Monthly Archives: February 2012

Let ‘Em In

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February 10, 2012

What’s Hot recently read with interest an article by Mark Hales, digital consultant at Experian Marketing Services, who looked at key considerations for online retail in 2012.   With eBay’s recent ‘From The High Street to the i-street’ study also front of mind, we’ve interpreted his considerations from a media planning and buying agency point of view ;

 

Consumers will be encouraged to give more data instore

In this era of increasingly data-led marketing planning, consumers are being encouraged to give up more of their data at different times in their purchase journey. Through task>reward mechanisms, from QR code scanning to the more advanced augmented reality experiences offered by Blippar, retail brands will attempt to extract useful information at the point of purchase/store visit. This will help them retarget these offline customers online with advertising targeting techniques such as retargeting, plus also permeate customer connections online through social ‘lookalike’ targeting,

 

Loyalty will be more important than ever

Brand loyalty is more important than ever in these squeezed times.  Whilst traditional schemes are  expensive and time-heavy for brands, they are of big appeal to customers and actually provide retailers with a view on how their customers are engaging with them across multiple channels.   The role of social media in being useful to customers will continue unabated… brands will improve the CRM application of social, being better listeners and reacting effectively to opportunities and issues.

 

Consumers will be able to order online whilst in store

Ordering from a mobile device has never been easier or more convenient – smartphones and tablets will continue to shift the way in which we shop.  Multi-channel retailers are rolling out free in-store wi-fi to allow customers to order via their mobile devices if out of stock.  But online retailers are fighting some interesting battles on the High Street… Net-A-Porter among others (see below) have created virtual shop windows which come to life via augmented reality apps such as Aurasma and Blippar.  Expect to see more of this engagement, as online tech literally  lifts products out of the page/window.

 

The QR code fights back

Our old friend the QR code seems to be having a moment…  you can’t escape their use particularly in fashion and travel press/outdoor ads (to varying degrees of effectiveness).

Again retailers have used this (John Lewis ‘windows’ on Waitrose stores) actually replacing physical products with QR codes through which product can be ordered.  QR codes can provide rich data on how and where customers are engaging. and thus they can forge closer links between online and offline.

 

Video strategy imperative in 2012

Visits to online video sites grow by 36% in the last year – there will be over 1bn visits to online video websites monthly in 2012

Video plays a crucial role in customer retention and acquisition by driving website traffic, boosting brand awareness.    Useful, optimised and of course sharable video is a must in 2012

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Spies Like Us

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February 10, 2012

Facebook is courting controversy yet again with its recent Timeline update, which to all intents and purposes now displays all of your posts from the very beginning of your social media journey … including those you’d rather forget and which indeed inquisitive employers might well stumble upon.

 

At the same time, Google has been criticised for lumping together privacy policies from around 60 sources into a single, apparently more useful resource… yes, for them possibly as they seek to garner yet more information on our behaviour and monetise that (no doubt) in any number of their commercial spaces.

 

And this comes at a time when the whole privacy debate is hotting up with the anticipated EU ruling on cookie usage – that is, when sites record you as a visitor, keeping some information that is used for various purposes, both user experience and advertising based.

Come May 2012, the local state representative (in the UK the Information Commissioner’s Office) will begin enforcing the European Privacy Directive on cookie usage. How the directive is implemented is still open for debate. However, unless it is toned down, the implications are game-changing.

Two things will be affected if the full force of the directive comes into play.  The first is user experience, which will be impacted as users are asked to opt-in to each individual cookie.   When this new approach was tested there was a 90 per cent drop in the amount of data collected, which has seen online networks/exchanges scrambling for ways of limiting the inevitable damage to their reach.

The second is how companies leverage the data question.   Businesses that are able to organise and make sense of all the data now available will be at a major competitive advantage in terms of customer insight, productivity and business insight. Google recently launched its Social Media Data Hub with the objective of creating a standardised way of tracking social data from all of your customer touch points. During 2012 we can expect to see more in the way of standards being applied to data but until Twitter and Facebook are on board, fragmentation will still exist.

 

We can also expect to see more intelligent data modelling from attribution modelling, as well as mobile data, customer data modelling and in analytics, from lifetime value through to cohort analysis. In tandem with this, data visualisation tools are going to become increasingly prevalent, streamlining the ability to model data and providing actionable intelligence to marketers.

 

So is the writing on the wall for behavioural marketing online as we know it ?  Well the signs are there… have you noticed this little icon popping up in the corner of ads that are retargeting you using cookie data ?   Not much data exists on opt-outs at this level, but May 2012 will be a pivotal moment in how data-driven online marketing might develop… or not.

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London Town

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February 10, 2012

The Olympics are just 170 days away, and will be upon us before we know it. Whilst the majority of Londoners are bubbling with excitement, contradictory to 2010 predictions, the media world appears to have held back.

 

There are 11.5m expected spectators, 8m of whom will be in London, bringing with them a predicted £1 billion of consumer spending – so there is a huge potential market out there.  The fact that 10% of these people will be from overseas may be a turn off for some advertisers, but to others their buck will be just as important as any Brit’s.

 

Looking back to this time last year, the Olympics was expected to be accessible only to the main sponsors – smaller advertisers either wouldn’t get close, or would be left fighting for leftover scraps of opportunity to avoid missing out. Out-of-home media is still going to be the best value broadcast medium; however, it seems that the vast majority of outdoor opportunities remain available, including London Spectaculars and Vicinity sites.

 

Initially, it was down to marketers to create clever ways around the Olympic advertising restrictions to get their clients close to the games. Taxis, QR codes, the possible weekend Metro, train wraps – all smart ways to get a piece of the action. Whilst the copy restrictions still apply, accessing the Olympic environment now seems far easier than expected. From January this year, unsold vicinity space is available to buy for non-sponsors and new locations have been added to the late-opening London Underground to satisfy perceived demand – though there are some very tenuous links to the prime areas.

 

The outdoor market is not the only channel left open to advertisers. Press, radio and even digital spaces are all ripe with opportunities. As the initial panic clouds clear, it has become apparent that this exclusive and invite-only space is actually available to anyone who wants to pay for it.

 

So, whether you wrap your brand around the four sides of Canary Wharf for £3m or geo-target free WiFi channels across the country – there are still some gold opportunities out there.

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Feet in the Clouds

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February 10, 2012

2011 was a mixed year for BskyB. The fallout from hack-gate and Sky’s failed takeover marred what otherwise could have been an excellent year for the satellite broadcaster.

 

However, any hopes for an easier 2012 have already been scuppered.  Netflix’s long anticipated UK launch has ruffled some feathers but not just among their obvious online rivals. An On-Demand war has kicked off, with Netflix, LoveFilm and Sky all competing for paying subscribers.

 

The growth of online paid content indicates a more fundamental problem for Sky. Their primary delivery platform is their satellite dish. However, this rise in HD content and ever increasing bandwidth requirements makes satellite technology look increasingly outdated. Moreover, capacity limits will block Sky from fully moving into the HD on-demand arena.

 

The new game is super-fast broadband, currently only available through fibre-optic cabling, which Virgin and BT both offer. To join the game, Sky has two options: either to lay its own cables (an expensive gamble); or to accept BT’s huge costs (unrestrained by any Ofcom ruling, which would ensure open competition in the way that standard broadband is).

 

However, hidden behind Netflix’s launch, there is a clue to how Sky might evolve to meet these new threats. Sky has announced plans for an Internet movie-streaming service. This will include a pay-as-you-go option, something Sky has never before entertained.

 

This new offering, set to launch during the first half of this year, will allow customers to pay for downloadable movies and other content without signing a contract. This will either be on a pay-monthly, or pay-as-you-go basis.

 

The Sky Go platform is not entirely new, as it has been a big success on the Xbox 360. The real change is that, for the first time, Sky is now offering a service to non-Sky subscribers. This can be seen as a direct response to the competition they face from Lovefilm and Netflix.

 

Critically, this is a dramatic shift from their current reliance on their traditional dish towards an integrated and platform-neutral offering across connected TVs, consoles, tablets and mobiles. What’s Hot predicts hopes for a Sky Go app launch to rival Virgin Media’s TiVo box.

 

What is certain is that the increased  competition in the premium on-demand war can only be good for consumers.

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Another Day

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February 10, 2012

On Sunday 5th February, What’s Hot was one of the 111.3m viewers who tuned in to watch this year’s Super Bowl final. For the third consecutive year, it attracted the largest audience of a TV programme in US history. At a price tag of $3.5m for a 30 second spot, it is the definition of primetime viewing. With the rise and rise of dual-screening, this year advertisers pulled out all the stops to make sure that, regardless of the platform, they had the viewers’ attention.

Ever since Apple’s iconic ‘1984’ ad, which introduced the Macintosh personal computer for the first time, the Super Bowl ads have become an integral part of the whole extravaganza. Hulu, an American online TV streaming platform, jumped on board this year and partnered with Advertising Age and Toyota to bring viewers the ‘ultimate viewing experience’.  The Hulu Adzone Player allowed viewers to watch the ads in real time as they aired on TV, to vote for their favourite ads and share the clips across social media. Thanks to Hulu, the ads instantly took on another level of engagement.

Coca Cola also embraced engagement by creating entertaining content that ran online throughout the evening, and nicely complemented their spot airtime ads. During the game, two of the brand’s legendary polar bears were decked out in team colours – one in a New York Giants’ blue scarf and one in a New England Patriots’ red scarf. Viewers who logged on to the Coca Cola site could watch the bears react in real time to the match (e.g. celebrating when someone scored) and could follow the bears commenting on Twitter and ask them questions.

Users were prompted to engage with brands featured during the ad breaks – 68% of the ads shown had references to websites and social media sites. As viewers of sporting events tend to be passive, the challenge is how do you convince them to interact with an ad? Simple answer: free stuff. Between Shazam and QR codes, goodies up for grabs ranged from two Camrys from Toyota, $50 off a new phone in Best Buy, and exclusive content from Madonna for the half-time show.

And the results? This year’s Super Bowl attracted 12.2m social media comments during and immediately after it – a 578% increase on last year, making it the biggest social media event recorded in the US. Tweets spiked at 10,000 per second. People weren’t just watching – they were interacting.

Looking forward to Superbowl 2013, it would seem that the lesson to learn from this is to keep your eyes on your screens – all of them.

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Hey Mr DJ! the7stars RAJAR Update

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February 7, 2012

Who’s up, who’s down, who’s tuning in and how? Here, in a nice digestible bite-sized format, are the highlights of the latest radio quarterly audience survey released last week…

The reach of all radio has dropped by 4% QoQ, but still reaches a massive audience of 46.7m adults every single week. All commercial radio now has a 42.4% share compared to the BBC’s 55.5% share. Commercial radio has attracted an additional 1.4m listeners over the last two years.

Capital London has clung on to the top London spot this quarter, reporting a 15% YoY increase in listeners. Magic 105.4 had a strong quarter by going above the 2m listeners mark. Heart 106.2 falls into third place, followed by Kiss 100 and LBC 97.3 completing the London top five respectively.

The network radio stations, which have grown over the past few years, had some strong results this quarter. The largest commercial network in the country is the Heart Network, delivering 7.4m listeners, followed closely by Capital with 7m; Kiss UK with 4.1m; Magic UK with 3.8m; Smooth Radio UK with 3.3m; and Total Real Radio with 2.6m.

Classic FM remains the most listened to single commercial UK radio station, despite a poor quarter. Talksport has seen a 3% increase in reach, no doubt bolstered by the coverage of the Rugby World Cup in October.

The Total Absolute Radio Network, which includes Classic Rock, 80s, 90s and 00s stations, remained static at 2.8m listeners. This is expected to grow next quarter with the inclusion of listening results from the recently launched Absolute 60s and 70s stations.

When it comes to local radio, commercial radio delivers 26.2m listeners, compared to 9.6m for the BBC’s local and regional services. First Radio, who represent 118 of the UK’s local radio services, report that 5.8 million adults tune in to one of their stations for an average 8.4 hours per week.

Digital listening has grown once again, and accounts for a 29.1% share of all radio listening. A record 20.9m adults (40%) now claim to live in a household with a DAB radio. Listening to the Absolute Radio Network via a digital platform is at 71%, against an industry average of 29%.

In terms of mobile listening, 15.1% of adults and 32.2% of 15-24s now claim to listen to radio on their mobile phone.

Source: RAJAR Q4 2011

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