Creative Agency Secrets

Dick Stroud of consultancy 20Plus30

5 things all digital agencies should know about aging
1 - when working for a client consider whether their product is age- neutral or not.  Sites tend to get optimised for a younger age group.
2 - Age is not a good proxy for behaviour.  The default is we are all age-neutral until proven otherwise.
3 - Physiological aging really does matter.  Useability is only the beginning.  Consider navigation, complexity, handling this si more deifficult with age.  The heat maps for older people are very different.
4 - Lifestyle is important - education and background are very importa determinants of web usage
5 - Social Networking issues - if the only unifying feature of the website is age this is a problem.  Interest-driven is more mportant.  

Steve Morgan MD of SQuiz
They have written a publishing plaform which hosts the 50Connect site.
- if a majority of traffic comes from search, nobody searches on "over 50 travel / finance / insurance".  Brand loyalty and a core user base is the only way to build traffic
- Dividing the market by age groups is pointless.  Event-driven is much better e.g. kids leaving home, illness
- Useability research show s related offers and products mucst be very clear and direct.  The audience i easy to lead. - networking creates teh sense of ownership / community strength.  If you change anhythying there is a backlash- Cap[tcha is too small - gridded background, colours and no contrast lost 70-80% by having it- Text based advertising works better than image-based. Don't use banners and skyscrapers.  Nostalgic images don't work.
- calls to action must be strong, bold and well-placed.  Consistent standards in article structure metter e.g. all same colour / place.  Raises CTR.

David Noble MD Wanobe
- the size of the market is a trap
- most older people never think of themselves of being the age they are
- show me by dreams not my mirror image.  Dreams are not age, health and wealth.  Treat them according to their potential for dreaming

Sarah Robinson, Research and planning director Millennium
There are 30-40 years of life left after 50.  Experiences of technology and itnernet vary.  Some are users equivalenbt to a 30 year old
Comfort with technology is important.  They are used to long copy and written letters.  Brought up in a non-visula age.
People think of themselves as being 10 years younger than they are
Search is not a problem but buying is.  Many want to check you are really there and to be sure your call centre is not in INdia.  Phone number = reassurance.

"The problem is with the under30s"  Desire instant gratifiction; judge based on popularity not reputation, longer attenation span when you are older'; value longer relationships; lsess peripheral vision affect page layouts

Alex Champan - Campbell Hooper - most B2B decision makers are over 50.  consider corproate sties with heavy language and simple naviation - gives indication that the mind state is corporate not consumer.

Sites
50notOut - this appears to be a cricket site…?

50connect

Wanobe

mychumsclub

How to use your marketing budget effectively? users over 50 make 50% more errors on the site and take 50% longer to navigate.
Consider the USA car sites for Lexus and VW.  One is boringly efficient and the ohter designed for accolades but hard to take a decision based on the content.

This is not a niche market it is 1/3 of the population. 

The marvelous British Olympic Association has launched its Beijing website….. and boy oh boy, it has ALL the features that were cool in 2006 and NONE of the community uptake.

A list of handy functionality and features:

    * Home page with latest news - very up to date but every 'news' item is published by the BOA's press office
    * Podcasts - 10 uploaded.  THe most recent being 30th April (Taekwondo).  Also present - beach volleyball, diving, BMX, modern pentathlon, hockey, sailing, cycling.  Three uploaded from 29 - 30 April and then the previous ones all date from 2007
    * Videos - Leon Taylor form the synchronised diving team is pretty active having uploaded 6 videos since 29th April and Barry Middleton (hockey) has done one.
    * Athlete Diaries - grand list of 3 athletes: Euan Burton, Amy Terriere, and Denise Johns.  Who manage 4 entries between them.
    * Messages of support (5 displayed - but probably huge numbers in archive!)

Then there's the background info: racing schedule, qualification, currently selected athletes, stuff about the Games, about the sports (accurate, short and scraped from another website I've previously seen), a Gallery of photos by Getty Images from past Olympiads - there are five rowing photos displayed.

And so what is the opportunity that has been lost / missed?
Well, there could be

    * A link to a twitter feed (if No10 manages it, surely the BOA can???)
    * Upload your own photos from flickr while at the Games
    * links to athletes' own sites
    * Share travel plans with others
    * Desktop viewer for instant updates customised to your sporting interests
    * News feeds from other sources for your sports
    * Plan your viewing schedule tool linking to the TV guides for the UK terrestrial and satellite broadcasters
    * Live video streaming athlete interviews
    * Forum for real discussions

And what are they doing to promote the site?  I got an email about the 'launch' because I'm on a journalist list.  Has anyone else seen it advertised, linked to from ANYWHERE?  e.g. ARA website or FISA or your local newspaper….

How on earth do they expect the general public to build the excitement behind the team (and of course get taxpayers ready to buy lottery tickets to fund the next Olympics) if they can't promote the HELL out of this event.  We want to become a world showcase in four years time.

Who is advising these monkeys and can they please get an informed digital strategist/planner onto the team, fast.

Oh, did I forget to mention the handy "countdown" tool on the header bar which says how long we have to wait until the Games open?  Neat, but old technology!

These are not my questions… but they are good ones.  I have added in my own in italics.

1. What are "desirable" customer experiences, and how can you create them? And continue creating them regularly?
2. How can marketers turn customers into brand evangelists? 
3. And is WOM the only method they use to promote your brand?
4. Which social technologies help marketers better understand customer feelings, affinity, and sentiment? 
5. And how to engage through social media without appearing trite and mee-too-ish.
6. What is customer-centric marketing planning, and how should companies practice it? 
7. What is the role of marketing agencies in planning and supporting customer engagement? 
8. And how do specialist agencies collaborate around the client’s marketing campaigns in an appropriate manner?
9. How can you measure involvement, interaction, intimacy, and influence?
10. And do these 4 Is replace the 4 Ps of yesteryear?
11. How do B2B and B2C engagement tactics compare? And contrast.
12. How will marketing budgets change as a result of the focus on customer engagement?

I think the last question is spurious, customer engagement is far less of a force for change than media fragmentation…. but hey, that’s my view.

Any other things we should be planning for in 2008?

I met Simon Gill from LBi earlier in the week.  Great conversation.

He has a new theory about digital marketing.  THere are two parallel universes happening online:

1. The "marketing" web
2. The "real" web

the former is just stuff done for the purpose of marketing.  A brand site, a cunning support microsite for a campaign.  Nice but no reason to return or bookmark.

THe latter is where the future of one to one and "conversational" marketing is going.  It is warm, compelling and creates a reason for the customer to return and to possibly ‘get involved’.

And it seems Dave Birss is onto the same track.

Ever since working for Peppers and Rogers Group in the mid 90s, I have been waiting for the day when brands can have individual relationships with their customers.  And the technology to enable it.

MySpace’s Jay Stevens spoke at the Forrester Conference in Barcelona [thanks Jeremiah] here is his slide

Social networking creates influence which is strongest amongst friends.  Therefore social media must be in your media mix using ‘friending’ [ghastly phrase] to promote and recommend thus enabling the brand to start an ongoing relationship with the customer.

Bingo!

Mark McGuinness and I are hosting a breakfast event on November 22nd in central London.

It may be of interest to anyone who has to go and win new business for their agency.  Here’s the detail.

These days winning a pitch is harder than ever – more agencies, longer ‘short’ lists, time delays. You need every advantage to ensure your pitch gets the best possible chance of succeeding.

One of the factors that may contribute to success is an awareness of the personalities on the client team – so that you can play your presentation to appeal to their comfort zones and core instincts. Your pitch can also be more effective if it appeals to the values at the heart of the client’s company and brand.

Come and hear respected Business Coach Mark McGuinness, in conversation with Rebecca Caroe, talking about the Enneagram system of personality types and core values – and how this can help your team win more pitches.

Breakfast on 22nd November will be at Piccolino, Heddon Street, London W1B 4BG Arrive from 7.45 and we’ll start promptly at 8 am and be finished by 9 with networking until 9.45.

Hosted by Rebecca Caroe, the event will be a conversation during which the issues of successful business development and personality typing will be discussed – followed by your questions. To register e-mail  And we’ll send you all the info, plus Mark’s e-book An Introduction to the Enneagram to thank you for your interest.

If you can’t come but would like a free copy of Mark’s e-book please e-mail us and ask for a copy.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to any agency friends or colleagues who may be interested.

Download enneagramflyer.pdf

[the event invitation]

Mark McGuinness works with agencies to get the best out of their people. Mark is a poet and a business coach specialising in the creative industries. He is a qualified psychotherapist and holds an MA in Creative & Media Enterprises from the University of Warwick. His areas of expertise include creativity and managing and developing creative teams. He uses the Enneagram to help clients with a range business issues.
Mark’s coaching blog

A recurring theme in my blog posts.  This time the criminal is Haymarket, the principal publications owner for our industry.

For some reason, trying to read Charlie Hoult and Rory Sutherland’s blogs on the Brand Republic Site this morning… Apparently my login is no longer valid.
Curious.
My print subscription still arrives.

Then it says send a password reminder…. not working either my email is not recognised.

Recognising there’s an issue coming up the site suggests

This email address is not currently registered with Brand Republic.  Please check you have typed it correctly

This is bollocks as I’ve been online on BR for years.  Same email address, same password.
No link to an email for the mythical administrator, no link to a contacts page, no apparent means of contacting.  GRRR

on Contacts page I get a long list of people (mostly in ad sales) NONE of which are administrators for everything.

I am tempted to email Rufus Olins, the Managing director of Haymarket Brand Media

Well, thanks to the lovely Janice Cable, I was there.  The debate was hosted in BT’s sumptuous auditorium in their City Business Centre.  Great gig.

Three speakers followed by a formal debate. 
Take-outs from the speakers

Hugh McLeod - Social media is about meaning.
1 - Social Objects are key.  people socialise around objects, church, clothes, technology a.k.a. "sharing devices"
2 - It is cheap and easy
3 - Hyperlinks subvert hierarchies - you can bypass traditional structures.

JP Rangaswami - Enterprise software has 4 pillars

• Search
• Subscribe
• Fulfilment
• Converse

Facebook is this plus community.that’s why it works. 

Chad Wollen - Facebook is putting together all the components to make a marketplace = the Social Graph.  This social graph of value to users provides not much systematic value to advertisers.  There’s a trade-off between keeping it controlled and closed c.f. AOL until recently and opening it up and accepting that spam will happen.

Hugh - This is a ‘political bargain’ the open or closed system.  It’s a compromise

JP - we recognise that the world today does not allow monopoly rents
BT is experimenting using Facebook for knowledge management and internal communication.. it has a group of over 6000 employees online and is the third largest enterprise group.

Sam Sethi - Facebook is an aggregating lifestream. 
Poking someone on Facebook is a social gesture.  It’s like primates grooming each other(!)

i spoke later to Sam and he has some fantastic ideas on where some of these ‘possible futures’ may take us.  I am going to check out his APML workgroup later on…. watch this space.

There was a good debate and some useful discussion but I was mainly looking for take-outs on how businesses can use Facebook.

5 learnings
1 - open up your system and embrace the opportunity in Facebook.  Let staff use it, recognise your employment as part of their lives
2 - Trust your staff not to ‘waste’ time online in Facebook.  Get their ideas about how to use its features to further your business needs.  If BT is trying it out for internal communication and knowledge management, what can you do?
3 - Trust the Facebook privacy statements.  Most of the attendees had fully open profiles and many said they would accept a friend request from their boss (JP has an open door policy and so this is an extension of his normal way of working).  Read the privacy pages and see how detailed you can go with permissions e.g. tagging in photos - you can refuse to allow this.
4 - Look at the possibilities in the advertising.  Now they’ve opened up the opportunity for improved targeting for ad serving, it definitely is something I’m going to try out.  Graduate recruiters are now regularly checking Facebook for candidates both as ‘background’ and to see who else they know
5 - Watch for the un-sexy apps.  There are some neat ones e.g. enabling reading spreadsheets online.  Filter the bad or faddish (zombies) and find those that work for your needs. 

When you see what you think is a holding page on a website what do you think?

Take a look here

and here

Which looks like a holding page and which is just crass arrogance?  How gorgeous and famous do you need to be in this world before you don’t actually need a website at all?

Are they courageous, confident or blind?

A theme has been emerging from a couple of meetings I’ve had in the past days.  It’s a subject that appears dull but can be the strongest possible boost to growing your business.

Lead Management.
What is it?

The process by which prospective customers are attracted to your product or service, make themselves known to you and from which you move them towards a purchase.

Vital.  Consider it a chain of events that lead to a conclusion that in itself can become the start of a new chain.  Sometimes called "closed-loop" marketing.

Write down the chain as it happens in your company. 
Are there any breaks in the chain; anywhere that information can be ‘lost’, forgotten or drop down the cracks between one person and the next in the chain (technically called a hand-off).

I was talking to the Manager of a consulting firm who felt she couldn’t keep track of the pipeline and the current jobs the firm was handling.  They use ACT! as their sales tool. 

I made two suggestions
1 - keep a spreadsheet for two months of your prospects and clients fees and use the weekly team meeting to update it
[this is a near-manual work-round - but it should serve to keep a regular focus on prospects, invoicing and revenue streams.  When they’ve used it for a couple of months, I suggested creating a report from ACT! to subsitute and automate the process]
2 - tracking current client jobs.  Write a single page template summary for each job.  Keep them in a marked coloured folder on your desk, i.e. somewhere public, and hand-write updates on job stage, sub-contractors, payment terms, next action dates. Then each team member can access the file at any time and it’s readily at hand when you have a quick thought or something changes.
3 - Put a recurring diary note in to block out time each month to write your monthly report with a reminder to email the team 2 days earlier to send in their information for your report.

Oh, that was three suggestions…
I am out of the office now but will add the spreadsheet template later for anyone who wants to use it.