http://www.rmgconnectpov.com RMGCONNECT: point of view en Copyright 2004-2005 Benoit Octave contact@benoitoctave.com (Benoit Octave) http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7460 Mixing online and offline venues has been a growing trend for many marketers. The problem is blending offline with online effectively enough to justify a possibly larger ad spend than if only online or only offline were involved. A new report from MarketingSherpa sheds light on how on company used multi-channel ads to build brand and increase ROI.Researchers found that the mix of online and offline worked after a bit of testing and public relations.They found that piggybacking the offline advertising campaign with a strong PR effort helped to get kids interested in the contest. Next they tested ads in relevant magazines and then tested digital and vinyl billboards and then went online. By running banner ads on social networks like MySpace, Facebook and Advertising.com and creating a branded social micro-site for the campaign, the company was able to engage many more prospects. Internet::online advertising 23 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7460 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7458 Geo-targeting is a clever little feature that can analyze a user's search query, their Internet Protocol (IP) address and other user information to determine where they are and what ads to serve to them. While geo-targeting is usually seen as limiting your area to fewer clicks, one new geo-targeting feature can actually bring you more traffic. If you were trying to reach United States customers before, your choices were either to select the entire market -both the U.S. and Canada- or individually select each of the 50 states.Up until recently, the geo-targeting functionality was built around Designated Marketing Area (DMA), regions determined by Nielson Media Research, the Nielson group who conducts the TV ratings surveys. However, some advertisers need even more focus, especially in more populous regions. Yahoo! now lets you zoom in on targeted cities and, in a beta feature, ZIP codes as well. Online advertising 21 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7458 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7454 The launch of the iPhone and the take-up of unlimited mobile data tariffs has seen a marked increase in mobile Internet use. However, many companies from retailers to content providers are not taking advantage of the opportunity presented by this increase. An industry survey conducted by Omniture in August found 71 percent of businesses say they are not measuring mobile traffic to their sites. Furthermore, 50 percent of businesses say they do not know how many unique users landing on their sites originate from a mobile device. This represents a missed opportunity to optimise and more effectively monetise this traffic, according to Omniture. Mobile users' site experience may not be smooth if the company presents content to mobile users in the same way they present it to PC users. In the mobile world, online sites need to account for different screen sizes, different audio and video formats, etc. Businesses need to optimise their content specifically for mobile devices in order to create the best possible experience. Mobile::metrics 16 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7454 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7455 To do business with the growing "Generation Virtual" population, companies will need to provide -or connect to- social applications to attract and engage customers, gathering information about their future wants and needs to lead them toward products and services, according to Gartner. By 2010, more than 60 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies with a Web site will connect to or host some form of online community that can be utilized for customer relationship purposes. "A key benefit of establishing a community is the amount of information an organization can gain about its customer base, which can be used for short-and long-term customer relationships," said Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner. Data can be collected and used for product development, customer feedback, loyalty management, customer segmentation, campaign targeting, and individual or group customer satisfaction management. This wealth of data can be used for marketing, in particular, as well as an entire customer-focused organization.However, establishing an online community isn't without challenges. Gartner predicts that by 2010, more than 50 percent of companies that have established an online community will fail to establish mutual purpose, ultimately eroding customer and company values. To combat this, marketing organizations will need new skills to meet the needs of Generation Virtual. Unlike previous generations, Generation Virtual (also known as Generation V) is not defined by age - or gender, social demographic or geography - but is based on demonstrated achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights. The definition of Generation V derives from the recognition that these common behaviors, attitudes and interests are starting to blend together in an online environment. When doing business with Generation V, marketers will need to attract online personas by creating multiple, engaging online destinations and provide tools for Generation V individuals population to socialize and express their different personas. By creating these destinations, marketers can gain a deeper understanding of Generation V. Marketers should provide, or connect to, online destinations from selling-focused sites and community forums to brand-aware, persistent, 3-D virtual worlds to get customers to their sites and promote socialization in the community. From there, marketers can lead prospects to products and services while gathering relevant information about their future wants and needs. Internet::online communities 15 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7455 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7456 Google, in meetings with advertising agencies, has presented a new option to show different ads in response to searches made from iPhones, according to Brian Morrissey, AdWeek interactive advertising reporter. The change, expected to be implemented shortly, means advertisers will be able to create an iPhone ad group as part of their regular search campaign, according to agency executives briefed about the modification.The new option would in essence build a bridge between repurposing Internet ads for a mobile experience and creating a parallel structure for it. For instance, an airline company could use the new Google option to change a search ad from a call to action to click to one driving a phone call to reservations. Or the ad could highlight the airline's iPhone-optimized site for booking flights. Mobile::advertising 14 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7456 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7457 iPerceptions, a leading provider of web-focused analytics, announced the results of a new study that delivers accurate insights into which types of online ads are popular with consumers. iPerceptions collected user-generated feedback from over 14,000 visitors to leading media sites during the month of August 2008 to paint a detailed picture of consumer advertising preferences based on their likelihood to click on different types of online ads. The study found that, despite current buzz around video ads, marketers do not need to spend on fancy interactive ads in order to reach consumers. In fact, consumers are most likely to click on simple text ads (25% of respondents). Display ads follow in popularity, with 20% of respondents likely to click on right banners and 12% likely to click on top banners. A surprising finding of the study is that video ads are not very popular among most consumers; only 11% of consumers said they were likely to click on video ads. And 25 to 34 year-olds show no special affinity for video, being just as likely to click on video ads as text, right and top banners. The only consumers who seem to be engaged by video ads are young people under the age of 25, a group that accounts for nearly one-third of the video-ad viewing audience. The iPerceptions study also unearthed some important data about how income level and frequency of visits impact consumer ad preferences. As advertisers plan key media buys to boost sales during the upcoming holiday season, they would do well to plan marketing messages and targeting tactics around the study's finding that the likelihood that a person will click on an ad goes down as their income rises. On average, 40% of consumers likely to click on any ad make less than USD50K a year -and only 15% make over USD150K. The income gap is most pronounced with video ads, with 49% of consumers likely to click on video ads making less than USD50K a year -and only 13% making over USD150K. Web marketers and publishers should also note that clicks come from loyal audiences. Across the board, 65% of consumers likely to click on online ads are weekly or daily browsers, and only 15% are first-time visitors and 6% are sporadic visitors. Internet::online advertising 13 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7457 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7453 Girls age 2 to 14 are spending more time this year on entertainment related activities than they did in 2007, with more than half saying they spend more time using consumer electronics devices, and playing PC games and video games, according to 'Girl Power: Understanding This Important Consumer Segment', the most recent report from NPD Group. The new report also delves into what they and their moms are buying for them, as well as the categories that engage them the most. It uncovers what categories are poised for growth as girls continue spend time and money on traditional toys and games, but are broadening their engagement with and spending on categories such as apparel, consumer electronics, books, music, movies, and video games. Pre-schoolers age 2-5 are highly engaged with toys including plush/stuffed toys, dolls, fashion role-play, puzzles, and educational toys. First readers (age 6-8) are more inclined to play with board games, arts & crafts, and virtual world games. For pre-teen girls age 9-12, playing with traditional toys is still the activity of choice. Despite the natural progression away from traditional toys to games and electronics, many older girls report they are spending more time this year playing with traditional toys compared to last year. According to the report, tweens (age 9-12) are migrating to computer and video games, especially virtual world online games. Socialization is gearing up among the pre-teens, and the advent of interactive gaming really hits home with these girls who are looking for friends from the confines of their homes. Young teens (age 13-14) are also gamers, but many girls this age are also now listening to music on portable digital music players and talking/texting on their mobile phones. But not all activities are as age-specific as consumer electronics and video games. When looking at spending penetration, Fashion Apparel & Accessories, and Books, Music & Videos are the top two categories that maintain a high level of popularity across all age groups, and appear to be insulated from the age-factor. In terms of favorite gifts, gift cards are the top choice for most girls, with gift cards being purchased 50 percent of the time, though toys are often given to younger girls and apparel to older girls. These results are based on an online survey fielded to female members of NPD's online panel who have a daughter age 2 to 14 in the household. The study is based on 1,541 completed surveys. Moms were asked to have their daughters join them while taking this survey. Final survey data is weighted to be representative of girls age two to 14. Industry::report 10 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7453 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7451 Sixteen of the world's best known IT and mobile companies have united behind a GSMA-led initiative to create a new category of always-connected Mobile Broadband devices, delivering an alternative to WiFi. In the first phase of this unprecedented initiative, mobile operators, PC manufacturers and chipset providers are uniting to pre-install Mobile Broadband into a range of notebook PCs that will be ready to switch on and surf straight out of the box in 91 countries across the world. To support this initiative, the GSMA has created the Mobile Broadband service mark, a new global identifier which will help consumers easily identify the array of 'ready to run' Mobile Broadband devices. The Mobile Broadband service mark is backed by a global media spend of more than USD1 billion in the next year. Integrating Mobile Broadband into notebook PCs is the first step in a wider strategy to deliver wireless Internet access and management to a whole range of previously unconnected devices -from cameras and MP3 players to refrigerators, cars and set-top boxes. Launch participants include 3 Group, Asus, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, Telefonica Europe, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba and Vodafone. Mobile::broadband 9 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7451 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7446 UK's biggest internet service provider BT is to restart a four weeks trial of a controversial internet advertising system that has outraged privacy campaigners. The system, known as Webwise, allows BT to potentially track and monitor every website that a customer visits, allowing it to build detailed behavioural profiles of web surfers based on their online activity. Participation is voluntary and requires web users' prior consent.Built by London-based advertising technology company Phorm, the system allows BT to insert its own highly targeted advertising onto web pages to earn extra money. While traditional internet advertising systems allow the owners of individual websites to see who is visiting them, Phorm's systems have much wider scope because they run in partnership with internet service providers themselves. This means that Webwise could have access to details of every website that customers visit, as well as every internet search they conduct and other personal information.Last April, the Information Commissioner said that the Webwise technology did not pose a threat to users' online privacy, because it did not collect information that would allow customers to be individually identified. And because it was an 'opt-in' system, the commissioner said, it did not breach the terms of the Data Protection Act.The earlier trials were an attempt to assess whether the system was compatible with BT's technical infrastructure, while the latest pilot tests how effectively the system works with customers. Internet::online advertising 8 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7446 http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7444 Visa and eight leading North American financial institutions -PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo in the United States, and Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group and Vancity in Canada- have agreed to initiate a pilot program with up to a total of 2,000 participants to test the delivery of real-time notification alerts on Visa accounts.The program, which is being conducted in cooperation with some of the largest North American issuers, is designed to enhance the consumer payment experience by alerting cardholders in real-time or near real-time of transaction activity on their Visa account -typically within seconds rather than hours or days. Participants will receive notification alerts from Visa through email or Short Message Service (SMS) delivered directly to their mobile devices.Based on Visa's transaction authorization system, and its ability to analyze and conduct risk score transactions "in-flight," the service allows Visa cardholders to set thresholds that will trigger a transaction alert. Alert types that Visa cardholders may choose in the pilot include:** cash withdrawal from an ATM machine;** a transaction initiated cross border;** an Internet or telephone transaction and** a transaction that exceeds an amount that has been chosen by the cardholder.Through the alert received via email or SMS text, cardholders can verify the transaction details, and if the transaction appears to be irregular, can immediately contact their bank to help stop further transactions on the card. The service is designed to help cardholders keep closer track of their transactions and spending levels as they go about their daily routine. According to a recent Javelin Strategy & Research report, consumers view timely alerts as a valuable resource to help detect fraud.Visa began testing mobile notifications in 2007, beginning with an internal employee pilot. Mobile alerts are part of a suite of mobile services that are supported by the Visa Mobile Platform, which was created to help financial institutions tap into mobile technology to deliver enhanced products and services. This effort comes as consumers globally are relying on their mobile phones to do far more than just handle calls. A recent Pew Research Centre report found that more than 80 percent of consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 use their mobile devices to engage in activities such as sending text messages, taking pictures and accessing the Internet.Worldwide, Visa's Mobile Platform is supporting mobile trials of:**mobile payments made both at the point of sale (using Visa payWave technology) and away from it by permitting remote payments via text message or the Internet;** value-added services, which in addition to account notification can include the delivery of offers, coupons and rewards directly to a consumer's mobile device;** mobile acceptance, enabling mobile devices to accept Visa payments, thus extending the flexibility of merchants and**money transfer, which allows cardholders to use their mobile device to electronically transfer money to family and friends around the world directly from their Visa accounts.Visa has announced mobile trials and commercial rollouts in Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. mobile::payment 7 Oct 2008 12:30:00 GMT http://www.rmgconnectpov.com/index.asp?news_id=7444