Meghan Keane

Before becoming US Editor at Econsultancy, Meghan was a staff writer at Wired.com. There she wrote about business, technology and advertising for Wired's business blog Epicenter. Prior to that she was a freelance writer and worked as the Deputy Culture Editor at The New York Sun.

Reaching out to the blogosphere can pay dividends

Ford has shipped out a few of its new Lincoln MKS sedans to bloggers, along with a brand new Flip video camera. And the preliminary results are in. Today on her lifestyle and self improvement site DishyMix, Susan Bratton posted Lincoln MKS's "First Video Review," and if her daughter's reaction is any hint, it is a hit.

It's unclear how far this effort will spread around the blogosphere, but it is a smart effort on Ford's part. They're obviously hoping the reviews will be positive, but by sending out Flip cameras with the vehicles, Ford has attached its brand (that it hopes to position as a technological marvel) to a fun little gadget that has great brand recognition and usability. Obviously the automanufacturer is hoping its car will inspire similar reactions.

by Meghan Keane 20 May 2009 21:34pm 3 comments

Everybody wants a piece of Twitter, including Google

Twitter's popularity is sparking all kinds of rumors about the company's future, and Google higher ups added fuel to the fire this week by implying that their company plans to partner with the micro-blogging service.

At the search giant's annual annual Google Zeitgeist conference Tuesday, Google cofounder Larry Page made it clear that they are covetous of Twitter's real time offerings. Page said that their company has so far “done a relatively poor job of creating things that work on a per second basis...People really want to do stuff in real-time and they [Twitter] have done a great job about it... We will do a good job of things now we have these examples.”

CEO Eric Schmidt tampered down rumors that Google is looking to buy Twitter though, saying “We do not have to buy everyone to work with them." And that's a good thing for Twitter.

by Meghan Keane 20 May 2009 18:28pm 0 comments

Pandora gets freed by the iPhone, helped by the recession

After years of battling over royalty fees, internet radio station Pandora is finally moving its balance sheet into the black. Getting a boost of subscriptions from its iPhone app, Pandora is also learning that its users have a much higher tolerance for ads than it previously thought.

A beloved service with a host of financial problems stemming from record industry copyright fees, Pandora now intersperses ads into its free content and the company is finding that audiences don't seem to mind.

Pandora founder Tim Westergren spoke to Bloomberg News about the company's finances Tuesday:

"With budgets tightening in the recession, advertisers are becoming more selective about where to spend money. That benefits Pandora because it can deliver ads to targeted users, making sure commercials aren’t “wasted” on the wrong demographic group, Westergren said."

by Meghan Keane 20 May 2009 16:09pm 1 comment

Everything new Pepsi is old again

Pepsi may not be rolling out its new retro logo in Europe for another year, but the soft drink giant is making use of its old school theme somewhere - in new media. Pepsi's new logo, which borrows from an older aesthetic (and has noted similarities to the Obama campaign logo), is now latching on to the popularity of nostalgia shows online and pairing its new "Pepsi Throwback" with 70s and 80s shows on Hulu.

Three 15-second ads will promote Pepsi's new product made from real sugar, an ingredient that was dropped in favor of by corn syrup in American soda products 40 years. And the spots will match the enthusiasm for nostalgic shows like Hill Street Blues and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, replete with Pet Rocks, shag carpeting, and fondue pots.

by Meghan Keane 20 May 2009 00:15am 1 comment

What does shying away from advertising get you in a down market? An IPO

Later tonight, OpenTable plans to announce its IPO. The San Francisco-based restaurant reservations system, headed by former eBay and PayPal executive Jeff Jordan, filed for a $40 million initial public offering in February, which then made it only the third venture nationwide to file for an IPO this year.

So how did the company manage 21% growth in revenue since last year and position itself to IPO in such a beleagured market? By forgoing advertising for a subscriptions model and some formidable marketing muscle.

by Meghan Keane 19 May 2009 21:58pm 1 comment

Is app revenue sharing the secret to Facebook's future profitability?

Facebook may have 75.5 million monthly visitors, but the world's most popular social network is not getting by on advertising alone. This month, estimates for total revenue from applications will be roughly equal to Facebook's profit through advertising. And it seems like Facebook is looking for cash in on that lucrative market.

According to AdAge:

Facebook is testing a payments system with some of its developers that would enable one-click buying of virtual goods and services on the Facebook platform, with Facebook taking either a percentage of the transaction or a flat fee. In addition, Facebook is testing a service to allow users or advertisers to buy and trade "credits" or a virtual currency to facilitate commerce. Spokesman Brandon McCormick said three tests of the system will commence in the coming weeks.

by Meghan Keane 19 May 2009 19:54pm 2 comments

If you're going to robocall, be prepared to get Rick Rolled

Telemarketer based frustration used to be a personal grievance, but with the number of technologies at the finger tips of consumers today, marketers have to be wary of the tactics they use to reach out to customers. Case in point: Auto One Warranty Specialists Inc.

The company hired a third-party marketing firm to call consumers who opted in to receiving solicitations. They were informed their car warranty was about to expire. But many of the recipients hadn't opted in. And many of them don't even own cars.

by Meghan Keane 19 May 2009 16:31pm 1 comment

Half the battle in social media is figuring out what to measure

Today at the IAB Social Media Conference in New York, the Interactive Advertising Bureau released a new set of best practices for social advertising online. The IAB began setting standards for online advertising in 1996, and the new guidelines are meant to make social media ad buys more standardized, and especially, more scalable.

This is important in the social media space, where so many people are still unsure of what they want from social media campaigns and what their campaigns are capable of there. However, it is still unclear if the large social media networks will adhere to the standards.

by Meghan Keane 18 May 2009 23:06pm 1 comment

Reckitt takes the plunge into online advertising. Will it work?

A lot of traditional brands have been talking about their online presence, but Reckitt-Benckiser decided to put their money with their mouth is last month. After five years of organic growth in their advertising, Reckitt moved $20 million of their TV ad dollars to the web in April.

The company, which represents such brands as Clearasil, Lysol, Air Wick, Mucinez, and Finish, is moving the advertising for over 15 of its brands to the web.

According to TNS Media Intelligence, the company has traditionally spent move than 90% of its $475 million measured-media budget on TV, and last year spent less than $1 million in measured spending on the web.

But in order to get a better return on their investment, the company decided they needed to invest more in the digital space.

by Meghan Keane 18 May 2009 21:28pm 1 comment

Scribd looks for a foothold in the eBook market

Amazon has quickly emerged as the leader in the nascent eBook market, but a company launching today has the potential to change all that.

Amazon has the upper hand versus Sony's Reader because of its prolific backlog of content. Most important to their foothold is the way that they control content. Books purchased in the Amazon store are only viewable on the Kindle and the Kindle iPhone app. But if a company can undercut Amazon's prices and get access to the same quality content, they could unseat Amazon.

by Meghan Keane 18 May 2009 16:04pm 1 comment