New Marketing Trends

Metadata Marketing
February 22nd, 2008 · Add Comment

As we do more and more things online, we leave more digital real-time data trails. Especially when we actively participate in generating content on various websites (writing blogs, participating on social networking sites, using online chat or VOIP, using GPS, scheduling meetings online), but also if we just passively post our personal profile on various websites. The data trails combined from various digital sources will create “massive universe of metadata” (see: Jan Chipchase, article in Harvard Business Magazine), which will have important privacy implications, but it will also present great opportunities for marketers. According to Jan Chipchase, for example, we will be able to figure our where the greatest concentration of our target demographics at any particular point of time is, and not only that, but also we can read their current emotions… so we can create and place our ads accordingly… Wow, this is great! No, wait, this is actually scary!? Waht do you think? Anyway, the trend is almost here… Click here to read the article in Harvard Business Review Magazine.

Scent Marketing!
January 24th, 2008 · Add Comment

(Article written for “Where is the Puck?” by Stephen Park and Stephanie Savage, 4th year students of School of Business at the Capilano College, Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Scent marketing is a subgenre of “sensory branding,” it’s using smell to attract consumers. Smell is one of the strongest senses, and it creates long lasting memories. It’s not solely used to sell houses and cars anymore, marketing teams are using it to sell everything from cell phones to air travel and other consumer products. Recent examples are the ‘Got Milk Campaign’, Sony, and Weeds Television series. The ‘Got milk campaign’ used bus shelters which had the scent of cookies along with a picture of cookies and the ‘got milk’ logo. Furthermore, Sony is selling new phones which come in a variety of colour and smells such as apple pie and vanilla.

The pros of scent marketing include originality, attention grabbing, and consumers remember it and talk about it. The cons include: ongoing expenses to upkeep scents, and identifying scents which are pleasing to the largest sample population.

We are currently fourth year business students from Capilano College. If Cap were to implement a scent marketing campaign for the college, it would be a smart idea for them to use the scent of pine because the College prides itself on its beautifully wooded campus.

There is a whole new world of advertising ready to be tapped, the opportunities are endless – it’s up to you. Learn more about scent advertising at:

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/scentvertising-top-10-scent-marketing-campaigns

Stephen Park and Stephanie Savage

Marketing Research Trends
December 3rd, 2007 · Add Comment

In his recent presentation before Capilano College School of Business students (Vancouver, BC), John Jensen, VP Technology of GMI, one of the world’s leading online marketing research firms, identified a number of important marketing research related trends:

MACRO TRENDS (AFFECTING MARKETING RESEARCH)

a) From OFFLINE to ONLINE: More and more business done via the Net
b) From ON-SHORE to OFF-SHORE: Off shoring of fulfillment and production-oriented work
c)From DOMESTIC to GLOBAL: Use of panel-based research goes global
d)From DISTRIBUTED to CENTRALIZED: Mainstreaming of software as a hosted solution

INDUSTRY TRENDS

a) Consolidation of market research companies
b) Online research is mainstream
c) Research panels are coming to the fore
d) Enterprise research software is becoming a necessity

HOW ARE THESE TRENDS AFFECTING MARKETING RESEARCH BUSINESS?

a) Just collecting data online is not enough
b) Customers want
- More accurate results, faster and cheaper
- Integration with CRM, SFA, audience measurement, customer satisfaction, BI tools, etc
c) MR firms need to become technology-driven

***

Obviously people from GMI got it! No wonder, of the world’s 25 largest research firms, 21 use GMI market research software and services… GMI has experienced over 100% annual revenue growth for the last seven years…

4Ps of Marketing No Longer Enough!
November 8th, 2007 · Add Comment

I went to the Ikea store the other day. Time and again I am amazed with the way they do their business. No wonder they are one of the world’s most successful companies. No wonder their owner, Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, is ranked #4 on Forbes 400 list of billioners.

IKEA taught me something: Marketing is not just about 4Ps. One can have excellent and innovative Product, competitive Price, great Promotion and convenient Place, yet there is something more. This “something more” is actually the INTANGIBLE ingredient. You can’t copy it. You can’t manipulate it as easily as 4Ps. Yet, it is the heart and the soul of the business. It is called: EXPERIENCE.

IKEA experience is very, very unique. Here is a small sample of innovative things they do to create unique experience:
* Self-service: you are picking and carrying your own items - like in the grocery store!
* Furniture self-assembly
* Great kids playground
* Great restaurant in the middle of the store
* Pen and paper available everywhere to note your ideas while shopping
* The walking path from the entrance of the store to the exit
* The culture of humour (ads, funny names of products, etc.)

And so on and on…What an experience! Wow! I am starting to enjoy shopping… Oh, by the way, this same marketing instrument (”experience”) has its Internet equivalent. It is called website (or: user) experience and by many it is considered as the ultimate key to online success.

Online Marketing “Trends” to Ignore: Is Virtual World Marketing One of Them? Nope.
September 14th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Great article on Ad Age by Mark Simon about ten online marketing trends to IGNORE. Check them out here. Yes, I agree that we need to ignore some new “trends”. They are just fads and won’t prove the test of time. However, I would disagree with Mark regarding marketing potential of virtual world. Mark suggested to ignore anything that has to do anything with virtual worlds like Second Life. Well.. I think Mark is going to far with that one… Note that there is certain segment of population who LOVES virtual worlds. They likely share similar demographics and/or the same interests. Why not target them if our brands are for the same target market? After all, there are more than 9 million residents of Second Life and about US $ 1,000,000 is being traded every day. Marketing on virtual worlds has to be done intelligently though: it has to be better integrated into overall virtual world experience.

Google + YouTube + DoubleClick + Radio Ads = ?
April 16th, 2007 · Add Comment

If you thought the deal with YouTube (bil $1.6) was HUGE - then think again! Google just acquired Double Click - the leading online marketing agency for bil $ 3.1!

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070413/ap_on_hi_te/google_doubleclick

Apparently Google will now dominate the online marketing world… Even more
interestingly: Google recently launched RADIO ads in conjunction with
adwords!! Yes, you read it well: RADIO ads.

What is next for Google? Where is the marketing and media puck going? I will let you think about this…