FetchBack

IRCE, here we come!

Industry conferences are, of course, one of the best ways to meet other internet marketers from across the space. It’s always nice to collaborate, hear new ideas and learn about innovative new directions other companies plan to go—not to mention seeing our awesome colleagues, friends and sister companies!

 

 

FetchBack is excited to announce that we will be attending the Internet Retailer Conference on June 5-8, in the good ol’ Windy City! We’ll be teaming up with PepperJam Exchange, e-Dialog and other GSI Commerce companies at the fabulous GSI Commerce booth, #1319.

This year, Internet Retailer will be featuring 175 expert speakers, 575 exhibits and right around 9,000 attendees. Now that’s a lot of conference! With some of the biggest names in the space planning to attend, it will definitely be an event to remember.

So amidst all the excitement, be sure to stop by the GSI Commerce booth to say hi to the FetchBack team. We can’t wait to see you there!

For more information on the show, visit: http://www.internetretailer.com/conferences/

 

Brand Survival in the Wild World of Display

by Austin Leonard, a FetchBack National Account Executive

There’s been another uptick in the chatter around brand safety in relation to display advertising lately. As the industry continues to grow and big brand budgets get poured into display, the scrutiny will only continue to increase. So how do you separate fact from fiction? How do you protect your company without turning off your internet connection and hiding in a cave?

First: accept the fact that the internet is still the Wild Wild West. Technologies and networks are constantly evolving, leaving the chance that you may occasionally end up somewhere other than where you expected to be.

Second: take a deep breath; it’s going to be OK!

As you put together your display plan, here are some things that can help protect you and your brand:

• Look for companies that are members of IAB and who follow the industry guidelines like the Network Advertising Initiative. They’re like the Better Business Bureaus of the web.
• There are plenty of ad verification companies with various levels of reporting that can help verify things like geography, time of day served and much more. We’ve used DoubleVerify for 3+ years for one of our largest clients. They have thousands of store locations around the country and they want to ensure that their ads are always served within a certain radius of a store. We’re always more than happy to work with companies like DoubleVerify, AdSafe or ComScore who can help prove that we do business the right way. 
• Be careful not to categorically block entire categories without doing your homework. For example, depending on your definition of User-Generated Content (UGC), blocking out all UGC sites from your buy may eliminate the vast majority of review sites, blogs, etc. where your customers are doing their product research. Companies like Peer39 help us use contextual and page-level data to block out questionable material without sacrificing conversions.

The bottom line will always come down to you and your brand. As you evaluate potential display partners, be upfront about the level of brand sensitivity and accountability that you expect. If your CEO is going to call you every time he sees one of your ads on Flickr, ask the partners how they’re going to manage your campaign within these guidelines. The right partner for you will be able to clearly explain how transparent your campaign will be and will be able to set the safety bar accordingly.

Say What?

Last year, I attended a large online marketing conference where I had the opportunity to meet with tons of other marketers in the space. Throughout every conversation, one thing remained the same—although we all used industry acronyms and terms, they didn’t always mean the same thing to each of us. Online marketing has a language all its own and frankly, there are more terms (and meanings for those terms) than any one person can keep track of. With a changing technological landscape, so changes the language. And in retargeting, especially if you’re new to the space, it’s a language all its own.

Like any new language, there are certain terms that, when said out loud, get the “deer-in-the-headlights” look in response. So here is a brief intro—let’s call it an ultra-compacted, accelerated version of “FetchBack Lingo 101”. Below is a short list of industry vocabulary and how we use them here at FetchBack. Keep in mind that some of these gems are terms we’ve coined ourselves, while some of them are well known, but used uniquely, industry wide.

Conversions: There are a number of different types of conversions we recognize. To put things into context, in retargeting, every campaign starts off with only No-impression to Conversions. After a campaign starts, we compare Click to Conversions, Impression to Conversions, and No-Impression to Conversions to give us some of the metrics we use to figure out our impact.

• No-impression to Conversion— This is one of those FetchBack specific terms. A No-impression to conversion is basically someone who left a website, came back on their own and converted without ever seeing a retargeting ad.
• Click to Conversion— To be clear, to us, this means that a prospect clicks on a retargeting ad and then follows through to convert. In 2009, the comScore “Natural Born Clickers” study showed that only 16% of people click on ads. Even more interesting is that 8% of clickers make up 85% of all clicks!
• Return Conversions— Again, a term we’ve coined here at FetchBack. These are conversions that happen when a prospect comes to a website, leaves, and then later returns to visit. This can include both retargeted and non-retargeted prospects.
• View-Through Conversions (aka Impression to Conversions)— This is a conversion that occurs when a prospect receives a retargeted impression and then returns to the site and converts. The client doesn’t actually click on the retargeting ad (84% of internet users never will), but the retargeting ad still has an effect on both the client’s brand and the prospect’s decision.   

Segmentation: At FetchBack, if we’re referring to segmentation, we’re talking about groups of prospects that have taken specific actions. They may have looked at a product or even checked out your store locator. For our purposes, segmentation helps us to decipher what unique messages we choose based on certain behaviors.

Engagement: If we’re talking about engagement, we’re referring to how a prospect interacts with your brand. That could mean a click, hover, website return or page views. Since engagement can mean a list of metrics, we try to measure it by taking into account as many actions as possible.

Creative: When we use the term “creative”, we’re usually thinking of a slightly different concept than most. To us, creative is more than just a JPEG, GIF or Flash file. It’s an opportunity to uniquely and dynamically have a discussion with someone who has expressed interest in your brand. In other words, a creative, to us, means having a 1:1 conversation with people who have viewed your website.  

Frequency CAP: This is the number of ads shown to a prospect in a given time period. People who feel like they’re being stalked by retargeting ads are often being served ads by companies who have not properly adjusted their frequency caps. An example of a frequency CAP would be serving 1 ad per unique prospect in 24 hours.

So there you have it— a little insight into the jargon that flies around the FetchBack office! This obviously is not an all-encompassing list. But who knows? Maybe at the next trade show you attend, when you run into a FetchBack employee, you can impress them with your savvy language skills.

Congrats—you have officially completed “FetchBack Lingo 101”!

Location, Location, Location!

by The Girl with the Pink Leash, FetchBack's Culture Diva

For me, the FetchBack office is in the perfect place. It’s not too far from home, but just far enough to give me that “you’re a grown up commuting” feeling. Our office is surrounded by almost everything you could ever want: shopping, restaurants, ASU and even the light rail. We’re located in sunny Tempe, smack dab in the middle of a pretty colorful neighborhood, the ultra-vibrant Mill Avenue district.

So does the culture surrounding us have anything to do with the culture within FetchBack’s doors? Absolutely! In fact, I think it’s safe to say that our company feeds off of it. How does FetchBack actually compare to the crazy Mill Ave?

Dress Code— Mill Ave: There’s a guy by the nearest Starbucks that literally covers himself in soda can tabs. Almost every time I take a walk to pick up a latte, I see him pacing on the Starbucks sidewalk. He wears baggy pants, has insane dreadlocks and is covered, head to toe, in pop-tops. FetchBack: Seriously, you could come to work and rock pop-top guy’s style. Now, I’m not saying that you should— or that we wouldn’t throw in a couple of witty jokes— but you honestly could walk in, grab some coffee, give a quick hello to the CEO, and get to work. To me, it’s a rare gem of a company that allows for that— where you have exponential freedom to express yourself but are still challenged as a professional.

Creativity— Mill Ave: Every once in a while, I take a little stroll along Mill Avenue just to see what new things have popped up. There are always people selling goods on the sidewalks, new pieces of art being showcased and even photographers capturing some of the action. It’s this continual creativity and drive to be different that makes a college town like Tempe so cool. FetchBack: Our company was created by forward thinkers. It’s the byproduct of people who refused to think within the box and as such, they created something that is continually changing the landscape of internet advertising. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most imaginative, talented people I’ve ever come across, working on everything from beautiful ads for our clients to ingenious solutions for maximizing client ROI.

Innovation— Mill Ave: Oh, the smarty-pants people who built Tempe! The Mill Avenue culture really started with Arizona State University. College kids need something to do, so why not build bars and restaurants? They also need some place to live—so why not build a lake nearby and even better, why not erect overly priced housing to overlook that man-made lake? Argue all you want, but I stay firm to my belief that the creators of Mill Ave, and the surrounding city for that matter, are a bunch of problem solving geniuses! FetchBack: So we didn’t build a lake, or houses or even bars. But when it comes to building out campaigns for our advertising clients, innovation is the name of our game! One thing I can say about FetchBack is that we’re always trying to stay ahead of the curve, constantly refine our skills and sharpen our expertise. Whether that means zeroing in on a client’s exact roadblock or creating unique solutions for everyday challenges, innovation and problem solving go hand in hand in our culture.

So there you have it. At FetchBack, we may not have a crazy pop-top guy or a man-made lake. But with an awesome location, talented people, and a creative environment, we can attest to one thing for sure—our dog house is definitely in the right place!

“Added Value” in the Performance Marketing Era

by Austin Leonard, a FetchBack National Account Executive

For those of us who moved from the traditional media world into digital, the term “Added Value” is very familiar. Essentially, what are you going to give the client for free in order to earn their business for the next month/quarter/year, or, if it’s coming from the agency, the buy for the next week/month/quarter?

Media sellers without imagination (or lucky enough to have plenty of extra inventory!) answered that question with bonus spots or open day-parted “run of schedule” ads. In radio, we worked hard to get the promotions department excited about our agency’s clients, so that our buys could be secured with promotional tie-ins. Some of my favorite memories were from the promotions director’s office trying to explain why our Top 40 listeners were going to fall over themselves to win free tickets to the Renaissance Fair coming to town or why my car dealership client is the perfect venue for that DJ appearance on Saturday morning at 9am.

Here in the performance marketing space, it would seem that there is little room for added value, as every dollar spent must be tracked back to a CPA or ROI. Basically, what we are told by e-commerce departments is that every impression that is served that doesn’t result in a sale isn’t worth anything.  (We’ll table the view-through/post-impression debate in regards to “wasted” impressions for today…)

So what is the value of all the impressions served then? As a media platform, we have to serve X impressions to deliver Y conversions, and the higher the commission per conversion, the more ads we can afford to serve in order to still make money on each sale. If 6-10% of the impressions we serve result in a return visit, click and/or sale, then what happens to the other 90% of impressions?

With proper frequency capping, these impressions should have significant value to brands. And if you are a brick-and-mortar retailer, then these impressions are even more valuable.

To me, this is your “Added Value” in performance marketing. All of those ad impressions continue to build your brand equity with your prospects and customers, even if they don’t immediately act on those impressions. Plus, these impressions come “free of charge” with all paid conversions on CPA or Rev-Share campaigns.

And if you’re incentivizing your retargeting partner (or partners) to serve as many ads as possible in the hopes of gathering the limited proportion of click-only conversions (8% of internet users account for 85% of display ad clicks), then you are wasting your added value. Overpowering prospects with ads can only result in brand fatigue and leave your consumers asking the question “Why is (insert your company here) following me around all the time??”

What is your take?  How do you view your retargeting impressions in regards to branding?

Goodbye 2011, Hello Green Beans!

By David Bendtsen, a FetchBack National Account Executive

 

Well, here we go! 2012 is here already, and some of us still have Christmas cards hanging around the house (Santa stuck to the fridge with magnets reminding us of past vacations… or who to call for all of our plumbing needs). But it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work—to put what we learned in 2011 into play this year. So, the big question is… what did we learn last year?

Personally, my daughter taught me what Pinterest is.  So I finally know why there are craft projects all over the house. I also learned that I can’t hit my 5 iron 175 yards anymore and that my Seahawks are in another rebuilding year. I vote to bring Jim Zorn out of retirement!

When it comes to retargeting, as an industry, we’ve learned many things. Being in this business since the beginning, back when retargeting was still made out of wood, we’ve come to understand that it’s constantly changing. The job is never done, you can’t relax, and you never cross the goal line. Using another reference to football, winning the retargeting Super Bowl is always making 1^st downs because there is no end zone—it’s a really, really long game.

So how did retargeting get smarter last year? In my opinion, the big deal is conceptual. Sure, there are lots of new technical capabilities that can improve performance and look good in brochures, but I’m still thinking our growth, as an industry, was in concept.

The concept I’m referring to is the understanding that every campaign is different. Every campaign has unique goals and sets of issues and more, needs to be structured uniquely. The cookie cutter approach to retargeting just doesn’t fit any longer. “Hey, our CPM is really low and we can serve dynamic ads!” just doesn’t translate to long-term performance. Good in a tradeshow booth, not in practice.

The concept amounts to truly comprehending desired outcomes and working backwards. After all, setting goals today means more than, “I want more conversions at $XX.XX CPA.” It’s about examining every stop prospects make on their journey through a site and designing a unique retargeting campaign just for them, all based on goals.

Back in the day, we were in a hurry to scoot prospects out the bottom of the funnel and wish them a good day as they waved goodbye and breezed down a dirt road, out of sight. Today, many campaigns have replaced the funnel with a resort. Prospects don’t live there, but they come back often because they feel safe and comfortable. Theirs is not a linear path from top to bottom and there are lots of side trips and adventures along the way. They like it there.

Yes, there are lots of new retargeting gizmos, technologies, and media practices that are fun to talk about for 2012. Some might be a good fit, others may not. So when it comes down to it, is this new concept of understanding a tailored solution really new? Nope, not really. But it’s kind of like green beans—how many times did your mom bug you about the importance of eating those? Even though you risked getting scurvy and your hair falling out, you still tried getting your Collie to eat them for you. Today, you realize the importance of a balanced diet, but again, it’s not a new concept. Likewise, some of us in retargeting have been “eating our green beans” for a long time, while others are still feeding the dog under the table.

So we stroll into 2012 with a new concept for some, a steadfast reminder for others. We stand in front of a blank chalkboard and we don’t start drawing until we know what we’re supposed to be drawing. Are we drawing a funnel? A resort? A funnely-resort? Or some shape only Dr. Seuss could get at first glance?

How we structure a retargeting campaign depends on what we’re trying to accomplish and how we want to get there. We have no idea what a campaign will look like until we examine from all angles and gain a crisp understanding of goals. Then, we pick up the chalk and start drawing.

 

The Camera Loves You, Doggy!

by The Girl with the Pink Leash, FetchBack's Culture Diva

We have a soft spot for animals here at FetchBack. But honestly—who can resist those big brown puppy eyes? Needless to say, when we heard about Seth Casteel and his recent work with the Maricopa County Animal Care Center (MCACC), we were pretty excited!

If you haven’t already heard of Seth, rest assured, you’ll definitely be seeing more of him around. Seth’s photography company, Little Friends, not only takes amazing action shots of pets, but is also heavily involved with animal charities. In short, his photography is an imaginative way to capture gorgeous photos that also showcase the personalities of his furry models. Casteel’s own charity, Second Chance Photos, gives animals in shelters an increased chance of being adopted by teaching shelter staff how to create engaging photos of their homeless pets.

Seth donated his time to MCACC by sitting down with the staff and teaching them the ropes on creating effective and beautiful animal photography. The course was a 90-minute workshop that helped shelter employees utilize their creativity and summon their very own photographer within.

We figured that with MCACC’s awesome new skills, they were definitely going to need an awesome camera to match. So in order to help them continue their efforts in creating top-notch pet photography, FetchBack was happy to donate a brand new Canon EOS Rebel T3 so that the shelter can keep the fabulous photos coming! Just take a look at that beauty:

 

Check out the website! For more information on Seth Casteel, visit: http://www.LittleFriendsPhoto.com

To find out more about how you can help the animals at the Maricopa County Animal Care Center, visit: http://www.maricopa.gov/pets/

 

Have a fabulous weekend, FetchBack fam!

Are We Talking About the Same Retargeting?

Retargeting can mean different things to different people. But often, the word “retargeting” is used as an all-encompassing, interchangeable term that doesn’t really speak to the specific goals of the marketer. In all fairness, the concept itself is usually the same— but the specifics, as with anything, can vary depending on who you’re talking to. In other words, retargeting can be systematically broken down into a couple of very specific categories, which aren’t really transposable.

 

Retargeting for Prospects—

There are a variety of ways to retarget consumers who are likely to have interest in your site, but haven’t yet engaged with it. Search retargeting is a perfect instance of this. Search retargeting is meant to be used as a prospecting tool that specifically targets consumers who have searched keywords pertaining to your website. The difference between search retargeting and a PPC campaign, for example, is that the ads that you’re retargeting your consumer with will appear on a variety of websites the consumer naturally travels to while surfing the web, not simply the search engine’s page alone.

Beyond specific keywords entered into search engines, it’s also possible to retarget based on content. Whether it’s content consumed through a social media channel or articles that fit with your particular site category, content retargeting offers the possibility of drawing additional prospects into your pool. Usually, this targets those who consume web content that is similar to what your current customer base has looked at.

 

Retargeting Those Who Have Engaged—

Site retargeting is meant as a way to draw back consumers who have already visited your site and have either A) not converted, or B) are consumers you’d like to stay engaged with. Site retargeting can do everything from increasing the number of conversions you see after cart abandonment to creating an effective brand loyalty tool. Site retargeting can get pretty specific—even as specific as displaying only the products that the consumer looked at on your site, but didn’t actually purchase. And the plus? You know for a fact that who you’re retargeting has interest in your brand. After all, they’ve already looked around your website! As long as you’re making it a point to create a well thought-out campaign that’s taking factors like frequency caps into account, this can be an extremely effective way of staying on your potential customers’ minds. Ultimately, it can help to not only turn them into conversions, but also life-long brand advocates.

 

Ultimately, your end goal is what will determine the type of retargeting that you decide to use. As always, be sure to get with an expert. Leveraging a retargeting company’s years of experience can mean the difference between a blown budget and a substantial ROI.

Retargeting Expert Does Not Equal Interior Decorator

by The Girl with the Pink Leash, FetchBack's culture Diva

I’m pretty sure that in most office settings, you don’t see a giant green frog perched on top of a cubicle wall. And speaking of frogs, what about our metal frog statue….with a crown… wearing Mardi Gras beads?

We have some interesting décor choices in this colorful office of ours. And honestly, it’s proof that some of the most creative, crazy and quirky people you’ll ever meet work here. Describing our office just isn’t the same without a visual. So don’t believe me? Take a look at some of our masterpieces for yourself:

 

So what does all of this office craziness mean? More than anything, that we have a culture that fosters creativity and promotes out-of-the-box thinking. Think about it—any company that feels comfortable really letting you be yourself will more than likely be comfortable with helping you to make your job your own. Or at least that’s true in our case. We love what we do and we love what each individual brings to the table. Even though giving out the occasional “good job” Buddha statue or celebrating our team members’ successes with ninja toys and Sour Patch kids may seem like a slightly less traditional approach to showing our appreciation, we love it. And let’s face it… the one thing you can’t say is that we’re boring.

Now it’s your turn. Show us your desk, cubicle, office… whatever! We want to see your work station creation!  Don’t worry—if it’s sterile and boring, we’ll only make fun of you for a little while.

 

 

Interested in becoming a part of the FetchBack team for the awesome benefits, coworkers and competitive salary? Or maybe it’s the cubicle decorations that entice you. Either way, shoot your resume over to recruiting@fetchback.com and tell us why you could be the next big thing to happen to our company!

I'll Take the 1:1 Approach, Please...

One of the greatest benefits of the internet is that there are endless possibilities for customization. Not only can you make things look the way you want them to, you can tailor your messaging, transparency and processes specifically to add value to what you’re doing. Although this is one major plus of the internet marketing space, it can also be a source of consumer annoyance.

A pretty relevant example of this is retargeting. Clever? Yes. Innovative? Absolutely. Misused? Often. Although it’s great to have a customized advertising solution based specifically on individual user experience, there’s a fine line between crafty and creepy. The bottom line is, if you’re running a retargeting campaign, there are specific things you should be doing with your ads to ensure you’re maximizing what you get out of your campaign.

For starters, there’s the issue of ad relevancy. Your retargeting company should be building ads specifically to engage your target audience. If your aim is to target health food fanatics, for example, it doesn’t make sense to serve an ad to an audience that eats fast food at least 4 times a week. Although this should seem like a given, it’s important to note. Your retargeting company should know your specific goals and exactly which consumers you’re looking to convert, as detailed as possible. That way, you’ll get the most out of your investment.

Another important thing to consider is your ad frequency. Confirm that your retargeting company is setting caps. It’s nice to see ads that are relevant to the things you’re actually interested in, but it’s quite another to be bombarded with them. If your potential clients are getting over-served, there’s a good chance they’ll either begin ignoring you completely or find a way to opt out, both of which result in wasted money. No one wants to feel like they’re being chased. Don’t be that guy or gal!

The whole point of doing both of the things above is to ensure that your clients aren’t becoming blind to your ads.  Your retargeting company should be producing compelling, dynamic ads that are served smartly. Don’t settle for a template ad that was used in your competitor’s campaign. After all, the goal is to brand yourself and set your company apart from the competition, thus increasing conversions. How can you do that when your ad looks almost identical to your competitor’s?

In short, a retargeting campaign will require time and a piece of your marketing budget. As such, you should work with a company that understands the full scope of what you’re trying to accomplish, even beyond the retargeting campaign itself. Ask tons of questions, expect results, and really qualify the companies you’re considering to handle this important part of your marketing campaign. Although it’s definitely an investment, if you choose wisely, your ROI could be extraordinary!