Lionel Matecha | Web Marketing

Stop SOPA or the web really will go dark

2012-01-17T13:28:00.001-08:00

Read the Guardian
article.

Immersive Online Game Product Marketing

2011-04-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Magnum Pleasure Hunt online promo/game is an amazing example of user-immersive online marketing.

Hilarious Kodak Moment Video

2010-09-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

This BCAMA VISION 2010 conference presentation by Jeffrey Hayzlett of Kodak includes a genuinely hilarious "Kodak Moment" intro video.

Micro blogging with Twitter

2009-08-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying micro blogging with Twitter so much that I may not bother to add more regular blog posts here. I can already upload photos to Twitter and possibly very soon video clips. Google: Is it time to buy Twitter?

LMatecha now on Twitter

2009-02-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

I've been using my iPhone for over six months and decided it's time to also use Twitter - it's amazingly easy. I can add a tweet while I'm standing in line at Starbucks or Tim Hortons (we have both in the lobby of our office building). Follow me at twitter.com/lmatecha where I will be much more active than on my blog. My most recent tweets are shown at right.

Apple Leopard ad: breaking out of the banner box

2008-01-19T16:35:00.001-08:00

The Apple vs PC ads are typically well written and fun to view. Now they have a clever ad that uses both parts of their animated top and side banner ads. See 'PC' below in both banner ads at the same time.

Interactive Marketing with TripAdvisor

2007-11-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

One of the things that kept me busy late last year and in early 2007 was planning a trip to Southern France. TripAdvisor was a great tool for getting first-hand feedback from other travelers - thus helping to make accommodation decisions. While on the trip, I made a point of asking the proprietors of two separate B&Bs about their opinion of TripAdvisor and other online services (it's hard to turn off the marketing mind while on vacation). TripAdvisor was given a big approval rating and it was seen as a great online success story. Here are TripAdvisor links to two excellent places to stay in Southern France: Charmes de Carlucet near Sarlat and Le Lavandin near Avignon.

(top photo) Poppy field next to Charmes de Carlucet.
(lower photo) Sunset at Le Lavandin.

Bogged Down by Blogger

2007-11-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since my last blog entry - a busy year or so since my last post. Getting back to blogging was a bit difficult thanks to Blogger's less-than-effective method of converting my old blogger service to current standards. Sorry, Blogger. I don't like to complain but it took me almost half an hour before I could get your system to recognize my existing Gmail account and map it to my blog. With a bit of creative problem solving, I used three browsers simultaneously to avoid cookie trails. Yikes!

Turning a new page

2006-08-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

Quite a clever Intel ad at the Information Week website. The top right corner of the web page 'curls back' to reveal an Intel ad when you mouse over that area. Then it closes when you move your mouse away. It's nice to see some creativity rather than just another 'in your face' banner ad. Nicely done!

Neil Young's Living With War Album - Wow!

2006-05-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just got a chance to hear the first three tracks of Neil Young's 'Living With War' album via his blog. Wow! Great stuff and what a great way to get the music directly to his audience quickly via free previews until the CDs were available.

The Politics of Advertising

2006-01-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

There has been a fair amount of controversy regarding 'attack' ads during the Federal election here in Canada (election day is January 23, 2006). Although there is much talk about the negative style of the ads and whether or not they are appropriate, I have seen no media coverage of the ad agencies who create the ads. A Google search provided no results. Very interesting, especially given that the sponsorship program/ad agency scandal was a key factor in the calling of the election.

Podcast News Release

2005-11-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

How about providing a Podcast to go along with a news release?. Quotes from management, a typical news release feature, could be expanded to include interviews or press conference clips. It's already standard procedure to include a relevant website address within a news release and video news releases have been around for quite a while.

Splash Page Ads Part Two - Interactive Marketing

2005-09-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Further to my previous comment about splash page ads a while back, I've noticed that some of the ads are getting closer to the interactive marketing model. By providing links to rich media content such as corresponding TV ad campaign clips, certain advertisers are using interactive marketing techniques within splash page ads. Users have the option to click to more advertising (in the form of brief entertainment) buy my inclination is still to click the 'skip this ad and proceed directly to the home page link.

The Power of Suggestion

2005-08-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

How does the name of an image affect a viewer's response to that image? What do you see in the above photograph? Does your opinion change when you read the following description: Nuclear containment is a closed-loop system? Let me know what your first reaction was to the above image before you read this paragraph.

AMA Blog: Marketing Beyond the Website

2005-08-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Excellent resource for marketing discussions is located at the American Marketing Association's blog. Topical, informative and thought provoking. Check it our for yourself at www.marketingpower.blogs.com.

Sample photo of my favourite subject

2005-08-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

Title: Winter portrait

Online Stock Photography: Great Choice. Great Price.

2005-08-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

It's quite amazing how the stock photography business has changed over the last few years. I remember purchasing the first four CDs from Photodisc over ten years ago and now you can find excellent images online for under $10 each. As a long-time amateur photographer, I've decided to take the plunge and submit some of my work to a few online stock photo sites. I'll try to post some samples here. Comments welcome!

Innovative Domain Names for Targeted Marketing Campaigns

2005-08-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

I’ve noticed a few innovative web domain names recently for targeted marketing campaigns that direct selected audience groups to specific landing pages. The new twist is that the domain names match the campaign headlines and are generally humorous or edgy. Instead of “a-b-c-shoes.com”, the domain might be “whydomyfeethurtsomuch.com”, for example. With the right support in the appropriate target market, this may be a hit.

Palm: One brand strategy

2005-07-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Palm, the handheld device leader, on re-combining their hardware and software companies into one entity. Thus, they are once again able to promote a unified brand image. I've always liked Palm products (used their PDAs for many years) and was confused by the Palm vs. PalmOne split a few years ago. I could never remember which site to go to for software updates. It makes much more sense to just choose between hardware and software at "one" website.

Banner ads that break out of the box

2005-06-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

More interesting use of Flash to create out-of-the-box banner ads is showing up on popular sites like Wired News. One recent example includes large graphic elements with irregular shapes that descend from the banner when you mouse over the ad. The result is quite effective, although I'm not sure if I like the fact that the page content is partially covered by an ad. This particular example was sophisticated enough to "retract" like a drop-down menu when you move the mouse away from the ad. I don't mind seeing these types of ads as long as they are well executed and give me some sort of control over how long they stay on screen.

Splash page ads

2005-03-31T21:32:00.000-08:00

What's the deal with splash page ads? They seem like a throwback to the late 1990s when some websites forced users to view an advertisement before getting to their home page. I appreciate that this time around, there is typically a "skip this ad" feature and users are automatically directed to the actual home page after a few seconds. Will splash page ads create a new user backlash as per the "skip intro" scenario? For those of us that had the good fortune to view the hilarious skipintro.com site a few years ago, let's hope that skipthisad.com will soon be available for viewing.

Advertisements within website navigation

2005-03-20T22:31:00.000-08:00

It seems there are some interesting online advertisement placement strategies being undertaken recently. I noticed that Forbes.com includes small banner-style ads at the bottom of each drop-down menu within their website's main navigation bar. One of the ads clicks through to a very well thought out and compelling interactive advertisement that uses "talking head" movies that guide viewers through a series of choices. Technically superior to most other interactive ads, it also includes subtle use of humor that kept me interested enough to hang around for a while. Perhaps pop-up ad blockers are forcing web marketers to get more creative.

How will blogs shape web marketing?

2005-03-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

With the ever-increasing acceptance of public blogs by many organizations, how can marketing and communications departments create effective strategies for communicating to their target audience groups? How will blogs help to shape corporate websites?

It's not enough for an organzation to create a website that contains static information when anyone can comment on their management, staff, products, services, competitors, etc. at any time. It is important for marketing and communications teams to accept blogs as an assett - not a threat. Blogs may be an excellent opportunity to create a dialog with an organization's key external stakeholders. Used appropriately, blogs create an opportunity for meaningful and timely two-way communication on a variety of topics. Something that is not possible with a traditional website.

As a web marketer, I welcome the challenge of communicating directly and openly with prospective and existing customers via online tools such as blogs. I encourage other marketing and communication people to get creative about adding blogs to their marketing tool kits.