Advertising Age - DigitalNext

Sorry Rupert, News Content Is Not a Google Killer

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:01:20 -0500

Extra, extra, read all about it! Exclusive news, only in today's edition of Bing. You won't find these stories in Google! Only in Bing! Get your Bing now, hot off the press!

Is the Promise of Viral Success Holding the Ad Industry Back?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:49:28 -0500

Recently Tim Williams, founder of Ignition, in an otherwise spot-on AdAge blog post asked, "How much does it cost to reach a million people on YouTube?" Tim's answer: $0. YouTube ad sales will disagree with Tim and so do I.

JC Penney's 'Doghouse' Returns

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:09:17 -0500

JC Penney's "Beware of the Doghouse" viral video returns for another holiday shopping season. It punishes bad gift givers who can make up with jewelry.

A DigitalNext Challenge: What's Your Favorite Consumer Mobile Application?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:22:01 -0500

I'd like to hear your nominations for the best mobile applications that empower consumers. I'm not talking about quick-hit mobile campaigns. I mean real applications that are of long-term value to consumers and create loyalty by surrounding people with information.

The Coming Darwinism of IPhone Apps

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:34 -0500

I'm confident that if Charles Darwin were here today, he'd have something to teach us about apps. Namely, that most around today won't be in the next few years.

Behind the Redesign: Virgin.com Mixes Social Activity and Lead Generation

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:30:49 -0500

The total overhaul of Virgin.com had two equal goals: to generate leads and spur social activity. It had to weave together corporate content, user-generated content called for a distinct creative approach that skewed a little more toward e-commerce/online review sites. Here's how they did it.

Brands on Twitter: 76% of Accounts Are Infrequent Users

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:35:13 -0500

Most companies fail to realize Twitter's full potential as a market engagement platform. Brand-squatted accounts remain an issue for many companies. For those that are on board, many more are largely tepid accounts with limited activity and interactivity (76% of accounts tweet infrequently). Even more telling is how companies apply currently traditional marketing practices to this new media channel.

Why the FDA Needs to Accept PhRMA's Social Proposal

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:53:07 -0500

The pharmaceutical industry and the FDA are in a strange position. People are discussing drugs and treatments all over net, but pharmaceutical companies can't encourage or participate in this activity in any way. The new PhRMA proposal is an ideal way out.

Why Digital Agencies Are Indeed Ready to Lead

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:14:08 -0500

Over the past 18 months, a great debate has consumed our industry: Are digital agencies poised to sit at the head of the advertising table? Depending on whom you ask and what you read, the answer seems to flip flop -- with a majority of people still having reservations and making claims that digital agencies aren't ready to lead.

Three Things YouTube Has Learned From Pre-Roll Video Advertising

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:19 -0500

As YouTube launches skippable pre-roll video ads, it talks about what it's learned since it stopped shunning pre-roll online-video advertising.

How AdMob Brings Google Important Competitive Intelligence

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:38:14 -0500

With the acquisition of AdMob, Google now has access to usage data of many of the most popular mobile apps -- especially the apps in the iTunes App Store.

A New Silicon Valley Rule? All Great Internet Cos. Build an Ad Network

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:20:14 -0500

In Silicon Valley, there's an old adage that says all great internet companies eventually build an e-mail service. Nearly every major player from Google to Comcast, Facebook to MySpace, Yelp to LinkedIn, has some form of user-to-user e-mail within its site or application. Today, I propose a new maxim -- all great internet companies eventually build (or buy) an ad network.

The Last Campaign: How Experiences Are Becoming the New Advertising

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:50:49 -0500

But perhaps it's not that advertising is failing but that brand experiences (both on and offline) are really what are capturing the imagination of today's consumer. We have found digital brand experiences are having an inordinate sway on consumer purchasing habits and brand affinity.

Google Dashboard Changes Our Thinking About Privacy

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:40:10 -0500

What does privacy look like in a digital world? And is it out of touch with our expectations? Judy Shapiro looks to history.

Why Google Android Is Already Confusing

dfrommer@businessinsider.com(Dan Frommer) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:50:19 -0500

Because so many different companies are involved in the mix, Android is at risk of becoming very confusing and fragmented. That's already starting to happen.

The Droid Gets Google.com Real Estate

aklaassen@adage.com(Abbey Klaassen) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:05:05 -0500

"Sesame Street" is not the only one getting plum placement on Google. Droid is as well, with 42 characters of promotion, right underneath Bert and Ernie.

Social-Media Pranksters Had Fun With Walmart's Caskets

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:43:25 -0500

A simple search on the social-media chatter around Walmart's new caskets reveal strong positive sentiment. What it can't tell you is that much of it was facetious.

Why Digital Agencies Aren't Ready to Lead

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:43:57 -0500

Any conversation about digital marketing these days includes at least one mention that traditional agencies just "don't get it." While this may be correct, what's equally true is that digital agencies are not ready to take the lead.

Facebook's Big Changes: Action Items for Marketers

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:28:08 -0500

Facebook's latest round of updates announced this week will affect everyone: marketers, developers, publishers, consumers and anyone else remotely connected to its site and platform. And some of the changes will especially affect marketers.

Ten Things Social Media Can't Do

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:23:33 -0500

Amid the endless pronouncements about social media -- often shortened to "social" these days by consultants trying to sound like they know what they are talking about -- is the reality that social media is not a solution, or a sure bet.

Why Anyone Can Create a Successful Social Application

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:08:43 -0400

I just finished recognizing 13 highly effective social applications in the Forrester Groundswell Awards. What hit me about this year's winners were that they prove that excellence in social media can come from anywhere.

Judy Consumer's Head Is in the Clouds

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:22:06 -0400

Judy Consumer, in this case, a mom who does freelance sports photography, asked me the other day, "I wonder what all this talk about computing in the clouds is about? I have so much footage that I need to access and I do it today with external drives. Managing these external drives is driving me nuts." That was the third time I had heard that type of question in about two weeks. It was hard not to take notice.

Where's the Outrage Over Online Video Viewership Claims?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:32:38 -0400

Bob Dole famously cried "Where's the outrage?" during his presidential run against Bill Clinton. I'd like to revise that after looking at some recent internet video viewership numbers: I'd say, "Where's the analysis?" During the past few weeks there have been numerous mysterious web video numbers bandied about, with little or no analysis or skepticism in the reporting.

In Search of Exchange 3.0

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:51:12 -0400

The business media is framing the upcoming online display advertising battle as Yahoo vs. Google, but other players will fight hard too. Why? Because display is a huge ad market and, unlike in search, no winner has yet been crowned. The next 12 to 36 months will determine who takes this next, highly lucrative, online advertising prize. However, the outcome won't be determined merely by the short-term competition between between players that only address the direct-response market.

Happy Birthday, Digital Advertising!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:49:50 -0400

Oct. 27 marks the 15th anniversary of the industry's first banner display ads, which appeared on Hotwired.com. To the many of you reading this who weren't in the business back then, that's not a typo; I'm not referring to www.HotWire.com, the travel site, but HotWired -- the first commercial digital magazine on the web and the offshoot of Wired magazine.

A Conversation (and Experiment) With Author Shel Israel

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:21:38 -0400

Shel Israel and I conducted an experiment -- we did an interview via Twitter last week. I found the content interesting, but the delay between when tweets are entered and when they appear made this challenging. Twitter has the reputation of being real-time, and it is a very immediate medium, but measured in minutes, not in seconds.

When Ad Exchanges Talk to Each Other

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:45:37 -0400

Is there a way to even further improve economic efficiency by connecting exchanges to one another? This is a relatively new idea that is just starting to be discussed by players within the exchange community.

Google Wave Should Beware of the 'Communications and Collaboration' Pitch

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:25:02 -0400

A lesson for Google Wave: In the 1990s unified messaging failed to take off because we couldn't answer the question: "but what problem does it solve?"

Yahoo Cancels Popular 'Paid Inclusion' Search Program

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:13:35 -0400

Yahoo is canceling a program that provided one of its key differentiators: Yahoo Search Submit Pro, also known as paid inclusion. The move especially affects e-commerce and retail players.

Big Pharma and Google Sidewiki: A Sink or Swim Situation?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:57:39 -0400

With Sidewiki, pharma companies, concerned with everything from brand perception to adverse event reporting, are now put in a situation where they need to take action or they risk losing control of their brands' online presence -- or worse, having the FDA perceive Sidewiki entries as an integral part of a brand site.