What website statistics are you showing your advertisers?

‘There are lies, damned lies and statistics’ – Mark Twain

When assessing websites as a potential advertising platform, marketers and buyers will look at many factors. One of the prime buying triggers is your website traffic statistics. Website traffic and usage is inherently very measureable – there are a lot of statistics surrounding the performance of your site, a lot of debate surrounding the best measurement platform to use – and this is constantly evolving in line with consumer and advertiser needs.

Only some of the available website statistics are relevant to advertising buyers and there are several free and paid measurement platforms to consider beyond the statistics which may already come with your site….. Read More on the MediaScope site

Digital Ministry Profile – John Butterworth

Welcome to digital people. This time we profile Chief Executive of major industry organisation AIMIA – John Butterworth. John gives us an overview of his role at AIMIA, what they do and their forward plans. Interestingly, as well as supporting the general industry they have been heavily involved in exporting Australian digital innovation for 10 years. John gives us his forecasts and sees screens, screens and more screens in an increasingly complex future. He also gives us a very worthwhile role of media and newsletters (which I have linked) where he gains his information including at least 1 surprise…… read more

Interview with Emily Baxter at Life Concerto

Interview with Denise Shrivell, Founder of MediaScope  – Lifeconcerto is profiling people who have set out to do something and achieved it. These stories explore their initial plans, the hurdles they encountered along the way and how they overcame these.  This interview is with Denise Shrivell, Founder of MediaScope, a marketplace and online directory that launched earlier this year for advertising media buyers and sellers to connect with a focus beyond mainstream media options.   Read More…….

Digital People Profile – Kerry Field

Welcome to Digital People where this time we profile Kerry Field – Head of Innovation at Mindshare. Kerry shares the lucky break which kick started her career in our industry, her amazing role and Mindshare’s current position and future plans. She gives us the benefit of her future gazing by naming (and linking) to businesses and concepts we should have on our radar and shares a unique and perhaps surprising perspective on a new venture she would start in the current climate – ‘no-tech holidays’. Could you cope? – I’d be ok, but my kids may suffer withdrawal. Kerry is Chair of the Media Federation of Australia’s Digital Committee where she represents the MFA on groups such as the ABA Digital WatchDog, so her emphasis on what we as an industry need to address right now is perhaps no surprise. She also points a finger at a segment of our industry and asks them not to get carried away with technology just for the sake of it. Highly recommended reading for all…..Read More 

Predictions for 2010 – how are they looking so far?

As we are nearly through the first quarter of 2010 – I thought it was time to have a look at some predictions for 2010 and see if therie is a glimpse of truth in any of the forecasts.

Here’s the article I published on MediaScope in early January……..

Looking into a crystal ball for media has never been harder with rapid change and evolution now the norm.  One of the largest issues I hear when talking to colleagues is the time and effort it takes to keep up with the new products and services continually coming into the market.  The saying – ‘the only constant is change’ has never been more true.  While we look forward to 2010 and try to make some predictions, one of the most exciting things is that unknown element which we will all be speaking about in just a short 12 months.  Here are my punts on the year ahead…….

More non-traditional media looking to monetise through advertising – Any brand with the potential to attract a compelling audience can create a platform for advertisers.  Increasingly we will see non-traditional media developing their own advertising revenue models placing increasing pressure on traditional publishers and their previously taken for granted share of the ad revenue pie. 

Rise of the ‘long tail’ and emerging advertising opportunities“ advertising buyers (agencies, direct and small business) are increasingly looking for cost effective, highly targeted and engaged audiences where they can achieve cut through and outside the square, flexible, solutions for their paid advertising messages.  The big end of town in the advertising trading market ie advertising agencies and major media vendors – are largely not geared to effectively meet this increasing need.  Resources such as MediaScope (launching soon) which connects advertising buyers and these long tail, new and emerging advertising sellers and the Audit Bureaux of Australia’s new web audit service is providing a greater trading environment for this often neglected end of the market.  With this, small and independent advertising sellers will need to meet the needs of advertising buyers by developing strong commercial strategies and presenting their opportunities in a knowledgeable and professional manner – MediaScope’s on on one consultancy services can help! (contact Denise for further information)

Media Measurement & Audience Analysis ‘the big topic of the year“ better methodology and standards on media and audience centric measurement across all media – outdoor, online, TV, radio, print.  Most media channels are currently debating their way forward on audience and traffic measurement and the need to meet advertisers increasingly stringent return on investment objectives.  The next step is integrated audience measurement across multi-media platforms and an understanding of how different media channels impact each other.  For the industry to consolidate its position and grow we need to see action on this issue in 2010.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) – The NBN has far reaching consequences for our entire industry.  Expect (and hope) for more clarity and action on the Government’s plans for the NBN in the coming 12 months.  ZDNet has been closely following news regarding the NBN – you can see their articles here

Could this finally be the year of the mobile? – Mobile technology is exciting and ever evolving and the audience is established.  There is finally recognition from advertisers about the marketing and sales potential. Though consumer usage costs are still quite high – let’s see if 2010 is finally the long awaited year!

Recognition that advertising cannot be the only revenue stream.  It finally became apparent during GFC that advertising is not the only way to generate revenue through media and in some cases cannot be relied upon alone.  Publishers are becoming more transparent in their forward plans – Rupert Murdoch perhaps the most vocal in his need to place some online content behind a paywall.  Expect to see more publishers diversify to a variety of revenue channels in 2010.

Social Media – in 2009 we decided social media was not a fad and was here to stay. Businesses are increasingly adopting social media as an additional marketing and customer management channel.  We have seen phenomenal traffic growth of Twitter and Facebook but a decline in previous heavy hitter – MySpace.  Expect social media platforms to come and go but the general use of this media to rise – already foursquare.com is shaping up as one to watch in 2010. (or is it?)  These busineses will also need to get more serious about their revenue models.

More blurring between advertising and editorial – I notice ads disguised as editorial more and more and an increasing breakdown between church (editorial) and state (marketing and advertising).  Consumers are turning away from traditional forms of advertising so marketers are naturally looking for more integrated executions to reach their audience – and media is running to these dollars (ofcourse).  Rationalisation of editorial resources means PR generated material is in some cases, repackaged, reprinted and represented as news.  Does the average consumer notice this increasing ‘blur’ and do they care about the integrity of the information they are provided? – I will be asking my non-industry friends over the break.

More market rationalisation.  There is an oversupply of available advertising across some parts of the media market.  This is particularly apparent in online where the bottom has fallen out of the CPM/display market (combined with decreasing clickthrough rates and lack of brand measurement) and there are some pretty thin magazines around.  Publishers will need to better manage their yield by decreasing supply and placing upward pressure on rates.  We will see this manifest in many ways – decreasing amount of available advertising placements on major portals, closures and consolidation, joint ventures rather than new site launches (why replicate?) and increasing non-advertising related revenue models. 

We look to 2010 from a very different place to just 12 months ago.  There is confidence in the market but still a level of sensible caution – it is going to be an interesting and hopefully more successful year for everyone.

Written by:  Denise Shrivell, Founder of MediaScope (currently in BETA – soft launch phase) - read about Denise

Digital People Profile – Lija Jarvis

Welcome to Digital People. This profile is a real treat as Lija Jarvis, Group Marketing Director for Fairfax Digital’s Transaction Division gives us the benefit of her long experience from several key positions in the digital industry. Firstly, she outlines FD’s market position and forward plans through the increasing importance they have placed in this division in the last 12 months – a reminder to all publishers (large and small) to be considering ways to diversify revenue channels. She also gives us several well defined thoughts on the future of the digital and broader media landscape – and her tip for entrepreneurs for the sector she would be looking at for a start-up. Is it just me or is the crystal ball becoming a little less clouded? As I said – Lija’s profile is a real treat and not to be missed…… Read More on the Digital Ministry site here

Fortunate Witnesses – Gutenberg V The Web

There have been a lot of comparisons to the impact of the web and digital technology with Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press over 600 years ago in 1450.  

I thought it might be interesting to have a brief look at exactly what Gutenberg did and the influence his printing press had on the world to see if this comparison was accurate……

Here is a brief YouTube video looking at Gutenberg’s printing press.  I think you will agree the ramifications of this invention are quite amazing.

To put this in perspective here’s an overview of the web over the past 15 years   Thanks to Gavin Heaton (The Servant of Chaos) – whose blog I recommend for updates on digital and social media news – for sharing this excellent video.  As he says – eye popping!

Gutenberg’s printing press was innovative, revolutionary, with vast reaching consequences which we still benefit from today.   The web/digital is absolutely significant, a huge leap forward –it is unclear what the ongoing effects will be as we stand at the tip of the iceberg in terms of its potential.   

What do you think?  Are we fortunate witnesses to the web as a natural evolution of the printing press or is it an innovation and revolution – or a bit of both?  If looking into our past gives us a glimpse into our future – what hints can we pick up from the very far reaching effects the invention of the printing press still has on our lives today when considering the future influence of the web?

Advertising $$$ – could you, should you?

Do you publish a website, blog or any kind of digital platform?  Have you considered monetising or attracting revenue through advertising?  Here is some background to the changing advertising market and some points to consider…..

One of the market segments MediaScope highlights to advertising buyers is often referred to as the ‘long tail’.

The ‘long tail’, is a term first applied by Chris Anderson of Wired magazine and is defined as a ‘colloquial name for a long-known feature of statistical distributions’ – basically meaning the sum of many smaller niches in any market equals or is greater than the larger few. You can read this famous article (which then became a book) here – http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html?pg=1&topic=tail&topic_set=  

This long tail concept can be applied to most industries including the media and advertising industry.  It is this phenomenon, combined with the internet, which has fundamentally shifted media, advertising, marketing and publishing in the past 10, or so years. 

Prior to the internet, consumers were limited to news & information available to them mostly  through large traditional publishers and providers.  The internet introduced an additional content channel where consumers could easily access information, news, products and services outside traditional media often in smaller more targeted niche environments. 

Costs for business to enter this new content delivery channel is relatively minimal compared to traditional media with their expensive to produce and often highly regulated print, tv and radio platforms – all resulting in a very active and evolving media ‘long tail’.

As audiences flow to these long tail media providers, advertising becomes a potential revenue stream.  In fact, any online brand, product or service which attracts an audience can potentially attract advertising – you do not need to be a traditional publisher or media business.

If you have an online or digital business, of any kind, could you monetise through advertising?

-Google Adsense has made mini moguls of us all – and is a highly effective entry level option.  Easy to set up – but keep your expectations low.  You can see further information and some great tutorials explaining Google Adsense here -  https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_AU/?hl=en_AU&sourceid=aso&subid=au-en_AU-et-bizsols_newF&gsessionid=8ByaBd3obHd2wH97aUI4PQ

- A range of affiliate, commission and lead generation advertising is also available – where you receive a % of any sales or traffic generated directly through your site. 

Moving beyond Google Adsense and affiliate advertising generally involves a more structured sales strategy.  Here are some initial issues to consider:

Your Market – What market do you operate in and what is your position in it?  Who are your competitors, both on and offline – are they attracting advertising? What is your point of difference in your competitive set – can you develop or do you own a niche where you can offer unique reach?  Can you attract and sustain critical audience levels in your market?

Your Platform – What advertising placements can you offer advertisers – can you meet some industry standards?  How will you serve or display advertising – and then monitor and measure results?

The Sales Process – Who will manage the sales process for you?  There are many third party sales representation businesses who have various audience threshold levels and criteria for sites which they represent to advertisers or do you have in-house sales expertise.

A lot of points to consider – there are more – and they are constantly changing! 

Selling advertising on your website, blog or digital platform is not suitable for all businesses, can sometimes require changes to the structure and layout of your site and requires a special skill set for maximum results.  However, while you may not become the next big media baron, you may have the ability to build an ongoing incremental or additional revenue stream. 

MediaScope offers a one-on-one consultancy service helping businesses develop their advertising sales strategy.  See here for more details or get in touch for a chat.

New Digital Ministry Profile – Zoe Warne of August

Welcome to Digital People. This time we welcome the founder of another home grown independent – Zoe Warne of digital creative agency – August. Last week, I attended the reunion of an ad agency where I worked nearly 20 years ago – Connaghan & May. We were the largest independent full service agency in Australia – eventu…ally swallowed up by Leo Burnett. Thinking back to those wonderful, fun times where the issues of the day were things like Govt regulation of tobacco advertising, colour press, regional market aggregation and changes to the agency accreditation system. The pace of change was slow – buying outdoor media was about as adventurous as it got. Indeed, I was considered very ‘online’ by my previous colleagues last week as I had a Twitter account! 2 days later, through Zoe’s profile, I find myself considering the sheer pace of change we now face with exciting innovations like mind controlled platforms, changes to long held advertising and revenue models and the new breed of digital natives now making an important impact on our industry. Comparisons to this time in the evolution of media & communications and that of Guttenberg’s printing press may be right. Zoe offers us an interesting view into our future and also a worthwhile list of media and newsletters which she says ‘keeps her on her toes’. Thanks Zoe – enjoy her insights…… READ MORE AT DIGITAL MINISTRY -

Could you diversify your revenue model?

Think about how your media habits have changed in the last few years?  Mobile and the iphone, payTV, did you read a newspaper or magazine more often? Social media such as Twitter & Facebook has exploded in just the last 12-18 months.  Consumers seem constantly eager to move to the next big thing and businesses are meeting this need – a perpetual cycle.

Evolving technology and consumer media habits has brought with it a revolution some are comparing to Guttenberg and the invention of the printing press.

Publishers are increasingly facing the realities of their audiences fragmenting media habits, their shift to digital and more interactive media platforms and eroding business models which have previously, perhaps been taken for granted. Combined with the gap between potential revenues generated from traditional media and that of new & emerging media, publishers no longer seem to be in denial about the need to look to the future, adapt or in some cases perish.

Major publishers are now positioning themselves for new revenue models. Just last week at Fairfax’s Media 2010 summit in Sydney – Fairfax Digital CEO Jack Matthews highlighted transactional revenue as the new ‘rivers of gold’ – a position previously long held by classified advertising (US newspapers report a 70% decline in classifieds revenue in the last 10 years) You can see Jack Matthews keynote speech – and others from Media2010 - here  http://www.media2010.com.au/?page_id=1105

These issues are not just affecting the big end of town – publishers of all sizes and all mediums should be considering revenue models which are not solely reliant on advertising.

Late last year futurist and entrepreneur Ross Dawson delivered a keynote to a group directly affected by this ‘revolution’ – members of Publishers Australia. He offered insights and forecasts into the changing media landscape leading them to question their traditional reliance on advertising as a revenue stream. There are some takeouts in here for all publishers – http://www.rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2009/09/keynote_on_crea.html

As you will see, Ross highlights several possible revenue streams for publishers to consider, including:

-Advertising – there are many ways you can generate revenue and structure ad options
-Membership, Paid Content & Subscription
-Content Syndication
-Merchandise & Retail
-Events/Roadshows, Seminars
-Transactional Revenue – Fairfax’s new ‘river of gold’

Advertising can still be considered a core revenue stream for publishers.  MediaScope, and this blog mainly focuses on this part of your business model, However, there are other options also worth investigating. What else makes sense to your business, your audience – how are you keeping abreast of innovation and future proofing your revenue model?