Good Read: Drake Morton

The ‘Cadillac’ of Online Video Advertising

by Alex Rowland , Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Most online video advertising today sucks. It essentially comes in two main flavors: annoying (pre-rolls) and distracting (auto-play banners and overlays). And if you look at where money is being spent in online video advertising today, it is weighted heavily toward the annoying end of the spectrum.

The good news is that brands are evolving their approach to online video and experimenting more aggressively with longer-form videos that can stand on their own. In response, a new standard is taking shape that prescribes best practices to both the creation and distribution of these videos. You could call this standard the “Cadillac” of online video advertising.

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Get it right: Drake Morton

It’s Holiday Season.

What If Your Emails Don’t Care?

by Mike May , Wednesday, November 18, 2009

If you thought inboxes were already cluttered, just wait until this year’s holiday season ramps up to full speed. Retail business are struggling to recover, while at the same time cutting ad and direct mail spending, and focusing more resources on ROI-heavy programs like email. It’s a perfect storm headed straight towards inboxes. (more…)

You need to understand the parameters of the playing field: Drake Morton

Most Popular eMail Clients 2009

 

You need to know: Drake Morton

New Chart: Email Spending Sped Up

As the Economy Slowed

SUMMARY: Email has not only been spared the ax that fell heavily on most marketing budget line items, it seems to have actually benefited from the down economy. This boon wasn’t skewed by a few email-reliant sectors, it occurred in every industry participating in our benchmark survey.

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Worth thinking about: Drake Morton

Your No. 1 Upgrade For 2010: Lifecycle Marketing

by Loren McDonald , Thursday, November 5, 2009
If you’re already thinking about how to take your email-marketing program to the next level in the coming year, you should start by switching out your batch-and-blast program for one that uses lifecycle marketing to send highly targeted and relevant messages.

Although it might be a challenge to persuade your upper management to invest time and money to upgrade your email program, this story of a company that boosted its conversion rate 40% using segmentation and targeted messaging might help loosen up the budget.

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 Good Read: Drake Morton

Is Email Strategic? Or Dead?

by Daniel Ambrose , Thursday, October 29, 2009

I first read of the death of email, by email.

I guess certain Wall Street Journal reporters will go far to get attention.  If journalism is supposed to be provocative, it worked.  The recent article ” Why Email No Longer Rules,” by Jessica E. Vascellaro,  made the case that communicating through social media like Facebook and Twitter is so much more “for the way we live”  — which just didn’t make sense, and drew many objections and comments.  The subsequent follow-up blather from Vascellaro didn’t add any clarity, including a “non-scientific poll.”
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Did you know? Drake Morton

Beyond The 30-Second Spot: Online Video Trends   

by Chris Lawing , Friday, August 21, 2009

Brand Videos

Marketing your company online isn’t what it used to be. Words alone are not enough.  A Diffusion Group study projects that by 2013, long-form video will represent almost 70% of online-video ad revenue, up from just over 40% today.  The great attraction to this form of video is not only can company sales and marketing teams leverage a company brand video, they can push it to customers on their Web site, blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts. Good storytelling, believability and creative visuals still make the foundation for a powerful brand video.

Whatever you call it - a brand video, company demo, video intro to your company - this online video represents what your company is positioning or selling in a dynamic way with motion and sound.  Apple showcases video right off its home page with its commercials and an iPhone demo. B&H in New York City has a SuperStore Experience video off its homepage, which showcases the store, products, and customer relations.

VerbalEyes

Video eMessaging

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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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We projected this would be the case: Drake Morton

When Juggernauts Collide:

Email Marketing Meets Video Marketing

“increase gifts by 23% over the previous year’s fall campaign”

by Tyler Willis , Tuesday, April 7, 2009

In the face of a tough economic climate, Stanford University’s Scott Jahnke started exploring ways to increase donations from alumni. Jahnke is the Director of Student and Young Alumni Development, putting him in charge of generating donations from Stanford’s recent graduates — one of the harder demographics to reach. (Full disclosure: Stanford has been a client of my company.)

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Leveraging Existing Customer Relationships
by Dave Hendricks , Monday, April 6, 2009

Successfully navigating your business through today’s tumultuous economic climate is a challenge at best. With consumers avoiding malls and brick and mortar stores in droves, there has never been a better time to engage your company’s email subscriber database in an effort to make up for lost sales. However, while this is a smart step for marketers to take, it must be done in an intelligent manner that recognizes each consumer as an individual with a unique response and demographic profile.

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