A one-minute video is a recommended start, and you might find yourself liking that length, viewers do. You’ve got to keep things simple being careful not to over saturate the viewer with too much content. To retain what they are watching, people need “nuggets” if information so they can consume and think about it.

Structure the Video

The structure of your video is like a program at a play with a beginning, middle and an end. If you ramble on and leave people hanging, you’re better off not doing a video. It might make you look bad. Hire a professional copywriter that knows video. It’s worth the effort.

Develop Your Story

With every presentation, try to make it into a story. Give your information purpose for even being put into a video. People follow stories, they like to hear the conclusion, and they like to know you have things well thought out too. Stories that are communicated well can influence others. Use emotion to help stamp the video into the viewers’ mind.

Use Plain Terminology

You may be talking to people that know your industry, but some won’t or may not know what you know. Be inclusive and if you need to use an “industry term,” briefly explain it so you don’t lose anybody. Using BIG words is a great way to get people to NOT watch anymore of your video.

Make Your Video Likable

The human mind likes laughter. Things are remembered more when you are “stirred” in this way. I’m no scientist, but the brain reacts well to humor. But, BE SURE it’s funny. Bad jokes can make you look dumb and drive people away. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Have A Clear Call-To-Action

When you get to the end of your video, you have a unique opportunity. You get to instruct the viewer where they should go next or what they should do next. Flat out tell them what to do. They can:

Go to your site, if they are not already there

Share your video with others

Sign Up for More Informative Videos or a Newsletter

Download an App

Click a Link

Prank call your mother-in-law (just kidding)

Tell your viewer what you want them to do. Make it clear so they are likely to do what you ask of them.
Those are some thoughts in making a great video. But keep in mind there are always variables. That is why a professional copywriter might be needed. He/She can help you mold the “story” to include your variable and it can have a great position within your video.

By Dan Nuckolls
Creative Director at Nuxx Media
www.NuxxMedia.com

1.  Logo – (Noun) “A symbol adopted by an organization to identify its products or services” We all know it’s never about what you have, it’s about how you use it that makes the difference! Since you've spent the time and/or money on this masterpiece called your "logo," make sure it shows up everywhere including business cards, social media sites, and any other promotional materials. Your logo is your company's identity in a picture and the more you show it off, the quicker your brand recognition will grow.

Does this really matter, you ask? Consider this… how likely are you to remember a random fast-food restaurant you visited when they use generic bags and soda cups versus the restaurant that brands every cup and bag with their logo? That garbage in your car becomes advertising and will make an impression every time you see it.

2. Interact – Who knew this was a part of branding? Speak directly with your target and, even more importantly, with your clients. Share and respond to social media comments, answer your phone using your company name and/or slogan, and use interactive communication tools such as surveys and email marketing. Remember, everything you send and share should always include your logo and slogan.

3. Solve – Your mission should be simple. Every business offers a product or service that offers results and/or a solution; and just because you know that, it does not mean your target market does. Leverage your interactive tools to share a clear, concise, and consistent solution that is unique to your brand identity. Remember, the process you use to help your clients may be complicated but your message should be simple enough to earn the trust and comfort of your clients.

Branding is more of an art than a science; it takes creativity, time, patience, and just like a painting, it will even go through an ugly stage. An initial brand launch should focus on creating awareness for your unique product or services. Luckily you have a friend in the industry- whether your current brand is sour or your business is brand new, HMG can help you too!

91% of B2B companies are diving into content marketing according to eMarketer. It seems that the fat part of the curve is upon us as the corporate world realizes that savvy consumers of all stripes just don’t buy the old advertising game. The new bargain is, if you give me valuable content of some sort, I’ll maybe think better of your company. Seems a bit tenuous, but I’ll vouch that it works, or used to.

We (IQ) started our first thought-leadership led strategy with IBM back in 2002. We didn’t call it content marketing back then, but IBM had realized that they were not in the blue box business anymore, they were instead in the business consulting business; that’s why they sold their PC operation to the Chinese and bought PwC Consulting.

The problem is that with everyone and their brother buying into marketing automation systems, which need to be fed with content, I’m afraid the marketplace is rapidly going into content overload mode. Enterprise marketers cite producing engaging content as their number one challenge, according to the Content Marketing Institute. That’s code for: “Whoops! We’re making content, but nobody’s looking at it”.

So what’s a marketer to do? Advertising doesn’t work like it used to and the hoi polloi are ruining content marketing for the good guys (that’s us!).

Table stakes today are having a constant flow of content designed to appeal to each of your key personas at every step in the Consumer Decision Journey. This requires doing serious work mapping your consumer’s path to purchase, discovering their key touch points and understanding their psychology at every step. It sounds complex and it is. But if you don’t do this foundational work, you will not have the right content in front of the right consumer at the right time. That, however, just gets you in the game.

The challenge then is to create content that is sufficiently valuable and distinctive that your prospect not only engages with it, but also shares it, and most importantly is intrigued by the company that has produced it. This is a very high bar and not for the weak of spirit.

Unfortunately, in content marketing today there is no substitute for a living content strategy effort informed by data and analytics and activated by best-in-class content created around valuable consumer insights. Makes you pine for the days of a clever print ad and a scotch and soda.

In the pre-digital days there really wasn’t a need for brands to produce more than the ads that went on traditional media. Now they need to produce an almost constant stream of fresh content to keep up with digital channels and social media. For most companies it’s a pretty tall order because making content is a completely different business from what they know. And it gets even harder when so much of the content that they now need is video.

Since cheap bandwidth has made high-quality video so easy to get, people want more and more of it. Projections have video representing over 85% of all Internet traffic in a couple of years. So brands need to make lots of videos. The problem, of course, is not just the quantity, but how does a brand make videos that are good enough to stand out? While cameras and equipment are cheap and easy to get, creativity and know-how are still in short supply. Of course, what makes a video good is in the eye of the beholder, but most of us know bad video when we see it, and the last thing any brand needs is to be spreading bad videos.

So the challenge is for companies to put in place the capability to produce lots of “good” videos, consistently over time. The problem is that because the budgets are much smaller, it’s not like producing TV commercials, which brands have a lot of experience with. According to the 4A’s, the average cost to make a TV spot is over $300,000 -- but for video content, that may be your entire budget for the year.

The big question is -- do you try and do it in-house or hire pros? While you may need a lot of videos, you may not need enough to justify the large expense of hiring a full-time team. So another approach is to hire an in-house video producer whose job it is to put together freelance teams for each production. This is not a creative person, but a video project manager, and you still need to be doing enough work to justify a full-time person.

For most brands the answer is to hire pros. The advantage, of course, is the wide range of talent and capabilities you can access. The problem is how to keep the costs down. Most agencies focus on developing the creative, and then hire a production company for the execution. As a result, the costs mount quickly. Some TV production companies do creative, but their focus is really on the production and they are rarely able to develop the creative or the strategy for the video, which is critical. So that leaves companies and agencies that specialize in video content for digital channels.

The ideal is to have digital content strategy, plus creative, plus production under one roof. A company that can do all of that -- and that is set up to produce a lot of video content over time, cost-effectively -- has found the perfect solution. Of course, the videos still have to be good in the eye of the beholder, which to start with would be you.

Click to view on SlideShare

Follow IQ on Twitter: @IQ_Agency

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, we've reached a point now where brands should no longer view social media as a cool new way to connect with consumers.

We must now view social media as a means by which we as brands can enable consumers not just to connect with us, but to each other. And not just in some virtual space, but in the physical world as well.

This initiative can help break the ice in a social setting - as well as continue the conversation (and/or flirtation) after that beer (or the many, many beers, as the case may be) is gone.

Cheers to Bud for the bold idea.

Read all about it, here.

Call it 3D projection writ small. Very, very small.

In January, I posted about an initiative we spearheaded to super-size a client's core message on a 12-story building through the power and magic of 3D projection mapping.

In celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ropongi Hills - a renowned Tokyo landmark, decided to use the technology in reverse - with a remarkable digital campaign called "Tokyo City Symphony," an interactive website where you can experience playing with 3D projection mapping on a 1:1000 miniature model of Tokyo.

According to the Mori Building Company, the handcrafted model is an exact replica of the cityscape of Tokyo in every detail. Three visual motifs are projected onto the city in sync with music: "Future City," conjuring futuristic images, "Rock City" that playfully transforms Roppongi Hills into colorful musical instruments and monsters, and "Edo City," or "Traditional Tokyo," that portrays beautiful Japanese images.

One very big small idea.

Check it all out yourself, here.

Twitter’s new capability is a well needed platform move and is similar to Google’s ability to target in “real-time” whoever searches for “buy shoes.” One could argue that searches have clearly better intent than tweets. For example, “Justin Bieber’s new song is awesome!” (and getting served an ad for his album). Keyword targeting doesn’t provide any timing advantage on any other platform, without understanding the sentiment and context of the entire tweet.

Twitter is right, timing means nothing if you are unable to react to things that happen right now. The big opportunity for advertisers is how to engage users in moments that matter to them. Advertising is about being in the right place and in the right time, yet finding the right users who have explicitly expressed interest isn’t scalable, it requires an intelligent approach to finding new users who also may be interested but haven’t expressed it via tweets. Exactly like Google search advertising or of Facebook interest targeting.

For example, an airline wants to sell tickets for a flight to London, they already know that they should buy “Flights to London” on Google search and now you can also buy the same term on Twitter. But the real challenge is how to find even more people who care about London. But, let’s just say, that all of a sudden there is news regarding Princess Kate’s pregnancy, people who talk about that might have great affinity to England and might be interested in a ticket to London in the future. Advertising to them is a key benefit. However, the news may be in the headlines for a few hours only. Timing is about being agile enough to monetize this moment, making sure you are buying the keywords around Princess Kate, and no one said they are even talking about London.

My previous example is simple if you’re in the performance space, and have specific goods to sell. The challenge is even greater if you’re a packaged goods company or running a branding campaign. What would Coca Cola buy on Google search or Twitter’s keywords? “Coke”? How is this beneficial to them? What would GE, Unilever, P&G will buy? They are all about being there for their audience in the right place and in the right time to create a connection between the brand and what their audience cares for.

Twitter’s keywords targeting is a great feature on Twitter’s platform, but it doesn’t solve the big problem of making your timing works.

But a browser company that owns 30 percent of the browser market has a greater responsibility to the industry they operate in than to just the user. Mozilla is ignoring a huge portion of these parties. I really believe that the company feels that they are working on behalf of their users, but I also don’t think Mozilla realizes all of the touch points that they are operating within. The user is the main party they interface with, but the Firefox browser interfaces with the web, and there are a number of parties involved beyond just the User. Let’s take a look at those parties.

Meet the surfer: The surfer, or “the user,” as many like to call this constituent, is the innocent person who traverses the web, day in and day out, reading this and purchasing that, watching that video and looking at this friend’s latest pictures or update. The surfer is the consumer of content and experiences offered by the internet, and the best part is that the majority of content online is free. Sure, there are some pieces so good that they’re worth paying for, but the majority of online content and activity is free of charge.

Meet the publisher: The publisher produces content and information for surfers and users to consume. In some cases they do this for free, or what would appear to be free, and in other cases there may be a payment collected in the form of a subscription. In all cases, there is value created by those who publish, produce, and distribute content online.

Meet the advertiser: Thank goodness for the advertisers, for without them, there would be no one to pay for all this great stuff online. Advertisers are typically companies that are looking to connect surfers with their brands, inspire them to buy their products or services, or consume their information.  Many advertisers also produce sites or catalogs of all sorts of things that surfers want. Think of Amazon or J. Crew, where a surfer can browse thousands of items and see what others have bought or looked at.

All three of these parties enable the online experience to develop, mature, grow, and produce wonderful experiences.  You cannot remove one of them and continue to grow and evolve in the same way. It’s just not possible.

Hurting Multiple Parties to “Protect” One
Unfortunately, that’s what Mozilla is attempting. By blocking third party cookies in the Firefox browser, the company is essentially eliminating the appeal of online advertising. Without cookies, it’s impossible to track ad placements and measure the reach of ads to a relevant audience – advertisers would be better off investing in print or direct mail, as those channels would offer better audience control. If the advertiser goes away, this strips a publisher of the ability to make money and recover costs of maintaining its site, thereby affecting the publisher’s ability to deliver free content.
The damage to two parties is supposedly all in the name of protecting the surfer, but the situation is comparable to a three-legged stool were two legs are being removed. In the larger context of how the internet operates, it just doesn’t make sense.

Mozilla recently published a post where an executive evaluated his daily ritual of surfing, both with the blocking and without. Of course, this demonstrated a drastic reduction in the number of cookies from third parties that were set on his computer. In the eyes of the surfer, this may seem preferable, as no company can track their movement online[A1] .

But this point is made without proper context, ignoring the fact that surfers rely on cookies to maintain their internet experience. A surfer visits his favorite publisher – maybe themorningnews.com -- to check out the day’s weather and what is happening locally. Without cookies, the surfer sees the same ad with every impression, on every page, in every size possible. Unfortunately for that surfer, it’s an annoying, irrelevant ad. And they see it over and over, all day, on their favorite site. Why? Because this publisher is not big enough to maintain an in-house sales force, and relies on third parties to generate ad revenue. Mozilla has removed this publisher’s ability to use these third parties to maximize revenue.

The Affects on advertising
Let’s turn back to the advertiser for a minute. Frequency capping is a mechanism that ensures users aren’t bombarded with the same ad on every page. High-frequency ads annoy users, and advertisers don’t like sending repeat ads either, as it’s a waste of impressions. Killing frequency capping makes an advertiser’s buys less effective (or, even more concerning, annoying to their customers), which makes them angry, and that ineffectiveness (and anger) eliminates the publisher’s means of monetizing content. Content which, keep in mind, is free to the surfer because advertisers pay for it.

Blocking third party cookies not only eliminates the ability to buy reach or frequency, but it kills attribution for conversions or sales as well, making it impossible for advertisers to measure whether or not ads are effective and how much they should pay the publishers and partners who drove the sales.

Advertisers have invested in services and technology to buy measurable, efficient and effective advertising. These strategies are not limited to targeting users based on behaviors or preferences, but also include the simple act of putting an ad in front of a user at the right time, or in the right context. If publishers can’t help, and technology has no real use, then advertisers have no incentive to buy online media.

This change will effect large publishers very little, as they will maintain their understanding of their visitors and remain in a good position to target that base. Small and medium sized publishers that rely heavily on third parties will not fare so well, and neither will their partners. Networks, exchanges, and other technology companies that provide value to the publisher will be most affected at first, but the effects will ripple throughout the internet economy. Advertisers will soon lose efficiency with their advertising, publishers will lose significant revenue, and surfers will be left with the bill at the end of the evening.

Considering that chain of events, it’s difficult to understand how Mozilla feels this decision even helps the user. Industry self-regulation efforts has made it easy for consumers to educate themselves on how their data is used and opt out of first- or third-party cookies. Mozilla was formerly in favor of this self-regulation effort, but now seems to have reversed its stance. Rather than empower users to make their own decisions around cookies, Mozilla is saying that browsers should dictate cookie policy on users’ behalf.

Cookies and third parties are not the enemy. They are not something to be scared of and block. Companies have made tremendous progress in using them more responsibly, and they are vital to the continued expansion and prosperity of the internet. Cookies are the current standard distinguishing one user from another, for everything from website personalization to making sure that advertising is more effective for all parties. Including the user. The user is important, and we should ensure they are educated and can easily make choices on this topic, but by no means are they the only player in this game. Without publishers and advertisers, there would be no online environment for the surfer to consume.

Just for grins, I decided to see who else was enamored enough with this concept to say something in the vlogosphere. It doesn’t take long to see that the Taco Bell corporation has its own video channel on YouTube, which is garnering more than 11 million total views, much of it devoted to the trending taco product. However, I started wondering to what extent that represents real mind-share for the brand, Taco Bell, among potential consumers versus the plethora of other video apps or platforms out there. For example, Twitter’s Vine is the number one video app download (number two overall Free), and according to Apple’s app shop, that’s close to 25 million users.

The other problem I noticed about Taco Bell’s YouTube-centric video strategy is that the icon link off the main digital brand property, www.tacobell.com, takes the visitor out of its controlled brand experience and back to the Taco Bell channel that is a subdomain to www.youtube.com. Also, if you search Google for “Taco Bell video” with the Video search button, the first page of returns is almost all postings to YouTube or third party media sites like ABC or CBS, nothing owned by the main TB corporate domain.

So, you’re the digital media guru for Taco Bell, you’re driving cross-synergies between your fast food retail store and your snack food brands, and you have at least 11 million consumers loyal enough to check out your video content on YouTube. What, then, should your video strategy be? Vine is a video-based social network designed to drive more traffic for Twitter. YouTube is a broadcasting platform designed to aggregate eyeballs for Google’s ad-server business model. What should be Taco Bell’s objective with video content? Help Google and Twitter make more money? Entertain? Merely maintain a presence in the Twitterverse? How about treating its customers as a media audience?

What that means is creating a branded video interface that is multi-screen capable (web, smartphone, tablet, TV, telepresence) which not only aggregates video content that can be repurposed, i.e., TV commercials, but also takes a concerted approach to producing compelling, original content that’s integrated with the customer experience. For example, if I’m a loyal viewer of TacoBell.tv, a branded media player that lives within the main corporate domain, www.tacobell, why can’t that content follow me all the way through my customer experience?

Why not equip Taco Bell retail stores with an iPad at every table, so that I can log into my video profile, which has the last 5 orders I made so it’s easy for me to reorder, or a full customizable item-by-item order-entry menu with original video content from the chefs who cooked up the recipe, along with other user reviews, adjacent to those menu orders? Once the order is taken, the interface would allow me to immediately upload a video comment that could either be for the benefit of internal Taco Bell customer advocacy, or if appropriate, posted to the Live User Comment channel on TacoBell.tv. Here’s an even crazier idea: how about a Secret Menu channel of celebrity favorites (ode to In/Out).

Another version of TacoBell.tv would be available as a smartphone app.  My TacoBell profile, using GPS and sensor-presence techniques, knows the exact store I’m entering, the last 5 meals I ordered, and can authenticate my profile, complete with my favorite video content, to the iPad embedded in the table I choose for dining.  I can also in real time open a Google hangout session with my cousin in Florida to see if he shares my same tastes in Taco Bell food and video content!  While you’re at it, why not reward me with a video coupon for a free desert or combo meal on my next visit?  Also, I probably wouldn’t mind if TacoBell.tv asked my permission to opt-in to other video offers personalized to my consumer persona. (The current TB app in the Apple app store gets only a two and one-half star rating, so it could benefit from a few more bells and whistles.)

Short message:  powerful consumer brands like Taco Bell must start thinking and acting like media companies – controlling their own brand experience with entertaining, pervasive video content and a compelling user experience across any consumption format or platform – and by so doing, converting their physical assets, like capital-intensive brick-and-mortar storefronts, into working digital capital!

What separates great brands and marketing from good, or even bad ones can be boiled down to this one thought I first heard at sxsw 2011:

Make The Customer The Hero

Seems obvious today, right? Look at our most disruptive brands today and you'll see it as a common theme. From Apple to Coke to Facebook and Instagram. It's more than Millennial cultural attribute, although they demand it more vocally than other consumer segments. What I see across the board is that products that position themselves as tools to make their customers more heroic in the eyes of their peers, wins.

This may be a result of the social media era, as it's more important than ever that people have content to represent their small triumphs to friends and family. Brands, more and more, are valued by how their content works effectively as social currency. But it could also be that in these economic times, what makes global corporations unique or special is what we as individuals can do with it.

This is a marked difference from almost all effective brand building and communications of the past, and especially during the heyday of the Mad Men era, when a brand established value not from being the tool that makes the customer the hero, but the hero that potential customers aspire to be like.

Take a look through the Advertising Age Favorite Ads of the 60's and you'll see barely any people at all. Most ads focus on the product alone, what it would be like to live the life that uses that product, or the Fear / Uncertainty / Doubt strategy of what could go wrong if you don't get the telephone extension in your kitchen. Look around today and you'll see these sparingly in use -- mostly for older audiences.

Today's successful brands focus on what the audience wants to do, and how the brand can help them to achieve that hero moment.

What do you think? Leave a comment below or continue the conversation on Twitter @mleis...

1 year? 6 months? 3 months?  How low can you go?

Join us as a top HR Director, Recruiter, VP of Sales and Agency Group Director debate just how short a job stint can be before it affects your career in Digital Media.

The Dos and Don’ts of Entertaining

Take a walk on the wild side with some of the best-known sales professionals on the digital party circuit as they give their “rules of the game.” Sellers of both sexes give their tried and true mantras for thriving and surviving during a long night out entertaining. Do flirt, don’t sleep; Do sip, don’t gulp; talk shop only if “shop” means late night karaoke. This panel could get crazy! We certainly hope so...

Entitlement is a God Given Right!

Sure to be an eye-opening conversation with four Millennials in their first job out of school.  See what a day in the life of the industry’s future is like first-hand as they navigate lunch and learns, pivot tables, CPMs and beer pong.  Is life like a Girls episode?  We will see.

Crowd-sourcing the Next Company.ly

Ever wonder where the witty and uniquely spelled digital company names come from?  So do we! In a Digital Media Conference first we’re going to use the crowd to come up with a name for a new Social Analytics / Entertainment company being started by three ex-Googlers and Facebookers. Bring your puns and feel free to use the following ideas to prime the pump:  Uber-likes -- “Order more likes than your competition.” SoVidMo (MoVidSo?) – “What’s next in Social Mobile Video.”

Buzzword Bingo

Shhhhhh – Keep this one to yourself as we get three of the industry’s biggest gadflies to pontificate on “What’s Next for Digital Media” while everyone in attendance gets a bingo card with the buzzwords du jour, unbeknownst to the panelists. The first person who gets “BINGO” will win an iPhone 6 (preordered, of course). Transparency? Big Data? Ninja? Freemium?  Bring it.

Of course these are a little over the top, but every good satire starts with a kernel of truth (or something to that effect).  If this does nothing but get a programming director to drop something a little out of the ordinary into their next conference then it’s a win in my book.

The kindergartners began building immediately. They adjusted what failed and capitalized on what worked. Working iteratively, their innovative results were a success because they spent less time thinking and more time doing. The MBA grads spent too much time planning. By the time they began construction they had no practical experience and their structures suffered.

Similarly, when tasking agencies to develop concepts, the client’s approach is to identify the single best solution before pulling the trigger on a given project. And in this business, it is only natural for clients to want more ideas, faster and for less money. More often, the turnaround for concepts is now days, not weeks. This leaves agencies little time to think. There is no time for strategy development, thorough research or well-planned mock-ups. This, coupled with the client’s urgency to get to the big idea, generates conflict.

How can we present the very best concept to our clients without time to vet or detail our ideas? How can we expect clients to make informed decisions when they do not have enough information? Under this scenario, agencies often revise a concept repeatedly without any results or fail to move on to develop different ones. A lot of wheels are spinning, but little to no distance is travelled.

How can we improve the process? How can we quickly get a few people in a room and paint the walls with actionable material that gets productive feedback from clients? Simple: stop thinking so much.

Agencies can be more effective if we stop falling into the details of a concept before taking steps towards developing against them. To do this in a digital agency, Creative Technologists are key. Brainstorms must include a well-rounded technologist who, along with a designer, can grasp a concept quickly and then break off to work on a proof of concept while the full conceptual 360 is finalized in the brainstorm room. Working in this parallel path, the lessons learned during the rapid prototyping of these POC’s will remove variables and provide more data around the concepts giving clients something “tangible” to review and make more informed decisions on with these tight turnarounds.

There are several tools currently available that can assist us in the rapid prototyping POC’s for digital executions. Tools like Foundation and Coda can help to quickly pull together functioning elements towards a proof of concept that a client can then react to. And since these prototyping tools utilize code that is often proven and solid, the initial concept work can be used in the finished product. Perhaps even more significant is that using tools like these will free up time to allow our developers to put creative energies towards new innovative solutions on each project.

When we were kindergartners, we learned from our mistakes and took those lessons with us. Now we try to avoid mistakes at a high, and often unperceived, cost. If we can apply the lessons of the marshmallow challenge to our own concept development, what we end up building might not be polished, but its foundation will be stronger, and the idea will stand taller. The old adage, “Work smarter, not harder” never mentions thinking. Next time you are asked to bring some ideas to the table, channel your inner child. Think less and do more.

As another way of reducing inbox clutter, the email providers also try to filter out “unwanted email” from the person’s inbox. This can be quite subjective, and a perfect solution is yet to be devised, so the junk folder can be seen as where the email provider puts email is not entirely sure about. It’s got to be remembered that the email provider is trying to improve the user’s experience, even if it is at the cost of marketing emails not getting through.

So, how do they do it?

In a nutshell, it depends upon the email provider, but the following metrics are monitored when deciding on where to put the email.

Reputation

This is a combination of data from third parties and data that the email provider collects (all or some of the metrics below). This data is used to determine if a sender is more or less likely to be sending spam, either linked to the IP address of the sender, the domain, or both.

Volume

The higher the sent volume, the more you are likely to look like a spammer. Usually thresholds of volume are linked to Reputation, so a sender with good sending reputation can send a higher volume before going into junk than a sender with a poor reputation.

Speed of send

This is similar to the volume metric, in that good reputation allows you to send faster than a poor reputation. With some email providers, once the threshold is reached, the email is deferred for a time period (between 12 and 72 hours) and when the block is lifted, the threshold is further reduced.

Bounce rate

Good mailers have good list hygiene and will remove email addresses that permanently bounce, or who have not responded to an email in a long time period (usually between 12 to 24 months). Spammers don’t do that, the more bad data you send, the more like a spammer you look.

Complaint rate.

A sender that many people complain about, is more likely to go into the junk folder, than one that has few complaints.

Response rate.

Looks at how often people open and click your emails, emails that are actively opened and clicked by recipients, are more likely to go into the inbox.

User reclassification

As well as emails being sent to junk being a bad vote for your email campaigns, if your recipients start to move your emails from Junk into the inbox, this is seen as a positive vote by some email providers.

Black list

If you send old, inactive data, you will inevitably end up on a blacklist. This is because many of these blacklists, monitor old and inactive email addresses, that no longer solicit emails (Trap addresses). The more of these you hit, the more likely to go into junk you are.

Content filters

email providers have developed sophisticated pattern matching technology that scores your emails for either looking more or less like a spam email. For emails that look very much like spam templates, the email provider can build a “spam signature” which will allow them to pattern match and junk any template that matches the signature.

Why is the junking so inconsistent?

Depending on the email provider, these metrics either work on an individual’s mailbox, or act as a default for everyone’s mailbox that there is no firm setting for. So if an individual has added you to their safe senders list, they should generally get the email into the inbox (unless you are blocked). If the recipient has marked your emails as junk, they will go into the junk folder (if they get them at all). It is also possible for the default mailbox placement to change while the campaign is being sent, so it might start off in Junk, and then move to the inbox as the response data is processed by the email provider.

Generally an email will stay in whatever folder it is classified to initially, although some email providers are now able to change the folder classification, effectively moving emails from one folder to another based on the data they are monitoring.

How do I fix it?

As you might have noticed, most of these metrics are designed to identify mailers who don’t care what they send out, and don’t care who they send it to. The more wanted and welcome your emails are to your recipients, the more the data will reflect that.

Defining how to segment your data to achieve this is a large subject, but the overriding strategy should always to base your customer communication program on the customers themselves. Sending emails with content that people will find relevant , at a time when they will welcome them, should be the focus for any email marketing campaign. Only then will your email go where you want it to.

The most significant finding was that adding indoor location technologies to retailer mobile apps improves shopper engagement by five times. And while it’s been known that these features are beneficial for both the shopper and the retailer, this data shows that indoor location has a significant, measurable and positive impact on in-store shopping.

The data resulted from a year-long A|B test conducted by Point Inside with the goal of understanding the influence of indoor location technologies on shopper engagement. The test involved identical retail apps where one had indoor location technologies and the other did not. Collectively known as “store mode,” these capabilities include indoor maps, product locations and efficient routing through the store.

The data covers 2012 and is aggregated from multiple clients. The test included more than 1 million sessions from more than 25,000 unique users.

Turns out it’s the integration of the physical store with the app that drives the increased engagement. Store mode connects the in-store mobile shopper to the store and, in doing so, delivers significant value for both the customer and the retailer.

Shoppers can more easily find the products they want by seeing the products’ exact locations as pins on an indoor map. Shoppers can also view an entire shopping list mapped in the store, showing the most efficient route covering everything on the list. All in all, it delivers a more efficient and enjoyable experience.

Retailers benefit greatly, too: they can see customer’s shopping lists and use it to create a more compelling shopping experience through personalized offers and product suggestions. Store mode also provides deep analytics into in-store behavior, including the where time is spent in the store and the efficacy of promotions.

The increased engagement drives better connections between retailers and shoppers. Customers get better service and value. Retailers gain a better understanding of their customers and increased loyalty. Retailers also get increased sales and more efficient marketing programs.

Additional results from the study include:
• The study also shows the fastest growing segment to be shoppers who used the apps 5 or more times in a month. This segment more than doubled in size throughout the year.
• In comparing the use of coupons, those who used the app clipped more than four times as many coupons as non-app users.

In-store shopping still accounts for more than 90% of retail sales, and with more than 80% of smartphone owners using their mobile devices for shopping, the new world of shopping is already here. Pretty solid math that shows retailers have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of store mode capabilities in their apps and increase their customer engagement five-fold.

Take advantage of it before your competition does.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More importantly, what might they do with it?

An insurance company called RSA in the Middle East has created an interactive print ad that enables readers to ask for a quote, no mobile phone or other consumer device required, though the quote comes back via the reader's mobile phone (which obviously provides the brand with contact information it could use for follow up communications).

As PSFK points out, the ad, developed by OgilvyOne, is targeted to prospective customers in Dubai, and supports the brand's "Easy as Ever" promise.

Sure it's early days in this kind of thing - a first step toward some of the interactive print concepts we saw in 'Minority Report' a decade ago - and it will need to be enhanced before it gets truly compelling.

But here, the medium is quite literally the message - an innovative "wow" moment that directly delivers on the brand's positioning.

Read more here.

SI is taking this Strip thing to a whole new level - with a little help from Lexus.

On the heels of the duo's QR code-enabled interactive print ad, the brands used Caesars Las Vegas as the canvas for a rip-roaring 3D projection mapping experience last night, featuring models from this year's big Swimsuit Edition.

The event was managed by Pearl Media, and the 3D projection experience was developed by Go2 Productions - the same team we worked with to develop our big LA Traffic Jam with Train, presented by LoopNet last month.

There are lots of things for fans of the annual issue to like - including building-size views of Kate Upton and her fellow SI models - with 3D elements, no less.

My view: As SI's first 3D experience, this is a sure sign the venerable SI "Swimsuit Edition" brand means business - and that Lexus is more than happy to help it hit the accelerator.

But what's your view? Is this whole spectacle a sign of overexposure?

Or a major splash for what is becoming a powerhouse media event?

The news will probably lead many brands to re-assess any slightly controversial advertising they have lined up, but that isn't the only thing they should consider - they also need to take into account any content marketing they have planned. After all, this really is a form of advertising; albeit subtle. Really, the question is this: is there a place for controversy in content marketing?

Talk about a grey area...

Really, it depends on a) the controversial topic in question and b) how it is handled. Yes, sex sells, but taking a controversial stance over anything - especially within branded content - is risky, so brands need to know how to take advantage of slightly dangerous topics without negatively impacting their reputation.

You should only be controversial if you're really sure that the risk will pay off. For example, if you fancy capitalising on a recent news story by writing a blog that reflects your brand's (perhaps scandalous) opinion on the matter, compare the potential benefits with the risks.

Yes, newsjacking could help you boost traffic, take advantage of Google's Query Deserves Freshness algorithm and heighten awareness of your brand. However if, in your haste to capitalise on the news, you get the facts wrong - or really rub your prospects up the wrong way - it could have a really negative impact on your reputation.

Make A/B testing your friend

If you aren't sure if the potential benefits outweigh the chance of disaster, embrace A/B testing before making any content public. For example, if you've made some great visual content that uses adult themes or language, set up a focus group for said testing. Split the group in two; present one half with the controversial content and the other with a less controversial prototype. You should be able to get a better grasp on the potential value of publishing your original idea from the responses.

Plus, take the time to learn from mistakes made by other brands or publishers. By taking these into account, you can - to a certain extent - judge what your brand can and cannot get away with.

Don't be scared of a little controversy

The important thing is not to rule out being a bit dangerous altogether. Taking a chance can get people talking about your brand (even more pertinent in this age of social media) and can elevate your traffic/rankings. Just be careful that you're handling any controversial content and its promotion with care. If you do the appropriate testing and steer clear of being scandalous for the sake of it, you should find your brand reaping all the benefits and none of the risk. Good luck!

Click here to view the embedded video.

There was that 3D projection mapping experience on an LA Hotel a while back. And in October, the brand brought a print ad to life with the help of a handy iPad.

This time out, Lexus is going a bit simpler, keying into QR codes - the scanning of which reveals models kinda-sorta hidden in SI print ads for the new IS.

Still, the pursuit of perfection could have added a little more punch to the reveals than just having the models strut toward us. Integrating with the car in some fashion - or really just doing anything a little more interesting - would have been a better pay off for going to all the trouble.

Okay, it's still pretty cool. And it's apparently just the opening act. According to ADWEEK, the Lexus IS is also included in Sport Illustrated's first-ever 3D projection mapping experience on the facade at Caesar's Las Vegas.

Get the full scoop here.

USA Today’s Ad Meter needs to be brought into the 21^st century. Traditionally, they have focused on a small sample group of viewers to gauge ad performance. This year, in an attempt to update their analysis they opened up that sample group to viewers that registered on their online portal. It was likely an attempt to get a better read of consumer reactions, but with more than 8,000 participants, they still missed the mark.

The inherent flaw in their analysis—the same one they’ve had since the Ad Meter was first published in 1989—is in the way they measure advertisement success. Knowing whether a person “liked” or “disliked” an ad is no way to gauge if it got the job done for the advertiser. USA Today needs to go deeper to understand the winners and losers.

In Networked Insights’ analysis of the Super Bowl ads and celebrities, social data insights revealed a different viewpoint. GoDaddy.com was the #1 most discussed brand during Sunday’s big game. Despite a significant negative reaction from viewers, the data highlights a key to success when it comes to Super Bowl advertising, that controversy pays huge dividends.

It is time we move past antiquated means of collecting consumer information and start utilizing real-time data to uncover more reliable insights. Social data has characteristics that can no longer be ignored. Everyday this unbiased data source grows exponentially and the topics it covers are practically limitless.

Networked Insights is fortunate to work with innovative brands that want to use real-time consumer data from the social web to inform strategic marketing decisions. The reason is simple, traditional research can’t keep pace with the speed of today’s consumer. Progressive marketing professionals are looking for real-time trends and insights they can capitalize on. Perhaps most importantly, they’re looking for accurate information that is available when they need it – when it’s time to make a major decision.

Having the right information is critical to effective marketing. Taking your cues from USA Today’s Ad Meter is proving to be a risky proposition in the digital age. It’s time the unfiltered, boundless voice of the consumer – as expressed across the social web – rule the day. Marrying insights from social data with brand marketing intuition is a fierce combination that de-risks decisions and inspires more consumer-centric advertising.