(posts_from_date): April 2014

• Increasingly large audiences, especially tablet audiences, make scale a positive factor
• High advertising costs, especially for tablet video ads, have a moderating effect 
• Increasing flexibility in pricing models – although CPM is the dominant model, Cost per View (CPV), Cost per Engagement (CPE) and Cost per Completed View (CPCV) are making inroads
• Flexibility of mobile video ads to be used for both branding and direct response advertising 

While much has been said about some recent high profile content marketing campaigns, many brands are taking a cautious approach, explains Lori Greene, Director of Content at Maxus, a media agency unit of GroupM Worldwide/WPP.

In this on stage session with moderator Paul Kontonis, Greene explains best practices around content marketing from its conception to implementation. (Originally posted on Beet TV)

As I’ve been digging around for inspirational and game-changing marketing ideas, I’ve noticed recently that there is a common thread throughout. That common thread is technology. This isn’t your run of the mill technology solution like developing websites, mobile applications or games. This is about creating an experience, with technology at the heart, and answers marketing and business problems through a meaningful interaction to a human truth. I call this ‘Soul Tech’, because the technology solutions have a heart and a soul, and can truly add value to people’s lives.  

Perhaps I have been party to a lot of conversations in the last few weeks, where the ONLY thing being discussed is the metrics. The numbers. And perhaps my last 10 days in the USA has amplified this sense that we are becoming obsessed by things that can be measured. 

As a golfer I love the game for a LOT of reasons. The numbers and statistics are a tiny part of that. Yet the upcoming coverage of the US Masters seems to be focussed only on the numbers - who has the best sand-save %, the person with the best green in regulation or fairways hit. It is as if this magnificent game can be cut and dissected and predicted if we can only look at more and more statistics.

How do you define success? Is it an advertising campaign that went particularly well? Is it helping a client reach their goal? Is it gathering much needed data to hone future messages? Or is it something way more personal?

Media effectiveness in today’s multi-screen, multi-channel, always-on world implies that advertisers need to be highly focused on what media they buy and how this media is used to offer useful and relevant content at moments that matter most to consumers. Effective media drive engagement actions along the consumers’ paths to interacting with brands (discovery, exploration, purchase, engagement, loyalty, advocacy).  It has been shown that memorable brand interactions today (including non-purchase activities) tend to drive more interactions tomorrow. Additionally, a rewarding buying experience today tends to lead to repeat purchases in the future. Currently, most advanced cross-channel attribution solutions ignore (or incorporate after the fact) those two effects and as a result underestimate the effects of those dynamic interactions.