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MOBILE:
The last time I attended OMMA Mobile and Video was June 9, 2007, the same day that the iPhone was launched. The pre-launch chatter in the tech community with tongue firmly in cheek heralded the event as having importance just short of the second coming. OMMA 2007 bathed in some of this reflected light.
The 2009 iteration of the conferences seemed much more down-to-earth with very little of the messianic overhang. Hockey sticks, while in the room were generally sheathed. The two-day menu was much more grounded in research, metrics, ROI and that last ten yards of the purchase funnel. There was a lot of content overlap and I don’t mean this as a criticism. Publishers, media buyers, advertisers and retailers are all looking for the business model in the business. The content overlap was a helpful reinforcement and reminder.
John Zehr, SVP and GM, ESPN Mobile, noted in his keynote that his company had 8 million users on its mobile web site, large enough for scale and personalization. Zehr reminded attendees that his focus was on providing the “best available screen” and this is not convergence.
Mobile web sites are taking on their own character and design in the eco-system. Zehr said his web designers do not design mobile sites, echoing a time when web designers said the same about their colleagues in print. Zehr can foresee a time when mobile will take the lead and the web business will follow.
On a panel devoted to how brands partner with the consumer Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO and VP, Eastman Kodak Company, was not shy about predicting mobile will become the “single most dominant media” but acknowledged that there is not yet linkage between mobile and CRM data. When this linkable becomes real, mobile will get a powerful e-commerce boost.
We heard a number of times—God forbid—that there was too much emphasis on iPhone apps and not enough attention to the bastard cousin SMS.
According to Walter Schild, CEO, Genex, the call for apps often comes from a senior executive, is usually campaign specific, and often does not resonate with long-term strategy.
The subtext for OMMA Mobile went something like this: if mobile has the numbers, then where is the money? Some estimates put mobile at about 5% of digital spend. Patrick Moorehead, Director of Emerging Media, Razorfish suggested that $250,000 would represent a decent mobile buy and around $20 million for a 6-8 week campaign. So these are still relatively small dollars.
There is still a wide range of opinions about how to measure the efficiency of mobile. Joy Liuzzo, Senior Director of Marketing and Mobile Research, InsightExpress, thought one useful approach might be “cost per branding effort.” She also suggested marketers should make better use of sponsored SMS and a fuller integration of print and mobile.
Gene Keenan, VP of Mobile Services, Isobar Global, is a serious and high-tech evangelist for the movement. He sees mobile offering a huge opportunity for brand marketers. Advertising can be offered in a contextually relevant, measurable manner that is on-demand in the purest sense. He underscored the importance of rich off-line and mobile data. He seemed a strong advocate of 2D codes that can represent more than 4,000 characters (URLs, text, phone numbers, etc.) and have important implications for mobile, once carriers embrace this technology. In his words: “Most apps are born to die but service apps are born to live.”
One sign that mobile is coming of age is that there is already heated discussion about whether mobile ad networks will make or break mobile content. Josh Schoenberg, Director of Business Development, The Weather Channel Interactive, said he doesn’t work with networks though he values their contribution. The Weather Channel has been serious about digital for more than a decade and that likely has something to do with it. The sales staff is comfortable selling web and mobile inventory.
Paran Johar, CMO, JumpTap, told us that his company gets data from seventeen carriers worldwide and this is a value proposition publishers cannot replicate. Given the flattening of data sales for carriers one wonders how long this differentiation will last.
Nonetheless, as a number of panelists noted, most publishers are not technology companies and have to rely on networks for this service.
Jeff Litvack, GM, Mobile & Emerging Products, The Associated Press, expressed his displeasure with the proliferation of mobile networks but also acknowledged it is difficult for him to get his staff to sell mobile. Tony Nethercutt, VP of Sales, AdMob offered a more balanced view, saying that it was in the hands of publishers whether inventory was sold on a CPM or CRC basis and what the price parameters were.
The threat from the mobile networks seemed a little overdone.
Most panelists and keynoters acknowledged that the mobile eco-system is emerging and converging. For years advertising agencies have been investing in and buying ad networks. Now the same is true of mobile ad networks. Moreover, the mobile networks themselves have been taking on a sub-agency role.
Elise Neel, VP, Marketing Solutions, comScore, indicated that the current phase of mobile was maturing with business now about equally divided among voice, SMS and mobile media (WAP). She added when 3G and 4G, smart phone and data plans come together, the business will really take off (Yes, Ms. Neel referred to the hockey stick). But even amidst such enthusiasm, the business is still searching for universal metrics. She acknowledged that comScore is working with five UK carriers (with third-party oversight) to better understand the habits of mobile users and how they compare with PC users (not as different as we might have thought). Ms. Neel said advertising agencies are frustrated with the lack of meaningful data and is looking for someone to mediate. These days there is a lot of talk of consortiums—here too.
She might be on to something. During the conference I heard a frequent lament about the proliferation of mobile research that wasn’t resonating at agencies.
Mobile gets very interesting when discussed within the retail context.
The retail panel didn’t stray very far from the purchase funnel.
Michael Foschetti, Managing Director, Mobisix, described mobile as a potentially bright spot for retailers who are interested in meeting consumers at the very tip of the purchase funnel. No other media has the potential to drive consumers there and measure the effect.
Alistair Goodman, CEO, 1020 Placecast, addressed mobile’s ability to build a “geo-fence” around a store and that becomes a trigger for promotions. Actually, a retailer can “geo-fence” anything including loyalty programs and CRM data. Allison Mooney, VP, Director of Trends and Insights, Omnicom/MobileBehavior, said her agency is very receptive to mobile engagement and encouraged attendees to take advantage of the social network currency.
Location-based-services are getting a lot of attention at retail. This panel reported that Lane Bryant has been very aggressive with SMS.
Ikea reports that 31% of its mobile coupons are redeemed. JC Penny is very advanced in reading scans off mobile phones. Eric Holmen, President, SmartReply, adding some perspective, noted that to get to scale retailers would need to convert to mobile customers about 25% of its database. All the available evidence suggests that these are high-loyalty customers who are engaged and take measurable action at the very tip of the purchase funnel. For marketers this might mean the difference between a $20 and a $1 CPM. The good news continues.
Location-based mobile marketing efforts push consumers through the purchase funnel more quickly.
VIDEO:
Moderator Steve Smith opened the session with some remarks about expectations for video. He encouraged attendees to look for changes in consumer habits rather than changes in technology, per se.
Ross Levinsohn, General Partner, Fuse Capital, underscored this point in his keynote by citing familiar statistics about YouTube and Hulu video streams. His point was not really about numbers; it was about video vs. online video. By 2014 there will be 400 million devices in the U.S.(smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks, e-readers, etc.) that will be able to stream video. The carriers, content producers, software services and device manufacturers will all have roles in driving video usage. Video is video.
Not so fast. The next panel featured media buyers in search of video ROI. Devora Rogers, Associate Director, Lab Operations, IPG Emerging Media Lab opened the discussion by saying that brands were not ready for video. The fact is that video scares the hell out of a lot of agencies and clients. The panelists agreed that Hulu represented a touchstone moment for video and offered a welcome safe harbor for advertisers.
The questions raised by this panel were predictable and necessary. How do we get mobile spending up? How do we get to scale? What is the viral life of video? How do we track through to the business driving mobile metric? And how do we make mobile more relevant? One of the panelists mentioned a mobile campaign during Fashion Week for American Express. The campaign generated 12 million unique users, but it didn’t get much attention from the client. The inference was that if video was a more mature media with metrics for success, the narrative might be different. Joseph Weaver, Group Director/Digital, Media Storm, LLC, said he measures every mobile campaign. Chris Paul, VP, Group Director, Media, Digitas, said video marketers should tell a story and not force engagement. He wants to know where video goes in that vast social universe and encouraged attendees to learn from Facebook and Twitter. Devora Rogers observed that when the purchase journey of the video consumer is clearer, traditional media will be less important.
One of the most interesting sessions during the two-day conference was the keynote by Laura Martin, Senior Analyst, Media Metrics, about the impact of Hulu in the video space. Since its inception Hulu has been described as a safe haven for video content producers and for advertisers. It’s also been called a stroke of genius on the part of Fox, Disney and NBC as they organized and monetized their video content for the web. They controlled the disruption process and have not deferred to Apple.
Ms. Martin acknowledged that Hulu has a lot going for it. The site is uncluttered, easy to use, differentiated, and has high-quality free content that is available on demand.
Still Ms. Martin admits to being perplexed and confused. Her estimated
2009 Hula P/L shows the company losing $33 million. She suggests that this accounting does not take in the full value of the investment content producers put in the original product. She also suggests that networks are losing brand value to Hulu. Moreover, Hulu’s business model could be a threat to the television eco-system. Allowing consumers to disaggregate content trains her to believe content should be free.
I must admit Hulu looked a little better after listening to a later panel that explored whether “video metrics can fall into focus?”
Tania Yuki, Director, Product Management, comScore, said online video needs context, benchmarks and some measure of duration. She wondered whether video could learn from television and use a Gross Ratings Point (GRP). Edwin Wong, Director of Advertising Sales Market Research, Yahoo!, remarked that video might use GRPs as a bridge.
Jeremy Lockhorn, Director of Emerging Media and Video Innovation, Razorfish, said the effort will take time and money. A common standard is needed and perhaps IAB or ARF could assist. Talia Skaletzky, Director/Online Video Practice, Initiative, expressed an interest in learning how video socially cascades as this could be the sweet spot. Ms. Skaletzky cautioned about using a simplistic reach and frequency metric as the potential for online video metrics is much richer than that. To that end comScore is developing a single source panel that will measure television, online, and mobile viewing. Panelists seem to agree with Mr.Wong that with video social space is an important variable that we have to consider.
While there was some evangelism at OMMA Mobile and Video, the sessions were rich in the business fundamentals associated with these emerging media. For those reasons the conference was well worth the price of admission.
Charles McCullaghSVP Member Services & Technology
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