Archive for April, 2009
West African phishing scam hits my Facebook inbox
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Over the past few months eBrand Media has consistently sounded an alarm about Facebook, and the cornucopia of information that people share so freely, and unnecessarily, on Facebook. I discovered the e-mail below in my Facebook inbox. It’s far superior to other phishing e-mail in that it’s targeted directly at me, by name, includes the specific name of a supposed relative in the body of the e-mail, and strives to convey a Kings English dialect. It was sent by a “James Desouza” which I’m sure is an alias. Please note the Yahoo! e-mail address. It’s reasonable to expect that attorneys would have a domain name for their law firm, and an e-mail address from that domain.
A search of Facebook delivers 57 results for the name, “James Desouza”. None have pictures.
“Dear Tom Polanski,
I am Barrister James Desouza, a solicitor at law. I am the personal attorney to Eng. J .B.Polanski, a national of your country, who used to work with Shell Development Company in Lome Togo. Here in after shall be referred to as my client. On the 21st of April 2005, my client, his wife and their only daughter were involved in a car accident along Sagbama express road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives.
Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy here to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to track his last name over the Internet, to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you. I have contacted you to assist in recovering the fund valued at US$20.5 Million, left behind by my client before it gets confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Bank where this huge amount were deposited.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Facebook on April 30th, 2009
How to grow your business virally – see what a leading retailer did.
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
SUMMARY
Are you launching a sister site with a separate brand name and you need to get traffic there fast without blowing your budget on excessively expensive acquisition campaigns?
When you don’t have an established group of return visitors, the task can be daunting.
Find out how one ecommerce marketer used viral marketing to build traffic from scratch. Plus, three tips to keep word of mouth strong and build momentum.
When executives at Backcountry.com realized that viral marketing was becoming a marketing catchphrase, President and Co-founder John Bresee had an idea.
“[Bresee] came to me and said, ‘If we had a site that had insane deals on gear, would you go there?’” says VP Marketing Dustin Robertson. “It was obvious to all of us that we would.”
Thus, the idea of SteepandCheap.com — an ecommerce site that would be launched without the benefit of any paid marketing — was born.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Marketing, Viral Marketing on April 29th, 2009
More people worldwide watch more channels on more devices
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
According to findings from the Accenture second annual Global Broadcast Consumer Survey, television viewership has grown since last year, with 40% of viewers watching six or more television channels vs. 35% in 2008, and 39% watching eight or more television programs per week vs. 33% last year. Respondents who said they would also enjoy viewing content on other devices increased over the last year, with 13-point increases in the number who would watch content on personal computers (74% in 2009 vs. 61% in 2008) and on mobile devices (45% in 2009 vs. 32% in 2008).
The survey of nearly 14,000 consumers across 13 countries found that:
– While fragmentation of the audience viewing traditional television formats is continuing, the consumption of broadcast content on all platforms, including traditional television, is growing
– Opportunities abound in new media in emerging markets
– Consumers indicate a willingness to pay, favoring subscription services
One of the survey’s more striking discoveries, says the report, is the big difference in behaviors of consumers in less-developed markets versus those in more-developed markets. Respondents in Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia were nearly three times as likely as those in United States, Germany and the United Kingdom to express interest in watching television content on mobile phones, ranging from 65-71% of respondents in these three less-developed countries but only from 22-26% for those in the more-developed countries.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising on April 28th, 2009
“Few people have the imagination for reality.” & a few more of my favorite quotes
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Every now and then I like to share quotes that I think are inspiring, funny, or worthy of contemplation. I’ve published many over the past few months and would like to share these too.
“Swing hard, in case they throw the ball where you’re swinging.”
– Duke Snider, Baseball Player
“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.”
– Stephen Covey, Author and Speaker
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.”
– Florence Nightingale
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”
– Willie Nelson, Musician
“Envisioning the end is enough to put the means in motion.”
– Dorothea Brande, Writer
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.”
– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Posted by Tom Polanski in Opinions on April 28th, 2009
eBrand Media Research Brief: paid search clicks down, digital radio usage up
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
In regards to SEM; according the research done by eBrand Media, Inc., paid search clicks are down considerably, while click-through rates, click to conversion rates, and CPC costs are higher. This probably means that search engine marketers are attempting to do what eBrand Media has done since 2005: expand keyword lists with low volume, low cost, but extremely targeted, and high-yield multi-word keyphrases while using “header” terms only to drive required volume, as part of a sustainable SEM eco-system.
The study followed online retailer clients in shoes, clothing, flowers and gifts, housewares, and a number of other industries, analyzing the performance of each category on a a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in Q1 2009. The data was then compared with the data with that for the same period last year.
On another front, the latest study by Arbitron and Edison Research shows continued growth in usage and ownership of various forms of digital audio platforms, including online radio, iPod/MP3 players, and podcasting. The weekly online radio audience increased significantly in the past year to 17% of the U.S. population age 12 and older; up from 13% in 2008. On a weekly basis, online radio reaches 20% of 25-to-54 year-olds; up from 15% in 2008.
Bill Rose, senior vice president of marketing, Arbitron Inc., says “The sharp growth in weekly usage of Online radio… provides compelling evidence that radio’s digital platforms may be reaching critical mass. We are… seeing encoded streams of AM/FM broadcasts with significant audience in local markets.”
Key findings from The Infinite Dial 2009: Radio’s Digital Platforms, include:
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, SEM, Trend Tracker on April 27th, 2009