Mythology - The Meaning Behind the Marketing

Back to the Future With Sponsored Content

We've noted in earlier posts how early radio and television shows came with a singular sponsor so associated with the program that it was hard to think of one without the other (see Milton Berle and Texaco Star Theater).

Over time, in order to make advertising more affordable for more companies and to maximize their ad revenue, networks invented the :60 and :30 spots. At that point, it became about selling impressions, not aligning a brand with a popular personality or show.

Now that the Western World is thoroughly saturated with far too many commercial messages, marketers are beginning to rethink the value of impressions disconnected from the benefit they could have received back in the old "brought to you by" days.

One example of course is the smash hit American Idol, where Coke, AT&T and Ford have made long-term commitments to associate with the show.

Another example has been MSN's successful special content offering which spawned the In the Motherhood web series (which carried a "conceived by", not just a "sponsored by", tag for Suave and Sprint brands), now an ABC sitcom (hey, Cavemen aren't the only ones who can start as a commercial and end up with a real show).

The latest iteration from MSN is "The Guy's Manual- Get the Tough Things in Life Done." This time, Grape Nuts is enjoying the exclusive credit for bringing a relatively humorous look at tough life scenarios men must deal with and advice on how to handle them by host Kenny Mayne from ESPN.

This approach is an interesting mix of old school/new school advertising. While many "new marketing" gurus sniff dismissively at anything that smacks of interruptive advertising, the truth is that there are still opportunities to influence. This model is an interesting mix of desired (if done well) content with a much stronger opportunity for the brand to "take credit" for delivering it free to the viewer. The brand association is much stronger.

While not as attractive from a pure reach standpoint vs. traditional television, it attracts significant eyeballs with promotion on one of the world's most-traveled web portals, yet without the "hey, here's our advertising message" baggage. The brand is more subtly, yet powerfully, woven into the content experience.

This is most likely one of the experiences that will enable true interactive television content. While it won't be Milton Berle and Texaco any longer, it may usher in a new era of strong brands associated with specific content that develops strong emotional brand connections.

What are the Marketing Implications for Microsoft's Tag Mini-App?

Good to see my old company Microsoft generating some buzz with their second iPhone app called Tag. It's also good to see my old company building code for competitive platforms.

Tag "transforms traditional offline media into live links to online information and entertainment" by rendering an image that can trigger an action, such as launching a web site, when it's read by the iPhone app. Check out a little video here for the concept.

The integration of offline with online has been the holy grail of advertising and marketing circles since the Internet took hold in the Nineties. Tag brings together mobile, the web and print in a unique way.

For a quick example of how it can be used, download the Tag app for your phone and snap our first Mythology tag:

 

At Mythology we're planning on piloting some viral marketing efforts using this technology. Give us a shout at [email protected] if you're interested in brainstorming some ideas for your organization.

Top B2B Web Sites

BtoB Magazine shares their list of top ten business-to-business web sites.

"B-to-b sites are all about effectiveness," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. "You need to find the quickest way to get potential customers to understand not just about your products but what the real issues are in their industry and how those products can solve their problems and challenges. It's also crucial to build a long-term relationship rather than simply hawk your wares."

Well said, but I would also add: business decision-makers are people too (well, most of them). They are influenced by what they see on consumer sites and are expecting similar levels of quality in the design and usability of a B2B site.

In addition, I personally believe that infusing some appropriate personality into a business site can provide much-needed differentiation. Let's be honest - most B2B sites are drop-dead boring. B2B marketers seem afraid to offend, or else they assume the folks on the other end of the PC are so "just the facts" oriented that they will be turned off by any sense of originality.

But let's not forget - humans make decisions based on emotions and facts. It's been shown that many (most?) humans make an emotional decision first, then try to justify it with "research." Is your B2B site delivering an emotional as well as logical experience for your customers?