For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Targeting Eco-Friendly Consumers

by Emily Riley, October 29, 2009

Eco-friendly consumers are an educated group with higher incomes than most online consumers and a high likelihood of using the Web to research and purchase products. As the green trend rises in Europe, interactive marketers must be keenly aware of how . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Online Video Ad Creative

Digital Studios, Crowdsourcing Vendors, And Video Contests Offer Marketers New Sources Of Creative Content

by Nate Elliott, October 28, 2009

As interactive marketers' use of online video advertising grows, more of them face the challenge of finding video ad creative. For many interactive marketers, this means simply repurposing TV spots; however, television creative isn't always appropriate . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How Email Marketers Should Capitalize On Youth Communication Patterns

Four Tactics For Relevance In The Youth Inbox

by David Daniels, October 1, 2009

Ninety percent of US online youths surveyed in our recent youth online survey have at least one email account. While just 19% of US online youths report opting in to email newsletters, they are highly engaged in the viral aspects of email. But US youths . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The ROI Of Email Relevance, 2009

New Rules To Improve The Bottom Line

by David Daniels, September 16, 2009

Email marketer expectations and sophistication are increasing. Forrester's Q1 survey of 104 email marketers found that the number of email marketers using click-through data as a segmentation attribute grew to 51%, its highest level ever. Yet, the survey . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Analog Groundswell

Using Social Media To Create And Amplify Offline Influence

by Nate Elliott, September 11, 2009

Smart interactive marketers know that consumers trust each other more than they trust the things they hear from companies and the media — but most fail to realize that face-to-face offline influence is both more common and more powerful than online influence. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Best And Worst Of Paid Search In 2009

Forrester Applies Its Search Marketing Review To 300 Keyword Ads

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 23, 2009

Forrester applied an adjusted version of its Search Marketing Review methodology to 300 paid search ads from the retail, travel, consumer packaged goods (CPG), media and entertainment, financial services, and business services industries. Despite some . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Dos And Don'ts For Dealing With Detractors

by Emily Riley, July 21, 2009

Detractors — consumers who will publicly make negative comments about your brand — are found throughout online social media sites. Instead of simply ignoring them, interactive marketers should take the time to evaluate the validity of their complaints . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

User-Generated Video Contests

Best Practices For Driving More Entries And Creating Viral Impact

by Nate Elliott, July 7, 2009

Many interactive marketers — encouraged by a string of high-profile user-generated video contests — are beginning to run online video contests of their own. These contests help marketers listen to and energize young users and can even assist with traditional . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Performance Marketing: How To Build An Effective Affiliate Program

by Neil Strother, June 4, 2009

A majority of interactive marketing executives would boost spending on online advertising given more proof of performance as measured in sales, according to a new Forrester survey. Fifty-nine percent of interactive marketers say they would moderately . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Listening Metrics That Matter

Avoid Data Overload By Targeting Metrics That Support Specific Listening Goals

by Suresh Vittal, May 29, 2009

The growing popularity and influence of social media makes listening a critical research and insight generation activity. Marketers are turning to listening platforms to harvest the rich trove of consumer conversations generated across all social media . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How To Choose A Listening Platform

Five Questions To Guide The Selection Process

by Suresh Vittal, May 5, 2009

Marketers are using listening platforms to keep up with the rapidly evolving world of online discussions. But a crowded and immature marketplace with many confusing messages makes selecting the right listening platform challenging. To help, Forrester . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Using Social Applications In Ad Campaigns

How Marketers Can Move From Broadcast To Dialogue

by Sean Corcoran, April 29, 2009

The majority of marketing budgets go to advertising, and there is a significant opportunity to enhance it with social tools. But social media marketing typically generates longer-term relationships, which means that it is out of sync with the quick-hit . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Best Practices For Integrated Sponsorships

Defusing Technical And Logistical Landmines

by Nate Elliott, April 28, 2009

Twenty-eight percent of US interactive marketers have run a content sponsorship or advertorial in the past year. However, marketers consistently run into roadblocks that result in less than ideal creative execution and even missed launch dates. To plan . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Five Ways To Improve The ROI Of Your Behavioral Targeting Campaigns

by Emily Riley, April 28, 2009

Nearly one-quarter of all interactive marketers use behavioral targeting, and that number is growing faster each year for good reason. Behavioral targeting cuts through ad clutter and puts the right marketing message in front of the right people. However, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Flexing The Mobile Channel In A Recession

How Interactive Marketers Can Leverage Mobile In A Downturn

by Neil Strother, March 6, 2009

One-third of consumers expect to alter their use of cell phones and wireless services this year as they cope with a faltering economy, and many will change their buying habits to lower spending. Interactive marketers seeking to reach mobile consumers . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Using Twitter For Groundswell Objectives

by Jeremiah K. Owyang, March 3, 2009

Nearly 5 million people use Twitter, a service that lets people — and marketers — send frequent, short updates to their followers. Twitter is uniquely valuable to marketers because it's more immediate and interactive than any other digital channel. It's . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Add Sponsored Conversations To Your Toolbox

Why You Should Pay Bloggers To Talk About Your Brand

by Sean Corcoran, March 2, 2009

Kmart gave some bloggers a free shopping spree in exchange for a blog post about the experience — a practice we call sponsored conversation. With appropriate protections for disclosure and authenticity, this practice will take its place alongside public . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Five Ways To Perk Up Your Email Program In 2009

by Julie M. Katz, February 18, 2009

Email has largely been successful as a solo enterprise for the past decade, but changing consumer behavior and expectations compel marketers to integrate email with other channels. Which channels are ripe for exploration? Email marketers can try out mobile, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Your Email Marketing Road Map For 2009

Marketers Should Make The Most Of Available Tools And Services

by Julie M. Katz, February 17, 2009

Marketers haven't had much impetus to improve email strategy and execution until now. The floundering economy and rapidly changing consumer behavior force marketers to take advantage of tools their technology partners have offered for a while. Better . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Vertical Search: Maximizing The Second Tier

by Evan J. Andrews, January 30, 2009

Vertical search engines offer an antidote to keyword price inflation and stagnant conversion rates. They provide pools of potential leads that in aggregate can bolster the overall paid search portfolio with new traffic sources and higher lead quality. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Winning Email Subscribers In A Down Economy

by Julie M. Katz, December 24, 2008

Email is resilient in a challenging economy because of its cost-effectiveness, speed-to-market, and direct reach. But even as the value of email marketing increases, finding new email subscribers will increasingly plague email marketers unless they shift . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Benchmark Your Email Organization

Use Forrester's Email Marketing Review To Evaluate Your Approach To Email

by Julie M. Katz, October 7, 2008

Forrester surveyed 260 email marketers to better understand the challenges they face in their email organizations. We found that the business processes guiding most email organizations are less sophisticated than their years of experience would predict. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Consumer Interests Drive Email Opens

Forrester's Email Opens Index Clarifies Marketer Priorities

by Julie M. Katz, September 15, 2008

Marketers strive to increase email open rates, but they're misguided as to what motivates consumers to open messages. Forrester's email opens index reveals that consumers' personal motivations exert more influence than the time of day a message is sent . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

US Email Marketing Volume Forecast, 2008 To 2013

by Julie M. Katz, July 22, 2008

Email's low cost and high ROI continue to drive email marketing volumes upward. In the US, volumes will reach a high point of 838 billion marketing messages in 2013. We expect returns resulting from email campaigns to remain strong through 2009, but after . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Social Networking Marketing Campaigns Scorecard (148 KB DOC)

by Jeremiah K. Owyang, July 18, 2008