Power Marketing with Kevin Lee

Connected TV (CTV) use is exploding. 87 percent of Americans own at least one connected TV, with about 46 percent of these people watching CTV daily. Advertisers have taken notice and ad spend is growing: in 2023 CTV ad spend will likely exceed $26 billion. Unfortanately, the ad formats typically used on CTV — those traditional 15/30/60 second spots — aren’t optimized for CTV; in fact, they’re a relic of the single-screen, linear television era that began some 70 years ago.

Fortunately, there’s a lot of advertising innovation going on in CTV that’s intended to make better use of CTV’s intelligent infrastructure and thereby improve the chances that advertisers have to gain viewers’ attention. One of these innovators is Origin, a company whose suite of tools can be used to create customized, optimized ad units that run adjacent to the main ad unit, thus “priming” the viewer for the ad message to come.

Kevin Lee sat down with Fred Godfrey, Origin’s Co-Founder and CEO, to chat at length about what how his company came to be, how Origin’s technology works to amplify the impact of a brand’s ad creative by serving relevant content adjacent to ad breaks, and to and to wax philosophical about the purpose of advertising itself (Fred has a masters degree in Moral Philosophy).

Fred and Kevin discuss CTV’s targeting capabilities, the powerful role that context plays in successful CTV advertising, and the importance of emotional storytelling. They then talk about product placements, the use of AI for ad creation and real-time personalization, and address several cases where Origin’s technology has been used to boost ad awareness and recall.

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Kevin Lee interviews Zack Edgmon, Enterprise Account Manager at Smart Scout — an analytics tool specially designed to give marketers a birds-eye view of the inner workings of Amazon’s Marketplace.

Kevin and Zack discuss how SmartScout works, why it’s useful for brands selling on Amazon, and then take a deep dive into issues relevant to effective selling on Amazon. As Zack notes, Amazon appears to be shifting its focus away from Vendor Central and towards Seller Central, with brands moving away from Vendor Central.

They discuss how SmartScout can be used for product research, competitive conquest and to better understand consumer behavior. They chat about marketers’ love-hate relationship with Amazon and the challenges of managing brand reputation on Amazon, including the impact of unauthorized sellers and the importance of controlling brand image.

The discussion then turns to what Zack is excited about for 2023 and beyond. As he notes, “‘it’s exciting but also it can be a little scary to see what Amazon decides to do a year from now. They are really starting to put a big emphasis and push on Amazon Freight; Amazon Full Service… they’re kind of taking over different different segments that people would have to outsource previously, or at least pushing it a little bit heavier. “

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Destaney Wishon is the CEO and co-founder of Better AMS, an agency based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Her team of Amazon advertising specialists provides in-depth, strategic recommendations on how to optimize Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and DSP campaigns for e-commerce businesses.

Kevin and Destaney discuss her agency’s origin story, how Amazon is shifting vendor relationships to FBA, the challenges of working with Amazon, including pricing pressures and the general lack of transparency. Then they take a deep dive into some best practices for advertising on Amazon. They discuss common mistakes made by advertisers when approaching advertising on Amazon, the importance of video advertising, including the potential of well-crafted, well-placed video ads to achieve competitive conquest. They also discuss the potential SEO advantages for DTC brands when they create robust product listings on Amazon.

The discussion then pivots to the topic of Amazon PPC optimization and creative strategies, the emergence of new Amazon advertising tools (which may eventually include geo-targeting capabilities), and the importance of using appropriate software to optimize bids and listings.

If you represent a brand that has or will someday have a presence on Amazon, you’ll get a lot out of this informative interview.

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Kevin Lee interviews Claudio Ludovisi, of the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Kevin and Claudio discuss strategies for aligning brand promise and pricing, along with mistakes often made in this area. Claudio emphasizes the importance of considering all five P’s of marketing, including product, price, and placement, (not just promotion and positioning). He also highlights the overreliance on paid media and the need for marketers to leverage technology to establish continuous two-way relationships with customers.

Claudio discusses the connection to purpose and how it strongly influences a marketer’s effectiveness. He emphasizes the significance of finding a story in what a company does, regardless of the industry, and the importance of addressing broader societal problems to engage customers.

Kevin and Claudio delve into his research on fan engagement and the impact of organizational purpose on trust and the willingness of customers to share personal data.

The discussion touches on influencer marketing, where trust and authenticity are crucial, and the need for influencers to align with the brand’s purpose. Claudio underlines the significance of maintaining consistency in values and politics to preserve trust with the audience. He also stresses that marketers, whose budgets typically depend on favorable opinions in the C-Suite, must strive to speak the language of highly placed executives and demonstrate – through data-driven storytelling – that the marketer’s budgetary requests are warranted.

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Kevin Lee speaks with Michael Facchin, the CEO of Ad Badger. Michael Ad Badger’s origin story, discussing his background in PPC and how he transitioned into Amazon advertising. He talks about the importance of incorporating Amazon into an overall marketing strategy for e-commerce brands rather than viewing it as a separate channel.

Kevin and Michael discuss how Amazon’s unique ecosystem requires an approach that’s very different from standard Google PPC in terms of setting advertising goals. Michael emphasizes the value of aggressive advertising strategies on Amazon and mentions that competitive conquest campaigns, which target a competitor’s ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), can be effective. These campaigns may be more expensive but can capture potential customers who have already shown interest in similar products. Michael advises tracking these campaigns, setting specific goals, and recognizing the benefits of gaining market share in addition to direct sales.

They touch on topics such as competitive conquest, audience-based targeting, influencer marketing, bid optimization, and the importance of Prime Day promotions. Michael cites the concept of brand-tailored promotions as a new and exciting strategy for customizing marketing on Amazon to different audience segments. These strategies vary from increasing bids and budgets for Prime Day, leveraging brand referral bonuses with influencers, to taking advantage of Amazon’s different promotional options.

They cover the importance of price differentiation, the potential pitfalls of overusing promotions, and how being price-sensitive is crucial for Amazon shoppers. The conversation also delves into the significance of campaign structure in optimizing Amazon campaigns, and Michael recommends a community called “Core Community” for discussing and sharing Amazon marketing insights. In terms of upcoming trends, Michael is excited about monitoring the increasing price sensitivity on Amazon and plans to update the bidding algorithm while exploring the relationship between PPC and SEO on the platform.

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Kevin Lee interviews Lomit Patel, Chief Growth Officer at Tynker, the world’s largest coding app for kids. Tynker is used by over 100 million children worldwide, with a strong presence in schools.

Kevin and Lomit discuss the catalyst for children getting into Tynker, which often involves leveraging their love for Minecraft, where they can create modifications requiring coding skills. This serves as a gateway to coding, which is presented as learning a new language. Schools using Tynker’s curriculum also expose children to coding.

They chat about Tynker’s collaborative community, where kids help each other, creating a positive peer pressure environment, and touch upon the issue of AI, which is integrated into Tynker to help kids learn to code faster and problem-solve. A new feature, “co-pilot,” assists kids in their coding journey, emphasizing AI as a tool for enhancing skills rather than replacing them.

Pivoting to Tynker’s marketing strategy, Lomit explains that Tynker uses both B2B and B2C strategies. In the education sector, word of mouth and teachers’ recommendations play a significant role in adoption. On the consumer side, SEO is crucial, targeting keywords related to coding for kids and Minecraft. YouTube and Discord are also used for community engagement and discoverability. Paid marketing efforts focus on Google and Facebook to reach parents.

Another important pillar of Tynker’s marketing involves collaboration with influencers and partners with brands such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple.

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Kevin Lee speaks with Julia McCoy, President at Content at Scale, an Austin, Texas-based agency specializing in AI and SEO content. Julia discusses the evolving landscape of AI in content creation and its relationship with SEO. They touch on concerns about AI-generated content being penalized by search engines, particularly Google, and the need for a “human touch” to create high-quality content whose non-human origin is “undetectable.” Julia emphasizes the importance of creating content for humans first, and highlights the role of AI in improving efficiency in content creation.

They explore the potential future of AI in generating visual, audio, and video content, including the challenges of deep fakes and trust-building with consumers. The interview moves to a discussion of how AI can augment and enhance human work, rather than entirely replacing it, leading to improved productivity, better client relationships, and more time spent on higher-level, creative tasks.

The conversation turns to common SEO mistakes related to AI.

Kevin and Julia touch on potential improvements that could be made to AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard, with ChatGPT being better for ideation and Bard performing better in terms of factual accuracy. Julia shares examples of AI hallucinations, emphasizing the need for human oversight and critical thinking when using AI in SEO and content creation. The interview concludes with a discussion of what Julia is excited about for 2023 and beyond.

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Kevin Lee talks with Andrew Holland, who specializes in SEO through a digital PR lens. They discuss the power of digital PR in SEO and its role in future-proofing SEO efforts. Andrew shares his journey from being a police officer to working in digital PR and how it has shaped his perspective on effective SEO. They also touch on the spectrum of digital PR, including traditional PR, mentions in online publications, content syndication, and more. Andrew emphasizes the importance of goal specificity and budget allocation in digital PR strategies. They discuss the social media value of digital PR assets and how it can deliver multiple benefits, such as brand lift and increased brand awareness.

Andrew shares insights on the impact of links from digital PR campaigns and the potential they offer for SEO efforts. He mentions that digital PR teams are beginning to experiment with AI, particularly for ideation and overcoming writer’s block. While AI is being used in the field, it’s a slow process, and it might take some time before AI becomes a standard ideation tool in SEO.

Holland believes that SEO, in particular, is vulnerable to AI’s impact, as it could change the industry and make it more efficient while also presenting challenges. He points out that younger SEOs might rely too heavily on AI, potentially undermining the value of experience in the field. Despite these challenges, he ultimately sees AI as a positive development in the industry.

The conversation also touches on the importance of digital PR and how it can help establish a brand’s expertise and authority. When brands get mentioned in high-authority publications and are referred to as experts, it can significantly impact their reputation and search engine rankings.

The interview concludes with a discussion about the importance of focusing on profit and the potential for SEO to maximize a business’s profits, especially as marketing effectiveness and profit take precedence in the current business landscape. Holland suggests that conversations about profit and long-term growth plans are crucial for SEO’s future success.

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Kevin Lee interviews Duane Brown, the CEO Head of Strategy at Take Some Risk, a performance-based agency. Duane shares the origin story of his agency, explaining that he initially started as a freelancer but ended up forming an agency due to the increased workload, especially during the pandemic.

They discuss their philosophy on testing in digital marketing and the importance of managing risks. Duane emphasizes that adapting to change is a necessary skill in marketing and that testing should be done without risking a large portion of the budget. He suggests limiting testing budgets to around 10% of the total budget and launching tests towards the end of the month to better assess their impact on monthly performance.

Kevin and Duane discuss common mistakes in paid media audits, particularly in the context of search and other advertising platforms. Some of the key points made include:

Conversion Tracking: One common mistake is the improper setup of conversion tracking, which became more challenging after Google discontinued Universal Analytics. It’s crucial to ensure that conversion tracking is functioning correctly and that there are no tracking issues.

Account Maintenance: People sometimes fail to spend enough time on account maintenance. They overlook small changes or shifts in performance, which can later become more significant issues. Duane emphasizes the importance of double-checking work to catch mistakes and maintain account integrity.

Campaign Types: Duane mentions the overreliance on “Performance Max” campaigns in Google and other platforms. He suggests that while Performance Max campaigns are useful, they shouldn’t be the sole campaign type, and advertisers should understand how different campaign types work together.

Facebook Advertising: In the context of Facebook ads, a common issue pertains to having too many campaigns and ad sets, which can lead to inefficient budget distribution. Duane recommends that advertisers focus on having fewer campaigns to collect sufficient data for optimization.

Data and Long-Term Strategy: Duane and Kevin stress the importance of collecting and using data effectively for long-term strategy. They talk about understanding post-conversion metrics and using business intelligence data to optimize campaigns for customer lifetime value (LTV).

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Kevin Lee interviews Chris Moe, CEO and founder of Cartograph, a company focused on optimizing results on Amazon’s marketplace. Chris discusses the origins of Cartograph and how it initially occupied a niche in the food and beverage industry before expanding to work with performance-minded brands, including DTC brands like Magic Spoon Cereal and Kettle & Fire. They discuss common mistakes that brands make on Amazon relating to profitability, channel conflicts, and allowing others to undercut their products. The conversation touches on the challenges of staying in stock, especially during peak times like Q4.

Chris highlights the importance of participating in Prime Day to maintain and improve a brand’s ranking on Amazon. They also talk about the role of pricing and how it can convey quality on Amazon. Chris explains that while price matters in an efficient marketplace, Amazon’s marketplace is not always efficient. Consumers often rely on product content and reviews to determine value, which allows premium-priced products to maintain their pricing.

The interview also touches on promotional strategies, such as discounts and coupons, which can be effective in specific situations. Chris advises against taking a consistently low-price approach, as it can lead to price wars and unsustainable businesses. Instead, they recommend using promotions strategically, like offering deals on Prime Day or bundling related products.

Overall, the interview provides insights into various strategies for success on Amazon, emphasizing the importance of content, pricing, and advertising.

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