THOUGHT (aka Centric's Blog)

If you read this article, you might get that impression.

Here’s the Cliffs Notes version for those of you who don’t want to wade through the article: Google AdWords has an equivalent cost per click of $0.50 on average. This means it costs $500 for 1000 clicks. However, television charges only $20 to show your ad to 1000 people. So, television is much less expensive than Google AdWords.

Um, well . . . no.

The fact is, you can’t compare the two numbers at all. Cost per click (CPC) is measuring a cost per action. A click means a person has seen the ad, read it, and decided that they were interested enough to click on it. However, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is measuring the cost to show an ad to an audience that may never see it (thanks, TiVo), much less be interested in it, or respond to it.

Anyone can see which is the higher value. CPC is delivering a targeted lead that has already said, "I’m interested enough to act on this." CPM is simply how many times your ad appears.

In fact, anyone who has spent time hands-on with internet marketing wouldn’t bet on banner ads (which may have only a $1-5 CPM) beating AdWords in terms of cost per click. Why? Because the response rate is so low. A 0.1% response rate on a $1 CPM network buy is a $1.00 CPC–2X the average for Google Adwords. And, guess what: a 0.1% response rate is good for network buys.

Television? Forget about it! Without heroic measures, you can’t track an individual television ad impression to an action. And even if you could, nobody with any practical experience would expect television’s equivalent CPC to beat AdWords. 

I’m really into these guys.

Sure, they’re part of the Disney machine, but check out who they’re dating. And, while you’re at it, check out the punky new wardrobes on the cover of their new CD. Hey, their iTunes bio states they sound like the Ramones so I am totally down with them. Sadly, there is a fly in the proverbial ointment.

Call me old school but here’s what’s missing and it’s not all Nicholas’s fault.

First of all, their fans couldn’t care less how the tracks on their CDs are sequenced. Other than the cover art and the little 8 point shout outs, the fans look for individual songs. Gone is the art of album programming. If the kids don’t care, why should the brothers? Guys, remember how cool it was to sit and listen to an entire album? And, stare at the album cover while you listen. For hours.

Sound quality. We know that the brother’s fans couldn’t care a lick about sound quality. Do they even play their music through speakers anymore? I bet their sound engineers still care. My buddy who sells $10,000 speakers cares a lot.

They main thing these Disney guys are missing are the cool girls. Cool girls like bad boys. The more dangerous, the better. Look how those vampire books are selling. Are the guys in Twilight Disney guys? I don’t think so.

So, where am I going with this?

Truth be told, I don’t really listen the brothers Jonas. I just know these guys are missing a lot about what makes artists - artists. The Web and peer to peer file sharing has hurt the DNA of recorded music and those who make a living from it.

And, there’s not a thing Disney can do about it.

A quick look at the iPhone App Store will show you several dozen social network connectors. These include the ones you’d expect: mobile apps from MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Wordpress.

But there are also a whole lot you may never have heard about: Twinkle, Limbo, CenceMe, Whrrl, Who’sHere, iCrowdSurf, and more. What’s interesting about these is that they are location-based social networks. They’re using the iPhone’s built-in GPS to put you (and your friends) on a map–so you can tell which of your friends are nearby, or meet new friends with similar interests.

I can just hear the howls of protest now: "I don’t want anyone to know where I am!" "Why would I want to meet random people I don’t know?" and, of course "What the heck does this have to do with marketing?"

Well, all those howls are just fine. Because, you know, if you don’t want people to know where you are, or you aren’t looking to meet new friends, these services may not be right for you. Just like many people choose to abstain from MySpace and Facebook, there’s nothing that says you *have* to participate in these new location-based social networks.

What you have to remember, though, is that there are plenty of people who are comfortable with sharing their lives. If not with the wider Internet, perhaps with their families. Or imagine the busy traveler who wants to spend some time with friends when they’re in the area. Or the virtualized company which wants to make its sales team even more efficient.

Or, at an even more basic level: imagine how many people would like to know if that hot guy or attractive girl across the bar might be compatible with themselves. Or in class. Or in a bookstore. Or at the coffee shop.

Now, I’m not going to place any bets on who’s going to be the MySpace or Facebook of this emerging space, or if established players like MeetUp are going to step in, or if MySpace or Facebook themselves are going to own the location-based social spaces, but the bottom line is clear: put together location and relationships, and you have the potential for a very, very big bang.

"But what about marketing?" you ask. "Beyond location-based ads for local businesses, where is the payoff?"

Ha. Well, first, let me ask this: If the *only* payoff is in location-based ads for local businesses, coupled with advanced behavioral targeting based on openly available social profiles and usage, do we even have to go any further? This is a huge payoff, with huge potential for advertisers.

But beyond that, consider MeetUp. How much business is done at these informal meetings?

Or, consider simply the power of meeting face to face. How comfortable are you in doing business with people you have never met?

That’s what I thought. So don’t be so fast to dismiss these new location-based social networks. It’s just another way for people to connect. And that connection can be for business just as easily as for personal reasons. The potential is enormous.

And it begs the question: how much potential business walks past you . . . invisibly . . . every single day?