Radio Advertising
Then, this morning as I’m driving to work, Santa Claus starts talking to me through my radio telling me about all the great deals at eBay… Sure sounds like an advertisement to me. It turns out there are two other radio spots that have been running in lead up to the holidays. You can listen to them HERE and HERE.

PR Updates
So I went back and looked at emails that I get on a weekly basis from our consumer PR team and there’s a heck of a lot of PR and promotion going on out there. (If you’re interested in me sharing more of what those individual TV, radio and magazine/e-zine spots are, I’m happy to provide here but it will make for a long blog post). I will provide just a couple of examples though…

For one, Griff has made a number of TV appearances recently talking about deals on eBay. This morning he was on CNBC talking about trends in online consumers and in addition to being likened to Santa Claus at the beginning of the interview, he was also quick to point out that “eBay sellers have come to the rescue [of buyers], by offering the best possible pricing online.” You can view the interview HERE.

eBay $1 Holiday Doorbusters
• Forbes.com featured a story on the trend of online retailers offering deals and promotions before Black Friday, and reporter Elizabeth Woyke noted that deals can “always found on eBay” and included information about the “Holiday Doorbusters sweepstakes.” Furthermore, she reported that from November 24 to December 8, several lucky shoppers have the opportunity to purchase iPod nanos and Nikon Coolpix cameras for $1.

• Daily Candy, an influential, daily e-mail newsletter and website featured a sponsored link in their weekly Deals email. The post highlights the $1 Holiday Doorbusters initiative and includes a link to the Doorbusters Web site: http://www.ebay.com/doorbusters. Add-ons include additional eBay banner ads and placements on their website.

• WHP CBS 21 (Harrisburg, PA) featured a segment on eBay’s $1 Holiday Doorbusters. The reporter noted that eBay is “hitting the ground running” by offering 100 items for one dollar on its Web site starting now through December 8. Several of the items include GPS devices, digital cameras and a brand-new car or plasma TV.

• KOLO-TV CH 8 (ABC-Reno) announced on its 5 p.m. program that eBay unveiled its $1 Holiday Doorbusters promotion. The segment noted that items including toys, electronics, sporting goods and jewelry, will be posted randomly on the site each day of the promotion, as well as one luxury item per day.

• The following online outlets have also featured featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Wichita Business Journal, AuctionBytes (includes a link to http://www.ebay.com/deals), Centre Daily Times (includes a link to Doorbusters landing page), San Jose Business Journal, Tech Journal South, Atlanta Business Journal, The Motley Fool, FayObserver.com, ABC15.com (Phoenix, Arizona)

• The following Coupon Web sites have featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: Fat Wallet, GottaDeal.com, DealLighted.com, DealsSmart.

• The following blogs have featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: Bargain Finder Pro, Bargain Hunter, 9 Malls Blog (includes a link to Doorbusters landing page), Buffalo News.

Like I said, there are a large number of examples like this illustrating exactly how eBay is promoting the marketplace both in the press and through advertising. Again, this blog is not intended to be a platform for me to regurgitate kool-aid (ouch… not a good visual) but if folks are interested in me breaking down factually (and without spin) where and how the marketplace is promoted online, in print and through radio/TV, I’m more than happy to.

For those American readers out there, I wish you a very safe and a very happy Thanksgiving with both family and friends. I’m very excited to celebrate Quincy’s first Thanksgiving (and to enjoy three NFL games on turkey-day… despite the seemingly poor match-ups). I also look forward to coming back on Monday refreshed (and turkey-filled) and ready to hit the ground running again with Ink.

Cheers,
RBH