All About ME Opens Up Mobile Advertising to the Personal Brand

The idea of the personal brand isn't exactly a new one, but it's one that's taking on a new life. Where formerly it was used in job hunting to describe how a person presents him or herself, now it's being expanded as a way to better connect with the rapidly growing Millennial market. Opera Mediaworks is taking advantage of this new concept to bring out the All About ME do-it-yourself (DIY) mobile advertising service.

All About ME is something of an unusual prospect in mobile advertising. Instead of being focused on the more standard metrics of campaign objectives or key performance indicators (KPI), All About ME is focused on a particular goal. Whether that goal is getting recruited for a particular job, or getting recruited for a particular date with an attractive neighbor, All About ME looks to focus on these goals and tailor advertising accordingly. There is no shortage of tools in All About ME's toolbox to accomplish these goals; everything from banner ads to short-form video is on hand, and can be delivered according to geography or context to mobile audiences. Essentially, the system opens up the tools to make for memorable advertising, ranging from in-feed ads showing off a resume to CrossFitters showing off the abs around yoga studios.

The early word from Opera Mediaworks was, essentially, that this was a terrible idea. Early analysis of profitability suggested that All About ME's average buy would represent 0.0004 percent of a typical Fortune 500 brand. However, the analysis came well after the brand had already pre-pitched 87 separate journalists about its existence, so pulling back wasn't really an option.

Essentially, as described by Opera Mediaworks' CEO Mahi de Silva, Millennials aren't really interested in being marketed to, but rather are more interested in delivering a more pro-active response, telling others about what each has to offer. As de Silva noted “They do not want to listen; they want to speak.” Opera Mediaworks' executive vice president for North America Sales Mike Owen offered up a note of assent, noting that it wasn't so much that Millennials aren't interested in brands, but are rather more interested in their own lives.

It's an interesting enough idea; allow the Millennials to establish advertising specifically related to individual needs and desires and then promote advertising. While it's not likely to replace the ad spend from major multinationals, as a sidebar, it might bring in that little extra profit that can make the difference between a disaster and a mild downturn. Indeed, other media outlets might find this an interesting new direction, taking some of the basic principles of the ad spend and incorporating these directly into a much smaller market. This is marketing in the rough, and it's actually a fairly exciting idea.

Only time will tell just how well it works or if it catches on, or if anyone else takes this ball and runs with it, but the basic idea is sufficiently sound and might get some Millennials involved in the spending side of advertising to match the consumption side of it.