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ComScore Acquisition May Speed Unified Analytics

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, September 1, 2010
ComScore Acquisition May Speed Unified Analytics
ComScore's acquisition of Dutch web analytics firm Nedstat is part of the company's effort to "speed up" the launch of its planned Unified Digital Measurement (UDM) platform -- one that melds qualitative and quantitative online audience metrics. It's a global push that could inspire rival analytic firms to streamline and upgrade their web measurement platforms.
Metrics, Technology
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DigiRant: Steve Jobs For President

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, September 1, 2010
DigiRant: Steve Jobs For President
Apple's debut of Ping is the right move at the right time for social media regardless of what company you are. Social media will spread out and allow different brands. Facebook will be the WalMart of the category, which is great for them but also leaves a lot of room for innovation and specialization. Kind of like Prince sang back in the day: “You can be the president; I’d rather be the Pope.”
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Questions On Email Video

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Digital Content Today: Questions On Email Video
A new survey that takes the industry temperature on using video in emails might have up some dirt. The survey was conducted by ExactTarget and Flimp Media together with the Web Video Marketing Council Video Email Marketing Trends survey of over 200 interactive marketing professionals. Not surprisingly it found that marketers believe that video based email marketing is “the wave of the future” while less than 5% “don’t think it works.” Surprisingly however, 35% of marketers said their email service provider did not offer a video marketing solution and 44% did not know if their ESP offered a video marketing solution. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Sep 1

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, September 1, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Sep 1
Today's bytes: Now, business can pay to have their logos show up on Google Maps. Will the iPad be Apple's device that cracks the enterprise market? And display ad CPMs were up 25% in Q2 vs. Q1.
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SAMMY 2010 Finalist: U by Kotex

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
SAMMY 2010 Finalist: U by Kotex
Leading up to the SAMMY Awards Gala for best social marketing and media of the past year, we'll be sharing select campaigns we hope will inspire you and raise the bar for everyone. Today, Kotex aimed at nothing less than launching a "social movement aimed at changing the conversation" about women's periods. Results? In just two weeks, ubykotex.com had over 270,000 visits with more than 185,000 sample requests.
Marketing, Social
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Three Ways Brands Can Capitalize on Social Gaming Fever

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Three Ways Brands Can Capitalize on Social Gaming Fever
In the past few weeks, we've seen a number of social gaming mergers and acquisitions. Most recently it was Google's acquisition of Social Deck, a cross-platform game developer. Now, there are hints that even Apple has a social gaming platform in the works. Big news for Facebook and various social gaming startups -- but what does it mean for brands?
Social
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Digital Content Today: Music Still Drives iTunes

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Digital Content Today: Music Still Drives iTunes
Apps are the big story on iTunes, but music is still driving the dollars. A report released Tuesday by the NPD Group surveyed almost 4,000 Apple iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPod Touch users to determine how they use iTunes to acquire music, video, games and other entertainment content. It found that apps are garnering a lot of attention among iTunes users, but music is still central to the iTunes experience.
Marketing, Metrics
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 31

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 31
Today's bytes: How can publishers best use location-based technology to monetize and promote their content? Google helps tackle the problem of email overload. And how well do Apple's iAds serve developers that want to promote their apps? (Hint ... not well at all).
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DigiRant: Retargeting Needs Some 411

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DigiRant: Retargeting Needs Some 411
Retargeting sounded like a good idea when I first heard of it. It was an efficient use of data. A logical progression of behavioral targeting and serving the right ads at the right time. I still believe that. But like a lot of people in the digital marketing and content business, I miscalculated the most important thing: The Customer Experience.
Media, Technology
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The Four Truths Of Branded Content

by Carla Rover on Monday, August 30, 2010
The Four Truths Of Branded Content
Big Fuel CEO Avi Savar has a theory about how the marketing strategies of most major brands are evolving, and not surprisingly, it's bullish on social media and branded content. In this interview, Savar shares some of the learnings from clients like Fisher-Price and Colgate -- and offers up the four "truths" that will be found in every successful, socially-influenced marketing strategy.
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 30

by Tameka Kee on Monday, August 30, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 30
Today's bytes: A new Wiki offers a read on pricing, features and pros and cons of the (vast) number of social media monitoring tools out there. Google is pitching YouTube as a real online rental service to Hollywood. And how many people are actually using location-based apps while shopping?
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Digital Content Today: Gray Wave Goes Social

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 30, 2010
Digital Content Today: Gray Wave Goes Social
The “gray wave” is hitting social media. While most companies are approaching social networks with Millennials in mind, older consumers have doubled their use of social media over the past year, according to Pew Internet research. Although email continues to be the primary way that older users maintain contact with their professional and personal networks, almost half (47%) of Internet users ages 50-64 and one in four (26%) users age 65 and older now use social networking sites.
Marketing, Social
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DigiRant: Refreshing Social Best Practices

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 30, 2010
DigiRant: Refreshing Social Best Practices
Here's a look at three best practices Pepsi and others have established in the spate of social media promotions that started pre-Super Bowl and have continued through the summer. These practices have gone beyond the “give’em something to talk about” philosophy that has defined the age of advertising engagement. Outrageous car crashes and bizarre 30 second spots have been displaced by more compelling long-term social strategies.
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Loyal Following For Social Spending

Monday, August 30, 2010
Digital Content Today: Loyal Following For Social Spending
Social media is being used more aggressively as a channel to increase customer loyalty, according to a new survey from the DMA and loyalty strategy publication Colloquy. In fact the survey shows that companies that use social media primarily to deepen customer loyalty spend almost twice as much as competitors who use it for brand awareness, customer acquisition and other core marketing purposes.
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 29

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, August 29, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 29
Today's bytes: Why Generation M won't stand for entrepreneurship without meaning (or corporations without souls). SideReel tells users where to get all their online episodes of their favorite shows. And there are a lot of mobile news apps -- but not many good ones, according to research from U of Colorado.
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BtoB Connects With New Digital Scale

by John Gaffney on Friday, August 27, 2010
BtoB Connects With New Digital Scale
BtoB companies and publishers are finding that quantity may actually give way to quality where niche businesses are at stake. Smaller scale is becoming a marketable commodity in the BtoB business. A good example can be seen at Canon Communications. The company is a leading producer of exhibitions and media brands for technology-based manufacturing industries. Earlier this month it launched a new platform that enables behavioral targeted advertising and content opportunities across its 45 business-to-business websites. [...]
Marketing, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Good News For eHealth

by John Gaffney on Thursday, August 26, 2010
Digital Content Today: Good News For eHealth
Two new reports out today show that eHealth solutions are being used by doctors and are finding favor with consumers. A comScore report found that 81% of physicians online visited Health Care Professional (HCP) content sites in Q1 2010, claiming the most-visited health-related content category among physicians. HCP sites also captured 48% of physicians’ overall time spent on health-related sites, the largest share of any category. And a Deloitte survey has found consumers want to be connected to their personal healthcare and information by mobile devices. [...]
Marketing, Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 26

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, August 26, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 26
Today's bytes: The Bartab app lets Facebook friends send each other drinks in the real world. Yelp challenges Groupon with its own limited-time, local deals. And another example of video ads showing up in a print publication. (Yep, a definite head-scratcher).
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SAMMY Finalist Benjamin Moore Experts Exchange Reinforce Brand Message

Thursday, August 26, 2010
SAMMY Finalist Benjamin Moore Experts Exchange Reinforce Brand Message
If you haven't browsed the 2010 SAMMY Award finalists yet, you're in for a treat. We'll profile these and other finalists between now and next month when the winners are crowned. For today, Cramer-Krasselt explores how putting consumers in touch with experts reinforced the brand message: “Those who know more, know Benjamin Moore.”
Social
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Why Hotel Marketers Have Given Social Media an Upgrade

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Why Hotel Marketers Have Given Social Media an Upgrade
A few years ago, hotels were slow to adopt social media as a legitimate marketing strategy. For one, most patrons shop according to price -- so, no matter how "hip" a hotel is, an $80 per night client won't buy a $800 hotel room -- regardless of what's been tweeted about it. But now hotel marketers know that their customers will inevitably be chatting, emailing and reading reviews online, so they've made social media an integral part of the marketing mix.
Marketing, Social
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DigiRant: Death Of The Long Tail

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
DigiRant: Death Of The Long Tail
By now you have read enough about Matt Richtel’s series in The New York Times about what constant digital interaction will do to our attention-addled brains. I believe this series is first, extremely well reported and written, and two the culmination of a trend that has been brewing for a while. The recognition about the destructive forces of always on digital information will have a big effect on the workplace. It will be a tipping point for personal work habits. However, this is not a management journal. [...]
Marketing, Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 25

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 25
Today's bytes: Is Hollywood trade pub The Hollywood Reporter becoming more trashy now that a former tabloid editrix is at the helm? Why some Pepsi Refresh fundraisers have lost interest. And soon, your iPhone will be able to tell you exactly which aisle those discounted cookies are in at the supermarket.
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PointRoll Takes Ford To Video Track

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
PointRoll Takes Ford To Video Track
We know from recent studies that consumer’s want to play on their social networks, play games, and check email. In order to be successful with today’s distracted target audience, digital campaigns need to bring as many points of attraction as possible. This week PointRoll took the wraps off a new campaign with Ford that integrated online video, expandable ad units, contextual placement, and multiple creative executions. Its success could provide some clues as to how the automotive category will approach digital marketing. [...]
Marketing, Media
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MOBI Award Finalists Span the Globe: Winners in Mobile Apps and Ads to be Crowned Sept. 13

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
MOBI Award Finalists Span the Globe: Winners in Mobile Apps and Ads to be Crowned Sept. 13
This year's MOBI award finalists offer a virtual embarrassment of riches in DIGIDAY's second-annual competition, which drew entrants from Europe and Israel in addition to a plethora of innovations state-side. What impressed judges this year was the extent to which mobile campaigns moved beyond after-thoughts in cross-media mash-ups to becoming the true focal point of outreach to a particular audience segment. Winners will be announced at a gala event Sept. 13 in New York City.
Marketing, Mobile
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The MOBI Files: UrbanDaddy and Big Spaceship Get You Going with a Swanky, Stylish App

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The MOBI Files: UrbanDaddy and Big Spaceship Get You Going with a Swanky, Stylish App
In this installment of the MOBI Files, we review The Next Move, the stylish app that creative agency Big Spaceship launched for UrbanDaddy. With sleek graphics, innovative functionality and even room for well-crafted ads, the app was a clear pick for the Best Mobile App category.
Mobile, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Online Local Set For Growth

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Digital Content Today: Online Local Set For Growth
It was Tip O’Neil who said, “all politics is local.” Maybe online advertising is too. Borrell Associates is predicting a bold growth rate for online ads in 2011, led by local advertising. The company’s latest predictions place total online ad spending to grow almost 14%, from $45.6 billion, in 2010, to $51.9 billion, in 2011. The fastest-growing segments, it says, will be local, targeted display, and “everything” involving social media.
Marketing, Media, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 24

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 24
Today's bytes: Banks, retailers and carriers are gearing up for mobile payments, but who will protect consumers from fraud? Toshiba plans to bring "glasses-free" 3D TVs to the market this year. And ... well, it's true. Women do talk on their mobile phones more than men.
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Evenflo Taps Into Breastfeeding Social Passion

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Evenflo Taps Into Breastfeeding Social Passion
As August winds down, so does National Breastfeeding Month. That fact may spur some wiseguy comments from the peanut gallery but it is a serious and passionate issue for many women and the subject of an innovative new digital marketing effort form Evenflo. Evenflo’s subsidiary Ameda, which makes breast milk pumps and accessories, has capitalized on the passion and information need around breastfeeding with a social media campaign that started at the beginning of August, called “I Breastfeed Because. [...]
Marketing, Social
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SAMMY AWARDS Finalists Announced

Tuesday, August 24, 2010
SAMMY AWARDS Finalists Announced
Social
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Analyzing the Plastiki Project: Using Social Tools to Build a Global Audience

by Carla Rover on Monday, August 23, 2010
Analyzing the Plastiki Project: Using Social Tools to Build a Global Audience
David de Rothschild's Adventure Ecology engaged a global audience of environmentally-aware fans by connecting them to boat made of plastic bottles as it sailed the Pacific Ocean. The company also attracted big brands like Kiehl's and HP along the way. Read on for insights into the social media strategy that tied it all together.
Marketing, Social, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Watching Online Video

Monday, August 23, 2010
Digital Content Today: Watching Online Video
As Apple continues to be the subject of iTV rumors, online video is back on the front burner. It has been noticeably absent from discussions about iPad usage but a new report from Nielsen has some more momentum to add to the online video push that was so ubiquitous in early summer. Nielsen says consumers in all countries “are proving their insatiable appetite for video information and entertainment – thus far adding screens to their media mix, not replacing them.” Its survey of more than 27,000 online consumers in 55 countries, “How People Watch – A Global Nielsen Consumer Report” shows some of the key elements to online video integration. [...]
Marketing, Mobile
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 23

by Tameka Kee on Monday, August 23, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 23
Today's bytes: Is Android really the open-source mobile platform for consumers, or is it geared toward giving carriers like Verizon even more control? One out of every five Americans has played a social game in the past three months. And details on how the Seattle Times is using mobile video and Twitter to win the online news race.
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Localize Me: The Next Wave in Geo-Apps

Monday, August 23, 2010
Localize Me: The Next Wave in Geo-Apps
Yelp, Xtify, Booyah, they're all changing the way users view their apps. Whether you're a restauranteur, a local retailer, or any local store looking to reward visitors in a fun and interesting way, you need to check out our local panel from last week's DIGIDAY:APPS show. It features Moderator, Timothy Quinn, VP, Production, Vortex Mobile and speakers Paul Reich, Director of East Coast Sales, Yelp, Josh Rochlin, CEO Xtify and Susan Kuo, VP, Sales, Booyah discussing the many ways that brands (including publishers) can use location-based apps for unique consumer engagement opportunities. [...]
Mobile
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DigiRant: Five To Watch For After Vacation

by John Gaffney on Sunday, August 22, 2010
DigiRant: Five To Watch For After Vacation
As the summer fades and the inevitable back-to-work anxiety builds, it's time to consider the balance of what has turned out so far to be a typically unpredictable year in Internet content and advertising. This is not a lame year in review. But it is the five trends and stories to watch as the rest of 2010 plays out.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Is A Bare Necessity

Sunday, August 22, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Is A Bare Necessity
As if it needed more confirmation as the central device in consumer communications, the mobile phone has now outpaced the TV as a “necessity,” according to new research from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project. In fact the TV has been joined by the landline telephone in suffering what the report confirms is a “sharp decline” in public perception that they are necessities of life.
Marketing, Mobile
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The Plastiki Project: Cross-Platform Social Media With Purpose

by Carla Rover on Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Plastiki Project: Cross-Platform Social Media With Purpose
The fragility of the social media ethos is apparent -- if we are not sharing tunes, photos, playing games, or chatting, then why are we "here?" But "green" companies rarely have an identity crisis when it comes to using social media for branding. A sense of mission permeates virtually every social action, as is the case with Adventure Ecology, the company founded by British environmentalist David de Rothschild. In the first of a three-part series, we analyze the overall social strategy behind Adventure Ecology's Plastiki project, which used a boat made of 12,500 plastic bottles to educate people about conservation and waste management. [...]
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 22

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, August 22, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 22
Today's bytes: More questions than answers for publishers when it comes to iPad subscription pricing. Online analytics will be a hot sector for M&A over the next six months. And should marketing execs be more willing to share ideas with each other, and competitors, for the good of the industry overall?
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Digital Content Today: The Internal Social Structure

Friday, August 20, 2010
Digital Content Today: The Internal Social Structure
A new report from King Fish Media sheds some light on how social media is being managed within companies and within budgets. While it shows spending on social media will increase over the next year as three quarters of all companies are planning to increase social marketing investment, it also shows that the social budgets are split with a third tying it to a specific custom media project and another third adding an incremental increase to their marketing budget. More than 20% are reallocating money from advertising or other mainstream marketing tactics as customers migrate to social media platforms. [...]
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 19

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, August 19, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 19
Today's bytes: Five mobile search engine optimization (SEO) tips. Simple instructions for making sure your Facebook "friends" can't broadcast your location to other people without your permission. And the FT launches a hybrid metric that tracks the number of viewers of its "paid-for" content, including via mobile apps.
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Overtone Takes On Customer Listening With OpenMic

by Carla Rover on Thursday, August 19, 2010
Overtone Takes On Customer Listening With OpenMic
Overtone CMO Neil Patil says successful branding is all about companies learning to listen. While small companies can respond to emails and phone calls individually, thus interpreting consumer needs "in context," huge companies don't have that same advantage. So Overtone's OpenMic platform aims to do just that for companies with millions of clients.
Marketing, Social
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Facebook Places Faces Privacy Concerns

by John Gaffney on Thursday, August 19, 2010
Facebook Places Faces Privacy Concerns
Facebook Places debuted to a typical hoot and holler reaction yesterday. The hollers came from the millions of Facebook users that wanted the geo-location applications that Foursquare and others have made so popular. The hoots came from privacy advocacy groups, with the California ACLU posting an informal complaint on its website.
Marketing, Social
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KickApps: Five Years of DIY Social Media for Brands

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
KickApps: Five Years of DIY Social Media for Brands
In five years, white-label social network provider KickApps has amassed a roster of some of America's largest companies as clients. Yet, in a world where 500 million people are already on Facebook, why do brands need private customized social networks? And what do they really mean to the bottom line?
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Coupons Loc Up

Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Coupons Loc Up
Of course location-based mobile media company JiWire is going to tell us consumers want location-based mobile ads. But the company found some surprising consumer preferences in its Q2 2010 Mobile Audience Insights Report. Namely, the report found that mobile users find the most appealing location-based ads are coupons, with 39 percent agreeing that they want discounts while on the go. They are also interested in discovering nearby stores and reviews through ads on location-based apps.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 18

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 18
Today's bytes: H&M shares performance stats from its location-based, virtual goods campaign within MyTown. Should there be a digital copyright window that would give news sites a chance to "protect" their content for at least 24-hours? And why the class of 2014 thinks email is "slow."
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DigiRant: Handling The Truth About Digital Media

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
DigiRant: Handling The Truth About Digital Media
Let’s face it digital media conferences are not meant to surprise and provoke these days. They are meant to generate ideas and innovation, and at their best, turn you out with a better understanding of the possibilities for your business. But twice during Monday’s DIGIDAY:Apps conference, I was stopped in my tracks. First by Robin Steinberg; next by Kevin Hyson.
Marketing, Media
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Social Media Finds Way To BtoB

Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Social Media Finds Way To BtoB
More BtoB applications are emerging for social media. A new CareerBuilder survey reports that 35% of employers use social media to promote their company. One-quarter (25%) of these employers said that they are using social media to connect with clients and find new business. Others use it to recruit and research potential employees (21%), or strengthen their employment brands (13%).
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Shopping Hits A Bump

Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Shopping Hits A Bump
Maybe this won’t be so easy. A little blip in consumer mobile shopping experience has been found by Sterling Commerce, which released a report on Tuesday that found consumers are increasingly turning to mobile devices to add depth and convenience to their in-store shopping experience. But concerns around security and ease-of-use threaten mobile progress.
Marketing, Mobile
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 17

Tuesday, August 17, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 17
Today's bytes: Believe it or not, one time high-flyer Lycos has been sold. Also: College professors are so over email, Hulu is drawing as many doubters as investors, and AOL is getting some high fives for its local journalism project.
Marketing, Metrics
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New Business And Creative Models Emerging For Video Apps

by Michael Mascioni on Tuesday, August 17, 2010
New Business And Creative Models Emerging For Video Apps
The scope of video apps is set to broaden considerably, according to speakers at Monday’s DIGIDAY: conference. The blending of video and social media is driving that growth. As Alex Blum, CEO of KickApps put it, the marriage of video and social media “creates a more engaging experience” for users, allowing “audiences to rate, share, and vote on videos.” In fact, the “viral syndication” of video apps has become “as significant as” more standard distribution models, he maintains. [...]
Media, Mobile, Social
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Virtual Goods Add To Apps Revenue

by Michael Mascioni on Monday, August 16, 2010
Virtual Goods Add To Apps Revenue
Virtual goods revenues are playing a major role in the growth of gaming apps and social games. At Monday’s DIGIDAY: Apps conference in New York, several speakers said that the surge in virtual goods expenditures in the social gaming space is in large part due to greater education of users about virtual goods through social networks.
Marketing, Social
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More LiveApps: Finding The Social Link

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 16, 2010
More LiveApps: Finding The Social Link
There’s a reason the app world is exploding and appssavvy CEO Chris Cunningham says it’s simple. In migrating to new social platforms, brands are driving app growth by finding the new center of customer engagement. His luncheon keynote at DIGIDAY:Apps gave evidence of this trend through customers and new research showing that 33 percent of consumers interact most intensely on the web and 27 percent on mobile. Other media were also-rans.
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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LiveApps: New Models For Print Content

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 16, 2010
LiveApps: New Models For Print Content
In the end it all comes down to the business model. Even in the face of the dispersion of the audience and the flagging numbers surrounding print, business models came front and center at DIGIDAY:Apps on Monday in New York City. Although apps will not save print content, panelists were almost unanimous in their belief that it provides new opportunities for growth and engagement.
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 15

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, August 15, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 15
Today's bytes: Will Twitter serve as a useful tool for propaganda? North Korea seems to think so. Disney, Demand Media and others get hit with an illegal ad-targeting suit stemming from Clearspring widgets. And why more companies plan to launch mobile sites than apps next year.
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Digital Content Today: New Ideas On Social Strategy

Sunday, August 15, 2010
Digital Content Today: New Ideas On Social Strategy
Social media needs to be more closely tied to customer strategy. That’s the point of a new book that urges marketers to look beyond the face value of followers and fans as the social networks get bigger and more sophisticated. In How to Make Money with Social Media: An Insider’s Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business from Reshma Shah, assistant professor in the practice of marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, and co-author Jamie Turner encourage marketers to think tactically about their goals and outcomes. [...]
Marketing, Social
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Disney Invites Users to Play Along

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, August 13, 2010
Disney Invites Users to Play Along
Nobody missed the incredible fashion in which Disney “beat the street” estimates in its third fiscal quarter this week, turning in earnings per share up a whopping 31 percent. What you might have missed amid all the hoopla about ESPN’s smashing World Cup and stewardship of three of the top movies in the world is that Disney is looking for a similar growth path in social gaming.
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Livestream Teams With DIGIDAY to Stream DIGIDAY:APPS

Friday, August 13, 2010
Livestream Teams With DIGIDAY to Stream DIGIDAY:APPS
DM2Media, publisher of DIGIDAY:DAILY and the DIGIDAY conferences has teamed with Livestream to offer live streaming of our widely popular DIGIDAY:APPS conference Monday, Aug. 16, beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT. We'd like to thank Xtify, a new geo-location platform for apps, for providing commercial sponsorship of this event, which will offer a deep dive into the challenges and success stories of the explosive mobile and social app market with the medium's heaviest hitters.
Media, Mobile, Social, Technology
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Back To School: Hotchalk Gets Hot

Friday, August 13, 2010
Back To School: Hotchalk Gets Hot
As amazing as it seems, the "Back to School" campaigns are all in full swing. So, for marketers in the thick of it, we thought you might like to see how Hotchalk overtook the nation’s top education textbook publishers to become comScore’s top-ranked US educational online advertising property. That’s number one. As in foremost. Top-visited. Most desirable. True, it's a bustling online educational community of blogs, websites, and learning services, but it began as just a good idea in 2007 when it launched on Adify's ad network. [...]
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 12

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, August 12, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 12
Today's bytes: Has Google invested in iPhone games developer ngmoco? Should the SEC turn to crowdsourcing for help with policing the stock market? And Kroger launches a "digital coupon center" that connects shopper's online discounts to their supermarket rewards card.
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The MOBI Files: Comedy Central and Transpera Put Steven Colbert in Your Back Pocket

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, August 12, 2010
The MOBI Files: Comedy Central and Transpera Put Steven Colbert in Your Back Pocket
In this installment of The MOBI Files, we profile the winners of the 2009 MOBI Award for Best Mobile Site: Transpera and Comedy Central (a division of MTV Networks). They teamed up to create the Colbert Nation, a mobile site for fans of The Colbert Report. Click through to find out more about the campaign, watch excerpts from the show, and see why our judges gave them the award!
Mobile
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5Qs: Ex MMA CEO Mike Wehrs is IN as Interim CEO of Scanbuy

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, August 12, 2010
5Qs: Ex MMA CEO Mike Wehrs is IN as Interim CEO of Scanbuy
Since Mike Wehrs is actually that rare breed of adviser and true guru, we actually needed 8 questions to mine his views for what's next in mobile marketing generally and Scanbuy in particular. From what's working overseas, to what's next domestically, we think you'll agree that Wehrs certainly seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Mobile
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AdLib Adds Artificial Intelligence-Driven Search to Forum Convos

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, August 11, 2010
AdLib Adds Artificial Intelligence-Driven Search to Forum Convos
You've just responded to an email about a summer birthday party for a friend's young daughter, and you recklessly mention the weather being "hot." Next thing you know, there are banner ads for dating sites clogging your email sidebar, featuring "hot and naughty party clowns" and "hot local girls ready to party- with YOU!" Solariat CTO Jeffrey Davits explains why many display and contextual ad systems in email and forums have "no respect" for the rules of conversation.
Marketing, Social, Technology
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Stifel Nicolaus And MillennialMedia Join DM2 in APPS State of the Industry Survey

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Stifel Nicolaus And MillennialMedia Join DM2 in APPS State of the Industry Survey
Leading players in both the financial analysis of the mobile handset and digital advertising markets and mobile marketing have joined DM2Pro.com, the sister publication of DIGIDAY:DAILY in our semi-annual APPS State of the Industry Survey. We'll be releasing top-line data from this important industry benchmark study Monday, August 16 at the DIGIDAY:APPS conference in New York City. Even if you can't join the hundreds of industry insiders already registered for this event, you can participate in sharing your experience in both mobile and social apps. [...]
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 11

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, August 11, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 11
Today's bytes: Novartis gets in hot water with the FDA for its Facebook app touting its leukemia drug. Twitter crosses the 93 million user mark. And Google adds DIRECTV inventory to its TV Ads platform.
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Adcentricity Posts Best Quarter Ever in Challenging Q2 for Digital Out-of-Home

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Adcentricity Posts Best Quarter Ever in Challenging Q2 for Digital Out-of-Home
In a market full of “cheerleaders,” it’s almost refreshing to read a market study that acknowledges that the second quarter was “challenging” at best for digital out of home advertising (DOOH for short). Plans to execute campaigns in this emerging medium were largely deferred and delayed; yet there were bright spots. In a period where it fought “Fin-reg” and the perception of corporate greed, financial services emerged as an unlikely leader in the space. And, Adcentricity, the company that just released the “Q2 Digital Out-Of-Home Market Review” to help advertisers and agencies better understand this market, Adcentricity posted its best bookings ever. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 10

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 10
Today's bytes: Ben & Jerry's explains that it didn't "give up" on email marketing overall, but why it did pull back on the channel in the U.K. Medialets gets $6 million for its mobile content and ad network. And the video game industry funneled nearly $5 billion into the U.S. economy last year.
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Wowd Tries Separating the Need to Know from the TMI on Facebook

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wowd Tries Separating the Need to Know from the TMI on Facebook
Wowd's new Social Discovery Client helps Facebook users cut through the newsfeed clutter (read: Farmville requests, drunken photos and dozens of status updates), in a way that the network doesn't allow on its own. But do people really need a separate tool to "manage" Facebook?
Social
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So A Dame With A Camera Walks Into A Bar

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
So A Dame With A Camera Walks Into A Bar
Fran Maier lost her camera in Berlin. Not long afterwards, while attending a privacy conference in Chicago, of all places, she received an alert through her MobileMe account that someone was uploading three pictures: pictures of the seemingly lovely, German family that had ended up with her camera. How a found camera can “rat” out its new owners to – not just any American tourist, but THE Internet’s U.S. privacy diva, executive director of TRUSTe's board – is more than a great yarn. It’s a great morality tale, so grab a cup of coffee and stay with us. [...]
Mobile
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DigiRant: Place Your Bets On Internet Gambling

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 9, 2010
DigiRant: Place Your Bets On Internet Gambling
Internet gambling will be a legal reality by this time next year. Maybe sooner. And it will have major ramifications for Internet content and advertising as companies that you might not have taken ads from in September 2010, start to look legit in September 2011. In fact, I think the major issue concerning Internet gambling is not whether it will happen, but whether you’re company is ready.
Marketing, Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 9

by Tameka Kee on Monday, August 9, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 9
Today's bytes: Details on Skype's $100 million IPO. New Scientist magazine really tries to get into its reader's minds with neuromarketing. And next time you're on a hike, the Thermos iPhone app will be able to help you find a water fountain.
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Playing Catch-up: The Rise of Branded Virtual Goods in the U.S.

by Carla Rover on Monday, August 9, 2010
Playing Catch-up: The Rise of Branded Virtual Goods in the U.S.
Virtual goods are a multi-billion dollar industry in Asia -- and especially China -- and the U.S. is still playing catch-up. One big advantage U.S. companies have is that the global virtual goods market hasn't really been cracked by brands, meaning there's a huge opportunity for game developers and brands to generate revenue and consumer loyalty by offering users branded virtual goods. Data from Viximo and Virtual Greats shows just how lucrative the opportunity could be.
Marketing, Social
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MediaMath Relaunches TerminalOne as Marketing OS

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, August 9, 2010
MediaMath Relaunches TerminalOne as Marketing OS
MediaMath, the company that claims to have invented the Demand-Side Platform or DSP, has completely reworked its TerminalOne® platform, calling it a more powerful, more intuitive and easier to use version of the original. The company’s lead product strategist says it’s a “leap forward” that will finally pair the reach of display advertising with the efficiency of search. Ordinarily, a product upgrade wouldn’t rise to the level of news. But, in light of the sheer scale that’s being reached through applications like AddThis and many other popular applications, an “enterprise level” dashboard that can filter and assemble all the intelligence that’s gushing in about what consumers are doing online sounds tantalizingly like a drug. [...]
Technology
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The SAMMY Files: KickApps Powers the Ovation TV Community

by Carla Rover on Sunday, August 8, 2010
The SAMMY Files: KickApps Powers the Ovation TV Community
Arts and culture site OvationTV built a loyal, monetizable community by integrating video and photo uploading tools, as well as other elements of the KickApps social media platform. The focus on community led to major boosts in user engagement, interaction and time-spent on OvationTV.com, which is why the site earned the 2009 SAMMY Award for Best Social Community.
Marketing, Social
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Android Continues Hot Streak

Saturday, August 7, 2010
Android Continues Hot Streak
More fuel was added to the Android fire last week. Following a Nielsen report that showed surprising market share and purchase intent for Google’s mobile OS, The NPD Group reported Friday that Q2 was a stunner for those who think Apple is running away with the mobile market, even with the iPhone 4 introduction. New handset introductions and wide carrier distribution in Q2 spurred Android on an impressive trajectory. For the first time since the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2007, RIM fell to second position, as Android took the lead among operating systems in handsets sold to U. [...]
Marketing, Mobile
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FCC Bails On Net Neutrality Talks

by John Gaffney on Friday, August 6, 2010
FCC Bails On Net Neutrality Talks
And on day two the FCC bailed. That was the major news on day two of the Google-Verizon saga, a day in which Google also denied that the two companies were close to a deal that would neutralize the net neutrality debate. According to a report in PC World the FCC has called off negotiations on a network neutrality compromise scheduled for the coming days, saying the talks have not been fruitful enough. Earlier yesterday a Verizon representative said that reports around the Verizon-Google negotiations “fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. [...]
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: WeShop And We Opt-Out

by John Gaffney on Friday, August 6, 2010
Digital Content Today: WeShop And We Opt-Out
Consumer data and targeting continued to take center stage this past week, with two major moves to protect consumer profiles. WeShop, a one-year-old New York-based start-up operating in private beta, announced some high-profile investors, and ReputationDefender announced a paid model for consumers to take their data private.
Marketing, Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 5

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, August 5, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 5
Today's bytes: You can play (word) games on the Kindle now. Conde Nast plans to launch magazine-themed restaurants overseas. And Spot Runner is pulling the plug on its Malibu web-to-TV video ad-buying platform.
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Content For iPad Makes New Strides

by John Gaffney on Thursday, August 5, 2010
Content For iPad Makes New Strides
Content created specifically for the iPad benefited from a few major announcements this week. Zinio announced an innovative new package from its partnership with Rolling Stone magazine, and Sideways announced what could be the first actual readership study from an iPad specific content property.
Marketing, Technology
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Google And Verizon Go In Through The Out Door

by John Gaffney on Thursday, August 5, 2010
Google And Verizon Go In Through The Out Door
Sometimes you wake up in the morning and nothing is the same. Welcome to one of those mornings. Looks like Google and Verizon will try to put together an arrangement that finds a loophole in net neutrality and potentially changes the economics for digital publishing and consumption. And all this time the attention was on the “real” action, at the FCC.
Media
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AddThis Adds Ad Targeting to Reach One Billion Consumers

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, August 5, 2010
AddThis Adds Ad Targeting to Reach One Billion Consumers
Clearspring's most widely used widget, AddThis, gives rise to an audience targeting network where not just content, but influence matters.
Social, Technology
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Parlez-Vous Facebook: Why Brands are Struggling to Reach the Global Facebook Audience

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Parlez-Vous Facebook: Why Brands are Struggling to Reach the Global Facebook Audience
Despite the fact that the majority of Facebook's 500 million strong tribe lives abroad, a new study by Buddy Media finds that blue-chip brands seem hesitant to embrace the platform as an effective marketing tool for customers outside the U.S. So what are some steps that brands can take to try to engage their global audiences?
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 4

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 4
Today's bytes: Visa's new Rightcliq app blends social media with commerce. Google gobbles up Slide. And Oprah's OWN cable network is costing Discovery more than the $100 million it initially budgeted for.
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Wrapmail Wraps Corporate Emails in Ads to Boost Open Rates

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Wrapmail Wraps Corporate Emails in Ads to Boost Open Rates
What's the future of email marketing in the age of flashy apps and social networking tools that make simple product announcements, newsletters and press releases seem obsolete? For Wrapmail, the future means garnering exposure for brands like Verizon Wireless in emails when potential consumers are least expecting it; that is, when the emails come from their friends and business associates' corporate accounts.
Marketing, Technology
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Blackberry Gets An App Boost

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Blackberry Gets An App Boost
Talk about mixed emotions. It has been a roller coaster of a week for RIM and Blackberry and it’s only Wednesday. Tuesday the company finally took the wraps off its much-rumored Torch to a largely appreciative blogosphere. No one is calling it an iPhone killer. However, after Nielsen showed the continued ubiquity of emailing for mobile devices on Monday, the Blackberry seems to have reclaimed a spot in the mobile world.
Marketing, Mobile
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 3

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, August 3, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 3
Today's bytes: Boucher gives the Comcast-NBCU merger his blessing. Gowalla uses personalization to differentiate from Foursquare. And why research analysts are pegging the Android Market to overtake the App Store in terms of variety and volume.
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ShopLocal Intros Facebook Suite

Tuesday, August 3, 2010
ShopLocal Intros Facebook Suite
Gannett-owned ShopLocal has a new marketing suite that allows retailers to spread local FSIs and other ads into Facebook fan pages. The suite comprises a Deals Tab, Deals Widgets and targeted ads, so that when visiting a fan page, the most relevant and personalized circular offering is shown based on user location and demographic data. According to Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal, 49 percent of visitors to corporate fan pages are seeking information on sales and special offers. Another 45 percent come to learn about products. [...]
Marketing, Social
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Mzinga Plays The Inside Social Card

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 2, 2010
Mzinga Plays The Inside Social Card
Social media. Immediately the associations are fans, likes, consumers, and networks of friends. But often underlooked is the business side of social media. More companies are looking to social media networks as a way to communicate internally and one of the companies successfully riding this trend is Mzinga. With more than 50 percent of its business currently coming from companies that want to communicate and measure that communication internally, it has released a new updated solution called OmniSocial. [...]
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 2

by Tameka Kee on Monday, August 2, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - Aug 2
Today's bites: Why Microsoft's M&A strategy has been a good one this year. Google + the C.I.A. + web-tracking technology = more potential privacy concerns than any behavioral targeting ad. And why publishers can't afford to leave Facebook out of the marketing and syndication equation.
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Digital Content Today: Tipping Point For Social Media

by John Gaffney on Monday, August 2, 2010
Digital Content Today: Tipping Point For Social Media
Communication, rather than gathering information, has now become the dominant consumer activity on the Internet. A new survey from Nielsen shows that Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8 percent just a year ago (a 43 percent increase). Americans now spend a third their online time (36 percent) communicating and networking across social networks, blogs, personal email and instant messaging. That means 40 percent of online time is spent on just three activities – social networking, playing games and emailing. [...]
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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DigiRant: High Time For AppMarketing

by John Gaffney on Sunday, August 1, 2010
DigiRant: High Time For AppMarketing
Like a lot of parents these days, I am eagerly watching iPad behavior. I thought it would make my video-game obsessed ten-year old son a little smarter with his tech time, but it hasn’t. There has to be a better way to get the message about the innovations that mobile applications are making available to my kid, me, and anyone else. They are the future of digital content, and the really innovative ones are a hopeful future for digital content. Here's four possible ways to improve app marketing. [...]
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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Digital Content Today: More Slashing For Kindle

by John Gaffney on Sunday, August 1, 2010
Digital Content Today: More Slashing For Kindle
It has been anything but a lazy summer in the e-reader market. After a round of price cuts just weeks ago, Amazon took the scalpel out again for the Kindle on Friday, dropping the price to $139. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble announced a new in-store strategy for marketing the Nook. Most pundits write the strategy off to the iPad’s popularity and pricing, as well as the impending introduction of a $99 e-reader from a small manufacturer called Copia.
Marketing, Technology
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What is Next: Best Disruptive Technologies From AlwaysOn

by Melinda Gipson on Sunday, August 1, 2010
What is Next: Best Disruptive Technologies From AlwaysOn
Hail the disrupters! Let us be your personal shoppers for the best of the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit, where the technologies and tool-sets touted for funding today can be in use by tomorrow. Here are a few of the observations and entrepreneurial propositions we thought deserved a second look, not to mention our featured video of Geodelic's AO presentation, which we found to be a smashing example of marketing creativity.
Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 30

by Tameka Kee on Friday, July 30, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 30
Today's bytes: Is your online video strategy bankrupt without a syndication plan? Chronicling Google's struggles to evolve into more than just a one-trick (search) pony. And is your town cool enough to have a foursquare scavenger hunt? Chelthenham, in the U.K., certainly is.
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Calling All Fabbits: Fabulis Socializes The Big Gay World

by John Gaffney on Friday, July 30, 2010
Calling All Fabbits: Fabulis Socializes The Big Gay World
It doesn’t take long to figure out that Fabulis is a company of a different stripe. It bills itself as the “leading gay men’s social network,” calls its members “fabbits” just because it sounds cool, and when it introduced its new iPhone app last week CEO Jason Goldberg told the press that it “is like carrying the big gay world around in your pocket.” However, there’s a lot to be serious about at Fabulis. It has grown at as rate of ten percent over the past week alone. And the partners lining up to work with it include American Airlines, American Express, Netflix, Sony Music, and Warner Brothers. [...]
Marketing, Social
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Hope Floats Internet Innovators at Stanford Summit

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, July 30, 2010
Hope Floats Internet Innovators at Stanford Summit
There’s a true energy about entrepreneurs, especially those making their mark on society and culture through technological advances and innovative applications of same. In a room filled with so many positive ions – as was the case this week at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit – why does it always seem that you need a few negatively charged ones to keep Silicon Valley Earth-bound -- especially when there are so many more problems to solve?
Technology
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Pocketbook Principles: Where Women are Most Receptive to Online Marketing Messages

by Carla Rover on Thursday, July 29, 2010
Pocketbook Principles: Where Women are Most Receptive to Online Marketing Messages
Capturing the eye and winning the loyalty of female consumers online is an ever-evolving science. And since women are responsible for five trillion purchases per year, marketers will continue to experiment to find the best ways to reach them. New research from Yahoo finds that women are gravitating to sites that give them a combination of anonymity, community and real insights, and that advertisers should follow.
Marketing, Media, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 29

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, July 29, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 29
Today's bytes: Grooveshark offers streaming mobile music for just $3 per month. Email can be a great tool for driving traffic to your social media sites. And what are the top 50 most influential mommy blogs out there?
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Qualcomm Knocks Your Block Off With Augmented Reality Display

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, July 29, 2010
Qualcomm Knocks Your Block Off With Augmented Reality Display
“Looking at things through your phone instead of at your phone seems an odd thing to do at first,” admits Matt Grob, senior VP of engineering and head of corporate R&D at Qualcomm in describing the work his company is doing with augmented reality. “But then it somehow turns into a magic portal to an invisible universe… it’s really cool.” After watching our featured video from Grob's presentation at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit yesterday, we think even the most jaded marketers may agree. [...]
Mobile, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 28

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 28
Today's bytes: Will your house be one of the 3.4 million homes that gets a 3D TV this year? Wall Street responds to rumors that RIM will (finally) release a BlackBerry that can compete with the iPhone. And is Google planning a platform that will set social game developers free from their dependence on Facebook?
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New Google Maps App Has Yelp on the Brain

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
New Google Maps App Has Yelp on the Brain
Google blends user-generated reviews with content from Zagat, TripAdvisor and even menus from Menutopia in the latest version of its Google Maps app. And with the focus on Place Pages, the app is shaping up to be a formidable Yelp competitor. The updated app should give Google (and advertisers) the perfect platform for reaching affluent, educated 18-34 year-olds when they're on the go. So should Yelp be worried?
Marketing, Mobile
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Succeeding in a Recession: Leading Private Tech CEOs Sound Off

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Succeeding in a Recession: Leading Private Tech CEOs Sound Off
According to a mix of venture capitalists and banks, and entrepreneurial experts across the globe, the top of the food chain in private companies are represented best by: Tapulous, an app game maker just sold to Disney; Appirio, a cloud-sourcing company; SecondMarket; OpSource, a cloud hosting service; and FreeWheel, a system that monetizes syndicated video. SecondMarket, a company that provides a trading floor for illiquid assets was judged the company most likely to succeed for its investors, according to a mix of criteria including the likely return to initial investors, media buzz and revenues. [...]
Marketing
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ABC Counts New Digital Versions

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
ABC Counts New Digital Versions
Get ready for “branded editions.” The board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations made a series of changes last week that will allow several digital versions to count for circulation. According to the ABC, the new policies include new standards for newspaper subscriptions that include digital editions that will accommodate paid content models across multiple platforms, such as e-readers and mobile apps. The new rules also introduce the concept of a “branded edition”—a publication of the ABC member newspaper often targeted at a specific audience or geography but containing a different name. [...]
Media, Metrics
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The BBC iPhone App Prepares To Stand And Deliver

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The BBC iPhone App Prepares To Stand And Deliver
The BBC's new iPhone app has rival newspaper publishers crying "auntie" in Britain's bloody online news war. Should a government-backed news organization have the right to try to dominate the market for digital news at such an early stage?
Media, Mobile, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 27

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 27
Today's bytes: Bing (and even Ask) get more clicks on search ads and content than Google. Gamestop buys its way into digital gaming with Kongregate acquisition. And why Hollywood studios are starting to use Twitter's trending terms ad units, instead of being scared of bad tweets.
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Cloud Wars: Caspio Levels Quickbase Counter Measures

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Cloud Wars: Caspio Levels Quickbase Counter Measures
Cloud computing provider Caspio is exploiting rival Quickbase's service outages with a free year's service offer and other benefits. Confidence in "the cloud" could hang in the balance, especially since Quickbase is backed by Intuit.
Technology
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Ask.com Answer to Better Search: Community

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ask.com Answer to Better Search: Community
Ask.com returns to its roots of providing answers to users' questions by launching a new community of people it knows have the answers. The company has trained its proprietary technology not just on finding and compiling the questions and answers the Web has already provided, but in routing new questions to the most authoritative source to delight its consumers. In this process, it surmises, lies a multi-billion-dollar business.
Social
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DigiRant: Defining Your Network

by John Gaffney on Monday, July 26, 2010
DigiRant: Defining Your Network
We’ve reached the point in the digital publishing business where definitions are gaining importance. Case in point: Ad networks. In these days where every person and every website is a potential interdependent point of a larger whole, advertisers need to know what they’re spending on. And publishers need to know what they’re signing on to be a part of. Hanging in the balance of all this are those cool little nebulous concepts called reach, audience, and targeting.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Glam Goes For Men

Monday, July 26, 2010
Digital Content Today: Glam Goes For Men
Glam Media is going for the guys. After launching its first men's sports channel with Brash.com, the female-centric women’s vertical network announced Monday that it has acquired Sportgenic, a men's sports vertical media startup. It has also added several men's publishers including SportsFanLive and Bloguin to its network.
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 26

by Tameka Kee on Monday, July 26, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 26
Today's bytes: Will you trust an automated program to test the "tone" and sentiment of your business emails? Are traditional agencies gaining ground against digital agencies in terms of social media campaign success? And universities including OSU are testing the iPad as a classroom learning tool.
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4Sq: In Love With Local

Monday, July 26, 2010
4Sq: In Love With Local
Going Loco for Local Advertising: The local content market has been heralded as the next big sector of growth in online advertising, but has the spending actually lived up to the hype? Join publishers and brands that have experience with monetizing and advertising on localized content -- be it via desktop, mobile, and even VOD -- as they shed light on real tactics for attracting and delivering successful local ad campaigns. Our video today features a DPAC panel moderated by Richard V. Ducey, Chief Strategy Officer, Program Director, BIA/Kelsey with speakers David Dague, VP, Marketing, Localeze; Neil Salvage, EVP, Advertising, Citysearch; Mike Rothman, Director, Ad Sales, Thrillist; and Tristan Walker, Business Development, Foursquare. [...]
Mobile
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The SAMMY Files: Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Kellogg's Team Up for Social Good

by Carla Rover on Sunday, July 25, 2010
The SAMMY Files: Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Kellogg's Team Up for Social Good
In this installment of The SAMMY Files, we profile the winners of the 2009 SAMMY Award for Social Good: Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (under the Katalyst Films banner), who teamed up with Kellogg's Cares to help feed hungry Americans. Click through to find out more about the campaign, watch the video and see why our judges gave them the award!
Marketing, Social
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DigiRant: Gambling On Content

by John Gaffney on Sunday, July 25, 2010
DigiRant: Gambling On Content
We like to think of publishing as a business filled with high rollers. But in reality it has been a conservative game. The most successful formulas have never changed much. The New York Times, People Magazine, The New Yorker, and other standard bearers haven’t changed design (outside of a few tweaks) or content for decades. In this business you could always bet that good content led to good circulation and good ad revenue. It was all on the up and up. But that’s over. In these days of catching up to a runaway business model, a new gambler’s mentality is starting to show itself. [...]
Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 25

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, July 25, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 25
Today's bytes: Why the FCC has both Democrats and Republicans steamed about its attempts to regulate broadband internet access. Eight tips for using a custom landing page for your Facebook fans. And why the U.S. State Department is planning a big brainstorm about mobile commerce.
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Digital Content Today: Reluctance At Mobile Retail

Saturday, July 24, 2010
Digital Content Today: Reluctance At Mobile Retail
Despite its runaway growth in apps, ads, and overall consumer usage, some retailers still have a surprisingly stubborn “wait and see” attitude regarding mobile commerce. According to a new Forbes Insight survey attitude 73% of the more than 300 U.S. retailers surveyed for the report say they have some type of mobile initiative in place, while 20% are in the process of evaluating the mobile channel, the study finds. All retailers in the poll had multiple locations and annual revenues of $100 million or more. [...]
Marketing, Metrics
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Virtual Goods Make Mark On Apps

by John Gaffney on Friday, July 23, 2010
Virtual Goods Make Mark On Apps
Apps are moving into virtual goods and a measurement currency that moves away from the traditional benchmarks of impressions. In fact, a new case study from appssavvy and wireless charger marketer Powermat is making bold statements about branding and metrics with data to back it up.
Marketing, Media, Metrics, Mobile
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 22

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, July 22, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 22
Today's bites: Facing increased pressure from cheap, prepaid services like MetroPCS, Verizon tests a $50 unlimited plan in parts of the Southeast. Pandora hits the 60 million user mark. And what's it really like writing for the "content farms?"
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Digital Content Today: Changes in Consumer Attitudes on Privacy

Thursday, July 22, 2010
Digital Content Today: Changes in Consumer Attitudes on Privacy
Consumers are letting their guard down on privacy and digital security. That’s the general conclusion from a slew of research presented Thursday by KPMG in its latest installment of "Consumers and Convergence.” The use of mobile technology, it reports, has apparently made U.S. consumers more comfortable with safeguards and less concerned about privacy and security on their wireless devices and networks.
Metrics, Mobile
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The Equalizers: Yapper Releases iPhone and Android App DIY Kit

by Carla Rover on Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Equalizers: Yapper Releases iPhone and Android App DIY Kit
Add another low-cost app developer to the (growing) roster: Yapper. The Valley-based startup is trying to differentiate itself from the competition by focusing on digital publishers that don't have the time or money to spend developing an intricate mobile app. But is low cost and fast really the best way to attract publishers that have already become accustomed to iPad glossiness?
Marketing, Mobile, Technology
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Times Of London Sparks Debate On Paid Content

by John Gaffney on Thursday, July 22, 2010
Times Of London Sparks Debate On Paid Content
On July 2 the Murdoch UK flagship put all of its content behind a paywall. With estimates ranging from a 66 to a 90 percent hit as a result, the move is attracting more attention than a Royal Family scandal.
Media, Metrics
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Social Census: The Facebook Nation Hits 500 million

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Social Census: The Facebook Nation Hits 500 million
Facebook hit the 500 million user mark with the expected fanfare, including a digital slideshow of all employees saying "Thanks," and the launch of Facebook Stories. Founder Mark Zuckerberg says: "I could have never imagined all of the ways people would use Facebook when we were getting started 6 years ago," but the site's growth has been anything but accidental.
Marketing, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 21

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, July 21, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 21
Today's bytes: Honda's social media and video campaign "Live Every Litre" borrows elements from Ford's Fiesta Movement. Meet Flipboard, the new iPad app that has some publishers "flipping" about its potential. And why the new proposed online privacy bill has both privacy advocates and industry execs in agreement.
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Apple Drives Mobile Ads Not Just iPhone Sales

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Apple Drives Mobile Ads Not Just iPhone Sales
Besides blowing away Wall Street's earnings expectations for the 2nd Quarter, in June, the Apple OS remained the leading Smartphone operating system on Millennial Media’s ad network with a 56 percent share of impressions and an 8 percent growth rate from the prior month. And, it would appear that Smartphone users are becoming more comfortable with mobile ads. Apple ad requests increased 36 percent month-over-month while iPad ad requests more than doubled, up 206 percent from May. Apple has been the number one device on Millennial’s network since September 2009, but still generated the largest share increase of 4 percent, delivering around 30 percent of all ad impressions in June. [...]
Mobile
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Digital Content Today: Money Changes Everything For iPhones

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Digital Content Today: Money Changes Everything For iPhones
Antennagate aside, the peripheral customer value of iPhone users continues to be illustrated by new research reports. Both the Yankee Group and Juniper Research unveiled reports analysis on Tuesday that shows iPhone users are a competitive goldmine after they make their initial purchase.
Metrics, Mobile
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Facebook Frenemies: Why We Love to Hate Social Media Sites

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Facebook Frenemies: Why We Love to Hate Social Media Sites
Facebook is the most popular site in the country. And yet, when compared to 30 other prominent sites -- including Microsoft's Bing, YouTube and even IRS.gov -- the network came up almost last in terms of customer satisfaction. Survey results from ForeSee reveal the factors that could ultimately drive users (and advertisers) toward alternative social media platforms.
Media, Social
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 20

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, July 20, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 20
Today's bites: Why some record label execs are paying more attention to Google (and YouTube) than iTunes. Live-streamed NBA games could be coming to the iPad this fall. And why there will be no standards for in-app metrics from the IAB (at least for a while).
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Call for Entries: The MOBI and SAMMY Awards

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Call for Entries: The MOBI and SAMMY Awards
We're currently scouring the country for the best work of the best minds in Mobile advertising, APPS, social marketing and media. Enter our MOBI and SAMMY Awards, and be part of a group of award winners from the ranks of Coca-Cola, Lexus, Bausch & Lomb and even the U.S. State Dept (and the Yankees). Call for entries closes July 30!
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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Nielsen: Marketers Neglecting Baby Boomers

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Nielsen: Marketers Neglecting Baby Boomers
Despite the almost obsessive focus digital marketers have on Millennials, they may be leaving out their parents. And that’s a mistake. A new report from Nielsen says that media companies focus on reaching consumers age 18-34 or 18-49, who spend (or have a key role in spending) billions of dollars every year. But by solely focusing on these groups, advertisers and consumer goods manufacturers are overlooking a group that maintains tremendous buying power: the 78 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. today. [...]
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Indie Entertainment Brands Leverage iPad's Media Moxie

by Carla Rover on Monday, July 19, 2010
Indie Entertainment Brands Leverage iPad's Media Moxie
Big media brands aren't the only ones salivating over the new user engagement opportunities that the iPad has made possible. Indie filmmakers and studios are turning to the device to spread the word and the buzz about their content -- but does the platform really level the playing field?
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Zenith Report Clocks Quantum Growth For Mobile And Social

Monday, July 19, 2010
Digital Content Today: Zenith Report Clocks Quantum Growth For Mobile And Social
Einstein said the speed of light was E=MC squared. ZenithOptimedia says it’s more like the growth of social and mobile media. The agency upgraded its Global Ad Forecast on Monday, with its general optimism heightened by a quantum leap in digital marketing’s two runaway media. In the US, between 2009 and 2012 Zenith forecasts mobile advertising to grow by an average of 43.2% a year, while social media advertising will grow by 30.2% a year, compared to 15.6% a year for the internet as a whole.
Media, Metrics
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 19

by Tameka Kee on Monday, July 19, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 19
Today's bites: An unbiased guide to on-demand content companies like Demand Media and Associated Content. E-books have officially outpaced print book sales on Amazon.com. And who are the top women in the wireless industry?
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Perfect Market Opens Vault For Better Search

by John Gaffney on Monday, July 19, 2010
Perfect Market Opens Vault For Better Search
Content matters. It is the tagline and mantra of Perfect Market, which is on the surface a company that applies algorithms to digital content to align it whit maximum search possibilities. Sounds a bit like a content farm, no? No. Today Perfect Market announced a new dashboard called The Vault that provides newsrooms with the information not to keep serving the same story for traffic’s sake, but to include the right headlines and key phrases for traffic’s sake.
Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 18

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, July 18, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 18
Today's bites: How ReachLocal, Motricity and the two other digital media companies that went public this year, have performed. Richard Branson gets into digital publishing with the launch of Maverick. And can you learn social media strategies from Meg Whitman?
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Digital Content Today: HP MagCloud Celebrates With Digital Print Options

by John Gaffney on Sunday, July 18, 2010
Digital Content Today: HP MagCloud Celebrates With Digital Print Options
It doesn’t look like the dawn of the terrible twos for HPs MagCloud technology. Today it celebrates its second anniversary by coming officially out of beta and announcing some key changes that it hopes will attract traditional print publications to its on demand platform.
Media
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Digital Content Today: Tennis.com Serves An Ace

by John Gaffney on Friday, July 16, 2010
Digital Content Today: Tennis.com Serves An Ace
It has been a big year for tennis so far. Wimbledon hosted an 11-hour marathon match. Serena has come up big, Nadal has come back, and the sports biggest tournament is played in New York City at summer’s end. As the sport has enjoyed 2010, so too has Tennis.com. According to Nielsen, Tennis.com recorded more than 27 million page views during the combined six weeks of play of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Championships. Sport fans also spent more time on the site this year, with an average of 13. [...]
Media
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MMA Survey Projects Doubling of Mobile Marketing Budgets in 2011

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, July 16, 2010
MMA Survey Projects Doubling of Mobile Marketing Budgets in 2011
A survey of “marketers who make decisions about media spend” spearheaded by the Mobile Marketing Association indicates that their mobile marketing budget will rize more than 124 percent from 2010 to 2011. That still puts the total allocated to the channel at just over 4 percent, but $5.5 billion in 2011 is nothing to sneeze at.
Mobile
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5Qs with BuzzLogic's New CTO John Donahue

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, July 15, 2010
5Qs with BuzzLogic's New CTO John Donahue
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we chat with John Donahue, the new CTO of social media insights company BuzzLogic. Donahue recently joined BuzzLogic from OMG, where he was the global head of business intelligence, technology and data.
Metrics, Social
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Greystripe Plays Simon Says with Immersive Mobile Ad Units

by Carla Rover on Thursday, July 15, 2010
Greystripe Plays Simon Says with Immersive Mobile Ad Units
Greystripe's Immersion Ad units -- with game functionality and video -- showed promising results in a Buick Lacrosse campaign. Click-through rates, brand awareness and brand recall stats were off the charts for mobile ads. The ad units offer the first glimpse into how Apple's iAd units might perform, but the results could also be a bit misleading.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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DataXu Creates Digital Media Brain

by John Gaffney on Thursday, July 15, 2010
DataXu Creates Digital Media Brain
Arguably no category is hotter right now for audience measurement and targeting than demand side platforms. DataXu, one of the leaders in real-time bidding is taking advantage of that momentum with a new audience optimization offering. According to DataXu CEO Mike Baker, the new product brings scalability to campaigns that are executed against smaller audience targets. DataXu blends proprietary data with third party data, enabling ad campaigns to be augmented by data from providers such as BlueKai. [...]
Media
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Digital Content Today: Travel Ad Network Takes Flight

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Digital Content Today: Travel Ad Network Takes Flight
If Brian Silver has his way a very important part of the digital marketing lexicon has seen a better day. The Travel Ad Network CEO would actually be happy if publishers and advertisers struck the phrase “ad network” from their vocabulary. Instead Silver wants his company and other true content and commerce site aggregators to be known as “vertical media companies.” He includes the partnership necessary in delivering audiences inherent in that definition.
Marketing
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 14

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, July 14, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 14
Today's bites: Ben & Jerry's is ditching e-mail marketing for an all social media strategy. A peek behind the curtain at Vidcon, the conference for web TV stars (and brands that want to reach them). And Android keeps gaining territory with media companies like News Corp., which just launched a Fox News app.
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Bait and Switch: TV Network Online Offerings Are Inconsistent At Best

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Bait and Switch: TV Network Online Offerings Are Inconsistent At Best
Get your TV shows here! That's been the rallying cry of sites like Hulu, TV.com, and individual network properties. But how long after the date they air can viewers really access those shows? Just six weeks on average, meaning that both viewers and advertisers have a limited time to make the most of that content. The short online viewing windows are just the latest indicator that even premium web video has a long way to go before it catches up with TV.
Marketing, Media
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Google Apps DIY Isn't Scaring Mobile Pros

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Google Apps DIY Isn't Scaring Mobile Pros
When Google unveils a new product that allows consumers to do what professionals normally get paid to do, it’s worth paying attention to the consequences. If you don’t believe that here’s one word: AdWords. So its announcement Monday that it will roll out a do-it-yourself mobile app tool has caused more buzz than a world cup vuvuzela.
Mobile
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PointRoll Takes A Marker From AR

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
PointRoll Takes A Marker From AR
It has been an intriguing but hard to access technology for the past year. But now augmented reality may be on the cusp of a breakthrough with new applications from a partnership between Oddcast and PointRoll. The companies are teaming up on an AR solution that removes the “markers” that complicate it for consumers and advertisers.
Media
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Tablet Overdose: Windows 7 Tablets Served To Publishers

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tablet Overdose: Windows 7 Tablets Served To Publishers
Microsoft rules the personal computer market, but Apple's iPad has carved out the first real niche when it comes to tablets. The iPad has also become the darling of publishers and brands. Enter Microsoft's Windows 7-powered line of tablets, which the company says will launch in the next few months. With an emphasis on customization, the tablets could be a hit with consumers. But how is Microsoft going to reach publishers and advertisers to create apps that attract those consumers?
Marketing, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 13

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 13
Today's bites: How Wieden+Kennedy (and the Old Spice guy) are using YouTube videos to respond to fans' tweets in real-time. Kraft's new utility-based iPad app. And are over 10 percent of Google searches now coming from mobile phones?
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Digital Content Today: Newstogram Adds Variety

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Digital Content Today: Newstogram Adds Variety
Behavioral tracking and recommendation technology Newstogram got a big boost earlier this week by signing entertainment trade Variety.com. The “bible of Hollywood” joins several regional newspapers and Spanish-language newspaper network ImpreMedia as early adopters of the technology, which claims a unique and varied method of customize content and monetizing publications.
Media
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Making Social Sense: Networked Insights' New Facebook Analytics

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Making Social Sense: Networked Insights' New Facebook Analytics
Want to know the quality of interactions your fans are having with your brand on your Facebook page? Now there's an app for that. Networked Insights has launched SocialSensefb, a Facebook-centric tool that aims to offer real-time analysis and interpretation of how consumers are really "feeling" about a brand.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Jumptap Exploits Mobile Ad Wars With Freedom Fund

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Jumptap Exploits Mobile Ad Wars With Freedom Fund
It’s an uneasy truce that hangs between Apple and Google in the war of access to each others’ ad networks. While both appear to be cooperating for now in an effort to build a nascent mobile marketing industry – and in no small measure to keep the Feds out of their hair – there’s enough concern among app developers that the truce won’t hold, for independent networks to make a little hey at the dueling duo’s expense. Jumptap appears the first to pounce. The independent mobile ad network is set to announce today at MobileBeat 2010 in San Francisco that it is establishing a $4 million fund to entice new app developers and publishers. [...]
Mobile
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Keds: We're An American Brand

by John Gaffney on Monday, July 12, 2010
Keds: We're An American Brand
You might call them sneakers but Keds have transcended the standard labels applied to footwear these days. Its innovative new cross-promotions and digital applications have taken this century old brand into new territory. Forget “Just Do It.” At Keds the tagline could be more like a runway riff: Just Work It.
Marketing
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 12

by Tameka Kee on Monday, July 12, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 12
Today's bites: Toyota focused on online video to help promote its Sienna minivan, and the efforts are paying off. Gallo wines turns to Twitter and a free taco truck to promote a new tequila brand. And Google rolls out build-your-own app technology for the Android mobile platform.
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Wharton Profs Skeptical On E-Readers

Monday, July 12, 2010
Wharton Profs Skeptical On E-Readers
While the Nook, Kindle, and Kobo play a high-stakes discount game with the future of their parent companies at stake, a new survey of Wharton Business School professors predicts it may be in vain. They say e-readers are at best a niche market and at worst may soon become extinct.
Technology
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Entrepreneur Magazine Launches iPad App With Texterity

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, July 12, 2010
Entrepreneur Magazine Launches iPad App With Texterity
Among the newest entries in iPad apps is Entrepreneur, and -- partly because it's free -- it's moving quickly up the Apple iPad popularity charts for business apps. What's almost more interesting is the usage data, realeased today by Massachusetts-based Texterity as a way of highlighting their "Total Mobility" platform for publishers. For example, Entrepreneur users spend an average of 33 minutes per session with their app editions and come back more than three times per month for between-issue features. [...]
Media, Technology
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5Qs With RecycleBank CMO Ian Yolles

by John Gaffney on Sunday, July 11, 2010
5Qs With RecycleBank CMO Ian Yolles
RecycleBank is an innovative concept that works digital content and applications to allow communities and their residents to earn credits for their recycling efforts. Similar to frequent flier programs, the more a family recycles, the more RecycleBank Points that household earns. They are tracked via special new recycling receptacles equipped with special tags that connect the address with individual RecycleBank accounts. Each time a household recycles, the amount is recorded and converted into RecycleBank Points, which can be used to "shop" online for rewards from hundreds of businesses in more than 20 categories, including Automotive, Beauty and Health, Beverages, Entertainment, Food and Grocery, Restaurants, and Sports and Recreation. [...]
Marketing
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 11

by Tameka Kee on Sunday, July 11, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 11
Today's bites: Time Warner's CEO admits that cable companies are feeling pressure from Netflix and others. Is the Android Market really catching up to the App Store in terms of quantity? And how Nike's interactive marketing strategy has improved since the last World Cup.
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Evenflo Puts Some Social Savvy Into Parenting

by John Gaffney on Friday, July 9, 2010
Evenflo Puts Some Social Savvy Into Parenting
Arguably no generation in history has been analyzed more than the Millennials. Call them the “echo boomers” or GenY, the children of baby boomers are 60 million strong and most importantly are having their own children. They grew up digital. You can find hundreds of reports on how to manage them, sell them, and market them. But when Evenflo wanted to reach them, it found one attitude among Millennials more important than any tangible data point.
Social
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Digital Content Today: ScanScout Breaks Down Online Video

Friday, July 9, 2010
Digital Content Today: ScanScout Breaks Down Online Video
A week after comScore reported that May 2010 data from its Video Metrix service showed that 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month, ScanScout provided a breakdown of that activity. May was the month in which YouTube.com achieved record levels of viewing activity with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and surpassed the threshold of 100 videos per viewer for the first time.
Media
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The Borders E-Store Library: Doing the Math

by Carla Rover on Friday, July 9, 2010
The Borders E-Store Library: Doing the Math
First came the e-Reader price drops, now comes the e-Book store wars. Amazon has been the ruler of the online book marketplace ... well, since it created the online book marketplace. Apple upped the ante with all of the iBook apps, and now, Borders has entered the fray with its new online book store. But how does it stack up -- in terms of the robustness of the library?
Media, Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 8

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, July 8, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 8
Today's bites: How a science blog network felt the wrath of its user base when it tried (and failed) to launch a new Pepsi-branded blog. Playdom and MTV Networks make social gaming acquisitions. And is MySpace Music about to start charging subscriptions for streaming music?
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SocialTwist Takes The High Road

by John Gaffney on Thursday, July 8, 2010
SocialTwist Takes The High Road
Taking the high road with customers hasn’t exactly been a hallmark of social media over the last year. But it is the defining value proposition for Social Twist. The company that enables brands and publishers to turn social media into marketing campaigns has flown in stealth mode until recently when it announced a new website redesign and some surprisingly big numbers. Since its entry into the market 18 months ago Social Twist has served 3.6 billion impressions through more than 70,000 thousand publishers. [...]
Social
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Bigger, Faster, Stronger: Borders New E-Book Store Launch

by Carla Rover on Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Bigger, Faster, Stronger: Borders New E-Book Store Launch
First came the e-Reader price drops, now comes the e-Book store wars. Amazon has been the ruler of the online book marketplace ... well, since it created the online book marketplace. Apple upped the ante with all of the iBook apps, and now, Borders has entered the fray with its new online book store. But how does it stack up -- in terms of devices available?
Media
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 7

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, July 7, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 7
Today's bites: Find out the secrets to Dell's successful online marketing strategy. Livefyre gets funding to clean up anonymous comments on news sites. And how Blockbuster is trying to fight back against the influx of Redbox kiosks.
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Dueling Studies Contrast Consumer Attitudes on Targeted Ads

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Dueling Studies Contrast Consumer Attitudes on Targeted Ads
Legislators and regulators mulling online privacy restrictions may be basing their decisions on bad data that bears no resemblance to the world actual content producers occupy. That’s just one of the implications of a new PreferenceCentral study of more than 1,000 consumers and their attitudes towards both targeted advertising and the exchange of a little information about their personal preferences for free content.
Metrics
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AudienceScience Nets German Targeting Firm

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
AudienceScience Nets German Targeting Firm
So, if Hamburg, Germany-based wunderloop can target ads the way that German striker Miroslav Klose can pinpoint a soccer ball, AudienceScience may have itself a winner. For some reason, the latter ad technology company dropped news of its agreement to acquire wunderloop during the long holiday weekend, but then, conquering the world one audience segment of the time affords little slack time.
Technology
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 6

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 6
Today's bites: Why is the NBA running a sponsored tweets campaign for the most popular player of them all -- aka King James? Why iPad apps aren't inherently more valuable for users or advertisers. And details on Netflix's new deal to get access to movies like Get Him to the Greek before cable companies get them for Pay-Per-View.
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Alerts Spike Shopping

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Alerts Spike Shopping
There’s more evidence that mobile marketing affects shopping behavior. After a Knowledge Networks report last week showed the power of mobile apps, yesterday a report conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Placecast says consumers are becoming more receptive to opt-in mobile marketing. One-third of Americans who have signed up for mobile marketing alerts indicate that it impacts their decision to go into stores and 27% report that such programs have impacted their decision to buy products in physical retail locations. [...]
Mobile
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Hyatt Resorts Wants Facebook Users to Show and Tell

by Carla Rover on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hyatt Resorts Wants Facebook Users to Show and Tell
A new campaign from Hyatt Resorts blends user-generated content (UGC) on Facebook with real-world rewards, in an attempt to lure non-Facebook users into becoming fans. But will it ultimately be a boon for the brand?
Marketing, Social
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Adcentricity Leads Digital Out-Of-Home Surge

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Adcentricity Leads Digital Out-Of-Home Surge
Digital out-of-home is currently enjoying the best of several worlds, and Adcentricity is right smack in the middle of them. The company claims to be North America’s largest aggregator and strategist for digital OOH. Being digital it can dynamically update brand messages and optimize their placements based on time and audience. It can also target the right audience based on location and then measure response. Although digital OOH has some obstacles to success, it is gaining momentum.
Media
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Pitching iPad to Agencies: A DPAC Primer

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, July 5, 2010
Pitching iPad to Agencies: A DPAC Primer
The problem with all emerging media is that, until it reaches 10 million or more consumers, most agencies will consider it an experiment. Until it is itself an established media – e.g. as search has become for most ad planners – it thus becomes a real trial to try to hunt down the right risk-taker to pitch a new platform play or application. We feel your pain. At DPAC, DM2Media held a whole workshop session with three thought leaders in emerging media who offered up concrete advice for publishers and video content producers looking to land ad clients for the new platforms. [...]
Media
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Digital Content Today: Big Dive For Market Research

Monday, July 5, 2010
Digital Content Today: Big Dive For Market Research
Unless you have a government account, it’s a tough time to be in the market research business. The American Marketing Association issued a report last week that measured the biggest drop in 20 years for the commercial marketing, advertising, and public opinion research services. The study was published in the AMA's Marketing News magazine in its June 30 annual Marketing Research Issue.
Marketing
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Hearst Upgrades Seventeen Site

Friday, July 2, 2010
Hearst Upgrades Seventeen Site
Seventeen Magazine's website has been dusted off and integrated with online video. Hearst Magazines Digital Media announced the relaunch of Seventeen.com. earlier this week. The print magazine has been around for 65 years, with a print circ of more than 13 million. Now the upgraded Seventeen.com gives the teen consumer more impactful visuals, improved navigation and will put a greater emphasis on video, which has been integrated into every page. Expanded sponsorship and content integration opportunities allow advertisers to participate in the conversation and deepen their relationship with the Seventeen reader. [...]
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: Two Screens Are Better Than One

Thursday, July 1, 2010
Digital Content Today: Two Screens Are Better Than One
Nearly 40% of people in homes with Internet access use the TV and Internet simultaneously at least once each week. And that, according to a new Nielsen report, is a good thing. It’s an even better thing if you’re in the pharmaceutical industry. In a study of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, exposure on TV and online was more than twice as likely to prompt patients to ask their physician about an advertised drug than TV alone. The study also found that premium in-stream video ads which aired as part of a full-length TV episode online generated significantly higher levels of ad recall and brand recognition than other Internet video, display or standard TV ads. [...]
Marketing
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 1

Thursday, July 1, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - July 1
Today's bites: Fabulis is in the money, AdMob says Android is rockin' right along with that other mobile device, and as you leave for vacation here's something to think about if you think about marketing.
Marketing, Media
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Frisbie Leads InMobi Into US Market

by John Gaffney on Thursday, July 1, 2010
Frisbie Leads InMobi Into US Market
Anne Frisbie, the new VP & Managing Director, North America of InMobi, is experienced enough to know that there is still plenty of room to compete for mobile advertising in the expanding domestic and global market. Her company claims to be the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, and recently announced its official launch in the US market. InMobi already maintains 2 billion US ad impressions monthly following its soft launch in January 2010, most of those for global publishers who have a US footprint. [...]
Mobile
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Collective Teams With AppNexus for Laser Focus on Audience

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, July 1, 2010
Collective Teams With AppNexus for Laser Focus on Audience
If you can dream it, you can do it. The practice of real-time media buying of targeted online audiences looks to become downright commonplace as targeting technologists team to provide both reach and accessibility to brand marketers. The most recently announced pairing puts Collective's display ad solutions into the real-time buying sphere of AppNexus' ad platform. The partnership also gives Collective’s brand advertising and agency clients access to AppNexus’ massive inventory from the likes of Google’s DoubleClick and Microsoft’s AdECN. [...]
Technology
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Digital Content Today: Apping And Shopping

Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Digital Content Today: Apping And Shopping
They app, they shop. A new report from Knowledge Networks has found that among those who use apps on their smartphone, 40% will refer to them at least "sometimes" when making decisions while shopping. Of the more than 1,000 consumers surveyed 32% already say they are more inclined to buy from companies that advertise in apps - a much higher proportion than for other emerging platforms.
Marketing
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Purex Pulls An Inside Job With Digital Moms

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Purex Pulls An Inside Job With Digital Moms
Earlier this month, Night Agency and Henkel won the 2010 H.E.R. award, an annual accolade from the Marketing to Moms Coalition industry group, for the Purex Complete 3-in-1 product launch. The award recognizes companies that honor, empower and respect mothers through their marketing and public relations campaigns. For Henkel it was recognition that digital marketing could help “out think” a mega-competitor.
Media
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Hulu Goes Paid: Cable Providers Should Worry

by Tameka Kee on Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Hulu Goes Paid: Cable Providers Should Worry
After weeks of rumors, Hulu has finally launched its subscription-based service. The deal gives users access to content on multiple devices -- including web-connected TVs, iPhones and iPads -- and all for just $10 per month. Could this be the beginning of the end for the big cable companies?
Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Big And Flashy Are Better

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Digital Content Today: Big And Flashy Are Better
Larger and more engaging display ads are working. A new comScore report, the first in its Ad Metrix Creative Summary series, showed that JPEG display ads dominated the market with more than 42 percent of impressions in the U.S., while “leaderboard”-style banner ads (728 x 90 in dimension) were the most commonly viewed display ad by size.
Marketing
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Zoove Inks Deals With Major Mobile Carriers

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Zoove Inks Deals With Major Mobile Carriers
Zoove made major strides this week with StarStar Mobile Dial Code solution striking deals with several domestic mobile carriers including AT&T and Verizon. The service enables brands and agencies to reserve branded Mobile Dial Codes (MDCs) and use the Zoove platform to launch StarStar Code direct response programs.
Marketing
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Fruits in the Roots: Or How Brands Like Apple and Lego Have Built Real Consumer Equity

by Joey Reiman on Monday, June 28, 2010
Fruits in the Roots: Or How Brands Like Apple and Lego Have Built Real Consumer Equity
A recent study conducted by Millward Brown Optimor identified the top 25 brands on the planet. All of them had higher order ideals. And all of them were a lot more profitable and more valuable. Find out how six ideals -- Inspiration, Distinctiveness, Excellence, Aliveness, Love and Soulfulness -- have helped brands like Apple and Lego thrive in the digital sphere.
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: Car Jamming

Monday, June 28, 2010
Digital Content Today: Car Jamming
Perhaps more than any other business, automotive companies live and die on the Internet. According to new and used car pricing bible Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, Web traffic patterns show big changes in who’s surviving and thriving. Its new intelligence report shows the top five upward-climbing and downward-declining brands in share of market interest for May 2010 over 2009 with Hyundai and Ford both showing a significant increase in share of market interest. During the same time dominant brands Toyota and Honda showed a significant decrease. [...]
Marketing
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Barnes and Noble Building a Billion-Dollar Business With Nook

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, June 28, 2010
Barnes and Noble Building a Billion-Dollar Business With Nook
The more publishers can know about their consumers, the faster they can move them through the purchase funnel, says Marc Parrish, VP of loyalty and retention marketing for Barnes & Noble. The company aims to move as many of its 6 million patrons into its Nook e-reader as humanly possible, creating a captive audience for the $6 billion in magazines and newspapers that are going digital sooner rather than later.
Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Asking For Directions

Sunday, June 27, 2010
Digital Content Today: Asking For Directions
Geo-locational ads are working on mobile, and it turns out more users are looking for directions as well. ComScore released a report last Friday that shows 14 % of mobile users in the U.S. accessed maps on their devices in April 2010, as the mobile map audience reached 33.5 million users, up 44% from the previous year. The study also found that more mobile users now access maps via application than via browser, demonstrating the success of applications in penetrating the mobile map market.
Marketing
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The Fuel: A Word From Our Gen Y Intern

by Tina Yip on Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Fuel: A Word From Our Gen Y Intern
One of Big Fuel's college interns checks in on the real Gen Y view of social networks, sales and marketing on campus. And let's not forget the old fashioned importance of measurement.
Marketing
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DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - June 27

Sunday, June 27, 2010
DIGIDAY Bits And Bytes - June 27
Today's bites: The World Cup isn't limited to those signs around the pitch for marketing opportunities, social CRM is here for good, and Schick embraces branded content for its new razor.
Marketing
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The Top Reason Why People Won't Get an E-Reader

by Tameka Kee on Friday, June 25, 2010
The Top Reason Why People Won't Get an E-Reader
Thought-leaders from Barnes & Noble, the Huffington Post and other media companies took a deep dive into e-Readers, e-Books and the future of printed publications at our DPAC conference. But the most intriguing data came from a survey conducted by The Harrison Group, which revealed the biggest factor that could keep consumers away from digital content devices in the coming years.
Media
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DPAC: Matter Of Scale Remains Hot

by Owen McDonald on Friday, June 25, 2010
DPAC: Matter Of Scale Remains Hot
Premium publishers are emerging as key players in the larger data marketplace, as they make their treasure chests of user data available. But a core debate remains about whether to focus ad buys on those premium sites and their powerful content draw, or to make broader audience buys that deliver scale. Experts weighed in on aspects of the issue during the panel “Buying Content vs. Audience for Advertisers” at today’s DPAC conference.
Metrics
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DPAC: Multi-Channel Measurement Still Complicated

by Owen McDonald on Friday, June 25, 2010
DPAC: Multi-Channel Measurement Still Complicated
Accurate audience measurements continue to elude publishers, advertisers and agencies in the multi-channel environment, as evidenced by several discussions at yesterday’s DPAC conference. “As we get into multiple channels, how do we tie it all together? How do we hold ourselves and the publishing community more accountable,” said Brian Leder, VP and Digital Director of Mediavest.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: HP MagCloud Inks Life.com

by John Gaffney on Friday, June 25, 2010
Digital Content Today: HP MagCloud Inks Life.com
HP’s MagCloud print-on-demand technology got a big boost this week with the addition of Life Magazine’s special issue print versions. Life.com will make its Special Issue print magazine versions for a selection of the website’s most popular online photo galleries available through the HP MagCloud print-on-demand platform. HP MagCloud has been in beta since July 2008, focused mostly on niche publications such as artsy photo magazine Meridian, and Food Junkie. Life is the biggest title by far for HP’s platform that allows users to order a print magazine version of a participating publication to arrive just days later. [...]
Marketing, Media
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Huffpo Pres Coleman to Content Providers: Live Open or Die

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, June 25, 2010
Huffpo Pres Coleman to Content Providers: Live Open or Die
In his opening keynote presentation at yesterday’s Digital Publishing and Advertising Conference, Greg Coleman, president and chief revenue officer for Huffington Post, roundly castigated traditional news organizations like The New York Times for plans to evolve to a paid content model predicting: “Readership online will crater.” Instead, news organizations should adopt a policy of “openness” – “either you’re open or you’re not” – and not try to change from within but rather look outside their own newsrooms for unlikely innovators. [...]
Media
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Digital AdOps: The New Face of Customer Service

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, June 24, 2010
Digital AdOps: The New Face of Customer Service
The picture that emerges in DM2PRO.com's most recent State of the Industry Survey with partner Operative is one where the publisher’s ad operations team is increasingly on the front-lines of customer service – perhaps because only they are knowledgeable enough about the inner workings of any given multimedia campaign to be able to keep ad clients in the loop. Publishers so highly revere the in-house ad trafficker that only a fifth would consider outsourcing the function, while more than half of agencies do so regularly. [...]
Metrics
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Judge Rules For Google In Digital Copyright Case

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Judge Rules For Google In Digital Copyright Case
Google and every other content property on the planet that depends on user generated content for its existence won a legal victory yesterday as a federal judge in New York threw out Viacom’s suit against You Tube. Viacom had sued Google back in 2007 for copyright infringement as the video sharing site started to take flight with its uploads of entertainment properties of all kinds. But Judge Louis L. Stanton of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sided with Google, basically throwing the suit out on almost every conceivable ground. [...]
Marketing, Media
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5Qs With Nexage CEO Ernie Cormier

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
5Qs With Nexage CEO Ernie Cormier
This is Ernie Cormier’s first summer as the CEO of Nexage but hardly his first in the mobile business. He took the reins in late April, after serving as a senior executive for Lagardère, Nextel Communications, and Virgin Media. He also brings an extensive background in technology, product, and marketing from several mobile startups and now he’s leading one of the leading mobile ad solutions companies. The company’s leading product is Nexage Mediation, a hosted advertising optimization service that enables carriers and media companies to fully control and maximize the monetization of their mobile channels. [...]
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Digital Influence Underplayed

Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Digital Content Today: Digital Influence Underplayed
A new analysis of consumer digital behavior and influence finds that the Internet is by far the most influential media channel -- but marketers have yet to capitalize on that influence. The conclusion comes from the 2010 Digital Influence Index, released today by Fleishman-Hillard International Communications in conjunction with Harris Interactive. The global study also measures aspects of media consumption patterns, influence on purchases and involvement with online social networking.
Media
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Borders Catches Up With E-Reader Cuts

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Borders Catches Up With E-Reader Cuts
Borders Books caught up to the price cuts that radicalized the e-reader market on Monday, choosing to add value to its Kobo eReader rather than cutting the retail price. The company announced that the reader will now be bundled with a $20 Borders gift card, and double Borders Bucks that can be used towards a future Borders purchase. At $149.99 the Kobo will be competitive with Barnes and Noble’s Nook and priced below the Kindle.
Marketing
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Branding Spotlight: How the NBA is Using Technology to Connect with Fans

by Brandon Gutman on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Branding Spotlight: How the NBA is Using Technology to Connect with Fans
At the NBA it’s all about the fans. And for digital fans Bryan Perez is the go-to guy. As SVP and GM for NBA Digital, he manages the NBA's extensive cross-platform portfolio of digital assets jointly managed by the NBA and Turner Sports. This includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband, NBA Mobile, NBADLEAGUE.com, and WNBA.com. Perez oversees all aspects of the portfolio including programming, operations, editorial, ecommerce and marketing.
Marketing
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Ad Ops From a Master: Often More Questions Than Answers

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ad Ops From a Master: Often More Questions Than Answers
Cathleen Ryan, MEA Digital's Chief Results Officer, shared her views on the trials, travails and un-tapped potential for digital ad ops as a precursor to our survey on the subject for DPAC. We'll release our "State of the Industry Survey" results tomorrow, but what we realized in our conversation with Ryan was that sometimes the questions are more interesting than the answers.
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: Radio Is Still On

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Digital Content Today: Radio Is Still On
Don’t write CDs off quite yet. Or the radio either for that matter. Despite the rise in smartphone users, and increase in purchases of mobile entertainment content, traditional media channels still rule access to new music and artists. As reported in the latest BoomBox report, Internet and mobile download service Myxer today revealed some surprising user preferences as they relate to music purchases, behaviors and trends across its 35 million-member community.
Marketing
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DPAC Speakers Define Ideas And Innovations

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
DPAC Speakers Define Ideas And Innovations
Big hitters from the digital publishing content and technology will convene Thursday June 24 at The 2010 Digital Publishing & Advertising Conference (DPAC), created by digital-marketing collective DM2 Events with sponsored workshops from Zinio. It will feature some of the most influential and renowned names in digital publishing and their thoughts on how marketers, publishers, media professionals and technology gurus best can leverage the big ideas and innovations of digital media.
Marketing
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Price War For E-Readers; Truce At The Borders

by John Gaffney on Monday, June 21, 2010
Price War For E-Readers; Truce At The Borders
What in the holy hand grenades is Michael Edwards thinking? On a day that Barnes & Noble drops the Nook price to $149 and Amazon drops the Kindle to $190, the Borders CEO gets a high-profile think piece in Forbes to essentially wonder why we all can’t get along.
Media
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Even Adults Drive While Distracted

Monday, June 21, 2010
Even Adults Drive While Distracted
It’s not just teens that are driving while texting. A new Pew Internet Research Project report says adults are just as likely as teens to have texted while driving and are substantially more likely to have talked on the phone while driving. In addition, 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger. [...]
Metrics
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Adify Steps Up To New Guidelines

by John Gaffney on Monday, June 21, 2010
Adify Steps Up To New Guidelines
In print publishing it’s an audit. For TV, its ratings. For performance-based Internet advertising it’s the click. But brands have lacked a unifying metric that provides a third-party perspective. To hear Joelle Kaufman tell it, the digital industry needs that metric and Adify has taken a step toward verifying one.
Marketing
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YuMe Adds Brand Security

by John Gaffney on Monday, June 21, 2010
YuMe Adds Brand Security
The new capabilities leverage YuMe’s proprietary domain detection technology, which can collect detailed information about the in-page environment of a syndicated or embeddable player when it makes an ad request, even when the player is not associated with a companion banner. This allows YuMe to prevent ads from running in video players that have been embedded on inappropriate websites, and to work with publishers to constantly monitor and improve the list of sites where their syndicated and user-embeddable players are appearing. [...]
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: Email Shelf Life

Monday, June 21, 2010
Digital Content Today: Email Shelf Life
Not all emails are created equally. And it’s better that they’re not, according to a new report from Experian. The company today announced new research from its email marketing technology, Experian CheetahMail, indicating that almost half (47%) of transactions and three-quarters of opens and clicks occur within one day of the email receipt. That means customer response time varies widely by industry and offer. It also shows a volatility in customer preferences and instantaneous nature of the email channel today. [...]
Metrics
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comScore: Newspapers Draw Nearly 60 Percent of US Internet Audience And Claim Higher Ad Rates

Friday, June 18, 2010
comScore: Newspapers Draw Nearly 60 Percent of US Internet Audience And Claim Higher Ad Rates
More than 123 million Americans visited newspaper sites in May, representing 57 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience, says comScore. The site category ranking, which counts newspaper corporate groups in addition to national newspapers, is the first collective ranking in which all of the individual participants have transitioned to the comScore Media Metrix 360 “Unified Digital Measurement” methodology. Newspapers also draw higher ad rates, with average CPM's hovering around $7.
Media, Metrics
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Read it in the Funny Papers: Toshiba and Dark Horse Comics Offer Branded Content in USAToday

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, June 18, 2010
Read it in the Funny Papers: Toshiba and Dark Horse Comics Offer Branded Content in USAToday
Think of it as a branded content graphic novel excerpt. If that sounds like a completely new genre to you, in fact the Toshiba-sponsored exclusive excerpt of Dark Horse Comics works in USA TODAY’s print and online editions actually reprises a program the paper ran with DC Comics and Superman from last summer. The Troublemaker graphic novel that is being excerpted is a new work from Janet Evanovich. And, the program kicked off with a profile of the novelist in the pages of USAToday that wasn’t labeled “infomercial,” so also new is some interesting blurring of the lines between traditional journalism and sponsored content. [...]
Marketing, Media
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5Qs With Magnetic CEO Josh Shatkin-Margolis

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 17, 2010
5Qs With Magnetic CEO Josh Shatkin-Margolis
Magnetic capitalizes on the re-targeting trend by raising $5.25 million in VC funding which it will use to “further build its core search re-targeting technology and expand with new solutions for advertisers and marketers that bring synergy to display media and search data.” The company also unveils a new option for advertisers to buy display media targeted with search data to reach consumers anywhere on the purchase funnel online. Magnetic can now run search re-targeted campaigns for advertisers and agencies. [...]
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Journalism Gets Its White Knight

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, June 17, 2010
Journalism Gets Its White Knight
It was a striking contrast. One day, the Federal Trade Commission airs tired views about whether journalism will survive the Internet Age and established news organizations plead for the availability of more investment capital for news. The next, the Knight Foundation issues nearly $3 million in grants to people trying to transform the news from the grassroots up.
Media
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Janrain Signs a Slew of Media Heavyweights into Identity Capture Tools

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, June 17, 2010
Janrain Signs a Slew of Media Heavyweights into Identity Capture Tools
At a time when Facebook couldn’t be under more scrutiny for its user policies, traditional news publishers have quietly figured out how to exploit this and other social networks to drive more registrations to their sites. Yesterday, Portland-based identity pioneer Janrain repositioned its RPX third party authentication solution as “Engage,” paired it with an in-the-cloud identity management system called Capture, and announced a slew of new media clients poised to begin understanding how they can use OpenID to turn their most loyal users into recruiters on the social network sites they frequent. [...]
Media, Technology
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ForeSee And Nielsen Enter Social Measurement Arena

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 16, 2010
ForeSee And Nielsen Enter Social Measurement Arena
As brands continue to push toward assigning metrics to social media, two major players entered the measurement arena this week: ForeSee Results and Nielsen. Foresee is well known for applying the University of Michigan customer satisfaction index to more specific brand metrics. Wednesday it announced that it has added a Social Media Value Calculation to its core product offering. The company says it will allow clients to understand the impact of their social media marketing efforts on revenue.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Digital Content Today: Defining The E-Reader

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Digital Content Today: Defining The E-Reader
There’s no doubt that e-readers are selling at a good clip. But exactly who the reader customer is and how they relate to other media has been a bit of a mystery. Two recent reports are filling in those blanks. The reports come from reliable sources: MRI and Verso Digital. According to the latest data from GfK MRI's Survey of the American Consumer, 2.8 million American adults own an e-reader, a 34% increase since the company's fall 2009 data were released. The data also show that e-reader owners are far more likely than the average American to visit social networking Web sites. [...]
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Vizu Says Brands Can Handle The Truth

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Vizu Says Brands Can Handle The Truth
To paraphrase Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men, “brands can’t handle the truth.” As they move into more aggressive digital branding campaigns, brands need the truth. Because branding cannot be effectively measured with clicks and conversions, new metrics are needed, and one company seems to be generating the entire buzz around how to do it. Go to any conference or enter most any conversation about online branding and you will hear the name Vizu.
Marketing, Media
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PwC: Good Time For Digital Content

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
PwC: Good Time For Digital Content
The economy is uncertain but digital content is not. PricewaterhouseCoopers' annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010-2014 released on Tuesday, predicts that a shaky global economy will limit overall ad spending increases, but digital spending will continue to grow at a healthy pace.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: OPA Numbers Endorse Premium Content

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Digital Content Today: OPA Numbers Endorse Premium Content
Social media users love their networks but they don’t trust them. That’s one of the findings of the new Online Publishers Association (OPA) research study, “A Sense of Place: Why Environments Matter,” that will be delivered Wednesday at the beginning of the association’s six city tour to update digital marketing executives.
Marketing, Media
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Murdoch Shoots And Scores With Skiff

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Murdoch Shoots And Scores With Skiff
Although he has a reputation for producing tabloid trash and conservative trash talk, Rupert Murdoch is a much more astute businessman when it comes to content. He has always been about owning content platforms and franchises. Yesterday’s investments in Skiff and Journalism Online, while risky and dramatic, are not all that surprising given Murdoch’s track record.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: BroadVision Unveils BtoB Network

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Digital Content Today: BroadVision Unveils BtoB Network
BroadVision wants to the Facebook for BtoB social networking. This morning the former Internet infrastructure company will launch a new offering, Clearvale Nations, which it has designed for businesses to migrate existing social network communities, or create new ones, to its new platform.
Marketing, Media, Social
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Tabula Rasa Urges Storytellers To Reinvent With iPad

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tabula Rasa Urges Storytellers To Reinvent With iPad
Admittedly, digital media and marketing companies -- and even a few .org's and .gov's -- came to WeMedia's Tabula Rasa event at Gannett HQ looking for a few good tips on how to exploit the next generation of mobile devices. But Dale Peskin and a group of “Digital DaVincis” were more intent on using the iPad as a launch pad for a discussion on how to expand the thinking of digital storytellers’ present on the potential for revolutionizing everything from education to world hunger. All it takes is determination, imagination… and a lot of late nights. [...]
Media
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Video Still Growing

Monday, June 14, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Video Still Growing
Better picture quality and ubiquitous access are fueling on and offline video into hyperspeed. The latest Three Screen Report from Nielsen shows that high definition television, digital video recorders and the Internet are creating higher quality and more convenient experiences for consumers, and as a result, the amount of video Americans consume continues to rise at a rapid rate.
Marketing, Media, Metrics, Mobile
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Mouse House Sees Half of All Interaction Through Mobile in Two Years

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, June 14, 2010
Mouse House Sees Half of All Interaction Through Mobile in Two Years
AJ Rhodes, Disney's top mobile strategist, takes fellow marketers behind the scenes to reveal the Magic Kingdom's mobile strategy. How fast is mobile growing? “By 2012, 50 percent of all our eyeballs – all of our engagement – will be on mobile device. And, that’s if we continue to grow at half the rate we’re growing right now.” And, the great thing about reaching a young audience is that they’ll share it with the adults in their lives, he said.
Mobile
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DigiRant: Flipping Off The FTC

by John Gaffney on Sunday, June 13, 2010
DigiRant: Flipping Off The FTC
You don’t flip the bird to a government agency that already has its eyes on you. That’s what Apple did last week in announcing its iAd debut when Steve Jobs said it was getting out of the gate with half of the predicted mobile marketing spend for 2010. It flipped off the FTC, which has now apparently stepped up its attention and intention in reining in Apple. But last week’s announcement leaves two major questions in its wake. Why did Apple act in this manner? And what does this all mean for the rest of the mobile marketing world? [...]
Media, Mobile
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Alliance Health: Social Networks With A Cause

by John Gaffney on Friday, June 11, 2010
Alliance Health: Social Networks With A Cause
News flash: Facebook and Twitter are not the only viable and rapidly growing social networks. A new class of special interest networks has found engaged users and innovative business models that go beyond their mass market colleagues. One such network, Alliance Health, has combined expert content with engaged audiences and content innovation.
Marketing, Social
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Five Qs With Medialets CEO Eric Litman

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 10, 2010
Five Qs With Medialets CEO Eric Litman
Rich media has been a mainstay of digital display ads since the late 90s. Now Medialets is betting it will work for mobile marketing as well. It combines rich media advertising with analytics to enable publishers, developers and advertisers to deliver to iPhone, iPad and Android applications. Medialets’ ‘asynchronous’ ad delivery technology enables delivery of measurable rich media even when the user is offline, while its Universal SDK offers a flexible ad monetization platform for publishers. [...]
Marketing, Mobile
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Akamai Claims Pixel-Free Success

Thursday, June 10, 2010
Akamai Claims Pixel-Free Success
Akamai Technologies is claiming significant traction from its pixel-free technology that allows online retailers and marketers to employ predictive modeling and behavioral targeting for their entire customer base.
Marketing, Technology
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Carlson Marketing Defines Mobile Customer Segments

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 10, 2010
Carlson Marketing Defines Mobile Customer Segments
After a solid week of Internet marketing conferences that focused on tech solutions for mobile marketing such as the iAd platform, Carlson Marketing is thinking more about customer strategy. According to a new white paper from Carlson Marketing - and keynoted at the MMA Mobile Marketing Forum - success will depend on understanding key customer segments. The white paper, "Bringing Mobile Segmentation to Life," has defined eight such segments and presents strategies for addressing all of them.
Marketing, Mobile
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Targeting Talk Trends To Consumer And Brand Metrics

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 10, 2010
Targeting Talk Trends To Consumer And Brand Metrics
Although the panelists were decidedly tech-oriented Wednesday’s DIGIDAY:Target event was notable for its emphasis on consumer experience and branding benefits. From specific case studies presented by Aston Martin and Arm & Hammer to dozens of anecdotes, speakers showed that all forms of targeting were achieving dramatic increases in engagement and revenue for brands and publishers.
Marketing, Metrics, Technology
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Retargeting: WSJ Advises Premium Publishers

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, June 10, 2010
Retargeting: WSJ Advises Premium Publishers
It all started with a garden party. As Ben Kunz, director of strategic planning for Mediassociates tell it, one of his company’s brand clients – an insurance provider for high-priced homes – popped over to his neighbor’s house, who just happened to be the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Somehow it came up in the conversation that the brand’s cleverest ad strategy had something to do with re-targeting WSJ.com users when they were on other sites – at vastly reduced rates. Needless to say, the publisher was not pleased. [...]
Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Adify Report Shows Higher CPMs

Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Digital Content Today: Adify Report Shows Higher CPMs
While reports earlier this week predicted big percentage increases for overall ad spending, it appears that CPMs will follow suit. The Adify Vertical Gauge (AVG) quarterly report published today by vertical ad network Adify, shows that effective CPMs have increased in seven of the 11 verticals tracked by the have higher average eCPMs in Q1 2010 than in Q1 2009, signaling what the company calls a “strong and consistent rebound.”
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Target Panel Applauds Offline Data Mix

by Owen McDonald on Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Target Panel Applauds Offline Data Mix
Online targeting data has a growing offline component. The convergence of the two sources was viewed from both buyer and seller perspectives during Wednesday’s DIGIDAY:Target conference.
Marketing
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Marketers Swarm MMA Meet-up

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Marketers Swarm MMA Meet-up
More than 600 brand and agency marketers and mobile technology solution providers hit the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City this week to explore how to infuse mobile into the marketing mix. In response, yesterday’s informal poll after a day and a half of intense education revealed that most marketers plan to exert the most effort this year on making mobile Web sites.
Metrics, Mobile
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Mobile Heaviest in Primetime

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Mobile Heaviest in Primetime
Ground Truth says “primetime” has come to mobile media, since 32 percent of page views occur in this sacred slot for television viewership. “Clearly, the Mobile Internet is becoming part of primetime television whether advertisers and media companies are ready for it or not,” observed Evan Neufeld, Ground Truth VP marketing. His suggestions: advertisers should extend their campaigns to mobile while viewers are simultaneously engaged with their favorite programs and mobile devices, and broadcasters should integrate mobile into their viewers’ experience, “increasing advertising inventory while keeping viewers tuned in. [...]
Metrics, Mobile
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Email Campaigns Connect To Social Networks

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Email Campaigns Connect To Social Networks
The email campaign is going social. Several email providers and digital strategy companies are finding ways to connect emails with social networks. In the process, it is taking one of the most direct methods for customer communication and digital marketing into a new realm.
Marketing, Media, Social
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The 20 Percent Solution

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The 20 Percent Solution
A year ago at this time analysts and research firms were scrambling to adjust their online advertising numbers. Most were nudging their numbers from a six or seven percent downturn to double digits. Two reports released today show how far the digital marketing business has recovered.
Marketing, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Channeling Popeye For Mobile Energy

Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Digital Content Today: Channeling Popeye For Mobile Energy
Local mobile discount program provider Mobile Spinach is blending old school marketing with cutting edge couponing. Last week is launched its “Discount For Life” program on a national scale after testing it in San Francisco. Based on radio show call-in models, the “Discount For Life” is an innovative loyalty model rewarding valuable customers. For example, the first 100 customers that sign up for a local coffee shop mobile program can become life members, receiving a ten cent discount on every purchase for as long as they use their mobile device for the promotions. [...]
Marketing, Mobile
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FTC Staff Draft Hullabaloo: Forging Consensus in an Internet Age

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, June 7, 2010
FTC Staff Draft Hullabaloo: Forging Consensus in an Internet Age
Nobody ever said mucking into the financial crisis affecting the nation’s news organizations would be easy. But it appears that reaction to the implication that the Federal Trade Commission would even consider proposing a strategy to deal with the situation has FTC officials flummoxed. For those uninitiated to the ways of Washington, you know things are seriously in need of clarification when the deputy public affairs director calls you back.
Marketing
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AdSafe: Automated Ad Serving Hits 80 Percent

by John Gaffney on Monday, June 7, 2010
AdSafe: Automated Ad Serving Hits 80 Percent
According to a new report from brand safety platform AdSafe, the use of ad exchanges, real-time-bidding and demand side platforms is growing. The company’s quarterly report shows that of the traffic observed by AdSafe in Q1 2010, 47% was served by exchanges, real-time-bidding platforms and demand side platforms. 34% was served by ad networks and 19% was served by direct publisher sales. This share of exchange/RTB/DSP served traffic trended upwards significantly from last quarter, indicating that premium brand advertisers have begun to more aggressively shift media dollars to these channels. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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Gravitas Ventures Deal Adds More Premium Content to YouTube

by Tameka Kee on Monday, June 7, 2010
Gravitas Ventures Deal Adds More Premium Content to YouTube
The latest premium content deal for YouTube adds over 100 indie films (including Sundance Film Festival winners) to the video site. It's the first foray into ad-supported video for Gravitas Ventures, the new media distribution company that helps connect indie filmmakers with digital platforms like cable VOD and Netflix.
Media, Technology
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AdGenesis Offers Video Exchange

Sunday, June 6, 2010
AdGenesis Offers Video Exchange
AdGenesis is betting online video can merge with interactive TV. The company launched a new video advertising platform last week that allows customers to exchange buying information for relevant ads and rewards. AdGenesis functions across multiple media including mobile, online and eventually ITV.
Marketing, Media
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Zinio Unifies Print And Digital Platform

by John Gaffney on Friday, June 4, 2010
Zinio Unifies Print And Digital Platform
As the digital publishing world gets more complex, one if its pioneers continues its quest to simplify it. Zinio has made several announcements recently that provide publishers with fundamental business solutions to not only create, but now to monetize their content.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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BanxCorp Suit Takes On Media Giants

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 3, 2010
BanxCorp Suit Takes On Media Giants
Using verbiage normally reserved for oil producing nations or organized crime syndicates, BanxCorp, operator of the BanxQuote website, sued a slew of media biggest players yesterday accusing them of forming a “cartel” to sell information on bank interest rates online.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Online Video Hits The Masses

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Digital Content Today: Online Video Hits The Masses
Online video has reached critical mass. A new Pew Research report shows that seven in ten adult internet users (69%)—or roughly half (52%) of all U.S. adults—have used the internet to watch or download video. Young adult internet users, 18-29 year-olds, continue to be the heaviest consumers of online video.
Marketing, Metrics
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Kantar Makes Online Video Measurement Push

by John Gaffney on Thursday, June 3, 2010
Kantar Makes Online Video Measurement Push
Two weeks ago Kantar launched a new initiative called Kantar Video, extending the company’s range of multi-channel data, analysis, and audience measurement services. The company has developed a proprietary syndication, tracking and optimization platform, Kantar Videolytics, and according to CEO William Lederer it marks the beginning of an aggressive second half of 2010.
Marketing, Metrics
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Five Qs: Conduit's Adam Boyden on Why Big Brands Still Use Desktop Apps

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Five Qs: Conduit's Adam Boyden on Why Big Brands Still Use Desktop Apps
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we chat with Adam Boyden, President of app development and monetization platform Conduit. Boyden explains why the billion-dollar app boom pertains to desktop apps, too, not just mobile.
Marketing, Social
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NetBase Plays Social Broker For CPG Companies

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
NetBase Plays Social Broker For CPG Companies
NetBase’s flagship product, ConsumerBase, gives marketers the ability to measure the consumer passion expressed on social media networks, general Internet content, and internal company reports. It already counts among its customers five of the top 10 CPG brands and in the last month of limited release, has added numerous brand-name customers, including several more Top 50 consumer brands. Last week it launched a product called the Brand Passion Index, which takes that data and measures the intensity of consumer passion for brands expressed in social media using a proprietary semantic analysis tool. [...]
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: BlueKai Launches White Label

Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Digital Content Today: BlueKai Launches White Label
BlueKai has developed a white-label version of its data registry, extending its opt-out capabilities to a wider audience of publishers. Partially in reaction to the recent controversy stemming from the Boucher bill and other advocacy group demands for an opt-out for consumers, the data auction marketplace claims it will be an out-of-the-box solution for supporting transparent consumer data collection.
Marketing, Media
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Mentos Re-Ignites Social Effort

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Mentos Re-Ignites Social Effort
Mentos has had one of the more diverse and quirky digital brand marketing histories. After starting with kitschy TV commercials in the 80s that people loved or hated but definitely talked about, it stormed the gates of viral marketing in the aughts with its exploding soda bottle videos. Now it’s back with its "Fresh Goes Better" campaign.
Marketing, Social
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OExchange Protocol Standardizes Web Sharing Tools

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
OExchange Protocol Standardizes Web Sharing Tools
AddThis, the unobtrusive yet apparently hyper-magnetic sharing widget that allows users to email news stories and post to scores of other sites, has grown so prevalent online that it has now decided to share its sharing protocol with the world. OExchage (http://oexchange.org), establishes a common way for services like Google Buzz, Instapaper, Posterous, and others to receive and post shared content around a number of third-party sharing tools, all the while preserving users’ sharing preferences. [...]
Social
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Digital Content Today: Nielsen Launches App Report

Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Digital Content Today: Nielsen Launches App Report
It might seem from the business press and even consumer momentum like everyone has a smartphone these days. But it’s not even owned by a quarter of the population. And it may seem like Apple is completely dominating the app market, but that’s not true either. In fact Nielsen’s new ‘App Playbook,’ busts open a few myths.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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DigiRant: No Time To Back Off Targeting Tech

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 31, 2010
DigiRant: No Time To Back Off Targeting Tech
It is easy to write most issues off as right or wrong. Or right or left. In today’s polarized political climate we have even managed to make atmospheric science a political issue that supposedly belies the intelligence and ideology of the electorate. And so it is with Internet privacy and behavioral targeting. We like to think it is a right or wrong issue, but nothing is more important to the future of Internet marketing than finding a way to use behavioral targeting. It’s not right or wrong. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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Digital Content Today: The Killer Pharma App

Monday, May 31, 2010
Digital Content Today: The Killer Pharma App
The pharmaceutical industry, hamstrung online by an unstable regulatory climate, needs to be more aggressive. That’s the conclusion of a report released by luxury marketing think tank L2. Its report urges pharma companies to develop what it calls a “digital aptitude” that will be separates winners from losers in social networking and other online marketing.
Marketing, Media, Metrics, Social
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RockYou Games Are Serious Branding Business

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 27, 2010
RockYou Games Are Serious Branding Business
For this week's video, we thought it would be an appropriate time to share Kerin Lanyl's presentation at DIGIDAY:VIDEOUPFRONT LA last month. The Director of Business Development at RockYou shared a spotlight presentation talking about targeting and social media marketing with online video. The session covered targeting via destination sites, the overall social effect brands can achieve by leveraging video across social networks, and examples of how RockYou has built games reaching up to 50 million users. [...]
Social
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Privacy Advocates Fire Back At Facebook

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 27, 2010
Privacy Advocates Fire Back At Facebook
Despite the appearance Wednesday that privacy groups were encouraged by Facebook’s moves to simplify it’s privacy controls for users, a gaggle of privacy advocates gathered a conference call Thursday to blast the moves as window dressing. Jeffrey Chester, founder and executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said, “What Facebook has done is consciously create an architecture to encourage the transmission of user data so it can be mined for advertising purposes without the user understanding the process. [...]
Social
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Stat Roundup

Thursday, May 27, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Stat Roundup
As the economy officially heads into summer this weekend, the digital content and marketing business continues to be awash in the mobile tidal wave. The week ended with several significant new research reports from IDC, Millennial Media and even retailer Price Grabber.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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5 Plus Qs With Charlene Li

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 27, 2010
5 Plus Qs With Charlene Li
Charlene Li talks about her new book, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, which launched Monday and instantly rocketed to #5 on the Amazon business books best-seller list. What's the future of Facebook? How do you measure social ROI? Who's her pick as top transformational leader in marketing? Read on.
Media, Social
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Facebook Revamps Privacy Controls

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Facebook Revamps Privacy Controls
Although we’d dispute the usual contention by privacy groups that consumers are too lazy or stupid to take online privacy into their own hands, we’d agree that 50 different choices for privacy settings on Facebook was likely the bridge too far for even the savviest online socialite.
Social
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Digital Content Today: Mainstream Media Drives Social News

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mainstream Media Drives Social News
More than 80 percent of news that’s shared in the blogosphere and on social sites derives from a handful of news sites – the BBC, CNN, NYTimes.com and the Washington Post – reports Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism annual tracking study. In fact, more than 99 percent of news-related stories linked from blogs came from “legacy outlets such as newspapers and broadcast networks.” While the bragging rights aren't chopped liver, we're left to wonder what such traffic is truly worth. [...]
Media, Metrics, Social
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Rocket Fuel Targets Nielsen To Drive Data

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Rocket Fuel Targets Nielsen To Drive Data
Rocket Fuel announced yesterday it will use will use aggregated consumer purchase data from The Nielsen Company to improve the effectiveness of its online advertising campaigns in real time. It will leverage offline sales data to create better model groups, and is touting its work with a group of virtual models to strut its stuff.
Marketing, Technology
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HyperSocial Teens Show Hyper Influence

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 25, 2010
HyperSocial Teens Show Hyper Influence
The most socially networked teens aren’t spending their weekends in front of the screen. A survey by myYearbook and Ketchum of teen social media users showed that the most active online influencers are more likely than the average teen to participate in social media activities, such as updating their status at least once per day or sending 3,000 texts per month, but they also spend more time socializing and influencing their peers offline.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Razorfish Outlook Number Six: The Epicenter Is Mobile

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Razorfish Outlook Number Six: The Epicenter Is Mobile
For those of us six years ago who were living digital, it served as validation. But with the new edition, the Razorfish Outlook Report has dropped “digital” from the name and states simply: “Everything has become digital. Digital is not on the fringe — it’s on center stage.” Is marketer spending shifting? Are we out of the recession? Has mobile's time come?
Marketing
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12seconds Founder Copes with New Twitter Ad Rules

by Tameka Kee on Monday, May 24, 2010
12seconds Founder Copes with New Twitter Ad Rules
Twitter rolled out its long-awaited business model -- "promoted" tweets that show up in search results -- just a month ago. But dozens of startups had already figured out how to make money by inserting various kinds of ads into and around the tweet stream. No more. The company issued a manifesto outlining how and why it plans to build out its own ad network today -- including forbidding third-party developers from plugging ads directly into tweets.
Marketing, Social
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Rudy Ruiz And The Rise Of The Bloguero

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 24, 2010
Rudy Ruiz And The Rise Of The Bloguero
Rudy Ruiz is a “bloguero.” It’s not exactly Spanish for “blogger” but it will work, which is exactly the way he would like to see the marketing community envision social networking within the Hispanic community. Ruiz has been at the cutting edge of Hispanic cultural advocacy and marketing for years now, and he is helping marketers find the intersection of a common social language and Hispanic cultural tendencies.
Marketing, Media, Social
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Nielsen Predicts Shift In Mobile Package Buying

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 24, 2010
Nielsen Predicts Shift In Mobile Package Buying
Nielsen is predicting a “paradigm switch” for mobile phone payment options that could open new customer segments. Instead of buying mobile services first by picking their voice option, then by choosing between prepaid and postpaid paid voice plans the order will change. No longer will voice calling be “the anchor service.”
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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Surpise Fallout From Google FTC Approval

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 24, 2010
Surpise Fallout From Google FTC Approval
Friday’s Federal Trade Commission's decision to permit the $750 million deal for Google to buy AdMob to move forward was hardly a shocker. As Google has argued, mobile advertising is a competitive business and not within its core business of search and Internet advertising. It doesn't put to rest Google's efforts to prove it's not a monopolist, as the DOJ prepares another Google Books review. But, it has sparked some surprising reactions that could influence Google’s future in court.
Marketing, Mobile
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5Qs With MMA North American Managing Director Michael Becker

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, May 24, 2010
5Qs With MMA North American Managing Director Michael Becker
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we chat with Michael Becker, the Mobile Marketing Association's managing director, North America.
Mobile
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Day of Local Online Deals Marks a Study in Contrast

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 20, 2010
Day of Local Online Deals Marks a Study in Contrast
On a day when the Dow dropped more than 376 points, online advertising platform ReachLocal’s IPO surged more than 15 percent, raising more than $40 million for the company’s war chest. The same day, Valassis, a more traditional local marketing company, inked a less auspicious but still notable deal to sell Yahoo! online advertising inventory, putting that company in competition with not just ReachLocal but hundreds of local newspapers, ShopLocal and AT&T Interactive’s YellowPages.com for local online ad dollars. [...]
Marketing
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Spotlight: Auditude Unlocks Video Revenue

by John Gaffney on Thursday, May 20, 2010
Spotlight: Auditude Unlocks Video Revenue
Online video is being served more and opened more by consumers. But the open issue is still monetization. Fresh off a big win at Comcast Digital, Auditude’s helps content owners and publishers unlock significant revenue from their digital video. It does that by leveraging its ad serving platform to simplify the process of monetizing content owners’ video inventory. In particular, it provides partners the ability to monetize across sites, sales teams, platforms and devices all with the targeting, forecasting, reporting and ad product capabilities needed to drive yield and streamline complex workflows. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Good April For Android

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Digital Content Today: Good April For Android
According to today’s Millennial Media SMART report, ad requests grew 77% from March to April month over month. Since January, Android has grown 282% on the Millennial network, which according to the company has more than seven billion US ad requests per month.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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Study Shows Social Shift To Entertainment

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Study Shows Social Shift To Entertainment
While its largest practitioner deals with mass exodus due to privacy issues, new research launched today shows that consumers believe social networks provide a higher value experience compared with other forms of entertainment. Edelman's fourth annual Trust in the Entertainment Industry survey also reveals that the Internet, as a source of entertainment, is second only to television.
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Mobile's Long Tail

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile's Long Tail
There is apparently a “long tail” for mobile devices. Culled from 2.5 billion international page views Netbiscuits, a development and publishing platform for mobile Web sites and apps, today published a report that says the long tail is alive and well in terms of current device usage trends on the mobile Web.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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Massify Wants To Audition For Brands

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Massify Wants To Audition For Brands
Massify combines a workshop concept and a project incubator into one network. More than 65,000 people have joined, filling out profiles with their entertainment experiences and their hopes to gain more. Jobs for casting and crew are posted on the site. Members can share film concepts for input from other members and submit their short films for ratings. Film companies can dip into the Massify community for talent, and that’s where it gets interesting for digital marketing. Massify wants to be a branded content talent source. [...]
Marketing, Social
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Adap.TV: Real-Time Video Ad Exchange in Action

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Adap.TV: Real-Time Video Ad Exchange in Action
Earlier this year, AdAge announced that “digital ad exchanges were finally coming to the complex and fractured world of online video.” Last month, we saw it with our own eyes at DIGIDAY:VIDEOUPFRONT as Toby Gabriner, president of adap.tv unveiled the adap.tv marketplace in living color. The most fascinating thing to DIGIDAY was the ease with which this tool exposed an ever-expanding pool of qualified, categorized video that could be both priced and outfitted with in-stream video ads with the stroke of a cursor. [...]
Media
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ESPN, Playdom and the Validation of Social Gaming

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, May 19, 2010
ESPN, Playdom and the Validation of Social Gaming
Social gamer Playdom has inked a two-year deal with ESPN to develop, promote and distribute ESPN-branded sports games across multiple social networks. ESPN has had plenty of success in the console and casual games space, but this first real foray into social gaming highlights just how quickly these kinds of games -- and companies -- are transforming media consumption and monetization overall.
Social
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Sideways Launches New Digital Magazine

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sideways Launches New Digital Magazine
Before there was Amazon there was Books.com. Before there was Jeff Bezos there was Charles Stack. So when Stack takes on something new it just might be worth some attention. One of the Internet’s underrated entrepreneurs, who sold Books.com to Barnes & Noble, is developing interactive magazines and books for the iPad and iPhone. In fact he’s starting his own company and his own magazine to capture the possibilities of the new platforms.
Marketing, Media
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Ford Returns To Social Fiesta

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Ford Returns To Social Fiesta
Ford is launching its new Ford Fiesta with a return to a competitive advantage in the auto space: social media. In addition to a big budget TV and radio campaign with a healthy does of multicultural flavor, the new campaign returns to the “Fiesta Movement.” That initiative, which introduced the car to consumers through “socially vibrant agents” is being amped up this year.
Marketing, Social
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Name That App: SocialScope

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Name That App: SocialScope
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: SocialScope.
Mobile, Social
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LucidMedia: DSP Goes DIY

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 17, 2010
LucidMedia: DSP Goes DIY
LucidMedia announced the launch of a self-service version of its formerly managed service software yesterday, hoping to enable agencies and their clients to gain full-control over their targeted digital campaigns. Ajay Sravanapudi, LucidMedia Founder and CEO, says the self-service switch will give agencies accessing an in-house, “white labeled” solution with a proprietary base of more than 14,000 targeted categories, page-level transparency, and multiple layers of filtering to protect branded advertisers from inappropriate content. [...]
Marketing, Media
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Networked Insights Melds Social Metrics With TV

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 17, 2010
Networked Insights Melds Social Metrics With TV
Networked Insights is merging social media analytics with TV research. This morning it launched SocialSenseTV, an “analytical listening platform” that will serve as a complimentary data source for evaluating current shows and even future pilot concepts. Networked Insights CEO Dan Neely says the information will be culled from the company’s monthly tracking of 1.5 billion social media interactions across the Internet.
Marketing, Media, Social
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Digital Content Today: CSM Launches Paid Video

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 17, 2010
Digital Content Today: CSM Launches Paid Video
The Christian Science Monitor is taking the high-end of paid subscription business models, using online video as the wedge. Today it announced a new partnership with FORA.tv to debut online videos of the weekly Monitor Breakfast, a 44-year-old tradition that brings Washington newsmakers together with top journalists. Full-length videos of each Breakfast can be viewed for $14.95 monthly or $99.95 annually. The company will sell ad units within the videos.
Marketing, Media
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5Qs With Access 360 President Roman Tsunder

by John Gaffney on Sunday, May 16, 2010
5Qs With Access 360 President Roman Tsunder
As founder and president of Access360 Media, Roman Tsunder certainly has is hands full connecting brands like Honda and Wrigley through digital and non-traditional media. The company owns and operates three divisions – Mallvision360 Digital, Arena Media Networks, and Mobile360. He has also been the driving force behind the PTTOW! Youth marketing summit that recently gathered an all-star roster of marketers from Twitter to Coca-Cola that showed the youth market is important to 69 percent of all marketers. [...]
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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Digital Content Today: Beware Targeting Arrogance

Sunday, May 16, 2010
Digital Content Today: Beware Targeting Arrogance
A new University of Michigan study says Internet marketers may not know as much about consumers as they think do. In a study appearing in a forthcoming issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, U-M researchers find that people have an aversion to being predicted or labeled.
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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LimeWire Ruling: Not The Stake In P2P Heart

by John Gaffney on Friday, May 14, 2010
LimeWire Ruling: Not The Stake In P2P Heart
This week’s court ruling in favor of the RIAA and against LimeWire was tantamount to a judicial no-hitter for the record industry. And while the decision was far-reaching it may not be enough to completely drive a stake through the heart of illegal file sharing.
Media
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YuMe Will Include Open Source Platform

by John Gaffney on Thursday, May 13, 2010
YuMe Will Include Open Source Platform
As online video progresses toward critical scale, ad platforms and networks are making it easier to integrate the necessary technology. Case in point: this week online video technology platform YuMe announced that its ACE video advertising platform will support Open Source Media Framework (OSMF).
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Wharton Profs Check Out Loc-Based Ads

Thursday, May 13, 2010
Digital Content Today: Wharton Profs Check Out Loc-Based Ads
Several Wharton professors believe the hot spot for location-based applications is knowing exactly where customers are and pitching offers or offering services based on the spots customers frequent. That information makes it easier for businesses to advertise, or offer special discounts, that fit what someone is doing at a given moment. The challenge for Foursquare and other companies, it suggests, is transitioning beyond buzz and finding uses for geo-targeting that are both profitable and practical. [...]
Marketing, Media, Mobile
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Facebook Pulls Ahead Of Yahoo in Display Advertising

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 13, 2010
Facebook Pulls Ahead Of Yahoo in Display Advertising
While it substantially trails rivals in display ad revenue, Facebook pulled ahead of Yahoo’s ad delivery rate for the first time in Q1. According to comScore Inc. as reported in The Wall Street Journal, Facebook delivered 176.3 billion display ads on its website over the first three months of 2010, more banner ads than any other Web publisher in the period. The growth also reflects increased demand from both small and large advertisers, comScore Chief Marketing Officer Linda Abraham told WSJ.
Metrics
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Five Qs: Loyalty Lab's Keith Rose: How Digital Has Changed Loyalty-Based Marketing

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, May 13, 2010
Five Qs: Loyalty Lab's Keith Rose: How Digital Has Changed Loyalty-Based Marketing
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week's guest is Loyalty Lab President and loyalty-marketing vet Keith Rose.
Marketing, Social
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Resonate Adds Attitude To Political Recruiting

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Resonate Adds Attitude To Political Recruiting
Attitudinal targeting company Resonate has launched an ad targeting solution designed to identify and recruit potential volunteers, activists, and donors online for political and advocacy campaigns. With today’s launch, the company now enables its clients to target and measure the success of their campaigns through three distinct targeting strategies: reach, clicks, or conversions into volunteers and activists.
Marketing, Media
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IBM Steps Into Social Media With A Passion

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, May 12, 2010
IBM Steps Into Social Media With A Passion
IBM's new data mining and text analytics software allows users to monitor changes in consumer, constituent and employee attitudes, uncover deeper insights, and then predict key factors that will drive future customer acquisition and retention campaigns. For example, companies can now extract sentiment from the use of emoticons and slang terminology that people often use in describing their view toward a product or service.
Marketing, Social, Technology
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Sponsored Conversations Grow Social Revenue

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sponsored Conversations Grow Social Revenue
PQ Media says cash-sponsored conversations are driving social media growth with spending rising 37.3% in 2009 to $10.3 million, driven by brand requirements to reach specific “influentials” such as young females and working mothers.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Name That App: Cyberia

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Name That App: Cyberia
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: Cyberia
Marketing, Mobile
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Digital Content Today: Foodies Online

Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Digital Content Today: Foodies Online
Digital consumers are hungry for food content. That’s the conclusion drawn from Deloitte’s new 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey. The survey found that one-third (33%) of respondents subscribed to receive emails, recipes, or coupons directly from food manufacturers, a six %age point increase from the 2008 survey.
Marketing, Metrics
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Q1 Mobile Market Round-up

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Q1 Mobile Market Round-up
Samsung took the lead in US mobile subscriber market share among handset manufacturers from Motorola in March 2010, according to comScore MobiLens data. The leap took Samsung from third to first with a 21.9 percent share of the 234 million US mobile subscribers aged 13 and older, giving it a narrow lead over Moto after a 0.7 percent leap for Samsung. Figures represent a three-month average, so the share gain actually represents a successful first quarter for Samsung. Moto’s share dropped 1.6 percentage points in the same time period. [...]
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Agency Spotlight: T3 Talks Content And Customers

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 10, 2010
Agency Spotlight: T3 Talks Content And Customers
It describes itself as "a company of thinkers. Of what-iffers. Of straight-shooters.” So far that world has been very successful. T3 has worked with MSN for over a year and a half among other clients such as Chase, UPS, Ford, and Intel. It has used a marriage of content and imaging to produce an authentic brand voice, advanced analytics, and customized campaigns based on customer segmentation.
Marketing, Media
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More Questions Remain On Privacy Bill

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 10, 2010
More Questions Remain On Privacy Bill
Even a week after it was made public and thousands of pundits have weighed on its pros and cons, questions remain on the Boucher Bill. In fact, the bill in its draft form leaves more unanswered questions than most people expected. Two of them surround phrasing that may look trite at first. The other two are major issues for anyone in the digital sales and marketing business.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Scripps Online Revenue Drops

Monday, May 10, 2010
Digital Content Today: Scripps Online Revenue Drops
Year-over-year revenue from Scripps newspapers fell 7.6 percent to $113 million. Advertising revenue was down 12 percent to $75.2 million. Yet, both figures reflect an improvement in the rate of decline from the fourth quarter of 2009, when total year-over-year revenues declined 15 percent, and ad revenues were down 20 percent.
Media, Metrics
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Meteor Launches Influencer Map

by John Gaffney on Sunday, May 9, 2010
Meteor Launches Influencer Map
Social media measurement continues to command attention from solution providers. Last week Meteor Solutions announced the release of its Meteor Online Influencer Map, which displays in real-time how specific users spread content across the Web. CEO Ben Straley expects clients to use the new solution to determine that it's not the size of the community that a brand generates, but the strength of the relationship formed with individual users that matters.
Marketing, Social
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The Fuel: New Strokes For Digital Design

by Tiana Rutledge on Friday, May 7, 2010
The Fuel: New Strokes For Digital Design
Sometimes even the most high-tech digital design applications are rooted in the basic principles. Here's an experiment (including an exclusive download) that can illustrate what it takes to create meaningful design for even the most sophisticated brands.
Marketing, Social
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New Redesign And The State Of The Nation

by John Gaffney on Friday, May 7, 2010
New Redesign And The State Of The Nation
The Nation has redesigned its website to capture more blogs, multimedia, and the community that makes its business model different and sustainable during a tough time for political and news properties.
Marketing, Media
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Sports Illustrated Goes Social With Watercooler

by John Gaffney on Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sports Illustrated Goes Social With Watercooler
Sports Illustrated is taking a mutli-platform approach to its 2010 football fantasy league and will include a social media presence. The brand’s digital group has partnered with Watercooler to launch an SI-branded fantasy football game on the Facebook platform that will also live on SI.com and SI mobile.
Marketing, Mobile
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Rothenberg Weighs in On Boucher Bill

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, May 6, 2010
Rothenberg Weighs in On Boucher Bill
IAB's President and CEO Randall Rothenberg issued a statement and analysis May 6 on the Boucher priviacy draft, but he also gave an overview of IAB's efforts to help the industry raise the bar on consumer privacy by self regulation at the April 28 Audience Targeting Summit in Las Vegas hosted by AudienceScience. It's today's featured video in the upper right corner.
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: App Downloads Will Peak

by John Gaffney on Thursday, May 6, 2010
Digital Content Today: App Downloads Will Peak
According to ABI last year consumers downloaded more than 2.4 billion applications from app stores, dominated by Apple. That download growth rate will accelerate over the next few years until in 2013 when downloads are expected to peak at just below seven billion. Apple’s app store will continue to lead the field. In the years that follow, says ABI, download rates from app stores will start a slow decline although the total market will continue to grow.
Metrics, Mobile
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InterClick Redefines Its Platform

by John Gaffney on Thursday, May 6, 2010
InterClick Redefines Its Platform
InterClick is trying to redefine itself. Long known as an ad network, this week’s release this week of Open Segment Manager (OSM) 2.0 is the second production version of the company’s campaign performance platform.
Marketing, Media
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AudienceScience Stakes Claim on the Hispanic Digital Ad Market with Consorte Media Acquisition

by Tameka Kee on Wednesday, May 5, 2010
AudienceScience Stakes Claim on the Hispanic Digital Ad Market with Consorte Media Acquisition
AudienceScience raised $20 million late last year, and since then the behavioral targeter has made new hires and opened up international offices. But it saved the big money for an acquisition: Buying out Hispanic ad targeter Consorte Media and staking its claim to a huge digital marketing demographic in the process.
Marketing, Technology
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Five Qs: NESN New Media Director Mike Hall

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Five Qs: NESN New Media Director Mike Hall
As sales director of the Internet arm of the New England Sports Network, Michael Hall is responsible for taking Boston sports to a diverse audience. He’s leaving nothing to chance though, following through on a decidedly modern audience tracking and targeting technology with Compete and Fox Audience Network.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Journalism Prof Sets Mobile Timeline

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Digital Content Today: Journalism Prof Sets Mobile Timeline
Clyde Bentley, an associate professor of convergence journalism at the school and a Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow, is urging newspapers adapt to the changing technology before they are left behind. He is basing this thesis partly on a Gartner prediction that by 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.
Marketing, Mobile
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Privacy Bill Could Stifle Data Use

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Privacy Bill Could Stifle Data Use
An Internet entity, says the privacy bill draft from Rep. Rick Boucher, can only collect personal information from any user if “the covered entity deletes or renders anonymous any covered information not later that 18 months after the date the covered information is first collected.” The key phrase is “renders anonymous.” It means that any customer records logged for a e-commerce loyalty program at Christmas will be live leads for one more Christmas. After that, they must contain only information that shows behavior such as purchases, overall segmentation, or customer value. [...]
Marketing
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Nielsen Leads Big Day For Online Video

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Nielsen Leads Big Day For Online Video
Must be butter because online video is still on a roll. On Tuesday alone, three major companies announced changes to their business model to accommodate the measurement, presentation, and purchase of online video. Nielsen led the way with a major acquisition.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Social Cybercrime Costs Billions

Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Digital Content Today: Social Cybercrime Costs Billions
Privacy issues on social media may be costing consumers big money. According to Consumer Reports latest State of the Net survey, in the past year 52% of adult social network users have posted personal information which can increase their risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime.The report also estimates that Americans have lost $4.5 billion over the past two years and including replacing 2.1 million computers compromised by malware.
Marketing, Social
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Name That App: NFL Mobile

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Name That App: NFL Mobile
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: NFL Mobile
Mobile, Technology
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Kirk McDonald Says Pubs Need To Get Personal

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, May 3, 2010
Kirk McDonald Says Pubs Need To Get Personal
“Data is the new black,” Kirk McDonald, president of Digital at Time Inc., told publishers at the 2010 Audience Targeting Summit last week, hosted by AudienceScience. He urged his colleagues, “We have to get on top of this” – meaning the mound of data that can drown advertisers who are trying to make sense of it all. On one level, it’s simple, he explained; “You just have to understand your mindset or frame of reference when you come to [audience] data.”
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Kids Bop

Monday, May 3, 2010
Digital Content Today: Kids Bop
Forget Mother's Day. A new survey shows 69 percent of brand marketers see teens as their most important customer segments, dominated by social media strategies.
Marketing, Mobile
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HotHand Looks At New Business Model

by John Gaffney on Monday, May 3, 2010
HotHand Looks At New Business Model
The CEO and co-founder of HotHand isn't waving his new patent around Silicon Alley or Valley. “We were the first to market with it, but we don’t want people to be afraid of it or afraid of doing business with us,” says Randy Jamarillo. “We want to help build the mobile business.”
Marketing, Mobile, Social
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Digital Content Today: Arbitron Posts Twitter Numbers

Sunday, May 2, 2010
Digital Content Today: Arbitron Posts Twitter Numbers
Arbitron/Edison Research revealed that 87% of Americans are now aware of Twitter, up from 24% in 2009 and just 5% when the question was first asked, in 2008. But in looking at how many Americans are active users of Twitter -- defined as using the service at least once a month -- that figure came in at 7%, or about 17 million people, up from 2% in 2009.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Ogilvy Digital Video Mogul Pleads With Brands

by Melinda Gipson on Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ogilvy Digital Video Mogul Pleads With Brands
“The train has left the station,” Rob Davis, partner, interactive marketing director and leader of Ogilvy’s Online Video Practice, told digiday’s recent VideoUpfront in LA. In his keynote, “A long talk on the brief history of online video,” Davis’ statistics take aim at all the reasons brands and agencies may have for “waiting until online video is real” before jumping in. But it’s more than stats like the fact that pre-roll ads reach more than half the total video audience online that have caused online video to rise to a medium of “massive importance” – it’s things like user control that have changed decades-old rules of how to reach a mass audience online. [...]
Media
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Visual DNA Intros Targeting With A Twist

by John Gaffney on Friday, April 30, 2010
Visual DNA Intros Targeting With A Twist
An innovative twist on audience targeting launched earlier this months from a London-based company called Audience Analytics. Instead of doing the math, Audience Analytics is doing the faces. VisualDNA, says the service is used by the likes of MSN, PepsiCo International, Hotels.com, Lastminute, Vodafone while the company has already profiled more than 20 million people.
Marketing, Media
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GeoTargeting Gets Mobile Boost

by John Gaffney on Thursday, April 29, 2010
GeoTargeting Gets Mobile Boost
Location-based mobile ads received a large amount of data support this past week as both Millennial Media and the Mobile Marketing Association showed that consumers are viewing and acting on this latest targeting tactic. The MMA says nearly half of all users surveyed took some kind of action when presented with a location-based targeted ad.
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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Tobaccowala: Marketers Need to Hit All the Right Notes in Post-Digital Age

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tobaccowala: Marketers Need to Hit All the Right Notes in Post-Digital Age
At AudienceScience's 2010 Targeting Summit in Las Vegas April 28, Rishad Tobaccowala, chief strategy and innovation officer for VivaKi rues the fact that brands have forgotten how to market. He outlines the changing face of marketing using the seven notes of the keyboard today's pied pipers must use to draw consumers: Audience, Brand, Content, Data, Enterprise and the yin-yang perspectives of Facebook and Google.
Marketing
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OPA Report Includes Aggregators

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
OPA Report Includes Aggregators
The most recent OPA report is arguably the first one that has to contend with defining “premium content.” Is an aggregator like The Huffington Post premium content? Are UGC sites such as MomsLikeMe premium? These sites certainly maintain high standards of presentation and “brand safe environments.” Stuart Schneiderman, research director from the OPA, says those sites count in the OPA research but held back from judging them further.
Marketing, Metrics
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Social Media Rocks The Top 100 Brands

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Social Media Rocks The Top 100 Brands
The new Millward Brown report says that the definitive indicator of social media’s impact can be seen in traditionally TV oriented companies such as banks, CPG icons, and auto makers. “Brands in certain categories, like apparel, aggressively adopted social media because it fits with their youth orientation,” the report says. “But as new BrandZ data indicate, social media are not just the domain of young fashionable brands. In fact the more people have a strong attitudinal bond with a brand the more likely that are to engage with it online. [...]
Marketing, Metrics, Mobile
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Gannett Social Division Adds SF Partner

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Gannett Social Division Adds SF Partner
On the surface this may look like a standard affiliate deal, but its not. MomsLikeMe.com, Gannett’s social destination for moms, today announced it has entered into an affiliate partnership with the Bay Area News Group, the largest print and online media company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here’s the non-standard angle: BANG is not a Gannett property, and the first to partner as such with MomsLikeMe. The deal opens new growth opportunities for both Gannett and BANG outside each company.
Marketing, Media, Social
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Five Questions With Ad Safe CEO Kent Wakeford

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Five Questions With Ad Safe CEO Kent Wakeford
As CEO and co-founder of AdSafe, Kent Wakeford is a watchdog for brand safety online. AdSafe fills a unique role because it has to encourage Internet advertising yet it has to warn brands that it believes some environments are unsafe. In his opinion brands risk erosion if they don’t exercise caution.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Tracking The Stimulus Money

Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Digital Content Today: Tracking The Stimulus Money
Pew Internet research shows that a surprising amount of people are using the Internet for purposes other than filing and getting information about taxes. Its report “Government Online” shows 40% of adult internet users have gone online for raw data about government spending and activities.
Media, Metrics
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Healthline Adds Capital Infusion From IGC

Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Healthline Adds Capital Infusion From IGC
Healthline will use the capital to expand “research and development, engineering, sales and network services to meet the growing demand from a broad spectrum of consumer-focused media and healthcare businesses looking to improve the way consumers find, understand and manage health-related information. The company will also work to expand its advertising platform and services.”
Marketing, Media
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Efficient Frontier Announces Display Platform

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Efficient Frontier Announces Display Platform
The company announced a fully integrated display and search marketing optimization platform with real-time bidding capabilities, adding dynamic bidding to its search optimization portfolio. According to Justin Merickel, vice president of marketing and new product development, the new platform expands the multifacteted approach the company has brought to the market.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Auto Insurers Find Online Rate Increase

Monday, April 26, 2010
Digital Content Today: Auto Insurers Find Online Rate Increase
Consumers are responding to insurer's push for online rate comparisons and policy purchases, according to a report released today by comScore. Based on behavioral data from its one million person U.S. panel and a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. Internet users the report found that U.S. consumers submitted requests for 38.8 million online quotes in 2009 and purchased a record 2.8 million policies online during the year, each representing an increase of more than 20 percent versus the previous year, as consumers sought ways to save on auto insurance during the recession. [...]
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Video: Entrepreneurs Move Upfront

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, April 26, 2010
Video: Entrepreneurs Move Upfront
digiday:VIDEOUPFRONT did more than discuss where the big players will obtain their video views, it showcased some of the players on both coasts that are changing the playing field. Revision 3, Current Media and Attention Span Media were three that wowed LA attendees. It's our featured video set in the upper right. Enjoy. And if you'd like to take in more videos, see DM2PRO.com's video archive.
Media
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Digital Content Today: BN Starts To Rock The Nook

by John Gaffney on Sunday, April 25, 2010
Digital Content Today: BN Starts To Rock The Nook
Barnes & Noble has come to life quickly with the Nook. On Friday the biggest offline bookseller announced new software applications for the Nook including a Read In Store app to browse complete eBooks in Barnes & Noble stores at no cost, as well as games. The first Android applications available on the device will come via an enhanced Wi-Fi connectivity and a basic Web browser. The new features, along with page turns and an enhanced home screen, are also part of the new Nook v1.3 software.
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Doctors Pick Up Digital Health Care Debate

by John Gaffney on Sunday, April 25, 2010
Doctors Pick Up Digital Health Care Debate
As politicians continue to fight over the ramifications of the Health Care Reform Bill, it’s also hard to gauge the exact effect the legislation will have on digital marketing or consumer expectation from digital publishing. But the reform debate and eventual passage has lit a new spark under the movement of e-health, participatory medicine, and freer information exchange between doctor and patient.
Marketing, Technology
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Bright Roll Sees Agency Attitude Adjustment For Online Video

Friday, April 23, 2010
Bright Roll Sees Agency Attitude Adjustment For Online Video
Video advertising network Bright Roll released the results of its second annual Online Video Advertising Report, showing that advertisers are becoming increasingly reliant on online video as a proven means to reach targeted audiences at scale.
Marketing, Metrics
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New Mobile Report Stresses Social Use On Mobile Internet

Thursday, April 22, 2010
New Mobile Report Stresses Social Use On Mobile Internet
A new report from Ground Truth shows that the larger population is using mobile phones to access social networks. “The mobile Internet may be just as reliant on social networks as it is on the mobile data network itself,” says the report from the mobile measurement firm. It says that social networking activity comprises more than half of the time spent on the mobile Internet.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Millward Brown Looks For Higher Order Of Data

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Millward Brown Looks For Higher Order Of Data
Forget click-thrus. What did the EEG measurement look like? That's what Millward Brown wants clients to ask as they launch a new division to develop neuroscience and neuromarketing.
Marketing, Media
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Travel Ad Network Adds Partners

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Travel Ad Network Adds Partners
There’s more evidence coming that vertical ad networks are flourishing as display ads and targeted programs continue to attract advertisers. This week Travel Ad Network reported that SpaFinder has joined its network of more than 300 exclusive partner sites. TAN also reported that its latest comScore rankings for March put the network’s audience at over 20 million unique users in the US and over 33 million in worldwide audience.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Mobile Location Gets Started

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile Location Gets Started
Conducted in mid-March, a new MMA new survey found that that 26% of mobile phone users have used a "map, navigation or some other mobile phone service that automatically determines your current location." That number skyrockets for Apple products.
Metrics, Mobile
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Video Grows Up From Romper Room to Boardroom

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Video Grows Up From Romper Room to Boardroom
"it's not whether we're going to grow, but how," said Matt Timothy, president of the Vindico Group of BBE at our recent digiday:VIDEOUPFRONT in NYC. "And the key to that is measurement." Timothy, in a data-rich presentation that compared the growth of online video to that of television, explains what it will take for "Daddy" -- television ad spending -- to give the upstart adolescent digital video market the car keys. It's our featured video of the day in our upper right video window, but you can see many more at DM2PRO. [...]
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Digital Content Today: Teen Texting Passes New Thresholds

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Digital Content Today: Teen Texting Passes New Thresholds
A new report from Pew Research shows the typical American teen sends or receives 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 per month. That's up in the past 18 months from 38% of teens texting friends daily in February of 2008, to 54% of teens texting daily in September 2009. 31% of teens send and receive more than 100 messages per day or more than 3,000 messages a month and 15% of teens who are texters send more than 200 texts a day, or more than 6,000 texts a month.
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Pepsi Does The Dew For Social Media

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Pepsi Does The Dew For Social Media
The brand is introducing three new Mountain Dew flavors: that were developed in partnership with consumers during the brand's DEWmocracy 2 campaign. According to the company, for the first time in Pepsi history, consumers have played an active role in shaping and influencing the paid media planning and buying process.
Marketing, Social
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Name That App: Twitter for BlackBerry

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Name That App: Twitter for BlackBerry
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: Twitter for BlackBerry.
Mobile, Social, Technology
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Online Video Draws More TV Comparisons

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Online Video Draws More TV Comparisons
A bit lost in the Nielsen-Facebook hype is new research on online video ads. Data shows video ads run during online full-episode TV programs yield deeper brand impact than corresponding on-air TV ads, with the difference most pronounced among younger viewers age 13-34.
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Facebook And Nielsen Come Out Slinging

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Facebook And Nielsen Come Out Slinging
Facebook and Nielsen came out of the gate fast with the results of their first joint research project. Case number on took on no less than the holy grail of sales lift as a result of social media. Key findings from Nielsen BrandLift studies conclude that socially-charged ads increase campaign effectiveness by two- to three-fold.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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NHL Shoots And Scores With Digital Content

by John Gaffney on Monday, April 19, 2010
NHL Shoots And Scores With Digital Content
The digital arm of the league has combined strong demographics for the sport with increased online capabilities for a marketing power play of its own as big brands buy into branded content.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Enter Mobile Performance Marketing

Monday, April 19, 2010
Digital Content Today: Enter Mobile Performance Marketing
OfferMobi, which bills itself as the first mobile performance marketing network launched today at ad:tech San Francisco. It launched with a partnership for tracking pay-per-call services offered through technology provider RingRevenue and will allow advertisers to compensate for leads and conversion.
Marketing, Mobile
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Secrets Of Women Online Revealed

Monday, April 19, 2010
Secrets Of Women Online Revealed
According to a new study from Q Interactive's Women's Channel, what women really want is a partner who understands their realities and gives them something of value. Over 1,800 women, 82 percent of which are moms, seek customized online advertising from brands they trust.
Marketing, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Good Newspaper News

Sunday, April 18, 2010
Digital Content Today: Good Newspaper News
You down with RPC? A Scarborough Research study concludes that Readers-Per-Copy (RPC) rates increased over the past three years by an average of 7.5 percent. In 2007, an average of 3.07 adults in the study read a copy of a printed daily newspaper, versus 3.30 adults in 2009. Higher rates of pass-along readership indicate that an average unit of newspaper circulation is generating more readers.
Marketing, Metrics
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Coupons Make A Digital Comeback

by John Gaffney on Friday, April 16, 2010
Coupons Make A Digital Comeback
They are old school, media and took it on the chin for most of the past ten years. But coupons are continuing their comeback, fueled in part by companies like Prospectiv that have connected their rich female databases to digital publishing.
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New Report Raises Brand Safety Fears

Thursday, April 15, 2010
New Report Raises Brand Safety Fears
A new white paper claims that two critical threats are inhibiting the impact of “what otherwise have been significant advances in the ways that online display ads are designed, bought and deployed across publisher Web sites.” Those two threats are transparency and brand safety.
Marketing, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Betawave Adds New Game Group

Thursday, April 15, 2010
Digital Content Today: Betawave Adds New Game Group
The online gaming space for marketers continues to expand as Betawave today announced that SPIL Games has joined its site portfolio in North America. SPIL brings more than 115 million unique visitors to its websites each month and is ranked among the Top 50 most visited online properties in the world, according to comScore Media Metrix.
Marketing, Technology
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The Buzz: With Annie Stamell

by Annie Stamell on Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Buzz: With Annie Stamell
This week the web community was recovering from the Streamy Awards, and reviews of the actual show were mixed, with many leaning towards the negative. While we won’t be offering up a review here, in the wake of these still-young and increasingly relevant web awards, it’s worth revisiting the content on top.
Marketing, Media
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Consensus is Key to Unlock Online Video Dollars

by Danny King on Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Consensus is Key to Unlock Online Video Dollars
Creators of online video ad campaigns have been hamstrung because potential clients are often confused about items ranging from where to place an ad relative to content programming to how to properly measure its effectiveness.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Compete Adds Fox Data

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Digital Content Today: Compete Adds Fox Data
Digital intelligence and analytics provider Compete is expanding its relationship with Fox Audience Network in a new measurement methodology partnership. Compete’s XL audience metrics will now incorporates Fox Audience Network's reach of more than 150 million consumers , integrating new data that describes consumer lifestyles, passions and purchasing behaviors.
Marketing, Technology
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Big Day For E-Readers

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Big Day For E-Readers
Wednesday was a big day for the e-reader business. Not the iPad; e-readers. A new research report showed that consumers will use them to read magazines when they get their hands on them and sales details on two new e-readers were solidified.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Online Video Ads Underused by Media Companies

by Danny King on Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Online Video Ads Underused by Media Companies
Media companies looking to generate revenue through long-form online video are leaving money on the table by not including more ads or charging for more of its programming.
Marketing, Media
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Advertisers to Pull From TV for Online Video Spend

by Danny King on Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Advertisers to Pull From TV for Online Video Spend
Advertisers will substantially boost online video advertising spending this year from 2009 levels largely from cutting TV and print ad budgets, according to a new survey and panelists speaking at the digiday video conference.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Signs Of Stability For Print Mags

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Signs Of Stability For Print Mags
According to media business tracking company MediaFinder.com, only 22 magazines folded in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 95 last year, while seven magazines, compared to 16 last year, ceased their print editions and publish online-only magazines.
Marketing, Media
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Online Video Advertisers Predict Budget Hike

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Online Video Advertisers Predict Budget Hike
DM2PRO.com joined with Tremor Media to survey digital media and marketing pros on their practices and attitudes towards online video advertising as a way of discerning where this market is going. From the more than 500 responses we received in our first State of the Industry Survey on Online Video Advertising, it looks like 2010 will be a break-out year for the medium. Nearly all – just over 94 percent of advertisers and agencies who currenly use online video advertising – say that their spending will increase. [...]
Metrics
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Targeting News: Resonate Has An Attitude

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Targeting News: Resonate Has An Attitude
New spins on the audience targeting model continue to generate new internet consumer information. Attitudinal targeting company Resonate, which is expanding beyond the political base of clients it solidified in 2009, has published a new report which is says shows the difference in attitudinal and “traditional” targeting.
Media, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: AdColony Comes Out Of Beta

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Digital Content Today: AdColony Comes Out Of Beta
AdColony's iPad user survey reports an expected high-end early usage patterns for iPads and other Apple touch screen devices. Survey highlights report that 58.0 percent of respondents have bachelor's degrees or graduate/professional degrees and 44.3 percent earn a household income level of $100,000 or greater. The results also show that that scanning the current iPad users, over 48.7% own iPod touches, 43.0% own iPhones, and over 27.2% own BlackBerry devices.
Marketing, Mobile
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Name That App: Encyclopaedia Britannica

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Name That App: Encyclopaedia Britannica
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Mobile
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Digital Content Today: Nielsen Measures Fourth Screen

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Digital Content Today: Nielsen Measures Fourth Screen
The report finds that 54% of the 237 million monthly exposures to persons 18+ were displayed to male audiences, with 46% exposed to females. An estimated 50% of all the monthly exposures were displayed to men and women in the key 18-34 demographic.
Metrics, Mobile
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Video Distribution Argument Surrounds Complexity

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Video Distribution Argument Surrounds Complexity
The topic of business models dominated yesterday’s digiday:Video Upfront panel on syndication. And while the path to monetization for content providers is not clearly defined, a few viable ones exist. But at least one panelist thought the space was too complicated for advertisers.
Marketing
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Alcatel-Lucent Launches Mobile Ad Solution

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Alcatel-Lucent Launches Mobile Ad Solution
The Optism Mobile Advertising Solution, enables mobile operators to create valuable "media inventory" and provide advertisers with easy access to willing and highly targeted audiences. The company claims it helps mobile operators develop new business models and offer more personalized experiences to their subscribers and will help advertisers reach wider, yet more targeted audiences through highly responsive, permission and preference-based mobile marketing that is aggregated across multiple mobile operators. [...]
Marketing
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Cost Argument Rears Up Early For Online Video

by John Gaffney on Monday, April 12, 2010
Cost Argument Rears Up Early For Online Video
It is a natural condition of the advertising business: Agencies think prices are too high and content owners think they’re too low. But even the most jaded observer would be surprised at how early the battle lines over online video are being drawn.
Marketing, Media
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Five Questions: Tremor Media VP Shane Steele: Is Digital Video Upfront More Hype Than Reality?

by Tameka Kee on Monday, April 12, 2010
Five Questions: Tremor Media VP Shane Steele: Is Digital Video Upfront More Hype Than Reality?
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week's exec: Shane Steele of Tremor Media tells us why the potential for a digital video "upfront" is more than just hype.
Media, Technology
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Innovid Moves Into Canadian Portal Partnership

by John Gaffney on Sunday, April 11, 2010
Innovid Moves Into Canadian Portal Partnership
Online video innovator Innovid is riding a big win from the Budweiser brand and is starting this week of the Video Upfront conference by announcing a new partnership with with Sympatico.ca. It will be exclusive provider of its iRoll technology for one of Canada's largest portals.
Marketing, Metrics
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Hothand Patent Could Rattle Geotargeting Market

by John Gaffney on Sunday, April 11, 2010
Hothand Patent Could Rattle Geotargeting Market
Hothand has developed a mobile platform for colleges and universities that enables them to create proprietary mobile Web sites and text messaging platforms. The patent for its platform was filed in 2004, before most predicted the current mobile landscape and before a lot of different companies tapped into geolocation and geocentric ads. While it’s impossible to predict the legal scope of the patent in the marketplace, Hothand’s lawyers weren’t exactly playing shy.
Marketing, Mobile
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SMS: From Send My Sympathy to Serve My Sub

by Melinda Gipson on Thursday, April 8, 2010
SMS: From Send My Sympathy to Serve My Sub
Lowly SMS can get lost in the shuffle of shiny new iPhone apps, but the Mobile Marketing Association reports that text messaging was the second most common way people chose to donate to Haitian relief efforts. Subway, a DPAC award winner for digital marketing innovation, is also using Shorthand Mobile's SMS platform to speed sandwich buyers to the head of the line. So, from missionary zeal to foraging for fast food, SMS still shows promise.
Mobile
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Busy Week For Privacy Advocates

by John Gaffney on Thursday, April 8, 2010
Busy Week For Privacy Advocates
In complaints to two different federal agencies, privacy advocates were active this week. On Wednesday pharmaceutical marketing was in the cross-hairs. On Thursday real-time bidding was named as a "stealth data-collection" technology.
Marketing, Media
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Arkayne Connects Content And Commerce

Thursday, April 8, 2010
Arkayne Connects Content And Commerce
A new company called Arkayne has just released its new software that was designed at least in part to help companies own their content and commerce. The Arkayne Plugin is an automated Software as a Service application that funnels Web site visitors to each business’ desired conversion.
Marketing, Technology
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Five Questions: Conduit Labs' Nabeel Hyatt on Growing a Successful Digital Music Startup

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, April 8, 2010
Five Questions: Conduit Labs' Nabeel Hyatt on Growing a Successful Digital Music Startup
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we chat with Nabeel Hyatt, CEO of social and music-gaming company Conduit Labs about the startup's new deal with Universal Music Group, and the fate of digital music companies overall.
Marketing, Social
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Digital Content Today: Silverpop Launches New Digital Platform

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Digital Content Today: Silverpop Launches New Digital Platform
The company launched an upgrade of its service that merges BtoB and BtoC marketing under one platform. Silverpop says a recent survey of more than 1,800 marketers found that B2C and B2B marketers share many of the same goals. When asked what their top challenges are in the coming year, both groups said finding more prospective customers, up-selling or cross-selling to the customer base, improving analytics to strengthen campaigns and better leveraging new marketing channels are problems they face. [...]
Marketing, Technology
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New Smartclip CEO Takes Veteran Approach To Video

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
New Smartclip CEO Takes Veteran Approach To Video
Matt Prohaska is a true veteran of the digital sales and marketing business. He served as vice president for AOL, where he led a 150-person sales team that managed over $1 billion in total annual revenue. As of this week he is CEO of Smartclip, which is part of Smartclip AG, the largest video advertising network in Europe. Smartclip says it will offer advertisers a blend of innovative ad formats, exclusive inventory including social media, reach partnerships and extensive tracking resources.
Marketing, Media, Technology
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Blackberry Holds Place As Content Force

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Blackberry Holds Place As Content Force
New data from content download platform Myxer shows that while iPhone and Android are grabbing the headlines, RIM and Blackberry are still showing impressive growth. Its latest monthly report, BoomBox , measures smartphone usage across its 33 million users. According to the study, RIM continues to far outpace Windows, Palm, webOS, Android, iPhone and Symbian based on mobile visits, growing from a 58% market share in March 2009 to a 63% share in March 2010.
Metrics, Mobile
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Zenith Sees Ad Spend Recovery Continuing

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Zenith Sees Ad Spend Recovery Continuing
Zenith Optimedia is putting a bit more momentum behind the tentative global ad spend recovery with its new report released this morning. “Confidence in the global economic recovery, while tentative, continues to grow, and this improvement has been apparent in ad markets across the world,: it says. “Ad expenditure is accelerating in bullish developing markets, while in the developed world the downturn is coming to an end more quickly than expected.”
Marketing, Metrics
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Netmining Goes Under The Data Hood

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Netmining Goes Under The Data Hood
A new dashboard technology will allow Netmining advertisers to see their site visitor data which is gathered by the same tag that powers their display advertising campaigns. Armed with this data, advertisers and their agencies can gain an enhanced knowledge of customer behavior on their website to help inform conversion strategies and marketing programs.
Marketing, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Smartphones Have A Free Problem

Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Digital Content Today: Smartphones Have A Free Problem
A new survey finds that smartphone owners are extremely active downloading apps during the first three months after purchase, but almost half are opting for free content. Data Innovation surveyed 499 smart phone users conducted between November 2009 and January 2010, and found 98% of respondents reported downloading an application for their mobile device in the past three months.
Metrics, Mobile
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Name That App: GameCenter

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Name That App: GameCenter
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: Gamefly's GameCenter
Mobile, Technology
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NearVerse Wants To Save The Mobile Universe

by John Gaffney on Monday, April 5, 2010
NearVerse Wants To Save The Mobile Universe
It's a low-tech approach to a high-tech problem. NearVerse, fresh off a $1 million seed funding round, has launched a new app and new networking platform that reduces carrier network bandwidth load and makes local media delivery five to ten times faster, according to the company.
Marketing, Mobile
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Digital Content Today: Searching For Pizza Holdouts

by John Gaffney on Monday, April 5, 2010
Digital Content Today: Searching For Pizza Holdouts
Domino's Pizza is taking its branding efforts to several different online vehicles lately, now launching a new campaign for its hand-tossed pizza. Following the “Oh Yes We Did” campaign - where actual Domino's Pizza employees faced consumer criticism in reinventing the company's core hand-tossed recipe - the new campaign journeys to find the last pizza "holdouts."
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Survey: Retailers Find Facebook Advantage

Sunday, April 4, 2010
Survey: Retailers Find Facebook Advantage
Retailers who are actively involved in marketing their products and services using Facebook may have a distinct advantage over their competitors in terms of product recommendations. The study from market research company Morpace also reveals that non-Caucasian consumers tend to be more active users of Facebook
Marketing, Social
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Video Spotlight: Entertainment Marketing Goes Social

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, April 2, 2010
Video Spotlight: Entertainment Marketing Goes Social
Movie studios and TV networks are creating social experiences that help them discover who their biggest fans are, as well as how they can get them into the theater or piled up in the living room. From Facebook pages and Twitter acccounts run by characters, to apps that give fans behind-the-scenes video clips, these experiences are a way for content creators and marketers to get people engaged enough that they'll invite others along for the ride. The following movie moguls explored their plans for entertainment on various social networks, and how they fit into long-term marketing efforts. [...]
Social
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The Buzz: With Annie Stamell

by Annie Stamell on Friday, April 2, 2010
The Buzz: With Annie Stamell
DVD rental service Netflix has been shifting its business model to focus more on digital distribution -- offering video on-demand and streaming -- via partnerships with a number of device-makers. (iPad anyone?) But this week, Stamell explains why the most lucrative distribution deals Netflix has made have been with the video game console companies like Microsoft and Sony. So let's dive in to the Netflix experience on the PS3!
Technology
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NatGeo SVP Levine Is Bullish On Digital Prospects

by John Gaffney on Thursday, April 1, 2010
NatGeo SVP Levine Is Bullish On Digital Prospects
The company's digital SVP says it's a great time to be in digital publishing and he's spreading the brand's content to 400 million people each month worldwide through calculated moves to make content available on the website and now through other digital platforms.
Marketing, Media
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McKinsey Finds Some Good News For Newspapers

by John Gaffney on Thursday, April 1, 2010
McKinsey Finds Some Good News For Newspapers
A new McKinsey report found that newspapers have an important inherent advantage as they face the challenges of the digital age—trust. Consumers trust newspapers more than any other medium, and 66 percent describe newspaper advertising as “informative and confidence inspiring,” compared with only 44 percent for TV and 12 percent for the Web. It suggests that newspapers have further scope to go beyond news, to drive reader interest and advertising revenues at the same time
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: GameStop Pushes Online

Thursday, April 1, 2010
Digital Content Today: GameStop Pushes Online
Along with partner Jolt Online Gaming it has announced the launch of its first free-to-play program involving the Legends of Zork online game and a companion consumer sweepstakes offering one year of free video games as the grand prize. The Legends of Zork promotion is the first consumer initiative launched by GameStop and Jolt Online Gaming.
Marketing, Media
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Spiritual Mag Finds Digital Enlightenment

by John Gaffney on Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spiritual Mag Finds Digital Enlightenment
Sometimes a small story illustrates a bigger picture. That’s certainly the case with EnlightenNext, a small circulation spiritually-focused magazine that struggled with frequency, advertising, and available publishing expertise on the way to a sustainable business model. Dubbed by its small but devoted community as “the Wired magazine of the spiritual world,” EnlightenNext opts for uber-spiritual thinkers like Ken Wilber over the uber-techs like Steve Jobs.
Marketing, Media
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Habegger Riffs On Ownership Targeting

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Habegger Riffs On Ownership Targeting
After running a lead gen company for ten years, Jay Habegger is now three years into leading a company that has developed new business models for reaching customers that are researching purchases or have recently made them. Rather than relying on more general algorithms, OwnerIQ has developed a methodology called ownership targeting.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Long Live The Microsite

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Digital Content Today: Long Live The Microsite
Dynamic Logic SiteImpact studies showed that microsites have a substantial impact on awareness and perceptions of a brand. In fact, microsite visitation leads to significant increases in all standard brand metrics. On average, microsites impact 7.8% of site visitors with respect to conveying key brand messages.
Marketing, Metrics, Technology
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Greystripe Will Flash For iPad

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Greystripe Will Flash For iPad
With rumors rife about Apple possibly announcing a new “iAd” creative platform for the iPad, Greystripe is taking matters into its own hands. The rich media mobile advertising network today announced its latest iFlash ad units will launch in May. a Greystripe spokesperson says the new creative platform conforms to all current iPad specs.
Marketing, Mobile
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Social Gaming Leads to Brand-Building for Publishers Clearing House

by Brandon Gutman on Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Social Gaming Leads to Brand-Building for Publishers Clearing House
Four leading brand marketers joined FOCi Group during the Brand Innovators Panel at digiday:SOCIAL in LA. Execs from The Dial Corporation, Mattel, POM Wonderful and Publishers Clearing House were candid about their strategies, challenges and successes in utilizing social media within their marketing mix. We plan to recap the panel of highlights in a series of four columns. Today's insight: How Publishers Clearing House used Social Gaming to build its brand with a younger, hipper audience.
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Name That App: GetFugu

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Name That App: GetFugu
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World, and not all of them are worth your time or money. So each week we'll dig into a different app -- be it a productivity tool created by an indie developer, a best-selling game, or a publisher's mobile magazine -- to help you cut through the clutter. This week's app: GetFugu Mobile Search
Mobile
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Digital Content Today: Safe Social Networking

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Digital Content Today: Safe Social Networking
New research commissioned by internet security provider Webroot, shows an increasing awareness among social network users of how to keep personal information private. That’s the safe side. At the same time, it revealed how social network users still put their identities and sensitive information at risk.
Marketing, Social
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Five Questions: DEI's David Reis On Kraft, Paula Deen and Sustainable Social Strategy

by Tameka Kee on Monday, March 29, 2010
Five Questions: DEI's David Reis On Kraft, Paula Deen and Sustainable Social Strategy
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we ask David Reis, CEO of DEI Worldwide, about how the process of working with Kraft on social media efforts has evolved over the past three years.
Marketing, Social
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Sporting News Steps Up To The Plate

by John Gaffney on Monday, March 29, 2010
Sporting News Steps Up To The Plate
With a 125-year legacy The Sporting News has actually taken more online and offline action so far this year than arguably any other content owner. This Thursday, the company will begin charging $2.99 monthly subscriptions for its iPad-ready, but not exclusive "Sporting News Today" electronic magazine.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Job Searches Go Social

Monday, March 29, 2010
Digital Content Today: Job Searches Go Social
A company called RiseSmart sees an opportunity to remedy lame job searches. The company’s new Transition Concierge 3.0 outplacement solution combines online tools with one-on-one human support to reduce time to placement through the power of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks to help laid-off employees find new, relevant jobs faster.
Marketing, Social
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How POM Wonderful Tracked Blogger Outreach to a Clearly-Defined ROI

by Brandon Gutman on Monday, March 29, 2010
How POM Wonderful Tracked Blogger Outreach to a Clearly-Defined ROI
Four leading brand marketers joined FOCi Group during the Brand Innovators Panel at digiday:SOCIAL in LA. Execs from The Dial Corporation, Mattel, POM Wonderful and Publishers Clearing House were candid about their strategies, challenges and successes in utilizing social media within their marketing mix. We plan to recap the panel of highlights in a series of four columns. Today's insight: How POM Wonderful Tracked Blogger Outreach to a Clearly-Defined ROI
Social
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Search Keeps Taking Money From Print

Sunday, March 28, 2010
Search Keeps Taking Money From Print
A study from the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization and eConsultancy says search engine marketing will reach $16.6 billion this year in North America, up nearly 14% from $14.6 billion for 2009. More than 49% of 1,500 marketers and agencies surveyed in January and February plan to shift money to search engine marketing from print advertising.
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Fox Starts Its Video Offensive

by John Gaffney on Friday, March 26, 2010
Fox Starts Its Video Offensive
At last week’s Advertising Research Conference Fox Networks and comScore, highlighted a UK study that showed video and display advertising are effective at driving “significant uplift in site visitation and advertiser search queries, even in the face of minimal clicks on ads.”
Marketing, Media, Metrics
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Quantifying the Value of Social Media with The Dial Corporation

by Brandon Gutman on Friday, March 26, 2010
Quantifying the Value of Social Media with The Dial Corporation
Four leading brand marketers joined FOCi Group during the Brand Innovators Panel at digiday:SOCIAL in LA. Execs from The Dial Corporation, Mattel, POM Wonderful and Publishers Clearing House were candid about their strategies, challenges and successes in utilizing social media within their marketing mix. We plan to recap the panel of highlights in a series of four columns. Today's insight: How The Dial Corporation Quantifies Its Social Initiatives
Social
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Long Live The Mobile Carrier App Store

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Long Live The Mobile Carrier App Store
Despite the fanfare around application stores tied to specific mobile devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries, a new Nielsen survey finds ongoing loyalty to carrier stores. As of the end of 2009, half of all applications users were accessing carrier app stores according to Nielsen’s new App Playbook. That said, the Apple App Store was the clear leader in preferred application stores in the United States and, combined with the dedicated AT&T Application Store, devices running on the AT&T network have the most popular stores. [...]
Mobile
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Why Do People Still Open SPAM?

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Why Do People Still Open SPAM?
A new ISPOS study has found It found that four in ten (43%) say that they have opened an email that they suspected was spam, though fewer have taken more risky behaviors such as clicking on a link (11%), opening an attachment (8%),replying to (4%) or forwarding (4%) an email they suspected was spam. These riskier behaviors are more common among men and email users under 35 – the same demographic groups who are more likely to consider themselves experienced when it comes to Internet security threats. [...]
Marketing
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How Mattel Leveraged Social Media to Make Barbie's 50th Birthday Sizzle

by Brandon Gutman on Thursday, March 25, 2010
How Mattel Leveraged Social Media to Make Barbie's 50th Birthday Sizzle
Four leading brand marketers joined FOCi Group during the Brand Innovators Panel at digiday:SOCIAL in LA. Execs from The Dial Corporation, Mattel, POM Wonderful and Publishers Clearing House were candid about their strategies, challenges and successes in utilizing social media within their marketing mix. We plan to recap the panel of highlights in a series of four columns. Today's insight: How Mattel Built Social Media Success for Barbie's 50th Birthday.
Social
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CMB Social Media Study Still Echoes

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
CMB Social Media Study Still Echoes
A recent study from Boston-based Chadwick Martin and Bailey is still echoing after it initial publication last week. The study showed clear evidence that consumers who are Facebook fans and Twitter followers of a brand are more likely to not only recommend, but they are also more likely to buy from those brands than they were before becoming fans/followers.
Marketing, Metrics, Social
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Ienner Heads Up Cloud-Based Digital Player

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Ienner Heads Up Cloud-Based Digital Player
There's a playa behind the player. Former Sony Music CEO Don Ienner is one of the main human players behind a new digital player launched today. IMHO is a cloud-based social content player that enables users to share premium licensed video, music and other kinds of content on a variety of online and social platforms.
Marketing, Technology
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Benchmarks: ChaCha surpasses Google as No. 1 Mobile Text Service

by Melinda Gipson on Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Benchmarks: ChaCha surpasses Google as No. 1 Mobile Text Service
What are teenagers doing on their mobile phones? According to ChaCha, they’re texting. On its service 83 percent of the 400 million questions its been asked in the free, ad-supported Q&A service were from 13 to 24-year-olds. See the Transformers2 campaign from Paramount and here what ChaCha CEO Scott Jones has to say about the power of SMS to engage teens in today’s free video from digiday:MOBILE LA in the upper right.
Mobile
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Call It Rich Mobile: New iPad Combo Launches

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Call It Rich Mobile: New iPad Combo Launches
Mobile ad service provider AdMarvel is taking on rich media through a new partnership with PointRoll. Together they will launch the iPad Advertising Platform which the companies say will be part of a broader venture for monetizing ad revenue on the industry's newest distribution channels.
Marketing, Mobile
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DigitalScirocco Brings Auction To Content

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, March 23, 2010
DigitalScirocco Brings Auction To Content
While the bidding and auction concept is not new for advertising or even commerce, it is new for content. But DigitalScirocco founder and CEO Bruce D’Ambrosio believes it will be a healthy break for companies that have learned to live with static content.
Marketing, Technology
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Name That App: WWF Earth Hour

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Name That App: WWF Earth Hour
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: WWF Earth Hour
Mobile, Technology
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Digital Content Today: LiveWire Bets On Ringbacks

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Digital Content Today: LiveWire Bets On Ringbacks
Massachusetts-based LiveWire Mobile is betting that some mobile users will make the ringback an ad platform. The company announced a new premium advertising service called RingSpot that will provide wireless carriers a way to generate revenue and increase customer loyalty. Here’s how it works: Customers opt-in to replace their ringback with a marketing message of their choosing delivered by national advertisers, non-profits and local merchants.
Mobile, Technology
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Rsearch Shows Kindle Up To The Fight

Monday, March 22, 2010
Rsearch Shows Kindle Up To The Fight
ComScore says consumers have demonstrated a high level of interest in “i-devices” with between 58 percent and 69 percent of consumers having conducted online research of the top five devices. Amazon Kindle rated highest in terms of current device ownership at 6 percent of all Internet users, followed by Sony Reader at 4 percent. The iPad rated highest in terms of consumers seriously considering purchase over the next three months at 15 percent of Internet users, with the Kindle at 14 percent. [...]
Marketing, Metrics
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Magnetic Hopes To Attract Search Data

by John Gaffney on Monday, March 22, 2010
Magnetic Hopes To Attract Search Data
Magnetic is headed by by CEO Josh Shatkin-Margolis who was the principal architect at DoubleClick responsible for all banner ad serving technologies. As Director of Engineering for Yahoo!, he was the responsible for data processing for Yahoo!’s advertising division. The company comes out of stealth mode with ad buying partnerships with 40 ad networks and agencies, helping serve more than 1 billion impressions monthly.
Marketing, Technology
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Google Dispute With China Escalates

by John Gaffney on Monday, March 22, 2010
Google Dispute With China Escalates
Google shut down its Chinese web site yesterday, and according to several published reports began directing users in that country to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong. The move seems to have escalated an already tense situation.
Media, Technology
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Digital Content Today: Just ChaCha Me

Monday, March 22, 2010
Digital Content Today: Just ChaCha Me
Mobile text pioneer ChaCha, is launching a new service called ChaCha Me. Any member can ask a question of another member who has a profile, whether it’s a person or business. The owner of the page can decide whether to answer the question which will then be seen by all. It could become an interview format that is as intriguing for individuals as it is for well-known celebrities, according to ChaCha founder Scott Jones.
Marketing, Mobile
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Women Seek Health Content From Internet Over Docs

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Women Seek Health Content From Internet Over Docs
Women trust Internet content more than their doctors or mommas, according to a new iVillage survey. Anonymous, peer conversations are the driving factor, which iVillage now hopes to support with a new site.
Marketing, Media
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Digital Content Today: Fisher-Price Goes Social

Friday, March 19, 2010
Digital Content Today: Fisher-Price Goes Social
Built on Facebook, the new “Moments to Share” will enable parents to record their child’s milestones and special moments in a dynamic timeline created with digital photos, videos, dates, captions and stories.
Marketing, Social
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digiVideo: Mattel And Barbie Get Their Code On

by Melinda Gipson on Friday, March 19, 2010
digiVideo: Mattel And Barbie Get Their Code On
Barbie is on her 125th career since the 1950's and to celebrate, cyberfans got to vote on what she'd tackle next. Mattel's early money was on "News Anchor Barbie," but it was not to be. Computer programmers -- dare we say "cyber-chicks"? -- banned together en masse to vote in "Computer Engineer Barbie," now on order for delivery in October. We're sorry she'll miss our next digiday:SOCIAL show in mid-September where she'd have the opportunity to show off subtle details, like the fact that her Tee spells "Barbie" in binary. [...]
Social
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Bunchball Hires Ex-Yahoo To Lead Analytics

by John Gaffney on Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bunchball Hires Ex-Yahoo To Lead Analytics
The game-leveraging company has hired Hongpei Zhang, as Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics following seven years of senior roles in running sales and marketing insights for Yahoo. Zhang is looking forward to “connecting the dots” what consumers do and what those actions means to different kinds of content owners.
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Zappos Takes Elite Retail Title

by John Gaffney on Thursday, March 18, 2010
Zappos Takes Elite Retail Title
Good content equals a good customer experience. A good customer experience equals good customer service. Good customer service will result in some ching in the online checkout process. Ask Zappos. Ask Diapers.com. Both of those companies were among the “elite” customer service award winners from a new company called StellaService. Stella wants to put its seal, Good Housekeeping-style, on exceptional ecommerce customer service companies.
Marketing, Metrics
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Digital Content Today: Mobile With A Cause

Thursday, March 18, 2010
Digital Content Today: Mobile With A Cause
A new Millennial Media report shows that recent disasters have showcased the power of mobile technology and trends among different age demographics in a new-found advertising vertical, Mobile Cause Marketing.
Marketing, Mobile
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The Buzz: With Annie Stamell

by Annie Stamell on Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Buzz: With Annie Stamell
We all know that Lady Gaga is pushing boundaries in fashion (and for some, the limits in terms of the definition of "pop" music). But with sponsors like Virgin Mobile and Miracle Whip front and center in her video for "Telephone," she's also redefining how musical artists can monetize their content.
Marketing
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Digital Content Today: Warp Speed For App Growth

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Digital Content Today: Warp Speed For App Growth
According to an independent report commissioned by GetJar, the global apps economy is set to be worth $17.5 billion by 2012, Mobile app downloads across all types of handset are also expected to increase from over 7 billion downloads in 2009 to almost 50 billion in 2012 – a year on year growth rate of 92%.
Metrics, Mobile
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Pharma Makes Slight Web Comeback

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Pharma Makes Slight Web Comeback
While pharma advertisers spent more in total, on a share basis the amount the industry allocated to TV decreased from 64 cents on the dollar to 60 cents. Magazines held steady. The one channel showing some growth in 2009 was Internet advertising, whose share of budget rose from 3% in 2008 to 6% in 2009.
Marketing, Metrics
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Finding Secret Sauce For Viral Ads

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Finding Secret Sauce For Viral Ads
Plenty of ads are viewed, but not many are chosen to be passed along. New research from Millward Brown quantifies that pass-along factor, finding that fewer than one in six video ads achieve high viral viewing. The research analyzed 102 ads to help marketers predict viral success prior to launching an ad or video.
Marketing, Metrics
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Point Inside Mobilizes Mall Shoppers

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Point Inside Mobilizes Mall Shoppers
Malls are taking notice of the Point Inside app, which has been developed for both iPhone and Android-based phones, and runs an events and promotions management system which allows retailers to connect directly with shoppers based on their location.
Marketing, Mobile
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FCC Plan Makes No Promises

by John Gaffney on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
FCC Plan Makes No Promises
More bandwidth. More people. Ten years to get it done. The FCC plan delivered yesterday was ambitious but its up to the networks to see if it's change we can believe in.
Marketing, Mobile, Technology
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Digital Content Today: ABC Clarifies Digital Circ

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Digital Content Today: ABC Clarifies Digital Circ
The Audit Bureau of Circulations modified its definition of a digital magazine to accommodate new reading devices such as the iPad today stating that “a replica digital edition must include a print edition's full editorial content and advertising, but it no longer needs to be presented in a layout identical to the print version. Replica digital editions will continue to be included in a magazine's circulation guarantee, or rate base.”
Metrics
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App Spotlight: ESPN 2010 World Cup

by Matt Kapko on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
App Spotlight: ESPN 2010 World Cup
There are thousands of apps in the App Store, Android Market and BlackBerry App World -- but not all of them are worth your time or money. So how do you cut through the clutter? Every Tuesday, digiday:DAILY gives you the rundown on the app that should be on your radar. This week's app: ESPN 2010 World Cup
Mobile
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Digital Content Today: PBS Debuts Show On Facebook

Monday, March 15, 2010
Digital Content Today: PBS Debuts Show On Facebook
PBS will be the first time a major broadcaster to introduce a full-length documentary on the site on April 11. It will use a new “social screening application” created by Brand Networks, with a customized video player, integrated with a proprietary poll system and Facebook’s comment box.
Media, Social
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Exchanging Numbers: Nielsen Partners With Exelate

Monday, March 15, 2010
Exchanging Numbers: Nielsen Partners With Exelate
The partnership makes puts online and premium branded offline data directly in one marketplace. Media agencies and advertisers can integrate Nielsen's household segmentation systems with anonymous online captured interest and purchase intent activity on more than 150M U.S. monthly unique visitors.
Marketing, Technology
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Brands Predict Significantly More Mobile Spending

by Melinda Gipson on Monday, March 15, 2010
Brands Predict Significantly More Mobile Spending
A Q1 survey of more than 800 agencies, brand advertisers and publishers suggests that 2010 could be a break-out year for mobile advertising, but that publishers need help to participate in the upside of the latest media ad boom. DM2PRO.com, in collaboration with Mojiva, conducted the survey of tens of thousands of digital marketing and media professionals who subscribe to digiday:DAILY or have attended digiday conferences. The nearly 1,000 respondents represented brands, agencies, publishers and technology innovators who comprise the digital advertising industry. [...]
Mobile
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Juniper Report: M-commerce Must Be Targeted

Friday, March 12, 2010
Juniper Report: M-commerce Must Be Targeted
A new report from Juniper Research claims that one-to-one marketing allied to the rapid proliferation of smartphones will be among the key drivers of a mobile retail market which is anticipated to exceed $12 billion by 2014.
Metrics, Mobile
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New Cisco Network Won't Help Wireless

by John Gaffney on Friday, March 12, 2010
New Cisco Network Won't Help Wireless
This past week’s digiday:Mobile conference featured several panelists who were concerned about a critical lack of wireless bandwidth. For now the excitement will be for online content. Cisco new CRS-3 network will provide enough core capacity for "every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously" but it won't help wireless smartphone capacity.
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Five Questions: Neil Salvage, Citysearch's EVP of Advertising

by Tameka Kee on Thursday, March 11, 2010
Five Questions: Neil Salvage, Citysearch's EVP of Advertising
What makes some of the top execs at leading digital marketing and publishing companies tick? Want to learn from their past successes (and sometimes failures)? Then dig in to our Five Questions column. This week, we ask Neil Salvage, EVP of advertising at IAC-owned Citysearch about why the company decided to invest in an SEO firm, and how he really feels about competition from Yelp.
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Good Health Brings A Good Network Recipe

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Good Health Brings A Good Network Recipe
If ad networks are having a hard time finding publishers and audiences, Good Health Media never got that memo. The company is coming off a February that anyone on the digital content business would take. The February 2010 ComScore Report, lists GHM at the tops for percentage growth among health ad networks, a group that includes veterans such as AdRX, Healthline and Everyday Health. GHM audience is up 93% over a year ago to 32 million unique visitors monthly.
Marketing
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Sprout Champions Display Ad Innovations

by John Gaffney on Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sprout Champions Display Ad Innovations
From a techy point of view the new features are called “integration with FBML exporting, conditional content and expandable ad functionality.” Sprout is hoping that its connection from display to Facebook page breathes new life into displays ads and rich media.
Metrics
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Citysearch Spans Social Globe One Town At A Time

by Danny King on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Citysearch Spans Social Globe One Town At A Time
One of the fastest areas of exposure for Citysearch is through hyper-local reviews of restaurants, bars and other retailers written by customers on their mobile devices, according to Kara Nortman, vice president of publishing at Citysearch. She shared insights with digiday:SOCIAL LA attendees on Tuesday.
Marketing, Social
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Even Facebook Wants To Nail Down Social User Value

by Danny King on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Even Facebook Wants To Nail Down Social User Value
It's not a popularity contest. Social-media marketers need to define the value of a user beyond simply the number of friends or fans in order to measure value and estimate marketing budgets. The message came from executives with Facebook, Razorfish and Forrester Research at digiday:Social LA.
Marketing, Social
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Video: Google Mobile Director Diane Pouliot

by Melinda Gipson on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Video: Google Mobile Director Diane Pouliot
In our video window: 25 minutes inside the mind of of Google's director of mobile advertising. Diana Pouliot, Google's director of mobile advertising demonstrates Android's contribution to innovation in mobile media and explains how advertisers can leverage it. All from digiday:MOBILE in LA yesterday. Tune into DM2PRO.com for more updates from this and today's digiday:SOCIAL.
Mobile
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Digital Content Today: StumbleUpon Finds Its Way

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Digital Content Today: StumbleUpon Finds Its Way
The company says its new system will be a personalized advertising recommendation engine offering content creators, brands and agencies a cost-effective way to tap into StumbleUpon's community of over 10 million users.
Marketing, Technology
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Pressing Social Marketing To Earn Its Keep

by Stephanie Miller on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Pressing Social Marketing To Earn Its Keep
ROI is the elephant in the social marketing room. Is it likely that social marketing will not produce ROI in it's current form? "Viral Loop" author and NYU Journalism professor Adam L. Penenberg dug a bit into the history of "viral" marketing at digiday:SOCIAL LA. He also pushed attendees to the conclusion that all forms of digital marketing will fail to deliver a solid ROI if brands continue to use intrusive, old-school tactics.
Marketing, Media, Metrics, Social
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YouTube Increases Video Market Lead

Monday, March 8, 2010
YouTube Increases Video Market Lead
Video viewers at YouTube.com watched 93 videos on average during the month, representing an increase of 50% versus a year ago. Hulu ranked second with the rest of the content owners seeing increases in users but chasing market share.
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Digital Content Today: The Academy Rewards

Monday, March 8, 2010
Digital Content Today: The Academy Rewards
Digital and social media measurements provided an interesting counterpoint to Hollywood’s big night. What the Academy says and what the people say are very far apart.
Media, Social
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RockYou Says It Will Pay You

Monday, March 8, 2010
RockYou Says It Will Pay You
After earning its place on various social networks with virtual hugs, birthday cards and the like, with the launch of a new platform gives developers an opportunity to monetize up to 25 percent of their social gamers and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by up to 20 percent.
Marketing, Social
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