AdNoize

Striped Marlin – Galapagos

2011-05-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Striped Marlin – Galapagos

Peter Bordes - Striped Marlin
Angler Peter Bordes hooks a monster striped marlin while fishing in the Galapagos and he muscles the fish to the boat for a quick release. Also aboard are Pete Santini (on the bridge), Jackson Parmenter (fellow angler in the cockpit), and Capt Andy LoCascio (behind the camera) in February 2010. Learn more at World Explorer Notebook.

This was one of the hottest bites in the last several years. The killer lure was big 10 1/2″ Iland Express in either black/red (seen in this video) or in blue/pink. It was often fished with a big ballyhoo rigged behind it but was also quite effective without it.

Capt Andy LoCascio – “I have used Iland lures in various sizes and colors on the US East coast for many years. They are deadly for yellowfin and bluefin tuna, but we only started using them in the Galapagos the last couple of seasons. Pete Santini is a master at figuring out the best way to use these in the spread. We had very calm conditions and it was critical we used the right lure head to provide a better target for the marlin.”

MediaTrust PerformanceExchange Email Publisher Partner Collateral One Sheet

2011-03-14T14:29:00.001-07:00

MediaTrust’s new PerformanceExchange (MTPX) connects advertisers with prospective new customers via our innovative proprietary real-time bid exchange.

Using MTPX, quality clicks are connected to conversions. Our proprietary algorithms optimize based on performance by serving ads with the highest probability to convert. This innovative technology enables us to provide the highest ROI for both our publishers and advertisers.

The winning ads are dynamically generated and the subsequent click is priced and routed appropriately based on real-time bids and click quality metrics.

All clicks are reviewed and routed through our internal performance filtering system, ensuring advertisers pay only for quality consumers delivered to their landing page and giving publishers in-depth reporting on how to optimize their traffic quality ROI.

All clicks are not created equal! At MediaTrust we believe in quality Pay for Performance.

We understand Performance marketing and we know it doesn’t make sense to have to lump all traffic together like those bigger CPC companies. Our innovative platform and dedicated publisher & advertiser partnership teams are here to provide you with the highest quality traffic and content, no blending required.

Publishers :
*Monetize your traffic... beyond display to email & content channels
*Deliver relevant ads... variety of targeted & unique campaigns
*High consistent CPC payouts... have confidence that your quality clicks always hold value
*Tools & Analytics... optimize your traffic quality ROI

MediaTrust PerformanceExchange Email Publisher Partner Collateral One Sheet

View more documents from MediaTrust.

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com

2011-02-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com

Performance Marketing Association Catalyst Group

2011-01-29T08:12:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: The Performance marketing association has launched a new working group called the "Catalyst Group" formed and lead by MediaTrust CEO Peter Bordes.

The working groups charter is to foster industry growth and advancement thru technology, innovation and business development within the PMA and performance marketing industry as well as building technology driven partnership into other verticals in the digital media and marketing industry and the finance community.

Performance Marketing Association Catalyst Group

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

Overview of Marketing Automation Players - Be Relevant! Email Marketing Blog

2010-12-31T06:39:00.000-08:00

Overview of Marketing Automation Players - Be Relevant! Email Marketing Blog

A marketing automation research tool, courtesy of Software Advice.

Morgan Stanley Internet Trends (Mary Meeker) 2010.04.12

2010-12-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Morgan Stanley Internet Trends (Mary Meeker) 2010.04.12

Morgan Stanley Internet Trends (Mary Meeker) 2010.04.12

View more presentations from Andrei Marinescu.

Internet Trends 2010 by Morgan Stanley Research

2010-12-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Internet Trends 2010 by Morgan Stanley Research

Internet Trends 2010 by Morgan Stanley Research

View more presentations from CM Summit: Marketing in Real Time.

MediaPost Publications Social Media Platform Shoutlet Raises $6 Million 12/06/2010

2010-12-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

MediaPost Publications Social Media Platform Shoutlet Raises $6 Million 12/06/2010

Social media marketing firm Shoutlet has closed a $6 million second round of funding led by American Family Insurance and including prior investors Origin Ventures and Leo Capital Holdings. It brings the total raised by the company to date to 9.2 million.

Madison, WI-based Shoutlet, whose clients include brands such as Nissan, Perry Ellis and Burt's Bees, plans to use the new financing to accelerate product development and continue double-digit growth. "Today's funding announcement will allow us to implement our visionary ideas for social media management at an even faster pace," said the company's CEO Jason Weaver, in a statement. MORE

Google Pushes Forward With CPA Online Ad Model - MarketingVOX

2010-11-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

Google Pushes Forward With CPA Online Ad Model - MarketingVOX
Google Pushes Forward With CPA Online Ad Model

Click to enlarge

Google is pushing forward with its beta of an ad format that could - if it is successful - lead to a wider acceptance of the cost-per-action online ad model. Over the past half year the search giant has been testing a service in which marketers pay only for ads that have been acted upon by consumers - such as a purchase or registration on a web site, Investor's Business Daily reports. Now early adopters are reporting that the model, which would apply to both search and display, brings in greater revenues than the pay per-click format.

Indeed, an alternative to the widely used pay per-click model - the dominant ad model on Google - could convince some advertisers to spend more money on Google ads, says Leah Woolford, COE of U.S. Destination Marketing. (via Investor’s Business Daily). "Google is getting aggressive because … (advertisers) have an appetite and are willing to try new models," she said.

Performics, a unit of DoubleClick, is leading the cost per action initiative.

SoJones, an online fashion magazine has been testing Google's per-action ad program, according to another article in Investor's Business Daily. The site makes four to five times more revenue with CPA compared with CPC, reports Jenise Henrikson, chief executive of Henrikson Media, in the article. "This is due to our quality traffic and high level of engagement with our users."

Bigger Adoption

The program is still in beta form but it does provide hope to those in the industry that would like to see a wider array of ad choices, writes the Domains. "Most in the domain industry [would like to] see a huge growth over the next years from PPC to CPA and the fact that the world’s biggest seller of PPC ads is actively testing the new model can only mean changes ahead for Domain Owners parking their domains."

Connecting Quality Impression to Performance "MASS Marketing to ME Marketing

2010-11-11T14:55:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Connecting Quality Impression to Performance "MASS Marketing to ME Marketing

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

How To Build a Display Campaign With Ad Desk | General Internet | Howcast.com

2010-11-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

How To Build a Display Campaign With Ad Desk on Howcast

http://advertising.com/advertiser/ad-desk
https://addesk.advertising.com/?referralcode=1100

gWallet Founder Launches New Data-Focused Ad Platform RadiumOne

2010-10-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

gWallet Founder Launches New Data-Focused Ad Platform RadiumOne
Serial entrepreneur and gWallet founder Gurbaksh Chahal sold his ad network BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million in 2007. At the time, Chahal’s company was the fifth largest ad network in the United States and the second largest in the United Kingdom. Chahal’s non-compete contract with Yahoo just ended last week, and he’s getting back into the online ad business. Today, he’s launching RadiumOne, an online ad network that aims to combine social and intent data to serve ads.

RadiumOne mines social data and use this information to identify relevant consumers for brands. Through what Chahal calls “social retargeting,” RadiumOne analyzes how users interact with one another on social networks to find the consumers that identify with a brand’s current customer base, and then serves advertisements to this audience.

Of course, RadiumOne gets this data directly from social networks (although not from Facebook), which sell anonymous user behavior data to advertisers, its own gWallet offer platform, blogging platforms, microblogging platforms (i.e. Twitter), URL shorteners, photosharing websites and other applications.

Social media measurement: defining the metrics to quantify ROI | Econsultancy

2010-10-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

Social media measurement: defining the metrics to quantify ROI | Econsultancy
So the key question here is how do you measure ROI for social media? Can this be associated with a monetary value?

Relevantly Speaking | Don Batsford Talks Search vs. Social Strategies

2010-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Mark Zuckerberg Explains Why He Stayed On As Facebook's CEO

2010-10-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Another Social Network - Ping Parody

2010-10-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Stratocast #2 -- The Art of the Elevator Pitch

2010-10-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

In its quest for links, Google promotes its URL shortener | Econsultancy

2010-10-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

In its quest for links, Google promotes its URL shortener | Econsultancy

VIP thought piece showing the importance and direction of search and social integration...

Posted 01 October 2010 09:01am by Patricio Robles with 7 comments

Google may be the most dominant search engine in many parts of the world, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its work cut out for it in meeting future challenges.

One of those challenges: tapping into all the links that are being shared on services like Facebook and Twitter. After all, the links sharing that takes place on these services represents a potentially valuable 'signal' that Google can factor into its algorithm.

That's the real reason, for instance, why Google's Marissa Mayer is disappointed about all that content Facebook has "locked in": Google can't easily spider it, put context around it and build a stronger search experience with it.

So what can Google do? With Twitter, it inked a data deal giving it access to Twitter's firehose. But realistically it needs more than that. So it's now pushing URL shortener, goo.gl, a bit harder. The obvious goal: build a stronger presence in the URL shortening market, which has largely been built on the back of growing amount of content sharing taking place on Twitter and Facebook.

goo.gl, of course, isn't new. It was launched nearly a year ago but Google never really put it in position to compete with other URL shorteners like bit.ly. Instead, it integrated goo.gl into other Google products. Yesterday, however, Google launched a real website for goo.gl, where anyone with a link can now shorten it to a very Googley goo.gl URL.

Feature-wise, goo.gl is a lot like other URL shorteners. There are analytics features, and Google has an API for developers. If you have a Google account, Google will keep track of all the links you've shortened for easy access to analytics data. In short (no pun intended), goo.gl looks a lot like bit.ly, which apparently hasn't gone unnoticed by bit.ly CEO John Borthwick. But goo.gl does have one advantage over its smaller but better established competitor: it may be more reliable. As we previously covered, web monitoring company WatchMouse saw 100% uptime for goo.gl when it conducted a study of URL shortening services.

But will that be enough? Probably not. Twitter and Facebook still have direct access to links shared by their users, and established players like bit.ly have branding. As such, Google will its work cut out for it if it hopes to make goo.gl a go-to URL shortener.

Keynote: Joanna Shields, Facebook | MIPCOM 2010

2010-10-06T06:58:00.000-07:00

Dan Cobley: What physics taught me about marketing | Video on TED.com

2010-09-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Dan Cobley: What physics taught me about marketing | Video on TED.com

v

Relevantly Speaking | Kim Kaplan of Plenty of Fish on the Importance of ...

2010-09-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

DoubleDutch CEO Video Presentation at DEMO

2010-09-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

How to use #NewTwitter - iMediaConnection.com

2010-09-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

iMedia catches up with Twitter's Shiva Rajaraman at ad:tech London, where he discusses the crucial dos and don'ts when using the revamped microblogging site for your business.

View >>

PeekYou Reverse URL Identity Lookup: Twitter Followers @unmarketing

2010-09-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

PeekYou Reverse URL Identity Lookup: Twitter Followers @unmarketing

View more presentations from PeekYou.

The Tiny URL is the New Cookie

2010-09-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

Very good and insightful post on how important smart links are in the future of digital media. They are the gateways to relevance and will be the new cookies .
Very relevant to the ityb.it project thats about to launch.

URLs are the new cookies

View more presentations from Jonathan Strauss.

Twitter: discover what's new in your world

2010-09-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Relevantly Speaking | Scott Stratten on Why Relationships are Essential ...

2010-09-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

Scott Stratten the President of UnMarketing is ranked as one of the top influencers in the world on Twitter, and an expert in Viral, Social and Authentic marketing which he calls UN-Marketing. Scott’s philosophy is simple: Stop marketing. Start engaging. It’s a simple credo, yet so many businesses don’t get it.

It’s all about positioning yourself as a trusted expert in front of target market, so when they have the need, they choose you, That’s UN-Marketing.

Scott talks about how businesses should be built on relationships and listening to customers, instead of trying to constantly sell.

Scott Stratten Resource Links : Blog : Twitter : Facebook

Affiliate Summit Social Media Content Panel with Amy Vernon #ASE10

2010-08-27T05:31:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Amy is a very good presenter who helps connect the dots in a practical and meaningful way... content is king in social as is POV and voice. great presentation

Affiliatesummit

View more presentations from Amy Vernon.

Social Media Marketing for Affiliates by Amy Vernon

2010-08-27T05:27:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: very good presentation from Affiliate Summit East ASE10. Social media marketing is a key aspect of marketing and affiliates can leverage this in a very meaningful way to drive traffic and transactions.

Social Media Marketing for Affiliates

View more presentations from Affiliate Summit.

Relevantly Speaking | Digg's Top Female Submitter of All Time

2010-08-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

This week we’re talking to Amy Vernon - the top female submitter on Digg of all time. As many of you know, Digg is rolling out a newly overhauled site that changes the way stories are submitted and filtered. How will these changes affect the Digg community? Watch the video to get Amy’s take.

2010-08-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

Â» MediaTrust: Leading the Way In Performance Marketing http://t.co/ws2EOGd via @BIAKelsey #marketing

2010-08-19T13:33:00.001-07:00

Tons of Photos from Affiliate Summit, MediaTrust slide shows it all! http://bit.ly/cQerhw Great #ASE10 all...

2010-08-16T08:35:00.001-07:00

We launched the IdentityEdge.com affiliate program & Hawaii vacation affiliate contest at Affiliate Summit #ASE10 http://bit.ly/bFKe28

2010-08-12T15:30:00.001-07:00

New Affiliate OFFER: BeenVerified Background Check Free Trial http://bit.ly/dbTuFi #sem #ppc #seo #email #banner #social

2010-08-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

Affiliate Summit East 2010 Party Events Schedule for #ASE10 http://bit.ly/9WUdw3 make sure to read this list and be in the know!

Relevantly Speaking | Jim Lillig of OfferVault Talks Affiliate Marketing...

2010-08-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

This week we're talking to Jim Lillig of Offer Vault about some mission critical points that we need to think about as performance marketers. How can we be more transparent? How can we shift more ad dollars to the performance space? Also, don't forget to stop by and see us at Affiliate Summit East (ASE) this coming week. We'll be at Meet Market Table #64!

2010-08-11T07:48:00.001-07:00

Relevantly Speaking | Jim Lillig of OfferVault Talks Affiliate Marketing Industry Priorities @Adtech http://bit.ly/anLFk9 #podcast #adtech

2010-08-10T10:00:00.001-07:00

Help Humanity, Feed Your Vanity @AffiliateSummit Take a Photo & @MediaTrust will Donate to Charity http://bit.ly/2eY7o #ASE10 table #64

2010-08-10T07:56:00.001-07:00

Check out the @MediaTrust Affiliate Summit limited edition T-shirt http://bit.ly/aNYoo7 Meet Market table #64 plus a big contest #ASE10

Relevantly Speaking | Twylah Twitter Platform Launch Interview with CEO Eric Kim

2010-08-06T04:47:00.000-07:00

MediaTrust Blog Relevantly Speaking podcast
This week we're talking about the launch of a great new Twitter client called Twylah. Right off the bat I know what you're probably thinking -- great, another Twitter client. I thought the same thing when I heard about it. After using it for a couple of weeks though, I've found Twylah to be very useful.

Check out MediaTrust's Twylah page.

Twylah will create a personally branded site made up of highly topical and contextual SEO-optimized pages around your tweets. The site carries your personal brand and is composed entirely of your tweets, insuring easy location outside the world of Twitter apps and clients.

Tweets are organized into a topically organized mini-blog so that readers can better interact with you or your brand. You can even mix postings longer than 140 characters with shorter postings to create a hybrid mini-blog. Additionally, each of your tweets carries a reply/comment section, so all replies to posts are viewable inline with tweets and posts.

One of my favorite features of Twylah is the way you can browse through users tweets based only on topics that you're interested in. It automatically organizes any Twitter stream into topical sections, so you can more easily navigate what someone is saying without having to look through all their tweets. This means clearing through the clutter faster and lessening the noise levels.

Still not convinced? Listen to our interview with Twylah founder Eric Kim.

Relevantly Speaking | Andrew Zucker of Publishers Clearing House

2010-08-06T04:23:00.000-07:00

MediaTrust Blog Relevantly Speaking podcast
This week we're talking about one of the most iconic brands in U. S. history - Publishers Clearing House. With all the transition happening in the print and publishing space, PCH has had to evolve their model. Chief Revenue Officer, Andrew Zucker talks to Scott Parent about PCHGames.com and their integrated sponsorship model.

Additionally, MediaTrust is announcing the acquisition of Bardon Advisors and the addition of President Keith Cohn.

2010-08-05T11:55:00.001-07:00

FTC Cracks Down on Debt Related Advertisers and Marketers http://bit.ly/bhkOT1 #affiliate marketers & publishers this effects your business!

2010-08-04T07:02:00.001-07:00

Relevantly Speaking | Rand Fishkin CEO of @SEOmoz on Mistakes Companies Make with #SEO http://bit.ly/bOt7IF great interview @RandFish #SES

2010-08-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

Life it complete when a Victoria Secret super model like Giselle Bundchen wears your brandâ€¦ thats HOT! http://bit.ly/a0fAl6

2010-07-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

NYC Meetup202 Happy Hour at LeadsCon "Be There or be Square" http://tinyurl.com/7zoj84 @WesMahler back in Tracking202 #ppc action @LeadsCon

2010-07-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

There is a great NEW affiliate marketing resource center that just launched on @AffBuzz http://ping.fm/BD5Ug two thumbs up!

2010-07-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

This week on Relevantly Speaking | Neil Perry of XLNTads @Poptent Talks Crowd Sourced Video & Brand Engagement http://tinyurl.com/2a88k4u

2010-07-20T08:32:00.001-07:00

We launched our MediaTrust #YouTube channel w/ Relevantly Speaking shows on Internet media,marketing & technology http://tinyurl.com/2f6osgy

2010-07-14T12:45:00.001-07:00

This week on Relevantly Speaking | Scott Medlock of @Affspot Affiliate Marketing Community http://tinyurl.com/2fbueqx #podcast #RS

2010-06-30T13:47:00.001-07:00

#shoutout & thanks to @Chuck_Hamrick of @NetMediaGroup.Great Relevantly Speaking interview on Affiliate Marketing http://tinyurl.com/2ceydq8

2010-06-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

The MediaTrust Blog is officially a member of the #Facebook " LIKE " . Its integrated and you can LIKE away :) http://ping.fm/gGDHb

2010-06-28T07:39:00.001-07:00

Check out our Friend Feed Blog. Another place where you can connect w @MediaTrust about Affiliate marketing http://ping.fm/8SfUO

AffCon2010 Panel "The Affiliate Tax: How Colorado & the Industry Mobilized its Fight"

2010-06-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

AffCon Convention panel about the Affiliate Marketing Internet Tax that threatened the entire affiliate marketing industry. Affiliates , affiliate networks, agencies and merchants had to come together to form the Performance Marketing Association, and mobilize locally and nationally to engage and educate States looking to pass the ill conceived Tax Bill to balance their budgets. The States had no idea what affiliate marketing was and how big it was as an industry in each State. Nor how many people would be put out of business or would move their business to another State or country.

The CO Tax fight is an example of how the affiliate marketing industry came together as a local and national industry to defeat the Bill with only 3 weeks on the time clock.

This panel and presentation talks about the future of affiliate marketing and how everyone can contribute to shaping the future of this rapidly growing segment digital media and advertising globally

AffCon2010 Panel "The Affiliate Tax: How Colorado & the Industry Mobilized its Fight"
View more presentations from MediaTrust.

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

2010-06-23T11:32:00.001-07:00

Relevantly Speaking | David Lee of @Wetoku one of the coolest new #video production & broadcast tools http://tinyurl.com/362zdph #podcast

2010-06-16T08:30:00.001-07:00

Relevantly Speaking | Shawn Collins of Affiliate Summit @affiliatetip on #affiliate marketing & #ASE10 http://tinyurl.com/2bgdjz5 #podcast

2010-06-14T09:36:00.001-07:00

Ad Impressions Want to Be Freeâ€¦and why the obvious imperative for online marketers is optimizing conversions http://tinyurl.com/2de945l #iab

2010-06-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

New #Affiliate Campaign: Pimsleur Learn Any Language in 10 Days $9.95 w/ Free Shipping High Converting Email Only http://tinyurl.com/36ccuaf

2010-06-11T14:20:00.001-07:00

New #Affiliate Campaign:NuWave Oven Converts after a series customized product pages converting at 2%+ on #search http://tinyurl.com/36ccuaf

2010-06-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

Take part in an Important International Online Lead Generation (B2C) survey http://tinyurl.com/7zoj84 Help grow #affiliate #marketing

2010-06-10T07:06:00.001-07:00

New #Affiliate Campaign: Flex Belt -top performing search campaign. 5% conversion rates & higher http://tinyurl.com/36ccuaf #ppc #sem #search

How To Successfully Produce A Webinar: Follow the “Ten P’s” « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing

2010-06-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

How To Successfully Produce A Webinar: Follow the “Ten P’s” « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing

How To Successfully Produce A Webinar: Follow the “Ten P’s”

Webinars an effective way to engage prospects
Webinars are increasingly important to the online marketplace who doesn’t have time to attend a conference, peel away from the office, or wants to learn on their own time. In fact, webinars, webcasts, and teleconferences can also be a long term asset as it’s viewed multiple times, and will continue to generate qualified leads.

Yet most have the wrong mindset, fail to plan, and miss qualified leads
Yet, most webinar producers do it wrong, or they miss key steps in planning, or fail to follow up and ‘pursue’ attendees. A common mistakes? Not engaging with the distracted multi-tasking audience, and recognizing that webinars are now a two-way medium –even if chat features are not enabled in the platform. Those who seek to produce successful webinars should follow these “Ten P’s” and reduce risk and increase chances of success.

How To Successfully Produce A Webinar: Follow the “Ten P’s”

Making your Corporate Website Relevant

2010-05-26T08:30:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Making your Corporate Website Relevant

View more presentations from Jeremiah Owyang.

New Google Phone Service Whispers Targeted Ads Directly Into Users' Ears

2010-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

MediaTrust Completes $18.8 Million Recapitalization and Follow-On Investment

2010-05-14T15:08:00.001-07:00

Leading Performance Marketing Company Reorganizes and Strengthens Financial Structure Following Bardon Advisors Acquisition

NEW YORK - MediaTrust, a leading digital performance marketing company based in New York City, has executed an $18.8 million recapitalization led by Ropart Asset Management Funds of Greenwich, CT. The announcement follows the recent acquisition by MediaTrust of Bardon Advisors, a leading Los Angeles-based Cost Per Click (CPC) search and affiliate marketing platform for online advertisers and publishers.
"This funding combined with the recapitalization strengthens our balance sheet, enables us to effectively combine the resources of our two companies, and provides the resources to build an even more robust platform for online direct response advertisers," said Peter Bordes, CEO of MediaTrust. "We are now in a better position to invest in future innovation, and capitalize upon partnerships and market opportunities as they develop."
MediaTrust's management team, including the recent addition of Bardon CEO Keith Cohn as President, will remain unchanged.
Todd A. Goergen, Managing Partner of the Ropart Asset Management Funds, stated of the deal: "We continue to strongly support our investment in MediaTrust. The firm has forged ahead as a leader despite these tough macro-economic conditions, showing the strength of its platform-centric approach to performance marketing. With its scalable business model, strong relationships, and experienced management team, MediaTrust is extremely well positioned . We look forward to the future success of the combined resources of MediaTrust and Bardon Advisors."
MediaTrust, the ninth fastest growing company in the U.S. according to Inc. Magazine, recently acquired Bardon Advisors, making it the first company to offer advertisers Cost per Click (CPC), Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Action (CPA) online advertising programs through a primarily self-service performance marketing platform.
About MediaTrust
MediaTrust makes pay-for-results online advertising easier. MediaTrust offers an innovative online technology platform, supported by best-in-class service, and access to the best direct response advertisers and affiliate publishers in the industry. MediaTrust enables its publisher and advertiser partners to easily create and deploy pay-for-performance marketing campaigns that deliver leads and sales. In 2009, the Company was ranked 9th fastest growing U.S. Company by Inc. Magazine. Founded in 2004, MediaTrust is headquartered in New York City with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Santa Barbara.
More information on MediaTrust can be found at:
www.mediatrust.com
http://blog.mediatrust.com
www.twitter.com/mediatrust
www.facebook.com/mediatrust
1-877-987-8785.
###

Press Contact

Trip Foster
MediaTrust
tfoster@mediatrust.com
917.512.1693

MediaTrust, No. 9 on Inc. 500, Acquires Bardon Advisors, Names Bardon Founder & CEO Keith Cohn as President

2010-05-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

Leading Performance Marketing Company Expands Platform via Acquisition of Robust Sponsored Search Marketing and CPC Network to Enable Advertisers To Pay Per Click in Addition to Paying Per Lead or Sale
NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES - MediaTrust, the New York-based digital performance marketing company, has acquired Bardon Advisors, a leading Los Angeles-based Cost Per Click (CPC) search & affiliate marketing platform for online advertisers and publishers. The acquisition brings high-quality traffic generation capabilities to advertisers using MediaTrust's performance marketing platform, which helps advertisers connect impressions to performance with Cost per Click (CPC), Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Action (CPA) advertising programs. The acquisition includes more than 1200 owned and operated web properties and extends the platform's reach by more than 20 million monthly unique visits and ~5 million paid searches per month.
Concurrent with the acquisition, Bardon Founder & CEO and industry veteran Keith Cohn has joined MediaTrust as President of the combined entity. Cohn will be focused on leading MediaTrust through its next stage of growth, expanding its offerings and helping to further establish its foothold as the leading global performance marketing platform.
"Under Keith's leadership, Bardon Advisors has quietly become an industry leader in all things cost per click - from search engine marketing to content ad networks to affiliate marketing," said Peter Bordes, CEO of MediaTrust. "Bardon's technology and expertise will further expand and diversify the MediaTrust platform''s existing CPA, CPL and conversion marketing offerings for brands, agencies, and affiliate publishers, as well as open the door for future performance marketing innovations."
Cohn comes to MediaTrust with more than 20 years of leadership experience, building brands and businesses for start-ups and large established companies. Prior to launching Bardon Advisors, Cohn was President and CEO of Vendare Media, an Idealab & venture-backed Internet advertising and media firm. From 2000 to 2006, he led Vendare Media from a pre-revenue, fledgling Internet start-up into a $120mm a year diversified marketing firm with an emphasis on lead generation and other forms of performance- based marketing. Vendare Media merged with Net Blue (re-named Conexxus, which recently merged with Azoogle / Epic Advertising.)
"MediaTrust is paving the way for the future of online advertising, by setting the standard for quality and trust as the leading digital performance marketing platform," said Cohn. "I'm thrilled to be joining such a forward-thinking team and look forward to working to deliver the best possible performance and technology to our advertiser and publisher partners."
Bardon Advisors' office in Los Angeles and New York will be merged with MediaTrust's existing facilities in those markets, providing a greater presence in those two key media and advertising locations.
MediaTrust offers a diverse set of services for advertisers and publishers working with performance-based online advertising campaigns. The company's proprietary pay-for-results platform supports campaigns using display advertising, paid search, social media, and e-mail, and includes a network of vetted, trusted publishers to ensure the highest quality results. Combined with the newly acquired Bardon CPC advertising solutions, the MediaTrust digital marketing platform will enable advertisers to setup, track, manage and maximize value from all models of performance-based campaigns, all via a single login.
About MediaTrust
MediaTrust makes pay-for-results online advertising easier. MediaTrust offers an innovative online technology platform, supported by best-in-class service, and access to the best direct response advertisers and affiliate publishers in the industry. MediaTrust enables its publisher and advertiser partners to easily create and deploy pay-for-performance marketing campaigns that deliver leads and sales. In 2009, the Company was ranked 9th fastest growing U.S. Company by Inc. Magazine and the number one performance marketing network on mThink's online advertising Blue Book list. Founded in 2004, MediaTrust is headquartered in New York City with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Santa Barbara.
For more information on MediaTrust's pay-for-results advertising and publishing solutions, please visit: www.mediatrust.com, or follow the company blog: blog.mediatrust.com, or call 1-877-987-8785. MediaTrust news and updates can also be found on Twitter (@MediaTrust) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mediatrust).

SpringWise Ideas Blog Of Entrepreneurial Ideas from Around the World

2010-04-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Ideas Can Come From Anywhere on SpringWise.com

I am always looking for inspiration or content that can help spark ideas for innovation. I came across SpringWise.com. A great blog to follow that crowd sources entrepreneurial ideas from around the world from 8,000 trends spotters around the world. They cover many categories of business and reading this is like getting brain food for the entrepreneurial spirit. You can also submit tip ideas for the newest idea.

What is Springwise?
Springwise scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts that are ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation. We ferociously track more than 400 global offline and online business resources, as well as taking to the streets, cameras at hand.
To ensure true ‘glocal’ coverage, the central office is in close contact with more than 8,000 Springspotters in over 70 countries worldwide. Springwise's weekly newsletter, to which you can subscribe for free, is sent to more than 100,000 business professionals in more than 120 countries.
Springwise is the first company to compile and send out a newsletter like this on a global scale, making optimal use of an ever more networked world. Established in spring of 2002, Springwise is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Who is it for?
Springwise is required brain food for entrepreneurial minds! Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, head of a start-up, management consultant, marketing manager, consumer insights expert, trend watcher, journalist, private investor, business development director, or venture capitalist, Springwise will instantly inspire you by getting the world's most promising new business ideas and young ventures right in front of you.

Highly recommend getting the RSS feed and you can also follow the SpringWise Twitter

MediaTrust Platform Capabilities Elevator Pitch

2010-04-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

The MediaTrust Platform Capabilities Elevator Pitch

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

The MediaTrust Platform Capabilities:
Our Performance Marketing Funnel Traffic Creation Lead Generation Online Sale Click Form Fill Transaction Marketing Activity Offering Cost Per Click, (CPC) Cost Per Lead (CPL) Cost Per Sale or Cost Per Action (CPS, CPA) MediaTrust connects impressions to performance so advertisers can use online direct response campaigns and pay only for leads or sales Conversion Solutions allow advertisers to monetize traffic even if they abandon the transaction Creative Services allow advertisers to build and optimize better landing pages that convert better Brand Awareness Impression Cost Per Thousand (CPM) MediaTrust Offerings Banner Ads Video Ads Text Ads email Search Ads Contextual Ads Social Media Call Center Typical Offerings

Maximize your traffic: MediaTrust Landing Page Rotator live today! | Mediatrust Blog

2010-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Maximize your traffic: MediaTrust Landing Page Rotator live today! | Mediatrust Blog

MediaTrust Launches Innovative Landing Page Rotator #Optimization Technology

Affiliate Publisher & Advertisers Increase Performance ROI Dramatically With New System

Continuing our efforts to create an industry-leading platform, MediaTrust is proud to announce the release of our automated landing page optimizer.

Through regular updates and improvements to our technology, we are committed to providing our publishers with simple and effective tools that will help them increase their earnings. Our Landing Page Rotator is an optimization tool, which is already available on a number of campaigns, with the list continuing to grow. Just check the tracking section of your favorite campaigns and look for the “Optimize Landing Pages” check box.

The Landing Page Rotator is designed to ensure the traffic you generate is reaching the landing page that converts best for your type of traffic, automatically optimizing the results. When activated, the tool performs a test on all incoming traffic in an effort to determine accurate conversion rates. As conversion rates can vary greatly for each traffic source, the tests are performed on individual traffic sources rather than on network traffic as a whole. The landing page with the highest conversion rate for each source is then served increasingly often.

Additionally, the tool continues to perform tests on a small subset of the traffic. If any traffic source changes, with a resulting change in conversion rates, the optimizer will begin serving the page that performs best under the new conditions. There is no need for any manual intervention.

The landing page report we recently released will help you monitor all of these changes. Conversion rates and commission statistics are available for each landing page, making it very easy to track the lift provided by the landing page optimizer. Simply monitor the landing page report on a regular basis, noting the conversion rates for each page and the total. Over time the total conversion rate will increase, and you will clearly notice the larger amounts of traffic going to your top page.

In the competitive world of online marketing, optimization is becoming increasingly important and MediaTrust is pleased to be at the forefront. Do not hesitate to contact your publisher manager if you have any questions.

MediaTrust Launches conversionChat Services to Reel Customers Back In

2010-02-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

MediaTrust Launches conversionChat Services to Reel Customers Back In

Automated chat feature draws exiting visitors back into the purchase cycle, improving advertiser conversion on traffic by up to 30 percent

ConversionChat offers the consumer a personalized and relevant way to engage with a brand or product and gain valuable purchase information

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 23, 2010 -- MediaTrust, a New York-based digital performance marketing company, has added conversionChat services to its performance marketing platform offerings to help online advertisers recapture exiting traffic before they leave a marketer’s site. Developed in MediaTrust Labs following the company’s recent Kenzei acquisition, conversionChat is the latest addition to MediaTrust’s suite of conversion marketing and email remarketing solutions that help advertisers and publishers maximize revenue from their traffic.

MediaTrust conversionChat re-engages users via exit chat services when they begin a form or shopping process but do not complete it. The feature draws customers back in by answering questions and/or offering incentives to complete the sales process. Testing has shown that this conversion marketing tool can potentially bring back up to ten percent of total sales or leads, improving return on investment for online advertisers by up to 20 percent when used with other MediaTrust Conversion Solutions. Services such as conversionChat have become very popular recently as marketers seek to optimize the output they attain from existing interest and traffic they generate.

“ConversionChat offers the consumer a personalized and relevant way to engage with a brand or product and gain valuable purchase information,” said Peter Bordes, co-founder and CEO of MediaTrust. “At the same time, this remarketing tool helps our partners generate additional revenue from traffic they’ve already captured, and increase their conversion rates and ROI on their media spend– it’s a win-win for everyone – especially in the lean-budget times we live in.”

ConversionChat uses custom creative to match the look and feel of the advertiser’s site or offer. Setup involves just a single line of JavaScript placed on the advertiser’s page. The feature can be used for save-a-sale, up-sell and cross-sell transactions. It is also applicable to affiliate marketing, because it can track initial sales back to publishers for credit.

“ConversionChat helps budget-minded marketers do more with less,” said Mike Stocker, vice president of strategic development with MediaTrust. “It’s an easy, cost-effective way to win more sales – it should be on every website with a lead form or commerce engine.”

ConversionChat is the first innovation to emerge from the recently announced MediaTrust Labs initiative. It is the latest addition to MediaTrust’s Conversion Solutions, which allow advertisers to attain more from their online marketing efforts by increasing the likelihood of retaining and converting a new customer. MediaTrust’s suite of remarketing products is designed to optimize a marketer’s return on traffic using intelligent software tools that retarget by reaching out to the customer after they have left the traditional conversion path.

For more information on conversionChat and MediaTrust’s robust set of remarketing tools, visit http://mediatrust.com/conversionsolutions.html.

About MediaTrust
MediaTrust makes pay-for-results online advertising easier. MediaTrust offers an innovative online technology platform, supported by best-in-class service, and access to the best direct response advertisers and affiliate publishers in the industry. MediaTrust enables its publisher and advertiser partners to easily create and deploy pay-for-performance marketing campaigns that deliver leads and sales. In 2009, the Company was ranked 9th fastest growing U.S. Company by Inc. Magazine and the number one performance marketing network on mThink’s online advertising Blue Book list. Founded in 2004, MediaTrust is headquartered in New York City with offices in Toronto and Santa Barbara.

For more information on MediaTrust's pay-for-results advertising and publishing solutions, please visit: www.mediatrust.com, or follow the company blog: blog.mediatrust.com, or call 1-877-987-8785. MediaTrust news and updates can also be found on Twitter (@MediaTrust) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mediatrust).

MediaTrust Acquires Kenzei Conversion Marketing and Email Remarketing Platform

2010-01-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

On this week’s special edition of Relevantly Speaking, MediaTrust is announcing the acquisition of conversion marketing company Kenzei. Scott Parent talked to Mike Stocker today on the floor of Affiliate Summit West.
We are committed to making MediaTrust the most comprehensive and full service performance marketing platform. The Kenzei acquisition helps us execute on this vision. We are excited about Kenzei being a part of our team and we look forward to working with their existing customers as well as new ones.

Kenzei’s solutions help advertisers increase their site conversion, improve data monetization and improve communication with consumers by retargeting website and shopping cart abandoners via a unique set of automated email and phone solutions. As of this announcement, Kenzei’s conversion marketing and email remarketing solutions will be integrated into the MediaTrust offering and marketed as MediaTrust Conversion Solutions.

"We’ve long admired Kenzei’s innovations in helping advertisers increase conversion rates after consumers have abandoned forms and shopping carts,” said Peter Bordes, CEO of MediaTrust. “Kenzei’s performance-based solutions are incredibly compatible with both MediaTrust’s technology and philosophy. This acquisition is the first of many steps we have planned in 2010 towards fulfilling our vision of becoming a full-service performance marketing platform for results-focused advertisers and publishers.”

The Kenzei offerings being added to MediaTrust’s pay-for-results solutions include:

ConversionMail, targeting consumers who have completed just part of a multi-step opt-in process or have abandoned a shopping cart;
RemarketMail, enabling marketers to up-sell and cross-sell additional relevant items from their own catalogs to existing customers; and
ConversionCall, which automatically follows up with consumers who abandoned a signup process but provided a phone number

“I could think of no greater home for the Kenzei family of products than MediaTrust, which has a much-deserved reputation as the best-performing and most trustworthy performance marketing player,” said Mike Stocker, CEO at Kenzei, who will stay on as vice president of strategic development at MediaTrust. “Working together, we will be able to provide advertisers and publishers with results second to none.”

Via a single login, MediaTrust offers a diverse set of services for advertisers and publishers working with performance-based online advertising campaigns. The company's proprietary cost-per-action platform supports campaigns using display advertising, paid search, social media, and e-mail, and includes a network of vetted, trusted publishers to ensure the highest quality results. Combined with the newly acquired Kenzei retargeting solutions, the MediaTrust digital marketing platform will enable advertisers to setup, track, manage and maximize value from performance-based campaigns.

trendwatching.com's January 2010 Trend Briefing covering "10 CRUCIAL CONSUMER TRENDS FOR 2010"

2010-01-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

trendwatching.com's January 2010 Trend Briefing covering "10 CRUCIAL CONSUMER TRENDS FOR 2010"

Opportunities aplenty in 2010 for those obsessed with satisfying consumer needs in new ways

January 2010 | First of all: It’s going to be another interesting year. Has the global recession really, officially ended? And if so, will the aftermath cause pains for years to come? Whatever the outcome, we find ourselves spotting more recession-proof opportunities than ever before. Why? Consumers, recession-stricken or not, still value innovations that are pragmatic, or exciting, or those that save them money, or entertain them.... oh well, you get the picture.Time to get busy again!

Win an Amazon Kindle Pre-Loaded with the Top 10 Marketing Books of 2009!

2010-01-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

Win an Amazon Kindle Pre-Loaded with the Top 10 Marketing Books of 2009!

Earlier today MediaTrust published our picks for the Top 10 Marketing books of 2009. We believe that reading any, or all, of these books will help you to elevate your business to the next level. That said, you can go out and buy them yourself, or you can enter our swanky little contest to win an Amazon Kindle pre-loaded with these books.
You only have to do two things to enter:
1. Make sure you are following us on Twitter.
2. Tweet out the following: Attendance at ASW + @MediaTrust list of Top 10 Marketing books of ‘09 = becoming a better marketer! Details: http://bit.ly/4qIYl1 #ASW10
Because we believe in the value of education in our industry, we want to reward those that are taking the next step to expand their knowledge of Performance Marketing by attending Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas. After you follow the instructions above to enter our contest, make sure you stop by the MediaTrust Meet Market Table #34 to drop your business card off for an extra chance to win. To be clear, you don’t have to attend ASW to enter, but it could help your chances.
We’ll be picking a winner on February 1st, so you have until then to enter. Good luck!
UPDATE: We’ve had a few inquiries, so I wanted to be clear that this contest is open to entries worldwide. So get in there and Tweet from far and wide

MediaTrust’s Top 10 Marketing Books of 2009

2010-01-08T03:15:00.000-08:00

As the media world shifted platforms over the past decade, marketers and advertisers scurried to replace their traditional methods with innovative alternatives. MediaTrust published the "Top 10 Marketing Books of 2009" which is a compilation marketing thought leaders. In 2009, a handful of books popped up to untangle the mystery of connecting with contemporary audiences and building consumer trust. Here are ten of our favorite marketing books that came out this past year:
The Whuffie Factor
Tara Hunt
Marketing consultant Tara Hunt explores the concept of building online Whuffie (social capital) both for brands and individuals. Hunt focuses on word of mouth engagement, a strategy she calls Pinko Marketing. A breezy, entertaining read – a solid Freshmen effort from a young, creative Canadian.

Free
Chris Anderson
After introducing the concept of the Long Tail back in 2004, Chris Anderson returns, this time examining a different byproduct of online abundance – the rise of pricing models which give products and services away for free. How can this exist in a capitalist system? Free answers that question.

Crush It
Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine connoisseur Gary Vaynerchuk candidly exposes his recipe for web success in this quick, upbeat read. By customizing his career to match his own DNA, Vaynerchuk has built a multi-million dollar business, and successfully branded himself as the internet’s most passionate wino.

What the Dog Saw
Malcolm Gladwell
After fourteen years of staff writing for the New Yorker, author/sociologist Malcolm Gladwell has explored the most fascinating reaches of modern society. What The Dog Saw is a collection of his most memorable articles — adventures that not only thrill, but also engage the mind.

Super Freakonomics
Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner
The two rogue economists behind the 2005 best seller Freakonomics continue their offbeat investigation of incentive-based decision making. Their subjects of study? Prostitutes, suicide bombers, drunk drivers and more. Who knew Economics could be so gritty?

Inbound Marketing
Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah
Hubspot founder Brian Halligan provides a How To guide for getting noticed on the web without spending a dime. This book gives a comprehensive overview of SEO, social media marketing, and everything else you need to expand your web presence at no cost.

Baked In
Alex Bogusky, John Winsor
Two of the advertising world’s leading creative directors team up to tear down the wall between production and marketing. According to their theory, future products must be designed with innovative marketing elements baked in, in order to survive the shifting media climate.

The Backchannel
Cliff Atkinson
Ever notice how audience members use their laptops or smart phones during live events to create their own conversation through social media? Atkinson describes methods for presenters to effectively harness this chatter, and use it to create more interactive presentations.

Trust Agents
Chris Brogan, Julien Smith
Two of social media’s biggest names join forces to demonstrate the impact, both positive and negative, that digital influencers can have on brands. This book, a mix of case studies, theories and tutorials, will help individuals build their digital integrity, and brands build their social value.

Why She Buys
Bridget Brennan
Women are responsible for 80% of all purchases in the US, but 90% of the marketing execs trying to reach them are men. Why She Buys delivers luminous insight into female purchasing patterns, while giving advice on respectfully marketing to today’s sophisticated woman.

Bonus – Marketing Book of the Decade:
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
How does a fad become a phenomenon? In this marketing masterpiece, Malcolm Gladwell studies business sensations that emerged from humble origins, and dissects the fundamentals of their success. While the 2002 publication date may seem ancient, The Tipping Point is more relevant now than ever.

Relevantly Speaking Interview with Jim Banks on UK Affiliate Markets

2009-12-17T06:48:00.001-08:00

This week on Relevantly Speaking Scott Parent talked to Jim Banks of Unanimis about the current state of international affiliate marketing. Jim gives a great interview and point of view on what is happening overseas and the difference between the US and UK markets.

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Search Engine Strategies Chicago Conference panel “The Oprah Winfrey Litigation: What Affiliate Marketers MUST Know“

2009-12-11T14:07:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
I am thrilled to be joining the Search Engine Strategies Chicago Conference panel “The Oprah Winfrey Litigation: What Affiliate Marketers MUST Know“ Wednesday, December 9th from 2:30pm-3:45pm at the Chicago Hilton. The panel is led by a fellow affiliate marketing executive and thought leader Kris Jones. Kris is the President of the PepperJam Affiliate Network – which was just acquired by GSI Commerce. The panel promises to touch on a very hot and controversial topic, and certainly one that is on the forefont of many of our MediaTrust initiatives – like the launch of our compliance center and anti-fraud technology.

Notice that the panel description does slant towards the favor of the merchant and places most of the responsibility on the affiliate’s shoulders. This is a position that I will be countering as we have seen merchants equally participating in using the same tactics on thier landing pages. Affiliate networks are also responsible in making sure both the affiliate publisher and advertiser are compliant. We have experienced affiliates asking how they can make sure the merchant on the other side is compliant as well as the advertisers. Our position is that we are all in this together and need to collaborate to proactively get ahead of these issues and help set the regulation frame work . Rather than waiting in the grey area for regulation to to be dictated to our industry from regulators who dont understand online marketing and disrupt our industry.

I am very pleased to see a well-rounded panel and good affiliate industry representation at the SES show. I hope to get a chance to connect with everyone at the show. Here is more info on the panel:

The Oprah Winfrey Litigation: What Affiliate Marketers MUST Know
In August, Oprah Winfrey’s production company brought a lawsuit against over fifty Internet marketers and their affiliates alleging numerous intellectual property rights violations against the marketers and the affiliates. Because many of the merchants used affiliate networks, these merchants were being sued regarding actions by affiliates that the merchants did not know or pay. Because many of the affiliates disappeared the moment that they were sued and because many merchant/network contracts preclude indemnification, the merchants may be liable for significant damages.

Using the context of the Oprah case, the panelists on this session will discuss whether the merchant/affiliate network model needs to be changed and how the risk can be mitigated. While the industry is unlikely to ever be risk-free, it is possible to manage risk by:

* Understanding how techniques like behavioral and contextual targeting affect consumers, affiliates and merchants
* Understanding the legal and regulatory environment
* Understating risks involved with prospective marketing partners
* Using and maintaining proper contracts that allocate risk and provide appropriate indemnifications, and
* Keeping informed about the changes in technology, marketing practices and the regulatory environment.

Attendees will learn how to identify these issues and develop policies and procedures to keep informed about the current technology, marketing strategies and regulatory compliance. The ultimate goal of this knowledge is to help insulate merchants from liability and protect their brands and reputation.

Moderator:

Kristopher Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam

Speakers:
Mark Rosenberg, Of Counsel, Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.
David Adler, Partner, Adler Law Group
Grant Crowell, Senior Media Analyst, ReelSEO.com
Peter Bordes, Founder CEO and Chairman of the Board, MediaTrust

Search Engine Strategies Chicago Conference panel “The Oprah Winfrey Litigation: What Affiliate Marketers MUST Know“

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

Relevantly Speaking Podcast

2009-12-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

This week we’re taking a break from the business of online marketing on Relevantly Speaking. Instead we’re getting into the Holiday spirit and thinking about charitable causes. How can we make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate as a community? As Individuals? MediaTrust’s own Christopher Smith talks about his work with WhatGives!? and how everyday ordinary people can do something good, tell someone about it and do it again.
As one final programming note, we want to let you know that the next installment of our EDU Webinar series goes live this Monday, December 14th. It features MediaTrust Head of Sales, Jivan Manhas talking about the importance of international affiliate marketing.

MediaTrust Honored with Top Industry Ranking in mThink’s Blue Book

2009-12-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

MediaTrust Honored with Top Industry Ranking in mThink’s Blue Book

Performance Marketing Platform Selected as Number One of Twenty on mThink’s Performance Marketing Networks and Performance Marketing Platform Selected as Number One of Twenty on mThink’s Performance Marketing Networks and Exchanges List

MediaTrust, the digital performance marketing company, has been appointed the top spot on mThink’s Online Advertising Blue Book Top Twenty Performance Marketing Networks and Exchanges List. mThink’s Top 20 list is compiled based on expert views, traffic data, measures of industry influence and other editorial factors. The appointment is a testament to MediaTrust’s leadership and innovation in the performance marketing space.

"mThink has its finger on the pulse of the performance marketing industry, and we are honored that the company has recognized MediaTrust in this way,” said Peter Bordes, CEO of Media Trust. “mThink’s accreditation of MediaTrust validates our two-pronged approach of creating a best-in-class performance marketing platform and raising awareness of the efficacy of performance marketing amongst the broader advertising community.”

Via a single login, MediaTrust offers a diverse set of services for advertisers and publishers working with performance-based online advertising campaigns. The company's proprietary cost-per-action platform supports campaigns using display advertising, paid search, social media, and e-mail, and includes a network of vetted, trusted publishers to ensure the highest quality results. In 2009, MediaTrust was ranked the 9th fastest growing U.S. company by Inc. Magazine.

About MediaTrust
MediaTrust makes pay-for-results online advertising easier. MediaTrust offers an innovative online technology platform, supported by best-in-class service, and access to the best direct response advertisers and affiliate publishers in the industry. MediaTrust enables its publisher and advertiser partners to easily create and deploy pay-for-performance marketing campaigns that deliver leads and sales. In 2009, the Company was ranked 9th fastest growing U.S. company by Inc. Magazine. Founded in 2004, MediaTrust is headquartered in New York City with offices in Toronto and Santa Barbara.
For more information on MediaTrust's pay-for-results advertising and publishing solutions, please visit: http://www.mediatrust.com, or follow the company blog: blog.mediatrust.com, or call 1-877-987-8785. MediaTrust news and updates can also be found on Twitter (@MediaTrust) and Facebook.

Relevantly Speaking – Interview with Burst Media CEO Jarvis Coffin

2009-12-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Relevantly Speaking – December 2, 2009 | Mediatrust Blog

Over the Thanksgiving break, CT Moore of Revenews sighted Relevantly Speaking in his article titled “5 Online Video Ideas for Businesses.” He praised us for our “high production” value, but took us to task on what he called a violation of blogging etiquette. We’ve got some stuff to say about that.

We’re also talking to Burst Media CEO, Jarvis Coffin, about why online advertising should be viewed with the same lens as traditional media. Jarvis talks a lot about creativity, accountability and brand safety in the online advertising world.

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How Would You Fix Tiger's Image?

2009-12-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

"How Would You Fix Tiger's Image? Inc Magazine asks !

Entrepreneurs in public relations weigh in on how they would repair the billionaire golfer's scandal-plagued image."

At the end of the day yesterday i was asked by Inc Magazine to give a quote on how i would advise Tiger Woods on the PR front. I had no idea why they would be asking me. So i shot off the response, and low and behold when i got home from the office Tiger was all over the media . Good food for thought regarding how social media has changes our world drastically, and certainly drastically changed the may PR handled Tigers response.

The Inc article was beyond timely and i certainly understand the relevance and insights they pulled from other CEO's in relation to last nights media blitz. Good food for thought here in the article.

Facebook's virtual currency conundrum | Blog | Econsultancy

2009-11-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

Social networking giant Facebook is reportedly going to pull in approximately half a billion dollars this year in advertising revenue. It's a significant amount, but hundreds of millions of dollars more are being made on Facebook through virtual currency transactions that Facebook has no part of.
Facebook, of course, has its own official virtual currency, Credits, but most Facebook app developers can't integrate them with their apps, and are not required to use them.
In short, Facebook created a thriving developer ecosystem with its open platform, but the 'open' nature of it has potentially cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue. Ironically, apps developers like Zynga, which have developed own virtual currency, are some of Facebook's most lucrative advertisers. They make lots of money from their Facebook apps, and Facebook gets some of that back in the form of ad buys.
But if Facebook is going to get where it needs to go, that's not enough. Rumors are now circulating that Facebook may be planning to inject itself into the virtual currency trade that takes place on its service by mandate.
According to Insider Facebook, Facebook is talking to large developers about virtual currency, and mandatory use of Facebook's Credits system is on the table. Ostensibly, Facebook would be looking to take a relatively substantial cut of the revenue. Perhaps even "an Apple-like range around 30%" as Inside Facebook speculates.
From a business standpoint, this is a no-brainer. Facebook could probably generate more than $1bn in revenue in 2010 if it muscles in on the virtual currency business. And there are good reasons why developers would be interested in Facebook playing a stronger role. After all, by making Credits universal, there'd be a single virtual currency that all Facebook users can put to use on any app that features virtual currency. That, of course, makes the virtual currency more valuable to end users.
Unfortunately, there are a number of challenges that may make Facebook's life difficult. A mandatory Credits regime would:

Change the very nature of the Facebook platform. By mandating that Credits be a virtual currency option in all apps that employ virtual currency, Facebook would be going back on what it told developers when it launched the platform: "You are free to monetize your canvas pages through advertising or other transactions that you control". Even if developers are free to use third party virtual currency platforms alongside Credits, the requirement that Credits be used too is not "control".
Change Facebook's relationship with developers. Right now, developing an app for Facebook doesn't create a formal relationship with Facebook. Yet if Facebook mandates that all (or some) developers support Credits, it will essentially turn Facebook into a development 'partner' of sorts, which could raise some interesting issues. For instance, will developers have creative control over the implementation of Credits, or would Facebook require that integration be done in a certain way? If so, it's worth considering that Facebook's requirements may be at odds with the creative desires of the developer.
Create new responsibilities and burdens for Facebook. Right now, Facebook does have a variety of rules that developers must abide by. And it does occasionally enforce them. But even so, the recent scam offers controversy has led to a lawsuit in which Facebook is named as a defendant, even though it really wasn't involved. So imagine the potential liabilities Facebook could incur when it is directly involved with the majority of the virtual currency transactions that take place in third party apps. What if a rogue developer creates an app that scams users out of Credits, for instance? Facebook will certainly have to police against these sorts of things, but that will be tough and costly.

If Facebook does make Credits mandatory, all of the above lead me to believe that the company would likely have to move towards an App Store model for apps taking advantage of virtual currency. That's a big shift, and I can't think of any development platform that has ever made the type of transition we're talking about here: very large and almost completely open to very large and very controlled. How developers react is a big question mark. I certainly wouldn't be pleased if I had a bunch of apps making good money and was suddenly forced to invest in integrating Facebook's virtual currency system and therafter having to give up a double-digit percentage of the earnings from it.
Frankly, I think Facebook probably underestimated how successful its development platform would be. In an effort to lure developers, who in turn would build apps that would lure more users, Facebook seems to have overlooked the possibility that those apps themselves would become so lucrative. It was merely trying to get more users which it would figure out how to monetize those users later.
And so it figured it would throw developers a bone: let them figure out how to monetize their own apps. Ironically, it was the developers who created the more lucrative business model and Facebook has left hundreds of millions of dollars on the table with its "you build it, you monetize it, you keep the money" approach. Now it wants to get those dollars back. It will definitely need a lot of good luck.

Ad Management Plug-Ins And Tutorials For Your Website

2009-11-28T04:25:00.000-08:00

The world of digital media and advertising is moving and fragmenting at a blister rate. There are so many different ways to publish and even more ways to look at monetizing your blog and web site. There are almost to many choices out there in the noise of ad solutions, ad network & affiliate networks. Publisher also need to keep in mind that time is money, and a important aspect of any ad solution is ease of use so you can focus on quality content, users experience and the myriad of social distribution mechanisms for increase your community, traffic and reach. Smash Magazine has created a good list of plug-ins that can simplify your ability to not only manage ads on you site. But what type and how they show up on the site based on your content and users. Remember that not all ads are created equal.

"There are plug-ins for virtually every CMS and blogging platform out there that allow you to rotate banner ads or insert blocks of ad code.
This post is a collection of ad management plug-ins for WordPress, Movable Type, Drupal and Joomla! to get your started. At the end are a few tutorials for creating your own banner ad rotation scripts in PHP and ASP (so that even if a plug-in is not available for your CMS of choice, you’ll likely be able to build your own)."

1. Plug-Ins For WordPress

Who Sees Ads?
Control which visitors see ads on your website, based on where they came from, whether they’re logged in, how old the post is and more.

AdRotate
A simple tool that lets you manage banner ads (even for multiple sizes and different placement) on your website.

Ads For Old Posts
This plug-in automatically inserts an ad block in your posts once they’re past a certain age.
OIO Publisher
An ad manager that focuses on maximising your revenue, saving you time, and keeping you in complete control of your ad space. The php-script can be used to sell and serve ads and it is also available as a ready-to-be-used Wordpress plugin.
OpenX Manager
Lets you integrate the open-source ad server OpenX, along with the ability to import data from an existing OpenX server.

WP125
Manage 125×125 pixel ads without having to edit your template or keep track of when advertisements need to be removed.
Advertising Manager
A plug-in to manage Google AdSense or other ad network ads.
Twitter Brand Sponsors
Allows up to 10 different brands to syndicate their most recent tweets on your blog’s sidebar.

All in One AdSense and YPN
A plug-in to integrate AdSense and Yahoo! Publisher Network ads into your blog.
WordPress Classifieds Plug-In
Another plug-in to create a classifieds section on your blog.
OmniAds – WordPress Ads Plug-In
An ad plug-in that allows you to post HTML or PHP units within your code.

Post Layout WordPress Plug-In
A plug-in to let you control where your AdSense ads appear within a post.
Feed Layout
Add advertisements or other items into your RSS feed.
Smart Ads WordPress Plug-In
A plug-in to automatically insert ads at the beginning and/or end of each post, depending on the post’s length, age or category or the blog member’s status.
Another WordPress Classifieds Plug-In
An easy-to-use plug-in for creating a classifieds ad page on your blog.

AdSense Revenue Sharing
A great plug-in if you want to share your AdSense revenue with multiple authors on a single blog.

WP-banner
A plug-in that allows you to put banner ads in a widget or a DIV anywhere on your website.
Random/Rotating Ads
Show any kind of ad on your website, either in widgets or in your template.
Clickbank Hop Ad Plug-In for WordPress
Lets you add Clickbank ads to your website through a configurable widget.

2. Plug-Ins For Joomla!

Featured Entries and Ads
This plug-in lets visitors to your website purchase a featured entry or ad, and it completely automates the process, with PayPal payment included.

MultiAds
Lets you insert any type of ad in your website’s articles.
Adsense and YPN Inserter
A plug-in to insert your Google AdSense or Yahoo! Publisher Networks ads into your website automatically, with full control over position and display.
YOS Ads with pop-in and inject features
Lets you insert ads on your website via either a pop-in (separate window) or inject page (between two other pages).
Hide GoogleAds in PDF
If you let users create PDFs of your website content, this plug-in will hide AdSense ads in those PDFs.
Text Link Ads Module
An easy-to-use plug-in that handles all the technical aspects of managing Text Link Ads.

Hide Google Ads in RSS Feed
This plug-in prevents AdSense ads from showing up in your website’s RSS feeds.
Chitika eMiniMalls Mambot 1.0
Automatic integration of Chitika eMiniMalls in your website, including automatic placement of ads, selection of a default ad channel and color adjustment of ads.
Phoca – Google AdSense Easy
A very quick and easy plug-in for adding AdSense ads to your website by just copying and pasting in your AdSense code.

Page Peel Banner
A plug-in that manages page peel banner ads for your website, including impression and click statistics. It supports JPG and Flash ads.
AdSense Deluxe Module
AdSense management plug-in that includes a complete set of ad formats.
AdSense Easy Insert
Allows insertion of two AdSense ads around your content (one before and one after).

3. Plug-Ins For Drupal

Advertisement Module
A module for displaying ads (graphical or text) in a random order anywhere on your website. Ads can be automatically or manually inserted into your website.

ad_flash
An add-on that allows Flash advertisements to be displayed with the Drupal ad module.
Affiliate
Allows you to set up your own affiliate network and issue affiliate links to partners.
Classified Ads
A module that allows you to create a text-based classified ads section on your website.
Click-Thru Tracking
Allows website owners and admins to track click-through rates on their websites, for ads or any other links.
Pay2Publish
Allow visitors to your website to publish free listings (content) on your website and then upgrade to paid versions at any time.

Rotor Banner
A plug-in for creating blocks of rotating content on your website, where you can place banner ads or anything else you want.
Slidebox
Create ad boxes of any size that float into your page from above.
Simple Ad Block
A very simple ad management plug-in that places an ad block onto your website in which you can paste code from AdSense or any other ad network.

4. Plug-Ins For Movable Type

Page Layout Plug-In
Allows you to create and use page layout templates, which facilitate the hiding and showing of ads and other content on certain pages.

Google AdSense Widget
This widget allows you to view your Google AdSense daily earnings in your Movable Type dashboard.

5. Ad Management Tutorials And Articles

Which Ad Manager Plug-In Makes Managing Ads Easiest?
This article provides a great comparison of ad management plug-ins for WordPress, listing the pros and cons of each.
Blogtalks.net
A collection of articles about managing ads on your blog, including “How to track clicks” and “Tips for using OpenAds with WordPress.”
How to Integrate Advertising into Your Blog
A great overview of things to consider when integrating advertising in your blog, as well as some practical how-to information.
How to Set Up Google Ad Manager on Your Blog/Website
Comprehensive overview and set-up instructions for using Google Ad Manager on your website or blog.

Banner Rotator
Another PHP tutorial on showing rotating banner ads on your website. This one stores information about the ads and the views that each ad gets in a MySQL database.
Rotating Banner Ads Using a Database
An ASP tutorial on creating a database-driven banner-ad rotation script.
Dynamic Banner Administration
A comprehensive ASP tutorial on putting rotating banner ads on your website.

Display Ad Optimization's Teracent Bought By Google

2009-11-26T05:10:00.000-08:00

Yet another out of Google in the 4th quarter adding another expansion building block to the Google ecosystem. Google has bought Teracent for an undisclosed amount. Teracent has developed a platform for dynamic ad optimization and enables dynamic offer management for direct response and brand marketers who want to turn online display advertising into performance media. The startup is led by Vikas Jha was previously was VP of Engineering at Inktomi for 7 years.

Teracent has raised $5.8M to date much of it from New Enterprise Associates. Teracent competes with Tumri, which seems to be doing better in terms of revenue and has a deal with Yahoo to optimize display ads there.
Another smart move by Google. Display ad optimization is a nascent market but has proven to be effective.This further confirms the emergence and growth of dynamic smart ad technology that turns display inventory into interactive units.
View - site

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the @MediaTrust community & #affiliatemarketing

2009-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hello MediaTrust Community!
Its that time of year where we give thanks here in the US, so it's a great opportunity to let you all know how thankful we are for helping us get to where we are today.
This year, your partnership helped us become the 9th fastest growing Company in the US, according to Inc Magazine, and you helped us earn the #1 spot on the mthink Bluebook Top 20 Performance marketing networks. You also helped us articulate a new direction of the performance marketing landscape by participating in our community blog and podcasts. Thousands of you are followers of our twitter and facebook profiles, and your feedback, input and comments have helped shape our platform and industry into an innovative and robust community of driven and resourceful individuals.
As a way of thanking you, we have been working diligently to bring you new features to make performance marketing with MediaTrust easier and more efficient. Here are a few things we have been working on:

We're refactoring our entire code base to make the platform faster and more efficient
We've added hybrid tracking (cookie-based and cookie-less) to ensure conversions are correctly attributed to the referring publisher
We've enhanced our fraud detection tools to minimize fraudulent activity, enabling us to maintain the highest payouts from our advertisers
We've added a compliance center to our website (http://mediatrust.com/compliance.html) to aggregate key information for our advertisers and publishers

As always, our goal is to provide you with a rich community and the most innovative tools to make your performance marketing activities even more 'bountiful'. Feel free to contact us with comments, suggestions and ideas so we can make next year even better.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Peter Bordes and the MediaTrust Team

Quick Links
Not yet a MediaTrust Publisher?
Join MediaTrust Today!

Relevance Remains a Challenge for E-Mail Marketers - eMarketer

2009-11-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

Relevance Remains a Challenge for E-Mail Marketers - eMarketer

Relevance Remains a Challenge for E-Mail Marketers

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Batch-and-blast has consequences

It might seem obvious that marketers must send relevant messages if they want to be noticed and appreciated by consumers. But the CMO Council and InfoPrint Solutions Company’s “Why Relevance Drives Response and Relationships” report indicates that they have a problem being faithful to audience preferences.

US Internet users deluged with mass e-mails have little time for irrelevant promotions and newsletters, and they have enough experience to know how to unsubscribe. More than nine in 10 respondents to the CMO Council survey had unsubscribed from an e-mail newsletter at some point. Relevance—or lack thereof—was the No. 1 reason.

Web users also complained of receiving too many to manage and getting tired of all the clutter. In many cases that clutter can have consequences for marketers: 22% of respondents have decided not to purchase from a company because of irrelevant promotions, either via e-mail or direct mail. A further 41% said they would consider doing the same.

Promotional e-mails were the most common thing for respondents to find in their inbox, with 60% saying they received such e-mails most. E-newsletters were the next-most-common type of messages.

But it was the least common messages that were most likely to be opened—monthly bills and bank statements. Only about four in 10 recipients said they “always” opened promotional offers or newsletters.

“Irrelevant, impersonal communications, be it email or traditional mail, is a waste as it does not engage a receptive recipient,” said Liz Miller, vice president, programs and operations, CMO Council, in a statement. “It is no surprise that consumers are opting out of irrelevant emails. However, what is a grave sign for marketers to heed is that customers will disconnect and stop doing business with brands who continue to send messages that demonstrate a lack of intimacy, customer insight and individual understanding.”

Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketer Total Access subscription, today.

Check out today’s other article, “Digital Convergence for US Households.”

Affiliate Fraud Roundtable Discussion :: Affiliate Marketing Indsider

2009-11-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

LISTEN TO BROADCAST HERE
The latest edition of the Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast tackles "affiliate marketing fraud" one of the biggest challenges our industry faces. Affiliate fraud is an increasingly problematic issue that is causing our industry to have to come together in a new way to create technology. Set standards and guidelines.

Joining Wade are three people who are now working to lead our industry’s attempt to self-regulate affiliate fraud: Rebecca Madigan, Executive Director of the Performance Marketing Alliance, Jivan Manhas, Head of Sales for MediaTrust and Mark Roth, co-founder of Offer Vault

Tracking202 Acquired by Bloosky Advertising Network

2009-11-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

The Tracking202 team leaders Wes Mahler & Steve Truong announce on their blog that they have been acquired by Bloosky Internet in an all cash deal. The deal has been covered by TechCrunch since 202 has been on Michael Arringtons radar when he posted about the Facebook click fraud issue that was reported on this year. Congratulations to Wes & Steve who are passionate affiliate marketing indusrty veterans and technologists who have done an outstanding job creating much needed innovation in our segment of the online marketing industry.

Here is the email that went our from the 202 founders ::

From: noreply.newsletter@tracking202.com
Date: Sat, Nov 21, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Subject: Tracking202 Has Been Acquired!
To:
We have some BIG news to announce today. As of a little over a week ago, Tracking202 has been acquired by Bloosky, another company within our space. We wanted to give you details about everything that has been going on that has lead up to this point as we’ve always been 100% transparent with our users and would want to remain so. We felt this acquisition was beneficial for everyone and there are a lot of things we wanted to disclose in this blog post to clarify why this deal makes a lot of sense for all of our users.
Tracking202 was founded a little over 2 years ago and have grown tremendously in the short time span we’ve been around. Many may not realize this but we’re still very much a bootstrapped startup operating out of our house! Literally we have desks in the living room, bedrooms, kitchen, etc… Its not what you would have probably have imagined for the growth we’ve seen and support shown from all of our users around the world. We appreciate everything and all the love you’ve given us. But as you may have realized, we were perhaps growing too fast.
As some of you may have noticed in recent months, its been getting harder and harder to answer support around the clock the way we use to in the early days. The number of users grow larger every day and unfortunately we didn’t have enough resources, staff, or funding to keep on doing support and everything else without infringing on time spent innovating on the technology everyone has grown to love. Above all else, we only have two full time programmers on board, one of them being Wes himself who’s pretty much coded 98% of everything we have today!
Having said that, we were limited on growth in several areas and with the launch of our new network, had a hard time keeping up with the sheer volume of affiliates that were getting on board with our software and network. Lately, its felt like we were in a catch-22 situation, working hard just to maintain things, even when we gave our best efforts its been difficult to continue to grow the company and help the community the way we have wanted to.
Several months back, we had the privledge of meeting with the founders of Bloosky. At the time, we were thinking of strategic ways the two companies could work together to help each other out. Wes and I were also debating about bringing outside funding to continue growing the company. Although we were affiliates early on and for the most part, have self funded Tracking202 with all the campaigns we’ve built in our early days, it got to a point very early on where we no longer had time to run any campaigns and went full steam into Tracking202. With that, the company grew based on what it was able to bring in itself for revenue in terms of software subscriptions, advertising, and of course now network revenues. However its difficult to scale when you have limited resources, time, staff, and funding to continue to grow.
After debating long and hard about bringing on venture capital (VC) to grow the company who probably wouldn’t understand our business, we decided we didn’t like that option. We felt it was in Tracking202’s best interest as well as the interest of our users and the community we created to keep VCs out of this. What started as just a discussion on a simple business partnership ended up becoming talks of a potential buyout. This made a lot of sense to us because Bloosky was already involved in the space and more than just funding, they had extensive knowledge and ideals that complemented Tracking202 VERY WELL. After long talks, the deal made a lot of sense.
Before I dive into why I think this partnership is great, I wanted to give you guys a background on what Bloosky does for those unfamiliar with the name. Many companies in the space know who they are but they don’t have such a strong presence among the affiliate community. The reason for this is because most affiliates don’t deal with Bloosky directly or run Bloosky’s offers. Over the last couple years they have focused on working with other types of publishers, emailers. The other thing they are known for is their advertising relationships and focus on providing advertiser services. They have call centers, creative services and a strong ad sales team. They pull in an average of 60-100 new offers per week!
Tracking202 on the other hand as many of you know, is a publisher focused company with a strong affiliate base and technology that control several traffic sources such as search, social, contextual, media buys, etc… basically other than email. Like two halves of the same coin, the combination of the two companies made perfect sense. So what does this mean to our users?
Wes and I are staying on board to continue our vision of what we believe Tracking202 should have been since day 1. This deal gives us an equity stake in Bloosky and allows us to gain valuable resources necessary to continue doing what we do best. Above all else, Bloosky shares the same passion, values, and vision we have, which is one of the key reasons we were excited to do this. We would never compromise our values or visions for anyone, hence why we didn’t want to go the VC route when we could of. With this deal moving forward, this allows us to put more emphasis on support where it is needed. We now have more resources and funding to accelerate on the growth of the technology side building faster and bringing more tools, and to help the community as a whole to help our affiliates better. We saw several positives in this and Bloosky have been very supportive of everything we’ve done and wants to see our goals achieved. We hope with this, you’re able to get a glimpse of things to come and see why this is so beneficial on so many levels. We hope to make Tracking202 an even greater company in the near future. Thanks for everything to every one of you guys out there! We couldn’t have done it without the support and love you guys have shown us. The ride had been wild and it’ll only get wilder from here on out =]

Affiliate Benchmarks 2009 Affiliate Marketing Research Released

2009-11-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

AffiliateBenchmarks' Second Annual Survey Reveals Challenges Associated with Significant Growth in Industry

Affiliate Benchmarks the research division of NetExponent just released its 2009 Affiliate Research Study. It is the most comprehensive report of its kind, with participation from 3,500 affiliates. It surveyed publishers on topics ranging from creative and promotional preferences, to business model segmentation.

The results affirm that affiliate marketing has exploded over the past 2 years. And you might be surprised to learn that there is a much higher number of full time publishers than previously thought.

The study uncovered several proven practices in which high income veteran publishers are engaged, and which appear to separate them from low income novices.

Advertisers, OPMs and networks might be surprised to learn how often and in what ways publishers want to be reached.

AffiliateBenchmarks uncovers the needs, challenges and opportunities in today's rapidly growing affiliate landscape

“The affiliate industry is growing and evolving rapidly, and it is essential for new affiliates joining the game to quickly come up to speed on the latest trends and strategies if they want to compete in this lively marketplace.”

First Third-Party Facebook Ad Manager Launches Using Facebook Ads API

2009-11-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

First Third-Party Facebook Ad Manager Launches Using Facebook Ads API

Posted by Nick O'Neill on November 16th, 2009 11:26 AM

Share3 2 Comments »

Back in July we first wrote about the impending launch of the Facebook Ads API and today marks the launch of the first ad manager built on top of the Facebook Ads API. Alchemy, which has received just under $500,000 worth of initial funding from the TechLightnment team, is a proprietary tool for planning and buying social advertising. The initial campaigns have seen anywhere from 500 to 1,000 percent increases in click-through-rates according to the company.

TechLightenment is not exactly new to the social marketing scene. The company launched soon after the Facebook platform launched, developing custom applications for brands including the Bob Dylan application which garnered a lot of attention. The new Alchemy tool enables advertisers to create hundreds of ads for individual campaigns to run tests to determine the effectiveness of various images and copy combinations.

While I’d expect other companies to launch their own Facebook ad managers, this is the first one we’ve heard about. The company has told us that they are looking to accomplish performance at scale, which means running hundreds of ads to dramatically increase campaign performance. Want to get started with Alchemy? You’ll need an initial media spend of at least $16,000 to start working with TechLightenment.

I’d assume that we’ll see similar requirements as other third-party ad managers launch over the coming months. Scaling Facebook ad campaigns require a lot of testing and a significant budget, however investing in larger campaigns can produce better results. We’ve heard that many large affiliates are investing tens of thousands of dollars a day on Facebook Ads, making it necessary to have more robust ad manager tools.

Alchemy has already been used by companies like Samsung, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nissan. While I’m sure a number of other agencies will begin offering similar services, this is the most robust implementation of the Facebook Ads API that we’ve heard about to date. If you are looking for a robust Facebook Ads manager service, you can check out the Alchemy website for more information.

Bluebook Top 20 | bluebook.mthink.com

2009-11-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Bluebook Top 20 | bluebook.mthink.com:

Bluebook Top 20

Bluebook's Top 20 Performance Marketing Networks and Exchanges
The Top 20 list is the result of aggregating expert views, traffic data, measures of industry influence and many other pieces of information we researched. The resulting top 20 selection has generated a lot of conversations and even disagreements in our office but represents our view of the best networks and exchanges around.

1	MediaTrust	Recently named the 9th fastest growing private companyin the USA by Inc. magazine -several other networks here appear on the Inc. 500 -Peter Bordes´ MediaTrust seems to be able to do no wrong. It has a great reputation, he leads admirably and their advertisers and publishers stick around. What´s not to like?
2	ShareASale	Brian Littleton isalegend inthe affiliatemarketing community and his network reflects his reputation with 2,500 merchants and multiple industryawards.
3	oneNetworkDirect	Digital River´s oneNetworkDirect is the leader in software sales with the industry´s best networktechnologyand offices worldwide.
4	Hydra Network	On the Inc. 500 list three years running, Hydra is one of the biggest CPA networks and is wellregarded byeverybody we know. Atop network.
5	Epic Advertising	Epic has grown remarkably and now claims 45,000+ publishers, 1,400 advertisers withcomingtraffic from over 200countries.
6	CPXInteractive	Recently ranked #154on Inc. magazine´s list ofthe fastest growing companies in the USA. Claims 30 billion impressions per month across 60+ countries.
7	IntegraClick/ ClickBooth	Ranked #5 on the Inc. 500 list. ClickBooth has proven itself to publishers and advertisers over the last couple of years and is now regarded as one of the industryleaders. Focuses on exclusiveoffers.
8	Commission Junction	The biggest affiliatenetworkin the USA. PartofValueClick. One ofthe Big Three. Presents the CJYou Awards everyyear.
9	NeverBlue	ACanadian networkthat is strong in lead-gen worldwide. Popular with high-performing affiliates.
10	LeadPile	LeadPile is a lead exchange rather than a network. Itfinds its place in this list because ofits size, growth and the simplicity it offers both buyers and sellers ofleads.
11	buy.at	The affiliate marketing arm ofAOL´s Advertising.com unit. Global reach.
12	LinkShare	LinkShare´s ownership by the Japanese companyRakuten shows itself in their dedicated networks for the UK, Canda and Japan, and their strong foreign language and currencycapabilities.
13	Pepperjam	Kris Jones has built Pepperjam into an online marketing powerhouse offering a wide range ofinteractive agencyservices.
14	zanox	Europe´s biggest affiliate network. Part ofthe Axel Springer news/magazine media group in Germany.
15	COPEAC	Ranked #320 on the Inc. 500 list. Part ofIntermarkMedia. Strong in lead-gen. Fast growing with 30,000 affiliates claimed.
16	Google Affiliate Network	Known as Doubleclick Performics prior to Google´s acquisition in 2007, the Google Affiliate Network is Google´s affiliate network. What else is there to say?
17	MarketLeverage	ACPAnetworkpopular with affiliates, Market Leverage has built itself a good reputation for result. Produces MLTV, aTVshow for affiliatemarketers.
18	ClickBank	This venerable affiliate network that specializes in digital, downloadableproducts is now10 years old and stillgoing strong.Everypublisher should have a ClickBank account.
19	Max Bounty	A smaller network that gets a lot of play with bigger affiliates and offers advertisers acost-effectiveCPAsolution.
20	Media Whiz	30,000 publishers, 3,000 advertisers, and a claimed $100 million in publisher payments in 2007. Media Whiz is strong in email and lead-gen.

Offerpal releases policies for virtual goods offers - Blogs & Content - BizReport

2009-11-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

Offerpal releases policies for virtual goods offers

When it comes to online advertising new avenues are constantly popping up. One of the newest avenues is the virtual goods/currency avenue, by which consumers accrue points or currency and then send the points send virtual - or sometimes real goods - to friends and family. The proliferation of these opportunities comes with a few concerns, as well, that unsavory marketers will entice consumers into something they don't really want.

by Kristina Knight

Enter a new set of advertising policies from Offerpal Media, a leading virtual currency monetization platform, which will help to ensure these virtual offers are legitimate for the consumer.

"The direct marketing industry, in all channels, is plagued by unscrupulous marketers, but the rapid growth and popularity of virtual currency offers has spotlighted the problem in social media," said George Garrick, CEO of Offerpal Media. "As the leader in the space, Offerpal is in the fortunate position of having more resources than any of our competitors, and we are investing these resources to build out technologies and compliance systems to help take the industry to the highest possible standard of quality and integrity."

Offerpal's oversight solution will watch for 'deviations in advertiser landing pages', add more customer service agents to respond to potential problems and review all offers to ensure the offers are legitimate and above-board.

According to recent research from virtual goods platform AdNectar consumer purchase intent increased by more than 20% after seeing or sending a branded virtual good. Research has also shown that women, especially, like sending virtual goods - chocolate, drinks, stuffed animals - to friends and family. Q Interactive researchers found that women are playing online games in order to accrue points to send and receive other items.

Better Landing Page Conversion

2009-11-20T08:15:00.001-08:00

Better Landing Page Conversion

Posted using ShareThis

Relevantly Speaking - Adtech Interview with Kenzei CEO

2009-11-11T11:28:00.001-08:00

The first edition of our Relevantly Speaking podcast show from ad:tech New York. The first piece we want to show you is an interview with Mike Stocker, CEO of Kenzei. Mike talks about the current state of email marketing as well as the unique way that Kenzei prices their offerings.

Kenzei is a performance marketing CRM platform and services business that enables advertisers & marketers to mail relevant, engaging email to their customers. Kenzei offers four email services that help companies monetize their visitors. Advertisers only pay for results when a leads or sale occurs.
The four services on the Kenzei platform services include:

ConversionMail : uses multi-step pages for a sign up or purchase process and has the concept of an abandoned visitor. Implemented for Lead-Generation clients with a 2 or 3 step form as well as Continuity Marketers with a 2 or 3 step form. ConversionMail increases ROI by recapturing drop off traffic and abandoned forms & shopping carts.
ConversionMailRemarketingMail : for any Advertiser that collects data. This service allows the Advertiser to monetize their collected data by sending upsell and cross-sell offers to their data. RemarketingMail is different from standard list management in that it mails the Advertiser’s own in house offers to the data.
ConversionMailLifetimeValueMail : for any Advertiser that wants to extend their relationship with the consumer via relevant follow up messages including newsletters, helpful advice emails, offers of discounts to come back and shop.
ConversionMailMailConfirm : for any Advertiser launching a new product who needs to gauge the quality of traffic quickly by emailing customers to ensure that they are valid customers of high quality.

We are big fans and have had great success with the Kenzei system with our advertisers.

Affiliate Marketing: A Better Alternative? Ad:tech 2009 Content Revenue Strategies Panel

2009-11-11T08:33:00.001-08:00

Affiliate Marketing: A Better Alternative? Ad:tech 2009

View more presentations from MediaTrust.

In today’s economy, everyone is looking for new sources of revenue and new ways to grow. For mid-long tail publishers, affiliate marketing could be the perfect fit. In 2007, web proprietors paid out several billions of dollars to affiliates globally, yet that’s only the tip of the iceberg for this widely untapped medium. As the recession squeezes ad and marketing budgets, many businesses are committing more resources to performance-based programs like affiliate marketing, making this an opportune time for savvy publishers to join the game. At the same time, consumers are spending more time online researching products and pricing, growing savvy to ignoring the often questionable network ads shown to them on their favorite blogs. This leaves the door wide open for high-quality publishers to better engage and inspire trust in their customers through affiliate marketing. On this panel, experienced affiliates and advertisers will discuss the ins and outs of affiliate marketing, highlight the key areas of opportunity and offer tips and best practices to help new affiliates achieve maximum ROI.

MODERATOR:
• Steve Schaffer, Founder and CEO, Offers.com

PANELISTS:
• Will Martin-Gill, Director, eBay Partner Network
• Peter Bordes, CEO, MediaTrust
• Shawn Collins, Affiliate, Blogger and Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit
• Brook Schaaf, Affiliate and CEO, Schaaf Consulting
• Gil Abir, VP, Corporate Partnerships, Payoneer, Inc. less

UK Search Engine Benchmark Report 2009

2009-11-11T08:07:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

UK Search Engine Benchmark Report 2009

View more presentations from Econsultancy .com.

MediaTrust Overview Fighting Internet Marketing Fraud

2009-11-11T07:13:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Media Trust Overview Fighting Internet Marketing Fraud

View more documents from MediaTrust.

Submit Nominations for the 2010 Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards

2009-11-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/submit-nominations-for-the-2010-affiliate-summit-pinnacle-awards/
The fourth annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards will be presented on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at Affiliate Summit West 2010, taking place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Nominations are being accepted for the six Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards through November 30, 2009.

These awards recognize exceptional performance in affiliate marketing.
Here are the winners from the previous Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards:

Affiliate of the Year – Mike Allen
Affiliate Manager of the Year – Angel Djambazov
Exceptional Merchant – CelebrateExpress.com
Affiliate Marketing Advocate – Melanie Seery
Best Blogger – Scott Jangro
Affiliate Marketing Legend – Kellie Stevens

Submit your nominations at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/pinnacle-award-nomination/.
Video: Affiliate Summit West 2009 Pinnacle Awards

Ad networks must unite to fight fraud! Volunteers? » Adotas

2009-11-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

Ad networks must unite to fight fraud! Volunteers? » Adotas

ADOTAS - “We are seen as the ugly stepchild of online marketing,” Jivan Manhas of MediaTrust told the crowd at the Performance Marketing Leadership Summit hosted by OfferVault. “We call it performance marketing because the term affiliate marketing is tainted.”

No one in the packed room at the DoubleTree in midtown Manhattan disagreed. It’s no secret that during the past 18-20 months, widespread fraud has greatly harmed ad networks and advertisers — and given them an ugly reputation. Big-budget advertisers are staying on the sidelines.

The solution seems to be for everyone in the segment band together to fight fraud. So who first?

Uniting is a tough proposition for ad networks as they fight tooth and nail for their best publishers and aren’t keen on sharing them. The network space has been fragmented for a long time and communication channels are lacking if they even exist. In general, networks have been too reactive Manhas lamented.

“Our industry has dropped the ball on this issue,” he said. “We got all excited about the numbers, but no one has built the technology to really take advantage…. We should have had antifraud tools built into platforms years ago.”

And the scammers have become so arrogant as to openly advertise for CPA network accounts on sites like Twitter.

“These guys are living like kings,” he said. “They probably have hundreds of accounts and are just milking them.”

MediaTrust has found a way to wipe most of the fraud out of its network, but it hasn’t been a pretty process. Manhas noted that 95% of fraud derived from unverified publishers; so MediaTrust simply separated the good eggs from the bad eggs — they demanded each of their publishers provide them with referrals. Those who couldn’t comply were shown the door.

The company was given a hard time on many advertising forums, but ultimately the purge was successful. The few good publishers improperly kicked out came back and stated their cases, and ultimately rejoined the network.

However, the industry needs standardization to really take a bit out of this crime. Law enforcement officials aren’t considered a viable option as the fraud is difficult to explain and many scammers are internationally located.

A blacklist? What criteria would force an affiliate on it? There was little agreement. A whitelist? How would you manage such a thing and maintain network privacy? A third party? But who would run it?

Manhas saw potential in HitPath’s recently released tracking solution, which shared blacklisted publishers with other websites. But he advocated for a third-party agency similar to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (which he noted was not set up to monitor performance marketing), but more specific to the cause. He cited the Performance Marketing Alliance, but called it only a starting point that needed industry support.

“We must lead the charge to build an industry association,” Manhas said. “Industry leaders have to come together to fight fraud.”

This sentiment seemed to be shared throughout the room, but the path to making that happen was up for debate. Until a universal solution is found, ad networks have little choice but to be extra vigilant in vetting the affiliates on their networks. As MediaTrust found, a purge could do a network a lot of good.

MediaTrust Named #1 Performance Marketing Network | Mediatrust Blog

2009-11-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

MediaTrust Named #1 Performance Marketing Network | Mediatrust Blog

MediaTrust Named #1 Performance Marketing Network

by MediaTrust : Nov 6, 2009

MediaTrust has been named the #1 Performance Marketing Network by Blue Book, a publication of Revenue Performance Magazine.

From Blue Book:

What Is The Blue Book Top 20 Ranking?

“As we put this guide to ad networks and exchanges the single biggest problem that advertisers and publishers expressed to us was the difficulty of finding and selecting good partners.

There’s no shortage of networks and exchanges from which to choose. At last count we personally knew of well over 400 and we are reliably informed that there are a few hundred others in private beta, running as merchant networks or that are simply below the radar. Given the plethora of options, how to decide?”

Why We Like Them?

“Recently named the 9th fastest growing private company in the USA by Inc. Magazine – several other networks here appear on the Inc. 500 – Peter Bordes’ MediaTrust seems to be able to do no wrong. It has a great reputation, he leads admirably and their advertisers and publishers stick around. What’s not to like?”

You can check out the complete Top 20 list HERE.

LinkShare Launches #tweetshop Affiliate Twitter Tool

2009-11-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

LinkShare has announced a new tool called #tweetshop that enables affiliates to search for products and recommend them with affiliate links to their Twitter followers from a single interface.

The #tweetshop tool is a new Bento Box feature.

There is a good post and video HERE on Shawn Collins AffiliateTip.com blog

More details at http://www.linkshare.com/publishers/bentobox/twitter/.

A Framework for Building Customer Experiences - Peter Merholz - HarvardBusiness.org

2009-11-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

A Framework for Building Customer Experiences - Peter Merholz - HarvardBusiness.org

This is an excellent article from Harvard business review regarding customer experience. There is good information that we need to use in our industry. Affiliate marketing is still a young segment in the online marketing industry. We as an industry need to create better customer experience standards.

A Framework for Building Customer Experiences

2:12 PM Thursday June 11, 2009

Tags:Customers, Decision making, Organizational culture

In helping a client understand how to reframe their internal conversations to support delivering customer experiences, we shared with them the following framework that has helped our thinking.

Systems: Companies have core systems that serve as the foundation for their efforts. The most obvious example are IT systems — ERP, accounting, CRM, and the like. Perhaps less obvious, but in certain cases quite crucial, would be facilities — such as real estate, architecture, and infrastructure.

Procedures: The policies, processes, and business rules that provide the "logic" for how the business is run. Some of this is embedded in the systems, some of this is taught to employees.

Touchpoints: The liminal spaces where engagement with customers occurs. Typically considered through channels such as in-store, call center, postal mail, or online.

Interactions: The activities in which customers engage. Any business supports dozens, if not hundreds of interactions. With a bank, you can deposit money, withdraw money, write a check, pay a bill, move money between accounts, open or close accounts, apply for a loan, etc. etc.

Experiences: The sum of what the customer takes away from the interactions they've had with you.

Many companies don't intentionally plan their customer experiences, and as such, design from the inside-out.

This is particularly true when companies consider CRM initiatives. One would hope that something focused on "customer relationships" would take the customer to heart when being developed. Instead, as Edmund Tribue points out, "Most companies have concentrated on automating processes for their internal users... But what about the customer? This mindset is perfectly illustrated by the most common CRM objectives: increase sales, drive cross-selling, minimize resources, reduce ancillary expenses, and lower the number of costly channel interactions. Those objectives indicate an inside-out view that implicitly treats the processes and internal metrics as more important than the customer."

Customers have no idea what's going on in those layers below "interactions", and just end up feeling insulted and abused by these mercenary mindsets.

Instead, companies need to identify what makes for a delightful customer experience, and coordinate their interactions, touchpoints, procedures, and systems to support that.

This harkens back to the my last post about Target's ClearRx. By starting with a prototype, an embodiment of an experience, Target was then able to align the appropriate interactions, touchpoints, procedures, and systems that would support it.

And as the Target story pointed out, it's not a one-way street. Reasonable limitations with the systems, regulatory restrictions on procedures, those are going to ripple back up and ultimately affect the experience. But by beginning outside-in, you make better decisions when you deploy from the inside-out.

(Thanks to my colleague Brandon Schauer whose work helped shape this article.)