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January 19, 2007
A Snapshot of the Marketing Business
Edelman and Boston Consulting Group co-sponsored a dinner on Wednesday to explore media convergence and new ways to communicate with the consumer. Attendees included important marketers (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GE, Citigroup, Delta Airlines, Dannon), communications firms (Y&R, BBDO, Razorfish) and media companies (AOL, Yahoo, Dow Jones, VH1, Conde Nast, Walt Disney). Here are a few of the key findings from the event:
1) Ideas are paramount. Too much time is spent on where to communicate, not enough on what to talk about. Ideas can be gathered by listening to stakeholders and consumers online.
2) The new sweet spot for video content is a 3-4 minute segment, between long form (movie) and short form (30 second spot). This is the average length of segments on YouTube.
3) The web has scalability issues for major marketers. TV is still perceived as necessary to reach a mass audience for brand building, while the web is fine for a small advertiser focused on product choice/sales. TV is also seen as offering predictable sales results, key to a food business with a need to forecast production precisely. Of course there was a loud dissent from Wenda Harris Millard of Yahoo who described TV ads as “spray and pray.”
4) There is further proof of Linda Stone’s adage, "The World of Continuous Partial Attention". Thirty eight percent of those watching the Oscars on TV were also on-line. People may be watching TV but are watching TV differently.
5) Advertising may achieve its full effect sooner than expected, but will have less widespread effectiveness than in the past. In the beer business, after three ads, men don’t pay attention. There may be better use of incremental funds, for instance, sponsoring a sport’s database.
6) Marketing for brands has a current and a future impact. New media is energizing brands for current business results. Marketers need to have a presence on-line because you can build passion for brands and can build community which engenders brand loyalty.
7) According to Citigroup, the best return on advertising is in the Wall Street Journal on-line and drive time radio.
Where does this leave the PR business? In a good place, one could argue. We are now able to compete for funds never before available. We can offer big ideas in which PR can be the runway into other disciplines (note GE Eco-Imagination began with relationship between the company and an NGO, then press and blogger relations, and only afterwards advertising and promotion). We must be experimenting with short form video that presents a compelling narrative, beyond the printed word into visuals. We should diversify our media plans; why not include CollegeHumor.com and other edgy options. In a world of dispersion of authority, we can offer a central source of reliable information from the client, providing education and place for discussion by those seeking community
I am off to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday night. I will be posting during the week by offering 2-3 minute podcasts on my most interesting observations of the day. I will write a more thorough report at the end of the conference. In the mean time, look for the release of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2007 on Monday.
Posted by Edelman at January 19, 2007 10:58 AM
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Comments
Hi Richard,
I was curious to know if any distinction was made between transactional web marketing activity like Google text ads and brand orientated web marketing activity (blogs, banner ads, content sponsorship, microsites etc) in terms of return on investment and whether this had put 'brand' spend under pressure at all?
Posted by: Ged at January 23, 2007 8:13 PM