We are still almost TV-less.  Having discontinued our cable contract, and getting only a few broadcast stations (none of which the kids watch), we as a family have entered a new era.  Not to say that we aren’t still media-centric.  I can’t count the number of screens, laptops, shuffles, iPods, gameboys, Wiis in our house.  But our loyalties have shifted.  I can only assume we are part of a trend.

Both kids are living on YouTube and Hulu for different reasons.  My son is constantly searching for Wii game cheats and tips.  I hope he goes into game programming so he can make some money with this obsession.  Both son and daughter are looking for movie clips, comic stuff and all-around entertainment — both have come running to us to drag us over to see something they find awesome.  Same daughter (teenager extraordinaire) is also glued to Facebook.  See — typical family.  And we DO still talk to each other (she said optimistically)

I’m still the podcast junkie.  My eyes get tired, and I get weary of screens in general.  I’ve subscribed to innumerable podcast shows – trade/media related, news/business, and more personal interests, and I could spend all of my free time happily sporting earbuds (mine are PINK!).

I do worry.  With so much stimulation in the house, why go out?  Why see people?  What happens to social interaction (non electronic)?  Are the kids losing their ability to be social?  I would love to get feedback from you all on how your family has integrated media into the family.

One shameless plug.  Roxanne Darling will be presenting to the SVAMA Wed, Jan 28th on topic of Online video.  Rox is a wonderful presenter, and this will be interactive and fun.  Come join us!

I know this won’t sound very politically correct, given how Web 2.0-ish we are at Elymedia, but we are seeing that companies are pulling in their marketing horns, getting cautious all around, and looking for safe and reliable methods. Cost-per-lead and cost-per-click programs have become The Little Black Dress of marketing. Good in all kinds of circumstances — product launches, keeping the sales force cranking, keeping the pipeline predictably full, even in trying times.

I don’t think we as a media agency have ever been asked to look farther afield, negotiate harder, or suggest the unthinkable (what? CPA vs. CPM?) to publishing reps. But such is the economy we are in.

So, a few things along the lines of the Little Black Dress/classics to consider with your media mix in the current economy

1. Do you know what you can afford to pay per lead, or per click? The corollary to that is: do you know what your lifetime value, or return on media dollars, or contribution to profit is? Any of those metrics will help you assess what you can truly afford.

2. Be very clear on your objectives for each campaign. Looking for leads? Branding and recognition? Reach? Sales of a particular product? Testing one offer against another? These are all valid, but decide first and publicly. If you can’t define the objective (and by the way, be sure everyone is in agreement — sales team, marketing folks, agencies et al) then how can you figure out if you have been successful or not?

3. After you have decided on the objective, be sure you can measure it. And then do so, and report results to all who need to know. We are frequently stunned by the amount of money and effort spent to construct a campaign, only to see the back-end analytics get garbled or ignored in the race to the next quarter or campaign. Figure all that out before giving the green light.

4. Save some budget for testing. Even a little. If you don’t, you won’t be ready to grow when the economy eases up a bit. And it will. Really.