SIMA Boot Camp Focuses on New Media
Members of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association gathered Sept. 22 at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Calif., to explore the opportunities and challenges of “new media”—the term given to internet-based marketing, editorial, video and social networking media that interacts with consumers to create an experience that goes beyond reading a newspaper or seeing a print advertisement.
Speakers included Beth Greve, West Coast sales manager for Google; Brett Barlow, director of interactive marketing for SkullCandy; Tara Rynne, Roxy’s brand marketing director; Nikki Scoggins, Vans’ direct-to-consumer communications manager; Jonno Wells, chief executive of Surfline; Ross Garrett, director of operations and development of Surfer’s Journal; Rob Campbell, Transworld Media’s editorial director; Norb Garrett, senior vice president and group publisher of ASG and Gene Pao, vice president of new media and international development for Fuel TV.
“Information wants to be free,” said Doug Palladini, SIMA president and the event’s moderator, quoting computer hacker Steward Brand. But in today’s quickly evolving media environment, brands and traditional media outlets, such as newspapers, magazines and television networks, are struggling to understand how to use new media—whether paid or free—to build their brands, grow their business and increase their revenue stream.
Panelists discussed successes and failures in new media.
SkullCandy took a trial-and-error approach to its “rich media” marketing of a new product launch. SkullCandy, Barlow said, wanted to see if rich media—ads with interactive capabilities embedded in select websites—could impact product launch success, improve online metrics and drive sales.
In its initial marketing attempt for its Aviator headphones, which featured a higher price point than the brand’s core offerings but targeted the same market, SkullCandy opted for a traditional online ad. The average click-through rate on the ad clocked in at not quite 1 percent, with an average order value of $43. “We figured there has to be a better way or a more impactful way to present this product in an online format,” he said.
A second, “rich-media” round of interactive ads proved to be much more successful thanks to features that extended the consumer’s brand experience. The ads, which consumers could interact with in a few ways, also acted as a portal to a micro site on the SkullCandy site that allowed consumers to listen to streaming audio, watch videos, link to Facebook and try the headphones on in a virtual dressing room. Tracked-interaction time more than doubled, the click-through rate went up approximately 143 percent and the average-order value went up substantially.
The take-away message is that “fans of our brands are looking for ways to interact with us,” Barlow said, and that interaction can lead to increased sales. SkullCandy hopes to duplicate the success of the Aviator rich-media ads in future online marketing campaigns, he added.—Erin Barajas
