Recently, at ad:tech Singapore, where the audience numbers were up, and the vibe was buzzing, you got a real sense of the energy that is in this market, and the opportunities (by which I mean dollars) that are available to those who play wisely.

We know that the credit crunch / GFC created a stronger interest in businesses that did ‘more with less’ (the e-boom again, but this time substantiated). And there is a massive demand for mobile, agile, goods & services. And the consumer expectations on media are for ever more timely, relevant, accessible, and can I say free, ad-free, information.

From what I can see this has led to a focus on data, analysis and application; a renewed interest in e-commerce; exploring mobile opportunities with real commitment; and striving to achieve real brand centricity online. These are themes and topics that we’ll be looking at throughout the ad:tech Breakfast Briefings, the ad:tech 2011 program and the iMedia Brand Summit.

The financial services industry is known for testing new and innovative ideas and campaigns in the digital space. But what have they really achieved? Has there been long term effect, benefit, on the interactive media industry as a whole? And can they prove it??!

At ad:tech Harry and other marketing executives from financial services will be addressing just this and discussing more about the areas of risk, and how to manage them; and the areas of opportunity, and how to capitalise on them.

Read details of the panel discussion here. The other panellists with Harry are:

Michael Weeding, Head of Website & Online Acquisition, Citi
Monty Hamilton, Head of Online, UBank
Murray Howe, Executive Manager - Digital Marketing, Suncorp

There are a multitude of streaming ad formats around. It can be all too tempting to just throw your 30-sec TVC up into a banner and get double the reach for the same production cost, however I do question if this is the most beneficial approach for the brand. Forcing someone to watch your ad before they can see the content they really want is basically the same model as the commercial TV stations have been using for decades and while this model still has some strength from a publisher perspective, it does not really take into consideration the fact that most people who watch online video, are operating in a pull mentality, not push.

There are a lot of more innovative ways that companies can use video which seem to me to offer both more creative options and more opportunities for engagement. Long form video content has increased dramatically in recent years with Nielson estimating an increase of 129% last year alone. Some even predict that this will be the driving factor in the growth of digital video advertising over the next five years.

Online video is very close to the television experience and gives brands an opportunity to add real value to viewers. Whether it be through entertainment, ‘how to’ instructional information or experiential content that really gives a consumer a deeper sense of a brand, the really exciting thing about this is that you are no longer limited by the time frames that restricted commercial TV spots.
The challenge however, is cost. Quality video production can be expensive. How brands can justify the ROI comes down to how efficiently they can measure the quality of the interaction and the conversions that they receive.

There are a plethora of metrics that one can observe, but how many advertisers are approaching this medium in an analytical way? Where you embed your videos, how you channel consumers through a conversion path and how you monitor and optimise your content based on observed viewer behavior needs to become part and parcel of the equation.

I might not have all the answers here but the issues will be discussed in this panel discussion at ad:tech: Reviewing The Real Marketing And Advertising Opportunities That Video Presents
How do you commercialise video? (Tuesday 16th March, 4.05pm). The panellists are:
Kerry Field, Mindshare
Matt Hunt, RedLever
Karen Stocks, YouTube Australia & New Zealand
Ian Gardiner, Viocorp

And they’ll be talking specifically about:
What formats of video are most beneficial for your brand
Where can you not live without video?
How can video help merge the on and off line brand experience?
What is the publishers’ vision for video?

The launch of iPhone 3G in 2008 heralded a revolution in the world of smart phones. One of its most attractive features is the App Store that gives developers and corporations a unique way to interact with iPhone users. The gold rush of Applications (Apps) has transcended platforms such as Android, Nokia, Blackberry, Amazon Kindle and has mushroomed into an industry of its own.

With over 75,000 Apps available for the iPhone, the medium seems to be crowded. However, there is still immense opportunity for the right App to stand out from the crowd. The session I’m presenting at ad:tech will bring to life key drivers & barriers for marketing on the iPhone using a real-life case from Johnson & Johnson.

The challenge, however is the integration of the user experience across all of these channels. Given the ability to interact and the user expectations of functionality and value, it is far more important than ever before to target the message and the experience for the medium. I mentioned in my recent post the need to consider the technology on which the message is delivered and indeed, the platform often influences the message.

It is no longer sufficient to resize your print ads to an animated 728 by 90 gif and stick it on the website of choice. For example, the tone and purpose of, a Facebook implementation is completely different to what you might stick on ninemsn. One is more informal, two way and fun while the banner campaign needs to catch people’s attention. What you deliver in a mobile environment needs to be relevant to people when they are out and about. The extent to which you differentiate between your customers and your targets on each platform may also vary. So the message needs to fit the environment in which it is delivered and the nuances of the audience.

But while the message and the intent may vary across platforms, how you weave the advertising message together across these platforms is also important. Not everyone will see your message in every channel however, if they do, it needs to reinforce the message by building on it rather than just representing the same idea over and over in different formats. Channel planning needs to consider how we can integrate the experience and in an ideal world, inspire prospects to seek out further experiences with a brand in alternate channels. This goes far beyond putting the URL in the last frame of the TVC.

With the diversity of channels the challenge many marketers face. As technology evolves and emerges, it is hard to find one supplier who really understands them all. Many clients have moved away from the “full service agency” idea and set up contracts with multiple suppliers and agencies to service their different needs but while this means you have experts in their field, it also means that you need a bigger board room table and the process of co-ordination becomes far more complex.
But whose role is it to manage the integration of the message across platforms that are being managed by multiple suppliers? Should this be the marketer, the media agency or the strategist? My guess is that this will vary from case to case and individual to individual however, if you don’t really understand a platform, you can’t leverage its full potential, nor can you appropriately consider its role in the communications mix. The amount of time people need to spend educating themself on the new technology in marketing has increased tenfold in the last 5 years will only continue to expand.

We’ll be hearing more about this at ad:tech on the session Channel Planning: How To Weave The Advertising Message Through Different Platforms (Monday 16th March, 11am). We’ve got a great panel of digital marketers who will be discussing this in depth and sharing their opinions:
Aisha Hillary, Senior Marketing and New Media Specialist, SBS - Special Broadcasting Service
Ruby Grennan, Marketing Manager, triple j
Dirk Freytag, CEO, ADTECH
Wolfgang Jaegel, Founder & Regional Managing Director, Syndacast