You've got to love him - Chris Andrerson trys to coin another new phrase "Freemium" His points valid, but I hate to imagine life if clients start talking about freemium services - it might just turn me to violence!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
FIPP Website | Emap Inform to make all magazines A4
Sensible but dull - bit like Emap really!
Wouldn't it be sad if we end up in a world of just A4 magazines...
FIPP Website | Emap Inform to make all magazines A4: "Emap Inform to make all magazines A4"
B2B buyers have very high social participation
Some very interesting research from Forrester showing just how strongly B2B buyers use social media.
69% of them said they were using this technology for business purposes and only 5% say they don't use it at all, plus 55% of these decision-makers were in social networks.
Research is based on 1200 buyers in American and European countries.
Forrester have also produced a webinar: Define Your B2B Social Media Strategy
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Reality Sinks In at Online Advertising Confab - Advertising Age - Digital
Reality Sinks In at Online Advertising Confab - Advertising Age - Digital: "publishers face extinction if they think advertising is going to save them"
Wow a harsh view of reality from IDG, but is it true? Surely this is just the next stage of evolution and a new form of advertising will shine through. Afterall wasn't radio going to kill print, TV radio and the internet TV? Surely as long as companies produce products and services that need to be sold to consumers (business or private) then they need to promote them in some way - or is some form of advertising Marxism going to take over whereby all buyers have perfect information and no longer need advertising to influence their choice?
Whatever the reality, the message of diversification is surely a good one.
FT.com / Companies / Media - Google tops list of superbrands again
FT.com / Companies / Media - Google tops list of superbrands again: "Google, a business built on its ability to compile lists, finds itself sitting on top of a particularly impressive one. For the second year running, the US-based search engine company is top of the annual Business Superbrands survey, a list compiled not with algorithms but from the opinions of 1,500 business executives."
Monday, February 23, 2009
Digital Domain - Everyone Loves Google, Until It’s Too Big - NYTimes.com
So does it matter how big Google gets? A New York Times story reports "as recently as July 2005, Google was ahead of Yahoo in market share by just six percentage points, at 36.5 percent to 30.5 percent, according to comScore, the market research company. Today, however, that advantage is much wider, at 63 percent to 21 percent."
So that's great isn't it? You master Google, you master the world, no need for SEO companies, no need to spread your search budget, no need to go else where.
But is it great? Lack of competition is unhealthy and Google isn't king everywhere (isn't that content?). I don't know if it matters, I'd like to know what you think, but where does this leave Yahoo and Live, more importantly where does it leave innovation? If Google dominate and the economy remains depressed, surely we're going to lose out on development? Already reports say Google is shelving less popular services. In the end the user is the loser, but how is it addressed. Whose to say Google should be stopped, the public is saying their great - voting with every click. Surely the solution also lies with the public - someone has got to do it better, so much better we change - look at Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and who remembers Friends Reunited - only ITV I guess I they count their (potential) loss.
What do you use Twitter for? | Media | guardian.co.uk
Twitter has raised more money - lots of it - but seems to have no business model, but it does have ideas.
So maybe now is a good time to read in the Guardian
What do you use Twitter for?
Perhaps the true use is just driving people to other stuff you do as it seems remarkably good at that - see Econsultancy experiment.
It is a wonderful concept - tell people things they aren't really interested in in 140 characters or less, so they don't spend too long reading it.
By the way - this has been Twittered
The niche magazines riding out the gloom - Press, Media - The Independent
OK - not many would advocate advertising in quite such niche publications, but the message is obvious - tightly targeted magazines are still important for their readers and as such make great routes to market...
The niche magazines riding out the gloom - Press, Media - The Independent
Friday, February 13, 2009
Devolve me - Charles Darwin - The Open University
Is your marketing 21st century or are you pre-historic. Bit of fun, use The Open University Devolve me tool to journey back in time - or perhaps send your boss back in time...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Advertise when times are tough.
There’s currently lots of analysis around at the moment demonstrating that companies that maintain or even increase marketing spend during a recession do better than competitors when the market improves, and do no worse (in terms of profit) than competitors during the recession.
An analyst called Tony Hillier from WARC has looked at the marketing and financial records of 1,000 companies held in the PIMS database, and classified them depending on whether their marketing spend had increased, decreased or remained stable during recession. He found that when the economy recovered, on average, those which had reduced their marketing spend experienced a small fall in profits. Those which had maintained marketing spend experienced a small increase. But those which had increased spend in the recession logged a substantial increase in profits during the economic recovery.
In a similar vein Professor Patrick Barwise of the London Business School has come up with three positive strategies for coping in a recession:
· Look for new creative, targeting or media opportunities. Slower market conditions can create new possibilities.
· Strengthen your market position against weaker rivals, through your marketing strategy.
· Keep going. The advantages of maintaining or increasing marketing effort are greater than the short-term benefits of reducing spend. Maintaining or growing ‘share of mind’ is much less expensive than trying to rebuild it later on.
The Financial Times have produced a few special reports lately on recession marketing and came up with a nice four scenario model based on combining two dimensions of brand equity at the onset of the recession and brand investments in the recession.
An analyst called Tony Hillier from WARC has looked at the marketing and financial records of 1,000 companies held in the PIMS database, and classified them depending on whether their marketing spend had increased, decreased or remained stable during recession. He found that when the economy recovered, on average, those which had reduced their marketing spend experienced a small fall in profits. Those which had maintained marketing spend experienced a small increase. But those which had increased spend in the recession logged a substantial increase in profits during the economic recovery.
In a similar vein Professor Patrick Barwise of the London Business School has come up with three positive strategies for coping in a recession:
· Look for new creative, targeting or media opportunities. Slower market conditions can create new possibilities.
· Strengthen your market position against weaker rivals, through your marketing strategy.
· Keep going. The advantages of maintaining or increasing marketing effort are greater than the short-term benefits of reducing spend. Maintaining or growing ‘share of mind’ is much less expensive than trying to rebuild it later on.
The Financial Times have produced a few special reports lately on recession marketing and came up with a nice four scenario model based on combining two dimensions of brand equity at the onset of the recession and brand investments in the recession.
Brands in cell (1) run the distinct danger that their equity will be significantly eroded in the current recession. They start from a favourable position, but their behaviour will lead to a significant weakening of their position vis-à-vis private labels and the brands in cell (2). Managerial decision-making for these brands is overly cautious and focused on the short-term. These brands should emphasise activities that keep their customers satisfied (and, hence, retain them), rather than focus on cost-saving activities. Indeed, customers lost during the recession may never come back, even when the economy’s outlook improves again.
For brands in cell (2), the recession is an opportunity to pull ahead of their short-sighted competitors in cell (1). Their proactive behaviour will strengthen their (relative) position, not only in the recession period, but also in subsequent years. Brands in cell (3) are in the worst possible situation: they start weak, and their management makes the wrong decisions. They are prime candidates to be de-listed by retailers who are pushing their private labels in recessions – and many of them will. Their brand equity will decline, and many will not even survive the recession.
The brands in cell (4) have the opportunity of a lifetime to fight back. They start in an unfavourable position – their equity is low and, in normal times, it would take tremendous marketing investments to break through the competitive clutter. However, given that most brands cut back in recessions (and, hence, belong to cells (1) and (3), brands in cell (4) are able to increase their share of total market communication in the category dramatically by maintaining or – even better – increasing their marketing investments. But it is a risky strategy – if it is poorly executed, the anticipated increase in sales and profits will not materialise and the brand may be discontinued. The message is clear – keep marketing for success. Now the trick is persuading those holding the purse strings.
Interesting links:
- FT Special Report
- WARC
For brands in cell (2), the recession is an opportunity to pull ahead of their short-sighted competitors in cell (1). Their proactive behaviour will strengthen their (relative) position, not only in the recession period, but also in subsequent years. Brands in cell (3) are in the worst possible situation: they start weak, and their management makes the wrong decisions. They are prime candidates to be de-listed by retailers who are pushing their private labels in recessions – and many of them will. Their brand equity will decline, and many will not even survive the recession.
The brands in cell (4) have the opportunity of a lifetime to fight back. They start in an unfavourable position – their equity is low and, in normal times, it would take tremendous marketing investments to break through the competitive clutter. However, given that most brands cut back in recessions (and, hence, belong to cells (1) and (3), brands in cell (4) are able to increase their share of total market communication in the category dramatically by maintaining or – even better – increasing their marketing investments. But it is a risky strategy – if it is poorly executed, the anticipated increase in sales and profits will not materialise and the brand may be discontinued. The message is clear – keep marketing for success. Now the trick is persuading those holding the purse strings.
Interesting links:
- FT Special Report
- WARC
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Should you Twitter?
Frankly it's all most people do on Twitter, why do I care what you had for breakfast, what your packing for a long flight, or that your feet ache - and god knows what else. But should your brand be on Twitter?
Who knows, not me, but Paul Dunay is and so it's probably worth reading his post Brands that Tweet it's got some good links to some other thought provoking stuff...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Google RIP
Premature maybe but Forrester report that over half of web users use multiple search engines, and only 20% use just Google.
A surprise and no surprise. Can you be bothered to change search engine, I doubt it, but do you have any loyalty to a search engine, again I doubt it.
Wonder what Googles share is if you counted searches carried out on specific websites who don't use Google for their search engine?
Paid content back in fashion
Interesting article from Chris Anderson - of 'Long Tail' fame - pointing out that revenue models other than free still have their place online. It's common sense really and once again reinforces my favourite rant that the internet is just a delivery mechanism like any other. Same logic applies, if the content has true value than those wanting access will pay. If the content has little of no value, or is commodity in form then users won't.
The Economics of Giving It Away - WSJ.com: "The Economics of Giving It Away
In a battered economy, free goods and services online are more attractive than ever. So how can the suppliers make a business model out of nothing?"
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
How to win on Digg
Why Digg's MrBabyMan is the king of all social media. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine: "I Can Digg It"
It's all in the headline - and perhaps your friends!
Mind the gap...
That will be the gap between fiction and reality. As the BPA are considering non-request electronic circulation as qualified.
This opens the growing world of digital circulation to the prospect of being span heaven - not surely something any careful publisher wishes even if it would make it easy to boost circulation numbers. Lot's of debate on their blog...
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