Marketing in Today’s Changing World

Mark Suster

BlueGlass – April 2012

@msuster

Ex software developer (‘91)

BuildOnline (’99)

Koral / Salesforce.com (’05)

VC at GRP Partners (‘07)

Both Sides Of The Table

The Marketing Landscape Changes Very Quickly These Days

OfflineOffline

• TV• Print• Radio

Pre Web

OnlineOnline

• Display• Email• SEO• SEM

95 - 2007

SocialSocial

• FB Ads• FB Likes• Twitter• FB Timeline

08 - Now

Mobile, Video, Images

Mobile, Video, Images

• Pre-roll• Overlays• Brand Integration• CPI

10 - Now

Who The F Knows?

Who The F Knows?

Future

What IS Clear

Pace of change will accelerate

You need a strong POV / strategy Are FB “Likes” better than FB ads that convert directly? Are Twitter Sponsored Tweets a good ad unit?

You need to be metrics driven & test a lot

You need to monitor emerging trends Should we put energy into Pinterest? Is the celebrity endorsement model worth it?

As a VC it’s my job to stay ahead of these

trends

Investment strategy

Portfolio advice

The Move to Online Forced Standards That Sub-Optimize Experience & Performance

BannerBanner

Skyscra

per

Skyscra

per

99% of User Attention

99% of User Attention

Banners are a brand category. The Internet has been about purchasers (DR)

Jakob Neilsen eye-tracking has confirmed we are trained to ignore banners (CTR = 0.08%)

Big dollars still pursue brand campaigns. They just keep their money offline.

But didn’t Google prove you could make

money with “side links” ??

Paid Search Worked as a Text-Based Side Link Because of “Intent”

1. Intent-Based Ads

2. Organic Result

3. Google Comparison Shopping

Many technologists confuse this. They

think:

“The best ads are those that are ‘not in the way of the user

experience’ ”

Facebook Ads initially much less effective without intent & integration (but targeting

helps)

SAP?

Is My Site Optimized?

Get Sales Cloud?

Seamless?

We all know what really converts in non-intent ads:

Cleavage

Not joking. Ad studies consistent

Twitter’s came up with a “side link” product – “Promoted Tweets”

#Droid Charge

“Screwed up battery”

“Not the phone I’m looking for”

“What the fuck is a Droid Charge?”

My Biggest Marketing Themes of Past 5 Years

Have Been Integrated

Targeted

Personalized

Measurable

We Know How Powerful Images are in Advertising.

Images = Content = Ad (integrated)

We Even Know How Valuable Images are in Today’s Applications

Images avoid the blind spots & aren’t spammy like double-underlined text

BannerBanner

Skyscra

per

Skyscra

per

Integrated Images: Higher CTR, Higher Brand Recall, Automated & Relevant

In video, YouTube standard ad units work well at scale

Pre

-Roll

Pre

-Roll

VideoVideo

Translucent OverlayTranslucent Overlay

$4 CPM

$1 CPM

But integrated campaigns are performing off the charts, even for niche audiences.

Example: Style Hauls

Blair Fowler Elle Fowler

750,000 views

Integrated YouTube Campaigns Have Proven Successful at Conversion

Authentic

Engaging

Youth Demo

Call-to-Action

Mobile Games have offered opportunities for “integrated ads”

Ad as Part of Game Incentivized Ads

And an increasing part of media conversions is moving to “sponsored stories” – an

integrated ad unit

Excellent engagement, even on

sponsored posts

Other companies betting big sponsored story model

Converts better media-to-media

More cost effective than SEM

Gravity is even personalized

Measurement is an important part of

managing effective campaigns.

But social has been measuring vanity metrics,

not businessLikesClicks

Link tracking shows clicks. Awe.sm tracking shows bottom-of-funnel conversions.

$57.50$18.41 $68.11 $72.41$34.60 …

SHARING:

321downstreamclicks

$3293.32total revenuefrom this post

+ =$2159.03purchases

611clicks

+ $1134.29downstreampurchases

It also tracks down-stream influence / conversion

$94.09direct purchases

$97.09downstreampurchases

2downstreamshares

14downstreamclicks

19clicks

$78.12direct purchases

9clicks

$19.78direct purchases

5clicks

$18.41direct purchases

7clicks

$57.50direct purchases

$331.22downstreampurchases

6downstreamshares

58downstreamclicks

15clicks

$74.21direct purchases

1downstreamshare

7downstreamclicks

11clicks

$65.02direct purchases

7clicks

And through cookies can auto incentivize your best “sharers”

Welcome back, Suzy!

4 of your friends have bought because of your sharing — you’re a Fashion Maven!

Thanks for spreading the word! Enjoy 50% off your next purchase.

Share the good news with your friends!

Internet marketing is changing rapidly. It favors

those who are

Integrated

Targeted

Personal

Measurable

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Thank you

Mark Suster :: BlueGlass – April 2012 :: @msuster