April 15, 2008 10:15AM - New York The New Measure of Success: Metrics in the Age of Engagement Engagement is the new mantra of online publishing, but how do publishers define and measure this concept and gather from their audience the data points that are the new coin of the realm in interactive advertising? What metrics really matter most with advertisers? Is it “time spent” or “audience reach?” Do video, digital magazines, mobile, podcasting and other emerging media enhance or confuse the numbers game online? Our panelist will explore how publishers can make best use of their site and audience numbers with media buyers.
Debbie Solomon Senior Partner, Research Director, MindShare
I just received an email about refinancing my home. Notice that the account manager suggests that I send him my social security number to him via email. Ugh!
Hello, my name is Brian H.,
It appears that we may have missed an opportunity to satisfy your financial needs (ie. your recent internet inquiry). I am a SENIOR SALES MANAGER with XXXX's Financial Division. With recent changes in the market (interest rate fluctuations and loan program restrictions) it is very important that we touch base SOON! We still have multiple loan programs with interest rates between 4.875% and 5.875%.
Please call me today for a complimentary home loan analysis. It's my job to recognize your needs and tailor a loan program to give you the features you want, whether your priority is:
* Affordable Overall Monthly Payments * Debt Consolidation * Home Improvements * Getting Cash * Fast Funding
You can reach me directly at 847-545-3982. I welcome the opportunity to serve your home financing needs in this rapidly changing market.! I only need 10 minutes of your time to qualify you.
Or if you would like to communicate via email, I need the following information to send you a quote via email:
* Full name of everyone on your current mortgage * Social Security number * Date of birth * Annual income (specify wage earner or self employed) * Current assets (401K, etc) * Employer name * Property address * AND MOST IMPORTANTLY YOUR FINANCING GOALS (cash out, shorter term, fixed term, interest rate reduction and or debt consolidation)
Thank you again for your inquiry. XXXX Financial offers a wide range of home loan products, common sense underwriting, flexible income documentation, and more.
Thursday, March 27 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Privacy Challenges and Opportunities With Evolving Advertising Alan Chapell, CIPP, President, Chapell and Associates LLC Don Lloyd Cook, CIPP, Chief Privacy Officer, Feeva Technology, Inc. Dr. Eloise Coupey, Associate Professor, Pamplin College of Business, Department of Marketing, Virginia Tech
In the race toward ever-more precise marketing techniques, new models for delivering advertising are being developed and tested, such as behavioral advertising and location-based advertising, among others. The emergence of these new models has generated an intense discussion about how they fit into our current privacy policy and regulatory environment, leading the FTC to hold a town hall meeting on behavioral advertising in November 2007. This session will provide a report of the content and results of that meeting, and put it in the context of the current and evolving regulatory environment in the U.S. and internationally, with a particular focus on the EU. Additionally, the session will examine the possible impacts on consumer trust and perceptions of privacy in online and mobile environments.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 Social Networking: Closing the Generation Gap Van Allen, President, TimeLine Recruiting Alan Chapell, CIPP, President, Chapell & Associates LLC Philip Gordon, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson PC Larry Ponemon, CIPP, Chairman/Founder, Ponemon Institute Mike Spinney, CIPP, Principal, SixWeight
Explore the impact of social networking, both in terms of hiring practices (to Google or not to Google...) and establishing policies for monitoring employees' social networking activities within the workplace. This session will utilize Ponemon Institute research to identify the fundamental issues involved with social networking and blogging, and lead a discussion on the very real existence of a generation gap as it pertains to privacy perceptions and expectations. Attendees also will be exposed to the many legal issues (e.g., employee privacy and employment law) involved with employee social networking. All are encouraged to engage in this open discussion, ask questions and offer their experiences.
February 7, 2008 3:00pm: How Open is Open? Google is behind it. Verizon chimed in. Sprint and AT&T claim they are already there. But what exactly is an "open platform" in mobile? Will it help marketers attaint he reach and standardization they find so elusive on mobile? Will "openness" really accelerate adoption of mobile media by offering users more innovative content and applications? What do the carriers mean when they say "open" and what do Google and the new Handset Alliance mean by it?
Moderator: Alan Chapell, President,Chapell and Associates Christopher Payne-Taylor, CMO,AdME Corp. Osama Alshaykh, CTO, Packet Video Dave Oberholzer, Limbo Webster Lewin, Director of Mobile Marketing, R/GA Frank Barbieri, CEO, Transpera
A few months ago, I ranted about a large trade association that called me at 8am with a prerecorded message about permission marketing. Oh, the irony!
I'm also a member of another trade association. This one is much smaller - maybe 300 or so member companies in north america. I really like this group. They do good work, their meetings are generally pretty productive, and they've managed to cultivate a culture where most of my interactions are with them are fun. I chair one of their committees and am very active in several others. What's more, my company has won a good deal of business through the relationships we've cultivated via this association.
It's also worth noting that this association has crafted some excellent standards on permission marketing. The association understands that too many annoying or intrusive messages will significantly dampen consumer trust and responsiveness.
Like most associations, this one has a board of directors. So every year, the association runs an election to choose a new board. And the election period lasts about 3-4 weeks while 20 or so members lobby for my vote. They lobby via email. They ask for my vote via long winded pre-recorded voicemail messages. Most of the messages open with some pedestrian line like "I know you're probably getting a bunch of emails requesting your vote in the upcoming elections..." Yep, pretty uninspiring stuff.
So what does that mean for me? It means that I'm inundated with messages - many from folks who I don't know - for 3-4 weeks every year. This is a pain in the neck - not only for me, but for other members too. (I've asked around a bit.)
Seems strange that a trade association that espouses permission marketing for it's members can't embrace those same concepts when electing its board.
Here's what I propose. for the next election.
1 . Only one email per candidate - I can deal with one email from each, but when you get up to 3-4 from each, it becomes annoying. (Side note: I strongly encourage the candidates to be a bit more creative in terms of their message, and discorage the use of large attachments.
2. No phone calls unless you know me - If you're really active in the association, I should have a sense of who you are. Like I said, I'm very active with this group. I go to several of their face to face meetings every year, as well as other association events. And it's not like the DMA or CTIA where it's so large that you can't possibly know everyone. So my second rule is that you shouldn't be calling me up and asking for my vote unless you already know me. Not only would this cut down on the number of calls, but it encourages people who are thinking about running for office to find reasons to reach out to the greater community BEFORE the election. Get to know some of the members at an event. And that way, you don't come off like some interloper come election time.
3. No pre-recorded messages - If you know me, and you want to contact me, pick up the phone. If you're too busy to take the time calling your friends and colleagues, then maybe your too busy to be on the board.
I'll submit these suggestions to the executive director of the association. Will let you know the director's response...
On February 7 I'll be moderating a panel for Mediapost'sOMMA mobile show in NYC. The title is "How Open is Open" and will focus on the trend towards openness in mobile platforms.
That will be our starting point, as the trend towards openness in mobile goes way beyond the handset. And in anticipation of the panel, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the concept of 'open.'
I see openness as encompassing four distinct areas: spectrum, handsets, message deployment and payment mechanisms.
Google and others have joined the wireless spectrum auction. Even if they don't prevail in the auction, they've already succeeded (with the help of many, many others) in making the bidding process more open, and (as it pertains to the C block auction) ensuring that the auction winner can't 'lock' or 'block' wireless devices.
Similarly, the increased use of Wifi to power the mobile web and phone calls will ultimately offer consumers significantly greater choice.
Handsets Imagine if you couldn't download a piece of software onto your computer without the consent of your ISP, or your computer manufacturer.
Imagine if you moved and found out that the IBM Thinkpad you used with Time Warner Cable in New York did not work for COX cable in Atlanta.
Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But that's exactly how things work in the wireless space. Yes, the iPhone brought with it substantial progress in this area. However, the core features of all wireless devices continue to fall into the sole domain of the carriers and wireless device manufacturers. In other words, the carriers continue to control the feature set of wireless devices. And that means that they tend to allow only those features which they can monetize.
That's not good for consumers - and it's a real drag on innovation.
As handsets open up, as more and more players are able to build upon each other's work, consumers will enjoy a more robust mobile experience. And smart companies will develop new revenue streams that may or may not necessitate carrier involvement.
Message Deployment
The carriers have used the SMS gateway to reap billions of dollars in data revenue from their customers. Billions of wireless customers actively communicate via SMS around the globe. To say that it's a cash cow for the carriers' would be an understatement. The problem is - SMS messaging isn't that great of a way to communicate. It doesn't generally synch well with the rest of your mobile device. For example, if someone texts me with the address to a restaurant, I can't automatically save that message to my calendar without cutting an pasting.
Also, SMS is not a great marketing platform. For example, unlike email there's no way for a marketer to track whether or not a particular SMS message has been read. Neither of those features (and hundreds like them) are likely to be developed by the carriers any time soon.
There's nothing inherently positive about SMS messaging other than it's quick and it's simple enough to do that even my mom has tried it. So while I think consumers are wedded to communicating via their mobile devices, there's nothing that leads me to believe that they are wedded to using SMS. In other words, consumers tend to be platform agnostic. So when they find something that is easier to use, or more fun, or cheaper, they tend to flock to the next thing. If you don't believe me, look at how AOL's subscription service and Friendster are doing these days.
Consumers will stop using SMS the moment they find something better. And while that better alternative may not be here yet, we're already starting to see some alternatives emerge. For example, I have a small Facebook app on my blackberry desktop that allows me to communicate with any of my Facebook friends very easily.
On the commercial side, look at companies such as Cellfire and Acuity Mobile (disclosure: I'm on Acuity's board of advisors), not to mention Google. All these companies offer a platform that allows companies to deploy messages to consumers without using the SMS gateway.
One of the loudest complaints I hear about working in mobile is that working with carriers on SMS programs is a HUGE pain in the ass. Do you think that marketers would be receptive to a non-SMS, non-carrier dependent messaging alternative? I certainly do! And as one or more of those platforms emerge, the carriers will see a drop in SMS revenue without necessarily being in a position to recoup revenue via the alternative platform.
Payment mechanisms
Like the SMS messaging gateway, carriers exercise significant control over most every transaction processed via mobile devices. It's a great revenue stream for the carriers, and ensures that the carrier takes their cut of every mobile transaction. But what happens if/when alternative mobile payment platforms emerge?
Companies like Shoptext, Mocapay, Pocket Concierge and Bango all offer consumers the ability to conduct micro-payments outside the control of the carriers. The carriers can't impose a tariff if they don't control the payment platform.
Conclusion
There's no doubt - open is coming. If ANY of the four areas (spectrum, handset, messaging and payment) take off as anticipated, we'll see a very different carrier relationship with the rest of the ecosystem. And carrier claims that they are value added partners will ring increasingly hollow.
And ultimately, the carriers will be relegated to status of 'dumb pipe' that has traditionally mired their ISP brethren.
And to paraphrase Henry Blodget, that's why the carriers are screwed.
Anyone who considers themselves a fan of Seinfeld knows that George had an intimate knowledge of every bathroom in NYC. Well, the good folks at MizPee have apparently taken that concept into the mobile space. You can search for bathrooms with the good stuff, add bathrooms that you've discovered, and even rate them for cleanliness.
This idea has worked really well for restaurants and bars (Citysearch, Dodgeball) finding a cleaning person people (Angies List) and even attorneys (avvo.com). So why not bring this concept all the way into the commode?
Well, my first thought - how often do you find yourself in a strange city or neighborhood and in need of a bathroom? Are we starting to test the limits of web communities?
This seems like a fairly interesting feature to an existing map program, but probably not a stand alone service.
Earlier this week, I participated in this years Search Engine Strategies Show. I was on a panel with Jack Myers of JackMyers.com, Pauline Ores of IBM, and moderated by Kevin Ryan and Kevin Heisler of Search Engine Watch.
Brian Cosgrove was kind enough to blog about it here, and I think he got most of what we said right. One notable exception, which I found funny.
"Alan states that you should let your child surf wherever they want without supervision"
Ha! My ten year old would love to hear that....
The point I was trying to make (but apparently didn't do so clearly enough) was this.... Back in the 1960's, many people used to sit their children in front of the television with little supervision. The TV as babysitter turned out not to be such a good idea. Similarly, parents who allow the Internet to be their babysitter are making a huge mistake.
