Posts Tagged ‘web 2.0’

November 7th, 2007

Can Facebook take adrevenue from Google?

So Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg has declared that “The next 100 years start today, and it’s going to be different.” Well both points are certainly true when isolated from the immediate context of his comments. But are they true for the audiences he is specifically addressing?

By saying that the next 100 years start today, young Mr Z. must surely be waving a derogatory digit at Google. From Google’s perspective, the next 100 years began in autumn 1997 when Backrub was renamed and made available to Stanford students. Mr. Z. thinks he’s onto something bigger and better than Google. And maybe he is. But the reality is that nobody can say for sure. Why? Well that’s because Google’s adrevenue model is proven and Facebook’s is not.

To date, Google’s adrevenue has been generated from a direct response model; PPC effectively took us back to the old results-based payment per inquiry (PI) deals. Direct response advertisers like paying for sales results and not for simply being seen. These direct response advertisers like the way Google’s performance based model works for them so the money flows straight in. For Facebook to take a share of this direct response revenue, it must deliver results that are at least as good as those generated by Google.

But Facebook has an ace and this could be where the $15bn comes in. Because of the way it is used, and because of the type of people who use it, advertisers may see it as more than a purveyor of direct response sales performance. They may come to view it as a place to talk about brands in targeted ways to highly targeted groups of consumers. This means that it could be liberated from the rigid ROI metrics that rule direct response. And that in turn means that advertisers may be prepared to pay more per person reached on Facebook and and be more relaxed about how it delivers ROI. From a media owner perspective, that’s a good place to be when it comes to counting the ad revenue dollars. In other words, the next 100 years did begin in 1997 for direct response advertisers, but they may just be about to begin again for brand advertisers.

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August 30th, 2007

Branded Apps are the right way to exploit Web 2.0


Whilst messing around in Facebook, I noticed this “Show Friends Where You’ve Travelled” application from Tripadvisor. For those marketers who’re trying to make sense of Web 2.0 and figure out how it relates to their business, this is part of the answer. I also like the way it ties in with the “18,103,970 Travelers From 190 Countries Planned Trips Here This Week” count on their homepage. For what’s essentially an information service, it’s a smart way of telling current and prospective customers how good they are. Oh, and there’s data collection too. The only downside was it’s US only, and I’m sat here with (most) of my friends in the UK.

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August 8th, 2007

Why marketers can’t let Facebook jitters put them off Web 2.0 / Web 3.0

This week marketers have discovered that sites like Facebook etc cover the whole socio-political spectrum, not just the fun, funny and socially acceptable bits. Let’s hope this doesn’t divert attention away from the significant opportunities that genuine Web 2.0 / 3.0 applications can offer marketers.

Marketing in the 21st century will be about search and find, that is pull rather than push. It will be about solving personal needs with customised solutions i.e. one to one rather than mass marketing. This is why Google is worth $160bn; it has cornered the search/pull side of this equation. Success for many brands will be defined by their ability to be found by consumers. Using a standard ad to sales ratio of 1:10 Google’s annual revenue of $10bn could put the value of the sales resulting from these searches at $100bn.

Many Web 2.0 techniques will be at the core of this new ’search and find’ marketing philosophy. Blogs are an excellent way to align brands to important content and generate good search returns. Forums likewise offer marketers the opportunity to be found whilst buyers attempt to research, build and refine customised solutions to specific needs.

Web 3.0 will develop this theme further. Web 3.0 will be about applications which use the information to construct solutions to consumer problems. Here’s an example: Today you have to look through holiday sites to build your itinerary based on the information you find. Web 3.0 applications will tell you what your itinerary should be, on your PC or your mobile, in a few seconds. You’ll like it so much, you’ll pass it on to your friends. It will spread virally because the effectiveness of the applications will be so appealing.

Advertising on social networks is a Web 1.0 technique in a Web 2.0 world. What’s happening with sites like Facebook is a slip on the stepping stone between the two. It may be the case that running ads on these networks is not a sustainable route for all advertisers. But we must not lose sight of the opportunity before us. Whilst Web 2.0 is about being found, Web 3.0 will offer opportunities for marketers to customise information, product and service delivery in ways that have never been seen before.

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May 4th, 2007

MySpace Media Choice


Just been down to my local cash machine where two interesting things happened. Firstly I took out cash directly after (Dr, Sir) Jonathan Miller, neurologist, theatre and opera director, television presenter, humorist and sculptor (Wik.) and secondly, I had this beautifully succinct myspace ad. literally thrust under my nose as I started keying in my request for cash.

Clients often ask how they can use Web 2.0 sites like myspace and youtube etc. Strictly from an advertiser’s perspective I view these sites as an online version of a call centre fulfillment pack. The key point is that you have to be directed there as a route to finding out more information about a topic - just as Dan Bowskill has done. If you go to Dan’s space there’s real value; music for downloading, pics and information.

When considering these types of web 2.0 options, advertisers and their agencies have to ask themselves a Seth Godin style permission/value contract question: Will the prospects I’m directing there feel they’re getting a fair reward for taking the trouble to visit my site? Dan’s site is great “value”. To be meaningful to consumers, advertisers must to be in the same “value” game.

PS - Isn’t brilliant media planning just so simple?
PPS - I wonder what Jonathan Miller made of it?
PPPS - Is this “brand” or “response” advertising? Moreover, does that matter, at all?

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