If you’re one of those media-watchers and Google doyennes that can’t wait to see the next pronouncement out of Mountain View, then wait no further: http://tinyurl.com/dgccx8 .

This article from AdAge talks about an impending White Paper suggesting that Display Advertising can be as productive as Search Engine Marketing. Fancy that. It only took Google 10 years to figure-out this great truth that we wrote about, and documented, way back in 2005!

Not having seen the White Paper yet, I can only presume that their research and media sample included only Google Search and their Site Targeting product. If my supposition is correct, there are several critical areas Site Targeting lags behind the rest of the industry in as it relates to targeting features. But let’s wait and see what the Paper reveals before I get much deeper into the color commentary zone.

I suppose the good news here is that since Google has a much larger voice than little ‘ol Blue Ribbon Digital, that their latest pronouncement can only have a positive impact on Display as a much-maligned media channel.

We shall see…

One of the mind-boggling issues that affects the fast food industry (among other retail categories) is that the industry simply refuses to understand is that Web advertising, along with the smaller-pipe mobile and social media channels is perhaps the single-most important marketing channel ever invented.

You see, when I managed the Hardee’s Food Systems business way back in 92-94, we spent dozens of millions of dollars between broadcast and radio every quarter to reach consumers where we hoped they would see our message. They did. It worked.

But c’mon already. It’s 2009, and consumers spend 3X’s MORE time on the Web than radio, 12X’s more time on the Web vs. reading newspapers, and we have evidence that Mom’s have already made up their minds as to WHERE they’re going to eaton any given day, by going to the Web and snacking/researching their next dining experience.

That’s why when I read articles like this one in Brandweek http://tinyurl.com/cae9tb regarding an email that Chick-Fil-a will do soon, it makes me angry. We met with the brand team more than 1.5 years ago and we shared all sorts of factual information, along with estimates as to how much business we could drive to their stores via Web advertising (not just site visits per the article), and 1.5 years later, they’ve screwed-up enough marketing prowess to deliver…tah dah!…an email.

And Chick-fil-A is NOT ALONE. Mickey-D’s, BK, Arby’s you name it still commit a fraction of their marketing dollars to Web marketing, and that’s not only a shame, it’s what I characterize as marketing malfeasance.

We have solutions in-hand with our Click2MortarTM Media offering that is a proven store and franchisee traffic-driver. I challenge them all to test our solutions and let’s show CMOs and CEOs that the fast food industry is finally on the fast track to improved business results!

You don’t have to take my word for it. Internet Retailer cites Forrester data in their April 10 Newsletter that the Web is a retailers best friend.

“But perhaps even more important, Walker adds, is that retail e-commerce sites have become crucial to successful store retailing. Although direct online sales account for only 6% of total retail sales, 75% of consumers routinely research products on retail web sites before making offline purchases, and by 2013, 40% of total retail sales will be initiated on the web, Forrester predicts.” Entire article here: http://tinyurl.com/cdleub

I’m simply amazed that the retailers, fast food category, retail banks, grocery stores and manufacturers haven’t yet figured-out what I already know, namely, that when you reach your customers and best prospects on the Web, THEY WILL COME TO THE STORE!

If you’re a retailer or manufacturer scrambling to figure-out how you’re going to survive, maybe even prosper in ‘09, perhaps it’s time for you to consider a complete overhaul of how you market to consumers and especially, the media channels in which you choose to invest your precious advertising dollars.

My thesis is simple. Certain facts are irrefutable. And every marketer in every business category, from consumer packaged goods, to general and specialty retailing, to fast food and casual dining, to the automotive category is compelled to throw the long ball if your goal is to not only survive, but be a player competitively.

The Thesis: Take at least 30% of all your advertising dollars, both above the line branding budgets and below the line promotional dollars and reallocate these budgets to digital channels now: Search Engine Marketing; Display advertising and Click2Mortar™ (more on this later) are the vehicles that will help you right-track your businesses in this challenging environment.

Remember Obama & Company’s digital playbook. Things turned out well for them using digital messaging platforms. They will for you, too.

Our 3 Immutable Facts - and a Business Strategy

Fact #1: 89% of consumers go to the Web first to research a product, service or just plain gather info on a particular topic of interest. Let’s reflect on this for a moment. If you’re a marketer trying to generate awareness, position your brand, drive traffic to your site or retail stores and build your business - shouldn’t you be in front of this consumer at every opportune moment presenting your brand story when your best prospect is in-market and ready to hear from you?

Fact #2: For every $1 spent online by consumers, at least $6 are spent in-store, at a physical location. And, lest we all need to be reminded, 93% of ALL TRANSACTION AND SALES occur in a retail environment, as opposed to within an e-commerce environment. This is a fact that catches every senior-level person I speak with by surprise within the marketing departments of prospective clients, especially within the e-business groups.

Fact #3: 40% of all media consumption among U.S. Adults 18+ now occurs on the Web. Say what? Yes. That’s right…and 40% of media consumption occurs on TV. 13% on Radio. 3.5% respectively with Newspaper and Magazine consumption. That’s an astounding shift in consumer media consumption that needs to be noted and memorized by every marketer/CEO/CMO/CFO/Brand Manager that has straight line or dotted line responsibility for how ad dollars get allocated. Then after memorizing this fact…it’s time to re-cast, re-set and revise your marketing strategies if you mean to help your company prosper now and into the future.

Actionable Strategy = Cross Channel Marketing

We’ve taken the above Immutable Facts and developed a business solution which we have been using with our clients for several years now, which we’ve branded as Click2Mortar™ Media. Acknowledging the aforementioned 80%/93%/40% precepts – we have perfected a digital media-driven solution that allows our current (and prospective) advertising clients to reach their ‘best prospects’ on the Web via Search, Display and Social Media channels that accountably drives those prospects to a retail location, rather than an e-commerce site.

It works like this. During all of our Web ad campaigns, and on a post-analysis basis, we mine both the media datasets AND the transactional/sales data at our clients’ retail locations and measure the impact online advertising has had on retail sales volumes, store by store, market by market, state by state. While we call this Click2Mortar, some call it Cross Channel Marketing, others call it Closing the Last Mile or The Holy Grail. It’s a ridiculously logical and sound premise, I know, but you’d be shocked at how few marketers put this sound business planning model into their advertising and media models.

Like the rest of us at Oldtimers, Larry Joseloff, VP, Content at Shop.org, has had a front-row seat for the digi-revolution and has noticed a distinct (but still subtle) interest among Shop.org members to create cogent cross channel marketing strategies that leverage all advertising and sales channels. “Being at the NRF Annual event in New York this week was a very enlightening experience. It seems that in good times more traditional retailers were not as willing to embrace the Web and all it can do both as a direct sales channel and to drive store traffic. However, in a recession everyone is desperate for opportunities and growth and some retailers who have not embraced the web before are giving it a second and much closer look. Our executive director Scott Silverman wrote an interesting blog on investing in eCommerce during a recession - http://blog.shop.org/2009/01/13/investing-in-e-commerce-in-2009/ .”

So, our New Year’s Resolution for everyone involved in developing your company’s advertising plan is to hit the re-set button as fast as you can. Immediately re-allocate 30% of all available media dollars and deploy smart digital media campaigns. Make sure that you’re helping to accountably drive your best prospects to a retail location near them – where 93% of your transactions take place.

Posted with permission of the Oldtimers Foundation
http://www.internetoldtimersfoundation.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=57

New York, NY – Blue Ribbon Digital’s Click2Mortar™ Media platform, a leading innovator in the Cross Channel marketing space, today officially announced its membership in Shop.org and sponsorship of the much anticipated Strategy and Innovation Summit in Orlando, FL, February 2-4, 2009.

“Recognizing the extremely challenging retail environment, we know the time is now for retailers and manufacturers alike to really own the Cross Channel marketing opportunity.” said Matt Greene, President and CEO of Blue Ribbon Digital. “We have been innovating in the cross channel marketing space since 2004 by helping our clients pay particular attention to supporting their retail sales channels with accountable online advertising initiatives.” Blue Ribbon recently introduced its Click2Mortar Media platform which allows advertisers to reach, engage and motivate consumers in highly-targeted ways on the Web, with the measurable business outcome of delivering the online consumer to a retail experience.

Mr. Greene continues, “By becoming a member of Shop.org and sponsoring the Strategy and Innovation Summit, we hope to share with retailers and manufacturers alike the benefits of reaching their consumers online and driving them to a local retail store. After all, 93% of all transactions still occur within the physical four walls of a retail store – not at retailers’ e-Commerce sites.”

About Blue Ribbon Digital’s Click2Mortar Media solution (www.blueribbondigital.com) Based in New York City, Blue Ribbon Digital and its senior team members have been leaders in the interactive advertising industry since the mid-90’s. Its Founder, Matt Greene, was among the earliest advocates of ROI-based online advertising strategies and a leading proponent of Search Engine Marketing as a channel that helps deliver ROI. Working with dominant retailers and manufacturers, Blue Ribbon has measurably proven that online advertising, whether with Search Engine Marketing, Branding and Click2Mortar online media channels, measurably drives e-commerce and retail growth.

Online shopping is popular, yet online advertising appears to compel consumers to put down their laptops and visit their local stores.

A study of online advertisers by comScore Inc., an Internet information provider, found that in most cases online advertising actually drove more sales to the companies’ brick-and-mortar locations than to their Web sites.

Online advertising isn’t just for online retailers and national chain stores. Blue Ribbon Digital, an online advertising agency, believes with an estimated 200 million consumer searches for tire and automotive aftermarket products and services annually, tire dealerships of all sizes should take advantage of the power of the Internet to boost sales.

A 2006-07 Yahoo! Inc. and comScore study surmised consumers exposed to online advertising spent an average $6 on offline purchases for every $1 spent online.

The study examined the impact of search and display advertising on in-store sales for five major retail! ers and determined that consumers exposed to online advertising tend to research online before making a purchase. These so-called “pre-shoppers” spend an average of 41 percent more in-store than consumers not exposed to online advertising.

“Although recent research cites 89 percent of consumers shop for information about products online, less than 7 percent of retail sales actually take place online,” said Amy Vener, senior director of retail category at Yahoo!, in a press release.

“This means retailers have a prime opportunity to engage this audience of `pre-shoppers’ through online advertising to capture incremental sales in-store,” she added.

Local display and search advertising on the Internet is expected to increase at a 13-percent compound annual growth between 2007 and 2012, faster than online advertising as a whole, according to JupiterResearch L.L.C.

The increase will be amplified by an ongoing strategic push on the Int! ernet by newspapers and Yellow Pages publishers, as well as major sear ch engines, according to the research firm.

“Traditional media will continue to play an important role in the local market. But it’s essential for (retailers) to transition their customers to these new media before their competitors do,” said Barry Parr, media analyst for JupiterResearch, in a statement. “However, the ability to assemble large audiences in the local market will remain a principal advantage of traditional media.”

Consumers obtain most of their information online (39 percent) and from television (39 percent) vs. radio (13 percent), newspapers (5.5 percent) and magazines (2.7 percent), according to a JupiterResearch survey in 2006.

The sooner retailers understand this shift and change their marketing and advertising efforts to align their message with where the consumer has already migrated, the better their bottom lines will be, according to Matthew Greene, president and CEO of Blue Ribbon Digital.

By logging onto search eng! ines, Yellow Pages-type sites and comparison shopping sites, consumers “have already said they want to buy a product,” Mr. Greene said. These three channels “are the number one sales generators.”

“People who research online and buy offline, their motivation was not necessarily cost but convenience,” he said, noting many consumers don’t want to wait for a product to be delivered and would rather run to the local store and pick it up.

Discount Tire Co. has taken a leading role in Web-based marketing, according to Mr. Greene, whose agency helped develop the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based retail dealership’s Web advertising. He claimed Discount Tire’s Web advertising has “driven hundreds of thousands of transactions since 2002.”

Back in 2003 “our emphasis was to drive traffic to the Web site and cause people to pull out their credit cards and buy tires,” Mr. Greene said.

But then he said Discount Tire management! wanted to find ways to drive consumers from the Web site into its sto res. That prompted Blue Ribbon to pursue advertising on localized search engines to reach local markets. It trademarked the strategy as “Click2Mortar.”

He believes other tire retailers, from large chains to single-store operations, should also take advantage of the promotional opportunities on the Internet. Discount Tire is able to leverage sales at its 700 stores through online marketing. Its Web site not only offers online purchasing, but it also offers information for consumers researching tires and provides locations where they can buy tires conveniently, according to Mr. Greene.

“Consumers in the market to buy tires and wheels like to interact with online advertising—whether it’s to get rebates and coupons or in a research mode and looking for more information and a store location.”

The advantage of Internet advertising is that the advertiser can gauge the effectiveness of the ads—how many customers saw the ad and how much time they spen! t looking at the ad and/or Web site and how many made purchases.

“The Web can be sort of a level playing field between big and small retailers,” Mr. Greene said, noting that “the Web is the great democratizer” in that it costs just as much for a giant retail chain to advertise on a local search site as it does for a small local dealership.

“The Web is a change agent,” Mr. Greene advised dealers. “You owe it to your company to invest in the Web, promote your Web site and to be advertising on the Web as in other areas.”

Mr. Greene noted that listing prices in online advertising isn’t important, rather “the emphasis for mom-and-pop (dealerships) and those with 10 to 20 stores is familiarity with and in the marketplace.” He said dealerships should promote their longevity as well as advertise manufacturer sales.

While many tire dealerships have some sort of presence via Web sites on the Internet, they leave a lot ! to be desired, according to Mr. Greene. He noted that the top 40 large st tire dealerships have Web sites.

“The range and continuum of how they build their sites range from not horrible to really horrible,” he said.

Mr. Greene said DiscountTire.com and DiscountTireDirect.com draw about 1 million visits a month while “everyone else” on the list generates less than 100,000 hits monthly.

He said a common mistake companies’ senior management make is taking the approach of “how many widgets can we sell on the Web site vs. how to improve our Web presence, leverage the brand and give customers the information they want really fast.”

“Consumers use the Web to their advantage and become an informed consumer. They take action once they’re fully informed,” Mr. Greene said. “`Can we make money on the Web?’ is not the right question. (Rather,) `Am I giving the consumer the information they seek in a timely manner?’ If they’re informed, they are more likely to buy my retail brand.’&! #39;

He considers an effective Web site as one that provides ease of functionality and navigation.

“If I were a mom-and-pop store, I would look to the Discount Tire site and see what they do and to mimic the functionality of the site,” he advised.

Retailers should set up their Web sites as “pre-shopping destinations”—offering in-depth product information, consumer reviews, product comparison tools, online store inventories, and other interactive tools for consumers to learn about their brands and products, according to Yahoo!.

Mr. Greene’s advice to small dealerships is to get their Web sites in order and invest in the sites so they function well, provide local customer feedback because “testimonials go a long way” and provide information on local store events and sales.

Reprinted with permission from TireBusiness.com, a Crain Publication 2008.

“I don’t think those banner ads work…” is a common refrain from smarter-than-thou Brand Managers, that myself and colleagues in many agencies large & small have heard since 1996. And even though Banner ads have moved uptown, and are now called Display or Rich Media ads, this particularly uninformed opinion or belief-set still dogs our industry.

Late last month, a particulary informed reporter from Media Week posted an article entitled “Is the End Near for Display Ads? As ad budgets shrink, buyers and publishers face growing pressure to prove value of banners” and a link to the article:
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3ic19bb33a86fd66429b985553373d44b0

As you would imagine, the headline got my blood boiling and so Mike and I dialogued for a follow-up piece which appeared MON, Dec. 8th and that link quotes yours truly where I got to voice my opinion (and was heard!)

So the next time a client or prospect asks me “whether Banner ads really work”, I think I’ll just twitter these links.

New York, NY – Blue Ribbon Digital, a leading interactive advertising and marketing services firm, today officially announced its Click2Mortar™ Media services to large Retailers and Manufacturers at this weeks’ 2008 Leadership in Retail and Consumer Products Conference this week.

“We are pleased to be a Sponsor at the Retail Leadership Conference and to have this opportunity to speak with senior executives in diverse areas of Retailing” said Matt Greene, President and CEO of Blue Ribbon Digital. “We have been innovating the online advertising space since 2002 by helping our clients not only achieve dominance in their respective industries through fiercely productive e-commerce initiatives, but also, paying particular attention to supporting their retail sales channels with accountable online advertising initiatives”.Blue Ribbon’s Click2Mortar Media platform allows advertisers to reach, engage and motivate consumers in highly-targeted ways on the Web, with the measurable business outcome of delivering the online consumer to a retail experience.

Mr. Greene continues, “we realized back in 2003, that even with all the hoopla and noise generated by the growth of e-commerce, that 95% our clients’ revenues still occurred within their stores, or retail partner stores, and that we had to figure-out methods to bring the successful innovations taking place in the e-commerce space, to the retail space.”Robin Parkinson, who heads-up Marketing for Blue Ribbon says that “some call what Blue Ribbon does as cross channel marketing, while several of our clients call it online co-op marketing. But the reason we’ve really focused on Click2Mortar as a viable solution is based on the fact that consumers now spend as much time on the Web as they do watching television, and so marketers need to re-calibrate their advertising strategies to reach the online consumer”.

About Blue Ribbon Digital/Click2Mortar Media (www.blueribbondigital.com)Based in New York City, Blue Ribbon Digital and its senior team members have been leaders in the interactive advertising industry since the mid-90’s. Its Founder, Matt Greene, was among the earliest advocates of ROI-based online advertising strategies and a leading proponent of Search Engine Marketing as a channel that helps deliver ROI. Working with dominant retailers and manufacturers, Blue Ribbon has measurably proven that online advertising, whether with Search Engine Marketing, Branding and Click2Mortar online media channels, measurably drives e-commerce and retail growth.

I remember a time, in days of yore, when “online advertising” was a good catch-all for what we do.

Then things expanded, the browser/email client wasn’t the sole vehicle of “online”, and the industry shifted to “digital advertising”.

Today, the channels have both fractured and expanded, and the term no longer feels adequate. Case in point? Social media. I’ll let Ian Schafer tell you what he thinks:

Social Media is not search, nor is it direct response, nor is it ‘branding’ or ‘awareness’. This is a medium where most of, if not all content is created by the people that use it. It is involvement. Passion. Influence. Passive and active recommendations. Connectivity. Collaboration. [snip] Social media is dificult-to-control participatory media, which makes it an environment that makes advertisers uncomfortable.

We’ve been sort of quiet here on the BRD blog, contemplating the changing nature of what we do, what our clients do, and what consumers, customers and honest-to-goodness people do. But don’t let our relative silence fool you. We’re plenty of busy of on the work-front, but really need to make time to keep sharing our thoughts and opinions here. We’re on it!

It’s your classic David v. Goliath story, if you substitute “emerging media channels” for David, and one of the nations largest department stores, Target, with Goliath. Oh, and it’s not a sling either. It’s taking the time to respond to a genuine customer concern.

The New York Times has the full story. The gist: A target customer took issue with imagery in a recent ad campaign and sent an email looking for a response. Unfortunately, she also mentioned that she — like a growing number of people — maintains a blog that deals with influence of modern marketing on kids. To which Target promptly responded with the equivalent of, as the kids¹ say, “go pound sand”. Specifically the quote was reported to be:

Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets.

Whoops. Target suddenly found themselves fielding calls from traditional media outlets who picked up the story. Here’s the response Target’s spokesperson from Amy von Walter as printed in the Times article:

Target’s policy is to focus limited resources on the big media outlets, like television stations and newspapers, which reach large numbers of shoppers. With a small public relations team, she said “we want to make sure we are making an educated decision and we live up to any promises we make, in terms of service.”

So you’ll take the time to say “sorry, we won’t talk to you because you post your thoughts and ideas online”, but you won’t take the time to say “sorry you didn’t like the ad, but we don’t feel it’s as offensive as you do”. Companies are inundated with complaints from customers, many of which are unreasonable (not saying this was or was not), and they take the time to reply. So why not this time? I can’t believe that they would have expended any more energy here than they would have anyone else who complained. So why treat the new media differently than anyone else? Because they might [gasp] write an article in their blog? Good plan. Not.

Everyone else, take heed. No, no one expects your PR team to invite bloggers with 4,000 readers some months on your press junkets, though I’m betting that number rivals the actual readers or viewers of some of the traditional media outlets you do court. No, the warning comes from this. The old adage that one displeased customer tells 100 more might need to be updated. By an order of magnitude. Ignoring interested networks of motivated customers could prove rather detrimental to your reputation. Yeah, customers talk to each other. Are you facilitating those conversations, or trying to hinder them? The latter is doomed to fail. This djinn isn’t headed back to the bottle anytime soon.

^{1 - OK, it’s not the kids. It’s one of my favorite catch phrases. But I’m still a kid at heart!}