I've written this before, but it bears repeating and emphasizing, as the ground shifts around us, as it pertains to both content, advertising, and consumption of MEDIA.
To date, content has been controlled by companies and outlets that have chosen for you-- what you can watch, hear, and interact with. The owners of newspapers, for instance controlled what you read on a daily basis......
The ground is moving under us...as the seisimic tremors of change and evolution are being felt across the globe.
The average session time (meaning time spent in one sitting) - on MySpace is over 30 minutes. Thats is 30 minutes LESS time spent watching TV. 30 minutes per day less reading the newspaper, 30 minutes less per day -- IN ANY ENVIRONMENT WHERE BRAND ADVERTISERS COULD REACH CONSUMERS, AND SELL TO THEM. (for me, as a kid, it was watching magilla gorilla and magic garden in front of a tv after school -- but, that same kid today, who might have been watching TV afterschool -- is NOW ON THE COMPUTER -- and not consuming TV media -- but, most likely on a site, like Myspace)
MySpace (and the 200 other sites like it) are social in nature, as they have the component of the consumer (you) being the producer of content. The consumer CREATES HIS OWN SHOWS...the consumer interacts with people he/she chooses -- and the consumer controls the media, and how they consume/digest it.
It has thrown the media world on it's multi billion dollar head.
Rupert Murchoch and News Corp caught on to the changing landscape, with their purchase of MySpace for $500 MM - but wait.....THERE IS MORE.
Remember the "old media" companies that controlled what you watched, saw and digested? They are struggling to figure out how to use blogs, and social content to their advantage. They can't target, or comprehend how to use SOCIAL MEDIA, to their advantage.
Social Media simply means that -- "Yet, unlike mass media before it, social media introduces the very unique element of the previously passive audience becoming both producers and distributors of media."
How huge is that?
As pointed out from the GigaOM piece -- traditional ad models simply will not work in a Social Media world.
Brand Advertisers do not have the proper data, to conquer social media planning, out side of doing what they have been doing online to date (using standard web targeting tools such as reach and frequency, and old school planning guides containing audience composition) -- which is using the contexually relevanant model, and demographic targeting tools to brand consumers.
It does not work in social media. Context and Demographic targeting in Social Media is the equivalent of, showing up as a driver to a auto race, with a set of golf clubs......the tools do not apply.
Why?
Contextual Targeting is LESS relevant than -- "social profile data collection and optimization."
Because, Demographic Targeting can't work in a environment where THE PRODUCERS OF CONTENT -- attract a wide array of people to their personal sites based on HOW THEY FEEL that day - and what was TAGGED.
The content is less important than the producer.
We believe that Social Media inventory (impressions sold on SM sites) are currently, tremendously undervalued, and are not being, MONETIZED correctly for advertisers or publishers.
Lotame will be at the forefront of yielding better results for Advertisers, while lifting the inventory value for Publishers who own the Social Sites.
The data is there, to begin to target based on SOCIAL aspects of media, as opposed to old models that have served us well........but need to evolve.
Rock on...
