The Digital Lookout

The blogging and digital community has shown its charitable side and raised over $10,000 to help an Abused wife and her children.

Blogger David Armano started the appeal on his blog, Logic + Emotion, for Romanian immigrant, Daniela and her 3 children who are struggling financially since Daniela filed for divorce against her abusive spouse.  At present Daniela, Brandon, Daniela and youngest Evelyn are staying with David as they try to get back on their feet and he appealed to the blogging and digital community to help raise $5000 dollars to support them.  At last check they had raised $12,663.60 and rising well in excess of its target.

David used the popularity of his blog and also his connections on social media tool twitter to raise awareness of the appeal and it has spread like wildfire around the social media community.  I found out about it through a tweet by someone I follow on twitter and the amount of retweets I have seen already is obscene.  The twitter community has taken hol of this story and is showing that even in the hardest economic times people are willing to show their charitable side and help the needy.

The Digital Lookout has made its donation, if you would like to contribute follow the link below.  Do your bit, and pass the message on.

Daniella’s Apartment Fund

As 2008 comes to a close I thought I’d do a quick recap of the topics we have been talking (and blogging) about this year in the world of digital media and search engine marketing.

Mergers and Buyouts

A lot of headlines have been written this year about various potential mergers and buyouts, mostly in the world of the search engines.  Whether it is Microsoft buying Yahoo, Yahoo partnering with Google, or Yahoo merging with AOL barely a month has gone by without a new story about the battle for search engine supremacy.  And where has it got us?  Back where we started with Microsoft and Yahoo still trying to find the best way to dethrone Google.
Away from search (slightly) there was the Google Double Click deal which caused a stir, something which is still yet to show real significance.

Google Pushing Non Search Products

At the Above and Beyond event in September Google discussed everything, apart from web search.  A clear sign of intent that they are looking to diversify in 2009 and place the Google strangle hold on other markets such as mobile marketing and display advertising.  On top of this they launched Google Ad Planner which allows digital marketers to plan digital campaigns outside of search and Google Ad Creator which allows people without flash experience to build display adverts.

Quality Score

Two lots of wholesale changes to quality score in 2008.  The first in September where minimum bids were removed and dynamic quality score was introduced.  On top of this Quality Score began to be displayed on a 1-10 scale and Google began showing the estimated first page bid for all of your keywords.

This was then followed at the end of October when they began normalising click through rate based on an ads position when factoring it into quality score calculations.  Further changes were launched at the same time which affected when and why an ad appeared in the valuable “yellow box” positions at the top of the results.

Google’s Gambling U-turn

One of the biggest stories of the year outside of the merger talk was Google’s U-turn on their policy of not allowing gambling advertisers.  Amazingly, in the face of a difficult Q3, Google’s halo slipped and they decided to begin allowing legitimate gambling advertisers onto the Adwords programme.  Opening up millions of pounds of additional turnover in one swift move.

Google Trademark Bidding

As always, changes on Google, are big changes.  And with the removal of trademark protection they ruffled a few feathers and made themselves a few quid in the process.  Their argument was that quality score and min bid would take care of it, but then they removed min bid and left a lot of trademark owners with a headache and high CPCs on brand terms.  Now Google find themselves with a high profile court case on their hands!

Social Media

Once again on of the hot topics of the year in many different guises.  Whether it was Facebook getting a Facelift, Google launching and subsequently pulling lively.com, or Barack Obama using social media tools to become US President the word social, closely followed by media, network or utility have been uttered many a time in 2008.

Browser Wars 3.0

The launch of Google Chrome announces browser wars 3.0 and looks set to see this space slightly more interesting than usual in 2009.  Although it does have a lot of people questioning what information you would be giving away to Google by browsing using Google Chrome.

Best Practice Funding

As Google’s dominance grows, their charity slows!  Google announces that as of Jan 1st 2009 they will no longer be offering best practice funding to search marketing agencies that resell Google Adwords.  No big deal for direct advertisers but for agencies slow to adapt it could mean a few casualties in 2009 as the more innovative and transparent PPC agencies learn to live without handouts.

There’s my recap of the year, anything I’ve missed?

It’s been another fast paced and exciting year in the digital world we operate in and no doubt 2009 will follow suit and through up surprises and changes which give me something interesting to write about!

Advertising network Adrevenue has gone into administration today after talks with potential buyers fell through.  The advertising network which has been operating since 2000 served display adverts across publisher sites in a standard network auction model.  They offered both blind and transparent media buying solutions as well as mobile advertising and search advertising.  Their selling point was their large network of smaller niche sites allowing for targeting by user type or interest.

The announcement isn’t a huge shock as networks of this type have been becoming less and less popular for a long time now (flexible digital marketing is the future remember!) but the question I am asking is, are Adrevenue the first in a long line of casualties in the current economic climate, or are they the anomaly?  Is this really the start of Web Bust 2.0 or just a blip?

There has been much talk about digital being the go to medium in the impending recession, but in reality, every advertising channel is going to suffer as companies tighten the purse strings.  Blind advertising networks and inflexible digital channels only ever had a limited shelf life as Internet marketers look for accountability and transparency on spend.  Are they the first casualty in what is bound to be a tough year for all forms of media?

What do you think  A one off, or a sign off things to come?

Tesco have given a sneak preview of their latest project at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.  In conjunction with media agency Conchango, Tesco are looking to build a digital application which acts as the proverbial fridge door.  The main purpose of the tool from Tesco’s perspective is for the placing or grocery orders via an Internet connection as and when food is used up in the fridge but the tool will also act as notice board, family calender, email inbox, social networking tool and recipe book.

The system will include a shopping cart tool which populates as items are marked as used as well as the functionality to find recipes and order the ingredients at the touch of a button.  You will also be able to plan a weeks worth of meals using the diary planner tool and order all the food you will need to produce it at the end.

It is a very ambitious project for Tesco but the benefits of getting it right are obvious.  Through tying people in to the tool through purchase they are essentially guaranteeing their grocery orders for the period it is in use.

This project fascinates me as it is a real insight into how the Internet could (and should) be used in years to come.  i have speculated in the past about the use of digital TV to make purchases direct from the television and this is a similar revelation.

The future of the Internet could well involve taking it away from the confines of the PC and integrating it fully in our everyday lives through mobile, TV and innovative systems such as the one Tesco are looking to produce.  by definition the Inetenet is “The wide collection of connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols” and bears no connection with the means used to interact with it.  Hats off to Tesco for foreseeing what the future might hold and trying tor preempt it, it si this sort of innovation which will push the Internet and its usages forward.

Microsoft have conducted a piece of research which goes further towards showing the need for an integrated approach to digital marketing where display advertising and search engine marketing are concerned.  Off the back of the overused Atlas example which suggested a 22% uplift in conversion could be produced from a combination of search and display, and Yahoo’s piece which suggest similar impact, Microsoft have launched their own research which backs up the previous reports.

The figures which have come out of the Microsoft report show a 2x improvement in website visits through a combined approach along with a 54% increase in likelihood of a user conducting a brand search if they had been exposed to a display advert.

You have to take into consideration the producers of these pieces when reviewing the results they show you.  Atlas earn their money based on the amount of activity you are undertaking so have a vested interest in increasing it (plus they earn off both impressions and clicks with display).  Yahoo have seen a downturn in the last quarter in the premium CPM display advertising and so it is in their interest to get you buying more.  And similarly Microsoft need something to prop up their lack of progress in paid search.

So you have to take what they say with a pinch of salt, but that’s not to say there is nothing at all in it.  i do believe an effective online plan involves a balance of all elements.  Search as the flexible, movable return based feast, affiliate marketing as the finite guaranteed return and display advertising to boost the brand and increase awareness.  That said I am an advocate of flexible solutions for display advertising and don’t think that any placement is worth more than £10 CPM, there isn’t enough branding to warrant anymore than this amount.

So whilst I would view the actual stats displayed with an air of scepticism, the general principal is sound in my opinion.  A balanced approach with a blend of channels means you get the best of each without placing all your eggs in one basket.

View Microsofts findings here