Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Google: I Love Thee, I Love Thee Not…

Much of my day here at Sundog is spent doing research. I dig deep into the virtual world of homepages, blogs, and social networks for information on everything from the demographics of major cities to comparisons of different Javascript libraries. In order to be successful in my quest for top-notch information, I certainly need a high-powered search engine that satisfies my cravings, er…my research needs. I’ve always thought this search engine was Google—the king of blue links and quick results. Based on a recent user satisfaction survey, however, it looks like I may want to reconsider.

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Monday, August 20, 2007

iPod Ads

The whole idea of TV ads is to produce something people want to watch, and also establish a brand connection so you can sell more stuff to more people. It’s a more formidable challenge in this new era of the mega-multitasking media environment, but when it works, those who are engaged in a commercial tune out the rest of the world for 30 seconds. Owning somebody’s attention for 30 seconds these days is monumental. Whether people see the ad on TV, the Web, a movie theater or their iPhone, the effect is hopefully the same: pause, reflect, buy.

The iPod ads have been great examples of this consumer engagement, so just in case you haven’t had your fill of advertising today here are all 27 iPod ads. (Via digg).

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Friday, August 17, 2007

The Challenge Facing Newspapers

It’s rare a week goes by that I don’t read about the severe challenges facing the newspaper industry. Advertising revenue for most newspapers’ online versions are soaring, but as this story points out, it is not enough to offset the losses on the traditional print side of the business. While most of these stories have focused on the problem, Doc Searls offers some interesting solutions. Doc’s pedigree, that includes editor, author, writer and, perhaps, ”Founding Father” of the Live Web digerati, certainly qualifies his ideas to be taken seriously. As an avid reader of newspaper and the Live Web, I find his thoughts to represent clear thinking in what is presently a foggy newspaper landscape.

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

Great CMO Advice From Anthony Palmer at Kimberly-Clark

With the average tenure of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) now under two years, it’s refreshing to hear from Anthony Palmer, Kimberly-Clark CMO, who points out some key advice for companies and those holding a CMO title (or similar position). The story is here on the Wall Street Journal (usually behind a subscription paywall). These are a few of the quotes from the story:

“To me, the role of a CMO is really pretty simple. You can’t ever lose sight of the fact that your role is to sell more stuff to more people for more money more often. That has got to be the ultimate goal. You also have to inspire the organization to take calculated risks, and inspire the organization to love winning more than they’re afraid of losing.”

“We’re growing our spending in terms of focusing on new news, driving the promise of the brand, innovating on the delivery of that promise, and driving a dialogue with the consumer in new and interesting places. We’re also focused on emerging markets...Our digital spending is up fourfold. We are much more focused on alternative media.”

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Internet Users Viewing More (Free) Content

If your web site lacks quality content, or if you don’t keep it fresh, you risk losing significant traffic and attention. A new study suggests Internet users spend significantly more time viewing content than ever before.

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