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May30
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Rather than give up without a fight, Anheuser Busch has decided to revamp their Bud.TV Web site with a number of changes to give it another chance to succeed. I think this is an appeal from their pride, as Anheuser has always been known as one of the most innovative advertisers in the business. It's a good sign to see them try to make this work. The company originally had a goal of attracting between 3 to 5 million visitors a month. The traffic was so low in May it didn't even meet the requirements of measurability, said comScore. Whether or not these changes will work for Bud.TV remains to be seen, because of how it is thought of now by consumers, but they are good guidelines for online marketers to learn from. Here are the 9 Changes they're making:
1. They will make it edgier
For the brand that it represents, the site was far too tame for the tastes of those visiting it. The company has this as one of the key elements to quickly move on. For any of us in marketing, we need to know the "edge" factor in what we're offering. The bottom line here is how edgy is our demographic. The answer determines the degree we offer in our content.
2. Social-networking component (community)
When you think of beer again, and the connection to hanging out with friends, it is essential for the company to incorporate online community opportunities for site visitors. People have a certain mentality when thinking of hanging around and drinking, the company must bring that 'feel' to the site. We also must think of our demographic again and what it is they do and think. Offering people ways to connect is crucial.  3. Shorter Videos
Most of the videos on the Bud.TV site were in the 6-minute range. While that would probably be okay for an occasional, special video; as a pattern it would stink. Most people don't want to have a 6-minute video be the only option available to them. The company is responding by going with much shorter videos.
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May30
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CBS (CBS-A) has continued its buying spree of online properties as it has purchased Last.fm for $280 million in cash, reported webpronews.Last.fm is one of the premiere online social platforms, with over 15 million users in about 200 countries. "Last.fm is...
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New report says providing information throughout buying process key to converting visitors.The Online Retail Report that Harris Interactive recently released shows that almost 50 percent of consumers are doing more of their shopping online. Over the last five years, 48...
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May29
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With Sony (SNE) taking a beating over its image as a leading high-tech company, they now at least have some bragging rights again as they showed of a recent flexible TV screen that is .01 inch think and can present...
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In a recent post we talked about resisting getting too far ahead of ourselves and the need to take a "step back and look at how to use what's out there now."We were talking about the resistance continually chasing the...
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A new hourlong show by ABC (DIS) is seeking to reinvent the news for the new generation of people that are used to citizen journalism being a part of their lives.The network is soliciting user-generated video, amateur video it can...
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Sony Pictures has partnered with Google (GOOG) to provide an online experience for users who visit the Jeopardy site to interact with.Called the "Jeopardy! Google Daily Challenge," visitors can go to the site and find the answer to a question...
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We've had little communication out of AOL concerning its AOL Uncut user-generated service that has been in beta for almost a year. Fred McIntyre, chief online video executive at AOL told Beet.TV that the service will launch next month. AOL...
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May28
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Led by consumer advertising, Internet ad reveneue for 2006 exceeded expectations as it totaled $16.9 billion for the year, an increase of 35 percent over 2005, according to the "Internet Advertising Revenue Report" from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers....
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In early May Google revealed its new technology called Google Translate, built to offer those who don't speak English a chance to search for content on the English Internet. At the time they showed the technology, there was no hint...
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May27
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There are a lot of things that can be done in email campaigns to increase response rates from consumers. Some of them, at a glance, seem to not be the way things should be done. Here's one like that which...
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In an online shopping survey commissioned by MoreComputers.com, an extraordinary 93 percent of respondents said they were "annoyed" by some of the tactics being used by online companies.When we see the huge 93 percent that are dissatisfied, it should cause...
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With the ability to move quickly from place to place on the Internet, it has become difficult to win the loyalty of a large number of online visitors. A recent study by DoubleClick Performics/e-tailing group gives some insight into what...
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May26
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If you're a fan of Ozzy Osbourne, you already know that this summer's Ozzfest was advertized as being free to the fans. And for the most part that will be true. The major reason being that it will be presented...
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Howard Webster, who has created "The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore," hopes that it will help to launch a move toward direct contact with and product placement with content creators and advertisers. In other words, he's using his project to...
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With "The Sims" being one of the more popular of Electronic Art's (ERTS) franchises, 20th Century Fox (NWS-A) believes it can turn it into a successful movie, as they acquired the rights for the computer game. "The Sims" and its...
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In response to people coming into their stores and using the computer displays for customers as their personal computer, Apple (AAPL) has blocked access to MySpace (NWS-A).Evidently customers would use the Webcam on the provided Macs and take a picture and...
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May25
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In a study of college students by research firm Anderson Analytics, it was found that a large number of them didn't know the origin of the brand they were interested in.One example cited by marketing charts.com was that 53 percent...
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As part of the celebration of their 30th-anniversary, George Lucas and Lucasfilms is going to put up 250 movie clips of the series for fans to remix in whatever way they choose, reported the Wall Street Journal.To make it easy...
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AOL's Chairman and CEO Randy Falco said the company is committed to making it less messy by cutting down on the ads offered on the pages; strengthening both the user-experience and offering a more effective result for advertisers.Ron Grant, COO...
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May24
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The MTV Networks has been aggressively pursuing the development of online properties. At this time they have 230 microsites, with their eyes on creating many more.Included with those microsites are five virtual worlds that tie into some of their TV...
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A number of online publications have added a new search capability to their Web sites to encourage people to visit the sites more often.Inform Technoliges LLC said that 16 large online site will be using their technology, including Newsweek.com, WashingtonPost...
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In a move to decrease its dependence on text-based search advertising, Google (GOOG) has begun to test technology that will allow streaming ads to be played within video clips.The new ads will differ from the video ads Google offered last...
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This week Turner Classic Movies launched an Internet video channel dedicated to their portfolio of classic films.At the time of launch the site had over 3,000 shortform video clips; including trailers, movie and short films."We are offering a customizable, uncluttered,...
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In a new local market study, it was found that TV sites are gaining ground on newspaper sites with online visitors. The study was conducted across 85 markets in the U.S.While the study included some Web sites that combined newspaper...
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May23
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In an effort to increase its programming offerings, Joost has enlisted the help of Hollywood talent scouts Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to draw the big media companies to their service."CAA will provide Joost greater access to programming through our relationships...
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Paul McCartney chose to use the Internet to promote the debut of his latest single video, "Dance Tonight," on YouTube. I also have it below to look at.McCartney enlisted the help of filmmaker Michel Gondry to direct the music video....
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Sponsored Review Steven Anello and CFA Capital Partners are committed to providing their clients with immediate access to working capital that many times isn't available from traditional and conventional sources in the commercial real estate industry. They specialize in providing...
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The growing number of options for online marketers is getting to be so large that I think it's past time to take a step back and look over the situation from an objective perspective.Jason Heller wrote in Online Media Daily:"It...
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May22
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MySpace (NWS-A) is still going strong in its traffic growth as it accounted for 79.7 percent of all visits to social networking sites in April, said Marketingcharts.com citing Hitwise.Facebook came in second with a pretty strong 11.47 percent of all...
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For the first time within the Google (GOOG) Search Ad Network of any company, AOL (TWX) is now offering AOL-branded versions of Google's search ads, an option not available before now.AOL will now be able to sell text search ads...
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Monster Worldwide Inc. (MNST) has added to its partnerships with newspapers by increasing its recruitment Web sites connected to newspapers by 80 through its new partnership with Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.This more than doubles its current deals with 60 daily...
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Knowing that they would probably open themselves up to spurious lawsuits, MySpace (NWS-A) refused to turn over information on about 5,000 convicted sex offenders who had profiles on the social networking site, citing that it was against the law.In response...
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Creators of worthless arbitrage sites have been getting notices this week that they are getting kicked out of the Google Adsense program. It's created quite a bit of conversation at the Search Engine Roundtable and Webmaster World sites.This has been...
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May21
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A report from a British news source says that Google (GOOG) has reached a deal with a few large UK news groups to license their content through Google News. Evidently it has been kept extremely quiet because of concern that...
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The recent moves by Technorati, that are obviously for the purpose of being acquired, also involves a lot of risk. Derek Gordon, marketing director at Technorati said, “Increasingly we’ve become the hub of all that social media on the web.”While...
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In what Hitwise is calling the "Silver Surfers," they are about to become the largest online demographic in the U.K., according to a report on their blog. "Silver Surfers" are referring to those age 55 or older.At this time, those...
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While there are a lot of people really trying to drum up interest in marketing through mobile phones in the U.S., I just can't find myself getting excited about it at all.The major use in the U.S. is for texting...
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Google (GOOG) has offered to digitize 800,000 manuscripts and books from Mysore University in Karnataka, India. The manuscripts are written on paper and palm leaves. From the University's view, it is a great opportunity to preserve and restore a rich...
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May20
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HBO, who has partnered with interactive ad agency Deep Focus, will be using the Internet to virally spread the message about an upcoming comedy series. This is a first for HBO.To that end, they are directing viewers to an embed...
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May19
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National Lampoon, Inc.'s (NLN) Chief Executive Officer Daniel Laikin announced today the formation of the National Lampoon Video Network, which will feature some of the leading content platforms on the Internet.“Formation of the National Lampoon Video Network reinforces our commitment...
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Neutrogena has created an online marketing campaign sponsored by the company and its Oil-Free Acne Stress Control.The main element of the campaign is an online reality show, “OneLessStress,” which follows "three 20-something women as they compete in seven New York...
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The announcement that Amazon.com (AMZN) will be opening an online music download store without digital-rights management (DRM), could put increasing pressure on the music industry to offer this as an option. At this time only EMI, of the major music...
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Recent data released from web tracking company Hitwise shows that smaller niche Internet retailers rely on search engines for their traffic more than their larger retail online competitors.Those retailers that operated on the Web alone were also far more dependent...
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May18
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The announcement that actress Stevie Ryan, whose YouTube character, Little Loca, was one of the first to become an online star, will now co-host a new reality series for the CW network called "Online Nation, caused me to wonder why...
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Earlier this year, Monster Worldwide Inc. (MNST), parent of Monster.com entered into a deal with the New York Times (NYT) co-brand with the company's 19 newspaper Web sites. The company has already launched co-branded sites with two of the "Times"...
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Nielsen/Netratings said in a press release that they're going to go ahead with the Media Rating Council (MRC) Accreditation process for measuring Internet visitors.This has been pushed forward by a letter the IAB sent to Nielsen and comScore, where it...
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Eyespot.com has formed a new partnership with Tremor Media to help people creating their own video mashups to receive revenue for their efforts.With Eyespot.com, users are able to take photos, music and video and bring them all together into their...
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May17
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Disney (DIS) has created a virtual classroom called the Disney Family Learning Center, built for the purpose of showing moms how to use technology in their everyday lives.The site will be presented by Sony (SNE) which has created a number...
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In a move to get the idea of participating in physical locations in the minds of online retailers, Gordon Group Holdings via its brand The Epicenter Collection has partnered with Federated Department Stores to anchor their first location.In exchange for...
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According to the BBC, citing a Nielsen/Netratings report, young women in the 18-34 age group are now the predominate group that use the Internet in the UK. They account of 18 percent of all Britons using the Internet.Not only are...
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E-mail has been one of AOL's strengths as it still accounts for 52 percent of all page views on its sites.To make the service even more effective the company is about to launch a new e-mail service toward the end...
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May16
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TiVo (TIVO) has introduced a new tool called Universal Swivel Search, which will allow users to find programming on both their television and the Internet. They are describing it as the first "TV-centric on-screen search tool." How it works is...
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A study by a Publicis arm shows that people are less than "moved" by what the networks have to offer. A full 38 percent said that they find less satisfaction than they have in past years.One report says that TV...
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A study by Hitwise confirms that the fragmentation of online news and media markets has begun. The Hitwise US News and Media Report, revealed that traffic abandoning the traditional news and media sites has increased by 196 percent from April...
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May15
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With competition emerging from Joost and Babelgum in the online professional video space, MySpace (NWS-A) is trying to fight back by launching online video channels that will feature lifestyle and news video from its parters.While there will be videos specifically...
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Adap.tv is targeting direct response advertisers through their online video site. Instead of offering pre-rolls, the company has partnered with Amazon.com (AMZN) and Shopping.com to bring their numerous products to their site."It is essential to find a business model for...
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You won't be "Singing in the Rain" anymore with the new creation coming out of Japan that allows you to connect to the Internet with an umbrella.As the Daily Mail said: "The high-tech brolly allows you to take pictures with...
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In an upcoming comedy that some TV critics are calling "one of the decade's funniest comedies," CBS (CBS-A) didn't go to their usual sources of critics and newspaper writers to generate buzz for the show, rather they went to bloggers...
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May14
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With online marketers convinced that people will continue flocking to social networks, eMarketer believes that ad spending the U.S. will increase beyond their original projection of $865 million to $900 million for 2007. "The lead players, MySpace and Facebook, continue...
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The National Retail Federation cited a report by Forrester Research (FORR) saying that the online retail sales market should surge by 18 percent this year to reach the $259 billion mark. For last year, even when you take away the...
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In a deal with Skype (EBAY), Wal-Mart (WMT) has set aside a special section in their stores dedicated to the various products Skype offers.The retailing giant will start the new section off in 1,800 of its stores. They'll include Webcams,...
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The results of a recent study by Google (GOOG) shows that malware has been found on one out of ten Web sites they studied. The survey included 4.5 million Web sites, of which 450,000 were infected.What was even worse was...
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CBS (CBS-A) had hopes that its Innertube initiative last year would draw a large amount of viewers to the site to watch their TV fare. It hasn't worked. They found out that they can't force people to come to one site.The major...
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May13
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It didn't take long for QubeTV to get a huge surge in traffic as the new right-leaning video-sharing site got a big lift from a link from the Drudge Report.As of today, on the front page of the site the video...
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With Google stratospheric rise, many are looking and hoping for other challengers to emerge to offer options to them.A lot of people are rooting for Microsoft to be one of those challengers as responses to their Microsoft's Strategic Account Summit...
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May12
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Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt said in a press conference at Google headquarters that the company made a decision a while ago that it isn't interested in owning content.His comments were made in response to a question if he would be...
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Sponsored Review Free advertising and the idea of generating more sales and revenue is always foremost on the mind of any online marketer. With that in mind, themadvlad.com has build up a powerful safelist for marketers and those that want to...
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May11
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MySpace (NWS-A) has added an additional tool for content owners as it announced Friday that they have launched a new copyright protection software component to the site called Take Down Stay Down.What is does is keep user from putting a...
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With the introduction of Joost, the focus on professionally created content has all went to them. Now, before the market gets away from them, a new contender in the "professional" space is emerging called Babelgum.To get the name out there...
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3. Shorter Videos