Image via Reuters 

As advertisers gear up for the television industry’s biggest event of the year, the TV Upfront, Empower’s National Media Team is ready. We’ve scanned the landscape and have spotted a few trends, proving each year that the Upfront is as different each year as it is similar.

Fast, dramatic changes in the digital space have given brand [...]]]>
The following excerpt is from The Content Marketing Institute’s blog. It’s a guest post written by David Germano, Vice President, Content Marketing, outlining a different approach to owned media that brands should consider to truly see a sustainable owned media impact.

Fast, dramatic changes in the digital space have given brand marketers new opportunities to earn and sustain the consumer’s attention without paid media. Social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, to name just three, empower brands to communicate directly with an audience.

While many brands rush to leverage these direct-to-consumer channels, few have altered their brand narratives and their approach to content creation as they move from paying others to broadcast their brand content to leveraging it themselves for direct consumer engagement.

While many brands rush to leverage these direct-to-consumer channels, few have altered their brand narratives and their approach to content creation.  This lapse happens as they move from paying others to broadcast their brand content to leveraging it themselves for direct consumer engagement.

For the full-length version, click here to read “How Marketers are Shifting to Owned Media to Drive Impact.”

With 1 million downloads made in the first 24 hours of its release, Instagram’s long-awaited Android app has clearly been well-received.

The Android release was a bit of a tidal wave as you can only access the platform via its mobile app or using your Instagram login to use web-based [...]]]>

With 1 million downloads made in the first 24 hours of its release, Instagram’s long-awaited Android app has clearly been well-received.

The Android release was a bit of a tidal wave as you can only access the platform via its mobile app or using your Instagram login to use web-based options that use the Instagram API.

More users mean more potential for your audience being on the platform. So a quick recap of Instacontent, from me and elsewhere, is below. But before you dive into the how-to content, ask how this fits into your larger social > online > marketing > business strategy. If it doesn’t roll all the way up, consider Instagram part of the shiny new that’s not worth investing time and resources. At least not yet.

Watch How Brands Do: There are a variety of brands with an established Instagram presence.Luxury and beverage brands have quickly taken to the platform, having found a user base. But the media are also using it to give you backstory access around events like the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.

Manage Your Feed: Statigr.am, by far, looks to be the best way to manage your feed, track statistics and even organize your photos and the people you follow into lists. It even allows you to message each other users through the site,  gives you promotional tools and promotes contests from other brands and users.

Use Supporting Apps: If you’re taking pics with your phone, you can access a handful of apps to make your images stand out and better represent what you’re trying to communicate. And there’s a lot of Instatips too to help you optimize your use of Instagram.

Back that Pic Up: You’ll want to have a backup copy of your photos, right? Well Google+ app users have it easiest as Google+ can automatically backup your phone’s pics. But there’s also options for Dropbox users and everyone else.

Take It Elsewhere: Some brands are tapping into the API-provided portability of Instgram content. Starbucks streams relevant user pics into its online Coffeehouse. And any user can easilystream their pics into a Tumblr or onto Facebook for non-Instafans to check out their work. And don’t forget sites like Animoto make it easy to turn your pics into a video.

Go Offline: Photowalks are a great way to get a handle on the app and its potential. I’ve organized two of them and they’re fairly simple to execute. If you’re not about socializing in real time, you can still use any number of sites to print your pics in a number of ways. I’ve used CanvasPop for example and highly recommend it.

It’s Deja Vu All Over Again
With apologies to Yogi Bera, I’m already seeing a lot of Twitter “how-to” content becoming relevant again. From filling out your profile and using an avatar to posting content before following a ton of people — many of those basics apply here (and to Pinterest!). You can even project an Instafeed by user or hashtag, to create a visual back channel at events.

How’s that for a link-laden, to-do list? It’s not even taking into account Instagram-related content I’ve curated on Pinterest and Scoop.It. Which is a reminder that there’s a lot of opportunity and creativity in this site. If your audience is not on it, you can still use it for your own personal reward.

::By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing and on Instagram as @prblog.

Cross-posted to my personal blog.
Infographic via Visual.ly 

While tracking the convergence of media technology, Empower MediaMarketing has noticed an influx of new business models, ideas and opportunities. This “new entrepreneurism” is something in which Empower is investing time and resources.

In addition to our work with classes and projects for several university programs, we’re proud to be a part [...]]]>

While tracking the convergence of media technology, Empower MediaMarketing has noticed an influx of new business models, ideas and opportunities. This “new entrepreneurism” is something in which Empower is investing time and resources.

In addition to our work with classes and projects for several university programs, we’re proud to be a part of The Brandery.* The Brandery is a seed stage consumer marketing venture accelerator and ranked as one of the top 10 programs in the United States.

Agency/Start-Up Collaboration: A National Trend
In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, The Brandery illustrates the trend of pairing agencies with start-ups for mutual benefit.

“Marketing advice for start-ups is now available through relatively new “incubator” programs, like the Brandery, a Cincinnati-based program that pairs tech start-up founders with mentors from big marketers like Procter & Gamble Co. as well as major branding agencies.

“Marketing guidance for start-ups is growing, with a range of new programs promising to provide start-ups with better access to traditional ad agencies and major marketers. This comes at a time when traditional advertising and marketing executives are under pressure to keep up with the changing media landscape.”

Independents Approach to New Ideas
As an independent media agency, Empower is a reminder that this trend is not limited to large, global communication firms. And we’re quick to point out that it doesn’t require a separate think tank or lab where it’s implied that creative thinking is somehow easier to achieve.

In fact, Empower feels innovation should be ingrained throughout an organization and The Brandery is one way we achieve this. The Brandery also helps us stay true to our entrepreneurial roots. And we know that the more we’re helping start-ups create their businesses, the more we can help our clients with their business challenges.

Collaborate or Compete?
Does this type of collaboration have to be limited to start-ups and agencies? What if agency partners focused on truly collaborating, instead of indirectly competing for client attention and revenue?

As the pace of change continues to increase, this is a new frontier of opportunity. It’s not instinctive to team up with the competition. But it’s a concept that’s gaining momentum. In fact, Collaboration over Competition” was a theme at SXSWi 2011.

If you can do well in business by doing good, clearly this is something agencies can figure out for everyone’s benefit.

Be a Part of the Brandery
If you have consumer- and brand-focused ideas of your own, The Brandery is accepting applications for its 2012 class through May 15, 2012. They’ll accept 10 start-ups into this class for a four-month program. And you might even get to work with Empower.

:: By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing
 *Jim Price and I are Brandery mentors and pull in others from the agency as warranted to help.

This is also a signal to the rest of the industry.

Clearly a few seconds of attention from a consumer is simply not enough to earn their favor, much less their loyalty.

Consumers are faced with about [...]]]> Procter & Gamble’s well-publicized epiphany shows they’ve finally come to grips with their excessive ad spending.

This is also a signal to the rest of the industry.

Clearly a few seconds of attention from a consumer is simply not enough to earn their favor, much less their loyalty.

Consumers are faced with about 34 GB of brand messages on a daily basis. This is more than any one person can possibly process. And regardless of this intense competition for consumer attention, the average consumer has only a few seconds capacity to engage with an ad — whether it’s through traditional broadcast, print, out of home, or through an interactive medium.  And that’s assuming the average consumer engages at all.

Considering Consumer Relationships
Think about the above challenge in the context of dating.  When you are on a date, you are trying to persuade someone.  You are trying to sell yourself and, sooner or later, you are looking for a long-term relationship.

Now apply that thinking to marketing.  The terms and conditions are no different with the consumer than they are with your date.  They have needs and they have doubts.  They want to be courted – they want a relationship.  How can you possibly do all of this in a few seconds?  Yet marketers still insist on spending the majority of their efforts on speed dating when a more effective and scalable approach exists.

The Need for a Broader Conversation
That approach is content marketing.  It’s far from a new concept. It was established long ago and predicated on a fundamental human principle – reciprocity, or giving back.  But for some reason, modern speed dating, uh, marketing, has become far too self-absorbed.

Consumers are giving their time, attention and more. But some marketers simply do not reciprocate. And what’s really puzzling is that brands, even in consumer packaged goods (CPG), have so much to offer.  I’ve met with countless CPG brand teams who could talk at great length about the benefits their products offer, and how passionate consumers are with their products.  Yet very little, if any, of this intimacy finds its way into the dialogue with the consumer.

InBev and Amex Move to Broader Brand Conversations
Some marketers are seeing the light. At a recent iMedia Brand Summit, Erin Matts from Anheuser-Busch (AB)/InBev discussed some radical changes AB is making in order to stay connected with its consumers.

For instance, AB’s most iconic brand, Budweiser, is shifting spending and diversifying its brand assets. They are re-focusing a portion of their attention and budget away from the traditional ad spots the brand has become famous for, towards creating a more lasting and meaningful conversation with the consumer. According to Matts, it was time for “sweating their assets for content.”

“The traditional approach is no longer working,” Matts said. “Ads were becoming just wallpaper and we needed a change.”

In fact, one of the most successful and publicized marketing initiatives of the last decade is based on the principle of giving back.  American Express’ Open Forum is a shining example of being gracious and playing on someone else’s (the consumer) terms.  Scott Roen with American Express shared some takeaways from this initiative.  “Reciprocal altruism works,” he said “If you give something away and are authentically not expecting something in return, you end up getting much more back in return (i.e. brand loyalty, which increased as small business owners used Open Forum).  Sounds a heck of lot like dating.

Small Business Saturday
Open Forum recently launched Small Business Saturday, based on the above insight into their audience. What started as an initiative to help small business owners has evolved into a formidable marketing platform capable of changing behavior.  Small Business Saturday  focuses on influencing consumers to patronize small businesses, not American Express merchants.  And it’s generating significant returns for the brand.

So if you’re looking for a relationship with your consumer, one that offers a higher level of trust and influence, develop a content marketing strategy that gives back.  And leave the speed dating to your more promiscuous competition.

:: By David Germano, Vice President of Content Marketing 

Digital’s Connecting Brands with Consumers
There will be a mix of case studies and [...]]]> P&G is hosting an event to “showcase ideas from some of the most well-known and respected digital thought leaders and share a few ideas of (their) own at Signal P&G on March 8 at P&G’s Cincinnati HQ.”

Digital’s Connecting Brands with Consumers
There will be a mix of case studies and interviews from an impressive lineup of brands including Amazon, American Express, Best Buy, Buddy Media, Coke, Facebook, Flipboard, Google, Twitter and of course P&G. As an attendee, I’ll be taking copious notes and hopefully blogging my observations. This is a taller order than usual based on the agenda and the speakers that will be on the dais.

The event is being produced by Federated Media and is modeled after their Signal conference series. I’m hoping they continue their habit of supplying the event with an amazing soundtrack. It sounds odd, but the right music in between  speakers inspires faster blogging.

Follow the Content Feeds
There’s some more background on the event here. Look for the #SignalPG hashtag on Twitter to follow short form content during the event. I’ve created a Twitter list of Signal P&G speakers as well. And for a great post on signal, noise, discovery and curation, be sure to read this post from John Battelle’s Search Blog.

:: By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing

Cross-posted to my blog
Image via ProcterGamble on Instagram 

The Evolving Media Mix

Over the past year or so I have seen a lot of discussion about the media mix and the changing nature of investments made in paid, earned and owned media. As marketers and advertisers, it is important for us to understand these changing tides and the unique value that [...]]]>

The Evolving Media Mix

Over the past year or so I have seen a lot of discussion about the media mix and the changing nature of investments made in paid, earned and owned media. As marketers and advertisers, it is important for us to understand these changing tides and the unique value that each media brings. These concepts are complex and often times understanding them means hitting a moving target. It’s easier to use a simple analogy to get at the heart of the matter. This time, I chose something simple that most Americans should be able to understand: personal finance.

Paid Media

Think of paid media as your walking around money. I know that money in my budget will buy the tank of gas that is going to get me to work in the morning. It will also buy the cereal that I eat before leaving. That walking around money also buys the clothes that I wear and pays my utilities. It even got my dog the rawhide thing she is destroying on my carpet right now.

Paid media behaves much in the same fashion. If an advertiser spends this much they know that they will get that much in return. I can execute a multi-million dollar TV buy and expect to get X impressions and reach. I can pay for a contextual targeting display campaign paired with some paid search that will likely yield Y visits to my website. Like my walking around money, I know what I can get for it and it serves a distinct purpose. I can use it almost immediately and it is infinitely scalable (unfortunately, my paycheck is not).

Earned Media

When I look at earned media, I start to think of investment, but more smaller investments. It reminds me most of the money I set aside in my 401k or my yearly contributions to a Roth IRA. I cannot predict what is going to happen to the funds I have invested those accounts in. Like paid media, it could be infinitely scalable and I could be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams in ten years. It is also unfortunately unpredictable and the markets could tank tomorrow and I could lose all of my investments.

That is why of these investment accounts when I relate this analogy to media. Earned media is hard to predict, but you make the investment predicated on the assumption that if you manage the investment appropriately, it will yield something greater than the expense I incurred in that investment. If I manage my social media channels in the right way, craft good consumer experiences with engaging content, if I listen carefully and respond in the right way, I will stimulate word of mouth conversations that are practically priceless and worth much more than the money I invested in the exercise.

Owned Media

The last part of the media mix has been all the rage recently as I see an explosion of interest surrounding new(er) tactics like content marketing. It’s likely the hardest to fit into this analogy, and some people might disagree, but I see owned media almost the same way I see a mortgage. You take a huge investment in a down payment on a home and then take out a sizable, secured loan.

And for what?

For starters, you get the satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) of home ownership and the cost efficiencies of not paying rent. But, more importantly, you also build up your personal equity. Your timely payments mean that one day you can borrow against the equity you have built. And the occasional room addition or kitchen facelift will increase that personal equity and the value of that asset.

I see owned media as highly similar. It is typically a sizable investment up front, and while most brands have enough marketing dollars that they don’t need a bank loan, they are usually borrowing that money from other places in their marketing budget. But once you make the investment in owned media, it is yours to do with what you want. Your level of control is 100%. It could take awhile to scale, but sustained owned media engagement has the potential to build enormous brand equity, customer relationships, and can even start to yield earned media.

Heck, you can even choose to start to monetize your owned media investment (timeshares anyone?).

Managing Assets and Balancing Your Portfolio

So great. We have all of these analogies that help us understand how these types of media behave and some of the intricacies within. What do we do now? We have our marketing budgets. We have our business goals and objectives for the year. Which type of media do we invest in?

The answer: all of them. Assuming that everything is managed appropriately, the best use of my money is to contribute to my investment accounts, build up my personal equity, and still be able to pay my bills and keep my dog well stocked in rawhide. The same goes for your marketing dollars. Use your paid media appropriately, put some of your marketing budgets toward earned media, have the long-term view to invest in the right owned media, and your ultimate payoff will be larger than if you had chosen to stick with just one.

:: By Alec Painter, Digital Search Strategist

An Ad Promoting…Another Ad?
Super Bowl ads [...]]]> Volkswagen’s Barkside is a fun teaser promoting the brands’ involvement in the Super Bowl — as an advertiser. It continues to tap into the Star Wars phenomena and mashes it up with a costumed pet meme to come up with this fun, minute-long teaser ad.

An Ad Promoting…Another Ad?
Super Bowl ads have become the TV equivalent of a retail brand’s flagship store. The ads, like the stores, forgo much of the brand’s established look and feel for something new. Advertisers want to make a big statement that gets consumers talking and ultimately buying.

In the past few years, we’ve seen several examples of how media convergence has Super Bowl advertisers building much bigger campaigns around their 30 second spot.

Streaming & Sharing the Game
Between advertisers investing more to support their TV spots to the news that the game will be live streamed this year, we’re sure to see more interesting campaigns from advertisers.

Hopefully we’ll see a better integration of mobile and the Super Bowl this year. UPDATE: Chevy just announced it’s Super Bowl App.  Last year there was no obvious app that added value to the game. This year Verizon users will have access to the live stream on their phones. But mobile doesn’t simply mean outside. The multi-screen experience holds much promise for advertisers  gearing up for game day.

The stakes are high and whether its a 30 second spot, social media, mobile or other media play, marketers and consumers will have so much to experience they’ll have to remember to watch the game.

:: By Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing