Taking Marketing into the Quantitative Age. An Interview with Marc Media’s Walid Eli Khoury

Walid Khoury, Founder and CEO, Marc Media, is on the forefront of IoT marketing. “I had an early passion for tech innovation, starting with my first 286 PC when I was 8 years old. From then on, computers and technology have driven me to keep pace by experiencing the evolution of technology first-hand.”

He has applied that early knowledge into marc’s infrastructure which was founded in February 2020, “With Covid on our heels,” he explained as he worked with select clients towards launch. “Early this year we opened the Marc channel to the public, introducing the World's First IoT Connected Video Brochure.” What I find most interesting is that his collaterals are able to collect usage data as well as some other interesting touchpoints.

Charlene Weisler: What are the topline advantages of IoT connected video brochures?

Walid Khoury: Recognizing the compelling engagement features of legacy video brochures, we wanted to integrate the power of measurement and attribution, which digital and TV marketers had become accustomed to. We built an IOT platform that we integrated into the brochures to enable digital measurement, in real time. Marc essentially combined the power of Video + Digital + Print marketing in one, representing a new immersive and interactive marketing experience / channel 

Weisler: How does Marc work?

Khoury: A Marc campaign is deployed by simply picking a screen size, providing a design for the print template, delivering video creative or images for the device, and then you’re ready to launch.  Your campaign can be deployed using one of two reporting options, both in real time (campaign analytics or  individual analytics). We took the simplicity of the current video brochure and developed the Marc IoT technology that through our strategic partnership with AT&T is able to now communicate back the interactions and even calls-to-action of a recipient.

Weisler: Does Marc fall under the out of home advertising category?

Khoury: It’s an interesting question because Marc doesn’t fit any one category. Yes, it can be used in out of home, but it can also be sent directly to homes via direct mail. We anticipate the largest use cases to be direct mail and in person at conferences or sporting/entertainment events.

Weisler: What data do you collect?

Khoury: We collect open + close rates, which content is viewed, how long it's viewed for, if it was moved to other locations. We also collect data from interactions, which are derived from call to action and feedback buttons on the device.

Weisler: How can this data be leveraged with other datasets?

Khoury: Campaign level campaigns: Generally used for Marketing, a Marc campaign provides an overall first-person perspective on the impact of their creative and audience habits. Individual Level campaign: General used for sales teams, each Marc device is IOT enabled, which provides powerful behavioral data from each recipient.

Weisler: What types of clients are you working with?

Khoury: Several different verticals including - Marketing and Sales teams at Brands direct, Valuable Partner Agencies in the service chain such as creative, direct marketng, direct mail, video and full-service, Hi-tech, Business Services, Healthcare, Auto, Real Estate.

Weisler: Do you see different results based on genre?

Khoury: No, the open rate is well is over 80% across the board, and the re-engagment rate is almost 50% THE NEXT DAY.  It’s hard to ignore a video brochure when it comes in the mail, and the data demonstrate that. It’s clear that the power of Direct marketing and direct mail are amplified when video and interactivity are included.

Weisler: Can you break down usage by demo?

Khoury: We can't wait to provide these insights! We will soon have enough first-person data as Marc campaigns around the country continue to report back. We will keep you posted!

Weisler: What are the results of one of your campaigns?

Khoury: On average, 80% open rate, 6.8 times opened for 3.5 minutes watched. 48% reengage after the first day, 27% one week later and over 14% from multiple places.

Weisler: Where do you see Marc two years from today?

Khoury: We hope that Marc introduces video as a key vertical within the emerging IoT space. We will continue to develop the Marc channel around the ability to disperse our digital interactions into an individual's environment. The ability to embed video and measurement revolutionizes experiences that are sent, passed and displayed. Essentially, our mission is: To transform local environments into digital landscapes that serve to communicate, interact and learn

 

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com