Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 167
March 2, 2017
Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #350
Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS; chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO; Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".
Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:
Two views on Human Error - Johan Bergstrom - Lund University . "My friend, John Allspaw, has been campaigning hard to warn us about the risks of automation. As we have robots and algorithms making decisions for us, two things happen: Humans lose the chance to get good at the things that the machines are doing; and the machines hand control over to a human at precisely the moment when there's a really bad problem. This is interesting, but also a public service." (Alistair for Hugh).
Night In The Woods: The Kotaku Review - Kotaku . "My friends can't stop talking about this game. Made by a three-person Winnipeg-based indy-game outfit over the course of three years. It may just be to video games what Watchmen was to graphic novels: A proof that the medium is a genuine form of literature. You can grab the game from the company's website for a pittance; I've included a Kotaku link to a review but there are plenty more from Serious News Outlets. As for subject matter, it's a side-scrolling Hillbilly Elegy, and probably more timely than ever." (Alistair for Mitch).
Smithsonian Magazine's 2016 Photo Contest - The Atlantic . "Look at these pretty pictures." (Hugh for Alistair).
This site is "taking the edge off rant mode" by making readers pass a quiz before commenting - NiemanLab . "There was a time, a decade ago, when the comments were the most interesting part of web articles (aka blog posts) -- a time when this new web-enabled discussion, debate, and engagement of minds seemed about to usher in a new era of enlightened intellectual interactions. Whereas today, reading comments is an exercise in masochism. Still, comments can be a powerful place for discussion. This Norwegian site is forcing commenters to answer a quiz about the content of a post before they can comment on it, meaning at the very least ... you have to have read the thing before posting." (Hugh for Mitch).
AI Is Going to Change the 80/20 Rule - Harvard Business Review . "Here's some great thinking from the one and only Michael Schrage. It's a smart piece on what happens when artificial intelligence is able to change the paradigm of how businesses operate. There's a lot of stuff in here to read, re-read and think about as it applies to your business. It's easy to dismiss AI as 'early days'. It may, in fact, be early days for AI, but change is a-coming... and it will be faster than any of us expected... as it always is." (Mitch for Alistair).
A Very Good List of Vital Writing Advice - Do Not Ignore! - Chuck Wendig . "Chuck Wendig is a best-selling novelist. He's made it to the top. I'm not a big fan of fiction. I am a huge fan of Wendig when he writes about writing (which, thankfully, he does often). If you have to write anything (even a quick email), here are his rules for writing. They are raw, biting, funny and... of course... perfectly perfect. Read this. Save this. Print it out. Staple it somewhere important." (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
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The Digital Generation Is Now Every Generation
Everything is digital. Fine. Everyone is online. Fine.
These are just platitudes. There are many industries and businesses that are still far behind when it comes to being digital. Everything from the technology used within the organization to how they market and communicate to their consumer base. There are also many parts of the world that are not online (just look at what companies like Google and Facebook are trying to do to extend connectivity to these parts of the world) and there is a cost to our digital lives that many who are living in more rural areas or those without means can't participate in. When we say everything is digital and everyone is online, we are - in fact - talking about the accessible business marketplaces in more developed parts of our world (the audience that most businesses are selling to). That's the level-set.
Those that have, who do not take part.
With that, it's somewhat amazing to still hear baseless and antiquated ideologies in the face of facts. These include statements like: "our audience isn't that sophisticated," "our customers don't use technology in this way," "our consumers prefer the more traditional ways of being connected to us," "ours is a people business and will always be face-to-face," "they've told us what they wanted and this is not it," "it's still too early for where our customers are at," etc...
True story...
A few years back a multinational pharmaceutical company asked me to present some thinking on the current state of digital innovation. Prior to their event we had a pre-conference conversation, where the company's head of healthcare professionals went on a ten-minute diatribe about doctors don't have access to this type of technology, don't have an interest in it, and are still working in a very paper-based environment. In short: the doctors don't use smartphones, social media and technology like those other clients that you have. Right. Here's the current state of those doctors: they finish up at the clinic, hop in their car and drive around until they can find a pay phone. Then, they call their travel agent, discuss flight options for an upcoming conference, write them a cheque and their airline ticket arrives via courier several days later. Doctors, apparently, live in an entirely other time-space continuum from the rest of us.
On being ridiculous to make a point.
Maybe that doctor's fabricated story is a tad dramatic in relation to what's really going, but there is a point to be made. Snapchat will go public today. If you think that Snapchat is only for young people, you are not mistaken... but it is changing. Quickly. From the Advertising Age article, Already a Favorite of Teens, Snapchat Is Gaining Popularity With Their Parents:
"Market research firm eMarketer projects that 70.4 million Americans will use Snapchat in 2017, up from its June prediction of 66.6 million users, in a report on the app's U.S. user base released on Tuesday. The largest user base is aged from 18 to 24, but eMarketer estimates that 6.4% of users will be from 45 to 54 years old, over 2 percentage points more than previously projected. The research firm defined users as those who check the app at least once a month.Close to 8 million Snapchatters will be over the age of 45, according to the research, just over 11% of the total U.S. user base. Those older than 45 are projected to make up 12.2% of the app's users in 2018 and 13.3% by 2019. Last year, about 9% of Snapchat's American users were over the age of 45, and in 2015 it was just 5.6%."
It's no longer a generational thing. The digital generation is every generation.
Certain technologies will appeal to certain types of people, yes. But, any technology that achieves any semblance of scale does impact everyone. We have seen this - time and time again. It wasn't that long ago when concerns over Facebook's growth circled around this dataset that millennials were abandoning the platform (or their growth was levelling off), because the olds were coming on. Years later (today), Facebook is ubiquitous. The same happened with Instagram. Look no further than Sprout Social's recently published report, The Q1 2017 Sprout Social Index, which states:
"With more than one billion active users, Facebook, which began as a collegiate social community, has graduated. Across all three generations, respondents identified Facebook (43.6%) as their social network of choice. Collectively, respondents found Facebook to be 29% more popular than Instagram--the respondents' nearest, cross-generational preference.Facebook's widespread popularity is nearly identical among Gen X (64.7%) and Baby Boomers (65.2%). When it comes to Millennials, however, our survey findings weren't as distinct. Facebook might be Millennials' most beloved platform but the group's preference for Facebook over other social networks isn't as pronounced as it is for Gen X and Baby Boomers. Both older generations identified YouTube as their second favorite social platform and the divide between the two networks is staggering. For Gen X, Facebook is 54% more popular than YouTube."
Thinking less about specific age brackets and more about how digital impacts our lives.
This is the opportunity for business professionals today. One eye could be watching how the younger generation adopts to newer technology (watch them now for chatbots, virtual reality, etc...), while the other eye, ears, brain, hands and the rest of the body needs to think - at a whole other level - about a world that is no longer divided by the young (or millennials) and the Gen X/Baby Boomers (or the olds) but rather a truly connected and digital society. This is who we are now.
It is no longer about who is using digital, but rather how they are using digital... because they all are.
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March 1, 2017
Content Marketing As A Profit Center
Content marketing... be careful what you wish for.
The water is getting very murky out in the marketing world, these days. There used to be a clear division (a church and state, if you will) between advertising and editorial content. Those lines were never crossed. There was journalistic integrity at stake. The quality of the content did not want to be soiled or manipulated by which brands were flowing advertising dollars into the publisher's pockets. Sure, this is still the case for many, but native advertising is a new reality and - more importantly - the many brands that are now in the content creation, distribution and publishing business continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Content marketing is the new advertising. But, should it be?
Since my first business book, Six Pixels of Separation, came out in 2009 I have (gently) tried to persuade brand marketers that there is no binary choice in the digital world. It is not about how digital will be better, bigger or faster than other media (think TV, print, etc...). This is a similar moment in time. Content marketing will not replace advertising. Everything is "with" not "instead of," as I like to say. A strong content marketing platform coupled with a strong advertising strategy will take a brand much further than, trying to prove one over the other. They are not the same beast. The problem is when we expect content to do what advertising does. That's the true challenge of the day. As agencies are being asked to update and upgrade their services - by integrating capabilities around content marketing, data, analytics, etc... - there is this blind trust that these types of service should look, act and feel as the brand's advertising does.
Big mistake.
In the past few years, we've seen a massive shift in brand and agency partnerships. It become so crazy in the marketing industry, that more than $30 billion in media assignments has shifted from one agency to another. It was dubbed "Mediapalooza," and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down any time soon. Some think this switch-up was all about brands wanting to get more bang for their buck from their agencies. Others argued that it was about transparency and data/information. There were even those that felt like this Mediapalooza was really about brands looking for more transformational ways to get in front of customers with a more integrated solution. However it gets sliced (and, my belief is that it was probably a mixture of all of those reasons... and more), there is change because the market is demanding this change. Within these deals, many brands were highlighting content as a key driver for making the shift. Many brands are developing in-house content studios. Many brands are spending lots of time, energy and budget on content strategy. What comes next? Monetization, of course.
Can content be monetized?
This is what brands are demanding. If they spend time writing blog posts, articles or creating videos for YouTube or Snapchat, they want to know - in no uncertain terms - how it will be monetized. When they spend money on advertising, they are paying for impressions, repetition and engagement. They expect to see an uptick is sales. When they spend money on content, they are paying for (what they think will be) much longer engagement, pass-along and social proofing. These are not the same thing. Candidly, real content is much more about information, education and engagement than it is about offering a special price, direct response, push-to-sale, etc... It can be nuanced. There are examples of content being created that acts more like long-form advertising. Still, the purist, must be more candid about the outcome of content versus advertising. Content is a much slower, much more expensive, much more nuanced way for a brand to get the cash register to ring (and to keep those consumers loyal). It's not impossible. Its just not the same advertising. With that, we should be cautious of confusing content marketing as new way to advertise. Remember, the publications of yore created content that interested their audiences. The advertising was there to interrupt that experience and pay for more of that content to keep those consumers coming back. The content and advertising didn't have the same expected outcome. Suddenly, that's what brands want content to do.
Yes, content is media. No, content is not (necessarily) advertising (as we currently define it).
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February 28, 2017
The Billion Hour YouTube Rabbit Hole (And It's Growing)
It can often be a sad state of affairs.
I don't know about you, but when someone send me a YouTube video to watch, I always have the best of intentions. Best plaid plans, and all. It's inevitable that I catch myself three hours later watching these random videos, that have been perfectly lined-up for me on the right-hand side of the screen. The personalization is often so good (knowing the many and varied types of content that gets me to click) that it's Amazon-like in its ability to show me something that I have not seen before, while also being something that I want. It's a dangerous sport. I can't tell you how many late nights have been spent deep in the YouTube Rabbit Hole watching demos of tricks from magicians, watching bestselling authors give speeches at conferences that I never attended, seeing some obscure hair metal band from the 80s now touring state fairs in the US, and much more. It may not (all) be the most cerebral stuff one could watch, but it's often far more entertaining than any other form of video-based media. So much so, that my de facto destination for all things "new" on video is done by subscribing to a myriad of YouTube channels and clicking on the "subscriptions" tab. There, I'm able to see all of my favourite content creators (from YouTubes to major media outlets to think tanks) and sort all of that content by the date it was most recently updated. That - to me - is the new television. On demand, constantly being refreshed, no set schedule, always there if I miss a day, and more.
I am not alone. You are right here with me.
If there's one stat that marketing professionals will be turning into a slide over the next fews months, it's the Wall Street Journal's reporting that YouTube hit a significant milestone in their massive growth over the years. YouTube viewers worldwide are watching a billions hours of video content... each and every single day. Marinate on that for a moment. Every day, one billion hours of video content is being streamed... and that's just on YouTube. The latest data that on Netflix suggests that their 93+ million subscribers are streaming about 10 billion hours monthly. Which, considering that Netflix is a subscription-based paid model, is equally staggering.
It's not just a piece of data that validates digital media. It's a piece of data that has massive implications for YouTube, brands and, of course, the viewers:
For YouTube: This number indicates that they will -aggressively - pursue what was considered traditional TV ad dollars. Brands buy TV for reach and repetition. YouTube is going to amp up their sales with this "reach" and "repetition" game. It also means that their algorithm is getting more and more sophisticated. This YouTube Rabbit Hole is not a market of one. This is what is keeping users attached, watching and making it a go-to-destination. Don't forget, for traditional advertisers, time spent is a great measurement of engagement. Watch next as YouTube adds to the personalization with a bunch of original TV content. Some of it may look more akin to regular television programs (this Netflix's House Of Cards, etc...), Netflix-like specials (comedy, documentaries, etc...), or even pay-per-view movies (which, in fact, they already have) and pushing beyond that into live streaming-like events, subscription-models and more. The infrastructure is there. The audience is there. YouTube Red (not available worldwide just yet) is just a test to gauge what kind of potential market there could be for more subscription-like pay models. Today, YouTube launched YouTube TV, a streaming TV service for $35 a month, where customers can stream networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and more, with no limit on DVR storage space and customers can cancel anytime. It's all happening... it's all coming.
For advertisers. YouTube is not going away any time soon. You can stare at Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc... YouTube is capturing a lot of video attention and - because it's so unrestricted and free - it seems to be the current destination for online video. Watch how this grows as more and more people watch YouTube on television (through their app), video game consoles, etc... It also means that advertising on YouTube is going increase significantly. TrueView (the ability for a user to skip an ad after five seconds) demonstrated to brands just how quickly consumers will skip their ads, when given the option (and, let's be honest, how great is it to improve your reflexes? ;). YouTube has spent years capturing this data (much like they have done on the pay-per-click side of search engine advertising). We already know that the brands who develop a video ad with a 5-second story arch (instead of placing their traditional 30-second spot) as a pre-roll are playing the YouTube game much more effectively. Brands that complain are missing the point: their 30 second spot doesn't play in the YouTube format. Some brands have become so great at it, that they, literally, run ads that are long-form - real content, multiple minutes and getting millions of views. Couple that with better targeting and YouTube's ability to put a brand's ad in front of a consumer who is less inclined to skip the ad (for a myriad of reasons), and this will push the price of these spots to a delta from where they're presently residing. It's not too hard to imagine that YouTube could very well have developed the most valued and powerful personalized video advertising platform in the world. It is the kind of tech that traditional television and media professionals would kill for.
For Users. It means many more hours of being connected. It also means that the company is going to have to balance the content flow to ensure that this engagement continues. What works so well for short video content (quick little snippets of videos that can be easily viewed and shared) to the long-form content (old documentaries and brands that are using YouTube as a distribution platform for in-depth profiles and much more) will need to be balanced with their own original programming and live-streaming exclusive content. Many may welcome the additional formats... many may yearn for the YouTube that was. This balance of short, quick and fun videos with longer views - or more original content - will be an interesting experience to watch as it evolves.
A billion is the new million.
If you look at traditional television, the shows that are considered "hits" and "breakthroughs" are delivering impressive audiences, but they're small in the comparison to the history of television hits during the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc.... One could argue that this is a function of fragmentation: more networks, more specialty, cable bundling, premium channels, etc... One could also argue that more and more people find it "easier" to time-shift or watch snippets of the shows that they used to watch/record on YouTube. There's a reason why the many late night talk shows all clamor for YouTube views, as they beg their audience members to subscribe to their YouTube channels. The real and significant advertising is in them there hills. Carpool Karaoke may not be able to be a stand-alone show for James Corden on network television, but those millions-upon-millions of views sure look great on a video platform that has billions of hours being streamed (it has also done wonders for his TV network platform, hasn't it?). It's probably why Apple picked up the show, tweaked it and Carpool Karaoke will soon be an online show all of its own. Is this omnichannel television? Is this television everywhere? Is this a case of the networks recognizing the frenemy that Google (Apple, Amazon, Netflix) is, and the networks are simply trying to capture some extra coins on the way? Is this truly where the audience is, lives and resides? We used to celebrate platforms that had millions of views. Billions is the new millions when it comes to online video.
It sure feels like all of that and more, when it comes to YouTube. What do you think?
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February 27, 2017
Instagram Wants To Eat Snapchat, BlackBerry Has Zero Percent Of The Mobile Market And More On This Week's CTRL ALT Delete Segment On CHOM 97.7 FM
Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on iHeart Radio, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away about what's going on in the digital world. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.
This week we discussed:
This week, Pierre Landry sits in for Terry Dimonte.
Instagram (owned by Facebook) wants to make sure that Snapchat doesn't eat its lunch. So, last week they introduced new functionality that allows users to select up to 10 photos or videos for one post. You can edit each item before uploading (adding filters, tagging friends, etc...). Users can also move around the order of the images or videos before posting. You'll now notice a blue dot on post with a number in it, which indicates how many images/videos are a part of it.
Remember BlackBerry? Gartner (the large research firm) released their report last Wednesday on the state of the smartphone market. BlackBerry's share of the global smartphone market is now official 0%. Staggering. With that, the company just launched their latest device called KeyOne that is being manufactured by a company called TLC. The device is essentially an Android device, loaded with BlackBerry security and software designed by TCL to appeal to both those who want a touchscreen and a keyboard. Will this be enough to bring BlackBerry back?
If you're looking for work, it's no longer just a LinkedIn and Monster world. Last week, Facebook started allowing businesses in Canada and the US to post job openings on their pages. Facebook also launched a jobs bookmark. Now, brands will be able to track applications and even communicate directly with them on Facebook and Messenger. Look out, LinkedIn!
App of the week: Feedly.
Take a listen right here...
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February 26, 2017
The Social Organism With Oliver Luckett - This Week's Six Pixels Of Separation Podcast
Episode #555 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.
When it comes to celebrity and athletes winning at social media, many point to Oliver Luckett. Oliver Luckett is a technology entrepreneur and currently CEO of ReviloPark, a global culture accelerator. He has served as Head of Innovation at the Walt Disney Company and co-founder of video sharing platform Revver. As CEO of theAudience, Luckett worked with clients such as Obama for America, Coachella, Pixar, and American Express. He has helped managed the digital personae of hundreds of celebrities and brands, including Star Wars, The Chainsmokers, Steve Aoki, and Toy Story 3. He recently co-authored the book, The Social Organism - A Radical Understanding Of Social Media To Transform Your Business And Life, with Michael J. Casey. Now, Oliver has left Hollywood behind as we chat from his new home in Reykjavik, Iceland. Enjoy the conversation...
You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast #555.
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February 24, 2017
An Open Letter To Brands: Be Mobile-First. Now.
Dear Brand Leaders,
The time has come.
I've been patient. Your consumers have been patient. Enough is enough. The discrepancy between what I see when I engage with a brand "out in the wild" (meaning, when I shop, search and try to inform myself) verses what I see when brand leaders get up on stage to talk up the marvellous marketing initiatives that they are engaged with during an industry event, could not be further apart. In short, your mobile experience is lacking (at best) and pretty sucky (on average).
"Don't worry! Most consumers don't use us on their mobile devices!"
Give it up. You can back these statements up with as much data and analytics as you like, but sticking to this based on your vanity metrics is putting you on the wrong side of history. I could have been shopping for a laptop case. I could have been shopping for a car. The results are always the same: if I really want to dig in and get the information that I need, I've had to switch over to my laptop. Always. Do you think the same could be said for your consumer's Instagram, Uber, Snapchat and Twitter experiences? What about Tinder?
Yes. Tinder. Think about it...
If your consumer can find someone to mate with by simply swiping right, how frustrated do you think they're going to be while trying to find out the information that they want about your brand and services - as they scroll, tap and pinch to find what they want? One tap and a car will show up at their front door and yet, your mobile car configurator is one big confusing mess. Claiming that your brand's experience is fully responsive isn't even tablestakes anymore. The fact that your consumers view mostly everything on a mobile device, doesn't mean that they engage with the brand with the same functionality that mobile engenders. This causes frustration. Across the board.
Mobile and brands have not reached the tipping point yet.
The data is not working in your favor. Just this week, eMarketer released updated estimates about US digital users. The results? More than eight in ten internet users will use a mobile phone to access the web regularly in 2017. What does this really mean?
"...there will be just 17.9 million desktop/laptop-only internet users in the US this year, down from 20.3 million in 2016. And the number is expected to edge lower in the future... The number of mobile-only users is on the rise, totaling 40.7 million this year, up from 36.6 million in 2016... The number of these mobile-only users will see steady growth over the next few years, reaching 52.3 million in 2021."
Brands, you had one job. Brands, you have one job.
It's not too late. Make the move. Get aggressive. As we continue to question when was "the year of mobile"? We can all agree that the year of business mobile is right now - 2017. What more do you need to make this happen? How hard would it be for you to rethink what your brand means - not just in a digital world, but a mobile-first world? Your customers are - quite frankly - begging for it... and they're ready for it. Think about it this way: perhaps you are not feeling the impact as dramatically, because your mobile experience is so bad, that your consumers are not even bothering. So as you view your growing desktop usage, it could be fooling you into thinking that this is where the growth or current population truly lies. The truth is simply that you are letting consumers down where they want you the most.
We won't get fooled again.
It's not just one data source either. Here are some other key leading indicators that all brands need to focus on:
Mobile Will Represent 75% Of Internet Next Year: Bigger Ad Medium Than Print, OOH Combined . "Three out of every four minutes (75%) of Internet use will be accessed via a mobile device in 2017 - up from 68% this year." (Source: MediaPost).
Mobile accounts for nearly half of all US online ad revenues . "Nearly half of all internet advertising is now mobile in the US, with total revenues from online media hitting $32.7bn in the first half of 2016." (Source: The Drum).
Four out of five smartphone users check their phones within 15-minutes of waking up, reports suggests . "While the trend in homes is to increasingly spend more time talking to virtual assistant Alexa, a recent report suggests that we reach for our smartphones within 15 minutes of waking up and our phones will likely remain with us throughout the day long after we have said goodnight, Alexa." (Source: The Drum).
'Cell Phone-Only' Households For Over Half of US Adults . "The proportion of senior citizens (ages 65+) in cell phone-only households quadrupled over the past six years, to 23%, while the figure for Millennials (born from 1977 to 1994) climbed to 71% from 47%." (Source: MediaPost).
That's not all. You know that there is much more data on the subject. Just Google it.
So, what's it really going to take? Brands were so slow to adopt the Internet. Many are still trying to pull together a decent web experience. Many still grapple with ecommerce. Many have yet to embrace social media. Brands don't have to continue on this path. The opportunity is now.
Don't make the same mistake again. Please.
Sincerely,
Mitch Joel... a loving and passionate marketing nerd.
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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #349
Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS; chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO; Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".
Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:
Hollywood's Forgotten Gay Romance - BuzzFeed . "Since Will and Grace, Brokeback Mountain, and their ilk, Hollywood's portrayal of gender diversity in relationships has changed quite a bit. But this 1982 film was way before its time -- and despite its progressive message, the AIDS crisis quickly shut the door with even more stigma. 35 years later, this is an interesting look at what it took to make the film, for which one of the producers said, 'I want to make this movie so some kid in a small town in Missouri will know that he's not alone. And it's going to be OK.'" (Alistair for Hugh).
The Alien Style of Deep Learning Generative Design - Carlos E. Perez - Medium . "If you have a design conceived by a human, it must meet certain constraints: Weight; force; durability; cost; and so on. But that design is guided by patterns humans know, and by tools at our disposal. What happens when you feed those constraints into a machine and let it explore possibilities? Turns out, you get better designs that look like something HR Giger would have put on the set of Aliens." (Alistair for Mitch).
Hardcore History 48 - Prophets of Doom - Dan Carlin . "You get the feeling, with fake news and thousands of Albanian political Twitter bots/agents provocateur, and the implosion of the mainstream media (as reported in mainstream media), and info silos and Milos and alternative facts and that guy I'm not allowed to talk about in our link sharing, that perhaps, perhaps the info revolution of the web might create more societal chaos than (some of us) expected. We've been through this before: Gutenberg's printing press ushered in more craziness than me and my bookish friends like to talk about. Listen to Dan Carlin talk about one of the most insane periods in early post-Reformation history, and the strange case of the city of Munster, in 1534-35. (Note: the audio is ... long!)." (Hugh for Alistair).
Why Aren't Baby Boomers Eating Pho? - Jennifer Wright - Medium . "How many articles have you read about the mystery of millennials and why they don't [insert thing olds expect them to do]. But the big, unexamined question is: why don't boomers eat pho?" (Hugh for Mitch).
Sorry Y'All - Humanity's Nearing An Upgrade To Irrelevance - Wired . "We're about to enter The Matrix and - once we do this - what will be the point in humans? Don't laugh. Think about it. If all we're here for is to create, nurture and consume data this may not be the life that we had all thought we would be participating in, as we opened the Pandora's Box of technology. Yuval Noah Harari is a deep thinker about life, civilization and what we're really working towards. His new book, Homo Deus - A Brief History Of Tomorrow, is getting rave reviews. In this Wired interview, he talks about the future that we are creating and how useless we may all become." (Mitch for Alistair).
Life's Work: An Interview with Jerry Seinfeld - Harvard Business Review . "He's not just a comedian. He's not just the guy behind one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Jerry Seinfeld is - without a doubt - one of the most creative humans beings in the world. He brings a serious work ethic to everything that he does. In this awesome Harvard Business Review interview, Seinfeld gives out gem and gem insights that are relevant to anybody who toils in creative work - which is all of us." (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
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February 23, 2017
What Humans Want Vs. The Chatbot Struggle
Do you think that chatbots are the future?
You cannot not throw a marketing professional down a flight of stairs these days without the word "chatbots!" tumbling out of their mouths. There is no doubt that building automated tools for brands that reside inside messaging apps is a key near-to-mid-term strategy for connecting to consumers. We are already seeing services like Uber reside in popular messaging apps in other parts of the world. We're also seeing a significant growth curve in both usage and adoption of messaging services. In short, people are messaging and sharing (chats, images, videos and links) in messaging apps - at scale - and this usage is taking over for time that was usually spent on email, surfing and other app usage. It's not just about chatbots as an engine of commerce. Many believe that the current advantage with chatbots is being able to provide a quicker and fully-automated customer service offering.
So, how's that chatbot thing working out for you?
"There's a disconnect between stores and shoppers over tech. Maya Mikhailov, a co-founder of GPShopper, works on commerce tools for such stores as Crate & Barrel, Lane Bryant Inc., and Foot Locker Inc. She explained that, while retailers fawn over the latest glitzy gadget, hoping it'll catch on as the next big thing, people just want to buy stuff as quickly and easily as possible."
This is the crux of the BloombergTechnology article, Consumers Don't Want Amazon or Google to Help Them Shop, that was published the other day. So, while retailers, brands, agencies and the media talk about building better omnichannel experiences for customers, and while those conversations also lay into retailers for being so behind, when it comes to technology, it turns out that consumers want what they have always wanted from brands: Be brilliant. Be brief. Be gone. Simplicity, selection, value and trust. Chatbots seem like a perfect way for the brand experience to be augmented: fast, always-present, automated, etc...
Not so fast.
According to recent reports, Facebook Chatbots have a 70% failure rate. So, while consumers are warming up to the idea of chatbots, they're only getting what they want 30% of the time. You can imagine the kind of brand experience this creates (hint: not good). With that, we have the challenge of companies like Facebook and Microsoft and many others (including agencies like ours) talking up the value, merits and opportunities of chatbots. On the other hand, we have a technology that may not be ready for primetime and precarious consumers who are eager to try out a chatbot, but will be quick to dump it and thrash talk when it doesn't work. Yes, the future of marketing will involve machine learning, artificial intelligence and chatbots. There is still a reality that must be faced: most of this tech is simply not ready from primetime.
Maybe everybody is getting it wrong?
Could it be that the technology is primed and ready, but we're experiencing "human error" with this technology? Could it be that we just don't have the tech chops to wrassle this programming into a great customer experience? Whatever the excuses may be, the experience to date with chatbots seems to be less than impressive. Still, brands should not give up. We have seen data and reports like this before. It's classic for any nascent technology. It looks like people are having a bad experience, so it's painted with a dead-on-arrival headline (remember how Facebook was dying because the olds were starting to use it?). The same was said about the early days of websites, ecommerce sites, mobile adoption and on and on. Chatbots may be struggling with the technology and the adoption today, but they will become mainstream tomorrow. Consumers pushing back and saying that this technology is not, necessarily, the technology that they want is a non-starter argument. How many customers know what they really want when it comes to technology? Seriously. How many consumers knew they wanted a computer in the home? A laptop? A mobile device? The ability to check email on the go? The ability to type on a glass screen? Consumers stating - at this point - that they don't have a need for chatbots should not be the reason for brands to sit on the sidelines. Ever.
Chatbots may be struggling today, but chatbots will play a huge roll in business soon enough. Stay tuned.
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February 22, 2017
Will The Marketing Agency Of The Future Look Nothing Like The Agency Of Today?
Nearly twenty years ago, the agency of the future seemed very obvious.
We launched our digital marketing agency (then it was called Twist Image, now it's called Mirum) in 2000. We had a clear objective: we wanted to create the agency of the future today. Our mission seemed obvious (to us, at the time). We felt that technology had not permeated the marketing department. We knew that marketers were - candidly - afraid of technology. They did not understand the Internet. They did not grasp the power that these connections would create. At the same time, there was a power struggle taking place as the IT department did not want to relinquish control of these websites to marketing, and the marketers were tepid to take it on (they did not want the liability should there be issues relating to security, data, etc...). That power struggle endured for many years. Still, we believed that the agency of the future (back then) would be a digital-first agency. That has come to pass. Some might argue that the battle between marketing and IT still exists in many organizations. The reason may *seem* logical enough: the marketing department is (mostly) creative. Let them focus on the branding, messaging, communications, advertising, etc... and let IT handle the "heavy lifting" of the platforms, hosting, infrastructure and delivery of the digital communications. Arguments could be made on both sides. Still, digital as a primary channel to connect with consumers is true and continues to grow.
What if marketing... and marketing agencies... should no longer focus on just the creative output?
There is this ongoing (and vibrant) debate about the future of the agency. It may seem like a dire conversation for the more traditional agencies, but even those with "digital" in their descriptor are seeing some big shifts. First, when it comes to the online channels, consumers see loyalty in a whole new light (check out my article from yesterday: Consumer Trust Is Not What You Think It Is These Days). Second, brands have a much higher expectation for what their agencies should be delivering based on a myriad of developments from analytics to procurement to business transformation to c-suite demands and beyond. Third, simply being great at creative and/or strategy has become commoditized in our world. This doesn't downplay their critical importance, but saying that your marketing agency has the best creatives or the best strategists rings hollow, in a world where these talents are shifting from agency to brand side to consulting firms to platforms to publishers to competitors at a dizzying pace. There does not seem to be a lack of talent, skill and knowledge in the marketing industry these days.
What you offer today is not what brands are in dire need of.
Forrester Consulting recently published a report titled, The Future Of Agencies, that was commissioned by Adobe. This is a two-part report. One focuses on customer experience and the second is focused on data-driven marketing. It's no surprise that these reports both bring to light the need for marketing agencies to build better strategic alliances with technology partners (the report was commissioned by Adobe, after all). With that, the messaging is both clear and scary. For a marketing agency to be successful in the future, it must make customer experience mapping and engagement, data-driven marketing and marketing technology core to their offering.
Agency's have one role: to make the brands that they represent as awesome as possible in the marketplace.
This is not as simple as it seems. It's going to take more than a viral video or a strong email list to make this go. And, after reading through both of these reports, it's not unfathomable to say that the majority of marketing agencies are not only ill-equipped to deliver on these needs, but it would require a dramatic shift in staffing, positioning and their core business model. Yes... it's not so simple.
Here's what the research says about what agencies capabilities must be:
Agencies can't just keep pace with marketing technology, this needs to be a core competency.
Agencies must have strong technology partnerships (with companies like Adobe, Marketo, Acquia, Salesforce, etc...) and layer on top of it innovative services. Brands will favour agency partners that have a true working and integrated relationship with the technology providers.
Agencies need to provide superior customer experience strategy, mapping and deliverables. Brands are shifting their marketing dollars from advertising to customer experience.
Agencies will need to bulk up on content marketing, web/mobile development and advertising technology not as stand-alone centers of excellence, but how these services integrate and deliver against real metrics and goals.
Agencies can't just position themselves as experts in this space, they will need to demonstrate how they build, nurture, capture and extend these experiences. This will be more important than telling brands that they are either a full-service agency or a specialist.
Agencies can't just talk and sell data. Analytics, personalization, testing and optimization are not just dreams of the future. The technology is here to do this - in a cost effective way - now. These tools drive new customers to brands and helps to retain the older ones.
Agencies need to get better (much better) at figuring out how to integrate the various agency partners' results. Someone must understand how all of these agencies and all of their datasets fit together. Right now, there are plenty of gaps, and this results in less than stellar results for the brand.
Agencies will not differentiate on strategy and creative. Don't shoot the messenger, this is what the report's key findings were.
The agency of the future...
According to Forrester, the agency of the future will differentiate on data and technology. As the need for these technologies and services continues to rise, the agencies that succeed will be the ones who are truly "cross-channel data experts who create new sources of value for clients through strategic technology partnerships." Candidly, is this what you signed up for? Is this truly the future of successful marketing? Where does strategy and creativity fit in this business model? Are agencies merely going to be relegated to the world of being a VAR (Value-Added Reseller) like the consultants and developers of other business technology platforms? Does this even sound like what a marketing agency means to you? This should be both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
How does your agency stack up? Do you believe this to be the true future marketing agency business model?
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