How-To: Launching and Monetizing a Facebook Application

Now that Facebook applications can be put on any website, the time is now to create an app, whether to promote a brand or for your own tactical reference. This is intended as an introduction to researching, creating, launching, advertising, and making money from Facebook applications. Researching your app Be sure to do the proper research on […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Networks Mull Options for Squeezing Cash Out of Online TV

While online audiences grow for its shows, ad revenue has not kept pace, said Jeff Zucker in an interview with the Financial Times. Changes in ad sales and delivery are crucial to monetizing online streaming, Zucker said, and grow more necessary as traditional ratings decline. With the exception of the CW, networks now appear to take it […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Beware the Ides of Proprietary Rich Media Platforms, Mozilla Warns

Proprietary rich media techologies, such as Flash and Silverlight, threaten the open nature of the internet, warned the founder of Mozilla Europe this week. Mozilla's Tristan Nitot made the statements at London's Internet World conference on Tuesday, ZDNet reports. With upcoming revision of the HTML specification, HTML 5, Nitot said technology like Flash and Silverlight will no […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

How-To: 10 Tips for Launching a Solid Podcast

Campaign studies by Podtrac and TNS found podcast advertising is three times as effective as "traditional" online advertising, and seven times more so than TV ads. In 2007, podcasts served 18.5 million users in the US — a figure projected to rise to 65 million by 2012 (eMarketer). These tips for launching an engaging podcast will help […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Top 10 Boomer Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction

Preconceived notions about Baby Boomers abound, but many are mere myth, according to the third Quarterly Boomer Report from AARP Services and Focalyst, titled "How Well Do You Know Boomers? Counting Down the Top 10 Boomer Myths," writes MarketingCharts. "Contrary to many common assumptions, Boomers are making retirement obsolete, are very savvy about advertising, and […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

Subject Line, 'From' Address Crucial to Email Marketing

An email's subject line and "from" address are "the most important factors" for getting users to open an email. The revelation was made by Louise Rijk of Advanced Media Productions, writing for the UK-based Worcester Business Journal. She advised subject lines be eye-catching and less than 70 characters. As mentioned in MarketingVOX's "13 Tips for Effective Email […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

UK Broadband Not 'Super Fast,' High-Speed Users Prefer Practical Sites

Despite ISP assertions that "Super Fast" broadband is standard, just 3 percent of Britons enjoy a connection speed of over 8Mb per second — as many as are connected by "dial-up speed" (less than 128Kbps) — according to (PDF) Nielsen Online, reports MarketingCharts. The connection speed of most online Britons (52 percent) is between 512Kbps and […]

Posted: Friday, April 11th, 2008

How-To: 13 Tips for Effective Email Marketing

A recent study finds people no longer perceive "spam" as just unsolicited email. They see spam as email they simply don't want. This makes email marketing a tougher nut to crack. But having a consumer's trust on your side makes it a lot easier. Here are some tips for increasing the likelihood of getting your message […]

Posted: Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

Modernista Dismantles Site, Trusts the 'Net to Share Its Ethos

Boston agency Modernista took the phrase "less is more" to heart when updating its website. The agency's new online destination is "siteless" and dependent entirely on public resources, navigable by a menu bar in the top right corner of the screen. When users "Google" the agency and click on Modernista, they are brought to the same […]

Posted: Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

How-To: 9 Basic SEO Tips

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), one component of search engine marketing (SEM), is the process of fortifying a website so it is more likely to appear in a high position when users conduct a search with keywords related to the website's offerings. Here are a few basic SEO tricks: 1. Find out how well you rank online. You […]

Posted: Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Disney's Iger: Search Engines Not Competition

Disney CEO Bob Iger staked out a unique position when he said search engines are not competitors, reports Mediaweek. A number of media company owners, including the Tribune's Sam Zell and others, cast search engines in an adversarial light. That's largely because Google, Yahoo and just about everyone else, sell advertising on their search results. Media […]

Posted: Friday, March 14th, 2008

How-To: 10 Low-Cost Business Marketing Tips

"When marketing is continuous and targeted rather than occasional and shotgun, business gets easier," writes co-author Joanna Krotz of the Microsoft Small Business Kit. "If prospects have a positive view of your wares and reputation before you call or before they start shopping, you're that much closer to nailing a sale." Her 10 low-cost marketing tips follow: 1. […]

Posted: Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

Media Brands Have Authority, Trust, Influence but No Monopoly on Insight

Senior execs, CEOs and other C-suite officers in midsize to large (including Fortune 500) companies select legacy, marquee brands as having authority, trust and influence but see no clear leaders in "insight," according to an Ipsos Media study, writes MarketingCharts. As part of a broader profiling study, Ipsos Media asked business-elite influencers to assess a wide […]

Posted: Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

4A's: Strengthen Online Campaigns with Paid Search, and Vice-Versa

At the 4A's Media Conference, advertisers were advised not to overlook paid search as an integral part of online campaigns, reports Adweek. The advice came from MediaVest SVP Amanda Richman, who presented case studies from clients like Wal-Mart to back up her assertion. Wal-Mart buttressed a radio campaign with a paid search execution. The combination yielded solid […]

Posted: Friday, March 7th, 2008

Disparity Between What Health Care Consumers Want (Stuff Online) - and Actually Get

Consumers want access to technology and services that they do not get from healthcare providers - like online access to medical information and the price of physician/hospital services, finds a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey, writes MarketingCharts. Among the findings: Some 88 percent of consumers surveyed want expanded use of in-home monitoring devices and online tools […]

Posted: Monday, March 3rd, 2008

'Quarterlife' Bombs on NBC, Moves on to Bravo

Quarterlife, the online series NBC picked up from MySpace TV, debuted on the broadcast network last night. Less than 24 hours from its network premier, there is already talk that the show will be moved to cable network Bravo, which also belongs to NBC. The show's director positioned the move as a positive thing, asserting the […]

Posted: Friday, February 29th, 2008

Hulu to Advertisers: Web TV Ads Yield More Engagement. Take Advantage!

The head of the video site Hulu has called on advertisers to think outside the 30-second box for web video ads. In comments made at an Interactive Advertising Bureau meeting, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar suggested advertisers adopt different models for streaming video ads. Instead of simply repurposing 30 second TV spots, Kilar said, advertisers must build shorter, […]

Posted: Thursday, February 28th, 2008

How-To: Identifying Influencers, Neutralizing Detractors

The attention of influencers is coveted because of their mythological ability to drive others to a given brand, whether by force of personality or strong subject knowledge. But "influencers" are not a single silver-bullet demographic. Depending on the product or service a company hopes to sell, the appropriate circle of influencers can vary. Tips on Locating Your […]

Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

Forrester: 'End of Music Industry as We Know It'

Half of all music sold in the US will be digital in 2011. And sales of digitally downloaded music will surpass physical CD sales in 2012, according to a Forrester Research report, The End Of The Music Industry As We Know It, reports MarketingCharts. Digital music sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23 […]

Posted: Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

New Media Influences Purchases, Particularly among Minorities

Advertisers are well advised to pay more attention to what customers say influence their purchases — particularly new media options, which are growing fastest in wielding influence, according to BIGresearch, MarketingCharts reports. While traditional media still rank on top in purchase influence, many are declining and some are showing double-digit losses in influence over the previous […]

Posted: Thursday, February 21st, 2008