Yahoo Responds to Icahn While Constructing Google Deal

Yahoo has issued a formal response to investor Carl Icahn, who announced his intent to oust the company's board. The search company attracted Icahn's mad eye when it rejected Microsoft's takeover bid, even after Ballmer raised the offer price. "A fair-minded review of the factual record leads to one conclusion: that Yahoo!’s ten-member board, comprised of nine […]

Posted: Friday, May 16th, 2008

Lou Reed Takes a Walk on the Sirius Side

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lou Reed is joining Sirius to host his own weekly radio show, beginning Saturday, May 17 at 6 pm, reports MediaBuyerPlanner. Reed will co-host the show, Lou Reed’s New York Shuffle, with music producer Hal Willner, who recently collaborated with him on concert film Berlin. The show will play an […]

Posted: Friday, May 16th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/18/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Online video site OVGuide.com selected DoubleClick's Dart for Publishers to sell ad inventory on the site. comScore Arbitron provide Online Radio Ratings for TargetSpot's 600 radio station partners. Agencies and Marketing Execs: Former Yahoo VP of political advertising Richard Kosinski has moved to Westwood One, where he will head digital news, sports and talk products. Tribal […]

Posted: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Carl Icahn Takes Yahoo's Matters into His Own Hands

Maverick investor Carl Icahn is preparing to mount a proxy bid for Yahoo, reports The Wall Street Journal. Since Microsoft withdrew its bid for the company, Icahn has purchased 50 million Yahoo shares. He is expected to try erecting his own replacement board. Icahn is known for inspiring companies to make "better" business decisions by threatening […]

Posted: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Networks Mull Options for Squeezing Cash Out of Online TV

While online audiences grow for its shows, ad revenue has not kept pace, said Jeff Zucker in an interview with the Financial Times. Changes in ad sales and delivery are crucial to monetizing online streaming, Zucker said, and grow more necessary as traditional ratings decline. With the exception of the CW, networks now appear to take it […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Nokia to Reposition as 'Internet Company'

At Nokia's shareholders meeting last week, CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told investors the company would like to act "more like an internet company" than a "traditional manufacturer." "Companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft are not our traditional competitors, but they are major forces that must be reckoned with," Kallasvuo added. According to Ars Technica, the handheld-centric firm […]

Posted: Monday, May 12th, 2008

Photo Retoucher Defends Integrity of Dove 'Real Beauty' Campaign

A quote from a photo retoucher for Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has generated questions about how "real" any of the beauties actually were. In the May 12 issue of the New Yorker, Pascal Dangin — photo retoucher for Annie Leibovitz, who created the Real Beauty ads for Dove and Ogilvy — said this with regard […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Bill Gates Pursues Greener Pastures in 'Growth,' Sergey Brin Gloats

Following the withdrawal of its Yahoo bid, Bill Gates says Microsoft will focus on growing its online ad and search businesses. The Associated Press reports Gates express confidence about Microsoft's ability to compete against Google, which, he admits, has a "strong lead" in search and advertising. Microsoft is now rumored to be pursuing Facebook. And while Gates […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Beware the Ides of Proprietary Rich Media Platforms, Mozilla Warns

Proprietary rich media techologies, such as Flash and Silverlight, threaten the open nature of the internet, warned the founder of Mozilla Europe this week. Mozilla's Tristan Nitot made the statements at London's Internet World conference on Tuesday, ZDNet reports. With upcoming revision of the HTML specification, HTML 5, Nitot said technology like Flash and Silverlight will no […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/8/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: DoubleClick introduced a widget calculating tool that tells advertisers how much weight their widgets are pulling among users. Agencies and Execs: DG FastChannel and Enliven Marketing Technologies Corp. plan to merge in a deal valued at $98 million. Havas Media acquired interactive firm archibald ingall stretton and will integrate it into the agency. Larry Gerbrandt left […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

NBCU Debuts Multi-Platform Women's Network, Props Zalaznick Up Top

Lauren Zalaznick has been made president of women and lifestyle entertainment at NBCU. Properties under her jurisdiction include iVillage, Oxygen and TV show The Biggest Loser. News of her promotion occurred in tangent with the creation of Women@NBC. This division will consist of all female-targeting efforts at NBCU. Women@NBC is a single interaction point where advertisers can […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/6/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Rise in revenue from its ad network were just enough to offset drops elsewhere at AOL. Analytics platform Media6Degrees raised $2 million in financing from Coriolis Ventures. Blinkx is licensing a toolset called Advanced Media Platform to publishers. The platform lets users manage video search ad inventory. New deals with both BlueLithium and Marchex will […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/1/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: MediaBank released v2.0 of its analytics platform, adding widgets and other new formats into the system, and decreasing reliance on manual information entry. One True Media is adding Spot Mixer, a DIY video ad creation tool, to its arsenal. Google might relaunch MeasureMap, a blog analytics service it has quietly owned, as an add-on […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/29/08

Ad Buying, Planning and Selling: Media service agency KSL Media is launching eWorld Asset Trading, allowing for the bartering of surplus for ad inventory. Emmis Communications is opening its Emmis Interactive online ad production and sales unit to other radio stations. It's already signed a Pittsburgh broadcaster as its first outside client. Ad Networks and Analytics: Video ad network […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

Subject Line, 'From' Address Crucial to Email Marketing

An email's subject line and "from" address are "the most important factors" for getting users to open an email. The revelation was made by Louise Rijk of Advanced Media Productions, writing for the UK-based Worcester Business Journal. She advised subject lines be eye-catching and less than 70 characters. As mentioned in MarketingVOX's "13 Tips for Effective Email […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Rumor: Ballmer May Raise Yahoo Offer on the Quiet

As the US Justice Department quietly roves the antitrust status of the Yahoo/Google sponsored search liaison, CEO Steve Ballmer told conference-goers in Milan, Italy that Microsoft is "prepared to go forward without a merger." "We are offering a lot of money," Ballmer said. "If Yahoo!'s shareholders like it, that's great." Microsoft's takeover bid for Yahoo stands at […]

Posted: Friday, April 25th, 2008

Chief Architect, VP of Engineering Leave Twitter … Mostly with Questions About Its Future

Lead architect Blaine Cook and VP of engineering Lee Mighdoll have left Twitter, writes Silicon Alley Insider. In Cook's case the parting was reportedly amicable; Mighdoll was hired just three months ago. The departures may serve as opportunities for Twitter to add a "scalability guru" to its ranks, which may help realize its potential as a […]

Posted: Friday, April 25th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/22/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Increased targeting, and reasonable prices (compared with direct buying), play roles in the growth of ad networks amidst a crippled US economy. The Travel Ad Network, which has several high-profile publisher partners, raised $15 million in its first big round of financing. IdentifiedHits is a new ad network on Facebook that does for […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Barack Obama Takes Lion's Share of Online Video Viewerships

Barack Obama enjoyed the highest number of online video viewers in March, compared to other presidential candidates, reports Nielsen Online. The research group reported "very little viewer overlap" between candidates, suggesting watchers have already committed to whom they plan to vote for. All told, Obama's website drew 518,000 unique visitors in March alone. Hillary Clinton lagged significantly […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/17/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Tremor Media has launched Acudeo, a video ad delivery platform that gives publishers control over when and where ads appear in videos. Buddy Media announced the creation of a "social media ad network" open to select developers of Facebook and OpenSocial applictions. IAC is rolling out its HealthCentral ad network, using the site it […]

Posted: Thursday, April 17th, 2008