Campaign Planning

Keeping Perspective

A short while back Russell posted this thought up on his blog and I wanted to pass it along...

So wise.  

As we develop marketing solutions and recommendations, always best to keep this in mind.

Maybe TV Is More Than Just "TV"

On Sunday 29.8 million people watched Brett Favre's return to Green Bay as his Minnesota Vikings battled the Packers. Such an audience was not only the second largest of any weekend NFL game, but was also the most watched telecast this year since February's Academy Awards. Interestingly, elsewhere in sports, the World Series has increased its viewing audience by 46% over last year. Across many measures we are simply watching more sports on TV.

Reading these numbers makes one ponder TV... and where our TV watching habits might be going.

First, let's start with the DVR. Currently, over 1/3 of US households have a DVR. What are we typically DVR-ing? Turns out it's largely scripted shows that we watch on our time one to seven days after airing. For example, after the time shifting numbers are added "The Mentalist" tacks on 2.8 million viewers while the "Grey's Anatomy" audience climbs 17%. In all, 36 shows now add 1 million or more viewers once time-shifting measurements are included (according to USA Today). 

Next, moving to the computer, Hulu and online video is seeing tremendous growth with traffic to Hulu.com outpacing the websites of NBC, Fox and ABC. Additionally, according to a November Fast Company article, online ad spending on video is up 43% this year and Hulu will bring in roughly $120 million in ad revenue to the networks for 2009. While this is a far cry from revenue gained from broadcast advertising, with US broadband penetration currently at 60% more growth is surely coming soon. 

So what might it all mean?

It seems that TV is splitting from just "TV" and into two things: "Event Programming" and "Scripted Shows". Two different products. Two different ways of watching. We're trending toward watching live for events and time shifting scripted shows. Hulu's Jason Kilar put it best recently: "Customers won't tell you what they want, but their behavior will tell you if you capture and analyze it." (That's a great quote for many things, isn't it?)

It seems as if, for now, consumers will continue watching Event Programming in mass in front of the TV when it airs: sports, news, award shows, speeches, reality competitions and the like. Live TV is an event and we want to know when it happens. And we like to talk and tweet about it right then... (Considering that 31% of home web use currently occurs in front of the TV.)

But when it comes to Scripted Shows, we're treating them more and more like movies... We choose when, where and how we watch. Just like a weekend matinee we select the viewing time that works best for us. Sure we like opening weekends but opening weekends span several days, multiple theaters and a range of viewing times. 

Who knows where TV is ultimately going?! But for the near term, perhaps we should start looking at TV as "Event Programming" and "Scripted Shows". It just seems like that's the way viewers are starting look at it...

Be Interesting, Be Good

"What if companies started doing what people do all the time, reuse perfectly good boxes?"

Columbia Sportswear just launched A Box Life which allows online shoppers to choose if they want to receive their purchases in a used box. By using QR codes shoppers can track where the package has traveled. The can also visit aboxlife.com and share pics and stories about their box's journey.

This is a great example of a company doing something interesting that's also bettering the planet... so naturally it's fun to write about, share and discuss.

Via Creativity.

Togetherness and Optimism

This past summer, Getty Images' 27 Letters noted that "Together" was the most highly searched image term during the month of May. It was an interesting word to note as a sign of what many creative thinkers were exploring for late '09/2010 work. And what a pleasant word, "Together." Ties right along with optimism, fun and people. A reminder of this surfaced after seeing some nice work this week from McDonald's (UK) and Dove/Walmart.

Why People Buy Online

In marketing we are bombarded with facts, figures, research and over-analysis. So much so that it's often difficult to reach a decision of confidence. That's why it's important to center ourselves whenever possible.

Forrester Research just completed a survey regarding the main driver(s) of why people buy online. The two most important things: Low Price / High Product Quality. Combined together, of course, we get to value. And value is, predictably, all over Brand Keys' recently released 10 trends for 2010. 

Seems natural that "low price" would rank highest. But it's interesting that "high product quality" is so far separated from ""well-known brand names". This learning should build confidence for smaller online sellers. It infers that if a brand is new or under-developed that showcasing product uniqueness, investing in photography, offering generous warranties, and whatever else backs up a "high product quality" presentation all have the ability to push sales past better-branded rivals.

Effective iPhone Apps

There are over 85,000 apps just waiting to be downloaded from Apple's App Store. And a recent study by Flurry found that the most frequently used applications over the longest periods of time offered one of four things: news, reference, productivity, navigation.

An amazing example of standing out and offering value is what Zipcar has created. Such an application actually surpasses other experiences offered by the brand, which is a big thought to ponder prior to development of any application.

What Zipcar has created is truly amazing and is, most likely, a peek into what the future has in store for us all.

Packaging Partnerships

People like "new." As Don Draper once said, "it creates an itch." But what do you do to create that itch if the product never really changes? Such would be the challenge for a brand like Evian. It's water... how much does the product really change? Sure, serving sizes and distribution avenues could be altered and flavorings and extra stuff could be added, but these things, while indeed new, aren't very interesting for consumers to talk about.

But what is interesting: enlist famous designers to create Pret-a-Porter packaging.

This year, Evian invited Paul Smith to design a bottle. (Last year it was Jean Paul Gaultier and the year before that it was Christian Lacroix.)

By allowing designers to customize packaging Evian creates something new, something interesting, is able to charge a premium (around $13 each!) and enhance their brand among different audiences and distributors (such as the likes of Dean & Deluca). 

Good stuff.

Read more on this idea here, here and here.

 

Creating Value Through Design

Many of us are inspired by great design. After all, there's so much interesting thinking and application to appreciate. But how can better design add more value throughout an entire organization?

If you find yourself asking this question on a re-occurring basis, you should read October's Fast Company as there's a fantastic article that profiles David Butler, Coke's VP of Global Design...

From Butler: "This is not a design story... I understand there are some people who would like to hear the words 'design-driven' come out of our CEO's mouth. Honestly, I don't care. We're leveraging design to drive innovation and to win at the point of sale, which is fundamental to our business."

The whole piece is a case study of bridging inspiring, global design with business success.

A great read to kick off the week...

Brands In Public

Today marks the debut of Brands In Public. The site is launched by Squidoo and Seth's post today provides a great overview of what the site is and how it works. The idea is basically that brands cannot control what's being said about them... but with Brands in Public they can organize the discussions: highlight and confirm the good, respond to and address the not so good. 

Each brand has a page like this. Right now there are only several hundred pages but eventually Brands In Public will feature thousands of pages of brands. The right hand side of a brand's page will be made up of the conversations currently circulating about the brand while the left hand side is available for marketers to purchase and then control. This creates a two-way discussion, on multiple topics, all on one page.

What a great idea. I look forward to seeing this develop.

I also think it's very needed today...

I recently came across a fascinating study on PsyBlog that discussed, "Do we believe everything we read?" Historically, there have been two theories: 1) That understanding and believing are two separate processes (argued by Rene Descartes) and 2.) That understanding is believing but then we can change our minds when we come across evidence to the contrary (argued by Baruch Spinoza). 

Like it or not, the study confirmed #2. We can't help ourselves... We tend to believe what we read (blogs, news, commentary, etc.) until we find evidence to the contrary.

This is why it's important to introduce things like Brands In Public. It's a place to host both sides of a discussion so that people can quickly and easily make up their own minds about a brand once they observe both sides of a story.

EMMY Ratings Up

Did you watch the EMMY Awards on Sunday night? It was a great show and if you saw it you joined 13.3 million other people who also watched. Compared to last year's show, 13.3 million represents a 6% increase in viewership and marked the best delivery in households and viewership for the EMMY Awards since 2006. (Interestingly, that year the show didn't face off against Sunday Night Football, which it did this year.)

The EMMY viewership rise is not alone... throughout '08 and '09 we've seen TV viewership increases in sports, other award telecasts and network shows alike. (Consider: the '09 Superbowl was the most watched TV event of all time, the Oscars were up 13% and the Grammy Awards were up 11%.) Appointment viewing still gets the eyeballs.

Part of this viewership increase is, most likely, the economy. Cocooning = more people at home in front of a screen. 

But in a time where some are chatting about how "no one watches TV anymore"... don't buy it. The numbers don't support that. TV certainly isn't the beacon it used to be (and marketing is much more fun to think about with so many other tools out there)! But when planned and executed correctly, be confident that TV can still acquire mass awareness.