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Earlier this Summer, I began to wind down an amazing 23 year career with PwC where I helped build revolutionary digital advertising businesses like Hulu, AT&T's advertising offerings and expanding mycokerewards to take ads from partners, among others. I took serious note of changes in the consumers we frequently assessed for migrating media habits and receptivity to new forms of advertising. Suffice it to say that as we have ridden the storm into what we term, the "new economy," where consumers will never be the same and are also firmly in charge of their economic destiny. Consumers are now saving money and spending more wisely. They are seeking values with every purchase from cans of Coke to luxury goods. They are using the word "coupon" more than most other search terms. They pause their fast forwarding DVRs on ads where savings lights up the screen. They are improving credit scores and refinancing with still low interest rates. They use technology to find savings before shopping. They have taken to mobile and portable devices to the degree that almost no one in America under the age of 12 is without 24/7 connection to the web. Consumers are more than willing to give up information about themselves if they promised their data won't be abused and will get something of high value in return that matches their new economy behaviors, interests, buying habits and lifestyles. Consumers also love to be the first to discover and share with friends and social networks news on savings, new products and entertaining ads. I have recently heard that 20% of all Tweets contain a brand reference.
Based on my frequent daily reviews of Facebook posts, I would say it is at least this level on my social networks. Foursquare is all about the promotion of local brands. Forget whether it's a good economy or bad economy. Forget if it's a bull or bear market. We are in a "new economy" where consumers still love brands, love deals even more and love to use technology to spend their precious time watching ads and branded content of direct interest, but with a promise of savings.
When I made the decision to leave PwC, I began to look for new opportunities that matched these "new economy" trends. I was introduced to AdGenesis by my good friends Wenda Millard and Michael Kassan. At AdGenesis, a new start-up helmed by Richard Smullen, I found all of the ingredients of a new economy play. Here was a company that was the "e-harmony of branded content and consumers" matching brands with those most likely to buy. Not to sound so cliché, but I liked what I saw so much "I bought in to the company," becoming a member of the Advisory board and where I will also spend a portion of my time as CMO. AdGenesis is an "advertising engine" that puts the consumers first. Whether through it's own consumer facing platform, beezag.com, or the private labels offerings they have with In-box Dollars, Parade Magazine and many soon to be announced others, you will see them asking consumers their current buying habits, offering up branded video content related to these answers, rewarding consumers for actually proving they watched the self-selected ads and delivering offers or savings at the end of every single piece of content. Consumers can save offers for later, share with friends or use their rewards on any participating rewards program from Facebook to Paypal. It actually could be a great revenue alternative for publishers who are not getting the value of display ads yet struggle with charging the "new economy" consumer more.
Rather, than hoping, praying, thinking or wishing the right niche within a mass audience "may" be watching your ad, advertisers are realizing the perfect nexus between consumers opting in desires, platforms able to deliver the audience most likely to buy and rewarding all involved for higher sales. AdGenesis has the only mix of experience that I have come across that does this. In the "new economy," everyone can win. That's why at AdGenesis, we don't just view it as the "new economy;" we view it as the "consumer-rewarded economy."
Michael Kelley is CMO and on the Advisory Board of AdGenesis. Michael is one of the most recognized marketers and digital advertising strategists who knows how to build and operate businesses. He can be reached at michaelk@adgenesisdigital.com.
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