• Not so Broad After All
    "So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west," wrote Hunter S. Thompson, "And with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." Broadband seems to be cresting. The notion of the Internet as the ever-rising digital tide that is subsuming traditional media may finally be reaching its peak.
  • Behind the Numbers: Jumping Through Hoops
    One of the hardest-to-reach audiences on appointment TV is actually pretty darn easy to find on Hulu, a site that aggregates episodes of current shows and nostalgia series. That's the conclusion of a report from Solutions Research Group, which found that while only 15% of online Americans have even heard of Hulu, those who do use the site hail from a desirable demo. Who cares that the other 85% still don't know Hulu from hula?
  • Behavioral Focus: Plugging into the Electorate
    As the 2008 political campaigns reach the final stretch, it's no surprise that campaign marketers are increasingly tapping into the power of the wired voter. With an estimated $50 million being spent on online political campaign marketing this year, according to eMarketer, it's apparent that online campaigns are now a critical component of a winning election strategy.
  • Social Media Focus: Brands Want to Be a Pepper, Too
    If you want to know the future of using social data for advertising, look to Dr Pepper. Specifically, the Dr Pepper fan group on last.fm. Kevin Menard, last.fm's senior vice president of u.s. advertising, introduced me to the social music site's multiple Dr Pepper fan groups. He sees these groups as key components in smarter last.fm ad buys.
  • WebU: The Missing Sitelinks
    Google Sitelinks is one of those nebulous tools that can either get you some valuable extra clicks or produce far less desirable results
  • Logging In: Let's Get Contextual
    Common sense (and the Advertising Research Foundation) says that the "editorial" context in which ads appear strongly influences their impact and effectiveness. Advertisers have spent billions of dollars on TV and magazine ads based on the premise that the more credible the context, the more likely customers are to trust the ad message. A reader is more likely to trust a big-ticket ad in The New Yorker than one in The National Enquirer.
  • Markets Focus: Nice Day for a Pink Wedding
    In 2007, Disney opened its Fairy Tale Weddings services to gay couples, allowing them to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's castle, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in attendance. Now that the California Supreme Court has ruled the state's constitution guarantees the right of marriage to all its citizens, those weddings will be legal, too - at least in the state.
  • Industry Watch: Games Break Loose
    The term itself - alternate reality game - is nebulous in many respects. Generally, ARGs are multiplatform interactive experiences that blend reality and fiction and incorporate a game element, according to Brian Clark, CEO of GMD Studios, which together with McKinney developed the highly successful game "The Art of the Heist." A distinctive element of ARGs is that their stories generally develop according to user response.
  • Cross-Media Case Study: Kind of Blue
    The skies have not been a happy place of late. Lost luggage, long delays, no meals and outrageous baggage fees - these are just a few of the reasons flying can be torturous. Given the sorry state of the heavens (not to mention the airline terminals), it is not surprising to learn that overall satisfaction with the airline industry declined this year to its lowest level in three years, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.
  • Ed:Blog
    Howdy OMMA fanatics, welcome to another installment of Online All Stars. We've got an exciting issue for you, jam-packed with all the heart-pounding action you've come to expect. Hang on to your seo handbooks. For starters, there's a new superteam in town, ready to face down any and all evil-doers.
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