e marketing

What Is Web 2.0

2006-04-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Just came back from I SUMMIT- new media business alliance
remember this for next year IT WAS AWESOME

my three word summaries
---architecture of participation--set up communities--engaging the customer.

Here are two links worth checking
Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software
by Tim O'Reilly
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Online Markets...
Networked markets are beginning to self-organize faster than the companies that have traditionally served them. Thanks to the web, markets are becoming better informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from most business organizations.
http://www.cluetrain.com/

Searching For A Needle In A Haystack

2006-04-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

Borrell Associates estimates that advertisers spent $3.9 billion on local search last year. Borrell projects that this number will grow to $5.7 billion by the end of this year, representing a growth of roughly 46 percent. comScore estimated in 2004 that, depending on the category of product or service, 25 percent to 50 percent of all online searches are local searches. Despite these seemingly positive numbers, only 15 percent of local ad budgets are allotted to online efforts, according to The Kelsey Group estimates. Some time in the FUTURE we'll see a greater shift of ad dollars online.

Media post search insider
by Cerelle Centeno, Friday, March 31, 2006

Web users to transfer content from their PCs to their TVs.

2006-03-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

Mike Shields

-

Yahoo! is launching a new service aimed at making it easier for Web users to transfer content from their PCs to their TVs. Yahoo! Go TV, a new downloadable application, will allow users the ability to easily transfer content, such as photos and music, to the TV screen --provided that users have the wherewithal to actually connect the two devices.

In addition, Go TV, which is expected to launch in the next few months, will provide users access to various other Web based services for TVs, such as the ability to search through local movie listings or utilize other personalized MyYahoo! functions.

In addition, the Web giant has also announced a soon-to-launch mobile application, Yahoo! Go Mobile, which will allow AT&T and Cingular Wireless mobile phone subscribers to easily access a variety of Yahoo! services, including e-mail, instant messaging and search. http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001807046

movies to be released same time on video on demand and DVD

2006-03-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Fox is developing a plan to release movies on video-on-demand at the same time as their DVD release. This is no doubt an announcement that will cause home video retailers massive heartburn.
Technology and content have obviously been heading in this quicker-release direction for the company. Last week News Corp. said it would be offering FX TV shows on iTunes on an exclusive basis ahead of their traditional cable telecasts. Later in the year it'll offer a non-exclusive download of Fox network TV shows.
The news of the same-day release of VOD and DVD is somewhat surprising coming from News Corp., since that company has been somewhat on the sidelines, in contrast to other high-profile VOD/iTunes/Internet content deals by media companies in recent weeks.
Still, there is one more piece of the puzzle--offering consumers the same day and date release of movies in VOD with that of their release in movie theaters. This is naturally a touchy area for theater owners, who fear that VOD will steal away business.
Mark Cuban has seemingly conquered this problem by owning both theaters and a digital high-definition movie network. He'll be debuting Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble" in 20 of his Landmark theaters Jan. 27--which will be nearly simultaneously run on his high-definition HDNet Movies channel and have a DVD release on Jan. 31.
Media executives must be confident that any damage from traditional business partners can be made up through new business created from the iTunes, Google, and VOD businesses of the world.

TV Watch for Monday, January 9, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=38287

check this title-women's marketing manager for the diversity initiative WOW.

2006-02-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

Chick cars
Automakers are paying more attention to what women car buyers want, even as they attempt to design cars with more unisex appeal

By Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent February 24, 2006

Gone is the Volkswagen Cabriolet. The matchbox-sized Mazda Miata adored by women has given way to the faster, edgier MX-5. Even the diminutive Toyota RAV4 has been muscled up.

Breaking News Alerts Has the chick car gone androgynous?

Automakers don't admit to ever purposefully making a car for just one gender, but over time certain types of rides have earned the sobriquet ''chick car." They tend to be petite -- even tiny -- sports cars, with appealing lines and a peppy but not overpowering ride.

But now automakers are trying to broaden the appeal of some car lines, in part to sell them to wider audiences. Models that had been hits with women have been redesigned to encourage men to give them a second look.

Toyota, for example, appears to have pumped steroids into its small sports utility vehicle, the RAV4. It dropped in a bigger V6 engine, lengthened the vehicle by 14 inches, and gave it sharper lines. Still, Toyota tried to maintain the sleek, aerodynamic look that appealed to women.

The redesign was prompted by complaints from focus groups that the RAV4 was too small and unsophisticated, said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong.

''They were finding a lot of males were rejecting it because it was too cutesy. It was a little toy to them," Kwong said. ''We were trying to attract more male buyers by making it more rugged-looking, more muscular."

Women purchased 70 percent of RAV4 models last year. Toyota also wanted to compete with the Honda and its CR-V, also a small SUV, which was outselling the RAV4 in metro markets.

''It's really a balancing act trying to get more rugged, but not so rugged that women are going to be turned off by it," Kwong said.

Indeed, about the only real girly car left on the market is the Volkswagen Beetle, two-thirds of which are owned by women in the United States.

In the right color or with a more powerful engine, a chick car becomes a car that appeals to both sexes -- such as Chrysler's PT Cruiser.

While not overtly designing chick cars, manufacturers are doing more than ever to keep women in mind as they develop models, said Cynthia Price, women's marketing manager for the diversity initiative at General Motors.

GM formed its Center of Expertise on Diversity in 2001, responding in part to statistics that showed women influence 80 percent of car purchases. Company officials realized they needed to appeal more to women, not only in marketing campaigns and on the sales floor, but also in the design stages, Price said.

''It's not about creating pink cars," she said. ''You run the risk of alienating certain groups if you say this is only for women."

The Mini Cooper has bridged the difficult divide between cute and girlish. It has been wildly popular with men, despite its tiny size and buggy shape.

''Our society has changed. That's why all the cars have changed," she said. ''It's a very, very unisex world."

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/02/24/chick_cars/

think about this-this took the music industry 10 years

2006-02-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 27, 2006 by Tobi Elkin

So 16-year-old Alex Ostrovsky got lucky the other day. Nope, not that way, but maybe he thinks this is even better: the Michigan kid's download of Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" from Apple's iTunes Music Store represented the Store's one billionth download. Ostrovsky, of West Bloomfield Township, Mich., scored a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth-generation iPods, and a $10,000 iTunes gift card from Apple. Not bad.
Apple was in such a celebratory mood that it also said it would create a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Ostrovsky's name.
"Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a statement.
Apple launched the iTunes Music store three years ago. Apple now offers music videos and video downloads of popular TV shows like "Desperate Housewives."

Search Plus

2006-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Search Plus by David Berkowitz, Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Intuit's Avinash Kaushik, quoted in last week's column as calling paid search "the lazy man's option" at a recent Frost & Sullivan symposium. It's like calling TV the lazy man's option since it's so easy to buy, or outdoor advertising the lazy man's option because it's just sticking up a billboard. You can participate in a marathon and still be lazy if you walk the 26.2 miles; that doesn't make a marathon the lazy man's option for exercise.
Search marketers are a vocal few with god complex, preaching the salvation of search marketing. "Search is everything!" they scream. "Shift all your budgets to search or repent! Everyone is searching billions of times a day, and they're telling you what they want.
it's the moderate approach that will foster the healthiest growth of search engine marketing. To this end, I propose Search Plus.
Search Plus embodies the ongoing mission to integrate search engine marketing into other campaigns when and where it can best serve the marketer's goals. Search Plus places SEM as an integral piece of the media and marketing ecosystems.
Here are some guidelines, far from all-inclusive, of how to frame Search Plus conversations:
Search Plus Television: This is one of the best documented examples of the Search Plus mindset, thanks to case studies such as product placement on "The Apprentice" leading to searching spikes in Yahoo. Any TV campaign that generates buzz generates searches, so visibility through search engine optimization and paid search will keep the marketer visible when the consumer is actively looking.
Search Plus Word of Mouth: A number of companies, such as Intelliseek and BuzzMetrics, measure word of mouth effects online. If your company is a buzz target, positive or negative, make sure your voice is heard in search engines on both the paid and natural sides. Compare natural search results in Google for the brands Wal-Mart and General Motors, both of which are routine targets for unflattering press coverage. For Wal-Mart, three of the top five results attacked the company. For GM, there was only one remotely negative result in the first three pages, a BBC article on poor earnings nearly invisible as the 30th listing.
Search Plus Podcasting: Some marketers are sponsoring podcasts while others are producing podcasts themselves. Top business podcasts on iTunes include those by IBM, Fidelity Investments, and McKinsey Global Institute. As the subscriber totals rise, consumers will search for both the podcasts and the information presented during the shows. A search strategy that extends beyond iTunes and into the major search engines will capitalize on this interest.
Search Plus Outdoor: If the ad is memorable enough, pedestrians and commuters will search for more when they get to their home or office.
Search Plus Public Relations: A wonderful side effect of corporate PR efforts is that such controlled, positive materials often rank highly in natural search results. Thus, this connection works in two ways: PR drives people to search engines, and it also can populate the results people find when they get there.
Search Plus Direct Mail: This is a no-brainer, with two of the most effective direct marketing vehicles complementing each other. Multivariate testing with paid search can be especially effective for improving direct mail results, and marketers with a strong direct mail heritage are often the most successful with SEM, thanks to the experience they've amassed.
Search Plus E-Mail: E-mail is especially powerful as a retention vehicle. Capture leads through a search campaign and keep the communication going through e-mail.

David Berkowitz can be reached at dberkowitz@gmail.com or via his blog at MarketersStudio.com. http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=39453

interview with MIT student

2006-02-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

The general feeling is that advertising is a necessary evil, but I think advertising serves a very important purpose. In many cases people like advertising and people rely on advertising; the most obvious example is the yellow pages....The problem with advertising is that it is served in such a way that it doesn't deliver the value that the user expects it to deliver. If advertising could be served in the right fashion at the right time, many of the problems that we're experiencing would be solved, including ad skipping.
Vedrashko: Game advertising is a very new approach. Most of the companies that serve the market have appeared in the last two years. So now they're standing in front of this world; it really mirrors our own, only it doesn't have any advertising. So, advertisers right now have this clean slate. The biggest concern right now is that we're given a second chance to do things right. So, what I'm concerned with is for advertisers to do things right--that they don't ruin this next world with advertising that just sits there and does nothing.

The real world has so many imperfections,and the virtual world gives many more opportunities and the for doing things right, and the costs are much lower for doing things right. They should really be examining the mistakes that have been done here and make sure they don't happen [in the virtual world].

Contextual and behavioral advertising would be much easier to do in the virtual world than it is here in the real world....Even if you place a billboard in the real world, it's really expensive to measure how many people see it and how many people act on it. In the virtual world, you can also place a billboard which would look exactly like it would here on Massachusetts Avenue here in Boston. But in the virtual world there are many more, much cheaper techniques to measure the exposure.

I think in this sense, the virtual world can also be a great testing ground for the new advertising approach that then can be imported into the real world.

Kate Kaye is a Contributing Writer.
Click here for the online version of the Behaviorial Insider for Friday, February 3, 2006.

super bowl 2.5 million for 30 seconds

2006-02-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

Although advertisers may all pay the same price to air their ads, some brands have customers who are more likely to tune in to the game than others," writes Carat insighter Rob Frydlewicz, author of the report, who after analyzing a trove of MRI data, came to the conclusion that some advertisers might be better off spending their Super Bowl ad budgets on Buffalo Wings and nachos. Well, Frydlewicz didn't actually say it that way, but we know that's what he meant. What he actually said was, "Although some brands advertising in Sunday's game don't have customers who have as strong a propensity as other brands to view the game, their decision to purchase a spot in the game shouldn't be considered a costly blunder."

The reason, he notes, PR, hype, spin, buzz.

In other words: a lot of free media. Plus, it's not such a bad media buy on face value, even for the lowest indexing brands, including packaged goods brands like Procter & Gamble's Dove and Unilever's Degree, which would do just as well to buy other TV shows to reach their target audiences as the Super Bowl.

That said, Frydlewicz notes there is some attendant value for these brands in the Big Game: "Even if some brands reach smaller portions of their customers than others, the large number of non-users reached (referred to by marketers as an 'opportunity' market) may be motivated to sample these brands."

Real Media Riffs for Friday, February 3, 2006:
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=39424

MSN Taps Kanoodle For Blog Ads

2006-01-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

by Shankar Gupta, Monday, Jan 30, 2006 11:16 AM EST
MSN SPACES FRIDAY BEGAN ALLOWING its bloggers to sign up for Kanoodle contextual pay-per-click advertisements on their pages. The ads are expected to start appearing this week.

"Offering revenue sharing opportunities within MSN Spaces is a core way MSN can deliver on its commitment to creating the best communication services while responding to customer requests," an MSN spokesman said of the deal.

Kanoodle powers ads on MSN Gamezone, MSN Messenger, and MSNBC.com,

MSN Spaces is the second consumer-generated media site to host Kanoodle advertisements--Six Apart, which manages the TypePad and LiveJournal blogging services, has a deal with Kanoodle to allow users to place contextual ads on their blogs, and share in the PPC revenues.

MSN rival Google has a similar arrangement on its own Blogger service--Blogger members are offered the option to subscribe to AdSense and place contextual pay-per-click ads based on their blog's content onto their site.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=39145&Nid=18057&p=242199

Pixar Promises Change for Disney's Media

2006-01-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1915695,00.asp?kc=ewnws012706dtx1k0000599What I hope and expect Jobs to do is help bring the entertainment industry into the digital age.

Jobs has already shown he can give consumers what they want, and the fair licensing terms at the Apple Music Store have played a huge role in the iPod's success. Jobs has proven that people are willing to pay for music online, given reasonable prices and excellent selection.

More important will be the role Jobs might play in helping change the financial models that drive entertainment and media.

And, perhaps, in helping Disney's broadcast and cable holdings adjust their business models and distribution methods to embrace Internet content distribution.

It's very unclear, at least to me, what will happen here. There is a big disconnect between what content owners want and what customers are willing and able to pay. Cable and satellite TV already seem too expensive and prices keep increasing.

The success of Apple Music Store's 99-cent pricing reflects the public's unhappiness at buying CDs filled with songs they don't like, but have to pay for anyway. Music Store allows customers to pick and choose only the music they want, much like when 45-rpm vinyl singles ruled the music world.

While the media companies have been slow to experiment with new distribution and pricing models, Steve Jobs has done more than anyone else to push them into the digital age.

The more I think about what Jobs might accomplish at Disney, the more I hope they will give him the chance. He could do great things.

Contributing editor David Coursey has spent two decades writing about hardware, software and communications for business customers. He can be reached at david_coursey@ziffdavis.com.

San Francisco has most wireless Internet hot spots in US

2006-01-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

City tops in hot spots
S.F. offers more wireless access than any U.S. city
Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

San Francisco boasts more wireless Internet hot spots than any city in America and has the highest concentration of Wi-Fi connections of any major metropolis in the world, according to a survey being released today.

With 801 public hotspots, both paid and free, San Francisco leapt into first place in 2005 after ranking third at the end of 2004, according to JiWIre, a leading Wi-Fi hotspot directory. San Francisco was followed by New York and Chicago, which occupied the top two spots in 2004.

Wi-Fi hot spots are public areas like a cafe, restaurant or hotel where a wireless internet router has been installed, allowing laptop and handheld users to connect to the Internet without a wire.

San Francisco also has the most free Wi-Fi hot spots, 368, compared with No. 2 Austin, Texas, with just 97. The majority of wireless access points, like the hot spots at Starbucks, charge fees.

By sheer numbers, San Francisco ranked fifth among international cities. But among the top 20 cities internationally, San Francisco had the highest number of hot spots per capita, at about 1 public access point for every 1,000 residents.

San Francisco's pre-eminence in Wi-Fi is due to several factors, including robust customer demand, a large number of local wireless companies offering free wireless zones, and many small businesses using it to attract customers. "It certainly falls in line with San Francisco's reputation as a technology mecca," said David Blumenfeld, vice president of marketing for JiWIre. "It boils down to something as simple as supply and demand. You have more demand there than anywhere else, so that's why you've seen more pop up, because the usage is there."

The distinction comes as San Francisco moves forward on a free municipal wireless program. The city is waiting for responses to its request for proposals, which are due by Feb. 21.

"We're No. 1 for wireless. That's a signal to government that they don't need to get involved."

The city's unwired supremacy is due in large part to Sunnyvale's AnchorFree, a wireless company that created five free hot zones last year covering about 300 businesses.

The company, which has designs on building citywide systems, said it wanted to test its equipment in a dense, urban environment. It quickly realized that to be successful, it had to make the service available for free and recoup its money from local advertising.

Podcasting for Your Health

2006-01-25T18:56:00.000-08:00

Podcasting for Your Health
By Stacy Lawrence, Ziff Davis Internet
January 20, 2006 ...E WEEK.COM

Not surprisingly, topics like yoga, fitness, sex and pilates dominate the list of health-related podcasts on Apple iTunes. But in the last few months, major health care institutions and scientific journals have all hurried to issue their own, much more sober, podcast offerings.

This could mean that consumers, as well as doctors, scientists and other industry professionals, will have more accessible updates on the most recent heath care research developments.

The transition into podcasting has been most accessible for institutions like Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Mayo Clinic, which were already producing radio spots.

Podcasts from the Mayo Clinic provide quick takes on very specific medical issues, and according to a recent study by Pew Internet Research, that is what most consumers are looking for from health care information online.

Recent topics include lung cancer screening and a new device for stroke prevention. Elizabeth Tracey, director of the health newsfeed at Johns Hopkins Medicine, started creating the podcasts a few months ago after a brainstorm with a doctor on staff.

Disney Acquires Pixar--And Jobs

2006-01-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

The Deal Is Done: Disney Acquires Pixar--And Jobs
WSJ (paid subscription required)...Media Daily News the Walt Disney Company board yesterday agreed to purchase Pixar Animation Studios, and in the process obtained the services of Steve Jobs, who some have likened in his stature to Walt Disney himself. The price of the deal, $7.4 billion. And, as The Wall Street Journal points out this morning, it comes with risks for Disney, which is in the midst of a winning streak. But the upside proved to be irresistible for the Disney board: the company now controls the most consistently successful animation hitmaker in the industry. One of America's high-tech icons is now in the Disney camp--and on its board. - Read the whole story... WSJ Jan 25

GM to Car Shoppers: "Google Pontiac and Discover For Yourself"

2006-01-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

General Motor's 30-second regional television ads for its Pontiac brand. Television ads often stimulate Internet search behavior by increasing brand awareness or sparking curiosity, as often demonstrated by Hitwise. But this GM spot was significant because it ended with an unusual call to action: "Don't take our word for it. Google Pontiac and discover for yourself." And the ad ended not with a URL or phone number for a local dealer, but an actual Google screenshot with Pontiac typed in. Yes, an actual screenshot!

While Google's experimentation in traditional advertising channels--like television, print and radio--is increasingly apparent, the "Google Pontiac" campaign is quite the opposite. It's among the most transparent efforts by a marketer to leverage search via highly connected television advertising. This is interesting for several reasons.

Look Out J.D. Power, There's A New Kid On the Block

First, GM's campaign implies tremendous authority and trust in the Google brand. It's almost as if Google is moving into the territory of J.D. Power & Associates as the ubiquitous barometer of customer satisfaction, so often plugged into automotive advertising. GM sales and marketing chief Mark LaNeve said in a recent Business Week article by David Kiley: "We're touting Google, frankly, because it stands for credibility and consumer empowerment, and we like the association."

Search Insider for Wednesday, January 25, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=38876

Google's popularity

2006-01-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Google's Search for the Advertising Edge
http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060119_185838.htm
Click-throughs are a hit, search giant chasing radio, print, & even TV. marketers are paying attention. Advertisors these days, the 1st stop for many is Google . Already the leader in Internet search, the company quickly growing new media tentacles -- from buying /selling magazine & newspaper ad space to last week's announcement - it's entering the radio advertising fray and TV ad placement isn't far off. Google's popularity with advertisers is foremost based on cost and accountability. Its simple text-ad service, called AdWords, enables marketers literally to count how many Net surfers click from a Google text ad to the company's Web site. That ad model is preferred to traditional TV, print, and radio ads that have difficulty quantifying how many people are actually paying attention.
Google pitches the company a "site targeting" programs
AdWords performance beats response rate from direct-mail effort, about 2%.
Google's new products now in the testing phase surfaces: Click-to-Call.

Contactless payment results in raise in Sales

2005-06-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

I noticed this, oh about 5 yrs ago in Helsinki, knew it was just a matter of time. But here is empirical proof.

At 7-Eleven, testing began three years ago with a two-store trial in Texas. "We saw lots of positive indications from that pilot," said 7-Eleven CIO Keith Morrow. Customers using the cards shopped at the stores more frequently than they had before, and spent more during each trip. "We've been very aggressively pursuing this for more than two years."

Contactless payment in Japan was almost nonexistent one year earlier, but by December 2004, Morrow said, he saw it as a very popular and accepted form of payment everywhere from small retail operations to mass transit. "We sell convenience, we sell speed," he said.
Japan's culture is extremely time-compressed, he said, and they value even relatively small improvements in productivity. "They're a very concentrated population with a lot of mass transit, a lot of people on the move," Morrow said. "They love electronics. They love their cell phones. Very small living spaces with very small kitchens. Some parallels certainly exist in the U.S. urban areas."

http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1827176,00.asp
can you not see this VISUALIZE at the busy coffee spots or the merchants at the go sation?

Women and Online Retail Sales

2005-05-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Published: May 27, 2005
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003421
Online retail sales in the US will rise by almost 25% this year, according to a new study released by Shop.org and conducted by Forrester Research.
Forrester expects online retail sales to increase to $109.6 billion this year from $89 billion in 2004. Including travel sales, total e-commerce revenues are projected to grow to $172.4 billion from $141.4 billion.

eMarketer estimates that US online retail sales will reach $84.5 billion this year, a 22.1% increase Forresters numbers include online auctions
Online sales of cosmetics& fragrances will rise 33%, sales of over-the-counter medications and personal care will increase 32%, sales of jewelry and luxury goods will be up 31% and flower, card and gift e-commerce will increase by 30%.
Apparel was the largest online shopping category in total revenue during the 2004 holiday season, according to research by Goldman, Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings. ( 16% apparel- 11% toys- 10%consumer electronics

text messaging and implication on advertising

2005-04-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

During the show, Bono dedicated some microphone time to the topic of human rights, and as part of their desire to raise awareness for this timely topic, they asked everyone to take out their cell phones and text message their names to the number 86483 to be added to a petition of people who pledge their support to improving human rights around the globe. Bono stated they were looking for 1 million names and when I looked around the arena I think it's realistic that they'll get it.
The cell phone is now as ubiquitous, and as useful at a concert, as the lighter was in the '80s. What's more, 20 minutes later, the names of the people who had texted themselves was scrolled across the big screen hovering over the band, allowing the crowd to see their names in lights and tied forever in the image of their minds to that show. As one of the people who saw his name in lights, I can personally attest that the experience was fantastic and a one-of-a-kind feeling. It allowed me to connect with my inner rock star, if only for a brief moment.
Of course, I could go on and on writing a review of a U2 concert, but as those of you know from reading what I write, this article is not about my obsessions with rock and roll; it's about human behavior and the implications these behaviors have on advertising. That night I witnessed just how integral the cell-phone has become and how second thought it is for people to text message. I only started texting heavily about six months ago, but I am now an addict. In our hectic, cluttered lives, texting allows you to say your peace, make a connection, and get back to what you were doing without all of the niceties. There is no. "Hi, how are you"? There's no small talk. You make a point and you move on. 'Nuff said.

for more
Online Spin for Wednesday, April 13, 2005: http://publications.mediapost.com/?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=29181

Online- Customer respect

2005-03-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.customerrespect.com/default.asp

The 10 Rules of Online Customer Respect

As you are working on enhancing your customers’ online experience, we suggest you
keep the following ’10 Rules for Online Customer Respect’ in mind:
1. What is the most important message you want to get across on your site? Or,
what is the one thing you want your customers to take away after visiting
your site? What do you want them to do?
2. Make it easy for users to locate product, service, and corporate information.
3. Provide users with an online contact method.
4. Ask for permission before sending any kind of marketing communication.
5. Be open and honest about how you use personal data collected online.
6. Provide customers with an easy-to-understand privacy policy.
7. Never, ever share personal data without the customer’s expressed consent.
8. Reply quickly and thoroughly to online inquiries.
9. Utilize personalization to customize your communication with a customer.
10. Treat an online customer the same as an offline customer – as if (s)he was
your only one!

for more visit the site on above link

customer retention

2005-03-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Your sales and marketing teams have the most flexibility when inviting customers to return to purchase again. Supported by quality solution, good service, and reasonable value, their communications keep reminding customers you exist.
Your sales and marketing teams have the most flexibility when inviting customers to return to purchase again. Supported by quality solution, good service, and reasonable value, their communications keep reminding customers you exist.
strategies to help regulate customer retention efforts:
Use retention to measure individual performance.
Help individuals understand the value of a customer.
Clearly define what retention is.
Use multiple factors to measure customer retention.
Improve skills at interaction points.
Provide positive reinforcement for retention efforts.
Make every experience better than the last; teach employees how to look out for the customer's best interest while being profitable. http://iunctura.com/cgi-bin/mail.cgi?flavor=archive&id=20050315000552&list=isr

http://iunctura.com/about.shtml

too much concentration on data has led many marketers to lose the forest for the trees.

2005-03-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

But you ask most marketers about cookies and they'll say that cookies are good things. Cookies can improve the user experience by giving individuals access to sites they have been to before without having to run a gauntlet of registrations and passwords and user IDs. They allow advertisers to serve more relevant advertising to individuals based on that user's experience, thereby doing that individual a service by offering them messaging related to products or services that person is interested in.

Basically, marketers think cookies are a good thing. http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=28044

39% make local purchase after conducting online research.

2005-03-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

Jan 2005- 39% of US consumers have made an offline local purchase after conducting online research. DRG notes that this type of consumer behavior was up 19% from 2003 to 2004, and the number of consumers who engaged this shopping behavior surpassed 83 million in 2004.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003287

Adults more receptive to direct mail

2005-03-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

Direct Mail Piece Sends One Forth of the Recipients to the Store24 percent of adults who read direct mail, have visited a store in the past 90 days prompted by receiving a retailer's direct mail piece, according to a new Vertis Retail Direct Marketing study "Customer Focus 2005." Thérèse Mulvey, vice president, marketing research, at Vertis, said "Adults have become more receptive to using direct mail to obtain information on the prices and selections available, and it has proven to be an effective medium for retailers to connect with new customers."
According to the Customer Focus study, 63 percent of adults say that an interesting looking package makes a difference as to which direct mail they open. For 51 percent, a special offer or discount will make a difference as to whether or not they open the direct mail.
from MediaPost.........Please click on link, awesome stats

http://www.vertisinc.com/about/viewNews.asp?id=160

What's Important to Measure in E-Commerce?

2005-03-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

This session, presented by User Interface Engineering founder Jared Spool, examined things that organizations don't realize they are doing online that cause them to lose potential revenue from their online marketing practices.

http://www.adastro.com/apogee/revenue.html

*great article to review before design of web briefs

finding quality websites

2005-02-26T08:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/sites.html

Finding quality Web sites ( for use in white paper & marketing plans)
The Web is a resource so vast that finding what you're looking for can seem akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
The premise of a search engine is similar to that of a library catalog: to list the pages on the Web so that users can find them. The principal difference is that in a library, cataloging is done by humans, whereas on the Web most search engine catalogs are created by software robots that roam the Internet looking for new or updated pages. The trouble with robots is that they cannot make fine distinctions between, for example, Jefferson, the president, and Jefferson, Texas. Another significant difference is that libraries tend to have most of their holdings cataloged, whereas no search engine has indexed more than a quarter of the Web. for more please look at link above

we look through the customers lens

2005-02-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

Ken Lombard, President at Starbucks Entertainment said, "Starbucks has made a commitment to move into the music business. The Starbucks brand was built around the customer experience. We try to build as exceptional quality and experience as we can. We aren’t in the coffee business; we feel we're in the people business. We look through the customer lens. We needed permission from customers to go beyond selling coffee and over time they have given it to us. We sold millions of copies of the Ray Charles album."

trendwatching.com

2005-02-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.trendwatching.com/newsletter/newsletter.html

Consumers who hear an unknown song while hanging out in the pub, listening to the radio or sitting in a restaurant, only need call 2580, point their phone to the music source, and London-based Shazam will then send a text message (SMS) reply with the name of the artist and the track. Besides the technology enabling recognition of the songs, Shazam has built a database with 2.2 million tracks (adding 5,000 songs per week) to surprise even the most hard to please READY-TO-KNOW customers. Revenues come from partnerships and from the actual calls. Other services include sending song clips to friends, accessing your 'tags' on a personalized web page, and buying the CD straight away on Amazon.

Shazam is currently active/available in 12 countries around the world. Besides the UK, its home market, Shazam works with MusicFinder in Germany and Austria, and with a host of other partners in Poland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Shazam's mobile user base in the UK counts nearly 600,000 people (the company serves 1 million customers worldwide), who are charged 9p per call and 50p (USD 0.95 / EUR 0.75) per successful tag.

Yet another cool 'text-and-know' service, this one from the world of real estate: Dutch www.SMSeenHuis.nl ("text a house") works with real estate agents to enrich 'for sale' or 'for rent' signs with a unique text code, allowing passers-by interested in a certain property to text, instantly receive and store detailed information on their cell phone. D

Blog Basics

2005-02-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.microsoft.com/canada/home/internetandsecurity/2.4.40_blogbasicslearnhowtokeepanonlinejournal.asp

Find a blog
Technorati, a blog-monitoring service, now tracks more than five million blogs. Jim Elve, publisher of BlogsCanada, estimates that at least 35,000 of those are Canadian and that about 14,000 new blogs are launched on the web every day.

search engines

2005-02-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

The Growing Battle Between Content & Commerce by Matt Naeger, Thursday, February 10, 2005
HAVE YOU EVER ATTEMPTED TO conduct research online, only to be bombarded with search results that contain ads, product endorsements, and advertisements about a product seemingly related (possibly remotely) to the topic queried? Maybe you've even stumbled upon affiliate information, or were bombarded with banners that don't directly relate to your topic, but instead seem to fit a certain demographic. One thing is definitely certain. What you haven't found is what you're looking for - objective, credible, "non-commercial" information. And you keep asking yourself - isn't that what search engines are supposed to do?
Search engines, created initially as a way of sharing information between universities, first came on the scene in the early '90s. In fact, the first search engine (Archie) was developed by Alan Emtage and functioned as a way to match a file name with a specific query. Archie emerged as a database of Web filenames, which could then be matched to user queries. By December of 1993, the first bot-fed engines appeared online and the first Web-crawler to index complete pages (WebCrawler) went live in 1994. Carnegie Mellon University's Lycos, one of the earliest contemporary engines, emerged in July 1994, by containing an index of 54,000 documents and a search engine which hosted relevance-ranking retrieval, word-proximity and prefix-matching algorithms. From there, catalogue size continued to reach astronomical quantities, topping 60 million documents in 1996. ..more http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_SearchInsider.cfm?fnl=050210

What Websites Do to Turn On Teens

2005-02-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

What Websites Do to Turn On Teens
By Daniel Terdiman Also by this reporter Page 1 of 1
02:00 AM Feb. 08, 2005 PT
If you're designing a website aimed at teenagers, you'd better not make the text too small. That's not because teens have bad eyes, but because teenagers tend to lean back in their chairs when they're at their computers.
That advice and much more about how websites for teens should be different from those for adults can be found in a study recently completed by Jakob Nielsen, a principal at the Nielsen Norman Group. Since three-quarters of American teens are web users, the economic incentive for web designers to get it right is huge.
from Media post

Definitions

2005-02-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

interstitial

is an ad that pops onto the screen and interupts users: this type of ad is often referred to as a "pop up" . Interstitials come in different sizes and have varying levels of interactivity, from static to animated productions. Since there is no warning they do grab the user's attention. Disadvantage is its intrusiveness. Since it is not asked for the user could object to receiving it, and view brand negatively.

rich media

allows for greater use of interaction with animation, audio, and video, and advanced tracking and measurement capabilities. Viewing requires Flash, or shockwave or javascript. Ads are sometimes referred to as superstitials and they are the internets version of a television commercial.

streaming media

Advanced software like Flash is used ,the audio and video content is streamed to the audience. It means it's not first downloaded, and not saved on your computer, you just view or listen as they are streaming. Banner ads like this grab users attention more quickly and can deliver the message on a more emotional level.

sponsorship

an advertiser commits to an extended relationship with another website.The sponsor usually targets the content rather than the audience eg. Callaway ( makers of golf clubs and balls) purchase a sponsorship on golf news,targetting content assuming that the audience is golfers. Sponsorship allow an advertiser to have a successful ad campaign without having to drive traffic to its web site.

CPM Model =

price charged for displaying an ad one thousand times.

Run of site =

a banner ad will appear randomly during searches across ALL categories.

Run of category=

banner will rotate throughout a category or a few categories.

keyword targetting =

a banner will appear only when users search using a particular keyword.

ad network=

acts as a sales force for a variety of independant web sites and offers a variety of CPM rates depending on traffic

Strategic consideration for internet advertising
the consumer perspective is most important
the consumers is in control
entice consumers with experience
integrate experience, content, and corporate message
constantly change and update site
listen and respond to consumers
encourage two way communication
design for transaction

Online Ad Buying Methods

2005-01-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Study finds knowledge of audience dynamics increases ad reach of Web consumers. .........I media connection 2004
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/4328.asp

The report found that certain sites' audience patterns are directly affected by their content offerings. Therefore, advertisers should be conscious of their scheduling tactics in relation to audience dynamics. The Wall Street Journal site, WSJ.com, has high usage in the morning and at the end of the workday while Yahoo! Movies sees usage peaks on weekend evenings.
The report found that light Internet users are heavy users on certain sites. Heavy Internet users are defined as those who go online 19 days or more in a month. The report found the best way to reach light users is through smaller sites like CNN.com rather than big portals such as AOL, MSN and Yahoo. Almost half of the pages views on the CNN.com home page (49.3 percent) are viewed by light Web users who make up the 36.2 percent of the home page audience.
Another key finding was that high placement of ads on busy Web sites is not always consistent with high reach. The report defined high reach sites as sites visited by most Internet consumers. Ad placement on high reach areas, according to the report, like portal home pages, should be complemented with buys on specialized content sites. For example, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports have the highest compositions of males between the ages of 18 and 34, a specialized audience all ad buyers should consider reaching.

advanced keyword buys

2005-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

Media post Search insider
http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_searchinsider.cfm?artid=284137
The Perils and Pitfalls of Advanced Keyword Buys

ALTHOUGH TODAY'S PAY-PER-CLICK (PPC) PROGRAMS offer tremendous potential to boost your Web site's online visibility, new keyword buying options pose unique challenges for even the savviest online marketer. Paid keyword variations, now available within both the Google and Overture paid programs, provide clients with even more flexibility in determining when and how ads are displayed - a process which can either work in your favor or frivolously exhaust your budget.
By turning the PPC campaign creation process to your advantage, online marketers can achieve multiple goals, ranging from acquiring leads to generating sales. PPC data analysis can further provide a wealth of market research along the way, which can prove invaluable to establishing a solid e-marketing strategy.

Accountability

2005-01-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Build the Trust Necessary for Success

Your small businesses can build a website and get on the Internet for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in the first year. But to succeed, you need to establish trust. You must be seen as both believable and attractive. Trust is the essential lubricant that allows business transactions to take place -- in the physical world and in the cyber world.
Large companies spend tens of millions of dollars to build a brand. This expenditure buys name recognition and the confidence that goes with it, a favorable position or association in the mind of the consumer, and a belief that a company with so much invested in its reputation will not disappoint its customers. Investments in brand development pay rich dividends.
http://http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt6/start-trust.htm

Viral Marketing

2005-01-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing

But you have to admire the virus. He has a way of living in secrecy until he is so numerous that he wins by sheer weight of numbers. He piggybacks on other hosts and uses their resources to increase his tribe. And in the right environment, he grows exponentially. A virus don't even have to mate -- he just replicates, again and again with geometrically increasing power, doubling with each iteration:

http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm

QVC Driving sales real time

2005-01-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Service interfaces work best with customers when technologies and humans play to their strengths. This excerpt from Best Face Forward discusses how QVC maximizes sales with a highly effective hybrid approach of machine and human talent.
Jan. 24, 2005 Issue

by Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Editor's note: The "back office" is moving to the front office—technology is more often being used to perform customer-relationship roles, concludes a new book, Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces with Customers. Authors Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski argue that as front-office automation develops, a firm's success will increasingly depend on its ability to combine the right balance of customer interaction: human, automated, and hybrid interfaces. This excerpt looks at how television shopping network QVC has mastered that art.
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4586&t=marketing&nl=y

Holliday Tallies

2005-01-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

More holiday-related online traffic tallies are in today. ComScore Media Metrix reports that holiday-related content dominated online traffic in December with seasonal sites accounting for eight of the top 10 gaining properties and nine of the top 10 gaining categories.

More than 132 million people, or four out of every five online consumers in the United States, visited retail sites in December according to comScore. Five of the top 10 gaining categories in December were retail-oriented and the fastest growing retail subcategory, jewelry/luxury goods and accessories, increased 30 percent from November to December and 15 percent over the same period in 2003. Coach.com, BlueNile.com, and Zales.com each grew 70 percent or more over November visitor levels.

The department stores category increased 20 percent in December versus November. Walmart.com had an increase of 37 percent, almost twice that of the category. With 32 million visitors in December, Walmart.com was the third-largest retail property online, behind eBay and Amazon.
While every major site in the department stores category increased, leaders included Kmart (up 49 percent), May Department Stores (42 percent), and Federated Department Stores (35 percent).

E-card sites also experienced traffic gains spurred by visitors to sites in the e-Cards and flowers, gifts, and greetings categories. Nearly 48 million consumers visited e-Card sites to send or view virtual holiday cards in December. The flowers, gifts, and greetings category grew 20 percent with RedEnvelope.com, Proflowers.com, and HarryandDavid.com experiencing substantial growth in December. 1-800-Flowers jumped 44 percent between November and December.

-Tobi Elkin

RFID Tag Market to Swell Tenfold

2005-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

RFID Tag Market to Swell Tenfold by 2009
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/hardware/article.php/3460851

Cross-Channel Marketing: Make It Work for You
Marketing effectiveness can be quantified across multiple media, but how do you turn reams of data into keen insights about cross-channel behavior? Where are the points of optimization? There are no hard-and-fast answers.

Structure your metrics program with the entire customer experience in mind. When does an experience in one medium tend to lead to another? What calls to action are most effective? Where, exactly, are customers bailing out? You can use this insight to find the most important points of leverage for your business. Perhaps it's increasing conversion rate by improving the checkout process. Or maybe it's ensuring all leads captured online are converted offline.

Think about your product or service from the customer's perspective. Put it in a context they know. Lay out the total experience before you start thinking about media, channels, budgets, and programs. Create a big idea that threads it all together. Then, measure your success.

10 Internet and E business trends of 2004

2005-01-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

Ten Internet and E-Business Trends of 2004

In a recent report, eMarketer describes the top ten Internet and e-business trends "Companies are making money online. Advertisers are investing in online advertising - which is now the fastest growing ad medium in the US."
1. Paid Search Advertising: with 51% growth to $3.9 bil. in the US alone.

2. Cross-Channel Shopping: consumers are dividing their purchases among bricks-and-mortar stores, Internet retail Web sites and mail order catalogs.

3. Blogs and Really Simple Syndication (RSS): corporate blogs key online content developments in 2004.

4. Strong Broadband Adoption: : if broadband is available for less $30 per month, take-up is rapid as seen in the most competitive broadband markets.

5. Mobile Service: US consumers are looking to their phones for more than just talking, as evidenced in the widespread adoption of camera phones.

6. IT Overseas Outsourcing: worldwide, IT is the most commonly outsourced business

7. Health Care and IT: A ten-year plan July 2004. top goals, interoperable network through which health care providers will be able to share the electronic medical records of individual patients.

8. VoIP leading telecom and cable companies started to unveil their VoIP services. User growth has been slow, however.

9. Linux: Senior Analyst Steve Butler several leading technology firms announced their acceptance of the Linux Standards Base (LSB).

10 China: IDC estimate IDC estimates total IT spending in China will reach $25 billion in 2004, with a spending growth for the year second only to India

2005-01-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

welcome e marketing class CCC 2005
Would be neat if we all could find some time to share our knowledge.