Keeping Online - blog

Marketing in Today's Economy

2009-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today's economic challenges have changed the way consumers behave online. Changing your marketing strategy to meet the current needs of your customers is essential to the survival of your business. This presentation will show you key areas to focus on with the changing times from advertising strategies, leveraging social media the right way and keeping pace with today’s technology.

Here is your free copy of my recent webinar "Marketing in Today's Economy" to find tips on changing with the times.

Google Launches Interesting Ad Changes

2009-03-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Google announced a beta program launching “interest-based” advertising. The new program will use additional information based on the type of sites users visit and the pages they view to display more relevant ads based on categories of interest. This is consistent with the movement of advertising networks to offer additional services through enhanced advertising features to remain competitive in this challenging market. Yahoo recently added enhanced features offering publishers more control over targeted ads.

Of course this type of advertising sparks debate and concern regarding privacy policies as additional user information is required to provide this type of display control. In an effort to head off negative perception Google has been up front about their changes and is attempting to present features aimed at offering users options. Although this program will adopt an opt-out approach rather than opt-in, meaning users are automatically participating unless they take specific action to have themselves removed from the feature altogether.

Google describes three features that will provide, as they describe, transparency, choice and control. They are providing a new tool called Ads Preferences Manager that will enable users to select additional interests or delete categories based on their own preferences. This may go a long way with the generation that expresses interest in actually receiving ads tailored to their specific needs. They will also display more details about the information being used to serve a specific ad, which will be available by clicking ad labels. In addition, they have created a browser plug-in that will permanently maintain the opt-out selection even if cookies are cleared.

While behavioral targeted advertising has been around for quite some time, it remains a controversial topic. Serving relevant content will always be a challenge. If the new interest based ad serving feature proves well with consumers, it will only contribute to Google’s domination of search.

Skittles Makes Brave Move with Twitter

2009-03-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

There has been much talk over the past week as Skittles.com makes continued changes to their homepage. It started with a display of Twitter search results, then moved on to their Facebook fan page, and currently they have a Wiki page displaying. As the brave move with Twitter gained attention and much speculation as to how this would translate to selling more candy, the media attention grew. I’ve been watching the numerous tweets about the topic all week, which I have to say has been quite entertaining.

Let’s take a look at what this campaign really means. First, it may not be original, but it was well timed. Twitter has now become mainstream, 6 months ago this may not have been as impactful. It was an interesting observation in human behavior as people tried various tactics to get their name on the Skittles homepage. It may have brought out a few radicals here. The one great thing about social is the uncensored nature of seeing the raw comments. However, for a corporate site this may not always be what one is looking for. Rather than repeat the tweets I will let you search for yourself if it interests you.

When they moved on to a Facebook fan page speculation moved to it being easier to control or filter posts, triggering rumors that the tweets were too offensive. This may not have been the case at all, as it seems they planned to test a variety of treatments all along. For the most part the fan page was well received based on the comments, although again the translation to increasing sales has most in marketing scratching their heads.

It was the move to a Wiki that had me a bit bewildered as I had predicted they would have moved on to a MySpace next to gain a comparison of the three. Whatever they try next the knowledge gained from this campaign will be most valuable. They not only successfully generated buzz about Skittles and Twitter, but they now have acquired valuable information that can be used to shape future campaigns.

Yahoo to Offer New Ad Products

2009-02-24T13:48:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep pace with the demands of improved services in a very sensitive and competitive time where tapping ad budgets is tough Yahoo announces today a major change in their search product, which will leverage new targeting capabilities to provide improved personalization for their search ads.

The new products include features aimed at improving performance such as Search Retargeting, Enhanced Retargeting, and Enhanced Targeting. How will that translate to advertisers is yet to be seen, but today’s press release included an example of a recent trial showing significant increases using the enhanced product over traditional retargeting campaigns The key element here is more control over what ads are presented to audience segments based on prior search history. This is quite important in optimizing an ad campaign.

Search advertising will also recognize improved control over ad selection, as well as offering the ability to tailor bids to reach defined segments. Controlling what is presented to the user has been high on the list of improvements expected from such providers.

SOURCE: Yahoo! Inc.
Full Press Release

Facing Pressure Facebook Retracts Changes to Terms of Use

2009-02-18T09:59:00.001-08:00

Facebook announced late last night that it would retract its recent changes to the Terms of Use for their users after gaining very public attention. Although the original announcement to make the changes came weeks ago, it was in the past few days that brought on a slew of complaints. Once again proving that consumers are very sensitive to how their data is being handled.

Sure enough, when I logged in this morning here’s the message being posted.

The big controversy surrounded wording that would grant the social-networking site the ability to own information collected forever, which would include users that cancel their accounts. Power to the people, public outcry still works to cause change. Some would say Facebook should have learned its lesson by now after what happened with its ‘Beacon’ fiasco at the end of 2007. The system designed to help users stay in touch with their friend’s interests turned into an online broadcasting system, sending transaction and browsing information from some 40 merchants that were included in the system.

Facebook has approximately 175 million users worldwide. Perhaps they should consider a more collaborative approach involving them in future changes if they want to keep them.

What Are You Doing for Valentine’s Day?

2009-02-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

For many of us Valentines is a day associated with flowers, romantic dinners, and chocolate. This year’s advertising theme stayed pretty tried and true, although most offering value in honor of the economy. Online it was FTD and ProFlowers, while TV had plenty of teddy bears and jewelry was also popular. Did they work on you? For some reason I found chocolate irresistible, this is a little out of the ordinary for me. It was the Godiva online ads that got me hook, line, and sinker. Yep, I was heading out to the mall last night for a quick fix even ahead of the festivities, just couldn’t help myself. I kept seeing the same ad over and over for the previous few days and had to indulge.

Did the ads help you play cupid this year, perhaps serve as a friendly reminder of the upcoming holiday, or provide a little creative inspiration to come up with the perfect gift?

The Super Bowl Ad Recap

2009-02-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

What was your favorite ad? For those of you watching the game or catching the ads online I’m sure you have noticed a rather conservative presentation across the board, most are saying it was a rather toned down year from those in the past. On the field, it was the game winning catch by Santonio Holmes that got everyone’s attention in the fourth quarter of the game. As for the Super Bowl ads, there were plenty of them, 69 to be exact, which brought in a record setting $206 million for NBC, a whopping $261 million total for the day.

The mix accurately described in advance was rather predictable. GoDaddy was in my opinion the only risk taker with their “Enhanced” ad with Danica Patrick. The Budweiser Clydesdale commercials were a hit with members of the party I attended, it also happened to be my personal favorite and according to NBC’s Top Rated the “Stick” was amongst fan favorites as well.

I always find the various Top Ten Lists interesting, as they tend to vary greatly. There are the TiVo highlights based upon a sample audience measurement, then there is a poll from Fox Sports, and of course, NBC listed all the ads with an option to sort by Top Rated. Surprisingly enough only one came in the top 10 across all 3 lists, it was the Dorrito’s: Crystal Ball commercial.

With all that money spent on those great ads the next question is how effective will the advertising prove to those that purchased the $3 million dollar per 30 second spots. How many of you are running off to Denny’s this morning for your Free Grand Slam breakfast. If you do take them up on the freebie, will it have you returning in the future?

The Latest Twitter Advertising Trend

2009-01-26T09:43:00.000-08:00

The latest trend to hit Twitter land is a new type of ad network offering to pay Twitter members to serve up ads using their accounts by becoming a publisher. I have received a few links promoting this type of arrangement in the past but last week adCause announced its new service that has gained some attention. They pay publishers based on popularity. While Twitter has yet to monetize their own network, there are others swooping in to do just that. If it works there will be plenty jumping in line to join the ranks, but I am not convinced the concept will be effective.

At a time when Twitter is taking over as one of the fasted forms of communication with a way of sweeping the latest news such as the US Airways Flight 1549, which crashed into the Hudson River recently. Posts of such news breaking events are making their way quickly through Tweets, often times before major news organizations can provide coverage. There is an awesome power in this concept as people share information, being able to tap into that distribution channel with a branded message would certainly help any organization looking to boost their sales.

However, the users of these social communities typically regard them as a safe zone, so to speak, from advertising, not that it doesn’t exists as there are plenty of people pitching themselves or their products but the participants have the option to follow or not. Since the community is self regulated it would seem a certain risk exists from negative perception of all parties that choose to participate in transparent ad serving. From an advertising perspective, those who decide to endeavor into these waters run the risk of alienating the very ones they are targeting as customers. Not to mention the Twitter members signing up to profit from their connection list which may end up dwindling if they are perceived as nothing more than spammers.

I personally will pass on offering my account as ad revenue.

Just Weeks Away From All Those Super Bowl Ads

2009-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Is your anticipation up? Yes, it’s coming upon us, that special day in both sports and advertising. The biggest day of the year for so many fans. I have been neglecting the topic as of late with the economy impacting us all in different ways, but a good friend of mine recently reminded me that even in difficult times we should remember to stop when we can and just enjoy. In my mind, there is no better day than the Super Bowl to do just that.

The Super Bowl is right up there in my household with any major holiday. We make junk food that would normally not be served on a daily basis, perhaps partake in a little too much wine, soda, or your favorite beer and most of all enjoy the show. I happen to love football so that part is easy enough to endure, but I also love the ads. It’s a moment you anticipate all year long. There have been companies made on one ad alone and of course, some of those that did not last until the following year.

The tone of ads this year may be much different from years past. Companies I suspect may be rather cautious about the potential to offend anyone in such economic times. Spending $3 million on a 30-second ad in a time where layoffs are happening left and right may be considered offensive enough, we’ll have to wait and see. The most successful ads of recent years have been all about humor. The past 2 years there has been a great deal of focus on contests, this year it will be the Doritos Super Bowl Ad Contest to watch. Both NFL and GoDaddy opted to have the fans pick their ad for them. Denny’s will be a new participant. E*Trade will be returning, if you remember the talking baby was quite a hit last year. I can’t wait for game time to see the final line up.

There have also been some memorable moments outside the game that have changed the world such as the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” many years ago, which still holds records for the most replayed TiVo event. For those of you that have read my book you know that I love the TiVo statistics and I’ll give them a little shout out since they were so great to work with on the project. Now this is just one measurement, there are plenty of others but they represent a good audience share. A lot has changed since then, this year it may just be the Twitter activity that is most revealing.

Let us hope for an entertaining, possibly underexposed, game day this Feb 1!

Marketing Yourself - Self Promotion is now expected

2009-01-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

For many of us that have typically held positions in rather traditional organizations we are forced to reevaluate the concept of public perception. Conservative organization have often maintained thoughts of limiting exposure or to put it another way, reducing the potential for negative exposure by ensuring its employees are not public about many of their view points or opinions. The mindset has changed in how we share what it is we do and who we really are as individuals. Once upon a time, it was important to maintain professional yet quiet reputations. Shouting out your point of view on politics or a particular approach was frowned upon by many organizations. Now it is essential to your professional survival.

I happen to be in the forty something category that evolved in an awkward time between hippy-ish parents and the evolution of corporate America. Boy, have things changed, although that can be good. Once there was a time that you were told not to rock the boat, all of the sudden now you have free reign to voice your opinions as you see fit. In fact, you are expected to have an online presence in order to succeed.

If you do not have authority rankings who are you? What is your opinion really worth? The answer is a lot, maybe more than you think. In fact, your opinion may just make or break your next job opportunity. No matter what that opinion may be, not having one may cost you. You must apply good marketing techniques to yourself as a brand to get ahead.

Today’s success is all about participation and influence, often times this occurs in places we least likely think it will happen. For those of you that have maintained anonymous profiles to post your opinions it turns out you may have been undermining your potential for success after all. If you were ever afraid of starting a Facebook page or leaving comments on your favorite blog, fear no more, jump in and see what can happen! Please apply common sense on this one, that doesn’t mean making inappropriate comments that will have others outraged or posting pictures of you mooning friends at a weekend party.

Remember not having an opinion may matter more in the long run so make your opinion count and don’t be afraid to share, appropriately of course.

Banking on Obama for a bailout?

2009-01-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

The President Elect has had quite the busy week. He arrived in Washington, got his children to their new schools, had his Twitter hacked and now has the not so small task of establishing an effective economic recovery plan, amongst his other trivial tasks of taking over the presidency. So what will happen next year? With an estimated 7 trillion dollars lost in investor’s portfolios last year, which is not something that magically reappears, his plan for recovery will be a challenging chore indeed.

As companies strive for survival some changes already occurring may impact services you now receive free of charge. Organizations built on ad revenue models in lieu of charging customers for the services they offer are now being hit with declining revenues as budget cuts are exercised and ad rates drop in general greatly reducing the revenue potential. Social networks for one come to mind. In most cases, the principal revenue needed to support infrastructure and provide tools to use their services are all funded by ads. This is a good thing for the consumer as you get to take advantage of those goodies without having to pay a monthly fee. Tough decisions will be made by each individual organization to determine whether to change their business model, but with so many people affected by the economic situation it is doubtful that people will willingly start paying for things they are already receiving free of charge. It’s human nature that we are not happy when things are taken away.

This change will be, I hate to say permanent as there is little permanent on the internet, but it will be a lasting one. It’s the same problem faced by newspapers and other print distributions, once ad revenues, which make up a substantial amount of their income, drop to a point they can no longer cover their overhead a decision needs to be made to either replace the cash stream or close the doors. With less investors willing to fund organizations with dwindling ad revenues it will become more challenging to keep them going, worse yet it will prevent new services from being developed in general.

Speaking of New Year’s Resolutions – internet dating extreme

2009-01-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

It’s always about the marketing! I was watching Good Morning America yesterday when I see a women being interviewed for her New Year’s resolution to find a husband in 52weeks. She launched a website to promote herself, which of course includes videos and lots of personal information. I am not really a fan of the New Year’s resolution, it always seems like people set themselves up for failure with unrealistic expectations like lose a billion pounds, quite smoking 2 packs a day, find a husband in a year, but that's just me. What I found strange about this particular resolution was the strategy around implementing the plan.

Here is a person sitting on national television talking about her mission to find a husband by making it easy for people to get to know her by using her website. I can only imagine the amount of traffic her site received after being on GMA.

I wonder if her marketing will pay off?
Do you think she will find Mr. Right by advertising herself online as wife material?
How many of you would go this extreme to find a mate?

A New Year – New Rules for Marketing

2008-12-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

There is one thing for certain, people or organizations may not change on their own, but they will change when forced to. It’s simply a matter of survival. For any organization that has been humming along for some time enjoying prosperity without experiencing roadblocks, there is a new set of challenges to contend with that will affect changes that no one would have predicted 6 months ago. The same can be said by consumers now faced with job losses and/or any other myriad of financial challenges brought on by the economy.

The 2008 numbers will be in soon enough for the official analysis but hindsight may not be very meaningful in this case. The landscape is changing at a pace that will not make sense until the dust settles and there is time to digest the newfound methods for a successful business model of the future.

Spotting trends that will stick in such a transitional state is not always easy to achieve. Let us look at the marketing buzz words of the year - buzz, guerilla, viral, word of mouth all quite popular topics discussed ad nauseam in blog after blog post. What will stick in the New Year? With organizations facing 40% reductions in sales, it’s natural to apply similar budget reductions in marketing/advertising and any other personnel which may not be considered mission critical. This means to survive and regain sales those that remain will need to do more, work smarter (I actually do not care for that expression) but more importantly they need to work in a way that has not been considered in the past.

Circumstances for the consumers have changed as well. In order to succeed, organizations must listen to consumers in new ways and apply solutions that meet those consumers’ needs in a way that makes economic sense. Since most organizations are not eligible for government bailouts, it will be up to them to adapt or parish. That means leveraging marketing and staff in innovative ways. Changing the old approach to adverting in general will also be necessary. However, this may not be a bad thing for anyone but the agencies supporting those efforts.

Will this lead to less ads altogether or merely a reduction in ad prices to make up the difference? My bet is a combination of the two. Ad prices must come down to attract advertisers and those that purchase will be much more cautious about where they spend their money.

The Holidays Really Are Upon Us

2008-12-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

How do you know the holiday season is officially here? It’s those special ads that come around once a year, they never change, you can count on that. Who has does not have fond memories of the Chia Pet or The Clapper? I mean having your lights turn on by clapping your hands is certainly a cheery thought for the holidays and who doesn’t just love the idea of putting seeds on a clay shaped animal to watch them grow? Every year for as long as I can remember these ads run relentlessly throughout December, it has become the real tell tale sign for me that Christmas is upon us.

My parents always went over board for the holidays. We had many family gatherings, consumed enormous amounts of yummy food, and were showered with meaningful presents. The holidays were always a happy time of year for me growing up, which makes me a prime target for those commercials that spark memories of holidays past. This year there is a certain car commercial that shows various individuals not wanted to replace their favorite childhood memory for instance. For some reason I love that commercial, not that I’m going to run right out and buy a new car right now, but how many of you can relate? What is your favorite childhood gift, the one you remember forever and do those commercials really work on you?

Social Portability – An Open Web

2008-12-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

The latest trend to share social connections may lead to dramatic changes in how we use our favorite social networks. Recent launches of Google Friends Connect, Facebook Connect and the adoption of OpenID from MySpace provides new opportunities for third-party websites to offer portable connections. While all three provide different implementations, the ability to be able to login to a website using your existing Facebook ID, for example, and port your existing friends is a big step in sharing connections.

For those of us that dread creating yet another account on each individual site we use, this new feature may be a very convenient one indeed, but it will be interesting to see who decides to jump on the bandwagon to implement applications leveraging this new approach and who benefits in the end. An example of an implementation of Facebook Connect will allow activity from one site to automatically be posted to your Facebook and vice versa. This new sharing of data provides an open nature on the web.

It will also be interesting to see how privacy concerns and usage of information will be addressed as this new sharing amongst the big networks takes hold. These networks have our most personal information collected from our profiles, which we may not expect to share outside the network. Depending on who is on your friends list it may also impact how they feel about having their information shared. As these big three jockey for position in being the top dog in providing a portable solution I hope they do not lose sight of how we value sensitive personal information.

I’m sure there will be much more to come on the subject in the near future!

Economics Changing The Internet

2008-12-10T08:33:00.000-08:00

This economic crisis may be the catalyst for change we really need. In tough economic times most companies will slash marketing and advertising budgets to weather the storm. This may not always be the best solution. A drastic change rather than a simple reduction will be required to survive. I believe those who will be able to prove themselves successful in this recession will be the ones that show us a better way of doing business. The best changes or innovations are often times inspired by desperate times. The traditional business model must change; organizations must alter their plans with the changing times if they want to succeed. In prosperous times we simply do not pay attention spending, it is human nature spend what you have. What happens when faced with a new reality, one that involves your entire budget and livelihood simply gone?

The typical approach to marketing has been to spend as much money as possible to blast ads in every location available and purchase as much traffic from paid search as your budget would support. It didn’t really matter how effective those tactics happen to be, it was just assumed that’s how you did it. There has been much debate in the industry over how to get the right message to the consumer at a time when they were receptive to making a purchase. Search recognized substantial growth as one of those indicators that a customer was interested in a particular item or subject. However, at a time when people are more cautious about their purchases, buying those keywords may not prove conversions at the previous rates. People may be performing the same search but not following through with the purchase having an obvious negative effect on the organization that now has to decide whether to continue spending in hopes that things will improve. Couple that challenge with the fact that even if a purchase is made, it is expected to be at the lowest possible price and you have a major catalyst for change. The basic economic facts do not add up for organizations to spend more money marketing than they can possibly make on the product.

While there is no historical data on internet behavior in a recession to guide us, there are new trends taking place and we should pay particular attention to them. Keep in mind we are shaping the future. Not since the beginning of the internet has there been a time of such change and never before have individuals played such an active role in the outcome. Consumers are no longer breaking out their credit cards to make impulse buys, they are spending more time researching brands and products, which means that organizations must meet their needs in new ways.

Not Much Holiday Cheer This Year

2008-11-25T14:50:00.001-08:00

With one of the busiest shopping days of the year fast approaching, retailers are not holding their breath that the holiday season will be full of cheer. While we will all have to wait to tally the ad spends for the last quarter one thing is for sure they are going to be disappointing. The economic doom and gloom seems to have everyone holding on to their wallets for dear life, that includes consumers and advertisers alike.

Offering better customer service options seems to be the typical pitch for now, Wal-Mart is advertising more available cashiers and Kmart has brought back the layaway policy, which should hit home for those facing maxed out credit cards. For most retailers going after the early shoppers in hopes of getting any sales they can is also the current effort with the typical focus on discounts and low cost gift ideas.

The Ripple Effect of Detroit Woes

2008-11-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

It is still uncertain what will happen with the troubled GM, whether that corrective action will be a government bailout, bankruptcy protection or some combination remains to be seen. One thing that is obviously clear is that none of the options are attractive to the people they effect. There has been much media coverage about the overall reaching impacts from job losses; not only at the OEM level but also for supporting services to the automotive industry such as the suppliers that also employee staff to produce parts that go into the vehicles and various other labor required to support a manufacturing endeavored of that nature.

There is also the impact to the advertising world. Automotive comes in a very close second to retail in ad category spending. Think about what brands you see most often from your own experience. If those brands go away, I don’t think the remaining automakers will require much advertising to pick up sales as the field is narrowed. This has a significant impact on media and agencies alike.

This is not just an issue for Detroit, the ripple effect continues outward at the local level with the dealerships that will no longer be advertising as well. Many people simply will not consider buying a vehicle from a manufacturer facing bankruptcy as concerns over warranties and future service come front and center on consumer’s minds. Dealerships are getting hit hard with this reality, as they face their own challenges, closing doors at record rates, they too are no longer contributing to advertising.

Generic Brand Anyone?

2008-11-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

This a prime example of advertising gone awry, take a look at what happened when Motrin posts a video on their website Saturday and ends up with some very outraged moms. Twitter and many other blog spots were all hopping with comments, which led to the ad being taken down from the Motrin website and I’m sure some very sincere apologies being issued.

The ad as seen below targets moms as baby wearers which they depict obviously causes pain. My son is now 19 years old and since he out weights me by about 80 pounds it may not be an issue for me personally, at the moment. However, from the time he was born until he was too big to fit in one of the handy baby wearing devices I was a proud member of the sling, pouch, front baby carrier epidemic popular for quite some time.

Advertisers should be aware of the response that can occur when people are deeply offended. In this example, the rapid execution that came with the sharing of this news was precise by mothers that banded together. It’s already Tuesday and the conversation is still going on the Twitter page, #motrinmoms, set up and shared in record time upon the discover.

When you miss the mark in today’s world it really hurts. One would think a little more research and/or possibly a testing with some real moms would have been in their best interest.

Press Release - Keeping Online Blog

2008-11-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

Advertising is no small industry with an estimated $200 billion spent annually, but one that affects all of us. Author Laura Kimball explores just how advertising today is changing our lives in her new book, Getting You Online and Keeping You There.

PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 10, 2008 – Her latest book covers the shift in advertising to get people online for a more interactive experience. With topics such as changing privacy policies that dictate the amount of information that can now be collected and used about individuals for targeted advertising to shifting budgets. The latest trends in both marketing and advertising are all covered for a comprehensive view. This engaging book is a great collection of information for anyone interested in today’s changing market.

Read the entire release at PRLog.

The New Billboards

2008-11-12T11:01:00.001-08:00

Billboard controversy in Los Angeles strikes debate over the latest outdoor advertising. It seems the electronic billboards that flash all night are attracting the attention of residents. In addition to the people that are annoyed by the continued radiant flashing are the concerns over safety as these attract the attention of drivers. It seems that effective advertising is always subject to the viewer. The new technology does add some character and is quite lively in presentation. However, what if you happen to live across the street from such a continuous, eye catching marvel? Please give us your opinion on the topic.