Brands Failing to See the Impact of Online Engagement on the Bottom Line

LONDON -

- Investment in Direct Engagement Over Face-Value Online Presence to be Discussed at This Year’s ad:tech London

Brands that unlock the full potential of online communities as part of their communications strategy will see a long-term return on that investment, organisers of this year’s ad:tech London have revealed. This follows detailed research last month by the Wetpaint/Altimeter Group that its recent ENGAGEMENTdb* report had found evidence of a financial correlation between brands ‘who are deeply engaged and those who outperform their peers’.

Peter Ward, co-CEO of social network firm WAYN.com and one of the speakers at this year’s event, commented; “More brands than ever are recognising the importance of social media and are experimenting with various ways to engage with it, whether it be creating a Facebook fan page, a Twitter stream or uploading videos on YouTube. What we are seeing however, is that many brands remain sceptical and have yet to experience many of the tangible benefits that would convince key decision makers to make social media marketing one of the key pillars of their marketing strategy.”

Lulu Phongmany, Marketing and Business Development Manager for ivillage.co.uk, added; “Social media is no longer something that consumers and brands dabble with. It is something that is core to any successful marketing or branding effort. More and more consumers are turning to the web to talk to each other about products and to gauge opinions on a product before they buy. In this way social media platforms offer brands an unprecedented opportunity to interact with their customer base and be part of the dialogue organically.”

Ivan Croxford, General Manager, Digital Marketing Services for BT, also shared his views ahead of the show, saying; “Social networks are making ‘Word-of-Mouth’ one of the most effective tools for winning business today. Consumers, cynical of corporate brands, are becoming more and more reliant on online communities as they look for recommendations from peers before they buy stuff. It’s an irreversible trend and those that engage with social networks first will be the ones that get noticed in the future. This is a real opportunity for small businesses to compete with big business.”

Ward continued; “Brands can best engage by working with the social media publishers directly where possible, and start by clarifying their objectives on what they are trying to achieve. That way, social media publishers, or agency specialists can use their experience to put together a campaign strategy that meets or exceeds those needs.”

Taking place on the 22nd-23rd September at Olympia, ad:tech London has become established as the largest gathering of digital marketing professionals in the UK (www.ad-techlondon.co.uk). This year’s conference programme includes the following discussions and speakers:

Social networking power panel

Can social networks become a viable part of the communications mix and how do you maximise your presence in an online community? Panel session participants:

- Jeanie Bergin, Creator, Thinking WIDE - Simon Podd, Head of Sales, Bebo - Ivan Croxford, General Manager, BT Tradespace, BT - Lulu Phongmany, Marketing and Business Development Manager, ivillage.co.uk - Peter Ward, CEO, WAYN

Best practices in branding

The way we communicate and consume media has changed forever. Brands recognise this and need to be innovative and pragmatic in the way they approach their consumers to stay relevant. Panel session participants:

- Stephen Cheliotis, Chief Executive, The Centre for Brand Analysis and Chairman of Superbrands - Catherine Demajo, Director of Marketing and Circulation, Time Out London - Nick Jones, Head of Interactive Services, COI - Giles Horton, Vice President of Marketing in Europe, Monster - Ed Elworthy, Head of Brand Connections, Nike

The role of social media in consumer dialogue

Blogs, UGC and communities - how are they changing the way people engage online? Panel session participants:

- Kevin Anderson, Blog Editor, The Guardian - Marta Obrebska, Online Business Manager, Dell - Bob Buch, Vice President, Business Development, Digg - Nick Burcher, Head of VNC UK and Products / Partnerships EMEA, VivaKi Nerve Center

In addition to looking at the wider issues of brand engagement through social networks, this year’s ad:tech London will also discuss how companies can best identify and select the most appropriate mediums for their communications strategy and balance traditional and new media as part of the same marketing strategy.

The full conference programme can be viewed at: www.ad-techlondon.co.uk

* ‘The world’s most valuable brands. Who’s most engaged?’ ENGAGEMENTdb by Wetpaint/Altimeter Group, July 2009

Notes to Editors:

About ad:tech London (www.ad-techlondon.co.uk)

Dedicated exclusively to Interactive Advertising and Marketing Technologies such as Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing and E-Commerce, ad:tech London is the only event in the UK that welcomes marketers from blue-chip companies and SMEs the opportunity to investigate a complete range of end-to-end interactive advertising and marketing solutions. ad:tech London is a unique opportunity for CEO, brand/product managers, marketing directors, media planners/buyers, creative directors, PR managers, campaign managers, agency executives and marketing service providers to reveal latest trends and market figures, share best practices, address industry challenges and further understand how digital can generate results that translate directly into increased performance and greater ROI.

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Source: ad:tech

David Ross-Tomlin, d: +44(0)207-025-1505