I just came upon this.
It’s really funny and has some potential. I wonder how the campaign goes.
“Before they were famous” commercials
I found this post at manofest.com.
It shows famous actors and actresses doing embaressing commercials to kickstart their career.
Maybe not that much of an incite full post but still very funny.
Why do spammers spam?
Not only in cans
Spam is a problem that has existed since the start of the commercialisation of the internet. In a 2007 survey 4% of email users said they have ordered products in response to an unsollicited mail. In a more recent survey from the bbc the response rate of a spam email is 1 in 12,5 million. Even though this is extremely small, they still turn a profit.
But why does it exist? I’ve done some research on the subject and here are the most common reasons:
Sales
Some people actually read spam and click. The force of spam is in the numbers. If you have a clickthrough rate of less than 1% but you send to a million addresses, 10.000 people will have clicked the message. Percentage wise this is not much, but it still is a large number if you look at it any other way.
Advertising
Some companies still hire spammers to push their product. They know the response rate is minimal, but again, the strenght is in the numbers.
Advance Fee Fraud
The company gives you an extremly attractive offer but askes for a deposit. Of course the offer is bogus but they still get your deposit.
Identity Theft
Once a target is hooked. You can pretty much do anything with their data. Revenues have risen over the years to make it a business of millions of dollars.
Malware
When using a stand-alone email program, there is always a possibility to receive spam with an attachment. If you open this or it is opened automatically, there is no telling of what it can do to your computer. This is another form of identity theft. They can get your details from mails or accounting programs, install dial-up software to charge whenever you connect, anything you can think of really.
So why does it exist? Spammers have automated their activities in such a way that they don’t need a lot of workforce anymore or even a legal entity. This way they can sell their product to small businesses for an extremely low price. Think about it: if they tell you your ad wil be seen by at least 200.000 people and you only have to pay 50 dollar, wouldn’t you consider it?
project management attention points
Don't shoot the project manager
Having taken my first, second and third step in project management of online campaigns, I thought it was time to write down some of my findings. Personally, I have had some courses in this when I was studying but as they say: nothing can prepare you for the real thing. There are huge differences between make-believe projects that you do in school and real projects, for real clients and real budgets.
Here are some pointers to build projects that could be great and not reduce them to footnotes of mediocrity.
Why the church will always have better marketing than your company
Hey, buy my things!
This is the mandatory controversial post. Since I am Belgian, I took the Catholic Church as an example. I don’t want to offend anybody, but I’m pretty sure I will. Read the rest of this entry »
Trend: converting everyday products into design items
Everything is marketable. Where luxury products were the first ones to be designed into a fashionable way, more and more everyday products are being designed. What I mean by this, is that, while still fulfilling their function, the looks are being taken care of as well.
This is a normal evolution of the maturation of a product. When just serving a purpose stops being sufficient, designers take over. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I leave up to you. Read the rest of this entry »
Steam Punk
An art movement that I expect to see soon in advertising is Steam Punk. We have seen it on a number of places in trend reports. But I think it is now mature enough to be picked up by the ad agencies.
It is the use of design elements of the steam power era and combining it with modern elements. We have seen parts of it in recent movies like “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and “Hellboy“. Read the rest of this entry »
New media marketing 101 series: #6 Homepage
When I'm gone, please take care of my homepage!
If there is one thing I can’t ephasize enough, it is: Don’t neglect your homepage! This installment of the 101 series regards one of the most important factors in your new media marketing process, if not thé most important.
The home page is often the first thing people see when clicking on a banner or a link on another website. As in life, you only have one chance to make a first impression. So make it a good one.
In this post I have diverted a bit from the normal structure of the article. Examples are plenty, good ones as well as bad ones. There are no Problems having a homepage, only advantages. You have to have a website when you do online marketing. There is no going around that. So make sure it is a good one. These are some basic points to create a solid homepage. Read the rest of this entry »
Ways to annoy your customer online
This link doesn't go there!
Being an online professional, you might have some of the same pet peeves as me. One of the things I hate is crappy design. With all the technology, freeware, tutorials and guidelines, there is no room left for bad taste.
Unfortunately, I come across bad sites daily. A post that I just found has some of the worst things you can do to a website.
Enjoy:
13 ways generate customer hate
