U.S. carriers hope to import text messaging

Last year in Western Europe, SMS generated $15 billion in revenue. It’s not difficult to imagine that US carriers are trying to import the SMS fashion in North America as well. Peter Svensson reports on Mercury News about the American mobile market fears and hopes. It’s worked in Europe and Asia — why not here?

File under: mobile market, sms revenue

New Google Toolbar blocks pop-up and Mac users

Last week Google has launched Google Toolbar 2.0. It presents some new features like a pop-up blocker, and a Blog-this button that will work for Blogger users. The announced problem with the pop-up blocker is that it blocks every kind of pop-ups, not just the advertising ones. Furthermore it will not be able to stop Gator advertising. The polemics on the new Toolbar go further if we look at the blog-this feature that has raised a lot of concern between blogging services and technology providers in competition with Blogger. I really look forward to test it, however I will have to wait until Monday, when I get back to work. The new toolbar in fact doesn’t work on Mac. Like many other people, I’m a big Google fan, however I have been really disappointed by the lack of consideration for Mac users�

File under: google toolbar, mac

Big news from MarketingFix

MarketingFix, the daily blog for everyone interested in online marketing issues, has just been bought by ClickZ co-founder Andy Bourland. Good luck to Rick and the other guys involved in the project!

E-mail marketing: clickthrough rates increase

Clickthrough rates increased by 60% since the fourth quarter of 2002, according to a new study by NetCreations. The study showed clickthrough rates for the current quarter to be at an average of 5.1%. This compares with 4.4% for the first quarter of 2003 and 3.2% for the fourth quarter of 2002. More information about the research and some tips to optimize an email marketing campaign can be found on Direct.

File under: clickthrough rate, direct marketing, email marketing

Rich media for MINI

iMediaConnection presents in its Creative Spotlight a brief case study of the recent MINI rich media campaign. With the use of rich media, MINI and its agency WCRS engaged the consumer and creatively delivered the attributes of the Cooper all within smaller ad units.

File under: mini, online campaign, rich media campaign, small ad units

Talking about intromercials

Masha Geller talked yesterday on MediaPost about “intro-mercials”. I do agree with her, that watching a 10 sec ads it’s a fair price to pay to read content for free, however I don’t believe this isn’t an intrusive form of advertising. Keeping on talking about intro-mercials, CNET Networks today announced the debut of the first “intromercial” advertising unit on the front door of its award-winning CNET News.com Web site. Sun Microsystems will be using the new ad unit to reinforce its position as a supplier of computing systems to CNET News.com’s IT professional and business decision-maker audience. Scott Anderson, eMarketing director at Sun Microsystems comments:

“Sun continually focuses on delivering the best information at the right location in the most compelling way, sharing in innovative spirit, the intromercial is yet another example of how Sun and CNET continue to work together to pioneer online media.”

The press release is on Business Wire.

File under: intro-mercials, intromercials

Sony Ericsson campaign to present new game phone

Sony Ericsson will target skate generation with a new campaign to back its new gaming phone, T310. As explained on Brand Republic, the campaign includes a microsite, accessed through banners on the magazine websites, which allows visitors to move through a mock urban street, sampling phone games and information on the product.

File under: game phone, microsite, mobile gaming, multi-channel campaign, online campaign

Skyy Relaunch Goes To The Movies

Skyy Vodka yesterday relaunched Skyy.com, hoping to better align its online presence with its film-centric advertising and events strategies. Quoted on MediaDailyNews Skyy public relations manager Sue Hearn, explains:

“Our brand has been based around film-related activities for some time now. Given the technology that’s out there at this point, the web is one of the best vehicles to communicate that brand identity to consumers.”

. I immediately surfed on the Web site… it’s nice, very emotional, it makes you want to have a drink… maybe not exactly a vodka, given the fact that now it’s early afternoon Btw the thing I liked the most is the possibility to choose you lounge music while browsing the web site. There are about twelve tunes to pick, from Bebel Gilberto to Ursula 1000.

File under: branding online, lounge music, online presence, skyy vodka

2003 Online Ad Spend Projected to Rise

Internet ad spending is expected to rise 7.4 percent this year, according to mid-year estimates from TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. The research company attributed increased spending to the strong upfront season, the continued rise of Hispanic media spending, the active political environment and the steady growth in new brand spending. To learn more, read on the news reported on Ad Week.

File under: hispanic media spending, online ad spending

Overture presents Content Match

Overture has recently launched a new advertising program called “Content Match“. As explained by Andrew Goodman on Traffick, the most promising aspect of Content Match is a sign that Overture is going to let advertisers opt out of forms of traffic they don’t want - functionality in which they’ve shown nary a glimmer of interest in the past.

File under: keyword targeting, overture, search engine advertising