Google: Can't Stop This Train

It is really no question that Google is one of the most recognized internet companies that exists today. And there are several reasons for why that is. Google is fantastic at advertising. The scary part is that they are getting even better at. This article talks about how Google is improving their advertising by using graphical and video advertising instead of just the original text ads. Since they just purchased YouTube, they will now be able to use video ads much more and hopefully bring in even more revenue. Google co-founder Sergey Brin said, “He could see advertisers wanting video not only for branding, but to show off their products or services in ways that they can't with a short text description.” The addition of online video advertising is just another great way for Google to increase the amount of traffic that it receives on its website. It will really provide advertisers with a unique and more effective way of showing off their products better than what they could with just short text descriptions. Yahoo is a close second behind Google, however, they have not had a targeted search advertising platform like Google. I think they really have a great understanding as to how to advertise and in what manner they should do it. For example, they are basically targeting their vistors more and more specifically in order to get them to click off onto the other websites they are advertising for. "They are just monetizing their destination a lot better," says Piper Jaffray (PJC) analyst Safa Rashtchy. Google has really been a powerhouse of internet advertising because of the methods they have chosen to take. This article is a great example of how they are always improving and do not plan to slow down anytime soon.

How I Sold My Company for $111 Million

Although this article was written in 2003, I still think that it is very relevant because it goes over some of the very important lessons of networking and negotiating. It discusses how Rosalind Resnick and her partner created a company during the dot-com boom, and made timely decisions that resulted in her selling the company for $111 million in cash. It was very interesting in that she had the opportunity to sell her company numerous times, but as she also said in the article, "Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." The first of the five major points she made in the article was that her company had perfect timing. Her company was "profitable at a time when a lot of Internet companies were little more than ideas pursuing venture-capital funding." Rosalind negotiated with Doubleclick and was offered several different deals, but she did not feel that the timing was right. I think this is important because sometimes there are really great opportunities that may present themselves further down the line if we are patient. The final steps were that she realized she needed to sell the company when it was finally at the top, and once the decision was made, she began to negotiate with the people she had networked with before. This allowed her to make a very good deal for $111 million in cash, giving her about $40 million. This article is very important because it shows how an online company should be operated and handled. Rosalind is now working at another company that she has launched called, Axxess Business Centers.

Why Online Video Sites Are Hot Targets

It comes at no surprise to us now that online video sites are becoming more and more popular. With all the attention and traffic heading toward these websites, companies are beginning to realize that opportunities are emerging. As we all know, advertisers tend to follow the crowd because that is where their customers are. The new trend toward online videos is attracting their attention since many people are spending more time on the internet, and watching less television than before. This has become quite a wake up call for companies who have been set in their ways, such as older Web portals like Yahoo and Google. “Younger Internet users are more likely to turn to MySpace, Facebook, or YouTube.” As interested as advertisers are becoming with online video, they are still hesitant as to how much advertising they can generate, and which companies will suit their company best. Obviously because of this new shift in attention, advertisers are pretty excited at the fact that they will be working in almost a whole new realm. New ideas, new possibilities, and new ways to capture their customers will arise as a result of these websites. Online videos could open the door to many unique ideas for these companies, but as for now they all waiting for the other to step up and be the first to try it. I’m sure it won’t be long before this type of advertising becomes extremely popular among advertisers in the near future. As for now, “We’re all in a show-me period.”

CinemaNow's Internet Cliff-Hanger

Although this article doesn’t really pertain to advertising or promotion I still feel that it is relevant. It talks about how the importance of the internet is rapidly increasing when it comes to the movie business. As we have seen in the past, DVDs became extremely popular to the point that VHS is hardly even used anymore. As the article states, last Tuesday CinemaNow, an online movie distributor, released a downloadable version of “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.” “The deal marks the first time a major studio is releasing a DVD in retail stores and on a download site at the same time.” Movie studios are hesitant to jump right on this opportunity because of the many issues that exist when it comes to the internet, movie pirating, and copyright technology. However, the internet is providing these companies with the chance to reach many more people. It will be a convenient way for customers to get a movie fast and easy. If the movie industry adopts this new way of selling movies, companies like Blockbuster, FYE, and other movies stores could be threatened by this. I still think that movies are eventually going to be readily available on the internet with the click of a button in only a matter of years. Since this is a new idea though, movie industries will need time to adjust to it and eventually take profit.

Yahoo Launches Big Ad Campaign, Debuts TV Spots Online

Yahoo has recently just launched a new ad campaign which will be part of a multi-million dollar cross-media effort. Yahoo has always been a fun company when it comes to advertising, and this new campaign is going to continue to do just that. “Each spot exaggerates a bad scenario where someone does not use Yahoo, and then plays out the same scenario again with a new ending where the person does use Yahoo.” I think this is a great way to advertise because people usually remember really funny commercials, and then they tend to associate with the brand more often. Yahoo has also just reorganized their home page so that users are able to get their e-mail as soon as they go to the site. I also thought it was interesting as to what channels the ads were going to be on. “After their debuts, the ads will continue airing on NBC and ABC, as well as on Fox, E!, TBS, MTV, and Comedy Central.” It’s interesting because these channels seem to target a younger, more hip audience according to the programs they run. I actually watched 3 of the new commercials and I thought they were really creative and funny. They really do a great job of getting the main message across which is that Yahoo provides you with news on various things, very quickly. Yahoo has done a great job of promoting their new home page with these ads and I would expect them to gain more traffic from their witty advertisements.

Super Bowl advertisers take to the Web

As we all know, the Super Bowl is one of the best, if not the greatest opportunity for a company to promote itself and market its' product. However, with 90 million Americans tuning in, the demand for these television spots is very high so each commercial is only about 30 seconds long. According to the article, marketers feel that they need to take their advertising one step further by moving to the web. Advertisers are now setting up Web sites and "microsites" that allow the viewers to participate in additional contests and watch an extended version of the commercial.



Advertisers are also attempting to buy up Internet search keywords in order to allow easier access to their Web sites. “The experience of people online is that you can convey the information more quickly, easily and deeply than you can in other mediums,” said Castellini of CareerBuilder. In the past, Budweiser and Apple's iTunes had a very large increase in the amount of activity they were receiving on their sites due to their Super Bowl advertisements.

I really like tuning in for the Super Bowl commercials each year too, but I never realized how much of an impact they really had on the viewers. Even the sites that aren't involved with the commercial benefit from the advertisements because people try to search for the commercials again to watch them. Although the cost of the advertisements are expensive, companies are able to reach more potential customers at one time, and also provide them with an opportunity to find out more about their products through their Web sites.

Behind the Online Music (Click here for Link to the Article)

I found a pretty cool article that deals with the music industry, and how musicians have taken advantage of the internet in order to promote themselves and of course their music.
Many times when we think about promotion and marketing, we think of companies trying to promote their particular product(s). In the music industry, however, musicians struggle to promote themselves through the use of the internet in hopes of launching their career. The internet has provided musicians with a way to reach more people than they otherwise would without it. It also has given them the ability to take control of what they want their fans to see, hear, and know about.

“For independent artists, one of the benefits of using the Internet is the ability to keep a hands-on approach to controlling their Web sites and their careers, said producer DJ Rasta Root, whose real name is Dion Liverpool. Independent artists use Web sites such as CDbaby.com, GarageBand.com, and iTunes.com to broadcast and sell their songs and albums. “Even if independent musicians are not technically savvy, they can still update their Web sites and contact fans by themselves through blogs and e-mail newsletters.” I found it funny that the first article I found already included something about blogs because before this class I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed the importance of them. It is definitely already becoming clearer to me that they have significance.

One problem that many artists face is that people don’t always take them seriously simply because anybody can make a website. I agree that the internet is a really great tool, but I also agree with Mark Ghuneim, president and CEO of Wired Set Records, who advises, “Make good music first, then bring it online and form great relations with your fans.”

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi, my name is Thomas Moffa. I am currently a Senior at the University of Delaware. I am a Business Marketing major, and I have minors in Management Information Systems, Economics, and International Business. I've created this blog for Buad 477: Information Technology Applications in Marketing as a class requirement. Througout the next couple of weeks, I will be posting articles onto this blog related to my blog topic which is "Promotion in the Internet Marketing Mix." Once the articles are posted, I'm going to provide my own personal summary and opinion of them. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!