29 May 2008

MarketingSherpa's Online Advertising Handbook reviewed

I have been neglecting this blog - not due to blogger's block or lack of topics but simply because I am up to my neck with work. Unlike other full time bloggers, I have to juggle blogging with my research, part-time jobs and taking care of my kids. Really busy with my research work and have my upgrade presentation on the 6th of next month. Anyway, I have had some free time and this is a long overdue review of MarketingSherpa's new book- the '2008 Online Advertising Handbook with Benchmarks'.

The book has four chapters and covers everything from budgets and analytics to online branding and method of delivery. This is clearly targeted at practitioners, with real life examples (meaning less theories) and the text is easy to read with easy to understand figures and graphs. For example, a special report on matching rich media design tactics to strategic goals, they have used EyeWonder as an example. The books goes through each of their major campaign objectives along with the strategies used. They are but one of the examples used through out the book to illustrate various online advertising techniques and strategies.

The executive summary points out how online advertisers are ignoring the use of online ads for branding purposes and instead emphasising clicks. I found the book really useful as it is quite relevant to my doctoral research. However, I feel that this book will be highly useful to online advertisers as well as business managers thinking of advertising online. Another feature of the book that I found quite helpful was the Glossary which defines most of the technical terms used in the book and in online advertising circles, some of which have not come into popular academic usage.

This book costs $497/ and I recommend it for both practitioners and academics alike, as well as anyone who's interested in the latest trends in online advertising.

Thanks to Jeanne Hopkins and other guys from the MECLABS Group, MarketingSherpa for sending me a complimentary copy of the book.

17 May 2008

Spam Comments - Last Warning

Sometime back I wrote "End to spam comments". Comments advertising websites, products or services have more or less disappeared. However, most of the comments on my blog are those that look genuine but using key words instead of names. I know that this is a common SEO technique but one that really pisses off bloggers. I am really really Sick of these SEO comments".

This is my final warning, PLEASE use a name or nick or the comment will be promptly deleted.

1 May 2008

Cheaper 3 dongles

Some good news for those who have been thinking about getting the 3 mobile broadband service. Just got to know that as of today, 3 is reducing the price of their 'Pay as you go' mobile broadband dongles (both E220 and ZTE models) from £99.99 to £49.99.

This should be welcome news to some of my friends who liked the service but felt that the modem (the dongle) was a little on the costly side.

Read about it on the Mobile Buzz site.