Recently in Internet Marketing for Green Products Category
The national newspaper plans to invest heavily in its Web presence.
"We're the first national paper to switch to a web first strategy," said John Yemma, editor of the newspaper, which is more than 100 years old and has won seven Pulitzer Prizes. "We need to make it first rather than secondary, so we can make it more of a go-to destination."
AdReady promises to ease the headaches and guesswork
and to lower the costs associated with buying display ads. A Ford
dealership in California can pick from a pool of templates and
customize an image of a revolving Ford car with the dealership logo and
contact information. Then, the dealer can buy ad space through AdReady
on major Web sites targeted to reach only Web surfers in California.
The AdReady system suggests tweaks, such as changing the ad background color, that have proven to draw more people to click on
ads.
Advertisers can spend as little as $20, and AdReady is paid a cut of the ad buy.
AdReady and other services also give advertisers the ability to tie ad spending to response results that show how many people viewed a specific ad and how many people clicked on it. The car dealer could then decide it wants to turn off the ads that received the fewest clicks and run more of the ads that were more effective.
By drawing in new ad buyers, the self-service options also aim to address one of the nagging problems with the display-ad market: cheap prices.
As a flood of new Web sites compete for consumers'
eyeballs, sites such as Facebook are having difficulty raising prices
for ads. The cost for reaching a thousand Web visitors can be as little
as a few cents on Facebook or MySpace.
Reaching the same number of viewers of a prime-time TV show can cost $30.
SOURCE: New York Times May, 2007
THE CASE STUDY: ...the ad was seen more than 250,000 times. Quickly, Bonobos sold out of Clarks, at $120 a pop. Total cost for the ads: about $63.
Facebook is only one of a rising number of self-service ad options. There are new entrants such as AdReady Inc., AdBrite Inc. and AdItAll LLC. MySpace, like Facebook, is offering do-it-yourself ads that marketers can tailor to individual interests on the social-networking site. (MySpace, like [The Wall Street Journal], is owned by News Corp.)
Time Warner Inc.'s AOL Internet unit and Google have new self-service ad options for the opposite side of the equation -- for Web publishers who want to attract advertising to their sites.
The rising number of self-service options underscores the expanding market for display ads, the graphic- and video-heavy ads in fixed spots on a Web page. The market for display ads reached $5 billion in 2007, according to market-research firm eMarketer Inc. That is far less than the estimated $8.6 billion in spending for text ads tied to online search. But in coming years, the mix is expected to tilt in favor of display ads, thanks to the rise of online video and the increasing push of brand marketers such as car companies into the display market.
But for the majority of mostly small- and medium-size businesses, it remains too difficult and expensive to buy display ads. To create an ad, businesses have to navigate the 15 standard sizes and half dozen standard formats and design something that will be eye-catching. They have to pick which Web sites or networks to buy ad space from, test multiple ads, track which ones draw the best consumer responses and adjust marketing campaigns accordingly. Doing this alone is daunting, and paying an ad agency to do it might cost thousands of dollars. Sites such as Yahoo Inc. often require advertisers to promise they will spend tens of thousands of dollars a month on advertising. SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
As a publisher of original content and aggregated news, I cringe at some of the prices being paid for search ads...there comes a point at which publishers can no longer afford to create quality content that is supported by bargain basement advertising. Hopefully, the ad networks will be cognizant of that fact and the plight of the traditional media who are now feeling the sting of cheaper online advertising will serve as a warning and guidepost for what can happen to online content development.
We don't have to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!
Transition is also being faced by print media, and maybe there are lessons we can learn from these highly public companies that are having to make significant changes in full light of their communities:
Print-Online Transition Is Possible
The New York Times
Among the big questions currently hovering over the media industry is can print media survive the transition to the Internet? The question has taken on new urgency, as the tanking economy places even more pressure on newspapers and magazines (whose customers and advertisers were already heading to the Internet in droves even before the recession).
The experience of International Data Group, a technology publisher, suggests that it can be done. The privately held company claims to have successfully migrated its publications to the Internet, where online ad revenue now surpasses that of print. However, the transition was not seamless: It took years of investment, upheaval and changes in its journalism practices.
"The excellent thing, and good news, for publishers is that there is life after print - in fact, a better life after print," said Patrick J. McGovern, the founder and chairman of I.D.G. InfoWorld, the company's flagship publication, completely moved its operations to the Web a year ago. In April 2007 it generated ad revenue of $1.5 million on a slight operating loss. Today, the Web site makes $1.6 million a month with an operating profit margin of 37%. Overall, 52% of the company's revenue is from online ads, while 48% comes from print. SOURCE: NYTimes.com
It can take months of waiting nervously to see if significant changes take root and survive infancy to flourish:
The biggest single step in I.D.G.’s online shift came in 2007, when the last print edition of InfoWorld appeared and it became a Web-only publication. The technology publisher has not just stabilized its business, but is also growing at about 10 percent a year.
One strategy that transitioned over time is adopting an “online first” business model. Three years ago, the editorial staff was divided into three people who worked on the Web site only and the rest only on print. Today, there are no print and Web barriers. The total staff size, at 23, is one fewer than in 2005, but now most of them spend 80 percent of their time on the Web, while a handful of writers spend 80 percent of their time on the long centerpiece articles in the print magazine.That same strategy can work for traditional companies that are transitioning into the green space. By building an inside team who work through the transition one step at a time, they build the infrastructure, the corporate intelligence, and prepare the new managers for the new world.
Larger, traditional companies have the luxury of this kind of transition, notwithstanding a corresponding problem that arises out of a fast transition to climate change regulations that necessitate a speedy response.
Smaller companies that are "totally green" don't have that traditional revenue behind them...nor do they have the legacy staff, the legacy shareholder expectations, or the legacy management to convince every step along the way.
But what is clear in the board rooms around the world, is that the green transition is of as great, or greater seachange than the Internet. The survival of entire cities and corporate land holdings are just one of the dangers that are driving this transition.
About 18 months ago, the Pew Internet & American Life Project issued a report on podcasting and found that just 12% of Internet users had ever downloaded a podcast, but just 1% said they downloaded podcasts on a typical day.
This compares to Pew survey data released last summer that found 57% of Internet users have ever watched online video and 19% download or watch video from the Internet on a typical day.
This disparity between podcasting and online video says a lot about
the appeal of podcast programming and the user experience. Tens of
millions of people in this country have iPods or other gadgets which
can play digital audio files, yet the primary application is playing
music -- files that have been ripped from a CD collection or downloaded
from the Internet. Music appeals to nearly everyone, and the processes
required to transfer music from the 'Net or a CD collection to a
digital music player are relatively simple.
Podcast programming is a
different story. Most people are unfamiliar with podcasts (with the
exception of repurposed radio programs) and downloading, updating, and
subscribing to programming involve additional steps. Compared to radio
programming, most podcasts sound amateurish and slow-paced, and the
ability to find interesting programs is severely limited
by the directories, rating systems, and search functions found on
iTunes and other podcatchers and podcast-oriented sites. No wonder
relatively few people have tried downloading podcasts, and fewer still
listen to them on a regular basis.
Source: TheStandard.comWhat also needs to happen is to recognize that, unlike terrestrial radio, podcasts are much like "appointment radio". As we know, the average time spent listening, in radio, is measured in 15 minute segments. But my listeners tell me they listen to our entire two-hour show, cover to cover... This is a throw-back to the way people consumed radio before the advent of television. Perhaps success in podcasting will come from returning to those roots... everything old is new again!
Cheers!
robin
... and from Stephen:Your piece does shine some retrospective light on the gap between the hype and hyperbole and that often accompanies new technical developments and the reality of the marketplace a few years later. I was an early critic of podcasting hype, but I think you've undervalued two of the most important characteristics of the podcast stage of the digital media revolution.
First, podcasting really has helped to democratize media by eliminating the program inventory and bandwidth limitations of conventional broadcasting. This allows not only amateurs but disenfranchised professionals to distribute their programs, and allows service to previously unserved niches.... Thus it makes more sense to evaluate many of these programs from a public service perspective, like public broadcasting.
Second, the quality standards and practices of professional mass media do not necessarily apply to small audience niche programming. A more professional sounding and better produced program like Leo Laporte's TWiT may achieve a higher audience share, along with whatever benefits that delivers to the producer, but there are already podcasts that achieve their objectives with limited quality and audiences of less than a thousand. These have to be counted as different criteria of "success."
Finally, along with many others I believe that podcasting, i.e. distribution of audio media media via RSS subscription downloads, will be largely replaced as a service model by streaming as wireless internet connectivity evolves. In a truly "always on" world, only a link to a given bit of content is needed and it can be delivered to the user on-demand in real time.
...and from P.G. Holyfield:If you are looking at podcasting solely from a monetization point of view, I would agree that most feel that podcasting should be further along the lifecycle than it is today. But from an end user perspective, as one of the 1%? that download podcasts on a daily basis, I feel that podcasting is a greatly successful application of .rss, and with the growth of video podcasting, hardware such as the iTV, and the emergence of internal corporate podcasts as a medium of communication, podcasting is becoming more mainstream on a daily basis.
Podcasting allows an audience to find audio/video content on the topics they love, and allows a podcaster to find an audience that shares their love of a particular topic or genre, unlike anything ever seen before. The time-shifted nature of podcasting allows for content to be viewed/listened to on our schedule, and just as television is just beginning to comprehend how DVRs and online content is affecting their 'world,' all forms of broadcasting are beginning to understand the power of subscribable, sustainable content.
Due to podcasting I have reconnected with my favorite radio show (The Tony Kornheiser show). Podcasting has given computer gaming magazine writers I love a voice that I can now associate to their writing. Due to podcasting, I have made friends and acquaintances all around the world. I have discovered authors that I love (and have gotten to know personally). And on an even more personal note, nearly 5,000 people have given my own writing a try... so I consider podcasting a success.
Commercial success is a matter of perspective. For writers using podcasting as a marketing and audience building tool, the success stories are just beginning to emerge. As Joe mentioned above, Scott Sigler would certainly consider podcasting a success. Seth Harwood and J.C. Hutchins would certainly consider podcasting a success. How successful? Only time will tell. I hope the funeral dirge won't be sung before we have a chance to find out.
... and J. Daniel Sawyer:
But podcasting is not radio, nor should it be. Although it does work as an excellent way to time-shift radio programs, it does something far more useful and important: It provides a platform for a variety of formats and format experimentation, from underground music programming to the miraculous resurrection of the once-dead-in-the-U.S. radio drama, to the innovative loss-leader distribution of fiction innovated by Mark Jeffrey, Tee Morris, and Scott Sigler. There have also been a number of other formats tried with various degrees of success - audio blogging, a'la "Tag in the Seam," business tutorials, a'la The Survivor's Guide to Writing Fantasy and Answers for Freelancers, and, of course, there are a lot of formats and podcasts that simply don't work. The low barrier to entry means many - perhaps most - podcasts will never make it past a few episodes, or attract more than a couple dozen listeners.
FT Predict,
intrade,
IdeaWorth,
newsfutures,
Popular Science Prediction Exchange,
ZiiTrend
Add to that list Industry Standard (IS), a consumer-driven platform to predict the future. A “market” is simulated in which members place a bet on whether an event will or will not occur. They use “virtual currency” called “Standard Dollars”. The “community consensus” is calculated as the weighted average value of the bets placed for or against the prediction coming true.
Marketing the agritourism business is a little different than retail
businesses.Retailers depend on repeat business. Agritourism operators depend on word of mouth between satisfied visitors who visit very rarely (if their visit is even repeated)...but who can tell LOTS of other people to come, see, enjoy and experience the adventure.
On-farm or on-ranch activities are diverse across America...and the globe. Options include
- bed and breakfasts
- on-farm camping
- farm vacation
- ranch vacation
- youth exchange
- Elderhoste
- wagon rides
- horseback rides
- U-pick fruit and vegetables
- on-farm processed product purchases
- on-farm agricultural craft and product purchases
- farm/ranch tours
- school tours
- garden tours
- winery tours
- technical agricultural tours
- historical exhibits
- petting zoos
- exotic animal farms
Potential agritourist visitors read the following types of media (in order of favorites)
- Newspapers
- Travel magazines
- Cuisine magazines
- Environmental magazines
- Internet
Tell Your Story...So That It's Repeatable!
But by far, visitors learn of agritourism sites mostly from FRIENDS and Word of Mouth (79%)! Additional sources include newspaper and magaizine articles, business signs, the Internet, fliers, agritourism map, tourism bureau and magazine ads.Editorial Coverage is Better than Paid
Although newspaper and magazine articles (which do not typically result in costs to the operator) reached 38 percent and 28 percent of visitors, respectively, paid advertising in similar outlets was considerably less effective, reaching only 13 and 8 percent.Word and Deed Make up the Successful Agribusiness
Since word-of-mouth advertising has consistently been noted as an effective publicity technique for agritourism sites, operators should keep in mind that a visitor is likely to tell her/his friends about a positive (or negative) experience.Therefore, in addition to any formal advertising, attention paid to the customer service aspect of an agritourism operation is likely to enhance the reputation of the site and maintain a flow of visitors. After all, agritourism and on-farm nature tourism combine elements of farming and ranching with the service sector. Agritourism operators are thus likely to be most successful when they are able to skillfully manage both.
SOURCE: UC Small Farm Center
Two dimensional (2-D) bar codes are showing up everywhere — on food, auto parts, drug packaging, even U.S. defense equipment. What's driving this trend?
Common cross-industry demands for improved supply chain velocity, reduced packaging, better item-level traceability, and security — are intersecting with new data capture technologies to drive increased adoption of 2-D bar codes.Data capture solutions support this trend, with breakthrough near-far area imaging technology that reads 1-D, 2-D, composite, and postal codes, from 6 inches to 50 feet away.
A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional code.
Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used in a much broader context spanning both commercial tracking applications as well as convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users.
Micro QR Code
Micro QR Code is a smaller version of the QR Code standard for applications with less ability to handle large scans.Design QR
Design QR makes it possible to incorporate eye-catching images of logos, characters, or photos into QR code, while calculating without losing any information of the code. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code
Looking beyond the obvious is the heart of greening a business or a
business practice. It's not simple or everyone would be doing
it...right? But here's one example of how a concerned researcher did
her homework and searched for the answer to a pollution problem.Defining the problem is just step one. Next comes the design and engineering process to replace the not-so-green system with materials and processes that provide human- and eco-friendly solutions.
- Find a calculator or model
- Find scientific reports
- Search for online provider information
- Look for Program/Study examples
- Look for presentations
- Think through the "supply chain" to identify Total Lifetime Impact
- Share your findings online!
Read the example on this researcher's process that helped solve that pesky pollution problem and shared the solution with her community. READ THE REST HERE: CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com
TIP ONE: Raving fans matter!
In an interview, Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's EVP/sales and marketing, says that the largest part of the marketing campaign will be the public-relations effort because "consumers are increasingly turning to friends, family and news articles as credible sources of information about products." Consumers are getting smarter, she points out, because they have more information than in the past and are able to share it online. They are bombarded with advertising messages -- so they have more tools to avoid that advertising today. Wall Street JournalHaving worked in marketing and communications for several decades, I've seen the entrepreneurial dream many, many times. "We want to leverage our sales and marketing by getting into the big stores...the big chains...the big distributors. We don't want to waste our bit of capital on local markets...." That's the dream.
The reality is that EVERY market is a LOCAL MARKET. Think friends, family, neighbors, and the retailers you shop with. First.
The most successful entrepreneurs in my experience all started locally. They sold out of the trunk of their car. They knocked on doors. They served those first small mom and pop customers with careful attention. Did they get rich that way? No. But they learned the ropes of customer service. They learned what customers prefer, what they need, and where they buy the REST of their products. And they provide testimonials that are the vetting tool of distributors and their cousins who work in the "big stores".
Today, those same "first customers" are increasingly individuals without stores. They are raving fans of your product and your service. They love what you deliver so much that they get on email and social network sites and tell their buddies about this great solution they've found. And did you know....?
That's how Nintendo and green marketing are connected. Those same people are just as likely to talk about the Nintendo WII as they are to talk about their brother's green shampoo, or their cousin's LED lights, or their neighbor's crazy compressed air car.
And if you can supply them with some video on YouTube, or a web URL they can remember, they'll be able to pass the work around to even more people!
TIP TWO: Follow through matters!
WSJ: It's no secret that many women jump into buying gym memberships or the latest weight-loss devices -- only to have them end up collecting dust under the bed. Could that mentality hurt future sales of Wii Fit games?
Ms. Dunaway: Hopefully not. One of the things I like about Wii Fit is it tracks your progress over time ... Seeing your progress is motivating. So I think Wii Fit will keep people involved because they will be excited about tracking their progress and their family's progress. The families will egg each other on.
Social connections are vital to humans -- that's why we crave family, friendships and community. The church as gathering place and the general store pot bellied store are part of the American cultural heritage. Both are "businesses" that created community through shared activities. Businesses today can create that same kind of connection with their "members" by providing TOOLS for SHARING. A blog with comments, a buyers club, regular participation in Earth Day events...etc. all create bonding through community membership and sharing opportunities.
Even the birds share information with one another in their flocks. I chuckle every time I'm at the beach and see one gull find a scrap of bread. Within seconds, a whole flock of gulls, and ducks, and mudhens descend on the location! People behave the same way -- we SIGNAL each other by behaviors as well as words...and we WATCH each other to see what is succeeding in the search for survival and thriving.
That's natural marketing! And natural is naturally --- sustainable because it taps our deepest roots of behavior.
