Facebook Is Too Crowded and Your Analytics Aren't Up to Snuff
Examining the Current Herd of Sacred Cows in the Advertising World
Phil Johnson |
It's good practice, however, to identify the sacred cows and question them. Peter got me thinking about what other sacred cows are out there that deserve to be looked at with a critical eye. Here are my thoughts on three pillars of the established order, including social media.
1. The Future of Facebook and Twitter
For the record, I believe that social media has permanently changed the landscape of marketing. Tools now exist for consumers to control the conversation with companies, and smart marketers can participate and engage with customers more directly and honestly than ever before. That's a reality.
The sacred cow is the belief that Facebook and Twitter are the premier platforms for this revolution. As those platforms become mainstream, marketers like us turn them into forms of traditional paid media and they become less valuable as social networks. Facebook is already starting to resemble a tacky mall cluttered up with unwanted advertising and promotional noise. As time goes on, I predict that people will want to protect their closest community of friends and will find ways to block out everyone else. They will leave mega networks for smaller, more focused communities. If you really care about the principles of social media, start looking for the next generation of platforms because as far as Facebook and Twitter go, the neighborhood is getting too crowded.
2. Campaign Measurement and Analytics
Have mercy on the agency that goes into a new business pitch without a kick-ass measurement and analytic story. Some agencies build their entire positioning around this competency. My second sacred cow is the assumption that agencies, especially small ones, know how to do a particularly good job in this area. Sure, with Google Analytics and tools like Technorati, anybody can cobble together a cool measurement dashboard. The truth is that accurate and meaningful measurement can only be developed from sophisticated databases and people with enough applied math to use them. Digital agencies and some of the big boys have these capabilities. The rest of us will need to invest in technologies and resources that will be hard to integrate into the agency structure. And it will take months, if not years, to recover the costs. Agencies willing to sacrifice short-term profits to make these investments will be the winners.
3. Traditional Creative Departments
The third sacred cow is the sanctity of the advertising creative department. Concepts like crowd sourcing have begun to move creative development beyond the walls of the agency. Just look at business models like CrowdSpring that let companies use the web to go directly to the creative community and post creative assignments with a cash prize. Ideas like this have the potential to change the economics of how agencies sell their creative work. While these new models may not threaten the established order today, they point to a new way of thinking. Personally, I think CrowdSpring is perfect for small and independent agencies that want access to a greater creative community.
Who knows exactly what the future holds, but as creative thinkers and innovators it's part of our job to question the latest trends and challenge the status quo. The best of you will see the important changes on the horizon and figure out what they mean for your clients and your agencies. Hopefully, I'll be smart enough to stay right on your heels.
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So could one argue that there is more pressure on a small agency to yield tangible results (market share) vs. brand awareness (mind share) because it lacks the ability to measure the latter?
Actually, don't answer that. I'm just rolling with it.
Thanks.
Analytics is another windmill worth tilting over. Thanks to CRM and HPC we are awash with more data than ever before. But the metrics I love are the client surveys that tell us that more and more information does nothing to improve their insight into the decision making processes of their various audiences. Which leads us to ask, if you don't know what they want, how are you going to engage them? that is not to say that behaviorial-based analytics don't show progress in this arena. But they are currently in a collision course with privacy advocates and the smart money is on the keyhole pluggers, not watchers.
Then Phil swung his axe at the true sacred cow of advertising. The "entirely too creative Department. Crowd-sourcing is just more of the same thinking without the experience and training to provide workable solutions. $615 dollar logos are not going to attract the caliber of talent to satisfy gonzo client demands. CrowdSpring,GeniusRocket et al are basically mutual admiration societies of bottom feeders who vote up each others work and eat up the time of clients that should know, you get what you under pay for.
Right now "creativity" is the albatross around the advertising industry's neck. The agencies that can get off the "creativity" crack pipe, ("I'm going to Hollywood!!!!) will do so to worship at the new alter of "Pursuasion." (Creativity+Insight+Magic= "Persuasion") That's when this business will get interesting again.
That is if this is the business that gets the "New Advertising" right. Personally, my money is on (in) Silicon Valley, not Madison Avenue. http://MadisonAveNew.com
Thanks so much for mentioning crowdSPRING in your article. Over 12,000 creatives from 130+ countries work on crowdSPRING. We agree that business models which challenge traditional methods of buying creative services have the potential to change the economics of how agencies work. iStockphoto demonstrated this some years back with stock photography. And even though our own business is only eight months old, we already are seeing trends which suggest that those who can leverage talent around the world become more competitive and more attractive to both small and large clients. For example, we are seeing more and more businesses and smaller agencies leverage crowdSPRING. The small and independent agencies are able to provide incredible and affordable choice to their clients and a fresh perspective from designers around the world.
Shortly after we launched in May 2008, we began receiving calls and emails from agencies and brands asking us to create a special product that would allow small and independent agencies to leverage crowdSPRING for their clients. We launched crowdSPRING Pro (in September 2008), which allows buyers full privacy control (buyers decide what others see in their projects, and when they see it. Projects are not indexed by search engines). crowdSPRING Pro also includes dynamic non-disclosure agreements, and full user control, allowing buyers to accept or reject any creatives for participation in the project. crowdSPRING Pro allows small and independent agencies to tap into a global pool of creative talent in a way that protects the confidentiality of the projects. And in giving agencies control over pricing, privacy, and choice, we've empowered small and independent agencies to compete for business that they otherwise might never have received. At the same time, we've created a level playing field where talented creatives from around the world compete solely based on their talent.
It truly is a new way of thinking, and we're very proud to be in the center of this global change.
Best,
Ross Kimbarovsky
co-Founder
http://www.crowdspring.com
Almost, that is. True what he has said, about time wasters, cheap creative, and creativity, but its context is lost against the backdrop of social media.
Remember Target's fiasco with social blogs, caught with their hand in the cookie jar, manipulating opinion and leveraging social media to advance their own ends. Just as Harry said: (...) "It will take a quantum leap on the part of client cultures to "get" the ways to leverage social media. And then it will be the client, not the agency calling the shots on how it is used. As long as advertisers continue to regard the Audience as prospective customers, they will never get it right." (...).
The Protagonist and Antagonist in Advertising is not social-media, nor is it solely creativity as Harry suggests, but it is: "So could one argue that there is more pressure on a small agency to yield tangible results (market share) vs. brand awareness (mind share) because it lacks the ability to measure the latter? Actually, don't answer that. I'm just rolling with it." As Caleb Adams states.
And as for what Phil concludes: "Who knows exactly what the future holds, but as creative thinkers and innovators it's part of our job to question the latest trends and challenge the status quo. The best of you will see the important changes on the horizon and figure out what they mean for your clients and your agencies. Hopefully, I'll be smart enough to stay right on your heels."
Phil is half right, half wrong. Advertising is in a transition period and we are beyond the cusp and now in the midst of change, where we are just now starting to understand the affects. Clearly, print has been taken down several notches, and New Media up. What hasn't been determined are the metrics and Marketing's ROI. This transition period we are in now is much the same as it was once, Radio to Television, a dynamic change took place then as it is now. Both medias were profoundly affected and applying that to today is a better explanation then blind men describing an elephant.
That was the half right, the half wrong is that Advertisers and Advertising Agencies need to practice Integrated Marketing Communications bringing all forces to bear on the problem, not singular elements. Yes, New Media is a part of the mix, but not the end all. Phil is right when he says what we need to do: "to question the latest trends and challenge the status quo." Target is a good model to watch. Their CMO seems to be orchestrating a balanced composition making the sweet music of 'advertising.' Or, Integrated Brand Promotion. How they fair against the antagonist Wal-mart in this real life drama as it plays out will say a lot about New Media's place in everyone's mix.
It was too intellectually stimulating to pass up and on: Persuasion will never go away, but maybe print will, at least it seems newspapers will have to develop a new form, as radio, to survive the storm. Thus, the transition period I eluded to earlier.
I always enjoy your thoughtful posts.
You call these sacred cows. I think of them as the "man behind the curtain."
Social networks are booming. Of course, CB radios were all the rage back in the days of Smokey and the Bandit. Agencies weren't desperate to "monetize" CB channels as a media outlet or advertising vehicle.
Look at a success story of Apple. They are notoriously tight-lipped on the PR side and do not chase social media. The Apple approach is very traditional in many ways. First, create innovative and beautifully designed products. Market them aggressively through traditional media. Have one of the best e-commerce sites on the Internet. And, strive for exceptional customer service.
Everyone shook their heads when they went to bricks-and-mortar retailing, where Gateway and Dell had failed miserably. Yet, Apple was successful because the stores and service were well conceived and executed. They started with just a few major markets and let profitability drive growth. They know how to create buzz and make each rollout an event.
Please note that Apple has a very long tenure with their agency partner.
Next, campaign measurements and analytics are truly the "king's new clothes" of advertising. The head of Turner Broadcasting just assailed Nielsen and other audience measurement tools. And certainly no agency should measure the performance of their own work. In 30 years, I have never seen an agency's research department say they did a bad job reaching the target audience.
Every few years a new measurement tool is developed. Data, databases and audience information get sliced and diced, placed in this matrix or that, and is almost always incomprehensible to the client. And that's how the agency may prefer it.
Finally, is it really creative work when it becomes a commodity? I see many smaller clients/agencies that cobble together a logo from here, a project from there and wonder why their brand image isn't making an impact. Their brand is reflected in this fragmented approach. By contrast, refer back to the Apple example of one long-term creative agency/partner.
Ultimately, we must be aware of what's new and how the business is changing. But we must be selective and decide which tools, networks and measurements have real value.
Thanks,
Hoot Communications
On the contrary, Apple has consistently presented and created the best corporate advertising campaigns in the history of advertising. Corporate advertising, as in the Public Relations corner.
Carefully created, and apparently so seamless, you hadn't even noticed. It is like Edward Burnays lives, at least somewhere in the Silicon Valley with Apple anyway. In the rest of the world they tout 'made in California,' as the cult. As if it was its own country, which it probably is.
It was the PR strategy that built the brand, and Integrated Brand Promotion that elevated it to a lifestyle statement.
Not to mention that the budgets on that crowd sourcing site are ridiculously low. Good luck getting a website overhaul for $1000-- again, cute concept, but get real.
I doubt if any corporate exec looking to cut corners is going to meet the next Ogilvy on crow sourcing websites. I know we need two sides of the coin, but this is just sad.
Thanks!
I think we are in agreement about Apple. When I wrote about Apple being tight-lipped (in PR), it should have been tightly controlled. After all, they did take Davis aka Nicholas Ciarelli to court about his blog that previewed product releases prior to official Apple announcements.
But yes, they have presented some of the best corporate campaigns and integrated marketing in the 21st century.
My point was that they didn't do it through cobbling together a group of low-paid online freelancers, or posting conversations on Twitter.
They have benefitted from a strong, long-term agency relationship and a fairly traditional (integrated) marketing approach.
Hoot Communications
You're a man in need of your own blog. Check out Blogger - https://www.blogger.com/start
A fan,
Phil
That's some nice spin Phil - but I don't buy it. Success in social media isn't about a firestorm of publicity. The old adage that any publicity is good publicity is counter intuitive to brands in the social media space. I don't need to explain how painful a boatload of Facebook and Twitter brand detractors can be.
http://www.twitter.com/admaven
http://admaven.blogspot.com
I'm agreement with you about several things in this post, but I have to second Ben's sentiments regarding CrowdSpring. Beyond ridiculously low prices charged, the flaw in the site as I see it is that in several instances the projects are poorly explained and do not provide proper guidance from a research/strategic/target audience perspective. I'm looking at one of their posted projects right now that has one sentence on the company, one sentence on what they need, two words on the target audience and half a sentence on what the client tends to like in terms of design. OK, so this company posting this project will get a wide array of designs in return for prices so cheap, it really is obscene. Guess that's a benefit for them -- kind of. But what's the benefit for the person or agency posting the design? The money? Come on, when it's $200 for a logo or as Ben points out, $1000 for a website, the term "cash prize" is one that should be taken lightly. Like you, I don't see this type of company as a threat to the establish order. But I do have to respectfully disagree with you on the perceived benefit to small agencies. It's not a business builder. It's just bad business to participate in these types of projects from a profitability standpoint and it sets a bad precedent that your agency will work for basically nothing, which has no hope for establishing a true relationship with that client.
Dan Gershenson
Creative Director
The Creative Underground
www.thecreativeunderground.com
As with the development of any strategy it should start with objectives and since marketers budgets are getting cut left and right today, it also has to include not only a metrics plan but a plan that is agreed upon by the client and his company executives. For example, one could argue that the recent Burger King viral video campaign is a failure unless sales are impacted regardless of how many people view the video. A brand with high awareness, such as BK, does need awareness campaigns and there is a lot of push back that awareness campaigns actually generate sales in an age of consumer empowerment.
Marketers want to use social media and apply traditional marketing this new media. It just doesn't work that way. Social media is an excellent tool to listen to your audience and learn what they are thinking and what they are saying about your brand. In order to utilize social media however marketers have to learn to listen and take their lumps. For too long we have treated consumers like they are idiots and now they are empowered and laughing at our advertising. Time to rethink the basic core concepts of marketing in a world where information is available 24/7/365
Soon enough the kind of tools the big agencies are developing or using will be in the hands of the little guy and again make big agencies cumbersome to deal with. The best metrics in the world are no substitute for getting a return on investment for your clients. The big agencies tend to focus on fancy advertising campaigns that do little to increase the bottom line of the client.
I maintain that most smaller agencies have to actually get results for their clients and don't have the luxury of developing sophisticated measuring tools for poorly conceived campaigns that get poor results. We have to get it right the first time or fail.
I can't wait for the big ad agencies to ask for their portion of the bailout money. Just like the big three auto manufacturers, we'll find out they are bloated institutions that are not keeping up with the times and a new generation will need to take over.
Back to social networks. Maybe the reason people struggle with selling on social networks is that they have never had to sell face-to-face to a customer. It's about building relationships first, stupid, not first trying to sell a product. If you don't know how to build authentic relationships on-line, you'll fail at social networks.
Interesting and gutsy post. While I agree with #3, ad agencies have not been about Creativity for some time and the sooner we figure out we're about creating commerce not creativity we'll all start making a good bit more money.
But not sure I agree that FB and Twitter are sacred cows. Mainly because most of my agency friends don't know what the hell Twitter is and the vast majority over 30 aren't on FB or actively promoting either as a revenue or advertising resource.
What I do see is that clients are incredibly interested in social media and especially FB and Twitter which has gained in recognition over the last few months. I give a little 90 minute Social Media 101 talk and pretty much every client that we mention it to asks to sit through it. Most move quickly to wanting a proposal next because they see the value of communicating with their consumer versus just advertising to them.
And while advertising may begin to creep into both platforms (much like MySpace -- good god) I don't think you're going to see consumers move to multiple vertical communities -- it is just too hard to manage multiple communities. What makes Twitter, FB and the like so convenient is the ability to manage multiple networks in a single tool. And for that reason, doubt they are going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, most likely an uber platform will roll them all up into a single dashboard.
Agree with Harry and you -- our instinct is to advertise in these new channels which is absolutely the worst thing you can do. FB'ers live inside the frame and Twitter folks have routinely denounced any talk of inserting advertising into tweetstreams.
Keep up the good posts sir.
Richard, you win.
Everyone else plays a fool's game.
Save Harry Webber, who somehow remains above the fray. Some call it genius.
Me too.
From that same high-perch overlooking this skirmish, I can see with clarity what even TM-with-his-Crystal-Ball-could-spot-a-mile-away: this New Media component of which we speak, is really a part of the 21st Century Communications Revolution, not dissimilar from the Communications Revolution of the 20th Century now commonly known as the telephone-or-telecommunications.
Advertisers were no less perplexed as you seem today, and diligently worked to displace the ubiquitous 'Yellow Pages" which mirrors today's Google and its rivals.
The Protagonist and Antagonist in Advertising is not social-media, nor is it solely creativity as Harry suggests: "So could one argue that there is more pressure on a small agency to yield tangible results (market share) vs. brand awareness (mind share) because it lacks the ability to measure the latter? As-Caleb-Adams-states.
Richard Myer goes on the state: "Social media is an excellent tool to listen to your audience and learn what they are thinking and what they are saying about your brand. In order to utilize social media however marketers have to learn to listen and take their lumps.
Phil concludes: "Who-knows-exactly-what-the-future-holds, but as creative thinkers and innovators it's part of our job to question-the-latest-trends-and-challenge-the-status-quo. The best of you will see the important changes on the horizon and figure out what they mean for your clients and your agencies. Hopefully, I'll be smart enough to stay right on your heels."
All true, but the root of the conversation is Social Media, and New Media. With telecommunications, what business didn't get a dedicated telephone line and establish communications. And what business didn't use it for CRM.
What you guys are doing is akin to marketers trying to figure out Telemarketing that in New Media we call Spam.
Customer Relationship Management is really the victor in Social Media, not "Advertising" at all.
I launched my website in 1994 cited as-one-of-the-first-to-engage-in-e-commerce-as-it-was-called-then.
Advertising continues as what Harry Webber calls it-persuasion. Public Relations remains "Crystallizing-Public-Opinion" as Edward-Burnays calls it. Although taken-a-back-seat-to-PR-guru - James Grunig's pronouncement for Crisis Management: "Tell the Truth." Promotion is what Ivy Lee and B.T. Barnum called it: a Bum's-Rush-of-get-'em-threw-the-door. And media is what New-Media is, hence the name.
How Integrated Brand Promotion fits in with any and all media is the Persuasive Creative is transmitted to the public, be it any form of media that the given Target Consumer can be reached. The more of it is called reach.
All this Social Media manipulation is better known as "Word of Mouth," consumer endorsement.
And here high up above the mêlée, I see a "21st Century Communications Revolution taking place on a par with that of the 20th Century. Nothing more. So stop wasting time defining the Elephant, blind men. Make Advertising.
Perhaps there is a demi-god-above-us-all-maybe-even Al Gore. Boom!
You are editing me? Are you that thin-skinned?
For once I complemented TM, his insight here on this posting of his blog. It is why I responded at all, to make amends.
My guess is that social networking benefits small business owners the most but most fail to take it seriously - no set goals and objectives, no business focus. This is social participation.
With a plan, you can easily use sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn to target your market.
Is the disappearing reappearing act my server or yours?
Strange stuff afoot.
With the world of new media moving so quickly, it only makes sense to have an agency that thinks in Internetese 24/7 managing your online communications, rather than having a mega-agency delegating it to one of their "teams." I've wrote before that every agency should have access to a team of programmers (http://www.newmediacampaigns.com/page/ad-agencies-need-programming-partners), and I think this idea will continue progressing to the point where every client teams with 4 or 5 agencies to tackle a project. It'll be cheaper and probably more effective.
Thanks again for a great post!
@venndiagram8
A male seeing an ad for breast augmentation will most likely be frustrated by it because it is not relevant. However, if he is an avid snowboarders and mentions it in his profile, he may see an ad for snowboards.
It is 50/50. Advertisers should use the Facebook targeting options provided, and users should update their profile with relevant information.
Thanks for the article! We actually used it as a blog post for our site. Check it out http://www.mightyinteractive.com/blog.php/2009/01/facebook-marketing