Pushing the Consumption of 
Branded Content Upstream

The next phase of all of our online marketing initiatives at MNET include a recommendation to push branded content upstream where consumers can process and digest this information without having to visit a brand’s website. In the past, we have used rich media and microsites to achieve this outcome, but there are now unlimited possibilities for achieving the same result. This whitepaper will look at both the traditional means that we have utilized along with exploring a few of the more innovative concepts that have emerged in the past few years.

Rich Media
Expandable ad units have grown to compromise approximately 10% of all online ads in 2007, compared with 3% in 2002. They are expected to increase even further by 2010, constituting a 18% of all online ad units served.
Throughout the past four years, MNET has been ahead of this trend, pushing clients to think outside the standard banner that has encompassed traditional online display advertising. By utilizing these user-initiated expandable ads, MNET has created mini websites that are contained within a single banner unit. These ad units initiate engagements with our client’s brand without the necessity of a click-through to the brand’s website. Furthermore, they have helped push our client’s online advertising dollars further, resulting in hours of interaction time with content that has been pushed upstream.

Moving forward, we are going to continue to push clients to utilize these ads when the product or information calls for it. Rich media should always be used for complex products or products with lengthy purchase process. We are also pushing for clients to utilize original video footage.

Sponsored Microsites
To compliment our rich media strategy, MNET has also encouraged clients to utilize sponsored micro sites with branded content on websites where their target market frequently visits. These self-contained, branded destinations on a website separate from the brand’s site have allowed users to become engaged with a brand on a website that they are comfortable viewing, again pushing the consumption of branded content upstream.

Pushing Ahead
Moving forward, our next initiative is to ensure that our client’s brands are in every possible corner of the web, beyond just the brand’s core website and online ads. To achieve this, MNET is pushing clients to post their branded content on blogs, video and picture sharing websites. Furthermore, we are pushing the concept of viral marketing through the use of widgets.
YouTube & Social Media
YouTube has grown in popularity over the past four years to become to leader in video hosting on the web. Their popular video platform makes a perfect medium to push branded videos upstream for consumption. Because of the ease, we are also pushing clients to let their customer base upload real videos and pictures of their products being utilized. With a few well-made videos or pictures, brands could easily reach their target audiences and grab thousands of free unpaid media impressions. (Quality is the key feature in making these videos stick and resonate with the target. )

Blogs
Blogs are also another way to push content upstream to consumers. By seeding blogs with a brands content, clients can now start a conversation with consumers that does not originate on their website. MNET is now encouraging clients to contact leading blog owners within their vertical to push their brands content upstream.

Widgets
Furthermore, we are encouraging clients to use widgets. These widgets have become a distribution or marketing channel for many companies in the past year. The snippet of code pushes content upstream from a third party site to an individual end user. The end user drops it into a social network, blog or personal homepage. By utilizing these widgets and viral content, brands can potentially use the widgets content to improve their brand presence on the web.

Amazon TextBuyIt

Yesterday, Amazon released a brand new feature called Amazon TextBuyIt which lets people buy things using text-messaging. In 2007, 1.6 billion text messages were exchanged daily in the US.

Surely there will be some people who will find this meaningful and practical and that sliver of 1% is lucky. People may send billions of text-messages but it hardly means that they are looking to buy things on their 200x120 pixel screens. Google, NYT, basically everyone is reporting that the iPhone is heavily increasing mobile internet usage like nothing else before. But there isn’t a single website that has mastered online mobile shopping. Other realms are faring better, Apple has it locked with Mobile iTunes (so slick it hurts), Facebook on iPhone is a stunner (so good it gets free tv commercials from Apple) but where is online shopping?

This is the problem with AmazonTextBuyIt. Instead of devoting hundreds of man hours into a stupid text messaging system, why not create a superior experience that made Amazon the greatest shopping experience on the iPhone/iPod Touch? You’d think Amazon, master of online efficiencies and one-click would create something that had people craving to buy things on their iPhones. The current effort is half-hearted and mediocre. It feels like its has been cobbled together by a collegiate engineering team over a weekend. It’s frustrating to use, its ugly, it wildly disregards user interface design and information architecture.

For all the resources and costs for creating AmazonTextBuyIt, its a failure on arrival since there is no Facebook level experience for Amazon. Surely (I’d hope) something is coming, but wouldn’t this have been great back in Q1 with all those XMAS iPhones getting gifted?