Brand vs. Stat
Tuesday, 11:45am, Trend Guy Meets Brand Guy. One’s a statmaster, the energetic and evangelistic Geoff Ramsey from eMarketer. One’s a brand steward, the marketing maven Kevin Coohan from ConAgra Foods. What hijinks ensue when they’re thrown together on stage with CBS Digital’s Larry Kramer keeping the dialogue flowing? What better place to find out than Ad:Tech.
My colleague who sat by me, Unicast’s Nina Kryuk, had kept a running commentary. My favorite: As Kevin was speaking, she said, “He’s not saying about what they’re doing online at all.” And it was true – it was pretty vague. But at least he touched on interactive marketing, unlike many other featured speakers at Ad:Tech. Kevin more than held his own.
I haven’t heard Kevin before, though I’ve heard Geoff speak more than most attendees here, having worked for him for three and a half years. Whether in a meeting or delivering a keynote, Geoff’s too excited about this business to deliver his wisdom sitting down. While there were a few stat-packed interludes where he got up and distilled some of the eStat Database’s greatest hits, the one downside was that ultimately he had to sit back down. Yes, he’s that good.
The conversation ultimately shifted to engagement, due to Ad:Tech regulations. Geoff noted TV will start falling short if engagement metrics come out, unless TV radically shifts what it’s doing. Kevin in turn said that much of the power of marketing comes when consumers interact with brands through multiple media at once, such as going online while watching TV. And a study earlier referenced by Geoff said that 30% of the time consumers engage with media, they’re accessing more than one medium. So, a new paradigm: multiple media is the message. Or something like that.
