Back to Main

October 28, 2007 - November 3, 2007

November 2, 2007

Drew Pops Up on Facebook

Ousted WebTrends CEO Greg Drew is laying low this week, clearly thinking of his next move, but that hasn't kept him from updating his Facebook page.

The official word on his Facebook profile is that he's taking some time off, and sources say that he'll be updating his page with more information soon. Of course, we still recommend reading ClickZ rather than Facebook for all your breaking news.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 1, 2007

NAI Could Get Blasted Tomorrow at FTC Showdown

Expect the Network Advertising Initiative to be a target of some privacy advocates present at tomorrow's Federal Trade Commission Town Hall event. Specifically, a representative of the World Policy Forum warned today the group will release a critical analysis of what they believe to be the NAI's unsuccessful attempt at industry self-regulation.

As for the rest of the first day, while listening in to the webcast, I couldn't help but be reminded of tuning in to my favorite New York baseball talk radio show last night. An insipid caller decided to describe to the audience in the most laborious manner possible what he planned to tell us, rather than simply launching right into his comment.

That's kind of what today's Town Hall felt like. There were a lot of statements prefaced with phrases like, "what we need to discuss is…" or "what I hope we can focus on during the next two days is…."

Sure, the FTC is holding the event in order to help determine what the most common and important concerns are surrounding behavioral targeting, Internet tracking, and data collection and usage by convening the industry, its observers and its critics (more than 300 in attendance, according to an FTC source). And, while major themes emerged, including consumer control of data, data security, transparency in terms of data usage, and the effects or behavioral targeting on youth, I'm still not too sure if I learned anything new.

FTC Hints About Behavioral Investigation
I assume the FTC commissioners may have learned things, or at least are closer to pinpointing exactly what it is they might focus on, if indeed they do decide to investigate the BT industry.

Will they? Well, early in the day, FTC commissioner Jon Liebowitz did hint, "The marketplace alone may not be able to solve all problems inherent in behavioral marketing….If we see problems…the commission won't hesitate to bring cases, or even break thumbs," he jested. (Really, though, he did chuckle after he mad the mob gag).

On Google/DoubleClick
Liebowitz also stressed (as did Google's Manager, Global Communications and Public Affairs Adam Kovacevich did in an e-mail to the press this afternoon), that the FTC can only address whether the acquisition would affect industry competition, not privacy issues.

Google ad man Tim Armstrong said during the forum he hopes the FTC will "tread lightly," and stated "I think we're a very small fish in a big pond in the display advertising business in general….We would want to be able to be compete in the display business."

Representative Markey Makes a Mark
Just in time for the conference, Representative Edward Markey (D-MA), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released a statement recommending the FTC "promptly investigate" what he called "invasive online advertising practices." Specifically, he said, "When consumers search for information online, they may be unaware of marketers in their wake, who are scooping up the digital traces of consumers’ online activities and compiling profiles that could undermine privacy."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Digestible Data Package

Data is a fact of necessity for advertisers and marketers, yet it's expensive for some of the small shops to afford subscriptions, or shell out for full reports. San Francisco-based Media-Screen recognized the issue and launched Netpop Research, "a tiered subscription model for access to graphs that are borne out of our Netpop ongoing studies," said Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen.

Subscriptions access consumer behavior data for $24.95 to $999.95 per month payable through PayPal. The subscription grants access to a research catalog, and subscribers get a number of credits to redeem each month. The low end gets access to five graphs per month, and the higher level gets access to 1,000 graphs per month. Higher-level subscriptions also allow users access to competitive landscape data.

Media-Screen's ongoing Netpop research has tackled topics including profiling broadband user personalities and mobile Web adoption. In addition to the graphs and competitive landscape data, Media-Screen will still make research reports available on an ad-hoc basis.

Netpop won't replace comScore and Nielsen data on audience measurement, but it works to "triangulate a marketer's analysis of the marketplace," said Crandall.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PayPerPost Latest to Randomly Pair Consonant, Vowels

Maybe PayPerPost has realized sometimes it's better not to be so blunt. In the tradition of Philip Morris/Altria, Gator/Claria and Leaf/Joaquin Phoenix, the paid blogging service has changed its company name to the similarly nondescript yet vaguely airy and appealing "Izea."

Since launching its pay-to-post offering, the company has introduced a variety of additional services including blogger e-mail marketing app Zookoda.com and BlogInSpace.com, a service that purports to transmit blogs into space. Izea will act as the new corporate umbrella name for those and other brands, including PayPerPost.com, which will retain its brand name.

"The name change comes just days before the scheduled unveiling of IZEA's highly anticipated new service, codenamed Argus," notes a press release from the company. Set to be unveiled at the firm's annual PostieCon event for its paid bloggers November 10, the service looks to be some sort of social media marketing play.

I guess it makes sense to establish a new name under which several brand names live, but I can't help but wonder if there are other reasons. Could it be the name would be more appealing to the investor community? Even with the old name, the controversial company has startled many by scoring millions in investor funding. Could an IPO be next? I have no insider info, just speculating.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Call for Donations: a Benefit for New York Kids

On November 6 Youth I.N.C. is holding a benefit for New York Kids. The benefit is specifically for CampInteractive, an organization with the mission to bridge the digital divide. Industry consultant Sara Holoubek has pledged to match donations from the interactive community up to a cumulative $5,000 contributed by November 6.

If you would like to donate, here's a few simple instructions:

1. Make a secure donation in the name of CampInteractive from the Celebration to Benefit New York Kids website.
2. Click on "Donate Now" on the right-hand side, or click here.
3. If you'd like to attend the event, select a package or indicate the number of tickets.
4. If you can't make it, select "other" and specify donation amount.
5. Make sure to select "CampInteractive" in the drop down.
6. Contact saraholoubek (at) gmail.com so she can match your contribution.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What's Google's OpenSocial Project Mean for Marketers?

Very little, at least not for a long while. The effort will create a set of APIs designed to let application developers work with data and technology from multiple social networking services. Except the ones that won't play of course -- namely Facebook. Some have characterized the move as an attempt to undermine Facebook through an alliance with various second and third tier social nets (update: top social net MySpace is officially in as well) and some application developers (i.e. "ganging up"), a few bloggers have argued it will fail owing to Google's vested interest in the market and the low audience share of OpenSocial's early partners.

Should the project succeed, marketers will be able to maintain branded applications on various social networking platforms without employing armies of developers. For now, the vast majority of brands maintaining apps are only concerned with Facebook, and perhaps a little with MySpace. If the much anticipated ascent of vertical social networks materializes, and if those sites join the Open Social effort, then a long tail of social networking could necessitate such a centralized application management system. But in that case marketers would likely create different widgets and applications for each platform/vertical anyway.

So, near-term implication? Don't worry your pretty little heads about it.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could EU Block GoogleClick Merger? Believe It.

Many U.S. observers of digital marketing may dismiss the EU's regulatory scrutiny of the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick as so much posturing. After all, the companies are based in the U.S. How's a bureaucracy in Brussels going to interfere? As we reveal in our news section today, the European Commission does indeed have the legal authority and practical capability to prevent the acquisition from going through. Remember GE's attempted buyout of Honeywell? Foiled globally by EU regulators. Could the same fate await Google and DoubleClick? Read the story.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 31, 2007

Truveo Brings Video Search Around the World

AOL's video search engine Truveo gets a reported 40 million users per month, according to comScore data. AOL says a large percentage of its traffic comes from outside the U.S. and is launching localized sites in key markets including France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.K.. AOL has plans to continue an international roll-out with video search portals Australia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, and Turkey. The plans to reach other countries with video content in their local languages and matching regional interests comes just days after Google and YouTube launched Chinese language sites in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The pair had recently set up targeted versions of sites in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and The U.K., according to Search Engine Journal.

With the Truvio announcement, AOL also said it launched in India with content available in Hindi and Tamil languages. "India is a very important market for AOL, and these announcements show our commitment to serving online consumers here with a robust portal and industry-leading video search tools," said Ron Grant, president and COO of AOL, in a corporate statement. "These are important steps in our ongoing efforts to make AOL a truly global company."

The number of Internet users in urban India has grown by 28 percent in the past year, and 60 percent of the country's Internet population of 30 million prefer to read in local Indian languages, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Gets Social

Google is handing out a Halloween treat to Web developers today by making its OpenSocial common API available. With OpenSocial, developers will be able to write one application that can be distributed in multiple Web sites and social networks, if they go along with it of course.

Social networking firms including LinkedIn, Hi5, iLike, Ling, Slide and Google's own Orkut network have signed on as part of the launch of OpenSocial, but distinctly missing are the big names of social networking…Facebook and mySpace.

Facebook made big news and developed a lot of momentum by opening its platform last May, but still holds the reins over its more proprietary APIs. It's worth noting that both iLike and Slide have been major Facebook developers. As more advertisers try to get in on the social networking marketing bandwagon, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Google may bring more partners to its OpenSocial system and Facebook and mySpace will be obligated to provide access to their networks via OpenSocial APIs.

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

MTV.com to Mess with a Good Thing

I love the background images on MTV.com, all of which are originally commissioned artworks. Go to the site and hit refresh a bunch of times or click around a bit and you'll see what I mean. The frequently rotated graphics spill out to the right and left of the central pane, so if you're seeing the site on a large screen it's pretty powerful.

I learned recently MTV's about to start plugging ads into that space, beginning with a sprawling placement for upcoming Robert Zemeckis flick Beowulf. Now I'm usually in favor of such experiments but this move strikes me as a mistake for two reasons. First, you're replacing something very cool (indie drawings: non-commercial and an MTV tradition) with something uncool by comparison (pitch for a special effects blockbuster). But media companies do that sort of thing all the time (see: Campbell-sponsored recipes on AOL Food). The bigger error is that from what I've heard the Beowulf ad in its current form makes heavy use of the wider aspect ratio on the site, so they're building the full experience for 10 percent or less of the audience -- the ones with monitors over 21 inches.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Worldwide Mobile Subscriber Forecast

Data released by the Shosteck Group and its strategic partner the Mobile World forecasts 3.3 billion mobile subscribers worldwide by year end. Of those subscribers, roughly 2.6 billion are served by GSM, GPRS, and EDGE networks; 190 million operate on W-CDMA networks; and 422 million on CDMA2000 standards. The remaining few use technologies such as iDEN. By 2011 the research anticipates 5.4 billion mobile subscribers globally. The breakdown will be roughly 2.8 billion on GSM, GPRS, and EDGE networks; 1.8 billion on W-CDMA; and 783 million on CDMA2000.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kentucky 527 Group Buys Big Online

Who says 527s aren't advertising online yet this election season?

A 527 group formed earlier this year is taking aim at Republican Governor of Kentucky Ernie Fletcher through a $60,000 video ad buy. The Bluegrass Freedom Fund, which aims to “encourage a public discussion about education, jobs, healthcare, and other issues,” is using expandable video ads showing a TV commercial that calls out alleged corruption in the Fletcher administration.

The :30 ad expands to display a form for submitting a name and e-mail address to sign a petition demanding that “the governor and legislature pass real ethics reform.”

My source on the campaign said the ads have run on Courier-Journal.com, Kentucky.com, WKYT.com, BGDailyNews.com, and have been geo-targeted to Kentucky users on Cincinnati.com. Non-video banners are also running on blogs like Page One Kentucky and others.

As of last week, over 2 million of the ads had been served, and 52 percent of those who were served the ad interacted with it. The commercial video had been viewed in full 37 percent of the time.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 30, 2007

E-Mail Fraud Scheme Targets FTC

Internet fraudsters have taken aim at the Federal Trade Commission, an agency that's waged campaigns to help people avoid e-mail scams.

Yesterday, the FTC issued a warning about a bogus e-mail that appears to come from the commission's fraud department.

The e-mail says it's from "frauddep@ftc.gov," and includes an attachment, when downloaded, and links, when clicked on, will unleash a software virus. The subject line, in many instances, read: Complaint update for [name of e-mail recipient] (Case id: #6473) .

The virus, the FTC says, apparently installs a keystroke logger program, which could enable a scammer to obtain an unsuspecting person's passwords and account numbers.

Jackie Dizdul, FTC spokeswoman, today said thousands reported the malicious scam.

It is not the first attack against FTC. "It's somewhat standard, spoofing an institution that people respect, such as a bank, a well-known e-commerce site, the IRS or FTC," Dizdul said.

Government agencies have been taking measures to securegovernment e-mail messages, including one initiative to certify mail.

Some 150 federal agencies certify e-mail using Goodmail, although the FTC isn't a customer, according to David Atlas, Goodmail's senior vice president of worldwide sales. He's quick to point out that certified mail wouldn't have prevented this week's scheme targeting the FTC.

"Anti-phishing, anti-spam, and anti-virus technologies filter out bad mail, and we see the limitations of those filters," he said, thus giving rise to Goodmail's technology that certifies e-mail from a trusted source. In December, Goodmail expects to deliver one billion certified messages, up from 100 million in June

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clock Ticks on E-Tailer SEO Plans for Holidays

On your marks, get set… "Merchants have less than a 30 day window from now, until roughly the end of November, to get some of those last-minute structural changes in place," said Brian Klais, VP of search at Madison, Netconcepts, a Madison, WI-based search engine marketing firm. He's referring to search engine optimization, and getting Web sites running smoothly and cataloged by the search engines. At the top of the list are cleaning up structural changes in URLs, fixing any 301 redirect issues, and reviewing on-page content.

"What retailers can do now with very little spare time is to think about merchandising strategies. If free shipping is featured in the merchandising mix, then retailers can maximize the offer by keeping an eye on those dates for searchers," Klais advised. He went on with a few tips: Make sure the title tags and the content on the pages have an offer within. Include the words free shipping in the title tag. "It might be enough to convert searcher activity into a click and then into a sale," he said.

Ideally, SEO will be in place by mid-November for most retailers, if it's not already done, in order to allow for indexing by the search engines. That requires about a two-week buffer to obtain proper indexing and link juice, according to Klais.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Esurance and Cisco Among Hulu Beta Advertisers

After testing the new Hulu video site from NewsCorp and NBC Universal, launched in beta today, we’ve experienced some smooth streaming, and some video that sputters at best.

As for the ads, there’s a variety of formats already running from advertisers like Cisco, Esurance and Crest. For instance, 5 quickie spots from Esurance appeared intermittently throughout an episode of NBC’s “Heroes.” Most of the serial-style ads were about 5 seconds each, while the second was about 20 seconds. The same types of spots ran during another Heroes episode for Cisco.

A more standard video ad format was seen when viewing a clip from NBC’s “Journeyman” on MSN, one of Hulu’s many distribution partners. Before that clip played, a pre-roll spot for Crest Whitestrips was served alongside a banner for the same advertiser.

Expect to see lots of different formats in Hulu video, from overlays during short-form content that play only when users initiate them to sponsored banners, interstitials and end plates displaying advertiser logos after content plays. Viewers watching longer-form full-length episodes and movies from MGM will see more ads. However, while shows on TV feature 8 minutes of ads along with 22 minutes of programming, Hulu video of the same shows will feature 2 minutes of ads. The video will maintain the natural ad breaks of the TV shows.

Hulu won’t say much about how ads are targeted yet, but it’s probably just contextual at this point.

In conjunction with the launch, Hulu announced top execs running the project. The company had already announced its hire of Amazon alum Jason Kilar as CEO in June, noting a focus on customer experience. The top ad sales head honcho is Jean-Paul Colaco, SVP of advertising; Colaco was most recently SVP of business development at Walt Disney Company.

Other newly–announced execs include SVP and CFO Tom Fueling, formerly of Ascent Media and ARTISTdirect; and SVP of Content Acquisition and Distribution Andy Forssell, previously from Siebel Systems where he ran Oracle’s CRMOn Demand Hosting Operations. User-experience man Eric Feng was named CTO and SVP of audience for Hulu; Feng founded Mojiti, an online video operation acquired by Hulu in September.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 29, 2007

Responsys Manages Team, Campaigns for You

How do you track the status of all the moving parts on your ad campaigns? Responsys' CMO Scott Olrich said companies use spreadsheets and basic software, or invest upwards of $500k for a management platform to assign and track each component of a campaign or project. Responsys added Interact Team to its existing on-demand marketing automation Interact platform product.

Team includes visual workflow diagramming and management, digital asset management, task assignment, online reviews and approvals, and best practices including repeatable and reliable execution of activities. The system addresses distributed workforces with members in different offices or telecommuters. It also allows a company to give access to an agency rep to get automated in the process. The cost? For a typical range of approximately 15 users, a year will run between $60k and $70k.

I expect digital marketing folks to be among the early adopters of Interact Team, though its ability to tie together multiple channels of marketing and advertising may be a step toward breaking down the silos that divide marketing departments. "If you think about what marketers are having to do today, marketers have to put together e-mail, search, mobile campaigns. These marketers are trying to figure out a way to become more efficient," said Scott Olrich, CMO of Responsys. Interact Team allows marketers to "make sure they're capturing key learnings across the company," he continued.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New and Returning Clickstream

Hitwise today enhanced its clickstream reporting to include competitive intelligence on new and returning visitors. While you might get this data for your own site from a Web metrics package, access to competing sites, partner sites, or publishers you're looking to advertise on isn't automatically available. The data lets you understand the strategy and effectiveness of competitive marketing programs to see if competitors are more focused on traffic-driving campaigns versus retention; identify where new and returning visitors go after visiting a Web site, which can reduce churn if used effectively; and analyze a competitor's audience in terms of new and repeat traffic.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MSLO Names Three Execs, Signals Upcoming Online Changes

Expect Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to make a bigger impact in online before too long. Under MSLO President of Media Wenda Harris Millard's leadership the company named Jacki Kelley EVP of Media Sales, Lee Heffernan SVP of integrated marketing, and Tom Barreca SVP of digital and emerging media. A statement from the company states, "All three executives bring a broad range of media experience to MSLO as the company expands its multimedia footprint." While the release teases of major enhancements to come, MSLO execs aren't yet ready to talk about what those are.

The hires in themselves attract some attention Jacki Kelley comes from Yahoo, where she was VP of worldwide sales strategies and solutions. As Millard herself was at Yahoo not too long ago, it follows a long succession of executives exiting the major Internet company. Heffernan has worked with MSLO as a consultant, and Barreca was previously EVP of WWE Enterprises.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

See More Posts From:

Today | This Week | This Month

• Send us feedback
|
• FAQ
|
• Technical questions or bug reports?
|
• Newsletter problems?
|
• Site Map
|
• ClickZ RSS feeds

• Incisive Interactive Marketing LLC. 2009 All rights reserved.
|
• Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints & Permissions
|
• Privacy Policy