Category Archives: advertising

e-Vic – Personalization that works

Posted on July 24, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve seen many tries at personalization in the last decade. Most don’t work very well. Among the best personalization systems are Netflix’s and Amazon’s recommendations engines. There’s another to add to the list, and it comes from an unlikely source: … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, personalization | 3 Comments

Carl Kasell is a fake… friend

Posted on July 22, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m a fan of NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, a weekly news quiz hosted by Carl Kasell. The usually funny show features C- and D-list celebrities as well as audience callers answering questions about the week’s news. The prize … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, facebook, social networking | 2 Comments

GOOG = filthy rich?

Posted on June 15, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I came across this sponsored link when searching on Google’s ticker symbol: Today’s featured item on Woot is this USB Missile Launcher. (Sorry, it’s sold out.) I bet there are more than a few of these in the Googleplex.

Posted in advertising, fun, google | Comments Off on GOOG = filthy rich?

Another iPhone ad

Posted on June 6, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Saw this one on The Tonight Show. This ad focuses on the Internet capabilities of iPhone. I’d love to know how the Gray Lady got such prime air time and association with the most hyped device of the year. Would’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, apple, consumer electronics, iphone | 1 Comment

Apple begins airing iPhone ads

Posted on June 4, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Apple has begun airing ads for the iPhone, with a June 29 availability date. The three ads are available on Apple’s site. Never Been an iPod – This ad showcases Music, Videos, Photos, Calls. How to – This one focuses … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, apple, consumer electronics, iphone, wireless, wireless data | 3 Comments

Yahoo! markets oneSearch in TV ads

Posted on May 19, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Caught this commercial for Yahoo!’s oneSearch today. The ad features hikers who stumble across flora including the ficticious “crimson maneater”. It’s mildly amusing, but fails to sell mobile search. The query term used is “flowers in oregon”. They should put … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, mobile, mobile search, wireless, yahoo | 1 Comment

No more ugly T-shirts, please

Posted on April 26, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

This is a half Earth Day/half bad marketing rant. If you’re running a conference and want to give out T-shirts, make the designs something people will want to wear. I’m talking to you, Search Engine Strategies. Your T-shirt is so … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising | Comments Off on No more ugly T-shirts, please

Making better ads

Posted on April 26, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Every week, I get an email from United Airlines telling me about their e-fares for the coming weekend. Almost every week, I ignore this email because the information isn’t relevant to me. This week’s email includes fares from Burbank to … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, email, personalization, travel | 4 Comments

How to get traffic to your front door

Posted on April 12, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

As I’ve been traveling over the last few weeks, I’ve been amazed with the number of businesses that make it difficult for people to visit them in person. I’m not talking about online retailers who don’t want customers showing up … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, local search, maps | Comments Off on How to get traffic to your front door

Advertisers disintermediating newspapers, too

Posted on April 8, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I wrote yesterday about content providers disintermediating newspapers. Advertisers are doing the same. We’ve all heard about the effects that craigslist has had on the three pillars of the classified business: real estate, automotive and recruitment. Direct-to-consumer email poses a … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, local search, media, newspapers, publishing | 3 Comments