Media Planning for Web Video: using GRPs? (From AdAge Digital)

Here's an attempt by Mindshare to create a comparable online metric to TV metrics: GRPs for Web video. It's not as easy as it seems, primarily because vs. TV, internet activity is user-driven, timing of which is not depended on placement schedules. Another difficulty is that at any time, the user can stop viewing of the video and shift to another webpage. 

Another problem is that such metrics are measurable only after campaign implementation. Not like TV that you can predict with a limited degree of error your GRPs when planning your campaign. Online, it's a matter of how engaging and how viral your material is. It's not about where you place your ad, but on how good your material is.

Case in point: the latest Camella Homes TV ad, "Sikip", (ad agency: Leo Burnett Manila) is enjoying some virality online. The best part was the first known post on YouTube was audience-generated, not by the agency nor the marketing team. It was never intended to be an online material, nor did Client spend a dime to put it online.

I appreciate the intent to try to find a common ground for advertisers to evaluate online efforts vs. traditional media but I doubt this direction will prove to be an accepted methodology for media planning and budget allocation. It will still require a certain amount of Client's faith in the material, and willingness to experiment and risk a portion of his marketing budget for digital efforts to flourish.

Below is the original post in AgAge Digital.

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Media Agency Looks to Spread TV Advertising Wealth to Online

by Michael Learmonth 

Published: April 06, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Good news for online video: Mindshare, a unit of WPP's giant media buying operation GroupM, is embracing a new metric that could speed the migration of TV advertising dollars to the web.

Since YuMe specializes in placing video ads in premium video, including TV shows on the web, a GRP metric will allow an advertiser to buy both TV and online for the same campaign on the same standard.

The agency is throwing its weight behind a translation of TV's gross ratings point to online video developed with video ad network YuMe, meaning Mindshare clients such as Unilever and Ford will start buying online video on a gross-ratings-point basis, the same way they buy TV.

Agencies have for some time looked for a way to measure online video in terms of gross ratings points (GRPs), or the sum of the reach of a campaign times the frequency that the target audience was exposed to an ad.

Major TV marketers have bought TV campaigns on a GRP basis for decades as they buy vast swaths of the country in certain demographics, and have years of experience in using that data to evaluate what the return on a TV campaign will be, say, on the sale of tubes of toothpaste in stores.

Would seem simple enough 
On the face of it, converting online metrics such as "views" and "unique visitors" to a GRP, a measure of the reach and frequency of a campaign among U.S. households, would seem to be a fairly simple proposition.

But converting to a web audience, which is smaller and more splintered than TV, is difficult. A TV campaign, for example, would achieve a rating in one TV broadcast; online, the equivalent reach and frequency may be achieved over weeks or months.

Having an online equivalent -- an iGRP, if you will -- allows marketers to compare the effectiveness of TV and broadband on an apples-to-apples basis, and theoretically spread TV dollars online for the same campaign. Then, the buy becomes video wherever it happens to be, rather than just "online" or "TV."

YuMe isn't the only video ad network attempting to dip its toe into the $70 billion TV market by using TV metrics. In February, Tremor Media started reporting their own GRP equivalent for online video campaigns using ComScore demographic data, and BBE is working on its own GRP translation with Publicis Groupe unit Starcom Mediavest.

In embracing the new standard, Mindshare advertisers will have the option of buying web video on the same metric, and it's likely that Mindshare's sibling agencies within Group M, Mediaedge:cia, MediaCom and Maxus, will follow suit.

"As viewing online viewing continues to grow, we need to have a clear understanding with the partners we work with on how to evaluate frequency models on broadband vs. TV," said Cary Tilds, senior VP-digital strategy at Mindshare.

Since YuMe specializes in placing video ads in premium video, including TV shows on the web, a GRP metric will allow an advertiser to buy both TV and online for the same campaign on the same standard. An episode of "Heroes" on Monday night on NBC, for example, might have 7 million people watching and reach a certain percentage of viewers aged 18-49. An equivalent GRP could be achieved online but it might take buying audiences across many shows over time.

"We can now start to say, that the same million dollars you spent for the TV buy, you can have to run it for a month on these sites and you will get the equivalent," said YuMe President Jayant Kadambi.

From AdAge Digital: Twitter as a Marketing Tool -- Avertisers take heed

I just read an article about how Twitter is peaking -- meaning it's soon all downhill from here. And it's just started picking up in Manila. 

Philippine advertisers are still far from using Twitter as a marketing tool. So I don't know if it will ever effectively be used here for marketing. Maybe we'll catch on to the next new thing instead. Who knows?

But for marketers thinking of using Twitter now, take heed: AdAge Digital offers some advise on when NOT to use Twitter. Read on.

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Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet

Everyone's Talking About It, but Should You Be Doing It?

Posted by B.L. Ochman on 04.07.09 @ 09:16 AM

B.L. Ochman

Mainstream media has gone ga ga about Twitter, which grew more than 1,200% in the past year, doubled its members in the past few months and attained 14 million members in March, according to Compete.

Everyone and his dog seems to be tweeting, from CEOs to celebrities to not-for-profits, venture capitalists, banks, business services, government and, well, dogs (and cats, and the random parakeet, too). Should your business be tweeting? Twitter is not for everyone. Here are the Top 10 Reasons Not to Tweet.

1. You think using Twitter is a social-media strategy. It's a tactic, a tool, not a strategy. It works if you already have an online following who'll view your Tweets as a way to interact with your company on a human level.
2. Every tweet has to be approved by legal. Twitter is a social network where conversation is fast and interconnected. If you have to wait a day, or even a few hours for your 140 character Tweet to gain legal approval, Twitter will be the wrong platform for you.
3. You plan to use Twitter for nothing but broadcasting headlines or deals. People follow people they find interesting. Followers are earned on Twitter. Be interesting, make only every 10th tweet about you, and you'll gain and keep a following. If all your tweets are a one-way street: Block!
4. You think a ghost tweeter for the president of your company is OK. Authentic and transparent are the keys. It's fine if someone besides the CEO tweets for your company, as long as they say that's what they're doing.
5. You are not going to respond when people direct tweets at you. Twitter is like the new water cooler. If you walked out to the water fountain and talked nonstop to people gathered there, they'd certainly be happy when you left. Ditto for Twitter.
6. You think Tweeting as XYZ Corp., using the company logo as your avatar, might be a good idea. Identify the person or people tweeting for your company or don't tweet. The days of hiding behind the faceless corporation are over.
7. You think all that matters on Twitter is getting a lot of people to follow you. Quality trumps quantity.
8. You want to protect your updates. If people have to ask permission to see what you're posting on Twitter, you're defeating the purpose, which is conversation.
9. You plan to track Twitter with Google Analytics. Google Analytics won't give you true tracking. You can track the URLs you post with a service like BudURL or bit.ly, but you'll need to use one or more social-media tracking tools to monitor your corporate reputation and influence on Twitter.
10. You think you can just jump in and start tweeting. Listen first. Monitor what's being said about your brand, your industry, your products. Then join the conversation and become part of the community. Then your occasional marketing messages will be accepted, or at least tolerated because you also add value to the community. 

Advertisers and Ad Agencies: It's time to expand your Social Network(ing)

The advertising industry is experiencing a crisis -- not only because of shrinking marketing budgets, not only because advertisers are looking for ways to bypass the ad agencies and going directly to other vendors and suppliers, but more because the consumer is taking control. Today's consumer do not want to be talked to. They want to participate and socialize. People are not glued to their TV sets anymore. Yes, they're could still be on their couches with the TV or radio on, but they're on their mobile phones and computers at the same time.

Being in the advertising industry, I've seen too many good people lose their market value because they've refused to change their ways. They've stopped learning and they're stuck with what they know. The few who continuously attempt to redefine themselves are the ones who get ahead and are prepared for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Oh, yes, most of us are already on Friendster and Facebook. And most of us use Yahoo Messenger, search on Google and Yahoo, and have read at least a blog entry or two. But do we really understand why and how people use these digital tools? Do we really understand what it will take for our brands to participate in the online space?

What comes to mind when our clients tell us that we want to get into digital or the internet? How many times do we get creative initiatives that are mere banner-ad or rich-media executions? How many times have clients asked us to create a Facebook fan page or start spamming our personal social networks to get a campaign go "viral" -- and we go ahead and agree with them? Do we really understand online social networks as marketing professionals?

While Plurking and reading blogs, I stumbled upon this blog that was an invitation to the 2nd Social Networking & E-Business Conference 2009. It will be held very soon -- April 23 & 24 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati. 

Organizers Fiera de Manila Inc. and DigitalFilipino.com writes about the conference:

Express yourself, share your interest, post your photos, share your music, connect with friends, make new connections, and exchange insights --- this is now the growing trend of communications and engagement with your customers.

The phenomenon of online social networks has created real-life and business relationships amongst advertisers, users and consumers of today's digital marketplaces. The growth and popularity of social networks is changing the landscape of marketing and e-Business.

Gain insights on how to maximize the use of social networks. Learn from various case studies. Learn from various Experts sharing their unique perspectives on the phenomenon of social networks.

The Social Networking and e-Business Conference 2009 is an event geared towards companies and digital marketing/advertising professionals who are interested to use social networks for advertising/marketing their products and services. It is for dynamic companies, start-ups, and upcoming players who would like to leverage on current technologies to communicate and sell their products/services in the cyber world; and, gain knowledge as to how this industry is working and evolving.

I came across Ms Jannet Toral on Plurk and figured, if I found her online, then she probably knows much more about this space than most advertising gurus who don't even have a blog. Aside from her, Friendster, Asia Pay, Smart, Level Up!, ABS-CBN Interactive, and Yahoo! will be speaking. And there are even others from outfits I've never heard of but that probably means I should know who they are.

These are the people I need to be having conversations with. These people I want to be within my social network. These are the people who I can learn from about Social Network marketing.

I want to be ready for today's marketing challenges. I want to be prepared for what's next. I want to be part of the Social Networking and e-Business Conference 2009.

See you there? Click here for the conference's registration form.