News & Information Market Analysis

ShopLocal Uses Search Engines to Increase Discovery
Case Study
Barry Parr - April 25, 2008

ShopLocal helps retailers drive in-store sales using the Internet. Its customers include nearly all of the major big-box retailers, including Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, and Kohl's. ShopLocal provides a facility for retailers to distribute their weekly flyers to consumers by ZIP code on the retailer's Web site, and helps consumers find products locally using ShopLocal.com.

Think Locally, Search Globally
Exploiting the Local Influence of Search
Vision Report
Barry Parr - April 25, 2008

Traditionally, local media have seen their Web sites as destinations that users find by name. Currently, leading local brands must acknowledge that search engines are playing a larger role in how online users find things locally as well as globally.

Topix Aggregates News Stories to Create Search-Friendly Local Pages
Case Study
Barry Parr - April 25, 2008

Topix is a news aggregator based in Palo Alto, CA. One of the site's key strengths has been its use of keywords to improve the targeting of Google ads on its pages.

Best Practices in Networked Media
Countering Audience Fragmentation
Vision Report
Barry Parr - March 6, 2008

This is a difficult time for content producers. The market is fragmented, growth is flat, and competitors are proliferating and innovating. In this environment, it is essential for content producers to focus on the things they do best, outsource everything else, and find new sources of revenue through services. New technologies and ways of doing business are making this easier.

Political Communication
Mobilizing Online Voters
Concept Report
Barry Parr - February 25, 2008

The 2008 presidential primary season is now in full swing, and later in the year, the parties' chosen candidates will face off for the presidency. Online media are key elements in all the presidential campaigns, but everyone is still trying to understand how to use them.

US Local Online Advertising Forecast, 2007 to 2012
Concept Report
Barry Parr - January 15, 2008

Local advertising is becoming a key battleground on the Web. Online yellow pages have more than doubled their share of Web traffic, newspaper publishers are seeking to make up for lost print revenue, and search engines are sharpening the quality of their local results.

Widgets
Delivering Applications Users Want
Concept Report
Barry Parr - October 22, 2007

Users of social networks, bloggers, and others have quickly adopted the use of widgets—small programs that add utility or outside information to their pages. Use of widgets is quickly becoming a key element of networked media strategies.

Video on Newspaper Web Sites
Providing Context to Maximize the Value of a Dynamic Medium
Concept Report
Joe Laszlo - September 12, 2007

As the Web becomes increasingly a video medium for both news and entertainment, print news organizations are seeking ways to create and incorporate online video.

Politics on the Net
Reaching Audiences That Matter
Concept Report
Barry Parr - September 7, 2007

Presidential campaigns have already recognized the importance of the Web as a marketing and organizing tool in the run up to the 2008 primaries. However, more than a year remains before the election, and the changing online behavior of voters makes them a moving target. Meanwhile, off-line media face a challenge to their traditional dominance of campaign budgets.

Glam Media Reinvents Advertising in Categories That Appeal to Women
Case Study
Barry Parr - August 7, 2007

Networked Media
Thriving in an Intermediated World
Vision Report
Barry Parr - August 7, 2007

Content producers have struggled with how to manage their relationships with intermediaries on the Web. While producers have tried limit the role of intermediaries, it is expanding. Content producers need a strategy to compete successfully in an increasingly intermediated media market.

Reuters Strengthens Its Connection with Consumers and Finds New Revenues
Case Study
Barry Parr - August 7, 2007