ExactTarget has opened its email platform, enabling developers and social networks to embed email, SMS, and voice, among other services.
The new offering is called ExactTarget Embedded. Early adopters on the embed train include MIVA, Customer Portfolios, ePrize, FarStar, Global Cloud,...
continue reading »
NTT DoCoMo, Japan's premier mobile carrier (and proud McDonald's sponsor), is joining forces with Google to bring online search, email, scheduling and photo-saving functionality to handsets, reports the Boston Globe via AP.
Powered by the i-Mode internet network, the features will...
continue reading »
Customer satisfaction with online retail over the 2007 holiday season is down slightly from last year, according to the Holiday 2007 edition of the ForeSee Results Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index, writes MarketingCharts.
Aggregate satisfaction with leading online retailers scored...
continue reading »
Once seen as a sector with promising long-term potential, the market for ringtones has flattened in some markets and declined in others, reports The New York Times.
As more outlets for buying songs in ringtone form have appeared (with iTunes being...
continue reading »
Google is negotiating with several unidentified UK papers seeking to help the search giant expand its print ad sales program, reports Editor & Publisher.
The expansion would grant Google a huge new audience. A debut outside the US, where Google has...
continue reading »
Rap superstar-cum-reverend MC Hammer is dancing his way into online video with DanceJam, a site he has co-founded, reports The Associated Press.
According to MC Hammer — known in the board room as Stanley Burrell — DanceJam is a destination for...
continue reading »
Eight of the 10 demographic segments most likely to contribute to a US presidential campaign — including the most affluent, influential and well-educated voters — made most of their contributions to Democratic candidates in the first half of '07, according...
continue reading »
Following the success of kid virtual worlds like Club Penguin, Habbo and Webkinz, analysts predict 2008 will see more online playgrounds as kid and tween marketers catch onto the trend.
According to The New York Times, Disney — the parent company...
continue reading »
In just eight months, the use of online and mobile devices for entertainment rocketed among online US consumers, according to the second edition of the State of Media Democracy survey from Deloitte & Touche, reports Reuters (via MarketingCharts).
38 percent of...
continue reading »
Persistent bloggers with decent traffic now have a good chance at bringing in decent ad revenue, reports the Associated Press.
For bloggers hoping to fast-track on the bonus train, it pays to go Gawker. Valleywag — a Gawker property — reports...
continue reading »
Subvert & Profit — which allows advertisers to pay for higher rankings on communities like Digg and StumbleUpon — is bringing its astroturf might to YouTube.
TechCrunch finds that the site's founders operate under pseudonyms and proxied whois records.
Some compare the...
continue reading »
Wal-Mart has pulled the plug on its video download service as of December 21.
The service was launched in February 2007, when Wal-Mart partnered with Hollywood studios and TV networks to offer downloads on the same day titles were released on...
continue reading »
Of the 53 percent of US adults who visited a library in 2007, the majority fell between 18 and 30 years of age, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
It wasn't books that brought them...
continue reading »
Chris di Cesare, former director of creative marketing at Microsoft, has been crowned YouTube's first director of marketing.
Di Cesare joined YouTube two months ago, having spent 12 years working in Microsoft's Xbox division. He assisted in the launches of Xbox,...
continue reading »
InfoUSA's American Medical Information has launched a service called DrListExpress.com, which provides companies and salespeople with sales leads from the medical profession.
DrListExpress draws from a database of 730,000 physicians and surgeons, 180,000 dentists, and other healthcare specialists, including chiropracters, physical...
continue reading »
In an effort to boost dwindling interest in wildlife among kids, the Minnesota Zoo has launched a downloadable video game that invites gamers to play as a wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
The object of WolfQuest is to scour plains and...
continue reading »
Wizzard Media has released a product that dynamically inserts ads into audio and video podcasts.
The new product allows advertisers to automatically insert ads into breaks in podcasts, for example.
Ad positioning can be determined by relevant keywords mentioned in the podcasts.
Wizzard...
continue reading »
Nearly $28 billion was spent online during the season to date, a 19 percent gain versus the corresponding days last year, according to a comScore update of holiday season e-commerce spending for the first 57 days of the 2007 holiday...
continue reading »
Multicultural audiences are reportedly "turned off" by ads featuring stereotypical representations of themselves, according to a new study by OMD Worldwide, which surveyed over 1,400 members of different US-based ethnic minorities.
Respondents placed more importance on meaningful cultural signals that helped...
continue reading »
Digital out-of-home company Reactrix is partnering with Samsung to launch an interactive large-format ad platform called WAVEscape.
Set to premier at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 7, WAVEscape is powered by large-format LCDs from Samsung and features...
continue reading »
"Silver surfers" are claiming a bigger share of the online population at the expense of people under 25, according to (pdf) a Nielsen Online analysis of the age make-up of the UK internet population as well as the audiences of...
continue reading »
Beginning Feb. 17, 2009, anyone who obtains programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture.
To help encourage the transition to digital sets, the US government is offering $40 coupons to help low-tech TV owners buy special converter boxes,...
continue reading »
Spending on online display ads continues to rise, with more growth expected in the coming years, reports Advertising Age.
Display ad prices will rise by four percent in 2008 and hit $10 billion by 2009. The rise is expected to follow...
continue reading »
The planet's well-being, and global manufacturing issues, increasingly figured into spending decisions over the holiday season, according to the 2007 Annual National Shopping Behavior Survey by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLC, writes MarketingCharts.
Most holiday shoppers surveyed expressed a...
continue reading »
Hope lives for clock-watching advertisers: Despite the hubbub about DVR use, viewers don't delay viewing recorded programs, according to (pdf) an analysis of Nielsen data by Palisades MediaGroup, writes MarketingCharts.
On average, half of all DVR primetime program playback occurs within...
continue reading »
Campaigns of Note:
Drink company Diagio is using OpenAds.net to solicit creative materials from creative types — both professional and amateur — for use in a responsible drinking campaign.
Monster is launching a rebranding campaign designed to position it as a facilitator...
continue reading »
Internet service providers are collecting behavioral data on customers in order to cash in on online ad revenue, reports ClickZ.
According to the report, ISPs have either rolled out or are testing software that allows them to gather information about online...
continue reading »
Press release distributor PR Newswire has bought a trinity of companies that target Hispanic online audiences: Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips and Hispanic Digital Network.
The company now seeks means to drive traffic to the content it supports — including press releases,...
continue reading »
ChaCha, a company that delivers query results from paid human "guides," has launched a text-based mobile search service.
The offering is currently available at no charge. Those inclined can text 242242 with burning questions.
ChaCha will eventually charge users $5 to $10...
continue reading »
Online address book-cum-social network Plaxo is putting itself on the auction block, reports the New York Times.
The company is seeking as much as $100 million. That figure stems from the perceived value of the data Plaxo accumulates from people who...
continue reading »
Online ad network Active Athlete Media has acquired GolfBuzz, widget and social tool maker for golf sites.
Athlete promotes brands — including Nike, Gatorade, AT&T and American Express — on sports-related websites. It provides search, social bookmarking and weather tools.
The GolfBuzz...
continue reading »
London's Financial Times has acquired Money-Media, a New York-based online publisher for the financial sector.
The deal brings FT nearer to fund managers, a core audience for the publisher.
Money-Media is comprised of four subscription-based news publications covering the $67 trillion asset...
continue reading »
Most B2B marketers (60 percent) plan to increase their 2008 marketing budgets, but fully 79 percent plan to increase their online marketing budgets, according to BtoB magazine's 2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans study, writes MarketingCharts.
BtoB's previous survey (2006) had found...
continue reading »
The PSP, a handheld gaming console by Sony, is adding Skype access to its features.
Sony's CES website states PSP owners will be able to "Call friends [and] trash talk to fellow gamers."
Failing to develop into a promotional unit, PSP sales...
continue reading »
Business PC manufacturer Lenovo is targeting a hip new crowd with a line of notebooks called IdeaPad.
The units are outfitted with red aluminum-alloy cases, graphics cards, halo lighting and facial recognition features.
The Wall Street Journal positions the product as a...
continue reading »
Some companies work tirelessly in hopes that, one day, San Francisco residents will reap the bounty of free wireless internet.
Hoping to succeed in the steps of Earthlink and Google — whose attempts to bring wi-fi to San Francisco are but...
continue reading »
Online advertised vacancies in December slumped 13 percent month-to-month due to seasonality, The Conference Board reported, while the year-on-year growth rate, at six percent, was the smallest annual increase since it first issued the data series in May 2005 (via...
continue reading »
Despite reports that freeloaders outnumbered paid downloaders, Radiohead's experimental release of album In Rainbows — online, pay-as-you-wish — was the right move, according to lead singer Thom Yorke.
comScore reports the album made $3 million in its first month. 40 percent...
continue reading »
Online DVD rental service Netflix is releasing a set-top box that delivers movies and other programming to televisions.
The box was developed in partnership with Korea's LG Electronics. It broadens Netflix's online film streaming service, which is freely available to subscribers.
The...
continue reading »
On January 16, NBC Universal will stage an upfront for digital out-of-home ad placements, which include spots in supermarkets, gas station posts and taxi interiors.
It will be held in Studio 8H. About 200 media buyers and advertisers are expected.
Digital signage...
continue reading »
Most of the world's most engaged citizens say large companies wield too much influence on government decisions.
Furthermore, they want aggressive action against the activities and influence of national and multinational corporations, according to a new Ipsos survey.
The poll of 22,000...
continue reading »
With New Years resolutions still fresh, AOL and MSN are helping brands encourage visitors to drop a few pounds, reports ClickZ.
AOL has re-launched America Takes it Off, a weight-loss site sponsored by Slim Fast. Much of the content comes from...
continue reading »
As digital, video and wireless technologies redefine the outdoor advertising sector, outdoor will rank second to internet advertising in ad spend growth, writes MediaBuyerPlanner, citing an eMarketer report (via MarketingCharts).
Out-of-home (OOH) video ad spending is forecast to total $2.25 billion...
continue reading »
Online security company Fortinet reports that Zango is distributing adware amongst Facebook and MySpace users through a "Secret Crush" application.
Secret Crush elicits clicks by telling users a friend has a crush on them. In exchange for the person's identity, the...
continue reading »
Shortly after results for the Iowa caucus came in, MySpace released the winners of its first-ever presidential primary.
Senator Barack Obama, who took the Iowa caucus, ran off with 46 percent of the online Democratic vote.
Mike Huckabee, who took Iowa amongst...
continue reading »
Those looking to stock up on porn-related domain names, may want to hit Las Vegas for a large-scale auction for adult URLs.
On Tuesday, January 15th, Moniker will hold an auction of 2,000 adult-oriented domain names, part of the Internext Expo...
continue reading »
Intel has pulled out of the Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child project (OLPC), reasoning that the OLPC wanted an exclusivity commitment against rival offerings.
Intel promotes its own low-cost laptop, the Classmate, in many of the same countries as OLPC,...
continue reading »
Social media startup FindMeOn has filed a lawsuit against Google, asking that it change the name of its OpenSocial project because it causes an "unfortunate confusion" with FindMeOn's own OpenSN (Open Social Networking) campaign.
FindMeOn developed OpenSN in 2006. The service...
continue reading »
The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) trade group has upgraded its list of best practices for behavioral ad targeting.
The update addresses:
Scope & enforcement
Sensitive consumer characteristics
Choice-enabling technologies
Consumer education
Standards for use of personally identifiable information
Membership outreach
The proposed updates, submitted to NAI members for...
continue reading »
eMarketer has issued predictions for 2008 in key online areas, including advertising, videos, social networks, e-commerce and entertainment.
The forecast finds online advertising will ride out potential economic storms in the US — and YouTube will decide political elections — reports...
continue reading »
