Agency Spotlight: Greater Than One
Headquartered in New York City, Greater Than One is an agency that specializes in all aspects of digital marketing. While the company has clients in a number of industries, it has enjoyed the most success in the healthcare field. The agency has been awarded many prestigious honors since launching in 2000, including being named by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 500 franchises.
DMB’a Contel Bradford recently caught up with Elizabeth Apelles, Greater Than One’s CEO, to get the inside scoop on one of the industry’s major players.
Greater than One CEO Elizabeth Apelles
What qualities make Greater Than One stand out in the increasingly competitive digital marketing space?
Our partnership model, which has attracted a team of proven digital marketing professionals. Our structure, which teams up strategists and marketing experts with technology masterminds. Our digital experience, which is simply unsurpassed. And our ability to help businesses that have complex customer relationships to maximize their opportunities. These are the four differentiators that uniquely define us.
What is your most popular marketing solution and why?
Our solutions have evolved over the past 10 years, so there is no real one most popular. I would say that our most popular offering is clarity of thought, purpose and results. We are in the business of using all available digital tactics and strategies both those available today, and at the same time prepare for those that we know are on the horizon — to build our clients businesses and to enable them to make long lasting and mutually rewarding connections with all of their stakeholders.
That’s for our clients. If you ask the children who’ve we’ve worked with through Greater Good, they’ll tell you our most popular offering is giving them the ability to be self sufficient.
Please explain to our audience why today’s businesses should consider integrating analytics with their marketing strategy.
When it comes to strengthening relationships between brands and customers, the past can often help define the future. We know smart analytics — based upon a review of important data points-can provide real guidance in the development of smart marketing strategies. But not just run of the mill analytics. At Greater Than One we strive to understand how people think as well as how they behave. So, our Measurement and Analytics practice combines the art of consumer insight with the science of statistical analysis. The result is smarter solutions and better measurement that leads to more effective investment.
Our process integrates consumer and customer insights, media and site performance analytics, database behavioral analytics and ROI analysis and design. Through a deep understand of each of these disciplines, we offer our clients a truly integrated, fact-based strategies and initiatives.
The sky appears to be the limit for mobile marketing? What is your outlook on this fast growing segment of the industry?
Some have dubbed 2010 as ‘the year of mobile marketing.’ This is not the first year to be tagged with that moniker. Unlocking the potential of mobile marketing in the US has been more difficult than any industry analysts have predicted. There are two factors responsible for the slow growth (compared to other geographies around the world) of US mobile marketing.
The first is the overwhelming successes in the online digital space. Online search, display, and social media have become staples of Fortune 500 company marketing budgets, often at the expense of traditional media like TV and print. Many senior marketers are just now adjusting to the online digital sea change, and are wary of reducing traditional media budgets further to test a new ‘emerging’ platform. The same agency execs who grabbed off 10-30 percent of the company ad budget for online media are looking for more digital dollars for mobile, and never suggesting it could be funded from existing digital budgets.
The second limiting factor is penetration of 3G service. In recent years, despite significant hype around the mobile Web and 3G capabilities, as of the end of 2009 only 40 percent of mobile users had access to 3G mobile web services. The cost of service is the reason most often quoted for the limitation of 3G penetration.
There has been one recent development, though, that could accelerate the growth of 3G and 4G. That is the Apple vs. Google battle that is brewing as the Android operating system takes on the dominance of the iPhone in the 3G space. With the launch of the ‘Google phone,’ the Nexus One, Google made its boldest foray to date into the mobile marketplace. The real game changer is that the service providers are no longer supporting one or the other platform exclusively; Verizon will soon have a version of the iPhone (previously exclusive to AT&T) and AT&T is already selling Android phones.
There are other concerns, including the form factor (really small ads), privacy and security. However for direct response marketers, the nature of the device (it’s a phone, after all) means it’s made for interactivity, and therefore holds tremendous promise for one to one marketing.
In your opinion, what is the single most important thing Greater Than One has learned during its 10 years in the digital marketing business?
Over the past 10 years we have learned that our initial thinking — focusing on what is best for our clients — is the right thinking. It has never been about doing the easiest or most profitable or “coolest” thing, it has always been about doing the right thing.
By keeping our clients’ business needs at the forefront, we have the right focus and the right priority. And, ultimately, what is best for our clients is best for us. Over the past 10 years we have developed successful, long-term relationships and business successes of which both we and our clients are justifiably proud.
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