Digital Delivers: Building Brands through Internet and Mobile Marketing

The title is this year's battlecry of IMMAP.

The other day the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) inducted it's new set of officers. I still remember the coming out party of IMMAP back in November 2006 in Greenbelt and then the first induction of members two months later (I was part of the first set!). 

IMMAP has grown by leaps and bounds and as Donald Lim (founding president) shared they were the most productive board with 2 major summits and course-offerings and a whole lot of activities during their term. Aside from that IMMAP has played an important role in evangelizing about the use of the internet and mobile platforms for marketing. A mean feat especially since this advocacy entails a lot of education.

 

Kudos to the old board and congratulations to the new set of officers of IMMAP!

1. President - Arthur Policarpio, Snapworx
2. Vice-President - Angeli Lambsdorff, DentsuIndio
3. Board Secretary - Arlene Amarante, Microsoft Advertising
4. Treasurer - Norelyn Babiera, Fiera de Manila

Committee Heads:

International Linkages - Jojit Alcazar
Industry Relations - Donald Lim
Research - Leah-Besa Jimenez
Standards and Ethics - Chris Concepcion
Education - Arlene Amarante
Academe and Youth - Mon Duremdes
3rd Internet & Mobile Marketing Summit - Angeli Lambsdorff
3rd Annual Boomerang Awards - Ed Mapa
PR - Melissa Limcaoco
Membership - Bing Kimpo
Fellowship - Mike Palacios
Advocacy - Nix Nolledo

Awesome Ad

I saw this ad on TV when it first came out about a month ago and I must admit I still look forward to seeing it on TV (translation: I don't change the channel when it comes up) because it's catchy. What's awesome about it though is how it has been viewed over 200,000 times in about a month (added 2 Youtube channels that have it).

Now some might argue that number is small compared to when it's shown on TV where eyeballs would be much higher. BUT! I would argue back that the efficiency of message delivery would be much, much higher when the person searched for it and watched it with undivided attention online. (Do you actually really pay attention to TV ads in between show segments? I do when it's this ad and the McDonald's ad.)

I was quite ecstatic to see TVCs being placed on Youtube since it shows that agencies and advertisers are dabbling more and more on viral marketing. 

A great sample of this would be HP's Yetube campaign.

Up next: creating your Youtube channel. 

We're Finally Getting There

The landscape for digital marketing in the Philippines have changed significantly in the past couple of years. I remember back in 2001 less than 5% of companies who would join exhibits would have email addresses much less websites. My Mom's export company back in 1999 stood out even though we were a newbie because we had a website (a home-made one by me!). 

It's been ten years since I started working on digital advertising stuff and I must admit it's been really slow to catch on in the Philippines. Really slow. I started off with online directories and the challenge back then was getting business to get their information online, must less have them showcase their products/services. After that phase was done (took a few years to get businesses comfortable) the next task was to convince companies to advertise online.

And I dare say we are going over that we're finally getting over that mountain.

But the next task is educating how. It's the most difficult phase I believe and a lot of organizations and people have been doing just that the past couple of years. What helped a lot in this process I believe are social networking sites and blogs and the Social Media Usage study of Universal Mccann clearly shows that a lot of active Filipino internet users spend a lot of time on these services. I've been seeing a lot of local ads on Facebook the past few months and more and more companies have been tapping bloggers because they want to be talked about online. It's just a matter of time.

Reports show that bulk of the online marketing spend goes to display ads (i.e. banner ads), I think this is because there is still a lack of better understanding of search. I believe this year that's where things will head to since: (1) advertisers will be looking for better ROI; (2) there will be better understanding that search isn't about demographics but direct needs; (3) there is more than enough available content online where advertisers can become relevant links for their target market; and (4) the continued growth of Filipino internet users. 

After all, what company wouldn't want to have returns at minimal investment?

Should You Advertise Online During Crisis?

I got a barrage of questions from a former colleague earlier about advertising online. His exact question was, "Why should I advertise online even during crisis?"

The answer is easy.

Because advertising online (especially pay-per-click ads) is the most cost efficientmedium of advertising.

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Of course!" I answered back.

Before the advent of the internet our parents used the yellow pages (or the directory) to find suppliers they need (they still do!). They open up the book, find the right category and start calling the supplier they need. The same way we do online. We go to Google and search. Right?

You only search based on your needs. Be it to purchase something. Canvass. Do Reviews. Find a store. Compare. Or just simply because they are curious. You don't really search for something you don't really need right? 

The internet has a wealth of information and that's how a lot of people find info nowadays. Being there as relevant links or text (or even display ads) also helps because it may end up tickling the fancy of the person in that page. 

Anyway, in a more formal note, Piper Jaffray & Co. in their study “The New eCommerce Decade: The Age of Micro Targeting” found out that the most cost efficient way of acquiring customers is via search at $8.50 per customer acquired, the yellow pages follows second at $20 cost per acquisition. 

Makes sense doesn't it? And during crisis every centavo counts. 

So have you searched for your product online lately?