Media Kit

Social Ad units – harness the power of credible comments about your brand!

So, I am very excited to share these samples of our social ad units with you. This is a new initiative that we are excited to launch as we think it leverages two of Viewpoints greatest assets – the first being our ability to get your message in front of high purchase intent, in-market consumers. The second is the power of the amazing things that our community is already saying about your brand.

If you think about broad reach advertising as well as word of mouth (WOM) marketing, they each have different pros and cons.

On one hand – people see advertising all over the place and in the process, they become aware of new products and services. If the ad campaigns are at all successful, the consumers will learn a little bit more about the unique proposition of that brand. However, marketers are always grappling with the low level of trust that some people have in mass advertising.

On the other hand – a person might get a recommendation from a co-worker about a new product or brand that sounds interesting. While that person's opinion is very credible and persuasive, in the passing conversation, specific product details or where to find more information might get left out.

Our social ad units provide the best of both scenarios.

We serve them up as a road-blocked unit – one unit is your regular branding and response-oriented banner while the other unit is one that we design. It highlights your product/brand's star rating, provides a few sound bites from positive reviews, and provides a link back to let consumers read all reviews on the product or brand that you are advertising.

There is a ton of research on the benefits of consumer reviews and their impact on improving conversion rates on retail websites and in store.  We think there is huge value in leveraging this credibility even sooner, in your advertising campaigns.

Example of Community comments running side by side 300x250 ad unit:

 

PS - I wish I had the mad skills of our designers – my feeble attempts at mocks ups are nothing compared to their work. Thanks Vytas!!

Benefits of Consumer reviews

Some interesting research gleaned from the wide, wide web –

Product ratings and reviews may have the best claim to boosting revenue. 82% of consumers surveyed last year by consulting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP said consumer-written product reviews directly influenced their buying decisions, and 69% passed reviews on to others. Pet supplies retailer Petco Animal Supplies Inc. reports that consumers who view web pages with top-rated products convert at a 60% higher rate than other visitors, and that buyers return products with only one to five reviews 135% more often than those with 50 to 100 reviews.
Raising the Stakes – Internet Retailer, May 2008

Fifty-five percent of consumers "would be more likely to buy from a site that has reviews," and "63 percent find ratings and reviews helpful when making a purchase," according to a survey of more than 100 shoppers…published earlier this year. A similar survey of 1,200 shoppers sponsored found that "65 percent of consumers actively seek out and read customer reviews prior to making a purchase decision always or most of the time." Dubbed "social researchers," they were "76 percent more likely to shop on a retailer's Web site vs. their competitor's site if it offers social navigation."
"A Rave Review for Social Navigation", April 2008 – E-commerce Times

More than three-quarters of review users in nearly every category reported that the review had a significant influence on their purchase, with hotels ranking the highest (87 percent). Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed who said they made a purchase based on an online review said they found the review to have been accurate. Review users also noted that reviews generated by fellow consumers had a greater influence than those generated by professionals.
"Online Consumer-Generated Reviews Have Significant Impact on Offline Purchase Behavior" - Comscore

Getting online shoppers to convert tobuyers, whether online or offline, requires trust-building tactics such as easy site navigation, good search tools and complete product information. Shoppers today are also often looking for consumer-generated product reviews. According to Avenue A | Razorfish's "Digital Consumer Behavior Study," 55% of the 475 US Internet users surveyed in July 2007 reported checking other people's opinions online.
"Cashing In on Consumer Product Reviews", eMarketer Dec 2007

Social Media Research Request

If you have 5-10 minutes for a good cause (Viewpoints, that is!), we'd love for you to take this survey on corporate use of Social Media. What are you and your company thinking about in this area? Are you still defining your strategy, starting to explore online community building or are you already benefiting from a vibrant community? If you share your thoughts with us, we'll be sure to share the results back with you so you can see how you compare to peers in the industry.

Thanks for your help!

Why Smika?

Many people have asked me for the  story behind my profile name – Smika - on Viewpoints.com. 

So, I was a sophomore or junior at UC (go bearcats!) when they first introduced university email addresses for undergraduates.  Suddenly, everyone I knew had an email addresses that was assigned by the university and it was the combination of their first and last name. Except me.  It would seem that the name Kim Smith was taken.  As was Kimberly Smith.  As was Kimberly Ann Smith.   So my email address showed up as smika  (smi – from Smith; k – from Kim; a – from Ann).   And since everyone else had a long convoluted email address, mine stood out. And stuck. 

So there you have it.  More than 10 years later, I am still known in certain circles as Smika. 

(To visit Smika on Viewpoints - http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/Smika )

 

Holiday Sponsorships on Viewpoints

We're happy to announce two timely Holiday Sponsorship opportunities for our clients!

First up, we are running a high visibility "Holiday Favorites" program online and in email. In this program, we will select top rated and reviewed brands to feature in integrated placements throughout the site. These will be featured throughout the site as editorially endorsed by Viewpoints and recommended as the brands for our consumers to go to for all of their holiday needs.  We will also offer a select set of advertisers the opportunity to appear in these premium placements through a sponsorship package.  Act fast - there are only 6 sponsor placements available.

Note - there is one important requirement - to appear as a sponsor in this position, your brand must have at least an average 3 star rating on Viewpoints.com.

In this program, your brand will be featured as one of six "Holiday Favorites" promoted throughout the site, specifically:

• Fixed placement on the Homepage
• Fixed placement on each member's Profile page
• ROS units:
• 728 x90 Leaderboard
• 300x250 Medium Rectangle
• 160x600 Wide Sky Scraper
• Integrated Email Sponsorship

Sample unit (note that this mock is my handiwork.  I promise our designer's version will dazzle!):

 

Holiday Guides

Secondly, Viewpoints.com will prominently feature "Holiday Guides," which are community written guides full of gift giving and 'how-to' ideas for the holidays. These multi-page guides are written 'by the community for the community' and have been fully moderated, reviewed and edited by the Viewpoints editorial team to ensure all content is appropriate and useful for our members. Example guides include: "Holiday Guides for Him, Holiday Guides for Her, Holiday Guides by Personality (Sports Junkie v Do it Yourselfer), and more.

We are looking for one partner to sponsor the entire "Holiday Guides" program and benefit from our most prominent site placement for the entire months of November and December.  Your brand will be featured as the premier "Holiday Guide" sponsor throughout the 2008 holiday season, with high impact placements across the site and in email. The campaign specifically includes: 

• Fixed placement on all Holiday Guide pages
• Site-wide, top position, sponsorship units
• Integrated Email Sponsorship
• Traffic driving ROS units:
• 728 x90 Leaderboard
• 300x250 Medium Rectangle
• 160x600 Wide Sky Scraper

Please contact us for rates, impression counts and availability!

Interact with consumers on a WHOLE NEW level

Viewpoints Network is a social media company whose mission is to help consumers make smarter decisions.

Our media kit is here to introduce you to advertising and partnership opportunities available on Viewpoints.com.

We are, however, a social media company that practices what we preach. So, instead of publishing a static, non-interactive media kit, we've created this blog to have conversations with you about our advertising programs. View the Pages listed to the right for traditional Media kit information – demographics, ad opportunities, site stats and specs – and then read below for ongoing news, updates, insights and fun facts from the Viewpoints ad team.

Welcome!

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Viewpoints Homepage

Online product research & the impact on offline sales

Came across this extraordinarily insightful statement today....

The impact of online product research is greater on store sales than Web sales. 

In 2008, Web-influenced store sales will reach $625.2 billion, eMarketer forecasts. From 2007 to 2012, online-influenced store sales should grow at a 19% average annual rate. The research firm says that by 2012, each $1 of online sales will equal about $4.68 in store sales influenced by the Internet.

I've worked in online ad sales for years and spent a lot of time and energy tracking impressions, clicks, leads, conversions, and online sales and trying to understand, link and quantify their true impact.  Measuring the true, direct impact of online campaigns has always posed its challenges, but knowing that the market for online-influenced sales is greater than $600 billion...wow, this takes those conversations to a whole new level.   

Viewpoints.com is full of nothing but online product research in the form of consumer reviews.   Looks like I have even more work ahead of me now.

CIMA Oct 16

We're attending this CIMA event next Thursday.   The event caught our eye by asking questions like, "Is Social Networking advertising a waste of Marketers’ money?” Social Networking is the new poster child but is it sustainable in a society that has short attention spans, is multi-tasking, and seeks immediate stimulation. Should advertisers chase the latest trend or focus in other areas?

My two cents...first, don't just chase a trend for the sake of it. Second, be aware that consumers are absolutely talking about your product or brand in online social communities, and finally, YES, there are thoughtful, enormously valuable ways to engage consumers on social networking sites.  Just be aware that truly successful campaigns take more effort than just buying banners.

Hopefully we'll see you next Thursday!