EM buys into Sales Online

The consolidation wave that has created supersize media buying groups has moved to the online advertising market, as relative newcomer Electric Media acquired a large chunk of the assets of Sales Online, an established player in Irish online sales, reports The Post.

The recent series of moves grouping media planners and buyers into umbrella entities such as CoreMedia and Magna increased downward pressure on online advertising rates, says Simon Ferguson, founder of Sales Online, so it made sense to consolidate to protect online publishers.

In some cases, he says, online prices had been driven down 20% to 30% in the past year, although premium sites had held their own better than this.

Diageo is ramping up marketing to US iPhone users and middle-aged women as it seeks to restore sales growth and pricing power in the world's most profitable spirits market, says Punch.

Diageo's spending on digital media in the US will increase to about 21% of total marketing in 2010, from 16% last year. One of the distiller's new initiatives is an application for Apple's iPhone that allows the user to scan the barcode of a bottle of Smirnoff or Tanqueray gin and be shown cocktail recipes based on that liquor.

Diageo also aims to tap into the market represented by middle-aged women, who it says account for 62% of vodka purchases made in stores, by advertising and running promotions through food and lifestyle Web sites such as NBC Universal's Saturday show.

Despite the current economic downturn, Canon Marketing (Thailand) had a 14% increase in its earnings in 2009, compared to the previous year, reports Mis Asia.

The company reported earnings of $208 million as a result of “stronger products, an innovative marketing strategy, quick reaction to changes in the market, and a shift to a high added-value product category”.

The consumer imaging and information division will extend its online marketing activity 'Canon, It Works', which has run for three years, into the next 'Canon, It Works Say it forward' phase. In the digital camera business, the company plans to use creative online marketing to reach its target consumers, through initiatives such as the EOS privilege club to encourage customer loyalty.