the Web Chef's e-Bytes

Mobile Marketing Magazine - Feb 2010

I came across the February issue of an online magazine from the UK called Mobile Marketing Magazine that could be shared by embedding into this blog.  I thought the technology was an interesting way to further optimize the sharing of digital assets like this magazine.

Web Tidbits - Viral Videos and Internet Trends

The San Francisco Chronicle has published a listing including links of the top 10 viral videos for 2008.  Not too surprisingly the number one viral video was Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.  This video and her interview performance, took not only an unknown Governor to infamy but helped propel Tina Fey and Saturday Night Live into some great ratings numbers for their show.  Tina Fey has gone on to grace the cover of the most recent issue of Vanity Fair as a result of her performance. 

Meanwhile, Pew Internet has published a report called "Future of the Internet" surveyed technology leaders to come up with some perspectives on the Internet in 2020. The biggest change that they foresee is the use of the phone for mobile access to the Internet as technology improves to enable this tool.

.Tel Domain Name Introduced

Telnic, the exclusive registrar for the .tel domain name launched today.  Trademark holders will have a global phone book where they can place their phone numbers in a Telnic supported form according to ReadWrite web.  According to an ad that Telnic ran in the New York Times on November 17, 2008 the benefits of the .tel gTLD are the following:

• "Join a globl online directory that provides your instant worldwide exposure
• Integrate all means of communications in a single place under your control
• Upadte and manage your contact information in real time
• Increase search engine visibility through descriptive keywords
• Provide a simple, fast and cost effective way for your customer to connect with you in a single click from any mobile device.. all without the need to build, host or manage a website"

Wikinews conducted a Google search on .tel and found that as of this posting there were "already 581 pages using the new tLD".

Domain names are managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN.  This new domain name joins other popular 1st generation generic Top Level Domain Names or TLDNs like .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org  along with those introduced more recently - .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .coop, .museum and .aero.

Web Tidbits - MMA Announces New Ad Guidelines

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released their new Mobile Advertising Guidelines (PDF).  The 14 page Guidelines include standards for SMS and MMS ads. 

Web Tidbits - So What's in Store for 2008?

I thought I'd look at a few projections for online marketing in 2008 from prognosticators around the Internet.  Reflecting the continued interest in online video, eMarketer is projecting that online video ads typically pre-rolls will increase 70% according to BrandWeek.  Search engine marketing will still capture the bulk of the projected $27.5 billion in expenditures with 40% of all online dollars. 

ZenithOptimedia is projecting that online advertising will surpass radio advertising in 2008 and will do the same for magazine advertising in 2010 according to PaidContent.org. 

2007 is touted as the year that page views as an online advertising metric begin to disappear due to the changing nature of served ads that are often not delivered in the same fashion according to MediaPost.  Newer metrics like time-based viewership are taking over.

In mobile advertising, Business Week reporter Olga Kharif, reports on Didier Kuhn's, Screen Tonic's CEO  sense that projections for mobile advertising are way too high.  He cites Gartner and Strategy Analytics estimates of $11 and 14.4 billion by 2011 as being way out of line.  He and others feel that consumer acceptance of mobile browsing still lags and that wireless carriers have also been slow to implement online advertising.  The growing number of iPhone users is seen as a positive in this area.  Another factor that could move this along is the growing convergence of the web and the phone worlds according to analysts.

JupiterResearch is estimating that e-mail spending both "relational and sponsored" will grow from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2 billion by 2012 according to Online Media Daily.

The Consumer Electronics Association reports in enGadget, that over half of Americans now have a digital television, a good thing given the upcoming demise of analog delivery.

AdWeek reports on trends that they see in overall marketing that could impact online as well.  These include growth of branded entertainment, casual gaming, handmade goods, faux traditionalism and the growth in authenticity and transparency.  Mmmm, I wonder if any of the Presidential candidates have tuned in to these... 

Web Tidbits - Acquisitions of Interest to Marketers

September was a busy month in the M&A (Mergers and Acquisition) space for companies of interest to e-marketers.  Among the acquisitions that were announced during the month and the value of the acquisitions were the following:

• Nokia acquires Enpocket a global leader in mobile advertising. Value - Undisclosed, private company.
• Yahoo acquires Zimbra a "leader in e-mail and collaboration software". Value - $350 million..
• Idearc (Superpages.com and Verizon Yellow Pages) acquires Switchboard.com increasing their local search reach and opportunities for local advertisers. Value - $225 million.

Web Tidbits - Mobile Marketing

Mobile Metrics
M:Metrics and AdMob have released research that finds that 65.5% of the recipients of ads delivered over the AdMob mobile network of over 2000 mobile sites delivering 1.4 billion ads found they are in the hard-to-reach 18 - 34 year old age group.  The research results include audience composition by age segment based on the network web site type - community, downloads, entertainment, news/info and portals. 

Mobile Marketing
In a related story, James Briggs, CEO of Briabe Media, points out that African American and Hispanic 18 - 34 year olds "consume far more mobile services than other groups". Among their activities are downloads, SMS, MMS and web browsing.

WVMC joins WOMMA and other web associations

I came across a new association that I hadn't heard of that might be of interest to readers.  The Web Video Marketing Council (WVMC) joins other web related groups like the following general and specialized e-marketing related groups that you might want to explore:

• EMA - e-Marketing Association
• EIAA - European Interactive Advertising Association
• IAB - Interactive Advertising Bureau
• IMRO - Interactive Marketing Research Organization
• IIMA - International Internet Marketing Association
• MMA - Mobile Marketing Association
• OPA - Online Publishers Association
• Podcast Guild
• SEMPO - Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization
• VBMA - Viral and Buzz Marketing Association
• Web Marketing Association
• WOMMA - Word of Mouth Marketing Association

The WVMC has a white paper available for download "Web Video Marketing: The Birth of a New Direct Marketing Medium" (PDF) that was published in July.

I'm sure that I've missed a few.  If you'd like to add to the list be sure to provide your addition in the comments section.

Paul Gibler

Text Messaging Foibles, Follies and Jollies

I'm catching up on my reading and blog posting after having been on a no Internet Access vacation for a couple of weeks. 

An interesting set of stories I've come across relates to text messaging.  Teenagers and adults alike have been caught in a spiraling cost crunch for using text messaging according to Weird Tech News Hub.  One Washington DC 17 year old found that the costs of her 6,807 text messages reached over $1,100.  Needless to say her parents weren't too happy and have come up with a repayment plan. 

Not to be outdone in the consequences department, a Polish bus driver lost his job after using his company provided cell phone to sent 38,000 text messages to win a contest.  The cost to the city was 94,000 zlotys or $34,000.  His cost, he's out of work.

In the case of better news with Text Messaging, a 32 year old woman won $1,000 at the South Dakota State Fair for the speed and accuracy of her text messaging. 

Wireless Only Subscribers Continues to Grow

The National Center for Health Statistics released a study on May 14th that shows the number of wireless only subscribers continues to grow.  According to their research (PDF) wireless only subscribers grew to at least 12.8% of the American population in the second half of 2008.  Some interesting demographic variations were identified in the report including the following:

• Renters were more likely to be in wireless only households 26.4% vs. 5.8% for homeowners
• One half of wireless only users were under 30; 30% of 25 - 29 year olds were in a wireless only household
• Men were more likely than women to be in a wireless only household at 13.1% vs. 10.5% for women
• Southern Adults were more likely to be wireless 14% than those in the Northeast 8.6%
• Adults living in poverty were more likely to be in wireless only situations at 22.4%

These new statistics will have interesting implications for telemarketers already facing troubles from the well received Do Not Call registries and for pollsters and researchers looking for representative samples.  On the positive side as wireless users expand their array of services with more sophisticated devices and services the opportunties for mobile marketers will only increase.

The other implication is for finding the phone numbers of friends and acquaintences that you haven't programmed into your own cellphones.  For example, last weekend I was late to get to friends and had forgot my cell phone.  Although I wanted to call them, I wasn't able to do so since I didn't know their number and wouldn't be able to get it from Directory Assistance.