Intermarkets

More economic bad news drives marketers to the web for better results and ROI

2010-09-09T12:40:00.002-04:00

As we've forecasted previously, the US economy remains weak, and shows further evidence of more long-term weakness driven by domestic policy choices:

US economic growth forecast cut, again

US competitiveness slides again, worse than Sweden, Singapore, China

Although current policy is providing some support to domestic demand in the short run, with the apparent hope that this will turn into stabilization of long term demand, unprecedented budget deficits, tax increases, and high unemployment rates have virtually eliminated all visibility for the US economy, at least from a business perspective, and combine to point toward continued poor economic performance in the US for, up to, the balance of the next 5 - 10 years.

With all of these challenges, that were unimaginable to many people even 18 months ago, we are still seeing growth in online advertising spending. The reason for this is that the current horrific US economic conditions have made it more vital than ever for marketers to achieve strong ROI and deliver accountable results for their efforts.

It's been relatively easy to forecast the path of the economy based on the domestic policy choices being made in the US; the greater challenge is in determining how to respond to the extraordinarily negative implications. We're seeing more and more marketers focus on drilling down into their campaigns to maximise their results, twisting every dial possible. We're also seeing greater acceptance and understanding of the audience model for online advertising, which we explain here.

Check us out at www.intermarkets.net for all your online advertising needs, as well as some fun!

New economy grows, even as the old economy grinds down

2010-08-09T00:40:00.002-04:00

At Intermarkets, we constantly monitor economic conditions in the US, to make sure that our clients and publishers are well served by our pricing and service offerings. For some time now, we have expressed concern about general economic conditions in the US for the second half of 2010, and the Federal Reserve Board has just recently issued a report consistent with our outlook and forecasts.

Here is a link to the story about the Federal Reserve report: Fed set to downgrade outlook for US.

So much of the economy is still dependent on old, and disproven, methodologies and industries, and political intervention in the markets has predictably distorted economic development even further.

Online media, however, continues to grow, as shown by increasing prices driven by higher demand, increased reliance by users on online content and recreation, bottlenecks in the online media supply chain, growing hiring plans by online firms, increasing financial transactions in online companies, and more.

As the rest of the economy continues to grind down, online media continues to thrive. The clear and obvious benefits to marketers of online advertising provides sound reasoning for more budgets to be directed to online media, and in some cases away from other types of media.

For our economic outlook, we continue to expect the general economy to slide back into recession, possibly severe, or at least experience monthly or quarterly economic shrinkage, during and through 2011. This is due to substantial tax increases in the US set for January 1, 2011, continued minimal private sector hiring or further net job losses in the private sector, weakness in most if not all asset classes, and continued uncertainty in the future of the US economy.

We are not able to find comparable scenarios in recent history that provide guidance for this period, because the current conditions and current policies have not been combined in OECD economies before; conventional economic theories and policies call for reduced taxation during economic downturns. The only somewhat similar situation is the conversion of the Venezuelan economy, under Hugo Chavez, several years ago, but with that economy's benefit of having net oil exports, there are material differences in potential outcomes for the US.

For the online media sector, we believe that there will be continued growth in spending and further development of new advertising methodologies and technologies. Greater rich media creatives, more testing of mobile media, and refinement of how to advertise on social media will also provide added growth opportunities.

Check out Intermarkets.net for information on how you can best reach the right market, everyday.

Let's evolve: What's an audience?

2010-04-22T23:48:00.002-04:00

New lingo in the Web advertising world: "audience." But this time, it really matters.

An "audience" is a group of people with a set of common characteristics, which can include demographic, behavioral, or psychographic traits.

For example, "married women, ages 24 - 39, working outside the home, no kids, left-of-center politically, interested in buying an SUV, and environmentally conscious," is an audience.

And why does that matter?

Well, as John Wanamaker, the respected US deparment store executive in the late 1800s and early 1900s said, "Half of my ad budget is wasted; the problem is I don't know which half." By targeting an audience, rather than a publication, you're able to solve Mr. Wanamaker's riddle.

Say you are targeting that group described above, and you're a car dealer in suburban Washington, DC. Why would you pay to advertise in a mass medium, like radio or TV or print?

While many of your target market may be using those media, you're also addressing many, many more people using those media who do not fit your target market at all; what's worse is...you're paying for the privilege of advertising to people you don't want to reach! Plus, say your creative message pokes fun at husbands; what if the majority of people seeing your ads are...husbands? You've just alienated more people than you've reached.

Not smart.

Now, with online advertising, you can certainly target this market segment. The challenge is finding the right venue for doing so. Many old media companies have online advertising options, but the challenge is reach; the old media companies don't have enough people visiting their sites to have an impact on your results.

And assembling enough local sites to create economies of scale efficiencies in reaching that target market just magnifies the inefficiencies of working with dozens or hundreds of media sellers.

So online advertising offers you the ability to reach the target market specifically, but what a pain in the neck it is to assemble the sites to do so.

Until now.

Right now, probably one of the most profound strategic advertising opportunities in online advertising is taking shape: audience networks.

These audience networks allow advertisers to define a wide range of target market characteristics, create ads to appeal to the target market, and then deliver those ads to the target market, minimizing Mr. Wanamaker's waste.

In addition to the crucial benefit of your paying to advertise to only the target market you want to reach, the audience networks allow you to manage your campaign in a single control point, without having to manage and negotiate with dozens or hundreds of media companies. Imagine the savings for local, regional, and national advertisers. How much time and money would you save?
Think about what it is you're really doing with your online ad budget. Are you targeting specific media, or would you rather target actual people?

We've put together an audience network service at Intermarkets. Check out the Aurora Audience Network. We've assembled reach to 200 million unique US Web users and more than 500 million unique global Web users, all in one place.

How health care reform impacts Intermarkets

2010-03-23T02:18:00.012-04:00

Several people have asked me over the past few days about how the federal health care reform legislation currently "in play" in Congress will affect Intermarkets. The answer is difficult to discern because like so many issues, such as tax policy, there's very little clarity in exactly what is actually in the legislation, and little to no knowledge on how the legislation will be interpreted or enforced.

It's amazing how weak the reporting on the legislation has been. Most of the media coverage has been focused on supposed name-calling (most of which has been proven false) and the shenanigans of the politicians, their colleagues, special interest groups, and others.

Based on what we've heard about the bill--broad and extensive tax increases, extension of health benefits, changes to rules and regulations governing health care, and the like--we do know that on the down-side, the tax implications of the legislation appears to be customized to directly penalize companies like Intermarkets that provide solid health care and other benefits, are profitable, and are not government-aided enterprises.

On the other hand, the social benefits of significantly increasing the number of people covered by health insurance, instead of relying on the goodwill and charity of health services providers or governmental agencies, may be a choice the society agrees is worth the price of the potential economic impact.

Here's what we know for the moment (and it's a fluid situation, with lots of changes):

1. Coverage: On the plus side, our insurance coverages should not change, with the exception of extension of dependent children being eligible to remain on their parent's health plan until age 26. While the Intermarkets health plan is pretty good, it does not appear to be classified as a so-called "Cadillac Plan" and does not therefore appear to be targeted for punitive taxes. "Cadillac Plans" are classified as such if they cost a certain amount (combined employer and employee contribution) on an annual basis. Our costs may be reasonable because of our corporate domicile in Virginia.

2. Company taxes and investment: There are significant tax increases that the company will have to pay. This will increase our "forced" costs and therefore may constrict our resources for investing in the company or spending in general. Think of it like this: there's a certain amount of money generated by the company; a portion of that has to go to taxes, the rest into other areas such as benefits, travel, compensation, etc. If more money needs to go into taxes, there's less left over for the other areas. Payroll taxes that the company pays will be going up, reducing money available for other areas.

3. Employee taxes: For the most part, most employees will not see a tax increase, although certain staff will see double-digit percentage increases in the taxes that they pay. These increased taxes are supposed to pay for increased national health care costs. While these tax increases will not be paid by the company, they will be paid by staff through increased withholding.

4. Timing: Historically, US tax policy changes have not been retroactive or in "real time," however that has changed recently such that tax changes have taken affect immediately upon passage by Congress and signature by the President. Again, consistent with the lack of visibility over the past several months, it's not clear when all the taxes and benefits will become in force. While it's great that the benefits are supposed to be immediately available, the challenge is how to reset budgets, spending plans, investments, etc. to calibrate with significant tax policy changes.

This is generally difficult for most people to comprehend because of the relatively light touch that federal income taxes have on most individuals; for privately-held companies, it's a much different matter, especially when the true, effective tax rate reaches into the 50% or higher range. Imagine if 50% or more of every dollar you earn was simply taken out of your pay with little or no notice, and that the percentage kept changing, unpredictably. That's the situation the company faces. This makes it virtually impossible to plan the business in this type of environment, much as it would for an individual who never really knew how much of their earnings they were permitted to retain.

5. General: How this will impact the economy is hard to determine. It's obvious that massive tax increases will be harmful to economic growth, as seen in the late 1970s, the mid-1980s, the early 1990s and in 2007 when payroll taxes were abruptly increased by the new majority in Congress.

With extraordinarily high unemployment, reduced economic activity could prevent improvement in the jobs market, which would likely self-feed to lower income tax revenues and higher federal budget deficits. Higher deficits could lead to increased federal borrowing, which either results in higher interest rates in the short run or higher inflation in the intermediate term. Increased taxes discourages businesses to grow or hire, suppressing wages further.

Conclusion

I've learned over the years that those in positions of power or in positions trying to gain power, no matter whether it's in politics, business, law, relationships, whatever, often like to keep us guessing in order to prevent planning on our part. It's the way of things. Intermarkets remains committed to providing good benefits, including health care, for staff, along with opportunities for professional growth for all staff.

While we may not be able to do as much in the future as we have in the past, we'll do our best to do the right thing. We may have to make hard choices but we'll always do so to achieve the best results for everyone involved. So as our society makes its own choices for what it wants, we'll do our best to accomodate the changes in the Intermarkets Way.

Closing thought

Benjamin Franklin, one of the original founders of the United States, is credited with this quote:

When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Sourced here.

Or, as Kyle Broflovski said, "this whole carnival is a rip-off."

How to be

2010-02-09T19:53:00.002-05:00

"He didn't envy nor slay any one, but honored and exalted all good men without exception, and hence he neither feared nor hated any one of them."
--The Roman Emperor Trajan, as described by Cassius Dio, Roman History, Epitome of Book LXVII

Truly the way to be.

Matt Drudge does it again!

2010-02-09T00:24:00.002-05:00

Ever vigilant for hypocrisy in our modern era, the iconic Matt Drudge has done it again. He's got a link on his home page titled:
Blizzard Rearranges Announcement of Feds New Global Warming Office...
which links to this story on The Wall Street Journal's Web site:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/02/08/noaa-blizzard-rearranges-climate-change-announcement/

This is classic Matt Drudge and classic Drudge Report. Thanks, Matt, for keeping us sane.

Pax Venditum

2010-01-27T21:58:00.004-05:00

Advertising peace
On today's Drudge Report, there's a link to a story about Newsday's efforts to sell subscriptions to its content on the Web, here. I don't know the full background of the story, but the gist of the article is that after three months, only 35 subscriptions were sold, traffic to the site is said to have plummeted, and with that drop in traffic it's fair to assume that the online ad revenues have fallen off as well because most advertisers are buying on CPM models.

To be fair, there's not a lot of information from Newsday, so they may be doing very well, and if so, that's great news, and they should be commended. There's not much discussion of Newsday's strategy in the article, either, so we are likely missing some pretty important information which could indicate that Newsday is succeeding.

Newsday, which has a tremendous reputation and is highly regarded, is not the subject of this posting; the ad-supported model vs. the subscription model is.

This story reminded me of how often we see a wave of this type of thinking in the online content world. Every few years, publishers start talking about how they're going to charge for access to their content, assuming that their traffic won't be tremendously affected, and that the combination of retained ad sales and new subscriber revenues will bolster their fortunes.

Well, then.

The Newsday example, if accurately reported in the New York Observer, once again proves that Web users are not interested in paying for most content. They know that they can find most any news or information for free on the Web. Why would someone pay for access to AP news on one site when they can get it for free on another?

I'm also reminded of my days in print publishing in which the publishers treated the ad sales business, and our clients, like second class citizens. I understand a lot of that had to do with lack of knowledge and weak experience, but it was definitely symbolic of the love/hate relationship between content providers and advertisers.

At some point, content providers need to make peace with the fact that it's okay to have advertising on their site. Some users are going to scream that they absolutely cannot read anything on a site because of that holy-awful 180x150 ad for--heaven forbid!--Taco Bell, and that they'll never, ever, ever visit the site ever again because of it. And they'll probably add an insult to the publisher's parents in their unsigned, anonymous email deploring the ads on the site.

But publishers have to keep in mind...these visitors aren't paying for the content, and if you ask them to pay in exchange for not showing ads, they're unlikely to take you up on the offer. If a user is that sensitive to advertising, maybe they need far more help in other, more profound ways, than by having a publisher switch their entire business model away from advertising supported content, to a paid subsciption model which has been proven time and again to not work.

I totally agree that there are some bad advertisements and some bad advertisers in the field, no doubt.

But on the whole, it's time to make peace with the ad-supported content model.

Let's be grand and call it "Pax Venditum" (Advertising Peace).

You read it here, first.

A different kind of don't ask, don't tell

2009-12-12T21:46:00.003-05:00

With the holiday season upon us, charities are approaching us through the mail, telemarketing, email and on the Web. Representatives are in front of grocery stores and in shopping malls.

Now, I don't mean to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but it seems to me that a lot of these organizations assume that people don't make donations all through the year, and that unless asked, people wouldn't make donations at this time of year either.

That kind of goes against the reality of philanthropy and charity in the United States, which has one of the highest rates of giving of any country in the world. To prove the point, check out this story in Forbes.

Back in the "good old days," many people gave to charity anonymously, especially when significant contributions were made. But now, it's almost as if more money is spent on publicizing donations, particularly from companies, than in the actual giving itself.

I wonder if the ubiquity of the Web has fostered this profound change, because so much information is available, both accurate and inaccruate, that companies and high profile individuals feel that they have to "promote" their giving in order to combat various bits of information that may not be so positive about their companies or themselves.

So in other words, if it's not on the Web, then people assume that you or your company are not participating in charity or philanthropy. In the old days it was the opposite; you weren't asked and you didn't tell.

This is one of the many ways our culture is being influenced by the Web. My native approach is the old school way, don't ask and don't tell. But maybe the Web has made that go the way of the Model T, or Netscape.

Regardless, charity and philanthropy remain virtuous.

Happy holidays!

One word.

2009-12-09T01:20:00.001-05:00

Independence

Giving Thanks: Tom Phillips

2009-11-17T23:36:00.006-05:00

As we approach Thanksgiving, it's a good time to think about all that we have to be thankful for (apologies for the grammar). It's especially important during difficult times to be reminded of the good things, people, and events in our lives.

To start, I'm thankful for the experience of having worked for Tom Phillips at Phillips Publishing. Tom taught me entrepreneurship, the relentless pursuit of excellence, how to look at things from different perspectives, and to strive for perfection.

On a personal side, Tom was always friendly and had a kind word to share. He really made me feel like part of the family.

I thank Tom for the opportunity to work for him and learn from him. I thank him for the opportunity to learn how to sell advertising, and to delve into what was at the time a new-fangled contraption called the internet.

Today, our more than 24 employees, and many more stakeholders outside the company, benefit from the knowledge Tom provided.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ad:tech NYC 2009 observations

2009-11-07T00:38:00.002-05:00

We just got back from ad:tech NYC, and here are our immediate impressions:

1. Attendance seemed lighter this year than in the past; the new venue at the Javits Center may have accounted for that because it is a much larger facility so the crowd may have been spread out over much more space.

2. There didn't seem to be the usual "euphoria" among attendees; there was definitely a sense of calm optimism.

3. It seemed that there were more attendees from the larger media companies than in the past.

4. It also seemed that there were more attendees from up-market agencies and advertisers than in the past.

5. There are still lots of opportunities in the online marketing world. As more budget dollars are directed online, advertisers and agencies will seek out more unique opportunities with established, well-branded and respected publishers.

Okay, I have to add that it was pretty cool being in Times Square when the NY Yankees won the Series. Intermarkets doesn't take sides in any of that, but the collective roar heard throughout Manhattan as the Yankees won on Wednesday night was a remarkable experience.

Hacking, parenting and the Intermarkets Way

2009-10-14T21:54:00.004-04:00

As a parent, when your child does a great thing, there's always the conflict between wanting to brag about their accomplishment, while at the same time not wanting to seem like one of "those" parents who endlessly promote their child's every latest move as some form of monumental achievement worthy of the Nobel Prize or a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

But sometimes, you just gotta brag.

Every day at Intermarkets, we strive to achieve greatness within the construct of the Intermarkets Way. This means going above and beyond what is expected, to achieve what should be done.

With a widely dispersed staff, working at various locations across the country, it's easy, however, for us to just take for granted the everyday heroic acts of our team. For me, it's native to not seek out commendations, and that can lead to not sharing them, either. And that's not a good thing.

So today that changes.

And we've got a great example to use as a starting point.

This morning, my colleague Mike S. was doing a routine check of one of our publishers' sites and noticed something peculiar with the Google search code on the site.

After some quick research, he contacted me and explained the situation. Someone had “hacked” into the site’s server and made changes to the site's home page. The site’s servers are the same that host another of our publishers. This set off major alarm bells, even though the issue was not directly related to Intermarkets.

We contacted the publisher and he and his webmaster investigated and found that there was a security issue. The issue was resolved, and the code was corrected.

Thanks to Mike's rapid actions, we saved the publisher lost revenue and identified a security issue that could have affected other publishers, too. We earned the appreciation of the publisher as well as the webmaster.

Thanks, Mike, for your actions today, and thanks to everyone on the Intermarkets team for contributing to our ongoing success, and building the legendary Intermarkets Way.

Like I said, sometimes you just gotta brag.

Survey says...

2009-09-16T09:59:00.004-04:00

The vast majority of corporate chief financial officers do not agree with the recent statement by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the "recession is likely over." According to a recent poll, nearly 70% of CFOs believe the recession will continue.

This is startling because CFOs are the most knowledgeable about where the economy is right now and where it is heading.

The major concern at this moment is that economic policies may be developed based on assumptions that may be in error.

Why this matters is that business and consumer confidence is crucial in reviving the economy.

Intermarkets awards scholarship

2009-09-12T01:37:00.005-04:00

Intermarkets, Inc. announces that Daniel C. Yates has been awarded the Intermarkets-Lucido Journalism Scholarship.

We created the scholarship to recognize an outstanding graduating senior in Virginia who understands and promotes the importance of unbiased journalism in the United States media.

Click here for more information.

Daniel wrote a great essay and has shown tremendous leadership and a true commitment to real journalism.

Congratulations Daniel and best wishes to you for the future, from all of us at Intermarkets.

Intermarkets Publisher Gets Slow Jammed by Jimmy Fallon!

2009-09-09T14:08:00.003-04:00

Intermarkets manages sales for a variety of Web sites, including the iconic Drudge Report. We're also proud to work with Rasmussen Reports, which must also now be an icon as the site was slow jammed by Jimmy Fallon, check it out here.

Come on Jimmy...how about Matt Drudge, next?

Web advertising industry snapshot - First half, 2009

2009-06-30T22:56:00.004-04:00

Minor updates, July 22, 2009:

Short and sweet tonight. Here's what we've seen in the Web ad industry during the first half of 2009:

1. Q1 performed better than expected, given the current economic conditions. Consumer confidence, unemployment, interest rates, energy prices and more have contributed to restricting economic growth in most business sectors.

2. Q2 performed much better than planned, due to stable-to-growing demand for online ad space.

3. Overall financial performance for 1H09 looks to be lower than in 2008, but only slightly, with a decline under 10% (which is less than predicted by a variety of forecasters).

4. Ad networks performed relatively well. We think this is due to better optimization tools and practices, as well as advertisers shifting budgets away from broadcast, print and cable to the Web.

5. We've noted a slight increase in VC funding of publishers and advertising intermediaries, somewhat disrupting natural pricing equilibrium for both buyers and sellers.

6. We've noted some realignment of publishers and advertising intermediaries away from conventional online media (banners, for example) opening opportunities for those who can effectively work these formats.

Outlook for 2H09:

1. We believe economic conditions will weaken further through the end of the year, with key indicators such as the unemployment rate, interest rates, real estate values, energy prices, tax increases, state budget deficits, tight credit conditions, and more choking economic growth.

2. We agree with predictions that unemployment will exceed 15% (or perhaps even much more) during 2010.

3. This particularly critical benchmark will cause marketers to continue to be conservative with their budgets.

4. We think the Web advertising sector should continue to be sound with stable-to-moderate growth. We expect blue chip advertisers to continue increasing their online ad spending for the rest of the year.

More to come, but we wanted to be among the first with a 1H09 summary.

Summer: Sizzle or snooze?

2009-06-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

During the stock market crash of 1929, and during the depression that followed (and for that matter, in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life" the antagonist played by Lionel Barrymore), great fortunes were amassed by some smart folks who bought while the masses were selling. To this day, that same pattern repeats itself, by the likes of investors such as Warren Buffet.

So, when your competition is slashing their marketing budget during tough economic times (afterall, why bother selling your product when sales are down, right?), does it make sense to seize the moment and aggressively market your product or service?

Of course it does!

During weak economic times, such as those we're now experiencing, there is a lot less "noise" in the media, meaning that your message can get through more clearly and more efficiently than when times are good and lots of competitors are in the marketplace grasping for your market's attention.

That's why this summer, don't snooze...sizzle!

With the stage to yourself, and while great creative work is always vital, if you don't have a perfect idea, at least you will have more people's attention, so you can get across a sales or reminder or whatever message you're aspiring to deliver.

Think of it this way; Whose message are you more likely to hear: the words of one child in a classroom with 40 other chattering kids, or the words of one person with whom you are in a room alone?

Okay, so I'm not so good at the sales pitch myself these days. To encourage our target market to listen to our message, we're offering discounts and free bonuses this summer to capture your attention.

Too Sweet To Resist!

Check out Intermarkets today to learn more about an offer that's Too Sweet To Resist (plus we have a nice picture of some puppies as part of the promotion; yes, we can be ruthless).

Have a great July 4 holiday, and keep those cards and letters coming!

Managing aspirations

2009-06-18T23:58:00.005-04:00

Profound lessons from the Bronze Age, more meaningful than the latest management fad:

Around 400 BC, near the end of the Peloponnesian War, controversial, brilliant and legendary (and real) General Alcibiades of Athens looked out over a mass of untrained, raw, newly-recruited Thracian soldiers, on a southern plain in Thrace (part of Turkey, today). His military companions looked on at the new recruits in astonishment that Alcibiades could have so much confidence in them.

In a haughty tone, one of the companions says to Alcibiades, "Even yourself are not so vain as to imagine that these recruits will stick (i.e., fight – KPL) for you?"

To which Alcibiades replies, "I'm disappointed in you, old friend. Can you be as blind as these Thracians to what stares you, and them, in the face?"

"And what would that be?" his companion asked.

"Their own greatness."

He meant he would lift them to it.

He continued, "They will not stay for my destiny, but for their own."

From "Tides of War," by Steven Pressfield

Do you see the greatness in your colleagues?

Go beyond making a sale. Build a relationship.

2009-04-14T02:31:00.005-04:00

I recently spoke at a conference about internet fundraising for non-profit organizations and political candidates (they're really non-profit, aren't they?).

The key point I stressed was that while you need to ask for donations aggressively, keep in mind that you also want to engage the visitor to your site and build a relationship with them. It's Marketing 101, all over again. In a relationship scenario, your visitor may keep coming back, and they make keep making donations, over and over. And, they may even form up your grassroots, get-the-work-done volunteers.

That's crucial, because while it's satisfying to donate to organizations or candidates that suit your interests, it's even more satisfying to see them succeed. Money's a big part of that, but so are the actions of the volunteers who vote, recruit other supporters, contact decision-makers, and more.

We just ran a campaign for a political organization on one of our Intermarkets Portfolio sites. The ads generated in some instances >1% CTR, and generated tremendous amounts of donations. This level of engagement can be extended beyond just a single election cycle or issue to be advocated. It can be transformed into a commitment by the visitor to be an engaged member, making an impact, and in turn, producing self-actualization benefits that no "Thank you" card in the mail could ever achieve.

Greetings from South Carolina,
Kevin

Best performing headline in an advertisement on the Drudge Report

2009-02-07T23:31:00.004-05:00

I was just reminded today that the best-ever performing headlines for advertisements on the Drudge Report were in the format of:

"Shocking new video! Paris Hilton (fill in the blank)!"

It didn't matter what the "fill in the blank" part said; as long as it was a "shocking new video" featuring Ms. Hilton, click rates were through the roof. We saw some ads hit an 8%+ CTR (albeit with very focused targeting and restrictive frequency capping). And if that sounds high...well, it is. In fact, it's shocking.

Marketing in a tough economic environment

2009-01-11T00:01:00.001-05:00

Digital media provides marketers with a quantum leap forward in accountability and measurement tools. Everyone knows this. But in the current economic environment, marketers need to remember to focus on the basics.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of what marketers should demand from their media partners (like Intermarkets):

1. Get as much performance reporting, with as much detail as possible. This will let you know why the consumer is behaving the way they are; and may point to ways to guide them on the path you want them to take.

2. Work with your media partner on pricing. They want to sell, you want to buy. If they won't budge on pricing, push for value-add inventory to reach the eCPM you need to make a campaign work. Sometimes media companies have to stick to a baseline CPM, but may be able to deliver the number you need with value-add inventory.

3. Listen to the advice of the media partner to learn what's working on their sites. They can't give you confidential information, but they certainly can guide you in the right direction.

4. Track conversions and share the information with the media company. Working with the same numbers, both marketer and media partner can create the best, win-win opportunity.

5. Chill. Everyone else is stressed out about so much stuff these days, no one needs to add to it. Not everything is going to work out perfectly, and you will have successes. Mutually treating each other well will create a more desirable and productive relationship.

6. If you've got to cut your budgets, talk with the media partner to see what options they can provide to you. You might be surprised at how flexible ad sellers are these days, even in digital media.

7. Share future plans with your media partner, confidentially, to help them understand your goals and objectives so that they can develop placement opportunities for you.

8. Keep in mind that your competitors may--correctly--see the current environment as an opportunity to gain market share more cheaply through reduced advertising costs. When a non-marketer in your company throws down the gauntlet to you to cut ad spending, the best reply is to ask, "why do we want to cut sales and market share now, of all times?" Of course, smiling innocently as you say this will make the comment go over much better.

9. Ask your media partner for ongoing and consultative support to make your campaigns even more successful. You should expect them to provide you with suggestions, strategies and tactics, as well as insights.

At Intermarkets, we strive to provide all of this to our clients, all the time. It's astounding how many ad sellers wouldn't even call clients back just a few months ago; now they're having to cold call prospects.

What a difference a few months make.

--Kevin

Interesting thing on ESPN...

2008-12-23T22:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry if this is old news, but the other day I noticed on Jim Rome's show on ESPN that for several minutes, the screen showed what looked like a Web page, with Jim Rome's show in the upper right corner, rightfully taking up a large part of the screen, while the rest of the screen showed a sports ticker, and some text boxes. I was on a treadmill when this occured, reading a very engrossing book, so I only noticed this spectacle for a moment.

Is this the future of television, especially with the upcoming broadcast conversion in 2009?

Maybe that "convergence" thing (that is, a variety of media devices and services combining into one platform) really is going to happen.

Imagine the possibilities...!

The winning formula for Web ads!

2008-09-14T00:18:00.001-04:00

Many apologies for that tease. The winning formula for Web ads is really just plain commonsense. That's the short answer. There's more to the story...

In this post, we'll go through "Web Creative 101" class.

So, what's the best creative?
That's a common question we hear from our advertisers. The challenge, it's not an easy question to answer because there is no "silver bullet" for Web creatives. Here are some basic best practices to follow.

1. Make sure your target audience sees the ad.
Okay, so that sounds pretty basic. But the fact is, many creatives that we see are not going to be seen by the users. Slow-loading creatives (such as flash ads or artsy film-style ads) are the worst offenders; Web marketers have about 2 seconds to get a site visitor's attention. That means you have to lead with your punch line; save the rich media experience and creative fireworks for later on. Or put 'em on the landing page. Explain to your creative team how great the ad is...but that they need to quickly get the attention of Web users whose attention span has shortened tremendously as the volume of content on the Web has grown.

2. Understand the target market.
That means knowing who the audience is who is visiting the site on which your ads are running. Go beyond demographics; demand that the publisher or their reps provide you with psychographic data and behavioral profiles. Also, learn where the site's traffic is originating; if a cooking site gets most of their traffic from news or sports sites, that provides a clue as to the mindset--and needs--of the site's audience.

3. I'd like to say, "listen to your sales rep."
...But, it's hard to get the attention from a real, live human being anymore. Wow, that sounds like a cranky old dude saying that! In fact, not so long ago, we placed an albeit small budget of $10,000 with one of the leading ad networks, as a test. It was painful to actually speak with a live sales rep. For the obligatory plug for Intermarkets, our sales team actually wants to help you with your campaign, because our perspective is that if we can do everything possible to make the campaign work for you and your client, then you'll come back to us over and over. That commonsense business practice has helped us retain a large and diverse client base over the years. And it's astonishing to me that larger advertising sales organizations don't seem to have picked up on that...yet.

4. Be hypersensitive.
Look at your creative and consider how you're talking to the audience. It's amazing how many advertisements actually insult the target market. Showing your prospective customers as being stupid, or getting physically abused or anything else in the least bit offensive makes it plain in the minds of your prospects what your company really thinks of them. And for a lot of companies, insulting the customer is probably a form of disclosing how they treat their customers. But, would you actually want--or choose--to do business with anyone who thinks and acts like you're stupid and annoying?

More to come.

If you'd like a real, live human being to help with your advertising, check us out at intermarkets.net.

Class dismissed!

Sincerely,
Kevin Lucido
Chief Executive Officer
Intermarkets, Inc.

Now they're getting it!

2008-09-07T00:39:00.001-04:00

During the past couple of weeks, filled with news of the political conventions as well as the coverage of Hurricane Gustav, an interesting thing happened: Traditional media learned how to use new media to their advantage. Let's look at how they did this.

It's simple. During the Democratic and Republican conventions, we saw a significant increase in placements by the leading cable news channels on our flagship Portfolio site, the Drudge Report.

These news channels knew that the Drudge Report was going to be one of the first sites on the Web that people would visit to get the latest news and information about what was going on in Denver and St. Paul.

And right they were! The Drudge Report racked up its highest daily traffic during the political conventions. And by placing ads on the site, the leading news channels generated enormous audiences.

There are so many other Web-centric opportunities for conventional media, especially television, radio and newspapers, to generate traffic to their sites and users of their core content. Taking out display ads on top Web sites is a great place to start.

The next step...teasers and feeds using streaming technology; polls; "listen/watch/read now" marketing; 360 degree brand surrounding of Web audiences; and...

Oops, our sales team is insisting that we stop giving away the store. Talk to us (visit us here) and we'll give you more ideas.

Now the question is...will the media leaders follow through with even more creative solutions and approaches? We'll be ready to deliver...if they're interested.

Have a great week!
--Kevin

PS Almost forgot--As part of our community support activities, we're sponsoring a concert in Vienna, Virginia on Friday, September 12, at 6:30 PM. We're donating our sponsorship space to a local animal rescue organization, and they'll be there to provide information on how to help save animals. Please join us! For more information, check out the town of Vienna's Web site, here.

Political fundraising -- Use the web...or else?

2008-08-05T18:03:00.000-04:00

The Internet: The Dominant Media Force in Political Campaigns and Fundraising
I have a stack of direct mailings from a political candidate in my office. I started collecting the material about a month ago, and the stack is now nearly 8 inches high. I receive about 10 direct mail pieces per week from this candidate and their political party. And I ignore all of them.

Think of the time, money and resources that are used for these mailings. And yet, the candidate and their party appear to have completely missed the point that the Internet has grown with such speed and scope that it is the dominant media force in political campaigning and the primary source of political information for generations of millions of Americans.

Why the growth? Three key reasons...Open access, low-cost technology and the fast-growing base of users.

For example, we recently ran a couple of campaigns; one for a non-partisan charity and another for a political candidate.

For the charity, ads on our Portfolio delivered double the amount in donations than the organizers sought; in eight hours we raised more than $1 million.

For the political candidate, we're generating thousands of dollars every hour for their candidate. And we had to practically beg this presidential candidate's campaign to run these ads! Apparently, some, uh, "expert" told the campaign they couldn't raise any money on our sites. Looks like the expert was wrong, just a little bit?

Political organizations, marketers and candidates who "don't get it," will soon find themselves out of power...because the Web is where the voters are now.

Some experts (okay, I lost my sources, but these are real quotes) say:
"TV is being reduced to finding its news coverage in subjects that originate on the Internet" and “The Web is helping to connect people much faster to the issues.” And everyone in media seems to be guided by the reporting on the Drudge Report these days.

The power of online political communication
- Local television news is dropping as a source where individuals learn about political campaigns, recently from 48% to 39%.
- Internet has jumped from 9% to 24%; the largest by any media.

While Intermarkets is a non-partisan firm, we have seen left-of-center candidates and organizations clearly leading right-of-center organizations and candidates in effectively using the Web, blowing away all right-of-center efforts

For example, political ad spending after the New Hampshire primary was more than $50 million with over 80% of spending on the Democratic side alone!
- Total fundraising by party (from earlier this year):
Democrats: $319,103,104
Republicans: $261,989,809
- Online political buzz:
Democratic candidates accounted for two times the share of republican candidates in political discussions online.

Why should political candidates and organizations of all kinds use the Web? Because as elite political marketers have discovered, the Internet delivers crucial advantages over all other forms of fundraising:
- 300% return on investment for political fundraising on conservative websites.
- 20% of tech-savvy users relying on the Internet for political news made a contribution after clicking on an online political ad.
- 3% of total Internet users contributed to an online political campaign in 2006

Failure to utilize Web media now could result in complete loss of an entire generation of voters for candidates and political organizations:
- 18 - 29 year olds use the Internet (42%) much more than older users (15%)
- YouTube channel views: Democratic views: 16,951,309 Republicans: 10,721,805
- Social Network Participation:
Facebook:
Obama (D): 89,486+
Clinton (D): 365,551+
McCain (R): 42,756+

MySpace:
Obama (D): 22,705+
Clinton (D): 40,935+
McCain (R): no presence

The Generation Gap Revisited
Younger voters who are interested in politics rely on online information:
- 92% of users under age 36 rank the Internet as a top 2 primary source of political news and information with 35% citing it as the top source.
- Only 17% of users aged 51 & older rank the Internet as a primary source of political news.

Left-of-center political sites lead in top political websites:
Rank Website - Market Share
1. www.huffingtonpost.com - 4.22%
2. politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com - 3.91%
3. www.freerepublic.com - 3.68%
4. www.realclearpolitics.com - 3.08%
5. www.barackobama.com - 2.78%
6. youdecide08.foxnews.com - 2.63%
7. www.dailykos.com - 2.4%
8. www.ronpaul2008.com - 2.2%
9. www.politico.com - 1.86%
10. www.democraticunderground.com - 1.5%

Where users get campaign news online:
Total % 18 – 29 Y/O % 30 Y/O + %
MSNBC.com 26 30 24
CNN.com 23 30 21
Yahoo News 22 27 19
Google News 9 10 9
Fox News 9 5 10
AOL News 7 5 8
New York Times 6 5 6
Drudge Report 3 1 4

In this Web era, political candidates and organizations need to go where the voters are...which is on the Web.

Opening salvo

2008-08-01T00:51:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the new blog from Intermarkets, Inc.'s very own CEO, Kevin Lucido.

Within our company, we've gone back and forth about whether or not to do a blog. But our smart team of marketers convinced me that we needed to create our own forum.

So here we are, and welcome.

Let's make the world a better place. Every day.