Rocky Fu’s Blog

News

• Dell has selected WPP Group to co-create a stand-alone agency [PRWeek]
  Dell to form agency with WPP to handle all marketing; will invest $4.5 billion over three years
• Compete Inc released Behavior Match™ [Compete via BizReport]
  The platform uses behavioral targeting to determine which websites are the best bet for marketers based on the audience viewing specific sites. Reports are available throughout the life of the campaign so that marketers can make spot changes as new information is gained.
• Advertising on PDF Document [Adobe]
• Coke’s Efforts In Online Virtual World [Read/WriteWeb]

Research

• Consumers respond to direct mail online [Vertis Communications]
  Twenty-one percent of total adults in 2007 have responded to direct mail advertising in the past month by visiting a sender’s Web site, up from 14 percent in 2003. Additionally, findings revealed older men’s responsiveness to direct mail advertising through the Internet has grown the most, with 28 percent of men ages 55-64 indicating this behavior, up from 10 percent in 2003, and 15 percent of men 65 and older exhibiting the same pattern, up from 5 percent in 2003.
• Shoppers Like Recommendations From Online Retailers [Choice Stream]
  “The results of the 2007 survey clearly show how important it is for online retailers to help consumers with product discovery. Personalized recommendations are table stakes in today’s competitive ecommerce environment. But retailers that provide customers with poor quality recommendations are putting their brand and revenue at risk,” said Toffer Winslow, EVP of Sales and Marketing at ChoiceStream. “Online shoppers increasingly expect help with making selections, and retailers that provide high quality guidance are rewarded with higher consumer spending and more frequent visits.”
• Marketing to a B2B Technical Buyer [Enquiro]
• 2008 B2B Marketing Forecast: Rise in Budgets, Online Spending [MarketingCharts]
  Most B2B marketers (some 60%) plan to increase their 2008 marketing budgets - but fully 79% plan to increase their online marketing budgets, according to BtoB magazine’s “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans” study, scheduled for release Monday.

Search Engine Marketing

• Google has launched a free tool called Template Center via My Client Center
  It allows MCC account managers to create templates for pre-defined AdWords campaigns and share them with their directly linked AdWords accounts.
• Google introduced AdWords Local PlusBox
  The Local PlusBox is a feature that displays more geographical information for a local business ad that appears in the top position above Google search results. When users see the Local PlusBox and click on it, the ad expands to include a map, address, driving instructions, and phone number, in addition to the location name that appears beneath the last line of ad.
• Microsoft launched adExcellence Accreditation Program [via adcenter blog]
• Optimizing your keywords for the content network [Inside AdWords]
  Create a manageable, targeted keyword list; use tightly themed ad groups; use duplicate keywords for appropriate ad groups; use ad group level URLs instead of keyword level URLs; measure content performance at the ad group level; build a comprehensive negative keyword list.
• SES Chicago 2007 Wrap Up & Pubcon 2007 Round-Up [Online Marketing Blog]
  also here at Search Engine Roundtable
• Paid v. Organic Search Tool Launches [Hitwise]
• Video: Matt Cutts Discusses the Importance of alt Tags
  

Social Media / Viral Marketing / Word of Mouth

• YouTube launched Video Holiday Cards [via Mashable]
  YouTube has just added an interesting feature: Holiday Video Cards. Typically when you see greeting card options online, it’s an animation you can choose from, or a really cute picture of a puppy wearing a Santa hat. For certain occasions, we’ve even seen JibJab, among others, offer funny clips you can send out to friends. At first glance of YouTube’s holiday video cards’ page, you’d think the same was true for the popular video-sharing network. But in fact, you can send any video as a holiday greeting.
• 125 Social Bookmarking Sites : Importance of User Generated Tags, Votes and Links [search engine journal]

Display Advertising

• Types, Sizes, Rates & Metrics [MarketingSherpa]
• Copywriting, Design Tips & Ad Networks + How to Counter ‘Banner Blindness’ [MarketingSherpa]

Marketing

• Art of War [MIT]

Related Posts:

• How to Advertise with Google’s AdWords
• Weekly Online Marketing Resources Nov-12-07
• Most Trusted Marketing Methods
• Can Marketers Totally Ignore Direct Mail Campaigns?
• Internet Retailer 2007 Study