A new agency council for a new kind of shopper: introducing The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Guest post by Stephanie Redish Hofmann, Head of Agency IPG, Google
As festive shoppers deck the halls earlier each year, putting their bargain detective hats on in search of products that provide the best value for each dollar spent, marketers have had to change the way they think about reaching these savvy shoppers. Because while a shopper's first interaction with a product, the First Moment of Truth (FMOT), used to occur when that person saw a product on the store shelf for the first time, the advent of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) -- the online moment at which a person first develops an opinion about a brand, prior to encountering it in the physical world -- is changing the way marketers think about the digital path-to-purchase.
In turn, the Shopper Marketing Agencies (SMAs) that work closely with marketers to capture mind and market share during each holiday shopping season and beyond have been working hard -- using rich data and deep understanding and insights -- to help companies evolve their digital marketing strategies to 'win' this newly defined and important moment in time. They are a vital part of a vital marketing transformation, which has changed the game for modern marketers.
We've always valued our relationship with these SMAs -- but it occurred to us, as this uber-busy season approached, that it would benefit consumers, advertisers and SMAs alike to work even more closely together, delving deeply into understanding the ZMOT model as applied to shopper marketing and digital brand activation along the path to purchase.
To do this, we formed The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council. This group is comprised of leading SMAs, including Arc WW, DraftFCB, Integer, Mars, Momentum, RPM Connect, Saatchi & Saatchi X, Shopper Sciences, ShopWork, The Marketing Arm, Triad Media, TracyLocke, and Upshot -- and its goal is to advance understanding of how online and offline behavior drives purchase consideration and decision-making, and to overcome the challenges related to communicating this transformation.
We're looking for this group of marketing innovators to help guide the way Google engages and partners with SMAs and the industry in general, and are sure it will help us better support SMAs in search of the best way to help their clients' brands win the ZMOT. Stay tuned for news and updates!
ZMOT - Top 10 Book!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Congratulations to Jim Lecinski and the ZMOT book team for being honored as one of Ad Age's top 10 marketing books of 2011. You can read the full article here.The Tablet Generation
Friday, December 09, 2011
Just think about it...in just a few years these kids are going to be your consumers. If you don't have a tablet search and display strategy, you're not just missing today's shoppers, you're also missing tomorrow's.2011's Best CPG Marketing on YouTube
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
As we approach the end of the year, we've taken some time to reflect on all of the great brand marketing that we've been fortunate to be a part of in 2011. The video below highlights what we think are some of the best examples of CPG marketing done on YouTube this year. We'd love to hear your thoughts about your favorites.Happy viewing!
YouTube and TV Ads: Your Media Plan Needs Both
Monday, December 05, 2011
Pre-roll video ads are playing an increasingly important role in online media plans, and many advertisers wonder how these newer formats compare with traditional TV ads. YouTube partnered with Ipsos on a study across 2,400 people split into groups exposed to :15s & :30s video ads. We tested to see how these units compared and complemented each other and found:
· Among those exposed to the 15 second spot on both YouTube and TV combined, we found 2x better recall than TV alone, 1.5x better for those exposed to the 30 second spot
· 5 out of 6 advertisers saw ad recognition lift on the :15 spot for YouTube + TV over TV Alone, and 4 out of 6 advertisers saw lift on the :30 spot
· YouTube generally has the same impact on aided brand attribution as TV for both :15 and :30 ads
CPG Thought Leader Video Series Final Episode - Google's Kevin Kells
Sunday, December 04, 2011
The final episode of our CPG Thought Leader series features Kevin Kells, the Industry Director for the Home & Personal Care vertical at Google. Over the past 5 years he has helped hundreds of brands enhance their digital marketing plans. Kevin also has rich experience as a brand marketer at companies like Revlon, Unilever, and Diageo.In the video below, Kevin talks about the importance of making Google a part of brands' new product and campaign launch plans. He sees Google as a powerful marketing engine that can help drive rapid awareness and trial of new products. According to Kevin, brands can spark awareness through YouTube and Display advertising, capture intent through desktop and mobile search, and drive purchase through mobile ads and coupons. Don't hesitate to reach out to Kevin with questions or comments.
Consumers on tablet devices: having fun, shopping and engaging with ads
Thursday, December 01, 2011
(cross-posted on the Google Mobile Ads Blog)
Tablets are for fun, entertainment, relaxation, while laptops are for work
One of our studies, a diary study that had people record every occasion that they used their tablet over a two-week period, found that most consumers use their tablets for fun, entertainment and relaxation while they use their desktop computer or laptop for work. Tablet devices are personal - 91% of the time that people spend on their tablet devices is for personal rather than work related activities. When a consumer gets a tablet, we’ve found that they quickly migrate many of their entertainment activities from laptops and smartphones to this new device.
Tablet owners are building the device into their daily routine. Our research found that the most frequent tablet activities are checking email, playing games and social networking. We also found that people are doing more activities in shorter bursts on weekdays (e.g. social networking, email) while engaging in longer usage sessions on weekends (e.g. watching videos/TV/movies).
Tablets are multi-tasking devices with at least 42% of activities occurring while doing another task or engaging with another entertainment medium. Of all the activities that people do on tablets, checking email, playing games, social networking and searching are the ones most frequently done in front of the TV. Many consumers also used their tablets to check email while eating, and listen to music while cooking.
The activities shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.
Tablets primarily stay home, few travel
But unlike smartphones that go everywhere and laptops that travel between work and home, few consumers take their tablets with them when they leave the house. However, consumers do take their tablets on vacation or work trips where they use them as a laptop replacement and a small number take them on their commute. Interestingly, our recent research found that tablets are for the most part a one-person device, although there are consumers who share their tablet with other family or household members.
Tablets are, however, mobile within the home, with the highest usage taking place on the couch, from the bed and in the kitchen.
The activities and locations shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.
Consumers are shopping on tablets
Many consumers do a lot of window shopping on their tablet and our data shows that they are making more and more purchases on their tablet devices. Indeed, tablets figure to be a significant new way for people to be shopping this holiday season. While shopping they are engaging with familiar brands through social media sites, deals discounts, and navigating directly to trusted shopping sites.
We also found that people are using their tablets for activities that they are also doing in the real world, such as searching for something in their local area, shopping (browsing and purchasing), and managing finances.
For many people, websites and apps designed for smartphones just don’t cut it on tablets. Instead consumers are taking advantage of the bigger screen and prefer using fully featured apps and the full desktop sites on their tablet.
We found that some of those activities also extend to additional devices (e.g. smartphone, laptop, etc.). These activities included shopping (both browsing and purchasing), searching for information, managing finances, checking the calendar and checking email.
Consumers don’t view ads differently on tablets, but they do expect more interactivity
Consumers are engaging with useful, relevant and rich ads that take advantage of the touchscreen interface on tablets. Some consumers expect more interactivity from ads on tablets than they do from ads on their desktop computer.
We believe that tablet ownership will continue to rapidly grow in 2012 and that tablet usage may change over time, particularly as smaller devices come on the market. We plan on continuing to conduct research to understand consumers’ uses of their tablet devices and are excited to share these research insights with you.
Posted by: Jenny Gove and John Webb, User Experience Research, Mobile Ads
