Posts tagged online
Microsoft says don’t forget TV. Suspicious?
Jun 21st
WPP and Publicis Groupe are racing to expand their web and mobile-phone advertising businesses to catch consumers’ attention. But Microsoft reckons they shouldn’t forget a much more traditional route: TV.
There has “never been a better time for TV advertising to seize the moment,” Microsoft Advertising and BBDO Worldwide, a unit of the world’s second-biggest ad company Omnicom Group, said in a study released today.
The survey among 1,500 consumers in the US, China, Russia, the UK and Saudi Arabia shows that “TV is a rich, powerful medium and advertisers should continue to be making great ads for it.”
But before you jump to conclusions and think Microsoft is advising against its very own platform (digital), the reasoning behind the advice from the tech giant is it wants to promote a balance between online platforms and TV.
While digital advertising has the fastest growth rate, TV is able to stay relevant because of new technology such as digital video recorders and surround sound, as well as rising viewership in developing markets.
Microsoft is just pushing for TV campaigns to be integrated with digital.
The research projects that TV ads will account for 42% of the ad market by 2013, up from 37% in 2005. Microsoft simply want some of the pie.
Marketers are increasingly using the web for campaigns and are embedding videos on specific sites to ensure a more targeted approach.
Microsoft, as usual, just wants a partner to ensure its relevance is maintained, thus playing the ‘friendly side of the big online world’.
Yes TV and internet can work together, but inevitably, as many broadcasters migrate online with catch-up services and online video players, online will ultimately take a bigger slice of the market. And Microsoft wants a big piece of that pie.
Retargeted ads triumph
Sep 23rd
comScore just released a new study they conducted with ValueClick Media on the effectiveness of online display advertising according to its media placement strategy.
The research firm analyzed 103 campaigns from 39 different advertisers covering 7 industries, examining the lift in brand website visitation and trademark search queries across six different media placement strategies.
Here’s a simplified look at what they found:
Retargeting – Served to users that have previously visited an advertiser’s site.
ReTargeted ads had the highest lift in trademark search behavior with a whopping 1,046%. The downside is that retargeting by the very nature of the beast, doesn’t reach as many potential customers so it’s perfect for those who have a high volume of abandoned shopping carts.
Premium Pricing – High visibility placements on premium publishers.
The downside here is the cost, but research showed a higher than average lift for this type of ad.
Contextual Targeting – Ads served to related page-level content
Also an expensive option, but the upside is that contextual advertising had a much larger reach than other types, surpassed only by. . .
Run-of-Network (RON) – Ads which appear anywhere in the network, often optimized by conversion
Efficiency Pricing – Cost-per-click engagement with creative
Both of these were looked at as low cost alternatives that have the best reach but don’t have the lift of targeted ads.
So retargeting it is! Except for one thing…
Anne Hunter, vice president of advertising effectiveness at comScore, says, “One of the key findings of this research is just how effective Retargeting is at generating lift. However, if marketers want to continue to enjoy the benefits of this highly effective strategy, they must also deploy it responsibly and in a manner with which consumers are comfortable.”
This is a topic we’ve discussed before and I don’t know if I’m just noticing them more often or if more advertisers are using them, but I still find it a little freaky, particularly when the ad doesn’t jive with the page I’m reading. For example, yesterday I was reading a serious interview with a breast cancer survivor and the ad that popped up was for a toy store I’d recently visited. Cute, animated mascot and breast cancer just don’t mix. I noticed the ad, but not in a good way.
comScore also found good results among advertisers that used a mix of three or more placement strategies at the same time. In one campaign that used five different methods, the average number of minutes on the brand’s site rose to seven times the norm.
How do you drive an online audience to a TV show offline?
Sep 8th
How do you increase an audiences’ desire to watch particular TV shows? A a marketing technology company that segments and translates publisher data to simplify audience recognition for buyers and sellers claims it has the answer.
By analysing data obtained from its many quality publishers, particularly information on their readers’ social actions – comments and blog posts about shows, for example – Lotame was able to place relevant ads in just the right spots, which led to readers tuning in when the time came.
Across 27 TV campaigns, the company claims it has raised ‘Intent to View’ an average of 27.68% per campaign. Impressive eh?
It measured the viewership lift from the deployment of a control/exposed brand survey methodology across 32,000 consumers.
“Our data has enabled us to raise viewer intent across a number of genres: family shows, sci-fi, even sports playoff programming,” said Lotame CEO Andy Monfried.
“We’ve had particular success with shows aimed at the sub-34 crowd, which reflects how growing up with the web over the past 16 years creates a greater willingness to make their voices heard about their favorite programming online.”
A number of television and cable networks have used Lotame’s technology to enhance viewership. The technology uses no personally identifiable information, so it’s safe for brands to use.
“We have found Lotame’s technology to be an effective tool to reach the right audiences for our clients,” added Jessica McGiff-Drapiza, Group Director of Digital Strategy at PHD Media.
RESEARCH WATCH: 2m more Brits online
Jun 30th
There are 1.9 million more people using the internet than there were last year. But the real surprise is the demographics…
People over 50 years old are responsible for the majority of the increase in the numbers of Britons using the internet over the last year, says a new study from UKOM (The UK Online Measurement Company powered by Nielsen).
The size of the UK internet audience grew by 5% from 36.9 million people in May 2009 to 38.8 million people in May 2010. Of these 1.9 million new Britons using the Internet, 1.0 million (53%) were at least 50 years old.
Men over 50 were responsible for most of this growth, accounting for 722,000 (38%) new British internet users followed by women over 50 who accounted for 284,000 (15%) new users.
Following the 50+ age group, women aged 21-34 accounted for 272,000 (14%) new British internet users and ‘tweenage’ girls aged 12-20 who accounted for 231,000 (12%).
Alex Burmaster, from Nielsen, said, “The internet is getting older in more ways than one. Not only is the medium itself maturing but the audience is shifting towards older age groups. This growth is a reminder, if one was still needed, that it is very much a form of media utilised by all age groups.
“The fact that one in four Britons who use the Internet today are 50 to 64 years old proves it is no longer the sole preserve of the young and technical literati.”
The types of websites where people over 50 years old are most likely to be found are a varied mix of health, video, community, travel, fashion, genealogy, cooking and greeting cards.
People aged 50 or over account for 31% of people online (see Chart 1). Health website RealAge has the highest concentration of people this age amongst its visitors – 89 percent are aged 50 or over. RealAge is followed by video site Flixxy (80%) and community site Saga – of which 78% of the audience is at least 50 years old (see chart 2).
Burmaster added, “This age group have a wide appetite when it comes to the types of sites they are using to supplement the interests and needs they have in the daily lives. Consequently, a number of brands across a range of industries, particularly travel, are showing the rest what a valuable medium online is when it comes to reaching a desired audience who haven’t grown up with the Internet.”
Absolut caught out by ‘I’m Here’ online film fans
Apr 9th
Vodka company Absolut had an idea. That brainwave may have come in the sauna (with the company being Swedish). Or perhaps during a roll in the snow.
But it was a very good idea. The idea was to work with acclaimed film director, Spike Jonze, and the result was a 30-minute robot love story film entitled, ‘I’m Here’.
It was released in January 2010, at imheremovie.com but unfortunately – or perhaps more fortunately – has been an overwhelming success.
According to the vodka folks ‘I’m Here’ is screened every two hours on imheremovie.com, limited to just 5,000 viewers per day, the capacity of the site is now to be expanded to 12,000 a day.
In it’s first weekend of release the online movie theatre apparently clocked up 230,000 unique visitors alone.
“’I’m Here’ marks an evolution of our commitment to creativity, and I’m very happy about the great interest in this film. It is a beautiful story and a fantastic piece of art,” said Vice President Global Marketing at The Absolut Company, Anna Malmhake.
Seen in the worst light, it could be just a load of spin from Absolut. But there are widen implications.
It’s a reflection of just how viewing habits online are growing. In fact as we’ve already reported on UTalkMarketing, Online video is medium of choice for marketers in 2010
Why? Well it’s all down to the growth of broadband across the UK.
Absolut obviously knew the film was going to be popular. Otherwise they’d never have commissioned it in the first place.
They’ve also been driving traffic by integrating the project on Facebook, making it possible for social networkers to see the film together with friends.
But it looks like they underestimated just how popular it might be.
Lessons to be learnt?
Marketers should never underestimate the potential appeal of online video
Get it right and 230,000 unique visitors could be engaging with your brand over just one weekend too.
With the costs of video production falling too, there are no excuses for not making the leap into digital celluloid.
We’ve even got some top tips on How to produce video that delivers on a tight marketing budget here
Goodbye to the Facebook “fan.” Hello to the “like.”
Apr 1st
Facebook is replacing its “fan” buttons with “like” buttons on ads that direct users to big brands’ “fan pages” in a bid to further monetise the social networking site.
That’s according to new internal information acquired by All Things Digital.
Brand ‘fan pages’ are nothing new, of course but the problem for Facebook is they can be set up and operated for free.
All that free exposure to 400 million users via what is in effect a microsite for nada? Naturally Facebook is not happy so is now encouraging brands to buy ads on the site promoting the pages.
The move from ‘Fan’ to ‘Like’ has been prompted by a couple of developments.
First up is the fact that users have demonstrated the success of the ‘like’ button in other contexts – such as status up dates and photos. Facebook claims this is used twice as frequently as the ‘become a fan of’ button.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is the bigger picture. Facebook, according to All Things Digital, will be driving to add the ‘like’ button throughout the Web as a way of funneling more and more interaction onto its platform.
“‘Like’ offers a simple, consistent way for people to connect with the things they are interested in. These lighter-weight actions mean people will make more connections across the site, including with your branded Facebook Pages,” Facebook said a FAQ Sheet, All Things Digital claims to have get its hands on.
“I believe this will result in gaining more connections to pages since our research has shown that some users would be more comfortable with the term “Like”. The goal is to get the most user connections so that you can have ongoing conversations in the news feeds of as many users as possible.”
It adds, “The core functionality of Pages will not change. For instance, your Pages will still have distribution into your fans’ News Feed and you can still call the people who “Like” your Page, “Fans”-your Fans are still your Fans.”
Will users notice the difference in the change of buttons? Possibly. Will they care about the name change? Probably not.
Will the name change increase user engagement with brands? Facebook seems to think so. I’m not so sure.
After all, at the end of the day, it’s about whether you like a brand or not; not really about the difference between ‘like’ or being a ‘fan’.
Race is on for publishers large and small to get mobile
Mar 23rd
Think publishing. Think revenue generation. Think multi-platform. Or your future might look pretty bleak.
Going mobile is nothing new to publishers. After all, how many years has WAP been around, never mind the smart phone.
But the planned launch of the iPad and it’s potential to revolutionise media and publishing is encouraging on those publishers to take action.
The reasons are simple. Going digital – and mobile – opens up the door on alternative revenue steams.
It’s something we’ve touched on a few times, most recently with the launch of Skimkits, but as tech advances, so do the opportunties.
However while major publishers may have had the budget and resources to make the digital leap, it’s not been so easy for smaller players such as bloggers.
A new development may be set to change all that. A new tool has been released that allows publishers to create and monetise a mobile version of their website, turning RSS feeds and web pages into mobile pages.
The best news is that Mobilizer, as developed by BuzzCity, is a free service, with no hosting fees, and free publisher support.
It allows publishers to start earning mobile display advertising revenue with a payout of up to 65 per cent of total ad revenues. Publishers are able to choose the type of adverts that will appear on their mobile website as well as the number of ads and their position.
“It is common knowledge that consumer behaviour is shifting. Reading habits evolved from print-based media to web-based media and now mobile media is really coming in to play,” explains KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity.
“It is vital that publishers are making their content readily available on the mobile. Many have invested in apps for the iPhone but this will only serve a small section of the market.”
In addition, publishers receive a unique QR code to display on their website, newspaper or magazine.
Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL.
The simple act of reading may never be the same again…
Can’t afford a TAG Heuer watch? Try it on online in real time.
Mar 17th
Got a spare grand in the bank? Thought not. But you still fancy some stylish wrist action? TAG Heuer is providing the answer by jumping on the augmented reality bandwagon.
A new pioneering app on its website, live “from the end of the month” will allow poverty-stricken consumers to try on a selection of virtual watches in full 3D in real-time.
Consumers will be able to access the tool from their own computers or laptops but a number of store consoles are also being rolled out to enhance the in-store virtual experience.
Consumers visiting the TAG Heuer website will be able to download software, print out a Tag Heuer wrist-band and experience, through a web-cam, a selection of this seasons watches in full 3D as if they were actually wearing them in front of their computer.
The benefits to retailers? Well, the technology platform offers significant additional business benefits by enabling brands to support test marketing, just-in-time capacity, present extended ranges and build a virtual sales assistant to expand staff availability, in addition to supporting displays at exhibitions and in store.
Developed by Holition, the programme allows users to change products, colours and styles at the touch of a button. Augmented Reality 3D viewing is possible when the user wears a symbol and stands in front of a web cam.
On screen the technology merges the 3D object into real-time video of the person so that the product can be viewed from all angles as the user moves their body.
Intrigued? Well we have a sneak preview video showing the tool in action.
“As part of TAG Heuer’s avant-garde heritage, we always strive to be the brand leader in design, precision and cutting edge technology,” said Antoine Pin, CEO LVMH Watch & Jewellery UK. “We are very proud to be pioneers in this new field.”
With luxury brands becoming more savvy as they attempt to claw their way out of the recession it’s an innovative step forward.
It’s one very assured step on from those luxury retailers such as Prada and Louis Vuitton who have just realised that you can actually sell goods online rather than people having to stumble into your Bond Street or Sloane Street stores. Amazing.
But with luxury brands having the financial clout to embrace AG, its perhaps interesting to see them following rather than leading in some ways.
So, for example, on UTalkMarketing recently we talked about an independent clothing company for children championing the tech, on the back of a collaboration with ad agency Brothers and Sisters.
But without question the tech is there for all to harness. All that’s required now is a little imagination.
Head of digital strategy at marketing communications agency, KLP, Stephen Beasley, provides some inspiration on how brands can move beyond the Augmented Reality hype and turn it into practice.
The alternative to charging for content – and still make money
Mar 10th
Publishers are faced with an ever growing challenge as print sales slip and readers largely reluctant to pay for content online.
Sure they could start simply churning out advertorial. That would surely keep the advertisers happy, but where’s the editorial credibility or ethics?
A new tool could well be the much sought after holy grail offering to monetise content both ‘seamlessly’ and ‘ethically’.
It comes from Skimlinks, a content monetisation service that we picked up on UTalkMarketing some time ago, and now operating on more than a half million sites – blogs, newspapers, content networks and forums – worldwide.
Fans include the Mirror.co.uk, whose Head of Digital, “SkimKit places the content and the commercial opportunity together,” said Paul Hood, has praised the content and the commercial mash-up.
“The editors have complete control over the content that they’re selecting and the commercial happens automatically. We’re not missing any opportunities,” he adds cheerfully.
Skimlinks helps website publishers by automatically turning normal retailer links in their editorial content into affiliate links. Each time a user clicks through and makes a purchase, the website earns a commission from the retailer. Simples, eh?
So why is it important? Well, the service is ideal for publishers lacking the resources or capacity to harness affiliate marketing as a revenue source, in a market that industry analysts predict will grow to $4 billion in the U.S. by 2014.
Now a new desktop tool – SkimKit – aims to empower editors and bloggers to easily produce revenue-generating content in a way that critically distances them from the commercial side of the process.
The tool offers a live, searchable database of millions of products from Skimlinks’ merchants. The tool lets publishers research, find and link to products they are writing about, with immediate access to deeplinks and image URLs.
It also features a service that creates shortened, monetised links for use in Twitter and email newsletters, turning a means of communication into a potential revenue source.
While SkimKit makes the creation of content more efficient for publishers, it is also more lucrative. So, if a publisher chooses to feature a product found in the tool, they earn a commission on the sale.
“Skimlinks gives publishers a way to generate revenue streams beyond banner ads and text ad units by making the most of the commercial value of the content they are already writing,” says Alicia Navarro, CEO and co-founder of Skimlinks.
“SkimKit makes it even easier by allowing editors and bloggers to actively play a role in the monetisation process without feeling any impact on their integrity or impartiality, as they are still writing about the kinds of products and retailers they normally write about.”
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