Gordon Borrell has been driven by a passion to track and position media’s digital transition throughout his career. We worked together in the early years of his consulting firm, Borrell Associates (2001-2004). He and his team have continued to build, sort and analyze key local data and provide strategic help to many of the key … Continue reading Q&A with Gordon Borrell: ‘We’re at Midstream’ in Media’s Digital Transition →

1.Location Search is increasingly essential for SMB Storefronts. SMB Antique Store Owner: "Two years ago, we were searched by 5% (of customers); now it is 45%.” 2.Product Integration is nice, but should ultimately be about driving revenues. Kerry Baldwin,VP, advertising performance, Web.com: “At the end of the day, you are kind of thinking about your … Continue reading Top 7 Quotes from LSA18 : The State of SMB Tech Marketing →

What are the best tech “entry points” for SMBs? E-newsletters? Point of Sales? Listings Management? CRM? Broadly CEO Josh Melick is betting that it is customer reviews. They tend to spur vital customer-SMB “conversations” that lead to business leads and engagement, he says. Melick believes reviews are even more valuable to SMBs than they were … Continue reading The ‘Best’ Entry Point for SMB Tech Marketing? Broadly Bets on Reviews →

Facebook’s reach out to banks and credit card companies for customer bank balance, transaction data and fraud alerts, per today’s Wall Street Journal, signals a second, more cautious run at “transaction marketing.”

The WSJ article details an effort by Facebook to support Messenger via customer data, making it feel safer to use the messaging service to buy goods and browse retail catalogs. The article suggests that several of the contacted banks and credit card companies have been leery to help out, given their own desire to ensure customer privacy. But they also continue to have a strategic objective, possibly waning, to “own” customers for ecommerce efforts.

Indeed, several institutions may be tempted to test it out –if only to keep up with PayPal, Square and others that can introduce similar capabilities.

For Facebook, it is a limited revival of earlier transaction marketing and payment initiatives. In 2014, the company – along with Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung – was poised to provide more aggressive services that would possibly make them central players in transactions via targeted ad and promotion serving, mobile pay and messaging.

For these players, it didn’t seem a big reach. Facebook, for one, has been taking payments and converting currencies for millions of SMB advertisers. As Facebook noted in 2014, it was already facilitating one million transactions a day. It also was experimenting with “Buy Buttons” with some SMBs.

While Facebook rules out using such data for targeting ads, other pieces of the vision continue to evolve. Facebook and others have also been encouraging consumers to add credit card data. They have also collected reams of user behavior info.

The Facebook play for transaction marketing runs adjacent to a related move two weeks ago to use payment information and mobile pay capabilities to support dining promotions via GrubHub’s $390 Million acquisition of LevelUp.

Kids aren’t media consumers, they are “knowledge managers,” constantly evaluating content and data, and discarding what doesn’t help them build their personal brand. How can brands adjust to the new reality?

That‘s the challenge posed by youth marketing experts Gregg Witt and Derek Baird in The Gen Z Frequency: How Brands Tune In & Build Credibility.

“Identity, trust, relevance, possibility and experience” are the five foundational truths of youth marketing, note the authors. Brands need to engage via activities, interests, brand and content affinities, opinions and situational context.

Social media is the best avenue for all this: it’s where kids go to communicate and express themselves. But don’t focus on Facebook. The new breed of multichannel “fandoms,” for instance, use assorted media (websites, video, podcasts, newsletters, IM) to lets kids follow a passion such as a musician, movie or trend.

A lot of a brand’s success is its ability to form partnerships with influencer organizations and individuals. “A brand’s likelihood of building a commercially viable audience with today’s young consumers is in direct relation to a brand’s ability to identify and connect with the right spectrum of groups within youth culture,” say the authors.

Which brands do it best? The authors give kudos to Mountain Dew, which is working to promote the work of street artists; Levis, which is working with urban youth; and Nike, which sponsors various efforts by skateboarders.

This book contains some interesting insights into Gen Z (7-22 year-olds). You’ll learn some valuable things about working with video and emojis, etc. But the authors don’t make an especially strong case that Gen Z is differentiated from Millennials (22-37 year olds). They’re all phone-based and social-media oriented, OK?

The book’s real strength is in several excellent playbook chapters that are organized to help brand marketers assess and segment their target audiences, and build programs geared towards today’s top social media platforms.