Are TV & Digital Mutually Exclusive? Not at All: Why Multi-Channel, Distributed Marketing is a Good Choice
AdAge posted an article today featuring CBS CEO Les Moonves commenting why his network is a better fit for media buyers than digital media. One quote attributed to Moonves was: “If you need to reach a mass audience, you’re not going to get that online….We figured out you’d need to buy like 2 million spots on YouTube to equal one “NCIS.’” Audience fragmentation is a truism in media today. 30 years ago, the Internet was not widely available and cable was in its infancy. The legacy broadcast networks, like CBS, commanded a much larger share of the audience. In the Read More
Counting Down to the Life Insurance Conference
The Life Insurance Conference* is right around the corner. We are only 5 days away from the start of the conference, which runs from April 15-17 in New Orleans. This blog has had a number of posts in recent weeks that have been centered around the themes of the conference. For a quick recap, I’ve listed our specific posts below. The Low Interest Rate Dilemma Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate Social media will be touched upon some of the presentations at the show, including “E-Processing: From Application to Issue” and “Social Read More
SEC Approval Shows Pervasiveness of Social Media
Earlier this week, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) released a report declaring that companies could use social media channels to communicate newsworthy events. A key caveat in this ruling is that companies have to disclose where they will be breaking key news items. The SEC report highlights the pervasiveness of social media. As an institution, the SEC is not necessarily known to be on the cutting edge of marketing communication tactics. However, the SEC has observed that companies are turning more & more to social media to get messages out there as fast as possible. The key driver in Read More
No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate
One of the themes at this year’s Life Insurance Conference is product innovation and differentiation in a low interest rate environment. In any industry, there’s a need to innovate and differentiate. Brands that fail to do this risk a loss of relevance in the marketplace; more importantly, they risk negative consequences on the income statement. With life insurance, product offerings tend to be moderately complex. It’s not a product category like racquetballs or chicken wings. However, the relative complexity of the category allows for life insurance brands to create and market products that can broaden the marketplace and establish points Read More
Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma
On March 14th, I posted The Low Interest Rate Dilemma, which detailed how the current low interest rate environment is impacting the insurance industry. At the upcoming Life Insurance Conference, this is going to be a significant topic. Low interest rates are affecting pricing, the price-value proposition of product offerings and a variety of corporate finance aspects of these companies. With regard to life insurance, some of the product offerings are rather complex financial instruments, but one commonality is that no matter how they are structured, they are negatively impacted by low interest rates. Generally, these policies invest policyholder premiums Read More
Research Indicates Importance of Distributed Marketing Management Software
Content distribution is a key concern for marketers. Recent research from Gleanster and the CMO Council has reinforced this notion. For instance: A significant percentage of companies are having difficulty finding balance between corporate marketing and local marketing efforts. Recent research from Gleanster noted that 93% of distributed marketing organizations cited the conflicting needs of local marketers and corporate marketing as one of the biggest challenges. CMO Council data indicates that 61% of marketers they surveyed felt that local customization of content would be a high priority during 2013. Use of technology has corporate & local marketers at odds. Separate Read More
The Low Interest Rate Dilemma
One of the biggest issues in the insurance industry at the moment is the low interest rate environment. It is manifesting itself in a wide variety of ways. The low interest rate environment could be around for a bit, as all indications are that the Federal Reserve intends to keep interest rates at 0% until around 2015. Life insurance has been particularly hard hit by the low interest rate environment. Life insurance companies are cautious in their investments of premiums paid, investing in bonds and other types of investment vehicles that pay minimal returns. For example, US Treasury Bonds are Read More
Distributed Marketing Management Software: What’s the Point?
Distributed marketing management software has the potential to tremendously benefit an organization. But what are the benefits? What is the point of distributed marketing management software as a marketing automation solution? Marketing automation works well in an organization that is structured via a distributed model. In a distributed model, there is corporate marketing structure that centralizes brand management. In essence, this does not differentiate a distributed model organization from a company like Procter & Gamble, the company that truly defined the modern concept of brand management back in the early 20th Century. Distributed marketing organizations would diverge from Procter & Read More
Who Will You Find On a Social Network?
If your brand is not maintaining a strong presence on the major social networks at a bare minimum, your brand is missing great opportunities to achieve greater success. The majority of online Americans used social media in 2012, according to the Pew Center’s Internet & American Life Project published last week. 67% of all Internet users are using at least one social media site (including 71% of women), and amongst those 18-29, 83% use. The Pew report measured social media activity on 5 social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr). Certainly there’s some overlap, as there are many people Read More
Distribion, a Leader in Distributed Marketing Software, Had an Exciting Year in 2012; Looks Forward to More Excitement in 2013
Distribion, a leading provider of marketing automation software, had numerous accomplishments in 2012. The company is also looking forward to making 2013 just as much of a quality year as 2012 was. One thing that can be perceived as quite impressive was the fact that Distribion was named by the Metroplex Technology Business Council as the 4th fastest growing company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Considering that the Dallas-Fort Worth area is routinely touted for being economically dynamic and performing well relative to the United States as a whole, this is a quality achievement. But Distribion does not intend to Read More
