Prosperity. Happiness Works.

Golden Spiders 2006

RTE did really well scooping 3 awards, I have to say they deserve it, the site is terrific. Generator who handle their digital advertising must be chuffed with the award, speaking of Generator, they are doing some terrific work with BEBO  http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=2173990673

Some stats on the RTE website

Audience Profile

ABC1, 25-45, Executives, Investors, SME

Unique Users    1,037,820

PIPM   21,710,374

ABC    May 2006

JNIR   Wave 1 & 2

Recent Advertisers

Eircom, 02, Vodafone, Esat BT, Netsource, Alpha Telecom, Myhome, RefCom, SKY TV, Bank of Ireland, AIB, VHI, BUPA, Central Reservations, Trocaire, Irish Red Cross, NiceMove, Aer Arran, Tesco Personal Finance, Dublin Business School, Rancheros, Nutella, Microsoft, National Safety Council, Siemens, First Active, Bank of Ireland, AIB, Stena

Monster pipped us to the post on best HR site, maybe next year
MM

I attended a  breakfast meeting this morning hosted by The Marketing Institute.  Fergal O’Byrne of the IIA spoke about new online marketing channels.  There was a good representation of marketing people and agencies there, and Fergal delivered a very interesting talk on Internet Marketing.

I believe that he summed it up nicely with one expression -  “intravenous marketing”.  This can mean a stronger and more constant connection for a consumer (or potential consumer) with a company’s website, all achievable through blogs, forums, and RSS feeds.

The internet user wants to interact, they want a voice online, the question now is are companies prepared to open their doors online to be praised or criticized as the case may be - will companies use a moderator or will they let their customers post real time comments.

If a company is brave enough to do the latter, they will be respected by the consumers, and are likely to learn a lot from consumers input, be it negative or positive, and adapt their service / product accordingly.

We are at an age where the consumer rules and the companies who  open their doors online will benefit greatly in the long run.

It is like open Government - societies that tolerate  free speech and an open exchange of ideas are generally more creative and dynamic. This can also apply to the corporate sector.

The Impact of New Online Channels on Marketing was sponsored by The Irish Times.

MM - Prosperity

The Marketing Breakfast - November 2006

The Impact of New Online Channels on Marketing

Fergal O’Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Internet Association www.iia.ie

Fergal O’Byrne will talk about the impact of new internet technologies like RSS, Blogging, Podcasting and other online marketing channels.

The talk will cover the now “traditional areas” of online marketing like Search Engine Marketing and Email Marketing. Fergal will also delve into the areas of opportunities like Blogging and Podcasting. The idea is to use all of these technologies and channels together as part of the online marketing strategy of a company.

Fergal joined the IIA in November 2005. He is an internet industry entrepreneur and founded Interactive Return (formerly webBusters) back in 1998. He is also on the Board of Directors of premier gift company 4giftsdirect.com and CCD.ie. In 2004 he was awarded the IIA/Microsoft Net Visionary Internet Marketer of the Year Award. Fergal is a member of the Irish Internet Association and a number of other Irish and international professional bodies. Fergal’s latest book - 10 Online Marketing and Search Engine Essentials was published in 2004 by Aspatore Books. He was part of the original team that helped to set up eircom.net and was Content Development Manager in charge of such projects as the Doras Directory, Ireland’s largest directory of rated websites. He holds an Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering from DIT, Kevin Street.

Cost: Members €15
Non Members €25
MMI Students €10

Date: Wednesday 22nd November 2006
Time: 7.45am for 8am
Venue: The Dome Restaurant, Stephens Green Shopping Centre, Dublin 2

Payment is required by cheque or credit card before the event. Bookings are essential. To book please email cecilia@mii.ie or visit www.mii.ie or Phone 01 2160156.

Check out Alex Gibsons media show every Friday on Anna Livia, you can also download his podcast which is an invaluable source of information from both Irish and international experts across the spectrum of marketing activity. http://www.thepersuaders.libsyn.com/

We are at the moment pitching for some good accounts which will hopefully bring on a lot of new jobs.
A lot of this prospective business is in the area of online marketing. There are a few of the big internet companies and gaming companies expanding or setting up their operations here, and they are looking to build online marketing teams. Then there are the indigenous companies – many Irish agencies and companies have  by now realised the effectiveness and necessity of online marketing.

I recently went to a seminar which was hosted by Salesonline and by the turnout I realized that agencies and companies are really starting to gear up for this medium –when you consider that Internet Advertising in Ireland is expanding by between 40 and 60% per annum, the word “exponential” suggests itself. The advertisers have got wise to the fact that there is now an internet penetration of 1.45 million in Ireland, and with the rollout of broadband there is scope for ever more creative advertising. Add to this the fact that this is an advertising medium which can be very specifically targeted towards particular market segments and which offers analytics that no traditional media can hold a candle to, advertisers are moving on-line en-masse.

So what are the benefits of a career in online marketing? Well if you can gain experience in this area you will be accruing skills and experience that will be highly sought after in the future. Furthermore, the real joy of a career in online marketing is that all of your expertise / input is measurable – you will learn very quickly about what is effective and what isn’t and you will bring this knowledge to your next account or job and be able to quickly generate maximum profile.
The key areas you will need to focus on in the area of online marketing are the following.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Creating / Managing Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC)
Banner Advertising
Email marketing
Analytics
An awareness of the effectiveness of Design and Development
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Usability
Paid Inclusion

For further information, you may find this site useful: www.interactivereturn.com

Comments welcome. Author: Jim Murray - Prosperity