Conversion-driven marketing agency 90octane came through with 920 pounds of food for the Food Bank of the Rockies. The staff brought in the goods to amass a holiday gift for Rocky Mountain families in need.

Check out these Food Bank stats:

· 1 in 8 Coloradoans is struggling to meet basic food needs.

· 1 in 10 Wyoming residents is going hungry.

· Nearly half of those suffering from hunger are children.

· 45% of the household members served by FBR are children under 18.

· 51% of households include at least one employed adult.

· 77% have incomes below the federal poverty level during the previous month.

90octane capped off the holiday season with a successful food drive.

Food donations are always needed. Learn more.

The staff of conversion-driven marketing agency 90octane donated over 100 hours of time volunteering for The Denver Santa Claus Shop — a charitable organization, which in its 78th year is believed to be the longest, continuously running charity of its kind in the U.S.

Local families with children up to age 11 were invited through Denver-area social service and welfare agencies, as well as charitable and religious organizations, to receive new and gently used toys. Toy drives by area schools, companies, King Soopers, the Colorado Rockies and 9NEWS helped keep shelves at the temporary “toy stores” stocked. 90octane’s employees organized toys and assisted the families with their selections.

90octane Project Manager Sean Brunner organized our participation in The Denver Santa Claus Shop this year and last.

“We feel it’s important to give back to the community — especially in times like this. Traditional methods for giving back during the holidays, such as canned food drives and monetary donations, are important, but giving one’s time can be just as generous,” said Jim Grinney, Partner at 90octane.

Posted by: Megan Archer, Marketing Coordinator

Many organizations will be more accepting about implementing a social media strategy in 2009 than ever before. The driving factor? Tight budgets that are making cost-effective marketing channels very appealing. Plus, many are pleased to find that social media marketing can provide some really positive results.

Having a company profile on Facebook might just become more of a standard in the coming year. While you might not think your target audience matches up with Facebook, it’s a way to test the waters – a way to engage socially and open up to feedback about your company.

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Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Marketing Coordinator

Contextual advertising places Google Ads on websites outside of the Google search engine. Participating in this “content network” allows you to reach a new audience looking into topics relevant to your business or product.

It’s important to note that your ads will show more impressions and a lower click-through rate. That’s related to the fact that the audience is interested in the related topic but not necessarily searching specifically for a product (as they are in the search engines). That being said, there are many things you can do to conquer the contextual advertising outlet and make it work for you.

Themes are the key: Unlike in search, contextual advertising is all about the theme of an ad group, not the specific keywords. Keywords should present a strong theme, as together they give Google a good idea of what the overall ad group is about. Ad group themes are best developed through 5-15 keywords.
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90octane is included in the newly released Marketers Resource Guide ‘09 by BtoB Magazine. The firm is listed under the Top B-to-B Agencies, Interactive Agencies and SEM Vendors sections.

The Guide directs its audience of business-to-business marketers in creating partnerships with vendors. BtoB’s VP-publisher Bob Felsenthal notes, “If you are in the b-to-b marketing world, you need partners who are familiar with b-to-b markets, who know your needs and how your customers react. These partners will also know what messages engage these audiences, what media they use and what language they speak.”

90octane strategizes and implements search engine marketing and online demand generation programs for nonprofits, consumer companies and business-to-business organizations. The agency’s business-to-business clients include Gates Corporation, ProLogis, Charter Business^®, Atlas Copco, Symetix and ITT Visual Information Solutions.

Download the complete Marketers Resource Guide ‘09 from BtoB Magazine.

Posted by: Janessa Seewald, Account Manager

Despite the tough economy and the fact that many companies are cutting portions of their budgets, most are maintaining their presence online and adopting an even more competitive, aggressive approach. The following tips can be utilized to help differentiate your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising/contextual advertising strategy from your competitors’.

1. Evaluate the messaging your competition is using within their PPC and contextual ads, and determine how to make your creative stronger. It’s got to really stand out. For example, use questions, customer testimonials and of course your strongest offer within your ad text.

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