I just received my latest issue of Alan Rosenspan's free newsletter, and if you don't subscribe to it -- CLICK HERE NOW. Here's an entry from it that really rocked my world. Marketers take note:
"The Brand in Your Hand"
Marketing has become like VISA – except "it's everywhere you don’t want it to be."
As you may know, the use of SMS Text messaging has increased dramatically – and now represent 2.6% of all online spending in the U.S.
But the next generation of SMS Text messaging has arrived – and that’s banner ads on your cell phone.
Fareen Sultan, a marketing professor at Northeastern University, calls it "the brand in your hand."
The benefits are reaching people 18-34 who are virtually immune to most forms of regular advertising. They get their news online – so print won’t work. They Tivo the shows they want to see, skipping the commercials.
Most companies are approaching this new media cautiously – afraid of the backlash. However, companies that are using it report click-through rates of 3-6%.
But there’s another new technique that might be even more exciting...
Personalized TV
Wendy’s is testing versioning its TV commercial based on the weather in a specific market.
The fast food company developed two different TV commercials, with specific instructions to the stations on which one to play.
- If the temperature was above 60 degrees, the commercial advertised Wendy’s milkshakes
- If the temperature was below 60 degrees, the commercial advertised Wendy’s hot chili.
Now this isn’t groundbreaking. Back when I worked on Allerest, the allergy relief medicine, we used to do similar things on radio.
But the next step is really remarkable.
The technology is beginning to evolve where companies can deliver personalized TV commercials to specific households.
Certain zip codes might get specific messages while others get different ones.
For example, Scotts Lawn Service might only be interested in talking to people living in suburbs and not in crowded (and mostly lawn-less) cities.
And believe it or not, one company has developed technology that will recognize whether a man or a woman is watching a particular show.
This is based on measuring how the person uses the remote – and they claim 95% accuracy.
So an advertiser will be able to instantly exchange one commercial, targeted to men, for another commercial, which is targeted to women.
My question is this: Can Google be far behind this trend given its YouTube and Adwords offerings? What will relevant marketing job skills encompass in the next ten years? What do you think?
