In some ways, it is. You didn’t see people walking around talking to handheld assistants in 2010 (well, not expecting them to respond coherently, anyway.) You didn’t see people taking iPads to bed in 2009 to watch the latest TV shows they streamed on Netflix (of course, iPads didn’t exist then.) You didn’t expect to be able to access the world’s largest advertising network with nothing more than a login and a credit card a few years before that. And you didn’t have people asking seriously about how easy it is to ditch their cable/satellite TV connection and stream online.

So yeah, we’re living in the future. No jetpacks and flying cars, maybe, but Elon Musk is saying he’ll put millions of people on Mars in 10-20 years. Hey, think of the franchising opportunities for Burger King! Of course, you may have to get used to $1000 Whoppers.

Anyway, back to reality. In the real world, here’s what you should be looking at in 2012:

Mobile-izing your website. Yeah. It’s time. You really need to consider how your website works on phones and mobile devices, now that they’re approaching double-digit traffic. What’s more, that traffic is more likely to be your target demographic, whether or not you’re selling B2B or B2C–business managers, owners, power users, people with disposable income. Your Flash site ain’t gonna show up on an iPad, so the power user’s son won’t be looking for your toys. Your site itself won’t display well on an iPhone, period–which could be the kiss of death when people are browsing in airports on the way to meetings, or in their few precious minutes at the Starbucks before work. Your site absolutely must have a phone-sized, mobile-friendly template for display on phones, and any Flash elements have to be reworked to HTML5. Welcome to the future

Taking a long hard look at Adwords. Yep, we covered this a couple of months ago, but it bears repeating. Google is the largest ad network in the world, with incredibly flexible tools for precisely targeting your audience and geography. If you’re not taking advantage of this, you’re probably losing out on potential business.

Putting down the broad social crack pipe. There are tons of companies on Facebook and Twitter that simply shouldn’t be there. B2B? Get out. Niche B2C? Take a long, hard look and compare the amount of money you’re spending managing your presences, doing contests, etc. to your more traditional marketing. If the numbers don’t add up, get out. Now, to be sure, there are plenty of companies who can benefit from social (especially entertainment) but the reality is that spending often doesn’t line up with results. This is a huge opportunity, because you can use the funds and personnel freed up from social for more effective marketing. Skeptical? Consider that Apple doesn’t engage with Facebook or Twitter at all.

At the same time, looking really hard at the niche social sites. For every Facebook, there’s a hundred thousand giant user communities, each focused on a specific niche. Jeeps. Headphones. Auto restoration. Offroading. Iron Man competitions. Cyclocross. Android rooting. You name it, it’s out there. If you’re determined to be in social, find out where the people talking about your stuff actually hang out—then wade in and introduce yourself. Sponsor a show or a contest. You’ll be surprised how niche social can be amazingly effective. Or maybe not, because they’re already predisposed to buying your stuff.

Putting print money into e-pubs or apps. Let’s face it. Print is smelling really bad. The days of feeling the expensive paper of a brochure to judge the worth of a product is over. People see something, they buy it online. The days of keeping racks of catalogs on your bookcases is also over. People look it up, and buy it online. If you’re in a niche that’s still using print, it’s time to move into the future–either through the development of an exceptional online catalog with great searching capabilities, e-pubs that people can keep on their desktop for quick reference, or even apps that help your customers choose and use your products. Add up your print costs–and you’ll be surprised what that’ll buy you on the electronic side.

Happy 2012! Hope you enjoy living in the future!

Wait a sec there. Hit the rewind button (remember those?), go back, and read that again. Google. The largest ad network in the world. Not ClearChannel. Not any single TV network. Not anyone you’d think to put together with that statement at all. It’s amazing how things have changed.

But let’s get to the meat of the matter. If you’ve looked at Adwords in the past and dismissed it as being “just a way to place text search ads,” you’re in for a huge surprise.

Consider these capabilities:

Rich media ads on specific websites and mobile apps in specific locations. Now, this isn’t a new capability, but it’s one that many Google Adwords users leave unexplored. Yes, you’ve all seen Adwords text search ads, and you’ve read ad nauseum about their efficacy. And you’ve seen tons of these same search ads reflected on virtually every site on the internet, from YouTube to Bob’s Audiophile Stuff Blog. This means you can deliver rich media banners to highly targeted audiences–including thousands of subsegments on YouTube, leading blogs like BoingBoing, and highly targeted industry vertical sites like AVSForum. You can also deliver text and banner ads into specific mobile apps on both iPhone and Android. This type of targeting, combined with intelligent, ongoing optimization, delivers the kind of results we could only dream about a year ago.

Targeting to a specific mobile device or OS. Let’s say you’ve just introduced your new, shiny iPad app, and need to get the word out. Sure, you could use standard Adwords placements on search, and hope that your audience is (a) using an iPad, and (b) willing to go to the App Store via the web. Or you could choose to deliver your ads ONLY to iPads. Best on iPad 2? No problem, you can segment down to that level. Same with Android. If your app doesn’t run on earlier versions of the OS, target only those that it works with. The result is a seamless connection to the exact audience you want, with a one-touch link to the App Store or Android market. And this doesn’t stop at apps–hardware devices that work with mobile phones and tablets are also the perfect candidate for this approach.

Targeting via metro area. Adwords has long since had some demographic control, but now you can actually see which metro areas are performing well—and those that are underperforming. It’s easy to reduce your exposure in metros that don’t work for you, and increase exposure in those that don’t. Coupled with ad scheduling, this is a powerful new tool to increase the effectiveness of an Adwords campaign.

If it’s time to look at Adwords again, we can help you decide which options are best for you, deploy an inexpensive test campaign, and report on the results. Don’t hesitate to talk to us about it!

Yeah, and if that’s what you think, good luck. Here’s the door. Don’t let it hit ya where the dog shoulda bit ya, and all that. Come back when reality sets in. Because, like it or not, even in this Web 2.0/social/mobile era, media is a critical part of your marketing.

“You mean, like television and newspapers and outdoor and stuff?” you scream.

Yes and no. We also mean AdWords, and site sponsorships, and banners, and social media advertising, and magazines, and radio, and online video ads, and a whole lot more. The media landscape is vast–much larger than it has been in the past. And, believe it or not, even the most “antiquated” media have their place. The problem is finding their place. It seems that many clients come to us with one of two misconceptions:

1. I can do everything cheap/free online with social and SEO.
2. I have to go TV for broadest exposure, but I have to do it on the cheap.

Um. No.

Cheap and free are a non-starter for any product. There are marketing tactics that have no media spend, yes: social and SEO. However, management of both of those types of programs either requires an in-house team, or an agency. Both cost money. You’re just not spending it on media.

And, cheap TV is an oxymoron. If you’re talking a national campaign, you’re talking a whole helluva lot of money. Period. No excuses. Sure, you can piece together remnant space through online buys, or hit a locality with a more targeted campaign for semi-reasonable amounts, but the reality is simple: TV isn’t cheap.

So what do you do? As before in this series, it depends entirely on the product or service you’re trying to sell, how you sell it, and how you stack up to the competition (take a look at #1 and #2 to see what we’re talking about.)

An Example: High-End iPod Dock
For this exercise, let’s use the hypothetical $500 high-end iPod dock we’ve been talking about in the previous posts. Let’s also assume that we’re selling it primarily online and direct, through the company’s own ecommerce site.

This means:

1. Since this is a niche product, you should be looking at targeted media, rather than mass media. Yes, we know Bose does commercials. Bose is also a multibillion dollar company with significant distribution. They want people to be aware of them when they go in the store. You want them to come and buy your stuff now.

2. The name of the game here is keeping the cost per sale much less than the profit on the sale. If you’re making $250 on a sale, you’d be thrilled with a $50 cost per sale.

3. You also need to choose media to maximize the total number of sales. If your media is only driving a single sale a month, it doesn’t matter if the cost per sale is $1 or $150.

Media we’d consider:

1. PR/Reviews. Yes, we’ll recommend you take money away from us, because we don’t do PR. But good reviews and press on sites like Gizmodo, Engadget, CNet, Stereophile, and more are going to be the most effective way to get sales. And you can track referrals from their site through to sale and calculate ROI based on your PR spend.
2. Google AdWords. This is the easiest media to measure and optimize, and can be extremely effective. It allows us to target people searching for iPod docks, as well as a broad palette of specific sites where audiophiles congregate. And it provides direct cost per sale metrics when coupled with Google Analytics.
3. Site Sponsorships. There are fan sites devoted to everything from $5000 headphones to iPod docks. We’d sponsor some of the most likely candidates and again measure cost per sale.
4. Direct Email. Yes, we said it. Those same sites sometimes have email and newsletters, which is an effective way to get sales.

Media we’d avoid:

1. Broadcast. This isn’t a broad play, and our iPod dock manufacturer probably doesn’t have 7-8 figures to invest in an ongoing campaign. It’s also difficult to measure.
2. Print. Although there are some targeted opportunities in the magazine space here, they’re shrinking—losing to the likes of Engadget and Gizmodo. They’re pricey, hard to measure, and hit the trailing edge adopters.
3. Billboards. This isn’t a local play, and this iPod dock manufacturer isn’t Apple, able to do a significant buy in most major metros.
4. Social. Unless this is a worldchanging iPod dock, one that runs for a year on a day’s worth of solar charging, or is able to end world hunger, we’d stay away from social. Is Apple on Facebook? No. There you go.

Now, if this was a different product, or if it was sold in stores, or if the ad budget was larger, all of this might change. So how do you go about choosing the right media for any product?

How to Choose the Right Media
First, know your goal. Are you looking to get someone to buy immediately online, or are you looking for broader awareness to influence purchasers in stores? Is this an impulse buy, or a long-term commitment? This will affect the media significantly.

1. Define a Goal. First, know your goal. Are you looking to get someone to buy immediately online, or are you looking for broader awareness to influence purchasers in stores? Is this an impulse buy, or a long-term commitment? This is the most important part of your marketing.
2. Determine Your Breadth. Based on the goal, are you looking at rifle-targeting a niche audience, or do you need the broadest awareness amongst the largest number of people? Highly targeted campaigns are typically online and direct. Broad campaigns are usually broadcast, print, and social.
3. Set a Budget. Based on the goal and breadth, what’s a logical budget? How does that compare with what you can afford? You may have to scale back plans. But remember—the first question an agency will ask is, “What’s your media budget?”
4. Choose and Deploy. Choose your media and deploy the campaign, making sure to maximize measurability of all tactics.
5. Monitor and Optimize. You—or your agency—should be employing 24/7 software optimization, weekly human review, and monthly reporting. And they should be ruthless about eliminating underperforming tactics, venues, and keywords. It may be really cool to see your banner at the top of CNet, or have your iPod dock show up first whenever anyone is searching for “ipod,” but if the cost per sale is too high, they have to be eliminated—and new tactics rolled in.

And—believe me—I wish there was an easier way to do it. It would be great if you could get all the exposure you wanted for free. But we simply aren’t there yet, and it’s likely we’ll never be.

Kidding. Or not.

“Wait a minute,” you’re probably saying. “We come to you for messaging! If you miss the message, it’s your fault! We’ll fire you and move on to another agency. Done.”

Well, yes, that’s true. A lot of our clients come to us for messaging. Some have a platform that’s handed down by the All-Seeing and All-Powerful Product Marketing Gods. In that case, there isn’t much latitude. But let’s take you at your word, and say that you’ve come to us with your really super-cool, best-iPod-dock-in-the-world product (the fictional example we used in #1) and want us to take charge of the messaging. In this case, you’ll hear something like this from us:

“A great message stands out. It actually says something. Great messages use absolute words like, ‘first, only, and best.’ They can ruffle feathers and generate controversy. Can your product support these kinds of messages in its inherent design?”

This sometimes generates a lot of blank looks, but more often than not, it gets us talking about this product and its competition. Sometimes things become very black and white at this point. Let’s say this best-iPod-dock-in-the-world is the only one that has an integrated subwoofer that goes down to 20 Hz. Now, let’s realize that most people don’t have any idea of what 20 Hz is. But if it does have a subwoofer with a ton of bass, it can create a club-like sound in your house. And there’s your message. The only iPod dock that turns your house into a club—don’t be surprised if you knock some pictures off the walls!

Sometimes things remain shades of gray. Yeah, it’s a $500 dock, and it sounds great, and it looks great, but there are a half-dozen other $500 docks that are competing in the same market. Some are a little better at one thing, some are a little better at another. The good news is that this isn’t the end of the world. In this case, you can create unique differentiators.

“Wait a minute!” You cry. “Isn’t that dishonest? You can’t just create stuff out of thin air!”

No, you can’t, and we’re not advocating you do so. However, there’s almost always some kind of unique differentiator available, if you dig deep enough. Oh hey, your iPod dock was created using the same circuits as used in high-end amplifiers? Well, guess what: you have the only iPod Dock with high-end reference amplifier design for superior sound—the same as you’d find in $10K speaker amps!” Or, let’s say a ton of recording studios have picked up on this dock for casual meetings with clients. Congrats. You have the first iPod dock chosen by professional recording engineers! Or, let’s say you’ve done listening tests with professional musicians, and 9 out of 10 of them chose your dock. Now you have the best iPod dock, period, chosen by professional musicians 9 out of 10 times.

You see where we’re going with this. If you can’t claim a first, only, or best, you can usually find a relevant conditional claim that is almost as powerful.

Now, all you have to do is make sure the message is supportable (if you have a powerful claim, have the proof points to back it up—you may be challenged!), make sure it is congruent with your brand personality, and segment the message so it’s appropriate to the media. Yes, lots of work. Yes, we know, marketing should be about trips to Costa Azul and schmoozing at the awards shows. Or not.

In review:

A great message is:

1. Able to claim one or more true, unique differentiators
2. Supportable by multiple proof points
3. Simple, direct, and understandable to the audience
4. In-line with the image, personality, and tone of the brand
5. Appropriate to the media.

An acceptable message is:

1. Able to create one or more unique differentiators based on lifestyle, audience, or preference.
2. Supportable by conditional usage
3. Simple, direct, and understandable to the audience
4. In-line with the image, personality, and tone of the brand
5. Appropriate to the media.

Bottom line: don’t blend in. If your product or service doesn’t have any true, unique differentiators, you need to create some. If you can create controversy, do it. The message is the most important part of any campaign—don’t miss it!

In fact, I think we irritate a lot of clients when they first come to us and say, “Wow, we have this great new product or service and we need to get the word out and I’ve heard there’s all these cool things you can do on Facebook and on Twitter and virally and maybe even some online ads and a microsite and all that stuff!” And all we do is sit back and say, “That’s great. What’s your goal?”

A lot of times, we get a blank look, and a reiteration of the above.

Luckily, a lot more times, we get a hard stop, followed by an “aha!” moment, where our client realizes that we are really looking out for their best interests.

Sure, we can do pretty pictures and snappy copy as well as the next agency out there (or better—hey, I’m biased) but if those pretty pictures and snappy copy don’t get you the sales results a client wants, what good are they? Yeah, they may get you some shiny pieces of chrome and plastic to put on a mantle and wow the punters, but we don’t go in for awards. At all. Every award we’ve won has been for client-entered work, not stuff we’ve submitted. We don’t have time for it, and we don’t think they matter.

“That’s fine,” you might be saying by now, “But what’s so hard about a goal? We want to sell our stuff, that’s the goal, it never changes, there you go!”

Well, you’d be surprised how many marketers forget even that. Sometimes, in the excitement of a new product/service/brand, the bottom line goes out the door. But a good goal is more than a bottom line.

We’d define it as:

Goal = Action + Audience + Metrics + References

Here’s how that could break down, for a hypothetical consumer electronics product (let’s say, it’s a high-end iPod dock that costs $500) that is being sold exclusively through stores, both physical and online.

Action = Get people to buy products at the stores.
Audience = People who are interested in iPod docks, excellent sound, and have incomes that support a $500 accessory buy.
Metrics = Move 1000+ of these products per month on a sustaining basis
References = The product needs to outsell two other competing $500 docks so the stores will continue to carry it, and our previous cost per sale when driving to online stores has been $150.

Note how none of the above can be done with a genericized product. We need to know what it is, what it costs, and what the competition is like.

Also note how all of the above lead to more details which will need to be addressed for a successful marketing program:

For the Action, getting people to buy products at the stores means getting them physically into a store, or it means getting them to an online store where they can purchase it. This means we have to use tactics that are congruent with those sub-goals. Getting people physically into a store may mean mobile tactics, or, for an older audience, it may mean direct mail. Getting them to online stores may mean Adwords, or sponsorship on sites where iPod fanatics hang out.

For the Audience, what else do we know about them? What’s their demographics? Male/Female split? Age? Incomes? Do they really value standout sound or standout design? The more we know, the better.

For the Metrics, where did these numbers come from? Are they based on competitive information, or previous product launches, or are they arbitrary? Do they line up with what we can expect from this kind of product, based on history?

For the References, are the two other docks all that matter, or are there $400 docks we need to know about? Do the stores have a number they need to sell in order to continue carrying the product? Is it possible to get real metrics on the cost per sale from external stores? If so, what kind of analytics do we have to set up?

Now, you’re thinking, “Hell, this is too hard! I got into marketing because I wanted to do cool commercials, and I thought I’d get a chance to travel around with the director when they shot in St. Lucia!”

Well, that’s entirely fine, and good luck with that!

For the rest of us, we’ll continue putting in the long hours to create targeted and effective campaigns that hit the bottom line.

1. We hate monopolies! For a while there, it looked like Facebook was going to be like the eBay juggernaut, with no serious competition from any quarter. Now, there’s a chance Google+ will gain share and force some real competition–which thrills us. Both companies will have to improve their services for their customers. And this includes both the people participating in the social network, and the evil advertisers like us who want to contact people within the network.

2. We like ads! Well, duh. We are evil marketers, after all. And we like Google’s Adwords about ten thousand times better than Facebook ads. If Google intends to integrate Adwords into Google+, there’s going to be a party in the office. Much better targeting, much better metrics, a wider variety of ads–it’s a win for both the advertisers and the people using the Google+ social network.

3. We trust Google (more.) Yeah, Google ain’t perfect, but after years of using their services, we get the feeling that Google really doesn’t care what we do, as long as they can show us some ads. They add free services, they show you some ads. They improve their capabilities, they show you some ads. It’s not a perfect world, but given that Google has to pay their bills, an ad-supported model ain’t bad. It certainly beats the bad old days of paying $600 for Microsoft office. Facebook, on the other hand . . . well, after having multiple big privacy issues, of releasing personal info without warning, of (still) having one of the most insanely-stupid privacy control panels out there–well, we get the feeling that Facebook wants to use our information to control the way we communicate. And that’s a whole big bag of more-evil and more-invasive than simply showing ads.

So how will this end? Hopefully with two giants battling it out on roughly equal ground, offering better services with improved privacy and ease of use, both providing platforms for advertisers to reach people who may be interested in their products.

And yeah, in a perfect world, there wouldn’t even be the need for advertising at all. Keep hoping for that, bub.

“Video?” You say. “But that’s expensive, and time-consuming, and it isn’t for me, and the last time we put up a video on YouTube, we ended up with 23 views, so why are we bothering anyway?”

Well, let’s start by clearing up a few misconceptions.

It’s Not About the Views
Video isn’t just about YouTube. In fact, most corporate videos don’t belong on YouTube, unless they’re simply living there to simplify video serving. And video isn’t just about mass viewing. If you’re selling a $50,000 product, and 1000 people see your video, and ten respond, you’re gonna be pretty thrilled with that. Heck, we’ve done videos that were sent to as little as 75 people around the world—and still resulted in multi-thousand-percent ROI.

It’s Not About Entertainment
Corporate video doesn’t need to be the next summer blockbuster. If you can post a 90-second video that shows a customer how to properly connect your new product to his PC and reduce service call volume by 90%, that’s an effective video. If you have a 2-minute “quick tour” that gives prospects a much better idea of what your product does, when compared to text and photos, and increases your order rate 80%, that’s a great video.

It’s Not As Hard (or Costly) As You Expect
If you haven’t done much video production lately, you may be in for a shock. Video production is easier and more cost-effective than ever today. High-def production and sophisticated effects that might have broken the budget a few years ago are now in reach of most companies. And when you work with an agency with significant in-house resources for scripting and deep connections in production, your work is further streamlined.

So, ask yourself: what can video do for me?

Do you have a complex product that needs more explanation than text and slides can provide, or are you introducing a new product at your next show that really has to sizzle? Need a software walk-through to help everyone understand your advantages, or are you deploying a technology or branding initiative that needs to be revealed to all your staff?

In all cases, video can help increase the effectiveness of your communications—and you may be surprised at how easy production can be.

Video Example: Epson

Video Example: Wesco Aircraft

“There are so many things I can do to advertise my product online, where do I start? Ad networks? Search ads? SEO? Site sponsorships? Contests? Social? Mobile? YouTube? Advertising on YouTube? Advertising on Facebook? Facebook presence? Twitter? Paid tweets?”

And yes, we agree, it’s hard to get a handle on where to start. And that doesn’t even start to take into account tactics like behavioral optimization or buzz generation. Even if you’ve been in online advertising for your entire career, it can be hard to keep up with all of the opportunities online.

And the old tactics–either rifle-shot targeting of very specific sites, or shotgun-blasts through a broad range of media–typically don’t work when you’re talking about online media. This is a new model, and you need a new model to help identify the best possible places to advertise–and to optimize the results of the campaign over time.

At Centric, we call this model “Portfolio Strategy,” and it’s modeled after a similarly chaotic and constantly-changing realm: the stock market. Here’s how it works:

1. Divide online media into three types:

Known-Good. These tactics work, and we know what the response rate is likely to be. Safe, but not necessarily high response.
Tested Extensions. Newer or unconventional tactics we have tried and had good results with. Chancy, but usually produces results better than Know Good media.
New Opps. New, radical, or untried ideas. Risky–may produce stellar results, but also may fall completely flat.

2. Allocate budget based on media:

70% to Known Good. Put the majority of your budget in the stuff you know works, just like investing. If you’re thinking about spending 80% of your budget on Facebook, think again. This is the wrong approach.
20% to Tested Extensions. Once your foundation is set, you can start testing some new tactics that have a reasonable chance of producing good results. At worst, it’ll probably average out to about the same response rate as Known Good advertising.
10% to New Opps. Now, you can have some fun. Take 10% and put it into high-risk, all-new tactics that may take off with a bang, or may fall flat on their face. If they do great, that’s wonderful. If they don’t do anything at all, your core results are still safe.

3. Measure all results and optimize:

Via Machine. 24/7 algorithmic optimization of the campaign. There’s no reason not to optimize creative and placement via machine, 24/7/365. Simply letting the algorithms run will produce better results, over a couple of weeks to a month’s run time.
Via Human Review. Weekly review and creative/placement optimization. This is the critical part. Although the algorithms are great, they can’t beat human review that looks critically at results, tweaks ads based on patterns only a person will see, and tries new ad approaches that may work better than the current variation.

The measurement and optimization are absolutely critical. Would you continue with the same investment portfolio through a radically changing economy? Of course not. Would you continue to throw money into investments that didn’t perform? No. And yet, time after time, companies will continue to spend on the same basic online campaign for 3 months, 6 months, a year–and then wonder why it didn’t do so well.

How’s your online advertising performing? Is it doing well–or is it time for a new portfolio?

“I need a new print ad.”

“I want a Facebook presence and a really compelling social media campaign.”

“Our website blows, can you redesign it?”

Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of those requests. Not inherently. And yeah, there are tons of agencies that’ll simply toddle away and come back to you with ideas for an ad, a social media campaign, or a website. And that’s perfectly fine, too, as long as those requests are grounded in solid strategy.

But most of the time, they aren’t.

Here’s the difference. If you come to us and say, “I need a new print ad, based on the fact that print has always been our best response medium, and the magazines we’re in are holding up well in terms of size and quality of subscriber base, but our current ad is stale and it’s not pulling,” that’s wonderful. That’s strategic. And it’s very likely that a new print ad is really all you need. The only other question we might ask would be about your media buy, and if you’ve looked at sponsorship or partnership opportunities with the magazines’ online presence, since there are usually some interesting opportunities on that side.

But here’s how it usually goes:

Client: “We need a new print ad.”
Centric: “Cool. What’s up? Isn’t it pulling?”
Client: “Well, it’s kinda old.”
Centric: “But how is it doing, response-wise?”
Client: “It’s been falling a bit. I think.”
Centric: “How are the magazines doing? Have you looked at the subscription numbers and demographics lately?”
Client: “Well, no, but aren’t all print magazines kinda dying?”
Centric: “In many cases, yes. But if your media is dying, isn’t it time to look at another approach to get the results you want?”
Client: “Are you actually trying to talk me out of giving you money?”
Centric: “Nope. We just want to get the best results. Now, what exactly are you trying to do here…”

And so we find out what’s really happening with their marketing, and we can make suggestions about how to better spend their budget.

This is what strategic marketing is all about: making the most of your outreach, so you can meet and exceed your goals. And this is how we approach every project–not simply reacting to a request, but actually looking to understand the needs of the campaign.

Strategic marketing isn’t hard, either. It’s usually just a repetitive application of one question: Why?

Here’s how it works. Let’s suppose your CEO has just read an article about the wonderful new world of social media marketing, and storms into your office, saying, “We have to have a Facebook presence! Get me an order of that social media marketing right now, pronto!”

Now, you may not want to get up in the face of your CEO and start asking him, “Why?” But you may want to bring in an agency that can ask questions like:

“That’s great. Will you be the first company in your industry up on Facebook? If not, how are your competitors doing? Oh, hey, look, one of them has 87 likes. You know, that’s not so great. And have you thought about the staffing needs for social media? Ah, you didn’t know this was a full-time job. That’s cool, there are some companies that are doing pretty well with Facebook. But there are a lot of failures, too, so let’s talk about what you really want to accomplish here.”

And then, in the end, if it’s right for you to have a Facebook campaign, you will.

But if it’s not, you won’t. And your marketing budget will be free to be invested in vehicles with a better return.

This isn’t just in the course of business, either—I can’t tell you how many twentysomethings I’ve heard repeat the phrase, “I want to do something huge, world-changing. Like Google. Like Facebook. Like Apple.”

That’s when I usually say something like, “Hmm, that’s strange. When I was a kid, I was taught that you start small, work hard, and overdeliver on everything you do, and—over time—you’ll build to a level where you can realize all your dreams.

And they scoff. “That’s old-school. All I need is a Big Idea.”

Yeah. A big idea. And capital investment. And the right team. And the great good luck not to be left back on the floor with a lot of other big ideas, like Friendster and WebVan and Beenz and Pets.com and Second Life and Plurk and Yammer and Orkut and Digg and and and . . . the reality is that for every Facebook, there are ten dead high-profile competitors, a hundred dead you-may-have-heard-about-thems, a thousand ideas that made it online, ten thousand people who started building something, a hundred thousand who sketched on napkins, and a million or more who had the same big idea, but never really did anything about it.

The point is: hitting a home run isn’t about a Big Idea That Changes Everything. Like in the real world, a home run is the product of decades of training, years of extreme competition, the perfect conditions for the hit, and more than a little bit of luck.

Betting on a home run with no training, experience, or imperfect conditions is kinda like buying a lottery ticket. Sure, it might happen, but the odds are astronomical.