New media niches

I flew from Amsterdam to Pisa last Friday, on Transavia, the Dutch equivalent of Ryanair. Not remarkable in itself, but what was remarkable was the experiential media opportunity in flight. A cosmetics company had created a sampling opportunity, complete with data capture, using the in-flight service team to offer their wares. They had read their audience perfectly. The passengers were almost exclusively young mass-market families going to Italy for some cheap sun. The yummy mummies were in holiday mode, and ready for some pampering and prepared to spend. A brand making a fuss of them, in a time where their only alternative was to pay attention to the demands of their children was welcomed with open arms. It’s not often that I say “I wish I had done that” but in this case I did! A bright media planner somewhere had identified a niche where no other brand would impinge, and where their brand could really engage with its audience. If it’s your plan and you are reading this, then send in your CV. Mike Colling Managing Director

Selling on social media – right or just plain wrong?

A snippet of Facebook news caught my eye this morning. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a complete Facebook detractor. Anything that captures the attention of circa 40% of us for an hour a day (double the time we spend reading newspapers or magazines) has got to have value. But, please, not for shopping. ASOS is the mail order company for this generation. I started my direct marketing life working with catalogue companies like Grattan. Huge books that landed with a thud on the door mat! ASOS have brought their digital skills to this market, and to datem have stolen it with great success. But, as with all growth stories they have just reached their “bridge too far”. They have recently taken down their Facebook shop, and triggered debate as to whether this is the end of “F-commerce”. But there shouldn't be any debate, and there should be no “F-Commerce”. It’s an oxymoron. Facebook is Starbucks or your old man’s pub. It’s a place to hang and gossip. It’s not a place to be sold to in. Sure, add social commentary features and reviews to your Ecommerce site, so users can praise you. But please don’t invade personal space to sell. When will we ever develop a digital etiquette? Mike Colling Managing Director

The third place in media

Starbucks is often referred to as “the third place”- neither home nor work, but a neutral place in between. A place of utilitarian comfort, where urban consumers can both relax and connect. We have a growing sense of that third place arriving in the media landscape. For the last 50 years there have really only been two media strategies: service search or ambush. The former drove the establishment of classified sections, and with the advent of digital media the behemoth that is Google. As advertisers we serve consumers that self-identify by their immediate needs. The latter has been the mainstay of all other media revenues since advertising began. Whether it’s a carved graffiti directing sailors to the brothel in Ephesus, or 400 TVR on ITV, we use content to attract consumers to our “ambush” marketing messages. And consumers, with few exceptions, are happy with this Faustian bargain. But a third way is emerging within the emerging “media third place” and that is the App. Apps can have the content that entertains and engages as does mainstream media, but the functionality and detailed information that classified provides. Most of our clients have a continuity revenue model at the heart of their business. Whether its regular donation, sustained subscription or repeat purchase, each has a relationship with an organisation that goes beyond the merely transactional. And that third place, the App, seems to have a new role in serving that need and creating new growth. Mike Colling Managing Director