Frank Cooper, Chief Consumer Engagement Officer, PepsiCo

Pepsi Pushes Social Graphs to Help Consumers Build Identity and Brand Loyalty 

Frank Cooper, Senior Vice President and Chief Consumer Engagement Officer at PepsiCo Americas Beverages, believes the approach markers have been taken for the last 75 years is no longer relevant.  Today brands need to add value to our lives.  “We remain in the middle of a brand marketing crisis,” Cooper says.

Marketers need to create what Cooper calls ‘identity value’.  The current brand marketing model is broken but Cooper and other forward-thinking marketers think it can be fixed and even become more relevant than ever.  The trick is for marketers to go the extra mile to be sure their brands are servicing consumers in a relevant manner.  Marketers should focus on how digital technology allows consumers to relate to brands in ways historically not possible.  The goal is to discover opportunities to add value to the lives of consumers’.  “As marketers, we need to create meaningful experiences for consumers, not just sponsor content,” Cooper states.

Rise of the Data Economy

Death of the Impression, Rise of the Data Economy

The promise of digital display advertising has always been that it would allow marketers to put the right message in front of the right customer at the right moment.  So what makes the ad valuable?  As ads generate more data, their values increase; every bit of data has value.

“It is about data… data in ways we have never before fathomed.  The future of advertising is not about social, not about viral videos, not about mobile, not about any new medium or any new ad unit– but about data.  Those who know what to do with this will be the new king makers, the new rulers of Madison Avenue — or the new creators of a new Avenue of media.” Michael D. Andrew, Director of Search and Analytics at Mediasmith

In the future, data will assist advertisers in devising more effective, efficient marketing campaigns.  Marketers that understand technology will utilize it to reach their target consumers.  In turn, advertisements will become more focused.  Marketers will feel empowered to make more informed decisions on the most beneficial platform to use to engage their consumers.

Percent of Professionals Who Measure ROI

Measuring Return on Social Investment

Managers rely on ROI to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and initiatives.  When calculating ROI, marketers must not forget about their beloved social media campaigns.

Wikipedia defines social media as media designed to be disseminated through social interaction and created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.  Though social media marketing is scalable, according to a survey by Mzinga and Babson Executive Education, fewer than one in five marketers measured social media ROI in 2009.  “Marketers believe that measuring true ROI for social media is difficult” said Geoff Ramsey, eMarketer CEO.  “There are so many metrics available that it is difficult to choose which ones are the most important.  In addition, marketers do not start with clear objectives for using social media.”

Marketers should define their marketing goals and connect them to social media objectives.  Three steps can aid in the process; 1) identify marketing objectives; 2) choose measurement categories that match those objectives; and 3) track those metrics in the technologies they are using.

As more marketers measure social media campaigns, ROI, the true value of platforms that can effectively build brand loyalty will come to be known.

Major Portions of Marketing Budgets Are Shifting to Interactive Mediums in 2010

Alterian Annual Survey 2009

One of the key trends underscored by the 1,068 respondents polled by Alterian for its 7th Annual Industry Survey is the shift in marketing budgets away from traditional media.  “40% of respondents anticipate a shift of over a fifth of their budget towards digital channels, with 21% of respondents predicting more than a third of their budget will shift.”  The shift in budgeting is a result of the industry’s increasing awareness of the fact that traditional media channels just don’t deliver the results they used to.  “Empowered consumers today expect a customized, interactive brand experience that goes way beyond a 30-second television spot or two-dimensional print ad,” exclaims Forrester.

The benefit of interactive and social media to both the consumer and the campaigning brand is clear, but what is the benefit to agencies who embrace this trend?

“Success in digital, interactive and social channels would seem to come at a lower cost than success in traditional direct marketing,” says Alterian.  According to Forrester, “interactive tools are less expensive, more measurable, and better for direct response than traditional media.”

As demanding consumers expect customized, interactive brand experiences marketers are opting for the more attractive, less expensive interactive tools that are efficiently monitored and the return on investment can be accurately measured.  Forrester’s latest Interactive Marketing Forecast calls for spending on interactive marketing/advertising channels to grow to nearly $55 billion and represent approximately 21% of all marketing budgets by 2014.

Mobile Trends for 2010

Five Mobile Trends for 2010

Outdoor advertising has historically been difficult to measure.  Digital out-of-home (DOOH)  signage is changing this by incorporating SMS technology to create immediate campaign engagement.  Campaigns such as Nike’s “Chalkbot” that allowed cycling fans to have a robot stencil messages on the course pavement in support of Tour de France riders via SMS or Twitter.  Mobile is becoming a strong device in the now consumer driven interactive media.

Integrated Communication Strategies Are More Important Than Ever!

Consumers Demand Engagement

According to Alterian’s 7th Annual Industry Survey, marketers must move from a focus on siloed campaigns to an emphasis on listening and communicating with consumers across channels.  More than one-half of marketers worldwide reported directing at least “a fair amount” of effort toward integrating their communication strategies to emphasize multichannel consumer engagement.

“The only communication tolerated by consumers are those that are appropriate, timely and relevant – regardless of channel.  Engaging with customers is becoming paramount and the yardstick by which we measure those brands that survive and those that don’t.  Marketers now need to appeal to the individual and engage with customers on a one-to-one basis,” said David Eldridge, Alterian CEO.

2010 Ford "Focus"

2010 Ford “Focus” on Social Media

As Ford vehicles grow in convenience, Ford Motor Company grows it’s social media strategy.   J.D. Power & Associates estimates the average automaker allocates 9% of its spending to digital advertising, a figure expected to rise to around 12% by 2012 as more companies transition to social media and other interactive mediums from traditional television and print campaigns.

In a race to outpace other automakers; Ford launched their first digital strategy, “Fiesta Movement Campaign.”  The 18 month program, which began in 2008, generated more than 11 million social media impressions, 5 million social media engagements and has prompted users to post 11,000 videos, 13,000 photos and 13,000 tweets.  A great start for a vehicle that is not even in dealerships as of yet.  Ford announced in January they would continue these efforts by moving 25% of their traditional media budget to interactive mediums.

Stocking up!

Gerry is working overtime to keep up with demand.  Mustering the skills he learned as a strapping young warehouse manager, Gerry loads a palette of media kits into Apparel Media Group inventory in Indianapolis.  To request a media kit of your own, drop us a line:  Connect with us.

Interns learning the ways of AMG

Jared leads a discussion on Interactive Apparel Advertising(TM) campaign distribution.

Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign clipping

Cause – Marketing:  Set to change dramatically

In 2009 we saw an increase in the number and size of cause-marketing programs.  National campaigns such as Dawn Saves Wildlife, Sonic Drive-In:  Limeades for Learning and H&R Block: Dollar & Senses proliferated social media outlets.  By choosing causes that make sense for their brand as well as their consumers, brands can go a long way toward building greater customer equity with the same (or smaller) marketing budget.

Though most consumers are spending less than in 2007 and 2008, they are still spending.  As consumer confidence increases and unemployment tops out and reverses course, consumer spending will rebound, as it always has.  More than ever, consumers are looking for “good cause” companies and brands with which to align.  In an Edelman survey, two out of three consumers say they would switch brands if another brand of similar quality supported a good cause.  Consumers also stated that they weigh a brand’s image and reputation when making buying decisions.

Cause-marketing seems to be a win-win for both consumer products companies and recurring service providers alike.  Hard data demonstrates that brands putting significant resources behind cause-marketing initiatives benefit from increased awareness, positive word of mouth buzz and ultimately brand loyalty.  We expect cause-marketing spend to continue to rise through 2010 and beyond as more brands return to the age-old, high-return approach of emotional appeal.