3 BIG Ways that new ICANN top level domains will change marketing

Recently ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) announced that internet users will be able to purchase top level domains with new suffixes. This means that internet domain names are no longer limited to suffixes like .com, .net, .org and the several others that have been in action for some time now.

“ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind,”

-Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN.

I believe, and judging by the above quote from ICANN’s CEO, they believe that this will make a dramatic change to the internet. I will take it further to say that it will even change marketing in other mediums as well. ICANN’s new provisions for top level domains is going to dramatically shape the way search engines handle search ranking. In turn this will shape the way companies use search marketing, and with nearly all marketing efforts being tied to the internet, marketing as a whole is going to go through an evolution of sorts. The days of having one website may no longer exist.

Since the cost is $185,000 to have your own top level domain, you will see big brands establishing their TLD as well as investors and special interest groups. Here’s 3 big ways that I believe this will change marketing:

1. BIG BRANDS OBTAINING BETTER OWNERSHIP: Coke (and other big brands) will be able to diversify their online marketing by offering segments to their online presence like products.coke and contests.coke. Furthermore they might open up the opportunity for brand advocates to get more connected socially by creating my-name.coke where you can create your own persona within a brand that you are specifically fond of. Coke sized brands will be able to connect their audience in a more clear way to special offers or products because there won’t be competition for  cool-idea.coke anymore. Offline materials can get more specific and be very memorable with their brand embedded.

2. SEARCH MARKETING IS DIVIDED: If you are in home remodel services, you no longer need to rank only for home services but now you need to rank within the domain.home field of domains. There will be internet investment companies building sites to focus on industry topics so that anyone looking for anything.home can go to the central .home hub and find other home service companies. This will create specialized search engines that essentially combine the concept of search with the function of organizations like Angie’s List or The Better Business Bureau.

3. ONE WEBSITE IS NOT ENOUGH: Your ranking is now likely going to depend on more than just how you rank on the web in general, but also how you rank in industries. It may become increasing important to establish a web conversion strategy that varies based on different inbound paths. If you’re ranking well for searches of “Indianapolis home remodeling” in the general search, that doesn’t mean that you will the same for a search isolated to the .home TLD. You also will be dealing with different types of customers at a different level, with different preconceived expectations. It’s plausible that the site and conversion strategy will need to be different too. Think of it like the difference of your Facebook site vs your home site. You are not expecting the same results and appearance as your home website, in fact it is not an option. While the two work together, they are not the same.

What would you add to this discussion?

Create a deeper brand marketing relationship with follow buttons

Twitter has just launched follow buttons, which is great for companies and brands to build their Twitter following. The biggest reason why this will have an impact is simply because this removes certain roadblocks to finding and following your company. Removing barriers to entry always increases results but how can you use this to enhance your customer relationships? Let’s start with an invitation for you to follow me.
Follow @danielherndon

“Removing barriers to entry always increases results…”

Studies show that when consumers connect with you in more ways than one, their purchase intent is up. Consumers prefer email marketing 3-1 for marketing communication, but purchase intent is strong with twitter.

27% of Email Subscribers are more likely to purchase
17% of Facebook Fans are more likely to purchase
37% of Twitter Followers are more likely to purchase
(Via ExactTarget White Paper: “Give Consumer What They Want”)

The fact is, not only does this further level of connection increase the customer brand relationship, it also plays towards personal and daily routines. People start their days off in a variety of different ways, many with email. Twitter and Facebook users often engage in social media at a different time than email. That connection not only allows you to create a broader visibility to the consumer, but it allows you to provide a variety of information, fitting to the platform. When we (Redwall Live an Indianapolis Marketing Agency) put together interactive campaigns, our goal is to make things as simple and intuitive as possible. The new buttons make the Twitter connection simple, without leading consumers away from your website, meaning it’s more convenient for the consumer and more effective for the marketer.

Twitter is More Advanced than Facebook (Think #NewTwitter)

So over the course of the last few weeks I’ve been watching the beginning of the New Twitter web interface. I’ve determined that the social network is more advanced and more useful than facebook. Using #NewTwitter as the point of reference, the functionality and speed of their new web interface out performs not only the old interface but the current structure of facebook. While facebook has tremendous value to users, it is limited to itself… more on that in a moment.

Now let me lay a foundation by saying that this is a marketing blog and not a tech blog or social media blog. So from a marketing standpoint, twitter is extremely useful. Twitter has begun to explain their advertising model, which makes it a viable outlet for marketers all over the world. I’m confident they will continue to work out new ways of creating engaging advertising. In the mean time one of their best models is promoted tweets. These tweets are currently showing in trending lists and in feeds when relevant. The fact is according to their website they will make sure that ads are relevant and that resonate with the user. Twitter.com describes it this way:

We strongly believe that Promoted Tweets should be useful to you. We’ll attempt to measure whether the Tweets resonate with users and stop showing Promoted Tweets that don’t resonate.

The reason why this is key is because simply another ad may or may not get my attention, by when it is modeled for interaction it is meaningful. This model will continue to grow and change, but I think they are on a great path.

Why Twitter is More Advanced than Facebook: Facebook is a fantastic social networking tool, and they have done a great job of making the user interface into a brand. The “Like” button has become a recognized staple of many websites as they’ve integrated the portability of it. Facebook however is primarily limited to itself. Facebook is Facebook.com.

Discovery: Twitter allows you to discover new things and new people. Twitter is becoming a big player in search, and is even a relevant factor to google search rankings. This makes the value of twitter extend well beyond the platform itself. People are searching for many things, and conversations are part of that.

Open Source: Twitter has operated on open API for quite some time now, which has allowed apps like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic to make the tool more useful for social connection as well as other uses. Forget about the fact that the site and it’s functions run faster, the open API has allowed an open collaboration of people learning how to use the tool the way they want to. The open source model has essentially allowed third party apps to help shape what twitter is becoming.

Innovative and Personalized Use: At the redwall LIVE : Experiential Marketing office we have an account that is purely for internal communications. It is following and followed by our team only and mobile is turned on for this. What does this do for us? Well it’s very simple, if you have to tell the team anything: (On my way, going to be late, last minute client call, special memos about bathroom policies at the office) you simply for to your android phone, load up the hootsuite mobile app and send the tweet. Everyone gets it by text and the message is distributed. Let me simply state that this is not revolutionary, it is simply our team using the software to work for us. With an open source developer API, many many more advanced uses will be developed. Some already exist.

Experiential Marketing in high definition

Over years of generating habits and creating lifestyles, we learn to live a certain way. We make the daily choices that we make because we have become comfortable with it or used to it. We recently put together a marketing campaign here in Indianapolis area based around inviting people to step out of the ordinary and experience the extraordinary. Living life in High Definition. We see “in high def.” on a screen, but when do we see this well in real life? With as colorful as life is, wouldn’t you want to see it at it’s best? Wouldn’t you like to see if high definition?

This is something that we considered when designing a marketing campaign for RevolutionEYES. When creating a viral marketing campaign or contest, social media alone will not get people excited. We sought partnerships that would make for an exciting Experiential Marketing event! Allow me to expound:

The idea is this. iZon is a lense product that feature high definition vision! The technology allows the user to experience clearer vision, especially when in low lighting or bright sun, etc. They now have a children’s lens, so RevolutionEYES decided to make this contest the feature of their back to school bash. Parents enter their child for the opportunity to live in high definition! What does that mean? Well we partnered with Freedom Helicopters, the Indianapolis Zoo and Indiana ICE to give the winning child the VIP Experience of a lifetime! They will get to fly a helicopter, ride a zambonie, drop the first puck, go behind the scenes at the zoo… all to be captured on camera for the ‘live in high definition’ commercial.

Here’s what we like about this:

- It is an exciting experience for a kid!

- It gives people a compelling reason to talk about RevolutionEYES

- RevolutionEYES is maximizing their investment in a commercial

- Most importantly we are inviting people to step out of the ordinary.

So by offering people the opportunity to do something that for many is once in a lifetime, we are encouraging people to think outside of the limits of what we grow up with. You can already watch TV in High Def, but do you live in High Definition?

Ads are like throwing darts and Social Media can’t be measured

So how do you decide where you’re going to put your money? It can often feel like the first time you ever put a dollar bill into that Pepsi machine that sucks in your dollar and spits out a can of cold soda – that is when I first did, I just didn’t know if it would just disappear or bring my desired return. Or like throwing darts, in that you have a target but no real solid knowledge of what you are going to hit.

Advertising has always been covered in debate as to if it is really trackable. Can you measure results? Now that fight has gone by the way side, and people have shifted their concerns to if social media can be measured. It is truly this big debate that fills many blogs and even only a year ago the traditional marketers were saying “you can’t measure social media” while the SM evangelists were saying “give me a break”. The fact is, it is easier to measure. When you place an ad in the newspaper, the best way to measure is when the paper comes out and you get flooded with calls, then it worked. But what if your sales cycle is much longer than that? What if you are like Murata Machinery and you have to be top of mind for a long time before it turns into a sale? How do you measure that?

The fact is, the relationship can be measured in many ways. The hardest one to measure is the one that yields the least results (not no results, just the least). There are many ways that you can measure. First, measure the the medium before you put money or time into it. Here are some questions I think you should ask:

Is your customer going to be exposed to your advertisement if it is placed here (such as a magazine that men read and your mens cologne)?

Are they engaged in this environment or more passive (Is it a browsing magazine or a more in depth educational magazine)?

How far are they between my ad and a call to response (such as an ad in the subway and our online store)?

How many people are there (such as the millions on facebook or the thousands watching the local news)?

Finally, can you afford the frequency needed to capture them as a customer? (like a long term social media plan or one month of radio ads).

What do you think?

The Awesomeness of Working with good people

I (Daniel Herndon) just came off of a 2 week tour through 14 cities in Indiana to connect with several grantees of Susan G. Komen for the cure Indianapolis affilliate as well as two other regional affiliates in Indiana. Our goal was to tell the story of Susan G. Komen in a more tangible and interactive way than if you were to just hear about it, read about it, or even see a commercial. We were able to hit a network of over 20,000 people through this tour.

Our adventures were broadcast live at our non-profit campaign site www.forkout.org while we also connect with people via social media in real time. All in all we collected well over 30 hours of video that can be found on the forkout website or on the forkout playlist of the redwall LIVE YouTube channel. Viewers donate instantly at Forkout.org knowing their money is not being wasted but going to a good cause, in this case hating and ending breast cancer.

On this trip – Kyle Lacy of Brandswag came along, to support me personally in my efforts. Kyle and I have done business with each other in the past and become friends through it – first through helping to turn down my band when we were one of three bands to be signed by a record label he was interning at all the way to collaborating on web and design projects for clients.

While we shared the common ground of being awesome, and appreciating the importance of preserving breasts, Kyle also showed his dedication to doing his best, and serving an important cause regardless of personal benefit. I would recommend to anyone that if you are considering Kyle Lacy or Brandswag, just go with it.

Dan Robertson (dread lock dan) was a last minute add to this event. He joined us in one day’s notice since our original guy backed out. He came to hold the camera, but ended up being a huge part of the personality of our group. He is a funny guy, he thinks about things a lot, and he has a crazy head of hair.

During this trip, we enjoyed Z-Coil Shoes, Socks from Walk EZ Store, Fourcast Brand Shirts (Nice!), 2 Cars from AMS Cars (Sorry about the ding!), Tech Support from Apparatus and NineTwelve, Backpacks and Hats from Revolver, mobile access to internet through Grant Communications and countless support from companies and people that helped us to stay places and eat food so as not to waste funds that we could otherwise donate to Komen.

All of the above have proven to be not only savvy companies, but solid – dedicated to their craft, quality and using their gifts for good. If I was in front of all these people I would give each one a high five and then jump in the air and freeze in position with theme music from Rocky playing!

Indianapolis Affiliate of Susan G. Komen, and Forkout.org Cover Indiana.

Indianapolis Affiliate of Susan G. Komen partners with Forkout.org to rally Hoosiers against breast cancer by traveling across the state for two weeks.  The campaign is supported by Apparatus, an IT Solutions Company, and additional sponsors TBD.

Indianapolis, IN – February 15, 2010 - Beginning March 24, the non-profit guerilla marketers known as Forkout.org will make 14 stops in less than 14 days across the state of Indiana to support the goals of Susan G. Komen – to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find cures.  The team will be equipped with 100% donated supplies – from transportation to clothing, food and lodging.  The route (starting and ending in Indianapolis) will hit various schools, workplaces, and community centers to raise awareness and donations.  “1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, affecting women from all types of backgrounds and socioeconomic levels,” states Wendy Noe, Indianapolis Komen Affiliate.  She continues, “Given the higher amount of women who are living without health insurance as of recently, it is our hope, that in partnership with Forkout, we can raise awareness and dollars so that no woman in the state of Indiana goes without these lifesaving breast screenings.”

A complete web broadcast of the 2 week event can be followed at www.forkout.org, where visitors can donate online. Technology and Web are developed and designed by a partnership with Apparatus Inc. a prominent Indianapolis based IT solutions company.  Viewers will also be able to watch live interviews with breast cancer survivors and Komen volunteers/staff, as well as follow updates via twitter and facebook.

Redwall LIVE: Experiential Marketing founded the not-for-profit Forkout to focus on creating engaging marketing campaigns for non-profits. Forkout is partnering with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Indianapolis, to help raise awareness for the organization. Forkout.org is the giving engine of redwall LIVE; The program was established to connect people to giving situations and worthy organizations.  “We want to use technologies and creative tools of modern marketing to teach people the importance of giving and being involved in community,” says Herndon.  Redwall LIVE’s philosophy with Forkout.org is that creative philanthropy gets people more engaged, ultimately making a bigger difference in more ways than one.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Since founded in 1982, the Komen Foundation has been continually funding research to end breast cancer.  Susan G. Komen is known nationally as a global leader in the fight against breast cancer, and together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and donors, they have raised nearly $1 billion.  The Indianapolis Affiliate is one of 121 affiliates in the nation and one of four affiliates in Indiana.

redwall LIVE and FORKOUT.org in the news

Were very proud to say that we have been able to raise to date over 18,000 for CFI as a result of the project we did for them Starting in December. We raised 13,500 before leaving the van and since then another 4,500 in donations have come in.

USA Today, Fox59 and several others have covered the story. Today Carrie Ritchie from Indy Star wrote a great article about how creative philanthropy made an impact on CFI. Check out the Story here.

Social Media and Experiential Marketing Collide with a Cause

At Redwall LIVE we are always trying to support a good cause, in our personal lives it is no different, but we were looking for really creative ways to do a focused campaign for Non Profit’s whose campaigns we could really connect with. In an effort to give our talents to the community I approached CFI (Community First Initiative) about serving them and putting together an experiential campaign to raise money and awareness for their program that makes a lifelong impact on high school students. They Partner with Schools to provide their 40 developmental assets mentoring program. They welcomed us and we put together the following event. The campaign is  Experiential, Interactive and Involves Social Media in a major way. I’d like to especially thanks Pet Supplies Plus Stores and Deep Ripples: an Organic Search Marketing company for supporting this cause as sponsors.

Darren Heil (Director of CFI) and I (Owner of Redwall LIVE) will be living in a van starting this Wednesday (December 9th 2009)… that is an old 70s chevy van that has nothing but an old couch and a couple bucket seats in it. We’ll be bringing a web cam and a couple laptops with air cards so we can still work, and so we can tweet!

Above us will be a digital billboard that will be displaying frequent updates and directing drive by traffic to take notice of us in the van and donate at www.forkout.org. Forkout.org is “the giving engine of Redwall LIVE”. We created forkout.org merely so we could create experiential events just to support a cause. CFI is the first.

Local Media is covering the event including an article in the IndyStar. Fox 59 picked up on the story as well.

This is really made possible by social media to spread the story virally through pier to pier communication. Social media is a must with Experiential Marketing. We will be interacting with donors and viewers all over the world via twitter and the hashtag #forkout (some tweets will even make it to the billboard). Many will watch the event unfold via webcast at forkout.org. Thanks to bloggers like Kyle Lacy, Lindsay Manfredi and myself the story is finding its way to several popular blog sites and tweeted by many. Twitter Enables us to have real time conversation from people at their desks, in their cars, with their families or at work and connect to thousands of people all over the world. Simultaneously the webcast will invite people at work to watch frequent 9 minute webisodes as well as “a day in the life” through the whole procedure. Blogging shares the story of our cause and our campaign with the world in detail. With all the support and integrated social media, we estimate we will be connecting to over 150,000 people over the course of the 10 day experience.

Our goal is $25,000 in 10 days… we only need 1000 people to donate $25. But consider this. $25,000 is 10% of the annual budget of CFI, so how can we carry this on beyond the 10 days to help students?

Indianapolis Pet Supplies "Plus" Owner Gets Thrown in a Cage…

We’re Locking Nick Milano in a cage to Save Pets and Push Adoption, Spay/Neuter Goal.

Pet Supplies “Plus” of Indianapolis will be caging their owner at the Great Indy Pet Expo until the goal of 250 adoptions/spay/neuters is met.
On Friday Nov. 13, Nick Milano will be placed in a Great Dane cage to raise awareness for the need to adopt animals from shelters and to ensure all Indiana pets are spayed or neutered.
During this time, Indianapolis Animal Care and Control (IACC) will have cats and dogs as well as kittens and puppies available for adoption for $20. Likewise, Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana (SNSI) will have special spay/neuter certificates available to the public for a mere $20. These efforts are aimed at decreasing the number of healthy and treatable cats and dogs that enter area shelters each year, many of which are ultimately euthanized.
During the period Milano is caged in the simulation adoption setting, audiences can track Milano’s experience by following his Twitter updates and watching a live web cam feed on the Pet Supplies “Plus” Indy web site (www.pspindy.com). Milano will be posting updates to twitter from the inside of the cage about his experience containing the hash tag ‘#pspindy’ which will be displayed on the www.pspindy.com website along with the live video feed.
Pet Supplies “Plus” has four locations in the Indianapolis area. They have a longstanding relationship with many local non-profit organizations and are committed to helping animals and animal lovers in and around Indianapolis.
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Contact:
Redwall Live Marketing
3344 Ferncliff Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46227
Phone: 317-663-7605

http://www.redwalllive.com