• by Seana Mulcahy , March 17, 2003

Being Seana Mulcahy from Boston, I feel it’s my duty to spread a wee bit or Irish cheer to you today. I have to say today is a weird one. The Net is clad with open-ended headlines as Bush is due to make a statement about next steps in the potential war. The weekend news spills over to anti-war protests around the nation.

I only heard two bits of news that seemed optimistic. One pertaining to our industry and one pertaining to the East Coast: 1) Anti-spam regulation is a hot topic and finally getting the attention it deserves with pending hearings. 2) It’s warming up (temperature-wise) on the East Coast. Can’t ding a girl for elements leading to optimism. That said there’s still a lot that makes me cringe.

1. Some people still categorize women under minority marketing.

2. Many advertisers are still missing the boat when it comes to ethnic marketing. Thinking about this now is by no means innovative… it’s an obligation for f[our-leaf clover]’s sake.

3. We are still having the great measurement debate. Can’t we all just get over the fact that the industry sold itself on false metrics and move on? Advertisers must evolve into considering and evaluating multiple metrics and search for answers to questions such as: What is the total lifetime value of my customer? How can I determine the lowest common denominator (demographics, pyschogrraphics, technographics, connection speed, etc.) when targeting a specific audience? How can I lay benchmarks in order to deem the value of a user? A session? A target audience? An electronic action? An abandoned shopping cart?

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4. Let’s face reality and know clearly that online advertising and marketing often remains an after-thought to many. How can we work together to evangelize the power of the vehicle? How can we spread the word about “eyeballs” being inches away from a screen when users see content, creative, and clutter among advertising messages and sites alike?

5. Sales folks are still going into clients and presenting without sensitivity and education. Oh, I knew that one would get some of you. In fact, you are probably wondering why I buried it way down here. By now I think most of you know my feelings about getting in front of clients. If you don’t, question, vent, and ponder over the Spin Board. There are certain protocols to follow. I’ve written many times about this one. I’d be happy to send you more stuff. This long point is not to preach; it is to paint an ugly (yet true) scenario to you so you can decide. Sales rep (more of a vendor—not a site) contacts agency’s X’s client. Sales rep doesn’t inform agency. Sales rep only presents all the bells and whistles… all the sexy, hot stuff… without mentioning availability and function such as system requirements, modem speed requirements, hardware (such as speaker) requirements… the list goes on… needed to actually see, hear, consume, and actually respond to this stuff. Oh, and did I miss the fact that the guy never tailored his presentation toward agency X’s target audience? To top it off, he never made note of the fact that there are several publishers who do not accept this form of goods he was selling. Do you see where this is going friends? Client Y calls agency X and says, “Why aren’t we doing Z?” Please tell me misery loves company here.

So you see, on this day of my ancestors (certainly not me ‘cause I’m as American as they come), it becomes fitting to know the pain and suffering while knowing there are other people like you who get it. Too bad you weren’t all our clients or vendors for that part. I ask you for response. Everyone deserves to be heard.

Tipping my pint… Cheers!