Uncovering The Right Models For Campaign Attribution

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Longhopper

Since the advent of online commerce, marketers are seeking solution to one unresolved question. How do you evaluate performance of online campaigns? Particularly, at a time when global organisations are increasingly relying on online advertising to improve visibility. It is true that measuring offline campaigns can be equally tricky, but online measurement is titillating. Simply because, there are enough mechanisms to employ a tangible measurement tool and marketers dwell with an increased expectation of being able to track and measure online campaigns.

Also, without effective measurement, it is a little challenging to convince senior management, those particularly averse to the new world of digital media. Lack of a good attribution model skews marketing contributions either by over-inflating or by under reporting the performance of a particular campaign.

Typically, an average conversion will have multiple touch points. For illustrative purposes, I have tried to capture five common online channels, which assists the conversion path. In the below example, I have taken paid search as the user’s first touch point, before he/she visits other channels such as display/display retargeting, affiliates, organic search, social media and finally converts by visiting the website directly. Now we are clearly aware that a user interacted with 5 different channels before converting, but what we don’t know is how much of an influence all these channels have on the user’s buying behaviour.

Old school attribution logic says that since the user visits the website to convert, this particular event should be fully attributed with the conversion, which clearly is the last click model. But does that mean that there is little need or necessity to run campaigns on different channels? This is where it begins to get clouded.

Marketers have experimented with different attribution models to identify the significance of a particular campaign. For example, from the above instance where a user travels through five different touch points starting from paid search before converting, we could attribute campaigns the in the following ways.

First click: Where Paid Search as the first touch point claims full credit for the conversion
Last Click: Since the user comes directly to the website, this model completely ignores the initial touch points and attributes the conversion to the direct visit.
Distributed: This is one of the simplest of attribution models where each channel is equally attributed.
Linear: This particular model attributes the value to a conversion based on recency of the user interaction in an ascending order, with the last touch point receiving the highest attribution.
Weighted: Weighted attribution model focuses on weighing the campaigns based on their significance.We have seen the different attribution models that can be applied to campaigns. But does that explain which model we should be using? Yes, I personally feel that weighted attribution is the way to go. However, one must realise that there are some subjective considerations while using this model.

In the above example, I have indicatively weighed Paid Search and Direct Visit with the highest attribution, while sharing a smaller percentage between the other touch points. This is a completely subjective option. Instead of weighing Paid Search higher, you may feel that for your particular campaigns, a display ad which has an online promotion initiates the traffic push. In such an instance, you may want to weigh a higher attribution to the display ad. Or you may feel that the one of your high converting keywords gains significant keyword positions on search engines, resulting in higher traffic, for which you may consider weighing Organic search with a higher attribution. You may even want to award a higher attribution to the recency of the interaction.

Weighted attribution certainly allows you to attribute the conversions effectively, but is it ‘the’ model for attribution? Well, it is debatable. However, one must understand that to fully comprehend the impact of different channels, it is imminent that we have to delve deeper. What the weighted attribution model offers is an improvement over other attribution models.

An Essential Guide to Successful Blogger Outreach

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Longhopper

With social media rapidly consuming the internet space, it is increasingly becoming a part of our media landscape. In the recent days, more and more online news sites have embraced the pay wall model, resulting in social media, particularly blogs becoming an important source of news, opinions and products. Blogs represent an affordable opportunity to promote products & brands.

SO, WHAT IS BLOGGER OUTREACH?
In simple words, it is a process where businesses reach out to bloggers who are influential within a particular area of interest to the brand, product or service and have an interested audience (or target customers) where they can facilitate a conversation.

Businesses encourage this conversation, by offering something valuable which could be of interest to the blogger as well as his/her audience, which will then ensure acquisition of the bloggers audience, who could potentially be repeat customers to the business.

HOW DOES BLOGGER OUTREACH WORK?
Bloggers have an audience and have the ability to open a window of opportunity for the business to reach out to their reader-base, some of who could already be customers and many who are completely new. These readers help the brand websites by not just being a source of traffic, but also by being advocates of these brands to their own communities as well as search engines, which effectively would help in increasing conversions online as well as offline.

Most bloggers tend to write about subjects they are passionate about and on most times, the write-up is owned by the bloggers. The blog and the subject matter are therefore, extremely personal endeavours to bloggers. Choosing an influential blog /blogger in areas not just specific to the blogger, but also for us to promote our brand sentiments is the first step towards formalising a blogger outreach strategy.

Once we choose the blog/blogger and our niches, there are many ways to work with them (see box).

WHY BLOGS?
The great thing about blogs is that they work in conjunction with the existing marketing efforts. For example, an online press release could generate sufficient buzz to result in a blog review. This blog review can then be promoted across a multitude of social media sites such as Facebook & Twitter, be bookmarked through social bookmarking tools such as delicious & digg and even communicated through our email marketing efforts. This results in creating that social influence which is fast evolving as one of the key metrics in the buying decision making.

Above all, blogger outreach of course, substantiates SEO efforts and helps in ranking higher on search engines, thereby ensuring higher visibility and traffic. The SEO benefits mainly come from the social interaction within the blogging community, where information and opinion is shared with individuals across many domains. Considering all these factors, Blogger Outreach remains one of the favoured strategies for online marketing. However, it has it’s own risks associated with it, which we will leave for another day.

Credits: 4 Imprint Blue Papers – Blogger Outreach.

Social Media & The Brand – How businesses fumble in the Media Space?

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Longhopper

So much has already been written about social media. In fact, many businesses have already ingrained social media into their business and marketing strategies. So, it comes as a huge surprise to see a few which are complete laggards. While businesses of all sizes and shapes have an established social presence, a number of them are still behind and beyond the social media realm. This is purely due to of the lack of a defined structure and strategy.

After nearly three years in online marketing, which includes a whole lot of social media activity, I must agree on one thing. Small businesses are certainly more receptive to the ever changing technology and the media that constantly evolves with it. They are also more likely to benefit as early adopters to these initiatives. They leverage the small amount publicity they get in the initial years and by the time other big businesses catch up, they have estbalished strategies which sets the ground work for big businesses to build on.

In the last few years, working for a small business, I have experimented with every new online marketing initiative that has been thrown at us by tech-savvy entrepreneurs. Some of them stuck by, and some of them, well, got stuck. From the early days of Delicious & Digg to WordPress & Livejournal, as well as the recent phenomenon named Twitter & Facebook, I have tried everything new that came out of the box for my old company. Today, it is fairly well known in the Social Media and Online Marketing world. If I look back on the proudest moments of my employment, two instances stand out among many others:

When our online marketing initiatives were used as a Case Study for a Text Book for Master’s Degree and when a renowned Search Engine Marketing service provider patted our back in front of 200 other online marketing professionals. While these two instances are much cherished moments of my life, I also wonder what made the online marketing so successful in a small business such as the one I worked for.

It immediately strikes to me that it was neither my enthusiasm for new media, nor the technology that was on offer which made these social media initiatives sucessful. Without outstanding business leadership, you neither get the enthusiasm, nor are aware of technology. I clearly remember when I was offered the role, I was told that apart from my regular responsibilities, I have two hours to read and keep abreast of the development of online marketing, which probably made what I am today. Something like a Google philosophy: 20% time

Now it pains me to see injudicious timing, ill-advised social media approaches, particularly when the media space is completely convoluted. I feel that given the current adoption by businesses, you really need to rise up and stand tall to make your mark. Companies with inward looking social media approaches are sure to hit the wall as soon as they open their doors. Facebook & Twitter offer two of the most exciting platforms for businesses to take off. Both these platforms certainly deserve a clarity of thought and a well defined strategy, otherwise they are sure to be also rans.

YouTube & The Indian Premier League – A Sporting Marriage

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Longhopper

Today, from the adopted land of cricket, comes the greatest annual sporting extravaganza, the Indian Premier League. With more than a 100 associated brands, the tournament is not just a sporting spectacle, but a commercial event masquerading as cricket.

Today, also marks one of the biggest days in internet broadcasting. The organisers of the Indian Premier League have signed a ground breaking deal with Google, to broadcast all the matches live on Youtube. This path breaking deal, a World first, will be closely watched by many quarters, particularly those in the broadcasting business as this could potentially shift the television industry. The service, which will be fully monetised by advertising revenue which is to be shared by Youtube & IPL, is an untested business model.

Rumours are rife that Youtube has acquired a number of advertisers across many geographies, including the UK where Lebara Mobile and Brylcreem are expected to be the first on the board. If this new revenue generating broadcast model works, then Google’s nifty acquisition of Youtube from three former PayPal employees in November 2006 will prove to be a grand success for the company as this means that many other sporting events in the world would soon be available live on YouTube, diminishing the dominating might of paid sports channels.

The Internet surpasses television’s global reach and if an event like the Indian Premier League, which is keenly followed only in a handful of countries, can be offered free to the viewer, it is imminent that it will encourage hundreds of thousands of new followers to log on to the site, who, otherwise would have skipped the tournament rather than paying hefty subscription fees to satelite or cable broadcasters. Now, imagine all the big ticket sporting events such as the English Premier League, Champions League, NBA, NFL etc playing live on YouTube!!!

With the financial power of Google, it seems a distinct possibility that this may be a vision of what lies ahead.

Let’s play!!!

From Organic to Paid Search!!

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Longhopper

After two and half years at Arena, I decided to move on. Actually, it wasn’t an option I was looking at, but during my time off a few months back, I had casually met a recruiter to understand where I stand after my experience as an online marketer. Although, it did sound positive, nothing came out of the interviews immediately and I completely forgot about it as I returned back to Arena from my sabbatical.

It was nearly two months later that I got a call from a company and after going through the role again, I thought it could be challenging but I wasn’t fully convinced. I thought hard for a couple of weeks considering a whole lot of possibilities. Although, I was working as an marketer, I was only involved in organic search side of things and the new role promised plenty of opportunities in managing paid campaigns as well as other offline activites. Also, I am very keen on building my repertoire as complete marketing professional. This was enough to convince me to take up the role.

While monitoring search traffic and running reports, I used to marvel at how efficiently optimised and organised the campaigns were at Arena. Now I have a big challenge of doing something similar as my first challenge and I spoke with the external Camapaign Managers this afternoon to terminate the existing contract. SO officially, I am manning paid search from today.

Paid Search

While monitoring search traffic and running reports, I used to marvel at how efficiently optimised and organised the campaigns were at Arena. Now I have a big challenge of doing something similar as my first challenge and I spoke with the external Campaign Managers this afternoon to terminate the existing contract. SO officially, I am manning paid search from today. Lets see how this goes!

Brewing the Brand – The Coffee War

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Longhopper

Every morning, I reluctantly pick a copy of Metro at Station on my way to work. Reluctantly because, I am keen to utilise the short journey time by reading magazine subscriptions which I always leave unfinished otherwise. But somehow, I end up reading a Metro at least twice a week. Off late I have noticed quite a few adverts on Metro by Mcdonalds and Costa Coffee trumpeting how superior their coffees are in comparison with the others. Costa, understood. It’s been a Coffee Company and it’s promotions are not surprising. But McDonald’s?

On an average, 9 million coffees are sold per week in the UK, triple of what was being sold in 2000. According to Allegra Strategies, a research firm, the UK has the largest branded coffee chain market in Europe with 3,864 outlets and until last year the numbers kept growing as companies invested heavily in expanding their presence. However, in 2009 further growth has been temporarily halted due to recession. One of the leading Coffee chains, Coffee Republic (deleted even) went into administration in July this year and had to be rescued by property firm, Arab Investments Ltd.

The bleak market outlook and the recessionary trading environment has prompted coffee chains to consolidate leading to strategy directed towards strengthening of the brand. Allegra believes that the slow down in the opening up of new shops, has resulted in Coffee chains embracing an aggressive marketing strategy. Well, then where does McDonalds figure in this?

Coffee market is not new to McDonalds. It has, in the past few years, directly assaulted single brand coffee shops like Starbucks by introducing variants of coffees such as capuccinos and lattes and targeted advertising. Although, critiques are divided on the extent of market opportunities for coffee shops, companies involved tend to think otherwise. In the recent years, the market has seen an expansion beyond urban boundaries into small towns. With sensitive pricing and good quality, non-coffee centred companies such as McDonalds, Marks & Spencer etc are quietly encroaching the coffee market, which traditionally has been reserved for smaller independent cafes or single brand coffee shops.

Looks like the coffee war has just begun.

Mobile Networks Want Much, But Apple Wants Everything – iPhone & The Networks

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Longhopper

It's Only Rock & Roll

Apple’s much hyped media event “It’s only Rock & Roll” failed to spring any surprises. A thin, frail-looking Steve Jobs quietly strolled back to his normal self. IPod Nanos were updated as expected with new features including cameras and radio (!?!). IPod Touch doubled its maximum storage (64GB). IPod Shuffles are more colourful and have voiceover functionality. ITunes 9 was launched with an enhanced interface and some cool new features such as Genius, Home Sharing, iPhone App management etc. iPhone OS 3.1 was launched with the extended genius functionality. The Apple store too was updated with the availability of Cocktail and Pre-cut ringtones (I would rather buy a song than a ringtone). The biggest disappointment however, is the missing camera on iPod Touch and the unavailability of Beatles tracks on iTunes. Apple countered iPod Touch, by projecting it as a handheld gaming console with some interesting games (Assassins Creed 2, Madden 10 etc) being developed solely for them. Most importantly, there were price cuts across the entire iPod range. So does Apple continue to reign the roost?

A couple of days prior to the event, while skimming through news websites, I noticed a very obscure but potentially daunting article on how Apple’s iPhone is not spelling success for mobile network operators. The article was based on a research conducted by Strand Consult, a Danish Consulting firm, which for long claims to have predicted the failures of businesses where industry watchers had predicted otherwise. Intrigued by this revelation, I requested for a free copy of this comprehensive report.

A Squeeze on Shareholder Value

The report is extremely insightful, interesting and dispels all myths surrounding the iPhone. I have an affliction towards Apple’s superiorly creative offerings, which upon arrival shifts the market power and I am inclined to believe that Apple’s radical designs spell profits. Rightly so, given Apple’s super strong annual growth. However, iPhone is the first product where Apple has had to rely on external sales channels in the form of network operators to reach out to customers. Given the hysteria surrounding the initial launch of the 1st generation iPhone, helped by the company’s notoriously secretive approach to product development, iPhone was bound to be a success even before its launch. Apple consolidated the initial reception by entering into exclusive contracts with a handful of networks in mature markets. The networks on the other hand, were keen to differentiate from competition by being associated with Apple, which as a brand stands for being trendy, cool and sophisticated. So why does Strand Consult think that Apple doesn’t enhance shareholder value to the networks it is associated with?

Ever since, I have first held my mobile phone, there has been plenty of talk in the technology circles on how convergence of technologies will define the future of the mobile phone market. We have seen bursts of innovation showing glimpses of what convergence could achieve with a slew of new handsets being launched over the years with newer technologies. Cameras, MP3 Players, TV & Gaming on Mobile, eBooks etc. Except for Cameras and MP3 players, none of the other technologies have stuck on as they fail to deliver what they promise. In fact, until the iPhone, even the Cameras and MP3 players on mobile phones weren’t nearly good. The iPhone definitely is an industrial design which has turned the mobile market upside down.

But, it is not an invention which is new, but rather, a reinvention of a mobile phone with pre-existing technology. The only difference being the product performance features of the mobile phone which is being utilised to its optimum capabilities. For example, Touch Screen is not a new concept. I clearly remember a mobile phone which I owned five and half years ago, a Motorola A925 on Three network. It had everything an iPhone has now. It was a 3G phone, touch Screen, no separate keypad, it had video calling, camera, MP3 capabilities with an added memory card etc. Even the much talked Apps aren’t new. There were companies offering third party apps for mobile phones. Apple just rehashed the existing technology in a better way to give a superior product, in the process creating additional platforms to monetise self. Like I noted in one of my earlier posts, this has been the case with every product it has developed so far, be it Macs, iPods or iPhones. But all of these products have been tremendously successful.

Motorola A925

Going by Strand Consult’s report, iPhone sales haven’t been as dramatic as they seem for many reasons. Firstly, the product was launched to a select few countries and network operators when it launched. AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK, T-Mobile in Germany & orange in France representing a fraction of the market it serves to today. iPhone is now available in over a 100 markets and Apple has non-exclusive deals with multiple network operators, meaning customers have a choice to choose the network. Clearly, Apple’s comparative year on year growth is not an ideal representation given the expansion in markets. Secondly, the devout Apple consumer is usually one who is techno-savvy and seen as an early adapter. Given the contracts which the networks have in place to own an iPhone, it’s only the 1st Generation iPhone owners who are choosing 3GS. The 2nd generation customers have a few months to run out of their contracts and cost associated with early exit from their contracts deters them from adopting to the 3GS. New consumers embracing Apple is far and few as the market is flooded with iPhone look alikes with almost every mobile manufacturer offering wide, touch screen mobiles with similar functionalities.

Apple Squeeze

Also, Strand notes that despite iPhone’s initial exclusivity deals, networks haven’t seen an increase in marketshare and the high subsidies they have to offer to consumers, makes it difficult for them to cash in on other services. Unlimited Data, inclusive minutes and texts etc mean that there is no other value added resourced a network can offer the consumer at an additional cost, other than roaming which doesn’t rake in the desired moolah. With Apple widening it’s market reach by making the iPhone available through multiple networks, exclusive networks stand to loose further. In fact, Apple’s contract with O2 runs out in September, following which the iPhone is expected to be available with other UK networks, although O2 claims that it has renegotiated the contract.

I believe and attribute this to clever marketing by Apple. It has kept the company-consumer dialogue going while suppressing the delivery medium (networks in this case). Apple consumers are more connected to the company than the network. They interact with Apple more frequently than they do with their networks and in someway have developed a relationship which overrides their relationship with the operator. The efficiency and authenticity of the Apple brand stands taller than the service.

When the iPhone was due to be launched, networks clamoured for exclusivity and as a part of the bargain agreed on subsidies by giving up their part of the bargain. Now with their contracts running out they are still where they were with no bargaining power, while Apple has a larger base to choose from. Also, not to ignore the fact that Apple’s still charting an enormous positive growth irrespective of relational markets. Ultimately, what matters for a business is to be successful which can be measured by shareholder value and Apple has consistently achieved this with a number of channels. Be it an iPhone or a Macbook. However, this is a big dilemma for networks as they all want to be a part of something which hasn’t proven to offer much value. Operators have to radically realign their strategies if they were to compete in Apple space and Strand offers some valid arguments on this.

To know more, you can request a free copy of Strand’s Report here: The Moment of Truth – A True Portrait of an Iphone

Yet Another Tweet Post: Twitter benefits, Celebrities on Twitter, and random rants…

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Longhopper

2008 was a big year for Twitter users and 2009 promises to be even better. The micro-blogging site is a great social networking tool, putting individuals, businesses, celebrities and spammers on the same ground. Twitter is a micro-blogging tool which allows up to 140 characters of short messages to be broadcast from its interface, which can be read by any other Twitter user. Unlike Facebook or Linkedin, Twitter allows users to declare who they are interested in following. A User who is being followed by another user doesn’t necessarily have to reciprocate. In comparison with our regular blogging, which is limited to a few posts in a month, Twitter fulfills the need for a faster mode of communication as it demands very little need of time and thought for content creation.

It is far more easier to communicate with other users than through any other traditional means or by social networking tools. On Twitter, a majority of the users seem to be open minded and they are aware of their expectations from the platform, making it easier to connect with each other. The platform crosses all boundaries when it comes to Social Media interaction. While popular social networking sites like Facebook/Linkedin ensure people keep in touch with personal/professional acquaintances, Twitter lets users connect with almost anyone who has a Twitter account.

I have been on Twitter for very few weeks and I have actively started using it only from 26th November 2008, the day when Mumbai was attacked. Information dissemination capabilities of Twitter is incredible, which has been proved time and again during the Presidential elections, Mumbai attacks and recently during Apple’s keynote at Macworld Expo 2009. Couple of weeks before Christmas, Will blogged about how Arena Flowers newsletter was flagged as Spam by Messagelabs, resulting in fewer sales from the newsletter than usual. A few of our blog readers, suggested that the post made an interesting media story and we eventually featured on Daily Mirror. Following this, we decided to punt the story around to see if it could gain any more mileage. This is when I realised how powerful Twitter is as a communication tool as it was easier to interact with a few Journalists and editors of Technology News sites.

As a Sales and Marketing channel, Twitter has tremendous potential for businesses, although it is a common belief that social media marketing for businesses is hard to quantify, as a majority of the value is realised by creating awareness rather than directly translating it into profits. Recently Dell reported $1 million in sales from Twitter, which in effect sounds like a drop in the pond for the companye as it represents 0.0016 % of the revenue. At the time of writing this blog post, Dell had a combined total of 8550 Twitter followers from nearly 30 Twitter accounts, which is lower than Apple. True, Apple has a single Twitter account. However, $1 million from 8550 followers apart from the brand exposure Dell gets is incredible. Dell could do much more with Twitter if it could be a little more intuitive rather than being the bugle for the company. For example, if you look at all of Dell’s Twitter accounts, only two accounts seem to have a higher number of followers (Dell Outlet & Digital Nomads). Clearly, users like communication and both of these accounts seem to be doing great job in doing that. On the DellOutlet account, customers seem to be interacting with the company by posting questions and comments, while on the latter Dell interacts with all of its followers, which is explained by the number of Twitterers Dell follows back. This shows that it is vital for Twitter users be a part of the community rather than being one dimensional.

Facebook and Twitter, two of the popular forms of social media, may not be the biggest internet money making machines like Google. But people behind these companies as well as investors are backing it completely because these platforms are teeming with potential customers and an astonishing amount of data waiting to be mined by marketers. Just a question how these companies get to monetise it? Conventional marketing channels (Print, Television, Radio etc) are always limited to various resourcing constraints, particularly for small businesses. However, Web 2.0 offers a balanced platform and inexpensive advertising solutions for all entities irrespective of their size and might. This is why it becomes relevant for businesses and brands to promote themselves on such platforms.

Businesses are on the road to adapting newer forms of ever evolving media and the Web 2.0 offers tremendous opportunities for businesses to pursue. New media is certainly not same as the old web, where there was a one directional flow of information. It fosters a balanced communication between businesses and customers. It’s about every day lives of individuals and businesses connected to time. With interfaces that allow users to track lives of friends, families and acquaintances, social media has been registering an exponential growth in the recent years. Clearly for businesses, Twitter, along with other social media tools, will become pretty much the norm in the coming months and businesses will realise the need to have a recognised social media team to scrape out the opportunities it has to offer.

When I began writing the post, the intentions were to list out top British celebrities actively tweeting on Twitter Space, before I slacked on the weekend. By the time I got myself back to the post again, a fair number of celebrity lists as well as Twitter tips had been published on many popular blogs and sites. There are many interesting posts on how to benefit from Twitter, How to use Twitter, When to follow back twitterers etc. Caroline Middlebrook, an internet entrepreneur and blogger, has put together a comprehensive Twitter Guide, which is very useful for budding as well as established Tweeters. Also, there is a great list of top 100 influential marketer’s with links to their Twitter accounts. Over the last few weeks, ever since Jonathan Ross followed Stephen Fry into the Tweet space, he has effectively played a Twitter detective and authenticated the presence of many Celebrity Tweeters. Just yesterday, another list was published by Guardian. Although not Britain specific, It has a list of UK politicians on Twitter along with a US list and a generic celebrity list. So if you are looking for a list of famous tweeters who you would like to follow, you should probably head to one of these many links.

If you fancy, you could also checkout my Twitter account for some famous names and businesses.

Happy Tweeting!

Apple Wishlist: Would iPhone 32GB be a parting gift at Macworld? | Long Hop

Posted on December 22, 2008 by Longhopper

Unlikely. There are many other likely contenders for Apple‘s final goodbye to Macworld Expo. A number of rumours as well as expectations from enthusiasts on what Apple could announce have being doing the rounds for the past few weeks, including some really weird and outrageous ones.

Apple Cinascape

Personally, I have mixed emotions about Apple’s participation at Macworld. I am a recent adapter to Apple’s products and although I was aware of Apple’s presence at Macworld, I was a tad bit ignorant about the fact that new products are announced in every event. I have only realised the importance of these events to Mac enthusiasts after my last Apple purchase.

Blackberry Pearl I got my first 5th generation, uninsured white 30 GB iPod in August 2006 which was stolen from right under my nose after 11 months of life. Within a week of loosing it I replaced it with another iPod and a month after my purchase, Apple restocked the entire range of iPods with a newer version. Then in December 2007 I bought an iPod Touch which was upgraded with new features in February 2008. In October 2008, I treated myself to a Macbook Pro, only to see a newer Mac come out a few weeks later. I have been keen on buying an iPhone for a while now, but I had decided to hang on with my otherwise brilliant Blackberry Pearl until the Macworld Expo. Just when I was adapting to the Apple Community, Apple decides to bunk Macworld.

Strategically, the reasons Apple’s decision to move away from Macworld Expo could be various. While Steve Jobs’ health has often been rumoured as one, I would like to believe that trade shows simply do not fit into Apple’s future vision. Also, it has always affected the company’s sales during the peak Christmas period, with a vast number of consumers staying away from Christmas purchases with an expectation of an announcement of improved Apple products during the event. The company has a loyal customer base and the social influence of its customers is unmatched in comparison to any other product in any niche. As per the company’s own statement, it is reaching out to customers in more ways than ever before and probably doesn’t need trade shows to strengthen its brand. Apple is a financially sound company with large cash reserves and has done exceedingly well even under the current economic conditions world over.

However, given the turbulent and dynamic environment, it needs to reassess it’s strategies and I guess by pulling out of Macworld is one of the many decisions the company had to make. As an event, Macworld, supported by customary keynote by Steve Jobs, offered an incredible opportunity for third party developers and vendors to showcase their products and Apple’s decision seems to be severe blow to their prospects.

Also, it is a huge disappointment for thousands of Apple fans who have faithfully clocked in hundreds to thousands of miles for the event with high expectations. Coming back to Apple’s final participation in Macworld 2009, the company has confirmed that Phillip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Marketing will be stepping into Steve Jobs’ shoes for the keynote. So would this mean that there are no likely announcements for new products? There could be two ways about this. Either there is no product or there is something as a parting gift for all Apple disciples. If it is the latter, which of Apple’s products are on line for an upgrade? A couple of my personal choices are listed below based on rumours circulating in the web world.

The first of the biggest rumours hitting technology publication sites and blogs on the webworld is Apple’s purported entry into the low cost mobile industry with the launch of a 4GB Apple iPhone. It could well turn out to be a killer move for Apple as it could end up selling a lot more mobile phones than any of the industry leaders. Despite Nokia, Motorola, Samsung & Sony Ericsson’s iPhone like phones, they all tend to be in expensive brackets, which has to bought with a contract to offset the costs. A 4 GB iPhone could give iPhone access to the lucrative PrePay mobile phones market.

Product (Red) iPhone My personal favourite is a Product (Red) branded iPhone. (Red) is an initiative by U2 front man Bono and activist Bobby Shriver, to raise money for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. If announced, I might even forego my existing contract with Vodafone and move over to O2. Product (Red), despite it’s criticisms, for the campaign has cost nearly five times more than what it has raised so far, it appeals to me for its vision as well as it’s value as a brand.

Either that, or a 32 GB iPhone with HD capabilities. If announced, that’ll surely rock the event. Clearly, Apple already has a 32 GB iPod touch which is based on a similar NAND flash based memory used in iPhone. However, iPod Touch uses two units of 16 GB rather than a single unit used in iPhone, making the iPod Touch slightly bulkier than the iPhone. However, in the recent days, Toshiba, Samsung and other companies have released 32GB single unit NAND memories, which fits in easily into an iPhone. Technically, a 32GB iPhone is not far off. Just a matter of how long it would take for Apple to come out with one. I am sure to go either on a (red) iPhone or a 32 GB iPhone. It would be an incredible bonus if Apple launchs a 32 GB Product (Red) iphone.

Anyway, there are a number of other rumours, including an updated version of a Mac Mini, a new iMac and an extended range of Apple Cinema displays, as well as an improved version of Leopard, Apple iLife or even Snow Leopard.

As a parting note, the legacy of Apple brand continues to grow (literally) in uncharted territories. A Japanese farmer has grown a new kind of Fuji apples with Apple and iPod logos inscribed on them, by using stickers to shield the sunlight. More about that here and there’s a picture of Apple branded apples below (Courtesy: Gizmodo).

Apple Branded Apples

Facebook Connect or Google Friend Connect: Which One Offers Better Brand Visibility?

Posted on December 10, 2008 by Longhopper

I am mighty impressed with Facebook Connect. It offers a tremendous potential for businesses and individuals to improve their visibility on the web. Of course, both Google’s Friend Connect and Facebook Connect came out of their test phases at the same time, but at the moment Facebook Connect seems to be holding the sway, largely because of its impressive 120 million user base. MySpace too has a fairly large user base which matches Facebook, but the growing popularity of Facebook, coupled with a cluttery feel and template heavy profile pages makes MySpace a bit messed up in terms of aesthetics. With Facebook hungrily adding new features by the day, the longer term prospects of Facebook look much more attractive than that of MySpace unless it does something drastic to counter this.

MySpace certainly is not idle. It has constantly sought to improve it’s platform, and now with all the internet majors looking at data portability as an option, it comes as no surprise that it has tied up with Google for friend connect, along with the existing partnerships with Yahoo, eBay, Twitter & PhotoBucket. However, what MySpace really needs to do is to keep it simple and appealing to users. It really has to move away from its cluttery offering.

Google’s Friend Connect offers similar data portability as Facebook Connect, but again lacks in appeal and a popular social networking platform. Google has really failed in coming up with something as smart as either a Facebook or a Twitter. It’s very own Social Networking Platform, Orkut, has failed to catch-up with sufficient audiences and is limited to users largely from Brazil and India, failing in the first hurdle itself.

Facebook Connect, on the other hand, seamlessly integrates with a site or a blog with a one click login and allows users to interact with the site, which gets fed into the Facebook News Feed on the user’s Facebook Profile Page, making it visible to the user’s close community. This helps in increasing the brand and product awareness among Facebook users. Social influence in marketing is the key to succeed and Facebook offers this social influence in a surprisingly simple way to a very large user base at absolutely no cost. I am certain that in the coming months it will be a standard feature with many popular commercial/non-commercial online models as well as personal websites and blogs adapting to Facebook connect!

There is an early release of a WordPress Plugin for Facebook Connect developed by Six Jumps and I have been experimenting on this to get it live on my blog and should hopefully done on the weekend. It is incredibly simple to set up, with a little help from extensive tutorials by Six Jumps and I highly recommend getting this working soon on your blog. You will instantly have an army of friends marketing your blog to a wider audience.

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