WPP’s GroupM has created a new innovations unit called GroupM Next that will be overseen by Chris Copeland, the CEO of GroupM Search. The unit is designed to help clients at the company’s media shops -- Mindshare, MediaCom, MEC and Maxus -- better navigate the evolving digital sector and keep abreast of developments in areas such as social, mobile and addressable systems. It also identifies partnership opportunities between vendors and clients within the sector. According to Copeland, GroupM Next is not a new client offering; it is an operation designed to strengthen “the value of our agency and client relationships ... the primary focus of this unit is to amplify the efforts that are put forward by the collective of our GroupM agencies." “Every client wants to know how we can use the collective power of the organization to drive innovation that can benefit them,” added Copeland. Most clients are also looking for “first look” opportunities with the Facebooks and Googles of the world, but also with emerging players, like Spotify and Pandora. In some instances, GroupM Next will work with clients and newer platforms to create ad models that don’t yet exist. Pinterest, for example, has buzz -- but not a real ad product, he noted. The new group, which Copeland will oversee in addition to the search unit, is being folded within GroupM Next. It will also place an emphasis on new research to better understand how different digital platforms and technologies are impacting overall consumer media consumption. Separately, GroupM said it named Cary Tilds to be its Chief Innovation Officer, a new post at the media oversight arm. Most recently, Tilds was Mindshare’s North American digital leader. For now, she will remain based in Detroit. For GroupM Next, Tilds’ focus will be on technology and how the GroupM media shops can best interface with the latest platforms, while Copeland will oversee the research and insights efforts of the new unit. GroupM Next is based in St. Louis, where Copeland and GroupM Search are based. The unit comprises about 25 staffers spanning insights, research, technology and education, Copeland said. Most of the staff is in St. Louis and Detroit, but plans call for additional hires to be based on the East and West Coast. Part of the mission, he said, “will be to build on the thought and technology platforms” that currently exist within GroupM, such as social media specialist M80 and mobile shop Joule and research unit Kantar. The group also plans to hold a series of conferences designed to educate both clients and staff on the latest developments in the digital space. --
The search engine marketing industry should brace for consolidation this year, as enterprise brands look for a variety of SEM services and support from one company. The move could even consolidate a few small platform providers to compete with larger agencies, such as Havas and GroupM. SEM firm BoostCTR, a performance-driven ad optimization firm, recently launched an offering for enterprise businesses, following a move by BrightEdge late last year. The enterprise service from BoostCTR -- ad copy optimization -- won't compete with traditional offerings at Adobe, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, or Salesforce.com, but complement them, according to BoostCTR Co-founder and CEO David Greenbaum. Naming Google, Bing, Facebook and others in the same sentence, Greenbaum said BoostCTR will soon kick off a pilot to optimize ad copy that will improve click-through rates and return on investments for an unnamed engine that can control the algorithms around search results, but not the click-through rate profitability related to ad copy. When asked whether this type of thinking makes BoostCTR an acquisition target, he skirted the question by adding that the engines are looking for companies that can add these types of services. IgnitionOne President Roger Barnette also believes this year will bring consolation, attributing fragmentation of services to enterprise companies, in part, to the change. "The stakes are high right now," he said. 'Marketers are suffering. They are trying to sell stuff, and there are too many different companies offering services and industry jargon to get the job done correctly. You have 15 different companies." Enterprises want companies that can support all their needs. This trend, along with established companies with sophisticated or niche services, such as Boost, BrightEdge, and Kenshoo, an Israeli-born digital marketing agency, will drive consolidation in the SEM industry. Large brands want one expert to support search engine marketing needs, and companies like Google and Microsoft that may not offer these services likely will gobble them up. Late last year, the Israeli publication, Calcalist speculated possible acquisitions by Google, Microsoft and others led by venture capital firm Sequoia. The author suggests these companies were in negotiations to acquire Kenshoo, but discussions halted after a disagreement in the $300 million price tag. It's the sign of a maturing and saturated industry. Kenshoo declined to comment.
More than half of marketers who responded to a survey on the impact of attribution said understanding the path to conversion allows them to more accurately disburse budgets. Many, however, still don't understand how the process should work. Marketers have been working to understand how a variety of channels influence sales. In time, the promise of attribution will integrate offline activities, too, but for now this study -- "Marketing Attribution, Valuing the Customer Journey," released Tuesday from Google Analytics and Econsultancy -- looks to optimizing budgets and campaigns for more traditional models and stages. For those who do understand the process, 52% of client-side marketers report that attribution has led to an increase in spending on some digital channels, and 72% of marketers say that attribution leads to better return on investments. Once a linear path, the road to conversion becomes complicated as mobile, social, search, television, radio, billboards, automatic identification technologies and other channels join the process. Not understating attribution remains the biggest challenge in adopting the practice, according to Bill Kee, product manager at Google. Understanding how channels influence sales through attribution also means a cultural shift at most organizations. Marketers that still rely on the last-click attribution model continue to put most of the company's marketing budgets in channels closest to conversions, such as purchases. Some 51% of survey respondents named the lack of priority in marketing as the No. 1 barrier to attribution, followed by being unsure how to choose the appropriate model and a need to better understand the potential advantages tied for No. 2 at 42%. Other barriers include a lack of data or access to data to inform the process, 41%; new staff and resources, 37%; lack of budget, 33%; lack of management buy-in, 32%; and attribution technology not yet mature enough, 27%.
For months now, marketers have been debating the benefits of Google+. With other options for social engagement, why should you make Google+ a priority? There are essentially three main parts to Google+ for businesses:
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