Introducing free ‘Search As You Type’ pilot for AdWords advertisers

Great search is all about turning intentions into actions in the blink of an eye. And in online retail, having a quick and user-friendly website can make a world of difference when it comes to engaging shoppers and driving sales.

Today we’re excited to announce we’re offering one of the most popular features of Google Commerce Search, Search As You Type, as a free, stand alone feature. It’s easy to implement and helps increase sales and conversion rates on merchant websites. The Search As You Type pilot is available to US-based AdWords advertisers for free, up to 25 million searches annually, after which licensing fees would apply.

Search as You Type on Hasbro.com

Search As You Type uses Google’s predictive suggestions and instant product results to enhance a merchant’s existing website search functionality. When shoppers type a search query into a merchant’s site, Search As You Type shows them product suggestions and photos, making it faster and easier for people to spot the product they’re looking for and click through to make a purchase.

The Search As You Type pilot is one of the many steps we’re taking to provide technology, tools and traffic to help power the retail ecosystem. And we’ll continue to develop and invest in tools, such as Google Trusted Stores and Google Commerce Search, to help retailers connect with shoppers and drive conversions.

Over the coming months, we plan to expand the pilot to include more online retailers. If you’re interested in participating, please fill out this form. To learn more about Google Search As You Type, visit: http://www.google.com/commercesearch/sayt.

Posted by Jennifer Dulski, Product Management Director, Google Shopping

Be a "Lemon" & "Think Small"

I'm a marketer!  But in my heart, I'm also an ad man.

So it's only right that I just bought a classic Beetle.  This is my new baby... 


So what does a Bug have to do with advertising?


In 1959, Doyle, Dane, Bernbach (DDB) created the ad campaign that would forever change advertising.  It was ranked as the best advertising campaign of the 20th Century by Ad Age and ... most importantly ... it was insanely successful in boosting sales and building a lifetime of brand loyalty.


The Volkswagen ad campaign - featuring the headlines “Lemon” and “Think small” (both used to describe the appearance of the car) - ushered in the era of modern advertising.

In a post-war America where Detroit was focused on big, family-sized or muscle cars and advertising was straight-forward and obvious, VW and DDB broke all the rules.


Why was this campaign so revolutionary and how can these 1959 concepts work for you?

• Differentiation: Certainly the bug was radically different than anything else on the road in '59 (and still is), but the ads stood out too.  In this era, ads were all about the "hero shot," the product being used by happy people.  The ads also filled the page with the rationale of, "We're paying for the page, so we're going to use every last bit."  The Beetle ads still had the product as hero, but focused on black and white photos and white space to drive home the simplicity of the vehicle.  A technique of deliberate understatement.

Pick up most any bank or credit union ad or watch a few on TV.  Let's be honest with ourselves, in most cases, you can swap the logos and the ads are pretty much interchangeable. Make a point of having your ads stand out in the crowd.

• Don't Be Obvious: "Lemon." is a car that breaks down.  "Think small." goes against the grain of what we see as a positive message - especially in '59!  The headlines grabbed the reader's attention in an unexpected way and forced them to engage with the copy - where the true benefits were revealed.  

In 1959, this was revolutionary.  In 2012, in the banking world, it would be too.  So many financial ads today focus on rate and "free" and everything that's important to US.  Few messages focus on real benefits that effect consumer's lives.  Don't be obvious.  Don't write a "bank ad."  Create something that will touch the consumer and get them to take notice.

Even though everything has evolved in the last 53 years, we can still learn a lot from the ad pioneers.  If you're ever stuck in a creative rut, crack open a book of old ads and see what you can bring back.


Take care and have a great week.  Now I need to get outta here and jump in the convertible! 

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MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the right story that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM and prove the best RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

Google Shopping and SMBs: What you need to know

We’re excited to launch a series of Hangouts on Air to help guide small and medium sized businesses through the transition to Google Shopping. This series of Hangouts will guide you through an introduction to Google Shopping--giving you all the information you need to list your products on Google Shopping:

Session 1: Google Shopping Introduction and Overview: Friday, July 13th - 9:30am PDT
Session 2: Introduction to Merchant Center: Tuesday, July 17th - 9:30am PDT
Session 3: Creating and Optimizing Your Product Listing Ads for Google Shopping: Friday July, 20th - 9:30am PDT
Session 4: Trusted Stores Overview and Setup: Monday, July 23rd - 10:30am PDT

To tune into this Hangout On Air:

1) Visit the Google Ads Google+ Page at 9:30am PDT / 12:30pm EDT.
2) Look for the post in our stream (see image below for what it will look like), and click to tune in. Be sure you’re signed into Google+!

We look forward to seeing you there, but if you cannot join us, we’ll be posting each session to this blog and the Google Business YouTube channel.

Posted by Jon Venverloh, Senior Manager, Google Shopping

From the rooftops...

 Greetings:

There are two schools of thought when it comes to advertising your marketing message...

1. Constant and consistent
2. Loud and Proud

Much of our work is dedicated to development of client strategy for communications and marketing.  A consistent question we receive that I thought would make a great blog post...

How often should I be advertising my marketing message?

Our answer??

Whenever you have something to tell...tell it loud and proud with consistency!

Perfect...so the answer falls squarely between the two schools of thought...nice consulting!  Actually, the reality of life says that EVERYTHING falls between the two certainties...that's Murphy's Law at play!  Consulting advice is nothing different.  The key to great consulting is knowing where and when to apply the strategic pressure...not just that you apply pressure.

So, what am I meaning??

We believe that you advertise WHEN you have a:

• compelling story
• unique product or offer
• cannot wait item or news/interest
• market opportunity

and IF do you have one of these instances... say it LOUD and PROUD...meaning make enough noise in the marketplace that your unique and powerful message is heard!  Then be consistent with that message for as long as your budget can support and the uniqueness stands.

If you don't have of these instances...then be constant and consistent... a drum beat is the description we use.  Be constant and consistent but at a lower level-- you know,  the level just above "not much" and below the "hear us now" levels.

The key is making sure that your investment in advertising is doing the two items it is intended to do....create awareness and generate interest.  To create awareness the market needs to know about it...and to generate interest it has to be relevant and compelling.

That's where the marketing strategy comes into play for the advertising.  Knowing when to hold your cards and investment is sometimes more powerful than playing all of your cards!

So...if you have a compelling and relevant message...Shout it from the ROOFTOPS with all the gusto you can muster!

Cheers!

Bruce

PS>> Look for our announcement of a game-changing Leadership Session coming in the fall!

 

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MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the right story that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM and prove the best RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-832-7894 x101

Webinar tomorrow: Choosing the right tool to manage online campaigns more efficiently

As online marketers, you are constantly juggling. From building and optimizing campaigns to analyzing reports and managing budgets - sometimes all before you’ve had your morning coffee. And while there are many tools and solutions to help automate these tasks - from AdWords Editor, DoubleClick Search, and everything in between - choosing the right one for your business can be challenging.

Please join us for a webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, July 10, 2012 that will shine a light on the powerful Google tools available to agencies and marketers to more efficiently run some of the largest search campaigns in the world. Specifically we’ll cover:

• An overview of four tools -- AdWords Editor, automated rules, AdWords scripts and DoubleClick Search -- to help you navigate your choices and make the best decision for your business 
• Example use cases and best practices 
• Requirements for adoption 

Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Time: 10amPST / 1pmEST

Register at google.com/ads/webinars

We hope to see you there!

 Posted by Katie Miller, Google Ads Team

Tips to Improve Your Management Skills in a Multi-Generational Workforce

There are four incredibly diverse groups in today’s workforce. Traditionalists (born before 1945), Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964), Gen X-ers (born between 1965-1980), and Milennials (born between 1981-2000) access news differently, use different tech gadgets, and communicate differently. So, how can everyone work together harmoniously?

While there is no doubt that working for a supervisor who is younger and less knowledgeable is becoming the norm, there are universal behaviors for leaders and managers. In Holly G. Green’s book, “More Than a Minute – How to Be an Effective Leader and Manager in Today’s Changing World,” readers learn how to develop their skills to work cohesively and successfully in all situations.

As a leader or manager, you must set goals for your employees. Once employees know what is expected of them, they can work toward those goals. Also, with established goals, employees’ work can be evaluated. Employees can be held accountable. Despite an employee’s generation and/or characteristics (for example, tendency to text instead of email), with stated goals, the work becomes the focus – not generational differences.

As a leader or manager, Green states, “Define your own goals, linked to the company’s strategic framework. Share them with your team. Display them. Talk about them often…Employees today want to understand the bigger picture…Employees are often motivated and find their work much more interesting if they know how their job fits into the overall scheme of things.”

In order to become the best leader or manager you can be, review your experiences and accomplishments on a quarterly basis. What worked well? What can you improve? How did you overcome barriers? What was on your plate and what should fall off? And above all, which employees helped your team to succeed, and how were they recognized?

__________

Learn more: http://thehumanfactor.biz

Read Holly’s Blog: http://morethanaminute.com/morethanablog

Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HollyGGreen

Ready to Flip?

Are you Ready To Flip?

Today is the 2nd of July...the 1st official business day of the 2nd half of 2012.  That's a mouthful...

The bottom-line?

It's time to check in before the calendar flips.

By this time of year, there are typically three things that have changed the landscape from your initial strategic marketing planning.  They are:

1. Budget changes: better or worse than projected performance in income and expense.
2. Strategic shifts: new competitors, economic changes, unforeseen strategy changes.
3. Opportunity: new products, new pricing, new targeting, new information.

Each of these items represents a potential hurdle and certainly mean plan changes.  HOW you attack each one will mean the difference between maximum success and reactive chaos. 

What is your choice?    We hope Maximum Success!

As you prepare for the 2nd half of 2012 there are several key steps that you should take to ensure the last six months of the year measure up to expectations and help you reach your goals. Here are the Top 5 actions to take BEFORE the 4th of July break...

1. Update your STRATEGIC PLAN status.
2. Prepare your COMMUNICATION to the entire organization on the 1st half marketing results.
3. Make a LIST of the THREE biggest obstacles to reaching your 12/31 goals.
4. Generate an ROI estimate for all major upcoming activities and prep the team!
5. Create a list of MODIFICATIONS for the 2nd half of 2012.

With this Top 5 list in hand...you are prepared to FLIP the calendar to the 2nd half of 2012 and hit the ground running toward a successful summit of your 12/31 goals!

Looking to FOCUS your efforts...gain MOMENTUM at a faster pace...or ensure your RESULTS meet your objectives?  Give me a call...

Cheers!

Bruce

PS>> Look for our announcement of a game-changing Leadership Session coming in the fall!

 

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MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the right story that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM and prove the best RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-832-7894 x101