Integrating SEM and Affiliate Marketing

Bidding on keywords that are also someone else's trademarked terms is a risky business. It's one thing if you're marketing another brand's products and you have permission to use their terms, but according to an Ad Age report released today, you can expose yourself to serious litigation if you or your agency are careless about how you use others' branded terms. And this risk can be compounded if your affiliate marketing program includes publishers who bid on keywords on your behalf. Even if publishers bid on keywords with branded terms you own or have permission to use, those bids may jack up the price of your own search engine marketing program.

When managing an affiliate program, present your publishers with a clear policy about what branded terms you may allow them to bid on to send you traffic, and any price limits you may require for your own branded terms. A little preparation up front can save you a lot of headaches later on.

Consumers in Control

User generated content, email and social media networks are changing the way consumers utilize the Web, according to a recent Ad Age article. The old advertising paradigm of broadcasting one-way messages about your brand is crumbling as consumers have begun to engage in conversations with each other. The question facing businesses and non-profit organizations is how quickly will you join those conversations?

Advertisers who want to acquire new customers and retain the ones they already have must be prepared to utilize digital channels to interact with their audiences. Authenticity is key to effective interaction in the online community, just as it is offline, and that means presenting yourself consistently across every channel customers use to connect with you. Integration in your marketing efforts is no longer a nice to have, it's a survival technique.

Web resource to help respond to Jesusita Fire

Wondering how you can help those affected by the Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara? Intersynthesis has set up a web resource gathering links to local businesses and non-profit organizations that provide ways for you to volunteer or donate to support people and animals in need. Learn more.

Jesusita Fire

The headquarters of Intersynthesis is based in Santa Barbara, CA, which as you may have seen in the news is currently battling the Jesusita Fire. As of this posting, more then 30,000 people have been evacuated and the fire has burned more than 8,000 acres in the last four days, including dozens of residences. While conditions are reported to have improved, the Jesusita Fire contnues to rage and more areas are threatened. More information can be found at the Santa Barbara Independent.

Intersynthesis extends its deepest condolences to those who have lost their homes in this tragedy, and its best wishes to all fellow Santa Barbarans displaced during this time. We also offer our sincere gratitude to the over 3,000 women and men fighting the Jesusita Fire, putting their lives on the line to return our city to safety.

CMOs shifting more ad spend online

After announcing a slight contraction in '09 online sales yesterday, eMarketer reveals CMOs are reacting to tighter budgets by shifting more of their advertising spend to interactive marketing channels: 90% will increase or maintain their spend on email, and 83% will do the same with their paid search (PPC) program.

Competition gets tougher for online sales

According to eMarketer, online sales are now expected to slip by 0.4% in 2009. While still relatively flat, this represents a marked contraction from the fast pace of year-on-year growth online sales have enjoyed for some time. The article also predicts a return to double-digit growth by 2011, but the intervening period represents an inflection point in consumer behavior. The article says, "the way consumers shop is changing, and smart online retailers will take advantage [of] their new behavior - and online informational needs."

Consumers are increasingly using multiple interactive channels to "background" check the businesses they buy from. It is no longer sufficient to broadcast a one-way marketing message; today's savvy consumers are doing their homework and smart advertisers will ensure their campaigns give audiences information, not interruptions.

Offline metrics holding back online spend?

Two recent articles in eMarketer present an interesting juxtaposition and challenge for the interactive marketing community: digital media continues to play a greater role, but integration is seen as lacking.

In one article, eMarketer demonstrates that marketers are increasingly shifting advertising budget towards digital media. More than 70% of advertisers surveyed by eMarketer will increase their spend in 2009 for social media maketing, seach engine marketing (SEM), and mobile marketing in particular. However another article from eMarketer the day before identifies that half of those surveyed are still only allocating 10% or less of their total advertising budget to the online space. What's getting in the way of these folks leveraging interactive channels to get better ROI? The number one answer is not "having metrics to properly allocate the mix of traditional and digital media." Another popular response was "it is difficult to get multiple agencies to collaborate effectively on integration."

It seems the lack of metrics and accountability with traditional media, combined with the paucity of true cross-channel marketing providers, is causing advertisers to still ride the brakes on getting the most benefit they can from interactive marketing.

What metrics would you propose to compare offline and online effectiveness?