Toddlers and Technology

I guess I should have seen this coming when I saw my 3-year-old nephew sit quietly and play games with the iPad. Or when he says, “Aunt Tab, I’ll show you how to do it!” when I am trying to figure out an app or looking at his games.  And my own 1-year-old reaches for my iPhone to press the “buttons”, puts the phone to ear and has a very intense conversation with the dial tone on the other end.

The Parenting Group, the publisher of Parenting, Babytalk, Parenting.com and the Blogher network released a survey that shows that the Gen X and Gen Y moms are greatly influencing their children with technology.  The sweet spot of technology usage for children is around 11 for mobile phones, 16 for smartphones, 4 for laptops, and 5 for digital cameras. Other interesting clips from the study were:

1.     75% of moms with internet access cant go a day with out it.  Being a mom who uses internet access, I would say that I’m on the internet an average of 15 times a day on my days off of work. 

2.     25% of moms let their kids use their mobile phone by age 2.  I am surprised that this statistic isn’t even higher.  I guess the other 75% of moms are more concerned about their children dropping the phone.  Mine gets dropped all the time but thankfully no cracked screen yet!

3.     The study also concluded that moms that do not allow their children to use a smartphone, most likely don’t have a smartphone themselves.  Obviously this makes perfect sense – if the child isn’t influenced, they aren’t going to use the product.

The major concern comes when we begin advertising to these toddlers.  How are we going to cut through the clutter and really make an impact?  What other technological advances are going to stand in the way of the advertiser and the consumer?  The media landscape has changed.  And like it or not, its digital, its social, and its more complicated then its ever been.

Source: Adage.com

A Few Simple Tricks to Make Your Old Media Plan, Your New Media Plan

With current trends and media evolving into a living being, it’s impossible to compete in the market with your old plan.  So anything that has generated you massive return, let’s keep.  Everything else lets fix.  Here are a few items that you need to take a look at while reevaluating your media.

Integrate Social Media

I recently was forwarded a case study by one of my media reps that a rather large hotel / casino conglomerate participated in.  I clicked on the corresponding links, dutifully reviewing the information.  I immediately noticed that the splash page for this hotel had no social media affects present.  I went back to my rep to confirm that their particular medium didn’t allow social media integration.  To my surprise, his response was “Nope, I just don’t think that thought about social media.”  Yikes.  

Also, while you are negotiating with your particular media outlets, ask them to include posting event information, sales, contests, etc on their social media platforms.  This will drive their fans to become your fan. 

Don’t be afraid to link back to media outlets that have written about you, either.  If you are tagging them, they may get the hint to tag you right back. 

PR Piggyback

We are all bombarded with reps that call when the editorial is relevant to your product, destination or what have you.  Its life or death to them – you MUST place an ad, because we are discussing your thing-a-ma-jig!  Is that the best strategy though?  If they are already giving you exposure, is it worth the $X to spend?  Or is it possible for them to link back to your website in the online article, and include your URL in the printed piece? 

Don’t settle for the Thirty

Sometimes a thirty second radio spot or a quarter page black and white newspaper ad does the trick.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  What else can you do to make your program POP!?!  Oh I’m so glad that you asked. (Note that I’m only giving you a few ideas, I can’t give away everything for free. J)

Radio

·      Live Radio Remotes

·      Contesting

·      DJ Live Reads

·      DJ product placement

·      DJ trips to your destination, store, theme park

·      Top of the hour traffic or weather report sponsorship

·      Website and social media integration

·      Interviews

·      Email blasts to stations email database

·      Utilize another of the radio stations regular advertisers to create a cross marketing promotion

Spy on Your Neighbors

You know the old adage; keep your friends close and your enemies closer?  Keep your thumb on the pulse of your competition.  It’s only going to help you.  Clip newspaper ads, save inserts, write down as much as you can remember of their radio spots, DVR their TV commercials.  Note the formats of the radio stations, the sections of the newspaper and the networks that you are seeing the ads on TV.   Are they running :30 ads or :60 ads?  Catalog all of this research.  Now you can compare to your own media, find the holes and punch the mediums that they are missing or the dayparts in which they are slim. 

Make Your Reps Work

While working on the national ESPN media buy with my client Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, I knew we were making an impact because I was immediately bombarded by sales reps asking for additional budgets, by people in the community talking about the campaign, and by my friends and family “letting me know” that Myrtle Beach golf was on Mike and Mike.  Its crucial to make sure that your media is impacting people.  And if it isn’t, its time to go back to your media reps. They are sales people and should be on our team.  Go back to them if its not working…. If you have ever sent food back in a restaurant, then you should be ok with going back to your media reps. Make sure that you are maximizing you’re reach potential with enough frequency for the consumer to recall your ad, if not – send it back. 

Never Settle

Once your plan is complete, negotiated and placed – it’s now time to rest to sit back and rest on your laurels, right?  Ha-ha, don’t you wish.  Now is when the hard work starts.  For pete’s sake, integrate some type of tracking into your campaign.  If you don’t – how do you know what is working?  Have realistic goals in place that you can look back at and compare on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis.  A/B test your creative, dayparting, and placement.  You can always do better.  And better is good.

Celebrity Endorsement

One of the Brandon Agency’s clients, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, incorporated a national media buy with ESPN Radio and espnradio.com that included celebrity endorsement by the hosts of Mike and Mike in the Morning, Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg.

“The Boys” touted Myrtle Beach from the lush greens, outstanding weather, and pristine beaches.  The online and on-air campaign runs from January 17, 2011 to April 8^th, 2011.  Golf Holiday also incorporated a contest to spice up the media buy – winner and his guest participates in the 17^th Annual Hootie and the Blowfish Monday after the Masters and even get to meet Greeny and Golic.  In this case, we would shout success -contest entries totaled 34,468 with 57,735 views to the contest page.  The campaign will conclude on April 11, 2011 when Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic host Mike and Mike in the Morning Live from Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club.  All in all, Greeny and Golic did an amazing job and brought awareness and credibility to Myrtle Beach as a golf destination.

It also worked out that the celebs selected had relevance to the marketing plan.  Sports talk show.  Golf.  Makes sense, right?  It also helps that Golic is said to have some skills on the green.  We also reviewed key markets that the show airs, and copy split our message to ensure that we were hitting direct flight markets strongly.  It all worked out.

There are downsides to celebrity endoresement, however.  Celebrities are human.  They make mistakes.  They cheat on their wives and ALLEGEDLY get chased and hit with a golf club by the betrayed spouse.  They operate dog fighting rings.  These mistakes can take your companys credibility from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the dogpile. So be careful who you select.  Luckily, the game of golf in Myrtle Beach booms because of two stand up guys that host a small little morning sports talk show M-F 6a-10a on ESPN Radio!

Smart Use of Packaging

I went out of my comfort zone and purchased a hair product that I don’t usually purchase, all because I had a coupon.  Women around the world, I'm sure, can appreciate the trepidation in moving out of the box in the hair care department, but also understand the temptation of saving $1.50.  While I was using said hair product, I read the directions on the back.  On the back of the product I noticed it had a topic that interested me.

“Need to make some room in your closet?  Purchase Herbal Essence Conditioner and Find out”.

I immediately picked up the conditioner to find out the answer.  As I was reading the answer, I thought how genius this marketing tactic was and how far you could really go with it. 

First of all, if I hadn't purchased the mate as well, it would have bugged me until I found out the answer.  So there was immediate product recognition and a potential sales increase because I would have went out to buy the conditioner if I didn’t have it already.  Also, I'm very tempted to purchase a different type of the same brand, to investigate other tips.

I also thought, you could really take this strategy to a whole new level, as there are many things that you purchase in groups.  And you can push your brand above others, with this type of connection.

For example, around 4^th of July it would work for hot dogs, hot dog rolls, and ketchup.  What an added twist to partner and add a trivia question and answer to the different brands to encourage people to purchase your brand above others.  Once they have it in hand at the store, I would imagine that its pretty tempting to throw your product in the shopping cart, especially if they are in the market for it anyway.  You could even extend the promotion to relish, pickles, plates, napkins, tablecloths – all of a consumers picnic needs.

This strategy could work with a variety of different items: brand specific pants and shirts, pre-bagged lettuce and salad dressing, crayons and coloring books, dog leashes and collars, hammer and nails, fishing line and hooks, the list is extensive and really could hit any product.

Good job Herbal Essence.  Smart use of your packaging to potentially increase sales and extend product recognition.  

Creating Trial – a Mathematical Perspective

As the Media Director at The Brandon Agency, I prefer numbers to words.  So for this blog entry, I decided to appeal to the other numerical nerds out there in the world wide web and blog about the  1,2,3’s.

Recently, I became a mom to a healthy baby girl.  And like all new moms, I signed up for every email newsletter, “fanned” every Facebook page, and researched every website that had anything to do with babies, baby health, baby products, baby foods, baby needs – you get the point.  Suddenly I started receiving the most amazing thing in my mailbox – free samples.  I got Enfamil and Similac formulas, Huggies and Pampers diapers, Bordeaux’s and Desitin rash cream.

When it was time for me to come back to work, I needed to start supplementing some formula into her routine.  I chose to try the Enfamil because it was a pretty large container and it was right there in my house – I didn’t need to run to the store and pour over all the different kinds.  It was easy.  And because I started using it, I just decided to stick with it since it was working how I needed it to work.

The package that magically appeared at my doorstep from Enfamil had two 8 oz. containers of powdered formula inside. My guess is that it probably cost them $6 to mail and all the materials including the product inside may have cost them $4.  Im estimating here.

Cost to company = $10

When it was time to go and purchase at the grocery store, a 24 oz container of the powdered formula costs $23.  I buy two containers every other week since Im just supplementing it and I need one for home and one for her daycare. 

Monthly formula cost = $92

Babies typically get formula for the first year of life and we started supplementing when she was 2 months old.  A family who solely uses formula would have a decrease in monthly formula cost after 6 months, but we don’t use that much of it so Im keeping the cost the same.

Cost of formula for 2-12 months = $920

Essentially Enfamil made about $900 (give or take) from just my family alone.  Now lets say that they send out 5,000 samples to expecting families.

Cost to send 5,000 samples = $50,000

And lets say that 2.5% of expecting families use the formula sample and decide that they like it and go to the store to purchase it.

5,000 samples * 2.5% = 125 families

125 families * $920 for yearly formula (assuming all families are like mine, which realistically they would probably purchase a lot more formula) = $115,000

So for them to actually send the formula it cost about $50,000 and they made about $115,000.  This doesn’t take into account the mark up that the grocery store receives, however they made about double what they spent.  Not too shabby. 

I believe that with a targeted mailing list, and a strategic plan – sampling can really work in a companies benefit.  Nevermind the fact that now I am an advocate and endorse the product via word of mouth, I fanned the facebook page and joined their email newsletter.  In my opinion, creating trial really adds up.

Resurgence of Print

A year ago everyone I know jumped on the “Print is Dead” bandwagon.  I kind of laughed a little to myself because although subscriptions were decreasing and some newspapers ended up folding – I still continued to place media buys in print.  WHY WOULD I DO THIS you are probably asking yourself!!  Well, as I pick up the local newspaper I see 5 ads.  I would much prefer for one of my clients to be one of those 5 ads then not be.  Don’t get me wrong, content marketing on the web is here to stay – but I believe in a media mix that is going to get the message out.  So, why not try it?  And honestly, it works.   All you have to do is add a coupon, a text code or a website and you can easily have a tracking system to measure your progress.   This approach also trickles over to direct mail.  Be honest, how many direct mail pieces are you getting in the mail now-a-days.  Not too many, right?  Personally my mail has dwindled to non-existent unless it’s a no-fun bill to pay.  Less competition in the mailbox is going to warrant the consumer less frustration flicking through the stack and to pay more attention to your message.  Less competition and more attention… sounds like a winner to me.  I also would like to say BRAVO to magazines like “People Magazine” that give free ipad access to subscribers.  Maintaining or growing your subscription database while building consistent brand loyalty through their online tools is pure marketing genius.  Whoever came up with this idea – I hope you got a raise. 

Lastly I would like to add – how many of you have ipads, smartphones, laptops, computers, ipods, facebook, twitter, foursquare accounts, etc, etc, etc.  Isnt it nice to unplug once in awhile and settle down with a magazine?  Speaking of which – I have a “Real Simple” to read.

Some last minute thoughts on why you should include print in your media mix:

·         Magazines create deeper connections and relationships then digital media.

·         Magazine readerships in the 18-34 segment continues to grow.

·         Magazines and newspapers have become the ideal complement to their digital counterparts.

·         Magazines continue to be the #1 item for last minute purchase at the check out counters.

·         Newspapers remain strong in the 35+ demographic.

·         Magazines and newspapers are tangible mediums to distribute coupons or sale papers.

·         Direct Mail gives you the ability to specifically target a demographic without the clutter of competitors.

Tips and Tricks to Maximize TripAdvisor

Tripadvisor is the must have marketing tool for any hotel.  It is the largest online travel community where you can read information and opinions from other travelers while you are planning your next vacation. 

One of the free marketing tools that Tripadvisor has to offer is the reviews.  The reviews are honest and helpful  with ratings and recommendations based on a 5 star scale.  Don’t be nervous if all reviews arent stellar.  Trends in social networking have opened consumers eyes to the review process and if you have mostly positive reviews, then you should be in the clear.  Consumers now know to take into consideration that there are some people you just cant please, as well as looking at the time frame of the review.  For example, reviews that complain about noise and parties in a spring break area during spring break, are obviously individuals that didn’t plan that well.  Also, you can message back to those individuals who didn’t have a great experience to try to fix the relationship.  If you don’t have mostly positive reviews, take into consideration what your guests have said and try to fix the problem!  The reviews are one of the best customer service marketing tools in your arsonal.

Another free tool that you can utilize are the photos and videos.  If you are listed on Tripadvisor, go to your hotel page. Scroll to the bottom past all of the reviews where it says “Do you own “So and So” hotel”

You can add numerous photos and videos to aid your past and future guests in their decision making process in a relatively easy manner.  It’s one of the fastest ways to show people what amentities you have, or what updates you have made. 

When you actually get to the point where you are ready to purchase advertising space on Tripadvisor, there are several different items that you can buy, Im just going to go through the basics and what has a proven track record. 

You can purchase both CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or banners and CPC (cost per click) or text link programs.  Tripadvisor won’t allow you to purchase CPC without a CPM buy, and the minimum on the CPM is about $10,000.  The CPC tends to have a better ROAS with about  a 5:1+ ratio.  We have experienced clients with as high as 16:1 ROAS.  The highest grossing portions of the CPC elements are the check rates section.  This allows you to place your hotel name to check prices with Bookit.com, Priceline.com, Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com.

In this instance, MyrtleBeachHotels.com owns the Breakers.  The checkbox automatically fills, the consumer adds their check in dates, number of adults and they hit the “Check Rates” button.  When someone hits the check rates button, it counts as a CPC, and the benefit is that the consumer gets to check your hotel rate against the other online travel agencies (OTAs).  If you are the least expensive, and hopefully you are, chances are that the consumer is going to book direct with you and save you the 30% or whatever you are paying with the OTAs.  Your text links will also show up within the destination pages where your hotel resides.

The CPM version of the ad buy will be the standard banners that you are used to seeing.  The banners help drive traffic to the hotel website, but do not  tend to generate a large return on ad spend.  We lend this to the fact that consumers rarely purchase directly from a banner, they research and purchase at a later date.  These banners are normally placed within the destination pages of where your hotel is located.  So, if your hotel is located in Myrtle Beach, you will see your banners when you are searching within the Myrtle Beach pages of Tripadvisor.  This includes other hotel properties pages. 

A personal theory that I have is that Tripadvisor is so powerful that it will actually move the needle on your other advertising media buys depending on your Tripadvisor rank.  I have seen evidence that supports this theory on other advertising platforms.  

So there you have it, a few tips and tricks to store up your sleeve to get heads in beds.