Abbreviated Marketing News Round-up
January 27th, 2009 | Published in Marketing News Round-up
Ouch. Most brutal headline of the day:
Sprint To Give 8,000 Employees Unlimited Free Roaming Time
With the economy weakening, the Mountain View company has turned on a spigot of sales pitches in areas once devoid of them. On other properties, it has increased their number and frequency.
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Google recently started placing ads on its image search and finance properties, both of which were previously free of marketing messages. Tests on the news area are under way.
As it increases ad coverage, Google has also lifted restrictions on the kinds of ads that can appear. Over the past few months, beer, wine and hard alcohol ads have been allowed in the United States, along with gambling ads in the United Kingdom.
Its Print Program Dead, Google Still Aims to Transform Radio Ads
Google is best known for its ability to monetize intangible services, mainly for connecting people with information on the Internet. But when Google leapt into offline media, it entered a world of sometimes clunky legacy systems that bear little resemblance to Google’s streamlined digital platforms.
The inefficiency of the systems associated with placing newspaper ads may have been a reason the firm ditched its print newspaper ad program last week. But Google appears dedicated to its radio ad business, despite the old media hurdles involved. For one, convincing radio stations to adopt its programming platform seems to be a challenge.
Half of Americans “Frequent” Internet Users
Americans’ frequent use of the internet has nearly doubled over the past five years with 48% of adults—many in groups that have historically been less frequent users—now reporting that they use the Internet more than one hour per day, compared with 26% in 2002, according to results from a recent Gallup Poll.
Though internet use is up overall, the poll of more than 1,000 Americans reveals that large education, income, and age gaps still exist in terms of internet usage. Those with advanced degrees, those who make more than than $75K per year, and those under age 30 continue to be the most frequent users, with more than 60% in each group reporting they go online more than one hour per day.
