The birth of the internet shook the foundation of many markets, in particular our own media industry. Over the past decade and a half, online advertising has blossomed into the potential genius alternative to the more traditional media outlets — wooing media buyers with the promise of “real-time metrics” and the technology that allows better targeting capabilities. It’s all these promises of marketing capabilities that has propelled online media into securing a larger slice of overall budgets — stealing dollars from traditional media bucket. However, in order for online media to surpass traditional media budgets, the industry must further innovate in terms of scale and targeting. This will involve delivering value above and beyond what advertisers are currently capturing from TV.

One of the critical components that will enable the shift in budget allocation is in the one thing that makes online advertising so unique: the underlying power of ad-targeting data. As it currently stands, the digital industry is overrun with data: “Data, data everywhere, but no one has the means to truly leverage it.” The digital ad industry is still a ways off from being able to leverage “data potential” from ad context and consumer behavior.

Read the full article on iMedia Connection

RichRelevance’s Darren Hitchcock blogs on Econsultancy.

The importance of fast load times in an online retail environment has been proven time and time again. Online, a shopper’s time literally equates to money.

Now, the research from our recent mobile study shows that it’s a shopper’s time on tablets that should be the focus on your website optimisation initiatives.

In the UK, 82% of mobile purchases are made on the iPad.

Tablets and speed: the stats

This past March, Compuware surveyed shoppers and found that almost 70% of tablet users expect a website to load in two seconds or less. If your mobile site isn’t fast enough, your customers will move along (and quickly) to the next click.

According to the study, a bad web experience will drive 46% of tablet users to competitive websites and 33% are less likely to purchase from that company. Comparatively, a Strangeloop survey reveals that shoppers using a PC are a bit more patient, with the majority allowing a full three seconds before making the jump. A shocking 80% of those users, once they’ve abandoned the site, will not return.

Performance is also key when digging deeper into our mobile study. Not only is mobile responsible for over 10% of all online business; but the study also revealed that browsers spend more time on iPads with page views higher than any other channel.

Read the full article on eConsultancy

When the movie “Minority Report” was released in 2002, it was pure Hollywood that depicted a world where personalized screens would follow a shopper’s every move — whether walking through a mall or entering the local Gap store. Fast-forward 10 years, and this world of personalized screens is actually a reality driven by the sheer number of mobile devices consumers have access to today. This “ubiquity of screens” combined with the untethering of shopping from physical stores, has created a highly fragmented marketplace making it a greater challenge for brands to engage with consumers in the right context.

However, with change comes opportunity. A consumer’s shopping mode can be turned on at any moment, not just when they’re in the store or watching TV, but when they see something that piques their interest (think of the rapid rise of Pinterest) and want to explore or buy at that exact moment. The smartest brands are shifting their media investments to be in direct alignment with the shopping actions of the consumer by leveraging new and unique marketing channels that directly intersect with the path to purchase.

Read full iMedia article

How often have you heard the phrase “reaching the right person, at the right time, with the right message?” It is a phrase that represents the Holy Grail of media. A phrase that promises hope to advertisers suffering from sleep deprivation and battling visions of dancing mortgage ladies in their heads. A phrase that, up until recently, was more of a dream than a reality.

Over the last few years, with the increase of consumer spending online, ecommerce sites have cemented their role as a critical marketing channel for brands that want to reach online consumers at the highest point of brand consideration. This ability has quickly changed the face of advertising and is reshaping how brands engage shoppers in wholly new media opportunities on retail sites, which were previously relegated to MDF and trade funds.

Read the full iMedia article

RichRelevance Chief Evangelist Jake Bailey, With the advent of shopping related media in the ad market today, it’s no surprise that many people have a hard time defining the right expectations for performance from their retail publishing partners.

Not long ago, it was unheard of for a brand or agency to be purchasing digital media on a retailer’s website. However, with the amount of cross-channel shopping that consumers are doing, and with the amount of influence that websites have on in-store purchases, it’s no longer something brand advertisers can ignore.

In fact, for many of the world’s largest CPG advertisers, it’s imperative to include retail websites in a standard up-front buy and/or digital media campaign.

Read Econsultancy Blog Post by Jake Bailey

Google have defined the  ’Zero Moment of Truth’ - the point at which a consumer starts researching a purchase online. Jake Bailey of RichRelevance offers best practices for CPG marketers seeking to optimise a vital moment in the relationship between brands, retailers and consumers.

Read more on Figarodigital.co.uk

In 1994, when the Internet was in its infancy, renowned Internet strategist Dr Jakob Nielson argued that Web users paid much less attention to information not visible in the first screen view of a website. The term “below the fold” was born to highlight this area that was only visible after users scrolled down. Three years later Nielson added that scrolling was “no longer a usability disaster”, but the debate has raged amongst marketers ever since.

Read more on New Media Knowledge

RichRelevance CEO, David Selinger, talks about big data on the Wall Street Journal FASTech blog.

There’s a big gap in Big Data, but it’s not in the numbers—it’s between the engineers and the executives at companies around the world.

“The gap is on the management side,” said David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance, a company that analyzes retail data to help companies better target customers with the products they want. “The thinking is, if IT is empowered, then management is not empowered.”

Selinger spoke at the VentureWire FASTech conference along with fellow Big Data executives Andi Mann, VP of strategic solutions for CA Technologies, and Jack Story, CTO of Wipro Technologies.

Continue reading on the Wall Street Journal

By Darren Vengroff, Chief Scientist and VP of Product, RichRelevance

1 Aug 2011: When done strategically, personalisation has been proven to considerably improve the bottom line. In addition to providing a unique and relevant experience for every customer, a comprehensive personalisation solution can also generate millions of pounds in attributable sales. As one of the key touchpoints in the customer lifecycle, email marketing is an important element of any ecommerce personalisation strategy.

Continue Reading at Database Marketing

By Darren Vengroff

Among the barrage of marketing emails consumers receive today, you can be sure that those with generic content are most quickly diverted to the trash. As one of the key touchpoints in the customer lifecycle–website, bricks-and-mortar store, call centre, catalogue, being a few others–email marketing is an important element of any ecommerce personalisation strategy. Personalising your email campaigns will enable you to provide relevant, timely and meaningful content that fosters trust while promoting customer engagement and loyalty. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when embarking on a personalisation strategy for your email marketing programme:

Continue Reading at Catalogue e-business