Branded Entertainment, Online Video, Search and the Power of Digital Media Assessed by Marketer, Media Agency and Digital Media Execs

Social networking and the means by which digital technology has empowered consumers of media and merchandise alike were the dominant themes at the JackMyers Future of Media discussion earlier this week The auditorium at the Helen Mills Theater was filled to capacity as Aegis North Americaamp8217s Sarah Fay Colgate Palmoliveamp8217s Jack Haber bliptv39s Dina Kaplan Worldwide Biggies39 Albie Hecht and former CocaCola executive Shane Steele engagingly discussed the Realities of Dealing with the Changing Media Marketplace with moderator Jack Myers When was the last time you found yourself in an auditorium full of media executives and did not see faces all around you unflatteringly illuminated by Blackberries The room was largely filled with digital media executives or at least those who are digitally inclined When Jack Myers asked audience members how many of them spend 75 percent or more of their time on digital media almost every hand in the room went up When he asked how many spend 75 percent or more of their time on traditional media only a handful of hands were raisedMyers and his panelists offered fresh and diverse insights into the changes that are sweeping through all areas of media during the digital era but throughout the session the overall message remained largely the same consumers are still king free to devote their time to whatever they desire But they now hold more power than ever before amp8211 including the power to expand a brand New Aegis NA CEO Fay set the event tone commenting amp8220The focus is around the consumer Content is created to be distributed wherever the consumer can be reachedamp8221Haber Colgate Palmoliveamp8217s Vice President of Global Advertising and eBusiness said that the new opportunities inherent in digital media amp8220are absolutely terrific for marketers like us Digital media gives us incredible new ways to connect with the consumer new ways to connect and new ways to advertise Unlike the mass marketing that our business was built on with lowest common denominator methods now we can really target messages to peopleamp8221Thatamp8217s good news but there are concerns said digital media and marketing consultant and former Director of Emerging Media and Online Advertising at Coca Cola Shane Steele amp8220You have to remember that the users are in control and they will figure out ways to get around the advertisementamp8221 she warnedAdvertising today amp8220is about creating great content and great experiences for consumers in a way that youamp8217re not taking away value but adding valueamp8221 Steele continued amp8220It is becoming participatory It isnamp8217t just about creating an ad and putting it out there and people leaning back and watching it Now people can extend the campaigns within their networks and social media That social participatory component of whatamp8217s happening in digital media is one of the most exciting things happening todayamp8221Fay reflected on recent successful campaigns that illustrated the power of consumer interaction through digital platforms among them one for Adidas in which a community was created on MySpace amp8220because it was right for the brand not because we understood fully the value of the programamp8221 she explained amp8220We had creative elements people could take away and put on their own home pages We would give people a spinning shoe or a backdrop for their MySpace site So we could get 600000 people to the community on a monthly basis and maybe 75000 would take something from that and put it on their own site Not a big number right But if you actually added up all the impressions of people who then visited their friends sites with the creative elements it was 215 millionamp8220We think a big opportunity today is to use offline media to drive toward a more engaging experienceamp8221 Fay continued amp8220Weamp8217ve done it with Sony Reebok Adidas brands that are more about someoneamp8217s identity higher involvement brands where you do have to be focused on building equity over time Itamp8217s been a really phenomenal experience when weamp8217ve been able to make it happen If you can drive toward something and kick start a community to get involved with a brand you can get your media dollars to carry a lot farther We built a social networking space for Reebok where you could use Google maps to post your run connect to iTunes and tell people what youamp8217re playing when you run and use Flickr to upload photos of yourself during your run That was in 2007 The TV print and outdoor runs ran from AprilJune but the site is still going strong today Thereamp8217s more authenticity to that too when you get the consumer to talk about your messageamp8221Are agencies rising to meet the challenges and opportunities inherent in the growth of digital media and the social change it brings amp8220Itamp8217s tempting to sit here and say the agencies donamp8217t get itamp8221 observed bliptv cofounder and Chief Operating Officer Dina Kaplan amp8220The digital side is used to buying display ads which everyoneamp8217s eyes just gloss over and the TV arm is so locked into making 30second ads and then wanting to stick them before or after a video The infrastructure to support Web video advertising just is not there yet We need metrics We need a way to tell advertisers what they need to know How many seconds into a video people have watched How many ad impressions have been watchedamp8221Worldwide Biggies Chief Executive Officer Albie Hecht agreed amp8220Itamp8217s a challenge to get those metrics out thereamp8221 he said amp8220A lot of it is still voodooamp8221Fay also supported a change in traditional metrics amp8220You canamp8217t have five different strategiesamp8221 she asserted amp8220Weamp8217re still in a phase where a lot of people feel that their campaigns are very integrated as long as everybody is sticking to the same time table and targeting the same audiences In reality if you want a true holistic strategy that is all about the consumer somebody has to own the strategy There is a lot of confusion about who should own the strategy What is it when you create a community on MySpace Is that a creative strategy Is that a media strategy I would argue that it is both of those things togetheramp8221All of the panelists agreed that the burgeoning growth online of shortform videos viral or otherwise is beginning to change the way business is done and that the full extent of its influence has yet to be felt amp8220Right now the vast majority of viewing is happening in short formamp8221 Fay noted amp8220The big opportunity is how do you take advantage of short form Thatamp8217s a whole new challenge in how you develop messagesamp8221There are new challenges in how shortform programming is conceived and developed as well amp8220There is a big distinction between redistributing content and taking it from someplace and sticking it someplace else and creating something thatamp8217s authentic to the Web and reaching a consumer the way the Web reaches a consumer which is through an engagement levelamp8221 Hecht declared amp8220You have to be a little bit careful when traditional companies say amp8216we are digital and have multiplatform stuff Thatamp8217s like my old colleagues saying SpongeBob is now a podcast for digital Thatamp8217s not digitalamp8221 There is a difference between that and what we do which is purposely create something that is innovative and different and has a different DNA to it and the way it reaches its audience for advertisers as well as for the consumeramp8221 Hecht is the former President of Nickelodeon Entertainmentamp8220I feel like the networks do have an advantageamp8221 Kaplan admitted amp8220They have scale and put that behind their content There are thousands and thousands of people that are creating great shows on the Web all sorts of production companies coming out of New York LA and San Francisco delivering high quality Web shows Do they have millions of dollars No way I think the networks would be at an advantage if they invested more in their content so that their content is more differentiated rather than less Whether itamp8217s bliptv or somewhere else we have thousands and thousands of shows that are going to rise and fall How do you compete against that unless you make a really strong investment in your contentamp8221Search was also a vital topic for the panelists amp8220Itamp8217s all about making your product or campaign searchableamp8221 Steele said amp8220Everything is a search engine amp8211 YouTube MySpace Peer networks are search enginesamp8221amp8220We use search in a number of waysamp8221 Fay explained amp8220We have very active search clients that are trying to drive toward an ecommerce solution Search is a highly efficient way to do that It is becoming part of the branding campaign Itamp8217s important how you present yourself in a search capacity You think about your target audience The center of the target is people who are most interested in your brand or product or surrounding areas of interest I think search is set to grow consistently probably more than any other mediumamp8220We believe the brands that will win are the brands whose consumers tell each other the best storiesamp8221 she concluded amp8220There has to be a way to get your brand message out to consumers in a way they care enough about it to talk about itamp8221Related Sarah Fay Shane Steele Jack Haber Dina Kaplan and Albie Hecht on the Future of Media and Advertising Commentary by Jack Myersamp160Worldwide Biggies bliptv Aegis and Colgate Palmolive Execs on Digital Advertising Commentary by Nina SpezzaferroVideo Media Metrics Discussed by Execs From bliptv Aegis Colgate Palmolive Worldwide Biggies and CocaCola JackMyers Daily Data Commentary by Jennifer Pearsonbliptv Colgate Palmolive Aegis and Worldwide Biggies Execs Focus on Convergence at JackMyers Event MediaBizBuzzcom Commentary by Jerry WeinsteinNina Spezzaferro39s indepth discussion with bliptv39s Dina Kaplan and Worldwide Biggies CEO Albie HechtLater today check out the photos from the event amp160

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Branded Entertainment, Online Video, Search and the Power of Digital Media Assessed by Marketer, Media Agency and Digital Media Execs

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