Will Microsoft Follow Google?
August 26th, 2008
Google recently alleviated pressure from critics who disliked their ownership of the search marketing agency arm of Performics by selling it to Publicis. This appeased critics who disliked having Google own a search agency who buys PPC search ads on Google, MSN, Yahoo, and all.
Microsoft, who acquired Aquantive several months ago, is under similar pressure. As a part of this deal Microsoft got Avenue A, a leading online advertising agency. Avenue A not only buys PPC search ads but every other type of online advertising and even some offline. According to a recent Ad Age report Microsoft may sell off Avenue A to WPP in exchange for some money and valuable assets.
Personally I think this is a very likely scenario and expect Microsoft to complete a deal for Avenue A within the next 6 months.
Posted in Search Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments
Social Networking Sites + Social Ads = Revenue!?
August 25th, 2008
Word on the street is Facebook is working on a variety of social ads that may become the secret sauce for monetizing ads in social networks.
The 3 key ingredients allow users to:
- Post comments about ads
- Send out virtual gifts designed by brands that function as ads
- Become a fan of brands and spread the word to their network. Users will also be able to see their friends
Posted in Online Marketing, Social Media by Erin M. | | 0 Comments
Yahoo Still Has Big Audience
August 14th, 2008
Based on the Nielsen numbers below Yahoo is still able to capture lots of eyeballs. Yahoo is beating out NBC in Olympic related traffic. Just a reminder that while Google may dominate search, Yahoo still has some highly trafficked content areas. So keep that in mind when structuring your search marketing strategy.
Posted in Research, Search Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 1 Comments
Affiliate Summit Recap – Day 3
August 12th, 2008
The final day of Affiliate Summit was pretty light in the morning since most people partied a little too hard the night before. I am proud to say that our team was at the booth bright and early and ready for action. What better way to kickoff the day than to attend a panel session on “The Future of Affiliate Marketing.”
The panelists were:
- Stephanie Gay, Director, External Channels, American Express
- Chris Kramer, Co-Founder & Media Director, NETexponent
- Kim Riedell, Vice President, Client Development-East, Commission Junction
- Steve Schaffer, Founder & CEO, Vertive, Inc.
The panelists tackled several big issues such as where growth will come from in the future, the importance of holistic strategies to affiliate and other online media, the opportunity for affiliate marketing to capture more of online marketing budgets, the value of relationships, and much more. The audience was extremely engaged in the discussion and questions were fielded throughout the session. Overall I heard this was the best panel of the entire conference and I would tend to agree. (although I am a bit biased)
After this great session we had lunch with our friends from Advanta. It was great to sit down to a nice meal and share our conference stories.
Random Thought: Personally I love that NETexponent has awesome clients. We are truly lucky to work with clients who are smart, fun, honest, and thoughtful. Whether it be clients introducing us to other potential clients (Thanks Alyssa) or sharing a laugh over a beer (can’t wait to do it again Megan) or stopping by the booth to brighten our day with a smile and word of encouragement (see you back in NY Seema) or how about when your client takes YOU to a Boston Red Sox game with “sick” seats (David, TJ, and Jarrett) or especially when they greet us with a big warm hug (David you rock)…NETexponent clients are a rare breed and truly valuable to us. Thanks!
After a few more booth visits the team and I called it quits as the exhibit hall was shutting down. Erin, Teresa, Erica, and Sal stayed to pack up the booth and start the long ride home. (Thanks guys!) Lorrenn and I caught the Bolt Bus back to NYC (in fact I am writing this post on the bus and using their great free wifi) and Kramer is at the Red Sox game with our friends from Advanta.
I must close this recap with my Thanks to the wonderful NETexponent team who truly made this event a success. The team worked hard, worked long, and made clients and publishers happy. Generic thanks is not good enough so…
Thank you Erica for your spirit and enthusiasm which is truly infectious
Thank you Erin for your mastery of the English language and your help in promoting the event
Thank you Leslie, who did not attend, but organized the entire booth creation
Thank you Sal for driving and networking your butt off
Thank you Lorrenn for interviewing with the affiliate summit camera crew and spilling stuff at the bar
Thank you Teresa for orchestrating some great meetings and sharing your fear of mascots (I may get in trouble for putting that one on the blog)
It was a good Affiliate Summit and we are already looking forward to Vegas in 2009
Check out some other great Affiliate Summit Recaps here:
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events by Peter Figueredo | | 2 Comments
Affiliate Summit Recap – Day 2
August 12th, 2008
Day 2 started off strong with some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and breakfast sandwiches, plus munchkins for the team. The booth was looking good and our staff was looking better, we were all ready for the exhibit hall stampede. Unfortunately, the morning had less traffic than I hoped for in the exhibit hall area. I quickly realized this was because Newark mayor Corey Booker was giving his keynote address. While not providing much affiliate marketing insight, I heard his speech was extremely inspiring. I chose to bang out a few emails during this quiet period at the booth and catch up on work. (as you saw from my last post)
It wasn’t until noon that the exhibit hall began to drive some good traffic. The NETexponent folks were all chipping in to build and strengthen relationships with key affiliates on behalf of our clients. Everywhere I looked I saw folks talking about promotional opportunities, commission structures, consumer offers, creative selling ideas…etc. We get asked a lot about the value of a booth at Affiliate Summit and the answer is easy. Affiliate marketing is all about relationships. We have an advantage since we have been in the game longer than other agencies so our relationships are wide and deep. However, we actively nurture those relationships on a regular basis. There is no better way to build strong bonds with people than through face-to-face meetings and Affiliate Summit is one of the best ways to access the best and brightest in our industry. Many folks think we have a booth to promote NETexponent and while that is partially true, the main focus of our booth is to promote our clients. We don’t even have our own business cards on the booth, rather we opt for business cards that promote our clients’ programs. I highly recommend this event for anyone looking to strengthen their affiliate marketing relationships.
Many of our clients also attended the conference so that they could strengthen their own relationships with affiliates and I applaud them for it. Among our clients in attendance were
- Seema from Audible
- Alyssa from Cardscan
- Megan from MyVu
- Kassie from Britannica
- David from Advanta
- TJ from Advanta
- Jarrett from Advanta
- Samia from Advanta
- Kelly from Advanta
(phew those Advanta folks almost outnumbered the NETexponent team)
It is very refreshing to see our clients take an active interest in these affiliate events.
So I stopped in and out of the booth and had several meetings throughout the day with partners, clients, affiliates, and friends of NETexponent. I certainly realized the value of comfortable shoes. Frankly I don’t know how women wear high heels to conferences.
After a long and very very productive day the team gathered for a nice dinner at the Top of the Hub at the Prudential Center in Boston. But first we said hi to Chris Kramer’s adorable daughters Colvin and Marley.
The restaraunt was great and had a spectacular view of Boston. Everyone was very happy with their meals and I enjoyed our bottle of 2005 Hitching Post Highliner Pinot Noir almost as much as my plate of warm homemade cookies at the end.
A few of us visited the Partner Fusion party for late night networking and while folks like Sal and Lorrenn had the energy to stay out…I hit the bed around midnight and tried to rest up for Day 3.
Posted in Affiliate Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments
Affiliate Summit Recap – Day 1
August 11th, 2008
Day 1 of Affiliate Summit is officially complete. It was great to wake up and take a run around the Boston 
Seaport Hotel area. Plenty of beautiful views and not too many tourists. I quickly got lost and decided to shorten my 7 mile run to 4 miles, guess I can make up for it today. (but probably not)
The rest of the NETexponent crew arrived mid-day and it was great to see their smiling faces. I love our little family. First order of business was to setup the booth. Thanks to the hard work and preparation of our Media Coordinator, Leslie, our booth looks amazing. (Thanks Leslie!) I should also thank Sal for driving most of the team up to Boston.
After the booth setup it was off to the Affiliate Summit meet market. It still feels strange to go to “The World Trade Center” but the convention space is really nice. The 
parade of flags leading up to the entrance is very nice and I could not help but think of the Olympic opening ceremony.
The meet market was jam packed. If you are claustrophobic then this was not the place for you. Plenty of companies were out representing their services and affiliate programs. Our client MyVu did a great job of showcasing their new player, MyVu Crystal. I loved watching Finding Nemo on this great product.
The meet market was so hectic that some of our older citizens needed a rest. (just kidding Chris…I was resting too)
Everyone was in high spirits and the amount of networking was better than expected.
After the Meet Market we had some fun with the MyVu folks at the hotel bar before heading to the ShareASale boat party. Brian Littleton and the SAS crew never fail to disappoint. The party was tons of fun and we had our fill of food and drinks until the early morning.
I hear applause signaling that the keynote session has just ended so I must sign off and prepare for the booth rush. More great updates to come from Affiliate Summit Boston.
Stay Tuned!
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events by Peter Figueredo | | 2 Comments
Affiliate Summit Day 0 Recap
August 10th, 2008
Saturday was jam packed and a great day.
The Affiliate Classroom Live event was a great opportunity to meet with affiliate managers and help them address their challenges. I listened to Heather Paulson’s wonderful presentation on advanced affiliate marketing strategies and then spearheaded three round-table discussions. Thanks to the Affiliate Classroom team for organizing this event and asking me to participate.
Immediately after the AC Live event I ran into the PMA working session. As a PMA (Performance Marketing Alliance) FAB (Formation Advisory Board) member I was happy to see the meeting was a mix of FAB members and non FAB members who are interested in helping to get the PMA off the ground. Some notable celebrities include:
- Sam Harrelson
- Brad Waller
- Beth Kirsch
- Michael Coley
- Peter Bordes
- Brook Schaaf
- Lisa Riolo
- Lisa Picarille
- Durk Price
- Rachel Honoway
- Anik Singal
- Rebecca Madigan (who did a great job organizing)
and others.
The meeting went a full 4 hours and much was accomplished. We are still working to finalize many areas so I cannot reveal our decisions here but I encourage anyone with questions to attend the PMA discussion session at Affiliate Summit.
Performance Marketing Alliance Q&A
Session 2c
Location: Classroom C – Harborview Ballroom
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm(This Session is Open to Full Conference Pass Holders Only)
Open discussion regarding the formation and plans for the Performance Marketing Alliance.
Luckily I had a little down time after the PMA so I enjoyed a Dirty Martini while watching The Olympics in the lobby of the Westin. (I highly recommend their dirty martinis)
Then it was off to the Affiliate Dinner event. Unfortunately, I did not pre-register and the event was packed. I thought I could just walk in and pay or at best leverage my friendship with Brook Schaaf to get in. Brook had a packed house and told me he would text me if someone did not show up. (which he did but I did not see until later) So I was planning to have a quiet dinner alone at the Seaport Hotel bar. Luckily I didn’t have to because within a few minutes of sitting at the bar I was joined by Peter Bordes of Media Trust and Relevantly Speaking. Shortly after that I was joined by Howard and Steve from Vertive. Then Beth Kirsch also stopped in. Before I knew it we had our own Affiliate Dinner going on and it was great.
Closed out the night with some drinks at the Buy.at party and even more affiliate friends.
Busy day and the conference has not even started…phew
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events by Peter Figueredo | | 7 Comments
Affiliate Survey Completed
August 9th, 2008
We are pleased to announce that our Affiliate Survey effort was a huge success. NETexponent created and distributed a 23-question survey designed to collect information about affiliates’ wants, needs, and experiences in the affiliate marketing space. We received over 500 responses from a diverse mix of affiliates across different affiliate networks such as CJ, Performics, LinkShare, ShareASale, and others. The questions these affiliates answered are listed below. Special thanks to all of the great affiliates who participated. Survey results are being compiled and will be sent out soon.
To request a copy of the results please email: GetResults (at) NETexponent (dot) com.
1. How many affiliate programs have you joined?
2. How many affiliate programs are promoted on your site (or sites) in an average month?
3. Out of all of the merchants that you promote on your site, approximately what percentage of them generated at least one order for you last month?
4. How many employees does your company have?
5. When evaluating an affiliate program, does the affiliate technology play a role in deciding whether or not to apply?
6. Please choose your Top Three Affiliate Technologies from the list below.
7. From the list below, please pick three items that you find to be the most valuable when promoting an affiliate program.
8. What are the three most important items you look at when deciding if you want to join an affiliate program?
9. With regards to communication, how many newsletters do you receive in a week?
10. How often do you like to receive newsletters?
11. Please select your preferred method of messaging for each type of communication. Please choose one method of contact for each.
12. With regards to banners, do you prefer to host the images yourself or do you allow the network technologies to host?
13. How do video advertisements perform on your website?
14. If you run flash ad units, please tell us how they perform.
15. Which of the following methods do you use to drive traffic to your site?
16. Do you currently charge a fee to list advertisers on your site?
17. Do you currently provide advertisers the opportunity to buy paid placements or sponsorships on your site(s)?
18. If you are currently running Google Adsense on your site, please tell us what drives more revenue for your site.
19. Please check any advertiser types that generate strong revenue.
20. What is the average conversion rate you see for the categories you selected above?
21. What is the average age of your visitors?
22. Please provide us with the percentage of male and female users on your site.
23. What is the average household income of your users?
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Research by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments
Affiliate Summit Day -1
August 8th, 2008
It’s Friday and I just arrived in a very very rainy Boston late at night. I am resting up since it has been a long day and I will be speaking at the Affiliate Classroom Live event tomorrow. With any luck I will wake up early and squeeze in a 7 mile run before the event. Later in the day I will be joining my fellow Performance Marketing Alliance FAB members for a series of meetings to help set the foundation. Then I will probably be finishing up with a nice Affiliate Dinner.
Phew, it will certainly be a busy Saturday at Affiliate Summit and the conference does not even start until Sunday!
I am extremely excited about this Affiliate Summit for many reasons:
- NETexponent will be out in full force
- Some of our great clients will be in attendance like Audible.com, Advanta, Cardscan, Encyclopedia Britannica, and MyVu
- Some of our great partners will be in attendance like Commission Junction, Google Affiliate (aka Performics), LinkShare, Share A Sale, Syntryx, Qoof, Omniture, and more
- Some of our wonderful Affiliates will be in attendance such as…well there are too many to name so check the list here
- NETexponent Co-Founder, Chris Kramer, will be hosting a round table on “The Future of Affiliate Marketing”
- Our wonderful team will be out in full force so please stop by booth #944 and say hi to me, Chris, Teresa, Erin, Sal, Lorrenn, and Erica
Many more reasons to be excited…hope to see you in Boston
Safe Travels,
Peter
Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 1 Comments
Content Network Targeting Enhanced, Hints Google
August 8th, 2008
It looks like Google will be integrating some of the DoubleClick DART targeting abilities into its content network according to this article in ClickZ.
The company expects all of the additional features to boost ad quality. “We’ll be using the cookie data to improve ad quality as we are able to get improved signals on ad performance within the network and able to limit overexposure of advertisements,” said the spokesperson.
The new features will be available to AdSense content network advertisers only, not to advertisers running ads on Google’s site.
New tools that advertisers may appreciate are:
- frequency caps (decide how many times you want a user to see your ad)
- view through tracking (see conversion data based on users who view your ad but don’t click and later purchase from your site)
- message segmentation by advertiser defined groups
DART had many benefits…it will be interesting to see how many Google can integrate.
Posted in Search Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments
