Brands & Blogs debate
Now we've got a discussion with Jeremy Wright of B5 Media, and Richard Rocca of Glam. They're both involved with big blog networks in North America, and are here to tell us how things are working over there.
12.42: Richard is talking about all the blue-chip advertisers on Glam - they're all keen on working with professional blog networks, as long as they really are creating quality, trusted content.
12.43: Ooh, a question asking for hard data - what return can brands expect on spending money in this area? SHOW ME THE MONEY. Jeremy says it's important for blog networks to establish what brands are looking for - survey responses or time in front of a viewer or something else. And then create a campaign to deliver that.
12.30: So what is conversational marketing, moderator Mike asks. Isn't it just a new way to describe marketing? What's different?
12.31: Richard says blogging is intimate - people go to sites like Shoewawa (cheers!) because they love that subject – and conversational marketing within that context is very powerful, because people trust these sources.
12.33: So why go to an independent blog network, rather than the Guardian or other media firm's online stuff? Jeremy says it's breadth and depth of content. And a significant amount of reach too - if an advertiser wants to buy 25-35 year-old women in a certain zip-code of Staten Island who enjoy Ping Pong... Which reminds me, Shiny Media is announcing its new PingPongLadies.tv blog toda... Okay, we're not. But think of the Google traffic.
12.35: Richard's pointing out that measurement isn't quite there yet to say how influential blogs are, at least by traditional measures in the ad industry. So it's about blog networks educating advertisers and media buyers.
12.36: So why wouldn't marketeers set up their own blogs? Jeremy says if they can, they should. But most can't, and why bother when there are great blogs out there already reaching strong niche audiences? Although B5 is apparently happy to provide brands with the back-end infrastructure they need to set it all up, so it's a separate line of business for blog networks. Did I mention Shiny Red already...
12.38: Questions from the audience. What's the best campaign anyone's run with B5 Media and Glam? Jeremy says one from HP and Disney for Over The Hedge, which took over a bunch of its blogs. Meanwhile, for Glam, Reebok spent all its online budget in one big campaign on Glam's network, with quizzes, micro-sites, and high-impact advertising (all ad spaces on certain sites for three days).
12.41: What if comments in a blog trash the brand that's advertising? Jeremy says it's about educating them – if their product sucks, people know it, so they can get valuable information back even if consumers are being rude. It's about two-way conversation again, not just about everyone thinking Brand X's products are lovely and fluffy.
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