ZenithOptimedia

So facebook are rolling out Deals (the extension of their 'check-in' places for business product) in beta and Australia.

The concept is pretty straight forward. Business claims it's locations (Bing data) off the facebook grid. Business can then set up deals (there are 4 types) and when users then check into those locations they unlock the deal.  The functional element of the redemption allows for the business vendor to actually then click the users phone and the deal is claimed (it's a one shot deal).

Facebook make money by relying on business promoting their deals via targeted ads, or sponsored stories - the ad type which shows your suped up action in your friends feeds (but business is not obligated to spend)

Seems to me that this is a great tool for small business or really any business where you 100% own the retail environment (location) and even netter if are a business who have the technology to track coupons and vouchers / promotions via in store commercial systems.

As far as consumers go, there are really not that many people checking in via facebook yet, and it's true that offers at least provide an incentive for people to start doing so - in fact its pretty much is essential to get people to change behaviour.  It's also true that a lot of facebook users are accessing the network from their mobile devices, so in theory this product could be insanely popular.

I think however that facebook is barking up the wrong tree a little trying to get FMCG's and retailers like Coles on board, and would be better off opening this up early to any small business, the beta phase sees them focussing on some big players (I am assuming this is due to the big retailers being able to offer better large scale national deals and investing in ads) but small businesses are also places that people visit frequently and a long tail of interesting content (fashion and coffee) and ferocious competition would be infinitely more interesting (then the loo paper offers the big retailers will offer) and varied way to see this come to life in my opinion.

Anyway - it's certainly in promise a better product than Google places for deals because sharing locations and social connections are still something Google cant' do despite having a better offering than Bing for business locations.

Ambitious?...well maybe

So why the broad scope of services?
So why have they developed their businesses in this way?  Certainly they are looking to capitalise on the growing brand marketing opportunity in digital media. Their products tend to absolutely be geared toward responding on objectives like awareness and engagement via formats like online video, socially featured ads and even LBS enabled smart phone ad delivery.  There is a need to help agencies who are not technically equipped to deliver these experiences.  It's also true that their bundled solutions make for a pretty neat and simple proposition for clients/agencies who might have had to previously engage with several different service providers to facilitate campaigns of this vein.

Oh and in Adconion's case it's also about future proofing their business from reliance on their performance network (as media agencies slowly encroach into that space via DSP 's).

How do these offerings affect media and creative agencies then?
Well first of all, they tread every so lightly on the toes of all the traditional media, a-serving and creative agencies in the digital eco system.

For media agencies there are definitely some benefits to working with these guys, not least of which is the ease of engaging, cost wise it's also pretty risk adverse - bookings can be made on a cost per engagement or based on audience buying ie TARP.  

However working with them also throws up some issues including;  the loss of control and relationship with the media - the buying is done by them and media agents are removed from all direct media negotiation.  Media folks also forgo visibility on some the data associated to these buys inhibiting our ability to consolidate and learn (as would be the case using a 3rd party ad-server account).  Another thing I find hard to understand is that if you are going to work with a company via a bundled opportunity you need to be understand that they offer a walled garden solution, the assets and targeting are unique to them and their network - unlike the media agnostic technology a mediamind or eyewonder offer to deliver a similar rich experience - this adds to workload if you intend to run the same campaign simultaneously elsewhere, or means you will tend to focus solely on a single network to deliver all your needs (well played).

For the creative guys these networks will produce or optimise existing assets cheaply or for nothing - this is great for the client, but not so great for the creative agencies production P&L.

In summary these evolving businesses raise some interesting questions about the roles of agencies, media and other intermediaries in the ad eco-system. As agencies we'd be silly to not play close attention to these companies, who are often a step ahead, and who at the same time offer us some powerful and exciting media solutions.

Great chart.

I grabbed this 2 pager off of ninemsn's media centre, its a pretty neat little snap-shot of males aged 21-35 (no kids) also known as Pre family men or if the billboards of our cities are to be believed possibly sexually challenged pre family men.

Aside from the terrible skateboarding image, I like the pack and its content. Ninemsn touch on the impact of screens in their digital lives; Gaming participation, and the fact that they have invested in new home entertainment equipment.  Interestingly, and referencing the Screen Australian Study I also blogged about a week or so ago, these guys also have some of the highest Free to air TV consumption at +95% and they still love DVD and Blue Ray screen time.

Click here to download:

PFM_1pager_02.pdf (489 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

PFM_1pager_02.pdf (489 KB)

So, at the same time as these images are making their way into popular culture via fashion mags, cheap labour and efficient manufacturing are recreating these items for online sale at hyper speed (no need for any credentials in fashion here). In fact I've heard that the delay between a show and a copy can be as little as a few weeks now - thanks China's.  

What does this broken cycle do the industry?

Surely there is always room for fashion; the fringe will innovate, the rich will buy the authentic items, and the savvy mass will soon by-pass the department store in favour of the online alternative (cool for a season and disposable).

Click here to download:

TWTC THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA.pdf (2.08 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

TWTC THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA.pdf (2.08 MB)

So cool

Been flicking through a report prepared by screen Australia using Roy Morgan data - that covers a whole bunch of great and nicely presented data on various screen, online and mobile consumption habits of typical Australians.

There are 10 pages of charts like these exploring various online behaviours and also profiles of various demos by location. Super interesting

www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research