The New Deal 01/14/2011
 
At Enteract Media we’ve always been a sucker for a good deal.  As the saying goes, “buy the best, but buy it on sale”.  This mantra can be applied almost anywhere - from stock picking to shoe buying.  But it’s not about deals for the sake of having a deal.    

It’s simple. Just as I do not read Cosmopolitan or watch Oprah, I do not want to see deals for hand bags or yoga pants.  I want quality offers and useful content from brands that I can trust.

What stimulates action is context, relevance, and meaning to the individual. And with these, we can understand the fundamental components of a successful deal - notice that the word “savings” is absent.

The convergence of our online and offline lives creates noise - a lot of it.  People require an experience that speaks to their needs, wants and desires.  They want to be a part of a meaningful conversation, not inundated with marketing and advertising messages.  This is a challenge and opportunity of landmark proportions.

People increasingly are looking to their social feeds for news, information, and content.  Sixty-five percent of 18-29 year olds now get their news online (eMarketer). Facebook and other social sharing tools are the largest single source of non-organic referral traffic for the world’s 255 million websites. (BNXS)

But let’s draw a distinction here. Facebook does not share this content, people do.  All across the world, people are sharing content at the fastest rate in history.  You do it. Your friends do it. Your mom does it.  Hell, even Heidi, the cross-eyed possum does it.  

In 2010, people sent over 25 billion tweets. Thirty billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month.  Combined, these numbers mean that people shared an average of nearly 45 MILLION pieces of content every minute - and this doesn't count the 205 million emails sent during each of those minutes. (Pingdom)

How many minutes has it been since a friend sent you an email with a link?

Even with a constant barrage of marketing and advertising, the greatest single influence on consumer purchasing is personal recommendation. Think about this.  You are much more likely to buy something based on the recommendation of someone you know and trust.  No amount of celebrity endorsement or TV advertising can change this.

I certainly never bought any golf shoes because Tiger told me to “Just Do It”.

When people talk about a brand or company online, this is advertising - messaging that has context, relevance, and meaning.  This is the new advertising.  It is stored, searchable, and is usually located in a place where companies literally cannot purchase. This new advertising opportunity is tremendously valuable. 

Shouldn’t companies encourage and facilitate goodwill and word-of-mouth marketing from their biggest fans and loyal customers?

Shouldn’t companies reward people like you and me for the conversations that we already have within our networks? 

We are all brand advocates – and yet the rewards for brand advocacy go to websites, TV stations, and newspapers. It’s time to reward individuals. This starts with Enteract.

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Enteract Media, Inc. was born out of a confluence of several environmental factors.  I was fresh out of Boston University’s Graduate School of Management, and heavily researching the biggest players in daily deal market (you know, Groupon, and its band of merry, highly successful, and well-funded copycats).  I recognized a few trends:

-       This market was, and is hot (who doesn’t want a good deal?)
-       Though successful, these business models had room for improvement
-       The economy was turning around (most definitely from a startup worldview)
-       The daily deal companies were experiencing a significant tailwind of free distribution from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as other person-to-person digital sharing methods (read: email)
-       There was something bigger here. And I was determined to figure it out.

I applied and was accepted to the Founder Institute in New York City.  This is where the Enteract Media concept began to take shape.

In New York, I was fortunate enough to have overwhelming support from Friends & Family and top-notch mentorship through the Institute.  With an excellent feedback loop from both the Institute and my personal network, the concept pivoted in what seemed like a zig zag direction, but kept evolving into the company it has become today.

Thank you to all of the friends, family, and mentors who have helped me, and Enteract Media, in the past several months. We hope you will continue to support us as we grow. Stay tuned for great things in 2011!

-Ken Hillyer, Founder

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