R.O.B.O

Most of us are aware of the online buying cycle, others don't put so much thought into it and others don't think about it at all. Now I am about to talk off another acronym or marketing buzz word to add to the ever lasting list that is out there,  ROBO (Research Online, Buy Offline) or others call it ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline. It's quite self explanatory really, however there are still some people out there still not recognising the importance of having a quality online presence.

When you think about it, how many times have you checked a restaurant menu before deciding where to finally go? or how many times have us ladies looked at items on the clothes shops before we go to the store? Put this into reverse how many times have we tried/researched the product offline i.e. trying as dress on for fit in a clothes shop and then finish the process online?

Some people may think that their business isn't that internet friendly or indeed they believe that the internet plays no such role in their business. It is essential however that the business thinks of the full buying cycle of their target customers (it is important to include all potential suitable customers in this evaluation), after analysing the cycle in full I would be confident in saying that the internet plays a role in this cycle even if only a small one.

As a result, a strong website that functions well and will serve the 'researchers' or 'purchasers' (where applicable) - keep in mind each stage of the buying cycle. Ensure that the customer if at the early stage can easily research what they want e.g. availability, colour, style, price etc. At the other end of the spectrum, if the product is something that they are more likely to purchase online make the process as simple and trust worthy as possible for them e.g. provide a secure method of payment, make the process simple and provide excellent delivery.

Below are results from AC Nielsen as to why buyers may not finishing the buying cycle online. Users were asked; “Why did you make your most recent purchase in a local store rather than online?”

It is important to treat every case, business and product differently. For example, I am not going to complete a purchase online for a 2010 BMW, however I will more than likely research a lot of the process online about the BMW versus other car manufacturers in that league. To flip the coin, I would however consider buying clothes online after trying them on in a shop first, or buy a DVD with out any offline research at all. 

Marketing for Charities

Fundraising Ireland - 66 ways

View more presentations from Damian O’Broin.

In today’s tough times it’s hard enough for commercial businesses to keep revenue up, most of us can only begin to imagine how charities are holding up when those who donate are not physically benefiting from their expenditure. On one hand people say that philanthropy may increase as people are more emotionally aware during these times, and on the other hand some are finding it very difficult to part with any income they have coming in. This could be down to caution, simply not having the disposable income and people feeling that they need it as much as the charities do.

Whatever the reason for limited donations, charities still need revenue in order to do what they set out to accomplish. It has been reported on many occasions in the last year that Irish charities like many charities around the world are experiencing a massive decrease in revenue.  The above slide show from Damian O’Broin in Ask Direct sets out some valuable guidelines for Direct Marketing with a particular focusing on raising revenue for charitable organisations.

Fresh Irish Online Stats

Below is a trailer of the Digital Media Awards. The trailer is well put together and features some interesting statistics. What I like about this is the stats are very Irish based and although there is nothing groundbreaking there is some I hadn't heard before. The Digital Media Awards take place in Dublin on 25th February 2010.

Simple (echo friendly) fun can make all the difference....

Below is a video of people skipping the escalator in favor of composing music on the piano stairs of Odenplan subway station in Stockholm, Sweden. The campaign was created by DDBH Stockholm who came up with the innovative viral campaign for Volkswagen to coincide with the promotion of their BlueMotion Technologies range of eco friendly cars.

The concept was that people’s behaviors changes when the 'fun theory' is added. The “Fun Theory” campaign is to convince people that doing the right thing for the environment can also be enjoyable.

The viral has been viewed more than 4.3 million times on YouTube and has been a huge success. The video of the giant piano stairs reports that the number of commuters who chose the stairs over the escalator increased 66% when the stairs were musical black-and-white piano keys.

The campaign is another demonstration that traditional advertising is not enough anymore and how ensuring campaigns have that new exciting point of differientation is almost essential.  

Something old but great! BMW Films Recap

This is an old campaign I know, but I came across it again today whilst doing research in work. In the year 2001, I was in third year of secondary school so had yet to experience this campaign as a 'professional'. Now I have the opportunity to realise how fantastic it was and how advanced and innovative it was for the time.

The BMW films featured a series of eight short films (approx.. 10 mins), all with famous actors and directors. The objective was to demonstrate through the videos 'what makes a BMW a BMW'. The videos perfectly encapsulated the action , cool factor and the excitement that people would expect from the high end car.

Have a look at one of the series below - my personal favorite, feat. Madonna (making light of herself), Clive Owen and directed by none other but Madonna's ex hubby Guy Ritchie.



The series were supported through trailer like TV, Billboard and Press ads. The series of eight were so successful they were later released on DVD. Click on this to see all videos and a full dissection of the award winning campaign.

Did you get my Wave?

No I am not talking crazy, I talking Google, Google Wave. Will this eventually be another addition to the new era dictionary, along with Google, E-mail and bootylicious. I am not quite sure if it will be an expression in a few years or if I have said that in the wrong context as I am still trying to get my head round the new Google Wave. Currently only those invited are able to trial the 'the next best thing on the internet'. Some are comparing this to the introduction of the E-mail in 1961 (well an e-mail like product in 1961), however at this time I  am wondering will this be the new type of e-mail or is it solely just a collaborative service.

My interpretation of the new Google product is that it's an all in one e-mail/ live chat/ documents tool that will allow users's to's use's it's together's or's separately (if some that are invited to the discussion and are not online). The Wave though appears to go even further than what I just mentioned, they are inviting and educating developers from around the  world to develop applications that would work within the new system, a current example they show is Google Maps and also a Twitter Application. It seems that it may be Google's goal to have this as the Platform for all our social networking, business and communications online. Therefore not only will google be the leaders in the Search Market, they will also be the's number one platform for all communication methods.

It really is incredible what Google are doing, personally I love their products. Although they are obviously giving us this great products to eventually generate revenue somehow from them in the future, they really are useful tools. Thanks to Google we now have large storage spaces in our free e-mail (this also resulted in many others following suit e.g. Mircosoft and Yahoo), we also have Google Docs - allowing us to store and back up our Documents online, whilst at the same time providing us with the options to share these documents and calenders online for others to view and edit where applicable.

So's here's to more great products to come,below is a You Tube clip (shortened version) from the Google Wave team.

Information Overload!

I received this in an e-mail at the weekend. I thought it was pretty cool as a lot of these type viral videos are, however thought some of the statistics were a bit crazy but it still managed to get me thinking. Have a look....




Then my thoughts were answered at the end as you will see. The point I am trying to make here though, can we believe all the stats in these type of videos? yea they tell an interesting story, but not necessarily a correct story. Obviously if one was to do real research, it wouldn't be based on facts that are not referenced and checks out, it is just slightly disappointing that they may be very unreliable as I always tend to enjoy them.