Online advertising

SUMMARY: Product samples can give your customers a taste of what you offer and encourage them to come back to buy. But once you have a sample program that's generating sales, how can you drive conversions even higher?

Read how an online retailer simplified an existing sampling program that was converting at a 40% rate, and got 15% more website visitors to requests product samples. Also, find out why you should be careful which products you select for sampling. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Interactive video ads, which let users click on active links without leaving the hosting site, can capture even more attention than regular videos. However, not every publisher can host this type of video advertising.

Read how a software company designed an interactive video ad campaign that made the most of the advanced functionality – achieving a 100% increase in CTR over their typical rich media ad – but was still flexible enough to run on sites that could not support interactive features. read the complete article

SUMMARY: Consumer use of advanced mobile technologies is on the rise, and marketers need to understand this behavior to develop their mobile marketing strategies.

See the data that an analyst says are driving four key trends in the mobile sector. We highlight age-specific statistics on mobile social networking, smartphone usage, SMS adoption, and offer tips on what those numbers mean for your 2010 mobile marketing plans. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: As 2009 winds down, we are reflecting on one of the most turbulent economic years in recent memory. Despite the challenges brought about by the recession, marketers managed to do more with less, demonstrating resolve and creative thinking through revealing case studies, best practices and new insights.

Below, you’ll find links to five Great Minds articles from 2009 that show how marketers continued to adapt to new challenges, finding inventive ways to achieve perennial goals, such as:
o Linking PPC campaigns to offline conversions
o Negotiating with vendors
o Forging stronger relationships with their IT departments read the complete article

By Natalie Myers, Reporter

I wasn’t looking for advice about online advertising when I scheduled time to talk to Jerry Shereshewsky, CEO, Grandparents.com, for a MarketingSherpa article I’m writing about marketing to grandparents.

But I should have expected getting some wisdom from someone with 39 years of experience in the industry who last year took the helm of an ad-supported resource site for grandparents.

Jerry’s previous title, ambassador plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue at Yahoo!, was another reason I... read the complete blog post