Marketing

Web 2.0 is emphatically here to stay. Social media is a powerful new force. And content owners must come to terms with the implications. Where will revenue growth come from and should organizations embrace online video as an opportunity—or fear it as a threat?

Internet users, more than ever before, are multitasking and incorporating different and new media types into an interconnected experience, according to a recent survey by Burst Media. The study found that over four-fifths (82.4%) of respondents are involved with another media, activity, or device while online. Among these multi-taskers, nearly one-quarter (23.6%) are “super-taskers” juggling four or more tasks while online. Watching television (58.3%) is the most common offline activity connected with Internet consumption.

According to a new study by BDO Seidman, LLP, almost three-quarters (73%) of chief marketing officers at leading U.S. retailers believe discounting and promotions will be more plentiful this holiday season compared to 2006 due to the current credit crunch.

You know you have a great product, the price is right, and you’ve spent a bundle on a barrage of slick, witty advertisements. Yet sales are slack, so your ship sinks while your competitors sail away on surging revenues. If this sad tale sounds familiar, you may have neglected the most critical aspect of your marketing plan – targeting.

New research indicates that spending on social media and conversational marketing will outpace that of traditional marketing by 2012, according to a study conducted by TWI Surveys, Inc. on behalf of the Society for New Communications Research and thought leader, Joseph Jaffe. This and many other significant findings are featured in Joseph Jaffe’s new book, Join the Conversation, which became available today, published by John Wiley & Sons.

Advertising to children has been a marketing plan staple for many food companies since the advent of television. Even as adults, many of us can still recall signature advertisements, from the “Tony the Tiger” and “Trix Rabbit” campaigns to “Punchy”, the combustible Hawaiian Punch character. Indeed, some brands have historically devoted up to 50% of their media budgets to ads targeting children.

Project Apollo pilot data indicates that marketers can identify consumer groups whose sensitivity to price depends on their exposure to advertising. This is the latest in a series of marketing case studies developed from Project Apollo, by Arbitron, Inc. and The Nielsen Company.

Vertis Communications announced the results of its proprietary Customer Focus OPINIONES survey, which found that while 78 percent of all Hispanics in the U.S. have a positive perception of private label store brands, only 61 percent of those speaking only Spanish at home maintain a similar outlook. Conversely, 88 percent of Hispanics who speak English at home have a positive outlook on private label brands.

The unbiased opinion is trusted around the globe.

There are more marketing channels aimed at consumers than ever. Yet more than three-quarters of consumers surveyed worldwide find that consumer opinions are the most effective form of advertising, according to a Nielsen study.

To be successful in any business, you must be able to forge new relationships while maintaining old ones. Benjamin Lewis, a public relations professional and president of Perception, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD, has authored Perfecting The Pitch: Creating Publicity Through Media Rapport (Larstan Publishing 2007) to help professionals and entrepreneurs better understand how to establish valuable rapport with the media.