San Francisco-based WideOrbit, which offers traffic management services for media businesses, has acquired OneDomain, which specializes in systems for media planning and research.WideOrbit and OneDomain both serve TV and radio stations and about 50% of OneDomain clients use WideOrbit’s WO Traffic platform. WideOrbit will look to integrate OneDomain’s capabilities that help analyze ratings and plan buying strategies into its technology.WideOrbit has clients that stretch from DirecTV to Tribune to Scripps. WideOrbit, which did not disclose terms of the acquisition, said the deal enhances its ad sales, CRM and “proposal solutions” capabilities.Since 2003, OneDomain’s core system, MediaOffice, has been used by 600 TV and radio stations. WideOrbit says it manages buys worth more than $20 billion yearly.OneDomain, based in Birmingham, Ala., said it has posted double-digit growth each year since 2003. WideOrbit’s board includes former Mindshare executive Kathy Crawford and representatives of the Mayfield Fund and Khosla Ventures, which both have a stake in the company. In 2009, WideOrbit acquired certain assets of Google’s online buying system for radio.
Audi is launching new advertising as part of its media commitment to the NFL. The campaign backs the 2013 Audi S variants and will be created by San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners. The company says the campaign represents a first: the company has never touted its full line of performance sub-branded S models The campaign, “Heighten Every Moment” launches with a 60-second TV spot debuting on the 2012 NFL kickoff game, Sept. 5 on NBC. Audi also will be in the Super Bowl for the sixth time in a row. Last year's ad touted Audi as a vampire reduction device: the headlights of the car, which a vampire is driving to an evening picnic of neck biters, turn all attendees to dust. In 2011, Audi made fun of the soporific stylings of fusion jazzer Kenny G, who plays a prison guard. Audi got into the big game In 2008 with an ad that made fun of old luxury by using the famous horse-head in bed scene from "The Godfather The 60-second spot, featuring the 2013 Audi S8, will run in the first break after kickoff during the Sept. 5 game. The ad, taking its creative cue from heist films, uses the S8 in a bank robbery scene, with a mystery about whether there actually was a robbery or something imagined by the driver, with the message that the S driving experience can create that kind of hallucination-enducing thrill. Audi says the ad will air on NFL on CBS and NBC, and networks like Food, FX, National Geographic, ESPN, USA, CNN, and AMC. A 30-second version also will be viewable on CNN.com, Reuters.com, Wired.com, Yahoo, and more."
While interest graphs are new for big companies like Twitter, whose announcement was reported in OnlineMediaDaily on August 30, San Francisco-based 140 Proof has already been providing interest graphs for two years. Coincidentally, on the morning of Twitter’s announcement, 140 Proof released an industry report - called "Inside The Interest Graph" - which gives an inside look at interest graphs and explains why they are becoming so important within the industry. In their report, 140 Proof gives a simple explanation for why interest graphs are growing in importance: "Because advertising is the main source of revenue for online businesses.” Naturally, knowing who is seeing the ads and why is important. “The interest graph is a better indication of your aspirations than the social graph, because who you know isn’t necessarily an indication of what you may like,” said Jon Elvekrog, CEO of 140 Proof in a statement. Check out their full report and download the interest graph here to learn all about interest graphs while they are a hot topic.
As intially reported in OnlineMediaDaily on September 5, Bay Area-based Ask.com plans to step up branding efforts for the newly acquired About.com to squash any myths about it being a content farm. "We're going to get tactical for the next couple of quarters," said Doug Leeds, Ask.com CEO, as the company informs consumers that About.com will strengthen its core publishing model. Most hired writers for the site cull content from professional experiences and knowledge. The message will become one in many topics explored for a forthcoming online branding campaign that could move to television next year. Ask.com ran several promotions this year to market its brand. The company ran a 15-second spot, "Mirror," in U.S. cinemas as a pre-trailer this year, but also spent time and money rebranding the Q&A site. Leeds said The New York Times Co. failed to invest in the consumer About.com brand. Now Barry Diller's IAC/InteractiveCorp $300 million cash deal to buy About.com gives Ask.com the necessary content to build out the question-and-answer site supported by content. The brands will remain separate, but will integrate some of the technology. Ask.com will also integrate the technology from its recent nRelate acquisition. While putting together the deal, it became clear that the combination of traffic and content from Ask.com and About.com would create a bridge to support the more than 100 million monthly visitors. About.com publishes 930 guides, with each writer vetted through a multi-step process. Less than 1% of those who apply to write for the network are accepted. Those who do stick around on average for 11 years. Writers get paid based on page views, encouraging engagement. The site has about 650 million page views monthly, according to Leeds. The strategy will work similarly on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Both sites experience more than 100% year-on-year growth. Google powers Ask.com search. Industry experts speculate About.com relies on on-site Google's search engine. Leeds said more than 80% of About.com's traffic comes from search engines. The site took a hit from Panda, but search engine optimization efforts have revived traffic to pre-Panda days.