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September 2006

September 29, 2006

Election '06: Candidate Sites Matter in Tight VA Senate Race

I just heard a report on NPR's All Things Considered during which Robert Siegel spoke with residents of the booming Virginia county of Loudoun, where, according to the ATC site, "Many of the residents are parents who typify an important group of the electorate that the political parties are vying to win over: emerging suburban voters."

One Loudoun denizen noted she figured Siegel would be asking what they think about the two main Senate candidates in that state, Democrat Jim Webb and the increasingly self-sabotaging Republican incumbent, George Allen. So, in preparation, she went to each candidate's site. Her conclusion: Allen's platform was clearly presented on his site, which she appeared to appreciate.

As for Webb, she didn't like the fact that his site portrayed him as a fighter. She doesn't want a fighter, she explained; she wants someone who can work together with other Members of Congress. Indeed, the only photos of Webb on his bio page are of him serving in the Marine Corps.

A consultant from the firm that's handling Allen's site now, told me yesterday about a new anti-Webb site developed for the Allen campaign, WebbAgainstWomen.com. The site uses Webb's writings and statements to illustrate an alleged prejudice against women, especially in relation to their role in the military.

This anti-opponent site strategy is something Republicans are doing a lot of this year. No doubt this is a direct extension of the success of the online tactics of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in '04, in addition to a general negative GOP campaign strategy this year.

The anti-Allen crowd is fighting back, though. Search Google for "George Allen" and you'll see two sponsored links, one leading to a collection of video clips on YouTube that put Allen in a bad light (including the now infamous "macaca" clip), in addition to one promoting a George Allen Insult Generator game on Slate.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Big Week for RSS Marketing

The following post was written by Ryan Naraine:

A flurry of RSS marketing announcements crossed the wires this week, including the launch of a new ad-supported aggregator and a service that embeds contextual text links in syndication feeds.

Here’s a sample of the announcements:

RealNetworks’ RealTime: The Seattle-based streaming media delivery firm has pushed into RSS content delivery with the launch of a hybrid desktop/Web-based feed reader. The service will compete with the likes of Bloglines and NewsGator and comes with an ad-serving component. It launches with a partnership with Feedster that allows users to search for feeds within RealTime. Personalized RSS feeds can be created based on keywords, providing an option to RealNetworks to serve contextually relevant advertising.

Text Link Ads Feedvertising: Cincinatti, Ohio-based Text Link Ads has launched a new service called Feedvertising that simplifies the display and delivery of text-based ads in RSS feeds. The service targets both site publishers and advertisers with a marketplace that promises to eschew the page-view and cost-per-click model in favor of a "cost-per-influence" ad-targeting concept. Feedvertising is already delivering text ads in RSS content from several high-profile bloggers, including the TechCrunch network.

Federated Media Publishing: John Battelle's advertising and publishing network is experimenting with a unique concept of displaying RSS content as display ads. Anti-virus vendor Symantec is serving up content generated from its Security Response blog as display ads now appearing on comment pages of Digg and on the home page of Techdirt. On a related note, Gabe Rivera’s Techmeme has launched a “Sponsor Post” section that displays content from blogs as the advertisement. The ads are automatically updated whenever the paid sponsor updates the content on the blogs.

Pheedo: The provider of RSS marketing solutions is teaming up with SimpleFeed to combine their respective RSS marketing expertise. The deal opens Pheedo’s RSS marketing and feed growth services to SimpleFeed customers – helping them generate revenue from their RSS content, increase feed readership and expose their content to an expansive audience. Participating SimpleFeed customers can join the Pheedo network of publishers, offering Pheedo advertisers access to expanded RSS and on-site inventory. In addition, Pheedo can now offer customers new RSS feed layouts that are similar to their web sites and are measurable through SimpleFeed’s templating and URL publishing technology.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ad Council's 'Generous Nation' Campaign Has Hefty Online Piece

Ad Council launched its philanthropy-focused "Generous Nation" campaign this week, and the effort includes an Internet media buy and Web site at DontAlmostGive.org. In addition to hosting the campaign's TV spots, the site offers suggestions for "random acts of kindness" and ways of getting involved in various causes.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ESPN Mobile Takes a Long Walk Off a Short Dock

Whispers of trouble at ESPN's fledgling MVNO have in recent day s grown to a roar, and now it's official: The company will shut down the service by the end of the year (DeadSpin has the memo). Handset sales are suspended immediately and the comopany will refund the full price of purchase. ESPN will instead pursue a licensing strategy with the mobile channel.

The failure of such a powerful media brand in the once-hyped MVNO space drives home an essential lesson of the networked age: media companies seeking to launch branded platforms and messaging infrastructures face a tough sell. No special reason they can't do it, but why should they? That's one of the questions that wasn't answered to consumers satisfaction in this case. Another lesson is more basic: Most Americans simply aren't yet enamored of content and in particular video on phones. Perhaps ESPN should try again in three years.

It also seemed lately the folks behind the effort were missing one of the main tenets of mobile video publishing as it exists today: brevity. This was evidenced by the move last month to carry college football games in their entirety on the service. Contrast that misguided decision with a service like The Madden Report, now in its second season on Verizon's vCast service. That project combines exclusive voice-over from John Madden with animated statistics and video shorts. Last season it was second in popularity only to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders on the service. The reason? It's fun, useful and over in about two minutes.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 28, 2006

Election '06: YouTube's Still Got Political Video Upperhand

Any political candidate with a clue is using YouTube as a second online home to distribute video ads, event footage and the like. There's a new site that aims to be a one-stop shop for this stuff called The People Choose 2006. It's affiliated with LinkTV, a channel featuring international current events and educational programming (which, if you're a current events geek like me you've probably watched).

One cool thing about the site is it categorizes all candidate videos by state. The thing is, the site doesn't feature all the video that's out there. Video services firm Jumpcut.com, which was justacquired by Yahoo, is a tech partner of the site.

I took a quick trip around the site, searching for videos from candidates in Jerz, the state where I hang my hat. When I visit the New Jersey page, there are only a couple videos from one congressional candidate available. Meanwhile, I can go to YouTube and search on "Menendez" and come up with a
slew of videos – commercials, etc. – featuring the Dem senator. There is also a bunch of video clips shining a bad light on his Republican opponent, Tom Kean, Jr.

So, unless sites like The People Choose can get their acts together and truly provide a comprehensive catalog of everything out there, I expect YouTube to remain the top spot for campaign video this election season.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What's most important to media buyers?

Microsoft and Google have polar opposite approaches to ad sales, according to Joanne Bradford, corporate VP of sales and marketing for Microsoft's Digital Advertising Solutions, and chief revenue officer.

Speaking on social responsibility at the Museum of Television and Radio Wednesday, Bradford joked about ad sales people suffering doubly, for being in the advertising business and being in sales. She suggested those in the industry should act socially responsible as a way to redeem themselves.

At the end of her talk, it was pointed out that Google's attitude toward sales people is to get rid of them, as Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said publicly that automation can replace ad sales people in many cases, improving the process and the experience for buyers.

Bradford said that when Microsoft surveyed advertisers, a relationship was at the top of the list of what they feel is important in a media company. In fact, price, which is what Google seems to be optimizing its business to deliver, came in last in order of importance:
1. A relationship -- advertisers want to know who they're buying from.
2. Quality of service must be high.
3. The ad product itself must be worth buying.
4. Price must be right.

What do you think? Where do you rank price, product, service and relationships when considering a media buy?

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 27, 2006

Yahoo's Millard: It's All About the Scale

The Journal had an interesting, top level Q&A with Yahoo's Wenda Harris Millard today. Asked how Yahoo will continue to differentiate in the face of competition from traditional media conglomerates, her basic answer is "scale." With close to 500 million global uniques, Yahoo has a larger audience than any other Internet player. She also fields questions on approprite video advertising formats and the dearth of digital talent, and evades a question on which industries are lagging in terms of online ad spending.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New Press Release: Blog Post with an E-mail Follow-up

A moment-ago straw poll among ClickZ reporters confirmed that several of us are seeing a rise in a new PR tactic: publicists sending us e-mail about their clients' blog posts.

"Good Morning," said one such missive today. "Please note that [client name redacted] has posted a new entry on his blog regarding [subject matter redacted]. You can read his post at [URL redacted]. Thanks, [name redacted]

Luckily, the above e-mail pointed to a fairly interesting and relevant post. But given how easy it is to fire off a two-line e-mail, I'm betting the recent flurry of such alerts becomes something of an epidemic.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Too Many + Same Ad=Bad NBC.com Experience

With all the supposed demand for video ad inventory, you'd think I wouldn't be subjected to the same pre-roll ad over and over. The other night, though, we were watching outtake clips from The Office on NBC.com. First of all, the things last just a minute or two; still, in between each clip we were shown a spot. And not only that, it was the same damn spot. (I'm not being profane, I'm quoting Shakespeare.)

Even if I could tolerate Jessica Simpson, I'd rather not have to sit through an ad for her new flick "Employee of the Month" once, much less twice. Steve and I both lost patience before the third clip rolled, abandoning the site.

Not only does this makes for a crappy user experience, it has me second-guessing this pre-roll ad demand everybody's talking about.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 25, 2006

Forbes.com Picks Podbridge's Tools

Advertisers looking for an opportunity to sponsor a podcast, but who also want the backing of a big brand can look no farther than Forbes.com. Podbridge will provide its audience measurement tools and ad insertion services for Forbes.com's audio and video podcasts.

Podbridge's tools can tell advertisers how many times a podcast is viewed or listened to, in addition to the number of times it was downloaded, with breakdowns by audience demographics.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No such thing as long-term media planning?

Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo, said this morning there's no such thing as long-term media planning anymore. Instead, you need to approach it in a new way, that fosters faster thinking, streamlining organization, and fitting into the broader ecosystem

Important things to consider:
1. There's no way to think your way to the future, you have to do it. Don't let ideas "percolate" and keep going up and down in the organization.
2. Mind your organization. Don't let the people in your organization get in the way of what you want to do. While everyone's talking about Web 2.0, most businesses are still at version 1.0.
3. Mind your API. Learn how your product can work together with others in a network. Don't offer a "porcupine" API that isn't friendly.

How to enjoy the ride:
1. You have to have hard-core accountability. When your objective is to save money, use ROI. Otherwise, use "return on objective," and tailor that to what you're doing. Consider new metrics like engagement, interaction, consideration, and intent.
2. Iterate to metrics success through "jazziness." Improvise, and play off other people's music.
3. Be facilitative. If a company facilitates what people are trying to do, they'll end up working with them. If they try to aggressively market to people, they won't.
4. Be authentic. When Kate Moss went through her cocaine scandal, she didn't try to spin the situation, or apologize. She has a sense of self, a value system, she's true and transparent. That's why she's popular.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rev Sci Scores Gannett -- Tacoda Says It's not a Loss

Today Revenue Science announced it will enable behavioral ad targeting across all of Gannett’s paper and local TV station sites, including USAToday.com. The Rev Sci technology will allow the publisher to target ads to pre-defined audience categories as well as customized segments.

When my fellow reporter, Zach, and I discussed the win, we wondered, was Tacoda's system, which Gannett has used to serve behavioral ads on its USAToday site, not up to snuff for use across all of Gannett's sites?

I rang up Tacoda's chairman Dave Morgan, and told him it had come to my attention that they'd lost the Gannett account. Well, he said, "We already put an end to the life of [Tacoda's publisher site-side targeting] product." That's what Gannett has used to serve behaviorally-targeted ads on USAToday.com. Although some sites continue to target ads through the publisher-side system, Morgan said, the firm "hasn't actively sold it since October."

The focus for Tacoda seems to be exclusively its Audience Network, a behavioral targeting network of about 4,000 Web sites.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

McMedia

Mickey D's has teamed with Akoo to launch the francise's first m-Venue platform in a mall outside Chicago. The "entertainment and marketing platform" enables McDonald’s patrons to "search, select, and 'activate' in-store digital content -- including music, music videos, and movie previews -- with their mobile phones or Internet-connected mobile devices."

Audio and video content is supplied by Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Sony Pictures, among others. Customers can dial up entertainment (which is free -- for now) via SMS, the mobile Web, or Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Choise are played on demand in "designated multimedia zones" or queued if another selection is currently playing.

McD's installed 10 multimedia flat-panel screens in the first m-Venue. Additional McDonald’s throughout the Chicago area and southeastern region will launch m-Venue by year’s end. Akoo say's it's also in discussions to roll out the platform at “big box” retail, dining, and leisure entertainment chains by early next year.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday Morning: The IAB & Naughty Lingerie

Maybe it's just an early Monday morning thing, but sitting at the IAB's MIXX event, I can't help but think that the logo and overall visual identity: languid, swirling, suspend liquid, is awfully reminiscent of the flowing inky black stuff that weaves through Agent Provacateur's not-particularly-worksafe Web site (this page is OK, though).

Maybe I'm wrong. Both might just be taking that water drop that was so ubiquitous c. 2001 another step forward.

 

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 22, 2006

Election '06: Political Advertisers Oughtta Be Committed

"When committing to rich media, commit fully," instructed a collective of like-minded promoters of online political ads, trade association E-Voter Institute, rich media ad firm PointRoll, Inc., and political consulting firms Connell Donatelli Inc. and MSHC Partners Inc. The quartet unveiled a list of "rich media best practices for political candidates" yesterday.

The digested list recommends using the Web, including rich media, for all campaign objectives, including fundraising, get out the vote and canvassing. (It's interesting to note the release left out persuasion. That's a big one, and I've heard some folks question the Web's ability to persuade voters. Of course, streaming TV ads within a banner should persuade just as well as running a TV ad on TV, shouldn't it?)

Another suggestion: "Engage voters through compelling creative that connects and influences." And in doing so, tailor messages to intended targets. The list also says to target geographically, then add other ads and live appearances (duh?).

Just make sure your opponent doesn't drown out your live rhetoric with convict-propelled lawn mowers.

Not surprising, the list recommends using lots of interactive features, naming a bunch that PointRoll offers in its Voter Impact suite of ad formats. The company seems pretty devoted to wooing political advertisers this year; its site homepage prominently promotes the Voter Impact units and even displays a "Fatboy for class president" pin.

The list also suggests creating online-only footage (something companies like PointRoll and Klipmart have been pushing for a long time now), noting "Commitment to using the online channel will leverage television ads and provide feedback about message effectiveness."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You Know You're Working Too Hard...

...when you can't even walk by a sushi bar without thinking about search.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 21, 2006

Wikipedia Ads on AdSense? "Not Ours," they say.

Uber-blogger and Edelman PR honcho Steve Rubel spotted some peculiar ads when he did a search for "crowdsourcing" on Google. As he said earlier this week on his Micropersuasion blog, some paid search ads in the results pointed to Wikipedia, the "free and open" encyclopedia run by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.

So is Wikimedia taking people's donations and running AdWords campaigns to drive traffic? Not according to several Wikimedia volunteers that replied to Rubel's post and a spokesperson contacted by ClickZ.

"As far as I am aware, the Wikimedia Foundation is not purchasing Google ads, or any other advertisements for that matter," Wayne Saewyc, a Wikimedia spokesperson, told ClickZ.

In the comments on Rubel's post, David Gerard, a PR volunteer for Wikimedia, put it bluntly: "We've never needed or wanted to pay for advertising and don't have money for anything other than servers and bandwidth anyway. We're probably *too* popular and our servers are melting as it is!"

Alison Wheeler, CEO of Wikimedia UK, added: "Money we raise goes on hardware and direct operating costs, not on advertising (which, frankly, with our ratings would probably be superfluous)," she said. "We've found that a number of people have this incorrect idea that Wikipedia can drive traffic to their (commercial operation) Web site. It can't, or rather it won't as when we find such SEO / spam linkages we take action to remove them. Wikipedia is a free and open Encyclopedia, not a tool to support commerce."

It's being speculated that the ads were bought by someone who had links in the crowdsourcing entry, but since Gerard said he has removed all the links in that entry, it's hard to imagine why the ads are still running, or who might be behind them. Is there a Wikipedia secret admirer out there with some spare ad budget?

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Chomsky's Chavez Endorsement - With A Bullet

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's vitriolic attack on George W. Bush and U.S. foreign policy at the United Nations yesterday is notable for many reasons, not the least of which is his ringing endorsement of Noam Chomsky's book "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Domination."

After waving a copy of the book and recommending everyone read it, its hourly sales ranking on Amazon.com spiked to #22 as of Wednesday evening, from #160,772 earlier yesterday, according to CNN.

Prof. Chomsky not only has Sr. Chavez to thank, but also the Web. His book's sales peaked out during the day, when surfers were more likely to be reading the news online than watching the evening news.

Obviously, they then clicked directly to Amazon and bought it.

Update: The title is #7 as of 9:50 the following morning.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unlikely to be Banned In Boston

Boston's Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley is leaping into the blogosphere.

According to reports, O'Malley will file items at least once daily during a 10-day trip to Rome that begins today. If all goes well, the blog will be permanent. A spokesperson has said whether or not comments will be permitted is still undecided.

So far, no posts yet. And no AdSense ads, either.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 20, 2006

CGM's Milky Way

Web 2.0 on steroids? Maybe. Hopefully, without the added hormones.

Watching the Tuscan Whole Milk user reviews pile up has been something of a spectator sport here at ClickZ HQ all week.

Current total: 765.

Many of the submissions are funny enough to...well, to make milk shoot out of your nose.

Impact on sales? No idea.

Brand buzz? No question about it.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voodoo Ad-onomics?

I'm perusing the press releases this morning, and just couldn't help sharing this with fellow ClickZ-ers. My eye was caught by a release from VoodooVox, an ad tech firm that serves audio ads during phone call waiting periods for high call volume industries (mostly radio stations, it seems). They've just signed Univision and ABC Radio to their In-Call Network. It's an interesting concept, and I guess you can think of it as an extension of the over-the-air ads played on radio station call holding lines. The company has served in-call spots for Microsoft, Virgin Mobile, Showtime, Sony, Lionsgate Films, and the US Navy.

Be that as it may, I found the first half of this quote from Spencer Brown, CEO of Dial Global, another broadcast outfit that will use the in-call ad service, pretty delusional: "Radio was the first and remains by-far the most interactive of all media, and the interactive device of choice is overwhelmingly the phone." I don't doubt for some, the interactive device of choice is indeed their (cell)phones; however, the notion that radio is still the most interactive of all media is a fantastical one. The fact that I need another device to interact with the radio is the primary reason it's not the most interactive medium, but readers of this publication could rattle off dozens more, too.

The remainder of his statement plants Brown back in the realm of reality: "A rich phone experience that includes in-call advertising and outbound SMS marketing will be a vital component of the radio programming and revenue enhancement services we deliver daily to our client stations nationwide."

Let's hope VoodooVox has a feature that allows folks to dial up the advertiser after they make that request for Rick James's Superfreak, otherwise the promise of mobile/in-call interactivity is moot.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Yahoo Guessing Game

Investors, snalysts and advertising types alike are playing the guessing game this morning about what's behind (and what's ahead of) Yahoo's announcement that auto and financial advertising is growing at a slower pace.

Henry Blodget says to prepare for Google denials, and our own Danny Sullivan provides one such denial -- though Danny doesn't single out Google but rather says search in general will be insulated. Truth is, Yahoo CFO Sue Decker said yesterday that the slower growth rate is category-wide and affects both display and search ads.

Gary Stein meanwhile points out that Internet media is highly nimble compared with outdoor, TV and other traditional channels. It's much easier to pull a little money out of the pot today, and put it back in next week or next month, making it a natural cutting room for quick budget slimmings.

Gary also wonders at the sudden reality of a media suplus in the auto category, when we've been hearing for years that portals and auto sites are completely sold out pretty much all the time. That is curious, and makes me wonder if we've been hearing the truth all along about the scarcity of that inventory.

Overall, the analysis yesterday and this morning points to continued strength in online media and an overreaction by investors, like so many nervous cattle, against Yahoo's stock and Internet stocks in general. So what else is new. That said, the ad business is cyclical and economic weakness will eventually hurt Internet marketers, buy side and sell side. It's a "when not if" thing. But the when is way, way up for debate, and not even worth guessing at based on one portal coming in at the low end of guidance. (They're not even missing!)

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 19, 2006

Talking Yahoo On CNBC

I'll be talking about Yahoo's bad day, and whether it's an ill portent for online advertising overall on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

The segment airs live some time around 12:45 on Wednesday.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Indie Filmmakers More Traditional Than You Thought

Here in Soho, there's always some hip indie film being shot outside ClickZ's office building, or some it-girl of tomorrow traipsing by. But this week we've got an entire indie film conference taking place across the street at the Puck Building here on Lafayette Street, so I figured I'd sneak in for a peek. If any Independent Film Week Filmmaker Conference panel would be good fodder for a ClickZ story, I figured, it'd have to be the one called "In Search of the Audience: Niche Marketing To Your Target." I mean, this thing's got Web written all over it, right?

Well, not exactly.

Though e-mail came up a couple times (once in detail when panelist Susan Seidelman, director of "Boynton Beach Club" discussed how she'd contacted activity directors at "active senior communities" in places like Palm Springs and Arizona to get e-mail addresses of residents to promote her film), the discussion steered pretty clear of the Web. Reaching out to niche audiences often meant posting fliers in religious community centers or ethnic groceries.

One anecdote I found especially entertaining though, and one with an interesting correlation to the expediency of Web distribution was shared by Meredith Finn from New Line Cinema, who had played a role in promoting an Israeli film called Ushpizin to Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn. The promoters had taken great pains to appeal to their targeted audience, setting up screenings with separated gender-specific areas. However, the theater screening events actually ended up competing with viewings of bootlegged copies of the very same film! Yep, people had received pirated copies of the flick by way of the homeland, and were even selling tickets to in-house showings.

As Mark Urman, a witty panelist from production house THINKfilm quipped, "There's a fine line between pirating and grassroots marketing."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rockstar Teases Bully in Back to School Site

While Rockstar Games' "Bully" won't be out until mid-October, the controversial publisher of the "Grand Theft Auto" series went so far as to create a Facebook page to promote the game. The said page actually resides on Rockstar's site, but takes a page from the popular online social networking hangout.

The Bully Web site links to the "Student & Faculty Facebook, an interactive yearbook with video and profiles of faculty and students. You can even pick up a virtual pencil and pink rubber eraser to doodle on the class pictures and have some fun.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not Podcasts, But PhoneCasts

SayNow is a startup with an interesting proposition for mobile. It's kind of like podcasting to mobile devices, but it isn't really podcasting or syndication. It's calling.

Here's how the company, which is currently aiming its product at musicians and music venues, describes the offering:

- you can broadcast audio messages to your fans and friends by recording from your phone or sending an mp3 from the web.

- fans and friends can listen to messages, reply, forward, and even participate in polls from any U.S. phone or their computer.

- everyone's number is kept totally private and it's free!

Of course, applicatons aren't limited to music. Woot, for example, just enlisted to create a deal-of-the-day "PhoneCast." The service can accomodate subscriptions, feedback, and a transactional commerce function, and of course, an ad model isn't far behind.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Estée Lauder Launches a Web Campaign

The Journal takes a look (sub. required) at the digital moves of a big player in an industry that's so far remained aloof from Web advertising. Women will be invited to post testimonials to a Web site for an anti-aging treatment. The site will be promoted via what looks to be a fairly extensive online ad buy, and a company rep told the Journal the online budget's coming out of traditional media.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CBS Launches Ads on 'Free 411' Service

CBS launched a campaign with ad-supported directory assistance provider 1-800-FREE411. These free listings look-up services, of which there are a few now, allow advertisers to target based on query type just as search marketing platforms do, though I doubt there's much of that going on with CBS' effort, which promotes the fall lineup of shows. The spots play just before a caller is presented with the phone number they requested. You can hear them here. The network calls the campaign part of an "Outernet" strategy.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Search Share in China: Google Slides

Baidu rises in China, while Google struggles for market share in the country. The "Chinese Google" has a much younger audience than the U.S. version, and much smaller revenues. But its market share has swelled to vast proportions in that country. From the Times' story: "the Chinese market is littered with the wreckage of American Internet companies that have failed to dominate here." This shouldn't be taken as any sort of post-mortem on Google's China plans, but it's the first real assessment I've seen of its progress there.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nick's Social Net for Parents

Yesterday, Nickelodeon formally launched its social networking service for parents. A New York Times story positions the launch as a move to recapture Nickelodeon viewers from the station's heyday in the 1970's, who have since grown up and now have kids of their own. If that were true, why not use the brand name? In any case, ParentsConnect launches in public beta with Nissan North America as a sponsor. An online ad capaign is in the works to promote the site. In Q4 and beyond, it will launch broadband video and local discussion boards, which I happen to think is key to the success of any parenting focused network. First and foremost, most moms and dads want to kvetch about the neighborhood: the restaurants, the babysitters, the pediatricians and other local services. Child rearing is a profoundly local phenomenon.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Verified Sender Breakdown

Im trying to send an e-mail the head of corporate communications at one of the top-4 ISPs this morning -- to no avail.

I know he has my contact info, but probably not the new-ish e-mail address that came about when ClickZ was sold. His mailbox, meanwhile, will only shoot over an autoresponder asking me to click the link and prove I'm real.

But when I click, here's what's on the landing page:

!-- Addme
Missing required parameter: id
--

It's another variation on the infinite loop of non-communication such authenticaton methods can engender (the more common variation is the invisible and eternal conversation your autoresponder might have with my autoresonder, were we both to use that method of authenticaton).

In this case, however, I can't e-mail the head of communications. At an ISP! That's pretty bad.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 18, 2006

Korean Youths, Internet Addicts

AsiaMedia is reporting a trial by the Information and Communication Ministry in South Korea to get students to take one day a week off from using the Internet. Apparently students of the country were showing signs of becoming Internet addicts. South Korean youths lack control online and have difficulty living an everyday life. But how many were watching the drama behind Lonelygirl15 unfold on YouTube?

Initially about 17,000 students in 20 elementary, middle and high schools will be asked to designate a day each week where they'll only use the Internet for learning and homework. Eventually the government wants to roll the restrictions out to 200,000 students across the country, in hopes of raising well-adjusted adults with appropriate online habits. The rest of the world can resume its addiction and find the next online video saga to watch obsessively.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Glam.com's Rising Fortunes

Fashion e-commerce and blogging network Glam.com has entered comScore's top ten ranked women's sites and surpassed many long-term incumbents in the fashion and beauty category, including Vogue's Style.com, iVillage Beauty & Style, InStyle.com and Elle.com. Glam's sites had 2.3 million uniques in July, up from 1.4 million in June and 463,000 in May, according to comScore, and it's global unique users measure 5.3 million.

Four months ago Glam.com entered a deal with Cosmopolitan in which the Hearst magazine would represent some of its graphical advertising. Blogs in the glam network when it launched last year included BagCrazy.blogspot.com, Coquette.blogs.com, SheFinds.com/blog, PopGadget.net, InMyBag.blogspot.com, FashionTribes.typepad.com and TiaWilliams.net/blog.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 15, 2006

TV Execs Talk Mobile Content

I attended a morning panel yesterday held during a raging rain storm under a fake ivy-adorned tarp on the 24th floor penthouse of the hip Hudson Hotel. On the panel: 3 TV producers and a media agency exec. The topic: emerging platforms for television content. The event: The New York Television Festival.

The takeaway: Nobody told me there was an all-black dress code.

The other takeaway: TV execs are clueless about what content will and won't work for mobile.

"No one knows anything. That's what makes it interesting," declared Fred Seibert, president and executive producer at Frederator Studios, and co-creator of what he called the ultimate content repurposing vehicle, Nick-at-Nite.

As they're wont to do, the TV guys stressed it's the storytelling that counts when it comes to successful content. There's no template. The story is what's important, said Howard Owens, SVP, creative affairs at Reveille, a production firm developing content for MSN, "rather than being bound by traditional TV strictures created for advertising purposes." The challenge, he continued, is "developing content that's ad supported without completely bastardizing the creative process."

Most panelists agreed relatively short content lengths work best. In creating MSN content, noted Owens, "We're trying to keep it somewhat short to make up for a fragmented media space and a smaller screen."

Seibert asserted, however, that it's not length that matters, but "what is appropriately engaging….There is no answer."

As for ad support for mobile content, panelists were skeptical that there will be much money from mobile advertising any time soon. Unless there's a show with a big interactive mobile component like voting (as in American Idol), commented Dan Suratt, EVP digital media and business development at Lifetime, mobile ads are "just added value for [advertisers] at this point." In other words, it's a value-add, meaning they're paying little to nothing for any mobile extension of their broadcast ads.

Suratt added Lifetime's audience is more interested in applications and games for their phones than they are video content at this point.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LonelyGirl15 Cashes Out

A follow-up to yesterday's thoughts on Revver: Looks like LonelyGirl15, who's just-peaked celebrity will go down as the media's first big crush on video blogging, is migrating to Revver for hosting. It's hard to know exactly what that means, since her (their?) gig is certainly up -- at least as far as the "real v. fake" debate goes. Maybe she and her creators hope to continue with the story, illusions of authenticity be damned. Or maybe she'll fess up directly to her viewers, and keep vlogging in a different way.

Update: Looks like she *did* just fess up. And now her v-log has apparently morphed into a "hit Internet soap opera." Oh my.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Little Piggy Went to Telemarket

This may be a first -- for me anyway. The other day I got a call at home. We've got caller ID and get so many telemarketing calls, I rarely pick up if I don't recognize the number. But we reporters are a curious breed, and the ID name associated with this caller was too intriguing for me to dismiss: Pigpen Forum. Could it be a nonprofit association begging for donations to aid excessively grimy children? Or maybe a company selling extra large play pens for portly kids?

Nope and nope.

Turns out it was a recorded telemarketing call from a Web site called PigPenForum.com, a sports betting site! There was a chipper chick on the line petitioning me to visit PigPenForum right away. Sure, I've gotten plenty of recorded calls, but I think this may be the first prompting me to go to a Web site.

Being neither a sports fan nor a gambler, she may as well have spoken to me in that indecipherable Peanuts adult language....

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gmail Plus

Yahoo's e-mail beta went alpha yesterday.

Today brings Gmail Plus.

And a lesson.

via Threadwatch

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 14, 2006

Wii Channels, and Other Nintendo News

For its upcoming console the Wii, Nintendo wants to expand its appeal way beyond gamers. To achieve this, it announced at a press conference this morning that it will create channels for users to navigate upon turning on the system. While Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime skirted the possibility of bringing in branded channels, he did say there was a possibility in the future. To give you an idea of the potential, at launch there will be a disc channel for direct access to games; a "Mii" channel, a virtual world of sorts where you can create characters that can then be exported to certain games and even friend's consoles; photo channel that can display photos and movies from an SD card; a forecast channel that picks up a weather feed from the WiiConnect24, always-on Internet; a news channel also picked up by the WiiConnect24 feed; Wii ship channel for users to buy legacy Nintendo and newly-created games; an Internet channel (no explanation required); and a Wii message board where users can post messages to their friends, or just to their own family.

The channels are a jumping off point for every aspect of the system, and leave room for branding opportunities. In essence every piece of media downloaded to the system will be a new channel, so each game downloaded from the Wii Shop, for instance, will be on the dashboard. Since the system will be capable of persistent downloads and feeds, it presents the perfect opportunity for marketers to host a channel, unless it impedes on Nintendo's own thoughts of brand.

As for in-game advertising, Fils-Aime put the onus on the third-party publishers, though NOA certainly has a lot to do with switching it on. He said it's up to the third parties to manage advertising. He didn't indicate when third-party titles will have access to online, which they won't at first, and if in-game advertising is one of the reasons only first-party titles, or games published by Nintendo itself, will have online capability during the launch period.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Revver Compensates Video Creators and 'Sharers'

Video hosting and sharing service Revver is now out of beta with new features, and I've been looking at and playing around with it some, trying to gauge its significance.

Revver is going hard after power video bloggers, and counts celebrities like Ask a Ninja and the Mentos/Diet Coke guys among its uploaders. Its greatest creative assets are these dedicated creators who have committed to the service for reasons of quality and monetization. Whereas YouTube offers no recompense to video uploaders, Revver attaches a still end-frame ad and splits revenues 50/50 with the video creator. Another way people can make money with Revver is by becoming "sharers" and promoting videos already living on Revver's servers. These affiliates get 20 percent off the top of any ad revenue earned through their site. Revver and the creator split the remaining.

One of the top video creators using Revver right now for hosting is Ze Frank, whose The Show with Ze Frank and other online community efforts have built a large following. (One show from July has been watch 41,000 times; another about 36,000.) I tried to reach out to Frank to gauge his satisfaction with the service, but nothing back yet. Since I imagine most of the views are coming through his own Web site and not through Revver's, I'm curious to learn whether he's satisfied with the 55 to 60 percent share of ad revenue he's likely pulling.

Advertisers so far on Revver have included American Apparel, MSN, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios, a spokesperson told me. Ads are sold in-house.

A big part of the new release is about making Revver more of a destaination in its own right. New features allow Revver users to create Web pages, complete with individual URL, and populate that space with theirs and others' videos. I'm not sure I think video hosting services should be content destinations. These days, the trend is in syndication and enabling the sharing of video in nooks and crannies all over the Web. Of course, you can't blame them for trying to have more of a brand and pick up extra ad revenue from that.

The nice thing about Revver 1.0 is the embrace of both approaches, with a financial nod toward the video creators who make the whole thing possible.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Optimize for E-Mail First, Mobile Later

If you're not a journalist, you've probably never seen the e-mails of press releases PR Newswire sends to the media. But you're welcome to share our pain. Just click to enlarge the image.

Reproduced is the HTML dispatch. Text doesn't fare much better. Headlines aren't bolded. Worse, they run into the end of the preceding item without so much as a paragraph break. Just about the only thing that really pops for harried, headline-scanning editors and reporters is the useless "get" link which, if you click it, theoretically e-mails you the full text of the press release.

None of this has changed since...well, forever. It's not like we don't forward inquiries and complaints into the black hole that is PR Newswire's media inquiry service.

Oh, and unlike their major competitor, PR Newswire's RSS feeds aren't even customizable.

Yet the company keeps crowing about its digital updates. Yesterday, the announcement was news feeds for mobile devices optimized for both search and formatting.

"People using their mobile devices to search the web should be able to access news releases that are formatted for the small screen. We're committed to solving that problem,” said COO Dave Armon.

Dave, the media has a problem. We can't make heads or tails of your e-mails -- the ones you send multiple times per day. We delete them because we literally can't read them.

Do your clients know we can't decode the press releases they pay you to get in front of our eyes?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Demand Measurement, But Respect Creative Experimentation

Quote of the Day: “Companies, marketing departments and the top-level executives need to give a little room for experimentation. I don’t think you want to allow measurement to override creativity and the adventure of new media.” –Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's global veep of media and sports marketing, talking with WSJ about measurement and Bud.TV (via Brand Autopsy)

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 13, 2006

Yahoo Drops 7 Figures on Answers in UK

Yahoo unveiled its Answers site in the UK earlier this month, along with a hefty marketing campaign to back it up. I asked a Yahoo spokesperson via e-mail about what's planned for the campaign, and here's how she responded:

ClickZ: Are Web ads running?
Yahoo: Yes there will be online promotion across the Yahoo! network and across other sites.

C: What other online or mobile marketing efforts are involved?
Y: The launch of Yahoo! Answers will be supported with a seven figure marketing campaign the company’s biggest UK promotional activity in a number of years. The campaign will run for 8 weeks in offline media including print, radio, outdoor as well as online.

C: On what sites/media outlets are ads placed?
Y: Ads are placed on and off network.

The spokesperson added a U.S. campaign for Answers, deemed "Ask the Planet" ran in June and July.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CTIA Wireless Round-Up

There's been talk that this is the year advertising will hit wireless in a meaningful way, and at CTIA this week, a handful of advertising and marketing-related announcements have surfaced.

• Sprint announced plans to begin a Sprint Mobile Media Network. The wireless carrier will explore mobile advertising though it will remain faithful to its subscribers.
• Bango launched Ad-Launchpad. A mobile ad network with support from adhoc mobile, MADS and ScreenTonic and further advertising partners expected to join.
• Enpocket released EME 6.0. A mobile campaign management system with targeting capabilities; ad serving integrated with SMS and MMS messaging for automated, push-pull campaigns; inventory forecasting; click-to-call, click-for-coupon, click-to-locate, and click-to-Web functionality; and reporting and analytics functionality.

Posted by Enid Burns at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

ABC Cuts Affiliates Into the Broadband Sweetness

ABC reached a deal with its affiliate stations to let them feature its broadband player on their local sites and sell local ads to online viewers. The affiliates get to keep 100 percent of the revenue from those sales. Interestingly, ABC affiliates will promote the player on the air, as well as online.

Programs to be shown on the broadband player the day after their broadcast premiers include "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," which were included in last season's trial. Some new shows have been added, among them "Ugly Betty," "The Knights of Prosperity" and "The Nine."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Gives Users a Reason to Buy Viiv

Yahoo and Intel have teamed up to give users a reason to buy a Viiv-enabled media PC. Yahoo Sports for TV launched today, with an initial focus on providing fantasy football information to TVs connected to PCs with Intel's Viiv technology and Windows XP Media Center.

The service lets users get real-time updates on league scores, standings, or stats on players on fantasy football teams on a Yahoo Sports account. It uses the remote control for navigation, without changing the channel from the show -- presumably a football game -- they're watching.

Apple made its own move to take over the living room this week, adding feature films for download via the iTunes store.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hitwise Launches Public Data Center

For all you numbers lovers (and you numbers haters too), Hitwise just unveiled a public data center on its site with snapshots of the most-trafficked sites, top keywords for given categories and a variety of other datapoints. The data is free to "marketers, businesses, bloggers, academics, media and the general public," Hitwise said.

The offerings include the following:

-Top 25 Most Visited Websites based on market share of visits
-Leading Search Engines by volume of searches
-Top 10 Industry Search Terms from across 20 pre-selected industries, from the more -than 160 industry categories reported on by Hitwise
-Monthly rotating Online Usage Report from a featured industry
-Top Four Fast Moving Websites based on market share of visits

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pay for AOL, Protect Your Identity

Curious story on AP today that hasn't gotten much pickup elsewhere.

AOL is offering free identity theft insurance to the few paying subscribers it has left. Policy holders are covered up to $10,000 to restore their good name and credit rating -- no matter how their personal information or finances were compromised.

Another value add is a separate policy to repair or replace computers that suffer physical damage, up to $1,000. (Yow - that's less than half of my MacBook Pro!)

There's also wiggle room for AOL built into all this: "The policies require no deductible, but are secondary to other coverage, meaning a user's homeowner's or renter's insurance pays first."

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 12, 2006

If I Were A Trademark...

I was mucking around the Web doing some research for my column this week when stumbled on a company that's been buying my name as a keyword on Google's AdWords.

No, I didn't find it via a vanity search, but rather on B.L. Ochman's blog.

This is jarring on a number of levels. First, it's my name. I may be relatively well know in this space, but sheesh. It's not like I'm Madonna or anything. So yeah, I feel violated.

The other thing that bothers me is that the company that bought this ad is AdWords Qualified by Google. Let's put aside for a moment whether or not buying private individuals' names is a good search marketing practice or not. In this case, the headline and body copy have nothing whatsoever to do with the landing page: the SEM company's homepage.

Otherwise put, not only is the ad not relevant, it certainly doesn't qualify as AdWords Qualified.

My gut is that the keywords (i.e. my name) were rock bottom cheap, clicks were zero, and the ad disappeared in short order. The bad taste in my mouth will linger, however. And given I'm an individual, not a trademark, even if I wanted to take action, it wouldn't be easy given Google's procedures and the fact the company in question is offshore.

So, I guess I'll vent by blogging it.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Vodka Maker Bottles Top 100 Absolutes

Absolut Vodka's irreverent advertising is using CGM to potentially run a few future campaigns. It's microsite calls for site visitors to submit their "absolutes" in five categories: culture, fashion, food and drink, science and tech, people and places and miscellaneous. Among the 100 topics within these categories, your absolute kiss, Web browser, city, typeface, cocktail occasion, sneaker, sitcom, gay icon, electric bill, novel, etc. I'm not making these up.

On the site it says "We need your voice to determine the 100 Absolutes." The visuals are somewhat Web 2.0 with colored blocks that work like a tag cloud, each box represents one of the absolutes. Users not only submit their answers, but can offer an explanation why they absolutely must keep Explorer as their browser (because that requires some explanation). After a nomination phase where users proclaim their absolutes, there will be a voting phase. Winners will presumably become part of Absolut's next ad campaign. Hey, the culture category asks for your absolute haircut, can everyone go nominate the mullet?

Posted by Enid Burns at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

InfoSpace Inks Chipmunks, Moose & Squirrel, More for Mobile

InfoSpace is licensing characters for its mobile platform like crazy.

The company announced two deals today. The first, with Classic Media and Bagdasarian Productions, transforms characters such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Underdog, Lassie, Dick Tracy, Richie Rich, Mr. Magoo, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Felix the Cat, and Peter Cottontail into ringtones, wallpaper, and ringback tones.

In another deal, InfoSpace brings Tony Hawk's Mobile Dissent to the Web today as "the first and only mobile portal to the action sports lifestyle personified by the undisputed ruler of the action sports community, Tony Hawk."

The site extends the Hawk franchise into voice tones and name ringers recorded by Hawk; graphics, ringtones and "Sound FX."

Now you can carry with you always the sounds of crashes, wrecks and skateboarding.

Or chipmunks.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Video Guide for Your Mobile Device

Just what you've been hoping for -- a programming guide for your phone.

The SmartVideo Entertainment Program Guide launches today from Action Engine Corp. According to the company, it "lets consumers quickly search for television programming from the company's large library of live mobile television and video-on-demand, including ABC News, CNBC, DIC, Fox Sports, ifilm, NBC Mobile, The Weather Channel, and more."

Says compay EVP Jim Souders, "Action Engine is focused on making sure that consumers don't get frustrated trying to find and access that media. Our mobile search technology lets consumers discover services, like television programs, music videos, and news images, with dramatically fewer keystrokes and trips to the network than competitive offerings."

So far, the platform is only available for Windows Mobile devices, but compatibility with more devices is promised for later this year.

Can advertising and sponsorship models be far behind?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 11, 2006

NBCU Puts iVillage Plans Into Action

Looks like NBC Universal is preparing to act on its plans for iVillage, which it acquired earlier this year.

Bob Wright told The Financial Times the women's site would be the "cornerstone" of NBCU's online development plans, including cross-media initiatives. “You’re going to see a lot more editorial combinations. It may be as common to see iVillage bringing material to the Today show as the Today show bringing material to iVillage,” he said. An online program called iVillage Live will launch this year, according to the story, and NBCU is pursuing "small acquisitions of marketing services companies."

ClickZ reported on NBCU's plans for iVillage video programming back in March.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ESPN.com Launches Sports Video Gaming Section, GameTap Sponsors

ESPN has launched a special coverage area for sports-oriented video games, sponsored by subscription-based gaming portal GameTap. Most of the content will come through a partnership with Ziff Davis's Game Group, which includes sites like 1UP.com, GameVideos.com and FileFront.com, and magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.

GameTap's involvement is a "sponsor-plus" sort of arrangement. The company will offer site content and experiences around classic arcade games in addition to having a banner and a button on the front page. I just talked to an ESPN spokesperson, and it sounds like GameTap's role is pretty loosely defined for now, with plans for classic games to be made available to ESPN.com visitors "in some way." Other sponsors are in the works, he said. "GameTap is the only sponsor or advertiser, but we're close to signing several blue chip advertisers and there are other opportunities available as well."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times, They Are A-Chan... Oh, Never Mind

The New York Times and Time Magazine have separately launched new mobile editions, and both initiatives are sponsored by Microsoft Windows Mobile.

The Grey Lady's relaunched wireless site will for the first time host the entire contents of NYTimes.com. Future sponsored tools will offer weather, stock prices, sports scores and movie showtimes.

Time Magazine meanwhile has introduced a WAP site with extensive content offerings, including Andrew Sullivan's blog, Joe Klein's column, a roundup of findings from various medical journals and quotes of the day. (via Steve Rubel)

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 7, 2006

SpiralFrog Signs EMI, Second Major Label to Endorse DRM-Heavy, Ad-Supported Downloads

SpiralFrog is a mostly risk-free proposition for the major labels. The DRM on the ad-supported download service includes severe restrictions on burning CDs and sharing the music, and the tunes will reportedly expire after a period of months, that is presuming users log on repeatedly to view ads. Perhaps that's why the company's having so much early success signing labels, which can rest easy knowing that none of the music offered early on through the service will still reside -- well, anywhere really, if the reports are to be believed -- within a year's time.

In any case, the second label to license its content to SpiralFrog is EMI, whose acts include Arctic Monkeys, Kelly Clarkson, Eminem, Enya, Nelly Furtado, Gorillaz, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Pharrell Williams. The deal includes lyrics as well as recordings. (press release)

SpiralFrog's literature makes it clear the company has thoroughly focus tested teens' interest in ad-supported downloads, but I wonder if they've taken into account the negative word of mouth likely to come from the discovery that the music can't be kept -- and in fact is not owned at all, but merely rented.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Warner to Create Broadband/Mobile Advertorial Content

The word is out about the new Warner Bros. broadband and mobile advertorial content production studio. The trendily-named Studio 2.0 will be headed up by marketing man Rich Rosenthal, former Y&R exec. According to Warner's spokesperson Marybeth Kelly, Rosenthal "literally just started" the new gig a few days ago. So, she couldn't tell ClickZ much by way of details, though we'd love to know about distribution deals and which advertisers are on board.

According to a WorldScreen.com report, "Studio 2.0 will look to license the programming to online sites, portals and wireless providers in collaboration with the recently formed Warner Bros. Digital Distribution business."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 6, 2006

Four Weeks Keeps Women on Schedule

A new magazine called Four Weeks just launched with content for each week of a woman's cycle. It's the Daily Candy of hormonal reporting, with sections for food, shopping, travel, DIY, and of course a hormonal horoscope. There isn't much advertising on the site just yet, but inventory has some interesting contextual potential.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 5, 2006

Building the Perfect Beast

Sick of hearing about the "long tail"? Now you can expect to start hearing about the "Fat Belly." Writing on GigaOm, serial entrepreneur Robert Young expounds on the large section of the distribution curve between the "Fat Head" and Long Tail.

Most ClickZ readers have likely heard of Chris Anderson's Long Tail framework, which he first described in Wired Magazine in 2004. His thesis points to the power the Internet brings to allow small, niche topics to prosper online, instead of succumbing to the will of the masses.

Young expands the Long Tail idea to include a middle section, the Fat Belly, where most of the action is taking place. That's the place where social networks like Digg need to focus, he says:

"Now, why is this relevant/important? The answer is simple… in my view, the potential success of any Internet venture, particularly for those heavily reliant on the development of an online community of active participants, is directly correlated with the concept’s ability to create a large and dominant Fat Belly... much like a successful democracy will result in a large and dominant middle class."

For Young, the value of a site like Digg is not the elite few Diggers in the head that submit the most stories, or even the masses in the tail, but in the "middle class" of individuals that consistently submit some stories and Digg some stories.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Free UK Daily Site Launches with Four Sponsors

Even across the pond newspaper publishers are launching free metro commuter papers in an effort to fight for a shrinking pool of print ad dollars. The latest to take the plunge is News Corporation's UK division News International, publisher of The Times, The Sun and other British papers. An Editor and Publisher piece notes thelondonpaper, an afternoon daily, planned an initial run of over 400,000 copies.

Yes, there is a Web site, and according to an ad on the homepage, it launched with four sponsors: News Corp-owned Sky TV, DaimlerChrysler's puny eco-friendly Smart Car, mobile media firm 3 and travel site lastminute.com.

According to a letter from the editor, Stefano Hatfield, "thelondonpaper.com also launches (as a beta site) today. In addition to breaking news, competitions and opportunities to contribute and vote, our website takes a broadband look at life in London with daily video coverage of news and entertainment across the city."

Needless to say the site is laden with commercial-ready pap about Beyonce's new album, a sex survey, a hot London eatery, and other puffery. The proliferation of these fluff-filled papers is distressing to people who appreciate a good broadsheet (yours truly included). Still, if these papers can help introduce new readers to "real" newspapers (print and Web), and help make up for dwindling national print advertiser revenues in the old school titles, I suppose they're serving a worthwhile purpose.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TrackMeNot: More Search Privacy

Worried about search privacy?

Plenty of users are in the wake of the much-ballyhooed AOL personal search data leak, as well as the profiling practices of the major search engines.

Enter TrackMeNot, a Firefox plug-in that obfuscates your personal search history.

"It does so not by means of concealment or encryption (i.e. covering one's tracks), but instead, paradoxically, by the opposite strategy: noise and obfuscation...actual web searches, lost in a cloud of false leads, are essentially hidden in plain view...TrackMeNot works with the Firefox Browser and popular search engines, e.g. AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN, and requires no 3rd-party servers or services," claims the Web site.

via Threadwatch

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reminder: NYC Drink Tonight

Summer's over, unofficially at least. But Red Rum Tuesday isn't.

So don't forget to come lift a glass after work tonght if you're in New York City.

We'll be at Nolita House from 6:00 to 8:00.

Hope to see you there!

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google's Orkut to Cough Up User Data

They wouldn't do it in their homeland, but Google's coughin' up the goods on users accused of wrongdoings to a Brazilian court. The firm risked a fine of $23,000 per day if it didn't provide the court with data on users of its social networking site Orkut who are "accused of taking part in online communities that encourage racism, pedophilia and homophobia," according to a Washington Post report (by way of Search Engine Journal). Apparently the judge wants IP addresses with date and time stamps that could be matched with registration info like names and e-mail addresses.

Google claims it's OK with divulging the data because the request is far more specified compared to an earlier U.S. request for a broad swath of search engine data. Still, the fact that Orkut is pretty much off the radar of most U.S. consumers certainly makes it easier for the company to comply without raising much dander here (besides from watchdog groups like The Electronic Frontier Foundation and search industry insiders).

One question not answered by the article: what country's citizens are under suspicion? Are we just talking Brazilian citizens, or people from other places? The Wash Post story notes that Brazilian users make up 75 percent of Orkut's 17 million users.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 1, 2006

NPR Music: All Sponsors Considered

NPR Wednesday announced it would be rolling out a new digital music service to serve up its extensive library of public radio music. Set to launch in the first half of next year, the service is being developed to "create a unified place to showcase all genres on present and future media platforms," according to the NPR press release.

I e-mailed NPR VP for Communications Andi Sporkin about it (and to my knowledge, she hasn't blogged the virtual chat, either.) Though they're far from determining details, Sporkin assured me "There will certainly be terrific sponsorship opportunities" on the new music site. When sponsorships are available, they'll be offered through NPR's Sponsorship division, which also manages its on-air, online, e-mail newsletter, podcasting and RSS sponsorship offerings, she added.

Sporkin didn't answer any questions I had about whether the music content would be offered for free or if there'd be a payment (or a donation?) involved.

As a longtime NPR junkie, I can't help but wonder when NPR, and PBS for that matter, will lose the "underwriting" and "enhanced sponsorship message" labels and call 'em what they are: ads! Sorry, had to say it.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amex Offers RSS Offers

Amex has adopted RSS. That's big.

One of America's major direct marketers has a new value proposition "Get Information How You Want, When You Want." Cardholders can opt to receive awards program news, travel offers, and offers targeted to specific geographical regions.

The page (you need an account to log-in) explains RSS in concise terms and offers buttons to direct feeds to the major newsreaders.

This is a big win for syndication fans. American Express is a big influencer. Others are sure to follow.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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