Next Generation: Scott Epstein

Vice President Of Marketing, EXCITE

Scott Epstein says he's always had a subversive streak.
In his first job as a publicist for a record company that represented the Dead Kennedys, Epstein, now vp of marketing at Excite, envisioned a convoluted scenario in which he'd smash one of the band's records and mail it, along with a letter allegedly written by a fundamentalist parent of a 12-year-old, to TV evangelists. The evangelists would inevitably hold the record up as an example of the decline of Western civilization, and create a furor among their right-wing Christian flock whose kids would run out in droves to purchase the LP.
"I've always had a taste for doing things that get noticed," said Epstein, 39.
It's been more than a few years since he staged that incident, but he's still deploying guerrilla pr and marketing tactics, many of which have helped to put Excite on the map at a time when Internet search engines are having as much trouble as long distance phone services in not being thought of as a commodity.
Epstein was hired at Excite, the No. 2 Internet search engine behind Yahoo!, in 1995 as the Redwood City, Calif., firm's first marketing executive, its point person for pr, advertising, marketing, promotion and brand development.
Epstein last fall launched the "Are You Experienced" campaign, supported by a $7 million budget. The campaign, Excite's first, succeeded in raising top-of-mind awareness by a whopping 367%. Unaided awareness rose 228%, moving Excite from last place among search engines to second place among the top seven brands in the fledgling category in just six weeks. During the first few days of the campaign, total traffic on Excite increased by nearly 20%, initially overtaxing servers. The number of people who said they had "ever used" Excite rose 250% during the campaign's six-week flight.
Using the Jimi Hendrix emblematic lyric, the campaign, created by FCB, San Francisco, depicted four words in search boxes--"direction," "focus," "control" and "ideas"--and sought to illustrate how Excite could help consumers make sense of the Web. Spot TV ads ran in New York and San Francisco, and on national cable.
Excite, despite being the last company of its kind out of the gate, didn't want to play catch-up using a plain vanilla, "me-too" strategy.
"We didn't want to be the best possible search engine," Epstein said. "We want to be the window to the Web, the first place you go to, the place that makes sense of the Web. Excite is really all about making really bold moves."
So Epstein used some unconventional tactics. Take the "Are You Experienced" billboard along the 101 Freeway near the San Francisco airport. After Excite completed its three-month run with the billboard space, a rival company bought the space and countered with "Are You Exhausted" against a similar arresting black background.
As a pr ploy, Epstein sued the company for trademark infringement. It paid handsome dividends, raising more consumer awareness for Excite. In August, Media Matrix calculated a 25.8% unduplicated audience reach (the ability to reach individual consumers without overlap).
In yet another publicity stunt for the company, Epstein, with Fleishman-Hillard, Los Angeles, staged a worldwide search for someone named "Dot Com" (a.k.a. ".com"). Excite posted a page on its Web site (www.excite.com) and conducted a search, asking users for tips on how to find him or her. The search generated a lot of hits and more than a little quirky enthusiasm in the online community. The company finally found its target. Dot Comm lives in the form of a retired professor and Internet user from Palm Springs, Calif. Epstein invited her to Excite's offices, hyped the visit to local and national media and is trying to get her appearances on the David Letterman Show and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Epstein's wacky ideas have been germinating since his pr stint at Burson Marsteller, Chicago, and marketing posts at Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Miller Brewing. He says he always had a "fascination with really huge brands," and hopes to do some targeted marketing for Excite's four brands. At Excite, as with any new media product and service, there's a sense of wide open opportunity.
"I love the idea of taking nothing and making something of it," Epstein said.
Excite's brands might not be as ubiquitous as deodorant, soap or beer, but they are getting noticed. Excite, the company's flagship brand and Internet search service, features 14 information channels; WebCrawler is billed as a basic Web search tool; Excite Travel by City.Net is a travel planning resource and guide to worldwide events; and the Magellan Internet Guide is an online guide with original content, directory of rated and reviewed Web sites, and search engine.
Epstein and Excite are now working up executions for a second brand campaign with Odiorne Wilde Narraway Groome, San Francisco, set to launch later this quarter or in early 1998.
Epstein is also focusing on boosting registrations to "My Channel," Excite's personalized service for loyal users which recently ran a contest to win a new VW Beetle and other prizes. In July and August, Excite registered 300,000 new users for "My Channel" as a result of the promotion.
"It [Excite] is more of a destination than a springboard to the extent that we can continue to leverage our millions of users everyday and make sure they have a compelling reason to keep coming back," Epstein said.
--Tobi Elkin

Vital Stats
Age: 39
Education:
B.S., University of Kansas-Lawrence, Journalism.
Favorite Marketer:
Andy Warhol
Most often heard saying:
Bad things about the competition.
The most underutilized element of the marketing mix:
A lot of people don't understand it. They shy away from the risk associated with it. It's much more comfortable for them to run an ad, and count the points.
Career if not a marketer:
Elementary school teacher.