ChaosScenario

Cookie deletion hysteria overblown

Last year a report came out from Jupiter Research and Nielsen saying that "39% of online users may be deleting cookies from their primary computer monthly, undermining the usefulness of cookie-based measurement and leaving many site operators flying blind."  This really shook the internet media world up. Without cookies, it's nearly impossible to measure the effectiveness of media placed on different sites.  Of course no one bothered to question Jupiter or Nielsen's methodology or numbers. These guys are trust worthy, right? I mean Nielsen couldn't make a mistake (except for that whole DVR measurement thing, and oh yeah, the fact that they only measure 5,100 households in the US).

Now that the smoke has cleared a little bit, it appears that cookie deletion is maybe not such a big issue. A recent study from Ponemon Institute found only 8 percent of consumers "very frequently" delete cookies, while as much as 24 percent don't delete them at all. (via MarketingVox).

I have a hard time believing behavior has changed that much so quickly. Could it have been a publicity stunt last year? A ploy to sell their product and services? A conspiracy? Or have I been watching too many trailers for the Davinci code?

- Paul Herring

A Modest Proposal (for an index of Advertisers) ...

Go ahead and call me "old school." You can call me an old fool. You can even call me an old-time magazine junkie (which I am, by the way). But I think that there's a time or two when we can learn a lesson or two from the "hapless" and "tired" old media.

Take the index of advertisers for instance.

You know, that feature in magazines where there's a page that lists all the advertisers IN that magazine and then tells you on which page of the magazine you can find advertisements from all of those advertisers.

It's an idea that has even more applicability (note to self: Is applicability a word?) in the online world.

Check this scenario: I was on Gawker Media's computer gaming Kotaku (Gawker media blog devoted to computer and video games) site last week, checking out a story for one reason or another, and I noticed a banner ad that I THINK was soliciting volunteers for Katrina-related relief work. I say THINK, because I clicked away from the page that I was reading to follow a link in the editorial copy. A few minutes later, I asked myself, "What was that Katrina link all about?"

When I went back to the page I was on, the Katrina ad had been replaced by a different ad. I tried refreshing the page, to see if I could cause the Katrina ad to reappear.

No such luck. So I refresh again.

Oh, look, another dating site ad. How nice. But not what I'm looking for.

So, I refresh the page again.

No Katrina ad. Again.

No. Again.

No. Again.

No! Again!!

No!! Now, I am borderline autistic, so this type of behavior delights and enthralls me. But even I was beginning to get a bit frustrated by this point. Again!!!

No!! Again!!

No!! Damn your feckless eyes Kotaku!! Where oh where is your sweet Katrina relief ad?!?!?

Answer: No where that I could find.

But think how EASY it would have been to find that ad if Kotaku had a page where all of their site advertisers were indexed. One click and I would have been able to find that information. And Kotaku wouldn't have driven down their click-through ratio serving me ads that I had no interest in seeing. And the Katrina relief effort - or whatever sponsor I may have been trying to find out more information about (you've probably picked up by now that I was never able to make my way there) - would have had another potential customer. Seems like what we call in the old school yard a win-win-win situation, doesn't it?

Are there any sites out there that provide an index of advertisers? Is there any reason a site would NOT want to do that? Make it a click off the site map page, if nothing else (I think it might be more valuable than that, but what do I know, really, about anything other than old pirate movies?)

I'm just and old fool. I want to know.

Thank you. - Harley Jebens

Duh! Another Study Validates The Internet

Duh! It seems that study after study is stating the obvious when it comes to the importance the Internet is playing in the lives of consumers. I'm not angry, just a little mistified that it has taken this long and this many studies to validate its importance. The latest report is from Friedman-Swift Associates, an automotive marketing research company. Adweek has an article about the findings of a survey of 12,270 new-car customers in 2005. Basically, what they're saying is that 30% of new car buyers are visiting dealers web sites, which is up from 17% in 2001. As a result, dealers are moving their advertising budgets online and away from newspapers.

I had an opportunity to speak recently to a group of college students about the impact of the Internet on American Society. My research and my conversation with them made me realize that we take the Internet for granted in our daily lives. This generation has grown up with computers and the Internet. They don't know a life without the Internet. They do know a life without newspapers. Rock on! - Pete Lerma

AMEX 15 second clips

American express just got into the consumer generated content game with their 15 second clip contest. (via MicroPersuasion). The contest is pretty easy, you just submit your fifteen second clip based on pre-set topics. Submitted videos can be viewed online, downloaded to an ipod, sent to a friend and sent to a mobile phone.

I believe this consumer generated content campaign is well thought out. Unlike the Chevrolet Tahoe campaign, it's not really about the product, it's about the customer and their self-expression. There are restrictions on what can be released and posted, controlling the "bash the brand" movement that took over the Tahoe campaign, including:

• Is there any inappropriate content (nudity, foul language, violence)?
• Does the clip answer one of the 13 "My Life My Card" questions provided?
• Does the clip meet the basic technology requirements?
• Does the clip hold the viewers interest?
• Is the clip brand appropriate?
• Would card members and the Tribeca Film Festival audience enjoy viewing the clip?
• Does the clip have appropriate viral "buzz" value?

Although rules like "is the clip brand appropriate" may not be in the spirit of true consumer generated content, I think its appropriate for this type of contest. We'll see where this one goes but so far, it looks like a great idea. - Paul Herring

Click fraud not so bad

In a meeting last week, someone told me that click fraud accounts for 30 to 40 percent of all clicks on paid search terms. I just love it when people make those kind of statements without a source. The idea that someone would go to the trouble to hire people in a third world country or create software to click on competitors links seems like a little far fetched to me. Sure, it might happen but I have a hard time believing that it would happed at a rate of more than a third of all clicks on paid search ads.

A recent article in Information Week confirms my  suspicion. The average click fraud rate is 13.7 percent and even lower (12.1 percent) for tier one search providers like Yahoo! and Google according to a study conducted by Click Forensics.

Next time someone cites an outrageous statistic, ask for a source. - Paul Herring

Goodbye Magazines, Hello Web

We knew this was coming, but it's still a significant moment... Ad Age says Merrill Lynch is predicting 2006 will be the year that more advertising dollars are spent online than in magazines.

But according to Ad Age, magazine publishers aren't worried. Nina-Link, the president and CEO of the Magazine Publishers of America has this take on the situation:

"It just says there are more opportunities to reach consumers and make powerful partnerships. The powerful brands and media are going to thrive."

And that seems to be the case. Merrill Lynch is also predicting that 2006 will mark a huge push for magazines into the digital arena. Ad Age itself is a testament to this. They recently redesigned their website, catching it up with the times by adding more features and functionality.

I, for one, am looking forward to magazines removing ridiculous subscription walls from their websites, getting more involved in new technologies like blogging, podcasting and video content. I think it will take much bolder moves like these for magazines to have an online presence that's in demand.

But I'm still not convinced this will stave off the shift to online. Remember, it's the printed publications that are the bread and butter of these operations, and there's a reason people are abandoning them for online. The money is following the consumers. - John Keehler

118118 spoofs the Honda Choir

Remember the Honda Civic commercial I posted about. The one with all the "critical acclaim" for its creative but actually advertised or promoted nothing. A UK company has spoofed the ad in what is apparently a running gag with these two guys. Take a look...

I think this is hillarious. Sure, they're not really selling anything either but this ad will definately get you to remember 118118, which is the whole point after all. - Paul Herring

The collective intelligence

It's no secret that advertising is changing. The focus of a lot of advertising strategy in the past has been on creating "disruption", "controlling the message" and "brand creation". Experts were rarely questioned and communication about a brand, a message or an experience was limited to water cooler or backyard conversations.

As the internet ages, and as more and more people are online more often, things have changed. Communities of interest are virtually built and the limits of geography and time have been removed. In a recent article in MarketingProfs blog, Gerry McGovern writes about how collective intelligence has been used through the ages and how the internet is allowing collective intelligence on a massive and very cost efficient scale.

What does this mean to marketers today? What it means in the short term is being aware. Aware of how the collective intelligence is receiving your advertising and brand message. It also means monitoring how the collective intelligence is taking that message and making it their own. Practically this means monitoring sites like epinions where customer share reviews of products and companies. It means monitoring sites like insiderpages.com, Yahoo! local where reviews of individual locations are given. It means monitoring discussion on the blogosphere by using tools like Technorati and Goolgle blog search to monitor conversations within the collective intelligence.

Before you begin your "word of mouth" or consumer generated content campaign, spend some time studying what's already being said about you through the collective intelligence. A little research could help you improve your existing efforts and understand the type of reception you would have. - Paul Herring

Welcome to The Revolution?...Well, Sort Of.

In my latest ClickZ article, I kind of rant about ABC's approach to making four of their most popular shows available, for free, online. I have to applaud them for taking the step. But I can't give them a standing ovation because of the tentative nature of their approach. First, they're calling it an experiment, suggesting that it may not be something they're committed to. They're making the content available on a limited time basis. They're not allowing downloads of the material. On and on...They have a chance to step out there and make something really cool happen with alternative distribution of television content. Insteady they're doing something that's just, okay. Anyway, check out the article and let me know what you think. - Pete Lerma

The latest in brand desecration

When it comes to brands, imitation is the sincerest form of a lawsuit brewing. And desecration? Well it kind of cuts both ways. No matter how brilliant your brainstorms, no matter how locked onto your target you are, no matter how tightly your brand message is shaped and thought through and focus grouped, when you send that campaign off into the world there's no telling what kind of miscreant behavior it will attract. Sometimes it's a wonderful thing and sometimes an utter tragedy that the ad guys should have seen coming.