So while all the attention on who Microsoft is hunting next–after its latest parry at grabbing Yahoo’s search business was foiled once again–has settled on Time Warner’s AOL (see BoomTown’s post on that interest from Monday), it would be a mistake to assume that the software giant is not still aiming directly at Yahoo…
Display accounts for 34 percent. In this space, Yahoo is king, while Google has been a minor player, despite its recent purchase of DoubleClick. Microsoft has been trying to muscle its way in too.
Many think the scaling and targeting technologies that are developing and that Google or Microsoft certainly can bring to the table–combined with the relationship business for which Yahoo is famous–is the next killer app to make display dominate.
Google, though it is trying to downplay its overall power of late, is aiming hard at doing in display what it has done in search, especially trying to use its powerful technology skills.
“We really feel we’re in a position to become the world’s largest display ads provider,” said Google’s SVP Jonathan Rosenberg in its first-quarter earnings call in April…
Despite shifting focus to an ad-supported business and ad network years ago, AOL (NYSE: TWX) can’t seem to shake the image of being known as that dial-up ISP. So rather than continue to fight, AOL is finding that it might just be better to erase it, or at least downplay it somewhat. Case in point: two new channels, a personal finance site called WalletPop and a free professional images site, Pixcetera, debuted this morning—both without the AOL brand prominently featured on its site (scroll way down) or in the URL. That said, the sites do have the same look and feel of others and AOL’s main page features a link that does connect directly to WalletPop—but the link only says “Money” and doesn’t identify the site by name. As AOL continues its site rollout—the company is in the process of creating a new one aimed at younger women for launch later this year—expect the AOL name to be less and less prominent as the portals become less popular in the minds of users. More details on WalletPop announcement is here.
Previously thought to be separate from each other, advertising and editorial content are now finding common ground, Garcia Media reported. Newspaper web sites have created “silent ads” that are subtler and seem to blend in better with articles.
Essentially, “silent ads” are those that are positioned in the center of summaries, navigational features and briefs columns. In this way, the ads have a better chance of being noticed because these areas tend to have heavier traffic.
These ads usually feature only a brand’s logo, without any message or text. On the web, there is a link, whereas in print “it is a matter of recognition”, Garcia Media wrote.
Garcia Media mentioned the best ways to use the “silent ads” are:
-In vertical columns that make use of “finger reading” (e.g. navigational units)
-Between elements, avoiding the very top or bottom
-Using ads smaller than 1.5 inchesAlthough the ads are popular in Europe and Asia, the US hasn’t quite caught up with the trend yet.
On Twitter, Jay Rosen asks why I don’t like the term crowdsourcing. (He says hate, but that’s way way too harsh.) Anyway, he’s right — I don’t like it — because it betrays a not-useful point of view. I am not part of a crowd, I am an individual, I’m a one man band by the quick lunch stand,playing real good for free. When you mash us all together you miss the point.
I don’t like it cause it’s cheap, it’s always used by people who want something for nothing.
Tell me Jay, how does your wife feel when you tell her she’s part of the crowd you were thinking of marrying.
If you want people to like you, and who doesn’t, try seduction. Don’t tell us about your greed, say how much you love and respect our individuality our originality.
Bottom-line: I don’t think of myself as part of a crowd when I write on the Internet. When you describe me that way I don’t like it.
I don’t like it for the same reason I never liked “The Long Tail.” The person using the term is never in the long tail, he or she is the head! It’s the rest of us that are in the tail. Well excuse me but I’m riding up front with you. Been locked in the trunk many times by Microsoft, Netscape and Apple. It sucks!
Ed: Classic advertising issue – does a company spend for short term leads or long term brand? The latter strategy returns premium prices and higher gross margins when compared to pushing products at the lowest price – that more than offsets the higher marketing costs. For example, Apple balances brand and optimum pricing with their Mac, iPod, and iPhone.
Brand leaders among marketing, advertising and PR firms are more likely to price their services at a higher level than their competitors (41% of brand leaders were premium-priced vs. 24% of lesser-known firms) – and more likely to actually get higher fees, according to a RainToday.com survey.
Brand and value are paramount in pricing and discounting is hurting firms’ bottom lines, finds the 2008 “Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Marketing, Advertising, and PR Industry” report, which provides insight from 343 marketing, advertising and PR executives.
It also finds that prices are on the increase despite the economic downturn, and communicating value is still the biggest pricing challenge facing firms. Below, findings from the study.
Brand Names Drive Profits
Firms that are well-known in their target markets receive premium fees, and are more likely to grow their business and realize higher profits, than lesser-known counterparts:
- Professionals at leading branded firms command up to 33% higher actual/realized fees.
- 79% of brand leaders experienced revenue growth in the last two years vs. 65% of lesser-known firms.
- 69% of brand leaders are profitable vs. 56% of lesser-known firms.
Discounting Hurts Bottom Line…
from Silicon Alley Insider by
Is “Facebook Fatigue” real or imagined? We’ve been hearing about a supposed backlash against the social network for months, but haven’t seen enough data to convince us. But here’s another piece of anecdotal evidence in favor of the “played-out” argument: An interesting word association game, which indicates that people have much more affection for old Web geezers like Amazon and Google than Mark Zuckerberg’s upstart.
The experiment, via a site called brandtags.net, is anything but scientific. But it is simple: The site shows a brand’s logo and simply asks you to type the first word that pops into your head.
Here are the top 25 words or phrases on Brand Tags currently associated with Facebook (descriptive words are bolded): == college kids
friends, social, college, annoying, people, facebook, fun, boring, kids, lame, community, social networking, myspace, waste of time, addictive, social network, network, networking, stupid, young, useless, crap, internet, stalker, s***
Compare that list with Amazon’s: == online shopping
books, book, everything, shopping, convenient, easy, buy, cheap, awesome, fast, online, smile, great, shop, amazon, useful, internet, good, online shopping, shipping, amazing, store, reliable,cool, huge
And Google’s: == ubiquity
search, google, internet, search engine, awesome, god, evil, smart, useful, everything, cool, find, fun, fast, good, big brother, information, everywhere, simple, great, innovative,ubiquitous, helpful, amazing, love
