• Video Vertigo: Right Format, Wrong Product
    For the last year or so, a debate has been raging about whether online pre-roll ads have a future. At every meeting, conference, or industry cocktail event I attend, the topic du jour seems to be whether the industry should drop pre-roll - the video ads that precede online clips - in favor of some new, undefined ad model.
  • The Sell: Why It Pays to Go Organic
    Without bright lights and colorful billboards, Times Square is just another intersection. But those neon ads make it one of the country's biggest tourist attractions. People flock from the around the world specifically to ogle Times Square's colorful advertising. The bright lights make the experience more enjoyable.
  • The Biz: Where Science Can't Go
    With the advent of the internet and its acceptance as a mainstream media vehicle, one element of media has been more pondered over and discussed than any other: accountability. It can be addressed in a number of different ways, including the verification that advertising ran, the identification of audiences that have seen ads, and the determination of actions taken by audience members after having viewed a message.
  • Proof: Looking At the Little Picture
    It appears that marketers are beginning to appreciate econometric modeling. Indeed, 70 percent of the Association of National Advertisers members now use econometric modeling to evaluate marketing ROI, according to a new study by the organization.
  • Productivity: Pushing the Envelope
    In retrospect, it seems kind of silly. They were nothing but cheap electronic boxes that lit up in the shape of two cartoon characters from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Definitely not bombs.
  • The New Next: Proceed With Caution
    The sky turned an ominous orange as we walked up University Avenue looking for our restaurant. Naked is doing some work for a tech start-up in Palo Alto, Calif., and we were going to dinner after spending a day fine-tuning a communications plan to help launch their revolutionary new product.
  • Media Metrics- Catching the Spirit
    Office-supply companies aren't known for their holiday products and cheer. So when OfficeMax asked our agency to create its first-ever holiday campaign, it looked like a daunting task. How could we persuade people to shop for gifts there?
  • Gestalt: The Empire Strikes Back
    I just finished John Man's sweeping biography of Genghis Khan and, though I'm usually proud of my historical literacy, I found myself stunned at the impact he had on the world. I had always dismissed him as a brutal conqueror who raped and pillaged his way across the steppes, with little lasting legacy - a view that could not have been more wrong.
  • TV's Next Act
    "Goodbye, television. Hello, Joost." With that bold greeting, peer-to-peer revolutionaries Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstr"m debuted their latest start-up, Joost, which promises to forever change the way we watch TV.
  • Bankrolling: The Serial Entrepreneurs
    Many of the people now launching online media and advertising businesses are battle-tested veterans of the Web's first boom a decade ago. Remember Flycast and Flooz.com?
« Previous Entries