12 months and 92 posts later it’s time for me to take a bit of a hiatus from this blog.   My objectives for this blog where to:

• Catalog online marketing case studies and trends as a repository to pull inspiration from.
• Learn what it takes to run a blog and build an audience to gain a greater understanding of the blogger community.
• Demonstrate my interest in, experience with, and deep understanding of interactive marketing.

My personal and professional interests are leaning in a new direction that I am spending the majority of my time.  This hiatus may last a couple months or indefinitely depending on where this new direction takes me.

For those that have taken the time to read the ramblings I have posted over the last year I thank you for your interest.  For those bloggers that consistently create original and compelling content that builds an audience I now have a deeper appreciation of the effort it takes.

The Google Killers

There are some interesting things happening in the search space that won’t affect marketers immediately but will eventually change the way we search online.  And changing the way we search will have profound effects on Search marketing.

Google makes over $20B a year selling ads in search results.  Each time you search Google for “Tennis Rackets” the engine will list what the Google algorithm believes is the best results then list a bunch of text ads down the right side.  Now if the search results provided exactly what you were looking for there would never be a need to click on the ads — and if you don’t click on the ads Google doesn’t make money.  Therefore, Google makes money on ads that are compelling only because the actual search results didn’t return what the searcher was looking for!

Google doesn’t make this obvious.  They play a precarious game of providing just enough quality in their returns but not enough to make the ads useless. Google is not interested in making the perfect search engine — if it did it would not have a revenue stream.

But here comes the competition.  If Google is not going to improve the competition will.  The question is will they be good enough to unseat the reining king.  It’s happened before.  Remember Alta Vista?  Here are some new engines to check out:

BING.com – this is Microsoft’s new “Decision Engine”.  It looks like a reskinned MSN to me.  What’s important here is the concept of “Decision Engine”.  This new take on search sets a new bar for Google to meet.

Hunch.com – Go check this out right now!  This new engine is actually bringing the “Decision Engine” concept to reality.   Tell the engine about yourself and get personalized results.

Wolfram Alpha – If your looking for facts this engine servers them up.  Most of my searches are looking for data points.  Something that Google is absolutely terrible at.  From now on I’m using Wolfram when I need to know the population of Ohio or how large the moon is.

This post was a bit different than normal.  There is no immediate opportunity for marketers.  But keep and eye on this space.  Search is starting to change and when it does Search Marketing will also radically change.

Jack in the Box Viral Campaign

This example from the QSR Jack-in-the-Box gives us some very valuable insights into a very robust Social Networking / Viral campaign.  Check out this articles from Clickz (link here).  The details are:

• Campaign gets kicked off with a TV spot aired during the Super Bowl that shows the Jack-in-the-Box mascot “Jack” getting run over by a bus.
• Fan’s of the brand are then encouraged to follow Jack’s condition on the web site HanginthereJack.com,  28 viral videos updating Jacks condition on YouTube, photo’s from the accident scene on Flickr, updates on Facebook,  MySpace and Twitter.
• User Generated Content is solicited in the form of “get well notes” for Jack.

Some results:

• Over 12,000 fans on the Facebook page
• Over 7000 followers in Twitter
• 600 followers to the YouTube channel
• Each of the 28 videos were viewed between 50,000 and 200,000 times

Clickz lists Apollo Interactive as the agency behind this very robust effort.

Thoughts:

• Wow, this was a very robust campaign around a great theme.
• The response was impressive.  Especially the YouTube video views.  It’s difficult to get these kinds of numbers.
• I assume a lot went into the campaign AND a lot went into promoting this campaign.  The Super Bowl spot alone was several million $$.
• The big take away for me is that in order for a Viral / SocNet campaign to be successful it needs to tap into a message that will resonate with the audience.  In this case — hoping Jack comes out of his coma — hit that nerve.

This Chinese SocNet site is doing over $1B per year -- 70% of that coming from sales of virtual goods!

Since the beginning of the Internet as we know it there has been great enthusiasm for new business models followed by little business success.  So much so that many managers today roll their eyes when presented with another online money making opportunity.  Even I can be a bit cynical — but I think there is something very powerful in this new area of “Virtual Goods”.

What is a virtual  good?

Simply put, a “virtual good” is an online object that users can consume.  For example, on Facebook I can send my friend a virtual flower as a gift.  In World of Warcraft I can buy a new sword for my character.  On Stardolls I can buy new fashions for my doll.  Even Webkinz and Club Penguin operate virtual markets where the users can buy virtual goods.  These virtual goods are purchased with points earned by the user doing specific behaviors  or when the user buys virtual currency with real dollars.

Why is this important?

Real people are spending real money for virtual goods.  It is estimated that over $2B USD was spent last year on Virtual Goods. Facebook is rumored to have made $50M USD on users sending their friends virtual gifts each costing a dollar.  This is a real online business model that can be make real profit.

What is the future of virtual currency?

• Facebook will continue to develop their virtual currency business.  Look for opportunities with Facebook Connect to bring some pof that revenue through an affiliate model.
• Kid’s don’t have credit cards -  check out PayMo (link to article).  Users can pay for Virtual Goods using their cell phone number!
• Look for new opportunities around Loyalty Programs — you’re US Air points will be transferable for virtual goods.
• Look for secondary markets to emerge.  We’ve already seen this with online games where there are “gamer farms” in China where kids get paid to play video games — earn points — then the points are sold for real cash.
• Virtual Goods are also being used as an advertising medium.  I can send my friend a virtual Starbucks coffee.  That is a very engaging behavior that connects with the consumer.

Last week Google launched the Latitude service.  Latitude allows you to notify your family and friends your location via your cell phone or computer.  The location updates are manual for now — so your cell phone does not automatically update your location. You simple go to the Google Latitude web site on your computer or through your mobile browser and enter your location. Your friends can see where you are and you can see where your friends are on a Google Maps interface.

Location aware devices are a HUGE development in technology.  Although this service requires users to manually enter their location GPS phones will soon do that automatically. By merging cell phone with location awareness you now have an extremely powerful marketing tool that we’ve all been talking about for years.  And remember that Google is in the Advertising business.  So expect Latitude to be a platform for pushing very relevant ads to your phone.

Thoughts:

• Expect to see a lot of activity around mobile and local search advertising.  Now that we know where the consumer is we can push very relevant promotions to them.  For instance,  Latitude knows that you and Sally frequent the local Starbucks — it knows where you are and where Sally is AND it knows where Starbucks is.  Now the local Dunkin Doughnuts can push promotions to you and Sally as you’re getting closer and closer to that Starbucks.
• Google will become the next Facebook.  I don’t have anything to back this up with other than we know Facebook will most likely fizzle out (remember they don’t make any money and their ad CTR are terrible) and that SocNet will go mobile.  Google has the platform and the machine to make a mobile Social Networking platform that dominates.
• Merge this Mobile Social Networking with Location Awareness and now add in a bit of User Generated Content in the form of consumer reviews and consumer price checking.  Add in the cell phone camera and now you have everyone a walking, talking, picture taking communication platform.
• Is there an entertainment angle here?  Will we finally see a Real World / Virtual World game that actually delivers?  Add in Latitude with Geo Tracking and a Story Line and you may be onto somethings. Here’s the idea — set up 4 games in a location.  For example, “Vampires”, “Spies”, “Dungeons”, and “CSI – Your Town”.  Someone playing “Spies” needs to leave a secret letter under the mail box on the coner of 1st and main.  Players of “Dungeons” need to pick up a secret letter under the mail bos on the corner of 1st and main.  Each game will fuel the other — all of the them fueled by Location aware devices and Social Net.

Next time you’re asked “What’s the next BIG thing” — for awhile you can answer “Location aware devices”