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July 2, 2008

Charlene Li to Leave Forrester

Forrester just lost some serious mojo in the all-important digital ad space. Charlene Li, among the most recognized analysts covering digital technology and a special advocate for social media marketing, just announced on her blog that she'd soon move on from the firm to spend more time with her family and consider her next move. July 18th will be her last day on the job.

Along with fellow analyst Jeff Bernoff, Li penned the recent book Groundswell (tagline: "winning in a world transformed by social technologies"), which is currently ranked #6 on Amazon's business books list. She's been frequently interviewed and quoted by reporters here at ClickZ, and we wish her the best.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 1, 2008

McCain Taking Cue from Clinton Camp?

John McCain wants you to "Invest in Victory." According to information gathered by Media Trust, the McCain camp is running ads with a call-to-action reminiscent of the ones Clinton relied on during her run for the presidency. Ads spotted on sites based in swing states including New Hampshire and North Carolina, among other sites, urge supporters to "Invest in Victory, Donate $25."

Display ads from Hillary Clinton's shuttered campaign were almost entirely fundraising-based, suggesting people "Donate $5" or "Donate $50."

Until recently, John McCain for President hasn't taken a blatant fundraising approach in online display ads; rather, the campaign has pushed for people to sign petitions against pork-barrel spending, or sign up to join the campaign. (Using those sign-ups, he then hits up those registrants for donations. Barack Obama's campaign has taken a similar tack.

Check out our Campaign '08 display ad galleries:
Clinton ad gallery
McCain ad gallery
Obama ad gallery

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

AOL, Microsoft, WPP: Top Wheeler Dealers

Marketing executives working with digital media vendors might need a scorecard handy to track who owns who these days.

AOL, Microsoft, and WPP each acquired five marketing, advertising, or digital media companies during the first six months of 2008, according to a report on mergers and acquisitions released today by investment bankers Petsky Prunier.

According to Petsky Prunier's research, the companies making the most acquisitions -- and some of their purchases -- include:

AOL: Bebo, a social networking site; Goowy Media, a widget development platform, and Perfiliate Technologies, an affiliate network.

Microsoft: Farecast.com, an online travel search engine, and Rapt, advertisement management software.

WPP Group: Integrated Media Measurement, which has a media measurement system that links media exposure to consumer action, and Yankelovich, a consumer research company.

Aegis Group: AdWatch, a Russian Internet advertising agency, and Globlet, a Thailand search marketing agency.

Havas Advertising: Kadium, a San Francisco digital ad agency, and Shake, a promotion marketing agency based in Chatham, NJ.

A look at the marketing, advertising, and digital media sectors shows the most money was exchanged for digital media companies. There were 78 transactions involving digital media companies totaling $6.3 billion, the firm reported.

Of those deals involving digital media companies, more than one-half involved user-generated or social media businesses. Those deals included AOL's acquisition of Bebo and Goowy Media, and Buzznet's purchase of Idolator.

In all, the Wall Street firm identified 398 deals valued at $19.7 billion involved marketing, advertising, and digital media companies for the first half of this year. Compared to the same period in 2007, the number of deals was up this year by 21 percent but the total transaction dollar volume was down by 26 percent. It said the drop in the value of transactions was due to two factors: this year's soft economy and two large deals last year with Microsoft's acquisition of aQuantive and Google's purchase of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. (The Google-DoubleClick deal closed earlier this year, but was included by Petsky Prunier in the 2007 tally.)

As expected, no mention of the deal that didn't happen: Microsoft-Yahoo.

Or who's next.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 27, 2008

IAB Membership Extended Way Beyond Publishers

Perusing the Interactive Advertising Bureau's membership pages, I came across a host of companies I was surprised to see, including several non-publisher firms listed as "General Members." I thought general membership (as opposed to associate membership) was exclusive to online publishers. Not so, anymore, I've been told.

According to chief Randall Rothenberg, the group revised its bylaws. Now membership is "open to sellers of interactive advertising inventory."

OK. So how come ad tech companies like Eyeblaster and ISP ad targeting firms NebuAd and Phorm, which serve and target ads rather than selling ads, are general members?

"We're still a sellers' organization," he responded. "But you always have to qualify that by saying there is so much breadth and diversity, the lines aren't as clearly drawn."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 18, 2008

MySpace Redesign: First Takeover Ad is for The Dark Knight

Batman's been made over so many times, in comics, TV and film, that the character is now defined by reinvention. So it's fitting that a MySpace homepage takeover ad for the latest flick in the franchise is the first to accompany the site's big redesign.

Fitting, but not extraordinary. You'd expect MySpace to pull out the stops for its first major ad execution under the new design regime. Instead it has produced a pretty standard backdrop execution consisting of the film's poster art -- which is naturally amazing -- with some flickery motion graphics tossed in to accentuate the image's apocalyptic flames. Oh, and a video with link to The Dark Knight's profile page. Nothing to criticize here, but, well I believe the word for it is "meh." (Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer agrees.)

Having said all that, three cheers for MySpace. Its new design really is a big improvement, and advertisers have already taken notice.

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

June 11, 2008

Webby Awards: Keep it Short and …

The Webby Awards, which honors excellence on the Internet, insists winners adhere to one simple rule when making an acceptance speech: Keep it to five words.

That's an ingredient for keeping things interesting at the event, which took place Tuesday night at Cipriani Wall Street in lower Manhattan.

Take TBWA\Media Arts Lab, which won in the online commercial for category "Don't Give Up on Vista," referring to Microsoft's operating system. "In Steve Jobs we trust," was the agency's poke at the Microsoft rival.

"My second best night ever," cracked Robert Morehouse, creative director from Vermilion. His agency picked up an award in the professional services category for Boulder, CO, based Action Marketing Group's corporate Web site.

For Trapeze, a Toronto, Canada, agency recognized for developing the Ikea Mattress Web site, had this to say, "We enjoyed sleeping with you."

MTV Networks' Nick.com was the People's Voice winner for best youth site. "Sponge Bob is our sugar daddy," said one wag.

"The New York Times" won eight awards, including one for best online newspaper. "Thank you, Elliot Spitzer," said one NYT recipient, referring to New York's governor who resigned after it was revealed he had a tryst with a prostitute.

The Huffington Post was named for best political blog. "President Obama sounds good, right," said Arianna Huffington, the site's editor-in-chief.

Obama was top of mind for another site, FactCheck.org, that checks the accuracy of candidates' statements. "No, Obama's not a Muslim," said FactCheck's designated speaker.

Was it as surprise that Flock, which bills itself as the social Web browser, was a Webby Award winner for social/networking? "No sh*t, we beat Facebook," bragged a Flock executive. Not so fast. Facebook was the People's Voice winner in the same category.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 5, 2008

ClickZ Talks Political Ads on Canada’s Biz News Network

The race for the presidency is so fascinating this election season, even the folks up north in Canada want to know more about it. I had the pleasure of discussing online political advertising by the presidential hopefuls Tuesday night on Canada’s Business News Network (live via satellite from CNN’s studios in New York).

The discussion centered on Barack Obama's online ad spending, much of which ended up going to Google paid search (and some display, though we're not sure how much). Check out the clip. (By the way, ClickZ is actually pronounced "ClickZee," rather than "Clicks" as the esteemed Howard Green says it.)

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 29, 2008

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) | TrackBack

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) | TrackBack

April 29, 2008

Grand Theft Auto: Not the Placement You'd Expect

Rockstar Games released the fourth installation in its Grand Theft Auto franchise today, an d the game's soft porn Web ads are popping up in some odd places. See exhibit above. Two ClickZ reporters spotted this one on the Times home page just now, suggesting its not targeted on behavior.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 21, 2008

ClickZ and Arianna Huffington Tomorrow in NYC!

How's this for cool? I'll be interviewing the one-and-only Arianna Huffington, political pundit extraordinaire and HuffingtonPost co-founder at tomorrow evening's 212 Interactive Ad Club event! Expect a lively talk on online political advertising and related issues (and a standing room only crowd).

As you probably know, in our Campaign '08 section, ClickZ is dedicated to following what the presidential campaigns are doing online, particularly when it comes to advertising.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 10, 2008

Ad-Supported Wi-Fi Coming to NYC Parks?

AnchorFree is in talks to have its advertising service help support free Wi-Fi in some New York City parks.

Mark Smith, AnchorFree chief operating officer, says the company is testing its ad-supported service and network for WiFi Salon.

Marshall Brown, chief executive of WiFi Salon, says it's premature to discuss plans because a deal hasn't been signed.

WiFi Salon, which has a concession from the the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, runs 17 hot spots in city parks, including Union Square, Washington Square, and Central parks. In 2006, WiFi Salon and Nokia started working together to provide the service.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Euro RSCG Creating Creative Commune

Jeff Brooks, who heads Euro RSCG's New York presence, is on a mission not only to un-silo digital from the agencies other operations, but to put digital "at the heart" of every activity and client engagement.

To this end, he's planning to remodel the shop's sizeable New York offices with the goal of putting all the creatives -- from digital to direct to broadcast and print -- on the same floor to foster (or force?) collaboration and interaction.

"There are going to be fights," he admits. "Then they're going to laugh, make up and go out for drinks and dinner together."

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 3, 2008

Southpark: Internet Theoretical Dollars

Trey Parker and Matt Stone were nice enough to the Writer's Guild of America to leave a short waiting period after the end of the writer's strike to riff on the Hollywood standoff. "Southpark" Episode 1204, "Canada On Strike" mirrors the union action with the entire country of Canada picketing until it gains the appreciation of the rest of the world. When asked for what it wants? The WGA: World Canadian Bureau demands: "Money. Those Internet dollars."

The boys post a music video on YouToob and go to what looks like an employment office to collect their money. In the waiting room, they encounter many Internet sensations including Tay Zonday, the Numa Numa guy, and the sneezing baby panda. They were all waiting for their millions in Internet theoretical dollars.

What moral does "Southpark" leave you with? Kyle said, "We thought we could make money on the Internet. But, while the Internet is new and exciting for creative people, it hasn't matured as a distribution mechanism to the extent that warrants a trade of real and immediate income opportunities for the promise of future online revenue. It will be a few years before digital media distribution on the Internet can be monetized to an extent that necessitates content producers to forego their fair value in more traditional media."

Meanwhile at Canada's victory party, Terrance and Phillip, Canada's comic TV duo, point out the cost of the strike to writers, uh Canadians.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 2, 2008

When Web 2.0 Attacks: Modernista!'s Nifty Non-Site Backfires

Everyone loves Modernista's distributed Web presence. The forward thinking site has drawn accolades from all manner of creative types for sending visitors elsewhere in their quest for agency info and client samples. See for yourself. Clicking through ought to keep you here but with the addition a red navigation widget in the upper left corner. The menu taxonomy consists of links to a Wikipedia entry on the firm, client creative hosted on Flickr and Yahoo, social bookmarking links and a Facebook presence. Very 2.0. Here's an agency that gets it, is the general view.

Except there's one little snag. Electric Artists CEO Marc Schiller twittered yesterday about a new note on the agency's Wikipedia entry citing the reference site's displeasure with being used as a vehicle for marketing. Here's the huffy objection:

The website for this company obscures our logo with their own, and may lead the viewer to believe that Wikipedia serves as their homepage provider. This is not correct. Wikipedia has no affiliation with Modernista and has requested that Modernista cease this use of our website.

Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia written from a neutral point of view and does not endorse nor condemn Modernista, but is opposed to being used as a promotional mechanism in this manner for any third party.

Not a huge catastrophe for Modernista, but fascinating nevertheless. Just goes to show: even though the ethics of Web 2.0 clearly favor open communication, including linking, the interests of individual players within that ecosystem may still collide violently.

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 1, 2008

April Fools Shocker

The April Fools jokes are piling up on the Web, but the best interactive advertising prank today just might be one that occurred offline. (Admittedly, it's early yet).

Blogads staffers put one over on their boss, Henry Copeland, when the entire staff arrived at the office this morning wearing suits and ties. "I'm in shock," Henry tweeted.

Wonder if anyone at my bank is wearing flipflops and tank tops today? Somehow doubt it.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 25, 2008

DoubleClickers Sow-er Over Facebook Ad

This little piggy got acquired? We may never know who's behind a goofy yet somewhat mean spirited message sent to all DoubleClick employees on Facebook today. Some think it's a Googler who had his or her finger on the ad trigger.

"Hi DoubleClick. Please stop gorging yourselves on all our food," reads the ad message, accompanied by a cartoon image of a slovenly piggy. It ends, "Maybe we won't fire you. Thanks." Ouch. The ad may be a reference to the integration of the two firms, particularly at Google's famed cafeterias in NY and CA. When a DoubleClicker grabs the last almond crusted pork tenderloin, don't expect a Googler to be happy about it.

No matter who the culprit is, the ad evidently has ruffled the feathers -- or perhaps crisped the skin -- of a few DoubleClick staffers.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 19, 2008

Click Campaign '08 on Marketplace

If you didn't hear, American Public Media's Marketplace Morning Report ran a brief piece on online political advertising, for which I was interviewed.

Check it out, and if you're into the political thing, make sure to keep an eye on our regular coverage of the online presidential campaigns in our Campaign '08 section. Better yet, sign up for the dedicated ClickZ Campaign '08 RSS feed!

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

March 9, 2008

Wiki-ize Your Intranet

"What if you could let anybody talk to anybody in an organization?" asked Forrester's Charlene Li at her talk at SXSW today, entitled "Social Strategies for Revolution."

Charlene proposed a perfectly simple idea and thoroughly smart idea for fostering communication within organizations -- with minimal investment: throw out your Intranet and replace it with a wiki.

In addition to increasing collaboration and the spread of ideas across department, Li advocates the strategy to stem the tide of internal e-mailing. Not a bad idea at all.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 26, 2008

ClickZ at Politics Online Conference Next Week

As you may know, ClickZ News has been dedicated to covering the online presidential campaign ads in our Campaign '08 section. And next week, I'll have the pleasure of talking shop in D.C. with others involved with and tracking this emerging ad vertical at the annual Politics Online conference.

Online political ad expert (I don't throw around the 'expert' term lightly), Michael Bassik, VP of Internet Advertising at political consulting firm MSHC Partners will be leading a panel on "Online Political Advertising and the 2008 Election" on Wednesday. We'll chat with online ad research folks Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates and Patrick Quinn of PQ Media, firms that have each put out forecasts of online political ad spending recently.

It's amazing how over the past few years events like Politics Online (commonly referred to by insiders as IPDI after the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University, the show's host) have grown. No longer is it just the evangelists who attend these events, but all sorts of folks involved in politics, of all political stripes.

If you'll be there and want to meet up Wednesday, let me know! Email me.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 12, 2008

Check Out the New ClickZ Job Board

You asked for it, you got it.

Today, we launched the ClickZ Job Board, mostly because you readers have been asking for that particular feature for quite some time.

So check it out if you're looking for a new gig in interactive marketing or advertising, if you're an employer looking for help, or even if you just want to post your résumé, sit back, and see if opportunity knocks.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 5, 2008

ClickZ on SignOnRadio's Digital Politics Tomorrow

Just a heads up: I'll be appearing on SignOnRadio's Digital Politics show tomorrow along with Michael Cornfield, VP, Research and Media Strategy at 720 Strategies, a D.C.-based public persuasion firm. Michael and I co-authored a chapter on online political advertising for an upcoming academic book, and we'll be discussing that very subject on the show. You can actually read that masterpiece here.

The hour-long show is hosted by longtime online politics advocate, Karen Jagoda, co-founder and president of E-Voter Institute, a trade group representing Web publishers and political solution providers.

Listen online tomorrow at 6:30 pm Eastern, 3:30pm Pacific, or if you miss it, check out the archive!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 31, 2008

Agency Gives 'Heartbreak Leave" Benefits

Employees at Tokyo-based Hime & Company have a few new perks making the news. Reuters reports the marketing agency offers "heartbreak leave" so its staff can take time to get over a break-up. Staff under 24 are eligible for one day per year, two days for those between 25 and 29, and three for older workers. Agency employees also get two mornings per year off to go shopping.

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 28, 2008

Ad Supported Music Player Qtrax Launches Amidst a Fervor of Deal Denials

Another free music download service officially opened its doors over the weekend, and already the hubbub over just how many songs will be available for download and from which record labels is threatening to overshadow any traction it might have seen as an advertising platform. Qtrax is the latest contender to join the likes of SpiralFrog and Napster in offering ad supported music downloads.

The beta version of the site promises over 25,000,000 songs and other material from artists like the Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz, but Qtrax may be making some legally questionable claims. Last April, Allan Klepfisz, CEO of Qtrax parent Brilliant Technologies, told ClickZ the company had signed on the music catalogs of three major labels. With the official launch however, Warner, EMI and Universal have all denied inking a deal. Sony-BMG was also referenced by Qtrax but it too denies approving a music sharing deal.

Qtrax is apparently still in talks with the labels, but it's clear that at least until the contracts are finally signed the advertising opportunities available via the service will remain in question.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 17, 2008

Australian Gov't Official Opens Book on Cybercrime

Cybercrime might not have direct ties to digital advertising, though the individuals and syndicates behind malicious intent on the Web are a threat to how Internet users view ads on the Web. With implications of adware and Web-borne infections using ads as a vector to infect computers to infect computers, it's important to know what's happening and how to protect ad creative, networks, servers, and computers.

Australian federal agent Nigel Phair has written a book with the experience of his 18 years on the police force. "Cybercrime: The Reality of the Threat" is available on Amazon.com and answers questions about what's lurking on the Net. It's aimed at the consumer, but there's takeaway information on what's out there that any online marketer can find value in.

Posted by Enid Burns at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Time Warner Cable to Kill Video Advertising?

This can't portend well for video advertising, or for sites and portals that sell video ads (are you listening, AOL?).

Time Warner Cable just announced they'll be rolling out a sort of pay-as-you-go plan for broadband subscribers. Rather than the usual all-you-can-eat monthly package, they're going to experiment with "tiered levels of service based on how much data [consumers] download per month, rather than the usual fixed-price packages with unlimited downloads."

Pricing information is as yet unavailable, but aside from the fact TWC is obviously targeting users of P2P file sharing services, they're also going after users who download (or stream?) large amounts of video.

Well, that's just ducky for online video advertisers and the publishers, sites and portals who sell video inventory. Time Warner-owned AOL certainly comes to mind. Train consumers to equate online video usage to going on a meter -- rather like making long-distance landline calls or filling up at the gas pump -- and they're likely to think twice before hitting that play button, no?

Initially the trial will only affect new TWC subscribers in Beaumont, Texas. A quick search indicates the populace there -- thankfully -- has other ISP options.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 15, 2008

A Call from Paris: Hot or Not?

Paris Hilton wants your number.

To promote her new film, The Hottie and the Nottie, which opens next month, Paris Hilton wants to call you. Not once, but an undisclosed number of times to remind you to see it.

Visit the film's Web site and you're asked to supply a mobile or landline number, together with your Zip Code. You'd expect a localized message with this information, but when Paris called back seconds after supplying the data, she just wanted to remind me to see the pic. I have a feeling subsequent calls may contain local theatre information closer to the opening date.

Voice marketing provider Vontoo is powering the backend of the vox initiative.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 14, 2008

Flip.com Cuts Staff, Joins Undead Pool

CondéNet has slashed the headcount at Flip.com, its self-expression site for teen girls, from 18 to two. Yet despite having been dealt what would seem a killing blow, the venture hopes to find new life as a content sharing application on social networking platforms. As such, I guess you could say it officially joins the undead pool, where it will no doubt swim groaning, rigor mortis-hindered laps alongside the Facebook mainstay Zombies app.

When it launched a year ago, Flip.com was showered with media attention, including from this publication. The site's core product is a set of multimedia creation tools allowing its mostly teen visitors to create "flipbooks" -- actually slide shows that use a nifty page turning animation between screens. Flip users have created approximately 82,000 flipbooks in the past year, CondéNet said, and the site's reported unique monthly audience is around 300,000.

CondéNet began courting advertisers with the new venture very early… as much as eight months before Flip.com actually launched in February 2007. J&J's Clean & Clear was the site's first advertiser through its agency OMD Digital. Under the launch sponsorship, the acne cream brand tested most of the site's available formats, including run of site banners and sponsored creative assets teens could incorporate into their slide shows.

Flip.com continue to have a standalone Web site, but all its resources (such as they are) will go toward the app strategy and associated ad products. Who knows, that may turn out to be a smart move given the trend toward portability of Web content and services. But it's hard to imagine the project will accomplish much with such a tiny staff.

"We will have probably two headcount on it -- but it might be 'pieces' of several people as opposed to two individuals," Sarah Chubb, president of CondéNet, said in an e-mailed statement.

Chubb said ad details for the widget strategy will follow.

"We have advertisers now and are moving ahead with what needs to shift given this change," she added. "It is our intention to offer smart ad packages for this iteration of flip, as we did for the original version."

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 2, 2008

Feds Offer $40 Coupons for Digital TV Converter Boxes

TV owners who rely on analog sets for over-the-air programming will get an assist to move into the digital era and avoid losing service.

Starting today, consumers can apply to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to obtain a $40 coupon for the purchase of a digital converter box. Each household can obtain up to two coupons for two boxes, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Digital television holds the promise of providing enhanced programming and increased interactive capabilities for content providers and advertisers.

On February 17, 2009, television broadcast stations are required by law to cease using analog formats and switch to digital.

Consumers who don't want to go through the trouble of adding a converter box have three options: purchase a television with a digital tuner, subscribe to cable or satellite TV service, or permanently disconnect the tube.

Up to 33.5 million coupons will be available under the $1.5 billion federally funded program. Last year, Consumers Union warned that the program would be under funded and intentionally difficult for consumers to use.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 27, 2007

Isobar Extends in Europe with Extenseo Acquisition

Already one of the largest digital advertising services firms, Aegis Group is expanding its European presence with the acquisition of Extenseo, a search marketing agency in Belgium. The 10-year-old marketing agency will be added to the Isobar search network and renamed iProspect. The original iProspect was acquired by Aegis Group in 2004, and the brand has been expanded to 12 countries, according to the company. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 14, 2007

Save the Date! "Meatball Sundae" Webcast with Seth Godin

We know you guys love Seth Godin (who doesn't?). You nominate his blog for ClickZ's annual Marketing Excellence Award every year -- and it's won. Twice.

As a marketer, Seth's brilliance borders on the uncanny. He's an unparalleled public speaker and a prolific author. And we're delighted to announced that on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST we'll be presenting a Webcast featuring Seth on the topic How Do You Avoid the Meatball Sundae? in conjunction with the release of his latest book, Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?

You owe it to yourself to catch this Webcast, so sign up now while you're thinking about it -- before you take off for the holidays.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 11, 2007

Happy Little Elves

Apparently it's a good time to be an elf. According the folks over at OfficeMax, EVB and Toy, their Elf Yourself microsite has been getting a lot of use. In the past three weeks since the site was launched, 41 million people have created elves. That's compared to the 11 million elves created over the entire five week run of the site last holiday season. This year they've clocked the elf creation at a rate of 35 elves per second. Busy, busy elves.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 10, 2007

NYTimes.com Still Running Pop-ups

Pop-ups don't get anywhere near the attention from the trade media or industry pundits and research firms the way they used to a few years ago. But that doesn't mean they're not still around, and on big name sites, too. I just clicked through from The NY Times Advertising section RSS feed to a story about how ads are glorifying revolutionary images from the 60s. When the page loaded, this ad for a Starwood Hotels credit card appeared.

Sure, this wasn't the homepage or a section main page, but it was an article published today, not archival content that would be considered remnant inventory.

Are pop-ups still considered valuable to advertisers and publishers? Of course, and if they're frequency-capped, and publishers don't get greedy in terms of serving up too many of them, I suppose they can be of value to some consumers, as well...maybe.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 5, 2007

Valueclick Still Touts Lead Gen , Would Love to Own DoubleClick's Performics

Valueclick spent a lot of time talking up its lead gen business during yesterday's talk at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in NYC, despite the investigation of that very portion of their operation by the Federal Trade Commission.

Valuecleck is a "significant leader in lead generation," said the company's Chief Administrative Officer Sam Paisley.

While he spent most of his time describing various facets of the firm's services, including affiliate marketing management and ad management, Paisley did hint at what may be a result of its discussions with the FTC. In alluding to its FreeGroceryCard.com site, which offers consumers $100 gift cards in exchange for divulging personal information, he said, "It's clear to the consumer that this offer is not unconditional, but it's conditioned on their participation in advertiser programs."

According to the terms and conditions on FreeGroceryCard.com, "To receive the incentive gift you must: 1) Register with valid information; 2) Complete the user survey; and 3) Complete at least one (1) Silver offer, one (1) Gold offer, and one (1) Platinum offer. Purchase may be required. Please read Terms & Conditions for details. Upon completion of all requirements, we will ship the incentive gift to you with free shipping."

I don't know when this notification was added to the site, but if anything, it gives us a glimpse into the type of information that lead gen advertisers might be expected to present (prominently) alongside offers, as a result of the FTC's ongoing investigation. The commission announced its settlement with Adteractive last week, and the culmination of the Valueclick inspection is anticipated, too.

No one's sure when though. "We haven't really talked about any time frame because the Federal government hasn't been kind enough to share that with us," said Paisley of the FTC investigation. Still, he added, "We do feel that once we're clear with the FTC, that [lead gen] business will continue to be a part of our offering." The company expects a fine that won't be large enough to affect its balance sheet.

Paisley stressed Valueclick's lone position as the last independent major ad management platform if Google's acquisition of DoubleClick goes through (an FTC decision is expected soon). If it is eventually approved here and in Europe, it's likely that DoubleClick would shed its Performics SEM business, which would create conflicts of interest with its new parent company. In that case, said Paisley in response to a question from the audience, Valueclick would be interested in snapping up Performics.

"We would want to be on the short list of people" considered for the deal, he said.

And more acquisitions could follow. The company wants to "own and control more traffic," said Paisley, noting it may set its sights on comparison shopping sites. The goal, potentially, would be to use data gathered on such sites for behavioral targeting throughout the Valueclick network.

The firm also expects to continue its expansion into Asia.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 26, 2007

Class A Classmates Shares

Everybody's favorite online advertiser (besides LowerMyBills) is going public. Maybe those investment dollars will help Classmates Media modernize the tired ad creative it's been using for so many years.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 9, 2007

FLA Investigation Target W3i Says Hasn't Heard from AG

While AzoogleAds has agreed to cough up $1 million to the Florida Attorney General's office following a civil investigation of its online ad practices, there are several other firms under investigation by the state's new CyberFraud Task Force.

One, according to the Office's Web site, is W3i. After contacting all companies mentioned in our story published yesterday (Think Partnership, Intermark Media, Media Breakaway, Verisign-owned m-Qube, Traffix and W3i), I've only heard back from W3i. The company is under civil investigation by the AG's office for alleged use of deceptive co-registration paths to enroll consumers in monthly subscription plans. Co-reg is a common technique employed in lead generation campaigns.

I spoke this morning to Hayden Creque, W3i's VP and general counsel. He said the firm is aware of the information contained on the Florida Attorney General's Office site, but W3i has not been contacted by the AG's office.

"It'll be our policy to cooperate with the Attorney General's office if they contact us," he told me, adding, "I've made no efforts to contact them."

Stay tuned....

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November 1, 2007

Call for Donations: a Benefit for New York Kids

On November 6 Youth I.N.C. is holding a benefit for New York Kids. The benefit is specifically for CampInteractive, an organization with the mission to bridge the digital divide. Industry consultant Sara Holoubek has pledged to match donations from the interactive community up to a cumulative $5,000 contributed by November 6.

If you would like to donate, here's a few simple instructions:

1. Make a secure donation in the name of CampInteractive from the Celebration to Benefit New York Kids website.
2. Click on "Donate Now" on the right-hand side, or click here.
3. If you'd like to attend the event, select a package or indicate the number of tickets.
4. If you can't make it, select "other" and specify donation amount.
5. Make sure to select "CampInteractive" in the drop down.
6. Contact saraholoubek (at) gmail.com so she can match your contribution.

Posted by Enid Burns at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 31, 2007

Kentucky 527 Group Buys Big Online

Who says 527s aren't advertising online yet this election season?

A 527 group formed earlier this year is taking aim at Republican Governor of Kentucky Ernie Fletcher through a $60,000 video ad buy. The Bluegrass Freedom Fund, which aims to “encourage a public discussion about education, jobs, healthcare, and other issues,” is using expandable video ads showing a TV commercial that calls out alleged corruption in the Fletcher administration.

The :30 ad expands to display a form for submitting a name and e-mail address to sign a petition demanding that “the governor and legislature pass real ethics reform.”

My source on the campaign said the ads have run on Courier-Journal.com, Kentucky.com, WKYT.com, BGDailyNews.com, and have been geo-targeted to Kentucky users on Cincinnati.com. Non-video banners are also running on blogs like Page One Kentucky and others.

As of last week, over 2 million of the ads had been served, and 52 percent of those who were served the ad interacted with it. The commercial video had been viewed in full 37 percent of the time.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 29, 2007

MSLO Names Three Execs, Signals Upcoming Online Changes

Expect Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to make a bigger impact in online before too long. Under MSLO President of Media Wenda Harris Millard's leadership the company named Jacki Kelley EVP of Media Sales, Lee Heffernan SVP of integrated marketing, and Tom Barreca SVP of digital and emerging media. A statement from the company states, "All three executives bring a broad range of media experience to MSLO as the company expands its multimedia footprint." While the release teases of major enhancements to come, MSLO execs aren't yet ready to talk about what those are.

The hires in themselves attract some attention Jacki Kelley comes from Yahoo, where she was VP of worldwide sales strategies and solutions. As Millard herself was at Yahoo not too long ago, it follows a long succession of executives exiting the major Internet company. Heffernan has worked with MSLO as a consultant, and Barreca was previously EVP of WWE Enterprises.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 25, 2007

Two Views of Advertising's Future

Author and academic Douglas Rushkoff sounded a wake-up call to advertisers and marketers: your business will be dead unless you work with companies and products that produce exciting products that inspire you.

Likewise, David Weinberger, co-author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto" and a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Institute for Internet and Society, said companies can no longer control and manage product marketing. "Real marketing [that's] people talking with one another," he said, referring to social media. "We need to respect these conversations, honor them. Not intrude."

Rushkoff and Weinberger discussed advertising's past and prognosticated on its future on Wednesday at a ClickZ 10th anniversary dinner and awards ceremony celebrating a decade of innovation and excellence in online marketing and advertising.

Rushkoff exhorted marketers to convince their clients to come up with compelling products. "Teach them how to get back into the business they are in," he said. "Then you don't have to make up a story about them."

While the broadcast advertising model is based on developing one message for many, Weinberger said that's a dangerous model. "By having more generic messages, you end up dumbing down messages. That's disastrous in the political sphere…it's a disaster for democracy," he warned.

Rebecca Lieb, ClickZ's editor-in-chief, looked at interactive's highlights and low points during the decade. Remember when, she said, venture capitalists -- not hedge fund managers -- were rock stars. Or when advertisers had to be reminded to add URLs to print and broadcast campaigns? How about vortals?

"My Dad would get excited when he’d find articles I wrote online. So excited that he’d print them out and mail them to me from his home in Arizona," she said.

On a more serious note, Lieb recognized that the interactive industry survived tough times. "We pulled through. The industry pulled through. You pulled through, too. And now, we're mainstream, not margin," she said.

For "ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards: The First Decade," Google was named "Innovation of the Decade." Other awards were given for best products, services, businesses, and people who made the most significant overall contribution to the industry.

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