Remember...

[LC]

I may well end up being wrong, but in my view the entire world is shifting to DRM. Most successful things on the internet use techniques from DRM to attract readers; I use them on this very forum to create threads I think will draw interest. And it usually works quite well, as you can see.

I pretty much agree- I've tried my own share of small business/direct to consumer marketing on hyper-niche places. A lot of the stuff I buy, for things I am passionate about and really research, use exactly this technique. And it's exactly the kind of stuff you mention, usually small-sized/high-priced goods. Stuff like really nice leather wallets made by a dude in a workshop in the middle of nowhere, etc. Custom stuff made by an artisan or whatnot. Cue the artisan ice cube jokes...haha

 

 

Anyway, sorta stoned ATM so don't take this post too seriously. Am not trying to offend, just share my view from the opposite end of the industry.

No offense taken! I used to work in the big ad world so I probably talk too much like a d*bag about it. Anyways, I'll take a contact-high any day of the week.

[SlowAppreciation]

I don't disagree with you, but this is no different from any other platform/publisher/ad-tech vendor in the industry. For example, what Google counts as an "impression" is different from ad-tech companies A, B, C, &  D, and they give very little insight into how they calculate spam, what browser technology is used, how much and which metrics are based on "predicted" values rather than what actually happened, etc. The list goes on.

 

In no way do I think the opaque metrics/measurement are good, but to single out FB in an industry where a huge number of players are effectively shysters isn't fair.

 

FB is different. Because of the unique nature of what Facebook does and what kind of data they collect (and the perceived value of that data), they have had the ability to put more controls around how their data/analytics are validated.  There are far more partners in the space who can drop tags on campaigns running through Google (for example) to keep their reporting numbers more honest.

 

To be fair, Google is showing signs of moving towards FB's approach. As that happens more, comparisons will be even more valid between the two.

 

You're right, they're certainly very restrictive of the tags they allow. But on the other hand, I can gripe plenty about the preferred "industry standard" tag system. For example, an impression—which is still the biggest determinant of cost in the brand space—is counted not when someone sees an ad. It's when a request is made from a website to an ad server. But the creative may not render, or the browser may crash, or the ad slot may be off the visible screen, or the user scrolls too fast, or the user isn't really a user but a bot. In all these cases, the advertiser still pays as if someone saw their ad.

 

I just think as a whole the industry is very opaque, with lots of gray areas, shady operators, and questionable ethics. FB is not perfect, but from the sausage I've seen made in this industry, I'd prefer to eat at Facebook over about anywhere else.

[LongTermView]

LC,

 

Approximately what percentage are your sources spending on mobile ads as opposed to desktop ads?

[LC]

LTV - The first response was "that is the vaguest $(*&(# question ever"  ;D I hope you find that funny...anyways, for a better answer:

 

Depends on the vertical, the client, the business objective, the use case...probably in about that order.

 

In other words, car makers are not buying mobile ads to convert. However the mobile spends are growing overall, and where you would suspect it would: branding.

[LongTermView]

It almost sounds like the answer is on an individual level.  I mean on a summary level adding up all verticals and clients.  Also, how much does it change from one month to the next?

[ScottHall]

It almost sounds like the answer is on an individual level.  I mean on a summary level adding up all verticals and clients.  Also, how much does it change from one month to the next?

 

Sorry, was busy earlier. To answer your previous question (not this one), yes I think cigar butts can beat the market too. This is all about response optimization. :)

[LC]

It almost sounds like the answer is on an individual level.  I mean on a summary level adding up all verticals and clients.  Also, how much does it change from one month to the next?

 

There is no number. No 42%, no approximately 30%, etc. Common thinking is mobile spend as a % of total digital spend is going to continue to trend upwards.

 

Why can't we really pin a number on it? A big reason is what Slow Appreciation mentioned earlier. Imagine a client has TOLD ME to spend $10M/month, and hit X% ROI. I can probably spend $8M and hit that. That other $2M? It goes wherever I can find it. The worst thing is to leave money on the table. But of course sometimes I can't hit the number and disappoint everyone. Sometimes I can get a good deal on desktop, sometimes mobile, sometimes nowhere so I try and stretch it... So this question of % on platform A vs platform B...there is no rhyme or reason to it.

 

Some people can tell a client, No i cannot spend that, it is a giant waste. Others would rather try and spend it, and then try even harder to justify it when their results suck. So the % looks more like a crapshoot.

 

Look at it from the top down. Digital budgets should be between 5-20% of a total marketing plan, depending on the product/brand. Marketing spend has been consistently increasing over at least the last 5 years. There's only so many billboards, so that % is probably ticking upwards. Mobile as a % of that is growing fastest as it is newest part of the mix.

[DooDiligence]

It almost sounds like the answer is on an individual level.  I mean on a summary level adding up all verticals and clients.  Also, how much does it change from one month to the next?

 

Sorry, was busy earlier. To answer your previous question (not this one), yes I think cigar butts can beat the market too. This is all about response optimization. :)

 

Where do you tool response optimization?

 

Ad copy, landing pages, ease of conversion (a lousy checkout process can kill returns...)

 

Screw impressions, I want click through's & an inescapable funnel...

[ScottHall]

It almost sounds like the answer is on an individual level.  I mean on a summary level adding up all verticals and clients.  Also, how much does it change from one month to the next?

 

Sorry, was busy earlier. To answer your previous question (not this one), yes I think cigar butts can beat the market too. This is all about response optimization. :)

 

Where do you tool response optimization?

 

Ad copy, landing pages, ease of conversion (a lousy checkout process can kill returns...)

 

Screw impressions, I want click through's & an inescapable funnel...

 

All of the above, and more. We can take it to PM if you have anything specific you want to chat about; don't want to give a public forum free techniques if people can't figure it out for themselves.