My daughter loves Club Penguin, its a game where you own a penguin, play some games, earn some coins, buy an igloo - make some friends. Sort of like life. Club Penguin is owned by Disney as are the franchise monsters of High School Musical and Hannah Montana.
So guess what? Disney have created the "first official community of Disney fans," D23 will offer members a quarterly publication, a Disney collectable gift, and discounts on special events, including the D23 Expo coming to Anaheim this September. Also you get access to the D23 site, which features daily news and merchandise offers. Fun loyalty scheme and social network..and something in it for everyone
So you can imagine my surprise when I read that the portal will require a $75 annual fee. Sure, everybody's got to eat - right? I just wonder if consumers are willing to pay for the service?
FT.com and WSJ.com generate revenue with a subscription model but they offer insights that we value. Is Disney entertainment that desirable? In addition, will consumers be able to find most of the information provided other places (e.g., youtube, Mouse Planet, etc)? Even on Facebook the Disney group have 1.75m fans!
Now I'm not as smart or as rich as Bob Iger but shouldn't D23 be launched as a free social networking site for Disney fans globally? That's a lot of marketers dream audience.
Instead you have to stump up $75 for marketing collateral? Sounds a little Goofy if you ask me!
Thursday 30 April 2009
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Nike x Fragment Design
Any of you who are into that Japanese aesthetic know of Fragment Design; Fragment is the brain-child of Hiroshi Fujiwara. They do quirky stationery, ipod skins and all having that luminous effect that the Japanese do so well. By the way, if you haven't checked out the new Nintendo DSi do it today...my 8 y.o daughter loves the camera and the MP3 player - I just like to look at it and hold it - it has a cool matt finish. Too good for kids really
No surprises then when Nike and Fragment conceived these new t-shirts for S/S 09.
Simple in its execution, we are all so preconditioned to process and move on from the Nike swoosh that many people won't notice. An essential piece of weekend wear for those Magners over ice summers
No surprises then when Nike and Fragment conceived these new t-shirts for S/S 09.
Simple in its execution, we are all so preconditioned to process and move on from the Nike swoosh that many people won't notice. An essential piece of weekend wear for those Magners over ice summers
More fuel for Social
I've blogged before about how Facebook advertising doesn't really cut it for me...after all its a communication tool. However once in a while they release some data that gets me excited. Yeah I am a little twisted that way.
The boys over at Facebook have big computers and by capturing and analysing specific words and phrases on public walls they released this chart:
The map tells us the incidences of chat about 'swine flu' over the last week. I even heard there were over 10,000 tweets an hour about it...couldnt find a good chart though!
What's interesting for me is that how information has spread throughout the swine flu outbreak - you could argue that social media has helped to fuel scaremongery. Either way, social media is likely to be one of the primary mediums through which information spreads and gives us some cool charts in the process
The boys over at Facebook have big computers and by capturing and analysing specific words and phrases on public walls they released this chart:
The map tells us the incidences of chat about 'swine flu' over the last week. I even heard there were over 10,000 tweets an hour about it...couldnt find a good chart though!
What's interesting for me is that how information has spread throughout the swine flu outbreak - you could argue that social media has helped to fuel scaremongery. Either way, social media is likely to be one of the primary mediums through which information spreads and gives us some cool charts in the process
Tuesday 28 April 2009
The revolution will not be televised
There was a lot of talk about how Obama really embraced digital media in his push to the Oval Office and what is even more interesting for me is that there has been no let up now he's put up the basketball net in the yard.
It seems the administration is intent on communicating and controlling their image by skirting the political journalists and talking directly with the public. They produce their own videos and stick them on YouTube and text message their database of fans
So the White House Press Corps is used how most brands use big TV campaigns - you have to do it, keep the trade happy but equal importance is applied to the creation and distribution of content in free media online.
Seems like all brands can learn from Obama (can this guy do no wrong?)Visual brand messages should not be contained to TV; that content will proliferate to any visual outlet. Brands might spend more money on the production of these material but they get to place it where and when their consumers want it
It seems the administration is intent on communicating and controlling their image by skirting the political journalists and talking directly with the public. They produce their own videos and stick them on YouTube and text message their database of fans
So the White House Press Corps is used how most brands use big TV campaigns - you have to do it, keep the trade happy but equal importance is applied to the creation and distribution of content in free media online.
Seems like all brands can learn from Obama (can this guy do no wrong?)Visual brand messages should not be contained to TV; that content will proliferate to any visual outlet. Brands might spend more money on the production of these material but they get to place it where and when their consumers want it
Monday 27 April 2009
What's on my mind...
I've just returned from an internet-free holiday. it was great in the fact that i got to read (but all those marketing books remained untouched), listen to music (Spotify wouldn't have helped) and generally think about what's important
My last post was about being a Geek, and the sense of pride I take being branded a Geek. It got me thinking about whether I'm more comfortable in my own skin growing older as I wouldn't have wanted to be a Geek when I was at school. That's how I learned to play football, cricket and chess. OK I didn't mind a little Geekiness even then!
But it seems everywhere I turn I see how important 'Geek Cool' has become. The best fashion designers are Geeks (think Jil Sander and Alber Elbaz) and the musicians are Geeks (Production and DJing by definition is a technical skill)
So why has this happened? Why has someone who was ridiculed been now revered? (I nearly said desired!)
I think that the reason lies in the fact that the most desired items these days are not cars, clothes or watches anymore; they are phones, laptops and TVs. And it is that guy Jobs who has created all this!
What’s more, the iPod has even reached commodity status - those who go about wearing white earbuds are called 'sheep', merely followers of those in the know who use a pair of Shures, Etymotics or Ultimate Ears - so once this level of elitism exists technology as an object of desire is complete.
So, I would say technology has in a way 'become fashion', if we take fashion as a term for 'modern and contemporary'. Technology and internet savviness are the barometer knowing trends. Technology, like fashion before it, is a sign of what we desire and desire to be.
So I have finally found myself in the right group. It all seems a bit 'Animal Farm' though doesn't it?
My last post was about being a Geek, and the sense of pride I take being branded a Geek. It got me thinking about whether I'm more comfortable in my own skin growing older as I wouldn't have wanted to be a Geek when I was at school. That's how I learned to play football, cricket and chess. OK I didn't mind a little Geekiness even then!
But it seems everywhere I turn I see how important 'Geek Cool' has become. The best fashion designers are Geeks (think Jil Sander and Alber Elbaz) and the musicians are Geeks (Production and DJing by definition is a technical skill)
So why has this happened? Why has someone who was ridiculed been now revered? (I nearly said desired!)
I think that the reason lies in the fact that the most desired items these days are not cars, clothes or watches anymore; they are phones, laptops and TVs. And it is that guy Jobs who has created all this!
What’s more, the iPod has even reached commodity status - those who go about wearing white earbuds are called 'sheep', merely followers of those in the know who use a pair of Shures, Etymotics or Ultimate Ears - so once this level of elitism exists technology as an object of desire is complete.
So, I would say technology has in a way 'become fashion', if we take fashion as a term for 'modern and contemporary'. Technology and internet savviness are the barometer knowing trends. Technology, like fashion before it, is a sign of what we desire and desire to be.
So I have finally found myself in the right group. It all seems a bit 'Animal Farm' though doesn't it?
Saturday 11 April 2009
Forever Geek!
This week i was talking to a friend and colleague about how our business is a 'young man's game' and that, as specialists we are lucky to be in a good place as the age thing doesn't really come into play. However surely the more i do this the more i am likely to get elevated to 'Guru' status in marketing effectiveness
Also we were talking to a potential client this week when i was introduced as 'Our Marketing Geek' - you know that, is something i can live with!
If I was introduced as the 'Guru' i can't call our guys in Social and ask them how fans are measured on facebook...I'm the guru, I can't let people know that I may need to be brought up to speed on the latest in marketing effectiveness. I must know everything. On the other hand, if I'm a geek, I can just say "Cool. Show me how you do that! What else do you know?"
In a business world that is transforming at such an incredible pace, where technologies are created almost daily, new ideas and new opportunities present themselves equally as fast. Just how long can any guru bang on about, say, market-mix modeling before we notice they're fossilised and we stop listening to their pointless babble? You don't have that problem with geeks, because geeks are always focused on learning-well, at least as much as they like to show off what they've learned-and are always interested in getting together with other geeks to learn. This way everyone wins.
So its not about trashing the tried and tested, its about moulding what we have learnt and making it better with new data, ideas and approaches. That means talking to people, having an enquiring mind and a high speed internet connection. That is being a geek...and the geek with inherit the earth!
Also we were talking to a potential client this week when i was introduced as 'Our Marketing Geek' - you know that, is something i can live with!
If I was introduced as the 'Guru' i can't call our guys in Social and ask them how fans are measured on facebook...I'm the guru, I can't let people know that I may need to be brought up to speed on the latest in marketing effectiveness. I must know everything. On the other hand, if I'm a geek, I can just say "Cool. Show me how you do that! What else do you know?"
In a business world that is transforming at such an incredible pace, where technologies are created almost daily, new ideas and new opportunities present themselves equally as fast. Just how long can any guru bang on about, say, market-mix modeling before we notice they're fossilised and we stop listening to their pointless babble? You don't have that problem with geeks, because geeks are always focused on learning-well, at least as much as they like to show off what they've learned-and are always interested in getting together with other geeks to learn. This way everyone wins.
So its not about trashing the tried and tested, its about moulding what we have learnt and making it better with new data, ideas and approaches. That means talking to people, having an enquiring mind and a high speed internet connection. That is being a geek...and the geek with inherit the earth!
Thursday 9 April 2009
Spotify has landed...sort of.
Maybe i am a little behind on this but just have to rave about it anyway. You know you love a service when it up there with your firefox or email Spotify is that kind of service.
Spotify is an advertising supported music app that allows you to listen to any track absolutely free. It's just like iTunes - but you don't have to pay for the music. The only downside is that you hear a 20 second advert every 10 tracks or so. For a small fee, you can opt out of these ads.
It also looks like itunes with a makeover and you can create play lists that then can be shared with friends. There are already websites like Spotyshare and YourSpotify out there where you can show off your compilation skills by uploading the http links to your play lists to share with others.
Could it ultimately kill iTunes? Well maybe, but it needs improvement. If it partnered with a mobile phone manufacturer people could then stream music direct to their phone and you wouldnt need to store it. Also it would need a download facility - everyone wants to own their music
Finally i would love to see an ipod genius type feature or recommendation feature - i am addicted to genius right now and just imagine what it would be like if had more than your own crappy library to choose from!
Go. To. Spotify.com. Now!
Spotify is an advertising supported music app that allows you to listen to any track absolutely free. It's just like iTunes - but you don't have to pay for the music. The only downside is that you hear a 20 second advert every 10 tracks or so. For a small fee, you can opt out of these ads.
It also looks like itunes with a makeover and you can create play lists that then can be shared with friends. There are already websites like Spotyshare and YourSpotify out there where you can show off your compilation skills by uploading the http links to your play lists to share with others.
Could it ultimately kill iTunes? Well maybe, but it needs improvement. If it partnered with a mobile phone manufacturer people could then stream music direct to their phone and you wouldnt need to store it. Also it would need a download facility - everyone wants to own their music
Finally i would love to see an ipod genius type feature or recommendation feature - i am addicted to genius right now and just imagine what it would be like if had more than your own crappy library to choose from!
Go. To. Spotify.com. Now!
Wednesday 8 April 2009
Oh right..it's the customers..stupid!
I think that one of issues I constantly hit is that digital measurement focuses on the measurement of the campaign and not the overall effectiveness of the marketing program. And typically the reason why this happens is because analysts like us tend to focus on the outcome measure; how did it move sales, how much preference did we drive, how many clicks did we get. Maybe we should be looking at the customer and creating customer metrics instead? Products per customer, customer profitability, customer satisfaction, and customer lifetime value. Surely there is no inherent contradiction between meeting the needs of consumers and achieving financial goals. In fact the two go together.
If we knew that a customer generates $100 in lifetime value you wouldn’t spend $100 acquiring them. However one of the biggest issues is that every customer is not equal therefore every customer has a different lifetime value (LTV) and cost per acquisition (CPA), and so how we market to them and how much to spend should be different.
I bank with HSBC in the UK, I see all kinds of introductory offers (with high cost per acquisition) to lure in a new customer, but there is little for the customer who has been there 5 years. I’ve yet to receive any kind of promotion, not improved terms on my credit card balance or vouchers at Christmas. How much is that really going to cost them? Not nearly as much as it would to lure me in with a “interest free balance transfer for 15 months” offer, which is why people like me have a much lower cost per acquisition on additional products and services. Let’s not even mention all the people I would tell through all my real and virtual social networks about how well they treated me, potentially adding several more new customers. Instead, I am tempted to take the competitors introductory offers. This kind of marketing does not create longevity through value, but fickleness through price.
We should never forget that lifetime value increases, as our cost per acquisition decreases. I love Virgin, (no comments please) they need to do very little and spend nothing to get me to purchase, or to refer new customers. This is where well-designed referral programs do very well. For the most part, they require little resources and the rewards create high value to the customer, but are low cost to the company. As marketers, we want to do everything possible to move customers from the low lifetime value, high cost per acquisition over to the high lifetime value, low cost per acquisition.
As part of our marketing effectiveness work we really do need to be highlighting this dynamic and making it part of how we make investment trade-offs in the future
If we knew that a customer generates $100 in lifetime value you wouldn’t spend $100 acquiring them. However one of the biggest issues is that every customer is not equal therefore every customer has a different lifetime value (LTV) and cost per acquisition (CPA), and so how we market to them and how much to spend should be different.
I bank with HSBC in the UK, I see all kinds of introductory offers (with high cost per acquisition) to lure in a new customer, but there is little for the customer who has been there 5 years. I’ve yet to receive any kind of promotion, not improved terms on my credit card balance or vouchers at Christmas. How much is that really going to cost them? Not nearly as much as it would to lure me in with a “interest free balance transfer for 15 months” offer, which is why people like me have a much lower cost per acquisition on additional products and services. Let’s not even mention all the people I would tell through all my real and virtual social networks about how well they treated me, potentially adding several more new customers. Instead, I am tempted to take the competitors introductory offers. This kind of marketing does not create longevity through value, but fickleness through price.
We should never forget that lifetime value increases, as our cost per acquisition decreases. I love Virgin, (no comments please) they need to do very little and spend nothing to get me to purchase, or to refer new customers. This is where well-designed referral programs do very well. For the most part, they require little resources and the rewards create high value to the customer, but are low cost to the company. As marketers, we want to do everything possible to move customers from the low lifetime value, high cost per acquisition over to the high lifetime value, low cost per acquisition.
As part of our marketing effectiveness work we really do need to be highlighting this dynamic and making it part of how we make investment trade-offs in the future
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