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The Year of the Dashboard: Analytic Stats and CMO SurveyTracking, dash boarding and analytics are not just for online marketers anymore and from what I hear 08 will be the year of the “Dashboard.” We here at Overdrive are all about Dashboards and they are central to everything we do! Below are some facts I just sent to our client Jim Stern who puts on the eMetrics Summit. (The premier tracking and analytic event!) http://emetrics.org/ Here are some stats and facts I read regarding the propagation of tracking, reporting and analytics propagating through organizations: DM News 1/7/2008, Page 8 in the Data Bank: Adoption of technology in teleservices - 15% of organizations currently use dashboard-type analytics software - 64% of organizations plan to use dashboard-type analytics software Source: Aberdeen Group Excerpts from AdWeek CMO Survey: -Vowing to plow more into e-mail programs, CRM, marketing-performance measurement "dashboards" and search-engine marketing, half of the respondents plan to increase their overall spending, while 37 percent of marketers expect spending to remain even, and 13 percent expect a decrease. -"On the one hand, the CMO focus on accountability and measurability and fact-based decision making is improving their position in the executive suite," Murray said. "On the other hand, it is too early to say that we've seen a turnaround in CMO vulnerability or status or longevity." - On CMOs' wish lists for 2008? More than half (53 percent) want better quantification and measurement of their programs, followed by a desire for better customer insight and more efficient and effective marketing." - Quantification is still the No. 1 goal," said Murray. "But overall there is greater focus on getting close to the customer. - It's not that it wasn't on the radar screen a year ago, but now CMOs are making marketing decisions based on customer insight with marketing analytics." The CMO Council study was co-sponsored by Deloitte, Marketo and TechTarget. Seminar: Search Engine, Blog and Social Media MarketingExciting news! I am giving a Search, Blog and Social Media seminar at the NEDMA (New England Direct Marketing Association) Conference on April 30, 2008. You can see my seminar description below. It's not on their site yet but click on the link below to see the preliminary info and sign-up for their newsletter via the "subscribe" box at the bottom of their page to get updates. http://www.nedma.com/annual-conference Search Engine, Blog and Social Media Marketing: Accessing the Critical Moment and Joining the Customer Conversation Search engines have become the number-one resource that consumers as well as business and technology decision-makers use to find and research products and solutions. No other point of consumer or prospect contact has the ability to access the "critical moment" when your target audience is seeking exactly what you are selling. On top of that blogs and social media have become a trusted source of opinion and reviews for consumers, technology professionals and business people researching purchase decisions. They also offer an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to join the marketing conversation between consumers and weave their messages into user generated content and the market place instead of simply broadcasting to it. The main question that every marketer must ask is: "Do I have a strong presence on the search engines, blogs and social media sites?" If not, then the obvious next question must be: "How do I build one in a cost effective and politically correct way?" The answer is search engine, blog and social media marketing. This seminar will focus on the statistics, strategies, tactics, and benefits of search engine, blog and social media marketing. It will also detail the linkages between search engine optimization and a strong presence in blogs and social media sites. Any marketer (both client and agency side) who wish to access prospects when they are researching or discussing their products and services should attend. -Topics covered will include: -Current and predicted trends in search, blog and social media behavior and technology -Assessing your company's search engine presence -A detailed overview of paid search listing and advertising opportunities -A detailed overview of organic search engine optimization -Some tactics regarding universal and image search -Converting search engine traffic into customers and leads -A breakdown of the major search properties, the blog landscape and social media sites -The anatomy of a blog and social media site profiles and channels -Some basic blog and social media outreach and politically correct saturation tactics -Case studies -More... Please come prepared to have a good time and ask lots of questions specific to your organization's products and marketing goals. About the instructor: Harry Gold Founder and CEO Overdrive Interactive Harry started his online career in 1995 when he founded Interactive Promotions. Since then he has been at the forefront in developing successful online programs for various agencies and Fortune 500 companies. His client experience includes search and online media management for top companies that include General Motors, Harley-Davidson, John Hancock, Dow Jones, EMC, Progress, LoJack, Cognos, Mosnter.com as well as many other companies who now enjoy a strong Internet presence. Harry brings to Overdrive a highly distinguished background in online development, search engine marketing, and online media that goes back over 12 years. As the architect and conductor behind Overdrive's programs, Harry's primary mission is to create innovative marketing programs based on real-world success and to make sure that the best marketing and technology practices that drive those successes are continually institutionalized into the culture and methods of the agency. What excites Harry is the knowledge that Overdrive's collaborative environment has created a company of online experts, all of whom drive success for the clients and companies they serve. Harry is a frequent lecturer on search engine marketing and online media for The New England Direct Marketing Association, The In-House Agency Forum, The Ad Club, and Boston University. He is also a recognized subject matter expert and columnist for ClickZ. Labels: Events, Overdrive News Google Testing Demographic BiddingSo I got an interesting email from Google. They have now added demographic targeting and are inviting people to try it out. Google describes it like this: Demographic bidding is a way to help your ads reach audiences of a certain age or gender. If you want your ads to be seen by women aged 18-24, or people over 55, demographic bidding can help. Some publishers on the Google content network know certain individual details about their users Social networking sites, for instance, often ask users to identify themselves by age and gender. On sites that provide this type of information about their users, Google can display your AdWords ads to the groups that you prefer, or prevent your ads from displaying to groups you don't want to reach. See more at: https://services.google.com/demographicbidding/ Labels: Google, Paid Search Complimentary Webinar - Latest Trend in Social Media: How to Listen Effectively and Engage in the ConversationOur Client Dow Jones is having a free webinar that looks pretty interesting - definitely seems worth checking out. We all know how important social media is to Search Engine Optmization.
Labels: Events, Podcasts, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, Strategy Benefit Driven Ad Copy and Landing Pages are Truly Silver Bullets When Used for PPCSometimes I like to post emails I send to clients explain certain best practices so here is one: Hello XXXX (of course I cannot divulge who they are), I know that this info has been presented to you guys in one form or another at different times but I thought I would package it up for you in this email just to make sure we are constantly evolving in the right direction. Below is a link to a PDF I think you all will find very interesting. http://www.ovrdrv.com/presentations/demystifying_search.pdf It is a study done by Google that talks about how strong benefit and offer statements in the ads coupled with strong conversion oriented landing pages is what drives the best results. Also below you will see an email from an actual client at XXXXXX (sorry I cannot reveal that either but of you get in touch with me I will show you the case study) who after 18 months of internal struggles with compliance and product managers finally got a few of our landing pages launched. At its worst, lead flow doubled and at its best, it increased 10 fold! I am sending this because I think we still have a ways to go in terms of creating and applying compelling offers against your different products and services that really resonate with your target audience. I know that the arsenal of offers we have now are what we are using in the current “battlefield.” But again I want to make sure we are setting the bar in the right place. Things like creating offer and benefit driven ad copy and landing pages are truly silver bullets when it comes to paid search and online marketing in general. The results you see from those efforts, as complicated from a content creation and messaging standpoint as they might be, are exponentially greater and faster then what you will get from optimizing on a keywords, clicks and bids. (Not to undervalue the surgical management of those items.) In addition, great offers and landing pages will greatly increase your stable of performing terms because you get higher click rates on your ads and conversion rates on your landing pages. I think once we have the keyword and ad copy situation stabilized (which should essentially be now) I would like us to have a breakout call that focuses in on what we are doing regarding this subject and what can be done to revisit the benefit and offer matrix we did when we started. Then we want to explore what can be done to carry those essentially elements more into our ad copy and landing pages. This is where you guys are going to see the most bang for you buck. Of course we are making recommendations against the pages you have now. However, in the long term I think we need to apply more energy against the content of the offers in addition to the topical and structural element page recommendations we are making now. Looking forward to these talks, Harry- Labels: Landing Pages, Paid Search, Strategy Remote Control to Mouse: TV and Web IntegrationFor years, we've been hearing about how one day television and the Internet will come together and your set-top box will act as a gateway to Web-based content and services in addition to your favorite shows. That day is much closer than you think, and for many people, including myself, it's already here and has been for quite a while. If it's not happening for you yet, it will. You're most likely already being trained to use your remote control as a mouse. Do you have cable? Just look at the remote. A typical remote these days has buttons that include "up," "down," "left," "right," and "OK" (great for navigating a menu screen), as well as selections that include "menu," "guide," and more. Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628155 Labels: ClickZ, Integration, Online Media Search View Emulator - Lynx ViewerHey everyone, have a nifty little tool that lets you look at a page on your site and see it as the search engine see it. It's called a Lynx Viewer or Search View Emulator. http://www.ovrdrv.com/search_view/index.asp I recently sent someone an email on how to use it to illustrate a point of how negative flash was from an SEO standpoint. Have a look at what I wrote to them: *********************** Take a look at this application. The link below shows what the search engines see when the crawl your site. (Since your site is all in flash they cannot see anything.) 1) Click on this link to see our Search View Emulator: http://www.ovrdrv.com/search_view/index.asp 2) Enter your full domain name: http://www.managemydollars.com/ 3) Then enter mine: http://www.ovrdrv.com/ Notice all the content you can see on mine and with yours the engines see nothing. The search engines have no way to know what you are about. Labels: Overdrive News, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Strategy Overdrive Supports Local BusinessesThe Overdrive girls bonding over burgers  Meryl and Ra giving us their 100-watt smiles  Megan & Melanie having a ball  A group shot at Hogans Harry and Drew sporting the Overdrive gear! Laura, Ra and Meryl playing the JukeBox - I think the locals were sick of us playing Madonna!  Labels: Campus Life Playing the Game, Part 2A year ago, Cory Van Arsdale was named CEO of Massive, an in-game advertising network with more than 40 publisher partners. Its network includes Xbox and PC video game titles such as Electronic Art's "Madden NFL 08," Funcom's Anarchy Online, and Activision's "Guitar Hero III." In part one, Van Arsdale discussed online gaming's potential, Massive network's audience, and the different types of game advertising. Here, he describes marketers doing a good job advertising in online games and outlines some best practices. Read more at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627839 Labels: ClickZ, In-Game Advertising, Online Media M&A: Web and Internet Companies Acquired in 2007Ok, here is a nifty little list showing some of 2007's acquisitions and their price tags. Clearly there were people making some pretty serious money out there this year! Web/Internet Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost Afterbuy.com > eBay > Not Disclosed BarelyPolitical.com > NextNewNetworks > Not Disclosed Billmonk > Obopay > Not Disclosed Blogniscient > TopTenSources > Not Disclosed Business.com > R.H. Donnelley > $345 Million BuzzTracker > Yahoo > $2-$5 Million Cricinfo > ESPN > Not Disclosed Cuts > RiffTrax > Not Disclosed dpreview.com > Amazon > Not Disclosed Feed Crier > IMified > Not Disclosed Feedburner > Google > $100 Million Fireant > Odeo > $400,000 Flektor > Fox Interactive > $20 Million FotoLog > Hi-Media > $90 Million Gravatar > Automattic > Not disclosed Grub > Wikia > Not Disclosed Hitwise > Experian > $240 Million HowStuffWorks > Discovery > $250 Million Ingenio > AT&T > Not Disclosed Insider Pages > CitySearch/IAC > $13 Million InviteShare > TechCrunch > Not Disclosed JobLoft.com > onTargetjobs > Not Disclosed Jumpcut > Yahoo > Not Disclosed Logoworks > HP > Not Disclosed Max Preps > CBS > $43 Million Mediabistro > Jupiter Media > $23 Million MedStory > Microsoft > Not Disclosed metaStories > Brightcove > Not disclosed MeziMedia > ValueClick > $352 Million Movielink > Blockbuster > $50 Million Mozy > EMC > $76 Million Odeo > SonicMountain > Not Disclosed Optimost > Interwoven > $52 Million Panoramio > Google > Not Disclosed Parakey > Facebook > Not Disclosed PhotoBucket > Fox Interactive > $250 Million PRWeb > Vocus > $28 Million RedSwoosh > Akamai > $15 Million Sidestep > Kayak > $200 Million SmartShopper > Zango > $9 Million Strategic Data Corp > Fox Interactive > Not Disclosed StubHub > eBay > $310 Million StumbleUpon > eBay > $45 Million Tabblo > HP > Not Disclosed Tonic Systems > Google > Not Disclosed Treehugger > Discovery > $10 Million Trendalyzer > Google > Not Disclosed UGo > Hearst > $100 Million Virtual Ubiquity > Adobe > Not Disclosed Wallstrip > CBS > $5 Million Webdialogs > IBM > $161 Million WebEx > Cisco > $3.2 Billion WhereOnEarth > Yahoo > Not Disclosed Yedda > AOL > Not Disclosed Social Networking Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost AdultFriendFinder > Penthouse Media Group > $500M BOOMj.com > Time Lending California > Not Disclosed BuddyTV > Comcast > Not disclosed Clipmarks > Forbes Media > $30 Million Club Penguin > Disney > $700 Million Fandango > Comcast > $200 Million Five Across Inc. > Cisco > Not disclosed Glimpse > TheFind.com > Not Disclosed Jaiku > Google > Not Disclosed Jellyfish > Microsoft > $50 Million Kaboodle > Hearst > $30 Million Last.fm > CBS > $280 Million mbuzzy.com > SendMe Mobile > Not Disclosed MyBlogLog > Yahoo > $10 Million Newsvine > MSNBC > Not Disclosed Pickle.com > Scripps Networks > $4.1 Million Rivals.com > Yahoo > $100 Million SingShot > EA > Not Disclosed Tribe > Cisco > Not disclosed TripUp > SideStep > Not Disclosed Twango > Nokia > $96.8 Million WebFives > Microsoft > Not Disclosed WebShots > American Greetings > $45 Million Zingfu.com > Profile Builder > Not Disclosed Internet Advertising Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost 24/7 Real Media > WPP > $649 Million AdTech > AOL > Not Disclosed aQuantive > Microsoft > $6 Billion BlueLithium > Yahoo > $300 Million Doubleclick > Google > $3.1 Billion Enpocket > Nokia > Not Disclosed Quigo > AOL > $340 Million RightMedia > Yahoo > $680 Million ScreenTonic > Microsoft > Not Disclosed Tacoda > AOL > $275 Million Software Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost Cognos > IBM > $4.9 Billion devBiz > Microsoft > Not Disclosed EqualLogic > Dell > $1.4 Billion Global Care > Microsoft > Not Disclosed GreenBorder > Google > Not Disclosed Koral > SalesForce.com > Not Disclosed Latigent > Cisco > Not disclosed Opsware > HP > $1.6 Billion PeakStream > Google > Not Disclosed Postini > Google > $625 Million TellMe Networks > Microsoft > $800 Million Zimbra > Yahoo > $350M Voice Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost GrandCentral > Google > $45 Million VoiceStar > Marchex > $28 Million Hardware Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost Avaya > Silver Lake & TPG > $8.2 Billion 3Com > Bain Capital Partners > $2.2B Gaming Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost Gaming Everywhere > Ujogo > Not Disclosed Adscape > Google > $23 Million Havok > Intel > $110 Million Mapping/Geo Companies Acquired in 2007 > > Acquired > Acquirer > Acquisition cost ImageAmerica > Google > Not Disclosed Keyhole > Google > Not Disclosed NavTeq > Nokia > $8.1 Billion Vexcel > Microsoft > Not Disclosed Labels: Industry Overdrive promotes NASCAR action and the Neon Garage at LVMSAs part of our online PR program for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Sprint Cup Weekend, Overdrive posted their video spot to YouTube and dropped a release on PR Web that got picked up by the LA Times! See the YouTube video below as well as the press release from PR Web. If you want to see the full PR Web release complete with embedded video images and links, click on the URL beneath the press release below. To Catch all the NASCAR Action, the Neon Garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the Hottest Spot in the Sport NASCAR action is coming soon to one of the most exciting venues in racing -- The Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The recently constructed Neon Garage provides fans an unforgettable NASCAR experience and unprecedented views of this year's UAW-Dodge 400 Sprint Cup event and Sam's Town 300 Nationwide Series race. NASCAR action is coming soon to one of the most exciting venues in racing -- The Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The recently constructed Neon Garage provides fans an unforgettable NASCAR experience and unprecedented views of this year's UAW-Dodge 400 Sprint Cup event and Sam's Town 300 Nationwide Series race, to be held from February 29 to March 2, 2008. Fans with Neon Garage access will feel the roar of the engines as they watch their favorite NASCAR stars from a variety of unique vantage points. While the racers are the stars of the show, there is much more to do and see in the Neon Garage. Fans with Neon Garage credentials will receive unprecedented access to the race teams and drivers, unique concession areas, live entertainment, and a bird's-eye view of the Winner's Circle. After the checkered flag is waved, the winning driver pulls through a gauntlet of race fans and emerges into a stadium-like setting to share his victory with the race team and thousands of fans in the Neon Garage. ### Full press release available at http://www.prweb.com/releases/LasVegas-Motor-Speedway/Neon-Garage/prweb601142.htm. Labels: Overdrive News, web 2.0 Zipcar Hires OverdriveBig news at Overdrive! Zipcar, who recently acquired car-sharing competitor Flexcar to maintain its position as the world's largest car-sharing company, has named Overdrive as its search engine marketing agency. We are thrilled to be able to help them in this endeavor. Zipcars live in thirteen major metros across North America and the UK, in addition to nearly 100 colleges. You can find Zipcars in Boston, Chicago, London, New York, Portland, DC and more. And Zipcars aren't your dad's old sedans; members get to choose from a variety of makes and models from MINIs to hybrids, Volvos to pickup trucks. In some markets, members can even drive the luxury BMW 5 series! Zipcar is not just a great business idea; it is a company with the potential to revolutionize urban transportation. Zipcar is changing the way that city dwellers view their city, as well as the way we get around. Check out their site for more information on how Zipcar is making a positive impact: http://www.zipcar.com/carsharing-greenbenefits/ To learn more, or even become a member, check out their site: http://www.zipcar.com/ We are proud to have Zipcar as a client. As a matter of fact, we've had "Zipsters" around the office, singing its praises, for a while now. It seems just about everyone has a reason they love Zipcar. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne4ZtfptuI0&feature=related Labels: Overdrive News |
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