With the proliferation of data and access to consumer information, marketers have gained increased insight into their core customers. The Social Analytics industry has grown by over a dozen companies in the last 12-18 months and we’re already seeing how access to richer data is empowering advertisers to do things they’ve never done before. For example, the ability to target a certain group of consumers with distinct travel intent did not exist until recently.
Most media buying outlets no longer buy specific publishing properties (TV being the exception). The advent of data-driven targeting combined with powerful ad exchanges has made “audience targeting” the new norm. It’s a much better way to get a return on your ad spend, because it gives you the opportunity to speak to the people that matter most to your brand. However, this great new data-driven capability comes with some “not-so-great” consequences. As data has become increasingly commoditized, one of the main complaints is that “everyone owns the audience, but not always in the right place.”
My last week at CES in Las Vegas confirmed that everyone and their mother is buying 3D TV’s with apps, or tablets powered by Android. But amidst the deluge of geeky gadgets and frenzied excitement over new technology, I couldn’t help but observe the unmatched proliferation of app platforms, and we’re not just talking about smart phones here. The pace of innovation in this space is staggering, and will accelerate for years to come.
I was particularly impressed with automakers pushing the envelope by building dev platforms for apps that sync directly with auto technology.
With every new year comes an awareness that the next 365 days offer us a big wide empty canvas. We welcome it with open arms because it gives each of us a chance at rebirth, to bury the mistakes and foibles of the past year, exchanging them for unbridled potential in the new. And while we must move on from our successes of 2010, we carry the optimism that those to come may be even greater. Ah I love the new year!
This year, I’d like to challenge each of us to choose to do one small thing differently on a daily basis.
Former Procter & Gamble, Glam Media and PepsiCo executives bring extensive experience in digital brand advertising and online media innovation to help guide a new era of Shopping Media
San Francisco, CA – Jan. 4, 2011 – RichRelevance®, the leading provider of dynamic e-commerce personalization for the world’s largest retailers, today introduced the {rr} Shopping Media Advisory Panel to help retailers, agencies and advertisers make the most of Shopping Media, a new form of advertising that engages online shoppers in relevant ways on the world’s largest retail websites. The {rr} Shopping Media Advisory Panel is the industry’s first group to focus exclusively on new ways that brand advertisers can extend the benefits of Shopper Marketing to the online channel in order to drive sales and build brand equity for both products and retailers. Founding panel members include Ken Zinn, Director, Digital Marketing Strategy at Abbott Labs and former head of Digital Marketing at Procter & Gamble; Josh Jacobs, Senior Vice President of Brand Advertising Products & Marketing and former Vice President and General Manager of Marketing Technology at Yahoo!; and Dan Hickle, former Vice President of Marketing at PepsiCo, among other top advertising executives.