Online is the main channel for this CMO's direct response advertising. Find out why and what still frustrates him.
Bryan Stapp is Chief Marketing Officer for Quicken Loans -- the nation's number one online mortgage lender, and one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. He is responsible for all advertising (online and offline), creative development, public relations, client marketing and branding. Prior to this position, Stapp had senior marketing roles at AT&T, NCR Corporation and Cambridge Technology Partners.
iMedia: How has the media mix changed for you over the last few years? Is online still "an afterthought" or are campaigns, for the most part, conceived of in an integrated fashion from the get go? Or are you somewhere in between?
Stapp: Online is our main marketing avenue -- we are adding broadcast (radio and TV) to the mix and seeing a positive impact on our Web advertising.
iMedia: What was your most successful online or integrated campaign recently and what made it successful?
Stapp: We don’t do campaigns per se -- when we have they have generated lots of clicks and not enough transactions. We have an overall campaign that is in its second year and doing quite well.
iMedia: What is the greatest benefit of online advertising? The ability to measure? Precisely target? Gather data? Something else?
Stapp: Ability to measure, track ROI, make changes quickly. Ability to change to adapt to market environment.
iMedia: What still frustrates you most about online advertising? What can be done to improve the situation?
Stapp: Brand advertisers and their agencies overpaying for online ads because they a) don’t know any better; b) don’t care; c) view it as a small percentage of their clients' overall budget anyway so they don’t bother tracking it. It kills opportunities for direct response advertisers because they price us out.
iMedia: Are you doing any behavioral targeting? If yes, please describe.
Stapp: No.
iMedia: Are you being affected by any consumer-generated marketing (CGM) -- blogs, user groups, etc.? Are you using any blogs or other social networking tools to market?
Stapp: We have a client loyalty program that generates referrals. We do not have a community-based user group type set up.
iMedia: Have you found agencies to be able to handle your changing interactive/integrated needs? What could still be better?
Stapp: I have found agencies to be completely detached and ineffective at generating business for me. They do a nice job of billing me for lots of people's time, however.
iMedia: Have you done much with wireless?
Stapp: Zero.
iMedia: It's the beginning of a new year. What do you hope to accomplish this year?
Stapp: Drive my weak competitors into the dirt; improve my overall marketing effectiveness; grow the company.
iMedia: What are you reading these days, other than iMediaConnection.com, of course?
Stapp: CMO is a great magazine for marketing folks.