Today I am providing a short video by Rory Sutherland given at the 2010 TED Conference. Rather than ramble on and repeat everything that Rory will say anyways, below I have opted for a short outline about the video. Enjoy. J Rory Sutherland is a personal favorite of mine in the advertising world.

Video Outline; notes.

1. Creation of a new job title: Chief Detail Officer-duties would be to worry about the intricate details that companies often forget, but provide a high user-ability interface.
2. Companies have become completely disconnected for what is important to consumers.
3. Potent change can be disproportional to the amount of money spent.
4. Make memorial quality changes rather than boosting about large expensive changes.
a. example: Hotel Elevator Music
5. Big important problems do not need to have big important/expensive solutions.

If you have some down time check out Rory Sutherland’s blog after you watch his speech below: http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/rory_sutherlands_blog/default.aspx

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo Da Vinci

What do all these numbers mean? Well it means that Skype has successfully tapped into the world’s calling needs; moving online media into the world of internet phone calls and upping the ante of outdated instant messaging. From Gen X to Y to even Boomers, Skype is quickly becoming a way of life by helping long distance friends and families (and even businesses) stay in touch without the added expense of a plane ticket.

Being just an intern, I travel when school allows and jobs demand. However, being a student in New York City often means coming home to a very long summer in Kentucky where my closest friends are a eons away in states such as Texas, California, and that far  away country called New England. We manage to stay connected somehow though through the use Skype (seeing how you can only go so far with texting and not all phones allow conference calls). Yes…every Thursday night my closest six friends and my myself meet in cyber space on a conference call and argue over the newest melodrama on our favorite TV show, The Real Housewives of NYC. (Team Jill!)

Should businesses learn how to use such online mediums to connect with consumers? Yes. Would we listen…most likely. The key advantage that businesses should focus on is what I, intern Kate, have dubbed as the four easy rules to follow for online media:

1. Keep it easy.

2. Keep it simple.

3. Do not ask us to commit (let us decide)

4. Keep it easy.

Until then; keep it classy.

and one more from Ryan just because…..

Mobile has also been a key tool in fundraising efforts because of its ease of use, pure and simple.  In times of crisis where swift action is necessary, people feel the immediacy and want to donate using the quickest method possible.  Mobile is unique because it only takes a few strokes of the keypad (or touch screen) to make a difference.  That, coupled with the fact that The Red Cross uses small donations of $10 or $20 as the default amount allows just about anybody to help, even if they can’t afford much.  Even the most user friendly websites can’t offer one step instant donation.

With The Red Cross collecting unprecedented amounts to aid the people of Haiti, I can’t help but feel a sense of justification for social and mobile media that should cause skeptics of its purpose and staying power to pause.  Many skeptics like to point out the destructive forces of social media while clinging desperately to the notion that they still have control over their brand, but for once I hope this proves as an example of the comradery and philanthropic spirit that social media can foster.

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Cheers to a Merry 2010!

Sharing is of great importance to email and social media marketers. Unfortunately, sharing doesn’t get the glamourous attention that it deserves. Sharing is no longer about just copy and pasting links. It is posting to Facebook, Forward to a Friend, ReTweeting, or Posting to Digg. Sharing is of great value to marketers.

Everyone shares.

But it is important to note that People only share what matters. Tim said, “69% of adults say that email is top for finding new content.” Also, “81% share to help someone that could benefit from the info.” How can we as marketers leverage this?

1. Know Your Audience
2. Make content worthy of sharing
3. Use the appropriate medium for them to share

Maybe most important quote from Tim Schigel was equating a value to what sharing traffic is worth. He acknowledged that sharing traffic is 2 to 5 times more valuable than those that come in from search links. And it does make sense, people are sharing content with those they know and trust so people are more likely to view the shared content as trustworthy and valuable.

One panelist noted that – “Sharing Knowledge is Power.” So true.

Update: Jay Baer’s Slides from this Panel Discussion

A new study by Engine Ready helps enlighten businesses that are contemplating that same question. Assuming that maximizing sales is their primary business objective, the results are rather intriguing.

The study concluded June 30 of this year and is based on traffic to 26 e-retail sites during a 12-month period. The study identified and used four primary traffic source categories:

1. Organic Results
2. Sponsored or Paid Results
3. Direct or Bookmarks
4. Other Referrer (possibly social media)

Some of the top findings from the Study:

• Visitors who arrive from Paid Search Ads are 50% more likely to purchase than those clicking on Organic Results.
• Conversion Rate was 2.03% for Paid Search versus 1.26% for Organic Search.
• Direct access produced the most visitors at 40% other referring sites and email were at 28% while paid search had 20% and organic search 12%.
• Paid Search visitors spent the most. Average order amount for a paid search visitor was $117.06 versus $109.27 for those coming from other sites, $106.64 per order on average from Organic visitors and $95.29 for direct visitors.

What can we take from this study? Paid Search performed well. Paid Search (SEM) ranking best for average order value and conversion rate is a big deal. Reasoning?  SEM’s strong call to action in the description section could play a factor. So could the ability to enhance and optimize individual ads for individual products. As we mentioned last week, it is important to optimize your meta descriptions for SEO and a strong call to action should be a part of that.

What’s your take on the study?

New York Times Take on the Study

Instead, an article caught the eye of Right Place Media today as we have started planning for many clients for 2010. The Ad Age article is about an interesting move by Southern Comfort to spend its entire media budget on digital advertising. What was the reasoning for the move?

SoCo cited that they could now advertise with TV shows online that they would not traditionally be able to do otherwise. (National TV networks still do not accept liquor advertising.) For instance, digital partnerships with NBC, CBS and FOX are part of the buy with show like NBC’s “The Office”, CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother”, and FOX’s “24″. Southern Comfort’s marketing director also cited their decision to target the youngest drinking market- 21 to 29- which was becoming harder to reach through Cable and TV.

Also, Southern Comfort worried about crowding the few high indexing cable shows each night with other numerous liquor advertisers. A move to digital would allow them to be the sole sponsor for many of their digital partnerships.

All of this added up to the decision to move to an all-digital media buy. One that seems somewhat groundbreaking, but does make lots of sense for a liquor advertiser. Building loyal relationships with those loyal to their laptop seems like a no-brainer for the brand. But an all-digital buy with no traditional integration to back it up?

Highlights from their $10 million dollar all-digital buy include partnerships with Hulu, Spin, Facebook, The Fader, Pitchfork, Thrillist, Break, Comedy Central, Playboy, NBC, NBC local, FOX, FX and CBS. SoCo plans to strengthen their presence in bars with the saved money as well.

Please place your thoughts on SoCo’s Digital only buy in the comments section.

Shows like NBC’s “Chuck” did not necessarily have great ratings, but online buzz and a Twitter campaign by fans of the show #savechuck gave the show new life. It persuaded NBC to give the show a partial 3rd season. The new TV Fandex plans to measure this type of online fan engagement.

The tool could be a useful tool for marketers and media buyers and planners when used as a complementary tool to traditional TV ratings. Wetpaint’s Fandex could help make planning decisions like whether or not an online pre-roll buy could be used in a campaign- seeing that most commonly online buzz mirrors with some online viewing.

Let’s rundown each match type to further illustrate the need for testing.

• Broad Match- ‘keyword’ – this is the default option. Broad match should be utilized with caution as many search engines have expanded their definition of broad match to other ‘related words’.

• Phrase Match- “keyword” – in this case the search query must contain the keywords in the order that they were searched. Could include other searches as long as the phrase is included.

• Exact Match – [keyword] most advanced matching option. Will only trigger ads when that exact keyword or phrase is entered in that order.

Using match types properly can optimize campaigns in order to reach campaign goals. Each type has it’s own advantages and disadvantages, and do not forget those vital negative keywords. Campaign goals will give direction as to which type should be used.

To learn more contact Right Place Media at info@rightplacemedia.com