Free, ad-supported, licensed music streaming and download service Guvera Entertainment this morning unveiled My Soundtrack, a new Facebook app enabling brands to “boost their social marketing efforts” by promoting a personalized playlist directly on their Facebook page. If that sounds a bit like Spotify, it’s not, says Guvera Chief Revenue Officer Scotty Moore, a veteran of mobile and gaming startups, who joined the Guvera team just a couple of months ago. Guvera is focused on using the impressive music catalogue it has licensed, from labels such as EMI, Universal Music Group and Sony, to be a conduit directly for brands. In effect, he says, brands can use Guvera’s platform to provide private-label free music streaming and download services directly to consumers who interface directly with the brand. Conversely, Spotify and Pandora are "consumer-focused,” subscription-based models that only give tangential benefits to brands that advertise with them. In other words, Guvera wants to make the brand the “curator” of licensed music, and merely serves as the middleman between the labels and the users on the brand’s behalf. The model is flexible, he says, and brands can utilize the service to make various offers that might appeal to their consumers, including customized branded “playlists” that embody the essence of the brand. “People know what brands look like. They even know what some brands smell like. Does anyone know what a brand sounds like?” Moore says, adding yet another sense to brand sensibilities. During a luncheon presentation at MediaPost’s Social Media Insider Summit in Key Largo, Florida, Guvera founder Claes Loberg explained that the vision was eight years in the making. It started with a summit in the U.K. of big agencies and brand marketing executives discussing how they were going to deal with the erosion of the conventional captive audience advertising model -- and how brand content could be a solution. Loberg said Guvera was born out of that revolutionary concept. That's why it branded the capitalist music service around the namesake communist revolutionary Che Guevera, albeit ironically. “We felt we are actually shifting the whole model of advertising,” Loberg said, noting that “in a world where everyone was coming up with different versions of prosecution to get people to stop doing something,” Guvera came up with the idea of turning a negative into a positive -- and a mechanism for paying labels and artists for the rights to stream and download their music via advertising dollars. The idea, said Loberg, was to “use music as currency to get consumers to do things for a free download.” Or as one of the performers on a video Loberg showed summit attendees said, “We get paid when you steal our sh*t.”
Digital agency impresario Joe Jaffe continues to adapt, and the latest step in his evolution is, well, Evol8tion, the alliterative name of a new shop focusing on matching “early stage startups” with “blue chip brands” -- something many of Madison Avenue’s biggest agencies also seem to be focused on these days. Jaffe, who is well known for his blog “Jaffe Juice,” books and sound bites about marketers “joining the conversation,” may be best known for Crayon, the social-focused shop he created just as the conversation was beginning to explode, and which he sold to Powered in 2010. Before that, he was director of interactive media at Omnicom’s TBWA/Chiat/Day and OMD USA units. Another thing Jaffe is known for is his access to and influence over the way big brands evolve their use of new technologies and digital marketing platforms, and it should come as no revelation that he announced the launch of Evol8tion with a couple of biggies in his back pocket, including quotes in his release from Kraft Foods’ Ed Kaczmarek and ABInBev’s Maarten Albarda, which implied they are working with the new shop. “The startup lives in the epicenter of technology-inspired innovation,” Jaffe stated, adding: “But brands are often not brought into the picture until the startup is so far downstream in the process that it’s too late to influence direction, partner or truly innovate.” To help make the right matches between big brands and innovative startup models, Jaffe not surprisingly also is launching a new proprietary -- and aptly named -- tool dubbed MatchMaker, which he described as a means of helping marketers find their “brand soul mate” by using a database to match brand goals and attributes with startup technologies.
Emerging digital companies in the entertainment and media industry will spur M&A activity in 2012, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. In particular, the firm pointed to companies in categories including over-the-top interactive TV, online social games and digital lockers as ripe for M&A transactions. It also noted that if changes in online gaming regulations open the door to the legalization of online gambling in some states, that could lead to corporate and financial buyers to ante up for Internet companies in that area. “The legalization of online gaming could be a real game changer in 2012 if state regulators move rapidly to establish online gaming regulations,” noted Bart Spiegel, PwC’s U.S. entertainment and media transaction services partner. Strong company valuations for content providers, a vast pool of untapped private-equity capital, and expected IPOs for social media companies, including Facebook, could help accelerate dealmaking in 2012. Total completed and disclosed E&M deal value last year increased to $52 billion from $27 billion in 2010, based on Thomson Reuters data. However, 2011 included $27.3 billion in value related to the Comcast-NBCU merger. Excluding this megadeal, deal value was flat year-over year. But average deal value increased 25% from $128 million to $160 in 2011, while deal volume fell 14% from 801 to 687 transactions year-over-year. “Content acquisition has risen to the top of the agenda with the accelerated adoption of digital media consumption and the rise of over-the- top services,” said Thomas M. Rooney, who leads PwC’s U.S. entertainment and media transaction services unit. He added that companies are seeking out domestic and international targets to expand their media libraries and push their content globally as the digital shift unfolds. In the emerging OTT, or interactive TV area, content owners are looking for partnerships with cable and satellite providers to allow exclusive OTT access to cable and satellite subscribers. Nontraditional companies aim to increase spending on content acquisition and development to position themselves as major players in the entertainment sector. PwC also expects continuing growth in the video game segment, driven by online, social media and wireless gaming. Valuations will also remain strong, based on the increasing willingness of consumers to shell out money for downloadable content and micro-purchases. Increased bandwidth and access to social media along with rising consumer demand will drive acquisition of niche game studios and publishers. PwC is among other analysts predicting that 2012 could be a breakthrough year for online gambling. Last month, after years spent trying to shut down U.S.-based Web casinos, the Justice Department reversed its stand on the 1961 Wire Act, concluding that it applied to sports betting but not Internet gambling. That move could pave the way for states to legally operate gambling sites starting with poker. “Land-based casino operators, gaming manufacturers and suppliers, and social media are all watching these developments closely and will move aggressively to stake a first-mover advantage in this potentially lucrative market,” said Spiegel. A 2010 Morgan Stanley report estimated that Internet gambling could bring in $5 billion in profits. With many states facing severe budget pressures, the prospect of legalized online gambling and lotteries could prove an appealing option for generating new revenues.
Marketers often tout social media as a channel that allows them to reach consumers with messages seamlessly tailored to their interests and social interactions. But nearly two-thirds (64%) of people say they “hate” when a company targets them through their social networking profile, and 58% agree that social media marketing is invasive, according to a new study. At the same time, findings from Insight Strategy Group showed a majority of those surveyed (55%) believe social networking sites are the best way to give a company feedback and that posting about a product or service on a social site can have a strong impact on a brand. In short, people like being able to provide feedback to marketers via social media -- but they don’t necessarily want to be followed by them. The series of privacy controversies Facebook has run into over the years, culminating in its consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in November, underscore public concerns with how personal data is shared on the world’s largest social network. Among other things, the settlement allows users to opt into changes with how their information is shared with advertisers and others. The Insight Strategy study suggests people who have more experience social networking online are more comfortable interacting with companies. 62% of those who have been using social sites for more than eight years are following brands, compared to 46% of those on social networks for only three to four years, and 20% using them for less than a year. Overall, more than half (54%) of people say they like it when a company has a page or feed on a social networking site. Not surprisingly, incentives help attract consumers. The most common reason for following a brand on social networks is to get special news and deals, cited by 58% of respondents. While social networks have made it easier to keep up with friends and create stronger ties to more people, they also require users to “manage” their online interactions more than in the physical world, given the lack of context. More than half (51%) say Facebook doesn’t capture the “real me,” and almost two-thirds (64%) disagree you can learn more about someone online than you can in person. That is, in part, because people try to project more air-brushed versions of their lives on social networks. The study found 55% share good news on Facebook, while only 26% shared bad news. That compares to 60% of people sharing both good and bad news in person. Uncertainty about who is reading social network posts led people to be more guarded in online conversations. More than half (53%) say it’s not clear who can see a comment or post on Facebook, and 64% “hate” that the world can know so much about them through their online profile without knowing them in person. The research also underscores generational differences among Facebook users. Half of those 18 to 34 prefer to communicate via the social networking site rather than through email versus 23% of people aged 35 to 64. And 43% overall believe Facebook is improving all the time, while about the same proportion (46%) say it will be replaced by a new social networking site. In that vein, 40% of people using social networks for more than eight years believe Google+ is the future of social networking, believing it won’t make the same mistakes as Facebook. Google confirmed last week the company’s social networking service had hit 90 million users worldwide, double its size three months earlier. Facebook has more than 800 million users globally.
Social takes on a new meaning when it comes to display ads from Anthem Blue Cross of California. The WellPoint healthcare program launched an interactive campaign that adds live video feed of the person viewing the ad. Three physician tools, from thermometer to ophthalmoscope, are placed in the right panel of the ad, with a disclaimer calling the tools a "fun" experience, rather than serious tools of diagnosis. The viewer picks a tool and leans in to have their picture captured and projected on the screen. SocialVibe took augmented reality technology from Zugara and turned a static display ad into an interactive social experience with support from the ad agency Deutsch. Kelly Colbert, Anthem Blue Cross director of strategic advertising, said the campaign has been running since August in California, but the healthcare company plans to expand the campaign to nine additional markets in February. The average time spent with the Anthem Blue Cross ad is 76.1 seconds, Seventy-seven percent of consumers run through all three tools, and 71.6% of consumers click through to the landing page for more information after completing the interaction with the advertisement. Colbert said the ad campaign highlights preventive medicine -- services most consumers aren't aware they have. The campaign targets women who Anthem identified as the decision makers for family healthcare plans. Since more women 25 to 54 spend time with social games, Anthem decided to run the ads in Zynga games, such as "FarmVille" and "CityVille" games, along with "Frontierville," "Cafe World," "Adventure World," "Empires & Allies," and "CastleVille." The ad links to landing pages describing health programs, such as plans and health tips. The Anthem ad invites consumers into the experience, said Mike Barbeau, SVP of sales North America at SocialVibe, a digital advertising company. It makes consumers part of the message, similar to the radio commercials from the grocery chain Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, where consumers tell their experience in the store. Barbeau said one of the challenges in inviting consumers into the experience is that they might try and change the message. Brands will always have consumers register negative comments, he says, but hopes the ad's message can offset that.
Among 160 brands, Amazon was the only technology company to rank as “excellent” in Forrester’s latest customer experience index. The achievement is all the more impressive considering that -- as Forrester found -- U.S. customers are becoming harder to please. Indeed, the percentage of brands in the "excellent" category dropped from 6% last year to just 3% this year -- continuing a steady downward trend from 2008 to 2012. Difficult as it may be, however, “improving customer experience can have an enormous positive impact on a firm’s bottom line,” according to Forrester analyst Megan Burns. To calculate its customer experience scores, Forrester asked some 7,600 U.S. consumers about their interactions with a variety of brands, and then subtracted the percentage of customers who reported bad experiences from the percentage who reported good experiences. Brands typically rate “OK” (65 to 74) to “very poor” (less than 55). This year, 64% of brands got a rating of “OK,” “poor” (55 to 64), or “very poor” from their customers, while 37% rated “good” (75 to 84) or “excellent” 85 and higher). Technology-focused brands with “good” consumers ratings included eBay, Apple and iTunes, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo, Vizio, and Samsung. “Poor” performers included AOL, BlackBerry, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Verizon, and Cox Communications. For the first time since 2007, not one single company broke the 90 threshold, while the good and poor categories grew by equal amounts. The percentage of companies with good and poor ratings each jumped by five percentage points. In 2011, just 29% of companies earned a good rating; this year it was 34%. But at the same time, the percentage of companies in the poor category went from 18% last year to 23% this year. Growth in these categories comes mostly at the expense of the "excellent" and "OK" categories, which dropped by three and four percentage points, respectively. Digging deeper into this year’s results, Forrester assessed how each of the 13 industries in the index did as a whole. For the third year in a row, retailers and hotels had the highest average scores across all respondents -- an 81 out of 100 for retailers and a 76 out of 100 for hotels. Once again, health insurance plans -- 55 out of 100 -- TV service providers -- 56 -- and Internet service providers -- 56 -- ranked lowest among all brands. Consumer electronics manufacturers fared well in their debut appearance. For 2012, Forrester swapped out the narrow PC manufacturer category for the broader consumer electronics manufacturer category. With this expanded scope, these brands earned an average score of 73, which put them fourth in this year’s industry rankings. Meanwhile, the gap between leaders and laggards widened in banking and retail. Last year, 24 points separated the high- and low- scoring banks in our index. This year, that gap jumped 10 points to 34. Overall brand leader USAA raised the high bar by six points, while the industry low score dipped from a 59 to a 55. The gap between the high- and low-scoring retailers grew by six points from 15 to 21, but not because of improvement among industry leaders, according to Forrester, In fact, this year’s top score was just 87 compared with last year’s 90, and the low score dropped by nine points from good -- 75 -- to just OK -- 66. Along with USAA and Amazon, other top performers included Kohl’s, Costco Wholesale, Hampton Inn, La Quinta Inn & Suites, and Courtyard by Marriott. The lowest scores went to Qwest and Medicaid, along with Charter Communications, Comcast, and AT&T. For brands that wish to improve their customer experience rankings, Forrester suggests a systematic approach to diagnosing what’s wrong today, fixing the problems, and making systematic changes to limit the likelihood of problems reoccurring.
The majority of Google's 2011 revenue -- 96% -- came from online advertising, according to WordStream founder and chief technology officer Larry Kim. The No. 1 market generating revenue in Google's world points to finance and insurance at $4.0 billion, followed by retail and general merchandise at $2.8 billion, and travel and tourism at $2.4 billion. The top 10 categories also include jobs and education at $2.2 billion; home and garden, $2.1 billion; computers and consumer electronics, $2.0 billion; vehicles, $2.0 billion; Internet and telecom, 1.7 billion; business and industrial, $1.6 billion; and occasions and gifts at $1.2 billion. For example, StateFarm spent an estimated $43.7 million on Google AdWords, followed by Progressive at $43.1 million. Amazon.com spent $55.2 million, and eBay spent an estimated $42.8 million. Even Apple spent an estimated $17.9 million on Google AdWords. The infograph lists companies and estimated amounts. Each market segment also notes commonly used keywords and cost per click for the phrase. For instance, the most commonly used phrase under the Internet and telecom segment -- high-speed Internet deals -- costs an estimated $26.74 per click. Computers and consumer electronics also performs well. The most commonly used keywords for computers and consumer electronics belong to online video conferencing software at $35.53 per click. Consumers actively searched for discounts on printer ink cartridges. The keyword phrase "ink cartridges" discount garnered $26.79 per click.
With the goal of transforming the way people watch, interact with, and perhaps most importantly, share the way they experience television, the founders of New York-based digital agency Circ.us are spinning off a new “social TV” platform that will enable viewers to experience their favorite shows as if they were “live events” that can be shared with friends or other random viewers. The new platform, dubbed TV Dinner, is the brainchild of virtual and augmented reality expert John Swords, who co-founded Circ.us with digital agency vet Adam Broitman to apply those cutting-edge technologies to transform the way consumers experience brands. Now they’re doing it for the way they watch TV. Backed with a $400,000 round of seed capital, Swords and Broitman have teamed up with Edward Babbage, former CEO of electronic music company Resonant Vibes, to launch TV Dinner, whose initial application, not surprisingly, has been created for the iPad, but which will be adapted to other consumer electronic interfaces that people use in conjunction with their TV viewing. Swords says he got the idea for TV Dinner while working on a virtual reality application for CBS’ “CSI: New York” in 2008, and realized that a simplified version that did not utilize avatars would lower “barriers to entry” for average TV viewers. “When the iPad came out, I knew it was perfect for this,” he says. While so-called “social TV” applications are anything but new, Swords says most of them focus on leveraging stand-alone applications such as “check-in” features that let your friends know when you are watching a show they might want to share, or apps that enable you to use your iPad or other device like a TV remote control. TV Dinner, Swords says, is based on the logic of a massively multiplayer online game that enables users to seamlessly share conversations about the shows they are watching in “real-time,” while interacting with “self- expression tools” and “gaming elements” that come from the gaming and virtual reality industries. Swords says the initial version being launched for the iPad is the "first of many “iterations” that will expand to incorporate other elements and features that change and enhance the way TV viewers watch their favorite programs. Swords and Broitman, coincidentally, are guest editors of the upcoming “Screens” issue of MEDIA magazine, which is published by MediaPost.
While bearish on organic growth, media executives remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, according to a new report from investment bank Jordan, Edmiston Group and Econsultancy. Based on surveys and interviews conducted in the third quarter of 2011, just 65% of media, information, marketing services and technology executives anticipate organic growth to be a key business driver in 2012 -- down significantly from 82% a year ago, JEGI and Econsultancy report. Rather, 77% of executives said they see the launch of new products and/or services as key growth drivers, this year, compared to 76% a year ago. Among more than 300 c-suite respondents, most cited a lack of talent and expertise in emerging fields as key barriers to growth. As a result, more than two-thirds of all executives from companies with more than $50 million in revenue said they expected to make an acquisition in the next 12 to 24 months. “This is not unexpected, given that the media and technology markets continue to evolve at a torrid pace, with companies increasingly seeking assets to drive growth and provide new revenue streams,” according to Wilma Jordan, JEGI founder & CEO. Overall, JEGI is not surprised that executives are feeling optimistic about their businesses heading into 2012, as many forecasters are predicting an increase in ad spend year-over-year. Zenith Optimedia, for one, projects worldwide ad spend to increase 4.7% in 2012, following 3.5% growth in 2011, while Forrester Research predicts that U.S. Interactive marketing spend will increase 19% in 2012 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17% through 2016. Another theme among larger companies is being big, but acting small -- a response to the need to be faster to market with products, and faster to recognize a potential success or a failure, according to the research. This impulse is manifesting in a number of ways, from mass restructuring to the creation of discrete product-focused groups that have latitude to make decisions and investments. Mirroring findings from a similar study last year, the gap in valuation expectations between buyers and sellers represents the greatest obstacle to acquisitions, according to JEGI. In the area of new product development, execs said combining data with technological expertise would likely produce many of the new products offered in 2012. Commoditization threatens any product built on data or technology alone, but media companies are using both to form and leverage their core strengths into new lines of business. Larger companies are taking advantage of the innovation of nimble competitors by using their deep and wide store of relationships. They are letting startups pave the way and educate the market, then “fast following” into the space with the advantage of stability, networks and bundled product offerings.
As part of its announced management overhaul, BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion plans to hire a new chief marketing officer to help regain momentum in the smartphone market. In a conference call, newly named RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, replacing longtime co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, said the company is in the process of recruiting a new CMO and emphasized that RIM needs to be more “marketing driven” because of its increased focus on the consumer market. Keith Pardy formally stepped down as RIM CMO in March 2011, just as the company was nearing the debut of its ill-fated PlayBook tablet. Pardy was slated to stay on for another six months to help with the transition, but the position has been vacant since his departure. Other top marketing executives to leave RIM last year amid its struggles to keep pace with Apple and Google in the smartphone business included Paul Kalbflesich, vice president of brand creativity, and Brian Wallace, vice president of digital media and marketing. While RIM’s marketing efforts have come under criticism in the past, analysts were quick to note that its most immediate objective is creating innovative devices and mobile services. “RIM's top priority is getting BlackBerry 10 devices to market, and products that will create a compelling end-to-end experience for users,” said Eugene Signorini, an analyst who focuses on the mobile enterprise space at Yankee Group. The elevation of Heins, formerly RIM’s COO, was an indication that the company is focused on improving product development. Heins stressed that RIM wants to continue with an integrated approach to providing both hardware and software, like Apple, but acknowledged the company needs to do better in executing on product innovation. In that vein, it has created a new Innovation Committee to be led by Balsillie and Laziridis. Still, with the hits RIM has taken in the last few years from shrinking smartphone market share, a plummeting stock price, and even a recent service outage, there is repair work to be done on the marketing side. “The new CMO's challenge will be to change the perception that BlackBerry has been left behind and passed by others in the market -- most notably Apple and Android, but also new challengers, such as Windows Phone and Nokia,” said Signorini. In addition to the launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform, touted as a “new” BlackBerry experience, a new CMO may also be involved in the PlayBook 2.0 rollout in February. Weak sales of the original RIM tablet introduced last year led the company’s retail partners to slash the price from $499 to $199. But RIM has yet to make an impact on the tablet market. During a conference call, Heins highlighted RIM’s new “Be Bold” campaign, launched during the New Year’s Eve broadcast on ABC, as part of its more aggressive consumer push. “We need to engage more with the consumer base with all these 75 million and more customers out there that love BlackBerry, and we need to take them with us on the journey of exploring BlackBerry for the future,” he said. Underscoring the tough task a new marketing chief will face at RIM, investors continued to sell off shares, despite the management shakeup, with the stock trading down about 7% to $15.70 on Monday. RIM did not respond to a media inquiry Monday on its timetable for bringing aboard a new CMO.
OwnerIQ, which targets ads in part based on what consumers already own, has quietly acquired DiJiPop in an all-stock deal to support retailers through paid product placement and display ads. The deal enables OwnerIQ to use DiJiPop's technology, which dynamically serves products placements and banner ads in real time, to increase revenue potential for the online retailer and manufacturers. The ad targeting platform gathers data along the path to purchase, including reviews and support sites. Retailers have begun to view their sites as media properties, creating an advertising network by using customer data to target site visitors with ads. Amazon implemented this strategy last year. Similarly, Wal- Mart has been acquiring social media and mobile companies to use the data to support commerce. Steve Ustaris, VP of marketing at OwnerIQ, said the acquisition gives the company the ability to serve ads on retail Web sites using the company's data, adding to the service of serving ads off the client's Web site. "We can now collect data from a retailer's Web site and target ads on or off the Web site," he said, referring to services as off-site and on-site monetization and the ability now to serve ads on site. OwnerIQ, which developed a real-time media buying platform, completes in two markets. On the advertising side of the business, it commonly competes with audience-targeting providers that use proprietary big data, such as Audience Science, Magnetic, and Media6Degrees. When it comes to data collection, competitors include companies, such as Triad Retail Media, and Akamai's Acerno, which supplies shopping data.
‘Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose’ is a French proverb that pretty much sums up the world we live in -- especially from a tech perspective. ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’ can be applied to the world of social media in so many ways: We still communicate -- just differently; we still market -- just through newer outlets; we still rely on word of mouth - wait, that one never changed! But this little truism really reverberates when talking about audience monitoring and measurement. Audience measurement continues to get kicked in the pants today. Especially when it comes to social. Social Audience Measurement was heralded as the next big shiny thing for marketers, promising rivers of psychographic and demographic data and close interaction with consumers. But it hasn’t really delivered, and the actual execution of leveraging social data has been somewhat disappointing. Just as Arthur C. Nielsen was criticized because the increased number of radio stations on the dial made it difficult for his Audimeter listening device to distinguish among them, so too, are marketers experiencing an unprecedented deluge of data and information. They’re getting a lot of that information from measuring single platform activity, Twitter, Facebook, etc. But don’t forget, even Twitter CEO Dick Costolo admitted recently that on average, a staggering 40% of active Twitter users don’t tweet. Think about that. Nearly half of all Twitter users are passive. They’re not retweeting, sharing or mentioning your brand, but they’re watching and listening to you. Standard engagement and activity metrics are not going to pick them up. How do you distinguish between your active and passive community members? Who’s really following you? Right now, you potentially don’t know nearly half your audience. Toss in an increase in spam that ‘games’ user statistics, and single scoring metrics like Klout. Lots of white noise, but an incomplete picture of the consumer and the larger audience. The Power Of Relevancy Yahoo! and Innerscope Research partnered last April for a revealing research study. Using biometric and eye-tracking measures they examined emotional and cognitive responses of people to online advertising. They found that people spend 25% more time fixating on ads that are personally relevant to them. In fact, pupil dilation increased by 27%, which means that potential consumers are processing and remembering the key messages to a greater extent. Contextually relevant ads triggered emotional response 2 times higher than those without. What does that mean for marketers? • Personal relevance increases cognitive engagement among consumers. • Contextual relevance can help build long-term memory of the brand. • And if you want to emotionally and cognitively connect with a consumer at the highest level, contextual and personal relevance combined tend to deliver stronger responses than each on its own. Science proves that knowing who you are selling to, demographically, beyond tweets and shares, has a real visceral impact on the consumer. Listen In Or Lose Out Social media monitoring platforms have become fairly common, and they play an important role in every aspect of marketing, sales, customer service and community growth. That said, customers are individuals. And superior customer service is becoming the thing that separates the men from the boys in organizations large and small. How do you scale the social Web to ensure better results and a more ‘human’ response that reflects the people who make up your community? You know them. A recent report revealed that while CMOs are realizing that social is a key channel for engagement, they’re still turning a blind eye to a key ingredient. Listening. Only a quarter of the survey group were actively tracking blogs and roughly half were paying attention to online reviews of their brand or corporation. It’s no surprise, given those stats that when asked, they were quick to note that ‘expressing ROI on social media is difficult’ and that ‘developing their skills and understanding of social media was low priority’. And that is wrong on so many levels. Social has fundamentally changed consumer spending decision making. Here’s a stat that should give you pause. On average, 89% of people look online before making a purchase decision. And they’re not looking to hear corporate speak or company platitudes. They are looking for word of mouth recommendations from friends and family. People just like them. Trust is a powerful commodity these days. Social pull. Online and off. Audience Measurement Is The New Clout Where social audience measurement has failed, social pull delivers the goods. A user’s real, measurable social pull is a reflection of their reputation -- online and off -- as well as a barometer of their social trust. Contextually relevant, personally targeted marketing campaigns evoke deeper emotional response in consumers, but knowing the scope of your broader audience can also deliver other actionable results, depending on your position in the marketplace: • Publishers - determine audience, content deliverables, reach. • Brands - create/share targeted content, measure campaign success. • Influencers - prove and validate real audience worth to potential clients. • Media buyers - understand audience, know where to buy and why. Technology rules our lives in ways Nielsen would never have thought possible. But even then, he recognized the power of measuring what people do. What the individual wants. And where they were ‘looking.’ Today, they’re looking -- and communicating -- online. Mobile devices are on pace to outsell PCs by 2012. 78% of Americans are on the Internet. And they spend nearly a quarter of that time using social media.