Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Google AdWords: $3 ROI Offline for Every $1 Spent Online?” plus 5 more

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Google AdWords: $3 ROI Offline for Every $1 Spent Online?
Gartner Predicts Huge Android and Microsoft Mobile OS Growth
Internet Giants Carry Strong Reputations As Well
Macquarie Predicts Solid Growth for Display Ads
Can’t Get Enough Ads? There’s an App for That
Google Goes Old School and Provides (Gulp!) Phone Support

Google AdWords: $3 ROI Offline for Every $1 Spent Online?

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 07:06 AM PDT

According to Google, you could earn $3 in offline sales for every $1 you spend on AdWords.

According to Google, you might see in store sales increase by 1.7% if you spend money on AdWords.

According to Google…..

OK, let’s just stop right there.

The video below is a nicely produced animation to encourage bricks-and-mortar stores to spend more money on online advertising. It makes a lot of sense, and I am sure many will be convinced by it. My only concern is it uses individual examples to make a case that all instore sales see a lift from online advertising.

I’m not saying it’s trickeration, just be aware that when you watch this video, Google’s not saying that all advertisers see a 15:1 return on ad spend, but that a few advertisers did.

Gartner Predicts Huge Android and Microsoft Mobile OS Growth

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 06:36 AM PDT

As if it wasn't hard enough for marketers to get their arms around working with 2 major mobile OS's (with the multiple Android flavors enough to create even greater issues), Gartner predicts that worldwide growth of Microsoft mobile will confuse the game even more!

The chart below attempts to predict the worldwide use of the various mobile OS platforms with a surprising twist. Android and Microsoft see huge gains while Apple even declines in market share after this year. Yikes.

Of course these are only predictions and no one can tell the future but Gartner has their reasons for thinking this way. According to their press release for their findings (which is for sale here with no connection to Marketing Pilgrim)

Gartner predicts that Apple's iOS will remain the second biggest platform worldwide through 2014 despite its share deceasing slightly after 2011. This reflects Gartner's underlying assumption that Apple will be interested in maintaining margins rather than pursuing market share by changing its pricing strategy. This will continue to limit adoption in emerging regions. iOS share will peak in 2011, with volume growth well above the market average. This is driven by increased channel reach in key mature markets like the U.S. and Western Europe.

And why will Android continue its march to mobile OS dominance? Price.

"By 2015, 67 percent of all open OS devices will have an average selling price of $300 or below, proving that smartphones have been finally truly democratized," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.

"As vendors delivering Android-based devices continue to fight for market share, price will decrease to further benefit consumers", Ms. Cozza said. "Android’s position at the high end of the market will remain strong, but its greatest volume opportunity in the longer term will be in the mid- to low-cost smartphones, above all in emerging markets."

So Apple fan boys can relax because this is not a declaration that Android or Microsoft is better than the Apple mobile offerings. It's a money thing. If this scenario plays out Apple will 'hold serve' and maintain profit margins by keeping its price point above the mass market just like they have with every other product they have ever introduced. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So while these numbers can look startling in one moment they are pretty reasonable in the next. Unfortunately, this just makes the job of marketers even harder as they try to make sure they can get their message to the right group at the right time. Will high-end marketers eventually make the choice to simply court Apple users because of their demographics? Maybe but it is unlikely that Android and Microsoft will exclusively serve the less affluent markets. Internationally it could be quite the opposite considering Microsoft's deal with Nokia which still is the primary mobile hardware used outside the US. So in other words, marketers are going to need to gear up for producing apps and the like for all three platforms if they want to stay in front of the right mobile users.

As for Research In Motion's Blackberry? At least they can say that things don't look as bad as Symbian.

Internet Giants Carry Strong Reputations As Well

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 05:07 AM PDT

Here at Marketing Pilgrim, we talk a lot about reputation and how it's managed. Of course, we have our reasons .

When others talk about reputation, it peaks everyone's interest especially when you are talking about the 150 largest companies in the US. Forbes reports on a study conducted by the Reputation Institute about just how these companies faired and for the Internet only crowd it's good news. The three companies on that list from the Internet space are biggies: Amazon, Google and ebay. As you can see from the Top 10 below they "done us proud".

Ebay finished 81st.

If you follow the social media space closely there is one thing that was very interesting as it relates to one of the 'superstars' of the industry, Frank Eliason. You probably know him from the work he did at Comcast starting their social media efforts from scratch and building them into a reputation-changing machine. He has since moved on to Citigroup to head up much of their social media efforts.

Marketing Pilgrim’s Reputation Channel is sponsored by Trackur’s social media monitoring tools. Plans start at just $18 a month and you are up and running in just 60-seconds!

The chart below is the bottom 10 on this list and it makes one think a bit.

First, what did all that 'game-changing' social media efforts do for Comcast if they are still hanging around the bottom of this list? That's actually not a knock on the efforts because the company is arguably better in handling itself with its customers. Eliason left the company in July of last year. What it does indicate is that no matter how hard you try to remedy reputation through social channels there will always be detractors. It also shows that bad reputations leave serious scars. Or since Eliason left did their efforts fall off as well?

Secondly, probably some of the best jobs in social media exist with these reputation bottom feeders. Look at Citigroup where Eliason went in August of last year following his Comcast efforts to become the SVP of Social Media. While they are still near the bottom of the list their overall score made one of the biggest leaps on the entire list (only GM's was higher but that's thanks to your tax dollars being hard at work, not much else). Can that be contributed to social media? Maybe to some degree but one has to think there is a correlation in the use of the medium to change the hearts and minds of the disgruntled. it’s still very early to tell but it certainly might be part of rebound the bank is seeing. Regardless, it looks like he has some job security since they are still seen as one of the least reputable companies in the country.

So if you are looking for a career in social media and, in particular, the reputation management aspect you should go work for the bad guys. Protecting a reputation is one thing but if you can rebuild one that's certainly another.

Your take?

Macquarie Predicts Solid Growth for Display Ads

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 01:24 PM PDT

Macquarie Capital has just published their Ad Tracker report for 1Q 2011 and believe it or not, it’s AOL that came out on top.

Twice per quarter, the company analyzes display advertising sales on the homepages of YAHOO, AOL, YouTube, and MSN. Looking at the data from the first quarter of 2011, AOL won the award for the most improved player.

The company had the highest proportion of Oversized/Custom ad units (ex YouTube) at 26%, and it also had the highest percentage of purely brand-focused advertisers (which we view as a positive indicator of ad quality).

AOL’s new Project Devil program didn’t make the splash they’d hoped for, but Macquarie says we should see more of these large interactive ads in the second quarter.

Yahoo had less Oversized/Custom ad units on their homepage, but was saved by auto advertisers who bought 31% of the total ads for the time period.

We estimate YHOO sold its login page ~24%+ of days during 1Q. This login page initiative is still somewhat underperforming our expectations, but the trend is positive and we believe it is also growing internationally. Based on this data, we expect YHOO’s 1Q display growth to come in slightly better than our 11.5% y/y growth estimate.

The report also called YouTube’s turn out “somewhat disappointing” in that they aren’t diversified enough to have a stable base of ads. 62% came from media companies and Macquarie thinks they would be better off if they could pull in more from the other categories.

MSN is slow and steady. The report says that they’re lagging behind Yahoo and AOL mostly because of their high proportion of “non-rich media ads on its homepage” which they see as an indicator of low quality.

Bottom line?

Taking seasonality into account, we continue to see solid growth and positive momentum for the display ad industry. We are maintaining our estimate of low double-digit display growth for the industry in 2011.

Would be better if they didn’t have the word “low” before double-digit but any growth is good growth, so we’ll take it.

Can’t Get Enough Ads? There’s an App for That

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 12:03 PM PDT

You know how people are always saying, “I wish there was a way to view only ads without that pesky content getting in the way?”

Okay, no one says that, but you have to admit that advertising is sometimes the most interesting and creative thing on the page. Not here at Marketing Pilgrim, certainly, but other places. That’s why Apple has released the new iAd Gallery App.

With the iAd Gallery App, you can scroll through a list of engaging iAds and watch them do their stuff. Because everyone deserves credit, the agency responsible for the ad is listed when you tap, along with a short paragraph explaining the ad function.

They also offer a neato browse wheel so you can flip through ads like a wheel of fortune. It doesn’t do anything different than the side scrolling version, but it sure looks cooler.

All kidding aside, the new iAd Gallery is an excellent source of inspiration and not just for those planning an iAd of their own. Spend a little time browsing through the graphics and testing the functionality of the different ads and I’ll bet it will spark something you can use in your own campaigns.

If nothing else, it’s not a bad way to pass the time while you’re stuck on hold.

Best ad on the app so far? The Geico Wheel of Wisdom. What’s your favorite?

Thanks to USAToday for the tip.

Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

Google Goes Old School and Provides (Gulp!) Phone Support

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 10:15 AM PDT

Google has been revered for the opportunities it provides for businesses of all sizes and that kind of praise is well deserved. At the same time though it has been cursed at by the same businesses who have a question about something that Google offers but there has only been the classic Internet support system of e-mail and forums for ‘support’.

Well, either Google has suddenly heard the cries of the great unwashed (which is defined by those who don't automatically just 'get' how everything with Google works) or there is something else brewing. Why do I say that? Because yesterday Google announced that it was providing phone support for ALL Adwords customers based in the US and Canada regardless of their size or relationship with the company.

The Google Adwords blog reports

We've worked hard to keep in touch with our AdWords customers and we're always looking for new ways to support you. Currently we offer email and online support, and today we're launching free phone support for all of our U.S. and Canada-based AdWords customers. When you have a question about your account or advertising campaigns, you can now call an AdWords specialist if you prefer.

We're adding phone support for a simple reason: you asked for it! You told us that while you appreciate online resources like our AdWords Help Center, you also want the option to get live, expert support when you need it. We heard you, and got to work assembling a team of AdWords experts to answer your calls.

So I guess after all these years AdWords advertisers finally decided that they wanted phone support, huh? Search Engine Land's Pamela Parker put it best with

Though Google says it's providing phone support in response to advertiser demand, there's likely more to the story — many advertisers would have liked phone support for all of AdWords' history, yet Google has chosen now to respond.

Google is funny this way in that they make everything they provide to customers sound as if they are treating the rest of the world with their benevolent offerings from their good graces. In reality, Google has held off as long as it could with regard to support because of how much it costs and how difficult it might be.

Also, with the company's attention now being focused on the previously neglected small business community it is finding that most SMB's need more than just online and e-mail help. In fact, I have heard estimates that Google only feels that 25% of SMB's will ever use a self-service toll that doesn't provide support. That leaves a big part of the market place unattended and a lot of money on the table. Guess it's time to hire!

You will have to be an AdWords customer to take advantage of the service (have your customer ID ready) but you can now call Google (in the US and Canada only for now) at ) 1-866-2-Google between Monday-Friday, 9am-8pm Eastern Time.

Oh and if you do get through, see what kind of questions you can sneak in about Google Places troubles and other things. Have fun listening to the support specialists deflect your concerns!