Matt Heinz is director of marketing for HouseValues, Inc., a marketing services company providing residential real estate agents with technology and marketing solutions. Heinz has more than 10 years of consumer and B2B marketing experience with technology, real estate and retail products. He has previously held marketing positions at Microsoft, The Boeing Company, Weber Shandwick, The Seattle Mariners and the Washington State Attorney General's office.
iMedia: With P&G's recent announcement that it's pulling some dollars from network TV, and ZenithOptimedia's new predictions showing internet advertising increasing, it seems "spray and pray" is starting to feel some pressure. Is this a good thing for interactive marketers? Has it opened some budget for you?
Matt Heinz: HouseValues has always had a strong direct marketing focus, which has allowed us to leverage many media channels -- including television, radio and the internet -- to drive results across many facets of our business. The announcements by Procter & Gamble as well as ZenithOptimedia may represent a greater focus on measurable results by advertisers, especially since online media inherently provides fantastic ROI tracking opportunities.
iMedia: Following up on that, how has the media mix changed for you over the last few years?
Heinz: We continue to leverage offline and online advertising channels extensively, but all with strong tracking mechanisms in place to evaluate performance and ROI. HouseValues aggressively tests new online opportunities to grow mindshare and increase direct response performance, but we also are actively testing offline channels new and old -- all with the same strict ROI evaluations.
iMedia: What do you think is the greatest benefit of online advertising? The ability to measure? Precisely target? Gather data? Something else?
Heinz: All of the above and more. Value and ROI measurements are core to everything we do at HouseValues, and online advertising is a natural at that. Precise targeting is a constant opportunity, but the cost can still be prohibitive.
iMedia: What still frustrates you most about online advertising? What can be done to improve the situation?
Heinz: The ability to target B2B audiences is still limited. Yes, many business and vertical audiences can be found on vertical websites and lists, but these audiences are frequenting the heavy internet destinations as well -- MSN, Yahoo, et cetera -- for other non-business activity. Passive registration and opt-in activities can help identify the professional focus of a user on such sites, even if they're visiting for non-business reasons, and a business-focused message can still be productive in that setting.
iMedia: What's the next big thing and how will it affect you?
Heinz: I'm still waiting to see how big TiVo will become, and how it will truly impact the value and efficiency of television advertising. Adoption rates seem to have slowed, and we have not seen a negative impact on direct response advertising for our consumer brands -- HouseValues.com and JustListed.com.
iMedia: What's the key for having a successful relationship with agencies?
Heinz: Clear expectations of objectives, roles and performance. Honest communication. Finding the right agency in the first place is also key, ideally someone who can be treated and trusted as a member of the marketing team, not just a gun for hire.
iMedia: Any final words of wisdom for other marketers? Something you've recently learned, perhaps, or some advice someone has given you?
Heinz: Keep your eyes open and ears to the ground. Never stop learning. Listen to your customers every day, and learn from your marketing colleagues and peers. Keep your mind open to fresh ideas, and challenge those around you to change their mindsets and paradigms to forward your business and marketing objectives.
Dawn Anfuso is editor of iMedia Connection.
