Neither Distance Nor Snow Nor Slow Taxi Drivers… What a day it’s been so far! I flew out of sunny Lexington early this morning so I could attend the DMA/AIM net.marketing conference & exhibition in New York City.
It’s snowing like crazy in here New York. Fortunately, the snow’s not sticking to the ground but at just over 32 degrees Fahrenheit it’s a big change from the weather I left behind in Kentucky. (One of my co-workers at iEntry suggested I go to Central Park and build a snowman...)
I hailed a taxi and after fighting our way through the hectic New York City traffic, the cab driver and I finally reached the conference where I attended a Luncheon and Keynote Address by David Verklin, Chief Executive Officer, Carat North America.
It just shows you that neither distance nor snow nor slow taxi drivers can keep me from bringing you the latest live conference coverage! ;-)
David Verklin’s Keynote Speech. David Verklin oversees Carat’s $3.7 billion media service in North America, just one of three worldwide divisions. The thesis of David’s Keynote Address was the fact that the marketing industry has changed more in last 36 months than it has in last 36 years (very impressive, huh?)
This is a time of enormous change in American advertising, David noted, promising that the next 36 months will be just as profound. The digital ways that marketers can deliver their messages are changing very rapidly. The important part of his speech focused on ten new marketing methods, including wireless, broadband, video on demand, and personal video recorders (PVR), to name a few.
Currently, global advertising is controlled by twelve companies, David says. This kind of consolidation is becoming a trend that we can expect to see more of in the future. Roughly 80% of the time incorporated sells to these twelve companies and just three companies control 53% of the billboards on Earth.
American advertising is evolving and is heavily influenced by oversees advertising. The European advertising model has finally come to the United States. Now, there are those who develop advertisements and there are space buyers who buy the ad space. That division wasn’t so heavy 36 months ago.
The future is looking bright for viral marketing and search engine optimization, he says, also mentioning ROI – “Return on Involvement.” He believes ROI will become an increasing trend because people want to measure their level of involvement with advertising. How do people click and interact with the ads? How much are consumers involved in the messages? These are things advertisers want to know and should measure in addition to the actual monetary return.
Online branding works. When you buy an online advertisement, you’re paying for online branding, not just clicks. One company that is already researching the retention of web branding is Dynamic Logic, Inc., experts in marketing effectiveness research. Dynamic Logic believes that a person can make a difference in online branding even if they don’t click on the advertisement.
I think his message was basically that online branding works. Dynamic Logic is one of the first companies starting to measure that and David says they’re definitely a good company to watch.
"Look overseas for new ideas," David tells American advertisers. Many American concepts come from overseas, including some of our most popular television shows and innovative inventions. David stresses the importance of being aware of what other countries are doing. Not just Europe, but Asia and other countries as well.
For example, he noted that 75% of South Korea has broadband. What’s wrong with that? Well, it’s a big problem for car companies such as Hyundai. With online entertainment and shopping readily available, fewer people leave the house. That means fewer people are buying cars nowadays. Could that trend be heading for America soon? Only time will tell…
”Get to know your local cable company.”Afterwards, I talked to David himself for a bit and asked for his advice to owners of small online businesses. He said, "Get to know your local cable company." Why? Because cable companies are beginning to control how communications enter households.
This is a top priority that small business owners, especially those with niche areas, need to start considering.
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