The concept of avatar based marketing takes a minute to wrap your hands around and understand. But once you understand the relation between the real world consumer and the online shadow consumer, ideas of how to market in the online world become clear. When marketing online, “you want sustained engagement with the brand rather than just a click-through” to a purchase or product information, says Bonita Stewart, responsible for interactive marketing for DaimlerChrysler’s Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge brands. “Avatars create an opportunity for just this type of engagement.”
Now the fun part. Exactly to whom are we targeting? According to an article in the Business Review, “The first question is, whom do your marketing efforts target? The flesh-and-blood Second Life members who gave their credit card numbers to register for the game—or their Second Life avatars residing in the virtual world? Sure, the real-world human controls the real-world wallet. The avatar, though, arguably represents a distinctly different “shadow” consumer, one able to influence its creator’s purchase of real-world products and conceivably make its own real-world purchases in the virtual world. ”
Whether or not your organization advertises in the virtual world, the exercise of thinking through how it would work is a lot of fun. Feel free to post your thoughts.
Drug ads and other “senior” focused spots have long dominated evening national newscasts, which also skew older. But with the Baby Boomers aging, advertisers are being forced to look at the sheer number of them and discovering that Boomers actually pay off for them. Boomers have huge purchasing power and will redefine the senior years, just as they have redefinied every other life segment as they’ve moved through them.
The question is – can your company capitalize on this trend? How Boomer-friendly is your messaging? Some things to keep in mind if you want to go after this huge audience:
Boomers are incredibly independent and want everything personalized for them.
They like to be made to feel “special” in some way – perhaps a loyalty program that pays off in “exclusive” ways?
They have spending power. This has diminished slightly given the recession, but they are the beneficiaries of one of the largest transfers of wealth ever in this country, as they take on inheritance funds.
They’re very focused on their health and “living well.” In their minds, they’ll never get old. Sell them wellness products, not ointments and pills for aches and pains.
They’re not overly brand-loyal. They will switch brands if given a compelling reason.
Don’t rely on nostalgia – appeal to their typical desire to move forward into a better future.
I was researching the latest trends in ad avoidance and came across a blog post on Hill Holiday’s site called “Avoidance Trivia.” They’ve collected trivia over the years on the evolution of ad avoidance. Some of the items are amusing, and some are very useful to be aware of as a marketer.
Did you know, “The first wireless TV remote control, 1955 Zenith Flash-Matic Tuning, had a mute button that was advertised as a commercial killer.”
How about, in 1994, Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury produced a TV spot for Mazda designed to counter ad avoidance. The ad encouraged viewers to “video” the ad with the VCR and then pause it several times to read a sequence of written split-second messages.
Joe Duffy’s “Demystifying Design: An Argument for Simplicity” is an interesting article that discusses the purpose and simplicity of design strategy. Simplicity does not mean quick and easy. If you want to learn about Design Strategy, join a great company that is an advocate of design and work your butt off! The best way to learn and grow as a designer is is through your work.
Here is a graphic from the article that outlines the design process.
What a difference a year makes. According to new research by Cone Inc., 78% of new-media users (Facebook, et. al.) actually WANT to communicate with brands on these types of sites, up from 59% last year. Other findings:
43% want to see web ads, particularly women (58%) who expect discounts and coupons with online ads.
62% believe they can affect an organization’s business decisions because of users stating their opinions about the company via social media.
74% expect companies to actually converse with social media users, versus just pushing out content.
30% have made a purchase based on good online reviews – 23% have switched or boycotted a company because of negative posts.
On the shifting expectations of consumers interacting with brands in the social media space, Mike Hollywood, Cone’s director of new media, says:
If companies are going to be a mainstay in new media, they’re going to have to realize consumers expect more than a passive existence New media are about experience, dialogue and immediacy. There was a time when just eing in new media got you the gold star for effort. But consumers are continually refining their expectations an more and more are looking for specific interactions. You may be able to prioritize new media functions, but you certainly can’t neglect any.
We’ve recently gathered a bit of buzz about the custom application for the Winnebago County Health Department that allows schools and day care centers to enter their absentee rates securely online – this is helping WCHD respond more quickly to “hot spots” that have significant numbers of students out with flu-like symptoms.
Previously, data was collected via phone, fax, snail mail, etc. And while the system is voluntary, WCHD says the app will dramatically reduce the staff hours needed to compile all the data….which ultimately means WCHD professionals can respond to flu outbreaks quicker, which allows for a healthier Winnebago County.
We were talking this morning about how else an app such as this can be used. Obviously other health departments would find it useful, but what about manufacturers who need to track and respond quickly to massive amounts of quality data or organizations that want to track productivity in a large workforce.
Data tends to pile up in the day-to-day of running a business – how much more could you accomplish if you actually had a way to efficiently enter and review your data?
About the WCHD Flu-Tracker App
With the recent focus on the H1N1 (Swine) flu, WCHD was looking for a way to protect the community from an outbreak, and tracking absences in which influenza may be the cause will be a huge help in their efforts. Schools and public daycare facilities will be sent notification of the system along with a username and password that will allow them to visit http://www.wchd.org, click on the Daily School Absenteeism button, log into the system, and report any absences where flu-like symptoms are a known factor. Once information is entered, the system will display what percentage of the staff and students are affected. An outbreak occurs when the percentage is greater than 10%, and this must be reported immediately, by phone, to the WCHD. Information gathered through this mechanism will assist the WCHD’s epidemiologist in completing the influenza activity surveillance report for Winnebago County which is uploaded weekly to the website.
KMK Media Group, a full-service advertising agency, recently completed a custom-built web-application that will allow the Winnebago County Health Department (WCHD) to track influenza-related absences in local schools and daycare centers. With the recent focus on the H1N1 (Swine) flu, WCHD was looking for a way to protect the community from an outbreak, and tracking absences in which influenza may be the cause will be a huge help in their efforts.
“This tool will assist our epidemiology department in their efforts to track influenza in our area,” said Sue Fuller, WCHD Community Relations Manager. “This is a tremendous stride in terms of public health and we hope to utilize this tool to provide better medical and preventative care now and into the future.”
Schools and public daycare facilities will be sent notification of the system along with a username and password that will allow them to visit www.wchd.org, click on the Daily School Absenteeism button, log into the system, and report any absences where flu-like symptoms are a known factor. Once information is entered, the system will display what percentage of the staff and students are affected. An outbreak occurs when the percentage is greater than 10%, and this must be reported immediately, by phone, to the WCHD.
Information gathered through this mechanism will assist the WCHD’s epidemiologist in completing the influenza activity surveillance report for Winnebago County which is uploaded weekly to the website.
I love that heading. This was the heading on YouTube’s blog today. YouTube announced that they now are serving well over a billion views a day.
Does your organization have a YouTube Channel? It is certainly something you should consider adding as a part of your marketing/social media mix. Check out KMK Media’s YouTube Channel to watch a few of the video production projects we have completed. Feel free to post a comment with your channel to share with other viewers.
As with anything else, there are no sure answers as to how much you should spend on advertising. But there are a few simple guidelines to help you come up with a number that works best for your organization. The formula that is commonly used is the “advertising-to-sales” ratio. It is essentially the percentage of annual sales spent on advertising. The percentage will vary depending on many variables such as type of industry you are in or where your customers are in the customer life cycle. A simple rule-of-thumb is your marketing budget should be 5% of your total sales. Here is a quick look at various product, retail, and service organizations spend.
You don’t have to share this information, but I would encourage everyone to figure out their current ratio. Then look at whether or not you are meeting your annual sales objectives. You can then make decisions on whether to adjust your marketing spending up or down based on the size of your market, the cost of media, what you can learn about how much your competitors are spending, and the speed at which you’d like to grow.
KMK Media Group recently completed a custom-built web-application that will allow the Winnebago County Health Department (WCHD) to track influenza-related absences in local schools and daycare centers. With the recent focus on the H1N1 (Swine) flu, WCHD was looking for a way to protect the community from an outbreak, and tracking absences in which influenza may be the cause will be a huge help in their efforts.
“This tool will assist our epidemiology department in their efforts to track influenza in our area,” said Sue Fuller, WCHD Community Relations Manager. “This is a tremendous stride in terms of public health and we hope to utilize this tool to provide better medical and preventative care now and into the future.”
Schools and public daycare facilities will be sent notification of the system along with a username and password that will allow them to visit www.wchd.org, click on the Daily School Absenteeism button, log into the system, and report any absences where flu-like symptoms are a known factor. Once information is entered, the system will display what percentage of the staff and students are affected. An outbreak occurs when the percentage is greater than 10%, and this must be reported immediately, by phone, to the WCHD.
Information gathered through this mechanism will assist the WCHD’s epidemiologist in completing the influenza activity surveillance report for Winnebago County which is uploaded weekly to the website.
Advertisers frequently forget that they’re talking to real people with their ads. In healthcare particularly, there’s a tendency to show off the latest technology or talk about how great their physicians are. In reality, however, when you’re facing a healthcare crisis, you want to know that the hospital you choose will take care of you or your family member. Your health is the most personal thing there is – so why do so many healthcare marketers make their advertising impersonal?
St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., decided to take a step back and tell the real stories of real patients. These mini-docu-dramas are compelling and leave an impression of a caring, competent staff who will help you or your family member when you get sick. They’re not flashy, they don’t talk about technology, but they are compelling. Take a look:
Whether you have an existing site or about ready to go “live”, a universal marketing concern is “How do I drive traffic to my site”. Because you don’t have time to earn a second degree black belt in the art of Google, it may be time to look outside of your organization for help. So, where do you start searching for a company that provides search engine optimization (SEO) services if you are not familiar with the SEO space?
Here are a few tips by Aaron Wall that I have found helpful. Aaron offers some good insight into what to look for when selecting an SEO company. But when it comes down to choosing “the one”, don’t forget those old school business practices. Define the role of the consultant, interview the candidates, check references and evaluate all contracts. By choosing your SEO consultant carefully you will usually get the kind of end result you are looking for.
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