http://www.mediapost.com/publications/ The Web’s juiciest controversies from the Industry's top commentators. en-us Copyright 2009 MediaPost Communications http://www.mediapost.com/rss Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:12:04 EST When a Web site is served up onto a consumer's computer, with an advertising unit on the page, an advertising impression is created. Advertisers would like to buy those impressions. Even if the consumer doesn't "click" on anything, there is value to advertisers in being able to reach people with a message. Problem is, there are an infinite number of impressions, which range in value from worthless to valuable. But I believe there is a way to prove the value of impressions, a task that should be number one on the "to-do" list of anyone in online publishing or advertising http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116729Joe Marchese <>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:30:22 ESTIt seemed to be another one of those weeks when "the-recession-is-over"speak spiked. In the media, on the train and in passing, the idea came up a lot -- and proponents spoke with such certainty. But emphatic proclamation does not make it so. Still, as with the best presumptive messaging, enough can make it possible to visualize a better place and emulate where you want to go. We will our own reality. But seriously, if we as marketers talk, look and act like the recession is over, what changes? http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116617Kendall Allen <>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:15:32 ESTPeople obsess over the latest flavors and innovations in digital communication and interactivity. I'm talking about everything from new email technologies to social networking tools, even new hybrid interaction platforms like Wave. However, the growing volume of communications in digital form also drives attention deficit, dehumanization and diminishing returns. It's a tragedy of the commons when digital innovations, celebrated for their improvement on our interpersonal communications, have the opposite effect. That's why recently I've been highly conscious of handwritten letters. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116507Max Kalehoff <>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:45:32 ESTHalloween is almost upon us, and the TV airwaves are full of sports. While fans are happy, loving the chance to watch their teams on TV, a lot of TV executives are pretty nervous at the moment. CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC and ESPN each spend billions of dollars televising fall sporting events. These investments are made with the full recognition that advertising support on that programming -- even in a good economy -- won't necessarily cover their costs. Their bet is that the sports telecasts will be valuable platforms to promote their new fall shows -- dramas, comedies and reality shows. Their hope is that sports viewers, once promoted to, will actually watch those shows. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116438Dave Morgan <dave@simulmedia.com>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:15:21 ESTEver heard the one about the agency that pitches a piece of business with the "A-Team" and once they win the account, the "B-team" gets put on the business? It's a common gripe against the agency model and one that I wholeheartedly agree is a problem, but before we complain about the problem we should first understand the reason. If we understand the reason, we can find a solution. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116319Cory Treffiletti <cory@catalystsf.com>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:30:09 ESTAbout a month ago, Shelby Bonnie, the CEO of Whiskey Media, articulated a fantastic argument for "killing the CPM" on TechCrunch. I couldn't agree more with Bonnie' s ideas about discontinuing the use of CPM as the primary metric for online advertising. The next logical step in the conversation is: If not CPM, then what? http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116199Joe Marchese <>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:30:21 ESTRecently, I have been struck by the prevalence of certain ideas -- and they are provocative ones. They play like the feistiest of pet ideas. But, in their glibness are they just a little too precious? Outrageous in their simplicity? Or is their frequency a clue to our actual course? http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116079Kendall Allen <>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:15:31 ESTlive by the principle of liberal disclosure in my work, on my personal blog, on Twitter and in my personal offline life. But I disagree with the FTC's silly new requirements that bloggers must now disclose payola -- material exchanges of goods with marketers. I don't like government meddling in my personal speech. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115997Max Kalehoff <>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:30 ESTToday, more people can have more relationships -- personal, business, casual, formal, fleeting, long-term -- with more people more often than ever before in history. When consumers have so many different kinds of relationships with so many different people and companies and products and services and ideas, how can any, or many, of them stand out? How can media companies or marketers establish meaningful visibility, let alone usage loyalty, in this ever-entangling clutter? There is only one answer now: trust. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115952Dave Morgan <dave@simulmedia.com>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:00:53 ESTI feel as though social media is currently pigeonholed into the same boat as mobile (which has been in the same boat for the last four years): it's about one to two years away from maturing as a medium for advertising. That doesn't mean that social media (or mobile, for that matter) is not a strong marketing medium. It just means we have to be honest about what needs to be fixed -- or else bad ads will continue to happen to good people. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115816Cory Treffiletti <cory@catalystsf.com>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:45:27 EST