Archive for June, 2008

Article By: Dan Goldsmith (Dan@aclion.com)

As has been well documented this past year one of the more prolific beneficiaries of the Facebook phenomenon has been the world of non-profit fund raising and mission awareness. I can join a group in support of the cause of my choice and even solicit my friends to donate to such a cause. Many of us took advantage of our own little personal reach by posting supportive “buttons” for our recent favorite Presidential Candidates as well as Comic PM Political Commentators Steward and Colbert.
However I was struck by a recent awareness campaign’s viral dynamic and its personal impact. Last week I noticed a few of my friends had changed their profile pictures – no big deal. However what was odd was that more and more of my friends had been changing their photos to the SAME image. The picture a facial close up of a young male supported by a statement “I am waiting for Gilad”. It was an amature image – almost as simple a pic as you or I could take of our buddy or our brother. Just a simple pic – no airbrush – no carved muscular body – no facial expression suggesting we do something or buy something. I was a bit fuzzy, over exposed and not particularly attractive. I asked a few friends asking what the deal was with all of them changing to to the same profile pic. I was told the the simple face was that of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, one of the eight kidnapped Israeli soldiers who are still missing.
The group has attracted close to 47,000 members, who agreed to switch their status on Facebook from broadcasting their current mood or the details of their latest meal to a more passionate tone of how they felt about Shalit’s continued abduction.
I too joined and posted and within hours was getting inquiries about the pic and so too did the virality go. More and more the world of new media tries to define the right look and the right distribution strategy and metrics etc etc etc. For all I know this was a targeted campaign run by a tidy and aggressive interactive strategy shop who has just notched up another “win”. My guess is that this is not a formed strategy but a simple plea supported by a simple photo.
The only word that comes to me right now is “pure” – the face is pure as is the statement “waiting” for him is a silent but very powerful one. We are waiting for his return as we EXPECT it should happen. This simplicity of this campaign supported by a simple image moved me as well as did it display great velocity.
So I guess simple User Generated Content has significant power at times, no?

E-Mail By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Check out our 1st Newsletter for Summer 2008. Simple, fun and room to constantly add and improve….check it out:

Article By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)
Yes, the story is over 2 days old…and for those of you who don’t know, read the original coverage and come back to us: Ad Agency To Internet: Take Down That Teen Sex J.C. Penney Ad!Saatchi & Saatchi, J.C. Penney’s ad agency, made their apologies and placed the blame on a 3rd party. 2 days ago, they took the initiative to take it down…

…OR SO WE THOUGHT! I imagine all you simpletons ran searches on Google, YouTube and other sites…and couldn’t find it! BUT IF YOU READ THE ALLEY INSIDER ARTICLE ABOVE you would have noticed it said:

“The bigger issue: As Saatchi & Saatchi knows full well, you can’t take something off the Internet once it’s up there — if they don’t believe us, check out Wikipedia! Nick Denton’s Gawker has already served notice that it intends to host the video if YouTube pulls it — and it will have a good argument that its news value will trump anyones copyright claim at that point.”

…and they kept their end of the deal: CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE
I would have copied the source code to host it here, but they’ve decided to imbed it in there site leaving us “newVideoPlayer(“/jcpenney_teensex_gawker.flv”, 506, 423,”");” with no way of tracing it!
Hats off to Gawker for having the “muchachas” to host the video, and the “selfish attitude” for keeping it to themselves!

Article By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

HANDS DOWN – This has been a great week for events! In the past 3 days, we have made a great use of our time on and off hours here at AC Lion. In particular, I am excited to say we have accomplished a few of our goals (recruiting, marketing, BizDev) by attending these events.
The three were:
1- Omma Social
2- 212: Meet the Retail Marketers
3- Jeff Pulver Breakfast
Overall, the types of people who showed up remained consistent, with an overload of “New” Social Media Marketing (ambiguous title?)! It was a great escape from surfing LinkedIn and Webinars and yet just as effective. Take my word when I say “GO TO THESE EVENTS”. For more listings of events, feel free to e-mail me and I’ll gladly keep you up to date on upcoming events in our space. E-Mail Me: Red@aclion.com
Here are some pictures from the events:
(Left: Joshua Russak & Jeff Pulver, Breakfast w/ Jeff Pulver; Right: Dan Goldsmith & Joe Marchese, SocialVibe Pres.)

Article By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

I took it upon myself to get out “there” and meet influential online marketers within the online interactive space. The perfect venue presented itself: 212, New York’s Interactive Advertising Club, ran an event hosted by Undertone Networks – “Meet the Retail Marketer’s”. It took place at the Midtown Loft, and I’d say 200+ made the event.
They discussed the unique demands of retail marketing on the web for brick and mortar, brick and click and pure play initiatives.
• The Panel (left to right)

o Patti Freeman Evans, Research Director, Senior Analyst, Retail | JupiterResearch
o Jim O’Brien, Director, Customer Marketing, Barnes & Noble
o Eric Nadler, Danskin.com, VP Sales Operations/E-Commerce, Triumph Apparel Corp.
o Matt Bailey, Search Marketing Manager, Hanover Direct
o Anna Maria Virzi, Executive Editor, ClickZ Network

It was a great event, but at this point, you’re asking: “What made it so great?” and “What’s with the headline ‘Long Road To Hoe’?”
In response to Anna Virzi’s questions, “How would you approach cross-channel mixing of metrics and behavior?” (I think she was implying wrapping together both online metrics and in-store retail behavior along with other modes of advertising)….Patti Evans simply responds “It’s a Long Road To Hoe…” and continued on to explain that companies are attempting to analyze metrics in new ways.
Someone brought up the issue of in-store behavior to break out your PDA and see if the item is cheaper on the internet. In response to that, Patti explained how shipping costs, time and complexity may be a reason why people will choose the in-store option…in which Jim O’Brien quickly pointed out, “We (Barnes & Nobles) have an option to ship to store and to your home in the same day”.
Patti explained that it was necessary to “Figure out what the customer is looking to accomplish in that channel (ie: in store) and seeing if they can serve that need in another channel (ie: online)”.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS:
- 3 of the 4 panelists were experimenting with Mobile (text based) Advertising
- 2 were interested in “Social Media” Marketing
- 1 panelist was experimenting with Video/Viral Advertising
Overall, it was informative, entertaining and worth the networking. So, in closing, what did I learn today? 2 things: Online Retail Marketers place a lot of emphasis on consumer behavior, yet most of their budgets are in Keyword Search.
So there ya go…next time, I suggest you head on over. For more information on upcoming events, check out 212 Here.

Article By: Joshua Russak (red@aclion.com)
For those of you who didn’t have a chance to review Online Ad Revenue for Q1 ’08:

This data research was conducted by the New Media Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) revenue report was launched in 1996 by the IAB.
What I found to be entertaining was to see how the IAB Reports this news versus other publishers/blogs:
IAB Says – Internet Advertising Revenues Up 18.2% YOY, $5.8 Billion for Q1 ’08, Second Highest Quarter Ever
Reuters Says – Online ad sales dip for first time in 3 years
AlleyInsider Says – Online Slowdown: It’s Here
…How do you see it? What do you think will happen with Q2?

Article By: Sabrina Tabarovsky (Sabrina@aclion.com)
Source:Article from the NYTimes.com. Read more here: Charging by the Byte to Curb Internet Traffic Brian Stelter
Time Warner is starting a new trial of “Internet metering” that would allow customers to select a monthly plan that imposes bandwidth limits and as expected charges you overage fees for exceeding your limit. Time Warner suggests this is fair for all users as some users known as “bandwidth hogs” can negatively affect the Internet experience for the average consumer. Yet, the internet is constantly growing and has become the place for all your entertainment needs. The technology company Cisco drives this point home by stating, “today’s ‘bandwidth hog’ is tomorrow’s average user.”
So why are media companies spooked? Even if the average user uses well below the limit the monthly cap causes users to worry about how much time they are spending online. This will lead some users to reduce their time online and this is accompanied by a reduction in trying new sites and applications. Video is the biggest hog of gigabytes and bandwidth caps will hurt online video advertising.
Mr. Leddy of Time Warner states, “media companies’ fears were overblown.” He states that Time Warner could not stop web video and that they are aware of having to increase capacity to accommodate video. Mr Leddy’s words do not reassure me and media companies should be shivering in their boots. As a dedicated Netflix user and a fan of the Office I am not too excited about this trial either. If metering is the way of the future I will feel conflicted and torn as the media companies keep pushing me to stay online as the number of television shows and games keep increasing and the internet provider is trying to hit me with overage charges for doing what I have been attracted to do. Video and video ads will probably be the most hurt by the caps, but I believe the results will be more catastrophic as this metering has the potential to reduce Internet growth.

Article By: Sean Weinberg (Sean@aclion.com)
Take a look at the ClickZ Article: Five Ways to Avoid Misinterpreting Consumer Behavior
Here’s the skinny. Behavioral Targeting is great, real great; if companies think instead of react.
It’s a theme I’ve been hearing more and more lately – everybody is into behavioral targeting, and it’s not that hard to track consumer behavior, so why are some shops so much more successful than others?
The answer is simple: A one off ain’t enough.
In today’s consumer market (especially within an interactive context) consumers simply aren’t putting that much thought into what they do on the web. I read an article on a Britney Impersonator (the catch is the Britney impersonator is a Brit-He) about 5 minutes ago, it’s outside of my typical browsing experience but I know I’m going to start seeing a different kind of ad from that one click through. Marketers need to think hard about the relevancy of data sets before banking on them. The shops that are succeeding are the ones that took a fuller look at consumer behavior.
Anna Papadopoulos, interactive media director for Euro RSCG 4D, offered 5 suggestions on how to interpret consumer behavior.

• The behavior pattern is essential. In and of itself, a single behavior is meaningless. For example, just because someone visits an automotive site doesn’t mean she’s in market to buy a car. However, if this person (cookie) visits an automotive site regularly or several automotive sites in a short time and clicks to various similar sections, then a pattern of behavior emerges that can be targeted effectively.
• Get off their backs. Once a behavioral pattern has been established and acted on, advertisers need to either maintain the communication or get off consumers’ backs. This is also done by observing behavior. Are they clicking on ads? Are they still researching the same product? How long are consumers typically in market for this product? Think about it in personal terms: you wouldn’t keep calling a prospective date if he or she never returned your calls (unless you want a restraining order placed against you).
• Consumers are paranoid. Consumers want great deals, but most of the behavioral targeted ads available are generic, offering little more than tipping off consumers that they are being targeted (which makes them paranoid and wondering where they were caught). Bottom line: provide value and be transparent.
• Know your product and audience. If the average purchase cycle for your product is three weeks or if it’s seasonal, targeting consumers out of this time frame (without any acknowledgment back) not only is a waste of money but will also deter future prospects when they are back in the market.
• Be flexible. Like my twins, no two consumers are the same. Therefore, be willing to offer unique offers and messaging to various consumer groups. For example, if you target sedan buyers on a predominantly woman-oriented site, provide messaging that would speak to this segment and not the same recycled creative running across the rest of the campaign. What’s important to women? Are they moms? How will they be using this product?

I’ll keep you posted next week on what kinds of ads I’ve been seeing lately and how they are related to my online behavior. Shoot me a line if you have any good ‘bad targeting’ stories to share – I’ll post those up too.

Article By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Everywhere I look, everyone is saying the same thing: LinkedIn raises $53 million in VC funding…and that’s great to know. This is their 4th round of VC Funding and THEIR LARGEST! According to the reliable blog-source “Alley Insider”, in the article LinkedIn CEO: Yep, We Want To Go Public they are considering going public in the near future! This is all great news for LinkedIn. …But what about the fact it was down this morning? Maybe it was our computers, but for a company valued at about $1Billion, there’s no excuses.
Anyways, the point here is, if this company goes public, I’m curious to see who’s willing to invest. This is a company to keep your eye on in the coming months. “While its traffic is far below the two social-networking leaders, LinkedIn is seeing strong growth. April traffic was up more than 360% from the same period last year, compared with a 56% gain at Facebook and only 3% in gains at MySpace, according to Nielsen data.” (source)
The company’s revenue model depends on advertising, subscriptions, job listings and providing recruitment services (though, in all fairness, I do not recommend them for the smaller recruitment agencies). The company said it is in the process of launching “several new lines of business”, and though I’m not sure that is, I can bet my money that widgets and mobile will play a key factor there.
…oh, and I’m proud to say I’ve successfully signed on to LinkedIn at this point! Check out my profile here. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to accept some more “business contacts”.

Article By: Joshua Russak (Red@aclion.com)

As an avid…no wait…as a MAJOR SUPPORTER of Firefox and everything they stand for, I was one of the first to (attempt a) download the software…only to realize I was up against millions of other server crashing competitors to be the “first”! But after over 2 years of waiting, there was no way I’d just give-up. On my 2nd try, SUCCESS! For those of you who didn’t know (shame-on-you…), Mozilla is hoping to set a Guinness World Record for the most number of downloads of an application in a day, on the release of its Firefox 3 web browser.
Either way, I was patient and got my hands on the fresh new version. You can read more about that here in an article I read on ZDNet.There is currently no official Guinness World Record for the total number of downloads of an application in a day. They have 24 hours and 175 million users to attract….They used SpreadFirefox.com as a marketing site…go-BIG or go-HOME! Firefox 3 did a great job, attracting attention all over the internet including over 7,100 diggs on Digg.com. Check it out here!
So, they may have set a world record, but what about the software? My First take: Faster, Smoother, I’m loving the new approach to asking if I want my password saved. I’m wowed by the “awesome bar” feature, and apparently I’m now “more protected” against, well, the internet of course. But, I’m not sure I feel the full effects yet. For now, I’m just glad whoever is reading this now knows what is going on outside of their 4 walls/cubicle.
…Good luck Firefox! Fight the good Fight!