IT'S THE START OF A BRAND NEW YEAR and you’re still baffled at how fast 2007 came and left. In a twinkle of an eye the year is over and along with that your dreams of accomplishing those elusive new years’ resolutions you so confidently set for yourself this same time last year. | | | | |
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Well quit beating yourself up over what you did or did not do right last year. If you’ve repeatedly said either a) “Geez, time flies man”, or b) “Gosh, I can’t believe its 2008 already”, you need to forget about 2007 and focus on how you’re going to get more out of 2008. WORLD WIDE WEB OF OPPORTUNITIES The internet, initially developed as a tool for communication has steadily evolved over the years into a resource that the majority of us cannot live without. With the internet penetration rate in Malaysia exceeding 50% of the total population, it is blatantly obvious that it is, today, a mass medium. However it is a mass medium with an unfair advantage. The internet is a unique interactive environment where users are connected and engaged. This gives marketers a priceless opportunity to gain valuable insights from their consumers in real-time without being physically present. It is almost like reaping the benefits from surveys, focus groups and questionnaires without having to sit through them. From working with multiple clients in 2007, I’ve listed out six areas you need to have covered in order for your digital campaign to be successful. Once you have clearly identified what they are, you can safelys |
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| 1. START WITH A GOAL IN MIND |
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| Clearly define what your objectives are and what you want to achieve from your online campaign. There may be more then one goal but list them all down and where possible set quantifiable metrics to it. Your campaign’s goal will determine its unique strategy and ultimately its eventual effectiveness. |
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Example: Halls was looking to generate a stronger affinity amongst the younger audience set. Leveraging on the fact that the young generation in Malaysia today use the internet extensively, Halls looked towards engaging this audience further with an integrated offline and online campaign ala “American Idol”.Using Window Live Spaces blogs, the ten finalists were able to lobby for votes online in order to win the lucrative grand prize. The strategic addition of Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail contributed to the epic success of the campaign which saw sales of Halls sweets increase by a whopping 35%. A clear indication of a strong brand appeal amongst Malaysian youths with Halls sweets.
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| 2. IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE |
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| Most marketers, planners and advertisers already know who their consumers are. While other mediums require you to cast a wide net over the entire customer base, the internet has the capability to target the people you want to reach specifically by age, gender, time or all three. To put it simply, it is the rifle approach instead of the shotgun. |
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Example: Air Asia Go Holiday – Provider of affordable air travel and accommodation packages. From their real-time booking system, Go Holiday understood that travel package purchases amongst Malaysian adults happen between specific time periods during the day. Using this information, they utilized the specific age and time targeting filters available on MSN to reach adults age 18-34yrs with “Simply Luxurious” travel deals. Not only was the campaign a success from a performance standpoint but the targeting capabilities employed allowed Go Holiday to maximize their budget by exclusively targeting the right people at the right time.
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| 3. UNDERSTAND THE TECHNOLOGY |
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| It’s amazing nowadays what you can do in those little ad banners you see while surfing MSN or Yahoo from a creative standpoint. From browsing through all the essential features available on the Ford Ranger to watching the entire DiGi ducks commercial on the banner, rich media technology allows you to achieve that and so much more. So make it a point to equip yourself with this information. It is simple to understand and will take only 30 minutes of your time. Clueless on where to start? Get your Agency to arrange for a digital workshop for you OR e-mail Digitalworkshop@ live.com.my to arrange for one. |
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| Example: Perodua’s objective for the launch of their Viva was to allow users all over Malaysia to watch, engage, interact and to a certain degree experience the car for themselves without the hassle of going to the showroom. They achieved this by developing Rich Media Banners with multiple tabs that enable users to view different aspects of the car, download Viva wallpapers, change the car color and also watch the TVC all on the same banner. The rich media technology provided Perodua the avenue to bring the showroom experience to their customers online. |  | |
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| 4. DEFINE YOUR SUCCESS METRICS |
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| Similarly to having an objective for your campaign, you need to understand what the KPI’s for your campaign are. And tie the campaign objectives to a quantifiable measurement of success. Be it number of test drive sign-ups for Car makers or amount of leads generated from a database capture campaign, set your KPI’s. |
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Example: Nike wanted to showcase its collection of shoes in an exciting, multi-dimensional way that demonstrated how the shoes are built for premium performance, to audiences in SEA. To achieve this, Nike developed brand-accentuating Nike Premium Performance Personal Expression Packs for Windows Live Messenger. Users saw Nike shoes alive, moving, personalized and entertaining, through dynamic display pictures, emoticons, winks and text links.
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| The result from this branding exercise? The Nike Personal Expression Packs were a hit across all countries. More than half a million Personal Expression Packs were downloaded in three months, exceeding the original target of 200,000**. Bottom line: Benchmark set, KPI exceeded. |
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| 5. CREATIVE OPTIMIZATION AND MARKETING INSIGHTS |
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| Ever ended up kicking yourself after a campaign fell flat thanks to the creative concept you settled on? Or struggled deciding between three great creatives on which one to go with? Well with the digital platform, you don’t have to. If you have three creatives, run all three. Online reporting systems will be able to tell you the best performing creative and hence you can make the necessary adjustments to the other two. This also works if you have three different features of a product and you don’t know which one to emphasize on. |
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Example: McDonald’s turned 25 in Malaysia in April 2007. To celebrate its 25th birthday, McDonald’s initiated an online campaign to say a big thank-you to its many loyal customers all over the country. The campaign utilized MSN’s wide network to reach and deliver daily promotional offers of free “Birthday Gifts” to users. Using customized ads for each day of the week, McDonalds managed to instinctively keep their messages fresh while intuitively acquire marketing insights into the selections on the menu the users found attractive based on the level of interactions.
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| 6. INTEGRATED ONLINE STRATEGY |
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| People of all ages and backgrounds use the internet for various means. From checking their web base e-mail and chatting on instant messenger to navigating news portals and search engines, each user has a unique approach to consuming digital media. Hence it is crucial to employ an integrated online plan that is not only customized to your campaigns objectives but which allows you to strategically reach your target audience at their point of influence. |
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 | Example: Sony has consistently been an innovator in the portable PC business, and was keen to hit a high note with the introduction of its new VAIO C notebook range, its new product offering for young users who frequently go online. Sony realized a good way to reach its market segment is going online as they spend much less time reading newspapers and magazines and spend most of their time online. Objectives — Sony wanted to: - Launch the VAIO C notebook series and grab the attention of Hong Kong’s Generation Y.
- Incorporate a highly interactive online medium in its marketing mix.
- Raise VAIO brand awareness and product sales.
Instill product awareness in a fun way. The campaign went live on MSN Home Page, Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail and Windows Live Spaces. Users could access product information either by clicking on the expandable banners or downloading the Theme Packs. By utilizing a suite of integrated properties, Sony found that the campaign raised awareness of the new product, giving better appreciation of the VAIO brand, and increased retail traffic***. **http://advertising.microsoft.com/asia/Research?Adv_CaseStudyID_966 ***http://advertising.microsoft.com/asia/Research?Adv_CaseStudyID_10 So now that you’ve put all the right components in place and you’ve run your online campaign, you are ready to see the fruits of your labor. The beauty about the online medium is the fact that it allows you to monitor your results on a daily basis, and make the necessary changes along the way. Once the campaign ends, take the time to reassess all the 6 points above to see if it has met the mark you set out to achieve. And there you have it! Now cut along the dotted lines and pin this up. It’s only a matter of time before someone asks if you have tried digital marketing. If you haven’t, this is a great way to start looking at it seriously. HAPPY NEW YEAR! | |
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Matthew Ho is an Interactive Marketing Consultant of Media 2.0, the exclusive representative for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions in Malaysia. He is looking forward to a great year in 2008. E-Mail:
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