Targeting Tips in a Converged Media World

by Andreas Roell, CEO Geary Interactive

Convergence is the norm

Media convergence is all around us. The internet is available on cellphones, televisions and in cars, which is turning the world into one digital playground. In this dynamic atmosphere, traditional media outlets are continuing to struggle to keep in stride with their interactive counterpoints, and as a result, Americans are seeing reporters posting blogs, streaming radio online, TV programs available for download and digital billboards. Analog media outlets are fighting to stay relevant and timely, which creates opportunities for interactive marketers to increase their reach. The union of all forms of media equates to endless chances to reach consumers at multiple places on several platforms.

MORE

-article published by iMedia Connection on January 30, 2008

Resurrecting Transitional Ads

by Andreas Roell, CEO Geary Interactive

Search engine marketing principles show us that landing page content should be a contextual extension of the ad. The same goes for transitional ads. Otherwise, the ad in between pages will seem overtly abrupt, noticeable, and unwanted. Advertisers could also use this technique to present their message as a sponsorship of sorts. For example, an advertisement could incorporate the headline of upcoming pages, then “proudly present” it to users.

Once users reach their intended page, marketers should display an additional advertisement. This has proven effective for both building brand awareness and driving click-through conversions. The actual transitional video ad should lead into the ad on the linked page. This way, users are more likely to notice the ad on the next page.

Read the whole article

Article published by ClickZ on February 5, 2008

Microsoft buyout of Yahoo helps Google?

Exciting news this morning. Microsoft bids $45000000000.00 for Yahoo!

…however, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. People are shorting Yahoo stock thinking they will say no to the unsolicited offer. It will be fun to follow how it pans out. It seems like a very complex deal, with a mix of cash and stock, and it will need to get approved by the FCC and EU.

On the bright side for Google, it may speed up and guarantee the EU’s approval of the DoubleClick Google buyout.

Google Acquires DoubleClick – What Will it Mean for Consumers and Advertisers?

Today, the Federal Trade Commission cleared Google’s proposed merger with digital marketing company DoubleClick.

The commission predicts that the deal will not have any substantial effect on competition in Internet advertising, though many others – most notably Microsoft, who fought the deal – say differently.

Google’s challenge is not over, however. Personal privacy has more legal protections in Europe, and European regulators may not approve the deal.

With the merger approved, the new company will hold an incredible volume of personal information about consumers. It will have an unprecedented ability to track Internet users and target advertising according to their tastes and past purchases. In an era where information is as good as gold, one company with so much user information will be a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the consumer privacy concerns, the deal may shape up to be a boon for advertisers, who are seeking to gain insight into Web users’ behavior and how to tailor advertising to individual users as much as possible.

Because the online advertising industry is still in its infancy, it’s truly impossible to know whether the deal will end up threatening competition or consumer privacy. Only time will tell. Regardless, the deal is likely to dramatically change the online advertising landscape for consumers, advertisers, watchdogs and privacy advocates.

All Around Great Mac Ad

There is a new Mac vs. PC ad that is only being released online. This series of ads have been very entertaining and I would assume have had some very positive results for Mac. This new ad currently resides on the CNET Microsoft Vista page and is extremely targeted, relevant, and entertaining. They talk about all the problems users that have switched to Vista are experiencing, and offer Mac as an alternative to going back to XP. Kudos to the creative team that came up with this placement…we should all strive to create compelling advertising of this caliber!

Caution: Don’t Let Ad Serving Affect Usability

I consider myself a very educated Internet user in both personal and professional capacities. Working in the online advertising space has probably made me more aware of this issues related to Internet usability, but I am starting to notice things more frequently.

When I visit espn.com or msnbc.com (there are millions of examples) I have been noiticing that the page content is either delayed or halted in its loading process. When this occurs, I look at the left hand corner of my browser and see the message “waiting for ad.doubleclick.net,” or a similar message related to some ad serving company. I am in the industry and obviously have nothing against ad serving, but I don’t believe that it should ever, in any way, interfere with the usability of a website. Five to ten seconds of delay (or more, when a page quits loading) is an eternity for the finicky web user, and will result in lost traffic and business.

If your site is set up in a way that will not load the content until you get a response from the ad server, then I fear you may have set yourself for some loss of audience. The moral of this story is to be aware of this issue and how it affects your site’s usability and to plan accordingly when designing a site. I would also like to challenge the ad serving networks (I fear I could be wasting my keystrokes on this one) to improve their infrastructure to minimize the delay, as the problem looks to be getting worse as more and more advertising dollars move to the online space.

Social Networks Go (More) Commercial

This week, it was reported that MySpace and Facebook, the Internet’s two largest social networking hubs, are stepping up their efforts to turn their popularity into profit.

Facebook announced that it will start letting advertisers interact with its users, even when they aren’t on the Facebook site. The goal is to help advertisers sell services and target their advertising.

Meanwhile, MySpace’s plans center on democratizing advertising, and making ad space available to more people. Their plan is to lower the bar for buying ads and rolling out a self-serve model that allows everyone from bands to politicians to buy advertising on MySpace.

Will this commercialization of social networks spell the end of the social networking craze?

MySpace’s motto, after all, is “a place for friends” — not “a place to buy stuff.”

However, we can’t deny that social networks are the ideal place for advertisers to play. With important consumer data right at their fingertips, advertisers can precisely target their messages on social networks. In addition, consumers have already shown a remarkable affinity for sharing opinions on their social networking pages, including favorite products, movies, and more. Advertisers are merely seeking to capitalize on this trend.

And in an era where consumers look to other consumers – and, ideally, their friends — for reviews and recommendations, social networks are a goldmine.

Of course, it’s also possible that this commercialization could backfire and drive users away from social networks. However, the most lucrative demographic for advertisers — young people – grew up with advertising, and may be able to accept or even embrace it as part and parcel of their social networking experience.

Google’s Gas Station Pumps

I’ve had the pleasure of watching CNN while I am unintentionally sniffing gas fumes but the days of CNN gas pump broadcasting may be numbered as a new type of gas station entertainment is jumping on stage. Starting this December, Google will install Google Maps on some 3,500 gas pumps around the United States that will allow motorists to search for local spots and print out directions from the pump itself.

In my opinion, this is an amazing idea. Google Maps and gas station pumps fit together as well as peanut butter and jelly. Next time you are lost on a road trip or looking for a good place to eat, you no longer need to walk into the gas station and ask the attendant, who the majority of the time seems like they hate any form of human communication, for directions or recommendations of good places for you to eat. Just go to the pump, do a search on Google, and print out your directions.

Hot Juicy Burgers For Life

Wendy’s new website, Hot Juicy Burger, is catching the attention of anyone who has ever dreamed of winning a contest that enables the winner to never pay for their fast food addiction again. The goal of the website is to build a social network of Wendy’s target audience, engage their audience on a daily basis, create marketing buzz for their current advertising campaign and ultimately awarding the winner a lifetime supply of burgers.

Once joining the contest, you can earn points by having people vote for your personal reason that you deserve a “Hot Juicy Burger,” referring a friend to join, posting your Wendy’s character to a social networking site, and continuously logging onto the site.

To me, this seems like an online version of the famous pyramid scam that got people to sell a water filters to all their friends and relatives but just image how well that worked for the one at the top of the pyramid? Wendy’s has built a great social network of all who dream of having a steady diet Wendy’s burgers for the rest of their life. I am getting ready to color my hair red and e-mail all my friends, what about you?

Google and DoubleClick to Merge?

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Google’s purchase of advertising company DoubleClick is likely to be approved by regulators — despite fierce objections from Google’s chief rivals, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Some argue that the merger of two advertising giants has troubling antitrust and privacy implications.

At the same time, many experts point out that Internet advertising is a huge and largely untapped market that is ripe for new entrants, even if mergers like the Google-DoubleClick deal are approved.

Google’s $3.1 billion buyout of DoubleClick, if approved, is just one sign of a larger trend — the rapid consolidation of the lucrative Internet advertising industry. Though Microsoft and Yahoo are objecting to Google’s intention to acquire DoubleClick, they have made their own acquisitions as well. Microsoft Corp bought aQuantive Inc — the largest interactive ad agency — for $6 billion; Yahoo purchased BlueLithium for $300 million. Both of these deals were approved by U.S. regulators.

Because the online ad market is constantly evolving, incredibly dynamic, and difficult to define, it’s difficult to say whether the Google-DoubleClick deal would really represent an antitrust violation. The online ad market is currently expanding 15 to 20 percent a year worldwide. The global ad market, in contrast, is growing only 2 to 3 percent a year. Similarly, online advertising revenue surged to nearly $10 billion in the first half of 2007.

Because the online ad market is so huge and still surging, experts argue, it is possible for many more players to burst onto the scene and carve out their own segment of the market, even if Google and DoubleClick do merge. Online ad prices, some say, are highly unlikely to rise as a result of the deal.