Update: Google Feeling the Pinch

Well, who didn't see that Google investing in newspaper sales wasn't maybe the brightest strategy? I mean in THEORY it's a cool idea -- using codes in newspapers to track to eventual sales, but in a medium that is feeling the pains, it's smart for Google to cut it's losses.

Unfortunately, that's not the only area that's effecting Google's ad revenue.

Due to the economic climate's effect on the way marketers are looking at media's need to be accountable, one would think that Google of all places would see an increase in CPCs (money out of branding and into DR means more demand = higher bids). As it turns out, not so much. Reportedly, this is due to marketers moving to less expensive terms that still produce results. Google ad spends, like the rest of advertising, are feeling the pinch.

Compacting the effect the economy has in this field is the fact that marketers are seeing that Search Engines alone aren't the end all be all. In fact, Search Engine usage has actually fallen a bit over the past few years.

Will people's use of Google products tumble?

Likely not.

Sure, consumers may shift to favor social network learning, but Google won't die. People will still need a 3rd party to help give us unbiased, factual information. We as consumers may be prompted to explore something by our friends, but we still feel the need to be the leader of our own research.

We may see more people lessening their use of SEARCH part of learning, but this will likely not hurt nimble companies like Google - keep in mind that Google/Yahoo have an extensive network of partnerships with content based sites and we'll still their ads. Additionally, YouTube is one of the most heavily "searched" sites on the net and they're owned by Google.

With that worry out of our minds, it brings up a larger issue. We're afraid that one of the "best" products we've grown accustomed to showing "success" may not be invincible.

Today's marketing isn't "media is the message" or "creative is the message" it is.. your customer is the message.

With the market ever changing it's easy to get hung up on the tactics instead of the idea. Search doesn't stand alone, display doesn't stand alone... WOM while several instances are EXTREMELY cool doesn't stand alone. Each media tactic works in tandem.

The key take away I have been feeling over the past few years is that there's a need to impact people no matter where they're researching (across this fragmented market). This means that we as marketers need to focus in on why/when our message would be most impactful. For instance, imagine it -- an ad network that puts your ad in front of someone who's looking to find out about your specific product. Selling a Dried Bean product? Imagine marketers targeting search/display/conversations about bean soup recipes. Or targeting consumers who are looking for projects to keep their kids entertained on a rainy day. Who is that optimum customer - not how old are they, but who are they and why would they care about your product?

Today's new model is shifting from telling why your brand is important to demonstrating how this product is a part of the consumer.

Social Networking Snapshot

Yesterday, Pew Internet published a look at social networking. The study looks at the broad demographics of social networking users as well as some trends, i.e. - most social networkers having more than one account.

Beyond the demographics, some of the interesting nuggets to me were:

• 49% of Adults with an online profile use it to "Make Plans with Friends."
• Most social network users use the sites daily (37%). This suggests that with a heavy, consistent advertising presence that the message should be changed more frequently.

Digital Fundraising

I've participated in my fair share of car washes, walkathons and even a rock-athon (not as cool as it sounds... we sat in rocking chairs). It's nice to see that digital is taking this to a whole new level. There have been several eyes looking at the American Cancer Society's SecondLife Relay for Life, but what about something more instantaneous?

Well, check out this blog that was recently written up by WOMMA! In it the marketer states that for every blog subscription, they'll donate $0.50 to their local chapter of the National MS Society... a great, easy way to have people to support your cause and drum up subscriptions. Nice thinking!

What Are You Doing Online?

Media Post published the Fall 2008 top online activities as reported through MRI.

Some things of note BESIDES their callout to the rise in video watching/downloading:

• Not so suprisingly, a rise in those seeking jobs online. Additionally, recipe sites also saw a strong lift.


• Blog visitation continues to rise-- honestly, this 11% of pop stat worries me. I'm not sure everyone knows they're going to a blog. Sure, the # isn't off by much, but I do think it's a bit soft.


• 20.5% made personal/business travel plans (up slightly)


• 19.9% of consumers obtained medical information online (again up slightly). This is a great stat to look at as most other studies ask if someone gathered health information (@ 80% of the online population does this activity), which can cover anything from dieting to researching heart disease.

Who's Tweeterific?

Want to start a Twitter profile?

This recent Mashable article highlights some hurdles in attracting Twitter followers.

For established brands not all of this is information is relevant, but the some points made in this article still apply. (1) Publish updates frequently (2) Continually engage followers (listening to feedback, responding in a relatively short period of time to questions, participating in conversations, rewarding loyal followers, etc.)

From 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter...

1. You have no user avatar…or your user avatar is neither a personalized photograph nor reflective of a brand.

2. You list no location, no website, or no bio

3. Your “website” listed is a MySpace profile…or, far worse, an AngelFire “page.”

4. You’re following over 1,000 users, have 20 followers, and no updates

5. Your profile features any variation of “Internet expert”…or “social media expert” and you have very few and/or insubstantial updates.

6. Your updates clearly indicate that your Twitter activity is always, only, about pushing your own service/product

7. Your following and my return follow result in a poorly-constructed auto-DM reading, “Thx for the follow! How can I help you get to a 4-Hour Work Week?”

8. Your most recent updates make references to any need to achieve “more Twitter followers”
…or “enough new followers to reach 10,000 followers by midnight!”

9. Your Twitter stream indicates a propensity for consistent arguing
…with your followers/random Twitter users/really anyone.

10. You do not engage your Twitter followers

2009 CPCs Up and CPMs Flat

Happy New Year!

Let's start the year off by talking forecasts... Media Post published an article today that discusses digital spending forecasts for 2009.

Overall several media are feeling the downturn in the economy, but various interactive spend forecasts still say 2009 will remain relatively strong. This is no surprise given digital's accountability and ability to segment out the optimum audience. The medium has become even more attractive given the current climate and as a result some dollars are shifting from non-digital media to digital.

This means that where other media are able to cut deals, it is a bit of a different story when it comes to an online buy.

• Search will remain the strongest due to its ability to capture those seeking to find your product (higher demand = higher bidding).
• Display will likely see some shrinkage in demand but CPMs will remain somewhat flat.

That being said search, "which captures the lowest hanging fruit," still needs promotional media to help increase search enquiries. As such, TG Madison recommends a targeted mix of display, WOM and search tactics for many of it's clients.

So what does this mean immediately for 2009?

• Bid based campaigns will need to be monitored more closely to ensure that spend levels are adequate for the desired visibility.
• Online commitments will need to begin earlier than in previous years as inventory in certain, high profile, highly relevant areas may become tighter more quickly.
• Consumers will need to clearly see the difference between your offering and your competitors as its likely that your ads may run side-by-side (i.e. - Search).

Get ready for an interesting year, guys! Its going to be a bumpy ride!