Ad:tech New York is one of my favorite conferences. The discussions center around technology, new media and advertising. While ad:tech is not real estate focused, the insights about how other industries use technology, social media, online advertising and marketing are adaptable to real estate.
The following are from the notes I took during the sessions. If I remember the company or person, I’ll cite.
The buzzwords heard most often: touch points, advocates, listen, and mobile
What’s Coming Down the Line? (Keynote by Sir Martin Sorrell). [Interestingly, Sir Sorrell did his keynote amongst the crowd, not from the stage.]
- The shift in new markets is from West to East (China) and South (Latin America). China mobile has 500 million subscribers
- Video is the strongest force in new media
- Very few online companies are increasing their revenue and most are focused on cost (cutting back on ad spends, among other costs)
- The best time to build a brand is during a bad economy
- Business models lowering costs are significant cause of disintermediation
- Walmart is thge 7th largest nation
- New media gives companies an opportunity to communicate in quick and flexible ways
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is important for building brand in the long term, citing Gates Foundation and Branson’s $3 billion donations. “Doing good is doing good business.” (Sir Martin Sorrell)
- Google is the frenemy. They are refocusing on search and mobile search
- Can’t have branding without innovation
- Mobile advertising is lagging
- It’s all about creativity: Strategic thinking + Excecution + Distribution
- New media is one to one and fragmented.
- Measure, measure, measure.
State of the Industry
- interactive TV is an emerging platform. Video gaming is strong
- apps and messaging tools (social media, email) are communication tolls to spread content
- adverstising sits next to great content (AOL)
- look to niche audiences. Look at local
- Create tribes using context, relevance and efficiency– moms are a strong tribe (MTV)
- internet is now a consumption tool rather than a search and discover tool
- Brands must strive to become destinations
- People want discovery.
- Help folks discover greatness (MTV)
- Engage with creativity
- The brand success funnel for consumer movement: consider –> buy –> become a fan
- Free v Paid content is the current hairball. Pursue both.
- What will people pay for? Uniqueness. convenience, speed
- What is quality content? It’s sticky and gets passed around.
- Social media– gain insights from the conversation “Collective intellect”
- Social media is an insights channel
- Watch reactions to your campaigns
- Look for the digital natives, regardless of the platform
The Art of Conversation (panel with Mountain Dew, FOX, Vh-1 and Passenger)
- Social media is a conversational marketplace
- In the past we had: suggestion box, FAQ, call center, focus groups and surveys. Now, the consumer wants the conversation continued.
- connect with people/customers– enable them, inspire them, get them to contribute, collaborate with them– and they will build trust of the brand and give the brand the benefit of the doubt
- Speak –> Listen –> Hear
- Book: The Power Shift
- Active listening requires a back and forth communication
- Social media is better as a research tool (FOX)– twittering did not translate into increased ratings. FOX does not share everything with consumers
- Conversations create unexpected insights (Vh1)
- Ask questions
- create “Passion” brands and “Super Fans”
- Brand can be a friend to folks. If the person feels comfortable with a brand they will be honest and tell you when you suck
- FOX makes customers “honorary employees”
- (Mountain) Dew Labs– use music, cool visuals, humor, energy
- Dew Meisters are passionate fans
- Dew comes to your house on its focus group thingees
- Push, push, the message and find out what folks love or hate about you
- Include the customer voice in your marketing
- the brand speaks, not the corporation
- How do you foster brand advocates? Give them tools to make them feel special and have an impact. Pay them back (reward them) (The Dew)
- Social media is a brand team sport but dedicated SM teams for these big brands— 2-4 people.
Content, Distribution & Advertising in a Multi-Platform World:
(Conde Nast, Forbes, A&E, Weather Channel)
- there is more media to consume but it is fragmented across more platforms
- fragmentation leads to Platform Agnostics (Weather Channel)
- platforms include desktop, laptop, mobile/smartphones/apps, car, widgets
- mediums are different and so are the experiences. So challenge is to match the experience to the channel (Forbes)
- publish content v. experiences
- aggregate content to become an authority
- Weather is “now” content so it does well in auto and mobile platforms
- Television ad money has not migrated to online (A&E)
- Free v. paid content is a tough one. If a consumer is trained/accustomed not to pay, you can’t reverse gears and charge. Look for diversified revenue streams.
- The post-digital world– things will be less about technology and more about people, their experience, and their connecting with other people
- syndication is marketing
…. to be continued.
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