The first thing you have to do if you want to reach online consumers is make a space for yourself on the search engines’ first page of results. This in itself is an arduous task. But alone it is not enough, because what happens when a potential client enters our web site?
As always, Google provides us with the free, online response. The company has just launched a Web metrics application which, among other information, provides data regarding the origin of each visitor, the links and web pages he accesses frequently, and the amount of time he spends on each. In short, Google Web Analytics is a tool -as good as any other software at the top of the sector’s range- for judging the usability of a web page and for improving this aspect.
And it has come on the scene at the right moment: investment in online advertising keeps growing, surprisingly led by traditional advertisers, which in Spain already contribute more than half of the total spending on Internet publicity. Having overcome apprehension towards the dotcom boom, companies are now opting for Net visibility as a key factor in the growth of their business.

Search engine-based formats and sponsored links advertising has increased by almost 200% over the course of the last twelve months, and already represents some 30% of Spain’s total investment in interactive publicity. As a result, and with the intention of encouraging investment in contextual advertising, Google has just presented Google Web Analytics, a service which makes it possible for the advertiser to carry out a thorough follow-up of the use of his Web page.

Full Story (PDF, 74 Kb)

Title: Estudio sobre inversión publicitaria en medios interactivos en España. Resultados primer semestre de 2005 (Report on investment in interactive media advertising in Spain. First Quarter Results, 2005)
Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau Spain & PricewaterhouseCoopers
Date: December 10, 2005
Abstract: During the first quarter of 2005, investment in interactive media advertising grew about 52.5% more than during the same period in 2005. According to a report carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau Spain (IAB Spain), 65.97 million euros were invested (in Spain) in online advertising during the first six months of the year.
According to the report, there are two reasons for this rapid growth in investment. It is first of all due to more frequent use of the Net on the part of traditional advertisers, whose investment already accounts for around 55% of total spending. Secondly, it the result of a rise in search-engine based publicity and advertising carried out via sponsored links, a format which draws together 31.5% of total investment. Sponsored links recorded a year-on-year growth of 195%, confirming the consolidation of this form of advertising in the Spanish market.
On the other hand, the report confirms a fall in investment in systems such as pop-ups, layers (floating ads) or transitional ads. Representing 10.6% of investment in the first quarter of 2004, spending on these formats has now been cut by half and accounts for only 4.7% of the total. General rotations -publicity which can appear in any section or segment of a portal- are also losing footage. They now constitute for only 9.5% of total investment. And bartering, a method of contracting publicity based on the exchange of free advertising between different media, has practically disappeared. While in 2004, bartering represented approximately 4.2% of investment, it now accounts for only 0.3%. On the contrary, a growing tendency towards video-based advertising can be noted.
Advertisers in the telecommunications sphere invest more in interactive media (17.9%) than those of any other industry, followed by the financial sector (16.2%), portals (11%), and the automobile (9.8%) and tourism industries (7.5%).

Full Story

Title: La Sociedad de la Información en América Latina (The Information Society in Latin America)
Source: Latin American Business Center (CELA) and DRM Consulting
Date: November 8, 2005
Abstract: Chile is leader in the Latin American Information Society and obtains the highest score in the Information Society’s Index (ISI), the first indicator for measuring the level of ICT development and the extent of its use in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. From now on, this index, devised by IESE’s Center for Latin American Businesses (CELA) and DRM Consulting will be drawn up on a quarterly basis.
Chile obtains the highest qualification in the ISI, with a total score of 6.24 out of ten. Brazil follows with 4.27 points, Mexico with 4.97, and finally, Argentina with 4.21.
Among other social and economic variables, the availability and use of computers, the number of Internet users per thousand inhabitants and mobile telephone usage are taken into account. In Chile, a high level of mobile phone penetration is manifest, 626 terminals per thousand inhabitants, while the average in the rest of Latin America hovers around 413. Similarly, Chile has a 63% advantage against the other countries in the region considering the number of computers per head.  

Full Story

Podcasting, that is, the synthesis of audio Internet content (usually in MP3 format) for online distribution, began only a year ago, during which time there has been a spectacular increase in the number of people using the service. This is particularly true in the EU, where according to consultancy firm, The Diffusion Group (TDG), figures are expected to reach a total of 4.5 million podcasters.
Conscious of the influence of podcasting, companies and the major means of communication are looking for a way to make the most of this phenomenon. At the moment, there is no existing clearly-defined advertising model, so companies are experimenting with different formats. More frequently used than any other is the content sponsoring method; for example, Purina has launched a weekly podcast –employing expert opinion and participation- with animal lovers in mind. Others are attempting to attract funds without having to resort to advertising. “This week in Tech”, a podcast dedicated to technology, is one example. With more than 200,000 listeners each making a monthly donation of 2, this podcast’s collection brings in 100,000 dollars a month. The success of such initiatives awakens us to the possibility that users may even be prepared to pay a monthly subscription for the Internet content on offer. Search engines are also joining the podcast publicity market -already baptized “podvertising”- and podcast search services are already available on both Yahoo! and Google. Podcasting is clearly on the rise, but whether it is a profitable way of advertising is yet to be seen. Blogging is another of the Net’s most recent big phenomena, and yet, only 0.09% of promoters use it as an advertising platform.

News in The Register and Libertad Digital
Articles in iMedia connection, Business Week, Error 500 and Media Post Publications
Definition of podcast at Wikipedia

The allocation of Internet domains will continue to be the task of the Internet Corporation for the Assignment of Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization which has been doing so since 1998 and which reports indirectly to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Thus it was established by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), (Tunis, November 16-18), although the door has been left open for the European Union’s proposal to create an international forum for discussion on issues affecting the Net’s development and access to Internet content. Such an initiative could result in the creation of an independent, international Internet governing body.
The ICANN’s main role is to ensure the effective running of the Internet Domain Name Server (DNS). DNS servers are responsible for translating the URL of a given Website (http://...etc.) to a numerical IP address (of the 00.00.00.000 kind). Despite the fact that this is a non-profit organization, run by volunteers from across the globe, its historical association with the North American government has been criticized on several occasions.
The gap in digital resources was another topic debated at the Summit, a void which could be filled with the arrival of one of the most welcome initiatives: the launch of a computer costing only 100 dollars, developed by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and devised by Nicholas Negroponte, one of the Institute’s founders. The idea is for this computer to be produced on an industrial scale for distribution to between 100 and 150 million students in developing countries. Yosho Utsumi, the secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), also set a goal, that of connecting all areas of the globe to Internet by 2015, an operation which could cost around a thousand million dollars.

News in International Herald Tribune and ToptechNews
Articles in Financial Times and Wired

SIMO 2005, Spain’s most important technology fair came to a close last Sunday after having been visited by 285,000 people. This year, the big electrical company’s conspicuous for their absence. Firms such as Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and LG considered the fair to be too consumer-focused. Sony, for instance have demonstrated their preference for participating in another style of similar event, such as the trade fair in Berlin.
In an attempt to make the fair more attractive to professionals, the World Information Technology Forum was held this year; the forum’s main objective was to investigate future tendencies sphere of technology and business. The event was enhanced by the contribution of some gurus in the field. Among them were expert in the identification of influential strengths and tendencies driving knowledge economy, Alvin Toffler, and Yves Doz, considered to be one of the most outstanding leaders in European management.
Another of the great protagonists of this event has been digital leisure. Microsoft, for example used SIMO to its advantage, presenting its new operating system, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, specially designed for digital entertainment purposes. In addition, the Digital Community zone was organized for the second year running. On display here were new home technology applications. Examples were Dilartec’s, new home automation management system, and Philips’ exhibition of digital home solutions. 

News in Navegante, La Vanguardia (payment service) and PCWorld

By Gemma Tonijuan, Content Coordinator of e-business Center PwC&IESE
Mobile marketing publicity personalizes messages and adapts them to the consumer’s profile. It also allows the campaign’s impact to be measured in real time.

Full Story (PDF, 77 Kb)