Can I Interest You in a New Car?
The auto industry has been one of the biggest drivers of innovation in the interactive marketing space over the past several years. From BMW Films to Buick's Tiger Trap, car makers have been at the forefront of creatively capturing users with engaging content and unique opportunities.
iMedia Connection has a nice overview of some recent tactics employed by automakers:
Promotional E-mail I Love To Get
A lot of e-mail blasts I receive -- even the ones I actually subscribe to -- are greeted with an instant delete. But here are some examples of promotional e-mail that I actually love to get. How are these different? Solid design, not-too-frequent updates, and above all, great content.
Design Within Reach Design Notes
The Other Music Update
Wells Fargo Small Business Roundup
2004 IDEA Winners
2004 IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) Winners
Although not directly human-computer interaction related, these industrial designs combine innovation, aesthetics and functionality resulting in a great user experience.
Some of my favourites include:
Circular Printer
DEVO Underwear & Packaging
Weight Forward Hammer
Ensalada
"Audiopad"
"Monolithic Blocks Of Eyeballs Are Gone"
Linked here is an important Business Week cover story that details media fragmentation and the resulting shift to micromarketing that is quickly redefining advertising. The story is important because it's the most comprehensive article written on the topic by a widely distributed and respected source. Of course, this is the stuff we've been preaching for years, and we're excited to start seeing huge marketers like P&G, Coke and others not only deploying innovative campaigns but seeing much more cost-effective results.
Some highlights:- "You find the people. You are very focused on them. You become relevant to them" - P&G
- "We are a big marketer. We are not a mass marketer." - McDonald's
- "They are spending about the same money and getting three times the lift." - Banc of America analyst
- "The Internet has shaken off the effects of the bursting of the dot-com bubble and now is rapidly coming of age as an advertising medium. The crude banner and pop-up ads that initially defined online advertising are giving way to larger and more refined formats." - BW
Download our case study on ING Moneymentor (pdf) to see how Armchair made this work for them, or go ahead to the Business Week article:
Vodafone Futures
Congratulations to our Swedish friends at North Kingdom, their groundbreaking Vodafone Future website just won 2 'Cyber Lions' at Cannes. Design-wise Vodafone Future is a fantastic example of an experience website. It's a dynamic brochure with incredible production and guts behind it.
Value of Paid Search
Here's an interesting article at eMarketer.com. While having the top position in paid search is clearly valuable, note how fast the value drops once you reach just the third or fourth spot. Definitely food for thought for companies considering a paid search strategy.
Perhaps more cost-efficient methods exist such as search optimization. And undoubtedly there is another way to capitalize on subject matter that could deliver more bang for the buck. The first company to bring it to market can certainly use this data as a selling point.
Story:
The Shift To Accountability
A furor has arisen over the rollout of a new form of audience measurement for television. The flap concerns so-called "Local People Meters" being deployed by Nielsen Media Reasearch, the ratings people, in Los Angeles, New York and other major cities. Critics complain that the new computer-driven technology undercounts certain viewers compared to the old paper diary system. In reality what is happening is that for the first time an accurate measurement is being recorded and interested parties are fighting to keep the status quo. Put another way, television networks that have earned staggering sums off the old system are fighting being held accountable to their advertisers for the first time.
Most of us would argue that being accountable is a good thing. We, like advertisers, would like to think we're getting what we've paid for. That's why savvy advertisers have already pushed for greater accountability, not on television where too many technological barriers exist, but in the interactive advertising arena. Ad spending online is moving away from scattershot approaches such as banner ads and pop-ups, to targeted, immersive experiences that offer numerous user metrics and ultimately, accountability.
Armchair Media has helped pioneer this concept in its work with ING. If you're not already a fan, please visit ING MoneyMentor to see how we've executed the concept of Brand Enagagement for ING. We think it's indicative of where most interactive advertising is headed and feel proud to be held accountable for its success.
Story:
Joey Reiman on the Big Idea
Our neighbor over at Brighthouse says ad agencies should stop giving ideas away and start holding out for the big money. That's the real value agencies bring to the relationship.
"Advertising agencies have become an antiquated broker business, selling space to clients with creativity thrown in for free. The result is a marketing world that is ad rich and idea poor. Consumers don't want to be bombarded with ads -- they want to be inspired by ideas that will change their lives."
This reminds me of the Steve Heyer soapbox a couple of years ago. Traditional agencies haven't changed since then, and I doubt if they will now. You tend not to expand creatively in times of fear.
Story: