Be flexible
Watch out for a case of mistaken identity.
You’ve planned your launch. The media is in place. The creative is lined up. Now it’s time to sit back and watch the bucks roll in. Oh, you’ll watch the reports all right; hopefully, even optimize the buy. You’re as confident as one can be. But remember, this is a global launch. By its very nature things are not what they seem to be.
Marketers have a tendency to be prescriptive: "If it worked last time, odds are it’ll work this time." The beauty of the internet is that it is dynamic. It’s fluid. It’s driven by the user. What seemed appropriate for one purpose may render a completely different result in other regions. An experienced online global marketer learns to expect the unexpected and pay attention to the data.
Case in point, my company, Carat Fusion, helped create the online components for the global launch of the adidas_1 running shoe. Every facet of media was employed. Some were intended for acquisition and some for retention. They seemed to fall into nice, neat categories. But the user had other plans. We developed branded instant messengers on AOL, MSN and Europe’s ICQ networks. I consider branded instant messenger environments great retention vehicles. But, as I said, expect the unexpected. The ICQ instant messenger garnered a click-to-buy rate well beyond the rich media banner creative, outpacing traditional acquisition vehicles tenfold.
adidas_1 MSN messenger theme pack
In another instance, a community-based website Carat Fusion created for RadioShack, XMODSRC.com, was originally intended to display the product line and features of their radio-controlled cars, facilitate communication amongst the existing enthusiast community and drive in-store sales. But by offering a moderated bulletin board, encouraging user participation and monitoring the results, the site provided invaluable insight into the tastes and needs of the audience, and a gold mine of information for further product development.
RadioShack's community
Moral of the story: be attentive, be flexible and pay attention to the data.
