While agencies and advertisers have been asking for a unified measurement, no one has yet provided a solution. A group of advertisers, who have lost patience and are eager for a standard measurement, have formed the CIMM (Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement).

If it takes a coalition to apply pressure for this to happen, advertisers are in for a long wait. Furthermore, if a viable and profitable solution could be developed, research companies such as, Nielsen, Comscore, Arbitron, or the Audit Bureau of Circulation would have jumped on the opportunity to add this to their list of capabilities.

Real time search is the newest tool for marketers to access instant feedback from consumers.  Similar to traditional search on Google or Yahoo!, marketers can type in a topic and see results listed on a web page. The difference is that with real time search, sources such as Twitter and blog posts are being mined for user-generated content. 

Real time search engines strive to sort results by relevancy and popularity. These provide searchers with immediate news and a consumer’s perspective.  A few examples are One Riot, Topsy, and Scoopler. Google and Bing are also entering the space with beta offerings of social search.

Marketers can use real time search as a tool to build new relationships with consumers and strengthen existing ones.  Here are a few ways you can utilize this new source of valuable data:

o Monitor what consumers are saying about your product.  Real time search provides value to marketers if consumers are discussing their products and services.
o Respond to consumers who have questions or comments about your brand.
o Shift messaging in order to immediately react to negative comments or align creative with consumers’ thoughts. 

As more people turn to the web to seek out coupons, new digital coupon companies are emerging to capitalize on the demand.  Currently being tested in Indiana, Coupious is evolving the mobile marketing concept by introducing the on-demand coupon phone application. Through GPS tracking, location-based coupons can be searched and sent directly to the customer at the point of purchase, making coupons more convenient and relevant than ever before. 

With the Fed’s recent announcement of the end of the recession, there is concern among coupon marketers that usage will decline.  As history shows, coupon clipping trends shift with the ebb and flow of the economy. Dwindling use of the paper coupon is probable, but at this point, the future of the digital coupon seems optimistic. The convenience and customization offered by digital coupons will likely cause online coupon usage to grow far beyond the hold of the recession.

While this type of online tracking requires considerable pre-campaign planning and ongoing attention throughout a campaign, it provides invaluable data to improve and optimize in real-time.  This type of data allows for enhanced reporting which in turn provides enhanced insights into ROI and awareness metrics.

Technological advancements in the tracking of digital campaign are happening at an astonishing rate and any advertiser or agency committed to stewardship should utilize them to their full advantage. 

In reaction to this, B2B magazine publishers have determined that if they want to stay in business then they need to provide a pay for performance option similar to what online can offer.  Magazines are referring to these as ROI campaigns. 

When you commit to an ROI campaign magazine publishers commit something to you… a guaranteed level of response.  If you are interested in exploring this type of campaign, here are a few things to keep in mind.
• You may need to educate the vendor on what an ROI campaign is because it is so new
• It is important to have historical data that shows what kind of response you typically receive vs. exposure.  This allows you to project results and come up with a fair cost structure with the vendor
• Make sure to have conditions in place in case the vendor doesn’t deliver what you were promised.  Typically they will either extend the campaign until all goals are met or issue a credit

Here is an example of what an ROI campaign may look like:

The poor financial performance has led several large radio groups, such as CBS and Clear Channel, to re-think their current model and sell off stations in small to mid sized markets across the country.  The moves are an attempt to refocus resources to the top 50 markets, where there is greater profit potential.  CBS recently announced the sale of four radio stations in Portland, Oregon to Alpha Broadcasting, a small independent radio group headed by a former veteran broadcaster.

As smaller radio groups move in to purchase these discarded stations, a resurgence of independent ownership may be on the horizon. This could change the landscape of local radio by reversing the trends of the past decade, during which time an FCC ruling made possible the consolidation of station ownership under a handful of large broadcast companies.  Nationally syndicated programs and formats replaced local content on many stations, which eliminated a key differentiator with online/satellite radio outlets.

Independent owners can now break from corporate mandated programming and reach out to the community with a focus on local news, events and on-air talent.  This local focus should translate into increased listening, which in turn would allow stations to charge higher rates while attracting more advertisers back to radio. 

With notable brands such as Johnson & Johnson entering the space looking for greater efficiencies, the DR realm is gaining acceptance among major brand advertisers. They are helping to grow the category, along with smaller companies that couldn’t typically afford national advertising. These advertisers are turning to branded DRTV for a number of reasons:

o Branded DR airtime costs less than traditional national TV and can deliver comparable results, thus improving ROI
o Greater scheduling control with flexibility in targeting consumers through various dayparts and networks; not just broad rotators
o Schedules are purchased with minimal lead time and for shorter periods of time, providing advertisers greater flexibility
o Networks have loosened creative restrictions by allowing less obvious calls to action, such as “visit our site” or a retail logo.

Mobile coupon campaigns typically involve location based targeting. Advertisers are able to take advantage of a smart phone’s GPS capabilities and target users with offers based on their location.  The user can download the coupon to their phone and show it to a cashier upon checkout.

New technologies are currently in development which would allow retailers to scan coupon barcodes displayed on mobile phones. This will require retailers to make a significant investment in new technology, as current barcode scanners cannot read cell phone screens. Despite this technological hurdle, the investment should pay off in the long run since the convenience to consumers will only serve to increase usage.

Television is a high-reach medium which generally lacks the niche targeting capability of other media types such as online. Addressable TV ads have long been thought of as the answer. Having the ability to target based on a variety of factors including income, age, propensity to consume a given product, and even zip code would significantly reduce wasted exposure. While most targeting is currently at the cable system zone level, it’s well on the way to being available at a more granular level.

An important factor in the success of addressable TV ads will be the ability to verify audience delivery. Traditional TV buyers utilize independent third party data from Nielsen to compare projected ratings against actuals and obtain makegood weight as necessary. Vision World can provide their set-top-box data estimates, which reflect actual tune-ins rather than estimates. However, this set top data is not verified by a third party; meaning that the data could be inflated, altered or weighted by the vendor. The situation is unlike online advertising, where third party ad serving is used to verify online publisher data.

Offer Relevancy
You need to give them a reason to click through on your paid listing. It’s important to keep in mind that while most offer types will generally increase response, informational offers (white papers, e-books, case studies) will work best.

Ad Text Development
Sixty-three percent of C-level executives list “general search engines” as very important for locating business information needed for their job. It is important to not just focus on the keyword list itself, but also on the ads you’re displaying. Create customized ad copy that relates the keywords or keyword groups you’re using.

Tactical Integration
Search can be used in conjunction with other media tactics. By making your keywords tie back to your campaign message and using search in support, you’ll be there when C-level executives seek you out as a result of seeing your ads elsewhere.

As technology-friendly younger audiences advance into C-level executive positions, the online habits of this group will continue to evolve and change. It will likely generate another revolution in how to target this elusive group.