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May 31, 2009 - June 6, 2009

June 4, 2009

ClickZ Talks with FTC, Google, and NAI: Listen to the Audio!

Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing representatives of the FTC, Google's Public Policy division, and the Network Advertising Initiative about government intervention into the online ad industry and what it means for digital marketers. Now, I've finally gotten around to posting the audio.

At the Online Marketing Summit in Washington, D.C., I spoke with Pablo Chavez, Senior Policy Counsel at Google; Chuck Curran, Executive Director and General Counsel at Network Advertising Initiative; and Richard Quaresima, Bureau of Consumer Protections division of Advertising at the Federal Trade Commission.

I wrote about it here, noting that, for one thing, the fact that online advertisers, publishers and third party tech firms only store and apply non-personally identifiable data in ad targeting may not matter much in the eyes of government regulators.

During the talk, the FTC's Quaresima said the industry needs to devise creative ways to prominently disclose behavioral ad practices and protect consumer privacy. "Otherwise, there could be a lot more draconian measures imposed."

There's much more! Check out the audio here.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MySpace Grabs AOL Ad Man for Music

According to MySpace, the firm hired ex-Platform A exec Sam Wick as Senior Vice President of Strategy for MySpace Music. His task: "developing monetization strategies and streamlining existing sales operations, as well as driving innovation and maximizing value for MySpace Music," according to a statement sent by MySpace.

Apparently, Wick has roots in the music industry, with previous stints at MP3.com and Sony Music.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 3, 2009

Al Gore Chimes in on the 'Sustainability' of Ad Agencies

Al Gore came to New York on Wednesday to do some saber rattling at traditional ad agencies -- and to talk up his media company.

Current, a cable and satellite television network and Internet site, streams news and other content created by viewers and professionals. It also promotes development of consumer-generated video ads on behalf of businesses such as Toyota, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard.

"Instead of spending $350,000 and up to produce an ad...we put a creative brief on the [Current] Web site," said Gore, chairman of Current, while speaking at the Digital Content NewFront hosted by Digitas and its brand content business, The Third Act.

Typically, 200 or more people create and submit videos in response to a Current creative brief or assignment to produce a so-called viewer-created advertisement or VCAM.

For one assignment, Current is seeking a video to promote Axe Hair products. "Guys don't want to hear that they have bad hair," the assignment reads. "We're hoping you can help us show guys the truth about what real girls think about their hair. Tell it like it is!"

A person who creates an ad is paid as little as $1,000 if an advertiser decides to evaluate the ad. If an ad is aired on Current, the creator gets $2,500 and if the advertiser decides to air the ad elsewhere, the creator can get up to $60,000, according to Current's Web site.

Gore, former U.S. vice president, pointed out that the Internet is known for the "disintermediation of some long-established functions and entities" and that ad agencies are among those businesses affected by change. "Some agencies are fighting against this trend," he said. "But I'm not sure how long that will be sustainable."

Ad agencies that succeed will be the ones that redefine their roles, focusing instead on helping businesses shepherd brands. "They will make sure there's a consistent protection of brand DNA as it moves from one platform to another. That's one of the new roles for successful agencies," he said.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Primer: How to Use Facebook for Business

What's the best way for a business to participate on Facebook?

Ellie Mirman, inbound marketing manager at software vendor HubSpot, offers some tips for marketers that can be viewed in a Webinar here later this week. (Registration required)

Or you can check out the PowerPoint now -- without the audio -- here on Slideshare.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 2, 2009

And the ClickZ Marketing Excellence Award Winners Are...

Congrats to the winners of ClickZ's Marketing Excellence Awards.

They are:

Ad Management: VideoEgg's AdFrames platform
Analytics Platform: Omniture Online Marketing Suite
E-mail Marketing Tool: ExactTarget Reseller Edition
Mobile Marketing Tool: Eyeblaster Channel Connect for Mobile
Search Ad Management: Kenshoo Search
Social Media Marketing Platform or Tool: Pluck's SiteLife Platform

This year, we received close to 100 entries for six categories. ClickZ and Search Engine Watch editors selected three to four finalists in each category, and then handed off final judging to ClickZ Experts columnists and other trusted marketing professionals.

To learn what judges had to say about the winners, go here.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could Court Decision on Method Patents Matter to Online Ad Industry?

The online ad industry has grown and thrived, in part, some would argue, with the help of business method patents. All sorts of ad tech firms have filed for or received patents on methods for doing all sorts of media and ad-related stuff. But business method patents are controversial and sometimes disputed.

Now, the Supreme Court is considering expansion of patent protections for business methods (think Amazon's one-click purchase system, or ad serving and targeting technologies). According to a Wall Street Journal story, "The high court said it would hear an appeal by two inventors who were seeking to patent a method for hedging weather-based risk in commodities trading. A federal appellate court ruled last year that the method was too abstract to be patented."

The Court was meant to hear the appeal today.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twitter Tips From the Comcast Cable Guy

One question I had for Frank Eliason, director of Comcast's digital care:

Has he ever been tempted to throw up his hands and say, I don't care!

He insists that thought never crosses his mind.

I caught up with Eliason after he spoke at Federated Media's Conversational Marketing Summit on Monday and shared his experiences providing customer service as @comcastcares on Twitter along with his team of 10.

At the summit, he offered these tips for online customer service in a Twitter era:

--Don't forget the personal touch. Each Comcast digital care team members has his and her own Twitter account (e.g., @ComcastBonnie) accompanied by a photo. "You'll see my picture. You do not see a company logo. My picture is my ID," Eliason said.

--Don't avoid blending your personal and professional lives online. For instance, Eliason's @comcastcare account on Twitter includes links to the Comcast blog and his family Web site.

--Don't judge a person by the number of followers he has on Twitter. Because he pumps out so many notes to customers, Eliason understands if some followers tire of his tweets. "I wouldn't follow me, either," he said.

--Follow the stream of tweets related to your business. "We respond to almost every single one of them and say, 'Hey, can I help you?' " he said. The team doesn't provide an answer to a customer the first time around. "We throw the ball into their court (and ask) if they want help. They will let us know."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 1, 2009

The Year the Media Died

When investment banker Terence Kawaja, managing director, GCA Savvian Advisors, decides to leave his day job, he'll have something to fall back on: creating spoof music videos.

At Federated Media's Conversational Marketing Summit (#cmsummit) Monday in NYC, Kawaja showed off his music video, "The Day the Media Died," written to the tune of the 1971 hit, "American Pie."

So far, his video has not popped up on YouTube. When it does, we'll post the link here.

The remake goes something like this:

So bye, bye, those big upfront buys.
Pitched my client who was pliant
But the pitch didn't fly.
And the old ad boys were drinking martinis dry.
Technology has taken us for a ride.
Algorithms got me crossed eye...

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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