Fusionpartners - Creative thinking for the real estate world

Toast the Future

May 04th, 2009 | Category: Great People, Social Network Marketing
Over the generations, just how much of our body of useful knowledge was traded at the neighborhood pub or bar?

Over the generations, just how much of our body of useful knowledge was traded at the neighborhood pub or bar?

One of our Fusionhappens, Bruce Woodstrom, was catching up with long time pals, Susan and Al Sipe. Bruce has this thing for the Zig Zag, a quiet and venerated bar between Seattle’s Pike Place Market and the waterfront.  Also home to Murray, Seattle’s favorite bartender. Recently, Susan has been asking a lot of questions about Social Marketing. She’s responsible for marketing many hundreds of new condos in premier buildings represented by Williams Marketing, a regional legend in condo sales.  Midway through their second round of cocktails (Murray’s Old Fashions are seductively good), Bruce noticed a group in the next booth.  Mixed ages, mixed genders, mixed ethnicities.  A perfect sampling of the metropolitan condo audience.  Here they were, face-to-face, and each member in the chatty group was also riveted to their iPhone or Blackberry.  “Those are your buyers, Susan,” noted Bruce, “and look how they’re connecting.”  Being the ultimate student of marketing, Susan seized the opportunity to join the table next door and conduct an impromptu focus group on the media habits.  The conclusion: it’s all about the “three screens”! If you want to reach the future (meaning this afternoon) buyer, you need to engage them on one of their three screens:  the iPhone, Blackberry or cell phone — always with them; their computer — where they spend the most time; or their television — where you can only conduct a one way conversation.

So, my question of the day is:  why the heck do so many of you still insist on dumping all those budgets on ineffective newspapers and glossy magazine ads?

Maybe it’s time to find your own local Zig Zag and conduct some person-to-person market research.

Results may vary.

Image by Free-StockPhotos.com


Posted by: Al Doyle | Permalink

2 comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Mel Weipert May 5th, 2009 12:18 pm

    Loved your bar-based focus group! It’s a good idea to get respondents liquored up to get the real skinny.

    It’s true, we are a 3-screen society, including grandma. The mobile phone and PC are blending with portability. It’s crucial that advertisers have mobile-compatible websites for real estate buyers out on the road looking at homes. For younger mobile reach, radio stations offer good platforms with lists of “opt-in” audiences who are willing to receive ad messages
    on their mobile phones. KCPQ TV and KING TV have good mobile programs too.

    Television still has the power to reach a lot of people at one time. The March Nielsens (we have monthly books now) show an increase in HUT levels in many dayparts. People appear to
    be using TV as entertainment instead of going out. The beauty of TV is its passivity. While DVR is impacting commercial viewing, (about 66% of time-shifting viewers reports not watching the commercials), we are used to sitting back and watch the spots roll by. And there’s TV’s singularity of focus. Here’s the program… here’s the commercial. We are not actively searching like on the PC; therefore TV commercials receive more focus and attention.

    In June, Arbitron Radio Ratings rolls out PPM ratings. Personal People Meter ratings are measured by the respondent wearing a device like a pager that measures exactly what, where
    and how long they use use radio! No more inaccurate diary guesswork. This really pulls the curtain back to reveal actual listenership. About ten markets in the US have PPM already
    and report that Time Spent listening goes down and cumulative audiences go up. People listen to more stations that they realize, with less time spent on each station. Weekend and evening usage tends to increase with PPM measurement. Prime time M-F 6a-7p can lose 15-30%.

    And, as they say in retail, “there’s no time to buy like NOW!” TV rates are shockingly low right now. They lost a third of their business with automotive and real estate.
    Oddly enough, in Seattle, restaurant advertising is up 10% Q1, casinos up 25%, and insurance up 23%.

    Thanks for engaging,
    Mel

    Mel Weipert
    MGW ADVERTISING
    408 NE 40th St Seattle WA 98105
    p 206-545-4258
    mgw@mgwadvertising.com

    Reply – Quote
  2. Diana Robertson May 5th, 2009 6:34 pm

    This is SO true! Why aren’t more developers GETTING IT! Thanks for your input Mel.

    Reply – Quote

Leave a reply



TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.blog.fusionhappens.com/social_network_marketing/toast-the-future/trackback