MIXX Canada Conference 2013

On March 21^th the IAB MIXX Canada 2013 Conference took place in Toronto, and Humber's Internet Marketing students were fortunate enough to attend - thank you IAB Canada for inviting us! I, Siddique Baksh, had the opportunity to live-tweet from the event for the class, keeping those that could not attend updated from @MktgHumber. From beginning to end, the conference was informative and fun. Speakers from Google, Terraform Media, Sapient Nitro, comScore and many other distinguished companies were present. All of them shared their knowledge of marketing, as well as insights as to what to expect next, as technology advances.

The first speaker, Alan Schulman gave the show an amazing start. He focused on something called “Storyscaping”, which is creating a world in which many different types of media carry your advertising message, and said, “to be part of the story, we must create worlds, not ads.” After him, speakers from Casale Media, The Weather Network, and Juice Mobile took the stage and presented their recent innovation in the marketing field. After a break, the speaker from Environics Analytics talked about Canadian demographics and about their PRIZM segmentation system, which I think every marketing and business student at Humber has used at least once. comScore then came up, and talked about the growth rates in smartphones and tablets, which brought to light some very interesting statistics. Terraform Media then talked about how important the T.V. video business is, and how some people are “cord cutting” which means they are trading in a traditional T.V. cable connection in favor for an internet based T.V. experience. Then, Tim Reis, the head of mobile and social solutions at Google was up. Mobile marketing was his focus, and he talked a lot about how the potential for mobile marketing has not even begun to be touched yet. He also showcased a video of how powerful and influential the connection can be between mobiles and Google+, you can watch it below. Lastly, Candy Chang took the last speaker spot, and talked about how useful and informative public communication can be. Allowing the public to post up their ideas and hopes in different places around the city is a fun and interesting way to gain insights into what people are thinking. And just like that, the conference was over.

As I was tweeting along with IAB Canada, Google Canada, and others about the conference and what was being said, I found myself to be enjoying the experience quite a bit. In addition to what the presenters were talking about, the interactions I was getting on twitter with these huge names in marketing, was also part of the fun. Getting retweets from Google Canada, FounderFuel, FFWD AdvertisingWeek, and some others gave me some sort of drive that enabled me to keep going. Although I was not able to keep up with the heavyweights, I believe I held my own and gave out some useful information to the followers of MktgHumber on twitter.

Of course, I would not have been a part of this experience if it were not for the IAB inviting the Humber Internet Marketing students, Christina Clements giving me the opportunity to live-tweet, and the support of my classmates helping me out while I was tweeting. Thank you to all and I look forward to future MIXX Canada events

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Uv7as5ZmI

The Dawn of Mobile Marketing

As the dawn of the smartphone age sets in, there are more tablets and smartphones than personal computers. Mobile platforms are building at increasing speeds, and industry giants such as Facebook and Twitter are building their mobile capabilities to meet the amplified demand of this consumer trend. Marketers need to keep up with one of the fastest growing trends in marketing today, or risk being left behind. Today, smartphones and tablets are two of the fasting growing consumer products on the market. In a high-paced world, where people have less and less time to be reached and influenced by the  more traditional forms of media;  marketers have yet another tool through which to distribute their advertising. Thanks to the advancement of mobile search, apps, SMS and mobile websites; the ability to stay connected with consumers has never been so easily attainable. In the near future, mobile marketing may be poised to surpass television as the most dominant consumer access point. Mobile searches account for more than 50% of searches on the web today; which is an enormous amount of consumers that can be reached through their existing mobile devices.

In order for marketing campaigns to be successful, they must integrate mobile marketing into their campaign strategy. One of the greatest things about mobile marketing is the ability to connect with consumers on a personal level, helping them use their mobile devices to get information and to make their purchase decisions. Driving traffic to business, product or service is one of the most vital components in measuring the success of any campaign.  Running part of a campaign through mobile media is now an integral part of marketing strategies. Targeted mobile advertising is cost effective, measurable and drives conversations between consumers. Combining mobile apps, mobile websites and SMS messages can lead to success in a new campaign.

Facebook files for an IPO- Was it the right move?

Last week, Facebook filed for an initial public offering. The social giant is seeking to raise $5 billion in initial funding from investors. If successful, the IPO will value Facebook between $75 and $100 billion. The filed IPO is among the largest in technology history. This event will create yet another milestone for Facebook.

With well over 800 million users, Facebook is clearly the leader within the world of Social Media. As stated by Mark Zuckerberg, he “Founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with other people in their lives…” Although Facebook was only created in 2004, it has evolved; not only in the sheer number of users and advancements in website design, but also in revenues.

At the start, Facebook was grossing just over $52 million; however only 6 years later their revenues have increased to over $4 billion. Although Facebook’s revenues have steadily grown, the issue of having only one revenue stream remains.

Many people are wondering why Facebook needs to raise extra money; after all, the projected revenues for 2012 are far beyond their $5 billion investment benchmark.


In my opinion, Facebook is seeking an investment for five main reasons:

1. An increase in capital will allow for greater product investment.

2. More products and better services will help create and grow revenue.

3. The capital injection will increase Facebook’s purchasing power.

4. Employees will have a vested interest - many will become shareholders.

5. The capital will allow Facebook to further expand their services.

So what’s next?

Although these reasons are solely based on my own knowledge, I truly believe that they are in line with Facebook’s goals. In fact, yesterday Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be further monetizing its mobile platform through advertising. With nearly half of all Facebook users utilizing the mobile platform, it makes sense that advertisers would want to tap into the market.

Although the entire IPO process seems simple, in reality it’s extremely complex and risky. Facebook’s greatest concern is repeating the IPO disappointment of Groupon and Zynga where valuations fell below IPO share prices.

It will be interesting to see where the IPO will take Facebook. Will the site remain the same, or will it be transformed into an advertising cluttered powerhouse? Only time can tell.

The Wall Street Journal points out some interesting considerations on the Facebook IPO - check it out! 

Facebook's $5 Billion IPO Filing

-Tim