On Tuesday last I had the pleasure of attending MeasurementCamp in the Odeon on Harcourt St in Dublin. MeasurementCamp has been going in the UK and the US for some time but this was a first for Dublin. Now, anyone involved in the tech industry will have seen their calendar somewhat fill up in the past few months. You could make a full time job out of attending digital media conferences and networking events - and you could pay anything from €0 to €400 to attend.

I have to say recently I’ve cut back on these events as I had a string of disappointments…these make it difficult to justify putting the time into them and spending the money (Digital Engagement 2009 in the Burlo springs to mind!).

Thankfully, on Tuesday, I found my enthusiasm hiding behind a plate of yummy pastries in the Odeon (thanks to FHS I believe).

Tweeting away at MeasurementCamp!

The MeasurementCamp assignment had been distributed on Twitter the day before…

For tomorrow’s measurement camp we will split into groups and work through a fictional client brief (below). Please have a look at this beforehand and come armed with thoughts and ideas! The emphasis will be on measurement, rather than the creative behind the campaign.

Client Brief - KSwift

K-Swift are a shoe company that typically target young males, aged 18-30. They are keen to widen their appeal and change their brand image, by launching a new line, aimed at 18-30 yr old women.

The client has an offline marketing campaign which includes traditional PR, television and print advertising, in-store promotions and competition giveaways.

You have been brought in to implement the online campaign, which includes media spend as well as your fees. They are keen to tap into the areas and sites where their target market are active online. KSwift would have clear KPIs but there is opportunity to set your own KPIs, room for creativity and the possibility to integrate offline and online behaviour.

Consider :

* What your campaign would involve (this can be kept quite broad)
* What measures are necessary before, during, and after the campaign
* How you would integrate online marketing with offline
* How you would demonstrate to the client that the campaign has worked – what does ‘success’ look like?
* Are there any ‘traditional’ marketing measures that can be applied to your campaign?
* The benefits of online marketing compared to offline (how would you justify the online budget for the next campaign?)
* What problems might arise for demonstrating the value of your campaign.

The assembled crowd (around 60/70 eager social media fans) were instructed by Mulley to break away from the comfort of their mates and colleagues and join a group of strangers to work on the brief.

I bunked in with the ‘gas’ lads, a boards.ie vetern and a handful of PR ladies  - a tactical move I think you’d agree? I could see from the floor surrounding our table that there was a strong knowledge of all things ’shoe’ .

We got down to business and planned our campaign - launch a microsite “MissK Swift.ie” by holding a photo/videocall with well known macho Irish attempting to walk about in stillettos.  Then an online ‘design your own shoe’ competition  - the winner will feature in Sex and the City 2 believe it or not! Throw in a few facebook ‘what shoe are you’ apps and a bit of offline promotion and Bob’s your uncle.

In hindsight, I think we may have focused too much on the creative and less on the measurement end of things - but we did outline that success would be measured through sales, brand awareness and perception and traffic to the site (including competition entries etc.)

Throughout the brainstorming session there was a fantastic buzz in the room - creativity flowing.  It was a really nice environment to work in.  At the end, one person (or two in one case!) from each group presented their team’s work…I always end up with that job for some reason.

While there was a lot of repetition there were also some really interesting ideas.  I think however, we were all guilty of running away with the creative (come on…when do we ever get to plan a campaign where money is in endless supply?) and focusing less on the measurement end of things, but I think this will come with practice.  I got the impression there were a lot of social media virgins in the room peppered amongst the ‘gurus’ and I’d imagine they probably took the most from the 2 hour session.

We also discussed a subject I feel quite strongly about  - is it necessary to engage bloggers in a campaign just for the sake of it?  of late, many brands and companies are holding blogger events to woo citizen journalist.  Sometimes its necessary and effective, but I can’t help feeling its being done more often to ‘tick a box’.  I fear bloggers, who are not stupid, will start to feel used and will shun these events as they would an unsolicited email!

All in all it was hugely enjoyable, hugely worthwhile, excellently executed (by Lauren Fisher and Damien Mulley) and I for one am looking forward to the next MeasurementCamp Dublin.

@mmcdublin

http://measurementcamp.wikidot.com/measurementcamp-dublin