December 4, 2007

Forrester's evaluation of leading interactive marketing agencies across 52 criteria revealed a market adept at handling today's digital campaigns but lacking the thought leadership to drive more comprehensive brand strategies. In the current environment, OgilvyInteractive, Avenue A | Razorfish, Sapient, and Digitas lead because of their breadth of experience with interactive marketing campaigns utilizing many different channels (email, search, display ads, and emerging channels), as well as strong measurement and analytics capabilities. Strong Performers include VML, based on its strategic guidance, and Critical Mass and imc2, with their interactive skills rooted in Web site design. All of the agencies in this evaluation still have a lot of work ahead of them to prove that they have the acumen, vision, and road map to lead broader cross-channel marketing and brand strategies.

August 8, 2007

The marketing funnel is a broken metaphor that overlooks the complexity social media introduces into the buying process. As consumers' trust in traditional media diminishes, marketers need a new approach. We propose a new metric, engagement, that includes four components: involvement, interaction, intimacy, and influence. Each of these is built from data collected from online and offline data sources. Using engagement, you get a more holistic appreciation of your customers' actions, recognizing that value comes not just from transactions but also from actions people take to influence others. Once engagement takes hold of marketing, marketing messages will become conversations, and dollars will shift from media buying to customer understanding.

May 1, 2007

Virtual worlds have recently emerged as a new opportunity for users to interact and marketers to communicate. Second Life, one of the most widely known worlds, experienced an influx of marketers in 2006 looking for new ways to engage with potential customers. The key benefit so far: public relations. For the future, marketers should consider virtual worlds not as new channels, but instead as entirely new markets. But for now, virtual worlds aren't quite ready to meet the demands and expectations of marketers.

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March 27, 2007

Email and search marketing eclipse online display ads as the most prominent elements in the interactive marketing mix, while social media — like blogs, podcasts, RSS, social networks, and online video — are strong up-and-comers. But mobile and game marketing are relatively ignored. Why? Marketers won't adopt until they see proof that emerging channels work. Our advice? Start adopting now to keep up with your customers who already actively use emerging technologies. Advanced online ad targeting, RSS, and blogs provide the easiest entry points.

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January 25, 2007

User-generated content (UGC) is a hot topic in the press. With more than one-quarter of online consumers submitting a rating or review of a product or service or contributing to a discussion board, the fact that consumers are turning to each other is not just a fad any more. A few forward-thinking brands are beginning to use UGC to engage with customers. To overcome initial fears, companies need to realize that successfully opening up to customers isn't that different from the risks associated with doing business every day. To determine the appropriate UGC strategy, companies must observe where UGC about their brands lives today, continually track conversations in UGC, and participate in existing communities before deciding if this is an activity that they should enable on their own sites.

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January 24, 2007

Podcasting has seen mild adoption growth in the past year, but it still hasn't experienced the popularity explosion blogs have seen. However, this doesn't mean that marketers shouldn't offer podcasts to their customers. Additionally, using podcasts for internal purposes is a great way to test the waters before you start creating content for customers. Before getting involved, it's important to understand how the podcasting world works, determine if it's right for your audience, and choose the right type of podcast to create. Once you have a clear understanding of these issues, you can focus on the proper techniques for developing a successful podcast.

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October 10, 2006

On October 9, 2006, Google agreed to buy user-generated video site YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock. This is a massive demonstration of the power of social computing: Google already has the No. 3 video site, but now it will own a networking platform that makes video stickier — and better for advertisers. To make this huge purchase worth it, Google must move rapidly to: 1) address the problem of users uploading copyrighted content; 2) encourage marketers to think beyond traditional video advertisements; and 3) maintain YouTube's excellent video selection and viewing experience.

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October 3, 2006

With more than half of adults (53% of consumers 18 and older) stating that they view online video, we're witnessing the early signs of mainstream adoption of Internet video. Given that Gen Xers and Gen Yers view video more often than older generations, this sought-after audience is a prime target for video advertising. However, with diminishing effectiveness of standard online ads, marketers need to be more creative with their messages and targeting. To leverage online video in order to target customers effectively, marketers must think like content providers by creating entertaining video, not just placing ads. Some retail brands, such as Amazon, Borders, Best Buy, and Gap, actually have significant numbers of their customers viewing online video — making them a prime target.

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September 11, 2006

Although consumer trust in traditional media sources like TV, newspapers, radio, and magazines rebounded in 2005 from a low in 2004, online consumers are turning more and more to the Internet for content like weather, general news, and sports news. The Internet also rules when consumers seek archived news, business or reference information, or adult entertainment, and among more tenured and younger consumers who grew up with the Internet's wealth of content at their fingertips.

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September 11, 2006

Media consumption varies widely by generation. Young consumers spend less time with TV or print and more time online and with user-generated content. Gen Yers (18- to 26-year-olds) tell us that they spend eight hours more online per week than Seniors (62 years old and older), while Seniors spend eight hours more per week watching TV and reading newspapers. Social media use continues to grow, particularly among brands with a youthful following. But even brands with older audiences like The Wall Street Journal are seeing one-third of their users consuming social media.

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June 9, 2006

Forrester evaluated leading rich media content delivery vendors across 70 criteria and found that Akamai Technologies' expansive network and media experience established it as a leader in the category. However, robust reporting and delivery management capabilities make Nine Systems and VitalStream compelling options, and experience derived from a large client base demonstrates Limelight's strength. Companies expanding into rich media should give special attention to media and entertainment experience and flexibility with emerging distribution options like podcasting, mobile, and peer-to-peer (P2P) when selecting a content delivery network (CDN) partner.

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June 9, 2006

As one of the original content delivery networks (CDNs), Akamai Technologies possesses a broad infrastructure with global reach and a client list that includes Apple's iTunes Music Store, NBC, and Starz Entertainment Group's Vongo. Akamai lacks the tools that are needed by media companies to manage and monitor content, opting for integration with third-party services to fill the gap. But its technical, financial, and human resources afford it the capability to implement practically any solution that a client needs.

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June 9, 2006

Nine Systems offers an impressive suite of tools for monetizing, managing, securing, and monitoring content. It also possesses special capabilities in supporting streaming of live events and is 100% focused on the media industry. Nine Systems leverages other content delivery networks (CDNs) for half of its content delivery — an approach that can be considered an advantage in some cases, but diminishes its hands-on experience in other cases. Its Stream OS tool includes management functions for ad serving, digital rights management (DRM), live events, reporting, and commerce. Clients include CinemaNow, TWI Interactive, and Universal Music Group.

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June 9, 2006

VitalStream provides a robust suite of content management tools for customized reports with deep granularity of data, and one of the longest running offerings of Flash video. While it boasts a large client base (Comcast, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Walt Disney Pictures), it lacks an international network presence and experience with downloadable media.

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