Internet Marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

I have been studying IMC for a while now, and am continually shocked to see that Internet Marketing elements: blogging, search engine optimization, making a site user friendly etc. are not addressed more.  The whole concept of IMC is to have all of the marketing communications elements speak to the customer with "One voice", and having a website or blog that does not speak in that voice is deterring from the overall IMC goal.

When I searched the Internet on this subject, all I could find through several sources and clicks were sites like this:  

http://www.homemediakit.com/

Or suggestions like this:

Internet Advertising Marketing Guide

Learn a Little About Banner Advertising on the Internet

Crash Course in Web and Internet Marketing

Listed on http://cob.jmu.edu/flahertb/merlot/imcresources.htm#IMC

There needs to be more Internet marketing addressed within the field of Integrated Marketing Communications and how to do so.  

Any Suggestions?

YouTube has Movies?

I found some interesting news on YouTube the other day, and seeing that it has become more of an outlet to personal videos and comedic clips, rather than actual TV or movie content, this was pretty interesting. Apparently, YouTube has a new agreement with MGM to air a variety of full-length movies and TV shows on the site for free. I find this interesting as You Tube has in recent months lost share to other sites like Hulu, that provide full length content and also offer a platform for Internet advertising.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10mgm.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

YouTube is a very interesting company because it is unclear where their source of revenue is, if there is any at all. On the YouTube company information section, it states that "YouTube has struck numerous partnership deals with content providers such as CBS, BBC, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, The Sundance Channel and many more."
http://www.youtube.com/t/about. However, it is unclear if there is any financial exchange involved in these partnerships.

Hulu, which may be YouTube's biggest competitor as of late (speculation), has a different approach to offering television and movie content, through:

"Advertising: Hulu gives advertisers an opportunity to associate their brands with premium online video content, connect with highly engaged consumers and extend their reach beyond Hulu.com to Hulu's distribution network. Additionally, Hulu offers and is committed to the continued development of innovative, new advertising experiences."
http://www.hulu.com/about

With the revenue created through advertising sales at Hulu, the site is able to provide higher quality content to viewers at the same cost as YouTube (nothing), and without the personal video content, seems a cleaner and easier to use site.

I wonder if You tube's attempt to air full length films etc. from MGM is the first stage in transforming into a more Hulu like site?

Internet Marketing and the 2008 Election

After the history changing victory for Barak Obama last night, the progress in this election has not stopped at the candidates themselves but in how they were able to reach the American voters. Digital technology has played an important role in how the public was able to view the candidates, through digital extentions on the television networks, and with the use of the Internet.

When CNN last night had a hologram news reporter and beamed her in and out of the studio, that was pretty exciting - something we haven't seen before. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20081104/pl_ynews/ynews_pl132

It is also noteworthy that the candidates were able to use Internet marketing and technology to spread their messages more than ever before. “The year campaigns leveraged the Internet in ways never imagined. The year we went to warp speed. The year the paradigm got turned upside down and truly became bottom up instead of top down.” This is true especially for Barak Obama, who used Internet marketing to raise huge amounts of money for his campaign as well as communicating with the American public through Internet advertisements, blogs, and his website etc.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/us/politics/04memo.html?bl&ex=1226034000&en=ed50bf72c5e6eaea&ei=5087%0A

Barak Obama was even reaching voters through mobile technology - text messaging updates on the campaign trail - a technology that has also not been used before. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/advice-for-mobile-marketers-courtesy-of-obama/

So, what do we take away from this? Using Internet marketing can be an effective method to reach your target, and for Obama it helped him clench a victory and become the President-Elect of the United States of America. Pretty cool!

They are watching you....

This week I have been focusing on how Internet marketers can track consumer behavior: what they buy, where they go etc. and I found an article from earlier this month. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081001/we-see-you.html
This points out that not only are marketers using the track ability of IP addresses, but also GPS to track where a consumer is going - and with PDAs and phones with such capabilities, they are always watching you.

According to the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, "Sir Tim said he did not want his ISP to track which websites he visited."

"I want to know if I look up a whole lot of books about some form of cancer that that's not going to get to my insurance company and I'm going to find my insurance premium is going to go up by 5% because they've figured I'm looking at those books," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7299875.stm

"Social network Facebook was widely criticised when it attempted to introduce an ad system, called Beacon, which leveraged people's habits on and off the site in order to provide personal ads." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7299875.stm)

"We should look out for snags in the future," he said, pointing to the way email had been swamped by spam as an example of how things could go wrong. "Things can change so fast on the Internet."
But he promised that what web scientists would produce over the coming years "will blow our minds".

He makes a good point, with the capabilities to track users every move, although initially is has been designed to customize content and provide a 'personalized' experience, this technology could be abused. Something to think about, they are watching you!

Internet Marketing to Generation V

I just found a cool posting about how Internet marketing is the best way to reach 'generation V', which they say is people born between 1982 and 2001. Because this generation is so tech savvy and open to change, the best way to get in their heads and get them to make purchasing decisions is through Internet marketing.

http://www.businessfeet.com/internet-marketing-news/items/internet-marketing-for-millennials-1224165300.html

One of the links through this article goes on to explain how companies thus far have ignored this generation and have not been tailoring messages etc. to generation V.

“The Four C’s—convenience, customisation, community and cool—drive millennial purchasing behaviour,” says Shaun Young, senior editor, Industry & Management Research at the Economist Intelligence Unit
http://www.eiuresources.com/mediadir/default.asp?PR=2008101503

Getting further into this:

"Unlike previous generations, Generation Virtual (also known as Generation V) is not defined by age — or gender, social demographic or geography — but is based on demonstrated achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights. The definition of Generation V derives from the recognition that these common behaviors, attitudes and interests are starting to blend together in an online environment.Unlike previous generations, Generation Virtual (also known as Generation V) is not defined by age — or gender, social demographic or geography — but is based on demonstrated achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights. The definition of Generation V derives from the recognition that these common behaviors, attitudes and interests are starting to blend together in an online environment. (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=770914)."

Very interesting as I am a member of the virtual generation, Generation V.

The Economy effect on Internet Marketing

So, obviously with the economy in slow motion, one of the cheapest and most effective way to reach potential clients is through internet marketing. I found this website particularly interesting http://www.dmnews.com/ as it outlines how magazines are tailoring their usually high-end, luxury approach to the more budget concious consumer, as well as other relevant tips for digital marketers.

This article outlines how having a bad website is worse than not having one at all, especially in these times, and that right now is the time for PR to really shine:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/internet-marketing-helps-businesses-cope/story.aspx?guid=%7B983E06AA-2242-4623-8623-1FA05A6C5E2E%7D&dist=hppr

This website http://resources.bnet.com/topic/economy+and+internet.html offers several tips and resources to make the most of your business via the internet. Pretty cool.

Learned tons about Internet Marketing/Advertising today

So, I just spent about six hours learning about the technical aspects of Internet marketing/advertising and how Publishers (of the sites) can sell ad space to make money.

We started with the basics, Standard ad units: Skyscrapers (160x600 pixels), Leader board/banner ads (728x90) and Rectangle (300x250). We then got into the more customized complex ads: Video, rich media (any ad that lives beyond the physical boundaries of a standard ad unit) and discussed the companies that make them possible such as Point Roll and Ad Blaster.

Similarly to broadcast measurement, Digital measures impressions through a third party, either Nielsen Net Ratings or Com Score media metrics.

Some additional terms we discussed:

CTR - Click through rate - clicks/impressions (click counted when user clicks an ad)

CPA - Cost per acquisition - revenue/ (impressions/1000)

Companion Ad - standard graphic ad unit shown in tandem with video

Overlay - runs on top of video while it is playing

We discussed so much information, it is hard to compile into a simple entry. There are some really helpful links for the Internet marketer that help explain how all of this digital ad sales stuff works:

www.clickz.com
www.mediapost.com
www.admonsters.org
www.iab.net
www.imediaconnection.com
www.marketingvox.com
www.mediabistro.com

The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) - helps to regulate and define terms used in digital advertising and media. The whole idea of selling online advertising space is changing so much everyday, there is little standardization and regulation, but this is an organize that does do so. As a publisher, on the sales side, www.imediaconection.com was recommended. Happy learning!