What is Remarketing?

Congrats. You’ve built a great website with quality content to drive conversions. However, did you know that 96% of customers leave a website without converting? What about the fact that 70% of people abandon shopping carts without purchasing?

Almost 80% of consumers’ time spent online is outside of the search page, so how do you reach those consumers who were interested, but just didn’t quite convert? The answer, Remarketing.

What is Remarketing?

Remarketing is the placement of strategic ads targeted at customers who have visited your website, but didn’t convert. It gives you a second chance to stay top of mind throughout the sales cycle and bring customers back to your site to convert. The best part? You can even target these previous visitors with tailored ads based on which sections of your site they visited.  Also, your ads could even appear on your competitors sites (if they are part of the same display network) while the consumer is searching for similar items. How’s that for an advantage?

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Thinking Local for National Brands

In today’s consumer market, 85% of purchases happen within a 15-mile radius of the consumer’s home or place of work. It is now more important than ever that National Brands tap into local online markets to maximize visibility, create brand awareness, and increase profitability. National Brands with local marketing strategies are predicted to increase profitability by 15-20% in the year 2015. So why not get ahead of the competition by developing a local strategy for your national brand today?

The Takeaways:

  1. Create A Local Website: Utilizing brand-approved messaging from your National company, create a geo-specific website for your local market, sharing location information, store hours, product details, and local deals. This allows your national brand to have a strong presence on the local search level, capturing consumers in the “brand preference” and “purchase” stages of converting. Through your local website you can expand your brand presence in individual markets, and ensure that you obtain top organic rankings for that city.
  2. Collect Data: One of the hidden benefits of having a local website is the data you can collect from it. Analytics reporting for your website can help you narrow down the demographics of your local consumer, and you might find that it is different from your national consumer. This data can be used in your online and offline marketing efforts within that market.
  3. Put it to good use: With your new local website providing a strong online presence and new consumer information for your market, it is time to employ your digital marketing strategy across other platforms. Utilize your newly-collected data for your social media and advertising campaigns. Ensure that your local website is responsive for mobile and tablet use in order to capture the 61% of smartphone owners who perform local searches on the go. Take advantage of consumer data to ensure your brand appears as often as possible on your local SERP (Search Engine Results Page). The SERP consists of paid ads, local directory listings, and organic search results. For maximum visibility, utilize the demographic information to obtain first page rankings on all of these search listings.
  4. Measuring Success: Your local digital marketing strategy will require constant monitoring and optimizations until you get it just right. Figure out what works and what doesn’t, from your local website’s content strategy, to daily deals, to social media engagement. If one strategy isn’t working, focus on what is leading to purchases and center your efforts here. Success on the local level comes in many forms, so don’t forget about the power of brand awareness.

 

Why Nostalgia is Useful in Marketing

As Miley Cyrus displayed a new purpose for foam fingers, I, along with masses of millennials, had only turned on the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) for one reason: *NSYNC.

Yep, rumor had it that the boy band — who spawned the Jimmy Fallon proclaimed, “President of Pop,” Justin Timberlake — would reunite on the VMA stage. As *NSYNC was/is/will always be an embodiment of the happiest days of my tween years, I had to see it, and you can bet MTV knew this.

Throughout history, nostalgia has been a surefire way for brands to garner attention and gain new fans while reinvigorating old ones. But why do we always long for “the good ol’ days”? What is it about nostalgia that successful marketing campaigns have tapped into?

PlayStation: Why We’ve Played Since 1995

One clear definition of nostalgia is “a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc.” Sony used this feeling in their biggest marketing campaign to date: the release of PlayStation 4.

#playstationmemory

The gaming giant utilized Twitter and YouTube to celebrate 19 years of PlayStation’s relevancy in the gaming world. On Twitter, fans tweeted their craziest, most fun, most warming, most memorable experience using the hashtag #playstationmemory. Some of the tweets that stuck in my mind mentioned Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, and Parappa the Rapper.

On YouTube, Sony’s promo video “Players Since 1995” (hashtag #4ThePlayers) is a fun timeline of how much has changed with PlayStation since its birth. From the different versions of the console, the many games in their catalog, all the cheats (back, back, X anyone?), PlayStation is not only a part of our present, they shaped a huge part of our past.

Sony’s approach to nostalgia encompassed one idea: we (game console and the gamer) are all growing and changing, but there’s a reason we’ve all been gamers since 1995, and PlayStation will always remind us why.

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The Digital Apocalypse

Zombies have slowly but surely taken over our lives!

Metaphorical zombies, that is.

Now that the hit TV series “The Walking Dead” is FINALLY back for its fourth season, I’ve had a chance to get back into the fictional world that comes to life in my beautiful home state, Georgia.  I thought about how crazy it would be to have to adjust to a completely new way of life where you always have to be aware of your surroundings in order to survive.

Then it occurred to me that the real world is actually quite similar regarding the development of technology and the prevalence of the digital age.  Just like in the world of “The Walking Dead”, you are infected, regardless of your level of involvement with technology.  Inevitably, the outbreak will affect you.

I don’t remember a time when people didn’t communicate electronically, but that isn’t the case for everyone.  Some of you work in industries where (at one point in time) traditional advertising was king, and it did just fine.

Along came technology and the internet. With it came destruction, death, heartbreak… wait.

But really, with it came a completely new set of rules that dictate how communication is acceptable and unacceptable when transmitted digitally.  It created a new avenue for businesses to increase exposure, sales, leads, you name it.  It created a need for new languages and coding—new ways of thinking, new ways of life.

So let’s look at our friends on “The Walking Dead”.   At the beginning of the series, the disease broke out and everyone’s first concern was coping with the death of their loved ones and with the fact that things were changing. Okay. Got it.

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Mad Men and The History of Marketing

As season six of Mad Men comes to a close, we wanted to look back at the history of marketing since the 1960s. It’s fascinating to look back and see what kind of advertising has had the longest impact.

A lot of what’s great about Mad Men is the kind of self-reflection it has, both on its characters and the culture. In many ways, the kind of advertising back then still influences many of the designs we see in advertising today. The Volkswagen “think small” campaign is particularly interesting, as in many ways, it reminds me of Apple’s iPod and iPhone advertising campaigns. Both have a particular simple approach to it, as well as a focus on typography. Even then, simple concepts and design made a brand completely unique and signature. It’s one of the best approaches to design and a way to make it last. The simpler it is, the less it’s anchored and dated by time.

It’s important to keep in mind the changes that advertising has gone through in the past few decades. One of my favorite facts here is that email was really invented before the Internet was. ARPANET was the predecessor of what would become the Internet, but email was invented within it through the 60s and 70s. Lucky Strike, one of the clients of Sterling Cooper and a popular American brand in the 60s, was bought out by British Tobacco in the 70s. Technology has, however, offered rapid growth for advertising. By 2012, Internet marketing hit $39 billion in revenue. Mad Men itself is a good example of this. While the show itself gets modest ratings, the studio that owns the rights to it signed a deal with Netflix to stream all of its seasons for around $75 million. People in general are watching TV less and are using alternative and more selective ways to experience content.

As a fan of the show, I think the show has as much to say about current times as it does about the time it takes place in. It’s important to remember what has changed and what hasn’t. Good design and content last in many different ways. I’m reminded of the scene in the season three finale where Don, Roger and Lane decided to build something different – something of their own. It’s a great scene and pretty motivating to watch. Don’t get bored. Be creative. Perspective is necessary to have to keep getting better, and it’s what makes Mad Men one of our favorite shows.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcnEDQXo_0s]

Game of Thrones: The Quest for the Silicon Throne

As season three of our favorite show, Game of Thrones, comes to an end, we were wondering what it would be like if the search engines were in an episode fighting for the Silicon Throne. Here’s what the dynamics of the realm would look like…

House Google (Lannister): Descending from southern California in 1998, Google is the Richest and most powerful House in the Realm. Their lands extend far across California and even overseas. In years past Lord Larry Page of House Google has defeated Lord Bill Gates of House Bing becoming the king of the Realm, however House Bing is making their way back to the capitol to take back the Silicon throne. House Google has most recently formed an alliance with Lord Youtube to dominate forces online.

Key Players: Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt

 

House Bing (Targaryen):  Known as one of the former Great Houses to rule the seven kingdoms, before House Google took the Silicon throne, House Bing has been making a comeback as a main competitor for the throne.  House Bing gained its power from Lord Microsoft and has an increasingly close alliance with Yahoo. House Bing is located across the Narrow Sea in San Diego (Dothraki for “A Whale’s Vagina”).

Key Players: Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer

 

House Yahoo (Stark): As one of the oldest and well known of all the Houses, House Yahoo currently reigns in the North and is known as the pioneers of the realm. House Yahoo is currently in a losing battle with House Google and House Bing for the Silicon Throne. Their outdated tactics have made the realm very weary of them.

Key Players: Marissa Mayer, Jerry Yang, David Filo

 

House AOL (White Walkers): Also known as the Others, House AOL has been around for centuries. As everyone feared, they are rapidly making a comeback in the Seven Kingdoms. House AOL has recently threatened the realm with strategic alliances with key competitors.

Key Players: Tim Armstrong

 

In a realm of online uncertainty only one thing is true… Winter is Coming.

 

Apple vs. Everyone Else – It gets ugly around here

There is nothing like a good natured debate, unless of course it involves Apple and Android devices, their operating systems, or any peripheral even remotely related to one of these two camps. All too often, these good natured debates spiral out of control until both sides have their hackles raised and canine incisors showing like sparring wolves.

To preserve my safety, I will refrain from exposing my leaning in this debate, and simply say that products from both companies have their strengths. Both offer cutting edge devices with capabilities that my father believes to be some sort of “magic” rather than technology.

On the one hand, Android devices offer access to a great range of products and services from a vast market of manufacturers. Choices range from various user interfaces (HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc…), to chargers, bluetooth devices, software, music, apps, and more. Yes the iPad offers these things, but once you are in the Apple club, it can feel as though you have committed your life, and your life savings, to Apple products, and that does not exactly foster a competitive capitalist market. The upside to this for Apple enthusiasts is that their offerings do blend together very well across devices, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and the list goes on.

While Android may offer more freedom, the market here is perhaps muddied to the opposite extreme. By that I mean that the Android operating system is arguably as strong as iOS, though not all of the devices that carry it are exactly up to snuff. Even the big name manufacturers with the strongest entries into the market, like Samsung and Motorola, offer lower end devices that often do not live out the initial warranty period. These devices do offer access to the technology at a much lower price point, but if the device is constructed with the quality of a disposable camera (do they still make those?), then the consumer will likely end up spending the same or more as one of the better built devices in the long run.

The higher end Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and many smartphones from the same manufacturer offer extremely fast processors, huge upgradeable storage, and removable batteries, all areas where Apple devices often fall short.

The iPad is extremely user-friendly, which is a big selling point for the technologically-challenged. My mother, whom could not after a full year adequately use her Kindle Fire, seems to be able to operate her iPad 3 as if she were operating the record player she has had for forty years. It is not that Android devices are not user-friendly, but at present, Apple certainly has a leg up here.

I feel certain we all can agree that we are living in an amazing time where technology for our own personal/mobile use continues to grow in mind blowing ways year after year. So it does not really matter which side of the debate you are on, as long as you keep it to yourself.

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