FRISCO, Texas, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today's tough economic climate is taking its toll on brand advertisers. A recent survey of marketers conducted by the Association of National Advertisers found that more than 50 percent expect their marketing budget to be reduced within the next six months. The same study revealed that nearly 90 percent of marketers are under pressure to wring cost savings or reductions from their current marketing and advertising initiatives.
Traditional mediums for big-spend brand advertisers -- TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. -- typically take the brunt of advertising budget cutbacks. Online advertising, while not entirely immune, generally fares better during an economic downturn. In fact, despite today's trying economy, the vast majority of industry experts predict significant and sustained growth over the next several years for online advertising. The outlook is particularly strong for paid search advertising, which accounts for approximately 41 percent of all Internet advertising.
According to research firm IDC, overall U.S. Internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51 billion in 2012, growing about eight times as fast as advertising at large.
Brand advertising is essential to healthy, sustained business growth, and as economic pressure forces a growing number of companies to scale back their expensive brand advertising campaigns, they risk losing valuable market share and hard-earned mind share among consumers, according to Scott Grizzle, chief marketing officer for NeXplore Corporation (Pink Sheets: NXPC).
Grizzle maintains that paid search can offer the best value to brand advertisers during tough economic times, providing search engines make some dramatic, long-overdue changes to the traditional, text-laden search engine results page (SERP).
Said Grizzle, "A recent PIP study shows that nearly half of all Internet users use search on a daily basis. The study confirms what professional marketers already know -- that search is the Internet gateway; search is where the eyeballs are; and search is the inevitable first step in the purchase process. Given this prominence, it only stands to reason that the search-engine results page evolves to better serve the needs of brand advertisers.
For its part, NeXplore Search (http://www.nexplore.com/), an innovative Web 2.0 search engine, features a distinctly unique search engine results page optimized for a superior end-user experience, rich-media display and social network integration.
Designed to minimize plain text and eliminate unproductive drill down, the NeXplore SERP presents website thumbnails, a full-size website preview pane and a floating, cursor-directed website preview window that enables consumers to view the websites of all organic and sponsored search results without leaving the NeXplore results page.
Added Grizzle, "Search advertising is a proven, recession-proof medium for executing measurable, performance-based ad campaigns, but plain text search results do little-to-nothing in terms of brand building. When the economy stumbles and marketing budgets shrink, brand advertisers are the hardest hit.
"Moving brand advertising dollars online makes sense from a cost perspective, but unfortunately the current model for Internet display advertising, particularly intrusive banner ads that consumers have conditioned themselves to ignore, falls far short of meeting the needs of brand advertisers.
"The most viable solution is a radical re-thinking and redesign of the search engine results page. Serving up a graphic-rich, visually appealing results page enhances the search experience for consumers and finally gives brand advertisers the online medium they've been waiting for to deliver truly meaningful, brand-building impressions.
"Our foremost objective in designing the NeXplore Search results page was to create a unique, productive, visually appealing and engaging experience for the consumer. In doing this we also created a tremendous opportunity for marketers to get maximum value for their advertising dollar.
"In addition to delivering the proven advertising value of paid search, the NeXplore Search results page with its rich use of graphics delivers quality impressions that move the needle on brand awareness, brand favorability, message association and purchase intent -- all of the essential elements of successful brand advertising."
NeXplore Search has been in public beta since January 2008. According to web-analytics company Compete.com, NeXplore Search had more than one million unique visitors in both May and June.
About NeXplore Corporation
NeXplore Corporation (Pink Sheets: NXPC) improves the online experience by providing Web tools and destinations that empower people to drive and define a World Wide Web perfectly suited for their unique needs, interests and online pursuits. For advertisers, NeXplore offers a full array of search, display and interactive advertising products to reach and engage targeted consumers. For more information about NeXplore, visit http://www.nexplorecorporation.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements: A number of statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the applicable statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to commercialize a proprietary product, our ability to generate product sales and operating profits, potential vulnerability of technology obsolescence, potential competitive products by better capitalized companies, potential difficulty in managing growth, dependence on key personnel, and other risks which will be described in future company Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Media Contact:
Rory Doherty
(214) 459-6321
