Power Marketing with Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee interviews Rich Kahn, CEO and Co-Founder at Anura.io, a company he launched in 2017 to combat the kind of ad fraud he’d been observing for years across his own ad network. Today, Anura.io is one of the most capable ad fraud detection plans in the market, and so I was glad to score an interview with Rich to trade notes on ad fraud, how it’s evolving, the kind of costs it exacts on marketers today, and how AI may be strengthening the hand of ad fraudsters, even as it bolsters the efforts of ad fraud detectors such as Anura.io.

This interview covers many topics that will be of interest to anyone doing digital marketing today, especially those whose budgets are spent across programmatic advertising channels.

These topics include:

– The challenge of identifying fraudulent impressions in programmatic advertising, given that the sheer magnitude of data makes it difficult to detect invalid clicks.

– How many of today’s ad fraud solutions suites are limited in their ability to detect fraud because of the way they use pre-bid scanning to classify traffic in real-time.

– How fraudsters are increasingly using advanced bots, malware, and human fraud farms to bypass detection methods.

– Why some advertisers are willing to accept a certain level of fraud, viewing it as a cost of doing business.

– Why small advertisers have a hard time seeking funds from large tech platforms when incidents of ad fraud are detected.

– The importance of verifying ad fraud detection software’s accuracy and not trusting it solely on the basis of claims made by its representatives.

– The challenges faced by ad fraud software vendors in terms of keeping up with new browser versions and their impact on fraud detection.

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Kevin Lee interviews Michael Ferree, CEO and Founder at Lead Generation World, a San Diego-based company that runs conferences for the lead generation industry. Michael is well respected in the industry due to his leadership role at the Leads Council (now the Consumer Consent Council) and for his writings, presentations, and podcasts on lead generation. Kevin and Michael discuss the state of lead generation in 2024, given that the industry is facing unprecedented pressures to evolve in the face of new proposed regulations governing the way that business leads are gathered, processed, and shared among different industry players. They also share insights about how AI is likely to change operations in the industry. Other topics addressed in this interview include:

– Potential regulatory issues for businesses using AI-powered voice calls and text messaging, given that proposed regulatory actions may require opt-in consent for these types of communications.

– The importance of using clear and concise language in voicemails for outbound contact strategies, as these may now be transcribed and read in real-time.

– The need to be thoughtful of how voicemails are left, including the caller ID and the content of the message, to ensure they are easily comprehensible and actionable without picking up the phone.

– How AI is now being used to create personalized voicemails in a way that is potentially undetectable to listeners.

– How the legal definition of a “robo call” may expand to include AI-powered calls and text messaging, which could pose challenges for companies that rely on these methods for business communications.

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Kevin Lee interviews Solomon McCluster, who runs AuntMaggie.com, a site providing various services, including consultation, strategy development, and implementation and monitoring to the Direct Selling industry. Solomon is also the Senior Software Sales Consultant at Trinity Software, a company whose software enables Party Plan & MLM Back-office services, commissions processing and ecommerce solutions.

Kevin and Solomon cover cover a lot of ground in their interview that will be of interest to students, practitioners, and aficionados of Direct Selling and Multi-level Marketing, including:

– The evolution of the MLM industry from door-to-door selling to digital sales, with a focus on social media and incentivized behavior.

– The differences between party planning companies and MLMs.

– How the rise of social media and the recent pandemic caused the industry to change as people became more comfortable with online business and virtual parties.

– The shift from traditional sales pitches to more natural product integrations in influencer marketing, with technology now enabling seamless product ordering directly from video content.

– How Shopify’s merchant account program eliminated the need for MLM companies to set up their own merchant providers.

– How MLM companies have leveraged existing technology for virtual parties and meetings, leading to interest in “replicated” websites and API integration.

– How the MLM industry has evolved away from the practice of marking up products 7-10 times to pay commissions, leading to overpriced products and inefficient compensation structures.

– The importance of compliance in MLM and affiliate marketing, especially with regard to transparency and disclosure.

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Kevin Lee interviews Shel Horowitz, whose organization, Going Beyond Sustainability, is dedicated to the proposition that businesses can “do right” while “doing well.” As Shel’s LinkedIn profile states, “The world is abundant, competitors can be allies, and ESG can create profit centers. Business can thrive addressing hunger, poverty, war, racism, climate change. These huge challenges sound big and scary–until we create and market profitable products and services that reduce their impact.”

Kevin and Shel cover a lot of ground in their talk, including:

– The fact that most Fortune 500 companies now have a sustainability coordinator or department, indicating a shift towards being more aware of their potential holistic social impact.

– How to distinguish “Greenwashing” from authentic efforts made by brands to become more sustainable.

– The importance of educating consumers about what Fair Trade certifications mean and why they’re important.

– How big players such as Walmart have outsized power to mandate changes in packaging and supply chain practices that can induce better sustainability.

– How Marcal, a paper products company, went from bankruptcy to success by reinventing itself as a green brand.

– Why the root causes of wars often pertain to conflicts over the control of resources.

– The importance of tailoring marketing messages for green products and services to different demographic groups’ unique concerns and values, such as health issues or environmental impact, to effectively reach and convert them into sustainably-minded consumers.

– Industries ripe for transformation into more sustainable enterprises, including transportation, construction, and food industries.

– Examples of innovative products and services promoting sustainability.

Shel’s website, GoingBeyondSustainability.com, provides valuable resources (and some freebies) for those interested in green/social entrepreneurship, so check it out!

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Kevin Lee interviews Chase Bethea, a Los Angeles-based audio professional who creates music for this market. As his LinkedIn profile notes, “Audio and games are my biggest passion and I like to exhibit the eclectic, abstract, and addictive creations that are in my mind… I am dedicated to contributing my skill and talent to the next great generation for video games.”

Kevin and Chase cover many topics in their talk, including:

– The importance of creating a sonic identity that resonates with a brand’s ethos and can be used across various marketing materials.

– The degree to which game development projects have pre-existing guidance or direction for music composition.

– The importance of evoking emotions in audio composition for commercials and video games.

– The need for composers to be mindful of their emotional state while composing, as it can affect the quality and duration of their creative output.

– How Chase’s approach to writing music for video games uses a “sonic palette” that evokes the specific console systems of the past.

– Examples of effective sonic branding, including Nissan and McDonald’s recent branding efforts, using a consistent tone and melody across the brands’ marketing campaigns.

– The lingering effects of a video game on the player’s subconscious, including residual melodies and textures.

– How AI-enabled music tools are likely to affect the music compositional process now and in the future.

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Kevin Lee interviews Josh Cliffords, who runs FreeWater, an innovative advertising platform that uses premium spring water — given away without charge — to carry advertising real estate on its bottles. Consumers pay nothing for the water in the bottle or the container itself.

As FreeWater’s website states, “We are the opposite of traditional advertising because we are not annoying. Instead of making the audience cringe or run for cover, we put a smile on their face, and from that state of happiness is when they’ll be excited to support your brand.” Ten cents earned from advertising on each beverage bottle is donated to WellAware, an Austin based non-profit that builds water wells in East Africa.

FreeWater utilizes QR codes on its water bottle packaging to perform much of its magic, and Kevin is not only a big fan of these handy codes — whose usage soared during the pandemic – but his team has recently created Inceptor, a powerful technology that adds custom QR codes to every piece of mail, reducing friction on landing pages, and integrating with CRM, resulting in a “Glengarry” lead powerhouse.

You can learn more about Inceptor at: https://inceptor.com/

The interview covers topics including the following:

– FreeWater’s inspiring origin story.

– The versatility of QR codes, including enabling augmenting reality, allowing brands to create immersive experiences for consumers.

– How the company’s platform works, using the example of a bottle of water with a QR code that directs users to the advertiser’s website for more information.

– How the FreeWater platform’s functionality will advance in the future, with multiple layers of transactions, including the physical wrap, QR code, and AR, allowing for more bidding and revenue opportunities.

– The degree to which there which may be “low-hanging fruit” opportunities for distribution of FreeWater from a fixed location, such as a stadium or concert venue.

– How relative costs for advertising using FreeWater’s model compared to those seen in traditional direct mail.

– FreeWater’s plans for future growth of their company, including reaching critical mass and expanding into new areas, such as groceries.

If you’re at a brand interested in testing FreeWater, the company’s website provides a form allowing you to quickly obtain a quote here: freewater.io.

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Kevin Lee interviews Asya Paloni, Head of Product Strategy at Welltory, a health app with 8 million users whose 50 percent 3-year retention rate is among the best in the business. Kevin and Asya discuss strategies to boost health app user engagement and retention. Their talk is wide-ranging, with discussed topics including:

– A quick tour of Welltory, an all-in-one wellness app that tracks data from various sources and provides insights without giving users goals or tasks.

– How Welltory prioritizes integrations with devices that have a large user base, such as Apple Watches, and uses Apple Health as a default integration point.

– The degree to which retention and stickiness metrics in the health tech space are important metrics of success.

– Examples of successful apps that use “magic” and personalization to keep users engaged, such as pulling heartbeat data directly from an Apple Watch and interpreting it in a unique and personalized way.

– Internal Welltory research findings on the impact of its app on users’ stress levels and physical activity, including a 10% decrease in stress levels and an average increase of 20,000 steps per month.

– The challenge of balancing providing insights without encouraging self-diagnosis or neglecting professional medical consultation.

– The extent to which health apps represent instances of gamification.

– How Welltory uses feedback from the healthcare provider community to improve its apps and algorithms.

– The importance of continuous monitoring and data collection in personalized health and wellness.

– The role of machine learning and AI in generating personalized content and recommendations based on user data.

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Kevin Lee interviews Jim Sterne. Jim is the Founder of Marketing Analytics Summit (formerly eMetrics Summit), Director Emeritus of the Digital Analytics Association, author of 12 books, and an accomplished public speaker. Kevin last interviewed Jim in 2021.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the world of analytics since 2021. 3rd-party tracking cookies are finally sunsetting, the world has lost Universal Analytics but gained generative AI – a technology with great analytics potential. We’ve also seen the resurgence of IRL (“in real life”) events, now that COVID is in the rear-view mirror, and the emergence of digitally-enabled direct mail and QR as vital marketing tools (a trend that Kevin’s new venture, https://inceptor.com, hopes to capitalize on).

Kevin and Jim discuss these and other relevant developments, including:

– The potential of AI to analyze data, generate reports, and provide insights, with a focus on creative applications and advisory roles.

– The impact of the pandemic on event planning, including the increased use of QR codes.

– Common mistakes made when creating QR codes, such as encoding a full URL instead of shortening it, and not understanding the mechanics behind them.

– How personalized QR codes can reduce friction in direct mail marketing by pre-filling landing page information.

– Creative use of direct mail, including interactive elements like scratch-offs and pop-up books.

– The importance of personalization in marketing, using the example of a wrapped box with a cellphone inside that rings when opened.

– The potential for hyper-personalization through AI-generated content.

– The importance of data literacy and generative AI literacy in analytics, highlighting the challenges of working with probabilistic data.

– Observations on analysts’ acceptance (and lack thereof) of Google Analytics 4.

– Jim’s hopes and expectations for the upcoming Market Analytics Summit.

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Kevin Lee interviews Irina Jordan, Head of Demand Gen at Chowly, a company founded in 2015 with a mission to simplify technology for restaurants. As Chowly’s website explains, “implementing restaurant technology is no small task, but without it, a restaurant can be left in the dust as consumers demand more digital interactions with their favorite merchants. While large chain restaurants have IT staff to help, smaller restaurants are often at a disadvantage in this regard. With Chowly, restaurants of all sizes can have access to the latest technology to optimize sales and operations.”

Kevin and Irina discuss the particular challenges faced by the restaurant industry and for marketers attempting to modernize this industry. Topics covered in their talk include:

– The unique challenges of modernizing the restaurant industry, where operators are very busy, often lack technical expertise, and need guidance on how to adopt new technologies.

– The importance of understanding the nuances of the restaurant industry and tailoring marketing strategies accordingly.

– The importance of integrating offline and online data for targeted marketing efforts.

– How direct mail has made a comeback during and after the COVID pandemic.

– The value of providing educational content in direct mail campaigns, focusing on keeping the mail piece somewhere the recipient can use it regularly (Chowly provides a useful “checklist” that restaurant operators can place in a visible location).

– Why it’s important to be cautious about attending trade shows unless they are definitely worthwhile and can provide ongoing value.

– The importance of partnerships in the restaurant space.

– How generative AI systems (and AI-powered search engines) are validating the past efforts of marketers to optimize their internet presences.

– The value of owning the brand narrative through content and visuals.

– The value of high-quality networking opportunities, such as face-to-face dinners, where attendees can have meaningful interactions with their peers.

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Kevin Lee interviews Will Kenton, Editor-in-Chief at Taboola, a company best known as a native advertising pioneer. Will heads up Taboola’s turnkey division for publishers, which produces content for partner websites, leveraging SEO and technology expertise to drive traffic and affiliate revenue.

As Will observes, many traditional publishers are now opting to this new affiliate model, which has proven more lucrative than relying on banner ads, and whose revenue can be used to replace traditional revenue sources such as classified ads which formerly funded journalism. Publisher partners now include Time Inc., the AP, NBC News, McClatchy, and many more. Taboola’s stated goal is to become the “partner of choice, or rather “Advertising in a box” to many great companies.”

Kevin and Will discuss Taboola’s turnkey division, how it works, why it’s helpful for many traditional publishers, and talk about issues related to content, publishing, and the possible impact of AI now and in the future. Along the way they discuss:

– The impact of AI on content creation.

– The importance of using SEO tools and data to identify niche areas with search volume, such as snow tires or pet insurance, which can be lucrative despite being less competitive.

– The wisdom of pruning and/or revising older content.

– The importance of dating content to increase trust and credibility for consumers and AI algorithms.

– The need for contextual information, such as authoritative sources and date of publication, to improve search engine rankings.

– The serious problem that AI systems encounter when they begin to ingest their own output.

– How authorship and bylining may become much more important as AI-generated content becomes more pervasive.

– The differences between trust and authority in the context of social media platforms.

– The new phenomenon of social media users employing old digital cameras to achieve a “fake historical” aesthetic in social media.

– The evolution of direct mail marketing, including the use of QR codes and variable digital printing.

– The potential for personalized, hyper-localized content in direct mail pieces and magazines (using a tool Kevin invented called Inceptor) making use of personalized QR codes linking readers to deals individually tailored to them.

– The importance of direct relationships between publishers and readers, rather than relying on intermediaries like Facebook or Google.

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