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

 

Becoming a Media Entrepreneur. Interview with Paxton Baker

Paxton Baker, Managing Partner Liquid Soul, mixes both a creative and a quantitative approach to his work. Previously at BET in programming, his current work at Liquid Soul is much more entrepreneurial. “When you run a TV network you’re working on acquisitions, the daily line-up, new specials, documentaries, awards. Plus you’re watching ratings and you’re ever mindful of the competition. As a consultant, you’re looking for trends and watching out for multiple clients and their various brands, not ratings,” he explained.

Charlene Weisler: Is there a difference in promoting a concert vs. a TV show? What are the considerations for each?

Paxton Baker:  A concert is live event; you have to get someone to go out – to do something. It has to be warm and embracing to evoke a reaction. At a comedy show, similar to a concert, people want to laugh, at an R& B concert they want to sing or, take a Hip Hop concert. It’s in your face and you want to dance. So, you’re driving human emotion. For TV you can sit back and relax. It’s a different type of experience.

From a concert perspective, music hasn’t really transferred to TV. There are some things that you do at a concert that you can’t do when you’re watching it on TV. A concert is live in real time. For TV you’re a bystander, no one sees your reaction. If you’re an artist on stage you can feed off the energy from the audience.  A concert aired on TV isn’t the same experience. TV is one-way communication…someone is communicating something to you. There are certain programs with active communication where you can use Twitter and participate using multiple screens, but for the most part the reaction is kept to you or with a limited amount of people. At a concert you are participating in an experience. You’re laughing along with hundreds, thousands of others. You’re sharing music, comedy with others. TV doesn’t do that yet. 

Charlene Weisler: What is your process in developing a program?

Paxton Baker: It varies. It's a different process for different types of programs. There is a process for developing a documentary and a different one for an award show, for example. For Soul Train, we recognized iconic artists from our history and also introduced modern artists to new audiences. It’s the same way Don Cornelius did it. He introduced Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan to his audience. When I produced the Soul Train Awards, I was mindful of that heritage. We broke new artists like Bruno Mars and Miguel. They got their first ever recognition on TV at the Soul Train Awards. We wanted to bring our great heritage but also offer a modern twist. So it's a different mindset. We produced a documentary on President Obama’s first trip to Africa. There was so much heritage, so much hope and fulfillment. We wanted to evoke those feelings in the audience. You shoot a lot of b-roll with the mindset of capturing the emotions to bring to the television screen. For the concert there is immediate awareness. In TV there are a lot of little pockets and corners where you can tuck away visuals and program subconsciously.  There are things that people aren’t aware of, that they can come back to and discover and rediscover. With DVRs you can play back over and over again. You don’t get to do that at a live event.

Charlene Weisler: What are the most important considerations in trying to attract an audience to a program or an event?

Paxton Baker: Whatever you do you have to be mindful of the end result, what’s important to the audience. For Sneaker Con our sweet spot is 18 -24 year-olds. They’re interested in what’s hip and now and a degree of sustainability.  They’re not interested in what their parents are interested in. They want what’s quick and transactional. It’s the currency of now.

Charlene Weisler: What is the profile of sneakerheads? And how do you market Sneaker Con?

Paxton Baker: Sneakerheads are 18 -24 year-olds for the most part.  There are 25% who are 12-18 and approximately 50% in the 18 -24 range. They are extremely technologically advanced and very mindful of trends and pop culture.  At one point MJ (Michael Jordan) was the most important person in sneakers. He still in a top spot, but sneaker culture has moved to pop culture and Kanye is now the most important person from a trending perspective. He is the most important person in the modern athleisure wear market and he’s a pop figure, not a basketball player. The successful basketball shoe is one that can cross over from the court to pairing with your jeans off the court. The most successful shoes make the transition. So the bulk of the promotion and marketing is done over social media and by word of mouth. There are no TV ads and very little radio. With social media our marketing is extremely targeted and focused and the results are there as well. 

Charlene Weisler: Give me some predictions of the media landscape 5 years from now.

Paxton Baker: Everything is dependent on the platforms. Literally you can watch TV on your watch. Programming will continue to be more interactive.  Everyone wants to see it now, on their terms. Netfllix was the game changer for binge watching and appointment television will continue to change. Live programming like sports will continue to be important and more emphasis will be based on live events. In politics, debates are already much more interesting and will continue to be more interactive. People will be better able to participate and ask questions in real time and interaction with screens will continue to evolve.  Who knows, we may soon be able to watch great programming from space.

Charlene Weisler: What advice can you give today’s graduates who are seeking a career in media?

Paxton Baker: Be open-minded and learn as much as possible. You can program your own channel and if you’re driving a trend, TV will pick it up and will expand your reach to millions. One word of caution, just make sure you’re proud of what you upload as it lives forever and can come back to bite you. Technology is important for the modern programmer, but an open mind is overwhelmingly important.

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com