• by Seana Mulcahy , June 28, 2004

As most you know, I'm on the Executive Committee of an organization called the Boston Interactive Media Association (BIMA). The other night, I moderated an event of great panelists: Perry Allison, VP, Strategic Accounts, Bolt Media; Louis Jones, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Media Contacts; Kara Kramer, Director of Brand Research, AOL; Charles Smith, VP, Publisher Sales, TACODA Systems; and Beth Taylor, VP/Director, Digitas.

I'd like to give you a peek inside the event. In a word - clutter, clutter, and clutter. Today, more than ever, digital marketers, advertisers, and service and tools providers are challenged with how to appropriately and effectively gain exposure from advertisements. The average consumer is exposed to thousands of advertising messages daily - online, TV, radio, newspapers, over their mobile phones, taxi tops, billboards... the list goes on. An increasingly stronger "digital influence" beyond these mediums is putting the consumer in control of what they experience and when they do it.

Several terms and phrases popped up. One in particular was "audience centric targeting." In essence it is not just knowing who your audience is; it's knowing where they are and what they are doing when they get there. For instance, your target could be busy mothers. You represent a consumer packaged goods company. You might advertise on a site with quick recipes. You might even have a printable grocery list alongside the recipe.

Like any other panel, behavioral targeting was mentioned. Charles Smith from Tacoda seemed to think it was the, "Flavor of the month" term. Beth Taylor argued that it's been around forever. Louis Jones put it best when he said, "Let's face it, we've always been trying to figure out how to target our audiences."

The panel agreed that media consumption was changing fast and furious. There is a genuine need to stay ahead of the curve on the sliding landscape.

Beth Taylor and Perry Allison discussed the Gillette Venus campaign that targets girls. Both recognized that no girl would ever look anything up online about shaving. The challenge was to be in environments where these young women are and promote the razors in a fun way. Digitas created a powerful concept that revolved around revealing versus removal. Shaving was illustrated as beauty.

Venus was a hit in environments such as Bolt. Girls there are so connected. They have multiple buddy lists, forums, and viral elements. All these elements allow for heavy brand interaction. Louis told us a bit about Royal Caribbean and Choice Hotels. He said his team searched for contextually relevant opportunities. They also recognized there are different types of travel, timeframes, multiple offers, and a heck of a lot of clutter.

The panel agreed that brand interaction is key. Kara Kramer puts together research for the sales teams. She said she always has an armory of information in regard to brand interaction on AOL. Charles said Tacoda helps put such data in various buckets in order to place a value on brand interaction. He warned the audience not to get hung up in the numbers. The entire panel nodded their heads. Beth said, "It's finding the appropriate amount of information before hitting a wall."

Louis said its about Interaction, Value and Aspiration... and the love of the brand. A cool example Perry cited was a campaign for Chicklets gum. Bolt users can design their own Chicklet and send it (virtually) to a friend. That is true brand interaction.

Whether its shaving, going on a cruise, or chewing gum, the common thread to success of these campaigns was staying ahead of the curve. Behavioral and contextual marketing is important but don't overlook the obvious: It's the right message in the right place and the right time. How do you feel about changing media consumption? Do you have any tips and tricks to share with us? If so, post to the Spin Board.