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Web Marketing Association SmartBrief

April 9, 2012

Top Story

Online shoppers say they're hungry for product videos
A majority of U.S. consumers say they watch product videos that they encounter while shopping online, according to an Invodo poll, with almost 9 in 10 saying they'd value a Web video that included a demonstration of a product they were considering. Almost half of those polled said they associated online videos with high production values with high-quality, more reliable products. eMarketer (4/9)

Trendwatch

"Digital" distinctions disappearing Down Under
Australian marketers have seen a seismic movement toward digital marketing in recent years, say chief marketing officers from some of the country's biggest companies. That's causing marketers to stop thinking about "digital" as a separate niche, but instead to treat it as a necessary and integral part of any campaign. "2011 was the year digital needed to disappear from marketers' vernacular because there was significant enough penetration ... for it just to become another part of the communication mix," explains Telstra marketing head Mark Buckman. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (4/7)

Nielsen and comScore woo big brands with online-rating tools
Nielsen and comScore are courting brands such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, General Mills and Kraft Foods as they seek to popularize rival systems for rating online ads. Nielsen received Media Rating Council accreditation for Online Campaign Ratings, a tool that uses anonymous Facebook data to provide advertisers with demographic data. ComScore is closing in on accreditation for Validated Campaign Essentials, which includes a "viewability" measure to ensure ads are served in places where they're actually visible to consumers. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (4/9)

Other News

Brazilian brands get a taste for online advertising, report finds
The Financial (Georgia/Ukraine) (4/9)

Getting the Word Out

Report: Search-marketing spending rose 16% in Q1
U.S. brands' year-on-year search-marketing spending was up 16% in the first quarter, according to an Adobe Systems report, and ROI on search campaigns was up 11% over the same period. The increased spending was largely due to Google's algorithm updates, which yielded a larger number of clicks, and not to an increase in the average cost-per-click, the report notes. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (4/10)

Google unveils ZIP code search-targeting tools
Search marketers will now be able to use U.S. ZIP codes to target Google AdWords campaigns, using up to 1,000 ZIP codes at a time to create locally relevant ads. That's potentially a powerful feature, since about a fifth of all searches on Google are tied to a specific location, writes John Rampton. SearchEngineWatch.com (4/6)

Developer Update

Is Apple cooling on HTML5?
Apple's new iPad doesn't contain the beefed-up support for HTML5 that many in the industry had hoped for. The device makes it harder for browser-based apps to store data between sessions, and doesn't include any new HTML5-supporting features over previous iterations. "It's still the best HTML5 platform on the market,? says Sencha's Aditya Bansod. "But ... we're treading water and even slid back a bit. That's a little disappointing from Apple.? Network World (4/5)

Design Corner

Why designers shouldn't surrender to the "New Aesthetic"
In design circles, everyone's talking about the "New Aesthetic" -- a movement that uses digitally derived images as metaphors and applies them to a broad range of design challenges. It's always exciting to see the emergence of a new aesthetic tool kit, writes Bruce Sterling, but designers shouldn't overuse digitally inspired motifs. "Valorizing machine-generated imagery is like valorizing the unconscious mind. Like Surrealist imagery, it is cool, weird, provocative, suggestive, otherworldly, but it is also impoverished," Sterling adds. Wired.com/Beyond the Beyond blog (4/2)

Small Businesses & Entrepreneurs

Don't be afraid to ask customers for their e-mail address
Small businesses need to digitally engage their customers -- and the first step is using real-world interactions to capture shoppers' digital contact details, writes David Daniels. Ask your regular customers for their e-mail address, and in no time you'll have a useful customer database to fuel your digital outreach. "E-mail is the perfect cost-effective tool to advance the digital future goals for any merchant -- local shop, big-box retailer or international brand," Daniels writes. ClickZ (4/9)

Other News

New York City SMBs get a digital helping hand with free marketing classes
Daily News (New York) (4/6)

Association News

Enter to win $50 AMEX Gift Card -- Deadline Today
Go to the Web Marketing Association?s Facebook Contest Page and register to win a $50 American Express gift certificate. This gift certificate is good for purchases online, at stores or restaurants or makes a great gift. The deadline for entry is today, April 9th, so don?t delay -- enter today!