Texas electric and energy providers are getting marketing exposure on a site devoted to customer reviews and ratings of electric companies.

John’s electricity bill is high. He is considering his energy options. John learns that for electricity companies in texas, he can compare his options by reading reviews and ratings of light companies provided by customers

In an interesting article about one of Reb Bull’s event marketing projects, it was reported that Red Bull spends 40% of its revenue on marketing, If accurate, their other costs of business must be insanely low?

The global advertising market grew to just over US$600 billion in 2007, according to The Kelsey Group, the leading provider of research, data and strategic analysis on directional and interactive local media. The firm expects global ad revenues to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.7 percent and reach US$707 billion in 2012, propelled in large part by considerable growth in the interactive segment.

According to “The Kelsey Group’s Annual Forecast (2007-2012): Outlook for Directional and Interactive Advertising,” interactive advertising revenues will increase significantly from US$45 billion in 2007 to US$147 billion globally in 2012, representing a 23.4 percent CAGR.

“It’s no surprise that the global advertising industry is experiencing a full-scale shift to mixed-media platforms, with interactive driving a significant share of overall industry growth,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. “We see Internet development—including increased subscriber/user access and broadband penetration—as a driver of both interactive advertising revenue as well as migration of traditional ad spending to new media platforms.”

Interactive advertising, which comprises search (including local search), display advertising, classifieds and other interactive ad products, grew its share of global advertising revenues from 6.1 percent in 2006 to 7.4 percent in 2007. By 2012 Kelsey Group analysts expect the interactive share of global ad spending will reach 21 percent.

During the forecast period (2007-2012), the United States will see interactive advertising revenues grow from US$22.5 billion to US$62.4 billion (22.6 percent CAGR), with interactive revenues in Canada increasing from US$1.3 billion to US$3.3 billion (21.3 percent CAGR).

The Outlook for Directional Advertising
The Kelsey Group forecasts directional advertising, which comprises local search, print Yellow Pages and Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), will grow from US$33.3 billion in 2007 to US$41.4 billion globally in 2012 (4.5 percent CAGR). The global outlook for each of the three key segments of the directional media market during the forecast period (2007-2012) is as follows:

• Local search revenues will grow from US$2.1 billion to US$6.6 billion (25.5 percent CAGR).

• Print Yellow Pages revenues will decline from US$27.5 billion to US$25.6 billion (-1.4 percent CAGR).
• IYP revenues will grow from US$3.7 billion to US$9.2 billion (20.1 percent CAGR).

“We expect printed directory revenues to decline in most global markets over the forecast period, though print will remain the most important source of leads for small businesses,” said Charles Laughlin, senior vice president and program director, The Kelsey Report®, and managing editor, The Kelsey Group. “For directory publishers to succeed, they will need to invest time, energy and resources in both channels to minimize the decline in print and maximize the opportunity online.”

During the forecast period (2007-2012), the United States will see directional advertising revenues grow from US$16.4 billion to US$18.8 billion (2.8 percent CAGR), with directional revenues in Canada increasing from US$1.4 billion to US$1.9 billion (5.8 percent CAGR). Canada is one of the markets in which The Kelsey Group expects growth in the print Yellow Pages segment, forecasting a 1.8 percent CAGR for print directories in Canada during the forecast period.

About The Kelsey Group’s Annual Forecast
The Kelsey Group has published a five-year forecast covering the broadly defined directional and Internet media market annually since 2003. The firm draws from its proprietary data, primarily the Local Commerce Monitor, User View and Global View studies, as well as from company, industry and country information in the public domain. Further, Kelsey Group analysts engage clients and non-clients in numerous discussions about the direction and pace of development in the local media marketplace. The Kelsey Group’s Annual Forecast is available to clients of the firm’s continuous advisory services. This forecast does not include mobile ad platforms. The Kelsey Group’s mobile forecast, released in September 2007, will be updated later in 2008. Visit http://www.kelseygroup.com for more information.

Related Information:

Local Online Advertising

Do social networks have a place in the marketing toolbox? Join in this free teleconference from North Star Marketing and find out if Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn can make an impact on your marketing.

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More News and Insights About:
Social Medial Marketing and Local Online Marketing
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Most marketers have discounted social networks like Facebook and MySpace as marketing tools, since they tend to cater to a younger crowd more focused on finding a date than doing business. But the Brand Specialists at North Star Marketing caution marketers about writing off all social networks for business purposes.

“We see great opportunities for marketers in social networks,” said Adam Chlan, Interactive Designer at North Star Marketing, “but you have to understand the networks and find the appropriate venues within each network that works for business purposes.”

North Star Marketing is offering a free teleconference to food, manufacturing and lifestyle/design products marketers to help clarify the world of social networks and how they can best be used as a marketing tool.

The free teleconferences will be held on Tuesday, March 18th beginning at 1:00 p.m. for the manufacturing sector; 2:30 p.m. for food companies; and 4:00 p.m. for those in the lifestyle/design products category. All times are Eastern Standard Times (EST).

Marketers interested in registering for the free teleconferences can go to North Star Marketing and register on-line.

“Social networks are a growing web phenomenon,” added Chlan. “I think you’ll see that these networks will evolve into being as powerful for businesses and marketing as they are for tweens who want to connect. Each network has its benefits and its drawbacks, so you have to navigate carefully.”

SEM Guru Barbara ‘WebMama’ Coll Warns Don’t Get Caught up in the Social Media Frenzy Just Yet

Barbara Coll, CEO of WebMama.com Inc., Silicon Valley’s premier search engine marketing company, cautions corporations not to put all their advertising eggs into the social media basket just yet.

While social media is the hot topic of the moment, paid search still makes up the largest slice of the US online advertising market at 42.5 percent(1) . “Projections indicate a similar growth through 2011 in paid search,” Coll explains, but adds “we still have no clear answers whether social media advertising will work for B2B companies.”

“Buying ads on sites such as Facebook currently has about 1/10th of the return of Google AdWords, less even than Google AdSense or other contextual networks,” Coll says, “and executing a viral marketing strategy is extremely time consuming, as well as a questionable link building tactic, and should not be a key consideration for large B2B corporations at this time.”

“I highly recommend getting involved in these sites to view the advertising opportunities first hand and certainly monitoring the corporation’s reputation on these sites is mandatory.” Coll encourages all of her clients to ‘play’ with social media. With a client list that includes the elite from the Silicon Valley Tech industry, and a calendar that is already filling up with speaking engagements just 60 days into the 2008 year, Coll’s advice and insight is keenly sought as a recognized leader in the SEM space. She is currently judging submissions for the prestigious Ad Tech Awards 2008.

Coll will be presenting “B2B Tactics” and “Selling to the C-Suite” at Search Engine Strategies New York (March 17-20, 2008), speaking at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in Toronto (March 31-April 2, 2008), and traveling to the Amsterdam later in the year to speak at the Software and Information Industry Association’s, SIIA On Demand Europe, conference (May 30-June 1, 2008).

WebMama.com Inc. is Silicon Valley’s premier search engine marketing company, providing SEO and SEM services to corporations around the world. The company had revenues of $2.33M from consulting fees in 2007, and recently added 3 new team members in order to fill demand from new clients in the electronic consumer and beauty products markets. Coll was the chief visionary behind the non-profit trade organization, Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO). Read the story of WebMama.com’s journey and extraordinary growth on WebMama.com’s timeline.

“You don’t need the luck of the Irish to be successful in selling, but it may help to think about what makes the Irish personality so engaging,” says Lenann McGookey Gardner, author of Got Sales? The Complete Guide to Today’s Proven Methods for Selling Services (Jarndyce & Jarndyce).

Consider some of these Irish-inspired characteristics and Saint Patrick’s Day activities and how they relate to sales.

When Irish eyes are smiling – “A twinkle in the eye shows your enthusiasm, and that energy can help warm your prospect,” says Gardner. “Be positive, upbeat and encouraging as well as knowledgeable of what you have to offer. Think not of closing a deal but of helping this person.”

The gift of gab – Turn this one on its ear! “Successful selling is all about getting your prospect to engage in a dialogue with you. Remember The 90-10-90 Rule: Ideally when you’re selling, your prospect should be doing ninety percent of the talking. Of the ten percent of the time that you, the seller, are speaking, spend ninety percent of that ten percent asking questions,” says Gardner. (The exception to The 90-10-90 Rule: talk as long as one is answering questions the prospect has posed. But if he or she is not asking, don’t be talking about your offering, pose more questions to engage the person.) The gift of gab is important — but not for the seller — for the prospective client! Get them to talk, and listen closely.

Look for the pot of gold – Usually it’s in an obvious place — with current clients. “So many of us have clients who purchase only one of our services, but who could benefit from more of the work we do,” suggests Gardner. “Have a plan to make them aware of all the ways in which you can be of help, and keep in touch regularly.”

Drink green beer – “This may not be your favorite beverage, but the spirit of fun it suggests is good sales advice,” explains Gardner. “Positive, upbeat networking while avoiding using negative words will help attract more people to you, and to your services.”

Leprechauns bring good luck – “Find your own ‘lucky charm’ — a sales expert whose background, experience and results impress you — and get an update on how to sell now,” says Gardner. “Selling is changing, and your methods may be out of date. The good news: we have data, now, about what’s working in selling. Learn that, use it, and profit!”

Lenann McGookey Gardner, a Harvard MBA and former #1 sales rep at Xerox, offers keynote speeches on state-of-the-art selling and closing skills, as well as sales and client care coaching for organizations of all sizes. Her book Got Sales? The Complete Guide to Today’s Proven Methods for Selling Services is the one guidebook highlighting all the latest research and data on what’s working now in selling. Learn more at www.YouCanSell.com.