LinkShare Symposium East 2010 – A Success!

June 25th, 2010

On Tuesday I attended my first ever LinkShare Symposium, representing our clients: Nick Jr. Boost and Shockwave ! Overall, it was a great event with a perfect balance between education, networking, and fun.  Since it was my first time, I just wanted to reflect on everything I experienced, as well as provide a brief overview for those who couldn’t make it.

To kick off the event, several members of the LinkShare team (including CEO Yaz Iida) welcomed and thanked all of the attendees. They introduced us to some of the great developments that LinkShare has been working on:

  • Deep Linking Controls (For advertisers that do not allow linking to certain pages, but would like to allow deep linking on all other pages)
  • WordPress Deal Feed Plug-In (LinkShare would like to make it easier for publishers of all sizes – including bloggers – to plug & play. They’ve seen over 5,000 installations thus far!)

And…the most exciting development (in my opinion) is the ALL NEW Advertiser Dashboard! The new advertiser interface is a lot cleaner and simpler, making it easy to find everything you’re searching for:

  • New Trend Chart with Year over Year Trending Reports
  • It is now easier to enter dates when pulling a report
  • Link Section enables you to see just how well your creative is performing
  • Publishers are a lot easier to locate

After we learned about all these new developments, Sucharita Mulpuru (Vice President of Forrester Research and Symposium 2010 Keynote Speaker) talked to us about how eCommerce can succeed in every economic condition. Some key notes (ha.. no pun intended):

  • Consumers shop online because it’s convenient (#1 reason: it saves time and #2 reason: deals & coupons -> Remember this important stat, advertisers!)
  • Successful brands compete up or across! Instead of fighting over whose value/dollar menu was the best, McDonald’s challenged Starbucks by highlighting a new product: McCafe.
  • React to people power: Get your customers involved! Social web activity is a global phenomenon. EventBrite allows customers to share information about their tickets via social media.
  • Expand your IT team – new technological developments & innovation breed success.
  • Multi-Channel: Many buyers are now on more than 1 device – embrace the mobility revolution.

Next up: Panel Discussion! This year’s panel included: Siva V. Kumar (TheFind.com), Diana Gee (The North Face), Jeff Nobbs (ExtraBux), David Lonczak (Drugstore.com) and Kenneth Dayley III (crocs). This discussion was interesting because it allowed us to get perspectives from both advertisers and affiliates! It was great to hear their thoughts on these topics:

  • Conversion Rates: Some affiliates (including ExtraBux) are going to have dynamic featured ads that will change to fit the customer. It’s also important to make sure there are clear Call to Actions. Additionally, don’t include too much info! We wouldn’t want to overwhelm visitors.
  • Data Feeds: What’s missing? Unique identifiers: Sku #s, Bar Codes, Brand & Model #. Tax and Shipping information is also a plus for TheFind.com!
  • Coupons & Discounts: crocs found that product-specific coupons performed much better! Siva from TheFind pointed out that virtual discounts (e.g. Facebook Credits) are great for those advertisers who are brand sensitive and prefer not to offer coupons.
  • Mobile Commerce: TheFind also found that their peak mobile day was Black Friday due to customers comparing online deals to in-store.
  • Global Plans: Try to develop sites that are accessible to those around the world.
  • Getting Ready for Q4: Prepare ahead of time and make sure you keep your affiliates posted on your deals. Ideally, letting affiliates know when a product is out of stock would be great too (especially to help conversion rates)!

After all this great learning, it was lunch & Golden Link Award time! The Golden Link Awards were hosted by the Upright Citizens Brigade who certainly kept things fun.  I especially liked their piece on the creator of the Pop-Up Ad – “Mr. Popup.” The Golden Link Awards were really nice because they rewarded all of the innovative and successful players in the affiliate marketing space. Congrats everyone!

Next came “DealMaker,” a place for affiliates and advertisers to walk around and chat. Some had booths with great giveaways (Erica won a hat from KarmaLoop.com) and some just had great information.  This was one of the most successful parts of the Symposium because I was able to meet a lot of our clients’ awesome partners in person!

Lastly, the after party at the Biergarten at the Standard Hotel – who doesn’t love free beer & pretzels? The photobooth also made things really interesting.

This concludes my successful trip to LinkShare Symposium. I learned a lot, and got to connect with all kinds of people – merchants, agencies and affiliates alike! Thanks everyone for this great experience.

Valerie Russo

Media Coordinator – Affiliate

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events, Media Partnerships, Meet Us, Online Marketing, Research by Erin M. | | 0 Comments

The Furture of Mobile As Told By the Giants

May 28th, 2010

This week, our friends at TechCrunch.com hosted Disrupt in New York City, a conference dedicated to web innovators disrupting media and technology and the handful of executives successfully navigating these disruptions to talk about how to turn change into opportunity. At one roundtable, Facebook’s Chris Cox, Google’s Vic Gundotra, and Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley chat up a storm regarding the future of mobile, privacy controls, and the hit or miss nature of this new leaf in consumer technology.

“Your phone should be a personal assistant. That’s clearly where we’re going,” says Chris Cox of Facebook. ‘Ambient awareness’ was used multiple times to describe device relationships (rather, the necessity thereof) in our near future. But when quizzed on specifics for what phones of the future will look like and how consumer interaction will differ in the coming years of innovation, Cox had this to say:

“People overestimate what’s possible in a year, and underestimate [what's possible in ] 5 years. These devices are going to be magical in 5 years.”

Some even speculate that ‘mobile’ will be come a meaningless word soon because we are inherently always connected. “The real frontier is what’s local,” speculates one commentator, citing the popularity of groundbreaking platforms like FourSquare. “I think Foursquare has done some amazing work with check-ins, but it’s early,” says Gundotra when asked if there is a clear winner in the location game.

“I think we’re building great stuff — there is no winner,” pipes FourSquare’s Crowley. “Think of where we are now to where we were 2 years ago. We’ve made the space more interesting. We’ve pushed things in a different direction. It’s experimenting in the space.”

Speaking of experimentation, Gundotra was asked what he thought Google TV will do what for mobile apps and his answer reads a bit like an upsell, stating that “the most exciting thing about it is that the same Android apps you use will work on the TV. Like Pandora, play it on the TV.”

Facebook’s Chris Cox got a little heat regarding the ever changing privacy controls pleging the platform. He was happy to report, though, that this week, Facebook will be rolling out “drastically simplified” privacy controls in an attempt to remedy what Facebook CEO Zuckerman has publicly called “missed marks.” Facebooks next challenge? “It’s hard to know what to invest in — a better Android app or Facebook Zero.” Facebook Zero is their new, “fast, free, global and mobile” data service.

Posted in Creative Development, Display Advertising, Events, Online Marketing, Research, Social Media by Lindsey E. | | 0 Comments

Eileen Ciravolo Wins Our First Annual NCAA Client Pool

May 12th, 2010

Eileen Ciravolo, Audible’s audacious Traffic Coordinator, is the winner of our First Annual NCAA Tournament Client Pool! Moving ahead of 28 other hopefuls, we recently presented Eileen with a silver plated basketball trophy to share with her office, friends, and family. She also got to take home a little something extra – a brand new iPad! What’s the first thing she’ll be doing with her new gadget? “There’s a the Kindle app, so I’ll definitely be using that. And, of course, the Twitter app, too!”

When asked how she came up with her winning round up, blind luck was attributed. “It took me about two second to pick my teams,” she claims. “I think Duke is good.’ So I picked them. ‘I think Texas is good.’ So, I’ll pick them! That was it. I got very lucky.”

Eileen shares a little more about herself with us:

Eileen Ciravolo Wins!

Audible's Eileen Ciravolo Wins!

Audible has been a part of the NETexponent crew for just over 5 years and we hear it’s a great place to be. Tell us more about your life over there: “I’ve been here for almost 2 years and it truly is a great place to work. I’m the traffic coordinator for the creative department. I’m in charge of making sure all the projects that need copy and design work are scheduled with designers and track the progress from kick-off through to completion. My day to day can be a bit hectic since I’m usually chasing someone down for more information or giving them status updates on things. I’m a very organized planner, so I’m able to stay on top of all the moving parts of various projects while keeping things on track.”

We’ve witnessed your basketball prowess. Are you a big into sports? “I’m a hardcore baseball fan – the Mets are my team. I even play fantasy baseball! The MLB app is one that I’ll surely be using on my new iPad to keep track of the Mets and my fantasy players!”

We can’t help but think that being a part of Audible.com would be a dream for any book lover. “Sure is!”

Give us your top 3 Aubible audio books recommendations: “There are so many great books it’s hard to choose just 3! My first listen was President Obama’s Dreams of My Father, which he narrated himself.  Dave Cullen’s Columbine was a harrowing look into the Columbine Massacre. It was a scary but interesting listen.  And to be a bit lighthearted, Waiter Rant by The Waiter was very funny – you’ll learn the secrets of what really goes on in the kitchen and what your waiters really think of you when you’re out to eat!”

Eileen talks about discovering her big win!

NETexponent would also like to send a shout out of Honorable Mention to Joe Crowley of Total Gym. It was close!

Posted in Awards and Honors, Events, NETexponent Clients, NETexponent Fun by Lindsey E. | | 0 Comments

Top Takeaways from SES NY

March 26th, 2010

Here are my top discoveries from SES NY ordered from “Hey! Good idea that’s interesting” to “Boom!  What was that?! That was my mind being blown!”

  • No two advertisers have the same attribution model. Use attribution to see what media mix gives the highest ROI for your product.
  • Don’t just measure a video’s success on CTR – do an engagement analysis.  How many people started the video?  How many people hit the :30 mark, 1 minute?  How many people rewound, fast forwarded, paused?
  • When it comes to link building it’s more important what others say about you than what you say about yourself.  This is true in real life too by the way :)
  • Successful link building comes from finding the authority on your keywords, seeing who links to them, and then getting those sites to link back to you.
  • CTR increased 94% if the user was exposed to social media before searching.
  • SEO results are moving closer and closer to the fold.  Search for ‘lamp table’ and expand all the product boxes, you’ll see what I mean.
  • YouTube is the #2 search engine.
  • 4% of internet users never search.  Don’t ask me what they’re doing.  I guess they have a URL directory in their brain which updates in real time.
  • And….a glimpse into a crystal ball……There’s an app for everything why would anyone open a browser?!

Posted in Events, Online Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media, Video Ads by Erin M. | | 0 Comments

Affiliate Summit West Here We Come

January 16th, 2010

The NETexponent crew is off to Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit West. In fact I am typing this from my Virgin Atlantic flight (gotta love wifi on planes).

Are you going to be at Affiliate Summit West? Want to connect with our team? Here is how you find us.

1. Visit us at the Total Gym Direct meet market table. Our staff will be representing one of our great affiliate marketing clients, TotalGymDirect.com, and would love to see you.

2. Stop by the PMA members meeting.

Or just wander around and you are sure to see one of our friendly crew.

Who will be there?

Sal Conca, Erica Myones, Valerie Russo, Noelle Huter, Chris Kramer, and Me (Peter Figueredo)

see you in Vegas!

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 1 Comments

Search Engine Strategies NYC Features NETexponent

February 23rd, 2009

I am happy to announce that NETexponent CEO, Peter Figueredo, has just been asked to join an SES panel at the upcoming NYC show.

So if you are attending SES NYC feel free to stop by and enjoy his panel (described below) on Wednesday March 25th 4 – 5pm

Dealing With Affiliates: A Roadmap to Success
Join this panel for a no-holds-barred discussion where performance marketing’s top contenders square off. As SEM evolves, marketers find themselves competing head-on with affiliates. Marketers want more leads/sales, increased affiliate-generated leads/sales, and less cannibalization of search campaigns. How can this be achieved in a world filled with increasingly hostile rhetoric on both sides? Join a panel of experts as they break silence on taboo issues and work through the finer points. You’ll walk away with fresh, new perspective and the ability to collaborate profitably.

Moderator:
Jeffrey Rohrs, VP, Marketing, ExactTarget

Speakers:
Kristopher Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam
Jeff Ferguson, Director of Online Marketing, Napster
Lori Weiman, CEO, The Search Monitor
Peter Figueredo, CEO, NETexponent

Posted in Events, Meet Us, Search Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 1 Comments

Have You Seen This Man…at CJU?

September 15th, 2008

If you are attending CJU in Santa Barbara this week and see this man…

Please say “Hi”

Sal Conca will be representing the NETexponent team at Commission Junction University. (lucky guy) If you have a hard time tracking Sal down you can always visit the NETexponent table during the CJU Expo session. Be sure to pick up some free pens (the smoothest pens you will ever write with).

Enjoy the conference and safe travels to all.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events by Peter Figueredo | | 0 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:Kramer at affiliate summit 2008 speaking

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 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 NETexponent Booth 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

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