Advertising Articles

Google Adwords - see article

AOL Advertising (advertising.com)

One of the largest advertising networks in the world that reaches almost 91% of U.S. online users. AOL advertising uses advanced optimization technology to deliver ads to targeted segments. This network offers display ads as well as other rich media formats. Ads are delivered through AOL’s extensive portfolio of 80+ web properties. Properties are also grouped into general categories: Autos, Entertainment, Finance, High Reach, Kids Teens & Tweens, Multicultural, Pop Culture, Retail, Sports, Technology, Travel, and Women’s Lifestyle.

BidPlace SB

BidPlace is a self serve tool that allows advertisers to target display ads thought the Advertising.com network. Advertisers set their own prices and can choose between cost per click or cost per impression options. Ads can be targeted geographically by city or state, audience behaviors, demographics, and types of sites.

View More Networks

Google Adwords

An enormous and continuously evolving pay per click and display ad network. Ads can be targeted via keywords, contextual content, and by direct placements. Advertisers can access and maintain their accounts through the Google website or through a desktop adwords editor. Google has recently added Google Ad Planner which allows advertisers to build advertising plans and target ad publisher sites directly. Ads are on a cost per click basis at auction with other advertisers and display ads can be cost per click or by the impression (CPM). The Adwords network distributes ads through google’s own search engine, an associated search network of affiliates (aol search, ask.com ,netscape), Google’s own Adsense Network (contextual network), direct to site ads, and now the double click network (display ads). Google allows for several highly targeted features such as local markets, international markets, dayparting, demographics, etc.

Yahoo Search Marketing

Yahoo’s cost per click text ad network provides easy access for advertisers into the text ad market. Ads are displayed on Yahoo’s search engine and other search partners as well as Yahoo’s contextual network. Yahoo’s US/Canada display network is the largest; Yahoo does offer international accounts, however they operate somewhat separately and in the native language of the country they service. Yahoo’s technology gives options to auto-optimize ads, set geographic and demographic targeting, and provide click fraud detection. Go to world.yahoo.com to see all of the yahoo international locations.

Microsoft AdCenter

Microsoft’s cost per click text ad network that now serves ads through their new search engine bing.com. Advertisers can also place ads through Microsoft’s contextual ad network. AdCenter offers some limited targeting features, but does not offer an abundance of international options. Advertisers can build and manage their account through the AdCenter Website or a desktop AdCenter tool. Microsoft has also built a plug-in with a series of several Ad related features for Excel 2007.

View the Rest of the List

 

Advertising is always considered as an important part of product promotion. But advertising usually costs a lot, so how to get the greatest return while with the minimum input? Get rid of the shackles of advertising agencies, you can now make in-house advertising video or DVD with your own effort easily, that is, creating video or DVD product advertisement based on PowerPoint – PPT advertising.

Before starting to introduce how to prepare PowerPoint advertising in a few steps, here I would like to list some main benefits of PPT advertising:

1. Creating video or DVD advertisement with PowerPoint helps store owners or companies save big budget compared asking video production agencies to do this.
2. PPT advertising enables users to form the content of the advertisement freely. Product pictures, descriptions, promotion details, and relevant video clips can be listed in a sequence in PPT according to the purpose of the advertisement.
3. The carefully designed PPT advertisement can be displayed on TV through DVD players or on digital signage.
4. You can easily change the promotion information only by updating the relevant product information and PowerPoint template. And then with a RW DVD disc, another video or DVD PPT ad will come out.
5. Grow your business with no weekly or monthly fees to update your promotion advertising DVD/video periodically.

Now that so many advantages we can take from PPT advertising, let’s see how to create a promotional advertisement with PowerPoint right away. Here I take an ice scream promotion for example.

Dave-Coconuts-Kleinschmidt : flickr

Voice broadcasting is sending a prerecorded message to thousands of phones from a targeted dialing list. Voice broadcasting is a very powerful tool for marketing because it's based on some key marketing foundations. One of its most important elements is good voice broadcasting copy.

Voice broadcasting uses the highest form of communication media, the human voice, to deliver a highly targeted message to thousands of potential consumers. But the voice means nothing if the message it carries is poor. Voice broadcasting needs great copy. Without it telephones simply hang up on the message. With it voice broadcasting can shower leads and sales on your business.

Voice broadcasting cost a fraction of what some other mass advertising methods cost. But that affordability shouldn't mean you cut corners on the message. Good voice broadcasting copy needs to be crafted. Nearly every word in the voice broadcast message copy has a purpose, just like print copy. The entire voice broadcast is designed to promote the listener to take action. One sentence causes interest in the next, and each phrase leads to a predetermined reaction. Good voice broadcast copy sells every step of the way.

tombothetominator : flickr

Radio Advertising is Cheaper and more effective than before. How is this possible? Well its quite simple, let's take a look -

1) CAUSE : The economy is in the tank

2) EFFECT: Radio stations are seeing fewer advertisers come through the doors and many of them have A LOT of open inventory to sell and are willing to sell it at deep discounts. (Sometimes 20% - 40% less than it was just one year ago at this time)

3) EFFECT: More people are listening to FREE radio as opposed to buying new cds, mp3's, etc.

4) EFFECT TO YOU: An advertising agency such as mine, is able to negotiate lower rates for you with radio stations than ever before because many stations need the advertisers.

5) EFFECT: You will be able to connect with your target customers on a lower budget than before and reach more of them.

It really is a buyer's market right now for radio advertising. In many markets an effective package that consists of frequent prime-time placement is going for 20% - 40% less than it was just one year ago at this time. This means big savings to you, with an even greater reach than ever before.

You may be thinking "Advertising for less sounds great, but my customers are also buying less". While that may be true, they are still buying - just being much more selective about these buying decisions. The key to be the winner of that ever important buying decision is being "top of mind" with your target customers. If your competition has cut back the advertising, this is the prime time to swoop in and build that awareness for your business. It's still is all about being "top of mind". You can throw in the towel now, or bring them back now, by being the first thing they think of when they need your product or services.

Nieve44/LaLuz : flickr

1. Use a Quality, Targeted Mailing List

Every successful direct mail campaign begins with a quality, targeted direct mailing list . So before you buy mailing lists online, make sure you research the different mailing list companies that are out there, and get a guarantee that the direct mail list you’re purchasing from them is quality, accurate and targeted data. Why? Because a ‘great’ direct mail list maximizes the number of people who receive your offer, it increases your response rates and ultimately, it helps boost the return on your investment!

• Quality, up-to-date (correct) records help maximize the number of mail pieces that get delivered to your customers and in turn, help maximize the number of mail pieces that get seen by the people/businesses who are likely to want your products and services. If your direct mail list includes old or incorrect addresses, you will have a higher number of undeliverable and returned mail pieces, and unfortunately a lower return on your investment. That’s the last thing you want!
• Targeted data gets your message/promotion in front of the people who are most likely to purchase your product or service. For example: If you own a yoga studio and are looking to mail a postcard that offers a ‘free’ class to every new student, do you think it would be better to mail the postcard to everyone in your state, or to people who are living within 5 miles of your studio and who are women between the ages of 18-65?

2. Write a Compelling “Call to Action”

• A successful direct mail postcard/flyer/brochure etc must include a compelling ‘call to action’ that drives the reader to ‘act’ and ‘respond’ to your mailing. A ‘call to action’ can be anything from asking your customer to go online to your website and fill out a form, to picking up the phone and calling you before the end of the month, or to stopping by and visiting your store.
• No matter what your ‘call to action’ is, it needs to be obvious and compelling, so there’s no doubt in the reader’s mind about what they need to do to be able to take advantage of the promotion that you’re offering them.

Rodrigo Basaure : flickr

The US TV market is at the forefront of some key technological forces reshaping the TV advertising market. Globally, industry research indicates that at least 22 percent of TV advertisements are being skipped in homes equipped with PVR/DVR technology. In US homes with PVR/DVRs, the proportion of ads skipped is as high as 50 percent. This makes the US an ideal testing ground for the effect that these disruptive technologies will eventually have globally, and for the strategies that companies should pursue to ensure sustainable high performance .

The current industry consensus is that the cost per thousand viewers (CPM) rate in the US TV advertising market will rise by an average of 6 percent compounded annually through to 2010. Accenture's analysis suggests that this estimate is far too optimisticWe believe a combination of three factors—continued fragmentation of the viewing audience combined with additional competition for viewer share from the top cable/satellite channels; increasing available options for advertisers; and greater demand for accountability for the results of TV ad campaigns from advertisers—will restrict the compound annual increase to just 3 percent.

However, an important counter-view expressed at the 2005 Accenture Global Convergence Forum was that the eventual solution the industry develops will, by definition, engage and target viewers more effectively. This being the case, the effect would actually push growth in average CPM significantly higher. The key issue is the difference between a straight-line projection of the industry and an inflexion point that changes its course more dramatically. Our contention is that all parties need to plan for both scenarios.