|
|
|
Home »
Archives »
January 2005
« Previous Entries ·
2004 Browser Redux Resurrects Browser War ProspectsCNET gathered together its extensive coverage of new browser developments in 2004, making the case that a new "browser war" is brewing, much like the one that dominated CNET's coverage back in its heyday. Microsoft, which has not updated its... continue reading »Government More Active Against DMersAn analysis of the legal issues facing the direct marketing industry appearing in DM News shows that state and federal government regulators seem to be cracking down on the industry. Some patterns emerging include the requirement for more explicit opt-in,... continue reading »Pew: Blogs Becoming Mainstream Sites, RSS Hits RadarPaidContent summarizes data collected by the Pew Internet & American Life Project showing that blogs are becoming a mainstream source of information and discussion. Fully 27 percent of those surveyed said they read blogs, up from 17 percent last February.... continue reading »Some Mitsubishi Dealers Regret Review, Urge CancellationAdWeek reports on the internal debate among Mitsubishi and some of its major dealers as to whether or not the recent announcement of a creative review was a smart idea, given that a great deal of Mitsubishi's poor market performance... continue reading »MSN.com Show Competes Directly Against TV Coverage, Wins SponsorsMSN.com fielded its own video New Years Eve coverage to compete directly against television, according to AdAge. Winning sponsorship from Olympus, Nokia and 1-800-Flowers, MSN presented several different feeds MC'ing the festivities in New York City's Times Square. 1-800-Flowers executive... continue reading »Digitial River Settles Software Delivery Patent SuiteCommerce IQ reports that online sales service provider Digital River settled the patent suit leveled against it by Christopher M. Crawford, alleging infringement of the patent (6,014,651), which covers the sale and delivery of software online. The parties didn't disclose... continue reading »Holiday Cart Amounts Up 12 PercentVeriSign said it saw $8.8 billion in online purchases over the holiday season, claiming roughly a third of online retail purchases and showing a 24 percent growth over last year's figures, according to Internet Retailer. More interestingly, average purchases were... continue reading »GuruNet Moves to Ad ModelGuruNet, an online reference search engine that has been searching for the right revenue model again changed, moving to an advertising model as the prospects of online advertising continue to grow. After having experimented with lifetime licensing, GuruNet had been... continue reading »Apparel Biggest Online Retail Category, Jewelry Sees Most GrowthInternet Retailer reports that the eSpending report published by Harris Interactive, Goldman Sachs and Nielsen/NetRatings confirms what other research firms have indicated: that holiday retail spending grew by about a quarter in 2004. The study showed $23.2 billion in spending,... continue reading »Travel Sites Sued for Collecting 'Taxes' and Keeping ThemCNET reports that Los Angeles is suing hotel e-commerce sites for paying taxes on only their wholesale costs of the rooms, rather than on the retail prices they charge web buyers. Priceline, Expedia and Orbitz are all on the hook... continue reading »Traditional Media Losing Viewers, CPG Advertisers to NetJupiter found in a survey that U.S. adults are twice as likely to prefer the internet as their leading information source versus magazines and TV. This hasn't put much fear in the hearts of television and publishing executives, but another... continue reading »Search Engines Won't Divulge Click Fraud RatesOneUpWeb's Lisa Wehr told Internet Retailer that click fraud is a big enough problem that most retailer need to deliberately protect themselves from it. Click fraud is the practice of clicking on ads - sometimes with automated programs - in... continue reading »Burst Starts Blog Media ChannelBurst Media launched a new blog advertising network, according to ClickZ. The network, a channel of the larger Burst network, contains 22 blogs, including the offerings of Gawker Media, including Gawker, Gizmodo and Wonkette. Other blogs include BlueLemur and 2WallsWebzine.... continue reading »Google Text Ads Used as Spyware TrojansGoogle finally cottoned onto ads that contained javascript that were attempting to load spyware programs onto unsuspecting clickers, taking them down on Monday, according to a SearchEngineLowdown reports on a Heise.de story. The ads appeared in German language ads for... continue reading »Bacon's Snaps Up Delahaye MedialinkBacon's announced it will buy Delahaye Medialink, a PR evaluation firm based in Norwalk, CT. Bacon's declined to reveal terms. Delahaye Medialink pulls in $9 million in annual revenue and has additional offices in Portsmouth, NH, London and Washington, according... continue reading »Analysts: Online Ad Demand Outstripping SupplyFinancial analysts canvassing media buyers report that "the strength in online advertising demand did not appear to abate" at the end of 2004, boding well online publishers. The analysts from Goldman Sachs and Argus Research showed particular bullishness over major... continue reading »Nigerian Fraudsters Prey on Tsunami SympathiesNigerian email marketing scammers have, inevitably, started to exploit Asian tsunami sympathies around the world to collect money (via Western Union) for fake charities, according to ZDNet U.K.. An anti-fraud forum alleges that some messages sent out from a purported... continue reading »Army Orders Doctor to Take Down BlogThe U.S. military ordered one of its doctors in Mosul, Iraq to stop blogging, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Major Michael Cohen was the doctor running the emergency room when the December 21 mess hall bombing took place, killing 22.... continue reading »E.U. Publishes Recommended Privacy Policy SnippetsThe E.U. came up with a standardized and condensed set of privacy policy snippets, according to DM News, hoping that companies will adopt the voluntary policy elements and make comparing information policies easier for consumers.... continue reading »MWW Group Starts Blog-Oriented PR DivisionOne of IPG's PR firms, MWW Group, launched a blog marketing division to advice clients on their own blog advertising, participation and even creation, according to ClickZ. The new unit, called Blog 360, uses technology from Diseno Porteno, a New... continue reading »Aegis Lowers Adspend Growth EstimatesAgency holding company Aegis said it lowered growth estimates for 2005 ad spending, according to Ireland On-Line. The group, which owns Carat, said it expected global advertising growth to hit 4.9 percent, rather than 5.0 percent, mostly due to macroeconomic... continue reading »Banner Ads Proliferate on European SitesNetImperative reports that more and more banner ads are appearing on European sites, according to a Nielsen/Netratings report employing its AdRelevance(i) creative monitoring technology. The figures rose 24 percent from 76375 in November of 2003 to 94,939 in November 2004.... continue reading »MSN Hiring for PPC ProductSearchEngineLowdown reports that Microsoft is apparently staffing up to offer a new pay-per-click advertising product. The software giant is looking for account executives and other positions within its MSN division.... continue reading »'Spam King' Agrees to Abandon Spyware TacticsThe AP reports that "Spam King" Sanford Wallace will stop using spyware to spawn annoying online ads as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The agreement lasts only through the course of the trial concerning federal... continue reading »Google Reportedly Working with Crispin on Some AdsThe New York Post reported (via SearchEngineLowdown) that Google used creative boutique Crispin Porter to help with some of its recruiting ads, fanning the embers of rumors that Google has been exploring using an agency for general marketing purposes. ... continue reading »Microsoft Soon to Launch Anti-Spyware SoftwareCNET reports that Microsoft is about to launch its anti-spyware product, probably a revamped version of the Giant software it purchased a month ago.... continue reading »OMD Digital Creates Emerging Platforms GroupOMD Digital hired Jeff Minsky to run a new "emerging platforms" department, according to MediaPost. Minsky, who recently ran OMD's east coast interactive efforts, will report to Chicago-based digital director Sean Finnegan.... continue reading »Appeals Court Confirms DMCA Cannot Grant Subpoena PowerInternetnews.com reports that an appeals court upheld an earlier federal ruling that took away from copyright holders like the recording industry the right to subpoena internet service companies without the intervention of a judge. The vaguely-worded Digital Millennium Copyright Act... continue reading »TripAdvisor Review Down to Two AgenciesAdWeek [link not yet available] reports that travel site TripAdvisor narrowed down its maiden agency pitch to two finalists: Mullen and Connelly Partners. The pitch consultancy Pile and Company helped nix former contenders Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners and Hill Holliday.... continue reading »Online Grocer Uses Pics to Buy, Sell ProduceOnline grocer Peapod.com is increasingly using pictures of produce to help sell customers on the quality of fruits and vegetables, according to Internet Retailer. The pictures are also used by the back-end wholesale buyers to confirm size, consistency and ripeness.... continue reading »Six Apart May Acquire Live JournalOm Malik reports that Six Apart, the maker of blog software TypePad and Moveable Type, will likely acquire Live Journal for cash and stock. The combination of the blog players would create a 6.5 million user marketshare, putting it in... continue reading »Post-Xmas Sales Shoot Up OnlineOnline sales gained an extra boost after Christmas, according to Visa, which said its credit card transactions showed a much higher boost (39 percent) to online sales than they showed about offline sales (up 20 percent for the week versus... continue reading »Crispin's Digital Head InterviewedClickZ's Zachary Rogers interviewed Crispin Porter's interactive chief Jeffrey Benjamin in a candid interview that shows a little bit of what's in store for the successful creative boutique's upcoming 2005 efforts. Don't expect repackaged Subservient Chickens, he says. Under way... continue reading »Google Briefly Down in AustraliaNews Interactive reports that Australians witnessed a rather rare event on Tuesday, when Google Australia briefly went down. Google told News Interactive that the outage, due to connectivity issues, lasted less than 15 minutes. Google hadn't had an outage of... continue reading »Intel Reportedly Dumping HavasClickZ reports this morning that Intel is dumping its incumbent agency holding company Havas in the midst of a very large account review. The $300 million account, including online work, has been handled by Havas's Euro RSCG and Media Planning... continue reading »Microsoft Debuts Portable Video Download ServiceGeekzone notes (via PaidContent) the introduction of Microsoft's new video download service, designed to be used with portable media players. The service requires a paid subscription that will run users about $20 per month. Content from providers like MSNBC, FOX... continue reading »Anti-Cookie Anti-Spyware Bill Reintroduced to CongressCalifornia Rep. Mary Bono reintroduced the "Bono Bill," H.R. 29, to congress on Wednesday, according to MediaPost. On the way to banning various forms of spyware, the bill bans many uses of cookies, including the tracking of individuals across sites.... continue reading »Microsofties Prefer Google, So Do YahooligansInside Google points to VisitorVille Intelligence, a firm that sells a web log analysis product, as well an aggregated data service showing how web visitation habits differ from company to company. Interestingly, some examples used in its marketing materials show... continue reading »Click Prices Up 24 Percent in Q4MediaPost reports that search firm Fathom Online published figures showing a 24 percent price rise in click costs over Q4. Attributed mostly to more intense holiday shopping competition, the biggest price hikes came in retail (up 81 percent), consumer services... continue reading »Half of Gift Card Purchase Attempts FraudRetail Decisions reports that about half of all attempts to by gift cards, coupons that can easily be fenced for cash, were fraudulent. The good news: the vast majority of attempts failed due to anti-fraud measures, such as geo location... continue reading »Blogs Experience Problems of Networked SitesMediaPost listed some of the downsides to blog advertising, including inappropriately-targeted ads (a conservative site dumped AdWords when it showed too many ads for liberals), blog ad networks that create a homogenized cream of blog traffic without distinctive targeting handles,... continue reading »Check Use Declines, Replaced by Online Payments, DebiteMarketer reports that paper checks are accounting for a smaller share of non-cash payments, largely replaced by increasing online payments and debit payments. Check use declined between 2000 and 2003 at about a -4.3 percent compound growth rate. In the... continue reading »E-Tailers Increase Fraud DetectionInternet retailer reports that the percentage of online retailers double-checking the addresses of credit card users rose to 73 percent in 2004, up from 65 percent the previous year. Merchants also are manually inspecting a higher portion of orders -... continue reading »E-Loan to Hill HollidayE-Loan picked Hill Holliday for its online media buying and planning account, according to MediaWeek. Hill Holliday's San Francisco office will handle duties, taking over from the Chicago office of Carat.... continue reading »Amazon's Bezos: Online Sales Half-way to MaximumIn a Wired interview, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos dropped some interesting predictions. Among them were the estimate that online retail sales will top off at about 10 to 15 percent of all retail sales, a figure that has been half-way... continue reading »Blinkx Intros Mac Desktop SearchMac users will finally get their own desktop search application, thanks to Blinkx, according to CNET. The release comes months before Apple's own operating system upgrade is slated to introduce new search features. The CNET story notes that Google indicated... continue reading »Analyst: Yahoo, Google to Beat Estimates on Surprising Search GrowthGoldman Sachs raised its estimates for Yahoo and Google due to growth and price increases in paid search advertising, according to DM News. An Anthony Noto research note indicated both firms would likely beat estimates in the fourth quarter because... continue reading »New Google Affiliate Policy May Have HolesRevenews reports that the new Google policy on affiliates has a gaping loophole. The policy states that Google will allow only one ad per destination URL, rather than domain, which means that affiliate arbitragers could in practice get around it... continue reading »Carat Predicts 20 Percent Online Adspend HikeAd agency Carat released the prediction that online ad growth will exceed 20 percent, according to Revolution. The agency said the medium's share of adspend would increase from its current global rate of three percent. Carat indicated that outdoor advertising... continue reading » |