Chitika has issued an advertiser case study, which measures engagement as a principal metric, and outlines the success of our recent conversational brand marketing specific mimoco campaign, powered by Chitika | VBU. Over the campaign’s seven day run, data shows a 54% increase in engagement rate…

Read more about analyzing engagement metrics and the mimoco case study, in Chitika | Pulse, issue XIV.

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

A recent Hitwise report illustrates the extent to which new web conversations, or interactions, are increasing in size and reach. Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise explains that online users are, “seeking advice from question and answer websites that leverage shared knowledge contributed across a community of experts and enthusiasts”.

In fact, the number of internet visitors who use user-generated Question-and-Answer websites has increased 889% over the past two years. Importanly, 78.6% of the traffic visiting these sites are new visitors (according to a Hitwise sample of 10 million U.S. Internet users.)

New web users want to respond, so why don’t we ask?

If new web users actively produce, respond to, and trust, user generated content, new web marketing strategies should also be structured to interact with new web users, and subsequently simulate this same question and answer model.

Read more Chitika | Pulse, issue XIII, and find out how positive negative targeting actually is.

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

In January of 2008 market research and analytics firm Yankee Group predicted the U.S. online advertising market will reach $50.3 billion in revenue by 2011, more than doubling that yielded in 2007.

In this study’s corresponding report, The Cowboys Dance On…and On: 2007 Yankee Group offers their take on what predominant factors are driving this growth; increased online audiences, development of new types of advertising, along with the creation of new publisher business models that help sell interactive advertising.

These factors seem almost organic and implied, just as Yankee Group’s senior analyst Daniel Taylor points out; “with internet connectivity nearly ubiquitous, online advertising growth is inevitable.”

The key point that Taylor hits on is that “this growth in online advertising will require publishers to invest extensively in new media and advertising product development.”

Read more about new web media environments, and how marketers are integrating qualitative, engagement, data into marketing strategies in, Chitika | Pulse, issue XII.

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

A recent comScore report indicates that heavy users of blogs, “heavy bloggers”, are significantly more likely to consume content across a range of categories on the web, particularly in the areas of politics, news, and entertainment. The report defines heavy bloggers as 20 percent of blog visitors; more importantly, this group accounts for 84 percent of the overall time spent on blog sites.

*data cited; comScore, 2008.

Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore, describes the ‘heavy blogger’ demographic, as a “highly informed, tech savvy, and entertainment-oriented consumer segment [which] is consistent with the profile of an ‘influencer,’ which is of course a particularly attractive audience to reach.”

Are you a heavy blogger? Read more about how powerful bloggers efluence c2c marketing in Chitika | Pulse, issue X.

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

Data from Chitika’s network indicates that overall interest in YouTube has soared in the weeks following the the release of YouTube for Mobile. YouTube related search has increased two-fold (from the week following the Jan. 08 release, to the third week in Feb. 08) among online consumers in Chitika’s network.

In the week following YouTube’s January release (Feb. 4-11), YouTube related search queries comprised 7.32% percent of the top 50 keywords in Chitika’s network.

Find out more about YouTube for Mobile; Click here to read this weeks Chitika | Pulse, Issue IX…

Chitika | Pulse first looked into gaming brand buzz this January, following Microsoft’s Xbox 360 presentation at CES International 2008.

Recently, however, there has been substantial buzz surrounding the decision Warner Bros., and retailer Wal-Mart, have made to phase out HD DVD in favor for Blue-ray disc technology.

It has been just over ten years since the DVD’s 1997 debut, and Sony and Microsoft have found themselves involved in a Blu-ray vs. HD DVD brand ‘warfare’.

Sony initially branded the PlayStation3 as, “an all-around entertainment console, with tendrils that extend well beyond the realm of game play…chief among these is support for the Blu-ray Disc format.”

Microsoft chose instead to offer product support for HD DVD with their competing gaming system, Xbox360.

When WB and Wal-Mart entered the scene, the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD debate, which at first seemed only to effect DVD and DVD player sales, quickly fueled a fire in the gaming industry; will Sony’s PS3 phase-out Microsoft’s Xbox 360, based merely on the publicity it’s attracting due to its’ Blu-ray DVD capability?

Read more of this week’s Chitika | Pulse to find out how this relates to Obama…

About ChitikaPulse
ChitikaPulse is a weekly publication that highlights emerging trends in online advertising and merchandising in the blogosphere.

Through addressing a wide range of topics related to online branding, e-commerce, retail in the long tail, and direct merchandising within the blogosphere and social networks, the ChitikaPulse is a comprehensible measurement resource and data analysis medium for the online marketing industry.

Chitika | Pulse Archive

I recently returned from eTail 2008, America’s largest retail event; this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to survey big brands, and discern current and future interest in advertising (branding) in the new web (blogs and social media).

Out of the eTail attendees Chitika surveyed, 59% currently advertise in the new web. The 59% who currently advertise also plan to increase their new web ad spending in 2008. The 29% surveyed who do not currently advertise in the new web, importantly, plan on doing so in 2008. A mere 12% report that they currently do not advertise in the new web, and do not have plans to do so in 2008.

Our survey brings good news for consumer electronic oriented publishers and marketers. All attendees representing consumer electronic brands, comprising 67% of total attendees surveyed, notably, report plans to increase new web advertising budgets in 2008. Furthermore, our survey finds that consumer electronics is the dominant category currently branded/advertised on the new web.

Read more of this Chitika | Pulse.

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

Leading up to the launch of Chitika | VBU, we issued a survey to discern how our online publishers feel about integrating video ads into their interactive media plan. Out of those polled, 77% reported to be “very, very interested” in online video ad units, 13% were unsure, and 10% indicated they would not use video ads at this point.

Viral branding opportunities, such as online video ads, ensure good news for publishers and online marketers alike; branding endeavors in Web 2.0 are predicted to drive major increases in online ad spending. In fact, IAB reports that online video ad spending will quadruple in five years. In 2007 rich media and video advertising accounted for roughly $1.5 billion in online ad spending, accounting for a total 9% of overall online ad spending. By 2011, video ad spending is projected to grow to $6.2 billion, accounting for 17% of overall online ad spending.

Powerful branding yields impressive new revenue streams for eCommerce in Web 2.0 and Chitika is thrilled to be on the forefront of this excitement.

Read more Chitika | Pulse

By Tessa Rudd, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator - Advertising Media Division

According to Internet Marketing News Watch, the, “US Internet advertising revenue will grow from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $31.3 billion in 2011,” which reflects an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5%.

The power of branding on the internet is well reflected by the Apple brand. While Apple stayed out of this year’s Super Bowl ad line-up; the brand’s popularity among online consumers did not waiver.

Out of Chitika’s top-50 products ranked in the past week, Apple’s brand represents 20%; and thereby represents an impressive 31% of relative total clicks generated by the top-50.

Despite an impressive audience reach and it’s illusive advertising industry prestige, televised Super Bowl commercials remain risky ventures. Following last year’s Super Bowl, Garmin received negative publicity after being named the worst among scores of Super Bowl ads broadcast.

Read more Chitika | Pulse

Do expensive corporate branding efforts and promotions, such Microsoft’s 2008 Xbox initiatives, influence gaming brand preference among consumers?

Demand for gaming hardware and software has been consistently high on Chitika’s network as of late.

Surprisingly, Sony—not Microsoft—dominates as the most popular overall gaming brand on Chitika’s network (representing gaming hardware and software collectively). The Sony brand accounts for 45% of the relative top thirteen gaming products ranked on Chitika’s network in the past week. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 comes in as second most popular brand, representing 28.07% of the relative top five.

Chitika’s system does however report Microsoft to be number one among online consumers when it comes to gaming software. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warefare, Halo 3, and Rainbow Six : Vegas, constitute 46.32% of the relative top eight gaming software products ranked.

Chitika’s online consumers also favor the Sony brand when it comes to gaming hardware (consoles and accessories). Sony’s Playstation PSP, Playstation 40 GB, Playstation 80 GB, and MSX-M2GN 2GH Memory Stick Duo Pro account for 71.93% of the relative top-five gaming hardware products ranked on Chitika’s network over the past week.

Read more pulse…

By Tessa Rudd, Account Executive - Advertising Media Division