Corporate Eye

...compare, compete, excel

Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Search Engine Brands Attract Unique Audiences

A study by WPP of 17,000 search engine users reveals quite a bit of information about search engine brand loyalists.  The complete report will be released later this month, and is certain to bring some interesting insight that could help advertisers connect with more targeted audiences.

search_engine_adoption_chart

For example, take a look at the chart above which shows that innovators and early adopters are most likely to use Bing as their preferred search engine.  Given that Bing is the newest search engine of the top three, this finding isn’t shocking.  However, the study also reveals that Bing users are more likely to shop at Walmart than any other search engine users while Google users shop at Target and Amazon.  Also, Yahoo! users choose AT&T and Sprint as their wireless providers more than other search engine users.  It’s these pieces of information that advertisers are likely to eat up!

Here are a few highlights that show how demographic and behavioral attributes vary online based on the search engine people choose:

Google

  • More likely to shop at Target and Amazon
  • More likely to book flights online at JetBlue.com
  • More likely to make travel reservations on HotWire
  • More likely to research the Lexus car brand
  • Tend to be the “average consumer”, conventional but open to trying new things, rule followers

Bing

  • More likely to shop at Walmart
  • More likely to research the Toyota car brand
  • Tend to be middle-aged, highly educated, tech-savvy

Yahoo!

  • More likely to choose AT&T or Sprint as wireless providers.
  • Tend to be 55-years of age or older, reserved, less independent, skeptical about future and about trying new things

AOL

  • Tend to be 55-years of age or older, less intellectual than peers, responsible spenders, use dial-up modems, pessimistic about future

But that’s not all!  The study will also reveal how people who prefer different search engines are more or less likely to actually make purchases on the Web sites they find.  That’s a connection many marketers may not have realized existed, and it can certainly help advertisers.

What do you think about these study results?

Source: AdAge.com

2010 – The Year of Brand Transparency, Honesty and Trust

brand_honestyEarlier this month, I wrote an article that was published on Entrepreneur.com where I listed 10 marketing trends for 2010.  The top trend on that list was transparency and trust (which includes honesty), and that trend should define 2010 for brand strategy.

The question is – will companies actually follow the trend like they should?  Some will, but unfortunately, more will probably not.

So why are transparency, honesty and trust so important for brands in 2010?

It’s simple.  Consumers aren’t naive anymore.  There was a time when consumers believed the marketing messages in ads.  There was also a time when many people believed in political propaganda, but thankfully, with advances in communications and technology, more people than ever can see through those skewed messages.  The same holds true with advertising claims.

Banks have collapsed, economies are faltering or failing, auto manufacturers took multi-billion dollar bailout packages, and many consumers have lost their last hopes that the pie-in-the-sky claims made in ads are even remotely true.

And that’s why transparency, honesty and trust are so important for brands in 2010.  Give people something to believe in.  Create expectations for your brand in consumers’ minds that they can believe and rely on.  Then, deliver on those expectations every time and in every customer interaction.

Make them believe in your brand through truth, not veiled propaganda.

Yes, I’m a copywriter and I’m saying this.  It might seem like a contradiction to say I’m a copywriter and promote a brand strategy of transparency, honesty and trust in 2010.  However, successful copywriters, brand managers, and marketers understand that the world has changed thanks to communications and technological advancements like Twitter, social networking, online video, and more.  Brands that stretch the truth are called out faster than ever and word of a brand’s dishonesty will spread faster and farther than you can imagine.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and you need to analyze your brand, audience, competition, and so on before you modify your own brand strategy for 2010.

In fact, that’s a great area for discussion here on the Corporate Eye blog.  What brands, industries, categories, etc. would fare better to avoid embracing the transparency, honesty and trust trend?  Can you think of any?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

Introducing the Online Behavioral Advertising Privacy Icon

behavioral_advertising_privacy_iconIn mid-2009, U.S. advertisers came together in an attempt to ward off threats by the Federal Trade Commission and consumer advocacy groups against online behavioral advertising targeting claiming the process was a violation of individuals’ rights to privacy.  A group of 12 companies that represent some of the biggest advertising spenders in the world, including Google, Microsoft, General Electric, and more, developed a document listing seven self-regulatory principles in an attempt to appease the opposition (you can view the 48-page PDF here).

Part of the plan those companies came up with was to create an icon that would be used in online ads that are served based on behavioral data to fully disclose to consumers why they were seeing these ads.  This month, the icon was unveiled and reported by The New York Times.  You can see the privacy “i” icon pictured above.

Individuals who see this icon in an online ad can click on it to learn more about the process used to serve it to them, including the use of behavioral data.

There are two sides to this story.  First, consumers have a right to dislike behavioral segmentation.  As a consumer, I can see how it can be construed as an invasion of privacy.  On the other hand, marketers and brand managers are likely to become more dependent on behavioral targeting once they see the boost in conversions it’s likely to deliver.

The simple truth is that demographic segmentation lost much of its allure years ago.  In fact, I wrote an article about that exact topic in November 2007 for branding and marketing expert Drew McLellan’s popular blog, Drew’s Marketing Minute.  The post was called “Is Demographic Segmentation Dead?” and discussed how demographic segmentation was already being usurped by behavioral segmentation.

In other words, the shift from demographic to behavioral targeting in online advertising is not new.  It’s been coming for years, and the question now becomes — will advertisers find themselves faced with regulations preventing them from doing the behavioral targeting they so desperately want to use or will self-regulation allow them to continue without interference from government regulation?  Only time will tell.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Are All Brands Global in the 21st Century?

globeAre all brands global?  That’s a question we could have answered easily a decade or two ago, but today, it’s not as simple.  With the growth of the social Web, tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and so on make the global conversation immediate.  Could it be argued that because of the power of the social Web in terms of spreading information wider and faster than ever, all brands are global by default simply because they have the potential to get in front of a global audience?

It’s an interesting concept to consider.  Brands that once had no intention of becoming global in the short term might find themselves on a global stage simply through a popular blog post or tweet.  And that means brand managers have a global image and messaging responsibility, whether they want one or not.

Even small business brands can become global brands thanks to the conversation and sharing of information that happens on the social Web, so it stands to reason that corporate-backed brands shouldn’t just wonder if the same could happen to them.  Instead, they should expect that it will happen to them and plan accordingly.  That means your brand strategies should be positioned to speak with a global audience now.  Consider how your brand promise, messages, and image will translate in front of a global audience now before you find yourself in an unfavorable position at the hands of a social Web conversation.

Many brand managers dream of the day that one of their messages goes viral and spreads around the world bringing more word-of-mouth marketing and online buzz than they could ever have hoped for.  But what if that word-of-mouth marketing and online buzz happens and you’re not ready for it?  What if your brand suddenly ends up in the spotlight of the global stage?  It could happen.  Are you ready?

Do your brand promise, image and message translate to a global audience?  It’s time to ensure that they do.

Image: Flickr

5 Tips for Branding Success

blocksBuilding a successful brand takes time.  There are no easy routes to success or shortcuts to save time.  You might get lucky and garner widespread awareness and attention for your brand, but successful brands depend on customer loyalty.  There are no shortcuts to developing relationships with consumers, creating expectations for your brand, and meeting those expectations through every customer touch point.

With that in mind, following are five factors that should always be on your mind when you’re building a brand.  They should permeate through all of your brand-building and marketing initiatives.

1. Be specific

Strong brands are focused brands.  Define your brand promise in specific terms so it stands out from the broad and vague promises of other brands.  Then make sure your brand lives up to those specific promises.

2. Be authoritative

Define your brand promise and shout it confidently to the world.  Make everyone else believe in your brand promise, too.

3. Be consistent

Define your brand promise and how you want to communicate that message to consumers (i.e., your brand message and brand image) and don’t waiver.  Conflicting messages confuse consumers causing them to turn away from your brand in search of one that makes them feel secure.  Consistency is vital to brand building success.

4. Be honest

Consumers are not naive, and they appreciate straightforward, transparent messaging.  Don’t promise the world and not live up to those promises.  Honesty trumps pie-in-the-sky claims any day of the week.

5. Be relentless

Persistence will be rewarded.  Get your brand messages out there and then get them out again and again.  Consumers see and hear a myriad of messages everyday, and it’s easy for yours to get lost in the clutter.  Don’t give up too soon.

Image: Stock.xchng