What #ASE11 Sessions I’m Voting For
Let the games begin! Voting has opened up for Affiliate Summit East 2011. While some people have not been happy with this voting system, I think it evens the playing field nicely. As well, it clears any conspiracy theories about how sessions are chosen.
Before I begin, I will say I have a horse in this game. I’ve submitted a panel, The Future of Coupons in Affiliate Marketing, for consideration. If picked, I’ll be moderating this panel with industry coupon veterans Mike Allen (Shopping-Bargains.com), Connie Berg (FlamingoWorld.com), Carolyn Tang Kmet (Groupon.com), and Kim Rowley (ShoppingBookmarks.com). Please take a moment to register, confirm, then vote for our panel!
Okay, that being said, these are the panels I’m voting for. All of them have very intelligent speakers, well thought out ideas, and will offer merchants and affiliates great insight into the topics.
- It’s Not Your Mother’s Affiliate Program
- Creatives Deliver Success
- Evolution of Local Search
- Do-Not-Track? Not-So-Fast
- Killing the Affiliate Nexus Tax Dead!
- Got an Idea? Make it a Reality.
- 10 Questions for a Prospective Affiliate Manager
- A World Without Cookie Tracking
- How to Convince Online Shoppers You’re Real
- Learn to Create a Likeworthy Facebook Page
- Social Media in Niche Markets
- Merchant ABCs – Launching a New Merchant Program
- How to Avoid FTC Scrutiny in Advertising
- Affiliate Improv!
- Are Your Affiliates Adding Value?
ad:tech San Francisco: iPads & Tablets – The Role of Advertising
Session Description: Consumers can’t get their hands on tablets quickly enough. Apple had already sold 8.5 million iPads by the end of 2010, comprising 88 percent of the tablet market and it’s on track to sell nearly 20 million this year, while CES 2011 showed us that manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and Dell are jumping into the business with both feet. Publishers, including GQ , and media outlets such as Newscorp have prioritized getting content (and ads) to these new devices. But what is the consumer mindset of iPad and tablet users? What types of ads will they engage with and which will they avoid? Most of all, how can a brand stake a claim in one of the hottest sectors of digital marketing?
This session took place Tuesday, April 12, 2011. The speakers:
- Andrew Solmssen, Managing Director, Possible Worldwide (Moderator)
- David Gill, VP of Mobile Media, The Nielsen Company
- Shira Bogart, Creative Director, AKQA
- Michael Fischer, CMO, Coldwell Banker
Being a new tablet user as of March, I really appreciated this session. It was insightful into such an innovative device from a marketing and advertising standpoint. I liked that there were a lot of good actionable things learned in this session.
Bullet Point Review!
- Sales of tablets went up 245% in 2011.
- 11 tablets are scheduled to come out this year.
- Apple gets #1 & #2 in the marketplace, other tablets have a lot of work ahead to get market share.
- Price point is going to be key.
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective Applications
- Be sure it fits with the brand story. The app really hits home with messaging (Comcast/Xfinity).
- Make it special. Make sure there’s a lot of “finger candy”… there has to be a reason it works better on a tablet than on a PC. There has to be some value of interface for interfaces’ sake.
- Make it extensible. HTML5 is the way almost all apps will be built, including for phones. Building in HTML5 means you can make apps cross platform. Crackle.com is a good example.
- But don’t forget about performance. 10 million downloads in 10 days of Angry Birds Rio tie in.
- Make it useful. No one will download an overblown ad.
- Give it away. Are you selling a product or marketing a product?
- Test & learn. Remember that successful digital properties started small. Most of Twitter’s features happened because Twitter recognized what people just naturally started doing. Listen to your users.
- The “Old Fashioned” magazine experience has been popular on the iPad.
- There are 8 essentials to be learned along the way:
- Start small.
- Understand that mobile is iterative.
- Have a promotional strategy.
- Size the opportunity.
- Keep a light in the window.
- Establish a technology “middle”.
- Own the code.
- Don’t forget the tags (both analytics and advertising).
- Key Takeaways
- Get in the game.
- Iterate & re-imagine constantly.
- Lock down your processes quickly – tech, content, work flow – so you’re not doing a series of one-offs.
- Fit content to the device experience.
- Be rigorously platform agnostic.
- Manage expectations.
ad:tech San Francisco: The New Power Brokers – Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter & Beyond
Session Description: Whether you’re launching a company, marketing a product or just keeping your head above water, it’s likely that you’re increasingly forced to plot your strategy around today’s new power brokers—Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter. Does the relative hegemony and power of these companies create a stable, predictable environment for the rest of us, or are we continually guessing what the next chess move will do to our plans? In this highly interactive and thought-provoking segment, Upstream Group CEO Doug Weaver brings together experts from the capital markets, industry journalism and agency leadership to explore the impact of these companies on M&A, marketing and advertising. Are these players permanent fixtures, or are there new power brokers waiting in the wings? And what do you need to know to make the very best decisions in the months ahead?
This session took place Tuesday, April 12, 2011. The speakers:
- Doug Weaver, Founder & CEO, Upstream Group (Moderator)
- Shawn Carolan, Managing Director, Menlo Ventures
- Scott Symonds, General Manager Media, AKQA
- Molly Wood, Executive Editor, CNET.com
I enjoyed the discussion, though I wish there had been more actionable items.
Bullet Point Review!
- Only 10% of Twitter accounts follow more than 50 people.
- What is a tweet worth as opposed to a Facebook news update?
- This curve is pretty similar to any participatory medium.
- 1 in 4 twitter users are African-American, which is sort of the mirrored opposite of Facebook.
- Does Amazon belong on this list instead?
- Already selling more digital books than printed books.
- Many start-ups use their services for storage, hosting, etc.
- $36 billion in ecommerce in 2010
- Who is empowered? They’re more about empowering themselves, not other sellers or users.
- They’ve all built really nice walled gardens. Does that make the web less relevant & by association, Google less relevant?
- When you solve problems, you grow the market.
- You still find all these walled gardens through Google.
- Google is tying bonuses to social media strategy (up to 25%).
- The personal recommendation is the absolute social currency of web 3.0.
- Google should let Groupon and Facebook have their games & get really good at search.
- Is the web less relevant with Facebook around?
- “Control, distribution, & delivery of content is the next battleground.” – Molly Wood
- Clients are more willing to go where good content & readers are instead of the more traditional media outlets.
- NBC/Comcast is just one example of vertical integration where one party own a both the content & the pipe.
- Kinect has reinvigorated some new life into Microsoft.
- Yahoo might have some life left in them.
- AOL? Made some good hires and good acquisitions & trying hard, especially with local & patch, but it remains to be seen.
- Who may end up being a power broker in 5-10 years? Apple may not be as people go towards open source, Facebook & Google may be, but ones aggregating content will be ones to watch. Lots of potential with foursquare. Blogging may overturn.
ad:tech San Francisco: Social Gaming – Today’s Fad or Tomorrow’s Killer Strategy?
Session Description: Social Gaming represents half of all Facebook users and one of every two visits to Social Networks on average. Fad or vital to any marketer’s strategy going forward? You decide. To help, we’ll look at Social Gaming by the numbers in the US and around the world. An expert line-up of speakers will share insights about social gaming dynamics, success stories and best practices. A special focus on global market development from regions where mobile is the dominant platform will give a hint at the future of Social Gaming in the US. Check into this session to participate in the gamification of your marketing strategy.
This session took place Tuesday, April 12, 2011. The speakers:
- Mark Silva, Senior VP, Emerging Platforms Real Branding / Anthem Worldwide (Moderator)
- Jimmy Kim, Founder and CEO, NexoNova Studio
- Kim Kyaw, Senior Media Strategist, Toyota Motor Sales
- Tim Chang, Partner, Norwest Venture Partners
I was a bit disappointed about this session. I expected more actionable items, or at least a US slant. The panel took more of a “what’s happening in Asia” angle, so in truth, I ended up leaving a few minutes early.
Bullet Point Review!
- It’s got the reach of television and the engagement of games.
- Over half of Facebook users play social games.
- It’s bigger than the population of England.
- It’s bigger than the number of users of email.
- Zynga is by far the largest social gaming company.
- Playdom was acquired by Disney.
- Social gaming is a “Rich get Richer” phenomenon that grows aggressively.
- Zynga launched CityVille and got 100 million users in under 8 weeks.
- Social game advertising is not for amateurs.
- Advertising is less than 10% of revenues & social games monetize only 1-5% of users.
- Seek fit & utility, not just reach & demographics.
- Social gaming is more about getting together with friends than the game itself.
- There are various levels of commitment to advertising in games:
- Branded virtual goods.
- Branded game mechanics.
- New branded game mechanics.
- Multiple channel integrated campaign.
- When 7-11 did the tie-ins of their generic products with the Zynga games, they saw an incredible increase in business, repeat customers, frequency of current customers coming in, etc.
- There are many cultural factors for social gaming growth.
- In-game advertising hasn’t worked in the past because it wasn’t adding any value to users.
- When considering branding virtual goods, consider decorative vs. ability.
- Mobile is the new hope for social gaming.
- Fighting for distribution power, talent, and new revenue streams.
- CPE is cost per engagement. Some companies can track this. The user watches the ad, answers a question, and earns a new item from the game.
- “If content is king, then distribution power is god almighty” – @Timechange
- Cross promote games to other game users.
Whatever Happened To Class?
I’m going to rant on about something that happened at Affiliate Summit East, and I know I’m not the first and probably not the last. Credit where credit is due… I owe the rants of Karen Garcia (I’m sorry…why are you here?) and Jen Goode (Professional events and sexual harassment, when did that become ok?) to remind me why this kind of thing isn’t right. And make me feel the need to write something about it.
So, if you weren’t there, heres the gist – a network decided to hire two girls in very small bikinis to promote a new network that’s starting soon. It’s actually appropriate consider that the concept of the network, apparently, is that they only hire female affiliate managers who look good in bikinis and will be talking to affiliates while wearing said bikinis. And this genius idea has been dubbed – wait for it = Bikini Babes Network. SIGH. At least, that’s all these “representatives” could tell people since the CEO didn’t make it to the show because of some travel/customs issues.
First of all, it’s insulting. It’s insulting to every woman working in our industry. Whether or not you look good in a bikini, it’s degrading to know that someone gave you business just because of your body and not because you’re good at what you do. It devalues them as a person. I hate to speak ill of fellow women that I don’t even know and pass judgment, but I’d assume that the women agreeing to work for this network are in dire straights in terms of needing the job. I’d personally sooner work at a retail register than be hired based on my appearance alone. Or, they’re not bright enough to realize what a joke this is, which means they probably won’t be taking home Affiliate Manager of the Year trophies any time soon.
As I walked around one day during the conference, the bikini babes in question were loitering near a booth featuring a Ducati motorcycle in their booth area. I say loitering, because these women knew nothing of affiliate marketing or the rest of the conference, and didn’t actually have a booth of their own to post in, so they were wandering around distracting others. I was not surprised to walk by and witness no less than 5 men attempting to talk the girls into sitting on the Ducati so they could get a picture. They scrambled to get a camera, and finally ended up with some dude’s iPhone. Was this picture for their website? Probably not. Did it have anything to do with business? Absolutely not. I was distinctly witnessing a male adolescent fantasy in action. And if felt dirty.
Besides being insulting, it’s inappropriate. While Affiliate Summit does not enforce a dress code, they do suggest business casual as the way to go. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting this on Affiliate Summit in any way considering they had no way of knowing in advance the company’s marketing tactic. However, It’s my opinion that people need to remember that their companies are sending them to this conference to drive business, not to gawk at bikini babes. If everyone else remained professional and ignored these women, companies would stop using them and we could all go back to civilized working conferences. What affiliate would take this kind of network seriously and decide to work with them? I can only imagine anyone working with them might try the network out of sheer morbid curiosity. Otherwise, they’re not an affiliate I necessarily care to work with if the lure of bikini clad affiliate managers honestly drew them in.
There have been issues with “booth babes” at the conferences in the past. The first show I went to, Affiliate Summit East 2007, some legitimate employees from one merchant company dressed as naughty, goth school girls – highly inappropriate considering their product was a reading learning system for children! And almost every conference in Las Vegas features some kind of showgirl on loan or naughty nurses asking people to enter to win a Hummer (the car, not… the other thing). A lot of people defend these kinds of attention-getting antics as “par for the course” or claim these babes can sell anything (as probably proven by beer commercials around the world). But should they?
It seems there’s always a backlash afterward, and many affiliates elect not to partner with such companies that attempt fleshy stunts to gain attention. Reputable affiliates, the ones that are most likely to make a company money, chose ethics over babes and go with the merchants, networks, and other vendors that take their businesses seriously and don’t jump to sell using sex. Case in point – I haven’t seen the company whose employees dressed as goth school girls exhibit at an Affiliate Summit since, yet their company still exists. People remember. Do you remember what the naughty nurses were selling along with entering to win a car? Me neither… I’m fairly sure the company doesn’t exist. And by January and Affiliate Summit West 2011, most people will probably laugh off the Bikini Babes Network as another flash-in-the-pan CPA network that quickly went the way of the dodo (if they ever actually launch).
Here’s the moral of my story, folks. If you’re going to do something attention getting for your business, do it with class. Inject some wit, and style, and people will remember you positively. That’s how you gain attention for your business and leave an indelible, positive impression with someone. Stay classy, businesses.
BTW… Class from Chicago is a great song, and it’s where I stole my headline from.
Read MoreASE10 Tuesday Keynote: Jim Kukral
Tuesday of Affiliate Summit started off with good-natured shenanigans to set Jim Kukral at ease for his first keynote speech. Jim just wrote an awesome book, Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue
So a few minutes before Jim’s keynote, we meet up in the blogger lounge to pick out our capes and get ready to storm the keynote. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Hilton, Jim’s looking out into a crowd of unfamiliar faces & cursing his affiliate super friends for not being in the audience. His nerves are building, despite his experience speaking before, as this is his first keynote.
We finally enter and file into tables front and center that our minions reserved for us. There we were… in full hilarious view for Jim. A smile crept across his face, and he opened his keynote with words that were never truer, “It’s good to have friends.”
Aside from the shenanigans, Jim killed it in his keynote. He had great tips, motivating the laziest of us to get off our asses and be DOERS!
Bullet Point Review!
- Conceive + ask/take a shot = make it happen.
- Do!
- Get in the idea mindset.
- Carry a notebook.
- Forget everything.
- Combine ideas.
- Listen.
- Do the opposite.
- Make a list.
- Free your mind.
- If you want to be remarkable, you need to do something remarkable.
- Never show effort.
- A lot of people don’t value what they’re good at.
- Is your ego holding you back from making money?
- Create a reaction in people with great ideas – you know an idea is good when you get a reaction.
- DeBeers sells “forever”. Nike sells “winning”. You might not sell what you think you sell.
Remember, no office is complete without my motivational poster of Jim (photo courtesy of Brad Crooks)
