A presentation about the complex online journeys of users and how we should interpret the influence of all the different marketing channels and brand touchpoints in their path. This presentation was held by Mark Creighton, managing partner at i-level, at an Orange Online Meetup event. Find more about Orange Online Meetup at orange.ro/meetup.

1. Understanding an increasingly
complex consumer journey
How consumer’s view brands as
‘friends’ in social networks

2. Understanding an increasingly
complex consumer journey

4. Purchase journeys are more complex
Pre-internet
Discussion Purchase
Shop 1 Decision
with partner
Discussion
with partner Shop 2
Shop 2

5. Blogs
Consumer
reviews
Post-internet Official editorial vs.
User ratings Post question on
Yahoo answers
Shop 1 Kelkoo
Budget Plasma
Screens ‘r’ Decision
us.com Purchase
Discussion Ebay
Google
with partner
Shop 2
Official
Brand site
Discussion Banner ads
with partner
Customer feedback Associated forums
Extended network through online
communities (messenger / email /
facebook)

6. Making sense of the consumer journey
Event type
PaIid Search
Affiliate Marketing
Last Exposure
Display
SEO
Sale
Sale
Far more than just the last click

7. Understanding the stages of a journey can
improve effectiveness
Last Event +4
Last Event +3
Last Event +2
Last Event +1
Last Event
Sale
▪ Paid Search ▪ Affiliate ▪ Display ▪ SEO

8. 1. A new way of understanding Paid Search
Last Click +4
Last Click +3
Last Click +2
Last Click +1
Last Click
Search
Sale
▪ Brand Term ▪ Brand Product ▪ Generic (specific) ▪ Generic (broad)
Sales increased by 122%

9. 2. Understanding the role display advertising
Most efficient sites
Journey cost efficiency
Least
Efficient
sites Journey click efficiency
Conversion rate increased by 13%

10. 3. Only paying affiliates where they add to a sale
Event type
Display Impression
2. Affiliate →Other 3. Other→Affiliate
Display Click
Journeys (+) Journeys (‐)
Paid Search
Natural Search
1. Affiliate–only
Affiliates
Journeys (+)
Sale
Reduced cannibilisation of sales by 25%

11. Understanding journeys is
commercially very powerful
37% increase in total online marketing sales
122% increase in Paid Search sales
Display conversion rates improved by 13%
Affiliate marketing conversions up to 60%
Cannibalisation of sales reduced by 25%

12. How consumer’s view brands as
‘friends’ in social networks

13. Ad to Friends Research
Objectives
Objectives
To determine how social network users
To determine how social network users
understand, engage with and/or object to
understand, engage with and/or object to
brands within these spaces
brands within these spaces
To measure the level of acceptance or
To measure the level of acceptance or A quantitative survey of 1,000 16‐35 year old
A quantitative survey of 1,000 16‐35 year old
rejection of brands within this sector from
rejection of brands within this sector from Social Network users in Britain
Social Network users in Britain
a quantitative stand point
a quantitative stand point
In‐depth qualitative interviews with 50 Social
In‐depth qualitative interviews with 50 Social
Network users
Network users
Online anthropology forum in MySpace over
Online anthropology forum in MySpace over
8 weeks with 1,500 social network users
8 weeks with 1,500 social network users

14. How would the consumer do it…
If you had your own business and you
were going to create a profile to promote
it, which of the following criteria would
you think were necessary?

15. You’re in my space Be
hon
est
20% of social network users want
to know the advertiser will keep its
promise – just as a friend would
25% think brands that are
dishonest and unclear about what they
were doing should not be allowed to
advertise in a social network
64% say if they ran a company that
had a profile it must be trustworthy
and honest

16. Freemiums o ffe
d ig r
i
products bou tal
They’re used to getting
nty
exclusive
things for free. wallpaper
discount
codes
20% of users make friends
with a brand because of the
‘free stuff’ that the brand services tickets
offers. behind the scenes footage
‘After befriending a brand I expect in return things like discounted products,
freebies, information, updates on products, vouchers and tickets to events.
To add incentive, these things should be exclusive to their MySpace
community.
We want to feel special.’ Stuart Jenkins, 20, Portsmouth
Stuart Jenkins, 20, Portsmouth

17. Eye Candy lo o
k
goo
15% of social network users say d
that a brand must have an
exciting and attractive
profile before they consider
making them a friend
810,000 users think that
businesses with badly designed profile
shouldn’t be allowed on the network
‘If a profile is designed badly and
looks very basic, I would question
whether the brand was really behind
it’
Marguerite Pain, 32, Cambridge
Marguerite Pain, 32, Cambridge

18. Huge opportunity if you get it right
Post comments
about it on other websites
(28%)
IM others about the
advertiser (34%) Forward the
advertiser to a friend
(19%)
Text their friends about
it (24%)
Talk about the Write or upload content
advertiser on a forum about the advertiser on
(18%) their own blog or website
(18%)

19. Increase brand preference
amongst 16-25 year olds by
creating a partnership
between Samsung & Music
Creating a long term relationship with the
audience. Adding value to their community

20. Creating a relationship with Bebo beyond
advertising
Music
with
Samsung Bebo Nights:
Beat: Music Homepage
The
Samsung’s Home on
A daily Bebo will be for
A monthly live gig co-
on music show
Bebo.
produced by held at
exclusively Samsung
Backstage Samsung,
Beboers access,
competitions, Bebo
Endemol and polls,
Gibsons studios
Branded
blogs and videos

21. The Samsung Beat Hub on Bebo

22. The qualitative responses

23. What it has achieved so far..
Exposure 10,200,000 unique users
(that’s nearly everyone on Bebo)
6,250,000 Views of the Beat Music show
(Daily Music Video show created by Endemol)
745,000 Samsung profile views
(the highest number of advertiser views on bebo – ever!)