78% of users spend longer searching for information on brands (and products) with the advent of the Internet.
This extra information is modifying a consumer’s brand opinions and purchase behaviour regardless of whether the final purchase is made offline or on. Search engines rank the most important source of information whilst personal recommendations are still considered the most honest and fair information source. Search engines in this instance rank only 5th with 67% agreeing to this statement.

At Current Digital, many more services offering product reviews and ratings are being brought to our attention as the Internet tries to replicate the personal recommendation model. Studies by leading rating & review providers have shown increased conversions, higher AOVs and decreases in goods being returned as a result of product reviews. Many companies may be wary of opening up their business to review functionality but research by a leading supplier has shown 80% of all reviews are positive. The 20% of negative reviews should then be seen as a platform to respond and react and improve the business as a result.

56% of the users surveyed agreed that due to the Internet they look more favourably on brands whilst 42% changed their mind about a brand purchase and switched to another brand.
This statement indicates that the impact the Internet as a whole has on a brand is neither heavily detrimental nor positively influential. AOL’s first study suggested that the Internet has caused the consumer to be less brand loyal but this statement could be debated. However, what is certain is that online communications can help shift this balance in favour of the brand but if you step over the mark then it could all come crashing down on you. There is no doubt that the Internet has made life more transparent leaving all businesses open to scrutiny and examination whether they like it or not. Also, be aware that these statistics are not bias to offline or online purchases, so whether you have an e-commerce site or not, advertise on the Internet or not, no business is exempt from public scrutiny and retrieval of information.

Taking into account the consumer’s insatiable appetite for information a company must therefore offer a variety of information sources from which they can gather information. There are many avenues to explore, from advertising (on & offline), promotions, email marketing, blogs, forums and corporate websites to name a few. The trick is to maintain full commercial transparency, especially online, and roll with the punches if reviews/comments/publicity is negative. Never abuse the trust and manipulate a situation to your favour as you’ll only ever be found out. There are plenty of examples of phony blogs which are fronts for corporate websites which have gone badly wrong when they’ve been found out.

Another interesting insight raised by this study is that trust lies with the retailer online and not the brand.
When asked about online purchases 82% would buy a product if they were familiar with the retailer but not the product/brand, compared to only 54% who were familiar with the brand but not the retailer. Users familiar with both the retailer and brand scored 90%.
It should therefore be the job of the retailer to strengthen the relationship with the consumer and instil trust in them, however brands should still support themselves to achieve that additional 8% uplift. According to a leading supplier, e-commerce sites can lose up to 67% of consumers because there is not enough product information on the site, so don’t be caught out! Again, ratings & reviews can help provide un-biased information which resonates highly with potential consumers.

I appreciate that the classic branding model is based on a tightly controlled approach and particularly for product based brands, assumes consumer’s to be passive recipients of value. However as this article has discussed, blogs, RSS and search engines all require marketers to give up a degree of control. This step can be scary and unnerving at first but by applying your communication wisely the Internet becomes a fruitful landscape to build your business.

The AOL presentation left me considering the following indicators of performance for building trust and consumer engagement.
• Impact of website (download speed, navigation, usability)
o 61% strongly agree that if they have a poor experience online at a commercial website they are less inclined to buy from that company
• Website experience
• Clarity of information on website about product/brand – easy to extract information
• Dialogue present – interactivity available
• Company vigilant with personal information – transparency of privacy policies
• Ease of transaction (clear pricing, delivery schedules, stock availability)
• Service offering – consumers are more exacting and more inclined to punish poor service
So, how do your business practices stack up?

Finally, if nothing else, this presentation has reinforced the importance of synergy and integration required across all marketing practices. The Internet has liberated the consumer and handed them more power, companies must now embrace this change in behaviour and adapt accordingly – don’t be left behind!

It is therefore no surprise that with the wealth of on-demand content on the web, the video search engine Blinkx launched Blinkx Remote last month, a comprehensive catalogue of all online catch up programmes available from the main broadcasters. Its entrance has pipped the eagerly awaited ‘Kangaroo’ service to the post, the joint venture between BBC, Channel 4 & ITV which was expected earlier this year. The anti-trust investigation by the Competition Commission has delayed Kangaroo’s launch until at least early 2009.

With the introduction of all these new web TV ventures, and plans for many more it is evident that the potential for online TV viewing is huge. Whilst traditional TV business models have been blown out of the water as of yet broadcasters and advertisers have seen very little return on their online ventures. It therefore asks the question, are advertisers using this new channel effectively?

It is clear that consumers are divided on the issue of how to pay for TV content online. In the same eMarketer article it states 35% of UK respondents said they were interested in paying to download TV shows, but a similar percentage said they would rather watch ads than pay. The advertiser funded method for access to free content has certainly been successful for many ventures in the past, so I can’t see why it won’t work in this instance. However, advertisers must tread carefully with this one.

I was recently watching a programme within the ITV catch up service and found myself watching the same ad on more than 6 occasions within a 50 minute programme, often twice within the same ad break. Now considering these ad breaks last about a minute each this becomes rather irritating and unnecessary. Normally, repetition is not an issue with traditional TV as an audience is likely to be distracted by other tasks. However, attention is more concentrated during internet TV viewing. I personally don’t take too kindly to being bombarded with the same dull advert from one of the UK’s biggest retailers in such a short space of time – it certainly hasn’t endeared me to purchase from them.

This over exposure of online TV advertising provides evidence that greater consideration needs to be made when planning online TV campaigns. It is great audiences are willing to trade ad watching for free content but let’s not irritate them in the process and suffer negative reactions as a consequence. Remember, a traditional TV planner cannot replicate their trade online without better thought to how this medium is used and interacted with. In fact, the high frequency of ads being served can only have negative connotations for the brands involved. As audiences are delivered the high frequency, the impact of communications will be limited and the repetition could, like in my experience, become annoying to the viewer and thus detrimental to the brand.

For now I agree far more people watch TV offline than on, but the balance will soon shift. Since online channels can target adverts more efficiently than offline I’ve no doubt marketing budgets will shift accordingly. The challenge now is to plan appropriately, minimise wastage and not over expose your ads within the same programme!

Luckily, Thinkbox, the trade body for commercial TV, is about to embark on a study which will examine how and why people use online TV, its relationship to traditional TV and the advertising opportunities it affords. Unfortunately, until their findings are presented in late 2008/early 2009 I fear we’ll experience many more repetitive online ad breaks.

So, are advertisers doing enough to harness the power of online TV? I think you’ll agree that there is still plenty of work to be done…

By Kherrin

Web Television in Europe: An Expanding Scene. Karin Von Abrams. eMarketer, 2008

Blinkx launches online video portal Blinkx Remote

Thinkbox launches internet TV study

As part of my degree, a six week placement has to be completed within the advertising/marketing industry. I set about looking for potential placements in larger media agencies based in London. However, after a few interviews I was unsure as to whether or not a larger agency was the best option for me. I then came across Current Digital, a smaller specialist digital agency who were also recruiting for summer placements.

I have always held an interest in digital advertising due to the substantial growth it has received over recent years and felt that learning the trade at a smaller agency would enable me to gain a lot more valuable insight in a limited period of time. After my interview at Current Digital, the idea of carrying out my placement in Bournemouth was a lot more appealing. The team were really friendly and the placement offered me a sense of real involvement in the day to day business operations

Over the past six weeks, the tasks I completed have gradually become more demanding until I was developing search proposals and working with my colleagues to provide online media plans to clients. Carrying out day to day ma nagement of current client accounts and enhancing new business lists occupied my time throughout the week and I was also given the chance to provide some input into the proposals put forward for new business clients.

The most enjoyable part of my placement was working on a new business client, developing relationships with media agents to provide a strategic media plan for the client. Being given such responsibility helped me learn the process of delivering media objectives for the client much more quickly and effectively. I was monitored throughout the course of the process and any decisions were discussed with my seniors. This provided me with responsibility that helped me develop my skills but at the same time not jeopardise the strategic implementation of the clients media objectives.

Having the chance to learn about many of the principles behind online advertising has made me think about my potential career in digital media. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I have done at Current Digital and look to take the skills I have learnt forward into my final year of university.

As a planner/buyer, I deal with sales guys all the time and I will admit, in the past I think they’ve had it pretty easy – we usually go to them with an idea of audience, budget and placement and all we require is rates and availability. An easy job for them you might say as all the leg work has already been done by us, the media planners.

However, in this article the sales person identifies how they are now struggling financially as the rich bonuses that were subsidising their income (that were relatively easy to achieve in the first place) are now few and far between because media agencies don’t have the budgets to spend with them!

I agree with David Emin in this article (page 37), that in good times sales teams have seen business come in “through the window,” but now in this economic climate it might actually be worth seeing if their phones actually dial out! However, I will stop you there, and would like to add something before everyone starts picking up their phone… think about what you are going to propose to us!

If it’s a straight banner/sponsorship deal then let’s face it, we can come to you when we have the budget…what we require is more innovative, creative thinking.

I feel the best way to be able to propose ideas to planners is to understand how we plan, what pressures we face from a client and what information we use to come up with ideas our clients will like, something that is not just an ‘off the shelf’ solution.

David provides some useful suggestions for ‘staying at the top,’ but one which at Current Digital we buy into, is asking about company training. Do they already have a scheme in place which aims to better equip you in this current climate and help you close those deals when budgets are tight?

Training of sales teams can help staff understand how an agency plans media and allocates budgets; it can help demonstrate how to interrogate media briefs and dissect banner proposals; and ultimately it can show sales managers how to discover if more budget could be available should the right proposal be offered. Therefore, when all’s said and done these will be the tools which will make the life of a sales manager more bearable in these harsher times.

So remember, think creatively, offer solutions without request and be willing to receive knock backs if the budget is not available. At the end of the day times are tough for us all, but we all know there is a strong reason to be advertising online during an economic slowdown so we’ve just got to secure that cash and bring great ROI for our clients.

The seminar was attended by marketers from leading brands such as Stena Line, Cunard, Save the Children and Triumph. We would like to thank everyone for attending and making the afternoon very enjoyable and informative.

To kick off proceedings, Karen presented a spotlight on the online behaviour of older women. Video footage of a focus group was shown. This focus group provided insight into the importance of the Internet in the lives of the older woman. It also provided fascinating insight to the attitudes of this group to advertising online.

Whilst the behaviour of youth dominates the headlines, Karen demonstrated that the 45+ age group are online in equal numbers to the younger 16-24 year olds.

Nikki Smith from Current Digital covered the issue of the use of paid search to build brand consideration. Paid Search has boomed as it advertisers grasped the channel’s benefit of driving return on investment (ROI). In chasing immediate ROI, marketers often ignore its role in getting brands on the shopping list. Nikki’s section also demonstrated the bad practise of disconnecting search engine marketing from offline push advertising. She demonstrated that despite Land of Leather spending heavily on TV when a user searches for a ‘new sofa’ on Google, the brand has no presence and its competitor DFS dominates. The danger is that Land of Leather stimulates demand for a new settee through its TV advertising allowing its competitors to monetise the demand.

Jenny Biggam from the7stars presented a client case study for Fish4Jobs to highlight the importance of offline when seeking to reach youth groups. This section was a further demonstration of the fact that the Internet is not replacing traditional media and a blended media mix remains as valid as ever.

The final section of the day was led by Petrina Keogh from Telegraph Media Group. As Head of Channel Development, Petrina presented the opportunity for brands to weave themselves into the content produced by leading publishers.

The afternoon stimulated lively discussion and feed-back from attendees shows the content presented was thought-provoking.

Thanks again to all who attended and who made the afternoon a huge success, and as he hasn’t be mentioned yet, thanks to Ralph at Red Mud Media who was our resident SEO expert for the day.

Please keep an eye on our marketing page for more events hosted by Current Digital.

Until next time…

Kherrin

Useful Links:
The7Stars: www.the7stars.co.uk
Red Mud Media: http://redmudmedia.com/
Telegraph Media Group: www.telegraph.co.uk

Remember, back then I would never have predicted the emergence or success of the Nintendo Wii console which has got gamers and non-gamers alike, gripped by its realistic play.
In order to comprehend the magnitude of what this console could do for in-game advertising and brand placement I must take you back to a time when the Wii did not exist and the only realism in game playing was creating virtual characters (avatars), and interacting with brands via a handheld controller.

My study was designed to understand the potential role for sports video games to be a persuasive device, looking specifically at their ability to educate consumers about brands and influence their purchase decisions. My findings suggested that by recreating virtual versions of oneself within the game (customising player clothing, changing physical appearance etc…) the gamer feels more involved in the game, it brings them closer to the decision making process and ultimately creates significant influential associations with the brands that are interacted with. These experiences subsequently reinforce the associations the gamer has with his/her favourite and/or hated brands in ‘real life.’ Often if the game is really lifelike or truly representative of reality the gamer can learn a lot about the brands/products within the game which they can subsequently transfer to their real life, and more importantly influence their purchase behaviour.

However, these results were seen from gamers who at the end of the day were sat on a sofa, almost motionless apart from the odd jump up in excitement or cowl in dismay, and the tap tapping of their fingers on the controller. The level of physical and emotional involvement was relatively small (in comparison to the Wii) yet still more significant than watching a film and the effect of brand exposure definitely more powerful.

Imagine then if you throw a Nintendo Wii into the mix and interact with the gamer on a level only previously experienced by those who have had opportunity to use virtual reality via a headset (think Michael Douglas in Disclosure). For a game like Wii Tennis, although you could sit down and wobble the Wii controller a little bit, you feel compelled to stand up, jump around and swing your arms and put all your effort into the action, just like running around on a real tennis court.
If one of the key conclusions from my research showed that involvement in the game is extremely important for influencing consumer attitudes about brands, what more powerful persuasive situation could you ask for, other than playing the game for real? Throw in some brands for them to ‘play’ with and the potential for advertising effectiveness is improved significantly.

So what does this mean for the future of brand placements? Well, I’m sure it won’t be long before everything within these games is branded and product endorsements are everywhere, and the consumer interacts with brands in the virtual domain just as much as in the real world. These engagements and low risk trials of products and brands within video games become significant channels for marketing activity and powerful persuasive environments. But the industry has to be careful; too much overt advertising can put gamers off and cause negative associations with the game (and brands within it).

The ultimate challenge which has hindered the growth of this potentially influential medium lies in measuring marketing effectiveness and ROI. I believe that until this issue is resolved only the big boys of the sports consumer good industry will invest heavily in this medium. Watch this space though, as a resolution cannot be far away…

Gamers Respond Well to In-Game Advertising, Brand Republic

Media: All About…In-Game Advertising, Brand Republic

IAB Guide to In-Game Advertising

Virtual IKEA furniture hits computer game

LATEST NEWS: Puma goes virtual in Football Superstars online game

Obviously viewing a web page designed for a PC on a mobile is not going to be a massively pleasurable experience. On the iPhone however, users can use the touch screen technology to navigate around websites and zoom in and out. This increases the capacity available to mobile phones and with it increases advertising opportunities. One point to consider here though is fat finger syndrome. Those whose fingers resemble sausages as opposed to mint matchmakers have increasing difficulty using the device.

The biggest turn off is the fact that it’s not a 3G (3rd generation) phone which has become a standard for modern phones. However, the fact that it is Wi-Fi enabled, it allows wireless access to the internet which can increase the speed of downloading web pages and data. So is this really web browsing on the go? I personally don’t think so, not quite yet, not with the 2.5G browsing speed. But Apple has raised the bar and competitors are sure to bring out competing, possibly better phones soon.

According to the Head of Advertising at O2, 60% of iPhone users are sending and receiving more than 25MB of data per month (which equals 7500 emails or 25 you tube clips) compared to only 1.8% of other pay monthly customers. These figures suggest that the iPhone could really be the kick start to mobile marketing.

On the other hand, some people are skeptical about the impact the iPhone will have on the industry. Does its lack of market penetration with its high price, 18 month contract and availability on O2 only make it just a boys toy?
The iPod Touch offers the same service in a slimmer model without the phone. Do people like to keep their phone as a separate tool or are people favourable of the all in one device? Would increasing download speeds and a larger screen entice you on to the web whilst traveling into work?
Technology widely available in Japan allows users to charge their phones with cash so they can, for example, go up to a vending machine, put their phone up to the machine which will deduct money from your account and dispense the drink. How refreshing. Or is it?
How open would you be to having a device that knows your exact location, knows what you have been searching on the internet, knows who you’ve called and knows what you’ve been buying? Similar technology has been developed in car parks across the UK. Has anyone used this?

I think the iPhone offers a lot more opportunities to advertisers targeting the younger generation who are open to receiving content. As long as the content is engaging and something different is offered then consumers will watch. According to Media Week (Apr, 07), it is predicted that in 5 years time, user-generated content and communities on mobile phones will be worth $6.95 billion. If these estimates are true then companies should be looking to offer services that fulfill this need. The mobile phone is perfect for capturing content and uploading it immediately and offers brands a good opportunity to harness relationships.

Whether the iPhone is the tipping point or 2008 will be another year of experimenting and testing is anyone’s guess but brands are starting to take more notice of its web browsing and interactive capabilities.

John Wanamaker, considered the father of modern advertising, famously said “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” At times when greater scrutiny is put on marketing budgets, knowing your ROI is invaluable.
One of the best media channels to provide visibility on the so-called ‘wasted half’ is online marketing. Accountability is one of its key strengths and with fears of a recession, search marketing in particular, is the most recession-proof medium in the ad world.

Playing to Digital Media’s Strengths…

Accountability – It is far easier to defend your marketing budgets when you know what your ROI is and where your leads and conversions are coming from. Correlating direct sales from advertising activity is easy with online analytics and third party ad serving software.

Flexible Pay Per Click - Monitor search volumes and spend on a daily basis and lower CPCs accordingly as other advertisers drop out of the market.

Broad Reach at Cheaper Costs – Consider trialling the search engines’ content networks for a more cost efficient, broad reach advertising strategy. For instance, Google’s Adsense network has an 80% reach of UK internet users, which in traditional terms means more eyeballs than terrestrial TV or press!

Understanding the Needs of your Consumer – Analyse behaviour patterns and needs of your consumer – where do they go for information, how do they research, why do they visit a website, how do they use it? The Internet contains a wealth of behaviour based research that can help define and target your consumer in the most efficient way.

Behaviour to Watch Out For…

Consider a contrary strategy – Many of your competitors are likely to adopt a streamlined version of their marketing strategy, limiting their resources to a few media channels and tightening up spend. Naturally, this is what instinct tells you to do, however there could be greater dividends to be won from doing the opposite.
Buying more advertising space during a downturn to grab market share could have some positive effects.

Editorial vs Advertorial – Consumers propensity to purchase is reduced during tougher times so focus more on content rich placements than hard sell techniques and your brand will be viewed more favourably.

The Researcher – In harder financial times, consumers are more price-sensitive. With the wealth of information available on the Internet they will spend more time comparing products and services online and deciding if they really need the item in question. Any business which does not actively engage in this research process will miss out.

And Finally, the Ultimate Recession-Proof Medium…

Search engine marketing provides advertisers with the most cost-controlled and targeted form of advertising. Daily budget caps, day-parting, geo-graphic targeting and site exclusions give marketers unprecedented flexibility over investment and visibility. In simple terms, pay per click advertising is pay-as-you go advertising. You can spend as little or as much as you want and changes can be made instantly, so you won’t waste money on what isn’t working.

To conclude, if marketing budgets become squeezed don’t pull your investment in online…just become more savvy and innovative with it. Maintain your presence on search engines and keep an eye on what the competition & your consumers are doing.
If you’re new to online, now is the best time to transfer your marketing spend to the Internet - when you can prove your ROI you’ll be sure to keep your marketing budgets in this period of economic uncertainty.

If you’d like to know more about search engine marketing, and how to harness the power of the Internet, register your interest for one of our seminar days. To find out more click here

Historically, trademarking your brand term on Google was a sure fire way of preventing your competitors from appearing when your brand was searched for. It also reduced the av. CPC for this activity as it had an impact on the sponsored links, preventing other brands from appearing, and therefore providing the cheapest CPC. As a result, registering your trademark with Google meant that you could benefit from lower acquisition costs and high volumes of sales/leads on essential brand terms.
From May 5th this protection is no longer going to be offered by Google, so what will this mean for your once ‘protected brand’?

As of 5th May 2008, single word trademarked terms will be at the mercy of competing brands who want to ‘piggy back’ on the success of searches for rival companies. It is likely that CPCs on these terms will steadily increase as the search results are flooded with competing companies vying to take advantage of this once unobtainable search volume.

Google have sought to reassure brand owners & agencies that they will continue to retain an advantage over their competitors. This is due to Google’s quality score policy and the trademark advertiser’s ability to include the trademark term in their ad copy, which in turn should keep them in the higher positions. However, from past experience this is not fool proof and position 1 is never guaranteed (unless you pay for it!)
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My advice is to flood the available sponsored link ad space with affiliate activity – if consumers won’t click on your ad they might at least end up on your site through an affiliate. Better that scenario than seeing potential customers defecting to a rival company because they have seen their offer on the first page next to yours! And if you’re currently not bidding on your brand terms at all, then you had better start!
This will obviously spell the end of cheap CPCs for brand terms, as inevitably Google will capitalise on the popularity of its search engine, but its better to be present when you’re searched for, than not.

Alternatively, one positive thing to come from this is – if your competitors can bid on your trademark brand term then you can bid on theirs, so go for it!

Read the article from Media Week click here
For further comments from the industry on this topic click here