Back to Main

July 13, 2008 - July 19, 2008

July 18, 2008

FTC Makes Antitrust Education Easy

Ever wonder how the Federal Trade Commission arrives at its decisions regarding whether to approve acquisitions such as Google's earth-shattering DoubleClick buy? No worries: The commish has put together a resource with 25 fact sheets on stuff like antitrust and price discrimination. With some huge Yahoo deal still looming, this could come in handy.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

U.K. Government's Digital Spend Balloons

The U.K. government's digital media spending increased 57 percent year-on-year in the twelve month period ending March '08, according to the Central Office of Information's (COI) annual review released this week.

According to the office, the increased digital outlay "demonstrates that government - like the private sector - is following audiences online." The growth was attributed to a number of campaigns surrounding issues such as climate change, army recruitment, road safety and tobacco control.

Of the £156.9 ($314) million the COI spent on advertising media, £35.4 ($71) million of it went on digital - almost a quarter of its total spend. What's more, overall media spend only rose by 15.4 percent year-on-year, suggesting that the budget is moving online rapidly.

"From events and direct marketing to research and digital, both COI's established and newer channels have shown growth over the year," said Alan Bishop, COI Chief Executive, in a release.

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

EBay U.K. Ads go Behavioral

EBay has informed users it will begin rolling out behaviorally targeted ads in the U.K. this month, presumably using technology from AOL's Tacoda, as it did in the U.S. in October.

The AdChoice system will serve ads based on previous on-site searches and items purchased, as well as "information from other companies," according to an e-mail sent to U.K. members on Tuesday. eBay did not respond to queries as to which companies this may include. Existing publishers in Tacoda's network include the likes of Conde Nast, New York Times, CBS Digital Media, and Dow Jones.

A statement from eBay, e-mailed to me today simply read, "AdChoice provides a more personalised and relevant shopping experience for our users. Participation in this programme is entirely optional and does not involve disclosure of personal information to any third parties."

Though the AdChoice system will offer users an opt-out, members that are not happy with the resulting changes to the site's privacy policy are invited to close their accounts.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 17, 2008

A Moment of IAB Appreciation

On this, a heat-index alert day, IAB head Randall Rothenberg's blog (or "clog," as he insists on calling it), is a breath of fresh air.

Today's entry, once you get past the "join the IAB" call-to-action, elegantly and articulately enumerates the scary regulatory and legislative threats (both on the state and Federal levels) facing online publishers.

Consumers and legislators don't understand what online advertising is, or how it works. Too many Internet publishers and advertisers, meanwhile, are tuning a blind eye to the implications of their ignorance, namely, bad laws that can carry significant negative economic consequences to those making a living off interactive publishing and advertising.

Rothenberg deserves a shout-out. Under his leadership, the IAB is meeting all sorts of challenges the organization too long ignored. Bringing smaller companies into the fold is just one of these. The much bigger picture is aggressively addressing threats to the industry on the legislative level. It's a far cry from the days when the body stood idly by while other measure, such as CAN-SPAM, wended its way through the FTC and ultimately, Congress.

Take a moment today to read Randall's most recent post. The goings-on in Washington may appear distant today, but the impact on your business is going to matter tomorrow.

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

July 16, 2008

Lawmakers Press NebuAd Offensive, Lean On Another ISP

U.S. Congressmen have called out another Internet service provider for working with behavior tracking and ad serving firm NebuAd.

House Representatives Edward Markey, John Dingell, and Joe Barton this week penned a letter to Embarq, one of the behavioral targeting vendor's early ISP partners. The missive requests detailed information on early tests the company conducted with NebuAd.

Depending on how you count, it's the second or the third time lawmakers have raised questions about ISPs' recent interest in tracking their subscribers' Web meanderings for ad serving purposes. Charter Communications was the first to table its plans to work with NebuAd after Congress raised public concerns over the deal.

Right after that move, Rep. Markey urged other broadband companies considering "similar user profiling programs" to hold off while the privacy implications are addressed. In short order, DSL provider CenturyTel called off its own plans with NebuAd.

The latest move by Markey and his fellow lawmakers suggests Congress is unlikely to let the issue die down. Embarq is being asked to cough up a range of info, including how many subscribers were involved in the test, how Embarq notified them of the tests, and whether it conducted a legal analysis with regard to consumer privacy laws before flipping the switch. The Reps are also asking Embarq to provide a copy of the notifications used to inform subscribers of the test.

Embarq declined to comment, saying only that it has received and is reviewing the letter from Reps. Markey, Barton and Dingell.

In a statement on his Web site, Rep. Markey characterized the data NebuAd collects as potentially "highly personal and sensitive."

He continued, "Embarq's apparent use of this technology without directly notifying affected customers that their activity was being tracked, collected, and analyzed raises serious privacy red flags."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 15, 2008

Win a Free Ticket to ClickZ's Online Video Ad Event

Give us three good reasons why you'd like to attend ClickZ's Online Video Forum, which takes place next Tuesday, July 22 in Manhattan, and we'll let you in for free.

This show is a must-attend. Our speaker line-up is a who's who of the nation's leading interactive video experts -- representing Carat, Starcom USA, Enlighten, Ogilvy, MediaVest/Publicis Media Groupe, Denuo, Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Campfire, EVB San Francisco, IQ Interactive and more. You'll also get to hear from YouTube's Brian Cusack and Hulu's Kevin McGurn. Visit the conference Web site for more information.

What are you waiting for? Send your ideas to Anna Maria Virzi, ClickZ's executive editor, by 11 PM ET Thursday. We'll let you know by 2 PM Friday whether you'll get a free pass to this one-day event.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Viacom-YouTube Reach Privacy Deal over User Info

Google's YouTube won't be required, after all, to hand over user IDs to Viacom.

The measure is part of an agreement reached yesterday in U.S. District Court in New York City in connection with a Viacom copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube. In that lawsuit, Viacom claims Google failed to stop the distribution of Viacom content on YouTube.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered Google to hand over to Viacom the following information: YouTube user IDs, visitor IDs, and the IP address, which is used to connect computers over the Internet. Under the new agreement, Google will be able to substitute the IDs and IP addresses for "unique values." As a result, the privacy of users should be better protected, while Viacom should still be able to establish what videos were watched.

"We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users' viewing histories," the "YouTube Team" wrote on YouTube's blog.

Most visitors posting entries on the YouTube blog applauded the development. "thanks, Youtube. It's good to know that at least one organization is committed to our privacy," wrote arcadianraider.

Others asked when Google would reduce the amount of information it obtains from users. "Great! So when are you going to let us OPT OUT of information collection?" asked thestranger.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 14, 2008

After AdTech Transition, AOL to Stay with DoubleClick for Some Clients

AOL has begun implementing AdTech's ad platform across some of its properties, as reported by AdAge today. I confirmed this with a company spokesperson, who told me in an e-mail that AOL's properties will be fully transitioned from DoubleClick's Dart for Publishers to AdTech's platform by early to mid 2009. AOL bought the German ad management firm last year.

"DoubleClick is fully aware of the transition, and we're working with them so that everything runs smoothly," the spokesperson told me.

As for the future of the DoubleClick/AOL relationship, that won't end all together: "We'll continue to use Dart for Advertisers for some clients. However, as the relationship applies to Dart for Publishers, the transition will be complete next year."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

States Join DOJ in Google/Yahoo Probe

Connecticut and Florida are among "about a dozen states" reviewing the recent Google/Yahoo search ad deal, according to a recent Washington Post story.

They're concerned that the partnership is anti-competitive.

"If their agreement is a substantial one in its impact on services or costs, it could have a huge impact on competition. It could be hugely anti-competitive," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the paper. Florida's AG Office said the state is working with other AG offices in its review.

The Department of Justice has already begun its investigation of the deal

State governments would have a vested interest if companies based in their states could be affected by Google and Yahoo working together on search advertising.

Microsoft is against Yahoo and Google partnering for a number of reasons: It bolsters their share of the search market and strengthens Yahoo in Microsoft's fight for the firm. Although it's not clear that Microsoft is out there lobbying state governments to poke their noses in the Google/Yahoo deal, it wouldn't be surprising if the company has prodded states to look into it.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

See More Posts From:

Today | This Week | This Month