PS3 in game advertising

News from our client Sony Computer Entertainment....


http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=125318

TubeMogul.com

Hey all you digital media planners who want to give your client some added value with seeding content, have I got the tool for you....

I came across this yesterday - not sure if this is 'yesterday's news', but I thought it was pretty cool. TubeMogul is a video distribution site that lets you post to multiple UGC video sites in one stop. There's also a reporting function where you can follow your views with in a dashboard.

Does anyone have any experience with this one?

Microsoft Pitches New Ad Measurement Approach

Microsoft's advertising arm is becoming increasingly active as the company looks to get the most out of the internet.

Recently Microsoft has tried to differentiate its advertising by offering a new form of ad measurement to help track multichannel campaigns.

As it moves to better compete with Google in online advertising, Microsoft is aiming to increase its appeal to marketers with a new way of tracking Web ad campaigns' performance and return on investment (ROI).

The company's new "Engagement ROI" measurement -- which is being baked into its Atlas Media Console campaign management tool -- seeks to promote a change in thinking about how ads affect consumers' buying decisions.

The conventional take has been that consumers' buying decisions are impacted only by the most recent ad they clicked on -- the so-called "last ad clicked" view.

"Our engagement mapping approach conveys how each ad exposure -- whether display, rich media or search, seen multiple times on multiple sites across many channels -- influenced the eventual purchase."

Engagement as a metric is starting to be pushed pretty hard lately, but there is still no one concrete definition/measurement standard for it. For a lot of companies 'engagement' is simply a buzz word for 'time-spent' while for others it is 'time-spent interacting' which applies more to flash based activities. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft (via aQuantive) can turn this into an ROI figure.


Read the full article here

Free Mars Bars

Check this out, I'm a little envious of the ingenuity to be honest, talk about a seamless online to offline experience....and for one of our clients no less! What will WE think of next.

http://www.springwise.com/marketing_advertising/real_mars_bars_for_virtual_fri/

Social Networking vs Social Destination

Yesterday, the MySpace crew hosted a presentation at the Vibe Hotel in Goulburn St, Sydney. The key speakers were Rebekah Horne and Andrew Cordwell. Rebekah had just stepped off a plane (from LA) so the proceedings were a tad unrehearsed....but that wasn't a huge problem for me. The real issue was a lack of compelling content. You be the judge.

As you weren't there here's the top line

1.
New UK research released by Myspace reveals social networks are now so integral to daily life, for some, they have surpassed TV as the entertainment media of choice. Nearly half of 18-24 year olds claim that if they had 15 mins to spare they would spend it on social networks rather than TV, reading, talking on the phone or playing games

2.
The UK report also identified 6 key personalities ranging from business to social users and beyond;
-Netrepreneurs - income earners
-Connecters - love to spread viral
- Transumers - grazers
- Collaborators - use it for people power, to create events, ideas and activities
- Scene Breakers - early adopters / trend setters
- Essentialist's - stay in touch with friends and family

There was no mention of the weight of each of these segments, just some indicators eg Essentials are the vast majority.

3.
What's Next?
- Explosion of MySpace as a video hub, MySpace TV is now second only to YouTube, in fact their Silverchair concert achieved over 2.1m streams in one month. This is in line with a strong Zone one TV programme so I believe does show potential.
- Continuation of the 'secret' series' (Music), Black Curtain (movies), Black Games (games). Great opportunities here for brands to facilitate unique experiences from online through to offline.
- More personalisation, apparently this will enable users to operate in different spheres. This was code talk as it's apparently top secret. My guess is perhaps different user interfaces for the same user depending who they are connecting with?
- Custom Communities - Check out V Raw, it just won campaign of the year at the AdNews awards. http://www.myspace.com/vraw
- This weekend will see a huge Mardis Gras online and offline event - MySpace will actually be broadcasting on screens at the event. Actually if you attend watch out for this I'd like to know more.
- Hypertagging. This is pretty cool it seems everyone's into it! MySpace is beta testing new technology using tagging.....ie every word on a users profile will be tagged to form 'buckets' for advertisers to exploit. Eg Got a new DVD release? Target user users with DVD in their profile...
- MySpace believe their user base is at a tipping point and will grow exponentially as consumers embrace the mobile web. Obviously they are investing heavily into this area. As expected so far it's much more about 'snacking' than the internet in terms of behaviour though.

So, that was about it....as for the tipping point, I'm not convinced.

I did store one tidbit for future use. On an introduction slide the title read 'Social Networking vs Social Destination'. I think this is a great way to express the difference between MySpace and Facebook. So my 2 hours wasn't a total waste, witness me weave that lingo into future presentations :)

Insight = infolust, activation = interactive winebar

Sent on from a client (thank you Ceridwen) comes a new example of the 'phy-digital' space...... a term apparently, for when the physical meets with the digital world.

This is a great demonstration of the usage of digital technology to build a deeper consumer centred brand experience. I'd love to see something like this in Aust, I could do with improving my wine expertise. Looks like I've come down with a bout of infolust!

http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/interactive_wine_bar/

Source; Springwise.com

Can a bank make you happy?

You may have seen the new Bank West campaign, it launched last weekend and there's some heavy duty activity running at present...well at least in Sydney and Perth!

Their new positioning revolves around the concept of Happy Banking. The strapline is 'Happy Banking, an initiative from Bank West'.

The creative agency Host today launched the website and it's truly worth checking out....especially if you'd like to reduce your stress levels.

Enjoy!

http://www.happybanking.com.au/

Very cool creative

From our friends at Soap Creative in Sydney, I like the pink frock myself...Yvette

Who Says Playing Video Games is Lazy?

I am a big fan of the Wii. Wii Tennis has given me sore arms, Wii Boxing has made me sweat, and Wii Bowling has improved my offline bowling (as least that's what I tell myself).

The genius' at Nintendo never stop (except briefly from 1996 - 2006).

Wii Fit, Other Innovations Unveiled

By Nick Wingfield (Wall street journal)

The videogames business, after hitting a new sales high last year, this week plans to showcase new technologies to help spur further growth -- including a new product from Nintendo Co. to get users to exercise using their Wii game consoles.

Nintendo announced today that it will ship a new exercise product on May 19 in the U.S. called Wii Fit that comes with a weight-and-motion sensing device called the Wii Balance Board.

Spotted in a small Turkish town...

Yvette

Is socialising over?

Just had a gander at the latest stats in the Social Networking race (actually feels like it’s slowed to a walk recently…).

So, as at January 08 these are the facts here in Australia (thanks to NetView);
·My Space still dominates over Facebook on unique users but is now ahead by just 16%
·The Aussie MySpace audience hit 3m unique(s) in August 2007 and has hovered around that mark since then
·Facebook’s rapid growth has officially slowed, actually it’s pretty much stopped! The past two months have seen lower than +1% monthly increases, as at Jan stats are at 2.5m unique’s
·Bebo has crawled along between 500-700k since March 07, there’s growth but it’s not rapid and the Jan figures were down on December.

Bebo will tell you, however, it’s not all about unique visitors and with good reason. Exploring the numbers further there are some interesting but not too surprising findings. Bebo’s base is actually the most active with both the highest number of sessions per user and time spent per session. MySpace is next best on these measures with Facebook bringing up the rear.It would seem, the differing site appeal by generation is having an impact.

So who uses what? Bebo is very young; the audience strongly skews under 17’s. My Space is broader but performs best between 12 and 24 year olds. And usage of Facebook is currently peaking between 35-34 year olds. For my generation, it would seem Facebook is the winner, but the signs are there we could well be approaching Facebook fatigue….

Of course there is plenty more competition out there. In fact the real success badge may go to You Tube. With its video enriched content appeal, it seems to be the one to watch. You Tube has surpassed My Spaces traffic and continues to grow strongly. As at January, traffic is at 3.6m uniques. Of course the model is less sticky but its ‘hot’ factor is still high, and you could argue, in terms of engagement, that’s a pretty important element.

Note to self, nothing is 'cool' anymore, if its not hot, it's just not ;)

Socialising isn't over, not by a long way. But as time marches on we will see it take new and varied paths. I suspect peoples interest groups will rise to the top in terms of their 'social web usage' rather than sticking to whatever their mates are doing. Watch out next time you add a post to a forum, before you know it you'll have a whole new set of 'friends'.

Yvette

Wherefore art thou iPhone?

I just read some stats out of the recent ‘Mobile World Congress’ in Barcelona.

According to Google, those with an iPhone are using mobile search 50 times more often than on other mobile devices. I guess it’s not surprising that a handset with such a large screen and apparent ease of use would result in a much greater uptake of the mobile internet. See:

http://blog.ipglab.com/?p=202

This got me thinking, or more to the point salivating about the iPhone. When, when, when, when, will the iPhone go on sale in Australia? And are the rumours true that Sol (Telstra’s current CEO) has the market sewn up? The latest information I can find has Optus tipped as the dark horse in the iPhone race, so my fingers are crossed. Actually, I’d rather open platform access (both personally and professionally) but that’s not looking to be the case so far.

Having visited both the UK and USA since Apple launched the iPhone into these markets I can tell you, they are a HUGE hit. I watched on enviously in Hawaii as families, youth, couples and grannies passed around their holiday pics on handsets between phone calls over dinner. Actually, it seemed any excuse to pull out the iPhone was a good one. I nearly bought one there and then (mobile hacker anybody?)

You may ponder at the spate of negative press around functionality, but let me assure you it’s done nothing to dampen enthusiasm for the latest apple toy o/s (nor at my house). Clearly, I’m with them, I want one, and I want it now! And I’ve a funny feeling I won’t be alone in the line up once it finally arrives. So, tell me, will you be there?

Yvette

Mr Murdoch has eye on Yahoo

I don't know about you, but from where I sit, I'd much rather see News join forces with Yahoo than the attempted & still proposed Microsoft takeover of Yahoo.

In the Australian market, whilst 9MSN is much larger, both Yahoo7! and 9MSN serve up similar content. The combination of the two could look like 9MSN swallowing Yahoo7! whole. However, the combination of News, FIM and Yahoo7 is far more attractive. As far as buying advertising goes, I'm all for fierce competition, so go for it Murdoch I say.....

Full article from adage.com here.

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=125144

Hey! Nielsen - Nielsen now using social networking to find out what we like

I saw an ad for Hey! Nielsen on the New York Times this morning - http://www.heynielsen.com/

You know 'social networking' has some traction when Nielsen are using it to record our opinions on TV, movies, music, games and personalities. Launched in September 2007, the site is still in beta but there appears to be a sizeable audience who are signing up to give their opinions. Not only can users rate programs/movies etc on the traditional likes-dislikes scale, they can also have a rant about why or why not upload a video. Nielsen have also implemented 'cloud rankings' - the larger the link text is, the more popular it is. They have also used the green-yellow-red scale to indicate how well liked (or disliked) a show may be.

So why would users want to sign up to Nielsen's latest data-gathering methods? Here's a bit of a snippet from the FAQ:

So, What's In It For Me?
We know you love TV, movies, music, the web, and the personalities behind it all, just a little too much. So here's your chance to let your voice be heard, your face been seen, and your opinions be a force for change. You, plus the exclusive access and power of Nielsen means that your opinions not only reach millions of people via the web, but may also reach the media moguls who decide what goes on the air and on the web. The more heat your postings generate, the greater the chance your opinions will land on the most influential inboxes in the biz as we will be inviting select Hey! Nielsen members to take part in sneak previews and other invite-only events. Plus, the more connections you make to other users, the more interesting and useful recommendations you'll pick up on all sorts of entertainment. You'll be thanking us in no time.

While there is obviously some deep data-gathering going on here, the site seems to come across as friendly without having that 'we're a business trying to be hip' feel. At the very least it's worth a quick look to see how a research company is tackling a new generation who are more than willing to give their opinion online.

James

Market Intelligence vs NetView

I met with the guys from Nielsen this morning re Buzz Metrics. We are looking at trialling this service for one of our clients over the coming months. Although we were hoping for a reduced price in the 'beta' phase, apparently its not so much a test as a use of their US team to back-end(until they get their local team trained). Despite this, hopefully we will get the client on board (ie they will pay) and soon be able to report on the merits of this tool.

We moved on to other subjects and the MI vs NV topic arose. Our Sydney team largely rely on NetView when it comes to site assessment. For a couple of reasons, the primary one being breadth of sites and secondary demographic profiling. Whilst we understand its limitations....no panel is perfect and this one less so than most, we still find it more useful overall than MI.

Now, according to the Nielsen techies, MI is far superior; they are quoting 95% accuracy. I was encouraged to see new features in 08, such as State splits and Ad Networks in MI, but I still can't see us using it as our main research tool and I said as much.

Well there is some good news, not only are demographics coming to Market Intellgience soon, but there will also be much deeper qualifiers than in NetView. With these inclusions MI will in my opinion but a much more useful tool.

Yay! So I guess, now they just need to get Yahoo7! on board......

Yvette

New Study Shows that Heavy Clickers Distort Reality

News from research undertaken by the SMV Group with partners in the USA.

Starcom, Tacoda and comScore’s “Natural Born Clickers” findings suggest “the click is dead” as a go-to measurement of effectiveness for brand-building display advertising campaigns

CHICAGO – Media agency Starcom USA, behavioral targeting network Tacoda, and digital consumer insight company comScore collaborated on a research study whose results call into question click-through rates as a primary source of accountability for Internet display advertising aimed at brand-building. Called “Natural Born Clickers,” the study reveals that a very small group of consumers who are not representative of the total U.S. online population is accountable for the vast majority of display ad click-through behavior.

Full findings of the study, its methodology and results are being presented this afternoon at the iMedia Brand Summit in Coconut Point, Florida.

The study illustrates that heavy clickers represent just 6% of the online population yet account for 50% of all display ad clicks. While many online media companies use click-through rate as an ad negotiation currency, the study shows that heavy clickers are not representative of the general public. In fact, heavy clickers skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with an income under $40,000. Heavy clickers behave very differently online than the typical Internet user, and while they spend four times more time online than non-clickers, their spending does not proportionately reflect this very heavy Internet usage. Heavy clickers are also relatively more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career services sites – a markedly different surfing pattern than non-clickers.

Further preliminary Starcom data suggests no correlation between display ad clicks and brand metrics, and show no connection between measured attitude towards a brand and the number of times an ad for that brand was clicked. The research presentation suggests that when digital campaigns have a branding objective, optimizing for high click rates does not necessarily improve campaign performance.

“There is more and more emphasis by advertisers for greater return-on-objectives in campaigns, particularly in the digital space where the accountability data is so readily available,“ says Starcom USA Director of Connections Research and Analytics Grant Prentice. “Natural Born Clickers shows us that we can’t count on click-through rate as our primary success metric for display ads; Starcom is more reliant on shifts in brand attitude metrics and analytics tying on-line exposure to sales as the true measures of online advertising efficacy.”

“While the click can continue to be a relevant metric for direct response advertising campaigns, this study demonstrates that click performance is the wrong measure for the effectiveness of brand-building campaigns,” said Erin Hunter, executive vice president at comScore. “For many campaigns, the branding effect of the ads is what’s really important and generating clicks is more of an ancillary benefit. Ultimately, judging a campaign’s effectiveness by clicks can be detrimental because it overlooks the importance of branding while simultaneously drawing conclusions from a sub-set of people who may not be representative of the target audience.”

“One of the underlying values of looking at people and not just pages in our business is that we are able to help uncover behavior that is counterintuitive to what much of the media world assumes about online audiences,” says Daniel Jaye, CEO of TACODA.

Yvette

Blog worth reading

A colleague at a partner creative agency has written a review on digital creative in 2007....it's worth a read (thanks Benhamin!).

http://www.benhamin.com/2008/02/12/2007-digital-creative-year-in-review/

Yvette

New Faces, New Year, New blogs

It's an exciting week here in Starcom Sydneys digital pod......as for the first time in 2008, we've got a full team on board!!

Just a quick post to welcome our newbies.
- Ed Kopkas has been contracting with us, after being trained by Brendon and his 'Digital Cadet' programme. I am pleased to announce, Ed starts with us permenantly on March 3, 2008
- Dexter Salamat also joined us this week out of MediaEdge CIA. Dexter has been working across all media, however, has wisely spotted digital as the place he wants to concentrate on as his career progresses....so welcome Dexter, well spotted :)

Now that we have resource under control, you can expect to see more postings from us on the Starcom blog, so enjoy.

Yvette