Martians Launch ‘New Media’ Co.

Martians are invading.

And they’ve got their eyes laser-focused on a new frontier in cyber space: social media.

Martians are what the hipster ad execs of Mars Advertising Inc. call themselves, and social media is the underexplored realm, they say, where companies and brands can connect with consumers to drive loyalty and sales. Based in Southfield, Mich., Mars operates an office in Bentonville to support the Wal-Mart Stores supplier community.

Robert Rivenburgh, executive vice president and general manager of the Bentonville office, and John Andrews, former senior manager of emerging media with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will be the primary visionaries for an as-yet unnamed company that will be a division of Mars Advertising. It will be based in Bentonville. The new company’s sole objective will be to help guide client companies in the social media ad space, connecting them to groups of consumers, hoping to generate grassroots-like buzz about a brand or product.

Social media, sometimes called emerging media, and advertising through its vast capillary-like networks will be battled out between a handful of companies nationwide. There are many agencies that work in the media, but few that specialize in it. Social media has no geography, it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and is increasingly no farther from reach than one’s hip.

According to comScore, one of the top online audience and e-commerce measurement companies, there were 124.4 million unique visitors at social networking sites in April. ComScore estimates that’s about three-quarters of the online population. That number is up about 12 percent from March.

Another digital media research firm, eMarketer, estimates Web-influenced store sales were $470.7 billion in 2007 versus about $136.4 billion in retail e-commerce sales. The company estimates those figures to grow to $1.12 trillion and $240.2 billion, respectively, by 2012.

“Any retailer who isn’t using the online channel to promote offline sales—as well as online sales—is missing a huge opportunity,” eMarketer said in a synopsis of the report that was complied in early 2008.

Clearly there’s an audience to tap into and the agency slash marketer slash technology company that can figure out the best way or ways to do it may have the power of Midas.

Of course, social media in cyber space — think the blogosphere, twittersphere and Facebook — can be downright confusing to the uninitiated.

“Don’t let the technology get in the way of what’s important, which is building a relationship between retailers, suppliers and consumers,” said Andrews, who was the brainchild behind Wal-Mart’s Eleven Moms concept. “In the simplest terms, we are trying to leverage those three parties together in a conversation.

“A traditional ad agency helps a client think about ‘How do I turn my message into a compelling story?'”

Instead, Digital M, the placeholder name for the new company, will focus on how to turn a consumer into a conversation about the product or service.

“It’s word of mouth with a social media,” Andrews said. “It’s designed to be inclusive.”

Martian Made
With about 500 employees, Mars Advertising has offices strategically based in cities across the country, mostly in the northeast, and one office in Toronto. It was founded in 1973.

The company has about $220 million in annual billings, which translates into about $30 million in annual revenue, and  has done work for brands like Cola-Cola Co., Pepperidge Farms, Abbott Nutrition, Mattel, Lexmark and Purina, to name a few.

Unlike a traditional advertising agency, Mars concentrates on what it calls the “shopper’s journey,” which has a heavy emphasis on in-store marketing to drive purchases at the retail level, taking a retailer’s environment and the brand’s objectives into consideration.

In April, the company announced a “global strategic alliance” with Young & Rubicam, owned by London-based advertising holding company WPP.

In the announcement, the companies said Mars’ expertise will be delivered across Y&R’s client base at 184 agencies in 84 countries.

“With the tremendous power retailers possess today, shopper marketing needs to be considered as part of every marketing plan,” said Stephen Forcione, Y&R global managing partner. “Mars is the shopper marketing leader in North America. Their superior shopper insights and unparalleled understanding of the retail environment will insure that our integrated brand campaigns fully capitalize on the retail opportunity.”

Cocktail Talk
In a different report from March, eMarketer said that ad spending on social networks should reach about $2.4 billion in 2009, up about 17 percent from 2008 but about half the growth it had previously projected.

In a synopsis for a report titled “Social Networking Worldwide,” eMarketer states, “despite overwhelming consumer acceptance — many marketers still view it as ‘experimental.'”

To that, Andrews said, “I would argue that there are a lot of people that are not experimenting. Nobody really exists that is helping people do this today.

“I think it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Basically, if they build it, clients will come.

Jim Tobin, author of “Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing” and a principal at Ignite Social Media in North Carolina, said it’s a viable niche.

In 2007, when he wrote his business plan, there were about 10 agencies that focused solely on social media marketing. Now there are about 20. They all compete with traditional agencies that work in the ad space, he said, but few companies specialize.

Tobin started his company with three people in 2007 and now employs 20. He said it took three months to become profitable.

Andrews, who may be the only man in history to go from being a Walmartian to being a regular Martian, said he believes he absolutely can replicate the success of Eleven Moms.

The site, which is really a community of mom bloggers, garners attention for Wal-Mart’s mantra of thrift and frugality. The YouTube channel created for the community got 17 million hits, he said.

The new Digital M company will create such communities for other companies, customized to their brand needs.

One recent balmy afternoon, Andrews, Rivenburgh and several other Martians wrapped up a brainstorming session about the new company in the office’s “Imaginarium,” a sort of conference room-meets-playroom-meets lounge.

Three walls are painted in bright primary colors with bubbles of contrasting colors, a Crayola-creative look that would rival any kindergarten art room. The fourth wall is decked completely in white board for taking notes and getting down to business.

The Martians had scribbled flow charts, catch phrases and associate responsibilities all over the board for later review.

Rivenburgh said that the concept for Digital M was so new, they were still talking about what the company’s specific product offerings would be. The most common denominators, though, will be consulting, online community building and digital distribution, he said.

“Wal-Mart was on the fuzzy front end of sustainability and we want to be on the front of this,” Rivenburgh said.