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Republicans Just as Green as Democrats
2008-06-09 02:57:00
Turns Out Shoppers in Red States Are At Least As Likely to Buy Sustainable ProductsBeing blue doesn't necessarily mean shopping green, and some of the reddest states at the polls are among the greenest at the grocery checkout, according to an analysis of shopping data by Catalina Marketing. TRUE COLORS: Catalina Marketing's 'green shopping index,' where 100 is average, is based on a state's share of green shoppers -- those who purchase multiple products with environmental or sustainability claims on a trip -- divided by its share of shoppers in the company's checkout-marketing program.Indeed, when it comes to general-merchandise products, green shoppers appear largely red-blue color blind.Catalina, using SAS Institute software to mine and analyze the data, found some of the heaviest "green" shopping in solidly red states such as Idaho, Alaska and Utah. While the blue Northeast was predictably green, blue-state environmentalist haven California came in with a subpar 85 index sc...
More About: Democrats , Republicans , Green , Demographics

Ballmer: All Media Will Be Digital By 2018
2008-06-07 00:22:00
The Washington PostIn an interview with The Washington Post, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer riffs on the future of media, claiming that in ten years, all media will be delivered over the Internet."In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down -- my opinion," Ballmer said. "There will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form."Ten years is an awfully short amount of time, but Ballmer's premise for the quick turnaround is that if content producers and advertisers want TV to be more interactive with better targeted advertising (and they do), then the content will be delivered over an IP network.People should be able to watch their favorite sports games and interact with those watching it at the same time, just as a video gamer with an Xbox Live can play again...
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What Kids Really Do Online (Despite What Parents Think)
2008-06-05 04:08:00
US moms and dads estimate their children spend only two hours a month on the internet, but kids say they actually spend 10 times more time ? or 20 hours ? according to a recent study, the first Norton Online Living Report by Symantec (via MarketingCharts).What's more, 41 percent of respondents age 13-17 say their parents have no idea what they do online, and only 33 percent of parents worldwide say they set parental controls and monitor their children's online activities.Conducted by Harris Interactive, the study sheds light on what kids are really doing when they log on:Making friends. About a third (35 percent) of US online children age 8-17 have made friends online. That percentage increases as kids get older: 50 percent of US teens age 13-17 report making online friends. Some 33 percent of kids 8-17 report that they prefer to spend at least as much time with their online friends as their offline friends.Social-networking. More than three fourths (76 percent) of US teens age 13...
More About: Internet , Kids , Parents

How to Get Your Brand on 'Oprah'
2008-06-03 18:11:00
She's the queen of commercial endorsement, launch pad for four dozen books on the top of The New York Times bestseller list, fabled hawker-donor of Pontiacs and patron saint of everything from soft-rock sensation Josh Groban to Boudreaux's Butt Paste.Yet she doesn't do structured brand-integration deals or, technically, at least, live commercials. And her company, Harpo Productions, tightly controls advance and post-publicity about the praise that gets parceled out. "No one tells Oprah what to say," said one PR professional. And, indeed, that may be much of the commercial appeal of Oprah Winfrey, America's foremost arbiter of middlebrow taste. She is -- by the estimate of PR pros who besiege her producers for a chance to have their brands reflect the warm light of Oprah's presence -- the very pinnacle of product publicity. And yet, despite Oprah Winfrey's and Harpo Productions' dogged efforts to protect her brand and, by extension, the many smaller ones that draw energy from ...
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Even Google Has to Advertise
2008-06-02 20:05:00
Google has built the most powerful brand in the world with nary a bit of brand advertising. But as ads for Google Maps crop up on buses in San Francisco and trains in Chicago, it's clear the company is willing to shell out ad dollars to grow a product that's key to both local and mobile search.The branding push promotes the service's transit features and comes at a time when Google is courting brand advertisers to buy online display ads, TV and radio. Incidentally, its own campaign focuses on the one medium Google hasn't dabbled in selling: outdoor. A quick search on Flickr (sorry, Google Image Search) reveals about a half dozen Google ads uncovered around the country in the past six months, including bus ads and train wraps in the Bay Area, a wrapped El train in the Windy City and street teams in both cities that demonstrate the product for passersby. There was also an ad in San Francisco's AT&T Park. Federated Media's John Battelle spotted that last one and posted it to ...
More About: Google , Advertise

'Powerful' 50-Character Emails Hit the Open Rate Sweet Spot
2008-05-31 02:42:00
Email open rates tend to climb when subject lines are around 50 or 80 characters, but tend to middle out when the length is 60 or 70 characters, according to CEO Dela Quist of Alchemy Worx.Quist made these statements during his keynote at MediaPost's Email Insides Summit Conference. He reportedly drew the research from 250 million messages and 660 subject lines. Clients included Paypal and Intercontinental Hotels.50-character subject lines with a "powerful" offer were considered most appealing.80-character lines or longer worked too, as long as the subject was described in an enticing manner.Source: MarketingVox
More About: Email , Open , Sweet , Spot , Character

Pushing Luxury In An Economic Slowdown
2008-05-29 18:23:00
Despite having increased its profit in each of the 31 quarters since it went public in 2000, luxury retailer Coach is projected to experience a slowdown in the coming months thanks to consumer cutbacks on spending. But rather than hunker down, Coach is expanding.In this Q&A, Coach CEO Lew Frankfort explains why his company is planning to open 200 stores in the U.S. over the next few years, at a rate of about 40 per year, as well as push into China. The company is also bucking conventional wisdom by launching a series of higher-priced products in the coming months.Coach has "decided to accelerate the level of innovation, compressing several years of innovation into one year," said Frankfort. "We want to be transformative in the way we look. You can't be iterative when the economy is tough." Read the whole story...Source: Wall Street Journal
More About: Luxury , Economic

Americans Browse 4.6 Hours Per Month on Smartphones
2008-05-28 19:26:00
Partly because of social networking and internet commerce, US smartphone users spend an average of over 4.6 hours per month browsing the mobile web.And British users do so nearly 2.5 hours per month, reports M:Metrics (via MarketingCharts).For smartphone users Stateside, mobile browsing increased 89 percent year over year and pageviews have increased 127 percent, M:Metrics said.Among the findings issued, based on March data from the measurement firm's metered smartphone panel:Active mobile web users in the US spent an average of one hour and thirty-nine minutes in March browsing Craigslist on their smartphone, the longest duration of any site among the top 20 domains visited.In the UK, Facebook commanded the most time spent browsing in the month. Visitors dedicated an average of one hour and forty-five minutes to the site, which also draws US users.In the US, Facebook ranks fourth in time spent browsing, after eBay and MySpace, with Disney's Go.com rounding out the top five.In the...
More About: Smartphones , Americans , Mobile Search , Hours , Month

Search Engine Optimization Tips
2008-05-27 04:24:00
I spend a good part of my day thinking about and advising clients about how to increase their search engine rankings. InternetRetailer reported on ways to optimize your web site. These tips come from speakers at the ACCM direct-marketing industry conference and trade show in Orlando, FL. I?ve also added my commentary and extra detail.Update your web site with good, new content. Search engine web crawlers constantly check for new content on your web site. This affects how your site ranks in natural search results.That?s why I often recommend a blog strategy for most sites - each blog post has it?s own URL and is an easy way to add new fresh content to your site. If you update it you can train search engines to index your site several times a day.Put seasonal or changing information you want to be indexed in the center of the site, rather than mixed with other content. The example they gave is Christmas items. If you want it to be indexed for words relating to holiday gifts, don?t con...
More About: Search Engine Optimization , Tips , Search Engine , Optimization

Representing Your Business on the Social Web
2008-05-27 04:21:00
The Web is getting more social, and the internet allows conversations between consumers and those who sell goods and services online on a scale that can be global in reach. The nature of that conversation has changed from the days of mass media to now, and success in business on the Web may rely more than ever on having a voice that people can rely upon, can relate to, and can trust.People want to connect with other people when they conduct business online, whether the business is a large one, or a small one. One of the advantages that a small business may have is that it can be easier for them to build positive relationships, engage in one-on-one conversations, and avoid the inertia of bureaucracy and endless meetings.Some large businesses attempt to reach out on a personal level to their customers. We saw that recently in a blog post, Introduction to Google Search Quality, from Google's Vice President of Engineering in charge of Search Quality, Udi Manber, in which he introduced ...
More About: Business , Social , Social Web

Marketers: Print Budgets Down, Online Ad Spend to Grow Rapidly
2008-05-26 05:18:00
Marketers are continuing to put their ad dollars online at the expense of print advertising, according to the 2008 ?State of the Marketer? survey report from Eloqua, which found that 55% of marketers anticipate a decrease in print ad spend three years from now.Online advertising spend is expected grow at a rapid rate, with 90% of marketers saying they will continue to increase their direct online advertising budgets - and 15% saying they will ?radically? increase online ad spend.Moreover, some 78% of marketers say they will increase their social media spend; 74% say they will increase their direct email spend; and 65% say they will increase their mobile texting/SMS spend.Overall, more than 40% of marketers have radically increased their budgets for online advertising from three years ago.Also?Some 23% of all marketers surveyed say they have increased their spending on Google AdWords.26% of marketers say they have increased their direct email spending.60% said they have kept their te...
More About: Print , Grow , Marketers , Budgets

How-To: Tips for Business Cards Worth Keeping
2008-05-22 06:11:00
At a single trade show, you can expect to receive a stack of business cards in the double digits. And while a good networker is enthusiastic about receiving them, no one looks forward to reviewing an indiscriminate pile of contacts. (Most probably don't bother.) Here are tips for a card worth keeping.Leverage your online personality. ValleyWag suggests relying on curious Googlers and just printing your name. This works best if your homepage or portfolio appear at the top of your search results. Make sure those sites have contact information.If you don't have a strong Google rank, don't worry. Add your Twitter URL instead. Turning networking contacts into active Twitter followers is a good way to form casual and lasting relationships with them.Don't shirk the design. Don't try saving cash by printing cards on cheap (or worse, perforated!) paper. This card is an extension of your brand, so why not hire a designer and get lavish with the cardstock? Of particular importance:It shou...
More About: Business , Tips , Worth , Cards

Can a Dead Brand Live Again?
2008-05-19 23:25:00
Do you remember Brim?The coffee brand? Perhaps you recall its advertising slogan: ?Fill it to the rim ? with Brim!? Those ads haven?t been shown in years, and Brim itself has been off retail shelves since the 1990s. Yet depending on how old you are, there?s a fair chance that there?s some echo of the Brim brand in your brain. That?s no surprise, given that from 1961 to around 1995, General Foods spent tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to get it there. But General Foods disappeared into the conglomerate now known as Altria, which also acquired Kraft, maker of Maxwell House. With much smaller sales than that megabrand, Brim soon disappeared ? except, perhaps, for a vague idea of Brim that lingered, and lingers even now, in the minds of millions of consumers.What?s that worth? A small company in Chicago, called River West Brand s, figures that it?s definitely worth something, and possibly quite a lot. The firm did its own research a year or so ago and claims that among peopl...
More About: Live , Dead

Six in 10 Wealthy Consumers Online Use Social Networks
2008-05-19 04:04:00
Big money needs a friend in marketingThe participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60 percent in 2008, from 27 percent in 2007, according to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, "The Wealthy and Web 2.0," MarketingCharts writes.According to the report:Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16 percent for MySpace, 13 percent for LinkedIn, and 11 percent for Facebook.The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.They are intolerant of opt-out techniques: 65 percent say having their personal data given out without permission would cause them to disconnect; 63 percent have an interest in "do not track" lists."Being connected is second nature to these overachievers," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "We are pleasantly surprised at the rapid acceleration in the over 55-year-old wealthy consumers, whose participation increased fivefold, ...
More About: Social , Social Networks , Networks , Online , Demographics

Star Tribune to Cut Newsroom Budget 10%
2008-05-19 00:05:00
Star Tribune Editor Nancy Barnes has been told she will have to cut $2.5 million, or about 10%, from the annual newsroom budget, a Newspaper Guild local official said Friday. The Guild was told of the cut in bargaining sessions, and Barnes has been letting the staff know about the cut, David Chanen, co-chair of the union's Star Tribune unit said in a telephone interview."I think we're both [union and management] looking at it as, if that's the final number we need to get at, we're hoping no jobs will be lost," Chanen said. "To that point, Nancy's made it very clear she doesn't want layoffs, and that's obviously our hope, too." Barnes declined comment to E&P, citing ongoing labor negotiations.In February, the Star Tribune laid off 58 employees, most of them in the circulation department. The paper also froze wages for all non-union positions. Publisher Chris Harte has said the paper's total revenue has fallen by $75 million in the last two years. Last week, the paper deni...
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Wealthy Women Flex Financial Muscles
2008-05-17 21:26:00
Married wealthy women make almost two-thirds (64 percent) of a family's purchase decisions on average, according to a Luxury Institute survey of women from households with $150,000 or more in annual income, MarketingCharts writes."Winning over wealthy women is a do-or-die proposition for companies in industries as varied as travel, healthcare, financial services and home improvement," said Milton Pedraza, CEO, the Luxury Institute. "Education is a big ingredient: 88 percent of wealthy women hold at least a bachelor's degree and 35 percent have a master's."Marriott, Hilton, Visa and Home Depot stand out for their skill in marketing to wealthy women ? each earned an unaided mention from 7 percent of respondents for being companies that do the best job of marketing to wealthy women.Among other survey findings:Women hold particular sway over home appliance and travel spending: in 68 percent of wealthy households, the matriarch has the final word on ovens, ranges, and refrigerators; 6...
More About: Financial , Flex , Demographics , Wealthy

Driven by Search, Wikipedia's US Traffic Increases 8,000% in 5 Years
2008-05-17 21:25:00
Four of the five top referring websites to Wikipedia ? which grew almost 8,000 percent over the last five years ? are search engines, led by Google, according to (pdf) an analysis by Nielsen Online, writes MarketingCharts.In April, 61 percent of visitors from home, and 66 percent of visitors from work, to English-language Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) were referred from Google:Yahoo Search was second, referring 19 percent and 16 percent of visitors from home and work, respectively.Other search providers to make the top five referring destinations for Wikipedia were"Search providers dominate Wikipedia's referring traffic because of its scope and value as an information resource," said Michael Pond, media analyst, Nielsen Online.In the past five years, web traffic to Wikipedia has skyrocketed, increasing nearly 8,000 percent from April 2003 to April 2008:"The site's rapid ascent, with audience levels comparable to popular brands such as eBay and MySpace, demonstrates the success of i...
More About: Traffic , Years

Google passes Yahoo as #1 Web Desintation
2008-05-17 21:22:00
Google passed Yahoo in its share of monthly visitors in the United States for the first time this April, buoyed by growth in search and YouTube videos, according to ComScore statistics released Thursday.However, underscoring the variability of this sort of measurement, which extrapolates overall data from the usage of a "panel" of users at home and work, ComScore rival Nielsen Online released its own data as well with some different results. Although it also showed Google as No. 1 in terms of unique users, it said Google passed Yahoo way back in January 2007.ComScore said Google sites had 141.1 million unique visitors in April, a tad ahead of Yahoo's 140.6 million. Microsoft was in third at 121.2 million, with AOL at 111.3 million.Nielsen's data showed Google at 128.2 million, Microsoft at 122.1 million, and Yahoo at 117.1 million.Nielsen also provides information on time spent at the sites, though. There, Yahoo leads its rivals with 3 hours and 9 minutes per month, but AOL owner ...
More About: Google , Yahoo!

Yahoo Seeks Open Alliance With Google
2008-05-17 21:21:00
Yahoo! executives are scrambling to finalize a search-advertising pact with Google in the face of a fresh challenge to its independence from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, The Post has learned.According to two sources close to the situation, Yahoo! hopes to announce the deal within the next week.The two companies plan to structure a deal as an "open platform" system, which would allow not only Yahoo! and Google, but also Microsoft, AOL, Ask.com and anyone else to bid for the right to serve up ads tied to keyword searches.These sources said Google General Counsel Kent Walker is working hard on the precise structure and language of the deal in the hopes of minimizing regulatory scrutiny, though both companies view an outsourcing deal as having no more regulatory risk than would a merger with Microsoft.But some observers said the deal's structure was aimed at creating the false sense of a level playing field."Given the way the ecosystem is put together now, Google would probably be ...
More About: Yahoo , Open , Alliance , Yahoo!

Nielsen: Top Sites Benefit from Mobile Web
2008-05-04 00:39:00
A report from Nielsen finds top websites benefit from the growth of mobile-accessed Internet, reports Brandweek.Nielsen's study found a major site's audience can increase by an average of 13 percent with the inclusion of mobile-friendly websites.For niche or specialty sites, growth can be even greater. Weather and entertainment sites saw 22 percent growth. And sites focusing on games or music drew 15 percent more visits.Coming in below average were web-based email services, whose audiences grew 11 percent; sports sites grew 10 percent; business and finance sites by 4 percent.At the bottom of the list were shopping sites, which only saw one percent audience growth through mobile sites.The report came from Nielsen's new TotalWeb unit, which measures Internet audiences across all platforms. The study analyzed the traffic of over 200 sites.
More About: Mobile , Mobile Internet , Sites , Mobile Web

Top 10 Boomer Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction
2008-04-29 15:49:00
Boomers: energetic, ad-savvy,experimentalPreconceived notions about Baby Boomers abound, but many are mere myth, according to the third Quarterly Boomer Report from AARP Services and Focalyst, titled "How Well Do You Know Boomers? Counting Down the Top 10 Boomer Myths ," writes MarketingCharts."Contrary to many common assumptions, Boomers are making retirement obsolete, are very savvy about advertising, and are experimenting with new products," said Howard Byck, VP of corporate development for AARP Services."Within this generation are diverse segments that must be recognized and addressed differently," added Jack Lett, executive director of Focalyst.Below, the top 10 Boomer myths ? and corresponding facts ? according to the report.Myth #10 - Boomers are retiring earlyMuch of the attention given to Boomers' turning 62 this year is being eligible to take Social Security benefits early. In reality, few plan to stop working entirely when they reach retirement age ? only 11 percent.Of th...
More About: Fiction , Fact

'Abundantly Affluent' Fastest-Growing Segment of Population
2008-04-29 15:47:00
US households with $100,000+ in income are the fastest-growing segment of the population according to US Census Bureau data, up from 19.7 million in 2005 to 22.2 million in 2006, an increase of nearly 13 percent, said Unity Marketing - via MarketingCharts.Between 2005 and 2006?Affluent households with incomes from $150,000 to $249,999 grew the fastest.The number of "abundantly affluent" households, those with incomes between $150,000 and $199,999, grew 17.9 percent.The "super-affluent" group (incomes between $200,000 and $249,999) grew 16.2 percent.The "ultra-affluent" (incomes $250,000 and above) rose 10.7 percent.The number of "comfortable affluent" households ($100,000-$149,999) grew 10.3 percent.Meanwhile, the number of households with incomes of less than $25,000 decreased 5.1 percent.Findings from Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumer Tracking Study:13 percent of affluent households are headed by an ethnic minority.Fully 30 percent of affluent households are members of the GenXer...
More About: Growing

The Newspaper Death Watch
2008-04-29 05:14:00
By now you know the story: The business of newspapers is in decline. It's a terminal decline, if you believe experts such as Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California at Annenberg. His research suggests traditional media in general must learn to shrink but newspapers in particular are a special case. "When an offline reader of a paper dies, he or she is not being replaced by a new reader," he said. "How much time do they have? We think they have 20 to 25 years."Newspaper s' overall ad revenue has been falling, down to $42.2 billion last year from $48.7 billion at the millennium.Of course, newspaper owners aren't going to just give up and wait -- and that's why Ad Age is launching this series about the 1,437 dailies still working hard in the U.S. It'll look at the thought leaders in the industry, their attempts to leave the past -- and even formats -- behind and their strategies for finding new business models. But let's...
More About: Watch , Print , Death , Death Watch

Google brings display ads to mobile devices
2008-04-25 20:07:00
Google is expanding its advertising business into a new domain: graphical ads that appear on mobile devices.As with the company's text-based mobile ads, the Google image ads are displayed on the basis of keywords that appear on Web sites that people visit with their mobile phones, Google said Wednesday.Google offers a variety of small display ad sizes.(Credit: Google)Mobile devices are a new frontier for the Internet in general and for the advertising business that Google and many others are building atop it. The mobile Web has been hobbled by tiny screens, slow and unreliable connections, and carriers' data-access fees, but a new era is arriving.Apple's iPhone has shown what's possible. Increasingly widespread Wi-Fi makes it possible to bypass mobile-phone network operators. And initiatives such as Intel's Mobile Internet Device and Google's Android could lead to a new generation of devices.During last week's conference call to discuss quarterly financial results, Google co-...
More About: Google , Devices , Display

Why Consumers May Never Be the Same
2008-04-24 13:54:00
The Recession Will Dramatically Change the Way and the Reasons Why Your Target BuysI've been following Ad Age's coverage of the seemingly inevitable recession, particularly the solutions offered up -- most of which are on point. By all means, take advantage of any quick fixes that will get you through, as long as they support your brand equity. And, yes, innovation is always key to our industry's success, so take the advice offered and get gutsier with your new products and marketing. But while you focus on strategies to get through the next few months, we all need to understand that our customers' behavior is changing right under our noses. When the economy bounces back, you might find that what motivates consumers to choose or not choose your brand has changed. This is critical learning that needs to be sought now, not after you launch a shiny new post-recession ad campaign. The life of a consumer can change in an instant, often with just a few words, such as "I do" or "You'r...
More About: Consumers

WD-40 Puts An End To The Lost Little Red Straws
2008-04-23 17:44:00
Who hasn't lost the little red straw?Now, the company that packaged its product with tape holding said straw to the side of the aerosol can for 55 years is answering its customers' most consistent complaint by redesigning the product to permanently attach it. Enter the Smart Straw.The San Diego-based company was mum on marketing plans to support the innovation, but a spokesperson said it would share the Smart Straw conversion announcement with members of the WD-40 Fan Club this week.Five years in the making, all 8-, 11- and 12-ounce cans will feature a permanently attached straw that puts an end to the many red straws hiding in kitchen cabinets, under workbenches and at the bottoms of toolboxes across America, said WD-40 Company in a release. The new straw can be flipped down for a wide spray or flipped up for a pinpoint stream to apply WD-40 into hard-to-reach places."For 55 years, the only consistent product complaint with WD-40 has revolved around consumers and trade profession...
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Automakers Underspend on Media that Influence Buyers
2008-04-21 02:23:00
Some 17.5% of General Motors customers say TV influences their auto purchase, but GM spent 40% of its $3 Billion+ ad budget on TV ads in 2006 (proportions similar to other leading automakers?), according to an analysis by BIGresearch.The analysis comes amid reports of automakers? reallocation of more dollars to digital advertising. But those moves may not be going far enough, suggests BIGresearch?s most recent Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM 11, Dec. 07) of 15,727 participants.Top automotive advertisers pumped by far the greatest percentage of their media dollars into TV in ?06 - the most unbalanced media spend compared with the medium?s influence on consumers to purchase (approximately 40% vs. 17-18% for major automakers):Because such a large portion of ad dollars were allocated to TV, automakers in under-spent on other forms of media, such as newspaper, magazines, radio and the internet, BIGresearch said.For example, Ford spent only 5.89% of its budget on newspaper advertising, wh...
More About: Buyers , Influence

Figure out what customer wants, and leave the rest out of proposals
2008-04-19 04:22:00
I love watching salespeople present a proposal, especially the newer ones. It is like giving someone the book "War and Peace" or "Moby Dick" and saying: "OK, take a look at it now. I'll wait." So many salespeople think that the longer their proposal, the more professional they are and the better the proposal looks. I remember when I was a salesman at Xerox, and in my first year selling, I did the same thing while I was presenting proposals. I handed out books -- thick proposals that resembled books -- and I was so proud of all the work I poured into them. Now, the reason I was so excited is that we have to go back to 1977 and the invention of the word processor. Yes, I said it, the invention of the WP, or the computer that really was not the computer we know today. It was a fancy typewriter with memory. It stored our documents for us with a tiny monochrome screen, and it spit out proposals, so we did not have to type each one again and again. All we had to do is ask for...
More About: Business , Customer , Leave , Rest , Figure

10 Billion Online Videos Viewed in February - Up 66% in One Year
2008-04-18 20:11:00
US internet users viewed more than 10 billion online videos in February - up 3 percent from January (despite February's being two days shorter) and a 66 percent gain from February 2007, according to data from the comScore Video Metrix service, MarketingCharts writes. Google Increases Share of Videos ViewedGoogle Sites once again ranked as the top US video property, with nearly 3.6 billion videos viewed (35.4 percent of all viewed videos), up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month:Google's YouTube.com accounted for 96 percent of all videos viewed at Google Sites.Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 586 million videos (5.8 percent), followed by Yahoo Sites with 293 million (2.9 percent) and Microsoft Sites with 293 million (2.9 percent).Audience Data (Unique Viewers)Nearly 135 million US internet users spent an average of 204 minutes per person viewing online video in February:Google Sites attracted the most viewers (81.8 million), who spent an average of 109 minutes per ...
More About: Online , Year

Google Rides High On Strong First-Quarter Revenues
2008-04-18 20:09:00
Google's stock soared by nearly $80--more than 17%--in after-hours trading after the search giant delivered first-quarter results for revenues, paid-click growth and earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations."It's clear to us that we're well positioned to thrive, regardless of the business conditions that surround us," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt, shrugging off concerns about a sluggish U.S. economy.Revenues jumped by 42% year-over-year to reach $5.1 billion--trumping Wall Street's consensus of about $3.5 billion. Excluding capital expenditures and other operating costs, the search giant posted a net operating income of more than $1.8 billion, with free cash flow at $938 million. Earnings per share came in at $4.84--beating analysts' expectations that averaged in the $4.50 range.Part of Schmidt's optimism in the face of what he called "macroeconomic factors" in the U.S. stemmed from the fact that a slight majority of Google's revenues (51%) came from outside of the ...
More About: Google , High , Strong , Quarter