Sep
30th

Franchise Update Brings Optimism to Tough Economic Times

Posted by Duncan on September 30, 2008 at 10:33 am

Last week I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with some of the world’s franchising thought leaders. The Franchise Update Conference took place at the Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago. The event featured invigorating speakers, valuable breakout sessions, and worthwhile networking opportunities. Everything went off smoothly thanks to the great staff at Franchise Update Media Group.

Thursday morning kicked off with an optimistic keynote delivered by FOX News Channel’s Stuart Varney. Stuart spent a few minutes recapping the current financial situation in the United States. He brought a sense of hope into the long term view and surprised the audience by framing future economic opportunity in terms of current international fertility rates. Stuart pointed out that most developed nations are actually experiencing population decline due in large part to low birth rates. This is a problem because as these populations age there will be a heavier burden placed on the younger generations.

Stuart explained how the United States does not follow this pattern. Due to immigration and a healthy birth rate (Stuart himself has six children) the United States has a larger youth population and will be better prepared in the coming decades to care for the elderly, with less of an impact on the national economy. And folks, believe me, a healthier economy was on everyone’s mind throughout the conference.

After lunch author Peter Leyden of WIRED magazine fame explained that change is coming and his hope is that we’ll see an economic “long boom”. Peter introduced concepts including government, economics, technology, and demographics. His concise delivery and wide ranging presentation left the room energized and hopeful for good things to come regarding business opportunities.

Learn more about Stuart and Peter at: Franchise Update 2008 Speakers.

Oneupweb sponsored the event and was pleased with the numerous networking opportunities. We talked with dozens of franchisors about their online marketing and lead generation goals. The franchisors offered stories covering novice and advanced online marketing tactics and everything in between. Overall it is clear that much opportunity exists to strengthen the use of online marketing by franchisors. Well executed online marketing will allow them to target new franchise sales as well as advance brands and drive traffic to franchisee websites.

I want to thank Gary Gardner, Therese Thilgen, Sue Logan, Lyola Shybanova and the rest of the Franchise Update Media Group staff for putting on this wonderful event. I applaud their decision to bring the event to the historic Drake Hotel.

I look forward to continuing conversations with the new friends and contacts I made at the event. Kudos to Franchise Update for bringing so much optimism to such a broad industry in these rough economic times. Surely everyone left refreshed and armed with new ideas to advance the franchise cause.

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Sep
29th

The Silver Lining In Advertising's Perfect Storm

Posted by Vern on September 29, 2008 at 10:20 am

I don’t have to tell you we live in challenging economic times.

Talk of a U.S. recession has permeated the news for well over a year. It seems that every measure of business and economic activity paints a picture of gloom and doom. In fact, a recent study from TNS Media Intelligence, found that total advertising expenditures fell in the first half of 2008.

silver lining by theakshay on flickr A careful read of the study confirms the ongoing deceleration of spending on newspaper, television and magazine advertising.

There are some bright spots in the report, however. Internet, cable TV and syndication TV saw gains in ad spending. Internet display advertising jumped 8%. Some may argue that’s a no-brainer. Advertisers are spending in these channels because usage is increasing. They’re just following the eyeballs.

But look beneath the surface and you’ll see why smart marketers are moving more of their budget to internet display advertising.

Internet display advertising shares important benefits with internet search advertising.

The first benefit is targeting. The internet allows advertisers to target their market with a laser-like focus. No matter what you’re selling, you can get your message in front of those with a predisposition to buy. The scattershot approach of traditional media means marketers will certainly overspend to reach the same audience. This approach wastes precious dollars and hurts the bottom line.

The second, and equally important, benefit is measurability. Just knowing how much you’re spending isn’t enough in this tough economy. Knowing what ROI you’re getting on that ad spend is critical to maximizing profitability. The very interactive nature of the internet makes this possible. Clicks are a wonderful thing!

Now, this isn’t ground-breaking information. But it is more important than ever before.

As companies react to tough economic times, those that better target their ad spending and measure and analyze the results will prosper. Those that don’t are in for a stormy future.

Image: theakshay

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Sep
26th

Google & Yahoo! Ad Agreement: Just the Facts

Posted by Mike on September 26, 2008 at 4:16 pm

Google must have known from the start that their search advertising deal with Yahoo! would create some confusion in the search marketing industry.

On June 12th the two companies announced an agreement to enter into a deal that could potentially put Google ads alongside Yahoo! search results. On that very same day one of the companies purchased two domain names: GoogleYahooFacts.com & YahooGoogleFacts.com. These domains remained unused until today when Google launched an informational/PR campaign explaining what it sees as the facts surrounding the deal.

Google gives a broad overview of the deal in three short bullet points:

* This is a non-exclusive deal that will strengthen Yahoo!.
* Ad prices will continue to be set by competitive auction.
* The deal is win-win for consumers, advertisers and publishers: more and better ads.

Google also provides this doc to further explain the agreement:

As much as I would like to believe that Google entered into the deal with the intention of increasing competition in the SEM industry, I just don’t think that is the case. The agreement has been under scrutiny since it was announced and the number of opponents to the deal has only increased as the expected October launch date grows nearer.

I will let you come to your own conclusions as to the merits and potential pitfalls of the deal. Personally, I think that the facts do speak for themselves. One simply needs to read between the lines and think for a moment about what they are seeing when they visit the Google-Yahoo! info site. If this is such a good deal it should be able to sell itself without the help of Google’s public relations department.

The ultimate fate of the Google-Yahoo! agreement will soon be known when the Department of Justice presents the results of its review sometime in early October. Stay tuned, things could get even more interesting.

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Sep
25th

Economic Gloom & Doom? Not for Online Retailers!

Posted by Steven on September 25, 2008 at 1:42 pm

2008 has been a difficult year for retail. The United States economy has had to face a housing market correction, a sub-prime mortgage crisis, rising unemployment, high food and energy costs, a declining dollar value, and now a financial bailout for Wall Street.

The National Retail Federation predicted this week that these financial pressures will result in the worst holiday sales season since 1991.

online holiday shopping While overall retail sales will be slumping this year, the online retail market sector is expected to grow by 17% according to a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research. With a little digital marketing strategy, this holiday season could still be full of cheer!

Take these steps and you’ll be jolly this holiday season:

PLAN: Understand holiday online retail buying trends and plan your marketing strategy around them. Learn more by reading our Oneupweb white paper (an oldie but a goody). Listed below are the top 5 holiday shopping days:

• Thanksgiving Day
• Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving)
• Cyber Monday (Monday after Thanksgiving)
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day

PROMOTE: To resonate with shoppers, offer incentives for shopping sooner this year. Starting after Halloween, use deals like “Free shipping all this week” that could entice consumers to purchase early, and more importantly, from you.

ONLINE MESSAGING:

• Redesign your homepage with a Christmas/Holiday theme. Here are some examples.
• Use holiday season messaging in your SEM campaigns to help consumers identify your site as a good place to shop for gifts.

SAVE SALES ON OUT-OF-STOCK ITEMS:

• Redirect your customers when a product is out-of-stock. Use language like “If you liked product x, you’ll love product y!” and provide a link to product y.
• If a product is only temporarily out-of-stock, provide a method for the customer to receive an email when the product is in-stock. This will also give you additional opt-in email addresses.

MERCHANDISING: Cross-selling and up-selling

When a customer adds an item to your shopping cart, instead of taking them to the shopping cart page, land them on a cross-sell page. There the customer is reminded of exactly what item they added to the shopping cart, then immediately show additional items from the same category to keep the customer browsing. If the customer then chooses to check-out, you can get more aggressive with a highly targeted pop-up. If the customer adds that item to the cart, send them back to the cross-sell page and repeat.

OPTIMIZE FOR LAST-MINUTE SHOPPERS: As Christmas approaches, start displaying purchase cutoff dates for guaranteed delivery to reassure customers that they will receive their gifts on-time. When holiday shipping deadlines are behind you, promote electronic gift cards by using tag-lines like “It’s Not Too Late” or “There’s Still Time” to attract last minute shoppers.

Don’t let the economic pundits and pessimistic forecasters get you down this holiday season. Crisis creates opportunity, and you can capitalize this year if you plan to succeed.

Happy Holiday digital marketing to all, and to all a good ROI!

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Sep
24th

Travel Marketers Hitch a Ride with Web 2.0

Posted by Lawrence on September 24, 2008 at 3:03 pm

The web 2.0 shift has had a huge impact across a variety of markets. The peer to peer influence on today’s online buyers has prompted many industries to get involved in these new trends to stay on top. Online marketers across the board have responded by incorporating podcasts, blogs, social networking, photo/video-sharing, etc. into their marketing mix.

Italy Here We Come! by Hvnly on Flickr One particular market that has fully embraced these new technologies is travel and tourism.

Many state, regional and local tourism offices have invested heavily in online marketing initiatives, and during these trying economic times social aspects have been a huge factor for tourism industry websites. Social media, such as blogs and podcasts, can really help to highlight a region’s natural assets from the view of someone who lives there, or who has visited the area themselves, and these can all add to the sense of value for the vacation planner.

One city that is incorporating the latest and greatest in social and new media technologies is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Virtual Philadelphia site, which is still in the works, will soon boast amazing interactive 3D technologies that allow users to truly see Philadelphia from a walking, driving, or aerial perspective. Interactive options and information will be available by simply clicking on different locations within the 3D space as you make your way through this historic city.

Regional tourism associations are also accelerating their online offerings. For example, the West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) has created its own online portal for fall color tours in the Great Lakes state. All Things Autumn provides updates on fall color conditions throughout Michigan and users can print detailed directions for 26 fall color driving tours. The WMTA also has a presence on Myspace, a West Michigan Weekly blog that allows users to stay in the loop with updates on autumn conditions, and a Twitter account.

In an effort to keep up with those on the go, or already on vacation, many tourism websites are making information more readily available to mobile users. Sonoma County in California has recently launched a mobile version of its main tourism bureau website, allowing users to quickly access a calendar of events, make restaurant/tee time reservations, locate a winery, etc.

Yelp Mobile is another good source for online reviews while you’re on-the-go. Users simply enter the address/intersection, city, state, or zip code, and are served up reviews of local restaurants, retail stores, tourist attractions, and lodging. Enter in your local zip code, and see what people are saying about your favorite establishments.

With the help of applications such as Google Maps, travelers can easily print out detailed directions and estimate the mileage of their trip, which is a huge factor with today’s gas prices. A new tourism buzzword that has emerged lately is “Stay-cation“, referring to vacationers who are doing away with airline travel or long automobile trips in favor of travel destinations a little closer to home. The tourism industry has noticed this trend and has been shifting some of its efforts to entice “neighbors” with deals to spend money closer to home.

Today’s internet savvy travelers are looking for quick, accurate information that they can use for comparing available travel options. Just having the prices and description isn’t enough anymore. Thanks to social media applications on many tourism websites, vacation planners can now factor in reviews of what other travelers have experienced on similar trips and converse with those who have “been there, done that”. Members of this tech-savvy target market do their research to ensure that they are getting exactly what they are paying for, and getting the best deal available.

Ask yourself how your industry can learn (and benefit) from the online initiatives currently taking place in the travel market.

Image: Hvnly

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