A Southwest Airlines' advertising widget that announces updates on discount fares using the "ding" sound familiar to frequent fliers and viewers of Southwest's TV ads, has been installed by an estimated 2 million users. According to the company, $150 million in ticket sales were generated by use of the widget. It's just one way Southwest is using technology to keep in touch with its customers.
"In its first two years, the Ding application was downloaded by about 2 million consumers and generated more than $150 million in ticket sales, said Kevin Krone, vice president of marketing."
"The company declines to give conversion rates, but industry sources say 45 percent of Ding users come back to book again, compared to the industry rate of 27 percent repeat ticket sales."
"As a result, Southwest is committed to digital social marketing as a way to drive business, said Krone"
"Travelers' migration online shows no sign of abating. Eighty-one percent of leisure travelers and 90 percent of business travelers are shopping online, and those e-consumers are demanding both control and customization, cites a June study by Forrester Research."

Submitted by aki - 2007-08-21 13:38:35
Channels - fallonplanningblog
Tags - web2.0 widget southwest ding

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Web Widgets and/or Gadgets are small portable micro-user experiences that users can embed into their web pages employed to either showcase features, stories, and functions OR to give users quick access to frequently scanned/queried content, tools, and systems.
Recent coverage in the press indicates that this is not a flash in the pan. There is critical mass forming, and big bets that are being made. Widgets are hot properties and disruptors, and top marketers are building positioning strategies around these things. 

Submitted by aki - 2007-08-18 07:54:09
Channels - fallonplanningblog
Tags - interactive web2.0 widget

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The standard Internet advertisement is so familiar that most people tune it out: a billboard stripped across the top of a Web site, waiting for consumers to surf by and maybe click on it.

Now a young generation of online-ad creators are pushing a newer idea: putting a brand on a mini-site so fun or useful -- a video game or a spruced-up calculator or a live sports update -- that people download it, paste it on their personal blogs or social networking sites, use it again and again and share it with friends.

"The new role of companies is not to produce content and spoon-feed it to users," said Hooman Radfar, 25, the founder of Clearspring. "Their new role is to create tools people want and push them out so people can use them however they choose."

Submitted by aki - 2007-04-09 13:51:08
Channels - fallonplanningblog
Tags - advertising interactive 2.0 agency ad deathwatch branded mass hive mind widget utility

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