Last night’s Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association’s (AiMA) event - “How Virtual Worlds are Impacting Interactive Marketing” - featured an exceptional group of speakers and really fascinating content.
The event’s panel was moderated by Del Ross, VP of Distribution Marketing (Americas) for InterContinental Hotels Group – and one of our very favorite-ist clients! The panelists included:
Christopher Klaus / Founder and CEO for Kaneva
Mike Donnelly / Director Worldwide Interactive Marketing for Coca-Cola
Rhonda Lowry / Vice President, Emerging Technologies for TBS
Paul Greenberg / Director of Consumer Marketing for The Weather Channel
This event was special not just because Del wore his best jacket-tie combo, but because it was actually simulcast in-world. So people attended the real-life event and others logged into Crowne Plaza’s The Place to Meetisland in Second Life to see it broadcast.
Check out a quick video of how this looked from Second Life:
Attendees were treated to great insight from leading brands who have done more than just dabble in virtual worlds. A few interesting take aways:
Coca-Cola has been active in virtual worlds for five years, taking a very deliberate approach to how they engaged in this medium. They wanted to allow their fans the freedom to enjoy the brand while at the same time providing some structure around doing so. For example, one of their projects was a contest - allowing users to submit ideas that would satiate their fan’s thirst for “an experience” (a play on words). The result was creative - and very brand adherent - ideas.
The Weather Channel is one of the most popular island’s in Second Life. They took a gaming slant in their space. This has led to a tremendous amount of sports-related activities on their island, such as mountain biking and surfing. Residents have even taken it upon themselves to hold surf contests!
Turner has also been involved in virtual worlds for quite some time. Their CNN brand allows Second Life users to be in-world reporters (a version of the real life iReporter). Another one of Rhonda’s more interesting case studies was about tapping into an existing Myst Uru fan base of hundreds of people in Second Life as a way of promoting their own Myst Uru world outside of Second Life.
Finally, Kaneva’s Christopher Klaus provided his perspective on what he believes will shape virtual worlds in the future. His belief is that many people will look to virtual worlds as a social outlet, which is why Kaneva is built to support this kind of culture. His stance is that while many of the worlds that are more fantasy-based will always have a core fan-base, others would be wise to create an environment that fosters social networking.
A Northwestern University report (”If It Catches My Eye“) discovered something *unbelievable* — “Teenagers find online news troubling and a reminder of the world’s dangers. Meanwhile, time spent on YouTube or social networking and music downloading sites as a treat.” No way!!??
The study goes on to suggest that “news organizations should cultivate teen audiences by learning what appeals to them and diminishing their angst.” Seriously? Trying to diminishing teen angst would be like trying to tell salmon not to swim upstream.
But before I was tempted to tear further into this study the way Adfreak did, I did some reading. What I found was a 56-page study, a product of Northwestern University’s Media Management Center - a “qualitiative, in-depth study of a diverse group of 65 Chicago-area teens in 2007, seeking to identify what drives the online news consumption of teenagers.”
The purpose was to help news organizations more effectively attract and serve teens. 65 is a small sample size, yes. But, it does offer some insight into the thoughts, reactions, and behaviors of teens using the web on a daily basis.
My thoughts relate directly to one of my recent blog posts (Another Teen Community?) where I talked about the genuine importance of the teen population as an indicator of future marketing practices. We would be foolish to ignore a study that could provide valuable insight into the behavioral patterns influencing our next generation of adult consumers.
Some key findings from the study:
Researchers repeatedly heard the phrase, “I will read it IF IT CATCHES MY EYE.”
Few said they look purposefully for news. Rather, reading news is usually something they do if they happen upon it while doing something else.
They look at news online an average of two or three times a day on weekdays.
Teens tend to get news more from giant news aggregators and portals than from traditional destination products or news brands.
They find the news stressful, not enjoyable.
Teens don’t seem to differentiate between sites that generate news stories and sites that aggregate them.
My final thoughts:
They’re teenagers. In time, news will be more more interesting to them. The key question is what behavioral patterns will have developed by then that will influence their consumption of news and media?
News organizations - heck, any marketers - need to be thinking about how teens take in information, as this will likely be translated in many ways in their adult life.
The study said “when it comes to news, most teens are grazers.” This is important. Really all of us are grazers right now. In today’s digital society, we consume information very differently than even 10 years ago - we check news and email from mobile devices, we skim RSS feeds for top headlines, and watch headline news channels to gather snippets of the day’s top stories.
Understanding how teens consume information now is critical to marketing and selling to them 10 years from now as adults. The report also provides some interesting and detailed recommendations for news organizations trying to reach teens that as marketers should sound pretty familiar. One such recommendation is “go where they are” - a concept we often discuss when it comes to social marketing and online media.
Over the past year, the buzz has been building about social media and how marketers need to get on the bandwagon. It’s a great time for agencies, like Spunlogic, who has the experience that companies are looking for, not only to build applications and Second Life presences, but also to provide strategic advice and direction.
It’s not so great a time for the marketers who might be itching to get their feet wet but are hesitant because they have no way of justifying the cost to their bosses. Here are a few reasons that you can use.
Reason #1:
Your audience is already talking about your brand using social media. Whether it’s by putting up a Facebook profile with your brand name, twittering about you, or creating a presence in Second Life, using your brand name, they’re there.
Getting in the game provides you the opportunity to control the message you want to have out there.
Reason #2:
Your competitors are, if not there yet, certainly planning on getting into social media in the near future. Capture the market with your big idea and watch the scales tip in your favor.
Reason #3:
Social media is not going away. Consumers are finding and more importantly creating new and different ways to connect to your brand. Being there is really about fishing where the fish are.
If you think that this medium won’t impact user behavior then think of all the current standard online channels: Website, email, search. When companies failed to get in the game early they lost significant market share and spent considerable time and budget to get up to speed. Is that really where you want to be?
The Behavioral Research Department is happy to announce the creation of our very own Virtual Worlds Research Team! The team, headed by DrRead Voom, consists of several avatars created by Spunlogic researchers and interns. Due to increasing popularity of utilizing online virtual worlds as marketing tools, the team was formed to help uncover many unique possibilities waiting for businesses in virtual worlds. The team has specific interest in how psychological principles can be leveraged to enhance in-world customer service as well as the overall experience.
So far, our researchers have conducted in-world interviews and surveys for our clients and for our own scientific pursuits. Using our understanding of human behavior in real and virtual world scenarios, the team has been able to identify the most effective testing locations, procedures and avatar qualities for several research studies.
While much of our research happens in virtual worlds, some happens in the real world too. Recently, we developed an online survey to assess the perceptions of infidelity in online and virtual world environments. News articles surrounding a real life divorce prompted by a Second Life relationship led researchers to question human assessments of fidelity with respect to technology. Findings from that study suggested that there is a relationship between social perceptions of infidelity and the mode of technology used to mediate communication. When communication is mediated by technologies like virtual worlds, people are far more tolerant of unfaithful behavior.
So, next time you decide to escape reality in favor of some virtual fun in Second Life, be on the lookout for our team! We’re often easy to spot as we sometimes wear our lab coats—as seen in the pictures below. And stay tuned to our blog because you just never know what the virtual worlds team might stumble upon next…
Being a futurist, or attempting to be, I have to constantly change the way in which I think about things. One thing I have been challenging people on of late is the concept of one device with multiple display options. i.e. In 2011 my iPhone will have a normal screen (like it is now), then a screen 5 times the size that I unscroll (via lcd paper) for a more engaging experience … then when I want to watch a movie at home off the same device I’ll just plug it into my projector (or big monitor, or whatever). One device, multiple display options.
Get it? Now that you’re all caught up, trash that idea because it it old news.
“A University of Washington researcher has developed a contact lens including circuitry and a matrix of LEDs. Although not yet a working prototype, this may be a foundation for terminator/robocop style overlay displays in which computer graphics could be superimposed on your normal vision. ‘Building the lenses was a challenge because materials that are safe for use in the body, such as the flexible organic materials used in contact lenses, are delicate. Manufacturing electrical circuits, however, involves inorganic materials, scorching temperatures and toxic chemicals. Researchers built the circuits from layers of metal only a few nanometers thick, about one thousandth the width of a human hair, and constructed light-emitting diodes one third of a millimeter across.’”
So now I’m rethinking everything, again. NOW how will I design web sites when one pair of contact lens can display anything, at any size (relatively), to any user from any device?
It will happen. The contacts will be directly on the eye so they will be able to generate an image appropriate for the situation (a small icon in the bottom left to signify voice mail, or “full screen” to play a movie… at any “size” I choose). Also consider that my contacts can sync up with Bluetooth 6.7 to my phone (which is also my computer by 2017), my home system, “Billy” (that’s what I call the AI that runs my house), or my friends XBox when we are playing Call of Duty 12 in multiple player mode.
One display, multiple display sizes, multiple devices … you caught up yet?
Slate blogger Mickey Kaus has been pushing an interesting theory on political consumerism, namely that the news cycle and technology have evolved and advanced so far - and in such coordination - that consumers are more adept at cycling news and information much more quickly than even a few years ago, “that voters are comfortable processing information at the vastly increased speed it can come at them”.
He cites this phenomenon, called Feiler Faster Thesis, on why everyone got NH wrong in Barack’s favor:
“…Voters who don’t really follow politics are much less informed than they used to be, which causes polls to shift rapidly when they do inform themselves … You’ve got a vast uninformed pool of voters that only begins to make up its mind until the very last minute–after the last poll is taken, maybe–and then reaches its decision by furiously ingesting information at a Feileresque pace.”
But what if we were to put this in general, non-wonkish marketing perspective: due to technology’s rapid dissemination of information and socialization of product and brand “truthyness”, the temporal market place for any brand or product is being truncated and only the most immediate message are penetrating.
One the one hand, long term investment in brand awareness creates only fleeting - not sustainable - consideration momentum that can be capitalized on (why Barack saw an Iowa bounce, but it disappeared overnight; why Hillary’s crying episode quickly overshadowed the Iowa results leading right up until voters made up their minds).
Retail sciences are exploring this trend widely, focusing on the “moment of truth”, when a consumer pulls a product from their shelves. But are agency strategists keeping up with the consideration cycle and funnel of today’s rapidly promiscuous consumer?
I’ve contended for some time now that the sales funnel looks less like an upside down triangle and much more like an extraordinarily thin hourglass, which continuously curves into itself. Maybe Kaus is right, and that it’s not so thin after all.
About two weeks ago I made the leap from the universe of online marketing, content syndication, and lead generation to the interactive space, which in time, I’m sure will prove to have been the right move. It’s actually very similar to my first home purchase a few months ago and the feelings I had immediately after settling in to a new house - some questions about whether you’ve made the right decision, tons of time spent perusing the area to understand exactly where you now live, and a perpetual struggle to refer to it all as “home”.
With any new job comes an essential first step – getting acclimated to the market landscape, the culture and character of the new company, along with the necessary processes and workflow requirements. What’s been great about it all is that I’ve actually had some time to read! I can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel the pressures of constant projects, deadlines, meetings, e-mails, and contracts. Believe me – before you roll your eyes at this article as if I can somehow see you – I know that everything above is on its way to my plate; however, I can’t help but enjoy the time that I have now. So much so, that I’ve run across some great articles in the 8+ days I’ve been here, including a good read from AdvertisingAge by Mat Zucker titled, “Setting the Bar for Digital Creative: A Guide for Marketers.” Before reading further, take a quick look at the article and the eight questions every marketer should be talking with their agency about.
Zucker, has chosen to step out of his agency shoes for a brief moment and into those of the online marketer, who is responsible for getting the most out of their work with advertising and digital agencies. He offers eight discussion points that marketers should be having with their agency. Some of these appear to be common sense, but I think that’s part of his goal – to create the “new common sense” for the marketer in the marketer/agency interaction. And if we’re referring to this as a good bare minimum for marketers to adhere to, I think we can make certain assumptions about what the agency version of such a list would look like. So, two weeks onto the job, I offer my first Spunlogic blog post - what I feel is a good agency interpretation of each of the eight principles. Essentially, my take on what I aspire to bring to the table in my interaction with the marketers I will be working with. So let’s dive right in…
1.) Marketer – “Ask the agency what the idea is” Agency – Don’t assume that the marketer knows what the idea is
Certain “feelers” should go out to get a gauge for what the client’s perception of the big picture is.
2.) Marketer – “Tell us how you need to see ideas” Agency – Ask how the ideas need to be presented
Standard methods for communicating concepts to the stakeholders should be in place; however, it is important to evaluate whether more detailed illustrations are needed. Not educating your marketer on how ideas can be presented could prove to stunt the growth of your partnership and revenue opportunities.
3.) Marketer – “Be clear about your priorities” Agency – Make sure you have an understanding of the priorities
Remain curious and channel that curiosity into penetrating questions that clarify what is most important to your marketing contact in addition to the pecking order of these priorities.
4.) Marketer – “Help us get inside the material” Agency – Dig deep inside the material
Prove that you really do want to understand more about your customer’s products/services, target market, and brand guidelines. Marketers, in return, should be more willing to help you get “inside the material.”
5.) Marketer – “Believe in brand expression” Agency – Develop an infrastructure for user testing and behavioral research
Let me bridge the gap between what seem to be somewhat disparate concepts. Brand expression, or as Zucker defines it, “how a brand behaves,” must tie in with brand integrity – giving your customers the experiences they expected. And how do we know what the customer expects? Bingo – user experience testing and behavioral research.
6.) Marketer - “Don’t assume advertising equals brand” Agency – Customers need serious hand-holding through any brand evolution
If what Zucker says is true – that “it’s the advertising agency whose legacy includes brand planning,” but that advertising doesn’t equal brand – then marketers will be leaning more heavily on digital agencies to drive the brand(s). Any decision by the marketer to step into uncharted water should spark the agency to respond with significant guidance.
7.) Marketer – “Fund production” Agency – Make it easier for marketers to go to bat for you
If the average digital budget is significantly less than the average TV budget then it will take some evangelism amongst the marketing community to influence future digital spend. And in order for this to happen the digital agency must make it easy for marketers to go to bat for us. With TV having led the way for over 40 years now it is much easier for marketers to go with a method that is “tried and true.” It’s up to us to share why digital is more proven – through clear metrics and a consistent story.
8.) Marketer – “Beef up internal infrastructure” Agency – Remind your client of the capabilities you have
As organizations are challenged to beef up their marketing and legal departments in order to keep up with new responsibilities spawned by the rise of the interactive age, it is important that agencies stay close to their customers in order to identify areas where resources may be stretched. Then, just remind them of what you can do to help.
When it’s the business of the agency that’s ultimately at stake we can’t afford to fall back on the assumption that our clients will be behaving the way they “should be.” WE must be responsible for making the most of every interaction by meeting the marketer where they are in order to satisfy the customer and grow the relationship.
So, at least for me this will serve as a good “common sense” guide and essentially a “bare minimum” of where my conversations with marketers should be going. I’m excited about the opportunity that is in front of me – to work for what seems to be a fun, energetic, growing company - and I look forward to putting these principles into practice!
After spending almost eight years with KnowledgeStorm, which was acquired by TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) in November 2007 for $58 million, I finally decided to make the leap into the interactive agency world.
Spunlogic president and CEO, Jeff Hilimire had been talking to me for years about how his organization was growing and would need someone to lead his business development and marketing teams. Despite the emergence of Spunlogic as one of the premier interactive agencies in the Southeast and quite possibly the nation (doubling in size and revenue and making the Inc. 5000 list in 2007), it was clear that they could use my help responding to massive list of inquires from companies that want to work with Spunlogic, and frankly I was excited for a new challenge.
In the tradition of the clichéd practice of a “Top 10 List”, I would like to share with the reasons that I chose to join the team at Spunlogic:
Incredibly talented, brilliant, and creative people
Phenomenal clients from some of the top brands in the world
Prospective clients pursuing Spunlogic to do work
World class behavioral research and user experience design
Excellent balance between marketing and development
Cutting edge projects that “push the envelope”
Team environment with service focused colleagues
Reputation as a classy organization that produces only top quality work
Unparalleled flexibility to meet clients’ needs
Fun atmosphere
It is important to love what you do (if you do not, then I strongly advise you to make a change NOW). I am very confident that I made a great decision to join the team at Spunlogic. I look forward to sharing our successes with you over the coming years!
So I just watched Mark Zuckerberg (you know, the 23-year-old boy-wonder CEO of Facebook, he who turns down billions of dollars) on 60 Minutes. I had recorded it from yesterday, figuring that there probably wouldn’t be much that I’d learn from it considering how 60 Minutes typically covers such things - 12 minutes tightly pulled together telling us things we’ve known for the last year. You know, true journalism stuff.
But I did learn something. Zuckerberg is amazingly awkward. Like, he’s a real life George Michael. Not George Michael the WHAM! singer (he wishes, that’d be a huge step up in coolness for him, as sad as that is), no, George Michael from Arrested Development is more like it. And if you don’t understand that reference, then buy the DVDs for this show - you’ll thank me and I won’t be so embarrassed by you anymore.
Back to the point. The guy is scary uncomfortable talking to humans. At one point the lady interviewing him says that people say he’s the next Larry and Sergey. He just blankly looks at her. After a few seconds of the most awkward moments on television, he says something to the effect of, “uh…was that a question?”.
Alright, I’m not just picking on the guy for no reason. There is a point I’m hoping to make, once I get done with this, but one last thing. If you get a chance to watch him talk, notice that his eyebrows don’t move. At all. Ever.
Ok, my point is this - how can someone that owns the website that clearly is making all the rules of social networking be so unable to be…social?! When the whole Beacon thing happened, and he handled it so poorly, I thought it was because he was some kind of steely entrepreneur that had this vision and went after it. But now I realize the truth. He just doesn’t understand how normal humans behave.
And now, for the first time, I’m wondering what the future of Facebook really will be. Unless they quickly get another CEO in there and let Mark focus on things he enjoys, like working on computers…talking to computers…going on long walks on the beach with computers… then I think one day Facebook might, instead of hanging around with its current cool friends MySpace, Google and YouTube, it might end up hanging out with a new group of friends: Geocities, Webvan and eToys.
Reading the financial sections these days will make you aware of the potential economic downturn (example: AT&T seeing softness in consumer spending). So if you’re contemplating whether you should establish (or grow) an online marketing budget, please allow me to suggest that your monies should be hoarded until the economic “haze” clears because nothing is better than watching your competitors take market share. In times like these, it is clearly important to be more focused and strategic with your online marketing efforts.
If you sell your products offline, it is time to think about:
Setting up a shopping cart to allow buyers to learn more and directly order your products.
Accepting payments online to speed up the collection process and improve your cash flow.
Using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to collect leads or other customer communication and efficiently route them within the organization.
Because eCommerce is a highly matured area on the web, there are actually several affordable/inexpensive solutions that can be easily implemented, and these are great especially if you’re just starting out. But as your business grows, your needs will likely change so you’ll want to give slight consideration to solutions that have more features, can be tailored to your organization or can scale to support more employees (aka users). These solutions will likely require more effort to implement.
If you’re already selling your products online, it is time to add more sophistication to your existing system(s). So, it is time to think about:
Integrating a Product Review System into your Shopping Cart to enable buyers to better understand the quality of the product.
Launching an targeted email program that delivers personalized email messages based on a user’s shopping habits, interests or even language preferences (FYI: the next wave of consumers in the US speak/read Spanish).
Promoting your product offerings within a local search portal or even a mapping service (like Google Maps) to drive more local awareness.
In essence, now is time to get going but not without a strategy. It is simple to go from point A to point B, but only with a strategy can you move forward in a direct line.
At Spunlogic, we have a lot of great experience and unique ideas to share. From work with clients to new approaches and trends, in this award winning blog you'll find Spunlogic experts sharing their opinions and ideas on all aspects of interactive marketing.
