Trends in Online Shopping Keeping myself informed about the American market the Pew Internet & American Life Project is an excellent independent resource to gather trusted, high-quality information. The key findings of a recent publication (PDF) were:

'American internet users have embraced online shopping because they say it is convenient and a time-saver.'
'At the same time, most online Americans have high levels of concern about sending personal or credit card information over the internet.'
'More than half of internet users encounter frustrations and other frictions in the course of online shopping.'

So the most influencing factors for online shopping are still convenience, trust and quality of information. However people's behavior in researching buying related information and decision making has changed during the last months:

• Consumer Recomendations more Influencing than ever
• Current and Future eCommerce Challenges

eCommerce maturing in the US is moving "full steam ahead" and is years away from saturation, with double-digit growth expected for several years. As experience showed easy to use tools do have a huge impact on the way people and companies interact in communications, digital media and business. Web 2.0 features give control to the user, increase brand loyalty and customer retention and can make products and services benefit from a word-of-mouth.

• Brand the most Valuable Asset of a Global Company

Labels: branding, ecommerce, markets, web2.0

  ¶ 'Trends in Online Shopping' posted by eA : 12:08 PM  0 comments links to this post

  Increasing Demand for Online Video and Rich Media Advertising The latest report from PointTopic shows that the world broadband closes in on 300 million subscribers in Q1/2007 with the top 10 broadband nations holding three quarters of the world broadband subscriptions (USA 60,362,830; China 56,258,499; Japan 26,533,000; Germany 16,142,750; France 15,304,900; South Korea 14,102,888; UK 13,953,000; Italy 9,348,250; Canada 8,010,139; Spain 7,185,932) and with the number of broadband subscribers within the OECD increasing by 26% during 2006 further growth is for sure.

Accessing the Internet at high speeds has several positive effects on Internet usage resulting in higher connectivity and new sorts of services. Clickz News reports that 'advertising online will nearly double by 2011 and broadband adoption will increase demand for video and rich media advertising':

"The major source of growth in the Internet area is from advertising budgets being moved from traditional to online media," said Karsten Weide, program director, Digital Marketplace: New Media and Entertainment at IDC. "At the biggest risk are newspapers and broadcast television; every single traditional media will lose revenue to online advertising."

I think the more we zap TV ads, the more important it becomes for brands to integrate products and services into the video programming and deliver an emotional outstanding experience for the audiences.

Video has become one of the strongest growing fields on the Web - Google Video Search recently gave its strategy a new direction towards a more comprehensive video search engine differentiating itself from YouTube incorporating more popular Web video sites.


Searchable sites include Yahoo! Video, MySpace, Vimeo, Veoh, AOL Video, Revver, Guba, YouTube, Google Video and more, which make it the most comprehensive video search engine providing best coverage far beyond 50% of the current free online video market making even fancy videos findable without swapping the search engine. Further expansions could include this list of video sites.

A frame on top of the page displaying the video search field including related items and the search result item page below represent the new item page.

With a current Web video market share of 45% YouTube dominates the Online Video market with an attractive user audience loving Internet-based clips and videos they can view, listen, interact with and participate when, what and how they want.

YouTube experiments with its embeddable player version displaying related videos. It might have the potential to increase the number of delivered web videos with several viral options at the end of the video.


As the market dynamics and content delivery systems change a user doesn't have to care about video standards any more, just upload a film and the website does the rest for one - Blogger in Draft recently got a new video upload feature. More:

• Current Business Models for Free Online Video
• Google Reader Supports Video Now
• Trendy: More Online Video Entertainment in 2007
• Web Widgets as a Distribution Channel for Advertising

Labels: advertising, branding, markets, trend

  ¶ 'Increasing Demand for Online Video and Rich Media Advertising' posted by eA : 4:05 PM  0 comments links to this post

  Germans Like Web 2.0 Sites and Wikipedia I've written already about YouTube and Wikipedia among top 5 now in global brand awareness and a brand the most valuable asset of a global company, now I'm looking at Web 2.0 sites on a local level.

According to Nielsen//NetRatings 54% (19.7 mio.) of the German online population have visited a Web 2.0 website in Feb/2007 with a growth rate of 32% compared to the year before. The booming online travel sites hold a reach of 53%.


Market share is dominated by by Internet giants like Wikipedia (33% in Germany),YouTube (13%) and MySpace (5%), but local sites like StudiVZ (Social Networking), Clipfish (Video), wer-weiss-was (Knowledge) and Knuddels (Flirting) are high potentials, too.

Web 2.0 features increase brand loyalty and customer retention, easy to use tools have a huge impact on the way people and companies interact in communications, digital media and business. Once connected to their friends it's unlikely to start from new and build another network on another platform.

eMarketer reports that 'consumers continue to flock to social network sites' and 'in 2011, marketers will spend an estimated $1.1 billion on social network advertising outside the US', compared to $95 mio. in 2006.

Characteristics of today's Web 2.0 architecture allow better communications and data exchange resulting in improved social networking technologies, service orientation and cinematic user interfaces based on AJAX and Flash complementing modern SOA's.

Labels: branding, markets, networking, web2.0

  ¶ 'Germans Like Web 2.0 Sites and Wikipedia' posted by eA : 10:27 AM  1 comments links to this post

  Major Rebranding into iGoogle Google's Personalized Homepage has proven to be one of the most successful products since it's initial launch in 2005 under codename Fusion. After rebranding Froogle into Google Product Search this is the second major rebranding within a short time. It's iGoogle now, no longer Google's Personalized Homepage or Fusion.


Personalized start-pages are frequently used as an information resource and a preferred place to personalize trust worth and up-to-date news and services and iGoogle just sounds better on an international level.

With the rebranding also an innovation has been introduced, it's possible to design one's own widgets (Google calls them Google Gadgets) for iGoogle without programming knowledge and share them with friends. The Google Gadget Maker provides seven different templates: Framed Photo, GoogleGram, Daily Me, Free Form, YouTube Channel, Personal List and Countdown. Check them out.

Widgets and gadgets also represent an innovative (viral) way for marketers to reach the user directly and advertise their products and services.

Seen overall this approach to a personalized start-page improves usability and has the potential to improve search relevance incorporating data provided by the user.

Labels: branding, google, markets

  ¶ 'Major Rebranding into iGoogle' posted by eA : 6:08 PM  1 comments links to this post

  Brand the most Valuable Asset of a Global Company Just received the 2007 BRANDZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands report established by Millward Brown Optimor. As businesses go global and information becomes more and more critical it's the brand that leads the most valuable assets of a company, well and of course it's Google to lead the list:

Brand | Brand Value | Change from year before
1 Google | 66,434 | 77%
2 GE (General Electric) | 61,880 | 11%
3 Microsoft | 54,951 | -11%
4 Coca-Cola | 44,134 | 7%
5 China Mobile | 41,214 | 5%
...
22 Vodafone 21,107 -12%
42 Yahoo! | 13,201 | -6%
43 eBay | 12,927 | -2%
67 Orange | 9,922 | 5%
77 T-Mobile | 8,047 | -32%
92 Amazon | 5,964 | 0%

Hottest topic in technology:

• Convergence of different services (voice, data, GPS, music, Internet, email, etc) delivered over different devices

in mobile communications:

• Saturated markets and price competition in mature markets erode margins, companies are moving into non-traditional services

Managing information becomes more and more important for individuals and corporations that want to use the web strategically to build value. Easy to use tools will have a huge impact on the way people and companies interact in communications, digital media and business.

• Rebranding into Google Product Search
• Global Brand Awareness: YouTube and Wikipedia among Top 5 Now

Labels: bizdev, branding, google, markets

  ¶ 'Brand the most Valuable Asset of a Global Company' posted by eA : 4:35 PM  0 comments links to this post

  Rebranding into Google Product Search To get a better understanding what it is, it's Google Product Search now, no longer Froogle and can be found as a vertical search option under the 'more' link on Google.com.

The results page initially sorted by relevance got a more user friendly outfit moving the products and the filter for Google Checkout to the top of the page and the other refinements to the bottom, thus Google Product Search promotes Google Checkout.


Since people tend to start their web search from the main Google site the newly branded Google Product Search got a prominent position on top of the web results page:


Overall it's a step into a more serious product strategy. Of course, there is also competition from other comparison engines like Yahoo Shopping & PayPal, who might follow this strategy pushing the paypal checkout button and Shopzilla, Shopping.com (eBay), Dealio...
From Google:

• Back to basics

Labels: branding, ecommerce, google, markets

  ¶ 'Rebranding into Google Product Search' posted by eA : 11:18 AM  0 comments links to this post

  Adding a Theme to Google Homepage Using Google Start-Page as an information resource it's possible now to customize its appearance selecting a theme. Entering your zip-code it even promises to change its look and feel according to current sunrise and sunset times: Lovely.

'This theme will dynamically change to match your time of day, including local sunrise and sunset times.'

For the instant there is just six themes available, but I think over long term it might become a new playground for creative designers.

• Fusion - Approach to a Personalized Google Experience
• Consumer Internet into the Office

Labels: branding, google, homepage

  ¶ 'Adding a Theme to Google Homepage' posted by eA : 11:30 AM

  Brand Awareness: Ocean Racing at it's Most Exciting
Under captain Mark Christensen the ABN AMRO ONE has won the VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2005-2006. Reason enough to share some challenging moments of this outstanding race featured in spectacular video clips.

Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) is a yacht race around the world, held every four years. It's considered to be one of the most challenging races of the world. The general route runs south through the Atlantic Ocean, around the tip of Africa, and then around the Southern Ocean. The route generally covers in excess of 28,000 statute miles (45,000 km) over open ocean. The next race will start in Alicante, Spain, in late 2008. I'm excited!

• Global Brand Awareness: YouTube and Wikipedia among Top 5 Now

Labels: branding, lifestyle, sailing, videos

  ¶ 'Brand Awareness: Ocean Racing at it's Most Exciting' posted by eA : 7:10 PM  0 comments links to this post

  Global Brand Awareness: YouTube and Wikipedia among Top 5 Now An active creator today can enhance brand visibility and credibility, achieve customer intimacy or just simplify the process to find the latest information about new products and services allowing visitors to subscribe to blogs via RSS and be notified when posting something new.

Well, Google followed by Apple is leading the global brand awareness study conducted by brandchannel.com, but 2006 is the first time that brands centered on user-generated content entered the global top list: YouTube (3.) and Wikipedia (4.).

Global Top 10:
1. Google, 2. Apple, 3. YouTube, 4. Wikipedia, 5. Starbucks, 6. Nokia, 7. Skype, 8. Ikea, 9. CocaCola, 10. Toyota

More:

• YouTube's Rewarding Creativity soon
• Innovation Counts: Social YoUser Networks on Top of 2006 Google Zeitgeist
• Design and YoUser-centric Innovation
• Social YoUser Models in 2007
• Bye Bye German 1&1!
• Huge Market for Google Checkout in Europe
• Reaching People from 36 Countries Speaking 16 Languages

Labels: apple, branding, google, wikipedia, youtube

  ¶ 'Global Brand Awareness: YouTube and Wikipedia among Top 5 Now' posted by eA : 3:25 PM  0 comments links to this post