Marketers Studio - David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog

Anything but Standard

The Interactive Advertising Bureau released its standards for broadband video commercials. This itself isn't so surprising. We'll admit we're proud; Unicast's Larry Allen helped devise the standards.

What's striking is how quickly this came together.

Just today, eMarketer announced US internet video ad spending will soar from $225 million in 2005 to $640 million in 2007 to $1.5 billion in 2009. The market's just heating up. Kudos to the IAB for getting ahead of the curve.

A New Way of Giving

The connection to rich media for this post is tenuous at best, but forgive us for a little plug for a great cause (one we have no connection to ourselves).

A personal favorite gift I've both received and given is through CharityGiftCertificates.org, which allows you to send a card (digital or physical) with a donation to your desired recipients, and the recipient chooses where to send the donation from over 75 charities. More below from the site.

When you purchase a Charity Giving Gift Certificate, your recipient will get an eCard notifying them of the gift donation, with instructions on how to redeem it. You may also print out the greeting card for mailing or presentation.

The recipient will be able to give the funds to the charity he/she designates from our list of over 75 charities, including many of the largest, most highly respected non-profit charitable organizations in the USA.

Create your own web page, hosted by CharityGiftCertificates.org for a holiday, special occasion or memorial.

You will be provided with a tax acknowledgement of your charity donations for your records.

The most memorable and meaningful way to show friendship and commemorate any holiday or special occasion.

Radical Book Marketing

Work and play go hand in hand at the site promoting Radical Careering: 100 Truths to Jumpstart Your Job, Your Career, and Your Life by Sally Hogshead. Some fun places to turn:

Buzzwords

Hog Blog

Goodies

It's the experience that extends beyond the book. Rad.

Not So Fast

FastCompany rang me this evening saying I'm a "preferred customer" and that in return, they'd like to lock me in at their lowest-ever rate of $1.25 per issue for a five-year subscription.

When the representative finished, I told her, "While I was on the phone with you, I found a better deal online for $1 an issue, and that was at the first website I went to." She was stunned, and then wished me a good day.

Of course, the different arms of your marketing organization aren't siloed like that, right?

Thought so.

Marketers Studio vs. Blockbuster, Part I

An epic saga in the making... or a box office dud. Regardless, Marketers Studio is angrier than Kong.

Marketers Studio went to Blockbuster tonight to try to rent the DVD of the original King Kong but left the Blockbuster card at home. Upon approaching the counter, my membership wasn't on file since I hadn't rented a movie in over three months, and then they reminded me why they're bleeding market share to rivals such as Netflix, Tivo, and the cable giants.

I wasn't allowed to apply for membership (even though I already am a member) with only a debit card and driver's license. I'm able to take up an address in Manhattan but can't rent a $4 movie. This is bordering on the absurd, and it's a customer service policy that signifies bigger problems. This one policy alone could be considered an anomaly; I know I'm a rare outlier with my preference for debit or bust. But if I'm Blockbuster, I'd want to use this as a learning experience to say, "What obstacles are we putting in our way that prevent us from acquiring new customers?"

River of Dreams

The perkiest morning TV talk show teams with the most resilient e-commerce site for some goodwill. Amazon is hosting a wish list for children who could use some holiday cheer, and the Today Show is giving it some old-school TV plugging. It's a win for everyone, especially Amazon, which mi ght find more than a few shoppers buying themselves and others presents too.

Help a child in need by purchasing an item from the Today Show Gift Drive Wish List. NBC's Today show is working with over 200 organizations, including local Boys & Girls Clubs and the NYU Medical Center. We ask that items purchased not be gift-wrapped.

Gaming Google Images

This one's pretty good, earning an 8 for execution and a 10 for concept. Play Guess-the-Google. It's like Jeopardy! for Google Images, where you're given a board of 20 thumbnail images and must guess what query brought up those images.

Thanks to Rob Loch at business networking site Soflow for the link.

OA AOK

If you're at all involved with interactive marketing, make sure you're on the Online Advertising Discussion List led by Cliff Kurtzman. It's a free, moderated discussion list that sends about a message a day with the digest of back and forth. There are only a handful of messages daily, making it an easy read, and often members are asking questions that are probably common to myriad businesses. Those questions most of the time receive spot-on answers in the next digest.

Lately, Cliff has been compiling a list of internet mergers and acquisitions, where he manages to pick up on some big buys that don't get much press. It's one more resource from one of the best marketers' resources out there. We'll aim to get Cliff on here for a question or two sometime soon.

Google Gets Personal

There's a new feature in Google's Personalized Search: actual personalized search results.

Google writes, "Get the results most relevant to you, based on what you’ve searched for in the past."

Previously, your search results didn't change even if you used Personalized Search; it was more a way to keep tabs on what you searched for. Now, Google actually changes the search results you see based on what you searched for. The differences, Google writes, will likely be subtle at first but could add up to an impact.

Search has always been a personal experience for the end user or consumer. Now that's being taken to new depths. We'll tackle this more with future posts.