View the AAF “Connecting with consumers in new ways”
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How do you get to market Billion Dollar brands like Direct TV or perhaps those found within the Wrigley product portfolio? How do you start with nothing and build a business that exclusively represents 30 Fortune 500 companies? Well as they say, success leaves clues.

And here, in this video, the marketers themselves share some with you. Enjoy.

In just ten years, internet branding and online advertising has surpassed magazine advertising in terms of total dollars invested by brands.

During that time, there have been lots of people talking about how national brands should be using the web. Basically, a lot of opinions.

Ironically, most of these people have never worked for a big marketer, nor have they ever marketed a national brand.

Today, you’ll get an opportunity to hear from someone who has been doing it since the beginning – and his track record suggests that he knows what he is doing!

Seth Greenberg is the Director of Online Advertising and Internet Media for Intuit, marketers of brands like Quicken and Turbo Tax. On a side note, notice his title…more and more companies are dedicating headcount solely to focus on directing the brand’s online marketing and branding investment.

In addition to sharing with us how he sold in Vanilla Ice as the spokesperson for an online tax product, (that in and of itself should tell you that he’s a good marketer), you will get an insider’s look as to what it’s like to be responsible for a major online investment.

Be sure to check out…
Intuit’s The TaxRap featuring Vanilla Ice: http://TheTaxRap.com
AOL homepage take over: http://aol.taxmojo.com
The TurboTron (Click on Full Experience): http://wow.taxmojo.com & http://hoops.taxmojo.com

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with one of our clients from Procter & Gamble. There are many things that are remarkable about P&G, aside from the fact that they are the world’s largest advertiser. The thing that always strikes me is the quality of their marketers…especially at the assistant brand manager level. These are the people that are working on the brands day to day…and often the ones targeted with reaching consumers in new ways.

He reminded me of a mantra that was often repeated by their chief marketing officer, ‘Brian, I want to reach my target audience when and where they are most receptive’

Really powerful when you think about it.

One of the first things that came to mind to me after saying this phrase aloud was, of course, the internet. I am most receptive to information when I am searching for it. Obvious. But as we spoke, we concluded that while that is an optimal time, it is ACTIVE. Meaning we have to be actively searching for something.

What about when we are not? Not actively searching for information. When and where are we most receptive.

Well one time most certainly, to borrow a phrase from Stephen Covey, is when we are experiencing ‘dwell time’. Time when we are waiting, traveling, commuting. Time that is in between what we have planned. If that makes sense.

That is why I am so excited to have obtained the exclusive advertising rights onboard American Airlines for their in-flight entertainment systems.

For the past 10 years, CBS has had the rights. Now we have them and NBC is our content partner.

This is the epitome of Dwell Time and I CANNOT wait to measure the results that our brand partners achieve. If the tests are indication…they will be THRILLED!!

One of the greatest challenges facing corporations today is deciding where to invest their marketing dollars at a time when there are more choices than ever.
In a quest to get the most out of their investment and be ahead of the proverbial curve, marketers and their agencies are searching for new ways to profitably persuade consumers to buy. In this quest, some have found the answer lies in the product itself.

With so many unproven new tools and the reexamination of traditional ones, a company must adopt a philosophy of adverTRYING.
What is averTRYING?

ad•vert [ad-vurt] – verb
1. To turn attention
2. To call attention to

try•ing [trahy-ing] – adjective
1. To taste, sample, or otherwise test in order to determine strength,
effect, worth, or desirability
2. Trial

advertTRYING is getting a scalable number of target consumers to experience the product or service in a measurable way that delivers a significant return on investment.

What avertTRYING is NOT
It is not product sampling. It is not event marketing.

Product sampling frequently will focus on the distribution of the product, not the trial or experience of the product. This is a significant difference because it is not uncommon for 60% of product samples to go untried.2

AdverTRYING is when you reach 1 million target consumers in a week with a nighttime analgesic placed on beds of resorts throughout the U.S. with a note that says, ‘We know how long you’ve waited for this vacation and we know how much you want to catch up on some sleep…enjoy.’ It’s reaching the consumers at a time of need, WHEN they are most receptive.

Event Marketing…I have asked no less than 100 senior marketing leaders to define what it is and not one of them gave me the same answer. That’s the problem. Event Marketing has become a catch all for sponsorship activation, stunts, someone handing out a razor in a crowded bar. In more cases than not the initiatives are not measurable or scalable. This is why so few are renewed.

Event Marketing is placing a ‘brand ambassador’ inside a retail store next to your display of appliances to hand out pamphlets to 50 consumers

AdverTRYING is allowing millions of consumers to try each of your appliances in a showroom setting. They can do a load of wash, bake cookies even hear a dishwasher run to see if the noise level meets their needs. Its Live Media…bringing the unique selling proposition to life.

I happened upon this and was immediately struck by it…that this is an old school hard core print advertisement. One that David Ogilvy in Ogilvy on Advertising said, “ For some years I used this layout in all of my magazine layouts…long copy makes the cash register ring…and gives the impression that you have something important to say whether people ready the copy or not”