brand - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

It seems that every day we read about the declining effectiveness of advertising. How viewers skip through the adverts, can switch off to the marketing noise, no longer respond to our messages.

Brands are increasingly looking at more diverse ways to engage consumers in their products, and I believe there is currently no better opportunity than the Nintendo Wii.

Probably one of the most material and controversial changes for the UK and Irish paid search markets is almost upon us – the relaxation of the trademark protection Google currently affords to brands will cease on 5 May 2008.

As Ivan Izikowitz writes, some analysts and industry experts have taken the cynical view that this is merely a way for Google to stimulate volume and/or increased prices at a time when its revenue growth is slowing.

There is another perspective, however…

Google is preparing for a backlash from large brands this week as details of its new trademark policy are implemented.

Last week, I was pointed in the direction of an article entitled: “Online Social Media Cheap Alternative In Face Of Recession”.

It describes how Forrester Research is advising marketers to “spend more on online social media as a cheap, efficient way to advertise during tougher economic times.”

Given the fact that it’s increasingly becoming clear that marketing on social networks is ineffective for the vast majority of marketers who have tried it, and is losing money for even the Googles of this world, Forrester Research’s 'research' seems to be quite contrarian to say the least.

Branding campaigns aim to build positive associations in the consumer’s mind so that they will look favourably on a company or product in the future.

It’s an investment in future sales and very different from direct response advertising, where the whole focus is for the consumer to take action now.

Traditionally, these two types of advertising have been miles apart, but the web changes all that.

Conducted by eyetracking firm Enquiro Research, the tests discovered “a significant correlation” between search marketing efforts and brand affinity, brand recall and purchase intent.

Businesses of any kind can fall victim to negative coverage in the press and online media. It’s a fact of business life and a real headache to deal with.

But is there a silver lining? Do the links from authority news sites generated by such stories bring a search engine optimisation benefit?

American Airlines has become the most high-profile company so far to sue Google over brand-bidding on its search platform.

The airline, the world’s largest, claims Google violated trademark law when selling ads alongside terms like American Airlines and AA.com.

Brands are still an important influence on online consumers, according to a new study by AOL and the Henley Centre.

However, the research also asserts that customers are becoming less loyal to brands as a result of their online experience.

Effective management of your web standards yields tangible results: it builds the brand, cuts costs, and optimises web operations.

Yet, most companies struggle to retain order online, and the penalties for poor management are high: damage to brand and reputation, loss of revenue, operating inefficiencies and risk of litigation.