Tiger Woods is probably one of the biggest things to ever come into advertising. He’s an extreme talent that came into a game dominated by older men at a very young age. Sponsors couldn’t throw enough money at him. Of these early advertisers to latch on to Tiger, Nike is probably the biggest. It has been reported that Nike sees this recent flurry of alleged extramarital affairs as a blip in an otherwise heroic legacy. There are other big name sponsors too: Buick, Gatorade, Tag Heuer and Accenture to name a few. As far as I know, all of these sponsors have stuck by Tiger so far, with the exception of Accenture.

Accenture may have the right idea here: most of the world doesn’t know what they do, aside from sponsoring Tiger. These other brands have a tangible product , to which Tiger may bring attention, but from whose quality he certainly can’t detract (Gatorade’s drinks will still taste the same no matter what they do with Tiger’s contract).

I think it would be foolish for these brands to leave Tiger’s side now. After all, they aren’t likely to find a bigger star, and even if they find one in another sport, his career won’t be as long as that of a golfer. And after this blows over, he’s likely to remember who stood by him and who didn’t.

So it looks as as if Google is taking a stand against what it considers to be less than reputable advertisements. These include, but are not limited to continuity programs, get-rich-quick schemes and malware. Google has taken this stance before, but this time it’s different: they’re no longer targeting the advertisements. This time, they’re imposing life-time bans on the advertisers.

This is troubling for a couple of reasons. First, one has to wonder what criteria Google will use to determine the legitimacy of advertisement. Would Colgate and Crest fall under the tooth-whitening umbrella? Will Google be testing the products to determine the validity of an advertiser’s claims? Will they be relying on consumer complaints? If so, how many cases of buyer’s remorse will it take to earn a permanent ban?

The problem is that there is almost a guarantee of false positives. It may just be a statistic, or the cost of doing business as far as Google is concerned, but honest affiliates will be put out of business. How did Google become judge and jury? Furthermore, it is hard to believe that they will forever turn down advertising dollars from powerhouses such as Blockbuster, Netflix and Nutrisystem. Not all continuity systems are evil and one has to wonder where Google will draw the line between what is acceptable and what isn’t. The shame is that a few affiliates may learn where the line is the hard way: with a lifetime ban.

Google’s attempt to clean house may end up backfiring on them, as this shift could just send a slew of advertisers to competing search engines. It will be exciting to see how this shakes out.

For all of the shoppers that were unable to make it to the stores on Black Friday, the internet has given us Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday, which is the Monday after Black Friday, is the day that retailers unveil their discounts online. Although Cyber Monday has only been around since the 2005 holiday season, it is already evolving as a monumental day for online shopping. This year, companies such as J.C. Penny Co. and Sears Holdings Corp. have taken to Twitter and Facebook to promote their sizzling hot holiday bargains. Yes folks, you can find deals on Twitter and Facebook now. Oh and Instead of waiting for Cyber Monday, J.C. Penny lived on the edge a little and actually offered deals on its website on Black Friday. Talk about going against the grain!

We’re sure you all want to know how this phenomenon began. Well, Shop.org created a site called CyberMonday.com which is a super affiliate with over 650 leading retailers. On Cyber Monday of 2008 alone, the site had 2.4 million visitors and generated over $12 million in sales during that year’s holiday season. In order for retailers to be listed on the site, they must have an affiliate program on Commission Junction, Linkshare or the Google Affiliate Network.

J.C. Penny Co. and Sears Holdings Corp. aren’t the only ones that have something to offer on Cyber Monday. Here at Blue Phoenix Media, we’ve got some hot revenue generating offers such as Tassimo Direct, Mail by Santa, Gevalia, Fun Mobile and Walk Fit that will for sure increase anyone’s ROI during this holiday season.

Cyber Monday is just another reflection of the power, strength and versatility of affiliate marketing and we’re glad to be able to be part of this unstoppable shopping trend!

I was reading an article by Cheryl Kellond titled “Shining A Light on Performance Display Advertising.” In it, she breaks down the components of what makes a successful advertising campaign – that it’s a two-part system, where it’s not all about creative size, better positioning, and smart campaigns, but that it’s also making each ad relevant to the customer. She asks the question, “What good is a perfectly branded, perfectly placed, creative ad if it’s for a product the consumer doesn’t need or want?”

I agree with her wholeheartedly, but my spin on successful advertising campaigns focuses not on the need and rather on the want. According to Maslow’s theory of basic needs, the two most basic needs that must be met are deficiency and physiological needs. These two needs must be met in order for any other higher need to come into focus.

So how does this hierarchy of need fit into a good advertising campaign you may ask? Well, I’d like to think a good marketer is a marketer that can turn any consumer want into a need. Now some of you might think that this is exactly why performance marketing has come under heavy fire, because of deceptive marketing tactics. However, there is a huge difference between using Oprah’s face to market a product when she has not endorsed it versus using a customer testimonial who praises a product.

Put together a campaign that focuses on your product as an aid, a facilitator (not as a panacea) to helping customers fulfill whatever need they are looking to fill and you’ve got yourself a happy customer as well as money coming in.

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I stumbled on to a poll on Adotas.com the other day that asked, “Is a permanent decline in affiliate marketing imminent?” The choices were

1. “Yes – New state taxes, increased government restrictions and shady marketers have doomed the industry. “
2. “No – Affiliate marketing is changing not declining.”

I voted “no.” Change, as in any industry, is inevitable. In fact, it is to be expected. From having been in the industry for a good number of years now, I saw the internet go from the” wild wild west” to a carved territory that even my mom has a stake on, a la myspace and facebook.

New state taxes and increased government restrictions are all signs of a growing industry as it shifts towards establishment and organization. And yes, it is at this period of time where shady marketers will be weeded out, a beneficial change for other honest marketers, advertisers and consumers alike. The marketers who survive this shakeout period stand to become the legacy companies who need to set an example to any newcomers.

Blue Phoenix Media

With Oprah Winfrey and celebrity surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz, filing lawsuits against makers and marketers of dietary supplement products recently, online marketing practices in regards to products like Acai and Resveratrol are currently under heavy fire. And with good reason. Dr. Oz praising the anti-aging properties of acai berries on the Oprah Winfrey show is being translated into ads by some internet marketers as these two celebrities endorsing the products when they have not.

What happens when people find out they have been misled? According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, Oprah’s web site has fielded more than 2,000 complaints related to acai-berry products. In addition to the complaints, I imagine this resulted in many charge backs for those marketers who chose the misleading route and a damaged reputation.

Rather than using celebrity names and gimmicks, makers and marketers need to go back to the basics of honest salesmanship – using scientific studies, statistics and testimonials from actual users as the driving force as to why a customer should be purchasing a product. Just as brick and mortar shops need to establish a name and reputation, marketers need to look at their online marketing practices the same way – perhaps even more so, as all you do have on the internet is your name and reputation.

Blue Phoenix Media

With customer spending going down, layoffs sweeping through traditional marketing and media channels, and marketing and advertising budgets being cut, the fate of online marketing may look like it’s in for a grim state. However, there is still hope – performance marketing.

For Advertisers, cost-per-acquisition (CPA) marketing provides a pay-as-you-go solution as opposed to pre-paying for estimated leads that may not come through. It also cuts cost in online real estate since some CPA networks do not require a pre-pay to advertise with them. Also, unlike traditional marketing methods, online marketing allows you to track and measure your success rate and be able to target your audience better. CPA networks have a gamut publishers targeting all types of consumers and using various methods such as display, email, and search marketing. This provides you plenty of opportunity to make money without draining your budget.

Publishers can benefit from CPA marketing as well if they keep an open mind. “Those who adapt will do well; those who have a more rigid structure will find it tougher to thrive even though they are in the performance space.¹ This means moving along with new verticals that are currently successful and possibly moving away from what has worked in the past but may not be in tune with today’s economic climate.

Blue Phoenix Media/Blue Phoenix Network can be that beacon of hope for advertisers and publishers now and into the New Year. We provide advertisers cost-effective solutions to guarantee high success rates with their campaigns. This includes providing a clean network of hand-picked publishers and a self-service tracking system that provides real-time reporting. For publishers, we provide a variety of verticals to choose from and though we stick with our tried and true education and health campaigns, we also adapt to the ebb and flow of the market and provide relevant campaigns suited for the current state of consumers needs. Contact your account manager today to find out how performance marketing can work for you!

Sources:
http://www.dmconfidential.com/blogs/column/Trends/2091/
http://www.dm2daily.com/

¹http://www.dmconfidential.com/blogs/column/Trends/2091/

Amy Sheridan is a season media maven. With over 9 years of interactive marketing experience under her belt, she decided to venture off on her own and launch Blue Phoenix Media Inc. which owns Blue Phoenix Network. Check out the article on her in TheCoregInsider.com , where she has gained honors as a featured owner of Coregistration companies.