Overstock Deserts, Amazon Sues, New York State

Amazon has filed suit against New York in response to a new law requiring online retailers to collect tax from buyers in the state. Rival Overstock took a less complex measure: it has canceled relationships with its 3,400 New York-based affiliates, reports The New York Times. "We can’t afford to have our New York affiliates up online […]

Posted: Friday, May 16th, 2008

Comcast Acquires Social Address Book Plaxo

Cable company Comcast is purchasing Plaxo, a contact management site/social network, reports The Associated Press. Comcast will add Plaxo's social networking functionality to existing sites, including portal Comcast.net and the Fancast video/content site. It will also be integrated into Comcast set-top boxes, though the logistics of that arrangement have not been revealed. The inclusion of Plaxo tools […]

Posted: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

How-To: Launching and Monetizing a Facebook Application

Now that Facebook applications can be put on any website, the time is now to create an app, whether to promote a brand or for your own tactical reference. This is intended as an introduction to researching, creating, launching, advertising, and making money from Facebook applications. Researching your app Be sure to do the proper research on […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Most Gay-Friendly Brands: Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut, Levi's

Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut and Levi's are the gay-friendliest brands. In contrast, Wal-Mart, Dunkin' Donuts, Cracker Barrel, Exxon Mobil and Samsung are the least gay-friendly, according to (pdf) the 2008 Prime Access/PlanetOut Gay and Lesbian Consumer Study, MarketingCharts reports. Two-thirds (68 percent) of gay and lesbian consumers say they are more likely to buy from […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Phorm Still Has a Lot of Public Relations to Do

Despite Phorm's self-styled aggressive stance on user privacy, UK customers remain adamantly distrustful of the service, reports ISPreview. A survey of 1090 ISPreview readers found 57 percent would leave their ISP if it partnered with Phorm to serve targeted advertising. Phorm works with ISPs to track online activity, then creates unique profiles of users interests. Relevant ads […]

Posted: Monday, May 12th, 2008

Network TV Schedules in Trouble, but Audiences Loyal to Content

Consumers are increasingly disenchanted with TV but are nonetheless loyal to favorite programs, demonstrating a marked preference for content over delivery method, according to Accenture's inaugural Global Broadcast Consumer Survey, MarketingCharts writes. Although television remains the predominant mass communications device worldwide, with 97% of respondents watching TV in a typical week, consumption patterns vary based […]

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

MySpace Profiles Follow Users to Twitter, eBay, Elsewhere

Reuters reports that MySpace users will now be able to share information on sites like Twitter, Yahoo and eBay. MySpace users may control what information — such as profile pictures and contact information — gets shared. The move is tied to MySpace's support of OpenSocial, which encourages interoperability of applications and tools between social networks […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 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

AP Launches iPhone-Ready Mobile News Network

The Associated Press (AP) Mobile News Network launched today. iPhone users may download an "optimized" version at the App Store. Built on Verve Wireless technology and comprised of over 100 news publishers, Mobile News Network topics include breaking news, sports, entertainment and business. The iPhone App enables users to sift through photo galleries and watch video coverage. […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

Yahoo Exposes Cars.com to 'We Sell, You Sell' Model

Yahoo hopes to broaden its business relationship with Cars.com as it expands its power in vertical-friendly sites. The elaborated Cars.com liaison would follow Yahoo's newspaper consortium model: each party may sell inventory on another's site. Yahoo calls this the "We sell, you sell" model. This will broaden the advertising opportunities on Yahoo's recently-launched AMP ad platform. It […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

Nielsen: Top Sites Benefit from Mobile Web

A report from Nielsen finds top websites benefit from the growth of mobile-accessed Internet, reports Brandweek. Nielsen's study found a major site's audience can increase by an average of 13 percent with the inclusion of mobile-friendly websites. For niche or specialty sites, growth can be even greater. Weather and entertainment sites saw 22 percent growth. And sites […]

Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008

How-To: 10 Tips for Launching a Solid Podcast

Campaign studies by Podtrac and TNS found podcast advertising is three times as effective as "traditional" online advertising, and seven times more so than TV ads. In 2007, podcasts served 18.5 million users in the US — a figure projected to rise to 65 million by 2012 (eMarketer). These tips for launching an engaging podcast will help […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

CRM Suite Helps SMBs Better Address Disgruntled Yelpers

Yelp has launched a set of tools that enable firms to nurture relationships on the popular review site — whose sip-and-tell clientele have likely burned as many small businesses as they have helped. The suite is available at biz.yelp.com. Business owners may: - Update business information - Directly message users that have reviewed their business - Set alerts for […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 30th, 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

Gannett, Meredith Tap Ripple6 to Build Indie Music, Recipe Communities

Social network technology provider Ripple6 has found two new customers in publishers Gannett and and Meredith. Gannett shall use Ripple6 to build a community for supporting local, independent and unsigned bands. Users can vote on which songs they want to hear on the radio. Existing websites with a similar ethos include IndieSolo, which launched late last […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

WOM Research: Moms Buzz about Brands

New and expecting mothers have over 109 word-of-mouth conversations per week about products, services and brands. Most brands are discussed in a positive context and are considered highly credible by other moms, according to a Keller Fay study conducted for BabyCenter, MarketingCharts writes. Per day, the group engages in one-third more word-of-mouth (WOM) conversation than the […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Consumers Return to Online Shopping Sites That Embrace Web 2.0

With consumers continuing to spend briskly online, and social websites aggregating ever-larger numbers of participants, the twain - online shopping and social networking - may finally be meeting, according to a nationwide survey from Guidance and Synovate, writes MarketingCharts. In the new survey, more than 60 percent of respondents report being drawn to online retailers […]

Posted: Friday, April 18th, 2008

Segway Launches Enthusiast Community

Segway, a vendor of pricey electric scooters, has launched a site devoted to fostering its community of passionate users. Segway Social allows scooter owners to share war stories and photos. Much like the Harley Club, users are encouraged to organize groups and arrange local get-togethers to foster community and brand loyalty. Segway's agency Plaid says smaller fan […]

Posted: Thursday, April 17th, 2008

Churn Happens as Marketers Fail to Leverage Customer Data, Analytics

Lack of customer data sharing, integration and insight is undermining competitiveness, retention rates, revenue and profitability among global marketers, according to a new study from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, writes MarketingCharts. Conducted in late 2007 and early 2008, the audit of more than 450 marketers across the globe found a significant lack of […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 16th, 2008