Wendy Clark leads the COCA- COLA’S

APRIL 2010

COCA-COLA’S BOLD OFFENSIVE

THE FUTURE OFMOBILE MARKETING

ONLINE TARGETING:WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

HOW KODAK GOTITS GROOVE BACK

Wendy Clark leads the world’s largest beverage company on a massive global marketing blitz

Great journalism. And the readership to match.

If you want to reach an audience with a household income greater than $100,000 per year, The New York Times stands above the rest. And our number of affluent readers on Sunday is even more impressive, rising to 1,232,003. So whether it’s the New York market or a national audience. Whether it’s print or online. Whether it’s weekday or weekend. If you want the best way to reach your target, you’ll find The Times delivers more than The Journal. And in a very sophisticated fashion.

For more facts, visit NYTaudience.com or contact Alexis Buryk, Senior VP, Advertising at 212.556.4104 or [email protected].

WEEKDAY REACH OF AFFLUENT ADULTS IN PRINT IN

THE NEW YORK MARKET

Searching for anaffluent audience

in New York?

Look no further.

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www.ana.net ANA Magazine April 2010 | 1

Features 12 Coca-Cola’s Bold Offensive With the help of Wendy Clark,

senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities, The Coca-Cola Company looks to win over the youth market with innovative new programs while staying true to its roots

18 Direct Connection As more brands add mobile marketing to their mix, we take a look at where it’s headed, where the opportunities lie, and just how it’s all going to be measured

From the Top3 Industry Challenge ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice on driving brand value identifi cation

Final Say28 Keeping Customers Close Dell’s Erin Mulligan Nelson on maintaining a meaningful, two-way dialogue

Marketing Insights[BURNING ISSUES]

5 On the Mark? Experian’s Tony Hadley on the benefi ts of online behavioral targeting

[ANA MEMBER CASE STUDY]

7 Creating New Memories Kodak re-embraces digital photography in an effort to reinvent itself

[CONFERENCE RECAP]

8 Changing Times Key takeaways from the ANA Advertising Law & Public Policy Conference

[PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE]

10 A Medium in Transition ANA’s Bill Duggan sheds light on the state of TV advertising

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APR

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CONTENTS

ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERSEXECUTIVE EDITORDuke Fanelli

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Barry Garbarino

ADVERTISING SALESASSOCIATE PUBLISHERKristina [email protected]

THE POHLY COMPANYEDITOR Ken Beaulieu [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Brian Bertoldo

COPY EDITOR David Plunkett

ART DIRECTOR George Lee

PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Thorsen

ACCOUNT MANAGER Molly MacDonald

ANA Magazine, Issue #100, is published six times a year for the Association of National Advertisers, Inc., by The Pohly Company. Copyright © Association of National Advertisers 2010. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without express written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Correspondence: On matters concerning the magazine, write to: The Pohly Company, 99 Bedford Street, Floor 5, Boston, MA 02111; www.pohlyco.com; 617.451.1700; fax 617.338.7767. Send address changes to: ANA Magazine, Marketing Department, 708 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10017.

Opinions expressed within are not to be considered official expressions of the Association of National Advertisers, ANA Magazine, or The Pohly Company. The publisher and the Association of National Advertisers assume no responsibility for errors and omissions appearing within. The publisher and the Association of National Advertisers reserve the right to accept or reject all editorial and advertising matter. Neither the publisher nor the Association of National Advertisers assumes any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork.

www.pohlyco.com99 Bedford Street, Floor 5Boston, MA 02111

617.451.1700 40.7%United States

15.9%Asia Pacific

10.5%

Canada, Latin America

32.8%Europe,Africa, Middle East

More than half of Kodak’s business comes

from outside the U.S.

©2010 Univision Communications Inc.

A solution for growth today? It’s right here in plain Spanish.


Industry Challenge

D o you know the value of your brand? If your CEO asked you that question, would you know how to respond? A few marketers would, but most

would not. And that’s tragic.In a profession where our ultimate objec-

tive is to “build brands,” we have yet to hit upon a commonly accepted approach to achieve that goal. Indeed, in an age of accountability, we forgo the most important metric of all: brand value identifi cation.

Sure, there are companies that provide insight: Interbrand publishes its list of the top 50 brands, and Core Brands and Y&R offer brand value measure-ment services. But these are discretionary and fail to represent the ongoing measurement practices of most brand marketers.

For many compa-nies, brands are their most important assets. There is empirical evidence that links strong brands to superior business results, which often lead to higher shareholder value. That linkage, unfortunately, gets very little attention in the C-suite.

Perhaps the absence of those critical conversations between the CEO, CFO, and CMO is the result of the entire investing community not requiring the

public identifi cation of brand values. Amazingly, brand valuations are nowhere to be found in fi nancial reports or required public disclosures — they’re not even required to be in the footnotes. In most instances, the public never gets to understand specifi c brand values until a business is bought and sold.

So here’s my challenge to you: let’s move the industry aggressively forward by creating generally accepted Brand Valuation

Standards. The purpose of these standards would be to get the marketing community to:■ Defi ne and use common practices for brand valuation — for individual brands and for overall corporate brands.■ Utilize these metrics for brand management account-ability. All marketers should be held accountable for increasing the value of their brand and measuring it on a regular basis.■ Get brand values to become “public,” perhaps by including them in the footnotes of fi nancial statements. If the public knows the value of corporate assets, then they have the right to know the

value of brands. As marketers, we should be proud to identify brand valuations. Companies in England and Germany do, and so should we.

The ANA is thrilled to lead this most important industry initiative. We’ll be looking to the marketing community for your insights and support. ■

FROM THE TOP

It’s time for companies to measure brand valueBy Bob Liodice, President and CEO, ANA

In an age of accountability, we forgo the most important metric of all: brand value identifi cation.

OFFICERSRebecca Saeger ChairRobert D. Liodice President and Chief Executive Offi cerGary Elliott Vice Chair and TreasurerChristine Manna Chief Operating Offi cer and SecretaryBill DugganGroup Executive Vice PresidentDaniel L. Jaffe Executive Vice President

Michael Palmer Executive Vice PresidentDuke FanelliSenior Vice PresidentRobert RotheSenior Vice PresidentKeith Scarborough Senior Vice PresidentWilliam Zengel Senior Vice PresidentBrian Davidson Vice PresidentKathleen Hunter Vice President

GENERAL COUNSELDouglas J. Wood, Esq., Reed Smith LLP

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMark W. Addicks, General Mills, Inc.Paul Alexander, Liberty Mutual GroupDana Anderson, Kraft Foods, Inc.Mark R. Baynes, Kellogg CompanyClaire M. Bennett, American Express CompanyJill Beraud, PepsiCo, Inc.Frank P. Bifulco, Jr., The Home Depot, Inc.Wendy Clark, The Coca-Cola CompanyLisa D. Cochrane, Allstate Insurance CompanyCraig A. Coffey, Nokia CorporationGilbert R. Dávila, The Walt Disney CompanyGary Elliott, Hewlett-Packard CompanyRichard E. Gerstein, Sears Holdings CorporationNeil B. Golden, McDonald’s CorporationThomas F. Haas, Siemens CorporationJohn Harrobin, Verizon CommunicationsJudy L. Hu, General Electric CompanyClaire Huang, Bank of AmericaJohn Kennedy, Jr., International Business Machines CorporationLaura Klauberg, UnileverEsther Lee, AT&T Inc.Keith Levy, Anheuser-Busch InBevRobert D. Liodice, ANACharlotte O. McKines, Merck & Co., Inc.Deborah Meyer, Pulte HomesErin Nelson, Dell Inc.Brian D. Perkins, Johnson & JohnsonStephen F. Quinn, WalmartScott Remy, Nestlé USASylvia L. Reynolds, Wells Fargo & Co.Rebecca Saeger, The Charles Schwab CorporationEdgar A. Sandoval, The Procter & Gamble CompanySteven T. Smith, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company Jay Spenchian, General Motors CorporationJames D. Speros, Fidelity InvestmentsJohn Travis, Adobe Systems Incorporated

C. Search engines

B. Micro-blogging sites

A. Streaming video portals

Nielsen Pop Quiz

WANT THE ANSWER? JUST ASK NIELSENTM.

Early adopters - those who claim to be among the first of their friends to try new tech products - are more likely than the average American* to visit video, microblogging and search sites.

At Nielsen, we go beyond demographics, allowing you to optimize your media buy based on your segments and buyers. We know where your ideal consumer is watching, listening and interacting with media, so you can ensure your ads reach the right audience without blowing your budget.

Want to make your media plan work smarter? It’s simple: Just Ask Nielsen.

WHERE ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO FIND EARLY ADOPTERS ONLINE?

MORE QUESTIONS?

visit www.nielsen.com

* All adults 18+

ANSWER: A. Early adopters are 26% more likely than the average American adult to visit the most popular streaming video site, 7% more likely to visit the most popular microblogging site and 4% more likely to visit the most popular Search site.

SOURCE: Nielsen MRI Data Fusion

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MARKETING INSIGHTS

On the Mark?Experian’s Tony Hadley explains how online behavioral targeting benefi ts consumers as well as advertisers

ONLINE BEHAVIORAL TARGETING (OBT), the process of collecting consumer information across third-party Web sites for purposes of delivering relevant advertising mes-sages, has become a major regulatory and legislative focus. A recent survey by the market research fi rm Synovate found that 35 percent of Americans would reject behavioral targeting because they are concerned about monitoring services collecting data about them. Tony Hadley, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the Experian Group of companies, in Costa Mesa, Calif., is one of the key players in the industry’s efforts to respond to this challenge. In an interview with ANA Magazine, Hadley shared his thoughts on OBT.

There’s a lot of buzz in the advertising industry about online behavioral targeting, but what exactly is it?A few models for targeting online advertisements have emerged, but OBT is the most commonly used and has attracted the most attention as the industry seeks to ensure the right balance between the benefi ts of relevant advertising and appropri-ate safeguards to ensure consumer protection. OBT involves using anonymous or otherwise de-identifi ed consumer information to predict the preference or interest of an otherwise anonymous Web site viewer, to serve a relevant advertisement.

Online targeting is a broader term than OBT and refl ects the reality that some online targeting models don’t track across third-party Web sites. These include the use of search engines to target advertising. Other models allow advertisers to defi ne a segment or audience they wish to target based on demographic data that has been used effectively in offl ine direct marketing for many years. Another model is contextual targeting, such as placing an ad for an airline on a travel Web site.

All online targeting models use market segmentation analysis that refl ects the potential interests of a Web site viewer, such as technology adopters, automobile enthusiasts, fi nancial services groupings, travel preferences, and other products and services. These categories refl ect the products and services consumers most frequently purchase. Therefore, when

online targeting is used, consumers see the same types of advertisements on the Internet that they see on television, in magazines, or in the newspaper — except that the ads are more relevant and timely because consumers have a greater propensity to be interested in the ad and take action such as clicking through to the advertiser’s site.

Is Experian engaged in online targeting?Experian Interactive, part of the Experian family of companies, is one of the largest advertisers on the Internet. The company leverages a broad array of

online targeting, including search, contextual targeting, OBT, and audience targeting.

How does online behavioral advertising benefi t consumers? Just like with radio and television, advertising keeps Internet services and content free for consumers and generates the revenue that Web sites need to deliver rich and constantly improving content. Online news, weather, search engines, e-mail services, social networking, health information, and many other sites sell ad

Q&A WITH TONY HADLEY

6 | April 2010 ANA Magazine www.ana.net

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space to pay for the free content services they provide. Consumers also benefi t from being exposed to those ads that they are truly interested in, rather than seeing ads that have little relevance to them and thus appear to be a nuisance. It makes sense that seniors have little interest in baby diapers and that young families aren’t interested in retirement communities. Information collected for online targeting helps channel the right ads to interested viewers.

Why are advertisers interested in online targeting? What can they gain from it?Advertisers have limited resources and they are always looking for a better way to reach consumers and drive sales.

Technology has now advanced to the point where advertisers can deliver relevant advertisements in a split second to consumers and get immedi-ate feedback and, potentially, immediate results. What’s more, there are many new technologies being developed to allow better, faster, and more relevant ads to be served.

What kind of lift in sales have advertisers experienced through online targeting in this area?Advertisers report strong results with online targeting of more relevant advertisements to the right groups of people. Response rates can increase by 25 to 35 percent on ads that draw attention and prove to be timely and relevant. This results in lower product costs for consumers as well as more money for companies to innovate and hire new employees.

We hear a lot about “consumer profi les” being compiled for online targeting. How does that work?The term “consumer profi le” is really a misnomer, since it connotes a fi le about an individual. In online marketing, information is almost always completely anonymous or otherwise de-identifi ed to an individual. Advertisers are interested in large and aggregated sets of users on a geographic level or in a general behav-ioral interest category. As a result, individuals are rarely, if ever, targeted by name, nor are they specifi cally known by the advertiser. Networks delivering advertisements aren’t concerned about who is receiving the ad. The concern is that whoever receives the ad has a

propensity to be interested in that ad’s content. Gathering personally identifi able information is neither necessary for online targeting nor an objective of advertisers.

Should consumers be concerned about sensitive information contained in these fi les?The Internet is still a relatively new medium and consumers are generally unfamiliar with the way it works. Companies that engage in online targeting can help consumers become more knowledgeable by taking extra care to clearly explain their practices and defi ne what information is being collected and how it is used. Consum-ers should also be given choices about how their information is used. Notices should be prominent and easily accessible. It should be easy for consumers to exercise their choice to not receive targeted ads. And, of

course, their choice should be honored. Even though fi les are anonymous

and typically aggregated, concerns are sometimes expressed that these fi les could, in theory, be reidentifi ed and assigned to an individual. Identifi cation is not necessary or desirable for online targeting, so companies should take steps to maintain user anonymity and also put in place strong contractual agreements to ensure that clients and partners do the same. In the cross-industry OBT guidelines, which the ANA supported, we stated as an industry that advertisers and networks should avoid collecting, without affi rmative consent, information about adult sites visited, fi nancial account information, personal credit information, personal health information, children’s information, exact location, and similar highly sensitive information.

The Federal Trade Commission has called for industry self-regulation of online behavioral advertising. Lawmakers have held hearings on this issue. What concerns are they trying to address?Both the FTC and Congress are still trying to learn how online targeting works and how technology is develop-ing. Both are trying to strike a balance between the benefi ts of Internet advertising, which allows for rich and generally free content, with concerns that consumer information may be misused with a negative effect on consumers. There may be some fear that information collected solely for the purposes of targeting ads can be used for nonmarketing purposes, such as for making eligibility decisions for credit, insurance, and employment. Such practices do not occur and are already restricted by law. The FTC’s focus on this issue has helped the industry improve self-regulatory standards for online targeting. I believe the industry has been very responsive in developing and working to adopt effective self-regulation, such as the cross-industry guidelines the ANA endorsed last year. ■

“ Companies that engage in online targeting can help consumers become more knowledgeable by taking extra care to clearly explain their practices and defi ne what information is being collected and how it is used.”— TONY HADLEY, EXPERIAN SERVICES CORP.


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THE STATISTICS ARE impressive: 40 percent of all printed material in the world is touched by Kodak technology, nearly every Academy Award Best Picture for the past 81 years has been shot or printed on Kodak fi lm, and 60 percent of the top 40 North American newspapers use Kodak solutions in their daily operations. It’s almost hard to fathom that only four years ago the Eastman Kodak Company faced a do-or-die challenge, resulting from its longtime reluctance to shift the focus of the business from traditional fi lm to digital photography.

“We invented the digital camera in 1975 and put it aside because we didn’t think it was going to catch on right away,” says Jeffrey Hayzlett, chief marketing offi cer and vice president for the Rochester, N.Y.–based company. “We had to fi nd a way to adapt to the times.”

Connecting EmotionallyThe reinvention of Kodak presented a great challenge for Hayzlett’s team. As he puts it: “How do you keep the company’s original tenet — ‘You press the button, we do the rest,’ written by company founder George Eastman in 1888 — relevant?” The answer, he believes, is to leverage the emotional value inherent in the Kodak brand and create advertising with personality, regardless of the medium.

To that end, Kodak is building online communities that tie into visual, emotional connections. When the company developed a new digital movie camera that it believed had a good chance of capturing market share, Hayzlett moved quickly. His team ran a contest on the social networking site Twitter to name the new product. It resulted in 27,000 tweets and drove more traffi c to Kodak.com in four days than the site had experienced in its entire history. “The exciting thing about social media,” Hayzlett points out, “is it offers the opportunity to engage in two-way conversations with your customers. What better way to know how to best

serve your customers than to hear from them directly.”By reaching out to consumers in an interactive way,

Hayzlett says, Kodak not only garnered attention for its products, but also created an emotional connection with customers. “Whether it’s our b-to-b business or the b-to-c

business, the core of who we are is driving emotion,” he notes. “We want to help our b-to-b partners grow their business, and we want to help you capture the memories that defi ne you as a person. People don’t take pictures. They capture memories.”

Acting on that principle, the company set out to reclaim the “Kodak moment” by more directly engaging consumers on Kodak.com. The company rebuilt the Web site, posting professional photographs with an accompanying story that explains what’s happening in the moment the picture was taken. The site also offers contests that appeal to both business customers and consumers. The changes are paying off: the online Kodak Gallery features more than 5 billion digital images and has a member base of over 75 million.

Growth AgendaAccording to Hayzlett, Kodak has

shifted more of its marketing and advertising dollars to b-to-b customers, who accounted for more than half of the com-pany’s $9.4 billion in revenues in 2008. Additionally, Kodak sees big potential for growth internationally. Nearly 60 percent of the company’s business now comes from outside the U.S.

Another big change at Kodak is the face of its workforce: 60 percent of the employees have been at the company for less than four years. Hayzlett gives them much of the credit for helping to reinvigorate the company. “We have 19 products that drive almost all of our revenue,” he notes. “All of those 19 products are either number one, two, or three in the market-place, and half of them didn’t exist two years ago. And we have 25,000 patents in digital imaging. It’s been a great restart.” ■

Creating New MemoriesKodak reinvents itself to thrive in the digital age By Andrew Eitelbach

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“Whether it’s our b-to-b business or

the b-to-c business, the core of who we are

is driving emotion.”— JEFFREY HAYZLETT,

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY

KODAK



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THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY is facing unprecedented legislative challenges. Radical new policy initiatives, the most signifi cant since the Great Depression, are transforming how and where advertising messages are delivered. Meanwhile, developments in the courts impacting the First Amend-ment and new regulatory and self-regulatory initiatives continue to reshape the legal environment for advertising.

These changes will impact virtually every aspect of advertising activity, from tax policy to self-regulation to new-media regulation. That message served as the backdrop for the sixth annual ANA Advertising Law & Public Policy Conference, held this past March in Washington, D.C.

The lively two-day event featured, among others, Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Joel Gurin, chief of the Consumer & Govern-mental Affairs Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They joined conference co-chairs Doug Wood, general counsel for the ANA and senior partner at Reed Smith LLP, and Dan Jaffe, the ANA’s executive vice president for government relations, in sharing insights and best

practices on a variety of hot-button industry topics. Here are a few signifi cant takeaways from the event:

Make the Right CallThe maturing of mobile as a key media platform will present new challenges to all marketers, in all demographic segments — in particular, the need to carefully monitor and self-regulate promotions and marketing aimed at children. Darren Bowie, legal director, North America, for Nokia, offered his best practices for targeting this highly sought-after demographic:■ Comply with all applicable laws and industry standards, including COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act).■ Modify advertising language so it’s age-appropriate.■ If a mobile service has a premium charge, it must be clearly disclosed in the audio and visual of all advertisements.

■ Offer the opportunity to cancel the service at any time.

Watch Your BehaviorIn Jaffe’s session, titled Key Legislative and Regulatory Developments, he addressed the current environment in privacy and online behavioral advertising:■ The ANA opposes new laws or regulations that would impose unreasonable burdens on electronic commerce.■ The FTC recently issued revised principles regarding consumer privacy issues and the practice of online behavioral advertising.■ Last July, a broad coalition of industry groups publicly released a set of self-regula-tory principles for online behavioral advertising. The ANA worked with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the

Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) on developing these principles.

While the advertising industry is at a critical crossroads, Jaffe stressed, the ANA is committed to protecting the rights of marketers and encouraging effective self-regulation and best practices in the use of customer information.

Get Social Like any emerging medium, social media has brought with it a slew of questions, specifi cally around privacy, data safety, and negative or undesirable comments.

In a panel discussion Christopher Sloan, assistant vice president and senior corporate counsel for Liberty Mutual Group; Divya Narendra, chief executive offi cer and co-founder for SumZero.com; and Wood tackled the risks and rewards associated with social media marketing. For a company to actively participate in the social space, they said, it must:■ Enable conversation■ Monitor discussions■ Infl uence the dialogue■ React to comments■ Monetize conversations

Before making any radical changes to your digital or social media strategies, visit www.ana.net/adlaw2010. ■

Changing TimesKey developments reshaping the advertising industry

ANA ADVERTISING LAW & PUBLIC POLICY CONFERENCE



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AN ARGUMENT BROKE OUT at the ANA’s recent TV & Everything Video Forum in New York. The “combatants” were David Cooperstein, vice president and research director at Forrester Research, and David Poltrack, chief research offi cer at CBS.

Cooperstein had just fi nished presenting research from a joint ANA/Forrester survey (www.ana.net/forrester) that asked national advertisers about their attitudes toward television and video advertising. Highlights of that presenta-tion included advertiser responses stating that spending in television was down and that the medium had become less effective. But the research also pointed to opportunities in areas including branded entertainment and addressable TV.

In the Q&A session that followed, Poltrack commented, “The frustration is just great. Essentially, all morning long we heard [in presentations from Subway, Kraft, Cisco, and Pepsi] about all the great things we’re doing with advertisers to create new and exciting ways to use television, and then we get this report that is totally contradictory and inconsistent with what we know.”

The ANA tries very hard to program events with a fair and balanced perspective. So allow me to provide some observations about television:

Television viewing is at an all-time high. The average U.S. viewer watches 4 hours and 49 minutes of television per day, up 20 percent from a decade ago, according to Nielsen.

Television provides advertisers the opportunity to build mass reach quickly, arguably better than any other medium. This year’s Super Bowl was

the most watched television program of all time, with 106.5 million viewers.

The abundance of television viewing options has greatly frag-mented the audience. American Idol was the top-rated program of the 2008–09 broadcast season, viewed by an average of 15.1 percent of TV households. Ten years ago, ER was the top-rated program, with an average household rating of 17.8. Twenty years ago, The Cosby Show was the top-ranked program, with an average household rating of 25.3. Marketers today can target audiences more narrowly given all the options, but audiences are generally smaller than ever before.

Consumers are increasingly multitasking when the television is on. A generation ago we’d simply watch Happy Days or Dallas. But today, kids are on the computer and using mobile devices, which are distractions from TV viewing, although there has been some recent buzz in the industry that social media can complement viewing. Remember, Nielsen measures “opportunity to see,” not engagement or active viewership of individual commercials.

In the ANA survey, 62 percent of the marketers said they believe

television is becoming less effective. Only 7 percent said television is becoming more effective, while the remainder believe that it’s no more or less effective. So advertisers, and a lot of them, have the perception that television’s effectiveness is declining.

And then there’s the issue of spending on television, which was part of the “David versus David” dispute. Per MAGNA, total television ad spending declined from $55.6 billion in 2008 to $48 billion in 2009 — almost a 14 percent drop. In defense of television, however, most other media saw even steeper declines in 2009, so television’s share of spend actually increased. In 2010, television spending is expected to rebound somewhat, to $50.5 billion. But that’s still well below 2008 levels.

Meanwhile, our survey found that opportunities still exist for television: ■ Eighty percent of advertisers agree

that branded entertainment will play much more of a role in television advertising.

■ Seventy-eight percent of advertisers are interested in addressable television to target consumers more precisely.

■ Forty-six percent of advertisers plan to spend more on ads in online video and online television shows in 2010. Plus, television is increasingly

available “on-demand” via the Web, as well as on mobile devices, providing consumers with more options to watch. Television is alive and well, and the current times are both exciting and challenging for the medium. ■

Bill Duggan is group executive vice president for the ANA.

A Medium in TransitionThere’s no disputing the challenges, opportunities for TV advertisers

TELEVISION ADVERTISING

12 | April 2010 ANA Magazine

Coca Cola’s Wendy Clark realizes the company must take advantage of transformative communications devices while staying in touch with its roots.

ANA Magazine April 2010 | 13

Coca-Cola’sBold

OffensiveWendy Clark leads the world’s largest beverage company

on a massive worldwide marketing blitz

By Todd Wilkinson PHOTOGRAPH BY STAN KAADY

THE UNITED NATIONS comprises 192 member states, a remarkable panoply that encom-passes most of the earth’s 6 billion human inhabitants. Now ponder this: Coca-Cola products are sold in 206 countries and territories — including far-fl ung outposts where the beverages are instantly recognized — making them perhaps the most powerful brands on the planet.

Despite this unrivaled ubiquity, The Coca-Cola Company is taking its marketing prowess to a whole new level this year. In addition to harnessing the traditional media strategies (television, radio, print, in-store) that have been a hallmark of the 118-year-old company, Coca-Cola is making a big splash in the social media and mobile spaces in an effort to bolster the company’s scale and impact.

One of the key strategists behind this bold offensive is Wendy Clark, senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities. The smart, dynamic fi reball has been tasked by CEO Muhtar Kent and CMO Joe Tripodi with helping the company increase systemwide annual revenues from around $100 billion to $200 billion by 2020 and grow the number of Coca-Cola beverages sold daily from 1.6 billion to 3 billion.

This comes on the heels of Kent’s head-turning confession in an investors’ meeting last fall that Coca-Cola had “lost its way,” as evidenced by fl attening revenues and a slight

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dip in market share. “We were too internally focused and not focused enough on the changes taking place with our consumers and customers,” Kent said. “In essence, we were too busy looking at the dashboard and were not suffi ciently paying attention to the world outside our windshield.”

Coca-Cola’s commitment to reassert its marketing might be most evident in its Expedition 206 integrated campaign (www.Expedition206.com). Billed as a quest to fi nd the secret to a happy life in all 206 countries where Coca-Cola

products are sold, the unprecedented campaign features three consumers turned “ambassadors” interacting with people they meet on a 365-day trip around the world. The trio, selected from a list of candidates via a worldwide online vote, started their 275,000-mile trip on New Year’s Day in Madrid, home of Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Institute.” They will complete their journey on December 31 in Atlanta.

Think of Expedition 206 as the dream version of the backpacking trip many college kids take after graduation. The

Coca-Cola ambassadors are posting photos and videos on Expedition206.com, writing blog entries, and sending Twitter updates. Coca-Cola products serve as tools for starting conversations with people the trio doesn’t know, and talking about things that bring genuine bliss and purpose into their lives. At the Web site, visitors can track how many miles the ambassadors have traveled and the countries they’ve visited and sign up to receive updates on their cell phone or another mobile device.

Perhaps what’s most intriguing about Expedition 206 is that Coca-Cola is matching its legendary status as a mass marketer with an ability to interact with visitors who log on to the campaign’s Web site. Another benefi t to Coca-Cola is that the ambassadors are yielding valuable insights organically rather than in controlled environments, which was the model for market research in the 20th century.

A true believer in what manage-ment guru Jim Collins calls “the tyranny of the or, the genius of the and,” Clark does not see a contradiction with taking a mass-marketing approach while,

at the same time, establishing more personal connections with the young and digitally adept. “Mass media will only limit itself if it tries to stay the same and does not evolve with the marketplace,” Clark says, noting that consumers themselves are the architects of a whole new ecosystem of engagement. “Evolve the

proven while leveraging the new — don’t run from what’s worked for your brands, continue to evolve it. At the same time, don’t

excuse yourself from investing in what’s new, but ultimately build a

loop that connects the two.”

Learning from FacebookSimply having a presence on social media isn’t enough, however. Change can only yield dividends, Clark says, if it is

10 BEST PRACTICES FROM WENDY CLARKWendy Clark was asked by ANA Magazine to name her best practices for achieving integrated marketing success. Here are 10 to ponder:

1 BE INTEGRATED IN MORE THAN JUST NAME. Your team, your processes, your agencies, and your interdepartmental collaboration

must all drive to a truly integrated outcome.

2 KNOW THY CONSUMER. Brilliant, inspired lessons and insights are at the heart of all great marketing.

3 EVOLVE THE PROVEN WHILE LEVERAGING THE NEW. Don’t run from media that have worked for your brands, but

continue to introduce new communication tools.

4 DRIVE PRODUCTIVITY IN ALL THAT YOU DO. Productivity isn’t just about saving money. It’s about

fi nding the right intersection of effectiveness and effi ciency. Saving money becomes a natural outcome of doing what’s right.

5 INVEST IN AND BUILD YOUR TEAM’S CAPABILITIES. There’s a distinct correlation between the talent and

capability of a team and the results that team will achieve.

6 DISCUSS THE “UNDISCUSSABLE.” Have honest conversations about the extended team’s work, and

encourage positive tension within the team that actually drives better work.

7 ENGAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES. In the age of social marketing, you have a key constituency just waiting to talk

up your brands.

8 KNOW AND HONOR YOUR COMPANY’S HERITAGE, AND LEVERAGE IT. Whether it has been around 10 years or 125,

every company has a story that defi nes the essence of what has made it successful.

9 SHARE! Marketers must act as a connected community, sharing best practices, knowledge, and more.

10 BE OPTIMISTIC. The notion of being a “negative marketer” is an oxymoron. — T.W.

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embraced in a way that gives an organiza-tion confi dence to adapt and grow stronger.

She points to Facebook as an example. As of the fi rst quarter of 2010, the site had 350 million members, a number that exceeds the population of every country save India and China. In 2008, a Facebook page devoted to Coke sprung up, with no involvement from Coca-Cola. “We didn’t start it. Two guys in L.A. did,” Clark explains, alluding to Dusty Song and his friend Michael Jedrzejewski. The page racked up about 1 million followers, but because it was not offi cially authorized by Coca-Cola, Facebook took swift action to shut it down.

“Fortunately, we have creative people who said, ‘Don’t do that. Hang on a minute. Let’s work together with the creators, collaborate, learn, and develop something that is even more fun,’” Clark says of yet another marketing outreach opportunity that landed on the company’s lap. That Facebook page now has over 5 million fans. And the take-home lesson for Coca-Cola, Clark says, was that when consumers take the lead in promoting products, it leads to a more powerful attraction.

Although Coca-Cola has hardly been absent from the social media landscape, Expedition 206 and the company’s epiphany with Facebook are not the only

exciting platforms that are changing perspectives about marketing at the company. “The notion of experiential marketing forming an intersection with social and community marketing is increasingly where we see our brands playing,” Clark points out. “We’ve formed a partnership with consumers who have actually become some of our best content drivers.”

Coca-Cola’s greatest marketing strength is its massive scale. “While we use precision marketing, such as our My Coke Rewards Web site [www.mycokerewards.com], to build a relationship with our most loyal and valuable consumers, the backbone of our marketing must scale to have impact,” says Clark, who was cited by Fortune magazine last fall as one of 40 rising stars under 40.

So far, the growth of digital media has not adhered to a uniform global pattern, necessitating that Coca-Cola deal with the unique media environment in each market. For example, in India, Clark notes, more than 80 percent of the company’s target audience watches television, so the media buys are targeted accordingly.

“The bottom line,” Clark explains, “is that we will always believe in a blend of media that best represents our customer’s lifestyles and media habits.”

Spreading HappinessLast fall, Tripodi made reference to what he called “an ADD [attention defi cit disorder] economy,” stating that companies needed to give consumers things to get exhilarated about again. He also acknowledged that Coca-Cola had become a bit lackadaisical about trying to extrapolate its dominance across the growing gamut of beverage categories, including water and health drinks. Bolstering his observation, Clark says that Coca-Cola needs to do better at delivering its messages in content that passes as legitimate entertainment and not merely as old-school 30-second spots. The company has also found success in winning over young people by tethering its products to activities that are all about social consciousness and being charitable.

An example of how Coca-Cola has broken through the clutter and melded marketing with entertainment and generosity is its “Coca-Cola Happiness Machine” video. The spot features a Coke machine placed in the middle of a busy student union on a college campus. When a consumer buys a bottle, the machine keeps spitting out bottles and accoutre-ments for a party. She starts sharing the spoils with people she doesn’t even know. As bottles and food and party favors keep pouring out, replete with the sounds of a

Through programs like My Coke Rewards, the company is able to interact more closely with its most loyal and valuable customers, while sponsorships of sporting events like the 2010 World Cup put Coca-Cola’s marketing efforts on a massive global stage. At right, Coca-Cola Company Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer Muhtar Kent (left) and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter appear at the ceremonial start of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, in Zurich.


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slot machine hitting the jackpot, a festive atmosphere erupts. The spot ends with the question “Where will happiness strike next?” Clark says it’s Coke’s version of paying forward goodwill and kindness.

The entertaining video was a smash. Within a week of its launch on YouTube, it had gone viral and was rated the most shared video on the site.

Getting Their KicksFor Clark, a priority is getting all of Coca-Cola’s messages to fi re on one cylinder and foster a dovetailing of platforms that nets more visitors to Coke’s Web sites and ultimately translates into more sales. She won’t have to wait long to try and make it work. While the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver represented a rich opportunity to watch viral media enhance Coke’s hipness factor, this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa will provide the company with a chance to leverage its new social and mobile media campaigns on a massive global scale.

According to Clark, Coca-Cola is launching the largest integrated marketing campaign in company history for the 2010 World Cup. A coordinated multiplatform launch will occur in over 150 countries, complete with TV, radio, print, and in-store

prompting that directs consumers to the Web and their mobile devices for related content.

Every step of the way, viewers will get doses of entertainment spun around the worldwide love of soccer, with the presence of Coca-Cola products tied to the pursuit of happiness. Most exciting for Coca-Cola’s marketing and engagement teams, along with the opportunity to have tailor-made minicampaigns in local markets, is the fact that participation and impact can be gauged in real time, enabling strate-gists to discern which media vehicles and messages are most effective. Those that resonate with consumers can be deployed in other countries, yielding increased sales as well as signifi cant savings in marketing research.

One of Coca-Cola’s greatest assets, Clark maintains, is its skill as an innovator in constantly generating customer feedback and incorporating it into strategy. Earlier in 2010, Coca-Cola partnered with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) at the World Cup Trophy Tour’s stop in Brazil to test its ability to generate near-instantaneous analysis on message penetration and unique visitors across social media sites, and the correla-tion to sales. Clark says the project was a success, and she expects big things over the course of the World Cup tournament.

Seizing the OpportunitySpeaking directly to the challenges of directing an integrated marking campaign with an assortment of agencies in North America and abroad, Clark says, “I think the challenges are actually opportunities. As Churchill said, ‘The pessimist sees the diffi culty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every diffi culty.’”

Still, Clark adds, even as Coca-Cola courts the leading edge of innovation with communication devices that are transform-ing the world, the company knows it must never lose contact with its roots. Just as the taste of Coca-Cola Classic whets sentimental nostalgia, the company also has a legacy of award-winning advertising campaigns that became the backdrops and soundtracks to the memories of older generations.

Clark assures that the company is determined to win over younger genera-tions, and that the mantle of nostalgia will continue to be upheld, no matter the form of marketing delivery. “Coca-Cola has a legacy of telling compelling brand stories that are culturally leading, that consumers and shoppers feel connected to and motivated by,” she says. “When you work in marketing at Coca-Cola, you have a distinct sense of responsibility to continue this legacy and build on the shoulders of those who came before you.” ■

Coca-Cola’s Expedition 206 campaign features three “happiness ambassadors” who search for and share the secrets of happiness in all 206 countries where Coca-Cola products are sold. As part of their worldwide journey, the three ambassors, Antonio Santiago, Kelly Ferris, and Tony Martin, are stopping at venues including the World Cup in South Africa and the World Expo in Shanghai.

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The link between marketers and mobile

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ANA Magazine April 2010 | 19

Remember life without cell phones? It’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t enjoy having the comfort of our own personal communication device tucked neatly in our pocket, on our belt, or in our purse, just a fi ngertip’s length away from connect-ing to friends, family, and colleagues. And brands.

The mobile platform presents perhaps the best opportunity yet for that elusive marketing nirvana: delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. And because consumers themselves often dictate the terms of these interactions, mobile offers the potential for a much deeper and more fruitful engagement between marketer and customer.

In discussions with practitioners, service providers, and analysts about the value of mobile marketing, words like utility and interactive and convenience and relevance emerge as common themes. Although these terms have always been a part of the marketer’s lexicon, they seem to take on more legitimacy when applied to mobile, perhaps because they describe the essence of the mobile handset itself. The intrinsically personal nature of the cell phone enables marketers to deliver an experience that transcends ad impressions and clickthroughs. Even if the experience is as basic as checking your savings account balance.

“The mobile platform is unique because it’s personal, it’s always on, and there’s a tremendous local connection,” says Jen McDonald, senior vice president of digital marketing at Bank of America, whose mobile banking service has attracted more than 3 million customers. “People are performing more basic services than they are online, but they are meaningful and signifi cant in volume. And there’s a willingness to do so because it’s convenient, relevant, and on their own terms.” »

DIRECTCONNECTION

phone users has all the makings of a lengthy engagement BY ROB O’REGAN


THE TEXT EFFECTText-to-win sweepstakes is a hit in Unilever’s Axe campaign

Yet, for most brands, mobile marketing remains a niche component of marketing programs. For all the success that Charlotte, N.C.–based Bank of America has realized with mobile banking, fewer than 10 percent of its digital marketing campaigns have a mobile component, according to McDonald. Clearly, those numbers will trend upward. Improvements in both the carrier networks (increasing the bandwidth for data transmissions) and

handset functionality have given the mobile platform mouthwatering appeal to marketers as a way to actively engage and interact with consumers.

“You may be reaching the same audience [as through other channels], but in a different way,” says Nic Covey, director of cross-platform insights at the Nielsen Company, a provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets. “Mobile allows for

much higher degrees of interactivity, and it’s the most personal medium, so advertisers must be thinking more about the utility of the engagement.”

This utility can manifest itself in a range of interactions, from entering a sweep-stakes via text message to downloading a coupon, from searching for the closest ATM to viewing SportsCenter highlights. The key, experts say, is to enhance the experience, not intrude upon it. “Advertisers need to be adding to the information and entertain-ment experience of the phone,” Covey says. “Simple display advertising may not get them as far on mobile.”

Infl ection PointThe mobile marketing platform has evolved quickly, in terms of both penetra-tion and functionality. It was just six years ago that AT&T and American Idol helped drive text messaging (formally known as Short Message Service, or SMS) into the public consciousness. Now, the typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends or receives more text messages than phone calls, according to Nielsen, with U.S. teens averaging a whopping 2,899 texts per month. "With SMS, you get scale,” notes Mike Wehrs, former president and CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association, a global nonprofi t trade association established to lead the growth and sustainability of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. “With more capable data access enabling things like mobile Web, you get higher impact.”

That higher-impact experience represents the newest frontier for mobile marketers. Carrier rollouts of higher-speed, third-generation (3G) networks have improved the ability to send and receive rich data, including high-bandwidth video. At the same time, the rise in smartphones, which provide larger screens and more functionality than traditional cell phones, is enabling users to transfer more of the PC-based Internet experience — including search, multimedia, and, of course, advertising — to their mobile handsets. Global sales of smartphones reached 172.4 million in 2009, up 23.8 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. By 2013, approximately 23 percent of all new mobile

ANA MEMBER CASE STUDY

EVEN CLICHÉD PROMOTIONS like sweepstakes can take on new life in the mobile environment. When Unilever launched its new Axe Dark Temptation brand of body spray (think Chocolate Man) in September 2008, mobile played a key role in the multichannel marketing campaign, in the form of a “text-to-win” program.

The six-week Win the Sweet Life sweepstakes campaign offered target consumers (men ages 18 to 24) a chance to win trips and other prizes from relevant partners, such as Apple, Palms Casino, and GQ. The program was promoted with a mix of digital, interactive television, on-pack, PR, and mobile. The mobile spots featured a short code and a unique keyword (six keywords were used to distinguish among channels). Importantly, the keywords were featured prominently throughout the spots, not just at the conclusion. “We’ve seen campaigns that display the keyword too briefl y,” says Shira Simmonds, president and co-founder of Ping Mobile, which provided the mobile technology for the campaign. “But with Axe, the message remained on screen the whole time, and the call to action was clear to viewers.”

Instant AccessibilityMobile was a key element for the Axe target audience. “We know those 18- to 24-year-old guys want to act fast and live in the moment,” says Jay Mathew, director of marketing for Unilever AP/Deodorant products. “Mobile provided instant accessibility to the campaign and served as connective tissue between multiple campaign elements, such as digital and interactive television.”

To Simmonds, the campaign reinforced the value of using mobile in general, and sweepstakes in particular, as a sales driver. When consumers texted a “Sweet Life” entry, they were directed to buy the product in order to gain another 50 entries. “A lot of clients don’t appreciate the value of how effective a mobile campaign can be as a hook to increase revenue,” she says. “Axe did a great job implementing that tactic.”

Unilever did not disclose specifi c results for the campaign, although Mathew noted that the sweepstakes drove more than 100 entries every hour it was live, making it “far more successful” than previous Axe sweepstakes.

The Dark Temptation campaign was part of Unilever’s ongoing effort to “fl irt” with new technology in order to stay relevant to young consumers, says Mathew. “From mobile to interactive television and social networks, like Facebook, we want to be the fi rst to reach our guy where he lives, works, and plays,” he says.

The Axe Dark Temptation campaign was based on the adventures of Chocolate Man.


phones will be smartphones and will greatly surpass 300 million in annual unit sales, according to Juniper Research.

“We’ve reached a true infl ection point,” says Di Pouliot, director of mobile advertising at Google. “There are enough eyeballs on the mobile Web for advertisers to be excited about the opportunity.”

It’s an opportunity that could play out in multiple ways. So where should marketers be placing their bets? Here are six areas that present compelling opportunities.

1 SMS Bank of America’s McDonald calls text messaging “table stakes” for

mobile marketing. Text alerts, coupon codes, sweepstakes, and polling are effi cient and cost-effective ways to begin an opt-in relationship with mobile consumers. Examples of successful campaigns are abundant. For example, My Coke Rewards, a loyalty program that allows customers to enter codes found on Coca-Cola packaging in exchange for rewards points, had 1.1 mil-lion active AT&T and Verizon mobile users in the third quarter of 2008, according to Nielsen Mobile.

Simple text campaigns may remain a key component of mobile marketing for some time, particularly if recession-weary consumers avoid or cut back on their data plans with mobile operators. “SMS can still be particularly effective for target segments that haven’t upgraded to data-heavy plans,” Wehrs says. “For this group, couponing and messaging will suffi ce.”

2 Mobile Web Nielsen estimates that more than 49 million U.S. consumers

access the Internet through their mobile devices every month — and, at last check, 31 percent of those users recall seeing some form of advertising while doing so. “We see mobile Internet as the Internet on steroids,” says Paran Johar, CMO of Jumptap, which in April 2009 launched an auction-style mobile ad network called tapMatch that allows advertisers to bid on ad placements based on keywords and categories. “Mobile Internet is personal, less cluttered, geographic-specifi c, and portable. The combination of premium content plus superior targeting will lead to higher engagement.” And better conver-

sion rates, which Johar estimates as being 10 to 30 times as high as typical click-throughs on the Internet.

What does that mean for marketers? Web portals and banner ads should be optimized for mobile devices (the Mobile Marketing Association posts guidelines for mobile advertising formats and best practices on its Web site, www.mmaglobal.com/policies). Don’t assume that your online creative content will work in the mobile space — in many cases, it won’t.

Sites should be optimized for mobile search as well. Google, which has proclaimed mobile as a key strategic area for future growth, recently launched AdSense for mobile search, which allows network and Web site operators to embed the Google search box into their mobile portals. It has also developed a voice-activated search program, fi rst for the iPhone but now also available on some BlackBerry models, as well as handsets that run Google’s Android operating system. “We don’t want mobile advertising to be complicated,” Pouliot says. “We want to help advertisers extend what they’re doing on the Web to the mobile platform.”

3 Branded applications The iPhone has spawned a cottage industry for new

mobile applications, an eclectic mix of games, utilities, and irreverent time-sinks. (iFart, anyone?) Several brands have

entered the app game, with a few notable success stories: Bank of America’s Mobile Banking app (the top free iPhone download in the fi nance category), Starbucks' myStarbucks (the top free app in the lifestyle category), and ESPN (top free and paid apps in the sports category).

The lure for marketers goes back to what Covey said about adding to the mobile experience in a nonintrusive way. But while it may be tempting for brands to try to align with the “coolness” of the iPhone and its ilk, some experts caution that just because you can release a smartphone app doesn’t mean you should. The damage to your brand can be costly if the application is a stinker (no iFart pun intended). “The key is to make sure the app has utility for the user,” Pouliot says. “Brands can be associated with the content and make it useful.”

Marketers should also keep in mind that the iPhone, for all its hype, still represents a relatively small fraction of the total cell phone population. “There’s a tremendous promotional halo effect for the iPhone, but it’s not the end all be all in the handset universe,” Covey says. “If you have content that can provide information or entertainment on an as-needed basis, a mobile app is surely one way to go. But there are some brands for which an iPhone app makes no sense at all.”

4 Click-to-call With all the attention around data services, marketers

should not ignore opportunities to leverage what the cell phone was originally intended for: phone calls. Click-to-call features in mobile promotions and ads can be more effective than links back to a Web site. “Not everyone wants to go from a mobile ad to a Web site,” Pouliot says.

Jumptap’s Johar calls click-to-call a potential “killer app” for customer service. “Sometimes you forget that people want to talk to someone,” he says. “Integrating your mobile campaign into a call center can provide a big lift to postclick transactions.”

5 Social media Mobile versions of popular social media sites are taking off. A 2009

feasibility study by select wireless carriers and GSMA, a mobile communications industry trade group, showed that mobile

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users accessing Facebook averaged 3.3 visits per day and spent an average of 24 minutes per day on the site — similar to the time spent by PC users. MySpace is predicting that half its traffi c will come via mobile phones in the next few years; fewer than 20 percent of its users currently access the site via mobile devices. Traffi c numbers for micro-blogging phenomenon Twitter are going through the roof — and those stats don’t even take into account the many users who update their status via their cell phones.

Covey, however, cautions that market-ers should tread lightly in the mobile social

networking space — just as they have been wary of forcing their brands onto PC-based social media sites. “Social networking over the phone is primarily an interpersonal communications vehicle, used to check on the status of a friend or send short messages,” he says. “Those are fairly directed activities that don’t lend themselves to the entrée of a marketer.”

They do lend themselves to a strong viral component that marketers should monitor to see what mobile users are saying about their brands. Joining the conversation (via Twitter “tweets,”

Facebook updates, and the like) may be appropriate at times, but the conversation (as well as the author) has to be perceived as authentic to be accepted.

6 Location-based services Nielsen sees increasing interest among consumers

in location-based services, which deliver information that is relevant to the user’s geographic position. Covey notes that 36 percent of smartphone users (and 72 percent of iPhone users) say they use these services, which include store fi nders and “friend fi nders.”

MOBILE SEARCH: TIME TO CAPITALIZE

AS A SOCIETY, Americans are constantly on the go. It’s all about having access in real time, precisely when you want or need something. I often catch myself searching for a local business using an application on my mobile phone. As a result, the number of searches I do online has dramatically decreased.

Recent research has shown that my personal actions are merely a refl ection of a complete shift in consumer behavior as a whole. The quality of the user experience has improved to the point where mobile devices now provide the freedom to communicate and browse the Web from anywhere at any time — and consumers are adopting this behavior in droves. In fact, consumers from ages 18 to 41 now spend more time online (25 percent) than watching TV (22 percent), according to a recent study by Morgan Stanley. And, amazingly, they spend almost as much time on their mobile devices (15 percent). Given this behavioral shift, advertisers are struggling to learn how to capitalize on this opportunity.

Time to Jump InWith mobile advertising still in its infancy and millions of consumers adopting new mobile technologies every day, now is the time for advertisers to jump in. Consumer behavior on mobile devices presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge lies in sifting through the vast applications and Web sites that consumers use — and through which advertisers will send messages. The opportunity with mobile is there because consumers are often already using it to look for informa-tion on goods and services. Therefore, they are going to be much more receptive to an advertisement, since it will be relevant to their search.

Because consumers are spending so much time on mobile devices, they expect access to relevant information at the moment they need it. Consumers now have the power of search at their fi ngertips and, as such, they expect instant gratifi cation and access to highly relevant information.

Right Here, Right NowConsumers are living their digital lives in real time; they are more educated and demanding, and they want the relevant information to

come to them when they want and need it. This gives businesses the opportunity to establish strong ties with their customers. By creating interactive, mobile-optimized landing pages that encourage customers to send the listing to a friend or save the contact information for later, businesses can build a level of permanence with customers not possible before.

In addition, mobile advertising offers businesses incredible advantages, including higher conversion rates, clearly measurable metrics, the ability to better customize and target consumers,

and the potential for stickier, long-lasting customer connections. When added to a diversifi ed mix of traditional media, mobile will help companies signifi cantly increase their return on investment.

For advertisers ready to try mobile, it’s important to recognize that it requires a different approach. Successful mobile marketing should be targeted and precise. It’s also important to know your cus-tomers and how to reach them. It’s hard for your customers to fi nd you if you’re not moving your ads to where they spend their time.

Just a few years ago, mobile Web browsing meant a painfully slow, frustrating exercise that only occasionally worked. Today, we have the ability to do almost anything that a computer can do from the palms of our hands. By taking advantage of this perfect storm of technological innovation and rapidly shifting consumer behavior, advertisers can establish even stronger and longer-lasting relation-ships with their customers.

Travis Fairchild is vice president of publishing at Marchex, a leading local search and performance advertising company with headquarters in Seattle.

Why mobile marketing represents a vast — and growing — untapped reservoir of potential customers and business BY TRAVIS FAIRCHILD

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“Location is valuable in mobile — if we can give the users more valuable informa-tion,” says Google’s Pouliot. “And the advertising, obviously, is more relevant for the user as well.”

Location-based services also garner much attention — not all of it positive — from privacy advocates. There are certain lines marketers should not cross in tracking the whereabouts of mobile users. “You never want a person to say, ‘How could they have possibly known that about me?’” says Wehrs. In other words, you don’t necessarily want to buzz consumers with a double-latte discount coupon as they’re walking past a Starbucks.

That’s why opt-in is so critical for location-based services in particular, but also on the mobile platform in general. An opt-in relationship, Wehrs says, becomes more of a consumer loyalty play. ”At that level,” he adds, “you can deliver very targeted and relevant information.”

Test, Measure, LearnPlenty of experimentation is still required to nail the mobile experience. Other major

issues, such as a common currency for audience measurement and a common set of mobile marketing standards, remain unsolved for the moment. But two recent industry developments indicate progress in these areas.

The GSMA is developing mobile media metrics designed to aggregate anonymous user behavior data from carriers to rank the most popular sites for mobile users, based on number of visitors, page impressions, and time and duration of visits. In early February, the GSMA, in conjunction with comScore inc., launched a United Kingdom version of the GSMA Mobile Media Metrics (MMM) product. The MMM bases its data on anonymised, census-level information for Internet usage across fi ve U.K. mobile operators.

Separately, in July 2009 the four major U.S. wireless operators (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile USA) and the Mobile Marketing Association released a consolidated set of guidelines for mobile marketing (the carriers currently follow their own operating

“playbooks”). The new, combined guidelines are designed to improve the effi ciencies (and reduce the costs) of running mobile marketing campaigns across the four carrier networks.

As barriers fall, brands will feel more comfortable integrating mobile into their marketing mix. Some believe mobile, with its emphasis on relevance and utility, could become the centerpiece for future integrated campaigns. “As you get more and more interactive, mobile is no longer a one-off — it becomes a mobile-centered component of a bigger campaign,” says Wehrs.

“Mobile is the connective tissue between channels,” says McDonald. “Meeting customers where they are, and being relevant and useful, is a very deliberate strategy to lead with. The message can be promotional, but it won’t be the lead hypothesis. We start with information, education, and a deeper experience. It’s where we’ve gone with other channels, but not necessarily where we’ve started. With mobile, that’s where we’re starting.” ■

Several brands have developed mobile applications as part of an integrated marketing strategy. But mobile applications can be risky, say experts, who note that an unsuccessful application can tarnish your brand. The best practice is to focus on applications that are useful or practical or that can provide information or entertainment on an as-needed basis.


Keeping Customers CloseServe your customers through the art of conversation

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FINAL SAY By Erin Mulligan Nelson

I’ve never met a marketing professional who doesn’t talk about the customer, but I believe the art of talking with the

customer makes our marketing efforts sing.I was fortunate to learn that lesson earlier

in my 20-year marketing career when I worked for Procter & Gamble. We always put the customer at the center of our corporate culture. Throughout my decade-long tenure at Dell, I have not forgotten the value of close conversations with the people who buy our solutions. I’ve spent time in person and on the phone with thousands of customers, from CEOs of global corpora-tions to university professors to founders of small businesses to home PC users. Now, these conversations are taking place just as often in the virtual space, and our marketing efforts have evolved as a result.

But are we as an industry evolving fast enough? According to a recent study by Burson-Marsteller on the use of social media channels by Fortune Global 100 companies, only 20 percent of respondents said they were using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and corporate blogs to communicate with their stakeholders. As Dell has learned, by fully embracing conversations with customers in virtual communities, companies can get feedback that is vital to business success.

Initiate the ConversationDell has a rich history of talking with customers because of the strong relation-ships we have built with them over the past 26 years. I believe we’re closer to our customers than any other global company in the technology industry. We have thousands of team members who talk with

customers regularly in 130 countries — either face-to-face, over the phone, or, increasingly, over the Web. We connect with customers in places where they’re connecting with one another, including on our community forums at Dell.com and on the hundreds of social media sites throughout the world.

To have a meaningful dialogue with customers, you must understand what motivates them. What can you do to empower them to reach their goals? That’s marketing in its truest, most current form. While customers may choose to buy from us, ultimately the purchase itself is not what matters to them. What they care about is how that purchase will help them grow and thrive in their personal and professional lives.

A perfect example is Dell’s Facebook page for the small business community (www.facebook.com/dellsocialmedia), which teaches companies how to use social media to grow their business.

It’s not about marketing or selling Dell solutions but about focusing on the needs of small businesses and engaging them in meaningful conversations.

Act on FeedbackOnce you’ve initiated conversations, the next step is to use customer feedback to transform and grow your business. At Dell we created the online community IdeaStorm (www.ideastorm.com) to funnel ideas from customers about new products or changes into our business. So far we’ve implemented about 400 suggestions from community members — everything from creating the fi rst business-class backlit laptop keyboard to getting involved with (PRODUCT) RED, to name just a few.

Our customers also rate and review Dell products based on their personal experi-ences — and we welcome both good and not-so-good feedback. Our engineering teams read the comments and, where appropriate, act on them.

Maintaining a strong two-way dialogue with customers is one of our most powerful marketing vehicles. But it’s how we apply this information to business decisions that matters the most. By keeping our customers at the core of every decision we make, we can truly help them achieve and do more.

As a result, the loyalty customers show to a company that is genuinely focused on their success is far more enduring that any single transaction. ■

ANA board member Erin Mulligan Nelson is senior vice president and chief market-ing offi cer at Dell.

In addition to utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, Dell created IdeaStorm to connect with customers.

Documents

Wendy Clark leads the COCA- COLA’S