Interactive

According to a report published by the Direct Marketing Association in October, 2005, the total dollar amount spent on direct marketing advertising spending in 2004 was $149.3 million. This number is expected to rise to $161.3 million in 2005, and to $199.4 million by 2009.

Within this total, direct mail (both catalog and non-catalog) accounted for approx. $46.8 million in 2004, and is expected to hit $59.3 million by 2009.

Further, email marketing accounted for $0.3 million in 2004, and is expected to rise to $0.6 million by 2009.

When discussing advertising within videogames, we must first identify two distinct segments: In-Game ads (essentially product placement within a game) and Advergames (branded entertainment – the game IS the ad). Some of the next generation in-game ads are actually dynamically served up while users are connected to online game networks like Xbox Live – meaning new ads can be served up in games (a whole new media network!).

The reasons behind the movement towards this type of advertising are quite simple. A combination of dwindling returns on more traditional advertising venues and the swelling of the video-game playing market have opened the door for marketers. According to a 2004 report released by the Yankee Group, the 108 million US gamers 13 years and older in 2003 will swell to over 126 million by 2008. That same report estimates the size of the video game industry to grow from $7.4 billion in 2003 to over $8.3 billion by 2008.

A new study release from Nielsen Entertainment finds that ads in video games can have a major influence on whether people buy products and recommend them to friends. The study, which included over 1,300 male gamers aged 13-44, found that when ads are relevant to the game they could remain on screen longer, resulting in an elevated rate of brand awareness. Players questioned approximately 20 minutes after playing the game also indicated they would be highly likely to recommend an advertised product to a friend.

In today’s world, the uses of video are practically limitless. From training videos to company documentaries, from trade show loops to speeches & presentations, from promotional videos to commercials – video production is of ever-increasing importance to business. Even mobile marketing is jumping on the bandwagon with streaming video content being fed to and recorded by mobile phones.

Aided by the technological explosion of the internet, and by its ability to inform, persuade and connect with viewers, video and streaming video have also become more accessible in today’s marketplace. Further, as access to the web continues to increase speed-wise, each of the billions of web sites available could potentially offer steaming video of some kind to their audiences (of recent note, CNN.com’s recent foray into streaming video content).

In a recent article, eMarketer reported that US Internet Video Ad Spending reached $225 million in 2005. Further, that number is expected to rise to over $1 billion by 2008. In addition, more than 100 million users consume online digital media (streams and downloads) in the US each month, which represents approximately 60% of the US online population.

Video production like all other media needs to fit into the client’s ROI requirements. What does it allow them to accomplish? How can it save them money? Can it help sell products and increase sales? Can it provide an engaging community atmosphere and increase database acquisition (video upload and voting sites)? Can it make a site’s membership return over and over to view new weekly webisodes (increase loyalty)?

May I recommend IC Group: http://www.icgroupinc.com/company-information/careers.html? Ha ha.

But all kidding aside, usually the transition from the production to sales roles does involve a transition in compensation packages. Most groups will be reluctant to maintain a strong base salary with a heavy bonus package, so you will see a tendency to maintain a similar or better base than you've enjoyed previously in your production role (to entice you to sign up), but due to this base your bonus component may suffer somewhat or be capped. It all comes down to how badly the company hiring may want or need you, and how good a negotiator you are. Depending on your situation, you may also decide to take a little more risk and transfer to a more risky proposition where you have a bigger bonus potential but a slightly lower base - this can be a good gamble if you think the organization you will be working for will succeed greatly in the next few years.

This is a great question. In other words, where does an interactive promotion make sense versus other types of efforts.

The answer lies in relevance and how interactive strategies can address your specific marketing needs. Do you need more opt-in consumers to interact with? How do your offline efforts perform in terms of numbers? How many of your consumers are online and may interact with online promotions?

Sometimes this question is best answered by you. Would you be happy if 50,000 people registered and 25,000 opted in for future marketing efforts? You may base the answer to that question on whether the interactive campaign cost you $18,000 to execute versus $150,000. It is important to set goals, and measure carefully throughout an online campaign to try and maximize your results. Interactive and online promotions provide immediate feedback and response, meaning results can be reviewed and analyzed as the promotion is running. As a result the creative and marketing messages can be addressed and changed on the fly. The end result is that online and interactive promotions can be fine tuned both immediately and for the future.

So the answer is one that each and every marketer needs to answer for themselves. For one group, getting 5,000 new leads is a success and for another getting 300,000 unique visitors is a dismal failure. The possible upside (for instance, do I already know how many respondents will convert to a direct sale?) of a promotional activity needs to be examined versus the cost (and possibly the opportunity cost) of the activity. Interactive campaigns should be a part of your mix if they perform well against your other activities – they are not a universal solution for all situations.