|
|
|
Home »
Archives »
April 2005
« Previous Entries ·
FindWhat Opens Up AdSense AlternativeWith Yahoo and MSN reportedly joining the competitive fray to recruit publishers in their paid search networks, ClickZ reports that FindWhat is opening up its ad network to more publishers, including very small ones, in hopes of grabbing more share... continue reading »One of Blind Company's Claims Against Google Thrown OutGoogle successfully had one trademark infringement count thrown out against it in its battle against American Blind & Wallpaper, but the federal court kept the other suit going, saying it failed to meet the strict criteria for throwing out a... continue reading »Gmail Now Supports HTML MessagesGoogle's Gmail free email service, formerly the bane of email marketer's production efforts, will now support rich HTML emails, according to a brief report at the end of a DM News article. Since Gmail's launch a year ago, email marketers... continue reading »Trade Publisher's Financials in FluxTrade magazine publisher Penton Media said it too will be late in reporting its financial results. Several large agency holding companies have recently thrown their investors into some confusion by telling them that they had found accounting problems in past... continue reading »Macromedia CTO: Yeah, Flash Makes for Good Cookie ReplacementsMarketingShift went right to the horse's mouth to ask about the relative merits of Flash-based user tracking versus using the ubiquitous cookie - a topic of sudden relevance now that some third party companies are confirming Jupiter Research's recent finding... continue reading »CBS Splits Off Internet DivisionA Lost Remote report (via PaidContent indicates CBS is developing a new Digital Media division that will inherit CBS.com, CBSNews.com, Sportsline, UPN.com and other sundry online properties. The division will be placed under MarketWatch founder Larry Kramer. The Lost Remote... continue reading »Yahoo Reportedly Closes Search API to Analytics ProvidersExecutives from the Web Analytics Association are complaining that Google is rejecting its members applications for access to its APIs, the computer interface that allows those firms to automate the tracking of search ad inventory. While search engine marketing firms... continue reading »Local Net Ads Up 28 Percent, to Hit $3.9 Billion in 2005Local online advertising grew 28 percent in 2004 to reach $2.7 billion, according to a new Borell Associates study. Borell also predicts even bigger growth for 2005, pegging local online sales to reach $3.9 billion as newspapers and radio and... continue reading »Yahoo's 300 Million Audience Eyed as Channel for Hollywood, TVA ranging AP story looks at the increasing expectations and machinations indicating Yahoo is attempting to emphasize original content that may replace some TV viewing. To date, this sort of content has been limited to promotional materials, premiere episodes to... continue reading »Americans Spend Less Time Online at HomeNew Nielsen/NetRatings data shows a slight decline in the time people in the U.S. use the internet at home each month, according to eMarketer. A NetRatings analyst said that, with Americans spending close to 14 hours a month online, "if... continue reading »Major Portals Variously Attack BroadbandA long AdAge piece shows that at-home broadband penetration has reached a critical mass, and major portal firms are trying to exploit it by increasing both video content and video advertising opportunities. Parsing out the differences between the efforts of... continue reading »Java Largely Abandoned in Rich Media AdsWith EyeWonder's Abandonment of Sun Microsystem's Java technology to run rich media ads, Macromedia's Flash technology will reign supreme in rich media online advertising. EyeWonder said it will switch in a new Flash system currently in development at Macromedia called... continue reading »FEC Mulls Rules on Regulating BlogsE-Commerce Times covers the continuing debate over how much websites - especially blogs - should be considered campaign media activities, subject to the Federal Election Commissions rules and limitations. As the comment period begins on proposed rules, the debate is... continue reading »MSN Dumps InfoSpace for WhitePages.comMSN said it replaced its white pages listings from InfoSpace with the directory information taken from WhitePages.com, according to MediaPost. InfoSpace continues to provide white pages listings for AOL.... continue reading »Yahoo's Paid Search Patent Fight to Go to TrialThe long-simmering patent dispute between Yahoo's Overture division and FindWhat will soon be back on the front burner, according to ClickZ. The patent suit, which originally involved Google as well - until that firm settled just prior to its IPO... continue reading »DMA, DoubleClick Field Cross-Channel Marketing Performance StudyThe Direct Marketing Association said late last week that it would work with DoubleClick to field a cross-channel survey comparing catalog direct mail to e-commerce, retail and a few other sales channels. A B-to-B Online account of the plans said... continue reading »WSJ May Hike Online Sub PricesAfter some ambiguous signals that the Wall Street Journal might open up its content to help encourage traffic and advertising revenues, the media giant is instead now hinting at subscription price hikes, according to AdAge. The quest for more subscription... continue reading »South African Net Adspend More than DoublesSouth African online advertising grew 137 percent in 2004, according to an iafrica.com report on Online Publishers Association figures. The country's adspend reached 116 million Rand (about $19 million).... continue reading »China Online Ad Sales Roughly Double in 2004A roundup of Chinese online ad spending by Asia Times shows rapid growth. Sina.com, China's largest online media company, reported 2004 ad sales of about $56 million, up 89 percent over 2003. Similar gains were seen at other major media... continue reading »Behavioral Media Study Shows Largest Benefits Go to PublishersA 24/7 Real Media study of behavioral marketing incremental performance showed that some campaigns experienced extremely steep performace gains. The study used 24/7's OnTarget behavioral targeting mechanism and found that the gains were greatly exaggerated when combined with contextual targeting... continue reading »Google Intros Cross-Campaign TrackingGoogle recently introduced a "cross-channel conversion tracker" feature to AdWords that allows search marketers to track the campaigns for both Google and non-Google advertising in the same interface. Google sets up a network of tracking URLs that advertisers use in... continue reading »Brand Consultants: Online Media More Annoying than UsefulCRM Buyer published< an analysis piece interviewing several experts who aren't so sure consumer packaged goods clients should be wasting their budgets on online media. Positive case studies from portals such as MSN notwithstanding, consultants from GartnerG2 say that online... continue reading »Online Catalogs ProliferateDM News reports that the number of online catalogs jumped from 6,147 to 7,400 in 2004. Citing the new National Directory of Catalogs, it reported that the automotive category grew most, growing from 387 catalogs to 521. Books remained the... continue reading »Google Invites Users to Share their VideoGoogle will put together a searchable archive of personal videos, allowing people to share their own footage of everything from news events such as tsunami videos, to their home videos of birthdays and weddings, according to the New York Times.... continue reading »Firefox Gets New Pop-Up Ad ProtectionMozilla released a patch for its Firefox browser that it says will further help block pop-up ads, some of which have been designed to sneak around pop-up blockers, according to CNET. The new extension's name is PopupsDie.... continue reading »NetIQ Lowers Profit PredictionsNetIQ, the company that recently agreed to sell its WebTrends division to its management, saw its stock take a hit, according to Smart Money, after it lowered both its revenue and profit guidance. The firm said it would take in... continue reading »Fastclick IPO Off to Slow StartFastclick's initial public offering on Friday proved mildly disappointing to many, closing at its offering price of $12 per share, according to The Deal. The price had started at the lowest end of its predicted range, and stayed pretty close... continue reading »Microsoft Helps Finger Two Alleged Tampa SpammersMicrosoft said it was again helping Florida prosecutors in their newest suits against alleged spammers. Two Tampa residents are now in the hot seat, with data from Microsoft helping finger them as the individuals responsible for sending tens of thousands... continue reading »FeedBurner Wins VC Funds, Hints at Big DealsFeedBurner, the RSS tracking service used by many sites, including MarketingVOX, announced it won $7 million in second round venture financing. Mobius Venture Capital led the round that included Sutter Hill Ventures as well as previous FeedBurner investors Portage Venture... continue reading »Hot Search Market Spawns Vertical PlayersVertical search engines are proliferating, taking advantage of the heated search engine marketing markets as well as an increased interest in ad targeting among advertisers. An E-Commerce Times report adds that the vertical markets are easier to command than the... continue reading »Bad Creative the Trigger for DVR Fast-ForwardingLongtime users of digital video recorders (DVRs) invariably skip through ads during recorded programs Netimperative reports, citing a new report from Mediaedge:cia's research division, MediaLab. Often, a "bad ad" is apparently the prompt for viewers to fast-forward. Airing "good ads"... continue reading »Ask Jeeves Continues Overseas ExpansionAsk Jeeves has launched a Spanish beta site, on the heels of its expansion into the U.K. and Japan, reported Netimperative. Ask Jeeves Espana is expected to formally launch this summer. Meanwhile, Ask Jeeves Japan, a joint venture with transcosmos,... continue reading »ReachLocal Wins VC Funds for Local Sales NetworkReachLocal announced the local search firm won $7.75 million in VC funding, led by VantagePoint Venture Partners. CEO Zorik Gordon said his firm hopes to bridge the vast gap between the amount of money local businesses spend on marketing and... continue reading »Diversifying Search Services Increase Privacy RisksWired put together in one story all the collective hand-wringing going on about search engines accreting more and more personal information on individuals. Search engines began as services providing complete anonymity for users, but nowadays those same companies also offer... continue reading »Net Mergers Up in Q1Mergers in the online media space grew significantly in the first quarter of 2005, their value rising from $1.39 billion to $2.64 billion in the same quarter in 2004. The number of deals grew from 18 to 22. Across the... continue reading »Email Delivery Rates Vary Wildly Among DomainsA new study by email services firm Lyris shows that the average email service provider gets 92.5 percent of emailed delivered to opt-in lists and 88.5 percent more generally. Interestingly, different ISPs filtered out radically different proportions of email as... continue reading »Online Retail Sales Up Only Eight Percent for WeekInternet Retailer reports that online retail sales for the week ending March 13 were up 8 percent over the corresponding week a year ago, reaching $1.4 billion from $1.29 billion, according to comScore Networks Inc. That is the slowest growth... continue reading »IPG's Unaudited Results: Large Losses on Higher RevenuesIPG, still unable to account for its books pending a review that continues to turn up unpleasant surprises, announced its unaudited earnings for 2004 sunk to a surprising $285 million loss despite showing revenues that increased by more than... continue reading »Paris Hilton to Pitch Movie with PodcastsPodcasting is getting its first big sponsorship break making it on the big screen at the same time. Adrants reports that Warner Brothers is launching a podcast on April 29, using Paris Hilton's popularity to promote it and her upcoming... continue reading »Blogger Breaks Canadian Rules Forbidding Scandal Coverage, Cares NotBlogger Ed Morrissey is becoming a bit of a celebrity (well, a Canadian celebrity) for having published content from open government hearings on its "adscam" scandal. Canadian judges can ban media vehicles from reporting or commenting on some ongoing proceedings,... continue reading »CNET Seeks Broader Ad Base with B-to-B SiteCNET Networks has officially launched BNET, a b-to-b site aimed at business leaders, signaling CNET's intent to expand its content, audience, and advertiser base, reports BtoBOnline. With its new audience, CNET is attempting to attract a new group of advertisers... continue reading »Sears Slams Ogilvy, Y&R with Fee CutsAgencies typically rail against client tendencies to stress price cuts, but Sears' recent moves hit home with agencies Y&R and Ogilvy when the retailer told its agencies of record that it would be cutting their fees as well. Y&R executives... continue reading »Retailer Sues Search Engines for Click Fraud, Seeks Class ActionThe Wall Street Journal reports that Google and Yahoo find themselves on the pointy end of a lawsuit for allegedly abetting click fraud. An Arkansas retailer, Lane's Gifts & Collectibles, sued the search engine giants claiming they overcharged for ads... continue reading »Friends for Now: TiVo, DirecTV Jointly to Sell AdsClickZ reports that TiVo and DirecTV have agreed to facilitate the sale of ads on DirecTV digital video recorders (DVRs) that come with TiVo service. Both companies will sell ads, each retaining its respective revenue. The TiVo-DirecTV relationship will end... continue reading »Media Execs: Net Adspend Up in Q1, Will Rise in Q2Media buyers and planners reported that online ad spending continued its robust growth in the first quarter, and said they anticipate second-quarter online ad buys will surpass those of the first quarter, according to a new report by Deutsche Bank... continue reading »Plurality of Brands' Organic Search Links Are User-Created ContentCovering a conference session on the topic, SearchEngineWatch gives a run-down of the various tools used to monitor brands on blogs and other word-of-mouth oriented online vehicles. The topic has taken on greater importance now that Jupiter Research has shown... continue reading »Gawker Media Lauches Net TabloidAdrants points to a new Gawker Media property, Sploid, an online general interest tabloid ("‘Peace Bus’ Shockingly Not Bombed!"). Written by a former Gawker editor, the site will break the traditional blog format common among Gawker Media sites and publish... continue reading »Tivo, Comcast to Serve TV Ads Like BannersTivo is giving Comcast the ability to replace the TV ads in digitally recorded content, freshening them up as viewers watch certain shows over and over again. This puts TV advertising in the same model as online media, with ads... continue reading »Google Budget Optimizer Automates Campaign ManagementGoogle's AdWords search advertising interface now allows marketers to automatically optimize their campaigns for the maximum number of clicks, according to ClickZ. Previously, search marketers needed to constantly - and manually - niggle their bids on many keywords up and... continue reading » |