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Posts Tagged ‘Advertising’

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Google Launches New Ad Planner Tool

26
June
2008

New Google Ad Planner tool to assist advertisers and media buyers with where to place ads.

Stefanie Berliant
Media Coordinator

This week Google announced a new feature: Google Ad Planner. This tool is designed to help online advertisers and media buyers determine where to place ads by identifying websites that target audiences are likely to visit. Ad Planner will provide a list of relevant websites by defining age, gender, income, geography, language, education level, and other websites.  Additionally, it provides site demographics for each of those websites.  With the introduction of Ad Planner, Google has entered the web measurement services industry, the territory of industry leaders such as Hitwise, comScore and Neilsen Online.

These industry leaders mainly collect their data by tracking large panels of people. Ad Planner’s data is generated from a variety of sources, including tracking large panels and third party market research, but it will be based mostly on data from web servers which should provide a more extensive view of internet use.  Not all websites are included in the list of relevant websites due to low traffic volume, exclusion files placed on websites, or websites not adhering to quality guidelines. One major advantage of Ad Planner is that it is free and this will inevitably affect the web measurement industry.

In its infancy, there are several obstacles that do not make Ad Planner a one stop shop. You cannot buy ad placements on sites through Google Ad Planner, nor can you contact publishers directly through the tool. It is not yet synched with AdWords or Analytics to complete the relationship between the tools, however, the export feature will suffice for now.

Overall, this tool is useful, I would use it to supplement my research and add it to my arsenal of tools.  I appreciate the innovation of Google trying to make my job more efficient and effective. But only time will tell whether Google Ad Planner will become the new web measurement industry leader.

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Using The Internet To Make Travel Plans

3
June
2008

A recent study shows that more vacationers are using the Internet to make their travel plans

Ryan Moss
Media Coordinator

With summer comes family vacations, and according to a recent study conducted by OTX, families are using the Internet to make travel plans more often then not. Over 70% of those surveyed planned on taking a family trip this summer, and about 75% of those same people will be using the Internet to make their plans. With the economy struggling, consumers are likely to focus on price, which is exactly what advertisers in the travel industry should emphasize.

When deciding where to take their vacation, families in the U.S. rely on a few sources for information. About 50% of respondents referred to friends and family for recommedations and information, while only 21% used travel books. For those that use the Internet when looking for a destination, 72% use search engines, 58% use online booking sites, 26% use consumer testimonial sites, and 19% use travel information sites.

As seen in the chart below the number of consumers who use the Internet to make travel plans has been increasing since 2000. 

Online Travel Buyer Penetration Among US Consumers- eMarketer

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Media vs. Racial Mix?

19
May
2008

BIGresearch’s recently conducted a study shows different racial groups respond to different types of media…

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

BIGresearch recently conducted a study to find how different racial groups respond to different types of media. The results show that that African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Whites all consume these media types differently, which should be considered by marketers when designing campaigns. As Gary Drenink, President of BIGresearch said, "understanding how media consumption behaviors differ by race is fundamental for marketers wishing to increase ROI for advertising."

Here are some the results from the study, which was titled "Simultaneous Media Survey," and surveyed 15,727 people

  • Cell phones are the most common form of new media used by all of the groups.  57% of Hispanics, 53.9 % of Asians, 53% of African Americans and 49.4% of Whites regularly use cell phones.
  • Minorities use new media more often then whites. New media includes, iPods, cell phone text messaging, video/picture phones and online instant messaging.
  • Shopping is the main reason that Asians (43.7%), Whites (43.1%) and African Americans (40%) use the Internet for fun and entertainment. Hispanics (42.7%) prefer to use the Internet to look up movie news.

For more results from the study check out the link below from MarketingVox.

 

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Blogs Continue To Flourish

16
May
2008

As the number of the people who contribute to blogs and read blogs both continue to rise, so does the amount of money spent on blog advertising.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

Blogs are increasingly becoming a larger part of everyday life. According to a recent report by eMarketer, the number of people who contribute to blogs as well as the number of people who read blogs are both steadily increasing. In the U.S. during 2007, about 23 million people or 12% of in Internet population "published a new blog or updated an existing blog." The number of "bloggers" is expected to be upwards of 34.7 million people by 2012 (16% of the total Internet Population).

Additionally, the number of people in the U.S. who consistently read at least one blog per month is also on the rise. In 2007 about 94 million people or 50% of Internet users fell into the blog reader category defined by eMarketer. By 2012 this number is predicted to increase to about 145 million people or 67% of the Internet population.

Advertisers have taken notice of the increasing number of bloggers and blog readers and have started to increase the amount of money spent on blog advertising. As seen in the chart below, money spent on blog advertising is expected to steadily increase from 2007 to 2012. Blogs are great for advertisers because they attract a specific audience allowing for specific demographic targeting for advertisers to focus on.

U.S. Blog Advertising Spending 2007-2012 eMarketer

 

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Podcasts: New Era Of Advertising

30
April
2008

Podcasting is an effective online advertising tool, however it’s important to remember the basic do’s and don’ts when launching a podcast.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

The effectiveness of podcast advertising continues to increase, with a recent study finding that podcast advertising is seven times more effective then television advertising. The study, conducted by Podtrac and TNS, also found podcast advertising to be three times more effective than "traditional" online advertising.

There are several important tips to remember when launching a podcast. According to Arun Krishnan, VP of Marketing at Pontiflex, some of the most important tips that help you build brand loyalty include:

  • Creating a podcast schedule and sticking to it as often as possible
  • Making your podcasts RSS-accessible
  • Segmenting your podcasts so customers can only watch relevant ones

For more tips see the link below from MarketingVOX

 

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New Tool Tracks Likelihood of Sharing

23
April
2008

A measuring tool has been developed that determines the likelihood that an advertising message will be shared with others.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

A new tool has been created by MedTrackAlert, a consumer media firm, and CNET. This new tool measures the likelihood that an advertising message will be passed along to others or the message’s "virility". Using a "shareability scale" a specific advertisement is measured and it is determined what the chances are that that recipients will share the ad with others. If used properly this tool could be a huge asset to anyone hoping to engage in viral marketing.

The "shareability scale" considers several things including:

  • Whether the claims in the ad entice you to share the ad with others
  • How unique the information in the ad is
  • How unique the product being advertised is

 

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Mobile Advertising? Be Careful!

16
April
2008

Mobile advertising can be very effective, however marketers need to be careful of the “annoyance factor” when utilizing mobile advertising.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

Almost 85% of marketers surveyed by a Forrester Research report, believe that the overall effectiveness of mobile marketing will improve during the next three years. Their beliefs are supported by the fact that there is an increasing dependence on mobile devices among consumers. Of those same marketers who were surveyed, 20% said they can’t live without their mobile device.

However, marketers need to be careful of the "annoyance factor" when utilizing mobile advertising. According to the same Forrester report, 55% of people surveyed find ads that appear while web pages are loading to their mobile device are annoying, 57% said that ads that appear next to maps are annoying and 56% said that all banner ads are annoying. So what is the least annoying type of advertisment? According to the survey, the answer is that video pre-roll ads are found to be the least annoying form of mobile advertising.

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Economic Struggles Won’t Stunt The Growth Of Online Advertising

26
March
2008

Despite the current state of the economy, eMarketer predicts that spending on online advertising in the U.S. will continue to grow.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

The struggling economy has been affecting many different areas in the marketing/advertising world, however online advertising is not expected to be significantly affected by the economic downturn. According to eMarketer, online advertising spending will increase by 23% during 2008. If eMarketer’s predictions are correct, online advertising will remain as the fastest-growing media in terms of ad spending. Experts attribute online advertising’s continued growth to the fact that it is very easy to measure online ad success, and to target ads to any desired market. These two qualities are what matters most to marketers.

In the online advertising industry, search is expected to account for the highest percentage of spending (40%) during 2008. However during the next four years experts believe that percentage will decrease, losing share of ad spend to rich media/video which is expected to grow significantly between now and 2012. See the chart below for a complete breakdown of U.S. online advertising spending by format.

US Online Advertising Spending By Format 2007-2012 eMarketer

 

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Explaining Viral Marketing

24
March
2008

If used properly, viral marketing can help your company generate a lot of attention towards anything you are trying to market.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

Many people talk about viral marketing, but how many of those same people fully understand everything involved with it? My guess is not many fully understand what exactly viral marketing is, why it works, how to use it, if it is worth the effort, and when to use it. Recently, iMedia Connection published a story which answered the questions listed above and explained viral marketing in detail.

Marketingterms.com defines viral marketing as "the marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message." That definition couldn’t be more accurate and according to iMedia connection, the best part "is that the promoted product, project or brand seems uninvolved in the publicity." This is the main reason why viral marketing is so effective, because "people trust the opinions of their peers." Consumers see their peers as unbiased sources of information and trust them over advertisements no matter what the medium is.

While viral marketing sounds great, don’t be fooled as it is very hard to get started and even more difficult to repeat. For those reasons it is recommended to rely on viral marketing campaigns sparingly and strategically. In order to achieve a succsessful viral marketing campaign, marketers need to make sure that their campaigns are interactive and "buzz-worthy".

For more information about Viral Marketing, read the full article from iMedia Connection, the link can be found below.

 

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Media Budgets Decreasing, Online Marketing Spending Increasing

17
March
2008

Based on a recent study it is expected that direct marketers in the U.S. will decrease their media budgets and at the same time increasing spending on online marketing tactics.

Ryan Moss
Research Analyst

Target Marketing recently released its’ "Media Usage Forecast" Report in which nearly 25% of direct marketers from the U.S. who were surveyed said they are planning to cut their media budgets in 2008. Additionally, direct marketers said they would spend more money on customer acquisition compared to customer retention in the upcoming year. This is contrary to 2007 where there was essentially an equal amount of money spent on both areas.

Despite the expected decrease in media budgets, most respondents said they expected to increase the amount of money they spend on online marketing tactics. This trend is consistent with previous studies, which showed that marketers are more likely to reduce spending on other media before cutting online marketing spending. Marketers said they were going to focus on specific online marketing tactics such as E-mail (87%), SEO (72%), SEM (68%), Direct Mail (63%) and advertising on outside websites (62%).

Some other findings from the study include:

  • E-mail Marketing being named the best tool for customer retention
  • E-mail Marketing being selected as the second best tool in ROI for customer acquisition (Direct Mail was first)

Refer to the chart below to see which marketing tactics offer the stronger ROI for customer acquisition and customer retention.

Marketing Tactic with Strongest ROI for Customer Acquisistion vs. Retention by US Direct Marketers- eMarketer

 

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