. The application relies on NFC, in part by NXP Semiconductors, to make the transaction. It stores payment cards and Google Offers, coupons and loyalty cards. The platform will automatically apply the saved coupons when paying for goods or services, and loyalty. Today, rather than run a traditional ad campaign, Google now offers Offers, an ad extension campaign. Think of a Google ad on google.com that clicks through to an Offers details page, where consumers can either print a coupon or save it to Wallet. At present, there are a handful of companies supporting Google Wallet. Vivotech provides the technology to enable payments and conduct transactions, and NXP Semiconductors, a Philips Semiconductors spinoff, supports Google Wallet through its chips. The project, designed as an open platform, will encourage other manufacturers -- such as Broadcom, also a member of the NFC Forum -- to build out applications for the platform.
Verizon Wireless grabbed attention last year when it reached a deal with the NFL to carry live games and the league's hugely popular RedZone channel for a reported $720 million over four years. Compared to the billions that TV networks typically pay the NFL for broadcast rights, that might seem like small change. But in the emerging mobile media world, where return on such investments is hardly certain, it ranked as a Super Bowl-size deal. As the second season for Verizon's NFL Mobile app gets underway, both sides say the partnership has gotten off to a strong start, with the app drawing 4.5 million downloads and a mostly positive response from fans. But Verizon isn't cashing in just yet -- with most NFL mobile users so far getting the free version of the app, and third-party advertising still minimal. For now, the nation's largest wireless carrier is mainly focused on not fumbling the opportunity. Mitch Dornich, director of mobile entertainment at Verizon, said uptake and usage of NFL Mobile have exceeded expectations and that downloads continue to grow quickly. "So the good news is that the take rate for new users has not slowed at all," he said. The free version of NFL Mobile includes features such as live audio broadcasts of all games, news and information from the league, video highlights and a fantasy football tracker. For an extra $10 a month (on top of a monthly data plan), users on Verizon's 3G network can get access to RedZone, the NFL network and live games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. For subscribers on Verizon's newer LTE 4G network, the premium version of NFL Mobile is included in their data plan. That's to reward the early adopters of the high-speed service Verizon is still rolling out around the country, according to Dornich. Neither Verizon or the NFL would say what proportion of users so far paying the additional $10 for the full video version of the app. But as with most offerings based on a "freemium" model, the vast majority of users are free and only a minority are paid. "Exclusive [mobile] content usually drives the most enthused fans," noted Bill Ho, research director for wireless services at technology research firm Current Analysis. But Verizon maintains the app is crossing over to more casual fans as well. Enhancements have been added this season to entice free and premium subscribers, including a more streamlined layout overall, in-game video highlights in the app's Gamecenter section, and expanded VOD. On the pay side, the main sweetener was the addition of Monday night football. Users seemed satisfied with the product. In Apple's App Store, NFL Mobile has received a respectable three out of five stars (915 ratings) and 4.2 out of five stars in the Android Market (45,000 ratings). Based on comments posted to the rival app stores, however, the extra $10 a month that 3G users have to pay for live games and RedZone rankles. So does the fact that the service is only available from Verizon -- a particular annoyance for AT&T iPhone customers. That highlights a big difference between a TV network getting an exclusive NFL package and a wireless carrier. For fans, changing the channel is a lot easier than changing carriers. Verizon's addition of the iPhone earlier this year, however, opens up the service to potentially millions more consumers. NFL Mobile is now available on 35 different smartphone models, with Motorola's Droid Bionic among the latest additions. Optimizing the service for multiple devices, smartphone platforms and its 3G and 4G networks "has been one of the biggest projects we've had in terms of mobile video," noted Dornich. The app is also Wi-Fi compatible. Plus, NFL Mobile is likely headed to tablet screens at some point. "There are a lot of reasons that makes sense," said Hans Schroeder, the NFL's senior vice president of media and strategy development. He said the league had recently introduced a tablet-optimized version of the NFL.com site and views mobile overall as complementary to its operations across TV, Internet and radio. The NFL and Verizon struck their deal last year just before the April 2010 launch of the iPad, which almost singlehandedly created the tablet market. The agreement only covers mobile phones, not tablets. So rights issues, as well as technical ones, would have to be worked out before extending the service to tablets. The two companies are not rushing into bringing advertising to NFL Mobile, either, for fear of alienating users. "We're very sensitive to quality of product were delivering, so what I don't want is something polluted, if you will, with all kinds of advertising and banner ads and things like that," said Dornich. So far, he said the NFL and Verizon are just starting to "dabble" in advertising, mainly through sponsorships in areas like message boards in Gamecenter. Schroeder explained that the league wants to be able to offer ad buys across all screens, but do so in a manner appropriate to each type of media. "We're walking before we run with the ad model to make sure it's comfortable both for consumers and advertisers," he said. Current Analysis' Ho suggested the key for Verizon isn't necessarily ad revenue but using the NFL relationship to boost its core wireless subscriber business. Whether the deal will ultimately pay off in that regard is difficult to judge. "This type of relationships/co-branding is certainly marketing-worthy but the return on investment for both parties is solely within their internal metrics," said Current Analysis' Ho. "Only Verizon Wireless knows whether they acquire new customers from this or retain and make the service stickier to existing subscribers." If NFL Mobile doesn't do the trick, Verizon has also begun rolling out free apps for individual teams including the Jets, Giants, Ravens, Texans and Bills, with more to come. In addition to creating apps tailored to specific fan bases, the idea was also to keep from overstuffing the main NFL app. "That's what the focus was -- trying to simplify that user experience," said Dornich.
Traditional banner ads have long been the whipping boy of the online ad world. Ubiquitous but ignored, the display ad on the right side of the page has given way to a new generation of social-media formats blurring the distinction between advertising and content and promising higher levels of interaction. That's the theme Union Square Ventures co-founder Fred Wilson struck in a morning keynote address at OMMA Global on Monday. Wilson said the newer forms of advertising fit into what he termed "native monetization systems" for Web properties. "This is not putting up banners on the right side -- this is the opposite of that," he said. As examples, he pointed to different Web properties that have tailored their ad units or other features to the particular nature of content or services they provide. That includes Google paid-search ads linked to search keywords, Facebook "Likes," promoted tweets on Twitter and special deals offered through Foursquare. (Union Square is an investor in Twitter and Foursquare.) Wilson underscored that the advertising in his examples often mirrors the look and feel of the site in which it served. A promoted tweet by Kiva, for instance, looks much like any other post on Twitter, and sponsored stories on Facebook appear in the news feed and incorporate users' status updates, "likes" and other social actions. Streaming audio is another emerging segment where ads have been shaped by the content, offering formats that provide a combination of audio and visual elements suited to Internet radio. When combined with traditional radio campaigns, it can boost results by 3.5 times, according to Wilson. Likewise, other research has shown Facebook's sponsored stories deliver 46% higher click-throughs at 18% lower cost per fan than the site's standard units. Because newer ad types are specifically built to fit with the underlying functionality of their sites, they deliver higher performance than traditional display ads, said Wilson. In another example, a pilot program that American Express ran with Foursquare at the South by Southwest conference in March that offered special deals locally showed that cardholders involved in the test spent 20% more on average than those who did not. That doesn't mean online advertising will become any easier to master. "Now, if you want to be an online marketer, you have to operate like you're in a NASA control room," acknowledged Wilson -- with buying spread over different types of digital media and devices and tracking multiple sets of analytics. The media world is fragmenting, and it's only going to get worse. "We're not all just on Google and Yahoo any more," said Wilson. Gearing advertising to specific platforms to improve performance also increases reach; users migrate away from Web portals to social-networking sites, blogs and more narrowly crafted content niches online. While many marketers may be eager to push into social media, they may not be quite as sold as Wilson on the results. Twitter, for instance, only began rolling out ad programs last year, so it may take testing over a longer period for companies to feel confident that their ad dollars are well spent there. Questions have frequently been raised about Facebook -- the extent of analytics provided and the value of Likes as a standard metric for interaction on the site. Even if Facebook doesn't use term "display" advertising internally anymore, much of its ad revenue still comes from small ads on the right rail that look like banners. Still, Wilson says it's important to embrace emerging digital formats as the Web audience continues to splinter across more specialized and socially driven forms of media. "There's no single channel any more. That's just the way the world is going ... and marketing opportunities are fragmenting equally," he said.
As advertisers begin to focus on loyal and affluent consumers, Martini Media will launch a private advertising exchange that targets online ads to households with an annual income of more than $100,000. The platform -- MartiniLIVE -- will attempt to reach consumers buying and sharing the most content online. Luxury brands are not the only companies that target affluent consumers. Procter & Gamble publicly announced that it would woo consumers making substantial incomes because these consumers buy multiples of one or more items, according to Skip Brand, Martini CEO. "Sometimes this could be a teacher making $42,000 and a plumber making $62,000 raising three kids, and they buy multiple things at once to save time," he said. Martini ran a test during the past year with a handful of brands, with about $2 million in advertising through the exchange prior to the launch. Brand said the platform provides advertisers with a network to place rich media ads through real-time bidding, targeting both by demographics and context. The platform also provides analytics. The start-up supported by 20 sales reps limits the sites to 1,000 publishers on the network. Last quarter, the company kicked out more sites than it added. "We kick out sites without a high household income," he said. For advertisers, the private exchange introduces automated buying for brands wanting to target affluent households. The trading desk can access the lion's share of inventory across the private exchange with RTB on ads using a self-serve platform across the network. The economy continues to lead U.S. brands toward those who buy more. In August, a study released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and conducted by Ipsos Mendelsohn found that 79% of affluent consumers bringing home more than $100,000 annually use the Internet. Overall, this segment comprises 21% of U.S. households, has 70% of all consumer wealth, and spends 3.2 times more than other Americans on purchases. This market segment also spends 26.2 hours online weekly, 17.6 hours watching TV and 7.5 hours listening to the radio. The general population spends about twice as much time weekly with TV and radio -- 34 hours and 16 hours, respectively -- and just 21.7 hours on the Internet.
Former Yahoo executive Ramsey McGrory just found a new home as CEO of social-media software company Clearspring. "Data and social are where incredible innovation is happening," McGrory said Monday in a nod to Clearspring's expertise. At Yahoo, McGrory led the Yahoo US data business and digital advertising exchange Right Media. McGrory replaces Clearspring founder Hooman Radfar, who will continue to drive the company's product and marketing in his new role as executive chairman. Current Chairman Ted Leonsis will remain on the board of directors. "Clearspring is at an inflection point," said Radfar. "Ramsey's operational expertise in scaling data-driven and large-platform businesses operations is just what we need to take our rapidly growing company to the next level." In May, Clearspring secured $20 million in new funding, with which it planned to consider acquisitions opportunities, along with other options to broaden its product portfolio. Founded in 2004, Clearspring has raised a total of $60 million to expand its Web presence, while managing to redefine its core business along the way. Currently, millions of Web sites rely on Clearspring's AddThis platform, where visitors can share articles, videos and other content across their social networks. Having accumulated ample consumer data in the process, Clearspring has built a business connecting major brands with millions of Web Internet users in real-time. With revenue on track to triple this year, according to Clearspring, the company recently said it was hiring a new employee nearly every week, which it expected to result in almost doubling its staff this year. Clearspring recently announced the integration of Audience Platform with major demand-side platforms, including WPP's Media Innovation Group, Invite Media, MediaMath, DataXu, Turn and Yahoo's Right Media Exchange. The platform taps into the company's real-time data processing engine to aggregate influence and intent data from across the AddThis platform, which now reaches 1 billion unique users monthly. AddThis, available on the Web and mobile, offers various marketing insights into consumers through social signals, such as Facebook "likes," interests and purchase intent. Along with Institutional Venture Partners, Clearspring investors including New Enterprise Associates, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, former AOL vice chair and president Ted Leonsis, AOL co-founder Steve Case, Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris and Silicon Valley super-angel Ron Conway.
A Miami-based company that delivers meals has sued the review site Yelp for defamation for allegedly showing negative reviews before the positive ones. YS Catering, which operates the service The Fresh Diet, alleges that the first 13 posts about it displayed on Yelp are "low-rated reviews, tending toward negative criticism." YS Catering says that 16 additional reviews are only available if users click to another page. Those posts by users allegedly include "high-rated positive reviews." The company alleges that Yelp committed "defamation by implication" on the theory that it made "negative reviews easily accessible, while omitting by hiding access to the 'additional' positive reviews." But the case isn't likely to get far in court, predicts Santa Clara University Internet law expert Eric Goldman. He says Yelp will likely secure a rapid victory because the Federal Communications Decency Act provides that online services like Yelp are immune from defamation liability based on posts by users. In this case, YS Catering argues that it was defamed by Yelp's decision to order the posts in a particular order, as opposed to the posts themselves. Even so, Goldman says, Yelp should still be able to claim immunity, noting that other judges have rejected attempts to hold Yelp liable for business decisions related to its display of reviews. For instance, a state court judge in New York last year dismissed dentist Glenn Reit's defamation lawsuit against the review company. In that case, Reit unsuccessfully argued that Yelp engaged in deceptive business practices by removing good reviews. YS Catering brought its suit in state court in Miami-Dade County. Late last week, the case was transferred to federal court in the Southern District of Florida.
Evolution Bureau, OMD and McKinney took "Best in Show" for Online Creativity, Integrated Online Campaign, and Web Site Excellence, respectively, during OMMA magazine's 2011 OMMA Awards Monday night in New York. Evolution Bureau won for its "Sweet Talk 2.0" campaign for Juicy Fruit. OMD took top honors for its "GT Academy" campaign for Nissan," and McKinney was recognized for the "Spent" website it created for the Urban Ministries of Durham. Other category winners and finalists can be viewed on the OMMA Awards page. to all the winners and finalists in this year's competition.
Brilliance in social media marketing is achieved by integrating paid, owned and earned media. Sounds easy. Let's start with some simple, banal definitions: Earned = user word-of-mouth Owned = brand managed channels such as websites, social networks, and email Paid = Bought media through an insertion order or agreement In reality, true integration is disappointingly rare. Here's why: ·Organizations are silo-ed between owned (digital), earned (communications) and paid (advertising). Since social media impacts a business horizontally -- across customer acquisition, retention, service -- corporate structure gates the ability to act effectively in social media across channels. ·The primary way in which people consume media is a link; word-of-mouth is a link; traffic is a link. With all due respect to creative directors around the world, great viral content must be created in the context of how content is distributed. People interact with the Old Spice Guy through shared links; relatively few actually engage with the live experience. ·Paid, owned and earned media are not actually separate. For example, Brand X creates a campaign based on earned word-of-mouth, promotes through its Facebook page, and syndicate as an ad unit through Outbrain. The lexicon is inadequate; paid + owned + earned = basic, fundamental social marketing. The more we separate the terminology, the more we reinforce the silos. ·If earned, owned and paid media had a baby, it would be called shared media. Successful marketers increasingly build audience by bartering exposure on social channels in exchange for in-kind promotion. When Barbie and Match.com work together to promote Ken and Barbie, both companies reap the benefits of the reach, and validation, from each other's communities. This is just good business. ·In the end, earned media rules. All marketing should pass through the filter of its potential for earned word-of-mouth. If you had two pieces of creative, and one could drive earned media, and one would not, all things being equal, it is an easy decision. Earned media requires paid and owned, but it is the place to begin the ideation in most cases. So here is what you do: ·Knock down organizational walls to force marketing disciplines to collaborate. This is not the job of a social-media vertical within the organization. Do not create an organizational hierarchy, in which paid -- which has the biggest budgets -- often rules, because social ideas can come from every part of the organization. ·Use word-of-mouth potential as the primary criteria in campaign ideas. Use data, the representation of word-of-mouth, to inform the campaign. ·If you want to build audience, build audience on the backs of people and partners who already engage your audience through shared media. ·Marry creative/production with distribution to ensure that brand content plays out along today's more distributed, social customer journey. Ensure no dead ends in media.