Yesterday, more than 120 FCS Members and guests packed into our February luncheon at the New York Yacht Club to see a presentation about babies and the Super Bowl. Of course, the speaker could only be Nick Utton, Chief Marketing Officer of E*TRADE.
During his remarks, Utton explained the birth and maturing of the now legendary E*TRADE Baby commercials, but also provided a deeply insightful look behind the scenes at how “scientifically” E*TRADE tests, reviews, and executes its advertising.
With a presentation titled, “The Race for Marketing Optimization,” Utton reviewed for the audience the important tenets that drive the development for all E*TRADE campaigns. He began by stating that “marketing is the science of logic” and founded in the fundamental “4 Ps”: product, price, place, promotion. Referring to the classic AIDA model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action), Utton emphasized how advertising must drive to Action – something that is often lost when a campaign uses humor to break through clutter and focuses on awareness/brand personality alone.
Utton warned that a major challenge in the voice and messaging of financial advertising lies in the proper balance of emotion and reason. He feels that too many ads in the category are “magnificently rational” yet “emotionally bankrupt.”
In a highly competitive category, where E*TRADE is outspent by four of its competitors, Utton pointed out that “brand differentiation is everything.” E*TRADE relies on its ad campaigns to underscore the company’s distinctiveness, and Utton’s mission is to maximize his media spend so that “every $1 spent works like $2 to $3.”
Over 8 years, Utton has moved E*TRADE’s marketing spend from 10% online to approximately 37%, a strategy designed to acquire prospects more effectively and efficiently. Despite that, Utton credited “word of mouth” as the most effective factor in influencing prospects to consider E*TRADE, followed by television. However, neither of those avenues can be measured with the precision of digital advertising, and measure is something E*TRADE likes to do. Utton provided several examples of how E*TRADE “does lots of testing” and measures everything from CPA (cost per acquisition) online, to site analytics for its various web pages, from the effectiveness of buttons vs. banners, to the value of different media categories, such as news and sports.
In reviewing the E*TRADE Baby ads, Utton explained that the next step is a series of television spots tied to life events, e.g., marriage, retirement, births. His very entertaining reel of past spots included the “Speed Dating” commercial that aired during this year’s Super Bowl (btw: Giants 21, Pats 17). Utton also discussed the tremendous publicity garnered for the company through a highly effective PR campaign that placed the E*TRADE Babies in high visibility media coverage, including NFL playoff games, entertainment news coverage, and both the mainstream and financial press.
Utton also explained the strategy behind upcoming campaigns that don’t feature the Babies, but focus on product demos to promote the company’s new 360, Pro, and Retirement services.
Taking questions from the audience, Utton noted that, to date, three babies have been used over the life of the television campaign, with each baby-actor having a “shelf life of about 18 months before growing too old.” He also commented on how price and service are the two main factors for competitive advantage among online brokerages, and how volatility in the stock market (VIX) can be an indicator for new account activity for E*TRADE.
As a past winner of the FCS Financial Marketer of the Year, Utton proved once again that he is a masterful CMO, successfully managing the significant brand value of a treasured advertising campaign through wildly competitive times.
BONUS: Did you know that the E*TRADE babies make cameos in the 2010 and 2011 FCS Portfolio Awards Music Videos? Click on the links in the right-hand column to check them out on YouTube.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Surge of Activities at the FCS
What do Super Bowl commercials, Baby Boomers, CEO firings, tuxedos, Chief Life Officers and the Internet have in common?
The FCS, of course. Read on to find out why.
On Thursday, February 23, the FCS will welcome Nick Utton, CMO of E*TRADE, as the featured speaker at our monthly luncheon. Nick will be on hand to present a review of the legendary E*TRADE Baby commercials and to discuss how a super Super Bowl strategy has been a touchdown for E*TRADE year after year.
Our first Tuesday Breakfast Club event of 2012 will be held on February 28th. Join us at the New York Yacht Club for a very engaging presentation and discussion on “Communicating Critical Events: CEO Transitions and the Risk to Enterprise Value.” Research will be presented by FTI Consulting’s Bryan Armstrong, Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets Research, followed by a panel featuring his colleague Elizabeth Saunders, Americas Chairman of the FTI Strategic Communications Practice, as well as Matt Hickerson, Head of Corporate Communications & Marketing, Macquarie, and Jeanne Branthover, Head of Global Financial Services Practice, Boyden Global Executive Search. The panel will be moderated by Franceso Guerrera, Editor, “Money & Investing,” The Wall Street Journal.
On Thursday, March 22, Michelle Peluso will join our monthly luncheon to talk about Citi’s global marketing strategy for 2012 – the bicentennial year for the bank. As the bank’s Global Consumer Chief Marketing & Internet Officer, she’ll talk about how a digital strategy is a key component for Citi’s marketing approach.
In April, we have two main events. On the 11th, we’ll stage the FCS Executive Education Summit at 3 Times Square, home of our host, Thomson Reuters. The very compelling topic will be, “Baby Boomers… or Bust: How to Market to and Influence the 50+ Consumer.” The full-morning agenda will feature presentations by Joe Coughlin, who founded MIT’s AgeLab, and Brent Bouchez, co-founder of Five-0, an agency dedicated to marketing to baby boomers. We’ll have two panels, moderated by journalists from Ad Age and our presenting sponsor The Wall Street Journal. Panelists from leading financial companies will discuss how they’re overcoming the challenges of reaching the 50+ consumer, including the implementation of effective and perhaps surprising digital tactics.
Our monthly luncheon in April will take place on the 19th and feature Dave Wozniak of Lincoln Financial. Dave will report of Lincoln’s new “Chief Life Officer” campaign.
All of this activity is leading up to the “Egg McMuffin” of FCS’ events: the 18th Annual FCS Portfolio Awards. This year’s black tie gala dinner and awards presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 16th at Terminal 5 in NYC. But, at this point, the far-more-important date is Friday, March 16th. That’s the deadline to enter this year’s competition. Whether you’re a marketer, an agency pro or a media rep, you should be thinking about the great advertising, collateral and public relations work executed in 2011 and get your team – or your clients – to enter. Digital media (online ads and websites) continue to grow as one of the most competitive categories. And remember, we also give out trophies for Return on Investment. And, there’s a Best in Show award for Multicultural work. To download the Call for Entries form, just go to our web site and click on the Portfolio Awards tab.
As always, we invite you to get involved in the FCS. As the biggest event of the year, Portfolio has the biggest to-do list and needs the biggest committee. But you don’t have to take on the biggest task. There’s always a way to help, no matter how big (or how limited) your involvement can be.
And of course, we’re always looking for Programming ideas and support, from luncheons and breakfasts to cocktail receptions and special events.
Give me a call (212-413-6044) or drop me an email (kevin@fcsinteractive.com) to talk about how you can get more out of your FCS membership.
The FCS, of course. Read on to find out why.
On Thursday, February 23, the FCS will welcome Nick Utton, CMO of E*TRADE, as the featured speaker at our monthly luncheon. Nick will be on hand to present a review of the legendary E*TRADE Baby commercials and to discuss how a super Super Bowl strategy has been a touchdown for E*TRADE year after year.
Our first Tuesday Breakfast Club event of 2012 will be held on February 28th. Join us at the New York Yacht Club for a very engaging presentation and discussion on “Communicating Critical Events: CEO Transitions and the Risk to Enterprise Value.” Research will be presented by FTI Consulting’s Bryan Armstrong, Managing Director & Head of Capital Markets Research, followed by a panel featuring his colleague Elizabeth Saunders, Americas Chairman of the FTI Strategic Communications Practice, as well as Matt Hickerson, Head of Corporate Communications & Marketing, Macquarie, and Jeanne Branthover, Head of Global Financial Services Practice, Boyden Global Executive Search. The panel will be moderated by Franceso Guerrera, Editor, “Money & Investing,” The Wall Street Journal.
On Thursday, March 22, Michelle Peluso will join our monthly luncheon to talk about Citi’s global marketing strategy for 2012 – the bicentennial year for the bank. As the bank’s Global Consumer Chief Marketing & Internet Officer, she’ll talk about how a digital strategy is a key component for Citi’s marketing approach.
In April, we have two main events. On the 11th, we’ll stage the FCS Executive Education Summit at 3 Times Square, home of our host, Thomson Reuters. The very compelling topic will be, “Baby Boomers… or Bust: How to Market to and Influence the 50+ Consumer.” The full-morning agenda will feature presentations by Joe Coughlin, who founded MIT’s AgeLab, and Brent Bouchez, co-founder of Five-0, an agency dedicated to marketing to baby boomers. We’ll have two panels, moderated by journalists from Ad Age and our presenting sponsor The Wall Street Journal. Panelists from leading financial companies will discuss how they’re overcoming the challenges of reaching the 50+ consumer, including the implementation of effective and perhaps surprising digital tactics.
Our monthly luncheon in April will take place on the 19th and feature Dave Wozniak of Lincoln Financial. Dave will report of Lincoln’s new “Chief Life Officer” campaign.
All of this activity is leading up to the “Egg McMuffin” of FCS’ events: the 18th Annual FCS Portfolio Awards. This year’s black tie gala dinner and awards presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 16th at Terminal 5 in NYC. But, at this point, the far-more-important date is Friday, March 16th. That’s the deadline to enter this year’s competition. Whether you’re a marketer, an agency pro or a media rep, you should be thinking about the great advertising, collateral and public relations work executed in 2011 and get your team – or your clients – to enter. Digital media (online ads and websites) continue to grow as one of the most competitive categories. And remember, we also give out trophies for Return on Investment. And, there’s a Best in Show award for Multicultural work. To download the Call for Entries form, just go to our web site and click on the Portfolio Awards tab.
As always, we invite you to get involved in the FCS. As the biggest event of the year, Portfolio has the biggest to-do list and needs the biggest committee. But you don’t have to take on the biggest task. There’s always a way to help, no matter how big (or how limited) your involvement can be.
And of course, we’re always looking for Programming ideas and support, from luncheons and breakfasts to cocktail receptions and special events.
Give me a call (212-413-6044) or drop me an email (kevin@fcsinteractive.com) to talk about how you can get more out of your FCS membership.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Liberty Mutual: 2011 FCS Financial Marketer of the Year
On January 26, we welcomed a sell-out crowd of more than 200 guests to our 6th Annual FCS Financial Marketer of the Year Award Gala luncheon at the New York Yacht Club. The recipient of the 2011 honor, first announced at this year’s FCS Race for Kids, was Liberty Mutual Insurance. The luncheon’s guest of honor, representing Liberty Mutual, was Paul Alexander, SVP, Communications. He was joined by his wife Evelyne and their college-age children David and Faye. The luncheon was sponsored by CNBC, and the opening reception was sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. The keynote speaker at the luncheon was CNBC’s Bill Griffeth, co-anchor of “Closing Bell.”
As noted by Chris Bacon, an FCS Board Director and one of the co-chairs of the Award Committee, “The Award recognizes a financial services firm whose marketing has driven outstanding business results over the prior year. Liberty Mutual Insurance was recognized for The Responsibility Project, its online content platform, which has more than 700 original videos, essays, and blogs, all exploring what it means to ‘do the right thing.’”
Alexander noted that, as of January 17, the Responsibility Project’s web site had nearly 26 million site visits, with visitors spending more than 130 million minutes engaged with the Liberty Mutual brand.
As noted by Chris Bacon, an FCS Board Director and one of the co-chairs of the Award Committee, “The Award recognizes a financial services firm whose marketing has driven outstanding business results over the prior year. Liberty Mutual Insurance was recognized for The Responsibility Project, its online content platform, which has more than 700 original videos, essays, and blogs, all exploring what it means to ‘do the right thing.’”
In accepting the Financial Marketer of the Year Award, Paul Alexander gave a 30 minute presentation detailing his firm’s strategy for improving its place in the highly competitive insurance landscape, which ultimately led to the creation of The Responsibility Project. Alexander revealed to the audience that a fundamental marketing truth in the insurance category was that higher unaided awareness leads to higher quote activity which in turn leads to higher business growth. So a fundamental goal would be to increase awareness. Yet, Alexander admitted that a great challenge in the category is that consumers generally don’t want to discuss insurance. At Liberty Mutual, the decision was made that “being invited in beats being locked out,” so the firm sought to leverage the equation of “the media we buy plus the media we create would equal the media we would earn.”
With an ad spend of only $86 million in 2010 – just a little more than one-tenth of GEICO’s $775 million spend – Liberty Mutual realized that the media they created would need to have an exponential impact in order to change its position in the marketplace.
Alexander explained the research undertaken by Liberty Mutual’s agency Hill Holliday. They reviewed the learnings from an examination of the insurance category: the commoditized industry was cluttered with competitors who all outspent Liberty Mutual in marketing dollars, but all failed to earn the trust of their customers. Hill Holliday analyzed the communications styles within the industry, which seemed to be either “adult to child” (condescending) or even “child to child” (think: cavemen and lizards) in nature. They saw this as the opportunity to create a marketing approach that was uniquely “adult to adult.”
The result was the development of Responsibility as the core of Liberty Mutual’s strategy. From its tagline: “Responsibility. What’s your policy?” to its major outreach initiative, The Responsibility Project, Liberty Mutual embraced the concept as its key differentiator in the marketplace. But as Alexander explained, it became more: “Responsibility is celebrating our customers’ responsibility and relentlessly proving our own.’
Alexander provided the FCS audience with clips of the firm’s TV commercials and various anecdotes of the campaign’s success. He also spoke in detail about the many activations of The Responsibility Project – from the web site and its social media components, to its involvement with the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Freedom Riders.” Alexander noted several key points about the Responsibility Project’s role in building business:
1. It improves brand awareness by keeping Liberty Mutual top of mind when 67% of ‘out-of-market’ consumers don’t want to talk about insurance, and
2. It strengthens brand engagement by creating an online presence where consumers choose to spend their time1. It improves brand awareness by keeping Liberty Mutual top of mind when 67% of ‘out-of-market’ consumers don’t want to talk about insurance, and
Alexander noted that, as of January 17, the Responsibility Project’s web site had nearly 26 million site visits, with visitors spending more than 130 million minutes engaged with the Liberty Mutual brand.
Congratulations to Paul Alexander, his marketing team, their partners at Hill Holliday, and to Liberty Mutual for the success of its Responsibility Project and for winning the 2011 FCS Financial Marketer of the Year Award.
Luncheon Remarks on "Responsibility": Our Year, Our Philanthropy, Our Jobs, Our Anniversary
Here are excerpts from my opening remarks at the FCS Financial Marketer of the Year Gala Luncheon (Thursday, January 26th):
"Today is the biggest luncheon of the year and you already saw the slide show from this year’s Race for Kids,
but we’re busy throughout the year. Just look at everything we did in 2011. We skiied, we played golf, we bowled twice! We gave out books, we gave out awards. We focused on Education, whether through Job Shadow Day or our research presentations and panel discussion held over breakfast or cocktails.
...
Most of you first come to know the FCS through our annual Portfolio Awards. You know, that big black tie party in May when we get all dressed up, have a couple of drinks with friends, dance like lunatics… and we actually give out awards too.
Of course, Portfolio is where we present the big check to our three charities. Not including this year’s Race for Kids, we’ve raised more than $1.5 million dollars for Hope & Heroes, Make A Wish, and Downey Side.
It’s wonderful to be able to help these organizations. Earlier this month, up at Stowe, we met three of the families who have been supported our charities, including a 12 year old cancer survivor. Just this week, this boy’s oncologist sent the FCS a very nice email. One line from the email reads: 'Please know that your gift will help children afflicted with cancer and will also help our physicians and scientists find the cure.'
This is why we get involved, right?
...
The FCS now has more than 770 members in our Linked In Group. This is a great online forum for making connections, discussing industry happenings, and sharing information, especially about jobs.
Now I’d like to make a comment about jobs.
We’re going to hear a lot today from Paul Alexander about Responsibility because of Liberty Mutual’s very successful Responsibility Project. Well, thinking about responsibility, I believe that it is the responsibility of the FCS, in focusing on our mission of Community, to help ensure that our members stay employed and make progressive strides in their careers. The Job Bank on our web site and job information on Linked In are just the beginning. To encourage this responsibility, we want to reward those who undertake it. I’d like to reiterate our policy on our Members in Transition. First of all, MITs get to attend all of our events at discounted prices. We’re not looking to make money off of them. We here to help. Furthermore, whenever an FCS member helps another member get a job within the industry, both are entitled to free membership and a free lunch. Yes, there can be a free lunch. The job market will be tight again this year, and nothing could make our organization prouder than to be able to say that we helped our community stay vibrant, well-informed, well-connected, and employed.
This is what the FCS does, and we’ve been doing it since 1967.
Which means of course, that 2012 is our 45th Anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll do something special at each event this year. Plus we’re launching two special activities.
I’m delighted to announce the creation of the FCS Archives. This year we will be begin recording interviews with long-standing members to create an oral history. We’ll establish an online photo collection and we’ll look to build a library of material from past financial brands. If you’d like to help out and get involved, just give me a call.
We’ll also celebrate our anniversary with a gala event in the fall that will be a Casino Night and Charity Fundraiser. Look for details on that event in the very near future.
...
Thank you all for coming out to today's event, and thank you for getting involved.
This is your FCS, this is your organization, this is your year.
"Today is the biggest luncheon of the year and you already saw the slide show from this year’s Race for Kids,
but we’re busy throughout the year. Just look at everything we did in 2011. We skiied, we played golf, we bowled twice! We gave out books, we gave out awards. We focused on Education, whether through Job Shadow Day or our research presentations and panel discussion held over breakfast or cocktails.
And of course month after month, we welcome leading brands to the Yacht Club for our luncheons. Here are the brands take took to this podium in 2011.
It’s quite a list.
I like to show this wide range of events and activities to remind you all that there are many ways to get involved with the FCS and to make the most of your membership. One way to get involved is to simply get in touch with any of our Board Directors....
Most of you first come to know the FCS through our annual Portfolio Awards. You know, that big black tie party in May when we get all dressed up, have a couple of drinks with friends, dance like lunatics… and we actually give out awards too.
Of course, Portfolio is where we present the big check to our three charities. Not including this year’s Race for Kids, we’ve raised more than $1.5 million dollars for Hope & Heroes, Make A Wish, and Downey Side.
It’s wonderful to be able to help these organizations. Earlier this month, up at Stowe, we met three of the families who have been supported our charities, including a 12 year old cancer survivor. Just this week, this boy’s oncologist sent the FCS a very nice email. One line from the email reads: 'Please know that your gift will help children afflicted with cancer and will also help our physicians and scientists find the cure.'
This is why we get involved, right?
...
The FCS now has more than 770 members in our Linked In Group. This is a great online forum for making connections, discussing industry happenings, and sharing information, especially about jobs.
Now I’d like to make a comment about jobs.
We’re going to hear a lot today from Paul Alexander about Responsibility because of Liberty Mutual’s very successful Responsibility Project. Well, thinking about responsibility, I believe that it is the responsibility of the FCS, in focusing on our mission of Community, to help ensure that our members stay employed and make progressive strides in their careers. The Job Bank on our web site and job information on Linked In are just the beginning. To encourage this responsibility, we want to reward those who undertake it. I’d like to reiterate our policy on our Members in Transition. First of all, MITs get to attend all of our events at discounted prices. We’re not looking to make money off of them. We here to help. Furthermore, whenever an FCS member helps another member get a job within the industry, both are entitled to free membership and a free lunch. Yes, there can be a free lunch. The job market will be tight again this year, and nothing could make our organization prouder than to be able to say that we helped our community stay vibrant, well-informed, well-connected, and employed.
This is what the FCS does, and we’ve been doing it since 1967.
Which means of course, that 2012 is our 45th Anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll do something special at each event this year. Plus we’re launching two special activities.
I’m delighted to announce the creation of the FCS Archives. This year we will be begin recording interviews with long-standing members to create an oral history. We’ll establish an online photo collection and we’ll look to build a library of material from past financial brands. If you’d like to help out and get involved, just give me a call.
We’ll also celebrate our anniversary with a gala event in the fall that will be a Casino Night and Charity Fundraiser. Look for details on that event in the very near future.
...
Thank you all for coming out to today's event, and thank you for getting involved.
This is your FCS, this is your organization, this is your year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Fireside Forums Ablaze with Compelling Research from FT
One of the highlights of our annual Race for Kids ski weekend is the Fireside Forums, which we host over two days at the Stowe Mountain Lodge. Bill Wreaks, CEO of The Gramercy Institute, moderates several panel discussions with top execs from leading financial marketers. This year, Daniel Rothman, the Financial Times Director of Research, Americas, helped set the stage for the Forums by providing the audience with some new research findings. I asked Daniel to provide a write-up for this blog. Any questions on the below information can be directed to daniel.rothman@ft.com.
Traditional Media
There is no question there is tremendous buzz and excitement surrounding the explosion of mobile devices (in particular smart phones and tablets) and what it means for financial marketers going forward. However, it is essential that we not forget that traditional media is still vitally important to senior executives and other affluent targets that financial service firms are trying to reach and influence.
According to the World Trade Press report this year, newspapers still reach more people than the internet as a whole; on a typical day about 20% more. Despite the phenomenal growth and adaptability of digital media, in senior business circles, print is still seen as the most reliable source for business and international news.
It is important for marketers to consider the media adoption and level of engagement not just based on the target audience level of seniority, but also where they are located - as all geographies are not equal in their media adoption. The 2011 FT Bank Image Survey asks global investment banking decision makers which media they use to stay informed about development in their industry and about banking in general. The findings revealed that:
• Newspapers are far more important to Asia residents vs. other decision makers residing outside Asia
• Conferences are more important to decision makers residing in the Emerging Markets
• Business Television is more important to Asia residents
• News Websites via Mobile Devices are more important to residents of America and the Emerging Markets.
These examples demonstrate the unique positioning of each media within different markets, and the need to think regional as it relates to media consumption behavior.
Tablets and Mobile Usage
Accord to the IPSOS BE:USA 2011 (Business Elite) survey, 49% of business executives within large companies already own a tablet device. The 2011 FT Global Business Outlook Survey revealed many interesting findings as to how senior executives feel about tablets and their usage behavior. 53% access work email on their tablet; 38% say their tablet is replacing usage of PC/laptops; and 33% watch TV programs/video on their tablets. The FT global executives see their tablets as a work tool in addition to a leisure device.
When looking at global executive usage of mobile devices, 51% do not turn off their device while on holiday/vacation and 49% do not turn it off at night/weekends. This compares to 100% of FCS Race for Kids attendees that never “turn off” their devices via the informal survey of those in attendance at the 2012 Fireside Forum session.
Marketers need to recognize that not every message will resonate on every media platform. Given the dramatic adoption of mobile and tablets, the FT Global Business Outlook Survey asked executives globally to identify what they feel each media is best at communicating to clients, compared with traditional media. Executives told us that smart phones have very low effectiveness at all funnel stages in the communication process - whether at driving brand/company awareness, driving loyalty or prompting the user to take an action. (This could be a reflection of the relative early stage of smart phone advertising, or the level of B2C advertiser adoption vs. B2B). Alternatively, tablets are best at providing detailed information about a company/brand/product, and perform fairly well at influencing perceptions of whether a brand is of high quality/trusted brand, and prompting the user to take an action. The tablet perception is very similar to PC/laptops in its effectiveness by marketing funnel stage, however just not as pronounced in performance effectiveness.
-- Daniel Rothman, daniel.rothman@ft.com
Traditional Media
There is no question there is tremendous buzz and excitement surrounding the explosion of mobile devices (in particular smart phones and tablets) and what it means for financial marketers going forward. However, it is essential that we not forget that traditional media is still vitally important to senior executives and other affluent targets that financial service firms are trying to reach and influence.
According to the World Trade Press report this year, newspapers still reach more people than the internet as a whole; on a typical day about 20% more. Despite the phenomenal growth and adaptability of digital media, in senior business circles, print is still seen as the most reliable source for business and international news.
It is important for marketers to consider the media adoption and level of engagement not just based on the target audience level of seniority, but also where they are located - as all geographies are not equal in their media adoption. The 2011 FT Bank Image Survey asks global investment banking decision makers which media they use to stay informed about development in their industry and about banking in general. The findings revealed that:
• Newspapers are far more important to Asia residents vs. other decision makers residing outside Asia
• Conferences are more important to decision makers residing in the Emerging Markets
• Business Television is more important to Asia residents
• News Websites via Mobile Devices are more important to residents of America and the Emerging Markets.
These examples demonstrate the unique positioning of each media within different markets, and the need to think regional as it relates to media consumption behavior.
Tablets and Mobile Usage
Accord to the IPSOS BE:USA 2011 (Business Elite) survey, 49% of business executives within large companies already own a tablet device. The 2011 FT Global Business Outlook Survey revealed many interesting findings as to how senior executives feel about tablets and their usage behavior. 53% access work email on their tablet; 38% say their tablet is replacing usage of PC/laptops; and 33% watch TV programs/video on their tablets. The FT global executives see their tablets as a work tool in addition to a leisure device.
When looking at global executive usage of mobile devices, 51% do not turn off their device while on holiday/vacation and 49% do not turn it off at night/weekends. This compares to 100% of FCS Race for Kids attendees that never “turn off” their devices via the informal survey of those in attendance at the 2012 Fireside Forum session.
Marketers need to recognize that not every message will resonate on every media platform. Given the dramatic adoption of mobile and tablets, the FT Global Business Outlook Survey asked executives globally to identify what they feel each media is best at communicating to clients, compared with traditional media. Executives told us that smart phones have very low effectiveness at all funnel stages in the communication process - whether at driving brand/company awareness, driving loyalty or prompting the user to take an action. (This could be a reflection of the relative early stage of smart phone advertising, or the level of B2C advertiser adoption vs. B2B). Alternatively, tablets are best at providing detailed information about a company/brand/product, and perform fairly well at influencing perceptions of whether a brand is of high quality/trusted brand, and prompting the user to take an action. The tablet perception is very similar to PC/laptops in its effectiveness by marketing funnel stage, however just not as pronounced in performance effectiveness.
-- Daniel Rothman, daniel.rothman@ft.com
Thursday, January 19, 2012
January: Biggest Month of the Year for the FCS
Earlier this month, the FCS held our 13th Annual Race for Kids charity ski weekend at the beautiful Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont. (Yes, there was snow… in fact, there was plenty for our dozens of skiers and snowboarders who raced!) There was also a whole host of people from our industry enjoying a few days with friends and family, clients and colleagues. We welcomed more than 320 guests in all, but that's only one way to measure the success of the event.
As a fundraiser, this year’s Race for Kids is expected to result in another six-figure donation to our three charities: Hope & Heroes, Downey Side, and Make A Wish. The amount will be announced at the FCS Portfolio Awards Gala (May 16th). Part of those funds includes more than $18,000 raised over the weekend through two nights of raffles and both silent and live auctions.
From a business perspective, what makes us most proud of our "Summit in the Snow" is the continued popularity of our two-day Fireside Forums. Moderated and organized by Bill Wreaks, CEO/Chief Analyst of The Gramercy Institute, the discussions addressed key topics for today's marketers:
• Mobile & Tablet Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Global Branding
• Strategic Media
More than 60 people attended each day's Forum. The panelists included:
• Lisa Adams, Allen & Gerritsen
• Gordy Abel, JP Morgan Chase
• Rich Aneser, Lincoln Financial
• Chris Bacon, Morgan Stanley
• Jay Bartlett, Xerox
• Tom Brookbanks, MEC
• David Goodsell, Netixis
• Jon Humphreys, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Michael Lacorazza, TD Ameritrade
• Tim Mickelbrough, Thomson Reuters
• Eric Van den Heuval, The Gate
• Meredith Verdone, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Damon Webber, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
As added value, Daniel Rothman, the FT's Director of Research-Americas, engaged the audience each day in a presentation of his recent findings on consumer behavior and mobile media.
One of the highlights of the weekend was a Saturday performance of The Passing Zone, a two man juggling comedy team. The duo had the 200+ person audience laughing on the edge of their seats as they juggled chain saws and knives and rat-traps! The proceeds from the show were donated to Friends of Stowe Adaptive Sports, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for persons living with a disability residing in Vermont or visiting Stowe Mountain Resort through access to winter sports and recreational activities.
On behalf of the Race for Kids chairs, Tim Hart and Ahmed Yearwood, and their committee, thank you to all who came to Stowe for the FCS’ annual capstone event, that so successfully brings together the three pillars of our mission: Community, Education, and Philanthropy.
The second reason January is our biggest month is the annual FCS Financial Marketer of the Year Gala Luncheon. On the 26th, we’ll present this 6th annual award to Liberty Mutual Insurance. Paul Alexander, Senior Vice President, Communications, will be on hand to accept the trophy. The event, sponsored by CNBC, with an opening reception sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, is expected to sell out again with more than 200 guests filling the famed New York Yacht Club with an energy strong enough to last the whole year. At the luncheon, we’ll welcome CNBC’s Bill Griffeth, co-anchor of “Closing Bell” as the keynote speaker. There will also be several special announcements and free raffles for attendees and FCS members. To reserve your ticket, go to http://www.fcsinteractive.com/. Following the event, I’ll provide more details on the gala with a new blog posting.
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE...
But just because January will be our biggest month, that doesn't mean the year is over. In fact, we’ve just begun. 2012 is the 45th Anniversary of the Financial Communications Society, and it’s our goal to make it the biggest year ever for the FCS. In addition to our chapter events in New York and Chicago, there will be multiple events in San Francisco, Boston and Toronto. Nearly 40 events are planned for this year, but we can’t do it without you. This is your year to get involved. It doesn’t take a lot of time to help us organize an event or activity, and the rewards are both personally and professionally fulfilling. I invite you to contact me today to learn how you can make the most of your membership!
As a fundraiser, this year’s Race for Kids is expected to result in another six-figure donation to our three charities: Hope & Heroes, Downey Side, and Make A Wish. The amount will be announced at the FCS Portfolio Awards Gala (May 16th). Part of those funds includes more than $18,000 raised over the weekend through two nights of raffles and both silent and live auctions.
From a business perspective, what makes us most proud of our "Summit in the Snow" is the continued popularity of our two-day Fireside Forums. Moderated and organized by Bill Wreaks, CEO/Chief Analyst of The Gramercy Institute, the discussions addressed key topics for today's marketers:
• Mobile & Tablet Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Global Branding
• Strategic Media
More than 60 people attended each day's Forum. The panelists included:
• Lisa Adams, Allen & Gerritsen
• Gordy Abel, JP Morgan Chase
• Rich Aneser, Lincoln Financial
• Chris Bacon, Morgan Stanley
• Jay Bartlett, Xerox
• Tom Brookbanks, MEC
• David Goodsell, Netixis
• Jon Humphreys, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Michael Lacorazza, TD Ameritrade
• Tim Mickelbrough, Thomson Reuters
• Eric Van den Heuval, The Gate
• Meredith Verdone, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Damon Webber, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
As added value, Daniel Rothman, the FT's Director of Research-Americas, engaged the audience each day in a presentation of his recent findings on consumer behavior and mobile media.
One of the highlights of the weekend was a Saturday performance of The Passing Zone, a two man juggling comedy team. The duo had the 200+ person audience laughing on the edge of their seats as they juggled chain saws and knives and rat-traps! The proceeds from the show were donated to Friends of Stowe Adaptive Sports, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for persons living with a disability residing in Vermont or visiting Stowe Mountain Resort through access to winter sports and recreational activities.
On behalf of the Race for Kids chairs, Tim Hart and Ahmed Yearwood, and their committee, thank you to all who came to Stowe for the FCS’ annual capstone event, that so successfully brings together the three pillars of our mission: Community, Education, and Philanthropy.
The second reason January is our biggest month is the annual FCS Financial Marketer of the Year Gala Luncheon. On the 26th, we’ll present this 6th annual award to Liberty Mutual Insurance. Paul Alexander, Senior Vice President, Communications, will be on hand to accept the trophy. The event, sponsored by CNBC, with an opening reception sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, is expected to sell out again with more than 200 guests filling the famed New York Yacht Club with an energy strong enough to last the whole year. At the luncheon, we’ll welcome CNBC’s Bill Griffeth, co-anchor of “Closing Bell” as the keynote speaker. There will also be several special announcements and free raffles for attendees and FCS members. To reserve your ticket, go to http://www.fcsinteractive.com/. Following the event, I’ll provide more details on the gala with a new blog posting.
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE...
But just because January will be our biggest month, that doesn't mean the year is over. In fact, we’ve just begun. 2012 is the 45th Anniversary of the Financial Communications Society, and it’s our goal to make it the biggest year ever for the FCS. In addition to our chapter events in New York and Chicago, there will be multiple events in San Francisco, Boston and Toronto. Nearly 40 events are planned for this year, but we can’t do it without you. This is your year to get involved. It doesn’t take a lot of time to help us organize an event or activity, and the rewards are both personally and professionally fulfilling. I invite you to contact me today to learn how you can make the most of your membership!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Year Winds Down as FCS Cranks It Up
Tonight is the FCS’s first Holiday Party in New York in two years, and we’re looking forward to a great event with a great turnout. We’re expecting more than 100 people at The Explorers Club – a wildly unique venue on the Upper East Side. Our supporting sponsor The New York Times has arranged for Patron to be on hand for a “top-shelf” pouring of its tequila, rum and brand new vodka. We’ll be raising money for our three children’s charities with a fun tricky tray raffle, featuring donated prizes from our Board of Directors and other friends of the FCS.
Our calendar year will close out with a very special luncheon, focused, as we do each December, on Strategic Philanthropy. On December 15th, the FCS welcomes Kimberly Davis, President of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation. Kim will talk about the firm’s great success in this field, and how strategic philanthropy fulfills the overall marketing objectives of JP Morgan Chase.
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for the FCS, with a record number of events, spanning from New York to Chicago to San Francisco. On November 1st, we held our inaugural event on the West Coast, with nearly 90 people attending our breakfast on Social Media. A San Francisco based steering committee is now working on plans for multiple events for 2012. The seeds for an official chapter there have been planted!
Meanwhile our Chicago Chapter has enjoyed a fantastic first year, staging event after event of truly compelling content. With major marquee names, like CBOE’s Bill Brodsky and CNBC’s Rick Santelli, and important topics like ETFs and global branding, each event affords the attendees a chance to build a tight-knit community, sharing the latest industry information.
In 2012, we hope to return to Boston, where we staged a successful luncheon in 2010 featuring Putnam Investments; the goal is for two events there next year. Also, plans are under way for our first-ever international event, as the FCS looks to host an event in Toronto. If you’re interested in working on the committee for either Boston or Toronto, please contact me.
In New York, we’re coming off of two great events this fall: In October, we held a Cocktails with Content reception focused on “Mobile 101.” About 100 guests attended the presentation/panel discussion hosted by CNBC.com at famed 30 Rock. The event featured Bryan Van Dyke, Prudential; Michael Lacorazza, TD Ameritrade; John Nitti, Zenith Media; Peter Kafka, All Things D; and Michael Ellison, Corporate Insight. Our November luncheon at the New York Yacht Club welcomed John Owens, head of marketing for ING DIRECT U.S. In all we will have held 16 content-driven events in New York this year, plus Bowling (twice), Golf, Wine Tasting, our legendary Portfolio Awards, and of course, tonight’s Holiday Party.
Next up for major events is our 13th annual FCS Race for Kids. We’re expecting more than 300 attendees again this year, including many corporate, agency and media friends and their families. I hope to see you at the Stowe Mountain Resort, January 5th through 8th. For full details, go to http://www.fcsraceforkids.org/ for details.
As always, I invite you to get involved in all that we do at the FCS. Just email me at kevin@fcsinteractive.com or follow me on Twitter, @FCS_Prez.
Our calendar year will close out with a very special luncheon, focused, as we do each December, on Strategic Philanthropy. On December 15th, the FCS welcomes Kimberly Davis, President of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation. Kim will talk about the firm’s great success in this field, and how strategic philanthropy fulfills the overall marketing objectives of JP Morgan Chase.
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for the FCS, with a record number of events, spanning from New York to Chicago to San Francisco. On November 1st, we held our inaugural event on the West Coast, with nearly 90 people attending our breakfast on Social Media. A San Francisco based steering committee is now working on plans for multiple events for 2012. The seeds for an official chapter there have been planted!
Meanwhile our Chicago Chapter has enjoyed a fantastic first year, staging event after event of truly compelling content. With major marquee names, like CBOE’s Bill Brodsky and CNBC’s Rick Santelli, and important topics like ETFs and global branding, each event affords the attendees a chance to build a tight-knit community, sharing the latest industry information.
In 2012, we hope to return to Boston, where we staged a successful luncheon in 2010 featuring Putnam Investments; the goal is for two events there next year. Also, plans are under way for our first-ever international event, as the FCS looks to host an event in Toronto. If you’re interested in working on the committee for either Boston or Toronto, please contact me.
In New York, we’re coming off of two great events this fall: In October, we held a Cocktails with Content reception focused on “Mobile 101.” About 100 guests attended the presentation/panel discussion hosted by CNBC.com at famed 30 Rock. The event featured Bryan Van Dyke, Prudential; Michael Lacorazza, TD Ameritrade; John Nitti, Zenith Media; Peter Kafka, All Things D; and Michael Ellison, Corporate Insight. Our November luncheon at the New York Yacht Club welcomed John Owens, head of marketing for ING DIRECT U.S. In all we will have held 16 content-driven events in New York this year, plus Bowling (twice), Golf, Wine Tasting, our legendary Portfolio Awards, and of course, tonight’s Holiday Party.
Next up for major events is our 13th annual FCS Race for Kids. We’re expecting more than 300 attendees again this year, including many corporate, agency and media friends and their families. I hope to see you at the Stowe Mountain Resort, January 5th through 8th. For full details, go to http://www.fcsraceforkids.org/ for details.
As always, I invite you to get involved in all that we do at the FCS. Just email me at kevin@fcsinteractive.com or follow me on Twitter, @FCS_Prez.
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