I recently spoke at a conference about internet fundraising for non-profit organizations and political candidates (they're really non-profit, aren't they?).
The key point I stressed was that while you need to ask for donations aggressively, keep in mind that you also want to engage the visitor to your site and build a relationship with them. It's Marketing 101, all over again. In a relationship scenario, your visitor may keep coming back, and they make keep making donations, over and over. And, they may even form up your grassroots, get-the-work-done volunteers.
That's crucial, because while it's satisfying to donate to organizations or candidates that suit your interests, it's even more satisfying to see them succeed. Money's a big part of that, but so are the actions of the volunteers who vote, recruit other supporters, contact decision-makers, and more.
We just ran a campaign for a political organization on one of our Intermarkets Portfolio sites. The ads generated in some instances >1% CTR, and generated tremendous amounts of donations. This level of engagement can be extended beyond just a single election cycle or issue to be advocated. It can be transformed into a commitment by the visitor to be an engaged member, making an impact, and in turn, producing self-actualization benefits that no "Thank you" card in the mail could ever achieve.
Greetings from South Carolina,
Kevin
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Best performing headline in an advertisement on the Drudge Report
I was just reminded today that the best-ever performing headlines for advertisements on the Drudge Report were in the format of:
"Shocking new video! Paris Hilton (fill in the blank)!"
It didn't matter what the "fill in the blank" part said; as long as it was a "shocking new video" featuring Ms. Hilton, click rates were through the roof. We saw some ads hit an 8%+ CTR (albeit with very focused targeting and restrictive frequency capping). And if that sounds high...well, it is. In fact, it's shocking.
"Shocking new video! Paris Hilton (fill in the blank)!"
It didn't matter what the "fill in the blank" part said; as long as it was a "shocking new video" featuring Ms. Hilton, click rates were through the roof. We saw some ads hit an 8%+ CTR (albeit with very focused targeting and restrictive frequency capping). And if that sounds high...well, it is. In fact, it's shocking.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Marketing in a tough economic environment
Digital media provides marketers with a quantum leap forward in accountability and measurement tools. Everyone knows this. But in the current economic environment, marketers need to remember to focus on the basics.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of what marketers should demand from their media partners (like Intermarkets):
1. Get as much performance reporting, with as much detail as possible. This will let you know why the consumer is behaving the way they are; and may point to ways to guide them on the path you want them to take.
2. Work with your media partner on pricing. They want to sell, you want to buy. If they won't budge on pricing, push for value-add inventory to reach the eCPM you need to make a campaign work. Sometimes media companies have to stick to a baseline CPM, but may be able to deliver the number you need with value-add inventory.
3. Listen to the advice of the media partner to learn what's working on their sites. They can't give you confidential information, but they certainly can guide you in the right direction.
4. Track conversions and share the information with the media company. Working with the same numbers, both marketer and media partner can create the best, win-win opportunity.
5. Chill. Everyone else is stressed out about so much stuff these days, no one needs to add to it. Not everything is going to work out perfectly, and you will have successes. Mutually treating each other well will create a more desirable and productive relationship.
6. If you've got to cut your budgets, talk with the media partner to see what options they can provide to you. You might be surprised at how flexible ad sellers are these days, even in digital media.
7. Share future plans with your media partner, confidentially, to help them understand your goals and objectives so that they can develop placement opportunities for you.
8. Keep in mind that your competitors may--correctly--see the current environment as an opportunity to gain market share more cheaply through reduced advertising costs. When a non-marketer in your company throws down the gauntlet to you to cut ad spending, the best reply is to ask, "why do we want to cut sales and market share now, of all times?" Of course, smiling innocently as you say this will make the comment go over much better.
9. Ask your media partner for ongoing and consultative support to make your campaigns even more successful. You should expect them to provide you with suggestions, strategies and tactics, as well as insights.
At Intermarkets, we strive to provide all of this to our clients, all the time. It's astounding how many ad sellers wouldn't even call clients back just a few months ago; now they're having to cold call prospects.
What a difference a few months make.
--Kevin
Here's a non-exhaustive list of what marketers should demand from their media partners (like Intermarkets):
1. Get as much performance reporting, with as much detail as possible. This will let you know why the consumer is behaving the way they are; and may point to ways to guide them on the path you want them to take.
2. Work with your media partner on pricing. They want to sell, you want to buy. If they won't budge on pricing, push for value-add inventory to reach the eCPM you need to make a campaign work. Sometimes media companies have to stick to a baseline CPM, but may be able to deliver the number you need with value-add inventory.
3. Listen to the advice of the media partner to learn what's working on their sites. They can't give you confidential information, but they certainly can guide you in the right direction.
4. Track conversions and share the information with the media company. Working with the same numbers, both marketer and media partner can create the best, win-win opportunity.
5. Chill. Everyone else is stressed out about so much stuff these days, no one needs to add to it. Not everything is going to work out perfectly, and you will have successes. Mutually treating each other well will create a more desirable and productive relationship.
6. If you've got to cut your budgets, talk with the media partner to see what options they can provide to you. You might be surprised at how flexible ad sellers are these days, even in digital media.
7. Share future plans with your media partner, confidentially, to help them understand your goals and objectives so that they can develop placement opportunities for you.
8. Keep in mind that your competitors may--correctly--see the current environment as an opportunity to gain market share more cheaply through reduced advertising costs. When a non-marketer in your company throws down the gauntlet to you to cut ad spending, the best reply is to ask, "why do we want to cut sales and market share now, of all times?" Of course, smiling innocently as you say this will make the comment go over much better.
9. Ask your media partner for ongoing and consultative support to make your campaigns even more successful. You should expect them to provide you with suggestions, strategies and tactics, as well as insights.
At Intermarkets, we strive to provide all of this to our clients, all the time. It's astounding how many ad sellers wouldn't even call clients back just a few months ago; now they're having to cold call prospects.
What a difference a few months make.
--Kevin
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Interesting thing on ESPN...
Sorry if this is old news, but the other day I noticed on Jim Rome's show on ESPN that for several minutes, the screen showed what looked like a Web page, with Jim Rome's show in the upper right corner, rightfully taking up a large part of the screen, while the rest of the screen showed a sports ticker, and some text boxes. I was on a treadmill when this occured, reading a very engrossing book, so I only noticed this spectacle for a moment.
Is this the future of television, especially with the upcoming broadcast conversion in 2009?
Maybe that "convergence" thing (that is, a variety of media devices and services combining into one platform) really is going to happen.
Imagine the possibilities...!
Is this the future of television, especially with the upcoming broadcast conversion in 2009?
Maybe that "convergence" thing (that is, a variety of media devices and services combining into one platform) really is going to happen.
Imagine the possibilities...!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The winning formula for Web ads!
Many apologies for that tease. The winning formula for Web ads is really just plain commonsense. That's the short answer. There's more to the story...
In this post, we'll go through "Web Creative 101" class.
So, what's the best creative?
That's a common question we hear from our advertisers. The challenge, it's not an easy question to answer because there is no "silver bullet" for Web creatives. Here are some basic best practices to follow.
1. Make sure your target audience sees the ad.
Okay, so that sounds pretty basic. But the fact is, many creatives that we see are not going to be seen by the users. Slow-loading creatives (such as flash ads or artsy film-style ads) are the worst offenders; Web marketers have about 2 seconds to get a site visitor's attention. That means you have to lead with your punch line; save the rich media experience and creative fireworks for later on. Or put 'em on the landing page. Explain to your creative team how great the ad is...but that they need to quickly get the attention of Web users whose attention span has shortened tremendously as the volume of content on the Web has grown.
2. Understand the target market.
That means knowing who the audience is who is visiting the site on which your ads are running. Go beyond demographics; demand that the publisher or their reps provide you with psychographic data and behavioral profiles. Also, learn where the site's traffic is originating; if a cooking site gets most of their traffic from news or sports sites, that provides a clue as to the mindset--and needs--of the site's audience.
3. I'd like to say, "listen to your sales rep."
...But, it's hard to get the attention from a real, live human being anymore. Wow, that sounds like a cranky old dude saying that! In fact, not so long ago, we placed an albeit small budget of $10,000 with one of the leading ad networks, as a test. It was painful to actually speak with a live sales rep. For the obligatory plug for Intermarkets, our sales team actually wants to help you with your campaign, because our perspective is that if we can do everything possible to make the campaign work for you and your client, then you'll come back to us over and over. That commonsense business practice has helped us retain a large and diverse client base over the years. And it's astonishing to me that larger advertising sales organizations don't seem to have picked up on that...yet.
4. Be hypersensitive.
Look at your creative and consider how you're talking to the audience. It's amazing how many advertisements actually insult the target market. Showing your prospective customers as being stupid, or getting physically abused or anything else in the least bit offensive makes it plain in the minds of your prospects what your company really thinks of them. And for a lot of companies, insulting the customer is probably a form of disclosing how they treat their customers. But, would you actually want--or choose--to do business with anyone who thinks and acts like you're stupid and annoying?
More to come.
If you'd like a real, live human being to help with your advertising, check us out at intermarkets.net.
Class dismissed!
Sincerely,
Kevin Lucido
Chief Executive Officer
Intermarkets, Inc.
In this post, we'll go through "Web Creative 101" class.
So, what's the best creative?
That's a common question we hear from our advertisers. The challenge, it's not an easy question to answer because there is no "silver bullet" for Web creatives. Here are some basic best practices to follow.
1. Make sure your target audience sees the ad.
Okay, so that sounds pretty basic. But the fact is, many creatives that we see are not going to be seen by the users. Slow-loading creatives (such as flash ads or artsy film-style ads) are the worst offenders; Web marketers have about 2 seconds to get a site visitor's attention. That means you have to lead with your punch line; save the rich media experience and creative fireworks for later on. Or put 'em on the landing page. Explain to your creative team how great the ad is...but that they need to quickly get the attention of Web users whose attention span has shortened tremendously as the volume of content on the Web has grown.
2. Understand the target market.
That means knowing who the audience is who is visiting the site on which your ads are running. Go beyond demographics; demand that the publisher or their reps provide you with psychographic data and behavioral profiles. Also, learn where the site's traffic is originating; if a cooking site gets most of their traffic from news or sports sites, that provides a clue as to the mindset--and needs--of the site's audience.
3. I'd like to say, "listen to your sales rep."
...But, it's hard to get the attention from a real, live human being anymore. Wow, that sounds like a cranky old dude saying that! In fact, not so long ago, we placed an albeit small budget of $10,000 with one of the leading ad networks, as a test. It was painful to actually speak with a live sales rep. For the obligatory plug for Intermarkets, our sales team actually wants to help you with your campaign, because our perspective is that if we can do everything possible to make the campaign work for you and your client, then you'll come back to us over and over. That commonsense business practice has helped us retain a large and diverse client base over the years. And it's astonishing to me that larger advertising sales organizations don't seem to have picked up on that...yet.
4. Be hypersensitive.
Look at your creative and consider how you're talking to the audience. It's amazing how many advertisements actually insult the target market. Showing your prospective customers as being stupid, or getting physically abused or anything else in the least bit offensive makes it plain in the minds of your prospects what your company really thinks of them. And for a lot of companies, insulting the customer is probably a form of disclosing how they treat their customers. But, would you actually want--or choose--to do business with anyone who thinks and acts like you're stupid and annoying?
More to come.
If you'd like a real, live human being to help with your advertising, check us out at intermarkets.net.
Class dismissed!
Sincerely,
Kevin Lucido
Chief Executive Officer
Intermarkets, Inc.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Now they're getting it!
During the past couple of weeks, filled with news of the political conventions as well as the coverage of Hurricane Gustav, an interesting thing happened: Traditional media learned how to use new media to their advantage. Let's look at how they did this.
It's simple. During the Democratic and Republican conventions, we saw a significant increase in placements by the leading cable news channels on our flagship Portfolio site, the Drudge Report.
These news channels knew that the Drudge Report was going to be one of the first sites on the Web that people would visit to get the latest news and information about what was going on in Denver and St. Paul.
And right they were! The Drudge Report racked up its highest daily traffic during the political conventions. And by placing ads on the site, the leading news channels generated enormous audiences.
There are so many other Web-centric opportunities for conventional media, especially television, radio and newspapers, to generate traffic to their sites and users of their core content. Taking out display ads on top Web sites is a great place to start.
The next step...teasers and feeds using streaming technology; polls; "listen/watch/read now" marketing; 360 degree brand surrounding of Web audiences; and...
Oops, our sales team is insisting that we stop giving away the store. Talk to us (visit us here) and we'll give you more ideas.
Now the question is...will the media leaders follow through with even more creative solutions and approaches? We'll be ready to deliver...if they're interested.
Have a great week!
--Kevin
PS Almost forgot--As part of our community support activities, we're sponsoring a concert in Vienna, Virginia on Friday, September 12, at 6:30 PM. We're donating our sponsorship space to a local animal rescue organization, and they'll be there to provide information on how to help save animals. Please join us! For more information, check out the town of Vienna's Web site, here.
It's simple. During the Democratic and Republican conventions, we saw a significant increase in placements by the leading cable news channels on our flagship Portfolio site, the Drudge Report.
These news channels knew that the Drudge Report was going to be one of the first sites on the Web that people would visit to get the latest news and information about what was going on in Denver and St. Paul.
And right they were! The Drudge Report racked up its highest daily traffic during the political conventions. And by placing ads on the site, the leading news channels generated enormous audiences.
There are so many other Web-centric opportunities for conventional media, especially television, radio and newspapers, to generate traffic to their sites and users of their core content. Taking out display ads on top Web sites is a great place to start.
The next step...teasers and feeds using streaming technology; polls; "listen/watch/read now" marketing; 360 degree brand surrounding of Web audiences; and...
Oops, our sales team is insisting that we stop giving away the store. Talk to us (visit us here) and we'll give you more ideas.
Now the question is...will the media leaders follow through with even more creative solutions and approaches? We'll be ready to deliver...if they're interested.
Have a great week!
--Kevin
PS Almost forgot--As part of our community support activities, we're sponsoring a concert in Vienna, Virginia on Friday, September 12, at 6:30 PM. We're donating our sponsorship space to a local animal rescue organization, and they'll be there to provide information on how to help save animals. Please join us! For more information, check out the town of Vienna's Web site, here.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Political fundraising -- Use the web...or else?
The Internet: The Dominant Media Force in Political Campaigns and Fundraising
I have a stack of direct mailings from a political candidate in my office. I started collecting the material about a month ago, and the stack is now nearly 8 inches high. I receive about 10 direct mail pieces per week from this candidate and their political party. And I ignore all of them.
Think of the time, money and resources that are used for these mailings. And yet, the candidate and their party appear to have completely missed the point that the Internet has grown with such speed and scope that it is the dominant media force in political campaigning and the primary source of political information for generations of millions of Americans.
Why the growth? Three key reasons...Open access, low-cost technology and the fast-growing base of users.
For example, we recently ran a couple of campaigns; one for a non-partisan charity and another for a political candidate.
For the charity, ads on our Portfolio delivered double the amount in donations than the organizers sought; in eight hours we raised more than $1 million.
For the political candidate, we're generating thousands of dollars every hour for their candidate. And we had to practically beg this presidential candidate's campaign to run these ads! Apparently, some, uh, "expert" told the campaign they couldn't raise any money on our sites. Looks like the expert was wrong, just a little bit?
Political organizations, marketers and candidates who "don't get it," will soon find themselves out of power...because the Web is where the voters are now.
Some experts (okay, I lost my sources, but these are real quotes) say:
"TV is being reduced to finding its news coverage in subjects that originate on the Internet" and “The Web is helping to connect people much faster to the issues.” And everyone in media seems to be guided by the reporting on the Drudge Report these days.
The power of online political communication
- Local television news is dropping as a source where individuals learn about political campaigns, recently from 48% to 39%.
- Internet has jumped from 9% to 24%; the largest by any media.
While Intermarkets is a non-partisan firm, we have seen left-of-center candidates and organizations clearly leading right-of-center organizations and candidates in effectively using the Web, blowing away all right-of-center efforts
For example, political ad spending after the New Hampshire primary was more than $50 million with over 80% of spending on the Democratic side alone!
- Total fundraising by party (from earlier this year):
Democrats: $319,103,104
Republicans: $261,989,809
- Online political buzz:
Democratic candidates accounted for two times the share of republican candidates in political discussions online.
Why should political candidates and organizations of all kinds use the Web? Because as elite political marketers have discovered, the Internet delivers crucial advantages over all other forms of fundraising:
- 300% return on investment for political fundraising on conservative websites.
- 20% of tech-savvy users relying on the Internet for political news made a contribution after clicking on an online political ad.
- 3% of total Internet users contributed to an online political campaign in 2006
Failure to utilize Web media now could result in complete loss of an entire generation of voters for candidates and political organizations:
- 18 - 29 year olds use the Internet (42%) much more than older users (15%)
- YouTube channel views: Democratic views: 16,951,309 Republicans: 10,721,805
- Social Network Participation:
Facebook:
Obama (D): 89,486+
Clinton (D): 365,551+
McCain (R): 42,756+
MySpace:
Obama (D): 22,705+
Clinton (D): 40,935+
McCain (R): no presence
The Generation Gap Revisited
Younger voters who are interested in politics rely on online information:
- 92% of users under age 36 rank the Internet as a top 2 primary source of political news and information with 35% citing it as the top source.
- Only 17% of users aged 51 & older rank the Internet as a primary source of political news.
Left-of-center political sites lead in top political websites:
Rank Website - Market Share
1. www.huffingtonpost.com - 4.22%
2. politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com - 3.91%
3. www.freerepublic.com - 3.68%
4. www.realclearpolitics.com - 3.08%
5. www.barackobama.com - 2.78%
6. youdecide08.foxnews.com - 2.63%
7. www.dailykos.com - 2.4%
8. www.ronpaul2008.com - 2.2%
9. www.politico.com - 1.86%
10. www.democraticunderground.com - 1.5%
Where users get campaign news online:
Total % 18 – 29 Y/O % 30 Y/O + %
MSNBC.com 26 30 24
CNN.com 23 30 21
Yahoo News 22 27 19
Google News 9 10 9
Fox News 9 5 10
AOL News 7 5 8
New York Times 6 5 6
Drudge Report 3 1 4
In this Web era, political candidates and organizations need to go where the voters are...which is on the Web.
I have a stack of direct mailings from a political candidate in my office. I started collecting the material about a month ago, and the stack is now nearly 8 inches high. I receive about 10 direct mail pieces per week from this candidate and their political party. And I ignore all of them.
Think of the time, money and resources that are used for these mailings. And yet, the candidate and their party appear to have completely missed the point that the Internet has grown with such speed and scope that it is the dominant media force in political campaigning and the primary source of political information for generations of millions of Americans.
Why the growth? Three key reasons...Open access, low-cost technology and the fast-growing base of users.
For example, we recently ran a couple of campaigns; one for a non-partisan charity and another for a political candidate.
For the charity, ads on our Portfolio delivered double the amount in donations than the organizers sought; in eight hours we raised more than $1 million.
For the political candidate, we're generating thousands of dollars every hour for their candidate. And we had to practically beg this presidential candidate's campaign to run these ads! Apparently, some, uh, "expert" told the campaign they couldn't raise any money on our sites. Looks like the expert was wrong, just a little bit?
Political organizations, marketers and candidates who "don't get it," will soon find themselves out of power...because the Web is where the voters are now.
Some experts (okay, I lost my sources, but these are real quotes) say:
"TV is being reduced to finding its news coverage in subjects that originate on the Internet" and “The Web is helping to connect people much faster to the issues.” And everyone in media seems to be guided by the reporting on the Drudge Report these days.
The power of online political communication
- Local television news is dropping as a source where individuals learn about political campaigns, recently from 48% to 39%.
- Internet has jumped from 9% to 24%; the largest by any media.
While Intermarkets is a non-partisan firm, we have seen left-of-center candidates and organizations clearly leading right-of-center organizations and candidates in effectively using the Web, blowing away all right-of-center efforts
For example, political ad spending after the New Hampshire primary was more than $50 million with over 80% of spending on the Democratic side alone!
- Total fundraising by party (from earlier this year):
Democrats: $319,103,104
Republicans: $261,989,809
- Online political buzz:
Democratic candidates accounted for two times the share of republican candidates in political discussions online.
Why should political candidates and organizations of all kinds use the Web? Because as elite political marketers have discovered, the Internet delivers crucial advantages over all other forms of fundraising:
- 300% return on investment for political fundraising on conservative websites.
- 20% of tech-savvy users relying on the Internet for political news made a contribution after clicking on an online political ad.
- 3% of total Internet users contributed to an online political campaign in 2006
Failure to utilize Web media now could result in complete loss of an entire generation of voters for candidates and political organizations:
- 18 - 29 year olds use the Internet (42%) much more than older users (15%)
- YouTube channel views: Democratic views: 16,951,309 Republicans: 10,721,805
- Social Network Participation:
Facebook:
Obama (D): 89,486+
Clinton (D): 365,551+
McCain (R): 42,756+
MySpace:
Obama (D): 22,705+
Clinton (D): 40,935+
McCain (R): no presence
The Generation Gap Revisited
Younger voters who are interested in politics rely on online information:
- 92% of users under age 36 rank the Internet as a top 2 primary source of political news and information with 35% citing it as the top source.
- Only 17% of users aged 51 & older rank the Internet as a primary source of political news.
Left-of-center political sites lead in top political websites:
Rank Website - Market Share
1. www.huffingtonpost.com - 4.22%
2. politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com - 3.91%
3. www.freerepublic.com - 3.68%
4. www.realclearpolitics.com - 3.08%
5. www.barackobama.com - 2.78%
6. youdecide08.foxnews.com - 2.63%
7. www.dailykos.com - 2.4%
8. www.ronpaul2008.com - 2.2%
9. www.politico.com - 1.86%
10. www.democraticunderground.com - 1.5%
Where users get campaign news online:
Total % 18 – 29 Y/O % 30 Y/O + %
MSNBC.com 26 30 24
CNN.com 23 30 21
Yahoo News 22 27 19
Google News 9 10 9
Fox News 9 5 10
AOL News 7 5 8
New York Times 6 5 6
Drudge Report 3 1 4
In this Web era, political candidates and organizations need to go where the voters are...which is on the Web.
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