Operative Blog

So how are the explosion of alternate platforms changing the landscape of digital media and what impact is this having on the underlying data? Is there a sea-change going on that is altering the face of online marketing or are platforms evolving independently of each other? These were some of the questions our panel sought to explore in
Advertising Analytics and Contextual Media: Social Media, Mobile, Search, Video Search and HyperTargeting. Couple of people couldn’t make it – we ended up:

• Michael Boland, senior analyst and program director, The Kelsey Group, Moderator
• Paul Edmondson, CEO, YieldBuild
• Dan Halyburton, President, Radio Time
• Dr. A.K. Pradeep, CEO/Founder, NeuroFocus
• Benjamin Reid, VP, Sales Engineering, Operative

We had a number of interesting perspectives from the high tech (NeuroFocus) to traditional media (RadioTime) to networks (YieldBuild) to process and infrastructure (Operative).

And now for something completely different – no fun following Dr. Pradeep. We were treated to a demonstration of the NeuroFocus technology which measures brainwave activity of a test subject viewing advertising. The test person put on a ski hat with 22 electrodes connected to their brain and watched a Mountain Dew commercial. The audience observed in real-time when the user was highly engaged with the creative and when attention fell off. Unclear how this is used in the digital marketing space but certainly an entertaining demonstration.

A lot of conversation revolved around the relatively recent phenomenon of having more data than we collectively know how to manage. This can range from the buy side having multiple exposure, engagement, performance, brand, interaction, conversion, loyalty metrics all captured in a single campaign, to the sell side managing inventory, sales effectiveness, discount management, sell-through, campaign status, discrepancies, page and slot effectiveness, invoicing etc. How do we make sense of it. We all agreed that building better bridges between buyer and seller are important as well as agreeing on shared success metrics. We focused on different routes though – YieldBuild took a network and efficiency-centric view, while RadioTime focused more on organizing an audience to the marketplace. Operative looks at these challenges through the lens of open platforms that foster collaboration and clearly defined processes. We also spent some time on how the offline and online worlds are converging. There are clearly hurdles to be overcome in the internal structure of many org on both buy and sell side but equally important is the fact that the currency and processes each platform employs are dramatically different. As an industry, we will need to either harmonize the metrics and protocols of media sales or build bridges that will span both worlds to facilitate the process for all parties internal and external.

Another great panel I caught was the Advertising Innovation! Broadband, Mobile, In-Video, In-Game, Social Networks, Blogs and Podcasts http://www.digitalhollywood.com/09DHSpring/DH09Sp-Thurs6.html

• Jon Aizen, founder and COO, Dapper
• Matt Britton, founder and CEO, Mr Youth
• Chris Colinsky, Executive Creative Director, WhittmanHart
• Marissa Gluck, founder, Radar Research, Moderator
• John Montgomery, Executive Creative Director, Threshold Interactive
• Pete Vlastelica, founder and CEO, Yardbarker

This was an agency-heavy panel rounded out with some publisher and network representation. The focus was on where and if advertising works in a social network environment. The first consensus is that it’s not about performance, it’s about interaction. This is kind of a new bucket since we’re not really talking about transacting in volume (people are on SN for the connection and tend to stay with the content) or a large branding opportunity. But there are conversations happening between brands and end users. Couple of great takeaways:

Q: Who controls brands? Consumers? Marketers?

A: John Montgomery – Companies create brands. Consumers help SHAPE brands. The process is usually started with some internal ingenuity. Consumers create trends, not brands.

Q – How can publishers position their audiences differently to be part of the conversation?

A: John Montgomery – The better agencies know what’s coming down the pike the better they can plan against it
Matt Britton – more brands are thinking about becoming publishers. No one knows their audience better than publishers. Work with agencies to understand what makes your audience unique

From where I sit, this is just another reason that Ops should be sitting at the table with Sales/Planning and Product on regular basis, helping shape the innovation that can capture new campaigns in a highly competitive marketplace. Ad networks are definitely a key part of the revenue mix but ensuring that your company is driving new ideas that can be executed against flawlessly can make all the difference at the end of the quarter.