By Samantha Karol
Marketing Assistant, CPX Interactive

Over the past couple of years, the blogosphere has exploded in popularity, and corporate blogs, like this one, are on the rise. According to a report by e-Marketer published this month, five separate surveys found that blog use by US companies and marketers had increased in 2008. “A University of Massachusetts survey of companies on the Inc. magazine 500 list found that 39% of respondents used blogging in 2008–more than double the 19% of a year earlier,” the report says.

Thus far in 2009, many marketers have begun employing social media strategies, and are considering blogs part of the equation. A February 2009 survey of US marketers by iMedia, cited in the eMarketer report, found that 70% of respondents were “personally spending a lot of time on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. but not moving dollars there,” and the remaining 30% had already spent money on social media and were planning on increasing their investments.

Over the past few months, CPX Interactive has employed a successful social media marketing strategy that includes a number of Web 2.0 sites, in addition to this blog and two others.  According to eMarketer, the number of US blog readers (Internet users who read blogs at least monthly) was 86.8 million in 2008, and they project that number to reach 96.6 million this year, and 128.2 million by 2013. If the number of blog readers does increase, then blogging will continue to be a successful and innovative way for companies like CPX Interactive to reach out through the Web.

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1. Retail advertisers continue to represent the largest category of Internet ad spending, accounting for 22 percent of revenues for the full year of 2008 or $5.0 billion, down from the 25 percent ($5.4 billion) reported in 2007.
2. Financial Services advertisers represented the second-largest category of spending at 13 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $3.0 billion, down from the 15 percent ($3.2 billion) reported in 2007.
3. Automotive advertisers accounted for the third-largest category of spending at 12 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.8 billion, up slightly from the 12 percent ($2.5 billion) reported in 2007.
4. Computing advertisers represented the fourth-largest category of spending at 12 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.7 billion, up slightly from the 11 percent reported ($2.3 billion) for the full year of 2007.
5. Telecom companies accounted for 9 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.0 billion, up slightly from the 8 percent ($1.7 billion) reported in 2007, while Leisure Travel (airfare, hotels & resorts) accounted for 6% of revenues ($1.4 billion) compared to the 7 percent or $1.5 billion reported in 2007.
6. Media accounted for 5 percent of revenues for the full year of 2008 or $1.3 billion, down slightly from the 6 percent ($1.3 billion) reported in 2007.
7. Consumer Packaged Goods and Food Products represented 6 percent of full year revenues ($1.5 billion) up from the 4% or $925 million reported in 2007. Entertainment accounted for at 4% of 2008 full year revenues ($917 million), down slightly from the 5% ($1.0 billion) reported in 2007.

–2008 Annual Results from the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report

By Samantha Karol
Marketing Assistant, CPX Interactive

The power of Internet advertising has reached new heights. Now, even an online ad that was presumed defunct can attract thousands of viewers.  This was the silver lining in the cloud that hovered over Domino’s Pizza earlier this month, when one such ad resulted in thousands of free pizzas.

This “power” is nothing new to us here at CPX. We work with more than 3,400 websites, monetizing 100% of their inventory, and deliver more than 30 billion impressions to more than 200 million unique users in more than 60 countries every month.

Last December, Domino’s created an online-only promotion, with the timely keyword, “bailout,” that would give users a free pizza. Though they abandoned the campaign before activation, they also forgot to turn off this particular advertisement.  So, when one hungry Internet user went searching for a Domino’s coupon code, tried using “bailout,” and received a free pizza, word spread quickly. So quickly in fact, that in only a few hours, 11,000 pizzas were delivered for free, most of them in the Cincinnati area.

Some quick math: If a medium pizza costs around $11 a pie, that’s more than $120,000 in lost revenue that corporate will have to reimburse to their franchises. But, this accident also taught them the effectiveness of online advertising. They were able to reach thousands of potential customers in a short amount of time without even trying. Imagine the possibilities for an ad placed on the CPX Interactive network.

Tonight, CPX Interactive Co-Founders, Mike Seiman and Carlton Hickman, will be in Los Angeles to attend a gala in honor of the First Ladies of Africa. The gala is sponsored by US Doctors For Africa, and is part of their first-ever Leadership For Health Summit, which will take place today and tomorrow.

Mike and Carlton are honored to attend the gala as guests of Mr. Ted Alemayhu, the founder and Executive Chariman of US Doctors For Africa, and someone with whom they share entrepreneurial and philanthropic interests.

Westbury, NY (PRWEB) April 16, 2009 — Progressive online ad network and global marketing company, CPX Interactive, has developed a technology/software solution that will let domain monetization and service providers offer client domainers URL-level performance and revenue insight into their massive domain portfolios. The solution, called CPXpi – Portfolio In-site, will begin beta testing with some of the industry’s largest players….

READ ENTIRE RELEASE HERE

Mike Seiman, CEO & Co-Founder of online ad network, CPX Interactive, is making a name for himself in the Web 2.0 world. He is now sharing news about CPX through his Twitter feed, and a newly created vlog (video blog) that he will update on a regular basis. Stay tuned for the latest information about CPX and the online advertising industry, straight from the top!

Check out this new video on the CPX Interactive YouTube Channel, and learn ten important facts about CPX, straight from our executive team.

In his blog post entitled “6 Things Smart Ad Networks Should Be Doing to Ensure Success in 2009,” CPX Interactive President, Rob Rasko, lays out a road map of priorities for those members of the ad network community that want to stay ahead of curve and define the industry landscape. Reading the post, it becomes clear that the unifying concept behind all 6 of Rasko’s suggestions is a new level of openness and communication between parties, as well as a focus on service.

He explains:

While it would be easy for ad networks to sit back on the successes of the past few years, I believe that this is the perfect time for ad networks to challenge ourselves to rise to the next level of innovation and collaboration with others in the industry. We should also take the opportunity to focus on the level of service we provide for our advertisers and publishers.

You can read the entire article HERE, but the outline of his suggestions is below:

1. PROVIDE PRODUCT VARIETY
2. COMMUNICATE THE FINANCIAL VALUE OF AD NETWORKS
3. MAKE BEST PRACTICES A PRIORITY
4. PRACTICE DUE DILIGENCE WITH PUBLISHERS
5. INITIATE SYNERGY WITHIN THE ONLINE ADVERTISING SPACE
6. ESTABLISH TRUST AMONG ADVERTISERS

READ ROB RASKO’S FULL POST

By Samantha Karol
Marketing Assistant, CPX Interactive

Twitter poses a simple question to its users: What are you doing? Trying to gauge public opinion of the social networking site, which now boasts over 11 million members, is anything but simple.  In addition to its staggering growth and dramatic rise in popularity, the existence of Twitter has led to the creation of numerous programs and websites to help people manage their feeds and the feeds of people they follow.  Twitter has also given new meaning to common words like “follow,” and created new words like “tweeps” and“retweet.”

As it has continued to develop, the site has been the subject of an incredible number of news articles and blog posts (including our own).  Often, the focus is on the value (or lack of value) for businesses using Twitter.   There are some who believe that Twitter is a great way to network with industry contacts and keep people updated on company happenings.  Entire sections of sites like Mashable are dedicated to Twitter tips, and some industry websites provide links to the most useful Twitter tools for businesses.

However, not everyone is completely sold on the Twitter hype.  There are some who believe the concept of the site is overrated, or at the very least, is not a legitimate business strategy.

A major part of my job since I joined CPX in January has been to utilize the plethora of Web 2.0 sites to get our name out there and connect to people.  The CPX Interactive Twitter feed is just one of our many social media profiles.

A number of the arguments against businesses using Twitter have to do with not using the site properly.  These points are certainly valid, as a company has to keep certain things in mind when they tweet that an individual may not. For example, following everyone you can find, is probably not the best idea, and simply posting tweet after tweet without any interaction with the community defeats the purpose.  It’s also important to go in with a realistic mindset, and be fully committed to making the most of it.    However, if a company does its homework before joining the “Twitterverse,” and is willing to put in the time on the site, there can be some pretty great benefits.

CPX is proud to have built up a following of over 500 tweeps.  Twitter has allowed us to share information on events we are attending or sponsoring, link to our other social media pages, share company news, and connect to countless valuable people and companies in our industry.  Like all of these sites, how much you’re willing to put into it greatly affects how much you will get out of it.  Different things work for different companies, but Twitter is definitely working for us.

There are so many social media sites on the Web that it’s often hard to keep track. Back in February, Marketing Assistant, Samantha Karol, posted instructions on using RSS feeds to stay connected to CPX. To make it even easier for people to find us on the Web, we have recently created pages on two new sites that allow us to provide links to all of our profiles in one place.

Check the CPX Interactive pages on cpxinteractive.mp and UnHub.