30 Mar 2007
28 Mar 2007
Updates
John was here for ten days. It flew by for me, but he may have tired of sleeping on my floor. It was wonderful to see him and spend time together. We ate Indian, Korean and any other -an we fancied. Drank too many martinis then saw Patrick Stewart in the Tempest at the RSC where we glugged champagne at intermission. We went to Cambridge and Ely in East Anglia to tour the old buildings, the university men, scholarly books (no, really I bought too many) and the English countryside. Then I got sick and John was on his own for a few footloose and fancy-free days.
It's awfully quiet without him now. I miss him.
Pictures of our travels somewhere in the margins.
It's awfully quiet without him now. I miss him.
Pictures of our travels somewhere in the margins.
17 Mar 2007
John arrives today for a London romp. Looking forward to the company, the mischief and the book trading that seems to happen when he's in town.
15 Mar 2007
11 Mar 2007
On how to be a good digital marketer
1
Digital is much more than a website. From mobiles to PDA devices to interactive television to ambient media, rich digital experiences can now be delivered to people whether or not they’re in front of their computers.
2
It is difficult to know everything about digital. And unnecessary. Be collaborative, inquisitive and clear about what you expect. Treat your digital agencies as partners in the process. They will help you to explore and understand the best technology and use.
3
All digital channels aren’t effective in all markets. The Web isn’t always the strongest channel. We need to understand with what and how often our target audiences engage with different channels.
4
But the technologies are constantly evolving and maturing. The digital landscape changes from day to day and so allow time for your agencies and digital partners to research and plan the best approach to technology.
5
Brief agencies on your business, brand, challenges and aspirations rather than on the ‘execution’. Instead of telling an agency you need a microsite, email campaign or viral ad, tell them what the business problem is and search for the best execution strategy together – the most effective execution maybe something neither of you had thought about before the project.
6
Measure everything that you do in digital media. Identify what data you’re capturing and how at the start of a project. Know when you can and can’t expect benchmarks for digital media. Media like websites and rich media ads are more likely to have mature, reliable benchmarks than emerging media like virtual worlds, social network pages.
7
Data is king, but reporting is not the same as good analysis. Think of your project as being in ‘permanent beta’ and, therefore, able to adapt and improve to customer usage and satisfaction as it lives.
8
The customer should always be at the centre of the experience. Whether a target, prospective, or lapsed, their journey and interaction with the brand should be the ultimate criteria for the digital experience.
9
Focusing your digital marketing efforts on – and optimising against – a single business / marketing success metric will do far more to the bottom line that trying to optimise against more than one. Don’t make your digital strategy a laundry list of jobs to do.
10
Don’t think about digital in isolation. Think about all of your channels (TV, print, POS, events, digital, etc.) together and how the customer journeys from one to the other. You can then plan a unique role of digital (how it does something that no other channel can do) and the complimentary role of digital (how it strengthens or builds from activity in other channels.)
11
You need to drive integration between the agencies. All agencies will promise integration, but clients make it happen -- it's increasingly technology and data driven, and not that difficult to execute well. Active collaboration with existing and new business partners (I mean real, open, I-know-I-don't-know-it-all collaboration) pays far greater dividends.
12
Include your digital agencies at the very start of the process. And demand that they can participate in marketing and brand strategy discussions and not just digital executions.
13
Digital is more than a communications channel. It creates experiences that build strong and lasting bond with your customers whether as a service, distribution channel or ongoing engagement. It is a channel for delivering brand experiences as well as brand communications.
14
Identifying how your brand behaves in digital media is as important as how it looks and its tone of voice. It is interactive and how it behaves will great impact.
15
Great digital experiences bring together exciting brand expression and high usability. You shouldn’t sacrifice one for any of the others. If the digital experience looks great, but is difficult (or even impossible) to use, it will fail.
16
But effectiveness and beautiful execution are not mutually exclusive. Value both the creativity and the usability of the digital experience.
17
Innovation means not only using ‘new’ technologies but also using proven technologies in new ways. New technologies can be a risk if customers aren’t ready or able to change their digital behaviour. Innovation shouldn’t only be a result of technology; it should be the approach to it.
18
Customers now share control of your brand experience in digital. They can create content with, about and around your campaigns, communications and experiences. Not everyone does, but those who do can be influential. Build relationships with these digital influencers, share the development of the brand with them, and be constantly vigilant about what is said, created and debated here. Y
19
You need to play with digital media to know how to plan digital strategy. Whether it’s playing games on a handheld, downloading a file to your mobile via Bluetooth, interacting with digital billboards you won’t know the joys and pains of the media unless you use them.
20
Be excited by the possibilities. Digital is constantly evolving how people interact with your brand and the benefits to you as a marketer are infinite.
Brian Jensen
With thanks to David Hofmeyr, Rajus Korde, Giles Rhys Jones, and James Sandoval.
Digital is much more than a website. From mobiles to PDA devices to interactive television to ambient media, rich digital experiences can now be delivered to people whether or not they’re in front of their computers.
2
It is difficult to know everything about digital. And unnecessary. Be collaborative, inquisitive and clear about what you expect. Treat your digital agencies as partners in the process. They will help you to explore and understand the best technology and use.
3
All digital channels aren’t effective in all markets. The Web isn’t always the strongest channel. We need to understand with what and how often our target audiences engage with different channels.
4
But the technologies are constantly evolving and maturing. The digital landscape changes from day to day and so allow time for your agencies and digital partners to research and plan the best approach to technology.
5
Brief agencies on your business, brand, challenges and aspirations rather than on the ‘execution’. Instead of telling an agency you need a microsite, email campaign or viral ad, tell them what the business problem is and search for the best execution strategy together – the most effective execution maybe something neither of you had thought about before the project.
6
Measure everything that you do in digital media. Identify what data you’re capturing and how at the start of a project. Know when you can and can’t expect benchmarks for digital media. Media like websites and rich media ads are more likely to have mature, reliable benchmarks than emerging media like virtual worlds, social network pages.
7
Data is king, but reporting is not the same as good analysis. Think of your project as being in ‘permanent beta’ and, therefore, able to adapt and improve to customer usage and satisfaction as it lives.
8
The customer should always be at the centre of the experience. Whether a target, prospective, or lapsed, their journey and interaction with the brand should be the ultimate criteria for the digital experience.
9
Focusing your digital marketing efforts on – and optimising against – a single business / marketing success metric will do far more to the bottom line that trying to optimise against more than one. Don’t make your digital strategy a laundry list of jobs to do.
10
Don’t think about digital in isolation. Think about all of your channels (TV, print, POS, events, digital, etc.) together and how the customer journeys from one to the other. You can then plan a unique role of digital (how it does something that no other channel can do) and the complimentary role of digital (how it strengthens or builds from activity in other channels.)
11
You need to drive integration between the agencies. All agencies will promise integration, but clients make it happen -- it's increasingly technology and data driven, and not that difficult to execute well. Active collaboration with existing and new business partners (I mean real, open, I-know-I-don't-know-it-all collaboration) pays far greater dividends.
12
Include your digital agencies at the very start of the process. And demand that they can participate in marketing and brand strategy discussions and not just digital executions.
13
Digital is more than a communications channel. It creates experiences that build strong and lasting bond with your customers whether as a service, distribution channel or ongoing engagement. It is a channel for delivering brand experiences as well as brand communications.
14
Identifying how your brand behaves in digital media is as important as how it looks and its tone of voice. It is interactive and how it behaves will great impact.
15
Great digital experiences bring together exciting brand expression and high usability. You shouldn’t sacrifice one for any of the others. If the digital experience looks great, but is difficult (or even impossible) to use, it will fail.
16
But effectiveness and beautiful execution are not mutually exclusive. Value both the creativity and the usability of the digital experience.
17
Innovation means not only using ‘new’ technologies but also using proven technologies in new ways. New technologies can be a risk if customers aren’t ready or able to change their digital behaviour. Innovation shouldn’t only be a result of technology; it should be the approach to it.
18
Customers now share control of your brand experience in digital. They can create content with, about and around your campaigns, communications and experiences. Not everyone does, but those who do can be influential. Build relationships with these digital influencers, share the development of the brand with them, and be constantly vigilant about what is said, created and debated here. Y
19
You need to play with digital media to know how to plan digital strategy. Whether it’s playing games on a handheld, downloading a file to your mobile via Bluetooth, interacting with digital billboards you won’t know the joys and pains of the media unless you use them.
20
Be excited by the possibilities. Digital is constantly evolving how people interact with your brand and the benefits to you as a marketer are infinite.
Brian Jensen
With thanks to David Hofmeyr, Rajus Korde, Giles Rhys Jones, and James Sandoval.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)