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This summer, Pear Analytics released a study that got plenty of play in the Twitter/blogosphere. According to the Pear research, 40.5 percent of the messages published on social-media-darling Twitter are "pointless babble," and a mere 8.7 percent of tweets have pass-along value to others. The piece won itself a lot of ... more
It's not just the recession; the digital revolution has wreaked havoc on traditional music retailers, who can rarely match online juggernauts like iTunes or eMusic on price or convenience. "As of April," reports Amy Kaufman at The Wrap, "there were 185 record stores in the LA area, down from 259 ... more
After improving in August, The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index dipped in September and now stands at 53.1 (1985=100). Consumers' outlook on jobs and business conditions in the months ahead also sagged. more
US consumers are increasingly using e-coupons, as well as their traditional print cousins, to trim spending as the recession drags on. more
Spending on advertising in Jan.-June 2009 fell 14.3% YOY, but the telecom category experienced solid growth (7.5%), with Sprint Nextel, AT&T, and Verizon increasing spending 55.3%, 6.3% and 3.1% respectively. more
We've seen Sarah Haskins critique advertising that patronizes women, and now it's time for Bryan Safi's take on commercials that handle gay topics with varying degrees of respect. In this occasionally off-color video from Current TV, he begins with a few ads that use gay men as the punchline for ... more
If you read many email marketing blogs, you've probably noticed their authors tend to hate the word "blast." Scott Cohen is no exception, and—in a post called "The Naughtiest Word in Email Marketing"—he discusses "its general evilness and lack of thought about the recipients." Here's why he believes the word should ... more
Time spent on social network and blogging sites accounted for 17% of all the time Americans spent online in August 2009, nearly triple the figure for August 2008. Ad spending more than doubled over the same period. more
If we asked you to name the company associated with the term "Big Blue" you'd probably reply "IBM" without a moment's hesitation. And in an article at MarketingProfs, William Arruda says that color is one of the most important components in your branding toolbox. "[S]ome organizations are so consistent and ... more
Facebook has entered into a multiyear partnership with Nielsen to allow better measurement of the effectiveness of advertising on the widely popular social networking site. The alliance is yet another move by Facebook to heighten its attractiveness as a marketing platform. more
"It seems to me that this is the time when marketers should be pushing the envelope, yet it seems like most aren't," says DJ Francis in a post at the iMedia Connection blog. Instead, he says, they are buying into several recession-marketing myths that could do them more harm than ... more
Women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter than average adults, according to a newly released survey. They're big on word-of-mouth, and some 15.3% maintain a blog. more
The humor, education, home improvement, and B2B site categories experienced the biggest gains in August. The ad network with the greatest reach was AOL Advertising, followed by Yahoo! Network and Google Ad Network. more
Comedian Sarah Haskins is back with another Target Women video at Current TV that skewers gender-based advertising clichés—this time it's the Doofy Husband. "Being a woman isn't easy," she says in a mock serious tone. "We work, we take care of the house, we raise children, and we do it ... more
In a move to shove Yahoo off its display-ad perch, Google last Thursday launched its DoubleClick Ad Exchange, which the company promised would streamline and improve how display ads are targeted at and delivered to a desired audience. more
While enjoying a recent meal out, Richard King got into a friendly conversation with a fellow diner about his work in email marketing. "After 15 minutes our discussion [came to] the famous question," he recounts at the EmailDirect blog. "'Why wouldn't I just do that in-house?' I quickly replied with ... more
National magazine ad spending surpassed local TV ad spend in June, bumping local TV into fourth place, but cable TV kept its lead, followed closely by network TV. more
More than half (55%) of gay and lesbian Americans read blogs, compared with only 38% of heterosexuals. They also use social networking sites more than their heterosexual peers. more
Need a friend? Brisbane-based uSocial will find thousands of them on Facebook for you—at a price. more
When David Meerman Scott signed up for email alerts about launches and events at the Kennedy Space Center, he didn't expect getaway offers from Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, which operates the space center's visitor center. A close examination of the subscription's fine print, however, revealed an opt-out policy ... more
Total measured advertising expenditures in the first six months of 2009 fell 14.3% from a year earlier, to $60.87 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Q2 spending was down 13.9% from last year—the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. more
The financial services industry accounted for the most online image-based ad impressions in July, with nearly 36 billion. Next were Web media and telecommunications, followed by retail goods and services, according to Nielsen. more
Social networking sites delivered 21% of all US online display ad impressions in June 2009, according to a recent comScore study, with MySpace and Facebook together accounting for more than 80% of impressions in the social networking category. more
The sun is setting on the tyranny of business cards—that stack of stiffs that seems important as you add to it again and again, but which you never really get the chance to sort through later. Well, hail and farewell! One application precipitating the demise of these paper dinosaurs is Bump, which pretty much turns ... more
According to Madison Riley and Brooks Kitchel of Kurt Salmon Associates, retailers often respond to sluggish sales by slashing prices and hoping to beat the competition on value. But there's a problem. "Contrary to the common practice of deep discounting in troubled times," they argue, "competing on compelling products is ... more
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