I am not sure consumers are aware of this fact, but advertising funds the vast majority of the media they consume. And as the consumption of this media moves online, the online advertising model is going to struggle to generate sufficient revenue to allow for the continued production of the high quality content we come to expect.
This reality is prompting publishers to seek out more ways to maximise the return on their content through the ad-funded model, one of which is the concept of behavioural targeting. If predictions are correct and the use of behavioural targeting continues to grow (to a point where it outstrips search advertising), can it offer the boost that online ads require to increase revenues and maintain content quality? Are users going to have to accept that the tracking of their web browsing is essential to secure engaging, high value content?
The ad-funded model of publishing is absolutely key to the survival of the industry. Very few (if any) consumers want to pay for their media -- and why would they if they can get something comparable free elsewhere? Acceptance of advertising end users to pay for the publication of and the access to free content is relatively high. In essence, this is seen as a necessary evil.
Where the ad-funded necessary evil seems to over step the mark is with Behavioural Targeting (BT). BT uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual. It is this practice that users are finding objectionable. Over half of users surveyed in a recent poll said that they were uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with their behavioural profiles being used to target more relevant ads to them.
The fact is that online advertising is not yet at a level where it can sustain many publishing models on its own, in particular for newspaper-type publications. BT could be the answer to increase publisher advertising yields and drive revenue -- whether directly through adoption of BT tools by their own commercial teams and internal tech; indirectly through improved targeting from their network partners; or through selling their data to a third party data exchange. Granted, the latter two options could compromise the long-term business model as well, but nonetheless both will put advertising money into the industry in the short-term.
The crux of the problem is that there is a fundamental disconnect between the needs of the publishers versus the desires of end-users - publishers need to use their editorial and increasingly more of their users’ behavioural data to sustain their content creation business; yet users want access to free content but are not willing to have their behavioural data used in order to continue to get it for nothing. However, if users are not willing to accept some compromise, it could dramatically affect the amount of ad revenue going into the business. And if there is no money available to create high quality content, then the industry is only going to be able to produce low quality, dummed down, tabloid fair, which would be less interesting to the end reader.
It seems to me that if users want to retain the right to free access to high quality content, then there needs to be a trade-off where their behavioural data is used to target more relevant ads to them. In turn, it is the industry’s responsibility to ensure that this concession on the users’ behalf is then not compromised.
I myself have no problem being shown car insurance ads when reading a high quality, free article online - especially if it is around the time my annual premium is up for renewal…
Acceleration will be hosting a webinar later this month on the topic of Behavioral Targeting and how to make it work for you as a publisher. The webinar will explain exactly what it means; explore different cases of how it can be used to improve targeting, ad relevancy and yield; and what will be the future for behavioral targeting.
When: 15h July
Time: 11am (GMT)
Register now
Once considered a ‘nice to have’ the strategic importance of marketing to an organization’s success is no longer open to question. Marketers are judged on their ability to be creative and produce stunning media campaigns that support the sales effort. At the same time, they are expected to be au fait with the latest marketing technologies being introduced at an ever-rapid pace, all of which are supposed to make their lives easier. The life of a marketer is no walk in the park that’s for sure.
So it comes as no surprise to me that the number of marketers looking for help to transform their patchwork of disjointed platforms (and this includes both technology and people) into something that’s streamlined and effective – is on the rise.
I’ve just spent 6 months onsite at a client, an ideal way to get to know your client’s business, understand their culture and fast track the relationship. This level of intimacy allows you to add enormous value and improve your client’s performance, but is not without its challenges.
If not handled positively, being up close and personal can do more harm than good. It can damage the relationship and impede future business dealings. Client issues like corporate structure, managing growth, management re-organizations and opposing company visions, can negatively impact an onsite engagement.
Under these circumstances, delivering on the task at hand becomes secondary because one is thrown into a political mine field where a lot of time and energy is spent decoding unclear communication, and managing skewed perceptions. In this situation, the relationship can be compromised irrespective of the quality of work.
So what can we do to succeed in building trusted relationships and helping clients to improve performance? Based on my experiences, here are my top tips:
1.Get buy in from the top. Partnering with the CEO and senior management will ensure one focuses on issues and opportunities at the highest level. In this way, solutions are more likely to be supported and integrated across all business units in the organization.
2. Build collaboration, not competition. Working with the client team and their agency partners helps generate innovative ideas, builds support and momentum and allows you to come up with relevant, practical solutions. This level of collaboration will also ensure cohesive implementation of the strategy across all communication channels.
3. Assemble the best resources for the job. While this is easier said than done, do not lean on the nearest and most available people. They may not be sensitive to the client’s culture, or adequately skilled to handle the task. Not only is it disruptive when team members are replaced, but it impacts the relationship with the client at a deeper more fundamental level opening up questions around performance and trust.
4. Manage the service delivery. A solid focus on results and reporting metrics helps to tell a story, it makes performance tangible. It also provides the evidence behind recommendations, giving the client confidence in their decision.
5. Be Switzerland. When based onsite, one is privy to information from many groups. Irrespective of the type of information and the source, it is advisable to maintain a level of confidentiality and objectivity at all times. By remaining impartial, you are more likely to build respect and trust.
In reality, a client’s internal environment cannot be controlled. Working onsite can be chaotic, frustrating and messy. Even with passion and the necessary expertise, complications and unpredictability invariably get in the way. As professionals, we have become hard wired to believe that such difficulties are the stumbling blocks to renewed contracts and future engagements. Rather than resisting these inconveniences and hoping for smooth sailing, we need to acknowledge them, open up to them and work to apply the principles suggested above.
I speak with marketers everyday who intuitively think that administration is a major part of their job. Filling in PO numbers, asking management for campaign financing, reporting, briefing requests to agencies, creative reviews and copying figures into and between spreadsheets.
Marketers know the value of improving conversion rates and driving new customers to offers through a multitude of acquisition methods and the power of retention. However do you know about MRM? Marketing Resource Management? Its about automating standardised and repeatable tasks in marketing – something that I believe is one of the last un-optimised areas within marketing and an area from which we as marketers can realise significant benefits.
How can I as a marketer improve the way we do things?
1. As marketing continues to get more and more complex (have you figured out social media or how to measure and act on engagement?), we need to use MRM to become faster, smarter and more efficient to gain a competitive advantage and support our sales teams.
2. SaaS technologies can automate the administrative functions of marketing and help lower the cost of standard repeatable activities.
3.Optimising your marketing administration will let you concentrate on marketing activities to drive down CPC, CPA, CPM’s and ultimately drive sales for your company.
Yes, but where should I start?
Try counting the number of touch points with your marketing department using the SMCR Model*
- Source: The entity wishing to present a particular view of a campaign or product. Usually a singular brand or product
- Message: Signal or combination of signals that form a body of information (all types of content to support the source like emails, rich media ads, billboards, events)
- Channel: Vehicle, medium or carrier through which signals are sent (microsites, blog posts, DM, events, brochure)
- Receiver: The target, person or thing, that takes in the message (individuals or groups).
In trying to assess if you are in need of MRM, consider the impact of both the bullets and arrows on your company. The ‘bullet’s resemble variables that you can count and manipulate. The ‘arrow’s represent process which allow you to quantify activities. When you count the number of bullets and processes, you should be able to define the process and activities that is required by your marketing department.
How many do you have? What would be the value in being able to automate 15 of these processes? How badly do you need to be able to reduce two phone calls, five emails per day OR one communication mistake per month? Is it just me or would optimised marketing activities make a huge difference to many aspects of our work days? Let me know what you find.
*Shannon, C.E., Weaver, W., 1963. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Board of trustees by the University of Illinois
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"Having the ability to work out whether a piece of content is expensive to produce, and whether its producing the expected ‘return on content’ is powerful knowledge to have. Knowing the performance that content and advertising is delivering can truly help publishers grow their business." | |
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Blog Comments
Great post Graham, thank you for the contribution. We often do not reflect enough on the socio-...
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