The Digital Influentials, by Cory Treffiletti

Do You Have Industry Déjà Vu? (Mediapost 1.18.12)

Do you have industry déjà vu?  I do!  Doesn’t it feel as though the primary issues of the day we face today are the same issues that we faced eight or ten years ago?  Is this a sign of the cyclical nature of the business or have we literally stalled?

Ten years ago, or somewhere thereabouts, we were dealing with the business based on click-through, we were dealing with the beginning of attribution models, and we were dealing with the development of brand advertising online.   We were faced with the questions of whether it’s best to be spending on content or via behavioral targeting.  We were dealing with our position as a media vehicle and how we fit into the overall marketing mix.  Over time one would think some of these questions have been addressed and that new questions would have risen to take their place, but it doesn’t feel as though it has!

In our defense, we’ve grown really fast and we’ve certainly accomplished a lot, but the business is still in need of some standards.  The business is still too complicated to command a leadership position in the marketplace, at least when it comes to a comparison against television and other media.  Its been stated time and time again, but its easier to spend $10MM on TV than it is to spend $2MM in digital.   And the fact is I wrote that exact same sentence last year, five years ago and ten years ago as well.  At some point we have to come to terms, make some decisions, and set the stage for growth and expansion.

If I can foresee a trend, it’s that the next year or two should be focused on the simplification of the models and the further commoditization of the business.  I personally don’t see commoditization as a bad thing.  I see it as a step towards maturity.  I see commodization as a way for brands to spend more money, for agencies to become more efficient with their time and for publishers to generate higher margins.  Of course the question remains, how do we do that?

The easiest way for this to happen is for everyone in the industry to come to a positive middle ground.  I spent the first 15 years of my career building digital ad agencies, and the last 4 helping publishers and start-ups, and in almost every situation I hear that, “what you have is close to what we need, but we need a little more”.  That “little more” is what keeps us from coming to resolution, and from my perspective that “little more” is not a necessity.  It is a hindrance more than anything.  Without that “little more” we could actually standardize and get a lot of things accomplished!

I was a culprit of this while on the agency side, so I admit to taking some of the blame.  Much of the time my job was to take something that a publisher had and “make it more tailored to our needs”.   Of course, “our needs” was attempting to generate differentiated positions between our agency and the competition, but looking back I think that differentiation should have been on the creativity of our brains rather than the minor differences in technology.  Every agency has a trading desk.  Every agency has a dynamic ad server.  Every agency has similar tools, but every agency has different people and those people are the defining element, whether it be in media or creative.  The people are what you can’t commoditize and their creativity is what will propel the business.

Knowing that people are the defining factor means the rest of the business can be standardized from a media perspective.  Industry groups like the IAB and others could probably help here by setting the stage for standards in reporting and the ever-discussed “digital dashboard”.  By helping brands and publishers come to a single agreement on what they should be looking at, how often, and where they should be looking at it, we could come to a standard on the media side of the business.  With that standard would come commoditization and that could help us become more efficient with our time!

Sometimes déjà vu is a nice feeling.  It provides comfort and it provides a sense of peace, but I don’t think that we as an industry are ready for comfort and peace.  We are a business that is driven by entrepreneurs and evangelists and we love to push things forward, so maybe we can find some new things to push forward if we can wrap up the loose ends that we’ve overlooked?

What do you think?

Superbowl Vs. Online: The Answer Is Frequency (Mediapost 1.9.12)

This is the time of year is when marketing pundits launch into the inevitable debate of whether it makes sense to advertise on the Superbowl or not.  It’s easily the single largest advertising event of the year, and there’s a football game too!  Coming a close second to that debate is whether the Internet or TV will become the dominant form of advertising.  Both these debates are ridiculous and the reason why is simple.  The answer to every question is “yes”.

When i say "yes", i say it to be purposefully vague, because the fact of the matter is that all of the above avenues work, and they work well when you build frequency.  In many cases it makes sense to advertise on the Superbowl, and in other cases it doesn't.  The same goes for advertising online, or TV in general.  For some brands and marketing objectives, they both can be effective or they can both be useless.  The debate is a silly one because there’s no right or wrong answer.  The decision to advertise on the Superbowl is a strategic decision, as is every other decision a company makes when lay out their marketing efforts.

To advertise on the Superbowl is easy, and in my perspective it can be viewed as a cop out, unless you back it up with other supportive marketing.  To advertise on the Superbowl as a one-shot, or as the only element of your campaign, is wasteful.  The Superbowl is the ultimate expression of marketing.  It is an event, and it is intended to be your crowning achievement for the year or a way to kick-off your campaign.  You can reach a significantly larger audience than anywhere else, you generate endless buzz as a result, but if you don't follow that buzz up with some element of continuity through the rest of the year then you're just doing yourself a disservice.  It can easily become a waste of money.  It's a "one and done" strategy that you hope will carry you through the remainder of the year (hint: it won't).

The debate over Internet vs. Television is similar because it’s a cop-out to think that one or the other will work for you as a stand-alone vehicle for your messaging.  You have to use them both and build frequency in the eyes of your consumer.  In tandem, the Internet and TV can be a significantly effective one-two punch, and you can generate reach, frequency, engagement and impact in the eyes of your target audience.  There is no silver bullet solution anymore, in much the same way that you can't expect to spend your entire budget on a Superbowl ad and expect to drive sales that year.  

Integrated marketing is the name of the game, and you have to do it all.  In sports you hear that "defense wins championships", and that’s true, but behind every great defense is an offense that is capable of scoring.  You may be able to stop the opposing team from scoring, but if you can't score then you can't win the game.  The same strategy applies to marketing.  You can't focus all your attention against a single tactic and hope it will work, because your audience doesn't operate that way.  They’re not one-dimensional, so your marketing can't be one-dimensional either.  You need to do your homework, look at the information that’s available to you, and come up with a plan of attack that will balance your messaging against the key metrics of reach, frequency and impact, to drive results.  Integrated marketing requires you to come up with a plan that includes multiple avenues to reach your target and do so repeatedly.  It requires you to have a back-up plan, and it requires that you build an image in the eyes of your target.  You can't do that in one sitting anymore.  The days of the Apple "1984" ad are long gone.   When that ad ran, the world was a simpler place and a one-time showing could generate impact.  These days, that is simply not the case.  Your audience is fragmented and there are far more choices for them – you need frequency.

So the simple answer is this; the Superbowl is an amazing advertising opportunity for the right brand, if they’re willing to back it up and support that spot with other components of a marketing plan.  It could be Internet, point of sale, even direct mail, but there has to be something to create additional frequency in the eyes of your target audience.  The Internet and Television are both important elements of the marketing mix, but you can’t hang your hat on just one single element in the media mix.  You have to spread it out.  

Manage Your Time in 2012 (Mediapost 1.4.12)

Welcome to 2012.  It’s a whole new year, and potentially a new beginning, assuming that the Mayans are incorrect and the world won’t end this year.  As it is (most likely) a new beginning, I thought it might be time to share a new years resolution, and one that you might find useful for yourself.  My 2012 is all about time management!

As any sports fan knows, managing the clock is a crucial part of the game, and managing your time is just as important in your day-to-day work.  Successful time management skills are important for allowing you to balance the various responsibilities you have, as well as a means to find overall balance between work and your personal life!  All of us get caught up in the daily grind, and everything quickly seems like a priority, but if you can successfully manage your time, then you can better handle the stress thrown your way every day.

My new years resolution is to do just that; better manage my time.  Here are some ideas I have that you might want to try!

1. TURN IT OFF - Turn Off Email For Two Hours Per Day

Email is the single biggest distraction of the day, and everything that comes into your inbox can seem like a top priority, but the fact is it’s not.   People use email these days as if it were an instant messenger platform, but that’s only because you treat it that way.  My resolution this year is to turn off email for 2 hrs in the day, either in the morning or the afternoon, and use that time to accomplish a task that I’ve laid out for myself.  It could be drafting a presentation, working on a strategy, making calls, or anything.  It’s a chance to focus your attention on a task from your to-do list without the constant interruption of email.  This is the single biggest time management tool I’ve read about it, and I think it will help a lot.

2.  SHORT AND LONG - Make A Short Term And A Long Term To-Do List

Its important to set your goals and priorities, and one great way to do that is to lay out what you can accomplish today and tomorrow, and what you can set your sights on for the next week or two.  Your short-term list should be for no more than 48 hrs.  You check things off that list, and rewrite it every couple of days.  In that manner, you’ll find yourself accomplishing things quickly and that can make you feel as though you’re making headway.  Some people refer to this as the “baby steps” style of prioritizing, and I think it works great.  It helps me to not be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of to-do’s that I have, and allows me to sleep (a little) at night.  I started this last year, and will be continuing with it in 2012.

3. TO THE CLOUD - Set-Up A Cloud-Based Notes Tool

The cloud was my focus over the last two weeks, and I finally got everything placed up there.  My music, my emails, all my folders, and my notes!  The first few items were pretty well underway, but now that I have all my notes in the cloud, I can easily access them from anywhere.  Dropbox and Evernote are my two personal hubs, but there are many services out there that can make access to your ideas and notes easier than you could have imagined.  The reason this is useful goes far beyond access, but it allows you to jot down ideas wherever you may be, and regardless of what device you are using at that moment.  I have notes from meetings, notes sent to me in email that are worth saving, key documents and other assorted items easily accessible in the cloud.   In this manner, I don’t forget things and I have a running list of related items!

Finding balance is not an easy task, and it may even be something you have to put on your to-do list, but there are steps you can take to try and get there.  If your new years resolutions involved balance, less stress or “finding the time”, then hopefully these little tips and tricks will help.  In the meantime, best wishes to you for a successful and prosperous 2012!

And thanks for reading my articles – I appreciate it!

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The People’s (Tech) Bailout (Mediapost 12.19.11)

If you’re anything like me, you’re getting tired of politics.  This has been a disturbing year, especially given all the stalemates and political immaturity that’s running rampant in Washington.  Additionally, if you’re anything like me, you’re getting tired of protests without a point.  It’s time that our government focus on the important things like creating jobs for Americans, so as we embark upon a new year I thought I’d lay out an idea for you.  I call it my proposal for the People’s (Tech) Bailout.

The tech industry has jobs, which is confounding because reports estimate there are as many as 10 million people in the US without jobs.  In the tech industry, as many people have called it, its 1999 all over again.   I’ve seen estimates ranging from 150,000 tech jobs added per year, to some people stating there are as many as 3 million open jobs in the US, many of which are in tech.  The simple explanation is that most of the people who are out of work are not qualified with the necessary skills to be applied to the open jobs, but that’s a problem we can solve if we put our minds to it!

My solution is a simple one; training and placement.  I’m typically not a fan of government stepping in and spending money, but in this situation I have an idea that would require them to step in, and they would actually make money while creating jobs, and revenue, all at the same time.

Step 1: For the millions of people who are out of work and are actively looking for work, the government will establish a payment of $1,000 per prospective employee for training. 

Step 2: An independent start-up company would be established to train and place these people, using the $1,000 payment per prospective employee.  The $1,000 should be enough to take an educated person, and train them in specific jobs that are available, especially if the companies who have these open jobs are incentivized to provide information and training materials in order to get these people up and running.

Step 3: The independent start-up would use those payments as revenue to pay for staff and resources to get these people trained over a 3-month period to be capable of entering into these companies and filling open jobs.  The requirements would be that the jobs be U.S. based, and that the prospective employees be U.S. citizens, in order to take advantage of the program. 

Step 4: When these jobs are filled by the prospective employees, they will have a portion of their wages garnished over a 3 month period to repay the training fee, plus a 100% mark-up (an additional $1,000, for a total of $2,000).  This money would be used to repay the government loan, and the government and the independent start-up would split the additional fees.  In this manner, the government would be repaid their outlay of funds, the start-up would create training jobs and put some percentage of people to work, and we would have successfully retrained millions of people who want to work, and placed them in positions where they can work. 

I know this sounds too easy, which is why the government will probably never pursue it, so I’m putting it out here for all of you to read and respond to.  The government would have the cash to kick-start this kind of a program, but anyone with enough funds could honestly make it happen.  It’s a revenue driver, and a guaranteed one at that.   

What do you think?  Is 2012 the year that someone makes this kind of thing work?  If you’re an Occupy person or any other protester, and you see an idea like this, then you should be incentivized to at least react.  Otherwise, you have no right to gather and protest for the sake of protesting.

Consider this idea my entrepreneurial Christmas gift.  Happy holidays everyone!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

May The Force Be With You in 2012 (Mediapost 12.14.11)

Over the last few months I’ve written a number of columns that attempted to remind us all that content is king.  Just to clarify before I go any further, its not that I don’t love data, targeting and technology – I do.  It’s that none of these work without good, solid, beautiful, engaging content.

A number of publications have been publishing their year-end issues and recaps, and many of them are calling out their favorite commercials and ads of the year.  AdWeek’s list was topped by my personal favorite, “The Force” Volkswagen commercial.  If you haven’t seen this one, then you live in a bubble because apparently this one has received almost 45 million views on YouTube alone, and that doesn’t count the countless copies and shares that may not have surfaced on YouTube.  This spot is a prime example of why content is king; its about the craft of telling a story in 60 seconds or less.

Storytelling is most certainly an art form, and there is no debate about that.  You can debate the balance of art and science in advertising till you’re smurf-blue in the face, but when you dive into the storytelling side of the business, and the creative requirement to do so, this is art; pure and simple.  Storytelling in 60 seconds is about tapping into a notion that is relevant and familiar in the minds of your target audience and delivering emotion and an experience that they will remember.  You have an opening to set the stage.  You tease the promise of something intriguing, and you deliver a “punch line”, so to speak. There has to be something delivered that pays off the promise that was originally teased and that ties your story into something your audience can relate to.  In “The Force” spot, the creative team tapped into the zeitgeist of Star Wars, which is one of the most recognizable and beloved storylines in history, as well as the innocence and naiveté of being a young boy, which at least half the audience will immediately understand.  Of course, using a young buy immediately taps into the Mom’s in the audience as well, so the spot cleverly taps into the mindset of a robust audience on both sides of the coin.

What’s great about that spot is it is 100% based on music and imagery; there is no talking? You have to watch it again to realize there’s a beautiful story being told, but no one is voicing it.  This is storytelling of the highest degree, and there is a reason I point this out.   Everyone gets excited that online video is finally taking off, but that kind of storytelling can be applied to all sorts of online advertising, whether its video or not.  Imagery, music and creative storytelling can be applied to anything online, whether it’s a flash ad, a micro site, or anything else that you can dream up.  If that’s the case, why are online ads so universally derided for not being effective?

My gut says its because we don’t give them the attention they deserve on the creative side of the business. Clients ask their creative resources to churn and burn.  They ask them to create libraries of banners to run through billions and trillions of impressions, without asking them to dive a little deeper and find something that will resonate.  They should be tasking their creative resources to come up with something more inventive, more innovative, and that will tell a story using the assets they have and creating something that is relevant, familiar and can deliver emotion and an experience they will remember.  That video was watched almost 45 million times, and people still love it.  No wear out there!

Storytelling is the oldest form of communication in the history of the world, with stories having been passed down from generation to generation as a form of historical record.  Advertising can be looked at in the same way.  How many times have you looked at old ads, or seen artwork depicting old ads?  Andy Warhol spent a portion of his career in pop art just stylizing advertising, so why shouldn’t the work we do today have the same gravitas as that?  Why can’t someone look upon the online advertising of today and say, “Man, that stuff was good”!

In 2012, I hope that the creative fire gets lit and that we, as an industry, start to come up with ideas that will have impact.  I know you have the skills and the desire, now its up to you to find the time.

And may the force be with you.