2-ways communication

Advertising is changing. Fast! We all know that - 10 years ago online communication was still residual, Facebook didn't exist, nobody realised what Google was doing and mobile phones were used for calls. The world is changing and, naturally, so is advertising. Everybody knows that! But sometimes, I think an important part of the change goes unnoticed to too many people.

Many people still think of digital and mobile communication as a media to reach a target. And they are right! But there is one important dimension that is at least as important. Digital and mobile is unique not because you are communicating in new spaces in consumer lifes, but because it is not only about communication - it is about interaction!

And now, most of the people say, "But my Facebook / G+ / Twitter account is run by professionals and they ensure that all messages that consumers sent us are answered". Good! But not enough! That's not what I am talking about.

When consumers get your digital communication, they have actions. They will click on the ad, play with your games, use your apps, respond to your messages on Twitter. And that generates information. Valuable information. That tells you about your communication, your products, your brands, your consumers. And that  allows you (if you have the right setups, if you are ready for it), to adapt and evolve. You can decide to increase the weight of one of your commercials on the TV mix based on Twitter conversations, you may decide to promote a specific product in an area because you understand your consumer in that specific area is becoming more curious about it, you may adjust your prices to allow easier bundling in online shopping. The world is less and less static, and advertising should be flexible and quick to react - digital is all about that, is all about listening to the feedback and adapt.

But you need to make sure your frameworks are right for that. First, you need to make sure that you have the right tools to listen to that feedback. Consumers generate terabytes of information when interacting with your campaigns, brands and products and you need to have a way to listen and capture that interaction. So, make you have access to that information. Then, remember that consumer feedback should not be restricted to specific niches in your advertising work (like the agencies), but it should flow throughout the organization, fueling itself further and further - just think of the possibilities you have once you ensure your consumer research department starts seeing information flowing from target reactions online. And then you need to make sure that your setup is so flexible to answer fast, to react quickly. These steps are not easy, they may even imply that you need to adjust or change your organization, but it is the only way to compete in a world where digital communication is cornerstone.

Marketing is all about understanding consumers and satisfying their needs. Digital interaction is actually giving us the opportunity to shorten the cycle on 2-ways communication. You can almost see it happening real time. It is very close to the marketeer dream / nightmare (because it implies that you really need to be listening all the time to consumers and quickly adjust to their feedback). I usually use the tennis analogy of the receiver, waiting for the serve, that needs to be quick enough to understand where the ball is going and how to get it back over the net and in court - fast perception and quick, balanced reaction. And that is the game we should all be playing now with our targets, through digital.

How to look at great YouTube content

Have a go at this very good presentation from Google on YouTube content.

A shift on shoppers' behaviour

In one single year, Portugal has seen coupon usage go up 40%. A sharp increase reflecting a clear shift on shoppers' behaviour, who are being more rational and price oriented in their decisions, given the dark economic situation. 

I think everybody was expecting this and it is not actually a surprise - brands have actually increased their investment on price to adjust to the harsh economy. But there angles here that are worth exploiting:

- Don't dismiss brand appeal too fast. Though Distribution Owned Brands are also on the rise, the emotional feeling that "I am buying a good brand" might still be strong - it will probably depend a lot on the emotional appeal of the category and the work (hopefully good) that brands have done on differentiating themselves and build on relevant innovation. A share of consumers (and again, check it for your market and category), might be searching for good deals on positively perceived - hence the coupons. 

- Consider what the text (that I am sorry but is in Portuguese) is slightly pointing at - that the way coupons are placed actually has an influence on their usage rate. Higher value and easier to use coupons will tend to have higher redemption rates than the ones where more actions are needed to use them.

But overall, this just highlights how quick market conditions might change, and how marketing is always linked to the bigger picture of economic and social situation. So, never forget details (that's where the devil is...), but always keep your eyes looking around you, always think on the individual perspective and behaviour.

http://www.publico.pt/economia/jornal/utilizacao-de-vales-de-desconto-aumentou-40-em-apenas-um-ano-26249268

Effective apps

Apps are one of the main tools / executions you should be putting out there to effectively engage your consumer on the mobile world. The latest edition of Harvard Business Review (and I will go back to it at least one more time during the next few days, as it has one very deep and interesting article about digital strategy) states that effective apps should at least deliver one of the following dimensions:

- Added convenience for the user - just think of stores that allow you to buy products on the go, banks that let you pay your bills online, travel apps that guide you through what you need,...;

- Offer unique value - the example they give (and it is a really good one) is the Nike+ app fur runners;

- Provide social value - so, enhance your socialization with your friends;

- Offer incentives - this seems an easy one, but that actually makes it difficult. Try to avoid the couponing pitfall and ensure you are engaging;

- Entertain - think games, especially if around 40% of apps usage is about playing games.

Remember, your apps don't have to be all of them (probably, they shouldn't), but should be one. Ah! And, by the way, ensure they are on-brand and play positively for your equity!