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TechHive Fuels Up on Car Tech Coverage through Partnership with Edmunds.com

March 22nd, 2013

News release


The consumer tech site, from the publisher of PCWorld and Macworld, forges a partnership with car-shopping resource Edmunds.com to expand car tech coverage

SAN FRANCISCO – TechHive, the newest consumer tech media brand from IDG, has struck a partnership with popular car-shopping resource Edmunds.com to expand its car tech coverage and help its audience find their automotive sweet spot.

“Automakers realize that today’s drivers want cars that work well with their personal technology,” notes Jason Snell, SVP, Editorial Director for IDG Consumer & SMB, the division that manages TechHive. “As important as smartphones, tablets, and always-on Internet connections have become to all of us, it’s become far more important for our cars to fit into our digital lives.”

With the unique, collaborative editorial partnership, Edmunds.com will bring their auto tech expertise directly to TechHive’s audience to help them get the most out of their devices. TechHive editors will bring their consumer tech expertise to the Edmunds.com audience of car shoppers to help them make the best tech choices. Content produced together will appear on both TechHive.com and Edmunds.com as it’s created, with the first feature length story, Best Tech-Friendly Cars of 2013, slated for this spring.

 For the full release click here

Categories: Tech Business & Marketing News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IDG Calls On ‘Hero’ Display Ad Units To Save The Banner

February 21st, 2013

Adexchanger

In the two months since tech publisher IDG finished a major redesign of its PCWorld, Macworld and TechHivesites, the company is ready to expand the centerpiece of that effort: the “Homepage Hero” box.

The box is intended to serve as a front door for each site, displaying a large slot called the “Content Hero,” where editors display the biggest stories for each day, with one section saved for sponsorships sold by the IDG Consumer & SMB division, which operates the sites. The Hero units seems like yet another bid by a publisher to “go beyond” the 728×90 banner ad to attract lucrative brand awareness dollars. But IDG Consumer & SMB CRO Brian Gleason is quick to tell AdExchanger that while the redesign does reduce the number of ad units on a page in favor of the larger, higher priced Hero unit, the format is ultimately being used to complement regular ad spots, not replace them.

“There’s certainly a place for a banner, even today,” Gleason said. “There’s just not a place for nine units on a page. Otherwise, it starts to look like Nascar – a logo placed everywhere. That’s part of the reason we did this — there’s more breathing room for both consumers and advertisers.” Within the past few weeks Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, Brother and TrendMicro have tried out the Hero units, which IDG has claimed to have yielded average click rates of between 2 and 4%

Continue reading… 

Categories: Advertising & Marketing News, Digital Media News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IDG Consumer & SMB Sees Ad Performance Rise With Redesigned HTML5/Responsive Sites

February 6th, 2013

Business Wire

PCWorld, Macworld, and TechHive, get a big boost in click-through rates with high-impact ad placements

SAN FRANCISCO—   Two months after the launch of redesigned HTML5/responsive websites, IDG Consumer & SMB is seeing encouraging results from its changes to PCWorld.com and Macworld.com, along with newly launched site TechHive.com. Overall, ad placements are delivering an average click-through rate (CTR) around 80% higher than pre-redesign levels.

IDG Consumer & SMB’s sites are also performing well against industry benchmarks. Ad units scheduled as run-of-site are delivering an average 0.38% click-through rate, compared to the tech industry average of 0.11% (MediaMind Global Benchmarks 2012). All three sites have better than average click performance with content and user targeting as well.

“We’re very pleased with these metrics,” notes IDG Consumer & SMB Chief Revenue Officer Brian Gleason. “We focused our redesign efforts on giving users visually-rich and intuitive websites that work across devices. We also wanted to make sure our advertising partners had a prominent place among our content. We’ve hit the mark for both readers and marketers.”

InCaseHero Macworld 0912 300x281 IDG Consumer & SMB Sees Ad Performance Rise With Redesigned HTML5/Responsive Sites         SamsungHero TechHive 0912 300x285 IDG Consumer & SMB Sees Ad Performance Rise With Redesigned HTML5/Responsive Sites

Continue reading… 

Categories: Digital Media News, Tech Business & Marketing News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IDG’s Stab at the ‘Premium’ Banner Ad

February 6th, 2013

Digiday

Banners aren’t going anywhere, but publishers are busy trying to remake them into something more interesting — and that advertisers will pay more for them than the rock-bottom rates available in programmatic ad buying.

For some sites, that means rethinking the page. Gannett, for example, eliminated 47 percent of its ad slots in its September 2012 redesign of USAToday.com. At the same time, IDG Consumer & SMB took a “less is more” approach, removing two to three standard display ads per page. It instead rolled out what it’s calling “the content hero” on TechHive, PCWorld and Macworld. The oddly sized unit, which is 1130 x 500, takes over the site on the homepage and highlights the advertiser’s offering. The unit sits on top of editorial content for the first eight seconds of the user’s visit. It then reduces in size and leaves the brand logo on the site.

“By taking fewer ads, we thought it was risky because eliminating ads means we may lose money,” said Brian Gleason, chief revenue officer at IDG TechNetwork and IDG Consumer & SMB. “But [this] proves larger units, more impactful units that can fit in with the design of a page without taking away from the user experience is being welcomed on both sides.”

Continue reading… 

Categories: Digital Media News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PCWorld and TechHive Pick Top 100 Products in Time for Holiday Gifts

December 18th, 2012

PCWORLD
Mobile and home entertainment products dominate list topped by Windows 8

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With big technology launches and announcements now on par with blockbuster movie premiers and red carpet galas, tech fans were treated to their fair share of pageantry and promenading from the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Google, and many others this year. The experts at PCWorld and TechHive took a look back at 2012 to rank the 100 Best Products that made the biggest impact, and have released their list just in time for the holidays.

Windows 8 is No. 1

At the top of the list of 100 Best Tech Products sits Microsoft’s biggest operating system update and rollout since Windows 95: Windows 8. In some ways, the jury is still out on whether Windows 8 was/is a big success, but the experts at PCWorld and TechHive credit its substantial performance improvements and bold step into the mobile/touch-screen universe with winning the top rank for 2012.

The top 10 includes many of the most popular and successful products from the year: Apple’s iPad (3rd generation, for its groundbreaking, high-res Retina display), Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone, and even TV maker Vizio’s first foray into the laptop market with a sleek ultrabook. Check out the full list here:http://go.pcworld.com/100best

Tech in the Home

The era of the smart home is dawning, as indicated by the large number of home automation and home entertainment products turning tech experts’ heads in 2012. Vivint ranked in the top 100 for bringing sophisticated home security and automation systems (alarm, electronic door lock, door/window sensors, lighting controls, an IP camera, and a programmable thermostat) to the mainstream market. Automation solutions from ADT and Lowes also made the list. Other top products for the home include a handful of wireless and network-capable sound systems and speakers, two HDTVs, several acclaimed video games, and a number of headphone offerings. Take a closer look at what PCWorld and TechHive had to say about the products from the list in the categories of home technology and entertainment.

5 Flops & 5 for the Future

For the PCWorld magazine version of the 100 Best list, editors also took the opportunity to review some of the products of the past year that didn’t quite make the impact they could have, and some others to look forward to in the coming year.

The five on the list of flops and failures: Google Nexus Q—Google’s overpriced media streaming device; Ping—Apple’s ignored music-oriented social network; Sony PS Vita—the underachieving handheld gaming system; 3D TV sets—in only 3% of U.S. households; and Windows Home Server 2011.

For 2013, the PCWorld team recommends keeping your eye on five highly anticipated products: Open-source gaming console Ouya; Google Glass—the wearable display product demoed this year; A hand gesture device for controlling your computer called Leap Motion; Microsoft’s Pro version of the Surface tablet; and the epic third sequel to one of the best video games of all time—Half Life 3.

Overall, the editors at PCWorld and TechHive have come up with a thorough list of the year’s most exciting and impactful tech, just in time for everyone to hit the electronics stores and websites for the holidays. If you’re looking for more advice about a category, or insightful reviews on all of the top 100 products, visit PCWorld.com and TechHive.com.

About PCWorld & TechHive

IDG Consumer & SMB publishes leading tech media brands, PCWorld, Macworld and TechHive. PCWorld includes PCWorld.com and PCWorld magazine, reaching nearly 16 million readers each month who look for advice on getting the most from the PC ecosystem. TechHive.com launched in Sept. 2012 and gives it’s growing audience of almost 2 million visitors a fresh, enthusiastic perspective on new technology and its active role in our lives. Both PCWorld and TechHive can be found in apps and readers across many smartphone and tablet platforms, along with responsive, HTML5 websites, built to flex to virtually every screen size.

IDG Consumer & SMB is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading technology media, events and research company.

Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at http://www.idg.com. Additional information about IDG Consumer & SMB is available athttp://www.idgcsmb.com/.

Contacts

IDG Consumer & SMB
Jim Hopkins, 415-978-3380
jhopkins@idgcsmb.com

Categories: Digital Media Blog, Social Media Blog, Tech Business & Marketing Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Best Products of 2012

December 7th, 2012

PCWorld

Around this time each year, the editors at PCWorld and TechHive gather to recognize the best new tech products—the hardware, software, gadgets, and devices that had the biggest impact on the world. The process starts out casually enough, because editors get to name their favorites from their respective beats, and everything is included in the first pass.

But passions rise when the time comes to winnow what inevitably becomes a very long list to just 100 new products. There’s a fervent back and forth as the editors make their cases as to why their product should remain on the list—and someone else’s should be whacked. Staff alliances form and dissolve as editors strategize how they’ll win the day for their picks.

A list with 100 computers, smartphones, printers, cloud services, and other great products inexorably emerges over the course of a few weeks. But that’s only half the battle, because the editors must now decide the order of importance that each product holds. That came together surprisingly quickly this year—at least for the top 10 products. As for the other 90; well, let’s just say the list was settled only after great deliberation.

And here, without further ado, are our picks for the 100 best products of 2012:

1. Windows 8 Professional (operating system)

Continue reading…

Categories: Tech Business & Marketing Blog, Tech Business & Marketing Research | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s a Fragmented Media Environment

December 3rd, 2012

IDG Research Services

Research: What Media and Devices Motivate BtoB Tech Buyers

Business and IT professionals are taking to social, mobile, and video in a big way in the US. They have several favorite sources of information on tech products. These are some of the findings in a recent IDG Research Services survey of more than 2, 200 visitors to IDG sites such as CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PCWorld. Tech savvy users, across multiple segments from healthcare to finance and manufacturing to government, are key indicators for marketers as they plan to reach a broader business audience.

The reliance on digital media is a given but what media is preferred is not as clear.  Ninety-two percent do go to technology web sites, 60% tech vendor web sites, and 58% tech-related print publications. The importance of tech related media and vendor web sites is important data for marketers as is almost a third of the survey respondents turned to the social web.

Slide6 Its a Fragmented Media Environment

Categories: Digital Media Research, Social Media Research | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Video Viewing Correlates With Purchase Behavior

December 3rd, 2012

IDG Research Solutions

Research: What Media and Devices Motivate BtoB Tech Buyers

Business and IT professionals are taking to social, mobile, and video in a big way in the US. They have several favorite sources of information on tech products. These are some of the findings in a recent IDG Research Services survey of more than 2, 200 visitors to IDG sites such as CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PCWorld. Tech savvy users, across multiple segments from healthcare to finance and manufacturing to government, are key indicators for marketers as they plan to reach a broader business audience.

For 95% of BtoB tech buyers, the web is a constant source of tech-related videos: 82% of the respondents post, forward, and share such videos.  Many are not passive viewers, either.  Almost half purchased a product, nearly three-quarters research an item, and approximately half visited a vendor site, contacted a vendor for more information, or looked for a product in a retail store.

Slide5 Video Viewing Correlates With Purchase Behavior

Categories: Digital Media Research | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How BtoB Tech Buyers Engage with Mobile Devices

December 3rd, 2012

IDG Research Services

Research: What Media and Devices Motivate BtoB Tech Buyers

Business and IT professionals are taking to social, mobile, and video in a big way in the US. They have several favorite sources of information on tech products. These are some of the findings in a recent IDG Research Services survey of more than 2, 200 visitors to IDG sites such as CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PCWorld. Tech savvy users, across multiple segments from healthcare to finance and manufacturing to government, are key indicators for marketers as they plan to reach a broader business audience.

Use of mobile devices is pervasive.  Seventy-five percent own/regularly use at least two smartphones and/or tablets.  The vast majority use the devices for everything from email to apps, and content consumption including multimedia. In this massive mobile use, tablets topped smartphones in every application category.

Slide3 How BtoB Tech Buyers Engage with Mobile Devices

Categories: Mobile Research | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tech Buyers Speak About Power of Social

December 3rd, 2012

IDG Research Services

Research: What Media and Devices Motivate BtoB Tech Buyers

Business and IT professionals are taking to social, mobile, and video in a big way in the US. They have several favorite sources of information on tech products. These are some of the findings in a recent IDG Research Services survey of more than 2, 200 visitors to IDG sites such as CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, and PCWorld. Tech savvy users, across multiple segments from healthcare to finance and manufacturing to government, are key indicators for marketers as they plan to reach a broader business audience.

As to what buyers look for in social sites, just over 50% seek information about product offerings/directions, see product reviews/rankings, and respond to customer questions.
Slide2 Tech Buyers Speak About Power of Social

Categories: Social Media Research | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,