Top Media & Marketing Innovations of 2008

Top Media & Marketing Innovations of 2008:
"Sponsor in Aisle Five!
Shopper marketing may never be the same. Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer, this year led the way with the rollout of its in-store digital network, the Wal-Mart Smart Network. Powered by Internet Protocol Television, content, ads and merchandising can be monitored and controlled down to a single screen. Even as scores of video networks pop up, this represents a new paradigm, offering a level of precision targeting never before seen. Instead of relying on shelf-talkers and end-of-aisle displays to promote products, the Wal-Mart net creates a dynamic, interactive dialogue between marketer and consumer. (While utilizing the latest technology, the network also is a real throwback in terms of customer service, taking shoppers back to a time when the store clerk knew every item and could help the customer make informed decisions on the spot.) Operated by Premier Retail Networks, the network is the result of two years and $10 million in research aimed at the optimal content and placement of screens for engaging consumers at the point-of-purchase. Up and running in 300 stores in time for the holiday season, Wal-Mart anticipates chain-wide deployment (2,700 U.S. outposts) by early 2010. -Katy Bachman"

The Real Story of Cyber Monday: A View Into Actual Consumer Engagement - MarketWatch

from MarketWatch:
. . . Amazon.com, eBay.com, and Walmart.com were the most visited retail sites on Cyber Monday

"On Cyber Monday, the most popular shopping websites received substantial increases in average clicks per user, suggesting that users were more engaged shoppers on that particular day. WalMart.com had the biggest increase with more than 145 times the average clicks per user. The top two shopping websites on Cyber Monday (Amazon.com and eBay.com) were on the bottom of the list for average user clicks per site.

Wal-Mart launching takeover of Chile retailer D&S | Industries | Consumer Products & Retail | Reuters

UPDATE 2-Wal-Mart launching takeover of Chile retailer

"SANTIAGO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. retailing mammoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said on Friday it launched an all-cash offer to buy Chile's biggest supermarket chain, D&S DIS.SN(DYS.N), setting itself up to gain a major foothold in one of Latin America's most competitive retail markets.

D&S, Chile's biggest supermarket chain, said in a statement to the Chilean bourse late on Friday that the offer would be made within 10 days and was for $0.408 per share. It was being made in the name of Inversiones Australes Tres Limitada, a unit of Wal-Mart."

Google Ad Server share now at 57%. Microhoo less than 15% market share.

from Attributor Blog
"December 18, 2008 @ 8:00 am
The Google ad serving juggernaut appears secure even if Microsoft and Yahoo agree on a deal to merge their search advertising businesses. Our analysis of ad server calls across 75 million domains shows that both Yahoo and Microsoft lost significant share compared to our March report and now make up less than 15% of the total market.

The explosion of new ad networks in 2008 had an impact, but only one newcomer - Revenue Science- broke into the top 5. Unsurprisingly, Google’s AdSense is dominant on smaller sites while Google-owned DoubleClick leads on larger sites; however AdSense made great strides on larger sites, leapfrogging Yahoo into 2nd place."