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October 25, 2009 - October 31, 2009

October 29, 2009

NJ Candidate Daggett Campaign Says Can't Reach Voters Online

If you think Obama's campaign changed everything and from now on political campaigns will never again question the value of using online ads to reach voters, build lists, or generate donations, think again.

The campaign team behind New Jersey independent dark horse candidate for governor, Chris Daggett aren't spending on Web ads. Yet, as Daggett has gained momentum among disillusioned Jersey voters, the opportunity has come -- and less than a week till the election -- nearly gone, to be there through advertising when people search for more info on Daggett, or read articles mentioning the candidate.

As former McCain campaign search ad guy Eric Frenchman put it, any momentum Daggett's campaign is experiencing, "doesn't matter" because "He has no online marketing." He goes into detail on his blog.

There's no question that different campaigns require different tactics. However, I rarely speak with any political or advocacy campaign or consultant (and I speak to them often) who doesn't see search advertising or other forms of online advertising as an important part of any campaign.

But, then again, I tend to talk to people who understand the Web, rather than traditional media consultants, some of whom still operate the way they did pre-Internet. (Which, by the way, serves them well because they tend to take home a nice slice of the TV media spend for their commissions.)

So, I'm not accustomed to hearing things like the Daggett campaign apparently has from its media consultants, as noted in a comment on Frenchman's post. This is from "Ali," who works for the campaign:

"From our research, we have discovered that NJ voters are primarily reachable via TV and other media -- not internet -- and that is why we have focused our efforts where we have. I can imagine you have strong opinions as to how we should be using our money, but actually the media company who has led every successful independent in this country is spearheading our efforts, so we are deferring to the experts."
So, think 2008 changed everything? As I demonstrated in the title of my book on the subject of paid digital media efforts of the '08 presidential campaigns, it was only "A Turning Point for Digital Media."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yahoo, Microsoft Delay Search Deal Signing

Yahoo filed an extension last night to its self-imposed deadline for signing the pending search deal with Microsoft. When the deal was announced on July 29, the companies expected to complete the deal by October 27, but that didn't happen.

During its analyst day presentations yesterday, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told financial analysts not to worry about the move, insisting it was just a matter of "running out of time."

"It's a 10-year agreement, so we'd like to get it right up-front," Bartz said. She said the delay should not impact the timelines Yahoo and Microsoft expect for regulatory approval.

According to the Form 8-K filing:

The Letter Agreement specified that the parties would execute Definitive Agreements by October 27, 2009, but given the complex nature of the transaction, there remain some details to be finalized. The parties are working diligently on finalizing the agreements, have made good progress to date, and have agreed to execute the agreements as expeditiously as possible.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

October 27, 2009

Banner Ad Turns 15, Earns Learner's Permit

On this day in 1994, HotWired.com made Internet history by becoming the first online publisher to display a banner ad. The unit was 468 x 60 pixels and was purchased by either Volvo, MCI, Club Med, Zima, 1-800-Collect or AT&T, all of which reportedly bought ad space that fateful day. The AT&T version above asked/promised, "Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will."

If the copywriter were given a do-over today, he or she might change the line to, "You will, for a few years anyway."

To say the banner ad has had an ignominious childhood and adolescence is to understate consumers' loathing for it. The format has been equated with deception and sleaze to such an extent that it's reputation today is worse than any other ad medium suffered at a similar stage of development. To make matters worse, the effectiveness of display ads has steadily declined on nearly every metric: click rates, interaction rates, brand recall, you name it.

Of course banners have had a few good moments along the way. Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign broke ground by synchronizing ad space on NYTimes.com. IBM brought live video chat to banner space. GE, American Express, and Pringles also come to mind as great banner ad brands.

And luckily, the banner's fortunes are bound to improve. No sane person would argue display advertising is endangered, however much they may hate IAB standard formats. More to the point: The past year or two have brought some striking developments in display media, which collectively promise to help this awkward teenager finally learn to drive like an upstanding medium.

A sampling of those developments, as reported on ClickZ:

-IAB Seeks Creative Rebirth for Banner Ads
-OPA Hopes to Spur Greater Creativity with New Ad Units
-Agencies Break Away From Ad Networks
-Google's Ad Exchange Opens for Business
-Study: Financial Display Ads Need More Human Touch

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Online Advertisers Misbeshavin'

Sadly, most of us have grown accustomed to seeing some pretty nasty images in online ads. Flabby bellies, yellow teeth, dominatrix chickens.

Well, I may have stumbled on the most bizarre, indeed grossest image yet. Today, while doing research on Facebook for a story (believe it or not, I actually do story research there), I stumbled upon a woman shaving.

Not her legs. Not her underarms. Not her...um...Her face!

OK, now unfortunately I've heard about some women doing this, but do I really need the pictorial?

We can thank American Laser Centers for this ad, which links to a lead gen page promoting free laser hair removal.

Oh, and please excuse my headline. I guess I've been inspired by the New York Post.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Gawker Falls Prey to Malvertising Scheme

Gawker Scammed By Malware Crew Pretending To Be Suzuki Ad scam is similar to one put over on the New York Times recently. Take an extra few minutes to read the WHOLE thread and comments section. (Business Insider)

Wall Street optimistic on ad outlook (Hollywood Reporter)

TopTenReviews Buys Space.com Tech product review site now owns Space.com, LiveScience.com and Newsarama.com after deal with consumer media division of Imaginova Inc.

Tourism Queensland disses 'Best Job' shop Agency behind winningest campaign at Cannes Lions is snubbed. (AdFreak)

Online Rally May Sidestep Newspapers (NYTimes.com)

Publicis sees better Q4 after Q3 sales fall (Reuters)

IAC Reports Profit but Ad Revenue Slips (NYTimes.com

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 26, 2009

AOL May be Building a Cheap Content Factory

Readers will remember that Tim Armstrong was a founder of Associated Content, a company that funds cheap content on a wide range of topics. The company runs a marketplace that links aspiring writers with sites that pay small sums for content designed to capture search traffic. Armstrong was a founder and early board member, but has since dissociated himself from the firm.

Why is this of interest now? Well, Armstrong appears ready to create a similar content operation at AOL. Speaking on-stage at the Web 2.0 Summit last week, he hinted at a new project.

As reported by CNET, he said, "It's a broader platform with more information around content and the creation of content. We see that platform evolving to a much higher scale."

This morning TechCrunch ran with the ball, reporting that the new project is a "content-management system (CMS) which will make it easier to produce and publish Web content across AOL's sites and perhaps beyond." Among other things, the new system would help AOL employ more contributors to write articles and videos on a range of topics.

While strictly accurate, calling such a system a CMS may be misleading. According to TechCrunch, the platform will track the number of views and the likely monetization for a given piece of content, and will pay freelance contributors based on that information. It goes a lot farther than your average publisher tool.

Associated Media is not the only firm building cheap content with search in mind. For an in-depth look at the complex mechanisms underlying another such company, check out Wired's excellent profile of Demand Media, published earlier this month.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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