Mobile Version / Subscribe / Back Issues / About Us / Contact Us / Advertise

Beyond Badges: The Power of Customer Engagement Through Quests

Carrie Peters, VP of marketing, BigDoor

Online quests have proven to be tremendously popular. The trick is: how do you harness that level of engagement for something that's not a game?
 

Socially educated patients: pharma-friendly social

Ben Weisman, SVP and director of creative innovations, MRM

The rise of the socially-educated patient is here.
 

Will Google's paid ads affect marketers?

Google's paid ads: What will the impact be for marketers? Dorothy Weaver, VP of digital marketing services at Acquirgy, and Tej Shah, VP of e-commerce and marketing at Blue Soda Promo, weigh in.
 

Plug-ins: Social Marketing

Our expert columnists this month offer practical advice regarding the most effective ways to use social media to foster greater loyalty among customers, including strategies around providing meaningful content for maximum engagement; how to use data collected to improve targeting in a way that is integrated with other marketing efforts; and how to measure and track social marketing efforts.
 

The Evolution of Online Behavioral Advertising Self-Regulation

Fran Maier, president, TRUSTe

Taking a closer look at 2011 and looking to the future we can see three distinct phases of the industry's self-regulatory movement emerge.
 

Unlocking the secrets of QR codes

Laura Marriott, CEO, NeoMedia Technologies

NeoMedia has identified the most common mobile barcode pitfalls and have outlined tips to avoid them to ensure your initiatives not only motivate but engage your target audience.
 

Should brands discontinue print catalogs?

Two longtime marketers weigh in on whether or not brands should keep print catalogs in their marketing mix.
 

Buying display: focus on quality

Andrew Lerner, CEO, Trust Metrics

Direct marketers may dominate the digital display advertising market, but most of these marketers are getting as little as one-third of the return they could.
 

Social change: the new frontier

Jason Saul, CEO, Mission Measurement

CMOs face an impossible challenge: how to distinguish one brand from the next in a market where price, quality and convenience are at parity. The answer is passion. That's the "x factor" that every company wants.
 

Car brands raise digital marketing bar

Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co. unveiled the 2013 Ford Escape on Nov. 15 using social game developer Zynga's popular "Words With Friends" game and a competition against actress Jenny McCarthy, who played the Scrabble-like game live in Los Angeles.
 

Gamification: Are we there yet?

Barry Kirk, VP of loyalty and motivation, Bunchball

Four years after its introduction, many companies and marketers still view gamification as simply slapping badges on a website in an effort to increase user engagement.
 

Moving circulars into the digital age

Jamie Ray, VP of retail, PointRoll

Digital circulars are important for in-store and online traffic, but they're not as easy as putting a print circular online.
 

How hypertargeted should a Facebook ad be?

Patrick Toland, U.S. managing director, TBG Digital

Major brands are increasingly using more precise profile targeting - or "hypertargeting" - through Facebook as a cornerstone of their digital marketing and advertising campaigns, but should they be doing so?
 

Are toll-free numbers the best for DRTV?

Jessica Randazza
, manager of brand experience at Digitas, and AJ Khubani, president and CEO of TeleBrands Corp., discuss whether toll-free numbers are the best for DRTV.
 

On the issue of online privacy, where do industry and government agree?

Peter Kosmala, managing director, Digital Advertising Alliance

Several points of alignment between government officials and industry executives emerged at a recent hearing on consumer online privacy.
 

Did your Google ranking fall this year? Regain your SEO foothold with video

Dr. Melody King, VP of Sales & Marketing, Treepodia

If you have seen your search traffic drop since Google rolled out several algorithm updates earlier this year, you can see your traffic numbers climb in no time—simply by adopting video.
 

Bring on the holidays! It's time to make your holiday mobile strategy ring the registers

Bryon Morrison, president of wireless practice, The Marketing Arm

The holiday shopping season is almost here and strategies incorporating mobile marketing can expand your database, reaffirm customer loyalty and usher in new multichannel techniques to make the most of this holiday season.
 

Busting social media silos

Brian Killen, director of emerging technologies, Acxiom

Marketers seek to blend social media with their traditional marketing methods, but are challenged to use the data they collect effectively in a way that scales with their overall marketing strategies.
 

Ghost stories go digital

Scott Donaton, CEO, Ensemble

The campfire analogy. It's about the best definition of social marketing I've heard yet. It comes courtesy of Ashton Kutcher, who isn't only good-looking, famous, successful, wealthy and married to Demi Moore.
 

Will Google+ boost marketing campaigns?

David Erickson, director of e-strategy at Tunheim
, and Arthur Papas, cofounder and CEO of Bullhorn, discuss whether Google+ will boost marketing campaigns.
 

Calculating the attribution value of emotion

Dana Todd, SVP of marketing and business development, Performics

While we build the future of digital media mix modeling via attribution, we should include variables for weighting levels of connection and emotional influence.
 

The impact of Google's Zagat acquisition on search marketing

Seth Nickerson, senior natural search optimization strategist, iCrossing

The acquisition will affect search marketing in a number of ways, such as fueling Google with more content to distribute to people performing local and mobile searches.
 

Digital marketing hubs for multichannel integration

Leon Zemel, chief analytics officer, x+1

The advent of a technological approach called a "digital marketing hub" now makes it far easier to integrate marketing across channels.
 

Is the click-through rate a dead metric?

Manu Mathew
, cofounder and CEO of Visual IQ,
 and James Burrows, EVP of global sales at e-Miles, discuss whether the click-through rate is a dead metric.
 

Understanding mobile behavior

Gurval Caer, president and CEO, Blast Radius

Direct marketing has always been about connecting with customers through timely, relevant and targeted messages that drive action. Technology's evolution this past decade hasn't changed these fundamentals, but it has opened up a new set of parameters.
 

How to measure engagement

Engagement has been a primary goal of every marketing campaign, long before the Internet turned commerce upside down or the CMO title was invented. Since the beginning of the digital marketing age, it has been the Holy Grail of brand managers.
 

Location matters in online brand advertising

Ari Jacoby, CEO and cofounder, Solve Media

If marketers want customers to remember their brands, remember their messages and take action, they need to reach them when they are paying attention.
 

Listen closely to your social signals

Matt Warta, cofounder and CEO, GutCheck

Is the buzz around your brand cacophony, or is there a signal in all that noise?
 

Stamp your direct mail with QR codes

Gina McDowell, senior product specialist, Experian Marketing Services

QR codes are everywhere. But rarely are they being used effectively.
 

Concerned about page-load speeds? Optimize tags; don't remove them

Paul Cook, CEO and founder, TagMan

We at TagMan recently conducted a survey and found that, no surprise, most marketers are concerned about page-load speed, 81% of respondents, in fact.
 

Understanding the fan journey

Rob McQueen, EVP of sponsorship, Momentum Worldwide

Many marketers and agencies have developed the tools necessary to 
address how shoppers act, feel and what ultimately leads them to purchase. Now, what about the "fan" journey?
 

Is social media measurement a necessity?

Aseem Chandra
, VP of marketing of the Omniture business 
unit at Adobe Systems, and Mathieu Hannouz , senior product marketing manager at Neolane, discuss whether social media measurement is necessary.
 

Mobile shoppers and the new face of mobile couponing

Bryon Morrison, president of mobile practice, The Marketing Arm

Today, with mobile devices at the height of their popularity, CPG marketers have the ideal opportunity to tap into the mindset and mindshare of consumers.
 

Sign me up: in praise of the daily deal

The daily deals sector has garnered plenty of headlines in the marketing press recently, including in this publication. That's no surprise given its size (pegged at $1.25 billion by BIA/Kelsey) and judging by the players who've launched daily deals services — Google, Facebook, Amazon.com and AT&T — to compete with the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial.
 

Effective tips on analytics marketing

Brands need to gain the most from their sales and marketing investments, and now more than ever, proving return on investment is the minimum price of entry to unlocking budget. The most surefire way to gain valuable insight into what's working and why is through marketing analytics, the practice of measuring and managing marketing performance to drive maximum ROI.
 

Do Facebook likes indicate marketer ROI?

Chet Barnard, 
CEO of Exit41, and Steve Knapp, director of brand activation and senior partner at Carmichael Lynch, nearly 20 years of agency-side marketing experience, discuss whether Facebook "likes" indicate marketer ROI.
 

Attribution adoption starts now

Roger Barnette, president, IgnitionOne

It's been a few years since "engagement mapping" aka "attribution" emerged as the next big thing in online advertising. The concept of looking across digital channels and beyond the last click made sense to everyone.
 

Deploy social media effectively

Rosanna Fiske, CEO, Public Relations Society of America

Much fuss has been made in marketing, public relations, advertising and digital circles about who "owns" social media. Go to any conference or read various industry blogs and you're bound to come across a spirited debate on this very topic.
 

On the wings of love: 
An ode to my airline

Scott Donaton, CEO of Ensemble

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned: it's been a long time since my last confession. Actually, this one is rather difficult to get out. A bit embarrassing and — to be honest — I can't really believe I'm saying it out loud. Don't judge me.
 I think I like my airline. Stop looking at me like that. It's true, and I don't care who knows it.
 

Making contact with display ad campaigns

Russell Glass, CEO, Bizo

If only you had a crystal ball that showed you where your target audience was traveling online, and what it already knew about your company, products and brand.
 

Four steps to follow when choosing a list

Craig Conard, president of Sudden Impact Marketing

You can only go to the well so many times.
 

Effective tips for b-to-b social media plans

Chris Chariton, VP of supplier marketing and marketing services, GlobalSpec

Most b-to-b marketers continue to be challenged with finding the very best direct and digital marketing strategy — one that is effective and appeals to the right constituents within organizations — while not breaking the bank on the marketing budget.
 

Yes, you can effectively measure social marketing

Avi Savar, founder, Big Fuel

While some brands continue to debate the merits of social media in their marketing mix, others have made tangible strides in measuring these initiatives.
 

Focus on consumer experience

Paul Price, CEO, Creative Realities

It's hard to believe Twitter is only five years old. The social network's use today is measured in billions, and it is being credited for everything from enabling revolutions to helping people keep up with the latest news. Instead of tuning in to CNN, millions are turning to Twitter feeds.
 

Reaching the digital boomer

Anthony Franco, president and cofounder, EffectiveUI

We know a lot of statistics about the baby boom generation. The US Census Bureau says these 79 million Americans make up 26% of the population, and the oldest boomers turn 65 this year. But who are they really, and how do you effectively reach them in a digital world?
 

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.
 

Have I told you lately 
that I'm wonderful?

Scott Donaton, CEO, Ensemble

We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You. It's that simple — and that hard. And that inescapable
 

Should brands outsource all data storage?

Tore Steen VP of marketing and business development at Janrain, and Semyon Dukach CEO and chairman of SMTP Inc., discuss whether brands should outsource all data storage.
 

Translate social campaigns for multicultural markets

Liz Elting, cofounder and co-CEO, TransPerfect

The question of whether or not to spend money on multicultural marketing budgets no longer holds much weight.
 

Retail's mobile tipping point rests on payments

Nikolas Badminton, director of digital strategy, Tribal DDB

The next big change providing utility in mobile devices will be the adoption of the "mobile wallet" technology and solutions.
 

Don't leave customer data on the table

Michelle Eichner, VP of product management, Unica

Whether the economic climate is good or bad, as marketers we must remind ourselves the importance customer intelligence plays in our ability to weather storms, outperform the market and be top of mind.
 

Should brands abandon e-mail for social?

Rod Witmond, SVP for production management and marketing at Cardlytics, and Oscar Padilla, director of interactive services at Vertis Communications discuss whether brands should abandon e-mail marketing for social media.
 

Digital agencies under review

Lori Goldberg, SVP, Traffiq

Advertisers face an ever-growing list of media buying options as the proliferation of digital permeates the industry. Given the sheer magnitude of choices, over-extended marketers often must turn to their agencies to determine the best fit to meet their goals.
 

Eliminating the online fear factor

Steve Castro-Miller, president and CEO, Bold Software

The frenzy surrounding online privacy and behaviorally-targeted online advertising brought me to the same conclusion FDR reached upon our entry into World War II: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
 

Expect Facebook Login to be the next big data boost

Gerard Murphy, director of strategic partnerships, Conversen

Business reply cards are ancient history, and although online registration forms made the data input process easier for both the marketer and the customer, look to Facebook for the next evolution in data capture.
 

Are marketers who play by rules falling behind?

Matt Saunders, search/media manager, Rosetta

Webmasters have been looking for ways to artificially manipulate organic rankings since the inception of search engines.
 

Defining Do Not Track so it doesn't 'break' the Internet

Steven Vine, chief privacy officer, Datran Media

Things move fast in the digital world, so it can be easy to miss the emergence of revolutionary change. A revolution in online advertising has happened over the past couple months, the significance of which many in our industry have missed. But it is not too late to negotiate peace with the revolutionaries.
 

Display ad results driven by data

Jake Gardner, director of display ad operations, MediaWhiz

Recent reports suggest that display revenues for Google and Facebook are approaching $2.5 and $2 billion, respectively.
 

Dangers of misguided tags in retargeting program

Paul Cook, CEO, TagMan

Putting aside the entire consumer privacy debate - if that's possible - there are more 'insider baseball' dangers in display retargeting, chiefly that most brands are almost certainly bidding against themselves for inventory.
 

Internalize social for marketing

Kendall Collins, CMO, Salesforce.com

The chief marketing officer's role is undergoing a massive shift that matches the shift we're seeing to a mobile and social online world. The Internet, social media and the turmoil of the publishing industry have radically altered how we connect with customers and prospects.
 

Boost sales with interactive TV

David Verklin, CEO, Canoe Ventures

The drumbeat has pounded for decades: Interactive television is here. From Qube to the Full Service Network, from Wink to Navic, there's been no shortage of promises and ballyhoo, but little actual progress to make one believe the TV industry is much closer to fulfilling that promise.
 

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.
 

Recruiting 101 for Web 2.0 - Why you should use social networking sites

Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates

One of our 2010 quarterly hiring surveys included a question on how digital and direct marketing employers were leveraging the social networks to fill their open positions.
 

Your e-commerce site might drive more sales than you give it credit

Phil Hussey, president, 89 Degrees

The impact of a retail website is often judged solely on the sales it generates. While the sales component is important, this type of thinking vastly understates the significance of the website to the company.
 

Six steps to determine if it's time for a website redesign

Josh Levine, CEO, Alexander Interactive

The prospect of a website redesign can be daunting for any small business owner. Before investing the time and money necessary for such an undertaking, entrepreneurs should consider six factors.
 

Best practices for effective keyword research

Adam Scott Riff, GM Search, MediaWhiz

Incorporating the right keyword search tool into your pay-per-click (PPC) campaign can be a time-saving and cost-effective strategy, but a keyword tool is only as effective as the techniques used in the keyword discovery process.
 

Why 2D barcodes matter to marketers

Bryce Marshall, director of strategic services, Knotice

Recent data suggests consumers will be viewing both the physical and online worlds through their mobile devices as the norm - not the exception.
 

What's ahead for search and social marketing

Brian Goffman, CEO and cofounder, Optify

The online marketing space evolved rapidly in 2010, with significant developments in search and social media, as well as convergence between the two.
 

Tips and tenets for driving social strategy

Kevin French, GM, Brand Digital

A few short years ago, social media was new and marketers were cautious about the medium.
 

Set clear objectives for social success

Dan Dodson, CEO, Mastermind

Social media marketing can produce significant return on investment when it is done well, but many companies jump into it without setting clear objectives.
 

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.
 

QR codes: Are they worth the investment?

Susan Kelly and Frank O’Brien

Susan Kelly, VP at Xerox, and Frank O'Brien, founder of Conversation, debate the pros and cons of quick response codes
 

Skepticism rules in the new year

Danny Flamberg, MD, digital strategy and CRM, Kaplan Thaler Group

Digital marketing strategies in 2011 will be played out against a background of macro-trends in the US culture and the economy.
 

Consumers want less clutter on their mobile devices

Marc de Grandpre, head of marketing at Outlier

The mobile device is changing the world in many ways. In the US, 90% of the population over age 13 has a mobile device. Of that, 23% has a smartphone, a percentage that continues to increase.
 

Transition from social listening to customer engagement

Kristin Hambelton, senior director of marketing, Neolane

As the number of US businesses using social media marketing continues to grow, the channel's potential impact on a brand also increases. To do so, though, social media should not remained siloed within the marketing mix.
 

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.
 

Lost on the World Wide Web

Uzair Dada, CEO, Iron Horse Interactive

Browsing, searching, and even e-mail have become passé, replaced by consumption models like social networking sites and phone apps that allow users to get everything they need right where they are, right when they want it.
 

Predictions for media buying in 2011

John Shelton, CEO/president, Strata

2010 will be remembered as a year that eliminated any doubts as to the viability and longevity of digital media.
 

Inject a dose of 'localism' into your next campaign

Steven Bisbee, president of Cogster

Consumers recognize that their money is power and, in increasing numbers, they are beginning to embrace the collective impact of spending it in their own backyards.
 

Retail should replace antiquated circulars with mobile solutions

Dror Liwer, principal, Zemoga

Amid dwindling newspaper circulation, free standing insert (FSI) publishers are at a crossroads.
 

Should retailers invest in m-commerce?

Jeff Hasen, Paula Drum

Hipcricket's Jeff Hasen and Gettington.com's Paula Drum discuss the pros and cons of retailer investment in m-commerce
 

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.
 

Google eyes TV future

Advertisers may be salivating over the targeting promise of Google TV, but it is still unclear how and when search engine marketing and advertising will move from the computer to Google TV.
 

ROI is fool's gold for social marketers

Joe Chernov, director of content, Eloqua

With any rise in spend comes a corresponding lift in expectations. Today, that double-edged sword is tucked tightly in the hands of social marketing professionals.
 

Social media isn't just for marketing - put sales to work, too

Christine G.D. Schaefer, VP of marketing at DLT Solutions

Social media is a many-to-many conversation. That is precisely why it is high time social media moves beyond the marketing department and into sales. For marketers, who traditionally use a one-to-many conversation, it may be difficult to make this leap. However, it is possible to make that transition well if you take the time to think it through.
 

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.
 

Why finding the optimal ad frequency is difficult

Rob Leathern, CEO, XA.net

For supposedly being the most measurable direct response media, online still does an average job of delivering measurability consistently, not to mention its failure to allow marketers to target by these important elements.
 

Tread carefully in era of Google Instant Search

Ammon Brown

Google's new Instant Search, the nifty feature that updates search results as you type a query, represents an interesting leap in user experience and ostensibly helps users find results faster.
 

Jump-start a local search marketing program

Bruce Crair, president and COO, Local.com

The low-cost entry point, tracking capabilities and solid ROI of local search have made it a popular marketing tool for businesses that want to cost effectively target customers in a specific region. Here are some tips to maximize local search marketing.
 

Splashy design, disappointing reveal

Stewart Devlin, chief creative officer, Red Peak Group

Ever since I've lived in New York City (almost eight years now), the five story-building at the busy corner of Houston and Lafayette Street has been used as a billboard to advertise Calvin Klein.
 

A week in digital M&A

In the last few weeks, the buying and selling among digital marketing agencies seems to have sped up.
 

Behavioral targeting moves to the front of the line

The No. 1 issue for marketers in the next 12 months will be behavioral targeting - and if it's not on the CMO's agenda, it should be.
 

Social marketing dialogue dominates

The marketing implications and opportunities presented by social media are dominating the marketing conversation right now, but marketers continue to struggle with ways to deploy social media, maintain a presence in social networking circles, integrate social advertising with other media channels and monetize those efforts.
 

Does iAd open more targeted options?

Apple has boasted about the capabilities of its iAd unit, but will it provide a more personal experience than traditional direct methods? Our experts debate the question
 

Lesson from the iPhone 4

Christine Crandell, SVP of marketing, Accept Corporation

Ever since the antenna problems in the iPhone 4 were first uncovered, there's been a plethora of experts and consumers insisting Apple is making mistakes that will cause long-lasting damage to the brand.
 

Is location-based marketing a 'must have'?

Location-based marketing allows brands to target individual consumers when they're literally in the neighborhood. Our experts discuss whether it's a necessity for marketers
 

Deliver online but don't slow down the user experience

Martin Hayward

It's no secret that online marketing has become not only a numbers game but a race as well.
 

Making the most of local search marketing: A guide for local businesses

Christine Chow, SEM analyst at LocalConnex

Local search marketing is an affordable and effective advertising tool for local businesses to attract new customers. About 70% of households use the Internet to find local products and services either using their computer or their mobile device.
 

Geolocation: The all-in-one marketing tool

Rob Friedman

Marketers can quickly find themselves managing an online environment that's grown quite complex from multiple technologies that work in silos, instead of in-tandem.
 

Should service providers expand offerings?

Economic instability and tech advances have forced companies to reexamine the services they offer. Our experts debate whether service providers should become "one-stop shops."