Predictions for 2012
December 31, 2011
I’ve been reading a lot of predictions for next year with regards to tech-media, strategy and audience. After the past six months of planning, execution and follow up for Digital World Expo, I’m posting this just a few hours before midnight to get my input out there as well.
2011 saw A LOT of movement within the digital media and interactive marketing realm. The mobile app space is literally exploding and the portability of media through gadgets and new products from the ‘big boys’ has become a sea of formats everyone is racing to accomodate. The conference kickoff was a big success and we’re looking forward to an even better (and bigger) event in 2012… or “v201.2″ as we’ve been calling it.
Anyway, back to the ‘predictions’. With all the changes and advancements over the past few years, you can expect these areas of interactive media to grow and become a bigger ‘beckoning’ for your time and budgets… Read more
Last post for a while…
May 30, 2011
For those of you referencing this blog regularly, I must apologize. But the next steps in furthering interactive marketing and media education for professionals will probably explain my absence. Around October last year, I started to notice there to be a surge of offline/traditional media folks desiring more education around our digital media space. For over a decade, it was always “oh, that’s internet, talk to our internet guy” or “digital stuff needs to be handled by our interactive group” when traditional media professionals were faced with opportunities they didn’t typically work on. Not anymore.
“The book” is posted – read it here …
February 5, 2011
Emerging Marketer was published in February 2010 (although the contents were finished by Q3 2009). It was decided back then to allow the distribution to commence through commercial channels before publishing it for all to see for free if they wanted to. 75% of the book has been published here for your reading pleasure. The book has sold a number of copies to professionals, including 4-5 universities who have made it “required reading” for their classes. However, the intent for the publication was to educate. Period. No visions of granduer or anything like that. It was created for those who love the world of interactive media, for those just now getting their feet wet in the space, and for those like me, who have been around for a while and are constantly looking for technological advancements offering more audience opportunity for our businesses. Click here to start reading, it’s broken down chapter-by-chapter for easy navigation. Would love to hear your feedback as always! Enjoy!
Another acquistion to bite the dust?
October 7, 2010
I received a notice last week from Dapper who I’m a big fan of. They specialize in dynamic ad units that adjust themselves based on different variables, assisting online advertisers with pushing the right message to the right “user”. Seems they recently signed a deal with Yahoo! to be acquired by the portal which will help them leverage audience resources. Details from WSJ here.
On the surface, good for them! But in the back of my mind I recollect a few other recent acquisitions that seemed to go nowhere…. Read more
Best Mobile Marketing Summary
September 23, 2010
I’ve seen a lot of research, summaries for new media over the past couple years. After all, staying on top of the latest greatest takes a lot of time and reading! Mobile marketing has always been on the horizon but just out of reach until the last 18 months or so where I’ve observed SMS, APPS and other facets really gain traction. Let’s face it, mobile is our future. Whether content/media is digested on our cell phones, iPad or other device, we aren’t isolated to consuming digital content on our computers alone…. thankfully!
While mobile marketing is still new territory (for the US anyway), there are a lot of questions and definitions that need answering and explanation. I felt I outlined the components to this channel fairly well in my book, but some of the industry’s leading experts have really divulged a comprehensive view of mobile marketing and its various elements. MobileStorm is one of the leading companies in my local marketplace as well as the rest of the world. They recently came out with a whitepaper focused on mobile marketing which clearly outlines everything for those entering the space. Not only does this report provide an excellent summary, the report also gives critical insight into the future developments of mobile marketing channels.
I can’t recommend this enough to today’s digital marketer’s and advertising professionals. They’ve been gracious enough to provide a link exclusively for Emerging Marketer upon request. Download the file and print it out. You’ll want to hand this out to your staff, peers and associates.
Simple Landing Page Optimization
September 19, 2010
I don’t feel that in most cases online advertising creative should be optimized based on revenue. Your landing page and/or website is responsible for the conversions happening as a result of your ads. With a properly optimized landing page, your advertising should focus on targeting the right users and generating as many clicks as possible. To say that a particular ad unit was responsible for bringing in revenue isn’t accurate. It’s the experience your users go through “after the click” that determines your ultimate sales. Read more
Cookie Age vs. CPM
September 19, 2010
As cookie usage continues to be applied toward campaign optimization and success, network advertising has grown to astronomical levels. Behavioral Targeting practices use cookies to tag and uncover users that have traversed our sites and/or content relevant to our industry. Javascripts recognize those users and allow us to present our online advertising specials, offers, discounts, etc to the user who has exhibited this behavior.
On the surface, re-marketing looks like a no-brainer for online marketers. But as you dig deeper into cookie expiration dates, brand placement and view/click metrics you start to get a much more interesting picture. Users that are re-marketed to are done so based on their behavior at a certain time. Say, for instance, you are looking for a last-minute birthday present for your mom (as I typically am). Several sites are visited with the purchase (conversion) taking place within a couple days. How does this impact advertising expense? A lot. Read more
Stan Lee Speaks Out
September 19, 2010
Video games have pushed the envelope over the past few years with innovative programming engines and their effect in the mainstream media circles. With two kids of my own, I’m very reluctant to expose them to this world as there are so many alternative learning methods out there. My folks never allowed a “console” such as Atari or Intellivision in the house so I was forced to use a computer whenever I wanted to play. Today, I plan on staying consistent and steer my kids toward the utilization of computers for gaming, instead of a console. Read more
Coming Soon… to an Augmented Reality near you!
July 14, 2010
Virtual Worlds on the rise… quietly
July 5, 2010
I was reminded of the progress of Virtual Worlds today by this post on Technorati. Seems like a long time ago (although it was only a few years back) that Virtual Worlds were promising the “mother lode” when it came to new consumer audience discovery by big companies. I remember a lot of the uprising happening in 2007 and yet it seems that the movement was nothing but a flash in the pan as companies invested time and money into their presence and then found it to be a mega-letdown. But, as I’ve said in my book (chapter 8), we haven’t seen the last of them.
Yes, the Virtual World environment has rules most marketers don’t understand. Yes, when engaging in them you open your brand up to public opposition. Yes, the users aren’t neccesarily your target demo. But whether you acknowledge it right now or not, the Virtual World space continues to grow, just not highlighted by the media outlets that threw the premature spotlight on them a few years ago. In 2001 I remember Second Life just getting up and running. The drawback at the time was the connection speed and processor requirements to yield a smooth experience. In 2007, There.com, Second Life and a handful of others were being touted as the “next big thing” in digital audience. Read more