online advertising
Realtor Century 21 Moving Its TV Spend To Online Advertising
One of the largest national realty companies, Century 21, has decided to move a large part of their TV advertising budget for 2009 to online marketing, according to Advertising Age.
While Advertising Age see this as part economic and part going where has worked for them over the past two years:
“With the beleaguered real-estate market showing no signs of a turnaround, the realtor has decided to play the numbers and go where the buyers and sellers are: online.”
this change in spend could also have a major impact on online advertising perceptions in general.
Century 21 has noticed that they have seen very successful results with their online spends.
As Beverly Thorne, Century 21 senior VP-marketing, told Advertising Age, “the company’s research and testing revealed that its online investments in 2008 were substantively more productive and efficient than its offline efforts.”
In 2008 online spend was less than 10% of Century 21’s advertising budget.
While marketers and writers in our space have been touting the intelligence of increasing spends on paid search, if Century 21 has noticeable success many others in all industries could soon follow.
Four Advertising Groups to Develop Online Behavioral Advertising Privacy Standards
Four advertising groups have announced plans to collaborate on privacy standards for online behavioral advertising data. The four groups are:
- The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA)
- The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
- The Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
- The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) is also participating in the effort.
Online advertising data collection has been a concern of politicians and consumer groups. Election years typically see a flurry of activity over the matter and 2008 was no different. From state government efforts in New York and Connecticut to hearings in Congress, online advertising was in the hot seat last year.
It’s nice to see advertising associations take the initiative to create standards, which can hopefully allay some of the fears out there over data collection.
Is the Bad Economy Bringing Branding Back?
So, here at SES Chicago, I keep hearing about a marketing practice I thought was dead – BRANDING. After all, aren’t conversions, ROI, data, analytics and landing page testing/optimization the name of the day?
Maybe not in a tough economy. With consumers buying less (save for Black Friday and Cyber Monday), brands who brand during the recession may be the ones to emerge on top when the good times roll back in.
Integration will be key to that branding. Advertisers are shifting their dollars from expensive traditional methods to the better deal that is online advertising. Of course, all that bidding is driving/will drive up prices.
But this might lead to better deals for offline channels, which can make that integrated marketing campaign bloom.
Whatever your strategy, do your best to stay visible during the recession. You might just be the first retailer consumers turn to when they go shopping again.
TNS Unveils Next Generation of Online Advertising Monitoring Tools
TNS has launched the next generation of its online advertising monitoring tools. The TNS Digital Suites combines cookie tracking with the TNS 6th Dimension Panel for what they say is a unique analysis of online ad consumption. TNS says current tools overestimate audience sizes, but that their updated online ad tool provides target audience insight with little interference to the user experience.
Mike Saxon, Senior Vice President, Brand and Communications, TNS, explains the need for new measurement and monitoring systems, “For digital advertising, current tools are not meeting the industry demands because the fundamental relationship between advertising and the media that carries it has changed. TNS Digital Suite surveys our panelists, not site visitors, delivering the same kind of accountability and rigorous analysis for online advertising that our customers expect for traditional advertising.”
TNS is touting the benefits of the new tool as:
- No more unpopular pop-up surveys
- Control for cookie deletion, capturing ad exposure on multiple computers (home/work/school) for each panelist
- Accurate ad effectiveness measures for the target audience, using the 6th Dimension panelists profiles (over 150 panelists characteristics)
- Advanced analysis through longer surveys (up to 30 minutes long against 7-8 minutes)
- Surveys taken at the convenience of the panelists instead of the current proximate surveys which occur immediately after ad exposure
- Analysis available based on frequency and time since last exposure
What do you think? Leave a comment.
Related Reading:
TNS Surrenders to WPP Takeover
Compete Acquired by TNS
Compete Unveils Premium Version of Analytics Product
Cars.com to Hold Free Webinar Discussing How Online Ads Drive Offline Traffic
Auto search engine Cars.com is offering a free webinar intended to help dealerships learn how online advertising can drive offline traffic.
The webinar will be held this Friday, November 14 at noon EST. Click here for more details and to register for the event.
Here are the specifics of what will be presented:
- Traffic-now vs. branding as the key advertising objective.
- Websites and online features that car buyers use before visiting a store.
- Ingredients of internet ads that drive store traffic.
- A full accounting of internet-generated store traffic.
“A significant percentage of in-market car buyers prefer to take the next step toward a purchase on the most direct path, an in-store visit,” said Dennis Galbraith, Cars.com vice president of advertising products. “These shoppers may not call or email first, so the information they find online determines the dealers they select. Dealers who fully merchandise their complete inventory with multiple pictures, descriptive sell copy and competitive pricing position themselves to win more than their fair share of the business.”
Related Reading:
Yahoo Adds Cars.com, Forbes.com and Ziff-Davis to Publishers’ Network
Cars.com Listings Hit Mobile Devices
Cars.com Drives Ad Campaign to Web
Q3 Earnings for MySpace, interCLICK and Answers Corp.
Earnings are in for MySpace (owned by NewsCorp), interCLICK, and Answers Corporation. The three advertising revenue-based companies had mixed results.
NewsCorp reported that Fox Interactive Media, of which MySpace is the primary web property, saw a 17% gain. However, that’s still a 57% drop from the previous quarter. NewsCorp president Rupert Murdoch isn’t confident about the future of online advertising and expects to see a decline in revenues for the company as a whole going forward.
interCLICK’s ability to hang onto their client roster is the reason why they posted a 23.2% increase in revenues. They also saw a drop in their operating losses. They’re projecting 60% growth in 2009, which seems a bit ambitious considering the economy at large.
Answers Corp., which owns WikiAnswers.com and Answers.com, saw a revenue increase of 19% quarter-over-quarter and 61% year-over-year. However, their net losses are increasing.
Overall, it looks like these companies are hanging on, but the future looks to be in a range from uncertain to bleak.
Yahoo’s Sue Decker Weighs In on the Defense of the Search Ad Deal with Google
Yahoo President Sue Decker took to the Yahoo Anecdotal blog to defend the search advertising deal her company struck with Google a few months ago.
Google has been doing the heavy lifting when it comes to defending the deal to the critics. So, it was about time we heard from Yahoo again on the deal.
But Decker started off with a sarcastic tone. Her first paragraph ended with:
Since the critics clearly don’t understand the deal and what it means for Yahoo!, Google, advertisers, and users, it’s time for some myth-busting.
Sue, if you want to win friends to your side, you shouldn’t alienate these critics. Many of them are AdWords customers!
But Decker devolves even further by saying making her two points about what the deal does for Yahoo instead of making it about the customer:
- Yahoo! will use this agreement to help us become a stronger competitor in all aspects of online advertising; and
- Yahoo! is not exiting the sponsored search business. We plan to remain a strong player in sponsored search.
I know that Decker has probably been consumed with trying to save a flailing Yahoo. But the fact that she’s going after this argument by defending the business aspirations of Yahoo might show why this company is struggling in the first place.
Companies succeed when they focus on the customer. But Yahoo is focused on stock prices and board preservation. This is not the way to win the hearts of search advertisers or investors.
Otherwise, Decker made points that Google has made. She says there will not be price setting between Yahoo and Google because advertisers set the prices through the bidding process. The price is related to the value which is based on demand.
Decker even played on Google’s unofficial motto “Do no evil” by saying the partnership would be implemented through respect for the Hippocratic Oath “first, do no harm.”
To be fair, Yahoo probably needs this deal in order to bring in some extra income. What they need to do what that income is invest in innovation that brings a better search experience to users. That’s what the search industry needs right now. And it’s the only way to truly compete with Google.
Related Reading:
To Fear or Not to Fear: That is the Question (About the Google-Yahoo Ad Deal)
Twitter Updates for 2008-09-11
New Article – How to Write and Market Your EBook Posted By : Zion datamatics CC: EBook.. http://tinyurl.com/6qqbk8 #
AOL Now Aggregates Email from Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo: In a refreshing show of humility and hones.. http://tinyurl.com/5u5t4o #
New Analytics Tool Aids Shift from Print Yellow Pages to Online Advertising: Most of the time when .. http://tinyurl.com/5f4s67 [...]
New Analytics Tool Aids Shift from Print Yellow Pages to Online Advertising
Most of the time when discussions arise about yellow pages advertisers shifting from print to online, the talk is in generalities. But not all markets are the same. Certainly, some have shifted online in greater numbers than others.
An Oregon search marketing company seeks to aid companies in managing their yellow pages across different markets with a new analytics tool.
G5 Search Marketing today launched their Yellow Pages Analytics Tool, which is added to their Local Marketing Platform. The tool provides analysis showing how many customers would be lost by cutting print yellow pages or offset by engaging an online campaign.
“We have clients looking to cut millions of dollars per year in print yellow page advertising,” said G5 CEO Dan Hobin. “The issue becomes when to cut as you don’t want to cut too soon. For businesses with multiple locations, every market is different. Our tool enables our clients to cut advertising in major metros while keeping the smaller markets where yellow pages still perform.”
Projections from Borrell Associates have local advertisers shifting $13.1 billion to online advertising from various offline media. A look at average CPMs explains why. The average internet CPM is $3.65 while the average yellow pages CPM is $9.29.
What do you think about this new tool? Let us know in the comments.
Related Reading
Top 10 Yellow Pages Searches According to Yellow Pages Association
![[image]http://kelsocartography.com/blog/](http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/2BKQpi/kelsocartography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/the-world-according-to-ronald-reagan.jpg/t:4b175f422f9a0;src:favorites){kind=link}
![[image]http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs44/i](http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/1pq3kF/fc02.deviantart.net/fs44/i/2009/146/c/5/Beautiful_Day_by_Dr4kon.jpg/t:4b175f422f9a0;src:favorites){kind=link}
Comments