Back to Main

April 2008

April 30, 2008

Politics, Religion, Race, and Paid Search

A day after Senator Barack Obama denounced his former pastor and his statements, a search for "rev. wright" brought up these sponsored results:

The first to appear comes from PreachingSermonsToday.com. The site says it has over 300 sermons for sale, including the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s "The Audacity to Hope" speech. It's available as a Word file for $4.95.

Another paid link, labeled "The Audacity of Hate," leads to a column in the Philadelphia Church of God's publication. The "audacious message of hate…does little in the way of helping the black community," Steven Flurry, the columnist, writes.

"Jeremiah Wright Supported," links to a site registered to Boyce Watkins, a CNN commentator, a finance prof, and self-described "huge fan" of Rev. Wright. "The point that Pastor Wright makes is both correct and clear: America is a racist country. It has been in the past and continues to be to this day," Watkins writes.

And they say politics and religion don't mix. Need further proof?

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

IAC Earnings: Rising Google Lifts All Search Partners

IAC's media and advertising revenues enjoyed a Q1 boost thanks to the company's renewed ad partnership with Google. Ask.com improved both its revenue per query and overall revenues during the period, "even excluding the benefits of the renewed contract." However it's clear from IAC's statement that the company's buddy up in Mountain View deserves much credit for its solid search performance, especially considering total queries were down. A reduced marketing budget also helped profits.

Meanwhile, there was predictable pain over in IAC's Lending Tree unit, which is set to be spun off along with other non-advertising businesses. The company noted it had lowered its marketing investment for lending products, which translates to reduced spending on online lead generation. Again, no surprise there.

IAC's not the only Google partner sitting pretty today. Another party to benefit greatly from its relationship with the borg is TW's AOL, which today reported strength in search advertising thanks in part to the relationship. Meanwhile display advertising revenue on its own sites shrank -- largely due to anticipated factors, it should be said.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A New Journey for Gawker Travel Blog

Curbed Network, an urban real estate blog,
takes possession of Gawker Media's Gridskipper travel blog tomorrow.

On the phone with Curbed president Lockhart Steele today, he mentioned Gridskipper will go into "quasi-hibernation" until it relaunches before Memorial Day. (Steele is Gawker's former managing editor, while Gawker's Nick Denton has a stake in Curbed.)

Count on Gridskipper, billed as "the urban travel guide," to pare back its coverage of smaller cities such as Austin, TX. "I have nothing at all against Austin," Steele said. But while he was at Gawker, Gridskipper had focused on the "best stuff from the most important cities."

Last month, Gawker Media shed three of its 15 titles including Gridskipper, Wonkette, and Idolator. Wonkette was sold to Buzznet, while Wonkette was spun off to its managing editor.

Challenge is, can each of these site's new owners do a better job at attracting revenue and readers than Gawker?

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google Artist Doodles

The MET in NY has a special exhibit right now Jeff Koons on the Roof, which possibly I can see a glimmer of from the roof of my building. Possibly that's why Google's doodle of the day is inspired by the work of the same artist.

Google has collaborated with almost 70 artists to create iGoogle art themes. Artists, designers, rock stars, pop stars, dancers, and athletes are involved: Jeff Koons, Dale Chihuly, Coldplay, Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Michael Graves, Philippe Starck, Robert Mankoff, Mark Morris, Oscar de la Renta, Anne Geddes and Tory Burch, to name a few.

Here's info on the doodles. And the full gallery of artist themes.

My Search Engine Watch colleague Kevin Heisler has a somewhat racier post about iGoogle's work with artists.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When Failure Is the ROI Goal

Shouldn't marketing be more than just going through the motions?

Over coffee the other day, one of the top e-mail consultants in the country told me about a surprise revelation from a client, one of the major broadband providers in the country.

She's charged with an e-mail retention program aimed at the telco's broadband subscribers. So naturally you'd think that the more subscribers who re-upped their annual contracts, the better the program was performing, right?

Not so fast.

In a recent meeting, the client let drop that subscribers who don't renew their DSL contracts are charged higher monthly fees, and that the majority of lapsed subscribers simply don't notice the rise in costs. "So," my friend incredulously asked her client, "you're telling me that the more this program doesn't work, the more money you make?"

"Well...yes," came the reply.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Twitter, Tiny but Tweeting Away

This in from Hitwise: Twitter, a social network/micro-blog, has seen traffic climb 60 percent over the past month.

Hitwise puts Twitter's size into perspective. Even with all its growth and buzz, Twitter's still tiny. Hitwise stats show Twitter is No. 439 among all social networks and forums, and No. 4309 among all categories of Web sites.

Still, Twitter's potential impact on brands should not be overlooked as Pete Blackshaw points out in his ClickZ column, "Customer Service Meets 'Lord of the Twitters' ".

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 29, 2008

STD's: No Laughing Matter

Except when they are. Planned Parenthood nails the sex ed instructor shtick with a new video site at TakeCareDownThere.org. It's funny and filthy stuff, just the way teenagers like it. Bonus points for use of "blow-jays."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Grand Theft Auto: Not the Placement You'd Expect

Rockstar Games released the fourth installation in its Grand Theft Auto franchise today, an d the game's soft porn Web ads are popping up in some odd places. See exhibit above. Two ClickZ reporters spotted this one on the Times home page just now, suggesting its not targeted on behavior.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Publicis Digital Revenues Now 18 Percent of Business

Its acquisitions of Digitas and Business Interactif last year helped boost Publicis' digital revenues to 18 percent of the total pie in Q1 as the holding company continues to expand online and in emerging markets. The strongest growth rates were in its digital businesses, which soared over 20 percent, followed by media activities.

That said, the quarter just ended was a fairly quiet one for Publicis on the digital front, though it did trumpet a new relationship with Google and rebrand its India and Singapore-based marketing services unit as Solutions | Digitas. Publicis's Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East businesses grew at a much higher rate than did its North America and Europe operations, where it makes its big money.

Publicis' other units include media services powerhouses Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia. Big account wins for the quarter included Delta (Digitas), BT, Cadbury, Bank Of America (Starcom Mediavest), L’Oréal (ZenithOptimedia), and Miller (Saatchi & Saatchi).

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Report: Adify Sold to Cox for $300M

Advertising network Adify is being acquired by Cox Enterprises for $300 million, the Associated Press is reporting. The deal is said to be announced today.

"We're absolutely convinced at Cox that online revenue is continuing to grow," John Dyer, Cox executive vice president for finance, told The Associated Press.

Adify is one of many ad networks that have emerged over the past year.
It got its start in the niche vertical network world by introducing a network of blog sites associated with Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More E-mail Marketers Hugging Trees

Retailers promoting Earth Day in their e-mail messages this year increased to 16 percent, up from a measly 4 percent in 2007.

That trend was noted by RetailEmail.Blogspot, which tracks the e-mail marketing campaigns of more than 100 large online retailers.

Tactics varied among retailers. Some such as Banana Republic donated a slice of sales to green charities; others such as OfficeMax promoted energy-efficient products, said Chad White, editor-at-large of the Email Experience Council and founder of RetailEmail.Blogspot.

Other retailers promoted green products in recent weeks, but didn't specifically mention Earth Day. Among them: REI, whose e-mail discussed recycling's merits.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 28, 2008

The WB Will Not Be Televised

"The next great network will not be televised."

With this, and other grandiose pronouncements, Warner Bros. Television Group unveiled two major new broadband sites, a couple of virtual worlds, and named some of the advertisers that will support the launch.

The WB.com, which comes out of beta in August, will be an online video-on-demand network featuring both library content and original Web productions. "We're in the digital storytelling business," noted Warner Bros. TV Group President Bruce Rosenblum, "and making a significant investment in our digital initiatives."

The company was more tight-lipped about advertising opportunities, but did reveal initial sponsors include Mattell, McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson.

In addition to distrubution partners including Comcast, AOL, Fancast.com, and some mobile carriers, WB created an application on Facebook. All content on the WB site will be available for viewing from within Facebook, and vice-versa: users can peruse Facebook from inside The WB.com.

KidsWB.com is the juvenile version of WB content on the Web. Integrated within the platform are two virtual worlds: Warner Zone, featuring characters from WBs extensive cartoon library, and DC Hero Zone, where Batman and his ilk can be encountered. It goes live sometime next month.

It's interesting to note that "mix, mash, share" is a motto. Give Tweetybird a mohawk, turn the Tasmanian Devil into a tutu-wearing avatar - WB doesn't care. That's massive, considering the proprietary attitude entertainment conglomerates have traditionally taken toward the sanctity of their characters. On the adult site, users will be encourage to re-mix episodes of, say, "Friends," and share them with their own friends.

Are you listening, Mouse?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Obama Local Media Spending

Barack Obama's campaign paid over $145,000 to local media buying firm Centro in February and March, according to FEC filings. The Illinois Senator's camp paid the Chicago-based company $138,000 in February.

My guess is that money went towards a pre-primary effort aimed at Texas and Ohio voters in February. The campaign went through Centro to buy homepage placements on Texas and Ohio newspaper and TV sites. In addition to purchasing media for the effort, Centro produced the creative. So, just how much of those dollars went towards creative services and other costs for the video-enabled ads vs. actual local media is unclear.

I'll be discussing this campaign during a talk I'll give on local online political advertising Thursday morning at the Kelsey Group's Drilling Down on Local Conference. We'll also be distributing a booklet on how the presidential campaigns have used local online media during the primaries.

You can download a PDF version of All Primaries Are Local: 2008 Presidential Campaigns Buy Local Online for free today!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google, Champion of Small Biz on Capitol Hill

Please don't stifle online advertising! That was Google's plea during last week's House Committee on Small Business hearing on "The Role of Small Businesses in Stimulating the Economy." The company's VP Online Sales and Operations David Fischer spoke to lawmakers, stressing the benefits of Google AdSense to small Web site publishers, bloggers and educators.

Sure, most of them make very little off their AdSense ads. Rather than providing a range of incomes the more successful small businesses garner from AdSense ads, Google chose to focus on the obvious outlier. According to Fischer, Ohio-based AsktheBuilder.com collects an average of $42,000 each month from the ads.

He went on to say some 2,000 businesses based in the first district of Ohio earned $1.6 million in total last year through AdSense. It just so happens Republican Congressman Steve Chabot is a ranking member of the committee and represents that district.

Fischer ended his speech by petitioning members to think twice about proposing laws that could affect small businesspeople online. "As the committee continues its important work as a champion of small business I would encourage you to constantly consider how any new laws and regulations will affect these online entrepreneurs," he said.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

ClickZ Job Board: Start Your Hunt Here

Looking for an Internet marketing job? Newly posted openings on the ClickZ Job Board include online program director, senior art director, Web designer, natural search consultant, e-mail marketing manager, and others.

The Craigslist Foundation, Yahoo, Agency.com, and Wal-Mart are among the companies seeking talent.

Start your job search today by posting your resume here; go here to set up an account for job search alerts and store your resume.

Be assured, privacy controls are in place to mask your identity and keep your resume anonymous.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 25, 2008

Rinaldo to Replace Kosinski in Yahoo Political Sales Team

Richard Kosinski has been the guy selling Yahoo ads to political advertisers for awhile now. But no longer. According to a tip-off from Eric Frenchman, who handles a lot of online search and display buying for John McCain's campaign, Kosinski will take a senior position at WestwoodOne.

I checked in this morning with Kosinski, then heard back from Yahoo PR that, indeed, he'll be replaced by Diane Rinaldo, "a four year Y! veteran." She'll "assume the leadership of the political ad sales team," the e-mailed statement said. Evidently she's been working with the presidential candidate campaigns and party committees since joining the political sales team last year.

When I first met Kosinski in January 2007, we were perched high atop Manhattan for a sunlit lunchtime presentation about Yahoo's Personal Finance section redesign. At the time, he was Yahoo's business and finance category development officer. I have to say I was kind of surprised when I saw him on an online ad industry event panel representing Yahoo's political advertising.

Not that he isn't perfectly capable of selling Yahoo to political advertisers, it's just that it caught me off guard. As a good source in the online political ad world has suggested to me (not necessarily regarding Kosinski), media firms often pluck an ad salesperson from a standard vertical focus to handle political advertising when presidential primaries kick into gear.

It's worth noting, at least according to Nielsen Online data, Yahoo ran the most display ad impressions by presidential candidates in 2007, compared to any other individual Web site. Though networks like Google and Advertising.com also definitely raked in some dough from the three big online ad spenders -- Barack Obama, John McCain and Mitt Romney (remember him?) – Yahoo appears to have done well thus far.

According to my calculations based on Nielsen Online data, nearly 90 million ad impressions from the candidates, or 32 percent, ran across Yahoo -- from its Movies and Sports sections to its highly-trafficked e-mail pages. MSN grabbed about 30 million or 11 percent of display ads run by presidential hopefuls, mainly Obama. Excite's e-mail section and homepage garnered over 16 million or 6 percent of impressions, while AOL scored about 4 percent or 11 million. Sites including FoxNews.com, The New York Times, MSNBC, Newsmax and HuffingtonPost.com also got some prez campaign dollars in '07, and continue to.

As for why Kosinski is leaving, I don't know, but no matter what reason he gives, observers are sure to speculate that it has something to do with Yahoo's ongoing upheaval and unsure future.

According to the Yahoo spokesperson who confirmed his departure, "First and foremost, politics and elections will continue to be a focus for the company, especially as the presidential election nears."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Still Need to Make a Call to Buy on AOL's Spot Market

What exactly is AOL’s Platform-A Spot Marketplace? I couldn't tell from the company's press release what's different from what Advertising.com's offered all along. Well, a Platform-A spokesman told me what's significant is the ability for advertisers to bid on AOL's non-guaranteed CPM inventory. That includes stuff like Moviefone, AOL Sports and e-mail pages.

Apparently, non-guaranteed AOL inventory has been sold only on a performance basis until now. The main difference is it's available now on a CPM basis. Chandler was unable to tell me how much inventory is represented in this so-called spot market, since it's constantly in flux.

Don't go jumping to conclusions, though. Terms like "marketplace" in the online world have come to connote some sort of Web-based buying and selling system. Not so here. "You have to work with a sales rep on this," according to Chandler.

And, since AOL is all about hyping Platform A these days, it's given the new division a cool new logo. I admit, the design major in me digs it.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

QuadOne Integrates Network Sites, Running Ad Test

I had a chance to meet with Dana Hayes, interim CEO for quadrantOne, yesterday. The online newspaper network was recently formed by Gannett Co., Hearst Corp., Tribune Co., and The New York Times Co. and recently added Yahoo's newspaper partner troupe to its list of publishers. In addition to heading quadOne, Hayes is also Tribune Interactive's SVP of sales. We talked about his goals for the nascent network, including his hopes for attracting big national brand advertisers that want local reach.

A couple updates on the progress of the network:

- About 150 network sites are fully integrated on the quadOne platform (technology supplied by Collective Media).
- 325 sites will be integrated by the end of June.
- A large retail advertiser is running an ad test on 6 network sites.
- 32 additional sites will be added to that ad run next week.
- Network publishers have dedicated pre-roll video inventory, in addition to standard display and rich media.

"We want to be positioned as a large niche site," said Hayes, who noted the network expects Olympics content to bring in lots of ad dollars.

Just as a side note: I've been working in or coming into NYC for work for over ten years, and I've never experienced an office building with quite so clandestine an operation as the Helmsley Building, on Park near Grand Central, where I met Hayes. Weird place. After getting a visitor's pass with a digital photo, I made it to the 10th floor, where I was told to meet him. The 10th floor receptionist told me to have a seat. A couple minutes later, another woman prompted me to come with her. She said I should go to the 7th floor. Once I got there, a receptionist lured me past a set of glass doors. Finally, I was at my destination.

I felt like I was meeting some highly-protected diplomat in an undisclosed location. Next time I'll bring my bug detection device....

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Platform A's Bold New Upskirt Logo

Madison Avenue types may be more susceptible than the average Joe to voyeuristic advertising, but is this really in good taste?

In any case, Platform A Prez Lynda Clarizio argues the graphic “effectively communicates our distinct competitive advantage of scale and reach. And its bold and simple design fits with our mission of providing advertisers and publishers with effective, impactful and easy-to-use solutions to their digital advertising needs.”

Also, a touch literal, no? I mean, it's a Platform. It's an A. It's a... Platform A! Clearly someone's been pouring over their old Rebus Puzzle books from grade school. Ah, the memories.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 24, 2008

Obama Looks Ahead to North Carolina, Indiana

Barack Obama's camp is wasting no time looking ahead to the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. The campaign has been targeting ads to North Carolina and Indiana Web users for at least a few days now, in the hopes of getting them to register to vote. They're showing up on local TV station and newspaper sites, according to online ad tracking firm The Media Trust Company.

Obama for America already has reached out to voters in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island with similar online ad messaging. (Still, he lost to Clinton in all four states.)

Some believe registering new voters, who tend to be young, will benefit Obama, which may be why Clinton has stuck to asking for campaign contributions in her more rare display ad efforts.

Thanks to The Media Trust Company for this ad image.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

DOJ Notified of Yahoo's Google Ad Test

The U.S. Justice Dept. evidently is looking into or at least has been notified about Yahoo's recent Google ad test. According to a New York Times report, the companies informed the DOJ about the test before it began, but the Dept. won't comment.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Is Verbing the Sincerest form of Flattery?

First Google said it's not OK to "Google" someone or something on the Web. Now Microsoft in the Netherlands says it's not OK to use the verb "MSN-ing" as a synonym for sending messages through instant messenger. I'm not sure how to say IM in Dutch, but "MSN-ing" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

To add insult to injury to Microsoft, while pursuing legal action in the Netherlands the company was shown a list of existing domain names related to "msn" such as msncam.com, msntest.com, msn-beta.com, and 62 others. When Microsoft executives said they were unfamiliar with the list, a judge reportedly told them to "Google" more.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 23, 2008

New U.K. Advertising Regulations Have Online Implications

Online word of mouth and buzz marketing techniques are to be governed by new U.K. legislation, which comes into effect on May 26, subject to parliamentary approval.

Under the new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations, it will be illegal to "Falsely claim or create the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his/her trade, business, craft or profession," or to "falsely represent oneself as a consumer."

In layman's terms, it will be a criminal offense to plant positive messages about a brand in blogs or forums, use brand ambassadors or buzz marketing specialists, and to seed viral ads, without clearly stating that these actions are being carried out by, or on behalf of a brand.

In addition, there are new implications for ads including an "invitation to purchase." These will now be required to include a full description of the advertised product, which could prove difficult given the limited space available in many interactive ad formats such as banners, buttons and text messages.

In practice, it seems highly unlikely that these laws can, or will be enforced, given the sheer scale of the Internet and its global nature. That said, it will undoubtedly be in the interests of major advertisers to keep firmly within the confines of the law.

As Marina Palomba, IPA Legal Director noted, "While many advertisers will continue with such campaigns and get away with them, this is in my view a risky and undesirable way forward. If advertisers and their agencies ignore the ethics of responsible advertising, the damage to the advertising and marketing industry generally will be considerable, undermining all commercial messages, their effectiveness and the self regulatory systems."

The new regulations will implement the European Union's Unfair Practices Directive (UCPD) in the U.K., which should have already been introduced by the end of 2007.

U.S. regulators have also looked into the WOM marketing industry.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Online Security Firms Seem Non-Committal about Phorm Blocking

Behavioral ad targeting company Phorm could find its controversial technology automatically blocked by some online security firms.

The BBC reported the likes of Symantec, Trend Micro, and McAfee are "scrutinizing" the ad-system, and could decide to block cookies needed for its operation, should they deem it "adware."
With a vast number of users worldwide using security software on their machines, this could have a devastating effect on Phorm's audience numbers, and ad revenue opportunities as a result.

This is not the first time Phorm has faced issues over security. In its previous incarnation as 121 media, a piece of software it was responsible for titled PeopleOnPage was considered by some to be spyware, a fact that is unlikely to help the company's reputation.

Being objective however, isn't the role of online security firms to do exactly that: identify and monitor potential security risks?

A statement from a Symantec spokesperson in the BBC story seemed non-committal: "At this point we are assessing the full implications of this technology and how it fits into the established criteria we use for categorising and classifying new technologies such as Phorm's."

Similarly, Greg Day, security analyst at McAfee, is reported to have said, "At this point we have not rushed to give it a classification."
According to Phorm, its relationship with security companies is one of complete cooperation. Radha Burgess, marketing and communications director said, "We are currently in the process of talking with security firms, and taking them through the system in order to evaluate it properly."

Ultimately, therefore, it appears security firms are avoiding jumping to conclusions, and will continue to monitor and evaluate the system, classifying it as and when they deem necessary.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What Time Is It in the Cloud?

These days, my head is in the cloud.

More and more companies are rolling out cloud computing solutions and applications. On the consumer level, it's getting easier and easier for documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, calendars, presentations, you name it, to live in the ether somewhere above the hard drive, always on and always accessible.

Way cool, and an emerging opportunity for advertisers and marketers to push relevant, contextual messages to cloud computing users.

But what time is it in the cloud? I'm wondering this as I shuttle between the East and West coasts, wielding a battery of BlackBerry, mobile phone, and the laptop I'm using to access the book I'm writing entirely on Google Docs (not a word of the manuscript is on my hard drive).

Some of these devices are set to the time zone I'm actually in, others are set to the one I live in. So how's an advertiser to know what's relevant messaging? Should an ad be pushed for a business or service in Sonoma (where I'm speaking today), or New York (where I live?). Does the cloud know if I'm working at lunchtime or at dinnertime?

Geo- and daypart targeting has long been used in traditional as well as interactive marketing. When life literally shifts to online -- as users move into the cloud -- how will this element of targeting be achieved?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ads on Twitter: Japan to be Testing Ground

Do you Twitter? The micro-blogging phenomenon appears to be mid-tipping point, having spilled over from the developer/tech community into the general populace. Well, into the marketing community anyway. Agency execs are there, as are ad rag reporters, and yes, a bunch of ClickZ writers and editors. (See feeds for Rebecca Lieb, Erin Brenner, Pete Blackshaw, Kevin Ryan and yours truly)

So the inevitable next step for Twitter is how to get ads on the platform without alienating users. It's a tough question. The application is more personal and conversation-based than blogging ever was, which naturally makes it a touchy place to stick marketing messages.

Its investors appear to have hit on a partial solution with a new Japanese version that includes ads from Toyota and others. Joi Ito, whose Digital Garage bought its Twitter stake in January, detailed the launch and the ad strategy in a blog post last night.

In addition to display ads across Twitter, Toyota has its own account where it can talk about events and products. Ito writes: "The ad directs people to their Twitter account where the users can follow that account. Toyota can easily see who their fans are and follow what their fans are saying about them." The car maker appears not to have posted to its profile yet.

It may be Twitter's revenues will come from placing ads on multiple overseas versions, while keeping the U.S. product free -- for now. Look for ads down the road when (Twitter hopes) everyone's grandma is tweeting updates from the retirement home musical theater audition room, and we're all too hopelessly reliant on the service to object to commercial interruptions.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Going Green at EMS

Going green appears to be good for business.

Eastern Mountain Sports entices green-minded customers to open up its e-mail message with the subject line: "Why recycle...just reuse!"

The pitch leads prospects to this colorful line up of water bottles.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 22, 2008

Organic's Mark Kingdon Flies to Linden Lab

News just dropped that Organic Chief Mark Kingdon has flown the coop to join Second Life developer Linden Lab as CEO. Congrats to Mark, a longtime friend of ClickZ. Here's hoping he can help marketers wrap their brains around the virtual world -- something that hasn't exactly panned out so far.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Demo Tools

There's no question consumers like the ease of e-commerce. But the Internet still can't replace the demo nature of brick and mortar. A salesperson can sell by demonstration. This is true especially when it comes to categories such as hardware and power tools. Both on its on site, and on its e-commerce partner sites, DeWalt has built demos for its power tool products through a technology partner Easy2 Technolgies.

Users click on the demo to get a pop-up window, and click on highlighted areas of the product to read about the features and view closer images or video. They can also see images of the tools in action, and get product specs, depending on what DeWalt provides. The demo also provides a 360-degree rotation and zooming view of each product.

Easy2's platform is called "Make Your Own" and is as easy and user-friendly as using Microsoft Word. Other clients working with Easy2 include Circuit City, Cub Cadet, Buy.com, Samsung, Lowe's, InSinkErator, and Moen.

Posted by Enid Burns at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Warming up to Earth Day

Whether you're worried about global warming or rising fuel costs, Earth Day has gained a new generation of supporters. Started in 1970 as a grassroots movement to promote environmental conservation, Earth Day years later took a back seat to gas guzzling SUVs.

Fast forward to 2008. Even Chevy Tahoe is promoting its hybrid model at AOL.com today.

And, organizations buying the keywords, "Earth Day," on Google today included TCP Inc., the maker of compact fluorescent lights, and Ashworth University, which is promoting courses in conservation.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Another Day, Another Interactive Ad Group

Just when you thought there were enough interactive advertising task forces, councils, and advisory groups, here's the latest.

Break Media, an online community for men and an ad network, has decided there's more to life -- and business -- than hot women, gear, and gossip. That includes the all mighty dollar and figuring out how to calculate online video advertising's return on investment.

The company, which operates sites such as Chickipedia (a wiki of hot women) and Cage Potato (Mixed Martial Arts news), announced today it's taking the lead to form a council to examine the effectiveness of online video ads.

Online Video Advertising ROI Council is represented by some high-profile brands, agencies, and technology vendors. (The new media company made the announcement today at the historic 21 Club in midtown Manhattan. Jacket required.)

Break chief executive Keith Richman, in an interview, said traditional advertisers want assurances that money spent on online video ads is beneficial. Before that can occur, advertisers must reach some agreement on what metrics to use to help with that assessment.

The advertising ROI council members include Ogilvy One, truTV, National Geographic Channel, AT&T, Starcom, eMarketer , Panache, Lotame, Visible Measures, Horizon Media, and Initiative Media. It also brought in Visible Measures, to help establish metrics to determine ROI and intends to meet every three months to share information among its membership.

The council's formation comes just as the IAB is updating digital video ad format guidelines for in-stream, overlay, and video companion ads. That undertaking is intended to simplify ad specs plus other goals.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

"We" Campaign Gets a Little Boost from an Ad Vendor

It's odd to see a major ad campaign, even a cause-based one, pay its way with donations. But that's exactly how the "We" ad campaign, courtesy of the Alliance for Climate Protection, is going about it. (Check out ClickZ's coverage of the digital side.) Al Gore has pledged his Nobel Peace Prize winnings to the group, which he chairs, along with his earnings from hit documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Meanwhile the film's distributor has promised to kick in 5 percent of profits, according to the Washington Post.

Even online ad firms are pitching in. EyeWonder, which is supporting the "We" campaign's rich media ads, yesterday said it would donate a portion of it’s streaming ad services.

The main theme of the ad blitz is that climate change is an issue everyone can agree on (ads show the likes of Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton sitting on a sofa together). It would seem that also applies to corporate givers, including interactive ad firms.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 21, 2008

ClickZ and Arianna Huffington Tomorrow in NYC!

How's this for cool? I'll be interviewing the one-and-only Arianna Huffington, political pundit extraordinaire and HuffingtonPost co-founder at tomorrow evening's 212 Interactive Ad Club event! Expect a lively talk on online political advertising and related issues (and a standing room only crowd).

As you probably know, in our Campaign '08 section, ClickZ is dedicated to following what the presidential campaigns are doing online, particularly when it comes to advertising.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

ClickZ's Kate Kaye Promoted to Senior Editor

Kate Kaye, who joined ClickZ in March 2006, has been promoted to senior
editor.

At ClickZ, Kate launched a special section, Campaign '08, devoted to
covering how the presidential candidates have integrated interactive
into their campaign advertising and marketing mix.

As part of her ongoing dedication to covering online political
advertising, Kate will interview The Huffington Post's co-founder and
editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington on the topic at tomorrow evening's
212 Interactive Advertising Club event.

In addition to the political beat, Kate routinely breaks news stories
involving the overall interactive industry. Today's story, "AOL Cuts
Four Senior Tacoda Execs Including President Daniel Jaye," is one such scoop.

If you're attending the Kelsey Group's Drilling Down on Local '08 conference in Seattle
April 29-May 3, you can meet Kate there. She'll be speaking on the
Big Thinkers panel May 3.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

China Surpasses U.S. in Internet Users

In a first, the number of Internet users in China has surpassed the United States.

China had more than 220 million users as of February, according to a report in USA Today. The United States had 214 million at the end of 2007.

There's still lots of room for China's Internet usage to grow; it has a population of 1.3 billion compared to 304 million in the United States.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 18, 2008

Marketing to the Media...Continued

The flurry leading up to ad:tech prompted a bit of a rant last week about best practices for marketing to the media.

That discussion will continue in a much broader context next week at the New Comm Forum in Sonoma, CA. SEO PR expert Sally Falkow and I will be discussing the opportunities -- and the threats -- that online media, search, and the social Web are presenting to the media and other communications professionals.

If you make it to the conference, please be sure to say hello.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 17, 2008

Rebecca Lieb Leaves Post as ClickZ Editor-in-Chief

Rebecca Lieb announced today that she will leave her post as editor-in-chief of the ClickZ Network to pursue independent opportunities in the interactive marketing industry. She will remain with CZ as an editorial consultant.

Rebecca, a sought after speaker and commentator, has been an influential voice in the marketing industry for years. Her editorial leadership of the ClickZ Network has created the world’s leading Web site for information pertaining to the interactive marketing industry.

“I have enormous personal and professional respect for Rebecca”, said Gary Lynch, Managing Director, North America for ClickZ “she is a brilliant editor who has built a market leading Web site. She will be missed”.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google Unshackles Website Optimizer

Google decided its Web site optimization tool will stand apart from its AdWords platform.

Previously, someone using Google Website Optimizer had to sign up for an AdWords account, although advertising on AdWords wasn't required.

The change, announced yesterday, appears to be intended to give the free tool its own identity and encourage Web designers and others to use it -- not just interactive advertisers or marketers.

Like before, the tool enables people to test two or more combinations of designs and content, including headlines and images, on a Web page. Through testing, marketing professionals and others should be able to identify what approach will better help them meet goals such as keeping visitors on a site longer or engage in transactions.

"You don't have to flip a coin" to figure out what Web site design and content is most effective, said Tom Leung, a Google business product manager. (Check out ClickZ columnist Bryan Eisenberg's interview last year with Leung about Google Analytics.)

In another announcement, Google's making its analytics tool available as a for-fee product when downloaded and installed on a company's server. Called Urchin, the tool was the basis of Google Analytics, an application that remains available for free on a hosted basis.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 16, 2008

NBC Expects $1B from Digital Properties in '08

George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer for NBC Universal, said the company's digital properties are on track to generate $1 billion in revenue this year, up 40 percent from 2007.

Speaking this morning at ad:tech SF, Kliavkoff said "a lot" comes from ad sales, though a portion represents theme park and other ticket sales. Operating profit is increasing 50 percent, year over year, he said.

On another front, Kliavkoff praised Google's YouTube for becoming more aggressive about removing pirated NBC content from the video site. "It's significantly less than a couple months ago," he said.

Digital represents a small slice of NBC Universal's $15.4 billion revenue in 2007, but its growth, nonetheless, would be significant if other advertising and revenues on broadcast or cable properties were to decline or level off. (Kliavkoff gave no indication that would occur, though.)

In an interviewed with Adam Lashinsky, senior writer for "Fortune,"
Kliavkoff spent a chunk of time talking about Hulu, the NBC Universal-News Corp. joint venture for a premium video portal. The ad sales teams at NBC Universal and News Corp., he said, have the first right to sell inventory on Hulu or distribution sites a couple months in advance of the Hulu sales team. When that occurs, Hulu gets the same revenue split -- without the cost of sale.

About a month ago, consumers were given two options for viewing advertisements on Hulu, according to Kliavkoff. People can opt to see either one movie trailer before a program, or five :15 spots.

At one point, Lashinsky asked Kliavkoff what it was like to yank NBC programming from Apple's iTunes. Kliavkoff suggested "yanked" was a loaded word. Lashinsky, with humor, fired back: "How did it feel to give Steve Jobs the finger?"

Speaking like the lawyer that he is, Kliavkoff said it was inappropriate for him to discuss a matter involving a distribution partner -- and added that NBC has a film distribution deal with Apples iTunes. He declined to discuss details, though, including the revenue-sharing arrangement.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Kudos to Pete Blackshaw

Pete Blackshaw is one of three Internet marketing pioneers given an industry achievement award last night at ad:tech SF.

Blackshaw, a ClickZ columnist, is EVP, strategic services for Nielsen Online,
a combination of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a firm Pete helped co-found, and Nielsen/NetRatings.

"Let's stay credible, let's stay trusted, and let's keep the consumer front and center in what we do," he said upon receiving the award.

At the ceremony that's part of this week's advertising technology conference in San Francisco, the two other lifetime achievement award winners were: Kate Thorp, CEO of Real Girls Media and founder of Lot 21, and Rich LeFurgy, general partner of Archer, an advisory services company, and founding chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 15, 2008

Kodak, Out of the Dark (Room)

Eastman Kodak's Jeffrey W. Hayzlett doesn't mince his words when he discusses the 128-year-old's company changing business model and marketing approach.

As the sale of digital cameras took off, Kodak saw the revenue from film sales slide.

So, the company had to reinvent itself.

In one major change in its product lineup, Kodak sells a photo printer with low cost ink refills that cost $9.99 per cartridge (black) and $14.99 (five-color) compared to the higher prices for rivals' products.

To promote its EasyShare printers, Kodak cut a deal to sponsor and be featured on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice." During the episode, teams of celebrity contestants were charged with creating a Kodak mobile printing station in New York City promoting Kodak's printer lineup. "We put the Kodak Moment experiment into action on the sidewalks of New York," said Hayzlett, Kodak chief business development officer, during the keynote speech today at ad:tech SF.

Sales of the printer doubled the week after the episode aired, according to Hayzlett.

"My job inside within the company is to create tension. To get people to the edge of the table, not go over the edge," said Hayzlett, who estimates that at least 10 percent of Kodak's advertising budget is allocated to online initiatives.

Kodak also recently launched an online video, which features Vincent Pastore (better known as Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero from "The Sopranos" feeding a Kodak rival's printer to the fish.

Hayzlett especially liked a headline about that video. It reads: "Big Pussy Beats The Shit Out of a Printer in the Name of Low Ink Prices."

"I would love to write that headline, but I cannot," he said. "This is great. This is f*cking awesome," said Hayzlett.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Google TV Ads: General Release Confirmed for Next Few Weeks

Don't look now Ma, but your favorite soap's about to run its first ad for DogShoes.com.

Google has confirmed it will soon offer its TV Ads program, in trial mode since it launched a year ago, to all U.S. advertisers. In the next few weeks, AdWords customers large and small will be offered a shot at the broadcast glitz, complete with production referrals for those lacking TV-ready video assets.

The move indicates the company has r