Twitter up some ad revenue

According to techcrunch.com, Twitter COO, Dick Costolo is gazing into his crystal ball and predicting the future of one of the hottest players in the real time field. Twitter, valued at over $1 billion, has recently inked search deals with Microsoft and Google. In a recent San Francisco interview with techcrunch staffers, Costolo hinted that Twitter would soon turn on advertisements. In the past Twitter has said this would not be a part of their revenue model. But when you monetize any of the latest and greatest of Internet you can’t help but ask, “ who is going to pay for all this band width and all these people we  hired?”  Costolo made it very clear, “Twitter will have an advertising business, ready in the near future, and available to partners.“Costolo disclosed a bit about Twitter’s revenue model. Twitter projected 25 million users, $4 million in revenue, and 75 employees by the end of this year. The COO says they are way ahead of those meager projections. Mr. Costolo did confirm that Microsoft and Google are bringing Twitter dollars, though search. He declined to divulge the total. Geolocation API was also part of the projected honey pot. How that works remains to been seen...or located as the case may be. Twitter will know who you are and where your are! So do you really want to buy that double mocha...they are on sale right across the street!!!

With 25 million faithful Twitter deserves to be  making more than $4 million a year. I don’t know of a single traditional media source with 25 million addicted devotees that doesn’t.  Just a side note, 20 million viewers is equal to a good prime time network program. Of course,  Twitter ad costs should be a bit lower...for  now.  What's in the future? Well, if  Twitter can pick up another 45 million or so then they could conceivably  charge $3 million for 30 seconds. Presto... Super Bowl type revenue!  Don't hold your breath on my projection.

The mountain in Mohamed's handheld

Possibly it's because I come from the age of the cell phone dinosaurs. A time when cell phones had a cord attached to a huge box mounted under the seat of your car, but I am dumbfounded by the seemingly endless capabilities of today's mobile devises. Not only can we Tweet our friends, get our email, surf the net or a million other things. We can find just about anything we want and bingo...Google maps out a yellow brick road to their door.  Push a button and It gives me all the critical data. Touch the phone number and it calls them. (Of course I always pull over to the side of the road when doing this. )  A few weeks ago I got lost between Louise TX and Ganado TX while looking for some friends ranch.  Yes, we still have ranches in Texas. The GPS in my Range Rover had the light on but nobody was home. Then again, why should I expect an English car to know where Louise TX  is? Even in this remote corner of Texas. My  iphone and Google maps app found me and guided me out of the badlands.  It seems everyone is bringing out and app. Most of them are designed to make your pocketbook lighter.  Here is one that puts cash in your wallet. I sent all my clients with multiple locations the following:

The 2009 ANA Conference featured a panel of national marketers including Chris Joris, SVP Consumer Marketing, MasterCard. In his presentation Mr. Joris stressed the benefits of reach in traditional media but highlighted importance of integrating strategies like social marketing and mobile media into your marketing strategy. Case in point; MasterCard recently developed an iphone application, ATM Hunter. ATM Hunter directs customers to the nearest ATM where they can use their MasterCard using the GPS technology built into the phone. According to Advertising Age, over 10,000 people a week are now downloading the application. So text and tweet away...someone is making real hay. Just another case of savvy marketers finding a way to bring the information mountain to Mohamed's handheld.

Who Makes Most Family decisions?

A 2009 study conducted by Boston Consulting Group revealed that women control 73% of all households spending. That is $4.3 trillion of the $5.9 trillion in total U.S. consumer spending. This leaves little doubt that adult females have the most influence in all issues. Bob Garfield, writer and marketing analyst for Ad Age explained in a recent article, “CVS Pharmacy has experienced rapid market growth. They understand ”The woman who buys the Band-Aids and amoxicillin, is the one who chooses the pharmacist.” A recent white paper published in Advertising Age entitled “Real Women” reveals some interesting psychographics about today’s women including Generation X (ages 30 to 44) and Millennial (ages 18 to 29).  “There’s nothing more important to mom than taking care of her kids and nurturing her family” says Hy Nguyen, brand manager at Unilever foods. In the current economy, there is little doubt that the "throwaway society” mentality has lost its luster. Price is always a consideration but your females are looking to brands that provide lasting value propositions. Women want a brand they can trust. Building and maintaining your brand should be the central focus of any marketing strategy.

To read the entire white paper on real women click the link below

http://adage.com/images/random/1109/aa-newfemale-whitepaper.pdf

Social Networking is big. But how big?

Without a doubt, social networks like Twitter and Facebook have developed into an effective media. That media category is growing.  According to The Media Business Report marketers spent $800 million in 2009 on the development of social networks, word-of-mouth and conversational marketing programs. This is a 23% increase over 2008 spending. Further growth of 35% is expected for 2010 to more than $1 billion.  Paid advertising, used to drive traffic to social networks, spent $1.2 billion in 2009. This is expected to increase 7.1% to $1.3 billion in 2010 according to eMarketer, Digital Intelligence research.  It’s impressive when we read that large companies are dropping millions into on-line ad strategies. However, before you decide to throw 100% of your ad dollars into social networking, let’s put these numbers into perspective. The total ad spending in the US in 2009 was over $1 thousand billion dollars. Does your marketing budget need to follow this ratio?  Probably not. The relative importance of any media should be based on your marketing objectives.  To effectively build any brand, we believe you need a balanced approach to your media investment. Rhymes Marketing is constantly adding and updating the e-marketing services we offer. For help with your e-marketing plans call Jami Clevenger 713-871-8980 or jami@rhymes.com

Television viewing up in a down economy

Everyone knows internet use has increased but  a recent survey from The Media Audit* found that adults are spending more time at home watching television. Statistics reveal significant time shifts in consumer behavior. The percent of heavy TV viewers– those watching 5 or more hours per day, has increased by 7.1%. The percent of heavy Internet users increased by 9.2%.  Those who have made at least one online purchase in a year increased by 5.1%, while those who make more than twelve purchases in a year increased by 8.1%.  Internet marketing is extremely important but television is capturing more leisure time. That is a good reason not to overreact when dividing up your 2010 media budget.

*The Media Audit is a multimedia, qualitative audience survey that covers over 450 target items for each rated media's audience.