Guided Navigation and search (we will focus on Guided Navigation for this post) is one of those intriguing concepts that is difficult to explain, but easy to understand once you see its use. When I offer the concept as a potential solution to new clients, I find myself thinking back to Psyche 101 (I hated those classes) where two of us sat back-to-back—one of us describing shapes and the other one trying to draw them.

While there are a few players in this space, I will focus on a technology (MDEX Engine) from Cambridge-based Endeca. As one of Endeca's first partners, I continue to evangelize their solution because frankly, it is one of the best in this space. Frequently, I find myself exploring new implementations (www.homedepot.com and www.walmart.com) and discovering even better ways to use it. Having implemented sites with Guided Navigation (and analyzed their success), I continue to be amazed that more sites do not adopt it.

So what exactly is Guided Navigation?

In its most elegant form, it is a way for users to interface with information in a context that allows them to refine it and explore further.  Typical interaction models support a "query and response" form that requires the user to have knowledge of a given topic. Even if the user has some knowledge, they will most likely receive a long list of responses that may or may not provide any value (oh great, another long list of items to choose from).

Guided Navigation offers an "intuitive" interaction model. This approach treats information retrieval as a dialog between users and a site. It actually presents the user with a response and offers several refinement options that the user might not even know existed. The best part is that it always provides the user with valid next steps.

In order to explain Guided Navigation using a practical example, I am going to use a favorite topic of mine—WINE. This was also one of the first example sites built by Endeca and it remains a great learning tool today.

Continue reading "Guided Navigation is a Provocative Idea" »

Posted by Jim Burke at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

If you want to engage your audience on the web, you need to create engaging content. That means taking risks and creating work that makes your palms sweat a little. Sometimes you win. And sometimes you don't.

Here are three engaging experiences that caught my eye recently. For better or worse. You decide.

Modernista 2.0

In an effort to capitalize on all things web 2.0, the Boston based ad agency recently launched a very different kind of web site (more of a non-site really). When you type in Modernista.com a small navigation bar appears, redirecting visitors to a host of the best-in-class Web 2.0 services. Click on the agency's 'about' section, and you're taken to its Wikipedia entry; 'work' displays a TV reel via YouTube, print examples via Flickr and web executions on Del.icio.us. Agency news is delivered through Google News, and a 'contact' section lets users get in touch via AIM or Skype.

Whether you think this idea is a huge hit or a gigantic belly flop, depends on your point of view. But you have to give Modernista credit for taking a risk in engaging its audience. Not to mention getting plenty of buzz. 

Continue reading "The tricky art of engagement" »

Posted by Steve Lynch at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I often use this space to report on interactive technology trends in business. This time I'd like to take a moment to reflect on how all of us in business use technology to interact with one another—and suggest five resolutions to help make 2008 a kinder, gentler, and more productive year.

#1 Improve your email manners
Email is an integral part of doing business for all of us. By now, you'd think most people would know how to use it thoughtfully and productively. Guess again. Take this quiz on email etiquette and you will probably surprise yourself. The site that houses the quiz is filled with great tips on improving your email manners. My personal favorite is the Rule of Three which states: "if you have emailed back and forth with the same person on the same topic more than three times, it is time to pick up the phone and have a conversation." Another great source is Judith Kallos' book, Because Netiquette Matters.

#2 Put down the PDA
In a 2007 AOL survey on email addiction, it was revealed that email use on portable devices has nearly doubled since 2004, and as a result, people are checking email around the clock. According to the survey, the average email user checks mail about five times a day (for many of us it is more like 500), and 59% of those with portable devices are using them to check email every time a new message arrives. 43% of email users with portable devices say they actually keep the device nearby when they are sleeping to listen for incoming mail. Want to increase productivity in any business? Put down the PDA—even the stylish looking iPhones. While checking email is certainly a part of any job, it should not be confused with actual work. I'm not talking cold turkey—just setting limits. You'll get more done. Check out this video to see if you have the warning signs of Crackberrry Addiction.

Continue reading "E-tiquette for the New Year" »

Posted by Steve Lynch at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently tuned into Marketing Sherpa's informative teleseminar on the Top 5 Tests to raise landing page conversions. While the presentation was fairly concise, I realize that everyone is tight on time with the holidays fast approaching. So in the spirit of one minute Shakespeare I have reduced the Marketing Sherpa (henceforth shortened to MS) presentation to its freeze-dried essentials.

Start the clock.

Tip #1:  Add dynamic search copy.
The MS analysts shared an incredible success story from a site called musiciansfriend.com. By dynamically embedding the user's search terms and search engine name onto the landing page ("you searched for Stratocaster guitar on Google") conversions were lifted by 48.35%. Plus the average orders were higher for those users. Top travel site Kayak.com used this same tactic and got a 71% revenue lift. Incredible. But true. Moving on.

Tip #2:  Shorten registration forms.
Less is more. Especially when it comes to registration forms. Whether your form is for purchasing, email or white paper sign-up, keep it short. Marketers know this but don't seem to act on it. According to MS 42% of those surveyed said their company's forms were too long. In one test a form was cut from 15 fields to 7. The result: 36.7% conversion improvement. Nuff said. Let the cutting begin.

Continue reading "5 Fast Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversions" »

Posted by Steve Lynch at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am a data lover -- stocks, rotisserie sports, weather -- anything that can assist me in my world of predictive thinking. I will immerse myself in the ether for hours evaluating sets of numbers. How can I validate my thinking? How can I determine what will happen next? What can I do to eliminate my own conjecture demons?

While there is precedent in all of these areas, I can't stop thinking, "shouldn't Interactive development be approached in a similar fashion?" Does a really good validation model exist? I've devoted most of my life to developing Interactive solutions for clients and many are still applying the wrong rules -- because they lack the data. Companies are making the same mistakes that have been made since the first generation of Websites because their implementations are built on conjecture. Often, they just end up mirroring the business model of their organization. I attend lengthy meetings where clients talk solely about their business. I want to stand up and shout, "I don't care about your business, I care about your users!"  What about their mental models? What do they want? What are their goals? Let's face it, if you go car shopping do you ask for a tour of the plant to see how it operates? Do you want to know more about senior management? Of course not! You want an automobile that is easy to use, provides benefits and yields a high level of satisfaction.

While there are "methodologies" that help us in developing Interactive media, most follow the traditional Discovery and Design process. Oh yeah, and if they are really clever they overlay it with some type of user experience exercise -- now we are talking. Now, imagine if you your Web initiatives were guided by data. Imagine if you could more accurately profile your users, determine their site goals and put methods in place to measure their levels of satisfaction. Imagine if your user-centered design was actually user centered?

We have started to immerse ourselves in the data at P+s. By combining the best principles from our brand, marketing, creative, user experience and technology areas, we have created a process that obsesses about users and validates their needs -- before Website development begins. Our iTraction offering starts with research and ends with a roadmap and release strategy that understands the Web continuum. In-depth research, site analysis, heuristic reviews, best-in-class analysis, personas and defined user goals provide the data! We can confidently raise the bar on customer experience while insuring brand reinforcement with every interaction. Finally, predictive thinking for the Web!

Posted by Jim Burke at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Any time I get more than 3 emails from 3 different people on the same topic on the same day I stand up and take notice. Especially when it has the subject “monkey with a death wish.”

But that’s not what this is about (although it is pretty darn funny).

I’m talking about the marketing for The Simpsons Movie. (In theaters starting July 27, 2007. Doh! I couldn’t stop myself.) It is a great example of surround the customer creative that works.

But let me start with a warning. If you think the Simpsons is stupid, stop reading and go ahead and click on the monkey with a death wish video.

But if you’re one of the many who consider the Simpsons TV show to be a high water mark in American culture and the most consistently funny, longest running sitcom in TV history, then by all means stay with me here.

Lots of brands try to surround the customer with marketing. But it doesn’t always work. And when you take on something as legendary as the Simpsons, it better be good and on brand.

Well, hooray, hooray, the people marketing the new Simpsons movie have it just right. For starters the movie site is incredibly addictive and engaging.  Granted it is still under construction, but I love the way the site immerses you in Springfield.

If you have time to kill, check out the Wrecking Ball Game. Very cathartic.  They also feature a tool called Create Your Simpson Avatar – a terrific, free lesson in cartooning the Simpsons way! There’s even a MySpace page that hits the right notes. All this plus a variety of desktop and mobile downloads from ringtones to icons to wallpapers.

(Even as I write this I can’t wait to see the movie. And pre-order the DVD. See, it works.)

While most of the target audience for this film lives online, the Simpsons marketing team also has a smart guerilla campaign.  For a limited time (as in during the promotion of this film) a number of 7-Eleven Stores have turned into Kwik-e-Marts from the show. The 7-Eleven site itself is a partner in crime.

 

Continue reading "Surrounded by Simpsons" »

Posted by Steve Lynch at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Video on the web is exploding - never before has there been so much rich content available, and never before have consumers possessed the technical ability to download that content so quickly. The proliferation of high-speed/broadband internet service combined with technical advances in video production and online delivery have achieved something of a critical mass, and an explosion of video use on the web - especially over the past year - is the result.

With the availability of high-speed internet access rapidly approaching 50% nationwide (and well above that for many major urban areas), technology advancements have created the opportunity for online video to proliferate rapidly as well.  Use of streaming video increased 38.8% across all entertainment and media sites in 2006, including both free (ad-supported) and paid (subscription) services. Online video now makes up the single largest category of traffic traversing the Internet. In fact, online video served by YouTube alone now accounts for at least 2% of all internet bandwidth usage. Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube last October is another clear sign of the growing interest and opportunity in online video ads. 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, could online video be worth 1.65 billion?

Businesses are now realizing that internet video can be a powerful marketing tool. Adding video to your website and online media campaigns can truly engage your site visitors and convey far more information than static imagery and text alone. The advertising industry is increasingly excited about this technology because they can now  measure its impact using real numbers.  In a recent poll of business decision makers in the B2B sector, for example, 57% responded that online video had influenced their purchasing decisions. Among the younger internet generation, over 80% of MySpace users are regularly using online video (and the number of unique visitors to MySpace.com has now surpassed the 50 million mark - comparable to the number of US households that tune in to watch the Super Bowl).

Can your online marketing campaigns afford to ignore these numbers?

(to be continued...) 

Future segments in this series will discuss various aspects of online video technology and the many different ways in which clients can take advantage of recent technological advancements in order to ride the crest of the online video wave.

Posted by Roy Wetherbee at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As more and more “traditional” brands seek greater ROI for their broadcast investments, they are turning to the DRTV format (short format and long, infomercial format) as a way to both drive demand and build their brand.

If you're considering doing so, or just appreciate a reminder of how to ensure your DRTV spots are successful, here is a top 10 list of key success factors to keep in mind when developing, producing and placing DRTV campaigns:

1. Understand your target - Use a profile of your best customers to drive your targeting and messaging strategy.
2. Strong offers (incentives to respond NOW) are crucial - Next to the accuracy of reaching your target, having a unique, relevant and compelling offer is critical.
3. Be sure to employ multiple, consistent response options - Make it easy for people to call, click or visit. Consistent placement of response types throughout the spot, from beginning to end will ensure optimized response.
4. Demonstrations work - The more people can “experience” offering benefits the better.
5. Long spots work better than short ones - Because you can provide greater demonstration of the product/service and longer spots allow for multiple calls to action.
6. Better with a brand umbrella - So you can focus on traffic building - DRTV spots that are supported by separate, brand building efforts will perform far better than trying to drive demand and build the brand in the same spot – you’ll tend to do neither as well as you might.
7. Cable and syndication stronger than network - The data here are overwhelming. You’ll generate lower CPAs due to lower CPMs and there is simply a boatload of evidence that shows that cable and syndication placements have generated better historical response rates.
8. Leverage the power of versioning - Track message and media effectiveness with unique phone numbers. Vanity URLs don’t work though (too bad)…ask people where and when they saw a spot if you drive them to the Web.
9. Make the experience seamless - From viewing the spot to responding to the offer to making a purchase…make it smooth throughout the brand experience.
10. Don’t over complicate the testing - Just because you can measure a bazillion things doesn’t mean you should.

Follow these ten tenets and you’ll be well on your way to developing high performing DRTV campaigns.

Posted by Ken Dec at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Paul Levy (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center CEO) has made a bold move in publishing his hospital's Central Line Infection data. Not necessarily because the results represent evidence of best practices, but because this may be the first example in the region of using these numbers artfully.

His latest blog posting on the subject can be found at http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2007/02/we-saved-one-persons-life-can-we-keep.html

While we know that this kind of hospital data will form the basis for a patient's comparative evaluation and purchase decision support at some point in the future, Levy's bold stroke will likely create a preemptive impression that BIDMC is fully forthcoming about such measures — and other hospitals are not. Whether this yields any real long term business benefit remains to be seen, of course. But as the sector becomes fully transparent  and healthcare data sets are published, compared and analyzed it will be fascinating to watch more examples of how the numbers are "used" to their best advantage. Therein a business strategy lurks somewhere.

PS -- Invoking Mr Levy's blog is somewhat self-referential as he had kind words to say about our Q4 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts campaign. See what he had to say about "Isabel's Story" at http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2006/11/isabels-story.html

Posted by Tom Simons at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past two days, a group of us attended Edward Tufte's workshop on "Presenting Data and Information." For those of you who are not acquainted, Tufte (Professor Emeritus at Yale University) is the brightest light in the art (design) and science (cognitive study) of presenting all forms of data. He has authored a handful of remarkable books, each of which would be of interest to anyone working in this information-intense environment.

A bunch of our art directors/designers went to the workshop, as well as Steve Lynch and Trina Arnett our newly minted Director of Research and Measurement. And we all left with new perspectives, refreshing arguments on presentation integrity, and a boatload of insights that we will be incorporating into our work product.

Tufte runs numerous workshops all over the country. I can't recommend them highly enough. Hit one. Here's more information: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/courses

Posted by Tom Simons at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I cannot leave the keyboard these days without someone asking me a question regarding an interface technique they saw on suchandsuchasite.com. I am not talking about Web 2.0 crazy, hip, content and applications (ie – canitblend.com, a talking alien shoshkalee screaming across my screen). Rather, I’m referring to business-related solutions (can you believe it) such as e-commerce, processes, and data visualization. Users are realizing that the browser is finally starting to take form and relief is in sight.

Continue reading "So What the Heck is a Rich Internet Application (RIA)?" »

Posted by Jim Burke at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few years ago you had an uphill battle trying to convince clients to add viral marketing to their marketing plan. Then everyone started trying it. “Try” being the operative word.

These days many clients request viral marketing almost as if they are ordering a double cheeseburger at a drive through window. “You want fries with that?” And this comes at a time when most agency pundits have declared viral dead and banished it to the same netherworld where words like paradigm shift and other trendy web words went to die.

Continue reading "Is Viral Marketing Really Dead?" »

Posted by Steve Lynch at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)