Two Important WSJ Stories: Behavioral Targeting and $10 DSL
Since I first started working in internet marketing, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has quietly but forcefully ramped up its coverage of this industry. In the last two days two important articles appear in the paper online and in print.
First, today, Emily Steel’s “How Marketers Hone Their Aim Online” is a nice primer for behavioral targeting, and for iMedia readers you’ll see a host of familiar names quoted: Pepsi’s John Vail, Tacoda’s Kurt Viebranz, Revenue Science’s Bill Goss, NBC U’s Peter Naylor — these are the folks I see at iMedia Summits and ad:tech conferences — and you’ll also see a host of familiar companies like aQuantive, Real Girls Media, eMarketer and others. This shows persuasively that interactive marketing has hit the big time, as has behavioral targeting, and that the folks who stuck around in the industry after the bubble popped made the right choice.
Second, yesterday, the Journal picked up an AP story, “AT&T Reduces Broadband Price for Some Customers” — although I quite preferred the earlier headline that ran something like, “AT&T Quietly Introduces $10 DSL.” Since broadband changes everything — and since accordng to some data from the Center for the Digital Future it’s the always-on connections and wireless home networks that are the real game changers, rather than mere speed — AT&T’s move (mostly to appease the FCC, according to the article) lowers the barriers to broadband entry even further. How can EarthLink, where I worked for years, compete with this? That company’s dial-up plan STILL costs $21.95 per month!
2 Responses to “Two Important WSJ Stories: Behavioral Targeting and $10 DSL”
1 Noah Robinson 19 June 2007 @ 5:04 pm
Between this article and the Business Week article reviewing Specific Media and Ford, behavioral is getting a lot of buzz. I’d like to see a more substantial analysis of why behavioral succeeded beyond, “Pepsi recorded a threefold increase in the number of people clicking on its Aquafina Alive ads compared with previous campaigns.” Were there movements in key brand metrics (awareness,preference, purchase intent,etc). I think we need to move beyond talking about clicks to landing pages. Otherwise, it’s exciting stuff!
2 mr magoo 20 June 2007 @ 7:02 am
Unable to find anything about the $10 dollar a month service on AT&T’s web site and only passing mention of it on the BellSouth web page I decided to give AT&T a call. They are my local phone provider here in Pennsylvania and I also have their cell phone service (my wife got me stuck in some 2 year plan.) After being passed around and given multiple numbers to call I was finally given 1-800-967-5363. This will allow you to talk directly to the DSL department with any questions regarding this matter. I should note that all representatives I spoke with were obviously outsourced, probably Indian, so it made communications difficult and frustrating.
My first go resulted in the representative saying that the $10 offer was not available to me so I asked to speak with the manager. The manager said the “special offer” was only available in 22 states. I asked him to list them and he gave me the following: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. I asked him why it is only available in those states. He didn’t know. I then told him that I had family in California who would be interested in this DSL price, how do I directly access the AT&T web page that details this “special offer.” He directed me to att.net which uncovered nothing, then to att.com/localhelp which also uncovered nothing, finally he told me to go to newatt.com which redirects you to attfashion.net a site selling shoes. At this point he was getting frustrated and said he would connect me to one of his “DSL specialists” to resolve the matter.
Can you guess what happened? He redirected me back to the main menu of 1-800-967-5363. *sigh* I waited on hold again for another outsourced Indian representative. This lady was armed with a lot of information. She was obviously reading a printed statement and basically said that the $10 offer is only available where BellSouth owns the land lines. Because Verizon owns the land lines in Pennsylvania the service is not available. I asked when the offer would be available to Pennsylvania and she said she did not have that information.
She then tried to sell on the 19.99 DSL offer. No thanks. Much faster than the $10 offer! No thanks. How about AT&T dial up? No thanks. Its very fast with an accelerator! No thanks. Would you like AT&T wireless? I have it already, it sucks and is overpriced. How about adding another line? *CLICK*
That was my experience. I say to hell with AT&T. Although if you’re in one of those 22 states you might be in luck and your best bet is probably ordering it over the phone.
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