You know it's bad when all you can think about is whether her heels are going to mar a perfectly good desk.
Friday, December 5, 2008
KENSHOO Search Offering Gains Traction for End To End Search Automation
I was introduced to Kenshoo earlier this year when Catalyst:SF did a small project for them, and their offering really blew me away. I say that because what you get out of search – in terms of direct sales, leads, or whatever you might be measuring – has long been a reflection of the time and sweat you put into making your Search strategy more exhaustive and deep. Not so with Kenshoo.
Kenshoo’s model was designed to automate the labor intensive aspects of search, thereby expanding the breadth and depth of your Search effort while dramatically reducing the amount of hours you and your team must spend in execution.
There will be those that disagree with my next assertion: I strongly believe that Search has evolved into a business BETTER LEFT to automated solutions, because the way to tease out all of the value is through executing highly repetitive tasks and constant testing. By automating all of those functions, you can refocus your media team on more strategic work while watching search results improve. Let’s talk about how that manifests itself in practical terms:
Advertising ALL Inventory
Kenshoo deep link crawlers and the ability to assimilate live feeds into SEM campaigns automates the advertising of complex and massive inventories. That means EVERY profitable item can be featured in your SEM plan, and spigots can be turned on and off depending upon your stocks, TPRs, or whatever other measures are relevant to your business.
Monitoring and Vigilance To Ensure Goals Are Met
Bid policies can be set to run on any level: entire portfolio, campaigns, and keyword ad groups. Marketers can set their bid policies to achieve their goals automatically – from maximum exposure to increasing ROI. Further, as competitor strategies and tactics change, your programs are automatically adjusted according to your objectives.
Long Tail Keyword Expansion
The platform automatically expands converting and clicked keywords giving marketers the ability to bulk-add keywords to relevant ad groups with minimal effort. Yep, 900,000 word programs are possible so you capture every profitable click.
Best of Breed Reporting
Kenshoo reports make it easy to analyze a program and track its performance over time. They also offer customizable views and let you export data to other reporting systems – pretty much on the terms you choose.
The solution works for both national and global advertisers – indeed it even applies lessons learned in one country to other countries automatically.
If you’re doing Search on more than a penny ante level, you really should talk to them and see their offering. It’s a very powerful toolset that reduces work as it improves results.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Kenshoo’s model was designed to automate the labor intensive aspects of search, thereby expanding the breadth and depth of your Search effort while dramatically reducing the amount of hours you and your team must spend in execution.
There will be those that disagree with my next assertion: I strongly believe that Search has evolved into a business BETTER LEFT to automated solutions, because the way to tease out all of the value is through executing highly repetitive tasks and constant testing. By automating all of those functions, you can refocus your media team on more strategic work while watching search results improve. Let’s talk about how that manifests itself in practical terms:
Advertising ALL Inventory
Kenshoo deep link crawlers and the ability to assimilate live feeds into SEM campaigns automates the advertising of complex and massive inventories. That means EVERY profitable item can be featured in your SEM plan, and spigots can be turned on and off depending upon your stocks, TPRs, or whatever other measures are relevant to your business.
Monitoring and Vigilance To Ensure Goals Are Met
Bid policies can be set to run on any level: entire portfolio, campaigns, and keyword ad groups. Marketers can set their bid policies to achieve their goals automatically – from maximum exposure to increasing ROI. Further, as competitor strategies and tactics change, your programs are automatically adjusted according to your objectives.
Long Tail Keyword Expansion
The platform automatically expands converting and clicked keywords giving marketers the ability to bulk-add keywords to relevant ad groups with minimal effort. Yep, 900,000 word programs are possible so you capture every profitable click.
Best of Breed Reporting
Kenshoo reports make it easy to analyze a program and track its performance over time. They also offer customizable views and let you export data to other reporting systems – pretty much on the terms you choose.
The solution works for both national and global advertisers – indeed it even applies lessons learned in one country to other countries automatically.
If you’re doing Search on more than a penny ante level, you really should talk to them and see their offering. It’s a very powerful toolset that reduces work as it improves results.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Flash-Based Online Joost: How’s It Going?
Joost was once the media darling of the digital industry, especially on the ad side. But the arrival of Hulu changed that. The reason? Hulu required no download, whereas Joost had a fairly heavy download requirement. Part of the reason for that was the ability to offer a higher quality viewing experience, but there were other factors as well.
Many consumers are reticent to download things to their PCs, with the result that the interested universe in Joost IN THAT FORM turned out to be much smaller than the number of people willing to visit and watch things at Hulu.
Joost’s download did bring with it some cool features like real time chat as you watched a vid, and the ability to download programs and view them later, when not online. But overall, the market spoke, and spoke Hulu.
In mid September Joost launched a browser based offering requiring no download, and since that time, I have often wondered how it was doing. Well, here’s the Quantcast screen:
Clearly Joost remains committed to their social media layers – which may offer a compelling reason for people to choose one venue over another. Whoever the eventual winner, it's nice to see Joost getting some big boosts in daily visits as a result of moving away from the download model.
I also like it that all the video sites are not cookie cutter copies of one another.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Many consumers are reticent to download things to their PCs, with the result that the interested universe in Joost IN THAT FORM turned out to be much smaller than the number of people willing to visit and watch things at Hulu.
Joost’s download did bring with it some cool features like real time chat as you watched a vid, and the ability to download programs and view them later, when not online. But overall, the market spoke, and spoke Hulu.
In mid September Joost launched a browser based offering requiring no download, and since that time, I have often wondered how it was doing. Well, here’s the Quantcast screen:
Clearly Joost remains committed to their social media layers – which may offer a compelling reason for people to choose one venue over another. Whoever the eventual winner, it's nice to see Joost getting some big boosts in daily visits as a result of moving away from the download model.
I also like it that all the video sites are not cookie cutter copies of one another.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Red Is As High As An Elephant's Eye...And It Looks Like It's Climbin' Clear Up to The Sky...
I have to hand it ot the Oklahoma GOP for managing this.
I thought about saying something snide about this, but effin A people, this is pretty remarkable given that their ticket was McSame and the Dingbat. Though, if you roll over the sections at the end, you'll see that the county vote totals for about 30 of those counties are smaller than the population of my apartment building.
But let's give credit where credit is due. As Sarah P would say...
...also.
Sorry, I TRIED not to be snide.
October 08 Search Shares Are In, And The Winner Is...
Baited breath, people. It's Google. What a surprise!
GoodRec: What's A Few Recommendations Between Friends?
I love recommendation sites, though I am also conscious of the fact that people have different tastes and ideas of fun.
GoodRec is an online and mobile (iphone app) service that makes it easy to make and share recommendations among friends.You can also look at a broader set of recommendations, but having the ability to see what your friends think adds a great deal of credibility and value.
Here's how they describe themselves:
Goodrec is the easiest way to make, find and remember recommendations among friends.
After years of seeking and making recommendations for everything from brunch spots to beach books via phone calls, emails, and crumpled paper napkins (often only to lose them moments later), we decided there had to be a better way!
Existing online review sites didn’t address our needs...
Reading through wordy online reviews from people we’d never met took too long and didn’t mean much to us anyway. Visiting different sites for different topics was a hassle. And more importantly, our friends weren’t submitting reviews online because it was just too much effort. We were always asking for ideas and tips, then having to keep track of them somehow.
Even more frustrating, there wasn’t a good way to get recommendations when we needed them most: starving on a street corner in a new part of town, standing in the bookstore trying to find a good airplane book, or searching the grocery store for a decent bottle of wine under $20.
...so, we set out to create an innovative, practical service that we’d actually use ourselves.
Our Quick Tip system makes it easy to find and make recommendations from and for your friends, enabling informed decisions when at home or mobile.
No more wading through 52 reviews of Sushi Sam’s, trying to figure out whose tastes most closely match yours.
No more racking your brain trying to remember which Hitchcock movie your fanatic friend says is the very best.
No need to send emails to every friend who’s been to Mexico asking for dinner recommendations in Oaxaca—now you can get it all on Goodrec.
The recommendation engine is simple, and takes some of the daunt out of providing reviews. What I mean is, the IDEA on this site is to get your POV out in a few words. No need to ape the length and pomposity of magazine restaurant reviews. Just state your telegraphic POV and move on with your life.
They also have a nice little thumbs up/thumbs down voting system that I like because all this 3.25 stars crap is just absurdity from people who can't be clear and make an effin decision. Sorry, off my soapbox.
I perused the recommendations and am struck by how much info and nuance people can communicate in 9 words. Absolutely remarkable.
The service allows you to filter through what could easily become hundreds of available reviews based upon personal preferences, location, or desired cuisine/activity/pricepoint.
Yelp and CitySearch and The Onion and the Alternapapers are tough competitors, but the easy to use mobile aspect of this service may give them an important edge in the upcoming recommendation category war.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Viral Vid: What If You Were An Unpopular Simpleton And No One Was Willing To Shake Your Hand?
Bushie, you're doing a heckuva job.
Jajah: Hella Big VOIP Provider...For Good Reason
Perhaps you knew how big Jajah was, in which case there is no need to read this post.
But if you are unfamiliar with the company or its impressive growth, definitely read on.
JaJah is a service that lets consumers enjoy the convenience and affordability of VOIP on their handset rather than through a mic and headset on a PC. That was always the one “but” with services like Skype, and why people were still willing to pay for Vonage even when free Skype calling was introduced.
Here are, respectively, a sizzle vid and a local news review:
Rates are very low when compared with long distance charges. Very very low. For example, long distance is just 2.9 cents a minute across the US. A call from the US to to Albania – a call I have actually made and paid something like $3 a minute for, is just 13 cents to a land line.Calls to other Jajah users are entirely free, which is a rather pleasant price, eeh?
Anyway. They apparently have over 10 million users now, and bully for them. This is a phenomenal idea that shows the promise of strong revenue AND profitability because of the low operating costs of providing VOIP service. It also gives small to medium sized businesses a way to participate in VOIP where heretofore they may have been too small.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
But if you are unfamiliar with the company or its impressive growth, definitely read on.
JaJah is a service that lets consumers enjoy the convenience and affordability of VOIP on their handset rather than through a mic and headset on a PC. That was always the one “but” with services like Skype, and why people were still willing to pay for Vonage even when free Skype calling was introduced.
Here are, respectively, a sizzle vid and a local news review:
Rates are very low when compared with long distance charges. Very very low. For example, long distance is just 2.9 cents a minute across the US. A call from the US to to Albania – a call I have actually made and paid something like $3 a minute for, is just 13 cents to a land line.Calls to other Jajah users are entirely free, which is a rather pleasant price, eeh?
Anyway. They apparently have over 10 million users now, and bully for them. This is a phenomenal idea that shows the promise of strong revenue AND profitability because of the low operating costs of providing VOIP service. It also gives small to medium sized businesses a way to participate in VOIP where heretofore they may have been too small.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
New Site And Messaging For NebuAd...
There's a pretty new site and some changes to the model at NebuAd. Their new model aggregates data from ISPs, publishers, and emerging media channels to provide behavior clusters. So more data sources.
More data sources is relevant because some ISPs are gonna wanna piece of them for a bit. But they can expand their footprint with publisher and emerging media data, to get scale.
They've done some more explicit naming and graphicing, like the "privacy protection layer."
It's still opt out, so that won't make the super privacy advocates happy. But then so is every other BT offering that I know of, anyway.
Here's their constituency messaging:
Insight for Marketers
- Rich, multi-dimensional insights based on anonymous, online user activity and multiple interest triggers.
- More precise targeting / re-targeting of defined audiences based on demonstrated likelihood of buying a product or service.
- Audience & campaign intelligence reports with insights into who your audience is and what their interests are enabling audience specific messaging.
- Minimized waste through precise and effective matching of qualified audiences to each specific campaign.
Insight for Media Companies
- Most effective solution for boosting RPM and monetizing all of your inventory.
- Comprehensive aggregate reports with industry-leading visitor intelligence based on actual visitor activity.
- Turnkey deployment to get up and running quickly with minimal effort and disruption.
- Flexibility to automatically accommodate changes to your site.
Insight for Communication Providers
- Most effective solution for achieving stronger revenue growth via market-leading advertising system, while preserving and enhancing the interests of advertisers, publishers and consumers.
- Deliver built-in, industry-leading consumer privacy and data protection with Privacy by Design approach.
- Transparent technologies and wire-speed performance ensure an optimal user experience.
- Turnkey deployment to get up and running quickly with minimal effort and disruption to your existing network.
They are outlining the following privacy protections:
As a team of Internet security and online advertising veterans, we hold the highest standards in consumer privacy protection. Our unique Privacy by Design approach ensures that we safeguard consumer privacy and consumer data while empowering consumers with proper control.
- We do not collect or use personally identifiable information.
- We have no knowledge of any web user's identity since we exclusively employ anonymous segmentation processes.
- We do not store the original raw data about a web user's online activities, such as websites visited, in association with anonymous individual segmentation.
- We use the data exclusively to map interests to market segment categories.
- We require our partners to provide consumer notice and offer informed choice in a manner appropriate to the partnership type and channel.
- We make available on-going disclosure and informed choice.
Honestly, I don't see a lot of difference in the privacy message there versus what they said before. But there is a de facto difference in that no one in their right mind would work with them without sending emails in 44 point bold type informing people. And that, my friends, was the bulk of the rub before.
There was another issue, if I understand it correctly, and that is the undisclosed redirection of the browser. I'm guessing that that has been addressed as well, though I dunno for sure. Whether that is addressed through a change in process or will be disclosed in the...disclosure...I would imagine that they have a solution there as well. Without addressing that, I would imagine they would face ISP acceptance problems. That, I understand, is NOT an essential process for ISP targeting.
I didn't see any mention of the issue in the privacy policy, but I ain't no lawya.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Mickey Ds Cuts The Cheese...
Mediapost reports that McDonald's has changed the makeup of their dollar menu to replace the double cheeseburger with the McDouble, a burger with one instead of two slices of cheese.
Cheese prices is climbin', people!
The Dollar Menu has also been key in enabling McDonald's to draw in cash-strapped consumers during this trying economic year and continue showing increases in same-store sales in most recent months. QSR magazine reported an increase of 3.4% in U.S. same-store sales for the second quarter and a 5.3% U.S. same-store increase for the month of October (globally, same-store sales rose by 6.1% and 8.2% for those two respective periods).
"McDonald's had to simultaneously accomplish two very important objectives: Make sure that the value proposition continued to be strong enough to compete effectively with all of the other value menu options out there, and ensure that the margin was sufficient for its franchisees to make a fair profit," sums up Dennis Lombardi, EVP, foodservice strategies for WD Partners, a design and development firm for restaurants and retail chains. "Their solution was a compromise that achieves both requirements."
The other silver lining? 100 or so fewer calories! Those waistbands are probably ALREADY feeling a little loose!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Cheese prices is climbin', people!
The Dollar Menu has also been key in enabling McDonald's to draw in cash-strapped consumers during this trying economic year and continue showing increases in same-store sales in most recent months. QSR magazine reported an increase of 3.4% in U.S. same-store sales for the second quarter and a 5.3% U.S. same-store increase for the month of October (globally, same-store sales rose by 6.1% and 8.2% for those two respective periods).
"McDonald's had to simultaneously accomplish two very important objectives: Make sure that the value proposition continued to be strong enough to compete effectively with all of the other value menu options out there, and ensure that the margin was sufficient for its franchisees to make a fair profit," sums up Dennis Lombardi, EVP, foodservice strategies for WD Partners, a design and development firm for restaurants and retail chains. "Their solution was a compromise that achieves both requirements."
The other silver lining? 100 or so fewer calories! Those waistbands are probably ALREADY feeling a little loose!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Massive Inks Deal With Activision
MediaPost has announced an exclusive deal with Activision for 18 of its titles on XBox and PC including the wildly successful Guitar Hero franchise. More details here.
Double Fusion Locks Up Major PS3 Game Producers
AdWeek is reporting that in game advertising network DoubleFusion has cut a bunch of deals giving it exclusive rights to put ads in PS3 titles. The producers?
THQ
Sega
Eidos
Midway
Exclusive deals are key to grabbing revenue and share in a market where MSFT dominates ad sales for XBox titles.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
THQ
Sega
Eidos
Midway
Exclusive deals are key to grabbing revenue and share in a market where MSFT dominates ad sales for XBox titles.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Specific Media Study: Display Makes Search Clicks Explode.
From MediaPost:
...in the travel and tourism category, display advertising led to a full 274% lift on both paid and organic searches and clicks. In the health category, display demonstrated a 260% lift on search activity, while in the personal finance category, display was responsible for a 206% on search.
...in the travel and tourism category, display advertising led to a full 274% lift on both paid and organic searches and clicks. In the health category, display demonstrated a 260% lift on search activity, while in the personal finance category, display was responsible for a 206% on search.
Steve Peace Channels The London Sun For This Piece
As usual Steve overdelivers. But he needs help with headlines to truly be Sun-y. The paper that ran "Gotcha" above a picture of the sinking Argentine fleet during the Falklands War. His suggested headline was:
Twilight Marketing Takes Daring New Direction
whereas The Sun might say something like...
Twilight Snog a Bloodspurt
Anyway...Ivana Be Alone now, so without further adieu:
---
The marketers behind the hit teen vampire flick, “Twilight,” are using a daring new approach to maintaining post-release interest in the film. They seem to be insinuating a romantic link between the leads in the film, Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart. Far fetched? The raw material is certainly there. All of America got sweaty for Stewart in her Lolita-ish “Into the Wild” role (then felt guilty about it – I mean the dead kid resisted her ‘cause she was only 16...). Pattison? He’s that crazed looking brit with the gravity-defying locks. And he’s a vampire.
A careful campaign designed to appeal to insiders and influencers was launched with highly nuanced placements like the latest Life&Style piece:
Pattison cannily denied the rumors by professing that he got really nervous about the kissing scenes with Stewart in an US Weekly ‘set the record straight’ piece titled “I’m a Really Bad Kisser.” Rage on teen hormones, rage on.
Sexy co-stars dating in real life?! What’ll those Hollywood marketers think up next?
Twilight Marketing Takes Daring New Direction
whereas The Sun might say something like...
Twilight Snog a Bloodspurt
Anyway...Ivana Be Alone now, so without further adieu:
---
The marketers behind the hit teen vampire flick, “Twilight,” are using a daring new approach to maintaining post-release interest in the film. They seem to be insinuating a romantic link between the leads in the film, Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart. Far fetched? The raw material is certainly there. All of America got sweaty for Stewart in her Lolita-ish “Into the Wild” role (then felt guilty about it – I mean the dead kid resisted her ‘cause she was only 16...). Pattison? He’s that crazed looking brit with the gravity-defying locks. And he’s a vampire.
A careful campaign designed to appeal to insiders and influencers was launched with highly nuanced placements like the latest Life&Style piece:
Pattison cannily denied the rumors by professing that he got really nervous about the kissing scenes with Stewart in an US Weekly ‘set the record straight’ piece titled “I’m a Really Bad Kisser.” Rage on teen hormones, rage on.
Sexy co-stars dating in real life?! What’ll those Hollywood marketers think up next?
imeem Goes Android! Encore Encore!
Regular readers of this blog know that I like imeem, which is why I am excited to tell you about their new mobile ad platform, which is paired with their Android-based imeem application.. I really like this concept because it combines so many youth-centric things – giving it a great opportunity to attract and hold viewers and advertisers.
Imeem originally launched its Android app about a month ago, and it has already climbed to the top 10 Android apps, and is the number one streaming music app for that fast growing mobile platform.
This is not one of those announcements wherein vaporware is heralded. In fact, imeem already has a major advertiser lined up to market its newest product. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the first brand advertiser to leverage imeem's new platform, using it to promote the Kia Soul, an all-new compact SUV launching next spring in the U.S.
As part of a cross-platform advertising campaign, Kia Soul will have a branded display presence across the imeem for Android user interface, as well as a featured Kia Soul-branded Internet radio station on the application. In addition to its mobile advertising program, Kia Motors will have a presence on the imeem.com service through a profile and display advertising on media streaming pages throughout the site.
“Kia Motors wants to reach its target audience through creative campaigns that complement their style and fast-paced way of life,” said David Schoonover, Customer Relationship Marketing Manager for Kia Motors America. “imeem helps us achieve that goal by connecting our brand with a youthful community and an engaging social music experience that fits the Kia Soul lifestyle.”
“imeem has created a way for advertisers to live at the center of consumers' social music experience,” said Jason Meil, executive vice president and director of Innovations at Initiative, Kia Motors' media, marketing and digital company. “Working with imeem will enable Kia Motors to meaningfully tap into an engaged community where millions of people express themselves with music and media on a daily basis.”
By offering ads in this integrated application, imeem can provide real cross media opps with that highly desirable social media component that more advertisers are seeking out.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Imeem originally launched its Android app about a month ago, and it has already climbed to the top 10 Android apps, and is the number one streaming music app for that fast growing mobile platform.
This is not one of those announcements wherein vaporware is heralded. In fact, imeem already has a major advertiser lined up to market its newest product. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the first brand advertiser to leverage imeem's new platform, using it to promote the Kia Soul, an all-new compact SUV launching next spring in the U.S.
As part of a cross-platform advertising campaign, Kia Soul will have a branded display presence across the imeem for Android user interface, as well as a featured Kia Soul-branded Internet radio station on the application. In addition to its mobile advertising program, Kia Motors will have a presence on the imeem.com service through a profile and display advertising on media streaming pages throughout the site.
“Kia Motors wants to reach its target audience through creative campaigns that complement their style and fast-paced way of life,” said David Schoonover, Customer Relationship Marketing Manager for Kia Motors America. “imeem helps us achieve that goal by connecting our brand with a youthful community and an engaging social music experience that fits the Kia Soul lifestyle.”
“imeem has created a way for advertisers to live at the center of consumers' social music experience,” said Jason Meil, executive vice president and director of Innovations at Initiative, Kia Motors' media, marketing and digital company. “Working with imeem will enable Kia Motors to meaningfully tap into an engaged community where millions of people express themselves with music and media on a daily basis.”
By offering ads in this integrated application, imeem can provide real cross media opps with that highly desirable social media component that more advertisers are seeking out.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Green Dot: How Millions Pay For Things
It’s rare that you hear about a company that makes money by offering services to average to below average income people – without screwing them over. Yes, check cashing services make lots of dough, but their service fees and commissions can be nothing short of extortionate.
But here’s the challenge. Tens of millions of Americans have screwed up credit, or are suspicious of banks, or are compulsive spenders that may not trust themselves with revolving debt. And for people like that there is Green Dot, an outfit that offers reloadable debit cards you can use anywhere that credit cards are accepted.
For as little as $5 a month, GreenDot offers consumers the convenience and safety of debit payments without having to have a bank account. Reloading at a retailer is another $5, or fee through direct deposit.
That’s pretty darned reasonable in comparison to predatory services that charge as much as 10% of their face value of a check as a processing fee, for example. Yes, 10%. An $800 payroll check costs $80 to cash. Or free with direct deposit to Green Dot.
As with all financial instruments, you get money from two sides – from consumer fees and through the sales commissions that retailers must pay when people to choose to pay with plastic. This makes Green Dot a strong business opp, while at the same time a highly ethical one.
I definitely like this model.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
But here’s the challenge. Tens of millions of Americans have screwed up credit, or are suspicious of banks, or are compulsive spenders that may not trust themselves with revolving debt. And for people like that there is Green Dot, an outfit that offers reloadable debit cards you can use anywhere that credit cards are accepted.
For as little as $5 a month, GreenDot offers consumers the convenience and safety of debit payments without having to have a bank account. Reloading at a retailer is another $5, or fee through direct deposit.
That’s pretty darned reasonable in comparison to predatory services that charge as much as 10% of their face value of a check as a processing fee, for example. Yes, 10%. An $800 payroll check costs $80 to cash. Or free with direct deposit to Green Dot.
As with all financial instruments, you get money from two sides – from consumer fees and through the sales commissions that retailers must pay when people to choose to pay with plastic. This makes Green Dot a strong business opp, while at the same time a highly ethical one.
I definitely like this model.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Crawford Texas Rejoices!
Apparently, the Bushes are selling the Potemkin ranch and moving back to Dallas. Recall that the Crawdford ranch was purchased just before Bush announced his run. Now no longer in need of a John Wayne movie set, W can go back to the shiny towers and bad air of Dallas!
5464.481 Six Packs For Sarah Palin, The Gift That Keeps On Giving. Also.
(BevMo lists a six pack of Bud at $5.49.)
Say it Ain't So, Sarah, Another 30K?
The Republican National Committee is scheduled to file a campaign report with the Federal Election Commission Thursday disclosing that the committee spent additional funds to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
In October, Politico revealed that the RNC had spent approximately $150,000 on clothing and accessories for Palin and her family after she was selected as Sen. John McCain’s running mate. The story provoked a storm of criticism of the Alaska governor, a mother of five and favorite of the conservative wing of the GOP.
While not providing much in details, Republican officials say that the RNC’s post-election financial report will include information on other “accessories’’ purchased for Palin before the Nov. 4 election.
“The amount to be reported is significantly less than $150,000,’’ one RNC official told National Journal. “The accessories on the report are less than $30,000.’’
The clothing, the official says, is in the committee’s possession and “will be dispersed to national and local charities at the appropriate time.’’
(National Journal's ED POUND)
Small Screens - Big Time Spent
I finally got around to reading the Sunday paper from 11/23 (oldest living's version of time shifting) and found some really interesting stats I decided to share. In the NY Times Magazine they quote data from Veronis Suhler Stevenson that indicates the amount of time the average person spends each year with the various video screens in his or her life. Check dis awt:
Cable/Sat TV: 973 Hours
Broadcast TV: 639
Online 189
Magazines 125
Video games 85
Home Video/DVD 61
Mobile 15
Box Office 12
Now, these data are from 2007, so natch the digitals are gonna be higher for this year.
Not good news for the movie biz. The Times's point about all this is that there will be a proliferation of video lengths, structures, and forms as a result. Can't argue there.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Digital Marketing Factoid Of The Day: Online Time
According to Nielsen Online, the average online American spends 37 hours, 17 minutes online per month in 2008. Find out mroe here.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
GameFly: Why Buy When You Can Rent?
I enjoy gaming, but my preferences tend toward the strategy side of the industry, not twitch games. The dynamics of my sort of game are that you really need to play a long time to truly master one.
Not so the world of shooters and such, where the kids and adults born with that innate ability to annihilate aliens can whip through a game fairly rapidly.
And games aren’t cheap. $60 for a software title isn’t at all rare, so it is only natural that people have sought ways to reduce the costs of their twitch addiction.
Enter GameFly, a video game version of NetFlix that lets you rent a game for a day or a week or a month or a year for $6.95 ofr one game and $9.95 for two. Those of you who are Netflix users may be surprised by this relatively low set of pricepoints, but it’s natural that people will be expected to keep a game for longer than a flick, so the postage costs are far more reasonable in the GameFly model.
The service isn’t about PC games, rather it is focused on the console side of the business, and offers titles for most of the major platforms out there. The seven of you still using Dreamcast are SOL.
But if you are using any of the following, GameFly’s got U covered:
· PSP
· PS2
· PS3
· Xbox
· Xbox 360
· Wii
· GameCube
· Nintendo DS
· Gameboy Advance
In fact, I suspect that GameFly has a far better selection of titles for older platforms than any retailer is currently purveying.
Importantly, the site offers both professional and UGC reviews to read before you rent so you don’t waste your time on something that ain’t no good. If you think about it, having all of this info in one place also helps them broaden their appeal beyond the 500,000 or so super hard core gamers that know read, respond to, watch, and rant about every title everywhere.
GameFly also offers a FaceBook community that lets people share ideas and reviews within that environment, which is a good innovation for the service.
I like the site, both as a venue to advertise to a younger male audience as well as as a Christmas gift for the twitch gamer in your life. Surf on over and check it out.
Thanks for reading, and don;t forget to write.
White Paper Wednesdays: Generation C
Oh, god, another generation is being defined. This puts me far too many away from the vortex of brand targeting. But this wonderful deck is partial compensation for my new feelings of irrelevance. From Dan Pankraz.
White Paper Wednesdays: TV 2.0?
Another nice piece from AdWeek, this one on how addressability is changing and going to change everyone's favortie glowing blue box. Check it out here.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
White Paper Wednesdays: AdWeek On The New Media Environment
Not exactly a white paper, but when has that stopped me before. There's a nice analysis of the new media environment and its implications for marketers here. Yummy!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Or Die Networks: A Great Example Of Replicating the Model
Very few of us have not been sent a link to a vid from Funny or Die, the Sequoia-funded video site that really re-energized the comedy video site category by altering the content formula. While sites like eBaum's World and Break relied principally of user submitted videos and commentary, Funny or Die supplemented this with original celebrity driven content from Gary Sanchez Productions to create anchor content that users really really really loved. Content from people like Will Farrell really put the site on the map, catapulting it to tier one almost the instant it was launched.
The great thing about video sites, of course, is that they can be ginormously profitable. Vid serving costs are low, and the properties attract a highly desirable youth demo, especially young men. I expect that only online dating sites can offer greater revenue per employee.
While some brands may eschew sites with lots of boob-oriented content, other brands welcome the expansion of this sector as a way of being part of media that gives the user what he wants.
Well, the Or Die people are definitely not content with one site. In fact, many of you will know that they developed a site called Shred or Die to cover off extreme sports vids. Celeb Tony Hawk is the center of that property.
More recently, they have developed Eat, Drink or Die, featuring Bravo’s Tom Coliccio as the spiritual guide for content based around cooking and eating well.
Their most recent entry, PWN or Die, delivers content on core gaming and led by Nick Smith, a leading industry graphic designer.
But these sites are, in their own way, just as democratic as their older brethren. A special ratings system allows users to (somewhat) control what content gets featured on the site. Unpopular videos are left on the site, but on pages 127 levels in from the top. Here’s how they describe their ratings system:.
The great thing about video sites, of course, is that they can be ginormously profitable. Vid serving costs are low, and the properties attract a highly desirable youth demo, especially young men. I expect that only online dating sites can offer greater revenue per employee.
While some brands may eschew sites with lots of boob-oriented content, other brands welcome the expansion of this sector as a way of being part of media that gives the user what he wants.
Well, the Or Die people are definitely not content with one site. In fact, many of you will know that they developed a site called Shred or Die to cover off extreme sports vids. Celeb Tony Hawk is the center of that property.
More recently, they have developed Eat, Drink or Die, featuring Bravo’s Tom Coliccio as the spiritual guide for content based around cooking and eating well.
Their most recent entry, PWN or Die, delivers content on core gaming and led by Nick Smith, a leading industry graphic designer.
But these sites are, in their own way, just as democratic as their older brethren. A special ratings system allows users to (somewhat) control what content gets featured on the site. Unpopular videos are left on the site, but on pages 127 levels in from the top. Here’s how they describe their ratings system:.
Chosen Ones: Chosen by Funny Or Die, this video shall live forever, like Thor or The Fonz. These videos have diplomatic immunity so votes don't affect them and and they can park where they want.
Immortal: A badge of honor, this video has at least 100,000 views and is rated over 80% Funny. Like Bea Arthur, this video will live forever, and has earned immunity from the opinions and votes of mere mortals.
The Crypt: This video has at least 1,000 views and is rated under 20% Funny, which means it has flat lined. You've killed it. It was watering the garden like Brando at the end of The Godfather and fell over while the hose kept spraying.
So how come I like this outfit so much? Well, it’s proof positive that a successful model can and should be replicated, and that doing so makes a whole lotta profit possible. Ain’t it grand?
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
DialPlus: Get All Of It (And I Mean ALL) By Mobile
Phone as hub of life. Many of you already use your phone like that. But if that's your goal, DialPlus thinks you need a lot more access to information and social media interactions. And that's exactly what DialPlus offers.
Here's how they describe their vision:
DialPlus changes the definition of a phone call.
DialPlus enriches the standard phone call experience by automatically and simultaneously providing dynamic, contextually relevant visual information about the called or calling party before the call is answered, during the call and after the call is over. DialPlus makes it easy for users to engage in mobile social networking or to get information about a business they're speaking with, such as directions, menus and reviews.
For every phone number, DialPlus presents just the right information, mobile applications, web services and mobile search in a clean and intuitive interface to enhance the call.
A multitude of experiences can be created using the DialPlus platform. An enterprise or mobile CRM solution can be enabled by simply plugging that information in to the DialPlus platform. An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system can become visual for callers using DialPlus. There are no limits to the types of information we can present right at the moment it is most critical in communication.
And here's their explanatory video.
Since ours is a visual world, having access to pages, videos, maps, photos, etc.etc. can really enhance communication in our ADD society.
Those that know me know that my use of cell phones is not cutting edge, but it is easy to see the inherent advantages of this type of service in enhancing communication and providing ideas and content to influence consumer choice. And quite frankly I think social media will actually be better by phone -- the value there is tremendous!
It's also easy to see how ad targeting through this platform holds of the promise of being extremely powerful. You have demos, context, behavior, and geography all rolled into one. In other words, you can lead the horse to water, feed him salt, gently nudge his head toward the pond surface, make the color of the water an inviting transparent blue, make it smell like sunshine and wildflowers -- heck, this thing even shoves its mouth into the aqua pura. If you can't sell stuff with all this, throw in your towel.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Hot MiniSite For Newspapers: Betcha Never Thought You'd See Hot and Newspapers Juxtaposed, Hunh?
When you need to make a major change in perceptions, a great minisite can be very useful.
So I strongly encourage you to see what a strong mini site is -- check out the new site pitching newspapers as a multiplatform media solution encompassing both pulp and electrons. Note the use of the word media. Media being a plural!
Gorgeous! Compelling. Powerful.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Rich Cherecwich: Talented Rising Star at iMedia Connection...
Rich Cherecwich writes a darned tight news piece.
He reports for iMediaConnection, and this one about what Murdoch biographer Michael Wolf is saying about MySpace users is a great example. And yes, that was a bad, poorly constructed sentence, even for THIS blog!
Rich does a much better job than me with the writin' and the words. 'N stuff.
In writing he is Ernest Hemingway to my Sarah Palin. I am sincere in that. Also.
But I can see Russia from my house! And when Rich rears his...when Rich enters our blogspace, where does he do it? Oldest Living. Also.
In what respect, Charlie? Also.
I'll try and find some and send 'em to ya.
And when the gotcha blog readers come after me it's the Joe Sixpack lipstick Hockey Moms. Also.
Socialism! Bill Ayers!
Seriously, check out Rich's stuff. He's really a wonderful writer.
You betcha. Also.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
He reports for iMediaConnection, and this one about what Murdoch biographer Michael Wolf is saying about MySpace users is a great example. And yes, that was a bad, poorly constructed sentence, even for THIS blog!
Rich does a much better job than me with the writin' and the words. 'N stuff.
In writing he is Ernest Hemingway to my Sarah Palin. I am sincere in that. Also.
But I can see Russia from my house! And when Rich rears his...when Rich enters our blogspace, where does he do it? Oldest Living. Also.
In what respect, Charlie? Also.
I'll try and find some and send 'em to ya.
And when the gotcha blog readers come after me it's the Joe Sixpack lipstick Hockey Moms. Also.
Socialism! Bill Ayers!
Seriously, check out Rich's stuff. He's really a wonderful writer.
You betcha. Also.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Digital Marketing Factoid Of The Day: Online Shopping
According to Nielsen Online, 80% of online adults in the US made an online purchase in the six months ending October 2008. More details here.
EONS.com: For Boomers That R Young @ Heart
I am a fan of the Boomer soc net space, and site EONS.com offers an attractive and highly functional platform you should check out.
The appeal of boomer soc nets for marketers is that you have people WHO CAN ACTUALLY AFFORD TO BUY THINGS talk about and sharing about products, needs, and solutions. That’s a positive environment in which to impact the discussion.
Here’s how they describe themselves:
The appeal of boomer soc nets for marketers is that you have people WHO CAN ACTUALLY AFFORD TO BUY THINGS talk about and sharing about products, needs, and solutions. That’s a positive environment in which to impact the discussion.
Here’s how they describe themselves:
Eons.com is the online community for “BOOMers,” those of us born between 1946 and 1964 and beyond, who want to learn and do more to make the most of every stage of life. Our community is the place for you to explore your passions and interests, keep in touch with friends and family, connect with interesting people to share life experiences, and most of all—have fun!
At eons.com you can:
- Express yourself through your Profile and share your life—with privacy settings that keep you in charge;
- Join Groups around your passions and interests or start your own;
- Share photos and videos with friends and family;
- Play games to build your brain and challenge others;
laugh out loud and have fun with your Eons friends every day!
- As with any soc net, the key to understanding the health of a site is to analyze their total traffic in context of their regular/repeat traffic, and on this measure EONS.com performs rather well. - 76% of their traffic fits under the definitions of “regulars” and “addicts” according to Quantcast, placing it in a very similar spot to MySpace, the US traffic leader.
Part of the reason for the success of this site, in my view, is that it offers both attractive design and an intuitive, user friendly UI. This is critical for we Boomers – we’re not a group that will choose shiny over function.
Functional customization is plentiful, but the site offers enough overall VISUAL consistency across profiles to make surfing the pages more of a holistic experience than a festival of nasty bling.
With a full suite of photo and video services, this platform offers ample opportunities for both ads and more integrated marketing programs.
If you are aiming at a slightly older, more affluent demo than the usual online holla holla audience, check out EON.com.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Sleepy Needs A Lexus
Make your own big hint at thebighint.com.
http://www.thebighint.com/?rzvphcsqvq28u6v1opri3758
Actually, Sleepy asked me to tell you that he and I would prefer a Cadillac made in Michigan, so that SOMEONE in America will have a job actually making things.
Bankers get billions and bonuses - autoworkers (who BTW average $28 an hour, not $100, Fox News) may get begging bowls.
Nice viral piece, though...
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
http://www.thebighint.com/?rzvphcsqvq28u6v1opri3758
Actually, Sleepy asked me to tell you that he and I would prefer a Cadillac made in Michigan, so that SOMEONE in America will have a job actually making things.
Bankers get billions and bonuses - autoworkers (who BTW average $28 an hour, not $100, Fox News) may get begging bowls.
Nice viral piece, though...
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
What’s Coming Together at eHarmony?
So, it’s impossible not to have heard of eHarmony given that they have spent a lot of money on TV and other ads, which have really solidified their presence in the online relationship category. What you may NOT know is that marketers can advertise on eHarmony (and, to be fair, other dating sites.) The reason I am focusing in them in this post is that they are the first such site that has really provided a simple and clear selling story as to WHY one would choose their environment over other types of site environments.
Yes, it’s part fact and part schtick. Just like any other media sale. But I found it pretty compelling so I decided to shill for it here.
According to eHarmony, the difference is that eHarmony users are at the cusp of key life stages during which people make really critical big and small changes in their investment and consumptive lives.
Since a big part of the eH difference is the bajillion question profile they ask you to take, the site has a ginormous amount of demographic and psychographic info that they can use to help you precisely target messages to different audiences. Additionally, the environment has extensive info on the current lifestyles of members – so for example, single Moms.
With between 3-4 million visitors a month, they have enough traffic to be a medium sized impression player for a number of brands. I don’t know of a lot of brands currently using them, but the depth of information on users makes them a powerful opportunity to test, segment, and optimize. It’s also an opportunity to reach people beyond their 20s because their average age is 35.
Another thing you may not know – eH is also creating a site for same sex couples as part of a legal settlement. Depending on how well that works out, that may be another targeting opp for you.
I've worked with a couple of dating sites and saw relatively low click rates – after all, people are their to see the pictures on most date sites. But because eH is attracting a set of consumers that are more depth- versus mugshot-oriented, that may be different in their case. Hey, it’s worth a shot, eeh? Find out more about eH media opps here.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
According to eHarmony, the difference is that eHarmony users are at the cusp of key life stages during which people make really critical big and small changes in their investment and consumptive lives.
Since a big part of the eH difference is the bajillion question profile they ask you to take, the site has a ginormous amount of demographic and psychographic info that they can use to help you precisely target messages to different audiences. Additionally, the environment has extensive info on the current lifestyles of members – so for example, single Moms.
With between 3-4 million visitors a month, they have enough traffic to be a medium sized impression player for a number of brands. I don’t know of a lot of brands currently using them, but the depth of information on users makes them a powerful opportunity to test, segment, and optimize. It’s also an opportunity to reach people beyond their 20s because their average age is 35.
Another thing you may not know – eH is also creating a site for same sex couples as part of a legal settlement. Depending on how well that works out, that may be another targeting opp for you.
I've worked with a couple of dating sites and saw relatively low click rates – after all, people are their to see the pictures on most date sites. But because eH is attracting a set of consumers that are more depth- versus mugshot-oriented, that may be different in their case. Hey, it’s worth a shot, eeh? Find out more about eH media opps here.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Cool Digital Outdoor From Kinetic
Check out these cool gallery examples from Kinetic Worldwide. Amazing examples of the unbelievably cool things that can be done via Outdoor, often with digital as a key component.These people know their stuff!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Yieldex: Info=Good. Actionable Info = Better!
One of the big problems facing every publisher is ensuring optimized monetization of banner ads.
Are we selling them for the most money?
Are we able to sell as much of our inventory direct versus through remnant networks? When we sell inventory through networks, can we capitalize on more of the targeting technologies to drive more revenue from our ad exposures, thereby capturing more of their real value?
Enter Yieldex. It's based upon the simple idea of more info=good. Actionable info=better. By automating tasks such as inventory analysis and a deep understanding of the intrinsic value of various ad impressions, this offering can really help overcome the info gap that makes ad ops so over the top challenging and frustrating.
Here's how they lay out the service:
A Growing Problem
Inventory management has been a challenge for online publishers since ad serving began in 1995, but excess inventory has largely hidden the problem. Now, however, publishers' growing use of advanced targeting (i.e. behavioral, demographic, etc.), particularly across a network of sites, is making the ad sales process increasingly complex and unwieldy, resulting in lower revenue efficiency.
Ad operations teams are struggling with inadequate tools to accurately forecast inventory and predict how ads will deliver, leaving premium inventory wasted on remnant networks. CFOs and sales chiefs are clamoring for better visibility into future revenue, inventory use, and lost opportunities.
The Yieldex Solution
Yieldex helps publishers get more revenue from their premium inventory, with three key tools:
Proposal Analysis
- Showcases high value inventory for sale
- Lets you sell sharper targeting - and higher CPMs
- Prevents campaign conflict and under-delivery
Delivery Planning
- Lets you sell guaranteed inventory at a premium
- Provides recommendations for optimal scheduling
Yield Index
- Helps you increase revenue from existing inventory
How cool is all that? A tool that turns the black box of inventory into a revenue-positive engine to drive greater profitability, whether you sell direct, via networks, or both!
Apparently this is a pretty darned sound solution -- they just won the Amazon AWS Start-up Challenge.
Check out their site and learn more. If what's in the box is even half as cool as what's on the label, you pubs are about to make mo' money!
BTW, their CEO has a really clever blog here. Company info with lots of other funny stuff as he chronicles being at the helm of a start-up in these dynamic times.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Are we selling them for the most money?
Are we able to sell as much of our inventory direct versus through remnant networks? When we sell inventory through networks, can we capitalize on more of the targeting technologies to drive more revenue from our ad exposures, thereby capturing more of their real value?
Enter Yieldex. It's based upon the simple idea of more info=good. Actionable info=better. By automating tasks such as inventory analysis and a deep understanding of the intrinsic value of various ad impressions, this offering can really help overcome the info gap that makes ad ops so over the top challenging and frustrating.
Here's how they lay out the service:
A Growing Problem
Inventory management has been a challenge for online publishers since ad serving began in 1995, but excess inventory has largely hidden the problem. Now, however, publishers' growing use of advanced targeting (i.e. behavioral, demographic, etc.), particularly across a network of sites, is making the ad sales process increasingly complex and unwieldy, resulting in lower revenue efficiency.
Ad operations teams are struggling with inadequate tools to accurately forecast inventory and predict how ads will deliver, leaving premium inventory wasted on remnant networks. CFOs and sales chiefs are clamoring for better visibility into future revenue, inventory use, and lost opportunities.
The Yieldex Solution
Yieldex helps publishers get more revenue from their premium inventory, with three key tools:
Proposal Analysis
- Showcases high value inventory for sale
- Lets you sell sharper targeting - and higher CPMs
- Prevents campaign conflict and under-delivery
Delivery Planning
- Lets you sell guaranteed inventory at a premium
- Provides recommendations for optimal scheduling
Yield Index
- Helps you increase revenue from existing inventory
How cool is all that? A tool that turns the black box of inventory into a revenue-positive engine to drive greater profitability, whether you sell direct, via networks, or both!
Apparently this is a pretty darned sound solution -- they just won the Amazon AWS Start-up Challenge.
Check out their site and learn more. If what's in the box is even half as cool as what's on the label, you pubs are about to make mo' money!
BTW, their CEO has a really clever blog here. Company info with lots of other funny stuff as he chronicles being at the helm of a start-up in these dynamic times.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Challenge Games: Pioneering New Game Forms Online
One of the best aspects of the online gaming biz is how it offers such a broad palette of gaming experiences and forms. In this expansive category you have everything from Tetris online to World of Warcraft. And how cool is that broad range from a marketing standpoint.
Because of the growing costs of producing good games of all forms, gaming companies are looking to marketers and advertisers to both foot some of the bill and enrich the realism of gaming experiences.
One of the companies in the space that really intrigues me is Challenge Games, a start-up focused on free online games with short learning curve.
No, I am not talking about stuff like Bejewelled but rather games that take some of the most appealing aspects of core online games and simplifies them down to their most fun and entertaining essences.
Here’s how Challenge describes itself:
Challenge Games was founded in 2006 with the mission of creating online, short-form games that are challenging, fun and easy to play whether you're a serious or casual gamer. The big idea was to create cool games that can be played in 3-10 minute time increments anytime, from anywhere. While many of today's popular online games, like World of Warcraft and Everquest, allow players to explore vast fantasy worlds, they require huge time commitments and are considered "monogamous" in nature, because they take hours to play. The games created by Challenge Games provide "quick-fix" entertainment for both the hardcore and casual gamer alike. As an added benefit, although the games are multiplayer in nature, players can participate in the action when it's convenient for them.
By making the games asynchronous (e.g., turn based rather than real time) players can jump in and out of them as they have the time and inclination to participate.
A really good example of this is their first title, Duels. Visit the Duels web site and you are going to see characters and motifs very reminiscent of MMORPGs like Warcraft and Eve. But instead, the play of Duels is simpler and can be participated in in short bursts of time, while still being multiplayer. Here’s how Duels describes itself:
Duels is a new kind of strategy game. A free, player vs. player (PVP) fantasy role playing game, Duels allows you to control your own destiny as you combine the detailed character building and advancement of massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with the strategic and collectible elements of collectible card games (CCGs).
Because of the growing costs of producing good games of all forms, gaming companies are looking to marketers and advertisers to both foot some of the bill and enrich the realism of gaming experiences.
One of the companies in the space that really intrigues me is Challenge Games, a start-up focused on free online games with short learning curve.
No, I am not talking about stuff like Bejewelled but rather games that take some of the most appealing aspects of core online games and simplifies them down to their most fun and entertaining essences.
Here’s how Challenge describes itself:
Challenge Games was founded in 2006 with the mission of creating online, short-form games that are challenging, fun and easy to play whether you're a serious or casual gamer. The big idea was to create cool games that can be played in 3-10 minute time increments anytime, from anywhere. While many of today's popular online games, like World of Warcraft and Everquest, allow players to explore vast fantasy worlds, they require huge time commitments and are considered "monogamous" in nature, because they take hours to play. The games created by Challenge Games provide "quick-fix" entertainment for both the hardcore and casual gamer alike. As an added benefit, although the games are multiplayer in nature, players can participate in the action when it's convenient for them.
By making the games asynchronous (e.g., turn based rather than real time) players can jump in and out of them as they have the time and inclination to participate.
A really good example of this is their first title, Duels. Visit the Duels web site and you are going to see characters and motifs very reminiscent of MMORPGs like Warcraft and Eve. But instead, the play of Duels is simpler and can be participated in in short bursts of time, while still being multiplayer. Here’s how Duels describes itself:
Duels is a new kind of strategy game. A free, player vs. player (PVP) fantasy role playing game, Duels allows you to control your own destiny as you combine the detailed character building and advancement of massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with the strategic and collectible elements of collectible card games (CCGs).
The tantalizing thing about Duels, though, is that it's a short-form, asynchronous game. You can jump in and play in 10-30 minute intervals and still advance your gameplay. You control everything about the game with the luxury of playing when you have time. This makes you the master of Duels, not the other way around.
Once you sign up, it's your job to create your avatar combining the perfect selection of attributes, skills, battle experience and equipment needed to best your opponents in head-to-head combat.
You can also buy equipment, including packs containing random useful loot. This comes in handy when you want to trade and sell other players. You never know what people will covet.
With each duel, you get to further customize your special abilities and collectible items. The rewards you gain from winning a duel can be used to win gold and tokens, as well as to increase your physical and mental attributes.
While I am not an RPGer, I love the idea of broadening this genre to more people and more playing situations. I mean, the universe of people willing to sacrifice their offline lives for 10 hours a day of Warcraft really and truly is finite, and this format helps expand it while also offering some of the essential gaming aspects of classic RPGs so as to appeal to the gaming core as well.
Now, naturally Challenge also offers less “hard core” gaming experiences, but this model of creating depth of experience with shallowness of time commitment has, I think, a huge potential.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
GooJet: First Lady Liberty, Then Pomme Frites, And Now GooJets!
The French -- they give the best gifts!
Well the people at GooJet are dramatically challenging that basic CW assumption by saying, why does it have to be that basic? That suboptimal. Instead, why don't we let the user create a BETTER user experience on the phone? An experience as custom and personal as my handset? Why? Why? WHY?
That's what they're doing, and I love it. The basic idea is to create your own mobile portal completely customized to your content needs and interests. This can include a long list of social media, services, events, news, and other content.
You sign up, then customize your portal by grabbing Goojets (essentially little icons that represent mini or mobile sites for various types of content that interest you. These can be anything from the NYTimes to FaceBook to Twitter to lord knows what else. Click on a Goojet and you get a mobile friendly form of their content.
On an iPhone in particular it makes much more easy and pleasant.
Here's an interview with their marketing guy (in French):
Goojet is a French company, so many of the current available Goojets are Euro-centric. Which means you have one click access to The Sun! Nothing better for Brangelinaphiles!
Seriously, it's an excellent service, and presumably there will be ways to sponsor Goojets and the like in the future. I hope that they get a strong presence going in the US because Goojet is pretty darned cool.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Promise and Challenge of Widgets
There's a strong in depth analysis about the promise of widgets, and the issues. From Bob Garfield at AdAge. Read it here.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Check Dis Awt: Project Planetir Visualizes Facebook Activity
What wonderful eye candy. A video that shows every action on FB as a colored dot. I don't know that it is super actionable, but look! Pretty! Cool! Awesome! Imagine when we can get this for brands!
Must be a FB member to see. Oh please! Like anyone who reads this blog doesn't have a profile!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Nine Moronic Comments I've Heard In The Past 30 Days
9. Yes, we're transparent. But our network doesn't offer site lists. We offer opaque transparency.
8. Well, you know, we find the sample data preferable to the directly measured in terms of accurate site traffic counts.
7. What we want is something totally innovative that's guaranteed to work.
6. We want to pay the same next year as this, but we also expect 20% bonus weight.
5. Will you accept publicity in lieu of payment? After all, publicity is the currency of the web.
4. I'd much rather not pay you and just have you guys mentor us with free advice.
3. In a down economy chatchkes becomes absolutely vital to your business.
2. Comment on my personal blog: "I found this post fascining and direct you to our ofice supply compny in Sri Lanka."
1. Are Moms the same as Women 18-49?
What have you heard in the past thirty days that made you either laugh or wince???
8. Well, you know, we find the sample data preferable to the directly measured in terms of accurate site traffic counts.
7. What we want is something totally innovative that's guaranteed to work.
6. We want to pay the same next year as this, but we also expect 20% bonus weight.
5. Will you accept publicity in lieu of payment? After all, publicity is the currency of the web.
4. I'd much rather not pay you and just have you guys mentor us with free advice.
3. In a down economy chatchkes becomes absolutely vital to your business.
2. Comment on my personal blog: "I found this post fascining and direct you to our ofice supply compny in Sri Lanka."
1. Are Moms the same as Women 18-49?
What have you heard in the past thirty days that made you either laugh or wince???
Digital Marketing Factoid of the Day: Social Networking in Japan
TV Week: Hulu Watchers Prefer One Long Ad To Four Short Ones
From here.
When given the choice of ad to watch before an online program, a whopping 88% of Hulu viewers are opting to view a two-minute advertisement in exchange for no ads during the rest of the show.
That’s in lieu of watching the normal Hulu commercial load of about four 30-second ads in a 22-minute program, according to data from Hulu shared with TelevisionWeek.
When given the choice of ad to watch before an online program, a whopping 88% of Hulu viewers are opting to view a two-minute advertisement in exchange for no ads during the rest of the show.
That’s in lieu of watching the normal Hulu commercial load of about four 30-second ads in a 22-minute program, according to data from Hulu shared with TelevisionWeek.
Rocking Viral Vid for the New Nokia N96 Bruce Lee Model
Numchuck Ping Pong???
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Amobee: Keeping Money With The Carrier
One of the big differences between the cell phone environment in the US versus Asia and Europe is the extent to which revenue and commerce have been controlled by the carriers versus other businesses. In the US, carriers have been more successful at retaining greater control over their customers’ purchases.
Now, talk to two people in the industry and you’ll likely find out that this is a good thing and a bad thing. Carrier lovers point to lower relative cell phone service costs in the US, while carrier haters will tell you that it stifles innovation.
Whatever you believe to be the truth in that debate, it’s clear that Amobee, a start-up based in the Valley, is an intriguing way for the carriers to capture a healthy chunk of ad revenues from their customer bases.
What Amobee offers is a telephone company quality ad serving and monetization platform that lets carriers offer a broad array of ad and sponsorship options to marketers. This can take a variety of forms, from standard CPM and CPC stuff to ways that marketers can cover or at least subsidize phone based services.
Whatever you believe to be the truth in that debate, it’s clear that Amobee, a start-up based in the Valley, is an intriguing way for the carriers to capture a healthy chunk of ad revenues from their customer bases.
What Amobee offers is a telephone company quality ad serving and monetization platform that lets carriers offer a broad array of ad and sponsorship options to marketers. This can take a variety of forms, from standard CPM and CPC stuff to ways that marketers can cover or at least subsidize phone based services.
Let me give you an example: a travel web site could offer users free access to a cool new mapping functionality simply by asking users to interact with a branded experience. Another example: a company could give users free access to premium content, like a movie or TV show, in exchange for viewing/participating in a marketing experience.
The quality, security, and reliability of Amobee have to be high for them to create lasting relationships with carriers. Carriers are extremely protective of their users’ experiences because a good experience can drive loyalty while bad experiences will ratchet up churn. Advertisers that want to ensure a positive consumer experience may find that sort of reassurance a plus as they search for an ad platform.
A gillion studies have demonstrated the consumer appeal of such a model, and Amobee offers carriers a way to get in on the funds. Their rev share model enables carriers to benefit from marketing activity of their users while also giving them important access to user information that will help them better customize experiences in the future. Such knowledge will also be critical in helping to drive down churn, which is inarguably the biggest impediment to carrier sub and revenue growth today.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
The quality, security, and reliability of Amobee have to be high for them to create lasting relationships with carriers. Carriers are extremely protective of their users’ experiences because a good experience can drive loyalty while bad experiences will ratchet up churn. Advertisers that want to ensure a positive consumer experience may find that sort of reassurance a plus as they search for an ad platform.
A gillion studies have demonstrated the consumer appeal of such a model, and Amobee offers carriers a way to get in on the funds. Their rev share model enables carriers to benefit from marketing activity of their users while also giving them important access to user information that will help them better customize experiences in the future. Such knowledge will also be critical in helping to drive down churn, which is inarguably the biggest impediment to carrier sub and revenue growth today.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Starbucks and BBDO: Agency Trades Fizz for Foam
BBDO is taking lead responsibilities for Starbucks, just days after getting the hook from Pepsico. I'm guessing Starbucks is going to get some sharp work from the wunderkinds of bevvies.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
AdMob Gets Specific With iPhone Ad Opps
You all know I like the iPhone ad space, and I found an interesting set of demos for AdMob’s many offerings on their refreshed web site. I think lots of people are intrigued by this space, but find it difficult to understand all of the options available merely through text descriptions. That’s why I like their long list of iPhone ad example demos – in fact I like them so much I decided to republish them all here! Without further ado, here are some examples of what you can do with iPhones:
Connecting App Ads to the iPhone Store:
Promote your app and drive users to download it by directing users to Apple's App Store when they engage with your ad.
Map Ads
Users input their location to launch Google Maps. This functionality works particularly well to drive traffic to a retail location while users are on-the-go. Store locator functionality helps users find the closest retail location and get directions from their present location.
Video Referrals
By directing users to a YouTube video, you can maximize the video assets you've already created. This functionality allows you to build your brand and also has a viral component, as users can share videos they've watched with friends.
Refer to iTunes
Now users can purchase your music, games, or video files from iTunes. This functionality allows you to send users straight from your ad to the iTunes Store where they can preview and then buy your files. From promotion directly to purchase.
Click to Call
A mobile staple! With Action: Call, iPhone users can initiate a voice call immediately when they engage with your ad.
iPhone Optimized Sites
Many advertisers create mobile sites or branded landing pages where they can engage their users in multiple ways by offering downloads, galleries, videos, and more. Action: Web allows you to direct your users to your site for a rich brand interaction.
Audio File Ads
Drive users directly to audio files. Action: Audio opens a media player, allowing users to listen to your music, podcast, news, or other audio immediately.
Canvas
Create your own canvas that takes advantage of the new rich media possibilities of the new iPhone. Expanding to a screen-sized canvas with a signature animation, Action: Canvas allows you to engage users with any Action or combination of Actions you choose.
Pretty cool, hunh?
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Connecting App Ads to the iPhone Store:
Promote your app and drive users to download it by directing users to Apple's App Store when they engage with your ad.
Map Ads
Users input their location to launch Google Maps. This functionality works particularly well to drive traffic to a retail location while users are on-the-go. Store locator functionality helps users find the closest retail location and get directions from their present location.
Video Referrals
By directing users to a YouTube video, you can maximize the video assets you've already created. This functionality allows you to build your brand and also has a viral component, as users can share videos they've watched with friends.
Refer to iTunes
Now users can purchase your music, games, or video files from iTunes. This functionality allows you to send users straight from your ad to the iTunes Store where they can preview and then buy your files. From promotion directly to purchase.
Click to Call
A mobile staple! With Action: Call, iPhone users can initiate a voice call immediately when they engage with your ad.
iPhone Optimized Sites
Many advertisers create mobile sites or branded landing pages where they can engage their users in multiple ways by offering downloads, galleries, videos, and more. Action: Web allows you to direct your users to your site for a rich brand interaction.
Audio File Ads
Drive users directly to audio files. Action: Audio opens a media player, allowing users to listen to your music, podcast, news, or other audio immediately.
Canvas
Create your own canvas that takes advantage of the new rich media possibilities of the new iPhone. Expanding to a screen-sized canvas with a signature animation, Action: Canvas allows you to engage users with any Action or combination of Actions you choose.
Pretty cool, hunh?
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Great Interview of Kim Feil at AdWeek
From years on packaged goods I grew to develop a perhaps unhealthy level of interest in the Drug channel. And if it seems like there is a punchline coming, you would be wrong. I like a channel focused on health and wellness, and with the sort of brand power that lets them succeed despite Mass's relentless lowering of prices. As the industry leader, Walgreens prices at a fair if premium level, which is a testament to the shopping experience and the people that propel the brand.
So I was very interested in AdWeek's interview of Kim Feil, the new CMO of Walgreen's. She clearly has a very strong set of guiding principles in her vision for the brand.
I hope also that she sees the tremendous ways that digital can help propel that vision. I'm not talking about banners, though they could play a role. It's just easy to see how social media, mobile, modular content, video, and even online gaming align so closely with her priorities.
She doesn't come from companies at the pointiest forefront of digital, but I hope she's enough of an advocate of how digital media can fit into her plan to give digital efforts a full seat at the table. She'll need a digital strategy, of course, but from what I read she is not the sort of person that does things willy nilly.
Anyway, good luck to her. I hope digital is a key component of the future of the Walgreens brand. I love my Walgreens and want them to rock the house with success.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
AdBrite Expanded Offerings: Definitely Worth A Look!
The media exchange phenomenon is a really remarkable development in our industry. While loads of companies are already using the exchanges in big ways, especially for DR efforts, other companies have been a little slower on the uptake.
I got to wondering why, and had a discussion with someone I think of as a rather savvy buyer. She told me that the last time she checked, these services didn’t have enough targeting options – that for example, a target by gender option was an essential for many of her clients.
So I did a little recon, and found that the exchanges, particularly AdBrite, have added a variety of targeting options, coupled with easier to use and more comprehensive reporting options, that all of us should be aware of.
First let's talk targeting. AdBrite now offers a variety of targeting dimensions, including:
· Ad forms (banner, text, rich)
· Geography (countries and DMAs)
· Site categories (40 options)
· Keywords
· Target sites
· Age
· Gender
One of the things I like about their self serve targeting tool is that as you make decisions you see the number of available daily impressions change. This ensures that you refine your audience in an effective manner WITHOUT finding you have segmented yourself down to 8 little old ladies in Pasadena.
They also offer some cool creative options including full page interstitials that have been demonstrated to drive very strong homepage or landing page traffic owing to their impact and simplicity. They even offer a tool for you to build a full page ad quickly and easily.
Anyway. The exchanges have a lot more options that are worth your time and consideration/reconsideration.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to write.
Dreadful Christmas Special Episode Of The Day: Facts of Life Christmas
This was one of the last seasons, after the show lost it's magic but before Tuuti had the breast reduction...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
MySpace Stalker Mom Lori Drew Convicted of 3 Misdemeanors Proves Three Things
From Valleywag
1. America needs cyber harassment laws.
2. Parents need to take better care of what their kids do online.
3. This woman is Satan's spawn.
This is the Mother that posed as a 13 year old boy to get the hopes of a Teen girl Megan Meier up, only to dash them when "he" rejected her. The Teen girl subsequently committed suicide. I can't totally say I think this girl was destroyed by bitch Lori' acts -- the decision to commit suicide is one that points to a much broader set of issues.
But.
Seriously, how pathetic is the life of this woman? How much do I hope that she spends the rest of her life tortured over this cruel set of acts? And how much do I think she's probably rationalized all this as just a little joke?
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
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