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May 2008

May 30, 2008

The Heat is on 50 Cent

Online video is a knife that cuts both ways for rapper 50 Cent.

While ClickZ today examined how 50 Cent uses online video to build brand loyalty, a video on celebrity gossip site TMZ is bringing attention to problems in his personal life.

A multi-million dollar home -- and the center of dispute between 50 Cent and an ex-girlfriend --- was destroyed in a suspicious fire. Six people, including 50 Cent's 10-year-old son, went sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation and were released, according to the Associated Press.

In a video interview on TMZ.com, 50 Cent's former girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins said she and 50 Cent were fighting over the house. She also complained that 50 Cent "made no contact to see how his son is doing" after the fire.

Newsday.com reported that 50 Cent was in Louisiana at the time of the fire. According to reports, his spokesman said any suggestion that the rapper was involved in the incident is "outrageous."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Musicians Back 'Net Neutrality

If there's one album you don't want to grab off of a P2P server, this would be it.

Rock the Net, the nationwide coalition of musicians and labels that support net neutrality (841 bands, 177 labels and counting), are releasing an album to benefit their very worthy cause on July 29.

Wilco, Bright Eyes, DJ Spooky, They Might Be Giants, Aimee Mann and more have dontated tracks to the compilation, which will be released by indie Thirsty Ear Recordings.

Kind of ironic that musicians, who have seen their industry gutted by the Web, would band together to support this critical cause. It would be nice to see interactive marketers and advertisers, whose bread and butter depend on a freely accessible Internet, make their own brand of noise about the issue.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Paper Tells Its Story Online

Miamisburg, Ohio-based paper supplier NewPage wants paper buyers to think locally, and has set up a simple Web site to get them to do so. The destination, at Paper Tells a Story, will use a blog, whitepapers and other tools to argue that paper produced in Asia carries environmental risks.

Rick Willett, president and COO of NewPage, put it this way in a statement:

…The goal of the 'Story' campaign is to get people thinking about the journey of a single sheet of paper, where the journey begins, and the sustainability and environmental practices of its manufacturer. We feel it's the responsibility of NewPage to dramatically raise awareness of the potential hidden risks associated with some Asian imports.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Sex and the City' and Search

The opening today of "Sex and the City," the movie, got search engine marketers into action, using paid search on Google and Yahoo to promote everything from bling (GiltyCouture and Ziamond), to ringtones, to an online video site (MyHubTV).

What, no Manolo Blahniks?

Yahoo paid search results, below.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 29, 2008

E-Mail Hacked on Comcast

Comcast had an unfriendly wake-up call this morning. The site was apparently hacked, and the Comcast.net domain taken over. Earlier this morning Comcast e-mail subscribers were greeted with a message saying the site was under construction, coming soon, according to a report on Product-Reviews.

The Internet service provider has e-mail flowing again, but it stresses the importance of changing your password, and making it more complex than the name of your pet. Maybe now, I'll lighten up on the IT here when he nudges me to change my password.

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

Yahoo's Shareholder Notice Slip-in

Corporate blogs aren't typically the place for investor-aimed details about proxy votes, but then again, corporate blogs aren't typically Yahoo's. The company, of course, postponed its annual meeting and is embroiled in a proxy battle with activist investor Carl Icahn.

Here's what Nicki Dugan at Yahoo tacked on to the end of a post about Jerry Yang's and Sue Decker's appearance at The Wall Street Journal's All Things D conference.

Yahoo! will be filing a definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies for its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. Stockholders are strongly advised to read Yahoo!’s 2008 definitive proxy statement when it becomes available because it will contain important information. Stockholders will be able to obtain copies of Yahoo!’s 2008 definitive proxy statement and other documents filed by Yahoo! with the SEC in connection with its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or at the Investor Relations section of Yahoo!’s website at yhoo.client.shareholder.com. Yahoo!, its directors, and certain of its officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with Yahoo!’s 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. Information concerning Yahoo!’s directors and officers is available in its preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC on May 22, 2008.

This passage almost seems like a non sequitor. It's prefaced with a quip referring to Warren Buffett's cameo on "All My Children."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 28, 2008

Measuring Engagement: What Does It Mean?

Lots of people in digital marketing are promoting the concept of tracking engagement -- instead of giving credit to the last ad clicked on a Web site.

But what exactly does "engagement" mean? That question was posed to a panel at the American Association of Advertising Agencies' digital conference today in New York City.

And, if David Smith, chief executive of MediaSmith, had his way, he'd head back to the drawing board -- or Webster's.

Keep in mind, it's been three years since Advertising Research Foundation first promoted the concept of measuring "engagement." And Microsoft backs it in a big way, calling its approach, "engagement mapping."

Trouble is, Smith said: "Engagement is more of a concept. It's such a common word. We use it everyday to describe what a campaign is doing -- when we are not talking about a metric at all."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Times' TimesCenter, a Gem But No Juice

The auditorium in the new TimesCenter, part of The New York Times headquarters, left some laptop toting visitors attending the AAAA digital conference hungering for a little power.

Turns out the auditorium has no place for visitors to plug in their laptops and recharge their batteries.

While that's common in older venues, it's surprising for a site built for the 21st century.

On the plus side, there's wireless Internet service.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will Microsoft Acquire a Directories Giant?

[UPDATED: Some disagreement in the comments over my use of a Compete chart below, so I've added data from ComScore].

Shares of U.K.-based Yell Group are up on rumors Microsoft has approached the directories publisher about a possible sale. The acquisition, if it came to fruition, would be Microsoft's first merger in the local business and residential look-up arena, and could be interpreted as a play for search share. For instance, Yell's online properties -- including Yell.com in the U.K., YellowBook.com in the U.S., and PaginasAmarillas.es in Spain -- could carry Microsoft Maps and local listings, along with geo-targeted advertising. And Yell's sales force could upsell local marketers on Microsoft's other channels.

Even so, YellowBook.com is hardly the leader in the space, particularly in the U.S.

According to ComScore, YellowBook.com's April traffic pales next to category leaders YellowPages.com (AT&T) and SuperPages.com (Idearc). SuperPages.com is the dominant online yellow pages player with over 30 million unique. However YellowBook.com boasts the highest growth rate, having bean-stalked 156 percent since April 2007 to over 14 million U.S. uniques.

And here's Compete's traffic comparison, which mainly goes to show how utterly hopeless an endeavor independent traffic verification still is.

What a sale to Microsoft would mean for Yell's working environment may be a point of some nervousness for the company's staff. The firm was just awarded a ninth place ranking on the Financial Times' list of the U.K.'s best workplaces.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Ikea's Mobile/Web/Game Ad Hybrid

Ikea is pulling out all the interactive marketing channel stops to promote the opening of its new Brooklyn store. The campaign -- aimed at getting New Yorkers to the new big box retail location in a seldom-visited area -- utilizes e-mail directing recipients to play a game played both online and via mobile device.

The Ikea Brooklyn Get There Giveaway asks viewers to locate boxes hidden on the pathways leading to the store on a map interface built in Ajax. Find and click on boxes containing designated Ikea products and players are given a code they can send via SMS. Each text message is an additional entry into a shopping giveaway.

The game is clever and somewhat engaging -- but it's not really apparent why mobile would come into play here. There's no apparent rhyme or reason in jumping across channels to actually enter the contest. That said, it doesn't unduly burden users, either, given mobile devices are usually within arms' reach.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 27, 2008

Quote of the Day: Tim O'Reilly

"So let's assume that Google has won at search, or close enough to make no difference. Is Microsoft better off trying to reimplement cat and ls [old UNIX utilities], or trying to figure out what's still missing from the Internet Operating System? While they are locked in penis envy, all the really cute girls are going out with startups."

-Tim O'Reilly, arguing Microsoft's search obsession has distracted it from important work it could be doing in service of Web users.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Making Sense of Gen Y Media Consumption

Forrester Research put out a report on media consumption among Gen-Yers (18-27 year-olds). The big takeaways aren't surprising. This group spends more time online than watching TV (Indeed, according to the report, they "Spend less time watching television today than they did in 2004."). They spend more time playing video games, watching DVDs and checking out Web and mobile video content than the general population.

To make sense of it all, Forrester offers a few tips for marketers:

Find consumers in their preferred media channels. Are your consumers online or offline? How are they spending their time online? What channels do they prefer? This media profile will answer those questions with a view of today and a trend line showing how behavior has changed in the past four years.

....Prioritize media channels and brands for advertising....One simple way to start is to compare your advertising spend against the time that your target customers spend with each channel and brand. For example, Gen Yers generally are more likely to be found on MySpace than Facebook, but perhaps your target market is more likely to use Facebook. Or it may be that your multichannel sports fanatic customer actually spends more time online than watching television!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

Agencies Cut Ad Production Costs With Offshoring

Creative agencies are increasingly opting to outsource their production work to overseas firms, in order to minimize costs and maximize profits, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Companies from territories such as Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia, have adopted effective and lucrative business models, carrying out behind the scenes ad production work for major agencies at substantially lower prices.

With online advertising becoming increasingly global and targeted, hundreds of ad variations may be needed for any one campaign. Agencies still dictate creative for ads, specifying images, copy and animation, but then outsource the labor-intensive and time-consuming process of actually putting the ads together or building ad elements.

According to the WSJ, agency execs pay 20 percent to 50 percent less using overseas firms for this production, compared to what they would pay in the U.S.

Publicis Groupe's Digitas has even created a dedicated digital-production company, Prodigious Worldwide, responsible for overseeing offshore production. The unit's providers include avVenta, with offices in South America and Eastern Europe, and Kiev-based DDM among others.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Brightcove Launches Japanese Operation

Online video platform Brightcove has launched a majority-owned Japanese subsidiary, branded Brightcove KK, to grant it instant access to the Japanese market.

Headquartered in Tokyo, the Asian offshoot will operate a localized version of Brightcove's on-demand video platform, offering video distribution and advertising services.

The operation is backed by a $4.9 million investment from four leading Japanese digital media players, including ad network and technology company Cyber Communications Inc. (CCI), content delivery network J-Stream, prominent Japanese agency Dentsu, and information outsourcing company transcosomos.

Publicis also announced this week that it too was branching out further into the Asian market, acquiring Chinese digital agency EmporioAsia, to add to the Yong Yang marketing firm it snapped up last year.

Following its purchase of Digitas in 2006, Publicis also acquired Chinese independent interactive marketing network Communication Central Group (CCG) last year, which it re-branded Digitas Greater China.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 22, 2008

Publishers Want More Video Ad Creative from Agencies

Tired of seeing the same in-stream video ads over and over? The people selling them are getting sick of it, too. According to ad execs speaking at yesterday's Streaming Media East conference in New York, one reason for the lack of variety is a lack of creative.

"We don't get multiple creatives," said SVP Digital Sales at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Christine Cook, alluding to the time the same pre-roll ad for a particular advertiser kept popping up before video clips of Martha demonstrating recipes for pasta or brownies.

Cook (what a great name for a Martha Stewart ad seller!) had the crowd audience cracking up. As it turned out, the ads were for a laxative brand.

Noting the promise of hyper online ad targeting, Cook said she would like to see agencies develop more creative elements to enable customized variation of Web video ads. "We're not getting as much creative…so you lose that opportunity of having that one-to-one [targeting]," she said.

Not only are advertisers and agencies overwhelmed by the options, they might not have the ability or budgets to produce a lot of varying creative or Web video elements, said Peter Naylor, SVP Digital Media Sales at NBC Universal. "They're as resource constrained as anybody."

From Cook's experience Web video advertisers are also are reluctant to provide shorter spots. Part of the problem is a lack of standards, she believes. Different publishers ask for different ad lengths, or offer different video formats, for example.

Speaking of ad burnout, Cook said Martha Stewart even tried reducing ad rates for 5-10 second spots to spur use of shorter ad slots. Referring to longer spots, she said, "We knew it was burnout for the consumer."

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

FM Green Lights a Green Network

Federated Media has set up a new mini-network in the green publishing category. Its new Green Federation launches with four sites (Inhabitat.com, Giga Omni Media earth2tech.com, Next New Media's ViroPOP.com and GM-VOLT.com), with subjects ranging from design to green tech to video. Ads on those properties today are mostly generic display executions for consumer and telco brands. FM's mission will be to bring environmentally-themed advertisers and products into the fold.

The below chart from Compete shouldn't be considered highly accurate, but it may give a rough indication of audience size at FM's top three green sites. Below that is a chart showing FM's top Green Federation site, Inhabitat.com, compared to category leader TreeHugger.com, which is owned by Discovery Communications.

Other FM Federations include Technology, Business & Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Video Gaming. Recently it entered a partnership with BabyCenter to co-sell inventory on a Parenting network.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Quote of the Day: Michael Eisner on YouTube

"The salacious and the stupid have been traditionally the avant garde and the advance guard of the more high-minded and definitely more profitable fare. The Internet will be no different. YouTube is celebrated as a completely revolutionary concept -- and it is. The ability for anyone, anywhere to create and distribute short-form entertainment that can be seen by anyone else, anywhere else is an extraordinary development. But in many ways, YouTube is very old news. It is to the Internet what the nickelodeon was to the movies -- a very preliminary installment of what is to come."

-Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, speaking at Microsoft's advance08 event yesterday.

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

Countrywide CEO's E-mail Faux Pas

Disgusting.

That one single word made Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo look like an ogre this week.

It all started when Daniel Bailey Jr. used language from a form letter to ask the lender to revise the terms of his adjustable-rate mortgage so he wouldn't lose his home. Bailey's note went out to about 20 Countrywide addresses, including Mozilo's, according to the latimes.com.

Mozilo took to the keyboard:

"This is unbelievable…Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the Internet. Disgusting," wrote Mozilo, who apparently hit the "reply" button instead of "forward."

Bailey posted Mozilo's note on Loan Safe, bringing widespread attention to the "disgusting" reply.

Countrywide issued a statement to the latimes.com saying the company and Mozilo "regret any misunderstanding caused by his inadvertent response to an e-mail by Mr. Bailey. Countrywide is actively working to help borrowers like Mr. Bailey keep their homes."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Disney Resorts Going 3-D on Google Earth

From the folks who brought the Hannah Montana concert tour to the movie screen in 3-D, next up: Disney Resorts in 3-D on Google Earth.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been working with Google to develop a virtual tour of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and other properties, USA Today reports. Visitors will be able to see rides like Splash Mountain, hotels, and other attractions in 3-D.

While the interactive map was to go live May 20, it's apparently not ready yet. "Mickey and friends are working away to make it great, but it's currently still in development," reads a note from the Magic Kingdom.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 20, 2008

Need to Roll Your Own Content? Digitas Brings the Zig Zag Papers

When you think about it, isn't the phrase "branded content" longer than it needs to be? What's the suffix "-ed" contribute, really? And "video," while pleasingly brief, doesn't really cover animation, does it?

The folks at Digitas have solved both linguistic failings with the launch of The Third Act, a new agency described as a "brand content platform" geared toward helping clients produce "motion media" content.

Whatever the verbiage used to describe it, the strategy behind this latest move from Digitas is clear. As clients are compelled to produce ever more original content, especially video content, it behooves the larger agency networks to mobilize their creative resources to serve that purpose.

To that end, The Third Act aims to offer a soup to nuts video services menu, beginning with idea development and extending to production and distribution on various platforms. The Third Act will tap talent from the agency's Boston and Chicago offices, as well as global production resources.

Based in New York, the entity will be helmed by SVP and MD Stephanie Sarofian and report up to global chief creative officer Marc Beeching. Digitas plans to showcase its new baby at a June 5 event in New York called Digital Content NewFront.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ads See Light of Day on Google Image Search

When a Google exec mentions in an interview the search giant is thinking about a new ad product, it's hard to say whether it will become available to advertisers tomorrow, next quarter, or be swept under the virtual rug. In early May Marissa Mayer said in a Bloomberg Radio interview that monetization of its Image Search was something Google was considering. It was hard to read from the interview, though many interpreted her response as a done deal, when we might see image ads with our image results. Depending on your search queries, that day may be today.

At Google's factory tour it was discussed that the ad format was being tested. A Google spokesperson provided further information for ClickZ. "As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and to help users find new and better ways of getting the information they're looking for, we are currently conducting a small test to show ads on the results page for Google Image Search. The experiment is restricted to a limited number of U.S. advertisers."

A few random searches turned up no ads so far.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SEC's New Fraud Charges Against Ex-AOLers: It Could Happen Again

Former CFO Mike Kelly is among eight former AOL Time Warner executives ensnared by a new set of Securities and Exchange Commission charges. The suits allege Kelly, AOL unit CFO Joseph Ripp and others fraudulently inflated ad revenues during the 2000 to 2002 bust cycle -- to the tune of about $1 billion. Kelly, Ripp and two others are contesting the charges, while four execs including David Cobourn have decided to settle for a combined $8.1 million.

The lawsuits are part of the agency's five-year-old investigations into how the company cooked its ad revenue books. The ad inflation scheme worked like so, per WSJ: "AOL made so-called round-trip transactions to inflate revenue, by giving vendors money to buy online advertising they didn't want or need."

The new charges come at a fairly poignant moment, given display ad CPMs are in decline by some measures, and Web ad companies are feeling pressure to perform in ways they haven't in several years. Granted I'm no financial expert, but it's not a stretch to speculate online ad inflation could happen again -- and probably will, as the nose-diving ad industry creates more downward pressure on display CPMs.

What form might those obfuscations take? Many factors can affect an online media company's ad volume or revenues, making both appear larger than they are. Those include false ad contracts like the one described above, older ad contracts made during boom years and extending into bust ones, the reporting of donated or pro bono ad inventory, the reporting of theoretical ad inventory -- for instance the number of total impressions available through an ad network versus actual ads served (We at ClickZ hear this one all the time), and the opaque ways many Web companies' traffic acquisition costs are set up and reported.

As an aside to all of the above, it's interesting to note that Lynda Clarizio, current president of Platform A, was at the time of the alleged transgressions a member of the company's business affairs unit -- which was also home to three of those targeted by SEC lawsuits. However, as SVP of business affairs and development between 1999 and 2002, her role was to lead the company's merger & acquisition activities -- not to calculate and report ad revenue to investors.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day: Jupiter's Emily Riley on Ad Networks

"Advertisers will move their budgets around and around the web, forever. Ad Networks serve a huge percentage of all of the display ads shown online, so even if advertisers test smaller sites, or different sites, they could not possibly make enough spot buys to equal the sheer volume they can get from one or two network buys. In addition, networks represent the most measurable portion of display advertising: therefore it is the most immune to economic downturn."

-Jupiter Research analyst Emily Riley, writing on display advertising during a recession.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft, Post-Gates

Stopped by to hear tech journalist Mary Jo Foley discuss her new book, "Microsoft 2.0, How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era."

On July 1, Bill Gates will give up his day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft. As part of the transition, Lotus Notes inventor Ray Ozzie was named chief software architect in 2006, put in charge of product oversight.

However, Foley sees Ozzie as a behind-the-scenes player rather than Microsoft's public face. "Everyone says he's a brilliant guy, but he cannot deal with people," Foley said, speaking at a New York Software Industry Association meeting last night.

Foley said Microsoft has become more closely guarded about projects underway, behaving more like secretive Apple.

All the while, Microsoft is working on innovations typically unknown to the larger tech community. "Data portability -- Microsoft is actually doing stuff in that space. A lot of times it [Microsoft] gets dinged for being complacent, but it's in the pipeline. They are just not ready to announce it," she said.

What about Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo's search-ad business? "It would make a lot more sense for Microsoft to sell its online ad business to Yahoo and have a joint venture," she said. "Yahoo would be crazy to sell its search business."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

RecycleBank's Ad Model: What's Not to Love?

RecycleBank may not only be the greenest advertising model out there -- and everyone's jumping onto that band wagon these day -- but one of the most common sense new plays to come down the pike in years.

The program encourages and rewards consumer recycling, saves municipalities money, and creates value for advertisers in the process. Here's how founder and CEO Ron Gonen explains it.

Families are given a free curbside recycling bin equipped with an ID tag. When the bin is picked up by a truck retrofitted with a device to read the tag, the family is allocated points based on the amount they recycle. They can log in online to check the level of their points, then redeem them for coupons from participating advertisers -- Coke was first to sign on. Other local merchants such as Kraft, Petco, Staples and Dunkin' Donuts are also participating in the company's Wilmington, DE pilot program. Basically, these advertisers are rewarding highly loyal consumers who are doing good, and who are feeling pretty good about themselves in the bargain.

Coupons are snail-mailed to consumers, providing advertisers with yet another messaging opportunity. Yes, the company's fully aware a paper-based reward might not be the greenest thing on earth, but in order to get city government on board, they're compelled to offer that option.

RecycleBank makes its money not only from ad revenues, but also from the municipalities that sign onto its program and see significant savings as a result. Disposing of waste costs more than recycling, apparently.

How can you not love a program that's equal measures of smart, green, and win-win?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Media Buyers Take Aim

Intergi created "Media Buyer's Revenge, a first-person shooter that understands why your heart pounds every time the phone rings, and every time Outlook alerts you to new e-mail.

Of course, while the game is played from the perspective of a media buyer, and has sales people in the crosshairs, Intergi itself wants you media buyers to advertise on game sites on its network. But happy shooting!

Posted by Enid Burns at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Digital Vet to Helm WPP's In Vitro Agency for Dell

WPP poached the president of Digitas Boston to head up the new integrated global agency it's launching for Dell. Torrence Boone takes over the holding company's so-called Project Da Vinci, a made-from-scratch agency confection that will consolidate Dell's worldwide creative and marketing strategy account.

The 38-year-old CEO will be based in the new firm's New York headquarters and report directly to WPP Chief Martin Sorrell.

Sorrell said in a statement that Boone's seven-year background creating integrated ad programs at Digitas, and before that at Avenue A, made him the perfect candidate for the job. "His deep experience across multiple marketing disciplines and his reputation as a developer of innovative marketing programs make him uniquely qualified to lead Project Da Vinci as we focus on reinventing the approach for integrated marketing services," Sorrell said.

The agency will go after non-Dell accounts as well, of course. Sorrell: "We believe that Project Da Vinci will provide a template for other clients with similar desires."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

24/7 Real Media, 368 Days Later

What's life for David Moore, chief executive of 24/7 Real Media, one year
and two years to the day after WPP agreed to acquire the company? (If you're
counting days, 2008 was a Leap Year.)

When 24/7 was a stand alone publicly-held company -- before the WPP
acquisition -- Moore estimates he spent about 35 to 40 percent of his time
on activities related to investor relations.

Now, he says he devotes the extra time collaborating with his WPP
colleagues and meeting with clients. When I met with him today in NYC,
he had just returned from a quick trip to Korea where had played golf with a
client. (OK, so he's suffers from a little jet lag today, but nothing that caffeine can't fix.)

Last year at this time, Real Media generated 50 percent of its quarterly
revenue from its search solution, 36 percent from its media operations, and
8 percent from its technology solutions.

Since the acquisition, 24/7's search consultancy was moved to WPP's GroupM
subsidiary, while the 24/7 unit licenses its search technology to GroupM and
Dentsu.

While Moore said he cannot divulge specific revenue projections, he
anticipates 24/7's media operations business will see healthy growth. While
it currently has clients in the U.K. and France, Moore has his eye on
expanding to at least five to 10 other European markets in the next three to
five years. It also sees opportunities for growth in Asia and Australia.

What does he think of the latest reports that Microsoft wants to acquire a
part of Yahoo's business? Microsoft, he points out, is one of WPP's top 10
clients. Plus, Nicolle Pangis, 24/7's VP, product manager, pointed out
that WPP last week announced plans to develop a trading platform that will
link to Yahoo's ad exchange, and integrate targeting technology from 24/7
Real Media.

And has any of DoubleClick's customers defected to 24/7 after the Google
acquisition? Moore said he hasn't seen anyone jump ship -- but isn't
surprised because technology contracts typically last three years unless
they include a change of ownership clause.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Jennewein Looks Forward to Post-Union-Trib Opportunities

I just got off the phone with Chris Jennewein, until recently VP of Internet operations at Union-Tribune Publishing Co., where he led Web projects like its SignOn San Diego-associated radio site. Chris and two close colleagues at the paper's Internet operation, Ron James and Jim Drummond, were laid off around a week ago.

Jennewein stressed he left "amicably" and "appreciates the opportunities I've had to develop innovative online products" for the newspaper firm. He said the company is "consolidating print and Internet operations."

He said he sees the change as "a chance to explore opportunities in online news and Internet media," noting his next gig could be at a more established company or a startup. Or, he may start something on his own. "It's only been a week," he reminded me.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft Memo: We'll Win in Display

Most analysts and investors still believe Microsoft's bid for Yahoo was strictly a search play. Display ads -- if they figured into the strategy at all -- were mere garnish to the main dish. Microsoft needs to compete harder with Google, and Google's power is contingent on its search market share. End of story, right?

Not exactly. In a memo to staff, Microsoft Platforms & Services President Kevin Johnson, identified the company's top ad-related priorities ahead of its Advance08 advertising conference this week. Among those priorities: "Win in display advertising."

"We have an advantage in tools, agency assets/relationships and a team laser-focused on capturing the display ad platform opportunity. As we build from a position of strength, we will increase engineering resources to drive even more innovation," Kevin wrote.

It's an area where Microsoft needs to show it means business. After all, the company has no fewer than five display platforms, including the MSN Network, DrivePM (courtesy of aQuantive), MSN Direct Response, AdECN, and high-profile individual relationships with sites like Digg, Facebook and WSJ Digital. Yet it has not yet consolidated those offerings into a unified platform offering, the way Yahoo, through AMP, and AOL, through Platform A, have both begun to do with their sprawling display ad holdings.

ClickZ will be on the floor at Microsoft's Advance08 event tomorrow and Wednesday, so check back with us for insights on how Microsoft plans to position its ad platforms and services in the wake of the Yahoo deal implosion.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scripps Interactive Prez: "Customers Are On YouTube" (Quote of the Day)

“We want to be where the customers are, and they are on YouTube. More specifically, it’s a way for customers to snack on your brand in between full episodes... We will use that ability to snack as a brand builder and marketing play for our linear and nonlinear products.”

-Deanna Brown, president of the interactive group at Scripps Networks, commenting on the company's new distribution deal with YouTube. Bush’s Baked Beans is the current advertiser on 200 videos from Scripps’ HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living networks that are running on YouTube.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 18, 2008

Microsoft-Yahoo: A New Spin

Two weeks after withdrawing its bid for Yahoo, Microsoft has returned with another proposal: acquire only a portion of Yahoo.

Microsoft, in a statement, said it continues to "explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business."

The Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed sources, reports Microsoft's proposal would involve Yahoo display ads sold by Microsoft next to Yahoo research results. That proposal appears to be in response to Yahoo's decision to test Google ads on its own search results pages.

Yahoo, in a carefully worded news release titled, "Yahoo! Remains Open to Value Maximizing Transactions," said it "confirmed with Microsoft that it is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo at this time." (Note the use of the word, "all" here.)

Yahoo said it intends to evaluate alternatives, including any proposal from Microsoft, that would be in the best interest of stockholders.

This latest development comes days after Yahoo investor Carl Icahn made noise to launch a battle and replace Yahoo board members with an alternate board unless talks are renewed with Microsoft.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 16, 2008

State Governments Not Letting Up on Online Ad Players

State governments are becoming thorns in the side of the digital ad industry, and Texas is the latest state to wrangle an online ad player. Indeed, Texas is the reason World Ave is Out $800K. The lead gen services firm World Avenue will cough up the cash to the state as part of a deal to settle the case against it. According to the Texas Attorney General's Office, the state took legal action because the firm didn’t disclose that users would need to weed through a chain of sponsor offers (and register for them) before getting through to a promised iPod or other so-called "free" gift.

World Ave. works with clients including Blockbuster, Netflix, credit card companies, and others, offering products in exchange for customer data.

"World Avenue USA has agreed to develop and implement standards and best practices to ensure that proper disclosures are included in the future," according to the AG's press release. The company also has to abide by rules about using the word "free" that are becoming commonplace in such settlements. For instance, "when a purchase is actually required, that disclosure must be in close proximity to the word 'free' so that customers are adequately informed about costs associated with acquiring the 'free' item."

Like Florida's AG Office, which settled with World Ave in January (they agreed to pay $1 million), Texas seems active in investigating online ad companies. Back in November 2007, the Federal Trade Commission held a forum on behavioral targeting that featured a panel with Brad Schuelke, chief, Internet Enforcement Unit Office of the Texas Attorney General. He indicated state governments would be involved in inspecting that sector.

"I think in general right now the states are looking at a couple of things," he said. Yeah, it's vague, but the guy was on a panel at an FTC conference (I believe a representative of NY's AG Office was also present). That's indication in itself.

It's unclear whether Texas is investigating other firms for alleged fraudulent online ad practices. An AG Office spokesperson told me they don't reveal that information. "I will have to tell you that this office does not acknowledge investigations of any kind, but we welcome complaints from consumers at any time, particularly if they believe they are being defrauded or misled, as was the case with the World Avenue USA matter," he wrote in a later e-mail.

We know Florida is going after the big fish – companies that enable payments for alleged fraudulent mobile content offers. In February, AT&T Mobility agreed to pay $2.5 million to the AG's office in addition to refunding customer payments for ringtones and other cellphone content advertised as free.

It's my understanding that Attorney General's Offices often collaborate. When I spoke with Office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in February, he told me state operations do talk from time to time because they're dealing with the same problems.

"There's communication," he continued, "but in reality, they have their own cases and we have our own efforts."

State approaches vary as much as the practices of the online ad industry firms they seek to regulate. Still, it's interesting to note Internet ad firms also work together to stave off unwanted government intervention. For instance, just last month, a once-loose collective of companies including Google, Yahoo, AOL and eBay finally incorporated officially after four years of collaborating to influence state policy.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

Curley to Leave WPNI

Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive's VP Product Development Rob Curley is leaving the firm. I've confirmed this with a source close to Curley, but no more info is available.

Classified Intelligence reported that Curley is taking on a gig with the Las Vegas Sun. Here's what they had earlier this afternoon:

Curley is attending the Editor&Publisher and MediaWeek Interactive Media Conference in Las Vegas, wearing his Post polo. But folks here are saying he's soon to join the Las Vegas Sun and its online properties. The Sun is owned by the Greenspun Media Group and has always been known for racy and edgy publications.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yahoo Taking It From All Sides

Yahoo's having a rough go of it today, with the official emergence of a threat to its board led by investor Carl Icahn, and the usurpation (according to comScore) of its U.S. Web traffic leadership by Google.

In a letter to Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock, Icahn alleged the board "acted irrationally and lost the faith of shareholders and Microsoft," and proposed an alternate board that includes Marc Cuban, Adam Dell and himself. "It is unconscionable that you have not allowed your shareholders to choose to accept an offer that represented a 72 percent premium over Yahoo’s closing price of $19.18 on the day before the initial Microsoft offer." Wall Street Journal has more coverage. TechCrunch has the letter to Bostock.

The goal of a proxy fight would be to consummate a deal with Microsoft, but for that to happen Microsoft would have to go along. That it will is far from certain. Some of the post-collapse speculation and rumor has held that Ballmer & his cohorts had become unsure about the deal were secretly relieved to see it die. However many in the investment community continue to maintain a deal is still possible, if only because Icahn would not have undertaken this move without some indication Microsoft would still be receptive.

Update: Yahoo fired back late yesterday, accusing Icahn of misunderstanding the facts about Microsoft's proposal and how it imploded. Its letter restated Yahoo's position that its board was always open to negotiating a deal and that Microsoft has stated clearly it's "moving on."

Meanwhile the traffic report from comScore is largely symbolic but still painful to Yahoo, which for years has enjoyed the right to call itself the leader of the pack in terms of U.S. reach. According to the measurement firm, both companies possessed about 141 million visitors on their owned and operated sites during the month of April. However it claims Google has an edge, for the first time, of about 466,000 users. Of course comScore's numbers are notoriously shaky and for that reason the finding means very little. For all purposes the companies are locked in close combat for rights to say they have the biggest audience.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

YouTube Adds Demographics Tab to Analytics Tools

YouTube has added a demographics tab to its Insight analytics platform for video uploaders. The feature makes it easy for creators to break down viewer patterns by age, gender or a combination of the two. The data come from birthday and gender data people are asked to share when they set up YouTube accounts.

The feature addition was announced in a blog post today from product manager Nick Jakobi. That post also notes many creators are altering their upload schedules based on learnings from the analytics tools, including insights about exactly when users are tuning in. In previous conversations with marketers, ClickZ learned that many agencies have used the platform to glean some new insights from old videos.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 14, 2008

IBM Predicts Decline in CPM-Based Ad Sales

In a report titled "The End of Advertising as We Know It", IBM has predicted significant changes for online advertising, forecasting "greater disruption for the advertising industry in the next five years than occurred in the previous 50."

Of the 80 "advertising experts" surveyed, more than half expect open advertising exchanges to take 30 percent of current revenues commanded by traditional media in the next five years.

In addition, two thirds expect 20 percent of ad revenue to move away from impression-based sales, in favor of action-based within three years, says the report.

The report goes on to imply that the balance of power in the ad market may move away from the provider, and towards the consumer, with individuals gaining increased control of how and where they view advertising.

As the report states, "Traditional advertising players - broadcasters, distributors and advertising agencies - may get squeezed unless they can successfully implement consumer, business model and business design innovation."

"Consumers are forcing marketers to experiment and make advertising more compelling, or risk being ignored."

IBM also surveyed more than 2,400 consumers, with results suggesting that the public now spend more time at their PCs than they do in front of their TV sets. More than 70 percent of respondents claimed to use the Internet for more than two hours a day, compared with just 48 percent spending the equivalent time watching TV.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Euro Agency Mergers: iProspect Enters Germany, MRM Grabs Starsky in Stockholm

There were a couple noteworthy overseas agency acquisitions yesterday. Aegis has acquired Germany-based rmsarcar.com and will merge it with its iProspect search marketing unit. The firm's clients include Scout24, Skyeurope and TUI.com. It'll be rebranded iProspect Germany.

Meanwhile McCann Worldgroup-owned MRM Worldwide swallowed Sweden-based Starsky, merging the smaller firm with its operation in Stockholm. The new entity will be called MRM Starsky Worldwide and have clients including Scandinavian Airlines, Vattenfall, SEB, TeliaSonera and Scania. Starsky founder Anders Nyström becomes deputy managing director of MRM Starsky. Starsky's 18 employees brings the MRM Stockholm staff total to 65.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day: Ian Schafer on YouTube Buzz Targeting

"Isn’t advertising on the most pre-viral videos on YouTube (and using that as your inventory pool) sucking all of the demographic and contextual targeting out of it? It just feels to me like such a blatant attempt to lure advertisers into the ‘flavor of the minute’ [is] setting the effort up for failure in terms of ad performance.

Here’s the question I’m left asking: Is this going to be an effort that can command and justify higher CPMs? Or is this just another shortcut to associating ads with ‘cool’ content? We all know the ‘coolest’ videos on YouTube are created by non-professionals…"

-Ian Schafer, writing in his blog about YouTub'es new Buzz Targeting feature.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

Entrepreneurs: Random Musings on Web's Past and Future

A group of top tech entrepreneurs paneled in New York tonight. Talk was lively, if not deep, given the audience ofINSEAD alums hailed mainly from the relatively distant shores of Wall Street.

Discussion encompassed online media and marketing. Some highlights:

Start-up vet Kevin Ryan was anything but bullish on mobile. "Not one single company in mobile is valued at $1 billion. The carriers are blocking all the innovation."

Moderator Henry Blodgett asked the panel how to fix newspapers. Bain Capital Group's Daniel Allen thinks they ought to capitalize on their relationships with local advertisers and teach them the ropes of online marketing.

What's hot that should be not? The Ladders co-founder Alexandre Douzet thinks Ning's value lies primarily in co-founder Marc Andressen's name. Indeed's Paul Forster votes for Twitter's lack of a business model.

And while there was general agreement things are about to get a little grim, none of these entrepreneurs believe online is on the verge of a recession that even approaches the severity of the last bubble, or dot-bomb. Ryan laughingly reminisced about a week in 2000 when he went skiing and DoubleClick's market cap soared $1 billion while his out-of-the-office e-mail auto-responder was, essentially, running the company.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

FTC Clarifies Single Sender CAN-SPAM Rule

The Federal Trade Commission amended four CAN-SPAM Act provisions. The new rules stipulate that companies don't charge users to opt-out of receiving e-mails. They also alter the definition of the term "person," according to the FTC press release, "to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons."

The term "sender" was also redefined in an effort to clarify who's responsible for enabling opt-outs when multiple parties advertise in a single e-mail. According to the Act's full document:

The final Rule provides that multiple 'senders' of a commercial email, under certain conditions, may identify one among them as the 'sender' who will be deemed the sole 'sender' of the message (the 'designated sender'). Thus, under the final Rule, the designated sender, but not the other marketers using the same email message, must honor opt-out requests made by recipients of the message. Moreover, under the final Rule, the physical address of the designated sender, but not the addresses of the other marketers using the same email message, must appear in the message.

Apparently, the FTC received nearly 60 comments regarding this proposal.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Epic Intros View-Through-Like Metric

You've heard of induced labor. Now there are "induced visits!" At least that's what Epic Advertising, formerly Azoogle Ads, claims it can measure with its new Performance CPM metric. According to the company, an “induced” site visit is one resulting "in any way from an ad," even if there's no direct click-through. The metric also considers CPC, CPM and CPA tracking and brand impact.

Being a performance marketing firm, Epic serves direct-response advertisers who pay on a cost-per-click or per-action basis. It looks as though the company may now want to branch out by better serving brand marketers, or perhaps by demonstrating that there's value even if an ad isn't clicked.

This "new" metric reminds me quite a bit of something developed by DoubleClick years ago, called view-through. That metric gauges user activity after a user has been exposed to an ad but hasn't clicked on it.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yahoo Political Ad Guy Moves to Westwood One

It's official: Richard Kosinski, former VP of political advertising for Yahoo, is moving to Westwood One. As SVP, Chief Digital Officer, Kosinski will head up Westwood's digital products such as news, sports and talk as well as all digital product and business development. While the Westwood name is synonymous with radio, the company is branching out to all platforms.

As I reported in April, Kosinski is replaced by Yahoo vet Diane Rinaldo, who apparently had done some work with political advertisers before taking the new role.

A source of mine -- a big name in the online political ad space who is responsible for planning online media buys for advocacy groups and candidate campaigns -- told me after Kosinski's departure was made public, "I miss him already."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day: Monster.com Chief Sal Iannuzzi

"I think the ad business has slowed down because we slowed it down. We took a lot of ads down... I think there is bigger opportunity putting the ads on a wider band of sites. Suppose I create a Military.com [a Monster site in the U.S.] for France, for the U.K., for the Netherlands, Germany, etc. Not only is it growth in my recruiting businesses, but that's where I can get a lot of growth for my advertising business."

-Monster.com Chief Sal Iannuzzi, responding to a question from the Wall Street Journal about the outlook for advertising on its sites.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

May 12, 2008

Social Data Portability: Will It Affect Advertising?

Suddenly all the social networking majors are racing to see who can break down their own walls the fastest -- and in the case of Google, to make the switch from sheet rock to plumbing, if you'll forgive an overstretched metaphor.

Shortly after News Corp. announced its data portability initiative last week, Facebook chimed in with its own proposal to give users control over their identities. Called Facebook Connect, the initiative will launch in the next few weeks and allow Facebook users to carry their basic profile information, friends and privacy settings around with them. "We believe the next evolution of data portability is about much more than data," the company stated in a blog post Friday. "It's about giving users the ability to take their identity and friends with them around the Web, while being able to trust that their information is always up to date and always protected by their privacy settings."

Google meanwhile announced Friend Connect, a project to help any site owner add social capabilities. According to Google, visitors to any site using the service "will be able to see, invite, and interact with new friends, or, using secure authorization APIs, with existing friends from social sites on the web, including Facebook, Google Talk, hi5, orkut, Plaxo, and more." MySpace was not mentioned in the announcement, which is odd given it's part of Google's Open Social platform geared toward third party app developers.

What do these data portability initiatives mean for advertising? That may depend on who wins the right to host and manage large numbers of consumer profiles. If it's a private entity such as Google, MySpace or Facebook, profile portability will lead to new forms of contextual and behavioral targeting. For instance, imagine Facebook's Beacon and Social Ads programs reinvented to offer alerts and ads that take into account your interactions on thousands of sites. On the other hand, if a non-profit such as the Mozilla Foundation wins the right to manage your data in this fashion, such an outcome would seem less likely.

On another level, marketers who want to add more interactivity and social features on their Web sites may be able to work with Friend Connect to achieve that. Ning and MyBlogLog offer different services along similar lines. The former is a white label social networking platform. The latter is a system for tracking and publishing profiles of your site visitors, and allowing them to interact with each other.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

U.K. Facebook Creatives Branded 'Illegal'

A range of ads promoting credit and loan facilities on Facebook are in fact illegal, according to U.K. debt charity Credit Action.

The charity has said that a number of companies advertising on the social networking site are not providing information on their products that is required to satisfy U.K. advertising laws set out by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

An article on the credit action website reads, "If you've been on Facebook recently, you can't miss the adverts for 'payday loans' and credit cards. What you may not have realised is that many of these ads are breaking the law!"

The offending ads fail to state the annual percentage rate of interest (APR) of the loans being advertised. According to Credit Action, this information must be clearly displayed if the ad offers an incentive or interest-free period, makes comparisons with other lenders' products, or provides services tailored for those with poor credit histories.

Malcolm Hurlston, the charity's chief executive, said that some of the companies are U.S.-based lenders who may not be aware of U.K. advertising rules, but that others are from big-name firms who have been active in this country for some time.

"We must be sure that such creative products concur with existing rules and regulations and offer customers the full protection of the law," he told the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper.

Credit Action has written to the OFT complaining about the ads, but says that users should also report them to Facebook.

Offending companies include Payday U.K., Payday Advance U.K. and My Payday Online.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Online Classified Ads, Another View

"Online Classifieds Have Grown Up," writes Brad Waller, VP, business and affiliate development of ePage, in response to my column that examines why more classified ad sites haven't incorporated more interactive features.

The online classified site, he says, has been around since 1994 and that consumers are the ones who've resisted change.

"We offered audio many years ago and it never took off. We have offered video for a few years and very few users have chosen to upload any," he writes.

So why aren't more people using audio and video in classified ads?

"Audio was and still is too hard for most people. Video is a harder question. Everyone seems to have video capability on the cell phone, most digital cameras have video, and now there is the relatively cheap Flip (and other) video cameras. I really did expect video to take off because the barrier to entry is so low. My best guess on the lack of video is the demographics of the average classifieds user. Classifieds is not the realm of the 18-34 who grew up with technology. Sure, they are users, but there are a lot of older users who feel comfortable with classifieds. They are simple and easy to understand."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 9, 2008

Google's Mayer Talks Image Ads in Search

On Bloomberg Radio this week, Google Search exec Marissa Mayer was asked how Google justifies blowing off the $200 million per year the company claims it could make from text ads on its image search results. Her response, "Ads should match the results." She said if Google were to run ads in Image Search, they would likely be image ads. She also said attention would be paid to the relevance, user experience, and types of interaction with image search.

Based on those remarks, Bloomberg posted a follow-up story, "Google May Run Display Advertisements With Image-Search Results," that makes such advertising appear imminent. Then came the blogged headlines: "Google Will Put Display Ads Into Image Searches on Tom's Guide and the speculative "Will Image Ads Bring Google More Money?. Are these publications, and plenty others, jumping to conclusions? Yes.

Listen to the radio interview (I recommend using Explorer, it crashes Firefox) for yourself. Mayer is answering questions rather than offering information about upcoming advertising products.

That said, selling ads on image search results pages would contribute significant revenues to Google. There's interest from advertisers, too. "For advertisers to have a very visual product… could certainly be a great opportunity," said Kevin Lange, director of operations at SMG Search, a division of Starcom MediaVest.

The caveat for image search versus text search: "What is the mindset that goes to image search and searches for 'car,' as opposed to Google.com and searches for 'car.'"

Lange also said Image search is a relatively small user base. ComScore data reports 707 million searches in image search, compared to 8.3 billion searches on all Google sites combined in March. Google received 149.6 billion unique searchers in March, and Google Image Search received 43.7 million uniques.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AdMission Sells Some Assets to Cobalt

Post written by Fred Aun.

AdMission, a developer of dynamic display ads for small and local advertisers, has sold "certain assets" to The Cobalt Group. The companies did not confirm a report that the assets in question are its Spotlight Ads division, and would only say the deal was needed to keep up with the times.

"Online advertising is an extremely exciting and rapidly evolving market and display advertising is the fastest growing segment of the category," said a statement posted to AdMission's site. "AdMission has pioneered the concept of highly effective dynamic ad formats that will shape the industry in the years to come. To fully achieve the potential of the AdMission ad platform we believe it needs to be part of a larger entity with considerable sales and marketing resources behind it."

The company re-assured its customers it will continue working with and supporting them. In fact, it said they can look forward to "a major enhancement release" of the platform in this quarter.

Cobalt provides digital marketing services to more than 10,000 companies in North America including a big chunk of the automotive industry.

"Support for the AdMission platform, partners and customer base will be retained in San Ramon, CA as a division of Cobalt," noted AdMission, adding that most of its current customer support, development, IT and integration staffers "are remaining on the team."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 8, 2008

EyeWonder Wants You to Learn a New Language

You may have seen an announcement from EyeWonder out on the wires earlier this week. When we here in the newsroom at ClickZ saw it, our response was a universal "huh?"

It said EyeWonder has "unveiled a new category for the advertising industry, 'Interactive Digital Advertising.' The new category was created to address the challenges today's leading interactive agencies face in clearly defining and communicating rich media."

Interactive Digital Advertising? Yeah, it's been around for quite some time now. It's called rich media.

Right?

So, why would EyeWonder, a longtime player in the rich media ad space, want to float this new moniker? I had a long talk with CEO John Vincent this afternoon. He explained the reasoning behind the decision, and overall said a lot of really interesting stuff. Alas, my computer decided it didn't feel like saving my notes from our conversation. So, I'll do my best to boil our talk down to its essence.

Essentially, since EyeWonder has become more and more involved in exploring new ways to serve advertisers on emerging platforms outside the Web, it's run into some language barriers. It seems people developing campaigns for mobile or iTV equate rich media with the Web. They think of video-enabled display ad units.

While the term "rich media" really encompasses a lot more than that, many working on these emerging platforms don't see it that way. Mention "rich media" when discussing campaign possibilities and their heads start to spin, or their faces curl up in confusion, or something like that. (OK, Vincent didn't actually describe it like that, but I'm using creative license here.)

Also, according to Vincent, the fact that "rich media" encompasses just about any multimedia experience requiring relatively large files is part of the problem. It's not specific enough either.

Because campaign development is becoming less silo-ed in terms of agency processes -- the mobile folks need to work with the Web folks, etc. -- it helps if they speak the same tongue.

Hence, the new term. Whether it actually makes it into the industry lexicon is another thing....

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IAB: When Is Rich Media Really Rich?

The Interactive Advertising Bureau today released guidelines that would update the definition of rich media as well as revise guidelines for other ad formats. The IAB has asked for comment within the next 30 days before locking down them down.

When asked about the highlights, Marla Nitke, IAB spokeswoman, pointed to the three bullet points in the IAB news release. The highlights are:

*Redefine rich media. It would refer to "advertisements with which users can interact (as opposed to solely animation and excluding click-through functionality) in a web page format," the proposed change reads. Rich media, under the proposal, also includes in-page and in-text digital video ads where the associated content isn't streaming in a player.

*Offer guidance on file weights and animation lengths for both rich and non-rich media online ads.

*Address ad formats such as banners and buttons as well as transitional and various over-the-page units such as floating ads, page take-overs and tear-backs. New units would include a 720x300 pop-under and a 300x100 or 3:1 rectangle.

"These standards aren't bad for creatives. They seem to be an efficiency
for media traffickers. A "one size fits all" standard is great but we
could loose the dynamism that online adverting used to enjoy," Dorian Sweet, creative director/digital strategist, wrote to ClickZ, when asked for his thoughts on the proposed standards.

And this from Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer: "The only thing that jumps out at me as significant is this: 'Redefine rich media so that ads must be interactive aside from the
ability to click-through in order to be categorized as rich media.'

"I like that. Another reason to talk about ‘engagement’ and its relative metrics, and another reason for all ads to be rich media."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Enliven to Merge with Offline Ad Management Player

One of the more storied vendors in the digital marketing arena, Enliven, has agreed to merge with DG FastChannel, an ad production and creative asset management firm. The combined entity hopes to offer advertisers a single place to create and manage ad assets, especially video.

Enliven offers rich media, mobile and in-game ad products and services. It was originally acquired by Unicast in 2002 and then absorbed into Viewpoint (known for its 3D and hologram digital imaging technology) two years after that. Some time later Viewpoint was rebranded Enliven, after which it promptly dropped out of sight. Or at least out of ClickZ's sight. For the past few years the company has either failed to return our calls or declined to speak with us about its operations.

In any case, Eniliven's capabilities will be added to DG FastChannel's traditional media management suite, which supports national and local broadcast and cable TV, radio, and print. The combined entity will also offer post-production services, a searchable database of TV ads, and Web site development, courtesy of the SpringBox agency brand. Not sure how much "agency" there is behind that "brand," but there you go.

The all-stock transaction values Enliven at approximately $98 million. DG FastChannel previously owned 12 percent of the company.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Myanmar: Relief Fundraising Kicks In

A Google search for "Myanmar," devastated by a cyclone, shows that nonprofits are turning to paid search to help raise funds to assist victims. Here's a partial list of the results:

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 7, 2008

Disaster Planning for Online Ad Inventory

Talk about forethought -- or in this case, is it afterthought?

Nola.com, the online presence of New Orleans' Times-Picayune, has -- as the very first paragraph of its online media kit -- the following call-to-action:

ATTENTION Current NOLA.com Advertisers ONLY. Hurricane Advertising Information. Please fill out instructions for your campaign in case of emergency/evacuation. CLICK HERE.

The form on the landing page requests complete contact information, the name of the advertiser's sales rep, and the following menu button choices:

How would you like us to handle your campaign?
- take down
- leave up
- leave up with new creative

Clearly, New Orleans is a city that knows a thing or two about disaster, and Nola.com's on-the-ground coverage of Hurricane Katrina was nothing short of heroic. While Katrina was the worst, it was hardly the first, and sadly will probably not be the last hurricane to wreak havoc on the Crescent City.

New Orleans media isn't the first to face difficulties with advertising in the wake of catastrophe. The New York Times was compelled to publish a special, stand-alone, ad-free print section for a full year of post-9/11 coverage to cope with adjacency issues.

There's a lesson in this for any publisher, namely that disasters happen. And that disaster planning is best undertaken in advance of the actual disaster.

So here's the homework assignment: implement a plan for your ad inventory before a worst-case scenario occurs where you live, work, or publish.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aegis Acquires Brazilian Agency Age

Aegis Group has acquired Brazilian communications agency Age, which offers trade and sports marketing, online planning and buying, and offline creative services.

Having already acquired Brazil's largest independent digital agency AgenciaClick in 2007, Aegis plans for the two to "work closely together, sharing resources and creating a fully integrated marketing offer in Brazil," according to a press release.

Aegis' internal numbers show the Brazilian market commands almost 40 percent of Latin America's total ad spend, and has grown at an average annual rate of 18 percent since 2002.

Founded in 2000, Age currently has clients including Adidas and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and assets of $2 million, according to the agency.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Dominates Europe, but Eastern EU Sites Gain Share

Today, ComScore released its March data on European search engine market share. Unsurprisingly Google sites came out on top, commanding 79 percent of searches across the continent. Yahoo and Microsoft came in fourth and fifth place, each with about 2 percent of search market share, respectively.

Worth noting however, is the increasing share for engines in the Eastern European markets, which are dominated by non-English language search technology.

Two Polish properties, Nasza-Klaska.pl and QCL Ricardo have shown considerable relative growth in comparison to ComScore's February figures. Nasza-Klaska.pl clocked up 1.3 percent of European searches in March, up from 1.1 percent in February. QCL Ricardo also increased to 1.2 percent in March.

In addition, Yandex, Russia's premier search facility trumped both Microsoft and Yahoo with its 2.2 percent share, slightly below the 2.3 percent it managed in February.

"With Russia's online population now the fastest growing in Europe, it is likely that some of these local search engines will continue to gain traction and market share," Jack Flanagan, EVP of comScore said in a statement.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Quote of the Day: Jeff Lanctot

"The most effective agencies must live squarely at the intersection of marketing and technology. They should be sprinting to that intersection. Not just digital agencies, but all agencies. As all media becomes digital, any agency that doesn’t view itself as a technology company should commence reflecting fondly on the good ol’ days. The road ahead is likely to be significantly less fulfilling."

-Jeff Lanctot, SVP of Avenue A | Razorfish Media, writing in his blog.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Joins Venture for High-Speed Mobile Net Access

Google has signed onto a venture, led by Sprint, to develop and deliver high-speed wireless Internet access for mobile devices, according to a published report.

Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Clearwire, and others are set to announce they will invest $3.2 billion for the technology called WiMax, the WSJ.com reports.

The New York Times, quoting an unidentified source, said Google could provide the search engine for the wireless platform, enabling it to sell advertising there. Google is said to be contributing $500 million to the initiative.

Plans call for the wireless data-and-voice network to have the download speeds of cable broadband and the reach of a cellphone network.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 6, 2008

Cisco Sponsors Forbes Q&A Tool for Biz Pros

Forbes.com has paired with Cisco in the launch of a social network geared towards business professionals. The AnswerNetwork, launched in beta, is "Forbes.com’s first online social network designed for the person-to-person exchange of knowledge and expertise among business executives, friends and relatives seeking to share and obtain specific knowledge," according to a press release. Also, users will get credits for responding to questions.

A spokesperson told me Cisco, in addition to sponsoring, is providing the networking technology for the customer service and peer to peer features for the new service. Banners for Cisco's video technologies can be seen alongside the AnswerNetwork interface.

Users can pose and answer questions, and check out previously answered questions organized into browse-able categories including Markets, Entrepreneurs, Leadership, and Technology. Still, unless I'm doing something wrong (definitely bound to happen), there are no questions or answers stored in that section yet.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

E-Mail Marketers Haven't Forgotten Mom

With Mother's Day coming up, a search for "mother" in my personal e-mail inbox turned up these marketing pitches. Some come from the usual suspects, while others aren't so ususal.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Calculate the Value of a Widget -- in a Widget

Thank DoubleClick for this nifty tool: a widget that calculates the value of a widget.

Google's Ari Paparo, previously DoubleClick's VP, advertiser products, brought it to marketers' attention yesterday at IAB's digital video leadership forum. He participated on the panel, "Format Wars No More."

When asked if brands will start tracking mentions on Twitter, Ning, and other social applications, Paparo pointed out that tracking is fairly easy to do.

But assigning value to that chatter is tough. Paparo likened it to attending a party, picking up business cards, and then trying to attach a dollar value to that experience.

Sounds like a good candidate for another widget calculator.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 5, 2008

Online Video Ads: High Price, High Value?

How long will online video ads, on a CPM basis, cost more than television ads?
"It's driven by a dearth of quality produced video online," said Nick Johnson, NBC's VP, national sales, Internet and broadband.

"It's a marketplace supply and demand story," said Johnson, speaking at the IAB's Digital Video conference today in NYC. He said the costs will likely remain higher, for now, as long as consumers respond better to online video ads than television ads. "There's a lot of opportunities to be interactive, to be a very immersive experience," he said.

From Endemol USA, the producers of reality television series such as "Big Brother," look for brand-sponsored content online, said Jon Vlassopulos, SVP, digital media and branded entertainment. (Last month, NBC Universal said it is working with Omnicom Media Group Digital to pair brands with content.)

Two years ago, Endemol Mobile created an interactive mobile video for Nokia, called "Get Close To…Sugababes." It featured clips of the pop group. And the video was shot on -- you guessed it -- Nokia phones.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Web Analytics Board Elections

The Web Analytics Association (WAA) elected its 2008/2009 board of directors. Those with board positions are listed here. Last year there was an effort to enact a changeover of directors, and it looks like it happened again without much of a push. About half of the board is new, and several of the incumbents are sophomore directors. The new and fresh members in power is a good thing as it means new and fresh ideas for the WAA.

Posted by Enid Burns at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is the Stage Set for an AOL Sale?

With the dust settling around Microsoft's abortive bid for Yahoo, one thing's quickly becoming clear: The self-destruction of this particular takeover attempt is not the end of Yahoo's odyssey but merely a mid-way point. Analyst and blogger speculation this morning has anticipated a variety of outcomes for Yahoo, including a deal with News Corp (though talks have reportedly "cooled"), an acquisition of ValueClick, and even a late third act consummation with Microsoft.

The next big Web company to sell may not be Yahoo, however. Last month we learned Yahoo was closing in on a deal to imbibe AOL. Presumably those talks are still underway, and word this morning is Microsoft has already entered the fray. Google may also be interested in AOL, which would give it the reach in display that has so far eluded it.

Microsoft seems the best bet to triumph in any competitive bidding process, given it's already flashed its money roll to investors and the business community. Plus it really does crave search market share. And while AOL's 5 percent wedge of the U.S. search pie is modest by comparison to Yahoo's 21 percent, Microsoft could nearly match Yahoo by buying both AOL and Ask. Sweetening the deal for Microsoft, buying those two entities would would end Google's ad distribution deals with them, cutting into its profits.

Additionally, any company to combine with AOL will command the display ad market. A combined AOL-Yahoo would be a true powerhouse, as the companies are #1 and #2 in display. A combined Google-AOL would create huge inroads into display for a company that's so far still just barely out of lip-service territory in the category.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kelsey Local Media Conference: Random Notes

I had a blast at the Kelsey conference in Seattle last week. In addition to news coverage from the event on FIM, Yahoo and The LA Times, here are a few tidbits I found interesting:

SubPrime Auto Loan Lead Gen Potential
Cars.com founder and CEO Mitch Golub suggested there's room for a new vertical in the local auto lead generation space: subprime auto loans. Because, according to Golub, 50 percent of car buyers don't qualify for prime loans, "I guess that's another vertical to be developed."

On Buy-in from Sales Partners
Ad product and service providers looking to attract small businesses and local advertisers need a way to connect with those clients. So, they forge relationships with yellow pages companies or newspaper publishers – companies with entrenched local sales forces that can go out and sell their Web video product or SEM services along with a YP or newspaper site ad.

Lots of deals along these lines have been made recently between vendors and publishers, but feelings are mixed as to the potential success of such partnerships. Golub told the Kelsey conference audience, vendors that think newspaper salespeople will readily go out and sell their products, are "smoking something funny." He was one of a couple execs at the conference who didn't shy away from tellin' it like it is.

But in a panel focused on local resellers, Carey Ransom, VP of business development for WebVisible indicated he's seen success in such partnerships, particularly when salespeople go beyond their regular pool of advertisers. "The ones that are stretching a little bit are the ones that are seeing the most success," he said.

On Selling to Small Businesspeople
During that "Local Resellers" session, SpotRunner GM of Local Marketing Services Kurt Weinsheimer reminded the audience that folks running small businesses have unique needs. "We're dealing with the head of sales, CMO, COO all in one person," he said. "They have very different questions and very different needs."

For instance, when selling TV, information about reach and frequency or points may be important to traditional media buyers at agencies, but it often goes over the heads of small business advertisers. "It's deer in the headlights when it comes to a small business," said Weinsheimer, adding that SpotRunner alters the type of data it reports to such advertisers.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IAB Launches Video Ad Compliance Seal

In conjunction with finalizing its Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has unveiled a compliance program à la TRUSTe. The new guidelines were proposed a month ago, and nothing in those original guidelines has changed following a comment period.

According to the IAB press release, "The IAB suggests that compliant member sites post the compliance seal in their online media kit as well as in their print versions. Media buyers will be educated about the benefits of Digital Video Ad Format Guidelines and be encouraged to look for the seal."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 3, 2008

Microsoft Withdraws Bid for Yahoo

Microsoft on Saturday withdrew its bid to acquire Yahoo, opting against raising its offer $5 billion more or pursuing a hostile takeover.

Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer, in a letter to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, said he was concerned that Yahoo would take actions that would make the company undesirable to Microsoft. Of particular concern: Yahoo's decision to test Google's search ads on its own results pages, and the possibility that Yahoo would work more closely with Google on paid search going forward.

Such an arrangement, Ballmer wrote, "would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!’s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system."

He continued: "This would also effectively enable Google to set the prices for key search terms on both their and your search platforms and, in the process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo," Ballmer said.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock fired back a statement, reiterating that Microsoft's bid undervalued Yahoo. "We remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position Yahoo! for success and leadership in its markets," Bostock said in a news release.

On Feb. 1, Microsoft offered to pay $44.6 billion or $31 a share for Yahoo. Since then, Microsoft said it agreed to raise its bid by $2 per share, but Yahoo wanted another $4.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 2, 2008

More Micro-heuvering: WSJ Contracts Nasty Case of "Coulds"

Microsoft and Yahoo continue to negotiate heavily through the medium of the Wall Street Journal, forcing reporters Kevin Delaney, Matthew Karnitschnig, and Robert Guth into spastic repetition of the word "could."

Microsoft could announce it's backing out of the deal, we heard yesterday. The word this morning is it's leaning toward going hostile as early as today, but "could change tack." Meanwhile, Yahoo could announce an expansion of its Google search ad trial by next week. Such a deal "could go forward" even in the event of a hostile bid, WSJ promises.

What about Yahoo/AOL? Could happen. After all, it's been just three weeks since the firms were "closing in on a deal" to combine operations.

One thing's clear: All us losers that aren't the Wall Street Journal could have some real Microsoft/Yahoo news to report as early as any minute.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Times Online Opens U.S. Sales Office

To help monetize its substantial U.S. readership, Times Online has set up an ad-sales office in New York, reports NMA.co.uk.

The office will work closely with News Corps's recently acquired Wall Street Journal, and offer cross-selling advertising opportunities across both publications in recognition of the demographic overlap of their readerships.

Times Online's digital media publisher Zach Leonard said that behavioural targeting opportunities between the WSJ and Times Online were also being investigated.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Art for iGoogle's Sake

Google lined up nearly 70 artists, fashion designers, and other creative types to contribute art work for iGoogle pages. The move appears to be just another sign that Google is working to make its site a destination.

Marissa Mayer, Google VP, search products, unveiled iGoogle Artist Themes at a reception Thursday night in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, a few blocks away from Google's NY headquarters. Notable contributors include artist Dale Chihuly, U.K. rock band Coldplay, designer Philippe Starck, and choreographer Mark Morris.

For the occasion, Google brought in some heavy hitters in the art and design world: artist Jeff Koons, architect Michael Graves, designer Marc Ecko, photographer Anne Geddes, and Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor of "The New Yorker."

Were the artists paid for their contributions? If they were, it wasn't in Google stock.

"I thought you gave us Google stock," joked Graves after the other artists explained what working with Google meant to them.

"It's almost as expensive as Jeff's art," shot back Ecko, referring to Koons. (Koons' "Hanging Heart," reportedly sold for $23.4 million last year.)

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 1, 2008

Direct Response Video for Small, Local Firms

Small and mid-tier businesses have long gravitated towards direct response marketing like yellow pages ads and dedicated phone numbers on late night cable ads. Startup Mixpo hopes they'll want the same action-oriented approach when it comes to Web video.

Online video advertising "is going to start going in that direction," suggested MixPo President and CEO Anupam Gupta. I met with the Seattle-based company yesterday morning nearby its headquarters before the Kelsey Group's local media conference kicked off.

"Whether it is [based on] CPA or cost-per-view, we'll see," he continued. The two-year-old firm sees great potential in the small and local online video sector, despite the array of competitive services going after the same pool of mom-and-pops, mid-size retailers, auto dealers and other smaller advertisers.

Measurable direct response mechanisms within embedded video and video ad units could give Mixpo an advantage. Advertisers can include lead-gen forms, track-able and geo-targeted phone numbers and other features, and alter ads dynamically to optimize or change offers. The platform enables video creation from repurposed TV spots and uploaded photos-turned-slideshows. The company also does custom video production.

Like others in the growing local video space, Mixpo is talking with a range of potential partners, from regional ad agencies to online yellow pages firms. The goal is connecting to small business clients through companies that already have relationships with such advertisers.

One distribution partner is Active Rain, a social site for realtors (i.e., people looking for easy, cost-efficient ways to create and optimize video of properties for sale). Some site users have tested the platform, which should be fully functional as an Active Rain offering ("powered by Mixpo") in a week or two, according to Gupta. The site will sell the videos for $30/per month, splitting revenue with Mixpo.

Spotmixer is yet another just-launched self-serve video company claiming it will "level the playing field" for video for SMBs. Others include AditAll, DMM, Spot Runner, EZShow and Visible World. TurnHere is also going after these smaller advertisers, though it's taking the custom video production route, and also working with lots of large brands.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Would Anyone Pay to Network on Facebook?

Media executives at "The New Kings of Media" breakfast in NYC debated the future of user-generated content, including who will pay for the stuff.

John Rose, managing director of the Boston Consulting Group, had an interesting theory. He sees UCG heading into two directions: public and private content.

In most cases, content developed and viewed by the public will have to be ad supported, he said, doubting there are enough folks willing to dish out money to support the vast amount of content.

Having said that, he anticipates some business users will pay for access to UGC. Those customers would get "proprietary first rights, first look access to content," he said. (Sounds an awful lot like what Barrons.com is doing with its weekly mag.)

"There will probably be company-paid models for things like LinkedIn and Facebook," he continued. "There are elements of Facebook morphing to provide interesting networks...It's not consumer pay, but it's direct pay."

If LinkedIn's already doing it (account holders can pay between $20 to $200 a month for more features), why won't Facebook users? Maybe a few more have to graduate from high school and college first.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Flips Switch on TV Ads, Spot Runner Gets Granular

As expected, Google has begun offering TV ad production and placement services to all AdWords advertisers. The public launch indicates the company has partially resolved the inventory problems that plagued the program in its early months, though it's still only pushing ads to customers of its DISH and Astound cable partners. Google's demo, viewable here, shows how advertisers can choose programs and networks, fix day parts, secure production services, and schedule campaigns.

With the launch, advertisers will be in a better position to analyze and compare the relative merits of Google's system with competing offerings, most notably Spot Runner. Spot Runner, which hired Joanne Bradford and Marc Rosenthal in recent months, is going after national advertisers whose budgets were too small for TV in the broadcast boom years. A client example the company shared last month is that of a purveyor of home power generators. "When we see a storm rolling in, we turn on their campaigns," CEO Nick Grouf said.

While Google is giving marketers the option of uploading spots or contracting jobs, Spot Runner has taken the tack of proactively packaging video ads for specific business types. You can see its library here, including an interesting set of political advertising templates I hadn't noticed before visiting today.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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