By Peter Black, Senior Vice President, Business Development

To start, analytics are not an audit. An audit involves a series of checks and balances, beyond simply quality control, that tests data for accuracy. Further, audits provide standardized metrics and methodology, consistency of process, and transparency of results.

Traffic analytic tools certainly have their place as an important business resource but they do not produce audited data. From their inception, reputable companies providing analytic tools have never claimed to be auditors but they have consistently positioned themselves as “third party”. In the world of media, third party equates to an auditor. This has caused misunderstanding in the marketplace whereby analytic data has been accepted as audited data.

This is not to disparage analytic tools. They do a very good job providing actionable information to help one manage a site and improve performance. But analytic tools were never intended to produce the audited traffic data upon which an ad buy/sell decision is made. And buyers of online media need to be aware that different tools produce different results.

Standardized Metrics and Methodology
Two years ago, a white paper was issued by Stone Temple Consulting entitled “Web Analytics Shootout” (http://www.stonetemple.com/articles/analytics-report-august-2007.shtml). It is a comprehensive look at many of the popular analytic tools and explains why they produce different results.

An excerpt:
Web analytics packages, installed on the same web site, configured the same way, produce different numbers. Why?

1. By far the biggest source of error in analytics is implementation error. There are dozens (possibly more) implementation decisions made in putting together an analytics package that affect the method of counting used by each package.
2. Placement of JavaScript on the site.
3. Differences in the definition of what each package is counting. The way that analytics packages count visitors and unique visitors is based on the concept of sessions. There are many design decisions made within an analytics package that will cause it to count sessions differently, and this has a profound impact on the reported numbers.

Makes sense, right. But it’s also scary because it means data results from a single site can be inaccurate due to several factors. It also means data results from different sites are not comparable since there is no way to tell if mitigating factors are the same across all sites measured.

Let’s look at a specific example of Point #3 above using sessions and duration as the metrics.

Using analytics Package A, session begins when one arrives at a site and ends when one leaves. The session will also end if there is 30 minutes of inactivity from that visitor. So if a visitor arrives at a site, stays 5 minutes, leaves, and returns 10 minutes later again for 5 minutes, the package will report two sessions with a duration of 5 minutes each.

Using analytics Package B, a visitor exhibiting the same activity pattern (5 minutes on the site, 10 minutes away, 5 minutes back) will be reported as one session for 20 minutes. That’s because this package allows any visitor returning within 30 minutes to count as part of the original visit.
For buyers of online media, this poses a significant problem: how does one reconcile the difference between Package A and Package B in order to evaluate activity and make the best possible buy?

Consistency of Process
A further variable with analytic packages is that the user of the package controls many of the processing functions. For example, the user can control the degree to which filters are set to exclude mechanical traffic from spiders/robots. The user also controls whether to set any filters at all.

A generally accepted best practice is to filter spiders/robots listed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau ( www.iab.net). Analytic tools certainly have the capability to filter according to the IAB list but to what extent do they? With the user of a tool controlling the filter settings, traffic results can be manipulated. Unless all sites follow a standardized process of applying filters, as occurs in an audit, results can be questionable and are clearly not comparable.

Transparency of Results
One function of an independent media auditing firm is to make results publicly available. This is typically done through the auditing firm’s web site which buyers of online media can access to identify those audited sites in a specific vertical market. The availability of audited traffic data in a single location is a benefit to buyers as it provides an easy-to-use resource which makes the search process quicker and more efficient.

In conclusion, here’s another excerpt from the Web Analytics Shootout:

Don’t get hung up on the basic traffic numbers. The true power of web analytics comes into play when you begin doing A/B testing, multivariate testing, visitor segmentation, search engine marketing performance tracking and tuning, search engine optimization, etc.

Not a single mention in the paper of using the data for ad selling/buying. And that’s because analytic tools were never intended for this purpose. They are intended to help one better manage a site and they do a good job of that. But for an actual audit of traffic data, only a truly independent media auditor provides standardized, reliable data upon which a media evaluation can be made.

www.bpaww.com – check ‘em out

And the input from EVOK…”Analytics, like research, can be molded to the advantage of the one gathering intended results. The benchmarking and retesting with the same analytic tool is the best we have in many cases. Urchin, for example, is often way off from Google’s analytics, but which will an advertiser use who is trying to justify the continued ad spend? We hope, and advocate, the one that shows the truest measured results that can be reproduced to show trend. And we hope, on the client side, that the knowledge base is there to understand and value the difference between true research and measurement and puffery.”

In today’s technology-driven world, a person can suffer from virtual communication ailments like Phone-a-phobia, Web-slow-mosis and Re-run-itis. Aka, the acute, telltale signs of Bundle Deficiency Syndrome. Luckily, Cox provides the cure for those who are out of touch; limited in channel selections; experience sluggish downloads or a low-def reception…

Evok provided the cure with a multi-media campaign running in a number of Florida markets. Campaign deliverables included multiple versions of television and radio spots, full-color and black & white newspaper advertisements, direct mail, POP’s (banner, poster, counter mat, tent card & floor graphics) and billboard, per market.

Click here to see the Cox has the Cure spots and our other television work.

With many social media resources at today’s society’s fingertips, people are getting connected with others across the world with just one click. We all do it to maintain relationships, start new ones, catch up on old ones and probably the most important one in today’s economy – networking. Everywhere you go you are
networking, making connections. This is especially true for alumni who want to stay connected to fellow classmates and keep updated with news that are relevant to their university.

However, universities have noticed that if they don’t take initiative to connect to their graduates first, the students or alumni themselves start their own groups. Now, universities are quickly moving away from the traditional mailing outlets and migrating towards Facebook and Twitter as a means to re-connect to their
graduates. These social networks help institutions to quickly and efficiently maintain and deliver news/updates to their groups or followers. Vadim Lavrusik, a new media student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has helped to pin down the top ways that universities are engaging their alumni via social media.

Helping Alumni Find Jobs
According to media specialist, Keidra Chaney at DePaul University, LinkedIn is the school’s biggest success with 5,500 current members and about 100 new members joining weekly. Group leaders can post or tweet about new job positions and alumni themselves post job openings/share job leads they know about to the
advantage of fellow colleagues.

Collaboration and Connecting with Students
This includes transitioning advice from student life to alumni/career life posted everywhere from the University’s website to Facebook ‘notes’. This approach helps to build more brand affinity with relevant and helpful information to the group members.

Fundraising Purposes
Encouraging alumni to donate to specific causes, which could end up as a domino effect if one alumnus donates and tweets about it reminding their friends or followers to do the same.

Training New Alumni to use Social Media
For those alumni that are not completely involved with the social media world, universities are placing resources and tutorials for those newbies on how to stay connected with people and their University via social media.

Alumni-Generated Content
Schools are attracting alumni by allowing them to produce their own content and share information, like photos, via different networks, groups or by building their own sites.

Mobile Websites
With 9.3 million daily mobile users for social networking and information retrieval, having your website be mobile-accessible is vital in today’s world.

Use Google Maps
People enjoy interaction; seeing where their classmates currently are, and Google Maps can help with pinpointing where on Earth their classmates are or have traveled/lived in the past.

There are endless possibilities with social media. Bottom line: people just love staying connected and socializing with others. It’s human nature to do so. Lucky for us, current top social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter help make the reach and connections easy and possible with just the click of a mouse. Some universities have even gone to the point of building their own social media site closed to allow only their institution’s alumni, but it has proved to become burdensome for most alumni to check and stay updated with multiple social sites, so it’s suggested to just use the known, mainstream ones like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to their full potential.

EVOK’s advice to Universities and companies everywhere: gather—or re-member—your people. Today’s technology makes it easy for us.

With my natural ability to butt in, and my background in fabrication, I offered a few other approaches to production that could better meet her timeline and budget.

It got me thinking about my “extracurricular” activities and the skills I’ve acquired outside of advertising—and how much I rely on those skills to develop advertising for my clients, acquire new business and keep myself fresh to generate new ideas.

In a past life, I was in the automotive aftermarket industry, customizing cars, installing electronics, paint and body…just a lot of general fabrication. It involved an array of materials and skills. Acrylic, wood, fiberglass, metal, leather and vinyl…using them to mold, sculpt, weld and upholster…in vehicles that light up, make sound, go fast or just look good.

My past experience, and current hobby, allow me to build a better trade show booth for my clients. I not only understand the materials, but how to choose the right one for the job, how they are assembled, their durability and so on…not just how to apply a logo to a piece of foamcore that hangs in front of a curtain.

It also helps that I can understand and relate to our automotive clients as a consumer, as an industry “insider” and as their advertising agency.

So I looked around the agency and saw how much extracurricular talent we have. Musicians and actresses, engineers and electricians, contractors and craft mavens, movie makers and more…the list goes on.

And I realize how much we actually tap into our diverse interests…in the interest of our clients.

We’ve been able to enhance our strategy and work in new business pitches by transforming our office into a nine-foot-diameter artery (constructed from PVC and fabric, courtesy of the plumber and seamstress) leading our potential healthcare client into the “heart” of the agency, complete with red and white blood cells (balloons)—truly immersing ourselves in their brand.

Our copywriter has a passion for acting and the theatre. I can see firsthand how her creative outlets bring more creative output to the table—everyday. Not only is she writing a script for the television spot, but also she sees the potential in an actor during casting to fulfill her creative vision more than anyone else could.

So, imagine a triathlete paramedic who moonlights as a lifeguard. That’s a pool I’d want my kids swimming in.

Now imagine how your agency uses their extracurricular skills to step up strategy, complement creative and raise results.

I’d like to hear about it.

-Marty

Just like brands, there are thousands of comedians. Also just like brands, a very privileged few achieve stardom. But the manner in which Kathy Griffin created her own brand identity to reach to top of the industry holds some lessons that can be learned by others.

Griffin had enjoyed recognition for her stand-up act, which consisted of irreverent, gossipy observations of celebrities she’d come in contact with through such various gigs as game show contestant and awards show hostess. Given the high degree of interest in (or obsession with) celebrities in America, Griffin found herself in increasing demand to share these stories with an ever-growing audience.

Most other comedians (or products) with such an enthusiastic market may have been content to keep delivering more of what made them popular. But Griffin took it up a notch to create a true niche for herself: that of the D-List celebrity. Griffin immediately changed public perception of herself by declaring a new class of celebrity, then defining what a “D-List” celebrity is all about.

Positioning herself in this manner has enabled Griffin to star in her own reality show chronicling her encounters with A-Listers and a variety of “D-List” gigs, plus a successful series of televised stand-up concerts on the theme. There may be other comedians doing guest bits on game shows, but the D-List is Griffin’s category, and she alone owns it.

The take-home message: Any distinctive feature of your product or company can be used as the basis of a successful brand identity that defines its category. Before Starbucks, most American establishments that mainly served coffee didn’t even think to define themselves as a coffee shop, much less decide to become an international brand. As with Griffin, there are other coffee houses, but Starbucks still defines the category. Find the way to define and market your individual claim to fame, and you’ll make your way to the A-List in sales.

Brands that don’t keep up with changes in the market fall behind. This is an obvious observation, yet one that you should say out loud to yourself, your R & D department, marketing department and any other relevant people in your company on a regular basis. Coming off of 2008 International CES, we saw brands that didn’t exist five years ago attract hoards of buyers and TV crews to their booth, while some long-established brands generated little excitement for this year’s offerings.

Remember the Sony Walkman? Once considered the only portable audio player worth owning, it lost the hearts of consumers upon Apple’s introduction of the iPod. Originally a portable cassette player, the product became an immediate success when it debuted in 1979 – so much so that the name “Walkman” was in danger of passing from a brand name to generic term. Other portable cassette players were on the market, but no one who was anyone had anything other than the Walkman attached to their earbuds.

The 1980s saw the Walkman’s transition from cassette to CD player. Keeping its new design sleek, lightweight and hip, Sony continued the brand’s category dominance. But Sony evidently wasn’t paying attention at the advent of the digital audio era, when Apple seized upon its opportunity to change the way consumers experience music (and now other downloadable media).

The Walkman eventually morphed into an MP3 player, but Apple’s ownership of the market is – so far – absolute, despite such challengers as Microsoft’s Zune. Sony Ericsson debuted the Walkman W810i – a nifty cell phone with plenty of impressive features – But guess what product came along to steal its thunder (not to mention practically upstage the entire show)? That’s right, Apple and the iPhone.

The take-home lesson from our cautionary tale? If you’re not creating a culture, and therefore a market for your brand like Apple does (although you should be), make sure that you’re hyper-alert to technological advances, anticipate their impact on consumers and immediately adapt accordingly. Otherwise, you’ll be left in the dead center of the mushy middle with other brands that were slow on the uptake, while the brand with the vision and passion redefined the category.

You may be introducing a breakthrough product at your industry’s major trade show – a product that represents an industry and/or technological “first” destined to change the face of the industry. But be sure your advertising and marketing effectively positions your product so that its significance is clear, or it could get lost among the tens of thousands of other products being unveiled.

At the shows:

• Give the product prominent booth real estate. Place it at the focal point of the booth, providing enough “space” around the display so it stands apart. A separate stand with signage behind and/or above will draw additional attention.
• Instruct booth personnel to steer visitors to the product, describe it and supply sell sheets and other collateral.
• Schedule a press conference to introduce the product. You’ll have most of the industry’s major reporters in one place at the same time – an advantage in conveying the product’s importance and ensuring that those who want products for review will receive them quickly.

In print ads:

• Introduce the product with its own campaign – if it has the same look as your usual branding ad, your target audience may not realize it’s a breakthrough product.
• Describe what makes the product a breakthrough in straightforward terms. What problem does it solve? What does it make possible that no previous product has made possible?

On your website:

• Put the product on the Home page and treat it like the major event that it is – big picture, big headline and big excitement. Include links to media coverage. Hold a contest to take consumer buzz and demand to the next level.