This is an article I wrote that first appeared in Direct Magazine

At the end of July, the AMC show Mad Men returns to television for its fourth season. The world of media and marketing has changed since the early 1960s advertising heyday. Aside from the obvious cultural changes (drinking, smoking and sexually harassing women in the office were completely acceptable, along with being racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic), the biggest difference is the introduction of an essential measurement that clients now expect their agencies to show: the marketing return on investment.

The Mad Men days were golden ones for media companies and agencies because there was little to no accountability. Marketers spent millions on TV, radio, billboards and magazines, but there was scant actual proof any of it worked. Yes, companies could look at brand sales during the same period of time as a campaign and make some judgments, but it was hardly an exact science. Media decisions were often made based on the personal—and subjective—logic and taste of the executive who carried the most weight.

Think how much money has been spent—and likely wasted—sponsoring golf tournaments and advertising on Sunday morning news shows. These are purely ego-driven buys with little defined value. Several generations of ad sales people got wealthy selling promises they knew they’d never be called on to prove.

I was one of those making the promises back in the glory days of trade publishing. We had stacks of research and presentations to back us up, and when that failed, we took the client out for an expensive dinner, spa day or ball game.

There were ad readership studies and some companies did try to attach sales measures to their ad campaigns. Direct marketers could track 800 number calls, but even that definitive measurement was of no help to companies selling through retail or distributors/resellers.

Because so much of advertising was dependent on data extrapolation and blind faith, the media business, more than any other business, was—and continues to be—transformed by the Internet and advances in technology. In fact, the ability to track and measure may be the single biggest factor driving media companies and marketers today.

The advent of cost-per-click from Google changed the equation forever. Suddenly, marketers only paid for consumer action and the “branding” was free. Where did that leave the media empires that were selling the branding opportunities for a king’s ransom? More than a little compromised. No matter what the medium or the outlet, this fundamental change in the way businesses can connect their products and services with consumers continues to reverberate through the industry.

The newfound demand and desire for media measurability among companies that were formerly beholden to traditional advertising is driving the media itself. The explosion of digital magazines, mobile/tablet apps, and similar media that allow consumers to connect directly with brand content is indicative of the need to measure clickthroughs and conversions.

Even television is not immune: That medium is now merging with innovative online sites such as Hulu and ESPN3.com to remove the barriers between broadcast television and the Internet in order to tap into consumer-behavior metrics. More and more video will move online as consumers spend their time there and companies tap into new, actionable marketing opportunities.

Even as marketers embrace the technologies behind online advertising that give them precise measurement of the effects of their ads, they are already looking toward the next wave of development. Those are the ones which will capitalize on behavioral targeting in order to give marketers a leg up in generating and measuring ROI.

Despite these advances currently being challenged by consumer privacy advocates, shifts in privacy expectations—and a rising generation increasingly willing to compromise privacy for convenience—are clearing the way for this kind of targeting to become the standard for online advertising. Not only because it cuts waste, but because it allows marketers to advertise using relevant content that speaks to the interest and behavior of a given target audience.

As a result of these changes, established media companies are now sometimes being left out of the equation. Marketers no longer need these middlemen as they are able to engage customers directly. Whether in the form of email marketing, social media, behavioral targeting, virtual events or direct mail, there are abundant tools and techniques to measure tactics and to gauge if sales objectives are being met.

The true benefit of new technology is the ability of brands and companies to create and foster meaningful relationships directly with their customers, without the filter of a media company. After decades of renting media space from all-controlling media powerhouses, any marketer in the world–from the local CPA or chiropractor to IBM and Coca-Cola—can create media platforms to host original content that attracts customers and facilitates long-term relationships.

It’s not just the sexism and the homophobia that make Mad Men seem archaic; it’s the business model itself. If marketers can create and own their media channels rather than run ads with traditional media companies, and they can measure the success of those same channels themselves, they certainly don’t need to people who created those ads in the same way either.

This presents a new challenge to media companies, which must now provide marketers with access to consumers along with measurable advertising opportunities. Media companies must additionally provide content that will capture the imagination of consumers and hold their attention in order to compete with increasingly good branded content. Only media companies that innovate and provide measurable value for both the consumer and marketer will survive.

The next wave of social media apps may be ecommerce enabled as described in this WSJ article.  Companies such as Brooks Brothers have added an app that allows fans and customers to buy from them directly from the fan page without leaving Facebook.

It is not the same rich buying experience you find on the web site, but it’s not bad and very functional.   The FB app is great way to capture an impulse buy while a customer is within the fan page environment.  Giving customers multiple options to buy from you is never a bad thing.

There is bound to be a debate among social media purists and experts about this topic.  Some will feel that there is risk involved because you may give dissatisfied buyers an outlet to express their opinion in an open forum.  And, I have seen concern over introducing commerce into a social environment.

This is a case of knowing your customer and their buying behavior.  It does not make sense for everyone, but for an online retailer in the apparel business, it makes perfect sense.  The whole purpose of social media and marketing is get people to buy more stuff from you, so why not give them the opportunity.

Just because your email makes it into your client’s inbox doesn’t mean it’ll get opened. In fact, chances are it won’t.

I know what you’re thinking: “But Anna, I wrote a seriously amazing email with a seriously amazing offer I know they’ll want. There’s no way they’re going to delete it!”

Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but “Way.” Unfortunately, even if you can get past the powerful spam filters, there’s an even more powerful force at work: your client’s free will. Yes, I’m talking about the Delete key. Think about it: How many emails a day do you delete without reading? Exactly.

How can you make sure your email stands out? It all starts with the right subject line. The best subject lines — surprise! — clearly convey the subject of the email. They pique the reader’s interest, but are never cloyingly cute or salesy. Here are three other tips:

1) Get past the spam filters. Using certain words or symbols in the subject line can doom your email to Junk folder purgatory. To be safe, stay away from “free,” “cash” or “$$$.” And definitely don’t use “sex” in your subject line. (Sex should only be used as a weapon.) You can read more about avoiding the spam filter here.

2) Figure out who your audience is. Write to just them. Your subject line must be relevant to your target audience or it will get deleted. Create separate emails if your audience is too broad. For example, a big retailer promoting a summer sale wouldn’t want to highlight discounts on bikinis and chainsaws in the same subject line. Craft one email for women who like swimwear and then another for the women who want a cheap chainsaw. Hey — I’m no sexist!

3) Stay focused. Identify your purpose for writing, whittle it down to its essence and leave it at that. Cap it at 55 characters, which is about six to eight words. (Just not words like Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.)

Okay, but what exactly do you write?
Effective subject lines can take one of three primary directions. Here’s how to do them well.

1) Offers: If they can make it through the spam filter, offer subject lines are often the most effective because people are motivated by money. Highlighting an online coupon or discount is fine if done correctly. This means no exclamation marks or dollar signs. And be as specific as possible. For example, The Union Bluff Hotel would be better off writing “Union Bluff Two-for-One April Getaway” as a subject line rather than “Union Bluff Savings.” Or worse, an even more generic “Discounted rooms.”

2) Benefits: People want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Tell them in your subject line (without sounding like a cornball salesman).

3) Teasers: Pose an intriguing question or state an interesting fact that ties to your product or service (e.g. “Are green products really safer?”). 

And whatever your product or service, we always preach the virtues of writing in a conversational tone. Your customers and prospects will appreciate it — and maybe even open your email.

Anna Goldsmith is a partner at the Boston-based copywriting agency, The Hired Pens . Read about her copywriting exploits at her company blog, Lightning & the Lightning Bug.

Please welcome a new contributor to the Think Tank - Anna Goldsmith of The Hired Pens.  Anna is one of our favorite copywriters and partners. 

Yesterday I had a last-minute tagline project for Microsoft.
They needed a tagline that convinced graduates from elite colleges to come work for them instead of, well, who do you think? Google or Apple. Tough competition. And as just about everyone knows, Microsoft has a bit of an image problem. People see them as stuffed shirts — especially the college kids they’re targeting.

It was a tight turnaround. Like five-hours tight. So I didn’t have time to wait for inspiration to strike.
When I hung up with the project manager, I did a search for “How to write great taglines.” Now, I’ve written plenty of taglines for our clients, but I often start projects this way: Find the top hit and see what someone else knows that I don’t. Then I copy their ideas word for word, add my name to the top, and bam. I’m done. Kidding!

So who was the top hit? A company called Tagline Guru run by veteran tagline writer Eric Swartz.

Now, I won’t get into it here, but I really admire people who dare to specialize. You can’t be all things to all people. One size doesn’t fit all, etc. Tagline Guru gets this and their site is packed with everything you ever wanted to know about taglines.

Let me back up in case you’re shaking your head wondering what the heck a tagline is.
A tagline — often referred to as a slogan — is a short, pithy phrase that sums up the very essence of who you are as a company. It usually hangs out under the company’s logo or name. For example, The Hired Pens. We Choose Your Words Carefully. Nike. Just Do It. Apple Computer. Think Different. Again, sorry Microsoft.

A tagline should not be confused with a mission statement.
You know those long, pompous mission statements that company presidents write themselves and then hang over the receptionist’s desk? (Quick aside #2: Company presidents who are reading this: Quit writing these yourself! If you have some extra time on your hands, go raise some money or something.)

So now the big question: How do you write a good one?
I don’t want to give away all my tricks, so I’ll give away some of Tagline Guru’s.

12 Elements of a Great Tagline, According to Tagline Guru
The best taglines are …
Original. Make it your own.
Believable. Keep it real.
Simple. Make it understandable.
Succinct. Get to the point.
Positive. Elevate their mood.
Specific. Make it relevant.
Unconventional. Break the mold.
Provocative. Make them think.
Conversational. Make it personable.
Persuasive. Sell the big idea.
Humorous. Tickle their funny bone.
Memorable. Make a lasting impression.

Curious to see the best in action?
Here is a link to the 100 most influential taglines since 1948. (Don’t leave home without it.)

Now how about the worst?
Maybe even more entertaining is Eric’s list of the worst taglines of all time. What makes a tagline terrible? He says: “Bad taglines are typically vague, awkward, pretentious, inane, underwhelming, confusing, complicated, negative, or ambiguous — and often communicate an unintended message.”

Case in point? I leave you with Jimmy Dean’s tagline: Eat Jimmy Dean. Really? That didn’t raise a red flag with anyone?

Anna Goldsmith is a partner at the Boston-based copywriting agency, The Hired Pens . Read about her copywriting exploits at her company blog, Lightning & the Lightning Bug.

The Washington Post Company has put Newsweek up for sale after losing nearly $30 million in 09 and $15 million in 08.  It is similar to the demise of once powerful Business Week.  Someone will likely buy it on the cheap for the name, web site and database.  Almost exactly a year ago I wrote about their plans to revive the brand and I predicted a somewhat quick demise – as did just about every other media watcher.  It reminds me of NBC’s decision to put Jay Leno on at 10pm every night.  Both moves were the last gasps of the old media oligarchy lacking imagination and an understanding of consumer behavior.  The Washington Post and NBC learned they are no longer in control of their destiny, the consumer is in charge.

We are in the midst of a transformational period for media and marketing.  The impact of social media and mobile content are only beginning to be felt by the big media companies and marketers.  The concept of a newsweekly in today’s on-demand information environment is dead, so Newsweek essentially turned into an opinion magazine.  If there one thing that is free and plentiful on the web; it is opinion from every political angle imaginable.  The “new” Newsweek had no unique value to readers and certainly didn’t bring any measurable results to the advertisers, and the die was cast.

Ironically, I heard about the proposed sale on Twitter – from about two dozen different people I follow. Within an hour I read all I needed to know on the topic.  No need to wait for a newsweekly to show up in my mailbox next Monday.

In Part 1 I looked some bad customer experiences.  Here are some companies who understand how they can fulfill their brand promise through customer service.

Every week I drive through two towns and past ten supermarkets to get to Whole Foods.  Not only is the food better and healthier, but the service is impeccable. From the guys behind the meat counter to the friendly cashiers, customers are always treated with respect and professionalism.  I look forward to my trips there for what could be a chore.  It really hit me when I stopped into a major chain to pick up a few items.  To get my deli order I had to bust up a complaint session among the workers about the break schedule.  At the check out I was treated to a conversation between the cashier (Brittney) and the bagger (Courtney).  Brit and Court completely ignored me while yapping back and forth about a classmate who had the temerity to brag about owning an $80 shirt.  In all the commotion over the pricey top several of my groceries were smashed as they were thrown into flimsy plastic bags. 

Comcast is another company that understands customer service.  They understand they are a big ugly utility that overcharges for their service - a service that does always work as advertised.  To compensate, their phone customer reps and field service employees go out of their way to be courteous, knowledgeable and helpful.  I made the cardinal mistake of getting the first rev of their TIVO box and the software was buggy.  Every time I called ready to cancel, I was sweet-talked into staying.  They acknowledged the service needed work and offered me discounts to stick with them.  How could I say no?  Whenever something didn’t work – it was replaced at no cost, no questions asked and with a smile.  That kind of service buys patience as they work out some bugs.

I have also encountered great service at Mercedes Benz, Best Buy, Amazon.com and at dozens of small local companies/stores.  In almost all cases it’s worth a premium. I wonder how many grand marketing plans are undone by bad customer service or an impersonal phone system or a balky web site.  How many CMOs have customer service reporting directly to them?  If they don’t they should, it’s just as important as any other aspect of their marketing plan.

Customer service is one of the most important elements of your brand promise. It is where you and the customer come face to face.  All your slick web sites, social media programs and ad schedules can be undone by bad customer service.  Companies such as Zappos (a King Fish client) have made great service their differentiator and even built an ad campaign around it.  I’ve had some recent experiences that illustrate how front line customer service can have a bottom line effect.

No business does more to turn off their customers than America’s airlines.  They talk the talk, but rarely walk the walk.  My wife and I went to Florida on vacation via Jet Blue – we could have checked two bags of 50 pounds each; but we had one bag of 54 pounds.  We were given the option of holding up a huge line and pulling out four pounds of stuff or paying $50 extra.  Given the hassle we already went through with airport parking and the charming TSA agents, (it appears their sole purpose is to monitor the toiletries of law abiding citizens) I paid the $50 and just went on my way.  I tried to explain that we were 46 pounds under as a family, but no dice.  Rules are rules, pay up.

Last week I was with a colleague in Washington DC at the US Air Shuttle – we had tickets for the 2:30 shuttle but were at the gate in time for the 1:30 flight and they had seats available that were going to be empty when the plane took off.  We asked if we could switch to the earlier flight – the gate agent/prison guard snapped “$50 change fee per ticket”.  Keep in mind there is absolutely no hard cost to letting us sit in these empty seats, but rules are rules, pay up.  We declined and my colleague wrote a strongly worded email to the CEO of US Air.  A few days later a reply came back that apologized for our dissatisfaction, but no explanation of why a $50 charge to get on a flight an hour earlier that had empty seats.

Recently I called United Mileage Plus to ask if there was any way I could get my “lifetime mileage” reinstated that expired last year.  It took 10 minutes of pushing different combinations of phone buttons to even get a human.  Their automated call system had no choice for speaking to a customer service rep.  I finally got a guy with a shaky command of English.  I told him how I had earned the miles over 15 years, but haven’t been traveling on United lately and would love to reengage as a customer. Sorry, nothing he can do.  In the interest of marketing science, I came right out and said “you won’t even consider it if it means that I nor my company will ever fly United again and I will tell everyone I know not to fly United”.  His response: If I take their Visa card I can get 50,000 miles.  My response is unprintable in a family blog.

Three companies in a struggling industry had a chance to make a friend and possible loyal customer.  Imagine if any of those situations went in another direction, how happy I would have been and how my perception of that airline would have changed.  Instead I am writing this post and will push it out to the many people I am connected to via social media. 

In part II on Monday – companies who truly understand the value of customer service.

The artificial division between internal and external communications is crumbling. With the emergence of flatter organizations where knowledge and relationships speak as loudly as rank, and where the ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ lives of employees are increasingly blurred, communications hierarchies designed to segment or stovepipe information are losing their relevance.  More than ever, employees are taking control of the channels and communicating not just with their superiors and their immediate colleagues, but with peers, friends and strangers down the hall, in the next city and across the world.  The smart companies—the ones most likely to engage, empower and energize employees and companies in support of the company mission and brand—have taken note and are providing platforms to support the conversation.

“Providing platforms” in this context means more than incorporating social media (which are really just new channels) into the company communications plan, it means embracing and responding to the seismic changes taking place within the communications space itself, including the ubiquity and power of technology, the desire for community and a recognition that a successful brand must be built from the inside out.

Technology

The genie has been let out of the bottle, if he was ever there in the first place. Email allows any internal message to be launched into public view with the tap of a ‘send’ button. The lesson here is simple: don’t prepare or circulate anything for internal use that you wouldn’t be comfortable seeing outside the firewall.

The inverse is also true: Technology means that employees can no more be shielded from company news reports (ever heard of Google alerts?) unpalatable to top brass than they can be shut off from information floating around the water cooler. And technology itself is of limited use when it comes to regulating the online activities of employees. That nifty filter put in place to block employees from accessing Facebook and other social media sites? It may keep the lawyers happy, but it doesn’t stop employees from accessing these sites through their (often as not company-owned) PDA’s and smart phones, which in turn can be used to blast information outside the company.

Community

But technology isn’t even the central issue. The opportunities and challenges presented by portable hardware simply underscore the cultural shifts taking place in the workplace and in society in general, and the failure of most organizations to meet them. These shifts can be summed up in terms of employees’ desire for community in an increasingly atomized world and the parallel pursuit of authenticity and meaning in work, a search largely undiluted by the effects of our most recent recession.

Jaded audiences—employees among them—are looking for sources they trust. These audiences long ago became immune to advertising, which now functions as an expensive tool with which to build a brand, and are skeptical of the news reports fed by public relations practitioners. They are seeking guidance from like-minded people they trust (virtual communities or ‘tribes’, in the parlance) which can be physical (word of mouth) or more likely, virtual (a LinkedIn group, for example). Increasingly, these virtual groups exist as proxies for the physical communities— family, friends, customer, the car-repair guy—that have long served companies as a source of customers and or potential employees.
 

Positioning
 
Positioning a company internally more often than not amounts to cursory efforts to sell a company’s brand promise (often modified for the employee audience) to employees. Traditionally, this function was left to the HR department, which often as not responded with a dreary listing of benefits and ‘employee-friendly’ policies.

Now, thanks to the gusher of information and tools at their disposal, employees can fill that vacuum and to an increasing degree, define that brand promise themselves.  This requires demonstrable “proof points”: if a company defines itself as an innovator, it better not have decade-old computer systems. But the most important step for our newly emancipated employees is to take the reins of social media and other communications channels to create a culture (for example, team-focused, curious, service-oriented, optimistic) that reflects their own work spirit. To a great degree, it matters less what that culture is that that they can express it.

Savvy companies realize that employees are their best ambassadors, not an embarrassment to be hidden behind a brick wall. In this environment, companies are wise to direct increased resources (human, financial and otherwise) to their communications functions, so as to better educate and empower employees.  This means building a robust, interactive communications platform led by innovative and holistic thinkers able to put social media and other 21st century channels to use in today’s communications landscape, a landscape that’s not artificially divided into traditional internal and external categories, but that is truly dynamic and integrated.

As director of internal communications for BBVA Compass, a top 15 U.S. bank based in the Sunbelt, Will Trout seeks to inform, energize and empower employees in support of the bank’s vision, strategy and mission. In his free time, Will heads up a Houston-based discussion forum for marketing and communications executives in the financial and professional services industries, and enjoys sharing ideas and best practices on a range of topics from brand-building to employee engagement to stakeholder outreach.

Last year we partnered with HubSpot and Junta 42 for the first in a series of three studies on media and measurement. This year we’re partnering with them again for the second study in this series: Social Media Usage, Attitudes and Measurability: What do Marketers Think?

Whereas the 2009 survey asked marketers about their use of custom content, the future allocation of their marketing dollars, and if they planned to ditch traditional marketing methods for shiny and new social ones, this year’s survey launches from a very distinct vantage point: marketers are most definitely investing in social media. But while we may know that many companies have jumped on board, there’s still a lot to learn about the usage habits, attitudes and future plans of marketers and other corporate executives.

That being the case, the questions this time around revolve around how marketers are measuring social media’s effectiveness—qualitatively, quantitatively, or otherwise—as well as the design and management of their social media programs, and the different social media services/networks they’re engaging with.

Needless to say, there’s still a lot to learn, and we hope that with your collective feedback, we’ll end up with a lot of useful information to share with you.

So, without further ado, we introduce you to Social Media Usage, Attitudes and Measurability: What do Marketers Think? Please take a few minutes to offer your insight and feedback: www.KingFishMedia.com/socialmediasurvey/

2009 was not a banner year for the media industry, but there were a few bright spots.  Social media was a major story and became a key player almost overnight.  There is not a marketer alive who is not thinking about social media in some manner for their brand. Social media provides some important tools such as interactivity and the ability to broadcast a message for free to a community of people.  However, the more significant trend of 2009 is the continued growth of content marketing and how it is eating into traditional advertising. 

The reason why is not really surprising.  Content marketing takes advantage of permission based marketing to build relationships with customers and prospects while advertising depends on interrupting people while they are consuming unrelated content.   Thanks to advances in technology, brands are able to create and distribute branded content at a higher level than ever before.  The Custom Publishing Council and ContentWise recently released a study of major US companies to quantify this phenomenon.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Total spending on branded content was over $1.8 million per company, with 51% spent on print publications, 27% on Internet media and 22% on categories such as video or audio.
• 78% of respondents said that branded content initiatives are more effective than other leading forms of advertising and marketing. Seventy percent said it was more effective than television advertising; 61% said it was more effective than direct mail and 57% said more effective than public relations.
• According to 54% of the companies surveyed, the primary reason for branded content initiatives was to educate customers. This was followed by customer retention (25%) and brand loyalty (21%). Up-selling was at the bottom of the list, indicating that corporate marketers are looking for long-term returns rather than a stimulus for short-term transactions.
• The use of external agency services (custom publisher, design firm or video production company, for example) to handle some aspect of branded content initiatives matched an all-time high from 2005, with 54% of companies reporting that they outsourced some portion of their branded content.
• Among companies that outsource, the average spend on branded content was a whopping $886,000. The previous record high was $316,000 in 2006. When extracting nontraditional forms of branded content from this equation, the total outsourcing spend was $650,000, 105% higher than previous records.
• The survey showed that 24% expected spending to increase in 2010; 20% expect it to decrease and 56% say it will stay the same.  Print publishing is expecting to decline, while other forms such as digital are expected to increase.

Another study conducted by Junta42 states that 60% of marketers will increase their spending on content initiatives.  The study also shows that social media and mobile apps with be important channels for branded content.  It all ties back to measurability and ROI.  When you create your own content and environment you increase the ability to measure and get positive results.  And, as we slowly come out of a recession, all that matters are results and profitability.  Branding initiatives are fun and nice to have, but unless they can demonstrate a clear return they won’t help your company’s bottom line or valuation.