Advertising & Marketing News

A new study from market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies shows that social media might actually pay off—in real dollars in addition to the traditional branding and influence lift. The survey of over 1500 consumers showed that they were more likely to buy from and recommend brands they follow on Twitter and Facebook.

51% of those surveyed said they were more likely to buy from a brand after following them on Facebook; 67% said they were more likely to buy after following on Twitter. Brands also got a boost in recommendations: 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers were more likely to recommend a brand to their friends.

This is only natural, says eConsultancy:

The most popular reason people follow brands in social media is to receive discounts. But there were also many people who responded that they follow as a customer of the brand and to show their support of it. On Twitter, that reason was less popular. Only 2% of respondents followed a brand to show their support. More often, they are looking for discounts, new information and exclusive content.

That makes a lot of sense, as Facebook’s fan ability is more geared toward letting users express their appreciation for something.

And here’s our grain of salt: this is a survey. This only shows what people think they’re doing. It may be that people don’t want to admit they’re only following Nike to look cool. However, with questions like these, I’d assume there’s at least a little boost for the brands in terms of dollars and recommendations.

What do you think? Are these people accurately reporting their spending and recommendations?

Continued here:
Social Media Pays: People More Likely to Buy from Brands they Follow

Google is/isn’t/might/mightn’t/will/won’t pull out of China over censorship and security concerns. Nobody really knows what the future may hold (although CEO Eric Schmidt’s forecast calls for a 99.9% chance of “something”)—including Google’s 27 Chinese ad resellers. In a letter to Google Monday, the resellers pleaded for some information.

As the home of tens of thousands of employees—a headcount they reached at Google’s behest—not to mention their clients and partners. Since Google’s announcement in January, business has dramatically dropped off (although Google has yet to make any changes). The resellers point out their dilemma (as translated by the WSJ):

There are altogether 27 Google reseller agencies for Google in China, and currently, they are all in the investment phase of Google-related business and have yet seen reasonable returns on their investment. If Google withdraws from China, then most of us will face possible bankruptcy or close-down, since up to now, as requested by Google, we have invested huge amounts of capital and efforts in our business. How will Google compensate for its resellers?

Without communication, it seems that Google’s plan may be to pay its partners with a “don’t let the door hit you on our way out.” Say the resellers:

At this moment, if Google tells us this is a business practice, and our clients, employees, and investors all should take our own commercial risks, we, as well as our clients, employees, investors and everyone absolutely will refuse to accept it!

Uhhh sure.

The WSJ notes: “Not all the resellers listed as signatories in the letter had a part in drafting it, and each has a unique relationship under different terms with Google.”

Google acknowledges they’ve received the letter and are currently reviewing it. However, they’ve been reticent to comment on the discussion that are/aren’t going on with the Chinese government, and it looks like things are grinding to a halt.

What do you think? What kind of provisions should Google make for its resellers?

Originally posted here:
Chinese Ad Partners to Google: What About Us?

Display ads in the Internet space are always an area of lively discussion. Do they work? How should their effectiveness be measured? What is the real value of a display ad? You can insert your question here.

One tried and true measurement for the medium though is just how much is being spent on display ads especially when held up against historical numbers. A press release about a report from Kantar Media and shared with us by TechCrunch shows that the world of display ads vs. it’s competition is doing alright overall.

The curious number is why there was a slip in the 4th quarter spending because it is the biggest buying season in every year no matter how far the economy has slid down the crapper. Maybe there was a shift to more search at that point? I don’t know.

This next chart though takes an interesting look at particular sectors and their overall advertising spend.

Looking at the only sectors of this report to show an uptick in spending, I would have to conclude that during bad economic times people talk on the phone while taking alternate mouthfuls of Doritos, Milk Duds and Prozac. That last bit of data was extremely unscientific in its analysis but I stand by the observation nonetheless.

So now, that we have an idea of what has happened what do you think will happen with the rest of advertising for the year? Will this year see a rebound? Will traditional channels continue to decline? Where will the display ad number be for 2010? Let’s hear it.

View original post here:
Display Ad Spend Up in 2009 Despite Q4 Dip

According to analysts, Google’s Nexus One phone isn’t selling too well. In fact, its 135,000 units sold is way off the 1 million iPhone’s sold during its launch.

Still, there’s good news for Google. It was just denied a trademark for Nexus One, because it’s too similar to one that’s already being used by Integra Telecom.

“Registration of the applied-for mark is refused because of a likelihood of confusion with the mark in U.S. Registration No. 3554195,” the trademark office wrote in its March 9 ruling.

OK, so that’s not good news, but if Google decided that entering the mobile hardware business was a bad move, it now has an excuse to pull out–hey it worked for China!

Meanwhile, back in Portland, Oregon, Integra is obviously delighted with the USPTO’s decision:

“We appreciate that the PTO is protecting our trademark rights. Integra has over $60 Million in annual revenue associated with our Nexus brand and it represents millions of new revenue for the company each year. Google hasn’t contacted us since the PTO issued its objection but we hope we can work together to achieve our respective business goals.”

Let me translate that last sentence for you:

Google hasn’t contacted us since the PTO issued its objection but we’re looking forward to either big fat licensing fee or being acquired by them for a ridiculous multiple!

So, what’s next for Google? It is likely too early to pull the plug on the Nexus One, but a rebranding or licensing deal is on the horizon with this decision.

(via)

See original here:

Even if you don’t watch David Letterman, you’ve seen his infamous Top Ten lists before.

A couple of nights ago, he took on Twitter addiction.

Enjoy!

(hat tip)

See the rest here:
Top 10 Signs You Spend Too Much Time on Twitter