REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - June
30, 2000 - / EMusic.com /
Hewlett-Packard and
Emusic.Com to Offer Bonus MP3 Music Downloads to CD-Writer Customers
-
EMusic.com Inc. today announced an
innovative alliance with Hewlett-Packard Company. Under the agreement, HP will
purchase a minimum of approximately $3 million of downloadable music and
services from EMusic to be bundled with future HP CD-Writer products. The
agreement covers the next three calendar quarters, between July 1, 2000 and
March 31, 2001.
"Digital music has become one of the most valuable, personal and
popular forms of content -- something that every wired consumer enjoys
collecting and listening to," said Gene Hoffman, EMusic.com president and
CEO. "We are proud to work with HP in this significant alliance to deliver
customizable music content with its well-regarded line of CD-Writers."
"HP research with CD-writer customers has shown that 80 percent
of our customers use CD-writers to burn MP3 files from the Web and to create
custom music CDs," said Christy Tappy, marketing manager for HP's CD-Writer
business. "Through this alliance with EMusic, we can offer our customers
access to thousands of legal MP3 music tracks from established artists across a
broad range of music styles."
Editor's note:- I've included
this because it's a clever example of how to do a promotion with another company
which targets the same customers via a compatible product in a different
industry.
28 June 2000
- / The Source /
DVDPLUS, a UK Internet Success
Story
- With recent headline grabbing news from companies such as
Last Minute.com and Boo.com, people would be forgiven for thinking that the
internet bubble was about to burst. Businesses like these hit the news solely
because they are internet-based and with its current high profile, they're bound
to get coverage. The fact is that on a daily basis many more bricks-and-mortar
companies collapse or produce poor trading results only these go virtually
unnoticed simply because they don't trade over the net. However these and
failing internet companies do have one thing in common; the lack of a sound
business strategy. These businesses don't have the right management structure in
place, have a lack of financial awareness or try to grow too quickly.
DVDplus, the UK's leading
internet DVD retailer, is a textbook case in how to do things properly.
DVDplus established in October 1998 by 3 ex-Intel senior managers. The company
started off relatively small; with just the 3 individuals and operating from the
managing director's house in Swindon. However, what was fundamental to the
success of the operation from the outset was having a robust business plan with
financial targets in place and the right systems to ensure customer service
levels could be met. DVDplus recognised that the internet would take off at a
rapid rate, however they knew also that this alone would not be any guarantee
for business success. The internet was merely another platform for customer
interaction and sales.
Bryan Welsh, DVDplus managing director comments: "We believed
from the outset that ecommerce was going to take off and that DVDs would be big.
However we also recognised that any new start-up, be it a .com or
bricks-and-mortar business must be supported by a sound business plan."
When DVDplus was launched, the internet was still in its infancy and
therefore to spend large amounts on advertising would have been wasteful as
there simply weren't enough people online. Even now the percentage of people
with internet access is only around 30%. For companies to spend million of
pounds on marketing just doesn't make sense.
Welsh continues: "The key priorities for us in the early days
were a) to establish the brand and b) to ensure we could provide the best
customer service. Essentially our philosophy was to achieve steady and
sustainable growth." 18 months on, the business is reaping the rewards of
this solid approach. DVDplus has become the number one online DVD retailer and
consistently records month on month sales increases. For the quarter ending
April 30th 2000, DVDplus shipped 8 times as many discs compared to the same
period last year and up 20% on the previous quarter, an impressive performance
given February to April is traditionally a flatter sales period. In April of
this year DVDplus announced the acquisition of one of its main competitors,
DVDnet. The purchase of DVDnet underlines DVDplus' intention to remain a leader
in its field and demonstrates its capabilities to do so.
LONDON
- June 29, 2000 / BUSINESS WIRE /
WebTop.com
Internet Search Engine Announces Key Indexing Milestone of Half a Billion Web
Pages
- Bright Station plc, the Web solutions, eCommerce and
Internet ventures group, today announced that WebTop.com,
its Internet search engine, has now indexed over half a billion documents on the
Web, making it one of the world's four largest Internet search engines.
Using
its sophisticated activiQ(TM) context-based programming, WebTop analyses the
concepts in each Web document that it indexes and also assigns appropriate
business categories automatically to the document. WebTop.com is currently
indexing ten million web pages per day and has already indexed over half a
billion documents on the Web, making it one of only four Web search engines that
have indexed this much information on the Internet.
Webtop.com also
announced that it has established a new service on WebTop.com that will
aggregate specialist Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) related information.
Called WAPZone, the site will be the most definitive source of WAP news and
information on the Web, providing instant access to over 500 credited Web sites
containing specialist information on WAP developments and protocols. WAPZone has
been created from WebTop's own involvement in developing WAP- based interfaces
for its search technologies and from its position as a member of the WAP Forum.
WAPZone will provide an unparalleled business resource for research on the
evolving WAP market.
MINNEAPOLIS—June 28,
2000 / PageLab Network /
Forrester Research
Includes PageLab Network/Subjex.com In Search Engine Technology Report
- PageLab Network/Subjex.com,
a Minneapolis-based Internet company, announced today that they have been
included in a research report released this month by Forrester Research analyst
Paul Hagen. The report, entitled "Must Search Stink?" reveals how poor
search engine results are affecting business-to-business and
business-to-consumer sites and what companies should do to fix the problem.
Forrester is the leading independent Internet research firm that
analyzes the future of technology change and its impact on businesses, consumers
and society.
"We are excited to be included in this timely report about the
significance of search online. The report reaffirms our conclusions about the
state of most search engines today and where they need to be in the future,"
said Andrew Hyder, PageLab CEO and president. "Relevance and search engine
positioning are critical to a consumer's ability to find a company's web site,
making search engines an important marketing tool for e-commerce sites. We were
pleased to have the opportunity to contribute our unique solution for search
engine positioning to Forrester's report."
REDWOOD CITY,
Calif. - June 27, 2000 / BUSINESS WIRE /
Startups.com
Certifies Over 100 Service Providers To Offer Solutions Tailored To Unique Needs
of Fast-Track Startup Companies
-
Startups.com, an Operations Service
Provider (OSP) of business infrastructure setup and procurement services for
high-tech companies, today announced that since its launch March 1, 2000, the
company has certified over 100 service providers including dozens of national
market leaders and targeted local providers in key startup hubs throughout the
United States. Startups.com rigorously screens prospective vendors and only
selects service providers whose products, services, rates, and terms best match
the needs of growing companies.
Members of the Startups.com
Premier Service Provider Network offer Concept Stage services including business
planning and fundraising; Real Estate services; Facilities and Furniture
coordination; management of Finance and Administration; Human Resources,
Benefits and Staffing; IT, Networking and Telecommunications design and
implementation; and Marketing services; all tailored to the demands of
fast-track startup companies.
"Internet startup companies
face unique pressures of accelerated time to market and lack of experienced
resources," said Mark Wallin, president of Synapta, a member of the
Startups.com Premier Service Provider Network. "Synapta provides clients
with an experienced technology team dedicated to building a dot-com in six to
eight weeks. Together, Startups.com and Synapta are providing the expertise so
greatly needed by startup companies."
"We know the best
products, best practices, delivery times, shortcuts, key personnel, and how
service providers really compare to one another," said David Stremba,
senior director of business development for Startups.com. "Our Premier
Service Provider network includes only those vendors whose products and services
provide appropriate solutions for the unique requirements of startup companies.
Whether it is Sun Microsystems, Acropolis Systems, ABD Insurance, Peoplescape,
or any other partner in our network, we work with each vendor to create unique
packages tailored to the specific requirements of fast-track startups, and
negotiate favorable rates and terms in advance."
London, June
22 - / The Source /
Death of Internet Banner
Advertising Exaggerated
- In spite of their comparatively small
share of the total advertising market, Internet banners adverts do convey brand
and content very clearly to Internet users - and just under half of online
consumers believe that banner advertising is the advertising medium of the
future. These are just some of the key findings of the Banner Brand Impact Study
undertaken in five European countries by icon-webmax.com GmbH on behalf leading
of AdLINK Internet Media AG, Europe's
leading independent internet advertising network.
In this primary study, 500 online users (250 female / 250 male) from
the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Spain were interviewed in person and asked
to assess the advertising impact of a variety of Internet banners. Two banners
from nationally known branded companies were tested in each country, selected
from the following industries: automotive, travel, information technology and
information services. In addition a single, uniform banner from the automotive
sector was tested in each country to act as a control mechanism. The study
showed that in many cases, banner advertising was perceived as having
informational value to Internet users rather than merely trying to sell them
something. This was particularly the case in Germany, where 47 percent did not
regard banner advertising as a pure selling tool. The research also showed that
banners are often viewed as a source of information and as a means of accessing
the advertiser's Web site. Between 79 percent (UK) and 93 percent (Sweden) of
those questioned click through a banner "occasionally to frequently"
because it catches their attention or helps users to obtain additional
information. Up to 48 percent of the Internet users questioned described banner
advertising as the advertising medium of the future.
Commenting on the survey's findings, Richard Holman, Managing Director
of AdLINK UK, said: "The survey clearly indicates that Internet banner
adverts make a major impact on Web consumers and are destined to play a pivotal
role in the future of advertising communications. We shall be producing further
studies around online advertising in order to help advertising clients and
agencies make the most effective use of their online advertising."
Editor's note:- this is very much in line with our own experience
in the B2B computer market with STORAGEsearch.com,
where click rates for banner ads are considerably higher than they were 2 years
ago. Our own ads run on other sites are also doing better. This is partly due to
a better understanding by banner designers of what readers want to see, but
mainly due to better targeting. A good sports analogy here is that most of us
would struggle to run a mile in 4 minutes, but the best performances keep
improving. Judging the banner paradigm by incompetent examples doesn't give you
a true idea of its potential.
SUNNYVALE,
Calif., June 19, 2000 - / Hyperion /
Hyperion
And Nortel Networks Join Forces To Provide Closed-Loop eCRM Analysis Solutions
- Hyperion, a leader in
business analysis software, today announced the signing of an agreement with the
Clarify eBusiness Applications business unit of Nortel Networks, enabling
Hyperion to develop and deliver closed-loop CRM analysis solutions. These
solutions will help organizations achieve a greater return on their CRM
implementations by better understanding and optimizing customer relationships
across all customer touchpoints.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hyperion is integrating Hyperion
eCRM Analysis, a suite of Web-based applications, with the Clarify* eFrontOffice
suite from Nortel Networks. The integration will provide a comprehensive view of
customers by integrating information from customer interactions, across e-mail,
the Internet, or phone. Today, organizations can leverage integration between
Hyperion Customer Interaction Center, the first Hyperion eCRM Analysis solution,
and Clarify eFrontOffice, to measure and analyze information on worldwide
contact center/customer service operations; optimize customer service levels;
and improve overall customer loyalty.
MINNEAPOLIS,
June 20, 2000 – / Interelate /
Interelate's
Doran Levy Publishes Research On CRM Outsourcing Via The ASP Model
– Interelate, the
first and leading business analytics application service provider (ASP), today
announced the release of the research paper,
"Outsourcing
Customer Relationship Management Functions," written by Interelate's
Senior Analytics Officer, Doran Levy, Ph.D. The paper reviews trends and issues
an organization faces in outsourcing IT functions. It also explores the concept
of outsourcing CRM functions in the ASP business model, particularly for
marketing analysis.
"There are a number of benefits to outsourcing CRM via an ASP
model if you can engage experts to manage the applications and provide
analytical support to decision makers," said Levy. "Understanding this
issue is key to remaining competitive in the marketplace. As more and more data
becomes available, executives will need to address IT outsourcing as a solution
for managing costs and dealing with the shortage of skilled personnel," he
added.
Natick,
MA - June 19, 2000 / Servicesoft /
Servicesoft
Launches Servicesoft 2001 - Drives eBusiness Market with the Industry's First
Proactive eService Solution
- Providing businesses with the ammunition to service and retain
online customers more effectively, Servicesoft,
Inc. announced today the release of Servicesoft® 2001™, an
intelligent eService solution that enables businesses to provide extraordinary,
proactive customer service via the Internet. Servicesoft 2001 is the first
eService solution to present a "single face" to customers through a
unique eService Portal, and includes over 200 new features to help companies
increase customer loyalty and satisfaction, reduce operating expenses and
increase overall return on investment.
Proactive eService empowers companies to deliver extraordinary
customer experiences by actually anticipating and answering customer questions
before they even know that they have a question. Servicesoft 2001 enables online
businesses to provide preemptive and instantaneous resolution to issues –
eliminating the disparity between the quality of eService and traditional
customer service. This "new" proactive approach to eService also
increases customer satisfaction through self-service and personalized Web pages
– empowering customers to help themselves, and in turn "free up"
customer service representatives (CSRs) to handle priority and complex issues.
Editor's note - shame they didn't anticipate that most people
would want to skip the flash into on their home page. I don't understand why "web"
focused companies still put up these barriers.
today's news etc
from MarketingViews |
Other news on this page
Hewlett-Packard
and Emusic.Com to Offer Bonus MP3 Music Downloads to CD-Writer Customers
DVDPLUS,
a UK Internet Success Story
WebTop.com Internet Search Engine Announces
Key Indexing Milestone of Half a Billion Web Pages
Forrester Research
Includes PageLab Network/Subjex.com In Search Engine Technology Report
Startups.com Certifies Over 100 Service Providers To Offer Solutions
Tailored To Unique Needs of Fast-Track Startup Companies
Death of
Internet Banner Advertising Exaggerated
Hyperion And Nortel Networks
Join Forces To Provide Closed-Loop eCRM Analysis Solutions
Interelate's Doran Levy Publishes Research On CRM Outsourcing Via The
ASP Model
Servicesoft Launches Servicesoft 2001 - Drives eBusiness Market with
the Industry's First Proactive eService Solution
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