Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 29, 2007

Rishad Tobaccowala: Tips for Recruiting Talent

Denuo chief executive Rishad Tobaccowala advocates a simple strategy for hiring and retaining talent: don't be cheap.

"We make certain we have profit margins that allow us to pay better than anybody else," he said at a panel discussion during Interactive Advertising Bureau's MIXX conference this week. "I tell people: Money is tall, talent is short in this world. Pay your agencies well, otherwise, you'll have a bunch of mediocre people."

ClickZ asked Tobaccowala, who's also Publicis Groupe Media's chief innovation officer, how digital media executives can ensure their creative teams don't dismiss analytics as a diversion for number crunchers. Talent emerged as an issue aired by other executives during Advertising Week, as well.

Tobaccowala, in an e-mail, offered these insights.

ClickZ: How can organizations that embrace creative people learn to work with metrics?

Tobaccowala: Metrics are not necessarily creative unfriendly. Creatives love feedback and knowledge if their work is having an impact. The key is to make sure that the right things are being measured. If the creative's goals are a, b, and c and a and b are measurable and c is not then we should measure a and b. Often we measure c or d and e and then disparage the work by measuring the wrong thing.

ClickZ: What advice do you have for organizations seeking to optimize online
advertising and marketing campaigns on the fly?

Tobaccowala: Use technology. Recognize that creative still matters. Understand that fast optimizing requires organizational structures that allow for message, approval, and financial flexibility. Often the technology is ahead of the organization or financial ability to move quickly.

ClickZ: In the information technology world, some people say the role of business analyst has emerged to work as a liaison between technologists and executives in business units. Are there any new jobs emerging to bridge the gap between the creative and business sides of online advertising/marketing?

Tobaccowala: I do not see any from my vantage point. I think current planners, media folks, and creatives need to get better trained on how to use and analyze the data rather than have a special role created.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 7, 2007

Mobile Advertising Guidelines Updated

In prep for the Mobile Marketing Forum, held by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), here in New York this week, the MMA released version 4.0 of its Mobile Advertising Guidelines. The updated portion focuses mainly on downloadable content and mobile Web aspects. More specifically, the guidelines cover advertising-oriented games, and information on multi-media messaging services (MMS). Find the specifics on the updated mobile advertising guidelines here.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 16, 2007

Zango Zing in TRUSTe Story Specious?

Did I miss a big chunk of yesterday's TRUSTe news about its initial list of certified Trusted Download firms? When I saw the Mediapost headline, "TRUSTe Gives Nod To WhenU, Snubs Zango," I got that instant frisson we reporters get when we're scooped. The organization told me nothing about Zango not making the cut. Had I neglected to ask which firms applied but didn't make it?

"WhenU made TRUSTe's cut, as did Vomba Network, but Zango, which recently agreed to pay $3 million to settle FTC charges, was among the adware purveyors that weren't certified," noted their story.

Zango Screams "Untrue!" and TRUSTe Won't Tell
I checked in with Zango and TRUSTe and there appears to be no confirmation that Zango has applied for or completed a Trusted Download evaluation. I just got off the phone with Steve Stratz, director of PR for Zango, who told me Zango did not tell Mediapost they were not denied certification (nor that they've applied). The use of the term, "snub" in the headline, he added, "implies that we were rejected…and that is just untrue." He also said the story's note that TRUSTe failed to certify Zango, is "totally untrue."

I spoke to Carolyn Hodge, TRUSTe's marketing director, earlier today. She was adamant that the organization never shares names of companies that have applied or not been certified. "We don't comment on companies that are in process or companies that have applied," stressed Hodge, who told me specifically she has never made a public statement about whether or not Zango applied to the Trusted Download Program. She wouldn't tell me either on or off the record whether Zango had applied, and because she refused to give me a "yes" or "no" -- or even a hint -- off the record, I'd be surprised if others got that out of her or other TRUSTe folks interviewed.

Still, there remains the chance that the information was provided to Mediapost by someone at TRUSTe on background or OTR.

Zango's blog post regarding the whitelist announcement, cited in that other story, is pretty vague, and definitely doesn't confirm the company has applied for the program: "We are working very hard to certify our products and practices with the TRUSTe program standards. Now that the initial round of certified applications has been announced, stayed tuned for more exciting news on this front."

When the Trusted Download Program was originally announced, Zango noted on its blog, "we’re already well on our way to being compliant with these new standards. We expect to be fully compliant by the time TRUSTe formally begins to accept applications for certification early next year."

In November, the company's blog stated, "we have been in contact with TRUSTe and indicated our strong interest in applying for certification."

Indeed, when I spoke with the TRUSTe folks yesterday, they told me most companies interested in obtaining certification have been making requisite changes to their technologies before submitting what can be a pretty pricey application (see details in today's ClickZ story).

What it comes down to is if it can't be confirmed that a company has applied or that its evaluation process is complete, zinging it with a headline like that is inappropriate. Considering my history with that other pub, and the fact that I like the people there, I don't want it to sound like I’m nitpicking or just trying to make the competition look bad, but since I also reported this story (and somehow used the same term, "nod," in my headline), I felt compelled to clear up why that information was not reported in the ClickZ story.

Also, I don't want it to seem as though I'm trying to prop up Zango, because I'm not.

One Other Clarification, This Time on WhenU
To be fair, and since we're on the topic, I made an incorrect statement in my story. I noted that, "WhenU's name was tarnished when courts in the early part of the decade ruled for and against the company for distributing software that confused users as to the source of its pop-ups." It turns out the original ruling against WhenU I referred to (for 1-800 Contacts, Inc.), was overturned and dismissed on appeal.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 28, 2006

AOL Crosses Line Into Badware Territory

The implications aren't fully adware in the immediate look, Stopbadware.org published a report on the new AOL warning of "Badware Behavior" and bad or undisclosed behavior in the free version install of AOL 9.0. Offences include the installation of additional software without disclosure including AOL toolbar and additional icons in the Internet Explorer toolbar; interference with computer use that requires users to take action; automatic software updates and failure to uninstall software completely.

StopBadware contacted AOL and has posted that AOL is reviewing the report and plans to address the issues. In the meantime the watchdog group advises users don't install the software unless they are aware of the level of risk outlined in the report.

Posted by Enid Burns at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 25, 2006

Direct Navigation: good, bad or ugly?

Direct navigation is seen by some as the seedy underbelly of search marketing designed to capitalize on naïve searchers. Others find it to be an ingenious way to capitalize on unused domains and direct users to relevant content.

In its simplest form, direct navigation is when a company buys a domain name, usually generic in nature, hoping to capture traffic from users who type the name directly into their browser. These domains are then monetized with contextual ads, and usually not much else.

It gets shady when the domain name is misleading, such as those that are close in name to another domain, where the company hopes to capitalize on spelling errors. They're sometimes called "Built for AdSense" sites, because that's their main purpose.

Some figures from direct navigation firm Innovation Interactive, based on 3 months of data across 15,000 domains, attempts to shed some light on the behavior of users that visit those sites...and come back again.
* 11.8% of unique users clicked on an ad on the page.
* 30.8% of unique users clicked on multiple ads on one or more of its sites during the quarter.
* Almost 9% of unique users returned to the same site during the quarter.
* Visitors averaged 1.3 pageviews per visit.
* 80% of clicks were on the first five ads, and 90% on the first ten.

What's your take on direct navigation? Bringing value to consumers by enhancing undeveloped sites? Or preying on non-savvy users and bad spellers, clogging up the Net with useless pages?

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 16, 2006

Power to the People (and Bloggers, Conference Attendees, etc.)

Syndicate finally did it. Power strips!

For all the events, conferences, pow-wows and boondoggles out there working to promote liveblogging and coverage, there's always something missing. Even if there is free Wi-Fi.

Thanks, Syndicate, for making it easy on our batteries.

In other conference happenings, Richard Edelman just finished speaking about PR and blogs. "CMOs want to know GRPs. Its what agencies have been feeding them for years...The ad guys are terrified by this. They should be here, but they're not."

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 3, 2006

One More Reason to Listen

If you're responsible for a brand, a Web site, a campaign or a business of any kind, you know you should be listening, don't you?

Listening goes well beyond reputation monitoring and it's time that fact was noted. In an era of blogging and splogging, listening is an excellent way (in fact, on of the few ways, although there are others) to protect and to keep track of your content.

If you're a publisher, a blogger or anyone else who creates original content and posts it to the Web, you should immediately set up a Technorati search for all your domains and key words and phrases that are unique to your site, brand or product. The names of products or executives are a good place to start. (You can do this on the search engines, too, but Technorati's feed function is fantastic.) Subscribe to the feeds for those searches. You may be surprised at what you learn.

Not only will you know who's talking about you and what they're saying, if you create original content you'll know who's using that content and how. This morning I uncovered (yet another) "business blog" created entirely of ClickZ content.

Is dealing with this stuff a pain in the butt? You bet. But wouldn't you rather know than not know who's saying what about you -- not to mention who's stealing your ideas and your property?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 26, 2006

OLGA's Coming Out Party

The Online Lead Generation Association threw a coming out party of sorts at Ad:Tech tonight. Formed last November, the new trade organization hopes to set ethical standards in lead-gen before others (such as legislators and attorneys general) take the lead on that particular initiative (think "Free iPod!" ads).

Chairman Daniel Felter, CEO of Opt-Intelligence, said the nascent organization already boasts close to 50 members. Immediate goals are to become actively involved in policy-making as well as to create a series of educational events for marketers on ethical lead-generation practices.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 18, 2006

Anticipatory Marketing

A very smart e-mail just arrived from FreshDirect, New York City's online grocer.

A building worker strike is threatened in the city this coming Friday. "We anticipate a strike could bring delivery complications for your FreshDirect order," reads the message, "Since we may need to make additional arrangements during your delivery, please use the Your Account section of our website to make sure your phone number and contact information are accurate and up-to-date."

That's using your head. It's a great call-to-action for keeping customer records up to date. It's also going to stop a lot of customers from becoming disgruntled before the fact.

See? E-mail doesn't have to be sell, sell, sell. Often, it's better when it isn't.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 27, 2006

Yahoo! Visits New Orleans

Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Small Business, together with Bell South, are hosting a seminar in New Orleans on April 7th for local small businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina.

"This seminar will provide free training and up to $1,500 in free products and services (including search marketing services) to attendees to help facilitate small biz recovery in the Gulf Coast. Additionally, we are working to have a Yahoo! developer to host subsequent seminars for months to come to show a continued effort to get businesses 'back in business.'"

Altrustic -- and smart marketing. If only my friends in the Bywater could get their Web access back up and running.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 7, 2006

BMW, Ricoh TipTheir (Black) Hats

Black hat SEO suffered a severe blow this week.

Blogging about BMW and Ricoh being banned by Google in Germany for deceptive optimization practices, Danny raises some interesting points.

Sure, both companies are publicly sporting black eyes. They've been nailed for using black hat SEO techniques -- and banned by Google. What I'm liking about this all the very public attention drawn to black hat SEO.

“We cannot tolerate Web sites trying to manipulate search results as we aim to provide users with the relevant and objective search results," Google told the FT.

Google appears to be doing something very deliberate and calculated here. The message: if it can happen to them, it can happen to you.

The BMW/Ricoh debacle will bump SEO and accountability up into the ranks of senior management, where it belongs.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 27, 2006

What's the Domain Threshold?

A reader called in and asked if there was any research I've come across that determines the maximum length a URL can still be typed in by a user. That's a very relevant question for our space, and I don't recall seeing any research on the topic.

Phone numbers are seven digits because it was believed to be the maximum number of digits people could remember. A recent report on Web design discusses a rule of sevens. That rule finds users become overwhelmed with more than seven navigation links or items in a drop-down box.

Has anyone determined the max for domains? Is there leeway for brand names or more memorable terms used as domains? Got research? Send it it here for consideration in the Stats section.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 24, 2006

Are Your Advertisers Impacting Your Delivery Rate?

Do you publish an ad-supported e-mail newsletter and worry about declining delivery rates? Consider this: maybe it's not you. Maybe it's your advertisers.

It could happen to even the most upstanding publisher. The one who adheres to all the best practices including confirmed double opt-in subscriptions; running copy and design through spam filters and tests; the one who engages the top ISPs to manage their lists and mailings.

If that e-newsletter runs ads from purveyors of ad- and spyware, porn or online gambling -- you get the idea -- that newsletter stands a good chance of getting blocked at the gateway.

It's not that I'm advocating censorship here, but it's certainly worth considering whether accepting those ads (and ad dollars) may ultimately torpedo your business.

Proceed with caution.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 20, 2006

Finally - A Gmail Delete Button!

It appeared! At last!

Gmail has a 'Delete' button -- finally. Life feels that much more complete.

Google, what on earth took you so long?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 19, 2006

Google's Non-Evil Stance on Privacy & Democracy

Google's refusal to hand over aggregate search information to the Bush administration -- while the other major engines reportedly have -- is zinging through the blogosphere this morning (I first read about it on John Battelle's blog).

Danny's got a great take on it from the privacy and search perspectives, but there's a marketing angle here, too.

MSN and Yahoo! are already suffering a consumer backlash resulting from their decisions to turn over information on Chinese bloggers to the authorities. There have been calls for boycotts of both companies, first in the blogosphere, now in mainstream media.

By taking the high road, Google's not only walking the walk insofar as it's "don't be evil" corporate motto is concerned, it's also garnering some serious goodwill as its competitors' reputations further tarnish insofar as democracy and human rights are concerned.

Way to go, Google.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 11, 2006

The New New Customer Service

Such is customer service in the new digital age of transparency that Random House is offering refunds on "A Million Little Pieces" to people who purchased direct from the publisher. (According to the Reuters report.) This after a TheSmokingGun.com report -- and much discussion of it in countless blog entries and news stories -- that casts serious doubt on the alleged memoir's veracity. It's a testament to lessons learned by Dell and Kryptonite Locks -- when the word-of-mouth turns against you, respond, act, do something. Because stonewalling doesn't work any more.

Posted by Pamela Parker at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 21, 2005

RSS Newsletters? Not So Fast...

This morning Steve Rubel points to a new service, Mailfeed.org, that purports to easily convert e-mail newsletters into RSS feeds.

Steve, a smart guy about Web 2.0 but not as marinated in e-mail best practices as most legitimate marketers and publishers, recommends not only converting all your subs into feeds, but also urges newsletter publishers to use the service to generate feeds from their newsletters.

This totally misses the best practices boat.

Double confirmed opt-in is the e-mail subscription gold standard (and what ClickZ practices, btw). Subscribers must first reply to an e-mail confirming they're intentionally subscribing to the publication before they'll receive it. MailFeed.org cannot accomodate this method.

And besides, most publishers concerned enough about honoring their subscribers' intentions already offer them the option of reading feeds.

Publications such as the one Steve cites in his post (and many others, unfortunately) sign hapless subscribers up for all sorts of stuff they didn't subscribe to, once they have that e-mail address. MailFeed would convert all this e-mail to feeds, sure. But at what cost?

I love the concept, but MailFeed in its current incarnation won't work for teh white-hat mailers. Instead, it would swap out your e-mail spam problem for an RSS spam problem.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

TRUSTe Trusts Yesmail

TRUSTe just named e-mail service provider Yesmail as the first company authorized to resell TRUSTe's Web privacy seals.

Yesmail can now review and certify their clients' Web privacy practices. According to TRUSTe, this eliminates duplication of efforts, as well as the number of relationships a Web site must manage.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 7, 2005

Back to Basics

Everybody knows what they need to do in order to fix their Web site, they just don't do it, according to Jim Sterne, consultant, author and head of the Web Analytics Association. Sterne -- one of the most entertaining yet informative speakers I've yet seen at an event like Ad:tech, offered his top 5 ways to get "back to basics," ranging from usability issues to simple common sense:

1. Make it easy to find. Customers know they have pain, they don't know as much as you do about your industry, and they don't want to know. What they really want is to find a way to ease their pain.
2. Make navigation comprehendible. All the best advertising in the world is useless if you don't help people find what they're looking for when they get to your site.
3. Make it viewable to all. The goal should not be to have the "coolest" site in the world, but to have the site that is best designed for its purpose -- usually to help convert visitors to buyers.
4. Make data live. The power of the Internet is real-time inventory, interaction, and processes. A Web site is not a library, but a collection of verbs -- a place where people come to do things.
5. Make customers part of your site. All advertising has one objective -- to cause more interaction between a business and a consumer.

According to Sterne, all the rules for improving your online presence boil down to one simple rule -- think about what you're doing from the customers' perspective.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

User Engagement Means On Their Terms

I'm only on Windows during office hours, and I never, ever use Internet Explorer.

I'm hardly alone. Apple announced 6.6 percent market share today, and Firefox adoption has been skyrocketing.

So why do sites like Ford Vehicles think they can sell me if the first thing their site tells me is "adapt or leave"?

"We're sorry, but the Ford Supercar Challenge is designed to run on Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher and is not available for game play on Macintosh platforms."

I'm on Windows, you bozos. Running Firefox. Deal with it.

I a similar experience trying to visit an online tradeshow over the weekend using Mac/Firefox. I hung on a page telling me to use IE - nary a word regarding my OS. So I did try IE. And Safari. To no avail.

How do all those agencies that chant "it's about the user, it's about engagement" ad nauseum get away with this stuff?

I guess because their clients let them.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:56 PM | Permalink

October 3, 2005

Is Your Site "Trust Worthy"?

Consumer Reports WebWatch wants "Trust Worthy" publishers to raise their hands -- in a full-page October 24 "New York Times" print ad.

Today, publishers received a letter asking them to pledge to adhere to CR's five credibility guidelines for all Web sites. Sign the pledge and the name of your organization will join The New York Times, CNN, WebMD, ING, Monster, Barnes&Noble and others who have vowed to uphold it.

The uh-oh moment is where the letter reads: "Should we not receive a prompt response, your company name may appear on our Web site and other communications as a site that has not complied with our guidelines."

There's a literal blacklist side of the ad. A list of company names will be published under the heading: Trust Worthy?
Copy asks: "Your company name here...or here?"

Consumer Reports isn't only trying to promote its Oct. 26 Trust or Consequences event in DC. As the letter points out, if your site isn't in compliance with the guidelines, all it may require are one or two simple fixes.

That, or the prospect of getting your company's name into the Times for free, will hopefully impel more than one site to give best practices a second thought.

So well done, Beau Brendler (director of Consumer Reports WebWatch).

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 28, 2005

Interactive best practices, Yahoo!-style

You would expect a company like Yahoo! to know a thing or two about online advertising. Marketers in attendance at today's OMMA East conference were given a glimpse inside Yahoo!'s marketing machine with a keynote address from CMO Cammie Dunaway.

Dunaway shared her "Interactive Marketing 101"-style best practices:
* Match the creative to your target
* Connect emotionally
* Communicate a clear benefit
* Support your brand's personality
* Use meaningful interactivity
* Use rich media
* Integrate the customer experience
* Utilize promotional capabilities

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 27, 2005

DMA To Allow Deceased to Rest In Peace

Get that Ouija board out of your marketing toolkit! The DMA wants its members to stop marketing to the dead.

They're deadly serious. The mega-trade org has created the ne plus ultra of supression lists: the Deceased Do-Not-Contact list.

Doubtless anticipating a rush of "I-want-to-be-dead-to-you" registrations, the organization will levy a $1 fee to spirit away the departed's contact information. One hopes this will be its final resting place. Until now, the dead have risen, zombie-like, at the end of a five year sunset providison period to repopulate the list.

The DMA plans to market the list (true to their calling) to "funeral directors, hospitals, the American Medical Association and consumer groups."

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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