Healthy Blog Reviews

Advertising suffers from a reputation problem. Here at Marketing Pilgrim we are very interested in online reputation management but even the best social media monitoring tools can’t help some industries. Of course, when you spend years simply ignoring how poorly you are viewed by the public in general, it doesn’t help. This is how the advertising industry has put together its stellar reputation that it is now trying to control a bit with the help of the oldest journalism school in the country, The University of Missouri School of Journalism. The Huffington Report says Industry leaders are teaming up with the nation’s oldest journalism school to launch the Institute for Advertising Ethics. Among the research center’s goals is to improve the public image of a business that spent $125 billion last year but isn’t exactly known for its bedrock principles and unwavering scruples. Whether it’s the duplicitous exploits of fictional television character Don Draper or the latest penalties levied by the Federal Trade Commission, the ad industry struggles to put its best face forward. A 2007 Gallup survey ranked advertisers among the least trustworthy professionals – barely beating out lobbyists and car salesmen. It’s funny in some ways but actually quite pathetic in many others that the advertising industry has sunk to this level. I would be interested to see that survey conducted today to see if there has been any movement either up or down. I suspect it’s either about the same or even worse but that’s just a guess. So why this desire to self-police? “Because it is persuasion, advertising is viewed in a questionable way by a lot of people,” said Margaret Duffy, a former ad executive who now teaches at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and is helping to organize the ethics institute. But even though the industry’s fundamental purpose is to convince shoppers to buy a product they may not actually need, such persuasion can be done in an “ethical and tasteful” way, she added. Honestly, if this is the attitude of one of the founders of the institute I can only imagine what’s going to come out of it as it develops. Maybe there will be a guide called “How to Make People Buy Things They Don’t Want but Still Feel Good About Your Profession” or how about “Top Ten Ways to Screw Someone Without Them Feeling It”. Sorry I seem a bit negative on this one but when an industry built on spin starts to spin ethics then it’s hard to figure out what is spin and what is, well, something else. This group though is convinced that there is good to be done. The leader of the institute is visiting professor, Wally Snyder, who is a former FTC (Federal Trade Commission) lawyer and American Advertising Federation president. He realizes that he has a tough road ahead with such reputation luminaries as lawyers and members of Congress having higher trust scores than advertisers according to Gallup. That’s pretty impressive, huh?! But if the industry is thinking any way like this following agency owner then all we can say is “Best of luck, Wally!” Mark Fleisher, owner of a small advertising agency in central Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, says the industry doesn’t need to be reminded of the importance of ethical behavior. It just needs to increase the honesty quotient. “The industry has become more ethical because the clients have become smarter,” he said. “Agencies are still going to pull whatever they need to (clinch a deal). And those agencies will run roughshod over the honest ones. That’s been going on for years.” Increase the honesty quotient? Industry has become more ethical because clients have become smarter? I’m not even sure how to respond to those kinds of assessments. Let’s put it this way, if the institute is generating revenue there looks to be plenty of job security in the future. Of course, there will be the ‘big boys’ running the show with board members from Procter & Gamble, Omnicom Group, WPP and Ketchum but as Jim Edwards, a former Adweek managing editor puts it “History does not suggest that these things catch on very well,” he said. “There’s a structural problem in the advertising business. The entire industry is engaged in a race to the bottom. Whoever can do it the cheapest and the fastest wins.” I realize I have taken the cynical approach to this kind of endeavor. What are your thoughts? Is it possible to self-police the ad industry like this group and the Interactive Advertising Bureau are suggesting? Let’s hear your take.

Tags: advertising, clients, congress, country, ethics, federal-trade, institute, marketing, missouri-school, people, Research, simply-ignoring, Social Media, thoughts, university
Posted July 27, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

Google continues to expand its efforts to get away from being a revenue one-trick pony. A recent result of these efforts is the announced partnership with Omnicom who will be using Google’s ad exchange to purchase display ads for their clients. With Apple having some reception issues ( nothing a roll of duct tape can’t fix though ) and suffering the slings and arrows of a bored press that is looking to make someone a target and then deem it news, Google is doing pretty well. Motorola’s Droid X rolls out today and Verizon reports that it is gaining in market share even without the iPhone in its stable of smartphone offerings. As the Wall Street Journal reports this new Omnicom deal is more reason to celebrate. Under the deal, Omnicom, part of New York-based Omnicom Group Inc., is expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy display ads for its clients through Google over the next two years, said a person familiar with the situation. In return, Google will work with Omnicom to build a global “trading desk” that allows the company to buy display ads more easily on Google’s ad exchange, an auction-like system that matches ad buyers and sellers to advertising space across large groups of websites. Omnicom says it was already buying ads on Google’s exchange using its own technology system. As part of the deal, Google, which reports second-quarter earnings Thursday, will provide analytics services to Omnicom to help it understand how its display ads are performing, the companies said. There are the typical concerns that by committing to one company like this (although there is no contractual restrictions as to who either side could work with in addition to one another) then Omnicom could ‘alienate’ other companies like Yahoo or Microsoft. Such partnerships also could create tensions among other parties with which the advertising and Internet companies do business. “If you get in deeper with Google, then someone like Microsoft [Corp.] might be less likely to work with you, or Yahoo might be less likely to work with you,” said Michael Brunick, vice president of technology at Interpublic Group of Cos.’ digital-ad unit Cadreon. “Ultimately, we want everything we buy to be in the best interest of the campaign. If you are stuck filling a commitment, that may or may not be in the client’s best interest.” OK, here’s what I have to say to that. What is this, middle school?! Does this really happen in business at this level. The “I’m not going to talk to you because you talk to them!” is usually reserved for hormonally imbalanced teens not multi-billion dollar corporations. Geesh. Just imagine how much incremental income could be made by others who pick up the business from Omnicom that can’t be run through Google for whatever the reasons. If everyone would stop acting like children there would be good business to be earned out there. Anyway, I know I am dreaming here because people are people and they make weird business decisions that are more emotional than logical (another term for this kind of person is a stockbroker). The bottom line here is that Google continues to diversify. It shouldn’t be too long though, before someone cries foul and says that Google is doing too much to grow the economy and create jobs (I do hope you picked up on the sarcasm there). Where else should Google go to diversify and become more than just a search company? We will hopefully learn more today as Google reports earnings and tells the world what else it may have up its sleeves. Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community

Tags: advertising, Business, client, clients, companies, deal, internet, iphone, Omnicom, parties, street, Yahoo
Posted July 15, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

While everyone is trying to figure out just how big mobile commerce will get, eBay is just out doing something about it. That’s kind of refreshing in this day and age of hype replacing action. So what has lit the mobile fire under eBay? Simple market principles like survival and competition (you remember those, right?). Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that this sector of eBay’s business is growing and they are doing what they can to keep it that way. After losing ground to Amazon.com (AMZN) for years in online retailing, eBay has emerged as a leader in a new market: mobile commerce. As consumers increasingly shop with their BlackBerrys, iPhones, and handsets powered by Google’s (GOOG) Android software, such as the Motorola (MOT) Droid, eBay has become the top mobile retailer in the U.S., say analysts. People are buying cars with through mobile apps and the story kicks off with a somewhat disturbing account of a lawyer’s use of his free time in court to buy really expensive French silver settings (hope his clients like what their money is buying!). While I may say it’s disturbing it is music to eBay’s revenue ears. While mobile is still a small part of eBay’s $8.7 billion in total revenue, it’s a booming market. By 2015, mobile commerce will grow into a $119 billion global industry, up from $18.3 billion last year, according to analyst Mark Beccue of ABI Research. Now, I have to admit that the prediction from the quote above is a bit heady but that’s just based on my gut reaction and no research science. So what is eBay doing? So far, eBay has produced 14 mobile apps that let users buy, sell, and hunt for deals. Steve Yankovich, eBay’s vice president for mobile, says he is aiming for a production pace of one app every five weeks. “We pick and choose what will move the needle, and then we do it fast,” he says. Last year, for example, Yankovich and his team added the feature that alerts mobile shoppers as to the status of auctions. “Sales shot up,” he says. “It was instant money.” On June 23, eBay announced its acquisition of RedLaser, a mobile app that uses a cell phone’s camera to scan bar codes. Sales shot up? Instant money? Music to any business’ ears for sure. I am admittedly not an eBay user so I want it to be known that my experience with the service is next to nil. Hearing about this kind of mobile adoption, however, is making me think twice for sure. As eBay rolls out more truly useful apps and commits to the strategy in full there is plenty of optimism in the C-suite John Donahoe, 50, eBay’s chief executive officer since two years ago, says the company will roll out apps tailored to specific product categories. The first, eBay Fashion, will display popular items and deals in a slide show that users can browse through by swiping their finger on a touchscreen. The app will also offer a kind of virtual dressing room; if you find a shirt you like, for example, you can use your phone’s camera to superimpose an image of the shirt on an image of you. Sounds pretty cool actually. What are your thoughts? Are you an eBay junkie? If so are you using these apps?

Tags: amzn, black, Business, clients, mobile, money, motorola, shopping, Steve Yankovich, thoughts
Posted June 24, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

Don’t you just love getting the inside scoop on a big acquisition? I do! So, after reading that IBM had agreed to acquire web analytics fim Coremetrics for an undisclosed sum, I was happy to find former IBM er Mike Moran share some information you may not know. Like the fact that IBM originally sold its web analytics unit to Coremetrics! IBM doesn’t make too many mistakes, but I thought it made a big one four years ago when it sold off its SurfAid Web analytics business to Coremetrics. Today, IBM reversed course in a very smart move when it swallowed up Coremetrics to tap into its customers’ growing need for Web analytics. Apparently, Google’s acquisition of Urchin–and the subsequent launch of the free Google Analytics–took the wind out of IBM’s sails, so it decided to get out of the space. Fast forward four years and paid analytics vendors are still going strong and the lines are blurring between business intelligence and web analytics. Hence, the decision to acquire Coremetrics: Buying Coremetrics assures them of a way that their clients can keep their data and allows IBM to analyze it for them. Web analytics…the new black!

Tags: big-acquisition, clients, coremetrics, data, like-the-fact, m&a, originally-sold, reversed-course, space, subsequent, thought-it-made, took-the-wind, years
Posted June 15, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

The Internet is amazing place. Only online can unicorns go in search of Candy Mountain , babies dance their hearts out, and cats can LOL . With the Internet we can connect with friends we haven’t spoken to in 20 years. And we can meet new amazing people every day. Because of all of these amazing things the Internet can do, it’s no surprise that many small business owners think the Internet can perform magic for their small business. However, what many fail to realize is often starting a business on the Internet can be more challenging than starting one off-line. It seems almost on a weekly basis I’m approached by a local small business to help build their Internet presence, and, every now and then, by an individual without a business that dreams of riches from the information superhighway. Both of these parties are looking for a simple solution to making money and think the Internet is their answer. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet that can build a business or increase wealth. 3 Common Myths About Doing Business Online It’s cheap. I will admit that often times opening an off-line brick-and-mortar business can be costly and can result in higher overhead for long-term growth. However, if you are a budding Internet entrepreneur with absolutely no experience in web development, design, or marketing then you can expect to make a substantial initial investment to get your business started. I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for. There are many ways to start a business online for little money, but the probability of success is extremely slim because most of the cheap strategies rely on amateur labor and substandard services. It’s easy. If you build it, they will come only works in cheesy Kevin Costner films. Whether you are building a business on the Internet or off-line, you will be required to constantly market and promote your organization in order to grow. We see this attitude many times within the SEO community where business owners will build a website and automatically assume it’s a part of Google. Sophisticated SEO and Internet marketing firms spend millions a year to promote their clients’ businesses. Oftentimes an off-line business success is dependent on its location. However on the Internet, location is nonexistent. On the Internet, promotion can make or break a business. It’s highly lucrative. Most with experience will tell you that 95% of Internet startups fail with the first year of existence. Many of the 5% that survive barely generate enough revenue to keep the business self-sustaining. Very few are purchased as part of an acquisition. The truth is that most successful Internet entrepreneurs have failed dozens of times prior to making it big. It takes years of experience to understand what works and what doesn’t online. So now you see there is no magic secret to wealth on the Internet. Like all successful business endeavors it requires time and hard work. But in the end, whether you have succeeded or failed you’ll learn skills and gain experience that far surpass those that have never tried anything at all. Photo by Chris Walton Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community

Tags: barely-generate, Business, business-online, clients, internet, Internet Marketing, marketing, mountain, organization, rely-on-amateur, seo
Posted May 29, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media