Lecture 4 – E-Marketing
Video Case #1 (2 minutes): “LSTN Headphones” [YouTube link; video also available on
Moodle]
Video Case #2 (4 minutes): “Pandora” [YouTube link; video also available on Moodle]
Lecture 4 explains various concepts of online marketing, including market segmentation,
search engine optimization, online advertising strategies, and customer relationship
management. This exercise requires the students to revisit and apply some of these concepts
to two different cases.
The video case of LSTN Headphones describes how the company uses YouTube as an
advertising platform.
The video case of Pandora explains how Pandora’s recommendation engine works and how
it is different from the traditional recommendation engines used by other online companies,
such as Amazon and Netflix.
Concept-checking Questions:
Students are required to go through the video cases and answer the following questions on
Moodle. Some questions are multiple-choice questions for concept checking, and some are
open-ended questions that require you to reflect more deeply on the cases. Answers to the
open-ended questions will not be graded individually, but they will be discussed in the next
class.
For questions 1 to 4, refer to the case of LSTN.
1. Which of the following segmentation methods do YouTube ads support (choose all
applicable options)?
a. Geographic
b. Demographic
c. Psychographic
2. In which country does LSTN have the highest number of views for its ads?
a. Canada
b. United Kingdom
c. United States
d. Singapore
e. Australia
3. According to the video, what is the most important factor that determines the success of a
YouTube ad?
a. The ad is produced by a professional videographer.
b. The ad tells a real story.
c. The ad explains how good the product is.
d. The ad is funny to watch.
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4. YouTube TrueView in-stream ads (i.e., skippable video ads) provide the freedom for
users to watch the ad in full or skip the ad after viewing it for 5 seconds. Also, YouTube
offers advertisers the choice of non-skippable video ads, which can be up to 15-20
seconds long and the viewers must watch the ad before they can watch the selected video.
What are the advantages and disadvantages for advertisers to use the non-skippable ads
(as compared with the skippable ads)?
For questions 5 to 9, refer to the case of Pandora.
5. Which of the following data is usually NOT considered when traditional recommendation
engines (e.g. Amazon and Netflix) make product recommendations?
a. Past purchase history
b. Customer preference
c. Product attributes
d. Product popularity
6. How does Pandora’s music genome project characterize the songs in its database?
a. By using software algorithms
b. By using judgement of professional musicians
c. By using user feedback
d. By using information from music producers
7. How many characteristics does Pandora use to identify a song?
a. About 50
b. About 100
c. About 200
d. About 400
8. Which of the following is NOT a factor that Pandora considers when making song
recommendations?
a. Artist of the songs
b. Melody of the songs
c. Harmony of the songs
d. Rhythm of the songs
9. What is “long tail marketing? Why is Pandora a good example of the “long tail
marketing” on the Web?
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