Nethawk Interactive为Sun Microsystems旗下公司Suntone做了一次RSS广告的尝试,他们把在线广告整合到RSS feed中,利用这种新的在线广告技术应用,达到了比e-mail营销还好的效果,他们为此还特地做了个研究报告.

Nethawk Interactive选择了InfoWorld作为发布平台,而InfoWorld是业内知名的面向IT Professionals的专业站点,所以广告尝试在媒介选择上的定位是很合理的;这个为期6个星期的RSS广告活动达到了26%的点击率,远远超过了EMail所达到的效果,而根据业界巨头DoubleClick公司2003年第四季的Email Trend Report,EMail广告的平均点击率是8.7%.

而这次试验所采取的网络广告技术是由旧金山的Pheedo公司开发的,利用其技术工具,广告主可以直接并准确地瞄准目标受众,而这些目标受众,则往往是blogger或者RSS阅读者,这些人在传播上具备病毒特性,容易进行产品/服务的扩散传播.

事实上,RSS广告比起日渐衰落的EMail广告,有着不可比的巨大优势;广告主可以区分筛选出哪些是自身受众最经常阅读的Feeds,以此确定自己的目标受众;然后把广告分门别类嵌入在作为Feeds发送的内容中,一起发送给目标读者---当然,事先了解好读者的嗜好,以自身产品和服务围绕其嗜好做一种精确的定位,是很有效果的.RSS广告使得广告主从搜索引擎的区位放置困扰中解脱出来,把更多的时间用在研究顾客的潜在需求并投其所好以达到最佳效果.

在人们为垃圾邮件和弹出广告烦恼的今天,RSS无疑为广告的利益各方带来了福音,对于消费者而言,能够更精确地获取所需的信息而不排斥该广告,对广告本身而言,应该是值得庆贺的转变.(topku's review)

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编者按：附录资料：
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1、Nethawk Interactive （www.nethawk.net）

总部位于美国加利福尼亚的一间直效行销公司。他们的公司口号是：直效许可行销。呵呵，这是互联网营销最激动人心的概念，虽然大家各自都各自的定义，比如1：1行销，直销行销，互动行销，社群行销（呵呵，这个是剑公子2000年的发明）等，不过，我们似乎看不到什么精准定向的妙处，反而成为垃圾邮件的受害者：）技术并没有让营销走向乌托邦理想国，反而在技术激活放大了商业的劣根性之后，让我们遭受强横的搔扰。

NetHawk Interactive is committed to providing secure, professional and scalable solutions to address permission marketing email projects for technology leaders and the business community at large.

Our team of marketing, technical and visionary professionals enables NetHawk to grow organically through a streamlined collaborative process that respects our clients, vendors and fellow workers. We all share a vision of providing world class services with the highest level of customer service and support in the marketing industry.

2、什么是RSS？

下面的资料来源于：http://www.cnblog.org/wiki/?p=RSS来自“中文Blog心得集”，2002/10/21

讨论与Blog相关的技术，不可不谈的就是RSS，这个缩写在英文中可以有几个源头，并被不同的技术团体做不同的解释。既可以是“Rich Site Summary”，或“RDF Site Summary”，也可以是“Really Simple Syndication”。为什么有这么多含义呢？这还要从RSS的一段今天也没有理清的关系说起。

今天肯定有人还记得IE 4刚刚推出来的时候有一个有趣的功能，那就是新闻频道。这个新闻频道的功能与Netscape推出的新闻频道是很相似的（当时Netscape还是市场上领先的浏览器）。为此Netscape 定义了一套描述新闻频道的语言，这就是RSS，只不过Netscape自当时起每况愈下，所以最终也没有发布一个正式的RSS规范（只发布了一个0.9版本）。而微软也在当时推出了支持自己IE的CDF（Channel Definition Format）数据规格，与RSS非常接近。微软试图用新闻频道的功能把“推”(Push)技术变成一个应用主流，并与Netscape抗衡。不过出乎预测的是，“推”技术自始至终没有找到合适的商业模型，而且伴随着其他各类网络特性的出现，也日益无法显现自身的优势。新闻频道在浏览器中的地位最终日暮西山，最后也在IE的后续版本中消失了。

新闻频道的确进入了低谷，但是RSS并没有被业界人士所抛弃。过去两年，Blog从一个专业群体开始，逐步成为了网络上最热门的新话题。而RSS成为了描述Blog主题和更新信息的最基本方法。于是RSS这项技术被著名Blogger/Geek戴夫·温那（Dave Winner）的公司UserLand所接手，继续开发新的版本，以适应新的网络应用需要。新的网络应用就是Blog，因为戴夫·温那的努力，RSS升级到了0.91版，然后达到了0.92版，随后在各种Blog工具中得到了应用，并被众多的专业新闻站点所支持。在广泛的应用过程中，众多的专业人士认识到需要组织起来，把RSS发展成为一个通用的规范，并进一步标准化。一个联合小组根据W3C新一代的语义网技术RDF对RSS进行了重新定义，发布了RSS 1.0，并把RSS定义为“RDF Site Summary”。这项工作并没有与戴夫·温那进行有效的沟通，而戴夫则坚持在自己设想的方向上进一步开发RSS的后续版本，也并不承认RSS 1.0的有效性。RSS由此开始分化形成了RSS 0.9x/2.0和RSS 1.0两个阵营，也由此引起了在专业人群中的广泛争论。

因为争论的存在，一直到今天，RSS 1.0还没有成为标准化组织的真正标准。而戴夫·温那却在2002年9月独自把RSS升级到了2.0版本，其中的定义完全是全新的模式，并没有任何RSS 1.0的影子。这引发了网络上进一步争议，究竟让一个越来越普及的数据格式成为一个开放的标准，还是被一家公司所定义和控制，成为了争议的焦点。戴夫·温那并没有为自己辩解，他的观点是RSS还需要进一步发展，需要专业人士更明确的定义，不过恐怕这种轻描淡写不能消除人们对RSS“被一家商业公司独占”的担心。

前面的铺垫对用户来说也许没有什么太大的意义，可能更多人关心如何在自己的Blog增加RSS输出，这样可以让很多新闻聚合工具（例如CNBlog刚刚推荐的NewzCrawler）很容易找到你并自动获得你在Blog中的更新内容。

所以我们会在后面的系列文章中逐步增加对RSS工具的介绍，以及如何在你的Blog中添加RSS输出格式和相关的标志链接。等不及的用户，可以先到我的个人站点上的一个临时链接地方尝试起来了，我提供了一个简单的RSS生成工具和相关的介绍（对Blogger.com工具最佳，其他工具还没有做测试）。

3、此次RSS行销活动的研究报告：

那家公司就这个案例写了研究报告来分析：
http://www.pheedo.info/archives/000057.html

RSS Advertising Case Study With Sun Microsystems
Overview
Nethawk Interactive reports that by integrating online advertising into an RSS feed, a new online advertising technique, it has achieved measurably better results than e-mail for its client Suntone, a division of Sun Microsystems.

The online campaign for a free IT evaluation was conducted through specialist publication InfoWorld, which could offer direct access to IT professionals.

The marketer said the six-week effort outperformed the best click through rate in email by over 26% as compared to the industry average of 8.7% CTR reported in DoubleClick’s Q4 2003 Email Trend Report. Furthermore, they were able to lower the effective CPM by three times of that over email, saving Suntone’s thousands of dollars

Nethawk used an ad network that focuses on delivering ads through news feeds. News feeds, sometimes referred to as RSS, are a syndication format that uses XML to deliver summaries of fresh content to readers who have requested it. A consumer needs a content aggregator (news reader) to read the feeds.

The ad network and technology used to deliver the ads was developed by Pheedo of San Francisco. Pheedo develops tools that advertisers use to gain access into the loyal, and extremely targeted viral weblog and RSS audience.

RSS vs. Email Explained
Nethawk realized Suntone’s ailing email marketing campaign was in part do to e-mail’s unpleasant user experience. One benefit of placing ads in RSS feeds is you’re not competing in an overcrowded, SPAM and virus filled email inbox. In addition, marketing messages are increasingly becoming victims of email filters or the delete bottom.

“RSS is here to stay as is advertising and the two will find a way to embrace each other," said Louis Moynihan, Vice President of Client Services for Nethawk. "We do hope that the next publishing/advertising model will have more resistance to SPAM than our last model.”

RSS advertisements have many advantages over email’s short comings. RSS is 100% opt-in. It, has a 100% delivery rate, and when delivered to a two-pane news aggregator, the feed has a 100% open rate.

Action Steps
First, Pheedo identified those feeds read by the IT professionals that met Suntone's target market requirements. The ads were matched to the content featured in the feed. A content match can be made based on industry, category, subcategory or item. To increase the level of response, the idea is to position the product/service in front of the consumer while it is at the forefront of her mind. It gives the advertiser the freedom to choose specific feeds or items that best attract their target market. You’re no longer limited to search engine placement. “The results are good because it is something the consumer cares about,” said Bill Flitter, VP of Marketing at Pheedo. “You’re not competing against similar ads.”

RSS has become popular in part as an escape from SPAM, and pop-ups littering email and the web. With one-click unsubscribe, the consumer has complete control over the delivery of the feed. Great care must be taken in delivery ads through feeds. You really have to understand the RSS landscape said Flitter. “Not only do publishers establish certain criteria for ads in feeds, but content aggregators display content/ads differently. The big trick is to understand the intricacies of the fairly cluttered environment of content aggregators to ensure the ads display correctly, or appear with relevant content,” he said. Pheedo specifically developed technology to track RSS feeds for the purpose of advertising.

RSS Advertisements is a relatively new concept. As Moynihan puts it, “The term (RSS advertising) confuses people, but if you position it like a newsletter then the feedback is normal.” As illustrated by the results of the test, consumption of RSS is growing. The first test took nearly 30 days to complete while test two took only 15 days. The two differed only in the landing page creative. Although html and form-fill type ads can be used in feeds, Suntone chose to go with text only.

Thanks to Nethawk and Sun for letting us share the results.

Posted by Bill at May 6, 2004 04:04 PM | TrackBack (0) | (NEW) Buzz!

4、运作RSS广告的新技术The New Medium

这家公司在自己的网站这样介绍自己的新技术：The New Medium

Pheedo provides access to the largest and most reputable syndicated content and weblog advertising network. Our Smart Advertising Network™; gets your brand's message to the right audience through today's hottest medium.

What Is The New Medium?

Reacting to consumer demand for less SPAM, content providers like CNet, InfoWorld, Yahoo, BBC and the New York Times now offer syndicated content feeds. In other words, subscribers "pull" content from the publisher rather than connecting with them at the website or through email newsletters.

Additionally, professional weblogs are quickly emerging as an alternative to mainstream media and have adopted this "pull" philosophy. There are as many unique types of weblogs as there are people.

New Challenges

With this new way of consuming online media, publishers are putting higher demands on marketers to deliver highly targeted advertisements without compromising subscriber experience.


"Pull" means less visits to a website and less quantifiable consumer information

100% Consumer controlled one click unsubscribe means you must deliver a compelling reader experience

Advertisers must respond the technical nuances of the many news reading software applications. The various "readers" display text and graphics differently.


New Opportunities

Content feeds are the first truely 100% opt-in online media delivering self-selected relevant content that gets read.


Unique. Expressing their creators' passions, these sites define niches that no other media offers. Weblogs are highly networked and viral.

Good-value. With operating expenses far lower than traditional media, these sites deliver unmatchable advertising value.

Loyal. Founded on a personal relationship between publisher and reader, these sites inspire uncommon loyalty. Joining their ecosystem confers status far beyond anything you reach with ads on major web properties or search engines.


Why Pheedo?

Pheedo's Smart Advertising Network™; saves you both time and money by making it easy to tap into the loyal, and extremely targeted viral weblog audience.

When you're ready to place your ads, our technology scans our extensive database of niche weblogs and delivers your message to the appropriate weblog based on both content and context of that weblog.

Additionally, we understand the nuances of the numerous news readers including how they may render feeds differently. This becomes extremely important when your advertisement is delivered via an RSS or other XML-based feed. Our technology makes sense of these nuances and delivers your ad how it was intended to be delivered.


Specialized ad-tracking and management platform

With a single visit, reach your targeted audiences across major publishers and portals as well as highly targeted niche weblog properties and content feeds

Keyword/phrase driven ad placement
Image and text based creative
Cost-per-click performance advertising
Measurable results with conversion tracking.


Campaign Development and Management

Pheedo's team of experts are available to assist you at every step in the process. From developing a unique campaign strategy to designing creative and selecting specific placements, Pheedo can help you put together an effective advertising campaign that gets results.