Economists, politicians and media types are no longer arguing whether or not the economy is in a recession. Instead most are debating how long it will last. If recent trends continue, the prognosis is relatively dismal for real estate values, gas prices and the unemployment rate. And as corporations and consumers grow frugal, cutbacks in advertising threaten the vitality of … [Read more...]
Shine a Light
It's been seven years since interactive agency Razorfish embarrassed itself on national television. When reporter Mike Wallace of CBS' "60 Minutes" asked the agency's co-founders what the company does, the answer was none too clear. Jeff Dachis, co-founder of Razorfish, said to Wallace, "We've asked our clients to recontextualize their business." Asked for … [Read more...]
Searching for Alternatives
It was a cold night in Pennsylvania when Leila Crooks was on Digg.com, the community-based popularity site, and came across a story about a "slanket" - a fleece blanket with sleeves that offers the freedom of arm movement so people can play video games or surf computers while snuggling under a blanket. Crooks was intrigued, bought one, loved it and sent the link to … [Read more...]
Video Goes Viral
Thanks to social networking sites such as YouTube, online video has quickly become an everyday part of the online experience. While marketers have been slow to capitalize on video so far, the low cost of producing content and potential for increasing reach will make it essential to performance marketing.The audience that watches Web video skews younger, but nearly everyone … [Read more...]
The Desire to Acquire
The new geography features auction-based ad exchanges and conglomerated companies with divisions that buy, sell and distribute ads: something that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The emergence of these new entities with intertwined relationships has the potential to streamline the media marketplace and drive costs down and return on investment up. Consolidation will … [Read more...]
Do Your Metrics Measure Up?
Steve DiPietro is amazed at how frequently he listens to prospective clients parroting clickthrough percentages, Web traffic statistics and conversion ratios with great enthusiasm but little-to-no understanding of their value to their organizations. Increasing a conversion rate from 12 to 15 percent can become a goal unto itself as marketers immersed in number crunching can … [Read more...]
Online Is Sweet
Food has recently been called everything from the new theater to the new porn. Regardless of how you think about food, you certainly can't avoid it. Food has become America's No. 1 obsession and food companies - from providers of high-end gourmet goodies to those feeding the fast-food nation - are battling to get on the dinner plates of today's consumers. And because everybody … [Read more...]
The Mobile Marketing Monster
Tony Phillip will tell you the exact moment he knew that mobile marketing and advertising - predominantly via cell phones - had crossed over into the mainstream. It was when American Idol, the extremely popular TV singing contest, allowed viewers to vote for their favorite singer via text message - and more than 50 million did in 2005 versus 21 million in 2004, according to … [Read more...]
Sell Green to Make Green
For online marketers, green could be the new gold. The events of the past year opened the eyes of many consumers to the importance of being Earth-friendly, which in turn has created an unprecedented opportunity for the sellers of green goods. Hurricane Katrina, the popularity of the global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and President Bush's epiphany … [Read more...]
The Lure of Youth
They're wired, they're affluent and they are a largely untapped market. This prized group is teens. They are often referred to by a variety of different monikers including Echo Boomers, Millennials, Netizens, Generation Y, Trophy Children (because of the strong impact that parents have in their decision-making process) and Generation N (for Net). When analyzing this group, … [Read more...]
Retooling the Web
Microsoft was late in recognizing the profit potential of online search. Meanwhile, upstart Google surpassed older search sites such as AltaVista, America Online and Yahoo to become the clear leader in search and, therefore, online advertising revenue. In late 2005, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and chief technical officer Ray Ozzie wrote widely quoted memoranda acknowledging … [Read more...]
The State of Online Marketing
By the time Revenue magazine hit newsstands in January 2004, performance marketing and affiliate marketing had already had their share of ups and downs. Online marketing had survived the dot-com bust and continued to evolve from the e-commerce craze into something that sparked enthusiasm and life in a shell-shocked market.The idea that retirees, housewives and those with "real … [Read more...]
Danger: Clicking Ahead
Sometimes a click isn't really a click. Sometimes the person knocking on a website's door is really a wolf in shopper's clothing, perpetrating a fraud that wastes marketers' advertising dollars or steals commissions. Skip Pratt says his Web hosting company BAPort.com was being defrauded on 20 percent of its clicks. He was so frustrated by the problem that he developed a click … [Read more...]
Stumped About Stopping Spyware
Tuan Le is mad. And when he's upset, he speaks quietly, deliberately and very thoughtfully. He's hardly a hothead. But nothing gets him more riled up, if you can call it that, than knowing he's losing a large percentage of revenue from his two affiliate Web sites to other affiliates that are acting in unethical and unfair ways. Le, who's been an affiliate for the last few years … [Read more...]
Online Travel Takes Off
Schlepping his burgundy leather briefcase and navy canvas travel bag through the Portland airport, George Bragg doesn't care as much about how he gets his ticket as how soon he'll get home to Dallas. He'd happily buy tickets from affiliates, discounters, travel agents or airlines. With travel representing the single largest source of Internet commerce, travelers like Bragg have … [Read more...]