Ad Shop USA

Twitter Advertising Equals "Promoted Tweets"

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:59:00 +0000

(Excerpt from Mashable, 4/13/10)

Twitter is going to launch its much-anticipated advertising platform on Tuesday, one day before its first-ever developers conference. The ad platform is called “Promoted Tweets” and will start rolling out Tuesday afternoon, beginning with promoted tweets within Twitter Search results.

According to AdAge and The New York Times, the platform will allow businesses to insert themselves into the Twitter stream in order to rise above the noise. It will start with search results, but later on will enter both Twitter.com streams and third-party apps such as TweetDeck and Tweetie (acquired by Twitter last week). Only one ad will be displayed at a time.

Initial customers of the platform include Virgin America, Bravo, and Starbucks. Advertisers will bid on keywords based on a CPM basis initially, but later on Twitter intends to launch a “resonance score” metric that will judge how much reach and impact individual sponsored tweets have, based on favorites, retweets, and views.

In a lot of ways, it’s like Digg Ads, the social media company’s successful advertising model. Both use user interaction with ads in order to determine the price and longevity of specific ads.

The rollout will begin with search and should expand at the end of 2010, depending on how users react to the Promoted Tweets platform.

Top 10 Social Media Efforts for B2B Marketers

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:29:00 +0000

Excerpt from Mashable: The B2B Marketing series is supported by the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, where you’ll learn the ins-and-outs of social media as part of your overall B2B marketing mix. *Additional reporting by Tamar Weinberg)

When we write about how companies or individuals are using social media in their marketing strategies, it’s usually in the context of a business to consumer relationship. However, business-to-business (B2B) marketing is really getting a boost from social media as well. According to a recent study, 60% of B2B marketers plan to increase social media marketing spending this year.
As we discussed earlier this week in the context of PR professionals and social media, even non-B2B-centric services like Twitter and Facebook can still offer great opportunities for B2B shops. Sometimes, the approach is the same as it would be in non-B2B marketing, sometimes it can be very different.

Figuring out how to best implement and harness social media in the course of B2B marketing can be difficult but we’ve put together ten tips to help get you on the right track!

1. Use Twitter Effectively
This may seem like a no-brainer, but plenty of businesses and even B2B marketers aren’t on Twitter. Get an account on Twitter and start engaging. While having profiles on other social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can be equally important, Twitter remains one of the best ways to find and engage with others.

How do you do that? Start by searching for phrases relevant to your business and by monitoring those searches regularly. Look at what people are saying and join in the conversation. If people aren’t necessarily looking for your business offerings right away, start joining other conversations of interest. The more you build bridges, the more likely you are to be noticed.
Second, use hashtags. The #B2B hashtag, for example, will connect you with several other like-minded businesses who are also trying to leverage Twitter to build an online presence. Don’t overdo it, though. There are some people #who #tweet #like #this.

We’ll discuss this in the next point, but consider Twitter to be an informal medium. With social media, businesses can (and should) be human again. That’s why it’s safe to use Twitter not just for pure self promotion but to build a meaningful relationships with those who you are likely to do business with you in the future. If you feel comfortable using your business Twitter feed to talk about what makes you tick (versus purely promoting your business), you might be pleasantly surprised to see that your audience might very well be receptive to that messaging.
What’s great about Twitter, especially from a B2B perspective, is that you can follow just about everyone. Take advantage of the opportunity to follow your industry influencers, connect with potential customers, and keep a heads up on the competition.

A great example of Twitter usage from a B2B perspective is @salesforce. Salesforce has used its Twitter feed to share relevant news, to empower current customers, and to offer customer support.

2. Figure Out Your ‘Social Voice’
Social media works best when it is personal and authentic, and thus, it’s important to make sure that the way you communicate when using social media tools comes from a personal and authentic place.

Kevin Dugan, the Director of Social Marketing for Empower MediaMarketing recently wrote a blog post about finding your social voice. I spoke with Dugan about establishing a social voice, and he had this to say:

“It is critical that brands understand a social voice is different from brand voice. Social voice reinforces the brand voice indirectly. Social voice doesn’t follow communication guidelines or identity standards. That’s because a social voice equates to a person. A brand voice is anonymous while a social voice can be found on Google. They must also have an understanding of the brand and a passion for it.”

Social networks are now helping to put the “human” back in businesses again. The traditional messaging of yore has been replaced by businesses who actually appear to show that they care about their customers. With a social voice, informal is perfectly acceptable. Having a social voice, as opposed to just a generic “brand voice,” is an important step when connecting with potential customers. Prospective customers want to connect with businesses who think just like them.
Just because your clients are other businesses doesn’t mean that the “social” aspect of social media needs to disappear.

3. Take Advantage of Opportunities on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is continuing to get bigger and bigger — and it continues to be a great resource for businesses and employees to connect with one another.

One of the best things about LinkedIn is the Shared Connections feature. This feature makes it possible to find people — like potential clients — and then see what connections you have in common. Shared Connections then makes getting a virtual introduction that much easier.
Building up a strong LinkedIn network and being willing to introduce others (in good faith, of course — always use your best judgment) can also increase what opportunities you can get in the future.

B2B marketing is often built through trust and word of mouth. Having a shared connection is a great way to start establishing some of that trust from the very beginning.

LinkedIn also has a community of active participants. LinkedIn Answers serves as a knowledge base where business representatives can establish authority and expertise by participating in the ongoing discussions. LinkedIn Groups is an opportunity for business professionals to interact with other topics relevant to his/her interests. One business successfully used LinkedIn Groups as a way to build business leads. This business opted to engage in relevant industry discussion and offered business services when requests were made, thereby bringing in a highly targeted business lead. Actively participating in LinkedIn is often one of the best ways to not only help people out, but also to make a connection for your service and even generate leads.

Answering questions across LinkedIn Answers and LinkedIn Groups doesn’t mean to simply put out the marketing blurb, but to really engage and offer feedback and solutions. Again, social media is most effective when it is genuine.

4. Start a Blog
Social media provides the opportunity for companies to promote themselves but also to welcome commentary from a community of peers. By starting a blog, you give your readers an opportunity to see you with your social voice outside the typical corporate website’s newsroom. Blogs become platforms where you can announce new product releases, share personal company stories, answer any specific questions from your customers, and empower customers to achieve success with your products and service offerings. Blogging can also establish business professionals as thought leaders in their field, thereby aiding with client acquisition.

Blogs can build up qualified prospects through search engine rankings too. Be sure to update your blog regularly with valuable content and follow up with the comments written on each individual post.

5. Monitor Your Industry
Social media means that content is being posted everywhere, and businesses have a unique opportunity to gather intelligence to make well-educated and informed business decisions. Google Alerts is a great tool to keep up with what’s happening in relation to your company, your industry and your competitors. You can get updates via e-mail or in RSS (and even in real-time) about new search results or news stories for a certain query or topic.

Further, free tools like Social Mention and YackTrack will monitor the social sphere for other mentions of your business on social sites, especially. BackType will take that a step further and monitor phrases in comments on blog posts. All of these aforementioned services can be emailed to you in a daily digest format which your team can evaluate to find opportunities.

If you don’t already have alerts set up on these services for your company name, do it now. Also set up a more generic alert for your industry as a whole to see what people are talking about. If you want to see what your competition or other big industry players are doing, add those to the mix as well.

Monitoring can also be useful because you can then highlight the big stories on your own social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, etc.

6. Be Consistent and Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up
While you don’t want to be creepy (see below), it’s important to not let potential opportunities slip by when using social media. If you’ve answered someone’s question on LinkedIn or on Twitter, don’t be afraid to reach back out to that person to ask if they have any follow-up questions or if you can send them more information. There’s an abundance of opportunity to strengthen a business relationship but it starts by initiating and then making sure that your business is fresh in your prospects’ minds.

Staying engaged and staying communicative is really important. Social media is not about setting it and forgetting it. It’s about being social, so don’t be afraid to reach out and check back in with potential leads you meet using social media. Similarly, don’t be afraid to direct message your followers on Twitter when an opportunity presents itself. They followed you because they want to hear from you. Use that opportunity to your advantage but don’t overdo it. Auto-DMs are a no-no.

If you’re going to blog, don’t leave that blog stagnant. Provide valuable content on a regular basis. Give employees of your company an opportunity to help build your brand. You can get a lot of great blog content by involving many company employees in the process. Similarly, get many employees of your company to utilize the social networks and to be continually responsive to customer inquiries. Remember, the more visible you are on the social networks, the more likely you are to be remembered when another business actually needs to utilize your services.

7. Leverage Your Analytics for Business Metric Measurement
After you’re involved enough in the social space, you’ll likely see tweets, retweets, traffic, and social network links that point to various parts of your company website. Take a look at your website analytics and start seeing where you’re making a difference, especially as it relates to ROI measurement. Don’t lose sight of your business metrics and start considering practical social media measurement to assess clickthroughs, popularity of links, and other important metrics.

As part of measurement, consider using URL shorteners. Not only do they make links more manageable (and limit the number of characters in a Tweet or Facebook message), they also can be a great way to track data as many URL shorteners provide valuable statistics about the performance of each individual shortened URL. Monitor this data throughout the process with your main website analytics package to see if your message attached to the shortened URL resulted in conversions.

When looking at conversion trends or successful tools in building leads with social media, reviewing analytics data is crucial. It gives you insight into content that performs very well in the social space but also through other marketing techniques, such as search engine optimization. Use the data as an opportunity to improve your content or your social media/search marketing efforts.

8. Find and Follow Industry Influencers
B2B social media marketing is often about connecting with the right people and about building relationships. Social media makes both of these actions simple and painless. Being aware of who the influencers in your industry are and then following them, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook or their own blogs, is the first step to building a connection with those influencers. With a genuine relationship, these influencers may be able to help you make your mark in the social media marketplace. This is especially true of influencers who may already have your target audience at their disposal.

This doesn’t mean you need to retweet every tweet or share every blog post on Facebook, but it does mean that you should be aware of who the movers and shakers are. By following them and then reaching out when appropriate or just to get to know them further, you have a much better shot at getting some attention.

Even if you’re not necessarily connecting to influencers, social media affords the opportunity to connect with other people in your industry and your customers. Use the various social media platforms as an opportunity to connect with these industry colleagues and peers and build upon each other. Consider celebrating your colleagues’ or customers’ success. Make it known that you’re here to help them — not just yourself. Repeat this process with anyone of interest and you’re bound to attract eyeballs.

9. Use Social Media for Giveaways and Promotions
Sometimes, the hardest part of social media is sticking out from the sea of other users. Giveaways and promotions are a great way to help differentiate yourself and your business. Using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, you can target your desired customer base and then let them know (if appropriate) about different promotions or giveaways related to your product. If you offer a service, consider giving a free year to a loyal customer. If you manufacture products, give some away.

Offer a coupon on your company’s Facebook Page and pair it with a lead-generation form for future contact. Let people know on Twitter about specials or contests that are going on and follow-up with those that show an interest. Perhaps you can have a retweet contest where you can monitor responses or host some trivia on your Facebook Page. You can also open an online survey to get feedback about your offerings and reward participants. The possibilities are endless. Creativity in this capacity breeds success.

Companies like Wildfire make it really easy to build these sorts of promotions directly inside your own social media channels.

10. Don’t Be Creepy
If you use social media like a keyword searching robot, you are going to come across as creepy and turn off potential clients. Don’t be creepy.
Use best judgment and common sense when approaching people using social networks. If you wouldn’t want to be approached the way you are approaching another user, don’t use that approach. It’s as simple as that. Social media etiquette isn’t much different than real life relationships, so what won’t work in “real life” probably won’t work online.

Respecting boundaries doesn’t mean you can’t still answer questions, engage and follow-up with potential leads, it just means that if it’s clear that the other party isn’t interested, or more importantly, if the context of their communication really doesn’t involve or seek out input from your company, don’t do it.

Context is really important in social media and it is something that is very, very easy to overlook. While we think that using keywords and Google Alerts are good methods for keeping atop of your field, that doesn’t mean you can automate your responses or just go into autopilot based on those alerts.

It's All In The Way You Say It ...

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:37:00 +0000

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

~Unknown (Rec'd in email from the Prez's Dad!)

Cash-For-Clunkers Rebates For Appliances

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:40:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 3/4/10)

Cash-for-Clunkers Rebates Offered on New Appliances

Three dozen states are launching programs in March and April to distribute almost $300 million in rebates to consumers buying energy-efficient appliances.

The federally funded programs, similar to the cash-for-clunkers auto rebate program last year, are intended to improve energy efficiency and stimulate the economy. Rebates differ by state and appliance.

Eight states launched programs in February, including New York, which offered $50 to $75 rebates on refrigerators, washers and freezers. On opening weekend, "There were people waiting outside every store to get started," said Doug Moore, president of appliances for Sears, which opened early to meet demand.

New York's $18.7 million program was set to expire at the end of February but was extended because millions remained. "It's been a boon to consumers and retailers," said Francis Murray, CEO of the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority.

Michigan launched its program Feb. 10. It expects it'll take four months to distribute the $9 million in rebates, said Stephanie Epps, appliance analyst for the Michigan Bureau of Energy Systems. "The weak economy has a lot to do with it," Epps said.

Some states started programs earlier. Each state sets the rules and dates of their programs. Oregon and Kansas require applicants to be low income. Alaska has reserved rebates for people with disabilities.

To qualify for rebates, consumers must buy Energy Star appliances, which meet energy standards set by the federal government and are up to 30% more efficient than standard models, Murray said.

Many states offer rebates for refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and water heaters, Moore says. Some states are more restrictive. Many offer extra rebates if consumers recycle old appliances. Rebates are largely first come, first served. In Michigan, consumers can reserve rebates, then buy and apply, Epps said.

The Department of Energy provides information on each state's program at this site.(Source: USA Today, 02/23/10)

Ways Spending Habits Have Transformed

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:45:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 2/23/10)

Some Changes, It Seems, May Be Permanent

It's a question that has preoccupied marketers ever since the economy went haywire: Will people revert to their free-spending ways once the economy recovers, or has their behavior been permanently transformed?

Some observers insist that people's pre-recession acquisitiveness was rooted in basic human impulses and will largely reassert itself. Others say the long spending spree was an aberration and that human nature doesn't fate us to be obsessive shoppers. A report released late last month by Context-Based Research Group and ad agency Carton Donofrio Partners makes the case that the downturn has indeed wrought a lasting shift in consumers' thinking and not just a transitory change in their bank balances.

Titled "Coming of Age in the Great Recession," the report draws on quantitative survey work fielded last fall as a follow-up to ethnographic research conducted in the aftermath of autumn 2008's financial meltdown. So far, attitudinal changes noted in the earlier study (issued under the title "Grounding the American Dream") have not gone away. Most broadly, the new report says 83 percent of respondents subscribed to the statement, "I have made permanent changes to how I spend and save." Moreover, the survey finds them saying good riddance to their old understanding of the "American Dream" and the buying it entailed: 78 percent endorsed the statement, "The American Dream started as 'the land of opportunity' but became merely the land of opportunity to buy."

Seeing benefit in the downturn
And they haven't necessarily been dragged kicking and screaming to this new consciousness. Rather, a significant number of respondents sound a note of relief that the downturn has rescued them from an unsatisfying cycle of getting and spending. Forty-three percent agreed with the statement, "I feel that my life has been positively affected by the economic changes." That, as much as anything, gives reason to think the changes in behavior will persist even after the economy has recovered.

And it's noteworthy that such thinking isn't confined to people whose finances have been slammed by the recession. "What was interesting to my colleagues and me was that the survey showed people who weren't impacted -- i.e., hadn't experienced job loss, etc. -- were acting as if they were directly affected," says Robbie Blinkoff, principal anthropologist and co-founder of Context-Based Research Group, which brings the discipline of "consumer anthropologists" to the study of consumer behavior.

"Those who were involuntary thrown into dire situations changed quickly, but out of necessity," says Blinkoff. "I'd say 50 percent of the change with this group was voluntary, since the trigger that activated their change wasn't intentional, but the subsequent behavior modifications were by choice. For those who weren't directly impacted, the change is 100 percent voluntary. Once they accepted what was happening to friends and family members, they altered their lifestyle. The great recession prompted us to examine how we live our lives."

Buying and self-image
That element of self-awareness is reflected in one of the survey's findings. Seventy-six percent of the respondents agreed that they've "come to a deeper understanding of how my buying behavior shapes my self-image." And this "deeper understanding" has expressed itself partly in a lower level of expenditure, as 88 percent said they've "taken steps to spend less this year.

"It's not just a matter of spending less, though. The report also indicates people are thinking in a different way about the outlays they continue to make. In that regard, a landslide 93 percent agreed, "I have become more strategic in how I buy things, thinking more about how they fit into my life." Note the latter phrase there, about how purchases "fit into my life." This is plainly more than a matter of getting the most bang for one's buck in a time of straitened resources.

But do we tend to think everyone else was running around overspending in the bad old days -- encouraged by overeager lenders -- while we ourselves were behaving sensibly? Blinkoff thinks not. "The average person is taking part of the blame," he says. "Without a doubt there was a societal problem with the banks and mortgage companies, but people are taking personal responsibility. We're waking up and wondering why we need two refrigerators.

Not giving up 'treats'
That's not to say consumers feel they're now enduring Spartan lives of self-denial: 90 percent agreed that "Regardless of how I spend and save, I still look for ways to give myself and others small treats along the way." Says Blinkoff, "Cutting back didn't have to mean cutting out fun and not enjoying your life. Throughout our research we saw that people were finding ways to experience joy despite the recession. Now that the ice is breaking, we're seeing people shop a bit more, and we expect this trend to continue as the economy gains strength." It won't be a return to the heedless, credit-funded shopping of the pre-recession days, though. "Consumers will spend a little more and treat themselves, but with more thoughtful purchases -- attainable luxuries as opposed to extreme luxuries, those items grounded in peoples' values," he says.

In this environment, how will consumers react to advertising for things they know they don't need? "I don't think they'll readily be pulling out their wallets," Blinkoff remarks. "If consumers see a product they don't need, they aren't going to make the purchase. For advertisers, this means less differentiating on brand alone and focusing on product attributes. The Oxo line of kitchen gadgets seems to be a brand that resonates with the newly grounded consumer. Consumers are willing to purchase cooking tools that will help them with a hobby and ultimately help provide a shared experience of a meal with family and friends. That purchase has a purpose, a deeper meaning."

The emphasis on deriving satisfaction from time spent with family and friends (as opposed to time spent at the mall) is part of what the report refers to as an effort "to maintain a healthy balance between our consumer and non-consumer sense of selves." "Our research shows a significant percentage of respondents are committed to spending more time with friends and family," says Blinkoff. And, when asked specifically whether this might be an instance of people giving a pollster the socially acceptable response, he insists that's not what's going on here. "Our findings indicate that this is more than a knee-jerk reaction or the 'correct' answer," he says. "For example, Super Bowl XLIV was the most-watched television program of all time. In my opinion, that's proof people are getting together. It's less about a football game and more about time with friends and family."

From a 'me' to a 'we' economy
Of course, a pullback from conspicuous consumption doesn't mean an end to the age-old practice of "keeping up with the Joneses." Rather, the display of one's status has evolved in a way Blinkoff sees as durable. "We're seeing people utilize social currency and a relational economy," he says. "We are moving from a 'me' to a 'we' economy. It's not about transactions but rather what you can do for yourself and others."

As a tangible example, he points to Americans' response to the Haiti earthquake. "I think the overwhelming response to this tragedy connects to the fact people are trying to give more of themselves," he says. "Obviously we aren't going to stop buying stuff completely, but we're moving away from identifying ourselves with top-of-the-line automobiles and $3,000 handbags."

(Source: Adweek, 02/22/10)

Sponsorship Spending Expected to Bounce Back in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:32:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 2/15/10)

SPONSORSHIP SPENDING STRUGGLES TO RECOVER

In 2010, things are looking up for sponsorships.

Sponsorship spending by North American companies is expected to grow 3.4% to $17.08 billion, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report.

But as the numbers came in from 2009, for the first time, these companies spent less on sponsorships with expenditures declining 0.6% to $16.51 billion, compared to $16.6 billion in 2008.

“Those unprecedented numbers reflect a marketplace that never recovered from the economy’s free fall towards the end of ’08,” William Chipps, IEG SR’s senior editor, said.

And for some companies that are inexperienced in using sponsorships and never really had a strategy behind it, see it as an expendable item and have cut those sponsorships,” he said.

In addition, two industries that play a large role in sponsorship spending—automotive and financial—have drastically cut spending in the wake of government bailouts and other financial problems.

“These industries have pulled back after haven taken major hits over last couple of years,” Chipps said. “And they have historically been two of the most active sponsorship categories.”

Sports, the largest sponsorship category, saw spending decline 1% from $11.4 billion in ’08 to $11.28 billion in ’09. Two of the other six major property sectors also suffered a drop in revenue: causes slipped a mere 0.3% from $1.52 billion to $1.51 billion, while arts spending fell 0.8% from $848 million to $820 million.

Other sectors managed gains. Spending on entertainment tours and attractions rose 0.8% from $1.63 billion to $1.64 billion; spending on festivals, fairs and annual events increased 0.4% from $753 million to $756 million; and spending on associations and membership organizations rose 2.9% from $482 million to $496 million.

Each of the six sectors continue to earn the same share of the sponsorship pie as they did in ’08, with sports taking 68% of the dollars, followed by entertainment tours and attractions at 10%.

Firms are also looking more closely at return on investment.

“Companies are increasingly asking themselves, ‘are we generating ROI or a return on objective?” Chipps said.

Outside North America, the outlook improves.

Global sponsorship expenditures reached $44 billion in ’09, a 2.1% increase from the $43.1 billion spent in ’08.

Minus activity by U.S. and Canadian companies, spending by the rest of the world hit $27.5 billion in ’09, a 3.8% rise over $26.5 billion in ’08.

For 2010, IEG SR projects 4.5% growth in worldwide sponsorship to $46 billion. The largest gains will come from Africa and South America, in part due to activity and interest surrounding South Africa’s hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup and a developing sponsorship marketplace in countries such as Argentina and Brazil, the latter of which will host both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Countries based in Central and South America will increase spending by 5.7% to $3.7 billion, while companies from all other countries, including those on the African continent, will grow their spends by the same 5.7% proportion to $2.1 billion.

European companies will boost spending 5% to $12.7 billion and those based in the Asia Pacific region will see a 4% rise to $10.4 billion, IEG said.

Source: Promo Magazine, 01/28/2010

Marketing to Social Followers

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:39:00 +0000

(Excerpt from emarketer, January 22, 2010)

What Social Followers Want
Deals aren’t the only thing

Brand marketers want consumers to follow them to build buzz and engagement, but social media users often desire something in return. What they’ve come to expect is a good deal, but many consumers—including the most active users of social sites—are also interested in deeper engagement.

A December 2009 MarketingSherpa survey indicated that learning about specials and sales was the top motivation of those who friended or followed a brand online, supporting the results of earlier surveys. But looking for savings was followed closely by learning about new products, features or services.

Users described as “max connectors”—those with at least 500 social connections—were less interested than average in getting deals. Instead, they cared about new products and company culture, demonstrating the deeper engagement expected by social media power users.

An earlier study, by Razorfish, also found that exclusive deals and offers were the primary motivation of US Internet users following brands on Twitter.

Respondents who friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace responded similarly, though they were more likely to become a fan because they were a current customer (32.9%) than were users of Twitter.

Sharing interesting content that users care about, along with the deals and discounts they have come to expect, will both keep them engaged and spur them to pass along marketing messages.

Pandora Goes Local

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:32:00 +0000

Pandora Goes After Local Advertisers
By Douglas Quenqua, ClickZ, Feb 2, 2010

Personalized Internet music provider Pandora is looking to pull more business from local advertisers in 2010 with a new sales team aimed solely at small and mid-size businesses. The company is also partnering with AdReady, a do-it-yourself ad platform that helps smaller advertisers place display ads with publishers.

The move comes in response not to a deflated ad market, said Pandora's VP of performance ad sales Brian Mikalis, but to a swell of inquiries from local advertisers that were taxing Pandora's national sales staff.

"We've been getting a lot of request from small to mid-size businesses, and we had our premium direct sales teams fielding a lot of those calls," said Mikalis, who claimed Pandora had been doubling its business year over year. "We want our premium team focused on the largest Fortune 500 brands, but we didn't want to do nothing with those other requests."

Mikalis has been tasked with managing the new local sales staff, which will be stationed in Pandora's Oakland, CA, headquarters. Mikalis joined Pandora a year ago after leaving his post as director of business development at AdReady.

If MIkalis' comments are any indication, that new staff will be trying to sell Pandora to advertisers as less of a Web site than a radio station.

"One of the differentiators for Pandora from other traditional sites is every single one of our users registers and gives us their zip code, so we can do that local marketing down to the DMA level very easily," he said. "If you're advertising on local markets on radio, you can do the same thing on Pandora."

Pandora, which stems from the music genome project launched in 2000, now claims more than 45 million registered listeners and a database of over 700,000 songs. National advertisers include Nike, Microsoft, Honda and Procter & Gamble.

Local. Local. Local. Media Predictions ...

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:36:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/22/10)

Top Five Predictions for Local Media

The top prediction from Digital Strategies for Broadcasters suggests local broadcasters have three incredibly valuable assets -- local brands, local content and local sales forces. DSB analysts are advising clients to expect to see some creative broadcasters bringing these assets together in very compelling business models.

BIA/Kelsey's Interactive Local Media analysts believe the next two years will fundamentally alter the local media market landscape, based on the thesis that the economic implosion over the past year and a half will irrevocably change advertiser behavior. The ILM team's top prediction is the return of a competitive search market. ILM analysts have advised their clients to expect traffic acquisition costs to start to rise. If AOL moves to the Bing camp, the "tri-search-fecta" of a Bing-Yahoo-AOL brand would be a competitive one.

BIA/Kelsey's Mobile Local Media analysts believe the mix of technology, usage and advertiser trends will further define the pace and change of mobile media and affirm the core role mobile will play in the $140 billion local media industry. In 2010 the MLM analyst team predicts location and geotargeted advertising will represent a long-elusive revenue stream for Twitter and for third parties that mash up Twitter streams and location data. Also expect Facebook to integrate automatic location detection into the status updates that have become central to its user experience.

Despite the general devaluation of ad networks and the impact of a poor economy, BIA/Kelsey's Marketplaces analysts believe vertical ad networks hold a great deal of promise. The vertical opportunities in marketplaces appear to be the sector of the Internet economy where many of the biggest opportunities lie. New vertical combinations could provide a certain amount of sustaining revenues from emerging players, such as networks of hyperlocal sites and local/lifestyle networks. Marketplaces analysts will be watching for agencies to ask for alternative online distribution and to put up the bucks.

Analysts from BIA/Kelsey's The Kelsey Report believe the level of urgency for Yellow Pages publishers to diversify their mix of revenues and re-engineer their sales organizations is at its peak. Look for publishers to begin testing discrete monetization paths for their mobile search products. These will range from discrete landing pages to pay per call. The dollars will be small, but publishers will want to see how they are embraced by the sales channel and reps. They will also want to understand which approaches deliver value and which do not.

(Source: BIA/Kelsey, 01/21/10)

Ad Revenues Upgraded to Flat in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:10:00 +0000

(Excerpt from Radio Ink, 1/22/10)

Corrected: Magna Predicts Flat Ad Revenues In 2010

Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect percentage in Magna's radio revenue projection for 2011. Radio Ink regrets the error.

January 21, 2010: Magna, a division of IPG's Mediabrands, has updated its U.S. advertising revenue forecast and is now projecting that ad revenues will be essentially flat this year, with a 0.1 percent decline, to $161 billion. That's compared to Magna's earlier projection of a 1.3 percent falloff.

For the first quarter, Magna sees 3 percent less advertising revenue on a normalized basis, falling to $36.8 billion from $38 billion in Q1 2009. That reflects, the company said, "a moderating pace of decline" compared to a 7 percent drop in ad revenues in Q4 of last year and a 15 percent decline in Q3 of '08.

For local radio, Magna projects $12.8 billion in ad revenues in 2010, down 2.5 percent from 2009's $13.1 billion. That follows a 20.9 percent ad decline last year. But Magna is also predicting a 1 percent year-over-year drop for local radio in 2011, to $12.6 billion. For network and satellite radio, Magna projects revenues of $1.1 billion in 2010, up 2 percent year-over-year, and a gain of 3 percent in 2011, to $1.2 billion.

Local TV, meanwhile, is expected to be off 10 percent in 2010, to $14.3 billion from $14.5 billion, but will move back up by 10 percent in 2011, to $14.5 billion. Local newspapers were off 27.2 percent last year, and Magna expects that to drop by 0.7 percent in 2010, to $21.8 billion, with another 5 percent drop, to $20.7 billion, in 2011.

For local digital, Magna projects growth of 2.7 percent in 2010, to $3.5 billion from $3.4 billion in '09, and a further gain of 7.3 percent, to $3.7 billion, in 2011.

Magna covers political and Olympic spending separately to avoid skewing its look at underlying trends, and estimates that local TV will see about $2.7 billion in political advertising this year, as well as about $488 million in incremental revenues from the Olympics.

Boost Traffic - Add Social Media to Email Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:36:00 +0000

(Excerpt from Mashable, Latest News Updates, 1.21.10)

HOW TO: Take Advantage of Social Media in Your E-mail Marketing

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

You’ve most likely had an e-mail newsletter for your company for much longer than you’ve had a presence on social media sites. But now that you do both, the two can go hand-in-hand, with e-mail creating an opportunity to extend your presence on social media sites, and social media sites providing a way to get more e-mail subscribers.

At the moment though, most marketers aren’t connecting the dots. According to a recent study published by eMarketer, 48% of marketers include “forward to a friend” features in their e-mails, but only 13% include features that make it easy to share content on social networks. Here’s a look at how to close the gap, and why it’s so important that you do.
Why Include Social Media in Your E-mail?

Just like a piece of Web content can “go viral” as people share it across social networks, your e-mail promotions can get a big boost by making it easy to share them.

A recent study by Marketing Sherpa concluded that simply including sharing buttons to an e-mail marketing campaign led to a “25% boost in reader interaction, and a surge in inbound traffic from social networking sites.” Moreover, huge gains were reported in traffic via social sites: 2,070% from LinkedIn(), 1,680% from Twitter(), and 1,351% from Facebook().

How to Do It
Share buttons have become common on Web content, but they’re also easy to integrate into e-mails. If your e-mail consists of multiple articles, make sure each points to a page on the Web, and that your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn share buttons are setup to share the URL of each respective article (note: you’ll want to stick to images and text links for your e-mail share buttons as opposed to JavaScript).

Beyond sharing articles though, make sure all of your e-mails include prominent links to your presence on various social sites. Calls to action in a sidebar or in the header like “Follow Us on Twitter” or “Become a Fan on Facebook” will help people connect with you on social sites and help build your audience on them.

Growth Strategies
Once you’ve integrated social media into your e-mails, be sure you’re cross promoting. There’s no harm in reminding your Twitter followers, Facebook fans, or LinkedIn contacts that you have an e-mail newsletter. And once they signup, they’re the ones most likely to share content with their own networks on social sites.

Beyond that, create compelling content that people want to share. While a good promotion might not be as viral as a funny YouTube() clip, your business’ fans will be more likely to spread the word if there’s a specific call to action. Moreover, create content that’s not necessarily a direct sell, but provides value to potential customers in the form of information that’s useful to them. Between good content and easy social media sharing options, your e-mail marketing can become a powerful weapon in growing your business.

Be Cause or Not To Cause. That is the Question!

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:47:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/18/10)

For CMOs, Cause Marketing is a Way to Innovate in an Uncertain Time

While most CMOs have laid forth their plans for 2010, many are still seeking a way to innovate in a time of uncertainty. Where are the opportunities? With the recent dramatic drops in marketing spending, there has been one category that continues to grow. Throughout 2009 we saw the launch of many national cause-marketing programs at a time when marketers were watching budgets more closely than ever. With this rise in popularity comes the question: Where is cause marketing headed in 2010? While the rules of a successful cause campaign remain solidified, the category is set to change dramatically in 2010.

The biggest dynamic impacting cause in 2010 is that it is becoming a mature marketing option. As the newness continues to wear off and the number of cause programs continues to increase, so too grows scrutiny of these programs: What is the ROI of a cause program? Is the charitable partner truly receiving a real benefit from the cause program? And so on.

Programs that monitor nonprofit organizations, such as Charity Navigator, have existed in some form for quite a while. However, the launch of programs such as Goodness500, which measures a brand's social responsibility, will only continue to rise in 2010. Case in point: The January 2010 issue of Ladies' Home Journal contains their first-ever Do Good Awards. Expect to see more of these watchdog groups in the coming year.

The importance of transparency
Programs run the right way and in place for the long term can stand up to this scrutiny. If a program is to survive in 2010, it must follow one of the most important tenets of cause branding: transparency. This is an important trend as we head into the second decade of the 21st century. Because it is no longer a new method of branding, cause marketing will be held to the same standards as other methods of branding. And that is good.

While brands experienced sweeping change in 2010, so did nonprofits. They, too, are challenged with an entirely new consumer landscape. Research shows that the majority of Americans care about health, education and their local community. While consumers will continue to support these core causes, expect some new issues to rise where there tends to be a lack of programs -- specifically U.S. troops and homeless pets.

At the same time, we will likely see fewer charities as the economy continues to take a toll on smaller organizations. Look for charities to merge and consolidate this year in order to stay alive. This activity will also create opportunities for companies looking to support causes. A boost from a corporation via a cause program might be just what a charity needs to keep its mission alive.

The economic upheaval we are still in the midst of has forced us all to change the way we operate. In a year when volunteering went up as charitable donations went down, consumers are clearly demonstrating that they still want to give, but in different ways. Look for brands to develop programs that engage consumers instead of simply cutting a check or asking for donations.

Let consumers know what you're doing
For years, generally accepted beliefs led brands to avoid being boastful about their good works. Yet smart brands have recognized that consumers expect to hear about what a company is doing to contribute to the greater good. Educated consumers demand to know every facet of your business -- and that includes your cause. Take, for example, the 2009 Super Bowl. We saw major advertisers such as McDonald's use premium, paid ad space to showcase its long-standing commitment to charity. In 2010, we will see more programs supported by ad dollars, point-of-purchase and on-package.

With more marketing dollars supporting cause programs, you can also expect to see a link between a brand's loyalty marketing programs and its cause programs. We know that cause programs build new bridges between a brand and its consumers by creating more loyalty. When loyalty and cause programs are tied together, both will work harder for the brand.

The third integrated trend to watch will be more multilevel deals between nonprofits, brands and media properties. In the year that the queen of philanthropy, Oprah, will go off the air, we will see more room for media/cause deals to take place. Programs such as Stand Up for Cancer, from the Entertainment Industry Foundation, take cause support to a new level and provide opportunities for corporations to work together for one cause.

The ultimate winner from all these trends will be nonprofits. More support means more visibility and more dollars for their missions. However, in order for charities to truly benefit, brands must treat their cause programs with the same level of business acumen they do their other marketing outreaches. If more brands take that philosophy to heart, then we will see an even larger growth pattern for cause in 2010.

As evidence to the rise in cause marketing, the following four brands launched comprehensive cause initiatives in the fourth quarter of 2009. While the brands are very different, they all chose causes that make absolute sense for their brand, supported it with marketing and engaged consumers to act.

Dawn Saves Wildlife: The P&G dishwashing brand has been supporting wildlife causes for 30 years. Yet July 2009 was the first time the brand ever touted their efforts with an integrated marketing campaign. The program engages consumers by allowing them to register a $1 donation at dawnsaveswildlife.com for every bottle they purchase. Dawn supports the program with a mix of national media, social media and PR.

H&R Block Dollars & Sense: This past fall, the tax-preparation company launched a program focused on increasing the financial fitness of high-school students. The brand is providing more than $1 million in personal finance curriculum grants to high schools nationwide and rewarding students with college scholarships. Despite a tough economy, H&R Block committed to funding and launching the program at the start of the 2009-2010 school year.

Pepsi Refresh Project: In November 2009, the global beverage giant created a cause campaign that provides "Thousands of ideas. Millions of grants." Pepsi placed national ads to support the launch, announcing they would donate millions of dollars in grants to the best ideas from consumers about how to make the world a better place.

Sonic Drive-In Limeades for Learning: The QSR launched their first cause branding program in September 2009. Because the brand is such a strong part of the communities where its more than 4,500 locations are situated, Sonic chose to fund local teacher programs through DonorsChoose.org. The program, which has funded $640,000 to date, was supported with national TV and print buys, as well as extensive online and PR outreach.

(Source: AdAge.com, 01/06/10)

Five Ways to get Retweeted

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:29:00 +0000

(Excerpt from ComputerWorld, 1/11/10)

Twitter Tips: 5 Proven Ways to Get Retweeted
By Kristin BurnhamJanuary 11, 2010 02:51 PM ET

CIO - We all like to think we're interesting. And on Twitter, that's often measured and validated by how frequently other people retweet your posts. Maybe you're looking to hear feedback on your recent blog post. Or you've found an interesting article or a funny YouTube video that you want to share with others. Aside from the instant ego boost that being retweeted provides ("Hey! They like me!), retweeting also helps you reach a greater portion of the Twittersphere than you'd be able to on your own.

Dan Zarrella, author of The Social Media Marketing Book, knows his Twitter stats. He's combed through tens of thousands of tweets and compiled a report detailing his findings. Read on for his five tips to help you craft the kind of tweet that will get you noticed.

1. Time and day matter.
Zarrella's research shows that to increase your chances of being retweeted, you should Tweet your links in afternoons, evenings and on weekends. More specifically, Friday yields the highest number of retweets, while retweeting occurs much more frequently from 3 p.m. to midnight.

2. Choose your words carefully.
Zarrella has found that the most retweetable word is "you." "The word 'you,' while very common, seems to occur especially often in retweets, indicating that if you're talking to 'me,' I am more likely to retweet it," Zarrella says. The least retweetable words: game, going, haha, lol, but, watching, work, home, night and bed. "The lesson learned here is that if you're trying to get more retweets, don't just engage in idle chit-chat or tweet about mundane activities," Zarrella suggests.

3. Include a link.
In a random sample of tweets, Zarrella found that about 19 percent included a link. Compare that to a sample of retweets, and the percentage almost triples--57 percent included links, suggesting that the presence of a link may increase a tweet's chances of being shared.

4. Get friendly with bit.ly.
The most successful URL shortener, according to Zarrella's research, is bit.ly, followed by ow.ly, most likely because they are newer and contain fewer characters, he says. The least retweetable URL shorteners are the older and longer tinyurl.com and twitpic.com.

5. Less is more.
"New data I've been working on seems to indicate that the more frequently you Tweet links, the fewer clicks you'll get," Zarrella says. If you tweet several times an hour, you decrease the likelihood of being retweeted. Keeping your tweets to one per hour will increase your chances of being retweeted.

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO.com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Customer Feedback Still Key in Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:56:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/14/10)

Use Loyal Customers as Leverage

Proven results are a major selling point, which is why so many businesses rely on buyer testimonials to boost their credibility.

Used correctly, testimonials and case studies can create the type of urgency that compels a prospect to buy.

Case studies can also demonstrate how your products and services have helped some of the prospect's top competitors generate more revenue or branch out into new markets.

You may even want to take it a step further, by showing prospects how much revenue they stand to lose by stalling, or putting off the sale indefinitely.

Source: Sales consultant/speaker Kendra Lee (www.klagroup.com)

Steadily Decreasing Discounting is Huge Win for Retail in the Dollar Column

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:15:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/14/10)

Can Non-Traditional Pricing Strategies Boost Sales?

According to research performed by the University of Miami School of Business Administration, retailers can significantly increase profits simply by altering their pricing strategies.

The research, which included a 30-week field study performed by the school's marketing department, concluded that when the price of a sale item was increased back to its original cost in gradual steps, as opposed to one large jump, overall sales and profits rose dramatically.

Just how much? Some might be surprised. The school is reporting the field study showed a 200% increase in sales and a 55% increase in profits when the strategy (referred to as Steadily Decreasing Discounting or SDD) was used.

In the field study, SDD was tested against two of the most traditional pricing strategies: Everyday Low Pricing (EDLP), which is most commonly used by Wal-Mart and focuses on marketing consistently low prices instead of weekly sales; and Hi-Lo Pricing, which refers to the trend of offering significant discounts on certain items for a short period of time.

Michael Tsiros, chair of marketing at University of Miami and lead author of the study, explained a slight but significant difference between two of the strategies. "SDD starts like Hi-Lo pricing in that you have a big sale but the main difference comes after the initial sale when you progressively increase the price back to its regular level versus in one shot," Tsiros said. "By doing so, SDD avoids a key problem of the Hi-Lo strategy -- the big dive in sales at the end of the promotion that results from people stocking up on the item during the promotion or because they perceive the price to be too high because it was recently much lower.

"Essentially, the study concluded that SDD is an effective pricing strategy because of two reasons. When consumers are shopping, they think about past and future prices as well as current prices, so if they see an upward trend (such as the one that would be apparent with SDD), they assume prices will continue to rise in the future, and as a result, they're more likely to purchase an item at that time. The second conclusion Tsiros and his team drew was that because consumers often anticipate feeling regret after missing a sale, they are more likely to purchase an item if they expect prices to increase in the near future, to avoid experiencing that regret.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all model for pricing strategies in the retail sector, but after a volatile 2009, retailers are looking anywhere and everywhere for new revenue-generating methods. Recently, Microsoft announced its plan to roll out its Office 2010 software via a new pricing platform. The company's new approach is a flexi-pricing strategy that, ideally, will make its products more accessible to a larger group of consumers. The product won't be available until later this year, but the report states Microsoft plans to offer a range of options for consumers purchasing the software. Prices will depend on each consumer's selection but are expected to range from $99 to $499.For more information on the University of Miami's retail strategy of "Steadily Decreasing Discounting," click here.

(Source: Retail Merchandiser, 01/06/10)

Top Words of the Last Year and Decade

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:13:00 +0000

(Excerpt from Mashable.com, 1/11/10)

“Google” Is Word of the Decade

The American Dialect Society has named “google” the word of the decade and “tweet” the word of the year.

This comes after Bing said that “Twitter” the most popular word of 2009, and the Oxford dictionary declared “unfriend” (to remove someone as a Facebook friend) the word of the year.

Notably, “google” is lowercase. It’s not the name of the company; it’s a catch-all term for searching the Internet, whether you use Google, Bing or another search engine. One member of the panel of judges said he thought “blog” would become the word of the decade, but “google” won out in the end.

Characters in TV shows regularly talk about googling one another, and the word is ubiquitous enough that it’s already been stolen as a brand name for toilet paper, among other things.

“Tweet” is society’s word of the year, but Twitter didn’t begin using that word officially until a few months ago. It was used unofficially by most everyone, though. Unlike “Google,” it’s not trademarked.

Alternative Marketing Push Goes to New Depths

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:13:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/11/10)

KFC Pays Indiana Cities for 'Fiery' Ad Space

Fast-food chain KFC is giving Indianapolis and another Indiana city $7,500 so it can emblazon founder Colonel Sanders' face on their hydrants and fire extinguishers to promote new "fiery" chicken wings.

Experts say to expect more ads like this, on public property from sewer grates to the local landfill, as companies look to cut through the clutter of traditional advertising. Cash-strapped governments have long sold space on mass transit, benches, trash cans and other public property to help stretch budgets.

KFC told Indianapolis and Brazil in western Indiana it wanted to improve their fire safety by helping pay for new hydrants and extinguishers in exchange for advertising on them. The company plans to e-mail a national network of mayors today to find three more cities to participate in the approximately $15,000, month-long effort, which began Tuesday.

Indianapolis will receive $5,000 to buy fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. Some 33 extinguishers will be placed in recreation centers at city parks, and fire officials will hand out the detectors, said Jen Pittman, spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Ballard. The extinguishers will display KFC's logo for at least a month, a KFC official said.

"It's offsetting a need, it's offsetting some of our budget costs," Pittman said.

Alternative marketing efforts like this have been growing as people become immune to advertising in print, outdoors and on television, said Allen Adamson, managing director of branding firm Landor Associates in New York.

"I think it's the tip of an iceberg of things to come as marketers struggle to find places to reach consumers and as cities look for ways to squeeze more dollars," Adamson said.

Laura Ries, president of marketing consulting firm Ries & Ries outside Atlanta, said marketers must find new places to reach consumers.

"People ignore advertising, they try to get away from it whenever possible," she said. "So hitting them in unusual and unlikely places, at least initially, is likely to get some attention."

KFC, whose parent company, Yum Brands Inc., is one of the nation's largest fast-food chain owners, wants customers to see it as helping communities, said Javier Benito, a KFC executive vice president.

It spent about $16,000 last year to help fix potholes in four cities -- Topeka, Kan., Chattanooga, Tenn., Warren, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., where it is based. In return, more than 1,500 potholes were branded "Re-Freshed by KFC" in chalk that lasted about a month.

"These are things that not a lot of people are doing. I think it helps us in terms of creating goodwill with consumers," Benito said.

KFC approached city officials in 8,600-resident Brazil after a local newspaper reported that dozens of hydrants were out of service. Mayor Ann Bradshaw, who said her city's budget situation "hasn't been very good," had no qualms accepting the deal.

The chain will give the city $2,500 so it can put its logo and actual chicken buckets on at least three city fire hydrants, including one each near the courthouse, the post office and a VFW post. Bradshaw said the city intends to use the money to repair hydrants or purchase one; they run about $2,500 apiece.

She's open to more such arrangements. "I'm willing to jump on board," she said. "I think KFC is out there starting the ball rolling."

(Source: Indianapolis Star, 01/06/10)

Social Media and Paid Content Top 2010 Trends

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:38:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 1/8/10)

Welcome to 2010. Here is a list of what marketing trends we can expect to see in this new year.

Online News Content Media companies are at the center of a fierce debate over how to best monetize digital content. In recent years, they swung from one extreme to another—first charging the consumer for access to content, then opening the floodgates to free, ad-supported content (with a few notable exceptions).

Now, some media entities with premium offerings are again contemplating paid-content experiments. As these play out in 2010, we’ll see what works and what doesn’t. Our prediction? Consumers will resist paid systems, and competitors will capitalize on the negative sentiment with ad-supported content. In the end, there will be islands of paid content (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times) and hybrids of paid and ad-supported models, but on the whole, the digital media landscape will be predominantly ad-based.

Digital Video Convergence One of the keys to transitioning the US home video audience from DVDs to digital streams and downloads will be the emergence of technology that bridges the gap between the computer and the TV. The Consumer Electronics Show in early 2010 will usher in TVs with direct Internet connectivity, or with on-screen access to content portals such as YouTube, Blockbuster and Netflix. As online video becomes intertwined with the living-room TV experience, download and streaming services will take on a prominent role in the home entertainment ecosystem.

Earned Media Takes Center Stage Marketers will demand better ways to manage and measure the impact of earned media—the additional unpaid exposure a brand gets when consumers share about the brand online. Agencies will need to establish earned-media goals for every paid-media online ad campaign.

Social Plus Search Will Equal Better Results, More Ad Opportunities Search will get more social in several ways: by including real-time content in results (e.g., Twitter posts), adding information from social network friends to results, and using collective information from other Web users to hone search relevance. These trends will yield new ad formats that may incorporate friends’ viewpoints or interactions directly into the ad—and will raise new red flags among privacy advocates.

Social Ad Networks Will Expand Expect more momentum—and regulatory scrutiny—behind advertising that is targeted based on information from social network user profiles. News Corp.’s Fox Audience Network (FAN) and services from startups 33Across, Media6° and others are already up and running. Meanwhile, some advertisers, such as Discovery Channel, have tested ad formats that are personalized on the fly by using Facebook profile data.

Twitter It doesn’t take a crystal ball to guess that 2010 will be the year in which Twitter turns its focus toward building its business. So far, it has concentrated on audience growth, and by any measure it had a spectacular year. (eMarketer estimates that Twitter’s US user base tripled to 18 million in 2009.) The questions now are: What kind of business will Twitter build, and will it succeed?

The revenue streams that have been discussed include paid corporate accounts, celebrity authentication and temporal search. Of these, search seems the most realistic as a revenue generator. There will be formidable challenges, however: After all, how does a marketer insert itself into a short, time-sensitive conversation without disrupting the flow of that conversation and alienating the user?

It’s not clear how, or if, Twitter will overcome these obstacles, but co-founder Biz Stone offered a tantalizing hint when he told Reuters that the company has a novel form of advertising up its sleeve. Expect Twitter to roll this out in 2010 as the cornerstone of its temporal search business.

Source: eMarketer, December 10, 2009

21 New Product Trends for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:51:00 +0000

The coming year will bring a raft of new consumer packaged goods that Chicago-based global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence Mintel forecasts will expand on tried-and-true formulas.

"Post-recession, we don't expect manufacturers to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we predict 2010's new products will give shoppers something familiar paired with something new to better satisfy their needs," said Lynn Dornblaser, Mintel's leading new products expert. "On retail store shelves, we expect today's familiar mega-trends -- health and wellness, convenience, sustainability -- to get a fresh, new makeover for 2010.

"Mintel's "CPG Predictions 2010" report, prepared by Dornblaser and David Jago, presents 21 trends that will likely affect worldwide new product development as CPG companies maintain a delicate balance between the innovative and the expected. These trends are:

Better Nutritional Info: Almost half of U.S. adults surveyed said that having caloric information on the front of packages would help them lower their intake, but shoppers find the range of nutrition symbols used by CPG companies confusing and misleading. In response, more manufacturers will roll out clean, clear front-of-pack statements.

Slimmer Products: A shift toward simplicity will lead to lighter, slimmer, easier-to-use products featuring cleaner labels, less packaging and uncomplicated presentation and ingredients.

Detox for Health: More products will feature science-based health claims, with a new emphasis in foods and beverages on "detox" as a way to discuss weight management. By contrast, detox claims will decline in the beauty and personal care categories.

Less Sodium: The desirability of lowering dietary sodium is poised to be the next big health directive. However, since this movement is being driven by food companies and health organizations rather than by consumers, lower-salt products may be slow to catch on with shoppers.

Color-Coded Convenience: To help consumers make faster choices, more companies will color-code their products this coming year. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) say they want color-coded packaging. Such a system also enables brands to stand out on the shelf.

More for Less: Noting that recession-battered consumers increasingly want better value for their money, CPG companies will offer more multipurpose products such as cleaners and foods, which also have the advantages of appealing to a broader range of shoppers and being applicable to more occasions.

"Fresh" Ingredients: Beyond just perishable products, this term has now come to encompass better-for-you, local, additive-free, less processed, more natural, traditional and authentic items.

Pretty Simple: Streamlined, boutique-inspired containers and premium positioning will make even such quotidian purchases as soap and juice more fun.The

Clean Generation: Accounting for one-fifth of the global population, Gen Y will increasingly demand cleaning products highlighting ease of use and quick results.

Grooming for Men: 2010 will see more grooming products for the "metrosexual" male, both under such basic brands as Nivea and an increasing number of niche brands, including L'Oreal Men Expert.

New Options for Kids: Products aimed at children are going beyond licensed characters and items with "play" value to focus on nutritional benefits.

Redefining "Local": Despite the difficulties in getting locally produced foods all of the time, shoppers want products with known origins and that haven't been shipped too far. In 2010, the definition of "local" will expand, becoming more practical for major companies to use and for mainstream shoppers to buy.

More PLA Packaging: Polylactic acid as a packaging material could break through to the mainstream, thanks to its biodegradability.

Little Green Moves: In tandem with consumers, CPG companies are taking smaller but still significant actions to help the environment, with such subtle changes more likely to win acceptance from shoppers. Examples of this are sustainable products that also offer value pricing, to lure consumers on both traditional (product cost) and innovative (ecological) grounds.

Private Brands Come Into Their Own: Prodded by the recession, retailers boosted the visibility of their private label lines, and many shoppers now consider them on a par with national brands. Look for low-cost, high-quality private brands to take off in 2010.The

Incredible Shrinking Market: Mintel noted a pattern that repeats itself during times of recession: explosive new product activity followed by a sharp decline and contraction in the marketplace. This pattern often leads to the emergence of new conglomerates and a consolidation of brands and product offerings.

Rise of the App: With more tech-savvy consumers than ever, especially among younger shoppers, manufacturers are stepping up mobile computing and electronic interactivity with the purchasers of their products.

The New Old Way: Instead of investing in launches of brand-new products, many companies prefer to tweak their current offerings with new packaging, formulations or varieties, but, occasionally, tinkering with a familiar favorite can backfire: think New Coke or, more recently, Tropicana's hastily pulled redesigned cartons.

Flavors of the Month: Ethnic appeal, functional benefits and nostalgia are among the taste influences that are bound to linger in 2010. Cardamom, sweet potato, mango, hibiscus, the superfruit cupuaçu, rose water, bacon and Latin-influenced flavors will be especially big in the United States.

Ingredient Shortlist: Spices, increasingly recognized for their functional benefits, as is the case with turmeric, cinnamon and ginger, will be a popular product ingredient, as well as such "natural" sweeteners as cane sugar, agave syrup and stevia, to appeal to consumers increasingly resistant to artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup.

What's That Smell?: Simple, clean scents, often arising from a single component; mood-influencing fragrances to produce a sense of calm; and a new take on scratch-and-sniff aromas, including scent-impregnating packaging, will be wafting through more homes in the coming year.

Mintel estimates global new product introductions for 2009 will reach 2008 levels, but in the United States, where many niche players were hurt by the recession, the company doesn't expect 2009 totals to match those of the prior year.(Source: Progressive Grocer, 12/07/09)

Non-Traditional Promotion Alive and Well Marketing Sector

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:35:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 12/21/09)

Wall Street Ignores Media's Fastest Growing New BusinessFirst-Ever Assessment of 'Media Directed Promotion/Event Investments' Tracks $16.7 Billion in 2009 and Projects $400 Billion in 2020

This week, Jack Myers Media Business Report is publishing its newly recalibrated data on 19 advertising categories and nine "below-the-line" marketing communications categories. An accurate assessment of the media business requires a view of the total $700 billion marketers invest domestically in advertising and non-advertising consumer, distributor and retailer communications.

Advertising will represent only 26.8% of total marketing expenditures in 2009 ($188 billion), with below-the-line non-advertising marketing categories, often called "unmeasured media" representing 73.2% ($513.5 billion). These categories include direct marketing, trade and consumer sales promotion, event marketing and public relations.

Marketers are drawing from these budgets to fund a growing array of media company offerings that exploit emerging interactive media capabilities.

In the industry's first assessment of this shift, Jack Myers Media Business Report estimates that Media Directed Promotion/Event Investments attracted an estimated $16.7 billion to media companies in 2009 and will generate an estimated $38 billion in incremental media company revenues in 2012.

While these revenues are included in the financial reports of public media companies, Wall Street's use of future-looking data that excludes this growth sector results in a negatively skewed perspective of the emerging media marketplace.

(Source: The Huffington Post, 12/09/09)

'Tis the Season for Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:04:00 +0000

(Excerpt from Marketing Charts, 12/10/09)

Social Media Influencing 28% of Holiday Shoppers

Nearly $16 billion has been spent during the first 36 days of the 2009 holiday shopping season (since Nov. 1), marking a 3% increase vs. the corresponding days last year, according to new data from comScore, Inc., which also found that 28% of US shoppers say social media has influenced their purchases this year.

The most recent week ending December 6, 2009 reached $4.6 billion in holiday spending, heavier than any individual spending week in 2008 but still below two individual weeks in 2007, comScore said.

The week began with strong weekday spending, led by $887 million on Cyber Monday. It ended on a softer note with negative year-over-year growth rates during the weekend.

“After a strong beginning to the week, we saw growth rates decelerate over the weekend to put this past week of holiday shopping in line with our 3 percent growth forecast for the season,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. “We are anticipating heavy spending for the current week, making it an important determinant for how the holiday season as a whole will perform. Hopefully, we’’l see a return to the growth rates we observed during the earlier part of this past week and that the weekend softness was just a temporary hiccup.”

Social Media Influencing Holiday Purchases
In the comScore weekly holiday survey, comScore asks respondents about the influence of social media on their holiday shopping behavior. According to the most recent survey, conducted on Dec. 4-7, 2009, 28% of those who have begun their holiday shopping this season indicated that social media has influenced their purchases.

Of the types of specific social media that consumers say influenced holiday purchases, the most common:

*Reading a consumer-generated product review (13% of respondents)
*Reading an expert product review (11 %)
*Following a fan page on Facebook to take advantage of special offers and deals (7%)
*Influence by a friend’s Facebook status update referring to a particular product (6%)
*Following a company on Twitter to take advantage of special offers and deals (5%)
*A friend’s “tweet” about a product influenced their purchase behavior (3%)

“Social media really appears to be emerging as an important marketing channel this holiday season,” added Fulgoni. “On the one hand, its emergence is being driven by increased consumer adoption of these technologies and the exponential growth in digital word-of-mouth that is occurring over this medium. On the other hand, having a social media marketing strategy makes sense for retailers in this environment because it’s cost-effective and shows an effort to get closer to one’s customers.”

Turquoise Declared Color of 2010 by Pantone

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:01:00 +0000

(Excerpt from MediaBistro.com, 12/9/09)

By Stephanie Murg on Dec 09, 2009 01:03 PM

It's blue! It's green! Stop, you're both right! Color authority Pantone has selected turquoise (15-5519 TCX on your Pantone fandex), with its legacy of Western jewelry and '80s fashion, to carry the banner of Color the Year for 2010. We associate the hue with the bold "Bondi blue" of the original iMac, but Pantone sees a vacation in a color swatch. "Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing," noted the company in a statement announcing the selection. Given that the selection of the decidely tropical hue follows "Mimosa," the 2009 choice, we're beginning to suspect that Pantone's color of the year selection process involves a beachside conclave and plenty of cocktails. Anyone else have a sudden craving for Bombay Sapphire martinis?

The Four Latest Consumer Types

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:48:00 +0000

Marketers That Fail to Take Into Account the Diversity of Consumers' Recession Experiences Will Fall Short

A sentimentalist might regard the current recession as a unifying experience for people of all sorts -- a common ordeal that has narrowed the pre-recession differences between those of different classes and conditions. Marketers, who feel obliged to be more hardheaded about such matters, will instead focus on the distinct ways in which the recession has affected various consumer cohorts and will influence their post-recession behavior.

Along those lines, a report released last month by Decitica Marketing Strategy & Research identifies four consumer types that will emerge from the recession, each posing its own challenges for marketers. Marketing strategies that fail to take account of "the diversity of consumers' recession experiences" will fall short, it warns. Based on survey data gathered over the summer, the report says the adult population is divisible into Steadfast Frugalists (20 percent of the population), Involuntary Penny-Pinchers (29 percent), Pragmatic Spenders (29 percent) and Apathetic Materialists (22 percent), with the names giving a quick hint at what each is like.

Because the Pragmatic Spenders have an upper-income skew (accounting for 37 percent of all those with household income of $75,000-plus), the report identifies this group as "the most attractive to marketers." Compared to the other population segments, they "have the greatest capacity -- both financial and psychological -- to willfully resurrect their past spending patterns." But the "Pragmatic" part of their makeup also means marketers have a challenge in getting these people to spend freely. Sixty-nine percent are "highly confident" in their ability to control their spending; 73 percent are highly confident about "resisting the temptation to spend now and worry later"; 59 percent are highly confident when it comes to sticking to a budget.

Appreciating the 'simple things'?
That's not to say Pragmatic Spenders (who also skew older than any of the other groups) have become fans of the simple life. One part of the report's polling asked respondents to say whether they agree with the statement, "This recession has made me appreciate the simple things in life." Among those identified as Pragmatic Spenders, fewer than half (45 percent) agreed that this is true for them, vs. 77 percent of the Steadfast Frugalists and 60 percent of the Involuntary Penny-Pinchers. Only the Apathetic Materialists were less likely to say they've come to appreciate the simple things (31 percent).

"I would venture to guess that many of the Pragmatic Spenders are somewhat conflicted these days," says Val Srinivas, principal of Decitica. "They like the good life, they can afford it more so than others, but they might feel compelled to accept austerity until they feel more comfortable with their finances or until a time when societal values revert back to the way it was in the past." And, despite their comparatively strong finances, their approach to spending is "tempered with caution," Srinivas adds.

Moreover, the recession has made them skeptical about the worth of brand-name goods. Thirty-two percent of Pragmatic Spenders agreed that "I have come to realize that brand-name products are not worth the extra price," putting them second only to the survey's Steadfast Frugalists (49 percent agreed) in this respect. Similarly, 52 percent of Pragmatic Spenders subscribed to the statement, "I am the kind who first looks at prices before I consider other features," again putting them second only to the Steadfast Frugalists (66 percent).

In light of their conflicted attitudes, what sort of advertising might resonate best with Pragmatic Spenders? "These individuals should be receptive to advertising that takes an emotional approach," Srinivas suggests. "In fact, it may be this kind of advertising that is more effective in making them more comfortable about their spending choices." And despite their relative lack of enthusiasm for the "simple things," their self-control as consumers can be a point of contact for advertisers. As such, says Srinivas, "brand alignment with values such as thrift and simplicity may in fact be influential as long as such associations are credible." One plus for advertisers in approaching this consumer segment: Comparatively few Pragmatic Spenders (28 percent) agreed that they're "paying less attention to product commercials and advertising these days."

Paying less attention to advertising
By contrast, nearly half (47 percent) of those identified as Steadfast Frugalists said they're paying less attention to advertising. And that's quite in sync with their general inclination to keep their spending in check. For one thing, they're willing to spend time in the interest of not spending more money than they have to. The report says the Steadfast Frugalists (who are most common in the 40-49 age bracket and scarcest among 20- and 30somethings) "are the most disciplined in their behaviors and seriously committed to self-restraint." In many cases, that was so even before the economy put a premium on such behavior: "It is likely that many of these individuals deemed themselves tightwads even before the recession," notes the report.

And while people of all sorts have been obliged to economize during the downturn, the Steadfast Frugalists positively enjoy doing so. The survey asked people whether they have a propensity for "buying on sale or using coupons and discounts." Not only did 71 percent of Steadfast Frugalists say they "always" engage in this behavior; 87 percent said they "find this behavior satisfying." In both instances, the Steadfast Frugalists far outpaced the other three cohorts. When it comes to "buying store or generic brands," Steadfast Frugalists were just a shade less likely than Involuntary Penny-Pinchers to say they always do this (53 percent vs. 56 percent). But they were in a class by themselves in deriving satisfaction from this behavior, with 59 percent saying they do so (vs. a mere 17 percent of the Involuntary Penny-Pinchers). As mentioned above, a large majority say the recession has given them an appreciation of the simple things in life.

It's no surprise, given these proclivities, that the Steadfast Frugalists "will be the most averse to impulse buying," as the report says. Nor, more broadly, are they apt to be rushed into a purchase decision. By a wide margin, they were the ones most likely to say they always compare prices before buying (78 percent) and that they derive satisfaction from doing so (85 percent). The report describes them as "meticulous in their pre-purchase activities, seeking and processing more product and price information, and arriving at purchase decisions after careful deliberations." Little wonder that the report says marketers "will find this group to be the most challenging."

Make an emotional appeal
Srinivas describes Steadfast Frugalists' information seeking as "largely self-directed and highly goal-oriented," adding that they're very skilled "in filtering out noise and operating with singular focus." And while paying less heed to advertising, they're apt to browse (whether in stores or via catalogs and the Internet). How, then, should advertisers approach them? You might assume Steadfast Frugalists would be most responsive to a just-the-facts, informational approach. But Srinivas points to a reason to believe quite the opposite is true: "I suspect many of the Steadfast Frugalists are skeptical of advertising, and as such discount information communicated through advertising. The way to get their attention is to appeal to them on an emotional basis, and after you raise their awareness level, interest them with facts that they find credible. I realize this sounds counterintuitive -- but that is my hypothesis."

In their current spending (or lack thereof), the Steadfast Frugalists might not look to the naked eye all that different from Involuntary Penny-Pinchers. But this is a case where the constraints imposed by the recession tend to mask some basic attitudinal differences. As the name applied to their cohort suggests, the Involuntary Penny-Pinchers are none too pleased about the austerities they've been compelled to make since the economy got bad. "Their new-found frugality for the most part has been forced upon them," the report says of this group, which is disproportionately at the lower end of the income scale. That dovetails with the observation that Involuntary Penny-Pinchers "are the most severely affected -- financially and emotionally -- by the recession."While 60 percent of the Involuntary Penny-Pinchers say they always compare prices before buying something, barely half as many (32 percent) find it satisfying to do so. And though their finances compel them to keep their spending under control, just 34 percent are highly confident of their ability to stick to a budget. Forty-eight percent say they've "begun to appreciate the benefits of thrifty living as a result of my experience during this recession," but their broader pattern of response suggests there's something grudging about that appreciation -- a quality that makes them a tough audience for marketing messages.

Given this group's disinclination to take pleasure in the austerities they've had to adopt, is there leeway for an advertiser to foster brand loyalty by helping them feel some satisfaction in these money-saving efforts? "I think so," responds Srinivas, "but this has to be done delicately. My guess is that Involuntary Penny-Pinchers don't want to be reminded of why they need to practice austerity. So the way to increase their satisfaction with prudence and self-restraint is to focus more on the outcomes rather than the process, which no doubt many find less rewarding." While Steadfast Frugalists are predisposed to feel satisfaction in their economizing, says Srinivas, "Involuntary Penny-Pinchers may need to be reassured that in spite of their financial situation, they can still derive pleasure and happiness from the simple things in life."

The young and apathetic
While the three other groups have strong feelings, negative or positive, about some aspects of their consumer activity, the Apathetic Materialists live up to the adjective in their label. They're "less perturbed by the recession," says the report, and are "the least changed in terms of their spending habits and future intentions." This is at least partly a function of their age, with the Apathetic Materialists concentrated in the 21-29 and (to a lesser degree) 30-39 age brackets. "It is likely that their relative indifference springs from their life stage -- more younger, single people with limited disposable income at the moment."

They're the least likely of the four groups to say they always buy on sale or use coupons/discounts (12 percent) and the least likely to say they find this behavior satisfying (11 percent). They're also, by far, the least likely to say they always compare prices before buying (7 percent) and take satisfaction in doing so (6 percent). Scarcely any of them are highly confident that they can control their spending (4 percent), resist temptation to spend now (5 percent) or stick to a budget (4 percent). And they're the least likely to say the recession has taught them to appreciate the benefits of thrifty living (20 percent).

Then again, they are Materialists as well as Apathetic. So, while there's been a decline in their tendency to get pleasure from buying things, they still outstrip the other cohorts in this respect. Fifty-eight percent of the Apathetic Materialists say they get a lot of pleasure from buying things, more than double the figure for the Steadfast Frugalists (25 percent).

Better entertain them
In light of this mix of attitudes, Srinivas suggests of the Apathetic Materialists that "in general, they would be more receptive to advertising that is entertaining" than to ads that are chiefly informative. There's not much to be gained with this audience in aligning a brand with the simple life. "I don't think they care much for the simple life," Srinivas remarks. "They enjoy materialistic consumption more so than others."

Finally, the report took a look at whether people in each consumer cohort think the changes wrought on their behavior by the recession (if any) will be permanent. True to form, the Apathetic Materialists were the least likely (21 percent) to agree, "This recession has changed what and how I buy forever." Twenty-eight percent of the Pragmatic Spenders said their buying behavior has been changed forever, as did 52 percent of the Involuntary Penny-Pinchers and 55 percent of the Steadfast Frugalists. Time will tell how accurate these self-assessments are.

(Source: Adweek, 12/07/09)

Email and Social Media Top Marketing Plans for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:20:00 +0000

(Excerpt from StrongMail.com, 12/2/09)

Survey of more than 1,000 business executives reveals positive economic outlook and significant increase in marketing budgets in coming year.

Redwood City, Calif., December 2, 2009 – The majority of businesses plan to increase marketing spend in email marketing and social media in 2010, making them the top two areas of investment according to the November "2010 Marketing Trends Survey" released today by StrongMail, a leading provider of online marketing solutions for email and social media. Signaling a positive economic outlook for 2010, the industry survey of more than 1,000 global business leaders also found that 89 percent of respondents plan to increase or maintain budgets in the New Year.

The positive outlook is also supported by 50 percent of polled businesses that expect their customers to spend more in 2010 and nearly a quarter more that expect them to spend the same. Only 8 percent of businesses project their customers to spend less.

48 percent of businesses are increasing overall marketing budgets in 2010, and email and social media marketing are the two leading areas of investment at 69 percent and 59 percent respectively. Search marketing comes in third at 42 percent. Conversely, events and direct mail lead the pack in decreased spend at 44 percent and 42 percent respectively.

Social media marketing is a clear focus for businesses, with 69 percent of respondents planning to integrate it with their email marketing campaigns in 2010. However, of those who have already integrated the two channels, only 42 percent are achieving a lift in campaign performance. 35 percent report no significant lift and another 23 percent are unable to measure. Respondents identified the top three benefits of social media marketing as awareness building (64%), customer loyalty and retention (49%), and expanded reach (46%).

"As businesses are developing their marketing plans for 2010, this survey reveals a strong focus on high ROI channels like email and emerging ones like social media," said Bill Wagner, executive vice president of business operations at StrongMail. “While an unprecedented number of companies look to integrate email and social media in 2010, the data shows that companies need to adopt new tools and strategies to properly measure and monetize their efforts."

Survey Highlights
*89% of businesses plan to increase or maintain marketing spend in 2010
*50% of businesses expect customers to spend more; 23% to spend the same; 8% to spend less
*69% of businesses plan to increase marketing budget for email; 59% social media; 42% search
*69% of businesses plan to integrate email and social media in 2010
*64% of businesses identify increasing awareness as primary value for social media

Survey Methodology
The StrongMail “2010 Marketing Trends” survey was conducted online by Zoomerang on behalf of StrongMail. The poll, which gathered feedback from 1,057 business executives in a wide range of industries, was conducted from November 17 to November 25, 2009.

About StrongMail Systems, Inc.StrongMail’s online marketing solutions for email and social media enable businesses to reach, engage and influence their target audience using the most powerful channels available to marketers today. StrongMail gives email marketers the control and support they need to improve campaign performance, boost deliverability and lower costs, while also leveraging the power of social media to extend the reach of their campaigns and brand to new audiences. Combining an easy-to-use email marketing application, high-performance delivery system, viral-marketing tool, social media integration, and a wide range of deliverability, strategic and supporting services, StrongMail makes it possible for companies with all levels of resources and expertise to take advantage of its proven solutions. Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, StrongMail’s clients include global leaders across virtually every industry. To learn more about StrongMail, please visit www.strongmail.com or follow us online at www.twitter.com/StrongMail or www.facebook.com/StrongMail.

Pet Presents on the Rise This Howliday Season

noreply@blogger.com (adshopusa) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:25:00 +0000

(Excerpt from RST, 12/3/09)

Dogs across the country can expect some bone-shaped presents under the Christmas tree this year.

An Associated Press-Petside.com poll shows 52 percent of pet owners plan to buy their animals a holiday gift -- up from 43 percent last year.

Gus and Molly, a pair of German shepherds, Rosie the bulldog and Zoe the cat will get treats and playtoys, "the good sturdy stuff," said owner Norm Authier, 50, of Long Beach, Calif."

We have always done this. We don't have any kids so we spoil our dogs," Authier said.

The bounce in pet gifts is expected despite the fact that fully 93 percent of Americans say they'll spend less overall or about the same as last year, according to a separate Associated Press-GfK poll.

The AP-Petside.com poll found that six in 10 of those who own only dogs planned on shopping for their pet for the holidays. Forty percent of those with only cats planned to pet shop.

Sawyer, a 9-year-old Labrador-border collie mix, will get something special because he was born on Christmas Day, said owner Pat Brown, 74, of Beloit, Wis. He can also look forward to his two favorite homemade snacks -- popcorn and ice cubes.

Plush holiday-themed toys are very popular with pet owners, as are candy cane-shaped rawhide chews, said Jessica Douglas, a spokeswoman for the PetSmart pet supply store chain based in Phoenix, Ariz.

Popular clothes at this time of year include a Santa suit, a Mrs. Claus dress and reindeer costumes. A lot of boots are sold to dog owners in cold weather states. Bling-wise, collars and leads are popular."

Some ID tags are decorated with sparkly embellishments and they can be personalized so it's not just for looks," she said.

According to the poll, 62 percent of female owners said they would probably buy their pet a gift, while just 40 percent of the men said they would.

Janet Rowlands, 53, in Tulsa, Okla., is planning a Christmas celebration for 29 people and pets, including her four dogs. Jack Russell and rat terrier Boodroe, 7, is the only one who steals gifts from under the tree." He sees it as part of the fun," Rowlands said.

According to the poll, 59 percent of owners say pets are only a minor consideration when picking out holiday decorations, even though 14 percent reported that their pets have gotten into the decorations before.

There are no cranberries, popcorn or gingerbread men on the tree at Erica Peterson's home in Vass, N.C., because of Logan and the starfish, an ornament she and her husband got on their honeymoon.

On his first Christmas with the family, Logan, a male Labrador-chow, knocked the tree over and everything went flying so he could get to the starfish -- apparently because it smelled fishy to him. All edible or scented ornaments were banned.

This year Logan will get a big butcher's bone, while Peterson's female Maltese named Bubbles, 13, will get rawhide sticks made like candy canes. Both will be wrapped and put under the tree.

Last year, Debra Jensen's Labrador named Nightmare and a German shepherd-Siberian Husky named Ticia got stockings with dog treats in them. This year, because her husband recently lost his job, there may not be a stocking, but there will still be treats -- they can count on leftover ham."

The dogs are our only children. I love my babies," said Jensen, 55, of Tulsa, Okla.

(Source: Associated Press, 11/24/09)