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Facebook marketing tweaks make impact

While Facebook's and Twitter's recent changes caught some marketers off guard, others are embracing them and getting creative.
 

Facebook's IPO could impact marketing

Vicki Powers

Facebook's plan for a $5 billion initial public offering (IPO) has the potential to change Facebook's advertising structure.
 

Q&A: Ryon Harms, director of social media, Farmers Insurance

Ryon Harms, Farmers Insurance director of social media, says people want to connect with faces, not products, on Facebook.
 

Choosing the right mobile ad network for your brand

Jon Schepke, president, SIM Partners

Mobile advertising is a fragmented market, with sketchy data on ad network market share and revenue.
 

Online publishers squeeze out middlemen

Online display advertising sellers are circling the wagons to reassert their position in a crowded market and fend off the swelling role of third parties, such as ad networks and demand-side platforms.
 

Q&A: John Noe, CEO, Rokkan

John Noe, Rokkan's CEO, discusses the relationship between brands' websites and Facebook pages.
 

Digital marketers' next stop: 
the mobile home screen

Russell Glass, CEO, Bizo

There is a piece of real estate in the digital world that has been around since the advent of the LCD screen on cell phones that nobody has yet figured out. Let's call it the "M-Spot," as in the "most valuable piece of digital real estate on the planet" spot.
 

Email retargeting: no-brainer for brands

Contextual targeting. Behavioral targeting. Search retargeting. Targeting specific consumer sectors has become table stakes in combating banner blindness.
 

Q&A: Michael Stromer, director of e-commerce and interactive marketing, JetBlue Airways

Michael Stromer, director of e-commerce and interactive marketing at JetBlue Airways, says his company takes a conservative in-flight approach.
 

Use your website to close the deal with consumers

Perhaps the biggest mistake direct marketers make is creating great campaigns that drive traffic to terrible websites. A brand may overspend on customer acquisition when really it is facing a conversion issue.
 

Marketers augment reality and campaigns

Bloomingdale's is betting that consumers will find taking a photo with a Playboy bunny more exciting than filling out a printed sweepstakes entry in a store. It is one of the latest brands to use augmented reality to spice up a contest.
 

Incorporating tablets into 
mobile marketing strategy

Joe Saumweber, director of digital and mobile strategy, Rockfish Interactive

Just like the smartphone before it, tablets are officially here to stay. Tablet penetration is expected to triple this year and double again next year, so smart brands are giving careful consideration to this new format.
 

Q&A: Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation and consumer experiences, Kraft Foods

Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation and consumer experiences at Kraft Foods, explains mobile engagement's impact.
 

Brands blend in-game ads with consoles

Chevrolet is one company putting a fresh spin on the stalwart direct marketing tactic of online sweepstakes by asking consumers to play a game before entering.
 

Q&A: Scott Symonds, GM of media, search and analytics, AKQA

Scott Symonds, GM of media, search and analytics at AKQA, says online video has vast growth potential.
 

Agencies should anticipate their clients' digital needs

Lori Goldberg, SVP of client services, IQ: Traffiq Professional Services

Just a few years ago, many client requests were rather generic, buzzword-driven inquiries like, "What's up with mobile?" or "I want to build a social presence." Today, clients are smarter and looking to improve their ROI beyond the novelty stage to extract real, tangible value from their digital strategies.
 

Brands move sweepstakes to Facebook

Student lender Sallie Mae needed to attract college students' attention over the summer and maintain their interest into the fall semester. It launched a sweepstakes this summer where students are throughout the entire year: Facebook.
 

Mobile tagging extends TV ads for brands

The ability to directly attribute a TV ad's conversion path has long eluded marketers, despite TV advertising taking the lion's share of many brand's marketing budgets. However, companies such as HTC Corp. and PepsiCo are lighting that path by using apps for consumers' 
mobile devices.
 

Q&A: Traci Gentry, VP of marketing, Bic USA

Traci Gentry, VP of marketing at Bic USA, says how her company mines 
its social media pages for inspiration.
 

Tailor marketing strategies to customer preferences

Dan Smith, SVP of marketing, ClickSquared

To make communications relevant, marketers need information about each customer's preferences and interests. But where do you get this information? How do you coax customers to give it to you? A well thought-out preference center can make all the difference across all channels.
 

Banner ads evolve to get users' attention

Display advertising leaders AOL and Yahoo are stepping up their banner ad innovation to improve interactivity with consumers and fend off competition from targeted ad solutions from companies such as Facebook.
 

Don't discredit the phone's power despite social media

Gregg Hamerschlag, cofounder and CEO, Primary Wave Media and Intercept Networks

Several media outlets, including The New York Times, Wired and NBC's Digital Life blog have reported that the telephone call is dying as a form of interpersonal consumer communication. However, from a marketer's standpoint, the phone continues to be a valuable tool for turning prospects into customers and solving customer service-related problems.
 

Q&A: Alison Mittelstadt, VP of marketing, E-Trade

Alison Mittelstadt, VP of marketing at E-Trade, discusses how it approaches social media given regulatory obstacles.
 

Q&A: James Keller, CMO of Shoebuy.com

James Keller, CMO of Shoebuy.com, explains the importance of relevance in social media and mobile marketing.
 

Customer engagement is the key to mobile marketing

Pieter de Villiers, cofounder and CEO, Clickatell

With more than 5 billion people around the world using mobile phones — more than PCs and TVs combined — companies can't ignore this important channel and should take advantage of the many mobile marketing opportunities available.
 

QR codes enhance the in-store experience

Retailer Pacific Sunwear placed its first quick response (QR) codes in stores and on print ads in March, linking to a mobile flipbook that allowed consumers to look at its new board short and swimwear lines. The codes allow retailers to enhance consumers' in-store experience while collecting valuable consumer data.
 

Maximize your SEO strategy with Facebook optimization

Nick Papagiannis, associate director of interactive and search, Cramer-Krasselt

With 500 million users and counting, companies have been flocking to Facebook in droves. However, brands must ask themselves whether fans are flocking to their brands.
 

Q&A: Melissa Rosenthal Brenner, VP of marketing at the NBA

Melissa Rosenthal Brenner, the NBA's VP of marketing, discusses how it uses social media to boost fan experience.
 

Social games generate fans for marketers

Mercedes Cardona

Fans of the MyTown social game had the chance to step into the driver's seat of Volvo's new S60 sedan when the automaker joined the virtual community last September as a way to promote the new vehicle. A whopping 5.3 million checked into the Volvo game through the iPhone or iPad app that hosts the virtual 
MyTown series.
 

Q&A: Greg Stuart, CEO at Mobile Marketing Association

Greg Stuart, CEO of Mobile Marketing Association, discusses the advantages and challenges of the mobile medium.
 

Changing digital landscape requires savvy leadership

Bob Gilbreath, chief strategy officer, Possible Worldwide

If you work in the digital marketing world like me, you might have noticed a gradual increase in the number of recruiters calling to try to fill some big roles at Fortune 500 companies. My sources say that some of the largest brands in the world are looking for senior digital talent.
 

Marketers rethink search engine budgets

Ben Comer

Reid Ichiki, senior manager of Internet marketing at Hawaiian Airlines, says his company uses both Google and the Alliance for search marketing, but spends more with Google.
 

Q&A: Eileen Lynch, head of global brand strategy at Thomson Reuters

Eileen Lynch, Thomson Reuters' head of global brand strategy, discusses how the company uses digital to attract customers
 

Avoid Do Not Call mistakes in online privacy regulation

Scott Hildebrand, chief consumer relationship officer, Engauge

Although a number of industry groups have argued for industry self-regulation of online tracking, that's probably just wishful thinking. The Federal Trade Commission's recent Do Not Track proposal will likely lead to some type of formal legislation. The real question is whether the advertising industry is prepared to make the same mistakes twice.
 

Brands create plans for tablet immersion

Ben Comer

Analysts are already calling 2011 "the year of the tablet." Marketers are preparing for that prediction to become reality by launching mobile marketing apps and websites, and planning search and display initiatives to attract consumers using a growing range of tablet devices.
 

Give consumers control over text marketing initiatives

Jeannette Kocsis SVP, digital marketing, The Agency Inside Harte-Hank

It may be fairly simple to create a text message program for customers, but, like all effective marketing efforts, mobile must be measured and prove return on investment. Brands may also need to integrate customer information into a database.
 

Q&A: Jeff Wisot, VP of marketing at Buy.com

Jeff Wisot, VP of marketing at Buy.com, explains his portal's e-mail campaigns and why it is turning to social media
 

Brands use house parties to collect data

Sony and Michelin are among the marketers who are combining events in consumers' homes with digital and direct marketing tactics to build ongoing relationships with customers.
 

Brands should self-regulate to avoid government steps

Pam Horan, president, Online Publishers Association

The Federal Trade Commission recently released a framework for balancing consumer privacy and innovation online, which includes a "Do-Not-Track" mechanism.
 

Q&A: Blake Callaway, SVP of marketing, SyFy

Blake Callaway

Blake Callaway, SVP of marketing, brand and strategy at cable network SyFy, discusses new ways to engage viewers
 

Checking in improves viewer loyalty

Cable and broadcast television networks are asking fans of their shows to "check in" via social media between seasons.
 

Mobile is a necessity for modern marketing programs

Andrew Koven, president, e-commerce and customer experience, Steve Madden

Mobile is essential for any retailer's multichannel strategy. This is true, not only because mobile penetration is so high, but because people have an "always-on" relationship with their mobile devices.
 

Online contests build consumer interest

Brands are featuring user-generated digital content in their consumer-facing contests, adding a new online angle to a marketing strategy that has been used for decades.
 

Q&A: Bobby Figueroa, Yahoo's VP of product development for consumer advertising

Yahoo's Bobby Figueroa, VP of product development for consumer advertising, discusses the company's 2011 goals
 

Multichannel strategy works to inform diverse customers

Edward Perez, VP of marketing, sales operations, US Cellular

The launch of US Cellular's "The Belief Project" campaign required a multi-message approach from our direct marketing team.
 

Brands integrate video and social in search

Marketers are scrambling to catch up with a fragmented and quickly evolving search marketing industry that takes greater advantage of social networking sites and integration with video.
 

Q&A with Universal Pictures' Doug Neil

Doug Neil, SVP of digital marketing at Universal Pictures, explains his goals for the year, including a push into social
 

Mobile coupons gain ground in the digital marketing race

Maria Mandel

Current adoption numbers for mobile couponing may be low, but there are signs for growth. Mobile coupons are catching on, especially for businesses targeting a younger demographic.