College Students Head Back to School

College Back-to-School Spending Rises

In a recent survey conducted by Alloy Media + Marketing and Harris Interactive, year-over-year back-to-school spending by students is projected to increase by 13 percent.  The report is part of Alloy’s 10th annual “College Explorer” survey, which analyzes the spending habits of college students.

The report found that students were not only spending on mandatory back-to-school purchases (books, room, board and tuition) which are increasing, but also technology, gaming and beauty products.  Overall, 3 percent more per month on discretionary purchases compared to last year, or $69 billion in total spend.

Making the Connection with Mom

The Mom Connection

Moms buy everything from diapers to desks, lipstick to laptops and moisturizers to mini-vans.  With an annual spending of over $2 trillion, just about every brand has recognized the buying power they possess.  To effectively reach this lucrative demographic it is essential that marketers address the four key emotional drivers that motivate moms to make consumer decisions.

Marketers who speak to moms with a message that is relevant, valuable and in a language they understand will capture this advantageous buying power.  Perhaps most important are timing and placement – what good is the right message in the wrong place?

DEWmocracy Project

Mountain Dew Crowd Sources Media Planning

Mountain Dew is once again tapping the collective intelligence of it’s most passionate consumers.  The DEWmocracy project, now in its second iteration, kicked off last year with the brand asking 4,000 of its most loyal fans to help in creating three new Mountain Dew flavors.  Participants were first split up into groups to campaign for their favorite flavor followed by a series of nationwide events to drum up support for their particular drink.  This time, agencies were asked to pitch their creative ideas to the three groups, who in turn got to vote where the adverts would run and on which platforms.

Frank Cooper, chief engagement officer at PepsiCo said, “By maintaining an open dialog with our consumer through an intense, year-long collaborative project, we’ve offered them an opportunity to leave their imprint on a brand they truly love and have solidified an even stronger relationship with fans who matter most.”

It's Time to Hit the Reset

Why It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button on Trust

In an age of digital and social media trust is a hard word to define.  Wikipedia defines a trusted party as one who is “presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes, laws and their previous promises.” 

Cluetrain Manifesto’s co author, Doc Searls, warns of a coming “advertising bubble” and a push-media “attention economy” crash.  If this is true, then marketers in particular need to recount and rehash the rules of trust.

Trust has three main components:  credibility (delivering on promises), care (demonstrating an understanding of the other party’s needs) and congruency (the extent to which a brand’s and a consumer’s values are aligned).  To foster trust, marketers must think of it as an overarching principle, one that transcends sales.

Consumers trust the brands that demonstrate they really mean it.

The Relationship Era Inspires at SxSW

The Relationship Era Inspires at SxSW

During SxSW Mark McKinney and Dan Patterson (of imc²) presented the idea of a new era in marketing that is more focused on brand sustainability than the prevailing promote –> persuade –> sell model on which the industry has relied for the last 50 years or so (and that is less effective).  The general consensus among participants was that having this conversation is a great start but there is still a lot of work to be done if this evolution to the relationship era is to take place sooner than later.

The Relationship Era Core Conversation was one of the best at SxSW.  Cutting edge strategic thoughts were openly discussed and debated by people from agencies and brands throughout the country – it’s only a matter of time before this sort of thinking dominates live strategic brand positioning discussions.

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.

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.

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.

US Mobile Advertising Spending

2010 Mobile Marketing Forecast

Mobile ad spending will rise from $416 million in 2009 to $593 million in 2010 as more brands and agencies integrate mobile into their marketing mix.  Advertisiers spent an estimated $416 million on mobile ads in 2009, up 30% from the previous year, according to research company eMarketer.

Consumers can expect to see many more advertisements on their mobile phones in the coming years and markets can look forward to a more engaged – and buying – consumer.  By 2012, eMarketer predicts, 74% of all mobile marketing is expected to be spent on text-messaging campaigns and in 2012 spending on mobile advertising is said to reach $1.56 billion.