Beyond Frequency

Going Beyond Time & Money For Real Brand Value

Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley recently released and presented her Internet Trends study at the CM Summit in New York City. 

Amidst discussions of mobile, online advertising, e-commerce and international trends, the item that caught my eye related to the value of digital advertising compared to the time spent on online and to CPMs of other media.

I have heard this argument quite a bit as an indication of the undervaluation of digital ads versus other media and I do not necessarily disagree, but I think it is incomplete.  In looking at the chart below from Meeker's strong presentation, both Internet and Radio have less Ad Spend than Time Spent, which by the basic definition would mean they are both undervalued.

That is certainly a debate that is common, but I think it misses the point because a brand will derive value not simply from the ad on a well-trafficked medium, but from the power of the relationship it can drive.  These days, that brand relationship value is the combination of media, not each one in isolation.

I, therefore, do not happen to adhere to the idea that Time Spent and Ad Spend (along with CPMs) necessarily need to be equal for each medium because it is the combination of time spent across media that is the critical data to understand.

All media are there to drive brand relationships and the value placed on the time should reflect that capability.  Impressions, clicks, comments, views both online and offline are all pieces of that brand relationship so focusing on on one medium as under or overvalued based solely on 2 data points I believe paints an incomplete picture.

 

New Economic Hitmen & New Targets

In 2004 John Perkins published the book Confessions of An Economic Hitman, which described the tactics employed by economic super powers like the United States to make developing countries indebted to them and, therefore, dependent on them.

Soon after I read that book I came across World On Fire by Dr. Amy Chua of Yale, who described through a case study approach how ethnic minorities become economic majorities within largely developing nations.  She includes examples of both small and large countries and the sects within them that lead economic disparity to conflict.

The two of these books taken together, both of which I highly recommend, paint a powerfully poignant picture of the institutional difficulties that developing countries face in trying to establish a viable economy.  In the recent years, however, it seems that developing nations are not the only ones that are subject to the forces of economic hitmen.

Today New York Times reports that the recent financial turmoil in Greece was partially exacerbated by US-based investment banks who helped shift billions in debt around outside the scrutiny of the Greek citizens and the EU.  It is this type of activity that serves as further proof of our absolute need for financial reform.

I am 100% for innovation.  As an entrepreneur 3 times over, that is in my DNA and the lifeblood of our country. 

But new products that result in less forward motion or, in the worst cases, backwards motion are not innovative, they are just new.  Technology and math theories have fueled this economic crisis and it is time to employ those tools to ensure we are safe going forward both in public and private financial sectors.  I am with Paul Volcker on this wholeheartedly.

At the end of the day, they both hit us hard.