Tumblr Announces Advertising Package

by Mike Reiber

Last week, for the first time ever, Tumblr, the fast-growing but profitless blogging platform announced an advertising package. So what's the big deal? Why would advertisers eschew Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a site that doesn't collect much user demographic information?  

The answer lies in Tumblr's growth and the fact that it's more visual than many of its peer sites. Tumblr's unique visits reached 58 million in March of this year up from 26 million a year ago according to comScore. Tumblr contains more than 54 million blogs. The site allows users to easily customize and share their blogs. According to the company, the average Tumblr user creates 14 blogs per month and reblogs three. Half of the posts are photos.  

The company has been dipping its toe in the water on a number of revenue generating initiatives such as allowing designers to sell web page themes to bloggers or allowing bloggers to promote their posts on its dashboard. The new ads will appear on the dashboard and directory pages used to highlight content categories and blogs.  

Our team at Axiom is excited about this development. The enthusiast customers targeted by our home and garden manufacturer clients are avid bloggers. They like to write about and share their experiences on cooking, wine, interior design, gardening, out door entertaining, etc. We believe that this will add yet another arrow to the quiver for innovative marketers who want to break out of the Facebook and YouTube pack.  

Want to Break the Ice? Use These Apps...

by Mike Reiber

App developers swarmed Austin in an effort to catch the eyes and ears of technology lovers and VC's attending SXSW, the Austin Texas-based technology, music and film conference. For these developers, SXSW is THE PLACE to get feedback from a highly concentrated crowd of early adopters.

The most intriguing apps are those that enable users to find friends and friends of friends when they are nearby. Better yet, the apps are merging two features into a single service that helps users meet someone they should know. In effect, smart phones have become the new icebreaker/introduction tool for users. Below are some interesting apps that merit a look see.

Kismet helps users meet friends through friends by creating spontaneous pop-up events. The app also enables them options of passive sharing and check-ins.

Glomper is a new app that allows users to get pertinent details about an event with photos, conversations, and interactions. The interface feels like Pinterest (a personal favorite of mine) with streaming photos from events aligning down the center of the page.  Users click on an event to see full details -- pictures, attendees and comments.  Users can "heart" something by clicking the outline of a heart.

Glancee looks for people nearby who have friends in common with you and who share the same interests. The app features a new diary feature which enables users to record past connections and log them in diaries for future reference.

Banjo has developed one of the most robust location technologies that integrates with key social networks to provide an on the ground view of what's happening anyplace, anytime.

Highlight allows users to bookmark people they met and automatically reminds them of the interaction the next time they meet.

Ask.com the search engine, launched a new mobile polling app for iOS called Poll Roll. The app allows users to create polls and ask people nearby for their opinions. Poll Roll also lets users create visual polls in which they can attach their own pictures to their questions. It provides the ability to filter responses and leave comments about a poll.

So how do you harness these apps for your business challenges? Privacy issues aside, these apps offer intriguing possibilities. For example, customized messaging in retail environments targeted at the users who've signed up for the app and other persons who share common interests and friends.

Chevy Amps up its SXSW Sponsorship

by Mike Reiber

Chevrolet is using the popular Austin-based music, film and interactive event, SXSW, which runs from March 9-18 to showcase its new models.

Chevy's 4G LTE concept car features a touch screen monitor in the dashboard and tablets mounted on the backs of the front seats. The in-dash system powered by GM's OnStar allows the driver to Skype with another Chevy model located several blocks away. The driver can stream videos and different programming quickly and efficiently using the 4G network. The brand is also showcasing its Sonic Boom concept car which features a custom audio showcase via a concept Kicker audio system.

In addition to its concept cars, Chevrolet offers a variety of services to SXSW attendees. A free shuttle service called "Catch a Chevy" provides free transportation to and from SXSW events using a fleet of 46 Cruze sedans and Chevrolet Equinox crossover vehicles. Attendees can also test drive them at the convention center. Chevy's Volt Recharge Lounge allows attendees to rest their feet and recharge their mobile devices.

So, what's the ROI, you're asking? Sounds like a huge investment to reach a mere 16,000 SXSW attendees. Chevy has correctly identified the uniqueness of SXSW, the match with its brand attributes, and the link with its target consumer segments. The event allows it to showcase GM innovation to innovators from high tech, music, film and interactive industries. You can bet your boots that Chevy's SXSW partnership will make brand consideration and preference scores leap among attendees and their respective spheres of influence.

The real ROI, however, will come during the next few years as attendees and those people they impact begin to replace their existing vehicles. 

Here's a look at Chevrolet at SXSW:

Newspapers Are Happily "App-ing"

by Mike Reiber

The newspaper business has been bleeding red ink for many years. Is it on it last breath? I think not. Adversity has unleashed long-needed innovations in the newspaper business. Innovations which can be harnessed to create consideration, preference and purchase in addition to basic awareness.

Consider this. According to the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper websites averaged more than 111 million unique visitors in Q4 2011. This represents an increase of 6 million compared to the same period in 2010. The association reports that 63% of adult internet users visit newspaper websites. Reach among the key 18-34 demographic remained at or above 60 percent. Lastly, seventy percent of households with income above $60,000 are reached by websites. This number climbs to 75 percent for households with incomes above $100,000.

These are just a few reasons why newspapers underpin many of our successful marketing and sales campaigns. The real question is how to harness the new innovations which are predominately app-focused. Whether it's fashion, gaming, ticket sales or even cause-related, these days it's the Wild West for apps.

Below are a few questions to ask yourself, your team and your agency partners:

1.) What apps are under development by your local daily newspaper?
2.) How can you creatively partner with the newspaper team while the apps are in beta test mode?
3.) What non-traditional resources can you bring to the partnership that will bring a unique twist to the app launch?
4.) What's happening in other countries where newspapers are under siege?

How Axiom Does DRTV

by Mike Reiber

Many of our customers strive to develop consideration and preference for their products and services. For them, third party endorsements are critical to adoption of their new products and services not only by end user customers but by their retail trade partners. The question is how to achieve low-cost reach and frequency with the endorsements over a sustained period of time. Increasingly, we're turning to short-form direct response television (DRTV) advertising.

The DRTV rates we're able to negotiate are 35-45 the cost of regular media buys. In many cases, we're able to more than quadruple frequency and reach. The creative in our spots revolve around the third-party endorsements that end user customers seek out when they're researching a major durables purchase. We typically use social media and publicity-based marketing programs to spur these third party endorsements from real customers and/or experts who have fallen in love with our customers' products. Our creative formula always includes a third party endorsement for each key product attribute within the spot. The spot is structured to highlight the product as a solution and always ends with several compelling calls to action (CTA.) All this in 60 seconds or less!

Thinking about DRTV for those product categories without P&Ls to support broadcast media buys? Below are a few questions you should ask your vendors.

1.) How many DRTV ads do they complete each year? Relatively few agencies have a laser focus on DRTV. The skill set is remarkably different from a created brand spot.

2.) Do they have a proven method? Everyone has a method or approach. The question is whether or not they have business results to support their method.

3.) Do they have working relationships with seasoned DRTV creatives and media buying personnel? Most of the time the best professionals aren't on staff with agencies. Because of this, you can save big bucks if you negotiate well.

4.) What are my DRTV economics? These include conversion rate, cost per lead, fulfillment cost, call center cost and return on investment.

CRM Profitability Models-Bane or Boon?

by Mike Reiber

The conventional call to action is to focus marketing and sales efforts on the good customers and get rid of the bad customers.  Is it really this simple?  I think not.  A better call to action is build better and deeper relationships with customers by understanding their needs and what they value. 

Traditional CRM systems categorize customers by their purchases.  Those that purchase the most with the fewest returns are the most highly prized.  What about the others?  That depends.  Some may be ignored.  Others may be terminated as clients because they cost too much to serve based on the profits they generate for the enterprise.

A better approach may be to learn more about "the others." 

At Axiom, we use segmentation modeling and perceptual mapping to help us organize based not only on profit opportunity but on unmet customer needs and behaviors around which our clients can easily and affordably develop new product and service offerings.  Our recommendations almost always involve a portfolio approach to various customer segments.  The goal is to identify groups of segments which are interested in our clients' services and product for similar reasons.  A second richer goal is to uncover what prevents them from spending more.  Longitudinal tracking studies, social network analysis and even 1-800 customer service lines are all valuable tools which we use to answer this question.  We find this information helps unlock the creativity of our client cross-functional teams so they can develop better and more customized CRM solutions.

Mobile Marketing is a Must

by Mike Reiber

The mobile and social media marketing juggernaut continues. PQ Media reports that the market grew at a compounded rate of 28.7% per year from 2006-2011. The revenues charted include consumer and business access, content, advertising and marketing. No surprise, right? What's more interesting is some of the information at the end of the report. Consider these facts:

1.) The average American over the age of 12 years spent more than 100 hours in 2011 accessing content on wireless devices.
2.) There are more than 285 million mobile phones in operation in the U.S.  Of these, 60% are in the business sector; however, consumers are expected to make up the majority of smart phone use by 2016.
3.) There are more than 36 million tablets and e-readers in operation in the U.S.  Of these, 60% are for consumer use. 

Upshot?  Mobile marketing needs to be in your marketing communications mix.  Ask your customers how they are using smart phones and tablets. Ask them how they would like to interact with your company.  Challenge your vendors and internal staff to develop strategies and content that will help your company harness the growing smart phone and tablet market.  Revisit the strategies and content with your customers.  Ask for their feedback. 

Ditch the One Size Fits all Pitch

You must be completely naive to continue in the graces that is bad media relations, not PR, but bad media relations. Online spells transparency and as the frequency of bad flacks outweighs the good, you’re even more likely nowadays to end up on the Bad Pitch blog—or something a lot worse… the subjective of a forum flame war where you have to play defense.

Our Pitch-Perfect session last week featured the mastermind behind Axiom Marketing, an integrated communications business developed during prep days at Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Mike Reiber discussed the new frontier of new media and the passing of traditional tactics still in use by the many today.

Among the many topics discussed with Mike, one really hit home for me: Journalists have more to do now and less time to do it. I was informed of this earlier on as our team ventured off to meet with a Star Tribune reporter, herself reiterating the importance of learning Web so she and many others wouldn’t lose their job.

What this also means is you better have the pitch right the first time sent out. With all the e-mail clutter, all those microbloggers updating their Tweets to appeal to the news masses following, it’s time for a Cadillac to park in their garage.

If you’re a Ford lover, shame on you.