Google continues to grab market share in the battle of online search

 Mobile Marketing to Jump 26% in 2009

The Mobile Marketing Association claims that mobile marketing budgets will jump 26% this year, despite the fact that overall marketing spend will fall 7%, reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

While the mobile medium will still snare just 1.8% of total marketing budgets, total spend will grow from $1.7 billion this year to $2.16 billion in 2010, according to new research from the MMA. Half of brands and agencies polled by the group said they were experimenting with some type of mobile marketing; SMS text campaigns are the most common, followed by mobile websites and mobile email marketing.

The internet appears to be the medium with which marketers are most often integrating their mobile efforts. Mobile internet access increased 36% in the US last year, and the number of Americans (ages 13+) with mobile internet access is 18 million, according to Netpop. Globally, that number is 54 million.

Despite the growing use of the mobile web, Netpop found that slow connections and extra fees are still the primary barriers to both increased use (among current users) and adoption (among non-users).

Mobile advertising is believed to be effective in part because it reaches consumers on-the-go, shopping or engaging in other activities outside of their homes. A Universal McCann research study on smartphone usage patterns found that more than a third of high-use smartphone users respond to mobile advertisements. The study found that smartphone users are clicking on ads (53%), requesting more information or a coupon (35%) and making purchases via their handsets (24%). Some 82% of respondents report they use mobile devices at work. 81% use them while shopping.

Local mobile advertising will be the next hot trend, particularly in terms of local mobile search, BIA’s The Kelsey Group predicts. Local mobile ad revenue will hit more than $3.1 billion in 2013, up from $160 million last year. Mobile search will reach $2.3 billion. Local searches made up 27.8% of all searches in 2008, but are expected to hit 35.1% in 2013.

Local search will make up more than half of mobile advertising (56%) though local search will only make up just over 35% of all searches, The Kelsey Group said.

This is a Must Read: Drake Morton

A Must-Read For BT Wonks

by Steve Smith , Friday, June 5, 2009

The academic studies of online privacy and the technologies behind data collection are coming on strong of late. I have been covering them here in recent months because as a former egghead (I say that lovingly) in the media studies field, I have seen this movie before. As legislators and regulators turn their eye towards a commercial endeavor, scholarly research and opinion that ordinarily gets shared among a relative handful of experts suddenly becomes widely cited, misquoted, turned into gospel.

Regulators need some semblance of impartial authority when diving into complex technical matters, and, frankly, academics need funding, which usually comes from government sources. The upshot is that people in the digital media industries may as well spend some time now hitting the scholarly books, because they will meet them in the legislative and FTC hearing rooms many of them will be attending in the coming years. (more…)

So much good information: Drake Morton

Optimizing For Natural And Paid Search,

After The Click

by Rob Garner , Wednesday, May 27, 2009

At the Search Insider Summit in Captiva, Fla., Gord Hotchkiss hosted a panel and clinic on eye-tracking analysis of Web sites suggested by attendees, specifically addressing the topic of post-click optimization.  This session preceded several related breakout discussions, including the “Branding and Post-Click Strategies” roundtable session that I moderated.
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A Must Read: Drake Morton

Track, Evaluate, And Diversify

To Drive Email List Growth

by Morgan Stewart , Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A healthy database of subscribers is at the core of any successful email marketing program. And growing the database is a top priority for 38% of email marketers, according to research I recently completed, working with  the Email Marketers Club and Mike Bloxham of Ball State’s Center for Media Design.

While list growth is universally recognized as a cornerstone of success in email, it has also become an emotionally charged and trend-driven area of email marketing. Best practices for list growth abound, but my experience has been that what passes for best practices are generally driven by anecdotal evidence and corporate agendas more than comprehensive analysis.
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Very Good Read: Drake Morton

In-Stream BT: The Elephant In The Room

by Phil Leggiere , Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Over the past year the online video space has seen an explosion of new video content, new consumers of that content, and new advertising inventory. Ergo, theoretically at least, expanded content, plus users, plus inventory, SHOULD, by all measure, equal rich expansion of opportunities for behavioral targeting of in-stream video. In reality, that’s not really been the case, at least not yet. Turning the video usage boom into a scalable targeting opportunity means the industry must seriously address one big elephant in the room, the lack of third-party ad serving for in-stream ads, Tod Sacerdoti, CEO of BrightRoll, explains below.

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The Four Immutable Principles Of Search

by Kaila Colbin , Tuesday, May 26, 2009
“It is a slightly arresting notion that if you were to pick yourself apart with tweezers, one atom at a time, you would produce a mound of fine atomic dust, none of which had ever been alive but all of which had once been you.” — Bill Bryson
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Good Read: Drake Morton

The Real Big Shift in TV and Online Video

by Simon McGrath, May 19, 2009

The debate continues on Video Insider and throughout the industry: When will there be a significant shift of ad dollars from television to online video?  Most recently, Eric Franchi’s “big shift” articles captured the attention of many readers and sparked a number of responses.  That’s a sure sign of a good article and a hot topic. But as some of you expressed in your comments, I think questions about if, when and how “the big shift” will occur lead us into the wrong debate.  Granted, the Internet has emerged as a major disruptive force for the advertising and publishing industries.  If you’re a masochist and follow “The Media is Dying” on Twitter you can get minute-by-minute updates on the latest publishing death spiral, mainly with print media outlets.

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Big News: Drake Morton

Google Lifts Ban on Trademark

Terms for Search Ads

Move Could Increase Keyword Costs for Blue-Chip Brands

by Michael Learmonth
Published: May 14, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Get ready for an influx of brand names in Google keyword ads. The search giant, which until now has prohibited the use of trademarked brand terms in ad text on its search-results page, except when permitted by the brand itself, is now allowing the use of trademarked terms in AdWords copy — under some circumstances, that is. (more…)