Pepsi Pulls from Super Bowl

“ Withdrawing from the Super Bowl for the first time in 23 years and giving the money away for the Pepsi Refresh Project was considered a gamble by … [Pepsi] as it explored the potential of social media and cause-related marketing to make a difference in its business,” goes the NYTimes story. “But the company, despite accusations that some winners used questionable voting tactics, says it was a huge success and plans to expand it beyond the United States this year.”

M&Ms and Bud LIght Promote Super Bowl Ads on Facebook

“Super Bowl marketing on Facebook is now in a full sprint down the sideline, as brands look to score social media points with consumers leading up to the Feb. 6 event. And candy maker M&M's and Bud Light have jumped in the game,” says ClickZ. At the same time, VISA is working with Twitter and NFL on Super Bowl promotions.

Digital Advertising Up; Print Down

“US media industry advertising revenues will grow by 3.1% during 2011, excluding the impact of political and Olympic advertising, according to new estimates from MagnaGlobal,” says a post on MarketingVox . “MagnaGlobal predicts newspapers, magazines, directories and direct mail will likely decline by 2.9% during 2011. By contrast, digital and broadcast media continue to grow rapidly.”

"Search" Display Ads Appearing on GMail

The NYTimes reports that Google will place "search" display ads for advertisers in its Gmail.

Google’s display ads, or  ads with images, have been showing up across the Web and even in Times Square. Now they are bound for Gmail.

Google started showing the ads alongside people’s e-mail in-boxes on Jan. 21. The company is still experimenting with them and not every Gmail user will see them, said Rob Shilkin, a Google spokesman.

Ads in Gmail have always been related to e-mail messages. For instance, if Gmail users are corresponding with friends about planning a vacation to Mexico, ads for flights or hotels in Mexico might appear. The display ads will show up according to the same formula, Mr. Shilkin said.

Honda with the Best Web Site

"Honda ranks highest with a score of 836 on a 1,000-point scale, and performs particularly well in the information/content, navigation and speed measures, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study Wave 1," according to MarketingVox. "Rounding out the top five automotive websites are Mazda (818), Mini (815), Porsche (814) and Acura (813). The most improved brands in 2011 include Cadillac (which improves by 15 rank positions) and Porsche (which improves by 14 rank positions)."

This is Why Advertising Is Critical in the US

MarketingVox  reports that "the United States ranks near the bottom of 23 countries in terms of trust in major institutions, according to the 2011 Edelman's Trust Barometer (via the Washington Post). Edelman released its survey findings at the Davos economic conference on Friday. This lack of trust translates into new communications demands on the part of companies: 14% of Americans need to hear or see a piece of information about a company more than 10 times before they believe it."

Shutting Down the Internet

"Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut is calling for a bill to pass that would give the US the same powers as Egypt recently displayed: that is, the power to shut down internet access to civilians. It is a rare example of US foreign policy intersecting so precisely with online marketing," according to a post on MarketingVox.

Tea Partiers Love Social Networking. Is That Why So Many Democrats Lost in the 2010 Mid-Term Election?

"Compared to all social network site users, Tea Partiers were more likely to engage with political candidates and groups on Facebook and other social networks. A survey from Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project measured political use of Twitter, Facebook and other social sites leading up to the 2010 midterm elections," says ClickZ.

Microsoft/Yahoo Gaining Ground on Google? Maybe

After losing significant marketing share to Google, 18 months ago, Microsoft (Bing) and Yahoo teamed up their search programs, creating the Search Alliance. A new study say it may be working:

•  The alliance is gaining ground on Google by increasing its share of paid search impressions 4% and its share of clicks 2%. Google's shares fell by similar percentages.
• The alliance has improved traffic quality for advertisers, and conversion rates (people who click an ad and do something) rose 12%.
• With higher conversion rates and lower costs-per-click, the return on investment improved, putting the alliance 20% below industry benchmarks.



Cost per click is how much money the advertiser pays a Web "publisher" or search engine each time an individual clicks the advertisement. The lower the cost per click, the more economical the advertising for the advertiser.     Source: MediaBuyerPlanner.com




• As of December 2010, the alliance delivered 21% of paid search clicks, but only captured 18% of the corresponding ad spending on search ads in  North America. Advertisers should be drawn to the alliance's results. If they do, Microsoft/Yahoo could capture an additional 3% share of the money spent on search ads. That's hundreds of millions of dollars. 

"Old Spice Man" Returns for Super Bowl

"Following the viral success of its TV spots and subsequent YouTube-based campaign last year, Procter & Gamble-owned Old Spice is resurrecting its towel-clad mascot to coincide with Super Bowl ad season," says ClickZ.

Procter & Gamble, by the way, has lead the world in marketing its products for the past six decades. Last year, this marketing giant launched the Old Spice guy as a tongue-in-cheek play on the sexy ads associated with men's cologne. It worked.

Marketing Execs Don't Understand Social Networking

MarketingCharts notes that "seven in 10 marketing professionals either have very little to no understanding (31%) about relevant social media conversations around their brand or clients’ brands, or use a few ad-hoc tools (39%), according to [pdf] a new survey from Alterian."

More Bad News for Yahoo

"Yahoo turnaround will have to wait a bit longer, after a lackluster fourth quarter and a disappointing forecast," reports NYTimes. "Carol A. Bartz, who joined Yahoo as chief executive two years ago, has been trying to revive the growth after several years of sluggish results and an inability to capitalize on the rise of social networking, now dominated by Facebook."

Miller Beer Drops Super Bowl Ads for Veterans

"Miller High Life appears to be replacing its Super Bowl ad buy with some goodwill marketing. The brand has announced a philanthropic campaign called 'Official Beer of You,' where viewers of drinking age can sign a contract at MillerHighLife.com," reports ClickZ. "Visitors who fill out a form (e-mail, home address, phone number, etc.) can donate $1 to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, or the participants can have a $1 coupon mailed to themselves. Either way, they will be entered into a drawing to play a role either in a Miller High Life TV ad or on the brand's Facebook page." There's more too.

Yahoo Pulls in the Display Advertising Bucks

Even though its fortunes are sagging a bit as a search engine, Yahoo still rules when it comes to pulling in display advertising (ads with pictures or videos), according to ClickZ. "The holiday season seems to have shaped up better than anticipated for Yahoo - at least when it comes to display advertising revenues," says the site. "The company said display revenues grew 16 percent to $567 million in Q4 2010, close to the 17 percent growth in display Yahoo experienced in Q3 of last year." Yahoo always has dominated the display advertising marketplace, beating even Google and Bing (MSN and Alive, all owned by Microsoft).

Kia Motors Tie Super Bowl TV Ad with Digital Campaign

"Following the success of its Super Bowl advertising debut last year, Kia Motors America is returning to the big game with a fully integrated and interactive marketing campaign incorporating TV, digital, print, social media and in-dealership components to introduce the all-new 2011 Optima midsize sedan," says PopSop. "At the center of the initiative is a new 60-second spot that will air in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLV titled ‘One Epic Ride,' and Kia will extend the campaign by giving away up to five Optimas through its ‘One Epic Contest.’"

As of yesterday, individuals could register for Kia’s One Epic Contest, "which invites consumers to embark on their own adventure through an online grid-based hieroglyphic game..for an opportunity to win one of five all-new 2011 Optimas. In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, gamers must use their wits and discover clues hidden within various media channels, including 15-second TV spots, print ads and social media postings, to answer a series of four questions. A fifth question will be revealed the moment ‘One Epic Ride’ airs during the Super Bowl on February 6, and the answer can be found within the spot."

What has this marketing campaign accomplished? Individuals watch TV ads, play a Kia/Optima game, study Kia/Optima print ads, visit Kia/Optima social network sites, and watch the final Kia/Optima ad on Feb. 6? What has the auto manufacturer reinforced? Has it engaged young buyers, probably male? Will every participant run out and buy an Optima? No. Will they remember the name? Yes. 

1 Out of 3 Americans Facebook While on the Toilet

Hard to believe? Yet one study found that to be the case. "So hooked on Facebook, you can’t help but browse while you’re, er, relieving yourself?" asks AllFacebook. "You’re not alone — a recent study by AIS Media, an interactive marketing agency, revealed that almost one out of every three Americans check out Facebook while on the toilet."
 
Think.

Question: How does this idea connect with the blog entry about Facebook's advertising?

Answer: Marketers posting ads on Facebook can reach individuals with tailored messages while they sit in a room rarely tapped by the media.

Another Question: Are people relieving themselves while facebooking?

Another Answer: That question presumes people retreat to bathrooms only to relieve themselves. Individuals use bathrooms or bathroom stalls as hiding places from bosses, co-workers, acquaintances, children, or spouses.

Bank of America to Promote New Product Only Digitally

"Bank of America is betting on a digital only launch for a marketing campaign behind one of its newest products. That product is none other than Merrill Edge, an online discount brokerage that BofA introduced this past summer," according to a Forbes blog. The advertising campaign will start soon on such sites as  Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money and CNN Money. The blog also notes that "BofA will also post a series of educational videos aimed at familiarizing consumers with Merrill Edge on popular social networking sites."

Ads on Twitter Might Increase Threefold

WSJ (Wall Street Journal) blogger Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reports that "only nine months ago, Twitter was debuting the first ads on its site. And now, the microblogging service could stand to make $150 million in advertising revenues this year, according to digital-marketing research firm eMarketer. That would be three times as much as it made from ads in 2010, when it saw about $45 million in ad revenue, eMarketer estimates. The growth in ad revenue dovetails with Twitter’s rapidly expanding user base, but there are still plenty of questions about whether the service can sustain those numbers."

Following the Lead of Major Consumer Brands, Restaurants Turn to Social Media

The NYTimes notes that "Buffalo Wild Wings, a national restaurant chain that offers casual dining and televised sports, is embarking on a campaign, called 'Home Court Advantage,' to involve customers beyond the smartphone 'check-in' they use to note their arrival. The chain...is working with Scvngr, a location-based social media network, to introduce contests and rewards for its customers....Like the social media companies Gowalla, Foursquare and Loopt, Scvngr is largely reaching the people..."

The restaurants are following the lead of major marketing organizations and their brands--such as Oreo and Mountain Dew. For three years or so, these companies have been developing sites on networks such as Facebook. For example, more than 4 million "friends" like Dew's Facebook site. It's a soft drink. Who cares? The company does. More than 4 million individuals probably have seen its promotion for Dew's new citrus White drink.

Companies frequently tie in this form of marketing with online advertising, search advertising, and their own websites, such as Mountain Dew's, which is a brand not a company.

Homework Tip for Spring 2011

You should read the blog daily. Then you go to the syllabus and read the assignments. 

There's no quiz. No test. I presume students are spending thousands of dollars annually because they want to learn. 

By reading the assignments, you will find the lectures easier to understand and you will discover that the assignment for next week easier to do.

Remember each class builds on the next. The learning progresses with the semester. You easily will understand the material in bits and pieces, but if you wait until the middle of the semester to do the work, to learn formats, to understand how to set up Word, then any student will feel overwhelmed and will not do as well as he/she should.

The Viral Power of the Web

Two weeks ago, someone recorded the voice of Ted Williams, a panhandler along the highway. Bingo. The individual posted the recording. Bingo! Millions of hits! "The homeless man with the golden pipes, Ted Williams, may be going into rehab, but the web still loves him. In his first real job after being discovered panhandling by the side of a highway, Mr. Williams gave some viral mojo to a typically staid Kraft TV ad, making it the sixth most-watched ad on the web last week, with nearly 700,000 views, " says AdAge.

Search Advertising Up

Jack Marshall of ClickZ reports that "U.S. search market enjoyed a period of strong growth during the final three months of 2010, as indicated by reports from two major search management platform providers. Efficient Frontier and SearchIgnite detailed strong increases in advertiser investment versus the fourth quarter of 2009, with Efficient Frontier customers upping their spend by 23 percent and SearchIgnite customers goosing theirs by an even more substantial 35.5 percent."

So it came as no surprise to industry observers when DMNews reported that "Google said January 20 that it earned $8.2 billion in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 26% increase compared with Q4 2009. The company's ad revenue jumped 23.4% for full-year 2010 to $28.2 billion."

Internet Marketing Taking on Traditional Media--Big Time

Here's a report from eMarketer about the quick rise in online marketing:

For the first time, online ad spending will surpass newspaper advertising, which eMarketer estimates at $25.7 billion for 2010. That makes internet advertising second only to TV among measured media.
There are three key reasons for online’s steady spending gains.

• Reliability. ...Marketers’ concerns about the ongoing economic turbulence are driving more online ad spending....
• Large brands. Even as many brand marketers increase their web presence, their online ad spending remains small relative to their entire ad budgets...[but when it comes to online video...]
• Small and midsize businesses (SMBs). New self-service ways to buy display advertising and more reasonable banner pricing are attracting more SMBs....

 In another eMarketer report,  the renowned research organization reports that "online ad spending will continue to grow. This is partly because of the economic instability itself, which has caused many marketers, including large brands, to shift big portions of budget from traditional media to digital. And of course digital channels are where the consumers are." There's more to the report. So you might want to read the linked websites.

Social Networks Not Growing as Fast as May Be Presumed

paidContent reports that "Deloitte predicts that in 2011 social networks are likely to surpass the breathtaking milestone of one billion unique members. Also, they may deliver over 2 trillion advertisements. Yet the advertising revenues directly attributable to social networks may remain relatively modest compared to other media, at least in the short term. With per member annual advertising revenue of about $4, that implies total 2011 advertising revenues of about $5 billion."

The post also notes that social media pulls in only one percent of the worldwide advertising spending total.

Marketers Becoming More Interactive with Potential Customers

"Marketing trends—especially in digital—are motivating brands to be more interactive and engaged with their customers. Rather than pushing out interruptive messages that targets will ignore or find annoying, many are working to create marketing experiences that appeal to customers as individuals. And they know if they neglect to do so their brand could be at risk," says a post from eMarketer.

More Money for Online Marketing

"Marketing companies that make extensive use of paid media, such as display and search ads, are expecting their budgets to increase in 2011 by as much as 11 percent, according to a new survey conducted by Deutsche Bank," according to RICG.

Facebook Muscles in on Google's Ad Revenue

"As the social network steams past 650 million global users, its business is looking more like Google's in that the majority of its ad sales now come from small- and medium-size companies that make use of its self-serve ad system, a model that turned Google into a $200 billion behemoth during the past decade," goes the post on AdAge. "According to an estimate from eMarketer, Facebook took in $1.86 billion in worldwide advertising revenue for 2010, a 151% increase over the company's estimated 2009 advertising revenue of $740 million worldwide. Not surprisingly, the majority of that, $1.21 billion, was earned inside the U.S."

Ads Inserted into Your Online Bank Statements

MarketingVox reports "several companies including Macy's and McDonald's are experimenting with technology offered by such firms as Cardlytics, Cartera and Clovr Media that allows them to insert targeted ads into consumers' online banking statements."

Yahoo! Continues Its Slide

When Yahoo! hooked up with Microsoft, it expected search results to improve. They have not. "Yahoo's share of U.S. searches has fallen consistently following the announcement of its search alliance with Microsoft in July 2009, when it accounted for around 20 percent of U.S. searches, comScore estimates," according to ClickZ.

Washington Post Becomes Ad Agency

ClickZ reports that "the line between publisher and ad agency blurred a bit further today with the announcement that The Washington Post Company had launched SocialCode, a subsidiary that will help brands build and monetize their presence on Facebook."

Welcome to English 202

Every day, I will post short items about Internet marketing trends. They will vary, some being overviews, some being about specific companies. You should make it habit to visit the site daily. It will talk only seconds to read, but more importantly, you gradually come to understand Internet marketing. This will play an important role when you start to write your short reports in about six weeks and when you begin your research, preparation, and writing of your long reports in eight weeks.

Search Advertising Spending Increases in 2010 Fourth Quarter

"The U.S. search market enjoyed a period of strong growth during the final three months of 2010, as indicated by reports from two major search management platform providers. Efficient Frontier and SearchIgnite detailed strong increases in advertiser investment versus the fourth quarter of 2009, with Efficient Frontier customers upping their spend by 23 percent and SearchIgnite customers goosing theirs by an even more substantial 35.5 percent," says ClickZ.

Giveaway and Facebook Promotion

U.S. Internet users oppose "behaviorally targeted ads, according to a recent poll conducted by Gallup and USA Today. In addition, the research found most respondents deemed the practice unjustified even if it enables them to access content and services for free," according to ClickZ. "The survey, which polled 850 random U.S. citizens by telephone over a three-day period commencing December 10th, concluded that 67 percent of respondents believe advertisers 'should not be allowed to match ads to their specific interests based on websites they have visited.' Meanwhile, 61 percent said behaviorally targeted ads are 'not justified' even if they "keep costs down so users can visit websites for free."

Ad Volume Rises for Social Networks

"The latest comes directly from eMarketer. US social network ad revenues were very good 2010 with 2011 promising to be a whole lot better," reports MarketingPilgrim.

The report indicates that major U.S. advertisers are following Web surfers as they spend more time on various social networks--not just Facebook.

ClickZ noted "Facebook earned a whopping $1.86 billion in ad revenue last year, according to an eMarketer estimate, but the company is not resting on its laurels. It has added a feature that, at least in part, appears designed to enrich the geo-targeting possibilities on its marketing platform."