If you've been thinking about advertising on Instant Messengers (IMs), here are some numbers to keep in mind. Jupiter Media Metrix today reports that the adoption rate of IM continues to outpace that of the Internet in the U.S. From September 2000 to September 2001, the total time spent at work using the top three IM applications - AOL, MSN and Yahoo! - increased 110% from 2.3 billion to 4.9 billion minutes. The number of unique users of IM applications at work increased 34% to 13.4 million. Meanwhile, the total time spent with IM at home increased 48%, …

Two reports out today show that advertisers have to pay more attention to women. One report - The US Market for Solo Female Consumers, a new study released by MarketResearch.com - shows that aggregate income of single women is up an estimated 17% from 1997 levels. MarketResearch says marketers have only scratched the surface of this explosive market that now claims an aggregate income of $166.1 billion, and with more and more attention focusing on this untapped sales source, information on how single women are spending their money and what messages they respond to is crucial. …

Ok, maybe all's not well at DoubleClick after all. As you know, the first sign of trouble came in the middle of October, when the company cut "administrative staff" from its media division. Interestingly enough, when I called DoubleClick for comment that October day, the company PR department told me that Barry Saltzman, the head of the division, was in... Paris! But, spokespeople denied all rumors that DoubleClick was getting ready to get out of the media business. Within two weeks, DoubleClick was picked by one of the biggest automotive sites on the web - AutoTrader.com - to provide …

Not that it should surprise anyone, but Nielsen//NetRatings reports that surfers at-home flocked to the official website of the Harry Potter movie, set to première next Friday. During the six weeks ending November 4, traffic to the Harry Potter site skyrocketed 239% to 573,000 unique visitors, as compared to 169,000 surfers for the week ending September 23. Traffic to the site continued to grow this past week, jumping 47% from 390,000 visitors the previous week ending October 28. "The 'Harry Potter' book series has translated very favorably online, with television and in-theatre promotions fueling traffic to …

These days it seems like every research firm is coming up with numbers that aim to quantify the subdued mood of the nation. And every time I see one of these research studies, it seems like the numbers are there to remind marketers and advertisers that their audiences are made up of human beings who love their friends and families, not just of targets with eyeballs in various demo groups. At first all these releases seemed like shameless attempts at publicity. But after surfing the web as a consumer last night I see that some advertisers really do need …

It didn't take long for Wenda Harris Millard - part of the original cast of DoubleClick - to stir things up in her new role as Chief Advertising Sales Officer at Yahoo! If you've been to the Yahoo! homepage today, you know what I'm talking about - the Pizza Hut ad. A pizza pushes through the middle of the screen, gets sprinkled with pepperoni and sausage and flies over to the square ad for Pizza Hut Ultimate Lover's Pizza on the right side of the page. There it rests until users click to see the toppings sprinkle on …

If you've been working with audio and video ads, eyeblasters, and other interactive ad technologies, the newest release from DoubleClick may seem like a let down. The company's media division today launched what they term a Shaped Pop-up ad unit, and although it’s not exactly exciting, it's definitely worth noticing. Developed by DoubleClick Studio, Shaped Pop-ups have the functionality of a pop-up box and use flash technology, but unlike most ad formats already in existence they can be designed in a range of shapes while still being tagged, trafficked and delivered much like standard banners. Naturally, the Shaped …

It appears that amidst all this talk of a softening economy, a troubling trend has emerged: credit-card companies are aggressively working to increase their customer base and encourage more spending, while credit-counseling services are seeking to reach people trying to get out of debt. The good part is that this is all happening through online ads. Jupiter Media Metrix today reported that online advertising for consumer credit services increased 93% so far this year, making it the largest online advertising segment within the financial services industry - one of the three industries that advertises the most online. …

How often do we get to hear an advertising success story these days? I've got one for you. Back in April, Taco Bell Corp. signed on as the first promotional partner for the launch of the Microsoft Xbox video game system. In October, Taco Bell unveiled details of the partnership, which included an extensive national sweepstakes program as well as primetime network television, radio, print and online advertising. Looks like their efforts paid off. Nielsen//NetRatings today reported that surfers at-home flocked to Xbox.com during the week ending October 28, to access information about the November 15th launch …

After reading Joseph Jaffe's column in MediaDailyNews today, I decided to look back on my own calendar and remember where I was at this time last year. Interestingly enough, I was at Thunder Lizard's Web Marketing 2000 show in New Orleans - the show that to me signified the end if an era. As I remember, the organizers pulled together some good speakers, but very few people showed up to listen to what they had to say. The era of spending thousands of dollars on attending each and every industry event was ending. People became very selective and …