2008 November - MarketingVOX

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Study Unearths Super-Connected ‘Digital Divas’

A segment comprising 16% of the female online population identified as "Digital Divas" shops more, communicates more and is less likely than other women to ever "unplug" from their digital gadgets, according to a survey from Microsoft Advertising, Ogilvy Chicago,... continue reading »

Facebook Relaxes Prohibition-Style Alcohol App Policy

Facebook lifted restrictions on apps that "promote, facilitate, or reference" the sale of alcoholic beverages, according to a post on its developer blog. There remains just one condition: Developers must use the Demographic Restrictions feature to ensure that ads are... continue reading »

Obama Brings SocNets to Oval Office; GOP Tries 'Rebuilding the Party'

Just one day after sweeping the November 4 election, President-Elect Barack Obama's team launched a website aimed at making government more "open." Features on Change.gov include a blog, biographies on Obama and VP-Elect Joe Biden, details about executive priorities and the... continue reading »

Google, Campbell Soup, J&J Tops in CSR

Google, Campbell Soup, and Johnson & Johnson top the list of American companies that the US public sees as most socially responsible, according to the 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI), from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and... continue reading »

Agency.com Takes iCrossing to Court for 'Employee Raiding'

Omnicom's Agency.com has filed suit against digital ad firm iCrossing, insinuating the latter poached a number of major executives and clients, reports the Wall Street Journal. $19.5 million in damages are sought. The suit alleges tortious interference, breach of contract and... continue reading »

Army Puts Overseas Soldiers Behind Recruitment Webcasts

Beginning today — Veterans Day — the US Army will integrate a series of webcasts, labeled "Straight from Iraq," into its website and overall media campaign. "Now you can find out what it's really like to be deployed in the Middle... continue reading »

Mom Bloggers More Likely to Be SocNet Addicts

Mothers who read and contribute to blogs are more active online, more receptive to online marketing and more likely to be involved in social networking than the rest of their US mothering peers, according to research from Lucid Marketing, MarketingCharts... continue reading »

BeatMyPrice Brings Lowest 'Net Rates to Reticent Shoppers

Stateless Systems, the developers of online coupon site RetailMeNot, launched BeatMyPrice.com. The premise is simple: users enter the item they want to buy, the URL where they saw the item for sale, and the price to beat. An adjusting slider... continue reading »

Surprise, Surprise: Mobile Gamers Prefer iPhone

Apple's iPhone handset is preferred by 10.7% of users of Greystripe's ad-supported mobile gamers network. Downloadable games "21 Pro Blackjack," "Cookie Bonus Solitaire" and "Origami Daisy" are the most popular choices among them, according to Q3 research from the mobile... continue reading »

No More Naughty, Craigslist Promises

craigslist has agreed to crack down on listings by prostitutes and businesses peddling "erotic services" (e.g., massage, boudoir photo services). The discussion began earlier in the year, when the attorney general of Connecticut — representing a total of 40 states —... continue reading »

Brand-Association Study: Obama Linked to BMW, McCain to Ford

Barack Obama is more associated with brands BMW, Target, Google and Samuel Adams, while John McCain brings to mind Ford, Wal-Mart , AOL and Budweiser, according to the 2008 Presidential ImagePower Survey from branding firm Landor Associates and research firm... continue reading »

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 11/11/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Dapper launched MashupAds, a means to build customizable display ads on the fly. Terra launched EZTargetMedia, a Latin audience-oriented ad network for the US and Latin America. The company expects to hit about 30 billion impressions in its... continue reading »

Mars Robot Tweets, Reaps Online 'Cewebrity'

Move over, @therealbritney: in the world of cewebrity (web-based fame), a robot's star is rising. Real-life celebrity Britney Spears — who's just joined Twitter as "therealbritney" — is a relative latecomer to the microblogging service. Despite her tabloid fame, she doesn't... continue reading »

Voice, Video Chat: Live on Gmail

This week Google launched voice and video chat capabilities on Gmail, its free email and chat service. Users interested in trying the service can visit Gmail, open a chat window for any of their contacts, push Options and download the... continue reading »

Study Reveals Hispanics' Attitudes About Finances

Hispanic consumers in the US say they feel more financially secure than they have in the past and are using credit cards more, but their self-reported lack of knowledge about financial matters also has increased, according to a study from... continue reading »

Google Uses Search to Forecast Regional Flu Outbreaks

The "collective intelligence" of the web might be used to spot more than just tech trends: It could help healthcare centers prepare for flu outbreaks in certain parts of the country. Over the web, Americans tend to run searches for... continue reading »

Holiday 2008 Sales to Fall 5%

Planned holiday spend for 2008 is, on average, $775 - down 5% from last year, according to a Brand Keys, Inc. national survey of 16,000 consumers in the nine US Census regions, reports Retailer Daily. "Given that there isn't any... continue reading »

Casey Jones Exits VP-Global Marketing at Dell

After two years in office, Dell's Casey Jones is resigning from his position as VP-Global Marketing. The position was officially opened last week, but Jones shall remain as advisor to ongoing marketing efforts, focusing on "creative idea implementation" and continuing... continue reading »

Consumers See Recession for Long Haul

Most (86%) US consumers believe the country is in a recession and more than half (54%) think the current economic conditions will last longer than 12 months, according to a the Nielsen Online Global Consumer Survey from The Nielsen Company,... continue reading »

Lotame Assists Mad Ave. with 'Time Spent'-Based SocNet Targeting

In partnership with Lotame — short for "local, target and message" — WPP's Mindshare shall serve ads to users based on time they spend engaged with certain social media sites, as well as with the ad content on those pages. MediaPost... continue reading »

Marketers Still Face Steep Web 2.0 Learning Curve

The majority of marketing executives are still in the early, experimental phases of using and measuring social media. 80% have not yet fully integrated the core elements of Web 2.0 into their marketing efforts, according to a survey from the... continue reading »

Ad Planner Now in Public Beta

Google Ad Planner, a free tool that pairs relevant websites to advertisers hunting for a media buy, just exited invite-only beta. The service has been in private testing since June. Anyone with a Google account can use Ad Planner to identify... continue reading »

Facebook Leverages Engagement to Drive Organic Ad Impressions

Facebook has released "engagement ads," an ad format that uses social networking to squeeze word-of-mouth-style impressions out of marketing messages. The service has been in private beta since August. Ads typically appear on the right-hand side of the user's Facebook dashboard,... continue reading »

Lego — Yes, the Toy Company — Goes into Gaming

Lego, the company behind its namesake plastic block toy, is getting a significant return on an investment it made several years ago — in video games. Games feature plastic toy figures that re-enact classic scenes from famous films like Star Wars,... continue reading »

BrightQube Enhances Stock Photo Website

BrightQube, an online destination for royalty-free stock photo images, has added search tips and new navigational features to its website. Photo delivery is powered by Dynamic Mosaic, a patent-pending technology built on Adobe's ActionScript 3.0 (the programming engine for Flash). It... continue reading »

Internet, Agents, First Stops for Home Buyers

An overwhelming majority (87%) of recent home buyers in the US say they used the internet as an information resource during their home-buying process, and nearly one-third say they first learned about their newly purchased home from an online channel,... continue reading »

Spammers Reap Plenty on 0.00001% Response Rate

By effectively "hacking" an existing spam network, researchers unearthed the "economics" of being an email spammer, reports the BBC. Here's the secret: high volume and a virally-expanding network, which means even the tiniest response rate can produce millions of dollars in... continue reading »

Identity Fraud in Decline, but Costs Up

Identity fraud has declined in most parts of the United States, even as costs to those defrauded increase and fraudsters turn to unexpected channels to commit fraud, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research study released earlier this year, reports... continue reading »

Soft Housing Market Forces SMBs onto Web

Over the next two years, the sagging US housing market will drive a nearly 50% increase in website adoption by small and medium-sized businesses that provide home and trade services as these businesses step up marketing efforts to compete for... continue reading »

'Sesame Street' Invades Hulu, iTunes, YouTube

Sesame Street, a puppet-based children's show that's run on Public Broadcasting Service-affiliated stations for nearly forty years, joins more contemporary offerings on sites like iTunes, Hulu and YouTube, reports Reuters. A Sesame Street channel on YouTube will feature over 100 clips... continue reading »

Online Bargain Hunters Get Social

Though email from retailers is still the best way for consumers to learn about discounts and deals online, nearly 30% of shoppers now say they look to links forwarded from friends, peer comments and social sites for the best bargains,... continue reading »

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 11/13/08

Agencies and Marketing Execs: Japanese ad agency Dentsu purchased McGarryBowen, a six-year-old independent firm on Madison Avenue. Droga5 won Puma's $100 million global marketing account, which explains why Puma sneakers are heavy on the spin at HoneyShed. Microsoft appointed Ashley Highfield to VP/Managing... continue reading »

Plush from Puma, HoneyShed Repositions as QVC for Techies

Last year, with an infusion of $20 million in seed money, Publicis Groupe, Droga5 and Digitas launched Honeyshed, a quirky online outlet for branded entertainment. "Based on the idea that people love brands and don't mind being sold to if it's... continue reading »

UK's Online Shoppers Get Duty-Free Benefits

As of December 1st, shoppers living within the United Kingdom will not have to pay customs duty on items purchased for less than £105 (approximately EU123 or $155) from sites based outside the European Union. Previously, the duty-free limit for... continue reading »

MostChoice to Fork Over $4.8M for Stuffing Rival with Fake Leads

A Colorado District Court jury awarded $4.8 million to NetQuote after ruling that its rival, MostChoice, submitted over 3500 false applications for insurance quotes to its website. After receiving multiple complaints from insurers that it was filing unqualified leads, NetQuote conducted... continue reading »

Digital Doctors Connect to Patients, Info Online

The number of physicians who use the internet and other digital technologies to access pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical-device information has jumped 20% since 2004 and accounts for 84% of the total US physician population, according to the ePharma Physician v8.0... continue reading »

Google Peddles Sponsored Videos in YouTube Search Results

In a continuing push to monetize the site, Google will begin selling space to advertisers on YouTube search results pages, reports MediaBuyerPlanner. Advertisers can bid to promote themselves on YouTube Sponsored Videos. Ads will appear on the right-hand side of YouTube... continue reading »

NebuAd Faces Class Action Suit, Phorm's ISPs Drop Like Flies

This week a class action lawsuit was filed against behavioral targeting company NebuAd and 26 internet service providers (ISPs) that tested the service. Those named in the suit include CenturyTel, WOW, CableOne, Embarq, Knology, and Bresnan Communications, as well as... continue reading »

Publishers Lose $150K Yearly from Off-Site Content Viewing

The size of the audience viewing a publisher's original content on other sites is 1.5 times larger than it is on the publisher's original destination site, and this alternate-site access costs the average publisher $150K per year in lost ad... continue reading »

Google Site Search Indexes On-Demand

Publishers making changes to their site content have the option of manually updating the site index, thus making new content immediately accessible via Site Search, following an update from Google. Site owners must visit the configuration screen for their Site... continue reading »

Nearly 80% of Adults Purchase Online

More than three-quarters (78%) of adult online consumers in the US made some type of purchase over the web in the previous six months, and the top transaction categories are travel, credit-card management and online banking, according to (pdf) a... continue reading »

Valleywag Enveloped into Gawker's Prominent Bosom

Tech rumor blog Valleywag is folding into Gawker.com, Gawker Media's flagship celebrity gossip site, according to founder Nick Denton. In admirably pithy style, Valleywag writer Paul Boutin framed the situation thus: Some guy named Denton can't figure out how to sell ads... continue reading »

Introducing the Microsoft Store: Online Bastion of MSFT Merch

Microsoft — one of the biggest and longest-standing hardware, software and online enterprises in the world — has finally launched an online Microsoft Store. The Store was previously available to residents in the United Kingdom, Germany and Korea. Moving forward, US-based... continue reading »

89% of Kids Are Computer-Savvy

An overwhelming majority (89%) of all kids age 6-11 in the US spend at least some time doing online activities and — though few basic social activities have changed much over the years — they have vastly different communication styles... continue reading »

Voice Recognition, Meet Mobile Search

Last week Google announced plans to launch a voice recognition tool for Apple's iPhone, an update to an existing mobile app that will enable users to perform searches by stating their query out loud. Vocal queries are converted into digital files... continue reading »

Online Retailers 'Resilient, Not Immune' to Challenging Holiday Season

Though the holiday season will be challenging across the board for retailers, online merchants — though less sunny this year than last — are not all doom and gloom, according to the 2008 eHoliday Study, conducted by Shopzilla for Shop.org,... continue reading »

Multicultural Marketing Grows, but Frustrations Mount

Multicultural marketing (MCM) continues to grow as a strategic platform for driving brand and business performance, but marketers feel stymied by a lack of funding, lukewarm executive support and inadequate metrics, according to a survey from the Association of National... continue reading »

Wal-Mart Forbids Search Engines from Linking to Black Friday Ads

Last week select Black Friday websites received "leaked" Wal-Mart ads regarding what deals will be available at the big-box after Thanksgiving. But less than two weeks before the shopper's holiday, Wal-Mart has deployed a legal team to convey takedown notices... continue reading »

Study: CMOs Must Evolve to Meet New Marketing Challenges

The growing popularity of interactive tools like wikis, blogs and social networks gives customers the ability to engage with firms as never before, and global marketers must put users at the center of their operations to respond to this new... continue reading »

One Billion Tweets Strong, Twitter Contemplates Charging for Use

Microblogging service Twitter may be brewing a pay-to-Tweet model for businesses using it to promote wares or connect with consumers. Twitter enables users to publish "microblogs" of up to 140 characters apiece. Last month it ranked among the fastest-growing social networks... continue reading »

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