Posts from — May 2010

Steak has been appointed by DSG international plc (‘DSGi’), one of Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailing groups and UK market leaders, to work on behalf of its UK brands Currys, Dixons.co.uk and PC World. The account, won in a four-way agency pitch, will see Steak provide search engine optimisation services to DSGi, creating defined natural search strategies for each of the three brands to achieve online revenue targets and effective integration with other digital and offline marketing activities.

Gareth Owen, Head of Natural Search at Steak said, “This is an exciting opportunity to enhance the digital face of three major retail names and reinforce the strength of their offline brands in the digital space.”

David Walmsley, eCommerce Director at DSGi added, “As part of our strategy to win on the internet and take DSGi’s multichannel business to the next level, it is vital for us to build a stronger search presence. We were impressed with Steak’s energy, insight, expertise, and proven track record in delivering results for major retailers. I’m pleased to be working with Steak on this next phase of business growth, and am confident they will help drive our online brands forward.”

Fitness and glory. That was why I signed up for the Scottish Half Marathon. Not charity, I’m ashamed to say. But as the event drew nearer I needed something to stop me chickening out of this (to quote the race pack) ‘serious athletic undertaking’ and decided to raise money to support the special school that my lovely godson goes to, called the Battledown Centre in Gloucester (more info on my JustGiving page).

With the support of lots of generous Steak people I raised over £1600, and completed the race yesterday in two hours and five minutes. And Steak’s mascot, Bruce the Bull, was there at the end to congratulate me!

Jocelyn (Bull) and Bruce (the Bull)

Jocelyn Bull, Marketing Director

The Raging Bulls are sadly not on winning form just yet. The second match of the season saw us lose to Publicis, 29-14. A dramatic come back from 19-2 wasn’t enough to take the lead, although it seems we’ve learned that the more alcohol consumed, the better we play!

Louise Fisher, Team Captain

It’s finally official. Google will, with hardware partners, offer a TV solution that combines web access, streaming video and broadcast TV – including side-by-side browsing and viewing. Not their first foray into TV, but the first one that’s consumer focused.

Now it’s only available in the US this Autumn, so the impact of this for UK advertisers is over the horizon, but here’s my first thoughts.

Will the public use it?

As a digital and technology enthusiast one of my first reactions was “at last”. Let’s contrast that with my fiancée. She works in digital too – but isn’t interested in gadgets. Her reaction was to wonder if the public actually want another set top box in their living rooms?
�
It’s a very good question and reflects the nature of most TV viewing: passive, relaxed. Whilst iPlayer and other TVoD offerings allow us to time shift, after selecting a show we watch passively. And a lot of the population don’t use these services (but they are growing). So will consumers want to access the web or search for videos on their TVs – don’t we already pick up a laptop or mobile in front of the TV for this, but most of the time, just want to relax?

But…I can see how the public can be convinced. Google can promote YouTube content – not just short videos but full shows and channels (e.g. It’s Channel 4 http://www.youtube.com/user/channel4 or IPL deals http://www.youtube.com/user/channel4) and win more exclusives to make the platform attractive.

Plus it’ll be built into new TVs; a premium option to start perhaps, but Google must know that some times a standard is best created by ensuring with no barrier to entry on the cost front – think Video Plus in the UK some years ago.

Accountability in TV?

TV advertising has long been criticised by people in digital for is lack of detailed accountability. Yes, there are industry standards like BARB that sample the viewing habits of a percentage of the population and then extrapolate them of the whole country. But they are being outpaced by the spread of TV content to multiple TVs, laptops, phones, iPads, consoles and the consumption of multiple media whilst the TV (or radio) is on.

So Google could tell which ads are watched when, and with enough market penetration, provide advertisers with almost-real time stats on the volumes of sets tuned in when ads show. But it won’t know how many people were watching that screen, or if they were distracted by other media on a device or in print etc.

Or if the TV was playing to an empty room.

Replacing BARB – “Google Viewer Research”?

Of course, one day they could aim to replace the set top boxes BARB have in 5,100 UK households with a survey platform on their own system that doesn’t just record viewing patterns, but asks participants questions about shows, adverts and what else they are doing whilst the TV is on…there’s a revenue stream all in itself, overlapping with the likes of TNS and other media research companies. Advertisers could pay to run surveys on this platform, just as they do now to track online brand campaigns with the likes of Dynamic Logic.

New Opportunities for Advertisers

So, what does this mean to advertisers and agencies?

Many offline campaigns now encourage the viewer/reader to search for a phrase instead of mentioning a URL. Taken a step further when the browser can be easily called up beside the picture, consumers can be directed to content specially designed for them that integrates with the advert – instead of “finding out more at a website” they could be directed to use their Google TV browser to talk to a customer service rep via IM, receive an instant discount, or watch a product video. When the hassle of finding the laptop, remembering a URL doing a search is removed, “frictionless” advertising and fulfilment could be step closer.

Think Sky’s Red Button, but on steroids – and potentially any TV advertiser could take part, not just those with large budgets to develop a Red Button solution.

Interactive shows could become common, too – Living TV already feature comments made by viewers on their website during ad breaks when screening “4 Weddings” (ok, so that’s my fiancée’s viewing choice, not mine!). One-way broadcast TV could become more interactive– but again, it depends if the viewing public want to take part; just as a section of the UK population aren’t using social media sites (no matter what the pundits tell you), so consumers take up off the boxes, let alone interactive participation, is not guaranteed.

Agency and Brand Skill Sets

So who is going to be best placed to run ads on Google TV. TV people? Digital people?

Neither – and both. The skill sets used to create and place TV adverts are still vital for Google TV – the TV ads will, or the foreseeable future, be from conventional sources. That revenue keeps the channels on air.

The skills of search and digital display planning and buying will be as important as ever for the digital element. Integration will be even more important. I think the smartest agencies will hire TV and digital talent and integrate them if this platform becomes mainstream; the trend is already there with the growth of online video; some clients place it with their TV teams, others digital teams.

These are my initial thoughts, and I want underline that take-up by the public amongst the clutter of laptops, sound systems, games consoles, DVD and blueray players (and dusty VCRs) is key – this could be the next big think for Google, or a flop that fades away.

But…I’m keeping a shelf free in my lounge, just in case.

Duncan Parry, Co-founder and Head of Paid Search

Steak has been appointed to provide digital marketing services to support Start, a new initiative by The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President. The aim of Start is to promote and celebrate sustainable living and help people across the UK take positive and practical steps towards a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future.

Steak will provide paid search management and online media planning services to promote the Start website, on a pro bono basis from the beginning of May. The website, http://www.startuk.org/, which will re-launch later this year, will highlight the best examples of sustainable practice, explain the issues around sustainability simply and without jargon, and provide a platform for like-minded individuals and communicates to share their experience, goals and idea. The site will form part of a vibrant and diverse programme of activities planned for 2010 to engage people across the UK.

Commenting on the appointment, Ollie Bishop, Steak’s CEO said, “We’re very proud to be supporting such a forward thinking and inspiring initiative. Start has a realistic and constructive approach that we really admire and we’re looking forward to helping them achieve their goals.” 

Will Watt, Content Director, Start, added, “Our website will be one of the main ways in which we reach and engage with people as part of this project. Steak’s help will be invaluable and we’re delighted to welcome them on board as a supporter.”

- ends -

About Start:

• Start was launched by the Prince of Wales on 4 February 2010, at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.  www.princescharities.org/start
• The aim of Start is to use the tools of the modern age – the internet and television – to demonstrate to people how it is possible to adopt more sustainable behaviour.

Start is a new initiative to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like.

Its aim is to celebrate the very best examples of sustainable living in the UK and help us all to take part in simple, positive steps; and is an initiative of The Prince’s Charities Foundation.
http://www.start.org/

I attended the SEO sessions at SMX London yesterday, there was a lot of interesting data shared by the agencies that attended, thanks in particular to Andrew Girdwood at BigMouth Media, Kelvin Newman at Site Visibility and Rob Kerry at Ayima for their thoughts and to Rand Fishkin from SEOMoz who was clear and concise as always. There was confirmation of a few Google updates, some interesting case studies to show the effects as well. You couldn’t ask for a lot more really!

Key things that are worth highlighting are:

• Google prefers cross-domain canonical tags, rather than 301s so if you’re planning on buying a new URL, consider how much effort you will need to put in to make sure all of your existing link authority is passed to the new domain. There are a number of different considerations here.
• Google does try to pass more value through links that are actually likely to be clicked on. There is no fast rule for how they work this out although not using footer links and preferring links in content are two pieces of advice we follow. One other way of trying to second-guess this is if you have analytics on your site, what links does the overlay tool say are being clicked on?
• If you want to appear for a wide range of products, your domain authority and contextual inbound links to category pages won’t work now. Each category page will need its own ratio of brand:contextual inbound links or it will likely suffer by comparison to niche sites focused on one product alone.

To find out more about the themes from SMX, check out the tweets and links on http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23smx

 Gareth Owen, Head of Natural Search

By Duncan Parry, Search Engine Watch, May 7, 2010

Alongside all of the coverage of the iPad, Apple and Google’s growing war, and iPhones being left on bar stools, Google’s launch in March of a retargeting capability from search into the content network felt comparatively ignored.This is one of the important trends for search and display marketers of 2010. Many may not be using retargeting now (sorry, remarketing as Google calls it), but we’ll look back on 2010 as the year this became a mainstream tactic. This should be the year most paid search and ad serving tool providers rushed to support retargeting, if they didn’t offer it already.

Why? Three reasons: the recession, Google and the growing maturity of digital.

Tear Down the Digital Wall!

We all know display budgets have suffered from recessionary pressure over the last few years as brands cut budgets, looked for efficiencies, and in many cases stopped any activity that didn’t generate a return in terms of direct acquisition.

Retargeting helps close the loop between search and display and knocks down some of the walls that have developed in the industry. Consumers don’t perceive display and search silos – they go about their business on the Web, reading content, using Facebook, seeing ads, and then search when they’re ready to start their journey to a purchase. They don’t care about how we structure agency teams or brands allocate their budgets across channels or attribute sales.

Retargeting allows display and search budgets to work in a more complementary manner; not passively when post-campaign analysis is carried out and trends are spotted, but actively, with conscious decisions taken to retarget consumers based on search clicks during their research phase.

A Boost for the Google Content Network – and Paid Search Generics

Google entering this space is an obvious move for the company. Their revenues from the content network will increase if this works, and many advertisers have, despite Google’s insistence to the opposite, found that the content network just doesn’t work for them.

This could bring them back into the content fold. Once Google backs a marketing technique, agencies and many brands start questioning if it’s something they should make a pillar of their strategy (to the frustration and relief of display and search people who have been shouting into the dark that this was the way to integrate disciplines for years).

Potentially, retargeting will also further underline the need to invest in generics term in paid search or as part of a natural search strategy. While often expensive and competitive, these terms many receive a boost as brands deliberately re-engage consumers “lost” after visiting a site via a generic term.

If a retargeted ad causes them to revisit the site and buy, when previously they may have not done so, future investment in a generic term can been justified and the cash involved made to work harder. This approach drives increased volumes and becomes a positive feedback loop feeding into the bottom line if managed efficiently.

Next time, we’ll look at how digital is getting wiser, some third-party tools, and display’s new best friend.

Thursday night saw the start of the summer softball season with Steak taking on KLP in division 3 of the LASL (London Advertising Softball League).

Unfortunately KLP beat our Raging Bulls 17-14.

But… considering at one point we were 14-1 down (coincidentally the point at which Ollie turned up – he’s claiming full victory for clawing the score back up)… not a bad result.

Better luck next week!?

Louise Fisher, Team Captain

Much excitement here at Steak this week – Ollie bought iPads for the office from the States.

Having been pretty sceptical about the whole iPad thing (‘so it’s not a phone?… and it’s not a laptop?…) I must say, I love it. Still not sure exactly what I’d do with it, but I know I want one.

There have been various discussions here about what the iPad might mean for advertisers so watch this space for more thoughts on that topic soon.

Jocelyn Bull, Marketing Director

By Gareth Owen, Search Engine Watch, May 5, 2010

People don’t just search on search engines. Think about it – when was the last time you bought something online simply by searching for it and going straight to a site to buy it?

This isn’t a recent trend. Consumers have never acted this simply. They have been much smarter than search marketers have given them credit for since e-commerce was born. It’s only now, as we interact online more than ever, that this is becoming ever clearer and more measurable.

The purchase decision takes place before and after a keyword search – that much is clear. People are searching for information on Facebook, Twitter, and review and price comparison sites for starters, and using the information they find to help them make the right decision.

For example, according to a Forrester survey of adults 16 and up in the U.K. who made a recent purchase, 31 percent used retailer sites, comparison sites, and other websites when starting to research products before buying, and 25 percent used a search engine.

One other clear illustration that these things are important: Google has replicated them all within its search results. For “price comparison and user reviews,” read “Google products.” For “social media recommendations,” check out information on social search results being trialled in Google labs.

Google, in particular, has followed these trends admirably, but hasn’t led them — they already existed. The key is to make the most of this opportunity and see past Google’s dominance, for brands and agencies. So what does it really mean for both?

What does it Mean For Brands?

First, to properly identify the true cause and effect of a range of online activities, brands will need proper tracking and attribution modeling software, which is already an ongoing issue for many. There are a lot of solutions available. The challenge is to find one that works across all of the required channels and can be implemented on your website platform for a reasonable cost. A tag carrier is a good place to start, building in flexibility to use different providers if necessary, and strike direct CPA deals in the display and affiliate spaces where available.

Second, visibility across a range of media is one thing, but the company needs to have a genuine marketing strategy behind their online campaigns — a picture of what they’re trying to achieve before starting, not just an ROI figure in mind. KPIs need to be set for display ads, site sponsorship, paid search, and social media campaigns to reflect the whole online search journey. One key figure rarely taken into account online is the impact on brand recognition and loyalty. It’s not anything new really, complex attribution models have been used for offline media for years.

What does it Mean for Agencies?

Agencies really need to prove their worth. The old argument about search providing a better ROI than other forms of advertising is no longer enough. It doesn’t work in a silo and search doesn’t just happen on search engines.

The real value-add of a good agency is a focus on a set of data and metrics and an understanding of how to improve them. Take that basic principle and apply it to running online campaigns across a range of activities and you have a valuable search agency. Fail, and you’re history.

One specific result of this change is that digital agencies cannot afford to allow PPC, SEO, display, affiliates, mobile, and social media to operate as individual teams. They’re all part of one campaign for one client, so this requires a lot of data and strategy sharing between teams. Sometimes this might mean working closely with a competitor.

Finally, the onus is on agencies to lead clients. This means proving the case by testing different KPIs for different campaigns. Perhaps the best way to visualize this is to go back to the AIDA funnel and think about what activities should sit at each point, the KPIs that would be most relevant at each stage, and build a strategy from there.

Where does Search go From Here?

As a discipline, search will still be focused on optimization of keywords for maximum ROI, but it’s time for companies and agencies to start to put those keyword searches in their proper context within the online consumer journey and consider measuring individual campaigns using a range of different metrics — all of which are available with the right tools.