cadenceblog

2008 TechTarget Online ROI Summit

Aimed specifically for IT marketers, TechTarget Online ROI Summit is taking place April 24-25 2008, in Boston.  I heard it was very well received last year (their first year putting it on) and it was a good opportunity for peer networking. This year they have planned:

• Peer ROI Case Studies
• Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft on SEM
• IT Professionals Answer Your  Questions
• Intensive Workshops on Day Two
• Online Marketing Expert Speakers
• IT Market-Specific Breakouts

Visit the event website for more information. This event is for qualified technology marketers. You can also read more about it at TechTarget's marketing blog called My Educated Guess.

I am a customer of TechTarget, so I may possibly be attending this. If you have any plans to go, let me know.

The 800-CEO-READ Mystery Box for charity

Just a quick post to let you know about a fun offer from 800ceoread. For $20 (free shipping), you get three business books that were submitted for their Business Book Awards.  In this box you are guaranteed one title that either won, or made the shortlist for best book of 2007 in its category, and 2 other titles that were submitted for the awards.

The $20 will go directly towards Room to Read. You may have heard about this non-profit before - the founder John Wood, was a previous executive at Microsoft. There is an interesting story behind how he left the corporate world to start this non-profit which you can read more about here.  He also wrote a memoir in 2006 called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.

I have more than enough books on my reading list but I thought the mystery part was fun, and since it was going to charity, I couldn't pass it up. And I wanted to pass it on...

For more information visit 800-CEO-READ Mystery Box for charity!

Emergence of Virtual Tradeshows

Emergence of virtual tradeshows
In a previous post, I spoke about the emergence of virtual tradeshows. Since then, I have seen promotions  for many more of these events.  There is definitely a trend or interest to test this method of providing online content for education, branding, or lead generation purposes. I previously mentioned a  company called Unisfair that provides a platform for delivering virtual tradeshows. Another company that has come to my attention is InXpo. I came across a technology focused event called the Data Protection Dilemma, produced by Ziff Davis, which is now available on demand. One of the strengths of a virtual tradeshow is that content can remain on demand and be a  source of further lead generation (after the live event). If you visit InXpo's website, you can see some of the customers they are working with other than Ziff Davis,  including TIBCO and Wall Street Journal.  Ziff Davis has been using this channel extensively, visit virtualtradeshowslive.com, to see their lineup of technology focused events (and past shows on demand). 

Upcoming virtual expo for B2B Marketers
There is an upcoming show of interest for B2B Marketers on March 5, 2008 called B2B-2.0 Expo: What's New in Finding+Keeping Customers. This show focuses on solutions for B2B marketing in the Web 2.0 world. They have a great lineup of speakers, check out the website for full details on the program and presenters. The organizer is MarketingProfs, and there are several sponsors, including some of the marketing "thought leadership" companies I have spoken about in the past, including MarketingExperiments, Eloqua, intouch, and Marketo. It looks like a perfect opportunity to learn more about marketing with Web 2.0 , research new marketing solution providers, and experience a virtual tradeshow environment.

More resources on virtual events

No Travel Required of this Kind of Show, my previous post on virtual tradeshows.

Virtual events and measuring ROI keys (from BtoBonline)

Virtual events' success grows (from BtoBonline)

Also please feel free to comment on your experience on attending, sponsoring, or creating content for a Virtual Tradeshow. Is this a viable channel for B2B Marketers to reach and engage with customers and new prospects? How does this compare with Second Life virtual events? Does this meet the demands of reaching a global market or small-medium size businesses where travel is more difficult?

Update:  Please check out some related posts by other bloggers:

The Value of Tradeshows

Virtual Business Conferences

Upcoming PodCamp in Toronto

PodCamp - the New Media Community Unconference, is taking place in Toronto, Feb. 23-34, 2008. Having been to a few camp style events, I really look forward to going to this one. This is a free and open, community driven event, where anyone can present or just attend. As the website says:

"PodCamp isn't just about podcasting! If you're interested in blogging, social media, social networking, podcasting, video on the net, if you're a podsafe musician (or want to be), or just someone curious about new media, then please join us -- and bring a friend or colleague."

Visit the Toronto site to register, or visit the main site  for upcoming PodCamps in other cities.  Check out the Toronto sessions. There are over 300 folks registered so far for the Toronto event! 

Super Bowl Post Game Analysis - Social Media and Online Marketing

I really haven't followed any regular season sports for a long time. I'm one of  "those people " that usually tune in during post season when something exciting is going on, and that's how I come to watch the Super Bowl most years.

I watch for another reason too -- for the advertising spots and half-time show. It is that one time of the year when you actually anticipate watching advertising. Like others, I am curious what companies will deliver knowing that it costs millions of dollars (2.7 million this year) for that 30 seconds  of airtime.

What's different this year - social media metrics?
I'm not an advertising expert, so I'm not going to break out into analysis. I was mostly interested to read up on online metrics and possibly social media. Advertising Age did have an article called "Whose SuperBowl Ads Scored Online?". It is interesting because it says that this year reports are considering social media as part of the ratings:

"One change from years past: The report card took into account brands' social-media presences, a response to the fact that social-media sites are beginning to dominate search-engine results pages. One marketer that performed well last year thanks to its paid-search presence was Salesgenie.com. This year Reprise knocked it because it didn't have any presence in the category."

For a bit more analysis on online ratings and the Reprise Media search marketing score card mentioned in the article above, visit Super Bowl 2008: The Winning Brands. Pepsi, GoDaddy, and Cars.com, were this year's winners.   

Incidentally,  Salesgenie was the only B2B  related company that advertised this year. Some people say that the ads were better than last year, while others had a more negative reaction.

Watch the commercials in one spot:
If you missed the commercials or want to see them again, you can view them at myspace broken down by quarter (they actually aired this link during the game for reviewing later). For a breakdown by company visit Advertising Age (includes title, brand, and agency information).