It appears that nearly 2 million people were affected by this disaster. It is estimated that rebuilding will take at least 3 or 4 years and may cost tens of billions of dollars.

Please take a moment to consider helping our DR industry colleagues and all of the Chilean people affected by this disaster.

• Donate directly to the American Red Cross
• Contact affected members directly
                Falabella TV: Ricardo Alonso, ralonso@fallabella.cl
                Antena 3 Directo: Andres Sunnah, asunnah@a3d.cl

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1. Experience – it’s important to work with a tried-and-tested network with a proven track record.

How long have you been in business?
Can you share client case studies and/or testimonials as validation of your achievements?

2. 3rd Party Partnerships – some networks employ partnerships with 3rd parties to help ensure click quality and safeguard against invalid traffic. For instance, Anchor Intelligence and Click Forensics are two traffic quality solution companies that many networks work with to serve as a kind of check and balance to their internal traffic controls.

Do you have any 3rd party traffic quality partnerships in place?
How do you determine how to filter invalid traffic?

3. Targeting and Tracking Capabilities – you need to assess whether the tier 2 network you are evaluating operates on a platform with the necessary capabilities/abilities to meet your targeting needs.

Do you offer any/all of the following?

4. Customer Service – make sure the network you are considering has the customer support to help you optimize your campaigns and reach your goals.

Will I have a dedicated account manager?
Who will be held accountable for helping me ensure my campaigns are running smoothly?

Asking these basic questions are the first step towards broadening your PPC campaigns to include valued and trusted tier 2 networks. Leverage these questions as a starting point when looking to expand your reach beyond your existing PPC campaigns with complementary campaigns on Tier 2 networks. Let us know if the comment section if you have any questions, or feel we’ve left anything pertinent off our list.

Kaley Dobson is the Marketing Manager at LookSmart

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Deloitte recently released a State of the Media Democracy survey that indicates the recession has actually caused an uptick in the number of TV viewers who are tuning in on any given day.

While the survey also revealed that attendance at movies, concerts, and sporting events has gone down significantly, it seems that many Americans are filling the void in their entertainment schedule by tuning in to new or favorite programs more frequently. Purchases of video games and DVDs are also down, which may be another indicator as to why viewers are returning to the good-old TV.

One of the most telling statistics cited by the survey is that 34% of respondents ranked TV watching as their favorite media activity. This is good news for advertisers because it’s not only a huge increase from 2008 – where only 27% of respondents said their favorite media activity was television – but because respondents are increasingly seeing TV as their ideal medium.

It is likely that many respondents cited TV as their media activity of choice because of the associated cost of partaking in this activity as compared to something else like, for example, concert-going. That said, the survey was set up so an answer like concert-going could be given; the fact that TV was still the most-mentioned speaks volumes about the universality of this activity.

Whether or not it’s the cheapest form of entertainment available, it seems to be official: Americans have rekindled their love affair with the TV.

Peter Koepell is the President of Koeppel Direct and has over 25 years of advertising, marketing and media experience.

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According to a Hall of Fame spokesman, Forbes is joining a prestigious inductee class of six for her work as a celebrity spokesperson and for using her passion and dynamic personality to bring others to fitness across multiple mediums.

ERA and Electronic Retailer magazine are proud of Forbes and congratulate her on this incredible achievement!

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Lose YOUR blues and join your direct response industry colleagues on Monday, March 15 at the first ERA Networking Reception of 2010. Conveniently taking place during the International Housewares Show in Chicago, this ERA Networking Reception is one that you won’t want to miss. ERA Networking Receptions draw large, but social and manageable crowds, allowing you to easily make new contacts away from the busy show floor of the Housewares Show.

Come to Flatwater Restaurant (just over two miles away from the convention center) from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. and eat, drink and chat the evening away. There is also a networking dinner taking place after the reception at Flatwater should you wish to continue the networking after the reception ends.

For more information and to register, visit www.retailing.org/Chicago. See you there!!

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Consumers and companies alike were panicking, and everyone stopped spending. This year, though, we may be seeing the economic boost the holidays have always promised – and we might be getting that present a little early.

A wide range of retailers put money into holiday campaigns, and they showed more enthusiasm for spending ad dollars than they have in previous years, especially in TV.

The Gap, for example, hasn’t bought television ads for two years, but returned to the tube this year with a new campaign. Wal-Mart, K-Mart and other bargain-priced stores pitched the savings tip hard this year, as consumers cautiously began to spend money again while sticking within their budget.

By positioning themselves as the places where consumers can get the most bang for their buck, both stores hope to see a good return on their ad investment.

Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, OfficeMax and many others jumped on the ad bandwagon. While strategies and ad mediums differed, the message was the same: Spend money this holiday season, but shop here and you’ll spend much less.

I think you will see an extension of this message following the holidays, to try and tap into a more cost conscious consumer mentality even as the recession recedes. Retailers and marketers who can effectively position their products and services as good values will have more success in today’s challenging marketplace.

Peter Koepell is the President of Koeppel Direct and has over 25 years of advertising, marketing and media experience.

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While some things continue to remain the same in search advertising—for example, the market dominance of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo—there were some major market shifts, which are going to impact the year ahead. From the introduction of Bing to the major search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo!, one thing is for certain: as we head in to 2010, these dynamic industry events have search marketers and advertisers on their toes.

There has been news to write home about, too. Just this past month, both Efficient Frontier and SearchIgnite issued reports based on search advertising industry data from the third quarter of 2009. Both reports indicate paid search spend was up during that time period, compared to Q2.

This latest industry data comes on the heels of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) release of the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for the first half of 2009, which indicates that search revenues were up slightly from that same period in 2008, amounting to more than $5.1 billion for the first six months of 2009.

While all of this recent market data certainly alludes to an underlying sense of cautious optimism, given the ups and downs of the past year, it’s certainly understandable that many search marketers are still hesitant, and unsure of how to move forward in 2010. Our tip? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. One important thing advertisers can do right now is to diversify their efforts by complementing campaigns on major search sites like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, with alternate sources of traffic with less-competitive CPCs.

What’s the bottom line for 2010? Innovate, diversify, and think outside the de facto search standards. Your ROI will thank you for it.

Gill Brown is vice president of advertising network sales for LookSmart.

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A few of his predictions included:

• • Media will trend more toward “a la carte” options so customers can pick and choose the features they most want in their media consumption.
  • Interactivity is going to play a huge role in future media advertising.
  • Targeted advertising will become more important, including using locations to find out where consumers are and what they’re buying.
  • Mobile technology will be a 24/7 commodity, with smart phones being a necessity for all consumers.
  • Television will continue to rely on great content to command the highest advertising dollars.
  • Consumers will have more control about how they choose to access media content.
  • Media will have to learn to keep up with the pace of changing technology; there’s no going backward when it comes to new innovations.
  • Methods of researching the best places to put television advertising dollars must be overhauled; the current process is outdated and it’s losing advertisers’ money.
  • Social networks and search will become even more integral to media consumption.
  • Prime-time television will trend more toward big events, news and information than entertainment.

I feel that Zucker has hit on many key issues related to the future of media; however I think that the convergence of TV and online media and the overall shift by consumers and advertisers to online media are key trends that need to be added to Mr. Zucker’s list.

Though most of his speculations wouldn’t be argued by the majority of the media industry, the things that constantly surprise Zucker are still the speed of media change. Keeping up with the future developments may be the most important challenge any advertiser needs to address, while execution seems to be less important in today’s fast changing media environment.

Peter Koepell is the President of Koeppel Direct and has over 25 years of advertising, marketing and media experience.

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