Catching-Up to Beeby Clark+Meyler
It’s with passionate interest that we read Brian Morrisey’s Adweek article Marketers Get Real (Nov 2, 2009.)
Marketers including Diet Coke, Burger King, Adidas, Stella Artois and Nike are finding out what we’ve been known since 2007 – live content is not only an authentic way to connect with your audience online, it’s also a highly effective one.
We did our first live banner broadcast in 2007. This was the first time that live content had been carried in a widely distributed online media plan via a banner that was served across more than 12 leading media properties.
In 2008, we continued to innovate on the use of live content in banners, launching an interactive live banner that allowed users to submit questions to GE CEO Jeff Immelt in real-time. Mr. Immelt in turn answered the questions live. Combining live content with interactivity in a distributed manner proved highly effective – t hat effort reached a simultaneous viewer count in the hundreds of thousands and generated hundreds of inbound questions.
Heading into 2009, we wanted to take the idea of a live banner and make it even more interactive. We did that by launching the first-ever socially-enabled live banner broadcast. This one-hour live event allowed users to comment right in the banner space alongside the live video and inspired over 4K comments. That is what we call “socially-enabled media”.
Using live content in the banner is a highly effective way to engage the audience, but it does require experience and precise planning to do it effectively. From developing key word lists for profanity filters, to rehearsals (you can never have too many rehearsals), to working with media properties and ad servers – it takes a lot of coordination to make it safe for clients to innovate without looking foolish.
It appears live content in banners is here to stay (we were surprised not to see it in the 2008 elections frankly – note, any free-spending politician looking to amass a targeted audience and deliver a customized message please call us). Live content is just like any other content in that it must be relevant and meaningful for the audience in order to be effective. While going live brings with it a certain amount of risk, it’s that risk, that possibility that brands will show their flaws that allow brands to be “real”, transparent and authentic.
Webcasts have been a part of the web marketing world for a long time, but driving an audience to a website to view content is not as effective as bringing the content to them in a way that complements what they are trying to do. The best live experiences will ultimately do that – provide a compelling and relevant interaction with content I care about. In our work with GE, we captured the attention of C-Level executives where they were – the top news and financial sites – with information they cared about.
It’s an exciting time in our industry as it pertains to live banner content. If you’re company is considering using live content in banners, Beeby Clark+Meyler would welcome the opportunity to discuss our experience and how we might be able to help you reach your goals.
