Friday, November 11, 2005

Google's Personalized Search Goes Live

Google's Personalized Search Goes Live
Search Engine Watch

Google Personalized Search
went live yesterday, says Search Engine Watch. The new feature reorders search results based on a user's search history in order to make them more relevant. Users will also have the ability to search through their history, allowing them to revisit previously viewed pages and bookmark those pages in order to find them again easily.

However, personalized search is not something that just happens organically; it's an option offered through a Google account, which users receive when they sign up for AdWords, Gmail and other services. Other enhancements made to the product include a more sophisticated remove-results feature that lets users block individual results, URLs, or even whole domain names from search results.

In the future, Google plans to integrate personal search with Google News, which, by the way, is still in beta, for some reason. News searches will be accessible through user history (although Google only maintains news stories for up to 30 days after publication), and will also contribute to search results. This feature is expected "soon."

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

CDC study: 2 million teens heading for diabetes

CDC study: 2 million teens heading for diabetes

About 2 million teenagers have prediabetic conditions that could lead to an increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Congressional Quarterly reports that one in 10 boys and one in 25 girls have impaired fasting glucose (IFG), a condition in which blood sugar levels remain high many hours after eating. Researchers found that adolescents with IFG have insulin resistance and a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This could lead to a higher level of diabetes being diagnosed in the future, the report says. The study, which surveyed more than 900 adolescents in 1999 and 2000, was published in the November Pediatrics. The CDC also recently reported that about 21 million Americans have diabetes, and most have the type 2 variety.
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Consumer-Generated Media Exceeds Traditional Advertising for Influencing Consumer Behavior, Finds Intelliseek Study

Consumer-Generated Media Exceeds Traditional Advertising for Influencing Consumer Behavior, Finds Intelliseek Study

Consumers 50% more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth behavior than radio/TV ads, says 2005 Intelliseek research of consumer behavior

CINCINNATI, Ohio (Sept. 26, 2005) -- Consumer trust toward traditional advertising is being challenged by growing confidence in consumer-generated-media (CGM) and the recommendations of other consumers, according to a new study of consumer behavior by Intelliseek Inc., a leader in word-of-mouth measurement.

A follow-up to a 2004 "Trust in Advertising" study, the "2005 Consumer-Generated Media (CGM) and Engagement Study" finds that, compared to traditional advertising, word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior continues to grow in importance in consumer awareness, trial, and purchase of new products.

Consumers are 50 percent more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth recommendations from their peers than by radio/TV ads – a slightly higher level of influence/trust than found in the 2004 study co-authored by Intelliseek and Forrester.

Intelliseek's research also finds important correlations between consumers who regularly skip over or delete television or online ads and those who shape, create, and absorb consumer-generated media (defined as experiences, opinions and advice posted on the Internet by consumers for others to read and share). "Active ad skippers," for example, are 25 percent more likely to create and respond to CGM on Internet message boards, forums and blogs.

Advertising/marketing implications
Key findings from the research will be presented by Intelliseek CEO Mike Nazzaro during Advertising Week events this week in New York City, including OMMA and the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) conferences. Additional phases of the research will be released in October and November, respectively.

"The advertising landscape is changing, forcing marketers to broaden and redefine the concepts of media, influence and audience reach," said Nazzaro. "If consumer-generated media is in fact the most effective and trusted form of advertising, it's critical that marketers begin to measure, manage and influence it and, equally importantly, heed the consequences when consumers turn the message against brands."

Key findings from the analysis:
During August 2005, Intelliseek polled a representative online sample of 660 online consumers and explored attitudes and opinions across key CGM venues, including Internet message boards, forums, blogs, direct company feedback and offline conversation.

Word-of-mouth behavior among "familiars" trumps all forms of advertising and is more trusted than news or "expert commentary," the study finds. In addition, positive word-of-mouth from a personal acquaintance carries just as much impact as negative word-of-mouth. This has "critical implications for brands that nurture evangelism, brand loyalty, and advocacy," Nazzaro said.

Interestingly, WOM/CGM has more impact on consumer attitudes about products than positive or negative news coverage.

Sample Question:

To what degree would your decision to purchase a product or service be influenced by:
ResponseMeanIndex*
Positive word of mouht from someone you knew personally7.7134
Negative word of mouth from someone you knew personally7.0121
A negative news story on TV or radi or in a newspaper or magazine5.799
A TV or radio commercial4.782
An advertisement in a newspaper or magazine4.680
*100 represents the average score

Public comments by employees also carry important credibility compared to traditional ad vehicles, a point underscored in a recently published white paper on employee blogging by Intelliseek and Edelman.

Other Key Findings

  • Attitudes of Ad-Skippers: While fewer than 20 percent indicated they use or own digital video recorders or TiVo-like services that permit ad skipping, a majority of respondents indicated that they "deliberately skip over advertising on the television." In addition, "ad skippers" are more likely to learn about new product trends and brands than consumers who do not regularly skip ads. They are 25 percent more likely to want to "create a dialogue" with others on Internet message boards and forums, especially to learn new information and have questions answered.
  • Teens and CGM: Teens lead all segments in overall CGM creation but remain more trusting of advertisers. Nearly 30 percent of teens now actively create CGM by sending photos via their cell phones, 45 percent have experimented with or created a blog, and nearly 10 percent subscribe to RSS feeds.
  • Bloggers vs. Non-Bloggers: Bloggers create an enormous amount of CGM across numerous sources, elevating their overall influence, the study finds.
  • Women vs. Men: Men are more likely to spend time on Internet message boards, forums, and discussions, while women expressed a higher tendency to "forward something (they) had found on the Internet to others," especially "things like scams or computer viruses." About equal numbers of men and women create blogs.
  • Total Recommendations on the Web: Consumers are on track to post close to 2 billion comments on the Internet by the end of 2005, a significant increase over the previous year, according to Intelliseek estimates.
  • Key Industries Susceptible to CGM Impact: Health/medical, auto, electronics, video games and music categories have the greatest likelihood of being influenced by CGM.
  • Negative reaction to Shill Marketing: Intelliseek's research also looked closely at consumer attitudes toward artificial buzz or so-called "shill" marketing, in which consumers are paid or offered incentives to recommend products or brands. One-third would be disappointed if a trusted contact did not carefully disclose a paid or incentive-based relationship, 26 percent said they would never trust the opinion of that friend again, and 30 percent said they would be less likely to buy a product/service.

"Trust is the currency of effective advertising, but it's highly fragile," explained Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek's Chief Marketing Officer who oversaw the study.

Study background
The full 2005 Intelliseek Consumer Generated Media (CGM) and Engagement Study, including cross-tabulated data, breakouts and recommendations, will be available for purchase in early November. Companies or interested parties can pre-order it from the
Intelliseek web site. Blackshaw and Nazzaro will co-lead an Oct. 26 webinar to review the findings and will discuss them in early November at Ad:Tech New York.

Media contact: 513-618-6716

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Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Nielsen offers raw minute-by-minute data to advertisers

Nielsen offers raw minute-by-minute data to advertisers

Nielsen Media Research will offer its minute-by-minute television ratings in a raw format to ad agencies and their clients to better analyze the data and to put through their own proprietary systems, the firm reports. The raw data, rather than the minute-by-minute data Nielsen offered through its NPower system, tells agencies how many viewers are watching their ads and the viewers' age, economic status, and household size. According to Ad Age, these data are crucial to advertisers because they give a clearer picture of how many people watch commercials. The NPower system's data were criticized for being too limited and expensive, according to the AdAge report. Go to Nielsen <http://www.nielsenmedia.com/> for more information.

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Monday, November 07, 2005

Online tools target consumers with keyword-content combo

Online tools target consumers with keyword-content combo

Interactive ad firm AdValiant has launched a new set of online behavioral targeting tools that combine keyword and content-relevant advertising to better target Web users, it reports. The tools, called AdVario, allows advertisers to target ads based on keywords on a page against broader user behavior or a combination of both. The ads can be targeted by key-phrases based on site content, and can be customized with text links, Flash, surveys, coupons, and other options. AdValiant also says its tools allow Web publishers to customize their advertising by specific categories, controlling the types of advertising that appear on their sites and making ads more relevant to the site content. Go to www.AdValiant.com to learn more. 

 
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iAds

iAds

November 6th, 2005
Read More:

iPod video has been a ding moment across media.

: Burger King is going to produce commercials for the video iPod. Of course, they are really no different from commercials produced for any other screen. But saying that you’re producing them gets you publicity, like this. And it also forces you to make the commercials compelling enough that people don’t throw out their iPods and pick up a book after watching.

: I say that what really needs to happen is for sponsors to add their commercials to the vlogs and shows I’m watching now. Ad agencies are whining about measurement. Well, wake up, fools! TV is exploding. People are watching TV online and on their iPods and you’re not there with them. And if you start supporting this new form of programming, there will be more programming and more audience and more less scarcity of ad avails and lower prices for those ad avails and you’ll be happy. So get cracking, kids.

: A media exec even older than I am advises his colleagues:

If you’re in the media business (radio, TV, whatever), or in any business that is remotely associated with media, you should bite the bullit and buy an iPod (nano, mini, video, whatever)… download iTunes… and start understanding what’s happening out there (here)…. Keep your receipt and take the deduction as a business expense. You can thank me later.

: And, of course, there’s mobile porn (though those small screens are bad for older eyes). And add these bullets.

Once again, there’s nothing new about iPod video any more than there was anything new about iTunes except that Apple made it so easy we could get what we want — and so obvious even media executives could figure it out: The control of the big, old networks on what goes in and what goes out is ending.

 
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Interesting things from Ad:Tech -- 9:45 am

Lexus Mobile Application
 
Times Square Photomosaic
 
 
 
 
 
 
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