Really, We Haven't Said It Enough... It's All About Data
Posted by sdubois on 6/26/2008
This is certainly one of my favorite topics, and I continue to say this a hundred times a week to our clients. The value of data in marketing efforts cannot be overlooked, and having "deep" data opens up a world of possibilities.
One of my regular reads is Seth Godin's Blog and he has an excellent post about the
Five Easy Pieces in marketing. Seth lists them as data, stories, products, interactions and connections. Great observations.
However as it applies to marketing I think Seth may have understated data (although maybe not intentionally). Technology is such, that a large part of media can be personalized. Therefore data can be used to encourage interactions or to variably showcase relevant products (he does talk about AdWords). How about using data to showcase different stories? A product (or more so a service) will often have a multiple stories that will appeal to different people.... If the data is "deep" you can go there! I guess in the chart, I would have data on top.
I find the hardest part about adopting this for people is that it involves change. To often data is treated as one-off, or if there is an observation and data is appended, it never seems to make it back to the IT people so that it can be used in the future. Crazy!
I should also point out one other great article by our friend Barb Pellow at InfoTrends focusing on the value in data-driven marketing.
Until next time...
Mobile Technology Pushing Forward
Posted by sdubois on 5/12/2008
I continue to be amazed at how dependent I have become on my mobile device (currently a BlackBerry Curve 8310). The pace of technology advancement in the mobile realm seems to be out-pacing other technology areas and with good reason.
Remember when you used to call 411 for information, then you'd look it up on Google because it was faster? Now you just text to 466453 (GOOGLE) a name and zip code or city/st and WHAM! it is back in a second. Now Google even lets you customize your text alert preferences.
I was reading today of RIM's announcement of the
new BlackBerry Bold. I for one can't wait to get my hands on it. I already love having my eMail be completely sync'd through Exchange on my current BlackBerry, this new one will just bring the web to life better, and support for wi-fi!
More to come.... but just some thoughts on a Monday morning.
Defining Cross-Media
Posted by sdubois on 5/2/2008
This seems to be one of the hardest issues that we face here
at Reynolds DeWalt. The term has actually been around for quite some time,
especially in advertising circles. Traditionally it means the use of multiple
medias within a campaign. This is a good starting point, but
does not tell the entire story.
When we use the term cross-media we are considering two
additional items. It is my thought that these are critical factors in moving
the discussion into the marketing umbrella from the advertising umbrella (isn’t
that another blog posting….. defining these two items).
1) A cross-media
campaign integrates database intelligence to allow the campaign to deliver a
better experience and more relevant information.
2) A cross-media
campaign does more than utilize multiple medias, it delivers a consistent
experience & entry point across those medias.
Let’s focus on the user experience. Experience can be
thought about from the standpoint of a user’s willingness to participate in a
cross-media campaign. That is to say just sending a mailer with a PURL (Personalized URL)
on it is not enough. However experience can also be thought about from the
standpoint of the “richness” of presentation. We will continue to see e-enabled
components become more and more prevalent; heck it is already quite common for
this to be the launch point (instead of print or mass media). It was exciting
to read today about Adobe’s Open Screen Project which will open up Flash to
mobile devices! The application of personalized, data-driven programs utilizing
Flash to these devices is quite exciting.
So back to the question at hand…… definition. I think the
answer is that it is hard to define, but there is an upside! That upside is
that the technology today is in such a place that if you can dream it, it can
happen.
Why Dashboards Really Matter
Posted by sdubois on 4/23/2008
According to a recent CMO Council report, the #1 budget
expenditure for CMO’s this year will be on Dashboard Reporting Utilities. This
is not surprising to us here at Reynolds DeWalt as this is something that our
clients are constantly asking about. However the traditional thought is that in
these tight financial times, the Dashboard is required to justify their
campaign expenditures (ROI). I would argue that while this may be a factor, it
is not the only one.
So then, what is the reason for them? One simple word….. data.
It is becoming increasingly apparent to the CMO that data is easily available
to them. Technology has evolved to the point where you can measure traditional
(TV, Radio, Newspaper), emerging (Digital Print, Web, eMail, and Mobile), and
online (Banner Ads) in a single location. Now you are not just doing a cost
justification/analysis, you can take it to the next level.
That next level is user preferences. Some users prefer
mobile communications, some telephone, and yet some you will not glean any data
from. This preference data is what can really make future campaigns powerful.
Actions taken when and how they are appropriate will always be the most
effective. At the end of the day these Dashboards are making the CMO’s look
good as their campaigns are more and more effective.
Of course, at the end of the day, that is what we are about
here at Reynolds DeWalt; making CMO’s the rock stars of their organizations.
Blogging - Should Be An Adventure
Posted by sdubois on 9/6/2007
Well here we go, blogging is underway here at Reynolds DeWalt and believe it or not.... For someone as keyed in to technology as I am this is my first time blogging!
I hope to be posting my thoughts on a variety of topics several times per week, let's see if I can keep that up :)
Well, I'm off to GraphExpo 07 in Chicago for the next four days. I will keep everyone posted on any exciting news.