Olay Proves Simple/Helpful is Online Gold

Most likely due to the fact that my facial skincare regiment consists of a bar of soap in the shower, it probably isn’t surprising that I’d missed the Olay for You website that seems to have struck a cord with their customers.

According to AdAge the site, “attracted more than a million visitors since January, 80% of whom completed an involved question-and-answer process and spent an average of eight minutes on the site.”

Those are some pretty remarkable figures.  I had to check it out for myself.  So, I headed over to the Olay site and discovered a simple, elegant design that combined simple text, pleasant voiceover and a well-guided Q&A about my skin and my skin needs.

Was it revolutionary?  Nope.  But is was quite sort of lovely and did what it said it would do.  A good lesson to others in the field is that you don’t need to be in someones face to make a strong impact.  Offer a real service in a positive atmosphere.

AdAge Asks: Is the Internet Right for Ads?

There is a fairly long, engrossing read over on AdAge that takes a long look at just what it means to advertise online.  The writer, Matthew Creamer, makes a bunch of interesting points, including:

“Trends like those listed suggest the possibility of a post-advertising age, a not-too-distant future where consumers will no longer be treated as subjects to be brainwashed with endless repetitions of whatever messaging some focus group liked. That world isn’t about hidden persuasion, but about transparency and dialogue and at its center is that supreme force of consumer empowerment, the Internet.”

Transparency and dialogue are definitely big buzz words for all of working in this area.  Check out the rest of the post for tons of food for thought. 

Magazines Try Web Video…Fail.

AdAge (reg. req.) has some commentary on magazines attempts to incorporate web video on their sites.  I was shocked to learn that it seems they are doing a pretty poor job.

“…it dawned on me just how screwed most of these magazine companies really are. In their rush to cash in on web video, most seem to have convinced themselves that sloppily edited six-minute clips pass for must-see content. It’s as if the very act of creating something that moves and talks has blinded producers and editors to the dullness of their creations.”

Obviously, magazines are struggling and the web is an obvious place for them to grow and expand, but they are not going to get anywhere fast by producing low-quality, low-thought videos.

My favorite bad video from the article:

Playboy’s Ask Hef

Branded Entertainment a Juggernaut

Article in AdAge looking at recent studies on the future of Branded Entertainment.  Since it is a reg. req. website here are some highlights:

“The branded-entertainment marketing sector is expected to continue seeing double-digit growth through to 2012 despite a slowing economy, according to PQ Media. By shifting their ad dollars to alternative channels, more marketers will seek to maximize their value in the face of faltering traditional media and elusive audiences.

Branded entertainment, which covers event sponsorship and marketing, paid product placements, and advergaming and webisodes, has seen spending nearly double since 2002 to an all-time high of $22.3 billion in 2007, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the $254 billion marketing services sector. Spending in the category is expected to reach $40 billion by 2012, according to PQ Media’s “Branded Entertainment Marketing Forecast: 2008-2012,” which was released Feb. 12.

“The overall trend is movement away from traditional advertising — that is to say in broadcast television, radio, etc. They are all experiencing low single-digit growth, and with things like the writers strike, brands have definitely been looking elsewhere,” says Patrick Quinn, president-CEO, PQ Media. “A lot of these alternative mediums are entertaining by nature, and therefore create powerful impressions on consumers. Brand recall on [them] has been much higher than the traditional 30-second spot. In the long run, they will come to play a more important role.”

But advergaming and webisodes remain at the forefront of marketing efforts to reach the 18 to 34-year-old demographic, and showed the largest growth in PQ Media’s survey: The segment grew 34.8% to $217 million in 2007. “Marketers are trying to reach a demographic that is digitally multitasking and exposed to more media than in the past,” Mr. Quinn said. “It’s also a demographic that consumes 48% of its media outside the home and on the go. A lot of heat and focus is here because of that.”

And the heat is on: PQ expects spending on webisodes in particular to increase by as much as 46% in 2008 as the major broadcast networks deploy full-length online episodes to tap into the youth market. Despite recessionary fears, PQ projects 2008 event sponsorship and marketing spending to reach $25.4 billion (up 13.9%), and product placement, especially with the influx of reality TV shows, to reach $3.5 billion (up nearly 25%).”

None of this is surprising, but it sure is encouraging for the areas I am currently seeking to grow for our company.