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May 2009

May 28, 2009

Could U.S. Military Get a Google Grant?

I just got off the phone with someone representing the newly-launched Real Warriors effort, an initiative intended "to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans and their families." It's a creation of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), apparently a division of the U.S. Defense Department. Essentially, the campaign is a Web site providing information for active duty, families, and vets. There's info on signs of stress, things to do before deployment, and treatment of psychological problems associated with military duty.

The contact there told me essentially there's no ad budget for the campaign. The site is pretty much it. But the fact is it could help a lot more people if there was a search ad campaign promoting it, or if display ads were running on health/medical sites catering to people in the military.

The U.S. government invariably runs the most online display ads in the government vertical, according to several reports I've seen from Nielsen Online over the years. But I've always understood those to be PSAs. Couldn't this campaign qualify for free ad space? What about a Google Grant?

Just thought I'd ask aloud since it seems like a good non-partisan cause.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

PR Case Study: Gawker Plays the Ad Press Like a Fiddle

There's paid media, there's earned media, and there's burned media. A controversial HBO campaign now running on Gawker Media sites somehow wrangled all three.

Here's what happened in case you missed it: Gawker executed a custom sponsorship for the HBO series True Blood that involved a phony vampire blog that was passed off as a newly acquired site in the Gawker portfolio. That sleight of hand pulled the wool over the not-very-discerning eyes of New York tech blog Business Insider. ClickZ avoided initial coverage in part because it's unseemly to dwell on the embarrassing mistakes of another publisher -- hey, everyone's entitled to a mistake -- and in part because it's a somewhat ham-fisted execution on Gawker's part.

But the ensuing coverage -- by Mediapost, Adweek, AgencySpy and others -- have transformed it into a case study on the PR potential of micro-scandals. And Gawker has shown repeatedly that it can milk such scandals for all they're worth. (Update: per Brian's comment below, I should say Adweek ran a straight story relative to the many others who led with the scandal.)

To fill in the details, in recent weeks HBO and Gawker laid the groundwork for a supposedly vampire-written blog called BloodCopy. The site was unveiled over the weekend and presented jokingly as a recently acquired member of the Gawker family. Gawker provided the architecture and wrote the blog, which has been syndicated to other Gawker sites in the form of sponsored posts. At first, these were not always clearly labeled as ads. Campfire was the creative agency behind the campaign.

Two days after BI ran its straight-faced story on the vampire site, Gawker editor Gabriel Snyder objected, writing, "Gawker Media has been taken to the media criticism woodshed over this one. What's advertising should be called advertising and what's edit should be called edit. It hurts both to blur the distinction." Gladly he noted an earlier post trumpeting the "acquisition" of BloodCopy had been deleted.

However Snyder's victory rang hollow when BloodCopy's supposedly objectionable post was later reinstated -- proving who really wears the pants in the Gawker family (VP Sales Chris Batty). As the week wore on a number of trade rags weighed in, generating valuable publicity for Gawker -- never mind HBO.

Reactions from Gawker's management were mixed. Nick Denton issued an ambiguous mea culpa, retweeting media writer Rachel Sklar's comment, "The news is that Gawker Ad leveraged (+ undermined the credibility of) Gawker Editorial to promote an ad campaign."

Meanwhile Chris Batty defended the strategy, telling the Nieman Journalism Lab, "If we're around in three or four years, the majority of our advertising revenue will be in sponsored posts like this."

Hyperbole or not, Batty's message to advertisers -- undeniably favorable to Gawker's sales efforts -- is this: We'll go the extra mile for you, editorial priggishness be damned. And if we cross a line with our readers, we'll back off.

And what's wrong with that, really? It's certainly worked for Gawker in the past. Recall that in 2007 Gawker sold a site takeover to Evian, which plastered the whole site in pink. Editor Choire Sicha complained then too, and Denton apologized.

Does Gawker engineer these little outrages? I don't think so. Does it cultivate them? You decide.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

May 26, 2009

IAB to Hold Presser in Face of Impending Gov't Intervention

There's no question the online ad industry is getting more serious about government intervention. With Congress pretty much saying they'll draft a bill this year, and the Federal Trade Commission giving countless "this is your last chance" warnings (the last one took place during a panel I moderated in D.C. a couple weeks ago), organizations like the Network Advertising Initiative and the Interactive Advertising Bureau are on the defensive.

The IAB just sent out an invite to media outlets that indicates its serious attention to the matter. On June 10 in Washington, D.C., the organization "will announce the results of the first-ever comprehensive analysis of the economic and social impact of the ad-supported Internet," according to the invite. "Produced by Harvard Business School Professors John Deighton and John Quelch, the IAB-commissioned study is an impartial and comprehensive examination of the overall impact of the Internet on the U.S. economy as well as its underlying components.

Well, we know the Internet has had a huge, mostly positive effect on the U.S. economy, and arguably society. And, at this point, the bulk of the revenue for Internet content comes from online retail and - yes - advertising. That qualifier, "the ad-supported Internet," is important here. If we can assume the "ad-supported" Internet has been great for the economy and society, then the IAB will surely conclude that the industry that enables that ad support must not be squelched by strict regulations or legislation. Or else, they'll argue, the positive impact of the Internet could in turn be damaged.

The event will be held at 12:30 on June 10 at the National Press Club.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 22, 2009

Do Yahoo Fantasy Leaguers Have Russian Bride Fantasies?

Yahoo's fantasy baseball service and player stats pages provide a ton of ad inventory, and I can't help but wonder whether the company sells any of it direct to advertisers. It seems to be a great way to reach those ever-elusive young males, right? You'd expect to see ads for Axe deodorant or some new 8-blade razor or something, right?

Not exactly. The manager of the fantasy team "The Sleazy Uncles" told me he's been seeing ads for some strange stuff lately when researching players. Yeah, he's getting ads from typical remnant inventory advertisers like Vonage. But he's also seeing a lot of ads for Indian marriage and Russian mail-order bride services.

Really.

The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense -- sort of. Whether or not Bharat Matrimony is targeting men only is questionable, but mail-order bride service Anastasia International clearly aims to reach men. And to be more specific, it needs to reach men who are, well, to put it bluntly, desperate. I'm not trying to insinuate that all fantasy league players are socially awkward men who can't meet girls (hey, Alyssa Milano does it), but they may be onto something....!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

May 21, 2009

Google Marries Analytics Platform to YouTube's Brand Channels

Over the past year Google has done a lot to integrate YouTube with its other services for advertisers. Examples include its AdSense video units (recently discontinued), sponsored links in YouTube search, and the sale of YouTube ad inventory through its Google TV ad buying system.

In yet another such tie-in, Google has made its Google Analytics tools available to brand channel owners on the video site. The move will let channel owners like Adidas and Volkswagen track metrics such as length-of-stay, repeat visits, page views per person and bounce rate.

In a post on the new YouTube Biz Blog for site advertisers and partners, product manager Zal Bilimoria noted the analytics tools will exist side by side with YouTube's existing Insight analytics offering, which tracks user engagement within videos along with other metrics. Both products can track the geographic location and languages spoken by users.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 20, 2009

Twitter Leaves Door Open to Ads

If you're Biz Stone you sure have to watch what you say. After the Twitter co-founder told an audience yesterday that the company didn't find the concept of advertising "interesting," a number of outlets understandably took him to mean Twitter has sworn off ads entirely.

That's apparently not the case. In a corrective blog post, Stone allows as how just because the firm isn't exactly excited about display ads, that doesn't mean it won't one day accept them.

From the post:

The idea of taking money to run traditional banner ads on Twitter.com has always been low on our list of interesting ways to generate revenue. However, facilitating connections between businesses and individuals in meaningful and relevant ways is compelling. We're going to leave the door open for exploration in this area.

And just in case any of you in the marketing world had your feelings hurt by that "interesting" remark, Stone has a kind word for you too.

"Do we hate advertising? Of course not. It's a huge industry filled with creativity and inspiration. There's also room for new innovation in advertising, marketing, and public relations and Twitter is already part of that."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morning Reads: FDA Nixes J&J Web Video, Twitter Dissing Ads, Craigslist Sues an AG

FDA calls J&J Web video a no-no. The Food and Drug Administration said a seven-minute video promoting a drug for chronic-pain is misleading because it only displays risk information at the end. The Wall Street Journal reports the agency has asked the company to stop spreading the video and to issue new material that plays up the risk info. The move follows an FDA crackdown on pharma search advertising earlier this spring.

Craigslist preemptively sues South Carolina's AG. A day after publicly criticizing Attorney General Henry McMaster, who has to threaten it with litigation even after the site's major concessions on adult-themed ads, Craigslist is taking its grievance to court. In a blog post, the company said McMaster's posturings are unconstitutional and amount to "prior restraint on free speech." It plans to seek declaratory relief and a restraining order.

Twitter is not focused on advertising, according to co-founder Biz Stone. Stone said earlier this week that the micro-blogging platform plans to offer tools and services for its business and professional users by end of year, but he suggested serving ads to users doesn't figure strongly into its plans. "There are a few reasons why we're not pursuing advertising -- one is it's just not quite as interesting to us," Stone told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York. Of course, these days the definition of advertising is relative. Many would say Twitter has already accepted its first ads, courtesy of Federated Media. (Reuters)

Here comes Microsoft's revamped search engine. Microsoft is preparing to demo its new engine at the AllThingsDigital conference next week, the Wall Street Journal says. Some digital execs are skeptical. Tweets 360i's Bryan Weiner: "IMHO only MASSIVE ad campaign has chance to move needle and that prob wont work."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 19, 2009

Facebook Fans Addicted to Oreo Cookies

What happens if you scrape the white cream filling from 36 Double Stuf Oreo cookies and stack the sugary goo in between two chocolate wafers?

Just ask Web designer and developer Jason E. Beaird, who initially posted the photo on his blog, Jasongraphix.

You've got a savory photo for Oreo junkies to ogle on Facebook. In fact, 246 Oreo fans on Facebook commented on the photo when it was published on the social networking site. Some people posted sexually suggestive remarks, others marveled over the mini-engineering feat, and others proclaimed their love for the snack.

Oreo fans first came to my attention during the Interactive Advertising Bureau's social media conference this week. The cookie brand, part of Kraft Foods' Nabisco World snacks, has more than 1.3 million fans on one unofficial fan page alone. What's more, there are at least three other Oreo fan pages with several hundred thousand fans each.

While Andrew Markowitz, director, digital marketing, at Kraft Foods, acknowledged the brand's popularity during a panel discussion at the IAB conference, he didn't specify how the company interacts with its Facebook fans.

So I followed up with him and his team. Here are replies, via e-mail, courtesy of Stephen Chriss, director of consumer and customer engagement, U.S. snacks business, at Kraft Foods.

ClickZ: How is Kraft or the Oreo brand team interacting with fans on Facebook?
Stephen Chriss: We're thrilled with the number of fans and followers of Oreo on Facebook. We currently don't formally interact with fans on the site. However, we do keep an eye on the content, conversation and number of fans. Right now, we're reviewing the brand's digital strategies, including our approach to interacting with Facebook fans.

ClickZ: Do they participate in conversations in non-branded pages?
SC: Not currently. However, as I mentioned, we're reviewing plans to possibly do so.

ClickZ: And, is there an official Oreo fan page?
SC: No.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 18, 2009

Craigslist to South Carolina: Why Us?

Even after it agreed to do away with its Erotic Services ads at the instance of numerous states, everyone's favorite classifieds platform is still drawing the ire of at least one state attorney general. South Carolina AG Henry McMaster has threatened to sue the site and its top executives for enabling prostitution.

But CEO Jim Buckmaster is fighting back. In a blog post today, he pointed to a number of local search and content services -- including Microsoft Live Search, AT&T's YellowPages.com, and the Web site of a regional newspaper -- that offer more adult ads that are more explicit than what Craigslist now allows. In sharp language, Buckmaster called for a retraction of McMaster's accusations. Here's an excerpt:

Have you fully considered the implications of your accusations against craigslist? What's a crime for craigslist is clearly a crime for any company. Are you really prepared to condemn the executives of each of the mainstream companies linked above, and all the others that feature such ads, as criminals? ... We're willing to accept our share of criticism, but wrongfully accusing craigslist of criminal misconduct is simply beyond the pale.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morning Reads: Food Trucks on Twitter, Why Paid Search Is Struggling

Food trucks are using Twitter to update lunch-goers on their whereabouts. CNET describes how micro-communities of food lovers are using Twitter to track their favorite vendors, including Korean taco truck Kogi BBQ in L.A. and Koi Fusion in Portland, OR. On the East Coast, New York may be the locus of Twitter activity for mobile food vendors. For instance, many of the gourmet trucks of Coopers Square (at the Astor Place subway stop) are maintaining Twitter accounts, according to CNET's coverage of the trend. Waffle seller Wafels and Dinges has nearly 1,300 followers and regularly uses the account to hand out passwords people can use to pick up savings on its Belgian treats.

Why is paid search traffic in the doldrums? Comscore noted in a blog post last week that paid search clicks are not growing as fast as queries are. The favored explanation for this: Google and other engines have sought to improve the search experience by serving fewer ads per query. Comscore calls out a secondary explanation: People are smarter searchers now, resulting in longer query strings. This could reduce the number of available ads per query "due to paid search advertising strategies that limit ad coverage, such as Exact Match, Negative Match, and bid management software campaign optimization."

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

Offline Swag, Online Buzz: Edible Grasshoppers

Do you like your grasshoppers fried or chocolate covered?

The marketing team at a company -- to promote its name change from GotVMail to Grasshopper.com -- sent out the chocolate-covered variety to some 5,000 bloggers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and others.

The company, which sells toll-free numbers and other services to small businesses, listed the online buzz from the campaign here.

(ClickZ got a package, but we haven't opened it yet. Any takers?)

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 14, 2009

Platform-A Cuts 17 Jobs to Support Field Sales

Platform-A let 17 people go yesterday as part of a structural change designed to help revitalize its field sales efforts. The staffers all held sales support positions that have been eliminated, according to an AOL source.

The move was planned with the goal of putting more feet in the street, this source said. However Platform-A has not created new positions elsewhere in the organization to make up for the cuts, and it's unclear how any cost savings generated by the layoffs might support those feet. Platform-A currently has about two open positions in sales, not related to the people who were let go.

Contrary to an earlier report on the layoffs, the company does not plan to fill nine vacancies with new recruits from Google. Rather the dismissals were part of a process begun by departed Platform-A chief Greg Coleman, who was recently replaced by Jeff Levick. Levick collaborated closely with new AOL boss Tim Armstrong when the two worked together at Google.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 12, 2009

If a Company Gets Venture Capital Today...

...it means it's doing something right, says Michael Lazerow, Buddy Media CEO.

Speaking at the Digital Publishing & Advertising Conference Tuesday, Lazerow said one company that's apparently doing something right is Medialets, a rich media advertising and analytics platform for mobile applications. The New York City-based company announced it got $4 million in funding from Foundry Group, DFJ Gotham, and Saba CEO Bobby Yazdani.

In making his point, Lazerow said over the past few years "a lot of businesses were funded in a drunken stupor." Many of those businesses, he said, will die.

Keep in mind, Lazerow's company, a developer of social media applications, got $6.5 million in a second round of financing in April 2008. For sure, Lazerow and his team are working in overdrive to assure its investors they weren't drunk when they forked over the financing.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FTC to Participate in ClickZ Panel in D.C. Thursday

It's official. The Online Marketing Summit panel in D.C. Thursday that I'll be moderating on how industry regulation will affect marketers will feature some great panelists, including Richard Quaresima, of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protections division of Privacy and Identity Protection Advertising Practices.

In addition to Quaresima, the panel will feature Google Senior Policy Counsel Pablo Chavez and Chuck Curran, Executive Director and General Counsel at Network Advertising Initiative.

If you're around, please join us!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 8, 2009

ClickZ in D.C. Thursday to Talk Industry Regulation

Marketers have no doubt heard that government and regulatory bodies have grown increasingly interested in online advertising practices. What's been happening, and what does it mean to them? Well, we hope to help answer that at a panel ClickZ has put together as part of the Online Marketing Summit in Washington, D.C. this coming Thursday, May 14.

I'll be moderating. We'll discuss issues such as behavioral targeting, online privacy and disclosure in ad practices, recent regulatory measures and government involvement in the industry, and what marketers should expect in the coming year or two.

Stay tuned for the complete panelist lineup. Meantime, here's more info on the event.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

FTC Is Inspecting Schmidt's Google/Apple Board Membership

Since I mentioned it in my story this week on Google's Capitol Hill lobbying efforts, I figured I'd make note of the fact that Google has confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission is looking into antitrust issues surrounding CEO Eric Schmidt's participation on Google's and Apple's boards. As reported by CNET, "Google does not believe Schmidt's role on Apple's board presents a problem, and encourages company members to participate on boards."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 7, 2009

Yahoo to Take Over Microsoft Ad Sales? Not Likely

The latest reports about negotiations between Microsoft and Yahoo suggest the two have entered a period of "meaningful" talks and may strike a deal before too long. While details are obviously murky, Boomtown has heard that under the deal being discussed "Yahoo would take over both search and display advertising sales and Microsoft would run the tech for both behind the scenes."

That will never happen, according to one knowledgeable source at Microsoft. First, Microsoft is too focused on the long-term importance of digital advertising to sign away control of its sales operation. The company is heavily invested in that marketplace in terms of both people (well over 1,000 in U.S. sales alone) and products (40+). Can Microsoft trust Yahoo to sell MSN, Microsoft Media Network and its other products with the same vigor and knowledge it brings to the table when peddling its own properties? And would Microsoft's famous executive egos ever outsource something as crucial as ad sales?

According to the source, the answer to both questions is no. "There's no way in hell is Microsoft going to give Yahoo control on its properties," he said.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will Users Really Watch Last.fm's New Ad-supported Visual Radio?

Last.fm has re-launched its streaming music player to incorporate rich media content alongside its existing online radio offering. Users will now be provided with a stream of artist images, music videos, and other visual content as they stream audio from the site, and Last.fm will unearth a range of new ad inventory as a result.

The firm says the new player will provide "unique visual branding opportunities," and will create a more immersive experience than the audio ad spots currently being used by rival streaming services such as Spotify and We7. U.K. mobile network operator Vodafone is already making use of the new offering, running 15 second video ads in the player before some tracks.

In a release, Martin Stiksel, Last.fm co-founder, said, "Passionate music fans come to Last.fm for more than just the songs, and Visual Radio provides them with the enriching, full-featured music experience they demand. And the bold new music player allows brands and sponsors the opportunity to directly reach these users in a visually exciting way."

I disagree. I would have thought the majority of users visit Last.fm for just the songs, rather than a slideshow and some branding. What's more, many users run streaming music services in the background of other applications, rather than granting them their undivided attention. Ultimately, therefore, I'm dubious as to quite how "engaged" the consumer is likely to be with the new player.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 6, 2009

Jersey City Mayoral Race Shows Local Camps Catching on Slowly

I honestly didn't think it would catch on this quickly -- the use of digital media in my local elections, that is. Granted, the applications of digital techniques in my local Jersey City mayoral election have been crude, but they're there. (The last time around we were lucky to see a static Web site from any candidates.)

This year, I've spotted display ads for a few candidates (current mayor Jerry Healy, mayoral hopeful Dan Levin, and city council candidates Guy Catrillo and Steve Fulop) on a start-up local news site, The Jersey City Independent.

Healy's camp -- which is reportedly spending millions on his re-election campaign -- is also running search ads targeted to his own name and opponents. A search on "Healy Jersey City" turns up a sponsored link that reads, "Delivering Change We Can See In Jersey City www.Healy09.com Jersey City, NJ."

Candidate and former interim-Mayor Harvey Smith has a decent-looking site with lots of video and up-to-date posts. Yet, I haven't spotted any ads from his camp. Perennial Mayoral hopeful Lou Manzo doesn't seem to have much of a presence online. I did, however, stumble upon an old site promoting him as a public advocate. No mention there of his recent campaign to unseat Healy, though. His camp has been running full-page ads in the Jersey Journal print frequently, though.

The oft-forgotten candidate for JC Mayor, Phil Webb, had little to be found online. I thought this Craigslist post was novel, though:

MAY 12, 2009 IS THE ELECTION
PLEASE GO TO YOU TUBE.COM AND TYPE IN PHIL WEBB NET, TO VIEW HIS COMMERCIAL....
THANK YOU AND PLEASE PASS THE WORD...

Really?

Yesterday, our local paper, The Jersey Journal, ran an ad for Michael Manzo, running for the council in my Ward (B). The ad included his phone, fax, e-mail address, and a suggestion: "be my friend on Facebook." I had to do a search, and not surprising there are lots of Michael Manzos out there. A search for his name + Jersey City found him easily. Still, it's closed to non-friends. If I'm doing my election research online, I have to wait to be approved by him before I can view what seems to be a proxy for his campaign site. It doesn't do me a lot of good. Healy's camp, on the other hand, has a Facebook group set up that I can view without friend-ing.

I've been receiving e-mails here and there throughout the spring on behalf of Mayor Healy's campaign, which are obviously coming through a local news outlet I've registered with. I suspect an anti-Healy message (shown above) I got today to the same address might have come through the same purchased e-mail list. It was essentially a digitized version of a flyer that, according to a story in today's JJ, a local real estate developer has been disseminating in the city's primarily-Black neighborhoods.

Candidate's television ads and anti-Healy video on YouTube has also been a factor this year, but how much of a factor is anybody's guess.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Video: Gawker's Lowbrow Pitch to Advertisers

After a year of retrenchment that saw the shutdown or sale of several sites and the absorption of tech gossip rag Valleywag into its flagship property, one might expect Gawker Media to soften its corrosive tone -- or at least to downplay it to potential advertisers. Not so. The below video, which Publisher Nick Denton describes as "the core of our media kit," shows Gawker's sales team still proudly wears the mantle of mean-spiritedness.

Update: My friends at Gawker have just taken me to task for the coldness of this post, so let me just clarify that I actually like this video.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

VideoEgg Event: Streaming Live, Sort Of

The audience for ad network VideoEgg's live streaming event this afternoon was unforgiving after the program started late and then encountered intermittent blackouts during the first 40 or so minutes.

The event, "Seven Minutes to Reinvent the Internet for Advertising," was hosted on uStream, included a Twitter feed, and featured high-profile panelists such as Denuo CEO Rishad Tobaccowala and GroupM Interaction Worldwide CEO Rob Norman.

"I scream. You scream. We all scream at UStream," complained @gregstielstra on Twitter, using the event's hash tag, #7minutes. "This stream is a prime example of why interactive advertising is bleak," @rabbityz tweeted 30 minutes into the event.

@videoegg attributed the technical difficulties to the number of online participants, which totaled about 600 people at one point. "hey folks! we're working out the kinks of the live stream as the online audience number increases, thanks for hanging with us," @videoegg tweeted.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morning Reads: Microsoft Job Cuts Hit Massive, TheStreet Plowed, WebMD Upbeat

Massive hit by Microsoft layoffs. In-game ad network Massive Inc., which Microsoft bought three years ago, has suffered a significant headcount reduction under the company's latest round of layoffs. VentureBeat reports the ad unit's staff may have been reduced by as much as 75 percent. Updated: The ad unit's staff was reduced by 28 percent, a spokesperson has corrected. "We have made these adjustments in response to general benchmarks and growth trends in the in-game advertising industry. They will allow us to operate more efficiently in the future, and we remain committed to growing the business." Microsoft expects no disruption in its relationships with brands and publishers.

TheStreet.com's online ad revenue plummeted 47 percent in Q1. The company's interactive marketing revenues -- which includes both online ads and lead gen services -- fell almost as much, totaling $4.5 million in Q1. (earnings release)

WebMD on the other had cause to celebrate. The health company's online ad revenue grew 16 percent during the period. The company acknowledged many biotech and pharmaceutical firms have cut ad budgets but said "WebMD is benefiting as these companies consolidate their spending with fewer, high quality media properties." (earnings release)

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 5, 2009

IAB Hopes Industry Stands Behind New Social Media Metrics

What are the best metrics to gauge social media campaign results? It's been a subject of debate in recent years. There's little doubt The Interactive Advertising Bureau's just-released social media definitions and metrics will spur further debate.

"This document defines these supplemental metrics in more detail in an effort to
stimulate growth by making the reporting of metrics for agencies and advertisers across
multiple media partners more consistent," writes the IAB in its "Social Media Ad Metrics
Definitions" document (download the .pdf).

The doc defines Social Media Sites, Blogs, and Widgets & Social Media Applications, and provides a set of metrics that should apply to all three including unique visitors, cost per unique visitor, interaction rate, video installs, and measures of other actions such as games played, invites sent, or re-posts. It goes on to lay out metrics specific to social sites, blogs, and widgets.

"The IAB hopes that all players in the Social Media space will coalesce around these metrics to encourage growth through consistency," continues the doc.

Will it?

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Forrester Sees 17 Percent CAGR for Digital Adverting Through 2014

Forrester remains bullish on all categories of digital ad spending in the long range. Analyst Shar VanBoskirk presented the research firm's five-year forecast for interactive ad spending in a blog post yesterday. The upshot: digital ad spending will increase at a 17 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the next five years, to $55 billion in 2014. While all categories (search, display, e-mail, mobile, and social) are expected to grow, mobile and social marketing will show the biggest acceleration.

Here are the projected CAGRs for each category, as well as their anticipated total spend in 2014:

Mobile: 27 percent CAGR to $1.3 billion
Social: 34 percent CAGR to $3.1 billion
E-mail: 11 percent CAGR to $2.1 billion
Display: 17 percent CAGR to $16.9 billion
Search: 15 percent CAGR to $31.6 billion

Forrester says interactive budgets will grow at the expense of traditional marketing. Sixty percent of respondents said they will grow digital budgets by shifting money away from other channels. Not surprisingly, direct mail and print media (newspapers and magazines) will be hardest hit. Among offline media, radio ads, telemarketing and outdoor ads were least likely to be drained in order to expand the Web ad spend.

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

Morning Reads: Craigslist Erotic Ads, Micro-hoo, Google Antitrust

Craigslist Erotic Services Ads on the Ropes. Less than two weeks after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called on the site to ban photos in its "erotic services" section, Blumenthal along with state AG's from Missouri and Illinois will meet with Craigslist officials today, CNET reports. In a statement, CEO Jim Buckmaster said the company "anticipates making further progress toward the common goal of eliminating illegal activity from Craigslist."

Microsoft-Yahoo Deal Progress? Deal talks between the two companies has become "meaningful," says BoomTown. Details of a partnership remain hazy, but Yahoo would likely sign over at least some of its search business to Microsoft.

More Anti-Trust Trouble for Google. This is not an advertising story, but it appears Google is, for the second time in just a few days, enduring the scrutiny of regulators. The concern this time, as reported in The New York Times: close ties between the boards of Apple and Google. The FTC wants to examine whether the presence of two execs -- Google's Eric Schmidt and Arthur Levinson of Genentech -- on both companies' boards violates the law.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 4, 2009

Microsoft Running Ads Promoting ExecTweets

I thought this was worth noting. I was visiting the Wharton Business School's Knowledge@Wharton site and spotted this ad for Microsoft's ExecTweets. The Microsoft-sponsored ExecTweets site. launched in March, was developed by Microsoft and Twitter along with social media and ad company Federated Media.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 1, 2009

What Would Twitter Search Ads Mean to Marketers?

So, now the Twitterzens have search at their fingertips. The site finally included a search bar on our Twitter homepages. As a result, the speculation about whether Twitter might form an ad deal with a big search engine are sure to resurface.

A couple weeks ago I spoke with folks who think a lot about this sort of thing for a ClickZ News story. What might the value of search ads on Twitter be for marketers? Search ad guru Eric Frenchman told me the value of search marketing lies in its ability to reach people who are seeking information, while Twitter is more about pushing out information. He wasn't too keen on the notion of Twitter search ads.

Digital media exec David Berkowitz said search ads on Twitter would benefit media companies hoping to promote news stories. He also suggested Twitter search advertising would be great as a platform for local businesses.

Of course, there's the uncontrolled content factor - always a concern for brand advertisers. "You could say, 'This product sucks,' " Frenchman told me, noting that some Twitter content would not make for an ideal advertiser setting.
There's a lot more in my April 14 story.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Financial Times Digs at Search Engines with new Campaign

The Financial Times is launching an ad campaign poking fun at search engines, and the hit and miss nature of their results.

The creatives aim to highlight the discrepencies between the information required, and the information recieved, when conducting searches for financial-related terms. 'Unlike millions of other websites, we know exactly what you are looking for,' the FT claims.

In addition to the "baby bond" example (right), one execution shows a search for 'EMU' resulting in an image of the emu bird, presumably instead of information on the The European Economic and Monetary Union. Another search for "prolonged recession" reveals information on hair loss.

Exactly why prospective FT customers would search for financial information using an image search isn't quite clear, but I see their point.

Created by DDB London, the campaign will launch online and across global press on Monday, as part of the paper's 'We live in Financial Times' campaign.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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